by Steph2
Kaine typically loved spring. She loved to run through the forest, the scents and sights enticing her to stop and sniff or chase and catch.
In her pelt.
Goddess, she wanted her pelt. Her human skin chilled and pebbled in the slight breeze. Her pelt would keep her warm. It’d—
She froze, catching the scent too late to sit and pretend everything was okay.
“Kaine.”
Her fellow sicari, Duke Ducati, stepped into the private little hollow.
Together with Nic and their commanding officer, Kyle, she and Duke formed an elite branch of the lucani legion. They were the special ops force of the Etruscan military.
They did the wet work. They were sicarii, assassins.
They didn’t lie down and cry when the going got tough. They were the ones the lucani king turned to when things got tough.
Sitting up, Kaine considered ignoring him. But damn it, she wasn’t a coward.
She looked up into Duke’s dark eyes. “I can’t shift. I haven’t been able to for two months.”
Surprise flashed through his normally hard-edged expression for a brief second before he lowered himself to sit next to her and handed her the clothes she’d stacked in a pile next to the tree for her. As she dressed, he stretched out long legs covered in black tactical pants, the pockets filled with at least two blades and maybe a garotte.
A dark gray t-shirt stretched over a multitude of muscles that would make any sane eteri, those regular humans with no magic, steer well clear of him.
Kaine knew just how strong the man was. And how dedicated he was to his friends.
“Did something happen?” he asked. “Are you injured?”
She shook her head. “Not that I know of.” But she had her suspicions. “And… Well, it’s probably better if I just show you. But you have to promise not to tell anyone. Not until I figure out what’s going on. Please, Duke. You have to promise me.”
She watched as he considered her request, knowing he’d agree. Still, she waited until he gave his word. As well as she knew him, he also knew her. He knew she would hold him to his promise.
“Alright, Kaine. I promise.”
Holding her trembling hand over the ground at her side, she closed her eyes and envisioned the heat of her body entering the soil, calling to the still-dormant seeds, forcing them to break through the earth with their tiny stalks.
It didn’t require much energy. Not as much as she would expend to call forth her pelt. If she could.
Gods damn it.
Opening her eyes, she saw a mat of new growth.
She’d caused that. She’d coaxed seeds to life that shouldn’t have germinated for at least a month.
Turning, she saw Duke staring at her own little patch of the world.
“Well, shit.” He turned back to her with stunned amazement in his eyes.
Yeah, that had been her reaction the first time she’d done it. Except she’d used a lot more obscenities.
She’d been sitting in the forest, pretty much exactly as she was now, trying to shift and having no luck. She’d curled up her fist and pounded at the earth. And watched as a thousand tiny seedlings sprung from the soil.
She’d been shocked speechless then. Now, she didn’t want to talk about it. Didn’t want to know what was going on. She only wanted it to go away.
What if this was the reason she couldn’t shift? What if something had happened to her and she’d never be able to shift again? What if she lost her wolf forever?
“Have you noticed anything else unusual?”
Duke had finally thought through all possible angles and figured this was the best one to approach the problem. Duke was good like that. If it’d been Nic who’d found her, they would’ve played Twenty Questions for hours.
“Except the fact that I can’t call my wolf, no.”
If she couldn’t call her wolf, what would she do? She’d been born and bred to be a lucani soldier. It was all she wanted, all she’d ever wanted to be.
And she was a damn good sicari.
Duke fell silent again, his gaze glued to the tiny patch of green seedlings. After another minute or so, he stood. “Let’s go. We’re going to talk to Sal.”
*
John walked through the front door of Lacey’s Stay-A-While a few minutes after seven p.m. that Thursday night, did a quick visual then headed straight for the bar to his left.
He’d already ripped off the tie he was forced to wear for work. He’d stuffed that in the pocket of his ridiculous blue jacket seconds after he’d gotten in his car. Then he’d tossed the jacket in the backseat.
You’d think a multimillion-dollar financial firm wouldn’t hesitate to shell out money for decent uniforms to outfit their private security force, especially since there were only four of them.
John’s immediate superior was a former Army Ranger. The other two guys had been police officers, one from New York City, the other Atlanta.
Good guys. Guys he understood.
The executives they were paid to keep safe? Assholes in thousand dollar suits with no common sense or common courtesy.
Damn, he missed his SEAL team.
With a sigh, he slid onto one of the barstools, rolling up the sleeves on his white button-down and tearing open the top two buttons.
Evie was working the late shift at the restaurant and had said she wouldn’t be home until after two. She’d just started the job a week ago and this was her first late night.
He’d offered to pick her up after her shift. Hell, he’d wanted to insist.
She’d merely lifted her eyebrows at him and told him she didn’t need a bodyguard.
He still wasn’t so sure of that. They’d had no trouble at all since their escape but that didn’t mean there wasn’t someone still out there looking for her. Or him.
No way would he say that to her, though. She was finally starting to come back to life.
So instead of sitting at home worrying about her, he figured he’d at least get out of the apartment, drink a few beers… Okay, more than a few beers.
Maybe a couple pitchers of draft and several shots of Jack. Hell, he wasn’t driving. He only had to walk a block or so back to the apartment.
He wasn’t leaving until he was sure he could sleep through the night.
Or pass out and spend a few hours unconscious.
At least then he’d have no dreams.
“What can I get you?”
John took the measure of the bartender in seconds. Tall guy with dark, curly hair and sharp, dark eyes that met John’s squarely. “Don’t Fuck With Me” should have been tattooed across his forehead.
John liked him already.
“Shot of Jack and a draft.”
Since the taps were located in front of John’s stool, the bartender didn’t have to move far. “Rough day?”
No, just… Just what?
The guy set the draft in front of him then turned for the Jack Daniel’s bottle.
Staring at the dark amber liquid as it poured into the shot glass, John had the completely alien desire to spill his guts.
He sighed. “Just a long one.”
“Yeah. Those suck, too. You hungry?”
As a matter of fact… His stomach registered the mouthwatering scent of grilled meat and cheese coming from the kitchen in the back of the building. He typically didn’t eat bar food. Too much fat and grease. But tonight… Fuck it.
“Cheeseburger, fries and whatever vegetable you’ve got as long as that’s not fried.”
The bartender nodded. “No problem. I’m Teo. You need anything else, just let me know.”
John nodded as Teo walked away to place his order.
Wouldn’t that be nice? If he could just tell someone what he needed and they’d give it to him?
Be easier if he knew what the hell he wanted to begin with.
*
“You sure you want me to leave?”
The indecision on Duke’s face nearly made Kaine laugh even tho
ugh there wasn’t much to laugh about.
Sal’s bombshell still reverberated through her body. She almost felt like she’d been electrocuted. Her muscles snapped and pinged, her temples throbbed and her stomach rolled.
She didn’t know whether she was going to pass out or puke at any given second. She thought she’d managed to hide it from Duke.
But she knew she wasn’t pulling anything over on Sal.
The centuries-old salbinelli sat on the couch, smoking a fragrant cigar. Half-man, half-goat, Sal was one of the most handsome men Kaine had ever known. He had strong Etruscan features, curly black hair and a pair of small black horns on his forehead that never failed to fascinate her.
As a guardian of the Fata, the fairy races of the Etruscans, Sal ran a safehouse for those who needed a place to stay, a bed to sleep in. Or just needed counsel.
“I’ll be fine, Duke. Sal and I have a lot to talk about.”
Duke nodded, though that was a severe understatement. “A lot” didn’t cover it.
“I know, it’s just…” Duke sighed, as if he didn’t want to continue. “Look, I know how much you hate being in the city.”
Which was something of an understatement. She loathed the city. All the concrete and brick and metal. Only tiny patches of grass and earth here and there.
She didn’t know how Sal put up with it, but he’d lived here for centuries.
“I’m sure. It’s just for the night. I’ll be home tomorrow.”
Hell, she wanted to be home now so she could crawl into her own bed and hide. Or maybe just forget everything Sal had told her.
Maybe she should go with Duke. She really didn’t want to stay here. Not at all—
“She’ll be fine, kid.” Sal barely bothered to cover his amusement as he chomped on the end of his cigar and stood, practically shooing Duke to the front door. “Give your pretty Tira a kiss for me. Go on home.”
Home.
Where Kaine wanted to be. Not sitting here in Sal’s living room in the rowhouse he’d occupied in south Reading for more than a century.
The surroundings were nice enough. The bright blue walls and white carpet on the white-washed floor reminded her of a beach house. Not that she’d ever been to the beach. She did love to watch HGTV decorating shows, though. The artistic process fascinated her and decorating definitely qualified as an artistic pursuit.
The loveseat and sofa were covered in sand-colored microfiber and the end tables were painted a distressed white.
The effect should have been peaceful, relaxing.
Kaine wished it would work on her.
The clop, clop, clop of Sal’s hooves announced his return until they were muffled by the carpet.
She lifted her gaze and caught his dark eyes staring into hers.
“So my mom was silvani.” She took a deep breath. “And my dad never told me.”
Just saying the word, silvani, made her shiver. Talking about her mom… That qualified for major shakes.
“I know you got issues with her, kid, but—”
“Issues?” Her eyes widened as she stared at Sal. “I have issues with her? My mom dropped me on my dad’s doorstep hours after I was born and disappeared. I never knew her, Sal. What I don’t understand is why my dad never told me she wasn’t lucani.”
All her life, Kaine had been lucani. She’d never questioned who or what she was. She’d learned not to ask about her mom because whenever she did, she saw the pain in her dad’s eyes. And she loved her dad too much to want to hurt him. So she didn’t ask.
She’d always assumed her mom was lucani.
Big mistake there.
And now, Kaine couldn’t shift and the knowledge that she wasn’t full-blood lucani threw her perception of who she was into turmoil.
Blessed Mother Goddess, why?
Sal hopped up on the couch next to her. Her gaze dropped to see his hooves hanging inches above the floor.
It should look funny.
To an eteri, Sal would be a freak. She would be a monster. In her community, among her own kind, she’d been accepted. Respected. Loved.
Would the insular lucani continue to accept her as one of them? Especially now that she couldn’t shift?
And what about her position as sicari? Would she be forced to resign?
Tears formed but she blinked them away. She wouldn’t cry.
She was fucking finished with crying. It gave her a headache and made her feel weak. She refused to be weak.
“Kaine.” Sal’s voice had softened and lowered, as if he knew she was near the breaking point, that it would only take the slightest touch to send her over the edge. “This is not a death sentence. In fact, you may find this is a good thing. And in your dad’s defense, he thought he was doing what was right for you.”
Her gaze shot back to his. “By hiding half of what I am?”
Sal shrugged. “Why confuse you? Your mom left you with your dad as a baby. From that moment, you showed every sign of being a regular lucani. You shifted on schedule. You never displayed any powers other than your wolf. Hell, you even inherited your dad’s ability to track.
“Now, I’m not excusing your mother’s actions. But maybe she thought she had a good reason for it. You’ve heard the stories, right? How the Malandante used to force the lucani to be their guard dogs, force them to do their dirty work. How they used quercioli to be their sex slaves. You’ve heard the story about silvani they tortured until they broke and then sapped for their powers.”
She’d heard the stories. Stories told to frighten young Etruscans. But what eteri parents and children believed were only stories about monsters, Etruscans knew to be the truth.
Then she thought of something she hadn’t before. “Do you know who my mother is?”
Sal took a few seconds before answering. “I believe I do, yes.”
Her mouth dropped open before she could stop it and she closed it with a snap. “And you never told me?”
She’d known Sal all her life. Hell, he’d babysat her on occasion.
He shook his head. “Not my place to tell.”
Betrayal burned in her stomach like acid, wanting to bubble up through the rest of her body. “Then why now? Why even bother?”
“Because now you need to know. You’re going to need to learn how to control these new powers because, yes, they’re interfering with your ability to shift. And if you don’t learn how to control them, you may never regain your wolf.”
Could the hits get any worse? She thought she might buckle under the weight of them.
“What… How…” So many questions jumbled together in her head, she didn’t know which one to ask first. And she wasn’t sure she’d be able to understand anything Sal said at the moment anyway.
She wanted to run. She wanted to hound Sal for answers she might not want to know.
But there was one thing she needed to know. “Who is my mother?”
Sal settled back into the couch and she saw grief cross his expression. “Her name was Tekeias.”
Tekeais. An old name, like Kaine’s. Then she realized—
“Was? She’s dead.”
Sal nodded. “She was killed fighting off a Mal attempt to capture her, not long after your birth.”
*
An hour later, Kaine’s head felt like someone had pounded a stake between her eyes.
She didn’t think she could absorb any more information, even though she still had so many questions rattling around in her overloaded brain.
Sal had finally fallen silent, his dark gaze steady on hers.
Taking a deep breath, she lifted one hand to her temples to rub at the throbbing pain there. She needed a drink, which was something of a shock because she wasn’t much into alcohol.
Wine gave her a headache which lasted well beyond the slight buzz. Beer tasted like shit. Give her something sweet that didn’t taste like alcohol and she’d be in business. Though it pained her to say, she liked girly drinks, sweet and frothy and fruity. Just don’t put a lit
tle umbrella on the damn thing. She wasn’t a wuss.
“Kaine, you all right?” Sal asked.
No, she wasn’t. Not really. But neither was she completely overwhelmed. Maybe just slightly whelmed.
“I’m okay, Sal. I just…” Need some time. A little time to let everything settle into place so she could break it down and examine all the little pieces.
Kind of like tracking.
First, you found the scent to get you started then you set out on the path and followed it to the end. She just needed to find that one piece of the puzzle to get her started so she could follow the rest of the pieces to a logical conclusion.
Right now, though, she couldn’t find a starting point.
“I need to take a walk, Sal. I don’t want to be rude but I could use a little…space.”
His mouth quirked in a half smile and he patted her knee. “No problem, kid. Why don’t you head up toward Eleventh Street? There’s a bar there, before you hit Penn Street. Lacey’s. Etruscan friendly. Tell Lace and Teo I sent you. Try the burgers. Delicious.”
Sure. Right. Burgers.
Grabbing her black sweatshirt, Kaine walked out the front door then stood on the front step, pulling the hoodie over her head.
Dusk had faded into night and there were only a few other people on the street. In her faded jeans and scuffed black combat boots, she fit right in. Her tight t-shirt was black too, an Avenged Sevenfold concert tee Duke had bought for her when he’d taken her to her first concert three years ago.
She knew she’d have to call Duke soon. He’d be worried. Nic, Duke and Tira treated her as their sister, cared for her like family and she didn’t want them to worry. At least, she didn’t want them to worry any more than they already were.
The whole John situation…
No, she definitely didn’t want to think about that now.
Heading northeast, she went deeper into the heart of the city. She didn’t pass many people at this time of night, close to nine o’clock, but those she did barely gave her a second look.
Most probably thought she was a teenage boy, and a skinny one, at that. Her breasts would barely show through the heavy sweatshirt and the hood covered her hair and face.