Sinner (Starlight Book 3)

by D. N. Hoxa

  I frowned. He didn’t regret taking me from my family?

  “Because with or without you, the potion would be where it is today. And without you, Star, the chances that we make it out alive are very slim. I know your heart and I know it’s pure, no matter what the world has come to think.”

  Huh. I almost asked him to come hang with the RR for a while, tell them what he thought of me.

  “My daughter will be in danger from this second on, but I’ve just found that she has been in this position for a long time, now. And I have the weight of a lifetime of bad decisions hanging on my shoulders, so I will do what I can to help, because I’m not a fool. The potion will destroy all of us.”

  His fingers curled up in fists, as did mine. We agreed on that, too.

  “But I will talk to you only. I will not be seen outside with you, and I will not come on your missions with you. We will keep our distance and our talking to a minimum. I cannot…I will not openly cooperate with your group. For the sake of my daughter.”

  A deep breath later, Sam held my eyes, waiting for my response. And I couldn't have asked for more.

  “I’m glad to see we’re on the same page about the potion. That’ll definitely make things a lot easier. I promise you that no one will know but for one person, but that is another story.” The reason I’d hired Kyle in the first place was so that he could find out more about everything I already knew. I wasn’t going to keep this from him. I said, thinking of Kyle. “Now, tell me what you know.”

  “The SKO was created centuries ago by the people who wanted to keep tabs on whoever was in charge at their time. It’s a formal group of supernaturals, but honestly, it’s not worth a dime,” he said, frowning. Funny, coming from him.

  “But I saw you there.” Why would he be there if he thought it wasn't worth it?

  “Yes, I always go, but that doesn’t mean that anything’s done there. They talk, but there’s never any proof. Most of the participants belong to the Council, and even they are too afraid. But,” he said as he took a quick sip of his juice. “The real SKO is a different story. They have been gathering information for over a decade now.”

  “The real SKO?”

  “Yes, the real Order made of only five. Some of them even led the conference last year, but they work constantly on the side for the real SKO purpose.”

  “The five, who are they?”

  “They are…” Sam met my eyes, “the Council.”

  “I knew it!” The Council was being betrayed by their own, and the waitress Kyle had found had been right. I smiled widely. “Which ones?”

  “I am not sure. They do not participate personally, of course.”

  “Amber Hawk,” I said. “I know she is one of those who led the conference, so Karina might be in on it.”

  “You don't know for sure,” Sam said. “Members of the Council don't always hire their own to do their work.”

  I nodded because he was right. Nothing was a sure thing. “There’s only one way to find out. We simply take Amber Hawk in and we ask her. Nicely, at first.”

  “What do you mean, take her in?” Sam asked. He sounded panicked for some reason.

  “You know, take her in. Kidnap her. Take her with us against her will.” Wasn’t that, you know, obvious?

  “No.” The finality of his voice made me laugh.

  “Excuse me?” He was probably just messing with me, though Sam wasn’t known to joke around.

  “No, you will not take her in.” Well, would you look at that…

  My expression changed immediately. “I already told you I will do anything necessary—” I started to say but he cut me off again.

  “Not her.”

  “Why not?” But why did I even bother to ask? It was right there, written in his light eyes, in the way sweat coated his forehead and the way his fist shook.

  “Amber is my daughter.” Of course.

  I sighed. Fucking complications.

  “Okay,” I said, pacing around the room. The picture of Amber’s face kept coming back in front of my eyes, and I kept pushing it away. She looked nothing like Sam. I wondered if she knew. She probably didn't. “Who else is in the real deal?”

  When he spoke next, he did so with a new energy. With relief. “Helen Wells, the shifter. Gin Thornton, a warlock and Drean, a fairy. They lead the conference each year.”

  “I thought you said five.”

  “Yes. Like I said, I just recently found about them, and I do not know who the fifth is. I suspect it is a Council member. He or she never showed at the conference before.”

  I knew the names he said, but I didn't know the sups or what they looked like. I prepared my note for Kyle. “How do you know?” I asked, because curiosity always got the best of me.

  “I keep track of my daughter. And that led me to it.”

  “But why haven't they come out to the rest yet?” If they had been gathering information for so long, they already knew the Council’s ways.

  “Because they do not have enough proof,” Sam said. “You must understand that in order to convince people—supernaturals who fear the Council for their lives—they need big things, something that leaves not even a thread of doubt. They need to see exactly what will become of us once the potion releases. And, even then, it will be hard to make them raise their voices, because they already know that they will be hunted and killed like animals once they do so.”

  “But we have to try.”

  “We need proof.” Sam nodded.

  “Then we’ll get proof! We will get all the proof they need,” I said, excitement boiling the blood inside of me.

  “It’s not that easy.”

  “No one said it was going to be easy. You start digging, we start digging, we get what we have together with what the five of them have, and those that are not convinced after that are no use to us anyway. We need strong minds. Determined people. If we’re going to have a chance. ” And I was right, it had to work. I refused to think that it wouldn't.

  “And then what?” Sam asked, but he was only thinking out loud.

  I answered anyway.

  “Then, we fight. We call out to all the supernaturals in the world, and we fight together against the Council.”

  “Star, you have no idea of the army they have—” Sam said, shaking his head, but I didn't let him finish.

  “And I don't have to,” I said. “Don't you realize what this means? If we can get enough proof, we will divide the Council members. They won’t be as strong as they are now. If we can bring at least half of the Council on our side, what do you think will happen?” I said, not even realizing that I had grabbed his shoulders, and I was shaking him. He looked afraid, yes, but a spark of excitement ignited in his eyes.

  “Yes…yes, that could actually work,” Sam said, almost reluctantly. “But the people…it’s the people that have to speak in order to convince those that are already suspicious. They will not tell the truth, even if they’ve seen something with their own eyes. They fear too much, Star.”

  “But that doesn’t mean we stop trying.”

  The people only needed one strong incentive. They were terrified, yes, because six people who’d tried to make a change had ended up dead, but that didn’t mean that they weren’t ready to take a risk. They would be if someone was first. They had to.

  “I need to know one thing for sure. Is there any way you can tell me, with a hundred percent certainty, that Samayan is not one of the SKO?”

  “No,” Sam said in the same second. “I am sure he is not.”

  “He’s the one who killed the sups.” It was pretty obvious, really.

  “And he blamed the Red Rebels for it. Everybody believed him.”

  I smiled as I thought of Miranda. “Not everybody. Not the people who’ve been with the Council for long enough.

  “Master Samayan knows that his people know, but he also knows that they are too scared to act,” Sam said, as if reading my mind.

  “And Vladimir is in on it with him.”
There was no doubt in my mind that Samayan wanted the same from me.

  It was exactly like I’d hoped and feared. Hoped, because if these things were true, then we could count on the help of Council members and their well-trained armies. Feared, because if Council members were brought to a point where they had no choice but to go behind Samayan’s back, then whatever he was doing aside from the potion, it was huge.

  “I don't think Master knows about the real SKO,” Sam said.

  “He doesn’t know. They’d all be dead by now if he did.” Sam pressed his lips together, but he knew I was right. “We need to start working right away. I’m going to find out what I can, get as much proof as I can and pay you guys a visit during your conference.” And if it looked anything like it did in my mind, it was going to be awesome.

  “No matter how many of them you gather, it will not be enough,” Sam said, shaking his head reluctantly. The fear in him was much stronger than the hope.

  “It will be,” I insisted because I couldn't afford to think that it wouldn't.

  “Nothing will be enough while Master is still alive,” he said, flinching. “He’s…changed. I don't know how but his energy is different. Stronger. The strongest I’ve ever felt about someone.” Sam looked up at me. “Stronger than you.”

  My turn to flinch.

  “Leave Samayan to me. I will deal with him personally.”

  But Sam laughed. I rolled my eyes because it was expected.

  “Master Samayan has been around for more years than you can count. And like I said, he has grown somehow. He is not the same anymore, Star.”

  “Nothing’s the same anymore, Uncle Sam. Because Samayan has never dealt with an Elemental before,” I said, and it was actually funny how confident I sounded. On the inside, fear was taking hold of my every cell. I was the only one who was strong enough to even make it in front of him alive. And since I had made it personal with the vampire, I took it upon myself to end him.

  Even if I failed, I would’ve still tried. It was the best I could offer the world, unfortunately.

  With a deep sigh, I straightened my shoulders. “There’s someone I need you to meet. Then, I’ll leave and you can start working.”

  “I already told you—” Sam started, shaking his head, but I didn't let him continue.

  “It’s a human. His name’s Kyle and I kinda…promised him that I would introduce you. You’re his hero or something. He’s into computers, kind of like you.” Exactly like him, actually.

  Sam raised his brow in confusion.

  “Uh, please?” I really didn’t want to disappoint Kyle, especially not when I wasn’t even going to kill Sam. “I really need him, Uncle Sam, and he won't come if he doesn’t meet you. He’s a great guy, really. You’ll love him.”

  Soon enough, he smiled and shook his head. “All right. But only him and that’s that. You don't tell anyone about this, Star.” It was a warning.

  “Of course not. You have my word.” I didn't intend to tell anyone, anyway. If information like this fell on the wrong ears by accident, it could cost us victory. I wasn’t about to risk that for anything.

  I quickly got my phone out of my pocket and dialed Kyle.

  “Meet me at the bookstore and come alone.” Arturo was going to hate this, but what else could I do? I waved for Sam to follow as I headed for the door.

  “Star,” he said, his voice low, extremely suspicious. It stopped me in my tracks. “You didn't ask me about Illyon. Not once.”

  I barely held a gasp. Shit. I’d messed up. If I hadn’t had the book, that would’ve been one of the first things I’d have asked Sam about. I got too caught up by emotions and made such an amateur mistake.

  “I heard about what happened at the Cathedral. The Bishop there was my old friend,” Sam continued.

  “Yes. I went there for Illyon, and I ended up killing Jespersen instead.” My voice was different. It was only a hope that he wouldn’t notice.

  “And the book?” Sam asked, raising a brow.

  “It wasn't there,” I said with a shrug. “They had moved it before I got there. It was a trap. Why do you ask?” And then, because of the damn curiosity: “What did they tell you?”

  “Nothing. Master Samayan said that the book was in safe hands. I was just making sure,” Sam said, but the suspicion in his eyes didn't clear.

  And for the life of me, I couldn’t find a reason to why Samayan would say that the book was in safe hands. Sure, that worked to my advantage, but knowing him, he probably had something in mind when he lied.

  The sun of gold pulsated against my chest as if it wanted to tell me something when I turned for the door again. Luckily, Sam didn't say anything else until we walked down to the bookstore and saw Kyle’s huge grin behind the glass door.

  4

  Kyle made a complete fool out of himself. He embarrassed even me! I swear I almost blushed at his reaction when he saw Sam.

  “Sir Belmont, Mr.…Samuel, Sir, it’s an honor, Sir…Mr. Samuel.”

  I mentally face-palmed myself. Hard.

  While Kyle got too close to Sam—way into the man’s personal space—I looked around the bookstore. The place looked exactly like I had left it four years ago. The reception desk, where I had been attacked for the first time in my life by a supernatural, made my arms break out in goosebumps. I’d wondered many times what my life would’ve been like if I'd have never come to Sam’s bookstore that day. If I hadn’t skipped school because I made an ass of myself in front of everyone by admitting that I had slept with that boy. James was his name. But I was just a kid back then. A naive kid who overthought too much for her own good, because if anything like that were to happen to me now, I would probably break the guy’s arm, leg, or even nose, and make him tell the truth in front of everyone—right before admitting that he was a bully.

  But even an Elemental couldn’t change the past. Probably.

  “Hello, Kyle,” Sam said as he casually took a step back. “I hear you like computers.”

  Their voices got lost quickly as my mind kept going back to everything that I talked about with Sam in his apartment, as much as I tried to leave it for later. Samayan’s face kept popping in front of my mind’s eye. He scared me, and I was mature enough to admit it—to myself. Because I believed Sam when he said that Samayan had changed. That his power had grown. The man was there at the Cathedral in New Mexico, without actually being there. It took a lot of power to be able to do that, power that nobody had that I knew of.

  “That program is crap. It won’t do you any good if it can’t even break through a high level protected fire wall,” Sam said, his voice slightly raised. Kyle had probably managed to piss him off already, but I gave them another few minutes as I made a quick call to Ella to tell her that I was bringing extra company. Two more rooms were needed for Kyle and Arturo.

  Also, I asked her to ask Jack to arrange a meeting with the Elders. Ugh. But it had to be done because I had refused their request to meet the morning after Aaron left with his father’s body for the Base. I gained time by promising to speak to them when I got back in Kentucky.

  I walked around the store for a few more minutes and listened to Kyle and Sam speak in a language I couldn’t understand. It was English all right, but the terms they used lost me from the beginning.

  “Time to go, buddy,” I said to Kyle when I ran out of patience, and he looked at me like a little boy who’s candy I just stole. “Uncle Sam, we need a way to communicate.”

  “Already set. Kris here will get in touch with me when you need me.”

  “Kyle…it’s, uh…it’s Kyle,” Kyle said halfheartedly but Sam didn’t even look at him. He continued to talk to me.

  “Remember everything we talked about. I’ll get to it right away and you should do the same.”

  “Will do,” I said with a nod and wanted to turn to the door, but he stopped me and surprised me by giving me a hug. I froze in place with my hands pinned to my sides. Sam quickly leaned back and smiled weakly.


  “Be careful,” he whispered. “He seems like a good boy. A lot to learn but he’ll get there.” He nodded at Kyle

  “Thank you, sir,” Kyle said. “Good day, sir, Mr. Belmont.”

  “It’s just Sam. Bye, Kris,” Sam said already turning his back on us.

  “It’s Kyle!” Kyle called back, but we were already out the door. “Fucking…fucking awesome! That guy…holy shit, that guy!” he exploded in the middle of the sidewalk. People were watching. Seriously. “Can you believe it? He taught me more in ten minutes than I’ve learned in the past two years!”

  “Good for you,” I mumbled, hoping he’d drop it already. He was being weird.

  “Don’t you know what this means?!” He was talking to himself because he never waited for my reply. “I can finally finish the greatest bug ever created! The greatest work of my life.”

  “Right.”

  “Thank you, man. Thanks so much!” He even hit me with his fist on my shoulder. I didn’t know whether to be offended by the fact that he really seemed to think of me as a dude. In the end, I just let it go. Kyle was weird. He was good at being weird. I’d let him keep being weird because maybe I liked him that way.

  We found Arturo sitting alone at Danny’s. I sat right across from him as my stomach growled angrily. I’d gone long enough without feeding it, it seemed.

  Arturo didn’t even look at me. Instead, he pretended to be interested in whatever Kyle was telling him about how freaking awesome Sam was. I was thankful for the complete silence while I ate.

  ***

  By the time we jumped out of the chopper in Kentucky, it was pitch black outside and my heartbeat had tripled. Jack waited for us. Kyle and Arturo looked completely out of place in the middle of the woods.

  Jack shamelessly kissed my cheek—and he made it wet intentionally— and gave me half a hug. I rolled my eyes, but instead of commenting, I introduced the guys. They barely even nodded at each other. Unbelievable.

  “How is he?” I asked Jack as we made our way to the Base. The question had been burning my tongue since I saw him. “Tell me the truth,” I added in a whisper.