by Aliya DalRae
“Fine,” he said, and unwrapped the burger, waving it in front of her to get her attention. When she looked at him, Nox took a huge bite out of the burger, chewed and swallowed. She narrowed her eyes as he replaced the burger in its wrapper on the table, picked up another sandwich and repeated the process. He grabbed a handful of fries and stuffed them in his mouth, as he eyeballed the nuggets. To amuse himself, he took a small bite out of each nugget, throwing the rest back in the container. A huge slurp from the soda cup, (diet—ugh) was followed by a large swallow from the water jug. Nox wiped his hands on his jeans, and without another word, headed toward the door.
Asshole, he heard her thought, even though he wasn’t trying. What a hoot.
You have no idea, he thought back at her.
Because his back was to her, he failed to see the look of surprise that crossed her face as he mentally unlocked the door and let himself out.
Chapter Ninety-Nine
I scrubbed my face with both hands. Surely I had imagined that. I was certain he hadn’t spoken aloud, yet was equally as certain that he had responded to my unspoken curse.
Shaking my head, I chalked it up to stress and stretched to see what was on the table. My traitorous stomach was grumbling, and that burger smelled awful good. Still, I was leery. Nox hadn’t stuck around long enough to convince me the stuff wasn’t poisoned, and besides, he was a Vampire. It probably wouldn’t hurt him if it was. Nevertheless, I was starving and I might not be fed again.
I scooched to the edge of the mattress, glanced at the door to make sure he was really gone, and was at the table in two shakes. There was so much to choose from, but I grabbed the burger first. I had it to my mouth, ready to bite, when that companionable little voice in the back of my head (the real one, not the Nox voice) said, Vampire spit. Ugh. Well, I was just going to have to buck up. I turned the burger around and sunk my teeth into the side without the bite taken out of it.
I must have been hungrier than I thought. This burger was as good as a steak dinner and I ate it all, with the exception of the half-moon sliver with jailor-cooties on it. From there, I moved on to the chicken sandwich where I repeated the process, then turned my eyes to the nuggets. What was left of them, anyway, after Nox’s little demonstration. I managed to work around the Nox nibbles, then washed it all down with huge gulps of pop and water. When I slowed down to take a breath, I saw that I had demolished almost everything my captor had brought.
I smiled a little at the small pile of leftover scraps, before taking my full belly back to the mattress. I curled up in the corner, and waited for Nox’s next visit.
Chapter One Hundred
A fter leaving Jessica with her partially masticated fast food feast, Nox walked further into the bunker to check in with his ferals. He had them watching Jessica’s place on rotation, and shift change was about an hour ago. A group of local ferals that Father had recruited were sent to lurk around town, listening for word of Jessica’s disappearance. So far, nothing. Not even a whisper of her having gone missing.
Things weren’t progressing exactly as Father had hoped, but nothing was screaming, “Danger, Legion alert,” either. Nox left the barracks and headed to Father’s office to report, though he hesitated to disturb him. Father had a tendency to fly off the handle, and on more than one occasion Nox had seen the results of the male’s disappointment. Someone usually ended up paying in blood, or more.
Not that Nox was worried. They had an understanding, had indeed developed this parent/son relationship, albeit an admittedly disturbing one. At the man’s behest Nox referred to him as “Father,” but was under no illusions. Centuries spent as the Primeval’s captive had left him emotionally sterile.
Or so he thought.
Nox had reached Father’s office door, and stood before it, bracing himself for the ensuing conversation.
Having a father-figure, even one as terrifying as this one, had managed to form cracks in the stone of Nox’s heart. It had him doing things to earn the old man’s respect he hadn’t thought himself capable of.
And yet, he didn’t regret escaping the Primeval’s grasp. Breaking out of that joint was the best thing he’d ever done. Going from being some old fucker’s combo scientific experiment/play thing to some other old fucker’s weapon might not seem like a step up in the world, but he had to consider the others.
Since obtaining his freedom, Nox had become the de facto leader of a bunch of morally bereft ferals. They were crazy bastards to be sure, but they looked up to him, followed his every lead. Nox was certain many of the ferals, especially Father’s recruits, would as soon slit his throat for all he truly meant to them. Still, it was the closest thing to family he’d ever experienced.
Yet with Father, even though he knew the old man was using him as a means to an end, somehow it felt like more. Though he was no less abusive than the Primeval, somehow Father managed to exude a certain amount of concern for Nox, as though he truly cared.
Perhaps he was growing maudlin in his old age. Watching his brother with that hot piece of tail down the hall, as if they were in love, of all things. Well, it had to make a male wonder if he was missing out on something.
Nox shook his head, trying to beat these ridiculous thoughts from his mind. In truth, he wasn’t the settling kind. He was too old, too tired, too—damaged. The fact that he cared about that old man on the other side of the door, looked up to him? Nox questioned, and not for the first time, if he was grasping at air.
With a sigh, he lifted his hand to knock on the door, prepared to give his report to the man within.
Chapter
One Hundred One
I slept some, off and on, so I had no clue how much time had passed when Nox returned to retrieve my dinner trash. At least I thought that was why he had come. However, instead of cleaning up, he went straight for the chair again, planted himself on the cold, metal seat and stared at me, elbows on knees, chin in palms.
“What do you want?” I asked, glowering from my corner. This was my spot now, where I knew nothing could come at me from behind. Always keep your enemies in front of you, Sensei tells us, and you won’t be taken by surprise. Good advice, that.
He was looking at me funny, sort of like I was a geometry problem he hadn’t quite figured out. It wasn’t long before my brain started to itch.
“Stop it,” I grumbled, and he looked like the geometry problem had now taken a more dramatic turn. “What?”
“You know when I’m in there,” he said, tapping his temple. “When I’m searching your thoughts.”
“Yes, I know, and it itches. So I would appreciate it if you would ask me whatever it is you’re looking for, and give me the chance to answer instead of being a rude butt head.”
Nox chuckled, sitting back in his chair, still studying me. “Butt head,” he said. “American slang never fails to amuse me.”
“Happy to entertain,” I frowned. “So what were you after?”
Nox looked away. Whatever he was searching for must have been off-script.
“Nothing,” he said, pushing the chair back as he stood and paced the floor.
“You’re lying.” I drew my knees to my chest and wrapped my arms around them, tracking his back and forth action with my eyes.
Nox stopped in front of the mattress and dragged a hand through his hair, his actions so like his brother’s.
“I have so many questions. I’ve never been around someone like you. Most of the women I’ve been in contact with are either prostitutes or…”
“Dead?” I looked up at him and batted my eyes.
“That’s fair,” he said, pacing again. “Would you believe me if I told you I never wanted to harm those girls?”
“Nope. I saw you Nox. There is no way you could ever convince me that you didn’t enjoy every single second of what you were doing.”
The pacing stopped and Nox aimed a questioning glare at me. “No one saw me. I have powers beyond any Vampire that ever lived. I know for a fact that I was not
seen.”
“Well, your intel is lacking,” I said, “because I definitely saw you. You were dancing with Mandy at Good Times, seducing her with those stupid blue eyes of yours. Then you lured her into that alley, and, well, did stuff with her, right before you ripped her stomach open. You told her your name was Death.”
Nox was staring at me, lips pressed together, jaws clenching, but I didn’t leave it there. I was on my knees at the edge of the mattress, shaking as I looked up at the monster from my visions.
“With Heidi you pretended to be Raven. She thought you were her boyfriend’s partner, never dreaming you would hurt her like you did. You dragged her into the woods, and you murdered her exactly like you did Mandy, tearing at her with fangs and claws, ripping her, draining her blood. She asked you why, and you said it was who you are.”
I was on my feet, hands in tight fists, as I glared at the stunned Vampire before me.
“Yes, Nox, I saw it all. We can stand here all day long, but you’ll never convince me you didn’t enjoy yourself.
“You may not have been the original Rapist, Nox, but you had no problem whatsoever when it came to filling your brother’s empty shoes.”
Chapter
One Hundred Two
N ox could not wrap his brain around what he was hearing. He had been so certain, so careful, and yet she knew things no one could possibly know. Anyone who even suspected him would have only conjecture.
And if his crimes truly were witnessed? Forget the Legion. Father would have him flayed.
“It’s impossible,” he said. “You cannot possibly know how those women died.”
“Look into my head,” Jessica demanded. “You’ll see I’m telling you the truth.”
Nox hesitated. Reliving these particular events wasn’t high on his list of “fun things to do,” but he had to be sure. Swallowing his reservations, Nox reached for her, placed two fingers on her right temple. She flinched when he touched her, but held steady as he closed his eyes, and delved into her open mind.
And there it was. Right in front, as though she were holding it out for him to see. Everything he had done, only as seen from a bystander’s point of view. A witness’s. She had, indeed observed both murders, down to the most finite detail, and seeing it from this perspective had his stomach roiling again.
See? she whispered into his mind. I told you. I saw everything.
But How? He asked himself. His mind was in overdrive, trying to understand.
How do you think? she thought back to him. I have visions.
Wait—did she just answer his unspoken question? Nox jerked his hand away from her as though he’d touched a live wire. “Jessica?” If her expression were any indicator, she was as shocked by this non-verbal conversation as he was.
“Whoa,” she said, eyes wide. “What just happened?”
Nox took a stumbling step back, unable to look away from her. His talents were rare, being able to control anything with a brain, but never had he been able to have an actual conversation with someone mind to mind. Hear their thoughts? Sure, no problem, but he’d never met anyone who could hear his own.
He took another backward step, tripped over the metal chair, and made a hasty retreat toward the door.
“Wait,” Jessica cried behind him, but he didn’t. He was out of there in a blink. She was pounding on the door, and he could still hear her calling to him, her voice loud in his ears, and in his mind.
Nox had a feeling Father was not going to be pleased with this development. If she really could read his mind—Christ! When had it begun? And how much of the plan had she learned?
Which begged to question, should he tell Father at all? Or would it be better to spend some time with Jessica. Perhaps this was just an anomaly. No need to worry the man with conjecture.
And based on Father’s reaction when previous plans had gone awry? Nox was all about the wait and see.
Mind made up, he opened his mouth to holler at Jessica to stand back, but stopped. Might as well start the investigation now.
Jessica, he thought, feeling a bit like a fool. Move away from the door.
“Why?” she yelled back.
Because I’m coming in, and I don’t want to slam into you when I do, he thought.
“Fine,” he heard her mutter, followed by the sound of retreating footsteps. When he was certain she was out of the way he reentered the room, closed and locked the door, and turned to face her.
She was over by the mattress, pacing the length of it, and he let her have at it. After a few minutes she stopped and faced him, her hands on her hips, and her chin jutting up. It would have been more convincing if she hadn’t been shaking like a Chihuahua.
“What’s going on?” she demanded. “Why can I hear you in my…” she jabbed her finger at her temple.
“I don’t know,” Nox replied, “but we need to see what we can do.”
No, no, no, no, no. Her thoughts were clear in his mind. She wasn’t taking this any better than he was.
Relax, Nox thought to her. We’ll figure this out. He crossed the room to intercept her as she pivoted. She nearly ran into him and he grabbed her shoulders to stop her. She jerked out of his hold, stumbled and fell on the mattress, where she crab walked into her corner.
Get out of my head, get out of my head, get out of my head…
“Jessica,” Nox said aloud, reaching for her mind but keeping his distance. When she didn’t respond, he snapped her name again, “Jessica!” She jumped, rolled wild eyes up to look into his, and cringed further away from him, locking her arms around her knees and rocking, forward and back.
Nox watched her with narrowed eyes. What the hell was wrong with her? It wasn’t like he was thinking about—and he stopped himself, not sure if she was listening in. Gods, this could get complicated. Nevertheless, they weren’t going to get anywhere with her freaking out like this.
Slowly, Nox lowered himself onto the foot end of the mattress, as far from her as he could. He reached again for her mind, throwing a bit of his own personal juju at her, just a touch to calm her down.
“I told you, that itches,” she ground out through clenched teeth, but her breathing was slowing and the wild look about her became less frantic. “What are you doing to me?” she breathed.
“Just taking the edge off, love. We have some things to see about, you and me, and it’s not going to work with you going all buggy on me.”
“I’ve got this,” she said, glaring, “so you can stop with the woo woo.”
“Will you work with me, try and figure this out?”
Jessica was silent for so long that Nox thought she might not answer. When she did, he resisted the urge to grind his teeth.
“Yeah. Fine. But that doesn’t mean I trust you.”
“Of course not,” he said. “Wouldn’t dream of it.”
Chapter
One Hundred Three
R aven held the barbell above his head for another moment before dropping the weights onto the floor with a crash. In the last few days he’d been in the Club a lot, working off frustrations and, more importantly, keeping himself occupied so he didn’t chase after Jessica.
There had been several more conversations with Tas, who continued to remind him that pursuing her at this juncture would only serve to chase her further away. He had to let her work through her “feelings,” he reminded himself, giving the word mental air quotes and rolling this eyes. Maybe, but it wasn’t working for him at all.
Saturday night, Halloween, and Raven was chilling in the weight room alone. The rest of the Team would be out making sure the ferals weren’t posing as fake vampires in order to grab a snack out in the open. Nobody paid much attention to a blood covered mouth on All Hallows Eve.
Mason had taken him off rotation, not only because of the Nox thing, but also because the Jessica situation was messing with Raven’s head. His Warlord told him outright that he wouldn’t be worth dog shit in the field right now—especially on a night like tonight. Brother was
n’t wrong.
Raven bent down, took a wide grip on the barbell, and hefted the weight up and underneath his chin, pausing in the clean position. Next, he lunged back and pushed the load above his head, arms straight, as he brought his feet back together to complete the jerk. He was only lifting five hundred pounds or so, a light workout for any Vampire, but as he dropped the barbell again sweat dripped into his eyes. He’d done a lot of these today.
As much as he hated to admit it, Tas was right. Jessica had every reason to be upset with him, but still Raven didn’t understand what difference it made. She adored that damn cat, and yeah, it was probably a little off-putting to find out he was beyond sentient, but this was Jessica. All creatures created equal, and shit. On this issue, she would come around.
He reached down and picked up the barbell again, had it to his waist, when he heard his phone ring. Raven dropped the weights like a bad habit and dove for his bag and the phone inside.
It took a second to dig it out, and when he did, the damn thing was upside down. Righting it, Raven punched the screen and held the phone to his ear.
“Yeah,” he said, breathless.
“Raven?” she said, but it wasn’t Jessica’s voice on the line. He pulled the phone away, glanced at the readout, and with a frown put it back to his ear.
“Yeah, Piper, what’s up?”
“I’m sorry to bother you…” She hesitated and Raven mentally urged her to get on with it.
“Is Jessica still with you?” she said. “I mean, I know you guys have a lot to talk about, and I’m hoping since it’s been so long that means you’ve ironed things out, but I thought that Jessica would have called me by now, and she’s not answering her phone, and it’s Halloween and we always go out on Halloween, so I thought I would call you and make sure everything is…”