by Rye Brewer
When did it happen? When did I start caring so much about him?
“I’m all right,” he murmured—but he didn’t pull away. He let me hug him as long as I needed to. When I let go, I deliberately kept my eyes off the blood stains on the carpet. How much of them were mine?
Instead of looking over there, I looked at Genevieve. She sat straight upright, staring at the wall. Like a mannequin.
“What’s wrong with her?” I asked Allonic.
“She’s owned by a spiritwalker.”
I shuddered.
Not that she didn’t deserve it or anything, but I remembered how unpleasant that experience was and wouldn’t wish it on anyone else.
“So, she asked you to use a spiritwalker and you gave her one instead. Is that it?” Jonah sounded impressed.
“That’s it,” Allonic confirmed. He sounded so tired, so drained. How much had he been through?
Once again, I wanted to smack the hell out of Philippa for being the reason for it.
I was just about to ask what he planned to do with Genevieve when four thugs who reminded me of the one who attacked me barreled through the door. I lunged for the blade I had left on the table, while Jonah and Philippa bared their claws.
Genevieve’s voice rang through the room. “Did I tell you to come in and interrupt us?”
I looked in her direction.
So did Jonah and Philippa.
Genevieve was as still as ever. It was almost funny to see how fast the four big, tough, dangerous bodyguards tucked their tails between their legs.
One of them got up the nerve to say, “We—we thought—”
“Did I ask you to think?” she nearly shrieked. “Get out of here, and don’t come back until I call you.”
I was glad it wasn’t me she was talking to like that.
The four of them almost knocked each other down as they scrambled to leave the room.
When we were alone again, Jonah grinned at Allonic. “I know that wasn’t her.”
A lightbulb flashed on in my head. It was Allonic, speaking through the spiritwalker. Genevieve couldn’t control anything about herself. Half of me wanted to slap her just for fun.
Philippa went to Allonic—it took everything in me not to push her out of the way or step in front of him. “I’m so glad you’re okay,” she murmured.
It was the nicest I had ever seen her act.
He nodded but didn’t acknowledge what happened at Lucian’s. I probably would’ve done the same thing—who wanted to remember something like that?
“Why did she want you to come here?” Philippa asked with a glance over at Genevieve.
“You heard everything she said before she freed me?”
“Sure. She wants a spiritwalker.”
He looked at all of us. “She’s plotting for the takeover of one of the two New York clans. Yours, or the Carvers. It doesn’t matter to her which one her brother leads, so long as she remains in the area.” He took a deep breath. “It was she who plotted to contaminate the blood.”
“I knew it!” I shouted as I slammed my fist into my palm. I wanted to slam it into her face. All my assassin’s instincts came back, and I fantasized over all the ways I could destroy her. Or better yet, maybe I would sic Sara on her. Watching her sizzle might be a lot of fun.
Jonah had other things on his mind. “Who did it for her?”
“I’m sorry, but she wouldn’t say. I cannot use a spiritwalker to mine the memories of a host, or else I would. All she revealed was that her mole has disappeared. She has no idea what happened to the blood or who it infected.”
“Wonderful,” he spat. “Just fricking great. There goes our chance to know who fed from the contaminated bags.”
“Because that didn’t work the way she planned, she wants me to use a spiritwalker to take over Marcus instead.”
“Why him?” I asked.
Fine hairs stood up on the back of my neck when I heard his name. Old reflexes died hard.
“She wants him to try to kill Lucian and face the consequences, knocking him out of power and leaving an opening for her brother.”
“That’s… that’s amazing,” Philippa breathed.
“Yeah, I can actually get behind that,” Jonah agreed.
“You think this is a good thing?” Allonic asked.
“Yes! Only he’d have to go through with it.” Jonah and Philippa looked at each other, nodding.
Philippa added, “Yeah, and if Lucian is dead, that means Valerius might not need Vance anymore. This is perfect!”
“The idea was not to go through with the killing, but only to discredit Marcus.”
“You can still discredit him—just make sure it happens in front of witnesses,” Jonah replied.
“Wait a minute, wait a minute.” I held up my hands. “Look, nobody wants to see Marcus hang more than I do, and Lucian’s not exactly on my list of favorite people—he killed my stepfather, for one thing, and he took my mom away.” I didn’t look at Allonic when I added that last part—without the Fire, he would never have been born. “But this is sorta crazy, don’t you think? Genevieve’s a nut job, and I hope she can still hear me. Is she really someone whose plan you should be following? How would you even make something like this happen?”
Jonah was ready with an answer. “I could call an emergency League meeting. That would get them in the same room. Allonic could hide on one of the balconies above the Great Hall and control the spiritwalker from there.”
“What do we do with Genevieve while this is all happening? She would be missed from a meeting,” I pointed out.
He turned to Allonic. “Could you control two spiritwalkers at the same time?”
He looked pained. “I never have before. I don’t even know if it’s possible—I have never heard of a shade doing it successfully.”
“But you could try, right?” Jonah’s eyes glowed with a sort of feverish light like I had never seen before.
Allonic stiffened. He was becoming more uncomfortable. I couldn’t blame him—I wasn’t used to seeing Jonah push the way he was pushing my brother.
When he didn’t answer right away, I asked, “What aren’t you telling us?”
He looked more put-out than I had ever seen him, which was saying something. “There could be side effects,” Allonic said.
“Such as?”
He shook his head. “I’m not sure.”
And I wasn’t sure I bought that.
He looked like he knew pretty well what might happen but just didn’t want to say. Then again, if they were severe, he would’ve said so. This is what I told myself—maybe it was a rationalization, maybe not.
All I knew was, Jonah and Philippa were determined to see it through, and I could understand why getting Lucian out of the picture was so critical.
Jonah was completely single-minded. All he cared about was seeing Lucian dead.
I watched as he pulled out his phone and dialed a number, then set it to speaker. He held a finger to his lips—I could hardly breathe, much less speak.
I wished I could read his thoughts and see what he planned to do. Not like there was much time to make a plan. I was getting used to living on the edge of my seat.
“Hello?”
I knew that voice.
Cold, dismissive, and less-than-thrilled to hear from the son of his lifelong rival.
I was surprised he even answered.
“Lucian, this is Jonah Bourke. I just received some information that I know you and the rest of the League will want to see. I think an emergency meeting is in order.”
His eyes met mine, and I nodded firmly.
“Wait one minute. What is this information? Why should I go to the trouble of holding an emergency meeting?”
Jonah closed his eyes. “I have proof that Marcus Carver has been involved in a scheme to smuggle in contaminated blood and use it as a weapon.”
I was pretty sure we all held our breath as we waited for Lucian to process this.
Second
s ticked by, feeling like hours. Just when I thought I would scream, Lucian said, “Bring the proof to me now, so I can verify it before putting the rest of the League to the trouble of coming in for a meeting.”
We all shook our heads. It was obviously a trap.
Jonah wasn’t about to fall for it. “I don’t think so. This is pretty serious stuff. I would rather present it in front of the entire League. We’re all at risk here.”
Silence.
I could almost feel him seething on the other end of the line. He was like the ultimate chess master, plotting out his moves, trying to figure out what his opponent was planning to do.
And I thought Marcus was the king of plots.
“What is this proof of yours?” he asked. He didn’t sound very sure of himself, I thought.
“I have a witness.” Jonah paused for effect before adding, “A shade.”
“A shade? How would a shade have any information about what’s happening in our world?” Lucian roared.
I winced.
Had he made the connection between his missing shade—because he had to know by then that Allonic was gone—and what Jonah was saying?
“I can tell you everything when we’re together.”
“I need you to come in now. Right now. Immediately.”
“Negative.” Jonah glanced around the room. “Not until we’re all together.”
“You know I could force you to come in if I wanted to.” Lucian’s voice went cold. He wasn’t even trying to hide his threat.
Jonah’s posture changed. His back stiffened. His chin jutted out. “I know you could try. But you don’t know where I am at the moment. The fact is, I’m holding this witness hostage and can’t be seen with him. I will, however, bring him to the meeting—before the League.”
Silence again.
Lucian plotted his next move while my heart swelled with pride for Jonah. I knew he was tough, but I didn’t know until then how tough he could be.
“Fine,” Lucian snapped. “We’ll hold the meeting in forty-eight hours. That should give everyone time enough to get here. I can’t guarantee that this will be a full meeting, however—it’s still last-minute.”
“Understood,” Jonah agreed.
“I look forward to seeing what you plan to bring,” Lucian hissed before ending the call.
“I just bet you do,” Jonah murmured, staring down at the phone. “I’m looking forward to it, too.” He put the phone in his pocket and looked at Genevieve. “What do we do with her until then?”
The three of them talked it over while I hung back, watching Jonah.
I couldn’t take my eyes off him. I couldn’t even focus on what they were talking about. All I could do was stare at him in awe. There was something unbelievably hot about him taking charge the way he did, and talking back to Lucian.
He wouldn’t give an inch he wasn’t already prepared to give. I looked at him through new eyes and knew it was because of what happened back in his room—and on the roof of the hotel.
We were a different couple. No matter what happened, we would always be united by blood. And I would always love him.
What a joke, thinking I could take time away from him. I might as well try to go without one of my arms. He was part of me even before he saved my life with his blood.
Would things always be complicated? I hoped not, but didn’t expect anything different. We were complicated people. We lived complicated lives. I could deal with complicated.
It was the danger that worried me. Lucian was dangerous. The plan Jonah was hatching as I stood there watching him was dangerous.
And he was more precious to me than ever.
I hoped he knew what he was doing.
34
Jonah
“How many safe houses do you guys have?” Anissa asked, looking around. “I wish I had known this one existed before I ran off to Avellane.”
Philippa rolled her eyes.
All I said was, “We have a lot of places like this, all over. Wherever we spend time, there’s a safe house, just in case.”
“Why so close to Headquarters, though?” she asked, standing in the middle of the living room.
From the outside, it looked like one of the few remaining homes in the sparsely-populated area. Run-down, abandoned.
Inside was another story. It was furnished a lot like the penthouse, with comfortable seating and plenty of light and warmth. Nobody would know it as they walked past.
They also wouldn’t guess that we had a walk-in fridge in the basement stocked with blood.
“We like to be prepared. You never know when an ordinary meeting will run long,” I explained.
“Or when a fight will break out, and we need someplace to hide until things calm down,” Philippa added. “Remember the big fight—what was it, ten years ago? Fifteen?”
I grinned. “Twenty, and I was pretty sure a fistfight would break out.”
Anissa raised an eyebrow, so I explained.
“It was when a League position was up for grabs, and the heads of three of the clans jockeyed for it. I’ve never seen grown men act so much like hormonal little boys. I don’t think Gage and I had ever fought like that, even when we were kids back on the farm.”
Allonic rested in one of the chairs. He had the sort of fifty-yard stare men developed after they had been through a war.
It made me think back on some of the Carvers who had fought during our Great War, how they had never been the same.
What did Lucian do to him?
“You all right?” Anissa asked. She was almost overly solicitous, the way she had acted when Sara first escaped Marcus’s dungeon.
“I’ll be fine,” he assured her, but there was no smile on his face or in his voice.
I wasn’t sure that I believed him, and it was clear Anissa didn’t. For just a split second, I regretted asking him to do what we were asking him to do. It was a tall order.
I reminded myself that we didn’t have a choice; Lucian had to go. He knew about Genevieve’s plan to contaminate our blood and did nothing to stop her. He had torn our family apart for years. What else was he capable of?
“I think we should go down and check on our guest—she should be ready to talk soon.”
The four of us went down to the basement, where another one of our custom modifications held Genevieve. The ten-by-ten cell had bars made of silver. No way she could get out.
Sure enough, by the time we went down to the basement she was standing in the middle of the cell, glowering at us.
I looked her up and down. “You look better than you did when we first got here.”
She ignored that. “How dare you hold me hostage like this? I demand you release me this instant!”
The four of us took turns looking at each other. None of us said a word.
She turned on Allonic. “And you! I went out of my way to release you from that dungeon—knowing full well what Lucian’s wrath could be if he found out I was the one responsible—and this is how you repay me? By possessing me, by locking me up? I thought you kept your word!”
“You asked me for a spiritwalker.” It was all he said as he stared at her.
Genevieve’s pale, creamy skin turned an interesting shade of red as she glared back at him.
Anissa stepped in. “You have a hell of a lot of nerve, standing there, yelling at us to let you go like you’re the injured party! You were the one who sent the tainted blood to the Bourkes! And why? Because you’re not satisfied, living in Europe? You want to live here in the city? You want to feel important? You’re disgusting!”
I had to hold her back from approaching the bars—the silver wouldn’t hurt her, but Genevieve might if she got too close.
“You know nothing about it,” Genevieve sneered.
“I know everything! You don’t think he told us?” She gestured to Allonic. “How can you be so selfish? How can you hurt people without caring who gets hurt or what happens to them after you get what you want?”
&nb
sp; Genevieve’s face was a beautiful, blank mask. She clearly figured out there was no point in arguing and wouldn’t give us the satisfaction of taking the bait anymore.
“Forget this.” I looked at Allonic, who got the hint.
Seconds later, Genevieve’s posture changed. She developed that unfocused, dazed expression she had back at the hotel. The spiritwalker was doing its job.
Anissa slid her arm through the bars to hand Genevieve a phone.
Allonic made her dial her guys.
She raised the phone to her ear. “There’s to be an emergency League meeting in two days. Meet me at Headquarters by dusk, two nights from now.”
She hung up before they could ask any questions—we had already thought that part through. The less she said, the fewer chances of anybody knowing she wasn’t herself.
“Good job,” I muttered when she hung up.
“Now what?” Anissa asked. She was still staring at our prisoner, hating her with every ounce of passion she held.
“Now, we wait.”
“I can’t wait,” Philippa said, turning to me. She had acted sort of distracted since we left the hotel, like she was only partly with us.
I knew where the rest of her was without asking: back at the high-rise, in the vault.
She hadn’t been there in over a day, at least.
“I know,” I replied.
“I need to get back there.”
“I understand. Go. Do what you have to do.” It’s not like I could blame her. If Anissa’s body were possessed, I would watch over the body of the possessor like it was my job. They would never leave my sight.
Just as she was about to leave, I took her arm and held her back. “Don’t come to the meeting.”
Her eyes went wide—but, surprisingly, she didn’t argue or even ask why.
I didn’t want her around Vance or Valerius or whoever, and I would rather have her far away from any drama that might come up.
She nodded, glanced at Anissa and Allonic, and left.
35
Jonah