Rivers strode over to us, his lean body weaving through the crowd. When had that happened? When had everyone arrived?
Bane’s lips twitched. Smug bastard. He knew he could make the world melt away with a touch.
“Is everyone in position?” he asked Rivers, never taking his smoldering gaze off me.
Right now I didn’t need to feed, but damn, I wanted to.
“Yes,” Rivers said. “We have officers all around the room; they’re armed. Marika and her people are settling in the crowd to help defuse tension if need be.”
It was all we could do. If anyone kicked off, then we’d have to deal with it, but we were going to be speaking to the Sanguinata and the Lupin, and they were big on order, so here was to hoping that they kept their cool. If anyone was going to get difficult, it would be Langley and his MED buddies.
As if summoned by my thoughts, the Sanguinata entered The Deep led by Dorian, their self-proclaimed illustrious leader. He was dressed in a crimson silk shirt and smart black slacks. His hair was brushed back from his high forehead, nostrils slightly flared as if he’d just smelled something bad. Urgh. My hand already itched to slap him, and he hadn’t even opened his mouth to speak yet. He caught my eye and his lip curled slightly in a mocking smile. He inclined his head and arched a brow, and I swear I chucked up a little bit in my mouth.
The bloodsucking wanker took a step toward me, and Bane’s hand spread across my lower back, steadying and reassuring.
“Dorian, thank you for coming,” Bane said.
Rivers stepped up to my right and crossed his arms.
Dorian didn’t come any closer. “Well, color me intrigued. Look at all the nephs come out to play.” He raised his head and inhaled. “And humans too?” He arched a brow. “You’re providing snacks?”
My smile was saccharine. “If you want your snacks to stab you in the throat, then yeah, try your luck. All the humans here are trained in combat. They’re an extension of the MPD.”
Not Langley, of course. Everyone knew the MED head, and they wouldn’t dare harm him, not without risking epic repercussions. The man in question was already here, standing by the bar, whiskey in hand, stone-cold gaze scraping the floor. His lips were turned down, making it clear he was not happy to be here.
Dorian moved off with his lackeys but hovered close by, within earshot no doubt. Gregory, the leader of the Lupin pack, was next to saunter in. Unlike Dorian, who sent others into battle in his name, Gregory fought for the causes he believed in. After the Lupin’s assistance on our last scourge attack, which had turned out to be an ambush, I had a serious soft spot for the hairy wolf-man.
He cut his way through the crowd, past humans and Sanguinata, and made a beeline for me.
A smile crinkled his eyes. “It’s good to see you again, Harker.”
“You too, Gregory. Clothes suit you.”
Rivers made a choked sound. But Gregory was unperturbed.
He grinned. “And I can honestly say I believe that you’d look better without yours.”
Bane’s hand was still hovering on my back, and his fingers flexed against my flesh at Gregory’s words.
My neck heated, but I kept my composure and matched his grin. “Always the charmer.”
He gave me a mock bow.
“Thank you for coming at such short notice, Gregory.” Bane’s tone was deliberately polite.
If Gregory noticed the tepid tone, he didn’t show it. If anything, his smile widened. He jerked his chin up at Bane and then walked off toward the bar. Three Lupin I didn’t recognize trailed after him. Their gait was relaxed and loping, but it was a deception, because these loose-limbed creatures were killers in human skin. In fact, we were surrounded by killers. If things went sour … No. Not thinking about that.
“It’s time,” Bane said.
My stomach fluttered then did an acrobatic flip. “I’m ready.”
But I so wasn’t.
Rivers cleared a path to the bar, where a pedestal had been placed to accommodate me, and I took my spot. Damn, now I could see everyone. All the faces and eyes and shit. Focus on one thing, one point. One person. I found Ryker and Orin. Yeah, I’d alternate between the two. This could work.
“Hey!” Bane clapped his hands, his voice a boom.
The murmuring cut off and all eyes were on me. Shit. This was my cue. Bane and Rivers flanked me while Ryker and Orin stood at the head of the crowd, their expressions reassuring.
I licked my lips. “Thank you all for coming today. Some of you may have noticed a change in the atmosphere of Midnight over the past few weeks. You may have felt a dark presence, the feeling that something was coming?”
Silence.
I cleared my throat. “Okay, well something did come. Something entered our world two weeks ago, and we need your help to stop it.”
The silence that greeted me was loaded, but before anyone could exclaim or ask a question I launched into my mentally prepared speech, starting with Cassie’s infection and ending with the battle at the clifftop mansion. Ryker held my gaze throughout, his expression tight. He was nervous on my behalf, and the urge to protect him surged up, giving me confidence and making the words come smooth and easy.
Finally, everything they needed to know was out there, on the table. “So, we need your help. We need to find a way to stop the shades from taking hosts. We need your help to fight them.”
It was Langley who broke the crowd’s silence. “And you tell us this now?” He stepped forward, drink in hand. “Have you any idea how many fucking missing persons reports we’ve been flooded with? Do you realize how rammed the psych ward is with people complaining about hearing voices? Have you even the slightest inkling how many people suffering from anemia symptoms, with no actual iron deficiency, are in the hospital right now? And it’s all connected to the shit you brought into our world.”
My heart beat faster. This was to be expected, this outburst and the shit he was saying. We’d had no clue about the sick humans. “I’m sorry. I honestly thought we could contain the problem.”
Langley made a disgusted sound. “You shouldn’t have let them in. You had a choice and you made the wrong call. Fucking mystical daggers shouldn’t have chosen you. It’s you fucking supernaturals that have made Midnight hell.”
“Whoa!” Ava stepped forward. “If it wasn’t for the MPD most of us would have been killed by the rippers and suckers by now.”
Langley opened his mouth to argue, but Gregory butted in. “You have our help. Whatever you need. This affects us all. Midnight is our home, and we won’t have some fuckers tear it apart with a petty grudge against the winged. Trust me, if they wanted to go straight for the winged and be done with it, I’d step back and watch, but several of my Lupin have gone missing, and now I know who’s responsible. I will not stand by and let them get away with it.”
The knot of tension that had formed in my chest eased a bit. We had the Lupin on our side.
“Langley?” Bane asked. “Can we count on MED aid?”
Langley cursed under his breath. “Not like we have much choice. Humans are being targeted. We have to do something.” He shot me a lethal look.
I deserved it. This was on me, so I’d let him have this time to vent, but after today, if he said a negative word about it, I’d be delivering a smackdown.
I looked to Dorian. The Sanguinata were many, they were powerful if they chose to get off their arses and actually do something, and I was pretty sure that their stronghold contained a mini arsenal.
Dorian ran his tongue over his teeth. He was savoring the moment. Reveling in the attention. “You say the shades latch onto shadows? Human and neph?”
I nodded. “Yes. That seems to be how they infect their hosts.”
He smiled smugly. “Well then, the Sanguinata are immune to attack. We don’t have shadows.”
The crowd erupted into conversation. Bane clapped his hands again, calling for quiet, but my mind was reeling, making connections and churning up possibilities
.
Dorian shrugged. “I guess we’ll see you all when this is over.” He turned to leave.
“Wait!”
He paused and glanced over his shoulder. “What now? Are you going to beg?” He rolled his eyes. “Please don’t. It will ruin the dominatrix vision of you that I’ve developed for my viewing pleasure.”
Bane growled low and menacing, and Dorian’s eyes flared in panic.
I placed a hand on Bane’s shoulder, keeping my attention on Dorian. “No. No begging. Just a little insight. Tell me, what are you going to do once the shades have taken over all the humans in Midnight?”
Dorian blinked at me.
“You know, once your food supply and all the humans who are part of your House have been infected? What are you going to do for food?”
The realization was a ripple of emotions skating across Dorian’s face, and yeah, there was no stopping the stab of satisfaction that shot through me. I had him, and he knew it. He canted his head as if reconsidering. Like he actually had any other options.
“Of course the humans under our protection are important to us,” he said in a smooth and smarmy tone. “We have an obligation to them.” He gave me a closed-lipped smile. “We will do what we can for the humans. All humans under our protection will be offered sanctuary on Sanguinata grounds.”
“Like hell!” Ryker took the words right out of my mouth.
I crossed my arms. “You don’t exactly have a stellar track record when it comes to hospitality to humans. I doubt any human would like to play sippy cup to a Sanguinata.”
His eyes narrowed to slits. “Then what do you want?”
It was my turn to smile, but I gave him the full benefit of my even white teeth. “I want you to lend us soldiers. We need boots on the ground, and you have plenty to spare.”
He sighed. “Very well. You will have your men. But how will that prevent these shades from infecting humans? What are you going to do about that?”
It wouldn’t, but my subconscious had found a possible solution. “We need to give the humans and other nephs the same advantage as the Sanguinata. We need to find a way to get rid of our shadows. Some arcane magic, some ritual, some spell—there has to be a way to strip us of our shadows.”
“That’s ridiculous!” Langley’s previously disgruntled expression was now incredulous. “You can’t strip people of their shadows. Shadows aren’t a thing you can take away. Shadows are cast when light falls on an object—in our case, moonlight.”
“I know how shadows are formed, Langley, and yet Sanguinata don’t cast them.” I arched a brow. “Which tells me there is more to shadows than we realize.”
He opened and closed his mouth a couple of times, then settled for curling his lip. Man, he really didn’t like me.
A low murmur flitted over the gathered. I looked for Marika, but she was whispering with one of her Order buddies. Was there a solution? I’d seen the shades latch on to humans’ shadows the day they’d poured into our world. The moon had been huge and bright that night. They’d merged into darkness and then been swallowed up somehow, becoming one with the human. This had to be their way in. If we could get rid of our shadows, then maybe we could stop the shades from gaining access to our bodies.
“Marika?” I waved to get her attention.
She looked up, a frown etched on her face.
“Is it possible? Do you think there’s a way to do that?”
Marika winced. “We’re still learning how to manipulate the arcane, and there is so much we still don’t know.”
“So … Not impossible, as far as you’re aware.”
“No. But … it’s a mighty long shot, and the texts we need are back at the Order.”
“Shit.”
She held up her hand. “Leave it to us. We’ll sort it. If it can be done, then we’ll find a way.”
It was a long shot, but the hope had given everyone a boost, and the conversation that broke out now was excited and optimistic.
“What about all the sick people?” Langley asked. “Could they all be infected?”
Shit. The ones in the psych ward probably were. “I’ll drop in at the hospital and check everyone out. If they are infected, then I’ll expel the shades.”
“Expel?” He made a disgusted face. “You need to kill them.”
“If I do that, then I’ll end up killing the human too. I explained that a few minutes ago.”
He scratched his forehead. “Fine. Just do what you have to do to fix this.”
Ryker and Orin moved off toward Gregory, probably to discuss strategy and manpower. Rivers made a beeline for Dorian, who was trying to make a hasty getaway. Bane held out his hand to help me off the platform.
Thank God the public speaking part was over.
“Marika is right. It is a long shot,” Bane said, his voice low.
“I know. But we have to try. What else can we do?”
He tucked in his chin. “I don’t know. Let’s hit the hospital and check out the humans there. Maybe we’ll get inspired.”
“I love your optimism.”
He responded with a snort.
Rivers joined us. “We should check out the hospital now.”
“Yeah, Bane just suggested that. We’re leaving in a minute.”
“I’m coming with you,” Rivers said. “Just spoke to Langley. The psych ward is bad, and if someone turns while you’re there, then you could do with the extra backup.”
That was fine by me. “Let’s get this done. Those poor people have suffered enough.”
Chapter 5
The human hospital was on the other side of town, about a mile and a half from the border to Sunset. Thank goodness the shades hadn’t invaded that district yet, but it was only a matter of time until they did. We needed to nip this in the bud before that could happen.
Bane drove with one hand on the wheel, his pose relaxed to the untrained eye, but the intensity of his expression and the tense thigh muscles spoke differently. It was weird, but the fact that he was stressing made me relax a little, as if by taking on the tension, he was relieving me of it.
Rivers sat in the backseat, his eyes on the road as it flew by. Silence reigned, and it should have been uncomfortable, except it wasn’t. Not with these two, who only spoke when they had something to say.
The building came into view, and Bane turned into the sloping car park. Rivers jumped out to get a ticket for the van.
“You haven’t fed for two weeks,” Bane said, surprising me with his soft tone.
I’d hoped he wouldn’t notice, then I could have pretended there was nothing wrong for a little while longer. But now that he’d mentioned it, it was impossible to ignore the itch of power under my skin. It was back again, even though I’d incinerated several shades less than twenty-four hours ago.
“I haven’t needed to.”
“Since when?”
“Since I unlocked this shade-killing power.” I winced. “It’s actually causing me a bit of discomfort.”
“Explain.”
“There’s too much power inside. Like, I can feel it growing and the only thing that helps is killing shades. I kill, and it relieves the pressure a little. But then it’s back a few hours later … I’m afraid of what will happen if I can’t kill enough shades to keep the power in control.” There, I’d said it.
His jaw flexed. “Why didn’t you say anything sooner?”
“I was hoping it would just resolve itself. Look, we have so much other shit to deal with I didn’t want to add to the pile, but it’s getting worse so … yeah, now you know.”
Bane sucked in his bottom lip. “Well, we best find you some shades to kill.” He glanced at the hospital. “Maybe we’ll get lucky.”
Hope swelled and then died when guilt stabbed at it. What was I thinking? My being able to kill a shade meant that a human had already lost its soul.
Bane held my gaze. “Shelve the guilt, Harker. You die and we’re all fucked. So, if it takes a human soul being devoured to
keep you alive, then so be it.”
Wow. Way to put things into perspective. But despite the rough tone, his words did take the edge off the guilt just a smidge.
“Thanks.”
Rivers rapped on the driver side window, and Bane rolled it down to take the ticket. It was time to do some clean-up.
***
“The MPD has no jurisdiction here.” The receptionist at the check-in desk looked like she’d just sucked on Lilith’s sour tits.
I had to give her credit though, because she didn’t even flinch under Bane’s fiery gaze. The woman was playing her role of gatekeeper well. The double-glazed reinforced doors to the psych ward lay to our left. No entry without being buzzed through from the inside, and to get buzzed through, this dragon had to call in using the shiny phone behind her.
“We’re here to help.” Bane bit out the words. “Call Langley at MED if you need confirmation.”
“I’m afraid the phones can’t be used to make outside calls.” She crossed her arms over her scrawny chest. “You’ll need to bring me a council order giving you access to the psych patients. Alternatively, you can—”
An alarm cut off her words, and a bulb fixed to the wall behind her flashed red. Screams filtered through the reinforced glass, and then the whole thing shuddered with the impact of something.
Rivers rushed to the door and peered through the round windows. “Fuck. Open the door, now!” His tone was a hot razor but still the woman faltered.
Fuck this. I pushed past her and grabbed the phone on the wall and pressed the buzzer. It rang and rang but no one answered. Meanwhile, the screams intensified.
“We need to get in there!” Rivers strode toward the woman, his face a chilly mask of threat. “There has to be an override switch out here somewhere. Show me, now!”
Another thud from beyond the doors coupled with the fact that Rivers looked like he was about to take chunks out of the woman had her scrambling for a keypad under her desk. She hit a sequence of buttons, and the doors made an audible click.
Bane yanked them open, and a body fell out. An orderly, if the uniform was anything to go by.
“Get back! Get out!” someone screamed.
Shades of Midnight_an Urban Fantasy novel Page 4