Darkness Clashes

by Susan Illene

  Nadine smiled at me as I stepped into the foyer. “Where’s your tag-along?”

  “Back at the house.” I only lived about a quarter-mile from Nik’s. Kerbasi usually came with me anyway, but thankfully the plane ride had worn him out.

  “Good. I hate dealing with that man.” She let out a sound of disgust.

  “You and me both.”

  At thirty years old Nadine was in her prime as a werewolf and the strongest female of her race I’d ever met. If not for Derrick, she could have been the alpha for Fairbanks. That wasn't to say she was big—her muscles were compact—but I'd trained with her once and discovered she could pack a punch that left my head spinning.

  “How’d the trip go?” she asked.

  “You were right. Zoe was there, but her supporters had already cleared out. They didn’t leave any evidence behind.” It wasn’t hard to inject disappointment into my voice. Whether Micah had been there or not, I would have loved to run into my father. Or rather, run a knife into his throat.

  Nadine leaned back, one foot propped against the wall. The posture should have looked relaxed, but with a woman dressed completely in black leather and steel-toed boots it somehow didn't give that impression.

  “You should let Derrick talk to her.”

  “Not happening.” I shook my head. “Zoe might be in chains, but she could still hurt him if he gets too close.”

  Nadine’s nostrils flared. She’d become a big supporter of Derrick’s since coming to Fairbanks. She might have helped me out with the Zoe tip, but I wasn’t ready to trust her.

  “So the alpha talks to her from the other side of the bars.” Nadine shrugged. “Easy fix.”

  “She could still compel him,” I argued.

  Special chains weakened Zoe’s powers, but she was over three thousand years old. Nothing short of me circling her with my blood would fully dampen her magic, but then that would negate the wards we had on her prison. Those were what kept her inside and unwanted guests out.

  Nadine sighed and pushed herself off the wall. “You’re making this too difficult.”

  I could say the same of her, but I didn’t want to argue about it anymore.

  “Is Nik up?” I asked. It might not be sunset yet, but it was close enough that most vamps would be stirring. As a master vampire he should have been awake for a couple of hours already.

  Annoyance flared in Nadine’s brown eyes. She waited a full minute before answering.

  “Yeah. He came through a little while ago with Josslyn for a morning meal. They’re back in their room now.”

  About half a dozen humans stayed in the house. They received a monthly stipend to provide blood for the vamps and do chores around the place. I didn’t like it, but Nik chose them carefully and only took the willing ones. Plus, if they decided to leave they could—after being compelled to forget about vampires.

  “Thanks.” I brushed by her and headed toward Nik’s private wing of the house.

  There was a long hallway with dark wood paneling that stretched from the foyer to his quarters at the end. I had to pass the kitchen, a surveillance room, and several doors I’d never seen opened to get there. My senses didn’t pick up any strong emotions along the way.

  That was good.

  Half the time when I arrived near sunset he and his paramour were going at it like rabbits. Josslyn might not be all that sociable with the rest of us, but she made up for it with the amount of attention she focused on Nik.

  I pounded hard on his door. It was heavy, with scrollwork carved into the dark wood. The rest of his quarters were soundproofed for privacy and there were wards in place to keep people out. They didn’t affect me, but I could feel a tingle from them.

  Nik pulled the door open a minute later and gave me a lazy smile. He wore a pair of dark pants and his black hair was combed from his face. I’d expected him to be tousled and nude. Maybe Josslyn wasn’t all bad if she could tame him this much.

  “Melena, come in,” he said, stepping back.

  I squeezed past him, entering the dimly-lit room. A four-poster bed rested against the back wall and other mahogany furniture surrounded it. I didn’t see his vampire lover, but the sound of running water coming from the bathroom confirmed what my senses already told me. She often fled there whenever I showed up, though I’d yet to figure out why.

  There were no windows in the room, but Nik had a comfortable sitting area at one end with oil paintings depicting ancient battle scenes hanging on the walls around it. I moved over and took a seat on one of the plush couches. The master vampire sprawled in a chair across from me.

  “How was your trip?” he asked.

  “It could have been better.” I shrugged and gave him the abbreviated version.

  “They can’t hide Micah forever.” He poured two glasses of wine and handed one to me. “You’ll find him.”

  I stared at the red liquid for a moment before taking a sip.

  “So what did you want to talk to me about?”

  His eyes darkened. “Derrick.”

  “I heard that much, but what’s the problem?”

  He emptied his glass and set it down. “He stopped drinking my blood.”

  “When?”

  “Soon after we captured Zoe.”

  I almost choked on my wine. “And you’re just now telling me this?”

  Drinking Nik’s blood made Derrick stronger and kept him from aging. He might have done it so he could live long enough to avenge his family, but I hadn’t expected him to give up so soon after finding their killers.

  “Have you ever wondered why werewolves don’t exchange blood with vampires very often?” He lifted a dark brow.

  “Because it tastes bad?” That had always been my excuse.

  “Ah, Melena.” He rubbed a hand across his chest. It was pale and lean, but muscular. “We both know that isn’t true.”

  I pulled my gaze back up to his face. “So why don’t they?”

  “A werewolf must give himself over fully to a powerful vampire for the process to work, ceding a certain amount of control in the bargain. It is also very intimate.” He gave me a knowing look.

  “Wait.” I leaned forward. “Are you saying you and Derrick had to…uh, get close for the bond to form?”

  “Something like that. And it must be renewed once a month—just after the full moon.” He leaned back and spread his legs apart.

  I looked away. Derrick had been bonded to the witch-vamp, Variola, for more than a century before I met him. I’d thought all he did was drink her blood. No wonder it took me months to convince him to bond with Nik.

  “Why didn’t you tell me about this before?”

  “Derrick asked me not to. He suspected you’d find the details rather disturbing.” Nik narrowed his gaze at me. “And that you might not see him the same way after that.”

  Very little shocked me anymore, but visuals of the two men together had me blushing.

  I rubbed my eyes. “I’m never going to get that picture out of my head.”

  “Do I need to call Lucas to take care of you?”

  I grabbed a pillow off the couch and tossed it at his head.

  “Very funny.”

  He caught it and set it aside. “I’m just making an observation. You seem a little too uptight for a woman who’s gotten her lover back in her life. I think Lucas needs to spend more time with you.”

  “That’s none of your business.” I drained the last of my wine. “So what does all this mean about the bond?”

  His smile slipped. “It means my hold on him has steadily weakened over the last few months. I can no longer control him or track his whereabouts.”

  “And you think he’s up to something?”

  “Tensions in his pack are rising. It’s been subtle so far, but I suspect it will get worse. You need to talk to him before I’m forced to take drastic measures.” His voice turned grave. “I’ll do whatever it takes to stop him.”

  When we got rid of Variola, Nik hadn’t wanted to let
Derrick stay in Fairbanks. I’d convinced him the alpha would be a good addition to his close circle once we’d won him over. It took time, but I’d thought things were going well until recently.

  “You know Derrick won’t talk to me right now,” I said, sighing.

  The bathroom door opened. Josslyn came out wearing a white silk bathrobe. She moved over to us and curled into a chair next to Nik, using a towel to dry her long chestnut hair. I could see why Nik was attracted to her. She was a beautiful woman with pale, delicate features. There was also a vulnerability about her that inspired protectiveness.

  “You must try to speak with Derrick,” she said in a soft voice. “Even if it means giving him what he wants.”

  This coming from a woman who’d been missing since the supernatural war. Josslyn had yet to tell any of us where she’d been for over three centuries before appearing at the fae city recently. Her behavior and the unusually low level of power she had for a vamp her age had led us to believe something bad had happened to her, but that was all we could figure out. She wouldn’t even explain it to Nik, who’d been her lover when she disappeared.

  “You know I can’t do that,” I answered.

  “It will get worse if you don’t. I fear…” She looked away.

  Nik took hold of her hand, rubbing it gently. Josslyn gave him a weak smile.

  “Either you fix this.” He leveled his gaze at me. “Or he will be given access to her.”

  My body tensed. Nik had been on my side about keeping Derrick from Zoe. Almost everyone had until recently. Now all it took was Josslyn to change his mind?

  “You can’t be serious.”

  “I’d prefer it didn’t come to that.” He glanced at the woman next to him, who’d made a sniffling sound. “Your reasons for keeping him from Zoe are valid, but Josslyn is also correct. He is a formidable man and one I’d rather keep at my side than fight.”

  “Fine.” I stood up. “I’ll figure out something, but he’s not going near that woman.”

  “Let’s hope not for his sake, but if this isn’t resolved soon I will take the choice from you.”

  I gave him a thunderous look. “No, you won’t.”

  “Don’t force the issue, Melena.”

  I could turn to Lucas—who was twice as old and powerful as Nik—for help, but that would create its own problems. He wouldn’t compromise at all and would probably just kill the alpha. I had to find a way to fix this myself.

  “Don’t back me into a corner, Nik. I will take care of it.”

  Chapter Eight

  “What do you think?” Felisha asked.

  I studied the massive floral arrangement the fairy had set up in the middle of her herb shop. It used to be a nice open space. Now a stone fountain sat there with orchids blooming in pots around it.

  “Are you asking as my boss or my friend?” I kept my expression blank.

  She lowered her head, causing her bright red hair to cover her face. “You don’t like it.”

  “It’s not that,” I said in a soothing voice. “It’s just that it takes up a lot of room. I’m worried a customer might trip over the, uh, display.”

  “I wanted to brighten the place up. It’s so dull in here.” She let her gaze run around the room—which had plenty of color already if you asked me. Wooden shelves filled with dried herbs and assorted spices tended to do that.

  Her green eyes filled with tears.

  “Well, let’s give it a shot. If it doesn’t work out, at least you know you tried.” I moved closer and put my arms around her.

  She buried her head in my shoulder and started sobbing. “Do you think he’s going to stay with her?”

  I patted her back. This was not the first time she’d asked since returning from the fae city. What did she expect? She’d clearly wanted Nik, but instead of going against her family’s wishes she’d chosen to get engaged to another fairy—one who turned out to be a traitor. Now Nik was with Josslyn.

  “Tell you what. Why don’t you go home and get some rest? I can handle things here for the rest of the day.”

  She pulled away. “Are you sure?”

  “Absolutely.” I gave her an encouraging smile.

  “Okay, just be sure to lock up before you leave.”

  “No problem.”

  She grabbed her purse from behind the counter and gave me a grateful look before leaving the store. As soon as she was gone I breathed a sigh of relief. It was bad enough I had the pressure of trying to get in touch with Derrick—who was avoiding my calls. Then I came to work and had to deal with this.

  Kerbasi stepped out of the back storage room. “Is she gone?”

  I nodded.

  “Good.” He strode forward and eyed the fountain with disgust. “Weepy women annoy me.”

  “Everything annoys you,” I pointed out.

  “Why would anyone want to put such a monstrosity in their place of business?” he asked.

  The fountain wasn’t ugly, but the stone turtle at the top with water pouring out of its mouth did seem kind of weird.

  “You’d have to ask Felisha,” I said, moving behind the counter to check over some paperwork she’d left strewn there.

  “She should have gotten one with a goose on it instead. Birds are far more fascinating than this strange thing.” He paced around it.

  I grabbed some cash out of my wallet. “Why don’t you go get some coffee?”

  The shop was only a couple of blocks away. Kerbasi could go there without reaching the end of our range from each other. It would also keep him occupied. He had a habit of studying all the available beverages there and asking questions about each of them—despite having visited the place a dozen times. The employees hated it, but it would give me peace and he’d hang around there for at least an hour or two. He enjoyed people-watching.

  Kerbasi folded the money neatly and put it in his shirt pocket. “Very well. I’ll go, but only because I’m bored.”

  “Don’t forget to put your glamour up first. I don’t want to see people running down the street and screaming like last time.”

  The guardian’s features were harsh enough to look intimidating, but it was his swirling silver eyes that freaked most humans out. Especially when he let them glow.

  Kerbasi huffed. “I was simply encouraging a moose to go elsewhere. The creature was staring at me strangely.”

  “Whatever.” I gave him a shooing motion. “Just go.”

  He shot a final look of contempt in my direction, then left.

  I headed for the back storage room and started sorting through the latest shipment that had arrived that morning. About an hour had passed when the bell attached to the front door jingled. My senses didn’t pick anything up, indicating a human. We didn’t get that many of them in the shop.

  “Can I help you?” I asked, wiping my hands off on my jeans.

  The man examined a selection of dried rosemary on the shelf with his back facing toward me. All I could make out was that he had a medium build and short black hair. Walking up to him, the scent of Armani Code cologne wafted over me.

  I almost jumped when he turned around. “O’Connell!”

  “Sanders, it’s good to see you,” he said, giving me a once-over.

  The last time we’d seen each other was when we were stationed in North Carolina.

  “What are you doing here?” I asked.

  “New job. The government sent me here.”

  He’d gotten out of the army about six months before me, but before that we’d been together in the same unit as interrogators. The black suit he wore made me think he hadn’t strayed too far from his old line of work.

  “What agency?”

  He let a smile play along his lips. “A branch of the Department of Homeland Security.”

  I wasn’t surprised. He’d often talked about getting a job that didn’t have all the military pomp and ceremony attached to it. Or the random times where the chain of command decided you had to drop whatever you were doing—no matter how import
ant—to go outside and pick up trash. It was their way of reminding you where you stood in the scheme of things.

  “Investigation?” I lifted a brow.

  “Yes.” O’Connell nodded. “Though this one has been particularly…difficult.”

  “Don’t suppose you can tell me what it’s about?”

  “I’m actually more curious as to what you’re doing here.” His brown eyes turned suspicious. “You were one of the best interrogators I’ve ever seen and now you’re working in an herb shop?”

  “Things change.” I shrugged. “After that near-death experience with the mortar attack I decided I wanted something different for my life.”

  It had happened while I was on an assignment in the Middle East. I’d nearly died, and there was still a scar on my side to prove it. The only reason I’d survived at all was Lucas showed up to shield me from the worst of the blast—though O’Connell wouldn’t know about that part.

  After that I’d left the military as soon as my contract ended. I’d wanted peace and a sense of normalcy. For about two years I’d gotten it, but then I’d come to Fairbanks to save a friend and ended up staying.

  “You didn’t seem like the type to hide from danger before. Are you sure you don’t miss it?” he asked.

  If only he knew how often I did get into danger.

  “This place works just fine for me.” I gave him my most convincing smile.

  “Well, if you change your mind.” He handed me a business card. “Call me. We could use someone with your unique skills.”

  “Unique?” I thumbed the card. “Interrogators aren’t that rare.”

  I’d been particularly good at my job thanks to my lie-detecting abilities, but I’d done my best not to use it to the point of arousing suspicion.

  He patted me on the arm. “Don’t sell yourself short. You got the truth out of more people than the rest of our team combined.”

  I kept my face blank. He was making me nervous and I just wanted him to leave.

  “Thanks.” I took a step back. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

  We shook hands and he headed for the door, but just before he opened it he stopped and turned around.