Darkness Clashes

by Susan Illene

  It couldn’t have been easy. Those had been guys he’d grown up with and trusted.

  Lucas started to say something else, but I put a hand on his shoulder. “Let him be. He’s been through enough.”

  He worked his jaw. “This has gone too far.”

  “I know.” I sighed. It hadn’t occurred to me they’d go after Hunter while he was at school or I might have insisted he stay home—Emily, too.

  Yvonne came in with a mug of herbal tea. It took some coaxing from Emily before he agreed to drink it—the pain from rapid healing could be rather intense. As soon as he finished, Nik helped him over to the couch and Felisha worked some fairy magic to soothe his nerves. He’d probably never been doted on so much in his life. At least not since he’d lost his mother.

  “We’ve got to get Emily and Hunter out of Fairbanks,” I said, addressing Lucas. “With us leaving for the ball in a couple days, we won’t be able to protect them here and we can’t risk taking them with us.”

  “I can still watch over them like we planned before,” Felisha offered. “I enjoy their company.”

  Emily gave the fairy a grateful smile before looking up at me. “I’d rather stay in Fairbanks, Mel. You can just check us out of school for a while until things cool off.”

  Nik’s cell phone rang. He glanced at the screen and his face darkened. “Hold that thought.”

  I gave him an inquiring look, but he shook his head and left the room. Smart man. I was going to listen in on the call if he stayed close by and I probably wasn’t the only one.

  “I’m with Em,” Hunter spoke up. The cuts and bruises were almost gone from his face. “If we stay away from school we’ll be fine.”

  “You can’t be sure of that,” I argued. “And Felisha’s place won’t be easy to defend.”

  “They wouldn’t attack me.” Felisha’s eyes rounded.

  “Your place won’t be safe either,” Nik announced, returning from his phone call.

  “Why not?” She stood up and glared at him defiantly. “Derrick wouldn’t let them hurt me.”

  His expression turned grim. “Perhaps not, but there are others who might. The alpha received a tip about an hour ago that two black SUVs visited the home of a family of pixies on the west side of Fairbanks. He checked it out, but they’re gone and lingering scents confirm their visitors were human. He’s got his pack out looking for the pixies now.”

  I knew that family. There weren’t many in the Fairbanks area and the only ones who lived on that side of town had moved there last year.

  “Derrick is attempting to win favor with your people,” Lucas observed. “If he finds them first it will make him appear the more capable leader.”

  Nik picked up the glass he’d been drinking from earlier and threw it against the wall. It shattered into tiny pieces that fell onto the floor. “And this is happening during the day when there is nothing I can do about it.”

  “Master, don’t let this get to you,” Kariann said, putting a hand on his back. “We need the werewolves out there looking for the missing family until we can join the search. Finding them quickly has to be the priority.”

  He shrugged her off. “Perhaps.”

  Josslyn came wandering into the room wearing a knee-length blue dress with a sweetheart neckline. She’d pulled her chestnut hair back into a bun, highlighting the hollows in her pale cheeks. I half-wondered if she’d been feeding enough.

  “What’s going on?” she asked, putting her arms around Nik.

  He stiffened, but didn’t pull away from her. “I’ll explain it to you later.”

  “Now she shows up,” Felisha muttered under her breath.

  I’d never heard the fairy say anything rude before, but her mood had definitely taken a jealous turn. Her eyes were practically shooting out green sparks and her fists were clenched tightly at her sides. This was the first time she’d seen Nik’s love interest since returning to Fairbanks.

  Josslyn gave her a hurt look before returning her attention to Nik. “Is there anything I can do?”

  “There may be something.” He extricated himself from her embrace. “We must call all our people in the Fairbanks area and warn them the government is rounding up supernaturals. Perhaps if they’re on guard they won’t be taken so easily.”

  “I can handle that,” Felisha volunteered, giving Nik a sweet smile. “Everyone knows and trusts me.”

  Josslyn winced. She’d practically hidden herself away since she arrived a few months ago. Most people had only seen her when she was with Nik and even then she didn’t talk much. Felisha, on the other hand, ran a shop that many sups visited on a regular basis. She would be the better candidate to make the calls, though that wasn’t the real point of her offer. This was the first time I’d ever seen the fairy do anything with malicious intent.

  The master vampire looked between the two women, indecision on his face. “Very well, perhaps Felisha should do that and Josslyn—you can join the search party when night falls.”

  “But Nik…” she looked at him desperately. “You know I’m not comfortable around other people. Isn’t there something I can do that doesn’t require me going out?”

  I tuned them out and looked at Lucas. “This confirms it. We’ve got to get Emily and Hunter out of town as soon as possible.”

  He nodded. “Juneau would be the best place for them. Fallon has the city well under control and he can keep them safe there. It will take me a few hours to manage, but I’ll have the plane here for them by nightfall.”

  Had Emily not been immune to magic, Lucas could have just flashed the teenagers away. It was one of the drawbacks to being a sensor—even if we wanted the magic to work it couldn’t. At least, not under normal circumstances.

  “Seriously, Mel.” Emily joined us. “You can’t leave us with stuffy old Fallon!”

  Fallon wasn’t the most exciting vampire in the world, but it wasn’t his fault he’d been stuck with Lucas since he’d been turned fifteen hundred years ago. At least he’d seemed to perk up some after taking over Juneau last year when the previous leader died. He wasn’t just following a powerful nephilim anymore, but leading a city—for however long Lucas decreed it.

  “Would you prefer to stay at my house in Siberia?” Lucas asked.

  Emily’s expression turned stricken.

  “When did you get a house in Siberia?” There was still so much I didn't know about him, and surprises like this popped up all the time.

  “A couple of centuries ago.” Lucas gave me a fathomless look. “It needs some repairs, but with Emily and Hunter there to help I’m certain it could be restored to its former state within a month or two.”

  “I don’t know if I get a say in any of this, but I’ve changed my vote to Juneau,” Hunter said from the couch.

  Lucas met the werewolf’s eyes. “Perhaps you are not as foolish as I thought.”

  Hunter ducked his head. Poor guy. Lucas never missed a chance to put him in his place and remind him he could put a stop to his relationship with Emily at any time if the werewolf made one wrong move. Not that I’d let him—unless it was justified.

  “Don’t be an ass.” I swatted his arm.

  He narrowed his eyes at me. “I am no such thing.”

  “Melena.” Nik beckoned me over. “I need you to get out there as soon as possible and search for the missing pixies. You’re the best chance they have for being found.”

  He was right and I did want to help.

  I glanced at Lucas. “You’ll take care of the teens?”

  “I must leave for now, but I’ll call as soon as I have an arrival time for the plane.”

  “You two go pack,” I ordered Emily and Hunter. “I’ll come get you when it’s time to go.”

  They didn’t waste time leaving. I had to hope they stuck with getting their things together and nothing else while alone at the house.

  “You shouldn’t go out alone,” Lucas said, hovering close to me.

  I patted him on his chest. “Don’t wor
ry about that. I’m going to swing by and pick up Cori from work. She can ride around with me.”

  “That is not comforting.” His brows drew together. “That woman has a dark side to her that disturbs me.”

  I snorted. “That’s rich coming from you.”

  “Be careful, sensor.” He pulled me into his arms and gave me a kiss. As soon as he let go, he nodded at the others and flashed away.

  “Thank you,” Nik said. “There is no one I trust more to handle this search.”

  Frustration emanated from the master vampire. It was still a few hours before sunset and other than me he was relying on werewolves who wanted to oust him from leadership to find his missing people. He’d look bad if the others found the pixies first. I might not be very happy with him, but for the moment our goals were in alignment.

  “If they’re anywhere close to the city, I’ll find them,” I promised.

  Chapter Eighteen

  “How did the search go?” Felisha asked when I came into work the next afternoon.

  I made my way around the fountain—still sitting in the middle of the shop—and joined her at the check-out counter. “No luck. We searched until dawn, but they’re not in the city or close to it.”

  I’d broken the area down into grids and went through each of them. The only times Cori and I had taken a break were when we dropped Hunter and Emily off at the airport and once to eat—after Kariann tracked us down and insisted. Immortal or not, my head had felt like it was going to explode by the end. I usually didn’t stretch my senses that far and hard for such a long period of time. It was easier to keep them muted.

  “Did Yvonne try a locating spell?”

  “Yeah,” I said, rubbing my face. “It didn’t help. Either they’ve got them somewhere far out of town or they’re blocking the spell somehow.”

  “That isn’t good.” Her brow creased. “They may target more of us.”

  “That’s what I’m worried about. I’m going to put a blood circle around your shop. At least if they come here they won’t be able to use any potions on you, but anyone who uses glamour will have to stay away for a few months.” A certain troll wasn’t going to be happy about that, but Bambi could come through the back door if she needed anything.

  The important thing was to protect Felisha when I couldn’t be around. The blood circle could give her a chance to get away without being hit with something that would incapacitate her. I would have taken care of her home, too, but I couldn’t afford to give up that much blood without a couple days’ break between places.

  “Thanks, Melena.” Relief filled her green eyes. “I may just sleep here tonight.”

  “That might not be a bad idea. So far they’ve been catching people in their homes rather than their places of business.”

  “Do you think they’ll target Nik’s home?” she asked.

  I thought about it for a minute. “It’s hard to say for sure, but I doubt they’d try it anytime soon. My guess is they’re scouting locations ahead of time and looking for the easiest targets. If they check his out, they’ll know he’s got people coming and going from there all the time. It’d be a big risk for them to attack.”

  Felisha curled her fingers. “I’d stay at his home if not for her.”

  I took a good look at her and noticed her looks weren’t quite as beautiful as they’d once been. For fairies, good acts improved their appearances, and bad ones made them worse. She’d always been breathtakingly gorgeous because of her good heart. Since the thing with Nik and Josslyn had happened, though, her looks were fading. I hated seeing what jealousy was doing to her.

  “Felisha, you’ve got to let it go.” I put a hand on her arm. “If Nik’s is the safest place to be, then go there and just stay on the other end of the house. Avoid her.”

  “I just can’t stand it. That woman is going to lead him to his death and he won’t listen to me.”

  I stiffened. She hadn’t spoken metaphorically, but as truth. Considering Felisha had “the sight” she could be quite serious.

  “What are you talking about?”

  “There’s darkness around her.” She looked down at her hands. “I don’t think she’d hurt him on purpose, but as long as she’s near him he’s in danger.”

  It felt as if the temperature in the room had dropped. Goosebumps ran across my skin and I could see Felisha’s body shaking.

  “Have you told Nik this?”

  Her lips trembled. “Yes, but he thinks I’m just being overly dramatic because of my feelings for him.”

  The bell over the shop door rang and we both jumped. I turned around and saw O’Connell. Because, naturally, nothing could make my day better than seeing him.

  He gave the room a once-over before bringing his attention to me. “Ms. Sanders, may I speak with you outside?”

  On second thought, I really did want to see him. He had those pixies stashed somewhere and I wanted to know where. I’d just have to be careful how I went about getting the information from him.

  “Sure, Agent O’Connell.” I flashed him a smile and followed him out.

  Kerbasi flashed from the back storage room—invisible—and joined us. There was a black SUV in the parking lot just across from the shop. It had a familiar bullet hole in the front. There were also three agents sitting inside of it and all of them looked alert—particularly as they watched me. It might have made me nervous if I thought they could do anything to me.

  O’Connell walked down the sidewalk, leading me past Cori’s tattoo parlor and on to the next storefront. Formerly a tobacco shop, it had closed six months ago and remained vacant ever since. The old guy who’d run it had passed away.

  We stopped and faced each other. O’Connell gave me a flat look and waves of displeasure flowed off of him.

  “I know you’re consorting with supernatural elements.”

  I couldn’t help it. I laughed. It had been one of those days—or rather weeks—when so much had happened that his accusation just didn’t surprise me the way it should have.

  “You’re joking, right?” I asked.

  “See?” Kerbasi whispered in my ear. “Even the humans have noticed the way you fornicate with that nephilim. It disgusts even them!”

  I resisted the urge to elbow him in the ribs.

  “This is serious, Sanders. We’ve watched you enough to know you are aware of their existence and have relationships with many of them.”

  “Relationships are one way of putting it,” Kerbasi remarked.

  I gritted my teeth. What kind of surveillance had they been using on me and for how long? While I tried to be careful in public, there were some things they could have picked up on if they’d watched closely enough. Until Monday, I hadn’t worried about the government spying on me.

  “Really? What do you think you know?”

  “I can’t tell you that right now.” O’Connell glanced at his cohorts in the SUV. “But if you’d be willing to talk further, we could do so in a more private setting on Monday.”

  Right. Because that wouldn’t be a trap or anything.

  “Why not now?” I lifted my brow.

  He shifted on his feet. “I’m leaving town for a few days and won’t be back until then.”

  “Where is it you want to meet?” Please let him give me an answer I could use to find the pixies.

  “I’ll call when I return and give you a place and time.” He glanced at the SUV again.

  Damn. He was really going to make this difficult.

  “And this isn’t a meeting to detain me or anything, right?”

  He met my gaze with an earnest expression. “Of course not. We wouldn’t hold you against your will.”

  His body language said he spoke the truth. My senses told me he lied.

  “Sure, I’ll come,” I said, matching him with another lie.

  Kerbasi snorted. “I wish you would.”

  “Excellent.” He nodded. “I think it’s time we got a few things out in the open between us.”

  O’C
onnell held out his hand. It took me a second to think about it, but I grasped his palm and shook it. No need to make him suspicious when I needed him to leave. I really wanted to know where he was going.

  “See you soon, Sanders.” He inclined his head.

  Then he ran back to the SUV at a dead sprint. If he wasn’t wearing a nice suit and fancy shoes I might not have thought much of it, but men dressed like that rarely ran. It stood out.

  Turning my head and pretending to cough I met Kerbasi’s eyes. “If you hop in that SUV right now—and don’t let them know you’re there—I’ll buy you any pair of shoes you want.”

  “How many?”

  “Just one. Don’t be greedy. I need to know where they’re going, but if I follow too closely they’ll notice. With you in the vehicle, I can fall back farther.” At this point, I was almost willing to beg. He was my best shot at figuring out where they were going since unlike the humans I could track him on my radar.

  “Very well. For one pair of shoes and a pizza for dinner tonight I’ll do it.” He lifted his brows.

  The SUV was already pulling out of the parking lot. “Fine. Just go. I’ll catch up.”

  “Remember I do this for the shoes. Not for you.”

  “Whatever helps you sleep at night,” I agreed.

  He flashed away.

  I took off for the herb shop to grab my purse and keys, giving Felisha the shortest explanation possible before dashing back out to my Jeep. This was my chance to find the pixies and I wasn’t giving it up.

  Chapter Nineteen

  The DHS agents led me to the general aviation side of the Fairbanks airport. I parked as close as I could get to them without drawing suspicion on the northeast end by the air campground. From my current vantage point it was hard see them well, but at least I had a decent view of the runway.

  Two of the guys walked toward a Twin Otter that had the pixie family inside the plane. The other two drove off with the SUV. No wonder O’Connell had been in such a hurry. He and his fellow agents had been rushing to get them out of town before we figured out where they were stashed.