Lack of sleep was eventually going to get to me.
I rested my forehead in my hands, the desktop hard beneath my elbows, and sighed.
Fae bells jangled at the front door and I sensed Olivia walking in. I raised my head and met her gaze.
“You look like crap.” Olivia pulled off her Mets jacket and tossed it on her desktop, right in the middle of the neon orange and green sticky notes.
“I bet Scott would like to see you try,” I said as I looked at her T-shirt.
SOME DAYS IT’S NOT EVEN WORTH
CHEWING THROUGH THE RESTRAINTS
A sly grin crept over Olivia’s face. “Wouldn’t you like to know.”
I leaned back in the chair. “Too much information.”
“Well, we both enjoy the struggle but you don’t want to hear about that.” She paused as if considering. “Or do you?”
I rolled my eyes.
“You need to get some rest, Nyx.” She walked around her desk and plopped into her own chair. “You’ve been putting in time all night and most of the days, too, ever since Rodán was turned.”
“Five days.” I let out a harsh breath. “And bad news in the city is getting worse by the hour.”
Olivia faced her monitor and started typing on the keypad. “What happened last night?”
“More of the same.” All of the blood and death was getting to me, too. “The Vampires in this city are getting out of control. They know our attention is divided and we can’t focus all our efforts on taking them down. It seems to get worse every day.”
She looked thoughtful. “What about Proctor whatshisname and that bunch he brought along?”
“Armand Despre probably thought he’d be able to take them all down on his own.” I rubbed my eyes again. “And the Vampires are proving him wrong.”
“You two make a hell of a team.” Olivia stared at her monitor and moved her hands over the keyboard as she spoke. “Ever since you wiped out that bunch at the church in New Jersey, you’ve taken down more Vampires than the rest of the Trackers put together.”
“I almost hate to admit it,” I said. “But he’s good, really good.”
Olivia looked at me and smirked. “I have a hard time believing you aren’t pulling your weight every night.”
I shrugged. Armand made sure I got my share of the “fun.” It irked me that he just watched while I cleaned up the last of whatever mess I was dealing with. At least he didn’t try to take over everything just to show how good he was.
And I had to admit, he was probably the best Tracker I’d ever seen—and a Proctor on top of it. Talk about hands-on management.
Olivia pulled up an online newspaper’s headlines. “This is sick,” she said.
I nodded. I didn’t want to believe what was happening. The city was in the grips of a panic with bodies turning up every day.
“Just like last fall.” Olivia scrolled through other newspapers as I looked at the monitors. “Wannabe Vamps are being blamed.” She glanced at me. “No one wants to hear the truth.”
I turned away from the headlines. “Would you believe it if you weren’t involved in the paranorm world?”
“Not a chance.” Olivia shook her head. “Speaking of unbelievers, I talked with Wysocki last night.”
I frowned. “She doesn’t get it? After the last time we dealt with Volod, you’d think a New York police captain would be a believer.”
“Oh, she gets it all right.” Olivia took out her XPhone and read through some notes she’d made. “She just can’t get anyone higher up to believe her.”
“We’ve got to find Volod.” I wished caffeine worked for me. I sure could’ve used a jolt. “Once again we didn’t get any info last night worth anything. Whatever his next step is, he is keeping it quiet. Too quiet.”
Olivia stopped flipping her pencil in the air and pointed it at me. “You know he’s coming after you, Nyx. He’s taken Rodán, he’s taken the council. He’s taking revenge on all of those who destroyed him.
“I think he plans to save you for last,” she added. “You need to be careful. You aren’t invincible and you have been bitten once. You probably shouldn’t even be here.”
“I can’t hide.” I sighed. “I’m being cautious and watchful. Volod won’t win, Olivia. He will not win. But thank you for your warning and for being such a good friend.”
Olivia resumed her pencil toss. “Oh, don’t go getting sappy on me, purple butt.”
The Fae bells at the front door did a gentle dance and tinkle, something that only happened when Megan, the new Witch Tracker, stopped by.
This time the pit bull Doppler, Bruce, and the falcon, Tate, weren’t with her.
“Hi, Megan.” It wasn’t hard to smile at the Witch. If I hadn’t seen her in action, I would have thought she was too sweet to be an effective Tracker. “What’s up?”
“If it isn’t Samantha Stevens,” Olivia said. “Do you sneeze when you wiggle your nose?”
“I need to talk with you, Nyx.” Megan parked herself in one of the two chairs in front of my desk, ignoring Olivia. Her shoulder-length blond hair swung forward. “I had a vision when I scried in my crystal this morning that involves you.”
“Okay.” I hated visions about me. I leaned forward, my forearms braced on my desktop. “What’s it about?”
She bit her lower lip as she folded her hands in her lap. “It was about a gift I thought of giving you the other day.”
“A gift?” I tilted my head to the side. “That’s what you scried about?”
She gave a single nod.
“What is it?” I replied.
“I’m going to give you the ability to read minds.”
“What?” As what she said hit me I shook my head. “No way. I don’t need or want that ability, and I don’t want any spells cast on me.”
She leaned forward, a look of utter seriousness on her face. “You are meant to have this gift, Nyx Ciar of the Drow. It might last twenty-four hours, a week, a month. But whatever the case, it will last as long as it is needed, and it may come and go.”
I raised my hands to ward her off. “No spells. Uh-uh.”
“You need to trust me, Nyx.” She spoke calmly, like a mother to her child. “As I told you, when I scry, I am never wrong.”
“Well, maybe this time you are wrong.” I stood up from behind my desk, afraid she was going to zap me with a spell before I could make my escape.
She got to her feet, too. Rather than a flowing dress like I was used to Witches wearing, she had on jeans, boat shoes, and a white-and-blue-striped blouse with a boat neckline. She was as fresh-faced and pretty as always.
“I can’t leave until you say yes.” There was a stubborn tilt to her chin that I hadn’t noticed before. “It’s important.”
When I glanced at Olivia she shrugged. “Go for it.”
“You’re not much help.” I turned to Megan again. “You’re sure I need this ability?”
She nodded. “Very.”
I let out a sigh, both nervous and resigned. “You promise this is temporary?
“Absolutely.” She gave a come closer gesture with her hand.
“I really don’t want to know what other people are thinking,” I said.
“You’ll appreciate it when the time comes.” She raised her hands as I reached her.
“I suppose it could be useful in learning what the enemy is thinking.” I furrowed my brow as I concentrated on what she wanted of me. “How difficult will it be to keep everyone else’s thoughts out of my head?”
“I don’t know,” she said. “I’ve never had this ability.”
I took a deep breath as I stood directly in front of her. “Have you ever done a spell to give it to anyone else?”
She took one of my hands. “No.”
If she hadn’t grabbed my hand at that moment I might have backed away. An electrical charge burst through my body.
I would have won any kind of tug-of-war match pulling my hand from hers, but I was afraid to me
ss up the spell she’d obviously started already.
“Close your eyes.” Her voice had lowered to a tenor; rather than the airiness that it usually had.
I took a deep breath and shut my eyes. My body filled with warmth, like a heated river of honey slowly traveling through my veins.
My ears began to burn and my head tingled. It was like something was waking up in my head.
Be still, Nyx. I heard Megan talking in my mind. I’m not finished yet.
The tingling in my head increased and I bit the inside of my cheek to calm down. I felt a change start to take hold of me.
When the warmth began to fade, I expected voices to bombard me.
“You’re crazy,” Olivia said. “Completely crazy to let a Witch do something like that.”
I looked at her. “Not crazy enough to let my boyfriend tie me up and stuff a gag in my mouth and leave me helplessly restrained while he goes out for Chinese food.”
Olivia raised her brows. “It worked.”
“What worked?” I said. “I can’t hear your thoughts.”
Sure you can. Olivia’s lips weren’t moving. You just did.
“Oh.” I blinked. “So you didn’t say the part about me being crazy out loud.”
“Nope.” Olivia shook her head. “But you really didn’t need to read my thoughts to know that.”
Was that Olivia’s evil cackle in my head?
I turned my attention to Megan. “I don’t hear anything coming from you.”
“That’s because I’m a Witch.” Megan released my hand and stepped back. “If I know what to look for, I can block it with another spell.”
“Lucky you.” I jerked my thumb in Olivia’s direction. “I keep hearing ball gags, restraints, and Scott from over there.”
Olivia loaded a rubber band. I caught the eraser before it could hit my forehead. She was a great shot, but fortunately I was faster.
“Armand needs me, so I’ve got to go.” Megan headed back to the door where the Fae chimes started dancing softly again. She grasped the door handle and looked over her shoulder at me. “Good luck to you,” she said right before she walked out the door.
The door didn’t shut, though. My Dragon came through. Colin looked at me and smiled.
So beautiful, came the thought as he walked toward me. My cheeks warmed. I felt more than heard a depth of affection for me that I hadn’t realized existed. It was amazing what he was thinking. He loved being with me. I felt like I was invading his privacy, but it was all so good from him.
I held up my hands. “Fair warning. The Witch just cast a spell on me so that I can hear everyone’s thoughts. At least I think everyone.”
“Doesn’t matter to me. I tell you that you’re beautiful all the time and how much I care for you.” Colin smiled as he reached me. “I have nothing to hide from you, Nyx. You don’t need to worry about me.”
“Are you sure it’s okay?” I tilted my head to look up at him.
He leaned down and brushed his lips over mine. “Yes.”
“I’ll try not to,” I said. “I just don’t know if I can stop it. Megan said I’ll pick something up with certain individuals but not all.”
“No worries,” he said, and then I realized his lips weren’t moving. Maybe you’ll start believing just how much I care for you.
Heat flushed through me again. Instead of answering I gave him a quick kiss.
“If you could only read my mind right now, Hot Stuff,” I said, “you would know the feeling’s mutual.”
“Come on.” He took my hand. “Let’s have lunch at my place. You know I make a great club sandwich.”
Olivia hit Colin right on the nose with a rubber band. “Enough mushy crap. You need to stop before I gag.”
“Do you have chips and Belgian beer?” I asked, ignoring my partner.
He grinned. “Barbecue and of course.”
I felt renewed energy.
“Let’s go.” He took my hand and we headed toward the door.
I looked over my shoulder at Olivia. “I’m betting he will remember the handcuffs tonight, and he’ll love it if you wear the leather panties.”
An eraser pinged off the open door as I ducked.
“You’d better stop reading my mind or I’ll kick your ass, Nyx Ciar,” she shouted after me as I laughed and fled with Colin.
TWENTY-TWO
Still holding my hand, Colin took us through the transference to his apartment door in Queens.
He let us both in then closed the door. Colin’s place was warm, comfortable, and welcoming and I loved it there.
In the kitchen he took out all of the ingredients for club sandwiches then handed me a beer. Normally my drink of choice was a vodka martini with three green olives, but not with Colin.
I tried not to hear his thoughts, but it was hard. Most of the time he thought about me, how much he loved being with me, having me with him. There were flashes about Volod and the battles he’d fought against Vampires since Rodán was taken.
“It’s getting worse.” I set my bottle down on the countertop as I watched him slice a tomato. “I don’t think we can do this on our own. We need help.”
“What did you have in mind?” Colin asked as he laid down strips of fried bacon over tomato.
I leaned back with my hands braced on the countertop behind me. “More Trackers, of course.” I tilted my head as I voiced thoughts I’d been having. “And I’m wondering about Drow. If my father would allow any of my people to come and fight.”
Colin raised his eyebrows as he finished a sandwich and put it on a plate. “What do you think he’ll say?”
“Honestly?” I sighed and tapped one toe on the kitchen tile. “I don’t know. Father will do just about anything for me, but I don’t know which side of ‘just about anything’ this falls on.”
“That’s a lot to ask of your people, who have nothing to do with the Earth Otherworld.” Colin stacked potato chips next to the sandwich then handed me the plate. “Fighting here would put not only his warriors at risk, but his people back at home as well. It would leave them with fewer reserves.”
With a frown I stopped tapping my toe. “I hadn’t thought about that.”
“On the other hand,” Colin said as he picked up his own sandwich, “if he has plenty of warriors to take on both tasks, then it can’t hurt to ask.”
I nodded. “He does and then some.”
We took our plates and bottles of beer to the kitchen nook table and settled into two of the wooden chairs parked around it.
I said, “Each day that goes by … I just can’t believe Rodán is gone. It seems more and more surreal. Like I’ll run into him at any moment and that everything will be like it used to be.”
Colin studied me with a thoughtful expression. “Obviously I didn’t know him as long or as well as you, but I find it pretty hard to believe, too. I liked him and respected him as our Proctor.”
I picked up my sandwich, looked at it, then back at Colin as I thought about what I was going to say. “I think someone needs to talk with the Great Guardian.”
He paused, then his words echoed what I heard him saying in his mind. “What about the Proctors?”
“Armand said that Rodán and Monique were the liaisons to the GG.” I squeezed my sandwich so hard a slice of tomato shot out onto my plate. “The Proctor Directorate never expected to lose them both before they could find a replacement for Monique. I don’t think there’s anyone else who can travel to Otherworld to the home of the Elves.”
Colin took a drink of his beer then set his bottle down. “Does your father speak with the Great Guardian?”
I gave him a rueful look. “I don’t think they’re necessarily on the best of terms. Father has never returned home in a good mood after a meeting with the GG.”
“And you’ve never been crazy about her.” Colin smiled back before taking a bite of his club sandwich.
“She drives me nuts.” I pushed my hand through my hair in a frustrated motion. “All of h
er riddles and the fact that she hasn’t gotten us the help we needed when we needed it …” I shook my head. “I’ve never met her, but as irreverent as I’ve been, I’m not sure what kind of welcome I would get. I might do more harm than good.”
Colin swallowed. Thanks to the Witch’s gift, I knew what he was going to say before he said it out loud. “If Armand is right, you might be the only one who can get an audience with her. With your father’s help.”
I looked up at the ceiling and groaned. “There has got to be someone else. Like someone with skills in diplomacy.”
He pointed a finger at me. “You have excellent diplomatic skills. Look how you handle Ice and Joshua. Not to mention Fere and Kelly. You treat everyone with respect and you smooth the waters when they need it. You keep everyone on track and professional. You have more than what it takes, Nyx.”
I didn’t need to read his thoughts to know that he meant what he said. I smiled. “Thanks.”
“Why don’t you finish that sandwich you’ve been playing with for the last five minutes,” he said.
I knew when to shut up and listen to an order, so I did just that.
It wasn’t easy, though. No matter how I tried not to, I could hear Colin’s thoughts. How much he enjoyed club sandwiches and beer. A brief memory of tracking with the new Witch Tracker last night along with the pit bull Shifter and the falcon. But mostly me.
His thoughts were warm, genuine, real. He wasn’t intentionally thinking them for me to hear. He meant them. How beautiful he thought I was and how much he cared for me … what he wanted to do with me.
Those thoughts kept my face warm.
As soon as we had cleaned the plates and put them away, Colin brought me into the circle of his arms. The kitchen light was bright and highlighted his long blond hair. His features were strong, masculine, but next to Rodán he was the most beautiful male specimen I had ever seen.
With my fingertip I traced the scaled serpent tattoo along his arm. It looked almost alive. Flames curled over Colin’s shoulder from the serpent’s mouth as it wound up and around his arm from his wrist to his shoulder. The tattoo almost looked like a living, breathing creature as it moved with the flex of his muscular arm.
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