Blood Hunt (Codex Blair Book 2)

by Izzy Shows

  She nodded her head. “I was wondering when you were going to get to that,” she said. She raised a hand, showing me the ring containing a blue moonstone on one of her fingers. “I carry moonlight with me, and it affords me the protection to walk in the sun. It’s an expensive charm, only the elite are granted it. This vampire,” she said, nodding her head at the ashes, “was likely a newborn. They are not as sensitive to sunlight, able to walk in the early hours of dusk.

  My lips were set in a grim line as I nodded, taking in the information. So, it was possible for some vampires to walk in the light, Dudley would be capable of it, maybe a handful of the other vampires. It was the newborns that we had to worry about, though—older vampires wouldn’t have turned against Dudley and gone rogue. So, we had to be careful about dusk, and I could worry about the implications of older and more powerful daylight walking vampires later.

  “We should go. This is not a safe location to be having this conversation,” Carmen said.

  “I agree,” Finn said.

  “OK. We can go back to my place to have a nice chat about everything,” I said, rolling my eyes.

  15

  “I have to admit, I was not expecting that,” Finn said, sitting on my couch. He had one arm thrown over the side lazily, as if he owned the place. That I didn’t care about, if he wasn’t going to be the raging wanker he’d been so far since we’d started working on the case together. Who knew he could be so touchy about work?

  “I honestly can’t even say I’m surprised,” I said, relaxing into my chair. “Getting attacked is about par for the course when it comes to working a case.”

  “Really? It doesn’t throw you at all that you just killed a vampire?”

  I shrugged, noncommittal. “I told you, I did that once already this week. I think I get to be finished being surprised after the first one, and at least this one I didn’t have to char with my own magic,” I said. I was so grateful that the stakes did all the igniting and killing for me, all I had to do was say the magic words—hah—and they took care of it. No pulling fire from my soul and burning nerves throughout my arms to get the job done.

  He nodded as if he could possibly understand what any of that meant.

  He didn’t know how much it hurt, how much it took out of me, to use pure magic. He didn’t understand that it ripped me to pieces from the inside out, all he saw were the cool effects and the awesome job it did of taking care of things. And yeah, maybe if I was on the other side of it I would want a Wizard in my corner too.

  Hell, I’d love to have a Wizard in my corner right now. I wasn’t one, I practiced without any of the approved licences or whatever the Order gave you, and it was only a matter of time before they brought the hammer down on me and threw me in a dungeon. I was waiting for it to come down one of these days, and all I could hope for was that I would get to do enough good before it did.

  I didn’t think they were going to give me a pass, not if they figured out that I was the mage behind Tyburn Tree. I had no doubt that they’d be able to figure out the source of the power that had been used there, and I’d be sentenced to death for it. I wanted to get as much done, enjoy my new life as much as possible, before that day came.

  “So, should I be expecting that to just keeping happening for this case? Random attacks?” he said, a look of concern creasing his face.

  “You’re telling me that you’ve never been shot at in the line of duty, you’ve never had to worry about someone you’re trying to catch trying to get you first?” I asked him, lifting an eyebrow. I found that hard to believe.

  “No, I suppose you’re right…it just feels different.”

  “I’m sure it feels that way, but it isn’t. Only this time, it’s a little harder to make it out alive, especially if you’re alone.” I frowned, thinking about that. I couldn’t babysit Finn every time he went to investigate something, and there was no way that he would be able to hold his own against a vampire. He couldn’t carry stakes with him—and I wasn’t sure he’d be able to get a vampire down long enough to stake one. “So please don’t run around alone on this one. Take your team with you if I can’t come, OK?”

  “I’m not a child, Blair,” he said, glaring at me.

  “I know you aren’t, I didn’t say you were. I’m just saying, this is outside your normal shit. I don’t think a vampire is likely to attack you if you’re in a large enough group—they probably didn’t hesitate because we had Carmen with us—but they wouldn’t want to blow their cover with a group of humans. Just be careful.”

  I didn’t want anything to happen to him, didn’t want him caught in a situation where he wouldn’t be able to get out of. I was just as protective of him as he was of me.

  “All right, all right. You make sense,” he said, finally cracking a grin. “What about that girl you saved?”

  I stiffened. “What about her?”

  “We need to bring her in now, get her story about what happened. See if there was a similarity in the lead up at all.”

  “No, I’m not doing that to her,” I said, shaking my head. “I’m not subjecting her to some invasive line of questioning, she went through a lot. It isn’t fair.”

  “You know what else isn’t fair? There are vampires slaughtering my citizens, that isn’t bloody fair!” He was angry, but then so was I.

  “I never said it was!” I jumped to my feet, glaring at him with fists balled. “I didn’t make this happen, I didn’t set anyone loose, and I don’t see the point in forcing a girl to go through an unnecessary investigation. I can ask her anything you want me to, on my own, in this room.”

  “She’s not going to have anything to say that will help,” Carmen said, reminding me of her presence. I had forgotten she was in the room, she’d been so quiet standing in the corner.

  Finn apparently had done the same, jerking his head over to her with a surprised look. It took him a minute to regain his indignation.

  “Why is that the only thing you’re capable of contributing, to any conversation?”

  “Because it’s the answer to everything you’ve suggested. There was nothing helpful at the house or at the scene, and all this girl will be able to tell us is that she was approached in an alley or something of that sort, made to feel special, and then attacked.” She shrugged, clearly not insulted by anything he had said.

  He forced a breath of air out, staying silent for a moment. I assumed he was trying to keep himself under control.

  “I will settle for you talking to her,” he said, looking pointedly away from Carmen and at me.

  “Thank you.” I nodded. “I appreciate it.”

  “Perhaps it is time we leave,” Carmen said.

  “Yeah, I think that’s a good idea,” he said, standing up.

  I walked to the door and muttered the spell to take down the wards, holding it open for them. Carmen passed through with only a nod at me, but Finn stopped just in front of me.

  “Don’t hold anything back from me this time.”

  I winced, my gaze sliding away to the floor. “I won’t.”

  I was starting to fear what this case could do to our friendship.

  16

  I was curled up on the couch with a drink and an old tome on vampires in the medieval age. Finding lore on monsters is hard, you take what you can get, even when most of it sounds like a load of crap. Almost all of it. The job was to read all of it and try to pick out the parts that make sense, or might make sense anyway.

  Mercifully, my phone started vibrating on the coffee table just then, saving me from some of the most boring pages that had been put on this Earth. I grabbed it off the table and lifted it to my ear.

  “Sheach,” I said.

  “Ah, there’s that lovely voice I’ve been dreaming of.” Shawn’s voice came from the phone.

  I grinned. “Hello, Shawn.”

  “How has the day been treating you?”

  “Absolutely wretched. The case I’m working with Finn has been a bust so far and I’m reading a
dusty old book right now.” I was careful to avoid any references to the vampires we were hunting or the fact that my book had come straight out of medieval times and was fragile enough to terrify me while holding it. I didn’t want to break the damn thing.

  “Sounds like someone is in desperate need of rescuing?”

  “I wish, but this is an…important book, no matter how boring it is…” I sighed, letting my voice trail off. I wanted to see Shawn, I knew that. Never mind how awkward I’d been when I hadn’t figured out he was flirting with me—I’m honestly not used to the attention, my personality drives people away unless I’m faking—he was fun to hang around, and I wasn’t blind. The man was gorgeous. Tall, stocky and built, baby blues and cropped red hair. It was unfair how attractive he was.

  The problem was that it was dangerous hanging out with people who didn’t know what I was, the potential for a slip up was massive. Shawn was even harder than just being in a crowded bar, he knew that something was up and he had a bad habit of asking questions. I couldn’t even fault him for having questions, the guy had stitched me up on numerous occasions. I wanted to tell him at the same time that I knew it was a horrible idea to let another person in on this world.

  Once you know about it, it’s suddenly everywhere.

  “Did you hear me?” His question bringing me back to the real world.

  “Sorry, no, I spaced.”

  “Oof, that’s a hit for my ego,” he said, laughing.

  “No.” I dragged the word out, joining in the laughter. “I promise, it’s not a comment on you but on me.”

  “Ah, but now I have to vehemently disagree with you. I can’t possibly allow you to take fault.”

  “Does this kind of flattery usually work for you?” I asked, grinning.

  “All the time. Is it not working now?” I could almost hear the smile in his voice. “I’ll have to up my game. Which I could do if you allowed me to rescue you from your incredibly boring book.”

  “And if my book is more interesting than you?”

  “You wound me unnecessarily.”

  “I do, I do. But you make it easy.”

  “Then how about I make this easy for you. That book is putting mental stress upon you, so you obviously need a doctor’s…medical attention.” He practically purred the last two words and I felt my cheeks heat, and somehow that heat grew low in my belly as well.

  “Hard to argue with such a compelling argument,” I said, finally giving in. I put the drink on the coffee table and shut the book in my lap. “What did you have in mind?”

  17

  Have you ever been simultaneously relieved, comfortable, and somehow anxious? That’s the best way I can describe being in Shawn’s presence. It was so easy to be around him, to talk to him, but at the same time I was constantly worrying that I would say the wrong thing or slip up and make a reference to the secret life I was leading.

  How had my life even come to this kind of situation?

  I was strolling down the street with Shawn, a science fiction novel safely tucked into my messenger bag after I’d persuaded him to stop in a bookshop with me—I’d promised Fred I’d get him one, I’d just left out the imp part when convincing Shawn.

  “So, obligatory probing question for a topic you’ve never brought up—“ he started to ask.

  “One would think that if I’ve never brought something up, it would mean I didn’t want to discuss it,” I said, laughing. I didn’t know what he was about to ask, but I could only assume it didn’t have to do with why he was always stitching me up—that had been brought up a lot, although only by him.

  “Ah, ah, let me ask the question first, then you can tell me you don’t want to talk about it and I’ll leave well enough alone, OK?”

  “Fine, fine, ask your question.”

  “Where are you from?”

  I blinked, staring at him for a second before I laughed. “All over the place. I was a foster kid, so I grew up in different homes, in different locations. None stuck long enough for me to consider it a home, or a place I’d say I’m from.” I shrugged. It was something so basic, something I didn’t consider a part of me, that I didn’t have a problem talking about it.

  “OK, well, where were you born?”

  “Um…. Scotland, I think. Yeah, I’m sure it was Scotland. But that didn’t last long.”

  “Ooh, she’s Scottish. Good to know. That’s why you’re so independent.”

  “Haha. No, I’m independent because I have to be, my place of birth has nothing to do with it.”

  “Your genetics have a lot to do with it, though,” he said, pausing for a moment. “What do you mean, you have to be?” He tilted his head to the side.

  Another shrug from me. “I just do.”

  “Yes, but why do you feel like you have to?”

  “It’s not a feeling, Shawn, it’s a fact of life. I’ve never had anyone to look out for me, not even as a kid. I learned to look after myself. Why is it such a big deal?”

  “Because most kids had someone look after them at some point in their life,” he said softly. “No one?”

  “No,” I said. “And it’s not a big deal. They didn’t like me and I didn’t like them.”

  He frowned, which confused me. It was a simple answer, there wasn’t a lot to think about.

  “What? What’s got you frowning like that?” I said.

  “Well, it just doesn’t make sense.”

  “What doesn’t?” I rolled my eyes. “No one likes me, it’s old news.”

  “I like you,” he said, his voice husky. “I can’t imagine anyone not liking you, or wanting you to be safe and comfortable.”

  I blushed, looking away from him. I had no idea what to say to that, so I opted to keep my mouth shut for once.

  “Sorry, I didn’t mean to make it awkward. Anyway, I’m glad you had a roof over your head at least.”

  I turned back towards him and grimaced. “Most days,” I said before I could stop myself. My eyes widened, and I looked away from him again. What had possessed me to share that?

  “What?” His voice had sharpened, taken on a curter tone, and I winced automatically, withdrawing from him as if he were going to strike me. I knew he wasn’t, I knew it logically, but the topic…it just brought all those feelings back. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to snap,” he said, his fingers brushing against my hand. I tried not to tense up, but it happened anyway.

  I pulled in a breath and exhaled through my nose, forcing my shoulders down and looked back at him.

  “It’s no big deal. The past is in the past, I’m over it.”

  “You clearly aren’t. What did you mean?”

  I stared at him, debating yelling at him to get him to leave the topic alone, but I didn’t want to do that. I wasn’t mad at him for caring about what had happened to me, that would have been unfair. I was mad at myself for bringing it up, mad that it was something he had to care about now. I wasn’t fishing for sympathy, but I was suddenly afraid of being accused of that.

  “Blair? You can talk to me. But if you want to stop, that’s OK. I don’t want to push you,” he said.

  I let out another breath I hadn’t realised I was holding. “No, it’s fine, I’m fine.” Was I telling him that, or me? “Like I said, it’s not a big deal. Some of the homes weren’t as nice as the others, some of the parents weren’t as nice as the others. None of them did the best that they could have, none of them cared to.”

  “Did they hurt you?” His voice was so soft he was almost whispering, and I could see the horror in his eyes.

  My stomach lurched, and I knew I didn’t want to continue the conversation anymore, I just couldn’t stand for him to look at me that way.

  As if I was broken.

  “Let’s talk about something else,” I said, and I knew that would be answer enough for him. I saw the brief anger light up his eyes, not at me, I knew, but at the people who had hurt me. “Why do you even care? What’s going on here? We’ve only ever had surface conversations,
Shawn. Light. Easy. Why are you digging tonight?”

  He started, as if it was the most confusing question I’d ever asked. “I thought it was obvious. We’ve had surface conversations, just like you said. I like you, just as I said. I wanted to get to know you more.”

  I shook my head. “And that would make sense, except for the part where you’re overreacting.”

  “How am I overreacting to the information you just shared? I don’t want to get back into it if you don’t, but frankly, that pisses me the hell off. I wish I could find every one of them and make them understand how horrible their behaviour was. It’s not OK to treat a child like that, I’d be upset if that happened to anyone. But I’ve spent time with you, I want to spend more time with you, so I’m more upset than normal. I’ll admit that.”

  “OK, fine, I just…I think it’s a waste of energy, that’s all. Nothing’s going to change what happened.”

  He blew out a breath of air, shaking his head. “Yeah. Sure.”

  “So…new topic?” I offered him a weak smile.

  “Yeah, fantastic date on my end, huh?”

  “It’s not your fault I had a crap life, Shawn. But let’s talk about something a bit better, OK?”

  “Yeah, good idea,” he said, laughing. “Let’s see. Favourite colour?”

  “Purple,” I said without hesitating. “It’s the colour of royalty.”

  He laughed. “You would. Hmmm.”

  “Nah, uh, you don’t get to ask all the questions,” I said, interrupting him. “What’s yours?”

  “Silver.” He didn’t miss a beat either. “I’ve always like silver. Your hair’s almost that exact colour. How did you ever get hair like that?”

  I blushed, smiling down at the ground. “I don’t know, good genetics? It’s always been this colour.”