Burn the Night

by Jocelynn Drake

  “They stopped at a biker bar,” I said slowly as the idea started to form. “Before coming into the area, they all stopped at a biker bar for a drink. The idea was to finalize their plan of attack and get a drink for courage. The only problem was that they got into an argument. Most of them drove off, swearing it was all nonsense and that they were going to leave the Daylight Coalition. The others continued to drink and then left the bar, where the two cars later crashed, which will explain their wounds.”

  Nicolai shook his head. “It all sounds a little thin, Mira.”

  “It works off a partial truth. They did stop in a bar before coming to Savannah and they did have a drink to work up their courage. I will just create the image of the fight, and those who died will be remembered as leaving the bar belligerent and determined to leave. It’s the best we have to work with at the moment.”

  “Yes, but who is to say that these six won’t return on another full moon with the intent of killing my people?” Barrett interjected. “I still do not support leaving them alive only to fight them again at a later date.”

  “I understand. I will insert a command deep in their subconscious. At different times during the next month, each one of them will become disillusioned with the coalition and leave it, claiming that it’s all nonsense. You will not have to fight these six men again.”

  Out of the corner of my eye I saw James slowly approaching. He had pulled his pants back on, but both his feet and his chest remained bare. His usually neat brown hair was ruffled and askew, while his ever-present gold-rimmed glasses remained missing. “Can you get any more information about their workings of their group out of them?” James asked.

  “I’ll see what I can get,” I said with a smile.

  “That still leaves us with a bigger problem of how they found out about the Savannah pack, how they knew where to attack, and are they planning attacks on other shifter packs around the country,” Barrett said, his frown growing deeper.

  “We have to take care of one problem at a time,” I said with a sigh.

  Danaus laid a reassuring hand on my shoulder. “And right now, we have a very large mess to clean up. I say that we take care of the dead and set up the crash scene with this group. Tomorrow, Barrett and Mira can meet to plan how they are going to strike back at the coalition.”

  Looking over my shoulder, I raised one of my eyebrows at Danaus. While his plan for the evening was sound, I couldn’t even begin to guess at how to handle the Daylight Coalition, though I had to admit that it had been building for some time. Until recently we were content to let the coalition fumble in the dark while making fools of themselves in front of the rest of humanity, which didn’t believe in vampires and werewolves. Now they were beginning to act, and if we weren’t careful, would take the lead when the Great Awakening finally arrived. Then they would be the ones to offer answers when mankind discovered that nightwalkers were real, and I didn’t want to worry about an overzealous, scared human trying to stake me on the street because of the Daylight Coalition.

  “Agreed,” Barrett reluctantly said, his hands falling limp at his sides in defeat. It was the best he could do tonight. For now, he had to be content that none of his people had been killed and that the attackers were going to be dealt with so they no longer endangered his people.

  “Regardless of what we discussed earlier,” Nicolai began, laying his right hand on Barrett’s shoulder, “I will remain behind if you request it. If the pack needs me . . .”

  “No,” Barrett replied with a shake of his head. “I am honored by your offer, but you have a new calling that is taking you away from us. You must go. With Mira’s help and the plans we set into motion, we will be safe. Just remember that you are always welcome in Savannah. This can always be your home.”

  “Thank you,” Nicolai said, releasing Barrett.

  I settled on the ground before the group of six men. We still had several hours before sunrise, but it would take a while to adjust the memories of all six and implant the kind of details needed so they believed what came to mind. In addition, the latent command for them to leave the coalition was even more difficult to accomplish. I was in for a very long night.

  Danaus knelt beside me, one hand resting against my back. “Do you need me for anything?”

  “No, you can’t help me. Could you please assist the pack with disposing of bodies? This is going to take me a while.”

  He gave a little snort as he pushed to his feet again. “Leave me with the dirty work,” he muttered.

  Dirty work, my ass. Digging around in the twisted minds of these six men was not how I was hoping to spend my evening, and it certainly wasn’t going to be enjoyable either.

  Six

  Barrett arrived at my town house a couple hours after sunset, giving me enough time to awaken for the night and join Danaus in the city. The lycanthrope alpha was dressed in slacks and a polo shirt, looking once again more like a respectable businessman than a blood-smeared killer.

  The shifter had not come alone. Standing behind him with a half-burned cigarette hanging from the corner of his mouth was Daniel Crowley. The detective was one of the few humans within the city of Savannah who was aware of the existence of nightwalkers and lycanthropes, as his sister-in-law was a member of the Savannah pack.

  Crowley had been kind enough to help me on a number of questionable police cases that raised more than a few eyebrows. He not only knew about our great secret, but helped to protect it. Yet, I was still more than a little surprised that Barrett had called him in for assistance. That is, unless some questions had been raised about our little two-car crash site, artfully created last night with ample alcohol and a handful of broken bodies who were raced to the hospital with hazy memories.

  “It’s good to see you Barrett,” I said as I motioned for both men to come in. “Daniel, this is a surprise,”

  “Drop the act, Mira,” the detective said, flicking the butt of the smoldering cigarette into the yard before stepping into my house. He frowned at Danaus, who was hovering just in the doorway that led into the living room. Danaus simply crossed his arms over his chest and said nothing. “After the fiasco with the dead senator’s daughter a few months back, I have to admit that I was hoping I wouldn’t encounter you two for a little bit longer. I guess my luck ran out.”

  “And here I was hoping this was a friendly visit. We don’t see each other often enough, Daniel. How are Anne and the girls?”

  “Wife and kids are perfectly fine; oblivious to the nightmare that has soaked into Savannah.”

  I shook my head as I ushered the two gentlemen down the hall to the small library on the left. “You’re always so chipper.” I leaned against the front of the desk while Barrett and Daniel settled in the two leather chairs before my desk. Danaus simply changed doorways to the library entrance. However, he was looking a little more relaxed with his hands shoved in the pockets of his dark blue jeans. I had called down to the Dark Room already, informing the other bartender that Danaus would not be making an appearance tonight. We had darker matters that needed to be handled, and I wanted the hunter on hand for counsel.

  “I’m assuming that Barrett has told you about what happened last night,” I began, turning my attention fully to the detective when everyone was settled.

  “I have the distinct impression that I am getting a cleaned-up version of what truly happened, but I also heard from my hysterical sister-in-law and brother,” he admitted, folding his hands over his stomach. “A group of men appeared in the woods with guns and started hunting people down like animals. This will not be tolerated within my district. I won’t have my sister-in-law terrified to go outside every full moon.”

  “Then you do have a full grasp of what is going on,” I said with a sigh. “What are we going to do about it?”

  “We need to know what they know,” Barrett said.

  “Last summer, your people were able to hack into their computer systems,” I reminded him. A Daylight Coalition member had come into m
y territory hunting me, and managed to successfully get a picture of me on a digital camera. As a favor, the lycanthropes had hacked their system and deleted the information for me. “You got some information from them. Could you do it again?”

  Barrett shook his head. “We monitored their system for a few months before they finally upgraded their security. We have not been able to get back in, and we’ve been reluctant to try for fear that they will be able to trace it back to us. Their secrets have been closed to us for months now.”

  “You never discovered anything on who their potential mole might be?” Danaus inquired from the entryway.

  “I’ve spoken with many different clans during the past several hours,” Barrett wearily admitted, rubbing the bridge of his nose with his thumb and index finger. “We weren’t the only ones attacked. The packs in St. Louis, Austin, and Denver were all hit. We were the only ones that didn’t sustain any casualties. However, members of the Daylight Coalition were killed in the various attacks. The bodies of the dead will never be found, but questions will be raised about the large number of men that have suddenly gone missing. The situation is quickly crumbling around us—the police are undoubtedly going to start looking into the disappearances.”

  “The lycanthropes will be in the clear during the next few weeks,” I ventured, “but when the moon is full again, people are going to trek out into the forests to see if there is a repeat of the same incident that led to the disappearance of so many hunters.”

  “Is there anything you can do?” Barrett asked. “Anything your people can do?”

  “Like adjusting memories?” I said, arching an eyebrow at him. “There are just too many. By now, news reports have hit the air. There are search parties trekking through forests and dogs sniffing the area. It’s too much. We would never be able to reach everyone.”

  “But you managed to cover up the naturi fiasco outside of London last summer, and the human sacrifices at Machu Picchu in the fall,” Danaus interjected, causing me to frown at him. It’s not that I didn’t seriously want to help Barrett. Hell, it was in the best interest of everyone that this was covered up and quickly forgotten about. Unfortunately, if they used the same numbers at the other locations as in Savannah, nearly eighty men had gone missing.

  “What about the coven?” Barrett asked.

  I shook my head as I folded my arms across my chest. I hated to admit it. “It takes them months to make a decision. They wouldn’t be able to help you. However, I can make some phone calls; reach out to the nightwalker keepers in St. Louis, Austin, and Denver. They can do some damage control as best as they possibly can if they haven’t started already. We need to take care of the problem at hand and deal with the Daylight Coalition directly. We need to know what they know and take away their information.”

  “We need a mole in the coalition,” Danaus said. He looked over and waved one hand at me. “Want to make a trip to Atlanta? I could get you past whatever security system they have on their headquarters, and you could slip by any humans wandering around the place.”

  “And what if their source happens to be another lycanthrope, nightwalker, or warlock?” I said. “My cloaking powers would be useless and we would be discovered. We would have no information and I’d be exposed to the group, assuming that they don’t know about me already.”

  “You think one of our own kind has turned on us?” Barrett snarled.

  “We already saw a werewolf and a witch traveling with a coalition member last summer,” I said, remembering back to the encounter Tristan and I had in a dark London alley just a few months earlier. “It stands to reason that someone has stepped forward to provide them with inside information. Otherwise, they would have never been able to attack four different locations so quickly.”

  No one said anything for several seconds. Then Daniel spoke, breaking the silence that had grown over the room. “So what you’re saying is that you need a human to infiltrate the coalition and report back.” It was an uncomfortable truth, but I had a feeling that both Barrett and Daniel had already come to that conclusion before coming to my town house. They were here simply to make sure that we didn’t have any other options before taking this very large and dangerous risk.

  I drew in a deep breath as I let my hands slip down to the edge of the desk. Staring down at the floor, I wished there were some other option, but if they had someone spying on us, then we definitely needed someone on the inside, spying on their activities.

  “A human would make the most sense,” I reluctantly conceded. “I could make some minor memory adjustments so that if a nightwalker or warlock read the human’s mind, plans for infiltration and betrayal would not be found. At least not right away. This would have to be a relatively short mission. Get in, get access to some basic information—such as the name of the betrayer—and then get out as quickly as possible.”

  “However,” Danaus said, “the person we get to do this needs to realize it is extremely dangerous. If they are discovered, it is inevitable that they will be killed for their efforts. I’ll volunteer for this. I can block my thoughts better than most, and after years of hunting nightwalkers, I think I can be a pretty convincing recruit for the coalition.”

  I smiled weakly over at him but shook my head. “I’m sure we all appreciate your offer, but if they have a warlock or a witch on hand, it’s likely they would be able to sense your powers. You’d be quickly labeled as one of the ‘others’ and they might not accept you. In addition, there is a chance they already know about me, and if that’s true, then it’s likely they know about you, considering our frequent association. It’s a wonderful offer and idea, but I don’t think it would work.”

  “Unfortunately, I have to agree with Mira,” Barrett said. “It’s known throughout all of Savannah that you’re not exactly human. If it’s common knowledge among our people, then we have to assume that the Daylight Coalition is aware of it as well. We need someone who is simply human.”

  “And that’s where I step in,” Daniel said with a heavy sigh. “I’m driving up to Atlanta tomorrow morning and renting an apartment. I’ve already told my wife that I’m going on an undercover assignment and that I’ll be out of communication for a while. I’ve taken some time off work and—”

  “Absolutely not!” I declared, springing to my feet. “This is nonsense. You are not to go anywhere near that damned headquarters.”

  “He’s our best and only option at this point,” Barrett patiently pointed out.

  “Daniel also has a wife and kids to think about,” I countered.

  “He’s also a trained cop. He knows how to handle himself in a dangerous situation,” Danaus said, earning a dark look from me. I wasn’t expecting him to immediately side with Barrett and the detective. “He knows the workings of the lycanthropes and enough about the nightwalkers to know what he was looking for once he got into the headquarters.”

  “It also doesn’t hurt that I genuinely dislike nightwalkers,” Daniel added, grinning up at me.

  I shook my head at the human, ignoring his teasing. “I don’t like this at all, Daniel. You’re taking a big risk. I know we would all greatly appreciate it, but with just a little more time we might be able to find someone else.” I jerked my head over to Danaus. “What about one of the hunters you trained for Themis? Are any of them loyal enough to you that they’d be willing to infiltrate the headquarters for us?”

  “Maybe, but I wouldn’t trust any of them to choose loyalty to me over loyalty to Ryan,” he said. “I don’t want to push my luck with the warlock now, considering we’re not exactly on speaking terms. He may not want to risk the secret, but I don’t want to imagine how he could potentially twist this situation to his advantage.”

  I sighed, pushing away from the desk, but there was no room for me to pace so I fell backward against the front of it, crossing my arms over my stomach. At that point I was willing to risk the life of a human I didn’t know just so I didn’t have to face the fact that Daniel really was our best choice.
He had an understanding of both the nightwalker and lycanthrope peoples. He was grumpy and cranky enough to convincingly appear to be a disgruntled human looking to exterminate the two races. If they did a background check, they would discover that he was a detective, and that would make sense, explaining how he knew about the lycanthropes and the nightwalkers. It all added up perfectly.

  “I hate this idea,” I admitted.

  “But . . .” Daniel prodded.

  “It’s the best one we’ve got, particularly since we’re short on time,” I continued. “We need to get this under control before the next full moon so the local packs can hunt and run without fear.”

  “Then I leave tomorrow,” he declared. “Barrett and I have already developed a reliable way to communicate that should be untraceable. Otherwise, I’ll be completely out of contact until I return to Savannah.”

  “And when you return, you will be under constant protection,” I proclaimed.

  “That’s ridiculous!” he snapped.

  I shoved away from the desk front and grabbed the arms of the chair where Daniel was seated, leaning in close enough for the tip of my nose to nearly touch the tip of his. “Is it? What if they find out you were a spy? What if they find out exactly who you are and where you live? Do you really know what you’re in for? If the Daylight Coalition discovers that you’re a spy, they will strike back at you. I can’t allow that. Lycanthropes will watch over you during the day and a contingent of nightwalkers will guard you by night until the Daylight Coalition has been permanently eliminated.”

  “Mira—” Daniel began, leaning back as far as he could so he could see me more clearly.

  I jerked my attention over to Barrett, who sat beside him. “Am I wrong?” I demanded.

  The Savannah pack alpha shook his head slowly. “No, you’re not.” Then, addressing the detective, he said, “We recognize the great risk you’ll be taking for both our peoples. You and your family will be watched over while you’re gone and following your return.”