Shadow Hunt

by Melissa F. Olson

  Chapter 40

  The moment the cars impacted, there was some part of my hindbrain that started doing my job. Camera phones, traffic cameras, witnesses . . .

  But like it or not, cleaning up a supernatural mess wasn’t currently my problem. The problem was surviving one.

  When I tumbled out of the back seat of the car, Jesse took my hand, and we dashed away into a crowd of onlookers. No one followed us. Aldric was too old, Roland was too injured, and the driver, as it turned out, was too dead. No one in the crowd was interested in pursuing people with at least one gun.

  A big part of me wanted to stay and fight, to hold my ground until Aldric was dead or at least really, really hurt. But for one thing, there were way too many witnesses, and for another, I had to get back to Shadow before the Luparii could. If Aldric gathered his wits enough to send his guy after Shadow, there was a possibility that she’d let herself be captured again, thinking it might save my life.

  The car accident was two and a half miles from Sunken City. At first, as we ran, I was looking for a cab, but traffic was picking up, and it was only going to get worse now that we’d blocked off a huge chunk of Pacific Ave.

  Then I figured we could just run the whole way there—I ran five miles, three days a week, so three wasn’t out of the question. But I got a stitch in my side, and my boots were hurting my feet, and at one point Jesse looked over his shoulder at me and skidded to a stop. “Scar? You okay?”

  “I’m great,” I said, breathing hard. “Let’s go get Shadow.”

  “We need a pit stop.” Jesse glanced around for a moment. There was a 7-Eleven on the west side of the street, and he walked me over there and went straight to a cooler of bottled water.

  “If you try to give me any fucking crackers, I’m going to feed them to you, and I don’t mean through your mouth,” I warned him.

  He flashed that heart-stopping smile at me, but it disappeared right away. “I want you to stay here,” he said, his eyes pleading. We were standing in the back of the store, away from the windows “The Luparii don’t know you’re here, and if they did, they wouldn’t attack you in the middle of a convenience store with video cameras. I’ll get Shadow and Astrid’s truck and come back for you.”

  I nodded. “Okay.” I pulled out the keys and handed them to him.

  He looked shocked. “Okay?”

  “Jesse, I’m exhausted, and I feel like crap, and we’ve got a long night of trying to stop the Wild Hunt ahead of us. Shadow trusts you. I trust you. So bring back my dog.”

  “I’m gonna tell her you called her that.” He leaned in and kissed me, hard and fast. “I’ll be right back.”

  “Be careful,” I yelled after him. I wasn’t too worried, though. When I’d expanded my radius back at Sunken City, I hadn’t felt any witches besides Aldric. Whoever he’d left behind was human, and Jesse could handle himself against a human.

  While I waited, I went to the counter with an armful of snacks and a new disposable cell phone, since mine had gone out the Mercedes window. As the clerk rang me up, I said bluntly, “Listen . . . my boyfriend went to change our tire, a couple of blocks away. Would you have somewhere I could sit down? I’m six weeks pregnant, and I feel like crap.”

  The clerk, a Middle Eastern woman in a hijab, glanced up from the register and really looked at me for the first time, taking in the scratches on my face and arms and my general air of exhaustion. Then she smiled and came out from around the counter with a folding chair and told me to help myself to a magazine.

  It took more than an hour, but finally Jesse returned, looking as tired as I felt. He entered the store alone, and I jumped up from my chair. “Is she—”

  His face broke into a smile. “We don’t have her little assistance cape, remember? She’s in the parking lot.”

  I practically ran for the door, yelling a thank-you in the general direction of the clerk.

  Shadow was waiting just on the other side of the glass, her breath creating a foggy spot. She backed up so I could come out, then reared up on her hind legs, rested her front paws on my shoulders, and began licking my cheek. She let out a soft, happy bark.

  I laughed and pushed her gently away. “I’ve never heard her do that,” Jesse said, sounding amazed.

  “That’s because the Luparii trained enthusiasm out of her,” I said, rubbing vigorously at Shadow’s neck. She dropped down to sniff all around me in a circle, and Jesse took the opportunity to step closer.

  “Are you okay?” he said, studying my face.

  “More or less.” I reached up and draped my arms around him, leaning some of my body weight on him. I closed my eyes. All I wanted was to fall asleep like this. Or at least have another serious make-out session.

  When she was satisfied that I was in one piece, Shadow sat down and looked up at us, head cocked to one side as if to say, “Now what?”

  “It’s time to go wake Dashiell,” I told her. First, though, I looked at Jesse. “What happened to the Luparii guy that Aldric left behind?”

  He snorted. “There was no guy. Aldric just said that to keep Shadow from coming after you.”

  God, he was a dick. “How’s Noah?”

  Jesse’s face lit up. “He’s great, actually. Sashi showed up around one.”

  “What? Really?”

  “Yup!” He told me about Sashi arriving at the hospital from Vegas. “She called while I was on my way back here with Shadow, and Noah is out of the woods. His ankle is broken, and he’s banged up, but the doctors are decreasing the sedatives. They think he might wake up as early as tonight. Your friend Sashi is really good.”

  I felt my whole body unknot a little. “We’re gonna have to figure out what to tell him.”

  “What did they want with you?” Jesse asked, meaning the Luparii. A couple of kids chose that moment to practically gallop past us in their rush to get into the 7-Eleven. I made a face.

  “Come on, let’s talk in the truck.”

  Shadow hopped into the back of the pickup, looking positively gleeful about getting to ride with the wind in her fur. I warned her to stay down so she didn’t draw attention, but we both knew I wasn’t going to enforce it. When I climbed into the passenger seat, I saw that Jesse had grabbed my vest, boots, and knife belt from Sunken City. “Yesssss,” I said out loud.

  Jesse drove, and we started the hour ride back toward Pasadena. It was already 4:30, and the sun would set at 7:36. Before I got sucked into the Wild Hunt situation, I called Molly and left a new voice mail telling her to still go to the hospital and keep an eye on Noah and Jesse’s parents, but with a different cover story. She would come up with something. Then I called Will and Kirsten and arranged to meet at Dashiell’s house at six. It was cutting it close, but we would need at least an hour to get up to Pasadena, and Jesse wanted to stop at his house for clothes—and, more importantly, lots and lots of weapons.

  On the way, I filled him in on everything I’d learned from Aldric. I debated not telling him about Aldric’s offer, but if the Luparii was after the baby, that was something Jesse needed to know. He was upset when he realized they’d pulled it out of his brain, but I told him we didn’t have time for his guilt hysterics, and that got him to smile.

  Jesse lived in a tiny apartment in the Echo Lake district. It was the kind of place you usually stayed in for just a year or two while you were figuring things out, but he’d had his lease forever. He found a parking spot on a side street and turned the truck off, pausing to look at me. “Do you want to come up?” he asked.

  There was an intensity to his tone that I didn’t understand right away, because I am naturally very dense.

  Then I got it.

  We didn’t really have time for . . . me to come up. But there was also a decent chance that one or both of us would die tonight, or that I’d be taken by force and shipped to France. So I didn’t overthink it. I just got out of the truck.

  Shadow came up to the apartment too—she didn’t really give us a choice in the matter—and made
her customary search for danger before she’d let me cross the threshold. Then she pointedly went into the living room, climbed on Jesse’s couch, and flopped over with her head in the direction of the front door. She made every effort to look asleep.

  I wanted to laugh, but I was too nervous. Wordlessly, Jesse took my hand and led me past the tiny kitchen and into the tiny bedroom. It was messy and unpretentious, just a box spring and mattress covered by a light quilt with a design like Spanish tiles. I’d seen into this room plenty of times from the hallway, but I’d never actually stepped inside. We’d been too busy being afraid of each other for that.

  Jesse closed the bedroom door and turned to me, resting his forehead on mine. “Scarlett,” he said, his face troubled. “When I was in the twisted slumber . . .”

  He seemed to choke on the words. I reached up and put my hands on either side of his face. “What?”

  “I saw you dead. It was . . . bad.”

  Ah. I was immune to the Luparii magic, but if it was as good as everyone seemed to think, what Jesse had experienced would have felt so much worse than a dream. “I’m right here.” I took his hands and put them on my waist so he could see. “I’m fine.”

  “I know, I just wanted to . . . it made me realize I . . .”

  I tilted my head up so I could kiss him. This time it was tentative and light, as though I was afraid to hurt him. Maybe I was.

  He was the one who broke the kiss, craning his head back to look at me without moving away. “Did you mean what you said on the phone?” he asked.

  “Yes.” I lifted my chin so I could look into his eyes. “I’m in love with you.”

  He grinned that thousand-watt smile that always made my insides melt. “Yeah?”

  “Yeah.”

  “I’m in love with you, too.”

  “I know.” Then I took a tiny step back, and my hand fluttered to my stomach. “But we’re going to need to work out some . . . logistics.” I chewed on my lip. “I’m keeping the baby.”

  His grin widened. “Good.”

  “Does that . . . bother you?”

  “Scarlett . . .” Slowly, he got down on his knees in front of me, lifting the hem of my shirt to uncover a few inches of my stomach. He kissed it, his warm lips making me shiver. “How many adventures have I followed you into?” he said into my skin.

  “A lot,” I admitted. “Although I’d classify most of them as ‘misadventures.’”

  “I wouldn’t.” He looked up at me with searching eyes. “Why do you think this would be different?” I caught my breath, unable to speak as he whispered, “I’d follow you anywhere.”

  That wasn’t enough, of course—not for a baby, but it was enough for today. My fingers tangled in his hair. I wanted to kiss him, but he didn’t get up. Instead, he kissed my stomach again and unbuttoned my jeans, pulling the zipper down with exquisite slowness. I knew I should tell him to hurry, we didn’t have time—but at the moment I didn’t care. We were stealing this time together, whether anyone else liked it or not.

  I sat down on the bed, and Jesse pulled off my jeans. Still kneeling, he pulled his shirt over his head, and I immediately ran my fingers over the muscles on his chest, making him shiver. He closed the distance between us and kissed me on the lips, his momentum carrying me back onto the bed.

  His tongue slid into my mouth like it’d been made specifically for this purpose, and there were suddenly so many things I wanted to do that I’d never been allowed, a bucket list that applied exclusively to Jesse’s body. I wanted to run my tongue along his collarbone, and trace my nails on his back. I wanted to bite the muscle in his shoulder and slide my hand into his pants until he cried out.

  So I did.

  I did all those things, mostly while I was still kissing him. And then he was lifting my shirt over my head and kissing the top of my breasts, and I really needed him to have more access, so I pulled the sports bra top over my head while he made appreciative noises, his fingers tracing the muscles along my sides.

  And then his mouth closed over my breast, and I was gone, gone, gone.

  Chapter 41

  I was late to my own war council. Embarrassing.

  I sort of expected the ride from Jesse’s apartment to Dashiell’s house in Pasadena to be embarrassing too, but it just . . . wasn’t. Whenever traffic allowed, Jesse would reach over and take my hand, and I caught him smiling randomly. I might have teased him about it, but I was doing the same thing. With Shadow in the truck bed, her tongue lolling out with great happiness, this was the most at peace I’d felt in . . . I didn’t know how long.

  At Dashiell’s, everyone was waiting for us. Kirsten and Will looked exhausted and impatient, and even the usually quiet Hayne seemed antsy. I had a terrible thought, and the first thing out of my mouth was, “Ophelia?”

  A tiny smile flickered across Kirsten’s face. “She’s safe,” she said shortly. “Abby took her out of town a few hours ago.”

  “I sent Cliff with them,” Hayne added.

  Cliff was one of Hayne’s daytime guys, and he’d accompanied me on my ill-fated trip to Vegas. I’d only seen him a couple of times since then, but I had to smile at the thought of the reserved ex-military bodyguard shepherding sharp-tongued Abby and a two-year-old on a road trip.

  “You’re late,” Kirsten said, looking annoyed.

  “Sorry,” I said, not meaning it. “Are Dashiell and Beatrice still downstairs?”

  “I moved them into Dashiell’s office,” Hayne said pointedly, “when you were late.”

  I refused to take the bait. “Okay, then.” I expanded my radius to include most of the mansion, feeling the two vampires wake up a few rooms away. “They’ll be here in a minute. Where’s Owen?”

  Kirsten’s face took on a certain stubborn look. “I sent him away, too.”

  “What?” Dashiell stood in the open doorway, dressed in his “daytime casual” clothes: jeans and a wrinkled white dress shirt. He looked aghast. The last he’d heard, Owen had just knocked on my door. “We could have used him!”

  “For bait?” Kirsten countered. “I won’t allow it. The poor kid has been through enough.”

  “We need fighters!” Dashiell argued. “And he’s certainly motivated, from what you’ve told me.”

  “His magic is basically useless for the near future, and I will not have you dangling him in front of the Luparii.” Kirsten crossed her arms. “He’s a witch, in my city, so he falls under my protection.”

  Dashiell grumbled a little, but he finally had to concede that Owen was Kirsten’s responsibility, not his.

  It took a while to bring Dashiell—and to some extent, the others—up to speed on the events of the day, from Owen’s story to Noah’s attack to Aldric’s attempt to kidnap me at Sunken City. I knew we were short on time, so I went through the story as quickly as I could. When I got to the part about Aldric taking me instead of killing me, Dashiell frowned. “Why would he need a null so badly?”

  “He must believe Scarlett can stop the Wild Hunt,” Will said thoughtfully.

  “It’s not just that,” I said, feeling suddenly nervous. Jesse squeezed my hand under the table, and I nodded at him and turned to face the others. “It’s because I’m pregnant.”

  The whole room seemed to go still. You know that expression “You could hear a pin drop”? I swear, if I’d had any bobby pins in my hair at that moment, I would have yanked one out and tossed it on the table in front of me.

  “That’s not possible,” Kirsten said, at the same moment Beatrice began, “Scarlett, honey, I think you’ve made a mistake.”

  “No mistake,” I told her. “Jameson is the father. Two nulls?”

  I wasn’t sure I’d ever seen Dashiell quite so shocked. He’s usually stone-faced about everything, even in my radius, but his whole face had gone slack. I admit, there was a tiny part of me that was finding this awesome.

  “This . . . this is what your trip was about?” he said in a slightly dazed voice.

  “Yes. I went to se
e Maven, the cardinal vampire in Colorado. I hoped she might know more about nulls because of her age, and I was right. She told me that the baby would grow up to be a powerful witch. Powerful enough to boost something called ley lines, which will boost all of magic.”

  Everyone glanced at Kirsten, who held out her empty hands. “Ley lines are where witch magic is strongest,” she confirmed, “but only one line even touches the LA area, and it’s not very strong.”

  Both Dashiell and Will started asking follow-up questions, but I said, “Look, guys, we can talk about what this might mean if we all live through the night. Bottom line?” I put a hand on my stomach. “This is my baby. Not a bargaining chip, not a hostage, and definitely not a threat to any of you. I’d like to make sure we’re all very clear on that.”

  My voice was mild, but I stared at them until, one by one, they all nodded. Even Dashiell, although of course he was last, just to be a dick. Only then did my shoulders relax, and I realized how tense I had been. “Meanwhile, the Wild Hunt is coming. What do we do?”

  “I’ve evacuated nine of my pack members,” Will began. “Leaving thirteen who will fight.”

  “There are a few dozen vampires whom I would trust to go into a battle,” Dashiell said. They both glanced at Kirsten, who looked uncertain.

  “We don’t have many witches with combat experience,” she explained. “Few of them are powerful enough, and those who are, mostly fear that power. I’ve sent nearly two hundred witches away, with their families. Of the ones who are left, I could count on maybe forty. They’re all on standby, but I’m not sure what to do with them.”

  That was nowhere near all the Old World members in Los Angeles, and I wondered about the rest. Did we just not trust them, or were they an actual threat? I knew there were plenty of backstabbing vampires who would be happy to see Dashiell lose power.

  Still, that was nearly a hundred people, all told, and the Luparii had between nineteen and twenty-one, depending on whether or not Killian’s and Sabine’s sleeping bags had been among those I’d counted at Sunken City.

  “I sort of have a plan,” I told them.