Dayhunter

by Jocelynn Drake

  “Stop,” I said in a hoarse voice, struggling to release his hand.

  I felt Danaus hesitate, his hand still tightly gripping mine. His thoughts were a jumble, but I understood the feeling. Frustration. One order from him and I would torch every nightwalker on the island. He wouldn’t get another opportunity like this one.

  “Stop!” I cried, my voice cracking. I jerked my hand but couldn’t break Danaus’s grip. I was fighting the power burning in my body, trying to halt its progress as it raged through me.

  Angrily, Danaus released my hand and I dropped to my knees. He was breathing heavily, leaning on the steering wheel, but he looked to be in better shape than during our first attempt at this little trick.

  My bones ached and my muscles burned and throbbed with a pain that I was becoming well acquainted with. Yet it wasn’t as bad as earlier in the evening. I’d recover soon enough.

  “You would have been tempted too,” he breathlessly said, struggling to straighten.

  “But I wouldn’t do it,” I croaked, leaning against one of the seats in the boat. “We made a bargain.” I put my head down on the seat and closed my eyes, listening to the sound of the water hitting the side of the boat. “Don’t worry. You’ll get another shot at them, I promise.”

  Something had died inside of me, leaving a small, heavy corpse curled up in the pit of my stomach. I never had much respect for the Coven, but I’d always believed their ultimate goal was to protect my kind. I believed they would protect us all.

  Countless centuries ago the Coven had been created by Our Liege to help establish some kind of control over the growing number of nightwalkers that were filling the earth; to establish order in the chaos. Four ancient vampires were handpicked by Our Liege to hold court and pass judgment when Our Liege chose to be absent. During the centuries, Elders were killed in power struggles and evil schemes, but the feel of the court never changed. It was a place of horrors and dark fantasies. The Coven was about power and control.

  But in the end I also believed it was about the protection of our kind. The Coven was created to protect all nightwalkers as much as it was to protect humans. The naturi had slaughtered nightwalkers through history like animals. For nearly countless ages they hunted down and destroyed thousands of humans and vampires, believing both races to be a pestilence on the earth. Nightwalkers had sealed the naturi from this world, and we have protected that seal. Why would the Coven suddenly turn its back on that history?

  Danaus stared down at me, a look of surprise filling his blue eyes. “Let’s get out of here,” I whispered. “I’m running out of time.”

  With a nod, he started the speedboat again and turned us back toward Cipriani. I pulled myself up into the seat and stared up at the pale gray sky. Dawn was close. The night was drawing in its last gasping breaths, its weight pressing down on me as it if were my job to support its lifeless frame.

  “There’s a very specific reason why we chose Venice for the seat of the Coven,” I slowly began. “There are no naturi here. There never have been. Members of the water clan won’t even lurk in the canals. They call it the Dead City. I’m not sure why. I think one of their gods supposedly died here. They’ve never set foot in the city.”

  “Until now,” Danaus interjected.

  “Not only is a naturi deep in nightwalker territory, but it had to have been invited. All magically inclined creatures have to be invited onto the island.”

  “How do you know it’s not a prisoner?”

  “Because it wasn’t afraid or in pain,” I said. My bitterness left a nasty taste in the back of my throat. I didn’t know how I was sure of that fact. Something in me just knew it. When I sensed other creatures, I could get an emotional imprint. Something in me said I would have known if that naturi had been tortured or afraid for her life.

  I’d suspected that my kind had been betrayed somehow. During my travels the past few days, the naturi remained one step ahead of us, always knowing exactly where to find me. The only way they could have managed such a feat was if someone were informing them. I’d suspected it, but I didn’t believe I would actually be proven correct.

  Silence settled back between us as we entered Guidecca Canal and drew close to the hotel. The area was still empty of nightwalkers, and most humans nearby were sleeping. The only ones who were awake were members of the hotel staff—not that they couldn’t be servants of the Coven as well. I wasn’t worried. The Elders knew I had been out in the Lagoon, but they couldn’t know why.

  By the time Danaus was tying up the boat, I was struggling to keep my eyes open. I climbed onto the dock, lacking my usual grace. I was hanging onto consciousness by a thread. My body was sore, fighting every movement. Danaus tried to pick me up, but I growled at him, lurching away from his touch. I had enough strength left to drag myself into the hotel.

  “Promise me you won’t go near San Clemente during the day,” I mumbled as I entered the elevator. I leaned heavily against the wall, fighting to keep my eyes open. “They’ll know. You’ll put us all in danger. Just wait until sunset.”

  “But I—”

  “Just promise,” I snapped. “We’re in their domain. We have to play by their rules.”

  “I promise,” he grudgingly said, obviously less than thrilled with my request.

  “Wait. Wait for me. We’ll get them,” I whispered.

  The elevator doors slid open with a soft hiss and I lurched forward, hurrying into the suite. The sun was nearly up. I wasn’t going to be awake much longer, and if I wasn’t hidden, I’d be fried to a crisp. Throwing open the door to the master bedroom, I stumbled inside and slammed the door shut behind me. I didn’t bother to lock it. If Danaus or someone else wanted in while we slept, they would find a way in. The room was pitch-black, as the heavy curtains had been pulled across the windows. Sadira and Tristan lay stretched out on the bed, his arms wrapped around her. I tripped across the room and slid onto the king-size bed next to Tristan. Exhausted, I was drifting off to sleep when I felt Tristan roll over and wrap his arms around my waist. He snuggled close, his long body curving against mine. And then there was nothing.

  FIVE

  The fog lifted from my thoughts the next night and I returned to consciousness to find Tristan stretched out beside me on the bed. He was leaning on his elbow, his brown hair hanging down around his eyes as he watched me. A faint smile played on his pale pink lips, but his blue eyes were worried. He was afraid, and for good reason. We had survived the day but still had to face the Elders.

  Tristan lifted his hand to touch my cheek, but I jerked away from his fingertips and frowned. “I thought you might enjoy some company,” he said gently. His open hand remained hovering in the air near my cheek, waiting for my permission to resume its descent. For a second I honestly wished I could accept his proposition. The curtains were still drawn and the room was quiet as a marble mausoleum in February. But a few stolen moments of bliss in his arms wouldn’t chase away our fears regarding the Coven.

  “No,” I replied, though the word lay between us like a dead fish.

  Lowering his hand, he wrapped his long fingers around my wrist when I sat up. “I wanted to thank you…for what you said yesterday.” His words were hesitant. I understood what it cost him to say them. I remembered what it was like to be young and weak. You never wanted to feel as if you owed anyone anything. It gave them power over you, a little bit of leverage saved up for a special occasion.

  “I don’t want your thanks,” I grumbled. Rolling to my feet, I ran my fingers through my hair, pushing the long red locks from my face. I didn’t want his gratitude when we had yet to escape Venice. “Return to your mistress.”

  “She said that I am to see to your needs,” he said, lounging across the bed. I turned to look at him, but what I saw only deepened my frown. He lay bare-chested, a smile haunting his handsome features. His lower half was in a pair of leather pants, while his feet remained bare. Tristan was an enticing mix, naughty with just a dash of nice. He extended one hand
toward me, his gaze softening. He was hot, but I felt no real temptation. I was standing in Venice and was about to see the Coven, which had a naturi in their midst. There was no escape this time no matter how much I longed for it.

  “Get out of here, Tristan,” I sighed. “Tell the others I will be out in a few minutes.”

  I didn’t wait for him to rise, but grabbed my bag and stalked into the bathroom, slamming the door behind me. After a quick shower, I dug through my bag for some clean clothes, only to discover I was running low. I hadn’t thought to pack for more than a few days. I thought I would be handing this matter off to someone else not long after arriving in Egypt, not globe-hopping while I ran from the naturi.

  With a grimace, I finally settled on a black halter top. I pulled the black leather pants I had worn the previous day back on, but chose the leather boots with the three-inch heels. They weren’t great for fighting in, but the height would add to my presence. I was hoping to do more bluffing than actual fighting tonight.

  I brushed out my damp hair and piled it on the back of my head, holding it in place with a pair of silver clips. By pulling it back, it opened my peripheral vision and still gave me the appearance of sophistication and class. With one last look in the mirror, I stifled a sigh. I looked good, but I didn’t feel the confidence I needed to pull off this farce.

  Leaning forward, I gripped the cold black marble sink with both hands. How the hell was I supposed to do this? A naturi was waltzing around the home of the Coven, Jabari could control me like some weapon sent from Hell, and somehow I was slowly building a contingent of creatures dependent upon me to save their collective hides. Not only had I promised a vampire hunter that I would get him out of Venice alive, but it was also becoming clear that both Sadira and Tristan were expecting the same.

  I couldn’t beat the Coven. While I might be able to last a little bit, Jabari would pummel me into bloody paste eventually. My odds against Macaire or Elizabeth weren’t any better. How could I have been so careless as to promise to protect these poor creatures when I could barely protect myself?

  But the Coven had to be stopped. My fears in London had been confirmed with the appearance of the naturi in the Coven. Too often the naturi knew exactly where to find me. They knew how to track me when only the Coven should have known my ultimate destination. Someone within the Coven was trying to kill me, and that person was using the naturi as the assassin.

  A knock at the bathroom door shook me from my dark thoughts. I forced my fingers to release their grip on the sink and I straightened. “Come in.” My voice was firm and steady, though I didn’t feel it.

  The door swung open to reveal Danaus standing on the other side, his expression even darker than usual. He was back in his typical black shirt and black pants, but gone were his wrist guards, assortment of knives, and sword strapped to his back. In fact, he was completely unarmed. Of course, he could destroy us all without even lifting a finger, but there’s nothing like the feel of a trusted weapon in your hand.

  “Ready?” he inquired.

  “Would it make any difference if I said no?”

  “No.”

  “Then, yes, I’m ready. Can’t wait!” I said brightly, pasting an extremely fake-looking smile on my mouth.

  A sharp bark of laughter jumped from Danaus’s throat, surprising us both. I think the tension was getting to us. We were starting to crack. With a shake of my head and a wobbly smile, I stepped around him and started to walk through the bedroom when I felt a sudden sharp shift in his mood. In fact, the jump to violent anger and horror was so extreme that my fingers curled into claws and my lips pulled back, exposing sharp fangs. I twisted around, searching for our would-be attacker, but I found myself still alone with Danaus.

  “What?” I demanded, my gaze still scouring the room for the enemy that had retreated to the shadows. The curtains had been pulled back to reveal the glittering expanse of the Lagoon and the glow of San Marco Piazza against the night sky.

  “Your back,” he replied, his voice harsh and almost breathless. I straightened, relaxing instantly. I had forgotten he had never seen the scars on my back. I’d worn that shirt for the exact purpose of showing them off, but they hadn’t crossed my mind when I walked in front of the hunter.

  Turning back around so he could see them, I remained standing in the center of the room. “I thought Nerian told you,” I said. The name twisted briefly on my lips as an image of the naturi flit through my thoughts. My old tormentor was dead now, but memories of him still had the power to haunt me.

  I heard Danaus edge closer, his movements slow and cautious, as if he was afraid I would lunge at him. “He did, but I didn’t think vampires could scar. I thought you healed from everything,” he said, his voice dropping to near a whisper. Danaus had held Nerian captive for a week before I finally destroyed the naturi. It was ample time for the hunter to pull all kinds of interesting information from my enemy. The idea set me ill at ease around Danaus, fearful of the things he knew about me during my weakest moment. I was flaunting the scarring, but the rest of the painful and degrading things I endured over those two weeks were something I wanted no one to know about.

  “If we don’t feed soon enough after being injured by a naturi weapon, our bodies cannot heal completely,” I said stiffly, trying to push back the flood of memories. “I wanted to remind the Coven of what they were dealing with.”

  His fingertips lightly grazed my back, tracing some of the marks. I flinched at his touch but didn’t move. His anger brushed across my bare skin like a warm breath, and it was almost soothing despite our topic of conversation. “Some of these are symbols,” he said in surprise. “They wrote on your back.”

  “I never learned what it said. Nothing good, I’m sure.”

  Danaus was silent a moment, his emotions a jumble as the anger started to ebb. He was studying the designs, his thoughts churning as he tried to place the symbols with matching words. “Kick me.”

  I twisted around, my mouth falling open in wordless shock. The hunter stared at me, the corners of his mouth twitching. Laughter, for one brief crystalline moment, shimmied through his cobalt eyes. Dear heaven, the dark vampire hunter was developing a sense of humor.

  I laughed, letting the sound well up from my toes and soar through my chest. Shaking my head, I wrapped my arms around my stomach as the sound filled the room. Danaus chuckled softly too, the sound bouncing off me like a drunken monk trying to right himself in a swaying room. It was more than a minute later before I was able to finally stand straight and stifle the last of the giggles.

  “Why is there a naturi within the Coven building?” Danaus asked, killing the last of our laughter. There was no harsh accusation or censure in his voice. I could almost hear the unspoken question, “What are we going to do?” in his tone.

  “The Coven had struck some kind of bargain. I think it’s the reason why the naturi have been able to track us so easily,” I said, sitting down on the edge of the bed.

  “Maybe. But they haven’t gotten us yet.”

  “Rowe grabbed me the last time,” I reminded him, trying to keep the bitterness out of my tone. Rowe had swept me away to Stonehenge to witness the sacrifice to break the seal, and offered me a chance to change sides. I didn’t, and at the time I thought I had made the right choice. Yet, with the appearance of the naturi at the Coven Great Hall, I now had my doubts.

  “Each time they attack, we get closer to stopping Rowe,” Danaus countered.

  “He always has the element of surprise.”

  “He’s lost it.” Danaus stood before me, forcing me to sit up straight so I could look up at him. “We know now that the naturi are after you specifically. We can watch out for them. Even if the naturi have struck a bargain with the Coven, their numbers are going to be limited here. We’re safer here than anywhere else.”

  It was on the tip on my tongue to remind him that we were due before the Coven. We weren’t safer. We just faced a different kind of danger.

  Da
naus knelt before me, wrapping one of his large strong hands around my thin wrist. “I will not let Rowe touch you. He will not kidnap you again. The naturi cannot have you,” he vowed, bringing a shaky smile to my lips. Seated in a dirty London alley, covered in naturi blood and glass, he had made a similar promise to me. I could feel his anger now as he held my arm. He blamed himself for me being grabbed at the Compound. He felt angry and ashamed of his failure to keep his promise to me. But I didn’t blame him. No one could have stopped Rowe at that moment.

  With my free hand, I cupped his cheek, rubbing my thumb across his strong cheekbone. His pain and frustration beat at me, weakening the smile I was forcing onto my lips. How had we come to this point? Protecting each other from the threats that crowded us on all sides when we were supposed to be killing each other.

  “Danaus, I don’t expect you to keep such a promise. You would have to be close to me at all times. It’s a step in our relationship I’m not ready to take,” I teased, trying to lighten the weight in his chest. To my surprise, he didn’t move. Usually when I teased him, the hunter would growl at me and stomp off. Danaus simply squeezed the wrist he was holding and shook his head slightly, his lips gently grazing the palm of my hand.

  “I stand by my promise. The naturi will not have you.”

  “Thank you,” I murmured, dropping my hand back into my lap. No one had ever anyone vocally sworn to protect me. Others had physically, but then it had the feeling of a piece of property being protected rather than a living creature.

  Danaus pushed back to his feet and took a step back. “We should get going,” he said, extending his hand to help me rise.