by Linsey Hall
“Good. I’ll do the searching, since I’m good at finding things. You do the distracting. And you are a fresh face who she hasn’t seen before. Maybe you’ll get more answers than I did.
“That’s a good plan.” He glanced at his watch. “It’s eleven now. We can go back in the morning. It’ll be quieter then, anyway.”
“In the morning? Aren’t you a vampire?”
“Halfbreed. I can walk in the sun.”
I shook my head. “There are no halfbreeds. It’s impossible. Vampires can’t breed outside their species.
“Most can’t. My parents were an exception.”
“Oh.” Crap. He could walk in the light? That would make him really strong. And even more dangerous. I hiked a thumb toward the door. “I’ll just be seeing myself out, then.”
“Absolutely not. You’ll sleep in the guest room.”
“Here?” My heart raced.
“I’m not letting you out of my sight until this is settled.”
“I’m not going to run off.” I tapped the collar, my stomach dropping at the feel of the metal. My neck had already gotten used to the weight. I could forget it was there until I touched it. “This will keep me compliant, don’t you worry.”
“That’s fine. But you’re staying here.”
I scowled at him, but I was beat. As long as I wore this collar, he would win. “Fine. I’ll stay here. But you have to feed me.”
He nodded once, then turned to the kitchen. I watched him for a moment, trying not to appreciate the view of broad shoulders and a great butt. It wasn’t fair that such a jerk was so hot.
“What do you like?” he called.
“Anything with cheese.” I followed him into the kitchen, which was a beautiful, modern affair. A bit like cooking in the future would be, I assumed.
“How about a cheese sandwich?” He opened the huge stainless steel fridge.
“As long as you have pickles, that sounds great.”
“You’re in luck.” He pulled out the ingredients, setting them on the white marble counter. In his kitchen, he didn’t look like such a killer vampire Enforcer.
He just looked good. And kinda normal.
No! Bad Nix.
I was too old and too smart to fall for a pretty face. And that was all this guy had going for him.
That, and the ability to make a mean cheese sandwich. It only took him a couple minutes, but the final product looked amazing. He didn’t skimp on the good stuff.
When he handed the plate over, I took it gratefully. With all the stress, I hadn’t eaten in almost twelve hours.
“Mind if I eat this in my room?” I really didn’t have any more energy for getting whiplash. Being both attracted to him and scared of him was exhausting.
“Suit yourself.” He nodded toward the other end of the apartment. “Down the hall, second door on the left.”
“Thanks.” I spun and retreated, hurrying across the living room and toward the hallway.
The second door on the left led into a massive bedroom done in about fifty shades of grey.
I winced. Damn, that was a bad pun. But it was true.
The room was all gray and all fabulous.
There was a wall of windows providing the most glorious view out onto Magic’s Bend. The city lights glittered in the dark. There was a massive bed and fireplace, with weird-looking furniture that was too modern for my taste.
Fancy, fancy. But still pretty, I had to admit.
I curled up on one of the strange couches and tapped my comms charm.
“Del? Cass?”
“You okay?” Cass asked.
“Yeah.”
“He didn’t hurt you?” Del asked.
“No. I’m set up with a cheese sandwich in a fabulous suite with a view overlooking Magic’s Bend. We’re at the top of the biggest building in the business district.”
“Nice. So he’s loaded?” Cass asked.
“Yeah. Though money can’t buy charm.” I bit into my sandwich and almost groaned at the amazing taste. Apparently money bought cooking lessons, because this humble sandwich tasted amazing.
“Well, we didn’t find any clues,” Cass said.
“But we did get Fabio back to your apartment,” Del said.
“Thanks.” I took another bite.
“What’s your plan now?” Del asked.
I told them about our recon plans for the next morning.
“That should be good,” Cass said. “Let us know if you need us.”
I swallowed the last bite of sandwich. “Will do. Could one of you watch the shop tomorrow?”
“No problem,” Del said. “I’ve got it.”
“Thanks, guys. Love you.”
“Love you back,” they said in unison.
I cut off the comms charm and stared out at Magic’s Bend, mulling over my situation. No matter how I looked at it, it wasn’t great. But I also wasn’t gonna quit.
So there was only one way to go, and that was forward.
As it turned out, forward meant snooping around the Enforcer’s house in the middle of the night. Despite my exhaustion, I couldn’t sleep. Not with everything that was going on.
So I crept out of the room around one in the morning and snuck down the hall toward the living room. My heartbeat pounded, echoing in my ears, but it slowed as I got comfortable with sneaking around.
In the living room, the lights had been turned off so that the only illumination came from outside. The floor-to-ceiling windows revealed a gorgeous view of the twinkling yellow lights of Magic’s Bend. Kinda made me feel like I was on top of the stars.
Not a bad place to live.
But so barren. I studied the impeccably decorated space. Any clues about Ares would be subtle.
A sleek TV was propped on a table with little doors. I peeked inside the console, but found only a cable box with no DVDs or games or anything. A few paperbacks sat inside—mystery novels.
It seemed that Ares didn’t spend a lot of time on leisure activities, unless he had a serious addiction to Netflix.
A small table by the window caught my eye. There were two chairs—one on either side of the table. Like a gaming table. I tiptoed over.
An old chess set was laid out on the beautiful wooden surface. I picked up the king, studying the smoothed sides. It was old and worn down, obviously well loved. From the look of the slightly worn leather on the seats of the chairs on either side of the table, the set was still in use.
But who did Ares play with? He didn’t strike me as the kind of guy who had a lot of buddies. He was so professional and to the point. Even his books were kinda like his job. He was solving murder mysteries even in his free time.
And the chess set—that was a strategy game. As one of the three big vamp rulers in charge of all vampire society, strategy would be important to him.
But he definitely lived here for a lot of the time, despite his mysterious multiple houses. The fridge had been well stocked when I’d peeked in, and this place had a lived-in feel despite its spotless perfection.
I left the living room, skipping the kitchen in favor of the hallway on the other side of the apartment. I hadn’t been down this hall.
I kept my footsteps silent as I slipped into the first door on the left.
An office.
A massive desk sat in front of the full-length windows. Once again, the light from outside made it unnecessary to turn on the lights. I wouldn’t have risked it anyway.
I snuck toward the desk. Opening the drawers seemed risky. That was too invasive, especially if I were caught.
A photo frame on the desk caught my eye. I picked up the heavy silver frame and studied the figures within.
Three people smiled out from the photo. It was formal and posed, but they looked happy enough. Ares, as a child, grinned out at me. No question that it was him. And the man had to be his father. They looked so similar.
Had his father been the Vampire Enforcer before Ares? Was it inherited?
But the woma
n… She didn’t look much like Ares besides the eyes. She was definitely his mom. I angled the photo to get a bit more light on the surface and gasped.
She was wearing the traditional robes of the Order of the Magica. She was part of the Magica government? But married to a vampire?
My skin chilled.
I didn’t like how powerful Ares was, but I felt a little better knowing that he was a vampire and part of a government that had nothing to do with Magica. Had he been a member of my own government….
That’d be way scarier.
But his mom was?
“What are you doing?” Ares’s ice-cold voice made me jerk my head up. His eyes were just as chilly.
The vampire was mad.
“You’re snooping,” he said. “For what?”
“I wanted to know more about you.”
He strode over, every muscle tense. I set the photo down on the desk, swallowing hard and stepping back. He crowded me against the window, not touching me, but close enough that I could feel the heat of him.
“You’re not even going to pretend you were lost?” he said. “Couldn’t sleep?”
“That second part is true, but nope. I just wanted to know more about you.”
He frowned. “Do not do that again.”
My heart thundered, but I straightened. “You’re just going to have to sleep with one eye open. Because as long as I’ve got this collar on, I’m going to go after whatever information I think will help me.” And my deirfiúr. If I ended up in front of the Vampire Court and Doyen could read in my mind that they were also FireSouls…
“And knowing about me will help you?” he demanded.
“Why not? Helps to know your jailor.”
“I’m not your jailor.”
I touched the collar at my neck. “This begs to differ.”
“But you’re not scared of me.”
“Nope. I’m scared of this collar, but not of you.” That was slightly a lie, but he seemed to like that I was tough. I nodded toward the desk behind him. “Your mom is a Magica?”
He stepped back, giving me a bit of room to breathe. “I said I was a half breed.”
“Yeah, but I didn’t know what kind. What is she?”
“A variety of things. Those gifts were passed down to me.”
So she’d been powerful. Which made him powerful, too, as well as being a vampire. “What kind of magic did she pass down to you?”
“You’ll just have to wait and see.”
“Hmmm. And she’s an Order member?”
“Was.” His gaze turned dark. “They’re both dead now.”
“I’m sorry.” My chest ached for him. I knew what it felt like to not have parents.
“So am I.”
“What did she do at the Order?”
“She led the special commission to hunt FireSouls. She felt that she was protecting the people with her work.”
My breath caught, and my head spun. I finally managed to squeak out, “Oh. Interesting.”
Holy crap. He’d been born with a mom who hunted my kind. Chills raced over my skin.
“Are you all right?” he asked.
“Fine.” I smiled, hoping it was convincing. “I’m going to just hit the hay though, okay? Long day.”
He stared hard at me, trying to read something on my face. I gave him nothing. Finally, he nodded, but there was something in his eyes. It looked a hell of a lot like suspicion. My skin prickled.
“Okay. But no more snooping.” His voice was hard.
Relief loosened my tensed shoulders. He was still suspicious—it was clear in his eyes and the set of his mouth—but he’d given me an out.
“No problem.” I skirted around him, my palms damp, and left the room.
As I hurried down the hall, I couldn’t help but feel like I’d made a very narrow escape.
Chapter Six
The next morning, after a shower in the massive marble room he called a guest bathroom, I found Ares in the kitchen.
He was drinking a cup of coffee, though I kinda wished it had been blood. That, at least, would have grossed me out. I didn’t like thinking that he was sexy and scary at the same time. I was a more straightforward kind of girl.
“Sleep well?” he asked.
“Surprisingly well, considering that I’m wearing a murder collar.”
His expression didn’t change. Ice man. “There’s coffee if you want some. And muffins.”
“Thanks.” I helped myself to some coffee and a muffin, then turned to him. “So you’ll just zap us there after breakfast?”
“That’s the plan.
“A-plus.” I sipped the coffee, which bore a remarkable resemblance to rocket fuel. I liked it.
We finished breakfast quickly, then he took my hand and transported us to the main road in Darklane. Though the sun had been bright outside my bedroom window, it was a dreary morning here in Darklane. But it was almost always dreary here, as if the dark magic blocked out some of the sunlight.
The street was dead silent, like the whole neighborhood was sleeping off the night before.
“Ready?” he asked.
“Like a cat’s ready for tuna.”
I followed him toward Fair Fortune Alley. He entered a few steps ahead of me, then turned to watch me.
“Whatcha lookin’ at, champ?” My bravado faded when I entered the alley. It was darker in here. Even darker than out on the main alley. “This is the Shadowlands, isn’t it? That’s why it’s darker.”
“Maybe.” His gaze raked me. “Did you feel anything strange when you entered? An aversion to this place?”
“I always have an aversion to Darklane.” Understanding dawned. “You transported us to the main road so you could watch me enter Fair Fortune Alley. It was a test of some kind.”
He shrugged.
“Did I pass?”
“I have no idea.” He turned and started down the alley. “We’ll discuss it later.”
I hurried to catch up. We didn’t see a soul as we made our way to the PTA lady’s house—not even the rats. Even they had to sleep off the night before. Right before we turned onto her road, I stopped him.
“I’m going to take the potion now.” I dug the little vial out of my pocket and chugged it down. Mud. Ack. A chill shivered over my skin as it went to work, turning me entirely invisible.
“That’s fast acting,” he said.
“Connor’s the best. Now lead the way.”
I followed him toward PTA lady’s street. When we reached the everliving vine, he stroked the petal with one finger. Had he been spying on me long enough yesterday to learn that trick from me?
The vine faded into nothing, and the blue door appeared. Ares knocked. I sidled up to the wall near the door, ready to creep in when I got an opening.
“By order of the Vampire Court, I command you to open this door.” Ares’s voice had a chill that I recognized from our first meeting.
I shivered.
After a few moments, the door finally creaked open. PTA lady was well-pressed again—not a hair out of place—but her face told a different story.
Her icy eyes widened at the sight of Ares. She gasped. “Enforcer!”
“I have some questions for you regarding the death of Marin Olerafort.”
Her mouth opened and closed like she was a goldfish. The wheels were clearly turning in her head. To lie or not to lie? She shifted left just enough to provide me with an in, so I slipped into her house and left Ares to handle her.
She might look like the president of the PTA, but her house sure didn’t. It was dark and creepy as a fictional witch’s evil lair. The walls were painted black, and the lights were dim. Black lace abounded. Curtains, tablecloths, doilies.
I shivered, creeping along the hall, using my dragon sense to lead me toward a possible clue. There was something in the back of the house and high up, maybe on a third floor. I just had to find it.
I passed a formal dining room and a living room. The living room had the TV blar
ing to some horrible morning show, and a terrier snoozed on the black couch. The little gray dog perked up when I passed.
Shit. He could smell or hear me. Or both.
And he was interested. He hopped down off the sofa and trotted toward me. The last thing I needed was for him to start barking.
Quickly, I conjured a steak and tossed it to him. He caught it out of the air and chomped down, no longer interested in me.
Thank fates he wasn’t a good guard dog.
A narrow staircase at the end of the hall led me up two stories to the third floor. The air felt stale and abandoned up here, but my quarry was farther up. I hurried toward the end of the hall, aware that Ares could only ask questions for so long.
A cord dangled from the ceiling.
Jackpot.
I tugged on the cord, wincing when the wooden ladder descended with a loud creaking sound. I didn’t hesitate—no time to waste now—and scrambled up into the attic. It was dark, with just a watery stream of light filtering into the room. The whole place was full of crap—but it was a particularly large pile of junk that called to me.
I dug through it, finally finding a box on the floor. It was the size of a shoebox, but made of fancy wood with mother-of-pearl inlays. My dragon sense tugged hard.
This was definitely it.
I eased the lid open, disappointed when I saw only a couple photos.
Dang.
But it was still the thing I sought—my dragon sense was certain. I picked up the photos, and something gold flashed in the bottom of the box.
Hey. Now this was cool.
I picked it up. It was heavy, with engravings on both sides. Whatever this was, it was important. I shoved it in my pocket, then pulled out my cell phone and snapped pics of the two photos. At a glance, it was clearly PTA lady and Marin in their younger years. Both wore the medallion proudly around their necks.
Though I was tempted to take the originals to help prove my point, this box had sentimentality written all over it.
It was important to PTA lady. I couldn’t just yank the photos. Especially when my camera shots would do just as well to prove my point. And if I had a chance, I’d return the medallion once we’d figured out if it could help us.
Finished, I snapped the box shut and tucked it back under the pile of junk, then hurried from the attic. I raced down the hall as silently as I could, then down the stairs and toward the front door.