by Linsey Hall
PTA lady was still talking to Ares, but she was clearly annoyed by now. Her shoulders were stiff, and her magic fizzed around her. It felt like carbonated water on my tongue. Weird.
Right before I passed the living room, I conjured another steak and tossed it to the schnauzer who waited for me. This time, though, he ignored the meat and tilted his head to study me. Though he couldn’t see me, he could clearly smell me.
Damn it. I’d given him too much before.
He yipped, a high pitch alert that echoed in the hall.
Double damn.
PTA lady turned, her icy eyes wide.
“Who’s there?” she barked.
The hall was long, and I was still about fifteen feet from the exit. In a half second, her magic swelled.
Shit.
Quickly, I conjured a shield. I didn’t know what she’d try throwing at me, but she was clearly pissed. Her eyes were wide and angry as she hurled a blast of energy in my direction. I heaved my shield up in front of my face. The magic slammed into the metal.
I stumbled, going to my knees, then clambered up, careful to keep the shield in front of me.
She threw another blast, which slammed me into the wall. Pain sang through my back. PTA lady yelped. I peeked over my shield as I raced down the hall toward the exit.
Ares had wrapped his arms around her chest and neck. His eyes flared silver and bright, and his fangs—which I hadn’t seen before now—lengthened into sharp white points.
Oh shit, I hoped he wouldn’t bite her.
Instead, he pressed his hands against a spot on her neck, and her eyes rolled up in her head. She collapsed against him. He stepped into the house with her in his arms.
Still invisible, I slipped by them and out into the cool winter air. I glanced behind me.
Gently, Ares laid her on the ground in the hall then stepped out into the cool air and shut the door behind him.
“Where are you?” he asked.
“Here.” I reached out to touch his arm.
He turned toward me, then wrapped an arm around my waist and pulled me to him. The warm strength of his chest made the air rush from my lungs. I shifted the shield that I still held and shivered as he enfolded me in both arms. In a flash, he transported us away from PTA lady’s house.
A moment later, we appeared on the main street in Darklane. It was past ten, but the place felt as sleepy as it would have at six a.m. The only person awake was a man leaning out the third story window of ramshackle old Victorian house. He wore a stocking cap, and the whole thing looked like something out of a dark fairytale.
“Are you okay?” Ares’s concerned gaze searched the area near my head, though he was still slightly off.
He was worried about me?
It was hard to tell, from the firm set of his jaw and his usually cold gaze. But there was just the tiniest hint of worry that shone through his eyes.
I pulled away from him. “I’m fine. I’ll be visible soon. I didn’t take much of the potion.”
“Did you get what you were looking for?”
“I think so.” My dragon sense certainly thought so. Since the medallion was stuffed in my pocket, it was invisible along with me.
Fortunately, I felt the magic prickle along my skin.
“You’re becoming visible,” he said.
I glanced down at my arm. Yep. “Come on, let’s find some place quieter.”
We moved from the main sidewalk to a little shadowed alley and tucked ourselves into the entrance. We turned our backs to the main street. I set the shield down against the alley. It was too heavy to carry around, and someone here would find it and make use of it.
Standing like this, I was pressed up close enough that I could smell his subtle, masculine scent. I could no longer smell his magic because he had his signature repressed, but the scent of him alone was enough to make my head spin.
“Well?” he asked.
“Hang on.” I took the medallion from my pocket and handed it over. As he inspected it, I pulled up the photos on my cell phone and held it up. “These too. There were two photos of Marin and PTA lady together, back when they were younger.”
Ares looked up from his inspection of the golden medallion and studied the photo.
“They’re wearing this medallion in that photo.” He pointed. “It’s peeking out from behind their scarves.”
“We need to figure out what this medallion is.”
“I can send pictures to Dr. Garriso. He’s a scholar at the Museum of Magical History and knows almost everything.”
“Fine.” He held up the medallion so I could snap a photo of each side.
A few moments later, I’d sent the pictures and a text that read. Recognize this?
“Let’s just see,” I said.
It took only a moment to hear back. I will consult my sources but it will take time. Any more info would be helpful.
I showed it to Ares. “Not great.”
“No. You don’t have a lot of time.”
I scowled at him. Forget my fantasy that I’d seen concern on his face earlier. “You’re a jerk.”
“It’s the truth. I need concrete evidence for the Vampire Court before that collar can be removed.”
A rock suddenly appeared in my throat. “You mean, you don’t have the power to remove it?”
“No. I am one of three. Without them, it cannot be removed. They will only believe hard evidence of your innocence.”
Breathing was suddenly a bit more difficult. It was hard enough to know that he held my life in his hands. But it was actually two other unknown vampires?
Shit. “Well, then we need answers about this damned medallion.”
“I have someone who might be able to help. We can go see him now.”
I grabbed onto that like the lifeline it was. “Good. Where do they live?”
“Down the street. At the edge of Fair Fortune Alley.”
“Lead on.”
We hurried down the street. Here in Darklane, the air always smelled a tiny bit rotten. Dark magic. We passed a few folks going about their business. One woman looked like a fairytale witch, complete with black robes and pointed hat.
“We’re here.” Ares pointed to a big green door with the number 13 painted in silver. The windows on either side had the shutters closed tight against any light. Ares stepped onto the stoop and knocked.
“Who is it?” A creaky voice filtered through the thick wooden door.
“Ares. Open up, Laphraig.”
“Of course.” The voice suddenly sounded a lot more conciliatory, and the door opened.
Apparently Ares’s name commanded respect. Or at least obedience.
The man who stood in the doorway looked like a skeleton. His cheekbones were sharp as glass, his neck a toothpick. He was easily as tall as Ares but half the weight. From the opulence of the hallway behind him—which was paneled in green silk with glittering crystal chandeliers—his slenderness was more choice than necessity.
In his sharply pressed black suit and flat-topped hat, he looked like one of the judgmental puritan preachers from any of the movie versions of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.
Even his dark green eyes blazed with the light of a fanatic.
I shivered. It took a lot to make me nervous—like the deadly vampire Enforcer standing next to me. But this guy? Laphraig? He was scary.
“How can I be of assistance?” Laphraig’s voice was just as creaky and whispery as it had been through the door.
“We have something we would like you to read,” Ares said.
Laphraig gave a small bow and stepped back. I followed Ares into the house.
“The sitting room, if you please,” Laphraig said.
Ares led the way down the darkly luxurious hallway to a sitting room on the left. This, too, was done entirely in shades of dark green. The furniture was old and fancy and reminded me a bit of the sitting rooms in Pride and Prejudice. The movie version, of course.
A small black dog sat on a chair. H
e was as plump as his master was skinny.
Ares turned to me. “The medallion?”
I took it from my pocket and held it out for Laphraig. He approached, reaching out a skeletal hand. Just as his fingertips touched it, he stiffened.
His nostrils flared, and he looked at me, his green eyes bright.
“What are you?” he asked.
“None of your business.” I shoved the medallion at him. “Do your thing.”
He stepped closer, his gaze riveted to me. His breath was coming a bit quicker now as well. He licked his lips. I could feel the hunger coming off him.
I shuddered.
“So long. It’s been so long,” he muttered to himself.
“Laphraig!” Ares barked.
Laphraig straightened and stepped back, taking the medallion with him. He scuttled away to the corner, turning his back to us.
What the hell? I mouthed at Ares.
Instead of commiserating with me, he gave me an interested look. As if he were trying to figure out what Laphraig saw in me.
I scowled at him.
Laphraig hunched over the medallion in the corner for a while, then turned back to us, his eyes bright. “Secrecy shrouds this medallion.”
“That’s our problem,” I said.
“Yes. But I mean that this charm represents Secrecy. Or a secret society. It is shrouded in mystery the likes of which I have never seen.”
“Huh.” I had no idea if that was helpful. I looked at Ares. “What do you think?”
“No idea.” He pinned Laphraig with a hard stare. “Is that all you’ve got?”
“Yes. But it’s not as little as it seems.” He crossed the room toward us, reminding me of a granddaddy longlegs. “It may represent or hold secrets of some kind. Or be a token of membership to an organization.”
“That sounds promising,” I said.
Laphraig’s green eyes snapped to mine, burning with a fiery hunger. He licked his lips. “Yes, girl. Yes. It is. Just like you are.”
He moved like Ares, speed incarnate. In the flash of an eye, he was at my throat.
Laphraig’s skeletal hands wrapped around my shoulders as his head reared back. Long fangs descended from his mouth.
Vampire!
Chapter Seven
My heart leapt into my throat. I kneed him in the balls, then delivered a quick punch to the throat. He collapsed backward with a keening cry.
Ares was on him a second later, hauling him upright by the back of his coat. The skeletal vampire shrieked and hissed, clawing for me.
“You think you can bite me?” I conjured a bat and swung it at his head, pulling back on my strength at the last minute.
Didn’t want to kill him, after all—even if he had been going for my throat.
The bat collided with his skull, not hard enough to crack it but enough to knock him out. I was a pro, after all.
Ares let go of his jacket, letting Laphraig collapse in a pile.
The little black dog yipped, leapt off the chair, and trotted to his master.
Ares crouched and pressed a hand to Laphraig’s throat.
“I didn’t kill him.” I nudged the body with my boot. “Didn’t even crack his skull. He’ll just be out a short while.”
“Nicely done.” Ares grabbed the medallion and stood.
“What the hell was that all about?”
“Let’s get out of here, and we can talk about it.”
We hurried from the house. I couldn’t get out of here quickly enough. Even the air in here gave me the willies. The rank smell of Darklane was a blessing compared to this. When we got outside, I sucked it in, inhaling deep.
“I’m ready to be out of Darklane,” Ares said. “You?”
“Totally.”
He held out a hand, and I grabbed it, trying not to think of how strong and warm it was. The ether sucked us in, transporting us across town to the historic district.
It was busier here, the lunch hour drawing crowds from the nearby business district. The colorful old buildings contained enough restaurants to feed everyone in Magic’s Bend, and it seemed that everyone had showed up to eat.
I stepped away from him.
“Let’s get out of the crowd,” Ares said. “Come on.”
He led me to a restaurant on the bottom floor of a blue Victorian house. A hoity-toity fae with shimmery silver wings opened the door and gestured us inside. The interior was done up in linens and silver. Each of the house’s original rooms had been done up in a different color with a few tables.
The fae gestured us through the larger rooms to a small, private one in the back. We sat at the table, and I watched the fae depart, shutting the door behind him.
“You like it fancy,” I murmured.
“You could use a good meal. And they’re discreet here. Every other place will be full on an afternoon like today.”
“Good point.”
Our fae waitress returned and took our orders—lobster mac and cheese for me, because I could be fancy too—then disappeared quickly.
I sent Dr. Garriso a new text with the information we’d learned, then looked up at Ares. He was studying me intently, like I was a bug under a microscope.
He definitely thought there was something weird about me.
And that was bad freaking news.
I shoved aside my nerves. “What the hell was that back there? Laphraig was a vampire?”
“We’re not always obvious.”
“I know that. But he had some serious blood lust going on.” Normally, vampires blended with society unless they had a bad case of blood lust. Outsiders didn’t know how they got it—I wasn’t sure that even vampires knew—but Laphraig had had a serious case.
“Laphraig has been abstaining.” Ares looked pale at the thought.
“From blood?”
“Yes. That’s why he’s so skinny. But something about you….”
“I eat a diet high in saturated fats?” Cheese mostly. “Perhaps I’m extra tasty?”
“No. That’s not it. There’s something about you.”
“My love of cheddar and mean ability to swing a bat?”
The corner of his mouth cracked up in a smile. “No.”
“Then I’ve got no idea.”
“Neither do I. But you can walk in the Shadowlands.”
“Which are?” I heaved a sigh. “You vampires are so damned secretive.”
“It works for us.” Ares leaned back. “Vampires live in another realm, as most people know.”
“Yeah, it’s why we rarely see you.”
“Exactly. Otherwise, you’d hunt us. Only somewhat effectively.”
I couldn’t imagine anyone effectively hunting and catching him, so I had to agree. But…“You make us into food, so of course we’re nervous.”
“That’s in the past. We only drink from willing victims now.”
“Willing? Why would anyone be willing?”
He raised a brow, and the look was devastatingly sexy. Understanding dawned. I’d heard rumors that the bite could be pleasant, but it must have been true.
“Uh, okay, I get it.” I checked my phone to see if Dr. Garriso had replied, but he hadn’t found anything yet. “So what are the Shadowlands?”
“It’s an intermediate point between our realm and yours. It’s where the magic from our world seeps into yours and creates a place that is a little bit of both.”
“And your world is always in the dark, which is why the shadow lands are darker than the rest of Darklane.”
“Exactly. Only vampires and our allies can walk there.”
“I’m not your ally.”
“Exactly. Which is why you’re ability to go there is so interesting.”
Time to change the subject. “Marin could go there, but he’s not one of you.”
“He is our ally though. He worked for us occasionally, finding information. But he had his own life too.”
“A life that got him killed.”
Ares nodded, his green gaze d
arkening. “Yes. His secrets got him killed. Secrets have a way of doing that.”
I swallowed hard, trying to keep my expression neutral. I was the queen of secrets. An enigma wrapped in a riddle wrapped in mysterious whatever-the-hell. And I didn’t want Ares figuring me out. Hell, even I hadn’t fully figured me out yet. I certainly didn’t want Ares to know more about me.
“What are your secrets, Nix?”
“Don’t know what you’re talking about.”
He shrugged. “It’s all right. The Court can get them from you.”
The food arrived then, carried by two identical fae. They dropped it off quickly and discreetly, then disappeared. Once again, Ares had no blood with his meal. Just a steak and some vegetables. So when did he drink blood?
I was so stressed over his previous line of questioning that I had to force down a bite of my mac and cheese. It was so dang good that I almost rolled my eyes. After swallowing, I asked, “So what exactly is the Vampire Court?”
If they were going to get all my secrets, I wanted to know everything I could about them.
He swallowed his bite of steak and said, “There are three branches. Knowledge, Legislation, Law. I am Law.”
“What exactly does that mean? You’re the warrior?”
“Yes. I protect us from threats. Most of that is by leading the vampire enforcement team. Because I can walk in the sun, I’m perfect for it.”
“So you don’t spend a lot of time in the Court.”
“I’d rather be on the hunt, so it works for me.” He grinned, deadly and beautiful.
I shoved a bite of mac and cheese in my mouth, disgusted by my hormones. I was like a freaking teenage boy.
“It must pay well,” I said. His house and this restaurant were testament to that.
“I’m one third of the government. I would hope it pays well.”
My phone buzzed. I grabbed for it, pressing it to my ear.
“Nix? It’s Dr. Garriso.” His creaky old voice sent an image of him right into my mind. He was about my height, with wild white hair and a serious English professor vibe. He spent his life in a book-filled office that smelled of books and wore tweed coats with patches on the arms.