by Dannika Dark
While a Vampire could keep their fangs from punching out, it sometimes happened involuntarily for a number of reasons. Sexual stimulation, anger, excitement—it was unique to each individual. Raven had a tendency to show her fangs whenever she felt like she was losing the upper hand in a fight. She’d spent the morning learning new moves and brushing up on old ones, but they also subjected her to a different level of training. Raven needed to fight like a Mage and ignore her Vampire nature, something Christian had always discouraged. But now that lack of control could—at the very least—put the mission in jeopardy. Worst-case scenario, it might cost Raven her life.
The timing couldn’t have been worse. Raven had not only endured Lenore’s recent visit, but the next morning she got berated by the man who loved her. It was a wonder she hadn’t gone on a killing spree by now.
“I can’t sense your energy,” Niko said, “but I can see it. Your emotions light up the darkness at times. Something has been troubling you this morning, even before the meeting.”
“Just old ghosts who need to stay in the fecking graveyard.”
“I know the burden of secrets. Can you discuss it with Viktor?”
“Afraid not.” Christian sighed and sat back. This whole situation felt like a blister on his soul. “Just someone I’d rather forget, but I can’t.”
“An old flame?” Niko quipped. But then he did that thing where he looked at Christian’s skull as if flames were shooting out.
Christian grabbed his drink. “I’ll thank you kindly to quit peeping at my light.”
“I can’t help it any more than you can help noticing facial expressions.” Niko bound his nape, using a leather tie from his pocket. “I don’t know who this is about, but your emotional energy reveals a lot. I can relate to the struggle of moving on.”
“And how’s that?”
“My Creator wronged me, but I wound up in an even worse situation after I escaped with Cyrus. Believe it or not, I spent years wondering if I’d made the right decision. Had my Creator been so unfair? A few centuries of slavery and I could have become a strong ally in his army. I could have been someone at the expense of my dignity. I hated him and I loved him. He made me.” Niko folded his arms and shifted his gaze toward Christian’s chest. “You can still have residual feelings for someone even if they’ve wronged you. It’s hard to let go of the life you imagined with them. It’s irrational, and I think it illustrates the complicated dynamic between Raven and her Vampire maker.”
Christian couldn’t argue. Raven’s relationship with Houdini vexed him. But he had to be careful about how often he brought up the subject as it would only drive a wedge between them. She had to learn for herself how toxic a man like that really was, and though Houdini professed to have her best interest at heart, a manipulative person had the gift of convincing others that they could do no wrong.
Niko reached for his water and savored a long drink until the glass was empty. “But your situation is different than mine, isn’t it? Old flames are hard to put out because they’ve burned the longest. I’ve seen it destroy men, and that is love’s most dangerous side effect.”
“Who said anything about love?”
Niko impassively touched his lower lip but didn’t reply.
Christian shifted his gaze into the gathering room. Despite everything, Christian had once loved Lenore. She’d used him, controlled him with her ancient blood, and discarded him like trash. He’d spent decades feeling resentful and angry while devoting his life to protecting others, as if that could somehow wash away his sins. After a while, he’d buried his pain, and life was tolerable again. But Lenore’s unexpected return had resurfaced those old feelings—only now his bitterness had turned into betrayal and hurt. Did that mean he had never stopped loving her? Did it mean Lenore still had influence over him? Or did it mean he simply hadn’t put the past behind him as she clearly had?
And then there was Raven. Exquisite, confident, capable—everything he desired. Yet she was so young. So very young. What if she one day decided that he wasn’t enough, just as Lenore had? Christian didn’t exactly have a good track record in the love department. If anything, he’d learned that feelings weren’t always reciprocated in the same way.
“If you have feelings for anyone else,” Niko said, lowering his voice, “you shouldn’t bury them.”
“I’d like to.”
“I don’t mean the person. You have to face your innermost desires and fears and conquer them. It’s the only way you’ll be able to move forward.”
“Been doing a little conquering yourself, have you?” Christian knocked back the rest of his drink.
“Of course not.”
“Don’t be tellin’ me fibs. You’ve got a woman out there, haven’t you? Bet she’s still pining over you.”
Niko didn’t display any physical signs of lying like blushing or sweating. But his capillaries widened just enough that a Vampire would notice, and Christian heard a fluctuation in his heart rhythm. The man had secrets.
Remembering he had a job to do, Christian scooted out of the bench seat. “If Raven comes back, tell her I’m busy. I need to get started on creating her new identity.”
Niko felt around the table and collected the dishes before standing up. “I wish I could contribute.”
“Enjoy your time off. It’s not often we get any. Besides, Wyatt can’t do everything, now can he? You might be able to help him make a few calls and reserve a nice hotel for Raven. If it’s left up to him, he’ll choose the cheapest dump that money can buy.”
Niko inclined his head. “I’ll work with him tonight, after I’m finished with Raven. She’ll need a hotel within walking distance, and Viktor doesn’t want her straying far. That will limit our choices.”
“Why walking distance?”
“She shouldn’t drive her vehicle. Someone might run a check on it, and Wyatt won’t have time to change those records to match her fake identity.”
Christian nodded. “Good thinking. I’d rather you stay here and help Wyatt. We can’t afford to make any careless mistakes.”
“Raven will also need proper attire. Wyatt mentioned that Shepherd plans to scope out the club tonight. I assume when he returns, he’ll be able to provide information on the employee dress code. Raven will need to go shopping tomorrow.”
Christian scratched his head. “Raven isn’t the only one who’ll need new threads. Claude can’t work in a place like that without the right look. I know a thing or two about male workers in adult clubs. Viktor just needs to tell me what his position will be.” Christian clasped his hands behind his back and looked at his shoes. “Raven will need contact lenses, and I suspect Wyatt’ll need to pick up a few things to make Blue’s phone necklace. Might as well make it a team outing.”
“We were almost arrested on our last shopping trip.”
Christian clapped Niko on the shoulder. “Aye. That’s what makes it interesting. Do me a favor: don’t tell Raven we had this conversation.”
Niko tilted his head to the side. “What conversation?”
Chapter 5
One interesting aspect of living with Keystone was watching how the others interacted with humans. My teammates didn’t spend time around them, and aside from Christian and Niko, who had once been human, the rest had likely grown up around their own kind. When you isolate yourself in the Breed world, the rules—or lack thereof—rub off on you.
So Shepherd lighting up a cigarette inside a shoe store was a normal affair for him, but the salesman looked like he was on the verge of a conniption.
“Sir, please don’t make me call security.” The slender man adjusted his wire-rimmed glasses, a vain attempt at signaling who had the authority in this situation.
Shepherd rested his arm over a shelf after putting out the match and dropping it on the floor. “If it’s all the same to you, I’ll finish my smoke. Cigarettes aren’t cheap anymore.”
Shepherd didn’t do things to be deliberately rude, he just didn’t respond to
anyone rebuking him for what he perceived as a given right.
As I approached the man, I flicked a glance at his name tag and lowered my voice to make it seem like we were on the same team. “I’ll take care of it, Roger.”
His beady eyes darted between Shepherd and me before he flounced off.
I took the cigarette from Shepherd’s hand and stubbed it out on a Brannock Device used for measuring someone’s shoe size. There wasn’t a trash can or empty cup anywhere around, so I had to improvise. “I’ll buy you a new pack. You need to follow the rules.”
He blew out the smoke he’d been holding in his lungs. “Too many damn rules in these places. A man needs to kick back and relax. Who gives a fuck if I smoke in a shoe store? It smells like cheap rubber in here anyhow.”
“Secondhand smoke causes cancer.”
“To humans.”
“We’re in a mall.”
Shepherd squinted at me. “You think that salesman was human? Think again.”
“Why are you even in here? I thought you guys were in the toy store.”
“Shh.” Shepherd glanced over his shoulder at Hunter, who was sitting on the floor, attempting to lace up a pair of shoes. “I let him run around in there and show me what he liked. Then Viktor stayed behind to buy all that shit with my money. They’re gonna be his birthday presents.”
I furrowed my brow. “I thought Breed didn’t do birthdays?”
“Some do, most don’t. My kid’s never had a party, and he still doesn’t have any toys in his room. A few plastic cars and finger paint isn’t enough. I want him to pick out his own toys. He doesn’t realize you can actually buy this shit and take it home. Patrick never bought him a damn thing.”
“Are the sneakers part of the surprise?”
Shepherd ran his hand over his short brown hair. “Nah. He’s outgrowing his shoes, and I wanted him to pick them out. He’s been trying them on for a half hour, but he’s never had a choice before, so I guess he’s trying to figure out what he likes.” A smile crept up his face. “What did you buy?”
I lifted the two bags in my hands. “You don’t wanna know.”
He chuckled darkly. “Work clothes, huh? Better you than me.”
I noticed Shepherd had on his Sensor gloves. They were a thin, breathable fabric—the same as what Hunter was also wearing. Both pairs black.
“Where is everyone?” I asked.
Shepherd gestured toward the front window. “Wyatt’s in the arcade on the other side. I don’t know about the others.”
I strolled to the open doorway. We were on the second floor, and customers down below were shuffling into a popular clothing store for a half-off sale, lured by the signs in the windows. The arcade across the hall was dark, but I could make out Wyatt’s back. He was standing in front of a machine called Asteroids.
Shepherd whistled with his fingers, and it gave me a start.
Wyatt gave him the finger behind his back.
Shepherd stalked to the door and yelled, “Get your ass over here before I drop you off in a hospital morgue!”
Wyatt scowled at him for a moment before adjusting his slouchy beanie and swaggering out. Half his shirt was tucked in, revealing a belt with a skull buckle. I rarely saw him in anything but those beat-up black cowboy boots he wore beneath his jeans, and today was no different. “Top score!” he cheered.
These men had no sense of social conduct.
Wyatt crossed one of the bridges and then appeared in the entryway. “What’s the scoop?”
“We should start rounding everyone up,” I said, eager to get back home. “Did you get what you needed for Blue?”
“Yup.” He patted a bag stuffed in his back pocket and grinned handsomely. “Buying some sexy shoes, Mistress Black? You won’t find any in this dump.”
I gave him a light smack with my bag. “I’m done picking out my wardrobe. Too bad Christian stayed home. I’m sure he would have liked seeing me try them all on. You guys are gonna die when you see what Claude got.”
Wyatt scratched his head. “You let him pick out his stuff?”
“No. Christian gave us a shopping list based on Shepherd’s feedback, and we weren’t allowed to deviate from it. Claude’s pissed, but he’s going along with it.”
Wyatt wagged his finger at me. “Don’t you even think about leaving the house without putting on a fashion show. So… why are we growing roots in the shoe store?”
Shepherd jerked his thumb over his shoulder. “Waiting for the kid to decide.”
Wyatt tried on a pair of mirrored sunglasses from a standing rack. “I think he decided.”
We both turned.
Hunter balled up his fists and smiled from ear to ear. His shoes were neon pink with sparkly butterflies on the sides. His heels weren’t tucked all the way into the shoes, which were clearly too small for a boy his age.
The salesman noticed us looking and came to investigate. “Those are for girls. Are you a girl? Of course not. If you go over to the little-boys’ section, you’ll see the blue and green sneakers. Let’s put these back in the box before you get them dirty.”
Shepherd’s entire body went rigid. He stepped up to the salesman and squared his shoulders. “Box up those sneakers in his size or I’ll put you in a box.”
“Sir, those don’t come in a larger size.”
“What other colors you got in his size of that shoe?”
Roger huffed and scanned the shelves. “White, purple, and… No, that’s it. Just white or purple.”
“Butterflies?”
“Yes. But they’re little-girl—”
“Get them. Now.”
Roger snapped his mouth shut when he caught the volatile look on Shepherd’s face.
On the verge of tears, Hunter stepped out of the shoes and hung his head.
After the salesman left to run his errand, Shepherd sat down on a bench next to Hunter. “You wear whatever you want, little man. Stupid rules are for stupid people.”
Wyatt tucked his sunglasses inside a sneaker on display. “I once went through a phase of wearing an earring in my right ear. I had so many guys hitting on me. Maybe the penny loafers didn’t help, but I was in fashion.” He shrugged at me. “It was the eighties.”
When the salesman approached Hunter with the shoeboxes, Shepherd got up. “What’s your point?”
“It doesn’t mean he’s gay.”
Shepherd swaggered up to Wyatt, his voice low and dangerous. “So what if he was? Think I care?”
“I’m just saying you can be straight and play with dolls.”
“Or maybe you can be gay. Like I said, he’s my kid. He can wear whatever the hell he wants and grow up to kiss whoever the hell he wants.”
I rocked with laughter. “You say that now, but just wait until he brings home a Vampire.”
“Or a shoe salesman,” Wyatt added.
“Or a dominatrix,” I said, raising my bag.
Shepherd sighed. “You two knuckleheads wait outside while I pay.” He turned on his heel and barked at the salesman, “We’ll take both. And get him the blinking ones he was wearing earlier.”
Hunter’s eyes lit up when he realized he was going home with the shoes. As Roger gathered up all the boxes and tissue paper, Hunter ran to Shepherd and wrapped his arms around his middle. Shepherd’s gloved hand rumpled the little boy’s black hair.
As soon as Wyatt and I reached the balcony outside, I set down my bags and rested my arms on the metal rail. Weekdays weren’t very crowded, but I still enjoyed watching people going about their normal lives.
Wyatt tucked in the rest of his vintage green T-shirt with a Centipede game logo on the front. “Malls used to be hot spots, but that was before your time.”
“I’m surprised this one is still around since most of them are closing.”
“Not in Cognito. Immortals are the only ones keeping these places alive. We’re nostalgic and like to hold on to relics from our past. One day when you’re older, you’ll understand.”
&nbs
p; “Whatever you say, grandpa.”
Wyatt watched a man trying on a hat down below. “Immortals do a lot of shopping here, and a few of them own some of the little stores. Like that arcade I was in. The owner’s a Shifter who was once a pinball champion. I guess you’ve never heard of pinball.”
I turned my gaze at a tall blond man walking jauntily toward the food court on our right. Did he have golden eyes? A Vampire smiled up at me from the jewelry shop on the first floor.
“Quit eavesdropping,” I muttered. “Mind your own damn business.”
He feigned a look of surprise before steering his black eyes away.
“Immortals, huh? No wonder everyone looks like zombies,” I said.
“I’m just bummed they shut down the cookie shop. Everyone’s trying to be healthy,” Wyatt said, making air quotes with his fingers.
“I think I just saw Niko by the glass elevator.” I picked up my bags and headed left.
Wyatt caught up. “Excited about your mission?”
“Sure, but why does it seem like I’m always the bait?”
“Blue was bait at Patrick’s party. Before you came along, that was her job. Viktor likes her fighting skills, but she’s a better tracker. When we started following rumors about the Shadow,” he said, making air quotes again, “and learned more about you, Viktor decided we needed some hard-core people on the team. It used to be Shep and Christian, but Viktor didn’t want Shep doing dangerous stuff all the time. Much to his dismay.”
“No doubt. He’s got an arsenal in his bedroom.”
“Yeah. So now Viktor puts him on jobs that require Sensor skills. Like touching dead bodies and murder weapons. But he also helps me out with research.”
“I think we found Claude.”
We both stopped dead in our tracks and stared at the leather chairs by one of the crossover points. Claude had his legs tucked inside slots on the footrest of the recliner, his eyes closed. A woman eating ice cream on a nearby bench was licking her plastic spoon and gawking at him as if he were the dessert.