Blood Promise (A SkinWalker Novel #4) (A DarkWorld SkinWalker Novel)

by Ayer, T. G.

  Lily's eyebrows flew up at the prospect of buying new weapons.

  "Don't worry about it yet," I said. "I think we have enough guns and ammo to get the job done." Nerina smiled, once more her serene and unaffected self. "And you mentioned assistance?"

  The smile faltered. "We will send reinforcements should you need them."

  "Good to know." She hadn't looked too enthusiastic and I wondered what she would have done had I said I needed them now.

  Nerina turned to Lily. "Thank you for waiting so patiently. I hope you were well taken care of?"

  Lily patted her stomach and grinned. "Yes thanks. Someone gave me hot chocolate and some tiny burger things she called chicken sliders."

  I just shook my head and started down the hall.

  Nerina returned to the library.

  We knew the way out.

  "What the hell was that all about?" Lily muttered as we walked.

  I shook my head. "Nothing good."

  "She's calling in her marker right?"

  "It's a Blood Promise." I said dryly. "But even then, this case is not something we can walk away from."

  "It's a case?"

  "More than a case."

  "And we have no choice?"

  I shook my head as we jogged down the castle steps to the drive. "Nope."

  Just like those murdered kids, we had no choice.

  And this time I didn't have a problem with what needed to be done.

  CHAPTER 16

  OUR RETURN TRIP WAS FAST and silent, and both Lily and I extracted what little peace we could get from the exercise.

  Because I wasn't looking forward to being alone in my apartment--too much on my mind--we went to O'Hagan's instead. Even with everything that had happened, I managed to have lunch on my mind.

  We took our usual booth, the one with the most shadows, the one furthest from the door. As we sat, a short, brunette waitress sashayed over, bright eyes matching the bright smile on her lips, both equally cool and expressionless.

  As she took our order of steak pie for me and nachos for Lily, she scanned us both head-to-toe and up again.

  Her inspection left Lily stifling a giggle.

  When the girl headed to the kitchen Lily leaned over. "She looks interested in you," she whispered.

  I shrugged my messenger bag onto the seat beside me. "About as interested in me as she was in you."

  Lily frowned, watching the waitress as she bussed tables her gaze returning to our table every few minutes. "Yeah. That's not interest interest. That's more like she recognized us from somewhere."

  Recognition. "Exactly."

  Lily had hit the nail on the head. I shifted so I could keep an eye on the waitress as well as the rest of the room. So far everything else seemed normal.

  The waitress, Del according her name-tag, returned with our soft drinks, Lily and I exchanged glances. Definitely odd.

  We'd been coming to O'Hagan's for ages and had had no negative experiences with the staff. Patrick, the owner, knew us all by sight. So did his regular wait staff.

  But Del was new.

  "Keep an eye on her," I said as I sipped the frothy chocolate shake. "There's just something off about her."

  "Same," was all Lily said as she pulled her tablet from her bag and began swiping.

  I was on my phone, scanning my emails when Del returned with the food, her black eyes studying us with the intensity of a scientist studying bugs.

  "Enjoy," she said as she placed the plates and baskets of fries on the wooden table.

  "You're new here, right?" I said.

  She nodded, the lines at the corners of her mouth deepening in a tight smile.

  "Where are you from?" My cheery smile did nothing to increase the warmth in hers.

  "DC."

  She was certainly a talker.

  Across the table Lily rolled her eyes while manhandling her nachos.

  "Well, I hope you enjoy your stay with us." The woman was hard work. Even Kira was more forthcoming.

  Del nodded, analyzed my face again, then left, giving me at least half a dozen glances over her shoulder.

  "Well, at least we know she isn't a walker," I said as I fell on my steak pie, snagging the buttery flakes that attempted to escape my plate. The run to the estate had kicked my hunger up a notch.

  "At least we know your nose still works." Lily grinned.

  I ignored her, finished my meal, and leaned back in the booth to relax. Something that just wasn't happening.

  "So what are we going to do?"

  Apparently Lily wasn't able to relax either.

  "Do about what?" Anjelo said as he slid into the booth beside her and curved his arm around her waist.

  She stiffened the tiniest bit but Anjelo seemed not to notice as he fixed his hazel eyes on me.

  "Sorry I've been scarce," he said. "Just catching up on stuff." When I raised my eyebrows, he continued. "When I disappeared into Wrythiin, Storm took me out of school and applied for a home school permit on the off-chance I survived. Good thing, too. So I've been studying hard these past weeks trying to make up."

  I was impressed with his fortitude. Or was it Storm's unbending will he'd submitted to? "So, you making headway?"

  "Yep, although I have been neglecting the people in my life." His voice echoed an apology.

  Lily looked relieved. "We understand."

  Anjelo watched her face for a second, his doubt all too visible. Then his stiff spine softened and his mouth quirked up at the corners. "So, Kai. What's going on? What are we doing about what?"

  No reason not to tell him. "What we are doing is fulfilling my blood promise to Kira."

  Anjelo's eyes popped. "You can't be serious. The woman is a freaking viper."

  "I am well aware," I said airily. "Unfortunately, as it's a Blood Promise, I've agreed."

  He paused, his eyes shifting from my face to Lily's and then back again. "Agreed to what exactly?"

  "A death talker girl was killed recently along with several other paranormal kids. Kira wants me to eliminate the killer." I lifted a shoulder. Not a big deal.

  A scowl darkened his brow. "Why would Kira ask you to kill this person?" Then he made the connection. "Is the girl one of hers?"

  "You could say that," said Lily drily. We both knew he thought we were talking about one of Kira's death talker acolytes.

  "I feel for her." His sarcastic tone indicated he didn't.

  "What do you have against Kira, anyway?" I asked, watching him closely.

  Anjelo shrugged. "I was friends with one of her daughters. She went to Crawdon High. Same homeroom."

  "Was she?" said Lily, folding her arms and looking concerned.

  I sighed, now worried about Anjelo's reaction. "The kid who was killed is Kira's daughter. The woman is devastated."

  He paled, but said nothing.

  I pressed. "Which daughter did you know?"

  His Adam's apple rose and fell as he swallowed hard. Lily looped her hand through his elbow. "Mika."

  Tears pricked behind my eyes and I struggled to blink them away. "I'm so sorry, Anjelo. It was Mika."

  Anjelo's shoulders bowed and his skin went a little gray. He sat there, so still it was painful to watch, while he processed the news. Lily sat beside him, her hand tight on his arm.

  "Did you know her well?"

  A ragged laugh escaped his lips as he nodded. "She was a bit of a rebel. Nobody could tame her."

  "Was she still at the school when you left?" I asked, giving Lily a glance. "Did you know her too?"

  "No." Anjelo answered even as she shook her head. "Lily didn't know her. Mika left before Lily started. She couldn't take the pressure of trying to conform, and she'd started to turn."

  I nodded. "I hear it's tough on them when they come of age. Grams once told me they call it the first death. I gathered from the description that it wouldn't be an easy thing to experience." Much like a walker's first shift.

  He shrugged, but his eyes had gone dark and I wondered if
he'd cared for the girl. "Her mother was giving her a very hard time. She disapproved of Mika mixing with us. Even though we were all paranormal we weren't death talkers. Death talkers, according to Kira, are superior to the rest of us."

  I could almost hear Kira saying precisely that. "It's such a responsibility."

  He snorted. "Yeah. I ran into her after school one day, and she told me to stay away from her daughter or else. Not long after that, Mika left. We never heard from her again."

  His voice was back to ragged and his eyes glinted wet. Then he shifted his gaze and met my gaze without flinching. "What happened?"

  I hesitated, deciding at the last moment that a detailed description here and now was a very bad idea.

  "The killer seems to have joined their group. He'd been hanging out with them for a while. Asked for a gathering of all the members under some kind of pretense. The kids were gullible enough and they came."

  "And all died?"

  I nodded. "He had some sort of power but he didn't appear to be paranormal. He obliterated the entire group within seconds, then disappeared."

  Silence hovered over our table like a cloud while Anjelo absorbed yet more bad news. I'd given him enough to understand the deaths had been brutal. I didn't plan to elaborate further.

  Suddenly he lifted his chin, his shoulders tensing as his grief transitioned into anger at me. "Why the hell did you make this blood promise in the first place?"

  I controlled my expression, maintaining outward serenity. "Because it was the only way to save Greer."

  "Greer." Anjelo snorted. "Why am I not surprised?" His eyes narrowed. I knew what he was thinking, could see he was holding back.

  "I know you didn't like her," I said. "But, if it makes you feel any better, she said she was sorry. She asked me to forgive her." I smiled and reached out to hold his hand. "I forgave her."

  "She had a lot of problems," said Lily softly. Lily understood Greer more than we all did. "She was struggling with some pretty big emotional weight."

  Anjelo waved it away. "That's no excuse."

  "I know. It isn't. I don't take my frustrations out on people. But not everyone who can't shift can control their emotions."

  Anjelo's eyebrows rose. "Greer was Pariah?"

  My turn to be surprised. "Did you not know?"

  His eyes shifted to me. "How would I know if nobody told me?"

  I looked from him to Lily. "You didn't fill him in?"

  Lily shrugged. "It wasn't my story to tell. I knew you would tell him sooner or later. And besides, he's had his own burdens to bear."

  "He's sitting right here," snapped Anjelo, his golden eyes glowing as little as his panther stirred. "And what burdens are those?"

  "Illyria."

  He stiffened. "She's not my burden."

  "Then stop making her one."

  "She isn't my burden. My actions are."

  "What actions?" I snapped. "Trusting the person who saved your life? She deceived you, yes. She deceived me too. I trusted her until she stuck her blade into my gut. Do you see me living with everlasting guilt?"

  Anjelo shook his head. "You wouldn't have trusted her if I hadn't vouched for her."

  "Don't be stupid. What about Cassie? She could have confirmed that Illyria was a two-faced bitch. But even Cassie was fooled. We were all smart enough. Illyria just happened to be a high-level psycho. She had everyone fooled. Even Wren'do didn't know and he was in love with her. He remained as her second in command thinking she cared."

  Anjelo stared at me for long moment, seeming to consider my words as if the truths had never occurred to him.

  Maybe they hadn't. "Have you really been blaming yourself all along?"

  He blinked. "She stabbed you. She gave your mother to Omega to be tortured."

  "Ah. I see." I nodded, understanding now. "You feel responsible for what happened to my mom?"

  His head shifted so slightly that I almost didn't recognize it as a nod.

  "Anjelo, can you please stop with all the self-blame. This is all on Illyria. Even Mom knows that." I sighed and smiled. "Have you spoken to her?"

  "Who? Illyria?"

  "No. She's dead."

  "Oh, your mom."

  "Yes, Anjelo. My Mom."

  Even Lily was smiling and shaking her head.

  "What makes you think she'd want to see me?" he asked. "It's not like I did anything to save her."

  Did he really believe that, too?

  "Mom remained alive and safe because of your determination to find her. Illyria had her agenda, but she needed you too, so she kept Mom alive. Whatever you did while you were there worked to keep Mom alive and well." My eyes narrowed. "Are you sure this isn't an ego thing?"

  "Ego thing?"

  "Yeah. She made the big, strong guy look stupid." My voice was cooler than I'd intended but it seemed to do the trick.

  "Of course not. What the hell do you take me for?"

  "Well, then. We have it all resolved. It's not your ego. You did everything to help. Mom's alive and healthy because of you. You're normal just like all of us who were tricked, and Illyria is dead for her troubles."

  He stared at me.

  "So is that all wrapped up now?"

  He didn't move.

  "I'll take that as a 'yes'. No more moping. No more woe-is-me?"

  He nodded.

  "Good. If you're done feeling sorry for yourself, we now need to figure out how we're going to tackle this case."

  He raised an eyebrow but didn't respond. Instead, he patted Lily's hand where it had sat encircling his arm all through the conversation.

  "Right." He took a breath. "Let's catch this bastard."

  CHAPTER 17

  I KNEW EVEN BEFORE I slipped my key into the lock that Mom and Grams were home.

  Both watched me with strained expressions as I came in and tossed my bag under the coat rack behind the door.

  "What did I do now?" I said.

  "Kids." Mom smirked as she played with the crumbs on her plate. "Everything's always about you."

  I went over to her, grabbed the plate, placed it on the coffee table, and then sank against her.

  She squeezed me tight and sighed.

  Tilting my head up, I studied her closely. "This new guy in your life, he giving you a hard time?" I narrowed my eyes. "I know where he lives. I could break a few bones for you."

  Grams snorted and Mom smiled. "I'll let you know if it ever comes to that." Although she spoke to me, I got the feeling she wasn't really with us, her mind was off somewhere, probably concentrating on the High Council and their shenanigans.

  "So. Anything I need to know?"

  Mom shook her head. "Not a peep from the council, though your father and his friends have a good idea of who the mole is."

  "Mole? Ooh." I wriggled my eyebrows. "Sounds very cloak-and-dagger."

  "It is," Grams said. "The bastards are out to ruin our families." She sat back, studying my face as if she just realized something. "You know this will affect you too, right?"

  I shrugged. "Not as if I care about being alpha."

  Mom shook her head. "Honey, I don't think you should be so blasé about this."

  "But why should it bother me?" I asked, genuinely confused. "If Dad doesn't stay an alpha, Iain will take his place. I don't think I'll even be considered as a possible successor."

  Grams leaned forward. "This is where I will have to agree with your mother. You can deny it, because you've never liked the idea of leading, but it's your blood you're talking about."

  I snorted. "Half-blood, you mean?" I asked, belatedly glancing at Mom's face. "No offense."

  Mom laughed. "None at all. You're the half-breed, not me."

  "Mom." I cried, feigning hurt, then let out a sputtering laugh which totally spoiled the effect. Then I sobered. "I know you're worried about me--me and Logan--and I understand, but it's not a problem."

  "How is it not a problem?" asked Mom, the warmth in her voice dropping a few degrees. "What are you plannin
g?"

  They both stared me down and I shifted in my seat.

  "Kailin Odel, you aren't going to leave that boy, are you?"

  I didn't respond."

  Leaving Logan had been my intention all along, but I hadn't faced it head on until now. Says a lot for ones subconscious.

  "You are." Mom did not look impressed. "Now it makes total sense why you've been so calm about all this. Cutting and running as soon as the going gets hot?"

  I wanted to say 'look who's talking', wanted to say she'd done the same thing to us, but from the look in her eyes she knew exactly what was going through my mind.

  So I didn't say a word. I knew what she'd sacrificed and why. She'd left to keep us safe. Us. Not herself.

  I sighed, leaning my head against the back of the couch and staring up at the ceiling. "I haven't really thought about it too much. After that first high council meeting, with all the threats of expulsion for fraternizing with non-walkers, not to mention everything Logan has going on that's way less important than my problems, I guess I'd already half decided."

  Grams pursed her lips. "So all this nonsense about not wanting to be an alpha has been posturing?"

  "Not always." I had finally admitted it. "It hasn't been a lie for most of my life. It's how I felt. But recently, things have happened that changed me, changed my perspective. We'd all trusted Uncle Niko, but his behavior, his experiments, his lack of care for his family, his experimentation on Mom--he killed that trust. Then Greer. We'd never gotten along, never seen eye-to-eye, but she'd had her own demons to deal with, her own horrors. And in the end she was my sister who died admitting she really did love me."

  The silence in the room was a living breathing thing, holding the women of my family in suspense as they waited for me to break it.

  "All those incidents made me realize that as much as I've been running from my responsibilities as alpha, I keep on doing things that make me responsible for others."

  I gave a short laugh. "Did you know that Anjelo and Lily have both declared me their Alpha?"

  Grams raised her eyebrows but didn't look shocked.

  "Not entirely surprising," said Mom. "Both work with you, trust you, care about you."