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

by Ayer, T. G.

  Decades ago, when the droughts dried up what used to be arable land, many residents had found the pigeons and other birdlife, a good source of protein.

  Life hadn't changed that drastically over the last few decades--we just had fewer birds, less farming, less city maintenance.

  And fewer jobs.

  Let's not forget fewer jobs.

  I kept my breathing low as I slowly pushed open the door to the roof, then blinked at the bright light.

  And at the man standing there, waiting for me.

  Agent Blake.

  CHAPTER 36

  THE MEN AT THE BOTTOM of the stairs had stopped their journey upwards. They'd been herding me upstairs. And here I thought using the rooftop was the safe choice.

  I'd run from them because even I wasn't stupid enough to take on three armed men.

  But, I'd just played straight into Blake's hands.

  I let the door swing shut and backed away, my heels skidding on the gravel.

  I skirted metal duct, keeping an eye on Blake when he swung his weapon at me. As I threw myself onto the floor I caught sight of the sun reflecting on the neon blue flecks marking the barrel. A previous bullet had sprayed poison on exit.

  "I've been looking for you, Walker."

  Lame.

  "You've found me. Now what?" I asked coldly, frustrated that I couldn't see him. His henchmen would be on their way soon, too.

  "Now, I kill you."

  "You're very confident."

  "Easy to be confident when you know you'll win the fight."

  More lame.

  "How about you fight and let's see what happens?" I suggested, keeping a tight grip on my bag. I couldn't reach inside for my own weapon so the bag itself would have to do.

  He pulled the trigger and I ducked. The bullet whizzed past my ear and slammed into the door behind me.

  I hit the ground. Rolled over before coming to a stop behind an air vent. Blake circled, sending more bullets my way.

  He rounded the vent, plugging a dozen bullets into the ground and into the vent. Bullets hit, concrete chips flew at me, burning a path down to my chin. I ignored the sting, digging into my bag for a gun.

  I swiped at my cheek and ducked around the vent, drawing my pistol free and sending a few shots in his direction.

  He just followed, spraying me with more bullets.

  I waited until I heard him release and reload, and sprang forward, emptying my weapon, aiming at his head.

  Blake moved faster, his next bullet slamming into the top of my gun, sending it flying from my fingers.

  Shit!

  I ducked low, letting my claws flow to the tips of my fingernails, sharp and deadly, forced to use what Ailuros had given.

  Ready, I waited until he had to reload again, then ran full tilt at him. I slammed into his chest, putting the full force of my panther into the leap. He tripped over, his feet slipping on the ground, and hit the concrete full force.

  Only, he was ready for me, and moved straight into a roll, tipping the balance between us and wedging me between his knees on the ground. With his hand to my neck.

  A walker's neck wasn't an easy thing to break. An alpha's neck even harder. Blake growled and pocketed his weapon before concentrating the force of both his hands on my throat. His fingers grew tighter, cold now, like ice stabbing into my throat.

  I gasped, stabbed my claws into his sides and rolled out from under him as he yowled and grabbed at his waist.

  His vest was thick, but the sticky wetness on three of my claws confirmed he'd suffered at least three injuries. I'd hit home.

  He sprang at me again, even as I rolled away, planting a knee to my back. He bent close, his arm going tight around my neck. He gripped his wrist with his other hand and began to squeeze hard, driving his freezing arm against my throat. I coughed, and struggled for air, and almost reached out to pull his fingers from my throat when I realized my claws were still in full form. Rather than impale myself on my own claws I decided to use them on my assailant.

  To his own detriment he'd gotten too close.

  I swiped hard at his face, the sharp edges of my claws hitting skin and scraping bone as my hand moved in a backwards grasp. He yelled out, fell back onto the concrete and rolled away. Within seconds he was on his feet again, holding his ripped face together with his hand.

  His other hand hung limply at his side.

  My strike had caught him first on his bicep and then his lower jaw and cheekbone, three deep slices and one shallow scrape.

  As I righted myself, Blake began to back away. There was no fear in his eyes though. He was just making a calculated decision to retreat while he still had his life in his hands.

  Not to mention his face.

  But I wasn't planning on letting him escape. I launched into a run, my panther giving me a boost.

  I slammed into him, knocking him flat, swinging my claws across his throat to finish the job.

  But my claws met with nothing.

  A shadow shimmered beside Blake and in the next instant he disappeared.

  Someone had jumped him to safety.

  I held one of Grams' old handkerchiefs to my face as I half-limped half-walked to O'Hagan's.

  The tiny cuts made by the flying chips of concrete would heal soon enough, along with the sprained ankle that I'd only noticed after Blake had escaped.

  His henchmen hadn't come to his rescue, neither had they come to kill me, so that made me think there was more going on than I knew.

  And he'd been saved at the last minute.

  Someone powerful was protecting him, and I wasn't going to sit around waiting to find out who.

  The doorbell tinkled as I pushed into the bar. Its aroma of alcohol and fried bar food smelled familiar and comforting. No wonder it had become my go-to place when I needed down-time. I hoped the sense of comfort would last a while longer.

  I slid into the booth where Anjelo sat hunched over.

  Alone

  Something in my gut twisted, a premonitory twinge. "Where's Lily?"

  He was silent but when I kicked him under the table he raised his eyes to mine.

  "She's missing."

  I felt dizzy. Deja vu dizzy.

  "What?" I failed to keep my voice down.

  Anjelo didn't seem to care much. "I don't know how it happened. One moment she was there, then next she was gone.

  "'There' where?" I leaned forward. "Storm said you were both out doing something for me."

  Anjelo's eyes widened, and anger flared in their depths. Anger and disbelief. "That's a lie. Storm sent us to investigate the disappearance of the two City Deep kids."

  "Storm said there were murders, but he was certain that you two were investigating something for me." I frowned thinking about the files he'd sent--and about the ones he hadn't. Two files on two of his missing teens. None of the follow-up information he'd promised.

  "Storm told you that?" Anjelo couldn't have looked more stunned if I'd slapped him across the face.

  I nodded. "Something is rotten in the state of City Deep."

  "Yes," he said. "It is."

  "Tell me."

  Anjelo took a moment. "Storm sent us to check out the two missing kids; Emma and Simon. They're both mages. One's an air mage, the other a fire. Em's still in training but she'll never be very powerful. We call her our Power Puff girl."

  Funny. Sad. "How did they go missing?"

  Anjelo shrugged. "Storm just said they were gone and Lily and I went to look for them."

  When he stopped talking I knew he was trying to process the fact that Storm had lied to us all. No time for that now. "And?"

  "We tracked them to the train station, up one of the older abandoned tunnels."

  I nodded. "How were they killed?"

  His mouth went tight. "Bullet to the chest. One each."

  "Neon blue residue?"

  Anjelo blinked. "How did you know?"

  "It's been cropping up all over the place. Someone knows how to kill paran
ormals and turned the knowledge into a versatile weapon."

  "Shit," he said, his expression dark.

  "So tell me what happened to Lily?" He didn't respond immediately. "Come on Anjelo, talk to me."

  "We were investigating the scene and she disappeared."

  "Just like that?"

  He nodded.

  "You looked for her?" Of course he did.

  "Scanned the whole area three times. There wasn't a sign of her anywhere."

  "Did you shift?" He nodded again. "Couldn't get her scent?"

  "Nothing."

  This wasn't the first time Anjelo had lost Lily. I was amazed he wasn't falling apart. "Okay, Lily's gone. Tell me about the kids."

  "Kai!" Anjelo was genuinely horrified.

  I laughed. "Anjelo, she's been abducted before. Tortured horrifically, and she survived. She's strong."

  "So you say."

  "Yes, I do. And I also say we need to think logically if we're going to get her back. So tell me about the kids that were killed. How long have they been dead?"

  "About two days, from the state of decay." He wasn't happy, and sounded it.

  "Do you know where the bodies are now? Maybe we can get Nerina to speak to the spirits of the kids?"

  "That's going to be a little difficult," he snapped. "The bodies disappeared when Lily did."

  Crap. "So they took the bodies to stop the kids' spirits from communicating and giving us information. Why take Lily?" Wrong place, wrong time?

  "Because she was there when they came for the bodies," he said. "And now we have no idea where she is or what they're doing to her, and Em's spirit can't help us--"

  "Not true," I said. "I know one way to speak to the kids."

  His uncomprehending melted slowly into understanding. Then into disbelief. "Kai, you can't go to the Graylands again."

  There was more than a hint of horror in his voice but his heart wasn't in the objection. Because of Lily.

  "It might be our only chance to find out who took her," I said. "It could be the only way to track her. And to save her."

  CHAPTER 37

  I HELD THE PORTAL KEY in my hand, and felt the cool bite of the iron disk against my flesh. The disk gleamed, midnight moonlight dancing off the carved lettering, giving the key, and the clear night an eerie feel.

  The late fall temperature had dropped to near discomfort. All across the lake' glassy surface mist rose from the water like ghostly fingers.

  I stood, the toes of my boots on the edge of the dilapidated wooden dock, taking in deep breaths of frigid night air, readying for the jump.

  I'd done it before, but the idea of being sucked through that tiny donut hole in the center of the portal key made my stomach turn no matter how much magic was involved.

  "Kai, you don't have to do this," said Anjelo from behind me, his sports jacket rustling loudly in the silent night.

  Though his words said one thing, his tone said something else entirely. He knew how important it was that I made this trip to the dead lands. If anything, he needed me to go more than I did.

  To my left, Nerina was somber as her skirts flapped, a sudden brisk wind rippling their material over her curvaceous legs.

  "I will be with you, Kai," she said. "Although, I'm not sure I can do much more than be a voice in your head while you are there." Her pale face was corpselike, draped with the shadows of the night.

  I shook my head. "Thanks, but you don't need to worry about me. I've done this before."

  Which I had. Without any help.

  "Nevertheless." Her tone was firm, edged with a hint of persistence. "I will be with you. You just never know."

  I moved to face her. Was she accompanying me, in whatever insubstantial form, because Kira had commanded it?

  She obviously saw the suspicion in my eyes because she inclined her head sadly. "However, if you really don't want me with you I shall remain here and await your return."

  I was suddenly ashamed of my own stubbornness. "I'm sorry. It's not that I don't trust you." And it wasn't.

  Her pale eyes lit for a few seconds. "I know." It was slowly becoming easier to identify her tiny facial and behavioral nuances. "It's Lady Kira you don't trust. And that's understandable. Shall I stay here and wait for word from you? If at any time you need me, I will come."

  I frowned. I'd never called her myself. She'd always been summoned by Jess, or called on by an agent of either Sentinel or Omega. "And how will you do that? Did the dead lands get cell service while I wasn't watching?"

  Nerina smiled and shifted, her hand appearing almost magically from the folds of her voluminous sleeves. When she opened her long slender fingers a small metal disk lay in the center of her palm.

  It was a smaller version of the portal key I held in my own hand. Smaller, and gleaming bronze, not iron.

  I put the larger portal key into my jacket pocket then took the bronze disk from Nerina. I weighed it in my palm, turning it over to study the inscriptions that shone in the white light of the moon.

  Nerina leaned closer. "This is a key much like your portal key. But think of it as a telegraph-machine, able to transcend the veil between the worlds."

  "How do I use it?" I asked, still turning the coin-like disk over in my hand.

  She took the disk from me. Pointed a pale finger at one of the seven symbols carved on the surface. "This one that looks like the half moon. Place your thumb on it and say my name. Then trace the pad of your thumb along all seven symbols in a clockwise fashion. Repeat the action three times, then say my name again. The key will call to me, and I will hear it."

  This was all very strange. "How can you hear it?"

  "Do you recall the ceremony in which your portal key was created?"

  I nodded.

  "Your blood was used to generate the final spelling to ensure that the key was coded to you, and you alone. My blood has been used to generate the power of this key in much the same way. Death talkers use keys like this to communicate with close family members and other important people in their lives."

  It made sense now. I gave a wry smile. "Is this how Kira communicates with you?"

  "Yes," she said simply, and handed back the key. Clearly she was at Kira's beck and call, and now I knew how.

  I nodded slowly, staring at the shining metal in my palm.

  I wasn't about to lie. I was touched. Nerina was giving me more than a way of contacting her. She was giving me her trust. She'd backed off even though she'd probably been given express instructions by Kira to stick with me at all times. That was huge.

  I looked up at her and smiled, my gratitude genuine. "Thank you, Nerina," I said. "I'm honored."

  Maybe it was the strange shadows cast by the clouds as they skittered across the face of the moon, but I could have sworn she blushed.

  I'd come prepared for a hunt--wearing jeans, leather jacket, and boots, all black, and well-used and comfortable for running, fighting and killing. I slid Nerina's key into my jeans pocket, took the portal key from my jacket. And held it tightly.

  I glanced over my shoulder at Anjelo. He'd been strangely quiet but I understood his mood. "Tell my parents and Logan where I've gone," I said.

  His head jerked in a parody of a nod. "Maybe we won't need to worry them. You'll be back soon."

  "Anjelo," I said, warning clear in my voice. "You will tell them. They deserve to know before something bad happens."

  "What makes you think something bad will happen?"

  I glared at him.

  "Then why don't you tell them now before you jump to the dead lands?" he asked, teasing now.

  "Because they won't let me go if I do."

  The truth echoed in the silence. Anjelo pierced me pleading eyes. "Kai, please find her."

  "Planning on it. Let's hope those kids can tell me something." I didn't say we'd be truly lucky if their spirits had remained at the scene long enough to see what happened to Lily. I didn't have to.

  "I knew this was a long shot." He was already startin
g to sound like he'd lost hope.

  "Stop it," I snapped, rounding on him so fast he almost flinched. "Don't give up before we even try."

  He hung his head. "I just want her back, Kai."

  I placed a palm to his cheek. Beneath the bravado lay a frightened boy, and he couldn't hide from me. "I will do everything I can to bring her back. I can't do more than that."

  I paused, staring his fear down. "Be strong, Anjelo. And stay with Logan. Help him find out more about Blake. Logan isn't going to like it but I left him a message about what happened earlier today."

  "What happened earlier?"

  "I sent you an email."

  "Kai." He grabbed my arm as I tried to walk off.

  I sighed and turned back. "Fine. You get the Cliff-notes version. Agent Blake attacked me before I met you at O'Hagan's. I ripped his face open and he ran off."

  "That's it?" he asked looking confused.

  "Yeah, I might have left out the part where they were stalking me at my apartment. They were after me, so I don't think they'll be back."

  "Kai," Anjelo admonished. "And you're only telling me this now?"

  "My little tête-à-tête with the killer was over before I even spoke to you. Lily's the most important thing. Besides, I won't be in this world, so the killer won't be able to find me. Win-win."

  Leaving Anjelo shaking his head I headed to the end of the boardwalk. I stood on the edge and tossed the key over the water. It hovered there, over the lake, and as it did a pillar of light began to glow.

  "Kai!" Anjelo yelled.

  I grinned, and jumped into the light.

  The last thing I heard him say was, "Typical."

  CHAPTER 38

  I APPEARED ON THE OUTSKIRTS of the Graylands, where every dimension had its very own reverse version. As disconcerting the back-to-front city of Chicago was, I'd been here twice before and more or less knew my way around.