by A A Mize
“I can walk,” she said, pushing to sit up and put her feet on the floor.
“Rest,” he replied, refusing to put her down. Instead, he took her upstairs to bed, avoiding strands of early morning light from where she had left her curtains cracked. She was asleep before he got her to her room, her cheek pressed to his shoulder.
He lay her down, tucking her legs in under her comforter before closing her curtains against the sun, careful to keep to the shadows as he did. He took a moment to brace himself on the desk, unwilling to leave the room. Knowing the monster that had attacked Matthias was dead was of little comfort to him. Not all Turned were decent. Some were flat-out evil. Just like humans, the Turned had their rotten apples, too. The difference was, an evil Turned had the potential to do far more damage. If there was one seeking Matthias’ death, there might be more. But why?
Rowan exhaled, rubbing his temples. Everything was so tense he hardly knew what end was up any more. They had no idea where Ivanka was or even who she was or if she had any connection to Rachel’s death, Yvette would no doubt return for revenge on Rowan, and now Matthias had been attacked in his home territory with no inclination as to why. Rowan was as exhausted as his friends, wishing for rest when he knew it would not come. Not for a good long while anyway, as Samiell was due any minute.
One last glance at the sleeping Sophie and Rowan left her to dream, safe and warm in her bed.
30
Rowan
It is almost noon and I am still awake, though reluctantly. I wish for sleep more than anything else, but my mind can’t seem to calm down enough for me to drift off. I suppose I should record the incidents of the day and see if it helps me relax.
Samiell and Sarah arrived shortly after I put Sophie to bed and he examined Matthias. He seems sure that the boy will recover quickly, even with so little blood in his system. Sophie tried her best to feed him, but he was too weak to benefit much. The Notary, however, was impressed that she had even offered, intrigued at her loyalty to Matthias in light of recent events.
I suppose Samiell has plenty of reason to take interest, as no one is sure of exactly who is behind Rachel’s murder. Of course, I think Ivanka had something to do with it, if she isn’t the killer herself. The more I think about it, the more I’m certain of her involvement. But the why of it isn’t clear. Who is she? Why would she kill Rachel?
I hope that the investigation turns to her and they leave Matthias out of any murder charges. I can’t believe the change in him and had I not witnessed it with my own eyes, it would seem little more than wishful thinking. He’s not been high in a few days, and he seems to be trying harder to keep out of trouble. Still I know it is only a matter of time before the police come here. Whether it’s concerning Rachel’s case or the dead Turned I am sure they have already found out in the Quarter remains to be seen. Either way, they will come and I don’t know how much longer I can stall Matthias’ interrogation.
Not that I feel I need to stall anymore. I’m certain that Matthias will be cleared of the charges. Perhaps it would be best if he goes in and talks to Homicide. Give them his side of the story and tell them about the woman who got in the cab with Rachel. I like Miller and I have no issue telling him everything I know about Ivanka to aid in his investigation. I’ll do what I can to help him get to the bottom of this, especially if it means getting my life back to normal. No more murders, no more grand theft auto, no more random Turned attacks.
One thing has gone in our favor, however. Since Sophie found out about the Turned and how the police have lied to her about Rachel, she’s been far more careful with Officer Roberts. The lady had attempted to call and text Sophie quite a bit, but to no avail. Sophie’s been avoiding her and I admit I’m pleased. I hate to think that with everything else Sophie is battling with, now she has to deal with someone trying to force a friendship for less than innocent reasons.
It’s my belief that Roberts is so adamant because Walker has put her up to it. Miller is aware of Walker’s meddling, so I would be a fool not to acknowledge it as well. I believe that Walker wanted Roberts to get close to Sophie in order to spy on Matthias and me, since he can’t seem to let Rachel’s death go completely into the hands of the Homicide detectives. What remains a mystery however, is why Walker would want to spy on us? He and I have butted heads for years after the incident with his wife, but this is taking it too far. It makes me wonder how much he’s learned in his investigation and what he knows. What Homicide knows. Only time will tell. Perhaps I should call Miller and tell him Matthias and I are ready to speak with them.
As Rowan wrote the final words, a heavy knock on the front door caught his attention. Right on cue, he thought as he closed his journal. He didn’t have enough patience left in his tired body to deal with the police, but he knew he had to.
Rowan trudged downstairs to find Samiell sitting in Rowan’s favorite chair, not even glancing up from his books to see what was going on. He was far too busy trying to figure out the identity of the Turned man who attacked Matthias. It was like his own little mystery and he couldn’t get enough.
Sarah on the other hand, did watch Rowan from the window seat as he descended the stairs. She smirked at him, then peered out the curtains to the street. “Looks like your old friend Walker has come for tea.”
“Ready the arsenic,” Rowan said darkly.
“Now, now, Rowan. Don’t be rude,” Sarah tutted but the mischievous gleam in her eyes contradicted her words. “Besides, it looks like the officer he brought with him could use a cup. Poor thing looks scared to death.”
Rowan opened the door to the officer and his younger companion. Sarah was right; the guy looked like he was seconds from fainting. His face was incredibly pale, and his eyes darted between Rowan and Walker.
“I recognize you,” Rowan said to the younger man, ignoring Walker. “You were at the Iron Lotus the other day. Following up on a… complaint?”
“Y-yessir.”
“What’s your name?”
“His name isn’t important,” Walker thundered.
“I think it’s important. If he’s going to be hanging around, talking to my people, I should know who he is.”
Walker ground his teeth on the cigar, a nerve in his jaw jumping. Rowan suppressed a smile.
“Kincaid. Officer Sam Kincaid,” the younger man answered.
“See, that wasn’t so hard now was it?”
“The body of an old Turned man was found a few blocks from here by a resident,” Walker said. “Do you know anything about it?”
“As a matter of fact, I do know something about it. He attacked Matthias on his way home from work early this morning. Almost killed him. I have the Notary Samiell here with me now and we are currently investigating the stranger. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m busy.”
Rowan began to close the door, but the lieutenant stopped him, throwing up a hand to indicate that he wasn’t finished speaking.
Kincaid shuffled his feet, looking at his superior with a mix of fear and awe. Surely he couldn’t believe that anyone would have the nerve to address a Turned in such a demanding manner. Rowan nearly scowled at the ignorant boy, catching his reaction at the last moment before he could embarrass himself by sinking down to their level. Instead, he composed himself and waited for the lieutenant to speak.
“One more thing. I’m sure you think Matthias is in the clear for that girl’s murder, but that’s where you’d be wrong,” Walker said, practically spitting Matthias’s name through his yellowed teeth. “The guys out in Mississippi went through Rachel’s car. We got the results back early this morning. You can’t hide that boy forever. You’ll have to come in for questioning soon enough and then everyone will know what a murdering piece of trash you’ve been harboring.”
“If you had two braincells to rub together you’d know that Matthias didn’t kill that woman. But I suppose proof is on the backburner in favor of your need for revenge over an issue that wasn’t even my fault.”
“
Keep in mind your protection only goes so far, Rowan, and if you can’t control your own kind, I’m sure the mayor and your Elders will find someone who can,” Walker raged, veins bulging from his neck.
“Don’t you threaten me, Lieutenant. We both know that if you had enough evidence against Matthias, you would have him in irons. But you don’t. All you know is that Matthias saw her before she got in that cab. There is no proof that he had anything to do with her murder. The car will prove nothing. How about this…?” Rowan nearly growled, eyes flashing in anger as he stepped out onto the sidewalk, Kincaid instinctively stepping back, watching his superior for any signal as to what he should do next. “I’ll handle my kind, and you can go back to doing your own damn job and stop wasting my time. Before you come around accusing me of not being in control of the Turned, how about you address your own crime rate. Oh wait, you’d have to follow protocol to do that. Now, if that is all, I suggest you leave me be. Good day, gentlemen.” Rowan practically slammed the door on them, his temper boiling close to the surface.
“Calm now, Rowan,” Samiell said with a chuckle. “He’s just trying to get a rise out of you, and you’re playing perfectly into his hand.”
“The young one was quite intimidated, though. I doubt he will forget this for a while,” Sarah giggled as she watched the officers disappear down the street from her place at the window. It seemed she had the same childlike interest in the lives of others that Samiell did.
“Have you found anything yet?” Rowan asked.
“Yes, actually. You might find this interesting.” Samiell motioned for Rowan to join him, to which the younger Turned sat on a footstool beside the Notary as he read from a journal. “The Turned that Matthias killed was registered as Meshulam, Pupil of Anastasia. However, he went Rogue some years ago and gained the name Azazel, which translates to ‘entire removal.’ Instead of meaning removal of sins, for this Rogue it meant the removal of lives. He’s known for committing one of the most taboo practices of our kind and survives by drinking the blood of Turned he has killed. It makes him incredibly powerful, on the edge of Feral, and gives him an extra set of fangs. It says here that the power he exhibited was only matched by the overpowering scent of death and decay that clung to every fiber of his being. Frankly, it’s a miracle Matthias survived, even more so that he killed the him.”
“What was he, then? An aimless Rogue just trying to cause trouble?” Sarah asked.
“From what I can gather, he’s a sort of mercenary,” Samiell mused.
“Wait, how can you ‘sort of’ be a mercenary? You either kill people for money or you don’t. There’s no in-between in that,” Rowan said.
“A normal mercenary takes a job depending on monetary pay out. They usually have no moral compass, taking jobs good or evil, with money as a motivator. Azazel, however, only takes jobs that interest him, regardless of the payout. He is specifically drawn to ones where a meal is involved. Wise ass,” he muttered under his breath.
Rowan ignored the insult, although he heard it plainly enough. “Someone hired Azazel to kill Matthias?”
“Hmm…It’s possible. He could have been paid, or he simply could have seen Matthias and saw it as an opportunity to feed.”
“No. That wasn’t it,” a voice from the couch caught their attention collectively, and they looked over to see Matthias propping up on his elbow. “That guy was waiting for me. The trap was set, and I walked right into it. And he mentioned Rowan, too. Said we didn’t deserve the Quarter.”
“At first, I thought it might have been about territory, but that’s not the case. Azazel was a Rogue. He couldn’t have won the Quarter anyway,” Rowan mulled.
“True. Take it one step further and owning territory goes against the Rogue way of life. They choose to live outside of our laws because they want to do what they want, when they want. Being a Leader is a lot of work and is heavily regulated by the Elders and human governments alike. The answer is clear when you think about it in the terms of was he hired or was it opportunity: Azazel was hired to kill Matthias,” Samiell decided.
“But why? And by whom?” Sarah pondered.
“That is precisely what we need to find out, Sarah. First, who would have a motive to hire a Rogue to help take over the Quarter?”
Rowan thought for a few minutes on Samiell’s question. There were plenty of Turned who didn’t like him, but most of them were outside of his territory and likely wouldn’t go through the trouble to take his, when their own were just as easy to take and they wouldn’t have to move out of their own districts. The few that were in the Quarter either respected or feared him enough to leave him be.
“I can’t think of a single Turned who has even expressed interested in taking the Quarter and my informants haven’t mentioned any incidences, either. For the most part my territory is loyal, and I firmly believe that most of them would fight with me if it came down to it.”
“My question is: whoever is trying to kill us off and gain our territory, why don’t they do it themselves?” Matthias asked. “If they were willing to hire a merc to do the job of getting us out of the picture, they must have some reason why they couldn’t go after us personally. Either they have a physical issue where they aren’t strong enough, or they don’t want us to know who they are because they know us personally and they understand what kind of trouble we would cause for them.”
Matthias had a lot of good points: whomever hired Azazel was hiding their identity. Rowan wracked his brain for all possibilities as to who could have organized the attack on Matthias but to no avail.
“If it’s a Turned, I don’t see them not being physically able to come after you themselves. Unless they were fat. Or old like me,” Samiell joked. “I suppose it’s possible that they want the Quarter, but they don’t think they are strong enough to defeat Rowan hand to hand. Hire some Rogues to do your dirty work for you and take all the credit for yourself. Not like the Rogue would want it in the long run anyway. That’s how I would do it if I wanted territory for myself.”
“The only Turned I can think of who might do this is Yvette,” Rowan said. “I’ve angered her. I threw her out almost as dawn broke for attacking Sophie. She’s petty enough to try and kill me, or more likely, kill Sophie. I would like to say I believe she is responsible for this, for little other reason than I would finally have a reason to ban her from the Quarter. As much as it pains me to say, it makes no sense for her to hire someone to attack Matthias. And even if she had, what would she gain? She’s never liked New Orleans, so why try to take my place as Leader?”
“I’m not sure she’s responsible, but I also don’t know if I would be shocked to find out she was behind it. But now that you mention it, we must eventually discuss what she did to Sophie. From what you told me I believe we are within the bounds to report her to the Elders.”
“Good. If I can get her out of the picture I might be able to focus on more pressing matters.”
“You look tired. You should get some rest, Rowan. This case will still be here when you wake. Perhaps some sleep will illuminate some things.” Samiell yawned, then stood, pushing his palms into his back to stretch. “Come now, Sarah. This old man needs his rest, too. Be a dear and call the car around would you? I’ll make some inquiries later and get some more information on this Azazel. We’ll be back.”
“I appreciate it.”
Samiell smiled and Rowan led him to the door while Sarah chatted on the phone with his private driver. “Isn’t this so exciting? I’ve not had this much fun since Jack the Ripper.”
Rowan smirked and shook his head at the old Notary and his childish ways. Ancient as he was, he had an interesting sense of curiosity, although it seemed he had lost touch with reality a bit. Over the centuries, dire events had become games to him. Rowan showed his guests out, even holding an umbrella for the Notary so he wouldn’t get burned by the midday sun. He silently wondered if someday he too would lose sense of reality. Would he become like Samiell? Lonely. Wandering around that gran
d mansion, reading about the lives of other Turned in order to escape the mundane.
No. Not Rowan. He would disappear before he let himself slip that far. The world was a large place, as small as it might seem sometimes, and there would always be something else to explore. Adventure to behold. If only he could get through this current adventure first.
31
Roberts steadied herself as Kincaid closed the blinds against the prying eyes of other officers, curious as to why the lieutenant was throwing such a fit. It was no surprise with the way he burst through the door and stormed across the department, knocking things from desks and cursing at anyone who crossed his path.
“I want him under the jail!” Walker raged, pounding his fist on his desk.
“Sir, perhaps you should just let this go,” Roberts said. “There is no proof that Matthias was the one who killed Rachel. He stole a car, that’s as much as we can get him for and you know the Elders are the ones who’ll handle that. We need to drop this and let Homicide handle it.”
“I will not,” Walker bellowed. “Matthias is involved, I know it. He might not have killed Rachel Summers but he had to have something to do with it.”
“You can’t just say he’d guilty because he’s Turned. We can’t arrest people for that.”
“Turned aren’t people, Roberts, and you’ll do well to remember that. Miller came in here earlier ranting about missing evidence. I’m damn sure Rowan had something to do about that too. As soon as we can get back surveillance footage we’ll have them both put under the jail,” Walker said, slamming his hand on his desk and turning his back to them.
Kincaid and Roberts exchanged glances but neither of them had any idea what Walker was talking about. They didn’t have to wait long for an explanation.
“Homicide recovered a Turned ID when they investigated the Iron Lotus. Before the card could be properly processed, it disappeared. We think Rowan knows Matthias is involved somehow and has snuck in and stolen evidence. It would explain why he’s been putting off Matthias’ interrogation.”