Transient Moon

by Kos, Gaja J. ;

  Twenty-One

  We gave Niram the remaining minutes to spend alone with his daughter. I felt lousy for wanting to escape the room, but leaving the oppressive presence of lingering violence wasn’t the only motivator for some one-on-one time with Cian in the hallway.

  “Could we meet again tomorrow?” I leaned my back against the wall, savoring the cold. “Liva offered to touch one of Melina’s personal objects, see if she could glean anything from its memory.”

  If Cian was surprised his mate had told me what she was, he didn’t show it. “What time would suit you best?”

  “Around five in the afternoon Munich time? I want to do some digging around first.”

  When Cian nodded, I gave him the address of a small, more-often-than-not empty park near Melina’s house.

  “Thank you again, Cian,” I said. “For everything.”

  “I wish I could be more help…”

  A faint smile pulled on my lips. “Trust me, this is more than I hoped for.”

  I knew now that the attacker was a demon. And, hopefully, with Liva’s help, I would be able to put a face to the race, if not a name. A win in my book.

  Cian reassured me he and Niram could find their way out in case any security wards kept them from evanescing from the corridor, so I left the Fae there and called Voit as I descended the stairs. A rogue trace of Dopfer’s scent curved my way. I hurried, relieved when the thread grew fainter.

  Now that I was, essentially, ICRA, there would be nothing to stop the half-Leshy from dragging me into the training room for a few rounds. Even liaisons had to stay sharp. And like it or not, Dopfer was damn effective.

  Just as I considered hanging up to try Afanasiy instead, Voit answered.

  “Yes?”

  I arched an eyebrow at his breathless voice. “Is this a bad time?”

  “Lotte.” His tone softened. “A little. But I’m glad for the respite.”

  “Shadow World being a bitch?”

  “My new training regimen is.” He sighed dramatically, though a hint of true exhaustion filtered through. “What can I do for you?”

  A part of me would have loved to tiptoe around the subject, but that wouldn’t do anyone any good. Besides, Voit had earned my trust. My concern for his health or not, he deserved the whole truth.

  I waited for the two agents ogling my bare legs to pass. “I brought someone in to examine Melina. He picked up on a resonance. Voit, the fucker who attacked her is a demon.”

  Silence stretched, penetrated only by the faraway voices of agents and recruits going through their usual rounds.

  “Voit?”

  “Fuck.” He muttered more curses—in demon, I presumed—then let out an audible breath. “And your contact is sure?”

  “Yeah, he is. Can you think of anyone from the Shadow World who might have had it out for her?”

  I made it down an entire level before his answer came.

  “No. I would have known if it was anyone from my court. Shit like that has the tendency to spread. We might be tight-lipped when it comes to outsiders, but little stays hidden from the shadows.”

  And with him being Raya’s son, he was privy to a whole lot more info than anyone else in their court. Including Afanasiy.

  I stepped closer to the banister as three weres barreled up the stairs. “What about the other courts?”

  “I’ll ask around,” he said. Then added, “The trustworthy ones at least.”

  “Thanks. I owe you one.”

  “You, darling werewolf, owe me nothing. After all, the only reason I’m sweating the life out of me right now is because you saved it in the first place.”

  I chuckled. “Asshole.”

  Voit’s laugh was the last thing I heard before the call disconnected.

  Shaking my head, I continued towards the exit, only now realizing that between Afanasiy taking me to Ljubljana and Cian evanescing me about—not to mention a short dragon ride stuffed in the middle—I was stranded carless. Great.

  Afanasiy had said that he’d pick me up, but that was before my meeting turned into a day-long adventure. It seemed rude to just yank him away from his business through the mark resting beneath my skin.

  I rummaged for my phone, cursing myself for putting it away in the first place, then halted when I caught a familiar scent. A smile stretched across my lips.

  “Agnieszka,” I called out.

  The petite vampire turned on her heels, narrowly evading a collision with one of the security guards she was chatting with. She crossed the distance between us with preternatural speed and all but smothered me with a hug.

  “How are you—” Her eyes widened. “ICRA?”

  “How am I ICRA sounds about right.” I chortled.

  Which earned me a smack on the shoulder.

  “You didn’t say we were co-sufferers in this well-oiled machine!”

  I looped my arm through hers and, sensing the end-of-a-workday air around her, led her towards the exit. The guards’ amusement trailed behind us.

  “It’s been an eventful couple of days,” I said as we passed the final scanner. “How about you give me a lift and I’ll tell you all about it? Payment for a full report?”

  Agnieszka rolled her eyes and snorted. But pulled out her car keys all the same.

  The drive with Agnieszka was just what I needed to keep me from bolting in the other direction once she dropped me off at my parents’ house. I reached out beforehand, making sure the typical Monday evening visits were still going on, then quickly decided I’d drop by.

  This day had been beyond anything I could have ever imagined—good and bad alike—so I figured why not add one more twist to the pile, especially after Afanasiy texted that he would have to spend the night away.

  Once I went through the obligatory smattering of hugs and kisses and wolfed down three pieces of strudel, Mom ushered Dad and Pablo into the living room. Liesl Freundenberger had an uncanny sixth sense that never failed to pick up on what was going on with me—whether the words left my mouth or not. So all too soon, I found myself alone with the fierce red-headed werewolf, stripped of any and all excuses to draw things out.

  Greta eyed me skeptically, leaning against the kitchen counter with her arms crossed. “Mind telling me what the shorts are about?”

  “You know,” I drawled, “I never thought you would be the first to cave and ask.”

  To say my sister wasn’t moved by my pitiful attempt at humor would be an understatement.

  I groaned and motioned towards the yard. “Let’s step outside for a moment, yeah?”

  A breeze whooshed in as I opened the patio door. Briefly, I regretted not switching into more winter-appropriate gear, but with the blazing heat that was Greta on my heels, maybe my attire would yet come in handy.

  A fact only confirmed by her sharp intake of breath as the current flung my scent straight at her face.

  “You were back at Fürstenfeldbruck? What did the Agency want with you?”

  I looked over my shoulder but didn’t stop walking until I reached the small bench hidden among the bushes. I pulled the coat I’d had the foresight to keep on closer around my body and waited until Greta parked her butt beside me on the bench.

  “I work for them now.”

  Her response was a sharp slicing through the air—a tangle of emotions I couldn’t unravel in the short time they existed before winking out entirely.

  Because when my sister looked at me, there was no anger in her bright blue eyes. Only affection and concern.

  “Isa?” Her canines elongated.

  “Yes. But I threw in my lot with her of my free will.”

  “She’d be one dead vamp if you hadn’t.”

  I couldn’t help but grin. There was no doubt Greta would have made good on that threat, and the pack-oriented part of me was thrilled to have someone so soundly in my corner. Even if a currently reluctant someone.

  “Well, I can’t exactly congratulate you on your job,” she went on, her features perfectly
human once more. “I know how much you love tennis, Lotte, the Zentrum”—a flash of hurt shot through my insides—“but you are a Freundenberger. I’m starting to believe our genes are wired in a way that makes it impossible for us to stay away from danger. And”—she held up a hand when I opened my mouth—“while I’d wish you weren’t working under Isa, there are advantages to it. You’ll be cut more slack given her high rank. Which is a damn good thing since we all know you aren’t exactly the rule-following type.”

  Unfortunately, I couldn’t argue with that.

  “You know,” she mused, mirth touching the corners of her lips, “if you ever want a transfer, I think our division would be more than happy to accept a troublemaker into our midst. Maybe…” She chuckled. “Maybe you could have a nice little desk job. Push some paperwork.”

  I punched her in the arm, which only made her laugh harder. I snorted and shook my head.

  Sometimes, belonging to an overprotective family of hunters sure had its benefits.

  “So you’re okay with this?” I asked.

  Her gaze dropped to my bare, goose bump-plagued legs. “As long as I get to hear the story behind your attire…yes.”

  “Motherfucker,” I said as I slid to a stop, glaring at the ball that skimmed the line and rushed right past my racket. On my forehand side.

  Forehand side.

  Un-fucking-acceptable. I shook my head and straightened from my over-pronounced split step.

  How the fuck had that happened?

  Clay crunched beneath my feet as I went to pick up the yellow offender and tossed it over the net to Alec.

  While the months spent at the ICRA facility did wonders for my general endurance, the lack of court time made me sorely lacking in the tennis department. Obviously, if Alec was beating my ass like this.

  Fuming, I took my position on the ad court and lowered myself into a crouch. Alec was going to win. It wasn’t some loser mentality I was sporting, just awareness of hard, cruel fact. I was staggering behind him a whole set and five games, and given he had not one, but three match points, the odds really weren’t in my favor. But I’d be damned if I didn’t at least make him pant a little first.

  His serve flew across the net, confident and down the centerline, looking for an ace.

  Not this time.

  I hit a short diagonal, my body in constant motion as I readied myself for the next ball. Instead of returning a diagonal to my forehand side, Alec made a risky parallel shot down the ad court. I reached the ball with time to spare, sending him sprinting to the far corner of the court, then the other.

  The lovely pop-pop-pop-pop of the ball exploded underneath the dome, my muscles dancing to its tune. I had enough of an upper hand to keep him running around, though I couldn’t help noticing my breaths were turning ragged nonetheless.

  But that was tennis. A special little snowflake.

  Regardless of how fit you were or how much specialty exercises you did on a daily basis, nothing could prepare your body for what came on the court. Except, well, time on the court.

  With the brutally long pause save for that one match Alec and I had shared when I accepted Isa’s proposition, it really didn’t come as a surprise when I was a little too slow and a little too late—pushing the ball a little too fucking wide.

  Alec threw his hands in the air, grinning and breathing loud enough to carry over the hum of the heater.

  “FUCK YES!” He rushed over to the net.

  Skipped, more like it.

  Rivulets of sweat trickled down his skin, and his eyes were bright and excited, as if he’d just won a grand slam instead of a sparring match against a rusty were.

  I chuckled, then leaned into his sticky half hug. “Good job, Alec.”

  “EXCELLENT JOB,” he roared.

  “Fine, you damn smug wolf. Excellent job.”

  He beamed brighter than the overhead lights. I snorted and followed him to the benches.

  The cold plastic beneath my ass had never felt better.

  After we gulped down enough water to make us nauseous like two rookies who didn’t know better, I relaxed against the bench and patted the sweat off my face and neck with my Zentrum towel.

  “Aside from the Neanderthal display,” I said dryly, though my lips quirked up at his scowl, “it was nice playing with you, Alec.”

  “Likewise.” He reached over and pressed a kiss to my temple.

  “How’s everything at the Zentrum?”

  After my chat with Greta, I sent everyone an email outlining my deal with Isa. I’d hoped to do it in person, but with the way things were going, it would simply take too long to gather everyone in one place. They deserved to know I wouldn’t be coming back for a while.

  And I needed to face my fears that somehow telling them would be that last touch of finality, sealing my agreement.

  Ridiculous, perhaps, but the moment of catharsis that followed as I hit SEND and cracked open a beer spoke otherwise.

  “Aside from your late-night announcement?” Alec asked.

  “Yeah.”

  “Well, we miss you, and I’m up to my damn ears in paperwork—but we’re good.” He paused, a ghost of a smile touching his lips. “Although Elsa has developed a rather disturbing ability to blackmail me into delivering her the finest blood.”

  I snickered. “You’ll be her boss for three more years at least. It’s only natural that she found a new target and unearthed the means to get what she wants.”

  Alec grimaced, then yanked off his shirt and replaced it with a new one. Even mixed with sweat, the scent that was pure him swirled around me, offering up a piece of home that was no longer mine. Not in the same way as before.

  But the longing I expected to surge never came.

  Alec must have picked up on my mood because he took a sip of his water, screwed the cap back on, and asked, “How’ve you been?”

  “Busier than I imagined. Better, too, actually.” I cast the towel aside and pulled a sweatshirt from my bag, then zipped it up. “I have to ask you something…”

  The smile faded from his face.

  “Alec, did you see any demons lurking around Melina while I was away? Smelled one on her, maybe?”

  He stayed quiet for a long while, then shook his head. “Sorry, no. We didn’t see each other all that much with the schedules and workload being what they are, but no… She did seem a bit distracted, though, now that I think about it. I’ll ask Elsa if she picked up on anything.”

  “Don’t forget to bring a bribe.”

  That, at least, softened his expression.

  He took another sip from his bottle before he stashed it away. “So you have a lead?”

  I glanced at the massive clock looming over the court on the opposite side.

  “Not yet.” I rose and placed my trusty Wilson in its rightful compartment. “But I will soon.”

  A miniature avalanche of crumbs cascaded from my lap when I stepped out of the Zentrum rental at Melina’s. The match with Alec had taken a bit longer than I’d anticipated, and the traffic had been murderous, which left me no choice but to wolf down a couple of sandwiches along the way.

  I brushed off the remaining bits, locked the car, and padded towards the front door. That same sense of destruction grazed my insides, so I closed off my senses. The last thing I wanted was to taint that bit of hope I’d woken up with this morning and had—miraculously—lasted throughout the day.

  I did a quick mental run through the items Melina cared about the most. By the time I stepped inside, I already had two, maybe three in mind I was certain would work, though I wondered if I’d be able to find them in the mess.

  Carefully, I stepped forward, aiming for the living room which was the most obvious starting point for my search. The air stirred.

  I barely froze in my tracks when something slammed into me from the side.

  A scream ripped itself from my throat as a searing pain shot up my flank—the same damn one that had taken a hit yesterday. I dropped down on the
ground and twisted to see the fucker responsible, only to come face-to-face with a wall of brilliant blue flame.

  Shit.

  I threw my hands up in a pitiful attempt to shield myself from the fire that was…

  Keeping me safe?

  My breath fled from my lungs, heart thrashing against my rib cage.

  The embers were precisely like those I’d seen back at that twisted lab. Only now, there was no doubt about their origin.

  Not some mysterious trick of the Frankensteinian establishment unleashed just at the right time or a stray burst of power from my attacker.

  The fire…

  It came from me.

  Twenty-Two

  If my survival instincts hadn’t kicked in, I would have probably still been gawking at the flames when the shadowy form standing on the other side attacked.

  Cursing, I rolled sideways. Broken bits of gods know what bit into my skin, but gaining a few lacerations was a far more pleasing prospect than what the man—no, demon—sent my way. His power licked the air, breaking up the blue embers and shooting for me with lethal determination.

  Was this the same fucker who went after Melina?

  Him being in the house certainly pointed that way, but something felt off.

  His magical presence… It was different than what I’d experienced sparring with Afanasiy, only I was a bit preoccupied controlling my own outburst to give it more thought.

  Controlling.

  Shit. I really was wielding fire.

  A nervous laugh bubbled up my chest but failed to reach the surface as I was forced to retreat again, the blue blaze moving with me. The scent of blood accumulated in the air. As did the cuts on my body.

  The wounds wept through the torn fabric, and the bits actually lodged in my skin certainly didn’t help. Only I had no choice but to roll across the debris again as the demon’s power spiraled towards me.

  I grabbed one of Melina’s scattered books and hurtled it at him with all the strength I had.