Savage Fae (Ruthless Boys of the Zodiac Book 2)

by Caroline Peckham

  I was wearing black jeans and a black sweater and had even gone to the effort of covering my lilac hair in a black beanie hat. All in all I looked like your catalogue copy of a bank robber; all I needed to do was cut a few eye holes in the hat so that I could roll it down over my face and I’d be on to a winner. And it wasn’t like I’d done that…but it wasn’t entirely like I hadn’t either. Because if she went somewhere with CCTV then I’d have to hide my face if I was going to keep following her. And I had no intention of letting her escape me. That bitch was up to something. The evidence I’d gathered kept pointing me back to her. I was almost certain she had a hand in the Black Card. I just needed to figure out her angle. Could she be the person I was looking for? Or was I just grasping at straws?

  It turned out Miss Nightshade’s idea of an incognito vehicle was a lime green hatchback. Not very psycho brainwasher of her but handy from my point of view. I’d never used my Vampire speed to chase down a car before and this was going to be a challenge. I couldn’t stay close enough to her to draw her attention, but it wasn’t like I had a way to slow down my gift. It was pretty much all or nothing. So I was going to have to shoot from spot to spot, taking cover between runs and keep an eye on her car from a distance without letting it get out of sight.

  My first challenge was waiting for her to appear. I’d set myself up in the branches of the huge oak tree which sat to the right of the main gates that led onto campus. I had a clear view of the parking lot and had been perched here since classes had finished at the end of the day.

  But now, at half eight she’d finally appeared. All fast strides and worried expression.

  My heart beat a little faster as she got into her car and I strained my ears to listen as she lifted her Atlas to make a call.

  A robotic voice answered and I perked up as I realised the person on the other end of the line was using a voice scrambler. It was harder to trick technology with concealment spells so the use of a scrambler was a pretty good tip off that whoever she was calling didn’t want to be identified. But did that mean Nightshade didn’t know who she was speaking to either? Had they hidden their identity from her or was it just a counter measure against snoopy assholes like me?

  “Location D,” the voice said. “Twenty minutes.”

  “I’m in the car already, I’ll be there,” Nightshade replied and the call cut off.

  Well if that wasn’t shady as fuck then I didn’t know what was.

  She began backing out of her parking space and I shifted in my hiding place, ready to drop out of the tree once she made it beyond the gates.

  The red glow of her brake lights caught my attention and she pulled the car forward, adjusting the angle of the vehicle before trying to back up again. I pursed my lips impatiently as she edged forward and back for a third time. Then a fourth. If her mystery meeting required her to be there on time I was beginning to think they’d be disappointed.

  She spun the wheel frantically and my heightened senses picked up the insistent beep beep beep of her parking sensors as she looked over her shoulder to back out again. Except she hadn’t put the car in reverse so it lurched forward instead and she slammed her foot on the brake half a second before she could total the SUV parked alongside her.

  I bit my lip, half wondering if she’d ever get the car out of that spot. Hell, I was tempted to offer to help her out and I couldn’t even drive. But watching her bunny hop back and forth in that space was damn painful.

  She finally managed to back out of the spot without taking out the cars either side of her and I rolled my eyes as she drove the long way around the parking lot before heading for the gates.

  As she pulled out onto the road, I dropped out of my hiding place and shot to the gate, hanging back to make sure I wouldn’t be noticed in her rear view mirror if she checked it.

  The lime green car made it halfway down the road before turning right, heading towards the city. I sped after it the moment she turned the corner, pulling up short behind a wall before the turn and peering down the next road to see where she went next.

  When she turned off again I raced after her, repeating the process again and again as she drove further into the city, heading towards the rabbit warren of apartment blocks and office buildings on the east side. She was dancing close to the Oscura/Lunar divide and I grew more nervous as we closed in on the war zone that parted their territory. Unallied members of the public did cross over but there were certain places where it was safer to do so and I didn’t have enough knowledge of this part of town to know if this was one of them or not. The last thing I needed was to be seen crossing over and to be taken for an enemy gang member. Assassination due to mistaken identity was not on my to do list for today.

  Thankfully Nightshade turned her car off of the street and took a ramp into an underground parking lot before I had to deal with the shift in territories.

  I hesitated in the shadows between two of the huge buildings which lined the street, looking around to see if there was anyone watching that lot from out here or if I was safe to follow.

  I couldn’t spot anyone so I took a deep breath and sped after her.

  There was no sign of a lime green hatchback as I made it inside so I strained my ears and detected the purr of an engine and the faint squealing of tyres on tarmac coming from beneath me.

  To my left was a ramp which spiralled down and had a sign that said it led to parking levels A, B, C and D.

  A quick sweep of the surrounding space rewarded me with a look at the stairs which led down there too and I took a punt. That robo-voice had said to meet in location D so I was going to guess that could have referred to the bottom level of the lot which held that title.

  I sped towards the stairs, listening for a moment to make sure there was no one waiting beyond the door before pulling it open and heading inside. I shot to the bottom level where a large D sat above the door which led back out into the lot.

  Adrenaline was trickling through my veins and I slipped through the door, opening it as little as possible before closing it again softly once I was through. A black truck was parked to the right of the door and I slipped behind it, crouching down as the sound of Nightshade’s car drew closer down the ramp.

  Thankfully, the lot was mostly empty so she pulled across two parking spaces without any trouble and I didn’t have to endure the agony of watching her try to park up.

  I waited, holding my breath as I listened intently for any sign of someone approaching in the dimly lit space.

  Nightshade’s Atlas rang and I flinched, a spike of fear catching me in its talons as the sound took me by surprise.

  “I’m here,” she said as she answered the call.

  “I took the liberty of letting myself into your office,” the robotic voice said dryly.

  “I’ll be right up!” Nightshade cut the call and leapt from her car.

  She hurried across the darkened space, her high heels clicking loudly as she half ran towards an elevator in the far corner.

  I cursed as I spotted the keypad system used to access it and inched myself higher, using my enhanced vision to watch as she punched in the code.

  264- Dammit! She shifted into my way as she hit the final button but her hand had dropped low so I guessed it was a seven eight or nine.

  The elevator doors slid open as it arrived with a ding and she headed in. I could only stay where I was as the doors closed again and it ascended with my prey in tow.

  I cursed as I shot across the space and stood before the closed doors with my heart pounding. I was so damn close. I couldn’t give up now but getting into that metal box was a hell of a lot like caging myself in. If she’d figured out she was being followed I could find myself facing her and whoever she was meeting the moment the elevator doors opened again. I probably should have bailed. But finding out what had happened to Gareth was all I really had to live for now and I just couldn’t let this opportunity slip away from me.

  I took a steadying breath and punched in the code 26
4…9. I bit my tongue as I took a guess at the final digit and my fingers trembled just a little. The light above the keypad switched from red to green and a moment later, the elevator arrived.

  I tugged my beanie hat down over my face, using the holes I’d cut into it to see out, just in case there was CCTV in the elevator. I now looked suspicious as fuck but that couldn’t be helped. I couldn’t risk being seen and if I was caught here then I was in deep shit anyway. Better that I hid my face.

  I slipped inside the lit up metal cube, keeping my head low and resisting using my Vampire speed to make identifying me all the more difficult if I really was on camera.

  My gaze slid over the buttons inside and my gut took a nose dive as I realised I had no goddamn idea which floor she’d gone to. And worse than that, she’d probably already started her meeting. I was missing out on whatever information she was exchanging with this mystery person and all I could do was stare at the buttons angrily.

  My gaze slid to a framed plaque hanging on the wall of the elevator. It was a list of the floors and the people whose offices resided on them. I scanned it quickly and spotted Miss L Nightshade – Therapist listed on floor twenty six.

  I hit that button and a moment later the elevator was ascending.

  My heart banged against my ribs as I drew closer and closer to my target. Could this meeting really be as important as I was hoping? Was she meeting the King I was hunting?

  The thought of that alone sent anticipation coursing through me. Maybe I could finish this right now, burst in there and beat the fucker who’d killed my brother until they begged me for death.

  A savage smile tugged at my lips at that thought and my fangs lengthened to deadly points.

  The elevator dinged as it arrived and I stilled, heart thumping, muscles poised as the doors slid open.

  An empty, dimly lit corridor awaited me and I released a shaky breath as I stepped out.

  I closed my eyes for a moment, concentrating on my sense of sound alone until I was fairly sure I made out voices coming from further down the corridor to my right.

  The dark carpet muffled my steps as I hurried along it and I slowed as the voices got louder.

  A wooden door with Miss Nightshade stamped on it stood a few doors away from me and I quickly slipped into the office beside me as I focused on my snooping. I didn’t want to get too close to her in case she sensed my emotions with her Siren gifts. I couldn’t let her figure out someone else was here.

  “-slim pickings, I’m afraid,” Nightshade’s voice came to me through the wall. “I’m awaiting a new list of referrals so hopefully I’ll uncover more hopeless souls for you then.”

  The sound of rifling papers followed.

  “I suppose this will do,” a voice replied and for a moment I was sure it was the soft tone of a woman. “I’ll get the dealers working on them. There are a few who seem suicidal from the last batch you provided anyway so they should suffice for the coming full moon,” the voice now sounded deep and rough, entirely masculine and I suppressed a growl of frustration as I realised they were under a concealment spell.

  Did Nightshade even know who she was meeting?

  “Yes, I agree. And given a month or more, the Killblaze addiction should prove strong enough to tip at least one of these new candidates over the edge. There are a few there who seem very promising,” Nightshade said. “One whose family was killed in a house fire she accidentally started after her Element was Awakened and another who has been bullied his entire life and has long since given into the hopelessness of his situation.”

  “Good. Continue to feed them negativity and suicidal feelings in your sessions and we should have something to work with.”

  My heart leapt. I’d known she was a dodgy bitch but using her power to make the people who came to her suicidal? What the actual fuck??

  Magic tingled through my fingertips. There was no doubt in my mind that the person she was meeting was the same fucker who’d killed that boy in the woods and tried to kill me too. I didn’t care if it was technically suicide – these assholes were clearly driving people to that action which made it murder in my book. But was that what had happened to Gareth? The police report on his death had been clear: he died of an overdose. He didn’t kill himself. I’d read the report back to front. I’d seen his body. So if these monsters needed their victims to take their own lives for their black magic to work then why would they just kill him with the stuff? Was there a chance that I’d stumbled onto some other crime? That this wasn’t what had gotten my brother killed at all?

  Fuck.

  Did it even matter? They were clearly dealing Killblaze. Clearly killing innocent people albeit by strange, roundabout methods. So they deserved my wrath, right?

  But what if they weren’t the ones responsible for Gareth’s death? I’d seen the mystery figure take the magic from that dead boy in the woods. If they were able to harness the power of their victims, then I was going to find myself seriously outmatched if I went storming in there. Two fully trained, possibly insanely powerful Fae against one pissed off half-trained Vampire. I knew how that story would end. And even though I was more than willing to trade my life for vengeance, I wasn’t going to risk it on taking down the wrong culprit. I needed more evidence. I had to hold back.

  “I’ll keep you updated,” Nightshade agreed heartily and I held my breath as her office door clicked open.

  “Good. Then I’ll be off.”

  Muffled footsteps sounded in the corridor and I leaned back against the wall, peeking out through a gap in the blinds which hung over the window looking into the corridor.

  My heart hammered a wild tune in my chest as a cloaked figure passed by mere feet away from me. As I watched them go, I tried to get a handle on the way they looked. Tall then short, broad, skinny, thin, fat… it was fucking useless. Every time I blinked they looked different, the power of their magic cloaking them from prying eyes.

  My fingernails bit into my palms as I considered following them, but that idea was squashed as they paused at the end of the corridor and drew out a silk bag before throwing a handful of stardust over themselves and disappearing into the ether. I just stared at the place where they’d been in shock. Stardust was insanely expensive, travelling like that was for the rich and famous, not the kind of Fae who lived in Alestria. The only people I’d ever even heard rumours of having any of it were…the Oscuras. There had been a huge stockpile of stardust stolen from a Celestial Councillor last year and none of it had ever been recovered. No one had ever been arrested. But the FIB had gone at the Oscuras hard over it and the story had been all over the news for a while. My brow pinched as I filed that thought away for later, focusing instead on my current predicament.

  I almost groaned aloud but the sound of Nightshade rummaging about in her office made me pause. Perhaps there was more I could find here. I could search her office, look for something, anything that might allude to the identity of the cloaked figure. It was a long shot but I didn’t have much else to go on.

  The minutes ticked by and I listened as Nightshade typed something on her computer, sighing to herself like the weight of the world rested on her shoulders. I kept my mental barriers locked up tight and made sure I stayed at the far end of the office I was using to hide out in, so there was no chance of her catching even a tendril of emotion from me. She couldn’t know I was here. She might even recognise the sound of my emotions just as I could recognise a voice. I didn’t know if that was how it worked for Sirens or not and I wasn’t looking to find out.

  Eventually, a chair rolled over carpet and the jingle of car keys came just before she walked across the room and headed out into the corridor.

  I shrank against the wall furthest from the door as she walked away from me and waited until I heard her descending in the elevator before releasing my breath.

  I slipped back into the corridor and moved along the dark space until I stood before her office. The moment my fingers brushed the door handle, I sensed a magical
lock and alarm in place and quickly withdrew my hand again.

  Well shit.

  For half a minute I considered trying to disable the lock before my gaze lifted to the ceiling. There were metal ventilation shafts running along the roof and one of them headed straight into Nightshade’s office.

  I grinned as I jogged down the corridor, hunting until I spotted a grate above my head. I quickly retrieved a chair from one of the unlocked offices and climbed up, pushing the grate aside with my fingertips.

  I leapt up, catching the lip of the hole it left for me and hoisting myself inside with a grunt of effort.

  A shit eating grin captured my lips as I started crawling, the dull thunk, thunk, thunk of my movements sounding like a klaxon in the silence. But I didn’t slow down. If my ears couldn’t detect anyone lurking close by then I was pretty confident I was alone up here.

  I made it into the vent above her office and looked down at the wide space beneath me as I eased the grate up and out of my way.

  Yippee-ki-yay, motherfucker.

  I dropped down onto the carpet and fell still as I looked about, my skin prickling with the knowledge that I was doing something utterly insane. But it felt really damn good too.

  Behind me was a couch where I guessed her patients would sit, a comfy armchair set up beside it for her. A box of tissues sat ready on a small table for the weepers.

  To the far side of the room was a desk with her computer. Framed certificates hung behind it, detailing her qualifications in mind fuckery.

  My gaze snagged on a filing cabinet in the corner and I headed for it, finding it locked.

  I chewed my lip, looking around with my enhanced vision until I spotted a book on the heavily stocked bookshelf which wasn’t tucked back into place properly. I pulled it out quickly and grinned as I snagged the little silver key from behind it.