by R. E. Butler
“How can he be sure?” Traz asked.
Mishka cued up the footage and zoomed in on the human male being dropped onto the roof. He pointed to something dark on the wrist of the falcon, who was out of camera view save for one wing and part of the side of his or her body.
“That’s an exile cuff,” Mishka said. “According to Jes, there are some old school falcon nests that use them when someone has committed a treasonous act against the ruling family. It’s a type of brand set into the wrist of the falcon by a Wiccan spell. Only the leader of a nest can request a Wiccan remove the brand. It can’t be cut out or tampered with, or it will release a deadly toxin into the falcon’s body.”
“Severe,” Traz said.
“Indeed,” Mishka said. “Jes said there were no exile cuffs used in his nest in the last two hundred years at least. He also believes the falcon in question is female because the wings are on the small side, but that’s an educated guess.”
“So there’s an exiled falcon female helping the church?” Temple asked.
“It appears so,” Mishka said.
“What now?” Traz asked.
“We focus on upgrading our security systems, keeping the coven and family safe, and figuring out how to stop a wizard,” Mishka said.
“Piece of cake,” Temple said, rolling his eyes.
“I’m going to scour every security camera I can get my hands on within a few miles of the club and see if I can pick them up at all,” Ven said. “Maybe they weren’t cloaked by the wizard for the entire trip to the roof.” He stood and left the room.
Traz pushed his chair out and stood, his thoughts on Avery. “We’ve communicated with the coven about the need for safety. There are some who can’t make it to the meeting tomorrow night, but we’ll video conference them in so they don’t miss anything important.”
Rage smiled knowingly at Traz. “Is Avery okay with what happened with her sister?”
“She was shocked and disappointed, but she’s dealing with it. It just sucks.”
“Family can be like that,” Rage said.
His twin, Vex, said, “Hey!”
“I didn’t mean you,” Rage said with a chuckle.
“See you guys tomorrow night,” Traz said. “If anything needs my attention, text me.”
He left the room and headed down the hall, passing through the empty reception area, and jogging to the elevator. He could feel dawn approaching and wished he’d been able to get to Avery earlier. He opened their chamber door and silently closed it. An electric candle flickered on the nightstand, a golden glow illuminating Avery’s sleeping face. Although it wasn’t yet dawn, it was close enough that her newly turned vampire nature couldn’t help but want to rest as it drew near to the rising of the sun. He stripped and climbed into bed, setting his phone on the charger and turning off the electric candle.
He curled around Avery and kissed her neck, inhaling her sweet scent. His mind was a jumble of thoughts centered around his sweetheart and the threat that her sister and the church still posed. There wasn’t anything he wouldn’t do to keep Avery safe. Somehow, someday, he was certain the church would be stopped, and he’d do everything in his power to make that happen.
* * *
Jason Finnegan was furious. Again. Pamela had queued up the footage from a drone video they’d used to ensure the assassin they’d hired did the job and killed at least the sister of his member, if not a few of the bloodsuckers, the red-headed witch, or even some humans waiting to get into the club. All seemed well—the falcon shifter dropped the assassin onto the rooftop of the building across from the club with an eagle-eye view. Daria was waiting on the curb for her sister. Just as things were lining up, dragons appeared out of nowhere and killed the assassin, and Daria had been unsuccessful in using silver-coated gloves to harm her sister. The drone had followed Daria as she ran away; the wizard cloaking spell doing the job and making her disappear, where she was later picked up by her husband. It had been a clusterfuck of epic proportions. Not only had the expensive assassin been unsuccessful, but now the bloodsuckers knew the church had found a way around the security systems that guarded the sides of their buildings and access to the roofs by traditional means.
“Get me Sean,” Jason barked at Pamela.
“He’s already waiting for you on the video chat,” she said. She switched over the video footage to the chat app and connected the waiting call.
Sean looked nervous. Jason was angry, but not at his brother. He could only do so much when surrounded by incompetents.
“Jason,” Sean started.
Jason put up his hand. “Where is the couple who failed?”
“The wizard and his sister?” Sean asked with a furrowed brow.
“No, our members.”
“Ah, they’re outside waiting.”
Jason knew that Sean’s office was soundproofed. It was one of the features Jason had insisted on to ensure that no one would know anything the two spoke about unless he or Sean brought them purposely into the room.
“I need answers.”
“We couldn’t have known about the dragon shifters,” Sean protested.
“Actually, we should have expected them,” Jason said. “We already dealt with the dragons when our army went to battle with the Wiccans at their store. What do I always tell you?”
Sean let out a sigh. “Expect the worst, hope for the best.”
“Right. So you should’ve expected the dragons to show up at some point, and knowing how freakishly protective the bloodsuckers are, it would stand to reason they would call in reinforcements.”
“What would you have had us do then?”
“Have people on the roof with the assassin to protect him. That damn bird woman just dropped him and left.”
“That’s what we told her to do.”
“Well, it was dumb. I trust you to handle things for me, Sean. To think ahead and plan for any contingencies. Now I’m out a hundred grand for the assassin who already collected the money so I can’t get it back. And we have a larger issue with the couple and their repeated failures.”
Sean stared at Jason in silence. Then he nodded sharply. “Both?”
“Yes.”
“He’s… a valuable member.”
“They’ve both reached the end of their usefulness, but I want to speak with them.”
Sean nodded. He pressed a button on his phone and called in Jerry and Daria. They walked into the office and shut the door. Sean rose to his feet and gestured to two chairs in front of the video screen. The couple weren’t smiling when they sat down, and Jason could see they were nervous.
Good. They should be afraid.
“I have some questions for you,” Jason said.
Sean moved behind them, waiting for Jason’s signal.
“Of course, sir,” Jerry said, his voice cracking as he spoke.
“What happened in front of the club?”
“Well, sir,” Jerry started.
“No, I want to hear from your wife. You were sitting down the road in a car and witnessed nothing.”
Daria swallowed audibly. “Avery came out of the club with a group of bloodsuckers and the red-headed witch. She and the bloodsucker who turned her came over to me. I got them to the place where the assassin had told me to put them so he could kill them, when dragons showed up and killed him instead.”
“And you did?” Jason prompted.
“I tried to kill Avery with the silver-coated gloves, but the bloodsucker stopped me. I used a flash bomb to get away. The wizard cloaked me so I could get to Jerry without being followed.”
Jason stared at the couple, who fidgeted under his intense gaze.
“I have one more question,” he said after a few moments.
“Ask us anything,” Jerry said.
“How is it that you were out of town during the raid on our church a few months ago?”
Jerry blinked in surprise. “W-we went away for our anniversary. We planned it in advance. I can show you the rec
eipts for the tickets we purchased months earlier.”
“I just find it curious that you were out of town during the raid that left our ranks nearly non-existent. Which certainly gave you the ability to be promoted. More money, more responsibility, a better title. I’d almost think it was a conspiracy.”
“Sir, no!” Daria said. “Please! We were out of town on vacation. It was a coincidence.”
“From my point of view,” Jason said stonily, “it’s a pattern. You failed to protect the church because you were ‘out of town,’ which leads me to believe you were part of the conspiracy to destroy the branch. And now, when you were feet away from the bloodsucker and your dead sister, you failed a second time! As I see it, that’s two failures too many.”
“Sir, please,” Jerry said.
Jason met Sean’s eyes and gave a sharp nod. His brother lifted two small-caliber guns and shot them in the back of their heads.
Pamela gasped and covered her face as blood and brain matter splattered over the screen. Sean stepped around them and turned the screen away from the bodies. Blood splatter covered his face and upper body, but he seemed uncaring of that fact. Jason was proud of his brother and told him so.
“Get rid of the bodies,” Jason said. “Enlist the wizard to ensure they’re not traced back to you or the church.”
“Will do. What’s next?”
“I’ll speak with the wizard when that’s taken care of, have him video call me in twelve hours. In the meantime, move forward with our next move—infiltrating the club. Ensure they have the proper white shirts and red ribbons and make sure the damn wizard can cloak their deceit so no bloodsuckers know what’s going on.”
“I’ll get right on it,” Sean said.
Jason said goodbye and ended the call. He turned to face Pamela, who still had her head buried in her hands.
“You didn’t use to be so squeamish,” he mused.
“I…” She lifted her head and blinked tear-filled eyes at him. “Daria was really nice. I talked to her a lot after they shut the branch down. I just didn’t expect her to be killed.”
“It was necessary. You don’t want the bloodsuckers to capture you, do you? Killed, forced to become part of their living dead? Because if Jerry and Daria were in league with the vampires, then that’s where you and I were both headed.”
“You didn’t know for sure they were working with them though.”
“Better safe than sorry.”
He could see she wasn’t convinced, but he knew she was loyal and eventually she’d get over the deaths she’d witnessed. If nothing else, their deaths had ensured she would continue to toe the line so she wouldn’t face the same outcome.
“I’ve got a special assignment for you,” he said.
Her brows winged up. “You do?”
She’d been in his bunker with him since the start. While he would hate to lose her for a time, it had become necessary.
“You’re going to meet with the wizard to protect yourself against the bloodsuckers’ charms, and then you’re going undercover.”
“Jason,” she said, her mouth pulled down in a frown.
He tutted. “You’ll be fine. I’ve trained you well, and I know you’ll make me proud. Now, how about you fix me a drink? It’s been a long day.”
* * *
Avery woke at sunset, Traz’s arms around her. She always felt safe when she woke like this, all snuggled up with her beloved.
She wiggled in his arms and rolled to face him, sliding her hands up his back. He made a sleepy sound and she smiled.
“Hey,” she said. “Feeling the sun rise and set is so weird.”
“It is,” he said. “Eventually you won’t be aware of it, but it takes a few years.”
“How did it go last night?”
He rolled to his back, and she rested her head on his chest. He explained what they’d discovered.
“I wonder what would make a falcon turn against the leaders of her nest,” Avery said.
“I’d love the chance to ask her,” he said, “but unfortunately we might not get it.”
“Oh?” Avery asked.
“Well, they could have hired her for a one-and-done and we’ll never see her again.”
“Or you might kill her.”
He nodded. “If she’s a danger to you, believe that I’ll end her in a heartbeat.”
“I hate that the church uses people like that. What if the falcon is innocent?”
“There’s the exile cuff.”
She sat up and shrugged. “We don’t know why she has it. There are falsely accused people in prisons. Not that it matters in the long run—she’s helping the church and that makes her a bad guy in my book—but maybe she doesn’t have a choice.”
“I only care that you’re safe. Her motives don’t matter.”
“I know. I want you to be safe too. And the family. It’s just frustrating that Jason won’t stop messing with our coven.”
“I believe we’ll stop him eventually. He’ll make a mistake at some point that will prove his undoing.”
“Hopefully sooner rather than later.”
While they got ready for the night—their first official night as the managers of the food office—they talked about everything but the church and Daria. Avery didn’t want to dwell anymore on her sister, it made her too sad. There were things worth celebrating now, chief among them that she and Traz were safe.
On the way to the elevator, they passed Bellamin and Kelly, the little dragon prancing along at Kelly’s side.
“We heard what happened last night,” Kelly said. “We’re glad you’re okay.”
Traz pushed the elevator button. “Us too.”
Avery looked at the couple. “You’ve got access to all of Mishka’s collection?”
Kelly nodded. “He has some things here in the club and his chamber, but most everything is contained in the secure facility. We’re on our way there now.”
The elevator doors opened, and they all walked inside, Aram hopping over the threshold and sitting on his haunches next to Kelly with a trilling purr.
Avery glanced at Traz and then back at the couple. “I was just wondering if Mishka had any information on wizards or dark magic. And falcons, particularly something called an exile cuff.”
The elevator rose to the first floor and the doors opened. As they walked out, Kelly said, “I’m still cataloging my own collections as I add them to Mishka’s, but I can certainly look for you.” She opened the notes app on her phone and asked Avery to tell her what she was looking for again. When she’d finished adding the information, she said, “I’ll let you know if I find anything. Mishka doesn’t like the books to leave the facility, but I can take pictures of anything I find, or you can come see for yourself if there’s too much to copy.”
“I don’t want to take you from your regular work,” Avery said.
“No worries. I’m not on a timetable for cataloging everything anyway, so I have time to dedicate to this search.”
Avery gave Kelly a hug. “Thank you so much.”
“My pleasure. Talk to you guys later.”
The couple and the little dragon walked down the hall and disappeared. Traz tugged on a lock of Avery’s hair and she smiled at him.
“Pretty smart, sweetheart.”
“It just occurred to me that she’d be a good person to ask. It’s not like we have a wizard we can hit up for information.”
Traz hummed. “That would be handy.”
“It sure would be.”
“Ready for our first night? We’ve got interviews to conduct, databases to update, and security protocols to test.”
“With you by my side, I feel like I can do anything.”
She hooked her arm through his and they walked toward their office.
“Sweetheart, I was just thinking the exact same thing.”
Chapter Twenty
May’s rain showers gave way to the sunny beauty of June. Avery had always liked June because of the sunshine and
warmer days, but now that she was a vampire, she didn’t much care for any month that meant longer days and shorter nights.
She was really looking forward to winter. Which, having lived in northern Ohio her entire life, was saying something. Winters were generally not kind in this area. But at least the nights were long.
“What the heck are you thinking about so seriously?” Traz asked.
She smiled at his reflection in the bathroom mirror. “How short the nights are in the summer.”
He put his arms around her and smiled at her. “At least the temperatures are nicer. I like June the best out of the summer months. July and August are too damn humid.”
She put down her brush and turned in his arms, rising onto her toes to kiss him. “Thank goodness for air conditioning.”
“I’m with you, babe. That’s one of my favorite inventions.”
“Over the phone even? Or cars?”
“It’s hard as hell to sleep when you’re sweaty. Three hundred years ago, when it was hot and humid, there was no escaping it. That’s why a lot of vampires lived underground, to escape the heat of the day.”
“Is that where the myth that you guys had to be buried during the day came from?”
He hummed and tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. “Probably. Early chambers were a lot like crypts, built underground where it was cooler in the summer.”
“Did you ever sleep in a coffin?”
He made a face. “Hell no. They’re too creepy. I knew of a coven who used them though. For sleeping and for travel.”
“I’m glad we don’t have to sleep in coffins too.”
He gave her a quick kiss and said, “Ready to go?”
“Yes. I’m so excited.”
“Me too.”
While it was hers and Traz’s six-week anniversary, the reason she was so excited was because they were headed to a party in her honor—to welcome her officially to the family. She’d been to one a few weeks ago to celebrate Bellamin and Kelly’s induction into the family, and Avery was thrilled it was her turn. Traz had told her that before Brone and Arissa became beloveds, Mishka hadn’t added anyone to the family in ages. Mishka had brought Arissa into the family as Brone’s beloved, not as a member on her own. Apparently, no one had given it any thought until Angie, Vex, and Rage became beloveds, and the twins asked Mishka to consider letting Angie became a real family member, not just the mate of one.