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

I wasn't sure how to deal with the damage to his neck, but that wasn't a priority. Waiting only until he stopped shivering I moved in a little closer. Little by little, I managed to ease my way into the hole.

No danger here, kid. Just your neighborhood kitty-cat come to curl up and purr.
 

I'd made it all the way into the space thinking the feel of human warmth might help him when he looked up at me, his obsidian eyes gleaming as he studied my face.

This close, I recognized the signs of starvation, the blue-black veins, the dark rings beneath his eyes . . . and the grayed, almost lifeless skin.

I stiffened, but I wasn't going to back away now. I refused to think he was so far gone that I couldn't help him. It wasn't his fault that he'd been turned.

Or was it?

I shook that thought out of my head. "Look, I'm not here to hurt you. And he's dead, okay."

The dark eyes went wide.

So he understood English.

Progress.

"We need to get you somewhere safe. Can you sit up?"

He paused for a few seconds, his hands trembling while he considered my offer. Knowing his master was now truly dead seemed to have a positive effect on his terror.

He gave a tiny nod, so small a movement I almost missed it. Sliding an arm behind him I ignored my instinctive flinch and my panther's discomfort. I just waited, supporting him as he tried to lift himself upright.

Time seemed to move in slow motion as he progressed to his knees and then to sit on the side of the floor. With him out, I glanced up at Cassie and gave her a short nod.

She rolled her eyes, her version of 'finally'.

Then she, pressed the button to the comm in her ear and summoned Larsson, our on-call teleporter who materialized within second, his red hair a stark contrast to the drab day.

He took my arm and we jumped from the grotty hut.

L
ARSSON
TRANSPORTED
US
DIRECTLY
TO
the Sentinel offices. Then he disappeared with a smile at Cassandra and a short not to me.

Not a small-talk kinda guy.

The light from Cassie's flashlight bounced around the room and she shut it off and stowed into her backpack. Though we'd jumped time-zones, inside the room time didn't seem to matter.

The room was intimidating, small, square, filled with a gigantic mirror and steel walls. Screamed interrogation.

And I worried that the boy would panic, but he kept his eyes on my face as if the sight of me was enough to calm him. Odd that I would have a reassuring effect on anyone.

The boy wavered on his feet, his knees threatening to collapse under him. His face seemed paler, if that was possible. Cassie and I grabbed his arms before he toppled over and plunked him down on the nearest chair.

We didn't have long to wait before the door slammed open with a crash.

The kid sprang to his feet, clutching my arm so hard his ragged nails bit into my skin and drew blood. But I didn't brush him off.
 

My attention fixed on the man who strode inside. He was tall. Maybe a full head taller than me. Muscles bulged under the cotton of his long-sleeved white shirt and he'd dressed like he'd grown up wanting to be a spy. The only thing missing were the dark glasses which I suspected he'd left behind on his desk, wherever that might be.
 

Good thing he ended up being a spy because he looked far too grumpy to be the kind of person to live a life that didn't make him happy. He'd be a danger to his fellow man.

"What the hell is going on here?" His voice rang around the room, the metal helping to bounce the sound ominously around us.

Cassie's cheeks paled slightly but she stood her ground. "We had a survivor."

"A survivor who has set off every alarm in the building." His voice grated on my ears.

"What did he do to set off the alarms?" Cassie might have sounded sweet but there was a cold edge to her tone.

"Where do I start?"

"Paul--"

"Don't Paulson me." Dislike and resentment simmered in both words and tone. "Just because the people upstairs want her doesn't mean she has the right to break all the rules."
 

His voice was iron.

I didn't know him and I already didn't like him. "He's my problem. Not yours. I'm not asking for Sentinel's help. There's a guy I know who will be more than happy to take him."

Paulson's black eyes widened. "You think that because you have a solution to the problem, it's okay to break our rules?"

Really didn't like him.
 

I stepped into his personal space. Stabbed an index finger into his chest. "Look. Paulson." I spit it at him. "Those are your rules. My rule is 'Don't kill innocents'. Which is why he's here." I jerked my chin to the poor kid who'd remained utterly silent during our exchange.

Paulson glared down at where my finger drilled into his sternum.

I didn't move, and when he lifted his gaze back to mine his eyes were hot, hard, and bitter. Enemy. If he hadn't been one before he was now.

He twisted away to face Cassie, breaking my contact. "Just get him the hell out of here," he grated. "Before I decide to throw the three of you into Decontamination." And he stalked off.
 

I listened to his retreating footsteps. Paulson, for all his bluster, couldn't do anything about my choice except to make a lot of noise.

Like Cassandra, he and Sentinel had little control over what I did that wasn't entirely case-related. The case was the vamp-demon, not its victims. They didn't care about the victims beyond the fact that they might be a danger to society. Our young vamp didn't look like much of a threat. Even Paulson with his panties in a bunch knew as much.

Right now, Paulson, in his ignorance was making a huge case for me opting to work for the High Council.

I turned back to Cassie. "Friend of yours?"

She pursed her lips and glared at the empty doorway. "Walter? He's not all that bad, really." Then she sighed. "To be quite honest, he's a right arsehole. There is really no way to say it nicely."

The boy let out a soft sigh, and collapsed, my lunge toward him too late. I couldn't grab a hold of him in time and he hit the floor with a thud, his grayed skin a stark contrast against the black tiles.

Cassie sighed and held out a hand. "Here I was thinking I should follow protocol and bring you two to Sentinel first." She snorted in disgust. "Come. Let's get the boy to safety before Paulson changes his mind."

I grabbed onto her hand and leaned forward to hold onto the kid. "Can you get Larsson to take us straight to Storm's place?"

She nodded within seconds Larsson appeared and whisked us from the room.

W
E
REAPPEARED
IN
THE
SPARSELY
-decorated waiting area of City Deep, Storm's shelter. Storm, who had no last name as far as I knew. The same Storm who was a friend of Grandma Ivy's, and who--early in my career when I'd needed direction--had pointed me at Tara for weapons.

Storm was formidable, an Immortal who devoted his time and considerable clout to City Deep, the city-based clan that comprised all species, welcomed all strays, and helped them get back on their feet by teaching them the necessary skills for a fresh start.

Storm seemed too good to be true, but he wasn't. He was the best of the best and we were all so glad for it.

As our feet met solid ground, I tightened my grip around the boy's bony frame. Cassie helped me lift him and seat him on the sofa behind us.
 

"Watch him," I told her. "I'll fetch Storm."

Cassie arched her brows. "What? You trust me alone with him?"
 

I rolled my eyes and hurried out of the small front office and across the corridor to Storm's office. The place was quiet, as evening always were with Storm placing priority on homework before fun.

Storm had taken over a small hotel on the South side and converted it into his own shelter for kids. Dozens of homeless children lived here under his guardianship. They attended the local school and got themselves back on track all while he ensured they behaved themselves. So far, he seemed to be making a success of it.
 

Lily and Anjelo were both excellent examples of his success.

Storm had saved Lily Marks, my Lynx walker sidekick and friend, from a life on the streets. But for his intervention she'd have probably died of a drug-overdose. Many Walkers who struggled as she had with an inability to shift fully, often turned to drugs.

Anjelo Alvarez, on the other hand, had left Tukats our panther clan home in the mountains to follow in my stupid footsteps. Thanks to Storm he'd been able to steer clear of a lot of trouble until he reconnected with me.

He'd remodeled the entire ground floor of an old hotel, sectioning off areas for his personal apartment, maintenance, and office-space for himself and Chloe Murdoch, his Healer Mage assistant. The lobby he'd converted into the waiting room in which Cass now sat with the boy, and the old restaurant into a general dining and common room for the students who drifted in and out of the place.

The old hotel rooms had been converted into dorms for the dozens of people he took under his wing.

His door sat ajar as I reached it, a sure sign he was available. I knocked lightly against the frosted glass that made up the top half of the door and waited only seconds until a deep, sexy voice bade me enter.

I pushed the door open and walked in to find Storm was not alone.

A girl looked up from the side of Storm's desk, her hands filled with a stack of files. Her heart-shaped face, and deep brown eyes were familiar.
 

She gave me a shy smile and waited. Without the pasty makeup it would've been easy for me not to recognize her. But a few weeks back she'd been standing on the side of the road, barely sixteen, wasting her life in the world's oldest profession.

Her pimp had turned out to be a wraith whose life I'd happily erased, probably leaving his prostitutes with nobody to force them to keep working. I'd given this girl Storm's card for the Shelter and told her come to him if she needed anything. I thanked
Ailuros
she'd actually listened to me.

"Kailin," said Storm as he got to his feet. With his looks the man could be a supermodel--the cheerful smile on his way-too-beautiful face, the wide strong jaw that inspired trust in the kids and people around him, those deep eyes that let everyone know how much he cared. All that beauty and he spent his time here, helping people. Gorgeous and admirable.

"Hey," I said, coming to a halt in front of his paper-strewn desk. "You need a secretary."

"I have one," he waved a hand at the girl. "And we have
you
to thank for sending Niki to us."

I gave her a warm smile. "I'm so glad you came."

"You remember me?" she asked, her cheeks reddening.

I grinned. "Of course, I do." I jabbed a thumb at Storm. "Has he been good to you?"
 

"Better than I deserve," she said, her eyes darkening.

"We all deserve better than we think we should get," said Storm, his tone gently chiding as he watched her. She gave a small smile and he continued, "Now Kailin, what can I do to help?"