Charming (Exiled Book 3) (20 page)

Ana tried to relieve his stress by pairing a serene environment with a vigorous sex life, but Charming’s fear of what could happen ran hot and deep.

On the morning of Jubilee, a victim was found behind one of the temporary buildings. It had been covered with a tarp. The murderer was apparently hoping the body wouldn’t be found right away. When Charming got word, he thought that, he and the murderer could agree on that. He wished it hadn’t been discovered until the next day, when Jubilee would be over. When the people who were crowding into the city, swelling its population, would be safely tucked away at home.

Ana had gotten permission from Scar to bake hundreds of extra cookies and Bowman built her a little booth across the street at the edge of the park. Charming did his best to hide his anxiety from her because she was vibrating with anticipation, almost as much as the children.

Charming and the mayor brought all the pressure they could to bear on the police department to withhold the news until after Jubilee. They also put pressure on the man who discovered the body to keep it under wraps for twenty four hours.

Crowley was torn. On the one hand, he understood how the news could escalate an already volatile situation and turn the night something more like a war zone than a celebration. On the other hand, he believed to his core that people had a right to know what was going on in their community.

In the end, even though he feared the slippery slope, he was persuaded that the people would best be served by delaying release of the news for one day. The Farsuitwail police had enough to do trying to prepare for potential skirmishes. Or worse.

Raze and Ember waited on the sidewalk. Dread was late.

“We were definitely supposed to meet here, right?” Ember said.

“Yeah. As demonstrated by the fact that you and I are standing here.” He laughed.

“Smart ass,” she said. “Dread’s never late. Time is like a religion with him.”

“If he doesn’t show up soon, we’re going without him. There’s stuff I want to see and do before it gets dark.”

“I take that to mean you’re not worried.”

He laughed again. “Why would I be worried?”

“Murders.” She leaned closer and said it under her breath, lips not moving.

He mimicked her delivery, saying, “Humans.”

“I know. It’s just that everybody is so tense all the time…”

“I’m not.” He yawned just to punctuate his point.

She rolled her eyes. “Well, Dread is tense enough for all of us.”

“He is, isn’t he? Life’s too short.”

As they were both looking into the park, deciding on what they were going to do first, Dread jogged up behind them. “Hey.”

“Where have you been?” Ember said. “Never mind, let’s get going. It’ll be dark in a couple of hours.” She paused. “Wait.” She reached up to his collar. “What’s this?”

Raze looked closer. “Blood.”

“What?” Dread asked.

“It’s a drop of blood,” Ember said.

“Must have gotten it shaving.”

“I don’t see any nicks,” she said.

“Come on,” Raze coaxed. “We’re not going to wait for him to go change.” He resumed walking. “Personally I think shaving is wrong on so many levels. If we were meant to have smooth faces, we’d have smooth faces. Right?”

“Yes, but hair on your faces would only make the humans more, ah, unsettled.” Ember reminded him.

“And we must protect the fragile sensibilities of humans at all costs,” Dread said not bothering to disguise the hint of bitterness.

“Maybe they’re not as fragile as you think. They know that death is a fact of life. There was another murder early this morning, but you don’t see them staying home. No. They’re out in herds. Like sheep.” Raze said.

Dread and Ember exchanged a look of confusion.

“I didn’t hear about another murder.” Ember turned to Dread. “Did you?”

He shook his head. “No, but I’ve been busy. News could have gotten by me. Easily.” He grinned. “Hey. There’s Charming’s friend, Ana.”

Ember looked at Dread. “She’s human.”

He shrugged. “I know.”

“You don’t usually go for humans.”

“Well, things change.”

“She’s not Charming’s
friend
, Dread,” Raze said. “She’s Charming’s squeeze.”

Dread looked a little perplexed. “You sure about that?”

“Pretty sure. You know we’ll see him around here. You can ask him yourself.” Raze laughed.

“Leave him alone,” Ember cautioned. She looked at the little building where Ana was busy restocking her cookie displays that were already promising to sell out early. “Let’s go say hello.”

When Dread didn’t move, Ember grabbed his shirt sleeve and pulled him along.

“Wow,” she said when she stood in front of Ana. “You sell cookies. And they’re beautiful!”

Ana laughed. “I do. I make them as well. For A Far Scar.” She pointed across the street. “The pub across the street.” Her eyes moved to Raze and then Dread. “Dread! Would you like a sample?”

“Sure,” he said. Ember elbowed him in the side. “Uh, this is my sister, Ember, and my brother, Raze.”

Ana smiled. “Well, I guess I should offer you samples as well, since you’re family.”

“Speaking of family,” Raze said. Dread shot him a glare, but Raze just chuckled and forged ahead. “We’ve seen you with Charming. You guys friends or what?”

The color in Ana’s cheeks rose just a little. They hadn’t discussed announcements, but she’d met most of Charming’s family so she reasoned it was okay to answer honestly.

“We’re actually planning a mating ceremony. Next month. Of course you’re invited.”

“Mating!” Raze looked pleased until he saw the look of disappointment on Dread’s face.

“That’s so nice, Ana,” Ember said. “We’ll offer Charming congratulations when we see him.” She looked as if she’d suddenly had a fine idea. “You have to go to Brides’ Bliss! It’s an unbelievable shop. They sell outfits for brides that are out of this world.” Since Ember knew the story about how Dandelion got her bridal costume and started a trend, she knew that ‘out of this world’ was literally true.

“I haven’t gotten that far and don’t know if I could afford it. I work at the pub.” She pointed across the street again. “But it sounds great.”

“What’s this?” They turned when Charming came up behind them. “Paying customers?”

Ana laughed. “No. They’re freeloaders claiming to know you. So I gave them samples.”

“I see you’ve met my mate.” Charming smiled as he gave Ember a hug. “Seen your parents?”

“No, but they should be easy to spot. They’ll be the ones trying to herd a hundred kids.”

He looked between Dread and Raze. “Since I insisted they bring the kids down for this, I really should help.”

All three said, “Naaaaah,” at once and laughed.

Detectives Crowley and Hogshead strolled by just as Charming was about to say goodbye and make his way to the bandstand in the middle of the park. Crowley nodded as they walked by and Charming gave him a chin raise.

“Well, I should be heading toward the center of things,” Charming said.

Ember gave Charming an affectionate pat on the arm. “Things are going pretty well, considering that there was another murder this morning.”

Charming froze for a second before his brows came down. “Where did you hear that? We have a lockdown on that news.”

She half turned and motioned to Raze. “I heard it from…”

Charming’s gaze jerked to Raze and saw what he’d feared most, that the murders actually had been committed by one of them. A hybrid.

His first thought was that the hate groups would never die away.

His second thought was that the situation was going to destroy Crave.

“Raze,” Charming said quietly, “you’re under arrest for murder.”

Raze sneered. “I don’t think so.”

While Charming was plotting his next move, trying to decide how to accomplish what needed to be done quietly, so as not to cause a disturbance that would disrupt the festivities, Raze leaped over the cookie booth counter without touching a single cookie. He grabbed Ana and held her immobile. She tried to fight, but her strength couldn’t compare to that of a hybrid.

His fangs extended and rested against her neck. If he moved the width of an eyelash, he’d break the skin. He pulled back a tiny fraction of an inch, just far enough to say, “I’ll trade her life for immunity.”

Charming felt a cold fear begin at the base of his spine and radiate through his whole body. It shot through his nervous system accompanied by painful needle pricks of adrenaline. He didn’t have a plan. His mind couldn’t get past the single thought, “I can’t lose her.”

Ana didn’t scream or cry out, but her eyes conveyed terror. Like any male whose mate is threatened, Charming was at risk of going feral. His fangs descended, his claws extended, and his voice dropped to a deep growl that seemed all the more menacing because of its low volume.

Hearing alarmed voices, the detectives had hurried back the way they’d come, along with several other police nearby.

Charming heard Crowley speak from behind him, “Let the woman go.”

Raze repeated his demand. “I’ll trade her life for immunity.”

“Immunity’s not on the table,” Crowley said, “but we’re willing to negotiate. First, let the woman go.”

Raze snarled ferociously. It startled Ana. Charming was losing his control quickly. When he saw a single tear roll down Ana’s cheek, he snarled just as ferociously.

Dread finally shook himself out of his state of shock. He turned to Ember, who was staring at Raze with wide eyes. “Ember. Go find Dad.” She didn’t move or take her eyes off of Raze. He turned her to face him, grabbed her by the shoulders and gave her a little shake. “Go find Dad. And hurry!” Her eyes seem to clear. “Hurry!”

She nodded and took off at a sprint.

Dread stepped close to Charming and whispered. “Don’t do anything. Stay calm. Ember’s gone to get Crave. Just let me talk to Raze.”

The crowd was growing but the two uniformed officers on the scene were doing an admirable job keeping them back. They had radioed for all available personnel to help contain the situation and several more were on the way.

Raze looked wild eyed and feral holding Ana, head to the side, her neck exposed.

Dread started around the makeshift counter, but Raze said, “Stop right there. You want her to live to see the fireworks at dark. Right?”

“Yes. I do. Just tell me why?”

“Why what?”

“Why did you kill those humans?”

“You’ve been there for every bit of it, brother. The things they said to us. The things they said to Ember. We weren’t supposed to fight back.

“Maybe you and Ember and the others are willing to be lap dogs for Exiled, but not me. And as for the humans,” he spat, “they’re so far beneath us, but we’re supposed to behave as if they’re equals. It makes me sick! Every breath they take is a gift from us. They live at our pleasure. You know it. They know it. That’s why there are so many flocking to the anti-hybrid groups. They’d rather kill us all than live with the fact that we could slaughter them, every one, if we wake up one day and decide we don’t want them around anymore.”

“We’re Exiled now, Raze. We’re not lap dogs for them.”

“I remember things from before. I had a mother. Maybe she didn’t treat me great, but that’s not the most important thing. They killed our people. Everybody who was old enough to defend themselves.”

“You’re wrong. The hybrids who were killed, they aren’t our people. These are our people. Don’t you know that? Crave and Dandy haven’t just taken care of us. They’ve loved us just like the children of their bodies and that wasn’t just words. I’m a few months older than you. I don’t know what you’re remembering, but what I’m remembering of life before… None of it was good. We’re lucky they had faith that we could be different. And we
are
different.”