Darkness Wanes (22 page)

I stiffened. He was the last person I wanted to see at the moment—aside from Dannia.

“Your twenty minute response time is certainly encouraging,” Lucas said, dryly.

“Emily said you were handling it,” the guardian replied, clearly annoyed, “but I grew impatient. What has happened?”

I turned to face Kerbasi, a shudder running down my spine. The images from my nightmare still lingered and seeing him brought them back into sharp focus. “I dreamed of you. Your image tends to inspire that kind of reaction.”

“I am pleased I have not lost my touch.” He polished his fingernails against his shirt.

Grabbing a pillow from the bed, I threw it and struck him in the face. Even though it couldn’t have hurt, it made me feel better. “Go away.”

He gave me a wounded look and wandered off. There were times when I wondered if he really did care, but pretended he didn’t. Looking back now, I had caught a whiff of concern coming from him. I’d just been too caught up in the remnants of my nightmare to notice.

“Perhaps you should get dressed and come downstairs.” Lucas slid off the bed, his expression grim. “There is much we must discuss.”

“Shower, coffee, and then we can talk.” I had to have my priorities.

***

The house was crowded when I came downstairs. A couple of new arrivals had gathered in the living room, but I found Patrick and Emily playing chess at the dining room table. He was alternating between glancing at a laptop set up next to the board, chatting with his daughter, and moving his pieces across the game board.

They were laughing as I walked up to them, though I’d missed the joke. I sensed the bond developing between them and it worried me. What if he turned out to be a bad guy? Had we made the wrong decision by allowing Patrick to stay and let Emily get attached to him? I needed to question him again before making any solid conclusions, but that would have to wait a little longer. I desperately needed coffee, and I had guests in the other room.

“Isn’t this a school night?” I asked, pausing at the table. It had to be around midnight.

Emily moved one of her pawns. “I couldn’t sleep.”

I leaned down and gave her a kiss on the forehead. It seemed like forever since I’d been able to do that. “Don’t stay up too long.”

She lifted her head, concern in her gaze. “Is everything okay, Mel?”

“Oh, yeah.” I gave her a reassuring smile. “It was just a bad dream.”

“What was it about?”

The long, hot shower I’d taken had allowed me some perspective on what happened. It almost seemed comical now—almost. “Demon versions of Kerbasi were chasing me.”

“Wow. That would have made me scream, too.” Her lips twitched.

I headed for the kitchen and found a fresh pot of coffee waiting. Lucas must have made it for me while I was in the shower, which made me love him that much more. I fixed myself a cup and stood there sipping it. The kitchen was empty and quiet, allowing me a chance to wake up and center myself. Considering who’d come to visit, I felt bad for not greeting them right away, but I needed some fortification before I faced the world again. It seemed like every time I thought I was getting back to normal something else came along to throw me off course.

It took a second cup of coffee, a banana, and a bowl of cereal before I felt strong enough to head toward the living room. Lucas met me in the foyer.

He studied my face. “You look better.”

“I feel better, too. Where’s Micah and Bartol?” Neither of the nephilim had been in the house when I woke up

“At the nerou compound. We thought it would be good for Bartol to get out for a while and Micah needed to do a security check anyway. They should be back later.” The gold in his eyes deepened and he cupped my cheek. “You have visitors, but if you’re not up for it, I can send them away.”

“I’ll be fine.” I gave him a pleading expression. “If we could just pretend my little incident didn’t happen, it would help.”

Sympathy reflected in his eyes, and he lowered his hand. “I understand. We will not speak of it again—unless you wish.”

“Thanks.” I released a pent-up breath. As much as I appreciated his concern, I didn’t want to dwell on my nightmares any more than Lucas did when he had a bad dream.

“I’ll join you shortly.” He squeezed my hand and walked away.

I entered the living room, and two women flew at me—Aniya and Lisette. They were my best friends since high school back in California, though I rarely saw them much these days. Each of them gave me a bone-crushing hug. It was all I could do to maintain my composure. They reminded me of a time when my life was normal and the supernatural a distant thing I hardly ever worried about.

Then Aniya had decided to come to Alaska three years ago and got kidnapped. I came here, intending to save her from a witch-vamp hybrid and her gang, but things didn’t go as planned. She was fatally shot by a police officer who’d been compelled to do it. As she lay bleeding to death, I’d begged Nik to turn her into a vampire. It was that or let her die. She’d been through a lot since then, but when I’d left for Purgatory she’d seemed to be doing better.

The reason for that sat on a couch nearby—Cage. He was a sixty-year-old vampire who appeared about forty. He had that older surfer guy look with short, blond hair and semi-tanned skin. It took a few decades for vampires to turn pale unless they were that way already.

Cage had worked with Aniya earlier this year at a make-shift clinic where they tended patients who’d been affected by an outbreak of the black plague spreading amongst supernaturals. Vampires weren’t affected, so they’d made the best nurses. In the midst of that, romance had bloomed between my friend and Cage. I’d witnessed the beginnings of it, but I’d missed being around for when it fully developed. Now, she appeared happier than I’d ever seen her.

“When did you fly up here?” I asked Lisette. She was a pixie. I’d known that about her since we first met due to my abilities, but I’d hidden my knowledge until after Aniya got turned into a vampire. It had been safer for no one to know about my sensor background. She hadn’t been very happy when she discovered I’d kept that from her, but with time we worked past it.

Lisette smiled. “Late last night. I would have come by sooner, but Lucas asked us to wait a little longer.”

I grabbed a strand of her shoulder-length hair. “Blond? Isn’t that a bit too normal for you?”

“I ran out of colors and decided to go natural.” She shrugged.

In all the time I’d known her, she’d always had it dyed some sort of bright shade. The short, energetic woman had a passion for life and loved to display it outwardly in her hair and her clothes. Today she wore leather pants, a skimpy pink sequin top, and an open jacket. The heels on her shoes had to be at least six inches. There were very few times I’d seen Lisette in anything that she couldn’t wear to a nightclub.

“It looks good,” I said, letting go of her hair.

“So how are you?” Her brow furrowed. “I’ve heard horrible things about Purgatory. Do they really do things like flay the flesh off of you?”

Lisette always lacked the ability to use tact. Coming from her, it didn’t bother me at all. “Only on Fridays. The rest of the week they stuck with the tried and true method of drawing and quartering.”

Aniya’s mouth dropped open. “You’re joking.”

She was always the most serious one among us. Her parents were originally from India and raised her to be studious and hard working. Aniya’s coming to Alaska was the first time she’d done anything remotely rebellious—despite mine and Lisette’s influence. Becoming a vampire hadn’t changed her personality. If anything, she was more withdrawn and quiet now than before.

“Don’t worry. It was bad, but it wasn’t that horrible.” I gave her a reassuring smile. “I’ll be okay.”

Aniya swallowed. “Was it as bad as when Variola held you in her basement and had you tortured?”

“Sweetheart,” Cage said, putting an arm around her. “Maybe it’s not a good idea to dredge up those old memories.”

That period had been bad for Aniya as well because she felt responsible for what happened to me. After being captured by Variola’s people while trying to rescue her, I’d been chained up and beaten within an inch of my life. It was difficult to be certain how many of my bones were broken in the process, but to say the pain had been unbearable would have been an understatement. I didn’t have immortality to help me at that time. The only reason I’d survived was because they fed me vampire blood—after letting me suffer through the pain for a while first. I hadn’t had Lucas on my side then, and I’d been all alone with no hope of rescue.

“To be honest, I think the Variola experience was worse than Purgatory,” I replied truthfully.

What I didn’t add was that being captured by my father the following year and held by him and his minions for several days actually made the number one slot for worst experience. He’d brutalized me physically and psychologically. Betrayal by family—even members you’d never met before—was the worst kind of torture. It might take some time to get over my stay in Purgatory, but I’d built up a rather strong defense mechanism against that sort of suffering. It also helped that I’d acquired a mass of friends and loved ones over the last few years who would always be there for me.

“I don’t know how you handle so much, Mel.” Aniya sighed.

Lisette grabbed both our hands, a mischievous sparkle in her eyes. “I recommend ice cream. We used to get through all kinds of tough spots that way.”

“Says the woman who had the most relationship problems.” I grinned at her. “It’s a miracle we didn’t become the size of Goodyear Blimps from all the men who pissed you off.”

Lucas cleared his throat, guiding a reluctant Patrick into the living room. The male sensor had an expression of dread on his face that told me he’d rather be anywhere else.

“I apologize for interrupting,” Lucas said, giving me a rueful look. “But it appears there are more attacks on supernaturals planned in the near future. Patrick has uncovered information you’ll all want to hear.”

Chapter Nineteen

Melena

Aniya, Lisette, and I exchanged worried glances. As much as I wanted to visit with my friends for a while, impending attacks had to take precedence.

“What do you mean?” I asked.

Patrick shifted on his feet. “I’ve been following their online message boards—the open ones, anyway. They don’t discuss specifics there, but there was a call to arms raised a couple of days ago. I suspect assaults on the supernatural population are about to get a lot worse.”

“How is it you know about these boards?” I asked, narrowing my eyes at him. It still annoyed me that no one had bothered to inform me about this until tonight.

He cleared his throat, clearly uncomfortable with being the center of attention in a room full of supernaturals. “The message board was originally set up so sensors could keep in touch with each other. It also served as a way to warn our kind of any dangerous places to avoid. In the last month or so, it’s evolved into something different.”

I’d never heard of such a website, but before coming to Alaska I’d only known one other sensor—Wanda. Considering she’d planned to sell me to the highest supernatural bidder as soon as I finished high school, she wouldn’t have told me about it. I took a few steps closer to him. “Who is the leader?”

“His name is Grant Douglas. A couple of years ago, he broke away from a group ran by his father. I have no idea why, but all those guys disappeared a few months back. Grant has since formed his own cult to take their place. There aren’t many sensors willing to follow him, but after the peace spell started coming down, he recruited a lot of humans. He’s teaching them how to find and kill supernaturals.”

My body turned cold. Lucas lifted a brow, the question obvious in his eyes. The only man Grant could be was my brother, especially since he shared the same last name as my father.

“Dammit.” I spun around, searching for something to hit. Lucas and Micah had repaired the living room since the attack and replaced the furniture. No way did I want to mess up all their hard work. Unable to find a target, I returned my attention to Lucas. “It has to be him.”

He dipped his chin. “That is what I believe as well.”

“I feel like I’m missing something here,” Patrick said, confusion in his voice.

I paced the room, no longer caring what Emily’s father heard or discovered. “Grant has to be my brother. The one we couldn’t find and capture.”

Patrick’s eyes rounded. “You guys took down that group? They were huge, and I heard they had a lot of heavy firepower.”

“We had the Department of Homeland Security helping. Jerome and his people fought, but it wasn’t too hard to capture them,” I said, stopping to look at him. “Tell me you’ve never had any participation with those people and don’t dare try to lie.”

Whether he lived or not depended on his next words and he knew it. Patrick met my gaze. “Never. Other than commenting a few times on the message boards—before all the trouble began—I’ve avoided them. I only knew about Grant because I went to college with him.”