Devil Inside (56 page)

Castor and Levi shared a silent look that Harley found troublesome because she felt skipped over and she couldn’t quite decipher the meaning of the look.  Randall and Alice looked tired and resolved and Nya clapped her hands like a small child.  “Well, let get this party started then,” she laughed.

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Back at Harley’s apartment she and Nya sat on the couch not talking.  Levi sat quietly in the chair opposite them.  Harley didn’t have many moments of self-doubt any more.  But this was one of those rare moments.  Anxiety throbbed in the pit of Harley’s stomach.  Her Nocte grumbled at her and tried to push it away, but it still caused Harley to get up and pace the room restlessly.  Nya paid attention to Harley’s actions but didn’t say anything about it.  She waited for Harley to break the silence.

              “Are we sure this is what I am supposed to do?” Harley finally asked.

             
Nya smiled at her.  “What do you think?”

             
“I feel that it is right.  This is supposed to be what I’m doing.  Nya?”

“Yeah?”  The question had been burning in her since their meeting with the Lux.

“Do you think I am the…opposite of the Rogue?  The yin to his yang?”

“I think so,” Nya answered softly.

“How long have you suspected this?” Harley asked her.

“I’ve suspected it since we first started realizing how strong you were.  I’m didn’t tell you because it would have affected your actions.  It would have changed your decisions and your opinions about yourself.  You needed to come into this realization on your own.  And if I did and had been wrong?  That would have been even more devastating.”

“What about you?” Harley asked Levi.

Levi rubbed his face.  “I started suspecting it in Italy.  When I became sure that the Rogue was an unusually strong Lux.”

              “So if the Sol Invictus think that the Rogue is some kind of Second Coming, what does that make me?”

             
Nya sniggered.  “The Anti-Christ?”

             
Harley rolled her eyes at Nya and Levi looked like he was trying to not laugh.  “Very funny,” Harley shook her head at them both.  “Why haven’t they come after me yet?”

             
Levi thought for a moment.  “I doubt they have heard of you yet.  Most of the rumors that have circulated could have applied to you or the Rogue.”

             
“Good point,” she was a little relieved.  She had enough enemies at the moment.

             
Harley noticed Nya didn’t apologize for her choice to not tell Harley of her ideas right away.  Harley didn’t feel that she needed one—it was more of Nya’s style of ‘live and learn’ and she appreciated it.  She considered Nya’s words as she continued to pace across the small apartment.  Nya was right.  Had she thought that she was the answer to the Rogue, she would have tried to go after him sooner.  She would have made more mistakes.  She may have even doubted Nya’s words and lost trust in her mentor.  There was only so much information and self-discovery that Harley could handle at a time.  She was glad that Nya had let her gain the knowledge herself.  “Do you think the Rogue will agree to meet me?”

             
Nya raised her eyebrows.  “I’m sure of it.  I am confident that he feels compelled to face you as much as you do him.”  Harley nodded in agreement as did Levi.

             
Harley grumbled to herself.  “Where does this compulsion come from, do you think?”

             
Nya considered her answer carefully.  “I think that there is a very literal balance between to both of you.  As long as one of you exists the other will never be stronger.  I think it is in both of your natures to be the strongest.  As long as the other lives, neither will ever reach their full strength.”

             
Harley sighed at the truth of Nya’s words.  “Do you think I can beat him?” Harley asked both Nya and Levi without looking at either of them.

             
“Absolutely,” Levi answered quickly.

             
When Nya didn’t respond right away Harley turned to look at her.  Her stomach sank with the thought that Nya wouldn’t have faith in her.  “Do YOU think you can beat him?”

Harley considered her answer before speaking.  “I KNOW I have the ability to.”  Her Nocte growled in agreement.

Nya and Levi smiled at her.  “Then, yes,” Nya answered.  “I think you can beat him.”

Less than a week later Harley found herself in a hotel room in L.A. with Nya and Levi.  She sat at the small table with her feet propped up on the bed next to her.  Nya lay on her back with her feet propped against the wall at the head of the bed.  Levi was pacing back and forth across the small space while lost in thought.   Harley began arranging the small empty liquor bottles in order of color and size.  She kind of missed being able to get drunk.  Her metabolism was high enough now that it took a massive amount of alcohol to even get a good buzz.  It took her an entire night once to start to feel the effects of a large bottle of bourbon.

The three Nocte had been waiting for word from Castor and the scouting party that he led since they woke a few hours before sundown.  The Vigilum had arrived yesterday and the Harley’s group of Nocte had arrived during the night.  The plan was to send small groups out to hunt for Cutter or any information they could find on how to locate him.  At the same time they were searching for information about the Rogue.  Previous interrogations hadn’t uncovered much information about the murderer, but Levi was hopeful that since they were in the area early—and hopefully before any murders took place—that they would be able to gather more information for once.

The plan was to hunt the Ignis en masse until they got the information they needed as to how to find Cutter—or the Rogue if they got lucky.  If anyone found either villain they were to contact Harley either directly or through Levi, Castor or Nya.  Castor had taken the first hunt with a group of Lux that he chose himself.  Neither Randall nor Alice was with him, Harley noted to herself.  She got the feeling that those two valued themselves too highly to do foot work. 

Harley had stayed up past sunrise to see Castor and his group off.  He was with a group of four other Vigilum and when he saw her waiting in the lobby he sent the others ahead to wait for him outside.  As the Lux passed they pretended they weren’t looking at her but Harley could see their attention focus on her from the corner of their eyes.  There were two female Lux and one other male and they all looked stoic and strong and maybe even a little haughty.  Harley was confident that Castor would have picked a good crew so she barely gave them more than a passing glance. 

Harley had not had a chance to talk to Cas alone since he left her that last morning in his apartment.  Seeing Castor made her stomach shiver.  He was dressed appropriately for L. A. weather in soft jeans and a sleeveless green tee-shirt that made his green eyes practically glow.  He loped towards her with his easy gait and sat in the empty seat next to her.

Castor looked at her without speaking for a moment.  “I still don’t like this idea,” he said finally.  “I still don’t think that you fighting the Rogue is the only answer.”

“I know,” she smiled at him but didn’t say anything else.

He looked away, watching the early morning travelers coming to and from the lobby.  “Does Levi know?”

“What?  About us?”

“Yeah.”

Harley laughed.  “I would assume that he does by this point.”

“He’s not mad?” Castor looked at her with a tilted head.

“Not that he lets on,” she smiled tightly.

“Why not?”  The implication was that Castor himself was mad about not being her only “friend.”

Harley decided that she didn’t want to have this conversation.  Not now of all times.  The smile had only dropped from her face momentarily but she quickly recovered it.  “What is your plan for today?”  It was obvious that she was changing the subject and Castor took a while to answer.

“We have made contact with the local Vigilum here and we are going to try to scope out some of the hot spots.  Look for dealers.  Try to find some Burners to interrogate.  That sort of thing.  What will you do during the day?  You could go with if you wanted.”  He looked hopeful.

“I’m going to get some sleep with the rest of the Nocte.  I need to get on a good schedule and stay rested so that I will be ready when we find them.”

Cas nodded and continued to watch her and she purposefully kept her gaze on the people enjoying their continental breakfast.  “I should get going.”  He began to stand and Harley stopped him by grabbing his wrist.

“Be careful,” she said against her better judgment.  The idea of Castor getting hurt made her stomach ache.  Even though her Nocte—
and me, I suppose
—had staked an unfair claim on Cas and Levi both, she was worried that Castor would get too attached.  She was less worried about Levi not acting as he should due to his feelings for her.  He always seemed to do what was right even when he didn’t want to.  Cas, on the other hand, seemed to react to his feelings much quicker despite the wisdom of doing so.  Harley worried that he would put her safety above his own.  Cass looked like he wanted respond but she interrupted him when she pulled his wrist so that he had to bend over her chair.  She pulled his face to hers and he didn’t resist when she kissed him softly.  After a short moment she pushed him away laughing softly.  “Go find my Ignis for me.”  Castor smiled as he left to rejoin the rest of the Lux waiting for him outside.  Harley watched him and shook her head.  Castor had a way of getting under her skin that even Levi couldn’t accomplish.

Harley had gone back to the room and joined Levi in bed.  Nya was staying in the room next door with Cassandra.  When Harley climbed into bed Levi didn’t say anything, but rolled over and pressed himself against her back.  There was no possessiveness behind the gesture and Harley didn’t stiffen against him as she normally would have.  Levi just seemed to want to rest against her, and the warmth of him against her back was surprisingly soothing as she relaxed and drifted off to sleep.

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Now here they were twelve hours later waiting to hear from Castor.  Instead of searching entirely independently, they had decided to treat the hunts as shifts working in groups.  They were waiting for the report from Castor before they began their own shift.  The sun was setting and Harley knew that Cas would be back soon.  Cassandra was waiting for directions in another room with a group that she was leading.  Cassandra’s group included Evie, Rafe, and a few local Nocte that Harley had only met in passing.  Rafe was here because he was a good Praesidio, but he was still an ass and Levi nor Harley either one wanted him in the room with them.  Harley was sure the feeling was mutual.  Cassandra herself had grown on Harley.  The Nocte who came across as unfeeling, cold and distant was a good hunter and Harley could appreciate the woman’s strength.  She was glad that Cassandra was in charge of the other group.

Harley’s thoughts were interrupted by a soft knock at the door.  She knew who it was before Levi even opened the door.  Levi spun in place, barely missing a step in his pacing.  In two strides he was at the door and after looking through the peephole to confirm who stood outside the door, he unlocked the door and held it open.  Castor stepped inside with a polite nod towards Levi that didn’t actually make eye contact.  Levi returned the nod and shut the door behind him.  Castor leaned against the standard drab hotel dresser trying his best to look at ease.

“Any news?” Harley asked without getting up from her seat.

Regretfully, Castor shook his head.  “Nothing.  All together we found four Ignis today.  All of them known dealers.  None of them knew anything, or at least, if they did they wouldn’t talk.”  Harley could feel the frustration roll off Cas. 

“Did you interrogate them thoroughly?”  She remembered how Castor had looked at her when she had questioned the Ignis in their apartment that night.

Castor’s jaw clenched.  “Yes.  We questioned them thoroughly.”

“How thoroughly?”

Cas met her gaze steadily.  “I don’t know if it would be Harley approved interrogation tactics, but I am confident we were effective.”

Levi looked from Harley to Castor curiosity drawing his brows together.  “What areas did you search?” he asked deciding to change the subject.  Nya continued to watch them from the bed.  She observed them upside down still in the same position she had been since they had begun waiting for Castor to arrive.  Castor gave them a rundown of the Vigilum’s activities during the day.  He looked tired.  The day’s hunting and the dying sun were both taking their toll on him.  It was the same effect that the daylight had on Levi and he ran his fingers through his hair smoothing it and his nerves.

“There only thing that we do have to report is that there seems to be at least one Ignis distributor missing.  He goes by the name of Franklin.”  His words settled over the room.  “There is no proof that the Rogue responsible for the murder.  But if I were to hazard a guess—I’d say chances are that is what is going on.”

Harley nodded.  “We’ll keep looking into it tonight.”

Nya spoke up from her position on the bed.  “I’ll call Landon, the west coast general, to see he has heard anything.”