Forever and Beyond (9 page)

Aidan sighed. I couldn’t tell whether from frustration or from the realization that I really had no idea about anything. He pulled me closer and wrapped his arms around me, whispering, “Remember our gates back home? They’re infused with magic to keep out the Shadows.” I nodded, unsure where this conversation was heading. He continued, “They contain witch’s blood. But the witches and warlocks of
Morganefaire
stopped selling their blood hundreds of years ago. Blake let me use his own blood without their knowing, which makes him a traitor.”

“Add the fact that he’s one of us now when he’s actually mentioned in the prophecy as
Morganefaire’s
future leader, and that’s a sure death sentence,” Kieran said. “The Council will never allow a vampire warlock to lead them, and particularly not when it looks like the vampires planned the whole thing by turning Blake.”

The gravity of his words sat in the pit of my stomach like a rock. “But no one can prove anything, right? It’d be his word against the other person’s.” The room fell silent for a moment as I tried to make sense of the chunk of information. One question remained unanswered though. “How come Blake’s not sensitive to light, like Clare? The Shadow ritual wasn’t performed on him.” I thought back to our talk about silkworms. Silk was more light filtering than satin. Maybe he used it as a protective shield. It sounded far-fetched, but I couldn’t dismiss the idea.

“That’s right,” Aidan said. “Since witch’s blood courses through his veins, he only had to perform—”

“His own magic to get rid of it,” I finished, finally understanding.

“There’s still some sensibility, which is why he wears thick clothing,” Aidan said. “Witches and warlocks are mortal; Blake isn’t. But, unlike us, his wounds take longer to heal, and if they’re vicious enough he could even die.”

And that’s when it dawned on me. “Is that why you pulled out your dagger and went all cuckoo for all people to see?” I whispered in disbelief.

Aidan nodded gravely. “The plan was to hurt him so everyone would see his wounds didn’t heal instantly, which would’ve proved he wasn’t a vampire.” My jaw dropped.

Kieran laughed. “Did you really believe we’d kill him?”

I lowered my gaze, ashamed that I really thought Aidan was about to turn into a raging psycho. “So it was all show?” I asked, incredulous.

“Pretty much.” Aidan’s smile disappeared and his expression darkened again. “But that doesn’t mean Blake and I are friends again. That period of our lives is over.”

I was so absorbed in our conversation that I didn’t even notice when Julie returned. Daylight had just given way to darkness when we finally stood from our seats on the sofa and went about closing the shutters for the night. According to Aidan, that wasn’t so much a choice as expected of us in
Morganefaire
.

“You don’t leave your curtains undrawn or shutters open, not if you don’t want the Council talking sense into you,” Kieran said. “And by talking I don’t actually mean the use of words. More like ending up at the bottom of a cold, freezing lake tied to a giant slab of concrete.”

“It’s not so much their unwanted attention you should be worried about, but the fact that the night has countless ears,” Aidan said dryly. “It’d rather not have them tune in to our conversation.”

I nodded and finished up barricading the house, then returned to my place on the sofa. Aidan was already there, waiting for me. His arms wrapped around me like I always belonged in them. As his bonded mate, it was my rightful place by his side, and he wasn’t afraid to show it at any given opportunity.

Breathing in his scent, I relaxed and almost forgot the world around me…until I felt Julie’s gaze on me. Even though I should’ve been used to sensing ghosts by now, a cold shudder ran down my back. It wasn’t malice that mirrored in her eyes, but it wasn’t happiness for us either. And how could I blame her? When death came to claim her physical body, it also took with it any chance of finding love again.

Out of respect for the pain she must be going through, I put some space between Aidan and me, and cleared my throat.

Aidan frowned and his grip around my hand tightened. “What’s wrong?”

“She’s here, isn’t she? That ghost chick, Julie,” Kieran said, glancing around. “Where is she?”

A smile lit up Julie’s face. She definitely had a crush on Kieran. I raised my chin slightly and pointed. “To the left by the table.”

“She can listen in if she wants to,” Kieran said. “Just make her stand by the window or something.”

“Are you scared?” I teased.

“Well, it was different in a public place, but now we’re all trapped in a room. You’ve got to admit that’s a little freaky.”

“Yeah, it’s awkward with you two hanging around all the time,” Julie said, pointing at Aidan and me. She inched closer until she hovered in mid-air inches away from Kieran, the black fog around her feet gathering around him like a cocoon. “Tell him I don’t bite…unless he wants me to.”

“She says she doesn’t bite…unless you want her to.” I smiled as Aidan rolled his eyes.

“You just don’t get it, do you?” Kieran said. “I don’t want her drooling all over me while I take a shower—naked. I demand a little privacy because, when women see me without my clothes on, well, let’s just say they can’t help themselves.”

“You wish.” I laughed. The sad thing about Kieran was that he really thought he was God’s gift to the female population.

“I kid you not.” Kieran sat up, wide-eyed, and shook his head. “Last time I was in London on bounty hunter business I had to check into a hotel. I didn’t notice the open curtains—”

“You left them open on purpose,” Aidan cut in.

Kieran continued, ignoring him. “Imagine me taking a shower when the phone rings—”

“I’d rather you didn’t,” Aidan whispered in my ear.

My lips twitched as I squeezed his hand to quiet him and tuned back into Kieran’s sordid story.

“—so I hurry to answer it. She must’ve seen me naked from the opposite building because five minutes later there’s a knock on my door and this chick basically throws herself at me.”

I rolled my eyes and laughed. “I’m wondering how much of that story’s true.”

“All of it,” Kieran said. “I’m like a magnet or something. One of a kind.”

A glance at Julie’s adoring stare told me she more than likely believed every word he said.

“Now that we’ve established Kieran’s attractiveness,” Aidan muttered, “we need to devise a plan to get
Morganefaire’s
support. Solving Julie’s murder might help us gain their trust.”

“I say we include Blake, and then we can have a big party where everybody gets drunk and we can all bond,” I said, not really meaning the last part. Aidan’s hard stare made me shrug. “What? I know you’re worried about his secret, but no one will be able to prove anything. Besides, we need allies. Without him, I’d be dead so that makes him no worse than anyone else out there.”

Aidan nodded, seemingly considering my words. “Okay, but if he so much as lays a finger on you, he’s dead.”

Our fingers intertwined and he shot me a broad smile. I knew he meant his threat and was only trying to make it look like it was merely a joke so it wouldn’t upset me. I wanted them to get along again because I knew how much it meant to both of them.

“The Blue Moon is in a couple days. We don’t have time for solving Julie’s murder, wasting our time negotiating with the Council, and preparing our brethren for war.” Kieran leaned back against the sofa with a sigh. “If only there were five of me.”

I peered from him to Julie who hovered next to him, her ghostly fingers brushing his dark hair, her eyes shining dreamily. She had to go—and pronto—because she kept distracting me. He was right, there were too many things to do. We had to split up. “I’ll solve the mystery. You guys focus on the Council,” I said. “I’ll start with the people she grew up with, such as her parents. Maybe someone knows who’d kill her.”

Aidan shook his head. “That’s a dead end. Keeping the parents’ identity a secret is a huge deal in
Morganefaire
. You’re more likely to win the lottery.”

“I didn’t have any enemies,” Julie said. “Everyone liked me.”

“A jealous friend, maybe?” I asked her. She shook her head, wide-eyed.

“Right.” I bit my lip, thinking of alternatives, and turned back to Aidan. “We could question who found her. They might’ve noticed something.”

“I’m sure Blake did that already,” he said. “That’s about the first thing anyone would do.”

“We need something else,” Kieran said. “Anything to get us started at this point. Did she say anything to you?”

I bit my lower lip as I recalled my meeting with Julie. In the short time span, I barely got to ask a question. The only hint I had was that for some reason the reaper wouldn’t cut the cord and transport her soul to the Otherworld. “I could call Cass and ask her about the whole reaper thing,” I suggested.

Aidan hesitated. “You could,” he said eventually, “but you know her. She’s not interested in Hell’s business. Even if she asked her father, I doubt Lucifer would share his secrets with us.”

“Maybe Dallas could find out for us.” After my brother almost died at Rebecca’s hands, I didn’t want to drag him into the whole affair, but he was Cass’s bonded mate and Lucifer’s future son-in-law. Maybe Lucifer had started to include him in Hell’s business.

“Only as a last resort,” Aidan said. “I couldn’t watch your pain if something were to happen to him again.”

“You’re so sweet to think of my feelings. Thanks.” I smiled and touched his cheek in the hope he could feel my love for him. Our gazes met and my whole being began to melt into his, becoming one.

“Hey, focus.” Kieran’s voice jerked me out of the moment. I broke away first but my gaze still lingered on my boyfriend. The top button of his shirt was unopened. I fought the strong urge to rub my fingers against the soft patch of pale skin that peered from beneath. When I raised my gaze, Julie was staring right at me, her eyes filled with a fire I had rarely seen in others. That’s when a thought struck me and my breath almost caught in my throat.

“Do you know anything about the Night Guard?” I said.

“Why?” Aidan asked warily.

“Julie told me she was about to join it. She was recruited but died before she could commence her position.”

“Why would they recruit a nineteen-year-old girl?” Aidan’s expression changed from curiosity to mistrust, then to determination.

“I don’t know. What are the Night Watch’s tasks?” I asked her, interested. Kieran’s brow furrowed. He still couldn’t accept me seeing ghosts.

“They walk up and down the wall and watch over the city at night. Protect it. Warn the Council in case of an intruder,” Julie said.

“Were you trained?”

She nodded. “Everyone is.”

I tapped my fingers against my thigh, thinking. “So the task is to watch over the whole city, or just a certain part?”

“One district only,” she said. “I don’t know which district I would’ve received.” I passed on the information to Aidan and Kieran.

“It sounds like someone didn’t want her to become a night guard,” I said. “Now we only need to find out why. Thanks, Julie.” I shot her a smile.

“You’ve definitely given us our first vital clue about why she might’ve died.” Aidan’s lips twitched. “You are the smartest—”

“Most determined,” I added.

“Yes, that too.” His lips curled up into a lazy smile and a tiny dimple appeared in his cheek. My fingers itched to touch it. “Don’t forget trustworthy.”

Julie pretended to stick her finger down her throat. “I’m going to puke.”

I ignored her and batted my eyelashes at my sexy boyfriend who planted a soft kiss on my lips. “You’re forgetting an important one,” he said. His finger trailed down my neck. Heat flooded through my body.

“What’s that?” I whispered.

His eyes sliced into mine, searing me from the inside. “Hot. Because you’re hotter than the blazing sun.”

Kieran rolled his eyes. “Seriously, I think I’m going to be sick.”

“He couldn’t have said it better! See?” Julie exclaimed triumphantly. “We’re meant to be together. I hate all that kissing, hugging, and all that gushy stuff people who are in
love
do. Unless it’s ME!”

Laughing, I pulled away from Aidan and went about telling him each and every detail of my conversation with Julie, making sure not to omit anything. By the time I finished, Aidan and Kieran had devised the next step in our grand plan. They’d become members of the Night Guard. I didn’t tell them that I harbored no intention to be kept out. Why should the guys have all the fun?

After our conversation, Julie gave Kieran a peck on the cheek, said goodnight to me, and then disappeared into the night. I wondered if she decided to return to the morgue. Even though she couldn’t see her body, she might still feel connected to it, but I didn’t ask. For one, I didn’t want to upset her, and then there was also the tiny possibility that she’d take it as an invitation to stay, which would’ve destroyed any prospect of spending some alone time with my boyfriend.