Realm Walker (7 page)

Jeremiah put a hand on Juliana’s elbow and steered her from the room and down the hall. He kept a tighter grip than normal and she knew he was worried she wasn’t as steady on her feet as she appeared. “
Your
vampire?” he asked.

“Thomas Kendrick,” she answered and instantly wished she hadn’t.

He stopped, took both arms in his hands and turned her to face him. “You know Thomas Kendrick well enough to call him yours?”

She looked at him without saying anything. To explain, she’d have to tell him more than she was ready for. Even Anna didn’t know everything. Not only had Juliana been trying to pretend Thomas didn’t exist for the most part, she’d be painting a huge target on her back should word get out they were United. Particularly since they weren’t together. Thomas’s enemies could go through her to hurt him and wouldn’t have to get past him to do it. Even the Agency didn’t know about the union. Thomas hadn’t registered it. She’d checked. Unions were required disclosure. If the Agency found out about it they’d reprimand her at best. At worst, she’d be out of a job.

When it became obvious she wasn’t going to answer his question, Jeremiah released her and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Never mind. I don’t think I want to know.”

She patted his shoulder. “That’s probably a wise decision. Come on, let’s get this over with.”

She tapped lightly on Ben’s door and swung it open even as Jeremiah was asking the receptionist if he was in. Ben looked up when she entered. Dark circles ringed his eyes and she wondered how long it had been since he fed. He smiled when he saw her, flashing a bit of fang. Yeah, he was overdue.

“I was worried about you, Norris,” Ben said, his English accent heavier in his exhaustion. “All right?”

She nodded and lowered herself into one of the chairs in front of his desk.

Jeremiah took the other chair and started talking. “Our vic at the warehouse was a witch. A woman in Nathaniel’s building opened the door to our agents assuming they were there about the sons she reported missing.”

“Sons...as in more than one?”

Ben nodded and looked at Jeremiah. “What was it you called them?”

“The Summoner and the Sacrifice. Positively identified. Visually for one, dental for the other.” Jeremiah ran a hand over his head. “Fifteen and seventeen. The Witness was fifteen, too. A friend of both the boys.”

Several deep breaths failed to ease the tightness in her chest. Babies. Nothing more than babies. And their mother had lost them both. For what? What did the Master want so badly that he’d sacrifice three teenagers to achieve it?

She cleared her throat. “How did they get involved in something like this? Did you get anything useful out of the mother?”

Ben tapped his fingers on the desk. “Not really, she was too distraught. They had to medicate her. The search didn’t turn up much either. None of the stuff we usually find when someone is learning how to summon demons in their spare time. The mother did say the eldest was an adept spell caster.”

“There was a new video game system and several unopened games in the brothers’ room,” Jeremiah said. “When we asked her, she claims the boys told her they were doing odd jobs for the neighbors to earn extra cash.”

“So they were hired, just like we’d figured. Money’s a big motivator for a kid.” It wasn’t until they got older that people realized some things just weren’t worth any amount of money. “And mom had no idea who it might have been?”

“Quite frankly, she seemed pretty clueless about what went on in her kids’ lives. She claims there was no one new around. We’ve got agents questioning all the neighbors,” Ben said.

“What about the book?” she asked, shifting in her seat.

Jeremiah shook his head. “Mother didn’t know anything about it, either. James has it in lockdown at the Apocryphan. He’ll let us know if he finds anything.”

All of the especially dangerous magical items they found went to the Gathering’s headquarters for safekeeping. They’d also study the object on a consultant basis for the Agency if asked. Gods forbid they do anything for free just to be helpful. Well, they’d do it for her, just not the Agency. Partly because she was a mage, but mostly because James and Sara claimed her as family. And since James was the Director of the Gathering they did what he said. Which generally included not pissing him off, and helping those he considered his.

James disliked the Agency both because he felt they tried to butt in where they weren’t welcome and because he didn’t like Juliana working for them. And because he couldn’t do anything about either of those situations, he exerted control where he could. Namely the assistance he provided to the Agency with magical artifacts. James told her more than once her employer could suck his balls before he’d do anything for them without sending a bill.

Juliana sighed. They had gotten absolutely nowhere in the investigation while she’d been out of it. “So the demon jumped from our victim to the fae. No question why there, that kind of power would be hard for a demon to pass up. Any word on the host yet? What about other victims?”

“No word on the fae,” Jeremiah answered. “There haven’t been any other victims that we know of.”

“Nothing since the pier?” That was odd. Maybe the demon had completed its task and returned to its realm. But if that was the case then where was Nathaniel?

“There’s been no sign of them at all,” Ben added. “I’ve got everyone I can spare out looking, even the trainees.”

She sat up straight in her chair. “Trainees? Are you nuts?”

He looked offended. “They’ve been ordered not to engage.”

“Oh. Well, that makes it okay then.” Sarcasm all but dripped from her voice.

Jeremiah coughed to cover his laugh. She took that to mean he’d had the same conversation with their boss while she was incapacitated. Nice to know everyone she worked with wasn’t a complete idiot.

“One thing I know—you’ve got two demons working together, behaving themselves in an effort to not be found. As long as they keep a lid on their violent tendencies, we aren’t going to find them,” she said. They sat in silence and absorbed the direness of their situation for a moment.

“What are we going to do about Nathaniel?” she finally asked.

Ben leaned back in his chair. “Obviously I can’t send anyone but a Walker after him. Anyone else is going to get killed. You’re sure he was demon-ridden and not just louped out?” Demons had been known to make shifters forget their human sides before.

“He usually lights up like a Christmas tree for me. He didn’t even register.”

He sighed. “You’re the logical choice to send after him. You’ve got the most experience with demons and I think you’d be the most likely to get him back in one piece.”

“But...” she said so he didn’t have to.

He shook his head. “There is no but. It’s got to be you.”

Jeremiah leaned forward in his chair, eyes wide. “Wait just a minute. You can’t be serious.”

“Why not?”

“Because she just got out of the cursed infirmary. That’s why not.”

Juliana said nothing, just shifted her gaze between the two of them.

“And what would you propose, Agent Grace? Sending trainees after the demons for real?”

“I propose you call in Walkers from other territories and give her a chance to recover.”

She put a hand on Jeremiah’s arm to stop him from saying anything else. He shifted his glare to her. “As much as I appreciate you sticking up for me, I’ve got to agree with Ben on this one. I need to be out there. I don’t know about Nathaniel’s demon, but the other one is cognitive.”

“It spoke?” Ben asked, surprised. “You had a conversation with it?” Most of the demons encountered in their realm were low level grunters capable of little beyond simple words and base destruction.

Juliana nodded in answer.

“That means it’s at least seventh level,” Jeremiah said. There were ten levels of demons, with a first level demon being the most powerful and therefore most dangerous.

She pursed her lips. “I’d give it fifth, maybe even fourth if it’s hiding like this. That means it’s smart, thinking things through.”

Jeremiah slumped back in his chair, indignation no longer enough to keep his spine stiff.

“That’s not all,” she said. “It knew who I was.”

“You mean it knew you were a Walker?” Ben asked.

“No, I mean it called me by name.”

Their eyes widened and they blinked at her for several long moments. “Well, I have no idea what to make of that,” Jeremiah finally said.

“Thanks. That’s helpful.”

“On a not entirely unrelated note, I received a call from the Council.” Ben looked at her expectantly, but she said nothing. She knew of no reason for the vampire Council to call him. And even less reason why she should care they had. “They advised me you should be kept from the more dangerous assignments and you shouldn’t be permitted to return to work until you are completely healed. And they didn’t even mention the demon. They were hung up on the troll bite.”

She froze, fear slicing through her body like a dragon’s talon. “The Council has no authority over me.”

“They claim that since you were raised in a coven they do.”

This had to be a joke. She waited for him to get to the punch line.

“I informed them that whether that was true or not, the Agency superseded the Council’s authority when it came to you. They weren’t happy about that. I’m sure I’ll hear about it at my next coven meeting.”

“Sorry, Ben,” she told him. “But they don’t own me. They never have.”

He grinned, flashing fang again. “Figured you’d say that. Here’s the deal. You’re off duty until tomorrow. Hopefully that will appease the Council and Grace here. That should also give you time to heal enough to be in fighting form. And find out why the vampire Council is suddenly interested in what you do.”

She knew who to blame for the Council’s intervention without even asking. Thomas had sat on the Council for years. This was no doubt his way of trying to control her without her knowing who pulled the strings. Did he think she was a complete idiot?

“Go home. Get some rest.” Ben waved them out of his office.

“He forgot to eat again,” she said to Maria the receptionist as they passed her desk. She rolled her eyes and picked up the phone while mouthing a thank you.

As soon as they were out of earshot, Jeremiah stopped walking and leaned against the wall. “You didn’t seem horribly surprised by the Council’s intervention. What’s going on?”

She sighed and leaned against the wall opposite him. “I don’t talk about my past. You know that.”

“I’m waiting.”

Obviously he wasn’t going to let her get by with her normal evade and dodge technique. “You know I was raised in a coven, right?”

He nodded.

“Thomas Kendrick pulled me off the streets when I was twelve. He gave me a home and his protection, but I didn’t see much of him.” Not until she was older anyway. She smiled a little. “I might have neglected to mention that Sara’s maiden name is Kendrick. She’s Thomas’s little sister. Anyway, I’m assuming he’s using his sway with the Council to try to control me. He never cared for my independent streak.”

“That’s not everything,” he said after a moment.

“That’s all you’re getting.”

He shook his head as he straightened. “You’re never going to run out of secrets are you?”

“Gods I hope not. There’s stuff I really don’t want you to know.”

He laughed. She was glad he found her amusing but she wasn’t joking. The people that knew about her past were small in number for good reason. Safety being the primary one, but it was followed closely by embarrassment. While it was true she’d be a target for multiple people should her union with Thomas get out or certain aspects of her origin, Thomas walking out the morning after their union was beyond humiliating. It wasn’t something she was going to share unless she had to.

The Agency knew more than most because it was part of the application process, which meant that Ben knew because he was her boss. Sara knew most of it, which meant James knew. Anna knew some. But almost half of Juliana’s life was unknown even to her. And Thomas had tried to find out where she’d been those first twelve years, had hired detectives even, to no avail. That shit screwed with your head. And it made her keep the parts of her life that she did have that much closer. Her secrets were nobody’s business but her own.

She ran a hand down her face. “Go home to Anna. I’m going to pick up my blade and head out.”

He looked down at her. “Take care of yourself and don’t go after Nathaniel on your own. Promise me.”

“That’s an easy promise to make. I’m sick of seeing the inside of the infirmary.” Besides, with Michael in town, she had a ready and able partner. All she had to do was call.

His lips pursed. “Me, too.”

He walked around the bend toward the portal room and she headed to the armory. She wasn’t stepping foot out of the Agency without her blade in hand. The fact she couldn’t wield it at the moment was beside the point. There were two demons in town summoned by dark fae magic. And she just happened to possess a sword forged and blessed by one of the gods of the dark fae. She loved when she had an advantage, especially when the opposition knew nothing about it.

Chapter Seven

Juliana’s patience with her invalid status lasted almost as long as the daylight. Jeremiah’s patience with her ended long before that. The sun had just neared the horizon when she called for the last time.

“Juliana,” he said with a growl before she had a chance to say anything, “if there is anything to report, anything at all you need to know, I will call you.”

She sighed. “Sorry. I hate being out of commission.”

He laughed. “Everyone hates it when you can’t work. Trust me.” With that pronouncement he hung up. She should have been offended, but he was right. She made a nuisance of herself to everyone around her when she was on leave. Nothing made her feel more useless.

She paced the floor as night fell. There had to be something she could do. She’d tried to call Michael several times throughout the day only to have the call kick straight to voicemail. And she knew damn well he wasn’t sleeping. Despite Altereds’ preference for the dark, with very few exceptions, they weren’t limited to it. Not even the vampires. Michael in particular preferred to stalk the day. He was avoiding her. She’d let him for now.

James was a dead end as well. Though he had nothing to report on the book yet, he assured her some of his best mages were working on the problem. She knew better than to try to rush anything having to do with magic or the Gathering. They both took their own sweet time.

A knock sounded at her door and reverberated through the silence of her house. A glance through the peephole revealed Simon and Seamus Grace standing under her front porch light. Thank the gods, someone had come to save her from her own special blend of insanity. She swung open the door, looking between the two of them for explanation.

“Dad sent us to baby-sit,” Seamus said with a grin.

“And to keep you away from the phone,” Simon added.

“I should be irritated but I’m going stir-crazy,” she told them. “Get your asses in here.”

“We thought we’d head over to the Den. Get you drunk. Take advantage of you,” Seamus said as they stepped past her into the living room.

Simon smacked his brother on the back of the head. “Everything he said except for the taking advantage part. We’ll be on our best behavior.”

“Damn right, you will.” She headed into the office that housed her clothes closet. “Anna would geld you, sons or not.”

* * *

Thomas had spent the better part of an hour interrogating his staff about Juliana’s habits, what she did and who she did it with, but all of his questions had yielded little of any help. Whether it was an intentional unwillingness to share information about her or they really didn’t know, he had no idea. Mind reading was not one of his many abilities.

Of course, his bride should be the one exception, the one being he should be able to feel every nuance of emotion from and she continually denied him. Despite the wall she kept erected against his intrusion, he checked several times a day hoping she’d left a crack, an opening he could get through. He resisted the urge to run a hand through his hair in frustration. She pushed him to the edge of sanity, but he’d be banished to the bowels of the underworld before he’d let his underlings see it.

The door to the club opened and he looked up with a frown, knowing he’d locked it before he started talking to the employees. There she was, his irksome life mate. His fangs pressed against his gums as he took in the expanse of pale flesh not covered by her tight blue jeans and silver tank top. She’d always shattered his control, made him feel like a youngling just turned. Then his eyes went to her accessories. On each arm she had one of the matched set of troglodytes from the waiting room at the Agency.

He swallowed the growl that rose in his throat and clenched his teeth. He locked gazes with them, issuing a silent warning that the woman they were with was his. One of them understood, looked away with a slight nod. The other...well, the other was incredibly stupid or cared little for the longevity of his pathetic life. He not only didn’t drop his gaze, he smirked. Smirked as if he knew exactly how much Juliana touching his arm bothered Thomas and didn’t care. If Thomas didn’t know any better, he’d think he was being dared.

And there wasn’t a cursed thing he could do about it. Not now, not in front of her. She would never forgive him, and any progress he’d made since he returned would be lost. But she wouldn’t always be there. And with his resources Thomas could find anyone. It probably wouldn’t even be that hard. He gave into the smile that tugged his lips at the thought.

* * *

“Hello, everyone,” Juliana said to break the oppressive silence that descended when she stepped through the door of the Den, the twins in tow. She steered the boys across the floor, doing her best to ignore Thomas. He stood watching them, fury burning in his eyes. She squashed her initial impulse to drag her companions out the door and away from that fiery gaze. She’d tango with a troll before she let that man run her off. There was no way she’d give him the satisfaction.

Doing her best to ignore Thomas despite the weight of his gaze, she settled the twins at her favorite table and made her way to the DJ booth. Ricky grinned from ear to ear, his pointed teeth flashing. His aquamarine hair boasted purple tips this week. “Greetings, my favorite Walker.”

His normal greeting made her smile. She was the only Walker he knew. “How are you? It’s been a while,” she said.

“You haven’t been here in ages. I was starting to take it personal.”

She shrugged, but said nothing. He knew her absence on the weekends had nothing to do with him and everything to do with the crowds that swarmed to hear his set.

He eyed the group at the bar. “Don’t know that I like having the boss around. Other than that I can’t say you’ve missed much around here.” He studied her for a moment. “He made everyone come in early. All he’s done is interrogate us about you. I finally told him I had to get set up and ducked out.”

“And what exactly was it that Thomas Kendrick wanted to know about me?”

He pursed his lips. “You picked a good night to bring the twins, I’ll say that. He wanted a recitation of your habits, when you came in, what you drank. Who you drank it with.” His eyes watched her as he said the last.

Her jaw ached and she forced herself to unclench her teeth. So he asked about her. He’d been gone a long time, he was bound to be curious about her life. Of course, he could have asked her, but she supposed that would be too much trouble when he could pry the information out of his minions. “And what did everyone say?”

“The truth. That you came in when you felt like it, drank what you were in the mood for and drank it with whomever amused you most.”

Her laughter caught Thomas’s attention. Their eyes locked. After a moment she looked away and let her eyes run over him. She told herself it was anxiety that made her pulse race, her breath quicken. It was a lie. Thomas wore tight jeans with a black T-shirt. A sapphire-colored silk shirt hung open over the top of it. Amusement flashed through his eyes at her blatant appreciation. She shrugged and turned away. She never said he wasn’t pretty, she merely said she didn’t want him around.

Ricky’s lips twitched. “Maybe I should have told him you sit alone and pine for him every night over your scotch.”

“Very funny.” Pure panic shot through her at his words. If Thomas even suspected she missed him, she’d never get rid of him.

The bouncer unlocked the door to let in the crowd and Ricky smiled. “Showtime. Here, I’ll play the first one for you.”

“This is for our resident Walker,” he announced into the microphone. The familiar strains of a song about a wayward hunter blared from the system. She sashayed her way back to the table.

Seamus intercepted her when she went for a chair and pulled her into his lap. She giggled despite her efforts not to.

“The usual?” the waitress asked when she got to the table.

Juliana shook her head. “Simon here will have a rum and Coke, light on the rum. Seamus and I will have a very large pitcher of beer and a bottle of tequila. The good stuff. Salt and lime, please.”

The girl’s eyes widened. “I’ll put it on your tab.”

Normally, Juliana ordered scotch, rarely more than one glass and sometimes a beer. But tonight she was ready to forget. Forget about the arrogant vampire that broke her heart and watched her when he thought she wasn’t looking. And forget about her friend playing host to a demon. The more she thought about it, the more she wanted to go after Nathaniel. The fact that she’d get herself killed if she went after him without being fully healed was the only thing that stopped her. Besides, she promised Jeremiah she wouldn’t go after him by herself and there was no one she was willing to put at that kind of risk. At least no one that was answering their cursed phone.

The waitress came back empty handed, her cheeks red. “I’m sorry, Jules. Mr. Kendrick says you’re going to have to come pick the order up yourself and sign for it if you want it on your tab.”

She was proud of herself for not snickering at the Mr. Kendrick bit. Please. “No worries, not your fault.” She patted Seamus’s leg. “Come on. You’re going to have to help. I can’t carry that on my own.” She’d left the sling at home, but her arm still wasn’t strong. It hadn’t been vanity that made her leave it behind, it was self-preservation. Wounded animals were easy prey.

Seamus lifted her off his lap and set her on the floor. They wove through the crowd to where the order waited at the end of the bar. She signed the slip next to it. Warm fingers wrapped around her wrist when she reached for the tray. She ran her gaze up the line of the long, lean arm and found herself looking into Thomas’s pale blue eyes. “Can I help you?”

“I want to talk to you,” he said.

Of course he did. She thought about refusing. Thought about telling him where he could shove his conversation, but it wouldn’t do any good. He always got what he wanted in the end. She turned to Seamus. “Take this back to the table. I’ll be along in a minute.”

“You sure?” he asked, eyeing Thomas. When she nodded, he bent and kissed her lightly on the cheek before grabbing the tray and heading back to the table. She swore she heard him whistling as he walked away. She shook her head and turned back to Thomas to find him scowling.

“What is that?” He flicked a hand toward Seamus’s retreating form.

“That is a Seamus. But I gathered you already met.”

“If you could call it that.” His eyes narrowed. “He’s very protective of you.”

“Friends are like that. Besides, I think he was just offended by your arrogance. That tends to happen around you.”

“I am not arrogant.”

“You are exquisitely arrogant. Every movement of your body, every thought that crosses your mind screams that you will be obeyed by everyone below you. And that list includes the entire population of the planet and probably some of the outlying ones as well.”

He leaned toward her, his gaze intense. “You are mistaken,
Joya
. I never once thought you beneath me. Even when you were a child on the streets.”

He meant the words. She could tell and it made her uncomfortable, put her in a place where she wasn’t sure of her position. She handed him the slip for their order, leaned on the counter behind the bar and crossed her arms over her chest. He looked down. A muscle in his jaw twitched. She followed his gaze and saw Nathaniel’s claw marks a fresh, vivid pink against her pale skin. He stepped back and opened the little door behind him.

With a sigh, she walked into the storeroom. He followed and shut the door, locking it behind him before slipping the key in his pocket.

“That won’t work if you’re trying to keep me from leaving.”

He blinked at her. “It’s to keep them out, not you in.”

“What do you want, Thomas? My date is waiting.”

“Don’t call him that,” he snapped. He started pacing the floor. “A Walker, Juliana? Are you insane? What possibly could possess you to become a Walker?”

He wanted to talk about her profession? Fine. She could do that. She shrugged. “I’m good at it. Really good.” She might not have sought out her job, but the words were true. For the first time in her life, she’d found something she excelled at. Something that was hers.

He gestured to her arm with an upturned hand. “I can see that.”

He was so quick to tear her down. To assume she couldn’t do her job, that she wasn’t any good at it. He didn’t know anything about her and he was basing her ability on the one injury he could see. “I’d like to see how you fare against a demon-ridden werewolf.”

He turned to face her in slow motion. “A what?”

She stalked across the floor and stopped mere inches from him. “This is what I do, Thomas. Like it or not I don’t need your approval and I sure don’t need your permission.” She paused for a moment to let that sink in. “And setting your cursed Council on my ass won’t do anything except piss me off.”

Thomas grabbed her arms and pulled her against his chest, his mouth crushed into hers. His lips devoured her, demanding a response. Her body ignited, her will melting in the heat. As much as she hated herself for doing it, she leaned against him, opened her mouth, swept her tongue into his. He moaned, a guttural, primal sound and she couldn’t remember when she’d last heard anything so sweet. The kiss gentled as their tongues twined around each other in an intimate dance. One they still remembered all the steps to.

His hands slid from her arms and down her back, leaving a burning trail in their wake. With one swift motion, he grabbed her ass in both hands and pulled her against him. She wrapped her arms around his neck. Recalling how well they fit together, she rocked her hips against him. The pressure of his heavy heat against her core drew a gasp from her. Her face flamed but she was far from embarrassed.

At her sound of pleasure, the kiss became urgent once more. His long fingers dug into her backside, pressing her even tighter against him. The seam of her jeans rubbed against her, the pleasant pain making her want him that much more.

He released her lips to lay a trail of feather-light kisses from her mouth to her neck and played with the pulse point there. Teeth scraped skin and her heart skipped. He chuckled. “I’ve missed you so much,
Joya
. So very much.”