Wait for Dusk (12 page)

Shoving off the divan, I stalked across the bathing room, my heels clicking ominously in the growing silence. Valerio and Stefan had stopped in the middle of tearing apart a nightwalker and stepped back as I approached the crowd. I heedlessly stepped among them and grabbed Nick by the arms. Slamming him against the wall, I grinned as his head hit the tile drywall with enough force to crack and dent it.

“You have no business here. I will handle it,” I growled in a low voice.

“That’s not enough and you know it,” he taunted, referring to my little jolt of power with Danaus’s. The muscles in my chest constricted and a knot formed in my stomach.

“I doubt it ever will be.”

“You’re going to have to try harder than that my—”

I cut off his words by pitching him through the thick wall of flames that encircled the pool. There was a loud splash and an ominous thud that was muffled by the water as he hit the bottom of the pool. I clenched my teeth and started to walk back toward the divan when I heard a slap of flesh against concrete. I turned to find Nick climbing back out of the pool, stepping through the flames as if they weren’t even there.

I stood there like the rest of them, frozen in shock. Everyone naturally assumed that he was a nightwalker and had just succeeded in crossing through the flames twice without even getting singed. Nick took advantage of my shock. He rushed me, closing the distance between us in a flash. He slammed me into the wall with enough force that I nearly went through the first layer of the wall to the brick exterior. I grunted and my vision blurred.

Still dazed, I looked up at him with a smile. At the same time, I slammed my fist into his chest and pulled his heart free. He took a couple stumbling steps backward and shook his head at me. I knew it wouldn’t kill him. If he truly was a god, I didn’t think there was a way to kill him. However, he was kind enough to oblige me this small thing so that too many questions weren’t asked about his odd presence.

“I’ll be watching,” he promised just before he was engulfed in flames not of my making. His whole body and the heart in my hand crumpled to ash in a matter of seconds, wiping away his existence, but not his frightening memory. He was watching me, waiting for me to perform my tasks like a good little puppet.

“We’re out of here,” I snapped, turning back toward the divan. I grabbed my coat from the divan and jerked it on, while Valerio and Stefan joined me. A touch on my cheek from Valerio caused me to still, my nerves easing back to some semblance of peace and control. Nick had rattled me, but Valerio had succeeded in giving me back a little bit of my peace again.

“Did you enjoy tonight’s amusements?” he asked.

“Yes, you and Stefan were stunning. As always.”

Valerio bowed his head to me and then leaned in and pressed a kiss to the vein on my jugular, leaving behind a smear of blood. Stefan followed tradition, but went for a less intimate location. He gently took my right hand and pressed a kiss to my vulnerable wrist where my pulse would have been. The bloody marks were signs of approval on my part of their performance in tonight’s games. If I had not approved of their work, I would not have allowed them to touch me.

As we walked past the remaining nightwalkers, I spared Odelia a quick glance. “See to it that this mess is properly cleaned up before the dawn.” We then continued back out into the cold Budapest night where Danaus was patiently waiting for us.

“Sounds like you had a good time,” he said as he wiped the blood off one of his long knives. Two lycanthrope bodies lay at his feet, massive cuts stretching from deep in their stomachs to their throats. In a couple quick moves the hunter had gutted both of his attackers.

“Looks like you had a little fun yourself,” Valerio said appreciatively as he nudged one of the dead with the toe of his shoe.

“They tried to get back inside after they left. No invitation. No entrance.” Danaus shrugged his shoulders and I could see a smile toying with the corner of his mouth.

“So are you going to tell us who the mystery man was?” Valerio inquired, pinning me with a direct gaze. My companions had been kind enough to wait until we left the main bath. Otherwise, it might have raised too many questions in front of Odelia and the others. I shoved a trembling hand through my hair, pushing it out of my face as I struggled to come up with a viable excuse. I didn’t know anyone in Budapest, hadn’t been to the city in ages. I shouldn’t have been able to make such a comment, but Nick was hanging about, causing problems in my life.

“He’s no one important,” I grumbled, keeping my gaze straight ahead.

“I thought you didn’t know anyone in Budapest,” Stefan countered, stepping directly in front of me so I was forced to look at him.

“I don’t. At least, no one of consequence,” I snapped, quickly sweeping past him.

“What was he referring to?” Valerio prodded.

“Not your concern. It has nothing to do with this matter that has brought us to Budapest. It’s something personal.”

“Is it going to interfere with our investigation?” Stefan demanded.

“No.”

I felt confident that I could conclude this investigation into Budapest without worrying about Nick, but I was also confident that he was going to interfere with the rest of my life. I had gotten my first taste of true power when I tapped into Danaus’s abilities. Nick and I were both sure that I wouldn’t be able to resist using him yet again, particularly if my life was on the line. For now, I was at his mercy, but I would find a way to escape these bonds even as I found a way to escape Jabari and Danaus.

Chapter Nine

V
alerio and Stefan stood under the lamplight in front of me, their hands buried in their pockets as a brisk wind swept through the park. Danaus remained a silent shadow just behind my shoulder, gazing down on me and the lies that I was carefully weaving for all those who would listen. I needed to find a way to escape my Nick conundrum before it got someone killed. Unfortunately, it wasn’t my most pressing problem at the moment.

“If we’re here to eliminate the naturi, I don’t understand why we don’t just hunt them down and destroy them,” Valerio said, pulling the two sides of his open coat more tightly around his body. His brown hair fluttered a bit in the wind while his eyes teared up in the cold.

“We have more to do here than deal with the naturi,” Stefan declared, standing stiff and tall, as if unaffected by the growing cold, which I truly doubted. Valerio was starting to look cold, and I knew that the nightwalker was older than Stefan. Old age didn’t allow you to be completely immune to the elements, no matter how he wished to appear impervious.

“So I gathered,” I murmured. “Macaire would not have sent me here unless he had other thoughts in mind. The naturi are a concern, but it doesn’t sound like they are the reason why there are no Ancients within the city. That is what concerns me. Where have all the nightwalkers gone?”

“Maybe you should ask your consort,” Stefan suggested, turning his narrowed gaze on Danaus.

“I’ve not visited here in several centuries,” Danaus replied sharply, taking one step closer to Stefan. “I’ve hunted no nightwalkers within the city limits.” The Ancient nightwalker also took a step closer, trapping me between them. I pressed one hand against Stefan’s chest, while shoving my shoulder into Danaus’s chest, keeping the two separated before I got squished between them.

“Enough!” I said, raising my voice. “Themis and Danaus are not responsible for the slaughter of Ancients and you know it, Stefan. Killing off Ancients isn’t that easy. I suspect either Macaire’s been cleaning out the territory for his own private use, or somehow this Veyron has found an effective way to kill them so he can take over the domain.”

“Why do we care?” Valerio interjected, drawing my gaze back to him, as both Danaus and Stefan took steps away from each other. I dropped my hand back to my side and straightened my stance. “Nightwalkers die all the time, many killed by our own kind, not to mention the naturi. Why should the Ancients of Budapest be any different?”

I shoved my hand back into my pocket and shook my head as I looked at the ground. The snow had been packed down beneath our shuffling feet so it was nearly a sheet of white ice. It also bothered me that none of the nightwalkers seemed to know or care anything about the coven. But then, that seemed to be a smaller concern at the moment. “Because when this war grows with the naturi, we’re going to need every Ancient we’ve got on hand to help stop them. We can’t afford to lose them in silly territorial squabbles. Besides, if Veyron has found a way to kill off Ancients, wouldn’t you like to know what it is? After all, Vienna is just a hop, skip, and a jump away from Budapest.”

“So what do you want to do?” Stefan demanded.

I looked up at him, a frown pulling at the corner of my lips. I had yet to understand why he had decided to tag along on this little mission, and I had a sneaking suspicion that I wouldn’t like it when I did finally learn the reason. For now he seemed willing to play along, but I needed to be cautious about which direction I sent him in. If Veyron was killing Ancients, I didn’t want him getting too close and risk losing him when I still had a need for his skills. Also, if Veyron was killing Ancients, I didn’t want Stefan getting too close and learning the secret of how to do it before I did.

“See what you can dig up regarding this Ferko. I want to know about the Budapest pack. I want to know their size, their average age, and a gauge of their strength. I also want to know how long they’ve had this easy alliance with the nightwalkers in the area.” There was a good chance that if I was going to go up against Veyron, I would also be taking on Ferko and his people as well.

“And where do you want me?” Valerio asked.

“Quietly, see what you can dig up on Veyron. Find out where he holds court and if he actually has a family. Just watch without drawing too much attention to yourself.” It was a great risk sending Valerio digging after Veyron, but of the four of us, he had the best chance at quietly gathering information. Valerio had managed for centuries to hide his true age from all the nightwalkers around him, and I was one of the few that knew he was actually an Ancient. Furthermore, he had a knack for sneaking in and out of a place unnoticed by other nightwalkers around him.

“And what will you be doing?” Stefan groused.

“I thought Danaus and I would go back inside and enjoy the mineral bath.” I jerked my thumb back toward the enormous building that loomed behind us. “We’re going hunting for naturi, you ass!”

“Naturi? Mira, you can’t—”

I held up my hand to halt Valerio’s words in mid-sentence. “It’s like you said, we’re here to take care of the naturi problem. Danaus and I are going to do some scouting tonight. We’ll try to find where they are hiding out and how many are in the region. Our goal won’t be to wipe them all out in one quick swoop.”

“Why not?” Danaus inquired from behind me.

“Because if we do, then we’ll have no reason to stick around and spy on Veyron and his little clan of fledglings,” I said with a smile. Besides, I didn’t think it would be that easy to dispatch the naturi, given that Danaus and I no longer had our greatest weapon at our disposal. We’d have to cut through the naturi the old-fashioned way, one by bloody one.

Needing no further guidance from me, Stefan immediately disappeared from sight. I closed my eyes and scanned the region. I couldn’t sense him anywhere nearby, but that didn’t mean the nightwalker wasn’t cloaked.

“You don’t trust him,” Valerio announced.

I cracked one eye open and looked at my companion, a frown pulling at one corner of my mouth. “Not a bit. I can’t begin to guess as to why he elected to join us. You, I sort of understand, though I don’t trust you either.”

“That’s because you’re a smart girl,” Valerio said. He leaned forward and pressed a quick kiss to my temple. “You kids be careful and have fun. We’ll meet up again at your quaint little hotel room tomorrow night.”

“Looking forward to it,” I grumbled just before Valerio disappeared as well.

“I don’t like him,” Danaus declared when we were finally alone.

I threaded my arm through his and directed him back down the sidewalk, winding out way through the park. “I never really expected you to. He’s not the type to take things too seriously. He likes to play with his food when he gets the chance.”

“I’m surprised I haven’t staked him already.”

“Me, too,” I agreed softly. Valerio liked to live dangerously, playing with both humans and lycanthropes whenever the opportunity arose. Only the coven could make him toe the line, and that was simply because he didn’t want them controlling his life.

We walked more than a block in the cold, the snow and ice crunching beneath our feet. The distant whirr of cars racing down the nearby busy streets could be heard, but even that sound was fading as most people retreated to their homes and away from the cold for the night. Pausing at a street corner, I huddled close to the hunter, trying to use his body to protect me from the wind.

“What did this little show of power accomplish tonight at the baths?” Danaus demanded. “Besides unnecessary violence and senselessly risking your life.”

“I taught them to fear the coven. I taught them that the true power lies with the coven and not with this little love fest that Odelia and Veyron have created here.”

“It taught them to fear you, and fear doesn’t win you allies in this war.”

“But fear will keep the dagger out of my back. Fear may keep them from willingly being my allies, but it will keep them from trying to kill me. It’s the ones like Stefan that don’t fear me that I worry about.”

“How could Stefan not fear the power of the Fire Starter?”

“Because he knows I’m weak now, as weak as I was when I was human.”

“How can you say that? You’re stronger now than ever before. You’re an Elder on the coven.”

“I have a consort now and that makes me vulnerable. You are my weakness, and those in power know it now.”

“Mira—”

“You’re worth the risk a thousand times over. Never doubt you are worth the risk.”