Blood Before Sunrise (15 page)

My cell buzzed in my pocket as I closed the door behind me. I flipped it open to find a text message from an unknown number:

Midnight. @Seven. East Pike Street. Come alone.

-F

Well, at least he was kind enough to give an initial, though how the bastard got his hands on my number, I had no idea. How would I manage to shake Tyler long enough to meet Fallon? I practically had to apply for a furlough just to come to Xander’s this morning. I would be watched even more closely since my five-minute/two-day field trip. But I couldn’t waste any precious time. I’d find a way to meet him, even if it meant wishing Tyler and half of the Shaede Nation into a stupefied state. If Fallon was ready to help, I was ready to take the leap. He scared the shit out of me, I couldn’t deny that. But I valued Raif’s friendship more than that fear. I just hoped I could keep my unease at bay long enough to hear Fallon out.

Chapter 13

“Y
ou look like death warmed over.”

Tyler shrugged as he stuffed his foot into a tennis shoe. “I’ll be fine.”

“What’s wrong with you anyway?” In all the years I’d known Tyler, I’d never seen him sick—not once. Aside from the injuries from his recent attack, and his reaction to the Enphigmalé bites, he’d never had so much as a head cold. Now, he looked haggard, his usual glowing complexion was ashen, and a sheen of sweat was breaking out on his brow. Anxiety twisted my stomach into a pretzel.

Tyler slumped back in his seat, averting my gaze. “Something’s screwing with our bond, I think.”

“Something?”

He ran his hands through his hair. “Or someone.”

“I don’t feel anything. Are you sure?”

Tyler’s sad smile clawed at my heart. “You wouldn’t feel anything. The bond flows through you into me. You’re like a conduit. I just need to find out who, or what, is causing this. And why.”

Screw the whos and whys. All I cared about was Ty’s safety. “Can this hurt you?”

“Not really. It’s just thrown me off, messed with my emotions. I feel a little out of whack. But I need to get to the bottom of this. I’ve got a contact that might be able to help. The thing is…”

I held my breath.

“I can’t exactly let you come with me.”

And I exhaled.

“Will you be all right on your own tonight?”

Perfect.

“If not, I can wait—”

“No, Ty. I’ll be fine. Go take care of business, talk to whoever it is you need to talk to. I want to know what’s going on as much as you do. I don’t like to see you like this, whether it’s just making you feel a little off or not.” I couldn’t believe my luck. It was as if someone had handed the night to me on a silver platter. Tyler could work on fixing his problem while I went to meet Fallon.

Too perfect
.

Seven wasn’t your run-of-the-mill club. More of a place to engage in unrepentant debauchery. With areas sectioned off and devoted to each of the deadly sins, you could eat, drink, gamble, and screw yourself straight to hell. Of course, that was just the tip of the iceberg. There wasn’t much you couldn’t get away with inside the walls of Seven, and I wondered at Fallon’s choice of meeting place until I walked through the doors.

An assortment of Seattle’s supernatural partied alongside unsuspecting humans. Curious stares followed me through the club while fingers pointed in my direction. My career as an assassin would be shot to hell if my notoriety didn’t die down soon. I even noticed a few humans tapping shoulders, asking over the music who I was and what all the fuss was about. I’d become pretty popular since I’d returned from the island. It wasn’t every day you came back from a kidnapping a completely different creature than the one you had left as.

The club was made up of a series of rooms more or less. High archways like wooden canopies marked off each area, and at the top of each canopy was a word written in red neon flames. An ambitious partyer could take a tour of hell’s temptations all in one night. Under the Wrath canopy, brawlers swung their fists without fear of being removed from the premises. Within the boundaries of the Greed room, gambling tables enticed many a player to build and lose their fortunes. The Sloth canopy
protected the partyers coming down from their highs, strewn about the room like garbage littering the sidewalk. Pride showcased rows of large mirrors, and beautiful creatures showcased their bodily assets. Gluttony provided endless food and drink, and from the center of the club, a raised room ringed with glass provided occupants of Envy with a bird’s-eye view of all the things they coveted.

I spotted Fallon in the area of the club marked Lust. Over the haunting beats of Marilyn Manson’s rendition of “Sweet Dreams” and through the energy of the other inhuman creatures, I could feel him. That inexplicable burst of power stole my breath, and I considered running for the door and never turning back. But I thought of the rushed and fierce hug Raif had given me two nights ago, and I strengthened my resolve. I could grow a pair and deal with my discomfort—for a while.

Red velvet and black silk curtains lined the small room. Instead of booths or tables, I was welcomed by an assortment of beds piled with pillows and dressed in shiny satins. Keeping my gaze straight ahead, I tried not to look at the occupied spaces, but I could tell by the writhing bodies in my peripheral vision that these people weren’t too particular about who watched their nocturnal activities.

Fallon seemed to be enjoying himself. Surrounded by Fae—as far as I could tell—with a female at each side and a sweet-faced male behind him, he lounged while many sets of fingertips and mouths caressed his skin. I shivered in the dim light and gripped the handle of my dagger for comfort. Though I could tolerate a lot, public orgies were not on my list of things I cared to witness.

As if he’d only noticed me standing at the foot of his…bed, Fallon dismissed his groupies with a wave of his hand. He could have given Xander a run for his money with his regal behavior. His admirers glared my way before bestowing some over-the-top pouty and pleading faces. Fallon answered with a stern expression, and the trio hopped off the bed as if it were on fire.

“Have a seat,” he said.

I took a step forward, feeling that strange pull to do whatever he told me. I steeled myself against the compulsion and ground the balls of my feet into my boots as if they could keep me planted to the floor. “I think I’ll stand.”

Fallon’s eyes narrowed, but he quickly erased the menace with a smile. “Don’t you like it here?”

“I’d rather hang out in a public toilet,” I said. “Whatever you have to say, say it fast so I can go home and sanitize. No telling what I might catch.”

He shrugged as if to say,
Suit yourself
. I already didn’t like his taste in entertainment; how I’d be able to cooperate with him was beyond me. Delilah’s information had better be gold, or I’d kill her just for making me go through all of this. A waitress, clad in nothing but a skimpy push-up bra and a thong, brushed by me. The heels of her stilettos were high enough to kill her if she tripped, but by the way her ass jiggled when she walked, I got the impression she didn’t care as long as she looked good while she fell. She placed a drink on a table beside the bed and traced her fingers down Fallon’s arm before scooping a twenty from his palm. Flashing an aren’t-you-jealous glance my way, she meandered away to other beds and other customers.

Fallon wiped the hand the waitress had touched on the bedsheets as if he’d just dipped it in a bucket of chicken fat. “Humans,” he spat. “How do you stand them?”

I didn’t justify his prejudice with a response. I’d been human once, after all, and as far as I could tell, some of them far outweighed Fallon on the respectability scale. “What do you have for me?” My patience had stretched very thin. “Either you can help me with Delilah or you can’t.”

“Oh, I can help you,” he said, patting the empty space next to him on the bed. “But nothing in this world is free.”

An unpleasant shudder passed from the top of my
head down my spine. My foot slid across the floor, pulling my body closer to him. The other foot followed, and I pressed down on my heels to keep my feet planted right where they were. I found the man utterly repulsive; yet something beckoned me closer. “What’s your price?” I asked through gnashed teeth. My foot twitched impatiently. “I’ll need to know if it’s worth my while.”

“Sit,” Fallon said.

“Fuck. No.”

His eyes hardened; his full mouth became a tight line. “Sit.
Down
.”

The force of that last word snapped my resolve and, against my will, I stumbled toward the bed. As if I had no control over my actions, I lowered myself on the edge, my feet still on the floor, and Fallon smiled. “That’s better. Really, Darian, you should try to relax. Enjoy yourself.”

“This is as relaxed as I’m going to get,” I said more to myself than to him. My pulse picked up double time as I wondered what could have made me act against my will. No way in hell was I going to let my body rebel against my mind again.

He sighed in disappointment and downed his drink in a single swallow. “I can lift the entrapment spell Adare has placed on the Oracle. But it’s not an easy task to accomplish. I’d be putting myself on the line by doing this for you. So in return, I ask only that you do the same for me.”

“Put myself on the line? How?”

“Someone has stolen something from me, and I want it back.”

“Doesn’t sound like a fair trade to me.” Boy, was that an understatement. “Besides, I’m not a thief. I’m an assassin. If you want someone offed, I’m your girl. But burglary is not my forte.”

“Well, then, it had better become your forte. Fast. What I’m asking is fair
and
equitable. If I’m caught removing the spell on the Oracle, I won’t simply be removed from duty or reassigned. I’ll be arrested—or
worse. If you’re caught stealing”—his eyes wandered longingly to his companions waiting at the next bed—“you’ll suffer the same fate. Fair—and equitable.”

Fucker
. “Can I have a few days to think about it?”

“Sorry,” Fallon said, sounding anything but. “I’m afraid my offer expires in”—he checked his watchless wrist—“fifteen seconds. Take it or leave it.”

I balled my fists at my sides to control my mounting rage. “Fine. I’ll do it.”

Fallon snapped his fingers, and his companions returned to the bed with a grace and speed only the inhuman possessed. As if starved without his nearness, the three of them scrambled onto the bed, kissing and petting him with a perverted intensity. He stared right at me and graced me with an indulgent smile before he relaxed back on the pillows and closed his eyes. “You’ll understand if I ask you to go first.” He peeked through one lid. “Call it insurance.”

“No fucking way. Where’s
my
insurance? How do I know you won’t drop me cold after I steal whatever it is you want?” My hand closed around the dagger’s hilt again. I wanted to stab him so bad, I could taste it.

“You can keep my prize until I fulfill my end of the bargain. Is that enough insurance for you?”

Okay, ransom could work to my advantage. If he didn’t help me unlock Delilah’s mind, I could pitch whatever it was I’d stolen—or give it back. “All right. Now, what exactly is it I’m stealing?” If I played my cards right, I could slip in and out as my incorporeal self, taking Fallon’s trinket before anyone even knew I’d been there.

“A piece to a puzzle.” His voice was muffled as the Fae to his right stripped him of his shirt. Her eyes bulged at the sight of exposed, muscled flesh. Brilliant red hair spilled over him like a cascade of flames as she rubbed her mouth against one of his nipples. He closed his eyes for an indulgent moment. “One half of an hourglass.”

Interesting. “And who will I be taking it from?”

Fallon’s eyes snapped open, and a corner of his mouth
lifted in a smirk. “Sidhe. If I thought you could manage it, I’d have you kill them as well. His name is Reaver, and he’s the Keeper of the Glass. His sister, Moira, is his…security.” He spat to the side. “I would shit on their corpses if I could.”

My knees nearly buckled. I’d met the brother-and-sister duo at the PNT Summit not six months ago. And I’d hoped never to see them again. But apparently Fate had other things in mind, since I’d seen Moira at The Pit the night those magic arrows had been slung at my head. Had it been a coincidence? Something told me I was about to dig my own grave.

“Not backing out, are you?” Fallon asked.

I swallowed against the fear tugging at the edge of my mind and an urge to scream,
Yes! Yes!
“No,” I said, ignoring my nagging better judgment. “Any idea where I can find them?”
Besides slinking around my favorite hangouts?

“You have a genie, don’t you? Ask him.”

Blood turned to ice in my veins. If he knew about Tyler, what else did he know? “Leave him out of this. Or you won’t need me to steal a damned thing for you because I’ll take your head right off your shoulders.” Razor blades would not have been as sharp as my warning.

“Tsk, tsk.” Fallon unfastened the male Fae’s pants. His eyes turned liquid as he looked upon Fallon as if he’d already given him a million-dollar blow job. I pursed my lips, lest my jaw drop right down to my knees. If I didn’t get the hell out of here soon, I’d have a front-seat ticket to an orgy whether I wanted one or not.

“You have such a temper. The Jinn is tied to you, no? He can be an asset—or a liability. Which I’m sure you are to him as well. Such is the way of these bindings.” He traced his fingertip along the male’s cheek. “I’ll call you in one week’s time. Best have my merchandise by then. If you don’t, I doubt I can keep Adare from transporting your Oracle to Portland, and then you’ll never know her secrets, will you?”

I hated him—hated him right down to my toenails.
Xander would be pleased to know someone had finally knocked him from the top spot on my shit list. But I had to do this for Raif—for his friendship and for the heartache he’d endured. “I’ll have it in three days,” I said, throwing down the bravado. “You’d
best
be ready for
me
.”