Fading Light: Shadow Born, Book 2 (6 page)

“Where the hell are you? Get Gray and meet me in the front entrance. I want to show you something.” Seraph ended the call before she could respond.

Silent, Gray stood. As he adjusted his clothes, she glimpsed a flash of silver from the blade at his waist. “I heard. But don’t think we’re not going to finish this later.”

Chapter Six

Seraph was waiting beside Lucy’s desk in the main lobby. “What did you find out?” he asked as Brenna stepped inside.

“Nothing. Other than the guards are treating the shifter like an animal. He was tied and shackled,” she said as she moved toward him. “I want them relieved of duty and shifters assigned to him.”

“I’ll apologize to him myself. I didn’t know or I would have stopped it.” Seraph took the phone Lucy handed him and shouted a few choice words into the receiver. “Done.”

“Thanks,” Brenna replied.

Lucy reopened the partition in the glass. “Here are preliminary lab reports from the hybrid. I expedited them. You might want to take a look.”

Brenna grabbed them, searching through the jumbled script. Seraph peered at them over her shoulder.

“Whatever toxin he inhaled was purged from his system,” Lucy continued. In a former life the gargoyle had used glamour to pass as a human coroner. Now she headed up the medical team for the IRT.

“So it’s a dead end?” Brenna handed the papers to Seraph.

“Maybe for someone else.” Lucy grinned. “He’s a hybrid, so his shifter blood protected him somehow. It may have created an antibody I can use to find a human antidote.” She leaned down, disappearing from sight, then reappeared with an overflowing banker box. She slammed it on top of her desk with such force the glass rattled. “I’ve been going through these files for months and this is the first time I’ve had anything substantial to work with. I want everything you find, even if you think it inconsequential. I’m going to find a damn cure.”

“If anyone can do it, you can,” Seraph said. “Keep me posted.”

Brenna watched as he disappeared down the hall. “He’s right. As much as I hate to admit it, you’re a genius when it comes to these things. I’ll get you everything I can.”

Lucy shrugged as she began to go through the papers in the box. After a few moments she handed Brenna a file.

Brenna flipped it open. A familiar face stared back. “Damn,” she murmured. The text on the image stated the woman had been a victim of the most recent attack.

“What are we talking about?” Gray stepped into the room. Apparently he had gotten lost somewhere along the corridor.

Brenna handed him the picture. “Look familiar?”

He stared at the image a few moments, his brow furrowed. “She’s the spitting image of Mira.”

“It’s her granddaughter. I need to find Mira. I had no idea.” Brenna took the picture back and placed it in the file.

“Mira found out when she came by to get her stuff.”

Brenna closed her eyes, pinching the bridge of her nose. “I didn’t know.”

“Doesn’t matter.” Lucy leaned back in her chair. “She’s on her way to the boarding house. I told her not to do anything stupid.”

“I need to find her. She’s going to need a friend.” Brenna gathered up the files and handed them back to Lucy.

“You’re assuming she wants to see you,” Gray shook his head. “She’s managed to avoid you for months.”

“You don’t understand. This could send her over the edge.” Brenna moved through the room toward the hallway that would take her to the alternate exit. It would dump them closer to the boarding house. She always kept an extra vehicle there just in case.

“You need to ready yourself. If she loses control and starts killing everything in sight, you might have to kill her. She’s strong, especially since you gave her your blood. And her control has always been dicey.”

Brenna froze. “Killing her isn’t an option.” She glanced at Gray. “I gave her my blood so she could help us fight Orien and Adare. She wasn’t strong enough to fight two deviant psychopaths. It was the right thing to do.”

“Sure. Like making an unstable vampire unstoppable is ever a good idea.” Sam stepped from the adjoining hallway to join them.

Brenna pushed back a wave of anger. “I thought you were at the crime scene?”

“I was. Seraph called me back.” A smirk danced across his lips. “He needs me.”

Brenna rolled her eyes and started walking. “Make sure you feed while you’re here. Don’t come home hungry. I don’t want to walk into another orgy.”

Despite common misconceptions, incubi didn’t need to feed off sex. They just preferred it to other sources of nutrition.

“Yes, mom,” Sam eventually replied. “I’ll try not to offend your delicate sensibilities.” With a laugh, he headed the other direction.

Brenna shot Gray a look. “It’s your fault. You’re the one who convinced Seraph to make them hunters.”

He shrugged. “It’s not like I had a choice. We needed an army and we had a militia. Besides, it gave them purpose.”

“It gave them attitude.”

Once they got topside, Brenna tossed Gray her spare keys and jumped into the passenger seat of the vehicle. As he flipped over the ignition, she turned on the radio. Classical music streamed through the cab. She closed her eyes, leaned back against the headrest, and tried to relax.

If Keegan and Mira were both at the house, it would be a miracle if the place was still standing. Mira would want someone to blame, and Keegan was a very large target. If Mira went after him, he wouldn’t hesitate to fight back. Of course, Keegan was manipulative enough to shift the blame from himself to the shifter he would have in tow. It was a no-win situation all the way around.

A sigh slipped from Brenna’s lips. She was a terrible friend. She should have found Mira as soon as they returned, but she had been too consumed with self-pity. Their friendship had always been fragile. This latest lapse in judgment wasn’t going to help.

“If Mira goes after Keegan, he might feed her the shifter. She better not kill him before we find out what he knows.” Gray strummed his fingers on the steering wheel.

“Keegan won’t let her.” She considered. “Can you go any faster?”

Gray chuckled, but slammed down the gas pedal.

The house was fully lit as they pulled into the driveway, and the front door swung open before they reached the porch.

“It’s about damn time.” Keegan stood in the entry way. His black hair was tousled. A bruise blackened his cheek.

Brenna shoved him out of the way and stepped into the house. A tornado would have done about the same amount of damage. The wallpaper hung in shreds. Pieces were strewn across the floor in chunks. A man sized hole in the middle of the floor was leaking cold air into the room. The pink-and-white-striped sofa was in five pieces. One hung from the ceiling, the others had impaled the walls. Disaster was too gentle a word.

Brenna searched for Mira. She found her in the far corner secured to a wooden chair with duct tape. Her head was free, but a leather strap had been forced between her teeth. Brenna considered leaving it there.

“She came after me.” Keegan broke the silence. “I know you’re friends, so I didn’t kill her.”

“Thanks.” Brenna moved across the room to ungag the vampire. “Think before you speak,” she warned, tossing the strap on the floor.

Mira licked her lips. “Took you long enough.” She leaned her head against the chair and stared at the ceiling.

Mira was fine. Brenna turned to deal with Keegan. “Where’s your shifter?” She glanced around the room.

“Your vampire tried to kill me.” Keegan roared, smoke billowing through his nostrils.

“Grow up and put your big boy pants on. You’re a thousand-year old-dragon.” She pushed down her irritation. “Grow a pair.”

The only language Keegan understood was aggression. She wanted to apologize for Mira, but it would lower the vamp in his estimation. To work this case, she needed them to tolerate each other. They had a long way to go, but it was still possible.

“Glad to know who wears the pants,” he said with a quick look at Gray.

Gray shook his head. “I’ve always wanted a dragon head mounted on my wall.” With a flick of his hand, he released Mira from the chair.

Keegan lunged. Brenna yelled an incantation, freezing him in place.

“Stop. All of you.” She was walking to Keegan when she heard a noise beneath the stairwell. She released the binding spell, sending Keegan flailing toward Gray, then crouched beside the hole in the hollow wall. A pair of red eyes peeked out from behind the wood.

“Come out. I won’t let them hurt you.”

Something hit the wall. It sounded like hooves.

She plunged her arm into the hole. Her fingers brushed a strip of coarse hair on what was probably an ear. The shifter had gone animal. And now he was stuck.

She stroked his trembling body as she looked at Keegan. “What is he?”

“A jackass.” Keegan lay on the floor. There was another bruise on his forehead.

“Cut the crap.” Brenna began to tear at the loose boards.

“I’m serious. He’s a were-jackass.” He shrugged. “Who knows, he might be one of a kind.”

Mira snickered. Brenna shot her a warning glance.

“He’s a donkey?” Brenna freed the last board.

A scruffy gray animal squeezed through the hole she had made. It pressed its face against her shoulder, cowering behind her back. Keegan hadn’t lied. The shifter was a small donkey. The dragon had probably used it as a pack mule.

She turned and knelt before him. “You need to change back.”

It neighed, tossing its head back and forth.

“We’ve got an empty room. If you turn back, you can stay here. I won’t let Keegan take you,” she continued.

“I didn’t agree—”

“Shut it.” Brenna shot Keegan a look. “Or I’ll do it for you.”

Gray snickered. “Better be careful or she’ll emasculate you.”

“Like she did you?”

Brenna ignored them. She locked eyes with the donkey and tried again. “You have my word. I won’t let them hurt you. But you have to change back.”

He stared at her with large, beady red eyes. His head cocked, considering. He stepped back. Mist formed around his body from the expulsion of energy required to shift. Once it disappeared, a man stood in place of the donkey.

“Did you mean it?” He grabbed a ripped sofa cushion to cover himself, pressing it against his lap.

Brenna made a mental note of which cushion it was so she could burn it. “I don’t say things I don’t mean.” She smiled. “Let me get you some pants.”

Keegan and Gray were still snarling at each other like teenage boys, so she motioned for Mira. The vampire was unsteady on her feet. She had bitten off more than she could chew with Keegan. Mira was strong, but Keegan outweighed her by a hundred pounds and his magic was stronger. It was a miracle Mira could walk.

“I’ll get a pair of Sam’s pants.” Mira climbed the stairs, a study in determination.

A few moments later, the front door opened and Sam stepped inside. His magic twirled around him, uncontrolled. His timing couldn’t have been worse. The shifter took one look at him and lunged under the stairs. Brenna couldn’t blame him. She was half afraid of Sam when he was like this.

“I told you to feed.” Brenna’s patience was on a short leash. If one more thing went wrong, she wouldn’t be responsible for her actions.

“I’ve got it under control.” He shrugged out of his leather jacket and tossed it where the couch used to sit. It hit the floor with a loud thud. “Did you redecorate?”

Brenna laughed. She couldn’t help it. “Mira’s upstairs, hurt. She needs blood. Give her some and she might return the favor.”

Sam’s eyes lightened. Grinning, he skipped up the stairs taking two at a time.

“Throw me some clothes first.” Brenna smiled, shaking her head.

“Sure thing.”

A few moments later a pair of jeans and a black t-shirt fell at Brenna’s feet. She shoved them through the hole in the wall to the shifter. “Come out once you’re dressed,” she instructed.

He shifted behind the wall. When he stepped into the room, he was fully dressed. He was broad, although his frame was frail. With food and exercise, he would be about Sam’s size.

“What’s your name?” Brenna smiled.

“Louie.” His voice was deep and rich, a stark contrast to his appearance.

Motioning for him to follow, she moved toward the others. “I’m putting him in the empty bedroom.”

“You’re going to keep him?” Gray stared at her, hands on his hips. “We don’t have enough room.”

“I’ll make room.” She motioned for Louie to climb the steps then turned to glare at Keegan. “You should be ashamed. He’s half-starved.”

Keegan shrugged. “I didn’t kill him.”

Brenna turned away before she said something she would regret. “Clean up this mess,” she called as she followed Louie upstairs. “And get me a new couch.”

Once the shifter was settled in his new room, a heaping plate of food on the bed beside him, Brenna was able to relax. The last thing she needed was another mouth to feed, or body to protect, but she couldn’t give him back to Keegan. The dragon had done enough damage. The poor kid was scared out of his mind. Keegan wasn’t all bad, but he was a dragon. They weren’t known for their sensitivity.

When she returned to her room, she couldn’t resist the pull of the giant, king-size bed. She promised herself it would only be for a moment. She had barely closed her eyes when someone knocked at the door.

She lay still, hoping they would go away. But they knocked again. When she pulled open the door, Mira stood in the hall. Her pale face blazed with health.

“I assume I still have my room?” She pushed past Brenna to step inside.

Brenna wanted to shove her back into the hall. “You destroyed the house.”

Mira shrugged. “I was angry.”

“Not an excuse.” Brenna settled back on the bed. “You need more control.”

“I manage.” Mira leaned against the wall, her arms wrapped around her waist. “You of all people shouldn’t judge.”

“Clearly.” Brenna laughed begrudgingly. The vamp had a point. “How’s Claudius?”

“Still a bastard.” There was a strange timber to her voice. “I’m glad everything worked out for you and Gray.”

“I wouldn’t go that far.” Brenna had given Mira her blood. They would forever be connected. “I’m glad you’re back. I’ve missed you.”

For a split second, Brenna thought she saw a sparkle in Mira’s eye, but the vampire moved too quickly to be sure.

Mira leaned against the wall, her long black hair flowing behind her like a curtain. “She was all the family I had left.”