Authors: Jocelynn Drake
Ryan was very wise and very careful, but I didn’t always agree with his methods. His conscience had no problem withholding information or sacrificing a few lives here and there to accomplish his greater schemes. And while I wasn’t a pawn, I had no doubt that I was still a chess piece for him to play with.
“When is my meeting with Ryan?” I demanded.
James pushed to his feet, shoving his hands into his trouser pockets. “He said to come down whenever you’re ready. Room 705.”
I needed a shower, shave, a fresh set of clothes, and then I would be ready to deal with a warlock. “Tell him thirty minutes.”
James nodded once and wordlessly left the room. I sat for a minute staring at the rumpled sheets on my bed. An uneasiness twisted in my chest. Themis was no longer the home that I needed it to be. When I had joined centuries ago, it was in the pursuit of more knowledge of the creatures that lurked in the darkness and fed off all that was good in humanity. Now I felt as if I were simply a foot soldier for Ryan in his quest for…whatever he was reaching for next. The information now flowed up to him instead of down through the entire collective. Not for the first time in the past few years I wondered if it was time to move on.
But for now, such thoughts had to be put aside. In thirty minutes, I would discover what had dragged Ryan away from his ivory tower and, hopefully, I would find out how and why he had given Mira the ability to walk around during the day.
SIX
T
he sun had already set when I finally walked down the hall to Ryan’s suite. Prior to his arrival in the United States, he had been meeting with various groups regarding the new naturi problem. A trio of warlocks from Quebec had made an unexpected appearance at the Compound during my last stay in the UK, demanding to speak with Ryan. There was no particular hierarchy among witches and warlocks. While small and large covens existed around the world, no single being ruled and set laws for the group. No king, president, or dictator.
But there was Ryan. In their small sect of the world, he was one of the oldest and strongest. He was also one of the only warlocks that were in contact with all the other creatures of the world. And as the head of Themis, he had near limitless amounts of information at his fingertips.
No, Ryan wasn’t their king, but if he asked, their first thought was “How high?”
Outside Ryan’s suite I paused for half a second. Mira was in there. I had hoped for a private meeting with the head of Themis, but I was beginning to see that was an impossibility. Still, the sight that greeted me when James let me into the room brought me up short. The entrance to the suite opened immediately to a large parlor of sorts with a sofa, chairs, and coffee table. To one side sat a large desk, stacked with several tomes that the warlock most likely brought with him from England. Ryan sat relaxed in a high-back leather chair, while Mira was perched on his desk before him, her bare feet resting on the edge of his chair on either side of his outstretched legs. There was a strange intimacy to the tableau that made me want to back out of the room, but I didn’t move.
Both creatures looked up at me, their expressions unreadable. Had this been planned, and if so, by whom? Ryan had summoned me and both would have sensed my approach. There was no surprise in their eyes.
Mira moved first, placing her feet on the floor and sliding off the desk. As she walked around to the front of his desk, neither looked at the other, but I saw the fingers of Mira’s right hand grasp Ryan’s right hand for half a breath and then release it. Mira strolled past me, a strange smile on her lips. It wasn’t her usual smug or teasing smile. It wasn’t even seductive. A deep foreboding sank into my bones and I suddenly had the feeling that I had fallen in with a shark and a lion. It wasn’t so much whether I was going to be eaten alive, but just a matter of how.
“It’s good to see you again, Danaus,” Ryan said, drawing my attention back to him. The warlock with the liquid gold eyes rose smoothly to his feet and shoved his hands into the pockets of his black trousers. A smile lifted his lips, making him look completely at ease.
Ryan had been with Themis for less than two centuries, joining several years after I had. While he didn’t speak of it much, I had the impression that he had been a warlock for a long time before that—nice accomplishment for a human.
Of course, to look at him you wouldn’t guess he had seen more than three centuries of life. His thin, angular face held an ageless quality, giving him the appearance of a man somewhere between the ages of twenty-five and fifty. His completely white hair hung loose just below his shoulders, casting shadows about his golden eyes. But in a few, unguarded moments, Ryan had spoken of being a young boy with brown curls and eyes in a small farm village. Heavy magic use had left its unmistakable mark on him, as it did with all powerful warlocks and witches.
“We need to speak,” I said, still not moving from the doorway.
“Yes, we do,” he replied, his smile slipping from his face. “Please come in.” His eyes briefly drifted to James and then back to me. James left the room, closing the door behind him. I had no doubt that the researcher would be down at my room until the meeting was over.
My narrowed gaze fell on Mira, draped over the sofa against the back wall directly across from Ryan’s desk. “Alone.”
Her smile instantly changed from mysterious to smug; she had no intention of moving.
“I would prefer it if she remained,” Ryan said. His voice was firm but not yet commanding. The warlock very rarely attempted to pull rank on me. “One of the matters we need to discuss involves her.”
Clenching my teeth, I stiffly nodded and took a couple steps farther into the room, my feet sinking into the thick, caramel-colored carpet. “I don’t see how she needs to be here to discuss Collins.”
“Actually, Mira had a hand in Collins being in the Ukraine,” Ryan said, his tone lightening a bit as he pulled his hands out of his pockets and sat back down. He motioned for me to take one of the chairs by the sofa, but I hesitated. The position would make it hard for me to look at both the warlock and the vampire at the same time. I took a few steps closer to his desk, folding my arms over my chest. The air was thick with magic, Ryan’s almost electric power tingling with Mira’s cool breeze. It fogged and jumbled my thoughts. I drew in a deep breath and closed my eyes for a second, trying to force my mind to clear.
“Danaus?” inquired Mira, her voice a gentle caress.
When I opened my eyes, she was standing directly in front of me, her soft hand pressed to my cheek. I stared into her lavender eyes, nearly drowning in their depth. She looked concerned, but I could feel other emotions bubbling just below the surface. When she touched me, it was like I had suddenly tapped into her thoughts and emotions whether I wanted them or not. The reluctant connection we had forged months ago was still there, waiting to be reactivated.
“Are you all right?” she whispered.
I hadn’t even heard her move or felt her approach. She was just suddenly there. Had I blacked out? An anxious knot twisted in my gut and for a second I struggled to draw in a breath. What were these two plotting?
“I’m fine,” I snapped, taking a step backward away from her touch. Mira nodded and walked back to the sofa.
Liar.
The word whispered through my thoughts in Mira’s seductive voice. I stilled and stared at her as she lounged across the sofa, her eyes never wavering from mine. I couldn’t feel her in my brain. She had sent only the word into my thoughts, maybe just to prove that she could.
I jerked my gaze free of Mira and looked back over at Ryan. His own expression was guarded and completely unreadable as he watched us. Were they toying with me?
“What does Mira have to do with Collins being in the Ukraine alone? Or did I misunderstand James? He said that Collins was hunting a vampire,” I demanded, pushing ahead once again despite my pounding heart. I might be able to pry information out of one of them later, but not while they were both together in the same room.
“No, he’s hunting,” Ryan confirmed. “A vampire by the name of Ivan has been causing a stir in one of the more remote cities. A number of police files have been accumulated regarding his killings and two people have gone missing. He has to be taken care of before he causes more problems with the humans.”
“So why send Collins? And alone? Derrick Collins has been with Themis for two years and hasn’t had enough training for dealing with vampires. He’s going to get himself killed.” I stepped closer to Ryan’s desk, anger overriding my earlier caution. “You should have sent several of our more experienced hunters in. Patricks and Morrow are both at the Compound. They should have at least gone with him. You could have called me after I finished in Spain and I could have gone.”
“I didn’t mean to undermine your authority, Danaus,” Ryan said calmly. “You’ve done a wonderful job with the hunters.”
“Yes, just wonderful,” Mira growled from behind me. I could feel a ripple of her rage brush against my back and then dissipate into nothingness as if she had turned off her emotions like flipping a switch. This wasn’t a topic I wanted her around to hear.
Ryan sent her a quelling look, a frown pulling down the corners of his mouth. For a second, he looked older and a little tired. Ryan didn’t frown often, and it was just a little reassuring that maybe this alliance between these two monsters was tentative at best and more than a little strained.
“I assigned Collins a new, temporary partner,” Ryan continued, his eyes falling back on me.
“Who?”
“His name is Joseph,” Mira interjected. A chill ran through me and the hair on the back of my neck stood on end as I looked at the vampire. The oh-so-smug smile had returned to her lovely face, causing my hands to ball into fists.
“Who’s Joseph?” I demanded, forcing the words through my clenched teeth.
“Joseph belongs to me. He’s been a nightwalker for roughly twenty years and is in desperate need of a little experience,” Mira explained, sliding along the sofa so that she was now seated on the edge of the cushion.
“Are you insane?” I exploded, pinning Ryan with a dark gaze. “You sent in one of our inexperienced VAMPIRE HUNTERS to hunt a vampire with another vampire as backup!” Usually I was a master at controlling my emotions, but this had pushed me screaming over the edge.
“Danaus—”
“What about Joseph?” Mira interrupted, drawing my eyes back to her face. “I’m trusting one of your damned hunters not to stake him as soon as the sun rises. I promised Joseph that he would be safe.” Her narrowed eyes glowed in her growing rage, her hands tightly grasping the cushions.
“It’d be no less than he deserved,” I growled.
I was ready when she launched herself off the sofa at me. I caught her thin wrists as her hands went for my throat, forcing me back a few steps to regain my balance. Her arms trembled and her teeth were clenched. Somewhere inside of her I could sense that she was struggling for control, battling the urge to set me on fire. Picking a fight with Mira was always extremely dangerous—she could just set you on fire and enjoy the blaze. I reached for the power that I could feel swirling about her, ready to take control of the nightwalker if necessary if she even attempted to set me on fire. At this moment, she was little more than a puppet to be used.
“Enough!” Ryan shouted. At the same time, a strong force slammed into my chest, throwing me backward. Mira’s wrists were ripped from my grasp and she was tossed to the other side of the room. My back slammed into the wall, sending a shock of pain up my spine. I slumped to the floor, gasping for air. Mira skid across the floor and slowly rolled to her hands and knees. She tossed her hair out of her face and narrowed her glowing gaze on Ryan, who was now standing behind his desk. The warlock’s dark expression was locked on Mira, waiting to see if she would now turn her anger on him.
“We don’t have time for this,” Ryan warned. I held my breath for a tense second and then another before Mira finally gave a curt nod. She pushed to her feet and returned to the sofa, brushing her long fiery locks out of her eyes. She never looked over at me. Ryan then turned his gaze on me, waiting. Still frowning, I pushed to my feet and turned to face Ryan, putting my back to Mira. I didn’t trust her, but with her anger just shy of boiling, I knew I’d feel it if she moved closer.
“Both of your concerns are valid,” Ryan continued. “However, I am confident that this new arrangement will work out. Collins was selected because he is so new to being a hunter. Anyone else on the squad would not have hesitated to stake Joseph at the first opportunity, regardless of my orders.”
“That’s their job,” I said, crossing my arms over my chest.
“If so, then we were wrong. The hunters of Themis should never have been a roving band of mercenaries.” Ryan sat back down in his chair and stared straight ahead, but I don’t think he was seeing Mira. His expression was too distant and tired. “Nightwalkers are not the enemy we want them to be.”
“The duty of the hunters is to protect mankind,” I countered.
“Their duty is to protect the secret, which protects mankind,” Ryan said stiffly, finally turning his golden gaze back to my face. “Whether we wish to acknowledge it or not, both the hunters of Themis and the nightwalker coven have adopted a similar goal. We both protect the secret. When a vampire threatens that secret, someone is dispatched to take care of that threat. To foster a new alliance, a nightwalker and a hunter have been assigned to work together to bring down a recent threat. They must protect and depend on each other in order to survive.”
“So you’ve sold us out to the devil?” I demanded. I thrust my hands through my hair, pushing it back away from my face in frustration.
“If we’re the devil, what do you call the naturi?” Mira asked.
I didn’t have an answer for her. Was Mira the devil? No, I didn’t think so. Was her kind evil? Yes. No. Maybe. I didn’t know anymore. “This is wrong.”
“Maybe,” Ryan sighed, his shoulders slumping. “But we need them if we are to survive whatever the naturi are plotting. Right now, I’m just trying to buy us some time and a little more firepower.”