Black Moon Rising (DarkLife Saga) (5 page)

Jesus, every ounce of blood in her body must have been on the walls.  I let my weight fall, and the pressure of my foot caused the thick, caked blood in the carpet to crack and give.  I looked down at the stiff fibers, and a pang went through me.  No one had been to clean up after William's arrest.  Didn’t the man have any family that could have taken care of this for him?  What about the wife, surely someone had been here since then, who cared enough to want things set back right?

I moved farther into the room and stopped near the bed.  I took a deep draw of air into my lungs.  While I was doubtful I would catch any other scents over the smell of blood, it was worth a try.  The draw of air resulted in more gore and blood, nothing useful.  I turned around and took in another deep breath.  There was something behind me, near the door.

I backtracked, bent my head and inhaled.  I picked apart the layers of smells and checked them off.  Sweat…blood…carpet fresh…cheap cologne…and what was this?  There was definitely something there.  Someone other than the occupants of this house had been in here recently, and the smell was on top of the blood.  I inhaled one last time and smiled to myself.

Unless William Baker had an Extra neighbor that visited, the scent I
smelled could be our murderer.  This trace was definitely ‘Other’.  Unless a human was gifted, they lacked that little hint of ’more’ that was present in all Extra’s blood.  Each species had their own smell, and compared to us, humans were dull.

I had enough to take to Valerian so he could petition for a change of venue.  While scenting done by a vampire was a little sketchy outside of vampire politics, it was enough to cast doubt.  Once Valerian takes the evidence to the CMS, Marcus will assign a licensed, were or a sh
ifter to confirm.  After that it was only a matter of time.  I had no doubts that the case wouldn't be reassigned.  Marcus would have a fit if he thought humans were in charge of a case that should be his jurisdiction.

That was the good
news.  The bad news, no matter how much I wracked my brain, I could not place the smell.  It wasn’t any type of were or shifter that I had ever encountered.  I didn’t smell like any witch or witch-kin that I knew of, and it certainly wasn’t a vampire of any kind.  On top of that, this mystery person must have wings because as I followed the trail through the house and back, I realized it ran in an obvious path from the backdoor, to just inside the bedroom door.

Well damn,
maybe I didn’t have such good news for my brother after all.  I needed to get the duty roster from Valerian and see if any of the officers or members of the forensic team were undercover Extras.  I also needed to check out the neighbors and see if they were the owners of my mystery scent.

Since I was already in the neighborhood, inspecting the other homes came first.  I tacked a sorry note to the back door and pulled it flush with the frame,
and then I began flashing from house to house as fast as I could.  I didn’t need to go inside to get a base scent.  I stopped at back doors and leaned inside car windows searching for anything that smelled like what I’d found in the Baker home.  I didn’t even come close to finding the scent, thank God.  Although there was a were that lived in the vicinity, a were that smelled like cat.  I wonder if the were is out or closeted?

I jotted down the house number so I could come back and formally interview the Panthera during daylight hours.  It was too close to the full moon to piss off a were at night.  I wasn’t scared of confrontation, but why barter trouble right.  See, I can act like an adult sometimes.

I made my way back to my car and dialed Valerian's number as I put it in gear.  He answered on the first ring.  “Tell me you’ve got some good news.”

“You sound anxious.  Bad day in court?”

“Depends on how you look at it.  I won the case against Home Defense Industries.  With all the meticulous paperwork Tam keeps, I was able to prove we held the patent on the personal psi-shields they were trying to pass as theirs.”

Honk! Honk! So went a red Mercedes behind me, obviously the property of an obnoxious driver.  Said idiot refused to let up off of his horn.  I looked up, saw the green light and jerked my car forward.  Said jerk passed me and offered his middle finger.  One, two, three, four… “Asshole,” I muttered.

“Excuse me,” my brother exclaimed.

“No
, Vedo, not you, the asshole that flipped me off.  What were you saying?”

Valerian huffed.  “You should have been paying attention.”

“I was.  That's what got me flipped off.  I was paying attention to you and not the light. Keep going.”

“The judge has determined we have more than enough solid evidence to go to trial.  They are fast tracking William's
case to throw off the media, which brings me to my first question.”

“I may have something, but I need you to get me the duty roster for the officers and forensic units that worked the case.  I need the coroner
’s personnel files also.  No, just get me the names and addresses of anyone who’s been in that house since the body was discovered.”

“I’ve already given you the names and addresses of the neighbors that were present at the scene.  What angle are you working Val?”

I took a left and hit Tryon.  “I don't want to get your hopes up until I’m sure Valerian.”

“Val, I need a little bit of hope right now, because the DA already has his victory party planned.  Gent was passing out flyers today like the courthouse was a club.”

I laughed and took a sharp right, pulling my car up to the main gates of our community.  “You, sir, are such a liar,” I said as I waved and drove past the guards.

“Yeah, well, I’m a lawyer.  Don't make me beg.”

I drove past the cookie cutter houses of the suburban nightmare that was Emerald City, and groaned.  “Fine, but if this doesn’t pan out, don't fuss at me.”

“Deal
”

“I went to William Baker's home today to see what I could find.”

“And?”

“Give me time.”  I paused and smiled to myself.  I could almost see the look of pure frustration that had to be on my twin's face.  Right when he was ready to yell, I started talking again.

“I caught the scent of an unknown Extra in the house.  It was kind of hard to find under the blood, but after I got it, I followed it through the house.”

“Where was the scent?”

“Well, that’s where things get a little sketchy.  It runs from the back door, to right inside the bedroom.  It's nowhere near the bed, but...”

“What type of Extra was it?”

I pulled into the back of my building and cut the engine.  “That’s just it, Valerian.  I have no idea, but if you get me what I asked for, I can rule out any members of the CMPD or its affiliates as closeted Extras.  That means my mystery person is possibly the killer and there’s your-”

“Change of venue,”
Valerian exclaimed.  “I knew you'd find something.  I’m going to get on the phone and round up those files right now.  I’ll email them the moment I get them.”

“I’ll be waiting.”  I hung up and let my head fall forward onto the steering wheel.  At least I’d managed to make someone happy today.  I still felt like shit inside, and didn’t see it getting any better until I knew David was safe.

Chapter 5

M
y game plan for the remainder of my night: eat, go over homework with David, sleep, and make love to Irulan, and not necessarily in that order.  I walked through the house following my nose to the smells coming from the kitchen.  Now that’s what I’m talking about, dinner ready when I walk through the door.  I chuckled, and thought I’d better keep that to myself.  Irulan might blast me into next week if I said the remark aloud.

“Lucy, I’m home!”  I step
ped into the kitchen to find one, two, three sets of eyes lit up with laughter.  I shook my head trying to get rid of the rhyme, ‘One of these things is not like the other,’ that popped into my head.

“Hey baby,” Irulan smiled as she stepped away from the stove and wrapped her arms around my neck.  She leaned in to kiss me, focusing her eyes on my own, and slipped inside my head.  “Baby, it’s impolite to stare,” she conveyed.

“Sorry,” I replied so only she could hear me.  “It’s not often I come home to find a teenage human in my kitchen.”

She gave me a quick kiss, before going back to the stove.  “Be good.”

I smiled and stepped forward with my hand extended.  I wasn’t that bad.  I know how to act around company.  “Hi, my name is Valeria, I’m David’s…”  I didn’t know what to say.  I didn’t who David said I was.

David rolled his eyes and got up to grab his friend in a bear hug and wrestle him away from me.  “Don’t pay my
other mom any attention, Dante, she's a cop.”  David and Dante laughed like that explained it all.

I looked back at Irulan who shrugged her shoulders.  Dante pushed David away from him and came to stand in front of me.  He folded his arm and bowed at the waist in a formal, vampire gesture.  I smiled and wondered where he'd
learned vamp etiquette from.  “I’m pleased to formally make your acquaintance, Ms. Trumaine.  My father sends his best to you and your family.”  His voice was heavily accented.  I wanted to say Romanian, but I wasn’t totally sure.

When he flashed his smile, I was taken aback.  The human boy had a nifty little set of baby fangs.  “And who is your father, Dante?”

“Andrei Dobra, Miss.”

I must admit,
I was surprised.  Aside from the Tempest clan, the Dobras were one of the last pureblood families that called Romania home.  Andrei was the eldest son, and next in line to lead the family if I wasn’t mistaken.

“Don’t worry
, I get that look all the time from others of our kind.”

He said the statement with a touch of sadness.  I cleared my throat and tried to make up for my blunder.

“Um, so where did you and David meet Dante?”

“I go to Thorston’s Academy with David; we’re in the same home base.  I was the new kid in class a few months ago, and people aren't very kind to those that are different, so, in your son, I saw the possibility for a friend.”  He looked back at David and punched him in the arm.  “I’m glad that I was right.”

Irulan loaded some plates with homemade lasagna and salad.  She motioned for us to take our seats, pulled a blood bag from the microwave and emptied the contents into David’s favorite stein.

She reached
toward the smaller refrigerator that housed our blood, intent on getting me a bag, but I shook my head no.  I was trying to set a good example for David and advocate bagged blood, but I couldn’t stand one more night of the stuff.  I’d just have to go out later and round up dessert myself.

I took a huge bite of the lasagna and groaned.  I hadn’t eaten anything since my breakfast of cold pizza earlier in the day.  “So Dante,” I said after a few more bites, “What brings you from the Old Country?”

As he swallowed a mouthful of food, I could see him wrestling with himself, trying to decide just how much was safe to tell us.  “Well,” he began.  “As you can see, I’m not what you'd expect from a pureblood family.  My mother was Roma, from an old family deep with magic.  Father thought a child from such a union would be twice blessed.”

He took another bite and smiled before continuing.  “I have the magic of my mother's people, but much to my father’s dismay; my fangs, strength and speed are pretty much all I acquired from his bloodline.  I am every bit mortal.”

He swallowed and kept going.  “Even my blood denies me.  Tell me you didn’t think I was human when you first scented me.”  He had me there.

OKAY
, so the kid didn’t have all the qualities of a pureblood that still didn’t explain why his father shipped him clear across the globe.  Most pureblood families kept their young close, because compared to our old numbers, there are so few of us left.

Dante read my confusion.  “My father has kept me hidden for most of my life.  Only my older brothers and sisters know of my existence.”  He casually shrugged his shoulders and took a drink of soda.  “Now that I am too old to hide, he has sent his shame to the States until I am old enough for him to make lifeborn.”

And I thought my father was a hard ass.  I could feel the growl growing in the back of my throat.  Apparently so did Irulan.  She jumped inside my head.  “Valeria, Dante isn’t a cause for you to take up.”

I swallowed the growl, reached over and grabbed David’s cup from his hand.  “Hey,” he exclaimed, “Get your own.”

I nodded but took a long draw of the blood anyway.  I tried my best not to pay attention to the stale taste as it slid down my stomach in one big gulp.  “Sorry kiddo,” I hissed as I returned his oversized mug.  “I needed that.”

The blood warmed me and shifted my attention away from Dante’s explanation of his recent relocation.

“So what do you guys have planned for the remainder of the night?” Irulan asked in an obvious attempt to change the subject.

David glanced at the clock before answering.  “It’s not even two yet.  I’ve got about three hours before I have to bed down for the day sleep.”  He turned to Dante.  “We could crash in my room and play video games until then.  Irulan has a rollaway bed all set up for you.”

My son looked at me and explained.  “Dante’s on the same schedule as we are, even though he can walk in the sun.  Isn’t that so cool?”

I smiled as I felt the knot in my stomach begin to unravel.  Anything that made him happy was cool in my book.

We finished dinner and left David washing dishes.  Dante dutifully volunteered to help him.  As Irulan and I walked away, I heard David mumble.  “I still haven’t figured out why I get stuck washing dishes when all I mess up is one cup.”

Dante laughed, and the sound of water hitting the floor was the last thing I heard before Irulan closed our bedroom door.

Kicking off my boots and grabbing Irulan was one fluid movement.  “Um,” I murmured in between laying kisses on her soft neck.  “How was your day, Ire?”

I pulled back so I could see her face.  “My day was fine.  I lined up the livestock for that pack meeting I was telling you about.  And at quite a discount I might add.  This contract is going to fetch me a pretty penny.”

I fell back onto the bed pulling her with me.  “Are you sure fangs and a line to my head were the only thing you got from me?  The way you talk about money, I’d swear I was married to a vampire.”

Irulan stuck out her tongue and maneuvered her way on top of me.  Her long crimson tresses blanketed me, bathing me in the smell of strawberries and pomegranate.  “You have no idea how much I needed that,” I breathed.

“No, baby, I think I do,” she tapped the side of her head and leaned down to capture my lips.  No matter how many times I kiss her, I don't think I’ll ever stop being amazed at how soft her lips were.  I marveled at how something so soft could be so strong.

I leaned up into the kiss and whimpered when she pulled away.  “Down tiger,” she teased as she rolled off of me and propped herself up on an elbow.  “Talk to me, tell me what the flashes of blood I caught are all about.”

I took in a deep breath of air, grateful that it was filled with nothing but the familiar smells of home.  “I’d rather not, but I don't see any way around it.  I need some help.”

She sat up on the bed, and I followed her.  “I went to William Bakers house.”  I shook my head and winced at the memory of the blood-covered walls.  My mind flashed back to the carnage I was responsible for in Charleston so many months ago, and my stomach turned.

Irulan ran her hand down the side of my face and leaned forward to rest her forehead against my own.  “Don’t go there, Val. Focus on the now, and tell me about tonight.”

I nodded.  “There wasn’t much to find outside of the stench of decay and blood.  For a minute I thought I was
going to leave the house empty-handed.”

“But?”

“But I picked up a scent just inside the bedroom.  It was nowhere near the bed mind you.  But it’s definitely Extra, what kind, I don't know.  I ruled out all the neighbors, which includes a Panthera, by the way.”

Irulan looked at me like she didn’t believe I knew my own nose.  “A Panthera? 
Are you sure you weren't smelling a neighbor’s cat?”

If I didn’t know her any better, I would have thought she
was serious.  “Yes, a Panthera. I felt the aura when I got near the house, but that’s not my problem.  Once I rule out the good guys as my mystery Extra, that leaves only one option.”

“The killer
”

“Yes, the killer.  And I’m going to need your help identifying the scent.”

Irulan really did look at me with disbelief that time.  “And exactly how am I supposed to do that, transform into a bloodhound?  My nose is nowhere as good as yours.”

“We’re going to use my nose.”

“What are you talking about, Val?”

We both sat up as I explained myself.  “Our bond is almost identical to the bond I share with Valerian. 
The only difference is, for Vedo and I, our bond is second nature.  If I coached you, I’m sure you can do anything Valerian can do.”

“Valeria, what are you talking about?”

“I’m talking about us going back to the Baker home and you jumping inside my head while I scent the place.  You'll experience everything I am, and maybe you can tell me if the smell is familiar to you.”

Irulan stood up and put some space between us.  “I don't think I can do that, Val.  Ask me anything else, but that.  I’ve just gotten the hang of touching your thoughts at will.  I don't want to be sucked inside of your head so completely.  The thought unnerves me.”

I flashed from the bed so fast, she didn’t even see me move.  In half a second, I was behind her and had her wrapped in my arms.  I wasn’t above playing dirty to get what I wanted, especially when the added reward was so sweet.

I trailed my lips across her neck and purred.  “Please, baby,” I breathed, right before I flicked my tongue across the soft skin and sucked it into my mouth.

Irulan’s throat tightened, and she darted out of my arms.  “Please baby my ass, Valeria.”  She held out a hand as if to ward me off, but I took a step in her direction anyway.  “I’m serious, Val.”  There was a spark of heat to voice that time, but it didn’t dissuade me in the least little bit.

I threw my hands on my hips and tried my best to look disappointed.  “So you’d let your fear of being inside my head stop you from helping me, when it could possibly save an innocent man's life?”

I’d caught her between a rock and a hard place.  Seduction didn’t work, but playing on her conscious did the trick.  Irulan stomped her foot and humped.  “Damn it, Valeria, you know I wouldn’t do that.”

I smiled and reached for her, but she knocked my hand aw
ay.  “No, you got what you want. I’ll do it, but I’m not comfortable with it.  You're used to being inside other people’s heads.”

My hand dropped like dead weight at my side.  “Is the thought of being
inside my mind so bad?  I mean, we’re married, Irulan, bonded and mated in every way that counts.  What are you scared of seeing?”

This time when I tried to hold her, she let me pull her close, but she leaned away to look me in the eyes.  “I’m not afraid of you, Val.  It's what you're asking.  It may seem foolish to you, but what if I lose part of myself while I‘m traipsing around in your head?”  As I looked into her eyes I saw a genuine fear flicker across her face and it stunned me.

I knew that she was scared, but she would put those fears aside to possibly save an innocent man.