Darkness Clashes (4 page)

Chapter Three

A dark-haired man who looked like he was in his mid-thirties—though my senses told me he was about a decade older—stepped inside. He was leaner than most werewolves, but the power emanating off of him spoke of a very strong alpha.

His face was freshly shaven, hair cut short, and his jeans and blue button-up shirt looked new. He zoomed in on us first before taking in the rest of the room. To his eyes, it probably looked like a storm had hit it. Only the rear end of the place where a long bar with shiny chrome edges spanning it remained intact. There were just a few broken beer bottles littering its surface.

A guy near the alpha’s feet reached up for him, but he kicked the wounded man’s hand away and stepped farther into the room. His arrival had stirred many of his werewolves awake. Some even started to sit up, though they kept their eyes cast downward. The shame in the room was palpable enough that I couldn’t have been the only one to feel it.

“I’m guessing you two did this?” the alpha asked, giving us a hard look.

The way he said it, I felt like the kid who got caught hand-painting her bedroom walls. Not that I ever did that. More than once.

“Your welcoming committee leaves much to be desired,” Lucas said in a grim tone.

The alpha stopped next to the man whose arm had been torn off at the outset of the fight. The werewolf still clutched at his wound and his eyes were glazed with pain. The bleeding from the open socket had slowed to a trickle, but the pool of red beneath him proved he didn’t have much left to lose. If he’d been younger and weaker, he’d have probably died without immediate medical care.

“This the one who started it?” the alpha asked, toeing the guy’s head with his boot.

“He is, though I doubt he’ll be starting much of anything anymore,” Lucas replied.

“Just as well. Ivan ain’t got shit for brains. He’s the kind who attacks first and never gets to the questions. When the rest of them have been drinking they’ll follow him even if he’s heading straight off a cliff.” He grabbed hold of the werewolf by his remaining arm and yanked him to his feet. “I just took over the pack six months ago and I’m still straightening them out.”

“Sss…sorry, alpha,” the werewolf said through gasps of pain.

He bowed his head and when a tear fell from his eye I had to look away. He’d most likely recover, but he’d never get his arm back. The tide of his pitiful emotions swamped me and I had to quell the guilt rising inside of me. That bully had probably started at least a hundred fights and hurt a lot of people over the years. There was no reason to feel sorry for him.

“Grab your friends and get out of here,” the alpha ordered, letting him go. “I’ll deal with you later.”

Ivan took two steps and stumbled. He managed to grab hold of a nearby chair before falling and two of his buddies leapt up to help him the rest of the way. All around us other men crawled to their feet and staggered toward the door. The exodus took about five minutes before the bar cleared out. I almost sighed in relief once they were gone and all their painful emotions no longer clawed at my senses. Years of practice had taught me how to tune my abilities down to a tolerable level, but I couldn’t push them out completely.

“Name’s Austin.” The alpha walked up and held out his hand.

“Lucas.” They grasped palms and shook.

“And your woman?”

Austin would have known we were together by the claiming mark on my neck. It had faded so that it wasn’t visible to the eyes, but all supernaturals could feel it when they were within twenty to thirty feet. If they were familiar with Lucas, they’d also know it came from him. Sups with any common sense usually kept a respectful distance, but not everyone paid attention to it—especially if they’d been drinking. Alcohol could turn even the smartest of people into idiots.

Lucas pulled me into his side. “This is Melena.”

“Well, that explains a lot.” He narrowed his eyes at me. “Did you really break into Purgatory?”

“Uh, yeah. How’d you hear about that?”

He shrugged. “Word gets around fast. Most folks aren’t sure whether that means you’re trustworthy or not.”

There was a time when I’d hated all supernaturals and had avoided them. A lone sensor on his or her own risked being captured or killed because of their abilities. My race had fought a war centuries ago where we used our innate skills to track down vampires, nephilim, werewolves—anything inhuman—and pointed them out to our angel allies so they could be exterminated.

Tens of thousands died before the tables turned and sensors became the hunted. We lost our ability to call on angels for help and the race was nearly wiped out in the process. Those who survived went into hiding so that they could work to repopulate the lost numbers. With the latest generation, some of us had allied ourselves with powerful supernaturals. How well that worked out for the long term remained to be seen, but for me it was safer than being on my own.

Lucas scowled. “We’re not here to discuss Melena’s exploits.”

“Of course.” Austin waved a hand toward the bar. “Let’s have a drink and you can tell me what you’re really here for.”

I settled on one of the stools away from the broken glass. A quick peek behind it reassured me there was no damage to the other side of the bar. It might have been odd, but Lucas had an uncanny ability to only make messes where he wanted them. I supposed two and a half thousand years of practice did that for a man.

The alpha lifted a brow. “What will you have?”

“A Long Island Iced Tea with a splash of grenadine would be good for me,” I answered.

“I don’t want anything,” Lucas said, not taking a seat.

“We did just wreck his bar,” I hissed at him. “It would be rude to refuse drinks.”

I shifted my eyes between him and the seat next to me meaningfully.

Lucas gave me a martyred look. “Very well. I’ll have a glass of scotch.”

He didn’t sit down, but at least he conceded that much. A minute later Austin slid our drinks in front of us and we each took a polite sip. Mine was just right.

The alpha crossed his arms. “Now, you all want to tell me what you came here for?”

“Yes,” Kerbasi said in a dry tone. He’d moved to the table directly behind us. “Please ask your questions so we can depart this horrid place. Now that the fight is over I’m finding the odor quite offensive. Even when my prisoners didn’t bathe for weeks they didn’t smell this bad.”

I took a gulp of my drink and attempted to tune him out.

“We’ve heard that a female nephilim, Zoe, may have visited your area approximately four months ago,” Lucas answered the alpha, unaware of Kerbasi’s tirade. “Were you aware of this?”

Austin straightened.

“She was here.” His expression turned sour. “She owns a house near downtown. Don’t stay in it much, but she was there for about a week around the time you’re asking about.”

“Ah, yes, Zoe,” Kerbasi continued on. “The best torture for her was to make her live in her own filth. She absolutely detested it, but even then she never smelled as bad as this place.”

I didn’t look, but I was sure the guardian was wrinkling his nose. For a guy who lived in caves for most of his life he could be rather snobbish. It didn’t exactly smell great in the bar, but neither was it as bad as he made it out to be.

The guardian just enjoyed annoying me when no one else could hear him. He knew I’d avoid responding, especially if Lucas was around to get upset about it. The guardian was powerful enough that not even a nephilim could see past his invisibility, but my immunity to magic didn’t afford me that same protection.

“Any idea what Zoe was up to?” Lucas asked, twisting the glass in his hand.

“Not exactly. Your kind ain’t easy to track, but there used to be a sensor settlement just east of here in Idaho. According to my sources—” His lips thinned. “She was going there a lot.”

Kerbasi let out a loud sigh. “Lucas was different. I could leave him in filth for a month and he refused to let me see it bothered him. In all my centuries as a guardian, I have never seen a more stubborn prisoner. The methods I was forced to employ to make that man scream…”

I took a deep breath and counted to ten. If Lucas saw how angry I was getting he’d know Kerbasi was baiting me and this entire meeting would be ruined. For Micah’s sake, I had to remain calm no matter how much I wanted to bash the guardian’s head in with a barstool.

Austin had just revealed something important and I needed to focus on it. His mention of a settlement reminded me of a group of sensors—led by my biological father—who had a compound somewhere in Idaho. I’d never been able to find out where.

“Wait.” I held up my hand. “The settlement isn’t there anymore?”

“They cleared out around mid-May. A long time ago Zoe forced the pack to accept a truce with them, but it wasn’t easy to hold. That many sensors gathered together like that.” Austin shuddered. “Well, it made us all uncomfortable—no offense.”

“None taken,” I reassured him.

This had to be the same group who’d helped Zoe take over Fairbanks last spring when they’d been looking for the portal to Purgatory. We’d had to fight a major battle to get the city back from them and put a stop to their plans.

If Lucas’ missing brother had been taken to their compound, then he was long gone by now. Zoe had confessed a while back that she’d stashed Micah somewhere in the northern United States, but with us keeping her confined and out of the loop she might not know where he was anymore.

“Can you give us the address for Zoe’s house and the settlement?” Lucas asked.

“Sure.” Austin grabbed a pad and pen from behind the bar. He paused from writing to give Lucas a level look. “I’ll warn you now you won’t find anything. Me and my people combed through both places as soon as they left. They were wiped clean.”

“We’ll check for ourselves.”

Lucas had spoken in an emotionless tone, but my senses could pick up his disappointment. There was a constant heaviness around him ever since he’d found out his brother was missing, along with a certain amount of guilt.

I understood and felt the same way. Micah was a good man who’d been there for me while Lucas had been locked up in Purgatory. With each month that passed where we couldn’t find him the frustration grew for both of us. This was my first opportunity to help and I already felt like I’d failed. I could only hope some clue had been left behind at Zoe’s or the compound that the werewolves had missed.

Austin finished writing down the addresses and handed the slip of paper over. Lucas pulled out his wallet and laid down a stack of cash. The alpha lifted an eyebrow.

“For the damage,” Lucas said.

“Fair enough.”

He took the money and opened up the register. I grabbed my drink—still mostly full—and got off the stool to toss the contents in Kerbasi’s direction. He sputtered and shouted in outrage.

Lucas lifted a brow. “What was that about?”

I used my fingernail to cut the tip of my thumb. After a couple drops of blood welled up I pressed them against the guardian’s arm, bringing him out of invisibility. Kerbasi was glaring at me when his form became apparent to the other two men in the room.

“This asshole here.” I cleared my throat. “Talks too much.”

The alpha’s eyes rounded. “Is that who I think it is?”

“More than likely,” I answered.

“He was here the whole time?”

I gave him an apologetic look. “Unfortunately, yeah.”

“Could I get a napkin?” Kerbasi asked, face dripping wet with my drink.

“No, he can’t.” I stepped closer to the bar. “Trust me when I say he deserved that drink being tossed at him.”

A slow smile spread across Austin’s face. “If the rumors coming out of the fae city are true, I believe it. Would you like a bottle to pour over him?”

I glanced back at Kerbasi, whose complexion was turning red. “Uh, no, but thanks. I’d hate to waste any more alcohol on the man.”

“You can’t expect me to go out like this!” The guardian looked down at his drenched shirt and pants.

We headed for the door, forcing Kerbasi to follow. The last time he hadn’t gotten to the car quick enough I’d left him and forced him to fly along invisible for miles behind me. Since he hadn’t known where I was going—and he was easily prone to distraction—he’d reached the end of our half-mile range more than once.

According to him, he’d fallen out of the sky three times and been dragged across all manner of things on the ground before he could regain his footing and try to catch up. Getting him in the car these days was never a problem.

“Good luck to you all,” Austin called as we left.

I gave him a little wave before the door shut behind us.

Chapter Four

Zoe’s house turned out to be nothing more than a fancy-looking home with nothing in it. We didn’t find so much as a scrap of paper lying around and no furniture. The sensor compound was a little more revealing.

It took us about an hour to find it. We’d had to travel east from Spokane until we reached Coeur d’Alene. From there we headed south for a while, missing the turn for the dirt road we needed to take—twice. In our defense, it was dark and there were a lot of trees obscuring the entrance.