Darkness Divides (Sensor #3) (18 page)

What surprised me the most about this section of the city was the cleanliness. It took me a moment to realize the people sweeping sidewalks and disposing of the garbage were humans. They didn’t pop up on my radar like sups did and normally I wouldn’t have paid attention to them.

The humans I spotted nearby wore drab clothes and their hair was unkempt, but they otherwise looked healthy. No physical abuse that I could see and none of them exhibited extreme emotions, which was the one thing I could sense from humans if they were upset or angry enough. Mostly, they just seemed…resigned.

“What are humans doing here?” I asked Nienna.

She followed my gaze to the one I looked at who was cleaning a window. “They are used for manual labor in this sector, though only those who can afford them own them. The city itself has a few dozen as well to handle maintenance and other jobs the fae do not wish to do.”

My stomach turned sour. “How are they treated?”

“There are laws governing their care and use. The fae elders do work to enforce them so you never see a human who is mistreated.”

There was something there she wasn’t saying. “Are there are cases where they are abused?”

Nienna gave me a sad smile. “There are always exceptions to the rule, Melena. Even in the human world they do not always treat each other well. The fae elders do what they can, but they can’t monitor every human closely.”

I looked away. There was nothing I could do for them without causing more problems than I already had. From the looks of the humans, they’d probably lived their entire lives in the city and had no idea there was a different world beyond it. I wouldn’t be surprised if most of them had been born here, and their parents before them. It felt traitorous to do nothing, but now wasn’t the time to stir up an insurrection. Maybe someday I’d be in a stronger position to help them.

A shop up ahead boasted a number of baking goods. I pointed at it. “Do you think they’ll have salt there?”

“At that shop?” Nienna paused to look at it. “Yes, they would, but why do you need salt?”

“It’s not for me, but for a troll back in Fairbanks. She said they had a special kind here that she needs.”

Light dawned in the druid’s eyes. “Oh! In that case, you need a different kind of salt. I know where you can get it.”

She led the way as we cut through an alley to the next block over. Then we backtracked east until reaching a small shop that stood on its own. The only window in the front was a small one, so I couldn’t see inside very well.

“Is this it?” I asked.

“Yes. Trolls use a particular type of salt for several purposes. The woman who owns this place caters to the needs of several races that live in the city,” Nienna said as she opened the door for me.

I walked through and found the place to be so cluttered with shelves and tables it was difficult to squeeze between them. An elderly woman with bushy silver hair came from what must have been a storage room in the back. It took me a moment to realize that she didn’t register on my senses.

“She’s human,” I whispered to Nienna.

The druid smiled. “Not all of them are slaves. This one earned her freedom decades ago and chose to stay here.”

“Hello,” the woman said, shuffling up to us with a grand smile. “What can I do for you?”

Nienna explained about the salt. I was glad she did it because apparently it had a special name I couldn’t pronounce. Bambi had been setting me up for failure on this mission. I’d look forward to seeing how she reacted when I brought back the right kind.

The shopkeeper went to the rear of her store and took down a large wrapped packet. She had to carry it with both arms when she came back.

“Here you go.” She handed it to me. “That’ll be 3.50.”

The package would have been heavy before I’d changed, but now I could hug it with one arm while digging my wallet out of my pocket.

“I don’t suppose you take U.S. dollars?” I felt like an idiot for having to ask.

Nienna put a hand on my shoulder. “Do not worry. I’ll take care of it. The elders provided you with a daily allowance, but you’ve never reached your limit with how busy you’ve been. There is enough left over to cover this.”

“Okay, thanks.” I knew she’d been taking care of my meals when I went out with her, but didn’t know there had been an actual spending limit. At least it saved me the trouble of trying to find a money exchange place.

The druid pulled some silver coins from her pocket and handed them to the shopkeeper. We both thanked her and left.

“Let’s take the salt back to the palace first, then get something to eat,” I suggested.

“That would be a good idea,” Nienna agreed. “I doubt they’ve finished inventorying the vault yet.”

Chapter Nineteen

One thing Nienna and I had in common, aside from our daily need for coffee, was a love of fatty cheeseburgers. One might think druids would be into the healthy stuff, but apparently that wasn’t the case for all of them. I hadn’t found a lot of common ground with Elros since he seemed determined to keep his distance, but at least Nienna and I had begun to form a bond. It made my stay here a little easier.

We were heading to a tavern known for its greasy cheeseburgers when we ran into Nik and Derrick on the way there. Just the two of them, which made me breathe a sigh of relief. I really wanted a drama-free night and something told me things were going to get ugly soon.

There was a feeling in the air that kept niggling at me. Like there was another shoe about to drop—and from a direction I wouldn’t see coming until it was too late. Maybe it was the overall vibe in the city air or the fact I was surrounded by people I once considered enemies.

The four of us walked together to the tavern, but once inside Nienna started to move away.

I grabbed her arm. “Nope, you’re sitting with us tonight.”

She glanced at Nik and Derrick. “But…”

“It is fine,” Nik said. “There’s no point in you eating alone.”

With a little more prodding, we got her to go with us to a nearby table. No one said much during the meal. Nik drank his whiskey—the strong stuff that could get an immortal buzzed—while the rest of us ate. I was enjoying the companionship and silence.

Until Theirn and Gabe showed up.

“What’s wrong?” Derrick asked.

He was sitting next to me and must have noticed how I’d paused with my hand hanging in the air, gripping my fork tightly. I nodded at the door. My senses had told me they were close, but they were only now walking into the tavern.

He lowered my hand to my plate. “I’ll talk to Gabe later. He’s just upset cuz he can’t get his revenge on the woman who really killed his son.”

“Something tells me it isn’t going to be easy changing his mind,” I murmured in a low voice, keeping my eyes on the two men.

Theirn’s gaze met mine. He gave me a slight nod before directing Gabe away from us. At least the master vampire had the sense to prevent another confrontation. I still didn’t let myself relax until the two men settled at their table on the other side of the tavern.

Nik stood up. “I think it’s time for me to get my own meal.”

“Meal?” I asked, confused.

He was a vampire and didn’t eat food.

Derrick leaned close to me. “They got a few humans in the back room for the vamps to use. That’s one of the reasons we joined you when you said you were comin’ here. Not many places have 'em and Nik’s gotta eat too, Mel.”

I hadn’t considered how Nik was feeding while he was in the city, but of course the fae would cater to his race’s needs. It just didn’t sit well with me that the place where I enjoyed cheeseburgers was also loaning out humans as if they were cattle to be eaten. I understood vamps couldn’t drink bagged blood and needed a constant fresh supply from somewhere, but here? I shuddered. It was good to be a sensor—our blood weakened vamps, rather than strengthening them.

“Be nice,” I told Nik.

“Oh, I promise.” He gave me a sexy grin. “They’ll enjoy it as much as I will.”

He swaggered off and the rest of us continued to eat our meals. Nienna and I finished about the same time. I could sense her getting restless and felt the same way.

“Ready to go?” I asked.

“Yes.” She nodded. “I’m hoping there will be news.”

Curiosity lit Derrick’s eyes, but I shook my head at him. This was too big of a deal to be discussing in a public place.

“Take care, Mel,” he said, giving me a nod.

“I will. You, too,” I replied before heading out the door with Nienna.

We only made it a few blocks before running into Elros. Though his face was hidden by the darkness, as well as his hood, I could sense the urgency coming from him.

“I need to speak with Nienna alone for a moment.” He gave me an apologetic look.

They must have found something missing from the vault, but didn’t want to discuss it with me. Maybe if they didn’t go far, I could listen in on them.

“Fine. I’ll wait right here.” I leaned against a nearby stone building.

The two druids hurried around the block, plus another fifty feet down the road. It was enough that I couldn’t hear much of what they were saying. In fact, I was trying so hard to catch their discussion that I didn’t notice Gabe rushing toward me until he was less than ten feet away.

Unnatural rage colored his face. It came from a black magic trinket that had to be somewhere on him. He pulled out a knife and went for my throat. I threw my arm out and deflected it, but got sliced deep in the process. He held me against the wall with his free hand while I struggled against him. Damn. The magic fueling him was making him even stronger than normal for his power level. I wasn’t even trying to hold back now and I still couldn’t break free.

“This is for my son,” he growled out.

There was no way to avoid it in time. The knife plunged into my chest and went straight through my heart. The pain pierced me so strongly I couldn’t breathe, think, or move. When Gabe let me go, I slid down the brick wall and onto the sidewalk.

He looked down on me with a vengeful smile as I lay there, my blood forming a pool on the ground. My hand itched to pull the knife out, but it was no use. The blade held me completely immobile.

“Melena!” Derrick screamed, racing toward me.

He took one look at the scene before him and probably thought I was a goner. Anger almost as potent as Gabe’s rose over him, hitting my senses like thunder building to a crescendo.

Derrick punched the werewolf hard enough to send him flying down the sidewalk. Then he pulled him up and pounded into him some more. The trinket might have given Gabe a boost, but its magic directed his rage at me. All he could do with Derrick was try to dodge the heavy blows as they rained down.

Blood gurgled out of my mouth. It would have been nice if Derrick had at least pulled the damned knife out of me before going after my attacker. I was stuck there, lying in pain and completely helpless to do anything. My immortal body prevented me from dying or blacking out, but it couldn’t heal the damage with the blade in the way.

Nik and Theirn came running up next. The master vampire of Fairbanks swung his gaze between me and the fight in progress, conflicting emotions running across his face. It was only after Derrick snapped Gabe’s neck that he made the decision to focus on me—my attacker would be out cold for at least a few minutes. Nik kneeled down, giving me one of those sorrowful looks that said he was already saying goodbye. He traced his finger along my cheek in a light caress. Geez, no one had any faith in me.

I dragged in enough breath to speak the four words I needed to say. “Get…the knife…out.”

Nik’s brows knitted. “Melena?”

My heart had stopped beating about the time he’d arrived. I was guessing to preserve itself. He must have thought I was already dead until I spoke. Pushing past the pain once more, I repeated my request.

With confusion still apparent on his face, he slowly dragged the knife out. It burned as it left my body, but the agony eased to a more tolerable level once it was gone. I didn’t know how long a wound to the heart would take for me to heal. I just knew I had to do something about the newest problem brewing.

Derrick was pulling something that resembled a machete from under his pants leg that looked to be a foot long. His face was filled with determination. I had a strong suspicion he was going to whack Gabe’s head off. Theirn wasn’t trying to stop the execution either, which would have impressed me under different circumstances.

I couldn’t let them kill Gabe. He might have tried to take me out, but only because he was under a spell. I didn’t think he would have really done it otherwise. He’d been angry before, but not enough to commit murder. I got the impression he just hadn’t come to terms with his son’s death. It wasn’t unusual to misdirect anger when one lost their child in a violent way.

“Nik, you’ve got to stop Derrick from killing Gabe. He’s got a spelled trinket on him somewhere that made him attack me. It’s not his fault.”

It took a moment for Nik to process everything I’d said.

“How are you still alive?” He glanced down at the gaping hole in my chest. No more blood came out since my heart had shut down, but the wound hadn’t closed up yet.

“Save the werewolf. Heal me. Then I’ll explain.” We needed to get our priorities straight here. I wanted his blood so I could recover faster, but Gabe came first.

He still hesitated. “But…”

I lifted my arm up and pushed Nik’s head so he could see Derrick raising the machete above Gabe. “Go!”

In a blink, he had the alpha in his arms and was pulling him back. That was close.

Theirn kneeled down next me. “You are full of surprises, Melena. My blood is even more powerful than Nik’s, if you’d be willing to take it instead.”

“Thanks, but no.” I lifted myself to a sitting position. My chest hurt like hell, but at least I was rapidly regaining the ability to move.

He looked disappointed. “My apologies about my Alpha. I promise he will be punished severely for this.”