Death Wish (42 page)

The FPA claimed to manage supernatural threats. Thus far, their only interest in the supernatural seemed to be recruitment, threats, torture and death; the FPA had proved to be shady and dangerous. I trusted them about as much as I trusted Shya, maybe less. They would be watching me, and I would be wise to return the gesture. Know thy enemy and all that jazz.

I bypassed the cheap whiskey and grabbed the pricey stuff. The golden liquid went down deliciously smooth. Swirling it in the glass, I watched Crimson Sin with disinterest. The lead singer was a werewolf, which almost explained why the band was willing to play regular shows here.

“Is this seat taken?”

I was surprised to see Willow sliding onto the bar stool across from me. Drumming his fingers on the counter, he peered past me to the wall of booze at the back of the bar. His wings were hidden from sight. He was casually dressed in jeans and a t-shirt with a ball cap covering his hair. Nothing about his appearance indicated his true nature.

“Willow, hi. I wouldn’t have expected to see you in a place like this.” I held up the fine whiskey in offering. “Can I get you a drink? It’s on the house, of course.”

He continued thoughtfully, eyeing the liquor selection. “How about some tequila?”

The thought of tequila turned my stomach, but I shoved a tray of limes toward him and reached for a bottle, grimacing at the nasty little worm in the bottom. Depositing the bottle and a shot glass in front of him, I hunted for a saltshaker. He waved dismissively and took his first shot without it.

“So,” he gazed appreciatively at the tequila bottle. “Word on the street is that you and Shya forced the genie back into her lamp, so to speak. She must be pissed.”

“I stripped her power so Shya could bind her, but only after he offered her my supposedly divine blood to break the curse. She shot down his demand for more power, and that was that.” I shrugged and sipped my drink. “He had to be lying, but she didn’t seem to think so.”

“About your blood? No, that was the truth. You’re the light of a twin flame union and one of the legendary Hounds. That is divine in a sense. It’s pure and good, even if you yourself are not.”

I pondered this, turning it over and dismissing it as ludicrous. “I’m not good. Not even close. I have blood on my hands. Innocent blood.”

“Join the club.” Willow clinked his glass against mine and tossed back the strong booze.

“How do you do that?” I blurted without thought. “How do you talk like that, as if you’ve accepted it? You don’t deserve to be labeled as one of the bad guys, Willow. I do.”

He chewed on a lime and regarded me thoughtfully. “I fell in love. Knowing that love, for even a short time, it was a gift. I don’t regret it. The repercussions are worth it.”

I was certain that his lady love would have shared his sentiment. It was endearing and inspiring. Willow had faced heartbreak beyond what I could imagine. Though he sat there drowning his sorrows as surely as most drunks did, he still believed his love was worth his misery.

“Anyway,” he smiled and held up another shot in a gesture of cheers. “I thought I’d come by and share a friendly drink or ten with you. Figured you could use it.”

“You wouldn’t be wrong.” I clinked my glass against his and savored the mind-numbing nectar. A roaring drunk might not have been the most responsible way to deal with my feelings, but I could either numb them out or go on a blood bender.

A small commotion near the door drew my attention. The strong sense of werewolf reached me. I watched the cluster of people in the entry with growing curiosity. Justin broke free of the throng and headed my way.

Justin was a tall, insanely well-built vampire. Dark skinned with deep brown eyes that glittered with constant bloodlust, he was one of the baddest vampires I knew. Intimidating was an understatement, which was what made him perfect for running security now that Shaz was gone.

He had openly pledged his loyalty to me when I had asked him if he wanted a job, but I never would dream of any vampire in this city bowing down to me as if I were a queen. Poor Lilah was so desperate to regain an army of minions to do her bidding that she was willing to settle for coercing the undead, most of which were little more than useless blood junkies barely existing from night to night.

“Alexa, there’s a wolf here insisting she needs to see you. Says she’s your sister.” Justin’s gaze traveled over Willow dismissively before settling on me. “Is that the same sister that dragged our boy Kale out of here? Want me to get rid of her?”

I groaned and spewed out my favorite cuss words. “No, let her in. Alone. Nobody comes in with her. And, stay in sight. Just in case.”

Justin tipped his head in acknowledgment and spun on his heel. “You’re the boss.”

“Little sister has big balls to come back in here after her last visit,” Willow observed. He slid a few stools away, dragging his booze and limes with him. “Pretend I’m not even here. Unless you want me to go?”

“No, that’s fine. Stay. It’s cool.” My eyes were fixed on the door. Yes, Juliet certainly did have some serious nerve coming back in here. Still, she was an O’Brien; I wouldn’t expect anything less from her.

Juliet entered, pausing until she spotted me. Her long, leggy frame moved in graceful strides across the room. Why couldn’t she have been the short one? In yoga pants and a bright blue top, she looked both casual and lethal.

“Can we go somewhere and talk?” She didn’t bother with a phony greeting and cut right to the chase.

I stared at her with a carefully neutral expression. Peering into her dark eyes, I was both saddened and infuriated. “I think here is just fine. Go ahead. Talk.”

Irritation flashed across her delicate features. She glanced around at those within the vicinity and then shot me an exasperated look. “Alright. Alexa, be reasonable. We’re sisters. So we’ve taken different paths in life? That doesn’t change what we are to one another. I’m sorry for my role in what happened with Kale. I promise you, I had no part in what they did to him.”

She wasn’t lying. I guess that should have been reassuring. I was beyond upset with her. I was torn between wanting to smack her and wanting to hug her.

“I still can’t believe you never told me you were alive. It stings, Juliet. You’re a government drone now. I can’t trust you. And, that hurts too.”

“You can trust me. I am not your enemy. I’m your sister, dammit. I have busted my ass to keep the FPA off your tail, but there’s only so much I can do.” With a frustrated sigh, she sat heavily on the stool Willow had vacated. “I wanted to tell you I was alive. For a long time they wouldn’t let me. Then after so much time had gone by, I couldn’t bring myself to do it. I was afraid.”

“Afraid of what?” I spun the whiskey glass in a slow circle, needing to keep my hands busy. It was all I could do not to fidget with my hair.

“Afraid of this.” Juliet threw her hands in the air. Snatching the glass from my hand, she tossed back the contents and scowled. “It’s not supposed to be like this, Lexi. We were sisters before we were anything else. Please try to remember that.”

There was a cheer from the crowd gathered around the stage as the band’s guitarist addressed the audience. The noise level grew substantially as they launched into another hard rock song. It gave me a much needed second to decide how to respond. I wrestled with my head and my heart, neither in agreement.

“That’s all I think about every time I look at you,” I confessed. “It scares me to see the kind of people you’re involved with. The FPA has changed you.”

“Raoul Roberts changed me. That’s when our paths were clearly drawn. He took everything from us. I did the best I could with what I had to work with.” Her chin jutted defensively, and she visibly shut down. “We are on the same side, Alexa. We just don’t operate in the same way.”

“You’ve got that right,” I scoffed, unable to censor the bitterness. “I don’t torture innocent people, and I don’t give my loyalty to anyone who does.”

With a toss of her dark curls, Juliet stood abruptly. “I came to apologize. For everything. I’m sorry. I hope one day we’ll be able to put this behind us. You’re still my big sister. I love you.”

She was gone before I could utter a stunned response. I watched her disappear through the crowd and out the door. Mentally, I kicked myself. I was being stubborn. Not so unlike how I had been with her as a kid.

Juliet was the baby and adept at working it to her advantage; she could bat her eyelashes and get our parents to fall for anything. As kids, she would do all she could do stick it to me, yet at the end of the day, she needed me, her big sister. It was my duty to take care of her, and I’d done my best despite how often I wanted to strangle her.

The urge to go after her struck me. I denied it. I wanted nothing more than to find peace with my sister. I knew it would happen, but I just had to accept that our reconciliation wouldn’t happen tonight.

Willow waited until Juliet was long gone before sliding back onto the stool across from me. He took in my clenched fists, deep-set frown and sad eyes. He could have made a forced attempt to cheer me up or offer a word of ill-timed advice. When he did neither, my respect for him grew.

Pointing to the stack of bottles behind me he said, “So what’s the scotch like in this place?”

* * * *

February 19, 1867

It’s been more than a decade since I last visited Alice. The wicked witch didn’t look a day older than the last time we spoke. Either she ages well, or she has one hell of a deal with the devil. I’m willing to bet the latter.

She laughed when she saw me, her black eyes sparkling viciously. “Still seeking answers, vampire?” she asked, holding out her hand for money. “Come now, let us look.”

She sat me down at her table and pulled out a mirror. She placed it between us and waved a stick of incense in my face. I was annoyed by the pungent smell and impatient for her to finish with the theatrics.

“I shouldn’t have come here.” I started to rise, but she stopped me with a look.

“You went away.” She nodded knowingly. “You thought you could escape what haunts you. Where you go, it goes.”

I had spent seven years in Europe. Could she have guessed that? Doubtful. I stared at her, intrigued but wary. “Yes. I find myself seeking her face in every crowd. In every city in this world.”

 Alice made me close my eyes, demanding that I focus on the scent of the horrid incense and wipe any thought from my mind. I waited, filled with skepticism. What had I been thinking in returning to the old fraud? The sudden sting of a knife jabbing the end of my finger tempted me to open my eyes as she dripped my blood onto the mirror’s shiny surface. She began to hum, a strange lilting note that continued for several minutes. Then it stopped, and the silence grew heavy.

“You will not see her face until time reveals it to you. Seek not your other half but yourself.” Alice’s voice took on a low, unnatural timbre. “Darkness taints your twin flame union. It seeks to destroy you both. It waits for her birth like a lion eager for the hunt.”

My eyes flew open. Panic seized me as her words echoed in my ears. Alice stared at me with eyes glazed in a milky white film. The atmosphere grew hot with an energy so old and powerful it hurt. Alice was no longer present. Something else spoke through her lips.

“Vampire, you are burdened by death. A burden you will share with her. As you draw closer to the purpose you share, the darkness draws closer to you. Beware. Ready yourself for that day. For what will come. For the day you kill her. You will destroy one another.”

Those words reached deep inside me, touching something sacred that I had yet to understand. I shook my head, unwilling to believe what I’d heard.

Alice waved a hand over the mirror, drawing my gaze. “Look,” she commanded.

Fog rose up from the surface of the glass, slowly dissipating. As it cleared, an image formed. I saw us as if through another’s eyes. A flash of blonde hair, the hint of a smile, the most beautiful laugh I have ever heard. She was cast in shadow. I could not see her clearly.

The image changed. I watched myself grab her violently. I shook her as she fought me. She slapped my face, and I bared fangs at her. She said something then, something almost inaudible though I heard it as if she had shouted.

“You know you have to do it,” she whispered. “It’s ok. I’m ready.”

I wanted to shout at my future self, to beg him to stop. I watched myself pull her close and bite into her exposed neck. I watched myself kill her.

“No!” I stood up so fast the chair I’d been sitting in flipped over. In a sudden rage, I grabbed the mirror and smashed it on the floor. Then I lunged at Alice.

It was over rather quickly. I left Alice strewn across the table in a bloody heap. I should never have gone there. I should never have come back from Europe. I’m horrified by the vision in the mirror. What does it mean? Surely, nothing can be predestined for certain. Can it? I won’t let it happen. Alice’s vision will not come to pass. There has to be a way to alter the future. And, I will find it.