Impulse (13 page)
“Oh, balls,” Simon groaned.
“Pray tell,” I said. “What could possibly have Simon Hunt’s knickers in a wad?”
“I have this funny feeling I’ll be going back to Europe; just when I thought I was done with that place.”
“Guess they weren’t done with you, my friend.” Justus slapped Simon on the back.
“Laugh it up you sodding bastard, but I made a lot of enemies that left me with the taste of piss in my mouth. Perish the fucking thought that I’ll be the one going. Let them put
your
Charmer rump on that plane and see how the ladies love you up for the eight-hour flight.” He snorted. “I nominate Justus completely.”
“I’m trying to learn from my mistakes,” I began, “so I don’t want to do this on a whim without telling anyone.”
“The objective is to shut down the labs, but we also have Nero to contend with. My question to you is: Do you think you can take down Nero, and how long will it take?”
Simon cracked his knuckles.
I sighed. “That’s what I thought. If he’s that untouchable, then maybe we need to focus on the one thing we don’t want him to know about. We’ll have to assume he’s having us followed so we need to watch our step.”
I threw in the “we’s” and “us’s” to include myself in the plan I was about to unveil.
“Just let it be known that I do
not
like this idea,” I began. “If there’s an alternative, then by all means, put it out there. I think you should send me home. If my mother is a part of this, then she knows something. It’s a hard pill to swallow believing my mother lied to me, but then again, she rarely talked about her past. She wasn’t the most loving woman, but she was protective. She never wanted me to leave that town. My mom is a difficult lady to understand. We need to question her. I can also tell you with absolute certainty that she’s not about to reveal her life to a stranger if she wasn’t willing to do it with me.”
I circled my finger over the soda tab and it followed my movement. “Does anyone in this room know of a trustworthy Vampire?”
Simon coughed in surprise. He didn’t trust Vampires and like many others, he always wore sunglasses in Breed establishments. Vamps had the ability to pull truth from a person. Apparently, Simon was a man with many secrets. But I wasn’t so sure how Justus or Novis felt about them.
“She’ll never confess anything willingly because she thinks that I’m dead. After we’re done, we’ll erase her memory.”
A smile lit up Novis’s face. “This one is a fine Mage you have here, Justus. I hope that you are a fair Ghuardian to this Learner.”
Justus straightened his back and lifted his chin. It was an honor to receive a compliment from a Council member, yet his skeptical eyes skated over to me and my shoulders sagged.
“Does anyone have a better idea?” I looked at the quiet faces and then to Novis. “Who are the memory-eraser people?” I almost laughed at my choice of words.
“Vampires can selectively wipe your memories; we’ve used them before,” Justus said with an ambivalent look on his face. The bristles of hair on his scalp had grown out and picked up a dark blond tint in the light. “Why is this something you feel you need to do?”
Simon’s eyes lit up; he loved game analogies.
“True that,” Simon replied, his British accent shining through. I flicked the soda tab at him and laughed.
“The sooner we begin, the better,” Novis decided. “I’ll make travel arrangements and get Silver new identification cards. She can’t use her current one for this trip.”
My alternate identity was Ember Gates, which came with an ID. Our assigned names were unusual so that they would flag the systems monitored by some of our people. If you got in a sticky situation, they would bail you out. Breed had zero tolerance for confinement in a human jail or hospital.
“Guards will trail behind your car and we’ll do a few switches during the ride to the airport. We have a spray that will throw off the Chitah tracking you and should Nero send a Vampire, we’ll need you to remain absolutely silent. Not a single sneeze.”
I looked over to Justus. “Are you coming with me?”
His mouth opened but Novis interrupted. “That’s… not such a good idea.” They shared a private look.
“I’m still a Learner and Justus has to escort me.”
Protect me
was the phrase I was thinking, because going out of town with a man I’d never met didn’t settle.
“There’s no need to send in a parade of immortals,” Novis said, touching the scar on his cheek absently. “You’ll go with the Vampire and get whatever you can from your mother. I believe there’s still work to be done here, too. Am I correct, gentlemen?”
I held Justus’s gaze. I was uneasy about the idea of a total stranger accompanying me across the country, let alone a Vampire. I’d heard enough warnings about them.
“Novis is right,” Justus said, clearing his throat. “My Creator living in the same city would present an unneeded distraction.” Justus rose from the table and hitched up his sweatpants. “I will ensure your safety.” His eyes slid over to Novis and he gave him a nearly imperceptible nod. “Keep the details of this trip private, Silver. I forbid you from sharing the details with the Chitah.”
“His name is Logan, and I agree.” I didn’t need any distractions. Justus also seemed concerned with how involved he was getting.
Everyone pushed away from the table to stand but I remained seated. “Can I have a minute alone with Novis?”
He waved Justus and Simon out of the room.
Novis scratched his smooth chin and laced his long fingers together. The light in his eyes glittered beneath the dark brows and lashes. It was captivating to see so much age behind such youthful features.
“You can speak your mind freely.”
“I can’t explain how your birth was possible with absolute certainty,” he admitted. “Many have attempted to crossbreed with humans for over a thousand years. Although before science came along, they tried the natural way.” He grinned slyly. “It makes me wonder if they’ve also tried to impregnate a Shifter or even a Relic with human sperm and… I apologize. I’m listening.”
I leaned in privately. “Do you remember when Adam challenged Samil in front of the Council?”
“Yes.”
“Afterward, Merc said something that didn’t make sense. No one batted a lash, but I guess we were too preoccupied. Do you remember what it was?”
He pinched his lip and studied the ceiling as if invisible words were written on it. “Not specifically.”
“Merc asked if I was a hybrid. Doesn’t that word strike you as odd? If it’s common knowledge that crossbreeding is impossible, then why did he ask that question?”
Novis smoothed his middle finger across his lower lip. “Speak of this to no one until I give it more thought. You know the punishment for slander is severe.”
“Novis?”
“Yes?” His voice was devoid of emotion.
“How is Adam?”
A shadow crossed his face and there was a pregnant pause before he answered. “Adam is permanently scarred. The Relic could do nothing for those that were exposed to the liquid fire.”
“How bad is it? I tried to tell him to get out.” I shook my head as the images came back.
“Adam saved many lives—as did you—but he was too close to the glass wall when the canisters exploded. The Relic tried the only salve he had that might have helped, but liquid fire is the Devil’s formula.” Sadness flickered in his stony eyes. “Adam is understandably not himself, and it will take a long time for him to accept it. He is immortal, and these scars will remain with him forever. But he must accept it and move forward. He was fortunate—some were missing whole limbs, or even worse. One gentleman that I’ve known many years lost half his face. Our healing light helped them recover from the mortal wounds to get them out of pain, but…” Novis couldn’t even finish and he covered his eyes with his right hand, pinching at his brow.
Forever.
That word sank in like a sharp tooth. Adam had a rugged sophistication that could make any woman swoon, yet he was oblivious to it, which was probably the most attractive quality about him. It seemed wrong to dwell on the physical, but that is the impression we give the world, and Breed were especially insensitive to such things.
“How is he handling it?”
Chapter 8
I leaned across Goliath—my monster-sized bed—and switched the phone to my right ear
.
“Logan. I need you to stay away for a couple of days. There’s a lot going on with the investigation and it’ll give you time to hang out with your brothers or visit Finn and see how he’s doing.”
“Have you forgotten I’m aware of the details?”
“Justus is firm on no visitors, so if you show up, he’s going to blow a gasket. We have some important people over here.” Christ, I hated lying, but at least he couldn’t scent it over the phone. “It’s just for a couple of days—I don’t think it’s too much to ask. Can you live without me?”
“Careful the words you choose,” he warned.
After a brief chat, Logan gave me his word that he wouldn’t show up unexpectedly. I stuffed a few things into a medium bag and put on a pair of black pants and a matching shirt. It was cool in Cognito, so I slipped into my leather jacket and carried my luggage down the hall into the main room.
“Silver, come in here,” Justus said. “I want you to meet someone.”
I approached the dining room and saw Justus standing in the entrance with another man. I dropped my bag and shuffled a few steps back. We never had strangers in the house and it caught me off guard.
The man was leaner than Justus, but his posture was commanding, with sharp angles and a straight back. With his hands clasped together, he widened his stance and greeted me with a smug grin. This guy looked like a young business tycoon ready to dismantle a company, yet he was also the kind of man who could easily blend into a crowd. Dark brown hair and neatly trimmed whiskers toned down the liquid black eyes that were otherwise stark against his features. This was the Vampire from the infamous bombing party—the one that had insulted me.
I glared at his leather pants and unbuttoned shirt that showed off the long silver chain around his neck. The clothes didn’t look his style at all, not to mention he was dressed more inconspicuously at the party. If his intention was to piss me off, then he could have run a victory lap.
“Absolutely not,” I exclaimed. “My mother will
never
let someone like him into her house.
This
is your Vampire?”
Christian tossed his arm around Justus’s shoulder with a stern expression. “I’ve never once felt sorry for you until this very day, Justus.” He laughed darkly. “Poor bastard.” His voice was Irish, Scottish, or Piggish—one of those ish countries. “Does she come with instructions? Clearly, batteries were not included.”
“Don’t talk about me like I’m not here.” My lips pressed together tightly.
Justus cut across the room in my direction. “Christian, give us a moment.”
He took my arm and led me into the hall.
“
That
is your trustworthy friend?” I whispered.
“Loyalty is hard to come by.”
Simon eased in and folded his arms, looking between us.
“He’s a twit,” I whispered.
“
I can heaarrr youuuu
,” a deep voice sang out from the dining room.
I rolled my eyes. “Spidey hearing. Any other talents I should know about?”
Christian whistled in the other room—the kind of whistle that implied he had an answer to my question, and it was dirty.