Soul Taker (32 page)

"Yeah, well a true gentleman doesn't suck the
life out of their dates."

"I believe my ladies rather enjoyed our time
together." His lower lip pouted as if she had hurt his
feelings.

Harrison noticed Garran had slipped into the
room to hear the last of the conversation. His eyes glowed red and
with a speed of his kind, he grabbed Alexander in a chokehold,
pinning him against the wall.

Alexander chuckled. No fear entered his gaze
as if he had the upper hand and not the other way around. "Garran,
I didn't know ye cared."

"Ye'll return Johanna's soul, or I'll break
yer scrawny little neck."

"Ye see, I would, but I don't have it on
me."

Garran looked to Isabella. "Are ye able to
tell?"

Isabella stared at Alexander. There were
flutters of color, angry colors and wavering ones indicating fear.
No beautiful hues of blue, yellow, and pink that would indicate
Johanna's soul lingered beneath his evil structure.

She shook her head. "I don't see it."

Alexander laughed. "How rich. The little
human can sense a soul. My, my, ye do surprise me, Isabella. Did I
tell ye how much I miss our time together? Such a shame ye broke
our bond." His smile turned cold as he looked at Garran. "Now, I
suggest ye let me go."

Garran released him, shoving him away. "Why
the games, Alexander? If ye want to have it out with me, let's
finish it now."

"Oh no, milaird. I don't want the game to end
so readily. I like seein' ye runnin' around, tryin' to figure out
my next move. I'm bestowin' the same consideration ye gave me. Ye
made me suffer back in Scotland. Ye burned my followers and left me
to the same fate."

"Aye, and I'd gladly do it again. Only I
would make sure ye did no' rise from the flame like a phoenix. Ye
fed on our clan as if they hadn't suffered enough."

Alexander's nostril's flared. "It was a far
better life than the pitiful life they would have led. My bein'
here in Boston and ye showin' up as the new governor, now that is
fate. I once followed ye to hell and back in the battles, but did
ye offer me a higher position? Nay," he answered his own question.
"No' even a pat on the back. Then Culloden happened. Ye retreated,
leaving me on the battlefield to wait for a sword in my back, but
Fallon appeared, preventin' my demise. She was so beautiful I
thought her an angel."

"The devil has many faces," Garran said.

Alexander clicked his tongue. "Fallon was an
angel to me. She offered me eternal life. She offered me
respect."

"Aye, I'm well aware. She offered ye a life
where ye fed off of yer kinsman. Yer sense of honor astounds me,"
his sarcasm dripped from each word.

The steady beep of the monitors and the sound
of the oxygen pump seemed out of place for this impromptu battle,
but the two enemies circled one another contemplating a fight to
the death.

"Fallon offered us a chance to go after those
who wronged us," Alexander said. "The dragoons wiped us out on the
battlefield. It was time for a little payback."

"Only yer plans included takin' out our clan,
whittlin' down the numbers until very few were left. The men were
forced to hire themselves out. A war clan with no home."

"Aren't ye melodramatic. Ye didn't seem to
care since ye hid with the immortals," Alex spat. "Ye lived a good
life, ey? Ye were tainted by their blood."

"Nay, no' tainted. Ye made me a monster, but
I refused to act upon it. The Sidhe took me in."

"Truly. So why did ye leave yer piece of
heaven, or were ye kicked out like Rory?"

Garran's back stiffened at the mention of
Rory's name. "I don't believe it is of yer concern."

Alex threw back his head and laughed. "It was
yer bloody honor again. Ye did always have a soft spot for Rory. He
could do no wrong and if he did, ye always protected him. Let me
guess. Ye left with the poor sod. He couldn't make it among the
Sidhe, could he?"

"Enough. Ye said yer peace here, Alex. We
meet tomorrow, or was it yer intent to bore me to death
instead?"

"Oh nay, milaird, I have a much more fittin'
death for ye. Until tomorrow, then." He bowed before whirling away
with speed that no human could detect. Sanya followed in his
wake.

"Bastard," Harrison cursed. "He shows up here
to make his demands as if you'd agree to them." His gaze wavered
over to Garran's grim expression. "Oh no, you aren't seriously
considering meeting him."

Garran looked at him then to Isabella. "I
am." He nodded toward Johanna's still form. "She hangs on. She is a
fighter."

"He won't keep his promise," Isabella voiced.
Vampire and werewolf both looked at her. "I love Johanna and I
would do anything to save her, but not at your expense." She took
the steps separating them. "The colors around Alexander shifted and
changed as you spoke to him. When he mentioned Johanna and giving
back her soul, the colors darkened almost to black—a lie. It
brightened when he promised you a more fitting death. I believe he
told the truth there."

"Naturally." Garran frowned as he leveled his
gaze on Harrison. "If we are through here, we have an appointment
at Tony's to meet with Sanya. Granted, she'll have to slip away
from Alexander."

"They seemed right cozy," Harrison
grumbled.

"We will hear her out all the same." He
barely glanced at Isabella when he issued his order to her. "Ye
should go home and rest. The dark circles under your eyes are more
pronounced than they were yesterday."

"Sure thing… my laird Dracula." Isabella
bowed, rolling her arm in front of her in a dramatic display of
reverence. "Love the compliments by the way. Just to let you know,
you aren't winning any points with them."

Garran
harrumphed
in annoyance.
"Everythin' is personal with ye." He turned on his heels, leaving
the room. Obviously, fully expecting they would do as he
commanded.

"I'm not a child. You can't tell me what to
do!" She shouted, but she had a hunch Garran was long gone and
hadn't heard her. She clenched her hands into fists, appearing like
a woman who wanted to punch something.

"Don't let him bother you."

She glanced at Harrison and took a deep
breath before releasing it. Her stance relaxed and she unclenched
her fists.

"You're getting pretty good at this aura
reading, aren't you?" Harrison moved to stand by her.

She reached for her backpack and pulled out a
book. "I picked this up at the library on my lunch break. I've
found the author's information helpful. All my life I've seen
colors surrounding people, but never took stock in what all those
colors really meant. I only knew when the colors turned dangerously
gray the person was in trouble. If it turned bright blue and
expanded around the body, the person was happy. Do you get the
picture?"

"I believe so." He nodded.

"Everyone has a signature color, but there
are colors for health and emotions. I'm beginning to pinpoint what
they all mean."

He handed the book back to her, his gaze
sweeping over her features. "Are you falling for Garran?"

Her eyes widened in surprise at his blunt
question, but she didn't deny it. Her fingers tucked an imaginary
hair behind her ear. "Yes, and no." She chuckled. "I've imagined
falling in love, getting married, and having children." She let out
a tired sigh. "Garran is so
not
who I imagined would share
my life, but… I want him anyway." She sobbed and laughed at the
same time.

"Come here." Harrison opened his arms to her
and she walked into his embrace. "It'll be all right. Don't let him
go, if he's what you want."

"But what if I can't be what he wants?" She
pulled away to look at him. "He treats me like a child and I
suppose he can't help it when he's centuries older than I am. But I
don't need another father figure. God knows I have enough of that
with my brother, Nicholas."

He smiled. "Believe me, Garran doesn't look
at you in a fatherly fashion." For Isabella's sake, he would find
out what Garran planned to do with the relationship. Garran may be
his friend, but he also counted Isabella as a friend, too. He
wouldn't let Garran hurt her.

"I should go with you when you meet with
Sanya," Isabella said.

"Izzie, I don't—"

"No, listen. I can read Sanya. You said you
didn't trust her. Let me go with you. I'll be able to tell if she's
lying, or at the very least if she's hiding something."

He knew she was right. What was the use of
recruiting Isabella if they didn't utilize her talents? "Garran's
goin' to be pissed, but what the hell. It wouldn't be the first
time I angered him, and I'm sure it won't be the last. Let's
go."

Chapter Forty-Nine

Isabella stayed close to Harrison when they
entered Tony's Pub. The place was packed with Otherworldly
beings—vampires, werewolves, and others… She couldn't identify all
the preternatural beings, but the way the signature colors
shimmered she knew they weren't human.

Garran sat in a booth and looked up as they
approached. His surprise at seeing her soon morphed into anger. The
color of his eyes turned as dark as clouds of an approaching storm.
Isabella decided to sit next to Harrison as she slipped into the
booth.

"I thought I told ye to go home," Garran
grounded out the words. Obviously, the man wasn't used to having
his demands ignored.

"Well, you see,
milaird Dracula,
you
have no say on what I do. Besides, you need me here."

He
harrumphed
in what she decided was
a Scottish trait. It was done in such flourish that only years of
practice could make a sound so natural, guttural, and insulting—and
all at the same time.

"She's part of our team," Harrison told him,
which won him the lethal glare.

"Team? We have no team, Harrison. If ye have
this need to have a pack, ye know where ye can find one."

"Ouch." Harrison gave a low whistle. "You
know how to really hurt a bloke. It's a good thing we've been
friends long enough that I know your insults are hurled with
love."

Harrison had been part of a pack? It made
Isabella curious, but she knew now wasn't the time to pursue why he
left it. While Harrison and Garran argued why she shouldn't be
here, she studied the crowded pub. One preternatural being caught
her attention. He wasn't a vampire or a werewolf. He was… something
else. But
what
he
was
hadn't been why he stood out to
her. His aura flickered and twitched with a distorted flare.

"Izzie's here, so just get over it already,"
Harrison continued to argue his point.

"Boys," she interrupted. Her tone must have
alerted them that something was up. They fell silent, both looking
at her expectantly. "The guy chatting with the bartender," she
nodded in his direction, "is harboring a soul, like the Soul Taker.
I can see it struggling against the hold he has on it."

"Are ye sure?" Garran asked and she rolled
her eyes at him.

"Yeah, I'm sure. I wouldn't have mentioned it
otherwise."

"Incubus?" Harrison asked Garran to confirm
his suspicions.

"Aye." Garran rose from his seat. "Let's have
a chat with this bloke." He looked at Isabella. "Do ye think ye can
stay put for a moment and no' find yerself in any trouble?"

She gave him an exaggerated sigh and leaned
comfortably back in her seat. "It'll be tough, but I'll give it a
try."

He
harrumphed
in the all familiar
style she was beginning to think of as an endearment.

Harrison stood and placed a hand on her
shoulder, giving it a quick squeeze before following Garran.

The werewolf took the incubus' right side and
vampire the left. The incubus glanced at both and his aura wavered
inward as if trying to withdraw from the threat. She might have
done the same, but then again, she had nothing to hide and this guy
obviously did.

The exchange was quick or rather only one
sided. The incubus tried to leave, but Garran grabbed his arm. Bad
move on his part. The incubus
'
aura flared
outward as his defense mechanism must have clicked into gear.
Before Garran could sidestep, the incubus reached for his beer mug
and swung it at Garran's head then flitted toward the back door.
Harrison growled and went after him. Garran was a close second and
not at all pleased to be doused with malt liquor.

Isabella stood, rationalizing her crazy move
as she sprinted after them. Garran may want her to obey his every
word, but she really didn't believe she was any safer sitting alone
in a pub full of Otherworldly beings, while he slapped an incubus
into submission in the back alley. What if the guy had friends in
here? Sliding to a halt at the door, she pushed against it and
propped it open. Isabella's eyes latched onto the scene unfolding
before her.

Garran had the incubus in a chokehold and
pinned to the wall of the pub. He didn't give her a glance, but
Harrison waved her away with a look that clearly told her to
close the door like a good little girl
. She remained rooted
in her spot. She shook her head at him, but made sure to keep the
door open just in case she needed to make a hasty escape.

"Ye might as well come clean," Garran said,
his voice a low burr of authority not to be messed with. "We know
ye've taken a soul. I want to know where ye got it."

"I paid for it fair," the incubus whined in
protest. "A guy's gotta eat. This soul will last me months."

"Taking years off of a human's life from one
of your kisses is bad enough, but gluttony is a sin even for you,
incubus," Harrison said. "You gobbled the person whole."

The incubus glared at Harrison, his eyes
turning like blue flames. "Why take nibbles when you can have the
whole pie and it's delivered to you, too? Special order to go."