Unawakened (30 page)

“You probably taste sour.”

“Mr. Sullivan, I assure you, if you got a single taste of me, you’d be unable to let me out of your sight for fear someone else would get a hold of me.”

Groaning, I slumped over the counter and covered my head with my arms. “You two are sweeter than vampire blood. Find Rob first, then go into the back room and flirt or do whatever you dae do with each other.”

“How would you know vampires are sweet?” Sullivan blurted.

I canted my head so I could glare up at the vampire. “Don’t ask. Rob was considering starting up a protection racket to keep your sweet, sweet blood out of my greedy little hands. Also, I’ll take a bottle of that liquor home as your first payment. For your safety, you know.”

“Should I be worried?”

“Not if you make a bottle of that whiskey just for me.” I grinned and fluttered my lashes at him.

“I would like to file an official protest. He’s corrupted her, Analise. He turned sweet, shy, and utterly innocent Miss Daegberht into a fiend.”

“I’m pretty sure he only gave her the confidence to say what she’s been thinking all along, Mr. Sullivan. I’ve seen security footage of the tricks she’s willing to pull, especially on men like Kenneth Smith. Don’t underestimate her.”

“Mommy,” Colby agreed.

“What’s wrong with my confidence?” I clenched my hands and glared at all three dae, clacking my teeth together.

“Don’t bother denying it, Miss Daegberht. You’ve been under the heels of so many elite over the years you flinch when one of us looks at you wrong.” In Analise’s glare, I saw her daring me to challenge the truth of her statement.

“I play it safe. I’ve worked too hard to get kicked back to the fringe now.”

“But it’s a risk you know is there.”

“I’ve always known it’s a risk. Just like I’ve known the risks of working with Kenneth Smith. I just haven’t had a choice until now.”

Analise sighed. “No one ever has a choice. No one has in the past, no one does now, and no one ever will. Circumstances might change, but people do not.”

“That’s bullshit.”

“Is it? Take a look around you, Miss Daegberht. I’m not a portal dae. I have an internalized dae, and little has changed for me. I have new strengths, but it has done nothing to tip the scales. There’s one nice thing about it, though. Instead of receiving orders through an intermediate, my boss has decided to make his home here in Baltimore. I have you to thank for that, I suppose. Still, little has changed. My rank remains the same. Very few of the fringe dae were elevated to elite status. Most, at best, were shifted to the middle castes and given the homes of those who were killed during the Dawn. Everyone has returned to their jobs, and life goes on. Your classes have resumed as though nothing has happened.”

I flinched, recognizing the truth of her words. The potential for so much upheaval and change had been there, but no one had truly taken advantage of it. In his twisted way, Arthur Hasling had tried.

The reformed government could have fallen, brought to dust and ruin, but too few had tried. No one had thought outside of their circumstances. I was as guilty of that as everyone else. Survival had driven me. It probably had driven many others, too.

I, however, still clawed my way towards the top, although my motivations had changed. I didn’t want Rob lifting me up. I wanted to make my way to his level, challenge him, and stand as an equal by my own strength.

It’d probably never happen, but I’d try. I wanted—no, needed—to make the attempt with as little help as possible.

Rob had been right about that, too. I’d never be anything more than an unawakened, if unobtainable wishes did, in fact, cause a dae’s creation. I needed to earn my way, and in my life, there was no room for unobtainable wishes or dreams. I needed to grab what I wanted with my hands and make it mine.

I stared at Analise, and I wondered what she had dreamed for—and if she’d ever be able to get it.

If Rob was right, if he had told me the truth about the nature of the dae, she never would. Were the portal dae the same way? If so, what had Rob lost to become what he was? Would he ever tell me?

Unless I found him, I’d never have a chance to find out.

The police called Analise a little after two in the morning, informing the woman my tracking cards had been located on a bus. Analise grinned, leaned against the counter, and said, “She dropped her purse on the bus while we were headed on a little evening jaunt. We thought she had picked up all of her cards. They’re so new she must have forgotten them in the scramble. Wouldn’t be the first time a new holder has done it, won’t be the last. Have someone drop them off at her home.”

They spoke for a few minutes longer before Analise pocketed her cell. “Be glad you’re not under the jurisdiction of the middle caste, Miss Daegberht. The elite forces are rather lazy when it comes to wayward fringe rats in their care.”

Sullivan stiffened at the slight while I laughed. “I didn’t need a manual to figure that out. They only care about the fringe rats who look like they’re after their cheese. The less they’re on my back, the better. I have things to do, and not all of them are legal.”

“Of course they’re not. You’ve associated with Kenneth Smith.” Wrinkling her nose, Analise shook her head, sighed, and shrugged. “However much I dislike it, I can’t imagine you doing it without a reason.”

“To ruin him,” I admitted, allowing my cheer at the thought to reflect in my voice. “If I can ruin him before I get to end his miserable life, all the better.”

Sullivan paced his shop. “Are you sure you’re not hiding a dae away somewhere? You’re as bloodthirsty as I am.”

“Wait until you hear who my second target is.”

“I’ll bite. Who is it?”

“What you don’t know can’t hurt you,” I countered, shaking my head. “Forget it, Sullivan. It’s bad enough you know I’m gunning for Smith.”

“She’s probably right. Some fish are whales in disguise, and she’s going fishing in murky waters. I’ve already tried to talk Rob out of it—been trying for weeks. He’s not having any of it.”

“If it’s enough to worry you, you’re going to need help. I’d rather have my ball in Rob’s court than another dae’s. It’s only a matter of time before the lines are drawn. Minangi, Rob, and I could make a good team.”

“Know of any other portal dae who might be willing to bat for him?”

I kept still and quiet, hoping both of the dae forgot about me. What made the portal dae so frightening still baffled me, as did the reasons the regular dae knew to fear them. If they started talking, I didn’t want to miss a word—or remind them of my presence.

“Netzach. He likes her.”

Analise gasped, her face paled, and she recoiled as though Sullivan had slapped her. “
Netzach
? Now is not the time for games. Netzach doesn’t pick sides. Netzach has
never
picked sides.”

“You’re pretty knowledgable for a newborn.” Sullivan hopped up on the counter and swung his feet. “Rob hasn’t picked sides, either.”

“This is different.”

“No, it isn’t. Rob’s as much of a player as he is a pawn in this game. The rules have changed, and we either change with them or we die.”

Plopping its way across the floor, Colby sat on my foot, pressing up against my leg in its effort to get closer to me. I sank down, patting my lap in invitation. My roommate perched on my leg. “Excuse me for interrupting, but who is Netzach?”

“A portal dae,” Analise replied, her tone curt.

“He’s the unicorn who punted Sandalphon through your drywall, Alexa.”

“Sandalphon? The dragon’s name is Sandalphon? Did his mother hate him?”

“Probably. Sandalphon’s mother hated everyone. Look on the bright side. He likes you, too.”

Analise choked, coughing in her effort to recover. “Sandalphon, too?”

“So he’s another portal dae?”

“Earl is, too, although he’s as minor as they get. He’ll go to whichever side he thinks will benefit him most. Incubus are sleazy like that. Since you won’t have a romp with him, he won’t think twice about going to the other side.” Sullivan huffed and shrugged. “He’s flighty.”

Analise stared at Sullivan with wide eyes. “Are you seriously telling me Netzach
and
Sandalphon might help?”

“Take Miss Daegberht home and meet me back here at ten tomorrow night. I’ll show you how serious I am. Get a list together of every person with motivation to take Rob. Bring a new map, too. We’re going to need it. Tomorrow, we hunt.”

“What sort of weapons will we need?”

“Leave the weapons to me. Bring whatever you can get away with legally. Miss Daegberht goes armed and dangerous, but we’re keeping her legal as possible. Us portal dae can afford to skirt the wrong side of the law. We tend to get back up when someone tries to kill us. She won’t.”

“They’ll really help?”

“Analise, you sound like a broken record.
I’m
helping. Think it through. Take her home, get some sleep, and have that list ready for me by ten tomorrow night. We have work to do. Pull your weight or get out of the way.”

The woman trembled, retreating in the direction of the door. “Tomorrow night, then.”

“Good girl. I’ll see you tomorrow, Alexa.”

I saluted Sullivan. “Good night, Sullivan.”

With Analise in a daze, it was trivial to manipulate the direction she walked. When I was certain we were out of the vampire’s hearing range, I said, “One more stop before we head home. I want to see Minangi.”

Minangi’s restaurant was closed, but he answered the door after my second knock. “Come in.”

I slipped inside the restaurant. While Analise hesitated, she trailed after me, her right hand twitching near the zipper of her coat. Would a gun work against a portal dae? I doubted it.

Did Minangi even count as a portal dae if he didn’t leave Earth?

Colby stuck close to my side, bumping against the back of my legs as though worried Minangi would notice it. If my roommate wanted to be shy, I wouldn’t draw attention to it.

“I was wondering when you’d find your way back to me. You worried us, little one.” Minangi reached his hand out, and I recoiled from his touch, dodging away from Analise.

Intercepting Minangi’s shake, Analise smiled. “I don’t have her allergy medicine with me, so please forgive our rudeness.”

I flushed. “Analise!”

“It’s true. Once he’s found, Mr. Lucrage will hold me accountable for every single one of your bumps, scrapes, and rashes.”

“I see you’re one of his employees. It is a pleasure to meet you. I am Minangi. Come, we must talk.” Minangi met my gaze before looking me over as though seeing me for the first time. “It seems I have misunderstood my wayward child. You’re far more precious than I thought.”

I fell in step behind Minangi, following him down to the basement restaurant. Shoving her hands in her jacket pockets, Analise kept close, twitching at every sound. “Minangi isn’t going to do anything, Analise. Relax. Rob trusts him.”

“For some things,” Minangi corrected. “We were worried. We heard the explosion and were certain you had perished. You could have, if the culprit hadn’t used a crowd-controlling incendiary. It didn’t take us long to get onto the street, but Rob was gone before we arrived. Whoever it is was waiting for you.”

Minangi let us into the restaurant, and Analise gasped. “What is this place?”

“A jewel of China. My wayward child comes here when he needs something—or desires an escape from the mortal world for a while. I thought you would come, Miss Alexa. Please forgive the absence of my daughters. They are out searching. They, too, worry. Do you know anything?”

“Nothing. I heard the bang, and the next thing I knew, I was in an elite hospital.”

“I ordered them to take you there and paid for it myself. You were under my care, both of you, and it is not our way to ignore a debt. The box. Is it safe?”

“It’s at Rob’s place.”

“Good. Have you opened it?”

I shook my head.

“Do so when you get home. You are armed?”

I wouldn’t open the box. The box was precious, and I didn’t want to see whatever was inside without Rob being there. “I have a gun. I have a sword, too.”

“You use a sword?”

I blushed. “Use is a strong word.”