Blood Bonds (2 page)

Only because everyone else was too scared to go with her.

Whatever. She’d take the cards that she’d been dealt and run like hell. If she could show the Administration she could handle this on her own, they’d give her other assignments. Q and A with uncooperative Male Kin was getting sort of old.

But isn’t that what I’m doing here?

Yeah, it was, but at least it wasn’t going to happen down in one of the interrogation Tanks in the Center basement.

Nope.

This was way better.

So here she was, twelve stories down under millions of pounds of concrete, taking a long walk down a very narrow hall that led ... where else ... but the basement of basements in the ADF. And thinking about that fueled the dread. A thin sheen of sweat dotted her upper lip.

Now, Kin are cave dwellers by nature, but this wasn’t anything like a cave. A cave has multiple tunnels, several ways in, several ways out, rooms, even hidden passageways. This place was nothing more than one giant roach motel. People check in but they don’t check out.

Haley reminded herself she was here on behalf of the Bureau, at the request of the D.A. himself ... and because Niles Fury scared the piss out the Humans.

Literally.

Haley had to give the A.D.A. Bob Crane credit. At least he tried. Niles scared most dragons, so it wasn’t a surprise that Bob pissed his Mark Nasons full. It had been a bad idea to send a Human anywhere near Niles. They don’t do well with the idea they’re just snack food waiting to happen. After all, that’s exactly why Niles was here. Crimes against Humanity. Specifically, eating them.

They should’ve sent Haley the first time. She had the experience and she was Female. It gave her the upper hand in the Tanks on a daily basis. Ten minutes in a room with the most difficult Male and she could have them eating out of her hand.

Or at least licking her palm.

It would have saved time and a good pair of shoes. ‘Cause no one likes to ruin a good pair of shoes.

Haley stopped in front of the last of eleven steel doors leading into the depths of the ADF and hit the buzzer. She checked her watch. It was five after. Her appointment was at nine sharp. She was late and late wasn’t acceptable.

The guard in the view screen ate his sandwich.

“I.D. please,” he said around a mouthful of ... was that tuna? At nine in the morning?

Five after nine, chickadee. You’re late.

“Look, I’ve just shown my I.D.” Haley glanced over her shoulder and tried to remember how many check points she’d passed. “Six times? Seven? Can you just let me in?”

The guard gave her a bored look and sucked a wad of mustard off his thumb.

“I.D., lady. Regulation eight point eight...”

“I know, I know.” Haley put down the brief case and fumbled with the ID fastened to the hem of her skirt. She undid the clasp and slid it out of the plastic sleeve, a battle all its own ... because regulation eight point nine something dictated that an ID could not be obstructed by foreign materials. ‘Cause a clear plastic sleeve is really going to keep someone from being able to tell the difference between a fake ID and a real one from the other side of a monitor.

No need to rehash that argument. Door keeper number three had already made it perfectly clear he didn’t give a flying flip. The regulation book was gospel and that was that.

Haley held her ID up to the screen. The guard on the other side was too distracted by his sandwich to even look at it.

Jerk.

The lock buzzed and the door, all nine tons of reinforced carbon steel, slid open with surprisingly little sound.

Haley wasted no more time and went in.

Inside it was just a whole lot more white, but the walls were easily twenty feet high. For decorations, they had cameras. The little red lights next to the lenses blinked down at her. Haley scanned the rest of the room. What the hell was it with Humans and the color white? She suddenly wished she’d worn something other than black. Both her skirt and blazer were black. Her blouse matched the paint job. Her shoes matched the skirt and blazer. Hey, at least she was color coordinated. Still, it was hard not to feel like a lost ink blot in a giant drawing pad.

The only real color in the room was the orange jump suit worn by Niles Fury. Prisoner 0984632 according to the numbers stamped on the back of his prison issued threads.

Nile’s shackled arms were spread wide on the steel slab and building supports posing as a table. Its legs were bolted into the floor. Probably to keep him from picking it up and throwing it at someone.

Pleasant thought, that.

Haley’s gaze went back to the chains going from his arms to his waist and then the floor. They could anchor a battleship.

I wonder if the Yamamoto is missing some gear?

Niles raised his head. His shoulders spread, and the orange jumpsuit strained to keep him covered. His skull was smooth except for a single black braid cultured from a patch of hair at the back of his head.

Haley was used to seeing big Human shapes on Kin. Most used it to gain a size advantage they didn’t have in their natural form. It was a way to bluff wing span and strength.

But something told Haley nothing about Niles was a bluff.

She walked around the table, taking him all in. And, boy, there was a lot to see.

Niles’s skin was smooth and evenly tanned in that artificial way that only came from million dollar plastic surgeries or, in this case, metaphysical energy. His face was all angles with a strong Greco-Roman influence and his eyes were Eastern. He was flawless. A regular
GQ
cover model.

The serial man-eater issue.

His
Nevus
was a mixture of reds and yellows. It crawled up from the collar of his jumper and traced his jaw line, stopping just under each eye. It looked like he was wrapped in fire. If his oh-so-godlike physical perfection didn’t give him away for what he was, that birth mark would. All Kin had them, each one unique. A mark of bloodline, lineage, and metaphysical energy.

Niles’ lips parted and nostrils flared as he inhaled her scent. Haley could smell his Male musk bloom in response to her presence. It tasted sweet. Like the
Nevus,
it was also unique.

She put her briefcase down by the metal chair and sat. The thing was so cold and hard it felt like she was planting her butt on a pizza pan. Niles flipped open his eyes and the color hit her like a pair of head lights.

Red. Ruby red. As dark as Human blood. The pupil in the middle was black. In a state of true Blood Rage they would have been blocked out.

“Niles Fury, I’m Haley Night.”

He went still, staring at her with a dark expression. Males in the Tank never looked at her like that. Haley made herself turn her head. She smoothed out her skirt, adjusted her blazer, then pulled the file out of her brief case and set it down on the table. Niles Fury didn’t even breathe.

Get a grip. You deal with Males every day in the Tank. Niles Fury is just like all the rest.

But sitting here in front of him, she knew something was different. Haley cleared her throat.

“I was hoping you’d still be willing to help the D.A. with a couple of things. I brought files.” She tried to carry on but found herself watching him and wondering if he was even real.

Then he took a breath. One long slow inhale. It was like someone popped his top and poured life back into him. Niles blinked once. The movement looked artificial, like maybe he sat up late at night practicing in front of a mirror, trying to look more Human.

He needed practice. Lots and lots of practice.

Niles Fury was the kind of Kin that pissed Haley off. It was Kin like him that kept the rest of them in the dark ages: feared, hated, and generally despised. His selfish, pompous nature hurt the entire race. The Old Ones tended to be that way--stuck in their arrogance, unable to accept the times and quit eating the public.

And all that fed was prejudice.

But in four days, his reign of terror would come to an end. His death would save a lot of Human lives and, if the rumors were true, put a serious dent in the illegal flesh trade within the city.

Niles had evaded the Bureau for well over seventy-five years. Ever since they first caught wind he was here in the US, there had been a warrant out for his head. As technology got better, they got closer. Then six months ago, he’d been subdued. Maybe his death would set an example. For a people who believed in nothing after life, death could be an incredible motivator.

“Why are you here?” His words were accented with Olde Tongue, but his English was perfect. Mix that with his deep baritone and James Earl Jones might as well have been Mickey Mouse.

Maybe he’d forgotten about the appointment he’d made with the D.A. Oh, since yesterday?

“I told you I...”

Niles Fury cut her off. “You’re not supposed to be here.”

There was an odd lilt to his voice. Fear? If he had been any other Kin, maybe. But this was Niles Fury. Fear? Yeah. Right. Haley wasn’t even part of the Dens and she knew about his reputation.

His arms flexed and the chain rattled. Heat rolled off his body and the air ignited with the scent of burning Alchemist magic. The Oisis pin in his back kept him from showing any of his Kin self.

Niles bared his teeth. Human teeth.

Haley managed not to roll her eyes. Barely. She was used to the theatrics. Lots of Kin liked to flash scales and teeth. While it was illegal to Shift outside of designated fly zones, a little show and tell was expected. A social display that was practically a language all its own.

“You’re not supposed to be here,” he said again.

“I heard you the first time.” Haley spread out the reports she wanted him to look over, all of them unsolved homicides associated with the flesh trade. Some worse than others. The M.O.’s made it unlikely any of them were his, but if Niles could identify some of the bodies, maybe even name some of the people who were responsible, he could do something productive for once in his miserable life.

“I agreed to speak with one of the Bureau
Chetrah
. Not. You.”

Haley tried not to wince.
Chetrah
was common enough Olde Tongue slang that even Humans had learned what it meant. Food. More precisely, “sweet meat”. Throwing the word around in public was like an Aryan poster boy screaming the “N” word at a NAACP convention.

“I’m here because you scared the A.D.A into pissing his pants, and now no one else will come down here and talk to you.” She pushed the first file under his right hand. “I’m all you’ve got. It’s just you and me.” Haley smiled and folded her hands.

Niles shut his eyes.

* * * * * * *

This was bad.

No, this is worse than bad.

Niles Fury tried to find some sense of calm, but there was just too much anger. Anger fueled him. Anger drove him. Anger had shielded him from the power of the Queens, and it had shielded him from the Alchemy the
Chetrah
used to try and control him.

Now, anger was quickly becoming his enemy. He’d planned on trying one last time to get out of here. His last attempt had failed. The A.D.A had been too weak-willed and Niles had pushed too hard.

The plan seemed simple. He’d agree to speak with one of the
Chetrah
and when they were close enough, he’d catch their mind. The problem was getting them close enough without shorting out their fear response. Unlike prey, he didn’t want them immobile. He just wanted them to do as he said. The only command he planned on giving them was to pull the pin out of his back. Simple enough. Even a monkey could do it. Or in this case,
homo sapiens
.

After the pin was out, he’d kill the
Chetrah
and use their blood and flesh to heal the damage he was going to endure getting out of this place. But he had to do it from here--from this room. Any deeper and he’d never make it to the surface and wind up consumed by his own fire.

And the plan would have worked.

Colonel Dobson would die and the lab below would be lost. Niles would be safe, his people would be safe, and so would she. But that wasn’t possible now. The plan had changed. Instead of the
Chetrah
with his briefcase, papers, and his stupid questions, it was the Female Niles Fury had been so careful to never meet. To never touch.

Haley’s scent clung to the roof of his mouth and the inside of his nose. It did things to him, things that scared him, things he couldn’t explain. In her presence, the anger inside him withered and cowered, leaving him helpless. That had only happened with one other, centuries ago, make that a millennia. It was stupid to think that there was rebirth after death just as it was stupid to think there were gods. Death was final, absolute. And yet...

Every atom, every molecule hummed in her presence. It always happened when Niles got too close. Just like before. Those were better times. The
Chetrah
knew their place in the world and had no Alchemy. His Brother felt it too, which was why they worked to protect her and keep the Queens at bay. The Queens didn’t fear his softer sibling, but they feared him. They feared the
Fury
he could bring down on them.

The pin in Niles’ back burned as his metaphysical energy surged. The
Ulysiss
gland between his shoulders felt like fire. It rivaled the starvation-fueled pain pricking over the rest of his body.

“When’s the last time you
fed
?”

Haley’s voice caused his hearts to jump, slamming the blood in his veins, and firing up all his senses. Niles opened his eyes and looked at her, captivated by her lack of perfection and her mastery at Humanness.

But then that’s what she’d
Impressed
on instead of a Queen. No wonder she was so much like them. Haley’s movements, her voice, her eyes and mouth conveying emotion just like the
Chetrah
. If it wasn’t for her scent, she could pass for one. The idea repulsed and intrigued Niles Fury all in one breath.

Haley’s hand moved near his and he held very still. Niles didn’t know what he would do if she touched him. But touch was what he craved, what he needed. His starved metaphysical side screamed for it and clawed at his insides begging to be let out.