Darkness Rises (Immortal Guardians) (18 page)

He shook Sean’s hand. “I’m glad you’re both safe and have decided to join us tonight. The events of the past twenty-four hours have caught us off guard. You, too, I understand. But we’ll sort it all out together.”

The sister and brother shared a look.

“Okay,” Krysta said.

David turned to Sean. “No, we aren’t vampires. Étienne told you the truth. We’re immortals and I’m sure Dr. Lipton would be happy to discuss all of the medical intricacies of our differences with you.” He looked at Krysta. “Yes, I’m reading your thoughts. The safety of everyone under my roof is my responsibility and I wish to ensure you mean them no harm. And, no, Étienne was not lying when he said he couldn’t read your mind. You have very strong natural defenses, but I’m older and more powerful, so they proved minor obstacles for me.”

Is she attracted to me?
Étienne asked before he could stop himself. It was odd, not being able to freely access her thoughts and he was eager to confirm what the little glimpses he had managed thus far had told him.

“Yes,” David answered aloud, “she’s attracted to you.”

Krysta frowned at Étienne and popped him on the arm. “That’s not fair.”

David turned to Sean. “No, Étienne isn’t brainwashing her. And this isn’t a total clusterfuck. Chris Reordon has already taken steps to purchase the home you rent so the two of you won’t have to worry about the landlord giving you grief. Our cleanup crews are salvaging all of your possessions that they can and are packing them up for you so you can move into a new place—a safe house of your choice—once we’ve squelched this latest threat. I know it will take some time to earn your trust, but whether you wish it to be true or not, you’re one of us. We were all
gifted ones
like you before we were transformed. And we take care of our own.”

“They’re
gifted ones?
” Lisette exclaimed with glee.

“Yes,” David said, then addressed Krysta. “And no, Étienne isn’t messing with your head. You have totally captivated him.”

“Damn,” Sheldon said. “This is better than a soap opera. Maybe we should start an Immortal Guardians reality show and air it on theimmortalguardians.com.”

David ignored him. “Won’t you please join us in the dining room?”

Darnell and Cam had already seated themselves, Darnell taking the seat closest to this end and Cam the one next to him. Sean sat next to Cam. Étienne held the chair next to his for Krysta until she was seated, then claimed the one between her and Lisette.

David took the seat catty-corner to Darnell at this end of the table.

Darnell retrieved his cell phone and dialed. Étienne heard Seth answer.

“Yes?”

“All set.”

Darnell ended the call and put away his phone.

Seth appeared at the opposite end of the table.

Sean and Krysta jumped, startled by his sudden appearance.

“Thank you all for coming. Krysta and Sean, we appreciate your joining us. I’m Seth, the leader of the Immortal Guardians.”

“Nice to meet you,” they murmured.

He took his seat. “Étienne, would you formally introduce our guests?”

Krysta listened carefully and tried to memorize every name and face as Étienne introduced her and Sean to the group. It was a relief to see other humans present. Or
gifted ones
. She wasn’t sure how to tell those apart. But she could tell by their auras that there were almost as many mortals present as there were immortals.

Her gaze slid to Seth, whose aura glowed that brilliant white, then to David, whose aura did the same, but had a tiny sliver of purple mixed in. The other immortals had a pretty equal mix of white and purple.

She looked at the small redhead—Ami?—who sat beside Seth. Her aura was unlike anyone else’s. It contained the same color variations of humans and
gifted ones
, but had little sparkly things in it, as if the stars in the night sky were peeking through a rainbow. It was beautiful and very peculiar. What was she?

Seth and David’s auras were different because . . .

Actually, she wasn’t sure. Was it because they were so old? Or were there other supernatural beings? Étienne seemed sure they were immortals, yet . . .

Those auras.

“Let’s begin,” Seth said when the roll call of names ended.

Chris cleared his throat. “Before we get started, there’s an issue we need to discuss.”

Seth motioned for Chris to continue. “What’s on your mind, Chris?”

Chris’s gaze circled the table. “My goal is the same as the network’s: To protect you. It’s why I scrutinize so carefully every member of the network before hiring him or her. It’s why every Second is handpicked. If even
one
person leaks the truth to the media, in this information age in particular, it is hell to clean up and counter. Every year, with every new gadget and fucking cell phone with apps that can realign the damned planets, it gets harder. We can’t afford to make a single mistake.”

“What’s your point?” Ethan asked.

“My point is I can’t protect you if you keep hiding your girlfriends from me.”

Every eye swung toward Krysta.

She glanced around. “Why is everyone looking at me?”

Silence.

“Oh. Oh, no. I’m not Étienne’s girlfriend. We just . . . hunt together . . . sort of. It’s not like we’re dating or . . . We haven’t slept together or anything . . . I mean we
slept
together . . . twice, actually . . . but we didn’t—”

“You aren’t helping,” Étienne murmured.

She clamped her lips shut. What a time to find out she babbled when she was nervous.

“He has a point,” Roland spoke. “Étienne hid this woman from us—”

“The woman has a name,” Krysta interjected.

“—and Richart hid both Jenna and her son from us. Every mortal is a potential threat.”

Chris frowned. “Says the immortal who threatened to kill me if I went anywhere near Sarah when you two got together.”

“That was different.”

“How?”

“You’ve all said it a thousand times. I’m an untrusting, antisocial bastard.”

“No, you aren’t,” Sarah protested and glared at the others. “Stop saying that.”

Roland continued. “Anyone who can win
my
trust deserves it. Besides, she saved my ass. Twice.”

“Technically,” Krysta said, “I saved Étienne’s ass.”

“After I risked it to save you.”

“That’s true. I thanked you for that, right?”

Chris waved his hands. “It doesn’t matter who saved whose ass. The point is every mortal poses a threat. Especially now. If you don’t let me interro—ah, interview these women, you place everyone in danger, because sooner or later someone always trusts the wrong person.”

“True,” Seth murmured.

“Ah
hah!
” Richart blurted at the same time. “You were going to say interrogate! I knew it! That’s why I kept Jenna a secret!”

Chris swore beneath his breath as Roland and Étienne both nodded. “Okay,
maybe
, in the past, I
might
have been a tad harsh when ensuring that an immortal’s lover could be trusted. But can you blame me? Look what happened to Mattheus.”

“Who the hell is Mattheus?” Roland grumbled.

“Mattheus got screwed?” Tracy said. “That sucks. He’s so hot.”

“Who’s Mattheus?” Sheldon seconded.

“He’s an immortal from Brazil,” Chris said. “His mortal lover, whom he thought was completely trustworthy, videotaped them having sex—”

“Awesome!” Sheldon interjected with a grin.

Everyone looked at him.

“What? I like porn.”

Still they stared.

He frowned. “I have to give up booze, parties,
and
porn? Can’t a Second have
any
vices?”

Chris sighed. “Anyway. She videotaped them having sex and intended to auction it off to news outlets once it had been authenticated by an expert who would swear the glowing eyes, fangs, and . . . ah . . . unusual speed and other things demonstrated were not special effects produced by a post-production house.”

“Maybe they were,” Sheldon suggested somberly. “Maybe she was out to discredit him. I think we should all watch it and—”

“The tape has been destroyed,” Seth cut in.

“Damn.” Sheldon slumped down in his seat.

Chris met Richart’s gaze. “Anytime you want me to get rid of him . . .”

Richart shook his head. “He amuses me.”

“Chris does have a point,” Seth said, returning to the subject at hand.

At the opposite end of the table, David nodded. “We have seen it countless times. This is a lonely existence that can sometimes drive us to trust where we should not.”

“Chris,” Seth continued, “perhaps if you allowed the immortal to be present when you met with his lover, he would no longer feel wary of your possible treatment of her.”

“Or him,” Lisette tossed in.

Étienne raised his eyebrows.

“What? I can’t date?”

“Fine,” Chris said. “If any of you acquire a lover with whom you wish to share the truth, you can be present when I meet with her. But I
do
need to meet with her. Or him. If you’d consent to a telepath being present or listening in from the next room, all the better.”

When no one spoke, Seth spoke for them. “They’ll take it into consideration.” The casual words carried the weight of an order. “Is that all, Chris?”

“For now, yes.”

Seth turned to Étienne. “So?”

“So?” he repeated.

David leaned forward and braced his elbows on the table. “Tell us what happened last night.”

 

 

Étienne hesitated. He wasn’t sure how to tell them without explaining Krysta’s role in it. And he thought it best to minimize that as much as possible.

No one seemed to have caught her reference to their hunting together. They had all been too titillated by the idea that he had been hiding away a girlfriend.

Which, as she had pointed out, was not to say that Krysta was his girlfriend.

You’re rambling
, David spoke in his head.

Étienne shot him a glance. Much to his surprise, the elder immortal seemed amused.
No, I’m not.

Yes, you are
, Seth said.

Is
everyone
listening to my thoughts?
he demanded with exasperation. His barriers were usually stronger than that.

No, just us,
David answered.

Go ahead and tell them what happened
, Seth advised.
We’ve already gleaned it.

Étienne leaned forward and braced his elbows on the table. “I was out hunting with Krysta—”

“Wait,” Chris interrupted. “You two really
do
hunt together?”

Étienne looked at Krysta, who shrugged. “In a manner of speaking.”

Chris threw up his hands. “Okay. Another point of business. Most of the immortals at this table are at least a hundred years old, so I didn’t think I had to remind any of you of this, but you
cannot
recruit your own Seconds.
All
Seconds must be assigned by the network, which thoroughly vets and trains them. What the hell, Étienne?”

Now Krysta leaned forward. “I’m not a Second.”

Before everyone could start bitching at once, Étienne held up a hand. “Krysta came to my attention a couple of weeks ago. I was out hunting and saw several vampires tracking her with the clear intention of preying upon her. Much to my surprise, however, the
vampires
turned out to be the prey. Krysta is a vampire hunter.”

“No way!” Sheldon blurted.

Étienne scowled at him. “As soon as I realized this, I began to follow her.” As swiftly as possible, he caught them up on his adventures with Krysta.

“No wonder you’ve been so distracted,” Lisette said, studying Krysta curiously.

Marcus frowned. “By vampire hunter you mean . . . ?”

“She hunts vampires. She lures them into traps, then dispatches them.”

“That’s impossible,” Ethan said.

Krysta stiffened. “Then I’ve been doing the impossible for six years.”

Disbelieving stares.

“Mortals can’t defeat vampires in battle,” Edward said.

“This one can,” Krysta insisted.

“Ami can,” Sheldon pointed out.

“Melanie could, when she was mortal,” Bastien added with a proud smile.

“But Ami and Melanie didn’t take them on alone,” Ethan said. “They fought by Marcus’s and Bastien’s sides.”

Marcus leaned forward and caught Ethan’s eye. “Ami wasn’t fighting by my side when she kicked your ass in that sparring session. And you’re faster than a vampire.”

Sheldon laughed. “Burn!”

Seth sighed. “We’re getting off topic here. I’ve examined Krysta’s thoughts. She has indeed been hunting vampires for the past six years with the help of her brother. And, before you ask, neither of them are members of the mercenary groups who keep troubling us. Her gift gives her an edge”—he held up a hand to stay him when Ethan opened his mouth again—“which I will not disclose. If Krysta wants you to know, she’ll tell you herself.”

Ethan stared at Krysta. A teasing gleam entered his eyes, making Étienne narrow his own as his hackles rose. Offering Krysta a flirtatious grin, Ethan said, “I’ll show you mine if you’ll show me yours.”

In a heartbeat, Étienne drew a dagger and threw it.

The hilt struck Ethan right in the center of his forehead, snapping his head back. “Ow! Shhhhit! What the hell, man?”

Krysta gaped up at Étienne, who squirmed as everyone at the table stared at him.

He cleared his throat, but didn’t know what to say. He hadn’t really meant to do that. He had just reacted.

“
Oh
yeah,” Sheldon said. “He has fallen and he has fallen hard.”

Snickers and head shakes all around.

“
Merde
.”

David held up a hand and called for quiet. “Please continue, Étienne.”

Eager to change the subject (Why did it seem to return so often to his being smitten with Krysta?), he told them about defeating the vampires, then being set upon by mercenaries.

No one reprimanded him for not getting the hell out of there as soon as he saw that first tranquilizer dart. That’s what they were supposed to do to avoid capture, but all understood his desire to protect Krysta.

Cam leaned forward and braced his elbows on the table, his attention on Krysta and Sean. “Thank you. You don’t know what they would have done to him if they had gotten their hands on him. If these are the same people we dealt with before—”

“I don’t see how they can be,” Melanie interrupted. “That threat was neutralized.”

Étienne shook his head. “These soldiers were very reminiscent of the others.” He related the events that followed at Krysta and Sean’s home.

A steady stream of curses and exclamations of disbelief accompanied him.

Marcus looked ready to snap, his fury fairly heating the room. “How the hell is this possible?”

Chris shook his head. “It must be a different group.”

“They have the fucking tranquilizer!” he shouted.

Ami placed a hand on his arm.

Étienne understood Marcus’s rage. The last mercenary group had included some of the monsters who had tortured Ami. And they had been eager as hell to get their hands on her again.

Cam shook his head. “We must have missed something.”

Seth shook his head. “We didn’t. Every mercenary who knew of our existence was either killed or had their memories wiped. And David and I saw to the latter ourselves.”

David nodded. “Darnell worked tirelessly with the network’s techno-geeks to expunge all mention of us, of vampires, and of Ami from their computers and servers.”

“And replaced it with malware,” Darnell added. “There’s no way they could recover those files.
I
couldn’t even recover those files.”

“And yet,” Roland said, “Étienne was tranqed and attacked by humans garbed as soldiers.”

“Could they be military?” Sarah asked, brow furrowed. “Could Emrys have gone to the military without our knowledge?”

Seth shook his head. “I would have seen it in his thoughts.”

“Donald and Nelson didn’t either,” David mentioned before anyone could ask.

Donald was the leader of the elite Private Military Company Emrys had drawn into his war with the immortals near the end. Nelson was Donald’s second in command or yes-man. Because their company was widely known by the public, killing the two men would have raised too many questions, so their memories had been erased instead and a story concocted—something about a couple of transport planes colliding in a freak accident—to explain the deaths of the soldiers slain by the immortals.

“So where does that leave us?” Cam asked.

Seth shook his head. “Without an explanation.”