Darkness Taunts (18 page)

I could feel my temper rising at the memory of our fight over that and forced myself to focus on my surroundings. As we moved south we came up on Aurora Harbor. Small buildings that must have been used to house fishing supplies and other cargo dotted the marina. Numerous boats of all sizes and types were docked along the wooden walkways. Beyond the Gastineau Channel I could see the mountains rising from Douglas Island. They were beautiful.

My senses lit up as soon as we moved toward the next harbor. I’d yet to detect any of the sensors Elden said were here, but now all five of them were gathered to the east of us. I pulled out my map to get an idea of where they stood. A quick scan told me they had to be at Cope Park. What would they be doing there? More importantly—how soon would they pick up on me being with Lucas?

“Stop the car,” I said.

The urgency in my voice must have penetrated his normally thick skull because he pulled off at the next harbor parking lot. I clutched the map in my hands and tried to think of what to tell him. The male sensors didn’t seem to be reacting to our presence so far, but with them in a park their lack of movement didn’t mean much. Not to mention my ability to pick on emotions was confined to a much smaller range—usually twenty to thirty feet unless I pushed really hard. Then it might get to a hundred feet, but we were still too far away for that.

Lucas parked the car and studied our surroundings, eyes alert. “Want to tell me why we’ve stopped?”

I exhaled a breath. This could go badly, but I had to tell him or we’d get too close and give ourselves away. “Um, what if I told you I’m not the only sensor in this town right now?”

He cursed. “Where?”

I pointed at the map. “They’re gathered at this park right now. I don’t think they’ve sensed us yet.”

He took the map from me and ran his finger across it. I could see him mentally calculating the distance. “How many of them are there?”

“Five,” I said, “but you can’t kill them.”

Lucas gave me a disgruntled look. “They’re all men?”

“Uh, yeah. How’d you know?”

“They’ve been known to turn up before.” His eyes narrowed. “What I’m more concerned about is that you don’t look nearly as surprised as you should be that they’re here.”

I cleared my throat and looked out the window. “One of them may have showed up at the mall the other day.”

“And you failed to tell me this because…?” His voice might have come out even and calm, but his emotions didn’t match.

“I’ve never met any men from my race before and didn’t want you running off to kill them.” I gave him an accusing glare. “It’s not like you have the best track record with that.”

We stared at each other, waging a battle with our eyes. Keeping up with the intensity in his almost drained me.

“Have I ever harmed Emily?” he finally asked.

“No, but even you wouldn’t stoop so low as to hurt an innocent kid. At least—I’d hope not.” I lifted my brows.

A muscle in his jaw ticked. “You have a very low opinion of me, sensor.”

I crossed my arms. “Are you saying you haven’t earned it?”

Lucas looked away this time. “Very well. We’ll discuss your lack of communication later. We’ve still got a quarter of a mile before they notice us.”

“How do you know that?” I asked.

“If you studied your kind better, you’d know the males of your race sense things at half the distance of the females. No.” He held up his hand when I started to interrupt. “I don’t know why, but it has always been that way.”

“So what do we do?” I asked.

“I don’t want them to know we’re together yet. They’re more likely to reveal information if they think you’re on your own, but…” he paused and gripped my chin, “I’ll be watching you the entire time. One wrong move on their part, or yours, and I will step in. These are not good men. Do not trust them.” He let me go and I rubbed my jaw.

“I’m surprised they’re still alive if you are so familiar with them,” I said.

“I don’t know if I’ve met these particular sensors, but I’m well aware of their group’s activities and taken down a few of them in the past—when they got in my way. These men are the primary reason you continue to be harassed for what you are. They keep themselves well hidden, but their presence here can’t be ignored.”

I cocked my head. “I’m sure there are some interesting stories behind that. You’re really going to have to tell me about them later.”

His shoulders stiffened. “Sensor, I don’t have to tell you anything. You should be thankful I tell you as much as I do.”

A sigh escaped me. Maybe I could work it out of him eventually, but not while tensions between us were still so high. “Fine, tell me how you want to handle this.”

We spent the next few minutes detailing the plan before he flashed away. I’d be on my own for the next part, aside from him watching—however he did that.

I followed a narrow road to get to Cope Park. It had rails on one side to separate it from the drop off into Gold Creek. The city did their best to keep the snow clear for drivers, but there were still some rough spots that made the going slow.

Mount Roberts loomed above and numerous trees closed in the area so it was darker than the colorful neighborhood I’d passed through to get here. At the end it opened into a parking lot with snow packed around the edges. I parked in a reasonably cleared spot and headed toward a set of tennis courts. The main group of sensors were somewhere beyond that, but two of them had already begun heading toward me. I met them on a snow-covered path. Somewhere beyond the trees I knew there was another circle like the one at the mall, only bigger.

Elden gave me a weak smile. I wasn’t surprised he’d come since he’d have recognized my signature right away. A bulky man with a weather-worn face stood next to him. Grey streaked his auburn beard and what I could see of his hair underneath a black knit cap. Two sets of blue eyes stared back at me.

“Melena.” Elden nodded at me and gestured to the man beside him. “This is our group leader, Jerome.”

There was a subtle tension as we shook hands. Both guys were doing their best to keep their emotions in check, but I sensed a trace of annoyance coming from Jerome. His hard gaze and close study of me didn’t help the mood either.

“You shouldn’t be here,” he said.

I crossed my arms. “Why not? I sense the circle. It seems we both have a common interest in stopping this demon problem. There’s a chance I could help.”

“I don’t think so.” He shook his head. “Our guys have the training to handle this. It’d be too dangerous for you, but I’d be willing to meet with you later. I’m curious as to how you’ve stayed off our radar for so long.”

Like I was hiding or something. No point in telling him I’d spent years hoping to run into more of my kind. Now I had to hope the others were more like Elden. This guy wasn’t giving the group a good impression.

“Maybe I’ll consider meeting with you if you let me check out the circle. I’d like to see if it’s similar to the one at the mall.”

Both men stiffened. I could feel the tension ratcheting up a couple of notches.

“I told you it’s too dangerous,” Jerome said. Then he pulled a card from his wallet and handed it to me. “We got our hands full at the moment, but you can call us soon so we can set up a meet. Maybe we can work something out.”

Damn. They really didn’t want me getting near that circle. I needed to get closer to get a better sense of the magic powering it. Unlike the one at the mall, this one felt stronger—even from this distance. It had to have been in use recently, but I couldn’t be sure.

I lifted my brows. “Isn’t this the best chance to train me now when you could use the extra help? I’ve picked up a few tricks over the years and a little danger doesn’t bother me.”

 “That ain’t the only problem, darling,” Jerome said, scratching his beard. “We don’t know you. For all we know you’re in bed with the sups and acting as their spy. It wouldn’t be the first time it’d happened. Until we check you out, I ain’t letting you near my group of guys.”

That hit a little too close to home. I gave him an annoyed look. “You can’t really think I’d work with them?”

He shrugged. “That’s something we’ll have to check out for ourselves.”

“How do you plan to do that?” I asked.

Even more worrying—what would happen if they discovered that I was working with Lucas? I’d have to be on my guard constantly now. I needed to learn more about this group, but I couldn’t risk them finding out the truth.

“Well, darling,” Jerome said with a toothy grin. “If I told you how, you might be able to cover your tracks and we can’t be having that. I’ll be expecting your call the day after tomorrow. We should have more time to get to know each other better then.”

Elden gave me an apologetic look. It hurt that my own kind didn’t trust me, but it was even worse that they had good reason not to, whether they knew it or not. I had to see this through, though. If it turned out they weren’t as bad as Lucas made them out to be, it might be worth seeing if they could help me get away from the sups. I’d almost given up on doing it on my own.

“Fine,” I said. “I’ll give you a call and we’ll go from there.”

“Good girl. Now you should get out of here. It’s getting dark and it ain’t safe to be out once the sun goes down.”

I nodded at both men and headed back to the car. My senses told me they didn’t move until I’d left the parking lot.

I stopped off at a popular bar and grill once I got past the other sensors’ radar. They’d be busy in the park for a while longer and I hadn’t eaten since breakfast. The meal didn’t come cheap but it was good and it gave me the chance to stay out a little longer. Not that I was avoiding anyone in particular.

Darkness had long since descended by the time I got back to the cabin. Loud music flowed from the house. I went inside to find Micah rocking away with an electric guitar in the living room. All he had on was a pair of tight black jeans. I couldn’t help but think how much he reminded me of Lucas, except his muscles weren’t quite as heavy and he had all that long hair covering his face.

My feet came to a sudden halt. He wasn’t just playing, he was singing and sounding really good while he did it. Seeing a nephilim who’d walked the earth for over two millennia working a guitar and belting out the lyrics to “You Give Love a Bad Name” by Bon Jovi left me speechless. Who was this guy and how could he possibly share the same DNA as Lucas?

He glanced my way, but continued to sing without missing a beat. I moved over to my favorite chair by the window to sit down and watch. His fingers moved across the guitar as if he’d been playing for a long time, but I knew he’d been in “The Sleep” when this song came out. He’d said taking a break from the world rejuvenated immortals so they could pick up new things faster, but this blew me away.

When he finished, he set the guitar down and grabbed a bottle of water sitting on the coffee table. His throat worked as he gulped the liquid down. I looked away, feeling guilty that I was superimposing Lucas over him and fantasizing what he’d look like doing the same thing. Maybe after this was all over I’d find a good therapist. I seriously needed my head checked.

“When did you learn to play?” I asked when he finished.

He took a seat on the couch. “I’ve always been into music. You have to remember I was around for the rise of rock n’ roll. Now I’m just trying to catch up.”

“So you chose Bon Jovi as one of the first things to practice on?”

“Lucas recommended the band as a good place to start,” he said, shrugging.

“Does he play too?”

Micah chuckled and leaned back to put his arm on top of the couch. “He does with me, but he’s too much of a stick in the mud to let anyone else see him doing it.”

My mouth went dry. The fact I’d give my right arm to see him play said a lot for my mental state. I needed to remember my anger at the nephilim. Think of the bite, Melena. Think of the bite. Don’t let his brother change the way you see him.

“So you’re not just into being a healer, you play music too. Why is it Lucas can’t pick a hobby that don’t involve ripping people’s body parts off?”

“He’s always been a fighter, Melena. It’s just who he is. The more our father pushed us to live in peace with humans the more he rebelled against it. I chose to perfect my healing abilities because it allowed us to stay together whenever he went off to whatever battlefield caught his attention.”

“You didn’t get his thirst for blood?” I asked.

“Oh, I have it. I simply choose to pick my battles with more care. He lives and breathes for the fight.”

“Yeah, I’ve seen that first hand,” I said, yanking off my boots to get comfortable. “He definitely shows no mercy for his enemies.”

“He wouldn’t be so bad if you gave him a chance.”

“Easy for you to say. You haven’t seen the way he’s been around me over the years.”

“Whatever passed between the two of you before,” he said, focusing on the spot where his brother’s bite mark was currently covered up by my sweater, “he’s clearly changed the way he feels about you. If you stopped fighting him so much, you’d figure that out.”

I curled my legs into my chest. “It’s going to take a lot more than some mystical bite mark to prove he’s changed.”

 “Have you tried talking to him about it?” he asked.

“Uh, no. That’s the last thing I want to do.” It rated up there with shoving my hand into a meat grinder.

“I’m not going to tell you I’m a fan of you two ‘hooking up’.” Micah used finger quotes to emphasize his point. “It’s dangerous in more ways than you can imagine, but if there’s one thing I’ve learned over the years it’s that some things are inevitable. You’re making yourselves miserable the longer you resist your attraction to each other.”

“The only thing Lucas and I will ever have together is a desire to kill one another. There is nothing to resist.”

The left side of his lips quirked up. “You keep telling yourself that and maybe one day you’ll believe it. Personally, I think if the two of you would just fuck already it would save us all some grief.”