Eternal Hearts (44 page)

All at once, Toni felt a cool, serene calm wash over her. She had no clue what just happened, and didn’t understand why she’d gotten mad when she really wasn’t.

She stared up at
Molenyar
. If he was who he said he was, the last thing she should’ve ever done was yell at him. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to yell at you. I don’t know…”

“Your blood recognized mine, and in turn grew excited.” When she frowned, he raised a hand. “It’s not the same as becoming aroused. The magical properties in your blood became excited. It happens when a Fledgling comes into contact with a true Ancient.”

Confusion replaced his proposed excitement. “But Clint’s an Ancient and so is Derek. It didn’t happen when I met them.” She paused for a moment when she recalled what he’d said earlier. “And what did you mean by ‘Her depth of emotion is ours’?”

He smiled again. “Clint and Derek may be old, even
Ancient
in terms of years they’ve spent awake and walking. However, they have much to learn and much to see before they can truly be considered Ancient.” He rested a hand on her shoulder, which immediately warmed and tingled from the contact. “I apologize if my proximity bothered you. I only meant to give you this.” He reached up, removed a katana from the wall and held it out towards her. “This blade suits you. It once belonged to a Japanese Princess who fancied herself a fighter.”

Toni took the blade and tested the weight, completely oblivious to the fact he hadn’t answered her entire question. She was more focused on how much lighter the blade was
than
she’d expected, and how well it fit in her hand. As her eyes followed the line of the edge, she noticed a group of symbols faintly etched into the metal. “What do the marks mean?”

“The Princess resigned herself to the life of a warrior after her family was murdered by a rival family. She sought me out, recounted her tale of betrayal and how she’d chosen the road of revenge, thus I engraved the sigils for revenge and death into the blade itself. Unfortunately, before she was able to carry it into battle, she met her end. The blade has never been used. To this day, its purpose remains unfulfilled.”

Toni traced the symbols with her fingertips. She knew the painful, all consuming feeling of losing her family, and also knew just what it felt like not to get revenge. “How did she die?”

“Days before she was to lead her army into battle, she was captured by a member of the rival family. Instead of allowing them the satisfaction of ending her life, she took it herself.”

Toni shook her head. “She was a brave woman.”

“I’m not an advocate of suicide, yet I think in her case I would agree with you. In her situation, she was given no option for an honorable fight. She found herself alone, unarmed, and chose the best option she was presented with to deny her captures what they sought most, knowing they would murder her, or far worse.”

A chill ran the length of Toni’s spine as she considered the blade. If she had to use it on the werewolves or Stryker, either way she’d get some kind of revenge. Revenge on Stryker for selling out her family, and the werewolves for killing Alexander.

She studied the blade for another moment then nodded. “I’ll take it. How much do I owe you?”

He waved a large hand. “I require nothing more than a promise. Swear to me you’ll only draw the blade when you truly mean it…and it’s yours.”

“I promise.” She sheathed the blade and smiled up at him when she realized he was watching her. “Did I do something wrong?”

His gray eyes took on a distant, almost glassy sheen. “While I can’t tell you exactly what will happen, I ask that you be cautious, Toni. This…situation you’ve found yourself in…isn’t by mere chance. It has been orchestrated by those you cannot see, those I pray you never meet.”

She frowned when his eyes flashed a bright shade of blue before changing back to their normal color. “Is something bad gonna happen to me?”

He turned, walked back to the fire and picked up the still glowing piece of steel he’d been holding before. “Truthfully, I do not know. I wish you well in your battle, Toni Tutoro, Fledgling of the Warrior line.”

Sensing he had nothing more to say, Toni nodded at him. “Thanks for the sword,
Molenyar
. Have a good night.” When he gave a curt nod then went back to working, she slipped between the doors and headed back to her car.

Toni hadn’t even gotten the car door fully open before her cell phone started vibrating its way toward the edge of the passenger seat. She slid the katana into the backseat, dropped down into the driver’s seat, and then picked up the phone.
“Yeah?”

“I just finished talking to Murdoch,” Dominic growled in her ear. “Meet me back at the hotel as soon as you can.”

“What’s wrong? Why do you sound so pissed?”

“I got some new information. We’ve got more dogs.”

She tipped her head back against the seat and groaned. “More?”

“Yeah, it’s a
fuckin
’ kibble party.”

“Great. Okay, I’ll be there in about twenty minutes.”

“See ya then.”

Toni stared down at her phone when it clicked before she could say goodbye. Her brother didn’t sound overly happy. But then again, so far, he’d yet to actually sound happy.

She considered the last couple hours of her life as she started her car. Dominic really didn’t smile much, either. But in his defense, his life hadn’t been exactly easy. Apparently, that was something else they shared.

When life gets you down, drive faster.
Toni nodded in response to her thoughts. After pulling out of the driveway, she shifted her car into drive and slammed her foot down on the gas. As she sped back towards the city of Chicago proper, she couldn’t help but to wonder if her brother drove fast, too.

***

“Is there anything else I can do for you, Drake?”

Drake smiled at Lisa, who stood near the table by the front door with her hands planted firmly on her hips, shooting him a motherly glare. “No, you’ve done a great job. Everything looks awesome. I can’t believe how much better you made it look. I wasn’t sure how the whole maid thing worked when I called, but I really appreciate everything you did.”

She smiled at him. “Not a problem, Honey. Would you like to set up something a little more regular? I can have a maid who cooks stop by one…maybe seven times a week?”

Drake caught his bottom lip between his teeth. “Yeah, there were a few pizza boxes weren’t there?”

She brushed a speck of dust from her shoulder. “More like sixty, if you want the truth.” He thought he’d almost escaped it, but up flew her index finger, which she then shook in his general direction. “You should eat healthier food, Drake. No man can survive on pizza and beer alone.”

He laughed at that. She knew damn well what he could survive on. “Let me talk to Toni and see what she wants to do. I plan on asking her to move in with me as soon as she finishes up the task Locke put her on.”

Lisa lowered her accusing finger as she burst into an ear to ear grin. “I heard you were finally taking the big step. Congratulations!”

“Thanks. I just hope she likes the place.”

She flashed a knowing smile. “I’m sure she will. I had a long talk last night with
your
…” She trailed off when a gust of icy cold wind blasted through the room.

Drake chuckled when Odin suddenly appeared a few feet away from Lisa. “And here Raze was worried you got yourself stuck in the Triangle again.”

Odin grinned.
“Oh, hell, no.
I’m not going back there again.
At least…not by myself anyway.”
He straightened when Lisa picked her purse up from the table. “Uh, I’m not wearing armor…it’s just a black suit. My eyes aren’t blacked-out either, they’re blue. I look just like any normal guy you’d see on the street, so you don’t need to think about me later.”

Lisa slung her purse over her shoulder then reached out and patted Odin’s arm. “Whatever makes you feel better at the end of the day,
Honey.
” She smiled as she blew Drake a kiss. “I think I’ll leave you and your friend here alone. Have a good night, Babe.”

“You too, Lisa,” he said as she stepped around Odin and headed out the door.

Drake burst out laughing when the door closed and Odin’s head jerked from side to side, as if he thought the entire place would crumble at any moment. “She just left, Drake. That woman just left and my Jedi mind tricks didn’t work on her. Oh…that’s so not good.”

Drave waved at him. “Don’t worry about Lisa, man. She’s cool.”

Odin cocked his head. “Are you sure?”

“Yeah.
You’re good. So where ya been?”

He scanned the room again, but this time it looked more like he expected someone to jump out of the shadows and grab him. “I’m not really supposed to be here right now,” he said in a much quieter voice than usual, “but Dad wasn’t looking so I snuck out. I just wanted to tell you that you really need to keep an eye on Toni, because she’s about to—”

“Odin, you need to leave right now,” a very familiar and commanding voice scolded from the dark hallway a few feet to
Odin’s
left. “You know damn well you’re not supposed to be here.”

“But Justin…somebody needs to tell him!” Odin argued, much the way a child would about going to bed early. “And he’s my friend…I can’t just sit back and not say anything!”

Drake stared between
Odin,
and his own Dad when he stepped out of the shadows at the end of the hall. “What the hell are you two talking about? What’s going on with Toni now?”

“Odin, get out.”

“But Justin—”

“No, Odin. Go home before I tell your Sire where you’re at. We both know what he’ll do if he catches you interfering with this, which is exactly why he locked you in the castle in the first place.”

“Fine…but I’ll remember this, Justin.” Odin had no more than spit the words out when yet another blast of cold wind raced across the room.

When Odin disappeared, Drake glared over at the man who, if someone didn’t know them, they might mistake for his twin brother, save the black moustache and goatee speckled with gray. “What the fuck is going on?”

“Watch your mouth, Drake.”

Drake thought about the action for a second, reconsidered the thought for a moment, and then decided he didn’t really care about the consequences. “You know what, Dad? No. I’m not gonna watch my mouth this time. Because you obviously know something about what’s going on with Toni…and you’re either just really fucking late to the party…or you knew all along and decided not to tell me – which I think is absolute bullshit!”

“Drake, there are a lot of things I know about that I’ve decided not to tell you.” He leaned against the wall and folded his scarred arms over his chest. “And when it comes to what’s going on right now, I still feel the same way. I know it’ll probably piss you off, but I’m sorry…there are just some things in this world I don’t want you to be a part of. And I’ve made it very clear to the parties involved that I expect it to stay that way.”

Drake let out a spiteful laugh. “Oh, so you’re completely comfortable with me following in your footsteps as an assassin, but you won’t let me in on whatever’s happening to my girlfriend? Yeah, that makes a lot of fucking sense to me.”

“It doesn’t have to make sense to you.”

“I hate it when you say that.”

“Look, Toni doesn’t need your help right now. She just got reunited with her older brother, thanks to Clint, and she even has a sword forged by
Molenyar
in case something goes wrong. I think even through the red haze probably clouding your vision right now that you’d agree she’s in pretty good shape and doesn’t need you attached to her side.”