Eternal Prey (14 page)

Utah thought that not much managed to unsettle the prince.

Fin shrugged. “I am what I am. I don’t think it’s relevant to this discussion.”

“Perhaps I don’t feel it necessary for you to know why I’m here.” Kione leaned back in his chair.

Fin smiled, the smile Utah knew meant he wouldn’t rip your head off right now, but he was keeping future options open.

“You want me to play a guessing game?” Fin raised one brow. “I suppose I can do that.”

Greer emerged from the kitchen carrying a tray. He unloaded a pot of fresh coffee and a plate of pastries onto the table.

“This is Greer.” Fin didn’t seem to have any trouble meeting Kione’s gaze.

But then Utah couldn’t imagine Fin feeling any kind of sexual compulsion. He was too controlled, too cold, too . . . Utah abandoned that line of thought. What his leader felt wasn’t Utah’s business.

Greer offered each of them a tight nod and a piercing stare. Greer might look small and harmless, but Utah knew what lived in him. He’d bet on Greer in most fights.

“Greer is Otherkin. His soul is tiger, but it’s trapped forever in his human body.” Fin watched Greer return to the kitchen before turning back to Kione. “But most of us are trapped in some way, aren’t we?”

For just a moment, Utah had the feeling Fin was talking about himself. Crazy.

Fin studied Kione. “I know Adam doesn’t have the power to command your obedience, so you’re here for some other reason.” He looked thoughtful. “It has something to do with Jude. He said ‘they’d’ be here in a few hours.”

Kione’s gaze sharpened. “You were there?”

Fin looked at Utah. “He was there. I heard through his mind.”

The fae prince sent Utah a contemptuous glance. “You allow him to use you like that, raptor?”

Utah didn’t give Fin a chance to answer. “ ‘Allow’ is the operative word. He’s my leader. There are things he needs to know.” The incident with Zero was still fresh in his mind.

Fin leaned forward. “What did Jude mean by ‘they’?”

“His five vampires.” Lia jumped into the conversation. “Their clan was attacked centuries ago. They were the only survivors. The clan was so feared that no one would claim them. If Jude hadn’t taken them in, the rest of the vampire world would’ve destroyed them.”

Fin looked back at Kione. “What’s between you and these vampires?”

For a moment, Utah thought Kione would refuse to answer. Finally, he exhaled deeply.

“The fae forces of the unseelie court fought and destroyed their clan. I led those forces.”

Kione calmly poured his coffee and then added so much sugar and cream that Utah figured it couldn’t possibly taste like coffee anymore.

“And how did the vampires repay you?” Fin’s eyes gleamed with fascinated interest.

Kione put his cup down. “Why do you want to know?”

“You helped us back in Philadelphia. You could help us here. I take care of those who line up on our side.”

“I don’t line up on anyone’s side unless it suits me.” Kione didn’t reach for his coffee again.

Fin nodded. “I understand.” He waited a heartbeat. “Al told me about his meeting with you in Philadelphia. And about your . . . problem. Show me.”

Utah looked at Lia. She shrugged.

“Al talks too much.”

Utah thought it would end there. So Kione surprised him when he pushed back his chair and stood. And without saying another word, he opened his cloak to expose his bare chest.

What the hell? Every inch of Kione’s chest was covered with angry red welts. The damn things almost looked like they were pulsing, as though they had a life of their own.

“What happened to you?” Lia’s voice was soft with sympathy, her eyes wide in horror.

Kione pulled his cloak around him and sat back down. Everything about him, from his stiff back to his thinned lips, said,
I don’t want your sympathy. Leave me alone
.

Kione kept his gaze averted from Lia. “The five surviving vampires cursed me for my part in the slaughter. I’ve carried the marks ever since.”

“And now?” Fin looked thoughtful.

“Jude will tell them I’m here. They’ll come for me.” Kione’s smile was the coldest thing Utah had ever seen. “And I’ll destroy them. Once they’ve all met their final death, the curse will be broken.”

“Why didn’t you destroy them before this?” Fin never broke eye contact with Kione.

How was he doing that? Just thinking about meeting the fae prince’s gaze made Utah want to do wildly erotic things to Lia’s body.

“I didn’t know where they were. I finally found them in Philadelphia with Jude, but I wasn’t in any condition to fight. When I went searching for them again, they’d scattered and dropped off my radar. I knew Jude was the key. If I kept following him, he’d eventually call them to him. Now it’s happened.”

Utah wanted to know why Kione had helped destroy the vampire clan, but he decided now wasn’t the time to ask. He let Fin do the questioning.

“Why do you wear the cloak without a shirt?” Fin took a sip of his coffee.

“The pain was . . . bad, but I finally found a wizard who sold the cloak to me. He’d woven a powerful spell into it. The cloak eases the pain a little, but it has to be touching my skin.”

Fin stood. “If I take away the pain, will you agree to help us find Seven?”

Lia looked as startled as Utah felt. Could Fin do that? A familiar unease poked at him. None of the Eleven knew the extent of Fin’s power. At first, they’d thought he was like them, a man with the soul of a prehistoric predator. Well, they’d seen enough to know now that he wasn’t. Then what was he? And why was he with
them
?

Something flashed in Utah’s mind. An amorphous memory, half formed, of a time before he hunted as a raptor. A time when Fin was . . . Suddenly, pain stabbed at his head and the memory faded, leaving nothing but a feeling of horror. His heart pounded and his breath felt frozen in his chest. What the hell . . . ? Hadn’t this happened before? And each time he thought he’d snag the memory, it slipped his line.

Lia touched his arm. “Are you okay?” Her soft question calmed him.

“Yeah. I’m fine.” He took a deep breath.

Someone was watching him. Utah glanced up. Fin met his gaze. His eyes shone purple. Then Kione broke the connection.

“I can’t be bought.” Kione’s voice was tight, his words filled with a meaning that seemed to go beyond Fin’s offer.

Fin shrugged. “I’m not trying to buy you. I’m simply offering a temporary partnership. We’re trading favors.”

Utah almost snorted. Right. Fin was trying to buy him.

Surprisingly, Kione didn’t reject him outright. “I have healing skills, but I couldn’t take away my own pain.”

“I’m outside the realm of experience for those who cursed you. They won’t have fashioned their curse with me in mind.” Fin motioned for the unseelie prince to come stand in front of him. Kione hesitated, but then walked to the head of the table.

“Remove the cloak.”

“First tell me what you’re going to do.”

Fin looked impatient. “I’m going to take away the pain. I can’t do anything about the welts, and I probably can’t take the pain away permanently. But you’ll be pain-free for a few weeks.”

Kione looked as though he wanted to ask more questions, but the promise of no pain even for a short time must’ve kept him quiet. He dropped his cloak from his shoulders.

Then Fin reached out and placed his palm flat against Kione’s chest. The dark fairy shuddered, but held still. From what he’d seen of Kione so far, Utah guessed that not many people had ever touched him. He had his keep-away vibe dialed to high at all times.

Fin tensed. His face lost all color, skin stretched tight over jaw and cheekbones, every plane thrown into stark relief. He didn’t say anything. He didn’t ask for help. His eyes shaded from deep purple to almost black.

Fin was in pain. Agonizing pain. Utah’s beast sensed it even if Fin said nothing. And the instinct to protect a pack mate kicked in. If Fin was hurting, that must mean he was drawing Kione’s pain into himself.

Utah moved to his leader’s side. How many times had Fin saved the butts of different members of the Eleven? He never asked for thanks, and no one had ever stepped up to help him. Utah wasn’t sure what he could do, but maybe he could siphon off some of Fin’s pain. It was worth a try.

Utah clasped Fin’s free hand. Pain hit him like the slap of an icy wave on a winter’s day. He gasped and fought the urge to drop Fin’s hand. God, how had Kione lived with this? Cramps doubled him over, tearing his breath from his body and almost bringing tears to his eyes. The pain sliced through his veins like a jagged knife and stabbed at his head. He fought down the need to scream. Fin was taking the worst hit, and he still stood strong.

Suddenly, when he thought he couldn’t take it for one more second, he felt someone clasp his hand. Through the black wall of pain crushing him, he recognized her. He took strength from the warmth of her skin pressed against his, the sense of comfort it brought, and the gradual easing of the agony.

And when he felt her clench against the pain flowing into her, he squeezed her hand, hoping he was giving back some of the comfort along with the hurt.

After what seemed like years, Utah could finally think past the torture. He was sweating. Everyone dropped hands, and he sat down next to Lia. He still shook from reaction as he automatically put his arm across her shoulders. “Thank you” seemed inadequate, so he said nothing to her. “How the hell did you live with that, Kione?”

“I retreated into madness until I found the one who sold me the cloak.” He stared at Fin. “The bargain is struck.” Then he looked at Lia and Utah, careful not to make eye contact. “I owe you.”

“Tor is waiting in the hall. He’ll find a shirt and jacket for you.” Fin’s color was returning.

“I’ll accept the shirt, but the cloak stays with me.” He picked it up. “I can’t take the chance of losing it.” A pause. “I’ll need it again once Seven is gone.”

He didn’t smile as he turned to leave the room. “I’ll wait for you outside. I need to be alone for a while. I don’t even remember the last time I didn’t feel pain, and I want to see what the world looks like without it.”

Utah fought to maintain cold detachment. He couldn’t do it. And that scared him. All these emotions—desire for Lia, sympathy for Kione, worry for Fin—were messing with his main agenda. He didn’t want
anything
to dilute his hatred for all things vampire.

Utah didn’t watch Kione leave. He studied Fin. “Are you okay?”

Fin nodded. “Thanks to both of you for pitching in. The pain was more than I expected.”

Lia shuddered, and Utah tightened his grip on her shoulders. He felt the exact moment when she gathered herself together, when she didn’t need him anymore. He dropped his arm, and found he regretted the loss.

“Well, that was an experience. Never want to repeat it.” She brushed a few strands of hair away from her face. “I have a few things to do in my room. Give a shout when you need me.”

How about now?
Utah bit his bottom lip and concentrated on the pain. Sex wasn’t on the afternoon’s agenda.

Fin nodded.

She didn’t glance at Utah as she left the room. He watched the sway of her hips with unblinking intensity. His beast also watched. For once they were on the same page.

When he finally forced his thoughts away from Lia and into the moment, Utah realized Fin was watching him.

“I don’t give a damn about Adam’s rogue, but you have to keep him happy. So I think we can combine the search for the vampire with the one for Seven.”

“You’re going to follow up on Seir’s tip?”

“Yes.”

“You trust Seir?”

“No. But that doesn’t mean I can afford to ignore any leads, even from him.” Fin wrapped his fingers around his coffee cup. “The heat feels good. Pain is too damn cold.”

“I’m listening.”

“I looked up Burnside Bridge online. It’s right in the geographical center of Portland. A good jumping-off spot for any place in the city. Seven would be smart to headquarter near there. We know that Seven is recruiting nonhumans. I’d be willing to bet that a lot of the missing vampires are going to Seven and not to Adam’s rogue.” He turned to stare out the window, his reflection forming a silver halo framed by darkness.

Utah wasn’t into symbolism, but the reflection seemed somehow fitting. “So let’s hear your idea.”

Fin motioned him over to an open laptop sitting on a side table. “I pulled up records showing where the biggest recent spike in homicides has been. It’s probably a lot more than the police know because most of the bodies haven’t been found.” He pointed to a spot on the Google Map filling the screen. “There. Burnside Bridge. We’ll do a sweep and see how many vampires we catch in our net. And if we bag a few other entities, that’s fine too. Seven isn’t just recruiting vampires. And if we find Adam’s Chris, it’s icing on the cake. But information about Seven is our priority.”

“And how do we catch a lot at one time?”

Fin shut down the computer. “We provide bait.”