Fae Chronicles 01 - Fighting Destiny (23 page)

"You left me," I cried feeling as I had the day I'd discovered his blood covering the floor of the parking garage and the walls. "I mourned you dammit," I growled with my chest heaving from the loss all over again.

"You buried nothing Syn, I taught you better. Never believe something is dead until you have seen it with your own eyes, poked it and sat on it for days."

"Oh my God!" Adam and Larissa said from behind me as they came to a stop as shocked now as I had been at Adrian's resurrection.

"You knew we were here," I whispered shocked at the knowledge that he was using the covens bond to track us, which meant someone very powerful had made it so we couldn’t feel him prying in on it. Someone was shielding him from us and had been since the day he'd died.

"I did, I needed to know if you let me go," Adrian whispered leaning his forehead against mine.

"You abandoned us willingly?" I whispered brokenly.

"It's hard to explain Fancy Face, dance with me?" He didn’t give me a choice as Gun's and Roses
Don't Cry
played through the clubs speakers. His hands wrapped around me holding me close as his lips played against my ear. It was the same song Billy had played last night at the cemetery.

"You need to tell me why Adrian, how could you do this?" I asked as my eyes searched and found Ryder's golden eyes narrowed on us with murder in their depths.

"Not here Syn, I'll come to you when you're alone and explain why I had to do this," his breath feathered over my skin making me shiver.

"You killed Belinda."

I didn’t ask him, I knew he had. No one else around us had the same crimson colored aura as Adrian did right now, not inside the club tonight anyways. He laughed but it was cold, sending a shiver racing down my spine at how hollow and empty it was. His tongue was hot, unlike the rest of him as he flicked my earlobe with it before nibbling on the tissue of my ear gently.

"I needed to get your attention Syn. Going through the Guild wasn’t an option and since you seem to be playing with the enemy lately. Knocking on your door wasn’t an option either."

"So you killed her to get to me?" I swallowed past the bile that pushed up with a vengeance as his words rocked through me.

"She was turning us onto inside information from the Guild Syn. Believe it or not I still love you enough to protect you. She was looking into you specifically. I found hundreds of pictures inside her apartment. Of you. We never asked her to look into you Syn, which means someone else had. When she wouldn’t give up the information, I took her out."

"And the bomb?" I snapped angry at everything happening around me.

"Had to make it look like the killer who keeps taking out immortals to get you to look into it and hopefully come here."

"You killed Rex, hell! You almost killed me Adrian," I whispered vehemently.

He stopped moving his eyes flashing with regret. "You don't normally go to crime scenes, how was I supposed to know you would've been there standing over the fucking body?"

"Next time call my fucking cell phone, or send a fucking letter Adrian, like normal fucking people do."

"Oh and what Syn? Oh by the way, I'm not dead and could you come with me because we found something that could, or couldn’t be from the serial killer? No, because I know you baby, you wouldn't have listened to anything I said without slamming the door in my face." He shouted making those around who hadn't been staring before, now do so.

"Well maybe if you would have kept your fucking pulse beating you wouldn’t have to hide in the fucking shadows!"

"I made a choice, I was given an ultimatum and I took it. I couldn't chance the coven' life and I couldn’t be with you because you wouldn’t either. This way, we can be together!" he was growling now his words coming out hard and sharp.

"Yea? Ever consider the fact that I don’t fuck dead things!? What did you think this would do? Did you even fucking think about asking me how I felt? Did you think we'd live happily ever fucking after if you did this?"

He smiled sadly and shook his head, "No Syn, nothing is that easy with you. I was given a choice, one that could ensure I'd be strong enough to protect you from the things that killed your parents. But hell maybe I was wrong since you're currently fucking one."

I slapped him before I could think better of it. The sound was audible and harsh over the song still playing. "Fuck you Adrian," I snarled seeing red at his words.

"If you're not fucking him Fancy Face, then why the fuck are you wearing his mark? Why the
fuck
are you shacked up in his fucking house? Explain why I felt you react to him more than once?"

"I buried you! I fucking mourned you Adrian. You have no fucking right to be pissed about anything I do or don’t do. Not anymore."

"You think I don’t want to leave you alone Syn? I've tried, believe me baby I've fucking tried and yet no one can replace you. Hell, they can't even come close to giving me what you have."

I felt more tears push at the back of my eyes but I refused to allow them to fall. This was too much, I had buried him and he'd been a few blocks from my apartment the entire time. He'd become something else entirely and he'd chosen to. I pulled further away from him which was harder than it should have been.

I wanted him to hold me, to tell me this was some sick and twisted joke and that he was human still, but he wasn’t. He lacked a pulse. "I came to find out if you guys had any bodies piling up Adrian."

"I just told you I wasn’t over you and you ask about dead bodies."

I turned and took the ashen color of Adam and Larissa. They were in shock which meant neither of them had known he was alive either. "I can't do this right now Adrian."

"No, you just don't think I am the same guy. Take me for a ride Syn, I promise it will be one you will never forget."

"Seriously? You want me to just forget that you pretended to be dead, or the fact that you left me and the coven you vowed to protect and you used us!" I was poking my finger into his solid chest with anger now. "Ride you? I want to kick your fucking ass Adrian! What you put us through is unforgivable."

His eyes started swirling as he moved closer to me, his movements that of the undead. Quick, deadly and calculating. "You belong with me Syn. You always will."

"No, I belonged with the Adrian I buried. The one I loved is dead. You had my heart, but you played it. You left me for them, not because you needed it. Not because of me," I swallowed and turned to Ryder, "Did you know he was alive?"

"No," Ryder replied with honesty.

I turned to face the Undead King, "You have my attention. I'm walking out of here in about two seconds, so if you have something to say I suggest you say it now."

Vlad searched my face intently before he spoke. "You might be a target for the serial killer. He sent us a female child. She's in the back of my club hidden. We have had nine born Vampires turn up with missing pieces. Your face was all over the news coverage for the Fairy that was killed. Adrian said you were different than the Witches at the Guild, was he wrong?"

I narrowed my eyes on Vlad, "Describe different."

"You are currently owned by Ryder, no coven has ever given one of their own over to the Fae and yet the Guild leader didn’t hesitate to hand you over, which is curious to say the least. I heard you signed a blood contract, which means if Ryder told you to not disclose information to the Guild you would have to comply with his wishes," he turned and watched Ryder nod his reply.

"You're point?" I inquired carefully wondering where he was going with this.

"She seems to know you, she said your name and Adrian showed her a picture and she just replied with Synthia Raine McKenna. She was with the killer for an entire night and yet she is completely whole. Someone is killing immortals and your name just keeps popping up," Vlad continued.

"That makes no sense. I just found out about this case, just started to investigate it. The murders have been happening for a while and as best as I can tell it had nothing to do with me,"
unless someone was hiding the facts from me.

"Seems you're involved whether you know it or not Synthia." Vlad purred before nodding to a man who had been standing in the doorway that led to the rooms where Ryder had been with the serving girl.

The guy stepped aside and pushed the small girl's shoulders gently encouraging her to move forward. She opened her vivid green eyes and tilted her small cherubic face bouncing her burgundy curls out of her face as she did so.

Everyone watched as she took small steps until she stood directly in front of me. She was dressed in a small pink summer dress that had short sleeves and she was barefooted in a Vampire club. Her eyes took me in and found me lacking. I almost laughed, I found this outfit lacking as well.

"She looks human," I blurted feeling brilliant.

Vlad choked and looked horrified. "For someone hanging around Fae, you don’t know dick about them." He flicked a quick nervous glance to Ryder who almost nodded imperceptibly. Vlad knelt down to the child's level. "They look human until somewhere about twenty or twenty two and then they go through the "Transition—it's a bit like puberty…but a helluva lot more violent as they come into their full powers. At this age they could be mistaken for Witches' children—cute as all get out—with a lotta magic." Ryder chose that moment to growl, cutting anything else Vlad might have said off.

When the child indicated for me to come down closer to her level I winced.

Ryder had taken up a position to my right and Adrian was on the left, Adam and Larissa were still rooted to the spot they'd taken since coming in and finding Adrian undead. I pushed the vinyl closer to my skin as I bent my knees trying to keep some resemblance of modesty while getting low enough to be eye level in the heels.

"Synthia," she said barely audible even at eye level, "I have a message for you."

I swallowed and nodded wondering what this child had seen at the hands of the killers. I hadn't noticed Ryder's men coming inside but every one of them made a semi-circle around us, which I was gathering was for protection more than just looks which they all had since they were immortal Fae or Demon.

"Which is?" I asked the child in a firm voice that belied the emotions running through me at being singled out by the killer.

"We know what you are. Nothing can stop what is coming. Not even you Synthia. What we did to those who hid you is nothing compared to what we will do to those protecting you now. You cannot hide from destiny, you are a missing piece."

I almost fell over from my perch. "Who told you that? How do you know my name?"

"You can't stop him, can't stop them from coming—they know what you are. What is coming cannot be stopped," she said softly as if she wasn’t aware of what she said at all.

"Who sent you?" Ryder interjected pulling me up and against him as Adrian growled at his actions.

The child chose that moment to crumple into Vlad’s arms as we all watched in silence. I felt the power, putrefied by evil, slither over my skin. My knees buckled as I recalled the last time I had felt an evil this powerful. It had been when my parents had been murdered.

"Breathe Syn," Ryder growled against my ear as I took strength from his warm body pressed against mine.

"It's them, they were controlling her somehow. How the hell did they find me?" I whispered shocked by what the child had said. Was it possible the killer knew, or was working with the Fae who had killed my parents?

"We're leaving, now," Ryder growled but Vlad stopped him with his other hand as the child sat up and started to whimper.

I watched her small green eyes meet and hold mine. She was afraid, she'd been through hell and I knew she'd seen horrible things just by the sheer panic I could read in her young eyes. I pushed from Ryder's hold and went to my knees again. "I'm Synthia, you’re safe here."

She said nothing, but giant tears rolled down her cheeks as I held out my hand for her to take, which she did with trembling hands. She was the only link we had between the killers and their victims. Something inside of her had been worth stealing or using and we needed to know what it was that had attracted them to her.

"Synthia," Ryder and Adrian said in unison.

"She's been through hell," I said not moving since she was terrified of us already.

"They entered through her to get that message to you baby, they could do it again," Adrian said as Ryder growled at his term 'baby'.

"She isn't yours anymore. She is mine for now," Ryder growled not helping the situation we were in at all.

"You guys can compare dick sizes later. Right now we need to get medical help because I would think that the only way to take over another Fae is by implanting some very painful devices or powerful magic. So if you're done fighting over someone, who by the way, belongs to neither of you, we need to get her to medical facility specializing in Fae."

Ryder was the first to respond, "We have a small medical facility inside the mansion and you are mine under contract."

"Syn's not Fae, she's not obligated to consider the contract binding," Adrian growled but Vlad stepped in placing his hand on Adrian's shoulder as his eyes flickered to Ryder in fear.

"He's young sire, please excuse him."

"Sire?" I asked carefully. Why the hell would Vlad call Ryder sire? Unless the Vampires had decided to team up and become controlled by the Dark Fae, but if the Horde King ever came out of hiding it wouldn’t bode well for either of them since we had heard that the Horde King was
the
alpha among the entire Fae race and the other was the reclusive Blood King.

I jumped as a small hand folded into my other hand and then was thrown on my ass when she crumbled into my arms. "It's okay, you're safe. I won't let them use you again little one."

I looked up to catch Ryder giving me a weird look, as if I was a mystery which wasn’t the case. The fact that she'd been around the men who had killed my parents wasn’t comforting. They had been evil to their core and she'd made it out alive. The vamps wanted me here thinking this had to do with the serial killer, but the child was talking about the Fae who killed my parents—how could these killers be connected?