Harlequin Nocturne March 2014 Bundle: Shadowmaster\Running with Wolves (15 page)

And as for Brita...if they were working together, as Phoenix had always believed, how would she react? She must have known all along that he was the assassin. Would he tell her the truth about his decision not to go through with it, or would he conceal his intentions? Would she consider him a traitor to his own kind, and act accordingly?

Whether he told her or she simply figured it out, she could be a very, very big problem.

Pulling on her shirt and pants, she took stock of all the incredible things that had happened in only four days. Her clothes felt cold against her skin. All of her felt cold, robbed of Drakon's warmth and of the blood he had taken.

And of the love she knew he could never give her.

There were no windows in this room, not even boarded up. She couldn't see the sky. But she knew it must be after midnight, and she didn't have much time to prepare herself mentally for the task she was about to attempt.

* * *

Brita sat on the edge of the table in the meeting room, staring at Drakon. Her dark eyes held neither warmth nor understanding. “You're not going through with it, are you?” she asked. “She's convinced you.”

Drakon listened for anyone outside the closed door. Nothing. The others had accepted his story and had gone to bed, except for those assigned as guards at the exits and just outside the Hold.

“I don't know what you're talking about,” he said.

“Don't even try, Drakon,” Brita said. “I know you told her everything.”

“Yes,” Drakon said, “I did.”

“Elders! And now, because of her, you think—”

“Nothing has changed,” he said, holding Brita's gaze as he spoke the lie. “Any feelings I may have for her—”

“Are obviously stronger than the ones you had for Julius. And probably for Cynthia and Mark, as well.”

Drakon took a step toward her. “I told you when you first came to me that I didn't want their names spoken in this Hold,” he said.

“Except by you, and
her,
” Brita said, the corner of her lip lifting in a sneer. “I never thought you could be so weak, brother.”

Brother
. That was the word that always stopped him when he was angry with her, with her perpetual bitterness—greater even than his own—her easy ability to slide between two worlds without feeling any attachment at all to the humans she was supposed to be serving. Aegis operative on one side, Council agent on the other.

She'd never felt any conflict over her loyalties. She had never been human, though her peculiar genetics allowed her to pass for one. She was considered a quarter human by Aegis, believed to be the peculiar offspring of a male dhampir born before the Awakening and a female Daysider scout from the War, who had come to the Enclave to avoid execution by the Opiri for creating a child of their own. Drakon had once claimed that his own fictional dhampir mother had been seeking the same sanctuary, but his story had been false.

Brita's was not. Not entirely. But her father had not been dhampir. He had been full-blooded Opir, a Bloodlord, whose Daysider mate had fled Erebus near the end of the War out of fear that the father of her infant child could not protect them. She had died at human hands, creating and confessing Brita's half-dhampir heritage and leaving her daughter to be rescued by the very soldiers who had killed her mother. Hardened soldiers who believed Brita had enough human blood to be worth saving.

So she had been brought into what had then been the foundation of the Enclave, just as the Armistice was about to be signed. She had been told her parents had been killed by Opiri. She had become an agent of Aegis at nearly the same time Drakon had become an Enforcer, though they had known nothing of each other then.

“I am not your brother,” he said calmly. “You became a double agent the day you learned that your mother had been killed by humans. You returned to Erebus to find your real father. I was—”

“My father's serf, and then his vassal. He set you free.”

“And I did love him,” Drakon said. “But you didn't even know I existed until two years ago, after you began working for both sides. I didn't know who or what you were until I
‘saved your life,'
so that you could become Aegis's spy in my Hold.
And
keep watch on me for the Opiri who sent us.”

“Now I know they were right to do it. You've become a human again...Charlie.”

The name sounded like a curse on her lips, but Drakon didn't look away. She slid off the table, her booted feet rapping against the hard floor.

“Don't lie to me, Drakon. The very fact that you'd trust Lark—Phoenix—to carry out your instructions by turning against her own people shows you've lost your judgment, if not your sanity. She's very likely to betray you the moment she arrives at Aegis, and then—”

“She won't. I've convinced
her
that I won't go through with the assassination, that I only want Patterson.
She's
the weak one, Brita. She thinks she owes me for making such a sacrifice.”

“Does she know your motive for wanting Shepherd dead?”

“Yes. But it doesn't matter to her what happens to Patterson's reputation as long as I leave Shepherd alone and get out of the Enclave after I'm done with the senator. She won't get a chance to stop me if she believes I've given up.”

“It sounds very neat and tidy. And it all rests on your judgment of flimsy human emotions.”

“Phoenix will return with what I asked for. I'll make sure it looks as if she was coerced, and she'll be out of the way when I do my job. Then I'm heading south into the Zone. I'm not going back to Erebus.”

Chapter 15

F
olding her arms across her chest, Brita scowled. “You owe your Sire more than—”

“No. I don't love what I am, Brita. I'm not interested in fighting for serfs and a household in the Citadel. I'll make my own life.”

“With
her
.”

“She won't want me when I'm done. If I survive. But I'll take her, anyway. What would you do if I didn't?”

“I have nothing personal against her.”

“Except your fear that she might somehow find out who you are and expose you.”

“My
fear
—”

“But you don't really need a reason, do you, Brita?”

“You make me sound like a monster, when the
humans
are the monsters.”

“Neither side has a premium on savagery.”

Brita didn't answer, but her face was ferocious in its hatred. “When are you going to move?”

“Once Phoenix is gone, I'll start scouting. It'll have to be fast, so I'll need to take some pretty big risks. And that increases the chance of failure.”

“You were too cautious before,” she said. “If it had been
my
mission—”

“But it isn't. You're too valuable here. Your loss would be catastrophic to Erebus. If I fail, they'll send another assassin.”

“That isn't good enough.” Brita circled him slowly, ever the predator in a way he had never quite become, even when he'd developed the need for blood.

Phoenix's blood,
he thought, his mind drifting. He craved the taste of it, the sweetness of it, as he craved her body. He never wanted anything else, even though he might never taste it again.

Or get the chance to tell her....

“Listen to me!” Brita demanded, swinging him around by his arm. “You
have
to succeed, because something has happened that Erebus didn't anticipate. The humans are making a weapon to use against us. I don't know everything about it yet, but it's definitely biological, probably a pathogenic virus specifically tailored to kill Opiri.”

Drakon stared at her. “How did you learn this?”

“I'm trusted in Aegis. I listen to rumors. I've even gotten close to Shepherd from time to time.” She waved her hand as if to dismiss Drakon's question as irrelevant. “They've probably been working on it for well over a year, and Shepherd is behind it. I believe that he and Patterson are secretly involved in overseeing the creation of this weapon together, even while they're publicly rivals and enemies. I don't think anyone other than high-ranking members of the government even knows the project exists.”

Drakon listened with growing disbelief as she described what she'd recently learned. She would have no reason to lie about such a thing, even to cement his commitment to the assassination.

And he knew what both men were capable of. That they were working together, that Shepherd claimed to want a new peace...there couldn't be a more perfect cover for a secret and illegal act of aggression that the full Senate would never approve, knowing what would be unleashed if such a weapon were discovered by Erebus.

“Is it dangerous to humans?” he asked.

“Not according to what I've learned.”

“Are they creating an antidote?”

“I think they've been working on one just in case their research is wrong.” She dug her fingers hard into his sleeve until he felt his healing skin protest in agony. “If the mayor is taken out,” she said, “the project will be delayed and we'll have time to stop it, or at least find the antidote.”

“Doesn't Erebus know about this?”

“I won't be making a report until I have more information. I'm sure that Shepherd and Patterson aren't ready to deploy it yet. You take care of your part in this, and we'll have every advantage.”

Drakon closed his eyes. He'd had so many doubts about his mission. He'd even determined to give it up, because of Phoenix, because of his feelings and her influence. And he'd managed to convince Brita that he'd never doubted his loyalty to Erebus.

But everything had changed again. It wasn't only the prospect of the Enclave's ultimate destruction that rode on his success now. How great the irony that his lies to Brita weren't lies anymore, and he was back where he'd started.

He had to go through with it. He had to kill Aaron Shepherd.

“I'm going to help you set things up so there won't be any mistakes,” Brita said, breaking into his thoughts. “I'll find an excuse to return to Aegis near the same time Phoenix does. I'll get Shepherd into his office at noon on the day of the meeting. It's up to you to set up at the right vantage point without being seen or caught.”

“You'll have to get the window panels down and the guards out of the way,” Drakon said, his chest tight with bitter resignation. “Do you think your acquaintance with Shepherd will be enough to override all his security precautions?”

“I'll make it work. You do what you have to do.”

“And Patterson? You may not care about my wife and son, but he has to pay.”

“I need him alive for now. He'll pay well enough. Do your job, get out of the city and I'll take care of him.”

“How, Brita?”

“I said I'll take care of it. I promise you, brother.” She stood on her toes and kissed his cheek, an affectionate gesture that would have been perfectly natural among human siblings but was almost a mockery between Opiri.

The problem was that Drakon could never be sure if she meant such gestures as mockery or not.

“I don't want you killing Matthew Patterson,” he said. “Use him, but don't kill him. He doesn't deserve death, unlike his father.”

“What makes you believe that?”

“Call it a remnant of honor.”

“Very well. But that's it, Drakon. No other promises. If you care about this half-dhampir female, get her out when you leave, or make sure someone else does if you don't survive.”

Drakon stared at her until she—daughter of a Bloodlord—looked away. “You
will
leave her alone, Brita, whether I get her out or not.” He softened his voice. “For the sake of the Opir we both considered a father.”

She nodded sharply without looking at him and walked toward the door. “Don't fail, Drakon. Our survival may depend on your success.”

As she left the room, Drakon walked to the table and leaned on it heavily, staring at the battered wood. He'd been prepared to betray Brita, Erebus, all his kind for Phoenix. She trusted him. And he trusted her absolutely. She couldn't have known about this pathogen, or anything like it. She had guessed at all his weaknesses, seen his vulnerability, and yet she'd never taken advantage of his sincere offer to let her kill him.

To the contrary. She'd given him everything.

No, she'd never betray him. But he would betray her.

He banged his recently healed hand on the tabletop. An hour or two of happiness, of contentment, of something like peace had been granted him. And it would never come again.

Pushing away from the table, he went to find Repo. He couldn't trust Brita with Matthew Patterson's life, but he could count on his most loyal follower. Repo would look after young Patterson, let him go if the assassination succeeded before the deal with the senator went through.

And he'd get Phoenix out if the dragon didn't survive.

* * *

“Do you realize what you've done?”

Director Chan stood behind her desk, leaning over it with hand firmly planted on the highly polished surface. Her stare could have knocked the Transamerica Pyramid to the ground—if it still stood—but Phoenix held steady. They'd already been through this once before, and there was nothing Chan could say to her that she hadn't said to herself already.

“It was necessary to tell him something,” Phoenix said calmly, standing at parade rest on the other side of the desk. “I had to save Matthew Patterson, and the only way to do that was reveal what I was really out there to do.”

“But you told him you'd been sent to expose the Bosses,” Chan said, her voice tense with anger. “You could have stuck to your story of wanting revenge, and—”

“No, ma'am,” Phoenix said, holding the older woman's gaze. “If I'd hedged then, he'd have had no reason to listen to me at all. I had to hang on to some measure of his trust, and I judged that the risk was worth it. He may still suspect there's more to it than I told him, but—”

“He doesn't realize you're half-dhampir?”

“No, ma'am.” Phoenix kept her face expressionless, hoping she could get away with the lies. “I don't think he'd have been willing to let me come back here to make the deal with Aegis and Patterson.”

“The deal,” Chan said with a snort. “And you think you still might get something out of him regarding Opiri operatives in the Fringe?”

The question was deeply ironic, considering that the director didn't know that the Boss in question was an Opir. “I'm very close,” Phoenix said. “I'm fairly certain that one of his crew has some connection to the enemy. If I can get back quickly and spend the rest of the week there, I think I have a good chance. And I can stay close to Matthew.”

Chan sat abruptly, picked up a stylus and began tapping the tip rapidly against the desk. “I still don't understand why he'd trust you, given the lies you've already told him, and when you've been with him less than a week.”

“You wanted me to use any means at my disposal,” Phoenix said, matching Chan's coldness. “It worked. He expects me to return with the information in exchange for Matthew Patterson's life. The mayor doesn't have to be anywhere near the exchange, and the attending senators can bring all the security they want.”

“All so the Boss you're working with can publicly expose Patterson's buried secrets and then escape again, this time to disappear completely along with his crew.”

“But I'll already be with him. If I can convince him that my loyalty is to him now, then—”

“That's not good enough!” Chan shouted, tossing the stylus down with such force that it flew off the desk.

“You'll just have to trust me to do my job,” Phoenix said. “Because if we don't agree to his terms...”

The office door opened almost silently, and a young man entered the room. “I'm sorry to disturb you, Director Chan, but Senator Patterson is here.”

“Let him wait,” Chan snapped.

“Director,” the secretary said, “I don't think—”

The secretary nearly fell over as a tall, burly man shoved past him into the office. Patterson's eyes flickered toward Phoenix with open hostility and returned to Chan, who met his gaze without flinching. Phoenix could barely hide her own loathing for the man responsible for the deaths of innocent women and children.

“Why haven't you authorized the deployment of every available agent to search for my son?” he all but bellowed. He glanced at Phoenix. “You should already have this one under stringent interrogation. The fact that she allowed this to happen—”

“—is not as clear-cut as you seem to think, Senator,” Chan said, her voice as even as Patterson's was angry. “Agent Stryker was given latitude to act as she thought best. She almost certainly saved your son from death, considering that he behaved with remarkable stupidity, and she did everything possible to encourage this Sammael to bargain for your son's release. Without her—”

“Without her, none of this would have taken place!” Patterson said, striding into the office and planting his fists on Chan's desk. “I want this woman removed from the case immediately.”

“We're not throwing a completely new agent into the mix now,” Chan said, holding the senator's stare. “I believe Stryker when she says there is some kind of connection between her and this man Sammael, and to disrupt that now could have unthinkable consequences.”

“Consequences!” Patterson shouted, banging his fist on the desk. “
You're
responsible, Chan. You assigned an unproven agent to deal with matters even a decorated commander would have a hard time pulling off. I want you to send every agent in support of my Enforcers, and maybe if your people do their jobs—”

“
Your
Enforcers?” Chan interrupted with a slight smile. “I believe you retired, Senator. You may have some influence, but you do not issue direct commands to us or to the Enforcement Bureau, not without the full committee's backing and the approval of Mayor—”

“Shepherd,” Patterson snarled. “Why should he care what happens to my son, as long as he—”

“Your son will be safe if you do as we ask.”

“You expect me and my fellow senators to just...show up at the edge of the Fringe and wait for this Boss to return my son. But why should we believe anything he says?”

“I don't see that we have much choice at the moment,” Chan said. “Agent Stryker believes she is very close to gaining crucial information about the Opiri spies, which in turn may lead to finding the assas—”

“Believes! May!” He faced Chan with head down and shoulders hunched. “He wants a week! The assassin could make his move anytime before the meeting. If your agent is any good at all, she can set a trap. And if this Boss knows about the bloodsucker spies, we'll get it out of him, even if we have to—”

“We don't use torture,” Chan interrupted, “unless it is an immediate matter of life and death.”

“It is! My son—”

“Agent Stryker has made it clear that Sammael is no fool, and he will surely be prepared for betrayal,” Chan said. “I have no doubt that he will kill your son and escape if we fail to abide by his offer. If you will give us a little time to plan, Senator, we'll find a workable solution that doesn't involve either the death of your son or the failure of our mission. Unless, of course, your objection is to releasing the information Sammael has requested.”