Infernal Ties (2 page)

The blond tossed the table between us aside as though it were a toy. His neck was bleeding quite heavily; I took my opportunity. I ran at him and leapt. I planted my foot on his hip and stretched up to dig my daggers down into his neck, one on either side.
 

His great fist connected with my ribs and threw me back against the far wall. He slumped down to his knees and gurgled. Two down. The brother looked between his fallen kin and paused. I coughed and hoped he’d remain cautious long enough for me to regain my breath. Those fuckers hit hard. He held tight onto the moonstone pendant that had been hidden under his shirt. They often wore moonstone to help control their changes and keep some facade of being human. His hand turned white as he gripped it so hard. His face rippled but he held himself in check.

I stood and readied myself for the next round.
 

He looked away from me before he said, “Xander vanished last night. We assumed you or your brother had finally killed him.”

 
I ground my teeth together; that wasn’t the news I was hoping for.
 

“You’re a fucking lycan, why didn’t you track him?” I spat.

He glared at me. “There was no trace of him. Your brother was there, though. We caught his scent. They both stopped dead. We assumed your brother threw his body in a car. They were up by the castle, at the gardens side.”

I debated the value of torturing more information out of him. He knelt next to Felix and pulled his head into his lap. Felix visibly calmed; his face was in ruins. I only regretted not getting more information out of them.
 

CHAPTER THREE

The barman had slunk off at some point during the scrap. I found a cloth behind the bar and cleaned off my blades while I figured out where I was going next. There was only one choice, really. The fae. They knew everything that went on in the city. One of the lycans groaned and there were sounds of movement; I left the café before they decided they were ready for round two.
 

Quin never did make things easy. The lycans had confirmed that something had gone wrong. He didn’t have a car to put the body into. That meant someone or something else had taken them both. I walked towards the river and considered how to approach things. The scenery around me slowly changed as I got closer to the river; the more affluent buildings stood proud, flaunting their view. The sun was already beginning to set behind the imposing castle sitting overlooking its domain with the vineyards cascading down the slopes around it. I couldn’t resist pausing for just a moment to take in the view.
 

My mind snapped back to the problem at hand. The fae owned many bars throughout the city, but I didn’t have time to screw around with bottom-feeding pixies or haughty elves. I needed to get to the root of everything and find my brother. That meant going to Salen. Unlike Café Silhouette, Salen was an underground bar with a splash of class. It drew in the crowds, which meant there was plenty of cover for the fae and their dirty deals. I could have walked there, but I wanted things wrapped up before the moon rose. I jumped onto the next tram; they all went through the stop in front of Salen.
 

People pressed against me. The local humans had no sense of personal space. I held onto the upright bar and stared out of the window, waiting for my stop. Even a motorbike would have been an inconvenience; parking was at a premium in the ancient city. I sighed and ignored the person who pressed against my back, holding back my curses as more people piled into the tram. I hated rush hour.
 

Nearly everyone pushed and squeezed their way off the tram at my stop. I took a deep breath and walked down towards Salen. There were moments where I pitied the humans who had no idea what went on around them. Other moments, I wished I’d been raised as one of them, to have a boring office job and visit Salen as nothing more than another patron. I double-checked my iron filings were there. Quin had tried to convince me to just use an iron dagger like the other hunters. I explained to him that they felt wrong. I could see the conversation in my mind, the way he shook his head but couldn’t help smiling. I liked my silver-coated daggers and that was that. My fingers slipped around the unfamiliar soft leather pouch, and my heart ached for Quin. I would find him, and bring him home… then make sure he never pulled something so stupid again.

The quiet rumbling of voices came through the short entranceway into Salen. I walked down the few steps into what appeared to be a traditional little pub. Deep red ceramic tiles covered the floor, a long heavy bar ran along the wall to my left, and a number of small tables and stools were packed against the wall on my right. I wondered how many people had stopped there without realising the depths of the place.
 

The barman didn’t acknowledge my presence. He continued to chat to an older man with a thick beard and a large beer belly. Clearly an old regular. I pushed past the empty stools and turned down the narrow stairwell that was hidden at the far end. Another small room opened up at my side, revealing a couple in an intimate cove with two small tables, each with candles in the middle. I continued down the narrow stairwell with the exposed stone walls and high ceiling. It seemed to press in around me as it went around a shallow bend. My hand went to the dagger on my hip.
 

I scolded myself for being foolish as it opened out into another room with bare stone floors and exposed walls. The temperature had dropped a little; I was underground. I continued on down another flight of well-worn old steps. The bar was like a maze, with a series of rooms on different layers. When the night wore on, each room had a different style of music. I went down into the deepest part of the bar. The ceilings became much higher and the acoustics improved drastically.
 
A small, modern-looking bar, complete with bright neon lights beaded along the shelves at the back, was tucked up in the far corner.
 

The air practically exploded with electricity when I stepped through the archway into the final area. Fae are almost painfully beautiful, or at least they appear that way. Some of them use glamour, others have merely stolen beautiful bodies. They’re all predators. They use that beauty to hook and draw in their prey. They’re twisted, malicious creatures with long lives and longer memories. Three of them sat huddled around a dark wood table, barely big enough for the stools the fae sat on. I smiled sweetly at them and hoped they were in a good mood. I usually let Quin speak to the fae; he had a silver tongue that would make even them proud.
 

The fae in question were Sidhe, although they were quick to remind people that they were in fact Aos Si; the Sidhe were the mounds they used to live under. I didn’t give a shit what they felt they should be called; they were fae. Haeyl, the second in command, turned slowly and fixed me with an intense look that didn’t match the innocent smile plastered across his pretty face.
 

“And what brings one half of the Hawke twins here this fine evening?”

I tried to relax. There didn’t need to be a fight.
 

“I’m looking for Quin. He seems to have disappeared.”

Haeyl’s bright golden-green eyes widened to match his broad grin.
 

He glanced over at Azfin before he said, “Is that so?”

I ground my teeth together. I hated their games. Azfin’s deep brown eyes didn’t quite match his pale blond hair, but I had no doubt that most women never saw past the tightly toned body that threatened to burst out of his tight T-shirt. I forced myself to smile once more.
 

“He was dealing with a rogue lycan, but he never returned home.”

They all stood as one unit. I didn’t like where it was going.
 

CHAPTER FOUR

Foul breath filled my nostrils before I saw a filthy yellowed nail approach me from the corner of my eye. A sharp pain trickled down my neck before I caught sight of the owner, a red cap. The most vile beast of all. His unnaturally long tongue extended and curled around his nail to savour the drop of blood that sat there. I fought down my gag reflex. The Sidhe cackled; I refused to take a step back. I would not be intimidated.
 

Azfin said, “Miss Hawke here has lost her other half. Dear Quin has been lost without trace. Would you know anything about this, Red?”

All redcaps were referred to as Red. They weren’t the brightest sparks, perhaps they were too dim to understand the concept of a name. Red’s bloodstained lips spread into a malicious smile; his rancid breath clouded in front of me. I held back the cough. His dirt-brown eyes never left mine. I swore I could almost feel the grease on his skin and in his hair from the few feet away that I stood. A shiver of revulsion ran through me.
 

Red blinked and seemed to process Azfin’s words. “I may have heard a little somethin’.”

It was not going as well as I had hoped. I slipped my fingers down to the iron-filing-filled pouch and unhooked the clasp. The three Sidhe approached me slowly, in much the same way a trio of lionesses stalk up to a gazelle. I was in no mood to be a gazelle.
 

The Sidhe whose name I never learnt, with the sharp nose and green hair, said, “It’s about time that Hawke learnt her place in this city. She and her brother have had run of it for too long.”

Haeyl said, “Things are changing. You’re no longer required in the grand scheme of things.”

Red’s hand slipped over my stomach under my jacket before his claws went straight through my shirt into my ribs. I pinched some iron filings from the pouch and ground them into his eyes before slamming the heel of my hand into his large, crooked nose. He screamed and stepped back, giving the Sidhe free access. They were vicious and animalistic, somehow more so than the lycans. They tried to push me into a corner as they circled around me, keeping a close eye on the iron filings. The redcap was recovering, and I needed to get out of there while I could.
 

They glanced at each other, no doubt plotting their next move. I took advantage of the split-second pause and pushed forward. I slashed through Azfin’s barely there shirt; he snarled as the blade bit into his skin. The cut wasn’t deep, but it was enough to coat the dagger in blood. I dipped it in the iron filings and they all took a step back.
 

The nameless Sidhe put his hands up and said, “Now… there’s no need for all that.”

I saw Red step up just behind me. I twisted and hacked at his throat with the iron-filing-covered dagger. He howled and clutched at himself before he leaned back against the wall. I dipped it back into the iron filings and looked back at the Sidhe. Azfin snarled at me, but remained still.
 

After what felt like an agonisingly long standoff, Haeyl said, “Things are changing, bitch. Now get out of here before the rest of our brothers arrive.”

As much as I wanted to silence his pretty mouth for once and for all, I had the good sense to leave the bar. Quickly. I cursed as my ribs ached, and I tried to remember the route out. It was easy to get lost in the varying rooms and short staircases. I finally made it up into the top bar with my jacket clutched about me and a wan smile on my face. They looked like humans; they likely had no idea what went on beneath them.

Fortunately, the brunt of the rush and crush to get home had passed. I stood clutching onto my ribs, trying to stem the bleeding while waiting for another tram. There were lots of empty seats when it showed up. Unfortunately, the locals have a habit of guarding empty seats like they’re their last meal. I glared at an older woman in a garish yellow scarf and grey ankle-length skirt as she clutched onto the back of the seat and stood over the empty space.
 

She gave me a filthy look, but relented when I growled, “Pardon,” and looked down at the seat.
 

I half-expected her to sit in it herself. Instead, she chose to stand over me. I sat tall and ignored her as I was once more watching the city go by.
 

The pain ate at me. Although, it was more the shame that I’d gotten the injury in the first place. The image of those cracked yellow nails, with the layers of dirt under them and covering the grey-brown finger, sinking into my skin made me want to retch. I wondered how safe it was to scrub myself with bleach for an hour, or possibly two. I didn’t know if I’d ever feel clean again.
 

The iron gate creaked and stuck at halfway open when I got home. I sighed, lifted it a little, and carried on up the scruffy path that led to the front door of the building. It was unassuming, and more importantly, home. I gave a weak smile to the gentleman who lived on the bottom floor as he emerged with his scruffy little terrier before I slipped into the lift. I leaned back against the cool metal bar as it groaned and squeaked before it finally went up.
 

The temptation to kick the door when it refused to open the first time was almost too much to bear. I took a deep breath and wiggled the key. It opened without any trouble, as though mocking me. I locked all four locks on the door and threw the keys down on the kitchen counter before I went looking for Quin’s medical kit. For once, I was glad he insisted on hanging around with hedgewitches and alchemists.
 

CHAPTER FIVE

I rifled through the large wooden box full of varying powders, liquids, and other substances trying to find something that would clean and help the increasingly painful wound on my side. I’d peeled off my shirt, but refused to look in the mirror. I lifted up two glass bottles with green crosses on them; that was a standard healing symbol. I hoped. One had a violent pink powder in it, the other was full of blue sparkly liquid that shimmered in the light. Once again, I missed Quin; he’d have been able to clean up the wound and have me back out into the city in no time. I hadn’t realised how much I needed him until he vanished. I’d kick his ass when he returned.
 

I poured some of the liquid into a small porcelain bowl and added a dash of the powder, stirred vigorously, and hoped for the best. The faint hissing wasn’t particularly encouraging, but it smelt of plum and cherry blossom, so I focused on that aspect. I closed my eyes, stuck a couple of fingers into the paste, and spread it onto the wounds. My eyes flew open and my hand bolted to my mouth as I held back an almighty scream. The pain was excruciating.