Kiss Of Twilight (24 page)

"In that case, talk her out of merging," he snapped.

And again it was Jordan who responded. "You think we haven't tried? We'd give you that if we could, just like you would have done the same for us."

"None of us seem to be drawn to wilting wallflowers," Quinn joked.

"Maybe Winter and Gia ruined us," Lance interjected.

She rolled her eyes. "If you had some wimpy, runs-from-bugs kinda woman you'd be bored in a week."

Dupree blinked. "Didn't I kill a spider for you a few days ago?"

"Shuddup. Spiders are
not
natural. And that thing was huge."

He grinned. "Oh yeah. Humongous. It was all of like, dime sized."

She punched him in the shoulder. Any other man would have been lying in the dirt. Poking a finger in his chest, she went on. "Spiders are just creepy, okay? We won't go into your little phobias and superstitions."

He arched an eyebrow. "What? I don't have any."

"Is that right?"

Says the man who's been avoiding the woman he loves for years?

He was not having that conversation right now, with her or anyone.
Point taken.

He nodded for the group who couldn't have missed the fact a private exchange had just occurred. "I have my own irrational fears."

With a grin, Winter slapped his arm. "Spiders are so
not
irrational. Tarantulas. Black widows. Brown recluses. Nasty stuff."

"All of which you are immune to," he felt obligated to point out.

She shuddered. "Doesn't matter. They're just nasty and gross."

"Right." He grinned. The woman could lob off a demon's head without batting an eye. But a spider? She lost all sense of proportion. As much fun as she was to tease about this, they had other issues. "Anyway. I spoke to Elora. She'll be here tomorrow and hopefully she can track Ben or Gia."

At this point she was their best hope.

"How is she?" Lance asked. Dupree could hear the wariness in his voice. Elora had always been something of a renegade. Ten years' banishment couldn't have made it better.

He shrugged. "She sounded okay. Anyone have room for her?"

After they'd moved everyone into safe houses, some of the squad had stayed several days with the lupines while they'd refurbished an old guest house on Marcus's property. Quinn and his wife lived in that house along with the other married members of the squad. Four single members of the squad had stayed with the lupines. Ingrid, Jordan and Lance had stayed with their quads obviously. There were rooms in the main house, but it would be impossible to truly judge her mental state until they actually saw her. Dupree doubted Marcus would appreciate his bringing a hybrid who wasn't quite sane into his house. As soon as the thought crossed his mind he knew he couldn't house her with the squad or in one of the compounds. More importantly with their families. At least in the mansion, there were no children and only one human. He looked at Winter who nodded.

"Never mind," he said. "We've got a room for her."

"This fucking sucks," Quinn muttered.

"Don't worry about it. It is what it is."

With that depressing parting thought, they all left to complete the night's duties.

Last night had been good, hashing out a few things with the squad, going hunting with Winter, and then close to dawn Dupree had gone home--he was finally starting to see the walker's house as home--and held Kara all day as terror beat at his mind. Not everyone was able to successfully merge with a demon. The Order had got good at picking the best personality types but it was far from an exact science.

It made every cell in Dupree's body hurt. He couldn't stop her from trying. He couldn't keep her at home, safe and protected. If he tried, he'd be going against all that she was, all she believed in. He'd be trying to force her to be something she wasn't and eventually she'd grow to hate him. Didn't mean he had to like it any better.

He was in a basement, deep underground, the same place he'd been when he merged his soul with a demon. It was dimly lit by bare bulbs, an uncomfortable atmosphere that the Order played up. He'd borne witness here so many times over so many decades. But this time it was his squad, his friends waiting in the dark for a new member. Usually he just witnessed the rite. Tonight he was participating.

Except for Winter and Kara, the rest of the squad was already gathered. Nadia was there also to stand witness. They spoke, softly, in a group, giving Dupree space. Smart of them. He was walking a line of such fine control he wasn't sure who was in charge. Him? The demon? Both were sure they didn't want his woman here. Doing this vile thing. No matter how the Order justified it, no matter what they all told themselves to be able to sleep at night, this was an abomination.

And she's an adult,
he reminded himself.
She's been warned. Knows all the dangers.

It didn't make it any easier to breathe when she finally came down the steps in Winter's wake. He watched the rest in a dream, sure it couldn't really be happening. The sweet little girl he'd known had grown up into a smart stubborn woman, but to do this? It was hard to credit.

Kara came behind Winter and she saw when she stepped off the bottom step all the others were already there. They didn't make her nervous on their own, though she got the feeling they didn't want her on the squad. No, it was Dupree she worried about. He was there. A tall, silent,
dark
presence. And she didn't mean the color of his skin. He was so worried about her, on such a deep level, she didn't think even he was aware of it. He said the right words and he'd said them so many times she thought a part of him really believed it. She was a grown woman. She got to make her own choices. He accepted that. Except a part of him clearly did not accept it. Something in him, under all that reticence and fear, seemed almost wounded.

She took that into consideration as she approached. Of course she did. She had every intention of spending many years with Dupree and she'd questioned her own motivations more than once. But really, when it came down to it, she was doing this for so many reasons and few of them were directly related to this man.

Vengeance and justice were twins who dueled for control of her heart. She had a burning need to do the right thing. The Order had raised her that way. No,
Ben
had raised her that way and Dupree had taken no small part in that.

Kara knew the details of the ceremony, knew what to expect as she followed Winter into the center of the basement and the well came into view, but knowing didn't stop the sudden fear that made her heart gallop in her throat. The well was low walled, rough stone, blacker than night over the edge. She could feel the evil in it. Greedy. Angry.

The squad formed a circle and with effort she calmed herself and took her place in its center. Winter lifted an obsidian black blade, chanting the words in Latin that would call a demon soul from the well and bind it temporarily to the blade. Other words would then bind the soul to hers when she took the knife and slashed it across her palm.

The time came too quickly but she didn't allow herself to hesitate, refused to look at Dupree and read the censure in his eyes. Winter handed her the blade and Kara lowered it to her palm, slashing her skin as Winter continued her chant.

Then the room fell silent, abrupt and startling, and Kara stared at her hand. Not so bad. It stung a little, but she'd been warned... The pain that came over her was so sudden and extreme she fell to her knees. Rough stone scraped her palms, but it barely registered compared to the fire licking through her body. The fire abated only to be replaced by a thousand tiny knives flaying her alive. It was excruciating and her stomach rolled violently. She forced her eyes open, held her hands up to see. Nothing marred her skin, though her vision was a haze of red.

The demon was trying to take her over and it was winning. She took a deep breath, calmed her mind and remembered Winter's instructions. She had to control the demon. Imagine locking it behind bars, she'd said. Lock it up tight. It was hard, but she visualized it and the pain faded, her vision returned to normal. She knew it had only taken moments but she felt battered and exhausted when she climbed to her feet, like the fight had lasted hours.

The others still circled her. Silent. Watching. She was irritated they'd witnessed her weakness, this squad that she sensed didn't consider her worthy of joining them, and the demon inside her snarled an echoing sentiment. But Dupree gave her the slightest nod, approving her victory over the demon, and the emotion faded. The rest of the ceremony went by quickly, each member using their own demon blade to cut their palms as they filed by and shook her hand.

Winter went last. "Welcome to the Order, Kara," she said as their palms met.

Kara brushed a loose curl of hair behind her ear and glared at Dupree. She'd love to wipe the smirk off his face. She'd love to admit defeat and flounce off in a huff. Instead, she focused, followed his directions and tried to teleport. Again. Not a damned thing happened.

It had been less than two hours since she'd merged. She was tired and sore and didn't even know what mental talents she'd picked up, but instead of trying to figure that out she was in the woods with Dupree because he insisted she learn to teleport right away.

Alone with Dupree and I have all my clothes on. That just ain't right.

He burst out laughing. She didn't know whether to stare or ask if he'd lost his mind. The man so rarely laughed after all.

"If I take all your clothes off will you take this seriously?"

He was teasing her? Now of all times? She scowled.

"I may be new to this, but not so new I don't know it's rude to spy in people's heads."

He grinned. "I'm a very weak telepath. You projected that thought, darlin'."

"Oh." She thought it over. "I'm a telepath now?"

He nodded. "Looks like. So it's a good thing I brought you out here. Not that I don't appreciate the sentiment, but I'd prefer other people not know the details of our relationship."

Yeah, she didn't want to share the intimate details either. She shivered. Especially that little trick he did with his tongue. But that wasn't the part of his statement she wanted to clarify. "So it's a relationship now?"

She kept her tone light, a little teasing. Things were going so well. She'd hate to scare him off now. This time his laugh was accompanied by shaking his head.

"Projected that too, huh?" Damn. This was going to take some getting used to.

He closed the distance between them and pulled her to him. Her arms were crossed over her chest, partially blocking their contact, but he didn't let go when she tried to tug free. He stared down at her. Broody and serious.

"It is a relationship and it's permanent. I warned you I wouldn't let you go."

"Who says I want you to?"

His mood didn't lighten as his gaze searched her face. "I hope you don't change your mind about that, Kara."

She had no intention of leaving him, ever, but she wasn't about to let him push her around either. Visualizing a spot near the tree behind him she willed herself there. The sensation was wrenching. No matter how many times Dupree had teleported with her, moving through space and time, it just seemed unnatural. But she was giddy despite the objection of her stomach, because it worked.

He turned around and looked her over, eyes dark and heavy and promising trouble. Then he was in front of her, hands on her hips and pushing her until her back was pressed against the rough bark of the tree.

"You can't get away that easy," he whispered a split second before his lips closed over hers.

Getting away was the last thing she wanted. His kiss was hungry, wild and untamed. Absolutely thrilling. He wasn't holding back anymore and she gave herself totally to the fire that raged between them. When he broke away they were both panting. She could see the reluctance in his eyes and started to step forward, but he stopped her with a shake of his head.

"You need to learn to build mental shields. That's about all I can teach you with telepathy. Winter or Nadia will have to help with the rest."

Whoa. What was going on now? Hot and heavy to all business in a blink. Should she be concerned or angry he could flip that switch so quick? She sure as hell couldn't. Her body hummed with awareness of him, her mind filled with images of them together. He groaned.

"Kara. Projecting."

She tilted her chin in the air. "So? It's only us here. And you already know I want you."

"It won't be just us in the house, though. And you may not see anyone, but there are people around. We're half a mile from home. Lots of people come and go into that place."

Shit. She hadn't thought of that. Heat rushed up her neck to her face. She didn't care if Dupree knew her fantasies but she didn't want to share them with anyone else. She sighed. "How do I do the shields?"

He frowned. "We really need a telepath for this. They build layers of blocks. I don't know how that all works."

"But you have shields."

"Winter says mine are instinctive. I had them before I merged. Merging just made them stronger."

That was interesting, but something she'd have to think over later. "Tell me what you know." She really didn't like the idea of sharing her thoughts with anyone and everyone.

"Imagine building a wall, one brick at a time."

"Like locking the demon up?"

He looked skeptical. "Yeah. I guess."

What the hell. It was worth a shot. Later she could get Nadia to help her. She visualized the wall she'd used to control her new demon side and imagined a new one, blocking her mind from the outside world. She could feel it slip into place, but she had no way of judging how strong or effective it was.

"How do I test it?"

Dupree stepped close to her and laid his palm on the side of her face. She felt him pushing at her mind. The mental contact was electrifying and seductive. She wanted more, but that wasn't the goal now and when she felt the shield begin to crumble she rushed to strengthen it.

Dupree swayed, his eyes widening in shock. Holy shit. Not the reaction she'd expected. "Are you okay?"

His smile was slow and sexy. "I'm fine. I didn't expect to get rebuffed by my woman quite so forcefully."

"Your woman?" She arched an eyebrow. He grabbed her hand and tugged until she tumbled against him with a laugh. "And don't you forget it."

Before he could kiss her, his phone rang. She groaned. Damn that thing, constantly interrupting. He grinned, shaking his head slightly, as he answered. Woops. He must have heard her thoughts again.

"Yeah," he said into the phone. Kara was standing close enough to hear Winter on the other end.

"Hope I'm not interrupting," she said, but she sounded tense instead of teasing. Dupree looked down to meet her gaze.

"No."

"Good. Both of you get back here. Gray is here and so is Jordan. Jordan saw one of Jericho Cruz's brothers in town tonight."

"He has to be our mysterious recruiter." There was no reason for the other regional commander to send someone to their city. His animosity toward Ben was well known. But it didn't explain his motivations now. "Why is Cruz trying to steal our people?" Jericho Cruz was the regional commander in the Ozarks. Kara thought she knew why he was in town, but she didn't interrupt to fill him in.

"I don't know," she heard Winter go on. "And I don't know why Gray is here, but he's insisting on seeing that Kara is safe with his own two eyes. Which makes no fucking sense, either."

"We'll be right there." He hung up and looked at Kara. "Do you know what's going on?"

She pressed her lips together and tried to make sense of what she knew. "I'm not sure. Ben's family was all killed by another hybrid family in Savannah in 1900. Some old feud. I haven't been able to find much about it in the histories, but in an older book I found a mention that the Alexanders and the Cruzes were unfriendly. The scholars never say much about personalities. I don't know if it was because they wanted to protect the idea that the Order is above the petty disagreements of the other races or if they were protecting the old families."

"Okay." Dupree sighed. "Let's get home and see if we can get anything out of Gray."

"Sure. One more thing, Dupree."

She realized he must have heard the uneasiness in her voice when he took her hand and laced their fingers together. He lifted it to his mouth to press a kiss on her knuckles. "What is it, darlin'?"

"I got curious after I read about Cruz and looked at the rest of the council. Everyone on it comes from one of these older hybrid families, including Gray and Todd."

"How old?" he asked, but he only sounded mildly curious. She was pretty sure her next words would change that.

"At least back to the first U.S. generation. Some are older, but the records are really vague."

"So much for the Order being an equal democratic society," he muttered.

She snorted. "Something like that."

"So Ben going rogue must have created..." She could see he didn't want to finish that statement so she did.

"A power vacuum. Because as far as the others know, or
should
know, there isn't anyone left here from one of the old families. It makes the southern region fair game."

"And you. You're his only heir." His jaw was clenched hard and his fingers tightened on hers. "All right. We need to talk to Winter."

It was weird teleporting herself, but she was proud she managed it. The good feeling was short lived, however, when she followed Dupree into the dining room where everyone had gathered. Winter, Marcus and Nadia spoke softly in one corner while Gray and a woman Kara had never met waited by the door. Gray looked like a man on edge, standing stiff and quiet, his face all hard lines and eyes cold. His posture relaxed a little when Kara walked in and he looked her up and down.

"You survived the ceremony."

She arched her eyebrows, wondering why he was so interested. "Apparently."

"You're in control?"

This just got more and more curious. Kara had never been one to hold back and she wasn't starting now. "Why are you so interested?"

Instead of answering he took a seat at the table and waited for the others to join him. "Todd has disappeared."

His statement was met by silence.

"His wife?" Kara asked.

"She thinks he's dead. She has no sense of him."

"Wouldn't she have felt that though? If he'd died?" That was the way it had always been explained to Kara. Gray looked uncomfortable with the question.

"She should. I can only conclude that if he isn't dead, he's close to it. I want Dupree to go with Elora and see if they can find him."

He motioned to the woman who'd taken a seat at his side. So that's who she was. Kara had been trying not to stare at her. It wasn't fair for a woman to be that beautiful. She even put Winter to shame. Her coal black hair was pinned up, but even pulled away from her face it made her pale skin glow and her bright blue eyes shine. She looked like a porcelain doll. Tiny and fine and breakable. Kara had heard enough about her to know that wasn't true, and she was afraid she was projecting again when Elora gave her a tiny amused smile.

"I have another problem, however," Gray went on, turning to look at Winter. "The region needs a replacement on the council. The seat cannot even appear to be vacant."

"Oh, no way. Don't even look at me."

His gaze settled on Kara and Dupree squeezed her hand. "Kara is too young."

"Unfortunately, I agree with you. I can only give you twenty-four hours to search for Todd. After that, you
must
find Gia."

"Elora is here already," Winter said angrily. "Let her search for Gia tonight, and Todd after we find her. You think it's too late for him, remember?"

Gray shook his head. "I have to at least give the pretense of looking for him. He's a council member. Then Gia is your priority."

"Why are you so interested in Gia all of a sudden, Gray?" Winter asked suspiciously, but he wasn't paying any attention to her. He was watching Kara.

"Because if I wasn't here, she would be Ben's heir, right? How?" Kara asked Gray.

He gave her a slight smile. "You are as smart as he always claimed, aren't you?" She didn't respond. "An ancestor of hers married an ancestor of his. They are distantly related. Fourth cousins or something."

Winter looked back and forth between the two of them and scowled. "Why is that important?"

"Power," Kara answered. "Every member of the council, and every regional commander but Winter, is from one of the founding U.S. families of the Order. You need a member of Ben's family to keep the balance of power." She cocked her head to one side. "So how is Todd Brant related? Another distant cousin?"

"Yes."

"And you?"

He shook his head. "No. There were seven hybrids, seven families. Ben always thought we were too entrenched in the old ways. That's why he named Winter his successor."

"Why not Gia?" Dupree asked.

Gray smiled and looked to Kara for an answer. "Because Todd never had children," she said, carefully, not certain she was guessing right. "They always intended Gia to take his position. Or me if I had enough experience."

He nodded and she ignored a twinge of pride. Everyone was being manipulated, even her. Gray turned back to Winter.

"Until Gia gets back, you're a temporary council member. Don't panic," he cut her off before she could protest. "It's only for now. If we can't find Gia..." He shook his head as if it didn't bear considering. "It'll have to be Kara. There isn't anyone else."

"Why don't you just take his place and let the council pick a new Grand Master?" Winter asked.

"Because the Cruz family would shift into power, right?" Kara asked softly. "Contee doesn't have an heir. You said it would be up to his quad leaders to pick a new councilor and you don't think that will be someone friendly to you. So I'd guess they're friendly to Cruz. How did that happen?"

Gray snorted. "Beats the hell out of me. He was Ben's friend not mine. He was barely civil to me."

"My guess is Cruz managed to recruit Contee's people out from under him." Kara didn't need to tell Winter or Dupree where her thoughts were going. "He's done this before."

"What's going on?" Gray asked, the sharp Grand Master tone back in his voice.

"Someone's been trying to recruit my people," Winter said. "Younger soldiers. I've had reports from three of the quads."

"Not the fourth?"

She shook her head. "Robert said he hasn't had any reports."

"Not Robert Traylor?" Elora asked, sounding surprised, the first she'd spoken.

"You remember him?" Winter asked.

"Yeah. He's an ass. Ben made him a quad leader?"

"Right after you left. Why?" Dupree asked.

"Jericho Cruz is his grandfather."

"Why would Ben make his enemy's grandson a quad leader in his territory?" Kara asked. Then again this was Ben they were talking about. He probably followed the
keep your friends close and enemies closer
school of thought.