Obsidian Wings (4 page)

The day of Z’s funeral came. The almost teasing warmth and
bright sun was in direct contrast to the cold darkness in her heart.

Spring was evident in the subtle scents of everything green
and flowery, of the birds’ renewed singing, and the hopeful expectation that
hung in the sweet air.

It had been a long, hard winter.

She’d spent the last two nights sleeping in her house in the
Moor, and it was starting to feel more like home. She didn’t miss the inn.

She stared into the mirror above her sink, but she didn’t
see herself.

She saw Z.

“God, Z.”

She wanted to ram her fists into the mirror, to shatter it
the way her heart had shattered. She didn’t, though. On this day, she’d control
her rage.

The sadness was mind-numbing. Consuming.

Feel the sadness, sweet thing. Then let it go. Let it go.

She closed her eyes and heard his voice as clearly as if he
were standing beside her, whispering into her ear. But she’d never let the
sadness go. She didn’t know how to.

Her stomach tightened into painful knots and she put a hand
to it, then let a sob escape.

She had to get through his burial and the night ahead. It
would hit her hard, and she wasn’t sure she was prepared for it.

Strad would help her.

The knock on the door startled her. It dragged her out of the
blackness into which she’d been headed, and she left the bathroom gratefully.

She’d become less willing to burn alone in her hell.

She opened the door, not bothering to ask who was on the
other side. She didn’t much care. She was a monster, and monsters could kick
ass.

Jack stood there, his hand raised to knock again.

He studied her, his face somber. Then, he stepped inside the
room and opened his arms. “Come here, sweetheart.”

“I’m okay.” But she started to shake.

He pulled her resisting body into his arms, murmuring
nonsense as he held her.

“I miss him so much,” she whispered, her cheek against his
chest. “I miss him so fucking much.”

His arms tightened. “We all do.”

“He’s never coming back. Z is never coming
back.
” She
was disbelieving, as the words she’d spoken became reality. “He’s really gone.”

“Yes.”

“I shouldn’t have let him go.”

“Rune. You know better.”

His own voice was full of tears, and she slid her arms
around him, squeezing tightly. “I’m so sorry.”

His breath stirred her hair. “We die, honey. It’s life.”

“No, Jack.
I
don’t die. Someday I’ll be without all
of you.”

“I know.”

How could a person bear to outlive all those she loved? It
was too much. The future was a grim place, and she didn’t want to live there.

She wouldn’t.

But that was the future, and right then, though she’d lost
her beloved Z, she still had the others.

She straightened and smiled up at him, smiled through the
bloody tears obscuring her vision. “Thank you.”

He returned her smile, wiping self-consciously at his damp
face. “For what?” His voice was hoarse and she cringed at the pain in his eye.

“I can deal with Z’s death, because I have you. I have all
of you. And that’s something to be thankful for.” She nodded, talking more to
herself than to him. “I’ll be okay.”

She would be.

She could live for now, secure in the knowledge that when
she lost them all, and the world was too dark, she would escape it.

And her future no longer looked so terrible.

“I have you,” she said, her voice soft but sure.

“Always, Rune.”

The service was quick, and she barely remembered it. She
remembered the shock, the quiet, the aloneness.

All of RISC was in attendance, and some of the human law
enforcement. She spoke to none of them.

Afterward, she stood at his grave, her crew protectively
around her, and watched as his casket was lowered into the earth.

“Goodbye, Z,” she said, softly, and the crew echoed her
farewell.

Then Z was gone.

But part of him would always be with her. And someday, she
would join him in death. That was her gift to herself.

She might have been born immortal, but
no
fucking one
could make her stay that way. She was in control of her life. She was in
control of her death.

And just that suddenly, standing there at Z’s grave, she
finally understood why she’d had to let Z go. “Holy…”

“What’s wrong?” Strad asked.

“I get it. I
get
it.” And somehow, she was free.

Just like that.

Deep inside her, the pressure, the unrelenting pressure she
hadn’t even been aware of, eased.

She leaned back against Strad and let herself feel the
peace. She would grieve, the way they all would.

And she’d deal with her grief the same way they did.

She’d grown, she’d changed, and…

Fuck Cruikshank and his temptations.

If she noticed a thin shred of doubt, she ignored it.

Fuck him.

Afterward, Ellis followed her to the Moor to fetch his
present. She had no doubt he’d appreciate it. His worry over being bitten was
evident as he flinched away from every sudden movement, every imagined threat.

He was terrified.

Combined with the worry over the twins and the loss of Z,
the fear of vampires was becoming too much for him.

He’d withdrawn from her as well, as though he might be
turned if she touched him—and he didn’t even realize he was doing it.

But she did.

“I’ll make some coffee,” he said, and headed for her
kitchen.

She nodded and went into her bedroom to get the carefully
wrapped fang. She sure as hell didn’t want to touch the toxic tooth. Two days
earlier she’d had a thin but strong silver chain attached so he could wear it
around his neck.

She had a feeling that once he put it on, it was never
coming off.

When they sat at her table, coffee in hand, she gave him the
gift. She’d dropped the paper-wrapped fang into a larger box, covered it with
more paper, and tied it with twine. She
really
didn’t want to get too
close to it. “Here you go, Ellie,” she told him. “Your protection for when I’m
not there.”

He handled it gingerly. His hands shook the tiniest bit and
his eyes held an eager spark. He beamed at her, gave a mystified smile, then
went back to his present.

“I guess you thought I needed to work for this.” He
struggled with the twine until she fetched him a pair of scissors.

Finally, he poured the fang from its envelope and into his
palm. “Oh my. It’s a…it’s a
tooth.
”
He glanced at her. “Thank you. It’s lovely.”

She laughed. “It’s a fang.” She pushed back her chair and
stood, then walked casually a few feet away to lean against the sink. The fang
made her physically ill. “Put it on, baby. No vampire will get close to you as
long as you’re wearing that.”

He dropped the chain over his head and smiled up at her. “I
can’t believe it. I’m safe? I’m really safe?”

“I swear it.”

He caressed the fang as it lay against his chest. “But how
can you know for sure?”

She said nothing.

He glanced up at her silence, and finally, he understood.
“No,” he whispered. “Oh, Rune. No.” He started to pull the chain back over his
head.

“Ellis,” she said, gently. “Stop.”

“I won’t wear it if it means I can’t be near you,” he said,
just as gently. “You’re all I have.”

“Put it inside your shirt.”

He covered it immediately, then walked to her. “It’s okay
like this?”

She grabbed him to her in a hug. “It’s perfect. See? Nothing
to worry about. You’re not losing me
or
your protection. Now get out of
here. I have to check in with Rice.”

He held her hand against his cheek. “I don’t know where you
got this, and I don’t want to know. Just…thank you. Thank you. You’re always
saving me.”

“I’d do anything for you.”

At last, with shining eyes and a smile that was worth the
world, he left.

She groaned and leaned against the sink, her palm to her
stake scar. She ran her fingers over the small bulging blisters that had popped
up beneath her shirt and closed her eyes against the burning pain.

If the fang hadn’t been covered by his shirt, her top might
have burst into flames from the melting heat of her skin. That was an
improvement over holding the tooth against her bare skin, but it was still
painful.

She had no idea how to solve the problem, but she wasn’t
letting him toss away the one item that could guarantee him protection against
turning. She was part vampire. A full vampire would have more trouble with it
than she did, if Ellie wore it outside his shirt.

She hoped they’d never have to test it.

Because of Z’s funeral, Rice had told the crew to take the
day off. None of them had wanted to, and he understood. Work kept them from
thinking too much.

So when her phone rang and Rice was on the other end, she
wasn’t surprised.

“Rune, can you come in? I need to speak with you.”

“I’ll be there in half an hour.”

Twenty five minutes later she sat in the chair in front of
his desk. He avoided her stare by contemplating the obviously fascinating view
outside his window.

“I’m not going to like this, am I?” she asked.

He sighed and sat down. Still, he looked everywhere but at
her. “No. No, you’re not.”

She clenched her fists. “Tell me and get it over with.”

Maybe it was about the birds. Maybe Rice was firing Ellie.
Maybe Elizabeth wasn’t coming back to work, or wasn’t going to get Fie and
George.

Maybe he’d gotten bad news about the twins.

But it was none of those.

“River County is taking a new vampire master.”

Her mouth fell open. “What?”

He rubbed the bridge of his nose. “A master named Simon Kelic
petitioned for our city. I’m approving him.”

She shook her head, unable to believe what he was telling
her. “You’re allowing another master to come into our city. That’s what you’re
fucking telling me.”

“Yes.”

“Why would you do that after everything Llodra put us
through? Elizabeth is still in the
hospital
from the RISC massacre and
you’re telling me another master is coming.”

“Not all vampires are like Nicolas Llodra. He was mad.”

“Vampires are bloodsucking, murderous bastards.” And Ellie
would be distraught.

“I know it’ll be difficult for you to accept another master,
but it’s for the best. I’ve considered a few of the vampires who’ve petitioned
me, and I feel Kelic—”

“You work fast,” she interrupted. Again, she shook her head,
as though she could dislodge something caught in her brain. It didn’t work.
“Elizabeth will leave Spiritgrove.”

“No, she won’t. Every city has a master. It keeps our lives
balanced. If we can choose the best coven, we’ll stay in control.”

She laughed. “You’ve gone fucking nuts.”

He leaned forward, his lips thinning. “You need to
understand this—you are not in control of RISC. I am.”

“For now.”

“You want to replace me, Rune? Someday, maybe. Someday when
you have no need to fight or shoot or lead your crew in battle. My job is
paper. My job is politics and desks and speeches and overseeing employees.
Keeping the humans happy and trying to make sure they keep their noses out of
Other business. That’s my job. You want it?”

God, no.
“You know I don’t.”

He leaned over his desk, his eyes dark. “Then shut the fuck
up about the vampires. I know what I’m doing. You do your job, and I’ll do
mine.”

She studied her folded hands. “I’m worried for Ellis.”

He settled back into his chair, blowing out a breath of
relief. “I was told you’d found some sort of amulet as protection against the
bite.”

“You really do work fast.”

“He’ll be okay, Rune. The world is full of vampires. We
can’t keep them out of River County. We need a master who’ll work with us. I
believe I’ve found one.”

“And I believe it’s going to come back to bite you in the
ass.” She lifted her palms before he could speak. “I can’t stop you. Bring him
in if you must. But I don’t think Elizabeth or Ellis are going to forgive you
anytime soon.”

“Simon spoke with Elizabeth before he petitioned. He wanted
her permission.”

“I don’t believe you. She’d never consent to another
master.”

“But she did. Elizabeth knows what’s best for the city.
She’s not going to let her personal…fears get in the way.” He gestured. “Call
her. Let her explain.”

But she knew he was telling the truth. Elizabeth had thought
creating a center for newly turned humans was a good idea. Rune had believed in
that idea herself, once upon a time.

She stood. “Unless you have a run for me, I’m going to call
Owen. He might have a lead on the twins.”

He looked at her for a long moment. “You should take some
time off. You’ve been through a lot lately.”

“I’m fine. I need to work.”

“Come back at sundown, please. I’d like you to meet the new
master. Give me your opinion.” His voice softened. “I don’t want to argue with
you. RISC needs you.”

Finally, she nodded. “I’ll be here.”

She meant to leave the room, to find and console Ellie, who
was surely devastated by the same news Rice had given her.

Before she could leave, Rice’s office phone buzzed. He held
up a finger indicating she should wait, and answered his phone.

He hung up a few seconds later. “Zombies in the street by
Toad’s and Butter’s. Six people in the bar started shooting them—one was bitten.
I’ll call your crew and—”

She was gone before he finished speaking.