Shades of Blood (6 page)

“Was that your plan for him?” the anger crumpled into renewed grief as she thought of what the future could have held for her brother. “You were originally going to tell me because you were going to change him for me?”

Val
’
s nod was almost imperceptible but Eden caught it like a lump of sorrow in her throat.  “When Noah reported how close you two were, how protective he was… how…
different
he sounded… Cyrus and I thought it would be easier for your transition if he was saved too.”

Eden choked on a sob as she thought of Stellan. He would have welcomed the change. She knew it. She just knew it.

As Cyrus made to approach her, she waved him off, not wanting anybody to touch her.  She curled into herself, trying to stop the shuddering sobs that cracked up out of her… but she couldn
’
t.

All this time she
’
d thought a future with Stellan in it would have been hopeless anyway if Romany hadn
’
t killed him. That she
’
d have to avoid him all her life and hope they never crossed paths, that she was never put in a position where she
’
d have to choose duty over Stellan… because she knew she
’
d never have been able to execute that duty. She wouldn
’
t have been able to hurt Stellan. Ever.

Never.

And now… to know that if he
’
d lived, if her brother, her best friend, had lived… he would have been OK. He could have been in her life. And even if he couldn
’
t remember how much he
’
d loved his little sister it would have been worth it… because he
’
d have been free.

“Eden,” Val whispered unsurely.

Eden gulped down a deep breath, batting away her tears, unable to look at either of them. Her lips trembled as she tried to control herself.

“Eden… we are very sorry for what happened to Stellan. For what will never be.”

“Don
’
t,” she choked out, the aching pain in her chest too much. “Please don
’
t. I can
’
t…”

They were silent a while as Eden
’
s breathing evened out, a numbness creeping over the grief. She needed to be numb.

“You can
’
t tell anyone, Eden,” Val eventually spoke up. “No one can know what you are capable of.”

Wiping her nose with the back of her sleeve, Eden shook her head, her voice still weak with tears, “I
’
m not lying to Noah.”

“Good,” his warm voice entered the room, the door closing shut behind him. Noah stilled when she turned around, his eyes narrowing at the sight of her tear-streaked face. His pale eyes darkened as he approached her, his strong hand easing down onto her shoulder. With a questioning look he handed her a manila folder. “Because I refuse to lie to you too.” At that he threw a glare over at Cyrus. Eden immediately felt a pierce of panic shoot through her body. Not once had she seen Noah angry at Cyrus. Not once.

With trembling hands, she turned the page of the paper folder.

An image gazed back at her. An image of Neil McLeish, the Scottish Neith Councilman who had been less than friendly to her when she was visiting the Douglas
’
in Edinburgh, standing talking to a young woman with sandy blonde hair.

She turned the next page.

And the next.

They were surveillance photographs.

Finally, Eden turned to another. Her heart froze in her chest at this one. A close up of the young woman with McLeish.

It was Romany.

Unlikely Places

Neil McLeish was not surprised by Cyrus
’
test. Not in the least. After his attitude towards the Ankh and, in particular, Eden MacDouglas, it was no shocker that Cyrus might believe him to be the rebel Neith traitor their world was slowly growing abuzz with. For all his contacts, for all the rumors, Neil had been unable to unearth the identity of the Neith who was on the verge of leading a rebellion.

That told him one, reassuring thing.

Whoever it was he or she hadn
’
t been able to create much of a furor so far.

And while that eased his worries somewhat, he knew it didn
’
t mean the rebel wouldn
’
t eventually have the kind of power he needed to take down the Ankh.

Take down the Ankh.

Neil grimaced at the thought.

People perceived him as one thing when in truth he was neither this nor that. No wonder Cyrus had sent Romany Jordan of the Chicago Neith to sniff out his true loyalty. She
’
d come to him with a tale of woe. She
’
d dated Noah Valois. Had loved him. She
’
d killed Stellan Winslow, a soul eater and the half-brother of Eden MacDouglas, and Noah had turned his back on Romany. They all had. She
’
d just done her duty and the arrogant bastards had turned her out. She wanted revenge. She wanted Eden MacDouglas dead. She wanted the Ankh… gone.

It hadn
’
t taken much to verify her story. That
’
s probably why Cyrus had sent her on this mission. A double agent. The Princeps had sent her to the wrong bloody man, that
’
s all. Still… he hadn
’
t been surprised by Cyrus
’
mistrust. Neil
’
s sister had after all betrayed them and contacted Cosmina Arcos in an attempt to have Eden killed. Mary had always been narrow-minded, unwilling to rationalize or think things through. Just like their pig-headed father who had beaten his hatred of soul eaters quite literally into his children. And then of course there was Neil
’
s own behavior. He hadn
’
t been able to curb his negative attitude towards Eden. She was an anomaly… and she
’
d given him the willies. Not to mention she was just a complete and total pain in the arse.

But a brave pain in the arse nonetheless, and Ankh now. And no matter how much Neil disliked having the Ankh in his territory, disrupting his way of things, undermining his authority and turning usually collected and intelligent Neith into flirtatious, blithering numptys, he respected Cyrus and he feared Darius. He also happened to be a big believer in tradition and legacy. Aye, Neil may not like the Ankh coming in and ruling his roost but it
was
the way of things. The madman who was stirring up the Neith against the Ankh was causing him more than a little unease. At least Cyrus now knew
he
wasn
’
t the traitor.

As soon as Neil had verified the truth of her story he
’
d called the number he had for Cyrus and was put through by security to the man himself.  It was then Cyrus confirmed that Romany was working on his behalf. He apologized for being underhand but he didn
’
t know who he could trust.  Cyrus had enlisted the help of Romany and her Councilman, Sandy Meikles, to unearth the rebel in their midst.

Now Neil was in on it too.

“I
’
m sorry I had to lie to you. Cyrus was pretty sure you were the guy.” Romany shrugged, crossing a long leg over her opposite knee, her coat riding up so he could see the dagger strapped to her thigh. He raised an eyebrow. She was extremely confident, strong, and relaxed for such a young warrior. She
’
d lied to him so smoothly and she was anything but subtle. Neil decided he liked her savvy and understood why Cyrus had enlisted her. You had to admire someone who was able to carry out her duty even when she
’
d been wronged. Romany Jordan was clearly a Neith to be reckoned with and he envied the Chicago Councilman for having her on his team.

Neil nodded, leaning back against his desk. His wife and boys were down in the training center so the house was quiet except for the four Neith he had guarding his office door and the front and back entrance of his home. He
’
d put them there before he knew the truth about the girl. “The Princeps
’
visit was a strained one… to say the least.”

“Because of Eden?” Romany quirked an eyebrow.

“Aye. The girl unnerves me.”

She snorted. “Yeah, I know right? But I guess she didn
’
t ask for any of this… and I sort of owe her one.”

“You really did kill her brother then?”

Her eyes grew dark with something indefinable. “It was a mistake. I wasn
’
t thinking… all I saw was a soul eater and I carried out my duty.”

“No need to be defensive with me, Miss Jordan. We
’
re Neith. We kill soul eaters. Doesnae matter who they are.”

Their eyes caught and held and she nodded gratefully. “Thanks. You
’
re the first one to say that to me. Even my Councilman was pissed at me.”

“I imagine because you pissed off Cyrus of Persepolis. I doubt it had anything to do with the creature you killed.”

“Yeah well… I
’
m trying to make up for the all the shit that went down so… any clues?”

Aye, he had a clue. His only clue. One he didn
’
t feel all that comfortable divulging but he had to. He had his own misdeed to make up for.

His bloody sister, Mary.

“You said there
’
s a possibility that the Neith rebel has spoken with Cosmina Arcos?”

Romany nodded, sitting forward. “The rebel and Arcos know too much. We have a mole, maybe more than one, and information is being fed to both of them at the same time. We
’
re hoping that means there
’
s a connection between them. It would make sense. Their agendas are similar.”

Neil nodded, heaving a heavy sigh as he stood up from his desk. “Well, I know someone who
’
s spoken to Arcos.”

Romany stood up from her seat, her shoulders thrown back with determination. “Lead the way.”

“Will you let
me see my son?” Mary asked him, her chin trembled a little, betraying her anger.

Neil refused to feel bad for removing Cameron from Mary
’
s care. Cameron was living under his roof now and naturally hated his uncle for separating him from his mother, his only parent. But it was for his nephew
’
s own good and he
’
d made bloody sure neither of them could go behind his back to meet up with one another. Of course that added another layer to the hatred his nephew felt towards him, but Neil could live with that. It was part of Mary
’
s punishment for betraying the Ankh and therefore betraying her own people. To have gone behind his back, behind the Princeps
’
back to a known traitor… it was unbelievable. And yet, not something he was entirely surprised by. Mary had not been the same since her husband was murdered by soul eaters. At least there was a positive to her betrayal - she might remember Arcos having mentioned a Neith by name.