Sing for the Dead (London Undead) (5 page)

Was there a word for it? How would he think of it? This man with a soul equal parts man and cat, a predator in every aspect of his being?

“Hunt.” She breathed the word. “I...I need to hunt.”

She needed to kill.

He hooked a finger under her chin, gently but inexorably lifting until she met his gaze. “What are you?”

“Aberration.” The word echoed through her memories. Despite the need riding her, the cool wetness of a tear traced its way down the side of her hot cheek.

“No.”

She couldn’t see his expression, he was so close. Instead, she closed her eyes, tried to make him understand. “My mother was Baen Sidhe and my father...was mortal, but not just a human. Father was a berserker, a nightmare on the battlefield. When he stepped onto the fields and the rage took him, he became an unstoppable soldier, an indiscriminate killer. And I am truly my father’s daughter. I have his blood madness. I am cursed.”

Lips pressed against hers, hot, demanding. His tongue swept inside her mouth when she gasped. Desire washed through her and she returned his kiss, hungry.

He pulled away suddenly and she snarled.

The bastard smiled. “You are beautiful.”

Chapter Three

Beautiful? No. Impossible.

“
Mew.
”

Sorcha spun toward the source of the noise. A slender orange tabby cat stood in the doorway staring up at her. Thoughts tumbled through her mind as she tried to make sense of what had just happened and the absurd little animal in front of her.

She failed.

“You just let that cat wander around like she owns the place, Seth?” Kayden called out from behind her.

“Seemed like letting the cat take point might be a good idea.” A tall, lanky man appeared in the doorway dressed in denims and an overcoat with no shirt to cover his sculpted chest and abs. He crossed his arms over his chest and leaned one shoulder into the door frame.

Power and charisma emanated from the man. This was the alpha werewolf. He’d shifted to human form.

“Dunno. Maisie might have somewhat to say to you if anything were to happen to her friend here.” Kayden continued to sound relaxed, but he stood close to Sorcha’s back and an odd tension in his posture bothered her.

“Maisie might have somewhat to say to you.” Seth lifted his chin toward the cat, who’d advanced into the room and lay stretched out on its side with languid disregard for the display of testosterone Sorcha was beginning to realize was going on. “Tiny beast is hers and he knows this is his territory.”

“I thought true cats didn’t like canines, especially not werewolves.” Kayden rested a hand on her waist, the heat of it seeping through the fabric of both her vest and tunic. The cat in question looked past Sorcha, presumably at Kayden and flicked the tip of its tail.

Seth chuckled. “Most cats run from zombies too.”

For all their casual talk, both males spoke with edges to their words. Was it possible to relax with so much aggression filling a room? Again, the cat being the exception to the rule.

“Maisie figured it best if she remained downstairs.” Seth shrugged. “I’m more levelheaded when I’m not focused on protecting her.”

Ah, it made sense to her. A mated pair would be fiercely protective of each other and Maisie and she had been on the brink of violence.

Sorcha was still off-balance.

Kayden rested his hand on her shoulder. “I’d like to sponsor her as a new ally to the pack, if you will accept her.”

“Can the pack trust her?” Seth stood tall and his words rang with formality.

“I do.” Kayden stood equally as tall, but his eyes remained cast downward.

Sorcha bit the inside of her cheek. She wanted to ask what they were going on about, but the weight of a decision hung in the air.

The energy building between the two men pushed all of her instincts to choose some course of action—fight or flee. Sorcha tensed and she flexed her hands, wanting nothing more than to reach for her swords.

Something needed to happen, anything.

The cat rose, stretched and picked its way across the floor toward her. Her gaze was drawn to it, even as her common sense screamed to keep an eye on the dangerous males. Oblivious, the tabby sniffed at her boot toe, then her ankle.

“
Mew.
” Such a tiny sound.

The cat turned and sat on her foot.

What in...?

“Welcome.” Seth stepped forward, hand outstretched.

Sorcha yanked her gaze from the cat and looked straight into the werewolf’s eyes. Power slammed into her mind and a dominating will pressed upon hers. Her own rose up to meet it and she struggled to hold her magic back.

She’d been the one to challenge by meeting the alpha’s gaze.

Swallowing hard, she gave him a firm handshake in the human way. She had to lean; otherwise she’d dislodge the cat.

“Our friend Kayden here finds the most interesting people.” Seth gave her a smile and released her hand.

“And what do allies of the pack do?” She wanted to know more, before she formally aligned herself with the shape-shifters. They could be of help as scouts or direct intelligence regarding the hidden places in the city, perhaps, but the fae had little need of the dual natured to handle fae matters.

Seth tilted his head to the side, considering her. “In some cases, run patrols like Kayden or coordinate search and rescue efforts. We need all the help we can get out there, keeping the numbers of zombies down. The pack is outnumbered, and we can’t kill the lot of them in one night.”

Oh, but wouldn’t it have been wonderful for the solution to have been so simple?

“My purpose is not to keep the corpses under control.” Seth’s mouth tightened at her choice of words. Kayden’s gaze burned into her as well. “The fae only intervene because fae influence is involved.”

“So you’re not here to find a cure or wipe out the problem, you’re just cleaning up the evidence of faery fun?” Seth crossed his arms.

The cat sitting on her foot began to play with the laces of her boot.

“Yes.” Truth, for the most part, and to put an end to the one causing it. What did she care if he wanted to put it that way? Allies did not have to be friendly to one another. “I am a soldier for the Court of the Light—the Seelie sidhe—sent to investigate why the lesser fae living in the city of London are dying and to stop it if I can. My lords in the Court have no concern for the mortals in the city, only the fae.”

Silence fell. Only the sound of the cat tugging at her laces broke the heavy atmosphere. Sorcha might have shivered as well, but her annoyance was slowly burning to a true anger. She would not jump through hoops for the pleasure of one of the dual natured simply to gain their cooperation.

“Help is help.” Kayden shrugged.

Seth snarled.

“What?” Kayden shot back. “The lass found evidence of fae magic. If it can be eliminated, it’s one less thing to worry ourselves over. As much as I enjoy going out there every night and killing the blighted things, there are other approaches to the problem.”

Enough was enough. Sorcha deliberately took her gaze off the irritating men and bent to reclaim her laces. After she retied them, she scooped the cat up and cradled him in her arms. “I have my purpose here. I will proceed whether I have your help or not.” She paused. “It would be preferable to work with you as opposed to avoiding you.”

The cat purred in her arms, the sound impossibly loud to her ears.

“Get on with you.” Seth sighed. “No point in arguing over the how of it all. That you’re helping is enough. I suppose you’ll want to talk with our prisoner then?”

“Prisoner?” Sorcha looked to Kayden.

It was Seth who continued, “My wolves took the landlord who did this into custody for questioning.” His brows together in a dark scowl. “No matter what we’ve tried so far, he hasn’t revealed any information. He just opens his mouth and nothing comes out.”

“He’s gone mute?” Disbelief colored Kayden’s voice.

Seth shook his head. “He can cry and beg for mercy, curse us and blubber.”

“When he tries to give you the answer you seek, the words are stolen before he can speak them.” Sorcha’s mind raced. Only magic could have bound the man’s words, a safeguard against betrayal. It was a
geas
, a binding of his will. The fae responsible for laying the
geas
on him would have left other safeguards on the human servant. “He’s been bound not to speak of what he knows. To let him see me, talk to me, might warn the responsible fae of my arrival.”

“What do you need, then?” Seth’s brows drew together and his expression grew more severe.

“Fae magic is powerful, but it has its limits.” That much should have been common sense, perhaps, but best to begin at the beginning rather than backtrack to explain. “Usually magic intended to hide something can only do so from one set of senses or another. I was unable to find any trace of this fae’s meddling in the Kensington Gardens though magic floods the area. Yet zombies seem to be summoned from there to buildings like this one.”

Kayden nodded. “Based on the investigation we’ve done since the attack on this building, we’ve confirmed most of the batches of undead have come from the nearest parks. Kensington Gardens and Hyde Park are the largest in this part of the city.”

Sorcha motioned to the charm Kayden still held. “Hard to tell yet if this summons specifically marked undead or if it simply calls to the closest in a given area. What I do know is that it was hidden from your senses of smell though it probably reeks of the man you hold in custody and the fae who gave it to him. If I or another fae hadn’t come up here, it wouldn’t have been found. This fae has invested an immense amount of effort to hide his coming and going in the city from others of our kind and to keep all of you ignorant of his intervention.” She reached out to touch Kayden’s wrist. “However, he can’t hide from both of us at the same time.”

“You want a partner.” Seth sounded as if he might continue but stopped when Kayden placed a hand on her waist again.

“Let’s hunt him together, then.” Kayden’s words came in a whisper, intimate and to the exclusion of the alpha.

Both men glared at each other. This time Kayden did not drop his gaze.

“Were-cat, I granted you status as an ally.” Seth’s teeth flashed in the dim light of the room.

“And leopards are normally loners. I don’t play well with your pack no matter how good the intentions are on both sides.” Kayden spread his hands at his sides. “How many of your wolves have tried to challenge me? They can’t help it, not when I’m too dominant to have a clear place in your hierarchy. This is the perfect solution. With me as her partner. I won’t be constantly crossing paths with your patrols. Win, win.”

Sorcha studied Kayden. More had gone unsaid, but at least now she understood why Kayden and Seth came together with such tension. Even among the dual-natured fae, the dominance in the animal aspect played a major part in status and standing.

“I’m not challenging your claim, cat, but I need to be kept up to date on the progress of this investigation. My wolves report in regularly.” Seth fished a mobile out of his pocket and waved it.

Claim
? Sorcha sucked in a breath but Kayden bumped her shoulder and she bit back her question.

A wry grin spread across Kayden’s face. “Aye and I’m not the best at reporting at all, am I? All right then, I’ll do my best to at least text updates.”

“That’ll meet minimum requirement.” Seth slid the mobile back into the front of his denims. “Ring us up using your mobile sometimes. A text is too easy to fake.”

“I’d best be heading back to headquarters before Maisie decides to call and see if I’ve eaten the two of you.” Seth took a step toward Sorcha, hands outstretched.

A rumbling growl rose up in the room. Startled, Sorcha stared at Kayden.

“The tabby. Just retrieving the tabby, or Maisie’ll have my hide.” As reasonable as Seth’s words were, his voice had dropped deeper as well, the words rougher.

Sorcha handed over the purring cat before the two men abandoned civility and settled whatever the remaining issue was with violence. A part of her wailed inside her mind, urging her to hold onto the cat and push the men to bloodshed.

No, no, no.

They were allies, both dominants. She would not manipulate them for her pleasure. But oh, for warm blood to spill... Not that of the walking dead but that of the living.

Silence intruded on her thoughts. The cat had stopped purring. Both men were watching her. Her bloodlust had nearly taken over and they must have been able to see it in her eyes, or catch it in her scent.

“I need to get back to the gardens.” Back to where she had room to move, things she could kill.

Seth gave her a slow nod. “I have patrols on the perimeters. They haven’t been briefed yet about your new status as an ally. It’d be better for you to wait until tomorrow.”

As if she needed him to vouch for her in order to walk where she desired.

Kayden took a step toward her and suddenly, the rest of the room phased out of her attention. Taller than her and more heavily muscled than Seth. But he moved quickly. Faster than her? She wanted to find out.

“Staying in might not be a bad idea. Wouldn’t want to get in a tussle, being allies and all.” Kayden’s voice was low, mild. It took a few moments for his words to sink in.

No. It wouldn’t be good to clash with new allies. Not when she craved a battlefield so badly and not when the blood of living people excited her so much more than the dead. After all, the dead didn’t provide much of a challenge besides their sheer drive and numbers.

The living fought with skill...and a desire to stay alive.

“Sorcha, lass. You’ll stay with me, won’t you?”

She swallowed hard, latched onto Kayden’s voice as an anchor. The teasing in his tone sparked at her temper, distracted her from the sort of fight she normally hungered for. No words came to her to respond, though. All she could manage was a nod.

“We’ll meet in the morning, then.” Seth’s voice came from farther away. He’d stepped back to the door, small cat tucked in the crook of one arm.

Kayden touched two fingers to his forehead in a cocky salute. “We’ll be seeing you tomorrow.”

“It was...interesting to meet you, Sorcha.” No anger in Seth’s voice. And she couldn’t bring herself to respond. Embarrassment warred with the pounding of her heart as she struggled to control the urge to scream, the need to pick a fight. As he left, he turned and touched two fingers to his temple in some sort of salute. He never gave either her or Kayden his back.

After a moment, Kayden tugged at her ponytail. “Well then, we can have a bit of a sparring match here where Brian can patch us up after or we can go back to my flat. I’d much prefer there.”

Did he want the advantage of his home territory? “Why should I go there?”

“Because you’re fussing for either a fight or a good tumble. There’s nothing but dirt and rubble here but I’ve got a nice big bed at home and one hell of a hard-on.”