Wait for Dusk (16 page)

“Excellent! Veyron will be quite pleased that you’re coming,” she said, seeming to relax a bit for the first time. Reaching inside the left sleeve of her shirt, she pulled out a folded piece of paper and moved to hand it to me. I took a step back, while Stefan stepped forward and intercepted it. It was all done smoothly, like a dance we had practiced over the long years of our association, but in truth we had never done such a thing before. However, it was the practice of the Elders not to receive anything directly from an underling if other nightwalkers were about to act as our assistants. Stefan knew the drill, and I was proud of the fact that I hadn’t actually reached for the paper. The tradition was a mix of protection and elitism. By touching the paper she tried to hand me, I was putting myself at risk of any spell that might have been attached to it. In addition, an Elder never lowered him- or herself to accepting something from any lowly creature if could be helped.

“It—It’s the address and directions to Veyron’s home,” she stammered, her eyes darting from Stefan to me.

Mira,
Danaus said in a warning growl.

She’s in no danger,
I replied in my most placating tone. His weakness for humans was going to be our undoing in the end; I knew it.

“Odelia said that you are an Elder on the nightwalker coven,” Sofia said in a low voice, but it came out sounding like more of a question.

“Yes, I’m an Elder.”

“And the Fire Starter?”

“Yes,” I hissed, smiling wide enough to expose my fangs. Whatever safety she felt by living under the protection of Veyron’s name slipped away as she came to realize she was in a room surrounded by powerful nightwalkers and a human that I called my consort. If I had come to town with the explicit desire to anger and destroy Veyron, then my first stop would be through Sofia, and the two nightwalkers that were making their way up to the suite would never be able to save her. If Veyron treasured her so much, he never should have sent her. But then, she was in no real danger. I didn’t mind raising the heart rate of a human every now and then, but if I was angry with a specific nightwalker, I usually took my temper out on that nightwalker, not his underlings.

“If there is nothing else, you may return to Veyron and tell him that we will be appearing at his home later this evening.” I extended my hand toward Stefan, who laid the piece of paper in my palm.

“Yes, of course,” Sofia said quickly with a bob of her head before she scurried back to the door. Everyone remained silent as Danaus opened the door and closed it again then secured the lock.

I glanced down at the piece of paper, noting the clean, elegant handwriting. It was obvious that a woman had written down the address and some brief directions to the place that lay somewhere in the Castle District. With a frown, I handed it over to Valerio, who also examined the address.

“Is this truly his place or is it a trap?” I asked, shoving my hands into the pockets of my black dress slacks. I hadn’t been in the mood for my typical leather pants and confining top, but settled for a pair of cotton slacks and a mint green turtleneck. It was far from intimidating, but as Sofia proved, I could be intimidating even without my leather and knives.

“It is the address for his home, but I think it is also a trap,” Valerio said. Folding up the piece of paper, he handed back to me and I shoved it in my pocket.

“Find anything of interest last night?” Stefan inquired.

“He’s not the keeper,” Valerio stated with a heavy sigh. “No one uses that term. However, he is one of the oldest nightwalkers in the region, if not the oldest. His name is frequently connected with Odelia’s when it comes to who is making the edicts in the city.”

“Is there any indication that Veyron and Odelia may be fighting for control?” I asked.

“None. There has been no indication that they are anything but in total harmony at all times.”

I shook my head and walked a couple feet away from where Valerio sat in his chair and then paced back. The only thing I could come up with is that Veyron and Odelia were actually lovers and were sharing the domain, but that situation was doomed to fail at some point. Nightwalkers typically didn’t play well with other nightwalkers, particularly when emotions and shared power were involved. Hurt feelings and wounded egos did not mend so easily. “Lovers?”

“Possibly,” Valerio said with a shrug of his broad shoulders. “Just so long as they are both permitted to have other affairs as well. Sharing the domain, you think?”

“They have to be,” Stefan interjected before I could speak.

“It’s rare, but it has been done before.”

“If we’re here to take out both of them,” Danaus said in a low, dark voice, drawing all eyes to where he leaned against the doorway leading into the suite, “it will ultimately leave a power vacuum since there are no old nightwalkers in the area. That’s dangerous.”

“Valerio is just a quick jaunt away in Vienna,” I said, waving my left hand at the seated nightwalker. “He can easily hop over and keep the peace if necessary.”

Valerio pushed to his feet and took a step around the coffee table toward me. “Now, Mira, there’s no need to volunteer me for more territory than I need. I’m not even technically the keeper of Vienna. I can’t go extending my territory to include Budapest as well. Besides, as an Elder on the coven, shouldn’t you have a domain in Europe like the other members?”

“I keep my eye on Savannah. That’s enough,” I snapped.

“And having a domain on two continents may ruffle more than a few feathers on the coven, I am sure,” Stefan said, earning a glare from me, over my shoulder. But despite my dark looks, the nightwalker was correct. Jabari had a good chunk of Africa, Macaire claimed Rome, and Elizabeth hung close to France. While I was always the first to deny it, I was overseer for all of the New World. I had always taken the approach that I was nothing more than an ambassador for the coven since my domain was exclusively Savannah, but I knew that nightwalkers across the region bowed to my will because I was the Fire Starter. Claiming Budapest as well as the New World would only upset the various member of the coven.

“Well, everyone can relax. I’m not claiming Budapest,” I said, trying to keep my voice from dropping to a frustrated growl. “I’ve got Savannah and that’s more than enough for me. We should get going. Danaus and I will take a taxi to Veyron’s place and then I’ll contact you when we arrive so you can pop over.”

“It may be better if we follow you by the air,” Valerio suggested. “You never know. He may decide to launch an attack when you’re en route to his place if we’re separated.”

“We’ll be fine,” I said, then looked over at Stefan. “Find anything interesting with Ferko?”

“Just where they will be hunting tomorrow night,” Stefan replied with a cold grin.

“Tomorrow night?”

“Full moon,” Danaus said, leaving me cursing my absentmindedness. I had completely forgotten about the full moon. The local pack would meet tomorrow night, since they would all be forced to shift. The urge to hunt would be overwhelming, and they would need the strength of the alpha to keep the group under control.

“I’m guessing that I’ll find out tonight at Veyron’s what has dragged you to this city,” I said, arching one eyebrow at Stefan. The nightwalker had not come because he had any real desire to protect me. He didn’t care about whatever Macaire had planned for me. His main concern was a seat on the coven. However, I was willing to bet that something important had happened in his life surrounding the creatures of Budapest and he had tagged along to take care of a personal matter. I knew that he would have to tell me soon, or it was going to interfere with my own investigation. I was already on edge with Rowe in the city, and it didn’t help that I was faced with a tag-team ruling party. I needed to know that Stefan wasn’t going to run off and take care of his own agenda.

Stefan gave a little snort as one corner of his mouth quirked in a grudging smile. He had underestimated me. “I imagine you will.”

“Fine. We’re out of here. Be on guard while you’re in the city. Rowe is in town and he’s not happy,” I announced as I grabbed my heavy coat from where I had laid it across an open chair.

“The one-eyed naturi from Machu Picchu?” Stefan inquired. “The one that wants your head? When is he ever happy?”

I pressed my lips into a firm line as I turned back toward the bedroom so I could pull on a pair of socks and boots before we left. Rowe was only happy when I was hurt and bleeding. Rowe would only be happy when I was dead.

I paused near the center of the room, every muscle in my body freezing as I extended my powers beyond the confines of the hotel room. Something powerful was coming.

“Danaus! Blade!” I ordered. I was completely unarmed, but the hunter tossed me a knife from across the room. I caught it with my right hand and turned it toward the growing source of energy. Valerio and Stefan didn’t question me as I could feel their own powers begin to fill the air.

To our combined surprise, Macaire appeared in the room, standing so the point of my knife was just centimeters from his heart. He took one look at the blade and raised an eyebrow at me. “I take it things are not going well.”

I hesitated in withdrawing the blade, but finally forced myself to lower it to my side. “I’ve never been one to welcome unexpected visitors.”

“I came to offer my assistance since I am the one that directed you to Budapest.”

“While unnecessary, your presence is most appreciated,” I lied through my clenched teeth. “I take it that everything went well in Spain.”

“All is quiet in Sadira’s former domain. Some of her children still reside in her old castle. Otherwise, the naturi threat has been removed from the area.”

He made the comment about Sadira’s former domain and her poor children as if I was supposed to feel some kind of twisted remorse about her death at Machu Picchu. The only regret I felt was that I had not been the one to actually kill my maker. The old bloodsucking witch got what she deserved, and now it was time for her precious children to learn to stand on their own two feet.

In the meantime, I truly doubted that Macaire had accomplished much on the naturi front. Danaus had been there weeks earlier and cleared out the region. I couldn’t imagine that there was much for Macaire to do. Besides, the Elder was far more interested in seeing me get killed off one way or another.

“We had our first encounter with the naturi last night,” I said. “Rowe is in town and appears eager to have his hands on me again to hand over to Aurora.” I suppressed a barrage of nasty thoughts about Macaire. The nightwalker liked to tread through the minds of others, and I had no desire to have him listening in on my thoughts of him. “I’m confident that we’ll succeed in eliminating him at long last when we remove the naturi threat from the region.”

“Really? I’m surprised, considering that he’s been giving your problems for so long. Why do you think you have an edge this time?” Macaire inquired with a wicked grin.

“He doesn’t have the same kind of support of his people as he has had in the past. He’s an outcast; a traitor. They are going to be unwilling to help him, making the naturi an easier target to hit.”

“Will you be hunting him down tonight?”

I shook my head. “Not tonight.”

“We’ve been invited to a private gathering,” Valerio volunteered.

I turned Danaus’s knife over in my hand, watching the silver blade reflect the light. “It seems that Budapest is far more interesting that we initially thought. We all came to town assuming that we were dealing with naturi, but I’m afraid there has been a serious breakdown in the ruling system that we have set up.”

“What’s going on?” Macaire demanded.

“That’s exactly what we’re trying to figure out. The Ancients are dead. None of the younger nightwalkers are going before the coven. And this Odelia that I met last night claims there is no keeper of Budapest. It’s chaos, and it cannot be allowed to continue.”

“Really? I had no idea the situation was so dire.”

“I’m surprised. I thought you knew. I assumed it was the reason you chose me to come to Budapest—to clean up this mess.”

“My concern was the naturi, that is all.”

“You said that you were familiar with Budapest, correct?” Danaus interjected, where Stefan and Valerio were not bold enough to tread. “You should accompany us tonight to Veyron’s. Perhaps the two of you could shed some light on what has happened to this poor city.”

Macaire stiffened at being addressed directly by Danaus, but was forced to nod at the invitation. “I have heard of this Veyron and I would be happy to accompany you.”

I chuckled as I turned my back on Macaire and walked over to Danaus to return his blade. “Two Elders gracing a single nightwalker’s doorstep. What a rare honor!”

I’m sure that’s exactly how Veyron will see it,
Valerio said sarcastically in my mind. He was still cautious enough not to directly cross Macaire. I had recently killed the Elder’s companion, making him a walking powder keg. The littlest thing could set him off, and no one was particularly happy to discover that he was now in town.

“You can get the location from Stefan or Valerio,” I called over my shoulder as I walked toward the bedroom with Danaus following behind me. “We’ll meet you there in approximately thirty minutes.” My final words were punctuated by Danaus slamming the door shut behind us. Let them figure it out on their own. I didn’t want Macaire traveling with Danaus and me. He wasn’t supposed to be there in the first place, and I didn’t like it. I was beginning to feel even more trapped, surrounded by Nick, Rowe, and now Macaire. I was quickly running out of options and people to help me.

Nick had been right. Time was running out for me.

Chapter Twelve

T
here was no mistaking that Danaus was still angry with me from the previous night. The hunter refused to look at me as we climbed into the taxi. He stared out his window at the night-drenched city while I told the taxi driver where we were going. So much for trying to make this fragile relationship work. We were two damaged people, warped by too many years on this earth and too many violent encounters with the various races. We couldn’t trust others and we couldn’t ask for help. Valerio would have said we were doomed from the start, but I refused to believe it. I had managed complicated relation-ships with nightwalkers, lycanthropes, and humans over my long existence. Why couldn’t I make it work with a half-bori vampire hunter?