Wait for Dusk (8 page)

“They won’t agree—”

“They will if they want to continue to live and be free of the naturi,” I argued, cutting him off. “And start hunting down the naturi, damn it!”

“What about the humans?”

I slid back from the edge of my seat and rested my head in my hand as I put my elbow on the arm of the chair. “What about the humans?” I repeated. My head was beginning to throb. This was growing tiresome, and I was confident that we weren’t making any real progress. During the early years of my existence, when I was living with Jabari, I spent many hours hovering on the fringe of the coven because it meant that I was close to my mentor. I don’t recall that time being as particularly tedious as it was right at this moment.

“They’re being slaughtered at an alarming rate. The police aren’t going to buy this serial killer garbage we’ve been feeding them for much longer. It’s only a matter of time before the truth gets out. We won’t be able to protect the secret for much longer if the naturi continue their rampage unchecked.”

“Then check them!” Jabari growled. “The coven cannot be everywhere at once fighting the naturi. These are your domains. Police them as you are supposed to or step down and let someone else take care of what you can’t.”

“But the coven can be in a few select places, looking into the matter and making an example of the naturi that are there,” Macaire smoothly interjected, jerking my head in his direction.

Taking a slow breath, I forced a brilliant smile on my lips as I looked at him, trying not to flash my fangs at him. “That is true,” I agreed sweetly. “Do you have someplace particular in mind?”

“Actually, I do. Budapest.”

“Budapest? Have we heard from her keeper this evening? I don’t recall that one,” I said, maintaining my polite demeanor while fighting the urge to grind my teeth. The Elder had something up his sleeve and was simply waiting for me to step into his trap.

“I have been contacted separately by nightwalkers that live within the city limits of Budapest,” Macaire replied, smiling back at me. “I have also been seeing a growing number of reports out of that city regarding human deaths under mysterious circumstances. Someone must act quickly to quell the chatter that is starting to hit the human media.”

I slouched in my chair, staring blindly out at the crowd of nightwalkers fanned out in front of me, watching my every move. I hadn’t visited Budapest in years. I wasn’t even sure who her keeper was now. However, it didn’t take a rocket scientist to guess that the keeper was most likely loyal to Macaire.

“Budapest is a vital stronghold for our people to the east,” Elizabeth chimed in.

“It’s long been a haven for our kind, but our numbers there have dwindled,” Macaire stated sadly. “We need to protect what is ours.”

“Shall you be going then to check it out?” I leaned forward in my chair so I could clearly see him around Jabari.

Macaire looked over at me, a wicked grin growing across his old, soft face. “I thought you would be best suited for this endeavor. You have proven to be quite adept at ridding an area of the naturi. I thought that you might be able to assist the nightwalkers of Budapest. You could clean out the region and make it safe again for our kind while settling the humans as well.”

Should I be concerned?
I asked Jabari secretly.

You should always be concerned when Macaire is involved.

I should have just killed him instead of Lucas.

Yes, that may have been the wiser choice,
Jabari agreed with a rumble of laughter rolling through my brain.

Of course, then you would no longer need me.

True,
he admitted.

It was enough to make a person scream. Even the one ally I had on the coven wanted me dead in the end. Only the hunter at my back seemed to worry about whether I lived or died. At least he wanted me to live another night for reasons other than how I could be used to his benefit.

“Who is the keeper of Budapest?” I asked, sitting back in my chair again. I was stalling. I didn’t want to go and fight the naturi again. Most importantly, I didn’t want to go into a domain that was ruled by a nightwalker loyal to Macaire. However, if I could steal that bit of backing from the Elder, it would weaken him. He would have fewer allies to rely on. It would bring him one step closer to being removed from the coven.

“That is unknown,” Macaire admitted. “Since the death of Geoffrey more than two centuries ago, no one has formally stepped forward to claim the territory.”

I didn’t buy it. There were exceedingly heavy concentrations of nightwalkers in Paris, Budapest, Vienna, Prague, and Berlin. I knew the keepers of all those domains save Budapest and Vienna. Of course, it was well known that Valerio made his home in Vienna and anyone causing problems in that city had to answer to him. He may not have held the title of keeper, but the city belonged to him. I could only guess that Budapest was managed much the same way by a nightwalker I wasn’t currently familiar with.

Going to Budapest was dangerous, to say the least, but I would only be faced with the naturi and a nightwalker that didn’t like me much. It didn’t seem to be that bad a situation. If I was lucky, Rowe would be hanging out in Budapest, giving me a chance to remove his one remaining eye. Traveling to Budapest would also give me the opportunity to steal something from Macaire. The potential rewards outweighed the risks, as far as I could see.

“I shall travel to Budapest and look over the situation. I’ll remove the naturi from the region,” I said with a nod of my head. “However, it seems such a waste to just send out one Elder when there are four of us. Wouldn’t it be a more effective example if we all struck out in separate domains and cleaned them of naturi?” I waved my right hand out toward the horde of nightwalkers closely watching me. “Our people have come forward for our help. Would not a strike from all four of us be the best use of our resources?”

“We all have domains that we watch over—” Elizabeth started, but I was quick to cut her off.

“Yes, and I’ve been careful to leave my domain in the capable hands of one I trust to watch over things while I am away. Surely, you’ve done the same. I imagine that you can spend a few nights away from your domain and the coven in support of your people.”

I sat back in my chair, fighting back a smile. There weren’t too many nightwalkers that would welcome a visit from an Elder, let alone have one temporarily set up shop within their domain, even if it meant getting rid of the naturi. Not many would thank me for this suggestion. However, I was unwilling to be the only one on the coven that got her hands dirty. I had been sent to Crete and Peru to stop Rowe. I was now being sent to Budapest to fight the naturi for some unknown keeper. I would not be the errand girl of the coven. They had to fight as well if we were to succeed against the naturi.

You will pay for this suggestion
, Jabari growled at me. “I think this is an excellent idea. With the death of Yuri, I will travel to Russia and check over the situation in Moscow and St. Petersburg,” he announced.

I was impressed and worried. Jabari was from Egypt. He lingered there in his free time even after countless centuries. He hated the cold, but he was willing to travel to Russia in the dead of winter. He had something else up his sleeve beyond the need to destroy naturi in Yuri’s domain. I quickly pushed the concern aside. I had no plans to travel to Russia, no intention of traveling that far from my own beloved Savannah. Let the Elder claim the region, extending his reach to more than what Alexander the Great could even call his own.

“Following that train of thought,” Macaire began, straightening in his chair as he spoke, “I shall go to Spain. After the death of your maker Sadira, a power vacuum has been left behind. There is no one there to keep order. I shall restore calm to the region.”

Should I warn him about the wind clan near Barcelona?
Danaus inquired.

A smile tweaked the corners of my mouth, forcing me to bite the inside of my cheek to keep from letting the smile fully form.
No, let him figure it out on his own.

Pushing to the edge of my seat, I looked down the row to where Elizabeth sat. Her tiny figure seemed to be engulfed in the chair. She sat with her back ramrod straight, her dainty hands folded in her lap. I struggled to imagine her in a fight with the naturi, but then Sadira could have passed for someone’s grandmother, not a vicious killer. When it came to nightwalkers, looks were frequently deceiving.

“If I might make a suggestion,” I politely said, lifting my hand. “You may want to consider traveling to London and the surrounding region.”

“London?” she repeated, arching one eyebrow at me. “Why there? There is no keeper of London, none in all of the United Kingdom.”

“True, but it has a high population density of humans and there are still a number of nightwalkers there, despite the fact that the city has no keeper. Wouldn’t it be prudent of us to stake a claim in the city before it is lost to the naturi?” I countered. “We could at last establish a power foothold in the region, and it’s not too far from your own beloved Paris, correct?”

What are you doing?

The question nearly echoed through my brain as both Jabari and Danaus made the demand at almost the exact same second.

I’m trying to see where her loyalties lie,
I told Jabari.
I don’t think she’s with Macaire and I know she doesn’t stand with you. Handing her a new domain could give me insight into where she stands
.

I then switched to my secret path with Danaus.
I’m dangling a bit of fresh meat in front of Ryan. I want to see if he will try to access the coven through Elizabeth if he thinks he’s lost his entrance through me.

My reasons for sending Elizabeth were multifaceted, but neither man needed to know all of them. If Elizabeth didn’t side with Jabari or Macaire, she might soften toward me at last if I handed her a way to easily extend her own domain. London and the surrounding region wouldn’t be an easy place to control, but it was another high-profile city like Paris.

“I will go to London,” she announced, nodding toward me. She eyed me suspiciously for only a moment before turning to look straight ahead again, dismissing me.

“It is decided, then!” Jabari announced, pushing to his feet. He raised his hands over his head, causing his robes to sway about him. “This meeting of the coven is at an end. We will meet again when all four members have gathered here in Venice after the completion of their tasks.”

The nightwalkers filed out of the front door of the Main Hall, while Elizabeth and Macaire slipped out a side door that led to the underground chambers. The air was heavy and silent, but I could feel the telepathic chatter as they discussed this unprecedented move by the Elders to rid the region of the naturi. The Elders rarely did anything beyond their silly amusements here in Venice. To take action, to actually take up arms against an enemy, hadn’t been done in centuries. But then, we hadn’t had an enemy to strike against in many centuries.

To my surprise, Jabari lingered behind, along with Valerio and Stefan. The Elder returned to his seat while the two others stepped forward. Valerio gave a sweeping bow to me, grinning ear to ear, while Stefan stiffly bowed his head.

“Budapest, eh?” Valerio said, inspecting his fingernails. “It sounds like fun. I’ll join you if you’ll have me.”

“You standing against the naturi? I struggle to see what’s in it for you,” I said, unable to keep the shock out of my voice. Valerio preferred the background, watching as others took risks. He knew when to step forward and take the benefit for himself when the opportunity arose. If anything, Valerio was a lover, never a fighter.

“Budapest is but a short jaunt from Vienna. I would prefer it if this naturi . . . infection did not spread to my own sweet city,” he replied, and I was happy to drop the issue. That was an explanation that I could understand. He was finally stepping forward to protect what he considered his. Of course, I was willing to bet there was more to it, but he would never tip his hand if he could help it.

“I wish to assist you as well,” Stefan stated brusquely. “I have had my own issues with the city of Budapest. There is a personal matter that I wish to look into if you would allow me to join you.”

“That’s fine with me.” I wasn’t going to press Stefan for more information because I knew I wasn’t going to get it. I didn’t trust the nightwalker, but I was willing to bet he was going to give me a little room since I had promised him a seat on the coven. He was going to give me a little time to deliver on my promise before he attempted to take my own seat. “Unless you want to arrive separately from me, my plane will leave shortly after sunset for Budapest.”

Both nightwalkers gave me a brief bow before disappearing from the Main Hall. I turned in my seat to find Jabari watching me with a thoughtful look on his face.

“It’s killing you to see me sitting here when you were so close to killing me just a few months ago,” I teased, grinning over at him.

“It is an unexpected turn of events, but not one I find unpleasant.”

“For now, you mean.”

“True,” he conceded. Jabari was pleased I was on the coven so long as it benefited him. The moment I no longer gave him an edge was the day he would kill me. He had already started looking for ways to replace me. Luckily, I had an ace up my sleeve that he didn’t know about. Unfortunately, I had to find a way to escape his control without him being aware of it. Sure, Nick was demanding that I learn to use the powers of my keepers, but it wasn’t something I was confident I could do in secret. If Jabari discovered that I’d found a way to escape his control, he would kill me in an instant. I was too dangerous without someone holding my leash.

“Is there anything I should know about Budapest before I set foot on her soil?” I asked, directing our conversation back to the more important matter at hand.

“Don’t trust Macaire.”

“I gathered that much. Who’s the keeper?”

“I do not know. Macaire has been known to frequent that region, so I turned my back on it. You will benefit from having Valerio on hand.”