Revenire Page 3

  A light mist started to fall from the sky and soon after, the rain came. Weaving his way between the numerous humans huddling underneath umbrellas or walking under the awnings of businesses, Yako was soon soaked through from head to toe; a slender black clad figure gliding through the throngs of oblivious mortals who —for reasons they couldn’t understand—instinctively moved out of his way.

  On occasion, a male filled with too much testosterone or a person under the influence of some substance or another would come too close, or look him in the eye in challenge. Yako never wasted his time on them. He would simply leave them rooted to the spot where they stood, or lying on the ground convulsing.

  The street population began to thin as the hours grew later and morning approached. Finally out of the core of downtown, Yako stood at the highest point in the middle of the Cambie Street Bridge, and looked out at the water. Small boats and yachts lazed atop the gently rippling water.

  Even though he was a pureblood, there were times when Yako grew weary of his own species. The posturing, intrigue, and elitism common in the covens was distasteful. Every time the High Council had approached him about ascending to the rank of Reaper, he had declined. The thought of living almost completely trapped within the compounds of a castle and its surrounding areas was the only thing Yako could relate to fear.

  He leaned on the rail and looked up at the clouded sky, allowing the rain to rinse his face and cleanse his thoughts. Jelani would meet him at the airport in Richmond tomorrow. Though there was no physical bond of obligation tethering the fledgling to himself, Yako knew the man’s heart. Jelani knew that Yako had not only spared his life, but had saved him from death on more than one occasion. There was honor and respect in him that Yako approved of, and he had no doubts that the fledgling vampire would hold to his word.

  Thinking of the conflicted shaquora led Yako’s thoughts to the current state of the Order of Hunters, and he considered the possibility that Jelani—his former target—might be the first result of his cleaning up of the order. How ironic.

  The phone strapped to his arm vibrated. Darren Lacey. Yako hadn’t expected to hear from his lycan ally until after speaking with Mariska, as was the arrangement. He clicked on his earpiece. “There is a problem.”

  “I never knew vampires were psychic in addition to everything else,” Darren’s voice said.

  “I was born without that ability, Darren.”

  “Ah, then I must be right, and your sexy little viper has not contacted you either.”

  “What has happened?” Yako asked.

  “That’s exactly why I’m calling you now,” Darren replied. “Nothing. I haven’t heard from your Second in four days and we were supposed to meet up three days ago. I think she may have sniffed her way into a problem.”

  Yako considered the situation. “The last time you met, was she followed?”

  “Nope,” Darren said. “We met in the woods more than ten miles from the castle, and I had sentries posted everywhere. They would have sniffed out a blood long before they could get close.” There was a pause. “You mind keeping that little tidbit to yourself? I told Mariska that I’d only come with one other member of my pack. If she finds out she was surrounded by lycans, spread out far though they were, she might get upset with me.”

  “There is no need for me to speak of it,” Yako said. “Is it possible for you to learn of her whereabouts?”

  “I can try but she may be dead already.”

  “She lives,” Yako said. “She is my Second, and the only captive of worth. They would try to extract any information from her that would lead to me.”

  “Do you think she would talk?” Darren asked.

  “Those capable of the level of mind compulsion needed to force her words lived a long time ago.”

  “Then they might just kill her.”

  Yako narrowed his eyes at a water taxi drifting toward Granville Island, as if were the cause of that undesirable notion. “Possibly.”

  “I could attempt a daring rescue—”

  “And be slaughtered,” Yako finished for him.

  “Your lack of confidence in me is wounding.”

  “Your lack of understanding what it is to fight a Reaper is dangerous.”

  “Good point. I’ve heard the stories and I’ve never met a vampire that was given to exaggeration.”

  “I leave for Sinaia tomorrow,” Yako continued. “Can you find out what happened and meet with me when I arrive?”

  “Of course, my friend. How are things across the pond? Have you spoken with Imron?”

  “Briefly,” Yako said. “We fought together not long ago. He is formidable.” He could practically see Darren nodding his head.

  “Yeah, that he is. We met eighty years ago in Dubai of all places. Both of us were on vacation. Did you know they actually have indoor skiing there? When humans aren’t making a concerted effort to become extinct, they do some amazing things.”

  “Will your Second pack leader remain here or will he join you in Sinaia?”

  On the other end of the line, Darren sighed. “We’ve really got to get you on a vacation or something. You’re all business. No. If things are that out of hand over there that you and Imron and some of my pack had to fight together, I’m thinking I should leave him there to keep an eye on things. If any of “Braveheart’s” minions decide to start trouble, he can handle it.”

  Yako grinned at the sarcasm. Remy was known to have several notable attributes, but bravery had never been one of them. “How many of your pack are with you?”

  “I sent for more, so I’ve got more than half of them with me. More than thirty. After tracking down the ones involved in your little skirmish the last time you were here, I managed to … ‘convince’ two of the three packs into a merger of sorts.”

  Yako knew what that meant. The Silver Pack and Ghost Pack knew that Darren had obliterated the Woodland Pack who had led them against Yako’s team. They could join with Darren or face a similar fate. For all his lighthearted personality, Darren was a vicious enemy with a reputation known throughout the lycan world. The fact that it was rumored he was descended from the wargkhull only added to his reputation. “That is good news. I appreciate your help.”

  “Don’t go getting all mushy on me,” Darren replied. “I’m too used to the stone-like persona. You’re going to scare me.”

  Another tiny grin crossed Yako’s features, then disappeared immediately. “Very well. I will see you soon.”

  “Until then,” Darren said, and the call ended.

  Yako glanced over his shoulder and shook his head. “Come out of hiding and speak to me. Now.” After a few seconds of what was surely hesitation, a figure stepped from behind a nearby wall.

  “How long have you known I was here?” the woman asked.

  “Since you first arrived ten minutes ago,” Yako answered.

  “And you let me stand there the whole time?” she replied, irritated.

  Yako continued to stare out at the water. “I could have killed you.”

  “Oh,” came the nervous reply.

  “You are Jelani’s friend,” Yako said.

  “My name is Melinda,” the woman replied. “I want to help.”

  In the blink of an eye, Yako drew his sword. The blade flashed. Melinda was too slow.

  Chapter 5

  From her vantage point high above, Saaya watched Daniel long after Jelani had departed. The conflicted man had taken Jelani’s place, watching the two ladies across the street. She thought the men behaved more than a little creepy, staring at women through their window from across the street, but she knew them both well enough. They watched not as stalkers, but as those who had suffered loss.

  Her vampiric nature could relate only to a small degree. Vampires did, after all, form relationships and couple, but it was different; not as emotional. Her human nature more easily understood. She wondered if it would have actually been easier if the two women had died in the conflict. Sure, Jelani and Daniel would have been devastated by Alisha and Wen’s deaths, but there would have been a finality to it all.

  That they still lived was a good thing, she supposed, but they were still lost to Daniel and Jelani all the same. Time passed and Daniel still remained rooted to his place. Even as the weather turned and the rain came heavier, he never moved.

  Watching him, the dampeal wondered what it was like to feel such an intense love for someone that it could debilitate the person at the loss of their mate. She shook her head. Why would anyone allow themselves to fall into such a potentially damaging state? Why would they consider it worth the price? She had no answer to that, only the rationale that it was foolish to allow oneself to be open to what was an obvious weakness.

  “When did humans begin to fascinate you so?” It was Kafeel who spoke. Her older brother towered over her. Unlike Saaya, he was not a dampeal, the spawn of the union of a Count and a human. He was the pureblood spawn of a Count and Countess’s nobility. Among the vampire species, only an Ancestor, was more powerful than Saaya. For one such as Kafeel, however, it came down to age. Since technically he was an Ancestor—albeit a young one—only an older Ancestor would be more powerful.

  “I don’t know if it’s humans that fascinate me, or the conditions to which they are subject,” Saaya replied.

  “Their emotions are one of their greatest weaknesses,” came the expected reply.

  Saaya continued to stare down at Daniel as she considered this. “Perhaps. Or perhaps enduring their emotions and continuing their lives in spite of them makes humans strong.”

  “You believe this?” Kafeel asked.

  Saaya thought about what it would be like to lose Kafeel, her beloved brother. Although it was not the same as the loss of a mate, she still found the idea of it like a f
ist clamped around her heart. She looked up at him and smiled. “How much of that infrequently beating pureblooded heart of yours cares for me, brother?”

  It wasn’t often that the tall, statuesque Kafeel was at a loss for words—few that he spoke anyway—but he seemed not to have an answer to that question. Did he even known how to answer it?

  “Let me rephrase,” Saaya said. “How would you feel if I were to be killed?”

  Kafeel’s black eyes shifted lavender and flared so bright, Saaya actually took half a step away. “I would tear apart both heaven and earth if that is what it took to avenge your death.”

  Saaya nodded. “And then? After my unfortunate demise was avenged, what then?”

  “I do not know,” Kafeel answered. “Do not ask me this question again.”

  That was that, then.

  A few minutes later Kafeel broke the silence. “The sun is rising. I will sleep through the day.”

  Saaya nodded, turning back to Daniel below. Though any vampire could move about in the day—so long as they avoided direct sunlight—it was unnatural, and thus difficult for them to function. The only exception was a dampeal and an Ancestor, the latter only needing to sleep through the day on occasion.

  “I will see you at dusk, brother.” There was no response, and she knew he had gone. So, that icy Ancestor heart of her brother’s was indeed capable of something akin to love. A sad smile crept across her face. She couldn’t blame Kafeel for not wanting to think of her death. She would go mad if she were to lose her beloved brother; her best friend.

  Seeing Daniel standing there staring longingly at the woman he could no longer be with made the dampeal wonder just how strong his pain must be.

  Her mind went unwillingly to that fateful day when first she’d met the then human Jelani, running for his life with the Eldest Hunter Yako on his trail. If she had simply killed the Hunter instead of toying with the situation, would things have happened differently? It was possible that the Northwest Coven would have sent another to hunt the human who had witnessed a feeding, but was she just telling herself that?

  Looking down at the once human Daniel, she found that she pitied him. A tiny part of her, of her human nature, experienced an unfamiliar feeling. Guilt.

  Chapter 6

  Wen was just as beautiful as the first time he’d met her. He remembered last month when she’d said she wanted to cut her hair. He’d objected, preferring longer hair. Daniel smiled when he remembered her reaching up and patting him on the head and saying, “It’ll be all right, honey. I promise you’ll like it.”

  When she came home later that day with vibrant, outward curving shoulder length hair, he’d smiled and laughed. She’d misinterpreted his response, though. Her mouth had fallen open and he saw the hurt in her eyes. “Sensitive Wen”, he sometimes called her.

  Daniel had crossed the room and given her a big hug and kiss, assuring his then fiancée that he was laughing because she’d been right, and that he loved it.

  The girls were sitting on the living room couch, probably watching one of those awful reality shows that girls loved to watch for some reason. Alisha had made tea and cookies, and they were having a girls night.

  Daniel knew the routine. They had dinner, then they watched TV for a while. After their food had some time to digest, Alisha would make tea and they would have cookies and watch TV till they got sleepy. He wondered if they would recognize him if he went to see them. Would there be even a spark of recognition? That redheaded vampire had said they would have no memory of either him or Jelani.

  As much as Daniel wanted to be angry with the female Hunter, she had shown a degree of compassion in allowing the girls to live and only wiping their memories. That compassion hadn’t been extended to himself, however.

  His mind flashed back to that moment when she had killed him … or thought she had. He would have died in a pool of his own blood if that big Pakistani guy with the thick goatee hadn’t shown up. Daniel looked at his hands. They looked like normal hands, but they held more power in them than his human mind could have fathomed. Like Jelani, he was changed. But unlike his best friend, he was not a vampire, but a werewolf.

  Best friend. Was Jelani still his friend? Daniel found that he couldn’t answer that question, and that darkened his mood further. A close friend of his, Claire McMahon. Dead. In one night his fiancee lost to him. And all of this centered around Jelani. Jelani and that stupid nighttime jogging route he took almost every night.

  Daniel wanted to punch something. He took a deep breath to steady his building temper. Was he being fair? Jelani was one of the least reckless people he knew, and beside that point, who could have guessed that vampires actually existed? When this first happened, Daniel hadn’t even believed it.

  He let out a sound that was half snort half chuckle. Vampires weren’t the only things that came straight out of the stories. He was proof of that.

  He sniffed the air, noting that Saaya was still somewhere nearby. Daniel wondered if the dampeal knew that he was aware of her presence. One advantage lycans held over vampires was their sense of smell. The second Saaya had arrived he’d known. She was watching him, most likely. Her brother had arrived a short time later, but he hadn’t remained long.

  Did she find all this interesting? Did she feel any kind of remorse or guilt, or did she even care? The gorgeous little dampeal had made it clear on more than one occasion that she didn’t have the same stake in the situation that they had. She had simply found them … interesting.

  Daniel thought about having a go at her, but quickly dismissed the thought. What the hell is going on with me? Saaya had helped them on many occasions and saved their lives more often than he cared to think about. She may have claimed indifference, but Daniel wouldn’t have been standing there, longing to be with his fiancee, if not for her. His eyes narrowed. If Saaya had killed that Hunter when she’d had the chance, he might be enjoying a nice warm night with Wen instead of standing out here in the cold rain, wondering what his first full moon would be like.

  He snapped out of his thoughts when the girls got up and turned the TV off. They moved away from the window and a few seconds later the light turned off.

  Daniel sniffed the air again and rolled his eyes. “Look, Saaya. Even from your distance, I know you can hear me as well as I can smell you. Just come talk to me and quit watching from whatever shadow you’re blending in.”

  Almost immediately her scent grew stronger, and in but a few seconds she spoke from close behind him. “Hello, Daniel.”

  Was that hesitance he heard? “Hello, Saaya.”

  She stepped up beside him and when he didn’t look at her, she leaned forward to look up at him. Despite his mood, he laughed. “You’re hard to be mad at, I’ll give you that.”

  “It’s a defense mechanism.”

  He snorted. “Like you need one.”

  She shrugged. “It’s nice to have more than one tool at one’s disposal.”

  “If you say so.” Daniel felt a pang of regret in his chest. That was something Jelani would say.

  A few moments of silence passed while Saaya stared at the dark window and Daniel watched her do so. “I … am sorry, Daniel.”

  He raised his eyebrows at that. Did I just hear right?

  She kept looking straight ahead. “Perhaps if I had killed Yako that night, this may not have happened. Or perhaps it still might have.”

  Daniel didn’t know what to say to that. He opened his mouth several times, then gave up.

  “I don’t know what you intend to do now,” Saaya continued, “but if you plan to kill the Hunter Remy, I would see this through with you.”

  “Why?” The question sprang from his mind before he thought better of it. The dampeal seemed to take no offense.

  “Because I had a hand in what your lives have become, and I would have a hand in seeing this matter through to its conclusion.” She paused. “If you would allow me.”

  Daniel laughed though he found nothing funny about it. “Saaya, what could either of us possibly do to stop you from doing anything? Jelani and I are probably only a little bit less helpless against you now than we were before.”