Strife: Hidden Book Four Read online

  A moment later, the door opened, and I looked up into the face of what I could immediately feel was a very powerful vampire. He was maybe a little shorter than Nain, so six-two or so. Built like a bull; broad shoulders, thick neck. His head was shaved, and his skin was a golden honey color that did a good job of hiding the whole undead bloodsucker thing. He had light grayish-green eyes, a strong, square jaw.

  “Angel,” he said, and his voice was low and smooth.

  “I’m sorry for coming unannounced. But I really need to speak to Queen Rayna.”

  He looked me over. “You should have called ahead. The queen is busy this evening. As I’m sure you can understand.”

  “And you are?”

  “Ronan. I’m her head of security.”

  “Well, Ronan. There’s a whole lot of shit going on, and I need to talk to her. We can do this the easy way, where you just show me in and I spend ten minutes of her time getting her up to speed. Or we can do it the hard way, where I rematerialize in your nice little house and find her myself. If I do that, I’m gonna be in a bad mood and somebody might get hurt.”

  He watched me. “Never took you for a thug, Angel.”

  “I only am when it really matters.”

  His face was expressionless. “She really is busy tonight.”

  “I really don’t care. I’ve left her alone all this time. Nain has left her alone all this time. Both he and chief Jones have been stupidly accepting of this whole ‘Queen Rayna is very private’ bullshit while she’s taken control. I am not Nain, and I’m sure the hell not Jones. Patience and understanding are not two of my strong points.”

  We stood, measuring each other up. I poked at his mind a little, found his mental shields very strong. I approved. Too many supernaturals left their mental state up to chance, relying on brute force instead.

  So says she who smashes first. Anyway.

  “Could you really get in here like that?” he finally asked, and I nodded.

  “I’d rather not. I respect what Queen Rayna has done for the city. She’s taken a huge burden off of our teams by handling the vampire problems. And I can even respect that she needed to go it alone early on so she wouldn’t look weak in front of your people. I get it. But she’s in control now, and it’s time for her to get to know her counterparts in this city. It makes a hell of a lot more sense for all of us to work together than it is to not know what everyone else is doing.”

  He smirked. “As if you all don’t have people watching us.”

  “As if you don’t have us under surveillance as well.”

  He just watched me. There was no point in denying it. Even if Nain and I hadn’t spotted them ourselves, Shanti had let us know they were there. “Shanti tells you things, I guess?”

  “Shanti doesn’t tell me nearly as much as I’d like to know. And I have refrained from pressing her because I know she values her position in your organization.”

  “She is very disciplined. I understand she owes a lot of that to your team.”

  “And to herself. She’s a strong woman.”

  “May I ask who trained her? She is extremely well-trained for someone her age,” Ronan said.

  “The credit for that goes to Brennan,” I said.

  “The shifter on the demon’s team?” I nodded.

  “And where did he learn to fight like that? The number of weapons she’s more than capable with is astounding. Her fighting style is enviable,” Ronan pressed.

  “All I know about that is that he traveled extensively for several years in his twenties and he’s said that he developed an interest in martial arts and other forms of combat during that time. He’s always learning something new, it seems like,” I said, shrugging.

  “The Nain Rouge was lucky he decided to return here then and rejoin his team,” he said.

  “We all are,” I said, trying to maintain my patience. Small talk is not my strong point, but I was determined not to act like a jerk. Diplomacy is not really my thing, but sometimes it had to be.

  “Ronan, there’s shit going on that we’re going to need to work together on. I don’t doubt you’ve noticed that things out there are getting worse.”

  After a slight hesitation, he nodded.

  “Okay. Well, I know why they’re worse. And I know who’s doing it. And for us all to be safe, and keep innocents safe, it only makes sense that we’re on the same page. She can spare fifteen minutes for that, I’m sure.”

  “She does not want to look like she’s under your thumb,” he said quietly. “This is all new. Her position is still tenuous.”

  “I understand that. And she will be treated as a partner and ally. And if you know anything at all about me, you know I am devoted to my allies.”

  “I do. Come on in,” he said, waving me inside. I stopped myself from sighing in relief. That would look weak. I walked past Ronan and into the foyer. The white marble flooring reflected the light from the ornate chandelier above, and dark wood accented the stairway banisters and trim of the room. The house had kind of a medieval feel to it that almost made me laugh. It was like being in some kind of cheesy vampire movie, except that the vampire in question looked more like a cover model for Muscle & Fitness magazine and less like Dracula. He walked through an archway to the left, and I followed him. I dropped my mental shields so I could pick up any thoughts around me. Especially any thoughts related to drinking from me.

  Fine. Vampires give me the heebie-jeebies. Whatever. The only one who didn’t was Shanti. It was something I was working on.

  As I followed Ronan through a formal sitting room and then down a long hallway, I tried to pay close attention to the interior of the house. I was glad Ronan hadn’t called my bluff earlier. I could have probably made my way into the foyer behind him, but because I’d never been inside the queen’s home, I had almost zero chance of getting into one of the rooms. I had to see a place before I could rematerialize there. Details mattered. I focused on the woodwork, the leaded glass windows, the heavy chandeliers and sconces on the walls. The ice-slick marble floors throughout this part of the house. If I ever needed to make my way in, now I could.

  Not that I planned on it. But you never know.

  Finally, Ronan reached a set of double doors and knocked. I heard a quiet voice say “come in,” and Ronan gestured for me to wait a second. I nodded, even though I was starting to feel antsy again. All of this being nice was testing my patience, and the thing inside was starting to become restless as well. As if I needed more to worry about.

  Ronan came back and waved me in. The room I entered was a vast improvement on the rest of the house. It had the same white walls and heavy woodwork, but the floor in here was a dark wood, and an area rug softened that. There were a couple of sofas, layered with pillows and throws, and a coffee table stacked with books. A fire crackled cheerfully in the large stone fireplace with its heavy wood mantle. Standing near it was a powerful vampire. I could feel it immediately. More powerful than Ronan, but not by a ton. I glanced between the two of them. She had the same skin tone the same grayish-green eyes. She had a bit of squareness to her jaw as well, but while it made Ronan look like more of a brute, it just made her look strong. Her long dark hair flowed down her back in waves, and she wore jeans and a Detroit Red Wings t-shirt. Which was totally not what I was expecting royalty to be wearing, but vampires are just different.

  “Angel, it’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m Rayna,” she said, holding out her hand to me. I took it, nodded.

  “It’s nice to meet you as well. Thanks for seeing me.”

  She smiled. “Honestly, I was surprised you didn’t come before now.”

  I didn’t really know what to say to that, so I just nodded. “I won’t take up much of your time. There is a situation I thought you should know about, and I’m here to ask your assistance.”

  She watched me. “We don’t believe in involving ourselves with other supernaturals.”

  “Why?”

  “It never works out well in the end.”r />
  I just watched her, and she shook her head. “You’re not a naive woman, from what I hear. You know how they all see us. Parasites. Bloodsuckers. There isn’t a being alive who trusts us, because everyone believes that the second they let their guard down, we’re going to drain them or turn them. You know it’s true.”

  I didn’t deny it. Couldn’t. I’d called vampires the same things, more than once.

  “I think you and your people are doing a good job of starting to dispel some of those notions. You’ve done a great job of getting rogue vampires off the street, and it’s saved me a ton of work.”

  She nodded. “It’s easier for us to deal with our kind. We understand them better, even the ones that are beyond reason.”

  “The ones that are beyond reason are always the worst ones for us to track down.”

  “That’s because there’s often no logic to their actions. Our ability to track one another makes it easier for us than it would be for you, even as powerful as you are.”

  “Well, as I said I appreciate it. There is another danger out there, and I think you should know about it whether you agree to work with us or not.”

  She nodded. “Please, sit. Can we get you anything?”

  “No thanks.” I settled myself onto one of the sofas, and she sat on the one opposite me, on the other side of the coffee table. She was watching me intently, and I could see it for what it was. She was trying to learn more about me, as both a possible ally and as a possible threat. It’s nothing personal. I was doing the same thing. Examining her power level, watching her face, monitoring her emotions for signs of threat or deceit. “So, I mentioned to Ronan when I arrived that things are getting worse, and I asked if you’d noticed, and he said you had.”

  She nodded.

  “I know what’s causing it. I know why.” I paused. “How much has Shanti told you about me?”

  “Hardly anything at all, other than that you’re scary powerful and that she adores you. That you saved her life and if it ever came to choosing between serving you or serving me, there was no question where her loyalties would be.”

  I smiled. “She’s very straightforward.”

  Rayna laughed. “That she is. It’s refreshing to deal with someone like her.”

  I nodded. “Okay.” I took a breath. “How much do you know about Greek mythology?”

  She was watching me closely. “Why?”

  I shook my head and started talking, giving her the very, very abbreviated version of what I was and why we were having so much trouble lately. I told her what Strife looks like, what it looks like when she has someone under her influence. I told her where we were seeing the most trouble, and that finding her was my number one priority, and that I hoped she’d help as much as she could.

  She sat in silence for several long moments after I stopped talking. “And this being, Strife, can she be killed?”

  “As far as we know, she can. She is extremely powerful, so I wouldn’t recommend it. It’s probably going to have to be me or someone else in my family. Have you seen signs of her?”

  She nodded. “Seven and Kelly, as you say. East English Village, too. I’d do some checking there, because we’ve had a few vampires out of control in that area, and now that you’re telling me this, they were exhibiting similar behaviors to what you’ve seen. Acting very much not like themselves.”

  “I will check it out. Thank you.”

  She took a deep breath, and I felt worry, mixed with determination from her. “As for the rest. I apologize, but I am going to have to stick to my guns on this one. We avoid others for a reason. And now you’re talking about things like gods and spirits and I have enough on my plate without contributing my people to a fight that has nothing to do with us.”

  “You just said Strife has affected some of your people as well. She’s targeting supernaturals, knowing how much damage and chaos we can cause. I’m pretty sure that should concern you.”

  “And I will handle my people my way. I do not need to involve them in your teams and coalitions. The shifters are fine with taking orders and teaming up. We don’t do that, and I told you why earlier.”

  I clamped my jaw down to prevent something stupid from popping out of my mouth. I wanted to threaten. I considered trying to make her do what I wanted. But even I know that’s the kind of thing that can come back and bite you in the ass when you least expect it.

  “I think that’s a short-sighted view of things, but that’s just me,” I said, standing up. “Thank you for your time, as well as for sharing that information about East English Village.”

  She stood up as well. “Thank you for understanding.”

  “Oh, I don’t. I think you’re making a mistake. I just hope your people don’t suffer for it.”

  I felt anger wash over me, and her posture changed. “Is that a threat, Angel?”

  I met her eyes. “I don’t make threats, your majesty. Ask anyone.”

  And I headed toward the door, where Ronan was waiting just outside. I knew he’d heard every word. Vampire hearing. He escorted me wordlessly to the door, opened it for me.

  “If I see anything, I’ll have Shanti relay the information to you,” he said quietly as I stepped past him.

  “Your queen is not going to be happy about that, Ronan,” I warned.

  “Maybe not. That’s my problem. Not yours.”

  I gave him a terse nod and headed to my car. Dahael unlocked the door from the inside and I climbed in and started the engine.

  “Well, that was frustrating,” I said as I drove down the driveway.

  “Vampires,” Bash said.

  “Vampires,” I agreed as I steered the car toward home, looking forward to a hot bath, coffee, and maybe a movie.

  I walked into my house, sighing in relief and tossed my car keys onto the kitchen counter. The house was mercifully silent. Levitt and Heph were out on patrol, and E was asleep, having done the morning patrol with some of the shifters earlier that day. I considered eating, started rooting through the cabinets. Nothing looked good.

  I heard a car pull up in the driveway, and I closed my eyes and focused. And then I suppressed a groan. Brennan.

  I walked through the house and out onto the porch. I watched as he got out of his car and headed up toward the porch. He stood on the front walk, and I stood up on the porch, and we watched one another.

  “I know I’m not supposed to be here,” he finally said. “But I needed to see you.”

  “Why?”

  “We can’t leave things the way they ended yesterday, Molly,” he said, and I nodded. I sat on the top step and he came and sat down next to me. Close, but not touching. Not the way we would have sat, what felt like lifetimes ago.

  I waited for him to talk. He was clasping his hands in front of him, his forearms resting on his knees. He looked over at me, met my eyes.

  “I was mad yesterday,” he said.

  “I know,” I said, and he smiled a little.

  “You’re a hard woman to let go of.”

  I felt like I was about to cry already, and he’d barely even started.

  “But we both know it’s time. It’s past time. I was just determined to hold on to you, to try to fix things between us. But at some point you have to be able to recognize when something’s broken beyond repair.”

  I wiped the tears away from my eyes. “It’s not because of Sean,” I said. “I would have stayed. We would have worked it out. It’s because I’m so messed up now, I barely even know who I am anymore.”

  He shook his head. “We would have tried. We wouldn’t have made it, honey. What I said yesterday about needing someone who needs me was the truth. I want to take care of someone. I want to feel needed. And maybe that’s my gigantic male ego, but that’s what makes me happy. Maybe it’s a shifter thing. My dad was the same way. And my mom was a powerful woman, but she needed him. They needed each other, and it just worked. We never had that. I tried to believe we did, but every time you ran off into danger, I realized we di
dn’t.”

  I looked down. “You’re an amazing man, Bren.”

  “You’re an amazing woman. But we’re not right for one another. The harder I try to hold on to you, the bigger of an asshole I become. I started our relationship competing with Nain. I tried to make myself into the man I thought you wanted. I tried to give you everything he didn’t. But the fact of the matter is, you don’t want that, and I just kept crossing further and further into ‘dude, you are pathetic’ territory. I don’t want you to hate me. And I have some growing up to do, I think.”

  “I don’t think it’s possible for me to hate you,” I said. Then I met his eyes. “You got me through some of the worst times of my life, Brennan. Thinking of you gave me the courage to fight my way back from death, over and over again.”

  He took a deep breath, looked away from me, and I could feel that he was trying to get his emotions under control. “I’m glad. And I’m grateful for what we had. But we need to be honest about some things here.”

  “Such as?”

  He smiled a little. “You kept a lot of yourself from me, and I kept just as much from you. There was so much I wanted to tell you, and I never did it. I was a coward. And there were other things, too. I was desperate to hold on to you and made an ass of myself. And we jumped into something neither of us was ready for. What was the last thing we argued about, the night before you died?”

  I just watched him. I remembered. Just didn’t want to answer.

  “We argued because you were still wearing your wedding ring. We argued because you wouldn’t let anyone touch Nain’s room, and I asked if we were keeping it a shrine.”

  I nodded, looked away.

  “And then that last day, I took off before you woke up, because I knew you well enough to know you didn’t want any part of me, not on the anniversary of his death. Not when we both knew that, all things being equal, when you had the chance to choose, you chose him. He was what you wanted and he was gone. And then you were gone and he was back,” he said, shaking his head.