Dark War Chronicles Box Set One (41 page)

Traffic was light and the line short at the coffee place. He ordered two coffees before returning to his car. He slowly drove around the building by the cafe tables, studying the people sitting there. Only one man stood out to him-dirty blonde hair, sharp eyes. The man might have been drinking coffee, but he was aware of everything going on around him. There was something familiar about the man, but Orion couldn’t put his finger on it. Pulling out into traffic, Orion sighed. "Tegan, where are you?"

Of course, no one really knew. Lucius was convinced she was in the Demon realm and his temper became worse every night. No one liked him when he was on edge. Hell, if anyone liked him otherwise it was questionable. Times like this he wondered why he had joined the vampire. "’Cause I'm fucking nuts, he saved my life, and I fell for his human."

He tried not to dwell on it as he pulled up to the park downtown. The emergency vehicles weren't hard to miss, but it was the big black panel van with the strange 'H' design on the side of it that he couldn't take his eyes off of. The Hunters were starting to become more prominent in human society and it made him wonder how much progress Lucius had made in replacing politicians with friendly supernaturals. The human government had always fought against the Hunters, but now it seemed they were embracing them. Or maybe he just needed to get out more often.

He parked and approached the scene, stopping at the crime tape. He raised a brow when an officer approached him, daring her to challenge why he was here. His gaze scanning the crowd, he searched for the tall Hunter that would get him in. He spotted her weaving her way through the uniforms. She was dressed head to toe in black, with an armband bearing the same 'H' that was on the van. He knew because of tradition she also had one tattooed on her shoulder. She flashed the officer a badge before the woman had a chance to say anything.

The woman grumbled and walked off. Danielle grinned when Orion handed her coffee. "’Bout time, I was worried you weren't going to show."

"Traffic sucked." He ducked under the crime tape that she lifted with her free hand. "There's a lot more humans here than I expected. The way Mae talks about her old job made it seem like the police hate to admit the existence of supernatural crimes." He didn't make a habit of talking to Mae because she lived at Lucius' manor and worked at The Disappearing Act, which was the only place Orion ran into the fledgling.

She snorted. "You have no idea, but Mae must not have been a Hunter, we have privileges. The police don’t like us, but we have privileges." She motioned for him to follow.

Dani watched as Orion passed her and went straight for the black body bag sitting on the gurney. The medical examiner unzipped it and Dani stepped up to Orion's side. "Look at the neck, this is our fourth victim like this. We have no witnesses and no ID."

Orion summoned a pair of gloves and Dani ignored the gasp of the ME. Orion put them on and pushed back the young woman’s hair, his finger tracing the bite marks. His brow creased as he retraced it and leaned in closer. Dani had found the wound strange too. It looked more like a young vampire attack, all teeth instead of the neat prick marks of fangs. The skin flopped to the side, torn and red from the spilled blood.

"This isn't vampire." He sounded so sure when he pulled away.

Dani shook her head. Maybe it was a mistake to bring him along, he'd probably protect Lucius to the grave. "There's nothing else I know of that drains blood like this and leaves such a mess. Either they are rogue or new."

"There's no new or rogue vampires in the territory." He glanced back over the body. "I've seen this kind of bite before, but I can't place it. It’s been a really long time."

She didn't like the sound of that, but it at least gave her a little bit more to go on. If it was a vampire it was one Lucius didn't know about, unless Orion was lying to her. "How is Lucius' temperament?"

"You really think he could do this?" Orion growled. "Lucius has control over his blood lust, and despite the chaos in his territory right now, he wouldn't do this. He knows the risks."

Dani raised a brow and crossed her arms. Orion's chestnut hair ruffled in the breeze and she swore his eyes shifted to a strange color of purple when he snapped at her. She loved the fact that despite her height, she still had to tilt her head up a bit to meet his gaze. His muscles tensed after he finished his outburst and he cursed. "So what are the risks? Other than the Hunters coming after him."

"It would draw the Circle here. Under their laws it's illegal to kill a free human unless they have threatened you."

Her stomach churned. "A free human?"

"Old wording, now there's nothing but free humans and the blood-bonded, like Tegan. Blood-bonded are supposed to be the most precious and cherished humans. It's a death penalty if you kill one, or have intent to kill."

Right, precious and cherished. What a load of bull. "I don't know much about the old laws of vampires, there's not a lot in our library about them, but I do know that the Circle bends more rules than it upholds." She dropped her arms. "But the phrase 'free human' makes it sound like they used to have breeding houses or dedicated slaves."

Orion closed his eyes and nodded. "That's exactly what it was. It wasn't a pretty sight either and I'm glad that's something the Originals put a stop to."

"Disgusting." Dani spat. The idea that vampires kept people as slaves only increased her hatred towards them. Not like she needed another reason to condemn the blood suckers. She clicked her tongue. "So you're sure it's not vampire?"

"Positive. You won't be hunting one of Lucius' people if that's what you were hoping for." He took the gloves off. "Besides, if it was one of Lucius' vampires, he'd have killed them by now." Orion shrugged. "I'll try to remember where I've seen that kind of bite before, but if it was long ago it might take me some time." A haunted look passed through his eyes.

She frowned at the urge to brush a hand over his cheek to soothe that look away. "Let me know as soon as you can, it's hard to hunt something I don't know about."

"Are you the only Hunter on this case?"

She nodded. "I haven't been assigned a new partner yet. Why?"

"Let's just say I don't want to associate with too many of you. Lucius doesn't know that I'm working with you."

She raised a brow. She'd pegged him as the loyal until death type. "You haven't told him? He's going to murder you when he finds out. I can't protect you from that."

Orion shook his head. "He won't murder me. Punish, yes, but he'll need me when Tegan comes back."

"You sound so sure of yourself." She snorted. "You have a hell of a dedication to that girl."

"She’s no mere girl." He started to walk off. "I'll call you if I remember, let me know when you need me again." He gave her a little wave as he disappeared into the crowd of gathering gawkers. He made torn jeans and t-shirts look sexier than most and he was mouth-watering even when frowning. Dani shook her head and turned back to the task at hand. It had to be part of his Fae charm; his parents both thrived from sexual energy, why would he be any different?

Dani walked into headquarters with a huff. She needed to check something in the library, she hadn't thought to check the bite marks against other creatures in the Hunter archived research. Asking... well, blackmailing Orion into helping her was her only viable option to get into Lucius' circle. Just her luck that she happened to pick the bound human’s bodyguard. Orion would be on edge and more likely to let something slip because of spreading himself so thin while looking for Tegan. It might have been easier to contact Renee about it, but she couldn't risk Lucius sensing any connection and he'd be able to read Renee with her lack of experience hiding information from him. If the vampire was really bad off without Tegan, she didn't want to risk his anger coming down on Renee either.

She walked into the huge two-story room that served as the library; its curved staircase led up to the second level and came back down on the other side of the overlook. Tables covered the bottom level, some with stacks of books and others clean. An occasional student or Hunter dotted the room, poring over books. The top level was wall-to-wall and floor-to-celling bookshelves filled to the brim with books on every subject. She hoped she could find one on bites. If it wasn't a vampire then that left very few options, though she couldn't shake the feeling that Orion was lying in order to protect Lucius. Maybe she should speak to the vampire alone, or ask Coran. Certainly he wouldn't allow Renee to be in such danger, with them being mates and all.

With a growl, she climbed the stairs and started to browse through the books. The Hunters really needed to get everything on a database, it would make her life easier. She ran her hands over titles, ignoring the ones too worn to read and continuing on to the ones she could read. There had to be something there.

"Check the documents from the 1500's." A male voice made her jump.

She spun around and put a hand to her chest, trying to calm her pounding heart. "Don't you know better than to sneak up on me?" She glared at the Master Hunter who stood in front of her.

He grinned and stuck his hands in his pockets. His dirty blond hair was slightly spiked, keeping it out of his grey eyes. Older than her by at least twenty years, she was sure he dyed his hair, but the little lines by his eyes weren't as easy to hide.

Joey Curry. He taught a few classes at headquarters and occasionally went out in the field. Rumors about him said he was a telepath, but no one had confirmed that because no one was willing to say it out loud. "Possibly, but it's so much fun to see you jump."

"1500's? What would that have to do with my vampire victim?"

"Seems to me that you're double checking something and if it has to do with the current fiasco, I would start there. The Hunters back then knew much more than we do."

"That's before the American Hunters were established." She frowned. It wasn't often that the older documents had anything relevant to today’s Hunters. "Why would we have documents from them?"

"We have records, they are incomplete, but much of the research is still there." He shrugged. "I heard that the Elder Masters have you on another mission."

She studied him; she hadn't told anyone but Cody. "It's a wild goose chase, they seem to think that the Originals exist and that one is resting here in Colorado. They have me looking at old graveyards, taking pictures, doing research."

"You don't believe in the Originals?"

She clicked her tongue as she thought. Orion had mentioned them, but it could have been a lie he'd been fed too. She didn't believe he was old enough to remember them. "I believe every myth starts with truth, but I don't believe the Originals are super powerful all-ruling vampires, nor do I believe that the Father exists. At all. Just a myth to spook us."

"You may be right, but why would they want you to look into it if it wasn't true?" Joey ran his hand across some of the books and pulled one out. "This one here describes attacks similar to what you are dealing with. I don't remember if they name the creature or not, but it'll be worth a look."

She took the book from him. It was rare for someone to suggest asking questions about a mission. More often than not the Elites were told to do as demanded. She never thought to question why she was looking for something she really didn't believe in. "Joey, what happens if the Father and the Originals do exist?"

"The question you should ask is, 'what happens if the Father makes an appearance." He shivered. "We don't want to find out, Dani. It means that the vampires we hunt can take over. And I'm not talking about vampires like Lucius who abide by the ancient laws, but ones that we have all dealt with, the ones that have no regard for human life."

Like the ones Orion had mentioned. She swallowed at the thought and wondered if maybe there could be truth to what he'd said. "I'll have to think on that later, right now I have a creature to hunt down and my informant is convinced it's not a vampire." One thing at a time. As a Hunter she knew there were other things out there, not just vampires, but it didn't mean she had to like it.

"You have an informant, and here I didn't think you'd want to work with a new partner." Joey chuckled. "Enjoy the book, it should be full of some great information. Be careful with your informant." He walked away and she stared down at the book in her hand. Could Joey really know what was going through her mind? What else could the Master Hunter know and help her with? He seemed to keep his own secrets well, but could she trust him with how much she knew about Lucius' territory? Could he come to her aid if she needed someone to back her up?

She shook her head, trying to clear the thoughts from her mind. She had to figure out why Orion thought the bite was something other than vampire. She smiled at the thought of the Fae and her body warmed at the idea of seeing him again. Those warm tendrils going through her body were the reason she had avoided him for the last two months after asking for his help. She hadn't expected his Fae abilities to get to her like that and it scared her. There was a file on him on her computer, one that she had compiled in order to get him to help her. A lot of research had gone into it and she'd learned about how he’d lost his crown to the Queen of Blood and Darkness. She knew that she had him then. The information gathered on Orion told her that he would jump at the chance to get his crown back. He would be the easiest to work with. She had compiled files on all of Lucius' people that she knew about. Her original choice was Tegan, but she knew very little about the human and —surprise— she disappeared.

Dani took her book to an empty table on the lower floor and dove into her research. Reading about Hunting in the 1500's had more appeal than wandering around a graveyard looking for a mausoleum with only a photograph as reference.

My life is so exciting and filled with dead people.
No, that wasn't true, Orion was very much alive...but she needed to focus.

Orion flashed himself to Lucius' manor that evening, appearing right outside the property line. He hadn't been back here since the night Tegan disappeared, but he felt the need to warn the vampire that the Hunters thought he had lost control. It wasn't a conversation he was looking forward to. He almost turned back, but he knew Lucius would have sensed him on the property and would question him eventually. Orion started through the trees, knowing which way the mansion sat from the line. He froze when snarling greeted his ears, not one but two different growls.