Darkness Divides (Sensor #3) (13 page)

Lucas had killed many members of my race over the centuries, but what made him stand out the most was his execution of the sensor leader during the supernatural war. Henrik Neilson had hidden behind a host of angels and others of his kind. No one had been able to find or reach him back then. It must have elevated Lucas in the eyes of the supernatural world to accomplish such a feat. I hadn’t realized how popular that had made him or how it made me look.

For eight years, Lucas and I had hated each other. Me, because he’d brutally killed my guardian the first time I saw him. Him, because I was a sensor and he was forced by the angels to protect me. It wasn’t until last year that we’d found common ground and began to understand each other better. The fae must have recognized that. If Lucas could learn to like me, then they must think I’m not all that bad.

That didn’t mean I had their trust—I’d have to earn it. Normally, I’d say to hell with them and just leave, but I couldn’t do that this time. Whoever had caused the explosion hadn’t only hurt supernaturals. They’d hurt Emily and killed Mrs. Singh. Not to mention all the other innocent people between here and Alaska. With Micah now missing, I couldn’t afford to let my own prejudices get in the way. If I had to earn this fae’s trust to find out who carried out the attack, then that’s what I’d do.

“Nik,” I said, putting a hand on his arm. “Cirdan is being honest that he means me no harm. I’m fine going with these guards if that’s what it takes to get the job done.”

He looked down at me. “You are one of my people and under my protection. If we are separated, I can’t ensure your safety.”

“This isn’t worth fighting over. Whoever caused the explosion and took Micah has to be stopped. Trust me that I can take care of myself.” In more ways than he knew. I couldn’t explain that, though.

The master vampire let out a sigh. “Very well, but I will want to check on you while we’re here to verify for myself that you are unharmed.”

Cirdan nodded. “She is not a prisoner. You are welcome to meet her whenever you’re both free.”

We parted ways and I followed my guards down a cobblestone street. As we entered the city, we passed the rubble of destroyed homes. Burned wood, crumbled rock, and other debris served as markers for each house, though it had all been gathered into neat piles. There were small gardens alongside many of them, but the plants had wilted and died. I didn’t know if the magic explosion had done that or not.

After a short while, we began to pass houses that were still standing. Many had cracks and other minor damage, but not as bad as the ones closer to the edge of the city. The faint traces of magic on them told me these didn’t get hit quite as hard because the protection spells had held better. More of the plants and trees survived as well. I even saw horses, goats, and other animals as we passed into the inhabited part of the city. Not many residents were out at this time of the night, though, so the streets were mostly quiet.

Feidlimid appeared to be approximately three miles across in diameter. My head ached at the constant deluge of information my senses gathered as we got closer to the city’s denser population, but I estimated there had to be at least five hundred residents here based on what I’d picked up so far. A year ago, being among this many magic users would have knocked me out and possibly given me an aneurism.

It was just as well a sensor had never been invited to the city before or they would have gotten suspicious of my ability to survive it. The mortal mind couldn’t process this much information. It was like having a thousand needles piercing my skull, but in all different ways. Some hot, some cold, some poked, some stung. I barely noticed my surroundings as we moved toward the heart of Feidlimid. Step by step, I forced myself to breathe through it and managed to tune out most of sensations hitting me. Only then could I start to look around again.

We’d moved into a nicer part of the city where there were no signs of damage. I looked up in amazement at the sight of palm trees rising up along the streets. There were colorful flowers in full bloom and even more plants that had no business this far north. All of them growing around homes and in small gardens as if they had a right to be there.

The permafrost common to the region should have prevented such an explosion of growth, but the fae had done something to warm the earth for everything to be thriving so well. I’d noticed a rise in the temperature as soon as we stepped through the gates. Now I saw the results of it.

The homes were eclectic and the quality of construction varied. Some were made of brightly-painted wood and others of dried mud. Many had windows with no glass and open doorways, but more than a few were completely closed off with solid doors on them. Along one street each home was backed up against the other and reached up to three stories high. If not for the protection spells holding them in place, I was certain they’d crumble into each other.

Small stray animals roamed this part of town, surprising me with their presence. Who knew the fae would keep so many of them around? I kept a wide berth of the cats and prayed the druids didn’t notice. The previous two doses of nephilim blood hadn’t taken away my allergy. I wasn’t sure if the final one made a difference or not and didn’t want to find out. Getting me near a cat was the easiest way to take me down fast—except Sable, who was hypoallergenic. No need for my enemies to find out that weakness.

When we reached the center of the city the scenery changed again. Homes here were larger, better built, and beautiful. Most had been painted in pastel colors and had intricate designs inlaid into their walls. Swirls that in many ways reminded me of Celtic knot work. The magic infused into them told me they were used for more than just decoration.

The druids led me toward what could only be described as a mini-palace at the center of the beautiful homes. It stood taller than any other building in the city with several towers—one at the front and two at the rear—soaring high over its circular shape. The walls were made of stucco and painted in a cream color. Only the high points of the towers had windows.

There was no fence around it, but two younger elves stood guard at the entrance with swords attached to their belts. They didn’t bat an eyelash when we passed them to go inside. I pretended to not pay any attention to them either. The best thing to do while I was here was keep a low profile and appear as uninteresting as possible.

We entered a small foyer inside. There were three doors—one directly in front and one on each side of us. We took the door on the right, which opened to a set of stone steps spiraling down. Torches on the wall lit the way periodically, but they only made the setting even creepier with the shadows dancing along the walls. Occasionally the stairs would flatten out for about five feet and a corridor would lead from them. We passed two of those before taking the third. Walking down it, I felt like I’d entered medieval times.

I counted four heavy wood doors on my right before we stopped at the fifth. The male druid pulled a large brass key from his robe and unlocked it. We entered a small common area with old Victorian style furniture that had grown faded and worn over time. Someone had cleaned the place up, but it had that feeling of disuse. I turned around to catch the druid relocking the door with the key. No way to get out of here easily without him.

“Melena Sanders,” the female druid said, drawing my attention to her. “There are several things we must go over before we can allow you to rest.”

Let the games begin. I was too tired and dirty to be dealing with this crap right now.

“First of all, you can call me Melena. We both know stating my name in its entirety gives you no extra power over me. It’s a waste of breath.”

She pulled her hood back, revealing straight blue hair cut to shoulder length. Her eyes were light gray and her skin pale. The female druid wasn’t beautiful, but she had an otherworldly vibe that boosted her average features. No pointy ears or unusual markings that would differentiate her from human, but she had a sort of inner glow.

“Very well. You may call me Nienna and my partner is Elros. During your stay here, we will remain with you always. The only time you will have any privacy is while you’re in your resting chamber.” She pointed at a door behind me. “You will speak to no one except those we allow and all your activities will be coordinated through us.”

I could feel the noose circling my neck.

“What exactly is my job while I’m here?” I asked.

“You’ll be using your truth-seeking skills to aid us in locating who helped the sensor attack our city.”

I lifted my brows. “Don’t you have some fae here who have a similar ability to mine?”

She nodded. “Yes, but some residents here have the power to thwart even the best of our truth-seeking practitioners. Many races are guarded about what abilities they have, making it difficult to know who may be capable of such deception. It is only your race that cannot be tricked by magic.”

“In order to find the culprits, it’s possible I’ll have to talk to most of the citizens of this city. You do realize that?” We couldn’t afford to rule anyone out.

Nienna glanced at Elros, who’d lowered his hood to reveal similarly hued blue hair and gray eyes, before she turned her attention back to me. “We have come up with a list of the most likely suspects. You will start with them first.”

“Fine.” I rubbed my face, feeling too tired to argue. “But there are some things I’ll need to do first before we get started.”

Her brows knitted. “What could you need to do?”

“I’ll let you know after I’ve gotten some decent sleep.”

I didn’t want to come up with any actionable plans until I’d had more time to think. Something told me I’d need a clear head going into this.

Chapter Thirteen

I didn’t get quite as much rest as I’d hoped. Vivid dreams of being in Lucas’ head as he had his flesh ripped off piece by piece left me feeling more drained than when I’d gone to bed. I woke up and found I’d kicked all the blankets off me. My skin was healing from all the places I must have scratched it.

At least my tank top and underwear weren’t shredded. Sometimes I ripped them off during the nightmares, but unless I was certain no one might come barging into my bedroom I didn’t sleep naked. Living around sups and a teenager that didn’t understand personal space, it happened more often than you’d think.

I took a look around the small chamber where I slept and found it to be just as dreary as when I went to sleep. Dark gray stone walls surrounded me. It wasn’t very big and barely held the four poster queen size bed and chest at the foot of it. A fairly modern bathroom was attached to it that had a sink, toilet and tiny shower.

I counted my lucky stars they weren’t so out of date here that I’d have to bathe with a washcloth and basin of water. It could have been worse. Long-lived supernaturals tended to have a tough time keeping up with modern conveniences. Whoever called the shots around here must have traveled outside the city at some point and decided plumbing was worth the trouble. I hadn’t seen any signs of electricity yet, though. Guess they’d only go so far.

The stone floor froze my feet when they touched it. Would it have been asking too much for them to have put a rug down next to the bed? I headed into the bathroom, knowing I’d be cranky until I got a shower and some coffee. At least, there better be coffee somewhere in this place or I might not be able to keep my temper under control.

My two guards were talking in low tones to each other when I walked out of the bed chamber. If I’d been mortal, I wouldn’t have been able to hear them. I had to do my best to pretend I didn’t catch them talking about what a low level assignment they got and how unhappy they were about it.

They stopped whispering as soon as I shut the door behind me. Neither looked the slightest bit guilty. I knew this because they didn’t have their robes on to cover their faces. Instead they were wearing jeans and fitted white t-shirts. Very undruid-like.

“Should I change?” I asked, glancing at the door behind me. “Wouldn’t want to break this new dress code. You guys have so many rules it’s hard to keep up.”

In fact, I wore jeans too, but my shirt was black and gray with a v-shaped neckline.

“No,” Elros said, standing up from where he’d been huddling close to Nienna on the settee. “But you must leave your weapons here.”

I put a hand on my Sig. “You can’t be serious? Someone took Micah because he was investigating this case and they saw him as a threat. The same could happen to me, but I’m not nearly as strong as him to stop whoever this is.”

Nienna stood up and took a few steps toward me, holding her hand out.

“Micah of Pistiros worked alone. There is also a high probability they used magic to take him. You have us and your immunity to magic to protect you. Give me the gun and knives and I’ll put them away. You may have them back when you leave.”

She was probably right, but I didn’t like taking my chances. “Allow me to at least keep one knife on me.”

The druid shook her head. “No. We are under strict orders that you must be disarmed.”

“Fine.” I gritted my teeth and put the gun in her hand before reaching for the knives. “But if I get killed, you’re the one my ghost is going to haunt.”

I wasn’t joking, either. Sensors could only detect supernaturals who had physical forms. Ghosts had no bodies, putting them out of our abilities. Druids, on the other hand, were a race who could see them and even interact with them.

Nienna narrowed her eyes at me. “Something tells me that you would.”

I smiled.

She carted my weapons off through one of the other doors that led from the sitting room. A few minutes later she returned empty-handed. I hadn’t detected any magic spells—which would have been useless anyway—so she’d probably just locked them up somewhere.

“First things first,” I announced. “There are two places I need to see before we can form a plan for questioning people.”