Darkness Rises (Immortal Guardians) (38 page)

The immortals clustered together about twenty yards away, smiling and laughing as Krysta recounted Étienne’s antics in the hangar. Some partook of the blood Chris had brought them. None were sorely wounded. All gave the appearance of being relaxed and pleased with the victory they had achieved.

Normally, Seth would join them, slapping backs and congratulating them on a job well done.

Tonight, however . . .

Tonight he knew that one of them had betrayed him.

How could any of them be working against us?
David murmured mentally.

I don’t know
, Seth said, already dreading the punishment he would have to deliver.

The next day, Seth stood outside Lisette’s home, procrastinating.

The sun clung to the center of the sky, no clouds creeping past to obscure its light. Birds twittered. Squirrels scuttled about in the detritus, looking for goodies.

No sounds of movement came from within the two-story domicile. If he listened closely, he could hear a single slow heartbeat and the soft sounds of somnolent breath.

Still, Seth hesitated.

He and David had agreed that only a telepath could have aided Donald and Nelson. Bastien was empathic. He could feel and manipulate other people’s emotions, but he couldn’t manipulate their thoughts.

Étienne and Lisette were the only telepaths in North Carolina. And there were none in surrounding states. Any telepaths farther away would’ve had to have been teleported in, and a quick examination of Richart’s thoughts had confirmed that he hadn’t teleported any immortals into the area without mentioning it.

Seth had just left Étienne’s home. He had dropped by on the pretense of checking on them both to ensure neither had suffered any lasting effects of the double dose of stimulant.

They hadn’t, thankfully.

While Krysta had apologized again for the helicopter debacle, Seth had smiled and nodded and examined every nook and cranny of Étienne’s mind, relieved to find nothing more incriminating than some interesting sexual fantasies he intended to pursue with Krysta.

Which left Seth standing outside Lisette’s home, already dreading what he would find in her thoughts. As well as the punishment he would have to deliver when he confirmed she was the deceiver.

Although he would never admit it to anyone other than David, who knew without having to be told, Seth had a soft spot for Lisette. Female Immortal Guardians were exceedingly rare. Most female
gifted ones
suffered torturous deaths at the hands of vampires before they could complete their transformations. So those, like Lisette, who survived were treasured.

And Seth understood well the burden of guilt beneath which Lisette existed. He understood
her
, or so he had thought. Being deceived by her in such a blatant, heinous way was a blow from which he didn’t think he would ever recover. He could neither forgive nor forget it.

Nor would he try to.

Hardening his heart, he rang the bell.

Lisette answered the door herself, wearing a pretty pink camisole nightgown and robe. Staying in the shadows, she squinted against the bright afternoon sunlight. “Hi, Seth.”

“Lisette.” He stepped inside and waited while she closed the door. “Where’s Tracy?”

“Shopping, I think.” She yawned and combed her fingers through her mussed hair. He hadn’t seen it unconfined by a braid in years and hadn’t realized it now fell in thick waves to her hips.

“I’m sorry I woke you.”

She offered him a sweet smile that broke his heart and led him into the living room. “Don’t worry about it. Are you hungry? Would you like me to make you a sandwich or something?”

“No, thank you.”

She sank down on the sofa and motioned to the chair across from it. “What’s going on? Is David’s place too crowded today? You’re welcome to stay here, if it is.”

“No.” He watched her draw her long, slender legs up and tuck them under her robe. “I sensed there was something you wished to tell me.”

And there it was. The unease he had expected to see cross her features when she had first opened the door to him.

While she bit her lip and hesitated, he told himself to get on with it and delved into her thoughts.

“Not tell you,” she said slowly, oblivious to his presence in her mind, “so much as
ask
you.”

“Very well.”

“We all know how powerful you are,” she began. “And it’s been sort of an unspoken rule not to ask you about . . . all the things you can do.”

She had surprisingly strong mental barriers for an immortal her age, but they only slowed him down for a moment or two.

“David wasn’t exactly thrilled when we found out he could shape-shift,” she mentioned.

Seth grunted. “He knew there were those who would want to turn it into a parlor trick to be exercised upon request.”

She sent him a wry smile. “I’m sure Richart has had a hard time keeping Sheldon from asking for an exhibition.”

Damn it, he wasn’t finding
anything
about Donald and Nelson in her memories.

“What did you want to ask me?” he pressed.

“I feel like I know better now what you’re capable of and . . . I just wondered . . . When we face large numbers of vampires like we did when Bastien raised his army or large numbers of mercenaries like we did last night . . .”

“Yes?”

“Why don’t you just do what Zach did and give them all aneurysms or heart attacks or something? Why engage in battle at all? Why let us fight and risk our lives when you can kill them all with a thought?”

He stared at her. “Son of a bitch.”
Zach
. No wonder the only guilt he could find in her thoughts was that which she continued to nourish over transforming Richart and Étienne. She hadn’t betrayed him. Étienne hadn’t betrayed him.
None
of his beloved Immortal Guardians had betrayed him.

Zach
had betrayed him.

Sort of.

They weren’t exactly close and . . .

Actually, he wouldn’t even consider Zach a friend. Not until recently, when Zach had come to him in South Korea, seeming different. Changed. He had actually
aided
Seth that night. Seth had taken it as a good sign and had thought . . .

He held onto his temper enough to keep Lisette’s home from shaking, but was helpless to stop the clap of thunder that rumbled outside as outrage rose.

Lisette’s eyes widened. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have asked. It’s none of my business and I—”

Fucking Zach. Seth had suspected that the numbness was wearing off and he had been right. But that was the
only
thing about which he had been right.

When Seth had discovered Zach’s
meetings
with Ami, he had hoped they might be beneficial. But Zach hadn’t been drawn to Ami’s goodness. He hadn’t been spending hours on end, perched atop David’s roof because he was curious about the relationships of those beneath it.

He had been collecting information to give Donald and Nelson.

“I’ll kill him,” Seth growled furiously.

“Kill whom?” Lisette asked, lowering her feet to the floor and sitting up straight.

“Not important,” Seth lied and forced the fury down. He rose and headed for the door. “I must go.”

Lisette hurried after him. “Seth, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you.”

He stopped short and turned around. “You didn’t. To answer your question, there is a delicate balance that must be maintained in this world.”

“I don’t—”

“Vampires have an unfair advantage when they prey upon innocent, unsuspecting humans. The humans can’t compete with their speed and strength. We hunt vampires to correct that imbalance. When we fight humans ourselves and battle the mercenaries, there
must
be a balance to it. We have speed and strength. They have deadly weapons. If I exercised my powers to their full extent and killed all of the humans with a thought, we would become the equivalent of the hunter sitting up in the hunting blind, firing upon the defenseless deer that grazed below. The balance would be lost. And the consequences would be apocalyptic.”

She chewed her lower lip. “I don’t know what you mean about the consequences, but I see your point about maintaining a balance.”

He reached for the doorknob, but didn’t turn it. “Lisette,” he said, pausing to face her once more.

“Yes?” she asked, her pretty face troubled.

“You have labored long beneath the guilt of transforming your brothers.”

She looked away, unhappy with the change of subject, ever unwilling to discuss it.

“But both Richart and Étienne have now found happiness. It is time for you to let go and allow yourself to seek your own.”

Her slender throat moved with a swallow. “I don’t know how to,” she whispered.

He shook his head. At himself, not at her. “Nor do I.”

Making sure no sunlight would touch her, he opened the door and slipped outside.

 

 

Krysta stood beside her brother, the two siblings staring into the large bathroom mirror. “It’s weird, isn’t it?” she asked.

Their reflections gazed back, eyes glowing a vibrant amber.

Sean nodded. “Beyond weird.”

She grinned, flashing a very fine pair of gleaming fangs, inspiring Sean to do the same.

“Did you ever think you would see this?” he asked, snarling and making monster faces.

“No. I
feared
I would see this. My worst nightmare was that things would get out of control one night while I was out hunting and we would both end up being turned.” She crossed her glowing eyes and made a goofy face.

Sean laughed.

“What about you?” she asked curiously.

He shrugged. “Honestly, that first year you hunted vampires, when I envisioned the future, I thought I would be dead by now.”

Sobering, she turned to him. “I’m sorry, Sean. For all of the pain I’ve caused you over the years. For risking your life so many times in my pursuit of . . . justice or revenge. I don’t know anymore which motivated me.”

“And I’m sorry for secretly resenting not being the one who went out every night and did the hunting.”

“Well, you’ll get to hunt now. Has Chris found you a Second?”

He nodded. “He said there are three at network headquarters who just completed their training.”

“Three? So you get to have your pick?”

“Apparently so. He wants me to go over there tomorrow night and meet with them, hang out for a while, see which one I feel the most comfortable with.”

“Are you sure you don’t want to stay here with us? Cam can serve as your Second, too.” Not that she had asked him.

“Cam’s already pulling double duty as
your
Second. And, honestly, it’s time I had a place of my own.”

She wrinkled her nose. “I guess I can understand that. How do you feel about having a stranger move in with you?”

Living with Cam had taken some getting used to when she and Sean had moved in. Étienne, on the other hand, had been a comfortable fit from day one.

Sean shrugged. “If we’re going to live together, I assume we won’t be strangers for long.” He gave her a boyish smile. “Did I mention that one of my potential Seconds is a woman?”

Her interest spiked. “Really? Is she cute?”

He rolled his eyes. “I don’t know. I haven’t seen her. Chris said she’s been ready to serve as a Second for a while now, but he’s had a hard time placing her.”

She frowned. “Is she difficult? Because the last thing you need after living with
me
all this time is to be stuck with a bitchy woman.”

He laughed. “You aren’t bitchy. You’re stubborn.”

“I’ll second that,” Étienne said from their bedroom down the hall. Apparently he had been following their conversation.

Krysta blew him a raspberry, then grinned when he chuckled.

“She isn’t difficult,” Sean said. “Male immortals just don’t like having female Seconds because they’re old-fashioned and can’t bear the idea of a woman dying while protecting them.”

“How do
you
feel about that?”

“I’m good with it,” he said, straight-faced, then laughed when she hit him. “Just kidding. I don’t like the idea either, but Chris thought that—after living with
you
for the past six years—I might be more amenable to fighting alongside a woman.
And
, since I’m a healer . . .”

“You can heal any wounds she incurs on your behalf. Cool. I say go for it. Especially if she’s hot.”

“You’re incorrigible.”

Not really. She just wanted him to find the same happiness she had.

Étienne appeared in the doorway. “How do I look?”

Krysta froze.
Holy crap.

She had only ever seen him naked, in sweatpants, or in his hunting clothes. This . . .

She gave him a long, leisurely look from his neatly combed hair to his feet, encased in shiny shoes that probably cost more than a semester of Sean’s college tuition had.

His tall, broad-shouldered form was beautifully garbed in a black three-piece suit with silver pin stripes. A bright white shirt stood out starkly against his naturally tan, clean-shaven jaw. As she stared, he lifted his chin a bit and reached up to adjust a black and silver tie.

Daaaaaamn, he looked good.

“You’re drooling,” Sean drawled.

She nodded, never taking her gaze from Étienne. “Daaaaaamn, you look good.”

He grinned. “I do?”

“
Really
good. Like . . . edible good. In fact, Sean, if you wouldn’t mind giving us a few minutes alone . . .”

Étienne’s brown eyes flashed amber.

Sean sighed. “No offense, but this is one of the reasons I want my own place.”

She smiled, still drinking in her fiancé. “You look
hot
.”

“That’s a good thing, right?”

“It is for me,” she professed, looking him up and down again.

“I’m not overdressed, am I?”

Probably, but she wasn’t going to say anything. She wanted to spend the rest of the night, as Sean said, drooling over him. She’d just go put on something dressy herself to even things out.

“No. I haven’t changed yet. I’ll be ready in a couple of minutes.” As she moved to squeeze past him in the doorway, she rose onto her toes, looped her arms around his neck, and took his lips in a long, passionate, I-wish-I-could-strip-you-naked-and-have-my-way-with-you-right-here-right-now kiss.