Hunting the Dark (4 page)

Theo shook his head. ‘You can’t market vampires to humanity. We’re not a designer drug or a new form of public transit. We are predators, at the very top of the food chain. And once humans became aware of our existence, it would change everything.’

‘Secrecy cannot last forever, and the truth can be  . . . manipulated. Made more palatable.’ She tilted her head. ‘We can take what we need.’

‘
Glamour
our way to so-called equality? That isn’t exactly a healthy basis for a workable society. No,’ Theo said. ‘Secrecy has served us for long enough. Revealing the truth to mortals simply won’t work.’

Nicole touched his arm. ‘You are young,’ she said, echoing something Theo had said to me way too many times.

‘My age has nothing to do with it,’ Theo snapped. ‘This is common sense, nothing more or less.
Facts.
’

‘Tell me more of these facts. Enlighten me, please,’ Nicole replied, sarcasm dripping from her voice.

‘We feed on humans. We need their blood to survive, whether we kill them or not. Try spinning
that
.’

‘But they cannot hurt us. That is what everything comes down to. Humans are weak and vampires are strong. They would simply
have
to accept us.’

‘They
can
hurt us. They
do
hurt us. Have you forgotten our fallen brothers and sisters so easily?’ Theo looked genuinely upset.

‘Those deaths are rare,’ Nicole said.

‘The human hunters are more organized than I think you realize.’

I was hanging on their every word, and I had to agree with my Maker on that last point. Jace had mentioned an unofficial network of vampire hunters spread across the whole freaking country. Maybe even the
world
.

‘But they are still only human. There is no other threat to us as a species; that is the reality.’ She smiled at Theo. ‘You worry too much,
amore mio
.’

I dodged a pair of Goth kids, trying to concentrate on where I was going while eavesdropping on the debate. Holly frowned at me, clearly wanting me to move away from the two senior vamps.

And that’s when the whole mood of the evening just  . . . switched.

‘Something doesn’t feel right,’ Nicole said, gesturing to Theo and stopping in the center of the sidewalk. Theo drew close to her, his gleaming eyes narrowing as he sniffed the air. Everything about the pair of them screamed:
predator
.

Holly scanned the street, vigilant as she searched for threats. Not that much could worry a group of vampires on a spring night in Boston. Castel placed his hand on Nicole’s elbow, his solid frame making her seem small and vulnerable. Echo dropped back and turned a slow circle. Nobody questioned the Elder vampire’s instincts. We were all, almost immediately, on Red Alert.

A car pulled away from the sidewalk, wheels spinning as it cut into the intermittent stream of traffic, causing a hold-up as several other vehicles had to stop. Headlights gleamed and the sound of horns filled the air, and just for a split second there was a sense of disorder as cars untangled themselves. People on the sidewalk turned to look at the fuss as two men yelled creative curses, and the distant sound of a fire engine’s siren snatched our attention.

A motorcycle zipped out from behind a parked van and accelerated past our little group. There was a strange sound, a mechanical
snikt
that only vampire ears would be able to detect in that moment of mild confusion, and the air seemed to shift around us. The bike roared away, spraying water and fumes in our direction –

Nicole clutched her chest and fell to the ground in one moment, and in the next she was gone.

Nicole was dead. Nothing left of her but dust and shadows.

We were huddled at Theo’s trying to understand what had happened. Trying to pick up the pieces, the way that my Maker had attempted to gather what had physically remained of the Elder vampire of New York state.

Nicole had been well and truly ended. No more second chances for her. She’d already lived longer than anyone had a right to, so maybe there would be those who’d argue this was the natural order of things. Nature taking back control. Birth, death  . . . the cycle of life that most human beings rely on to keep them honest.

Vampires manage to slip through the cracks – until something deadly finally catches up with them. This time, it was as simple as a hit and run from a motorcycle: a silver-tipped crossbow bolt to the heart. Direct hit.
Boom.

It had been so easy.

I don’t know how many humans out there on the street would have seen the attack, and it turned out that nobody had. Why would they? So much had been happening in that instant, and all anyone could claim to have witnessed was a woman falling – and then
disappearing
. Something so ridiculously impossible would be easy to rationalize, or just disregard entirely.

And of course it had all taken place so quickly – a fleeting moment when whoever had been riding that motorcycle was able to keep control of the vehicle, while also aiming and firing a crossbow.
Easy
? Yes, I suppose it had been – in a way. But the perpetrator was able to hit his or her target and then smoothly ride away, without dropping anything, falling off the bike, or being noticed. It was impressive, maybe even damn near miraculous.

Or perhaps, simply,
inhuman
.

The ‘person’ responsible wasn’t human. That’s the only conclusion I could draw and have any of this make sense. The problem was, it didn’t seem that the more senior vampires agreed with me – and I was very definitely outranked. Sometimes it really did suck to be the little fish.

Theo ran a hand across his face, betraying his emotions. ‘It was planned. More than one person had to have been involved.’

‘Yes,’ Holly agreed. ‘It takes a lot of work to kill someone in a public place like that. Somewhere there’ll be witnesses if things don’t go just right. It was too smooth, as though it had been practiced many times.’

‘What about random drive-bys?’ I asked, partly just to annoy Holly because she was sounding like such a know-it-all.

Castel scowled. ‘It wasn’t a drive-by, you little fool. They had silver. They aimed for her heart. The weapon was advanced enough to punch all the way through flesh and muscle and bone. Those things are
not
random.’

My temper flared. ‘I know there was nothing random about
this
attack. I was just saying, in general, why would a public shooting need a lot of planning? Don’t they happen all the time?’

‘Yeah,’ Holly muttered, rolling her eyes. ‘On
cop
shows.’

Castel turned to Theo. ‘Why is Moth here, Theo? She doesn’t know any—’

‘She stays,’ Theo said quietly. He smiled at Castel, showing the tips of his fangs – something he only did when he was seriously mad. ‘Do you have any further objections to Moth’s presence?’

Echo put a hand on her friend’s arm, silencing him with a look. At least one of them had the sense not to anger Theo further.

‘What if,’ I said carefully, ‘Nicole wasn’t the target? There were a lot of us packed pretty tightly together.’

What if Theo’s life was in danger?
I didn’t say that out loud, but everybody knew what I meant.

We all looked at one another, and then Holly snorted.

‘Why would they choose another target? Nicole is – was – an Elder. She was the most powerful vampire in our group, and she had come here on a specific mission. She was the obvious mark.’

‘But that’s just the point. Nicole was visiting from New York City,’ I said, warming to my theory. ‘Who could possibly know about that? Theo has been a target before, and he’s the Master of this city.’

‘Of course Nicole was the target,’ Holly snapped, glaring at me. ‘Someone drew her in by giving her that intel about an attack in Boston. Specifically involving Theo and Subterranean. She wouldn’t have been here, if not for that.’

Castel nodded his agreement, his eyes filled with repressed pain. ‘It was all a trap, laid for Nicole.’

Echo’s face was a terrible mask, and I suddenly felt sorry for both of them. They had lost someone important and they were hurting. Just because we were monsters, that didn’t mean that we didn’t have feelings. In the vampire community, the love we all felt for the person who kept our particular Family together went way beyond blood. There was a supernatural bond that couldn’t be explained in ordinary, human terms. It was the same thing I had tried to tell Caitlín just hours ago.

I watched Holly as her behavior gradually transformed. She was becoming more and more confident, animated by the thrill of the chase. Her hand rested on Theo’s arm as she urged him to pursue her theory – that Nicole had been the target of a professional hit.

I frowned, knowing that she was making sense  . . . except  . . . something just didn’t add up. ‘But why bring her all the way here to kill her? Why not just do it in New York? Far easier to do that on home turf, right?’

‘Whose home turf?’ Holly asked. ‘Maybe Boston is the
killer’s
home turf.’

My brain flashed on an image of Jace with his trusty crossbow, and I guiltily pushed it away. He wasn’t involved in this; and I’d already decided that this was unlikely to be a human hunter. If it was, it would surely have been someone more like Thomas Murdoch – someone with all his experience. And why would Jace be gunning for Theo? He’d told me that he was giving up the hunter business after what had happened to his father – how his father had ended up bitter and twisted and unrecognizable. And dead. At least, that’s what Jace said to me before he left Boston to go traveling at the end of last year.

Of course, said a treacherous little voice inside me, Jace might still figure he had a score to settle with my Maker. Theo, indirectly at least, had been responsible for Thomas Murdoch’s death.

Holly pushed her bright blue hair back from her pale face. ‘Someone’s trying to make a statement.’

Echo’s head came up. ‘What makes you say that?’

‘They killed her in a public place – a place full of humans, but also frequented by vampires. This was meant to get our attention.’

‘Well, it worked,’ said the other vampire, baring her fangs. ‘It worked only too well.’

Theo’s face was hidden in shadow, but I didn’t need to see his expression to know how much pain he was in. Somehow, I could feel it in my own blood and bones. The ache of loss. Grief. There was a link between Maker and fledgling vampire, one that I didn’t fully understand, but that I didn’t for one moment doubt. I could feel Theo inside of me – inside my heart and mind. He was part of me, and as I’d discovered when the great Elder Solomon had set my Maker the task of killing Thomas Murdoch, the link went both ways. If one of us died – for good, I mean – the other would suffer for it.

He moved toward the tall windows and leaned his forehead against the glass.

I walked away from Holly and the others, going where I was most needed. To my Maker. I touched his arm. ‘Theo?’

He stared at me as though he was trying to remember who I was. I swallowed, regretting that I’d disturbed him in such a private moment. But I was suddenly more worried about him than ever.

‘Theo,’ I said again. ‘It’s me  . . . Moth.’

‘Moth.’ He blinked, the silver in his eyes glowing a little brighter. ‘Are you well?’

Despite how conflicted my feelings were for the man who had Made me a monster, I couldn’t help caring for him. I couldn’t help being affected by his concern for me – even in the midst of his own suffering.

‘I’m OK,’ I said. ‘I’m more worried about you.’

He nodded. ‘I have been  . . . better.’

I stood beside him, watching the city below and trying not to focus on the invisible space in the glass where we stood side by side. We were there, and yet not there.

Theo pulled me around and cupped my face in both his hands. ‘Marie,’ he said, using my real name and watching me so intently I imagined that my heart skipped a beat. ‘
You
will help me avenge Nicole’s death.’

OK, I hadn’t expected that. Not considering the resources at his disposal – and how new to being a vampire I was. Especially not considering how high in the vampire ranks Nicole had been. Solomon, the Elder of the entire state of Massachusetts had been called and was already on his way to consult with Theo. Solomon would be expected to take a full report back to the vampire High Council.

What on earth could
I
do?

I didn’t move as my Maker examined me, basking in the feel of his hands on my face and the intense expression in his eyes.

‘Help me,’ he said again, his voice a demand.

‘Of course, Theo,’ I whispered. ‘I’ll do anything for you, you know that.’

‘The Murdoch boy will pay for this,’ he said, holding my face more tightly.

‘Jace?’ My stomach began to hurt as he echoed my own secret fears. ‘How could he have had anything to do with this?’

I waited, silently terrified, until Theo’s hands shifted to my shoulders.

‘I have told you this before, my Moth: the boy is his father’s son. He was already in training to take up the hunter’s mantle – now that Murdoch Senior is dead, I believe that the son has already taken his place. It is  . . . inevitable.’

I shook my head, unable to stop myself. ‘There’s no way he could hunt and kill a vampire as old and powerful as Nicole. It’s impossible.’

‘One shot is all it takes,’ Theo said. ‘We are surprisingly vulnerable. Why do you think I am such a strong supporter of keeping our existence a secret?’

‘But he wasn’t even there!’

‘I remember his scent,’ Theo said, his tone flat and cold. ‘The Murdochs are known to me. I am almost certain I caught a hint of something familiar outside Subterranean, even before the attack. Before Nicole  . . . fell.’

I hadn’t smelled a thing, but then it had all happened so fast – and I couldn’t help thinking that Theo was reaching. Not that I would dare say that to him right now. My sense of self-preservation was stronger than that.

‘
Almost
certain?’ I said, trying to keep my tone light. ‘That doesn’t sound completely sure to me.’