Iron Kin: A Novel of the Half-Light City (13 page)

“I’ve done just that for four years. I’ve done everything you’ve asked,” I said. “But now I’m asking for leave while I do something that’s important to me.”

“Does your family know about this?” Master Aquinas asked.

The metal in the room nearly quivered under the closely held disapproval in his voice, the song that lurked in the back of my head chiming an almost discordant note.

“Simon and Guy were the ones that invited me,” I said. Not quite the entire truth. But explaining that a half-Fae seer from the border boroughs had coerced my brothers into extending their invitation wasn’t going to help my case. I wasn’t ready to share my newfound ability to quiet a seer’s visions either. If the Masters heard about that, they wouldn’t let me go anywhere until they’d figured out exactly how I was doing it and whether such a thing could be put to any other good use.

Neither man looked pleased about my announcement of my brothers’ involvement. Master Aquinas’ mouth was a flat, unhappy line.

“When it comes right down to it, your brothers’ consent or otherwise doesn’t really matter. You are under my authority,” he said shortly.

“Are you saying no?” I said.

He tapped his chain with one long finger. “What would you do if I did? You can be asked to leave the Guild for disobeying the will of the Guild Master, Saskia.”

My skin went clammy. I hadn’t expected that level of displeasure.

Time to make a choice.

Fen had made a difficult decision when he’d agreed to help our side. He’d risked his entire life.

Was I willing to do the same?

I hesitated, thoughts whirling. I’d wanted nothing more than to be a Master since the first hints of my power had blossomed.

What good is having power if no one lets you use it?
The voice in my head was savage.

“Are you saying that you’ll expel me?”

“You’re not qualified yet, Saskia,” Master Matthews said warningly. “You can’t throw everything you’ve worked for away.”

Anger surged, the chain at my neck heating to a point just below uncomfortably warm. “If my skills are so valuable, then can you afford to let me go?” I said, trying my best to sound civil. “Maybe you need me more than I need you.”

“Hold your tongue, girl,” Master Matthews growled.

My hold on my temper slipped further. “No. I’m sick of being told what I can and can’t do. You can throw me out, you can refuse to train me, but that’s not going to change my mind. I know enough now that I can make a good living if I choose.”

“Is that so?” Master Aquinas said.

I bit back my retort. Getting into a shouting match with the Masters of the Guild and my specialty wasn’t going to help matters. I needed to appeal to their calmer sides. I took a deep breath, held out my hands, palms up. “These negotiations are important,” I said. “If they don’t go the way we all want, then nobody is going to care whether or not I’m qualified. Nobody is going to care if anybody’s powers come with a Guild stamp of approval. We’ll be at war.”

Master Matthews made another rumble of displeasure.

“Which is exactly why we should be protecting anything that gives us an advantage. You can’t help anyone if something happens to you,” Master Aquinas said.

“I can’t help anyone if I sit here doing nothing. I’m sorry, Guild Master. You’re not going to change my mind. Will you grant my request or not?”

He stared at me, pondering earth knew what in his head. Then he made a noncommittal gesture, half shrug, half head shake. “The Masters will need to discuss this, Saskia.”

I nodded. If that was how it was going to be, then that was how it was going to be. I felt sick to my stomach, but I had made my decision and whether the Guild approved of it or not couldn’t make any difference to me.

“In that case,” I said, “you can send word to me care of my mother to let me know your final decision.” I curtsied respectfully. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, Masters, I have to pack.”

F
EN

* * *

The Beast scent twined around me as I moved through the hallways of the pack house, following the
guerrier
who’d come to the gate to fetch me when I’d turned up demanding to speak to Martin.

I fought the urge to wrinkle my nose. There was something about the deep earthy smell that always set my nerves on edge. I didn’t know if it was mere dislike or something deeper and more primal. A recognition of kinship I didn’t want to acknowledge, or a lingering effect of the banishment my
grand-mere
had suffered. I wondered if it was even possible for a casting out to affect more than the person who’d been targeted—then I pulled my errant thoughts back as we drew closer to Martin’s reception room.

I was here for one purpose and one purpose only.

To find out if Martin had Reggie and promise as little as possible to him in return for extracting that information. He was going to be angry enough with me when the delegations were announced and he discovered that I was working with the humans. It would be better not to give him even more ammunition for his fury by promising things I had no intention of delivering.

The halls of the pack house were busier than they had been the previous night. It was early evening still, but the Beasts were rousing to their nightly business. There were plenty of
guerriers
roaming the corridors, but we passed a number of women and a child or two making their way to wherever they were bound as well. Most Beasts lived close to the pack. The alpha’s immediate family and closest
guerriers
and their mates and children lived within the walls of the pack house itself. I wondered if more than the usual residents were taking shelter here from the unsettled streets outside.

I had no love for the Beasts, it was true, and they were no angels, but it was hard to wish ill on women and children.

I gave myself another mental shake at the thought. The damned DuCaines were rubbing off on me. Well, Simon and Saskia at least—I couldn’t see Guy sparing much concern for any Beasts. Luckily I didn’t have time to be any further distracted. We reached the doors and I was ushered inside with a promptness that made me wary.

Martin’s eyebrows rose slightly at the sight of me but his smile was blandly welcoming. “What brings you knocking on my gates, puppy?” he said. “Come to your senses, have you?”

No beating about the bush, then. I took a breath and reached deep for arrogance to match his tone. “That depends on whether you can give me what I want.”

His head cocked, green eyes slanting a question at me in a manner that was all too reminiscent of the Beast that lurked beneath his skin. “And what might that be?”

His tone was mild, but around me the atmosphere changed as the
guerriers
came
to a subtle alert. “I want Regina back,” I said.

Martin looked genuinely taken aback and my heart sank. Either he was doing a very good job at pretending or he knew nothing about what had happened. “Regina? She’s one of the humans you run with, isn’t she? Works in that dress shop with the
hai’salai
you’re so fond of?”

He knew that much. Which only confused me more. I knew he kept tabs on me but I didn’t think he had much reason to be interested in Holly or Reggie. “She works with Holly Evendale, yes.”

“And you say she’s missing?”

“Yes.”

The corner of his mouth turned up slightly. “Well, then. That is unfortunate. Dangerous times in the City right now.”

The hairs on the back of my neck rose. I couldn’t growl like a Beast but I wanted to. “Do you have her?”

Martin’s mocking expression didn’t falter. “What would I want with a human seamstress?”

“I rather assumed it was to get my attention,” I said carefully. “That much worked. But rest assured, if Reggie is hurt you will regret it.”

“And if I did have her, what then, puppy?”

“Then I would assume you want something and that we can come to a trade.”

“A trade?”

“You want my services.”

“You value the human girl that much?”

“I want her back.”

Martin’s face lost its smile. “Then perhaps it is a pity that I do not have her.”

The words were both relief and terror. Because if Martin spoke the truth, it was likely that Reggie was either in the not-so-tender care of the Blood Court or dead.

Hard on the heels of that realization came another: Martin had admitted he didn’t have Reggie too easily. Not his way to give up an advantage, so he must have another angle to play. Which meant that he knew more than he was telling.

“Do you know who does?”

On cue, his smile reappeared, more than a hint of cocky satisfaction playing in his eyes as his expression bared his too long canine teeth. “I believe that is information that is valuable.”

And there it was. The bargaining. I’d known it was coming, as much as I’d hoped I might be able to avoid it. Even if I didn’t intend to honor my end of the bargain, I didn’t like letting Martin think he’d gotten his way. It grated against the habit of a lifetime. “What do you want?”

“Do you really have to ask?”

I didn’t, but it was best to spell things out when making any deal in the Night World. “You want a seer.”

Martin nodded, his grin just as self-satisfied as ever.

“I won’t join your pack.”

“Puppy, what makes you think I’d let a mutt like you in anyway? I need your visions, not your muscle. I don’t care what you do with your spare time as long as you’re around when I need you.”

“What do I get in return?”

“Maybe I’ll tell you where your little human is.”

“How do I know that you even know?”

Martin folded his arms. “Take it or leave it.”

Fuck. He had me. For now. There was always Lily, who was even now slipping invisibly through the Blood warrens, searching for Reggie. She could also search the pack house if she needed to. Beasts didn’t tend to use sunlamps, so her powers would be free to work here. But Lily would be searching the warrens for hours yet and I couldn’t afford to waste any time. I wasn’t going to give Martin a total victory, though. “I have one condition.”

“Oh?”

“I want your help to get her back. If she’s somewhere I can’t get to myself, then you’ll lend me some of your
guerriers
.” If Reggie was being held in Blood territory, as I feared, then I would need help to retrieve her. There was no way Simon or Guy could help me. There was too much tension in the City for either of them—known enemies of Ignatius—to appear anywhere in the Night World and not cause a riot. There were glamours, of course, but glamours could be broken. Too risky. No, if I was to have backup, it would have to be from those whose presence would not be remarked upon. The Beast and the Blood often mixed in the Night World. A squad of Krueger
guerriers
would do nicely. Muscle and camouflage all in one. They could pass me off as one of their own.

“And if I don’t?”

“Then you will have to live without my services and I’ll take my chances.”

That sharpened his gaze and his smile dimmed. “Fuck, puppy, are you sleeping with the chit? In love with her?”

“That’s none of your business. Do we have an agreement?” I met his eyes—glittering green with annoyance now, much as mine probably were—and waited.

Eventually he nodded. “All right. I’ll give you four men. And whatever else you need once you find her. Is that sufficient?”

I returned the nod. “It will do.”

Chapter Eight

S
ASKIA

The
night stretched endlessly as we waited for Lily to return. Fen had been back from the Krueger Pack House for several hours and the five of us kept vigil in Simon’s parlor, conversation growing thinner and thinner as we fell to watching the clock inch oh so slowly around the dial.

Simon started to pace around two a.m., fingers clenching and unclenching at his side as though he reached for a sword. I knew he would have given his right arm to accompany Lily, but there was no way for him to follow her into the shadow.

Guy, on the other hand, seemed calmer, but I didn’t know if it was fatigue or willpower keeping him silent. He’d gone back to the Templar Brother House, ridden out on patrol, then rejoined us after midnight. He sat in one of Simon’s chairs and stared into the empty fireplace, occasionally answering when Holly spoke to him. I didn’t want to know what he was seeing wherever he was in his head.

Fen and Holly and I made some attempt to talk after Fen had laid out the story of his deal with Martin and reported that no, he hadn’t had a chance to find out if he could see more of Ignatius. From time to time I saw Simon look at me and I knew he wished I could do for Lily what I could do for the others in my family. But Lily and I didn’t share a blood tie, or whatever bond it was that let me track my family in my head, so I couldn’t tell him where she was.

Which left me feeling useless.

Shortly after three, Lily came walking into the room as if she’d just stepped out. She wore black leather trousers and a black shirt and leather vest that made her look sleekly dangerous. Her red hair was braided and twisted around her head. She looked unhurt, her pace steady as she entered, but her expression didn’t bode well. Simon started to go toward her but didn’t get more than a few steps before Holly spoke up. “Did you find her?”

Lily wasn’t one to draw out a conversation. “Yes,” she said shortly. “She’s at Lucius’ mansion.”

Holly, Fen, and Guy winced. From which I gathered the mansion was nothing good. I ran through the list of Blood Assemblies I knew of in my head. None of them had that particular name. But if it had been Lucius’ mansion, then it was probably Ignatius Grey who held sway there now. Which meant wherever this mansion was, it was deep inside Night World territory and nowhere that anyone human would want to be taken against their will.

“Is she all right?” Fen asked, voice rasping slightly. He walked up beside Holly and took her hand.

My throat tightened. I knew what it felt like, to wait for news of a sister fallen to the Night World. Reggie, Fen, and Holly weren’t related by blood, but they’d been raised together and they regarded one another as family.

I found myself muttering a prayer in my head to whatever gods might be listening that they weren’t about to go through what Simon, Guy, and I had experienced when Edwina had died. I wouldn’t wish that pain on an enemy, let alone on people I cared about.

Lily’s face was grave, her voice soft as she answered. “She’s alive,” she said. “But they were giving her blood.”

Oh, Reggie
. My heart clutched. Vampire blood was horribly dangerous for humans. The pleasures it brought were highly addictive and that addiction couldn’t be broken. Those who fell prey to the spell of it became blood-locked, mindlessly seeking more and more of what they craved and ignoring everything else—work, family, sleep, food—until they died. Or were killed by the Blood when they grew too weak and useless as entertainment. My sister, Edwina, had suffered that fate.

For a few long seconds we were all silent, equal expressions of horror marking our faces. Then everyone started talking at once.

It was Fen who shut us up with a whistle that almost made my eardrums bleed.

“I’m going after her,” he said. “No arguments.”

“How—,” Guy began.

Fen cut him off with a gesture. “I have the best chance,” Fen continued. “I can get in with Martin’s help. I look like a Krueger, I’ll blend in to a degree. Lily can come with me, to lead me to Reggie, but I’ll get her out.” He jerked his chin at Guy, who looked as though he wanted to argue, pale eyes sparking as he pressed his lips together. “Guy, you and Simon can’t go into a Blood warren. Not one that’s well within Night World borders. Not so close to the negotiations. It would play right into Ignatius’ hands.”

The muscles of Guy’s jaw tightened but he didn’t argue. The crosses inked into the backs of his hands rippled as he clenched and unclenched his fists.

Holly’s fists were clenched too. “I want to come.”

“No.” Fen’s voice was curt. Controlled. “You can help me—I’ll need some charms—but you’re staying right here where it’s safe.” He turned his head to me. “That goes for you too. Lily has the shadow and I’m . . . expendable.”

“Fen!” Holly choked.

“It’s true,” he said, turning back to her as she stood leaning against Guy. “I’m an—” He looked at Guy. “What would you call it? ‘An acceptable loss’?”

Guy nodded, still not talking.

“It’s not acceptable to me,” Holly snapped.

Fen’s expression softened a little. “I know,” he said. “But it has to be me. Believe me, I’m going to try like hell to come back in one piece.”

Holly bit her lip, obviously wanting to say more. I knew how she felt. I wanted to tell him not to go, but I’d learned well enough from Guy and Simon that the words of a female were unlikely to sway a male intent on risking his fool life. Even when the female meant something to him.

I was useful to Fen, but I didn’t want to fool myself and believe there was anything more to it than that, despite whatever hints of heat there might be between us. He wasn’t that sort of man. Not a good risk.

So why did I care so desperately that he was trying to get himself killed?

My nails curled into my palms, making the still-healing burn on the back of my hand throb a little in protest.

“How much time do you need?” Simon asked when it was clear no one else was going to protest.

“It’s too late now to organize the Kruegers,” Fen said. “I’ll go back there and talk to them, but I doubt we can move before tomorrow night at the earliest.”

Holly sucked in a breath at that. Tomorrow night. Meaning Reggie had another day in the hands of the Blood. Another day drinking vampire blood.

Another day closer to being blood-locked.

Those were the words that weren’t being said.

The truth that all of us understood. But as my mother was fond of saying, it was better to deal with one thing at a time and not borrow trouble before it arrived on your doorstep. I took a deep breath, trying to get the images of the worst-case scenario out of my head.

“What can we do to help?” I asked.

F
EN

* * *

My spine crawled as I stepped out of the carriage.
Not one of your brighter ideas, Fen
.

Not that I had any choice in the matter. Not really. The entrance to the massive building before me was lit by several hanging gas lamps, nothing about its appearance to spark any concerns other than the knowledge that we were far within Blood territory and about to go deeper still. My instincts suggested it would be best to climb right back into the hackney and leave.

Not an option. Not if Reggie was somewhere within.

Behind me Willem grunted, and I turned to watch him and Alec, another of the Krueger
guerriers
, follow me down onto the cobbled forecourt. Both of them looked alert and focused, not nervous. Willem scanned the surroundings efficiently, then nodded at Alec.

“All clear,” Alec said in a low tone, and Martin’s head appeared in the carriage door. I still wasn’t entirely certain why Martin had chosen to come with us, but I hadn’t had time to try and decipher the deeper game he was playing. What mattered here and now was that he’d agreed to get me into the mansion and to help me take Reggie out. I couldn’t waste energy worrying about whether he was going to double-cross me.

Hopefully Lily’s invisible backup would be enough to get me out of hot water if the worst happened and if not, well, fuck it, at least I’d die trying.

Martin too paused a moment to assess the situation, then apparently decided he was satisfied and descended from the carriage. Willem came quickly to his side as Alec shut the door and gave instructions to the driver.

Through it all, my nerves crawled. I’d never been here before. Never ventured deep into the heart of Blood territory. In fact, I’d made it a rule in life to stay as far away from the Blood Court’s warrens—which lay beneath the grounds of this mansion—as possible.

An Assembly was one thing—being somewhat the public face of the Blood, the Assemblies had the veneer of civilization at least—but this, this was another thing entirely. Step inside the warrens and the Blood ruled.

“Fen,” Willem snapped. “You take the rear.”

I realized that Alec had taken his place on the other side of Martin and all three Kruegers were staring at me impatiently. I moved into position, my hand clasped firmly over the handle of the pistol at my hip.

Me and my bright ideas.

It had taken less fast talking than I had expected to get Martin to agree to move so quickly. In the end, it was the hint that me being near Ignatius might lead to some useful visions that seemed to sway him. I didn’t fool myself that he actually cared whether Reggie lived or died.

Still, selling him on the idea without actually promising anything more than I already had had been akin to walking a high wire. One far more treacherous than any theater hall acrobat ever ventured out on.

It was only going to get more precarious as soon as we entered the warrens.

We walked toward the entrance and I focused on looking like a
guerrier
. For once, I was glad of the Krueger resemblance that would hopefully let me pass unnoticed. I’d strengthened it with my rarely used and somewhat unreliable powers of glamour, enough that I didn’t look exactly like myself, or so I hoped. Holly had given me a charm to help twist my scent too, so that I would pass as a Beast to the sensitive noses of the Blood and the other Beasts.

Still, the hairs on the back of my neck stood on end as we approached. I wondered where Lily was. Somewhere nearby, if everything was going to plan. But there was no way of knowing where. And no way of joining her in the safety of wherever it was she went when she shadowed. No changing form or substance for me.

I would have to do this as I had always done, with wit and bullshit in equal measure. Plus the old fallback of fighting dirty if it came to that.

Hopefully it would be enough.

Our little group came to a halt near the doors. Willem stepped forward to knock. The heavy brass ring rapped sharply and the door swung inward, revealing a white-clad man—one of the Trusted who served the Blood—who looked us up and down before bowing slightly to Martin and stepping back to let us enter..

No turning back now. I tightened my grip on the gun and followed the others into the warrens.

The scene inside didn’t ease my nerves. In the Assemblies some semblance of restraint was maintained in the more public areas, but here that pose had been abandoned.

I wasn’t more than twenty feet into the building before I spotted a Blood lord with his fangs buried in the neck of a scantily clad human girl through a half-open door. I steeled myself not to react, but my free hand drifted up to brush the lapel of my jacket, to check for the reassuring bump of the invisibility charm Holly had given me tucked beneath it.

The small weight of it was tangible, unlike Lily’s unseen backup. Something to focus on other than my uneven pulse. I tried to breathe slowly, aware that the Blood and the Beasts could hear my heartbeat.

I wanted a drink. But that would have to wait.

The warrens were well named. The corridors seemed endless as we followed the Trusted who’d opened the door for us through the building. The man walked quickly, pausing only to bow to the Blood we passed—those he served in the hope of one day being turned. Our pace was too fast to truly take in any distinguishing features within the building or get the route we had followed straight in my head. Without windows to orient myself to the outer world, I was rapidly becoming confused as to what direction we were heading. Down into the earth—that much was clear.