Taunt (14 page)

He glared down at
me.

“
I was
trying to help,” I muttered, my eyes still half-closed. The light
suddenly disappeared amid a lot of groaning from most of the
bar.

I jumped to my
feet and went over to the young woman who lay on the ground holding
her side, a look of shock on her face.

“
Are
you okay?” I asked. Peter grabbed my arm and pulled me aside.
Glancing behind me, I saw the man raise his knife, but at the last
second he drove it into his own heart. He shuddered violently
before dropping to the ground, dead.

“
What
the hell?” I whispered amidst more screams.

“
How
did you know?” the woman asked me, and I realised I recognised her
as one of the Guardians from the hearing.

I shook my head,
not sure what had happened. I’d reacted without thinking, as
always. The Guardian examined her wound, suddenly more sure of
herself than before. “It’s nothing, just a shallow cut, it’ll be
gone as soon as I phase.”

Phase?
I
glanced at Peter, who shook his head slightly.

“
Thank
you,” she said. “It could have been worse. You grabbed him just in
time.”

I shrugged and
moved through the gathered crowds back to my seat, carefully
avoiding Gabe’s stern expression. Peter followed, giving a low
whistle. Looking back, I saw Gabe and Finn help the young woman
into the back room. Some others, their faces grave, carried the
body through another door.

“
What
happened?” Peter urged, his voice low as he looked
around.

“
I
smelled fear.” I didn’t know how else to explain it. The blackness
in the air that turned my stomach terrified me.

“
Esther was scared? She didn’t seem like she even noticed the
knife until he was on the ground with it.”

“
Esther’s the girl? No, not her fear. His. He was terrified and
angry and just a black ball of emotion. He was suffocating in it.”
I’d never felt anything so strong before.

“
You
sensed all that?”

“
Not
exactly. I smelled it. Kind of. I know, it’s weird, but it’s
definitely a scent. I can sense things, see things sometimes, but I
have to concentrate. But the smells come even when I’m not
concentrating. That and the sound of his heart racing. He was
really freaked out. I’m not sure what was going through his
head.”

Peter’s eyebrows
furrowed, disbelief crossing his face, but he didn’t argue. I think
we had both reached a point where anything was possible.

Finn came back
out to the bar and handed me a large glass filled to the brim with
a liquid that sparkled.

“
On
the house,” he said. “For avoiding a murder.”

“
And
providing a suicide?” I said, snarkily. “You’re
welcome.”

He raised an
eyebrow, then leaned toward me. “I dare you to drink this down in
one go.”

I glanced at
Peter, who was grinning. The whole bar had gone back to normal, as
if a man hadn’t just stabbed himself and died in the centre of the
room.

“
Is
this a good idea?” I asked Peter.

“
Probably not. But if you’re game, drink up.”

I sniffed the
blue liquid. It was sort of fruity smelling. I picked up the glass
and eyed it. It didn’t look like it would kill me.

Finn was already
chuckling when I lifted the glass to my lips and took a hesitant
sip. Not bad. I tipped the glass and horsed the entire contents
down my throat before slamming it down and giving a little
hiccup.

“
Finn!
What did you do?” a woman shouted from behind us. Finn laughed out
loud, but it echoed in my ears, too loud and harsh.

My vision getting
hazy, I looked at Peter. “This is screwy,” I mumbled, feeling like
my tongue had just grown too big for my mouth. The drink rested in
the pit of my stomach, burning hot. My tongue sparked with fire, or
so it felt.

“
Finn,
that was shameful,” Esther exclaimed. Finn didn’t look ashamed, not
that I could see him properly.

“
S’okay,” I tried to say. I stood slowly and deliberately,
feeling like my whole body was heavier than usual. Peter began to
laugh, louder when I stumbled.

Esther said
something, but I couldn’t hear very well. The walls started turning
upside down, and so did my balance. I landed face first on the
floor. There was more noise around me, then everything went
dark.

I woke up
groaning. My head pounded; it felt like someone had chopped the top
of it right off. It reminded me of my time in Maximus’s home, and I
squeezed my eyelids together, hoping the nightmare would end soon.
Something cold slapped my forehead, and I opened my eyes with a
start.

“
It’s
okay,” Esther said as she squeezed a wet rag and dampened my
forehead again. “You’ll feel better soon; Gabe cleaned out your
system.”

I didn’t even
want to know what that meant. Looking around, I saw a strange room
and panicked. “Where am I?” I asked, sitting up too quickly and
feeling it. “Ow.” I pressed my palm against my temple, hoping to
push the pain away. I touched my bandaged stomach tentatively. It
stung, and I wondered if I might have opened the wound when I
fell.

“
It’s
okay. This is the back room of the bar. You’ve only been out about
an hour.”

“
An
hour? I have to get back.” I tried to sit up again and
winced.

“
Chill. You’re in Gabe’s place. There’s no rush. My brother’s
out there questioning everyone. Trust me, you’d rather be
here.”

“
Your
brother?”

“
Aidan. He’s a consultant for the Council.”

“
Oh,
him. What… you’re not human, are you?”

Her eyes
narrowed. “Is that a problem for you?”

I laughed, but it
came out too harsh and made me cough. Esther handed me a cup. I
sipped it and held her stare. “I can’t exactly talk about not being
human.”

She nodded as if
satisfied. “We’re animal shifters. I turn into a bear, so I can’t
really claim to be human. I work for the Council, too. Do you
remember me?”

“
I
remember. You were at the hearing. What exactly do Guardians do
every day?” I meant, aside from watching women undress.

“
We’re
the equivalent of a police force, pretty much, so when one of us is
attacked, there’s a scene.”

“
Wow,”
I said, swallowing hard. “Are you… arresting me?”

Her face
brightened, and she burst into bubbly laughter. Seriously – a
were-bear? “You saved my life! I owe you big time.”

“
Don’t
worry about it.” I took a sip of water to avoid saying anything
else.

“
Sorry
about the trial.” She bit her lip. “If there’s anything I can
do…”

“
It’s
fine,” I said. “Nothing anyone can do right now. Wait, you got
stabbed, are you alright?”

“
Oh,
that was nothing. I healed almost as soon as I phased.” She pulled
her hair back into a clip, and I almost laughed at the idea of her
turning into a bear in such a tiny room.

“
Handy
trick. So, what’s been happening out there?”

She grinned, her
eyes crinkling in amusement. “Gabe made Finn carry you back here
while Aiden went alpha out there. Finn was mostly afraid you’d puke
on him, or that you’d wake up suddenly like a tranquilised tiger
and bite him or something.”

I rolled my eyes.
“As if.”

“
I
know, right? That drink, though, I can’t believe you knocked it
back!” She sounded impressed.

“
Why?
What was it?” I could barely remember tasting it.

“
They
didn’t tell you? Idiots. It’s a fae drink. Their form of a shot.
Except it’s really potent for everyone else. You had a crazy
reaction to it, you were mumbling and drooling and—”

“
I get
the picture,” I interrupted, embarrassed. I’d never been drunk
before. “Is Peter gone?”

“
He’s
waiting in the bar with some human. Tall, blond, very cute?” She
paused, waiting for me to fill her in.

“
That’s Carl. He’s, uh, he was my… well, I sort of enthralled
him by accident a while ago. That’s what started the mess I’m in,”
I admitted, cringing.

“
He’s
the one? I wouldn’t have let that one go,” she joked. I smiled back
at her, feeling totally at ease.

The door opened,
and one of the consultants from the hearing walked in. He strode
straight over to Esther and embraced her. “How are you feeling?” he
asked, looking her over quickly.

“
I’m
fine.” She pushed him away. “Aiden, this is Ava, she stopped it
from being a lot worse. Ava, this is my big brother,
Aiden.”

I nodded at him,
feeling wary, but something in his eyes made me feel like there
were no secrets behind them.

Aiden shook my
hand. “Thank you. I owe you a favour. Speaking of which, Peter
tells me you might be safer away from Brogan. If he doesn’t have
your best interests at heart here and, seeing as you saved my
sister, I can make other arrangements for you.” His eyes narrowed.
“After that, I can’t help you.”

“
It
doesn’t matter. Really.” Better the devil I knew, I
decided.

Esther put her
arm around me. “But at least let me help. I owe you my
life.”

“
No
more projects, Esther,” her brother said under his breath. She
glared back at him.

“
Um,
should I go now?” I asked, trying to escape the tension between
them.

“
I
have a few questions first,” Aiden said, and sat next to me. “What
exactly happened earlier? Nobody else, not even Esther, knew
anything was wrong until you flew across the room.”

I bit the inside
of my cheek, quickly figuring out exactly how much I should reveal
to someone who worked for the Council. “It’s hard to explain. I
kind of… felt his tension. He was so angry and scared that I
couldn’t help looking, and I saw a knife in his hand. I
knew
I had to get over there.”

“
You
sensed the fact that a respected Guardian was about to attack one
of their Circle, even though nobody else noticed a thing?” He
sounded sceptical, but I couldn’t explain it any better.

“
A
respected Guardian?” I tried to change the subject, but I wanted to
know the full story, too.

Aiden’s jaw
tightened. “He was one of ours. A shifter, a Guardian.”

“
A
were-bear?”

“
No, a
fox. I’ve no idea why he attacked Esther.” He looked troubled, as
though the world rested on his shoulders. “I need to finish up out
there; I’ll let Peter know you’re awake.” He left without a
backward glance.

“
So,
you’re like those other Guardians then, those men?” I couldn’t
resist wrapping my arms around myself; the more I learned about
Guardians, the less I liked them.

Esther stared at
me for a minute, like she was trying to read something on my face.
“Did something happen?”

“
Nah.
I should probably get going. Eddie’s going to be pissed. I kind of
snuck off.” I blushed, knowing I sounded like a kid who was going
to get in trouble with her parents.

“
Oh,
wait,” Esther said. “Give the poison a chance to get out of your
system. You’re probably going to be wobbly for a day or two. Aiden
might want another word with you, too.”

“
I’ve
told him everything I know. I can’t help what I can do.”

“
Hey,
no worries. He’s just doing his job. And like I said, if I can do
anything to help you, I will. I pay back everything I owe.” She
smiled, but I couldn’t help wondering what Aiden meant by
projects
. “More water?”

I nodded, and she
rose to open a fresh bottle. “So,” she said, handing it to me.
“What’s the deal with you and Peter Brannigan?”

“
What
do you mean?” Though my question was genuine, my heart started
racing anyway.

“
He
always works alone! I don’t think he’s ever said two words to me
before, and now he’s running around with you and Carl, who is hot,
by the way, even though he’s supposed to be this scary—”

“
Well,
he’s not,” I interrupted, feeling my face burn.

She leaned back
and smirked all the more. “Come on, there has to be something going
on.”

“
There
isn’t,” I insisted. “A couple of weeks ago, he wanted me dead. But
then he helped me with Carl, and we’re getting on okay sometimes.
No big deal.”

Her eyes
narrowed. “You don’t know what he does, do you?”

I shook my head.
“All I really know is that his family was murdered, and that’s how
he learned about people like us.” I stopped talking because I
realised I didn’t actually know what he did when he wasn’t helping
me. He hadn’t been generous with the details.

Esther shivered
dramatically. “He scares me. He hates all of us. He tolerates my
kind because he knows we can control ourselves, and he respects
Aiden. But I can see the disgust in his eyes when he looks at us.
The Council hired him, you know.”