Blood Rage, page 9
A cool prickle of alarm washes over my skin. Moarwell. As in Rayne’s hometown?
I lean back, trying to make my body as relaxed and unconcerned as I hope my voice sounds. “So…?”
“So you need to go there so she can study your back.”
I hesitate. “I’m supposed to be grounded. Why can’t we just send this woman pictures?”
Maury shakes his head. “Believe me, I’d prefer that. But according to Erkyan, this woman is something of a savant or a psychic. She needs to physically see you and touch you.”
“And Erkyan found her?”
He nods.
Riiiiiight.
“And you’re happy with me going?”
A snort. “Of course not. You’re supposed to stay here until we figure out what’s going on, but no one is making any progress. We have to do something.”
“So you’re sending me to…?”
“Moarwell. I doubt you’ll know it.”
Ha. He can doubt whatever he likes, but yes, I know the name. Well enough to know that there may be some complications on the way. “How soon do I need to leave?”
“As soon as Rayne wakes up.”
Oof. Yup. There it is.
As if sensing the tonal shift, Maury wags a finger at me. “I’m sending her because of the pair of you, she’s the one with the common sense. She can watch over you.”
“Only at night-time.”
He eyes me. “True. That’s why I’m also sending Solo and Duo with you. I think between the three of them, they’ll be able to stop you doing anything stupid.”
I would fight that remark, but I think Maury has earned his slight distrust and reluctance. I’ve not had the best track record since he took over from Quinn. But at least he doesn’t hate me the way she did.
“Fine. Is there anything else I need to know?”
He fishes a thin folder off his desk and hands it over. “Everything is in there. Make sure you’re well informed before you arrive.”
“Sure.” I turn to leave.
“Oh, and Karson?”
Pause.
“Don’t piss anybody off this time. Please?”
“I don’t do it on purpose.”
“No, but you do do it. Stay close to Rayne or the wolf twins. Get in, get out, come home. Clear?”
“Crystal.” I tuck the folder under my arm and walk away.
Partway back to my desk, Erkyan intercepts with a shy, almost embarrassed look on her face.
She pats my hip. “Thank you,” she murmurs. In Goblin, no less.
And with that it comes together in a rush.
This is nothing to do with the black smoke creature or the mark on my back. This is Shakka’s doing. I’ve no idea how, but his last words to me ring loud in my memory.
Be ready tonight.
While I stare at her, gobsmacked and stunned, she presses a USB flash drive into my hand and holds her fingers to her lips. “All the information is in here,” she murmurs. Again in Goblin. “If you need help, call. But call me, not SPEAR. Do you understand?”
I nod wordlessly.
How? How has he done this so very quickly?
Erkyan’s smile is bright and broad. “You’re a good person, Danika.” And with another pat against my hip, she’s gone.
I hide a bemused snort behind the back of my hand. Clearly I’ve underestimated Shakka. Sure, there’s more to him than I could ever have known, but all this?
In that moment, I promise myself that I’ll do everything in my power to avoid ever getting on his wrong side.
Chapter Eleven
I hate packing. There’s something so stressful about trying to decide what clothes one might need. And I don’t even know how long this journey will take.
Maury instructed that I go in, investigate, and leave, but the true purpose of this mission might not be as simple. Hell, I’m not even sure there is a psychic to see. And what about the cave sprites holding the Blade in the first place?
Skimming through the folder of notes barely helps. Neither does reading it in full.
Typed neatly and annotated with Maury’s bold hand, the notes indicate a human woman who goes by Fiona Bristow. Apparently she is able to read and see things by way of touch and mystic sight and offered her services to SPEAR in exchange for leniency on a charge of possession of faerie dust, with intent to sell. The charge is signed off by a huge, elaborate scrawl I recognise to be Jack’s signature, so I can only assume that she is real. Maybe it’s another of Shakka’s favours. I get the feeling he has them all over the place.
Beneath that is an address and a headshot from her criminal record, so at least I know who to look for. Fiona appears to be around sixty, with thick, curly hair in an untidy braid over one shoulder. In the photo she wears glasses with achingly thin frames and a sparkling chain that loops about her neck, with the ends attached to each arm. Her expression is calm and sombre, her lips pressed tight into a thin, unimpressed line.
With all that is the receipt for a booking at a small B & B for two twin rooms and the notation of a fuel allowance to make the drive.
Standard stuff.
Nowhere does the file mention Shakka or Glal or cave sprites, but I should expect that. If Shakka was going to go through all this trouble, there’s no way he would risk it by being overt.
I toss a few more pieces of underwear into my holdall and dump a pile of T-shirts on top. Next, two pairs of jeans, joggers, and a jacket. That should do it, right? Then I can worry about things like toothpaste, shampoo, and shower gel.
Nestled inside the bag, seemingly unconcerned at the stacks of clothes lying on top of her, is Norma. She’s been calm since my return home but clearly recognised the bag to mean Danika is going away forever and never coming back. I assume she intends to sneak along with me, hoping I’ve not noticed her in the bag. She can’t come, of course, but there’s no point in upsetting her yet, so I leave her in place and pack around her, occasionally whispering a soothing word her way.
She sleepily coos a few Nika-nikas and Dan, dan, kars for me but nothing more.
I decide against packing on Rayne’s behalf. Not only is she more likely to want her own choices, but I’d probably have to do it in the dark. Her room is calm, cool, and dark during the day, and though I could turn on the overhead light, it seems, I don’t know, rude almost.
Even if she rests like the dead, she’s not actually dead. So to root about in her room feels intrusive.
Instead, I make my way to the living room and pull out my mobile, ready for yet another phone call.
As I swipe my finger over the screen to reach my mother’s details, I wonder once more if there’s any point to my continued efforts.
The phone rings and rings and rings some more. Click.
“This is Teresa Karson.” Her answering message is short and professional. “I’m unavailable right now, so please leave your name and number, and I’ll get back to you. Thank you.” Beep.
I sigh. “Mum. Danika, again. I get the feeling you’re not even listening to these any more, but Pip won’t let me stop, given she’s scared to call herself. Even Rayne wants me to keep it up. So here I am again. My number is the same, my address is the same. Please talk to me. Please? Don’t you think this has gone on long enough?” I bite my bottom lip. “I know you’re angry, and I know you’re scared, but Pip and I, we’re still who we always were. We just live differently. Please…I miss you.”
Even as I speak the words, I’m stunned to realise they’re true. I do miss her. I miss the endless chatter about her Bible groups. I miss the occasional psalm or verse she would quote my way when I did something particularly nuts or stupid. I miss the chatter about her Spanish classes and her fascination with vampire businesses. I even miss her well-meaning but invariably annoying attempts to set me up on blind dates.
That last one is probably the hardest now.
I have Rayne, but now I don’t know if Mum will, or can, ever accept that. And not just the vampire part either. The idea of me falling for a woman seems harder to swallow than the fact that Rayne stopped being human long ago. But then, Mum’s idea of family has always been something traditional.
Couple that with the fact that Rayne was the one to turn my sister into a vampire, it’s no wonder Mum is having a hard time. But surely she’d feel better if she spoke to us, rather than letting her own mind spin tales.
“Mum, I’m not going to keep doing this,” I murmur. “I love you, truly I do, but this is hurting me. I need to live my life, and even though I want you in it, I can’t force you.” I hadn’t intended to say that, but now that the words are out, I realise how true they are. “It’s up to you now, okay? I’m here. I always will be, but I need to live. I love you.”
I swipe my thumb to end the call and let the phone drop into my lap.
Wow. That was harder than I thought it might be.
But I do feel better for it.
I lean my head back and close my eyes. Just for a moment. I allow myself to go through a quick mental inventory of the task ahead and how to balance seeing this Fiona woman on top of visiting the cave sprites. I don’t know much about cave sprites beyond the fact that they, well, live in caves. I know they are small, social creatures who tend to be reclusive and skittish. The fact that one came to Angbec at all is strange in and of itself because they tend to travel in packs, but this one must have been deeply troubled to leave the nest and come out alone.
Why did it do that? And how?
A cave sprite alone is vulnerable at best, a walking snack pot at most.
Super freaking weird.
* * *
I wake to the gentle press of Rayne’s lips against mine.
Hadn’t even realised I’d been asleep.
I flutter my eyes open and find the most beautiful of sights above me—short, sweet, delicate Rayne in her underwear, leaning over me, with her hair tumbling down towards her eyes.
“Good morning,” I manage.
She smiles. “Good evening. So you did need some extra sleep after all.”
“It’s been busy.”
Rayne settles into my lap, her knees to either side of my hips, and peers into my face. “You’ve packed a bag. Why? You know you’re supposed to stay in Angbec.”
For the smallest of moments I think about keeping Shakka’s mission to myself. Not because I don’t trust Rayne, of course, but because Shakka has revealed himself to be very much a private person.
But the thought is fleeting, barely a second, before I understand how stupid and impossible it would be to try. Besides, I don’t like keeping things from Rayne.
“Remember I told you about Shakka and that knife thing?”
“The Blade of Glal,” she corrects.
“We need to go get it.”
She studies me closely, head tilted slightly to one side. “What changed your mind?”
“All sorts, but mostly there’s more to Shakka than either of us ever knew. And he’s somehow managed to pull together a psychic to check my back too. It’s all cleared by Maury.”
“How soon do we leave?”
“When you’re packed.”
Her study of my face intensifies. “Are you sure about this? Where is it we’re going?”
I bite my lip. I don’t mean to, of course, but I’m not looking forward to this.
Of course she catches my hesitation instantly and fixes me with a narrow, suspicious stare. “Danika?”
“Moarwell.”
Rayne jerks hard. Her entire body stiffens like a lead rod as she stares deep into my face. “Moarwell?” She’s so still, that creepy edane stillness that I both hate and find fascination in.
“Y-yeah.”
“Mama…and Bubi…”
“I know. But maybe it’s a different one. Maybe there are two…?”
“I don’t know of any other Moarwells that we could reach in one night.” The stiffness leaks away, leaving her limp and weary. “It must be the same.” She sags against me, her head resting against my shoulder, hair sticking up my nose.
I pat her back gently. “You don’t have to come. I’m sure Maury will understand if—”
“No. I don’t want him to know. I don’t want anyone to know.”
“But—”
“It’s fine, Danika.” Her voice firms up. Slowly she leans back to give me her gaze again. “I can handle it. Just because I’m there doesn’t mean…” A soft sniff. “We’ll be there for the cave sprites and for the psychic, that’s all. Everything else is to the side.”
She says that, but I can’t quite believe it.
“Rayne.” I grip her hands gently. “You don’t have to pretend. You were so excited yesterday when you talked about your sister. Surely, now that you have the chance, you want to speak to her?”
“We have a job.”
“No, I have a job. You’re on babysitting duty. But if I promise not to do anything stupid, you’ll be free to go visit them. And the twins will be there.”
Rayne pulls the smallest of smiles. “Maury really has you on tight reins.”
“No kidding. But I don’t care. If it gets me out the city or even out the house for a day or two, I’ll take it. I’ll be on my best behaviour.”
“But—”
“Come on, I’m getting cabin fever. And this is the closest I’ve been to actual work for weeks. Besides, you really think Shakka will let it go? He’s the one who arranged all this.”
She lifts her eyebrow at me.
“The psychic was found by Erkyan.” I make the air quotes with my fingers. “And Shakka told me to be ready tonight. Too many coincidences all at once to be anything but his work.”
“How does he have that level of power? How many favours does he have?”
I grin. “Oh, I’ve some stories to tell you. Let’s go pack, and I’ll fill you in.”
And so I do.
Rayne fills a bag while I tell her everything, from my conversations with Erkyan and Shakka, to our encounter during my Clear Blood testing. I explain how I learned about Glal in the first place and Erkyan’s revelation about Shakka’s heritage.
She seems far less surprised than I was, but then Rayne has always been an accepting sort. Or maybe she just never had to watch Shakka chow down on dripping chunks of raw meat before. I’m pretty sure if she had, she’d have the same trouble as me believing him to be descended from goblin royalty.
In return, she tells me about Moarwell.
It seems the idea has settled in her mind and she is becoming used to the idea of potentially being close to her lost family. But with every word she speaks, the more my confusion grows.
“You’re telling me they don’t believe in edanes? You said it yesterday, but it still doesn’t make sense.”
She zips the top of her holdall and swings it onto her back along with mine and a third containing the tools from what we’ve playfully dubbed our travelling spy kit. Holy water, varied bullets and wires, steel cutters, pressed flowers, small phials of coloured liquids, communion wafers, steel knives, silver knives, gold knives, crystal knives…a lot of knives. Sensible, mundane things too, like matches, torches, batteries, water purifiers, a first aid kit, ropes. We might even be going on a camping trip. Oh, and the narrow, light-proof pod designed for Rayne to safely spend the daylight hours.
I was never a Scout or Girl Guide in my youth, but the idea of be prepared is a strong backbone to most activities a SPEAR agent does.
“It’s not that they don’t believe but that the village is small. They don’t have to acknowledge edanes because the entire population is human. And any non-human there stays out of the way. It’s hard to explain.”
“You make them sound like some lost tribe cut off from civilisation.”
Rayne frowns. “They’re not the ones cut off. We are. We’re the weird ones, the extraordinary ones, the unusual ones. Angbec isn’t like anywhere else. I imagine you’ll see it clearly soon enough.”
As we walk down the stairs, Norma, now freed of my bag, waits for us at the bottom. She has her wings spread, her tail held high, her head cocked to one side. Though she briefly glances at Rayne, her attention is all for me as we approach.
“Hi, little baby,” I coo.
“Karson,” she snaps, clearly agitated. “Dan, dan, kar, dan?”
“You can’t come. Stay here with Pippa. You’ll have a great time together.”
I mean, I hope so. Pippa isn’t even here, having shot off for Clear Blood as soon as the sun dipped low enough to allow it.
“Son, da-kar, son, son, dan.”
No idea what that means, but she sounds as though she means it.
“I can’t. Please, Norma, don’t make a fuss.”
The pesky creature stands fully and weaves herself in and out of my legs. She is more catlike than ever in this moment, rubbing her head against my ankle, butting my shins with her wings. Her tail curls tightly up around my leg, barbs laid flat so as not to hurt.
She’s so gentle, even when being a colossal pain.
I glance at Rayne, who immediately shakes her head.
“We can’t.”
“But look at her.” I scoop the spiky chittarik into my arms and hold her out, like a child with a stuffed bear. “We can’t leave her, look how sad she is. She’s barely been apart from me more than a few hours since she imprinted on me.”
Sigh. “If I say no we’re going to end up discussing it, aren’t we?” The sigh deepens when I nod at her. “Maybe this time we can just take the shortcut?”
No idea what she means, so I just continue holding up my pet, fixing my face into the most pleading and cute expression I can manage. I can’t see it, but I feel like an idiot. “Pleeeeease?”
“Fine. But only if you keep her with you. And don’t tell Maury.”
As if sensing the decision, Norma throws out both wings and cackles happily. She wriggles out of my hands and along my arm to reach my shoulder where she drapes herself comfortably, forelegs towards my chest, rear legs down my back. Her tail wraps delicately about the back of my neck.
