Darkness Unbound
Page 11
I spun and headed into the main room. Ilianna had already darkened the electrochromic windows, so there was no chance of any of watchers seeing us. Tao was waiting, his brown hair temporarily dyed to match Rocky’s outlandish blue—the same blue as his eyes, thanks to contacts.
His gaze skimmed me then rose to my hair. “I really do prefer you silver.”
I grinned. “And you look far sexier as a brown wolf. Did you contact Stane?”
“I told him to expect us about eleven thirty. I’ll buy the Bollinger before I pick you up at eleven.” He hesitated. “What happens if the date goes badly?”
“Tao,” Ilianna said, voice sarcastic, “she’s meeting a sexy man. How can the date go badly?”
Tao shrugged and glanced at me. I smiled at the concern in his eyes. “I’ll grab a cab and meet you outside the club.”
He nodded, then glanced at his watch as the doorbell rang. “Right on time,” he said as he headed for the door.
Ilianna looked at me. “I actually think this is all overkill. I really don’t think they’re watching us anymore.”
“It’s better to be safe than sorry.”
“I guess. It’s just—” She frowned, then shrugged. “I have this feeling they’re smart enough to realize we’re on to them, and change their plan of attack.”
“Well, until we know what the new plan is, we’re better off playing it safe.”
I glanced around as Rocky and Kiera entered. Both of them did something of a double take, Kiera’s mouth dropping in an O as her gaze skimmed me. “It’s like looking in a mirror,” she said, shrugging off her coat and kicking off her shoes. “How weird is that?”
“Totally,” I agreed. “Thanks for doing this.”
Rocky tossed Tao his car keys and coat, then strolled across the room to kiss my cheek. “It’s really no hardship when the basketball finals are on, you have the biggest TV screen ever made, and there’s a fridge filled with beer.”
“God, basketball,” Ilianna groaned, her gaze meeting mine as she crossed her arms. “The things I suffer for you two.”
I grinned. “I promise I’ll bring back ice cream.”
“Then I shall suffer in silence.” Her quick grin faded a little. “Be careful out there, won’t you?”
I raised an eyebrow. “Is that a general be careful, or an I-see-nasty-stuff-ahead be careful?”
“General.” She frowned. “I think.”
Tao rolled his eyes. “Ris, let’s move, or she’ll be here all night deciding.”
I pulled on Kiera’s coat and swapped shoes, then shoved mine into a large bag that also held my purse and a change of clothes for when we investigated the Phoenix club. Then, with Tao’s hand warming my back and lightly guiding me, we headed out.
As we drove off in Rocky’s beat-up SUV, I flipped down the vanity mirror and checked the road behind us. No cars discreetly pulled out to follow us from a distance. The ruse had apparently worked.
Even so, I didn’t change my features until we were five minutes away from Wintergreen. This change was always the easier one. The burn of energy filled the car with heat as it reshaped my features.
“God, that is a stomach-churning sight,” Tao commented, glancing at me once I was done.
“You don’t have to look.” My arms trembled as I shucked off Keira’s coat and changed into my own shoes. Then I pulled some lipstick out of my purse and tilted the mirror so I could quickly redo my lips.
“It’s sort of hard not to.” He shuddered. “At least our shift magic has the decency to hide the process.”
“Just as well, considering it’s a whole-body change, not just a facial one.” My stomach fluttered as he began to slow down, and I took a deep breath to calm my nerves. It had been a while since I’d had a proper date, and I really did hope this was just that. That it was nothing more than a coincidence that he happened to walk past as those men attacked us.
I undid the seat belt, then leaned across and kissed Tao’s cheek. “Have fun at the club. I’ll meet you around the corner at eleven.”
He touched my cheek lightly. “To echo Ilianna, be careful.”
I smiled and climbed out. Once he’d pulled away, I took another deep breath that didn’t do a damn thing to settle the butterflies in my stomach, then turned and walked into Wintergreen. The restaurant was small and intimate in feel. A big open fire dominated one wall, and the exposed bricks on either side were lined with aging photographs of Melbourne. Old wooden tables and plush leather chairs were scattered throughout the rest of the room, with plenty of space between each setting. Candles flickered warmly in the middle of the tables; the only other light came from the low glow of the electric wall sconces.
My gaze swept the shadows, then halted as I saw him. He was at a table in the far corner sipping a glass of wine, but suddenly looked up, as if he’d felt the weight of my gaze. The slow smile that stretched his lips sent the butterflies flopping.
I didn’t even notice the maître d’ approaching, and jumped a little as he said, “May I help you?”
“I’m with that gentlemen over there,” I said softly, nodding in Lucian’s direction.
“Of course, ma’am. This way, please.”
I followed him through the maze of tables and diners, my gaze on Lucian’s, watching the warmth of his smile stretch to the jade of his eyes, then become something a whole lot more as his gaze flowed down my body.
He rose as the maître d’ pulled out my chair, then caught my hand and brushed the lightest of kisses across my fingertips. My whole body quivered—and not just from that kiss, but from the heated closeness of him. I licked my lips, wondering again if he was enhancing my reaction to him.
“I’m so glad you were able to make it,” he said, his voice low but powerful. “I was worried you might have had second thoughts.”
He waited until I was seated before sitting back down himself. His scent flowed around me—an enticing mix of lemongrass, suede, and musky, powerful male.
I smiled as I placed my purse to one side. “If I was going to say no, I would have done so when you first asked me out.”
Mischief gleamed in his eyes, but he didn’t say anything as a waiter approached. “Wine, madam?”
“It’s a very fine Riesling,” Lucian commented. “Not too sweet, not too dry.”
“Sounds good.” The waiter filled the glass. I took a sip, savoring the delicate fruity flavors and lingering acidity as I studied Lucian over the rim of the glass. “Thank you again for coming to my rescue this afternoon.”
“As I said at the time, I could hardly let those men assault such a lovely lady.” Amusement flared in his eyes. “Of course, it turned out the lovely young lady was more than capable of taking care of herself.”
“She is,” I agreed. “But it was fortunate you happened to walk by anyway. I hadn’t realized the second shifter was up and awake.”
“I noticed.” His fingers were toying with the rim of the glass, and though I’d never been turned on by mere fingers before, his had my breath catching. Or maybe it was the way he played so gently with the glass. It was all too easy to imagine him toying with me like that. I gulped and tried to concentrate on what he was saying as he added, “I’m not normally in that area, but I had a business meeting just down the road.”
I only had his word to go on, but I really didn’t want to believe he was lying, either then or now. And that instinctive bit inside me was relaxing, so it didn’t sense anything untoward, either. “What business are you in?”
“I’m an investment adviser. Boring stuff, really.”
This man was about as boring as a tiger snake. And probably twice as deadly—in more ways than one. “An investor who handles himself like a soldier is a rare commodity.”
He chuckled softly. “As a race, we Aedh are rather long-lived. I’ve been many things over my lifetime so far, including a soldier. Believe me, the boredom of my current job is a welcome change.”
He was still playing with the glass, and I watched the reflections dance across the shadows—the ones that surrounded us and the ones that seemed to lurk in his jade eyes. “Then you’ve always lived in Melbourne?”
He shook his head and leaned forward, crossing his arms against the table. His skin was a pale shade of gold, and almost seemed to glow against the dark wood. “I’ve just moved down here from Brisbane. I’m currently sharing a house with a friend in Carlton until I can find somewhere of my own.”
“A male friend or a female friend?”
He raised an eyebrow. “Would it matter?”
Amusement touched my lips. There was enough wolf in me for the answer to that particular question to be a decided “No.”
He smiled, and I felt the heat of it right down to my toes. “My friend is a he.”
“An Aedh, like you?”
“No. Which is why, when I saw you, I knew I had to see more of you. It is rare to find another Aedh—even in a city this size—let alone one who wears such beautiful skin.”
“I’m not full Aedh.” And though such an obvious compliment didn’t usually faze me, this had the butterflies stirring again. Or maybe it was just the warmth in the words, the lack of artifice in his expression. The sheer force of desire in his eyes.
Surprise flickered in his eyes. “You feel it?”
Oh yeah, I thought wryly. I not only felt it, but I wanted it. Wanted him. “What happened to your wings?”
“Ah.” He leaned back in his chair. “They were torn off.”
“Torn off?” I stared at him in horror, desire briefly forgotten. “Why?”
“I’m afraid I committed the grave mistake of caring for my half sister. When she was murdered, I hunted down and killed the man responsible. For that, I was punished.”
“By having your wings torn off? Fucking hell.”
“I believe I said words to that effect at the time.”
Despite the horror that still swirled through me, I couldn’t help laughing. “I think you would have said a bit more than that.”
“You could be right.” Again, that delicious smile teased his lips. “In fact, I believe I got rather physical. Not that it did me a lot of good in the end.”
“So who …?” I didn’t finish the sentence, simply because I didn’t need to.
“The priests,” he said, “they’re the only ones who can.”
“But why didn’t they understand your reaction? It’s a normal response, after all.”
“For humans—or people like yourself—maybe. But Aedh cannot be judged by human standards, and the priests are the least human of us all. They are cold, clinical creatures who believe in duty, logic, and the power of clear, concise thought. According to them, emotion is an aberration that should not exist.”
I frowned. “But there are no priests left. They died out a long time ago.”
“If that were true, I would dance through the streets.”
“So there are Aedh priests left?” And if there were, how come Uncle Quinn didn’t know about them? He’d once trained to be a priest, after all.
“There are no working priests left, but there are Aedh still living today who undertook but never completed the training.”
Of which Uncle Quinn was one. I half wondered if he’d know Lucian, then shoved the thought away. It wasn’t important right now.
“So if the priests tore off your wings, that would mean you’re—” I hesitated, trying to do the calculations from what Uncle Quinn had told me about the time span of Aedh priests. All I got was old.
“It means I have seen many centuries on this earth.” He leaned forward again. The heat and scent of him washed over me once more—a siren song calling to the baser parts of my soul. “Does the thought of me being old enough to be your grandfather—many times removed—appall you?”
I grinned and let my gaze sweep the length of him. Or the bits that were visible, anyway. “When it comes in such an admirable package, most certainly not.”
He reached across the table and caught my right hand, turning it over in his. My skin looked pale against his, my hand small.
“When they took my wings, they robbed me of many things.”
He touched a finger to my palm and began to trace gentle circles. My heart slammed into my chest and desire crashed through me. It was all I could do to say, “Like what?”
“I can no longer fully become one with the breeze, nor will I ever be able to walk the worlds between this one and the next.”
“Why? Are wings the source of an Aedh’s power?”
He grimaced. “Not really. But the process that strips us of our wings also limits our skills.”
The skill of seduction obviously wasn’t one of them. His gaze rose to meet mine, and something within me stilled. It was the weirdest sensation, as if I were standing in the eye of a storm that no one could see and no one but me could feel. And it was so peaceful, so right, that it scared the hell out of me. Without even thinking about it, I tugged my hand free from his and picked up my glass with fingers that were still trembling. The cool wine did little to ease the tumult inside, or the sudden feeling that I’d been right before. This man was dangerous in ways I couldn’t even begin to understand.
“What skills were you left with?”
He shrugged like it didn’t matter, but I could feel the tension in him, sense the lingering, ever-burning fury. He hadn’t forgiven them, but I guess that was understandable if he’d been left half the man—half the being—that he once was.
His gaze skimmed me then rose to my hair. “I really do prefer you silver.”
I grinned. “And you look far sexier as a brown wolf. Did you contact Stane?”
“I told him to expect us about eleven thirty. I’ll buy the Bollinger before I pick you up at eleven.” He hesitated. “What happens if the date goes badly?”
“Tao,” Ilianna said, voice sarcastic, “she’s meeting a sexy man. How can the date go badly?”
Tao shrugged and glanced at me. I smiled at the concern in his eyes. “I’ll grab a cab and meet you outside the club.”
He nodded, then glanced at his watch as the doorbell rang. “Right on time,” he said as he headed for the door.
Ilianna looked at me. “I actually think this is all overkill. I really don’t think they’re watching us anymore.”
“It’s better to be safe than sorry.”
“I guess. It’s just—” She frowned, then shrugged. “I have this feeling they’re smart enough to realize we’re on to them, and change their plan of attack.”
“Well, until we know what the new plan is, we’re better off playing it safe.”
I glanced around as Rocky and Kiera entered. Both of them did something of a double take, Kiera’s mouth dropping in an O as her gaze skimmed me. “It’s like looking in a mirror,” she said, shrugging off her coat and kicking off her shoes. “How weird is that?”
“Totally,” I agreed. “Thanks for doing this.”
Rocky tossed Tao his car keys and coat, then strolled across the room to kiss my cheek. “It’s really no hardship when the basketball finals are on, you have the biggest TV screen ever made, and there’s a fridge filled with beer.”
“God, basketball,” Ilianna groaned, her gaze meeting mine as she crossed her arms. “The things I suffer for you two.”
I grinned. “I promise I’ll bring back ice cream.”
“Then I shall suffer in silence.” Her quick grin faded a little. “Be careful out there, won’t you?”
I raised an eyebrow. “Is that a general be careful, or an I-see-nasty-stuff-ahead be careful?”
“General.” She frowned. “I think.”
Tao rolled his eyes. “Ris, let’s move, or she’ll be here all night deciding.”
I pulled on Kiera’s coat and swapped shoes, then shoved mine into a large bag that also held my purse and a change of clothes for when we investigated the Phoenix club. Then, with Tao’s hand warming my back and lightly guiding me, we headed out.
As we drove off in Rocky’s beat-up SUV, I flipped down the vanity mirror and checked the road behind us. No cars discreetly pulled out to follow us from a distance. The ruse had apparently worked.
Even so, I didn’t change my features until we were five minutes away from Wintergreen. This change was always the easier one. The burn of energy filled the car with heat as it reshaped my features.
“God, that is a stomach-churning sight,” Tao commented, glancing at me once I was done.
“You don’t have to look.” My arms trembled as I shucked off Keira’s coat and changed into my own shoes. Then I pulled some lipstick out of my purse and tilted the mirror so I could quickly redo my lips.
“It’s sort of hard not to.” He shuddered. “At least our shift magic has the decency to hide the process.”
“Just as well, considering it’s a whole-body change, not just a facial one.” My stomach fluttered as he began to slow down, and I took a deep breath to calm my nerves. It had been a while since I’d had a proper date, and I really did hope this was just that. That it was nothing more than a coincidence that he happened to walk past as those men attacked us.
I undid the seat belt, then leaned across and kissed Tao’s cheek. “Have fun at the club. I’ll meet you around the corner at eleven.”
He touched my cheek lightly. “To echo Ilianna, be careful.”
I smiled and climbed out. Once he’d pulled away, I took another deep breath that didn’t do a damn thing to settle the butterflies in my stomach, then turned and walked into Wintergreen. The restaurant was small and intimate in feel. A big open fire dominated one wall, and the exposed bricks on either side were lined with aging photographs of Melbourne. Old wooden tables and plush leather chairs were scattered throughout the rest of the room, with plenty of space between each setting. Candles flickered warmly in the middle of the tables; the only other light came from the low glow of the electric wall sconces.
My gaze swept the shadows, then halted as I saw him. He was at a table in the far corner sipping a glass of wine, but suddenly looked up, as if he’d felt the weight of my gaze. The slow smile that stretched his lips sent the butterflies flopping.
I didn’t even notice the maître d’ approaching, and jumped a little as he said, “May I help you?”
“I’m with that gentlemen over there,” I said softly, nodding in Lucian’s direction.
“Of course, ma’am. This way, please.”
I followed him through the maze of tables and diners, my gaze on Lucian’s, watching the warmth of his smile stretch to the jade of his eyes, then become something a whole lot more as his gaze flowed down my body.
He rose as the maître d’ pulled out my chair, then caught my hand and brushed the lightest of kisses across my fingertips. My whole body quivered—and not just from that kiss, but from the heated closeness of him. I licked my lips, wondering again if he was enhancing my reaction to him.
“I’m so glad you were able to make it,” he said, his voice low but powerful. “I was worried you might have had second thoughts.”
He waited until I was seated before sitting back down himself. His scent flowed around me—an enticing mix of lemongrass, suede, and musky, powerful male.
I smiled as I placed my purse to one side. “If I was going to say no, I would have done so when you first asked me out.”
Mischief gleamed in his eyes, but he didn’t say anything as a waiter approached. “Wine, madam?”
“It’s a very fine Riesling,” Lucian commented. “Not too sweet, not too dry.”
“Sounds good.” The waiter filled the glass. I took a sip, savoring the delicate fruity flavors and lingering acidity as I studied Lucian over the rim of the glass. “Thank you again for coming to my rescue this afternoon.”
“As I said at the time, I could hardly let those men assault such a lovely lady.” Amusement flared in his eyes. “Of course, it turned out the lovely young lady was more than capable of taking care of herself.”
“She is,” I agreed. “But it was fortunate you happened to walk by anyway. I hadn’t realized the second shifter was up and awake.”
“I noticed.” His fingers were toying with the rim of the glass, and though I’d never been turned on by mere fingers before, his had my breath catching. Or maybe it was the way he played so gently with the glass. It was all too easy to imagine him toying with me like that. I gulped and tried to concentrate on what he was saying as he added, “I’m not normally in that area, but I had a business meeting just down the road.”
I only had his word to go on, but I really didn’t want to believe he was lying, either then or now. And that instinctive bit inside me was relaxing, so it didn’t sense anything untoward, either. “What business are you in?”
“I’m an investment adviser. Boring stuff, really.”
This man was about as boring as a tiger snake. And probably twice as deadly—in more ways than one. “An investor who handles himself like a soldier is a rare commodity.”
He chuckled softly. “As a race, we Aedh are rather long-lived. I’ve been many things over my lifetime so far, including a soldier. Believe me, the boredom of my current job is a welcome change.”
He was still playing with the glass, and I watched the reflections dance across the shadows—the ones that surrounded us and the ones that seemed to lurk in his jade eyes. “Then you’ve always lived in Melbourne?”
He shook his head and leaned forward, crossing his arms against the table. His skin was a pale shade of gold, and almost seemed to glow against the dark wood. “I’ve just moved down here from Brisbane. I’m currently sharing a house with a friend in Carlton until I can find somewhere of my own.”
“A male friend or a female friend?”
He raised an eyebrow. “Would it matter?”
Amusement touched my lips. There was enough wolf in me for the answer to that particular question to be a decided “No.”
He smiled, and I felt the heat of it right down to my toes. “My friend is a he.”
“An Aedh, like you?”
“No. Which is why, when I saw you, I knew I had to see more of you. It is rare to find another Aedh—even in a city this size—let alone one who wears such beautiful skin.”
“I’m not full Aedh.” And though such an obvious compliment didn’t usually faze me, this had the butterflies stirring again. Or maybe it was just the warmth in the words, the lack of artifice in his expression. The sheer force of desire in his eyes.
Surprise flickered in his eyes. “You feel it?”
Oh yeah, I thought wryly. I not only felt it, but I wanted it. Wanted him. “What happened to your wings?”
“Ah.” He leaned back in his chair. “They were torn off.”
“Torn off?” I stared at him in horror, desire briefly forgotten. “Why?”
“I’m afraid I committed the grave mistake of caring for my half sister. When she was murdered, I hunted down and killed the man responsible. For that, I was punished.”
“By having your wings torn off? Fucking hell.”
“I believe I said words to that effect at the time.”
Despite the horror that still swirled through me, I couldn’t help laughing. “I think you would have said a bit more than that.”
“You could be right.” Again, that delicious smile teased his lips. “In fact, I believe I got rather physical. Not that it did me a lot of good in the end.”
“So who …?” I didn’t finish the sentence, simply because I didn’t need to.
“The priests,” he said, “they’re the only ones who can.”
“But why didn’t they understand your reaction? It’s a normal response, after all.”
“For humans—or people like yourself—maybe. But Aedh cannot be judged by human standards, and the priests are the least human of us all. They are cold, clinical creatures who believe in duty, logic, and the power of clear, concise thought. According to them, emotion is an aberration that should not exist.”
I frowned. “But there are no priests left. They died out a long time ago.”
“If that were true, I would dance through the streets.”
“So there are Aedh priests left?” And if there were, how come Uncle Quinn didn’t know about them? He’d once trained to be a priest, after all.
“There are no working priests left, but there are Aedh still living today who undertook but never completed the training.”
Of which Uncle Quinn was one. I half wondered if he’d know Lucian, then shoved the thought away. It wasn’t important right now.
“So if the priests tore off your wings, that would mean you’re—” I hesitated, trying to do the calculations from what Uncle Quinn had told me about the time span of Aedh priests. All I got was old.
“It means I have seen many centuries on this earth.” He leaned forward again. The heat and scent of him washed over me once more—a siren song calling to the baser parts of my soul. “Does the thought of me being old enough to be your grandfather—many times removed—appall you?”
I grinned and let my gaze sweep the length of him. Or the bits that were visible, anyway. “When it comes in such an admirable package, most certainly not.”
He reached across the table and caught my right hand, turning it over in his. My skin looked pale against his, my hand small.
“When they took my wings, they robbed me of many things.”
He touched a finger to my palm and began to trace gentle circles. My heart slammed into my chest and desire crashed through me. It was all I could do to say, “Like what?”
“I can no longer fully become one with the breeze, nor will I ever be able to walk the worlds between this one and the next.”
“Why? Are wings the source of an Aedh’s power?”
He grimaced. “Not really. But the process that strips us of our wings also limits our skills.”
The skill of seduction obviously wasn’t one of them. His gaze rose to meet mine, and something within me stilled. It was the weirdest sensation, as if I were standing in the eye of a storm that no one could see and no one but me could feel. And it was so peaceful, so right, that it scared the hell out of me. Without even thinking about it, I tugged my hand free from his and picked up my glass with fingers that were still trembling. The cool wine did little to ease the tumult inside, or the sudden feeling that I’d been right before. This man was dangerous in ways I couldn’t even begin to understand.
“What skills were you left with?”
He shrugged like it didn’t matter, but I could feel the tension in him, sense the lingering, ever-burning fury. He hadn’t forgiven them, but I guess that was understandable if he’d been left half the man—half the being—that he once was.
