22. Adam

Chapter twenty-two

Adam

I wake sometime after sundown, surprised to find myself entirely alone. Not that Lucien and Elle are the kind of people to barge into my room—well, Lucien isn't—but the sun must have set at least an hour ago, and with us all in the clan house, I'm surprised they're not here.

Maybe they're talking to Vasile. With everything that's happened, Lucien has still barely spent any time in our district, and they might need to have a discussion about that again.

Whatever. I get out of bed, shower, and dress, and only after all that do I remember to check my phone. There's a message from Lucien. I'm right. He has something to deal with, and it says he'll come by and get me later. No word from Elle, so I pull on my shoes and leave my small room.

She's probably in the clan house. Lucien hasn't said it, but I know he doesn't want me wandering the streets alone, so I'm not going to head over to Sam's, even though I want to.

I'll find Elle, and she can take me there instead. Win-win.

Only before I can find her, another vampire stops me. Gareth. I know him in passing; he's got a few decades on me, and I'm pretty sure he lives in Chieftain Lazarus' district. He gives me an apologetic smile, one that shows off the dimple in his left cheek, and I stare at him, bemused.

"Is everything okay?" I ask.

"Yes!" His smile widens a little. "I was looking for you. Chieftain Lazarus wants to speak to you."

"Why?" The question comes out blunt, but Gareth's smile doesn't falter. I don't get it. I've hardly interacted with Lazarus since I was turned. Does he want to speak to Lucien? Everyone knows we're close.

"He thinks he found something related to the mage's death. You can sense magic, right? He said so."

"Yeah, I can. Is he here?"

Gareth shakes his head. "I told you. He found something. He's waiting there, just in case anyone comes back."

I frown. What is Lazarus going to do against a mage? There's a widespread belief that magic users of any kind can't be turned into vampires, but that's not true. They do lose their magic, though, when they turn. Even if Lazarus was a powerful mage in life—and I've never heard that about him—that wouldn't make any difference if Elliot faced off against him now.

"He's in danger," I say, shaking my head. "And I'm not supposed to leave. I'm supposed to—"

"Here," Gareth says. He shoves a piece of paper with an address scrawled on it into my hand. "There's a car waiting out front for you. I'll tell the crai where you've gone, okay? He'll send vampires after you both."

I glance at the address. I don't recognise it, but it doesn't matter. Gareth is already ushering me towards the door, and, caught up in his urgency and the fact that one of our chieftains might be putting himself in danger, I let myself be pushed.

As soon as the car door closes behind me, the driver sets off. I take my phone out of my pocket. I should let Lucien or Elle know where I'm going, but if they're both busy…

It'll be better to wait until I get there. No point panicking them if Lazarus is fine and Vasile is sending vampires after us.

We pull up outside a dark row of houses. The door is half-open of one—the address on the paper in my hand—and I see a dark, empty hall beyond. I get out of the car, and no sooner have I closed the door behind me than it drives off again.

I frown, watching it go. Every hair on the back of my neck stands on end. Something isn't right here.

But for all that, I can't hear a heartbeat inside. There's no sense of magic, either. What does Lazarus think he's found?

Even though I can't sense magic or the presence of any humans or wolves, I still approach the door cautiously. It swings open at the slightest touch, and I step inside, sweeping my gaze around.

The hall is empty, and so are the other rooms on the ground floor. "Chieftain?" I call, one foot on the bottom step of the stairs. Surely he knows I'm here. Other cars have passed by the house since my arrival, but none have stopped, and even if he didn't notice the car before, I've not been all that quiet walking around the house.

My hand strays to my pocket again. I should call someone. This isn't right.

I bite my lower lip. I can check upstairs first, right? Just see if Lazarus is here, and if he's not, I'll call Elle. We've not driven far from the clan house, so it won't take her long to get here.

I climb the stairs slowly, senses alert for anything out of place. I find an empty bathroom, then two rooms devoid of all furniture, though the floorboards are rotting away in one of them.

As I open the door to the third room, I hear a car pull up to the kerb. A heartbeat sounds, slightly elevated—did Vasile send a human along with vampires to help us?

It doesn't matter. I push the door to the third room open wide as I hear someone walk into the house. There's nothing here either—

I freeze when my eyes fall on the pile of ash in the centre of the room. A stake lies on the floor next to it.

Is Lazarus—

A gasp sounds behind me, and I whirl, a growl in my throat before I can stop it. She's not from the clan, she's—

Fuck. Hunter Helene stands there, eyes wide for a moment before her expression shutters and magic flares to life around her. It hits me hard, sending me careening back into the wall, and I groan, clutching my head.

"You killed him!"

"I—" I shake my head, which just causes more pain to flare behind my eyes. "I didn't."

It doesn't matter. She's already calling down the stairs, and I realise the car is still there when I hear other heartbeats—other hunters—heading our way.

"I didn't kill him!"

She ignores me. Can I run? I know I shouldn't—I know that will cause more trouble for the clan, for Lucien, but what else should I do?

I stagger to my feet and magic flares again.

"Stay down," Hunter Helene grinds out. Her heart is going faster, and I hear heavy treads on the stairs. I raise my hands in the air.

"He asked me to come here!" I cry. "I didn't kill him, I swear!"

She shakes her head, and another hunter appears behind her. He's got Kieran's breadth across the shoulders. Whatever magic Hunter Helene hit me with is still working through my system, and my vision blurs.

"Grab him," she says, and the next thing I know, there are two hunters on me. One yanks my arms behind my back while the other stands between me and Hunter Helene. I don't know why. I'm no threat to her, not like this.

My arms are fastened tight and the hunter in front of me studies the pile of ash on the floor. "Fuck," he mutters. I don't recognise him. "He got him good."

Hunter Helene shakes her head, eyeing the ash herself. "He knew something was wrong."

"What—Who?" I ask.

Her eyes snap to me. "Chieftain Lazarus," she says. "He called me half an hour ago. He told me there is an issue in the clan; that it's rotting from the inside out. And now, you've killed him."

I growl, baring my fangs. I can't help it. The hunter holding on to me yanks on my arms again, but I don't make a sound at the pain. "I didn't kill him."

Hunter Helene shrugs. "We're taking you back to the Council anyway."

Wait, what? "The Council? You can't—"

She moves her hand, and the hunter behind me pulls again. This time, I do yelp—I can't help it—and his quiet huff of laughter makes rage rise in my chest.

"It is not up to you what I can or cannot do," Hunter Helene snaps. "Clearly, your crai is no longer up to the task of keeping his vampires in line. That means the responsibility falls to the Council, which is something I will make quite clear."

She turns to the hunter standing in front of me. "Take care of the scene," she says. "I expect you will not be far behind us."

He nods, and when she jerks her head, turning to the door, the hunter behind me pushes me forward.

Oh, fuck. What have I got myself into?