THREE

TWO

THE NEXT NIGHT I ended up on the southwest side of the city, just outside German Village near harpy territory. Like many of the city"s spook residents, the harpies had claimed a small piece of the city as their own. It had taken a while after my change to realize that Columbus was basically one big pie with each supernatural species claiming a piece of their own.

Vampires held much of the Arena District, which was trendy and hip and home to many of the bars and clubs the city"s younger crowd tended to congregate at. The witches had put down roots in the Short North, side-by-side with art galleries, offbeat tea shops, and other one-of-a kind stores.

The harpies had claimed a portion of the Scioto river and the immediate surrounding area. The part of the river where I normally found them at was called the Scioto mile which ran through a good stretch of the downtown and beyond.

Like many other parts of the city, the mile had undergone a bit of a face lift over recent years. Once rather dismal and a bit sketchy, it was now a mecca for those who wanted to walk or picnic along the riverfront. Crafted from running trails and carefully tended lawns, the mile framed the Scioto river from the Arena district all the way down to Whittier Peninsula.

During daytime, it was rare to see the many paths unoccupied. When the weather was fair, flocks of business people took to the trails during their breaks and lunch hours before returning to their stressful days.

Tonight, I bypassed the riverfront promenade heading instead for the area south of Bicentennial park where the West Main Street bridge crossed the Scioto.

The harpies roosting grounds tended to move around a lot, but I was betting they"d head for the bridge at some point tonight. It had the best places to dive bomb the water below, and it wasn"t far to Franklinton, home to several breweries and a slew of low-key bars.

Like the crows and ravens that they took some of their form from, harpies had a weakness for shiny things, and it was easy to pickpocket drunk humans stumbling home after a night at the bar.

It took three stops before I spotted Natalia and her flock, perched on the climbing wall in the Scioto Audubon Metro Park drinking beer and chucking it into a trashcan far below.

The evidence of broken glass surrounding the bin said that they"d been doing this for a while and that not all of them had great aim.

"Natalia," I said, not bothering to raise my voice. I didn"t need to, she"d hear.

A lean woman high above paused in the act of lifting a beer to her lips. Clad all in black, much of it leather, Natalia was difficult to see against the night sky. Even her wings were black, easily lost against the darkness.

"Aileen?" Her voice floated on the wind.

I waved in acknowledgment, before stuffing my hands in my pockets and moseying toward a bench.

I took a seat, stretching one arm across the back and waited. Natalia could ignore me or she could be prompt. It was always hard to say.

While I waited, I watched Natalia and her companions converse. She nodded. Seconds later she and another split from the flock, arrowing toward me where I waited.

Natalia landed in front of me, wings flared. Her companion did the same a few feet away.

"Do you have it?" Natalia straightened, her wings snapping out of view as she quirked an eyebrow at me.

I dipped my chin once.

She inhaled before slowly releasing the breath. "That was quick. I thought you"d be at least another week."

I lifted a shoulder. "I"m good at what I do."

And I was. Surprisingly. A lifetime of searching and this was what felt right. Now, if it only came with health insurance and a fat paycheck.

Her companion stepped forward; excitement, hope, and challenge mingling in her expression. "You"re not lying? You really found it?"

Natalia shot her an irritated glance.

Her companion grimaced before sending an apologetic look at Natalia.

I smothered my smile as I studied the other woman. Younger than Natalia, I"d have placed her at eighteen or nineteen had she been human. With spooks it was hard to tell. We rarely looked our age.

Even without the wings, I"d have described her features as vaguely hawkish, carrying only the faint remnants of youth. She was African American with wings that I itched to touch—soft looking and brown with white spots that reminded me of a speckled owl's. They were beautiful, even though a few downy feathers were trying to work their way free as if she was a hatchling just finishing up her molt.

"Rose," Natalia warned.

Rose spread her hands, adopting the innocent expression of teens everywhere who knew they had overstepped.

Natalia"s look sharpened. "Don"t even try it. You were warned to let me do the talking. If you can"t obey, you have to go back to the flock."

At that, Rose looked suitably chastened. She bit her lip as her gaze fell.

Natalia"s attention swung to me, vexation on her face as I tried to hide my laugh. It seemed a teen"s ability to irritate the adults who looked after them was universal and not only confined to humans.

"You don"t have to worry," I said on a slight snicker. "I really did get it."

Rose hopped forward a step, the movement birdlike. At Natalia"s hard look, she cleared her throat and took a step back, mouthing an apology at the older woman.

Natalia crossed her arms, barely restraining her snort.

Where Rose still held the slightly awkward long limbs of youth, Natalia was entirely at home in her body. Long and lean with a scary sort of beauty that said she could fuck you up and smile while doing it, she looked like the sort who"d walk out of a bar fight carrying the heads of her enemies.

I never could tell if she was the flock"s leader or just the spokesperson they"d elected to deal with me. Either way, she"d been my contact from all the way back to my messenger days.

Natalia lifted her chin, asking without words to see it.

I reached into my pocket, withdrawing the bracelet and holding it up for them to see. To the average person, it would seem ordinary, maybe even cheap and slightly tacky. Nothing in its design seemed to warrant the attention its loss had caused.

Made from a thin silver chain, the bracelet had a series of charms similar to those you'd find on a little girl"s bracelet. They clacked and rattled against each other as if chattering to themselves.

To humans, its only value lay in what nostalgia its owner would feel for it.

But I could see the power infused in each link, lighting up my magic sight like the fourth of July. Whatever this thing was, it was important enough for the harpies to threaten war and pay me an arm and a leg to retrieve it.

Natalia exhaled, something like relief settling on her face as her shoulders loosened.

A weird cawing sound came from Rose. Seconds later there was a rustle of feathers behind me. I held still as the teen peered over my shoulder from her perch on the back of the bench, her balance perfect.

Her head canted to the side in a move reminiscent of an owl. "That"s it!"

"Rose," Natalia warned.

Rose wasn"t listening. She snatched the bracelet from my hand, holding it up to eye level. She treated the bracelet with the sort of reverence and gentleness I"d have expected from a jeweler handling the Hope diamond.

I glanced at Natalia to find her eyes trained on the bracelet.

Noticing my look, Natalia"s walls slammed down.

Rose took the hint, the bracelet disappearing into one of her pockets. The teen"s wings flared. She pushed off, the bench vibrating from the force. Seconds later I spotted her winging for the top of the climbing wall.

Natalia waited until she"d rejoined the rest before asking casually. "Where"d you find it?"

I shook my head. How did I know that was going to be the next question?

I propped my elbow on the back of the bench. "You know that wasn"t the agreement."

Natalia stuffed her hands in her pockets. "Then let"s change the parameters."

I didn"t speak for several seconds.

"We"ll pay extra," she offered.

I scoffed. Was she kidding me? Did she really not know me at all? I wasn"t going to help them start a war, not for any amount of money.

That had her smiling. "Yeah, I told them you weren"t going to go for that."

That pacified me somewhat.

Natalia sighed and took a seat beside me. She withdrew an envelope, handing it to me. I took it and stuffed it in my jacket, not bothering to check the contents.

I knew the harpies were good for it. Some considered them untrustworthy, but when they gave their word, they kept it.

"Strange days, Aileen," Natalia finally said.

"Oh?"

The harpies were a little wild and rebellious, but they also tended to get the juiciest gossip. They"d make pretty good spies if they ever found an outsider they could respect.

Natalia grunted. "Word is there are a couple of heavy hitters in town."

The encounter with the umbrella man came back to me. What did I want to bet I"d already run into one of those heavy hitters?

"Any idea who they are or what they want?" I asked.

Natalia shook her head. "But it might be a good time to lay low."

"Isn"t it always?" I grumbled.

Natalia"s smile flashed as she clasped me on the shoulder. "Be careful. We don"t want to have to train anyone new to fulfill your role."

"Thanks," I said dryly.

Natalia stood, her wings unfolding. "I thought you should know, there"s someone watching you from the trees."

I slanted a glance at the woods lining the trails. There was no movement that I could see. Nothing stirred in the deep shadows.

That didn"t mean there wasn"t anything there, just that they were better at hiding than most.

If Natalia was right and I was being watched, I could think of only one person who had admitted to being a stalker of late.

Connor.

I shook my head and groaned.

"Don"t die, Aileen. You"re a source of endless entertainment for the flock." Natalia sprang into the air, winging her way back to the others.

I scowled at her retreating back. "What does that mean?"

She lifted a hand over her shoulder in a wave.

"Natalia? You and your sisters aren"t sitting around watching me, are you?"

No answer.

Damn it. They were.

"We"ll revisit this conversation at a later time," I muttered under my breath as I stood, facing the woods. For now, I had a stalker to chase off.

*

I lingered on the running path, opening my senses to the world around me. My magic sight settled over me, overlaying the mundane world with its kaleidoscope of colors.

Magic, or at least some semblance of it, ran through most things. Often it was weak, no more than a spark.

My stalker might be good at going undetected, but I was willing to bet he forgot to shield his magic.

At the edge of my vision, power flared—a brilliant white. It reminded me of lightning, searing hot for an instant before it was gone again.

I smirked, my feet taking me toward where I"d seen the flash.

"Connor, you might as well come out. I know you"re here," I called.

The forest rustled, the shadows moving as a man stepped onto the trail, an umbrella held over his head to shade his face.

I stumbled to a stop. I"d found something, but it wasn't what I expected.

The stranger dipped forward in a bow. "You found me, my dear. Though I confess, I don"t know who this Connor is."

I looked around uneasily.

This was a clever trap. The worse part was I"d blundered into it on my own, and I had no one to blame but myself. My overconfidence had made it easy for him to lure me into a quiet, secluded part of the path, the river gurgling only a few steps away and the trees shielding us from prying eyes.

"This is the second time we've met," I said, after a moment.

The umbrella man straightened. "Indeed."

"Why are you following me?"

Shadows stirred under the umbrella, darker shapes against the night. I squinted but couldn"t pick out any details.

"To get your measure." His voice was cultured and deep with the faintest of accents.

I backed up, feeling my stomach tighten as he advanced a step. "Why would you need my measure?"

"I represent a group who are looking to hire someone with a special set of skills."

"And last night you were seeing if I had those skills?" I couldn"t keep the skepticism out of my voice. He hadn't yet done anything that could be construed as threatening, except for the fact he hit a ten on the creep"o"meter. That was more than enough for me to treat him with extreme caution.

"Suffice it to say, we"d like to hire the pretty vampire." The man sounded pleasant enough, but I could sense the threat right under the surface. If I didn"t do what they wanted, there would be consequences.

I backed up another step, frustrated when he advanced, reclaiming the distance between us.

"You still haven"t told me who you are," I bluffed, buying time while I tried to think of a plan to extricate myself from the current situation.

"You can call me Don."

That had me blinking at him in surprise. It was such a normal name for a person that I suspected wasn"t a person at all.

"Alright, Don, how about you come back during business hours, and we can discuss this like civilized people," I tried.

He took another step toward me, closing the distance. "It would be better to discuss this now."

I"d been afraid he would say that.

From under his umbrella, shadows unfurled—like unruly locks of hair being released from a hair tie. They flexed and curled as they dropped nearly to his waist, some as thick as an elephant"s trunk, others thin and sinuous.

I edged away, conscious of the fact the situation was quickly spiraling out of my control.

The temptation to give in and take the job, terms unknown, was strong. Unfortunately, I had an iron clad rule about not accepting work from people who terrified me. And this man scared me on a whole other level.

There was something primal about his power, that whispered of fears half forgotten. It told me this man was something dangerous and unknown.

There was also the small matter of not letting someone strong arm me into accepting jobs I didn"t want.

Reputation was a fragile thing. Once lost, it took twice as long to regain. If people thought it was easy to walk all over me, they"d take advantage. I"d lose any gains I"d made since going it alone.

I stopped retreating. If I acted like prey, he was going to treat me like prey. Sometimes you had to bluff to get ahead.

"Like I said, I only hear requests during business office hours."

Granted, I didn"t actually have an office or business hours during which he could visit, but he didn"t know that.

"I"m afraid I"m going to have to insist." Regret colored his voice.

The blackness he cloaked his magic in swelled, giving me a split second to brace.

A blur of white barreled into him from the side.

"Run," Connor roared.

Yup, good plan.

I didn"t hesitate, shooting down the path without a backward glance.

If a vampire, centuries my senior, wanted to go head-to-head with a scary Fae, more power to him. This baby vampire planned to live by the mantra that those who ran away, lived to fight another day.

By instinct I managed to head toward the part of the city where I'd left the car.

Getting out of the park was easy since no one tried to stop me.

I hit the cobblestone streets that signaled the beginning of German Village and pounded down an alley, making a beeline for my car.

It occurred to me by the time I took a second turn, darting into an alley then across a street and down another ally while trying to lose an assailant that wasn"t actually there, that Connor and I might have overreacted.

Technically, Don, the umbrella man, hadn"t done anything more threatening than try to hire me for an unspecified job.

Maybe he was harmless. Simply coming across more threatening than he intended. That was a problem for a lot of the older, more powerful spooks. They didn"t always understand proper social etiquette in these modern times.

I slowed to a walk, putting my hands on my hips as I tried to control my breathing.

I didn't quite believe it. Don and his umbrella, which masked what was under it, unsettled me on a primitive level. More importantly, Connor had acted as if the man was an extreme threat.

I trusted his instincts. Possibly more than my own.

If he thought the man was dangerous, chances were, he was. But was he dangerous to me?

While I pondered whether I should head back and help Connor, the air shimmered a few feet ahead of me. Magic stirred, a sparkling distortion that I would have associated with a visual migraine had I still been human. It shimmered and shivered, slowly growing until it took up the space of a door.

Magic, the likes of which I"d never encountered, wafted out of it, whispering of welcome and homecoming.

I took a cautious step back.

A Fae had created this, I was willing to bet. One that was extremely powerful. It tasted like one of them, but different.

"Oh dear," a voice said from behind me. "Someone is impatient."

I whirled, crouching as my fangs popped through my gums.

Though I couldn"t see his eyes, I got the sense Don was staring beyond me to the door.

"How did you get past Connor?" I asked.

Connor wasn"t exactly a weakling, despite his lengthy time as a stag. I couldn"t be sure, but I suspected he was as strong as any of Liam"s enforcers. Perhaps not as strong as Liam or Thomas, but he wasn"t a push over either.

Getting past him wouldn"t have been easy.

"Your friend is well, just a tad occupied right now," Don assured me. He held out a gloved hand to me, the other still wrapped around the umbrella"s handle. "It would be best if you come with me."

That wasn"t going to happen.

I tensed, knowing I was stuck between a decidedly dangerous and powerful supernatural, and a door to parts unknown.

Not exactly the type of situation I was expecting for my first errand of the night.

Seeing the refusal on my face, Don sighed, the sound heavy and long. "This is regrettable."

My mouth dried as the shadows he hid under his umbrella rustled. I had a feeling I knew what came next.

Before I could speak or even attempt to talk my way out of things, a sword of pure shining light appeared in his hand and a hard force wrapped around my ankle.

An inelegant squawk left me as I was jerked off my feet. I hit the ground hard, my face crashing into the cobblestone.

I blinked away the bright spots of pain and the blood now dripping from me split lip, scrabbling at the street as the unseen force dragged me backward.

Inch by inch, I slid closer to the doorway, even the increased strength of my vampire side doing little to help me.

I chanced a quick glance behind me, catching a glimpse of a tentacle as thick as my thigh wrapped around my ankle. Beyond it, through the door, an eye the size of my head peered at me.

With an inarticulate sound of denial, I fought harder, digging my claws into the brick. If they got me through the portal, I was dead. So very dead. Nobody would ever know what had happened to me besides Don—whose real name I was pretty sure wasn"t Don.

A yowl that ended as a roar shook the night. Connor raced toward me with a furious expression, his fangs bared.

He surged past me, grabbing the tentacle. Ribbons of flesh flew as he tore into it, ripping it in half.

My leg came loose and I scrabbled forward as a pained screech came from the portal. The other half of the tentacle retreated to safety, leaving Connor standing over the ruined remains, blood dripping from his claws where small pieces of tendon still clung.

If I"d ever needed a reminder of how dangerous he was, this event would likely be imprinted on my brain. He"d ripped that thing off me in seconds, like it was no more difficult than tearing into tissue paper.

Gone was the slightly lost and confused man who didn"t know how to fit in this world. In this precise moment, he bore a striking resemblance to Liam. The two could have been brothers.

I"d seen that look on Liam"s face before. Like an enemy had trespassed for the last time. The sort of look that said they fully embraced their darker half and were looking forward to unleashing it on their enemies.

I scrambled to my feet, backing away from Connor, the portal, and Don. Three entities, each as dangerous in their own way as the last.

Uncertainty flickered in Connor"s gaze and I stopped, taking a deep breath as I forced my panic to recede. Connor might be way more terrifying than I"d assumed, but he"d just saved my ass.

He was my ally, and he didn"t deserve to have me treat him like a pariah. He wouldn"t hurt me—I was pretty sure.

Instead of fleeing as instinct demanded, I changed directions, edging toward Connor until I faced the portal and making it clear I"d watch his back.

His breathing steadied, the uncertainty fading as he fixed Don with his full attention.

Don watched the two of us carefully. He flicked his wrist and the sword vanished as quickly as it had appeared. "This is an unexpected development, and here I"d hoped for a calm conversation."

"I don"t know where you"re from but dragging people through portals doesn"t exactly put them at ease," I said.

"No, I guess it doesn"t."

Another tentacle shot out of the portal, arrowing straight for me. I dodged left and it followed. My eyes widened as I threw myself onto the ground to escape, rolling out of the way as it overshot.

Next to me, Connor lunged at Don, the two a blur as they traded blows.

It was all I had time to see as the tentacle started for me again.

I was on my feet, racing away in the next moment. I avoided the first grab and bumped up against a brick wall. Left with nowhere to go and the tentacle questing along the ground for me, I leapt straight up, catching hold of one of those fancy wrought iron supports that had a sign hanging from it. A corbel, I think they were called.

I dangled there, getting the lay of the battle. For now, I was safe. At least until the tentacle learned I was no longer on the ground. For the moment, I braced my feet against the wall and took the opportunity to catch my breath and get my bearings.

Across the street Connor and Don looked evenly matched. They"d be there a while, which meant I was on my own with the tentacle monster.

I recognized where we were. It wasn"t far from my car—only a few streets if I remembered correctly.

The tentacle slammed into the brick a few feet below me. The wall shivered as the tentacle slowly extricated itself from the hole it had created.

It shook itself, like a dog shedding water.

Uh oh. I saw where this was going.

It slammed itself into the wall again.

In one smooth movement, I used my feet to push off the wall, flipping over the tentacle and landing on my feet.

I didn"t hesitate, racing down the street away from the portal and its tentacle, calling over my shoulder. "Running would be good right about now, Connor."

If we couldn"t fight the tentacle monster, then we just needed to get far enough from it so that it was no longer a problem.

I passed Don, surprised when he did no more than tip his umbrella at me and call, "Ms. Travers, I regret the way the night turned out. I"ll pursue this matter again at a different time."

I had no time to answer, too intent on fleeing to spare a breath for the response that merited.

Heavy footfalls pounded over the cobblestones after me. One glance assured me that it was Connor and not something less friendly.

Minutes later, I spotted the bright umber and sleek lines of my Jaguar F-Type and headed for it.

The car clicked open as soon as I touched the handle courtesy of the keyless entry Liam had had installed. I yanked open the door and slid inside, Connor doing the same on the passenger side.

I stomped down on the brake and hit the ignition.

"Is this wise?" Connor asked calmly. "You realize our enemy could likely pick this car up very easily."

The car purred to life and I punched the drive button. We jolted forward as I bared my teeth in a victorious smile. "Maybe, but they"ll have to catch us first."

His eyebrows twitched as if to concede my point.

The car carried us down the street. I took the first right, heading straight for the freeway and theoretical safety as I kept one eye on our surroundings to make sure I didn"t accidentally drive us through any portals.

"What were those things?" I asked.

Connor lifted a shoulder, his expression smooth and unruffled. "Fae of some kind."

I shot him a glance when no further answer was forthcoming. "Anything useful you"d like to share?"

"There are many types of Fae. I do not know all of them."

Not exactly what I wanted to hear.

My life was weird, but it usually wasn"t this weird.

By now, it was beginning to sink in that someone was after me for reasons unknown. Knowing who they were and what they wanted would go a long way to prolonging my life expectancy.

There was a chance that this was the end of it, that they'd realize I wasn"t the easy prey they assumed and would back off.

Something made me doubt I was that lucky.

I turned onto the on ramp for I-70 and shot east.

"We"re in luck. I might know something that can help us find out who we"re dealing with," I said.

Connor's gaze landed on the side of my face.

I ignored him as I hit the interchange and took I-71 North towards my apartment.

"Looks like you"re going to get what you want after all," I told him after a minute.

He arched an eyebrow at me in question.

I shot him a sidelong grin. "Welcome to the team—for now."

I winced as the pain from smiling reminded me of my face's encounter with hard brick.

"This is just temporary," I added.

I was grateful he"d saved me, but I still didn"t trust him.

My family, and more than one friend, had accused me of suffering from trust issues and paranoia since my return from the Army. But as recent events had shown, I had very good reasons for both emotions.

"I"ve proven myself to you?" he asked cautiously.

I lifted my shoulders. "Sure, why not?"

It would be good to have a powerful vampire on my side if there really was an unknown group out there gunning for me.

If it didn"t work out or he proved too much trouble, I could always fire him.

Connor inclined his head in a bow that was more elegant than anything I could pull off. "I will not forget this kindness."

"Don"t thank me yet. Consider this a trial period to see if we mesh. I"m still not convinced your help will offset the problems you bring with you."

And the biggest of those problems was named Thomas. I had a feeling our sire was going to be less than pleased I now had a corrupting influence on the first vampire he"d made.

I sighed. Really, why couldn"t I ever learn my lesson?