Tainted

  “Crystal?”

  “She was among them. She seemed relieved to see us. Peter stayed with her and Alex while Val went to fetch the girl’s mother. We’re notifying the other families.”

  “What are you doing to do about Alex?”

  “He helped. I won’t forget that. He’s going to be taken in for questioning, but I’ll make sure he has a safe place to go afterward.” He nodded at the house. “They ready?”

  “Yeah, Daimhín said to take them to the old Council cells. It might keep them out of Seth’s way, now that I think about it.”

  “You think he’ll be pissed about this?”

  “Hell, yeah. We just cleared out an entire group of his followers.”

  He spoke into his walkie-talkie. Less than two minutes later, a swarm of people flooded into the building behind us.

  “The new unit?” I asked.

  He nodded. “Raring to go. It’s not Seth, but it’s a step in the right direction. And we’ve cleared up some cold missing cases, apparently. What’s not to like?”

  “This is what you’re here for.” I squeezed his arm. “Reuniting families and taking down the bad guys. That’s why you do what you do, right?”

  “It’s a tough adjustment when the bad guys are mythological characters who don’t play by the rules.”

  “Yeah, but the vampire queen just arrested misbehaving vampires instead of ripping them apart. That’s progress.”

  The vampires were hauled out of the house. They fought back and suffered for it. Vampires weren’t in anyone’s good books, although, Daimhín had earned a few brownie points.

  “We’re done here,” she said, following Shay’s team outside. “It’s time to finish questioning them. I believe they aren’t aware of Seth’s current plans, but they may end up with something useful.” She got into her limo, leaving me stranded.

  “You coming?” Shay asked me. “Might get interesting.”

  I shook my head. “I’m not involved in this. That man, Lar, might have some info, too. He’s another victim.”

  “Don’t worry. Val already told me. I’ll have someone with him before he leaves the hostel in the morning. I had better head on. The others are still over in front of the park. Make sure you get a lift back. Seth’s still out there, remember?”

  I nodded and walked with him toward the park. Val saw me and waved.

  Shay went straight to the nearest police car. “See you later, Ava.”

  Val caught up to me. “Peter’s pulling the car around.” She was practically beaming.

  “I take it everything went well on your end.”

  She nodded. “Her mother came. They went to the hospital in an ambulance together. It felt… good. It made me wonder if Leah has a mother.”

  “We could try to find out, but most of the children who ended up in the slave market lost their mothers. I gave Phoenix all of the research we had on suspicious kidnappings and murders, but it’s been harder than we expected. Still, there’s always a chance for Leah.”

  Peter’s car pulled up beside us and rolled down his window. He gave me a wide grin. “You missed the fun, Delaney.”

  “I had my own good times. Wow, you look happy. Get to punch someone?”

  He patted the steering wheel of his car. “Nah. Now get in before I ditch you here for being such a smartarse.”

  Laughing, I got in the car. Val went around and climbed in on the other side. I stared out the window, constantly watching for Seth, as the other two filled me in. Why hadn’t he come for us when we were out in plain sight? What if he was at the cul-de-sac? In my excitement about finding Crystal, I had forgotten that was a possibility.

  “We’re going to get somewhere now,” Peter said. “Don’t worry, Ava. Everything is going to work out.”

  And if it did, we totally deserved it.

  ~ * ~

  The phone rang a lot the next day. The vampires hadn’t given out more than tidbits about Seth, only confirming things we already knew: He was a night-walker. He thought he would be more powerful with a tainted army.

  Tainted. What a name. Jess and I were classed as the same type of being, but we couldn’t be any less alike. We had different strengths and weaknesses, and our personalities were polar opposites. I knew precious little about her. I had no idea how she would react in a real fight. And thanks to Lucia’s vision, I got uncomfortable whenever she was out of my sight.

  “Jess!” I shouted up the stairs. “Are you dressed yet?”

  “It’s early!”

  “We have a busy day ahead. We’re tracking down the first vampire, remember?”

  I wanted Jess to know how we worked, how the team played together. I needed her to take part in the process because it was as much about her as it was about me. We were in it together, and if she saw that, then maybe she would be safe from Seth’s thrall.

  We went over to Anka’s place for breakfast. Leah, Dita, Val, and Lucia were already there.

  “Is this place for women only or what?” Jessica whispered.

  “No, now shut up.” I pushed her ahead of me, ignoring her grimace.

  “Good morning, Jess,” Anka said. “Have a seat, and I’ll get you some food.”

  Jessica gave me one more worried glance before reluctantly taking the empty chair next to Leah around the crowded table. I sat between Lucia and Dita and watched Leah try to make conversation with Jessica. Jess replied to direct questions, but she had a weird look of terror on her face. Strange kid.

  “What’s on the agenda today?” Anka asked.

  “The kids are going to have a lesson with Carl.” I caught Jessica’s eye. “Including Jess and Parker. Then, Val’s going to organise a training session. Jess hasn’t been part of something like that before. She could benefit from it, and she’ll learn what to do when the alarm sounds.”

  Jess looked confused. “Me?”

  “You and Parker,” I said then thanked Anka for the plate of food she set in front of me. “We went through wars, remember? We didn’t just sit around and wait for something to happen. We trained for it, prepared ourselves. That’s needed all over again.”

  Anka finished serving and took her seat. “And then?”

  I shrugged. “Research. Maybe a visit to… Eddie’s old shop.”

  “Who is Eddie?” Jess asked.

  I cleared my throat. “Someone we used to know. They turned his bookshop into a kind of a museum. Anyone can go in there and read. It’s a useful resource. And Shay will probably have some information for us before the day is out. The volunteers will be chattier than the vampires, I’m betting.”

  “I wonder if Seth knows what happened last night,” Anka said.

  I shivered then shook my head to let her know I didn’t want to discuss it right then. Lucia patted my arm.

  After breakfast, I shuffled the kids over to Carl’s. Adam looked on disapprovingly as Carl began his lesson for the day. Parker was the only kid aside from Dita who had ever been inside a normal school before, so Carl had his work cut out for him. But mostly, I wanted Jessica to see what I had seen in my friends: a chance for family of our own making.

  As I jogged back to Anka’s, my phone rang. It was Finn.

  “So,” he said. “Rumours. Wanna hear the ones about you first?”

  “What rumours?”

  He practically cackled. “Somebody’s spreading the word that you’re a serious stud, Delaney. You’ve gotten half of the Senate willingly eating out of your hand.”

  “Oh, fuck off.”

  He chuckled. “I told them Peter Brannigan would never stand for that, but everybody wants to believe what they want to believe.”

  “Don’t make me come down there and punch you in the face.”

  “You should make an appearance as a favour to me,” he said, his voice rising with excitement. “Bring all of those men in your life. Keep everyone guessing.”

  “How many times do I have to tell you to fuck off? There is nobody in my life. I have friends. That’s it.”

&
nbsp; “Sure. Friends.” He laughed again.

  “Is there a fucking point to this call?”

  “Yes.” He cleared his throat. “The word is out that a certain garage has hired a new apprentice. He’s a little old to be an apprentice, and his arms are covered in those swirly tattoos, the magical, glowing kind that gets covered up when he notices anyone watching him.”

  I froze to the spot. “What’s the story with this garage?”

  “Just your typical garage. Dave runs the place. He’s human, but he does a lot in the supernatural world. His wife isn’t human, and she introduced him to a lot of colourful customers.”

  “Did she introduce him to his staff, too?”

  “That remains to be seen. I’ll text you the address. If you want to check it out, go for it. If not, no skin off my nose.”

  “Thanks, Finn. Almost worth the verbal torture. Anything else?”

  “Everyone’s talking about the arrests last night. I heard you set a vampire on fire for calling you a mongrel.”

  I barked out a laugh. “Let that rumour fly. I didn’t get into any trouble last night. I was an observer only.”

  “Yeah, well, prepare for a backlash. Who are the vampires going to turn to now that their queen is against them?”

  “Their freaking god,” I muttered. “Thanks for the heads up, Finn.”

  “No bother. Makes my nights a little more interesting. I’ll be keeping a nice blue fae drink cold, just for you.”

  I was about to tell him to fuck off one last time when he hung up. Shaking my head, I let myself into Anka’s place. Lorcan and Peter were in the living room, playing on a game console.

  “Finn called,” I said. “Vampires everywhere are pissed about last night. Could be bad.”

  Peter shrugged, his eyes never leaving the screen. “Meh. They’re always pissed about something.”

  “There’s been a sighting of a possible assassin working in some garage as an apprentice mechanic.”

  “Where?” Lorcan asked, then swore loudly, his Liverpudlian accent thickening as he struggled with the game.

  I rattled off the address Finn had texted me. Peter dropped his controller. Lorcan shouted for joy.

  “What?” I asked.

  “That’s my garage.” Peter pointed at his chest. “My mechanic.”

  “What are you on about?” I asked. “You own a garage?”

  “No, but I might as well. My baby is always in there. We practically share custody of her. I’m going over to chat with that motherfucker and see what the hell he thinks he’s doing, hiring assassins to work on my car.”

  I smothered my amusement at his indignation. “Yeah, okay.”

  “I’m coming, too,” Lorcan said. “Too many women in this house. Carl’s still busy. I have nothing to do until training.”

  “You could research or—”

  “Ava…” He drew out the word, sounding like a teenage boy.

  “Wow,” I said. “Go. I don’t care. Is the garage open yet, Peter?”

  He checked his watch. “Dave will be there by now. Let’s go.”

  I turned to leave, but Lucia appeared and stood in my way. Frowning, she gestured at herself, and I realised she wanted to go, too. The four of us loaded into Peter’s car.

  “Don’t worry, baby,” he cooed, patting the dashboard. “It’s just a visit.”

  As we approached the famous garage, Peter said, “I’ll do the talking. We’ll get it done a lot quicker. He knows me.”

  “That doesn’t mean he likes you,” I muttered from the backseat. Lucia patted my arm. I held my breath, waiting for her to force a vision on me, but nothing happened, to my relief.

  A scruffy-looking man came outside when we pulled into the lot.

  “That’s Dave,” Peter said, practically humming with excitement. He rolled down his window and beckoned the man over. “Dave, I’m here on official business.”

  “For fuck’s sake, Brannigan. What now?”

  “I hear you hired a new apprentice.”

  The mechanic frowned. “Yeah, so?”

  “Isn’t he a bit old for that shit?”

  “Better than a flighty kid. He said he needed a fresh start, so I gave him a chance. That against the law now?”

  “No, but he might be one of those people who’ve been roaming the streets starting riots.”

  “Nate? Doubt it.”

  “We need to question him.”

  The mechanic glanced behind him. “You owe me for this, Peter.”

  “I’m a loyal customer who’s kept you in business for years. We just want to ask him some questions. Is there anywhere we can talk? You know, somewhere without anything around that can be used as a weapon.”

  “The office, I suppose, unless you feel like using a pen as a weapon.”

  “You never know,” Peter said. “Call him in there. We’ll be there in a minute.”

  Dave nodded. “He’s a good worker, Brannigan. I want to keep this one.” He wandered away.

  I leaned forward in my seat. “If he was ever an assassin, we can’t let him roam free.”

  “It could be an average tattoo,” Peter said. “How likely is it that one of Fionnuala’s assassins went straight? Come on. Let’s just check this out and get home. I want to see how Emmett does in training today.”

  “Stop trying to make him violent,” I snapped as we got out of the car. “He’s book smart.”

  “It’s possible to be both.”

  “Not when you make learning sound boring and fighting sound like the most exciting thing on the planet. And why not let him box at Shay’s club if you want him to learn how to defend himself?”

  “He doesn’t need to learn to fight against human kids if he’s not going to a human school.”

  I decided not to dignify that with an answer. Inside the office, the apprentice took one look at my face and started shaking. He knew me. He had to be one of the assassins.

  “No.” He held up his hands. “Please. I’m not doing anything wrong. I left. All I want is a normal life.”

  Peter and I exchanged a bemused glance. Lucia took a seat in a chair. Lorcan stood by the door.

  As Dave left, he glanced over his shoulder. “Remember what I said, Peter.”

  Peter ignored him and nodded at the assassin. “Let me see those arms.”

  With a sigh, Nate rolled up his sleeves. Those swirly, glowing, circular tattoos covered his arms.

  “What are you even doing in a place like this?” I demanded, trying to tamp down my anger. We had been attacked by his kind far too many times for me to have any kindness left for the likes of him.

  “I didn’t have a choice in the way I was raised,” he said, his hazel eyes narrowing. “I remember living in darkness with a lot of other children until I was taken to a beautiful woman. She told me she would be my mother, and she sent me to live with others. We trained every day, and when we got old enough, we were given these.” He held out his arms. “That’s when I got stronger, more flexible. It was amazing and terrifying, and the training continued. Then, one day, we were all taken out of that place and told our mother needed our help. We had to fight for her. So we did.”

  “I remember.” I couldn’t keep the anger out of my voice, but Nate didn’t seem to notice.

  “We had to fight so many times. There was so much blood, so many victims who didn’t fight back. I saw them, looked into their eyes as they died, and I felt… I started having nightmares, doubting myself. Then we heard our mother died. A vampire gathered us. I couldn’t stand it anymore. So I ran and hid, and I kept hiding. I figured I needed to find a way to live. Eventually, I found this place and begged for help. I don’t hurt anyone. I just want to be happy.”

  “Seriously?” Peter scoffed.

  Lucia touched my hand and nodded. She believed him.

  “Where are the others?” I asked. “The rest of your… brothers or whatever?”

  “All over.” He shrugged. “Waiting, I suppose. I rarely see them. They hate me becaus
e I ran. That’s the worst sin, worse than letting mother die. We were brainwashed, don’t you see? Most of them still are. But they need a leader. We were taught to fight, not to think for ourselves. They probably follow somebody else now.”

  “Last you knew, they were following a vampire. How do you know that changed?”

  “I just know.” He stared at his feet. “Some have come to ask me to return. Others have left as I did. I won’t tell you where they are. They aren’t hurting anybody. I don’t really care if you kill me.” He looked at me, his eyes full of pain. “At least then the nightmares will stop.”

  I shivered. Emmett could easily have ended up as one of those men. We had pushed the schedule along a little faster, but we had no way of knowing how many of those men had started out as innocent children stolen from their families and kept in the slave markets. Life would be a lot easier if everything were black and white.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Lucia and I sat on my garden wall to watch Val’s training session.

  I sighed. “I thought this wouldn’t be needed anymore.” The last few days had been extreme. A lot had happened, yet I felt as though I were spinning my wheels, getting nothing accomplished. “I don’t suppose you have any visions for me.”

  She shook her head vehemently.

  “You don’t have to protect me from what you’ll see. You won’t hurt me.”

  She stared at me, her eyebrows arched. She had the whole sarcastic look down to a T.

  “Fine.” I gave her a sly look. “Hey, if you aren’t going to be our seer anymore, then what do you think about moving in with your dad?”

  Scowling, she thumped my arm.

  I grinned. “It’ll be so much safer. You won’t have to suffer through all of our boring drama anymore, and you’d get to—”

  She raised her arm and waved frantically. I reached up, grabbed her wrist, and yanked her hand to her side before Val could see. She gave me a self-satisfied smirk.

  “Rat,” I muttered.

  Adam strolled down the path with Carl, his eyes on his daughter. I wondered what he was thinking. I couldn’t let myself trust him, and the way he had acted about Gabe still niggled at me. He had to know more than he was telling.