Time Warper: Fated, A Sage Hannigan Novel

Chapter Nineteen

  SOREN STARED AT ME FROM a few feet away with a mix of wonder and rage. Let me tell you, being at the receiving end of a vampire’s powerful stare was not a fun position to be in. My lips still felt tingly and swollen, and my heartbeat was winning its own little race as I slipped my hand into my pocket. My fingers didn’t even graze the hilt of my dirk before Soren had me pinned against the top of his desk.

  I only entertained warping for a split second before I dismissed it as counterproductive; I’d already screwed up my mission bad enough.

  With his hands around my neck, he leaned down and whispered harshly into my ear. “Who are you, and who sent you?”

  I opened my mouth with no idea what to say, when he cut me off.

  “And don’t dare lie to me—I already know you are not who you say you are after that little show of power.”

  My mind went blank momentarily. Had that been my power? If it had been, I had never experienced it like that before. I’d thought it had been his power washing over me.

  The fingers of his left hand were digging into my cheeks as he held me in place. I tried to think quickly, to come up with some logical explanation for what had just happened that he would believe, but I was sure he’d see right through any crap I might feed him. So, I told him the truth.

  I took as deep as a breath as I could and said, “I don’t know what that power wave was… I thought it came from you. I am here to try and figure out what is going on with the rogue vampires at the behest of Cerberus.” I met his stare with difficulty. His grip lessened just enough to allow me to breathe a bit easier.

  “So, Cerberus must suspect me of being involved in, or at least aware of, what is going on in order to send in a spy.” He nearly spat the word.

  I didn’t deny it when he looked at me for confirmation.

  “That still doesn’t explain you,” he said thoughtfully. You’re not a vampire or a werewolf, nor are you entirely human, as much as you’d like me to believe you are,” he commented almost lazily to himself. “One more time. Who are you?” he asked.

  I opened my mouth to deny it when he grabbed the edge of my skirt and jerked it up over my knees. My sense of self-preservation kicked into high gear, and I couldn’t have stopped myself from warping if I’d tried. Even as inhumanly fast as I’d warped, Soren was just fast enough to grab the dirk from the thigh holster on my garter. I was across the room and against the far wall, breathing heavily, before I realized he had been going after my weapon and hadn’t intended on sexually abusing me.

  It was too late to take it back, though. His rage earlier was nothing compared to his shock just then. He looked at me with wide eyes, the golden ring around them glowing brightly. I looked at the ground, cursing myself for allowing my fears to rule me. Again. Straightening my skirt, I walked slowly over to the settee and sat down, feeling more tired than ever and feeling disappointed that I’d ruined my mission before it had even begun.

  Soren came over to sit in the chair in front of me. He reached over slowly and handed me my dirk. I raised a brow in surprise.

  “You’re a warper,” he said, his voice soft and a bit thoughtful.

  I jerked back in surprise. How would he know?

  He looked at me, guessing my thoughts. “When you’ve lived as long as I have, there isn’t much you don’t know about or at least have heard about,” he said with a dismissive wave of his hand. He stroked the imaginary stubble at his chin and sighed. “Things are far worse than I imagined, then.”

  I snorted. “You could say that. I’ve been working on my powers and taking classes for weeks since I warped here, just to go undercover and blow it all in one hour with a damn kiss.” I couldn’t help myself; I was pissed at the whole situation, and I didn’t see the need to pretend in front of him any longer. I dropped my head into my hands. “Now what the hell am I supposed to do?” I groaned.

  If he was offended at my blunt language, he didn’t say anything; actually, his next words were not even close to what I was expecting.

  “We continue on with your mission just as planned,” Soren stated, causing my mouth drop open.

  “What do you mean? You were my mission—to figure out what was going on in your little vampire secret society that was big enough to cause a warper to warp from a hundred years away!” My voice had been steadily rising until I almost shouted the last part.

  He didn’t react to my outburst; he simply raised an eyebrow, and I entertained fantasies of throwing my dirk at him for a split second.

  “I am not aware of what is going on except for the rise in rogue killings and a few other whispers in the vampire gossip mill. So, like I said, we will continue on as you planned and won’t mention to Cerberus that I have been enlightened to these recent events.”

  I looked at him in astonishment. Was he proposing a partnership? Was it even possible? I felt a spark of hope in my chest.

  “I want to figure out what is going on as much as you do, Sage. The killings make my way of life dangerous and unstable, not to mention what would happen if mass panic seized the city,” he said sincerely.

  I couldn’t believe it. Not only would I still be able to investigate, but I’d also be able to do it with the help of one of the most powerful vampires in the U.S. Maybe that kiss hadn’t been the stupidest thing I’d ever done, after all.

  Standing up, I walked over to him and stuck my hand out. “How about we shake on it this time?” I said with a hint of sarcasm in my voice.

  Amusement sparkled in his annoyingly gorgeous eyes as he took my hand in his.

  “We’ll start tomorrow,” he said as he gripped my hand.