Unbound

  “And if you do these things, you become something else? Something Other?”

  She nodded.

  “So Nyx hired me to…” He whistled and shook his head. “And Brennan? He’s what?”

  “Daniel is a human. One that my family doesn’t like.”

  “So…” He paused and shook his head, trying to make sense of the things she was sharing. He thought he was taking it remarkably well, all things considered. “I’m trying to understand. Help me out here?”

  Eavan stood and crossed her arms over her chest. “Nyx wanted my first to be someone I’d remember fondly. She’d prefer I sleep with you than with Daniel, and she, undoubtedly, thinks I’d be in danger if I continued…stalking him. He’s making some zombie powder that he’s using to enslave and sell girls. I was just going to try to scare him, rescue some of the girls, but I got caught up. And Nyx thinks that whatever he’s doing with the zombie powder is dangerous to our kind.”

  Cillian sat speechless, watching the people cross through the park. A preacher or madman perhaps was harassing passersby, calling them “harlots” and misquoting the Christian Bible.

  If only he knew what dangers really lived in his city…

  He wasn’t sure which side of the good-evil fence she belonged on—or which side her family was on—but there were nights when he wasn’t sure where he belonged, either.

  “I’ll tell Nyx that you left. Get out of here, Mr. Owens, before you get trapped.” She turned and walked away. “Get out, and don’t look back.”

  Eavan was midway across the park before Cillian could formulate a reply. He wasn’t sure what to think about the things she’d told him, but he was sure that Nyx—and possibly Eavan—had answers to help him stop Brennan. That’s what he’d been sent here to do. He’d expected to do so by ordinary means: the C.D.A. might track and eradicate Crypto Drugs, but he had no direct and open dealings with the world of the Others. The human world still functioned in ignorance. He was to continue to act as if he, too, was ignorant. Other C.D.A. members had a higher security clearance and were thus able to do otherwise.

  Did they end up involved this way, too? Was it just a random case gone off the rails?

  On a personal level, he wasn’t sure if he was flattered or horrified. He didn’t want to think long on that detail. He’d watched her at the clubs with Brennan; he’d watched her stand up to Nyx. And held her in my arms like something molten and too dangerous to touch. There was something different about her, but getting involved personally with a case was a bad idea.

  He caught up to Eavan and said, “You need a lift?”

  She gave him a strained smile. “It’s a bad idea, Cillian.”

  He shrugged. “I’m not running—from either of my jobs.”

  “It’s a mistake,” she said.

  “It’s my mistake then.”

  The way she held herself aloof made him want to comfort her, but in light of what she’d just revealed, that was the very last thing he could do. Instead, they walked silently to his car and drove to Nyx’s house.

  10

  Nyx was dressed in the closest thing to proper attire that she ever wore. Eavan knew when she walked in that they weren’t staying. She shivered. “Will you let Mr. Owens leave?”

  “Mr. Owens?” Nyx repeated with a knowing smile. “Your Cillian is perfectly free to leave if he’d like to go.”

  Eavan’s distancing tactic was, like most things, utterly transparent to Nyx. How many times had they stood in the kitchen in a standoff? Nothing had changed, not the ridiculously artificial country-shabby decor of the room, not the fear that she felt, and certainly not the fact that Nyx had the upper hand.

  Nyx gestured toward the door they’d just entered. “He can go. No strings as long as he doesn’t tell anyone what he’s learned of our world. I’m not a monster, Evvie.”

  Before Eavan could dispute that claim, Nyx held up hand and said, “Not now.”

  “So…” Cillian’s tone was relaxed, but he stood nearer Eavan with his body slightly at an angle, positioning himself between the two women. He hadn’t left. Instead, he’d chosen sides. For whatever reason, he was still acting as if he was there to protect her.

  Nyx stepped toward him, each pace measured and timed to give him a chance to back away, to acknowledge her as the alpha predator she was.

  Cillian stepped forward, moving away from the kitchen counter to give himself room to maneuver. He grinned. “If you’re going to get hostile over her figuring out that you hired me because of Brennan, now’s the time, Grandma.”

  Nyx paused.

  Eavan winced.

  “You’re either brave or foolish, Mr. Owens.” Nyx reached out beside him and took a pair of bone carved hair sticks from the counter. “My granddaughter is precious to me. I want you to keep her safe. In exchange, I will help you in your job. That hasn’t changed.”

  Eavan was speechless.

  “Done. I’ll do my best, but”—Cillian scowled—“I’m not a stud for hire. Eavan told me about…the other thing.”

  “Of course she did. It’s a bit sooner than I expected, but this was all inevitable, my dears.” Nyx twisted her hair up into a coil atop her head. Tendrils snaked down on either side. Stylists would have to work for the look she achieved in a moment—of course, glaistig hair was a living extension of the body, so that did help.

  Nyx stepped between them and put one arm around Eavan and the other around Cillian. “If she needs a bedmate she might not kill—which she seems fixated on—you’ll be handy. It’s the most progress I’ve had with her, so I’m content. Now, let’s go see Daniel, so that matter can be put to rest, shall we?”

  Eavan hesitated. “Grandmama? Do you think that’s it’s a good idea for all of us to go?”

  Nyx’s laughter was unrestrained. She patted Eavan on the cheek and walked out the door.

  They stood in Brennan’s living room, after having Nyx charm the doorman, a maid, and two security guards. Cillian wasn’t sure at all of the protocol. B&E wasn’t outside the parameters of his job, but murder usually required either a series of paperwork or immediate threat.

  “Much easier to tread quietly when he covers the floor with this.” Nyx looked gleeful as she walked across the plush carpet. “Poor bastard won’t know what hit him.”

  “He’s unnaturally tempting.” Eavan spoke softly. “There’s something off.”

  “He plays with voodoo, dabbles in zombification, so he’s abuzz with energy, and you’re”—Nyx paused and looked askance at Cillian—“you’re hungry. The privilege of age, Eavan: I’m not starving or unsure.”

  Eavan stood, examining an obsidian sculpture to avoid looking at Nyx or Cillian as she admitted, “I don’t like this.”

  “Noted.” Nyx didn’t bother to hide her amusement. She looked around Brennan’s house like an antiques appraiser. “He has good taste.”

  “I’m not sure this is a good idea,” Cillian repeated for the sixth time. Unfortunately, after the second time, Nyx ignored him as if he hadn’t spoken aloud. Cillian wasn’t exactly sure why she even allowed them to come along. He did, however, know what he was doing there. Months of work would be wasted if Brennan was murdered. Admittedly, it would be satisfying. Having criminals simply arrested sometimes felt anticlimactic, but having them murdered before they revealed the information he needed to proceed on his case was a trouble of a different sort.

  He tried again: “Unless he has records here, this will stall the whole investigation…Nyx!” He turned to Eavan. “Can she hear me?”

  This time, though, Nyx paused. “He’s selling mortals. It upsets Evvie, and she’s behaving foolishly. He’s moving drugs that are causing you complications. If I kill him, she’ll be happier; your employer will have resolved a drug flow. I can always use a snack. Where’s the downside?”

  Then she sashayed across the room and into Brennan’s bedroom, humming softly. She left the door wide open, so they could see her when she stopped beside a massive glass-block pedestal be
d. With a wicked grin, she watched Cillian as she lifted one side of her skirt. He couldn’t look away—or stop the sound of shock. Her legs were not those of a human: they were muscular and furred like an animal’s legs.

  “Told you that you didn’t want all of those questions answered, Cillian,” she said as she pulled out her hairpins. Her hair was writhing around her shoulders like angry serpents.

  He took a step backward.

  Eavan reached out and squeezed his hand. “We should look for his files.”

  Brennan stirred as Nyx straddled him. The sheet was only partially covering him; his upper body was bare. His hands were under the pillow beneath his head.

  “Wake up, Mr. Brennan.” Nyx sounded cheerful. “We have to chat.”

  “Who—”

  “Shhh.” Nyx put a finger over his mouth. “My dears, perhaps you could close the door before you go looking for whatever documents you needed? Daniel and I need some privacy, don’t we, dear?”

  Cillian didn’t speak as Eavan pulled the door shut, closing in the two predators. He wasn’t sure which of them was worse. Good and evil weren’t always clearly delineated. Nyx intended to kill Daniel Brennan; Brennan drugged and sold people. Is it monstrous to kill a monster? Is Nyx evil? He wished, briefly, that his childhood catechism held up under such questions. It didn’t. Moral relativity made clear that black-and-white questions weren’t realistic in the world Cillian saw.

  The world these people…creatures…all see, too.

  “Come on, Cillian,” Eavan said gently. “It’s easier if you don’t think about it.”

  “For whom?”

  “For all of us.” She gave him a rueful smile. “That’s my family. My blood. And she’s about to kill him.”

  “Is that all?” He hated that he wanted to know, but he did. He’d involved himself in the business affairs of Nyx and her family—not just because of the C.D.A., but also because he felt the stirring of interest in Eavan. That interest didn’t die when she’d told him that she wasn’t altogether human. He’d been pretty certain of that long before she’d kissed him. “What will she—”

  “Don’t ask me that right now.” Eavan opened a door and peered inside. Fitness equipment filled the room. She walked to another door and opened it. “Here we are.”

  “And her legs?” He had to ask now while he still could. “I mean, your legs aren’t…I’ve felt…” He looked at her bare ankles and toned calves. “You’re not like that.”

  She didn’t flinch. “I’m still mostly human. I told you that there were things I had to do in order to be like the rest of my family.”

  “Sex and…”

  “Murder.” Eavan looked at the closed door. “Preferably at the same time.”

  “And last night when we…were you going to kill me?” His heartbeat felt too fast, but he wasn’t sure it was entirely from fear.

  “I don’t know.” Her tongue darted out to trace her lips. She looked straight at him and said, “I thought about it for a moment.”

  “And Brennan?”

  She stared at him still, a challenge plain in her expression. “Yes, I wanted to kill him.”

  Cillian felt a strange—unhealthy—stab of jealousy. “And…”

  “Maybe.” She shook her head. “I’ve never done either one. I can’t do both, so I do neither. I want to stay human.”

  Cillian wasn’t sure what to say, other than, “Let’s start searching…If you see anything that could be business, set it aside.”

  She nodded, and they searched in silence.

  11

  Nyx screamed, but not in pleasure.

  Eavan was out of the office before Cillian realized she’d moved. He followed her, not as fast as she moved but only a few steps behind her.

  When he crossed the threshold of Brennan’s room and saw Nyx, he was horrified. Brennan had her bound with thick chains. White powder was all over her face, giving her lips a chalky appearance. She was unconscious. There were gashes in both of her arms and one high up on her thigh. Blood poured from those cuts into paint basins under each arm.

  “Eve!” Brennan was blood-covered, naked, and far too happy. “I had no idea you would bring me such a present. Glaistig blood is ridiculously expensive in the open market, and for whatever reason, they’re averse to my presence so I can’t lure them in for love nor money.”

  “Get Nyx,” was all Eavan said, and then she was on Brennan like a crazed person.

  Brennan pushed her back like she weighed nothing and wrapped his arms around her. She leaned forward and bit him, grabbing his earlobe in her mouth.

  He laughed joyously. “I knew you’d be perfect.”

  Cillian unwound the chains from Nyx and looked up at Eavan. “She’s breathing.”

  “Go,” Eavan said. She was held in an unwilling embrace by Brennan. “Bind her wounds in the car. Get her out of here before she’s too weakened.”

  Cillian couldn’t stand the idea of leaving Eavan behind. “But—”

  “Please?” she asked Cillian before turning her attention to Brennan and adding, “Let them leave, and I’ll stop fighting.”

  Brennan kissed her. “Better yet, how about I let them go, and you keep fighting? I don’t like my zombie girls; I just like the money I make selling them.”

  “Done.” She looked over at Cillian again. “Get her home. Now. Tell Chloe to call Muriel.”

  Cillian lifted Nyx into his arms, but he hesitated. How do I leave her here? Eavan caught his gaze and asked, “Please? She’s…she needs help. If she dies…please?”

  Brennan picked up a knife and held it against Eavan’s throat.

  She didn’t move.

  “Listen to Eve, or I’ll bleed her out.” Brennan drew a heart on Eavan’s throat with the tip of the knife. “If you go, Eve gets a fair chance at fighting.”

  Eavan stood meekly as blood trickled slowly down her skin and vanished into her shirt. “Please, Cillian? I need Nyx safe.”

  Eavan watched Cillian carry her grandmother out. Daniel held her still. She could feel how happy he was to be entangled with her. He nuzzled her bleeding throat and murmured, “Did you really think I didn’t know what you were, Eve?”

  “How?”

  “I drink glaistig blood. I mix it in my drugs. I knew who and what you were the moment you crossed my path. A virgin glaistig. Do you know what you’re worth on the market, lovely Eve?” He licked her throat. “I don’t want to share you though. Not now, and definitely not once your hooves are here.”

  She didn’t speak. The words she had screaming in her head weren’t words to share with mortals.

  “Tell me yes.” He traced the contours of her body. “Better yet, tell me no.”

  “Why?”

  He kissed her, and she couldn’t deny how easily her body responded. It wasn’t the mind-blowing reaction she had to Cillian, but it was a reaction. But he hurt Nyx. If he hadn’t done that, if he’d have been honest with her, she wasn’t sure she’d be able to resist.

  “We could skip this whole messy business. Save me having to kill your lovely family…” He loosened his grip. “We could keep playing our games, but you’ll be stronger.” He got more excited as he spoke, rubbing against her. “It’ll be fun.”

  He unbuttoned her blouse. “You can’t run.” He traced down her sternum with bloody fingers. “That’s what I said to your grandmother. A little glaistig blood, powder, and magic, and she was helpless. Just like you…I have your kind’s blood in me. Just like glaistigs, when I speak, you have to obey…”

  He kissed her and laid her back on his bed. “Lose the skirt…and the gun, Eve.”

  Over the years, Eavan had felt herself forced under Nyx’s will; she’d watched Nyx and the rest of the clan bend mortals to their wishes. No one but Nyx was strong enough to force her to obey. Daniel shouldn’t be, either.

  He was though.

  “Thought you didn’t like them mindless?” Eavan ran her thumb along her bellyband holster. Would death by bullet, not by my ac
tual hand, still mean changing? She wasn’t sure.

  “I don’t. Once you lose the gun, I’ll gladly give you control.” His eyes darkened at the thought. “You want me; don’t you, Eve? You wanted me the night we met. Tell me the truth.”

  “I did,” she admitted.

  “The skirt.” He sat up, so she could remove it. “But keep the panties.”

  “Why?” She lifted her hips and slipped the skirt off. Then she loosened the holster, pulling it apart at the fastenings as slowly as she could. Years of resisting Nyx had helped her to learn the tricks of disobeying glaistig control. It was about finding the loophole that allowed disobedience.

  “I want you to make the choice.” He shivered as he said it.

  She slid the gun out of the holster. “I am. I’m still mortal, Daniel…with immunity to all but a matriarch’s control. I couldn’t have survived my family if I wasn’t immune. No unturned glaistig could.”

  But she still let him take the gun from her hand.

  “Lucky me”—Daniel licked Nyx’s blood from his forearm—“I have matriarchal blood right here.”

  “You know what glaistigs do? I’m going to kill you. Is that what you want?”

  “You’d have shot me before if you were going to kill me.” Daniel rolled her on top of him. “You can’t kill me, Eve. That’s the last order I’ll give you. You have your will but for this: as long as I’m breathing, you can’t ever kill me.”

  And with that, she had possession of her will. He’d given her complete control, save for murdering him. He knew enough about what she was to say the words that could make her safe. He forbade her, and she had to obey. Could Nyx have done that? If Nyx had ordered Eavan not to murder anyone, she would be free to stay human, free to have sex and live like a normal person. She wanted to weep at how basic it could be.

  “As long as you’re breathing,” she repeated. As she turned the words over in her mind, she saw the flaw. She sealed her lips to his and breathed in. Her hands tightened around his throat.