A Secret to Die For (Secret McQueen) (14 page)

“So am I,” I snapped. “It didn’t stop you from waltzing in here expecting to see me strung up, did it?”

“We’d all have been better off if you died. Monsters like you don’t belong in our ranks. There’s a reason we don’t drink werewolf blood. It’s filthy and tainted. And that’s what you’ve brought into your council.”

“Actually, I’ve tried her blood, and I think it’s quite remarkable.” Holden threw this comment in so casually it sounded like an observation on the weather, but when I looked back at the others, I noticed Sig was smirking the slightest bit. Holden, too, seemed quite proud of himself.

Whatever amused them, I guess.

Now that I wasn’t precariously balanced on the edge of death, my stress began to lessen, and the threat of a panic attack abated. I wasn’t done here by any means, but it didn’t sound as though the council had any plans for my immediate execution. I’d say, in the grand scheme of bad things that had happened to me in the previous few weeks, this was ranking pretty low in my list of concerns.

“Enough stalling,” another council vampire said. “Either you are willing to let Monica sample your blood and prove your innocence, or we will assume you are guilty.”

“I am astonished at you all, that you would let her control you like this. I saw through her, even during the briefest of our encounters. I could see her for the freak-show bitch she really was.”

Between his words and Juan Carlos’s, I was getting sick and tired of being insulted. Sig, too, appeared ready to come to my defense a second time, but I held my hand up to silence him. If I was no longer being considered a suspect for anything, it meant my position within the Tribunal was secure, which gave me as much right to speak here as anyone else. Perhaps more, since I was the one accusing Arturo of being a traitor.

“Either you give Monica your blood willingly, or I will take it from you by force.”

He snarled, flashing fangs at me. My own elongated in response, and I showed him I was just as capable of making scary faces as he was. And more than able to draw blood if need be.

“Please.” I grinned wider. “Give me a reason.”

In a flash he was across the room, and faster still his hands were around Reggie’s throat. Though the young vampire was not my friend, since we’d barely shared a full conversation in our twenty-four hours together, I also didn’t want to see him harmed because of me.

“
Stop,
” I shouted. “Your quarrel is with me, not the warden. If you want to challenge me, challenge me.”

“He can’t,” Rebecca reminded, not particularly helping the situation. “A Tribunal leader cannot challenge or kill another. Secret, be mindful of the rules. You cannot harm him any more than he can harm you.”

Fuck, fuck, fuck.

Reggie’s eyes widened as Arturo’s fingernails sank deep into the flesh of his neck. Blood pooled, spilling down Reggie’s skin and filling the air with a fresh copper tang.

I was still armed. I could take Arturo out with one headshot. But with the whole council standing around me, it would be the last shot I ever took.

Then, as fast as Arturo had crossed the room, came a sharp
crack
like thunder. For a moment everything was still, and the only sound that followed was the loud thumping of my heart.

I couldn’t understand what happened next. The way Arturo had been holding Reggie, I’d assumed the sound was Reggie’s neck being broken. Yet in the following moment, Arturo’s body went slack, and his hands dropped limp and useless from Reggie’s neck. The young warden stepped away, holding his open wounds, and with nothing to keep Arturo propped up, the Tribunal leader slumped to the floor.

Standing behind him, her hands still raised, was Clementine.

“I was gettin’ mighty sick of his holier-than-thou bullshit. Pardon my language.” She placed her hands back at her sides. “I think y’all can go ahead and test his blood now, if you’d like.”

Chapter Twenty

“Clementine, what did you
do
?” I braced myself against Holden, who seemed just as stunned as I was. Around the room everyone was gaping at the pretty blonde vampire like she was a viper in their midst.

She glanced down to the body at her feet, then kicked him over onto his back, his lifeless eyes staring straight up at the stone ceiling.

“If I had to speculate, I’d say I seem to have killed him.”

Yes, that did summarize things in the simplest of terms.

“Jesus.” I didn’t know what to do. I was still in the frozen stage Arturo’s sudden attack on Reggie had put me in, and this new development wasn’t helping my brain work any faster.

They were going to kill Clementine now, weren’t they?

Reggie pulled his hand away from his neck, and the holes Arturo had put there were already closed. He wiped his bloody palm on his jeans and nodded to Clementine. “Thanks.”

She smiled back sweetly. “No problem.”

But it
was
a problem. There was no way this ended so quickly and easily.

Sig walked past me and crouched beside Arturo’s body, turning his head to the side. He must have been satisfied with what he saw there to determine the vampire was truly dead, since he couldn’t check for a pulse.

“Monica, would you be so kind as to confirm Secret’s accusations for us?”

The ancient seer moved smoothly in her little-girl body, lifting Arturo’s limp arm and taking a dainty bite from his wrist. When she’d had her fill, she set his hand back on the floor and faced her rapt audience.

“Arturo is…was guilty. He had his spies seek out Alexandre Peyton after the rogue’s escape. Together they conspired a way to bring Secret to California. He worked willingly alongside a fugitive rogue and attempted to kill a fellow Tribunal leader.” Now she looked at Clementine. “If not for the young one, he would have been sentenced to die. And I believe by attacking a member of the Tribunal leader’s entourage he was declaring himself open for a fight, wouldn’t you say?” She directed this to Sig.

“I would say so.”

“The West Coast council will not be pleased with this news,” Rebecca grumbled.

“At least they don’t have to elect a replacement. In that sense you have saved them a great deal of work. We’ve disposed of a traitor for them and found a new Tribunal leader to sit in his place. Why should they be unsatisfied?”

“Clearly you’ve never dealt with the West Coast council.” This reply was spoken so quietly Monica either missed it or chose to ignore it. I knew what Rebecca was talking about, though. My experience with the West Coast vampires had been less than stellar even before I was kidnapped.

Suddenly everyone was speaking at once.

There was a great deal of fuss between the council elders who were debating whether they should call the West Coast council or send someone in person. They would also need Clementine to be formally introduced. They grouped together, chattering like birds, and I was altogether forgotten.

Clementine seemed bewildered to hear her name being used so freely in the same sentence as the phrase Tribunal Leader. I’d been there. It was a shock at first when you discovered you were no longer a mere warden and now had power over all those you’d been beneath.

She and I were now equals.

“What are they talking about?” she asked, her voice shaking with nerves. “I was only trying to protect Reggie from that nutcase. You’d have done the same thing. They aren’t going to chain me in silver are they? Secret?” She was trying her best not to look uneasy, but her words tumbled all over each other as she spoke.

“You killed a Tribunal leader,” I said.

“Should I say sorry?”

“No, you don’t get it. You killed a Tribunal leader in a declared fight.” I took her hand and gave it a squeeze, and realization slowed dawned on her.

“No shit?” Her other hand flew to her mouth as she tried to chase the curse back, but it was already out there.

“Trust me. It’s not all it’s cracked up to be.” I tried to imagine how Eilidh, the other female Tribunal leader in Los Angeles, would react to the new arrival. At least their hair color balance wouldn’t be upset. I suspected Clementine had a long climb uphill to be accepted with her new council.

But she wasn’t going anywhere yet.

“I hate to interrupt this gong show, you guys, but you can’t call L.A., and you sure as shit can’t
go
there. So before you start pulling out your hair trying to figure out the most polite way to break the news to the West Coast, you might want to focus your efforts a little closer to home.”

“What’s she on about?” an old, gray-haired vampire with the improbable name of Merlin asked.

“When was the last time any of you surfaced? Do you know what’s going on up there?” I was stunned to have to explain this. While vampires rarely concerned themselves with the matters of the human world, this was their city too.

“There were pressing matters to be dealt with here,” Rebecca replied. “We assumed the necromancer issue would sort itself out in due time.”

“Sorry to burst your bubble, but twenty-two necromancers don’t just get
sorted out
. And I was in the process of dealing with it when I got dragged down here. Now we had an agreement,” I said to Sig.

“We certainly do. And have you ever known me to go back on a promise?”

No, but I tried to keep the number of favors I asked Sig for to a minimum, so my frame of reference was somewhat limited.

“What’s she talking about?” Merlin asked. He sounded and looked so cartoonishly like a grandfather it was almost endearing.

“The council is at my command. You will all be coming with me when we leave, and you’re going to work alongside the eastern werewolf pack. And not a single one of you will complain. Understand? No one will fight, no one will toss insults around, and you will
not
issue commands to the wolves. They are not your pets, nor are they your subordinates. When I say you will work
alongside
them, I mean just that.”

“Out of the question,” Merlin grumbled, shaking his head.

“If you don’t come, then you can go to ground with your high-and-mighty attitude forever. Because if we don’t stop these necro sons of bitches tonight, this city will be leveled. Do you understand? I don’t care how you feel about werewolves. I genuinely couldn’t find two fucks to rub together as far as your opinions go, okay? But you
will
help. And that’s not a request, Merlin. That’s an order from the Tribunal leader
you
allowed to take the seat.”

“Ever the bossy little thing, aren’t you?” Juan Carlos said from his seat.

“Well, I can’t command you to do anything. So you can take your opinions and shove them right up your ass for all I care. If the city falls, I hope it falls right on your head.”

A thin smile found its way onto his lips. “Secret McQueen versus twenty-two necromancers and an army of the undead?” He snorted. “If you think I’d miss that, you’re dumber than I ever accused you of being.”

Chapter Twenty-One

I walked back into Lucas’s penthouse no worse for the wear but totally shell-shocked. The stunned expression must have been obvious because Dominick came to my side the moment I was off the elevator and held both my arms tightly as if he thought I might collapse at any moment.

“What the hell
happened
?”

In the two hours I’d been at the council headquarters I felt like I’d aged twenty years. How was it possible for so much to happen in so little time? It was like the opposite effect of being in the fairy realm, where time passed at a snail’s pace compared to the real world.

“I… Man your grip is strong.”

He released me but stayed close. Before I had a chance to explain what had happened, Desmond appeared at the top of the stairs. He apparently didn’t like the look on my face any better than his brother had, because soon a second Alvarez brother had his arms around me. At least Desmond was
holding
me rather than propping me up.

“Are you okay? When Sutherland told us you were going to be delayed…I figured they were pissed about the Peyton thing.”

“They were a lot angrier about the whole being-a-werewolf thing. But as it turns out, the very detail-oriented vampire laws managed to totally skip over a rule against being a werewolf.”

“You’re not in trouble?”

“God, things went so far beyond me being in trouble they circled right back around again.”

“Huh?”

“I don’t know. I really don’t know what I’m talking about anymore.”

He ran his fingers over my face, checking every visible inch of me with his hands and eyes. Seemingly satisfied I was uninjured, he took a step back to give me breathing room.

“Where are the others?”

“I left the vampires in the lobby, since there are quite a few more of them now.”

“How many more?”

“About fifty? Couldn’t get as many as I’d have liked, but everyone who was at the council headquarters tagged along.”

Dominick and Desmond were gawking at me like I was speaking Greek. “Sorry, did you just say you convinced the entire vampire council to help you track the necromancers?”

“The ones who were there, yeah.”

“The same vampire council you thought was going to kill you?”

“There’s only one vampire council in New York.” I sighed. “So yes. The same council.”

The brothers exchanged glances. “Are you
sure
you’re okay?” Dominick asked.

“Oh my
God
. I’m not hallucinating. Fuck off.” I swatted at the shorter, blonder Alvarez, and he countered me easily, smacking my shoulder. I punched him in the chest.

“
Ooof.
” He doubled over, catching the breath I’d stolen.

“That’s what you get for doubting me.”

“Why doesn’t
he
get hit?” Dominick wheezed.

“I’ll take care of him later.”

Desmond smirked and patted his brother on the back. “Did you really think you could outmatch her in hand-to-hand combat? She’s part vampire. Vampires are fast, dumbass.”

“It’s an unfair advantage. She’s cheating.” He righted himself, and his blue eyes were gleaming mischievously.

Goddamn it felt good to be happy, even for one fleeting second.

“Also, she’s armed now.” Dominick grabbed my hand and lifted the ring finger so my new bauble caught the low light, glinting brilliantly. “Doubly unfair.”

“Blame him.” I grinned at Desmond, enjoying the obvious approval from his brother. Dominick had long
felt
like a brother to me. More than my own brother Ben ever had. And now he really would be.

“I hate to interrupt.” Lucas stood at the top of the stairs, not looking at all sorry for interrupting. “But we’re in the living room making a final plan, if you don’t mind joining.”

Dominick, Lucas’s personal bodyguard, obediently bounded up the steps, but Desmond and I took our time. Time was of the essence, but I wasn’t going to say
how high
just because Lucas had told me to
jump
. I’d never been inclined to bow to his commands, and things weren’t going to change now.

The rest of the wolves were gathered around the coffee table in the big living room, the walls lit up orange from the fire outside. How long would we be safe here before the fire came to claim Rain Hotel too? What about the other places I cared about? Were MoMA and the Met still in one piece, or were their treasure troves of art now piles of rubble and ash?

What would be left of this city once we were done?

I sat next to Genie and looked at the maps and blueprints spread out before us on the low square table. Desmond stuck to my side, and the rest of the wolves all seemed in a hurry to present their plans. Each one drew a map from the pile and explained why the place they’d selected met the requirements of hiding an enclave of necromancers. All told there were about thirty-five potential locations for the necros to be hiding, not counting the bar.

Between the wolves and the vampires I’d brought to the party, we had enough bodies to send two-person teams out to each place. Since I didn’t like the safety of those numbers—we’d already lost one person and that was with a team of ten—I wanted the initial sweep to be strictly a fact-finding mission. We’d send out the first wave, find out which of the locations was being used, then regroup.

If the four necros I’d met at the bar continued to use it as their base of operations, that left seventeen more to find. Once we’d narrowed their locations down, we’d be able to send out teams of at least four, or more if we strategized carefully. I felt better about people’s survival chances with bigger groups.

“I’m going to give you guys the same speech I gave the vampires.” I sighed, preparing myself for more arguments and attitude. “No fighting, no insults. You don’t have to like each other, but you
do
need to work together. At least for tonight. I’m not expecting you to make lifelong friends here, or become pen pals or whatever. But I do expect you to be respectful and not to create unnecessary conflict. I’ve asked them to be on their best behavior, but I’m expecting you to set a high standard here, am I understood? You can go back to hating them however much you want tomorrow.”

A few of the wolves I didn’t know well exchanged uneasy glances, then one brave soul raised his hand.

“This isn’t elementary school, Chuck. Go ahead.”

“I don’t mean to sound rude, but I’m probably not the only one who’s curious, so, uh. Well, fuck it. Are they going to try to eat us?”

I wish Holden had been there for me to see his reaction. Or that I’d recorded Arturo’s hate speech about how werewolves were all filth and I was tainted by my lupine blood.

“No. I can assure you the last thing any of these vampires are interested in doing is feeding from you.”

“How can you be sure?” Bradley asked. Evidently this was a rather serious concern among the pack.

“You guys like steak, right?” A couple of them nodded while the others stared at me in anticipation of whatever this analogy would become. “If you had the option of a rare Kobe flank, or a can of Alpo steak-flavored dog food, which would you pick?”

When they realized how insulting this comparison was, a few of them gave me disgusted looks.

“Hey. You wanted to know. I didn’t say it was my opinion, but I guarantee you it’s theirs. So your arteries are perfectly safe.”

“Sorry I asked,” Chuck grumbled, then added, “Like my damn blood isn’t good enough for a damned bloodsucker.”

“If you’re really offended, I’m sure I could convince one of them to make an exception.”

All complaints came to an end, though the sullen faces remained firmly in place. Fine. They could pout all they wanted as long as werewolves and vampires weren’t coming to blows in the streets.

I’d win this thing one tiny victory at a time.

“All right. You all know where you’re going?” I had my own list of coordinates to assign the vampires downstairs. Though some teams would consist of a vampire-werewolf pairing, some would be strictly vampire. We needed a vamp on each team to take advantage of their ability to sense the necros, and we had three times as many vampires as werewolves. “Any questions?”

O’Brian stuck his hand up, but Mercedes grabbed it and pulled it down, shaking her head. The poor detective sergeant probably had a million different questions, but Cedes was right to nip them in the bud. I hoped she would be able to give him a crash course in the paranormal world, but regardless of what he knew, he was about to partner up with a vampire. He’d have to learn fast.

“I don’t
have
werewolf blood,” I heard him mutter. “Are we the Kobe steak in this metaphor?”

“You’ll be fine,” Cedes soothed. “The vampires aren’t what you should be worried about tonight.”

“Your bedside manner leaves something to be desired, Castilla.”

“Good thing I’m not a doctor then.”

As everyone got to their feet and headed to the elevator to go down in shifts, Lucas stopped me. “We need to talk about this plan of yours.”

“The time for discussing the finer points of it is over. Was there a specific part you didn’t understand?” I caught my own tone, and my cheeks flushed. “I’m sorry. That was a lot harsher than I meant for it to be.”

“Since when do you apologize for having a bad attitude?” He smiled, keeping his words from having a sting to them. He was right. I wasn’t always the nicest person, especially when I was pushed to my limits.

I was well beyond my limits now, and we were about to leave the safety of the penthouse and take to the uncertain streets. If I was honest with myself, I didn’t think everyone who left would make it back at the end of the night. Death was a shadow looming over us all, and no one was safe from it.

“I don’t want to leave here on bad terms with you,” I said. Our conversation earlier had been a positive one, and not just because he’d agreed to divorce me. It was the first time in over a year we’d been in a room together and I hadn’t wanted to punch him in the throat. That was progress for us.

“I’ve never wanted to be on bad terms with you.”

I scoffed.

“Believe it or not, but it’s true.” He grabbed my wrist. “I think you should stay here.”

“What?”

“You heard me. I don’t think you should come.”

“You’re out of your damned mind. I’m not hiding out here while everyone else is out there risking their lives. This is my plan. Did you honestly think I’d go
Hey, Lucas, great idea, why didn’t I think of that?
”

“I think I like your anger better than your sarcasm.”

“Don’t worry, there’s plenty of anger in my sarcasm.”

We both sighed, a response we tended to have a lot around each other.

“I’m concerned for the pack. If you, Desmond and I are all putting our lives on the line, and the worst should happen, I don’t know what will be left for my wolves, and that frightens me.”

I don’t think I could remember the last time Lucas had admitted to being scared of something. It made me soften towards him slightly. “Then we’re going to have to make sure at least one of us makes it back so this pack still has a king.”

“Or a queen.”

I grimaced. “A king.” I hoped when this was all done the pack would be short one queen, at least until Lucas found himself a new mate.

“I had to try.”

“No one can ever claim you didn’t.”