Bloodfire (Blood Destiny) (15 page)

By the time I reached the kitchen, my
blood had settled back down to a simmer.
 
Overhearing their conversation had at least given me some more clues to
work with.
 
I’d missed tree markings
when I’d been out searching for John before, probably because I’d been too
focused on the ground trail.
 
That
was useful.
 
The Brethren would be
busy with the interviews until late evening so once my one with Corrigan was
over then I figured I could probably return to the scene of the crime
unhindered.

I took a deep breath.
 
This was going to be a long afternoon.

Chapter Eight

Julia came and found me in the kitchen
whilst I was sat at the large wooden table with my hands curled around my now
steaming mug of deliciously syrupy Java.
 
I was lost in thought about what the tree markings might indicate.

“How’s it going, dear?” She asked.

“Fine.
 
Great.” I said sarcastically.
 
“John is still dead.
 
The Brethren are still here and I have
an interview with the Lord Alpha in fifteen minutes.”

“Now is not the time to get worked up,
Mackenzie.
 
Keep your wits about you
and we’ll be fine.”

I sighed and tucked a loose strand of hair
behind my ear. “Yes, yes, I know.”

Julia leaned towards me.
 
“Do not fuck this up, Mackenzie.”

I was startled by her
swearing
.
 
“I won’t.
 
I’m just
frustrated.”

“And you’ll get over it.
 
There’s just over a day to go then this
will be over.”

“29 hours.”
 
Not that I was counting or
anything.
 
I changed the
subject.
 
“Julia, did John mention
anything to you about increased otherworld activity?”

She shook her head, puzzled.
 

“What about a Quinotaur?”

She shook her head again.
 
“He seemed quite tired but I put that
down to being busy with the quarterly reports.
 
He was out a lot though.”

Yes, out doing the rest of our jobs for
us.
 
Anton took that moment to enter
the kitchen.
 
I noted with some
satisfaction that he was moving stiffly but was still irritated that he could
recover with such ease from an injury that would have killed most humans.
 
He shot me a dirty look and went to the
fridge.

“I think Anton and I need to have a little
chat,” said Julia calmly.
 
She
looked at me with her eyebrows raised.
 
I took the hint and left, hoping that he’d get the chewing out he truly
deserved.
 
I should probably go and
wait outside the office for my interview anyway.
 
In retrospect, arriving late would not
help my cause.

*

When I got there, the blonde Brethren girl
was outside with a clipboard, marking names off.
 
She smiled at me briefly and I took a
seat on a waiting chair.
 
After a
few minutes, Johannes emerged, smiling and shaking his head.

“He’s some guy, yer alpha.”

The blonde smiled again.
 
“We’re lucky to have him.”

Oh, for God’s sake.
 
He was just another shifter.
 
I rolled my eyes expressively and
crossed my legs.

Miss
Mackenzie.
 
I am ready for you now.

I jumped.
 
Shit, he could use the Voice on me.
 
I hadn’t anticipated that.
 
I was about to make a sarky remark back
to him when Betsy passed through my line of sight and glanced at me.
 
I hesitated, remembering my brief.

As
you wish, my lord.
I answered back.
 
Way Directive 32: Respect the hierarchy.

The girl put a check next to my name.
 
“You’ll do fine,” she said.
 
“He’s really a nice guy.”

Nice.
 
Sure. He’d fought off sixteen leadership challenges and was in charge of
the one group of people who could spell the doom of me and mine just because my
mother had abandoned me here when I was kid.
 
I gritted my teeth and curved up my lips
to form a smile.
 
“I’m just nervous,”
I said.
 

And actually I was.
 
My palms were slightly damp and sweaty
and I could feel a slight tremor in my knees.
 
I must still be feeling the effects of
the fight.
 
As if in answer, my ribs
took that moment to start throbbing with pain.
 
I stood up.
 
Best to get this over and done with.

Johannes gently touched my elbow as I went
past.
 
It was good to know that I
had the pack on my side.
 
Then I
remembered Anton.
 
Most of the pack at least.
 
I pulled on the doorknob and went back
into the office.

The majority of the paperwork from the
desk had been cleared away.
 
Corrigan was behind the desk, reading from a sheet of paper.
 
I was rather surprised that he’d chosen
not to use John’s study.
 
Staines
was leaning against the wall and looking at me with a frown.
 
I stood in front of them and waited.
 
I wasn’t sure if this part of their ploy
– keep the underlings waiting to make them nervous, but actually it gave
me a good chance to study my potential nemesis.
 
His dark hair curled ever so slightly
round the corner of his ears and at the nape of his neck, before disappearing
into a pink striped shirt.
 
He must
be secure with his masculinity to wear pink, I figured.
 
But then again his muscles were
straining tautly at the material so I guessed that he had no worries in that
direction.
 
In fact he probably had
a tailor to design his shirts that way in particular.
 
I was equally amused to see that he was
wearing a tie.
 
Most visitors to
Cornwall who arrive suited and booted get short shrift.
 
We were not that kind of county.
 
Interestingly, his fingernails were
bitten down to the quick, which made me wonder if perhaps I should suggest a
manicurist.
 
Ally was particularly
adept at French polishes.
 
I smirked
at the idea of the big bad tough Brethren Lord getting his pinky nail buffed
and filed, which of course just made Staines frown even deeper at me.
 
Yeah, whatever.

Eventually, Corrigan put the piece of
paper and down.
 
He looked at
Staines, who pushed himself off the wall and left through the door I’d come through.
 
These two were not exactly fond of
chit-chat
.
 
He
motioned to a blue plastic chair that had been commandeered from the canteen
and I sat down.

“So, Miss Mackenzie, we finally have some
alone time to talk together.”
 
He
smiled lazily at me, and I had the distinct impression of a predator sizing up
its next meal.

I swallowed.
 
Alone time?
 
Oh hurray.

“I have to admit that I find you rather
fascinating.
 
One minute you are
being knocked down by a tap from a little girl, and the next you are defeating
a werebear in his own shift form.”

I just looked at him.
 
Two could play the silent game.

He stared at me for a moment before
acknowledging my lack of response with a slight one shouldered shrug.
 
I cast my eyes down, trying to play the
part of submissive shifter.
 
He
continued.
 
“And then of course
there are your night time sparring matches on the beach.”

My head snapped up.
 
So there had been somewhere
there
watching after all.
 
I wondered briefly why he’d been there
and why I hadn’t spotted him.
 
If it had indeed been him, or just one of his minions tailing me.
 
Corrigan smiled unpleasantly.
 
I tried desperately to remember if either
Tom or I had said anything incriminating whilst we were on the beach.
 
I didn’t think so but I couldn’t be entirely
sure.
 
Memories are funny things
;
concentrate hard enough and you’ll start remembering
things that never even happened in the first place.
 
My eyes narrowed slightly and I waited
for his next move.

“So what is a shifter of your talents
doing tucked away in sleepiest Cornwall, and why are you so desperate to stay
here?”
 
His green gold eyes bored
into me.

That one, I could handle.
 
“Er, well, I like the quiet,” I said,
“and then there’s Tom, of course.”

“Ah, yes, the boyfriend.”
 
He stood up and moved round to the other
side of the desk.
 
I tried to lean
back as if I could get away from him without leaving my chair.
 
He frowned down at me.
 
“Funny, I wouldn’t have pegged the two
of you as a couple.”

“Do you think I’m not good enough for
him?”
 
I was aware of the note of
rising annoyance in my voice.
 
Careful,
Mack, I warned myself.

“Not at all.
 
I just wonder how someone like him could
keep someone like you…interested.”

Now what exactly did he mean by that?
 
I looked directly into his eyes,
challenging his stare.
 
“Oh, I’m
very interested,” I said with a slow murmur.

The green in his eyes flashed for a second
and he returned to the chair behind the desk.

I decided to aim for humility in a bid to
get him to leave me alone.
 
“Lord
Corrigan, I don’t want to waste your valuable time.
 
I have no desire to leave Cornwall and
believe that I have made that apparent to you already.
 
Perhaps your time would be better spent
with those shifters who would like to join in you in London.”

He raised his eyebrows.
 
“That may be but there are other matters
that I would like to discuss.”
 
He
was all business like now.
 
“Tell me
what you did on the day of your alpha’s death.”

“On the day of his murder, you mean.”

Corrigan just looked back at me.
 
I sighed and rubbed my eyes.
 
“I went for a jog, then to the eastern
perimeter.
 
There had been some
rumours about something there.”

“And did you find anything?”

“No,” I lied.
 
I knew from my quick rummage around
John’s computer that he’d not written the wichtlein report before he’d died
and, if I was going to make sure that the Brethren left promptly in a day and a
half’s time, then it was important that I gave them no further reasons to stick
around.
 
Besides which, I was going
to find John’s killer and wreak my own particular brand of justice on
them.
 
The last thing I needed were
some jumped up overlords getting my way.

Corrigan’s expression remained blank.
 
“And then what?”

“I came back to the keep.
 
When we realised that John hadn’t
returned, I went out with the others to find him.
 
Then we did.
 
Find him, I mean.”

“I see.”
 
He raised a hand and pushed it through
his dark hair, biceps rippling as he did so. “You’re lying, Miss
Mackenzie.
 
Or certainly not telling
me the whole truth.”

Shit.

Tell
me everything.

Oh god, he was trying to compel me with
his Voice.
 
It wouldn’t work on me
though so I had to be clever about this and make it seem like I was following
orders.
 
I opened my mind up
carefully, letting an image of finding John’s body then Anton pushing me aside
flash up.
 
I left off the part where
Anton had referred to my humanity but allowed the idea that he’d accused me of
being involved in John’s murder seep through.

Corrigan nodded slowly.
 
“Hmmm.
 
So what is it between you and
Anton?
 
Perhaps he’s a jilted
lover?”
 

Hardly.
 
He just couldn’t stand the fact that I
was human.
 
“We just rub each other
up the wrong way.”