Dark Ice (17 page)

Finally a light flicked in the distance, followed by another until the outline of the small town was visible. Silvan headed toward it, grateful he hadn’t been lost in the blackness before now.

The small hotel was cozy and inviting and Silvan forced himself to head for a telephone before dinner by the fire and then bed.

“Can I use your phone?” he asked the barman.

The gormlessly annoying man ogled him for a moment before answering. “Yep.”

“Thank you,” Silvan replied, with an obvious eye roll that went undetected.

“But ya can’t call out,” the barman added.

“What do you mean?”

“Line’s down isn’t it?” he looked Silvan up and down as if weighing his intelligence. “Snowing, ya know.”

Silvan thumped the counter in frustration, his hand now aching as it began to thaw out in the warmth.

“Um, excuse me.”

“Yes?” Silvan twisted, making sure to keep his left side to the bar to hide his sword, even though he tucked it into his snow pants before entering the hotel.

A young woman stood in front of him, tall, elegant and casually dressed, which complemented her perfect hair and make-up. She smiled at him, a flirtatious grin she had perfected with practice.

“I’m Georgia,” she smiled again. “My mobile can get calls out if you would like to borrow it.”

“Thank you, Georgia,” Silvan smiled back putting an emphasis into his Italian accent. He wasn’t below a little flirting to get what he needed in times of crisis. “But I would hate to put you out.”

“No trouble at all,” she replied, proffering her phone.

“Thank you,” he bowed his head in thanks and took the phone. “Let me buy you a drink in appreciation.”

“That would be nice.” Georgia took a seat next to where Silvan stood, showing a fair amount of leg in the process.

“Tell the barman what you’ll have. I’ll be back in a moment.”

Silvan took the phone to a quiet corner of the bar where he couldn’t be overheard and dialed the number he knew off by heart.

“Hello. Hall and Respite care. Joan speaking,” answered a proficient voice on the other end of the line.

The spiel was a rouse, a cover just in case someone accidently dialed the wrong number. He was sure the truth would cause a few more questions.

“Tithe please. It’s Silvan,” he said getting right to the point.

“One moment please, sir,” the voice said clinically.

Silvan heard the tinny classical music as he was put on hold. He clamped the phone in impatience, happy to be able to move his fingers again.

He turned on the spot, taking in the crowd, the exits and the layout of the bar. Georgia sat at the bar eyeing him with a mixture of hope, attraction and trepidation. She was pretty in a classical sense of beauty. She crossed her legs, fingered her cocktail glass and smiled coyly at him as soon as she realized he was watching. She’d done this before.

Silvan smiled back. He’d done this before too.

“Silvan, what news, my brother?” Tithes deep melodic voice came over the phone bringing him back to the reality of their situation.

“Not something you’d like old friend.”

“You’ve disposed of the bear?” Tithe asked, his voice edged slightly with disappointment.

“No.” Silvan paused and looked around to make sure nobody overheard. “I don’t believe the bear is responsible for all the killings.”

“Oh?”

“It’s a
wendigo
.”

Silence met his statement.

“Are you sure?” Tithe asked.

“Yes, I’m sure,” he paused. “I don’t know enough to dispose of one. I’m going to need some assistance.”

“You certainly are.” Tithe paused for a moment, he phone crackling with bad reception. “Christ, it’s been a long time since I’ve dealt with a
wendigo
. They’re notoriously evil, vicious things. And bloody hard to kill.”

“Terrific.” Silvan crossed over to the open fireplace to warm up. An old man slumbered in a worn, patched up chair as the flames crackled merrily. “What do you suggest I do, boss?”

“So now I’m boss?” Tithe laughed.

“You are when we’re dealing with shit like this.”

“Come home, brother,” Tithes voice dead serious. “We need to discuss a plan.”

“I’ll be on the first flight back,” Silvan answered, unable to hide the relief in his voice at being sent back.

“Don’t get too excited. I’ll probably send you back into the snow again.”

Georgia stood and came to stand beside him, smiling suggestively.

“It may not be so bad after all,” he said and he ran a hand down the length of Georgia’s arm, lingering at her sensitive fingers. “I will see you soon.”

Silvan hung up and handed the phone back.

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. Are you going somewhere?” she asked, obviously overhearing the last part of his conversation.

“Yes, first flight out.”

“Well, we have a little time to get to know each other before then.” She stepped closer to him and he felt his energy levels perk a little.

“I’m sure we could,” Silvan started.

Her phone beeped and vibrated. Irritated, she clicked a button. “Oh, it’s only my friend, Lilith, with a text message,” she said airily.

The name went through Silvan like a dagger. A name he never mentioned, the name he couldn’t bear to hear. He turned toward the heat of the fire and gripped the mantle place with white aching knuckles.

“Are you alright?” Georgia asked with more disappointment than concern in her voice.

“Fine,” he bit out. “Listen, it’s been a long day. Thanks for lending me your phone, but I think I’ll call it a night.”

“Oh, umm. Okay, fine then.”

He didn’t look at her face, he could hear the disappointment and anger. He could almost feel it radiate from her. She stood there a moment longer before stomping back toward the bar.

Damn it. He closed his eyes and then wished he hadn’t and he flung them open. When he shut his eyes he could see the massacred family laying alone and helpless this afternoon. He could hear their screams in his mind, smell the lingering stench of blood and death.

Then if he closed his eyes again it would be the memories of his own slain family that lingered there. And he refused to see that again, to feel it, to live it. He clenched his jaw shut to stop from shouting out. He stiffened his body so he wouldn’t crumble to the ground.

Amongst his pain, Silvan found the anger and allowed it to grow. He needed to be angry, any emotion other than the unimaginable heartache. His hostility grew until it festered just below the surface.

He wanted revenge and he knew there could be no retribution for his family. He would have to get it for the innocents lost today.

He needed to kill something.

~* * *~

The crystal white sand lay across the ground, covering the ugly cracked cement that was prevalent in cheap apartment buildings. Rin racked the sand into perfect geometric lines, concentrating on each grain. He allowed his mind to wander to a time when the white sands covered pristine grounds, encased by perfectly manicured gardens.

A place of peace and tranquility before the storm of pain and revenge ruined his life. And the lives of many others, his family, friends and his students. Slaughtered and scattered to the winds.

Or to fly on its currents like an eagle, he thought bitterly.

Rin snapped himself out of his melancholy, chastising himself for the weakness of memories he could do nothing to alter. He placed the rake beside the splitting plaster wall and went inside.

The dark dingy room was shabby but ultra tidy and clean. The sparse furnishings of a futon bed, cupboard, and floor cushions were cramped in the small space. Two doors led off to the kitchenette and bathroom.

Rin reached for his sword placed in a horizontal cradle of two grasping stone hands, bowed his head and strapped it on. He looked up at a statue of a hawk in flight and swallowed. It was there as his penance, his reminder of what he had done, of how he was now to spend his life in servitude to protect rather than destroy.

Rin gripped his sword, tucked it in behind his black floor-length coat and walked out the door. The walk across to Lea’s house took longer with the alternative route. He kept to the back streets, making sure he wasn’t followed. It paid to remember procedure. It kept you alive and allowed you to know your place in the world.

Though his place in the world was feeling a little skewed after everything that had happened. The return of Avery shook him to the very core. But it was the small idiosyncrasies that confused him. His empathy for the bear and Lea. His reluctant respect for the bear and his cousin, the Husky. It offended his sense of order.

He continued along the back streets until he reached the picturesque cottage and slid around to the rear garden.

“My thanks. I have come to relieve you of your duty,” Rin said to the seemingly empty garden.

The man stepped stealthily from the garden hedges, nodded in acknowledgement and disappeared again. Rin walked to the perimeter, and then satisfied all was as it should be, he stepped back into the shadows to guard the woman.

Hours after Lea had retired to bed, the phone in Rin’s pocket vibrated, shocking him. He answered it quietly with a curt, “Yes.”

“Rin, it’s Tithe.”

Rin said nothing.

Tithe sighed.

“We have a problem. I need you to report in. We have something to discuss with Silvan when he gets here.”

“I am guarding the woman. Is there no one else you can discuss matters with?” Rin asked.

“No. I am sending someone to relieve you. I need you here,” Tithe’s voice turned curt. There was no defying his orders.

“Very well. I shall attend your matters,” Rin bit out.

“Rin,” Tithe’s words softened. “The woman’s safe enough. You weren’t to blame before with your previous charge and it will not happen again.”

“How can you be sure?” Rin asked, trying to keep his voice even.

“I can’t be—” started Tithe.

“I will not allow it to happen again,” Rin said, this time his voice crackled with emotion.

“She was your soul mate, Rin. This woman is not.”

Rin bit down hard on his tongue to stop himself from spewing venomous words at his leader. Tithe’s words were like a slap in the face. The memories assailed him and tore his soul asunder once more.

“I will not discuss this further,” Rin spat out, glad his voice only held controlled anger. “I will await my replacement, however the woman has just arrived, I must go.”

He hung up and crushed the phone in his grip. The pieces shattered and fell to the ground.

The cry of a hawk rent the quiet night air and splintered what was left of Rin’s damaged heart. Hawks were not usually nocturnal creatures. But then again, they usually weren’t the woman you loved for centuries on end either.

Chapter Sixteen

The night dragged on longer than she ever recalled. Lea desperately wanted to sleep. To sleep meant to dream of Dane, but agitation kept her awake, her mind racing with too many ideas to even consider relaxing enough to sleep.

She sat on the sofa by the lamp, the only light she’d turned on since darkness fell. She didn’t want to see the mess still strewn across the floor, the blood stains that were now hard and crusted into the carpet. They reminded her why Dane walked out, what he really was.

Lea caressed the pendant now placed safely around her neck, careful to avoid the broken edging. A good jeweler would be able to fix it, but for now it was another reminder of Dane. The dream where she retrieved her necklace had been intense, frightening, tender and sensual all within the scope of moments. She shivered as she remembered their love making, the strength of Dane, his passion met by her own.

But it was nothing compared to when he was in her bed, a flesh and blood man. Even though she now knew he was both man and beast, she wanted him back in her life no matter what form that took.

A bird’s cry shocked her out of her thoughts and reminded her of the other day when Sebastian came for her at the bar. There had been a bird. A gigantic hawk. Lea shivered and tucked her legs underneath herself protectively. If Sebastian had caught her that day, he would have surely killed her. Dane hadn’t been there to protect her, but the other man had been. The venator who was Dane’s enemy had not only saved her, but treated her kindly and with respect.

Lea jumped up, an idea forming and excitement bubbled up within her. She headed for the front door but even in her enthusiasm she opened it cautiously. The last few days had taught her that anything could be lurking in the shadows, even the monsters of nightmares. The psychiatrist in her tried to rebel and normalize the situation, but there was no analysis for what had now come to pass as reality.