Impulse (36 page)

“Are you questioning your new employer?” Christian mused.

I adjusted the vent in the car. “We were interrupted this evening by a killer for hire and now he wants me to be a messenger. Justus didn’t look happy, either. Did you see the look on his face?” I squirmed in my seat.

“Hardly. I was too busy looking at that pet cat of yours with the big teeth.”

Information had been extracted from the Vampire using torture techniques. He was to meet with his contact if the assassination against Novis was successful. The city park in Cognito was a breeding ground for sociopaths and rogues, so I wasn’t thrilled when Novis asked me to deliver a message to the man paying off the Vampire.

“Considering your past with Nero, the message is better coming from you.”

“No,” I argued. “A guard should be doing this, not me. How did you get that Vampire to talk?”

“You can commend your boyfriend for that.” His grin was toothy and he scratched at the bristles on his jaw. “That’s a man with experience in the world I come from. Chitahs don’t give empty threats and when he got out the kerosene, Justus had to stop him before he set the whole fecking house on fire.”

I sharpened my senses when the car eased to a stop by a long row of hedges.

Christian cracked his window. “We’re here,” he said with disinterest.

“Do you hear anyone out there?”

“Aside from the murderer lurking in the bushes with the machete? No.”

I peered out the back window. “That’s not funny,” I murmured.

“What the blazes do you keep looking for?”

“You’re not going to drive off and leave me here, are you?”

He tapped his fingers impatiently on the steering wheel.

“Hopefully this won’t take long,” I said, getting out. Christian slumped in his seat and I slammed the door.

It was my first official task working for Novis and it didn’t take long for me to see the inherent dangers that came with the position. Novis had lent me a long, black coat and I flipped the hood over my face.

My heels clicked on the sidewalk and I opted against sitting on the damp, dirty park bench. Someone had spray-painted obscene graffiti on a statue of two children carrying flowers. What a shame. It could be such a beautiful park if they cleaned out all the riffraff.

It was going to be a relief when I got my assigned guard. Simon mentioned that he had trained a few of them himself, so that offered some comfort. But tonight I was on my own.

The black coat covered me from head to shoe. The only sound was a few random chirps from a listless bird who refused to bed for the night. A frosty chill tightened the air and everything glistened with a layer of midnight dew. Time slipped away as fifteen minutes elapsed.

Someone was running.

I whirled around just in time to dodge a wooden stake cutting through the air toward my heart. My hood fell back when I lifted my head and astonishment spread across Merc’s face like oil paint on a canvas.

I always knew he was dirty, but working for Nero came out of left field.

Merc was a large man with a broad chest. His blond hair had that grungy look like it hadn’t been washed in weeks. He looked like a misplaced rock star hooked on steroids.

“Traitor!” I spat.

His nose wrinkled. “If you are here, then Novis is still alive.
Do you have a message for me?” he asked.

My fingers plucked the envelope from my deep pocket and he reached for it with a loaded expression. Merc impatiently tore open the letter with his teeth. He scanned the message and wadded the paper into a ball, tossing it on the ground.

“Novis is a fool. Doesn’t have a clue what’s going on beneath his own nose. It’ll make his death easier than I thought.”

“How can you do this to one of your own?”

“His decisions hold too much weight, and he stands in the way of what I want. Nero is more than happy to take the credit for his death. Win-win.” He punctuated the last two words, and the animosity he felt for Novis was unmistakable.

The minute Merc began his confession I knew that I wouldn’t be leaving the park alive.

“The night of Samil’s challenge you asked if I was a hybrid. What do you really know about me?”

His gazed lowered. “That you are an abomination.”

The air chilled.

“If you’re tangled with those people, then your hands are just as dirty as theirs,” I said.

He lifted his hands as if to look at them in shock. “You’re right!” His laugh made me want to drive my knee into his groin. “You are truly gifted at pointing out the obvious. Years ago, I had a notion to wage war against humans and joined their group. The original plan was to create a contagion that would spread among humans like a virus. After their repeated botch jobs, I could no longer fund them. It disgusts me that they continue making genetically unfit specimens like you when there’s nothing to gain. They attempted to make a crossbreed that would spread Breed DNA with everyone they slept with. Can you imagine?” He laughed. “That would be my kind of slut. Then the idea was to make it transmittable by blood and they would contaminate the blood banks. The vision became clouded when their interest in the science took over the original purpose of war.”

When Merc quieted, the wind raced through the trees and chilled my arms. His eyes were cold—a man without a heart or conscience.

“You know what you are, Silver? A monkey. Nothing more. All of you should be euthanized.”

“If you’re so against them, then why don’t you shut them all down? Or would raising hell in Europe draw suspicion?”

His brow arched. “Europe? That ended years ago. The project relocated and they monitored the children at first, but soon began dropping them off outside fire stations. It was becoming like a fucking daycare around there. Samil was packing up and probably going after that damn woman he became obsessed with.”

“You knew Samil?”

“We worked together. They used him in some of their experiments because they had a theory that Creators could do some kind of special shit to DNA,” he said, waving his hand. “None of us knew what they were really brewing in those labs.”

“How did Samil get mixed up with Nero?”

“He was arrested for turning humans without permission from the Mageri.”

“That’s not a law, is it?”

His eyes narrowed. “No, it’s a fucking courtesy. And when you have a Mage as old as he is suddenly making new Learners, it raises suspicion. Nero showed up out of nowhere and bailed him out. That man has an interesting way of appearing at just the right time, forcing you to be in his debt. Nero took a keen interest in the girl that Samil changed over and he paid good money for her. After that, we went our separate ways. Samil had a list of names and I
knew
what that arrogant fool was up to.”

“Why are you helping Nero?”

“He’s the wealthiest man I’ve ever met.” A gleam flashed in his eye.

Merc had the ability to pull the core light and all power from a Mage—including their gifts—for a period of a day. If he found an Infuser and Nero paid him enough, I could only imagine what kind of power could be given to one man. I hoped that wasn’t the reason why Nero was keeping Samil’s progeny captive. Perhaps Nero knew nothing of Merc’s gift.

“What did you do with Samil’s light when you took it?” I asked cautiously, remembering the night of the challenge.

When Merc advanced, I backed up and he snatched the sleeve of my coat with a tight fist. “Did you really think I would let you go?”

The idea of him pulling out my core light petrified me and I struggled against him like an animal caught in a trap. My shoes flew off and Merc grabbed a chunk of my hair. He swung me around and I clawed him on the arm as he grabbed my collar with his other hand.

“Hold still, monkey,” he growled, giving my head a violent shake.

Dizzy, I lost my balance and twisted out of the coat. I yelped from the sharp pain of my hair ripping out as I flew toward the ground. My forearms hit the cement and I looked back, noticing wavy strands of my black hair blowing from Merc’s fist.

“I’m a hell of a lot stronger than you,” he said, dropping to his knees. I flipped onto my back and Merc straddled me. He slammed my shoulders against the concrete and we fought. But it was my light he wanted, and the bones in my fingers pressed as he tried to pry my fists open with his strong hands. His body was so heavy and I struggled to breathe when he sat down on my chest, feeling the blood rush into my head.

He managed to get one palm open and Merc grabbed my chin with his left hand.

“I’ll be sure to lay your body down on the hood of Justus’s most prized car. What do you think?”

I scratched his face and drew blood. Merc bellowed and raised his arm to strike me with a closed fist. I could barely breathe with him sitting on my chest. Desperately, I clawed at his neck as his arm swung down.

In an instant, Merc was thrown off. I blinked at the canopy of dark tree branches above and sat up, looking down the length of my legs. Christian was sitting on Merc and plunged a stunner into his chest.

“You may be stronger than her, but I’m a hell of a lot stronger than
you
,” Christian muttered.

Merc’s chest became a makeshift chair as Christian pulled out his phone and sent a message.

“Is Novis coming to get him?” I asked, looking at my scraped elbows.

“Your Council is sending someone.” Christian patted Merc’s cheek. “Looks like you’re in trouble, big boy.” He pinched the wadded-up piece of paper from the ground and stuffed it into Merc’s open mouth. “Never did like a litterbug.”

I stood up and blew out a breath. “I’m outta here. Keep him company and try not to squash him. I’ve had enough drama for one evening.”

Chapter 27

“Where do you think you’re off to?” Christian yelled out.

My tattered dress dragged along the wet concrete and the chill nipped at my bare feet. With our testimonies, they had enough to arrest Merc, but I was uncertain what the Mageri would do when they got wind of the full story. It wouldn’t be in their best interest to expose this kind of treachery among high-ranking officials. It would shake the confidence people had in their governing law.

“Silver, stop!”

Christian stomped across the grass, kicking up droplets of water behind his heels.

“Get back over there before he figures out how to remove that dagger!” I shouted, pointing my finger.

“Come with me. I can’t let you leave alone.”

“You don’t have to
let
me do anything. I think I’ve had my fill of chauvinistic insight for one evening.”

“I’m only asking you once more.” His tone lowered.

“Don’t threaten me, Christian. The only person who can legitimately bark orders at me is Justus. Watch Merc, because if he gets free then you’re putting my employer’s life in danger.”

When I reached the car, I peered in the window to see if the keys were in the ignition. “Dammit!”

A loud crashing noise came from the hood and almost caused me to stumble on my ass. Christian stood on the car with his arms folded.

“That’s Logan’s car, and if you put a dent in it then he’s going to put a dent in you.”

He stared down his nose and spoke in a thick Irish accent. “You know, I don’t care for your snobbery at all. You think you’re better than I am and frankly, I’m sick of hearing you rabbit on. Always complaining, you can never just have a good time. Are you at least pleasant postcoital? Because at the rate you’re going, you’ll be lucky if that Chitah doesn’t cannibalize you. Of course with that mess of hair on your head, he’s likely to spit you back up.”

Two headlights blinked at the end of the road and I felt the flare of a Mage.

“They’re here,” I said with disgust. “You’re off the hook.”

I lifted my eyes to the road—heavy with fog and illuminated by the umbrella of lights from old lampposts—leaving Christian behind. Little did he know how painful his comments were and little did he care. Here I was, walking barefoot in a ruined dress that Logan had paid a pretty penny for.

“You plan to walk barefoot across town?” Christian huffed as he jogged up to my side.

It was everything I could do to pretend he didn’t exist. I wanted to slam my fists into a tree until they bled. This night should have been memorable in a way that didn’t end in betrayal and bloodshed, because it marked a transition in my life as a Mage. It was hope that maybe Justus would see me as someone more than a student or a woman—but a Mage he could be proud of. Like everything else, it ended on a horrible note. Perhaps I was a walking catastrophe and doomed to fail at this life.

Christian hopped in front of me and began walking backward, keeping my unsteady pace.

“Are you angry?” He laughed in disbelief.

My hair tumbled out of the pins that had once held it beautifully together and he was right—it
did
look like a mess. I began ripping out the bobby pins and tossing them to the pavement. When I finished, he caught my wrist before I could flash away.

“Silver, I apologize.”