In the Dark (47 page)

Sebastian turned
back to Specter before Dragon’s body began to decay, sword
raised, snarling – to face Syren. She stood between Sebastian
and his target, watching impassively, her own slim blade held in a
pose Sebastian had taught her, long ago.

“At least
you haven’t gotten rusty,” she said. Josephine’s
wide, panicked eyes met his over Syren’s shoulder.

“Challenge,
Cain.” Syren lifted her blade.

Josephine
whimpered.

“Accepted,”
Sebastian snapped, and lunged.

A
lec
had started looking harder.

He’d paced
back and forth below the awning, hissing my name, trying to get me to
come out. When I stayed put, he’d stopped. Started combing the
area, silent, looking inside and under dumpsters, between buildings,
above him into window sills.

He’ll
find me. He’s fucking psychic.

I shivered. Not
cold. Scared. Because I didn’t have any more options. The
others were probably dead by now anyway.

My eyes misted,
but I didn’t let myself make a sound. It was over, hopeless, a
matter of time. Alec would find me, and take me away, and while I sat
in his Cadillac watching Seattle shrink behind me, Amanda and
Sebastian and Josephine would die, one by one. But I couldn’t
just give in.

Not that turning
myself over would do any damn good. Specter hated us. Nothing Alec or
Shroud could say would change that. If I left with him, we wouldn’t
be able to run far enough.

Then why had
Alec – or rather, Shroud – told them where we were? Why
did he tell them Sebastian wouldn’t turn me in? He’d just
ensured that one or the other would come after us once he got me
away.

I almost snorted
out loud. Even I could see the answer to that one. Sebastian and
Specter both scared the piss out of Alec, so he’d set them up
to start fighting to give him a chance to grab me and run. Whichever
one lost, he’d only have to deal with one of them, not both.
Maybe if he was really lucky, neither one would survive.

Think, Ian.
You have to do something.

I couldn’t
fight Alec. I couldn’t outrun him. I couldn’t do anything
about the pack on my own – and time kept ticking by.

That was all I
could focus on, the need to think fast, the image of a clock running
out in my head. I needed more time, a chance to figure this all out,
like Alec must have had. Except he had all the ins and outs of the
pack to work with, he knew all about them, he knew things they would
fall for, hell, he’d even fought them before . . .

Maybe he’d
know what to do!

Hands trembling
so they almost wouldn’t work, I pulled myself to the edge of
the awning. With my stomach rising into my throat, I focused on Alec.
Thinking that maybe I could make him listen, if I just knew what to
say. My head began to throb as I did. I stared at him, trying to
think . . . except he just wasn’t very interesting right now. I
couldn’t tell what he was feeling by his posture, it was so
dull, and before I really knew what I was doing, I had started to
turn away from him to find something better to look at.

My eyes popped
open as I did. I whipped my head back towards him.

He had his back
to me, examining a windowsill across the street. I could see him, but
I had a nearly irresistible urge to ignore him. Just like the other
night at the rave. I hadn’t been too stoned to focus. He’d
forced
me not to focus on him.

It explained so
much. Why I kept getting distracted, why I hadn’t seen Specter
at all, what Alec had really wanted that night. Specter hadn’t
planned an attack that night – just Alec. All by himself,
wearing Specter’s face.

I pulled back,
keeping hidden.

Goddammit.
God
damn
it!

The pack vampire
trying to convince Sebastian to turn me in – Alec. Trying to
kill Sebastian when that didn’t work. Alec. Finally bringing
the pack down on us as a last resort. Alec. And now if I couldn’t
make him help, they wouldn’t leave me or him alone ever again –

And I knew what
to do.

I started
shaking harder. It was stupid. I didn’t have any assurance it
would work. And I couldn’t trust Alec. He’d tried to kill
Sebastian.

For a second I
laid still, totally frozen and unable to move. Then my hands came to
life. Before I could freeze up again, I grabbed the edge of the
awning and flipped off. A little part of me was impressed that I
remembered how to do penny-drops, the rest of me screamed how stupid
I was. The force of the fall pushed me into a crouch on the sidewalk
when I landed. I nearly went straight onto my face I was shaking so
hard.

Alec didn’t
even flinch. Just turned to face me. “Thank God you’ve
come to your senses,” he said, as if I hadn’t just about
dropped on his head.

I stayed in the
crouch I’d landed in, glaring at him. “I don’t want
to go with you, Alec. I’m going back.”

“Do you
really think you can do a damn thing?” he snapped. “Against
all of them?”

I shook my head.
“You’re going to help. You said you and Kent fought them.
You said you killed them.”

He narrowed his
eyes. “Kent and I did that together. And we both had sword
training. I led them off and he killed them, one at a time. We can’t
do that now – I’m not sure how we would separate them,
and even if we could, which of us would kill them? I’m no match
for most of them, and tell me if I’m wrong, but you wouldn’t
kill one of them if you could.” He paused, waiting for my
response, shook his head when I stayed quiet. “It’s over,
Ian. I know you don’t want your new child to die. I didn’t
want Kent to die! But sometimes you have to cut your losses –”

“
No!”
My voice echoed through the empty street. Alec winced.

“No,”
I said again. “I’m not going to give up on them, I’m
not. I’m sick of people dying!” I glared. “If you
won’t help me, Alec, I’ll tell them what a traitor you
are.”

He frowned, not
the least bit threatened. He started to make a laughing face, but I
interrupted him.

“They
don’t like traitors much, do they? Once I learn how to look
like someone else, I’ll go tell them that you hated Kent so
much –”

“
I
never hated Kent!”
he screamed, eyes flaring. He leaned
forward like he wanted to run at me. My mouth snapped shut. Not what
I expected.

His fists
clenched. “Do you know what I’ve had to watch, what I’ve
had to
do,
in order to be counted part of this vile group? Do
you? I’ve been
using
them Ian, using them to find and
save you and Kent!”

I frowned. “To
find Kent? But I thought . . . I mean, how did you get my house key
–”

“I stole
it! I had to steal it because Kent left me!” His voice broke
over what sounded like a sob. I stayed tense, watching him and
wondering if I would have to run again. He kept yelling at me. “I
joined the pack to
spy
on them, to find Kent and warn him. But
when I told him what was happening, he shook his head at me. Like he
was ashamed!”

That last part
did come out a sob. Alec turned away, shoulders bunched. The sight
didn’t kill my anger, but I could feel it shrinking.

That look. The
look on Kent’s face the night he’d died. It came back to
me like a brick to the head, from a whole new point of view.

“
When
you get to be two hundred and twenty-five, see if you don’t
just stand around and think about stuff sometimes!”

See if you don’t
stand around and think about Alec, who just appeared out of your two
hundred and twenty-five year past to warn you that your maker had
hunted you down and was ready to kill you.

“When?”
I asked. “What night?” To be sure.

“The night
before he died.” Alec closed his eyes. He kept crying a little,
his face wrinkled in pain. He didn’t even try to fight the
tears.

The night before
he died.

“He knew .
. .” My own vision went red.

“No,”
Alec said softly. “He didn’t know. Not really. I told him
. . .” he sighed while I waited for it, staring at him. “I
told him they sent me. To kill him. But that I didn’t want to.
I didn’t know the one they had sent was so close, I thought I
had some time, that I could convince him . . .”

One red tear
dripped off my nose and hit my boot. “You lied to him . . . ?”

“I wanted
him to see how much I still loved him. I wanted him to know . . . I
thought, if I told him I wouldn’t obey an order to kill him, he
might see . . . but he just frowned. He frowned and told me to
leave!”

I shook my head,
hardly able to think. If things had gone very differently . . . if
Alec had told the truth, what might have changed? So very much.

I growled, fangs
bared at him. “God
damn
you.”

“Shut up!”
he screamed. I flinched. “Shut up, Miss Perfect! All I ever
wanted was for him to love me, and here you are, keeping him all to
yourself! I should have saved Kent and let that bastard kill you!
Maybe then he could have remembered why he loved me. Maybe . . .”

I stared as he
clenched his jaw and tried to compose himself.

Shit.

The others were
still trapped in the penthouse.

I needed to
think about that first.

“I’m
going back to the penthouse,” I said. “I’m going to
stop Specter. And you’re going to help me.”

Alec waved me
off. “Go if you want. Just leave me alone.”

My mouth slowly
dropped open. And then I spat, just to get the sudden taste out of my
mouth. “Dammit, Alec, you ever think the reason Kent left was
because you’re so fucking self-centered?”

His eyes snapped
on my face, glowing like two flames. “Don’t ever bring
that up in my presence again.”

I bared my
fangs, certain my own eyes burned as brightly. “I’ll
bring up whatever the hell I want. You let Kent die – you tried
to kill everyone I care about. And I’m not going to let you.
You understand me?”

He glared.

I stood up from
my crouch, still trembling, and aimed a finger at him. I wanted to
leap on him and rip him apart, but held myself back. I still needed
him. “If you don’t do this, you little shit, I’ll
spend my life hunting you until I’ve caught you and killed you
with my bare hands.” They hooked into claws in front of me
while I spoke, so tempted not to wait that long. “If you
survive this, I will never forgive you, and I will make sure I spend
every second of my life paying you back.”

He turned away
from me. I waited, breathing hard, considering rushing him from
behind. If he so much as gave me a look I didn’t like, I would
try to slaughter him here and now, and I knew there was no way I
could ever make myself feel bad for it. I opened my mouth to scream
at him, but he had already turned to look at me over his shoulder.

“Tell me
what you want to do, and I’ll tell you if I’ll help or
not.”

I snapped my
mouth shut. I still wanted to scream at him. Instead I crossed my
arms and glared at him. He refused to meet my stare, rubbing reddened
eyes. I wiped at my own, faintly surprised at the tears. I felt too
furious for tears now.

“Well?”
Alec said at last.

S
yren’s
knees folded under her, dropping her with an ungainly
thud.
She began to decay almost instantly, a pile of ash and clothing.
Sebastian flicked his sword up, eyes on Specter.

Josephine hung
limp in his arms, her eyes open but unaware. In pain. Specter stood,
waiting, his eyes glinting.

“I
assume,” he said, holding her out, “you’d like to
have the last? She was yours, after all.”

Sebastian threw
himself at Specter, sword raised –

Drew himself up
sharp when Specter brought Josephine up to counter. She moaned at the
sudden motion, made a weak attempt to resist.

“I told
you, Cain. Challenge after I drink that little brat.”

“Traitor’s
spawn,” Sebastian said for him, his voice a growl.

Specter’s
eyebrows flicked up with a small, nasty smile. “Indeed. Did you
know, Cain, that her father belonged to the pack? For a short time,
mind you. But he still betrayed us – just like you.”

Sebastian
frowned. He couldn’t get his sword in to find Specter’s
heart or head. He knew Specter’s strength, his speed, knew how
his leader used them both. Holding Josephine would cause him no
discomfort, nor would it slow him down. If Sebastian struck, Specter
would easily make Josephine take the blow.

“Why did
you never mention Kent?” Sebastian asked, to keep Specter
talking – a tactic Specter had taught him. He doubted it would
work, but he needed to do something – needed time to think.

“Why have
you allowed yourself to remain uninformed?” Specter responded.

Sebastian
watched him, watched his eyes, looking for his next move. But
Specter’s eyes stayed dark, his face a blank. Another trick
he’d taught Sebastian, practiced until it had become a deeply
ingrained habit.

Specter hefted
Josephine as if her weight had started to bother him, which Sebastian
knew it hadn’t. “We’ll just wait around until one
of my
trusted
followers returns. With the brat. If nobody
does, Josephine and I will just have to go looking for her.”

Sebastian
adjusted his grip on his blade. “Ian.”

Specter raised
his eyebrows in query.

“The girl
you keep referring to. Her name is Ian.”

Specter snorted.
“I don’t care if her name is Mary, Queen of Scots. She’s
traitor’s spawn.”

Sebastian
shifted his weight. “If Kent betrayed the pack, what does it
have to do with Ian?”

Specter laughed.
Both Josephine and Amanda whimpered at the sound. “What an
interesting case of morals you’ve developed!” Specter
hefted Josephine over his shoulder. “Tell me, how else have I
ever disposed of traitors?”