Locked in Silence: Grimm's Circle, Book 5 (16 page)

Sighing, Silence shoved to his feet and paced. Even after all this time, Will could manage to make him feel the fool, the child. Shaking his head, he looked back at the other man.
That is some of it—I won’t lie. But it’s more than that. I
—

He stopped, hesitating. He was stripping himself bare here, leaving himself open and exposed.
I’m
not
complete. In here
. He tapped his chest. There was a void in there, something incomplete, something wrong—he’d always suspected it—it was what kept others from forming a bond with him, why he hadn’t been able to bond with others. His mother had seen it, surely. It hadn’t just been his gifts that had made her scream in terror, had it?

In his mind, he swore.
Mommy issues—damn it all
.

He shoved it aside and looked at Will. He wasn’t going to try to analyze everything in his head right now. He knew what he needed to know—he wasn’t what Vanya needed. He signed,
I’m not what she needs—I’m not complete, Will. She deserves better
.

“You weren’t complete…until her.” Will came over and sat on the coffee table, staring at Silence. Leaning forward, he braced his elbows on his knees. “As to being what she needs, I’d think that should be her call.”

Silence scowled, shifting uncomfortably as a memory danced through his mind. He’d called her beautiful…and she’d argued.

Don’t you think I should be the one who decides?
he’d asked her.

As though he could follow Silence’s thoughts, Will smiled. “It should be up to her,” Will murmured.

Silence shook his head.
No. She deserves so much more. Damn it, I want her to have somebody who can make her laugh, somebody who can make her smile. Her life has been hell and this life will not be any easier. She should have somebody at her side who can tell her all the wonderful things she deserves to hear.

Smirking, Will cocked a brow. “Oh, you’re really reaching now…tell me something, Silence…can
you
talk to her?”

As Silence narrowed his eyes, the other man smiled.

“Can’t you tell her all the wonderful things she deserves to hear?” Will asked gently. “Do you really think she
cares
if you say them out loud or she only hears them in her mind? I can tell you…she doesn’t. It means something, you know…after more than three hundred years, you find somebody who
hears
you. You’re a psychic null, Silence, and you know it. I can’t hear a damn thing from you—and neither can our other psychics. If she can, it’s because she’s
meant
to. That means something.”

He stood, moving to stand by the window, staring outside. “I can’t make you do anything, though. This is your choice, and if you won’t do the right thing, well…” Will shrugged. “If you insist on not following your heart, I can’t force you to do otherwise.”

He shifted his gaze, silvery eyes glowing. “But I can tell you this—you were right. Vanya’s had a hard life. Too hard. And I won’t torture her by keeping her with a man who refuses to love her. She deserves better and she won’t find it if you insist on sticking to this path.”

It took a minute for him to understand what Will was telling him. Silence curled one hand into a loose fist.
You’re telling me that you will take her away from me
.

“Well, that would imply she is
yours
,” Will said slowly. “And it sounds to me as though you’re determined to talk yourself out of any possibility of that.”

Denial screamed through him.

No—

The calm, rational part of him whispered,
This is best. This is the easiest way. You will be alone, as you prefer to be, and she will be—

Silence turned away. She’d be away from him.

Shaken, he rubbed the heel of his hand over his chest, stunned to realize just how much it hurt to think about that.

“Is that what I should do, Silence?”

He looked at Will. He wanted to scream out,
No
! Even opened his mouth, although the word would come out soundless. His hands, suddenly clumsy, lifted. Then he stopped. Confused, he stared at Will.

Finally, he signed out hesitantly,
I don’t know
.

Something that might have been disappointment glinted in Will’s eyes. “Well, perhaps you need to figure it out.” Then his gaze clouded and started to glow, like the moon coming out from behind a bank of clouds. “You might not have much time to make that decision either, old friend. Something just shifted things around a bit.”

Something
?

“You need to make a decision now—Silence. Either you’re ready to reach for happiness or you’re not. If you are, she’s heading back to the hotel. If you’re not…well, you be anywhere but there and that will tell me what I need to know.”

I don’t care for ultimatums
. Silence glared at him.

“This isn’t about ultimatums. It’s about choices—do you want to be happy? Or are you going to be miserable and alone? It’s that simple.” Will shook his head. “You decide. But I don’t have time to sit here and chat with you anymore.”

Damn it—

But Will was already turning away.

The circle of light formed and Will stepped through it.

Silence lunged but it closed before he was close enough.

Chapter Eight

Vanya gaped at
the stooped, bent little figure of the hotel owner. “What do you mean I can’t have my room back? I told you I’d cover the damage—I’ve always been good for it, right?”

“It’s not that.” He sighed and wiped his balding head with a handkerchief he tugged out of his hip pocket. “It was your…ah…friend. And he’s already covered the damage. But when he came by to check you out this morning, he offered me…well, some money if I didn’t let you check back in, Miss Vanya. And I need the money. My wife and I, we’re looking to move, and as soon as we can. Besides, I gave my word. So…I’m sorry. But you can’t stay here.”

Silence, you bastard.

She could have slugged him.

Wanted to slug him—was even tempted to storm back to the hotel and do just that.

Except he was probably expecting her to show back up.

Jackass.

Hell.

She’d roughed it on her own before.

She could do it again. Hitching one of the bags up, she gave the hotel owner a sour smile and went to turn.

There was a man blocking the doorway.

A shiver raced down her spine as she met his eyes.

Nothing human there…

Her skin wasn’t doing that odd, weird little itch and crawl it liked to do with the incubae-type demons, though. He wasn’t possessed by one of them. She didn’t know what he was, either.

She’d only run across a few of the different kinds of things.

He barely glanced at her, a smile on his face. “Hello, Dad.”

A weird sound—a rushing, pulsating sound—filled the air.

His heartbeat. The old man’s heart. He was afraid. Shifting around so she could see him and the demonic, she eased her bag down on one of the broken-down chairs.

“Bobby. I didn’t know you were back in town.”

Bobby smiled. “Yeah.”
 

Then he glanced at Vanya. “Maybe you can leave now. Me and my old man have some catching up to do.”

She braced herself and lowered her shields. It was a good thing she’d had some practice because, otherwise, there was no way she could have hidden her horror at the intense, soul-sucking hunger she felt from him. Hunger from him…and terror from the old man.

Leave, Vanya. Leave while you can
, the old man was thinking, even as he grieved for himself. His wife.
Damn you, Bobby…what happened to you…

The rush of his thoughts was too much, unclear and erratic, so hard for her to follow. But she knew what she needed to know without his thoughts. The old man was human.

And the thing that had been his son? Wasn’t. She was facing a demon.

Catching up…yeah. She could imagine the catching up they had to do.

She had enough of a read on Bobby to know what he planned on doing. He was going to feast on the old man over there. Then on his wife. Then on everybody else in their family.

Soul eater.

That’s what this one was.

What had Silence called them?

Orin
—

With a smile, she said, “Sure. I just need to check a few things first—I’ve got a long walk ahead of me.” She pretended to root through the bag, palming the bladed staff Silence had ordered for her, using her body to hide it. As she straightened up, she pretended to sway, stagger.

She stumbled against the counter and the older man rushed around to catch her. As he steadied her, she caught his arm and did something she hadn’t tried to do with anybody but Silence or her sister.
Get the hell out of here. Now
.

His eyes widened.

Out loud, she said plaintively, “I’m feeling a little dizzy. Can you get me a Coke or something?”

Get out of here. He wants to hurt you and I think you know it. Now get out.

His eyes slid past her to the man waiting just behind them.

Then they widened and he tried to shove her out of the way.

Vanya ducked just in time to avoid a blow that would have caved in the skull of a normal person. She shoved the old man backward and snarled at him. “Go!”

The old man shook his head and swallowed. “You don’t know what you’re doing. He’s…he’s dangerous.”

“I know.” She sighed and reached for her weapon. Turning, she faced the orin. Either the old man would run or he wouldn’t. She couldn’t do anything about him now.

The orin was her main problem.

He was eying her narrowly, an appraising look on his face. As she shrugged out of her denim jacket, a smile curled his lips. “You know, most of your kind wait until dark for this shit,” she said, scowling.

“Well…what can I say? I was hungry.”

She felt a strange press against her mind and smiled. “Sorry. You can’t touch me. I’m sort of off-limits.” She flicked her wrist and watched as the staff extended, blades emerging.

“Hmmm. But I bet you’d be tasty. Why
are
you off-limits?”
 

She twirled her staff and smiled at him—smiled, despite the fear quaking inside her. She didn’t think she was ready to go solo against a bruiser. This one wasn’t going to be distracted with a lure and false promise of sex, and there was something about the way he watched her that made her think he’d enjoy a fight.

“Why don’t you figure it out?” she asked him, flashing him a cheeky smile.

She felt that nudge against her mind again, and this time, she was aware of something else as well—heat flaring against her skin, right where the pendant she wore rested between her breasts.

What did that mean? Silence had told her…Will.

Will’s way of communicating with her, but what was he telling her?

She was going to take a stab in the dark and hope it meant he knew she was in trouble. She focused her thoughts on Will—she knew he could pick up on them, she just hoped she was strong enough to make herself heard.
I don’t know what you’re trying to tell me, angel-boy, but I’m in trouble
.

As she focused once more on the demon, she thought she heard a sigh, followed by a whisper of reply.
I know
.

The demon was still staring at her. Legs spread, hands pressed together, like he was praying, the tips of his index fingers pressed against his lips. “There’s something curious about you,” he murmured. “I can’t quite figure it out…but I don’t think I want the old man anymore. You’ll be more fun.”

Vanya smiled. “If only you knew.”

She saw him tense, lunge—logically, she knew he was moving fast, should have been moving
too
fast.

But after months of working with Silence, she was prepared and she swayed to the side, evading him with ease. As she did, she struck out with her weapon, feeling the blade cut through muscle and flesh like butter. Blood flowed and he snarled.

“Oh, you’ll pay for that, bitch…”

A prickle of unease rose along his spine as the tension from Will’s departure faded. He recognized it too well.

Something new was moving through town—a new threat. He scowled, wishing he could ignore it. What he needed to be doing was figuring out what to do about Vanya—indeed, if he
should
do anything.

Alone is better…

And his heart raged at the idea.

Go after her.
That was what his heart demanded.
Find her—duty will always be there, but will she?

Will would take her away.

If he hesitated too long, Will would take her from him, and somehow, Silence understood she would be lost to him if he didn’t take action
now
.

Yet he felt trapped—once more, imprisoned. But it was silence that held him captive, and it wasn’t walls of stone, wasn’t chains or even paltry rope.

It was fear.

His own fear.

So much time alone and he feared relinquishing that solitude.

So you will give up this chance?

He started to pace, shoving his hands through his hair, locking them behind his neck. Torn. Did he go after her? Did he let her
go
?

Swearing, he spun around and gripped a bedpost, staring outside. But he didn’t see the vivid green of the trees, didn’t see that brilliant blue of the sky, the quaintly done buildings.

He saw only her.

Will knew Silence’s indecision—wished he could do something, say something. Impotence gnawed at him with greedy, small, sharp teeth. “Go,” he whispered. “
Now
.”

Watching with his mind’s eye, he smiled as Silence slowly lifted his head, his eyes narrowed, shoulders set. It was the look of resolution on his friend’s face—

Duty be damned
, Silence said, the words soundless. But Will knew what he said. Closing his eyes, he nodded. “Go on, then,” he said softly.

He was about to close the link that let him watch when he saw something catch the other Grimm’s attention.

Narrowing his focus, he saw what Silence had seen.

The television—

“We interrupt this program to bring you this live update.”