Soul Avenged (Sons of Wrath, #1) (27 page)

“Magnus,
huh?”

“He’s Gavin’s.
Had I not been with you, you’d be dead. They’re trained to kill
trespassers.” She stared Kane directly in the eyes. “Particularly
lycans. On sight. And they’ve not had much exercise, so Magnus here
would’ve welcomed the chase.”

“How many
hellhounds are there?”

Ayden
shrugged. “About three of them. But they follow Magnus. So, if he’s
good with you, the others will back off.” She patted Magnus
broadside and the dog took off back into the woods.

“I’m surprised
there are
any
rabbits around here with those things running
around.” Kane kept his sights on the dog as it retreated and
disappeared into the dark woods.

Ayden stared
at him for a moment. “You didn’t run.”

“That’s a bad
thing?”

“No. A fully
turned lycan would have sized the threat. Magnus is enormous.”

It suddenly
occurred to Kane how stupid he’d reacted. The dog could’ve probably
torn him apart if not for Ayden. “Could a hellhound take on a
lycan?”

“Depends on
the lycan.”

“What’s the
difference between them?”

“Only one.”
Ayden finally stood up from her crouch. “Hellhounds
can
be
controlled.”

“So what
happens when you’ve found
your
big elusive prey? You said,
before, vengeance is what motivates you.”

“I keep
killing you off.” She bent forward, picked up a ball of snow in her
hands and packed it together. “You say you did good things at your
job. I feel like I’m saving lives with mine. Every one of you that
I kill means another family spared.” She chucked the snowball at
the skinny trunk of an aspen about ten yards away. It smashed dead
center into a white mist.

Ayden tipped
her head and paused for a moment, and Kane glanced across for what
had seized her focus.

The sun shone
down on the snow in dazzling crystals.
Pretty
. His attention
turned back to Ayden. “I wish you’d stop clumping me together in
the same group. Does it count for something that I’ll be dead
before I become one?”

“Lots of
things are going to happen to you between now and then, lycan.
Things you can’t control. Anger you didn’t know you felt. You’ll
develop speed, agility, strength.” She twisted to face him, a
hardness settling across her features. “All the attributes that
make you an effective weapon.”

The visual
sank into the pit of his stomach. Sure he’d contemplated the
options, but had he truly considered what he faced in just a few
days? Death and, what essentially sounded like, more death. “Will I
look like one of them before it’s done?”

“No. The final
maturation occurs on the last day. It’s when the on-off switch is
programmed in your DNA.”

“On-off?”

“Folklore will
tell you that werewolves change with the full moon.” She shook her
head as though irritated. “Stories. Fairytales. Lycans change at
will.”

“Then, why
have I never seen one until recently?”

“Their
animalistic instincts make them nocturnal. And their pack keeps
them in line.” She tucked her hands into her pockets and turned to
face him. “If humans ever managed to get the upper hand on a Lycan,
their species would be at risk. Humans outnumber them.
Luckily
for the lycans, only the Alexi have the concentrated
Lywa antibody. And Wade doesn’t plan to hand it over to
anyone.”

“So, the
government isn’t aware that this antibody exists?”

“Not yet. And
God help you when they do. Imagine mass vaccinations across the
globe, as if you were some kind of Influenza strain they were
trying to eradicate.” A smug satisfaction colored her tone. “Lycans
would die off.”

“Do the wolves
know about the antibody?”

She glanced
away. “Not as far as I know. They’ve evolved over centuries to know
that worthy opponents rise and fall. But I don’t think they know
that a cure exists specifically against their venom.”

Kane sneered.
“So they look at you as just another supernatural, born to kick
their ass?”

“Pretty much.
Not the smartest species in the world.”

For Kane,
something still didn’t click about it all. “Why wouldn’t the Alexi
share this if your mission is to eradicate them?”

“Because the
only thing I do give Wade credit for, is knowing that, in the wrong
hands, the antibody can do more harm than good.”

He rubbed his
jaw and smiled. “Then, why are you telling me this?”

“To ensure
that I kill you.” Ayden grinned. “Are you ready to go inside
now?”

“Yes.”

Shoes crunched
in the snow as they made their way back. Kane kept his hands in his
pockets, glancing around at the scenery. “Man, how could I miss all
of this these years?”

“What?”

“Life. The
outdoors. The sun. The scents.” He glanced over at Ayden.

She stepped
onto a patch of snow and her body gave way beneath her.

Kane’s arm
shot out, catching her mid-fall.
What the hell?
With Ayden’s
elbow in his clutch, his eyes widened. Had he ever moved so
quickly?

She reclaimed
her balance. “And so it’s begun.”

***

Ayden led him
through a small passage on the side of the house, one connected to
a hallway. She halted when she realized Kane’s footsteps no longer
chased her own, and turned to see him staring at the pictures
lining the walls.

“Wow. These
are fantastic shots.” He leaned into one of the photographs in its
frame.

She stood
silent beside him.

“Amazing.
You’d never know this was Detroit.” Kane shook his head. “My dad
and I went to a game at Tiger Stadium before it closed. Kinda hard
to see it like this. The photographer did a great job capturing its
abandoned look.”

“I’m the
photographer.”

His gaze
darted to the side. “You?” There was a hint of disbelief in his
voice that struck Ayden.

“Yeah. Me.”
Her tone was curt.

“No offense, I
just … I was under the impression that slayers, well, slayed all
day long.”

She couldn’t
help the chuckle that escaped her. “Sometimes we need a break.
Severing heads can be taxing at times.”

“I’ll bet.”
Kane smiled and turned back to the photographs. “You’ve got
incredible talent, Ayden. The lighting, the angles. What’s your
weapon of choice?”

An enormous
grin spread across her face. “Hasselblad. 60. Wide lens.”

“Holy!
Seriously? Ah, shit, I didn’t think those really existed.”

She nodded.
“Gavin lets me use it. I was so freakin’ nervous the first time I
held it. Like, shaking the whole time.” Her hands flew up to
demonstrate. “Those pictures turned out pretty crap.” She chuckled.
“You know about photography?”

“Nah. I’ve
dabbled, but honestly, I suck. Was always better at playing in a
baseball field than taking pictures of one. But I did buy a camera
a while back. Just a flimsy Nikon 16.2.” He smiled. “Thought it
would force me to enjoy my life.”

“And so …”

“It’s …
sitting in the original packaging somewhere in my closet.”

Ayden sneered.
“You’re pathetic, Kane Walker.”

“I know.” He
sighed. “An absolute waste of human body parts.”

She subdued a
grin at that. “They keep the camera in the art studio here. I fell
in love the first time I saw it.”

“This house
has an art studio?”

“This house
has just about everything.”

She crossed
her arms and followed behind as Kane moved toward the next
photograph.

Two young
Hispanic boys with swarthy skin tones and round brown eyes stood
side-by-side, one boy a bit ahead of the other. Their appearance
hinted strongly of their homelessness, but nothing like the
pictures always flashing on TV with sad and helpless faces. Theirs
were hardened, seeming far too wise for their ages.

“Man, it’s
rough to see kids living this kind of life,” Kane said.

“They’d tell
you they were fine. The streets
are
their lives. Put them in
suburbia somewhere and they’d be two lost souls.”

Another step
to the side took him to stand in front of Ayden’s favorite
picture.

“I’ve always
wondered if bums were happy with their lives. You know, free to do
whatever the hell they want, no deadlines, meetings, staffing cuts
to deal with.” He stepped closer to the frame. “Judging from this
guy, I’d say yes.”

An older man,
with rich, black skin and a speckled gray beard sat on the ground
against a building. His hands were in the air, the butt of a
cigarette wedged between his fingers, his lips paused as though in
mid-conversation. The smile on his face revealed a set of slightly
off-white teeth with two missing in the front. The way sunlight hit
his face just right made his eyes sort of sparkle.

“That’s
Solomon. He’s one of the bums I see sometimes along Woodward. It’s
stupid, but … I always,”—Ayden stumbled through her words—“I always
thought he was … well, like …”

“An
angel.”

Her eyes
widened but that spark of interest quickly dulled. “Yeah. If you
believe in that sort of thing.”

“Do you?”

Ayden looked
back at him, the answer lost somewhere in the thick of her silence,
but Kane’s poised body seemed to be begging for a response.

“Gavin framed
these for me,” she said instead, changing the subject to one less
complicated, her tense muscles easing up the moment she did. Why
would she answer such a thing? Had an angel come to her when she
was attacked? Did angels stick around to help those mutilated
families she’d come across while trolling with the Alexi for
survivors who carried the antibody? “He told me I shouldn’t waste
my talent on a city in decay.”

“I think its
exceptional talent when you can extract beauty in the midst of all
that chaos.” He switched from staring at the picture and fixed his
gaze on her, the weight of it suddenly making her
uncomfortable.

Ayden took a
deep breath, words she hadn’t thought out entirely forming on her
tongue.

“There you
are!” Annabelle shouted, hobbling down the dark hallway. “Saw you
outside and thought you might like something warm. I’ve made some
hot cocoa. With marshmallows.” She winked.

Ayden glanced
over at Kane quickly and back to the demon. “No, Annabelle, thank
you.”

Annabelle’s
face turned into something of a frown, if she was capable of such
an expression. “Oh, alright.”

Oh, what
the hell?
It’d make Annabelle feel useful, right? “On second
thought,”—Ayden forced a smile—“maybe I will. I’d love to warm up a
bit.”

Kane and Ayden
followed Annabelle into the dining room, where she’d already set up
the mugs on the table, complete with biscuits to dip.

Ayden huffed
and took a seat. She kept her arms stiff to her sides, clutching
the edge of the chair until Anna left, then pushed the chair away
from the table to keep from looking too intimate with Kane.

“Wow. Hot
cocoa. This is a stretch.” Kane seemed far more comfortable at the
table.

“Stretch?”

“Back into my
childhood. My mom always made it for me when I’d come in from
sledding in the snow. Don’t think I’ve had it since.”

Ayden pushed
hers to the side and watched Kane sip the hot drink. “I’m more of a
coffee person.”

Kane held the
mug to his lips. “Evan Roth.”

“What?”

“You wanted to
know the name of the guy I fired.” He sipped the cocoa, holding the
mug between both palms. “Evan Roth.”

“What was
he?”

“A physical
therapist.”

“Big guy?
Small?” She leaned forward into the table, curiosity piqued.
“Young? Old?”

“Young. I’d
say medium build. Smaller than me, anyway.” Kane smiled. “Well,
now.”

“Where does he
live?”

“No idea.”

She jerked
back into the chair, impatient with Kane’s lack of an answer. “You
have no idea where one of your employees lives?”

“Since I’m not
in the business of stalking and hunting them after work, no. I have
no idea.”

“What the fuck
is this?” A deeper, much more hostile voice broke into the
conversation. “Since when are dogs allowed to eat at the table?”
Logan stood at one end, his arms folded over his chest. “How
goddamn sweet. You’re sharing hot cocoa with it now, Ayden?”

Ayden sat
forward in her chair. “Back off Logan. He’s giving me
information.”

“This is how
you conduct your interrogations? Shit, why don’t you give him a
foot bath while you’re at it?”

***

“She said back
off.” Kane snarled and stopped himself.
Damn, did that just come
out of me?

On him quicker
than Kane’s thoughts could formulate, Logan’s large hands wrapped
firm around Kane’s neck and squeezed.

“I could snap
your fucking head off like a dandelion right now, lycan.” The
tattoo on Logan’s neck undulated with his increased pulse.

A warning
growl thundered in Kane’s throat. “Go ahead, pussy.”

The grip
tightened.

Ayden stood
up, knocking her mug of cocoa to the floor. “Enough!” She stormed
across to Logan. “Five years I’ve waited for this, Logan. Five
years.”

Anna burst
through the door from the kitchen, a towel already dangling from
her hands. “Oh, my!” She hobbled over to where Ayden had spilled
her drink and, using the white towel, began sopping at it.

The fury in
Logan’s eyes boiled over then quickly dissipated. He released
Kane’s neck. Red eyes returned to black, then brown. Logan’s jaw
ticked before he stormed out of the dining room, his heavy boots
pounding against the floor.

“Goodness, his
temper is fierce.” Anna shook her head and sighed. She shuffled
back into the kitchen, cupping the soggy brown towel.