Charissa Dufour - Misguided Allies (The Void Series Book 2) Page 4

  “You okay?” he asked as he skidded to a stop and took in her expression.

  “Fine. What do you want?”

  “We need to talk.”

  “About?”

  “Us.”

  “There’s nothing to talk about. We’re over. We’ve been over for months.”

  “I don’t accept that.”

  Sam rolled her tired eyes. “Because you’re parents have told you not to accept it? Chad, I’m no fool. There’s no way you want to marry a Void. Your parents want an alliance with my family and that’s it.”

  Chad shook his head.

  “I won’t be someone’s meal ticket. You guys want in with my parents then you’ll have to find some other way. Marry my brother.”

  Sam turned to leave just as Chad’s hand snaked out to catch her arm.

  “Sam, my parents may be pushing me, but I would be here begging you to take me back even if they weren’t. I want you… for you. Nothing else.”

  Sam swallowed a sudden lump in her throat. She was so tired. Captain Reynolds could have said something nice and made her blubber like a baby. She looked down at his hand until he released her arm.

  “Sorry. I just can’t believe that. No one wants me.”

  “How can I prove it?”

  “You can’t.”

  Sam turned to leave, and this time he allowed her to go.

  “I’m gonna try all the same,” he told her back.

  Sam finally reached Heywood’s house. She trudged up the steps, amazed that it had only been twelve hours since she last walked up them. Her body felt as though it had been a week of sleepless night.

  Heywood met her at the top of the stairs.

  “You reek. Go shower and get some sleep. I’ll wake you when it’s time for the pick-up.”

  Sam nodded, hoisted herself up the last few steps, and stumbled into the bathroom. She had spent enough nights at Heywood’s house that she had a supply of clothing available. She showered, dressed, and collapsed on her bed. The room Heywood had given her was just as bizarre as the vampire himself. The room was decked in white furniture, trimmed with lavender and dark purple fabrics, and exceptionally large compared to the usual bedrooms of the Res.

  Sam woke to the strange feeling of someone brushing her hair out of her eyes. She jerked upright, thrashing out to make contact with the person. Out of instinct, she began to drain their power. It only took her a second to recognize the taste of the power and pull her hand away. She didn’t need to touch someone to drain their power, it just increased her effectiveness.

  Though Sam might forget a person’s name or face, she never forgot the taste of their powers. Even though her eyes were hazy with sleep and she was only half awake, she knew she had just begun to drain Heywood.

  Sam swallowed the fear building in her chest and blinked the sleep from her eyes.

  Heywood might have looked like a rebellious teenager most of the time, but when he chose to he could make her piss her pants with fear. He glared down at her, his fangs showing through his parted lips.

  Sam worked to control her gift. It had tasted Heywood’s power and it wanted more. Her gift wasn’t alone. She wanted more too. Her tattoo, designed to help her control her gift, itched as she fought against the urge to drain him.

  “Sorry,” she whispered.

  “It’s time for the pick-up.”

  Sam groaned as she climbed out of the bed.

  “Where?”

  “South eastern drop point.”

  Sam nodded. She was used to doing these pick-ups. Ever since she had killed Heywood’s second-in-command, she had taken over his duties. While Lee needed to die, she had not foreseen these consequences. He had murdered her friend—and his girlfriend—Becky and, despite the disaster her life had turned into as a result, Sam didn’t regret ending the vampire’s life.

  She slipped past Heywood before he could think of a punishment for taking his powers and jogged down the long staircase. The sun had set, dropping the temperature well below freezing. The gusting wind whipping around the enclosed village didn’t help any. Sam wrapped her arms around her chest, trying to conserve as much body heat as she could. Her leather jacket was not appropriate for an Illinois winter. Then again, most mystics were not equipped for the cold weather.

  Sam took off at a brisk walk, hurrying out onto the main street. She headed south. Despite the fact three-fourths of the Res population were safely in their beds, the vampires ruled the streets at night. All the same, they knew who Sam was and who she worked for, not to mention her own ability to drain them of their own magic.

  Even so, they didn’t all work for Heywood. There was still Peyton’s gang to contend with.

  Sam weaved through the small groups clumped here and there, happy to be free of their homes. Some eyed her as she moved but she ignored them. As she began to near the river, she watched for an opening and ducked between the Res’ orphanage and school. They were smaller buildings compared to the enormous warehouses, but still stood four stories tall.

  The narrow pathway between the two buildings was lined with debris. Behind the orphanage and the school sat the hospital and the morgue. At the far end of the narrow path running between the buildings, she stopped and looked up at the wall.

  The Reservation was surrounded first by a chain-link fence topped with razor wire. Three feet beyond the fence stood the enormous wall—three feet thick at the base and tapering up to a foot and half at the top—also topped with razor wire edging a catwalk used by the patrol guards.

  All this was for the inmate’s safety, or so they said. Supposedly there were humans that wanted to hurt the mystics.

  A load of bullshit, Sam thought as she watched the guard from her place in shadows.

  The humans insisted there was no access point other than the one gate on the northwestern corner of the Reservation. Of course, they were a bunch of idiots.

  She watched the patrol officer saunter back to the stopping point, where he met with another officer and traded a smoke. Being December, the guards were trussed up in their winter gear, their heads cloaked in snug hoods and their eyes protected from the stinging wind by enormous goggles. The get-up diminished their line of sight. As the two guards exchanged pleasantries, Sam scurried to the fence and pried the hole open with her numb fingers. She slipped past and ducked into the shadows of the wall.

  Staying on her haunches, she peered up at the humans. Despite the tendrils of her stark white hair which nearly glowed in the moonlight that had slipped past her black beanie, they hadn’t noticed her. She needed a haircut.

  Ignoring her cosmetic issues, she crawled along the wall to the loose panel. Her red fingers ached with every touch. It was just too cold.

  Even if the wall hadn’t been lined with iron, the panel would have burned with the cold. But it was iron, and just touching it seared her fingers until she struggled not to cry out. Slowly, she pulled the panel open until she could pull the backpack out of the slot. She replaced it with an empty pack, slung the full one over her shoulders, and checked on the patrol officers.

  They were still chatting, their heads turned away. She dashed to the fence, practically falling through the hole. With hurting fingers, she pulled the links back into place until the slice wasn’t immediately obvious. Once she was certain the guards weren’t watching, Sam jogged to the cover of the hospital building.

  Sam froze, suddenly finding herself face to face with a small group of men—vampires by the feel of their magic.

  “Hello, Void,” said their ring leader.

  Sam squinted at them. Unlike the vampires, she couldn’t see in the dark of the night. Thankfully, the moon was nearly full, and she could make out enough details to know they were part of the rival gang. Though the other group of vampires were far from a threat to Heywood and his gang, they could still cause her a world of hurt.

  “Hello, stranger,” she replied, trying to sound snotty rather than scared to death.

  “Thanks for retrieving the b
ag for us. Saves us a couple nights of searching.”

  Sam smiled. “What bag?” she asked despite the fact she had a pack hanging from her shoulder.

  The leader laughed. “I had heard you had a big mouth.”

  “Did you also hear that I can kill you with my mind?” she asked; it wasn’t technically true, but close enough.

  The laugh sputtered to a stop. “That’s the rumor, but can you take on five vampires at once?”

  Sam kept her face still, not revealing her doubt. The truth was, she had never tried to drain from five mystics at once. She had no idea if it could even do it, but she didn’t want them to know she wasn’t sure.

  “Care to find out?” she asked with a smile, exuding confidence she didn’t feel.

  The truth was, every bone in her ached with exhaustion, cold, and fear. She wanted nothing more than to take from them, to enjoy the power they held in their bodies.

  In a blink of an eye, the nearest vampire raced toward her. Sam let her gift out, giving it free range. The vampire dropped dead a foot in front of her. Sam felt her veins pulse with the new power. Suddenly the cold didn’t bother her anymore. The only problem was, she was now full to bursting. She couldn’t drain another vampire until she released the power built up within her. The next vampire was already moving before she realized her dilemma.

  She stepped to the side at the last second, pressing herself up against the brick wall, meanwhile leaving her foot out. The vampire tripped over her limb, effectively breaking her ankle in the process. She might have the borrowed speed and agility of a vampire, but she didn’t have their durability. Sam screamed with the pain, leaning more of her weight against the wall.

  The power of the vampire began to leak into the ankle, working to knit the bone back together. Sam felt the power moving through her, as though warm liquid was washing down her leg—or more accurately, like she was having an accident and the urine was washing down her leg. Within seconds she could put her weight on it again. Another vampire rushed forward, knocking his companion down within the narrow confines between the brick buildings.

  The vampire knocked her off her feet before she could react, taking to the ground in a painful thud. Sam grabbed his shoulder, taking more power from him, but she was too close to full. All she did was slow him down. The vampire responded in kind, biting her neck and sucking on her blood.

  Before she could respond, the sky lit up with a spark.

  Sam groaned. Not because of the pain in her neck, but from the sensation of the new player in the game. His power was too distinctive to miss. It made her hungry and horny all at the same time.

  The vampire sprawled across her was oblivious to his new enemy. All the same, he was draining her quickly. As her stolen power worked to heal her, she clapped a hand to the vampire’s cheek and began to take more power. At this rate they would drain each other in a continuous cycle. The only thing was, her stolen power could only do so much against the continuous blood loss.

  Sam blinked as the darkness began to invade her vision and her muscles grew weak. Slowly, her hand slipped from the vampire’s cheek as unconsciousness beckoned her. Just as she began to give up, the body was lifted from her chest, his teeth tearing a hole in her neck.

  Sam tried to sit up, but before she could manage the simple feat, a pair of strong, warm hands pushed her down again, one going to the gash in her neck and applying pressure.

  “Hold still,” he ordered.

  “What’re you doin’ hrrr,” she slurred.

  “Saving you’re life,” replied Roman.

  “I totally had it unner control.”

  “Yeah, I can see that. Okay. Sit up slowly.”

  Sam brushed his hand away and jerked herself upright. Stars danced before her eyes and the walls of the nearby buildings spun, but she refused to show her discomfort to the mage. He didn’t need to know how close she’d come to dying.

  “What’re you doing out here so late?” he asked.

  “I could ask you the same thing. I at least live in the Res,” she said, wincing at the heat in her voice.

  She hadn’t intended on saying any of that.

  Roman just lifted an eyebrow in response.

  “Whatever. I gotta go,” she grumbled, climbing to her feet.

  Roman grabbed her elbow to stabilize her as she stumbled against the brick wall. She shrugged out of his grasp. If she felt his warm skin against hers she might not be able to make herself leave. He grabbed her arm again, stopping her from leaving.

  “Why did you run away last night?”

  Sam winced. She wasn’t up to discussing their relationship, mostly because she didn’t have the stamina for a long fight. She had no doubt he would fight her, wanting her back in his bed.

  “I shouldn’t have been there in the first place.”

  “Why not? I thought you broke up with that boy. Chad?”

  “Yes. We’re broken up.”

  “Then what’s the issue?” Roman demanded.

  “I told you last night. I can’t be with you and not drain you.”

  “You think a lot of yourself, don’t you?”

  “Just being honest,” she replied before turning and walking away.

  She heard Roman curse to himself but, to her relief, he didn’t follow her.

  Sam had just reached the main road when someone raced to her side, grabbing her arm. She was just about to release her gift when she realized it was Amber.

  “Someone’s been murdered,” Amber said, completely ignoring the fact they weren’t on speaking terms. “C’mon!”

  And with that, Sam raced off after Amber.

  Chapter Five

  Sam tried not to think about Amber or what could have possibly possessed her to turn to the friend she now hated. They ran up the spiral driveway of the old parking garage up to the third story where Amber lived and to the door of her next door neighbor.

  Amber stepped out of her way, allowing Sam to enter first. Sam adjusted the straps of her backpack, a little concerned to be entering a crime scene with contraband strapped to her back. Amber followed her slowly, leaving a large gap between them. The victim lived in one of the few one bedroom apartments. Sam glanced into the bedroom. It looked as though someone had been sleeping in the bed but had gotten up. Nothing other than the rumpled sheets looked out of place.

  Sam moved forward into the apartment until she reached the living room. A man lay on the floor, one leg hooked over the seat of a dining room chair, as though he had slipped out of the chair as he died.

  “Is this who I think it is?” she asked, staring at the middle-aged man.

  Amber nodded. “Chris Green.”

  Sam winced. She didn’t know Mr. Green personally but, like the last victim, she knew him by reputation. He was a leader of the Föld Clan, whose magic dealt in the powers of the earth.

  “Look for the staff,” Sam whispered. “But make sure you don’t touch anything.”

  “You really think the feds would do fingerprinting?” Amber asked.

  “I don’t want to risk it.”

  Sam lowered herself to her haunches and tilted her head to look at Mr. Green. His eyes were open, already hazed over with death. Sam reached up to snag a thin cloth rag. Keeping it between her fingers and his skin, she felt for a pulse. Unsurprisingly there was none. Sam eyed the two puncture marks on the fae’s neck. One looked larger than the other. Blood trailed across the bent neck and pooled on the floor.

  “I can’t find the staff,” Amber said as she returned to the living room.

  “They took it,” Sam said, more to herself than to Amber.

  “Who? The vampires?”

  Sam glanced up at her from her hunched position. “Ever seen a vampire waste blood like this?”

  She had spent enough time with the vampires to know how they fed. Heywood never wasted a drop if he could help it.

  Amber looked at the puddle that spread out away from the wound. “Could they be new vampires?”

  Sam shrugged.
“Could be.”

  Sam pushed herself to her feet, the rag still in hand, as she glanced around the room. The dining room chair nearest the entrance was knocked over. A few kitchen utensils had been dumped on the floor and the table sat askew. Other than that, there wasn’t much sign of a struggle. If anything, it looked more like the rapid movements of a speedy attack than the struggle between a powerful fae and a vampire.

  “Why did you come find me?” Sam asked, not looking at her former best friend.

  “You solved Becky’s murder.”

  “And?”

  “And our people are getting killed. You heard about Brian Stevenson getting killed in the alleyway.”

  Sam nodding, refraining from sharing that she had found his body.

  “Unless you don’t care about your people anymore, I thought you would be the best person to solve this.”

  Sam hesitated a moment before nodding. “Give me a fifteen minute head start, then tell the feds what you found. Don’t mention me seeing it.”

  Amber frowned at her. “Is your Heywood involved in this?”

  “No. At least, I don’t think so, but I have no doubts the feds will look at him first. And my association with him is known to the feds. Let me get clear of the building before you tell them.”

  Amber stared at her, doubt coloring her expression.

  “I can’t figure this out from inside Solitary. If you want me to figure out who is actually doing this, I need to not be a suspect myself. After all, you brought me into this.”

  Amber appeared to be chewing on her own teeth for a moment before she nodded. Sam didn’t waste any time, but left the apartment, the cloth tucked into her pocket.

  She picked up her pace as the night wind whipped past her leather jacket. A few feet away from the entrance, Sam lifted the rag into the wind and let it blow the rag away. She scurried into Heywood’s neighborhood and up to her boss’ door.

  To her surprise, Heywood himself opened the door.

  “You’re late.”