The werewolf chuckled, but the arrogance in his pose deflated a little in recognition of who was the greater alpha here. I didn’t push the matter far enough to force him to outright cower in front of his associates. There might be times when it’d be useful to call in a favor from this man in the future. Aggression got you farthest in the long run when tempered by diplomacy.
“We’re not here as bodyguards or to gawk,” he said. “I got the impression last time we spoke that you wouldn’t mind a little assistance with all this battling. Well, here we are. We can battle on our own behalf. Just point us at the bastards who need gutting.”
I had to stiffen my expression to hide my shock. He was willing to step into a conflict that didn’t directly involve him yet—and not just offering his own allegiance, but that of his followers as well?
“I got the impression you didn’t give a shit what happened to the rest of the shadowkind as long as you and your comrades weren’t affected,” I said, keeping my tone dry. “What changed your tune?”
“Oh, we’re affected now.” A growl crept into the werewolf’s voice. “This is our city, and those assholes think they can burn down the fucking Finger? Maybe I’m not going to join you on any epic quests to win justice for all, but they clearly need to be taught a lesson.”
I managed to stop my gaze from twitching in Sorsha’s direction. From the corner of my eye, I could see her lips had pressed tight. It seemed wisest not to mention that it was one of my associates and not the Company who’d reduced the better part of that monstrosity of a statue to ashes.
“So they do,” I said without missing a beat. “And who better to deliver that lesson than you and your followers.” A smile curved my own mouth. “I’m looking forward to seeing how much damage we can inflict on them together. If I have it my way, they’ll never light so much as a cigarette around here again. Let’s get down to work.”
We’d just finished filling the gang in on what we knew and our plans so far—“Infecting their computer system,” Tassel purred. “I like it.”—when Birch emerged from the master bedroom. Somehow his nearly translucent skin looked even paler than it had when he’d gone in. His voice seemed to have faded too.
“The unicorn shifter will live,” he murmured roughly. “She woke up enough to exchange words with her partner. It may take another day or two before she can even move around on her feet, though. I’ve suggested they retire to the shadow realm until she’s fully recovered, as soon as she’s strong enough to make the leap through a rift.”
“You’ve got yourself a unicorn shifter?” Rex gave a disbelieving guffaw and then snapped his fingers at the troll. “That reminds me of something. Laz, fill Birch in on what he missed. Omen, a word?”
We stepped into the second bedroom—and damn if I couldn’t still scent a trace of the passion Sorsha must have shared with at least one of my shadowkind companions in the past couple of days. I willed it out of my awareness before my thoughts could linger on the moment in the yard when her body, her lips, had drawn me in with a nearly magnetic pull before I’d broken out of the spell. “What?”
The werewolf rubbed his hands together. “On the subject of unusual and powerful allies… I don’t remember many details—this was at least a couple of decades ago, though not so long it couldn’t be relevant. The Highest were searching for a particularly virile and apparently unpredictable shadowkind in this realm back then. I got the impression this one had caused some kind of chaos they needed to settle. Can’t remember the name they asked us about… A red stone of some sort. Jasper? Garnet?”
“Is this story going anywhere?” I asked, as though my interest wasn’t already piqued.
“I’m getting there. From what I heard from my contacts, they were looking for this red-stone-name all over the country. Maybe farther out too. And they specifically told us not to engage with the shadowkind if we got any word. It was too great a risk, and we should let them handle it.” He grinned. “I never heard that they caught that one. If you could track this Jasper or Garnet or whatever down… That’d be someone to have on your side in this war with the mortals, don’t you think? Could be almost as much a rebel as you are.”
I had a vague recollection of hearing murmurs about this subject, but I’d mostly been shadow-side during that time. As it probably had back then too, the first thought that flitted through my mind was of a being long-gone. I didn’t think the Highest had ever taken issue with anyone more than they had with Tempest, my once some-time partner-in-crime, and she’d gone through guises like mortals shed clothes… but I’d watched the minions of the ancient ones batter her to a pulp centuries ago. The sphynx was long gone, and we were likely all better for it. I doubted she’d ever have reformed.
Whoever this newer rebel was, it certainly sounded as though they had energy and guts to spare. Stumbling on them would be a longshot, but a possibility to file away all the same.
“I’ll keep that in mind,” I said. “If we need the extra assistance in the first place. I say we crush the bastards tonight and end things there.”
“That works for me.” Rex bumped shoulders with me hesitantly, as if half expecting me to take a bite out of him for his forwardness. I settled on a simple glare. He hadn’t needed to offer anywhere near this much help. I could allow a little chumminess.
And maybe not just with him. When we returned to the living room, my eyes settled on Sorsha—sitting cozied up to Ruse now, poking Thorn in his massive bicep without any fear of the wingéd’s power, shooting a snappy response back at something Tassel had said. Like she belonged here.
Could I really say she didn’t? Correct blame for the fire aside, I doubted Rex would be here at all if she hadn’t laid into him about his self-centeredness.
Our mortal and her hope springing eternal.
I just had to keep a careful eye on all the other emotions her presence tended to stir in me. There was no room for distractions. We had a conspiracy of humans to destroy—and I intended to see them fall before the night was done.
30
Sorsha
In taking on the Company of Light, we’d faced old office buildings, modern lab facilities, and now what might as well have been a castle, set well back on its sprawling lawn. I wouldn’t be surprised if the man who owned the old mansion figured he really was some kind of king. Victor Bane—that was a super-villain name if I’d ever heard one. If that even was his real name and not yet another layer of subterfuge.
Thanks to Birch’s healing efforts just before we’d headed out, my no-longer-wounded stomach could rest against my thighs in my crouched position without pain prickling through it. I scanned the yard from my perch on the branch of an oak tree in Bane’s neighbor’s backyard. Thorn’s initial scouting through the shadows had shown him about twenty armed guards on the premises outside the building, and I could make out several of them stalking along in their patrols.
No big deal. We were more than ready for them. Bane or whoever couldn’t know that we’d more than doubled our numbers since the Company’s last assault on us, or I suspected he’d have called in every man he could.