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  “I’m so sorry, Jess,” he whispered. “I only wanted to protect you.”

  “What’s going on with her?” Daniel asked.

  Rickon looked up at him. Daniel could see the pain in his eyes. Pain that only a parent could hold.

  “She’s dying.”

  CHAPTER 15

  Daniel felt like he was just hit with a two by four. He blinked as he looked at Rickon. He would call him on his bluff, only Daniel didn’t think he was bluffing. A tear rolled down from Rickon’s eye. He looked to Robb to tell him this was all a prank. Prank the prankster. The ultimate joke, but when he saw Justin wipe his eyes, Daniel knew this wasn’t a prank. Justin would never cry unless there was truly something to cry about.

  “What can we do?” Ashley asked from behind them.

  “There is nothing you can do,” Rickon said. He still wouldn’t look away from Jessie.

  “She needs rest,” Agnes said. “Please, let’s all go downstairs.”

  Reluctantly, they walked downstairs. Daniel sat on the last step and everyone else fell into chairs. The bar was quiet. It was as if Jessie had already died and this was her funeral.

  No.

  She wasn’t dead and he wouldn’t let her die.

  Not on his watch.

  “I still don’t understand what’s going on,” Ashley said.

  Rickon took a deep breath.

  “Nearly a hundred years ago I fell in love with a woman. She was absolutely beautiful. I never thought I would love again after the boys’ mother died, but there she was. Asteria. Like sunshine in the dead of night. Together we had a beautiful little girl. But Asteria had lied to me, and she gave up her daughter and left us.”

  “What do you mean she lied to you?” Helena asked.

  “She was an Amazon. She was only supposed to mate with me, produce a child, and leave.”

  Helena looked to him, and Daniel could see the rage burning in her eyes.

  “What’s an Amazon?” Daniel asked.

  “A group of elite women,” Helena said through clenched teeth. “A coven of witches.”

  “Witches?” Bender said. He looked to Rickon.

  “Yes,” Rickon said, answering Bender’s unasked question. “Jessie is half wolf and half witch.”

  “Half witch?” Ashley said. “How could you sleep with a witch? You know the consequences!”

  “What consequences?” Aria asked. Daniel could see the confusion on her face. As the newest to the world of the supernatural, she still had much to learn.

  “The Cambions are not to mix the blood. The child could be so powerful that no one could control it,” Ashley answered.

  “Oh.”

  “I didn’t know Asteria was a witch,” Rickon said. “Hell, I didn’t even know she was an Amazon. She lied to me. Anyways, she couldn’t have a wolf in a witch coven, so she gave Jessie to me. I’ve been protecting her ever since. We’ve been having her witch powers bound since she was a child. It had been working, but now the disease has sped up. About six months ago, Jessie started getting nose bleeds.”

  “Disease?” Daniel asked.

  “She is at war with herself,” Agnes said. “The wolf and the witch inside her are trying to gain control. It’s ripping her apart. Eventually one will win, but it will claim her life in the process.”

  “So what do we do?” Daniel asked, standing up.

  “Nothing,” Rickon said, sitting back in his chair.

  “Nothing? How can you say that?”

  “Daniel, you just found out. We have been trying everything for the past six months to stop it, and the best we got is Agnes. If you know a better witch out there, then by all means, speak up.”

  Daniel looked away. There was no better witch than Agnes. But he couldn’t just sit around and do nothing.

  Daniel stood up and walked towards the door.

  “Where are you going?” Ashley asked.

  “I don’t know. But I can’t just sit around waiting for her to die.”

  He walked out the front door and headed to the Quarter. He didn’t know what he was going to do there. Walking around was at least something.

  So that’s what he did.

  He walked.

  The sidewalk was crowded, but not as bad as it could’ve been. The air was cold on his skin, but he welcomed it. The sun was shining on his face. The sky a clear blue.

  And he walked.

  He walked to the cemetery, the zoo, although, he didn’t go in. The animals tended to go crazy around him. They went crazy around all supernatural beings. He kept walking. As if walking would give him the answers.

  He needed to punch something. As if that would help.

  Nothing would help.

  The sun began to set, and it wasn’t long before night fell. The streets became more crowded as people made their way around the city. The smell of jambalaya, chili, and fried green tomatoes filled the air as restaurants hurried to serve their guests.

  And then he caught another smell.

  He lifted his head as a scent blew past him. He followed his nose around another corner until he walked into an alley. To his delight, three demons stood by the dumpster. A smile crossed his lips.

  “You just walked into the wrong alley,” a demon said, turning around.

  “Did I?” Daniel replied. He looked at the gross beings in front of him. Paper white skin and greasy black hair. Almost all demons resembled each other. At least the lesser demons did. Tall, jet-black hair, and pale, ghostly skin.

  Their black beady eyes locked on him as all three demons faced him. Their nails were black and elongated like talons as they stuck out from the leather sleeves.

  Three against one. Didn’t seem fair… for them.

  “Get him, Fargus.” The demon to his left ran at full speed. Daniel ducked and threw the demon over his shoulder. Another demon attacked and Daniel blocked the talons swinging down at his face. He sent his own fist into the demon’s ribs, putting all his strength into the blow. The demon staggered back as the one behind him stood. Daniel kicked his leg back, sending the demon flying into the brick building behind him.

  “Is that the best you girls got?” Daniel flexed his wrist.

  The two demons attacked together. Daniel dodged the one on the left and then punched the one on the right. He swung his elbow and hit the one on the left in the jaw. He grabbed the one on the right by the wrist and then bent the arm back, snapping it. He tossed two more jabs to the one on the left and then kicked it in the chest. It fell back next to the other demon that had crashed into the wall earlier. The demon on the right went to attack again, and Daniel threw out his hand.

  The demon stepped right into it.

  The demon’s eyes widened as it looked down at Daniel’s hand. Daniel’s claw was buried in its chest. With one yank, Daniel ripped out the demon’s heart. The demon burst into ash around him. The other two scurried to their feet and ran at full speed out of the alley.

  The heart in his hand disintegrated and Daniel flexed his hand, letting it return to normal. That felt better. But it still wasn’t good enough. He took off out of the alley to hunt the other two down. That should keep him busy for a couple of hours.

  Daniel ran for over an hour. He could still smell the demons. Their trail was still fresh. He picked up the speed, dodging through the crowd. He was gaining on them.

  He turned two more corners and then came to a dead stop. Slay stood in the middle of the alley, demon ash falling around her. She wiped her blade before she stuck the dagger back in her boot. When she turned, her eyes locked on him.

  “Those were my kill, bloodsucker,” Daniel said. “I’ve been chasing them for over an hour now.”

  “Looks like you’re too late,” Slay said, dusting off her tank top. “I thought werewolves were supposed to be fast?”

  Daniel let out a growl. Slay didn’t even flinch. As Ethon’s sister, she wasn’t so easily intimidated by wolves.

  “Now what am I supposed to do?” Daniel said.

  �
�You can help me.” Daniel looked at her.

  “Help you do what? You already killed the demons.”

  “I’m not out hunting demons tonight. These two just happened to get in my way.”

  “Then what are you hunting?”

  “Wolves.”

  “Are you violating the treaty?”

  Slay let out a laugh.

  “I wouldn’t dare. These particular wolves threatened Libby and her unborn child. They violated it first. I’m merely protecting my house.”

  “None from Rickon’s pack would be stupid enough to try anything on Ethon’s house,” Daniel said.

  “They aren’t from around here. I never smelt them until tonight. They’re, what’s the word you use? Oh right, feral.”

  “Feral?”

  “Yeah. Very. Here.”

  Slay tossed him a piece of fabric. It looked like it might have been from a shirt. As soon as he caught it, the scent filled his nose. His nostrils flared as he recognized it.

  “You know it?” Slay asked, eyeing him.

  “Yes. It belongs to a werewolf named Baxter. He’s part of the pack that’s trying to take Jessie.”

  “So I can kill him?” Slay asked. “I mean I’m going to anyways, but it would be good to know I won’t be facing any punishment for it.”

  “You’re not going to kill him.”

  “Watch me.”

  “You’re not going to kill him, because I’m going to kill him first.”

  A sly smile spread across her face.

  “How about we just team up with this one,” Slay said. “I was following him here, but I lost his scent in the crowd. Too much fresh blood around.”

  “I can pick it up. Where did you lose it?”

  “A couple of blocks over.”

  “Let’s go.”

  Daniel followed Slay out of the alley. He watched as the human men stopped to look at her. He guessed she was pretty. She was tall and fit. He supposed there weren’t that many calories in an all blood diet. Although, vampires have been known to drink beer and vodka.

  “Is Libby okay?” Daniel asked. He had always liked Libby. Why she ended up with Ethon, he couldn’t guess. Not that Ethon was a bad guy, but he was a vampire, after all.

  “Yeah. She’s a little shaken, but nothing she can’t handle,” Slay said. “She was out getting some Dr. Pepper from the store, when she ran into the wolf. She sent a few punches his way, and she was able to get away. She lost him in the crowd. Good thing she’s tiny. When she got home, Ethon smelt the wolf on her and that’s when she told us what happened.”

  Slay stopped at the corner.

  “This is where I lost them,” Slay said, looking around.

  Daniel took a deep breath in. He walked to the left and sniffed the air.

  “They went this way,” he said. He heard Slay laughing behind him. He turned to see her shaking her head with a huge grin on. “What?”

  “You’re like a blood hound.”

  “Ha. Ha.”

  “I mean that as a compliment.”

  “Just a little FYI, comparing a werewolf to a dog isn’t a compliment.”

  “Duly noted. And, for your information, being called a bloodsucker isn’t a compliment for me.”

  “Sorry. It’s kind of been a shitty day.”

  “How so?” Slay asked as they turned left again and walked down the sidewalk.

  “I don’t want to talk about it.”

  They were quiet for a while. Daniel would stop every few feet and sniff the air to make sure they were still on the right track.

  “I’m sorry about Jessie.” Daniel stopped and turned around.

  “How do you know about Jessie?”

  “Ethon told me. He saw her blood was black when he helped you out yesterday.”

  “What does Ethon know of black blood?”

  “He just told me that she was dying. Apparently, the blood turns black when the two species start fighting over the host. He said it was a horrible way to die.”

  “How about you keep that shit to yourself.” Daniel turned back around and started walking east. He heard Slay catch up to him and then fall in line.

  “I’m sorry, Daniel. I almost died before I reached my twenty fifth birthday, too. Not from black blood, but at the time it didn’t really matter. Death is death. Life can be too short sometimes. We tend to forget that as immortals.”

  “Jessie is nearly a hundred.”

  “A hundred?”

  “Yeah. Her birthday is in about a week.”

  Daniel stopped dead in his tracks like he ran into a brick wall. Reality sunk in that Jessie might not live that long. She might not ever have another birthday. He felt himself panic, like he was being sucked into a vacuum. He leaned against the brick building behind him as Slay started pacing in front of him. He barely heard what she was rambling on about. He tried to focus on her, hoping to calm down before he ended up shifting into a wolf on Canal Street.

  “This doesn’t make any sense?” he heard Slay say as she continued to pace up and down the sidewalk.

  “What doesn’t make sense?” he mustered.

  “As Cambions, our powers reach its peak at twenty five. That’s why a Cambion mixed with two species doesn’t live past that. With both powers developed, they tear the person apart. It doesn’t make sense that Jessie is nearly a hundred years old.”

  “How do you know this?” She stopped and turned to him.

  “Ethon told me. Haven’t you been listening to me?”

  Daniel righted himself against the building and took a deep breath.

  “Sorry. What else does Ethon know about mixed blood?”

  “A lot. He’s over two thousand years old and king of the vampires. He’s trying to teach me, but honestly I find most of it boring. You should talk to him.”

  “Yeah. Let’s do that. Where’s your bike?”

  “It’s three blocks over on Bienville.”

  Daniel started walking towards the corner that would take him there.

  “Wait!” Slay said, running up to him. “What about the feral wolves?”

  “Ashley and Rickon are on top of that. I need to talk to Ethon.”

  “Right now?”

  “Yes. I don’t have much time. Jessie’s disease is spreading. Agnes has her in a coma for now, but it won’t hold forever.”

  “Fine. I’ll take you to the mansion, but I don’t ride backseat on my own bike.”

  Daniel nodded as he followed Slay. Maybe Ethon has some answers. Maybe there was still a way to save Jessie. She has lived well past her twenty fifth birthday. Maybe there was a chance.

  CHAPTER 16

  Daniel stood in front of the five story, white, brick mansion. It looked more like a palace than a home. White pillars made of marble lined the outside of the mansion with a set of white marble steps leading to the double white doors.

  Daniel looked down at Torrick’s black leather boots that he still wore. The skull and crossbones looked so out of place against the white marble. No doubt what Torrick had in mind when he bought them. Maybe not for the mansion, since Torrick rarely associated with vampires. Hell, he rarely associated with anyone, but he did love to look out of place. The whole ‘FU’ style was what he went for.

  Daniel followed behind Slay as she opened one of the front doors and held it for Daniel to enter. He walked into the mansion, and despite the amount of white marble that flowed throughout the interior of the building, it still had a dark feeling to it. Some light came from the chandelier that hung above the foyer, but it felt distant.

  “He’s probably in the office,” Slay said as she led him to the right to another, yet smaller, set of white marble doors. Silver was etched into the frame in a woven design, and Daniel realized it was symbols. He looked around the mansion and he saw the same symbols in the trim throughout the house.

  “Protection symbols?” Daniel asked, pointing to the frame work.

  “We can never be too careful,” she replied.

  She stoppe
d outside of the doors and knocked, then waited for a response.

  “He makes you knock?” Daniel asked as he leaned against the frame. “Ethon takes this vampire king business to a whole other level.”

  Slay rolled her eyes.

  “No, but with Libby living here now, I’ve learned the hard way that it’s better to knock first. That’s a sight that can’t be unseen.”

  She let out a shiver as if trying to shake some horrid memory from her mind. Daniel couldn’t see why. Libby was a very beautiful woman. But, maybe it was more of seeing her brother naked. That would be something worth plucking out her eyes for.

  “Come in,” Ethon called out.

  Slay opened the door and held it open for Daniel again. She shut it behind them and walked over to the liquor cabinet, pouring herself a glass of brandy.

  Daniel looked around the room that once belonged to Ethon’s father. He had only been in here once before, but things had definitely changed since Ethon’s father had died. The drapes that were once red were now a pale grey, almost silver in color. The floor, that had once been marble, was now a dark oak with a large blue rug covering the center of the room. The walls were still white marble, but it did have a warmer feel to it. The chandelier above was on, but, like the rest of the mansion, it still felt dark.

  Libby sat on Ethon’s lap. Her dark hair fell right below her shoulders. Her hair was also dyed blue on the ends.

  “See,” Slay said. “Always knock first.

  “Hey, Daniel,” Libby said as she stood up. She pulled her shirt down, covering her swollen belly. “How’s the family?”

  “They’re doing well. We have a little bit of a situation with a rogue wolf pack, though.”

  “Yes, I ran into one of them earlier.”

  “I heard you handled yourself pretty damn well,” Daniel said. “Those classes with Helena are finally paying off.”

  “Yes, and I would love to continue them, but Ethon says I have to take it easy.”

  She looked down to Ethon and he rolled his eyes. She shot him a kiss and his eyes turned from annoyed to hungry. A hunger that only sex could appease. Daniel looked away, and noticed Slay did, too.