Burn the Night

Six

Barrett arrived at my town house a couple hours after sunset, giving me enough time to awaken for the night and join Danaus in the city. The lycanthrope alpha was dressed in slacks and a polo shirt, looking once again more like a respectable businessman than a blood-smeared killer.

The shifter had not come alone. Standing behind him with a half-burned cigarette hanging from the corner of his mouth was Daniel Crowley. The detective was one of the few humans within the city of Savannah who was aware of the existence of nightwalkers and lycanthropes, as his sister-in-law was a member of the Savannah pack.

Crowley had been kind enough to help me on a number of questionable police cases that raised more than a few eyebrows. He not only knew about our great secret, but helped to protect it. Yet, I was still more than a little surprised that Barrett had called him in for assistance. That is, unless some questions had been raised about our little two-car crash site, artfully created last night with ample alcohol and a handful of broken bodies who were raced to the hospital with hazy memories.

“It’s good to see you Barrett,” I said as I motioned for both men to come in. “Daniel, this is a surprise,”

“Drop the act, Mira,” the detective said, flicking the butt of the smoldering cigarette into the yard before stepping into my house. He frowned at Danaus, who was hovering just in the doorway that led into the living room. Danaus simply crossed his arms over his chest and said nothing. “After the fiasco with the dead senator’s daughter a few months back, I have to admit that I was hoping I wouldn’t encounter you two for a little bit longer. I guess my luck ran out.”

“And here I was hoping this was a friendly visit. We don’t see each other often enough, Daniel. How are Anne and the girls?”

“Wife and kids are perfectly fine; oblivious to the nightmare that has soaked into Savannah.”

I shook my head as I ushered the two gentlemen down the hall to the small library on the left. “You’re always so chipper.” I leaned against the front of the desk while Barrett and Daniel settled in the two leather chairs before my desk. Danaus simply changed doorways to the library entrance. However, he was looking a little more relaxed with his hands shoved in the pockets of his dark blue jeans. I had called down to the Dark Room already, informing the other bartender that Danaus would not be making an appearance tonight. We had darker matters that needed to be handled, and I wanted the hunter on hand for counsel.

“I’m assuming that Barrett has told you about what happened last night,” I began, turning my attention fully to the detective when everyone was settled.

“I have the distinct impression that I am getting a cleaned-up version of what truly happened, but I also heard from my hysterical sister-in-law and brother,” he admitted, folding his hands over his stomach. “A group of men appeared in the woods with guns and started hunting people down like animals. This will not be tolerated within my district. I won’t have my sister-in-law terrified to go outside every full moon.”

“Then you do have a full grasp of what is going on,” I said with a sigh. “What are we going to do about it?”

“We need to know what they know,” Barrett said.

“Last summer, your people were able to hack into their computer systems,” I reminded him. A Daylight Coalition member had come into my territory hunting me, and managed to successfully get a picture of me on a digital camera. As a favor, the lycanthropes had hacked their system and deleted the information for me. “You got some information from them. Could you do it again?”

Barrett shook his head. “We monitored their system for a few months before they finally upgraded their security. We have not been able to get back in, and we’ve been reluctant to try for fear that they will be able to trace it back to us. Their secrets have been closed to us for months now.”

“You never discovered anything on who their potential mole might be?” Danaus inquired from the entryway.

“I’ve spoken with many different clans during the past several hours,” Barrett wearily admitted, rubbing the bridge of his nose with his thumb and index finger. “We weren’t the only ones attacked. The packs in St. Louis, Austin, and Denver were all hit. We were the only ones that didn’t sustain any casualties. However, members of the Daylight Coalition were killed in the various attacks. The bodies of the dead will never be found, but questions will be raised about the large number of men that have suddenly gone missing. The situation is quickly crumbling around us—the police are undoubtedly going to start looking into the disappearances.”

“The lycanthropes will be in the clear during the next few weeks,” I ventured, “but when the moon is full again, people are going to trek out into the forests to see if there is a repeat of the same incident that led to the disappearance of so many hunters.”

“Is there anything you can do?” Barrett asked. “Anything your people can do?”

“Like adjusting memories?” I said, arching an eyebrow at him. “There are just too many. By now, news reports have hit the air. There are search parties trekking through forests and dogs sniffing the area. It’s too much. We would never be able to reach everyone.”

“But you managed to cover up the naturi fiasco outside of London last summer, and the human sacrifices at Machu Picchu in the fall,” Danaus interjected, causing me to frown at him. It’s not that I didn’t seriously want to help Barrett. Hell, it was in the best interest of everyone that this was covered up and quickly forgotten about. Unfortunately, if they used the same numbers at the other locations as in Savannah, nearly eighty men had gone missing.

“What about the coven?” Barrett asked.

I shook my head as I folded my arms across my chest. I hated to admit it. “It takes them months to make a decision. They wouldn’t be able to help you. However, I can make some phone calls; reach out to the nightwalker keepers in St. Louis, Austin, and Denver. They can do some damage control as best as they possibly can if they haven’t started already. We need to take care of the problem at hand and deal with the Daylight Coalition directly. We need to know what they know and take away their information.”

“We need a mole in the coalition,” Danaus said. He looked over and waved one hand at me. “Want to make a trip to Atlanta? I could get you past whatever security system they have on their headquarters, and you could slip by any humans wandering around the place.”

“And what if their source happens to be another lycanthrope, nightwalker, or warlock?” I said. “My cloaking powers would be useless and we would be discovered. We would have no information and I’d be exposed to the group, assuming that they don’t know about me already.”

“You think one of our own kind has turned on us?” Barrett snarled.

“We already saw a werewolf and a witch traveling with a coalition member last summer,” I said, remembering back to the encounter Tristan and I had in a dark London alley just a few months earlier. “It stands to reason that someone has stepped forward to provide them with inside information. Otherwise, they would have never been able to attack four different locations so quickly.”

No one said anything for several seconds. Then Daniel spoke, breaking the silence that had grown over the room. “So what you’re saying is that you need a human to infiltrate the coalition and report back.” It was an uncomfortable truth, but I had a feeling that both Barrett and Daniel had already come to that conclusion before coming to my town house. They were here simply to make sure that we didn’t have any other options before taking this very large and dangerous risk.

I drew in a deep breath as I let my hands slip down to the edge of the desk. Staring down at the floor, I wished there were some other option, but if they had someone spying on us, then we definitely needed someone on the inside, spying on their activities.

“A human would make the most sense,” I reluctantly conceded. “I could make some minor memory adjustments so that if a nightwalker or warlock read the human’s mind, plans for infiltration and betrayal would not be found. At least not right away. This would have to be a relatively short mission. Get in, get access to some basic information—such as the name of the betrayer—and then get out as quickly as possible.”

“However,” Danaus said, “the person we get to do this needs to realize it is extremely dangerous. If they are discovered, it is inevitable that they will be killed for their efforts. I’ll volunteer for this. I can block my thoughts better than most, and after years of hunting nightwalkers, I think I can be a pretty convincing recruit for the coalition.”

I smiled weakly over at him but shook my head. “I’m sure we all appreciate your offer, but if they have a warlock or a witch on hand, it’s likely they would be able to sense your powers. You’d be quickly labeled as one of the ‘others’ and they might not accept you. In addition, there is a chance they already know about me, and if that’s true, then it’s likely they know about you, considering our frequent association. It’s a wonderful offer and idea, but I don’t think it would work.”

“Unfortunately, I have to agree with Mira,” Barrett said. “It’s known throughout all of Savannah that you’re not exactly human. If it’s common knowledge among our people, then we have to assume that the Daylight Coalition is aware of it as well. We need someone who is simply human.”

“And that’s where I step in,” Daniel said with a heavy sigh. “I’m driving up to Atlanta tomorrow morning and renting an apartment. I’ve already told my wife that I’m going on an undercover assignment and that I’ll be out of communication for a while. I’ve taken some time off work and—”

“Absolutely not!” I declared, springing to my feet. “This is nonsense. You are not to go anywhere near that damned headquarters.”

“He’s our best and only option at this point,” Barrett patiently pointed out.

“Daniel also has a wife and kids to think about,” I countered.

“He’s also a trained cop. He knows how to handle himself in a dangerous situation,” Danaus said, earning a dark look from me. I wasn’t expecting him to immediately side with Barrett and the detective. “He knows the workings of the lycanthropes and enough about the nightwalkers to know what he was looking for once he got into the headquarters.”

“It also doesn’t hurt that I genuinely dislike nightwalkers,” Daniel added, grinning up at me.

I shook my head at the human, ignoring his teasing. “I don’t like this at all, Daniel. You’re taking a big risk. I know we would all greatly appreciate it, but with just a little more time we might be able to find someone else.” I jerked my head over to Danaus. “What about one of the hunters you trained for Themis? Are any of them loyal enough to you that they’d be willing to infiltrate the headquarters for us?”

“Maybe, but I wouldn’t trust any of them to choose loyalty to me over loyalty to Ryan,” he said. “I don’t want to push my luck with the warlock now, considering we’re not exactly on speaking terms. He may not want to risk the secret, but I don’t want to imagine how he could potentially twist this situation to his advantage.”

I sighed, pushing away from the desk, but there was no room for me to pace so I fell backward against the front of it, crossing my arms over my stomach. At that point I was willing to risk the life of a human I didn’t know just so I didn’t have to face the fact that Daniel really was our best choice. He had an understanding of both the nightwalker and lycanthrope peoples. He was grumpy and cranky enough to convincingly appear to be a disgruntled human looking to exterminate the two races. If they did a background check, they would discover that he was a detective, and that would make sense, explaining how he knew about the lycanthropes and the nightwalkers. It all added up perfectly.

“I hate this idea,” I admitted.

“But . . .” Daniel prodded.

“It’s the best one we’ve got, particularly since we’re short on time,” I continued. “We need to get this under control before the next full moon so the local packs can hunt and run without fear.”

“Then I leave tomorrow,” he declared. “Barrett and I have already developed a reliable way to communicate that should be untraceable. Otherwise, I’ll be completely out of contact until I return to Savannah.”

“And when you return, you will be under constant protection,” I proclaimed.

“That’s ridiculous!” he snapped.

I shoved away from the desk front and grabbed the arms of the chair where Daniel was seated, leaning in close enough for the tip of my nose to nearly touch the tip of his. “Is it? What if they find out you were a spy? What if they find out exactly who you are and where you live? Do you really know what you’re in for? If the Daylight Coalition discovers that you’re a spy, they will strike back at you. I can’t allow that. Lycanthropes will watch over you during the day and a contingent of nightwalkers will guard you by night until the Daylight Coalition has been permanently eliminated.”

“Mira—” Daniel began, leaning back as far as he could so he could see me more clearly.

I jerked my attention over to Barrett, who sat beside him. “Am I wrong?” I demanded.

The Savannah pack alpha shook his head slowly. “No, you’re not.” Then, addressing the detective, he said, “We recognize the great risk you’ll be taking for both our peoples. You and your family will be watched over while you’re gone and following your return.”

“And what if I don’t come back?” Daniel threw out.

I straightened, took a step back and, frowning, gazed down at Barrett. The lycanthrope spoke up before I could. “Your family will always be taken care of,” he said to the detective. “They will be considered a part of the Savannah pack and given all the privileges thereof.”

“I don’t want my wife and kids to know about . . . about . . . all of this,” Daniel growled, throwing out his arms to encompass both Barrett and myself. “They don’t need to know about this world if it can be helped.”

“They won’t know,” I quickly said. “Barrett and I have ways of helping. Your wife and daughters will have nothing to worry about, whether it be money or protection from the Daylight Coalition.”

“That’s all I care about,” Daniel said with a slight huff as he pushed out of his chair, followed a moment later by Barrett. “If you don’t mind, I need to get home to my wife and girls. I’d like to spend a little time with them before I leave town.”

“I understand,” I said, showing them to the front door.

“I will keep you updated on any information Daniel sends to me,” Barrett offered as I pulled the door open.

I nodded, my hand tightly clenching the doorknob. This was my last chance. Daniel was going to walk out and disappear within the Daylight Coalition in Atlanta. I could stop it all right now with the right suggestion, a brilliant idea that would keep him from sinking even deeper into our world. But I said nothing as both men left. I shut the door then and stood facing it, staring out the glass front. I didn’t see them chatting, making plans, as they descended the stone steps. There were only my own swirling thoughts.

Danaus came up behind me and placed a comforting hand on my shoulder, squeezing lightly. “He’ll be fine,” the hunter said, but I didn’t hear his usual conviction embedded in those words. Neither of us thought Daniel was going to be fine. He was willingly walking into the devil’s lair because we were desperate.

“I hate this,” I said one last time, letting my eyes fall shut, because there was nothing else I could do that wouldn’t risk his life more than we already were.