Dayhunter

ELEVEN

A slow hiss slipped between my clenched teeth as I paused at the edge of the grassy courtyard. Jabari was playing a game. First, he demanded I come to Venice, where I was almost guaranteed to discover the Coven’s plot with the naturi, and now this. We were no longer alone. My focus had been so completely locked on Danaus and our conversation that I didn’t notice Nicolai until he stood watching us from the second floor window of a vacant building.

He was early. I hadn’t expected Jabari to send his assassin at least until after the next sacrifice. Of course, this meant that the Ancient had broken his promise that he wouldn’t send one of the court flunkies to see to my demise. But I knew Jabari’s goal wasn’t to kill me there. I was too old and experienced to be taken out by a lycanthrope. He wanted something else. Nicolai was simply a pawn that had been moved into play. Unfortunately, I wasn’t the opponent Jabari was playing against; I was just another one of his game pieces. What was I supposed to accomplish in fighting Nicolai? Did Jabari expect me to kill the werewolf? Was he more important than I knew? I wanted to scream. Second-guessing myself and trying to predict Jabari’s next move was going to get me killed.

Standing in the deep shadow thrown down by the building the werewolf occupied, I shoved my hand into my pocket and withdrew the silver ring that held the key to the boat. The little slip of metal jingled before I closed my fingers around it. “Take the boat back to the hotel,” I murmured, not looking over at Danaus as he came to stand beside me.

“How will you get back?” he inquired, not yet reaching for the key.

“I’ll swim.” I extended my left hand and turned it over, waiting for him to put his open hand beneath mine so he could catch the key, but the hunter refused to budge.

“What’s going on?” Tension tightened his words into hard little syllables that could barely squeeze past his clenched teeth. Before I had a chance to murmur Nothing, a wave of power swept away from his body and washed over the tiny island. I didn’t know if he could sense werewolves as well as he could nightwalkers, but I was going to find out in a couple of seconds. There were only a couple dozen humans on the whole island, all of them older in age. Probably born on the island and determined to die there like so many of their ancestors.

“It’s none of your business, hunter,” I said sharply. “Get out of here.”

“What does the lycan want?” he demanded as his powers were sucked back into his body. Their sudden absence made me feel chilled, as if a damp cold had found its way into my bones.

“Her heart.” The words drifted down to us from the dark window, edged with a slight echo as they bounded briefly around the empty building before escaping into the night air. The tone held no menace, but sounded like the soft caress of a concerned lover wondering why his beloved companion was walking in the fading moonlight with another man.

Danaus stepped away from me and looked up at the building, his right hand unconsciously reaching for a knife at his hip, only to find that it wasn’t there. After our audience with the Coven, neither of us had thought to go back into the hotel room to get our weapons. I had been too distracted by what happened on San Clemente to think about such a little thing as self-defense. The hunter pressed his lips into a hard thin line and let his hand drop back to his side, his fingers flexing in their irritation.

“What’s going on?” he bit out.

“Mr. Gromenko has been sent to kill me,” I calmly replied, lowering my hand to my side. The key was still tightly gripped in my fingers. I was beginning to get the feeling that Danaus wasn’t going to leave. I didn’t want him hanging around when Nicolai attacked. I didn’t trust Danaus to keep his nose out of my business. The gods knew I couldn’t.

Danaus jerked his gaze back to my face, his beautiful blues widened in surprise and confusion. I knew what he was thinking. We had eaten dinner with this man an hour earlier. We smiled, laughed, and traded worried looks about the dark days that lay beyond the horizon. And now he had come to collect my heart.

“Jabari wants me dead,” I said with a shrug, as if that could explain everything. And in my world, it did. If an Ancient wanted something, it happened, regardless of what a person had to do to get it done.

Danaus opened his mouth to say something, maybe argue with what to me was a very logical statement, but before he could speak, Nicolai jumped down from his perch and lightly landed a few feet away. Danaus tensed and took a step closer, attempting to get between me and the lycan, but I laid a restraining hand on his arm. Beneath my cool fingers I could feel his muscles jump at my touch, and his energy arced through me, looking for a new home. He was tense and wasn’t exactly trying to keep his powers under a tight wrap.

“Danaus!” I snapped. My fingernails bit into his warm flesh, while at the same time a part of me struggled to keep his powers from burrowing within me. “This is not your fight. I don’t need your protection.”

The two men stared at each other. Danaus’s features were hard and unyielding, his jaw muscles tensed as he clenched his teeth. Nicolai’s face was emotionless, as if a veil had come down between his mind and his emotions. I didn’t know what he was thinking, and there were few ways more effective at starting a fight than rummaging around the mind of another creature who could sense it. Most humans wouldn’t know, but magical creatures could, the same way a wolf could sense a coming storm.

“Can he kill you?” Danaus demanded, still refusing to back off.

“He can try,” I replied, ignoring the shifter.

“Will you kill him?”

“Not if I can avoid it,” I admitted. I had no desire to kill Nicolai. He seemed like a nice guy and I honestly had nothing against him. This whole hunting-me-down thing was Jabari’s fault, not his. Of course, if killing him was the only way to save myself, I wouldn’t hesitate.

Danaus’s frowned deepened and he arched one thick eyebrow at me in question without his gaze wavering from Nicolai. Clenching my teeth, I shoved Danaus back a step. “I’m not some mindless killing machine,” I snarled.

The hunter snorted, making it clear he didn’t believe that bit of logic either. “Regardless, I can’t just walk away. The naturi are trying to break free. We can’t afford to risk your life needlessly.”

“Your concern warms my cold blood.” I thoughtlessly shoved the boat key back into my left pocket, irritated beyond rational thought.

“Mira—”

I didn’t let Danaus get any further. Grabbing a handful of his shirt, I jerked him around and slammed his back into the nearby building, earning a grunt from him. “I did not survive more than six centuries because I had some human with a chip on his shoulder watching my back. I will handle this without your assistance.”

“I’m not leaving. We promised to leave Venice together,” he murmured.

That was when it finally dawned on me. Sometimes it’s amazing how slow I can be to pick up on some of the little things in life. While we were flying to Venice, we promised that we would both get out of the city alive. I had taken that as an agreement on my behalf to keep him alive. It never occurred to me that he would attempt to protect my existence as well.

My grip in his shirt loosened and I took a half step away from him in surprise. Thoughts of Nicolai, the naturi, the Coven—they all slipped away for a couple of seconds. The air grew heavy with a strange silence that was broken only by Danaus’s heartbeat. It was faster than usual; faster than during our fights and faster than during our arguments. The beat was hypnotic, trying to tell me another of his great secrets, but I couldn’t understand what it was whispering to me.

“Fine,” the lycanthrope said nonchalantly, jolting me back from our own private world. “You stay.” The blond Adonis filled with rippling muscles reached around me and grabbed a handful of Danaus’s black locks. Pulling his head forward slightly, Nicolai slammed the back of Danaus’s head against the brick wall behind him before either of us could react. The hunter made no sound as he slid to the ground in a heap, pulling out of my grip.

I looked up at Nicolai, a smile wavering on my lips. “You better hope I kill you, because he’s going to be seriously pissed when he wakes up.”

“Then I guess we better get this done quickly,” he replied, stepping away from Danaus’s unconscious form. His dark brown eyes swept over the area, searching for something. His large, muscular frame was tensed, waiting for me to attack him. He would have been moving before I could flinch. But I wasn’t going to start this fight.

“There,” he said, with a jerk of his head. “The campo.” My eyes followed his gaze to the overgrown square with the crumbling pillars and broken sidewalk. It was beyond the church Danaus and I had been in. It appeared as if the three sides of the square were surrounded by small, empty buildings, while the fourth side looked out onto the Lagoon.

I walked in that direction and paused at the edge of the square beside a tall pillar, my hands resting on my narrow hips as I looked over the proposed battlefield. My only warning was a slight shifting in the air just half a breath before Nicolai threw his body into mine. A grunt jumped from my throat as he crushed me against the column. The cool, rough stone scraped and scratched against my bare arms and back like coarse sandpaper, threatening to remove a layer of skin. Snarling, I pushed him off me before he could get his feet planted again, pitching him halfway across the square. Like a cat, he easily landed on his feet, sliding a bit on the rubble that littered the area.

With one hand braced on the ground and his feet spaced apart, the lycan was poised to jump at me again. His eyes glowed with power, a strange copperish light, as a low growl rumbled in his chest. He wouldn’t risk changing. The process took too long and would leave him vulnerable to my attack.

A breeze stirred, pushing against the heavy wall of summer heat and thick moisture. The scent of the Lagoon teased my nose along with the musky scent of Nicolai. He was coated in the scent of fear, the scent of frustration.

With a sharp inhalation of air, he launched himself across the square at me. He was a dark blur, more wind than man as he moved. I darted to my right, only attempting to sidestep him, but I misjudged his speed. Pain exploded in my left forearm and I looked down to find three long, ragged cuts across my pale skin. Blood welled up and streaked down my arm before finally dripping to the ground. My eyes darted back to Nicolai, to find that his fingers were elongated and tipped with long black claws.

Frowning, I bit back a curse and slowly took a couple steps away, circling him. He could partially shift. That meant he was either a lot older than I initially thought or a lot more powerful. Shifting specific body parts was very difficult, demanding a great deal of energy and control. I had seen Alex do it only once, and it left her shaking and sweating afterward. I knew I could stretch out the fight in an attempt to wear him down, but I think we both preferred to have this done before Danaus woke up from his catnap.

Nicolai lunged for me again, but this time I remained still, my feet planted and legs braced. Ducking under massive arms that reached out to grab me, I punched him hard in the side, under his ribs. Air exploded from his lungs in a harsh grunt. His right heel scraped against the ground as he struggled to regain his balance against the unexpected blow. Before he could draw in a fresh lungful of air, I slammed my left fist into his jaw, wincing at the impact. I didn’t want to hurt Nicolai, but I needed to knock him out so I could finally end this contest.

The punch knocked him on his ass. I immediately backpedaled a few steps as he rolled back to his feet, sucking in a couple ragged breaths.

“What are your orders?” I demanded. We circled each other, only a few feet of empty air separating us.

“Kill you,” Nicolai evenly replied. The werewolf stepped forward in a blur, swinging his right fist at my stomach. I jumped backward, dodging the blow and landing balanced on the tips of my toes. He dipped down before I could land flatfooted again and swung one leg around. His foot and ankle connected with my toes, knocking me back.

Instead of landing flat on my back, I caught myself on my fingertips, continuing the flip over. It wasn’t pretty, but I managed to land on one foot and a knee, ready to lunge at him.

Nicolai backed off a couple steps when he realized his attempt to knock me on my back had failed. Fists raised, he waited for me to rise to my feet again.

“Just kill me?” I continued. “What about Danaus? Or Tristan?” I needed to understand this game Jabari was playing. I knew the Ancient would send Nicolai after me, but what was his rationale for doing it? Did he want me to rid him of this pet? Or was Nicolai a greater threat than I was giving him credit for? My death here would put both Tristan and Danaus at great risk. And with the appearance of the naturi in the main hall, I was beginning to seriously wonder if Jabari truly needed me alive any longer. I knew my nights were numbered, but I now felt as if I had fewer of them than I had previously believed.

“He named only you,” Nicolai stated. His heavy breathing and his fast heartbeat were the only sounds in the empty campo. No sound came from his footsteps as we started to circle each other again.

“Alex?” I swung at him, but he dodged it. Unfortunately, I had overextended, positive that the blow would connect. Off-balance and moving too slow, I swallowed a curse when I felt Nicolai’s large hands wrap around my shoulders. White light exploded before my eyes when he slammed his head against mine. The pain was immediately followed by a second swelling of pain as his fist hit my chin, snapping my head around.

Somehow, I remained standing, though I had yet to open my eyes. I didn’t need to see him. I could hear him. I could smell him. I could feel the heat pulsing off his massive frame. Gritting my teeth, I drilled my right fist into his side. The sound of at least two ribs breaking was unmistakable.

“Just you,” he grunted.

Taking a couple unsteady steps backward, I blinked my eyes a couple times to clear my vision. Good grief, that man had a freaking hard head! Nicolai stood a couple feet away, still upright, but one hand was now pressed against his wounded rib cage.

I snorted softly. “I’m a lucky girl.”

“Sorry.” The single word escaped him in a nearly breathless whisper, causing a frown to tug at the corners of my mouth. We were all trapped in this collection of islands one way or another.

Nicolai came at me again, his talonlike nails aimed to remove more than one layer of flesh from my body. I didn’t try to dodge him this time. Grabbing his upper arms, I used his momentum to help me throw him away from me. Unfortunately, the lycan was smart enough to wrap his long fingers around my wrists and pull me to the ground with him.

We landed in a heap with him beneath me. Both of us grunting, we slammed into the hard, stone-covered ground. Rolling several feet as we struggled for supremacy, our legs tangled in each other. When we finally settled in one spot, Nicolai was on top of me, his knees resting on either side of my hips as he struggled to keep my arms pinned on either side of my head.

A little golden flash of light caught my eye, and my gaze drifted down to find a gold cross dangling from his neck on a thick gold chain. The little piece of metal had caught a sliver of moonlight and winked at me. It didn’t glow or heat up like so many of the movies liked to show. But I could feel it throbbing with power, beating against me as it fought to keep me back away from the werewolf. Nicolai’s faith was strong. Without uttering a word, I knew he believed very deeply that God and the heavenly host would keep him safe from me.

A hiss escaped my clenched teeth and I pressed back into the cool, broken stone in an attempt to put some distance between me and the cross. Touching it would burn me, and since it was a spell-induced burn, I would never completely heal from it. And I preferred not to have a cross-shaped scar somewhere on my face.

“Thought of everything, didn’t you?” I taunted. The words pushed past my lips in a harsh whisper since I couldn’t unclench my teeth. Nicolai remained silent, focused on keeping me pinned, but even that was faltering. He was strong, but I was still stronger. I managed to lift my arms a couple inches off the ground, beginning to push him off me. With one last groan, he relaxed the pressure he was using to hold me down for less than a breath before slamming my arms back down to the ground. The sound of bones breaking shattered the silence.

I screamed, my back arching off the ground a little. He had brought my right forearm down on a rock, snapping the bones in half. My vision swam in the pain for a couple seconds. The thought of defeating him without killing him vanished. Instinctively, I brought my knees up between his legs. The surprise and pain was enough to finally push him off.

Before he hit the ground, a circle of fire sprang up around him, stretching more than six feet into the air. Scrambling to my feet, I cradled my broken arm against my chest as I darted off to the darkest niches of the campo. One of the far corners held a type of two-walled arbor, thick with vines. The shadows were deep, affording me some cover.

Mira!

I flinched at Danaus’s sudden presence in my head. The touch was tentative and distant, making me think he was still leaning against the wall where I left him.

Go away! I mentally snarled at him. I’m busy trying not to get killed.

You’re hurt.

Go away! I wasn’t surprised that he could tell I was injured, since the pain seemed to fill my entire frame. Yet I stiffened when I suddenly felt the small wave of power sweeping through me. Danaus and his warm touch were slowly moving over my body, searching for the injury. It’s my right arm. It’s broken. Even the thoughts sounded shaky and frightened in my head. Nightwalkers couldn’t do this. We could read one another’s thoughts and emotions, but we could not reach out and touch each other like this.

I’m coming. The thought was firm and resolute in my head. I could feel him moving, drawing closer.

No, it’s healing. Stay where you are. I—

I quickly ended the thought when I saw Nicolai leap through the fire, his arms raised to protect his face. A nightwalker would never have taken such a chance. We caught fire far too easily. When he landed on his feet, I immediately extinguished the fire, plunging the square back into utter darkness. I knew that the fire would have destroyed the lycan’s night vision, and I had only a couple of seconds before he could pierce the gloom again.

Grabbing a rock the size of my left fist, I darted across the square to his side in silence. My goal had been to hit him on the back of the head. If it worked for Danaus, it would work for Nicolai. But the werewolf sensed me at the last second, whether by a stir in the air or the sound of my clothes as I moved, I don’t know. He turned to face me and I ended up hitting him in the temple. He crumpled at my feet like a sack of wet noodles.

A scrape on the concrete snapped my gaze to the edge of the square, and I raised my left hand with the rock, ready to throw it at the intruder. Danaus stood in the shadows, his arms raised in surrender, a smirk on his lips.

“You’re a mess,” he murmured, earning a glare from me.

“Have a nice nap?” I sneered, dropping the rock.

The smirk dissolved from his lips, turning into a matching glare. I hurt too much to trade barbs with the hunter. There were more pressing concerns as the night continued to age.

I knelt down beside Nicolai but didn’t touch him. His chest rose in deep, even breaths and I could hear the strong, steady rhythm of his heartbeat. He would recover. Blood leaked from his temple, but I was sure that would stop soon enough. When I stood again, Danaus was on the other side of the unconscious lycan. “Check to make sure he’s still wearing his cross,” I said.

Danaus furrowed his brows at me but knelt wordlessly and pulled the man’s shirt collar away from his throat with one finger to reveal a gold chain and cross against tan skin.

“I don’t want someone else picking up the scent of his blood and making a snack of him,” I muttered as I turned and walked away. I once again cradled my arm against my stomach, the pain beginning to ease. The bone was mending, but the process was slower than healing a flesh wound.

“Why did Jabari send him?” Danaus asked, following behind me.

“I don’t know.”

“But the naturi—”

“I don’t know, Danaus. I don’t know what they’re planning, but I’m beginning to wonder if Jabari has something else in store for me,” I softly admitted. If I was needed to protect and make the seal that bound the naturi, it meant the Coven couldn’t have me killed. But after Nicolai’s attempt, it meant that either Jabari had finally made his replacement or the Coven no longer wanted to protect the seal. Or Jabari had plans for me that didn’t include the Coven or the naturi.

Standing on the pavement beside the boat, I looked across the Lagoon toward the bright lights of San Marco. Welcome back to Venice, Mira. In this dying city, pain and horror skulked in every shadow and around each corner, all held beneath a veneer of elegant, Old World beauty and civilization.

Danaus stood behind me and unexpectedly laid his hand on my right shoulder. My head darted over to look at the large hand as his warmth seeped through my cold flesh. At the same time, he dipped two fingers from his free hand into my front left pocket. I tried to jerk away from him in shock but was effectively trapped between his larger body and the open canal. My narrowed gaze snapped to his face. Danaus smirked again and dangled the key before my face.

“You’re in no shape to drive,” he said, then stepped into the boat. Frowning, I said nothing as I hopped into the little speedboat and settled into one of the seats. My arm was mostly healed, but I didn’t care. I was feeling ragged and worn from the encounter.

The engine roared to life as Danaus pulled us away from the island and back into the Lagoon, headed for Guidecca and our hotel. The sound of the wind and waves was relaxing, wiping the tension from my shoulders. I thought of Nicolai for a moment, wondering what it was that Jabari held over the werewolf.

I shook my head, not caring that no one was around to see it, lost to my own thoughts. Jabari was playing a game. I just didn’t understand his goal. Mine was unmistakable. Protect the peace. And the only way to do that was to destroy the Coven’s bargain with the naturi. I just had to figure out how.