Wait for Dusk

Chapter Six

The naturi were attacking.

The cry went up from every domain keeper that stepped before the coven that evening. Dozens came forward, frightened and angry that their territory was now the hunting ground for countless naturi during both the daylight and evening hours.

I could see the bitter accusation in their eyes. Our world was overrun with naturi because I had failed to stop them at Machu Picchu. It didn’t matter that Macaire tried to forge an alliance with the naturi or that we had been outnumbered on that Peruvian mountain. It didn’t matter that the coven had acted too slowly to counter the threat Rowe posed. It didn’t matter that Jabari had wasted time trying to kill me when he should have been helping me. All they knew was that I had been sent to stop the naturi and now they were running free.

I sat in silence, enduring their dirty looks and sneers as they whined about daylight raids on nests and hunting parties by moonlight. The shapeshifters had turned against us, controlled by the animal clan within the naturi. I didn’t expect the witches and the warlocks to stay friendly much longer, considering that Ryan and Danaus were no longer on speaking terms, because of me. The head of Themis was not only a powerful warlock in his own right, but also wielded a great deal of clout within the magic users’ community. Our world was falling apart and we needed to start taking some steps to preserve and protect what we could.

“What have you done to protect those within your domain?” I snapped after listening to what had to be the tenth supplicant. My limited patience had finally reached its end.

“We’re being slaughtered during the daylight hours,” the nightwalker complained, flashing me an ugly glare. It was all I could do to not set him on fire that second, but I tapped down the urge.

“Any nightwalker that doesn’t know how to protect his lair and keep it secret deserves to be staked and dragged out into the sun,” I snarled, lurching forward so I was perched on the edge of my seat. “We’ve grown too sloppy and complacent over the long years. We’ve been the dominant species for centuries. The naturi should not have an edge over us!”

The nightwalker took a brave step forward as he balled his fists at his sides. “What about the lycans? They’re hunting us as well.”

“Have you spoken with the pack alpha?”

“No, not yet,” he replied, his voice losing some of its earlier strength.

“Talk to the alpha. Set up limitations as to where the lycans can roam during the night hours.”

“They won’t agree—”

“They will if they want to continue to live and be free of the naturi,” I argued, cutting him off. “And start hunting down the naturi, damn it!”

“What about the humans?”

I slid back from the edge of my seat and rested my head in my hand as I put my elbow on the arm of the chair. “What about the humans?” I repeated. My head was beginning to throb. This was growing tiresome, and I was confident that we weren’t making any real progress. During the early years of my existence, when I was living with Jabari, I spent many hours hovering on the fringe of the coven because it meant that I was close to my mentor. I don’t recall that time being as particularly tedious as it was right at this moment.

“They’re being slaughtered at an alarming rate. The police aren’t going to buy this serial killer garbage we’ve been feeding them for much longer. It’s only a matter of time before the truth gets out. We won’t be able to protect the secret for much longer if the naturi continue their rampage unchecked.”

“Then check them!” Jabari growled. “The coven cannot be everywhere at once fighting the naturi. These are your domains. Police them as you are supposed to or step down and let someone else take care of what you can’t.”

“But the coven can be in a few select places, looking into the matter and making an example of the naturi that are there,” Macaire smoothly interjected, jerking my head in his direction.

Taking a slow breath, I forced a brilliant smile on my lips as I looked at him, trying not to flash my fangs at him. “That is true,” I agreed sweetly. “Do you have someplace particular in mind?”

“Actually, I do. Budapest.”

“Budapest? Have we heard from her keeper this evening? I don’t recall that one,” I said, maintaining my polite demeanor while fighting the urge to grind my teeth. The Elder had something up his sleeve and was simply waiting for me to step into his trap.

“I have been contacted separately by nightwalkers that live within the city limits of Budapest,” Macaire replied, smiling back at me. “I have also been seeing a growing number of reports out of that city regarding human deaths under mysterious circumstances. Someone must act quickly to quell the chatter that is starting to hit the human media.”

I slouched in my chair, staring blindly out at the crowd of nightwalkers fanned out in front of me, watching my every move. I hadn’t visited Budapest in years. I wasn’t even sure who her keeper was now. However, it didn’t take a rocket scientist to guess that the keeper was most likely loyal to Macaire.

“Budapest is a vital stronghold for our people to the east,” Elizabeth chimed in.

“It’s long been a haven for our kind, but our numbers there have dwindled,” Macaire stated sadly. “We need to protect what is ours.”

“Shall you be going then to check it out?” I leaned forward in my chair so I could clearly see him around Jabari.

Macaire looked over at me, a wicked grin growing across his old, soft face. “I thought you would be best suited for this endeavor. You have proven to be quite adept at ridding an area of the naturi. I thought that you might be able to assist the nightwalkers of Budapest. You could clean out the region and make it safe again for our kind while settling the humans as well.”

Should I be concerned? I asked Jabari secretly.

You should always be concerned when Macaire is involved.

I should have just killed him instead of Lucas.

Yes, that may have been the wiser choice, Jabari agreed with a rumble of laughter rolling through my brain.

Of course, then you would no longer need me.

True, he admitted.

It was enough to make a person scream. Even the one ally I had on the coven wanted me dead in the end. Only the hunter at my back seemed to worry about whether I lived or died. At least he wanted me to live another night for reasons other than how I could be used to his benefit.

“Who is the keeper of Budapest?” I asked, sitting back in my chair again. I was stalling. I didn’t want to go and fight the naturi again. Most importantly, I didn’t want to go into a domain that was ruled by a nightwalker loyal to Macaire. However, if I could steal that bit of backing from the Elder, it would weaken him. He would have fewer allies to rely on. It would bring him one step closer to being removed from the coven.

“That is unknown,” Macaire admitted. “Since the death of Geoffrey more than two centuries ago, no one has formally stepped forward to claim the territory.”

I didn’t buy it. There were exceedingly heavy concentrations of nightwalkers in Paris, Budapest, Vienna, Prague, and Berlin. I knew the keepers of all those domains save Budapest and Vienna. Of course, it was well known that Valerio made his home in Vienna and anyone causing problems in that city had to answer to him. He may not have held the title of keeper, but the city belonged to him. I could only guess that Budapest was managed much the same way by a nightwalker I wasn’t currently familiar with.

Going to Budapest was dangerous, to say the least, but I would only be faced with the naturi and a nightwalker that didn’t like me much. It didn’t seem to be that bad a situation. If I was lucky, Rowe would be hanging out in Budapest, giving me a chance to remove his one remaining eye. Traveling to Budapest would also give me the opportunity to steal something from Macaire. The potential rewards outweighed the risks, as far as I could see.

“I shall travel to Budapest and look over the situation. I’ll remove the naturi from the region,” I said with a nod of my head. “However, it seems such a waste to just send out one Elder when there are four of us. Wouldn’t it be a more effective example if we all struck out in separate domains and cleaned them of naturi?” I waved my right hand out toward the horde of nightwalkers closely watching me. “Our people have come forward for our help. Would not a strike from all four of us be the best use of our resources?”

“We all have domains that we watch over—” Elizabeth started, but I was quick to cut her off.

“Yes, and I’ve been careful to leave my domain in the capable hands of one I trust to watch over things while I am away. Surely, you’ve done the same. I imagine that you can spend a few nights away from your domain and the coven in support of your people.”

I sat back in my chair, fighting back a smile. There weren’t too many nightwalkers that would welcome a visit from an Elder, let alone have one temporarily set up shop within their domain, even if it meant getting rid of the naturi. Not many would thank me for this suggestion. However, I was unwilling to be the only one on the coven that got her hands dirty. I had been sent to Crete and Peru to stop Rowe. I was now being sent to Budapest to fight the naturi for some unknown keeper. I would not be the errand girl of the coven. They had to fight as well if we were to succeed against the naturi.

You will pay for this suggestion , Jabari growled at me. “I think this is an excellent idea. With the death of Yuri, I will travel to Russia and check over the situation in Moscow and St. Petersburg,” he announced.

I was impressed and worried. Jabari was from Egypt. He lingered there in his free time even after countless centuries. He hated the cold, but he was willing to travel to Russia in the dead of winter. He had something else up his sleeve beyond the need to destroy naturi in Yuri’s domain. I quickly pushed the concern aside. I had no plans to travel to Russia, no intention of traveling that far from my own beloved Savannah. Let the Elder claim the region, extending his reach to more than what Alexander the Great could even call his own.

“Following that train of thought,” Macaire began, straightening in his chair as he spoke, “I shall go to Spain. After the death of your maker Sadira, a power vacuum has been left behind. There is no one there to keep order. I shall restore calm to the region.”

Should I warn him about the wind clan near Barcelona? Danaus inquired.

A smile tweaked the corners of my mouth, forcing me to bite the inside of my cheek to keep from letting the smile fully form. No, let him figure it out on his own.

Pushing to the edge of my seat, I looked down the row to where Elizabeth sat. Her tiny figure seemed to be engulfed in the chair. She sat with her back ramrod straight, her dainty hands folded in her lap. I struggled to imagine her in a fight with the naturi, but then Sadira could have passed for someone’s grandmother, not a vicious killer. When it came to nightwalkers, looks were frequently deceiving.

“If I might make a suggestion,” I politely said, lifting my hand. “You may want to consider traveling to London and the surrounding region.”

“London?” she repeated, arching one eyebrow at me. “Why there? There is no keeper of London, none in all of the United Kingdom.”

“True, but it has a high population density of humans and there are still a number of nightwalkers there, despite the fact that the city has no keeper. Wouldn’t it be prudent of us to stake a claim in the city before it is lost to the naturi?” I countered. “We could at last establish a power foothold in the region, and it’s not too far from your own beloved Paris, correct?”

What are you doing?

The question nearly echoed through my brain as both Jabari and Danaus made the demand at almost the exact same second.

I’m trying to see where her loyalties lie, I told Jabari. I don’t think she’s with Macaire and I know she doesn’t stand with you. Handing her a new domain could give me insight into where she stands .

I then switched to my secret path with Danaus. I’m dangling a bit of fresh meat in front of Ryan. I want to see if he will try to access the coven through Elizabeth if he thinks he’s lost his entrance through me.

My reasons for sending Elizabeth were multifaceted, but neither man needed to know all of them. If Elizabeth didn’t side with Jabari or Macaire, she might soften toward me at last if I handed her a way to easily extend her own domain. London and the surrounding region wouldn’t be an easy place to control, but it was another high-profile city like Paris.

“I will go to London,” she announced, nodding toward me. She eyed me suspiciously for only a moment before turning to look straight ahead again, dismissing me.

“It is decided, then!” Jabari announced, pushing to his feet. He raised his hands over his head, causing his robes to sway about him. “This meeting of the coven is at an end. We will meet again when all four members have gathered here in Venice after the completion of their tasks.”

The nightwalkers filed out of the front door of the Main Hall, while Elizabeth and Macaire slipped out a side door that led to the underground chambers. The air was heavy and silent, but I could feel the telepathic chatter as they discussed this unprecedented move by the Elders to rid the region of the naturi. The Elders rarely did anything beyond their silly amusements here in Venice. To take action, to actually take up arms against an enemy, hadn’t been done in centuries. But then, we hadn’t had an enemy to strike against in many centuries.

To my surprise, Jabari lingered behind, along with Valerio and Stefan. The Elder returned to his seat while the two others stepped forward. Valerio gave a sweeping bow to me, grinning ear to ear, while Stefan stiffly bowed his head.

“Budapest, eh?” Valerio said, inspecting his fingernails. “It sounds like fun. I’ll join you if you’ll have me.”

“You standing against the naturi? I struggle to see what’s in it for you,” I said, unable to keep the shock out of my voice. Valerio preferred the background, watching as others took risks. He knew when to step forward and take the benefit for himself when the opportunity arose. If anything, Valerio was a lover, never a fighter.

“Budapest is but a short jaunt from Vienna. I would prefer it if this naturi . . . infection did not spread to my own sweet city,” he replied, and I was happy to drop the issue. That was an explanation that I could understand. He was finally stepping forward to protect what he considered his. Of course, I was willing to bet there was more to it, but he would never tip his hand if he could help it.

“I wish to assist you as well,” Stefan stated brusquely. “I have had my own issues with the city of Budapest. There is a personal matter that I wish to look into if you would allow me to join you.”

“That’s fine with me.” I wasn’t going to press Stefan for more information because I knew I wasn’t going to get it. I didn’t trust the nightwalker, but I was willing to bet he was going to give me a little room since I had promised him a seat on the coven. He was going to give me a little time to deliver on my promise before he attempted to take my own seat. “Unless you want to arrive separately from me, my plane will leave shortly after sunset for Budapest.”

Both nightwalkers gave me a brief bow before disappearing from the Main Hall. I turned in my seat to find Jabari watching me with a thoughtful look on his face.

“It’s killing you to see me sitting here when you were so close to killing me just a few months ago,” I teased, grinning over at him.

“It is an unexpected turn of events, but not one I find unpleasant.”

“For now, you mean.”

“True,” he conceded. Jabari was pleased I was on the coven so long as it benefited him. The moment I no longer gave him an edge was the day he would kill me. He had already started looking for ways to replace me. Luckily, I had an ace up my sleeve that he didn’t know about. Unfortunately, I had to find a way to escape his control without him being aware of it. Sure, Nick was demanding that I learn to use the powers of my keepers, but it wasn’t something I was confident I could do in secret. If Jabari discovered that I’d found a way to escape his control, he would kill me in an instant. I was too dangerous without someone holding my leash.

“Is there anything I should know about Budapest before I set foot on her soil?” I asked, directing our conversation back to the more important matter at hand.

“Don’t trust Macaire.”

“I gathered that much. Who’s the keeper?”

“I do not know. Macaire has been known to frequent that region, so I turned my back on it. You will benefit from having Valerio on hand.”

I sighed and shoved one hand through my hair. “Unfortunately, Stefan is a mixed bag.”

“He wants your chair,” Danaus said, speaking for the first time since stepping foot in the Main Hall. His deep voice seemed to echo through the silence and vibrate through my chest.

“He wants a chair on the coven. I’d be happy to hand him someone else’s,” I muttered, not needing to comment out loud exactly whose chair I would be willing to hand over.

“I can offer you no help with Budapest,” Jabari continued, ignoring my comment. “Be on your guard. It has always been a place for powerful creatures. Both lycans and warlocks call it home, as well as nightwalkers.”

“I’ll be careful.”

“Do not trust Stefan. He has been known to side with Macaire on occasion,” Jabari admonished one last time before disappearing from sight.

Danaus came around to stand beside my chair. I looked up at the hunter and smiled at him, some of the tension finally oozing from my shoulders. I still had a long road ahead of me, but for now, the worst had been pushed aside. I survived my first meeting on the coven and been forced to kill only two creatures. I had a dark feeling that it would mark a slow night for me. My reign on the coven would be short, but it would also be washed in the blood of my people and that of the naturi.

“How do you think it went?”

Danaus shook his head at me, fighting back a smile. “I wasn’t expecting you to declare war on your first night. It was a bold move.”

“Macaire has to know where I stand. I’m not going to take any shit from him, and he’s not going to be able to win me away from Jabari like he hoped last summer.”

“And Budapest?”

“He knows the keeper of Budapest. I have no doubt that he’s issuing instructions as we speak. There may be naturi there wreaking havoc in the city, but it’s also going to be a trap. I—I can’t ask you—”

“I’m going,” he declared before I could stammer out my wishes.

I smiled up at him, barely suppressing the urge to kiss him. Danaus had been there when I was in attacked by naturi in London, Crete, and Ollantaytambo. He was there went we mounted the attack on Machu Picchu. He was there when I struggled to piece together the crumbling order of my own beloved Savannah. He had been there through it all with me. At this point I couldn’t imagine fighting the naturi without him. Of course, there was also the chance he could take out a few nightwalkers as well, which would make him more than happy.

A part of me wished I could tell him that he didn’t have to go, or that it was too dangerous for him to accompany me. I wished I could tell him that I didn’t need him, considering that I had Valerio and Stefan at my side, but I couldn’t utter the words.

“Thank you,” I murmured, hating the blush I could feel stealing up to my cheeks.

Placing his hands on the arms of the chair, Danaus leaned down and pressed a light kiss against my forehead. “I am your consort. You go nowhere without me,” he whispered, his lips brushing against my temple. I smiled, resting my head against his jaw. Apparently when I named him my consort, I wasn’t the only one staking a claim. And for once, I didn’t mind.