Jocelynn Drake - Dayhunter

To this, Jabari said nothing, but he did nod once.

Yeah, I was the only nightwalker insane enough to actually say those words out loud. But then again, I had lots of people trying to kill me, what was one more? “And this is because he’s trying to move up the Great Awakening.”

Again Jabari nodded.

“This is ridiculous!” I shouted, barely resisting the urge to start pacing in the tiny crypt. “This is nothing more than Macaire’s power play. He has to know that allowing the door to open will bring about the Great Awakening. There will be no hiding a war with the naturi from the humans.”

“That is true, but it is proving to be effective. Tabor was vocally against the plan, threatening to go to Our Liege.”

“And he ended up dead,” I said, finishing the thought. “I’m assuming this is the reason no one has been able to sense you for the past several years.”

“I prefer my privacy, yes,” Jabari murmured, as if this was all a lighthearted game. He leaned against the wall opposite me, crossing one leg in front of the other. His dark skin allowed him to nearly blend into the darkness, giving the night an almost velvety texture where he stood.

“But I don’t understand.” I shoved one hand through my knotted and dirty hair in frustration. “Why drag me into this? Kill Macaire and end the bargain. You didn’t need me in Venice for that.”

“I needed you causing chaos in Venice, threatening to spread our secret and disrupting our meetings with the naturi. It strikes fear in them, and we need them to fear us. Besides, you should never underestimate Macaire. He has been on the Coven longer than me. He is harder to kill than you would think.”

“So I was brought to Venice to discover the secret?”

“With the hunter at your side, it was inevitable.”

“And Nicolai?”

“We offered him as a sacrifice.”

“So I was supposed to save him…”

“No, you were supposed to kill him, but everything still worked out in the end,” Jabari admitted with a shrug of his broad shoulders.

“What’s the next step in your master plan?” I demanded, my temper flaring. I had been used and manipulated since the moment I stepped off the plane in Venice. Jabari didn’t have to use his powers to control me. He could do just fine with me running around on my own, creating chaos wherever I went.

“The same plan that I am sure you have already cooked up with the hunter,” Jabari said, pushing off the wall. He slowly walked over to stand before me. Only a slender column of air separated us when he spoke again. “Kill the naturi called Rowe. Stop the sacrifice and protect the seal. We must make it clear to them that there is going to be no bargain between nightwalkers and naturi.”

“The naturi from Venice. The one in the hall. She’s here with Rowe,” I said, trying to swallow back my fear. My anger had slipped away and now there was just the cold chill of the crypt as I stood alone with one of my makers, and one of my greatest betrayers. Once again we found each other as allies when I knew it was only a matter of time before we would find ourselves on opposite sides of the battlefield.

“Then we kill her. If the harpies appear, we kill them as well.”

“Jabari, I—I…” I hesitated. I had some fears about our plan, but I didn’t want to volunteer my solution unless it was absolutely necessary. “Do you still mean to kill me?”

Lifting one hand, he cupped my cheek as he leaned forward and brushed his lips against my other cheek. His lips strayed down my jaw to my bare neck, sending a chill sweeping through my entire body. “My fragile desert blossom,” he murmured in my ear. “I want you dead in the worst way. But for now I have a use for you, so you live.”

That’s what I thought. I was trapped, surrounded by creatures that wanted me dead, but for now all seemed to have a use for me as some kind of weapon against the naturi. Except for Rowe. He wanted to use me as a weapon against the nightwalkers.

I bit back a sigh as Jabari stepped away from me. Our course was set. The big bad Ancient could make it sound easy all he wanted, but I knew the truth. When we walked back into the Minoan ruins that night, the naturi were going to throw everything they had at us to ensure that they completed the sacrifice. There was no way they were going to let us stop them a second time.

Ryan and Danaus were waiting for us along the road to the Palace of Knossos. Both of them looked surprised to find Jabari walking beside me, but neither one asked about Hugo, which was probably the smartest course of action. His absence indicated that he either hadn’t made it through the day or was too weak to aid us tonight.

After last night’s freak storm, summer had returned to the island, leaving the air thick and heavy like a sweat-soaked blanket. The wind was silent, allowing any noise we made to travel easily to our intended prey. But I didn’t actually have much hope of sneaking up on them anyway.

As we walked along the side of the road, bits of gravel crunching beneath my feet, I completed my weapons check for the second time. The weapons Danaus gave me when we flew into Venice had been reorganized due to the unexpected arrival of James and Ryan. One of my guns now rested with James, whom I suspected was once again pouting alone in the hotel room. My sword had also been replaced with a pair of knives that rested in holsters strapped around my legs. I had more experience with close, hand-to-hand fighting, and my speed made me more lethal with a knife. The sword had been handed off to Danaus.

However, I still had one of the detested guns the hunter had given me. I pulled the Browning from where it rested at my lower back and ejected the magazine from the butt of the gun. The magazine wasn’t fully loaded.

“Here,” Danaus said, walking up beside me.

I looked down at the spare magazine he extended toward me. With a grunt, I accepted it, sliding it into my back left pocket. I hadn’t forgiven him. I wanted to spend several nights beating him senseless for what he’d done. A part of me also wanted to curl up into a ball and weep. But the naturi were gathering and I didn’t have time for either, so I accepted the bullets and kept walking.

“What’s the plan?” Ryan inquired from the rear of the line.

“Jabari,” I quickly said, hoping the nightwalker would happily step up into the lead. He was, after all, an Ancient and an Elder member of the Coven.

“This is your dance, Mira. You may lead. I am here only to fill in for the fallen nightwalkers,” Jabari called from behind me. I could almost hear his mocking laughter with each syllable. Rat bastard.

I hesitated, resisting the urge to look over at Danaus. Had he told Ryan about the Coven deal with the naturi?

“We have to face the fact that it is very unlikely the human they have selected for the sacrifice will survive,” I slowly began. My stomach churned with each ugly word I uttered. “Even if we rescue this person, as long as he or she in the area of the palace, they can be used as the sacrifice. The only way to eliminate the risk is to eliminate all humans from the area.”

“You’re saying kill the human before the naturi get the chance?” Ryan said. There was no surprise or disgust in his tone. He had asked matter-of-factly, as if simply confirming what I’d said.

“Our main focus needs to be eliminating the naturi threat,” I replied, aware of Danaus and evading a direct response. “Jabari and I will focus on Rowe. We will need you and Danaus to keep the naturi off our backs.”

If anyone was planning to comment on my ultracrappy planning skills, they lost out on the opportunity because we had reached the edge of the palace. With the gun clenched in my right hand and a knife in my left, I moved onto the first step leading up to the palace and paused. There was no time for fear or anger now. It was time to just worry about killing Rowe and surviving the next hour or so.