Jocelynn Drake - Burn the Night

“Agreed,” Barrett reluctantly said, his hands falling limp at his sides in defeat. It was the best he could do tonight. For now, he had to be content that none of his people had been killed and that the attackers were going to be dealt with so they no longer endangered his people.

“Regardless of what we discussed earlier,” Nicolai began, laying his right hand on Barrett’s shoulder, “I will remain behind if you request it. If the pack needs me . . .”

“No,” Barrett replied with a shake of his head. “I am honored by your offer, but you have a new calling that is taking you away from us. You must go. With Mira’s help and the plans we set into motion, we will be safe. Just remember that you are always welcome in Savannah. This can always be your home.”

“Thank you,” Nicolai said, releasing Barrett.

I settled on the ground before the group of six men. We still had several hours before sunrise, but it would take a while to adjust the memories of all six and implant the kind of details needed so they believed what came to mind. In addition, the latent command for them to leave the coalition was even more difficult to accomplish. I was in for a very long night.

Danaus knelt beside me, one hand resting against my back. “Do you need me for anything?”

“No, you can’t help me. Could you please assist the pack with disposing of bodies? This is going to take me a while.”

He gave a little snort as he pushed to his feet again. “Leave me with the dirty work,” he muttered.

Dirty work, my ass. Digging around in the twisted minds of these six men was not how I was hoping to spend my evening, and it certainly wasn’t going to be enjoyable either.

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.”