Kelly Meding - As Lie the Dead

He squeezed my hand tighter. “Yeah, he was. Good fighter, quick thinker. One of the few Hunters I’ve ever met who actually liked using a broadsword. Heavy damned thing, but it was his preferred combat weapon. He’d swing it at goblins like a baseball bat and make some impressive splatters.”

“I’m sorry he died.” It was a strange sentiment. A real live person had died a horrible, grisly death at the hand of some murderous Bloods to allow me to take my place in Wyatt’s Triad. Every single Hunter in the city was there because someone else had died. Just as Boot Camp was diligently training the kids who would one day take our places in the ranks.

“I’m sorry, too.” His voice was soft, strangled. “Did the Assembly say anything else useful?”

“Just to investigate Snow’s connection to the Triads and we’d find his motivation. My guess is someone’s team has tangled with him in the past, and all the hints they were dropping pointed to Rufus.”

“Too bad getting access to him now is going to be harder than robbing a bank with a rubber-band gun.”

I couldn’t argue with that.

We stood in silence for several minutes, until my neck started to ache. I straightened up and rolled it, then flexed my knees. Let some circulation back into my muscles.

“Legs okay?” Wyatt asked.

“Fine, I’m just getting tired of standing.”

“We could sit.”

“And tempt them to take longer? No thanks.”

“I don’t suppose they gave you a timetable on their decision?”

“I’d guess not much longer. They made their feelings pretty clear before they kicked me out.”

As if to prove my point, the door swung open and Jenner emerged. The grim line of his mouth told me my answer.

“I’m sorry,” Jenner said as the door fell shut. “But their decision is no.”

I blew a frustrated breath through my teeth. “I’d like to say I’m surprised, but I’m not.”

“It was a close vote, believe it or not. I was impressed by those who supported you.”

“I guess asking who they are is useless.” On Jenner’s nod, I asked, “Were any of the bi-shifters on my side?”

“About half.”

“The man who asked questions, the one with the really deep voice? Which Clan was he from?”

Jenner shifted his weight, his eyes flickering away. Subtle hints to his discomfort. For a lawyer, he had a terrible poker face.

“He’s Kitsune, isn’t he?” I asked. He nodded.

Wyatt grunted, which earned him a strange look from Jenner. Not quite a glare, but certainly not friendly. “Well,” Wyatt said, “this has been a complete waste of time.”

“Not entirely,” I said. “Maybe I didn’t get what I came here for, but I did learn a few things I hadn’t otherwise known.” My pointed look was just for Wyatt. He held my gaze for a few seconds, then nodded.

“What is your next step?” Jenner asked.

“We wait for Phin to give us an update,” I said. “And we keep digging into who this Call guy is and, likewise, Snow’s connection to the Triads. Mr. Jenner, I hate to inconvenience you, but—”

“You require transportation.”

“Yes.”

“I can help you acquire a car, but after that my involvement must end. I cannot jeopardize my position with the Assembly by continuing to assist you.”

“I understand. And thank you.”

5:15 P.M.

Jenner helped us get a rental car, late-model, very discreet—something with wheels to get us around town for the next few days. After handing over the keys in the parking lot of the rental place, he extended his hand. I thought he meant to shake mine.

Instead, I pulled back to find an electronic motel room key and a business card for the All-Nite Inn. I stared at them, then at Jenner. “What’s this for?”

“In case you need a place to rest,” he said. “I keep a room there for business meetings, or nights when I just don’t feel like making the drive home. You may use it for the week.”

“Thank you, Mr. Jenner. That’s very generous.” It was a canned response, but it was genuine. A car and a place to stay. For a lawyer, I was really starting to like the guy.

“I wish I could do more. For what it’s worth, I think they’re fools for voting against you, and time will prove that.”

Part of me hoped he was wrong. “You know, I never did ask which Clan you’re from. You are Therian, right?”

He smiled. “You’re right, you never asked. And yes, I am.” With that nonanswer, he strode back to his Cadillac and climbed in.

Wyatt and I stood next to our dusky blue rental until Jenner had driven off, leaving us alone in a mostly empty parking lot. “Well, you got any bright ideas?” I asked.

“You still want to hear what Gina has to say about that Neutralize order she got five weeks ago?”

I nodded. “If we’re lucky, it has something to do with Snow and why he’s so pissed at us. It’ll waste time until Phin calls, right?”

“Right.”

I unlocked the rental and climbed into the driver’s seat. Wyatt slid in next to me. The engine shuddered and grumbled when I first started it, then smoothed out. I pulled out into a quiet side street and began looking for signs to take us back west.

“Where are you going?” he asked, cell phone out and open.

“That motel. It’s not too far from here. I can leave the bag somewhere safer than this car, and besides, I have to pee.” Something I hadn’t quite realized until I said it. All that broth I’d sipped down for lunch was ready to vacate the premises.

He put the phone on speaker without my having to ask—nothing more frustrating than a one-sided conversation you wanted in on. On the fourth ring, Kismet picked up with a terse “Joe’s Pizza.”

“It’s Truman.”

“Is there a reason the phone you’re calling from is blocked?”

“Yes.” He didn’t elaborate; I smiled, turning us back toward the Axelrod Bridge and Uptown. “Any movement at Park Place?”

“Nothing so far. We’re keeping our distance, but I have to tell you, it’s starting to feel like a huge long shot. Not to mention a waste of resources.” Her side of the line crackled. She spoke to someone, words muffled. “Sorry. Nothing new on Call, either. We’re trying everything we’ve got, but with no luck.”

“Yeah, look,” Wyatt said, his tone as rude as I’ve ever heard him, “I may have another lead, but I need to ask you about something from last month.”

She hesitated. “Okay.”

“Second week of April, you got a Neutralize order. Who was the target?”

“You know we aren’t supposed—”

“Fuck what we’re supposed to do, Gina. You owe me.”

I wasn’t sure if he meant she owed him for my “death” or something else. Didn’t matter much, because while I navigated bridge traffic, she answered him. “The target was a vampire named Orlan, from the Emai Family. Mid-rank member, not royalty. The charge was willfully infecting humans.”

Damn . Nothing there painted a motive for Snow.

“Anything else?” Her tone said there had better not be.

“No, thanks.”

“Wyatt, where are you?”

“Around.”

“Look, I know you’re angry, and I know you’re hurting, but we need you. We’ve got rookies who need field training and—”

“No.” His entire face hardened into a scary mask of anger. I was glad I was driving and not being crushed under the weight of that look.

“Six other Hunters died at Olsmill, Wyatt. You aren’t the only one suffering.”

I hazarded a peek at his face. Fury melted into shame in the space of a heartbeat. We were outside of the loop now, beyond the internal problems the Triads were facing, but we could still feel their impact. Mounting odds and dwindling numbers, and their two most experienced Handlers were out of the field. Kismet was trying to keep a dam together with gum and duct tape.