Jocelynn Drake - Wait for Dusk

Closing my eyes, I reached out for the stream of energy flowing between Danaus and the nightwalker. I gathered up my own powers and merged them with the stream, giving the spell a little boost without directly controlling Danaus. The nightwalker shrieked, his body twisting and contorting at odd angles before he finally flopped back into the snow, silent and dead. We had completely melted his organs, destroying his heart.

I didn’t mean to do it, Danaus whispered to me. I lost control. I could feel the horror rolling off him. He only killed nightwalkers in self-defense in his mind. This had been murder.

It wasn’t your fault, I murmured back to him, but then quickly dropped the connection. Now was not the time to explain that I was attempting to manipulate Danaus’s powers in accordance with Nick’s orders.

“What did he do?” demanded the youngest of the two, taking a step back away from the hunter.

“Boiled his blood,” I murmured, still starting at the dead body as I thought about the ease with which I’d been able to amplify Danaus’s ability. It had been far too easy, now that Nick had adjusted my own sensitivity to the energies around me.

Turning my attention to the two remaining nightwalkers, who were still staring at their dead companion, I waved my hand and the young one was instantly engulfed in flames. He managed to run a few feet away, hurrying toward the snow to put himself out, but the fire ate through his body faster than he could stumble. He collapsed at the edge of the drive, his body little more than a hot ember.

The remaining nightwalker pressed his back against the wall next to the doors, his eyes wide with fright. “You may live to tell your mistress that the Fire Starter, two Ancients, and a hunter are knocking at her door and we will come in,” I snarled in rough Hungarian. My translation was close enough because he grabbed the door handle and jerked the old, heavy door open before darting inside in a blur of movement.

“You’re a coven Elder,” Valerio reminded me needlessly as he reached for the door and held it open for me. “You really should introduce yourself as such.”

Stepping inside, I threw him a dirty look. “Normally, yes, but these pathetic creatures haven’t been before the coven. They don’t know what it means to be an Elder. Fire Starter is self-explanatory.”

Valerio flashed me a wry grin. “True.”

My trio of companions fanned out behind me as we stalked through the interior of the Széchenyi Baths. The walls were painted a pale yellow accented with white columns and ornate molding. The sound of laughter and splashing water echoed through the cavernous halls, forcing me to check several times as to how many people we were facing. Up ahead, the concentration of power was impressive. There had to be more than a dozen nightwalkers, along with a scattering of both lycanthropes and other human magic users.

As we crossed through a final archway, we came to a large room that held an enormous pool. Steam rose up from the water, filling the air with a heavy mist, which helped to diffuse the dim lamplight that glowed from above and in remote corners around the room. Nightwalkers, lycanthropes, witches, and warlocks, lounged in the water and along benches. We were the only ones still wearing clothing. At the far end of the room, the nightwalker I had spared was kneeling next to a female nightwalker lounging on a heavily padded divan. Her damp pale skin glistened in the thin lamplight.

“I’m guessing that’s Odelia,” I muttered, shoving my hands into my pockets.

“Astute observation,” Stefan commented from behind me, making me wish I could just singe him a little bit. Unfortunately, I was willing to bet that I still needed his assistance before I could finally escape this city.

Frowning, I led the way across the room, weaving my way between the naked bodies. A few looked up at us, halting their conversations, but most seemed content to ignore our presence within their nighttime refuge. When we were standing before Odelia, the nightwalker languidly rolled onto her back and propped her head up on her hand while resting her elbow on the back of the raised side of the divan. The nightwalker from the front door backpedaled, quietly edging away from our group. Fear still filled his eyes, making him more than a little wary of us. I preferred it that way.

“You must be the Fire Starter,” Odelia announced in heavily accented English.

“And you’re Odelia,” I replied, balling up my fists in the pockets of my heavy coat. I was fighting the urge to strip it off. The heat in the bath was stifling, but I kept telling myself that we wouldn’t be there too long. I could suffer through it.

“You’ve heard of me?” she inquired, arching one eyebrow at me.

“Not until five minutes ago,” I admitted, crushing her little hopes to dust. “Heard of me?”

“Who hasn’t?” she said with a delicate snort. “The nightwalker that can start fires with a thought also has a human that can apparently boil the blood of any creature he sees. It makes for a nightmarish combination.”

“Oh, and it gets worse,” I said, a grin finally blossoming across my face. “I’m now an Elder of the coven.”

“Oh,” she whispered, sitting up just a little straighter. At least she was old enough to know what it meant to be a member of the coven. It was a position that didn’t just demand respect, it screamed for it even as it killed you. “I didn’t realize that Tabor’s seat had been claimed.”

“The news is still spreading throughout the various domains, though I am surprised that it has yet to reach Budapest. You’re not that far from Venice.”

“I apologize for your less than gracious welcome,” she said, rising to her feet. “I had no idea that a member of the coven would be gracing us with her presence. Can I offer you a seat? Or maybe some refreshments? I like to keep a warm meal on hand for anyone who gets thirsty while at the baths.”

“I’m afraid this isn’t a social call. I am looking for the keeper of this domain,” I announced.

Odelia’s face crumpled as she returned to the edge of her divan. She folded her long fingers together and placed her hands on her knees. A lock of her long brown hair fell over her shoulder, partially covering her left breast. “Budapest doesn’t have a keeper.”

“How can a region this large, filled with nightwalkers, not have a keeper?” I snapped, growing more irritated the longer I remained in this bloody city. “There are more powerful creatures in this city than in most other large cities throughout Europe. By my guess, you’re more than six centuries yourself, and I know I’ve sensed others around the city that are older than you. Someone has to have laid claim to the region.”

“The last keeper of Budapest was a nightwalker by the name of Harold, but he left the region unexpectedly more than a century ago. No one has heard from him and no one has stepped forward to take over the city,” she explained with a slight shrug of her shoulders. Odelia pushed backward so that she was once again lounging on the divan. “In truth, we haven’t had a need for a keeper. The city remains quiet, and as you can see, the various races get along just fine.”

“And the naturi?”

Odelia’s eyes dropped down to the ground and she chewed on her full lower lip. “They moved into the city just about a month ago and we haven’t been successful in getting rid of them. We’ve learned to hunt in packs now, and the lycans stay away from certain parts of town where they have been known to gather.”

“Who is taking care of the naturi?” Valerio inquired, slipping graciously into Hungarian. Odelia turned her gaze on the oh so sauve nightwalker and smiled coyly up at him. I thought I was going to be sick.