Jocelynn Drake - Wait for Dusk

“Do you have an objection?” I asked oh so sweetly, flashing my fangs at him as I smiled. I looked down at Macaire, who could only nod stiffly at me as he settled back in his chair.

“No, of course not,” he said, a bit too quickly to be considered believable. “Your presence would be a welcome addition to the city.”

“Yes, this will help keep you close at hand for when you are needed at the coven,” Macaire said. “We were recently discussing that it may be time for you to take a domain within Europe,” he added, making it sound like it all had his stamp of approval, when I had little doubt that he wanted me nowhere near Budapest.

“Excellent. Then I claim the position of keeper of Budapest. See to it the word is spread throughout the nightwalkers of my new domain,” I declared.

“Is there anything else you wish?” Veyron said through clenched teeth as he bowed his head to me.

I glanced over at my companions, and Valerio shook his head, looking completely amused by the entire proceeding. Stefan, on the other hand, continued to glare at Veyron, as he held the nightwalker responsible for the disappearance of his assistant. “Yes, spread the word that we are looking for a nightwalker named Michelle. I demand that she be found, or at least it must be discovered what happened to her. We will speak with Ferko and his pack tomorrow night.”

“Tomorrow night is the full moon,” Veyron reminded me.

I smiled at him again and leaned forward a bit. “I can’t think of a better time. I like to make an impact on those I meet.”

Veyron pushed back, his hands gripping the arms of his comfortable chair, almost mirroring the same posture as Stefan. Neither he nor Stefan was particularly happy, but at least only one of them wanted my head at the moment. Stefan was content to wait until a more opportune time, when it would most benefit him.

“Since you are now the keeper of Budapest, I am assuming that you are going to take care of our current naturi infestation,” Veyron said in a low voice.

“I have already started. Danaus and I hunted down five naturi last night at Szobor Park,” I informed him, taking exquisite pleasure in watching his frown grow deeper. Unfortunately, my joy was short-lived as I continued to speak. “However, we discovered that one extremely dangerous naturi is in the region. His name is Rowe and he’s something of a zealot among the naturi race. Now that he knows I’m here, he could increase his slaughter of both nightwalkers and humans as he hunts me down.”

A twisted smile flashed across Veyron’s face. “So your presence here has actually made it more dangerous for nightwalkers?”

“Par for the course when it comes to Mira,” Valerio said, earning a dark look from me. “The naturi tend to flock to her instead of running away. That happens when you’re enemy number one among their entire race.”

I forced a smile on my lips as I turned my gaze back to Veyron and shrugged. “That happens when you’re known for slaughtering countless of their ranks over the long centuries. Their survival is dependent on my death.”

“Will you be able to get rid of them?”

“It would be nice, considering that this particular naturi gave you such problems at both Crete and Peru,” Macaire added, making me wish I could throw something at his head.

“I will take care of Rowe. The one-eyed naturi will not leave Budapest alive.”

“One-eyed?” Veyron asked.

“He wears an eye patch. Scarred face. Black hair, swarthy skin. He really doesn’t look like much of a naturi any longer, but he still thinks like one.”

“So, while you’re in town, you’re going to rein in the lycans, hunt down the naturi, and teach the nightwalkers how to act like proper nightwalkers?” Veyron said with a sneer.

“Well, I thought I would start there. Those aren’t the only things on my to-do list,” I said, my smile never wavering. “But if I’m going to get anything done, I can’t remain here. I need to get out on the street.” Pushing out of my chair, I mentally reached out to Danaus and told him that we were leaving.

Veyron accompanied my group to the front door, where Danaus and Sofia were now waiting for us. Turning to Veyron, I nodded my head to him and smiled. “Thank you for all your assistance. I think you will be pleased with how Budapest improves while I am here.”

“Yes,” he said with a slight hiss as he held open the door for us. I led the way out of the house, with Danaus following on my heels. Macaire, Valerio, and Stefan were directly behind us. There was no mistaking the soft chuckle from Valerio when Veyron slammed the door shut.

“Only you would have the nerve to step into a domain and steal it right out from under a man,” Valerio said as he slipped his arm around my back and rested his hand on my hip.

“He had ample opportunity to say something, and he didn’t,” I replied with an evil grin as we walked away from the house, toward the dimly lit street. “If I was out of line, I am fully confident that Macaire would have called me on the matter,” I said, motioning toward the Elder with one hand.

“You are correct. Budapest is not how I remember her, and I am sure that you can get her back to her glorious former self,” Macaire said with a slight bow of his head. “Now if you will excuse me.” Without another word, the Elder completely disappeared from sight without giving another word of reason.

Stefan started to talk, but I held up my hand and scanned the region. I wanted to be sure Macaire was completely gone before anyone said anything that we might regret. We now had an extra pair of ears that we needed to worry about. When I was sure he was nowhere in the area, I dropped my hand and nodded for him to continue.

“But two domains on two continents? Didn’t you just get through saying you weren’t going to claim Budapest as your newest domain?” Stefan asked, needling me simply because he could.

I shoved one hand through my hair, pushing it away from my face as the wind picked up. “This is only a temporary arrangement. I will give up one of my domains once everything is settled again and the coven is happy.”

“Give up Savannah?” Valerio asked.

Hearing the words spoken made my stomach drop. In that second I knew that I couldn’t give up my beloved Savannah. It was the only place since becoming a nightwalker that I felt I could call home. I didn’t care about Budapest—claiming the seat of keeper here was simply a way of taking control of the situation and finally forcing Veyron to act.

Unfortunately, I found myself faced with enemies on four fronts. The naturi were constantly at my back, while the nightwalkers, warlocks, and lycans were arrayed in front of me. I just prayed that the companions I had brought with me stayed by my side through the upcoming massacre, particularly now that Macaire had decided to haunt the city. And I knew it would be a massacre.

“Shall we go?” Valerio asked as his hand tightened on my waist.

“No, wait! Danaus and I can catch a taxi.” I tried to pull his hand off of my side but he wouldn’t budge.

“No, it will take too long,” Valerio said. “Time to get you somewhere safe before Veyron decides that he’s not going to wait around for you to improve the city.”

I opened my mouth to argue but the words never escaped my throat. Valerio summoned up his powers and we disappeared from Veyron’s front yard and instantly reappeared back in my hotel room. I twisted out of his grasp the second I felt my feet on firm ground again, and I drew in a lungful of air to shout for Danaus when the hunter and Stefan appeared next to me a second later. The air escaped me in a useless rush. I hadn’t trusted Stefan to bring Danaus there. I didn’t trust Stefan as far as I could throw him, but I was now grudgingly willing to give him the benefit of the doubt, considering the loss of his assistant.