Jocelynn Drake - Wait for Dusk

“Valerio!” I shouted, throwing my hands up in frustration. I wasn’t even close to being done interrogating our prisoner. I needed to know more about the warlock that was apparently working with the lycans, and by extension, the nightwalkers. This kind of collaboration wasn’t something that set me at ease. Sure, at one time in my own domain my own people had gotten along with the lycanthropes, and I had a scattering of associates that were witches and warlocks. But this arrangement in Budapest was distinctly different and completely unsettling. The warlocks and lycanthropes were acting as muscle for the nightwalkers during the daylight hours, extending that species’ power more than it should have.

“Sorry,” he said sheepishly, flashing me a weak smile. “I don’t know my own strength sometimes.”

“Is he still alive?”

“Yes,” Valerio said, sounding put off that I would think he had so little control. “He’s just unconscious. I am assuming that you want him awake when I kill him. Or should I call Stefan back? I’m sure he’d be happy to finish off this fleabag.”

“Leave him alive. I promised him to Stefan later. Right now, we need him conscious so we can get more information out of him. I need to know who this warlock is.”

Valerio sighed as he stepped over Ferko’s unconscious form and started to walk over to where he had left his coat folded over a tree limb. “We don’t need him for that.”

“Of course we do,” I snapped, trailing behind him. “The lycans that attacked Danaus during the day were accompanied by a warlock.”

“The night that we met with Veyron, Mira and I were attacked by a magic user,” Danaus interjected. “I’m willing to bet that it’s the same one. A city generally doesn’t have that many powerful magic users on hand.”

Valerio turned and arched one eyebrow at us as he pulled on his coat. “Agreed. Warlocks aren’t very good at sharing. However, in this town, I would be reluctant to make such an assumption. It seems like everyone is working together here.”

“Too true. Nightwalkers directing lycanthropes. Warlocks protecting lycanthropes.”

“I’m surprised that they haven’t also struck a deal with the naturi,” Danaus added, earning a dark look from me. We didn’t need to discuss potential deals with the naturi. We had already been down that route and the outcome was never pretty. The last time such a thing was spoken of, I ended up on the coven.

“The naturi don’t like to make deals,” I said. “Besides, Rowe’s running around the city with his own personal band of followers. Their only agenda is to get their hands on me so they can hand me over to Aurora. He’s not going to be into making deals with anyone. At least, I hope not.”

“Unlikely,” Valerio agreed.

“Thanks,” I grumbled, but then turned my attention back to our problem at hand. With the toe of my scuffed black boot, I turned Ferko over so he was lying awkwardly on his back with one arm trapped under his body. His mouth was slack as blood trickled out of the corner and dripped onto the melting snow. “What about the warlock?”

“It’s likely that it’s Clarion,” Valerio stated.

“Clarion? I’m afraid I’ve never heard of him.”

“He’s given me a little trouble in Vienna. He’s a powerful warlock who is based in Budapest, but he’s come around some of the other big cities surrounding Budapest, looking to expand the reach of his . . . domain,” Valerio said, struggling for the right word.

Warlocks and witches were not known for having a domain. They tended to settle in a central location for a time, and operated exclusively in that region until they either died, grew bored, or were run off by someone more powerful. They didn’t have followers or minions like nightwalkers or lycanthropes. And they didn’t try to expand the reach of their home territory. This didn’t sound good at all, and it clearly explained why Valerio was interested in this little trip to Budapest. It was a chance to make a grab at his annoying neighbor, possibly scaring him into a new location if he didn’t simply kill him.

“So you think that Clarion is the one working with the nightwalkers and lycanthropes?” Danaus asked.

Valerio gave a noncommittal shrug. “Possibly. Did you get a good look at him?”

“No, not at all. Just say a vague outline in the darkness.” Danaus shoved his hands into the pockets of his long leather coat as he frowned at the vampire. “In the hotel room, I was too worried about keeping the lycanthropes away from where I thought Mira was. I could only sense his power in the air, marking him as a warlock.”

“On the way to Veyron’s, I got only a glimpse of the figure on the rooftop. No details,” I admitted with no small amount of frustration. “But what are the odds that there is more than one powerful warlock in the region?”

“Pretty good, unfortunately,” Valerio stated, pulling a growl out of me. I felt like I had stepped in quicksand. With every movement, I was getting sucked further down into the thickening insanity that permeated every inch of the dark occult side of Budapest. I was seriously beginning to long for my home of Savannah—away from Veyron, his flunkies, and the schemes of Macaire, which I had yet to figure out.

“How is that possible?” Danaus demanded. “I didn’t think warlocks and witches played well together. Too territorial. Even more so than nightwalkers and lycanthropes.”

“It’s true, but this one seems to have found someone that he does get along well with. I have encountered Clarion only a few times during the past several years, but I had heard that he doesn’t work alone. There’s another magic user that he associates with here in Budapest. Unfortunately, I don’t know whether it’s a warlock or a witch yet. I can’t gauge the creature’s strength, but can only guess that he or she is at least as powerful as Clarion or he wouldn’t bother with this creature.”

“You mean, he would have either killed the person or pressured him or her out of the region already,” I said.

“True.”

“So what’s our next step? Do we go after Veyron?” Danaus asked. “It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to deduct that he sent a hit squad after you,” he added, bringing a frown to my lips. “You were expecting him to send some people after you.”

“Yes, but the problem is that I was expecting him to send humans with big guns and wooden stakes, not a pack of werewolves with a warlock as backup. That makes this whole situation more complicated, Mr. Rocket Scientist,” I said, not caring how bitchy I was starting to sound. We were all getting more than a little frustrated by Veyron and his minions, and that didn’t get us any closer to taking care of the naturi infestation we were originally sent to take care of. I might have let Rowe slip through my fingers tonight, but I wasn’t through with the one-eyed naturi. I wasn’t going before Aurora again unless I had an edge that would finally take the naturi queen down. In the meantime, I needed to take care of Rowe so he wasn’t constantly at my back with a knife.

“We first need to understand the power structure in Budapest.” Valerio artfully wrapped his dark red scarf around his neck, showing the same skill as when he tied a cravat a few centuries ago just prior to our attending the various balls and soirees that filled our evenings together in Europe. “If we aren’t careful, we could kill a simple pawn, which would leave the bulk of the power structure intact and us vulnerable to retaliation.”

“Agreed. We need to be sure we take them all out before we leave Budapest,” I said, smirking at his close attention to his scarf. Valerio shrugged, unmoved by my teasing.

Danaus frowned at us both, determined not to be distracted. “Could that be what Macaire planned all along? Why he’s here now? If we destroy the reigning power players in Budapest, it will leave it vulnerable enough for him to move in and take over.”