Jocelynn Drake - Wait for Dusk

“You do know Veyron, correct?”

“Of course. He’s a somewhat powerful figure among the nightwalkers. It is only natural that I am aware of him. However, our meetings have been extremely limited. I cannot imagine why he might think that I know where to find this naturi called Rowe.”

“He probably believed that you would be aware of the naturi simply for your own safety,” I said with a wave of my hand. I let my gaze drift away from the warlock to a trolley laden with chocolate confections that smelled heavenly. For a second I wondered if Nick was causing more problems for me. I hadn’t craved food in centuries, but then I hadn’t even been faced with such amazing delights before now. Besides, I was content to let Clarion dangle a little bit.

“What do the naturi have to do with my safety?” the warlock demanded, finally dragging my eyes back to his face.

I lowered my voice to a whisper and leaned in a little bit. “Well, even though you are a warlock, to the naturi you are first and foremost a human. And second, the naturi have a history of singling out blood warlocks for execution.”

“How did you know?” he asked, surprised.

“That you’re a blood warlock?” I finished with a smile. “I can taste it in your powers. It’s quite easy to spot. You have to remember, I’ve been around the block for quite a long time. I’ve had plenty of time to learn a few tricks.”

“And you think the naturi would single me out?” Clarion demanded, starting to sound concerned for the first time.

“Possibly.” I shrugged and then turned my attention to Danaus. “How’s your coffee?”

“Wonderful,” he said, refilling his cup from the small ceramic pot that had been brought to the table. “We’ll have to come back after everything has been settled.”

“About the naturi,” Clarion snapped, drawing my attention back to him.

“Yes, it’s quite possible they might come after you. Judging the energy that is flowing about you, I wouldn’t be surprised if they were drawn to you. You represent not only a power player within the city, but could also prove to be a protector of the humans. You’re a speed bump on the way to their domination of Budapest. They would see you as someone they would need to get rid of.”

“And what about you?” Clarion said gruffly, eager to refocus my attention.

I gave a little laugh as I relaxed in my chair. “Oh, Rowe has special plans regarding my extermination. He’s been trying to kill me for years. I’m sure he’ll get around to it eventually, but right now he’s set his sights on Budapest.”

Clarion drummed his fingers on the table, rattling his spoon on his china cup and saucer. His brow was furrowed as he turned over the selection of information I had carefully dropped into his lap. Some of it was true, but for the most part it was pure fabrication. I was trying to push him into making a rash decision, or at the very least, into confronting Veyron. Either would benefit me.

“I’m afraid that I don’t know anything about the naturi,” Clarion announced after nearly a minute of silence. “However, considering they are nature-based creatures and they are trying to take over Budapest, I would say that your best place to look for them would be Margit Island, which can be reached using Margit Bridge. It’s a beautiful garden park. Recently, there have been a rash of disappearances on the island, but I have not given it much thought. Every city has its occasional murder and floating body.”

“Of course,” I said a bit sarcastically. “Thank you for the suggestion. Danaus and I will look into it this evening. Hopefully, we will be able to rid the city of its naturi problem.”

“That would be a great relief to everyone, I’m sure,” Clarion said, gritting his teeth slightly. “Now, if you will excuse me. The hour grows late and there are a few small items that I need to see to.”

“Actually there is one other matter that you should be able to help with,” I said, laying my hand over his on the table in an effort to keep him from leaping to his feet. “It has to do with a warlock in Budapest that appears to be stirring up some trouble.”

“That . . . that seems . . . unlikely.” Clarion stammered a bit, as if struggling to find the right words.

“I know, but it is true. I thought I would contact you first since you are one of the more powerful warlocks in the region. I thought you might be able to point us in the right direction,” I said.

A patronizing smile lifted the corners of Clarion’s mouth as he sat back in his chair, sliding his hand out from my touch. “You’re looking for me to hand over one of my own kind to you?” he asked, tilting his head.

“Are you going to suddenly act as if there is any true loyalty among warlocks and witches?” I mocked. “Come now. I’ve traveled the world, and everywhere I have visited, the warlocks and witches have adopted a type of to-each-his-own mentality. Are you going to risk your neck for someone else when you’ve done nothing wrong?”

“Maybe things are different in Budapest than the rest of the world,” he suggested, but again I wasn’t buying it. Things were extremely different in Budapest from the rest of the world, but I was willing to bet that the warlock/witch community wasn’t.

“Well, I thought you might help me. If not, I am more than content to contact Ryan in London,” I said. Dropping the name of the extremely powerful and dangerous warlock that was the head of Themis caused Danaus to softly rattle his cup and saucer together. “He’s been more than happy to help me in the past, and I’m sure that he would be able to ferret out the culprit in short order.”

Mira! Danaus said in a warning voice in my head.

There’s no way he’s heard about our falling out, I replied quickly. Ryan’s not going to advertise that he failed to lure me to his side, and for all he knows, I haven’t turned on him yet. He’s still the one with the extra special blood that I can’t resist. I’m just trying to rattle Clarion into making a mistake.

Just keep Ryan out of this. We don’t need any more problems.

“Ryan? From Themis?” Clarion asked.

“Yes. He helped us in the past with the naturi and I have no doubt that he’d be happy to help me with my little problem with Budapest. He does tend to know most of the powerful warlocks in the region.”

“What kind of a warlock problem do you seem to be having?”

“The murdering kind,” I said, losing all lightness from my voice.

“Oh. That is a problem,” Clarion said, his whole body seeming to go stiff.

“Yes,” I hissed, leaning a little bit closer to him. “Recently when Danaus and I were traveling to visit with Veyron, a warlock attacked us on a busy street. He not only threatened our lives, but threatened to expose our secret world. Not exactly something that is acceptable in our little supernatural community.”

“No, it’s not.”

“And then again today, my hotel room was attacked by three lycanthropes and a warlock. Danaus didn’t get a clear look at the warlock, but he’s confident he would be able to identify him under the right conditions. Naturally, an attempt on my life needs to be dealt with.”

“That is a problem,” Clarion stated again, rubbing his chin with his right hand. He didn’t sound as concerned as he should have. I knew I was sitting across from my would-be assassin, and I was sure that Clarion knew that I suspected him. My goal was to get him to run back to Veyron for help. Or at the very least, draw his magic-using companion out of the shadows. I needed a clear picture of the power structure in Budapest before I attempted to dismantle it.

“So you see, if you can’t help me, I have no choice but to draw Ryan into the matter. As a power player in the warlock community, I am sure that he will want to personally see to it that our supernatural nature is not exposed by a warlock.”