September Moon (Alexa O'Brien, Huntress #8)(22)

“No more of this,” I said, raising my voice to be heard.

Before I could spit out the nasty threat brewing on the tip of my tongue, Falon appeared and ruined it. He stepped between the two immortals and shoved them apart. Spreading his silver wings wide, he used them to keep Brook and Willow at a safe distance.

“Father Andrew,” Falon gushed at the priest lingering in the doorway as if they were old friends. “How nice to see you again. I apologize for the disturbance.”

Father Andrew said nothing. He merely stared in stony silence at the * angel. There was definitely some history there. Couldn’t say I blamed the priest for his reaction, or lack thereof.

Falon turned his attention to Brook. “Shya would like a word with you. Better hurry. He’s not in a good mood.” To Willow he said, “Settle down, guardian. Nobody is going to harm your precious Hound. Yet.”

“Why am I starting to feel like I can’t go anywhere or do anything without having one of you foul things tailing me?” I asked, leaning on Shaz while I regained my bearings.

“Because you can’t,” Falon said with a twitch of his lips that looked more like a grimace than a smile.

Brook disappeared in a cloud of sulfur. One down. One to go. It wasn’t looking promising.

“Are you going to follow me everywhere all night?” I was exasperated with Shya and his lackeys. Part of me was ready for this to all go down and be over with.

“Of course not. How pathetically boring would that be?” Falon made a face of disgust. “You know there are others you could be stuck with other than me or Brook.”

I sighed and said with a sarcastic drawl, “Oh, Falon, don’t get my hopes up like that.”

After uttering an apology to Father Andrew, I marched back to the car. We left Falon standing there, glaring after us. When I glanced back, he was gone.

I burned with a raging hot fury. Shya thought he could have his demons stalk me as I searched for the scroll too. Screw that. Having Shya put an end to my hunt for the scroll as soon as it began was not an option.

* * * *

I was reluctant to bring my search to an end. But a sudden surge of strength and a shiver down my spine told me that my dark vampire was almost home. When Arys touched my mind to tell me he had just landed at the airport, I was relieved and unsurprised. He wanted to meet at The Wicked Kiss. The search would have to wait.

It had only been a few days, but I couldn’t wait to lay eyes on Arys. During the drive back to the club, the familiar flutter of butterfly wings beat a steady rhythm in my stomach. I felt like a lovesick teenager. How ridiculous.

In the parking lot of The Wicked Kiss, I fussed with my makeup before heading inside. Shaz followed Willow in, leaving me alone with my thoughts.

Pulling my fingers through my hair, I stared at my reflection in the visor mirror. I thought about Doghead. It was important to form an alliance with Dayne and his wolves though I couldn’t blame him for wanting nothing to do with me or the vampires tied to me. Maybe it was better for the wolves to stay in their own little world.

I glanced at the front door of the club where a queue of people waited to get in. Shaz didn’t belong in there with the vampires. He belonged at Doghead. He just didn’t know it yet.

I headed inside, breathing a sigh of relief at the absence of Kale’s Camaro. Avoiding me was probably best for both of us right now. Willow was right. Kale and I did need to talk, but it would have to wait until we could be rational. That could be a long time.

I bypassed the line and strode inside. Arys wasn’t there yet. That gave me a few minutes to consider my next plan of action. Shya had been searching for the scroll for years. I had a lot of catching up to do.

Willow and Shaz were at the bar. I joined them, slipping behind the bar with Josh, the bartender, to help myself to a glass of whiskey. Every time I sipped the deep gold nectar, I was reminded that my time to enjoy my favorite human vice was running out. My enjoyment of the drink was marred by thoughts of Falon who had happily pointed out my impending doom.

“What do you think, Alexa?” Shaz asked, startling me out of my thoughts.

“Sorry, what?” I flashed him an apologetic smile. “I’m just a little distracted. What were you saying?”

“Tomorrow before sundown. We should get an early start on the rest of the churches on our list.”

I nodded. “We might have to split up so we can cover more ground. We’ll need more people too.”

Willow eyed me thoughtfully. “If Shya tracks anyone, it’ll be you, through his mark. You need to find a way to use that against him. Lead him away from where you’re really searching. Send someone else to those places.”

“Good call,” I said, savoring the whiskey burn as it slid down my throat. “What would I do without you, Willow?”

He nodded and squeezed out a tight smile. “One can only imagine.”

The two of them chattered on about the scroll, discussing possible locations. Shaz was certain we had to think bigger, outside the obvious. A cramp in my brain made it hard to follow. There was just so much to consider.

I scanned the club, admiring the recent renovations and changes. One of the few local bands that were brave enough to play here rocked the new stage. People clustered around the stage and spilled over onto the dance floor. Humans partied their asses off while vampires moved among them.