September Moon (Alexa O'Brien, Huntress #8)(30)

Placing a hand on her forehead and another on her side, I closed my eyes and focused on Jez’s scattered energy. It felt rough, lacking the strong, smooth flow it should have. I aligned my energy with hers, blanketing her brokenness with my wholeness. Then I called forth the power coiled in my core. It rose up like a soft breeze, ruffling my hair. Concentrating hard on my intent, I targeted her weakness and, with a gentle push, breathed positive healing energy into her.

I couldn’t do anything about the drugs in her bloodstream, but I was able to strengthen her body’s response to them. Shifters process drugs and alcohol faster than humans. For her to be this screwed up, she must have really partied hard.

Healing was still new to me. I didn’t use my power this way near as often as I used it to harm or defend. In that moment, joined to Jez by something bigger than us both, I could feel the power of the light. It felt right.

Being aligned with her aura the way I was, I could feel the spark of darkness burning like a hot coal, hidden beneath the raw power of her leopard. Jez’s demon paternity was likely part of this emotional rollercoaster she was on. She didn’t talk about it much, but the one time it had come up, she’d admitted to wondering how much of her father lay within her.

I had no answer to that. The dark entity inside her rested, quiet, almost as if it was dormant. Waiting. The prowling wildcat within Jez seemed unaware of it.

I opened my eyes to find Kale staring at me. He stood in the doorway between the rooms with a steaming mug of coffee in hand and an unmistakable hunger burning in his predatory gaze. He moved with a slow, even gait. He set the coffee on the table, careful to keep his distance.

“Sorry to interrupt.”

“No worries.” I broke contact with Jez, satisfied when her energy hummed with a strong vibe. Unwilling to take my gaze off Kale, I stood up to face him. “Are you ok?”

“No,” he admitted, looking conflicted. “But I’ve got it under control.”

I knew that look. There were many ways to sate that kind of longing. None of them were without an element of danger. It took so very little for self-control to slip when the power guided the craving. Guilt slithered through me. It was joined by shame.

“Willow said we should talk. Apparently, there is something you need to tell me.” Venturing into a potentially volatile subject was risky, but it was best to keep him talking.

“Did he say that? How nice of him.” Kale tried to hide a smile. He and Willow had formed their own odd relationship while I was away. It definitely piqued my curiosity.

“He said that you’re my second. And that Shya’s been sending you to look for the scroll. Willow thinks we need to talk about that, and as much as I’d like to avoid it, I have to agree with him. So…start talking.”

An amused grin spread across Kale’s handsome face. Mischief shone in his eyes. It was a good indicator that he was slipping into that strange place where vampires go to hunt and kill, an inevitable side effect of being around the power I’d called. I really hoped we could just talk without me having to knock him out.

Kale seemed to be weighing his words, considering where to start or how much to tell me. Finally he said, “I stopped an assassination attempt on Arys while you were both out of town. A rebel group formed. They were plotting to kill him upon your return home. I made sure they never had a chance to try it.”

He stopped, allowing me a chance to process this information. It wasn’t easy to take in. I sat heavily on the end of the couch near Jez’s feet and stared at him, stunned. “Why?” I asked, taking a deep, calming breath. “Why would you want to help Arys?”

“Shya instructed me to do it,” he confessed, hanging his head as if ashamed. “But I didn’t do it for him. I did it for you.”

I swallowed hard, “Is this why I found one of your victims propped up by the front door?”

“Shya said I should make it clear to the city that I’m your second in command. The most powerful next only to you and Arys. It felt wrong when he said it. Once I started killing the rebel group, that changed. I guess not everyone is happy with that. I do want to back you, Alexa. Which is why I’ve been helping Shya find the scroll. You need to find it first.” The smile faded from Kale’s face, and he gazed at me with thinly veiled adoration. “It’s not just him though. The vampires, the rebels, they’re unpredictable. That incident at the Kiss when you got up close and personal with a stake…that’s not over. Now that Lilah’s gone, they’re feeling liberated and anarchistic.”

I was bombarded by thoughts and feelings. It was disconcerting to hear about the rebel group. I’d seen it before though, when a vampire had violently tried to plunge a stake in my heart while vowing to never be my slave. “I’m not Lilah. I don’t want to rule over them. I just want to maintain a sense of order. It would be nice to have just one week where someone didn’t want to kill me.” I was overwhelmed by everything he’d just said. He could have let the rebel group take their shot at Arys. I wouldn’t blame him for wanting that. “Shya must know that he can’t trust you. Be careful, Kale.”

“That’s just another reason why we need to keep our distance. He’s watching us.”

“I know. He proved that earlier tonight when he sent Brook to Father Andrew’s church. He’s going to make it tough to hunt this thing down.” I chewed my lower lip, lost in thought. There had to be a way to escape Shya’s watchful eye. “He thinks I’m going to die before he has a chance to use me as a sacrifice. Is it wrong that I kind of want it to happen?”