September Moon (Alexa O'Brien, Huntress #8)(47)

“Fuck, f*ck, f*ck!” Picking up a board from a desk drawer, I hurled it at the wall in anger. And noticed something taped to the underside of it.

I rushed to retrieve it, finding a yellow sticky note with a carefully scrawled message that read: Nice try, bitch. Did you think I would be that obvious?

“Look.” I handed the note to Willow. “I think Veryl wrote this. It must have been to Lilah. He knew she would come here looking.” I swallowed hard, my mind racing. “I think he knew where the scroll was.”

The sound of my heart pounded in my ears, and I wondered again if killing him had been a mistake. My own personal feelings toward the knowledgeable vampire had been manipulated. And I’d let it happen.

“If there was anything here worth finding, it’s gone now.” Willow rose from where he’d been sifting through spilled file folders. “Whoever did this must not have found much either. Or we would likely know by now.”

“You think so?” I scanned the mess again, hoping something would jump out at me. Even the smallest clue might help.

“It seems likely. Of course, there’s no way of saying for sure.”

“So we’ve hit another dead end. I’m starting to think we should get used to that.” I kicked the shattered computer mouse. A thought occurred to me, something I knew I shouldn’t even give voice to. “Willow, is it possible to speak to the dead? A dead vampire, to be specific.”

Alarm flashed across his face, and he shook his head vigorously. “Don’t go there, Alexa. I won’t let you. I can’t. It’s not safe.”

“So it can be done.”

“I didn’t say that. You have no idea how dangerous what you’re asking is. I’m sorry, but that is not the way to handle this. I can’t let you try something that deadly.”

His expression was pained, as if it hurt him to have to play the guardian card. If any of my men had told me no, I would have contested it immediately. It was in my nature. However, I knew Willow’s protests came from a place of wisdom and experience that I could only imagine. Though that did little to change my mind.

“Look, Willow, I respect you more than I’ve ever respected anyone in my life. But we have to try anything and everything we can to beat Shya to this. If I could just contact Veryl, maybe he would tell me something we can use, maybe—”

“No!” Willow’s voice echoed in the small room. It was commanding and startling, causing me to jump. “Don’t you think Shya has probably already tried that? Talking to the dead is his territory, trust me. Not mine and certainly not yours. Just because you can do something doesn’t mean you should.”

“Ok, ok,” I squeaked out, timid and uneasy with his outburst. “I get it. Talking to the dead is very bad.”

“It’s worse than that. It’s a violation of natural laws. It comes at a price.”

“What kind of price?” I just had to know, even if that made me annoying.

“It’s different for everyone. It’s personal. Promise me you won’t try anything like that.” When I didn’t answer right away, Willow grabbed me by both arms and gave me a slight shake. “Promise me.”

I gazed into his deep, green eyes and saw fury burning within them. But there was more. Fear. Anything that bothered Willow this much was worth taking seriously. I raised my hands in surrender. “I promise. Ok? Calm down, boozehound. You’re freaking me out.”

“Sorry.” He released me and stepped back. “I didn’t mean to scare you.”

“If you want to talk to the dead, Alexa, I can help you with that.” A familiar voice rang out from behind us.

I turned to face Falon with a scowl already plastered firmly in place. He leaned in the doorway, arms crossed, a smirk adorning his too perfect face.

“This time you had to have been following me. Unless Shya sent you. Either way, get lost. I don’t have time for your crap.” My greeting was met with a broad grin. Falon was going to frustrate me right to death one of these days.

“Is that so? Pity. And here I came to help you. But if you’d rather not, then that’s fine with me. It’s a waste of my time anyway.” Falon feigned examining his fingernails before rubbing them on his long jacket.

I considered throwing a chunk of broken desk at him. “You never help me unless you’ve been ordered to. Thanks but I’d rather not have Shya’s lackeys hanging around being a constant distraction. I’m not stupid or desperate enough to fall for that. Beat it.”

Willow was quiet, watching the exchange with disinterest. Falon caught his eye and nodded, his expression veiled and hard to read. Was that a show of respect I just saw? Well, I’ll be damned. I never would have dreamed Falon had it in him. It definitely made me more curious about Willow.

Falon’s pale silver gaze landed on me again. He arched a brow and studied me with that piercing stare. It grated on my nerves.

“Do you really think it’s a good idea for you to be separated from your twin right now, Alexa?” Falon taunted. He never budged from his place on the threshold though his words gave him a sudden air of menace.

My gaze narrowed, and I pursed my lips. Crossing my arms, I mirrored him down to the cocky expression. “I know what you’re doing, Falon. Are you here to distract me? Or did you do this, and you’re returning to the scene of the crime?”