Shifting into his human form as easily as someone might get up from a seated position, Randolph asked, “What others?”
“Your brethren from the Old World. Their scent grows stronger with every breath.”
Both Full Bloods lifted their noses to the wind. Randolph’s eyes wavered slightly as he sifted through the myriad scents of life, death, pollution, steel, and dirt that he found. “I don’t smell them,” he said.
“That doesn’t mean they aren’t there.”
“Liam, see what you can do with these wretches.”
The ebon Full Blood didn’t need another bit of prompting before pressing his teeth against the Half Breed’s side and easing his jaws shut until the tips of his fangs broke the creature’s skin. While the Half Breed had been a vicious predator a few minutes ago, it now squirmed and writhed like any other animal being put through an excruciating amount of pain.
The creation of Half Breeds was mostly an accident that occurred when the marrow in a human’s bones mingled with saliva from a shapeshifter’s mouth. Attacks as brutal as that were most often fatal. To commit them with such express purpose required equal amounts of viciousness and precision. Randolph watched the process for as long as he could stomach it, fighting the impulse to put the poor wretch out of its misery. Liam, on the other hand, savored every moment.
“I know who you are,” Randolph said in a barely audible growl, addressing Kawosa, and leaving Liam to his task on the wooded mountainside.
“Is that supposed to be a surprise?” Kawosa asked as he nodded in Liam’s direction. That simple gesture was enough to convince the Half Breed in front of him to lower its head and trot over to the Full Blood’s side where it laid down to patiently wait for its own portion of agony to be doled out. “I thought that’s why you came to get me.”
“You’re more than a curiosity. More than the source of Lancroft’s attempt to undo us. Some of the human tribes call you Ktseena. Among us you’re known as the First Deceiver.”
“All shapeshifters are deceivers, Birkyus.”
Hearing his birth name spoken in such an offhanded manner by the being in front of him was enough to rattle the Full Blood. No matter how quickly he recovered, Randolph knew his slip hadn’t gone unnoticed. “But you are the first.”
“I am.”
“Legends say you brought many things to the human world.”
Nodding slowly, Kawosa cocked his head as if looking for the perfect angle to view the creature before him. “They do.”
“I want another of the secrets you are said to possess.”
Kawosa’s grin barely touched the corners of his mouth. “I was wondering how long it would take for you to come out and ask for it.”
Chapter Eighteen
Rico drove down I-94 toward Chicago behind the wheel of a light blue Dodge Neon borrowed from one of the dancers at Shimmy’s. That was strange enough, but the fact that Paige insisted on sharing the backseat with him instead of being up front where she could watch the road made Cole even more suspicious.
“Did you tell Rico what I asked?”
“After what just happened, you’re still worried about Shampoo Banana?” Cole asked.
“He did, Paige,” Rico said from the front of the car. “And I handed over the notebooks.”
“Did you read them?” When she didn’t get an answer right away, Paige grabbed Cole’s shoulders and forced him to look directly at her. “Did you read them?”
Pulling out of her grip, he replied, “I read the first one, but I want to know what the hell happened back there! How do you disappear to Miami and then just stroll back in and expect to talk about some goddamn notebooks?”
“There wasn’t much to find in Miami. The same two that came through before were there again. This time they forced the nymphs at that club to send a group to Philly and then killed them once the bridge was open. I got through before it closed, mopped up the ones that were left in Lancroft’s basement and called ahead to get us out through another club.”
“What about the ones who killed the nymphs?” Rico asked.
“Gone. I poked around for a while, but they knew I was there.” To Cole, she explained, “You can barely walk across a street in Miami without being spotted by three or four bloodsuckers. Most of them are busy biting tourists or feeding on any number of willing freak jobs, but they’ve still got their eyes on the street. Skinners pretty much wrote off that whole city, and the fact that two of them strode through it without a care in the world tells me a lot.”
“Bobby’s switched sides?” Rico asked.
“Looks that way,” she told him. “Smuggling another Nymar into Lancroft’s place was a big enough giveaway, but this is worse. There’s something more going on. You guys weren’t the only ones hit by a Nymar firing squad tonight. Damn near anyone who came through Philly to fill up their shopping carts in that basement was targeted.”
“I heard about some of that from MEG,” Cole said. “I bet Stephanie’s really laughing her ass off after putting Raza Hill to the torch.”
“She won’t be laughing for long,” Paige said earnestly. “Pinups was tapped out on the power needed to bring us back straight into Chicago, but we’ll be back home before long. As soon as we’re there, we’ll be heading straight to Rush Street and wiping the smiles off of those assholes’ faces.”
“About damn time,” Cole said.
“As far as those notebooks go, it’s important that you read them, Cole.”
“Well, I didn’t bring them along, if that’s what you’re about to ask next. And before you get upset about that—” Stopping himself as the frustration started to build, Cole took a breath and placed his hand on her knee. “I was worried about you, Paige. That’s all.”
“I’m fine. See?”
“Yeah, now I do. It’s just that … you know … after what happened in KC, I want to make sure nothing happens to you.”
Paige slumped like one of the toys on Ned’s shelf. Her head lolled forward for a moment before she straightened up again. “What happened, happened. It happened once, but that doesn’t mean I need your protection or expect you to be worried whenever I’m out of your sight. Just because we had sex, I don’t want you to get all protective and stupid on me.”
“Hel-lo!” Rico said.
“Not now,” she snapped.
“If I’m protective,” Cole said through gritted teeth, “it’s because I care about you as a partner and a friend. It’s got nothing to do with …” As much as he wanted to continue that sentence as planned, he couldn’t get the words out in one smooth line. “All right,” he admitted. “The sex part may have something to do with it.”
Rico snarled behind the wheel like a dad who’d caught two kids groping each other in the backseat on the way to a Homecoming dance. Much like those kids, Cole and Paige ignored him.
When she spoke again, the harsh tone in her voice was gone. Her eyes darted self-consciously toward the front seat and she shifted her back to Rico as if that would somehow prevent him from hearing what she had to say. “I may not be around all the time to—”
“I wish you’d stop saying that!” Cole snapped.
“And since I may not be around, you need to keep your head on straight so you can not only think about what to do next, but when to do it. There are things in motion that could affect us all in a big way real soon.”
“You mean like the Full Bloods working with Mongrels to run away with whatever the hell was locked up at the end of the hallway in Lancroft’s dungeon?”
Despite everything that was going on, Cole couldn’t help but get a little bit of pleasure from the shocked look on Paige’s face. “Are you sure about that?” she asked.