“Weird or scary, one of the two.” Nexi shook her head in an attempt to allow that bit of information to process, then she waved Kyden on. “Continue.”
“Those are the roles of the Council’s Guard.” He smiled softly. “Werewolves track the offenders or witnesses by scent. Vampires glamour mortals’ memories. Guardians hunt and destroy the offenders. Witches assist with their magic, including what you’ll see Haven do tonight, to mind reading and magically hiding murder scenes.” Clearly, the confusion had deepened on her face, since he added, “If a mortal walked by the scene now they wouldn’t see us.”
She stared at him, doubtful. “Seriously?”
His lips twitched. “Seriously.”
She looked around at the quiet street, not believing what he had told her. Of course, after a minute she realized it wasn’t any less believable than the other craziness she’d already heard. “Got quite the set up.”
“A system that works,” he said, drawing her focus to him, then he added, “Once we’re notified of a killing by a supernatural cop, a guardian, along with Haven, will arrive and take over the assignment.” He gestured toward Graycyn. “She’ll handle anyone back at the station, including the 911 dispatcher and all involved who weren’t at the scene. It’s the vampires’ responsibility to erase all memories of those on location, and the werewolves will track any witnesses, if need be.”
While all of that seemed so unbelievable, even if incredibly organized, Nexi stuck on the one explanation that topped the list of implausible. “But how can a werewolf track every witness?”
“As the lead detective, I typically know of any witnesses,” Graycyn answered with indifference. “Take tonight, one woman in that apartment building—” She jerked her chin to the right. “—called in the murder after she heard the man’s scream.” Her smile turned wicked, fangs gleaming against the light. “And after a visit with some friendly vampires, she thinks she watched a television show and went to bed.”
Kyden added, “Besides, scents at a scene remain, and the wolves can easily track any witnesses who have left the location.”
Nexi considered what she’d heard, and couldn’t push aside the obvious. “Ah, I get it. That’s how you track the killers, then. The werewolves pick up all the scents and follow them? You narrow down each scent until you find the one responsible, right?”
“Nope,” Haven said. “I help with that.”
Nexi put two and two together. “Let me guess: the weird thing Zia spoke of?” At Haven’s nod, Nexi didn’t press her further. Zia had warned her against it. “So…what happens next?”
Kyden said, “Once the guardians are done with the investigation at the scene and before we go and hunt the killer, we use our swords on the body. The magic contained in the blade will alter the wound to human-inflicted.”
Nexi didn’t like the sounds of this one bit. “Like a gunshot?”
“That or a stab wound,” he said. “Then Graycyn will place an anonymous phone call tipping the cops off, and the humans will come and do their own investigation.”
She hated where her thoughts took her. “But that means the murder won’t ever be solved. The human families won’t know what really happened.”
Kyden gave her a long look. “Does it change the gravity of it? The mortal is gone either way, and our existence is a secret for the humans’ own protection. The less they know about us, the better.”
As much as that bothered her—no wonder there were so many unsolved murders and cold cases—she understood, too. If the Council had to deal with some mob looking to rid the world of supernaturals, forcing them to protect themselves, this would no doubt get worse. Nevertheless, when she looked to the dead man, her heart clenched at the thought of this man’s family never knowing the truth. “It’s sad.”
“It is,” Kyden murmured.
Glancing to the guardian next to her, she did a double take at the pain in Kyden’s eyes. Wasn’t this an odd development? Did the tough guy have a soft side? Sure, for the most part, as annoyingly pushy as male supernaturals could be, they all seemed genuinely kind. She’d just seen more of the annoying pushy part from Kyden since meeting him.
Graycyn sighed, exasperated. “If we’re done with the sad song, I have a lead for you that came from one of the trackers, Alazar.” She picked at her fingernails. “He tracked the only vampire scent here and it led him to the vamp club downtown, Crimson Rose.” To Kyden, her voice took on a seductive edge. “Need an extra set of hands?”
He shook his head. “Nah, we’ve got it.”
Nexi studied him, noting he seemed oblivious to Graycyn’s ogle of him, or he simply didn’t care. She figured with that body packed full of muscles and hot-as-hell face, he had to be used to that type of thing. Which was why she’d been trying not to give him the same ogle, and of course, she’d failed miserably.
Hell, he was hot.
Graycyn’s eyes swept over Kyden before she said, “Pity.” With a wink, she turned and headed toward a fancy sports car parked at the curb.
Nexi snorted, watching the sway of Graycyn’s hips.
Kyden chuckled, drawing her attention to him, and his eyes twinkled. “You ready to do this?”
“Nope, she’s not,” Haven interjected, stepping around to the other side of the body and raising her hands to the sky. “But let’s get on with it.”
Not a second later, energy formed in the air. Waves of heat rushed across Nexi’s skin and the hairs on the back of her neck stood straight up. “Let me guess: this is when it gets weird, right?”
Kyden shrugged. “Depends on your definition of weird.”
Before she had a chance to tell him, a bright flash interrupted her thoughts and like a damned horror movie, the man’s death unfolded. There, on the grass where the dead man lay was now the live version of him in a fancy suit, screaming and thrashing out, trying to free himself from the vampire drinking from his throat.
The scene was so shocking Nexi didn’t know what bothered her more—the fact that Haven had magical abilities that recreated a past death, or the horrific nature of the murder. The vampire had him pinned with one arm around his middle and the other arm wrapped around his face. He groaned deeply, his eyes ablaze, as blood dripped from the corners of his mouth.
Nexi’s stomach churned. “How is Haven doing that?”
Kyden said in a quiet voice, “As an Earth Witch, Haven’s abilities allow her to access time.”
The sight of the man crying out in pure agony trapped Nexi, but even worse was the scent of decomposed flesh reminding her he had already died. “Is this some sort of time travel?”
“Not quite.” Kyden shifted on his feet, his arm brushing up against hers. “More like capturing a moment. Haven’s magic allows her to tap into that memory in time and bring the imprint back.”
Nexi welcomed his touch; the warmth of his body was a much-needed comfort as frost laced her veins. The man’s eyes dimmed, screams quieted, and his fists that had banged against the vampire’s back lowered. One thing, though, became glaringly obvious. “Supernaturals don’t know Haven can do this, do they?” No one could be that stupid.
“No.” Kyden leaned more firmly against her. “Haven is highly protected.”
Nexi wasn’t blind to the fact that he moved close to comfort her, and she didn’t mind it either. “I can see why.”
The sounds of the vampire gulping the man’s blood made her stomach turn again, and the reality of what she witnessed horrified her. Before she could stop herself, she whimpered, and suddenly, a large, warm hand wrapped around hers.
“Breathe,” Kyden murmured.
She couldn’t take her eyes off the dying man and the raw fear that lay in the depths of his eyes, which all brought her back to the horrible memory of her parents. Her heart hammered and her breath caught in her throat, as a firm finger came under her chin, forcibly turning her head.
Kyden’s eyes were warm. “Breathe, Nexi.”
Trapped in his hold, she was reminded she was in the present, and she couldn’t change what had happened. This man wasn’t her parents. Releasing the breath stuck in her lungs, she squeezed his hand to stop hers from shaking.
Mercifully, it didn’t take long before the man died.
The vampire tossed the carcass aside and wiped the blood off his face, then the vision froze. Nothing should surprise her, considering what she’d already been through and seen, but watching the vampire stuck in time in front of her rendered her speechless.
Kyden nudged her lower back, urging her forward. “You need to memorize the vamp. Pick out anything that’ll help you identify him. Scars, a tattoo—any distinguishing features.”
In a few short steps, Nexi closed in on the vampire. He definitely looked like a typical vampire—cropped black hair, hollowed out cheekbones, big sparkly fangs, and dark sunken eyes, which glowed slightly from his recent meal. “Why would he do this?”