“And they never found him?”
“Talon located him twice, but he’d grown stronger and he always got away.” He lowered her foot into the tub, and trailed his fingers over the outside of her thighs. “Truth of the matter is, he wasn’t a problem any longer.”
Nexi regarded him and the concern in his features. She hated where her thoughts took her, since she had somehow landed herself smack-dab in the middle of it. “Now he is, though?”
Kyden hesitated. “Now he is.”
Chapter Sixteen
The next night, Kyden teleported into Salt Lake City, along with Finn. His dark mood fit the atmosphere. The grimy alleyway was littered with trash, and the putrid scents were impossible to evade.
Before he had left the Otherworld, he’d spent a good hour arguing with Nexi about her staying behind. The thought of Lazarus harming her made rage look weak compared to what rushed through his veins.
Lazarus wouldn’t touch her.
Not tonight. Not tomorrow. Not ever.
Of course, after he gently reminded Nexi of the blood tie she had to Lazarus, she backed down. Certain things were negotiable. Her life wasn’t one of them. He was only too glad Nexi saw it that way, too.
Focusing his thoughts away from Nexi’s safety, Kyden scanned in front of him. The only light came from the streetlight at the curb, but the source of his concern rested behind the dumpster.
Two bodies, drained of their blood, lay like suits loosely covering bones.
Turning to the Salt Lake City tracker, Alazar, he asked, “What happened?”
Dressed in dark cargo pants and a brown T-shirt, the tall, athletic werewolf stared down at the bodies, his sand-colored hair curtaining his triangular face. He finally lifted his head, and his golden eyes were troubled. “I was tracking another assignment when I scented fresh blood in the area. I detoured, arriving to this scene to find two vamps attacking these mortals.” He shook his head, sighing in frustration. “As you can see, I came a minute too late.”
Kyden regarded the ripped apart bodies. This wasn’t a bloodlust gone wrong. The vamps had intended to kill these humans as brutally as possible. Fang marks littered their bodies, as if the vamps enjoyed the pain the humans endured. However, it also explained why the Council told him Haven wasn’t needed on the assignment. Alazar already knew what had transpired, and he’d seen the accused.
Finn stepped toward the female victim, squatted, and examined her. “What of the vamps? Did you destroy them?”
“One ran off while the other attacked me.” Alazar’s eyebrows drew together with his frown, and he shifted on his feet. “I know this is unbelievable, but what I’m about to tell you is the truth. The vamp put up a damn good fight, and then he vanished.”
Kyden’s muscles tensed. “Vanished, how?”
Alazar clenched his fist, then flicked out his fingers. “Poof. Gone. One second the vamp did his best to kill me, the next he was nowhere in sight, and his scent had evaporated.”
“That sounds familiar,” Finn stated.
Alazar’s eyes widened. “You’ve come across this before?”
Kyden nodded, not liking the sound of this. By all appearances, Lazarus now used Salt Lake City as his personal hunting grounds. “We’ve got ourselves a vamp hopped up on witch blood.”
Alazar’s wide eyes now went huge. “Big trouble, then?”
“As big as it gets,” Kyden muttered.
Last night he had explained to Nexi that Lazarus thought mortals were nothing more than food, and apparently, since Lazarus had feed twice now in this manner, his opinion hadn’t changed.
With that in mind, Kyden turned to Alazar. “Did you track the other vampire?”
The shock faded from Alazar’s eyes with his nod. “Once the vamp vanished, I called in another tracker and had him trace the bloodsucker. He’s at a house on Old Temple Street, a few blocks from downtown.”
Kyden drew his sword and stepped in next to the bodies, then he pierced the mortals’ stomachs with his blade. In a blink, both had slash wounds across their throats, a pool of blood surrounding them. He had no doubt the mortal police would consider this a mugging, a case that would remain unsolved, even if Kyden sought justice on the mortals’ behalf. He sheathed his sword, turning to Alazar. “How far away is the house?”
“Three blocks, that way.” Alazar pointed to his right.
“Let’s go by foot.” Kyden strode forward, Finn falling into step beside him with Alazar to his left.
The streets were quiet and the only sound in the night came from their boots on the pavement. The houses were dark as mortals slept, unaware that killer vampires were on the loose.
Once they arrived at the third intersection, Kyden spotted the street sign. Old Temple Street. To the left, the street lay empty. To the right, a werewolf leaned against the light post, staring at a historic red brick estate.
“The tracker, Daryen,” Alazar said, quickening his steps. “Is the vamp still in there?”
Daryen, a rugged werewolf with cropped dark hair and shadowy eyes, pushed away from the street post. “It’s the strangest thing—” His voice held a thick southern accent. “But yeah, he’s in there.”
Reaching the wolf, Kyden asked, “He hasn’t tried to leave?”
“Not once,” Daryen said, folding his arms over his plaid shirt. “The vamp even looked at me through the window…twice. But yet, he ain’t running.”
Kyden exhaled, knowing when something didn’t make sense, it meant trouble. “Any others in the area?”
Daryen glanced at the house, then shook his head. “The Salt Lake pack’s headquarters is only a block away, so you’ve got some wolves in the area. But no one else has gone in or come from the house.”
“Good,” Finn muttered.
“I’ll spread word of this vampire to the other trackers,” Alazar said. “We’ll be in contact if any discoveries are made.”
Kyden doubted any further discoveries would be made, other than more dead bodies. Concern for the mortals who lived in Salt Lake City, and were defenseless against the danger in the night, engulfed him. He turned to Finn. “Ready?”
Finn grinned and his eyes shone with excitement. “Always.”
With Daryen and Alazar heading down the street, Kyden strode toward the house with Finn at his back. The upstairs windows were all dark, but the porch light was on and the bay window to his right sent a warm glow into the night.
At the front door, Kyden wrapped his hand around the brass handle, and to his surprise, it opened. He thought it odd that not only had the vampire allowed them entrance, but that he presently wasn’t defending himself.
Finn’s eyebrows were drawn together, and clearly he’d come to the same conclusion.
Kyden entered the home, facing a grand wooden staircase straight ahead of him. To his left was a dining room with a large wooden table that of course was for decorative purposes, since vampires drank blood and didn’t sit down for dinner. To his right was another room.
With Finn guarding his back, Kyden stepped into the large living room. He immediately skidded to a halt, shocked by the view, and arched an eyebrow. “Comfortable?”
“Quite.” The vampire smirked, one arm draped over his Victorian-style couch, his ankle resting on his knee. His round face was lit up with amusement, his dark eyes shimmering, and the color of his skin held a pinkish hue from a nice meal.
Twice now, Kyden had seen vampires who lacked fear in the presence of the Council’s Guard. He didn’t like the look of it. In fact, it made him thirst to teach this vampire how bad a decision he had made. “What’s your name?”
The vampire picked lint off his pants, flicking it onto the hardwood floor. “Warin Henry Maxwell the Fifth.”
Kyden snorted at the vamp’s regal air. As if his standing within any society had bearing on what Kyden thought of him, or would hold any weight regarding his death sentence. “You know why we’re here.”
Warin’s smile widened. “I’m fully aware of the reasons, yes.”
Finn stepped in next to Kyden and snarled, “And you hold no remorse?”
“I don’t need to have guilt.” Warin shrugged. “The mortals are mine to drink from, and I relished draining their lives.”
For the first time, Kyden got a good look at what the Earthworld would look like if Lazarus succeeded in his plans. The future looked about as dismissal as one could dream up, and only confirmed the importance of stopping Lazarus, not only for Nexi, but for all of humankind. “By whose authority do you think you hold this right?”
“Mine.”
Kyden spun on his heel to face the hallway, and as he stared into dark, cruel eyes, he smiled. He’d craved to settle the chaos around Nexi, and to erase the dangers from her life. In the face of all this mayhem, she handled herself with grace, but Kyden wanted to pave a safe path for her to travel.
It so happened Nexi’s biggest threat stood right in front of him.
…
Nexi ran along the Guardians’ House hallway, her stomach clenched with dread as Zia matched her stride, gripping her hand. That had been the only thing Zia had done since she’d yanked Nexi out of her apartment. Zia hadn’t said a single word to her. She simply dragged Nexi down the hallway.