Serenity

Chapter 14

Julian

"What the hell? Kelly? Are you sure? There has to be a mistake." The vehemence in Phil's voice had me concerned. It couldn't be easy to hear that someone he once admired could betray their people.

"Carl's triple checking the results now to make sure he hasn't made a mistake." Jaynah's lip curled as Tami spoke, betraying what she was thinking.

I glanced at the people involved in the call. Out of them, only Tami and Jaynah didn't seem surprised. They looked as if they expected it. I was still trying to get my head around what Jaynah had said. "Sorry. I'm still stuck on what you said earlier. You said you saw a Mohiri screwing a vampire?"

Jaynah blushed and shook her head. "No. She was kissing a vampire who had his hand in her pants. The second time she was on her knees in front of a female vampire, who was enjoying whatever was happening to her crotch."

Pete reached for a glass and threw it at the wall. The shattered pieces had them ducking to avoid being hit by the flying shards. "The bitch. I knew something was up between you and her. You didn't even bother covering your dislike of her at Eastbourne."

"I'm sorry. When I came to Australia, I thought I'd be able to solve the case and leave again. I should have told you, Pete, but I couldn't prove it."

"So you carried her secret for over twenty years?"

"I confronted her about it. She promised me she would get help and counselling. I even followed up with the counsellor who I recommended to her. Kelly went to every session. She told me she was free of that dark desire." Jaynah snorted and glared at the email still showing on the screen behind her. "She lied."

"You mean to tell me that during that time in north Queensland she was screwing a vampire instead of looking for me?" Tami's hands clenched and her body shook from the anger coursing through her.

I stood beside Tami and enclosed her in my arms. The contact from its mate calmed her demon, and the shaking subsided. "So you think Kelly is the one who warned the vampires about the raids?"

Jaynah nodded, her eyes sad and a slight tremor showing in her hands as well. I couldn't stay angry with her. A master manipulator had lied to her. Master. It was possible. It had happened before. But was it probable? "Jaynah, what if Kelly didn't lie? What if she couldn't stop herself?"

"But that would mean..."

"Well, we are hunting a master."

"It's possible. But that doesn't solve our current problem. How do we find her and stop her?"

Tami shrugged, her body still tense against me. "Finding her is easy. She can't hide from me, or Nan. Stopping her is the hard part."

"So you can find her? Explain."

Tami and Elizabeth exchanged looks. The air buzzed around them as they engaged in a silent conversation. A minute later, Elizabeth sighed and nodded in response to Tami. "I guess as head of the Conclave, I am the best one to explain it. When a druid shifts into the form of a bird for the first time, the magic involved with it brings several mental powers. For our purposes, two are important. We can send out a pulse that acts as a radar and will tell us where every druid in range is located. The other one is that our minds connect with any druid that comes into range."

"That's how I knew Kelly was in the markets earlier. The problem is, it's a two-way street. She knew I was there as well." Tami glanced at Elizabeth and her brows furrowed. "Err... It's more accurate to say that she knew another druid was in the markets. She would have had to see me, or send out a pulse of her own for her to know it was me."