Fade Into Black - Shadows of the Night 5

Chapter 25

Hi!

Okay, I admit it. You surprised me, again! I never thought someone would go for team Marrok or team Medici!! Well, they're powerful and I have to admit I love them myself, so maybe I shouldn't have been surprised ... Okay, enough rambling. Things are getting out of hand in this one! Did anyone see this coming??

Lara

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Chapter 25

Darkness yawned into the starlit night sky like a looming shadow. It was way too dark for my comfort. Too dangerous. Currently I had an escort, but they would only see me out.

No one to protect me while I was outside the Alpha's territory. The stench of musk followed us all the way through, up to the gate of steel and barbed wire, the border to a world that wasn't ruled by instinct and muscle alone.

I gave Marrok what I thought were the locations Medici was most likely to choose next, illustrated where the rogues had been and how they moved in the past few weeks. The alpha said he'd keep a close watch on all of the locations, and I believed him.

It was a show of good faith and a test of a sort. If my information proved to be useful, he was going to give me more info on the mysterious vamp Alexander was hosting. That left me with a handful of other problems to address on my own.

First and foremost the vampire killings and my current status in this city.

I watched Radulf and the rest of the wolves vanish into the shadows, retreat back into their keep – that abstract wasteland of metal and junk. I couldn't see them any longer, but the street was far from empty. It was potent with the scent of musk, danger, and secrets protected by elongated shadows and dark corners.

I shoved my hands into my pockets, drew the hood of my jacket over my head and started walking. No time to linger. I would hurry to the next-best side alley and portal out as fast as possible. There were things I had to do. From what I learned this night, Alexander invited a powerful vamp into his territory. Someone sanctioned by the Circle. Someone that-

A sound from the shadows to my left. I jerked, hands fanning out and away from body. I peered into darkness, ready to grab a handful of deadly magic.

"It's me."

The voice seemed to come out of nowhere. So familiar, it might have only existed in my head – the whisper of a ghost I conjured on my own. A ghost of my past, maybe.

Andy stepped out of the mantle of shadows, making a grab for my arm. I stepped back, eyes wide. He wasn't wearing a jacket, just blue, worn-out jeans and a white T shirt. His arms were fisted at his sides, as if he could barely contain himself from... yeah, from what?

His hair was wild. Something flashed behind his brown, almond-shaped eyes, a stirring that went hand in hand with the hard set of his shoulders. Biting tension exploded into the space between us, added to the growing sense of danger like a toxic trigger.

"I need to talk to you, Anna," he said.

I was too stunned by the urgency in his voice to step away before his fingers latched on my arm, dragging me into the alley with him. I gasped as my back thudded into cold brick behind. I pushed away from it, shaking off his hand, and asked the first, probably most trivial question that entered my mind.

"How did you find me?"

"Blaze made a deal with Marrok," Andy said softly.

"He did what? Why?" I said, tensing. "Is he ok?"