The Dark-Hunters (257 page)

Why was she so nervous?

“I’ll make sure all the help is out of here by tonight,” Otto said before taking his leave.

Valerius gave an imperious nod.

As soon as they were alone, Tabitha struggled to get rid of her somber mood. “Do you know a Dark-Hunter named Kassim?”

“I know of him.”

“What do you know?”

Valerius adjusted his coat sleeve around his wrist. “He was an African prince in the Middle Ages. He was stationed in Jackson, Mississippi, until Ash moved him to Alexandria a few years ago. Why?”

“He was moved into Amanda’s house, so I was just curious about him.” She indicated the front door with her thumb. “Shall we?”

He took her hand as she started away from him. “Whatever this is after all of you, we’ll get them, Tabitha. Don’t worry.”

The sincerity of his voice cut through her. “You would protect your mortal enemy?”

He glanced away. When his gaze came back to hers, it seared her. “I
will
protect your loved ones. Yes.”

There was no reason for him to do such a thing. None. She had no doubt that in his place, Kyrian would go back upstairs, lock his door, and do nothing.

But Valerius …

Before she could stop herself, she pulled his lips down to hers and kissed him fiercely. The taste of him permeated her head. How she wished she had nothing more to do tonight than to pull him upstairs and make love to him.

If only she could …

Sighing regretfully, she nipped his lips and pulled back. She felt his reluctance as he released her. Forcing herself to let go of him, she stepped away, opened the door, and walked outside.

Otto was heading up the driveway from where his car was parked on the street as they left and it dawned on her that he still wore his black jeans and sweater from that afternoon … he hadn’t morphed into tacky Otto tonight. He actually looked like a grown-up.

“I forgot something,” he said. He handed Valerius a device that looked like a small transmitter. “Just in case. The Council wants everyone tagged so that if something happens we can pull you out.”

To her amazement, he handed her one as well.

“Thanks, Otto.”

He inclined his head to her. “You two be careful. Talon will be out around the Square tonight along with Kyrian and Julian. They’ll also be scoping on Ursulines around Sanctuary and Chartres, and the French Market. You guys might want to patrol somewhere else.”

“We’ll hang around the northwest side of the Quarter. Bourbon, Toulouse, St. Louis, Bienville, and Dauphine.”

Valerius cringed as soon as Bourbon came out, but didn’t say anything.

“Ash is taking the cemeteries,” Otto continued, “Janice will be down along Canal, Harrod’s, and the Warehouse District while Jean-Luc takes the Garden District. Ulric is in the Business District and Zoe is at Tulane. Which leaves Kassim, who has been told by Ash that if he, Amanda, or Marissa leave Kyrian’s house before dawn, he’ll be toast.”

“Who’s Ulric?” Tabitha asked.

Otto gave her a droll stare. “He’s the Dark-Hunter from Biloxi who arrived about half an hour ago. He’s blond, so try not to stab this one should you meet him in an alley.”

Tabitha was offended. “What? It’s not my fault I stab all the fanged people. They shouldn’t look like Daimons.”

“I didn’t look like a Daimon, but you stabbed me.”

Otto laughed.

“Yeah, well, you looked like a lawyer so I had to kill you. It was a moral imperative.”

Valerius shook his head at her.

Sobering, she looked back at Otto. “How many Squires are left in town?”

“Just me, Kyl, and Nick. The last ones out were Tad and your ex Eric and his wife, who hopped a chartered flight about an hour ago. Everyone else from Liza on down is out of here until Ash gives the thumbs-up to return.”

“What about the Weres?” Valerius asked.

“They’re all hanging close to Sanctuary to protect their young and women. Even Vane and Bride are bunking over there for the time being.”

“Will the Weres help us at all?” Tabitha asked.

Otto shook his head. “They view this as a human problem and don’t want to get involved.”

Tabitha huffed at that. “I can’t believe them.”

“You don’t know much about animals, then,” Otto said. “It’s why Talon wants to keep an eye on the club. The Apollites and Daimons know that once they’re inside Sanctuary, no one, not even Ash, can touch them.”

Tabitha laughed at that. “Ash doesn’t have to touch them to kill them.”

“Excuse me?” Valerius and Otto asked simultaneously.

“What?” she asked them. “You didn’t know that? Ash is seriously impressive in a fight. He’ll take your ass out permanently before you even know he’s there. He moves so fast you can’t see him half the time.”

“Sounds like Corbin,” Otto said. “She’s a teleporter. She’ll poof in, stab a Daimon, and poof out before it disintegrates.”

“Corbin?” Tabitha asked.

“A former Greek queen turned Dark-Huntress,” Valerius said.

Tabitha rolled her eyes. “Let me guess, not friendly to you?”

“Do I really need to answer that?”

No, he didn’t.

“Yeah,” Otto said, “but she’s a walk in the park compared to Zoe and Samia. You say ‘Roman’ around them and you better cup yourself fast.” He looked at Tabitha. “Well, not you, but those of us with things to protect down there have to.”

“Okay,” Tabitha said, stepping away from him. “And on that most interesting note, I think it’s time we headed off.” She gestured toward the beat-up red IROC that was parked on the other side of Valerius’s gate. “Mind if we borrow your car, Otto?”

Valerius looked horrified.

Otto laughed evilly as he pulled out the keys. “Be my guest.”

Valerius spoke up instantly. “I have my—”

“This’ll work,” Tabitha said as she winked at Otto and took the keys.

Valerius was rigid. “Really, Tabitha, I think—”

“Get in the car, Val. I promise you it won’t bite.”

He looked less than convinced.

Laughing, she started down the driveway toward the IROC.

To her surprise, Otto called out after them, “You guys be careful. I may not appreciate either one of you, but I don’t want the bad guys to win.”

“Don’t worry,” Tabitha said as she kept walking. “This time, I know what to expect.”

“Don’t be cocky,” Valerius said, giving her a gimlet stare. “It was a far better man than I who said, ‘Pride cometh before the fall.’”

She took his words to heart. “Good advice.” She looked over his shoulder. “Night, Otto.”

“Night, Tabitha. Take care of my car.”

Valerius actually cringed.

She stifled her laughter at his reaction. “Mmm,” she said, taking a deep breath of air that was all New Orleans as she opened the small gate next to the drive to let them outside the grounds. “Smell the beauty.”

Valerius frowned at her. “All I smell is the stench of decay.”

She gave him a menacing glare as he joined her on the sidewalk next to Otto’s car. “Close your eyes.”

“I’d rather not. I might step in something and then I might bring it home and smell it all night.”

She gave him a disgusted look that he took in stride.

“You’re the only woman I know who can smell this rancid air and think it pleasant.”

She shut the gate. “Close your eyes, Valerius, or your nose might be the only part of you that is in working order tomorrow.”

Valerius wasn’t sure if he should obey her or not, but he found himself reluctantly doing so as he drew up short.

“Now take a deep breath,” she said, her sultry voice in his ear. It sent a shiver over him as he did it.

“Do you smell the dampness of the river with a hint of Cajun gumbo scenting it? Not to mention the Spanish moss?”

He opened his eyes. “All I smell is urine, rotten seafood, and river slime.”

She gaped at him. “How can you say that?”

“Because it’s what I smell.”

She growled at him as she got into the car. “You’re a tough sell, you know that?”

“I’ve been called worse.”

Her gaze turned serious and sad. “I know you have. But new times are upon you. I’m taking that stick up your butt out and tonight we’re going to cut loose, kick Daimon ass, and—”

“I beg your pardon?” he asked in an offended tone. “The what up my where?”

“You heard me,” she said with a wicked smile. “You know, half the problem people have with you is that you don’t laugh much and you take yourself and everything else way too seriously.”

“Life
is
serious.”

“No,” she said, her passion glowing in her blue gaze. “Life is an adventure. It’s thrilling and scary. Sometimes it’s even a bit boring, but it should never be serious.”

Tabitha saw the hesitancy in his eyes. He was so unused to trusting people and for some reason, she wanted him to trust her. “Come with me, General Valerius, and let me show you just what life can really be and why it’s so damned important that we save the world.”

She watched as he opened the door handle like a man who was touching a baby’s dirty diaper. She’d never seen anyone sneer more. It was quite impressive.

But he didn’t say anything more as he got into the car and she dropped it into gear and squealed away from the curb.

Valerius wasn’t expecting much to come of this night; but he had to admit that he did like the vibrancy of this woman. The zeal with which she lived. She was fascinating to watch. No wonder Ash had befriended her.

When one was an immortal, the freshness of life had a way of dying even more quickly than one’s body had. As the centuries blended together, it was easy to forget the human side of oneself. To remember why humanity needed saving.

It was hard to remember how to laugh. Then again, laughter and Valerius were virtual strangers. Until Tabitha, he’d never really shared a laugh with anyone.

Tabitha had the enthusiasm of a child. Somehow she had managed to hold on to her youthful ideals even in the face of a world that didn’t entirely accept her. She truly didn’t care what he, or anyone else, thought of her. She went through her life doing what she needed to do and handling everything on her own terms.

How he envied her that.

She was a powerful force to be reckoned with.

Valerius laughed in spite of himself.

“What?” she asked as she whipped the car around a corner so fast that she practically threw him into her seat.

He righted himself. “I was just thinking someone should name you Hurricane Tabitha.”

She snorted. “You’re too late. My mother already did. Actually, she named me that the first time she visited my dorm room and saw the chaos of me without my sister Amanda around to pick up after me. You should be grateful that after twelve years of living on my own, I finally learned to pick up for myself.”

He shuddered at the thought. “Truly, I am grateful.”

She cut the car sharply into the Jackson Brewery parking lot and whipped it into a parking space that wasn’t really supposed to be a parking space.

“The police will tow the car.”

“Nah,” she said as she shut it off and placed a small silver medallion on the dashboard that had her name engraved on it. “This is Ed’s route and he knows better. I’ll get my sister to hex him and his brother if he tries.”

“Ed?”

“One of the cops assigned here. He keeps an eye out for me. We used to go to high school together and he dated my older sister, Karma, for years.”

“You have a sister named Karma?” Valerius asked.

“Yes and it’s very apt. She has a nasty tendency to come back and hurt anyone who does her wrong whenever they least expect it. She’s like the big, black spider, lying in wait.” The words weren’t nearly as amusing as the gesture Tabitha made where she held her hands up and nibbled like a rabid mouse. “Just when you think you’re safe from her wrath … bam!” She slapped her hands together. “She knocks your feet out from under you and leaves you lying on the floor, bleeding profusely.”

“I do hope you’re joking.”

“Not at all. She’s a scary woman, but I love her.”

Valerius got out of the car, then paused as a thought occurred to him. Every time he turned around, she pulled out another relative. “Just how many sisters do you have?”

“Eight.”

“Eight?” he asked, stunned at the number. No wonder he couldn’t keep them all straight. He wondered how she did.

Tabitha nodded. “Tiyana who goes by Tia. Selena and Amanda you know. Then there’s Esmerelda, or Essie, as we call her. Yasmina or Mina. Petra, Ekaterina who goes by Trina mostly, and Karma who refuses to have a nickname.”

Valerius gave a low whistle at her roll call.

“What?” Tabitha asked.

“I’m just pitying whatever poor males lived in that house with all of you. It must have been truly frightening at least one week out of every month.”

She gaped, then laughed out loud. “Was that a joke from you?”

“Merely a frightening statement of fact.”

“Yeah, right. Well, truth be told, my father did spend a lot of time at work during that time of the month and he did make sure that all our pets were males so that he wouldn’t feel too terribly outnumbered. What about you? Did you have any sisters?”

He shook his head as she joined him over on the passenger side of the car and they headed toward Decatur Street. “I only had brothers.”

“Whoa, just imagine if your father had married my mother, we’d have had the Brady Bunch.”

He scoffed at her. “Hardly. Believe me, my family made the Borgias look like Ozzie and Harriet.”

She cocked her head at him. “For a man who prides himself on being prim and proper, you certainly know a lot of pop icons.”

He didn’t comment.

“So how many brothers did you have?” she asked, surprising him with her quick return to their previous topic.

He started not to answer and yet it came out before he could stop himself. “Until a couple of years ago, I thought I only had four.”

“What happened then?”

“I found out that Zarek was one of them, too.”

Tabitha frowned at his disclosure. “You didn’t know while you were alive?”

Guilt and anger tore through Valerius at her innocent question. He really should have known. Had he ever bothered to look at Zarek when they were human …