Taste (Ava Delaney #5) (8 page)

“Owe it to me? How could you possibly owe me anything?” I stared at him, aghast. I could have killed him back then, a man who had only ever been good to me. He had been the first to treat me like a person. The only one to see through the weirdness and awkwardness and appreciate the person I was underneath. I had repaid him by sinking my fangs into his flesh.

He glanced away as if ashamed. When he looked back at me, his dark soulful eyes reached inside me, found my teenage heart, and squeezed it until it skittered in my chest. “I don’t fully remember what happened the night you left, Ava. It was a blur, but I must have hurt you terribly, and I’m so sorry. All I remember is how scared you looked. I can’t forget that one thing. If there’s anything I can ever do to make up for it, name it.”

“You didn’t hurt me, Wes,” I said, my voice shaking. “
I
hurt
you
.”

“There wasn’t a mark on me.” His voice lowered. “But there was so much blood. I should have been more careful. I knew the things that had happened to you. I knew you needed to be looked after. I should have known better than to rush you like that.”

I blinked a couple of times. Had I healed him? I had spent all of those years assuming he hated me, and he had been thinking the same thing about me. It came back to me in a rush, how delicately he had treated me, how he was the direct opposite of Peter, who expected me to take care of myself or he would leave me behind where I fell.

I laughed, a tinge hysterically, unable to stop myself. “I literally can’t deal with this right now. This is insane. And bad,
really
bad
, timing. Nancy. She’s sick? Is there something I should be doing for her?”

“She needs stability,” Wesley said, watching me carefully. “She needs patience, love, and comfort. She’s struggling a lot. When she’s lucid, she’s upset about something she doesn’t want to share. When she’s
not
, she gets distressed because she thinks she’s back in the old days. Probably because of… well, you know how it was.”

“So how do we fix it?”

He reached for my hand, but I put it behind my back. “You can’t fix her,” he said softly. “There’s no cure for this.”

Frowning, I shook my head. “There has to be.”

He cleared his throat. “Ava, people don’t survive Alzheimer’s. It doesn’t happen.”

I waved a hand. “That’s ridiculous. She’s not going to die from some… some… I can’t leave her here. There’s stuff going on that’s… well, dangerous. They could come here, and I can’t leave her in this house, at risk.”

“Do you need me to take her back to my mother’s place?”

I bit my lip, thinking hard. “How would she react around a lot of strangers, do you think?”

“Honestly? I think she would be terrified. It’s hard to tell, but I know it’s gotten a lot worse this year. She’s scared a lot. She mostly won’t say what it is, but she seems to be constantly waiting for something bad to happen.”

Since I had come back into her life.

He shrugged. “I can take care of her, Ava. We can all help her.”

“You would do that? No questions?”

He looked hurt. “You know I would.”

“No, I don’t. I knew a boy.” I looked him up and down. “You are most certainly not a boy.”

He grinned, and it was a flashback all on its own. I had loved him once, loved his dark skin and darker eyes, his mellow voice, and how different we were. He was warm, happy, and content and able to deal with people so easily. He had been the one to teach me how to act around others. I wore a mask to outsiders but could be myself with him. I used to think we were two halves of a whole. Those days were over.

“Something bad is coming,” I said, attempting to keep my voice even. “Something dangerous for everyone. In the meantime, someone will guard your house if she’s there. If anything unusual happens, you contact me immediately. She has my number saved in her mobile.” I took a deep breath. “This country’s going to be involved in a war, Wes. You need to prepare yourself.”

“Are you in the army or something?”

I winced. “Kind of. I’ll be in touch unless your house number has changed.”

“No, nothing’s changed. It’s been great to see you again, Ava.” He reached out to hug me.

I panicked and backed away. “Yeah, I… I’m glad you’re well. Nancy told me you had emigrated.”

“I didn’t find what I was looking for, so I came back.”

I exhaled, only then realising I had been holding my breath. “I need to go. You should be safe in this neighbourhood. It’s quiet here.”

He looked confused, but I swept out of the room, my insides trembling.

Too many confusing memories. I couldn’t think straight.

Chapter Seven

On the morning of Folsom’s funeral, rain poured down heavily, washing away blood and guilt. I hadn’t told anyone about my grandmother or the hag, and I tried to push them both to the back of my mind.

By the time Folsom was put into the earth, the rain had stopped, and the air felt fresh and clean. I felt different, too, determined not to have to watch another funeral.

We buried the goblin under a willow tree, the branches caressing the ground, protecting what lay beneath, the rain-drenched leaves dripping as if crying. My eyes felt wet, but I did not cry. Not on that day. Tears were a waste of my energy. Sadness and regret were a waste of my time. I needed strength, maybe anger. More importantly, I needed focus.

The people from the sanctuary huddled around the makeshift grave. One, the small man whose brother had committed suicide in the Council’s cells and who I had only come to know as Ry, spoke on behalf of everyone. He said the most beautiful words, but I couldn’t concentrate on them. I was too busy watching, waiting for something to come.

I had refused to allow Emmett out in the open to be a sitting duck. I couldn’t help it when we made the move, but I wouldn’t risk it twice. Peter had remained behind with him.

Carl moved closer to me, and I could tell he was worried.

“You doing okay?” he asked when I stepped away from the crowd.

I kept an eye on the perimeter. I wasn’t the only one. “I’m okay,” I said, avoiding his eyes.

“Come on. There’s something eating you. Tell me what’s wrong.”

The rain began to fall again, drizzling onto my face. I blinked away the moisture. “I went to see Nancy. She’s going senile, Carl. I can’t bring her here. Not like she is. When I was there, she acted like I was a teenager again. It was spooky.”

“So what are you going to do?”

I turned to check on the mourners. Lucia had her arms linked with both her brother’s and Val’s. Kate, the young woman who spent most of her time with Cam, stood as close to Lorcan as she did to the angel. Leah stood apart, her hands shoved into her pockets and her hood pulled so far over her face that I couldn’t see her eyes. The teenage girl hadn’t ever had a chance at being normal. I would have loved to offer it to her. And Esther… Esther mourned many things.

“Someone else was there,” I said at last. “At Nancy’s place.”

Carl gazed at me. “Sounds ominous.”

“Not really. Just a blast from the past.”

“Who?”

“My ex.” Numbers ran through my head, and I squeezed my lips together to stop them from shooting out of my mouth. I shrugged. “Wesley.”

“Wow.”

“Yeah. And he said he’d take her to his house.”

“He knows everything?”

I shook my head. “I told him there was something dangerous happening, and she needed to be someplace safe.”

“And he went along with it?”

“That’s the kind of person he is, or at least
was
when I knew him.” I rubbed my eyes, trying to control the panic that crept around my head. “He thinks I left because he hurt me. All these years, and he didn’t have a clue what really happened. He wasn’t hurt. I must have… must have healed him or something. Weird, eh?”

“That’s one word for it. You okay?”

“Just odd, seeing him out of the blue. He looks the same, except broader. And his hair’s different.” I smiled. “It was kind of nice to know he’s okay.”

“I get that. I hope Maria feels the same way about me some day.”

When I glared at him, he winced, but the fight left me in an instant. “Tell me what’s happening.”

“Look at me. I’ve disappeared again, and I don’t have an excuse to give her.” He glanced around. “I can’t keep doing this to her. It’s not fair, and it’s not workable. The only way she and I could maybe last is if I told her the truth, and I can’t do that to her. Even if I could tell her, how would she react? I’m a completely different person now. I’m not the man she fell in love with, and I’m stuck in this. She doesn’t have to be.”

“I’m sorry.”

He wrapped his arm around my shoulder and held me close. “We’re some pair, Ava.”

I opened my mouth to say something when a blood-curdling scream sliced through the air. One of our warning systems.

“Get them downstairs,” I yelled at Carl as I took out my dagger.

He moved without a word, already knowing the drill. The six of us with weapons circled around the retreating bodies, making sure nothing got by us.

Ten figures—cloaked, faces covered, weapons in hand—jumped over the gates and ran straight for us, just like the one who had entered the sanctuary. I would have bet anything that they were all tattooed. Maybe they had slave brands, too.

Esther stuck her fingers in her mouth and whistled loudly. She seemed more like herself than I had seen in a while.

She glanced at me, a wry smile on her face. “Ready?”

“Now’s the time,” I called as the figures came closer.

A growl to the left alerted me to the fact Val was changing form. The approaching figures slowed at the sight of the hellhound, and I chuckled under my breath. Gabe and his own personal Guard came up behind our attackers. We surrounded the intruders, but they wouldn’t give up without a fight. I could respect that.

“Gatecrashing is rude,” I whispered to the one closest to me, right before my dagger connected with his throat. That one fell, and I moved on to the next one, jumping out of the way of Val’s mace before it crushed a third attacker’s arm. Another attempted to trip me up but was taken down by one of Ry’s arrows. He gave me a thumbs-up and aimed elsewhere.

“Don’t kill every one of them,” I called out as Esther and Lorcan both took down one each.

Lorcan’s face was blood-splattered and determined, and Esther’s had hardened. We were all set on protecting our own. That was our best chance of winning any battle that came our way.

“I have one,” Gabe said, holding a slumped figure. “Finish off the rest.”

So we went to work.

***

Val pinned the bald man on the same table where Folsom’s body had lain. He was thin and pale-skinned, with a spiralling tattoo on one side of his face. It wasn’t exactly the same as the other fighter’s, but I could see the similarities in the turn of the curves and the shading. So far, he had refused to speak.

“What is he?” I asked.

Gabe glared down at him. “I don’t know. That’s the problem.”

“I’m still certain the tattoo is Raven’s work,” Val said. “No brand that I can see, though.”

“Still no getting away from the fact that they’re part of a team. Why come here?”

“Assassins,” Val spat. “Why else attack innocents?”

“But how did they know to come
today
?” I glanced at Gabe, who squeezed his eyes shut. “Gabe? How did they know?”

He opened his eyes and gazed at me steadily. “I purposely informed the Council I needed extra protection today. I needed to know for sure. There’s no going back now. There are traitors amongst us.”

The attacker came to life. “
You’re
the traitor. Hiding what we need.” His voice wasn’t his own, and his eyes bubbled for a couple of seconds before exploding in a bloody mess.

We all stepped back in disgust as the assassin’s entire body fizzled as if soaked in acid. He disintegrated into a disgusting blob on the floor.

“Well,” Gabe said. “That was interesting.”

“That’s one way of putting it,” I said. “What the hell was that?”

“Some kind of safeguard.” Val sounded furious. “To stop him from talking, possibly.”

“Weird,” I whispered.

“This has become a lot more complicated,” Gabe said. “I may be in danger.”

“I’m more concerned about everyone else, to be honest,” I said wryly. “Someone thinks you’re a traitor. Someone
knows
you are.”

“Someone is playing a dangerous game,” he replied, his brow furrowing. “I wonder what exactly they know. How many are involved. From here on out, we can’t trust a soul.”

“Thank feck we’re moving on from here,” I said. “I’m not comfortable about how that journey might go down. Can we trust your vehicles now?”

He shook his head. “Afraid not. What I don’t understand is where these attackers sprouted from. They’re a secret group, obviously, but who’s responsible for them? They can’t have come together just for us, so what have they been trained to do? And just how long has it been going on?”

“Erossi’s always been a bit of a dick,” I said.

“But he’s too cocky to hide his own dedicated group of warriors,” Gabe said.

“Unless he’s playing everyone,” I suggested. “Val, do you think we can walk the entire group out of here without getting anyone killed?”

“Only if we leave now.”

I nodded. “Go tell them to move. We’ll take a look outside and see if there’s any sign of anyone else approaching.”

“This is dangerous, Ava,” Gabe said as he followed me outside.

“Life is, apparently. Gabe, is there anything you can do for degenerative-type diseases? Could a miracle work on an old person, for example, someone who’s having trouble with their mind?”

“What kind of trouble?”

“Alzheimer’s, that kind of thing.”

He shook his head. “I can’t undo something like that. It’s a part of aging for a lot of people. Once you reach that stage, it’s too late.”

“Yeah, but it has to be fixable. You have to be able to heal it. You work miracles, for fuck’s sake.”

“What’s going on with you?”

“My grandmother.”