Motes of dust danced in the beams of light filtering
through the grubby window panes. The room was narrow but
long, and the dusky sunlight did little to lift the
shadows. The silence crawled across Nikki’s skin like a
live thing, yet she knew she was not alone.
She flexed her fingers, trying to ease the tension that
had sweat running down her forehead, and swept her gaze
from left to right.
They were here, somewhere. Four of them, hidden amongst
the dust and the shadows and the wooden boxes. Two
vampires and two shapeshifters. All she had to do was
reach the far end of the room unscathed. Easy, except for
the fact that the others were allowed to use weapons, and
she was not.
She gave the ceiling a quick look. The monitors were on
her, and undoubtedly those watching in the next room were
growing impatient. She’d been standing in the doorway for
a good five minutes. But Michael had told her not to rush,
and it was a suggestion she was following to the letter.
If she didn’t pass this test, she’d have to undergo yet
another month of physical training, and that was something
she definitely didn’t want. She and Michael were supposed
to get married in thirty-five days, and she hadn’t even
gone shopping for a wedding dress.
She wiped the sweat from her eyes and scanned the shadows
again. After three months of intense training—training
that was both physical and psychic—she was fitter than
she’d ever been in her life. However, in some ways, she
was no closer to understanding or controlling her newer
gifts than she had been three months ago.
But she wasn’t about to admit it. How much the trainers
suspected about her lack of control was anyone’s guess,
though she had a feeling Michael might have told them.
They’d been concentrating more on her psychic talents of
late.
Worry about one thing at a time, she told herself sternly.
Jake, her best friend and ex-boss, had passed this same
test four days ago. Surely she could do the same.
Only she didn’t like the feel in the room. Someone in the
shadows was not what they pretended to be.
She flexed her fingers again and wondered if all the
knocks she’d taken over the last few months had finally
made her crazy. How could anyone in this room not be what
they pretended to be? Here in the heart of the Damask
Circle’s Washington training center there were no secrets.
Except perhaps, where Seline was hiding. And why she was
in hiding.
If Michael knew the answers to those questions, he
certainly wasn’t telling her.
Which wasn’t really a surprise. He couldn’t be expected to
break three centuries of habit in a matter of months, even
though that’s exactly what she’d expected of him for a
while there.
She glanced at the monitors again. Was he in the control
room, watching her? He’d said he wouldn’t be, because he
couldn’t watch someone beating her up without wanting to
do something about it. Even if he was watching, she
couldn’t reach out to him with her mind, because this room
was a psychic "dead-zone." She couldn’t even use her gifts
to protect herself if something went wrong.
She bit her lip, trying to ignore the cold sensation
creeping across her skin. It was nothing more than nerves.
Nothing more than the knowledge that she’d failed this
test once already and she couldn’t afford to do so again.
Not if she wanted to meet wedding deadlines.
She took a deep breath and released it slowly. There was
no delaying the inevitable. If she didn’t move soon,
they’d fail her anyway.
She stepped right, keeping her back to the wall as she
inched along. In the wasteland of boxes and shadows ahead,
something stirred. Air brushed past her cheek, rich with
the scent of the sea.
Delphine, the dolphin shifter. The person who had caused
her to fail last time, simply because she’d never expected
a shifter in human form to be as slippery and as fluid as
their animal counterpart.
A mistake she would not be making a second time.
She reached the corner and stepped into the shadow of a
large box. The scent of the sea grew closer, though no
sound could be heard in the thick silence. No sound other
than the rapid pounding of her heart, anyway.
She peeped around the corner of the box and felt, rather
than saw, the strike of air. She twisted out of the way,
barely avoiding the hand that punched only inches from her
nose. Air stirred a second time, heralding the approach of
another blow. She dropped, sweeping her foot toward the
woman still hidden by the shadows, hooking Delphine’s leg
and knocking her off her feet. Before Del could rise,
Nikki lunged at her, smacking her hand against the other
woman’s chest.
"Bang, you’re dead."
The smoky-blonde’s green eyes twinkled in the hazy
light. "Good. Now I can sneak out the door before they
lock it and get that cup of coffee I’ve been craving."
"Wish I could join you," Nikki muttered, stepping back so
the other woman could rise.
Del slapped a hand on Nikki’s shoulder. "You’ll do fine.
Stop worrying."
"Thanks," Nikki said, wishing she could believe the
shifter. But that sense of wrongness was growing, and with
it the certainty that the person behind it had an agenda
that had nothing to do with today’s test.
She went back to the wall and inched along until she came
to another box. This one was short enough to peer over, so
she did. The darkness beyond leapt up at her.
She yelped and jumped back. The shadows dissolved,
becoming a vampire. She clenched her fist and struck at
him. He caught the blow in his hand, crushing her fingers
just enough to hurt. She pivoted, twisting her arm
painfully as she lashed out with a foot. He ducked the
blow easily, so she dropped to her knees, using his grip
on her fist against him and pulling him off the box. He
landed on his back at her feet, and she pressed her free
hand against his chest.
"Dead, dead, dead," she muttered.
He raised her fist to his mouth and kissed her
fingers. "Very well done."
"Thank you."
She rose and scanned the hazy room. Two more to go, one
third of the way down the room. It had been almost too
easy so far. Maybe Michael had played them up. Or
threatened them.
She grimaced. Yeah, right. Like he really wanted her to
pass this test so she could start going on missions with
him. They might have reached a compromise between his
desires and hers when it came to the Circle and his
missions, but that didn’t mean he was all that happy about
it. Still, he was keeping his end of the bargain, so she
could only do the same. And if she didn’t pass this damn
test, it was back to training and good-bye wedding until
she did pass.
Her gaze rose to the ceiling again. The second shifter was
up there somewhere. She couldn’t say why she was so sure—
her psychic gifts were not supposed to be working in this
room at all. Frowning, she glanced at the box to her right
and tried to shift it with kinetic power. Nothing at all.
Not even a tingle.
Strange.
She took a deep breath and crept forward again. The room
seemed to be getting hotter, and sweat trickled down her
spine. Had the air conditioning gone off, or was it simply
fear that warmed her?
Dust stirred the air, and a sneeze tickled her nose. She
swiped at it, sniffing, and in that moment, sensed
movement.
Sweeping down fast.
She dropped to her stomach, felt claws rake along her
back, tearing her sweater but not her flesh. She twisted,
kicking upwards at the rising hawk. She clipped a wing,
and the bird squawked, a cry that was almost indignant.
It swooped around and arrowed in again. She scrambled to
her feet and dove over the box, felt the scrape of claws
down her jeans. She hit the floor, rolled to her feet and
tore off her sweater. Twisting it quickly, she flicked the
end at the hawk as it turned for another strike. It hit
him in the chest, knocking him into the side of a tall box.
A golden haze crackled across the hawk’s body, and by the
time he hit the floor, it was a man with golden hair and
rich blue eyes. A man she knew. Jon Barnett. And he held
two halves of a quarterstaff.
Things were about to get tough.
She glanced around, but there was nothing in this room
that could be used as weapons. Which was entirely the
point.
He leapt at her, wooden staffs little more than a blur.
She backed away, dodging and weaving, but there was no way
on Earth she could avoid every blow. Yet for all the
speed, the blows were little more than taps. Had it been
anyone other than Jon, she probably would have come out of
this with bruises.
Her back hit a box. She cursed and dropped, sweeping with
a foot. He jumped her leg, and then smacked it with one of
the staffs. She cursed again and dove at him, tackling him
at knee height and knocking him to the ground. Before he
could move, she scrambled up his body and punched his
chest.
"Trust a short ass to tackle someone at knee height," he
muttered, blue eyes diamond bright in the dusky light.
"Blame Maddie. She’s the one who told me that if all else
fails, tackle them." Nikki grinned. "You’re just lucky I
didn’t grab you where she told me to grab you."
"My wife told you to grab me?"
"Yep. Said she didn’t mind, as long as I didn’t bruise you
too much."
"Charming." He smacked her leg. "You’d better get going."
She nodded and rose. But her smile faded as her gaze swept
the remainder of the room.
One vampire stood between her, the end of the room and the
end of this damn test.
And that vampire was the one who felt so wrong.
***
"Why the hell is she just standing there?" Jake’s voice
echoed loudly in the control room.
Michael glanced at the screen. Nikki was a small and
slender shadow surrounded by the dusky shades of the
testing room. Her breathing was rapid, a fact confirmed by
not only the fast rise and fall of her chest, but by the
beeping of the monitors on the main panel.
"She’s afraid." And he could feel it.
He didn’t know what she feared. She knew nearly everyone
in the room with her, knew no one would hurt her. Yet her
fear crawled inside his mind and begged him to take action.
She’d kill him if he did.
He flexed his fingers and resumed his pacing. While he
knew this test was necessary, he didn’t like watching. It
was hard to stand back and let someone hit her, even if he
knew they weren’t about to hurt her. He should have stayed
away, as he’d said he would.
But he just couldn’t. Passing this test was important to
her. When she came out of that room, he had to be here to
celebrate or commiserate.
"Temperature’s still rising in the room." Camille pushed
her blue-rimmed glasses back up her nose as she glanced at
him.
"It can’t be Nikki," he said. "The room is a psi dead-
zone."
"Then explain how the temperature in an environmentally
controlled room suddenly shoots up ten degrees in a matter
of minutes."
"You’re the witch. You tell me."
"Doesn’t that fire gift of hers appear when she’s afraid?"
Jake asked, brow furrowed as he stared at the small
screen. "Could it be that?"
"It could be," Michael agreed, "but it shouldn’t be. That
room is chock full of spells that prevent magic and
psychic gifts happening within its four walls."
Jake raised an eyebrow. "So how did Jon shapeshift?"
"That’s personal magic—magic from the soul," Camille
said. "Totally different thing altogether."
"So you can make a spell to target or confine one type of
magic and not the other?"
"You can make a spell to do anything you want, as long as
you’ve got the skill and the time." Camille glanced at
Michael. "So what’s she afraid of?"
"I don’t know."
"Yet you can sense her fear?"
"Yes."
Camille raised a silver eyebrow. "Another thing that
should not be possible. Interesting."
It certainly was. If he could feel Nikki’s emotions
through all the barriers in that room, then their
connection went far deeper than anyone had realized. Maybe
Seline was right. She’d suggested that when he’d shared
his life force with Nikki, more than a binding of minds
had happened. Maybe it was a merging, one of hearts and
souls. It would certainly explain why they were beginning
to share some of their gifts—why his kinetic powers had
gone off the scale, and why she now had night vision
similar to his infrared vampire vision. And why she could
now sense the nonhuman as well as he could. But it didn’t
explain why both of them were developing new psi gifts,
such as clairvoyance and precognition.
"Temperature is still going up," Jake noted into the
silence.
Camille glanced at Michael. "You want me to stop it?"
"Not yet." Not when there wasn’t any real reason to.
Besides, he very much wanted to see her in her wedding
dress. Very much wanted to watch her expressive amber eyes
as he said I do.
If he stopped this test, their wedding would be put off.
Seline had insisted on that, stating it was a waste of
time and effort if they stopped Nikki’s training halfway
through just so the two of them could get hitched.
It was an insistence that worried him. He’d known Seline a
very long time. There was something else behind her push
to train Nikki, something the old witch wasn’t telling him.
Actually, she wasn’t telling him much at all at the
moment, not even where she was currently hiding. That in
itself suggested that whatever she saw happening involved
him in some way—and that he could very well be a threat to
her safety.
He’d asked her about it, of course, but the old witch
could be stubbornly mute when she wanted to be.
The old witch also has very good hearing, so watch your
thoughts.
Seline’s sharp voice arrowed into his mind and he smiled.
If the old witch wasn’t so nosy, she wouldn’t hear so many
disparaging thoughts.
What’s the point of getting old if you can’t be nosy?
Amusement spun down the mental lines. How’s Nikki doing?
He glanced at the monitor again. She hadn’t yet moved, and
the temperature had gone up another notch. She has Lenny
to get past, then she’s home.
If she got past Jon, Lenny shouldn’t prove to be a problem.
Shouldn’t, but he is.
Why? She’s coped with vampires a hell of a lot meaner than
Lenny.
I know that, and she knows that. He stopped pacing as
Nikki looked up at the camera closest to her. Sweat beaded
her forehead, and fear sparkled in her warm eyes. But her
expression was determined, and after a moment, she took a
deep breath and took a step forward.
Then another.
Lenny didn’t attack, and the temperature rose yet another
notch.
"Another three degrees and I’m stopping it," Camille
commented. "We’ll be risking everyone’s safety otherwise."
Maybe it’s not so much Lenny as the wedding, Seline
commented. Maybe she’s decided she doesn’t want to marry
such an old man after all.
This old man will track you down and box your ears, if
you’re not very careful
Seline’s sigh was a cool breeze through his mind. You’re
annoyed because I won’t tell you where I am.
No. I’m annoyed because you won’t tell me why you won’t
tell me where you are. He crossed his arms, watching Nikki
duck around a box. Though Lenny had circled around behind
her earlier, he now stood near the window, so she still
had some breathing space before he attacked.
Remember that vision I had when you and Nikki were in San
Francisco?
The one about someone coming after me in revenge for what
I did to his brother?
Nikki took another step. Two boxes and shadows were all
that stood between her and Lenny now.
Yes. It appears the vision was slightly off. He had a go
at me first.
What?
He almost shouted the word out loud, and Seline’s wince
slithered down the lines between them. I’m fine, as
evidenced by the fact I’m still here talking to you.
Why didn’t you tell anyone?
Because I fear the Circle has been infiltrated by our foe.
Nikki had passed the first box. One box, lengthening
shadows, and Lenny were all that stood between her, the
window, and the end of the test. But she’d stopped again.
Her fear swamped him, so strong it left a bitter taste at
the back of his mouth. It was definitely Lenny she feared,
though why was still unclear.
It wouldn’t be the first time the Circle has been
infiltrated.
No. But this time it was cleverly done, and it almost
caught me. Remember Nadia?
He frowned. She is a young vamp we recruited about five
years ago, isn’t she?
Yes. I promoted her to my personal staff last year. Last
week she tried to kill me in my sleep.
Then she didn’t know you as well as she thought. Or she’d
have known Seline never slept without at least two
protection spells being active.
Few people know that. Most think I set only one spell, and
I prefer to keep it that way. It was the second spell that
caught her. She’d gotten past the first.
How? Nadine wasn’t a witch, and few on your staff know
much about magic. Only Camille, and as acidic and annoying
as the colorful crone could sometimes be, Michael trusted
her—not only with Seline’s safety, but Nikki’s. Which is
why Camille was here supervising Nikki’s training rather
than the usual trainers.
Someone obviously taught her enough to pass common
protection spells.
So did she say why she wanted to kill you?
No. And interrogation proved useless. Whoever sent her
made sure they’d erased that section of her memories.
Then you still have no idea who is behind the attack?
No. Seline hesitated. But I’ve had more visions, and I’m
more than certain my suspicions are correct.
And those suspicions are? In the room below, Nikki took
another step. Michael found himself clenching his fists
again, and he flexed them, trying to relax. Which was hard
to do when her fear was all but smothering.
He was tempted, so very tempted, to stop the test, run
down there, and ask what the hell was wrong. Only the
knowledge that she’d be furious, that she’d think he was
still trying to prevent her from joining him on his
missions, stopped him.
Remember Hartwood? Seline asked.
Of course. We watched it burn together, remember.
Then you remember Emmett Dunleavy?
He smiled grimly. How could he forget him? The bastard had
killed Christine, one of the few people Michael had cared
about in those dark years, a woman he’d spent ten years
loving. Worse still, Emmett had turned her into one of the
living dead.
He’d spent twenty years hunting Emmett down and a week
making him pay. I killed him, then I burned him, and then
I consigned his soul back to the hell it came from.
All of which Seline knew, because she’d been by his side
during the hunt in Hartwood.
What neither of us knew at the time was that Emmett had a
twin—Weylin.
Emmett died just over a hundred years ago. Surely if
Weylin Dunleavy intended revenge over his brother’s death,
he would have done something before now.
I fear revenge is not his only intention.
"Temperature has jumped again," Jake said, voice edged
with concern. "If Nikki’s doing this, something is wrong
down there."
Camille glanced at Michael. "One more degree to go, and
then I’m stopping it, whether you like it or not."
"Fine." Nikki wouldn’t like it, but Jon and Marcus were
still in the room, and the heat was reaching levels that
suggested Nikki didn’t have it under control. And if it
wasn’t under control, then anyone in that room could
become a target of the flames.
To Seline, he said, When we were in San Francisco, you had
a vision that mentioned someone seeking revenge for what I
did to his brother. You said he was a brother who had
kissed the night good-bye. I take it this is Weylin
Dunleavy? And that he’s a vampire who can walk in the sun?
Yes. He’s also a sorcerer, and he plans to make us pay for
what we did—pay in pain, as that vision warned.
The shadows moved in on Nikki. She backed away, ducking
Lenny’s blows and throwing several of her own. The vampire
might be little more than an indistinct blur, but she was
just as fast.
He’s had a hundred years to plan, Seline continued, and
now the time for action has come.
The words seemed to echo through Michael’s mind. On the
monitors, Lenny backhanded Nikki, the force of the blow
enough to send her staggering. Somehow, she kept her feet,
and she wiped a hand across her mouth. That’s when he saw
the blood.
That’s when her fear crystallized in his mind.
Lenny was another plant.
"Get that door open!" he shouted, and then he turned and
ran for the stairs.
***
Nikki hit the wooden box nose first. She grunted in pain,
but she pushed quickly away, dropping to her knees as the
scream of air warned of another blow. As his fist stirred
the hairs on the top of her head, she lashed out with a
foot, trying to hook his leg and bring him down.
He jumped her leg, then pivoted, his heel smashing into
her jaw. She flew backwards, hitting another box before
sliding to the floor in an ungainly heap. The room whirled
around her, and her face throbbed, the bitter taste of
blood filling her mouth. She took a shuddering breath, but
it did little to ease the sick churning in her stomach.
Her heart raced so bad it hurt, and energy surged in
response, the sheer force of it making every muscle shake.
Or maybe that was fear. But across her trembling
fingertips fire flickered, casting bright shadows through
the dusky light.
It shouldn’t be happening, not in this room.
She felt rather than saw movement, and she scrambled away
on all fours. A hand twined through her hair, yanking her
viciously back. She yelped, fighting fear, fighting the
flames that burned brighter through her veins.
"Hey," Jon said behind them, "I think that’s enough."
"No, it’s not," the vampire snarled. He twisted the
fistful of hair so tight she yelped again, and he dug what
looked like a small crossbow out of his pocket.
"Look out," she screamed, lashing backwards with a fist.
She hit his arm just as he pulled the trigger. There was a
hiss of air, then Jon’s harsh curse and the smell of
burning flesh.
White ash, she thought. Had to be, because it was the only
thing that could stop a shapeshifter.
She knew then that this man didn’t just intend to test
her. He intended to kill her.
And he’d come prepared to kill anyone else who got in his
way.
She twisted again and swung her fist, this time sinking it
deep into his groin. He grunted, his grip on her hair
relaxing enough to pull free. She scrambled to her feet
and turned to face him, but suddenly there was another
body between her and the vampire.
It was the first vampire, the one she’d defeated after
Delphine.
"Enough, Lenny. You’ve drawn blood." His voice was soft
yet cold. "That is beyond the rules."
"Right now I don’t give a shit about you or the rules."
There was a soft twang, then a grunt, and the weight of
her would-be protector hit her. She grabbed him
reflexively, saw the wooden arrow sticking out of his
chest and the fingers of flame beginning to spread from
the wound. Dead for real this time. Tears stung her eyes,
but she blinked them quickly away. Now was not the time to
do anything more than survive. Surely those in the control
room had to realize by now that something was wrong. All
she had to do was hang on until they got here.
She dropped the vampire’s body and retreated, saw Lenny
raise the crossbow a third time. She swore and dove
sideways, rolling past the cover of a box. There was a
thud against the side of it, then a rush of air, and
suddenly he was on her again.
His weight pinned her, his fists smashing towards her
face. She blocked the blows one handed then reached up,
splaying her free hand against his chest.
"Burn, you bastard," she said, and reached for the flaming
power that surged through her veins, imagining him burning
but not dying.
Fire exploded through her, around her. The force of it
ripped the vampire free and flung him across the room. His
screams filled the room, his body a blazing comet as it
hit the far wall and disappeared behind several boxes.
Nikki took a deep, shuddering breath, then climbed to her
feet and walked the rest of the way to the window.
She’d passed their damn test.
Now they could explain what the hell was going on.