Nightingale Read online

  Awakened, as in woken up from a thousand-plus-year sleep. And Azkuran was supposed to be one of the oldest—tens of thousands of years old.

  My head felt like a boulder on the pillow as the truth sank in. Laurent was his brother. Fraternal twin.

  Talk about older than dirt.

  Azkuran’s hand on my arm jarred me from my thoughts. “I’ll send Nadia back in to sit with you.” His voice was gentler than it had been earlier.

  Rather than comforting me, it made me more nervous. “Will you please untie my hands before you go? My ribs feel better, and I can’t go anywhere.”

  He considered, and I held my breath.

  Regret flashed across his face. “Not yet. I need to find a witch first.”

  “A witch?”

  A tentative smile crossed his lips. “Only a few witches in the world could undo this spell.” The smile grew. “Fortunately, there’s one nearby.”

  Fortunate? I knew within the depths of my soul it was anything but. Nevertheless, I gave him a wobbly smile. “Umm, one more thing … the woman earlier, I don’t know her name—”

  “Nadia?”

  “No, the other one. The taller one.”

  “Liang.”

  “Perhaps. She, um, she said I could see my daughter?”

  His face closed. “She had no right to say that.”

  For a second, I forgot I was restrained and tried to rise, only to be jerked back by the bands at my arms and legs. “Please. I need to know she’s all right,” I begged.

  Irritation tightened his features. “She’s fine.”

  “But, the Gerards—”

  “Don’t mention them.” His voice turned harsh. “Never mention them again.”

  “I won’t,” I promised quickly. “Just please, please let me—”

  “After.”

  It was final. I could hear it in his voice, see it in his face.

  My head flopped on the pillow and tears leaked from my eyes. I heard a choked sound and turned my head.

  He was a picture of consternation. “I’ll see what I can do.”

  Seventeen

  LAURENT

  “MY INTEL IS reliable,” Laurent told Phoebe for what must have been the third time in two hours. His fists clenched at his side. It was the first time he’d been questioned this way; he’d make sure it was the last.

  Tugging at Phoebe’s sleeve, Sara whispered, “We have to trust him, Phoebes. If he says it’s the Grand Canyon and not Tucson, Caleb says we have to believe him. Laurent has ways of getting information that no one can explain.”

  He watched the interplay with interest. Sara’s worried face, the hard look Phoebe gave Caleb, the way Caleb’s eyes drifted away. Laurent mentally filed the information for later investigation—after they’d found Allie and Mia.

  In the back of the room, Alex and Cassandra were bickering, as were Toshio and Marti. None of them were pleased with being ordered back to Chicago. Nia and Alejandro tried to reason with them.

  “Alex shouldn’t have come here in the first place, and Laurent isn’t going to need your help after all. Plans have changed.” Nia’s stern gaze locked with Cassandra’s.

  “If you and Caleb are staying, I should be able to,” Cass insisted.

  “Gabe and I want you and Toshio to watch after Marti and Alex,” Alejandro said and Nia backed him up as the younger ones protested loudly.

  “Enough,” Laurent yelled, cutting across the noise. He pointed in the direction of Alex, Cassandra, Toshio, and Marti. “You four—do as they say and leave, now.”

  He ignored the bristling of Nia and Alejandro, and turned to Phoebe, Sara, and Caleb. “You three, get ready to help Nia cast the cloaking spell. Our timing has to be perfect.”

  Moving on to Nia, he asked, “Have you found what you need?”

  Concern shadowed the glance she gave Sara and Phoebe. “It won’t be easy.”

  Laurent’s face tightened. “These things never are.”

  The day had reached its late-afternoon peak of heat, and they were sweating by the time packed their things into their borrowed, sand-colored jeeps. While Nia and Alejandro said goodbye to the ones who were heading to Chicago, Laurent walked over to where Caleb and Sara were talking privately.

  “Where’s Phoebe?”

  They wore twin expressions of surprise. “She must have gone back for something. I’ll go get her.” Sara ran back to the hotel.

  A few minutes later, she returned, her face distressed. “I can’t find her.”

  Eighteen

  ALLIE

  I didn’t know how long I’d lain in the bed, but I did know my body felt much stronger. I took a tentative breath, then another, more deeply. Yes! My lungs filled easily, pain free.

  I wiggled my jaw, opened my eyes wide. Without a mirror, I couldn’t be sure, but I would hazard a guess my facial injuries were better, too. Whatever was in that IV was worth gold. Testing the limits of my new-found strength, I pulled my arms, attempting to break the straps at my wrist. No go.

  I gazed about the room. You’d think with this high-tech equipment, there should have at least been a “call” button. What if I had to go to the bathroom? A frown pulled my brows. I hadn’t been to the bathroom since … when? Heat rushed over me.

  Since I’d tried to go at the restaurant.

  I wriggled in the bed and tried to move my legs. I felt it, then: a catheter.

  Great. Let’s pile indignity on top of embarrassment, shall we? Top it off with a huge dollop of humiliation and have ourselves a nice shame sundae.

  Before I could work up a proper pity party, complete with wailing, the door opened and the freakishly tall woman in the black suit walked in and immediately began fiddling with the monitors.

  What was her name? Began with an “L.”

  She lifted her head from what she was reading long enough to greet me, all brisk efficiency. “Good morning, Allison. Are you feeling better?”

  Did I ignore, pout, curse? No, I needed to try charm. Not my strength, but sometimes, one must. “Better, thanks. I’m sorry, what was your name again? I’m afraid I wasn’t in the best shape earlier.”

  Her lips moved into a spare smile. “I don’t believe we’ve been properly introduced. I’m Liang. I’ve been monitoring your recovery. You seem to be doing well. If things continue to improve, I expect you could be up and moving about soon.”

  She sure knew how to sweet talk a girl. I couldn’t keep the excitement from my voice. “How soon? Where’s Mia? Can I see her?”

  Her smile grew briefly before her expression returned to neutral. “Those things will depend on whatever agreements you and Azkuran might make. I will alert him to your concerns.”

  “No need. I’ll take it from here.” His deep voice startled me, sending a wave of fear over my excitement.

  Liang nodded and left.

  Azkuran’s gaze held mine, his eyes widening a fraction. “Your face is healing.”

  “That’s nice.” What was I supposed to say?

  “Smile for me.”

  What the what? “Excuse me?”

  “I want to see you smile.”

  It was nearly impossible to keep the frown from my face, but I needed to humor this guy for the moment. The corners of my lips twitched, no doubt unconvincingly. I tried again.

  “Does it hurt?”

  That actually sounded concerned. I relaxed slightly. Maybe he was just checking my muscle response and not being weird. Weirder.

  I smiled again, using a memory of Mia in her little pink pajamas to fuel the effort. It fell when he inhaled sharply. What did he see?

  “Is something wrong?”

  His lips thinned. “Nothing.”

  Why wasn’t I convinced? He glanced at the cardiac monitor, its tell-tale increase giving me away again.

  “You are nervous?”

  Duh. Easy, Allie. This guy holds the keys to your kingdom. “You acted like something was wrong.”

  He shook his head, the movement short. “I said n
othing was. Now, tell me why you gave birth to that child.”

  Aaand the monitor went crazy.

  “What do you mean?” My fear levels were reaching critical.

  “Calm down. I’m just trying to understand why you didn’t abort.”

  Thank God my lungs and ribs were working again. It took several deep breaths before I could form words.

  I spoke my truth. “She’s mine. My only real family.”

  “But those people—”

  “Don’t count.” I cut him off. I wasn’t going there with him. I barely went there with myself. Those dark days, the fear, the doubt, the second-guessing. Once the decision had been made, though, I never regretted it. Mia was the only pure light in the hellish nightmare I’d been living. My salvation. It’s why I named her as I did. She was mine, and mine alone. Even after I’d had to let the Myers take her for her own safety.

  My gut clenched. “Where is she? Please, I have to see her.”

  “First things first. We need to break the protection spell surrounding you, and I’ve found a witch for it.”

  A dozen questions and a thousand fears raced through me, but I only asked, “Why?”

  “I need to know. Are you mine, or his?”

  My skin felt as if it had frozen, shrink-wrapping my bones. I was terrified to ask, but had to know. “Yours or his, what?”

  “Daughter, of course.”

  There are times when something is said that is so outrageous, so nonsensical, that the mind can’t wrap itself around it. Like when the cop said I was under arrest for killing the Myers. The same blank shock hit me.

  “How could that even be possible?”

  “That’s what we’re about to find out.” He moved toward a wall near the door and waved his hand over it. Lights glowed in the space where his fingers passed.

  “Yes,” a voice came out of the wall.

  “Bring in the witch.”

  A few minutes later, Nadia walked in with someone else.

  “Sara?” I gasped.

  As soon as she shook her head, I realized my mistake. No, not Sara. Someone who looked a lot like her, only prettier. White-faced and rigid, as if she were in shock. I looked at her more carefully and went as rigid as she.

  Those brief conversations, the bits of stories Alex and Gabe had told me in those few days at the training center, they all came back.

  Nathan … Nadia … Oh, my God.

  “Phoebe?!”

  A tiny nod made my breath catch.

  They’d said she’d changed—been healed—but, I’d been so preoccupied with my own drama at the time, I hadn’t truly considered what it meant.

  She was stunning. And terrified, if her ghostly pallor was any indication.

  And Nadia … was that the Nadia? Nathan’s sister? If so, that would also explain why Phoebe was frozen like an animal in headlights.

  Not to mention being captured by the Awakened would do that to anybody.

  “You do understand what’s expected of you, don’t you?” Azkuran addressed Phoebe. Her chin ducked in the barest of nods, her eyes never leaving mine, her natural hand holding Nadia’s in a white-knuckled grip.

  Her other hand drew my attention. It looked real, but I knew it wasn’t. That had been one of the stranger parts of a very strange story. The healing flames had taken care of everything but that. No one knew why, though they speculated it was because she’d been born that way; it wasn’t an injury that had come later.

  “What does she need to do?” I asked. I wanted to scream, to cry, to curse him for bringing her here. But, my daughter’s life might depend on whatever came next. I had to remain calm. Would have to make the hard decisions, if it came to it.

  “Not much. Just a spell. And behave herself.” He added the last as a warning.

  Phoebe nodded again, more firmly. Her eyes—two beautiful eyes—blazed with promise and determination. I nodded back, understanding.

  We would both do whatever it took.

  I turned my face toward Azkuran. “When do we start?

  Nineteen

  LAURENT

  From their position at the Canyon Base, they could see the entrance to the hidden cave was over a thousand feet above them, and thousands of feet below the rim. Exactly where no human could reach.

  Fortunately, their group wasn’t entirely human. Nia, Sara, and Caleb had begun their spell. It didn’t take long to convince Sara that Phoebe was in that cave. Nia was able to scry for her location, which meant one thing: Azkuran knew they’d be coming. He must be planning on it.

  Laurent couldn’t waste time worrying what his brother was up to; he had to time the anti-cloaking spell to the millisecond. Long enough to fool his twin and protect Allison and her child. A taste like salted copper hit his tongue as fangs—a legacy from his brother’s punishment—pierced the inside of his lower lip. He’d seen the disk in Allie’s memories, and presumed Azkuran would have seen it, too.

  That disk meant only one thing: Mandisa had sent her child away to be kept safe in stasis. But someone had awakened her. He suspected the woman who must have been killed in the fire from Allie’s memories. Once he got Allie and Mia back, he would check Allie’s blood again, to be sure.

  He gave silent thanks to whatever fate kept Mia from being found before she was old enough to participate in the blood ritual. She wasn’t cloaked from detection like her mother, and their full history would have been revealed: the love he and Mandisa shared before she’d been forced to marry Azkuran, the elder brother. Mandisa’s doubts about the paternity of her child, the punishment he’d faced at Azkuran’s hands.

  His brother. The man who couldn’t bring himself to commit fratricide, but decided turning his sibling half-vampire was suitable punishment.

  Laurent had berated himself over the centuries for not being able to kill his twin, either. For always holding out some portion of hope the fucker would revert to the brother he’d once loved. After several millennia, though, he knew it was too much to ask for. They’d both hardened to the point where forgiveness between them was impossible.

  But, he wasn’t hardened to the point where he’d let Azkuran corrupt an innocent child. As the quiet chanting nearby faded, he turned to Caleb.

  “Take Alejandro. Nia will follow with Sara. I will meet you there.”

  The witches vanished with their charges.

  Laurent closed his eyes and surrendered to one the few perks of being part vampire. He dissolved into a mist and followed the others into the canyon wall.

  Twenty

  ALLIE

  Even before Phoebe began drawing power, I’d felt a frisson of energy enter my skin. Fear spiked at the familiar sensation. I’d felt the same during the blood rituals with Laurent and Azkuran—right before thousands of bees cracked open my skull. I opened my mouth to stop her but the feeling passed. Warmth tingled over my skin. Not unpleasant, but strange. Maybe it was Phoebe’s power, I wasn’t sure.

  I glanced at her face, still having a hard time getting used to her appearance. She was amazing. Raw, powerful, beautiful in the way of a panther. Sleek and deadly. I could hardly believe it was my friend standing there. It wasn’t just the physical transformation; where was sweet, self-effacing Phoebe? Could someone change so much in less than two months?

  Yes.

  I’d changed in only a couple of days. I knew I could become the murderess I’d been accused of being. If my hands were free, I’d gladly take down the Gerard’s and anyone else in this place who stood between my daughter and me.

  The fierce grief and hard determination in Phoebe’s eyes said whatever she’d faced in Arizona hadn’t been good. The hair stood on my arms and the back of my neck as she pulled from every element in the room and beyond.

  The monitors flashed then went black. Nadia’s eyes became feral. The edges of her form wavered the way Mutts did when they shifted. Adrenaline crashed through my system with tsunami force, bowing my back, and partially raising me from the bed. Concentrating, I tried to draw power with
her to break the ties at my wrists and legs.

  Azkuran came to the edge of my attention, pushed me back into the mattress. “Watch yourself,” he snarled at Phoebe.

  Electricity shifted in the air as she answered. “This is what you asked for. This is what was promised.”

  What promises were made? My teeth chattered at the sound of her voice, keeping me from asking the question aloud. Her tone had taken on a deep, cavernous quality that echoed.

  Nadia howled from all fours. She’d dropped to the floor and shifted while Phoebe spoke.

  A whirlwind gathered around us, or maybe just in my mind. I could no longer tell. The prick of a knife, Azkuran’s hand pressed to mind. A giggle forming. With a pricking of my thumbs, something wicked this way comes.

  Did my skull crack open or did it just feel like it? Lost to a vortex of time and space, my thoughts and feelings no longer my own. I gasped, a primordial fish first making its way to land.

  Too much, too much.

  Generation after generation passed through my mind, the evolution before and after. Feuds, ancient and new. Love, hate, betrayal. Thousands of years of pain; broken hearts cried out to me across the millennia. Flashes of joy, depths of love and fear that only a parent knows.

  A woman, dark-haired and pretty, pulling me out of a strange box, running through caverns into a darkened wood. Playing patty-cake, dressing me in pretty clothes. Strengthening a spell cast long ago.

  Something gone wrong. Voices shouting, confusion. Her dragging me out into the night, away from the noise, and then leaving me as she returned to face who—or what—had come. An explosion. Fire from the sky. Our house burning. Running. Too late.

  Falling into the river, blood from my scratched knee decorating the water with a red ribbon. Rivers of blood.

  Shifting timelines.

  Two baby boys, sharing a womb. Their arms wrapped around each other even before birth. Another spike of pain, this one much closer. Right next to me. I flinched as the image was forcibly pushed away, not from my own power. My mind fought against the intrusion, pushed back the interloper. The twins, older now, playing with a little girl who reminded me of someone …. Who? It was important, I felt it.