Living with the Dead Part 46

"No." Rhys rose and extended his hand. In it lay two small vials.

Finn strode over for a closer look. There were no lights in the barn, but a sliver of sunlight through the beams illuminated the face of the young man on the floor. His features were contorted in agony. The woman's face was hidden against him, but Finn recognized her dark hair and blue dress. The girl who'd held a gun on Adele.

"Hugh and Lily," Rhys murmured, his voice thick.

Damon murmured he'd go check on the women. As Rhys took off his ball cap, Finn looked around. Deep in the shadows he could make out two more bodies. Rhys hadn't noticed them, and Finn wasn't about to point them out. Whatever Rhys's connection to this place, these people weren't anonymous victims to him.

Rhys looked up sharply. "The others. I have to "

"You have to get Hope, Robyn and Adele Morrissey." Marsten appeared from nowhere. "As for the rest? What's done is done."

Harsher than Finn would have put it, but Rhys only pulled his ball cap back on and straightened. Then he dropped the vials and crushed them under his shoe.

"Those are stashed all over the property," he said. "Anyone who hasn't been captured will have already done what they were taught. They'll presume it's a Cabal."

"But these people had rifles," Finn said. "They could have fought back."

Rhys shook his head. "Then some could be captured. They wouldn't risk that."

"It's the Nasts, isn't it?" Marsten said, keeping his voice low. "I believe I suggested we switch cars in case they'd planted a tracking unit."

"And I said that my car has a device to scramble the signal. They'd be in North Hollywood by now."

"Whoever is here, I think it's my fault," Finn said. "I called for backup, and this is what I got. I have no idea how or why "

"They diverted calls from your radio," Rhys said.

"That's not poss "

"Believe me, it is. Cabal technology. Almost certainly the Nasts. As for why... I have my suspicions "

"Unimportant." Marsten walked back from peering out the window. "We have a rescue to launch. Hope, Robyn and Adele's trail seems to lead to that building behind the barn. But the guards have already checked in there, so "

"They're underground." Finn explained what Damon told him, as quickly and quietly as possible.

"Don't worry about Adele," Damon said as he returned. "There was a situation. Hope took her down. Shot her."

Again, Finn relayed. Seeming less pleased with that than Finn would have expected, Marsten frowned and walked to the window.

"What we'll do then is create a distraction," Finn began.

Marsten didn't turn from the window. "At this point, I'm not looking for a humane course of action, Detective. It's too risky."

As Rhys answered, Finn thought he saw a movement behind the dead couple. He peered into the shadows. A hand moved across the hay. A ghost? Finn took a step toward it. The ghost lay facedown, as if too shocked to stand. His hand was moving toward a rifle. The straw crackled and s.h.i.+fted under the man's fingers... and told Finn this was no ghost.

Finn slipped up over the man, bent and pressed his gun to his skull. "Stop right there."

Running footsteps pounded the concrete pad outside the barn. Finn looked up sharply, but the stall blocked his view. Rhys wheeled, gun rising. Two pairs of hands lifted over the stall. Women's hands. Rhys lowered his gun as Marsten strode over.

"There's a guy in the hay. He's " Hope saw Finn with his gun trained on the man. "You found him. Good. Rob and I were running beside the barn when I caught a stray thought."

"Niko?" Rhys strode over, kicked the rifle aside and hauled the middle-aged man to his feet. "Playing possum, were you?"

"Th-the poison," Niko said. "It didn't work for me."

Rhys cold-c.o.c.ked Niko and sent him flying into the hay pile.

"I'm not going to fight," Niko said, struggling up. "I claim sanctuary."His gaze swung to Hope. "With the council."

"The same council you've always sworn was in league with the Cabals?"

"You don't understand, Rhys. You never did. To give clairvoyants the community they need, we lie. It's a blueprint created by bulibas has long before my time."

"Lies? Like the one about hiding from the Cabals? Protecting the k.u.mpania from them?"

"We do do protect " protect "

"You brought the Cabal here, Niko. When Adele told you the Cabal chased her and Colm earlier today, you knew she was wrong. The Cabal wouldn't do that because they own own the k.u.mpania. It's not a safe haven. It's a clairvoyant farm." the k.u.mpania. It's not a safe haven. It's a clairvoyant farm."

"That's "

"I've been following the trail for ten years now, and finally figured out where it ended. You tried to stop this " He waved to the dead young couple. " from happening by telling the k.u.mpania not to worry, not to panic."

"Of course, I didn't want "

"Because if they killed themselves, it would be your fault. You alerted the Cabal. You told them about me. They somehow linked it all to Detective Findlay's investigation "

"Because he visited the Nast offices today," Hope said. "He met with Sean, who went digging for information on clairvoyants to help me, which must have triggered an alert. They found out about Detective Findlay's visit, and put it together."

"And the Cabal wouldn't want the police descending on their k.u.mpania. They rerouted Detective Findlay's calls, and probably all emergency calls from that motel."

"Because they wanted to protect protect us!" Niko said. "As they have always protected us, Rhys. That protection comes with a price. One clairvoyant every ten years. A pittance to pay. But you couldn't leave well enough alone. And look what happened." He pointed to the couple. us!" Niko said. "As they have always protected us, Rhys. That protection comes with a price. One clairvoyant every ten years. A pittance to pay. But you couldn't leave well enough alone. And look what happened." He pointed to the couple.

"The Cabal swooped in because of Adele," Rhys said. "Adele was your creation, Niko. Her actions brought everyone to your door step "

"Uh, guys?" Damon ran in. Rhys and Niko were still arguing. Damon leapt between them. "Finn, get them to shut up. Now. Now. We've got " We've got "

Marsten strode in. "They've figured out where we are. Process of elimination or he " A chin jerk toward Niko. " alerted them. We have eight armed men heading this way, led by one old man "

"Rhys Vaughan? Hope Adams? Karl Marsten?" a voice boomed. "This is Thomas Nast. We have the building surrounded."

"Come out with your hands raised," Hope muttered, sounding surprisingly calm.

"Split up," Finn said. "Take the windows. How many guns ?"

"No, Detective," Hope said. "Fortunately for us, this isn't going to end in a hail of bullets."

"We can negotiate," Rhys said.

Hope took a deep breath. "Okay, as the council representative and chaos-sensing half-demon, I should be the one "

"No." Marsten grabbed her arm. "Rhys wanted to go this alone. I think it's time we let him."

"Really?" Rhys said. "And I thought you were about to volunteer. Silly me."

"Stop it." Hope brushed off Marsten's hand. "I'm "

"Bobby!" Damon shouted.

Finn spun to see Robyn disappearing out the barn doors, armed men closing in, eight guns trained on her. Finn broke into a run.

"Mr. Nast?" she said. "We'd like to declare a truce."

HOPE.

This was one of those cases that happens more often than anyone cared to admit, where the council and the Cabal were not on opposite sides. The council wanted to stop Adele. The Cabal wanted to protect its k.u.mpania. Killing Adele had accomplished both. Now they just needed to tidy the loose ends. So they negotiated.

It helped that neither side had taken casualties. Even Irving Nast wasn't dead. Karl had tied him up and locked him in a closet, figuring that once they were done at the k.u.mpania, they could notify the Nasts that he'd kidnapped a Pack wolf. The threat of diplomatic fallout would have the Nasts scrambling to punish Irving, a minor and relatively inconsequential family member.

With Adele dead, there was no way to pin the murders on her, not without the danger of exposing the clairvoyants. The Nasts vowed Robyn's name would be cleared, at their expense lawyers, bribes, whatever it took.

In return, the Nasts got Niko, two of the seers and the remnants of his k.u.mpania. Five members were dead, including Neala. Niko would regroup and spin lies, and the k.u.mpania would carry on. Rhys wasn't happy with that, but it was a fight for another day. The Nasts granted him custody of Thom, and that was all that mattered for now.

Rhys had been right about the Cabal operating the k.u.mpania. That was the real reason he'd taken the job with Irving Nast hoping to prove his theory. The Nasts and the k.u.mpania had been linked from the beginning, centuries ago in Europe. It was a secret pact between the bulibasha and the Nast CEO, which is why neither Sean nor Irving knew about it, leading Irving to negotiate with Adele.

The Nasts protected the k.u.mpania from threats, including other Cabals. In return the k.u.mpania provided them with clairvoyants. In fact, they'd been negotiating to provide one in the next year. The last clairvoyant had been a disappointment, so Niko had promised Thomas Nast the brightest star of the new generation: Adele Morrissey.

Detective Findlay took Robyn to the station. Hope stayed with her as long as she could. The detective swore Robyn would be fine and he'd get her to the hospital as soon as he could.

When Hope and Karl left the station, Rhys was outside waiting.

"I'll walk with you to your car," he said, falling in beside them.

"How's Thom?" Hope asked.

"Confused. Angry. I had to sedate him." He shoved his hands into his jacket pockets. "It'll be a big adjustment for both of us. We're flying tonight to a supernatural hospital. I wanted to touch base with you two before I left. First, Karl, I didn't get a chance to say it earlier, but you were right to leave Irving Nast alive. A better plan than mine."

Rhys braced, as if expecting Karl to sarcastically thank him for his approval, but Karl only nodded, knowing Rhys's admission wasn't easy or necessary.

"Also, I have a business proposition for Hope. Well, for both of you, since I a.s.sume it's a package deal. All the better, because I know I'd never have a chance of hiring you otherwise, Karl." They turned the corner before he continued. "Earlier today you called me a mercenary, Hope. I could argue the nuances of that, but it is, in essence, what I am."

"I already "

" work for the council. I respect that. I respect the council and what they do, though I meant what I said about them not being as effective as the supernatural world needs. That's the nature of the beast. A body of justice cannot afford to slide into gray areas. That's the arena of other organizations."

"Like yours?"

"I'd like the chance to make my case, Hope." He handed Hope a card with a phone number. "A pressure-free pitch. What you're doing for the council is great, but I think you can do more." His eyes met hers. "I think you might need to do more."

Karl and Hope stood on their hotel room balcony. She leaned against the railing, watching the line of cars below, a parade of lights slow-marching to the beat of overamped music and horn blasts. Two motorcycles weaved through the traffic, leaving glowing trails like lightning bugs.

"I have a decision to make, Karl. A tough one."

"I know."

"I'm not sure that the council is where I belong anymore."

"I know."

Hope crossed her arms, still leaning against the railing, face averted, fists balled where he couldn't see them.

"Karl... ?"

"Hmm?"

"About us..."

She felt him tense, a jolt of chaos escaping before he reined it in.

She turned around. "Karl, I need..." Her throat closed there, refusing to let the next words out, only letting her reverse and repeat. "I need... I need..."

He took a slow step toward her, struggling to keep those chaos vibes in check, hands lifting as if he wanted to stop whatever she was going to say. A foot from her, he halted, hands going into his pockets.

"Hope... whatever..." A surge of chaos, then he blurted, "We'll work it out."

"I-I hope so."

A rush of breath. "All right then. Tell me what you need."

"You." Hope's voice was barely audible even in the silence. "I need you. Too much."

He put his arms out and she moved into them, his hands going to her back, her cheek against his chest, and that was easier, so much easier, resting there, listening to his heart, where she could feel his response but didn't have to see it. Cowardly, maybe. But it was the only way she'd get through this.

"I need to go back to the council and explain what happened. Then I need to make some hard decisions and..." A deep breath. "You can't fix this for me, Karl. And if you're here, you'll want to. I know you try not to, but you do, and I let you, and I don't think either of us is happy about it."

He went quiet and she braced for him to argue, to say he'd give her s.p.a.ce, and she knew he'd try, maybe succeed, but she wouldn't. Even if she managed not to ask his advice, she'd take her decisions to him, watch his face and monitor his chaos vibes. If they didn't support her choice, she'd change it.

She trusted Karl more than she trusted herself. That had to change. Time to grow up. But it was one thing to hint she needed time alone. Another to insist. She didn't think she could do that.

"There's a job in Australia," he said finally. "I wasn't going to do it, because it would take more than my usual two weeks and I certainly don't need the money, but..."

She pulled back to look at him. "How long are we talking?"

"Six weeks at least. Probably closer to two months."