Chapter 12
Not wanting to expose the darkling to what might be sensitive information; Ree only nodded her head at Sophie.
“Tell us what you know,” Sophie said. “And know that if it isn’t worth it, we will not be giving you an escort out of town. Understand?”
“Yeah, I get it.” Scott tilted his head to the side and looked at Ree again with his shifting eyes. “The blond guy was important, but there was someone even more important.”
“More important how?” Sophie’s voice was quiet, yet held a tense note that caused goose bumps to rise along Ree’s neck.
“She was the leader, but never said anything. The blond guy did all of the talking, but you could tell by how everyone else moved around her that she was pulling the strings. They were scared of her. She never smiled, except when the blond was eating.” Scott shivered, for the first time showing a sign that he had a seen a real monster. “She completely ignored me, except for the last night that I was at Barlow, my club. I asked when they were coming back, but no one answered. I think I was jonesing or something. I got desperate and I threw myself at the boy. I just wanted a little more blood. I mean, I’d given them some every time.”
“What happened?” Swallowing, Ree looked at the man on the ground in apprehension.
“She motioned for me to come to her and I crawled to her like a damn dog. I couldn’t get off of my hands and knees while she was looking at me. The closer I got, though, the more beautiful she was. Large, dark eyes that seemed to take up her face. I swear I could see things flickering in them.” He stopped and looked at the water bottle longingly. “She picked me up. With one hand. I knew they were strong, but this was more than the others had shown. I don’t remember anything else, just waking up in the alley. I was covered in blood, but I couldn’t go in the sun. I couldn’t go home until that night, but when the sun went down I couldn’t think straight. All I wanted was to find the woman. I’d have done anything to be close to her again.”
Sophie rocked back on her heels, her eyes wide with fear. Ree looked at the older Guardian and felt dread settle in her stomach. If Sophie was worried then it was time to start panicking. Faster than Ree could process, the older woman had Scott pinned to the wall. Her fangs were descended as she moved her face near his, urgency causing her to lose control over the more basic things. The furniture near her rocked as she stared into the darkling’s eyes.
“What color was her hair?”
“Bl- bl- black.”
“And she didn’t speak? Did anyone speak to her?” She shook him lightly as if trying to force him to remember. “What was said to her? Tell me everything. If she picked her teeth with a toothpick, I want to know what color it was.”
“Uh, she never said anything. Not once. Though the others watched her as if she was giving orders. The blond guy seemed to be her spokesperson. He would give orders and the others would jump. Sometimes he would look to her to see if she was happy with what he had done. She never spoke, but he seemed to know, anyway.”
“You need to remember more than that, darkling. Give me a reason to let you live.”
Ree sucked in a breath and moved toward them. “Sophie, we told him we would let him leave.”
“Ree, go out front. You don’t understand what is going on.” Sophie almost hissed the words out as she moved closer to Scott.
“I know that I don’t go back on my word. I know he’s still mostly human, even if he is evil. And I know I’m not here to kill humans. There are enough people out there doing that already.” Ree touched Sophie’s shoulder and was shocked to find her shaking.
“Let him down, Sophie. He can’t tell us anything if you choke him to death.”
Dropping the darkling, Sophie moved backward, almost knocking Ree over. Scott drooped to the floor and grabbed at his throat. Ree went to the little fridge and grabbed a bottle of water before handing it to him. Uncapping the bottle with shaking hands, he spilled water on the ground before managing to get any in his mouth.
“Look, Scott. I don’t feel bad for you. To be real honest, I think you deserve an ass-kicking or worse. If you don’t tell us what we need to know, I’m going to let Sophie do whatever she wants to you. If you answer her questions, then I’ll make sure you get out of Savannah. Got it?”
“Yeah, I’ve got it. Answers, live to see another day. No answers, bloody hunks of Scott. Yeah, pretty clear.”
Snorting, Sophie sat back down in the desk chair and crossed her legs. The door to the back opened for Weylin and Melanie. Scott scampered back against the wall, away from the sunlight streaming through the opening. Irritation pulled the corners of Melanie’s mouth down, but Weylin looked much more like himself.
“So, what did we miss?” Melanie sat down on a chair and pulled a fringe-covered pillow into her lap.
“Yeah, sorry. Nothing more depressing than seeing a man have a midlife crisis. Especially at eighteen.” Weylin sat next to Melanie, but wouldn’t meet anyone’s eyes.
“Don’t think you’re getting out of talking about this, Weylin. But right now, we have more important things to deal with. Scott here is getting ready to tell us about the Dark One pulling Tristan’s strings.” Ree looked back at the darkling. “Isn’t that right, Scott?”
“Sure, yeah. Really helpful, that’s me.”
“Then get on with it.” The dangerous edge to Sophie’s voice made the darkling swallow.
“You wanted to know if anyone spoke directly to her.” His eyes took on a faraway look as he searched his memory. “Um, yeah. I think the blond guy did. Tristan? He spoke to her a few times, but it was really quiet and I didn’t hear much. Only thing I remember is him wanting to know when they would have enough. But I don’t know what he was talking about.”
“Keep going,” Ree said. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Weylin and Melanie move closer to them, their interest piqued.
“She never responded that I heard, but he seemed to know what she was thinking. It was really spooky.” He looked at their group as if to get them to agree with his comment.
“What, that was the spookiest part of the whole ordeal? Really? Not the murdering, blood sucking, or fangs?” Weylin cocked his eyebrow, sounding more like himself. “I think a lady not bothering to talk to a worm like you would be the least odd thing that happened to you.”
“He has a point,” Ree added. “What happened to really bother you? The blood, the gore, the mythical creatures in your V.I.P. room didn’t upset you. So what did?”
“There was something about her, something cold and sinister. Despite being beautiful, she almost didn’t look human. I tried to not look at her too much. I didn’t want any problems.” Ree felt her heart stutter on the word ‘human.’ Could it be possible there was an original Dark One in Savannah? She turned to look at Sophie, who had managed to get a tight rein on her emotions, leaving her beautiful face blank.
“Did she do anything that seemed weird? Compared to the other Dark Ones?” The Greek woman leaned forward, the only hint of her real interest.
“Yeah, there was something else. The others only had two fangs. One set, you know? Kind of like you. But she had four. Two wicked-looking teeth on each side of her upper mouth when she ate. I only saw them once though. She didn’t normally eat when they came to the club.”
“Oh, well, there goes the neighborhood.” Weylin snorted from his chair. When everyone turned to look at him, he threw his arms in the air. “What? Don’t tell me you weren’t thinking the same thing!”
“Do you remember anything else?” Ree returned her attention to the darkling.
“No, but I did notice something.” Unrolling his sleeves, he showed some of the burnt skin on his forearm. The bite marks on his arms were savage, but when Ree looked closer she noticed he had proof of the double fangs he had mentioned. There on his wrist were sets of four puncture wounds oozing a dark, sticky substance. “The other bites I had from the Dark Ones didn’t have this nasty goo. They hurt, but they usually gave me some blood to help heal the bites.”
“Ree, step back please.” Sophie moved quickly so she was between the darkling and the Alastriana. “That is not a normal infection. The Dark One that left those holes meant for you to die, Scott Chaney. If you aren’t turned in the next few days, her venom will finish destroying your soul and move on to the rest of your body.”
“Wait a minute. You’re saying I have to become a Dark One after all?” His eyes lit up a little, as if he was being offered a second chance. “You have to let me go.”
“No, darkling, that wasn’t our agreement. I’m saying that no matter what we do for you, death will be calling your name soon.”