Rogue Elements #8
The unspoken word hung in the air between us, like the large, full moon outside.
He had to know. He must have wondered why I was affected by a spell designed for Weres when I had refused the change.
It wouldn’t have been difficult to have me tested for Neuri while I was out.
But he said nothing, so I didn’t either.
After a moment, he leaned over and kissed me lightly on the cheek.
“Welcome to the family, Accalia,” he murmured and left.
I just lay there for a few minutes, until a pressing personal matter insisted that I get up. I found that I could actually walk and that the room stayed satisfyingly steady around me. It seemed that my body had won the fight.
I came out of the bathroom to find Cyrus lounging on the bed without so much as a scratch on him. “My niece totaled your bike,” he said, by way of a greeting.
“She said she could ride!”
“Normally, she isn’t bad. But she was a little upset for some reason.”
I sat on the bed and looked at him, alive and well and grinning cockily, and couldn’t manage to feel too bad about it. “You’re Sebastian’s brother.”
“I knew this was coming.”
“And a dangerous outlaw who challenged him for clan leadership?”
“That might have been slightly exag—”
“And who, despite that, is able to call in favors from him?”
Cyrus sighed. “The other clan leaders viewed Sebastian as more of a diplomat than a warrior. He needed a show of strength before the vote for bardric to help him seal the win. Beating me in open combat provided that. Plus, we’d heard some disturbing rumors, and he needed someone to investigate them.
We thought that clans with secrets would be more likely to talk to someone who had been publicly disgraced than to a clan wolf who might turn them in. ”
“You’ve been investigating the club.”
“Among other things. It’s why I came to Vegas.”
“But why not shut it down? Those girls might still be alive!”
Cyrus took another deep breath. I briefly wondered if we had the same therapist. “And a lot of others would have gone unavenged. This has been going on for years, Lia. Without an overall leader, too much has been allowed to slip through the cracks. We needed evidence against all of the clans that participated, even those who don’t have members there at the moment. ”
“But when the girls started disappearing—”
“We thought there might be a connection, but shutting the place down would have meant forfeiting our best chance of finding them. And the club isn’t the only dirty game in town—not by half. They were one suspect among many. It may take years to clean up the entire mess.”
“And you didn’t tell me this because?”
“You know why. I didn’t want to take the chance that you might go missing, too.”
“I’m a war mage. This kind of thing is my job.”
“No. This was clan business. Sebastian should never have gone to the Corps.”
“I wouldn’t have reported anything! Not if you’d explained.”
Cyrus cocked an eyebrow at me. “You’re a war mage. It would have been your job.” I glared at him, and he did that thing where he hid a smile somewhere under the skin of his face. “I knew I couldn’t trust you to leave it to me, so I asked my informants to keep you out of the loop.”
“Including Nissa.”
“Ah, yes. Nissa. The sacrifices I make for—” I pushed him off the bed. His head popped back up, still grinning. “You seem awfully energetic for an invalid. Ready to go?”
“Go where?” I wasn’t looking forward to the screaming messages that were no doubt crowding my answering machine. The Corps had to have discovered by now that the Vegas department head had gone bad and taken half a dozen other operatives with him. I was going to drown in paperwork for weeks.
“It’s still Christmas for...” He checked his watch. “Another 47 minutes.”
“So?”
“I got your present downstairs.” He threw some heavy denim and motorcycle leathers on the bed. “But you have to get dressed to see it.”
I pulled on the clothes so fast that I didn’t manage to flash him more than a couple of times.
We snuck out the back way, dodged the few staff members who weren’t gathered around the nurses’ station, and there it was.
Gleaming under the parking lot lights was a tripped-out Harley-Davidson Night Rod with black chrome and blood red accents. It was love at first sight.
“Ever see Red Rock Canyon by moonlight?” Cyrus asked, as I ran my hand possessively over its undented sleekness.
“No.”
“You will tonight.” He threw a leg over the seat of a black and silver version parked alongside. “Race you.”
He was out of the lot before I even managed to scramble on board. But the powerful motor gladly leaped into the chase. The air was cold, the stars were out, and the Vegas skyline was lit up like a Christmas tree. It was like flying.
“It’s a full moon!” Cyrus yelled as we turned onto Blue Diamond Road.
“So? I’m not a wolf!”
“Really?” His mouth wasn’t curved, but he was smiling anyway. “Bet I can make you howl.”
He shot away, eating up the open road. I gunned it and followed. I bet he could, too.