Wild Game (Codex Blair Book 4) Page 6

  He was quiet, absorbing the information I had given him.

  Yeah, fucker, it wasn't pleasant. I didn't want to go through it again.

  "I am sorry that you had to experience that, but I understand that it was necessary. You were never going to be satisfied taking my word for the power of the Utakar, it is beyond the capability to imagine."

  "Those wolves weren't so bad—why the fuck were there wolves?" I glanced over at him for a quick second, long enough to see the surprised look on his face.

  "I still do not understand why you are so focused on that."

  "Because, Mr. Fae, there are no wolves in London. Haven't been for a long time. There shouldn't have been any out there, worst thing we should have had to worry about is a feral cat."

  "Mr. Fae?"

  "It's called a nickname. You deal with mortals, you're going to have to live with it. At least, this mortal anyways."

  Maybe it was childish, but it was how I dealt with things. Make jokes, snark it up a bit, don't let the severity of a situation get to you. It's called a coping mechanism.

  "Hm," he said, as if pondering the nickname I'd given him. "I suppose, if it is a part of your culture, I will have to accept it. Well, the appearance of the wolves was clearly the work of the Utakar. I'd assume indirect work, as it would make more sense if it was there that it would attack us itself. Oddities follow the Utakar wherever they go, it should not come as a surprise to you if you should run into something that does not make sense while on this case."

  I didn't like that, not one bit. I liked for things to make as much sense as was possible, it allowed me some semblance of normality. Now, I had to assume that anything out of whack was the Utakar, which was going to be a recipe for disaster.

  See, once you know about the magical world, it has a habit of finding you. The more you know, the more you're involved, the more things crop up. Either that, or you're just aware of it then. Ever notice how you went your whole life not knowing that murders were going on in your city and the world was falling to shite, and then as soon as you watched the news that one time when you turned eighteen, it was all around you and you couldn't ignore it? Sure felt like the world was ending and things were so much worse than they used to be, but if you checked the statistics, they really weren't.

  Most likely, that was what happened, but it still felt like I had become a danger magnet ever since I stumbled onto this side of myself.

  That was all to say that I couldn't attribute everything weird to the Utakar, because things were weird no matter what. I guess I would just have to try and differentiate the run of the mill weird from the Utakar weird. Great, now my job just got a lot harder.

  I pulled into the driveway of my house and allowed myself a small breath of relief that nothing more had happened while we were on the way home.

  "Come on, let's get inside where it's nice and safe," I said, climbing out of the car. Kailan was way ahead of me, having already shut his door. Hmph, rude.

  I walked up the small way to the door, took down the wards and ushered him inside. I still had yet to invite him in, though I had observed guest rites and given him food and drink. He was safe in my home, he knew that I wouldn't attack him, but I'm not the type of person that feels comfortable handing out the rites to bring your power into my home. That was trust that had to be earned, and so far, only Emily had really made that list.

  I didn't trust Mal, no matter how much we had worked together, no matter the fact that he had done nothing but help me since I had met him. He was still Fallen, and he could turn on me at any moment if I let my guard down.

  Do you count that kiss as turning on you?

  My cheeks flamed at the mere thought of that kiss. It was wrong, but on a basic level I wanted a repeat of the experience. My lips burned at the memory. I knew better, though, and I wasn't going to go down that road. I wasn't the type of girl to consort with demons, that was just asking for trouble.

  Kailan made his way to the couch, having apparently claimed it since I'd brought him in the night before and thrown him down on it. That was OK, I preferred the chair whenever I had company. I liked to be apart from people as a rule, it felt more comfortable.

  "Are you going to be OK here without me? I have a lunch date to get to. You don't need to worry about anything coming in, so long as you don't open the door. And, well, you probably have more to fear from the wards backfiring on you than anything that could come in."

  He smiled. "I shall be fine."

  "OK," I said, frowning. "Well...don't leave, OK? I don't want you getting into trouble, or attracting the attention of that thing until we have a game plan figured out."

  "Rest assured, I will be perfectly innocent while you are away."

  Coming from anyone else, I would have thought that was sarcasm, but if it was true that Fae could not lie, then I really didn't have anything to worry about.

  Nodding my head, I turned and headed back out. Finn and I had a standing lunch date on Monday's, to catch up and have a small slice of normal in our lives.

  I hoped any kind of weird wouldn't catch up with me.

  8

  I met Finn at Local House, the same bar we'd always hung out at. It was a ritual of ours, though we weren't the best at keeping up with a regular schedule. Most of the time it ended up being late in the evening for drinks, but as my nights had been taken up with monster hunting of late, well we'd switched to lunches when possible.

  Local House wasn't much of a lunch venue, your typical bar food, but it was the comfort of normalcy that we craved, not the food. When I walked in he wasn't there yet, so I made my way to one of the free tables and planted myself. A signal of my hand was all that it took to get a menu brought over to me.

  "Can I get you a drink?" The server said, pulling out a notepad to take my order.

  "Just a water, thanks," I said. I didn't need to be losing my head in the middle of the day.

  "All right, I'll get that right out."

  I tapped a fingernail against the worn wood of the table, sighing and looking to the door as I waited on Finn to get there. If I wore a watch I’d have been checking it.

  Come on, don't make me sit here alone like a loser.

  As much as I liked to be alone, I didn't like to be kept waiting, and I hated being alone in situations like this. When I could feel curious eyes peering at my back. I knew I looked strange, though not as strange as I could. I'd taken my thigh rig off and left it in the car, knowing that it would attract attention and potentially get me barred from entry. I didn't want more trouble than was necessary, and the chances of being attacked in the bar were slim. Although, I suppose that's what everyone thinks right before they get attacked.

  I sighed. The job was getting to me, feeding into an already present paranoia.

  I wished for the thousandth time that I could have a smart phone like everyone else to waste time on. It wasn't as good as standing on a street corner with a cigarette for making you look like you belonged, but it was better than just sitting. I couldn't have a smart phone though; I could barely get by with my flip phone without frying it on a regular basis.

  The door slammed and I jerked my eyes up from the table to see Finn walking into the bar. Droplets of water clung to his bare head, glimmering against the darkness of his skin. Ah, so it had begun to rain outside.

  Relief flooded through me—I wasn't going to be the weirdo anymore.

  Well...

  He came over to the table, taking off his trench coat and hanging it on the back of a chair before he sat down. Finn looked like what everyone expected a detective to look like—he wore a button up shirt with the collar undone, a loose tie, black trousers, and always with the trench coat no matter the season. I don't know who decided that had to be the look, but I was glad I didn't have to dress like that. I might be a contractor for the police, but I dressed however I wanted.

  I smiled at him in lieu of a greeting.

  "How you doing, Blair?"

  I shrugged. "Well enou
gh." Got my ass kicked by a circle today, but well enough. I didn't see the point in bringing that up just yet. "How have you been?"

  He groaned in way of answering, shaking his head. "No, I'm not talking about work until I get some food in me, let me see that menu." He snatched it out of my hand, eliciting a laugh from me.

  "I didn't ask about work, but then again there isn't much else going on in your life, is there?" I watched him carefully, curious what his response would be. I was dying to needle him about Michael again, something that had become a fond pastime of mine over the past six months.

  Michael was one of the slaves we had rescued from the vampire's house, he'd been in there a lot longer than needed and had seen a lot of shit. I felt bad for him. But what really drove me crazy was that there was some kind of history between him and Finn that I didn't know about, and I just had to find out. It had loosely been implied that they'd been lovers, and that was just oh so interesting. Largely because Finn wouldn't tell me a Gods damned thing about it, and he always spilled his relationship gossip. Man or woman, he didn't hold back on the stories.

  He looked up from the menu, an eyebrow lifted. "I have other things in my life."

  I snorted. "Like what? You live for the job."

  He looked up at the ceiling, pursing his lips as he thought about it. "I, uh...I was thinking about getting a dog?"

  "It would chew through your entire house waiting for you to never come home."

  "Good point. I wasn't really thinking about getting a dog."

  "I know," I said, rolling my eyes. "I'd love to have a dog. They're adorable, and sweet, and they wouldn't judge me for coming home covered in blood."

  His amber eyes locked onto mine, widening. "Shush!"

  "Oh please, it was a joke."

  The waiter came then with my drink and we both ordered, handing in the single menu that we had shared.

  "So, have you come up with an answer yet?"

  He glared at me. "You win, I don't have anything else going on in my life. I broke up with Shelly three days ago."

  "Ooh, do tell, I don't think I even got to meet that one."

  "That's because she didn't last very long. Four days."

  Not long enough to come up in a weekly lunch conversation, then. That was Finn, though, he didn't really date, so much as he slept around. He didn't discriminate based on gender, he just tried to find people who wouldn't get mad at him for not wanting to date them. It didn't always work out for him, but I had to give him credit for being up front with people from the get go. Granted, nine out of ten times they didn't believe him and thought they would be the one to change him, but the onus was on them for that mistake.

  "What happened?"

  He shrugged. "What always happens? She said she was OK with being casual, but she clearly wasn't. She kept asking me what I was doing when I was out late working on a case, texted me all the time, just...four days and she was…crowding me already. I don't think I'm the bad guy for wanting to get out of that ahead of time."

  I shuddered and sent up a silent thank you to whoever was listening that I had been gifted with the wonder of Shawn. The man took care of my needs and didn't want to be anything other than a friend to me, a friend that also happened to stitch me up anytime I blasted a hole in myself battling the evil nasties of the night.

  I never had to worry about him getting attached, and he had never asked any questions about why I didn't want more from him. It was perfect.

  "Sorry you had to deal with that," I said, and I meant it. I couldn't imagine having to put up with that long term. I wasn't as bad as Finn when it came to sleeping around and, well, enjoying myself in that nature. But I certainly had my fun when I wanted to; there had been a few messy times where I'd needed to extract myself from a situation and it had become a little sloppy, but for the most part it was easier to be a girl who didn't want strings than it was for men. Expectations, and all.

  He shrugged. "It is what it is, now it's over."

  I nodded. The waiter returned with Finn's drink, and we both took a minute to sip. Finn had opted for a beer with his lunch, not out of the normal but not something I wanted to engage in.

  "What's been going on in your life?" Finn said, focusing in on me.

  I felt a little on the spot, but I forced my shoulders to relax after noticing that they'd tensed up. "Oh, you know, more of the same."

  It was hard to remember what exactly I'd told Finn about of late. Succubus? I'd mentioned it when it had been attacking the city, but I hadn't told him we had failed to kill it, I was sure. He'd been satisfied with the city being back in safe keeping. I didn't want to worry him overly much.

  He raised an eyebrow. "More of the same? Come on, Blair, there's nothing really 'the same' about your life."

  I placed a hand over my heart as if deeply insulted. "Excuse me? I have the most normal life, thank you."

  He choked, almost spitting out some of the beer he'd just swallowed. "Right, and I'm the King of England."

  "I had no idea I was sitting with royalty!" I made a big show of half bowing while still remaining seated.

  He gave me a measured look before sitting back in his chair. "What aren't you telling me?"

  "Who says I'm not telling you anything?"

  "Out with it, Blair. You were never a good liar."

  "Hey, I do not lie," I said, holding up an objecting finger. That was true, I never lied. I withheld information when it suited me. "Fine. If you must know, I've been working with a friend on...rehabilitating the last...person...we were fighting." I had to choose my words with care, just in case of over eager ears around us.

  "What?" His eyes widened and he sat up straight. "You told me you"—he lowered his voice and looked around him in case someone was listening, and leaned in to speak—"took care of that."

  "And I did. The city is safe, we've just...gone a different route this time. "I splayed my fingers out in front of me. "Something's wrong with everything that's going on, and I want to figure out what it is. I can feel it, I just know that this isn't the way things are supposed to be. She's our best bet at figuring it out at the moment."

  "How would you even know if something is off? You've only just started into it."

  "Hey, two years. I'm not exactly a newbie anymore."

  He lifted an eyebrow. "You are by most standards, including mine."

  I soured, pursing my lips, and screwing together my eyebrows. That wasn't fair. I had done a hell of a lot for the town, and I’d jumped in with two feet and no preparation. I didn't consider myself an amateur anymore, but I had to admit that to most people, two years was nothing.

  It certainly wasn't enough to earn me Lillai's respect.

  Our food arrived and I tucked into the sandwich I'd ordered without responding to Finn. I didn't have anything for his remark, just because I didn't like that he was right didn't change the facts. We ate in silence, though it was companionable. The only bad note was me pouting over my food, and I recognized that I needed to get over it.

  "Any news on Michael?" I said after half my sandwich was gone.

  Finn glared at me, swallowing another bite of his burger. "No."

  I waited a beat before pushing on. "And?"

  "Nothing, nada, zilch, there's nothing to talk about there, Blair."

  "Oh, come on. The two of you obviously have something between you still. How are you not dying to get back into it and figure it out? I need to know more."

  "There's nothing to know. It was a long time ago, and I don't want to get into it. It's ancient history, and no, I'm not dying to get back into it. It was a waste of time." His words came out razor sharp, so much so that I flinched. I had never seen Finn so worked up over anyone, I barely knew how to maintain my composure in the face of it.

  Just then his phone rang, ending the conversation before it could go any further.

  "O'Malley." He barked into the phone, setting his half-eaten burger down on the plate. "Are you sure?" He nodded at whatever was said on the phone. "I'
m on my way." He took the phone away from his ear, punched a button on its screen, and pocketed it. His wallet was in his hand as he brought it back up, he pulled a few notes from it and threw them on the table. "Come on, let's go."

  "Let's go?" My eyebrows jumped up. I'd recognized that our meal was coming to an abbreviated end, but I wasn't following beyond that.

  "There's been a wild animal attack. And London has no wild animals capable of this. It's our second one and something's fishy, I want you to take a look at it."

  My heart sank. I reached for my bag to pull out my wallet, but Finn shook his head.

  "I covered your half."

  I glared at him. "I can get it."

  "I'll expense it. You're officially on the clock."

  I sighed. Well, at least I'd be getting paid. "Where are we going?"

  9

  Finn insisted on taking his car to the scene, some bullshit about it being proper police protocol to escort me to the scene. I didn't get it, and didn't particularly like the idea of leaving my car in a pub carpark, but I didn't put up a fight. It wasn't worth it.

  "So, you said this is the second time this has happened?" I looked at him as he drove, wincing when he swore at a car that got in his way.

  "I don't understand why everyone has to drive so bloody slow," he said, practically growling at his windshield.

  "Maybe because you drive like a crazy person?"

  "Excuse you. I drive like a perfectly rational human being."

  I snorted. Every time I got into Finn's car I feared for my life just a little bit. "Anyway, I asked about this being the second time."

  "Yeah, last week it happened. I had a bad feeling about it, thought about calling you in, but I decided to let it go. One time thing and all. But now, it's happened again, and it just makes no sense. What wild animal would be attacking in the middle of London? There's going to be a lot of people panicking if this gets out."

  "If it gets out? Don't you have to make a statement or something, alert the presses, all that jazz? Didn’t anybody film it and put it on the internet?" It seemed these days everything was filmed by some budding movie maker who stood around with phone in hand rather than stopping to help.