comes to us with a great deal of paranormal experience.”
Then the intercom clicked off, leaving Dawn reeling with the return of The Voice—the stranger who had already begun the ritual of fully sequestering himself for the endgame of this particular hunt.
Even from her.
Not for long though—not if she had anything to say about it. After they took care of business tonight, she would talk to him, see if she was wrong, because things had changed between them since L.A., right?
Right?
In her seat, cuddly as could be with her coat in her lap, Natalia smiled again. “A job. I knew I would find one today, even if it wasn’t at my interview this morning.”
The abrupt, metallic sound of keys clanging to the wood floor made them all look toward the darkened hallway, where Kiko stood in his little leather jacket, cargo pants, and oversized boots, his eyes wide and reddened from his meds.
“Don’t mind me asking,” he said, “but who’s this quack, and why do we need her around when we’ve already got a psychic?”
FOUR
THE UNWELCOME
FRANK was smart, because he excused himself right away and went to prepare coffee or tea or anything . Thankfully, he also asked Natalia to join him.
Which, proving to be a smart girl herself, Natalia did.
But Dawn? She had the pleasure of staying behind to calm Kiko down and fill him in on current events.
Simmering, he took it all in while perched in a chair on the opposite side of the fireplace from Natalia’s empty seat, his short legs hanging off the edge as he gripped the armrests. His cheeks were nipped by the weather, but he sure wasn’t as pink and jolly as his complexion hinted.
And why not, if he was being replaced with a shinier version who might’ve gotten a reading on the new Underground?
Dawn sat on the floor near his chair, knowing she’d have to handle this diplomatically—diplomacy being a quality she didn’t really have in spades. Kiko’s pride and ego revolved around his psychometric, telepathic, and precognitive talents, and Costin was even training him in hypnosis, but the pills weren’t helping with any of it. Not lately, since Kiko’s back had been acting up.
A back that had been broken by a vampire.
In frustration, he ruffled his blond hair. He’d shaved off the soul patch beneath his lower lip, and the lack of facial derring-do lent him a lost boyishness.
“Maybe I’m just being paranoid,” he said. “But the boss has used new teams for every hunt all these hundreds of years, so how can I even think of job security?”
“Not a bad point.”
At her bluntness, Kiko shifted in his chair. “You think this is his first step in weeding me out?”
“I don’t know. Costin always liked to work with new hunters because he feared too much knowledge would corrupt the team’s willingness to obey directives.”
“That is, if any team members were left standing at the end of the battle.”
“But, last time, we were left standing, and in way different circumstances than ever before. Costin’s a vampire now. He’s been trying to work around that, but I’m thinking it’s worth the risk to have a trusted crew around to help while he gets used to it.”
Even though Costin could still hypnotize, he didn’t seem to be able to use the extent of his master-slaying powers—something he used to access full force by going out of body during a final attack. Nowadays, ever since having been locked into his vampire body, he couldn’t even get outside, and there were times when Dawn wondered just how the hell he was going to destroy another master.
“So I shouldn’t worry about my job.” Kiko grinned.
Dawn resisted the guy’s charm, bracing herself to say what needed to be said.
“Did you maybe stop to think that Costin’s not getting rid of all of us?”
Kiko’s grin died. After a few seconds, somewhere in the room, the heating kicked on, a low hush expanding the tension.
But he didn’t argue. His own doctor back in the States had told
Then the intercom clicked off, leaving Dawn reeling with the return of The Voice—the stranger who had already begun the ritual of fully sequestering himself for the endgame of this particular hunt.
Even from her.
Not for long though—not if she had anything to say about it. After they took care of business tonight, she would talk to him, see if she was wrong, because things had changed between them since L.A., right?
Right?
In her seat, cuddly as could be with her coat in her lap, Natalia smiled again. “A job. I knew I would find one today, even if it wasn’t at my interview this morning.”
The abrupt, metallic sound of keys clanging to the wood floor made them all look toward the darkened hallway, where Kiko stood in his little leather jacket, cargo pants, and oversized boots, his eyes wide and reddened from his meds.
“Don’t mind me asking,” he said, “but who’s this quack, and why do we need her around when we’ve already got a psychic?”
FOUR
THE UNWELCOME
FRANK was smart, because he excused himself right away and went to prepare coffee or tea or anything . Thankfully, he also asked Natalia to join him.
Which, proving to be a smart girl herself, Natalia did.
But Dawn? She had the pleasure of staying behind to calm Kiko down and fill him in on current events.
Simmering, he took it all in while perched in a chair on the opposite side of the fireplace from Natalia’s empty seat, his short legs hanging off the edge as he gripped the armrests. His cheeks were nipped by the weather, but he sure wasn’t as pink and jolly as his complexion hinted.
And why not, if he was being replaced with a shinier version who might’ve gotten a reading on the new Underground?
Dawn sat on the floor near his chair, knowing she’d have to handle this diplomatically—diplomacy being a quality she didn’t really have in spades. Kiko’s pride and ego revolved around his psychometric, telepathic, and precognitive talents, and Costin was even training him in hypnosis, but the pills weren’t helping with any of it. Not lately, since Kiko’s back had been acting up.
A back that had been broken by a vampire.
In frustration, he ruffled his blond hair. He’d shaved off the soul patch beneath his lower lip, and the lack of facial derring-do lent him a lost boyishness.
“Maybe I’m just being paranoid,” he said. “But the boss has used new teams for every hunt all these hundreds of years, so how can I even think of job security?”
“Not a bad point.”
At her bluntness, Kiko shifted in his chair. “You think this is his first step in weeding me out?”
“I don’t know. Costin always liked to work with new hunters because he feared too much knowledge would corrupt the team’s willingness to obey directives.”
“That is, if any team members were left standing at the end of the battle.”
“But, last time, we were left standing, and in way different circumstances than ever before. Costin’s a vampire now. He’s been trying to work around that, but I’m thinking it’s worth the risk to have a trusted crew around to help while he gets used to it.”
Even though Costin could still hypnotize, he didn’t seem to be able to use the extent of his master-slaying powers—something he used to access full force by going out of body during a final attack. Nowadays, ever since having been locked into his vampire body, he couldn’t even get outside, and there were times when Dawn wondered just how the hell he was going to destroy another master.
“So I shouldn’t worry about my job.” Kiko grinned.
Dawn resisted the guy’s charm, bracing herself to say what needed to be said.
“Did you maybe stop to think that Costin’s not getting rid of all of us?”
Kiko’s grin died. After a few seconds, somewhere in the room, the heating kicked on, a low hush expanding the tension.
But he didn’t argue. His own doctor back in the States had told
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