since arriving. Damian had assigned her here to help Jonny root out the vamps who were working with Others in the Black God’s ranks.
More importantly, she had to find out what Jonny’s next step was, once the month-long truce between White and Black Gods was up. Nearly all of the Guardians were without their magic. Vamps would be able to pick them off as easily as they did humans. She needed to know what Jonny planned.
Jenn started forward then paused with a glance towards the closed bedroom door. She was sensitive to any change in his habits. Even something as small as a closed door made her instincts tingle.
She crossed to it and pushed it open, her attention falling to the slender blonde slung across Jonny’s bed. The dead woman’s pale skin and hair starkly contrasted with Jonny’s black silk sheets and duvet. Her missing throat left Jenn no doubt what happened. What dismay she felt at Jonny’s first killing a week ago had slid into understanding that the Black God was merely becoming what he was.
Her Jonny was almost completely gone. Jenn released a deep sigh. She replaced her knife in its sheath and looked around for more bodies. Jonny should know to respect the dead enough to bury or burn those he killed. Maybe the vamps hadn’t taught him that yet.
Jenn carefully positioned the young woman’s body and rolled her in one of the sheets. She rose and gasped, not sensing the silent Xander, who stood in the doorway to the living room.
“It’s useless to fight it,” he observed.
“I don’t give a shit about Jonny. I know he’s a lost cause,” she replied. “This girl deserves better than to be tossed aside like yesterday’s trash.”
“Good luck digging in the frozen ground,” he said, then added, “And I wasn’t talking about Jonny.”
“I don’t care, Xander.”
“I was talking about Darian.”
She looked up. “What about him?”
“You can’t fight your fate.”
“I’ll never, ever, let you use me to get to him, Xander,” she replied. “It’s out of the question. Fate is not predetermined anyway.”
“No, but some outcomes are more likely than others. If you don’t take the next step down that path, you’ll likely regret the outcome. It won’t be pretty for any of you Guardians.”
“If you’re not going to help me dig, get the fuck out.”
When she looked up again, he was gone. She didn’t want to acknowledge there might be truth to anything he said except for one: she couldn’t dig a grave. The chances of the vamps sniffing around like the animals they were and digging the body up were too high. Jenn returned the way she came—through the bathrooms—and retrieved her backpack. She pulled it on then left her room, trailed by her vamps. She pushed Jonny’s door open and retrieved the dead woman’s body, slinging it over her shoulder.
She marched again into the cold snowstorm and to the maintenance tool shed tucked between boulders and trees. She snagged an axe and went to the forest, trailed by vamps that had drawn closer at the scent of blood.
As she hacked at a young tree, she thought of Xander’s words. It was impossible that he meant to help the Guardians, yet she’d believed for a moment that’s what he implied. Whatever game Xander played, it wouldn’t benefit the Guardians. She wasn’t about to let him use her to betray any of them, especially Darian, who had gone through too much already.
Chapter Two
Darian found a summer cabin beside a lake in a small logging town near the Black God’s hideout. He broke in and checked the electricity, which someone had left on. A quick glance around at the furnished cabin left him satisfied. He left and walked through the snowstorm to the Realtor sign hanging at the end of the long driveway. Plucking it free, he Traveled back to Texas to find the stash of credit cards and identifications Damian kept in the safe in his study. He opened it and rifled through the files.
“How was Jenn?” His
More importantly, she had to find out what Jonny’s next step was, once the month-long truce between White and Black Gods was up. Nearly all of the Guardians were without their magic. Vamps would be able to pick them off as easily as they did humans. She needed to know what Jonny planned.
Jenn started forward then paused with a glance towards the closed bedroom door. She was sensitive to any change in his habits. Even something as small as a closed door made her instincts tingle.
She crossed to it and pushed it open, her attention falling to the slender blonde slung across Jonny’s bed. The dead woman’s pale skin and hair starkly contrasted with Jonny’s black silk sheets and duvet. Her missing throat left Jenn no doubt what happened. What dismay she felt at Jonny’s first killing a week ago had slid into understanding that the Black God was merely becoming what he was.
Her Jonny was almost completely gone. Jenn released a deep sigh. She replaced her knife in its sheath and looked around for more bodies. Jonny should know to respect the dead enough to bury or burn those he killed. Maybe the vamps hadn’t taught him that yet.
Jenn carefully positioned the young woman’s body and rolled her in one of the sheets. She rose and gasped, not sensing the silent Xander, who stood in the doorway to the living room.
“It’s useless to fight it,” he observed.
“I don’t give a shit about Jonny. I know he’s a lost cause,” she replied. “This girl deserves better than to be tossed aside like yesterday’s trash.”
“Good luck digging in the frozen ground,” he said, then added, “And I wasn’t talking about Jonny.”
“I don’t care, Xander.”
“I was talking about Darian.”
She looked up. “What about him?”
“You can’t fight your fate.”
“I’ll never, ever, let you use me to get to him, Xander,” she replied. “It’s out of the question. Fate is not predetermined anyway.”
“No, but some outcomes are more likely than others. If you don’t take the next step down that path, you’ll likely regret the outcome. It won’t be pretty for any of you Guardians.”
“If you’re not going to help me dig, get the fuck out.”
When she looked up again, he was gone. She didn’t want to acknowledge there might be truth to anything he said except for one: she couldn’t dig a grave. The chances of the vamps sniffing around like the animals they were and digging the body up were too high. Jenn returned the way she came—through the bathrooms—and retrieved her backpack. She pulled it on then left her room, trailed by her vamps. She pushed Jonny’s door open and retrieved the dead woman’s body, slinging it over her shoulder.
She marched again into the cold snowstorm and to the maintenance tool shed tucked between boulders and trees. She snagged an axe and went to the forest, trailed by vamps that had drawn closer at the scent of blood.
As she hacked at a young tree, she thought of Xander’s words. It was impossible that he meant to help the Guardians, yet she’d believed for a moment that’s what he implied. Whatever game Xander played, it wouldn’t benefit the Guardians. She wasn’t about to let him use her to betray any of them, especially Darian, who had gone through too much already.
Chapter Two
Darian found a summer cabin beside a lake in a small logging town near the Black God’s hideout. He broke in and checked the electricity, which someone had left on. A quick glance around at the furnished cabin left him satisfied. He left and walked through the snowstorm to the Realtor sign hanging at the end of the long driveway. Plucking it free, he Traveled back to Texas to find the stash of credit cards and identifications Damian kept in the safe in his study. He opened it and rifled through the files.
“How was Jenn?” His
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