Page 123 of Shrouded in the Dark

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Cody wrapped his arm around my shoulder and squeezed as I leaned into him. Jasper and Cody had put me in the middle seat. Jasper touched my knee gently.

“Do you guys have any idea why Seth had Axel go with them to get Felicity?” On top of annoying my stepdad during the ride, there was really only one thing to do while we traveled and that was talk. “I know he won’t do anything to her. I just figured it might have been less awkward without him.”

“I’m sure Seth considered that, but I think it was a good idea. The heavy hitters are with Wyn, in case something happens. We’ll see them in a few days.” Jasper’s voice was muffled by the hood. “Gary, what can you tell me about who we’ll be talking with?

There was a bump and my body fell into Cody’s lap more, the seat belt keeping me from just crawling into it.

“There are three leaders. An ex-Venandi who retired over twenty five years ago. He’s a wily old coot, so keep yourself on your toes around him. The vampire, Lario, is originally from France, moved to the states during the Civil War. He built his clan in Louisiana before they were wiped out by a raid. It was dumb luck that he had traveled out of state for some other vampire business. The last is a necromancer. She’s one of the oldest people that I’ve met. She’s almost one hundred and forty-two.” The car turned left.

“Is the necromancer human?” I had so much to learn. “She raises the dead?”

“Yes.” Gary paused. “I mean, technically. Necromancers, along with witches, are humans with a strong magic bloodline.”

Cody shifted under me, his hand moved down my back in a soft caress. “Necros raise the dead and command them, but they are also communicators for the dead.”

“What does that mean?” The hood was starting to itch. My animal was getting annoyed. “Are we there yet?”

I could hear Cody snickering as Gary cursed.

“I’m not asking to be annoying, Gary. This thing is really itchy and my animal is getting annoyed.” She was ready to rip this thing off our head.

“Actually, it’s just a few more minutes.” Gary sighed. “And to answer your question, necromancers can bring back a person's soul for a minute amount of time. Like a murder victim that can point out their killer.”

“A vampire, ex-Venandi, and a necromancer are the leaders of your group.” Jasper continued the conversation. “Who will be at this meeting? Have you never tried to recruit any shifters?”

There was a shuffling sound and suddenly, I had to blink as the hood was removed. Jasper’s emerald eyes were the first thing that I focused on as he smiled at me softly.

“I figured we were close enough.” He pushed back the hair from my face. “Right, Gary?” He looked to the front of the car.

I could see Gary roll his eyes good naturedly. “Shifters.” He sighed. “Yes, we’re just coming up on the town now.”

I looked out the window and blinked. I recognized the road. “Limon? That’s where you guys meet?” Mom had worked at the Flying J here for a while until Gary convinced her to work for him. “Why this little town? And why the secrecy? You know that I’m familiar with it.”

With a population under two thousand, it was barely a blip on a map. Maybe that was the point.

“So many questions.” We started to see buildings as we drove through the main street. “First, yours, Jasper. Lario agreed with Seth, that we need shifters help. Although, he had it a little off. We’ve tried to approach shifters in the past. I almost lost an arm once. It was mere luck that I figured out that they were a shifter, you lot have learned to hide very well in plain sight. It’s just us, the leaders, and a few trusted others. Your safety was guaranteed before we left the house.”

Our safety? Did that mean we could have been in trouble for coming with?

Gary turned right, pulling into the parking lot of a Holiday Inn. “Limon is the perfect place to meet every few weeks because it’s inconspicuous. Enough traffic flows through here that there are multiple hotels that we can use without arousing suspicion, but it’s small enough that most people won’t think about looking here.”

Gary put the car into park and turned it off. He turned in the seat to look at me. “Becca, these people are dangerous. I work with them, but do not trust them with your secret. Do not tell them what you are. Do you understand me?” He used hisDadvoice. “They know about Wyn and they haven’t used him as they’d like because he’s still been part of the Venandi. Otherwise, they’d have forced him to do more dangerous acts than he does now.”

Growls came from my two mates. Cody looked ready to kill someone.

“Hold off on that.” Gary shook his head and turned, opening the door. “They hold their peoples’ lives in their hands. Besides, if we actually do something about the hunters, I doubt we’ll need to worry about it anymore.” He stepped out of the car.

Jasper grabbed my hand. “Becca, please, do what he asked. Don’t tell them what you are. It’s doubtful they’ll be able to tell, but if they ask, pick only one of your animals, alright?”

I nodded. I could see why Gary waited until the very last second to tell me about keeping my hybrid status under wraps. Cody and Jasper looked ready to rip someone apart by their limbs.

“I’ll keep mum about it, guys. Promise. It’ll be okay. Let’s get the information that we came for so that Seth and the others don’t have to worry about us.” I grabbed Cody’s hand with my free one and pulled their hands to my chest, kissing the tops of them. “Everything will be alright because we’re here together.”

They both glanced at each other before laughing softly. Cody kissed me before Jasper did the same. My heart sped up. I was never going to get used to how much they affected me.

A knock on Jasper’s window from Gary got us moving. Cody hopped out, going to the trunk and grabbing out overnight bags. We were staying the night in case the meeting went long.

There were only a few other cars in the parking lot as we followed Gary through the entrance of the hotel. My stomach made a soft growl, making me wince. Such bad timing.