Page 17 of Risen
So much had been lost.Stolen from me, and from the world, by the syndicate and its corrupt ruler.The other little ones from back then—those who were even younger than me—never got to feel the joy of flying at all before their lives were snuffed out by the emperor and his sycophants.
Smoke rolled from my nostrils, and I angled myself upward again, letting out an unhinged roar and a gout of flame.
By the time I reached the mainland, my anger had cooled to a sort of icy determination that allowed me to shift back to human and drop onto the shore of Lake St.Clair with ease.It was a little risky, flying this far overland, but very few people knew that the leader of the unimportant little rebel court was a dragon shifter.
Besides, dragons were thought to be extinct in the U.S., so even if someonedidhappen to see me fly overhead, they’d probably assume the stunning sight was just an ambassador from somewhere come to make nice with the local syndicate, or a lone traveler passing by on their way to bigger and better locales.By the time anyone ever managed to figure out my identity, I’d either be well known for killing the emperor, or dead from the attempt.Either way, I didn’t think it was going to trouble me much tonight.
I dug around in my messenger bag and found the illusion charm Yukio had made me for a previous mission.Once I looped the necklace around my throat and fed it a little drop of my blood, my hair shortened and turned brown and I gained about fifty pounds.My clothes were replaced by the illusion of a cheap, sloppy suit.All anyone would see was a non-descript, slightly chubby middle-aged man, unless they got too close.And by the time they were close enough to see through the illusion, they’d already be dead.
A quick taxi ride across town brought me to East Nevada Street, where I easily slipped into the alley that separated the Two Way Inn from the building next to it.Warm light and bawdy laughter spilled into the night, to the tune of some modernized version of a big band ear hit.
Ruya may have hit the nail on the head when she accused me of having atinyobsession with Detroit’s prohibition era mobsters and their activities.I knew, for example, that the Two Way Inn had been a tavern and brothel since long before that time, so it made an ideal location for a speakeasy.And its clientele hadn’t improved since the area was claimed by the paranorms during the mass exodus of humans from the syndicate’s territory.
A little lurking and a little patience was all it took.Eventually, Polst toddled right into my arms, high on whatever version of designer pixie dust drug was trendy at the moment and reeking of sour whiskey, cheap perfume, and sex.
It was almost laughable how easy it was to partially shift my hands into murder weapons and slit his throat.I added a few scratches for posterity’s sake, then bent and yanked out one of his claws out of his still half-shifted werewolf hand.Tucking my grisly trophy into my pocket, I swiftly left the area before any of the nearby paranorms could catch the smell of blood and death and come to investigate.Whoever found the idiot would simply assume he’d had a falling out with one of his pack, since he definitely died of the type of wounds inflicted by a shifter.
I probably should have added a few bitemarks, too, but there was no way I was putting something that nasty in my mouth.I shuddered at the thought.A girl had to havesomestandards.
A little trickle of guilt tried to leak through my defenses.What would Ruya think of me right now?She hated all the killing and ruthlessness needed to achieve my goals.She wanted me to be someone else.Someonebetter.But I couldn’t afford to waver now.Not when my revenge was drawing so close.
Still, a part of me wished I could be the paragon of goodness she wanted me to be.
I glanced off in the direction of the Biddle House hotel, where the syndicate pack holed up when they weren’t off carrying out atrocities or extortion for the emperor.Polst’s death was just a drop in the bucket.Once the emperor was dead, I planned to cleanse the entire fucking syndicate and anyone who had allowed their corruption to run wild.There was nobetterme.There was no time forgoodness.There was only fire and rage.And one day very soon I was going to let the fury out to play.
I refused to acknowledge the pang in my chest that said I risked losing something vital when that time came.Now was not the time to be soft.
My task completed, I checked to make sure my illusion was still working and headed off on my little side trip.
Acacia might be taking some perverted glee in ordering me and my people around like pets.Maybe she needed a little reminder what happened when you tried to tame a wild creature.
Martina and the rest of the worry warts in my court would havekittensif they knew what I was up to.It made me grin with glee.The heavy weight of failure and impotence that had fallen over me the past few weeks lifted slightly as I stepped out of my second cab of the night and looked up at the pointed spires and gothic architecture of the Cathedral of the Most Blessed Sacrament.
I sighed at the sudden flutter of dark wings and the warning caw of a crow.Odin landed on my shoulder, his little talons digging into my skin through my shirt.He’d been following me—and I’d beenignoring him—since I left the enclave.I was impressed at his stamina.
“Sent you to spy on me, did she?”I muttered.“Does she know what I’m up to?Or are you just stupidly literal when given orders?”
He pecked at the side of my head.
“Ouch!You nuisance.I don’t need babysitting.Begone!”I tried to wave him away, but he only fluttered off a little ways, just to return the moment I stopped swatting at him.
“Fine,” I said darkly, jerking my clothing straight and fixing my hair.I took off my illusion charm and tried to stop embarrassing myself over a bird.But I swore as I approached the entrance to the vampire coven I felt a gentle pulse of Ruya’s essence, her aura, emanating from the stupid crow.And irritatingly, it grounded me, helped me reclaim my calm.
My audience with Acacia was easier to obtain than one would think—her people still recognized me from the last time I’d come to threaten their queen and take my healer back.
She sat behind a monstrosity of an antique desk in an office that was a bit too on-the-nose with all its gothic flare.Acacia was petite and pretty, an innocent expression on her face, and her too-high voice pitched to make her sound even younger than she looked.She used the innocent act to draw people in and make them let their guard down around her.
It had never once worked on me.I was well versed in masks and pretending.I saw through her act to the rot beneath.
“Robin,” she cooed, as if she was happily receiving a visit from an old friend.“You should have let me know you were coming.I’d have ordered tea!”
I tossed the shifter king’s bloody claw onto her desk and crossed my arms over my chest as I looked down my nose at her.Odin, still perched on my shoulder, ruffled his feathers for maximum effect.
“Oh, don’t bother,” I said, matching her saccharine tone.“I just stopped by to bring you a little gift.”
The slow, insane grin that spread across her face kind of ruined her innocent little girl act.“How kind of you.”
It would be so easy to kill her right now.She might be hiding a vampire’s strength and reflexes behind that sickening act, but I was stronger, faster.I could rip her little head from her shoulders and burn her to ashes before she could call for help.
