Sunset to Sunrise (Alexa O'Brien, Huntress #7.5)(15)

Arys would have laughed it off. I didn’t need to know him well to know that. I wanted to laugh myself. Until I heard something that wiped the grin from my face.

“What about the werewolf? She’s the one with the real power. It’s her that we need to get rid of.”

I tensed, awaiting Phillip’s reply. These *s didn’t understand that Alexa had no desire to rule them all. This wasn’t a f*cking fantasy novel for Christ’s sake.

“He’s the source of their power. Get rid of him, and she has nothing,” another shouted. They were very wrong about that.

“They are tied together. We have to kill them both.” This came from a female vampire, one I unfortunately recognized from a night of blood-drunk revelry and regrets.

Phillip held up a hand to silence the small crowd. They bickered amongst themselves for a few minutes before falling quiet.

“We take out the one who currently poses a threat,” he proclaimed. “Knight is the one throwing his weight around this city. He’s the one recruiting vampire slaves for the demon. That’s where we start. We kill Arys, and the wolf won’t be a problem.”

I groaned, hating myself for wanting to join them. Before I could ask myself what the hell I was thinking, I stepped out from behind the statue and emerged from the shadows.

Everyone turned to face me. Phillip raised his lip in a sneer, watching with undisguised suspicion as I came forward.

“Well, well, I didn’t expect to see you here,” he said, stepping in front of his followers. “Your sudden interest in our endeavor is baffling. Can’t help but think it’s bullshit.”

“I told you I wanted to help. I might be your best shot at success.” I ambled up to him casually, giving them no reason to suspect I was up to something. I was there to talk.

“Yeah, well, I’ve decided it’s a conflict of interest to have you involved. There’s no way to be certain you’re not pulling one over on us. I’m afraid I’ll have to insist that you keep your distance.” Phillip regarded me with a calculating appraisal. He was smart to question my intent. It was respectable.

A voice rose above the rest then, causing me to cringe. “We shouldn’t be so quick to presume the worst. Kale has suffered greatly because of Arys’s wolf. Why wouldn’t he want to be part of this?”

Rebecca shoved through until she stood next to Phillip. Her delicate features twisted into a frown as she dared him to argue. I did my best to remain expressionless. I did not want or need her to come to my aid.

“That is exactly why I don’t trust him,” Phillip replied, never taking his eyes off me. “He’s too infatuated with that wolf. We can’t count on him to do what he says.”

“He kills our kind.” This shout immediately got others agreeing in loud, angry tones.

“Which you all are plotting to do right now,” I said with a roll of my eyes. I was surrounded by idiots.

Rebecca slithered over to me, her movements more like a glide than a gait. She grasped my arm and squeezed. “I trust you, Kale. In fact, if you’d like to go somewhere private and talk about it, I’d be all ears.”

This was exactly why I only screwed women who were going to bleed for me. It wasn’t often I made the mistake of getting too involved with my own kind. I didn’t want or need these awkward moments that followed. I wanted nothing more from my lovers than blood and then silence.

“Maybe another time, sweetheart. I’m busy tonight.”

She didn’t take my rejection well. Shoving away from me with her dark ponytail swinging, she snarled, “Fuck you, Sinclair. Your crazy ass will f*ck this up. We don’t need your help.”

Phillip crossed his arms over his chest and cocked his head to the side. He stood there like a bully on the playground, daring me to take a run at him. It was damn tempting.

“So that’s your big plan then?” I challenged. “Take out every vampire with more power than you until there’s nobody left between you and the demon that wants you to serve him? Sounds like you really thought that through.”

Phillip’s lips twitched. He hadn’t really considered the disadvantages to getting rid of someone like Arys. Unfortunately, there were many. A city without a powerful leader was vulnerable. Rather than trust Arys to protect them by forming an alliance, they mistakenly believed they were safer without him.

“You work for that demon, don’t you, Sinclair? Seems to me like you’re the last person we should trust when it comes to what’s best for vampire kind.” Spreading his hands wide, he turned to indicate the group at his back. “Seems to me like you’re outnumbered here. So we can let you walk away or…”

“Right.” I nodded. “I get it. I was a young, ignorant * once too. Like most *s, you’ll learn the hard way. But that doesn’t mean you’ll survive it. Good luck. You’re going to need it.”

I turned my back on them, almost hoping that Phillip would try something. I could use a good fight. When he didn’t, I slipped back into the shadows and put distance between myself and the team so clearly headed for suicide.

I had come to verify what I’d been told. Instead I had found more than that. There certainly was a genuine rebellion growing here. It was bigger than I’d been led to believe. And though for the most part it was made up of fools, their numbers were growing. There was danger in that.