Chapter 3: Trouble in the Wind

Thomas

It’s like I can see her long after she’s disappeared up the steps. A sort of silvery thread in the middle of my chest tugging lightly with her every step. Almost enough to make me follow her.

But I know better than that. There’s no doubt in my mind any further dealings with—Emily, was it?—would only lead to trouble. Getting mixed up with humans always is.

I knew it from the first second we caught eyes when she arrived. Even in that brief flash, she looked at me like she knew me. Or at least saw through the façade I’ve put on to navigate my way through New Orleans.

Maybe it’s just my nerves over being back here. Or maybe it’s her. Her beauty intrigued me immediately, but it’s more than that. There’s a kind of dim aura hovering around her I can’t quite figure out. She seemed oblivious to it herself, except when supernatural matters came up. All I had to do was mention haunted places and she came to life.

“You’re tricky to figure out, Emily,” I mumble in the empty lobby.

“Is she?” The voice jolts me to attention, and I turn to see Azriel watching me with a knowing smirk. “Or is it just dinner time already?”

“Keep your voice down,” I growl, darting an uneasy look to the woman behind the counter. She hasn’t heard, and Azriel just waves her off as he swaggers over to me.

“Aw, fuck her. They never know what we’re talking about. So.” He folds his tattooed arms across his chest and flashes his best demon grin. “Am I right? Is it dinnertime?” Azriel’s eyebrows waggle, and I slump back in my seat with something between a sigh and a laugh.

“You know me better than that. I don’t feed on healthy humans. Just––”

“Ugh, I know.” Azriel rolls his eyes, scratching his well-trimmed beard as if the thought alone makes him itch. “Criminals, animals…” He sticks out his tongue and gags. “I don’t know how you do it. Doesn’t that kind of blood taste disgusting?”

“It’s not the taste. It’s survival.”

“No other vampires in your clan keep to your rigorous moral code. You don’t see them feeding on animals to stay alive.”

“I said keep your fucking voice down,” I hiss. He can’t go blabbing about vampires in front of humans. But Azriel just huffs out an exasperated sigh.

“Like, I said, to hell with her. Or rather…” Cutting a sly grin her way, he catches the girl’s attention. “She’s from hell already, ain’t that right, Lavinia?” The clerk at the counter smiles back, her teeth suddenly sharp and her eyes glinting yellow.

Demons, I think wearily. They’re everywhere around here. It’s one of the things about New Orleans that always exhausts me. The only humans in this town are the tourists.

Getting to my feet, I look Azriel dead in the eye and thump my book on the table.

“Anyway, you’re late. I’ve been waiting for you.”

“I know, I know. And I’d have been here sooner if Cazimir hadn’t called.” The sound of my sire brother’s name sets my teeth on edge. I already know where this is headed. “He says you’re ignoring him.”

“Not ignoring.”

“Yeah? What do you call not answering his calls or texts? Because he says he’s been trying to reach you for days. You can’t just up and abandon your clan like this. Again.”

“I know,” I grumble. “But I’ve got word members of the Crimson Circle are here for the auction.” Azriel rocks back on his heels and scoffs.

“Whispers and rumors, man.”

“Not this time.” My seriousness catches his attention. “I’ve got good intelligence. They’re here. Hell, I’d be surprised if Hiram himself wasn’t lurking around somewhere.”

Now it’s Azriel’s turn to drop his voice. He leans close, grabbing me by the arm as his eyes dart around.

“Watch yourself bandying that name around. Until you have proof––”

“Getting proof is what I’m here for. I’ve already seen some of his under demons skulking around.”

“That doesn’t mean he’s behind anything. They have free will of their own.”

“I know that. But why would they be here if it wasn’t because he sent them?” Azriel considers this, then flashes a cheeky smile.

“Mardi Gras, man! Who doesn’t want to trade cheap beads for girls to flash their tits? That one you were just slobbering after wouldn’t be a bad place to start.” He leers after Emily and I have to check the impulse to seize my friend by the throat. Why should I feel so possessive over some human I just met?

“Listen.” Azriel picks at the edge of his wide open shirt. The ink spreading across his chest peeks out, knotted with arcane symbols. “I get it. You’ve got shit you’re trying to figure out, but ignoring your clan isn’t the way to go about it. They’re counting on you, and without a leader things can get real hairy real quick.”

“Cazimir can handle it.”

“Cazimir is getting sick of handling your shit.” The sudden burst of anger pulls me up short, and there’s no avoiding he’s right. “It would be different if he was the leader, but that’s on your shoulders. So, find out whatever you need to and get home.”

I bristle. Nobody chastises me like this, least of all a demon. Azriel may be one of my closest friends, but that doesn’t mean I won’t break his jaw if I have to. We’ve scrapped before, and that kind of thing carries less weight when you have an eternity to heal.

“You and I both know there’s only one way for me to get the information I’m after.” I let that linger in the air, and Azriel backs away.

“Huh-uh. Not a chance, man.”

“Azriel.”

“Nope. Fuck that.” He turns and heads for the door, and I catch him by the shoulder to pull him back around.

“Why else would I come here,” I ask. “There’s an auction and I need to get into it.”

“Then what? Suppose ol’ Hiram is there? You think he won’t recognize you? If he really is behind all this secretive Crimson Circle bullshit, you think it’s a good idea to get spotted trying to infiltrate their ranks?”

“I’m a clan leader.” Pulling down my cuffs, I straighten my lapels before raking my fingers through my hair. “I’ve got as good a reason to bid at an auction as anybody else.”

“Bullshit,” he spits, punching me in the shoulder with his tattooed fist. “Leader or not, everybody knows your code. You don’t feed on humans to stay alive, and you damn sure don’t hunt them for sport. But now you want to show up at an auction and – what? Buy a bunch up and set them free? Because if you do anything else you’ll raise every eyebrow in the supernatural world.”

“I’ll take my chances.”

“I’m telling you, it’s not a good idea, Thomas.” He huffs out a heavy breath and scrubs a hand over his close-cropped scalp, pulling his mirrored sunglasses down to meet my gaze. “Things are going to be even more chaotic than normal. It’s going to be a bad scene.” There’s a thread of danger in the way he says it that puts me off guard.

“What do you mean?”

“You can’t feel it?” Azriel searches my face, his forehead wrinkled in concern. “Christ, man, every one of my kind I see is on edge, and that’s just the demons. I’m surprised you haven’t heard the whispers yourself. Something really powerful is in New Orleans, and nobody knows what it is. You really mean to tell me you can’t feel the dark magic buzzing all over the place?”

I swallow and step back. Listening with my whole body, I can’t catch even the faintest whiff of what he’s talking about. Maybe the closest I came was in the brief exchange with Emily, but I chalk that up to her green eyes and full lips.

But Azriel is deadly serious. Something is up, and I’m on the outside. Why can’t I feel it as strongly as he does? I’m one of the most powerful of my kind, so I ought to be attuned like crazy.

“Something big,” I ask, my eyes involuntarily drifting back to the stairs Emily just ascended.

“Huge. I’m telling you, Thomas.” He waits until my gaze returns to him. “It’s as if something has just awakened the darkest heart of New Orleans. The part of her that’s been asleep for a really long time. And I’ve got a feeling the auction you’re so anxious to be a part of is where all hell is gonna break loose.”

He means it as a warning, but all that does is deepen my resolve.

I’m going.