“I didn’t realize that your skills included healing,” I said, gently pulling on a chunk of Shelly’s blond hair.
“They apply to only earthbound creatures such as lycanthropes,” she admitted, lifting her head to look over her shoulder at me. “There’s nothing I can do for nightwalkers, which are bound by blood magic.”
“Convenient,” I grumbled.
“We couldn’t take a chance with a wound from a naturi weapon. Cynnia warned me that they use all sorts of poisons and spells on their blades.”
“Have you even met Barrett before this moment?” I asked on an impulse.
“Not formally,” she said, a deep blush stealing to her cheeks. “I was at the town house when he stopped by before our trip to Peru last fall, but there was no time for introductions.”
Barrett made a sound of disgust in the back of his throat as his eyes fell shut. It had not been a good moment between us. He’d accused me of betraying both our peoples to the naturi because I had chosen to protect Cynnia. And now he was fighting for her as well. Oh, how the wheel of fate turns.
“Shelly, this is Barrett, the alpha for the Savannah pack,” I said, introducing them with an even voice despite the fact that I was laughing on the inside. “And this is his brother Cooper, his second in command.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you both,” the witch replied as if she were not kneeling beside two naked men. “I want to thank you for your agreement to help Cynnia. You—”
“Shelly, you may want to save it for another time,” I interrupted. “I want you to get Cynnia and her people out of here through the tunnels before I go meet our new companions.”
The earth witch nodded up at me once and then turned her attention back to Barrett, smiling at him. “I wouldn’t shift for a little while if you can help it. I don’t think the wound will tear back open, but it would be better if you didn’t take any chances.”
Barrett caught her left hand as she tried to rise and gave it a quick squeeze before letting go. “Thank you,” he murmured in a low rough voice that surprised me. I raised one eyebrow at the lycanthrope but said nothing as he watched the witch quickly pick her way across the cave and return to Cynnia’s side.
I waited until the naturi party had begun to head toward the tunnels before stepping away from the lycanthropes and walking toward the center of the cave. The nightwalkers that unexpectedly joined the party had been considerate enough to wait at the far end as I checked over the health of my people. We were all battered, bruised, and cut, but nothing that wouldn’t heal with a little time.
As I reached the center of the cave, Danaus joined me, standing just a step behind my right shoulder. His breathing had evened out and I could feel his powers sweeping around me in great waves as he prepared to protect me. And for once I appreciated his overprotectiveness. I didn’t know these nightwalkers. I had never sensed them in my area before. Hell, I had never sensed them before at the coven or throughout my travels in Europe. The only thing I could tell for sure was that they were old. Very old.
And then a human stepped out of their midst and bowed deeply before me. My bodyguard Matsui! I knew then that members of the Soga clan stood behind him. I’d had a feeling this day would come, when I would finally meet the Japanese nightwalker clan that he had spent years protecting. Unfortunately, I did not expect it to be under quite so dire circumstances. It wasn’t heartening to know that not only was Jabari lurking around my territory, but that there now were unknown nightwalkers within my domain.
“It’s a surprise to see you here, Matsui, considering that neither you nor Gabriel was summoned to my side,” I started, trying to maintain my confidence despite the fact that we’d been getting our asses kicked before they arrived.
“Visitors from the Soga clan have come to speak with you,” he said, bowing his head to me. “We did not mean to intrude, but only wished to help in your struggle against the naturi that have also been causing the clans in Japan some problems. Would you allow me to introduce the head of the group that has come to your domain?”
“I would be honored,” I said with a nod.
Matsui stepped to the side and motioned for a nightwalker to step forward. He looked to be in his mid- twenties, with hair cut short and somewhat fashionably spiked. In contrast, his traditional dress was completely black, allowing him to easily sink into the dark shadows of the caves.
As he came to stand before me next to Matsui, I bowed deeply to him, placing my hands flat against the sides of my legs. I bid him both welcome and thanks in Japanese. It was all I knew of the language, but he seemed pleased enough when he bowed slightly back at me with a smile on his face.
“I am called Hideo,” he said in a low, soothing voice. “Matsui has told us many great things about you, and it is I who is honored to meet you.”
I held back a frown, struggling to keep both my face and tone neutral. “While I am pleased to hear that Matsui has reported back positive things, it was my understanding that he had left his place within the Soga clan and was exclusively my bodyguard. I didn’t realize that he was also acting as a . . . scout for the nightwalkers of Japan.”
It had been on the tip of my tongue to call him a “spy,” but it would be stupid and rude to immediately pick a fight with a group of nightwalkers that had just come to our aid, especially when each of the four was older than me by many centuries. One surprise battle a night was my limit.
“We apologize for any confusion,” Hideo replied. “Matsui is your bodyguard and will remain so as long as you wish him to be at your side. He is an excellent fighter and will die protecting you if it comes to such a thing. However, he was sent into your domain with the intention of procuring more information about the infamous Fire Starter before we made the trip ourselves. If one wishes to form an alliance, is it not best to get as much information as possible about the person with whom you may be placing your life?”
“I understand. Matsui has performed admirably for me and I have been very pleased to have him working as one of my bodyguards,” I said. Matsui had knowingly acted as a spy while under my employ, and now I had to decide whether I would keep him. I didn’t like being spied on. It was bad enough that the coven was keeping tabs on my activities. I didn’t need to worry about a bunch of Japanese nightwalkers half a world away.
Heaving a great sigh, I shoved my hands into my pockets and relaxed my stance. We were on my turf now and it was time to push formality aside. We had all been through enough tonight already, and I had a feeling my night was far from over.
“While I am grateful for your impeccable timing tonight and your assistance in dealing with the naturi, I have to wonder why you have chosen now to come into my domain,” I said. “In fact, for as long as I can remember, the nightwalker clans of Asia have shown no interest in the occurrences of the West.”
“True,” Hideo conceded. “Many centuries ago we struck a deal with your coven Elders that my people were to be apart from their rule. We had our own structure, our own lifestyle that did not fit within their world. Unfortunately, it now seems that the problems of the West have leaked into the East.”
“The naturi,” I muttered with a shake of my head. With the many doors that had opened around the world following the sacrifice at Machu Picchu the past fall, I had little doubt that even Japan was now seeing its share of problems with the naturi. In truth, I hadn’t given it much thought since Aurora had made her base here in the West, but the repercussions of our failure in Peru were being felt everywhere.
Hideo nodded as he folded his arms across his chest. “Yes, those earthbound creatures that you call the naturi have been attacking our clans both day and night. We have never had such a problem before, so we came to you after Matsui told us of your many battles with their type.”
“But why me?” I said, shaking my head, as I hoped to dodge responsibility for this lonely group looking for a little direction. I had enough of my own problems without adding an entire new set.
“Besides your personal experience with the naturi, Matsui informs us that you recently achieved a position of Elder on your coven, Fire Starter,” Hideo carefully said. He was good. He was not only calling on my fighting experience but also using this as an opportunity to formally address a representative of the coven. And as if that wasn’t all, he was invoking my position in the nightwalker world as the Fire Starter. Yep, I was screwed.
But would they accept an alliance with their enemy? I wondered to myself. It was something I was still struggling with, and I wasn’t sure that I would be able to sell such a plan to a group that already shunned its own kind under most circumstances.
“We have much to discuss, and I would prefer to spend that time in more comfortable quarters,” I
