Burn the Night

announced, loudly clapping my hands together. “Matsui, will you please bring our guests to me in one hour? That shall give Danaus and myself time to clean up here and check on a few matters before we have our meeting. They will be able to sense my location, I am sure.”

“Is there anything we can assist you with?” Hideo offered, but I quickly waved him off.

I snapped my fingers and a small teardrop flame appeared above my hand. “Most of what needs to be done can be finished in a flash. I just need a little time to freshen up.” And develop a new game plan, I thought.

For now, Daniel and the Daylight Coalition were forgotten. Cynnia and her troubles with Aurora had slipped away. Even my struggles with both Jabari and Nick had fallen by the wayside. The mysterious Soga clan was in my domain, and I was certainly not the best emissary for my kind here in the West. For once, I wished the damned sun would finally rise.

Sixteen

Danaus bade me to stop pacing for a third time, but I wasn’t listening. My mind kept turning over the fact that I was suddenly being thrust into talks with a clan of Japanese nightwalkers; a significant and completely unexpected event. I was a fledgling the last time a member of the Far East nightwalkers appeared before the coven, and the meeting did not go well. After centuries of silence, I knew that the naturi were the reason for their appearance. But did they also know that I was partially to blame for the failure to prevent their return?

To further complicate matters, I was now aligned with members of the naturi in hopes of killing their queen so I could place a different naturi on the throne. And the best part: I was expected to play nice with the naturi that had been trying to destroy me for most of my existence. How had things gotten to be so bad so fast?

Leaning against a tree at the edge of the clearing, Danaus watched as I swung my katana through the air, slicing at the wind that was beginning to stir. After a brief trip to my house, where we took the opportunity to rearm with an assortment of blades, we traveled out to the clearing the Savannah pack used during the full moon for its meetings. Out here, we were hidden from the view of humans in the event that this conversation went as poorly as their last visit to the coven.

“Are these Japanese nightwalkers really that tough?” Danaus inquired as I carefully slid the sleek sword into the sheath hanging across my back, then ran my hands down over the knives strapped to my sides.

Keep your voice to yourself. You don’t know how close they are. They could be listening.

A little paranoid, aren’t you? Danaus asked in a mocking tone. But his sense of humor didn’t keep him from being just as prepared as me. The hunter had grabbed his favorite sword with the rune inscribed along the blade, as well as a collection of knives that were secreted about his person.

They are in a foreign land and may be looking for an advantage over us. It’s enough that they had to step in and save our hides from the naturi. They need not hear our private conversations about them as well.

Why are you so concerned?

I finally stopped pacing and stood in front of the hunter. Because I am completely unprepared for this. I don’t know what they want. They’ve not spoken to anyone outside Japan in centuries. These nightwalkers are also centuries old. Ancients! I’m half tempted to go track down Jabari since I know he’s still lurking in the region, but I fear he would make a bigger mess of things.

We’re better off without him.

I— The words halted in my brain as I felt a swell of power drawing near. A car had stopped less than a mile away from the clearing. They weren’t attempting to cloak their appearance any longer. There were three nightwalkers approaching, along with one human I could only presume was Matsui. A ball of anger flared. I had trusted my bodyguard to protect me. I have to admit that I had always suspected he was a spy, but I’d hoped I was wrong. After I was finished with the Japanese nightwalkers, Matsui was getting on a plane with them. Gabriel would have to find another replacement for my poor Michael.

Unfortunately, I was also coming to the realization that I would never find a replacement for my fallen bodyguard. Michael and Gabriel had been the perfect combination. Their experience, wisdom, and just general common sense allowed them to survive at my side for several years. Finding another that would protect me with his life and wouldn’t betray me was proving to be difficult.

Danaus sensed our approaching company as well and pushed away from the tree to slowly walk out into the clearing. With a wave of my hand, a large fire sprang to life in the center of the clearing, deepening and pushing back the shadows to the surrounding woods. Several other fireballs burst into existence around the clearing, hanging in the air like oversized fireflies. We all had perfect night vision, but I wanted nothing to be hidden here. I wanted to remind the Soga clan exactly who they were dealing with. The Fire Starter.

The hunter came to stand beside me, a frown pulling at the corners of his mouth as his hands rested on the hilt of two knives strapped to either side of his waist. “You’re right. They are old. Ancients at least as old as Jabari, if not older.”

“You should never have come,” I whispered, angry with myself for not considering it sooner. His life had already been at risk when we faced the naturi that evening. I didn’t need to add to it by pitting him up against a trio of nightwalkers that were significantly stronger than me. I should have handled this alone.

“Don’t start this now,” Danaus growled.

“I’ve risked your life enough tonight. You should be home—”

“Doing what? Baking a pie in the kitchen? Your laundry?”

“This is nightwalker business—”

“And as your consort, that makes it my business as well,” he snapped. “I was handling nightwalkers long before we met, Mira, and I’m going to continue to handle nightwalkers regardless of whether we are involved. You have to stop trying to protect me.”

Clenching my teeth, I closed my eyes for a second while I dragged in a deep breath through my nose and released it through my mouth. He was right. I was being overprotective. If there was anyone among my acquaintances that could handle himself in a fight, it was Danaus. Since taking him as a lover, it had become easier to forget that first and foremost he was an efficient killer.

“Stay behind me,” I grumbled, refusing to vocally acknowledge that he had a valid point. That didn’t stop him from chuckling softly at me as he took one step back so he hovered just behind my left shoulder.

Hideo was the first to step out of the shadows and enter the clearing. He raised one hand to shade his eyes against the bright light of the dancing flames that filled the immediate area. The ancient nightwalker was followed by two of his companions, on either side of him. Matsui stepped around them and briefly bowed to me before turning back into the woods. I could only guess that he was going back to wait at the car. My greatest concern, however, was the one missing nightwalker from their group.

“Thank you for agreeing to meet me here. I thought the added privacy would be most beneficial to our talks,” I said, forcing a smile onto my lips.

“We are honored that you have agreed to speak with us during this most trying time. We are sure that you are quite busy with your own troubles,” Hideo stated with a nod of his head. He glanced around the clearing and I could hear him sniffing the air. “This is an interesting location.”

“This is actually the meeting spot for the local lycanthrope clan. Since the full moon has already passed, I thought it would be the one remote location in the city where we would be undisturbed.”

“And the scent in the air . . . ?”

“Yes, it is human blood,” I confirmed. The smell of dried blood lingered. Considering that we spent centuries hunting down and ingesting the delicacy, it was no surprise that most nightwalkers could easily discern between human blood and the blood of other races simply by smell, even if it was a day or two old. “During the full moon there was an altercation between the lycanthropes and a group of humans determined to hunt them down. Members of the Daylight Coalition.”

“I fear we have not heard of them.”

“You will,” Danaus grimly interjected, drawing a frown to Hideo’s mouth. I saw him cock his head ever so