slightly toward the nightwalker on his left as if he were listening to something the nightwalker was silently saying.
“I was unaware that one of your companions was injured in the battle,” I stated, changing the subject to the more important topic of the location of the missing nightwalker.
“Not injured,” Hideo corrected with a wave of his hand. “I hope that you don’t mind, but it was a very long journey here. He was in need of sustenance. I apologize for not seeking your permission first.”
It was an excuse. Not a particularly good one, but one I could not argue with at the moment. I held up my hand and smiled at my companions. “Please say no more. I understand your situation and you are welcome to feed in my domain so long as you abide by the coven’s rules of discretion and protection of the secret.”
“Of course. Thank you,” he agreed with a slight bow of his head. He then turned his attention to Danaus, who was just behind me. I could easily imagine the grim, disapproving expression etched in the hunter’s hard face. I had little doubt he was also disturbed by the missing nightwalker. “Despite the lycans’ recent problem with the humans, we find it reassuring that you have chosen to keep a human close to you in the form of a companion, as well as the human bodyguards that you keep on staff.”
“Apparently you have not been fully informed. Danaus beside me isn’t a companion. He is my consort on the coven,” I replied with a growing grin that allowed my fangs to peek out. I was waiting for their shock but was ultimately disappointed.
“Matsui had mentioned his increased importance in your life,” Hideo admitted. “We have long seen it as essential to have a strong relationship with humans. It’s reassuring to see the West adopting a similar mentality.”
“Mira remains very unique in her stance toward humans and their place in her life,” Danaus said blandly.
“But as an Elder, she could represent a positive influence for others,” Hideo countered with a small confident smile.
“I hope so,” I said.
“Please allow me to introduce my companions.” Beside Hideo on the left, a nightwalker who appeared to be about the same age and yet felt several centuries older stepped forward. “This is my second in command, Tetsuya.” The nightwalker quickly bowed to us and then stepped back behind Hideo’s shoulder again while the other nightwalker stepped forward. “And this is my close advisor, Kojima.” The final, remaining nightwalker at least had a few flecks of gray in his hair, but his face still looked relatively young and fresh. However, Kojima felt as if he were the youngest of the trio.
“It is both an honor and a surprise to meet you,” I said. “If my memory serves correctly, I was but a weak fledgling when an emissary from the East met with the coven, and the purpose of that meeting was to break all ties with the coven and the nightwalkers of the West. If you’ll forgive my bluntness, why the sudden break from the silence?”
Hideo’s earlier smile widened and I saw only the barest flash of fang, as if he were trying to hold it back and was failing. “I was forewarned of your bluntness and have been told you appreciate it in those you deal with. Of course, I’m sure you must know what would drive Japan’s nightwalker clans into breaking their centuries of silence.”
“The naturi,” Danaus said in a low growl.
The smile melted from Hideo’s face at those two words. We had expected as much. Since the opening of the doors following the battle at Machu Picchu, the world had been flooded with naturi. Even the Soga clan, after centuries of isolation and silence, were looking to me to clean out this nest because I was the famed Fire Starter. But fame was not going to help me survive the nights ahead of me.
“Yes, those earthbound monsters have been hunting down my people these past several months. Our human daylight guardians are no match for them. Two entire clans have been completely wiped out. Another lies on the verge of extinction. These clans are nearly as old as the people of Japan themselves, and now they are gone forever.”
I nodded once, chewing on my lower lip. “Yes, we have lost many nightwalkers and lycanthropes as well due to the increased presence of the naturi.”
“We have come to find out what the coven plans to do about the naturi threat,” Kojima stated.
Frowning, I stared down at the ground, weighing my next words carefully. I had little encouragement to offer them, but then, I had to remember that they’d turned their back on the coven and our ways. Was it really my job to offer them a hand of assistance?
“As of my last meeting with the coven, the naturi threat was being handled by the keepers of the individual domains. The coven itself is not acting beyond the occasional incursion,” I explained in a firm, even tone. “For now, it is seen as the job of every nightwalker to rein in and hunt down the naturi.”
Hideo looked over at Kojima and then at Tetsuya before leveling his narrowed gaze on me. “And that is the coven we remember. Unwilling to act to save its own; concerned only with hiding from humanity so it does not have to answer for the lifestyle with which it has become so enamored.”
I merely shrugged my shoulders at his correct assessment. “It is not in the nature of the nightwalker to change. We are as we have always been.”
“Ahhh . . . but you are different,” Tetsuya replied. “You were reborn differently than the rest of us. You are the Fire Starter.”
“Little more than a parlor trick when it comes to fighting the light clan,” I said with an absent wave of my hand. At the same time, the flames around us shifted and flicked brightly, as though a breeze had swept through the woods and disturbed them. It seemed they were starting to move in for the kill, and I had to fight the urge to reach for my nearest blade. It wasn’t that I was a coven Elder that attracted them to me in the first place. It was the fact that I was the Fire Starter and had survived multiple encounters with the naturi. I was a survivor, which was what they needed when it came to defeating the naturi at last.
“But you must have some plans for your own domain,” Hideo pressed. “Matsui spoke of one naturi in particular, Rowe, who has been hunting you. We have even heard that the queen of the naturi has made it a special mission to acquire your head since you were so instrumental in stopping their return many centuries ago.”
Kojima stepped forward to stand in front of Hideo. His hand slid down to his side where I could only guess there was a concealed blade. The soft sound of earth crunching beneath Danaus’s feet drifted up to my ears as the hunter restlessly shifted his stance. “We’re under the impression that you may be under increased pressure here and planning something that could alleviate some of that pressure for your own kind and the shapeshifters.”
A smile toyed with the corners of my mouth as I looked over at Danaus. The hunter was watching me closely, waiting to see if I was willing to reveal my own plans for Aurora to our visitors. In truth, I couldn’t decide. The Japanese nightwalkers had turned their back on us. They had left us to lead our own lives and demanded that there be no interference in their lives from the nightwalkers of the West.
Desperation had drawn them back to our side, but I didn’t expect them to agree so easily with what we had planned, no matter how desperate they were. In fact, I was more concerned with them becoming a hindrance if they didn’t agree. Hell, I wasn’t banking on the coven to back me on this, so I wasn’t telling them either. How could the Japanese clans go along with my plans?
“You are correct in that we have plans for my domain of Savannah,” I admitted with a sigh as I finally decided to step out on this limb. “Unfortunately, you have to keep in mind that my main goal is not the preservation and protection of our people while eliminating the naturi threat. I am aiming for something far grander. I want a permanent peace. That is what we were meeting about in the tunnels when you aided us tonight.”
“A permanent peace?” Hideo repeated. “You have found a way to return the naturi back to their cage?”
It was a tempting idea, but one doomed to failure in the end, as we had already proven with their escape. The cage that held the bori was enduring, but I wasn’t willing to put my money on the idea that it would last indefinitely either. Putting the naturi back in the cage was not only impossible because I had no idea how it was accomplished in the first place, but also impractical. I didn’t want to have to fight another Rowe years from now as he completed a list of sacrifices in order to free his people. Like I had said, I wanted something more permanent, even if it meant a sizable sacrifice and a change in mentality for us all.
“There will be no return of their cage,” I said grimly with a shake of my head. “We do not know how it was formed. Furthermore, the naturi have been scattered to the four winds, and we would never get them gathered together so they can be recaptured.”
“Then how would we achieve this permanent peace that you spoke of?” Tetsuya inquired.
