have one night to find this rogue. After that, your coven will pay the consequences.”
“This is bullshit,” Pete spat.
“Fine.” Olivia held her hand up, silencing him, but didn’t take her eyes off of Shane. “I had a feeling your help would come with strings attached. We’ll take the help, and after we capture the rogue and prove Maya’s innocence,” she said with a sigh, “I’ll also take an apology.”
Shane smirked but said nothing. Olivia knew his kind. He was blindly devoted to the Presidium, and even more than that—to his duty as a sentry. She had no doubt he would be a fierce hunter. She also had no doubt that he would kill her and the rest of her coven if it meant following the czar’s orders.
She turned her attention to Pete.
“We now have two dead humans thanks to this rogue asshole and—”
“Two?” Shane interrupted.
“Yes.” Olivia winked. “Try to keep up.” She looked back to Pete and did her best to ignore Shane. “Doug definitely thinks someone at The Coven is responsible.”
“On a first name basis now?” Pete asked.
Olivia chose to ignore the comment and continued. “On top of that, Vincent—my maker—expected me and the rest of my coven to run off to England with him. Apparently, us leaving town is the only way Augustus would
Shane said nothing, but Olivia didn’t miss the slight narrowing of his eyes at the mention of Augustus’s willingness to bend the rules.
“What?” Pete’s eyes glowed red, a side effect of his demon heritage. “Since you’re here, I take it that you told him to fuck off.”
“Basically.” She looked at Pete through serious eyes. “When we get back to the Presidium, they’re going to tell you to kill Maya. Isn’t that right, Shane?”
“Yes,” he said calmly.
“No damn way.” Pete’s jaw clenched. “We’ll find the rogue and get it to confess to whoever turned it.” He sucked in a deep breath, and his eyes flickered back to normal. He gestured to the crime scene tape that fluttered in the wind. “I got a look at the body in the coroner’s van and took a DNA sample from the wound. The girl was killed just like Ronald Davis, so I had Millicent run the sample.”
“It was a match?”
“Sort of,” he said gravely. “It’s a rogue, but according to the DNA sample, it’s not the same rogue.”
“Son of bitch,” Olivia seethed. “There are two?”
Shane said nothing but listened intently as Pete continued.
“At least,” he said grimly. “Their DNA sequences match them as siblings, which means we’ve got someone out there making their own little rogue coven and a bloody mess. The only good news is that Maya’s DNA wasn’t present on the girl at all.”
“Well, it wouldn’t be, would it?” She went into the decrepit bathroom, and the room was thick with the scent of stale blood. “She’s been on lockdown since we found out about Ronald, but none of that really matters. Augustus has convinced himself, and the senators, that Maya made the rogue. If I know him, he’s already sent word to Emperor Zhao, especially since I didn’t agree to leave town.”
She squatted and placed her hands on the floor, hoping to capture some trace evidence of the rogue, but no luck. Olivia hoped there would be something to help her, but there was nothing here but stale blood and desperation—mostly her own.
“Damn it,” Olivia said on a sigh. “We’ve got our work cut out for us.”
“Since there are two, we’ll cover a hell of a lot more ground if we split up, and I have something that should help us track down at least one.”
Pete pulled a small glass vial out of the pocket of his long coat and held it up for her to see. Olivia leaned closer with a puzzled look as she stared at what looked like blood.
“What is that?” she asked hesitantly.
“A gift from Millicent and Xavier.” Pete grinned and placed it in her hand.
“I guess Xavier still doesn’t sleep much.” Olivia cracked a smile. “What did he make for us?”
“He used the DNA sample from Ronald’s wounds to create a synthetic version of that rogue’s blood—we’re calling him Rogue One. Xavier thought that it might help us track him down. Apparently, he’s been working on something like this for a while and was psyched to have a chance to use it.”
“Yes, ma’am.” He flashed his fangs and elbowed Shane, who clearly saw no humor in the situation. “Xavier should win the fuckin’ Nobel Prize for the shit he comes up with. Anyway, I’ve got his blood scent now and so does Shane. So, in theory, if the rogue is in the area, then we should be able to track him.” He narrowed his eyes, and they flickered red. “I can smell him in here, that’s for shit sure, but Xavier said this may only last a few hours, so we should get moving.”
“Synthetic blood as a tracking device? Cool.” Olivia smiled and shook her head as she uncapped the vial and raised it in a toast to Pete and Shane. “Here’s to Xavier, my brilliant friend,” she said throwing it back like a shot.
The scent of rotting flesh filled her head, and the taste of dirt coated her tongue. Olivia fought the urge to vomit and grabbed the broken metal stall for extra support. The metal bent beneath her grip like clay, and for a second she thought she was going to pass out.
Her green eyes fluttered open and filled with tears. “Holy shit,” she whispered. “That tasted like concentrated evil.”
“Yeah. Evil dipped in dog shit.” Pete grimaced and patted her on the shoulder. “I didn’t know if you’d have the same experience, so I figured I’d let you try it for yourself. Why do you think it tastes so bad?”
“I have no idea.” She wiped at her tearing eyes. “Jesus. Even the junkies I’ve fed on tasted better than this.” She grimaced and shivered. “Well, that’s not a scent or taste I will easily forget.”
Olivia pushed past Pete and Shane to the fresh air outside and leaned against the brick wall.
“We split up, but keep communication open.” She tugged her gloves on tighter and tried to focus on the scent of Rogue One that still lingered in the air.
“Since I have no ability to telepath with either of you, I will go hunting with one of you.”
“Not me,” Olivia said as she adjusted the gun in her holster. “I’ve been to this dance before, but Pete has never hunted rogues, so you go with him.”
“It’s quite rude to telepath when I am standing right here,” Shane said with mild irritation.
“Whatever.” Olivia rolled her eyes. “If you find the rogue, don’t kill it. Incapacitate it, and get it to the Presidium. We need it to confess or, at the very least, read its blood memories, so we can find out who turned it and get it to tell us where they’re holing up during the day.”
“Any ideas where to start?” Pete asked.
“Sewer and subway tunnels are most likely or any abandoned buildings in the area. I suggest we start with all of the above-ground options tonight while it’s dark. I’m going to swing by Jerry’s place and see if he’s heard anything.”
“Who is Jerry? And if he is an informant, why have I not heard of him before?” Shane asked coolly.
“He’s my friend,” Olivia said evenly. “Not an informant. He wouldn’t talk to you or Pete because he doesn’t know you.”
Shane narrowed his eyes but didn’t respond. It was only a half-truth. Jerry was her friend, but he was also her best informant. If anyone got wind of a rogue coven, it would be him.
“If we don’t find either of them tonight, then we meet at the club tomorrow night and then go deal with Augustus. You two take the East Village, and I’ll cover the West Village. Agreed?”
“Agreed.” Pete winked. “Boss lady.”
Olivia watched Pete and Shane launch into the sky as she prayed they would find the rogue before sun up. The last thing she wanted to do was go before Augustus empty-handed. It could mean the end of Maya or even
