Shaedes of Gray: A Shaede Assassin Novel

“I want to know who the mark is.”

“No. Not yet. It’s too dangerous for you to know. When you’re ready, Raif will explain everything.” He turned his back on me. “Until I can give you a means of protection from the Lyhtan, you should guard your every move. You can go now.”

Well, if this wasn’t just a huge waste of time. The King of Shadows needed a lesson on how to properly kidnap someone. He’d wanted me to take up residence a moment before. Now he was throwing me out on the street. Not that I was upset. And as far as the Lyhtan was concerned, for the time being, I’d just have to watch my back. But Xander’s ineptitude was to my benefit, so I didn’t argue. I turned to leave, determined not to look lost, even though I hadn’t the first clue how to get out of there. I stomped to the door and yanked it open.

“Aren’t you forgetting something?”

Aren’t you? I thought. Like, oh, I don’t know . . . how about some information? God, I was tired of being jerked around. I wanted answers, damn it. Unknown marks and now Lyhtan attackers—and me, smack-dab it in the middle of it all. And if Xander thought I was going to bow or kiss his ring or anything like that on my way out, well, he was dead wrong. “Am I forgetting something?” I asked, turning to face him.

From the table at the far end of the room, he retrieved the case that held the katana and my money. “I don’t appreciate having my gifts returned,” he said.

I didn’t hesitate for a second. I’d regretted my decision to give the sword back. I took the case and the cash from his hand and strode to the door without a parting word.

The house was full of creatures like me. I felt their presence though I didn’t see a single one. The air stirred around me as the curious Shaedes brushed against me, too timid or else too good to show themselves.

I found my way out well enough. A long hallway led to a flight of stairs, and at the bottom was the exit. I didn’t even warrant a good-bye as I opened the heavy oak door and walked out. My release wasn’t exactly that. I’d be even more under Xander’s thumb from that moment on. I ventured down a long walkway, past a sprawling lawn, and found Ty waiting for me near the street. He paced back and forth, fidgeting.

“Tyler, you really do have a screw loose, don’t you?” I would have socked him if he hadn’t smiled so brightly in my direction.

“Your wish is my command,” he said in answer.

“What are you talking about, you idiot? You’re lucky they didn’t dismember you. How did you know I was here?”

Rather than give me the straight answer I wanted, he took me in his arms and laid a kiss on me that would have blasted the clothes right off my body if I’d been in my right mind. He trailed his fingers along my cheeks, down my neck.

“Do you have some kind of mental condition I don’t know about?” I asked, breathless.

Tyler chuckled. “Come on.” He wrapped his arm around my shoulder in a protective manner and glanced back toward the house as if declaring something to someone behind him. “I’m taking you home.”

Chapter 10

My release from Xander’s captivity had nothing to do with his ineptitude. Just as the actual kidnapping had nothing to do with him making me a prisoner. It did, however, have everything to do with teaching me a serious lesson. Taken with such ease, I hadn’t stood a chance against Raif and Anya together. And if ordered to do so, they’d kidnap me again. Xander was telling me very plainly that no matter what I thought, I was his subject, his servant, and whatever else he wanted me to be. But more than that, it taught me I was far more vulnerable than I’d imagined.

In a rage, I took the katana and sliced clean through a watermelon. It rested on the kitchen counter undisturbed. If not for the juice bleeding from the line in the rind, you wouldn’t have known I’d cut it at all. I flipped the top half over and dug through the juicy flesh with a spoon, shoveling the sweet fruit into my mouth while I continued to stew.

“Xander,” I muttered under my breath. “Good-for-nothing pain in my ass.” I shoveled another spoonful of watermelon into my mouth. “He’s useless. All I want is a little fucking information, and he gives me the runaround.” I shook my head and looked Tyler dead in the eye. “That Lyhtan should have killed me. Why didn’t it? I’m tired of knowing absolutely nothing.”

Tyler stared right back, a look of near pain flashing behind his hazel eyes. A crease marred the smooth skin of his forehead. As if he wanted to tell me something very important, but the words, for some reason, failed him. “If you want some answers,” he began, “some real answers, go to The Pit and talk to Levi. Take plenty of cash; he won’t talk to you unless it’s worth his while.”

“He’s human!” I blurted, filling my mouth with more fruit to prevent another outburst.

“And he’s got the information you need,” Tyler said. “Just go before he closes for the night.”

My mistrustful glare sent his gaze toward the floor. That’s right, Ty. You’re being a little too helpful. What’s up with that?

“I’d like to go with you,” he said, as if he could read my mind. “But this is probably something you should do on your own. Go. Before I change my mind and tag along. But after tonight, do me a favor and call me whenever you go out.”

I stabbed the spoon into the melon I’d been gutting and secured the katana to my back. “Turn around,” I said, and without asking why, Tyler turned his back. I retrieved a wad of cash from my safe and secured the false bricks back into place on the wall. If Levi had answers to my questions, he’d be worth every damn bill. “Thanks, Ty,” I said as I headed for the elevator. “You can show yourself out, right?” Without waiting for a response, I ran toward the lift, scattering into shadow and disappearing from his sight.

Two a.m. saw the last of the die-hard partiers slowly winding down. Another hour, and Levi would have Tiny kicking them to the curb to find fresh venues for their nonstop drinking and revelry. It was the perfect time to talk. A small group of people lingered in the darkest corner of the bar, probably hoping their presence would go unnoticed for a while longer. Levi restocked the condiment containers with lemons, limes, cherries, and olives before stowing the tray in a refrigerator for the night, while a cocktail waitress counted out her tips. This early in the morning, Levi still looked college-boy fresh.

“It’s a little late for you to be here, isn’t it?” he asked with a smile.

“Or a little early, depending on your perspective,” I said.

Levi laughed, poured me a gin and tonic, and slid it across the bar. “What’s up?”

Ah, the quintessential bartender. Always ready and waiting with a willing ear. How to start? “Tyler sent me,” I said, taking a tentative sip of my drink and settling onto a stool at the bar. “He said you’re the question-and- answer man. And I’m in need of some answers.”

Levi seemed to contemplate my statement and fixed me with a pointed stare. I fished a fifty-dollar bill from my pocket and slid it toward him. When I lifted my hand, he palmed the bill and shoved it into his pocket. “I know some things, Shaede girl. What do you want to know?”

Son of a bitch! That wily little bastard! I looked at Levi with a scowl. I’d always appreciated how comfortable he’d been with me, how he turned his head from my unusual nature and treated me like everyone else. Of course he did. It didn’t have anything to do with him being a genuinely good guy. He was just in the loop.

“What are you?” I asked.

“Wow, that was a waste of a fifty,” Levi said with a laugh. “You’d better be more careful about what kind of answers you’re willing to spend your money on. I’m human. Nothing more; nothing less. Just a guy who knows some things. There aren’t many humans who have the knowledge I’m privy to, but I’m not the only one. Anything else you’d like to ask?”

I fingered the hilt of my dagger. Smart-ass. I slid another fifty across the table. If I didn’t watch out, this was going to be an expensive meeting. “Lyhtans. What do you know about them?”

Levi pocketed my money and smiled. “For starters, I wouldn’t want to stumble across one of them unless I was heavily armed and escorted. They’re nasty, dangerous bastards.”

“Why have I never seen one before?”

That question earned me a strange look from Levi. Maybe he was just as blown away by my ignorance as