'We can use the moon fever to our advantage,' I said softly. 'If what Misha says about them is true, they're likely to be less circumspect during the full moon phase.'
'Dammit, Riley, that's
'The point,' I said softly, 'is that
He slumped back in his chair, and rubbed a hand across his eyes. 'Jesus, sis, you have no idea what you're getting yourself into.'
Maybe I didn't. Maybe he was right, and I was stepping through hell's door when the sane would be running. But that was something I just couldn't do. Not if I wanted to live with myself. 'Can it be any worse than what has happened to me already? Any worse than sitting here, waiting to see what effects the drugs Talon used on me are?'
'Yes, it can.' His gaze met mine, eyes bleak. 'You've never embraced your vampire half. Never acknowledged the killer instinct. It's going to take that, and more, to get through this.'
'You cannot go in there alone, and we both know Jack can't send a female vampire to do this, simply because the Directorate has no female guardians capable of moving around in the daylight.'
'I don't want you doing this.'
'And I didn't want you to become a guardian, but you did, because you felt it was the right thing to do. I feel the same way about this.'
'Fuck, Riley, that's not fair.'
I raised an eyebrow. 'Why? Because it's the truth?'
He leaned forward and grabbed my hands. 'If you really,
'I'm doing this for me. Because of what has been done to me.' Mostly, anyway.
He sighed, and let me go. 'Then at least get some training before we go in.'
'If she does this, she'll be getting training. And Gautier will know about the training, because everyone there knows I want to set up a daytime unit.'
'Hiding in plain sight,' I murmured. 'How much time have we got, do you think?'
'Plenty, because he thinks he's safe, and we can't afford to rush. We'll continue to keep track of Gautier, and set up a watch on our two female assistant directors. And we'll need to thoroughly investigate the two lieutenants, as well as set up covers for the two of you.'
'Why not just take Gautier out?' Rhoan asked.
Jack glanced at him. 'Because the minute we do that, Starr will know something is happening. He's better kept under close watch, and fed false information.' His gaze came back to me. 'Are you in, or out?'
'In,' I said.
And even as I said it, I knew I'd stepped onto the road to becoming the one thing I'd sworn never to become.
A guardian, just like my brother.
Keri Arthur received a 'perfect 10' from
Four times the heat.
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Four months in a row.
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Now is your chance to fully immerse yourself in the wonderful world of
Keri Arthur
Smart, sexy, and suspenseful, the Riley Jensen novels are rapidly gaining fans worldwide. And now we are giving you the unique opportunity to read four books inside four months, as part of our exciting new publication schedule:
January 2007
Kissing Sin
February 2007
March 2007
Dangerous Games
April 2007
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to give you a taste of what is still to come…
FULL MOON RISING
On sale in paperback January 2007
The night was quiet.
Almost too quiet.
Though it was after midnight, it was a Friday night, and Friday nights were usually party nights—at least for those of us who were single and not working night shift. This section of Melbourne wasn't exactly excitement city, but it did possess a nightclub that catered to both human and nonhumans. And while it wasn't a club I frequented often, I loved the music they played. Loved dancing along the street to it as I made my way home.
But tonight, there was no music. No laughter. Not even drunken revelry. The only sound on the whispering wind was the clatter of the train leaving the station and the rumble of traffic from the nearby freeway.
Of course, the club was a well-known haunt for pushers and their prey, and as such it was regularly raided— and closed—by the cops. Maybe it had been hit again.
So why was there no movement on the street? No disgruntled partygoers heading to other clubs in other areas?
And why did the wind hold the fragrance of blood?
I hitched my bag to a more comfortable position on my shoulder, then stepped from the station's half-lit platform and ran up the stairs leading to Sunshine Avenue. The lights close to the platform's exit were out and the shadows closed in the minute I stepped onto the street.
Normally, darkness didn't worry me. I am a creature of the moon and the night, after all, and well used to roaming the streets at ungodly hours. That night, though the moon rode toward fullness, its silvery light failed to pierce the thick cover of clouds. But the power of it shimmered through my veins—a heat that would only get worse in the coming nights.
Yet it wasn't the closeness of the full moon that had me jumpy. Nor was it the lack of life coming from the normally raucous club. It was something else, something I couldn't quite put a finger on. The night felt wrong, and I had no idea why.
But it was something I couldn't ignore.
I turned away from the street that led to the apartment I shared with my twin brother and headed for the nightclub. Maybe I was imagining the scent of blood, or the wrongness in the night. Maybe the club's silence had nothing to do with either sensation. But one thing was certain—I had to find out. It would keep me awake, otherwise.
