The Darkest Kiss

underworld.

Again, smoke stirred in the shadows. Just a wisp, a bare outline—nothing that would even be defined as ghostlike. But it was there. The power of it spun all around me.

Who are you? I asked again.

For a moment, there was no response, but the energy in the air increased, until it felt like fireflies dancing across my skin.

Why? came the reply. So soft. So confused. And very definitely female.

No one knows why this creature is so destructive, I said, hating that I had to talk to her, hating that I had to feel her pain like this. Yet in some odd way, it was probably helping her. She’d have no answers at all if I wasn’t here. You weren’t its intended victim. You were just in the way.

The chill in the air increased, and with it came a sense of anger. It was not my time.

She mightn’t have thought so, but fate always had other ideas on such things. Can you tell me anything about the creature?

She was fast. The sense of energy increased, until the tingling on my skin felt like fire. Very briefly, a wispy face formed in the shadows—a thin pretty face with wide lost eyes. She took my bag. My phone. My car keys.

She took your life, too, but I kept that thought to myself. I had no idea if souls could feel shock, but this one showed every sign of going through that right now. I didn’t need to make it any worse for her.

What is your name?

Maria. Maria Kennedy-Smith.

Is there anything you can tell me about the person who did this to you?

I knew her. But it didn’t seem like her.

The chill in the air was beginning to fade, and the shadows once again swallowed her wispy features.

What was her name?

Jenny Franklin.

One of the missing women. So if her body wasn’t in her apartment, where the hell had the bakeneko killed her?

Why would she do this?

The thought was almost a wail. I shivered and rubbed my arms. It wasn’t her. It was a look- alike. Jenny’s dead, too.

The energy was almost gone, the fire on my skin little more than a caress of warmth.

Get whoever it is, came the thought. Stop her.

Then she was gone, heading back into whatever realm her soul was destined for.

I blew out a breath and turned around. Cole was watching me with a concerned expression. “You know, I didn’t notice it before, but you almost seem to fade when you do that. It’s as if they’re sucking the life from you.”

I rubbed my arms. “I can feel the chill of the other side through them. So maybe it is sucking something out of me.” Who really knew? It might be a talent Jack intended to use to its full capacity, but it certainly wasn’t one that the Directorate had seen much of. My teachers were magi, not other people who shared the same skill.

“If it is, then be damn careful. You might reach a point where returning becomes difficult.”

I repressed a shiver at the thought, and forced a grin. “What’s this? Caring about a guardian? Is the world about to end?”

He snorted softly. “Did I say I cared one way or another? Woman, you’re reading me all wrong.” His blue eyes held a twinkle that took away the harshness of his words. “Now, what did the damn soul say?”

I smiled. The guardian-hating, werewolf-despising shifter actually cared what happened to me. He mightn’t lift a finger to help me, but he did care. It was nice to know, because even if I teased him endlessly and gave him hell, I did actually like him.

“Her name was Maria Kennedy-Smith. Her killer was Jenny Franklin, who’s one of the Trollops we haven’t yet gotten into protective custody.”

“And now won’t. Past evidence would have to say she’s well and truly dead by now.”

“Yeah.” I dug my phone out of my pocket. If we could trace Jenny’s car, we might just find the bakeneko’s trail. I glanced around as Kade walked up. “You found something?”

“The bakeneko is mad.”

I snorted softly as I pressed the button for the Directorate. “You don’t need empathy to know that.”

He gave me an annoyed look. “No, I mean she’s going mad. There was no taste of insanity in what she did to Gerard James. There wasn’t even insanity in what she did to the shoe man. But there was an insane amount of anger in that last woman’s apartment and here—” He hesitated. “Here there is just violence for the sheer pleasure of it. She might have had a motive to begin with, but that has long since gone.”

“So she’s just killing for the sake of killing now?”

“I would say so.”

“Fuck.” I blew out a breath, then added, “Jenny Franklin was one of the women you were supposed to take to the safe house, wasn’t she?”

“Yeah, but we checked her house and there was no sign of her. She hasn’t reported in for work, either. Last I heard, the liaisons were chasing up the location of a couple of exes, to see if they could shed any light on her whereabouts.” He studied me for a minute, then said, “Don’t tell me the remains under the car are her.”

“No, the remains belong to Maria Kennedy-Smith. Her soul wasn’t sucked up by the bakeneko, which is why I know the cat had Jenny’s form.”

Kade looked at Cole. “Why would she waste a perfectly good soul like that?”

“Maybe it was a last-minute killing. Maybe she needed to get out before she was discovered.” Cole shrugged, then looked at me. “Yell if you have any further questions.”

He spun and walked away, picking up a set of fresh gloves before moving back to the body under the car. I looked away. I didn’t want to see him retrieve what was left of Maria. Not when her anguish and pain were still fresh in my mind.

“What can I do for you, wolf girl?” a familiar voice said into my ear.

“Kade said a trace was being put on Jenny Franklin’s car. Do you know if that’s come through yet?”

“Hang on and I’ll check.” She paused. “Okay, she owns a white Porsche, and it’s currently parked in Lygon Street.”

Which was a long street with lots of clubs and restaurants. It could take forever to find the bakeneko there. “Is there anything in Jenny’s history that could give a clue as to why the bakeneko has gone there?”

“One of her exes owns the Lygon Towers, and lives on the top floor. We’ve tried contacting him, but there’s no answer.”

If he also happened to be one of Cherry’s exes, then there was probably very good reason for him not answering. Like, death at the hands of a bloodthirsty, sex-crazed cat. “Send me the address.”

“Will do. Oh, and Jack just said to make sure tracking and sound are on.”

“Jack’s a nag.” I hung up and flicked the small button in my ear, turning on the tracker and the sound. They’d hear me if I yelled for help, but I couldn’t actually hear them unless I flicked the button again.

Kade was frowning. “Why would the bakeneko go straight from one kill to another? From what I’ve seen of cats, they tend to sleep off a kill.”

“Maybe that’s what she’s doing. Maybe she figures it’ll be safe to hide out in the apartment of one of Jenny’s exes.” I shrugged. This thing was a cat, so who really knew how its thought processes worked? “But the Porsche is parked there, so that’s where we go.”

He grinned and flung an arm around my shoulder, his fingers casually brushing one breast. Even through the thickness of my coat and sweater, I felt the heat of that caress. But then, I knew just what those clever fingers could do. Unfortunately, they wouldn’t be doing anything clever to me any time soon, and not just because we had an insane killer to catch.