Earth Roars by Kara Jaynes (best adventure books to read .txt) 📕

low, sultry voice, “That would be extremely foolish. Never trust a vampire; it could be the last thing you do.”

My lip curls. She might be right, but then, she’d never met Cecil. He was doggedly loyal.

“I do, however, believe you hate Cliff enough to work with me,” she continues. “I do require a few things in return, eventually, but I’m sure for a boy as talented as you, it shouldn’t be a problem.”

Boy? She didn’t look more than a decade older than me. I’m hardly a child at almost twenty. And at any rate, Liberty’s children don’t stay young for long.

“What do you need me to do?”

“Oh. I want you to kill a few clan members for me,” she says, waving her hand dismissively.

“You mean a few gang members,” I correct.

“No, I mean clan members,” she replies. “Since your, ah, creation, the vampires in this city have been multiplying. In a sense.”

A growl builds in my throat. “They’re biting humans and turning them?”

“Yes.” She eyes me, tilting her head. Dark bangs slant across her forehead. “You haven’t, though, which is intriguing. You’re certainly strong enough to start a clan.”

“Maybe I have.” I need to leave. Elves frequently patrol the streets at night, and there doesn’t seem to be any rhyme or reason to when and where they make their rounds. Maybe that is part of their strategy. They don’t want anyone to know when they might be about. And aside from them, there’s the elven hunter with golden eyes. I’m never sure when he might turn up.

“Ah, yes,” the woman says. “The vampire boys. But you didn’t turn them, and you didn’t force them to join.”

“Forcing seems a foolish way to earn someone’s loyalty,” I counter. “It’s not really true loyalty now, is it?”

Her smile deepens. Her red eyes sparkle as if she conceals a secret. I’d bet money I don’t have that she hides several. “An interesting perspective,” she says in a musing tone. She pauses, her head cocking further as if listening. “An elf approaches,” she says. She darts forward and is standing before me.

I step back with a startled oath, but she’s already pressing something into my hand.

“I’m quite serious,” she says quietly. “Bring this to the Shade Jackals’ hideout tomorrow night, and I’ll see to it that you and your boys are given everything you need, including blood. Good night, Wilder.”

Then she’s gone, scaling the brick wall with effortless ease, her legs pale in the gloom as her dress hem slips up. She heaves herself onto the roof and is gone.

I leave immediately, leaping over the remains of my kill and tearing out of the alley. If there’s an elf somewhere, I need to make tracks. The twin scars on my shoulders are a sure reminder that they aren’t to be trifled with.

When I arrive home, Cecil is peering through the window and unbolts the door before I can even knock. “Hi.” He grins widely, showing his fangs.

I push past him. “Have you gone hunting yet?”

He shakes his head. “No. But Dirk did. He should be back in a half-hour, or so.”

Dirk joined us since we met him at the Golden Fist hideout. He isn’t talkative, but I prefer that. He doesn’t cause trouble like Javelin.

“Okay.” I sit in the rickety armchair in the living room and hear the crinkle of paper.

Oh. Right. The strange woman who’d given me something. I hadn’t even looked.

Uncurling my fingers, I gaze down at the crumpled envelope. I’d crushed the wax seal; from the looks of it, it’d been a flaming flower. Interesting.

The contents are a letter, giving us access to the Shade Jackals hideout. The address is written out, but I remember the hold from my dream vagrant days.

My eyes narrow. The leader of the gang is a supplier of star-blood. What does the vampire have to do with any of this? Is she working with the gang, or does she hold them under her thumb?

Inside the envelope is a copper amulet with the same image as the seal. The final item is a vial, filled with red liquid. Blood.

I peer at it with narrowed eyes. What is it for? Does this blood carry any significance, or is it merely a token of goodwill?

Cecil comes up to stand behind the chair and peers over my shoulder. “What’s that?” he asks, the curiosity evident in his voice.

I shrug. “I met someone,” I say. “A woman.”

“A vampire?” Cecil asks. “Did she try to kill you like the last one?”

I chuckle and, folding the note, stick it and the vial back in the envelope. “No, she didn’t,” I said. “Surprisingly.”

However, if this woman thinks I’m meeting her on her turf, she has another thing coming. I’ll hunt Cliff down and kill him myself.

28

Stella

The next morning dawns, bringing blue skies and warm sun. I love it. Spring is often wet and miserable in the Pacific Northwest, but not this year, it seems.

“Let’s go!” I step outside, smiling at the sound of birdsong and the slight breeze in the trees. Vashon is beautiful. I inhale deeply. I feel I could get used to the smell of trees. It’s so different from the polluted city I grew up in, and already I can feel myself getting attached to this wild, green forest.

Eldaren follows me. Today he’s dressed in his elven uniform, complete with medals. He smiles when he sees me. “I’m glad you’re feeling better today, Stella, mine,” he says.

I am. Sleep did wonders. I know that Bren won’t be giving me any answers, but I also know that Eldaren will do his best to help me when he’s able to. And that comforts me. If there’s one person I can rely on, it’s the elven prince.

My smile fades, a sobering thought coming to me.

I can rely on him now, but can I rely on him forever? Wilder’s devotion didn’t last forever. Would there be a time when Eldaren left me too?

The prince is beside me in an instant, peering down into my