Fatal Sight (Harbingers Of Death Book 2) by LeAnn Mason (book club reads .TXT) 📕

To the rest of the tourists, it must have looked like a lover’s embrace, and they spared us no mind, weaving their way around where we stood entwined against a large plate-glass window that advertised a half-priced happy hour. But Seke’s strong arms held me fast to his body as he attempted to talk sense into me.

Surprised and confused yelps faintly registered in my pounding ears before I felt the presence of more bodies in our huddle. Gunhilde and Torgny must have arrived, and since the humans couldn’t see them, they were irritated by the inexplicable solidity they kept bumping into.

“Breathe, child,” the valkyrie urged. “Focus is key now. Your friends are depending on you to keep a level head. As is your mother.”

Gunhilde was right, of course. I wasn’t following Dad’s or Seke’s rules very well of late.

Snap out of it, Aria. You got this. Those asshole undead dickheads are going down.

The mental pep talk worked a little — enough so that I could pry open fists that had been clenching in Seke’s shirt like a lifeline. It was tougher to push myself off the strong support that the muscly god offered. He was so comforting and warm and…

Closing my eyes, I forced a few deep, cleansing breaths that allowed clarity to seep back into my consciousness and rationality to surface. I stepped purposefully away from Seke as his arms straightened to accommodate the rising space between our bodies.

His molten hazel eyes conveyed how hard it was to drop the contact, but finally, he did, visibly gathering himself much as I had just done. A moment longer, and he was the stoic, composed leader I knew and loved.

Don’t dwell on that little slipped word, Aria. Not the time.

Pulling my shit together, I broke down the possibilities. “Splitting up would cover more ground, but I’m not sure that is the best course of action at the moment. There are two scenarios we could be walking into. One: they know about the HDPU members, but not about the rest of us.”

“Or two: they know about all of us and are waiting in the shadows,” Torgny finished the grim probability for me, having resumed his human form. “Remember, Gunhilde and I are only unseen to human eyes. Our enemies will see through our cloak.”

“Well, that blows,” I said mulishly. It would have been nice to have that ace up our sleeve. “Okay, I vote we move quickly and quietly. We should stay together, but maybe not obviously. That way if one group gets approached, there’s still a backup team. No one caught unawares. Not this time.” Don’t get caught.

“Let’s hope that they are not well-versed in the ranks of harbingers. I think you need to stay as a pair,” Seke pointed to the valkyrie and her partner. “Your dress and mannerisms are too unique to be in two places, not interacting.”

“Not to mention the oddity of people sitting alone or seeming to. This is not a place where someone comes to sit in quiet contemplation,” Gunhilde remarked. “They come to drink, get high, and fuck.”

“Oh, snap!” I threw an impressed look toward the warrior woman. “Didn’t see those words coming out of that mouth, did you?” I asked Seke incredulously.

“The valkyries are a hard breed to navigate,” was his cryptic response before steering the conversation back toward the task at hand. “The last time they reported in, Ember said something about a club called ‘Magic and Mayhem’. Let’s start there.”

Sitting up proved harder than Ember wished to admit, but she was still woozy from the blood loss. That damn vamp had jumped her from the word “thirsty”.

Perhaps, she decided in retrospect, she had not gone about her investigation of the guy in the best way. Too obvious, it would seem. That was the problem with living for centuries. It was damn hard to keep up with all of the passing nuances of speech and society. It appeared she’d need to brush up on all things “now” once she was free of… wherever she was.

“Easy does it. Here, I saved my bread for you.”

Ember’s head spun again as she attempted to pinpoint the feminine voice that bounced around the space. Opening her eyes to a squint, she assessed her surroundings: dark, damp, cool — but not cold — with stink the likes of which she hadn’t smelled since her days in London before indoor plumbing.

“Ugh. So, it’s true. They’re holding you — us — in the sewers. Perfect.” The droll words feigned a modicum of calm Ember did not feel in the moment, but she’d become adept at pretending. Mimicking the social expectations of those around her allowed her to blend in through the ages. Well, somewhat. Not amongst the club scene.

“Is she with you?” Movement accompanied the question, drawing Ember’s attention to an extremely thin and rather bedraggled-looking woman.

Her sunken, dull, blue eyes were overshadowed by dark bruise-like patches in the underlying skin. Grungy silver hair fell long and very matted around her shoulders, and her cheekbones were so sharp Ember was afraid they would physically cut her should she put a finger to one.

“Enid, I presume?”

“That’s right. You’re Ember.”

“Yes,” the phoenix rasped. She didn’t ask how the banshee knew her name. Maybe Enid had foreseen this little meet-up. Hopefully, that didn’t mean one of them was about to kick the bucket.

She continued surveilling the dank room in which they were confined. If Aria had a vision soon, she wanted to be ready, to find a way to help however she could. After all, it wasn’t only Enid’s survival that depended on the team finding the room; it was now hers.

“Fuck, how could I have been so stupid? And Cole and Raven! I knew we shouldn’t have split up. With three of us, I wouldn’t be stuck in this shithole!”

“One could argue it was always meant to turn out this way,” the mousy woman replied sagely as she again held out a chunk