Rowan was engaged in silent dialogue as she followed them into the house. 'One mention of this Cuan and suddenly this place goes into lock down. Everyone's in line and things are being put in order. He should be an interesting guy. She wondered what he looked like. Lost in her own thoughts she almost didn't register Greer's words.
"This way, Rowan." She made him crazy, but he was glad she was finally here with them. At least she was safe, and he wouldn't be blamed for losing her.
"Where's Dermid, Greer?" No sense in making small talk. Neither of them cared for it.
Greer's voice was sorrowful as he spoke. "He vanished. We don't know where he is. That's why you're so important."
"Well, that would explain the urgency in finding me now!" Her existence had never mattered, not until Dermid was in danger of being snuffed out. Now she finally understood why all these people were flooding out of the woodwork to find her. Dermid had gone missing! And that was the real truth in all of this. She hated uncomfortable silences, "So, what I'm hearing is... you need me to help you find him. That's the reason I'm here."
Greer saw the futility in any response he could give. There was no point. Rowan was angrier now. She would believe what she wanted to regardless of anything he said now. His words had been misinterpreted, but there was no sense in explaining it because she would never be able to forget them. And of course she would draw that conclusion, she knew so little about all of this.
Her resentment towards the people who had cast her out was palpable. As Rowan thought about what Karita had said, 'Trust no one, Rowan.' She wondered, for the first time since this all began, if maybe these people, the ones supposedly trying to help her, had slit her abdomen, feigning an attack from some other lore faction? Maybe they were the ones who wanted to obtain Rowan's loyalty to use her powers to lure in Dermid? At the very least, it was food for thought. Speaking of that, she was famished. She couldn't believe she was thinking about food, but a girl had to eat at some point- priorities.
Rowan followed them into an oversized, rectangular room located deep within the confines of the estate. The interior was decorated with lavishly constructed lounge sofas and end tables. A large marble topped coffee table sat in the middle of the room. The furniture was in a semi-circle around an abnormally large fireplace. It was the most elegant man cave she'd ever seen. Testosterone was practically oozing from the walls: an over sized flat screen, custom sound system, video games, pin ball machines and an elaborate pool table set-up. They must spend a lot of time in here.
Her stomach growled, "Got any food in this place?" She was running on adrenaline, and that just wouldn't cut it. Besides, she got pissy when she was hungry. Surely, with as big as these men were, they had kitchens full of something of substance.
Greer seemed surprised, "You eat then?"
"Well, don't you?" She was staring at him, a shocked expression on her face.
"That's a clue as to what powers you may be developing, which lore factions will be prominent in you."
"You're kidding me right now?There are lore creatures who don't eat?"
"Well, other than vamps... who are on a strict blood diet, they're all female factions. For example, full blooded pixies. They never consume food. It's poison to them." She looked confused. "It may mean that your pixie instincts that have been passed down your family tree won't be prominent in you."
Rowan laughed at that, "Aren't pixies cunning, impulsive, and wickedly strong?"
"So are demons, but it's nice to see you've been listening. Good girl, Rowan." Callum liked quick learners.
Good girl? What the hell did he mean by that? She wasn't his friggin dog, sitting around waiting for verbal praise. "Well, this "girl" escaped the likes of you two." pointing at Greer and Callum. "Do you not think my use of Greer was cunning? And what about you? I used you for information, too, Callum. Don't confuse new with naive...gentleman. That would be a grave mistake on your part."
Greer looked to Callum who did a mock bow and then rolled his arm sarcastically as if welcoming a queen, "Touche, Rowan. You know everything about everything." Damn she pissed him off. Fucking hard headed woman, and a bit on the cocky side too.
Looking around, as if nothing had happened at all, Rowan addressed them, "Do you think lore creatures are influenced by human advertising? Because really, starvation is only in the females..pa-leeze! I want something to eat, and I get pissy when I'm hungry, so it would be in everyone's best interest to feed me."
"Pissy you said? Pissy? Unbelievable! You've been a stubborn, fiesty bitch since I picked you up, so no, it's more than hunger I'm bettin'." Greer knew she was transitioning, and he knew that food wouldn't curb the kind of appetite she had.
"I can be a very nice person, or I can be a real pain in the ass. I give what I get." Rowan stared at Greer.
Dorian entered the room and plopped his huge frame down on the sofa. Following him, were two additional males who looked almost exactly like Dorian. Triplets?
"Wanna finish that game we started?" Hirum tossed a controller to his brother. He looked like he'd just come in from surfing on a beach: board shorts, flip flops and nothing else except the sand in his hair and sun on his skin.
"Feel like gettin' your ass kicked a little more do ya?" Dorian smiled at his brother.
"That's funny bra..." His laughter filled the room as though he had no concerns about what was going on in here at all. He reached for a controller and plopped down beside Dorian. The third turned the music on, Gorillaz' Dare filled the room as he sat down to watch his brothers play.
Nobody bothered with intros, they were all sitting around waiting for Cuan. She couldn't take anymore of this cryptic lore shit, so if she wanted to know she was gonna have to ask. She couldn't cloak her irritation, "Who are you two?"
Pointing to his brothers in turn Dorian responded as though she'd been hen pecking him with questions all day like a toddler, "This is Hirum and that's Silas. Sons of Boone, your uncle. Makes us your cousins."
Short. Succinct. But, before she could continue her interrogation about who Boone was, Karita and Maeve walked in.
Staring a hole through Rowan, Karita approached her "Hirum, turn that off. What are you, twelve?" Pointing at Rowan she continued, "And you! What the hell were you thinking leaving Greer? Hell, you could have been killed." She collapsed onto the sofa looking worn out, so very pale and thin. Losing her sister had taken a toll.
Rowan held her eyes, "Yeah, you're right. I mean the bastard almost killed me. Beat me to within an inch of my life in that facility of his, but I should have stayed on and asked for some more." Her eyes were on fire again. Feeling the burn didn't help her. She just couldn't control it when she got angry. And while she was relieved to see some familiar faces, she had some questions for these two supposed allies. Rowan craved answers, even though she was suspicious about whether or not she could trust them.They were part of the whole plan to keep her in the dark, and to train her now that Dermid was missing.
"Worst case scenario. That is how we train, so that...." Karita's words faltered thinking about what happened to her sister.
"...and your sister?" Rowan couldn't stay mad at her. She'd just lost her sister and she didn't need the third damn degree.
Karita told them what she knew about her sister's death at the hands of the vampire Bhaltair. "Gavina was ambushed by the vampires. They had somehow learned of Dermid's whereabouts and had laid in wait for them to arrive. The vampires were far too strong for his guard. Having never encountered such strength and power, they were overwhelmed. No one had anticipated the elder vamps coming out in full force for someone like Dermid. He just wasn't worth their time."
"Apparently, he was. But, why? That was before Rowan was found." Callum looked to Karita and then Greer trying to put the pieces together.
Karita continued, "All of them perished with the exception of Dermid. He sifted out before the vampires could get their hands on him, and no one has seen him since."
"We need to find out who those vamps were and why they were after Dermid. The numbers aren't adding up here. Elder vamps, accompanied by Bhaltair, which means they work for Declan were in town hunting Dermid, but Declan doesn't work for Vertigen, and he's who will be looking for Rowan. Something's not right." Callum looked to Greer and then at Karita.
"Maybe we're talking about two separate issues. Maybe it was just a coincidence that Bhaltair and his men were there. Maybe they weren't hunting Rowan at all. Maybe there was more to it? Feels like we're missing something here." Karita looked to Maeve and then scanned the room, "Any ideas?"
"I got nothin'." Greer pushed a hand through his hair out of frustration.
"Let's get some people on this...start digging up intel on what Bhaltair was doing in town last night." Callum pulled out his phone and started texting.
Rowan's stomach was in knots. Now that she knew these creatures really existed a memory flashed quickly in front of her. That last night, with Ian's team, the warehouse. She'd sensed dogs, and voids right before her team had been decimated.
"Rowan? You okay? You look paler than normal." Maeve took her elbow, worried she might collapse into herself.
"On my last night as a human we were searching for a man...a scientist named Oliver Pratt. He'd been missing for nearly two months and the research facility where he was employed desperately wanted his research back. We were attacked at a warehouse. I had sensed dogs, and empty voids. Now that I know what's really walking around, I bet what I sensed were lycans and..."
"Vampires." Karita spit the word out, disgust dripping from every sound.
"Why would the vampires want him? What was his research in?" Dorian was interested now.
"All I know is he was a green scientist. It had to do with the sun." Rowan scanned the room for their reaction, but everyone fell silent.
"Vamps hate the sun. Doesn't make sense." Hirum stared at his brothers.
"Depends on the research." Callum stared at Karita. "You know anything about vamps being in town?"
"They killed Gavina. But, until now, we just thought they were looking for Dermid to get to her." She nodded in Rowan's direction.
"It would appear not." Dorian stood from his seated position. "It would seem we need more information on this Oliver Pratt."
Rowan reached for the arm of the sofa to steady herself as everything came to fruition. Three nights ago at the warehouse with Ian's team she'd sensed dogs. She was close, but now she knew they were actually lycans. She hadn't been able to pick up on the vampires because they were dead- no life force. And up until two nights ago she didn't even know they existed. They were cloaking themselves, so she only picked up on empty pockets, holes. She felt the room spinning. Ian had no idea just how lucky they'd really been.
"Rowan?" Maeve moved closer to her. When she got no response, she called her name again, hoping to pull her from her silent reverie. "Rowan, are you okay?"
"Hmmm? Uh, yeah. I think so." She couldn't keep her hands from fidgeting.
"What is it? Is there anything else?" Maeve held her hand. Rowan looked three shades whiter than she had a moment ago.
Fuck! She couldn't tell them about Ian or his team. She wouldn't drag them into her living, breathing nightmare.
"Was there someone else there?" Dorian stared into her eyes as though he might pull the information out of her if she didn't give it up.
"No, it's nothing. I'm just...I was fighting vampires...and I didn't even know it." Her eyes stared into his.
"You and who else?" Dorian knew there was more.
"Just some guys from the force, humans. They were hurt pretty badly." She needed to get Dorian on to something else. She wouldn't give up Ian, or his team. "But, that does explain all the blood."
"Do you realize how lucky you are to be here right now?" Dorian wasn't buying it. To have escaped that hunting party she would literally have to be the luckiest person alive. Unless someone had been there? Watching over her? Protecting her? Possibly even unbeknownst to her?
Her eyes narrowed at his comment. Dorain had no fucking clue what her life had been like. 'Lucky' wasn't a word she would use to describe it though. Engaging in witty banter would get her nowhere tonight though, and she couldn't afford to say anything else that might jeopardize Ian or his team.
Karita could see the vehemence in Rowan's eyes. She was working over time to keep a lid on that temper of hers. "Rowan, was there anything else about this Oliver Pratt that you can tell us?"
"When we interviewed the other scientists, they said he was more stressed than usual and had been working almost round the clock for nearly two months on this green solar project. He was really excited about it, but everything about it was top secret. I'm sorry that's all I know." Energy was building within her, coursing through her at an alarming rate...waking up her senses. Standing because she could no longer sit, she paced the floor.
"It's a start." Maeve swooped in beside her. Witches were incredibly sensitive to changes in a person's energy field. Sensing Rowan's energy spiking off the charts and seeing the fidgety behavior she knew Rowan was hiding something
"When Cuan gets here we'll have you tell him what you just told us. Maybe he can... jog your memory a bit." Rowan was a terrible liar. He knew she knew more than she was telling him. Callum walked over to a sofa and found a comfortable seat facing away from her to bide his time. Looking at her made it difficult to concentrate and stay in control.
"Yeah, well, just remember, I don't have a problem with my memory, or my right hook demon. No one will be jogging anything. Got it?" A tingling sensation, like tiny needles all over her skin, washed over her in tidal a wave. It hurt.
"Why don't we all just calm down and find a place to sit. Let's just wait for Cuan. I'm sure we'll get all of this sorted out when he gets here." Silas hated drama and he'd been listening long enough to know that there were already too many emotions and personalities intermingling in this room. What they needed was down time. They all needed time to cool off before Cuan arrived because it would most likely blow up again when he started asking questions.
The room grew quiet as everyone found a spot to sit down and chill out.
Rowan chose an oversized chair before pulling out her phone to check if Ian had called. She didn't know how much more bad news she could take before her legs gave out underneath her, so she thought it best if she was sitting down. She wasn't optimistic that he'd called. Her heart hit a new low when she discovered that Ian still hadn't bothered to call her or check in on her. Why did she keep doing this to herself? Why did she keep hoping? She closed her eyes to keep the tears from falling.
Greer watched her like a hawk. Who would be calling her? And why did she look pained? "Expecting a call?" His lips formed a sardonic smile.
Rowan was just about at her limit especially when it came to Greer. Loathe wasn't a strong enough word to describe how she felt about him after he'd beat on her, "Expecting another ass kickin'?" She turned off her phone and returned it to her purse.
Greer's laugh was deep and low. Rowan was by far and away the most feisty, confrontational, irritable woman he'd ever met, but he liked her- more than he cared to admit. He held her gaze while smiling from ear to ear, "Oh, I'd love another run at you darlin', especially in that outfit, but I don't think now's the time." He blew her a kiss from across the room. Egging her on.
Maeve sat next to Rowan, placing her hand on Rowan's arm to keep her from charging at Greer. "It's not. Just leave her alone. You have your orders demon." Maeve appreciated Greer's talents, but he could be a sexist prick, too.
Rowan looked down, Fuck! She was still in the outfit from the club. How could she have forgotten about that? She couldn't meet whoever this Cuan was in this get up. With her head in her hands she started considering her options.