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EDEN TOOK A LONG, HOT shower. She scrubbed her skin hard, as if it would erase her memories of the abuse she’d suffered in the past. Her horror would return all over again once she’d eradicated her latest target. She would be able to delay the inevitable for a few nights as she searched for her mark, but Lord Kreaton would have his way with her sooner or later.
The succubus lay down on her bed, but she couldn’t sleep. She was too haunted by her memories to be able to find any peace. The fortune Madam Quilla had told for her came to mind as the day wore on and she continued to toss and turn. It was now obvious that she needed to make her choice between remaining an assassin, or taking the biggest chance of her life. She had to choose between a vampire who had tortured her in the search for his own pleasure, or the one who had shown her how pleasurable sex could be.
Eden had made her choice long before night fell. She didn’t care how dangerous it would be, she had to find Bas and tell him everything. She just hoped the healer had healed Padavion, or she wouldn’t be able to talk to him about any of her problems.
When she rose for the night, she felt tired and groggy from using too much energy and not getting enough sleep. She ate a tasteless meal, fortified herself with coffee, then headed out to begin her search. Defying her orders for the first time in her life, Eden didn’t look for her target. Instead, she focused on finding Bas. Unfortunately, she had no idea where he lived. It was going to be even more difficult to locate him than the master leech who had been marked for death. At least she had a beacon in her head that could help her narrow down where her target was. She had nothing linking her to Bas. He’d carried her from his mansion so quickly that she hadn’t seen it from the outside at all. She wasn’t even sure which area of the Vampire District it was located in.
Eden thought about sending Bas a letter to ask him to meet with her, but ruled that idea out. She didn’t trust the magical correspondence. The letters were powered by the magic of Nox, which had been created by the Immortal Triumvirate. The idea that her evil overlords could find out about her defiance was too frightening. It would be safer for to find him herself than to rely on magical means.
A carriage stopped to pick her up, then took her to the Vampire District. If Lord Kreaton had any spies watching her, he would think she was obeying his order. It occurred to her that trying to find Bas would be just like hunting for her target. She had no idea where either of them lived.
As her driver wended its way through the District, Eden saw eyes peering at her through the windows of the houses and apartment buildings they passed. Sly and hungry, the vampires watched her covetously. It would be a bad idea to try to search for Bas on foot. She wouldn’t last a second once she no longer had the dubious protection of the carriage surrounding her.
Hearing a cawing noise, Eden glanced through the window to see a crow circling overhead. A shudder wracked her, but she wasn’t sure why. Crows were carrion eaters and it looked a lot like a vulture that had found some food and was waiting for it to die so it could feed. “Go away, you horrible thing,” she murmured while scowling up at it.
As if it had heard her, the bird wheeled away and headed for the wealthier suburbs of the District of the undead. It had felt like a bad omen having the crow circling above her.
Fingernails screeching on the window on the far side of the carriage made her head snap around. A fledgling clung to the door with a desperate, hopeless look on her face. She reached for the doorhandle, but the skeleton driver leaned down and grabbed hold of her. It tossed the leech away and shook its bony fist at her while chittering its teeth in admonishment.
Eden’s heart was beating so hard and fast that she wondered if the ravenous bloodsuckers could hear it. The fledgling climbed to her feet and stared forlornly after the carriage. She didn’t have enough strength left to chase after the victim she’d come so close to dining on.
When the driver turned its head to check on her, Eden nodded her thanks. It inclined its head in response and kept driving in a random pattern as she’d requested. While the skeletons weren’t capable of harming uncursed beings, they were clearly able to protect their passengers from harm. Eden felt a surge of guilt for the contempt she’d always felt for the Night Cursed beings. It seemed there was far more to them than she’d ever realized.
