Devil Inside, page 35
Harley studied the metal walls trying to figure out what he had been doing. Why was he even here? Finally, she found what she didn’t even know she had been looking for. A phone number was written at the bottom of the larger of the two machines. She crouched down. The writing was fresh. She would guess it was about as fresh as the scent that Castor had left. She shook her head and laughed. Very creative, Cas. She put the number in her phone and found a good spot from which to watch the warehouse.
Harley wished her ability to sense supernatural creatures was fine tuned enough to hunt for particular signatures. She couldn’t distinguish between them other than Nocte, Lux and Ignis. Sometimes, if the difference was drastic enough, she could differentiate between strength—but that was the limit. Otherwise, she would have been able to save herself from sitting on top of a building for the past week hoping Cutter would show himself. She figured that this was the easiest way to find him instead of checking every Ignis buzz she came across.
Harley hadn’t talked to Castor since the night at the apartment. She hadn’t been avoiding him; she had just been too focused on finding Cutter. It seemed that when faced with the decision between sex and revenge, her Nocte could stick to what was most important. She hadn’t pressured Harley to find Castor all week. She did, indeed, like Castor more than she should really—Is that true though? Was there actually a limit that she should place on her desire for someone else?—but she knew that the main focus needed to be finding Cutter. And the Rogue, her Nocte reminded her. Regardless, she could keep the Lux out of her head—he kept drifting back in when she least expected it. Harley laughed at herself and continued to watch the warehouse for several more hours. Five Ignis came and went during that time but none of them were Cutter.
Harley was about to give up searching for Cutter at night and start watching for him during the day. If he didn’t know yet that she was the one not affected by the light then maybe he was trying to avoid her by staying in the sun. The night was usually better to deal in nefarious business, but self-preservation would override that, Harley was sure. Finally, she decided to give up on the warehouse for the night. She wanted to at least hunt one Ignis tonight before she went home. Even though she was spending most of her time watching for Cutter, she always tried to hunt down at least one Burner each night. If not she would feel guilty, as if she was abandoning her duties.
Harley made it home just after dawn. Harley’s body was sore and stiff and she was ready to rest. The Burner she had made her night’s kill had put up a tremendous struggle and Harley had been caught off guard. She hadn’t come across as many female Ignis as she had male—but when she did they were vicious. They fought like wild animals and Harley had the healing scratches down her face and neck to prove it. Harley hadn’t even had a chance to feed off the Burner. She considered herself lucky to have managed to kill her at all.
Harley quickly showered washing off the blood and the grime from the city. Sitting on the edge of the bed she pulled out her phone and called Castor. At least I hope its Castor and not some random person’s number. She was relieved when Castor’s familiar voice answered after two rings.
“Hello,” he sounded expectant but cautious. It was early for him, but he sounded alert.
“Nice message,” Harley said with a small laugh.
“Wow, that actually worked?”
“Obviously. That building reeked of you.”
“Which building?”
“Uh, the brown, five-story one?” How many buildings did he rub himself on?
“Good lord. I was there two days ago. You could still smell me after two days?”
“Well, yeah…I guess you just smell that bad,” she joked.
“Ha. Ha. Ha,” he said dryly.
“So did you just want to have some girl talk? Or was there a reason for the smell-o-gram?”
“I need to see you.”
“I get that a lot. You’re a great guy and all, but I’m just not looking for a relationship right now.”
“Could you be serious for five minutes?”
“Maybe. Spit out whatever it is that you need.”
“I have information about the Burner you are looking for.”
Harley’s blood turned cold and her Nocte, who had been settling down to sleep, perked up again. “What do you know?”
“I’ll tell you in person. Will you be out during the day at all today?”
Harley sighed. “I hadn’t planned on it. I just got home. I’ll make it happen though. Where do you want to meet?”
“Remember the café from last week?”
“Yes. I can meet you there.”
“OK. I’ll be there two hours before sunset.”
“See you then.” Harley hung up the phone and flopped back on the bed. As excited as she was to get closer to finding Cutter, she was exhausted and she was asleep in no time.
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Harley’s alarm woke her a few hours before sunset. She groggily climbed out of bed and stumbled to the bathroom. She hadn’t been getting enough sleep and it was beginning to wear on her. Harley realized that she would need to feed again soon to feel normal. She pulled her hair into a ponytail and dressed in a tee-shirt, jeans, boots and a light hooded jacket to hide her Bowie. Stepping into the sun she had to quickly put on her sunglasses and resisted the urge to pull the hood over her head as well. Her Nocte grumbled angrily about the sun. She was less pleased than normal to be out in the daylight. Apparently, she was feeling the lack of sleep as well.
It didn’t take Harley long to reach the café. She found Castor sitting at the same table he had been at before. There was already a coffee waiting for her when she sat down and she had to resist the urge to kiss Castor out of sheer gratitude. She immediately took a gulp of the hot coffee before she even spoke.
“Good evening,” Castor laughed at her, watching her wince as the hot liquid burned her tongue and throat.
“This had better be good,” she glared at him from behind the dark glasses.
Castor watched her for a minute. His eyes glowed as they had when he had watched her feed. The green faded so much that they were almost as white as the rest of his eyes. The look raised the hair on her arms and caused her heart to pound. She knew the intensity of her look was evident even behind the sunglasses. She knew he must be feeling the same heated connection that she did but she forced herself to shake it off with a shutter.
“I have been doing some research and some interrogating on my own,” he said, finally breaking away and taking a drink of his coffee. Harley waited for him to continue. “Cutter is currently working on a drug deal. A major one. It involves meth and bath salts—lots of it”
Harley let him continue. Her heart began to beat faster. Her Nocte was trying to ignore the sun and pay full attention. “How did you find this out?”
Castor hesitated. “This is privileged information,” he cautioned.
“Yes, yes. I get that, go on.”
“The Vigilum have been investigating the—what did you call it? The Rogue? It seems that one of the commonalities that we have discovered between the murders is drug use. That’s what our focus has been on. That’s how we came across the Rogue to begin with. Specifically, there is a connection between the murders and meth and salts. Any of the places where the Rogue murders have taken place seem to come with an increase in the use of those drugs in the area. We have gotten hold of some samples and the compositions of the drugs are the same The same formulas as being distributed in the same areas where the Rogue has been.”
Harley mulled this over. “So do you think the Rogue is dealing in drugs? That these murders are all tied to drugs?” Harley and the other Nocte had pretty much discounted the murders as being drug motivated. But it didn’t hurt to get an outside opinion.
“No. We don’t think so. They aren’t your normal drug casualties. I caught an Ignis a couple of days ago that was running errands for Cutter. He wouldn’t talk much but I overheard some of his phone conversation before I confronted him. He said that he had just delivered the last shipment to Cutter. I couldn’t get anything out of him before I killed him.”
Harley wondered how hard he had tried to get information out of the Ignis. He didn’t seem to have the same taste for hard interrogations as she did. “So do you think Cutter is the Rogue?”
“No,” Castor answered quickly. “I think Cutter is just involved with drugs and has some connection to what is going on with the Rogue.
“What makes you think that?”
“It just seems too…obvious? If the murderer was Cutter it would be too easy wouldn’t it.
Harley nodded thoughtfully. “Yeah, you are right. I don’t think Cutter is the Rogue either. The timing just isn’t right.”
“How so?”
“Well, Cutter is here, right? In New York? And he has been for a while.”
“Right.”
“Well, the Praesidio is pretty sure the Rogue is in, or was recently in, Italy.
“What makes you think that?” Castor asked.
Harley only hesitated a moment. “That’s where Levi just was. He followed a solid lead there.” Castor only nodded at that information. Harley knew without having to ask that he wouldn’t repeat the information she had just given. “Have you included drug activity in Kentucky in your investigation?”
“Kentucky?”
Harley didn’t explain. “Yes, Kentucky. Cutter was there about seven months ago.” Castor slowly made and “ah ha” face but didn’t interrupt. “But I don’t recall hearing about any strange murders or disappearances. And Levi or Nya never mentioned any. I just can’t figure out the connection. If Cutter is connected to the Rogue, why wasn’t the Rogue in Kentucky?”
“My best guess?”
“Yeah?”
“I think Cutter is running the cooking operation. He probably has cook shops in Kentucky. Small southern towns are infested with meth labs. He may just be based here, or distributing here but manufacturing in Kentucky.”
Harley thought about what Castor told her. It definitely sounded plausible. “But I don’t think he’s based here,” she said continuing her thoughts out loud.
“Why not?”
“Oh, I’m pretty sure he has spent a lot of time in Kentucky. But what do you think drugs have to do with the Rogue murders? If drugs aren’t the cause.”
“That we haven’t figured out yet. Money probably? How do you know he has spent a lot of time in Kentucky?”
Harley took a deep breath. She was conflicted. She didn’t want to dredge up the story of her childhood again. And she definitely didn’t want to talk about Jamie. Telling the story would make her remember all of it and she would have to deal with it again. She wasn’t ready to work through another serving of misery right now. She was so tired and exhausted. She just wanted to feed and feel better. Then she could face telling Castor the story.
“Can I feed first? It’s a long story. And I need some fortification before I try to go into it.”
Castor looked annoyed. “How quick can you be? The sun is starting to set and if I am going to keep sticking my neck out I want to know why.”
“I’ll be quick. I know where we can find a Burner quickly.
Harley was right. She easily found an Ignis a few blocks away. Despite the renovation process much of the neighborhood was going through, you didn’t have to go far to find a remaining seedy area. It was an area where a lot of prostitutes hung out and quite a few of them were Ignis. Prostitution, unsurprisingly, provided plenty of opportunity for a Burner to feed. Harley thought it was almost lazy seeing as how it was so easy for them to con and manipulate their johns. From about a block away she caught the eye of a light haired Ignis working the corner. With the distance and the sunglasses the Burner wouldn’t be able to tell she was a Nocte. She looked respectable and clean and was sure that the Ignis would just figure that she was a middle-class college student slumming it and looking for some kink or drugs. Harley nodded towards the alleyway to her left and stepped inside. As she had hoped the fair-haired Ignis didn’t hesitate to follow her. The alleys made New York an easy hunting ground. Whatever kind of trouble you were seeking—it was easy to find in an alley. For that reason, Harley found them an indispensable tool in hunting Ignis. Burners were willing and expected to do business in dark secluded places and most normal humans avoiding trouble also avoided alleys.
As soon as the Ignis stepped into the alley she realized her mistake. Harley and Castor took her down quickly, together. After feeding Harley felt refreshed and more in control. She and Castor walked towards his car that was about ten blocks away. She told him the condensed version of the story. She had a crappy childhood. She was sure that Cutter had messed with her parent’s lives. They died in a fire. She grew up in foster care. He then came across her in a bar and must have recognized her. She blew him off. This apparently inspired him to come after her. Whether it was for fun, long standing grudge or simply because he felt like it—he sent two Ignis after her and her friend. Her friend died. Levi helped her out. Brought her into the Praesidio for a chance to fight against Cutter and all Ignis.
When she told Castor the story she left out the emotion and the heartache. She watered it down to just facts. By separating the emotion from the story she was able to separate her emotions from her history. It allowed her to maintain control and dignity. But she knew that it didn’t fool Castor. He listened silently and didn’t interrupt. When she finished the story he put and arm around her shoulders and drew her to him. Harley immediately stiffened against the contact. When he stopped walking she ducked out from underneath his arm.
Castor looked at her and his features were softened. Her Nocte bristled at the sympathetic look. “Why are you looking at me like that,” Harley asked.
Castor seemed surprised. “That’s a horrible story. I’m sorry that you had to go through that.”
Harley sneered. “I don’t need sympathy or pity.”
Castor was taken back. “I didn’t say that I pitied you.” He held his hands up in defense.
Harley forced herself to calm down. “I just need information. I need—want—to find Cutter.” Her words were brittle and sharp.
Castor nodded but continued to look at her as if he wanted to hug her. It made her want to punch him in the face. His arrogance at believing she needed comforting burned through her. He saw a weak spot in her and he was coddling it. She clenched her teeth and worked really hard at not reminding him that she was stronger than him. He still hadn’t completely healed from his Ignis bite. She could see it at the yellow tinged edges of his eyes and in the shallowness of his skin. “And don’t give me any crap about not seeking revenge. You don’t know me or know what I need. I appreciate the help—but if you think you are going to talk me out of this then I can do it on my own.”
Castor shook his head. “I get the feeling that arguing with you isn’t going to do any good?” Harley shook her head, glaring at him. “OK then. I got the number of the Burner that was on the phone with the one I killed last night. The Vigilum are tracking it for me now. I wanted to let you know that whenever I get his address I’ll help you find him.”
“How about you just give me the address when you get it? I don’t need to babysit a sick Lux while I’m trying to get the information I need.”
Anger flared through Castor’s eyes and wiping the softness from his features. Harley knew it was a low blow but didn’t care at the moment. An angry Castor was not a patronizing Castor. “I’ll let you know as soon as I hear anything,” he spat the words at her. They had arrived at his car and he turned towards it. Harley had just turned away when his voice called her back.
“You know—” he started and then seemed to think better of it. He started again. “Be careful Harley. The Ignis aren’t the only monsters we have to fight.”
She rolled her eyes at his clichéd words of wisdom and walked away without a backwards glance. She felt guilty for being so harsh with Castor. He was offering to help and he didn’t deserve her anger. Her regret over her words hung heavily in her chest. But harsh or not, she didn’t have the time or the patience for handholding.
Chapter 32
When Harley woke up the next afternoon she had two text messages. The first was from Levi. He had sent it just after Harley had collapsed into bed at the first light of dawn.
“I have some information for you. I’m going to come to NYC ASAP.”
The next text was from Castor.
“I’ve got the address. I’ll meet you at the café two hours before sunset again.”
Before showering Harley replied to Levi’s text:
“See ya when you get here.”
Harley dressed in comfortable clothes that would be easy to fight in. If Castor had the address of a Burner who had a direct connection to Cutter then there was a good chance there was going to be a fight tonight. She wore stretchy jeans and a loose tank top and running shoes in addition to her usual hoodie that hid her knife. She still included the chain around her waist but hid it underneath the tail of her shirt.
In no time Harley was sitting down at Castor’s table at the little corner café. Coffee and a bagel were already on the table. She looked at him questioningly.
“It’s a peace offering,” he said with a shrug. “I didn’t intend on pissing you off yesterday. I just know what it’s like to lose someone you care about. It hurts—and you don’t have to pretend that it doesn’t.”
Harley spread cream cheese on the bagel and took a sip of coffee. She knew that Castor was trying to be nice, but it still annoyed her. She didn’t want anyone telling her how to feel about her childhood, or Jamie. Good thing I didn’t give him the uncensored version. He’d be buying me a teddy bear and a balloon for sure. Her Nocte huffed in agreement. She brushed her annoyance aside. It was hard to stay mad at him since he was helping her out—and the faint Irish accent didn’t hurt either.
