Page 51 of Blood

“Annalise came to see us. The SDB thinks the Alliance’s picket line outside of town is all a big distraction.”

“Distraction from what?”

“They’re trying to get hold of a weapon. Apparently it was stolen from some occult relic collection and is now floating around on the dark magick circuit. Some kind of scepter that can make the entire supernatural world go ‘poof’ if it gets into the wrong hands.”

My chest tightens as the air in my lungs turns to molten lead. “Scepter?”

“Stolen from a collector?” Kole breathes out hard and shakes his head, his long dark hair hanging loose over his shoulders.

“Why do I feel like you guys know exactly what I’m talking about?” Luther asks, bringing a glass of whiskey to his lips.

I glance at Kole and he nods for me to tell Luther about our encounter with Thornfield. By the time I’ve finished, Luther is smiling. But it’s not a happy smile. It’s a what the fuck smile.

“Of course,” he says dryly. “Why wouldn’t Thornfield – the one guy who can help Mack and Snow – be linked to this somehow?”

“Maybe this is a good thing,” I venture. “Thornfield seems pretty determined to get the scepter back. If Annalise can tell us the details of the auction, Thornfield might be able to outbid the AMA or use his connections or…” I shrug, aware I have no idea how the whole ‘mafia vampire’ thing works. “Something.”

Luther chuckles at me but nods at the same time. “Right,” he says. “Okay. Talk to Thornfield in the morning. I’ll ask Annalise if she’d be willing to cooperate with him. Although, I’m not sure how the Bureau would feel about Thornfield taking control of it.”

“It belongs to his family, and he swore he wanted to destroy it.”

Luther and Kole exchange a wary look through the phone. “I’m not sure we should just blindly believe what Thornfield tells us, Supernova. But let’s start with getting the damn thing back, and go from there.”

Before hanging up, Luther promises to fill Rev in on what’s happening with Miranda. And he tells me he loves me.

Hearing those words from his lips never get old.

Never.

And as I lean back into Kole’s warm arms, he whispers the same.

“Are you feeling okay?” I ask, stroking his beard.

He trails a soft finger over the angry bite mark on my neck. “I am now,” he says. “But I’m sorry if I took too much.”

Lacing my fingers with his, I kiss his knuckles. “No such thing as too much.”

27

TANNER

Mack and Snow both have a restless night. By the time morning rolls around, I know without doubt we’re going to have to accept Thornfield’s deal.

Find Miranda.

Share the elixir.

Help him retrieve and destroy his family’s most dangerous weapon.

Over coffee and breakfast in the small dining room of the hotel, the others agree.

“The AMA being involved feels like a sign,” Nova says. She glances at Kole. “I know you haven’t seen anything. I know it’s not prophesized but—”

“That doesn’t mean it isn’t meant to be,” Kole says. “I don’t believe in coincidences, Little Star.”

When she nods at him, Mack rises from the table, kisses Nova on the forehead, and throws Snow an extra bit of bacon. Then the two of them head out – back to the museum – to tell Thornfield what we’ve decided.

When they’re out of sight, I turn to the others. “I didn’t want to say this in front of Mack, but…” I sigh and rub my palms over my face. “He had a bad night. He’s in pain. I can feel it coming off him in waves, even though I’m not trying to reach for it. And it’s getting worse.”