Betrayer (Hidden Book 7) by Colleen Vanderlinden

Author:Colleen Vanderlinden [Vanderlinden, Colleen]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Paranormal Romance
Publisher: Peitho Press
Published: 2015-07-09T23:00:00+00:00

Chapter Ten

Rayna and I left her home shortly after, and ended up walking through a neighborhood on the city’s Southwest side. This time of night, some of the bars in the area were a tempting place for less scrupulous vampires to cause trouble, and Rayna confirmed what I had already heard from Nain’s team: there had been a surge in violence in the area of late. We strolled casually, though I knew Rayna was constantly listening for any signs of trouble, though it soon became clear that all was quiet, in this part of the city, at least.

“Shanti was on duty here last night,” Rayna said. “It is likely any troublemakers have been scared off.”

I nodded. This had been Shanti’s neighborhood during her human life, and she still had mortal family in the area. I knew she had taken responsibility for keeping the Southwest side safe because of them.

We were on a busy street; bars, restaurants, and shops on each side of the wide, multi-laned road. The sounds of laughter and music flowed from the buildings as doors opened and closed, and traffic roared past, carrying with it the scent of exhaust. Ahead, I saw a familiar sign: large black letters that said “Punch, Inc” over a red boxing glove. This was the martial arts studio Shanti’s boyfriend, Zero, owned with a friend of his.

And it occurred to me that I had a new sword and very little practice using one. I glanced over at Rayna.

“I do not suppose you would be interested in sparring with me, then?” I asked, nodding my head toward Zero’s studio. The lights were on, and I had a feeling we might find Shanti there, since it was her night off and Zero would undoubtedly want to check in on his business and the friend he ran it with. “I have heard numerous times how deadly you are with a sword.”

She smiled. “Haven’t you had enough fighting for a while?”

At that moment, Megaera appeared, turning a corner barely ten feet in front of me.

“Hey. I was looking for you,” she said, walking toward me. My stomach turned. I had hoped, very much, that we had been wrong about Megaera. Meg never sought me out. We were not one another’s favorite people. I generally made her uncomfortable and she made me tense.

“What can I do for you, Megaera?” I asked, trying to keep my tone neutral. Rayna and I stopped walking, and Megaera approached us, stopping inches from me, ignoring Rayna completely.

“That little tussle you had with my niece was cute,” she snarled. “You really think you’re some kind of a badass, don’t you?”

“With thousands of years of evidence to support the belief. Yes,” I said, crossing my arms over my chest. “And you are not supposed to be talking to me.”

“I’ll talk to who I want to talk to.” She finally seemed to notice that Rayna was present. “Excuse us,” she said, taking my arm roughly and pulling me a few feet away. I glanced back at Rayna to see her watching us with a concerned expression on her face.

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