“ButIrule all my children, including you,” a dangerously amused voice said from the shadows.
Jono had met Ashanti only once, that night in Ginnungagap after Patrick had returned from overseas, but he would never forget her voice. The mother of all vampires slipped free of the dark like a shadow, all midnight skin and eyes, her hair and clothes the only bright spots on her. The clack of her ironshod bone hooks on the brick echoed softly in the thick muggy air as she approached their group.
Behind her strolled Lucien and Carmen, the only two to escort her to Brooklyn. The rest of Lucien’s Night Court had apparently stayed in their territory. With the Dominion Sect and hunters running amok, everyone had to be on guard. Ashanti’s presence in the five boroughs was apparently still a well-guarded secret only held within the Night Courts and their god pack. They were all trying to keep it that way for now.
If word ever got out that she was in the United States, Jono knew it would be a bloody mess. Lucien had bargained with the government for a century’s worth of diplomatic immunity and border crossing. It pertained only to his Night Court. Ashanti was someone Jono knew no government would be pleased to have in any of their cities.
Patrick had been the one to call Lucien and ask them to come, figuring rightly that Jamere would protest the alliance. Jono would’ve preferred Ashanti stay far, far away from them. He didn’t trust the goddess, didn’t trust how Patrick reacted to her presence—like shecouldbe trusted, simply because she’d been the one to teach him how to sharpen the edges of his life to survive as he grew.
Jono didn’t want Patrick to feel as if he owed her anything, but guilt was a poison sometimes, eating away at rational emotion. Ashanti’s resurrection couldn’t erase the four years Patrick had grieved for her. All Jono could do was remind him that their future was worth fighting for, no matter the ghosts that followed in their wake.
Jamere’s smirk disappeared as Ashanti joined their circle, replaced with a reverence Jono had only ever seen on the faces of religious fanatics. He inclined his head in deep respect at Ashanti, arms spread wide in a half bow, before taking a step back as his Night Court clustered close.
“Mother,” Jamere said.
“Child,” Ashanti replied silkily. “There are hunters and demons in our territory. I want them gone.”
“We will kill them in your name.”
“Good. Now tell me what happened here last week with the wolf.”
It probably would’ve been like pulling teeth to get answers out of Jamere if he and Patrick had faced the master vampire alone. Letting Ashanti give the order opened up doors they’d always find shut to them without her help.
“There wasn’t a fight. We’d know if one took place. The hunters haven’t been subtle when it comes to their attacks.” Jamere gestured at the bare trees and pond surrounding them. “One of mine always patrols the park. They didn’t see the drop, but they saw the body pinned like a bug beneath the Arch. They reported it to me, and I ordered them to leave it alone. The dead wolf stank of magic, and it wasn’t worth getting tied to werecreature problems by moving it.”
“Did any of that magic come from the park?” Patrick asked.
Jamere shot him a condescending look. “We aren’t made to handle magic. The wolf was dead, and we stayed clear.”
“The cliff rose bushes that grew last summer on the cardinal points overran their planting locations and then started dying. When I came to look at the body last week, Prospect Park felt off, magically speaking. It still does,” Patrick said, looking at Lucien.
“Are the ley lines affected how they were last summer?” Lucien asked.
Jono knew that Patrick’s public record stated he was a mage in name only these days due to damage to his soul. With the soulbond that tied them together, he could once again tap into a ley line, but neither of them was going to announce that fact in front of Jamere and the Brooklyn Night Court.
“The nexus under New York City has been under strict monitoring since then. I haven’t been notified of any changes.”
Lucien’s lips curled up in disdain. “Doesn’t mean it hasn’t been tampered with. The damage done last summer was due to your agency’s failings, remember?”
“You’re not saying anything we don’t already know.”
“If the Dominion Sect is back in New York, there is a reason for it. That they have partnered up with demon-driven hunters is not unusual, merely an annoyance,” Ashanti said.
“That annoyance is going after my packs,” Jono said irritably.
“Then perhaps you should eradicate the threat.”
“Killing Estelle right now will make the charges against Patrick worse, even if we handle it in the challenge ring, which we aren’t doing. The goal is to clear Patrick’s name and keep our territory. If the alliance we have with the Night Courts stands, then we’re here to ask for their help in keeping an eye on our packs and protecting them from hunters.”
“We aren’t responsible for your mess,” Lucien sneered.
Jono glared at him. “If you want to stop Ethan, then you’ll help.”
Lucien’s black eyes narrowed, but he stayed where he was when Ashanti raised one hand in a commanding gesture. Of all the times they’d faced off against the notorious master vampire, Jono had never seen him so deferential before.
Ashanti stared at Jono, the taste of ozone growing stronger on his tongue. “I told Patrick the alliance between our sides would remain intact. We expect aid to be reciprocated when asked for.”
Jono raised his chin, never blinking. “We keep our word.”
