City of Light (Outcast 1)

Carleen had been one of Central’s five satellite cities, and it had been the last city destroyed in the war. These days it was little more than a vast space of broken, vine-covered remnants that was filled with shadows, even on the sunniest of days. But it was also a town filled with ghosts.

Ghosts who just might have seen what had happened to Penny.

I frowned, but didn’t chase the thought or repeat it out loud. “And is Carleen the reason you thought my night sight might be of use?”

“Yes,” Nuri said. “Darkness remains a stain on that city, and it is far too big for Jonah to search it alone.”

Jonah looked none too pleased about that particular statement, which made me suspect that whatever reasons Nuri might have for wanting my eyesight, searching Carleen wasn’t one of them.

“That same darkness is one reason why the vampires haunt it,” I commented. “It’s not exactly a safe place for a cordon of rangers. One ranger and a half-breed more skilled at running than fighting won’t exactly last all that long.”

“A cordon of rangers will attract far more attention than two versed in the art of walking silently,” Nuri commented. “That is what is needed in a situation such as this.”

So I’d been wrong—Carleen did play a part in her plans. Even so, I still very much doubted searching that entire place was what she had in mind.

I rubbed a hand across my eyes. Guilt and the instinctive need to help children weighed against the desire to keep safe, to not do anything that might jeopardize my home and all the ghosts who lived within it. In the end, it wasn’t a contest—I came down on the side of safety.

“Look,” I said resignedly, “I’d like to help, but I really can’t. It’s too dangerous for me.”

Nuri studied me for a moment, her gaze slightly narrowed and expression intent. Reading me again—or, at least, attempting to.

“I’m sure it is,” she murmured eventually. Then she blinked and half smiled. “Ah well, it was worth a shot. You may go.”

Surprise rippled through me. “And just like that, you’re releasing me?”

“Yes.” She folded her arms across her ample breasts. “There’d be no point in trying to restrain or force you to help us, now, would there?”

“No.” But that generally didn’t stop anyone—and I had a feeling it normally wouldn’t have stopped her.

“Then go.” She hesitated, and her half smile grew. “But be aware, though I release you, fate may not.”

I pushed to my feet, then met her gaze and frowned. “Meaning what?”

“Meaning fate brought you into our sphere of existence for a reason.” She shrugged. “You are haunted by guilt. I do not believe you can or will walk away from the plight of those still caught in whatever web Penny escaped from.”

“Then you’ve seriously misjudged me.” I paused. “What about my weapons?”

“The knives you can have.” Nuri produced them from somewhere within the folds of her skirt. I immediately strapped them on and felt safer for it. “The guns we shall keep. They have some interesting alterations we might replicate in our own weapons.”

Which was damn annoying, but I guessed I should be thankful they’d at least given my knives back. I stepped toward the door. The shifter pushed away from the frame but didn’t stand aside, forcing me to stop abruptly.

Once again my gaze met his. The vivid green of his eyes reminded me very much of a deep forest; they were filled with shadows and danger. Yet, as I stared into them, an odd sensation of space and calm flowed over me.

This ranger was not what he seemed.

His nostrils flared, ever so slightly, as he drew in my scent. Pheromones stung the air, his and mine, mixing enticingly. Desire flared between us, fierce and bright.

“Jonas,” Nuri said softly. “Let her go.”

His gaze left mine with an abruptness that startled and, with a cool half smile, he stepped to one side and waved me on. Leaving me wondering just who’d been seducing whom. And why.

I frowned and walked out of the cell. Neither of them moved to follow, but as I made my way down the small lane, Nuri said, her voice soft but carrying clearly, “I’ll see you soon, Tiger.”

I shivered but didn’t reply. I just got the hell out of Chaos.

• • •

Her words haunted me, plucking at my subconscious and making it impossible to sleep. Guilt, anger, suspicion, even desire—it all formed an emotive soup that burned through every fiber, tearing me apart, making me toss and turn and question my decision as much as their motives.