Dark Side of the Moon (Dark-Hunter 9)

Otto pulled a small dart out of Ravyn's shoulder, then sniffed the tip of it. "Apparently, they tranked him."

"Can they do that?"

He met her gaze in the rearview mirror. "The answer should be no. Dark-Hunters as a rule are impervious to drugs of any kind, but since he's part animal, it appears he's a little different, and whatever the drug, it worked on him."

Susan glanced all around the car to make sure they weren't being followed by the Daimons, then slowed down so as not to draw any attention from the police. The traffic appeared normal, but then what did she know about normal? All her preconceived notions about that had been splintered the instant Ravyn walked into her life.

"Where am I headed?" she asked Otto.

He sighed. "Good question. I only wish I had an answer. I'm sure between the police and the Daimons, they have both Ravyn's house and your place staked out."

Not to mention, her house was a crime scene. She couldn't go to the Addams house. Leo's house was too far... "Where's your house, Otto?"

"New Orleans."

That was the last place she expected him to answer with. "That's really not useful."

"Iknow."

"Where are you living here?"

"I was living with the Addamses."

That was even less helpful. Fine. She only knew of one place that was safe for them.

She glanced at the men in the backseat. Otto watched the traffic even more carefully than she was doing while he fidgeted with his armpit under his jacket. "You got some kind of rash there, Otto?"

He frowned. "What?"

"You keep scratching at your arm like that and people are going to think you've gone mad or something."

He snorted. "I want to keep my hand close to my gun... just in case."

That should scare the crap out of her, but instead it made her feel a little less tense. She glanced at Ravyn, who was slumped over against the other window. His long black hair obscured his face but she could still see the bruises on his neck from where the collar had almost killed him. If anyone had had a worse day than her, it would be Ravyn. And he had yet to voice a single complaint. That amazed her. He had more strength and courage than anyone she'd ever met before, and it made her wonder how his family could have turned their backs on him.

Maybe it was because she had no family of her own that she understood its value, but one thing was certain; if she ever had someone like him in her life, she'd fight to keep him, no matter what.

"How's Puss in Boots doing?" she asked Otto.

"Out cold."

Susan let out a tired breath. The day was really starting to get to her and she just wanted a minute to sit down and have five seconds of peace. A moment to catch her breath before something else was thrown at her. Since lunch, her life had been careening madly out of control.

Was this what she had to look forward to as a Squire? If it was, then Leo could shove it. Granted, as a reporter, she loved the thrill of the chase, but this was entirely different. Give her a regular human killer any day over one who could attack without warning and vanish into thin air.

If this was normal, then it went a long way in explaining why Leo was such a rank toad most days at work.

"So is this how you guys live your lives? One major disaster after another?"

Otto gave a short laugh. "No. Not really. It's usually rather quiet. There's something here in Seattle specifically that's behind this uproar."

That made her feel a little better... well not really. She still felt like crap. "Any idea who's behind it?"

"Apollites," he said dryly. "Big ones, with a few Daimons thrown in for fun."

"Har, har, Otto. I'm serious." Susan gripped the wheel tighter as she remembered the look on Jimmy's face in the shelter. "My friend Jimmy said to me earlier today that some of the police were working with the vampires. I thought he was nuts, but now I'm not so sure."

"That doesn't make sense, though. I can understand the Hollywood generation who fall for it, but cops? They have more sense than that."

"Unless someone higher up the food chain is sending them out. Think about it. I saw the list earlier. You guys have people all over the government. Why couldn't they?"

"For one thing, there's not as many of them who can walk in daylight."

"Yes, but there are a lot of cops on night shifts. How do you know they're not Apollites covering up the murders their people are committing?"

"Now that isn't unheard of. A lot of them do that. But this is more organized than that. They're not just Apollites and Daimons attacking. They have humans working with them."

"Which plays right into what Jimmy was saying. He told me that this ran high up. There has to be a human leading them."

Otto stroked his chin in thought. "What exactly did Jimmy know?"

Susan took a deep breath as she tried to remember everything. "It started a couple of years ago. He'd have these isolated incidents of college students or runaways who turned up missing. Every now and again, they'd even find a body. The cases would be solved, but he'd never see the reports. At first he didn't think anything about it. But a few months ago, they started getting more frequent, and that's when he became suspicious."

"Did you ever investigate it?"

Pain sliced through her. "No. I can't show my face at City Hall. I'd be laughed outside before I could even begin my research."

She met Otto's sympathetic glance in the mirror, but he made no comment. "Were the disappearances all in a certain area?"

"Ravenna. In and around the area where the Happy Hunting Ground is."

"That would make sense, wouldn't it?"

She nodded. "I think Jimmy was right. Someone fairly high up is interfering and helping the Daimons. Someone like the mayor, maybe."