Fatal Sight (Harbingers Of Death Book 2) by LeAnn Mason (universal ebook reader txt) 📗

to be more worried about everything other than me. His attention jumped all around, from the sidewalk to the cars to the motel. A skinny, greasy-looking dude exited the room a couple of doors down, holding Seke’s attention much better than I did. My former captain gave zero response to my revelation, to the idea that I didn’t want to be a banshee anymore.

Fine. Trust your instincts, Aria.

My instincts told me to move on. Being around Seke and the HDPU had done only one thing for me: get me caught.

Twice.

I turned around to depart again.

“Come back with me.” Seke wrapped lithe fingers around my wrist and tugged me to a stop then a few steps backward.

Seeing as my body was stiff, waiting for a command that my processing mind wasn’t delivering, I tripped over the threshold.

Is the room darker? The shadows were responding to Seke’s emotions… whatever they were.

“Come back with me. I’ll persuade the director that the HDPU is the best place for you, especially now that the vampires have found you.” The pinch between his brows was back. It extended to his lips as well, which were pursed in thought. His strong, tan fingers stroked his dark, groomed beard absently as he spoke.

My eyes narrowed. “What do you mean ‘now that the vampires have found you’?” Had he known all along they were looking for me? Had he known what they’d done to other banshees… to my parents?

“Sit,” Seke sighed, steering me to the bed and knocking me backward when I didn’t take the hint, nearly bouncing me off the unyielding mattress.

“Ow.” I glared from my newly seated position, deciding that he didn’t deserve my words until he gave me some first. And if he didn’t, I’d be out of there. My fingers gripped the gaudy floral monstrosity pulled back from the stark-white sheets that probably harbored more than their fair share of hidden stains. I pulled my hands back, rubbing the palms along my jeans in hopes of ridding the thought from my mind. “And maybe chill with the shadows so I can actually see,” I griped before rolling my lips inward and clamping down.

No words starting now.

“You know that a soul trapped in a deceased body creates a vampire. What you do not know is that I was among the first assembled harbinger teams who were tasked with actively seeking out souls of those recently passed to prevent the creation of new vampires. Banshees were our greatest resource. Our crystal ball if you will. With their help, we could actively seek out those preparing to cross over and make sure the assist was made.”

That matched what the vamp said about my kind. “So... I’m not the first banshee you’ve met.” That hardly seemed like news, though maybe it did explain why he could help me with my… issues more than someone who never had.

Nope. Not doing it. Not getting sucked in again.

Attachments make you vulnerable. Do not become vulnerable.

You’ve got it, Dad. Get in. Get out. Get moving. That’s the plan.

I was losing it, talking to myself. I’d never been super stable with my odd childhood, but since being introduced to the supe world, it felt like I’d lost any semblance of normalcy.

“No, you are not. I’ve had the pleasure of working with a couple banshees over the centuries. The Black Plague was a huge boon for the vampire population. In response, the HD was implemented, and the vampires realized the importance of the banshees… Since then, they have been... systematically hunted.” Seke stopped talking abruptly, still stroking his beard, lost in contemplation.

He’d known. He knew. I was torn between storming out of the room and slapping him silly until he finished the story about my kind.

Before I could do either, he sat… right next to me with our thighs touching. Heat radiated from the point of contact and up through my center. I pulled my leg away, squeezing the muscle toward my left — and further. The strain allowed me to focus on something other than the god’s nearness.

“I knew your mother.”

“What?!” In my surprise, my leg fell back against Seke’s. Unlike yesterday, his touch was like a burn, and I yanked it away. Bursting to my feet, I moved the farthest away that I could, distancing us with the small gap between the bed and the ancient television stand. “You knew my mom?” I allowed myself to look at him after a few moments of calming breaths.

No screaming, Aria. It’ll just summon the cops.

“I did, but not well. Only in passing and by reputation.”

“And that makes it better? You’ve had months to tell me. Hell, you could have started out on day one with ‘I knew your mother’ instead of all the cloak and dagger shit!” My mind was muddling as the anger built. All I could focus on was the betrayal of it all.

“Aria, please. My knowledge of her had no impact on you and your circumstances, so I thought it not relevan—”

“Are you shitting me? Not relevant? I lost my mom at a young age, my dad soon after. My entire life has been shaped by the fact that they wanted to hide the truth about the supernatural world, about my heritage. And you think you knowing her doesn’t matter?”

I didn’t give him the chance to speak. I was so done. I couldn’t do this right now. I wasn’t sure I ever would. Nothing was straight-forward with Seke and the Harbingers. There was so much unspoken crap that I wasn’t sure I’d ever get the full picture about anything, ever. I didn’t want to deal with that.

“I need some air. Thanks for getting me out of the fed’s clutches, but I’m not sure you should be here when I get back.”

“Ew,” raven complained, tossing popcorn at Cole to amplify her objection. “You cannot seriously think that peanut butter is better than popcorn.” For her, popcorn was pretty high on the desired food chart while peanut butter did nothing