Dannie picked up another joint from her room and went to the library. Among the ancient books was one of the largest collections of werewolf history in the world. If there was anything on Balric or the black book it was there. She gathered a variety of titles that looked promising and lit the joint. Taking a hit, Dannie opened the first book. Inside was mostly what she already knew.
Balric walked out of the library. What was he doing? He was not here to flirt with Danielle. Balric told Desi this was a bad idea. He shouldn’t be around her daughter. All his training and discipline had apparently gone out of the window when he was alone with her. God, if he had stayed there any longer who knows what would’ve happened.
Dannie ran her hand through her hair, frustrated. She tried asking people around the house about Balric, but most wouldn’t even look her in the eye. Some of the enforcers looked ready to throat punch Dannie if she got to close. The books in the library didn’t have much on him. As far as Dannie could tell Balric’s only connection with the book was it was used to kill his son.
Dannie cried out as pain sliced through her head again. Her vision turned dark and she saw Sara in her mind, only the healer looked much younger, maybe late teens or early twenties.“It’s not okay,” she demanded. Her blue eyes blazed with hate and disgust as she looked at Dannie then turned to her parents, who also looked a lot younger. “Caius, Desirée you can’t trust this demon!” “Balric says we can trust her,” Dannie’s mom said, lifting her chin. Dad’s lips pressed thin as he looked at Dannie then down to her side.“But can we trust, Balric?” Sara demanded. “Look at him! This is not how rebirth works. You know this. She’s done something to him!”“I am still me, Sara,” A child’s voice insisted and Dannie looked down at her side. He was maybe seven or eight, light brown hair in a mass of curls.What was this? Dannie thought, confused. This never happened. She would’ve been a baby when Barlic was a child in his current life. Another pain shot through Dannie’s head and the images chang
Dannie took a moment to catch her breath before answering her father’s question. Also, she wasn’t exactly sure how to answer when she wasn’t sure what happened. Dannie decided to go with what she did know. “Laina,” she said, seeing the shock registering in her parent’s faces. “What exactly happened when I was a baby and why didn’t you tell me?”
It took Dannie almost five hours and a long hot shower before she calmed down enough to be willing to be around anyone. When Sara looked up when she entered the infirmary, Dannie expected her to make some kind of comment or snide remark. Instead, Sara immediately set the broom against the wall. “Come over here and sit on the bed.”
Dannie left the infirmary and shook her head. Sara, the others, they didn’t know any more than she did. Dannie wasn’t going to find answers here. There was no reason for her to stay. At home, she could dig more and not have to deal with werewolves. This clearly wasn’t a werewolf problem anyway. Dannie thought about telling everyone before actually leaving, but she was still too angry at her parents. She’d send Cass a text since she was irritated at her too. Dannie went to her for help and Cass didn’t believe her.
With Voss busy with Balric, Dannie crawled to her car. She needed to get the suppressant before it was too late. Dannie didn’t make it far when a foot landed on her back, pushing her down and grinding Dannie against the asphalt. “You know, this is mercy. She’s a freak.” Dannie gasped as pain tore through her. Her muscles were starting to contract. “See, too weak to even fucking defend herself. Like I said it’s a mercy. Most of my people wouldn’t be as kind.”
It took everything Balric had to leave Danielle’s room, but he needed answers. Balric stormed down to the ground floor. Caius was in his office as he expected. “We need to have a meeting now. All of us.”Caius’ expression didn’t change as he stared at him. Balric had no idea how h
“Apparently to save the demon race,” Dannie told him. “Naberius claims he wants to find a peaceful co-existence in this world as werewolves have. He says what Laina did to me is the key. If I tell him what I know about Laina’s spell, it would allow them to survive.”“I see,&rd
Jarret led Dannie up into one of the buildings, to the top floor. She wasn’t sure what she’d expected from a demon lord’s apartment, but certainly not warm and homey. Decorated in whites and grays with wood and glass furniture, that screamed ‘I’m rich.’ Dannie started to relax until she saw the man in the corner. Tall, athletic, he too had that ‘I’m very wealthy’ look to him only it came along with a sense of arrogance.
Dannie stared up at the red sky, watching the clay-colored clouds float past her. What the hell? She groaned as she sat up. Her body ached, but it was more annoyance than anything else. Dannie looked around her, hugging her knees to her chest. The land around her was all too familiar. Iztal. She was in Iztal. Dannie swallowed at the implications of what being there meant. She was dying. Dannie knew that much. So the fact she went there meant she was more deabru than anything else? Could she go back to earth and if she could, would she have to possess someone to do it?
Sara jumped and cried out as Balric appeared in the middle of the infirmary with Dannie in his arms. “Help her,” he demanded.Sara’s eyes widened. “On the bed. What happened?”
Dannie saw herself, well not herself, but Laina. She paced a sleek, modern-looking living room. Her resolve to go through with the plan was solidified. Laina would save this world from the deabru and Balric perhaps would see her as more than a necessary evil for once.Everything went dark and it cleared Dannie w
The next week, Dannie spent her days developing enough charms for everyone who was going to go to Cody with her, as well as almost thirty magical bombs. During the night, she spent her nights with Balric’s wild side. She wasn’t quite sure what to make of this new side of his or that, after a week, he didn’t seem to tire or be weirded out by her at all. It was something new and kind of scared Dannie a little.
Dannie’s vision went white and her back screamed with pain. She groaned and looked up to see Cass was trying to keep a very angry Balric from a very scared Will. She stood up shakily, her whole body now singing with aches and pains. “Stop, unless you want to go flying too,” she told Balric.
As Dannie kissed Balric, she realized he wasn’t kissing her back. Her stomach sunk and she pulled back from him. “I’m so-” she started when Balric wrapped his hand around her neck and pulled her back to him. His mouth fell on hers, demanding and hungry. Dannie’s heart stuttered as she kissed him back just as passionate. Their kiss deepened, and the taste of him exploded on her tongue. Balric smelled of musky earth, but his taste was robust and fresh.
Dannie spent the rest of the evening and some of the night, thinking about how she’d be able to get an advantage over Voss when he would follow the breadcrumbs of her magic. In the library, the next day, Dannie was researching through the many books there when she smelled Balric, a moment before she saw Balric join her. “What can I do for you, Betrayer?”