Nightwalker

Seven

The Dark Room was more than a mile south of my current location, within the confines of the Victorian District, with its elegant stained-glass windows and gingerbread trim. It was the only nightclub in the region. It was also the only nightclub that catered almost exclusively to the other races, and for very good reason. When the various races got together, accidents tended to happen. During my reign in Savannah, I had burned down two other incarnations of the Dark Room because of fights and human deaths. We had finally learned to play nice together, as well as come up with some rules that worked, which included allowing the lycanthropes in the club except during the week of the full moon. Humans were allowed inside, but they had to be accompanied by nightwalkers.

I quickly walked to the Dark Room, where I knew I would find Knox. Along the way, I made several calls on my cell phone, making preparations as best I could before arriving at the club. Turning the last corner, I found a long line standing outside the club, consisting mostly of humans. Two large men with black T-shirts stretched across their muscled chests guarded the front door. One was a werewolf and the other a vampire, there to make sure that both races were treated fairly and allowed into the club.

As I approached, the eyes of the nightwalker flared slightly in surprise and he stepped away from the door to let me pass. “Mira,” he whispered. “It’s been quiet, I swear.”

I swallowed my rude comment and walked wordlessly past him and the crowd, which was now grumbling at my entrance ahead of them. Regardless of whether it rankled my nerves, I understood the bouncer’s comments. The last time I’d shown up at the Dark Room, I had to dispose of two nightwalkers who broke some of the more basic rules of the club—no feeding immediately outside the club and no turning a human on the premises.

I quickly passed through the narrow hall that held two empty coat check rooms and paused before the main floor. The Dark Room was a sanctuary of decadent luxury within the city. The main floor was dimly lit with small sconces around the room, casting a thick red light. The walls were lined with deep booths partially hidden by thick velvet curtains. The center was a massive dance floor, where creatures now swayed and writhed to the low, almost hypnotic music that swelled in the air. Where the Docks had been filled with fast and hard beats that created an almost frantic need within its occupants, the Dark Room was a slow seduction of the senses. The Docks was made for humans who wanted to pretend to be dark predators; the Dark Room was made for predators who didn’t want to hide what they were.

My eyes skimmed the room while I lightly reached out with my powers to search for Knox. The small bar on the left side was relatively empty, but that was normal. The only ones who ever used it were the lycanthropes and the human companions of the nightwalkers. Alcohol consumption was not what kept this place open. It was an exclusive club. All nightwalkers and lycanthropes that entered the club were on a members’ list and paid annual dues. Furthermore, if they ever brought in guests, there was a second set of dues that had to be paid. Attending the Dark Room was a status symbol, a sign that you had not only achieved other status, but also acquired some wealth. And the more guests you brought, the more money you had.

Of course, paying your dues didn’t guarantee you admittance on any given night. If the place reached capacity—which was relatively low, in an effort to avoid confrontations—you couldn’t be admitted. Also, if you had recently pissed me off, you were on the no-admittance list until I said otherwise.

I stood at the entrance to the main room for only a moment before a tall, lean nightwalker stepped out of a shadowy booth and stared at me. I hadn’t told Knox I was coming, so my presence at the nightclub naturally surprised him. He tilted his head to his right before turning and walking in that direction. I cut across the dance floor, weaving through the crowd, to meet him as he opened a door at the back of the building. There were several private rooms in the club that were used for feeding and other activities. However, feeding was the only thing specifically outlawed in the main room.

As I stepped past Knox, he ran an index finger down my bare arm, wiping away some of the blood I had missed. “Looks like you’ve had an interesting evening,” he slowly drawled. “The Butcher?”

I roughly seized his wrist as he raised his finger to his mouth, halting him in the act of tasting what he assumed to be a very messy meal. “Naturi.”

Knox stumbled backward from me, jerking his wrist from my grasp. He frantically wiped his hand and wrist on his dark slacks while a string of low German curses escaped him. I gave him a few moments to collect himself.

At just under six feet, Knox had a lean, narrow build, a mix of bone and hard muscle. He was nearly two centuries old, still somewhat young, but very powerful and intelligent for his age. But that was no great surprise considering his maker. Valerio very rarely converted a human, but when he did, it was always with a great deal of care.

Knox moved into my domain less than two decades ago, and has served as my nightwalker assistant almost that long. While we had no official name for it, he served as a type of second-in-command. His mere presence helped to maintain the peace. Yet, I never used him as an enforcer. While he was more than strong enough for the task, I preferred to handle such things personally.

“The Butcher is in league with the naturi?” Knox asked when he was finally calm again.

“Actually, the naturi was a gift for me,” I said with a light shrug. I turned and walked past the black leather sofa and matching chair to the far wall. Putting my back against the wall, I slid down until I was seated on the floor with my knees bent before me. I was tired and needed a few moments to think.

Knox pushed the ottoman closer to me with his foot and sat on the edge. “He comes into your domain, kills five nightwalkers, and then gives you naturi as a gift. Forgive me if I’m slow, but what the hell?”

“It’s more complicated than that,” I murmured, dropping the bloodstained T-shirt I’d been carrying next to me. I threaded my fingers through the thick charcoal-gray carpet that stretched through the room and helped to muffle our conversation.

“I sincerely hope so,” Knox said.

Resting my head against the wall, I looked up, watching him brush some sandy blond hair from where it fell across his forehead. I had grown accustomed to his dry wit and calming influence during the past few years. It took a great deal to rattle him, but it appeared that the naturi was one of those things, given the lines of strain around his mouth. I was grateful Valerio had at least taken the time to educate Knox on that dangerous bit of history.

“I have to leave town for a while,” I said, pulling my fingers into a loose fist. I hated not being here if the naturi were running around my domain, but they had to be stopped, and the answers I needed could not be found here.

“Are you leaving because of the Butcher or the naturi?”

“Both. While I am gone, spread the word that I want everyone pulled close to the city. No one is to hunt alone until I return or send word that it is safe. And do not mention the naturi. I don’t want a panic.”

Knox rubbed his temples and forehead with one hand, staring off into space for a moment. “This will make things…difficult.”

I knew what he meant. While we frequently congregated at the Dark Room, nightwalkers were solitary, independent creatures by nature. Forcing vampires to stay within close proximity for an extended period of time was asking for trouble. But telling them that the naturi were close would only make matters worse.

“I hope to get this taken care of as quickly as possible. Where is Amanda?”

“Concert at SSU,” Knox quickly replied, referring to Savannah State University. The college was relatively small, but frequently played host to a variety of bands, both known and unknown. The college also made for a great feeding ground for nightwalkers. “Do you want me to summon her?”

“No, talk to her after the concert, fill her in. Get her to help you keep the peace.”

While they looked nothing alike, I frequently referred to them as my Doublemint Twins because they both had the same shade of blond hair. Amanda wasn’t quite fifty years old, but had taken to vampirism like a fish to water, seemingly without the struggles many her age went through. I had no idea who her creator was. She had simply appeared in my domain ten years ago and seemed to instantly fit in. Of course, her sunny yet positively brutal personality won a special place in my heart. Despite her youth, she managed to keep a tight rein on some of the younger nightwalkers. If Knox was considered my second-in-command, then Amanda had managed to quietly attain a type of sergeant-at-arms position.

“What about the Butcher?”

“He will be gone from my domain before I leave.” I hadn’t yet decided how I would take care of the hunter, but I would not leave him here while I was away. Right now, he was balanced between too dangerous to leave alive and too important to kill. I was still waiting for the scales to finally tilt in one direction.

Knox opened his mouth to say something, but the words were halted by a knock at the door.

“Show him in,” I called, quickly pushing to my feet. I had sensed the approach of the bouncer and knew he would come to that room for only one reason—my invited guest had arrived.

“Use your best judgment.” By the finality in my tone, Knox knew he was being dismissed. The blond vampire nodded once and then left the room as Barrett Rainer entered.

Given his broad shoulders and somewhat stocky build, it was no surprise that Barrett Rainer was a werewolf. The man was more than 250 pounds of pure muscle, but he moved with a subtle grace, dancing between animal and man. What was surprising to most was that he was the head of one of the most powerful packs in the country. The Savannah pack wasn’t the largest—that honor belonged to a pack in Montana—but its members had been carefully bred, trained, and in some cases selected for their strength, speed, and intelligence.

And at the top of the heap was Barrett Rainer with his burnished gold hair and copper-colored eyes. Like his predecessors, Barrett had been groomed since birth to assume his current role. Of course, the Savannah pack was unusual in that since its very beginning, it had always been run by a member of the Rainer family.

It was this steady consistency over the years that had enabled me to strengthen the relations with the lycanthropes in the area. In most cases, nightwalkers and shapeshifters didn’t generally play well together, as each side attempted to carve out a territory of its own. Only through steady negotiations with Barrett, his father, and his grandfather had I been able to work out a stable peace. That’s not to say we didn’t have our occasional scuffle, but at least it wasn’t the secret wars and strained truces found in other regions around the world.

Barrett dragged his stubby fingers through his short hair, leaving it standing on end and slightly disheveled. He wore a gray suit, but his tie was missing and the top two buttons of his shirt were undone. It was nearly two in the morning. Judging by how quickly he had gotten there, I was willing to guess I’d caught him as he was leaving his restaurant, Bella Luna, on the other side of town.

“You look like hell,” he said after Knox shut the door, leaving us alone.

“Nice of you to notice,” I replied with a smirk. “You’re looking a little ragged as well.”

“It was summer high moon a few nights ago. We’re all still trying to bounce back.” Barrett gave a little shrug, but even that motion seemed somewhat stiff and slow.

I wasn’t particularly clear on the details, but summer high moon was the full moon that fell between midsummer and autumn harvest, and tended to pack a little extra punch for all the lunar shapeshifters such as werewolves. From what I understood, it was a three-night frenzy of hunting, fighting, and sex. I used to tease Barrett that nightwalkers didn’t need the moon to tell them when to have an orgy, we were always ready. However, I didn’t feel like joking tonight. I needed the pack at peak strength.

“How’s the family?”

“Sated,” he said, his voice sounding heavy as he rubbed the bridge of his nose. “What’s going on, Mira? You generally don’t feel the need to check on the shifters at two in the morning.”

“Several humans were murdered at the Docks tonight. The club was partially burned before I arrived,” I began, carefully weighing each word. Barrett said nothing as he nodded, but I listened to him draw in a deep breath. He abruptly halted in the midst of drawing in air, his thick brows snapping together over his nose. He quickly released the breath and drew in another, scenting the air, but confusion was still written across his face. He smelled Nerian on me but couldn’t identify the scent. I doubted if his father could have. There were so few naturi left, and it had been years since the last one was seen in the area.

I paused, not even wanting to breathe the word that could potentially shatter his world, but I had no choice. I had brought him here so he could at least try to protect his people. “The naturi struck—”

“That’s what I smell!” he snarled. His nose crinkled, Barrett took two steps toward me. His wide eyes glowed slightly as they swept over me, his hands were open at his sides, with fingers curled like claws. “You reek of naturi.”

“A hunter is in town. He gave…he gave me a naturi from my past.” I paused again, licking my lips. I mentally sorted through the intimate details of my captivity at the hands of the naturi, trying to decide if there was anything that he needed to know. “That naturi is dead, but there are at least two others searching for him or the hunter. They are the ones that struck at the Docks.”

Barrett paced away from me to the opposite wall, the heels of his palms pressed to his temples as if he were suffering from an intense migraine. “Mira.” My name escaped him in a low growl.

“Do you have an emergency plan?” I asked, trying to keep my voice calm.

Barrett whipped around to face me “An emergency plan?” he repeated. “That’s like me asking if you’ve got an emergency plan for a day when the sun refuses to set. Of course not! I don’t know of any pack that has faced the naturi. Hell, I only know of them because of you and my great-grandfather.”

I could feel the anger rising in him, but he fought back the panic and won. To the naturi, the lycanthropes were little more than slaves, foot soldiers in their war against the bori and mankind. Trapped between animal and man, the lycans had no choice but to answer the call of the naturi and obey.

“Pull your pack together, hold them, and make them fight this. I—I have to leave town for a little while.”

“You’re leaving now? This is your domain! The vampires are the only ones who can fight the naturi,” Barrett shouted as he closed the distance between us with a few long strides. I barely resisted the urge to put my hand on his chest to keep a semicomfortable distance between us. I didn’t want to feel crowded. My nerves were already frazzled from Danaus and the naturi; an irate werewolf didn’t exactly put me at ease.

“I have to stop this from growing worse, and I can’t do that here,” I snapped. I didn’t want to leave. I didn’t want to leave my people seemingly defenseless. Unfortunately, I’d heard nothing from the Coven regarding Danaus. I couldn’t sit there on my hands, waiting for them to send word regarding the naturi. What’s more, I was not only one of our strongest fighters, but I also had experience dealing with the naturi. I knew I would be of more use in the Old World than in the New. I had to leave.

“Worse?” Barrett said.

The left corner of my mouth twitched as my eyes darted away from his direct gaze. I didn’t know what the lycans knew of the seal or what happened at Machu Picchu so many years ago, but it was a rule that nightwalkers didn’t speak of it to anyone outside our species. We might have all been on the same side when it came to the naturi, but nightwalkers by their very nature were all about power, and information was the richest form of power. We didn’t tell others more than they absolutely had to know. And regardless of how much I respected and trusted Barrett, I couldn’t fight six hundred years of conditioning.

“There are trying to return,” I quickly said. “I’ll tell you more when I know more.”

My only warning was a low growl that rumbled deep in his chest before his right hand swiped across my midsection, his fingernails replaced with long black talons. I jumped backward, my shoulders slamming into the wall behind me. While I was fast, the wall kept me from escaping him. Four furrows slashed across my ribs and down my stomach. My leather halter top kept the cuts from running too deep, but my stomach had been completely bare.

Before I could slam Barrett with a few blistering comments, I saw him stare at his trembling hand, now flecked with my blood, and then turn confused eyes up to my face.

“I’m s-sorry, Mira. I—I don’t know what happened,” he said, his voice low and rough. He blinked once, his eyes glowed a deep copper, and then he blinked a second time, erasing the glow. A knot twisted in my stomach.

“Barrett?” A part of me wanted to reach out and lay my hand on his shoulder, but my body was still pressed against the wall as I balanced on the tips of my toes, struggling for those few extra centimeters of space. It didn’t feel safe to move.

“I—I think they’re here.” And then his eyes glowed again. The naturi were here and they had Barrett, the Alpha for the Savannah pack, under their control.

“Shit!” I hissed between clenched teeth.

As he reached back with his right hand to take another swipe at me, I jumped forward, throwing all my weight into his left shoulder. I knocked us both to the floor, but quickly rolled to my feet. I squared off against him, putting my back to the only door in the room. Barrett returned to his feet and crouched in an aggressive stance. Beside his glowing eyes, his face was completely expressionless. He had no idea what he was doing. He would destroy me because that was the command implanted in his head, regardless of what he felt about me.

“Barrett, can you hear me? You have to fight this,” I said in a hard voice, while I scrambled for a way to subdue him without hurting him too much. Other than the fact that I didn’t just kill for the sake of killing, I needed him alive to help preserve the local pack.

In the main room, faint sounds of fighting drifted to me. Quickly sifting through my memory, I could recall seeing only two werewolves in the bar when I walked through, not counting the bouncer at the front door. I could only hope that Barrett had not brought more when he arrived. Unfortunately, I couldn’t afford to divide my attention between scanning the area and watching him. I would have worry about it after I managed to take care of the Alpha.

My gaze darted around the room, taking in a quick inventory. Leather sofa, chair with ottoman, floor lamp, two end tables, two iron wall sconces. I didn’t have a lot of choices. I needed to knock his ass out so I could settle the main room and take out the naturi.

Barrett lunged at me with a snarl, both hands now tipped with long claws. I sidestepped him, ducking under his outstretched hands. As he passed me, I kicked out with my right leg, knocking him into the wall. I needed some distance between us. Barrett wouldn’t shift. It would take too long and it would give me a chance to attack. But it wasn’t as if human form would leave him at a disadvantage. He was extremely fast and strong.

He pushed off the wall and threw himself into me. I was a half second too slow. We fell to the floor in a tangled heap, his elongated teeth instantly clamping onto my throat. I felt his teeth sink in, sending pain screaming through my frame. Yelling, I jerked my left arm free from beneath his body and punched him in the side. At least three ribs snapped beneath my fist, but I held back enough to keep from punching straight into his chest. He groaned, but clamped down harder, teeth sinking deeper into my throat.

My vision swam. I reached back and hit Barrett again, but this time I hammered his kidney. He yelped, finally releasing my throat. With a soft gurgle, I shoved him off me, sending him skidding a foot across the floor. Tapping down a fresh swell of pain, I pushed to my feet and grabbed him by the lapels of his jacket. His handsome face was covered in my blood and his eyes radiated with an eerie copper light. His large hand clamped on my wrists, threatening to snap them, but I didn’t give him a chance. I slammed him into the wall, trying to knock him out.

It didn’t work. Either his head was too thick or his lycanthropy made him too strong. I pulled him back and slammed him into the wall again, partially pushing him through the wooden studs. A third time left him dazed but conscious.

Dropping him to the floor, I grabbed an iron sconce off the floor and clocked him on the back of the head. He collapsed like a sack of dead fish. Blood immediately began to ooze from his scalp and trickle down his temple. I had cracked his skull, but I could hear his heartbeat. He would live.

Gritting my teeth, I took a step away from him, still clutching the sconce. Blood was still leaking from the wound at my throat that was struggling to close. A low roar had begun in my chest and was echoing through my brain. It wanted blood. It wanted Barrett’s blood, and it would only be satisfied when I’d finished draining him dry.

I took another backward step. It took everything within me to turn my back on him and walk to the door. The blood lust was lit and would only be satisfied when I finally made a kill, or at the very least, fed deeply.

Slowly opening the door, I peeked out into the main room. Chaos ruled. Curtains were shredded, tables overturned, and I could see at least five dead bodies. I immediately identified two of them as nightwalkers. Blocking the entrance were two naturi. Why were they there? Danaus wasn’t here.

The quickest way to end this struggle was to take out the naturi. They were the greatest threat. Reaching out with my power, I quickly located Knox but hesitated making my presence known. He was fighting a werewolf. I could feel his building anger, but a cool, underlying logic still guided his thoughts.

Please, don’t kill them, I whispered in his thoughts.

Thank God! Knox sighed back, relieved to find that I was still alive. Barrett—

The naturi. Kill the naturi and the werewolves will stop, I directed.

Tried that. Irritation filled the comment. They’ve killed Roland and Adam.

I’ve got it. Keep the lycans off my back.

I silently walked the last couple of steps down the hall to stand on the edge of the main room. And the battle instantly shifted. The two naturi saw me and smiled. One of them was obviously from the animal clan. He had the same wide bone structure to his face as Nerian and dark, shaggy hair. With a wave of his hand, the four lycans I could see on the dance floor looked over at me. At once, they all attempted to disengage from their opponents so they could come after me.

Unconsciously, I took a step backward, my mouth falling open. The naturi had come after me. Not Nerian. Not Danaus. They were looking for me.

Before the lycans could move more than a couple steps, the vampires surged, bringing them down. Sickly sounds of tearing flesh and breaking bones barely rose above the earth-shattering screams of pain. Knox was willing to follow my orders up to a point. He had directed the others to keep the lycanthropes busy, but as soon as it became apparent that I was the main target, the order had changed to protect me at any cost. The four werewolves were dead, outnumbered and overwhelmed.

Swallowing a scream of frustration, I conjured up a fireball in my left hand and hurled it at the two naturi who were slowly approaching. It never reached them. One of them gracefully lifted one hand. The fireball flowed to him and then disappeared. I looked carefully at him for the first time. Tall and thin like a delicate willow, his skin was snowy white and his hair fell about him in silken waves of gold. If the sun could ever cry a tear, he would have been formed from it. He was from the light clan, and I knew I was seriously screwed. I wouldn’t be able to use my ability to conjure fire as a weapon against them as long as he stood.

I smiled. He would just have to stop standing.

“I’ve already killed Nerian tonight,” I called to them from across the dance floor. There was no missing the laughter in my tone. “We’ve killed your poor foot soldiers. This will be your one chance to leave my domain while you can still walk out of here.” As I spoke, I conjured another fireball in my left hand.

Once again the naturi from the light clan captured the fireball, protecting them both. “You’re mistaken, Fire Starter. This is your one chance,” he replied. His voice was light and warm, like the early morning rays from the summer sun. “Come with us now, and we won’t destroy every vampire in your domain.”

My smile faded. Bright fireballs consumed both my hands this time. Quickly, I launched them both at the naturi from the light clan. With a wave of his hand, he easily dispersed the fire, but it did nothing to stop the iron sconce that had been engulfed in the second fireball. The heavy piece of iron struck him in the middle of his chest, throwing him backward as it embedded itself. I had no doubt that he was dead the moment his lithe body slammed into the wall.

The remaining naturi growled at me for only a second before darting out the open front door. Without the added defense of someone from the light clan, he didn’t stand a chance against fifty nightwalkers and the Fire Starter. It had been the only way the naturi could hold me during the first week. With a member of the light clan constantly hovering in my shadow, I’d been unable to use my ability against them. By the second week I was too weak to even light a candle.

Now, with the threat finally gone, I took a step onto the dance floor and surveyed the damage. I tried to shove both my hands through my hair but stopped when I encountered the dried blood left from Nerian. My body trembled in pain, exhaustion, and blood loss. But the faces of the nightwalkers watching me were worse. Haunted, confused, and frightened, many clung to each other or knelt beside the dead. The two nightwalkers I could identify as Roland and Adam had gaping holes dominating their chests where their hearts once were. Two more bodies lay in awkward positions on the ground, headless.

The bodies of the four werewolves were badly mangled and covered with blood. No one stood next to them. The lines were already being drawn, but they were the wrong lines.

“Mira?”

My head jerked up to find Knox standing next to me. His navy shirt had been ripped in several places and there were several superficial wounds healing on his arms and chest.

“What’s the count?” I murmured, my gaze returning to the bloody scene before me.

“Six nightwalkers and five lycans, unless Barrett is—”

“No,” I said sharply, then drew in a deep breath, softening my voice. “No, he’ll recover.”

“Why?” I heard someone whisper in a broken voice.

I lurched into action, my heels clicking ominously on the cold tile floor. “You know why they did this, don’t you?” I demanded. My gaze slowly swept over the assembled mass, making sure that I briefly held the stare of every nightwalker. “They had no choice! That was the naturi,” I said, pointing over my shoulder toward the dead naturi. “Certain naturi can control the lycans. The lycans have no choice but to obey the naturi when they are close. This is not their fault.”

“But how do you stop this?” a female asked in a tremulous voice.

“Kill the werewolves,” another answered in a cold, dead voice.

I surged across the open space, grabbing him by the throat as I slammed him into a divider between two booths. “No! You kill the naturi! You kill the naturi and the lycans are free. You kill the naturi and we are free.” Releasing the nightwalker only after he gave me a faint nod, I turned to face the others again. “If you kill the lycan, you still have a naturi waiting to rip your heart out.”

Walking over to one of the booths that was still covered with a tablecloth, I pulled it off and draped it over one of the dead werewolves. Donald Moreland. He’d been the bouncer at the front door. “Spread the word. If anyone attacks a lycan after tonight, I will stake you out in the sun myself,” I said in a low voice. “No one is permitted out into the marshlands or any other known lycan territory until I give the word. You remain in the city. No one hunts alone.”

“What about the naturi?”

I looked up, my eyes locking on Knox. “I leave tomorrow to tell the Elders about what is happening. The naturi will follow me.”

While the remaining vampires disposed of the various bodies, I took Barrett to my town house a few blocks away and waited for him to awaken. Distraught and heartsick after hearing everything that had occurred, the Alpha left my town house an hour before sunrise. He and Knox would attempt to maintain peace while I was gone, but we both knew the damage was done. The memories of nightwalkers did not fade. Generations of werewolves would come and go through my territory, but the trust between the two races would never be the same again. We both knew that tempers would run high during the next few years. And despite the fact that the werewolves were as much victims in this mess as the nightwalkers, someone would use the attack at the Dark Room as an excuse to lash out.

Damn the naturi! And damn Danaus for bringing them into my domain. Intentionally or not, he had destroyed a delicate balance I had spent decades building.

Settled in my hidden lair beneath earth as the sun edged closer to the horizon, I finally allowed my mind to drift back to the thought I had been avoiding. The naturi had come looking for me. Tabor was dead and Jabari missing; dead or not, I didn’t know. Sadira was the only member of the triad I was confident was still alive. Of course, she was my maker. I was sure I would have felt it if she’d been destroyed. Outside the triad, there were only a few other nightwalkers that had survived the battle at Machu Picchu centuries ago. Were the naturi hunting them down in an effort to make sure we couldn’t stop them again?

Danaus knew about the naturi. Danaus knew about the sacrifice in India. Danaus knew that I was at Machu Picchu and how to find me. Danaus knew too much. I would take him with me. I would discover how he knew these things. And when I was sure that I knew everything he knew, I would kill him.