Page 18 of All Your Deadly Truths (The Filthy Duet #2)

Kairhyse

B rice moves in front of me and stops. “ By your reaction, I take it you are just as surprised as I am. ”

The building looks old and neglected, as though it’s been abandoned for decades. Sections of the roof have caved in, with a full-grown tree sprouting through the rubble. It’s like Mother Nature has reclaimed her territory here, and I can hardly believe what I’m seeing.

When I followed Xeraphine here, there were cars in the lot—people walking around as if it were a perfectly normal place. Even Tyson, though we exchanged barely a handful of words, had reacted to it like there was nothing unusual. But now? This place feels like a graveyard of forgotten time.

“Can you back up?!” Sydni hisses.

The wolf before us groans before rolling its eyes and stepping past us. “ Stay close, Syd.”

“It’s just Sydni to you, and I will stay close to Rhyse.”

I sigh. She has every right to be angry with him, and I wish he’d stop trying to force himself on her, or whatever it is he’s trying to do.

As Brice steps away, heading toward the entrance with Niyla and Alaric, I place my hands gently on Sydni’s shoulders and turn her to face me.

“Listen.” I close my eyes and take a deep breath before continuing, “You’re angry with them, and you have every right to be. I am too. But I need you to focus on the one thing that’s just as important as getting Xeraphine back right now: your safety.”

Her ruby red eyes round, a subtle parting of her lips further indicating her surprise at my words. Though, I’m not sure why. It isn’t like I’ve not made it very clear I care about her .

“Death only occurs for us by way of decapitation or burning. Keep away from fire and keep your head on your shoulders. That is it. We still feel pain, but at a much lesser degree.”

Her surprise shifts to fear, and for that, I’m grateful. I can’t let her grow complacent just because she’s more durable. We can still die, and I won’t let that happen. She has to be reunited with Xera, just as much as I do.

“Thank you,” she mumbles with a nod. “I’ll be less of a brat, too. I’m just… out of control, and I miss her. It’s also like everything is enhanced now. It’s disorienting.” Her head begins to drop but I grab her chin before it can fall further than my chest.

“You aren’t a brat.” She chews on her bottom lip, clearly not agreeing with me—but that’s to be expected. “I miss her too, but we will get her back, just like last time. You found her before, and you’ll find her this time. And being disoriented is normal, especially since you haven’t fed.”

I’m about to let her go when she suddenly throws herself into me, arms wrapping tightly around my waist in a fierce hug. Again, I know she doesn’t mean it, but fuck she is strong. Her grip causing me to lightly groan.

“I don’t know what I’d do without you. Thank you,” she murmurs, nuzzling her nose against my shirt.

I run a hand gently down the back of her head, my gaze lifting to the three figures disappearing into the building. A part of me itches to take Sydni in a different direction, to search elsewhere in this sprawling, decrepit place, but I know that isn’t a smart move.

When I look back down, she’s tilting her head all the way up, her chin resting against my sternum, eyes fixed on me.

“Of course, butterfly. Now, come on,” I say, motioning for us to follow.

We enter the building through the old ‘Pick-Up/Drop-Off’ section; the same place Xeraphine had emerged from when I hunted her here before. The sign, once illuminated in a steady red glow, now dangles precariously by its frayed electrical wires, barely clinging to the wall.

Glass crunches under our feet as we step into the lobby. A place I’d not entered before but could vividly imagine Xeraphine making some sarcastic comment about. She always had something to say, and the state of this place would have been no exception.

“Why not just bulldoze it? Why keep this piece of shit standing? Waste of space.” Or, something like that.

Like the exterior, nature has made its claim here. Vines twist their way through cracks in the flooring, greenery bursting through broken tiles scattered across the ground. The air is thick with dampness and decay.

Brice, still in his colossal wolf form, silently slips off to the left, vanishing into a darkened hall. Niyla stands at the center of the lobby, just in front of the reception desk. Her head is tilted back, eyes closed, as though she’s listening to something none of us can hear.

Alaric circles behind the desk, moving with intent—until he freezes mid-step, his body going rigid as though he’s just stumbled across something.

“Well,” he sighs through the singular word. “This makes sense.”

Picking up my pace, I’m at the opposite side of him, staring down at a young woman, head turned one hundred eighty degrees from where it should be. The protrusion of her spine through her skin a clear indication of cause of death.

As Sydni comes around to me, I don’t shield her as I would have before.

Unfortunately, as a Vampire, she will see more death than she cares for.

Whether it be the world around her, or something like this.

She releases a soft gasp and covers her mouth with her hands, quickly finding herself behind me.

“This is fresh,” Niyla comments, moving around Alaric and coming to kneel beside the woman.

“I’d say… a week, maybe two at most.” She runs a finger along the open gash, and brings the crimson to her tongue.

The disgust in her expression disappears after a second, just as she comes to stand. “Yeah, two weeks is more like it.”

“What happened here didn’t occur two weeks ago. This building seems like it’s been decaying for decades.”

Alaric hums. “It’s possible that a Witch put a spell over this place. It’s my only educated guess.”

“The death that permeates this place is fresh, regardless of the anything else. I suspect we will find more,” Niyla adds.

Nodding, I look past them. “We will most likely find Xeraphine’s mother dead, too.”

“Probably the only good news we will get until my Phiny is back with us.” Sydni moves around me to the computer, and just like the rest of the building, it’s ancient and broken down. She attempts to start it up, pressing the button on the tower, and getting nothing.

“Niyla.” I’m proud of her for addressing the Vampire. “Can you move her body? I’m going to work on getting the disk drive out of this, but I’d rather not be… stepping on her.”

“Sure.” As she begins to do as asked, I close my eyes and turn away from them.

This building is massive; a labyrinth of hallways and rooms that could take hours to navigate in search of the one housing Xeraphine’s mother.

But I don’t have to worry about that, it would seem. Sydni is already twenty steps ahead of me. Her instincts are impeccable, and they aren’t due to her now being a Vampire.

“Patient X9918. Room 0229, unless they moved her. But Phiny never made mention of it.” When I look back at her, she is focused on beginning to open up the computer’s tower.

Looking at Niyla, who has just finished tossing the dead girl’s body aside, I give her a nod. It’s a silent command to stay with Sydni, and she seems to understand, returning the gesture.

As I turn and begin walking away, footsteps fall in line beside me.

“I’m capable of going to a room by myself,” I say, my tone carrying no hint of suggestion—just a firm demand.

“I know,” Alaric replies, slipping his hands into his pockets and matching my stride with an infuriating ease.

I roll my eyes and quicken my pace, moving ahead. If he wants to follow me like a dog, so be it. It doesn’t matter at this point. Arguing with this pretentious asshole will only waste time I can’t afford to lose.

As we move down the darkened hallway, the silence presses in, broken only by the soft creaking of open windows fluttering in the breeze. The occasional crack and crunch of debris under our boots fills the air, but otherwise, there's an eerie stillness.

I stop when I spot a map of the facility lazily tacked to the wall. Quickly scanning it, I pinpoint the room—second floor, not far from the entrance. How convenient.

We ascend the single flight of stairs to the second floor, only to be met by the sight of three more freshly deceased bodies sprawled in the hallway.

The smell hits me—foul and overpowering.

I've been around enough dead bodies to know the scent, but this? This is different. Maybe it’s the sheer volume of death, or perhaps something else.

Either way, my instincts are on high alert.

“Something feels wrong,” he comments, drawing my attention to him. His eyes, that of an icy blue, begin to glow. “I don’t have a heightened sense of smell, but even I can smell that.”

Maybe it’s because mine is too sensitive that I can smell everything, so I’ll need clarification. “What are you getting?”

“It’s sweet, citrus. Like oranges.”

“You can smell that over all this…” My words trail off as I focus on the aroma.

Now that he’s pointed it out, it’s undeniable.

The scent, almost like blood orange, is sharp, with a tartness that lingers in the back of my throat.

Underneath that, there are subtle hints of berries and a delicate floral note, all weaving together like an exotic perfume that dances through my nose.

The air, as we move further down the hallway, almost tastes like it—this mix of tangy and sweet.

It isn’t the complexity of the flavor that unsettles me, it’s the sensation it evokes.

Just like when I first caught Xeraphine's scent, it’s as if the aroma is teasing me, drawing me in.

Flirting with me in a way that feels wrong, but is undeniable.

It’s unsettling, and the feeling that accompanies it makes my stomach churn slightly.

“Demon.” He draws my attention to him. “Incubus, or Succubus?” I’m unsure if it’s rhetorical or not because I’ve never smelled an Incubus before, and Xera is the only Succubus I’ve come across.