Page 44 of The Second Sight (Wanderlust Emporium Presents, Season One)
TARUS
THREE MONTHS LATER
I gripped Desmond’s talisman tighter as my black Cadillac truck rolled to a stop across the street.
Three months of tracking, waiting, and plotting had led to this moment.
The Fountain of Youth nightclub pulsed with bass that I could feel even from my truck.
The neon sign flickered like a heartbeat against the Chicago night.
I sank lower in my seat, the heavily tinted windows offering additional protection from prying eyes.
Desmond had been clear: observe only, report back, no engagement.
After what happened at the trainyard, I wasn’t about to question his orders.
Not when he was still grieving the son I hadn’t even known was a son.
I hadn’t known Gideon was Desmond’s son.
None of us had. The secret had been well-kept, even within the inner circle of the Brotherhood.
Desmond didn’t answer me when I asked if I was his son.
If I was truly Gideon’s brother, it only made sense.
The talisman was etched with Bambara symbols so old that even I couldn’t decipher their meaning.
I’d been entrusted with it after Gideon’s death, a promotion I never wanted, carrying a weight that pressed down on me day and night.
I was Desmond’s new right hand, the inheritor of my dead brother’s responsibilities.
Kasi Bacchar.
She’d changed. She was different from the girl we’d hunted three months ago. The black dress she wore hugged curves that hadn’t been so defined before. Her hair fell in loose curls around shoulders that carried themselves with newfound confidence. Her yumboe heritage was no longer dormant.
Seven’s possessive hand found the small of her back. The vampire had claimed her completely. Their bond was obvious even to my human eyes, the way they moved in sync, the subtle glances they exchanged, the protective stance of his body slightly in front of hers.
The back door opened again, and another woman stepped out.
Kei’Mani, Kasi’s half-sister. Her yellow eyes continuously scanned the street as she assessed potential threats.
She wore a gold jumpsuit that would have looked ridiculous on anyone else, but on her it seemed like armor, the material designed to allow her wings freedom if need be.
They knew Desmond would come for her again.
The last to emerge was the human girl, Brooklyn.
She was ordinary, unimportant in the grand scheme of things, yet they kept her close.
She’d been brave during her captivity. I could respect that, even if she was just a human.
Not once had she begged for mercy, not even when Gideon cut her clothes from her body and had her stand naked in front of us.
Instead, she’d stared him down with such contempt that he’d struck her across the face.
I watched Seven lead the group toward the club’s entrance. The bouncer nodded respectfully as they approached. No IDs checked, no questions asked. The group disappeared inside without hesitation, swallowed by the pulsing darkness of the club.
I glanced at my phone, knowing what I had to do.
Desmond was waiting for confirmation. He’d been waiting for months, planning meticulously from our compound in Liberia, rebuilding his forces, studying ancient texts for new ways to capture and contain the Fae.
This wasn’t just about power anymore. This was personal.
My finger hovered over the call button. Part of me, a small, rational part wondered if I should just drive away.
Disappear into the anonymous masses of Chicagoans and never look back.
I’d seen what happened to those who got caught between vampires and the Brotherhood. There were no winners, only survivors.
But where would I go? The Brotherhood was all I’d known since childhood.
Desmond had taken me in as an orphaned boy, had trained me, molded me into the hunter I was today.
I owed him everything. Even if his methods sometimes troubled me.
He was still my master, my father figure and the only family I had now that my brother Gideon was dead.
Should I seek revenge or freedom? I didn’t know.