Page 18 of Property of Mako
This confirmed it. They were doing it again. How they’d managed to keep it so quiet, I had no idea.
What I did know was that this time, the Covenant was going to burn.
My jaw popped as I clenched it. “Let’s go,” I told my brothers. We needed to do a helluva lot more digging to find out when their next auction would be held, and we needed to hurry. I would talk to Boomslang about posting someone here to keep watch for activity as well.
We emerged into the night just before dawn, dust on our boots and the taste of ash in my mouth. I lit a cigarette, even though it wouldn’t do shit for my nerves. I’d picked up the habit because it gave me something to do, though the nicotine did nothing for me.
“Are you okay?” Dexter asked me, his sharp gaze locking on the slight tremble of my hand as I lifted the cigarette to my lips.
“I’m fine,” I lied as I pulled out a burner phone and dialed one number.
Boomslang answered on the second ring. “You find her?”
As my president, I owed him the truth and my loyalty. So I told him that I agreed to help Lyra find her sister after I realized her disappearance was tied to the Crimson Chalice Covenant.
“Not yet. But we found the stage. Practically in the open. It’s almost as if they aren’t even trying to hide it. The Covenant’s getting bolder. But it’s worse than we thought. There are rumors of legacy blood.”
Boomslang’s voice dropped. “Shit. The Crimson Auction?”
“Yeah,” I confirmed, dread settling in my gut.
“You going to tell the girl?” he asked. I knew he was referring to Lyra.
I stared at the opera house, still listening to the ghost-violin in my mind.
“I don’t know yet,” I said. “But if we’re going to war—and make no mistake, if we go after the Covenant, it’s going to be a war—we’re going to need the council. Wake the old bastards. We’re taking this to the table.”
“And Lyra? How are you going to keep her safe? Because the way she busted into the shop the other day tells me she won’t be happy to just sit at home waiting for news.” Boomslang waited quietly for my reply.
I didn’t answer. Not because I didn’t want to—but because I didn’t know how to explain that her sister’s disappearance reminded me too much of the last woman I failed to save. Nor did I want to admit that there was something about her that was bewitching me. It was the only explanation for the draw I had to her.
“I’m going to collect her.”
“You’re what?” he practically shouted. “You don’t even know her! Is there something you’re not telling me?”
“It’s a long story that I can’t get into right now.”
“You better be prepared to spill when you get here,” he growled.
“Roger that, Prez.”
I ended the call, and we left the opera house behind. As the heavy night air whipped my hair around, I couldn’t contain my rage any longer. I twisted the throttle and shot off down the asphalt as if the hounds of hell were nipping at my back tire.
The Covenant had fucked up. They took someone who mattered again. No, I didn’t know Lily personally, but her sister… she was mine. It was going to cause a shitstorm of epic proportions when it got out, but I didn’t care.
Because this time, I wasn’t going to wait for orders. If the council wouldn’t back us, I didn’t give a single fuck.
This time, I’m going to burn the whole fucking stage down.
With every member of the Covenant staked to it.
Chapter 7
Moonblood and Fire
Lyra
He wanted me to come with him.
