More Than Blood by Amanda Vyne

She accepted that. Damn it all!
    A large warm hand settled lightly around the back of her neck, and she felt Gabe there with her, piercing the cloying darkness that settled over her, centering her and easing her.
    “Yes. It is a burn,” Kel said harshly, feeling her subsiding reaction heating her cheeks. The medical examiner stepped back involuntarily from her. Turning her head slightly back to Gabe she gave him a vague nod to let him know she was in control once again.
    “You recognize it.” Gabe’s voice was pitched low. Dangerous. “This is familiar to you.” It wasn’t a question. He knew. He’d felt her shared knowledge.
    Carefully resettling the sheet over the girl she turned to look up at him. The centers of his eyes were shot through with red again, writhing. She was beginning to realize they did that when he was very angry. Other than the way his hands caressed those wickedly intriguing blades strapped to his thighs, his eyes were the only indication of it. His face seemed so cool.
    “Yeah.” Kel rose to her feet. She knew where their next stop would be. Only one woman she knew left marks like this. There was only one woman who left burns in the perfect shape of a hand.
     
    GABE STOOD NEXT to Kel’s small form, unable to determine any of the emotions roiling through her. She had herself controlled in the time it took to drive to the crumbling brownstone and carefully shut off from him. After only the briefest of hesitations she gave two curt raps on the door and stepped back a step. The hesitation was telling.
    Turning his head he threw a glance around the neighborhood, eyes carefully measuring every square foot of space in that brief look. There was loose garbage littering the broken sidewalks, and he could easily see the lines were neatly drawn between the inhabitants. There were only predators and prey here. On this street with its few available resources there was no room for any middle ground. Was this where the Triumvirate set up homes for the crossbreeds they demanded live in segregation?
    “Well, Kelly,” came the coarse, slithering hiss. “The prodigal daughter returns. To what do I owe this visit? Did you miss us?”
    Gabe stepped closer to Kel. Something about the tall, painfully thin woman seemed threatening and the cold, liquid instinct to defend his mate slithered through his body. He controlled the extension of his lethally sharp canines. The woman carefully measured him in one quick glance; the flicker of understanding was there when he flashed her a bit of fang.
    “I see you have done well for yourself,” she said in that rough voice as she slid the door open for them to enter, her eyes appraising Gabe with a more than female appreciation. Then a sly smile lifted the corners of her mouth, her eyes still on him. “Does he know about you?”
    “Yeah, I already showed him my webbed feet.” Kel’s tone was sarcastic and light, but he could see that she didn’t feel it. There was something here that she connected strongly to. He already suspected she’d been raised in one of these homes. Was this the one? He scanned the room with new interest.
    The thin woman walked to the mantel of the fireplace and slid a cigarette from a pack. “Still have a dangerous mouth on you, I see,” she mumbled around the filter of the cigarette. The tip of the cigarette ignited, and she pulled a long drag to blow the smoke out with a sly smile. “Always did get you in trouble.”
    A Fire Elemental.
    Gabe wasn’t overly fond of Elementals, species of the Arcane that controlled one of the elements and similar to the mythic witches, but he had a specific dislike for Fire Elementals. They were sneaky and often violent.
    “Showing off, Aggie?” Kel smiled, but he could see it didn’t even come close to her eyes. “Let me introduce my friend to you. Aggie, this is House Marshal Gabrial Ferrar. Now, why don’t we skip the bullshit and get down to business. We found one of your girls in the park.