Free Icarus; The Kindred (A Paranormal Romance) by J. S. Chancellor Page A

him know you'd made it here. He was getting gas at the half-way mark."
    "But how could he have possibly known where I was going?"
    "Whatever you thought to steer Trinity off course didn't make sense to Jace. It was a toss-up between whether you would try to find Blake or go back to Florida. His bet was here and I was already in the city."
    I want to know more, so much more, but we don't have time to linger here and the expression on Quinn's face says as much. He moves to exit the alcove when I grab his arm. I almost ask if Jace will ever be able to forgive me, but I can't bring myself to form the words.
    "Never mind," I say and let go.

    The cheap parlor trick in the hallway of the morgue won't cut it past the passageway into what Quinn says is aptly named Hades.
    As I've said before, I have been an assassin for nearly a decade. I've decided who lives and dies on my watch and dealt out unerring justice to those who were placed on my death list. Cold, calculating and pitiless—all words Trinity has used at one time or another to describe me while on assignment. I used to believe in a higher purpose, that the tyranny I so lovingly referred to earlier was pragmatic and for all its faults, meaningful. As we descend and that line is drawn taut, I see my actions in a different light. This time, my actions are for atonement. I don't care if I live through this. Everything I've done demands that I answer for it. I am prepared for that and for the judgment that will come.
    Death surrounds us. Not physically with the smell of rot and decay, but with the slowly fading essence that was once life for creatures who thrived outside of this place—beyond these walls and in a world where perhaps they too were meant for greatness. Certainly more than this. Quinn has explained that we are in a section of Hades that isn't patrolled too often, where the cameras aren't recording and are rarely monitored. We pass room after room of what looks like the still frames of a dark science fiction movie—humans, vampires, and experimental combinations of the most acute benefits of both races huddled naked in corners.
    Some we see have clearly been left to suffer the effects of new formulations, merely for the benefit of being aware of the side effects. Some of the humans appear to have been partially turned and are stuck in a state between immortality and death, where everything is dying in the flesh but their consciousness continues on until there is nothing left. I understand why this part is left desolate.
    "What are they doing to these humans?" I ask.
    "They're changing the formulation of Icarus. High Coven has some pretty grim things lined up for this world, but we can talk about all of that once we've found Blake and gotten him out of here. Believe me, this isn't the best time to explain."
    We come to a gathering of tunnels and Quinn stops ahead of me at the line. He points mutely to last glass cell, where in the reflection I can see the round black sphere jutting out of the ceiling.
    I nod and motion for Quinn to step out of the way. A momentary conversation of aggravated gestures ensues. Apparently, Quinn has already thought this through and has an answer. I sigh and relent.
    I thought he might shatter the sphere, though that would give us very little time to find Blake. Instead, he takes the conservative approach and uses the panel in the wall to adjust the angles of the cameras and shut down the audio.
    "Where are we going from here?" I ask.
    "We're just south of the main holding cells. Cross your fingers that he's there and not already splayed open on an autopsy table. We'll have to do this carefully. I will be escorting you to a holding room. They won't realize that I'm not supposed to be here until it's way too late." He has shed his white coat and I realize that the markings on his sleeves are years of service. He is wearing a uniform.
    Before we enter the opening, I pause to take a deep breath. "Quinn. How skilled a fighter are you?" There