I do not own Night World. This takes place just around the time that Pierce phones Hunter to find out about Jez. His thoughts.
Why had she come back?
And, more importantly, why had she chosen Morgead?
Of all the people... I thought.
Jez had never found out that I was in love with her. It had probably destroyed me more than Morgead when she left, but I was just stronger, strong enough to hide it better. No-one had ever suspected a thing.
I sat on the edge of my bed and let my head fall into my hands.
Just when I'd seen her at Morgead's apartment, the first time in over a year, his filthy hands had been on her face. Their foreheads had been touching, as if they'd been about to kiss.
I thanked whoever would be listening to me that we'd come in at that time.
Not that it had mattered. When we'd gone down to see if Morgead and Jez were alive, I'd seen them out the window on the staircase and they'd been kissing, their arms around each other. When we'd gone out the door, they weren't kissing anymore, but were clutching onto each other as if they would die if they let go. The annoyance had been clear on their faces when we'd managed to drag them apart, and Jez had gone with Morgead after.
I didn't want to think about what they might be doing.
I got up and walked to the window. The sky was dark, and I could see my reflection. My face was twisted with hatred and betrayal.
There was one thing that was strange about her reappearance. I knew that Jez was lying about coming from Hunter. Either Morgead knew the truth, or he was too stupid to realise that his 'lover' was lying.
Probably the stupidity.
The reflected face in the mirror changed to a calculating expression.
There was a way to find out the truth. Morgead would either be too stupid to think of it, or too busy with Jez.
I suddenly smiled, knowing it wasn't a nice smile, and went to the cell phone that was on my bedside table.
Morgead had given us all Hunter Redfern's phone number. It was that number that I was searching for. I found it, and rang.
"Hello?" a voice said.
"Hello. I'm Pierce Holt. I'm from Morgead Blackthorn's gang?" I said.
"Ah. Does he want to reconsider his deal?"
"No, it's not about the Wild Power. I'd just like to know if you sent a Jezebel Redfern to do an investigation on the Wild Power."
The voice was silent on the other end. I held my breath.
"No. I didn't. Is this Jezebel pretending that I did?"
"Yes. She said that she came from you to try and find out more about the Wild Power."
Hunter sighed. "I think I'll run a check. I'll phone you back when I've got information."
"Thank you," I said, then hung up.
Gotcha, I thought. I would find out her secret.
I just stood by the window again, waiting for the phone to ring. It finally did, and I ran across the room to get it.
"Hello?" I said.
"It's Hunter," he said. There was barely repressed anger in his voice. "I have information, and it's barely believable."
"What is it?" I said, leaning against the wall.
"How did she tell you her parents died?" He asked.
"Yes," I said. "They were killed by vampire hunters when she was four."
"Hmphf," It sounded like he said.
"Sorry?"
"That isn't correct. They were killed, but by the Night World council."
"They were traitors?" I said, in shock.
"Yes. Of the worst kind. Her mother was human."
I gasped, and sat on the floor.
"Her mother... was human?" I stumbled over the words.
"Yes. They were hunted out, and her parents were killed, but Jezebel managed to get away. The records say that she died, but I suppose those were wrong."
That had to be it. It all made sense now. Her concern for the vermin kid, coming back at a time like this. She was trying to save the vermin world.
"And it gets even worse. She's joined Circle Daybreak."
"What's that?" I asked. Weren't Circle's for the Witches?
"It's an organisation for any Night World creature or human. It's the side that wants to save the human world. They want to avert the coming darkness."
Morgead was welcome to her after all. I couldn't care for vermin. Especially not vermin that wanted to save the vermin world.
"What should I do?" I asked.
"I will send a couple of scouts over to capture Jezebel, so that we can execute her."
"Morgead is in love with her," I said quickly. If he wasn't going to have Jez, he might as well die. He was in love with vermin, after all.
Hunter sighed. "I'll get my daughter, Lily, to come over. You knock him out or something, and then we can execute them both."
I agreed and hung up.
I walked again to the window and watched my expression. It was ranging from disbelief to disgust to out-right fury.
The vermin, and her lover, deserved to die.
Of course I would be heartless if I didn't care at all. Of course I cared. I didn't want them to die, but 'Thou shalt not suffer a traitor to live' was good advice. One everyone should take.
I laughed.