by Amy Sumida
“I've never failed to complete a mission,” he said in a challenging tone.
I stared up into Malik's unyielding expression; briefly noting the stubborn slash of his lips and the angled ridge of his brows. His hair was dark, and I think his eyes were too, but it was hard to tell in the shadowy interior of the nightclub. Malik was sharply and dangerously handsome, and I found my heart beating faster for inappropriate and disturbing reasons. His eyes—whatever color they were—fastened on mine and widened as if he'd seen something surprising. We stared at each other for a moment before he tightened his grip even more and started moving slowly with me again.
“Are you seriously taking the time to dance with me?” I asked him as I tried to calm my racing heart.
“We have all the time in the world, Amara,” he said with a sensual smile. “Unless you're in a rush?”
Malik's aura flared around me suddenly; swaths of wise dove-gray and stable oak mixing with a spreading lust-red. There was a hint of black—as I expected—but it was an authoritative jet instead of pure black; there was no evil in him. Odd; I'd expected a Bleiten leader to be consumed by it.
“You're a strange Bleiten,” I blurted.
“Am I?” Malik asked as his hand slid down my back. “Why am I strange?”
“You don't seem to be evil,” I decided to go with a partial truth.
“And you've met enough Bleiten to determine that we're all evil?” He asked with a lifted brow.
“I've had a few run-ins,” I said.
“With low-class soldiers, no doubt,” he said with a sudden pensive look. “We are not the demons humans believe us to be, Amara.”
“Is that so? And yet you were sent here to secure me. What does that mean exactly?” I challenged.
“You hold something very powerful in your veins,” he said grimly. “We can't afford to let the Triari get their hands on it.”
“The Triari created it,” I pointed out. “And they instructed my father to destroy it.”
“Is that what they told you?” He asked with a sexy—and slightly condescending—smirk.
I narrowed my eyes at him. “You're not going to twist me into going with you willingly.”
“I don't have to; I can take you unwillingly,” Malik threatened in a low growl. “You're wanted for the secrets in your blood, and I suspect that you're reluctant to share those secrets. I'll have them, Amara—one way or another—but wouldn't it be better if it was an exchange and not a barbaric theft?”
“You want to buy my blood?” I asked in surprise.
“What have the Triari offered you?” Malik asked. “Did they even let on that they want your blood, or have they tried to trick you onto one of their ships so they can whisk you off this planet and start experimenting on you?”
“The Bleiten are the ones who experiment on their own people,” I pointed out.
“Criminals who volunteer for it in exchange for reduced sentences,” Malik said with a shrug. “Every race has their wicked ways; ours just happen to be excessively publicized and misrepresented.”
“Sure,” I said scornfully. “You make your people into monsters for their own good.”
Malik closed his eyes and let out a slow breath as if he were seeking patience.
“Believe what you will, Amara,” he said. “But my offer is a fair one. I can make you a wealthy woman on another world; help you escape your own people. All I want in exchange is a vial of your blood.” He leaned in and whispered in my ear, “I could have taken it already.”
Malik's mouth moved down to my neck, and I felt the graze of sharp canines against my skin. I sucked in a startled breath as he lifted his head to smile wickedly at me and show off the fangs I'd failed to notice.
“Then why haven't you?” I asked in confusion.
“I've been watching you.” His lips parted as he trailed the back of his hand down my cheek. “You're strong in ways I'm not used to seeing. I like it. I like you. I'd rather not mistreat you, Amara. We can be friends.” His hand tightened around my throat. “Or we can be enemies. I don't recommend the latter.”
I was about to change Malik's stable brown aura into cowardly yellow when he released me.
“To prove my good intentions, I'm letting you go,” Malik said with a brush of his knuckles across my cheek. “I'll return for you in two days. Think about my offer.”
Malik stepped back into the crowd and then turned to head toward the door without any trouble; people simply moved out of his way. I stared after him; completely baffled. Had a Bleiten just offered to buy my blood instead of simply snatching me and taking all he wanted? Had he just danced with me? And—most importantly—had I just enjoyed every second of it?
“I need to have sex,” I muttered. “It's obviously been far too long.”
Chapter Nineteen
“Who was that gorgeous beefcake and why did you let him escape?” Belina asked as soon as I reached the bar.
“I think he let me escape,” I muttered.
“Bel,” Dylan whined. “I hate it when you talk about other men.”
“Oh, the irony in that statement,” Belina declared dramatically.
“What do you mean?” Dylan wasn't too bright.
“It's ironic that you're upset about her noticing some guy when you've been ogling women's boobs all night,” I explained as I pointedly crossed my arms over my chest.
Dylan could see through my arms if he wanted to, but to do so, he'd have to look through all of my bones and tissues; including my breasts. It would defeat the purpose. All supernatural powers have their weaknesses.
“Oh,” Dylan said and frowned. “Okay; I won't do it again.”
“Right,” Belina said in a disbelieving tone.
“I promise, Bel,” he said seriously. “I'm sorry.”
Belina sighed deeply and then nodded. Dylan beamed at her as he pulled her into a hug. That was the thing with Dylan; he was so dumb, it was almost adorable and it made it hard to stay mad at him.
“I love you, Bel,” Dylan said. “You're too good for me.”
“You need to start remembering that,” Belina declared.
“Amara?” A female voice asked from behind me.
I turned around to find a beautiful redhead. Her hair was long and curly; hanging down to her waist in perfect ringlets. She had delicate features, creamy skin with a sprinkling of freckles, and soft brown eyes. Her nose, however, was Rudolph red and her eyes were puffy and bloodshot.
“Yes?” I lifted a brow at her.
“Davorin asked me to fetch you,” she said and sniffed abrasively. “My name is Lily; I'm a part of his team.”
“Really?” I asked in surprise.
“I'm the only woman in the group so he asked me to pick you up,” Lily said. “He didn't think you'd leave with some strange guy.”
“I was going to leave with Davorin when he got off work,” I said.
“Yeah, but Dav said he got a bad feeling.” She sniffed again. “Look; we need to get out of here fast; I have a cold.”
“Oh.” I frowned at her in confusion. “Okay.” I turned back to Belina and said, “Sorry, Bel, it looks as if I need to leave. It was lovely to see you.”
“But you just got here,” Belina complained. “Why do you have to run off with Merida? You need to help her find her bear-brothers or something?”
Behind me, Merida—I mean, Lily—snorted loudly and rubbed at her nose. “I actually suck at archery.”
“I promised Davorin I'd meet some of his friends,” I said to Belina. “It's the whole reason I came tonight.”
“You're not thinking about joining the Jack-Ass League are you?” Belina asked with horror.
“No; of course, not,” I assured her. “And that's a good one, Bel; I'm using it.”
“By all means,” Belina mimicked me. “Go ahead, darling.”
“Shut up, Barbie,” I teased her and gave her a quick hug. Then I turned on Dylan. “You'd better be good to my girl or I'll cripple your libido, Deviant.�
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Dylan went pale. “That's not funny, Mara.”
“Do you see me laughing?”
He went as white as a sheet.
“Amara, please,” Lily whined. “I'm going to sneeze any second now, and indoors it could be bad; real bad.”
“Okay; that's gross.” Belina made a disgusted face. “You'd better go and take Sneezy with you.”
“See you later, darling,” I said to Belina and then gestured for Lily to lead the way out of the club.
Lily started to shiver, and then she was suddenly desperate to get out of the building. She pushed people out of her way while making strange, wild, bird sounds; a cross between a goose and an albatross. Most of the club-goers jumped aside as soon as they saw her coming.
“She's about to blow!” Someone who obviously knew Lily yelled into the crowd to get everyone else moving.
People launched themselves out of Lily's way after that.
I passed Davorin on my way out, and stopped to say, “I would have gone with a man; I'm not a scared rabbit, Davorin.”
“I know,” Davorin said with a smirking look at Lily as she ran out of the building. “I just wanted to see how long Lily would last down here. She has a cold.”
“Yes; so she said,” I noted. “Why is that—”
A whooshing sound followed by crashing noises, honking, and shouting filtered in to us and cut me off. I looked over the heads of customers and out the door. Brock was waving his hands wildly and shouting, and Lily was shouting back while Davorin laughed his ass off.
“What was that ruckus, Davorin?” I asked with a narrow-eyed glare.
“That was a Lily sneeze,” he said. “She controls the weather; wind mostly. When she gets a cold, she turns into Hurricane Lily.”
“And you brought her down here on purpose?” I shook my head at him.
“She won't hurt anyone,” he huffed. “She just stirs things up a bit.”
“Lily said you had a bad feeling,” I went serious. “Are you psychic, Dav?”
“Not really.” He made a face. “I just get moments when my instinct acts up. I had one tonight, and I never ignore them.”
“Fair enough,” I murmured. “I'll see you later.”
“Hey, Mara.” Dav grabbed my arm. “Be careful. Tell Tempest to lock up tight until I get there.”
“Tempest?”
“Oh, that's Lily's superhero name,” he said with a grin.
“Of course, it is.” I grimaced and made my way out to the windswept—I mean Tempest-swept—street.
Chapter Twenty
I don't know why I didn't tell Davorin about the Bleiten I had danced with. I should have, and I beat myself up about it all the way to Lily's apartment. She took Davorin's suggestion to heart and not only locked but also barricaded her door.
“What's all that about then?” A man who was lounging across her sofa asked when Lily was finished with her front door fortification.
Lily's place was lovely but a bit Spartan. She lived on the top floor of one of the tallest buildings in the Market and had a great view of the city as well as a balcony to enjoy it from. Lily ran for that balcony instead of answering the man. As soon as she was outside, Lily let loose an impressive sneeze that would have been catastrophic indoors. It rolled out over the rooftops without damaging anyone or anything and echoed through the night like thunder.
“I guess the high-life is mandatory when a cold can cause architectural damage,” I noted dryly.
“Indeed,” the man on the sofa stood and approached me. “I'm Leo.”
“Amara,” I said as I shook his hand.
Leo had the rich brown skin of a Latin man, but his accent—I'm good with accents—sounded Cuban. His voice was melodious and addictive; I was eager to hear it again. Leo's smile matched his friendly tone; full lips turning up warmly. But his eyes were a cool shade of blue and surveyed me critically.
“And this is Jason,” Leo waved to a man lounging at an iron and oak dining set.
“Hiya,” Jason waved at me.
“Don't be offended; he doesn't shake hands,” Leo said. “It's a courtesy to you. Jason can make people tell the truth simply by touching them.”
“Really?” I asked with an interested look Jason's way. “That must come in handy.”
Jason was an average looking man with medium brown hair and lightly tanned skin. He had the slim build of a scholar and an honest aura around him. His eyes were the most striking thing about him; a vibrant hazel, heavy on the green.
“As handy as altering colors, I imagine,” Jason said.
I nodded in acknowledgment but didn't say anything.
“Go easy, guys,” Lily said as she walked back in. “Dav said she's skittish.”
“Did he tell you why I'm skittish?” I asked. “Or what you'll be dealing with if you decide to help me?”
“Bleiten,” Leo said simply. “We're in. What kind of heroes would we be if we said no just because the villain was scary?”
“Not just scary,” Jason said, “scary-strong; they're the most fearsome warriors in all the worlds.”
“You don't have to help,” I said immediately. “I have other options. I didn't come here with any expectations.”
“Dav's right,” Jason huffed, “you are cynical.”
“I'm realistic,” I corrected him.
Isn't it funny how you can admit something to yourself, but when someone else says it, you get touchy?
“Well, Ms. Realistic, why don't you sit down, and Leo will pour you a glass of wine?” Lily said and sniffed. “Davorin said we should go over things with you; who we are and what we do.”
“All right,” I agreed and took a seat beside Jason at the table.
Leo went into the kitchen and grabbed the wine. It was an open-concept apartment, and the kitchen was just off the dining area. The atmosphere was modern and classy; whatever Lily did for a living—when she wasn't being Tempest—it must have paid well. When I had a glass of wine in my hand, and we were all seated around the table, Davorin's gang of supernatural saviors gave me the lowdown on their hero club—is it just me or does that sound like a sandwich?
“I'm Maestro,” Leo began. “I can use my voice as a weapon.”
“A weapon?” I lifted my brows. “Sound waves dissipate too rapidly to reach lethal levels.”
“I didn't say that I used it to kill, just as a weapon. I can hit any pitch,” he explained. “I can burst eardrums, move objects; things like that.”
“Fascinating,” I murmured.
“Leo already told you what I do,” Jason said. “I call myself Veritas.”
“Good names,” I said. “I like them better than Gargoyle.”
“It works for him,” Tempest said. “With the right mask on, he can look like a gargoyle.”
“Fair enough,” I conceded.
“And Dav said that you came up with 'Spectra' for yourself,” Leo said. “I like that too. It has a nice ring to it.”
“I said 'Spectra' only because he challenged me to come up with a better name than he did,” I huffed. “Honestly, I have no interest in saving people.”
“Bullshit,” Jason said. “I can hear the lie from here. You've saved people before, haven't you?”
“I take it back; that's an annoying talent,” I said stiffly.
“The reason we create these personas is so that we can be heroic without seeking glory,” Tempest said. “It's a way to do some good anonymously.”
“I don't get that either,” I said. “How do you have time to do these undercover charity missions and work a paying job?”
“We do them in our spare time,” Jason said. “You're right; it is charity. This is our way of giving a little something back to our community.”
“But this is your community, and you're not helping people in the Market,” I pointed out. “You're helping humans.”
“If we don't consider humans to be a part of our community, why would they ever consider us to be a part of theirs?” Lily asked.
“But helping humans makes it easier for us to keep our identities secret,” Lily said. “It's hard to do that in the Market.”
“And it helps with supe-human relations,” Jason added. “They may not know that we exist until we help them, but after we do, they'll never forget us. More importantly; they feel invested in our existence; we save them, and they protect our identities.”
“If Supernaturals ever come out of the Supermarket, we'll have laid a nice foundation for humans to accept us,” Lily said. “We're showing them that we won't hurt them; we'll protect them. That we're not the enemy.”
They were making sense; something I hadn't been expecting.
“All right,” I gave in a little. “Maybe you're not idiots.”
“Oh, thank you, my lady,” Jason said sarcastically. “We're so honored to have your approval.”
“A Bleiten approached me in the club tonight,” I dropped my demon bomb.
They all gaped at me.
“What did you say?” Leo asked.
“He offered to buy my blood,” I went on. “Said he'd rather not take it from me. He went so far as to say that he wanted to be friends.”
“A Bleiten offered you money and friendship?” Lily asked skeptically and then looked at Jason for verification.
“Why would she lie?” Jason countered.
Lily nodded and grimaced at the same time.
“He said that he was a Bleiten Lord,” I went on. “The one in charge of acquiring my blood.”
“Then he's also the one who's been kidnapping women with purple eyes,” Jason pointed out.
“Possibly,” I murmured.
“Who else would be taking them?” Leo asked. “It has to be the Bleiten.”
“He said that the Triari want my blood too,” I added. “That they're just playing nice until they can get me on one of their ships. From what I've experienced with them, I believe it. In fact, they haven't been nearly as chivalrous as this Bleiten has. One of their arcs had the nerve to tell me that the elixir in my blood is their property.”