Arctic Bite

by N. J. Walters

  She crawled off his lap and sat on the side of the bed. “If you did manage to destroy one of us, Death would come.” She held his hand, her grip bruising. “He’d take you in an instant. You can’t hurt anyone who shows up. Promise me.”

  Relief poured through him.

  She’s lying to protect me.

  It bothered him, but he understood. A part of him even relished it, since it suggested she cared.

  “Then we need to hide.” Running wasn’t something he did. It was in his nature to stand and fight, to face his adversary head-on. No retreat. No surrender.

  Only this time he had something to lose. Someone to lose. He wouldn’t risk Cassie. Not for the sake of his pride.

  He ran through their options in his head. “We need to leave before the sun goes down. Get back to your apartment.”

  “Is that really the best thing to do?”

  Instead of answering, he asked her another question. “Will they hesitate to fight around people?”

  She started to speak but hesitated before beginning again. “Under normal circumstances, I’d say no. But now I’m not sure. Not anymore.” On a sigh, she released his hand and stood. “I don’t know if their orders are to bring me back or execute me.”

  “My orders were to terminate,” he reminded her.

  “But that’s impossible.” Her words were soft, the honesty in them striking hard.

  It was reassuring. It was also arousing. Such a strong woman in such a beautiful package, not just her lush body but her lust for life, her kindness, her intelligence.

  He levered himself off the bed and stood beside her. “Then we go,” he told her. “They’ll have already checked out the bar and your apartment. The last thing they’d expect is for us to return.”

  While it might be true that he couldn’t harm her, another of her kind might be able to. The odds increased if there was more than one reaper on her trail.

  She waited a beat before finally nodding in agreement. “We go.”

  It didn’t take them long to dress, set the kitchen to rights, pack their stuff, and leave. As he locked the door behind him, he wondered if he’d ever see this place again.

  He shook off the errant thought, but it kept coming back as they climbed into the vehicle he kept in the attached heated garage and headed out.

  …

  Cassie hadn’t been looking forward to a long walk back to The Pit. She’d suggested they call Buck for a ride, but Alexei had surprised her by having an older SUV stored in a heated garage. The interior of the vehicle was scrupulously clean and smelled delicious, a combination of leather and Alexei. She inhaled deeply, soaking in both.

  He didn’t need the ride, but he did need to keep up appearances. Wouldn’t do to have him wandering around in sub-zero temperatures all the time. People would ask questions.

  And she was glad of it. She hated the cold. In spite of the heat blasting from the vent, she shivered.

  “Do you think I’m changing? Evolving?”

  “Why do you ask?” He drove down the fairly deserted road, competent and relaxed behind the wheel. She envied him the skill as she hadn’t learned to drive. Bill Pittman, the owner of The Pit, drove her to town once every couple of weeks for groceries. And any number of regulars offered their services on a weekly basis. And Buck and Tiny were always bringing her frozen fish.

  She’d been mostly happy to keep away from town. It was better to stay as isolated as possible.

  “I get hungry and need to eat. I feel the cold.” The wintery landscape rolled by. It was beautiful and deadly, isolated yet teeming with life in its own way. Most of the creatures were scarce this time of year, hibernating until the snow melted and spring burst forth. It was a stark but scenic land, even if she did find it too cold.

  “Then there’s the whole sex thing.” That got his attention. He looked away from the road, his blue eyes piercing.

  “The sex thing?”

  “Yeah, I wasn’t really curious about it until I suppressed my powers.” She tried to figure out a way to explain. “It’s just not something we’re concerned with. Maybe because we’re all about death and not life.”

  “Do you think that makes you more vulnerable?” His eyes were not only back on the road but scanning the area. He never really seemed to relax. Maybe when they were intimate together, but she had a feeling even then he could leap into action without hesitation. He was always watchful, but now it seemed heightened.

  “I don’t know. Maybe.” It was a huge concern. Last thing she wanted was to be a liability to him, maybe be responsible for him getting injured. Or worse.

  “What if you embrace that side of yourself again? Would all the other stuff go away?”

  She heard his unasked question: Would her desire for him disappear? “I don’t know.”

  The steering wheel cracked beneath his hands. He swore and lightened his grip. “I see.”

  A huge lump formed in the pit of her stomach. “I don’t want to go back, not to the way things were before.” How could she? “I’ve tasted life and it’s much sweeter than constant death.”

  “Is that the only reason?” His voice had gone impossibly deep, as though he was on the verge of shifting.

  Maybe she hadn’t always been totally honest with him, but she could be about this. “No, that’s not the only reason.” She touched his arm.

  The air inside the vehicle crackled. Goose bumps raced down her spine. Time had run out. She pointed off to the right. “Two reapers, coming hard.”

  They weren’t quite at The Pit, which was good. The death of innocents would haunt her for the rest of her days. They were far enough away from town and enough of a distance away from the bar that they should be alone, at least for a few minutes.

  He swerved off the road, taking the rugged SUV across the snowy tundra, leaving civilization behind at a fast clip. The reapers were gaining ground.

  And why were they chasing when they could pop in right in front of them? “They’re taunting us. Stop.”

  He yanked the wheel around and the SUV rotated so they were facing back toward the road. Heat pumped from the vents, and the engine hummed.

  “Where?” he demanded.

  When she opened the door, an icy blast hit her. Seemingly out of thin air two people appeared. Alexei was beside her before they finished claiming their physical form.

  The man was tall with dark hair. The woman was shorter and slender with lighter hair. “Hello, Egan. Hello, Felicia.” Not who’d she’d expected to be sent after her. These two were low-level workers.

  “Cassandra.” There was a sneer in his voice, and none of the deference he usually showed her. After all, she was his boss, or had been.

  “Why are you here?”

  Felicia shifted from one foot to the other and glanced around as though she expected someone else to pop in at any second. “You shouldn’t have left.”

  Now was not the time for a long discussion about her motivation. “You should go.” Harming them would bring the wrath of Death upon her, but she wouldn’t allow them to hurt Alexei. He didn’t deserve that, not after the way he’d fought for her.

  “I see you’ve made a friend.” Egan didn’t even try to mask his contempt.

  Alexei didn’t twitch, not so much as a muscle, but she’d seen how fast he could move. She placed her hand on his arm to hold him back.

  “Keeping your pet in line,” he taunted. “A shifter, no less.” He spat on the snow. “Useless creatures.”

  “You’re trying to goad him into an attack so you can justify your actions.” Anger surged forward, making it increasingly difficult to keep herself in check. Felicia flinched, but Egan’s mouth firmed and he tilted his chin up, ready for a fight.

  “Was it you?” she asked. “Did you hire Alexei?”

  “How else would I find you? I’d overheard some conv
ersation speculating on your whereabouts, but I knew you’d remain hidden. I decided to use an animal to track you.”

  A low growl made the ground around them vibrate. A silent tremor that radiated through her. Her lover was not happy.

  “You hired a member of the Forgotten Brotherhood? Are you out of your mind? And where did you even get such an idea?” Because no way did it originate with him. While he might claim it was his plan, he wasn’t exactly an original thinker known for his intellect. He was the type that did better with clear-cut instruction. “You think Death will appreciate getting on their bad side?” Not a chance. He’d be severely pissed at these two.

  “No harm, no foul.” He shrugged, totally unconcerned. “He’s free to go. And from what I’ve been told, he hasn’t officially taken the job. Have you?” he addressed Alexei directly for the first time. “You haven’t signed on the dotted line.”

  Alexei remained stoic and silent beside her. God, what was he thinking right now?

  And where had Egan come up with the idea of hiring the Brotherhood? Reapers steered clear of them. The few who had died over the eons had been handled personally by Death himself.

  “I don’t understand. Why are you here?” None of this was adding up. “You wouldn’t have been sent after me.” Of that, she was certain.

  “Death’s orders are for you to be brought back alive. He wants to talk to you.” Hatred burned in his eyes, twin flames flickering with pure loathing. Why had she never seen it before? This kind of resentment didn’t simply appear overnight. This was a slow-burning anger, which took centuries, millennia to build.

  “And you don’t want that?” The longer she could keep him talking, the more chance she had of figuring out a way to deescalate things before they got out of hand.

  They were probably already past that point, but she had to try.

  “Why do you get all the praise?” Egan demanded. “We work as hard as you. Harder. But does the big boss ever notice? No. He only has time for his original reapers. The special ones.”

  Shit, she hadn’t mentioned that little detail to Alexei. And there was no time now to see how he was reacting to this revelation.

  “You think you’re all so much better than the rest of us,” he continued.

  “No, I don’t.” And she hadn’t. Not for one second. “I’ve simply been around the longest.” Alexei stirred beside her. That had got his attention.

  “I’ll surpass you someday.” Oozing confidence, he continued, “Especially if you’re not around.” He reached behind his back and slowly withdrew a curved blade with a wooden handle. It was old, so very old. Power emanated from it, pulsing across the tundra. The land itself went quiet.

  Her heart stuttered and stopped for a second before taking off at a rapid pace. This wasn’t possible. “Where did you get that?”

  He held it up, his eyes caressing it like another man might a lover. “This?” He ignored her and turned to Alexei. “This is a sickle, a smaller version of Death’s mighty scythe. Not quite as powerful, but able to destroy any creature, or in your case, bear.” He smiled. “It can also kill Cassie.”

  “There are only six of them in existence. How did you get one?” Access was strictly controlled. A sick feeling filled her. She recognized this particular one. Knew it as intimately as she did her own face.

  It was Felicia who spoke up. “Things have been chaotic since you defected. We’re all looking for you, along with carrying out our normal assignments.” She crossed her arms in a defensive pose. “Things are backing up. Reapers are restless.”

  “It wasn’t hard for me to get my hands on this.” Egan held it up, making sure she got a good look at it. “Don’t you recognize it?”

  “It’s not a toy.” And she’d hidden it where no one, least of all Egan, should have been able to find it.

  “I know!” His roar echoed over the land, followed by a huge crack of thunder. He drew himself up and used his free hand to slick back his hair. “You don’t deserve it. You have one of the greatest weapons of the ages and you never used it.”

  “The death of a reaper is a very serious thing.” And what he had in his hand could be used to do it. She had to try to talk him down from the edge of anger he was perched on. Bad enough he was jealous. And that was on her for not seeing it. But what he held so casually could level entire towns or cities if wielded properly.

  She had firsthand knowledge.

  Because he was wrong. He was much, much younger than her, one of the newer reapers made as the population of the world swelled and the need became greater. He was only around three thousand years old. A mere babe compared to her. For a long time it had been Death and her, working alone. There’d been other creatures to reap long before people had appeared, other worlds.

  She’d only used it once. Death had given the order. She could still remember the terror from the populace when they’d appeared among them.

  His only instructions had been, “No survivors.”

  The bloodshed that day was the stuff of nightmares, of myth and legend. She’d all but blocked it from her memory, keeping the sickle hidden ever since. She’d tried to convince herself she hadn’t really been responsible since she’d only followed orders. But kill she had. And the blade had soaked up the blood. Even now, she could sometimes hear the screams of the souls she’d taken that day.

  They hadn’t been humans, but they’d been living, breathing creatures with families and a society. She still didn’t know why they’d been destroyed. You didn’t ask Death those kinds of questions.

  He wasn’t exactly known for his patience.

  She’d overheard him muttering about abominations created by the gods without approval once, but that was it.

  And it had been so very long ago. Long before there’d been others like her.

  She held out her hand and injected every ounce of authority she possessed into her voice. “Give it to me.”

  Egan smiled. “Oh, I plan on giving it to you, all right.” Then he leaped toward her, swinging the deadly blade.

  Chapter Twelve

  He was in motion as soon as the reaper made his move. He and Cassie had a lot to discuss. But the only thing that mattered at this second was that the weapon the bastard was wielding could harm her.

  Moving at lightning-fast speed, he grabbed Egan’s arm and twisted. He gave a yelp but didn’t yield. The bastard was stronger than he looked.

  It wouldn’t do to underestimate him. He was a reaper, after all.

  “Don’t you dare release your powers,” he ordered Cassie. She did that and Death would appear. Then they’d all be dead.

  “Will you sacrifice your lover for your freedom?” Egan laughed and then slowly smiled at Alexei. “I’m going to enjoy killing you.”

  “No,” she cried. “You can’t do this. You can’t use it.” There was fear and pure desperation in her voice.

  It appeared to be nothing more than a simple tool made of metal and wood with arcane symbols etched into the blade. But he could also smell blood. Very old. Ancient even. He couldn’t identify it. But this blade had seen death.

  The energy emanating from the metal made all the fine hairs on his body stand on end. This thing was lethal. Deadly.

  And it belonged to Cassie.

  Both men exerted themselves, muscles bunching as each tried to gain the advantage. Alexei snarled, gritted his teeth, and held on. If his opponent got free, he’d use the blade, not only on him but on Cassie.

  The female reaper tried to sneak up behind him, but Cassie was there first. “Don’t even try it.” It was odd to have someone guarding his back. She was so formidable that even with her powers restrained, the younger woman hesitated, still feared her.

  “You’re dead, you animal.”

  He really seemed to have a problem with shifters. But it went much deeper. Alexei had seen his type before. The reaper had
a taste for killing. Some enjoyed it. Wouldn’t surprise him to discover that Egan had broken the rules and taken some souls he shouldn’t have.

  He was exactly like the creatures he and his Brothers were usually called in to put down.

  But he fell under Death’s dominion.

  At least Alexei knew who’d contacted the Brotherhood. It was clever on Egan’s part to use him to track Cassie. He’d probably set Damian and others like him searching for her, as well.

  Whatever the repercussions, he needed to die.

  Mind made up, Alexei did something he’d never attempted before. He willingly dropped the barrier in his mind, the wall he used to keep his darker side at bay. His fangs dropped. Claws erupted from his fingers. Power, potent and primal, surged inside him. Added to his normal polar strengths, he was more than the sum of the two sides, all his abilities amped up exponentially.

  Alexei clamped down on his opponent’s arm. Bones cracked. His scream of pain echoed across the barren land. Not done, he swung razor-sharp claws at his throat.

  Terror flashed in his eyes and Egan jerked hard. He stumbled back just in time to keep from being decapitated.

  “What the fuck are you?” Egan demanded. The broken bone in his arm was already healing. Too bad. He should have suffered longer. He twirled the curved blade in front of him. He’d been practicing, at least enough to show off some skill.

  What was Cassie thinking right now?

  Does she suspect I’m more than a shifter?

  Fuck, this was not how he wanted the truth to come out.

  No time to worry now, not with Felicia circling around him.

  “I smell vampire.” The younger female seemed confused.

  Egan’s laugh was filled with disdain. “Leave it to Cassandra to hook up with a freak.”

  Pain pierced his brain. The intrusion was swift and hard. The bastard was attempting some kind of mind control.

  Alexei threw up a mental block, easily deflecting the invasion. Yeah, he’d have to do better than that. Vamps were masters at mind control.

  He attacked in kind, giving the male a mental shove, not sure if such a thing would even work.