by Ciara Graves
“These five were stolen two months ago,” Rufus said, motioning to a list. “And these three were the ones Bowen and I went after.”
“And?” I asked.
“And they never made it to their new location. She probably has them as well.”
“What of the ones in Bowen’s safe? They’re heavily guarded?” I glanced around the vacant lot, white knuckle gripping the sledgehammer.
“For now, but if she’s making a final push to get the rest of the artifacts, we might need to consider transferring them to a new location.”
“Where would be safer?”
“I was thinking we could destroy them,” Rufus suggested. “If they don’t exist, she can’t use them.”
“You can’t do that,” I said.
At the same time, Rafael said, “Let’s do it.”
We exchanged a heated look.
Rufus cleared his throat. “We’re right.”
“But the magic they possess is unique. Do you have any idea what you’d be losing?”
“No, but I know what I’d be saving,” he countered. “We’re running out of time.”
“We can’t destroy them. Not yet. We need to wait for Damian and Nor to return.”
Rafael rubbed the back of his neck. His stance told me he was weighing his chances to change my mind.
“Fine,” he gave in. “We’ll wait as long as we can, but this might be our only option.”
I hated to agree with him, but he had a point. I was going to ask Rufus why Bowen hadn’t come with him to meet us when a rock skirted across the lot.
Rufus was the first to snarl.
Rafael growled next, moving to step in front of me, but I wasn’t having it, not this time. I was sick of being hunted down by these bastards, and I was in the mood to kill something.
I spun around. A laugh burst from my mouth. “You’re kidding me, right?”
The nefari who stood on the other end of the lot. This nefari was scrawny. His clothes hung off him, and his greasy hair was lank against his head.
A multitude of shadows lingered behind him, ready to attack.
“Come with me, Mercy, and there won’t be any pain,” the nefari yelled in what he probably thought was an intimidating voice.
It came out as more of a croak. I almost felt sorry for him.
Almost.
Rafael took a step toward him.
I was faster. I moved toward the nefari, sledgehammer secure over my shoulder. “Yeah, afraid that’s not going to happen. You leave now, and I won’t crush your skull.”
The nefari sneered. “You can’t kill me.”
“Oh, no? And who exactly are you?”
“Mercy, can you not taunt the nefari trying to kidnap you,” Rafael muttered. “Please?”
I ignored him and walked closer. “You don’t look familiar. I’m sure you’re trying to prove yourself, is that right? The others failed, and you thought you could make a name for yourself.”
The nefari flinched at my words, squaring his shoulders. “I will make a name for myself.”
“Uh, huh. By what? Getting yourself killed?”
“You won’t kill me. I’m too strong.”
As he went on some mad rambling speech about who he was, I wondered briefly how desperate Envy must be that he’d send a pathetic excuse for a bad guy after me. It was insulting, honestly, and that only added to my anger.
Mage fire burned in my palms, and I directed it into the sledgehammer.
The nefari was still yapping away, something about how he was going to use his shadows to cover the world in darkness.
I fought the urge to yawn and, instead, focused on my target. The sledgehammer was heavy, but I’d make it work. I threw the sledgehammer.
The last word was falling from his mouth when the sledgehammer bashed into the side of his skull.
Idiot hadn’t even seen it coming. He collapsed to the ground as the sledgehammer hit the pavement beside him.
“Damn, ugly,” Rufus said, then whistled. “Nice one.”
“Thanks.” I casually strolled over to where the nefari lay on the ground, twitching as he died. I picked up the sledgehammer and held it above his head. “You should’ve walked away.”
He raised his hand.
I smirked then bashed in his skull, killing him.
When I turned around, Rufus was clapping, and Rafael was torn between trying not to smile and probably wanting to tell me off.
“What?”
“Nothing. Let’s go before someone finds him,” Rafael said. “Rufus?”
Rufus was laughing as he said, “I’ll keep you posted. Get out of here.”
Rafael joined me, glancing warily at the sledgehammer. “Of all things for you to stick with, you’re really going to lug that thing around?”
“Damned straight, I am.”
He gave the dead nefari one last look, then we were walking away.
Envy could send all the dark fae after me that he wanted to.
I’d kill them all with pleasure and then with any luck, I’d bury this sledgehammer in his skull.
Chapter 4
Rafael
Eyes burned into my back.
I gritted my teeth, not ready to turn around and look yet. I kept reading the day’s paper, searching for any story that might give us a lead to what Shuval or her seemingly ever-growing followers were up to.
By now, I assumed we’d have something.
Only we didn’t. Another week had gone by, and we were exactly where we were before.
No word from anyone regarding Damian or Nor’s whereabouts. No hint of what Shuval or Envy were up to.
Surprisingly, there hadn’t been any more attacks on Mercy, but the nightmares had amped up. They were becoming violent, and it was taking longer to wake her up each time.
After the third near attack, Todd came by to help keep an eye on my place. So far, no nefaries had shown up. Rufus said he put out the word to see if we could figure out where they were coming from.
Bowen refused to check on Mercy in person. This fight of theirs had gone on too damned long, but I wasn’t sure how to make them see that.
I turned the newspaper page.
Nails tapped loudly against ceramic.
I shifted on the couch but kept my eyes down.
The second I made eye contact, the argument Mercy and I had been having for the last three days would ramp up again. I was enjoying my day so far. Mercy had been in high spirits after killing off the third nefari, but her good mood didn’t last long. Her optimism was quickly replaced with annoyance and impatience.
This morning, I awoke to find her glaring at the front door, having some sort of internal argument with herself. I’d been watching her like a hawk since.
We agreed she wouldn’t leave the apartment alone and that there was no point in searching for Damian by stirring up trouble in the Underground. She’d agreed with me then, but any minute now, I was sure she’d go back on her word.
As I reached for my coffee mug, my cell vibrated.
The tapping stopped, and Mercy sucked in a sharp breath.
I picked up my cell and checked the screen. “Damn,” I muttered, unable to hide my own aggravation.
“What? News? Is it Iris or that Jeremy guy from the office?” Mercy rambled. “Did they find something?”
I went to take a sip from my mug, but it was empty. Grudgingly, I stood and walked into the kitchen where Mercy now perched on the counter like a freaking gargoyle. She held a mug between her hands.
Hands that were shaking. There’d been no nightmares last night, or the night before, and yet she seemed poised to attack.
“Maybe you should start laying off the caffeine.”
She glowered at me. “I don’t have the shakes.”
I nodded to her hands.
She set the mug down then proceeded to sit on them.
“We’ll find something. You just have to be patient.”
“I have been patient,” she snapped, making my
brow arch. “I’m going to go insane if I stay cooped up here any longer. You and I both know it. Do you want to deal with a crazy Mercy?”
“Thought I already was,” I teased and was gifted with a grunt of irritation.
I took in her narrowed eyes.
The icy blue had warmed over the last few weeks; since we’d been back together, actually. Her black and blond hair was pulled back in a messy bun. She wore her black tank and black pants. The scar on her face had finally calmed down from her nightmare three nights ago. The one involving Envy and the other hybrids. It hadn’t seemed to bother her, at least, which I was going to count as a blessing.
She fidgeted on the counter, then picked up her cell, though it hadn’t gone off.
I took it from her and put it out of reach.
“What are you doing?”
“You check it every five minutes. It’s annoying.”
“You’re annoying, but I check you out every five minutes.” She winked as she leaned over and kissed me, letting her lips linger on mine.
A growl rumbled in my chest as she kissed me again.
I was quite alright with distracting her this way. Didn’t think I’d ever complain. We’d wasted enough time fighting and being apart. Now it was like we needed to spend as much time as possible with each other, in case the worst should happen.
We inched toward the possibility that one or both of us would die in the upcoming battles. Hard to be prepared when we faced so much uncertainty.
I had just lifted her off the counter when her cell buzzed.
She cursed and tried to get around me to get it.
I caught her hands, scowling at her and placing her back on the counter.
“What? Could be Damian.”
“Or it’s probably nothing.” I didn’t let her go.
She slumped forward, her head hitting my shoulder as she grumbled and cursed some more.
“You’re like a junkie. A few days with no fighting and you’re chomping at the bit for something to go wrong so you can charge out there and attack someone.”
She straightened so fast she nearly connected her head with my chin. “That is not true. I simply want to know what the hell is going on.”
“We know what’s going on. Nothing.”
“And? Doesn’t that worry you on some level after the stunt we pulled? Or after the last nefari attacked? You’d think if Envy wanted me that badly, he would’ve sent them by now. Instead, it’s been quiet. No attacks. No nothing. It’s weird. I don’t like it.”
I sighed and smoothed the loose strands of hair from her face and kissed her again. “You don’t see me running around like a crazy person.”
“I don’t know what to do now,” she muttered and looked away.
“I can think of plenty of things unless you’re bored with me?” I said then laughed when she nibbled her bottom lip. “You know if I were any other guy, I might be offended. You’re lucky I know you so well.”
She rolled her eyes, grabbed my head, and kissed me. But then she hopped off the counter and snatched up her cell. “Nothing. Just a damned storm report.” She tossed her cell into the nearest chair and stomped around the apartment, glared at the front door, then at me.
I waited to see if I’d have to race her to the door when she blew out a breath and marched away.
“You should be enjoying this. It’s like a mini vacation,” I insisted.
“I’m not used to vacations.”
I picked my coffee up then returned to the couch and the newspaper. “Didn’t you say after our fight you took time off?”
She nodded slowly. “And?”
“And how did Damian deal with you going stir crazy then?”
“I might’ve started a couple of bar fights. More than a couple actually.”
I leaned back, shaking my head.
“What? Don’t give me that shit. It’s all this pent-up energy. It has to go somewhere.”
“So you went and picked fights with drunks? Sounds familiar.”
She shrugged. “It was either that or start tracking down some hybrids and see if Shuval came out of the shadows.”
This time I did glare at her, and she smiled back at me.
“No.”
“Oh, come on. We have no idea if Damian’s alive. Or Nor, for that matter. There’s been no word from the dark witch covens. We told our contacts to be on the lookout for this Frank person, but we’ve had no new leads. On anything.” She finished her rant, her arms tense at her sides.
I didn’t reply.
So she picked it back up. “We’re supposed to be stopping Shuval, and all we’re doing is sitting around, twiddling our thumbs. I’m telling you, if we don’t do something soon, something bad is going to come for us. I don’t want to be sitting here doing nothing when it does.”
I rubbed my forehead, wishing we’d made it a whole day without coming back to this same argument. “Nor and Damian are alive. You just have to have to believe they know what they’re doing.”
She scoffed.
I went on, “And if you’d talk to Bowen and make up, the four of us could work on a plan to deal with the reapers. Until you two can stand to be together in the same room, we’re stuck.”
She clenched her jaw and stormed away from me, toward the windows.
“Mercy, just call him. Bowen will get over it. You both should.”
“Nope. Not happening.”
I picked up my cell and scrolled through the contacts for Bowen’s number.
“What are you doing?”
I ignored her and hit Bowen’s name.
Mercy snatched my cell away. She hung up on Bowen and threw my cell into the chair next to hers. We stared each other down as she sat next to me, her hair completely a mess now.
“You need to talk to them,” I insisted.
“What I need to do is investigate the reapers, but someone won’t let me do that.”
“For good reason.”
“It’s the only actual lead we have,” she argued loudly. “Gigi gave us the intel we needed. We should be going there now.”
“We are not making a move against them without sufficient backup.”
She tried to move away from mine, but I held her too tightly, and she eventually gave up, sagging against my chest.
“I think I hate you right now.”
I chuckled. “I can take it. We were nearly killed by Envy, again. He’s sending his minions to kidnap you, remember? I’m not letting you out of my sight. You get that, right?” I held her face. “I almost lost you because I was an idiot. If anything happens to you now, it’ll break me. And going after the reapers alone will be the end of you. Not even you are that strong.”
Her lips thinned, but she gave in. “Yeah, you’re right. I’m too messed up to take them on.”
I trailed my fingers down her scar then kissed it. “Come on.” I made for the door.
“Where are we going?”
“Just come with me.” I held out my hand, and hers slipped into it.
The building I stayed in was connected to another building that had a full gym on the top floor.
I wasn’t about to let Mercy go out and get into another bar fight, but she needed to do something to burn off her aggravation.
When we reached the gym, I opened the door and was happy to see the place was empty. I dragged Mercy through the machines and toward the back where there was a sparring room with black mats and glass walls. It was one of the main reasons I’d chosen this place to live in.
Nor used to stay here in his early Fed days. He’d had them put in this room so he could have a place to spar.
“What are we doing?” Mercy spun around slowly, taking in the area, but there was a glint in her eyes when they landed on me again. “Are we doing what I think we’re doing?”
“Yeah, we are.” I shook out my hands and stretched my neck, removed my grey t-shirt and tossed it aside.
Her appraising gaze raked down my chest and she tilted her head.
; I took an offensive stance and beckoned her forward. “Don’t worry. I’ll go easy on you.”
She scoffed, shaking her head. “Easy on me, huh? You don’t think I can kick your ass?”
“I think you’ve been off your game for weeks.”
I would’ve brought her here days before, but the wounds we both sustained during the fight with the hybrids took a while to heal. She’d been nearly torn apart by rabid shifters and beaten down by that bastard Envy. I’d been worried about her wounds for a while, but she’d healed. Physically, at least.
I hoped the nightmares would’ve gone away by now, but they stubbornly stuck around. I asked her every time she had one if she was fine and she said she was. She was lying, because that’s what Mercy did. Tried to deal with every single issue on her own, like she was invincible.
She planted her feet and nodded. “Guess it’s time I prove you wrong.”
I waited for her to make the first move. If nothing else, this would kill some time and with any luck, when we returned to the apartment, there’d be a message from Nor.
“Damn,” I muttered as I walked into the kitchen, holding my side.
Mercy giggled. Or tried to, but the sound was cut off with her sharply inhaled breath. This was followed by several curses of her own. “Why does everything hurt?”
I walked to the fridge and pulled out two beers.
We’d sparred for the last four hours. Shit. Longer than that, I realized, as I glanced at the kitchen clock. It started out rough.
I had Mercy on her ass at least four times when she finally gave a war cry and threw herself at me. I’d had to pay better attention then.
She’d pinned me more times than I was willing to admit, considering how damned small she was.
She winked, as though she was thinking of our final bout. One that had me on the mat, again, and left her cackling like a psycho. She laughed again now, then stopped and winced, holding her stomach.
“Ha,” I muttered.
She stalked closer, stood on her toes and barely let her lips brush against mine.
I was ready to pull her in closer, but then she slipped away, and I growled, annoyed.
“I’m going to soak. You should ice that shiner of yours.”