Fatal Sight (Harbingers Of Death Book 2)

by LeAnn Mason

  If she did die, it had better not be as a result of whatever was going on between Seke and Aria. Her knuckles cracked as her fists clenched. Relationships were a sore spot for her as she’d lost many to time.

  Seke was her superior, and she wouldn’t intervene unless she had to. They’d trained Aria to a T. But if the god was unable to appropriately dissuade the swooning banshee, Ember was sure it would end up being the downfall of Aria’s trial run. If she had to step into the middle of that, she would. Anything that got in the way of their team doing their job pissed Ember right the fuck off.

  She closed her eyes and counted down from ten, knowing she’d have to tuck some ice packs from the mini freezer in her room beneath her sheets to avoid setting the fabric aflame while she slept.

  Tomorrow, they’d test Aria as a true member of the HDPU. And Ember hoped the only people to die would be their targets.

  3

  Unlike the melodic tones of Jessica’s siren song, Aria’s screams were harsh and loud… and really starting to grate on the alluring harbinger’s nerves. The girl couldn’t carry a tune in a bucket, bless her heart. Worse, it was calling in unwanted attention from the females already drawn to the fight by their rising bloodlust.

  “Sugar, can you just shut the front door for, like, two seconds?” Jessica shouted, spinning around to dazzle two oncoming inmates with a thousand-watt smile before bashing their heads together. A dribble of blood leaked from one of their noses, snagging the siren’s attention.

  Jessica did a quick scan, cocked her head and, deciding she could risk it, stooped to get just a little… taste. Her tongue snaked out, the tip touching the oozing scarlet liquid. So darn good. She shuddered, wanting more.

  “Jessica! Behind you!” Cole’s warning came from far away where he was trapped in the midst of the battle.

  A simple chess-match gone wrong in the yard had quickly escalated into a full-fat, butter churn of a gang war. She couldn’t even see the guard’s red-flaring eyes from her position within the meleé. If she couldn’t get to him and help extract him and their banshee, he might resort to his canine form, and then, far more than their targets might die.

  Their captain wouldn’t like that. In fact, the Director would downright hate it. It was in direct opposition to the HD’s intentions.

  Jessica quickly ducked under the swinging fist that assumed she was on the opposing gang’s side. That’s what Aria brought to the team: the prompt vocalization that she wanted to be a target, to be involved in the fight. What she should have done, like the rest of them, was to stay quiet and obscure on the sidelines, ready to clean up the mess, not stride into the middle of it, wailing. Chaos embroiled them in a shit pile they should just be spectating as if the banshee had walked right in front of a stampede.

  “You will work together, and you will look out for each other. If one of you gets hurt because another didn’t protect them, I will be forced to reevaluate that member’s place on this team. Am I clear?”

  Jessica hadn’t been much of a fan of their new teammate when Seke originally made that threat her first day at the bunker, but at the moment, the blonde bombshell was going so far as to reconsider the phrasing. Perhaps she didn’t want to be a part of this prison unit.

  A transfer to another Harbingers of Death team might be a needed adventure, especially if this one included a naive supernatural who jeopardized them all and needed protecting around every corner.

  Hadn’t Seke worked with Aria on these scenarios? Their captain had evidently jumped the gun; their clairvoyant obviously needed more time training before her first official mission. She shouldn’t be here.

  But hindsight was twenty-twenty. It was a bit late for that.

  “I’m sorry,” Aria managed to call out, finally controlling her banshee abilities. “I wasn’t prepared for the second vision.”

  “You knew we had two targets,” Jessica snarled, arching her back to avoid another swing from a meaty fist.

  She snaked between the flailing arms and cracked her forehead against the assailant. The woman’s eyes crossed as she crumpled to the gravel as slow as molasses in wintertime.

  Who said a lady couldn’t play rough?

  A flash of dark feathers swooped overhead. Raven dipped low, pecking and clawing at the nearest bodies swarming around Cole where he’d dived in to back up Ember and Aria.

  They were already down to four when Ember fell not long after their first target dropped, and Jessica was madder than a wet hen. Poor Ember seemed forced to regenerate too often with Aria around.

  “For Pete’s sake,” she griped through the layers of shark-like teeth that had slipped free as her anger grew.

  Opening her mouth wide and tipping her head back, she began to sing.

  The grunts, roars, and groans of the rivaling gang members weren’t enough to drown out the dulcet tones of the siren’s call. Soon, those other noises began to abate as well. The atonal scream of the banshee faded.

  Jessica dropped her chin. Several faces at the back of the horde turned toward her, dazed looks in their eyes, expressions filling with wanton lust. A few stumbled toward the siren, who swiftly backed away, luring the quickly quieting crowd from her teammates.

  Filling her lungs between stanzas, she raised her volume and really belted out the ethereal song in a clear soprano. Prettier than a peach, her looks sealed the deal, even for the straight criminals locked up in this prison.

  No human could resist her powers.

  However, today, she did not preen under all the attention and sexual interest.

  She’d exposed her preternatural talents. Seke would have to do some clean-up, and he would not be happy about that. They were sure to get a stern talking-to later for the hot mess this had become. They needed to get things under control. When the god arrived, he needed easy access to the bodies to retrieve the souls and help them cross over quickly.

  “First target is detaching!” The hellhound’s pitch was calm and cool while also deep and booming to reach her ears over the song. Jessica knew Cole well enough to read the tension coiled beneath. As the crowd dispersed, his massive dark form revealed itself, his abnormal amber eyes staring at hers.

  They didn’t have much time. But first, they needed the second soul. Who was the second target? Who had Aria seen in her vision? And when would the death happen?

  Cole spoke to Aria urgently, his dreads swinging, large hands gesturing, probably asking the same question in Jessica’s mind. Their thoughts were pretty in-sync after years of working together. The banshee’s head was tipped down, silver hair covering her pale face. She shook her head at Cole.

  Jessica backed up further as she became the center of the gathering of inmates. She clambered backward onto a picnic table, surrounded as if by a pool of sharks… with very active libidos. Several people scrambled up after her. She kicked and stepped on fingers, keeping them at bay. Most remained on the benches, but frequently, one would crawl up onto the table. Hands reached out, pawing her orange jumpsuit, groping her curves, toying with the blonde curls framing her face.

  She had her back against a metaphorical wall.

  Darn it all to heck. Aria needed to hurry up. The siren was worn slap out.

  Though their jail-time for this mission hadn’t been much more than a week, Aria pinpointing their first target quickly through her dreams, it was long enough that this short song was depleting Jessica’s powers. A nibble of that downed inmate might have been wise. Jessica reckoned it was too late for that.

  A pair of wet lips smashed against her ear, a slobbery tongue laving the tip, and a pair of teeth much more blunt than her own nipped the lobe.

  Normally, she’d be down for some yard games with these cooped-up and fiery femme criminales. But she was in battle mode. Instead of the usual zing, a rush of annoyance, exacerbated by the state of their affairs, caused her to lift the back of her hand to brush the offender away. Too much force caused her to smack her knuckles into a fleshy cheek.

  The offender
growled when the tap didn’t do much damage beyond wrenching the woman from the thrall under which Jessica’s song had put her. The next pair of hands to grab her were rougher and not in a way that sent a thrill to her hoo-ha.

  Aria and Cole were still talking. Raven, who’d been circling over their heads, took advantage of the shift in attention to land next to them as a slender, dark-haired woman. She joined the argument. Cole was getting irate, muzzle extending into a snout, canine teeth hanging over his lips. When he jabbed a finger toward Jessica, who had begun yet another verse of her song, his finger was tipped with a sharp claw.

  Aria looked up then, following the stretch of his finger, to see Jessica’s current predicament. Her face wasn’t filled with the shame Jessica thought it ought to be. Instead, it was bloodless with fear, her black lipstick and eyeliner making her pale skin and wide, icy eyes pop. Aria’s lips rolled, and for a moment, she looked like she was going to throw up. But their eye contact didn’t cut away as Aria opened her mouth, and what expelled from it was not vomit — it was a bloody murder scream. Aria had involuntarily revealed the second target’s identity with the direction of her gaze and, with her vocal cords, informed them that the death of the second target was imminent, not just forthcoming. This gang fight was going to claim a second life soon.

  Raven turned huge, round, onyx eyes toward her gal pal, already moving toward Jessica. Between one stride and the next, she pulled the taser from Cole’s belt — the only weapon around.

  Cole’s red eyes blazed toward Jessica, his body morphing the rest of the way into a snarling, giant, black wolf-dog mid-leap as he bounded toward the siren.

  Behind them, Aria continued to wail in that same spot as if her feet were rooted to the ground.

  Jessica’s song dripped and stuttered to a halt.

  Immediately, the mass around her began to undulate in a roiling boil, more hands grabbing, pulling, wrenching.

  But which one was their target?

  Jessica tried to peer around her for someone who looked like they were in a tight spot and not going to make it. It was impossible to even pinpoint one individual; she was surrounded by the throes of chaos.

  Limbs, heads, bodies were everywhere. Feet stepped on hers. Someone yanked backward on her ugly regulation sweatshirt, and she choked, stumbling toward the edge of the table.

  The weight against her throat had her gasping for air until she could cock her arm and slam an elbow behind her. The grasping fingers released.

  Over their heads, Jessica could just make out Ember’s red hair through the translucent outline of the soul of their first target. The girl’s unseeing cinnamon eyes stared back at Jessica. But she would be back. Jessica wasn’t worried. Their phoenix would find her way back to them. She always did.

  Between Jessica and Ember, their first target’s soul was floating over a supine body splayed in a pool of blood with a piece of pipe thrust into its neck. Many other wounds marred the body.

  Jessica figured once they finished with the second target, she might be allowed to have a little snack, especially considering she was doing all of the work. The authorities wouldn’t notice a few bites amongst that mess, and the cause of death was pretty obvious, so no prying autopsy would be necessary anyway. Seke often let her have a munch. Their captain knew that rules were there to accomplish a task, but once it had been done… a few little leniencies made for a happy and healthy team.

  Speak of the god, and he shall appear.

  Stepping into her focused field of vision, a guard faced Jessica. Her eyes left the appealing morsel on the ground and traveled up his pant leg, narrow waist, broad chest, to his olive-skinned face, framed by soft, loosely-styled, dark hair.

  Jessica’s head cocked. Seke was staring right at her, not the detaching soul next to him, waiting to be ferried across. His expression was carefully controlled, neutral, but his jaw was tight, his hazel eyes round. With a brisker stride than his normal pace, he made his way toward the melee as well.

  Their captain was getting involved in the action?

  An ice-cold chill skittered up Jessica’s spine — or maybe that was another pair of hands.

  Then, Cole was there, barreling through, plowing bodies aside like a bull. An inmate was hit with Raven’s taser, vibrating in place before dropping like a sack of potatoes. But it wasn’t enough.

  “Jess!” Cole was repeating her name.

  Dragging her gaze to him, Jessica found their loyal puppy yet again in human form, physically wrestling with irate inmates, throwing them aside with bulging muscles, his expression determined and a bit wild as he shoved his way toward her.

  Raven landed on Jessica’s shoulder as a bird, having abandoned her weapon, thin toes curling sharp talons to grip her teammate, hard. Her beak snapped at the reaching hands, her large wings flapped in faces. Her loud and hoarse caws proclaimed her defiance.

  Something sharp nicked Jessica’s Achilles’ tendon, making her leg buckle as she cried out.

  Crumpling in a broken sprawl, half landing on the tabletop, half on the bodies. The masses were on her immediately, pushing her further down into the rock-strewn dirt as blows came at her from every angle. Feet trod on her; boots kicked her ribs; fists pummeled her midsection. Panic infused her every inch.

  Opening her mouth to revive her song, she was rewarded with a fist to the teeth before the magic could affect. Coppery blood filled her mouth, and she coughed, spitting out a tooth and a mouthful of vital liquid, but her throat filled with blood again within seconds, and she gurgled, drowning in her own blood. The throbbing ache in her nose and split lips joined the overwhelming pain all over.

  Trying to protect herself, she lifted her hands in a feeble attempt to cover her face, rolling onto her side in a ball. A rib broke. A kick to the eye caused her vision to spark with a blinding light before going dark. Something heavy fell on her, crushing already damaged body parts.

  Mournful howls from Cole and Raven’s angry caws were joined by a scream. Aria was back in action, but it sounded different — more of a scream of anguish and distress than a prophetic warning. It was muted, though, among the shouts and yells barely heard through her ringing ears.

  Jessica silently willed her friends to make it stop, prayed to Seke to help her. The taste of her own blood was nothing like the deliciousness of the recently deceased.

  Then, it was over.

  Between one short, wheezing inhale that sent searing pain through her ribs and the next, there was suddenly nothing.

  She was free.

  Jessica took a moment before cracking her eyes open to assess the situation. The sound had stopped, the blows ceased. Was the fight over? It had to have been Seke. He must have stopped it all, saved her.

  When she finally peeled open her eyes, chaos continued to reign. She frowned at the silence and rolled onto her back.

  As expected, her captain stood over her, jostled slightly by the crowds. Amazingly, the siren’s eyes weren’t swollen shut as she expected, and she could make out his impressive figure.

  He’d always taken care of his team. She should have known he’d save her.

  Sitting up, she reached out a hand for his help.

  He did not return the gesture. He was a caring but tough leader, encouraging them to stand on their own, to be independent and strong.

  Jessica shook her head, stifling a laugh at his choosing to use this as a teaching moment. “Thank you,” she said instead, meaning it with all her heart.

  That had been… she didn’t want to think about how close that had been. It was over. They were fine. Presumably, the second target was found since she couldn’t hear Aria’s piercing call anymore. They could wrap things up now.

  The siren pushed herself up, adjusting her hair, which was undoubtedly tousled, and straightening her outfit. Goodness, her make-up had to be a mess after all of that. She hoped Seke would allow her a few minutes to clean up before they left and went back out in public. When her head tipped down as she brushed her hands over her
hips, Jessica froze.

  Below her was an unmoving body. Not just below her… she was standing in it, her feet passing right through it.

  Panic splashed through her in a hurry, and her heart dropped to the bottom of her feet. She felt colder than she ever had in her long, long life, and her head snapped back up to stare at Seke, at the grim expression she hadn’t recognized.

  As if in slow motion, Cole fought his way behind Seke, tossing some orange-clad felon aside. He pulled up short, horror sending his bold features into disarray. Dropping to his knees, claw-tipped fingers digging into his scalp between corded dreads, bright red eyes searching Jessica’s.

  Raven stepped up behind him, her hand gripping his shoulder so tight her knuckles strained white. She seemed to be in shock, her eyes darting everywhere but the downed siren.

  Finally arriving on Seke’s other side as other guards began rounding up the spitting and hissing gang members, Aria joined the macabre gathering. The banshee’s lips were finally clamped shut. Her downcast eyes did not look at her fallen teammate. Tears dripped from the tip of her nose into the dirt before her.

  Jessica’s attention passed across them all and skipped over to Ember’s quiet form, exposed now that the fighters were being pressed up against the chain-link fence around the yard, finally subdued… too late.

  Her fleeting focus returned to Seke’s. He did her the courtesy of keeping his gaze directly on hers.

  “No,” Seke replied to her earlier statement in a strained voice. He swallowed hard. “Thank you, Jessica.” They were only a few words, but so much more was inferred.

  For a moment, Jessica felt betrayed. But he couldn’t have known. He hadn’t. She could see the surprise and grief in his eyes, carefully tempered by his mask. He still had a mission to complete.

  The god of death held out his hand.

  Jessica looked down at the familiar palm. The long, unshaking fingers extended as they had been when he first welcomed her to the HDPU he led.

  “Come,” Seke said gently. “I will assist you across as you have done for so many others.”