Hell and Back: The Protector Guild Book 4

by Holborn, Gray

  I was blessed with a few more moments of silence, and tried not to get too annoyed by the fact that a reminder of her incubus was enough to get her back on mission. I hadn’t met the kid, but he sounded like a bit of a bore—especially if his older brother was anything to measure him against. Not to mention he was literally draining her each time they met. Which bumped me up on the good guy list, as far as I was concerned. Not a drop of her blood had so much as touched my lips, despite the heavy temptation. I was the good monster of the group.

  I scented Nash inside of an old building, the cement siding was run down and looked like it was being reclaimed by the nature surrounding it. These buildings had all been occupied by his people when I’d left—there had to be at least twenty or thirty vampires living in these parts back then. And now, judging from the silence and general apocalyptic feel of the place, it seemed that Nash was the only one left. While I wasn’t one who liked to embrace curiosity when it put my life at risk, this particular scenario had my interest peaked.

  Dragging the girl, I climbed to the top of a building across the street, figuring it would give us a good view of the area all at once, see if anyone else was wandering about. I settled over the edge, tempted to dangle my legs as I used to as a child. But that didn’t exactly align with my goal of keeping to the shadows and not standing out.

  Max curled up next to me. I could feel her eyes boring into the side of my head and I pushed away the annoying tingling sensation creeping along my skin. That had been happening more and more recently. It was like every molecule of my body wanted to merge with hers through some weird sort of magical osmosis.

  Honestly, maybe I should just kill the girl. That might stop all the weird swirly shit going through my body. Maybe her death would bring me some peace. Or at the very least, a momentary reprieve. It was a disturbing feeling—not wanting to disappoint someone. And I wasn’t sure why this girl inspired it in me all of a sudden.

  “What?” I bit out, no longer able to stomach the silence. That was strange too. Why did I seem to encourage her obnoxious commentary?

  “You’re not afraid of me,” she said, her words soft enough that they didn’t carry beyond our small little bubble.

  I glanced down at her, and felt my face scrunch up in confusion. “Why on earth would I be afraid of you? You’re pint-sized. You’re the one who should be afraid. I could break your neck and drain your veins in the time it would take you to say Taylor Swift.”

  “You’re very strange, you know.” She crossed her legs and leaned back on her palms, studying me with a shrewd focus. For all of her innocence, she could hold her own—I could see it in the way her eyes clocked everything, every movement. Hell, she’d even threatened Nash. Something I hadn’t seen anyone do and survive since we were children. “I literally conjured fire and barbecued a pile of vamps. And I have no idea how I did it. Aren’t you afraid I might do the same to you, even if by accident?”

  Huh. When she put it that way…

  I shrugged. “You wouldn’t kill me, accident or not.”

  Her lips turned up in a smirk, but she tried to disguise it by looking away. “What makes you so sure? You're pretty insufferable and your arrogance just might be the end of you. My unconscious self, or whatever the hell is lingering inside me, might eventually get fed up with it, you know?”

  Was it weird that I was getting turned on by a death threat? Probably better not to analyze it.

  “I’m not as easy to kill as the leeches back at the hotel.” I grinned at her. “But I would welcome you to try. Though it might be better suited for a bedroom.”

  As I’d hoped, her cheeks turned a burnished pink, bright enough that it was visible through her golden skin. I watched as her throat bobbed with an exaggerated swallow. I breathed in deeply, catching her scent as she turned away. She was…aroused. How interesting.

  “Thought you said you weren’t more powerful than other vampires?” she mumbled, but paused for a long beat. “Darius,” she started again, her voice uncertain. Was she going to push the flirtation further? “Are you sure that you don’t know what I am? Do you promise?”

  I tried to disguise my disappointment at the turn in conversation, but reached for her hand nonetheless. For some reason, I wanted to comfort her, to erase that fear from her eyes. Fear had a place, and I would welcome the chance to explore her fear in a different, more enticing context. But not like this.

  “You have my word, little protector. I may not tell full truths as readily as many, but I do not lie. I have no idea what sort of monster you are.”

  Her face dropped slightly at the word, and I tried not to take it personally. Protectors were always so goddamn sanctimonious, even the ones who weren’t really protectors—or not only protectors anyway. The wolf and the girl were proof enough that all you had to do was grow up amongst them to adopt that particularly insufferable trait.

  “But I can’t wait to find out,” I added, my tone laced with insinuation. I was growing strangely addicted to her blushes and when one answered my comment, I shot her a coy smirk before turning back towards the building Nash had entered. I had a feeling that he was in for the night. After all, it was close to dawn at this point. I just didn’t understand why the hell he was spending time in abandoned buildings alone. Where were his people?

  “It wouldn’t be your fault, you know,” she said, any sign of embarrassment wiped away from her face. When I narrowed my eyes in confusion, she continued, her eyes meeting mine fearlessly. “If something happened to your friend. While you were gone. You can blame yourself for many past grievances, Darius. I’m sure you’ve killed more creatures than you can count. But that shouldn’t be one of them. If she died or was taken or whatever happened—that isn’t a guilt that should resonate inside of you. You left trying to make a better life for yourself. I’ve seen enough of this place to know that life here was probably filled with many hardships.”

  My stomach tightened at her words and I turned away quickly, trying to get my breathing under control. What the hell was wrong with me? What the hell was wrong with her? What right did she have to have this effect on me? And why the fuck couldn’t I seem to control it? Maybe I should just end things here and now. Leave her on this roof to her own fate, navigate hell on her own.

  Or better yet, maybe I should just kill her. Have a good meal. Her scent alone promised that I wouldn’t be disappointed.

  Her small hand slid under my jaw and gripped the side of my face, pulling gently until I faced her again.

  Steady eyes. Filled with a piercing strength and a kindness that made my stomach dip.

  She was so determined, so sure in that moment. How could she be some small, innocent creature one moment, and this fucking force the next?

  “I mean it,” she said, her words carrying a heavy weight, a demand. “You can—”

  I pressed my lips to hers, half to swallow whatever nonsense she was going to push into the air between us, and half because I simply couldn’t not.

  Her lips parted on a shocked gasp, and I took the opportunity to deepen the kiss, to taste her in a way that wouldn’t end with her as nothing more than a shriveled up corpse. I knew right then that all of my joking aside, I couldn’t kill her, no matter how infuriating she was. The thought of her no longer breathing, no longer around to entertain me, caused a sharp ache so deep that I couldn’t find its source no matter how hard I tried digging for it.

  I groaned in surprise as her tongue danced along mine. She tasted like the perfect mix of spice and something sweet, but not cloying. The blood of our feast lingered just slightly, and the monster beneath my skin slowly rose to the surface, intrigued. I pushed it back, subtly, gently, knowing that my balance and control over it was tenuous and delicate.

  I pulled her closer to my body, my fangs descending, begging for a taste, even a single drop. She moaned softly and it was enough for my dick to throb—the monster and I both desperate to make her make that sound again. Over and over.

  This—whate
ver this was—was new. My heart was racing against my chest and my breath was oscillating between stopping altogether and coming out in desperate, greedy pants.

  I gripped her hips, needing her on my lap five minutes ago. But in an instant that I couldn’t fully process in my lust-filled brain, her lips were ripped from mine.

  17

  Max

  Kissing a vampire. I was kissing a fucking vampire. Willingly.

  Somehow, that realization hit me harder than the wrecking ball of a body that ripped me away from said vampire in the first place.

  My mind was still in a daze, still not computing what had just happened. What had I been thinking?

  I pushed the mindfuck from my thoughts, trying to refocus. The force from whatever—or whoever—had shoved me towards the edge of the building. I gripped my fingers along the edge of the rooftop, just as my legs swung over the side. It was a tenuous hold, and I could feel my fingers slipping digit by digit, like I was in some low-budget action movie. I dug my feet into the side of the building and pushed, trying to get some momentum so that I could scale back up. With a large shove, I heaved my body into the air, but away from the wall and safety. At the last possible moment, I used the momentum to lift myself into better positioning, so that I could slowly peel my body back onto the roof. I sent a silent ‘thank you’ to Cyrus for forcing me to do daily push-ups since I was five. He would never hear a complaint from me again. Assuming I survived whatever this was.

  As soon as I caught my bearings, I almost wished that I hadn’t. There were werewolves.

  So many fucking werewolves.

  Darius was taking on four or five at once, each of them working in tandem, like they knew where their pack member was going even before they made their own move. If we weren’t currently royally fucked, I’d be deeply impressed by their teamwork.

  I stood, my legs shaky already from the rush of adrenaline and watched as five more approached me, their walk slow and predatory, shoulders pressed together as they closed in. I grabbed my dagger from the holster and unsheathed it just as the first one dove for me.

  Dark black fur completely obliterated my sight, but I managed to step to the side just in time, so that the creature’s claws only barely skimmed my skin. Centering myself, I dove onto the creature, tackling it to the ground and slicing into its abdomen with my blade, all in one seamless motion.

  Warm blood spilled down my wrist, coating my forearm entirely, as the beast let out an anguished howl.

  I thought of Atlas and my stomach clenched, like it was bracing for impact, for grief. Though I knew this wasn’t him, everything I thought about these creatures had changed. I was no longer certain who the enemy was, or if an entire species could ever truly be considered evil. The beast angled its teeth and dove for my neck, almost gaining purchase while I was too busy dealing with empathy.

  I pulled my blade back and shoved it back into the wolf’s diaphragm, beneath its ribs, with all of my strength. In one smooth maneuver up, I pierced the heart and with a heartbreakingly small whimper, the body went still. Two down, and a seemingly infinitely replenishing supply to go.

  I caught my breath as I saw two of its pack members leap towards me.

  With one hand on either side of the dead beast’s body, I dug my toes into the ground and flipped us both, so that when they landed, their claws dug into their friend, instead of into me. Their deep growls seemed to reverberate around me, and through me, until they were all that I could hear. The wolves dug deeper and deeper into their friend, until I was certain that they were determined to go through him entirely if it meant they could get to me.

  I couldn’t let that happen. Beneath two raging wolves and a dead one was probably the worst battle position of all time, and I refused to go down hiding under a carcass.

  I pulled my dagger from the wolf’s chest, disgust filling me as its blood drenched my own abdomen, like we had mirrored wounds.

  Eli, Declan, and Atlas—hell, even Darius—all seemed to think that I could fucking turn into The Human Torch. And Darius was right, I was faster and stronger than I had ever been before, as if turning nineteen and dropping into hell was all a girl had to do to gain some extra juice. But how the fuck did I make the fire thing happen? Because if there was ever a time to self-combust, now was it.

  I gripped the blade, prepared my body, and closed my eyes. I envisioned myself lighting up like a firefighter’s worst nightmare, torching the wolves trying to tear me to bits.

  Nothing.

  I let out a desperately frustrated breath of air.

  What the fuck was the point of a conveniently powerful superpower if I wasn’t able to find the fucking on button?

  A claw grazed my shoulder and I knew I was out of time, that my organic shield was breached and it was now or never.

  Still no fire.

  I remembered what Khali had said, that Ralph could probably come to me if he sensed that I truly needed him. And a burning fear rose in me at the thought. I didn’t want him to come to me. Didn’t want him to get stuck in hell, fighting and possibly dying, because of me.

  With a determined, but annoyed grunt, I used all of my weight to shove the body to the side, desperate to crawl out from beneath it. My blade latched against the carcass, snagging until it dropped from my hands.

  I was free, but my weapon wasn’t.

  The wolves wasted no time as soon as they realized I was out in the open. Both of them pounced at once. In a split-second, probably reckless, decision, I dove for one and tackled it to the ground, determined to take the beast on with just my hands. Bad idea.

  We went down in a pile of limbs, and I punched, clawed, and kicked like a woman possessed. I felt just as much like a wild animal as the being I fought. A heavy shove knocked the breath from my lungs, and I realized that the other wolf had jumped into the fray. I didn’t care. There was so much adrenaline that I couldn’t feel any bites or claws, if they were indeed breaking through my skin at all.

  I elbowed the creature at my back in the face, and used the returning momentum to punch the creature in front of me, like my arm was a bowling ball and they were the gutters. But I knew I couldn’t last for long like this. I needed to get to my blade or I wouldn’t stand a chance in the long run. No protector had ever survived a wolf attack weaponless. And while I wasn’t exactly just a protector anymore, I didn’t think I could survive without something sharp and pointy either.

  Wrapping one hand on each side of one wolf’s face, I tugged. The loud snap of the beast’s neck rang through my ears and I felt the smile grow across my face. A neck break wouldn’t kill the wolf, but it would knock him out long enough for me to get my weapon. Thank you Claude, for teaching me the utility of that fun trick. And thank you increased strength for making it a feasible maneuver for me.

  Without a second thought, I decided to test my newfound speed and hurry back to where my blade lay buried beneath the first wolf. I dug my hand under the creature, swallowing my disgust as its entrails spilled around me. Just as my fingertips found the familiar metal, I felt a jagged set of knives rake down my spine, ripping up my skin and probably a fair bit of muscle. I didn’t have time to linger in the pain, or focus on the fact that a wolf’s teeth were buried into my shoulder. The odds of me turning into one of them from the bite were much lower than the odds of me dying in this very battle.

  I swung my arm around, swiping aimlessly. The muscles in my arm weren’t moving with the usual agility and precision that I was known for. One of the wolves must’ve damaged it pretty badly, but the adrenaline was too high for me to notice.

  I stabbed the creature in its side, again and again and again. I was vaguely aware of a low battle cry and I swung my head around looking for the sound, only to realize that it was coming from me. The momentary glance revealed three more wolves prowling towards me and Darius under a horde of what had to be at least ten now. There was no getting out of this.

  Where the hell were they all coming from? It had been so silent just a
few minutes ago—silent enough that neither of us noticed a single creature until it was too late.

  This was what I got for making out with a fucking vampire.

  My skin started to tingle, whether from the venom in the wolf’s teeth or something else, I wasn’t sure. I lashed out from all angles as the wolves surrounded me, like they were playing with a toy instead of going straight in for the kill now.

  They knew they had me, and they wanted to take their time, savor it.

  A chill ran up my spine and a sort of static electricity took hold of the air around us, raising the hair on my head and arms on end. I took a deep breath in, trying to dispel a sudden wave of dizziness that grew as the energy built, and when I exhaled, the energy around me seemed to short into nothing—no, into something, into a focal point.

  My vision exploded with a flash of flames and I watched, stunned, as the wolves surrounding me were charred where they stood, a perfect circle of fire. A glance down at my hands revealed ground zero.

  Swirls of red and orange that bled into deep blues and purples were coating my hands. I felt my pulse race against my chest, the pace so fast I was certain I was on the verge of a heart attack.

  It was true. They hadn’t been lying. I could create fucking fire from nothing, like a damn magician. On some level, even looking at the flames surrounding my body, watching as they ate away at the wolves, I still couldn’t quite believe it, couldn’t fully wrap my mind around it. The light scent of smoke, almost like a campfire, coated my nostrils as I turned towards Darius, prepared to focus some of this power towards the horde across the roof. Half were still fully trying to take him down, the other half were instead staring at their barbecued packmates.