by Ciara Graves
“No, but it’s going to be impossible to take him here,” I said, giving myself a shake.
So he had a hot date, who cared? If she was with Liam, then I’d take her down too if it came to that. No matter what, I was not leaving this ball without him.
“I might be able to get him distracted,” Iris said.
I shook my head.
“What? I might not be able to turn your head, but I can turn his.”
I almost asked if she could see the woman he was with already, but Iris had a temper, and I sensed I was already on the edge of it. Being slapped by her, for saying she didn’t have a chance, was not part of the plan tonight.
“We’ll watch them for now.”
She sighed heavily but said she was going to grab us champagne.
“So we fit in,” she added when I shot her a look.
Then she pushed her way through the crowd. I walked the other way, keeping my eyes trained on Liam and his date the best I could as they meandered through the other guests.
As tall as I was, it was easy to see them, and I found a place to stand near the edge of the room. I told myself I was watching Liam, but my gaze continually drifted back to the woman with those cold blue eyes at his side. Every time he touched her arm or planted a kiss on her cheek, she smiled, but her eyes said she loathed him. Was he really so blind he couldn’t see it? And who the hell was she? There wasn’t a hint of a scar on her face or I would’ve said she was the bounty hunter.
Guess it was possible for him to have an actual date, or this woman was after something he had. Either way, she was going to be a problem if I couldn’t get them apart.
But then she whispered something in his ear, and he kissed the back of her hand. She walked away into the crowd.
I was about to start moving closer when Iris appeared at Liam’s side with two glasses of champagne. She held one out to him, smiling brightly. From the way he returned the smile, she was laying the charm on heavy.
Rolling my eyes and hoping Nor was ready for an earful in the morning, I quickly changed positions, so I could get closer.
Iris had her arm wrapped around Liam’s, and he was saying something in her ear. She nodded at whatever it was, and they turned. She caught my eye at the last second and winked.
“Damn it. Bloody siren.”
They were leaving the main ballroom and heading through a set of open doors.
I hurried to keep up without running or making it look like I was following them. At the doorway, I peeked in time to see Iris and Liam disappearing around a corner.
I was going to strangle her for doing this. She was always overconfident. This mage was dangerous, and she was putting herself in an extremely risky situation.
Willing my anger to stay in check, I whipped around the wall and ran right into someone.
“Sorry,” I said quickly as I reached out to catch the person.
My hand met bare skin.
A strange sensation rushed through me, and I was no longer standing in the home of the reapers, but far away from this place. Far away from my haunted past.
The moment stretched on until a voice reached my ears.
“No, it’s fine,” the woman replied.
Suddenly, I was staring right into those dark blue eyes. I’d run right into Liam’s supposed date.
“Uh, mind if I have my arm back?”
“Huh?” I glanced down and quickly pulled my hand back. I’d still been holding her arm.
“Right then, have a nice night,” she said and hurried off the same direction Iris and Liam had just gone.
There was no other choice, but to fall in step behind her.
She threw me a curious look over her shoulder, shrugging as if to herself, but when I followed her down the hall to the right, she slowed until we were even.
“Are you lost?”
“No, I saw my friend go down here,” I replied.
“Your friend? You sure?” she asked, eyes narrowing. Not in suspicion, more in worry.
“Think so, why? Are we not supposed to be down here?”
“No, we can be, but… is your friend unstable?”
“Why the hell would you ask that?” I snapped.
“Because… wow, you really don’t know. Shit, you might want to hurry then, before anything happens to her.”
Blood boiling with anger at Iris’s carelessness, I picked up the pace, the woman doing the same.
“Care to share? And why are you going this way?”
“My business,” she replied tightly.
“What happens in there?” I asked when I realized there was only one door in this long stretch of corridor and it was guarded by a vampire.
Iris and Liam could’ve only gone in there.
“You really want to know?” Her tone and dark look said it all, and I ran the rest of the way to the door.
The vampire threw out his arm to stop me, shaking his head.
“I have to get inside.”
“Sorry, pal, not how this works,” the vampire replied. “Do you have a ticket?”
“Ticket?”
“He’s with me,” the woman said, brandishing a gold coin. “My guest.”
The vampire accepted the coin and reached down to open the door. “Very well. If it’s his first time, I suggest you keep an eye on him. The reapers do not appreciate those who disrupt their gatherings.” He eyed me sternly, then opened the door.
The woman put her arm around mine and dragged me into the room.
The second we passed the threshold, the stench that met my nose had me gagging. Despair and fear were the first two sensations that surrounded me, overwhelming my senses and threatening to drag me down into darkness. There were other emotions, but the combination startled me, and I barely held onto the sliver of control left in me.
Tuning them all out was the only thing I could do right then to stop myself from tearing his room apart. Magic pressed against me, making my skin crawl. I dug my nails into my palms to stop my mind from being transported back in time.
“Did you know she was going to come back here?” the woman asked me quietly.
“What? No, it wasn’t exactly part of the plan.”
“And what was the plan?” she asked as we came to a stop in the center of the room.
Supes were scattered around talking and drinking with other ones. Curtains blocked off booths, and several doors led out to other halls or rooms I assumed.
She gave me a sideways glance. “Hey man, you alright?”
“I don’t see her,” I said, hoping she’d drop the first question.
“Do you know who she came in here with?”
I rubbed my forehead, pain exploding behind my eyes while the magic continued to push in closer as if wanting to smother me. This night was turning out to be far more complicated than I imagined and all I wanted to do was find Iris and drag her and Liam out of there, get home, and call it a night.
“I believe he is your date,” I finally answered, figuring it would get me to Iris the quickest.
“Shit,” she snapped. Then she was taking off for another door.
“Wait!” I caught up just as she stepped through and darted down a long stretch of hall. “What is this place?”
“It’s where supes come to find new donors,” she replied. “See if they’re a good fit.”
“But my friend—that’s not why she’s here.”
“You sure? Because that’s what’s going to happen to her.”
Why wasn’t she more pissed that Iris stole her date for the night? Had she come here to be a donor? But a donor for what? Mages didn’t drain life forces or take blood, so what the hell was he up to? And if that was the case, then why did this woman have a ticket to get in here? Was she hoping to be Liam’s donor?
I shot her another sideways look, only to find those eyes colder than they first appeared.
“Is that what you’re hoping to be then?” I asked.
She skidded to a stop outside another door. “What? Hell no,�
�� she snapped. “Stand back.”
“What are you—”
She hiked up the full skirt of her gown to reveal black, leather boots that were certainly not black-tie attire, and kicked the door in.
It splintered after one hit. Then she rammed her shoulder into it until it flew open.
I gawked at her, but she didn’t seem to notice. How the hell was she that strong for someone so small? Then she was through the door.
I hurried to follow.
“What do you think you’re doing?” a man snapped as I left the small corridor that led into a larger room.
I spied Liam standing before a couch. Iris lying on it, unconscious.
“I said I would tell you when it was time.”
“Yeah well, time’s up,” the woman snapped. “Step away from her now.”
“And why would I do that?” Liam glanced at Iris, running his fingers along her cheek. She flinched away from him, but her eyes were closed. “She is the perfect specimen. As are you. I don’t see why you have to be so upset over my having two new donors.”
“Donors for what?” I snarled. “You’re a mage.”
He shrugged. “Is that all I am?” He opened his mouth wide and fangs longer than any vampire I’d ever met extended from his gums.
“Holy shit,” the woman beside me muttered. “What are you?”
“If you stick around, you might just get to see, but this demon—who the hell did you bring into my presence?” Liam strolled closer, reaching out a hand to touch my shoulder as his eyes narrowed, his head craned to the side. He did something to me, making it impossible to back away.
I growled as his hand moved down my arm.
“Hmm, there is something about you, demon… what is it? You’ve been touched. Perhaps that’s it.”
My demon rage overrode his magic. I snatched his wrist in my hand, squeezing until he winced, hissing at me like a vampire instead of a mage.
“Do not touch me again. Liam Manchester, you are coming with me.”
“What?” he snapped.
“No, not happening,” the woman said. “Let him go, tough guy. You found your girlfriend. The mage is mine.”
“So you can take him away? Let him escape?” I shook my head, digging around in my tux jacket for my badge and pulled it out. I flipped it open.
The woman’s eyes widened then narrowed to slits as several loud curses fell from her lips.
“Unless you want to go with me to the Fed building, you’ll leave this room right now.”
“And how do you plan on getting him out of this mansion without being spotted? With your friend over there, who from the looks of it is going to be out for a while?”
I glared at her. “I’ll find a way.”
“Dragging this bastard along with you? The second you walk out that door, he’s going to cause a scene. Take your friend and go. Trust me. This dipshit will get what’s coming to him.”
“And do I not get a say in the matter?” Liam chimed in.
“No,” we both snapped at the same time.
“You are in over your head,” I growled.
The woman puffed out her cheeks, and those blue eyes grew even colder, something I did not expect to be possible. “Right. You’re leaving me no choice then.”
I had no idea what she was talking about, but then she reached under her skirts, and suddenly, a silver pistol was aimed at my face.
I glowered at her, wondering how she managed to get that in here but figured she used a charm of some kind. The harsh smell of magic was coming off her the longer I was near her. From the annoyed look on her face, whatever charms she used to get in were wearing off, fast. Witch. She had to be a witch.
“Hand him over now, Fed, and I won’t shoot you in the foot.”
“Who the hell are you?” Liam asked loudly before I could.
“The woman you’re coming with right now. Nice and quiet, because I, for one, would not like to be eaten tonight. Hand him over,” she said to me. “Come on. Hurry up.”
“You’re not going to shoot. The second you do, the guards will come running.”
“Soundproof rooms,” she whispered. “So no, they won’t.”
Who the hell was this woman? I wanted to say she was the bounty hunter, but there was no hint of a scar on her face, and she did not look like any bounty hunter I’d come across in the past.
Iris stirred on the couch, and I made the mistake of glancing over.
Liam wrenched his arm free and opened his mouth.
The woman yelled and aimed her gun at him, but too late.
He clapped his hands together, and a booming clap of thunder had us all clutching our heads from the reverberating sound.
The door slammed shut, and the woman was rushing to go after him.
I glanced back to find Iris sitting up, holding her head.
“You alright?”
“Yeah, good,” she muttered, staring around the room. “Where am I?”
“Just get out of here. Get to the transport,” I ordered, then took off after the woman and Liam.
Iris yelled, but there wasn’t time to explain. If she got herself here, she could get her ass back to Sector 21.
The woman’s skirts were just vanishing down the hall and around the corner as I took off, sprinting as fast as I could to catch up.
I should’ve been able to outrun her, but it was all I could do not to lose sight of her.
Liam should only have one place to go, but when I made another right turn, I found the woman bashing into a door at the end of the hall.
“Liam! Come on,” she yelled furiously. She slammed into the door a second time, and it gave way. She fell through, and I saw we were right back in the main foyer of the mansion.
The woman holstered her gun, then walked quickly out.
I caught hold of her arm before she got far and spun her around, capturing her in my arms.
Several supes nearby eyed us curiously, but I shifted my body to block her from their sight and hoped it looked like we were talking to each other.
“What are you doing?” she hissed. “He’s getting away!”
“You tell me who you are right now,” I growled.
“Why should I?” She peered around my shoulder. “He’s getting away,” she repeated, angrier this time.
“I don’t care. You can’t go barreling through that room and grab him. You’ll get caught with those weapons you’re not supposed to have. And you said you wanted to get out of here alive.”
“So what… you want us to work together?” she asked. “Ha, right, Fed. Think I’ll pass. You’ll only get in the way.”
“You’re the one getting in the way.”
“Me? I had him. And you and your friend screwed it all up.”
“Not how I see it,” I grunted louder, and a few more supes paused to stare at us.
She rolled her eyes. “You’re drawing attention to us. Good job genius.”
Then her arms were around my neck. She dragged me down, and our lips met in a fiery kiss that left me confused and reeling, wanting it never to end.
In the back of my mind, I knew this was all an act, but then why didn’t she stop? I expected her to pull back.
She leaned into me instead, and I crushed her against my chest, keeping her there, right where she belonged. The thought startled me, and then the kiss was over, leaving me panting as hard as she was staring at me, confused.
I sucked in a deep breath, apples, and cinnamon teasing my nose.
She swallowed hard a few times. Then those cold eyes shifted away from my face.
“No one’s watching us anymore,” she said roughly, cheeks flushed. She remained in the safety of my arms for a moment longer, then took a step back.
Instinct said to pull her right back in for another kiss, but I let her go, wondering at the cold rushing through my body.
She reached for the chain with a charm that disappeared into her dress and pulled it up. It was a tiny hourglass, and there was hardly any green
sand left in the upper globe. “See what you did?”
“What is that?”
“Nothing you need to worry about. Move.”
That was the last thing I wanted to do. And from the way her eyes darkened more with want this time, it was the same for her.
“Only if you say you are not going after him.”
“Yeah, okay,” she muttered. “Not happening. That asshole is mine, so I suggest you move and let me go after him.”
“I’m a Fed. And you’re not.”
She sighed, patting me on the arm. “Well, Fed, I hope you know how to run.”
“What?”
She grabbed hold of my arm and with more strength than should’ve been possible, shoved me to the side, then bashed me into the wall. My head smacked into the stone, and she was gone, darting into the ballroom.
“Troubles with your date, friend?”
Turning, I found one of the vampire guards watching me closely. “Apparently. Just having a bit of a spat,” I lied and offered up a grimace. “You know how women are.”
“Yes, well, be sure you two do not cause any more of a disturbance—what is that?”
Inwardly, I groaned as another shout echoed out from the ballroom, and the music suddenly cut off.
More yells erupted, then the vampire guard took off for the room, speaking into his earpiece, asking what was happening.
An explosion rocked the mansion, and I sprinted after the guard just in time to witness everyone running in panic. Fire soared around the room and everywhere was chaos. Smoke billowed, filling the space and burning my eyes.
I coughed into my arm, holding it the best I could over my face.
Liam. He had to have done this to get away from the woman.
I hadn’t hated anyone as much as I hated her at that moment. Damned good kisser or not.
“You there!” a guard suddenly yelled, pointing to me. “It’s him, grab him!”
I whirled around to make a break for the front door, only to find the path blocked by more vampires and two demons. I hadn’t planned on getting in this big of a fight tonight, but I had to get out of here.
I braced myself, waiting for the first one to attack when gunshots exploded from behind me, taking two vampires down. They’d survive, but those wounds would hurt like hell for hours. More gunshots sent the last ones scurrying, then someone had hold of my hand, yanking me forward.