by Sean Hayden
Jeffries was a little more cocky with the extra power in his chest. He had reached down and grabbed Daren by the neck, hauling him to his feet, while I dealt with the traitor. I had made the decision to save Cosmo first without batting an eyelash. He had a sword pointed at his throat, and he was an innocent bystander. Daren was a lot more resilient and not technically a civilian. I briefly prayed I had chosen the correct path.
"One move and the elf's head gets separated from his shoulders."
I stopped in my tracks, holding my arms out to the sides as unmenacingly as I could possibly seem. We were at a stalemate. My brain raced frantically to come up with a solution. Then I saw Daren sigh resignedly. He flashed me a tragic smile and closed his eyes.
He was going to sacrifice himself.
For me.
Stupid fucking elf.
Time slowed. I started to scream for him to stop. Not to do it. Jeffries looked to the elf in confusion, expecting him to attack.
The glass of the only windows in the library exploded inward. A shadowy winged figure could barely be seen as it landed in a shower of shards.
Jeffries spun, taking his eyes off Daren and myself. I lunged and miraculously grabbed the elf. We crashed to the ground, him on top of me as I slid across a field of broken glass. A wet scream tore through the air where Jeffries stood. As soon as we stopped, I rose as fast as possible into a crouch, ready for the attack that never came.
A black skinned demon feasted upon what had once been Jeffries throat, ignoring me for now. I grabbed Daren and pushed him toward Cosmo, who stood there silently watching the whole exchange with a dumbfounded look on his face.
"Run," I hissed at the two of them, spinning back again toward the stuff of nightmares.
Jeffries stared at me over the demon's shoulder until his head rolled lifelessly backward onto the floor with a wet thud. Images of Vic flashed in my memories. The demon had completely chewed through his neck. She lifted the twitching body up and began to dance in circles, flashing me smiles with every pirouette…
Her face was covered in mire, but she was still beautiful. If you found black scales, fangs, horns, and blood red eyes attractive. I hated to admit it, but I kind of did. She was breathtaking. Until the moment she shoved her arm down the stump of Jeffries' neck and pulled his heart out through it. She dumped the body and took a bite of the heart like a princess with an apple.
"Hi. Hello," she said talking with her mouth full.
"Hello?" I made my greeting a question. One murder every three days and she had just fed. I had no idea if she was going to attack me or not. Technically she'd just helped me, but I had no idea why.
"I see you finally came. I've been waiting for you forever. Days."
"Um… Who are you?"
"Your enemy. Your friend. Your cousin. Your savior. Your torturer," she said, ticking off names on her fingers, heart still clutched in her fist. "Most just call me Rayna. Bad."
"Hi, Rayna. I'm Ash."
"I know. Your father sent me to find you. Kill," she said, taking another bite of heart.
Fear seized me. Vampires don't sweat, but for the first time in my life I had a feeling I was about to start. I took an involuntary step backward.
"Oh, don't be afraid. Yet. I'm not done playing. Feeding. You can run in a minute. Later. I probably won't hurt you. Tonight. It's been a long time since I've been able to run free in the mortal realm. Food. You have other problems to deal with. Council. Deal with them first. Survive. Maybe. Then we'll play. Feast. Maybe even fuck. Sex. You loved my daughter. Victoria. Stole her from me you did. Angry."
I felt like throwing up. The demon wasn't playing with a full deck. But one thing in her one-sided conversation struck home.
"How was Victoria your daughter? She was almost as young as I am."
"She was of my line. Vampire. A granddaughter many generations removed. Thousands. But they're all my children. Pawns. Playthings. Toys!" She cackled.
"Okay. So. What do we do now?"
"You deal with your problems. Vampires. I'll keep eating. Gluttony. And then I'll come find you! Feast! Freedom. Happy."
She took one last bite of the heart and tossed the rest of it up in the air. I followed the arc and caught it. By the time I looked up, she was gone. A headless vampire, pooling blood on the floor, the only sign she had ever been there. I slumped to the ground and dropped the heart.
"Is this the time to be sitting on your ass?"
I had another visitor miraculously appear. I looked over at the angel sitting inside the broken magic circle making mime gestures. I couldn't fucking help it, so help me, gods. I started laughing.
"Thanks for your help." I fervently hoped he spoke fluent sarcasm.
"I told you. Not my department…"
"I know. You're a miracle worker. You could have at least rid the world of the demon."
"Again. Not my problem. She's yours."
"Well, it's been great talking to you, but I need to check on everybody. Especially my partner."
"He's fine. The elf you've been hanging with went to check on him. He's chained up with silver in a strange room with lots of leather. They're breaking the locks with magic right now."
"He's not hurt?"
"Not badly. They wanted him immobilized, not dead. You on the other hand…"
"Yeah. Most people want me dead. Especially that fucker over there," I said, nodding at the slow-healing Quentin.
"Are you gonna kill him?"
"No. I'll let Marcel handle him."
He flashed me a sad smile. "Well. You might want to deal with it. Because The Council's Herald is on his way here."
"So, Quentin was the one who told them we were coming."
"Yes." He faded away again. I was beginning to think he was a ghost and not a real angel at all. I stood up and started walking toward the unconscious vampire.
Then I felt his hand slap my ass.
I spun around, but of course the damn angel wasn't there.
Shaking my head, I walked back over to Quentin. He'd been an asshole to me since the moment he met me. It almost seemed like jealousy. Maybe he was jealous of how Marcel treated me. Who knew? But he not only betrayed me, he betrayed Marcel and that was unacceptable. He had almost gotten a lot of my friends killed. I had the honor of being an Agent of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, but right at that moment, I wasn't.
I reached down and grabbed his neck. His eyes bulged as I rudely woke him from his peaceful slumber. He saw Jeffries lying headless on the floor, saw the state of the room, and started to panic. I didn't look him in the eye. I didn't want the piece of shit anywhere near the inside of my head. I'd promised to drain him dry, but the thought of putting my mouth anywhere on him made me sick.
So, I squeezed.
My hand slowly crushed his neck. He began scrambling against the ground, fingers and feet slipping in the pool of blood he had already deposited there. Futilely, he began to claw at my arm instead. Disbelief flooded his eyes as the blood began to flow from behind them. My talons pierced the flesh of his neck and started grinding against the back of his spine. I put my foot on his chest, and with a quick snap and a clean jerk, I ripped his head off his body. I tossed it next to Jeffries. That way I could blame it on the demon.
Wiping the blood off on the curtains shredded with Rayna's entrance, I turned around to see a shocked Thompson and Daren. Cosmo looked like he was about to puke. Not bothering to explain, I walked past them and said, "If anybody asks, the demon did it. We need to leave. The Council is on the way."
"What do we do about this mess? And what happened to the link?" Cosmo didn't sound any better than he looked.
"I have no idea," I answered truthfully.
"We'll call the local PD to seal off the area. This just became an FBI crime scene," Thompson said, following me without missing a beat. I could hear his footfalls matching mine. Ninety percent of the time I loved that man more than life itself. "I'll call Sanders and tell him what happened. Good work, kid."
I wasn't used to all the praise from him. Twice in the same day. That had to be a new record. We piled in the car and Thompson backed out of the driveway, crashing through the gate. I gave him a sidelong glance.
"With as much blood as you got on the seat, the rental company wasn't going to give us our deposit back anyway."
I nodded and ignored everything else, closing my eyes all the way back to the hotel. With The Council on the loose, we needed to get out of Dodge quickly. I refused to go anywhere without taking a shower first. Plus, we needed to wait for Marcel.
∞ ∞ ∞
I stuffed the blood-soaked clothes in a trash bag and shoved it and everything else I had brought with me into my suitcase. We were ready to go. I picked up my phone and texted Marcel for the tenth time. His familiar ringtone went off right outside my door. I dropped my phone on the bed, charged across the room, and flung the door open.
Two vampires stood side by side in the lavish hall of our hotel. I didn't recognize either of them. One of them had Marcel's phone. Both of them had smug looks on their faces and were dressed to the hilt in black suits. Their hair, their demeanor, everything about them screamed Eurotrash.
"Where is Marcel?"
"He has the pleasure of being in the company of our master. He wishes you to join him."
"Bullshit. Marcel told me to stay the fuck away. If you have his cell phone, that means you took it from him."
The taller of the two shrugged like he didn't care either way.
"Where is he?"
"We told you. Come with us."
"Wrong answer. Where the fuck is Marcel? Tell me and I'll go there, but not with you scumbags."
The other one stepped forward and made a grab for me.
Mistako numero uno, pal.
I kicked him in the giblets with enough force to leave an asshole shaped dent in the drywall behind him. Thompson and Daren came charging out of their respective rooms to see where the loud boom had come from.
The other vampire ran.
"Stay with this one," I shouted and took off after him.
He almost made it to the stairs before I tackled him from behind, taking his legs out from underneath him. He rolled over on his back and kicked out at me, trying to get me off. I didn't let him. It's hard to kick someone with a smashed kneecap. He howled in pain and I stood up, pinning him to the ground with my foot.
"Where is he?"
"If you would have just followed us, we would have taken you to him."
As soon as the words left his mouth, Marcel's phone began ringing again. I would know the tune anywhere. It even sounded French. I reached down and pulled it out of his jacket. A number flashed on the screen, not a name. I answered it.
"Hello?"
"If you harm them, your lover dies," a voice hissed on the line.
"Don't send your goons after me and if Marcel gets hurt, you die. Where are you?"
A moment of silence drew out my frustration. I took it out on the vampire underfoot. I could feel his ribs cracking.
"Take the elevator to the top floor. We are here…"
"Son of a bitch. Walked right into their trap."
I pocketed Marcel's phone, dropped to my knee and punched the vampire in the face as hard as I could. Bone crunched under my fist and it made me a little happier inside. I didn't kill him, but he would be a while healing and waking up. I left him in the hallway and headed to the elevator.
"Hope you weren't planning on going alone. That's against Sanders' orders," Thompson said smugly as he caught up to me.
"I thought you were watching the other vampire."
"Got tired of listening to him whine about his nuts. You got him good."
"He'll heal. Painfully."
"Daren has him pinned to the ground with a very sharp elven blade. He won't be going anywhere until we are done. Where are we going?"
"Top floor. They were here the whole time."
"Convenient."
"For them."
"That's what I meant."
I mashed the up button as soon as we got to the elevator in the center of the hotel. It must have been close, it dinged just a moment later and the silver doors opened letting the un-soothing sounds of upbeat jazz wash over us.
There was a special place in hell for jazz musicians.
I hit the button for the top floor. Nothing happened.
"Um, Ash?"
"What?"
"You need a key. See the slot next to the button?"
"Sonofabitch. Wait here," I said, hitting the door-open button.
Using every ounce of my vampiric speed, I found the vampire I had knocked unconscious still lying on the ground. His face was knitting closed as I knelt by his head and started rifling through his pockets. I found it in his pants. I wanted to wash my hands. With bleach.
Punching him again to reset the wake-up clock, I shot back to the elevator. Thompson was holding the door open for me. I stuck it in the slot and hit the button. It merrily blinked to life and I let out a sigh of relief as the door closed and we started our ascent.
"Relax, kid. Don't go in there looking for a fight. From what Marc said about these guys, it's one you might not win."
"I know. I'm just worried about him."
"Me, too. Deal with it calmly and if it comes down to it…we'll fight. I got your back."
I couldn't help it. I hugged him. He awkwardly patted me on the back and I could almost hear him rolling his eyes.
The elevator chimed, and the doors opened to the penthouse suite.
"Welcome. Please follow me."
I was startled. A young-looking Oriental vampire stood off to the side of the lobby. She was, if anything, an inch or two shorter than myself. If she broke five feet it would be a miracle. "Where is Marcel?"
"Being entertained. Lord Pietro will see you now."
Apparently, we weren't going to get any answers from her. She turned and headed to a set of double doors ahead of us. I took a quick glance around. The elevator opened in the center of the suite with halls leading left and right. The vampire escorting us knocked at the door and then opened it.
"They are here, my lord."
"Let them enter."
She stepped aside and motioned us forward. I could hear Thompson growling low in his throat. And here he was worried about me starting a fight. I couldn't blame him though. I felt like growling, too.
The room we entered was empty, except for a solitary chair against the far wall. Pietro, I assumed, sat upon it like a king upon his throne. His legs were crossed, and he had his chin cradled between his thumb and fingers, looking very bored. Or angry.
"Welcome," he said and lifted his head, flipping his shoulder length hair behind him like an actor in a shampoo commercial. "Please, come closer," he said with a rasping echo.
"We're fine where we are," Thompson kept moving. "Never mind, then," I added and rushed to catch up to him. "What are you doing?"
Thompson didn't even so much as cast me a sidelong glance. He had a dazed look in his eye that I didn't like.
"Shit," I said and grabbed his arm. He skidded to a stop and shook his head.
"What happened?"
"Vampire mind games."
"Shit."
"That's what I said."
I stepped in front of my partner, putting a buffer between him and the vampire.
"You can resist my voice. I must say, I am impressed." He stood up from his seat and put his hands on his hips. "I said to come closer," he repeated. The strange sibilant echo reverberated off the walls and kept repeating his command in my ears. Thompson strode forward and nearly bowled me over. I elbowed him in the chest and knocked him on his ass.
"What happened?" This time he sounded worried.
"Go wait outside," I said out of the corner of my mouth. I couldn't worry about him and deal with Pietro at the same time.
He started slowly getting to his feet.
"Quickly," I said, not bothering to hide my impatience.
He scrambled and ran through the double doors. Hopefully the oriental vampire wouldn't give him a hard time.
"Aww. I was hoping to have fun with the both of you. It is interesting that you can resist my voice, but there is one thing you should know, petulant child. When the Herald of The Council gives you an order, you are to obey."
"Seriously. Go fuck yourself. Where is Marcel?"
Almost comically, his mouth dropped open and he stared at me in shock. I guessed it had been a few hundred years since someone had not been spineless in front of him. He almost looked confused.
It didn't last too long though. He straightened and put his arms down. "We shall see about this spirit of yours. By the end of the night, you will be begging me to kill you," he said and snarled.
"If you keep talking, I might." I decided to keep up with the insults as I moved closer to him of my own volition. "I won't ask you again. Where the fuck is Marcel, you stuffed dick?"
Apparently, I took my insults a little too far. He used his vampiric speed to close the distance between us and deliver a chop to my neck. He moved faster than I could see. I might have overestimated him a little. I guess you don't get to be the Herald of The Council if you're weak.
I staggered, but I didn't fall. He stood there looking quite smug. I decided to return the favor. I gave it all I had and watched as the smug look vanish. Time slowed to combat speed. He tried to move into a defensive posture, but I moved faster. I delivered a vicious kick across his chest as I flew past him and spun, clocking him in the side of his head with my closed fist.
It was his turn to stagger, but he ended up on his ass.
"I'm not going to ask again. Where is Marcel?"
He ignored me. Shockingly.
He got to his knees and pushed himself up from the floor. I waited impatiently. He reached up behind his back and pulled out a pair of foot-long curved blades from their hidden sheathes. I guess he was done playing fisticuffs. I didn't start the damn fight, just like Thompson said, but I was sure gonna finish it.