How many of them were there? Haley couldn’t tell, but it was too many. She waded through them, kicking the ones who wouldn’t move. And every injured creature was overwhelmed. Piteous cries were short lived and quickly replaced by the sounds of tearing flesh and snapping bone.
Here in the nest there was no place for the weak.
She had to get Farley out of here.
Haley tossed another Male out of her way and fell over Farley, blocking him with her body.
“Farley, look at me! Look at me please!” He craned his head back, his eyes on the pools of red. Haley grabbed his head and made him meet her eyes. “Look at me!” The sweet scent of pain blossomed and he screamed. Haley looked down to see one of them working its jaws to the bone in his leg. She roared and kicked, cracking its skull and splattering green ichor all over the other half-changed bodies. Its clutch mates converged.
“Go! Get back!” Haley hissed and they withdrew, but not too far. Their hunger pumped through the air on metaphysical currents. She growled, as her own need swelled. Haley was horrified by the fierceness of it. She shook Farley. His golden eyes focused and his face crumbled.
“I didn’t mean to.” He looked down at himself, then around. “God of Man, what I have I done?”
Haley snarled at the white-scales as they inched closer, flashing fang and chelae. They made small mewling noises, asking to be fed. The asking wouldn’t last long. Pretty soon their Hunger would win out. Haley would have to kill them, or let them eat. And there were too many to kill.
She watched as more of them scurried in from the tunnels.
Where the hell were they all coming from?
“Haley...” Farley wailed, clutching his stomach. “It hurts! Please, I need more, please...” Some were like this. Their hunger for Human flesh so powerful their bodies revolted when denied. But Farley had gone so long without it. Surely, it wouldn’t be this strong, this fast.
The white-scales rattled wings and chattered teeth. Their soft, colorless bodies trembled as one living thing.
Hunger.
Feed.
The feelings were so powerful they were almost a voice. Haley felt her own teeth elongate and a heat burn through her skin. Images flashed through her mind, of sinking her teeth into Farley’s neck and taking blood, then scoring his stomach to eat the soft parts inside. “Not now!” Dark blue scales fluttered along Haley’s arms and neck. Her vision slid away into the bright contrast of crystalline colors her brain interpreted as distance and forms.
Haley pressed her face into Farley’s neck and inhaled his scent, remembering who he was. “I have to get you out of here.” She heard him sob.
His hand touched her cheek and trembled. “I can’t.”
“You can. I can get you out. I need you to stand up. They won’t hurt you as long as I don’t let them.”
“No, I can’t, Haley, I can’t stop again. I can feel it. It never felt like this before.”
And I want to rip your throat out. Haley forced herself to think of something else. Anything else. Her dead flowers in the clay pot by her door.
When she had control, she said, “It’s the white-scales. You feel their Hunger. I feel it too.”
“Not like this!” Farley smacked his head against the stone. “Please, just go. I won’t be able to stop again. I don’t want to hurt anyone.”
“You won’t. You’re not a man-eater.”
“Yes, I am!” Farley’s eyes flickered with copper and red. “I am. I’ve killed thousands of Humans in my life. I’m no different than Niles.”
Haley pressed her face to his cheek. “You quit. You stopped...” The cries of the hatchlings made her whimper.
HUNGER!
BLOOD AND MEAT!
FEED!
“Shut up!” She kicked at them when they got close. “Just shut up, all of you!”
“Haley, just go.”
“I will not leave you!” Her anger rose like heat. The hatchlings squealed and pulled back, their instinct for self-preservation momentarily overriding their need for food. “That’s right, you’re pissing me off!” But as the last of them trickled in from below, their motives were clear. They were going to feed. While they wouldn’t touch Haley because she was Female, Farley was fair game. He had no rank on the dominance scale and that made him Food.
On hands and knees, one of the white scales came closer. His perfect Human form lacked a finished look, giving his skin a shiny plastic texture. His green Draconian eyes rolled down at Farley. His mouth gaped open, and teeth, too long to fit in his head, folded out. They weren’t going to wait much longer. Minutes. Seconds.
Haley looked at Farley. His gaze was on the white-scales, his face calm. The pain and shame of what he’d done glowed in his eyes.
It’s them. He’ll be okay if I can just get him out.
But looking at the white-scales, Haley wasn’t sure how she was going to do that. She’d never had to fight her way through the nests as a hatchling. Females rarely did. But they still got to witness it. This was all so strange to her. So frightening.
It turned her insides to think she had once been just like this.
The need of the white-scales washed over Haley and she sank her claws into Farley’s arms. He bucked under her and one of the white-scales latched onto his foot. His teeth clenched and his breath hissed out.
Hunger drove Haley forward. She opened her mouth, her eyes on the thready pulse in his neck.
Just a little to tide me over.
NO!
Haley screeched and slung her head, trying to shake free of the need. It wasn’t the white-scales she had to worry about now. It was herself. She had to change his scent. Stamp a big “no-free-lunch” sign on his chest.
Haley felt ridiculous even thinking about it. Hell, she wasn’t even sure how to do it. But she knew from seeing other Males who Belonged, they smelled like those who owned them. And right now it was her scent keeping the white-scales at bay. Every Human-made moral instilled in her screamed it was wrong. She didn’t have the right. It was stealing from Farley. Taking his identity. But if she didn’t, the white-scales would eat him alive.
She said, “Do you trust me?”
“You know I do.”
“I think, I think if I get my scent in you they’ll leave you alone.”
Farley’s wide frightened eyes burned. He touched the back of her head. “Do it.”
The need of the white-scales beat against Haley like an insistent drum and she wondered if she would be able to stop once she bit him. Farley seemed to know exactly what she was thinking.
“Please, Haley! If I’m going to die, I’d rather you do it.” Because the white-scales were going to kill him one piece at a time.
Haley stared at the smooth line of his muscular shoulder, feeling ashamed. “I don’t know what I’m doing, Farley.”
“I’ll walk you through it. I’ve seen it done.” Of course he would. Farley had walked her through a lot of firsts in her life. Haley nodded and leaned forward.
All around her the white-scales howled. Finally, she was going to feed them. Haley heard the deafening crunch and tasted blood. She didn’t remember biting Farley, but now that she had, she needed to get control.
“Bite deeper. To the bone.” Farley’s pained words broke over his shaky breath. He wound his hands tight in her hair and pushed down on the back of her head. Haley worried her bite into muscle. Her jaw popped and dislocated. Blood rushed down Haley’s throat and her primal need to feed exploded. She heard Farley shout her name. Her cognitive half begged him to fight back.
“Gland, palate, push!” His voice cracked and gurgled. “Haley...” Saying her name kicked something in her chest. She was supposed to be saving him, not killing him. “Now, please...”
By shaking her head like a dog, Haley tore the bite deeper.
“Bone, in the bone...Ahhh--” His clavicle shattered and she tasted marrow. Metaphysical energy erupted between them and Haley felt Farley’s preternatural self slide against he
rs. Around them, the air vibrated with the high pitched whirr of hundreds of white-scales. Underneath the sound was the hum of metaphysical energy, ringing like a tuning fork.
Farley’s scent spiked and changed, going from something that marked him as Food to something that marked him as Belonging. He groaned. His head rolled back and his hands became a vice on Haley’s hip. She could taste his arousal as it bled out to the white-scales banking their hunger. His erection bit into her stomach and he undulated against her.
The hatchling bodies surged forward. Curious hands, claws, and tongues licked and touched them.
Haley snarled, her protective instincts going full throttle. She bit deeper, pushing more of her scent into the wound until it poured over. The white-scales circled, feeding from the metaphysical fire storm. She could feel Farley under her, wanting more than just the touch of her preternatural self. He wanted in her. Needed in her. And Haley wanted to give him everything.
Clicks and whistles reminded Haley where she was. In the belly of the beast. This binding hadn’t been done in the privacy of a safe haven. It had been done in a small corner of hell.
Hatchlings rolled and rubbed against her like kittens in catnip. It was time to get out. Haley stood up and Farley curled at her feet, pawing her legs and thigh.
They were surrounded. The sea of bodies rolled and surged. There didn’t seem to be a way through. White-scales rose up to touch Haley’s hands, tug at her clothing, begging ... for what, she didn’t know.
But one thing was clear: their Hunger was beginning to flicker. It wouldn’t be long before it was rising.
Move, thought Haley. I just need you to move.
In a synchronized pulse, the crowd split.
Haley didn’t know how or why, she just knew her time was running out. She picked Farley up and carried him through the ocean of hatchlings. The darkness of a tunnel never looked so good. When Haley turned a little she saw her. Medan. The Queen was on the other side of the chamber, wrapped in shadows.
How long had she been there?
Medan’s golden eyes flickered with bits of crimson.
Haley could feel the Hunger, heavy in the air, like a fetid heat. But the hatchlings were still basking in the shared euphoria. Medan had been the source of the Hunger and insatiable need. The Queen raised her lip, flashing teeth, then disappeared into the darkness. A wave of white-scales followed.
Chapter 12
Haley had no idea where she was going. She stopped twice trying to get her bearings but it was useless. The Hive was an endless maze of turns and dead ends. She leaned against the wall and tried to catch her breath. Farley moaned in her arms and pressed his face to her neck.
The bite marks on his body had closed to ugly black and blue bruises, but they weren’t healing any more than that. He was cold and starting to shiver.
How long had he been down there, healing wounds, only to have them reopened? Being eaten alive? Medan’s cruelty truly had no end.
There would be time to worry about that later. Right now she had to get out before something else crawled out of darkness.
Haley hitched Farley higher, adjusting her hold. Human shapes just weren’t meant for this kind of abuse and her muscles were starting to fatigue. At least the blood was almost dry so her grip wasn’t slipping.
With a grunt Haley moved off the wall and entered another room. A quick scan told her she was alone, so she crossed the chamber, took the first hall, and hit a dead end.
God of Man, she was never getting out of this place.
Something moved, and Haley pushed herself into a fissure that made her walk-in closet look small. She willed Farley to not make any noise.
“You need to take the other tunnel on the right.” Haley recognized the voice and the scent. She leaned forward out of the shadows. Electricity hadn’t reached this part of the Hive. It was still being lit with man-sized candles mounted in rock crevices. But she could still see the faint outline of the half-breed in the shadows.
He pointed to the tunnel. “Once you’re inside, take the second left. It will be hard to see. It’s small, narrow and rarely used. It will take you above the parlor and the staircase. You’ll come out in a storage closet, top side.”
There was weariness in his eyes as he watched her ease past him.
Haley stopped at the mouth of the tunnel and looked back at him. “Why?” He was Medan’s. He owed Haley nothing.
The half-breed smiled in a way that made her sad and said, “Because I dreamed of you.”
She shook her head, not understanding.
He gave a shrug and slid into the shadows. “When you kill her, don’t forget I helped you escape.”
Kill her? As in Medan?
Her pulse stuttered. Clearly, he had her confused with someone else.
The sound of Haley’s bare feet slapping the floor accompanied her breathing as she headed up the tunnel. In the darkness, she relied on her natural sight. The half-breed’s directions were dead on. Carrying Farley made it difficult to squeeze between the rocks, but she managed. The passage ended suddenly against a wooden door. Haley pulled and it gave. The opposite side had shelves holding cleaners and supplies. Somehow the hidden doorway did not come as a surprise. It was just the kind of thing she expected to find in a place like this. A click sounded when she pulled it shut behind her.
Thin lines of light traced the other door in front of her. Escape was just a few feet away. All Haley had to do was open it. Panic seized her when a spider slapped her in the face. Haley staggered, kicking a bucket and knocking a mop handle into her head, making too much noise. No one had followed her, but she couldn’t shake the fear that the monster was coming up the hall behind her.
And her name was Medan.
Haley felt for the doorknob, which was difficult with Farley in her arms. The sudden wash of light blinded her, but with it came liberation from the panic. The smell of sweat, cigarettes, old beer and fresh urine slapped Haley in the face. She blinked, clearing her natural sight.
As Haley stepped into the bathroom, someone whistled. It was followed by spontaneous clapping and lewd suggestions by the small crowd of Human men.
Stalls were on her left, urinals and sinks on the right.
Just my luck. The men’s bathroom.
“Hey, baby, do you take requests?” The man standing at the urinal turned and offered himself. From behind, a hand flicked her hair and another brushed her ass.
Two bodies blocked the door. They looked like a matching set of book ends. Both were dressed in black with sagging pants weighed down by O-rings and chains. Their faces were competing with their wardrobe for the Most Amount of Metal award.
The one on the left motioned Haley forward. “Hey, if you’re putting out, maybe some of us would be willing?” Blondie pulled up his shirt, flashing pink scars at the edge of his boxers. “Little blood can be a turn on. You like razors or just use your teeth?”
Haley looked down at Farley. Crimson dominated the green of his own blood. They thought he was a bleeder, someone who likes to feed Humans, pretending to be Kin.
His friend didn’t look quite so sure. He stared at Farley, who hung limp in her arms. Haley could see the hamster wheel turning between his ears. She was carrying a man, which was something Human women didn’t normally have the strength to do.
“You need some help with your friend there? We could always find something creative for him to do, too.” Another man reached for Farley. Haley stepped away. Two more moved up from behind, blocking any retreat.
All of them stank from a mix of drugs and arousal.
Haley growled and the sound rattled the walls. “Get out of my way.” She’d been taught to never hurt Humans, but if it came to them or Farley, she’d break that rule.
“Fuck me, look at her eyes.” Unsure Friend backed away, clearly having second thoughts.
“Contacts, dude, they sell ‘em round the corner.” Tweedle Dumb put his hand on the waist band of his baggy pants and pushed them down. “C’mo
n, bitch, I can teach you a thing or two about playing the bleeding game.” He produced a razor in his right hand.
Haley opened her mouth, popping her jaw and punching out her teeth. She hissed, and scales raced over her arms, neck, and face.
“Holy shit! You don’t buy those at no fucking Pseudo shop!” Unsure took off out the door. Tweedle Dumb dropped his razor and scurried over the wall of the first stall. Haley swung her head around, letting them all get a real good look, and just like any Human with an ounce of survival instinct they scurried back.
Juicy cursing replaced bravado. Cowards.
Haley stalked to the door, kicked it open, and slammed into the pounding music of the club.
Out here the bodies were thick and mostly naked. Male Kin and Lesser-Breds mixed with Humans of both sexes. The scent of synthetic pheromone traded places with the bitterness of tobacco.
Bodies propelled by the music slammed into Haley. She had to use her shoulders like battering rams to move them out of the way so she could get to the exit. Farley ade little jerks and jumps as his body temperature continued to drop. At least the night air was mild for this time of year, and it wasn’t raining.
The urgency to get Farley somewhere safe made the city block feel like a ten mile trek. Up ahead Haley saw Garrett’s car, a dark shiny beacon under a dying street light.
The keys were where she’d left them. She opened the door and put Farley in the front. She took off her blazer and covered him, cranked the car, and turned on the heat full blast.
She didn’t want to leave him, but she didn’t have a choice. She needed her alibi. Three minutes later she was back in dry oven heat of the sedan.
The tires squealed against the asphalt as Haley pulled out into the desolate street. She glanced at the LED clock in the dash. It was eight thirty-eight. She’d made good time, considering.
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