by Maya Daniels
“We are not surrendering to anyone.” Holding her gaze, I squared my shoulders. “We are going to kill The Hunter.”
12
Smiling to myself because I was as pleased as a pig rolling in mud at our half-assed plan, I made my way through the streets of the city, Crystal at my side. My lips pressed together and I started humming, that same familiar tune I always used to calm my crazy racing heartbeat, because truth be told, I was nervous. Having literally half a plan should have made me tuck tail and continue hiding, but instead, there I was, weaving in and out of the shadows without a care in the world. All in the hopes that a certain tracker would find me.
Then, I would kill him.
“Hey! Where did you learn that song?” Crystal asked, grabbing my shoulder and pulling me to a stop in front of a bookstore.
Meeting her eyes with a frown, I shrugged. “Not sure. It’s always came to me as far back as I can remember. I thought I must’ve made it up or something. Why?”
“That song … my mom used to hum it to me as a little girl. The thing is, I remember my dad always getting angry, and they continued arguing until late hours of the night about it behind closed doors. Like it was supposed to be some kind of secret or something.” Rubbing her forehead, Crystal’s eyebrows puckered, bunching together when she dropped her hands to her side. “I don’t know, I’m finding it a little strange that you are humming the exact melody right now.”
Absentmindedly nodding, I agreed with her. It was strange, especially because it almost seemed as if someone had gone to great lengths to assure I didn’t remember where that little tune had come from if what she was telling me was truth. Had my memory been erased? I wanted to say yes, but I honestly had no clue. Either way, what Crystal said unsettled me more than I wanted to admit.
My feet moved, and Crystal followed, both of lost within the deep recesses of our minds. Words just wouldn’t come in that moment, so the silence stretched between us, adding an additional wedge in the fragile friendship we’d formed. I was sure the poor girl walking beside me thought I was lying to her. Hell, I would think I was lying to her too, but sadly, there wasn’t anything I could do or say that would change her mind in that moment.
Because I had nothing. My early life was another black hole I never looked too close at.
Wandering through the city brought us back to where it had all started last night, and this morning. The alley.
“This is where it happened, huh?” Crystal said.
Jerking my head up, I glanced down the dark, gaping chasm shoved between two large brick buildings, suppressing the shiver trying to inch up my spine. “Yup.” I kept forgetting Crystal just recently got her memories back, so this would be like she was reliving everything all over again.
For some reason, I expected Elijah to be hanging around here, but I didn’t know why. Perhaps he hoped I’d come back looking for more clues? Though he didn’t need to lurk in dark alleys since he could find me anytime I was using my magic.
My feet shuffled along the asphalt, and I meandered into the darkness with Crystal staying close, letting the shadows keep us hidden. If he was here, I’d like to be able to the notice him before he had a chance to pounce.
And he’d be sorry if he waited to catch me off guard.
“This place is way creepier than I remember, and I had idiots trying to kidnap me,” Crystal mumbled, her wide eyes bouncing every which way as if trying to keep everything in sight at once.
It wasn’t that scary. Just dark, I supposed. If I really analyzed that, a lot of people feared the darkness with no valid reason apart from some ingrained survival instinct. I understood instincts better than anyone, but I didn’t agree. The darkness for me felt like …
Well, it felt like home.
Did that make me weird?
I chuckled inside my head. It probably did, but everyone should be a little weird if you asked me. If we were all walking around being the same we’d be like robots, and who wanted to follow the norms anyway?
“Well, well, well, look what we have here, two women and a lot of shadows.” A male voice spoke, slithering over my skin and leaving goosebumps in its wake.
Turning to face Elijah, who stood shrouded in darkness on the opposite side of us, his face partially revealed in the pale moonlight cascading over it, I made sure to have an unimpressed look for him to see. Not wanting to take a chance of Crystal getting snatched by mages while I was busy fighting, I stepped out of the shadows, showing myself while leaving her hidden.
“Hello Mr. Hawthorne. Fancy meeting you here,” I drawled. “So predictable. I thought you were a tracker?” Scoffing, I kicked at some pebbles below my feet. “Or maybe your tracking abilities are lacking? Shouldn’t you have been breathing down my neck a while back?”
That devilish smirk tilted his lips, and my insides catapulted in my throat before dropping at my feet. Honestly, a lot more got worked up than my insides. That man … he did bad things to all my girly bits. And while I liked it, I also hated it with a passion like no other.
“Ms. Grey. A pleasure, as always.” His shoulders tensed as if he was about to move, and I held my hands in front of me, threateningly twisting the shadows through my fingers.
“I’d stay where I was if I were you. I mean, if you want to live.”
“Wow. You sounded a lot like Arnold Schwarzenegger right there. But I didn’t hear you asking me to come with you.” He shook his head, sidling even closer. “Shame, really. We could have so much fun together.”
“Enough with the bullshit. I came here to kill your ass so I never have to deal with the likes of you again. There is no way I’m letting you take me to the Mage’s Guild. So, let’s get this done and over with,” I snarled at him, extending my hand in front of me. My magic danced between us, reaching for him, but before the dark tendrils made contact, he scattered them around with a flick of his wrist.
“You can’t kill me, Brigit. And I won’t be taking you to the Mage’s Guild.” Closing the distance between us, he snatched my hand in his. “If you would just trust me—”
“Not making that mistake ever again.” Cocking my free arm back, I jabbed it into his stomach, clenching my teeth when my knuckles cracked like I’d just hit a brick wall. The power I had packed in the punch did absolutely nothing to the fucker.
Grunting mockingly, he grinned. “You’re getting better. That actually hurt a little.”
“Good,” I hissed between bared teeth, pitching rounds of my magic at him which he deflected each time with ease. Growling, I kept going, forcing Elijah to roll, duck, and dive to avoid getting hit by the larger blasts.
Frustration gripped me, and the shadows dropped from Crystal, exposing her. It also revealed what was happening in the alley while she blissfully enjoyed the darkness that kept her safe. She screamed, a high-pitched sound that made me shrink, tucking my head between my shoulders.
“Get me away from this. I’m a lover, not a fighter. My heart can’t take this,” she rambled incoherently, probably getting flashbacks from her previous attack and me, not being in the mood for hysterics, I shushed her.
“Seriously, now’s not the time, Crystal,” I whisper- yelled at her from the corner of my mouth, not letting Elijah out of my sight.
“Actually, it’s the perfect time. I don’t mind being wrapped in your shadows, but if one accidentally hits me, I have a feeling it won’t feel very nice.” She took a deep, shuddering breath, and I tensed, expecting her to bellow another soprano pitch. It never came. thankfully. “So, how about we just talk this out like adults?”
Glancing from Elijah, who was standing with his hands folded in front of him with a too-innocent look plastered all over his stupid face that didn’t quite fit with the damn smirk that did nothing but piss me off, to Crystal, who was attempting to appear tough but her lower lip was trembling, I shook my head. “Nope, no can do.”
Hurling every bit of power I could at Elijah did absolutely nothing. And the guy wasn’t even attacking. He just s
tood there like a lump, and the expression on his face told me he was laughing at me on the inside.
It was time for a different tactic. Obviously my magic did nothing to him, so maybe my words would. “I know your secrets,” I said plainly, grinning from ear to ear when his eyes narrowed suspiciously on me.
“Do you now?” he murmured in a low, husky tone, cocking his head to the side.
Nodding like a two-year-old telling Mommy I did my chores, I raised my chin. “I sure do… Hunter.”
The slight widening of his eyes was the only indication that my words had any effect on him. “And if you know that, Ms. Grey, then perhaps you would also know how foolish it would be to try and kill me.”
Before I could process his words, which made sense once I did, he was on me pinning me to the ground with my arms raised above my head and his strong fingers wrapped around my wrists. Straddling me like he was sent my mind to a place it shouldn’t touch with a ten-foot pole. A place no mind should go to when you were trying to kill someone, or when that person was a deadly killer who could destroy you in a blink of an eye. A dirty, naughty place that made me ashamed of myself.
Stupid shitty hormones. Always getting involved when I didn’t want them to, especially around Elijah.
“Oh my God. Get off her you asshole,” Crystal shouted right before she did the perfect impersonation of a flying monkey through the air and kicked Elijah in the side of the head.
His head jerked to the side, but he righted himself instantly, smiling as if he found amusement in Crystal’s act. Those emerald eyes of his, though, they were locked intently on mine, and the look was so scorching I could hardly stand it. “Amazing how you inspire this kind of loyalty in one you only just met, Ms. Grey. Quite intriguing, indeed.”
“Shut the fuck up and get off me,” I snapped, wiggling underneath him, which did nothing but press his growing erection firmer into my hip. His knowing grin only grew, and I could see the heat lighting his eyes as I froze like a deer in headlights. No more moving. Bad idea.
“I will, but you need to listen to me very carefully.” Glancing between my eyes and my lips, his tone was more serious than it had ever been since I’d met him. “The mages found us, and you need to run. I can feel them approaching, and I will hold them off as long as I can. The moment I move, I need you to get up, grab Crystal, and run. Do you understand, Brigit?”
It took a moment for me to process what he said, which was such a contrast with the image of Elijah I had in my head while he was on top of me. Why would he be helping me if he was working for the Guild? It made no sense, and it confused the hell out of me. It just told me I needed to get some answers fast.
“Go, Brigit, and make it, please.” The gravity in his words hit me like the force of a semi on the highway, catapulting me into action.
“What about you?” I asked, unsure why I cared all of a sudden as I rolled to my feet, grabbing Crystal’s hand with a punishing hold.
“I will find you, don’t you worry. Now go.” Giving me his back, he protected us with his body from whoever was coming for us.
With one last glance at Elijah, I hurried forward, leading Crystal by the arm and dragging her with me. As we exited the alley, I heard the stomping of many running feet on the asphalt behind us, and in that moment, I drew on my shadows to hide us from view and keep us safe.
As we rushed through the city streets, avoiding people spilling out from bars or restaurants, I didn’t know if we could ever outrun the mages. If they wanted us, or me as the case may be, they would find me. I was sure of that. But maybe if Elijah was actually on our side, it would change the game in our favor.
Maybe pigs could fly, too.
If I’d learned anything at all in my years of existence, it was never to trust a wolf in sheep’s clothing, and Elijah fucking Hawthorne was definitely all wolf.
Wagging tail or not, he had big, sharp teeth ready to take a good chunk of my throat.
Cursing myself at the pang of excitement coursing through me at that thought, I ran faster.
Too bad I couldn’t run from myself, or my treacherous thoughts.
13
The city streets were alive around us, making it difficult to maneuver through them as quickly as we needed to go.
“Where are we going?” Crystal panted, her voice breathless from exertion while she had a death grip on my hand.
“We need to get to your apartment. You said your wards are strong enough to keep anything out, right?” And I believed her on that wholeheartedly. I’d never seen wards like hers, nor did I expect them to be possible.
The darkness surrounded us, and I tugged on the shadows, keeping them close, wrapping them like a shield around us, though we still had to avoid running into people. It made it easier, however, and kept us invisible to the naked eye, so that was a plus.
Until a hand grabbed me and ripped me out of comforting shade, exposing me to the world.
“What the hell?” Gasping, I spun around, knees slightly bent and ready for whatever might come.
Mages.
A whole lot of them stood around us, grinning as if they’d just won the grand prize at the fair.
“We got her,” the one in the front said, his white hair shimmering under the light of the pregnant moon hanging low in the sky.
“Fuck a duck sideways,” Crystal hissed under her breath, but fear had me frozen, although I wanted to bark out a laugh.
We were caught.
Sadly, the first thought to pass through my sleep-addled brain was, Elijah would be so disappointed. And then I mentally slapped myself because I didn’t give a shit what anyone thought. Ever. Little less a random guy I met a couple of days ago.
Of its own accord, my arm lashed out, connecting with the mage’s face in a clumsy slap that flung his head harshly to the side. Pushing my magic into my palm sent a wave of it blasting through me and hitting him like a bowling ball. He was thrown back, feet lifting a foot off the ground, and he took the rest of the idiots along with him, all of them ending up in a tangled heap on the ground a few yards away. Twisting the shadows into ropes, I wrapped them around the wiggling mess, leaving my magic to keep them contained so we could get another head start.
“Hurry,” I called out, bolting down the street and hoping Crystal followed. A quick glance behind me told me she was hot on my heels, or tennis shoes, so to speak, which was great. She needed to keep up, and although I would make she we made it out safe, I also didn’t have time to babysit when we were facing a horde of mages hellbent on killing us.
Or worse.
The sign dangling above my favorite place to get a Long Island Iced Tea sent a wave of relief washing over me. The pub. I just prayed Pete didn’t decide to finally take a day off and that he would help me yet again. He told me to call him if I needed anything, after all. Well, I didn’t have time to call, but I would show up and hope for the best.
“In here,” I called out to Crystal, ducking my head and shouldering my way inside, the frantic rattling of the bell making me flinch. Who the fuck puts a doorbell in a pub?
The crowd was a decent size, as usual for this time of the evening, but I couldn’t take the time to care what they thought seeing two disheveled and wide-eyed women darting through the establishment. My gaze locked on the bar to find Pete already rushing around the counter before I even made it there. “What happened?”
“A clusterfuck, that’s what happened. I don’t have time to explain at the moment. Can you help?” I rasped, gulping air, my voice way too loud even over the music and chattering from the patrons. All eyes snapped in our direction and were on me in an instant, making me want to scream at the audacity of noisy people.
Damn it.
“Yeah, follow me,” he took what I said at face value, moving before I even finished speaking.
We ducked behind the counter past the swinging door on the side and took a door to the left of the bar. Once we were out of prying eyes, I looked around what seemed to be a storage room, wit
h wall-to-wall shelves lining each side. Liquor bottles and glasses perched on most of them, with foodstuff filling the rest. Stacked rags and cleaners were tucked neatly on the floor in the corner.
“You can stay here as long as you want, but just so you know, a group of fishy looking dudes just walked in. I don’t know if they are the ones after you, but stay out of sight until they’re gone.”
Folding myself around the doorframe as he spoke, I peered out into the crowd, noticing the “dudes” he was referring to. Yup. The mages were here, and that meant we needed to go. I almost felt sad to leave the dumb storage room.
“Thank you, Pete. We need to avoid those guys at all costs. Can you cause a scene so we can get out of dodge?” I asked, and his instant nod confirmed I’d accidently trusted the right guy in my desperation to hide from Elijah.
“Go out that back door to the right, and keep me posted if you need anything else,” he said in hushed tones, determination settling on his features.
Smiling at him, I grasped his shoulder to make him meet my eyes, my hold strong enough to hopefully convey my appreciation for his help. “Thank you again, Pete. I’ll never forget that you were there when I needed help most. I’m sure we’ll be seeing each other soon.” Hoping that he could hear the sincerity in my tone, I gave his shoulder a squeeze. With a tight smile, I headed toward the door he indicated, shoving Crystal through it before following her.
I sent a silent prayer to anyone who might be listening that we get to Crystal’s apartment in one piece. If we made it there, we’d make it period. The fact that she was getting paid to sell her magic meant she knew how to protect herself at least, or in my frantic mood I was at least counting on that. Those mages wouldn’t be able to do a shit to get through her wards, which meant they could kiss our asses goodbye. There would be no killing us tonight, or any night for that matter.