by Shana Vernon
He howled and stumbled backward into the rope lining the pit. It was like he was made of granite and my hand stung from the hit. He snarled, gnashing his fangs while blood flowed down to his chin, before sprinting forward, using speed much faster than any human could.
He slammed into me with the force of an eighteen-wheeler, and knocked me to the ground, pressing into my body as he pulled back a fist, ready to return the favor. His fangs were distended and bared, and the wrathful gleam in his coal eyes made it clear he intended to clamp down on my neck, either before or after he broke my nose.
My heart pounded and the metallic tang of blood swam into my mouth from biting my tongue. I longed to send healing waves to my injuries as a whistle sounded. I calmed my racing pulse just in time to prevent those swirling tendrils of light from emanating out of my body. I had no doubt the suit couldn’t contain them.
A whistle sounded.
“You break the rules one more time and you automatically forfeit the match, Mitus!” The announcer called.
Mitus exhaled, red dripping down to my body, staining the silver of my suit, and he pulled his fist back and stood. His fangs slowly retracted into his gums as he glowered at me, no doubt wishing he wasn’t hindered by the rules. I’d never been so grateful for them before that moment.
I clambered to my feet and before he had another moment to deliberate how to kill me, I sped forward and landed a three part combo; I kicked him in the balls, hit him in his Adam’s apple when he leaned forward to clutch his goods, before spinning and side-kicked his knee, finally making contact. A sickening crunch split through the air and he dropped to the floor, holding his various injuries as he moaned.
From my contact with him, I felt that his nose and knee were both broken, and he had limited breathing from the throat jab. He was done.
Mitus made to stand up, but after realizing he couldn’t fight standing on one leg while gasping for breath, he fell back to the floor and stayed there.
The announcer approached me and lifted my hand. “And the winner is Cahira Ironfist!”
A girl in a mini dress went up to the score board and added my name with a number one beside it as I kicked through the sand toward to edge of the pit. I’d almost reached the rope when shouts rang out through the crowd and I was yanked back, feeling the pinch of fangs sink into my shoulder.
It was nothing like when Max had bitten me in the past. There was nothing sensual or soft from Mitus as he gulped. There was only intense pain and an aggressive pulling sensation from my veins. He clamped his hands down on my arms to keep me in place while he feasted on my neck. He wasn’t planning to stop.
I panicked and began ramming my elbow into his midsection, over and over, but it had no effect on him. It was as if he’d totally lost it.
Consumed by bloodlust.
Spectators continued screaming at Mitus to stop, and a moment later, he was ripped off my shoulder. I spun around and my mouth dropped open when I saw Luka whip out an iron stake and plunge it into Mitus’ chest.
Mitus fell to the sand, his body looking no different than a human in death, and the screaming from the crowd quieted immediately. Luka raised his face to the audience and said calmly, “I have lawfully disposed of this vampire under the Vampire/Human Peace Act. His body will be brought to the proper authorities.”
While he spoke, I began to see stars and the sounds around me lessoned considerably. I’d lost too much blood. My healing could keep me alive if I found a place to heal myself, but I wouldn’t be able to continue fighting in my current state.
The entire right side of my body was drenched in blood, the color vibrant against the silver of my suit. I was about to drop to my knees when Luka reached my side and gripped my face delicately.
“Are you okay, little assassin?”
“How’d you know it was me,” I slurred.
He took a moment before answering. “You have a distinct pattern to your movements. I could tell.” He slid an arm around my waist. “What do you need?”
“To get to a private area where I can heal myself, and a large coffee.” He chuckled and helped me limp through the crowd, toward to the back offices. I stumbled. “Make that an extra-large coffee.”
“You got it, lovely,” he said as he checked a few rooms before finding an empty one and helped me inside, propping me up against the door.
I peeled off my mask and without waiting another moment, I sent my warm, rose-colored light in a tidal wave through my body, not directing it anywhere specific. I was too exhausted for that. I sighed when the pain in my arm, chest, and neck subsided.
“He really got you, huh?” Luka asked.
“Yeah, I guess he was jilted when I kicked his butt in front of everyone.”
Luka tipped his head back and laughed. “His butt? Do you not curse?”
I shrugged. “I grew up with Papa as my only connection to the outside world. I didn’t even go outside by myself until I was already in my teens. He never used bad language around me.”
Luka sobered. “You know, I met your Papa once.”
I whipped my head up and instantly regretted it as a rush of dizziness spread over me. “You did? When?”
“A few years ago, your father and Maximus came to my home on a mission. Maximus, I guess you could say, is our emissary. There had been a string of murders that they were looking into together and they requested assistance from my mother,” Luka explained, his eyes trained on my face as he waited for my reaction.
“Why would they want help from your mother?”
“She is pretty important to our people and well respected. She has many connections that Maximus and your Papa wanted to utilize them.”
Vague.
I slid off the chair and got to my feet. “We should probably head back before my friends come looking for me.”
Luka nodded and followed me back to the arena after I reapplied my mask.
I headed straight for the group of shimmery silver suits and spotted Hailey in the arena, about to begin a match against a fierce looking red-haired woman dressed in a leather, pleated skirt, brown boots, and some kind of soft chest and shoulder armor.
What happened to Mitus’ body?
They faced each other, their feet planted in the sand, ready to move. I couldn’t see Hailey’s face through her suit, but her body language seemed determined.
The announcer raised his microphone. “The red-headed beauty to my left, is Hilda The Conqueror, and in the silver suit, we have Fianna The Vicious!”
Chapter 14
I smiled.
Perfect name.
Three silver masked faces turned in my direction as I approached and plopped down onto the bench.
“Hey, Len. That bite looked dreadful” Ekon’s voice emanated from the middle suit. “What happened to you after your match?”
Sofia cut in “And was that Luka we saw saving your neck?”
I grinned at her pun. He had saved my neck. literally.
“Who’s Luka?”
“Yeah, that was… unpleasant.” I said with a chuckle. “Definitely not something I would like a repeat of anytime soon.” I addressed Ekon. “Luka is a friend of mine who works at a club I like to go to. I’ve shown Sof some pictures of him before.”
“Is he a vamp?”
“Yup,” I replied.
“He looks like a warrior. It’s too bad the Guild doesn’t recruit vampires. I always wondered why they don’t. We have human and vampire contracts, so there isn’t really a conflict of interest.”
“That’s a good fucking question. Makes you wonder what they don’t want the vampires to find out about inside the Guild,” Sofia added.
That was an excellent question, and I wondered if it’d been looked into before. If the Guild truly was helping society and taking out the bad guys. Surely, they would want help from whoever could give it. Vampires were stronger and faster than humans and would give the Guild the upper hand.
It made me realize that the vampire hatred didn’t
stem from Killian Abbott alone. If they weren’t allowing vampires into their ranks, the bias must come from the very top. From the founders of the Guild.
“Can we focus on that later?” Brielle said as her hand clamped down on Ekon’s arm, her posture rigid as she watched Hailey in the pit.
She slipped into a defensive position and I blinked, surprised. Hailey was always the first one to make a move, and typically leaned too close to violently aggressive. I wished I could hear her thoughts in that moment, wondering again if I’d made a mistake bringing her here.
Hilda’s green eyes narrowed as she observed Hailey, watching for any tells. Hailey gave nothing away as she circled Hilda, waiting for her move. She didn’t have to wait long before Hilda rushed forward, throwing a jab aimed at Hailey’s temple. Her movements were obvious, but quick.
Hailey dodged her fist and twirled around, kicking out to Hilda’s shin.
“Who do you think is going to win?” Sofia asked.
“I don’t know. If it was two weeks ago, I would automatically say Hailey. She’s always been ruthless in her fighting, but now... I’m not sure,” I said uneasily.
A coffee appeared in front of my face, and I looked up to see Luka smiling down at me. “You said you wanted a large, right?”
“Hey Luka,” Sofia said as peered around me. “What are you doing here?”
“Hello Sofia, I hope you’re doing well. Just checking out the wild side of Boston,” he said with a shrug.
“What a crazy coincidence that you’d be here the same night as us,” she continued.
“I wish I could say Lenna thought to invite me, but I’m actually friends with one of the owners of this fine establishment,” he said, gesturing to the people shouting out bets.
Ekon went raised his hand to shake Luka’s, when Brielle pulled him back to her side, anxiously tapping her foot.
The potbellied bet taker I’d placed my wager with came waddling down the aisle, bumping into people as he reached my side. “I don’t know how you did it girl, but here you go.” He handed me a large envelope, no doubt full of my earnings. “Only the ones who remembered your name bet in your favor, so you got lucky.” He paused, analyzing my suit. “Or maybe it wasn’t luck at all.” He didn’t wait for my response as he turned around, shaking his head while he made his way back to his section.
I only had a moment to speculate what he meant before Sofia interrupted my thoughts.
“Did you bet on yourself?” Sofia asked.
“That’s how I used to make all my spending money when I was a teenager,” I explained with a grin.
“Hold up. You weren’t trained when you were a teenager. How did you win any matches?” Ekon asked.
I froze, thankful he couldn’t see my expression underneath my mask.
Mayday. Mayday.
“It only became like it is now about two years ago. The competition was a lot less dangerous back then. Mostly amateurs,” Luka said smoothly, covering for me.
I squeezed his arm gratefully and turned my focus back on the match in time to witness Hailey receive a swift jab to her eye and quickly retaliated with an uppercut to Hilda’s chin, knocking her off her feet. She hesitated for a moment before leaping onto the redhead and slamming her fist into her face, blood spurting everywhere.
The match was over.
Hailey slowly got to her feet as the announcer reached her side, lifting her arm to announce her win.
Brielle let out an audible sigh. “That was good, right?”
“I only saw her take one real hit, so I’m sure she’ll be totally fine. Either way, we have our special healer to help if she needs it,” Ekon consoled.
My head was a bit lightheaded, so I took another sip from the coffee. It was crazy what a little caffeine could do for my energy levels.
Hailey began to make her way in our direction when a man called out across the arena. “I challenge Fianna The Vicious!”
Hailey halted and turned to her next challenger. He looked to be in his twenties like most of the fighters, and he wore his long hair in dreadlocks, earrings through his lobes. She shrugged and returned to the ring.
“Hold this a second.” I handed Luka my drink and sprinted for the sand. I reached Hailey just as she lifted the rope and pulled her into a hug, keeping one of my hands hidden between us as I pressed on her body.
She jerked and hissed in my ear, “What are you doing?”
“Healing you,” I whispered and let a small wave of healing energy flow into her body, aiming it to her black eye. Only enough to heal the inside, leaving the already black and blue area as it was.
She exhaled and shrugged off my awkward embrace. “Thanks,” she said and entered the ring.
The second fight lasted only a few moments longer than the first one and ended when Hailey bit down on one of his earrings and ripped it right out of his ear. The crowd jumped to its feet, roaring approval at that move. The gorier and more savage the fight, the better reaction from the audience.
We sat on the edge of our seats while Hailey faced off with her third and final opponent. A small girl no older than twenty, her purple hair pulled back in a French braid.
The girl stood there, her arms by her side as she stared at Hailey, not bothering to get into a fighting stance. Hailey didn’t keep to her defensive strategy and sprinted forward, aiming a blow to the girl’s chest. The girl, who was called Luana by the announcer, barely moved a muscle, yet she somehow ended up on the outside of Hailey’s jab.
Hailey twirled around and if she hadn’t been wearing a mask, I had no doubt there would be a stunned expression lining her face. She wasted no time before aiming a kick for Luana’s knee cap, and yet again was met with air. Luana had moved out of way before Hailey leg had begun to fall.
It shouldn’t have been possible. I was certain she wasn’t a vampire.
But what if…?
“Are you seeing what I’m seeing?” Luka murmured into my ear.
“Hybrid,” I breathed back.
“It certainly seems so,” he replied, his hot breath reaching my ear through my suit.
“What do we do?” I asked.
“Let me and my people handle this one, Lenna. It requires a bit of subtlety that your group doesn’t have right now. And by what your friend asked earlier, I’m assuming he isn’t aware of your extracurricular activities.”
I looked over at Ekon who was fixated on the match and nodded. “Good idea.
He nudged my arm. “Don’t worry little assassin, you’ll get to join in for the next one.”
It seemed like Luana was finished playing with Hailey and lashed out with both hands, cupping Hailey’s ears.
I winced.
That’s gotta hurt.
Hailey dropped to the floor, clutching her head before tapping the floor twice, signaling the end of the fight. She’d lost.
Brielle ran to Hailey and helped her out of the pit, wiping off excess sand from her body.
“Let’s get to the car so I can heal you properly. I don’t want to risk it out here,” I whispered to Hailey and she nodded, leaning on Brielle as we made our way outside. Luka and Luana were both gone when I inspected the pit, searching for his familiar swirling tattoos.
Once we were safely in the car and driving down the street, we pulled off our masks and I looked at Hailey through the review mirror.
Her eyes finally had a spark of life to them and she beamed at Brielle. “That was epic.”
Brielle laughed and pulled at her shirt before pressing a heated kiss to her lips. “I can’t believe you bit off that dude’s earring.”
Hailey winced but didn’t move from Brielle’s embrace, so I reached to the back of the car and put my hand on her knee, sending healing waves through her body. Hailey detached herself from Brielle and looked me in the eye. “Thank you. I knew there wasn’t really a Guild mission, but I definitely didn’t expect that.”
“I had a feeling you could let off some steam. It’s helped me in the past.”
/> It was almost dawn by the time we arrived back at the compound and Sofia pulled on my arm as I went to follow Hailey and Brielle back into our rooms.
“What?”
“Let’s go watch the sunrise from the roof.” She gestured to Ekon. “I think we should all talk.” She said pointedly.
I knew what she wanted to discuss. Sofia wanted to bring Ekon into our group officially. While I was certain I could trust him with my life, I wasn’t sure how he would feel when we divulged the truth about the Guild. He waited his entire life to become a member, I couldn’t imagine that he’d take it very well.
I looked into his warm eyes, and the corners crinkled in a smile when he saw my attention.
He pulled me into a bear hug, lifting my feet off the floor as he crushed my ribcage.
“Don’t think I haven’t noticed how you’ve been quieter lately, Len. I haven’t said anything because I don’t want to pressure you, but know that I’m here for you,” he said as he placed me back on my feet.
His soul was just so pure, I was sure in that moment we were doing the right thing by bringing him into the fold.
We arranged ourselves underneath the blankets on the sofa and snuggled down, Sofia and I each curling around one of Ekon’s biceps. She looked me and grinned wickedly.
“So, babe. Are you ready to hear the craziest fucking story you ever heard?”
Chapter 15
“So, let me get this straight.” Ekon said from his upright position in front of the couch. He’d gotten up halfway through my explanation. He lifted a hand and ticked off his fingers. “You are the daughter of one of the best assassins to ever live, you infiltrated the Guild to find him, he died at the end of our graduation missions, and now the both of you are part of a secret society working against the Guild to save hybrid vampire-humans. Did I miss anything?”
Sofia and I looked at each other before shaking our heads. I tried to gauge his expression, but it was impossible to tell what he was thinking. I’d never seen him look so serious. It made me sad to know I was at fault for the absence of his standard jovial behavior.