“A pretty penny once we doctor it up a bit,” he replied. “Demons use this stuff in their matches.”
“Matches?”
“Each clan has its own hierarchy—a pecking order of who’s on top all the way to who’s on bottom. The only way to climb the ladder in their world is to prove you’re worthy—that you’re stronger than the demons higher up in the food chain.” He paused for a moment to switch the first vial, which was full, with a second, empty one. The extraction process was going more smoothly this time around, which I suspected was why he was volunteering the information.
“In the demon world,” he continued, “those who want to gain more power and respect must fight their way to the top. One demon has to challenge another to a fight to the death while the rest of the clan watches.”
“That sounds pretty barbaric.”
“Yeah, maybe.” He shrugged. “But Shepherds’ blood gives them an edge.”
“How?”
“Ingesting a few drops of your blood makes them stronger—invincible—against almost anything. They gain your strength and your ability to heal. The effects are immediate and last for several hours. The best of the best wouldn’t be caught dead in the arena without it—or they’ll likely end up that way.” He chuckled at his own joke. As he switched to vial three, I began to feel woozy.
“The problem, however,” he went on to explain, “is that Shepherd blood is incredibly rare. Shepherds aren’t that easy to capture with all your hopping around and invisibility crap. And Shepherds aren’t usually all that willing to give it away.” Jaegar twisted my arm slightly, looked at my ring and then up at me. “That kid must mean an awful lot for you to sacrifice so much.”
“So,” I said, ignoring his last comment, “you’re telling me the top dogs of the demon world got there because they had better drug dealers than their opponents in these Matches?”
“And more to offer—money, power, favors—whatever their dealer wants.”
“And what will you want in return for my blood?”
“I’ve got my eye on a few things.” He smiled at me. He really was nothing more than a broker—a high-end drug dealer that made things happen to get what he wanted.
“That’s it,” he announced when the third vial was full. “Much easier this time around, I’d say.”
“Yeah,” I muttered. Last time, I’d felt a bit dizzy after my blood was drawn, but it was nothing I couldn’t handle. This time, my head was swimming, but I fought my lightheadedness. I sat up straight and rolled down my sleeve, pretending to be fine. I didn’t want either of them to know that I was in a weakened, vulnerable state. I sat there for a minute, waiting for my strength to return.
“Nice doing business with you,” Jaegar said as he packed up his stuff—and my blood. “We’re good!” he called out to Chase. “Let the kid go.”
Chase did as directed, and Quinn rushed over to me with the vial of his blood in hand.
“Nice doing business with you.” Chase saluted us, chuckling wryly as the two of them headed back to their bikes parked some two hundred yards away.
“Are you okay?” Quinn asked.
“Why wouldn’t I be?” I replied, mustering up an overconfident voice.
“Then would you mind explaining something to me?”
“What?” I asked, still feeling incredibly faint. I just had to hold on a little longer—just until Chase and Jaeger had gone.
“Is it that you don’t want my help or do you honestly believe that you don’t need it?” Quinn spat out. “Because for the life of me, I can’t figure you out.”
“What?” I asked in confusion, only half-listening to Quinn as I continued to watch Jaegar and Chase leave.
“Why didn’t you tell me you agreed to give them more of your blood? Did you ever stop to think about the risks? Do you have any idea what giving more of your blood could do to you?”
“I think I’m beginning to,” I replied once Chase and Jaegar were out of earshot. I turned to look at Quinn, which induced another vertigo-like reaction, and blinked a couple of times in an attempt to better focus on his face, swaying a bit in the process.
“Hey, you don’t look so good.” Quinn’s anger was immediately replaced with concern.
I was about to tell Quinn that I didn’t feel so hot either when I heard shouting not too far off in the distance. A chill ran through me suddenly, and the monster that lurked deep within the pit of my stomach began to growl. We were in trouble—I could feel it.
“We need to go—now,” I said to Quinn.
“What do you mean?” he asked.
“Son of a bitch!” I heard Chase yell from fifty yards away, followed by a couple of gunshots, and an ear-splitting screech signaling the end of a demon.
“That’s what I mean. Quinn, get rid of the blood! Hurry!” I urged with what little strength I was regaining.
“What? How?”
“Pour the blood into the water! Rinse out the vial—make sure you get rid of every last drop.” I struggled to catch my breath.
“Evie, I don’t think I should leave you here—”
“Quinn, go! We’re about to have company—the kind that would be more than happy to kill for that blood. Now go! Please!”
Quinn ran knee-deep into the ocean, emptied the vial into the water and washed out the glass tube. I held my breath as I frantically watched him, wishing he could move faster. I was worried something was going to grab him and pull him beneath the surface before I could get to him. I exhaled in relief when he returned to my side, but my solace was short-lived.
“Watch your left!” Jaegar shouted. Then I heard Chase scream in pain.
This was a blood bath. I grabbed Quinn and tried to teleport us to safety, but I wasn’t able to; I needed more time to regain my strength. Tugging Quinn down to the sand with me, we took shelter behind the cluster of boulders Jaegar and I had sat at just moments before while he extracted my blood. I peered around the rocks to get a visual on my surroundings, but I couldn’t see anything.
After a few more demonic screeches and a lot more yelling, and I heard two Harleys peel out and take off, leading me to presume Jaegar and Chase had gotten away. If I had to guess, I’d say they left some demon carnage in their wake, but they didn’t get all of them. I could still sense demons; I could still smell their stench, although I didn’t recognize it. I cringed, knowing what would happen if they realized the source of the blood they were after was only a couple hundred feet away.
“Quinn,” I whispered, “I can’t tell if the demons are gone or just invisible—” I stopped mid-sentence when I smelled a Servant’s disturbingly familiar stench. It was so overwhelming I wouldn’t have been surprised if it was standing a few feet away. I made a second attempt to teleport us away, but I was still too weak. We were sitting ducks. “Damn it!” I muttered under my breath.
“What is it? A Servant?” he asked nervously. “What the hell are you waiting for? Get us out of here!” he whispered.
Crap! Come on, Evie. Heal. Heal, damn it! I focused on my healing myself, as if I could will myself to produce more blood, but it wasn’t working. I wasn’t getting any stronger. Full-blown panic set in as the stench was getting closer.
“I can’t,” I whispered, trying not to let Quinn hear the fear in my voice.
“What do you mean ‘you can’t’?” he asked in alarm.
“I can’t, okay? I need more time.”
“It’s because you gave more of your blood, isn’t it?” Anger flared in Quinn’s eyes. Without even waiting for my answer, he ran his hands through his hair and scanned the immediate area. He knew as well as I did there was nowhere to run. “Shit! What do we do?”
“Call Dylan!” I urged.
“Won’t they hear us?”
“Trust me, they already know we’re here.”
“Okay.” He took a deep breath. “Dylan!” Quinn shouted as loudly as he could. But it was already too late. I drew out my hunting knife as a faint, dismal aura began to material
ize next to him.
“Run! But don’t let go of me!”
He nodded, and we took off. In my weakened condition, my pace was slower than Quinn’s. In fact, he was pulling me along. We didn’t get ten feet before I heard screeching—a battle cry. A Servant was coming, but I couldn’t tell from which direction.
“Hold on!” I ordered Quinn as I saw the trace of the first Servant ten feet in front of us. I purposely tripped Quinn and fell backwards on top of him as I repeatedly slashed the air above me with my blade. The Servant howled and materialized into its human form as it soared mere feet above us. I saw the deep gashes I made in its arm and abdomen. It was enough to slow it down, but not for long. It rolled into a summersault as it hit the ground before coming to a stop on its feet a few yards to my right. Another Servant materialized into its human form as well and halted a few yards to our left.
“I know who you are.” The injured Servant stared me down and then laughed menacingly.
“Yeah, but the real question is do you know who I am?” Dylan called out, appearing right beside us, grabbing our hands and hoisting us to our feet with Quinn still holding my left hand. “So, whose bright idea was it to invite Thing One and Thing Two to the party?” he asked, sizing up the two Servants on either side of us. Both Servants were covered in tattoos, and both were wearing their trademark black trench coats and combat boots.
“Not ours,” Quinn replied.
“Ah, good old-fashioned party crashers,” Dylan remarked calmly.
“Look, the little girl who took out Cy needs back-up.”
“Oh, now they’re just being nasty,” Dylan mocked. “What do you think we should do to them?”
“Make them leave,” I suggested smugly. With what little strength I had left, I skillfully flipped my knife in my free hand a few times and then poised my arm as if to throw it. Neither Servant even flinched.
“We’re not cowards like Rex,” Thing One declared, taking a step forward.
“And we’re not sloppy like Cy,” said Thing Two, its eyes flashing red with rage and arrogance. It smiled at me wickedly, bearing the same gleaming, razor-sharp teeth that had marred my body for eternity.
“Yeah, well you’re just as big of assholes!” Dylan replied, holding three knives in each poised hand. “And I know for a fact I can get at least one of you.”
The Servants growled and dematerialized, but they weren’t giving up. I knew they were planning on striking again.
“Dylan, get us the hell out of here—now!” I demanded.
“On it.” Dylan grabbed both Quinn and me and teleported us away from the beach.
*
Skipping through three or four portals to lose anyone or anything that might be on our trail, we finally stopped. I didn’t care where we’d landed. I was just so relieved we were finally safe, I collapsed into Quinn’s arms.
“What happened?” Dylan asked, bewildered. “Why did you try to take on those two instead of just teleporting out of there?”
“I couldn’t,” I mumbled. Quinn swept me up and carried me over to a lounge chair, setting me down. “It seems that my strength’s gone for the moment.” I put my head between my knees trying to fight back the waves of nausea I was now feeling.
“Why?” Dylan demanded. “Did the Servants bite you? Are you hurt?” He began scanning my body for signs of injury and zeroed in on the dried blood on my hand from when I caught Quinn’s knife.
“What the—?!?” He looked at me warily, grabbing me by the wrist. “Oh, tell me you didn’t,” he said in a disappointed tone. “Please, tell me you didn’t.”
I tried to yank my hand away, but I didn’t have the strength.
“How much?” Dylan demanded, now sounding more disgusted than disapproving.
“Three vials,” Quinn replied when I didn’t answer.
“‘Three vials’?!?” Dylan exclaimed.
“In addition to the two vials required to broker the deal,” Quinn offered.
“Not helping,” I mumbled and shot him a nasty look.
“Evie, he should know. I’m not the only one worried about you, you know.”
“Five vials?!?” Dylan shouted angrily. “Why not let them just bleed you dry?”
“You’re overreacting,” I said.
“Oh, you think so, huh?” Dylan roared. “Tell me, can you even stand up on your own right now?”
Again, I didn’t respond.
“What were you thinking?!?” Dylan demanded, continuing on his rampage.
“I was thinking it was my only bargaining chip to get Quinn’s blood back—it was the only thing they were interested in trading.”
“And why is that, K.C.? Why are the Bloodhounds so interested in your blood?”
“Not just mine. Ours. Shepherds’ blood is sold on the black market. It makes demons temporarily invincible.”
“Wait a minute. Let me get this straight.” Dylan closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. “You gave a couple of Moon Mercenaries your blood so they could sell it on the black market to demons for the sole purpose of making them stronger? Have you lost your freaking mind?!?” Dylan shouted. “Did you know about this?” he asked Quinn, shooting him a dirty look.
“No clue.” Quinn held up his two hands in surrender.
“I had no other choice,” I said in my defense. “And besides, it worked. We got Quinn’s blood back.”
“Where is it?”
“I poured it into the Atlantic Ocean,” Quinn replied.
“Well at least that’s taken care of, I guess.” Dylan paused and looked at me sitting there in my pathetic state. “Damn, K.C., you look like hell. What if you gave them too much? What if you can’t regain your strength? Did you ever think of that?”
“Whatever,” I said dismissively. But in truth, I hadn’t thought of that. And now I was terrified he might be right.
“Just give her some time,” Quinn chimed in. “She’ll be back to her old self soon enough. I mean, how could you all be able to heal yourselves and not be able to produce more blood?”
“Our blood is our life source,” Dylan stated. “And our life source is what allows us to heal. I don’t know what the consequences are for messing with our life force. But I do know one thing,” Dylan said more pensively, “there’s something wrong if it’s taking this long for K.C.’s strength to come back.”
“Dylan’s right,” I conceded, feeling even more depressed and frightened about my current situation. “Something’s wrong. I felt a little weak after the first two vials were taken, but I was fine a few minutes later. If everything was okay this time around, I should be feeling better by now.”
“Well, maybe it’s not as simple as willing yourself to heal,” Quinn added. “Maybe you have to wait until your blood regenerates or something.”
“Yeah, or maybe you just need another piece of a Shepherd’s soul,” Dylan said flippantly.
“Don’t go there,” I warned, glaring at him.
“Look, let’s just give it a couple of hours,” Quinn suggested, trying to ease the tension in the air. “I’m sure Evie will be fine by then.”
“Yeah, well she’d better be. We all have to be at our peak strength.” Dylan turned to me. “Can you even teleport?”
“I don’t think so. I’m afraid I’ll use up what little energy I have left.”
“K.C.” Dylan shook his head, “I’m not so sure it’s such a good idea for me to leave you two up here alone. It’s like leaving Quinn completely defenseless.”
“I’ll be fine,” Quinn assured him. “We’re in a portal. We’re off the grid. You took precautions getting here. No one knows about this place, so no one can find us.”
“Go,” I encouraged. I mustered up my strength and stood up. “See? I can stand.” I smiled. I didn’t want Dylan to know how weak I still felt. “We need you out there trying to figure out why demons decided to attack us tonight and what else the bastards might have up their sleeves.”
“Are you sure?” Dylan asked he
sitantly.
“As long as you’re confident no one else knows about this place, we’ll be fine,” I said.
“There’s no way anyone knows you’re here or that this place even exists. This portal has a few oddities about it, as you’ll soon find out. One of which is that it’s a pain in the ass to find—even for me.” He paused to look me over once more.
“Go,” I urged. “Check on Minerva. We might not have been the only targets tonight.”
“Okay. But first, let me show you where the portal entrance is located.”
I masked my deep breaths as best as I could while forcing my aching, depleted body to follow him as nonchalantly as possible. I scanned our surroundings just long enough to see we were on a veranda of a large villa on top of a mountainside with panoramic oceanfront views. Dylan stopped just inside the house, and pointed to the big “X” he’d already marked with blue painter’s tape under a huge potted cactus.
Not wanting to risk exposure by having Dylan show me the entrance of the portal from the outside, he told me we were hovering over a barren plain in the middle of Nebraska. I always found it strange how the geographical setting inside a portal never seemed to coincide with its actual location on Earth.
“So if either of you are in trouble,” Dylan explained, “just stick your head out of the portal and give a shout. Either M or I won’t be far away.” He turned to Quinn. “And I should be able to hear your heartbeat if you’re close enough to the portal door as well. Although,” Dylan grinned, “I can’t say I’ll miss hearing it over the next week with the likes of how you two will be spending most of your time in here.”
I rolled my eyes and felt the heat of my blood rush to my cheeks, which I welcomed for once. It felt like it was a sign that I was on the path to recovery.
15. summer moon
“You never answered my question,” Quinn stated once Dylan had left.
“Quinn, do we have to do this now?” No longer having the strength to stand, I slumped down in the nearest chair and sighed as I fought off another dizzy spell.
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