by J. N. Colon
He knew what I was.
His fondest memories flashed through my vision. Stealing souls from innocent victims, sex with beautiful women and men, killing other creatures for pure entertainment…
A steel wall slammed down in my mind before any more unwanted images could smash through. Witnessing my victim’s memories might have been the worst part of my gift. If I asked for his deepest, darkest secret, he’d have no choice but to serve it up on a blood-soaked silver platter.
But this wonderful power didn’t come without consequences. The more I used it, the more my soul blackened, souring bit by bit until maybe one day I’d be just as soulless as a demon.
Like ashes of a fire in a windstorm, Batista’s life dissolved into nothing. I should have released him minutes ago, but after being starved for so long, my gift craved the demon’s existence.
A loud commotion finally yanked me back to reality, and I pried my hand off the demon. He dropped to the polished marble, his lifeless, vacant stare locked on the tall, coffered ceiling.
Acid curdled my stomach. I’d killed him.
“Death raker!”
I shuddered as the name for my cursed powers shot through the air like the crack of a whip searching for bare flesh. The bar had gone entirely still except for the second-floor balcony where a man stood, his chilling eyes laser-focused on me.
Air siphoned from my lungs. King Lachlan Blackwood of the Unseelie Court leaned on the gilded railing, an all-too-familiar eagerness cresting over his handsome, arcane features. He had called me by the name I tried to forget.
“I need to speak with you immediately, young witch.”
Not fucking happening.
I pivoted and darted toward the curtain, but Jasper blocked my path. “Get out of my way.” Fae or not, he seemed like a decent guy, and I didn’t want to hurt him.
“No can do.” He lifted his hands placatingly like I was a skittish animal on the verge of attacking. “The king only wants to talk.”
But it wouldn’t end there.
“I’m sorry.” Magic crackled down my arm and into my left hand, forming a violet energy ball. I tossed it at Jasper hard enough to send him flying into the wall. I snatched the crumpled application bearing my real name and zipped into the madness of the club.
“Sentries, after her!” The king’s powerful voice boomed over the thumping music before I disappeared into a crowd.
Hot, sweaty bodies jostled me as I forced my way onto the dance floor in the center of Shade. The disorienting strobe lights warped their movements into a frantic, terrifying tango. The shimmering lily stamps marking nightworlders mixed with the black ivy leaf on humans. I clutched my head and tried to steady myself. The walls closed in, the pressure crushing my lungs until my breaths came in short gasps.
Glamours faded in and out of focus, revealing the gossamer wings of a couple of pixies in the crowd along with horns and glowing demon eyes. Vampires spotted the club, luring victims into dark corners.
Get control, Thorn!
I mentally sent myself a hard slap. If I fell apart now, the fae sentries would drag me back to the king, and I knew exactly what he wanted—my gift at his disposal.
Could my night get any worse? I got fired, possibly chased by a Maleor Suprema coven member or some other creep, killed a demon, and outed myself in front of none other than the Unseelie king.
I wiped beads of moisture off my forehead. Had my clothes not already been damp from the rain, they’d have been drenched in sweat. Another exit had to be around here somewhere, but the bouncing lights didn’t reveal anything beyond the trees and moss enveloping the walls.
My teeth ground so hard they threatened to crack. I was stuck.
Heavy glares seared the top of my head, and I glanced up, cursing. The king’s sentries had spotted me from their position at the second-story balcony, pointing a spotlight in my direction.
I dropped to my hands and knees, crawling through the gyrating bodies. Pain slammed against my hand as the heel of a stiletto stabbed me. Warts on a witch, that hurt! Good thing I wasn’t human, or blood would be oozing from a massive wound.
A girl squealed as she knocked into me and then tumbled over my back. Pandemonium unfurled, pointing out my exact location again. Magic rippled from my hands, forcing feet back and clearing a path. Thankfully the mist covering the floor helped mask my movements.
I finally escaped the dance floor and skulked through the fog toward a heavily shrouded VIP section. Moans emanating from a couple on a couch spilled over the music. I cringed as way too much flesh speared across my vision.
I’ve got to get out of here.
My trembling hands ran along the rough bark of trees and then downy moss, searching for an exit.
“The door is over there.” A drunk girl giggled as she pointed to a mass of tangled ivy. “My friend Marwick works here. He took me into the back to show me around.” She gave a dramatic wink.
Holy shit. This could save my ass. “Are you sure?”
“You got it, chick.” She blew me a kiss before hobbling into the dancing bodies.
I sprinted forward, dodging an inebriated guy who looked like he’d been about to hit on me. My fingers dove through the ivy, finding a doorknob.
Yes!
I grabbed it as a presence coalesced behind me, and a hand clamped down on my shoulder.
“Just come with me, and you’ll be fine.” The tree-trunk-of-a-fae bouncer from the front door loomed over me, his platinum hair changing colors with the lights.
“No, I won’t.” I flicked my hand and shoved him backward into a waitress balancing a full tray of drinks. I didn’t wait to see the disaster unfold. Instead, I wrenched the door open and sprinted into a softly lit hall.
I took off, yanking gnarled strands of hair out of my face. A chill spread over my body now that the severe heat of the club had disappeared. My boots squeaked on the polished floor, making me cringe more than nails scraping a chalkboard.
An exit had to be close. I hadn’t gotten this far to get lost in a maze of back hallways at Shade. I turned the corner, my hand brushing the smooth evergreen walls, and then slammed into something hard.
“I got her!” A towering male fae wrapped his long arms around me, crushing my cheek into the Unseelie Court crest pinned to his shirt.
My ragged breaths bounced down the opulent corridor. “Not yet.” I stomped on the sentry’s foot and then released a gentle jolt of magic that sent him flying.
Maybe it wasn’t that gentle. I couldn’t help it. I’d barely used my powers in the last six months, so I was bound to be a little rusty.
I rocketed down the hall, taking another corner. The gods suddenly shined down on me, or rather on the beautiful red exit sign gleaming above a wide metal door. A cry of relief tumbled out of my mouth.
But it was all for naught. Two more sentries rushed through a side hall right before the door, blocking the exit.
My boots squeaked as I halted to a stop. Damn it. “Get out of my way.” Magic crackled threateningly over my hands.
A tall, sinewy one with a hook nose and slanted, penetrating eyes laughed. “You’re not the only one with magic, witch.” A harsh wind tunneled through the hall from the fae, hitting me square in the chest.
My arms flailed as I tried to keep my balance in the windstorm. I gritted my teeth and pulled on my powers, thrusting my hands forward. The fae’s elemental magic dissolved into nothing.
His stocky partner jabbed a fist into the air. The stone floor between us rumbled and then exploded up, tossing me off my feet.
I hit the ground hard, a metallic tinge coating my mouth. Son of a bitch. No wonder plants and stone covered this building. Elemental earth magic users had plenty of weapons.
Too bad for these fae I had plenty of weapons at my disposal too.
I scrambled up as an electric surge bubbled in my center. Strands of violet energy slithered down my arms, popping and sizzling. The two fae shot each other wary glances.
�
��We don’t want to hurt you.” The one with air magic lifted his hands in a pacifying gesture. “The king only wants to ask you a few questions.”
“I’m sure that’s all he wants.” I’d rather die than be forced to use my death raker magic for anyone.
My wrists snapped forward, firing violet ropes toward the two sentries, ensnaring them around the middle. They had no time to react as I yanked hard. Their bodies went airborne, zooming past me and crashing against the wall at the other end of the corridor.
I peeked over my shoulder and ignored the knot of guilt trying to surface. They’d be fine. They were only out cold.
I sprinted for the exit, crashing through the dense metal door. Icy rain stabbed my heated skin like sharp needles as swollen gray clouds released a downpour. I sprinted along the back street behind Shade, frantic puffs of steam blowing from my mouth.
A wild laugh slipped out. I’d made it. All I had to do was get home. Caleb knew my real name, but good thing I used a fake one to rent my crappy apartment.
The street lay within my reach when a large figure bounded from the roof, landing directly in my path to freedom.
“Going somewhere, witch?”
Speak of the devil.
None other than Caleb Blackwood loomed a few feet away, rain bouncing off his broad shoulders and those luminescent eyes cementing me to the spot.
Chapter 4
Caleb’s presence consumed the entire alleyway even though he only took up a fraction of the cold, narrow passage between Shade and the empty building next door. The power radiating from the fae prince as he gathered tiny droplets of rain vibrated all the way to my bones.
He could control air and water? At this point, I wouldn’t be surprised if Caleb could manipulate earth and fire too.
My lucky day.
“You’re not getting away, little witch. You might as well give up before you get hurt.” His voice was barely more than a whisper, but it traveled to my ears like a freshly honed blade, sharp and deadly.
Still, I wouldn’t let him see me squirm. “I won’t be the one to get hurt.” I lifted my hand, wiggling my fingers. “You know what I am. I can kill you with one touch. You’re the one who should be worried about surviving this battle.”
His laugh tumbled just as low and threatening, bouncing against the brick walls shielding us from the rest of the city. “I call bullshit.”
My head jerked back. “I dropped that demon within seconds. It’s the reason your father sent you after me.” I took a few steps to the left, angling my body. If I could shoot Caleb with an energy ball and pin him to the dumpster, I’d be able to bolt into the street. “Although, you must not be that important to the king if he sent you after a dangerous death raker.” Just another couple of inches and I’d be in prime position.
His jaw ticked, and he rolled his shoulders. Clearly, I’d struck a nerve. “Nice try.” Caleb had been watching my every move and quickly countered with his own to block me again. “If you were going to use your death power, you would have done so earlier and gotten far away from this place by now.”
My neck craned back as I searched the barely visible roofline. Could I make that jump?
“Stop kidding yourself, little witch.” Caleb used his power to shift the rain in my direction.
“Stop calling me that.” I flinched as the cold droplets pelted my cheeks. I lifted my hand to block the worst of the irksome attack.
He licked water from his absurdly full lips and then smirked. “I think you’re scared of those powers—like a little girl afraid of the boogieman.” The fae prince edged forward, closing the distance between us as if he had not one ounce of fear. “Did somebody make you do terrible things, turn you into a bad little witch? And now all you want is to pretend you’re not a killer?”
Air froze in my lungs, and my hand limply dropped to my side, allowing Caleb’s relentless water attack to stab my face again until my cheeks grew numb. He sure knew how to rip my insides apart. How could he have guessed that much about me in the short interaction we’d had?
“Cat got your tongue?” He blew me a kiss.
A searing flare of anger rippled through my core as my powers clawed beneath my skin. He had no idea of the damage I could exact. “You shouldn’t have followed me.” Before I could consider the consequences, I bolted forward, reaching for the prince.
He didn’t even flinch when I pressed my hand against his cheek. Shit. Why didn’t he move?
The hint of rough stubble and warmth rubbed against my palm despite the frigid temperature. His burning, unforgiving stare seemed a little softer with those thick, sooty lashes collecting minuscule drops of water.
Do something before I kill you, idiot!
My death powers shot out and latched onto him. A hard lump of regret already formed in my gut as I closed my eyes, preparing to block the images hidden deep in his soul, things he kept close to his heart.
I couldn’t stand to see them while I drained every drop of his life.
A wild laugh echoed down the alley, shooting a blast of warm breath into my face. “Did you really think I’d let you kill me?”
My lids snapped open to find Caleb sporting a broad grin, one that would have had most girls—maybe even me—quaking in their nether regions if not for the mocking edge. I shook my head as my hand fell from his cheek. “What the—”
Caleb plucked a silver chain around his neck and lifted a teardrop crimson stone from beneath his soaked black T-shirt. “Your death raker power can’t touch me with an Aryx talisman. And don’t bother trying to yank it off. It’s magically fastened to me.”
The jackass goaded me just to see if I’d take the bait and try to kill him.
My molars ground so hard he could probably hear it over the rain dinging against drainpipes. How had fae gotten an Aryx? I’d only seen two in existence, one worn by the grand witch, and the other belonged to my mother.
“So, let’s try this again, little witch.” Caleb tucked the stone beneath his shirt, the cocky tilt of his head throwing dark locks across his forehead. “Come with me, and we can avoid all of these empty threats.”
My blood bubbled so hotly it could have transformed volcanic rock to ash in seconds. It wasn’t just the danger Caleb posed; it was his permanent smirk and the condescending way he said little witch.
My fingers stretched, and I cracked my neck. “I guess we’ll just have to do this the old-fashioned way.”
Even his sigh held a disdainful tone. “I’m already tired of—”
Before the prince could utter another annoying word, I swept his legs out from under him. He dropped to the wet concrete with a resonating thud, a strangled grunt breaking free. Fast as lightning, I snatched the knife strapped to his boot and pressed the blade to his neck.
“You were saying, Tinkerbell?” Magic wasn’t my only means of defense. Ellexia made sure of that. She couldn’t let her prized possession remain unprotected.
Caleb’s chest rapidly heaved as he gaped at me, the sharp edges of his gaze melting to liquid pools of wintergreen. “Well, I wasn’t expecting that.” Tendrils of hair sliced the tip of his sharp cheekbone.
Why did I get the sudden urge to brush those locks from his face so I could see every inch of it?
I quickly shattered the dangerous train of thought on the verge of crashing through my wall of sanity. Caleb might have looked like a young Greek god, but the moment that smirk twisted his lips and he spoke, he morphed into a snarling goblin with boils.
I inched the blade higher on his neck, pressing it into his Adam’s apple and drawing a fine line of blood. “You’re going to let me go, or I’ll be forced to—”
Air slammed into me, and I was suddenly on my back, staring up at that mesmerizing—I meant hideous—face.
Shit. I let him distract me.
A slow, crooked smile hitched up the corners of his lips. “No wonder you were named Thorn Rosalee.” He studied me while his too-warm, solid body pinned mine to the chilly ground.
&n
bsp; Why the hell wasn’t I struggling?
“Beautiful like a rose but riddled with painful—maybe even poisonous—spikes.” A chuckle vibrated through Caleb, making me fight to hold in a shiver. “Rose Thorn suits you better.”
This close to the Unseelie prince, a thin silver hoop glinted on his bottom lip, creating a tantalizing mix of danger and mystery. The piercing appeared metal but perfectly molded to his mouth as if it could change shape at will.
Definitely some kind of magic fae shit.
How would that piercing feel along my tongue?
I shook off the unwarranted effects he ignited in me and reached for my magic. “Get the hell off, asshole.” A purple glow emanated from my hands as I thrust them between us, zapping Caleb.
He flew backward into a wall before crashing on a stack of crates. I ducked as wood splintered in every direction.
The door burst open, and the two sentries I’d knocked out tumbled into the night. My hand had already lifted before either of them could take more than two steps. A sizzling energy ball sailed off my fingertips, shoving the two fae back into the building, the door slamming shut behind them. Purple sparks crackled over the edges to seal it shut.
“That won’t hold them for long, not when they have earth magic.” Caleb dug himself out of the pile of broken crates, looking sexily disheveled instead of injured. He strolled toward me as if he didn’t have a care in the world. “More sentries will be coming from the front.”
I swallowed hard and searched the street just beyond the mouth of the alley. I needed to get the hell out of here before I was trapped. “Good thing I don’t intend to stick around, Tinkerbell.” Magic collected between my hands again.
Caleb moved faster than I could track and pinned me to a brick wall. A sharp pain dug into my left shoulder blade. “Stop running, Rose Thorn.” He leaned forward, his lips brushing the shell of my ear as his hot breath skated down my neck. “I’ll find you anywhere.”