by Ginna Moran
“NOVA?” STAR’S SOFT voice whispers my name. “Please, wake up. Please.”
My head throbs with what feels like the universe’s worst hangover...except I didn’t drink. Jerking upright, I expect to see our cluttered yet clean living area of the RV. Because that was one helluva crazy-ass dream.
“We have to get out of here.” Star shakes my shoulder, drawing my attention to her. “Can you walk?”
I drink in the sight of her face, her heavy eye makeup smeared down her cheeks with her tears. Red spots of color stain the torn bodice of her ivory dress. Star shakes me again, getting me to look into her watery eyes. I can’t recall a time I’ve seen her cry, and she sniffles and tries to blink her tears away.
“Please, Nova. Say something. Are you hurt?” Star scoots closer to me, the urgency in her voice sending panic clenching my chest.
It’s now that I realize we’re squished together underneath one of the booth tables. A man lies face down on the ground a few feet away, blood staining his white dress shirt. Fuck. There’s more blood. I don’t think I’ve ever seen so much. And it’s not only from the man.
“Holy shit,” I whisper under my breath, gawking around the floor of the club.
Men and women all lie on the floor, battered and bleeding. My stomach twists in repulsion and fear. I can’t believe this is happening. Maybe someone drugged me. It had to be Rhett. He threatened me. He said he was looking for me. He also knew my real name.
“Well hello, baby.”
Star screeches and crashes into me, pushing me into the seat of the booth. A man with wild white hair locks his hands to her ankles and drags her out from under the table. I feel around the ground for anything I can use as a weapon, but nothing but a nasty napkin and a torn menu lie within reach.
The man squats down and bares his teeth at me in a cruel smile. His face contorts as his teeth elongate into jagged fangs. Static buzzes between us, and I grab onto the table leg. Like hell will I let this fucker get me so easily.
“Your turn, cinnamon,” he says, reaching for me with a snide smile. “You smell fucking delicious.” He looks ready to eat me too.
Fear explodes through me, kicking my body into action. Jerking my leg out, I strike him in the knee with the heel of my boot. He falls to his back, a gurgling laugh escaping his throat. I scramble from the small space and push to my feet. Blood from the floor coats my hands, and I fling the liquid into the guy’s face with an annoying screech. I hate that I can freefall unexpectedly and remain composed but surprise blood freaks me out.
“Nova, watch out,” Star calls, struggling in the arms of the creepy man from earlier.
He covers her mouth again, but I already heed to her warning and spin on the balls of my feet. A third man materializes out of nowhere. He startles me so much so that I swing my hand out and clock him in the side of the face. He hollers and clutches his cheek, a flash of red igniting from his skin. The glowing-red handprint fades with his unfamiliar words. I take advantage of his hesitation and snatch a fork from the table.
I do the only thing I can think of and jab it into his shoulder.
“Capture her!” the man shouts, his voice ringing in my ear. “I know ten clans who will want her.”
A strong hand grabs me by the hair and drags me back. I fly off my feet and lock my fingers around the creepo’s wrists, digging my nails into his flesh. Star stands frozen a few feet away. Her wide eyes remain unmoving like the rest of her. It sends my heart slipping into my stomach.
“Where have you been hiding, sexy little thing?” a hoarse voice says from my right as the man restraining me pinches my wrists harder as he adjusts his hold. “You’re not from around here, are you? Your kind doesn’t ever get to leave home, not with all those assholes keeping you caged.”
My kind? Caged? What the hell?
“Now, be a good girl, and I won’t hurt you.” A cool blade touches my throat. “I only need a few drops.”
I close my eyes, feeling the sting of the knife nicking my skin. The floor shakes around us, causing the man to let me go. I spin and high-kick him in the head, using my strength and flexibility to my advantage. Purple sparks rain down from the ceiling, and the bar quakes again, the tables and chairs falling over.
“Release her, brother. She’s been claimed,” Rhett says.
The man squeezes me tighter. “And I plan to change that. You should’ve just looked the other way. Now look what you made me do. Lazlo will come for your head because of this. We had a deal.”
“The deal didn’t include her.” Rhett pulls himself from the floor by the bar, using the counter to support himself. The sleeve on his suit jacket smokes and crackles with purple flames eating away at the fabric. “Delphia, run. Run and don’t stop. I’ll find you. Go!”
Rhett jerks his hands out, sending electric light toward the man with white hair. The man retaliates by throwing a dagger with perfect accuracy. It sinks deep into Rhett’s chest. Rhett hollers and throws another ball of electricity, now chanting strange words in a language I don’t know.
Something inside me warms, the sensation pushing away the cold dread threatening to drop me to the floor. Gasping, I stiffen with an intense muscle spasm. A wave of pain shoots through my very being, stealing my breath. I tremble in hot anticipation. My whole body clenches. Shadows crowd around me, shrouding my vision. The only light left in the bar radiates from Rhett. And he blasts it at me.
I expect to explode into dust. I expect to be electrocuted. What I don’t expect is for the strange light to absorb into my skin and set my veins aglow.
“Delphia,” he says, his voice turning soft with my name. “Let her free. Now! Save yourself! They are counting on it.”
They? The world disappears, my mind and body separating. I lose my senses, my consciousness floating in an absence of everything. Did I die? Is this it? The thoughts fade as quickly as they arrive, and the world blinks back on around me.
“Delphia.” Rhett’s voice snaps my attention in his direction. “It’s going to be okay. You’re okay. You’ll free her completely soon enough. Just embrace her.”
“Free who?” I ask, realizing part of my costume is shredded.
“Your true self. She will help you. She will keep you safe from the man who did this.” Rhett coughs and groans.
“Who are you talking about?” I rub my temples.
My head pounds, my heart rapping in overdrive. A comforting warmth swells inside me, heating me enough to send sweat dripping down my back. The man with the white hair lies on the ground in front of Rhett, torn in half. His guts stretch from one piece of him to the other in the most disgustingly horrifying sight. My stomach tightens and heaves, and I cover my mouth, gagging while I turn away. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
“Lazlo Infinity.” Once again, Rhett’s words drag my focus to him. Blood drips from his mouth, eyes, and nostrils, and he clutches his chest. The purple light dims from his eyes with the warmth in my body. “This was his doing.”
Rhett slumps forward, landing face-first in a pool of blood. Star’s quiet whimper kicks my body into action, and I search over the bar, finding her kneeling next to one of the booths. Galaxy crawls out from under it, his face a series of hard lines. Our eyes meet, and he points a finger at me.
“Monster!” he screams. “This was your fault! You killed Orion!”
I tense at his words, his voice sounding strange, almost robotic. Pushing from the floor, he grabs Star by the wrist and pulls her along with him.
“You did this,” Galaxy says, flinging his arm out at the massacre. “This is your fault.”
“W-what?” I ask, my words quivering. “No, it’s not.”
“This is your fault. We both saw you,” Star says, straightening her shoulders. “You’re a monster. You killed them all.”
I gawk in confusion, unable to move from my spot under their accusation. I mean, what the fuck? Star witnessed everything. She knows I had nothing to do with this. It was those men. The real monsters with the strange light
power and scary teeth. They were trying to kill me.
Star and Galaxy stroll in my direction, pointing their fingers at me. I take a few steps back, only to trip over a body. I land hard on my ass, and cool blood soaks into my costume. I try to get up, but I slip. My body won’t stop shaking, my fear pressing in on me.
“This is your fault,” Galaxy says, continuing to step toward me with Star.
I scramble away, finally managing to get to my feet. “Stay back,” I say, holding my hand out.
“You killed them,” Star says, her eyes unblinking. “You’re a killer.”
Shit. I think they’re possessed.
Galaxy picks up his speed, striding closer and closer. I hop and stumble over at least a dozen bodies, running toward the back of the bar. I don’t know what the hell is going on, but the unnerving look in my friends’ eyes pushes me to run. I need to get out of here. I need help. This night is far beyond the realm of reason, and maybe if I put some space between me and this place, I’ll wake up with a massive hangover, and this will all be me tripping on some bad drugs Orion might’ve slipped me.
“This is your fau—” Galaxy drops to the floor, his words cutting off with the thunk of his body.
Star drops next, landing on her stomach. I freeze for a second, fear exploding through me. I can barely get my legs to move. My mind struggles to think. It takes everything in me not to run to them to see if they’re okay. Something wild and feral claws at my insides, screaming at me that I need to leave. I need to run and never look back.
Slamming my hands against the back door, I thrust it open and dash into the cool night. An eerie blue glow washes over the dirt drive, leading deeper into the forest. Fuck that. Searching my surroundings once more, I head toward the side of the building to follow it around to the front. Silence greets me, and I run to the Jeep behind Rhett’s Porsche.
I reach the door and stick my arm through the open window to unlock it. Hopping into the driver’s seat, I look at the ignition and smack the wheel. “Fuck!” No keys. They’d be in Galaxy’s pocket.
Instead of risking trying to get them, I grab the tire iron from under the seat and make a run for it. My best option is the road. I can follow it back to the RV. I know Galaxy keeps a spare key for it hidden in our stage equipment. Then I can call the cops and figure this bullshit out.
Swiping my hands over my face, I try to dry the uncontrollable tears leaking from my eyes. The fact that blood stains my fingers only makes it worse. I probably look like the number one victim in a horror flick about to meet my end. Any Good Samaritans on the road tonight will probably avoid me altogether. I wouldn’t blame them.
The headlights of a car illuminate the stretch of street at the end of the gravel drive. I push myself to run faster, hoping to reach the road before they pass by. Even if they don’t stop, they might call the police.
Gasping, I stop right in the middle of the road and hop up and down, waving my arms like crazy...except there isn’t a car on the road. The light I see? Fuck. I don’t know what it is. I spin on my feet and don’t waste any time waiting to find out what lies within the eerie glow. I’ve seen enough alien movies to know that curiosity kills people. That weird light could transform into a beam to incinerate me. I’ve had enough of this bullshit for one night.
Too bad the universe seems to disagree.
I watch in shock as a huge winged creature drops a man from at least a hundred feet above. The animal soars away faster than my brain can process what I’m seeing. A gust of wind knocks me back, and I fall hard to the asphalt. My poor ass will be bruised for the next damn week. I drop the tire iron by accident, and it clatters a few feet away.
“Stay back!” I scream, crab-walking backwards until I get my footing. I snatch the iron from the street and hold it out in warning.
The freakishly tall, overly muscular man slows and cocks his head to the side. And damn. I recognize him. He was in the parking lot of the bar earlier.
His eyes light with a strange orange glow, almost like fire ignites within their depths. His long, dark hair blows around his sharp, handsome face. For the second—no, third—time in my life, I question the possibility that he is something other than human. Alien. He dropped from the fucking sky and not in the same way I do. Shit.
Summoning my nerve, I once again shout, “I said, stay the fuck back, you asshole. Come any closer and you’ll regret it.” Did I really just say that? I’m like a twig in comparison to all his hulking muscles.
The man’s lips curl into an amused smile. He obviously agrees my threat is as lame as it sounded coming from my mouth, my voice a squeaky, panicked pitch.
Ignoring my words, he steps forward again but keeps his hands at his sides. We lock gazes, and heat swells in my middle. Something about his presence awakens a weird sensation inside me, freezing my feet in place. He flares his nostrils and finally breaks his gaze to trail it down the rest of me. His cocky smile vanishes, and he narrows his eyes. I can’t decipher his expression, but it darkens enough to make me think he might capture me to devour later.
I stiffen and grip the tire iron, glowering at him. “I mean it. Stay back.”
“What about me, doe eyes?”
The smooth voice scares me half to death, and I drop the tire iron. A hand locks onto my shoulder and spins me around. I gawk at another hot as hell man with a mop of waves tousled around his head. He was around earlier too.
His hazel eyes meet mine, and he drinks in my features, studying every inch of my face. Now he looks like he wants to devour me right this second, but only in a way that’ll leave me buzzing. “Where’s Rhett? We got his call for help,” the guy says, lifting his eyebrow.
I don’t respond.
He frowns. “And you look like you need some too. Where is he? You were with him earlier. I wouldn’t forget a face as beautiful as yours.”
My throat closes, refusing to let me speak. Did he compliment me even though I’m covered in blood and am on the verge of sobbing again?
“Doe eyes? Hello?”
I realize my hands press to his chest, my fingers attempting and failing to dig into his bone-hard pecs. His heart pounds under my hand in rapid beats, the thrum a melody I can feel in my soul. My fingers refuse to move or do anything. I don’t know if it is due to the absurdity of tonight, but I’m nearly certain my brain has disconnected from the rest of me.
“Is she broken, Rowan?” The question comes from behind me. It must be the third guy from the group earlier. Fuck. I should’ve known that someone so hot couldn’t be human. I wish I could get my head to turn so I can look at the guy again.
Warmth radiates from Rowan, sending my body buzzing. It’s like the firelight I saw in his eyes courses through the rest of him, emitting a wave of heat like rays of sunshine even on this dark night.
“I think she’s frightened, Maddox. Feel her. She’s trembling so hard it’s like she’s vibrating.” The man with hazel eyes, Rowan, touches my cheek. “You afraid, doe eyes? Is it me? I haven’t even said...” His eyes ignite with fire, his handsome features morphing into something unrecognizable—like tough scales burst from his cheeks. “Boo.”
Jerking my leg up, I knee the fucker as hard as I can in the balls. He roars, sending hot air into my face. My hair flies back, my body finally getting its shit together. I shove my palms against him and try to force him back. His muscular frame doesn’t budge under my force, and it’s like my hands slam into stone.
“Maddox. Rowan! Get your asses over here.” A third man materializes from the trees, a long, shiny dagger gripped tightly in his hands. It’s the same guy who came out of the shed when I first arrived at the bar. “Rhett’s dead.”
The two men release me and run toward the other guy without as much as a glance in my direction.
“Call it in to the High Council, Kash,” Maddox says, combing his fingers through his long hair to scrub the back of his neck. He turns his attention to me. “And keep an eye on that one. She might be the only witness.”
I don’t let my fear freeze me this time and bolt away. These assholes might be huge, buff...hot weird aliens, but I sure as shit do not want to hang around. I don’t care if I could be the only witness. They are obviously not the police. I need the actual authority to help me. Or at least to hide. Because if they knew Rhett, maybe they know of my parents’ crimes. When they find out, I’m doomed.
“Oh, no you don’t, kitten. You’re staying with me.” A hand locks to my shoulder and pulls me back. Damn it, if these fuckers are fast.
My back slams into a hard chest, winding me. My body gives out, my legs buckling while I try to suck in air to scream. A strange noise rumbles from deep in the man’s throat, and his arm slides across my stomach, gently but firmly, locking me in place.
Warm breath tickles my neck, and Kash says, “If you fight, you’ll experience the best snuggle session of your damn life, so try it. I dare you. This is your only warning, feisty little human.”
What the? I thrash in Kash’s arms, kicking and flailing in an attempt to hurt him. He laughs and stays true to his word, throwing me into the air so high that I screech and expect to get eaten alive from that scary flying monster that dropped these assholes into my life.
But the world spins and my stomach rises into my throat. Without anything to grab onto, all of my training as an aerial dancer vanishes. I’m going to splatter on the ground. And not even after giving my best damn performance.
Hot arms wrap around me, breaking my fall, and I gasp and meet Kash’s eyes, the same color as Rowan’s. Firelight flickers in his intense gaze, his eyes trailing over my face like he can’t resist studying me.
And then his eyes widen, and he drops me. I slam my ass on the gravel ground and try not to scream out in sudden pain. All I care about is putting space between us as something hardens his features, his playfulness gone with the curl of his lips into a scowl.
This fucker.
“It was you,” he snaps, releasing a growl. He stomps closer and points his finger. “You did this. Maddox! Her glamour cracked. She isn’t human.”