Freak Show (Alexa O'Brien Huntress Book 7)

by Lee, Trina M.

  My last experience with angel blood hadn’t gone quite this smooth. Either this was dumb luck or my control was improving. Considering how bad it had once been, this was nice. I could get used to the power.

  With the Dragon Claw, I finished off the one with his throat splayed open. Shaz and I turned to find half a dozen or so blocking the main exit. We could handle those odds.

  With every shot of Falon’s power that I used, the pressure in my head subsided. I hit the entire group of them with a blast that almost winded me. They all went down in a flaming pile. I didn’t doubt for a moment that Falon could throw fire. However, I’d never witnessed it myself. I was a little bummed that it wasn’t one of my abilities. It was damn handy.

  “Go, get them out of here,” I told Shaz, turning to find a few more vamps heading in from the back of the building. “I’ve got these guys.”

  The newcomers got hit with a face full of fire. One of them fell against the couch, and the flames began to spread. I expected more and found the brief reprieve to be unsettling. Was that all Linden had for manpower here?

  I wiped my bleeding nose with the back of my hand. When I became a vampire, I would never miss that side effect of a mortal using immortal power.

  Shaz led the captives in a steady line to the front exit. They ran for their lives, following the white wolf that promised them freedom.

  Smoke was beginning to fill the warehouse. I coughed and tried to limit my breaths. My eyes burned and began to water. The fire consumed the couch and jumped to the next flammable thing in its path.

  I ran back to the prison room to confirm that everyone was out. It was empty. I ran back to the dirty little bathroom to double check. Empty. Relief crushed me.

  I turned and fled the room, intent on the exit. Linden stepped out in front of me, and I had to jerk to a halt to avoid colliding with him. On his face was a giant, shit-eating grin, and in his arms was a struggling child.

  “Well done, Alexa.” The flames cast Linden in a macabre light. “I don’t know how you did it, but you certainly are adept at playing the heroine. But you’ve forgotten one thing. You can’t save them all.”

  The young boy wailed, tears streaming down his chubby cheeks. It was the same kid who had asked me if I was one of the good guys. I didn’t give Linden a chance to follow through with his intent or his bad-guy dialogue. I threw myself at him, taking him and the child down to the ground. Landing between us, the kid was fine, just terribly frightened.

  Wrapping my hands around Linden’s throat, I slammed his skull against the hard floor repeatedly until he released his hold on the boy. Shaz appeared and dragged the kid away by the back of his shirt.

  The smoke thickened, making it difficult to see. Every breath made my chest ache. My wolf recoiled, instinctively demanding that we flee the burning building. Letting Linden go to save myself would be a favor to nobody. He would only be free to start anew, in a new building with a new batch of victims. Perhaps he was just one of many involved in this sick business. All it took to send a message to the rest was the right hit. I had to hope Linden was it.

  “You should never have let me know you exist,” I snarled, slamming his head one more time. Blood stained the floor beneath him.

  I set my sights on his heart and reached with my power to destroy it. The flow of energy was smooth and on target, yet it fell flat. Like hitting a psychic wall, my power hit an impenetrable block.

  Linden stared up into my confused face and nodded. His voice was strained from my grip on his throat when he croaked, “You’re not the only rare breed walking around out there, you know.”

  Before I could draw the dagger, he slammed a heavy fist into the side of my head. It dazed me, allowing him to roll me to his side. He hit me with a smattering of blows that caused a bright light to flash behind my eyes. I kicked out in his general direction, connecting with his knee. A crack followed by a shriek was always good news.

  The sound of the Dragon Claw sliding from its sheath sent a surge of panic through me. I rolled away from Linden and pushed to my feet, but not before my own dagger tasted my blood. It pierced my side, a flesh wound, thanks to quick reflexes. Warm, wet blood seeped through my shirt. Ignoring it, I danced back out of reach as Linden swung the dagger again.

  The fire had crawled along the walls to the ceiling, which didn’t appear to be made of the sturdiest material. As pieces began to fall and smash against the floor, my need to flee the building grew. Linden had the advantage here; he didn’t need to breathe. I coughed harder as my body rejected the smoky air.

  “You had help getting this in here. Based on the mark on your arm, I’m thinking demon.” Linden cut the air in a figure eight with the Dragon Claw. “So where is this demon now? It doesn’t seem that he’s coming to save you.”

  “I don’t need a fucking demon to save me.” My lungs burned, and I could barely get the words out.

  I glanced at the roof above us. It was still holding for now. Maybe I could do something about that. Focusing the last of Falon’s power on the roof, I willed it to come down in a burning heap on top of Linden. I planned to go for the door as soon as I felt it give. It might not work—I could be digging my own grave—but keeping him inside was the best way to give the others a chance to flee to safety.

  “I change my mind,” Linden announced. “I’m going to keep you for myself. It’s become very apparent why Harley wanted you so badly. I am going to love breaking you.” For a species that was good at secret keeping, they were also very adept gossipers. I should just start assuming anyone that knew Arys or Harley knew way too much about me.

  Linden rushed me, breaking my concentration. I threw an arm up to block the Dragon Claw. The blade bit into my forearm, and I yelped. Mother fucker that hurt.

  In a desperate move, I swept his legs out from under him with a kick. He lost his balance but recovered quickly. With preternatural speed, he was at my back with the dagger blade pressed to my throat.

  “Don’t make me kill you,” he said, the picture of health compared to my choking, injured self. “We could have fun together. I’ll even forget about how many of my men you killed tonight.”

  I couldn’t see his face, but that didn’t make him any less threatening. Another series of coughs racked me, and the blade cut into my skin. In response to his offer, I held up a middle finger. The heat was unbearable. Lack of oxygen was making me dizzy. I felt the blade slide across my throat and thought it was all over.

  A loud crack from above was accompanied by falling debris. It hit us with more force than I’d anticipated. It knocked the Dragon Claw from Linden’s hand, and I scrambled to pick it up. As my fingers closed around the hilt, a large piece of metal crashed into my skull.

  Wiping tears from my burning eyes, I whirled to find Linden holding a piece of debris ready for another smack. Unable to breathe, I lurched toward the exit, or at least where I thought it should be. Linden followed, determined to keep me from escaping him. I swung the dagger and just barely missed him. Shit!

  I fell to my knees, fighting to see my way out and avoid the next blow headed my way. The outline of a wolf loomed in the distance. The exit must have been farther than I thought. Shaz dodged fallen debris and flames as he came to my aid. With fangs bared and a growl rumbling in his throat, he leaped at Linden, knocking him away from me. The two of them struggled. There was a crack of bone.

  The roar of flames was loud in my ears. Every snap and crackle promised a horrible fate. I heaved myself toward the door, the dagger dragging on the floor behind me. A hand wrapped around my ankle, jerking me back. Linden fought hard. With Shaz on his back, attacking furiously, he pulled me close. I swung wildly with the dagger, connecting with rubble.

  The warehouse groaned. The screech of twisting metal pierced my ears. I looked up in time to see the roof bow dangerously.

  If I was going down, I was taking Linden with me. I thrust the dagger forward in a last ditch attempt. Whether it struck home or not, I didn’t know. The ceiling came
down, and I had only seconds to cover my head with my arms and hope for the best.

  * * * *

  “I bet you have a bitch of a headache.”

  The disembodied voice floated above me. I opened my eyes to find Jez’s face, upside down as she leaned over to scrutinize me. My vision tilted to one side, and my stomach rolled in a nauseous wave. Contrary to her assumption, my head didn’t feel all that bad. In fact, my entire body felt numb. My throat was dry, my mouth like cotton. It took great effort to do more than lay there and groan.

  “You were a mess when Shaz dragged you out of that warehouse,” Jez continued, brushing the hair back from my face before helping me sip some water. “Bad concussion. Blood, bruises, the works. Arys healed the worst of it. You looked so much worse. Wow, he has a hell of a healing touch, huh? Packs a bit of an erotic punch. I was so not prepared for that.”

  I rolled over and sat up, unable to focus on the rambling leopard. My head swam. “Can we go home now?”

  “You’re singing my song,” Jez muttered. “I have never wanted my own bed as bad as I do right now.”

  I was on a bed at The Wicked Kiss. The soft silky feel of the blankets against my skin shouldn’t have so easily caught my attention. My club back home was getting a makeover if I had to pay for it myself.

  “Where’s Shaz? Did he get everyone out of there before the building came down? What happened to Linden?” I swung my legs over the side of the bed and, still feeling good, stood up.

  “Downstairs. Yes, he did. And nobody knows. You know vampires, Lex. It takes more than a collapsed building to kill them.”

  “And Sloane?” I hadn’t encountered her during my escape. She and I had a score to settle.

  “On the run. Jenner figures she’s already out of the state.”

  It felt so damn good to be free of Falon’s manic energy. It would be a cold day in hell before I’d do that again.

  I took a few minutes to use the en suite bathroom. It was small yet still somehow maintained a semblance of class. Instead of just a shower, it boasted of a tub big enough for two. A perusal in the mirror showed a pale blonde with disheveled hair and tired brown eyes. Ah brown, that was what I wanted to see. A faint bruise darkened the skin around one eye. A pink scar was all that remained of both dagger wounds.

  All things considered, I felt better than I should. I also felt hungry. Demanding nourishment, the bloodlust echoed my mortal hunger.

  We went downstairs to where Arys and Shaz sat around a table with Jenner and Roscoe. “They don’t have him locked up or something?” I asked Jez as we crossed the noisy dance floor in making our way to them.

  She shrugged, her lips twisting into a disapproving grimace. “That’s what I said, but apparently being family or whatever gets you some kind of free fuck up pass.”

  “Not in my family it doesn’t.”

  I stalked through the nightclub with one thing in mind. My pace quickened. I wasn’t at full strength, but one should never underestimate how strong rage can make you.

  Arys looked up at my approach. His relief immediately turned to shock when I grabbed Roscoe by the throat and dragged him out of his chair. I forced him down on his knees before me.

  “Give me one reason to let you live,” I growled into his face.

  Jenner flew to his feet, and I flung up a hand to ward him off. Without saying a word, Arys shook his head, and Jenner sat back down.

  I put the squeeze on Roscoe, just enough to let him know I meant business. He demonstrated his ballsiness by daring to push back. There was no way he could out strength me, and we both knew it. I was the bigger bad here. It had taken me almost a year to see and accept it, but Harley was right when he claimed my power to be bigger than his. That made it bigger than that of every vampire sired by him. Except for Arys.

  “Let me try this one more time. Start with the sweet talk or end up as dust in the vacuum.”

  It was becoming easier all the time to take hold of a vampire’s life force and bend it to my will. I turned up the pressure until Roscoe groaned and abandoned his efforts to withstand my assault. Blood filled his eyes, dripped from his nose and trickled from the corner of his mouth. For a moment, it appeared that he chose death.

  Then he coughed out a stream of words that ran together. “My loyalty is to this family first. Linden promised to leave Jenner alone if I kept working for the blood ring, rounding up and delivering victims. I never meant you or your friend any harm. You were supposed to be out for a few hours, safe and out of the line of fire.” Spitting blood, Roscoe stared up at me with the intensity I’d come to expect from this damn bloodline.

  I loosened my hold, considering his words. “Then why was Jez locked in a hotel room with a vampire standing guard over her while you supposedly looked for me?”

  “I was going to stash you both there while you slept it off, but you lost your fucking mind and took off like a rabid maniac.” Roscoe’s long hair fell forward to hide his face. He peered up at me from under that wild mane. “I fucked up. I get that. Kill me if you’re going to but at least believe me.”

  The light glinted off his gold fang, and at this proximity I was certain it was a replacement rather than merely gold plated. Who did a vampire piss off to have a fang yanked out of his face? Ouch.

  “How did you lose the fang?” I asked. Manners went out the window long ago in this place.

  “I pissed Harley off one time too many.” His grunted response was only mildly surprising. It confirmed what I’d already known about Harley. He was a ruthless bastard.

  Playing queen to Arys’s king didn’t mean acting like a super bitch running a dictatorship. If Arys trusted Roscoe enough to keep him in the fold, then perhaps so should I.

  “I don’t hand out a lot of second chances,” I said. “For instance, Sloane will not be getting one. You, however, don’t strike me as a liar. So I’m going to give you the benefit of the doubt. This time. And only this time. You owe me one.”

  I released him so fast he almost fell backwards. Jenner was glaring daggers my way so I made sure to slide into the chair closest to him at the table.

  “Is there something you’d like to talk about, Jenner?” I taunted. “Looks like there’s something you want to say.”

  “So I guess I don’t need to ask how you’re feeling.” Arys’s low chuckle was music to my ears. “Jenner and Roscoe are a little unhappy about my choice to re-establish my place in this city. Of course, I’ll be doing it from Edmonton, so they should be grateful for that.” He gave each vampire in question a pointed look before continuing. “Jenner will stay in charge, but he’ll answer to both you and me. And somehow we’ll find a way to take down the blood ring.”

  There was a question in his expression as he awaited my yay or nay. “That sounds fair. Certainly can’t hurt to set up a stronghold here too. Two strongholds in two major cities. Couldn’t hurt.”

  From day one in Vegas, I’d been pretty sure Arys was leading up to a takeover of his former home. He’d spent many years here. Naturally, he wanted to stake his own claim now that his sire was gone. Claiming Vegas as ours was not on my list of happy things. However, someone had to do it. If it wasn’t us, Linden’s crew would continue to run rampant like an infectious disease. Las Vegas had enough crazy shit going on without the growth of that organization.

  The glimpse of the blood ring I had seen was small, just a scratch on the surface of their evil. And it was more than enough for me. I couldn’t go home and let it keep happening, knowing there was more I could have done.

  “I’m not changing The Wicked Kiss.” Jenner leaned back with arms crossed, daring me to disagree. “It took months to build that theatre down there and regardless of what you both might think, the people fucking love it.”

  I couldn’t help but laugh. He was incredibly determined. Fierceness flashed in his ice-cold eyes. He would not be denied. “Whatever you want, Jenner,” I snickered. “Although there needs to be a few ground rules. Like no killing the people you take on s
tage.”

  “I don’t kill them all.” His protest sounded too much like one I’d heard before.

  I cast a glance between Jenner and Arys, rolling my eyes. “What about the wolf fights? To the death seems too harsh. They volunteer, and they leave alive.”

  The stony mask that encompassed Jenner’s face was almost frightening. Void of emotion, he issued a silent challenge. “No deal,” he said. “I’m not compromising there.”

  “What if I’m not giving you a choice?” I countered.

  Arys broke in before I could decide to throw Jenner around. “This can be discussed later. What matters now is that we’re all on the same page as far as the blood ring is concerned.”

  The venomous glare Jenner turned on Arys would have intimidated any other vampire. “I don’t suppose my opinion really holds any weight now, does it? Especially not now that he wants to see her. I might as well go back to Paris and start over.” Emanating waves of contempt, Jenner slumped in his seat.

  I hadn’t thought vampires to be prone to pouting, but that twisted frown marring his face was definitely a pout. However, his words were far more interesting. “Who wants to see me?” Trepidation made my empty stomach lurch. I just wanted to go home. The sooner, the better.

  “Hurst,” Arys answered, his jaw clenched as he tried to hide his concern. “He’s requested that you be brought to him. To talk.”

  Harley’s maker wanted to see me? Oh, balls. That sucked.

  “Nobody can go with you,” Arys went on. “He won’t allow it. But nobody’s forcing you either. It’s your call.”

  I looked around the table at my family, those I’d come with and those that had been forced upon me. Jenner was the only one wearing an openly malicious grin. From the very little I had heard of this vampire, I didn’t get the feeling he intended to kill me. It seemed rather unlikely that he wanted to see me at all considering he chose to remove himself from the mortal world. When I gave the question over to instinct, I felt without a doubt that Hurst was someone worthy of my time. There had to be a reason he wanted to see me. I needed to know what that was.