by Rawlyns, Nya
Eyes rolling back in his head Rijn arched against the restraints as the physician poked and prodded the severely distorted muscle.
“Definitely non-ischemic. It looks to me like the artery feeding the corpora cavernosa was…” He bracketed the puncture wounds causing Rijn to whine in agony. “Hmm, yes, I suspect the artery’s been ruptured.” He looked up with concern. “That means the blood has nowhere to go.”
Samuels glanced at Damien who nodded he understood, then said to the doctor, “Thank you, Arnold, please proceed.”
“How’s he doing, Damien?”
“As good as can be expected. I’ll need to let him feed again in a few hours.” Damien took the offered tumbler and chugged the smooth whisky.
“Is he healing?”
“Yeah, but slowly.” Damien sat in a wingback chair and stretched his long legs. The air was stale and damp, not that he needed to breathe it but the odor set him on edge. And he had questions that Samuels seemed anxious to dodge. “Explain to me what that was about.”
Samuels refilled their glasses and settled on a small settee in the middle of the chamber. Since the cat was pretty much out of the bag, he decided on full disclosure.
“It seems our girl came with some extra abilities your Roma friends failed to mention. Jesus, Damien, what the hell were you thinking?” Samuels punched a tasseled pillow, his fist penetrating the velvet fabric, scattering filling across the carpeted floor. “Scratch that, apparently you didn’t think…”
Damien set his mouth in a hard line, the reference to ‘our girl’ a point of contention he wasn’t prepared to address right that minute.
“I’ve done everything I can to contain Catrina, including forcing Magda to ride herd on the girl. What she does for recreation is her own damn business. I’ve got enough on my plate with the BDSM, Goth and Vamp subcultures at each other’s throats, parading around like goddamn…”
Samuels held up a hand, opting for conciliation rather than confrontation. He could ill afford to lose Damien’s skills with human relations.
Damien picked up on that thought thread and chuckled, letting his annoyance leach away. There would be than enough opportunities later to butt heads with the Council and their esteemed leader. It was enough to know Catrina had effectively emasculated Samuels’ second with a well-placed nibble on his manhood. That alone was worth the price he had paid.
And Magda. He couldn’t forget her. That was a secret ingredient worth taking to the light.
Samuels acknowledged the defusing of the situation with a curt nod, then continued, keeping his voice even, “Rinj thinks it’s either venom or magick, take your pick. Quite a nice little skill set, being able to immobilize your prey with ecstasy, then keep him from healing. I’d like to know more about that. Or how you can send someone to the light with a fucking smile on his face.” He raised his eyebrows, remembering Rinj’s pained expression when he said, not even you could resist. In the back of his mind he wondered if someday he should test that theory.
“We all have our gifts, Samuels. You and I know that better than most.”
Samuels looked ready to escalate the argument but his cell phone chirped. He looked at the caller ID and frowned. “Yeah, Smithy, what is it?” He listened quietly as minutes ticked past, then flipped the phone shut.
Samuels glared at Damien. “The girls managed to slip their handlers and went walkabout. They were at Fangs, putting on quite a show according to my sources. Smithy sent a squad to do clean-up.”
“Any blow-back?”
“Odd you should put it that way. Seems our girl’s taken a fancy to some human shmuck by the name of Micah. She took him home with her and is giving him the blow job of a lifetime.”
“Where’s Mags?”
“Watching.” Samuels snorted, “Who knew your warrior princess was such a voyeur.”
“What do you want me to do?” Damien would deal with his wayward children later. Now wasn’t the time to put lines in the sand.
“Go feed Rinj again. Then we need to talk. Smithy will take care of disposal. Might as well let the kid go to his happy place.”
After Damien exited the room, Samuels paced the small space, lost in thought.
I should feel sorry for you, Micah, but that’s one hell of a way to go.
˜™
COMING SOON
ON THE DARK SIDE
OF
GOTHAM
(Blood Haven)
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Nya Rawlyns has lived in the country and on a sailboat on the Chesapeake Bay. When she isn’t tending to her garden or the horses, the cats, or two pervert parakeets, she can be found day dreaming and listening to the voices in her head.
Her published works include:
Acid Jazz Singer (Hunger Hurts)
The Shadow of This World
Skin
The Guardians of the Portals
Sculpting David (Red Sage, novella)
Hunter’s Crossing (Red Sage)
Finish Line (novella)
Dance Macabre (short story)