by Susan Illene
“Why are they fighting with no clothes on?” I asked Lucas.
He gave me an amused look. “To avoid damaging them, of course.”
Right. Why didn’t the army think of that? Forcing us to wear those bulky uniforms and heavy armor while the Middle Eastern sun shined down, baking us alive. We could have just gone naked and saved the taxpayers tons of money.
Kerbasi slashed his sword at Yerik, skimming him across the stomach. There was already so much blood on him it was hard to tell how deeply he’d cut. The daimoun returned the favor by hacking into Kerbasi’s left arm. I winced. It had torn through the muscle and struck the bone. The limb hung at his side, useless for the moment. The guardian still had his sword arm, but it would reduce his maneuverability.
More people came outside to watch the fight and crowded around us. My senses determined that over three-quarters of the guests had abandoned the ballroom for the bloodier entertainment. Lucas and I stood shoulder-to-shoulder to keep anyone from separating us.
The two combatants went through another series of slices and dices at each other. None of them serious, but I sensed the strain growing on Kerbasi. He was fighting a man who was older than him by five hundred years and stronger—considering his lineage. Their power levels weren’t too far off in the scale of things, but I doubted the guardian had as much battle experience.
Kerbasi’s black hair clung to his face as he went in for another strike. With his sword raised high, he came down straight on Yerik’s head. At the last moment, the daimoun spun out of the way so the blade merely glanced off his shoulder, cutting a chunk of his skin off. He continued the spin and did a full turn, keeping his sword low.
The point of it extended out far enough that when it reached Kerbasi it sliced across both of his legs. He went crashing to the ground, losing his sword in the process. Blood spurted everywhere and I caught a glimpse of his thigh bones. He lay there, looking up at his opponent.
Yerik had no mercy. He thrust his blade downward and straight into the guardian’s heart. Kerbasi jerked and clutched at the blade. When people began to clap, I deduced that was the method they’d determined for who would win the fight. Lucas went over and congratulated Yerik, but I went over to the guardian instead.
I pulled the sword from him and tossed it aside.
“Come on.” I held my hand out. “Let’s get you to a chair and see if we can slow the blood loss down.”
The wounds were deeper than I thought and his left thigh bone looked like it had been fractured. It’d be at least a couple hours before he recovered from it.
Pain reflected in his eyes. “Why would you help me?”
“Because,” I said, putting an arm around his back to lift him up. “It’s the right thing to do and while I may not like you, I’m still not going to leave you lying here.”
He leaned on me heavily as we made our way over to a chair. I glared at a few werewolves who stood in our path, unmoving. They were strong, but not alphas.
“Get out of the way,” I said through gritted teeth. The guardian’s weight was heavy and I was in no mood for childish games.
They each looked at each other and laughed.
I lowered Kerbasi to the ground. “Hang tight for a second.”
Pulling a knife from where I’d strapped it to my thigh, I leaped forward and stuck it into one werewolf’s throat. I tossed him away and kicked the next guy in the chest. He sailed into a patio table and broke the glass top. The third threw a punch at me. I ducked and rose up to nail him in the solar plexus. He wheezed and I hit him again, this time in the face. His nose cracked when my fist hit it.
I punched him again and knocked him to the ground. Hovering over him, I kept going with no thought of stopping until the werewolf I’d kicked into the table came running back toward me.
Leaving the guy whose face now resembled mush, I dove for Kerbasi’s fallen sword. My fingertips grasped hold of it and I rolled onto my back. The werewolf couldn’t stop his momentum in time. I lifted the sword and plunged it into his chest. With a pull to the right, I knocked him off balance and to the ground.
Standing up, I checked over my dress. I was pleased to find only a small tear in the hem and a few specks of dirt on it. If there was any blood, the black fabric hid the stains. I went back to Kerbasi, who had an unidentifiable expression on his face, and helped him up. We made it to the chair with no further incident.
It was only after I’d gotten him settled that I caught the gazes of the supernaturals around me. Most of them didn’t look all that impressed and a couple of alphas glared at me. Here I’d been proud of myself for fighting three guys at once and not destroying my clothes.
Lian stepped out of the crowd. “Maybe you can take on a few low-level werewolves, but how about you try fighting me?”
I had an urge to glance at Lucas, but kept myself still. Lian was giving me a chance to test myself against her. After the way she’d acted last night, I wanted the opportunity. The trick was going to be facing a vampire who was a hell of a lot stronger than me.
Nephilim blood had given me an extra boost others didn’t get when turned immortal, but my power level was still only equal to that of a century-old vampire. She had over two hundred years more than that on her. It wouldn’t be my strength that won this fight, but whatever strategy I could devise.
“I accept your challenge.” I nodded at her.
“No blades,” Yerik said, stepping forward. He’d put his kilt back on. “The first woman to break the other one’s neck wins.”
I stilled—that would make things a lot harder. The fight would require a great deal of speed and strength to win, which gave Lian the advantage. It could get dirty, too. I checked my hair to make sure it was still holding in the french braid Kariann had done for it. Yep, still all in one place. My opponent had hers down, but it only came to her chin.
“No clothes, either,” Lian said, pulling off her yellow sheath dress. “Melena’s already proven she can stash knives in small places.”
The female vampire stood before me in nothing but her thong underwear. Despite her small frame, she had large rounded breasts that made mine look small. My gaze shot to Lucas where he stood at the edge of the crowd. His eyes were locked firmly on me.
He dipped his chin.
I really was going to have to do this. It was one thing to do a few kinky things in a nightclub where it was dark and hazy. It was quite another to bare myself to a bunch of supernatural onlookers and fight a battle in front of them that way.
There was nothing I could do about it now. I kissed what was left of my modesty goodbye and reached behind to unzip the back of my dress. After loosening the sleeves, it fell in a puddle at my feet. My strapless bra and a thick necklace I had around my neck came off next. I kept my face blank, making every effort to hide how much the situation disturbed me.
Along with my shoes, I took everything over to Lucas.
“Any tips?” I asked.
“It is up to you to win this fight on your own.”
Nothing in his gaze or the tone of his voice showed any sign of emotion. I wasn’t sure if that meant he had complete faith in me or he didn’t want others to see his doubt. Regardless, I had to believe in myself and disregard what anyone else thought.
I could do this. Really. I could fight a three-hundred-year old vampire barehanded and win. No guns. God, I missed my guns in that moment. And I was wearing nothing except a skimpy pair of panties that weren’t exactly designed to intimidate. Yeah, this fight was stacked in my favor.
Returning to the open space in the middle of the patio, I stopped ten feet from my opponent. My arms were loose and my body poised to move in whichever direction I needed.
“Are you both ready?” Yerik asked.
Lian nodded. I met her gaze and nodded as well.
“You may begin.”
Lian came running straight for me. I dropped to the ground and lay on my back, kicking a foot up toward her chest as soon as she reached me. Using her own
momentum, I sent her flying into the crowd. I jumped back to my feet and spun around. People had parted away from her. She got back up and swiped at her bloody lip with the back of her hand.
In a slow saunter she walked toward me. There was a gleam of determination in her eyes that said she wouldn’t make that mistake again. I put my fists up and got into a fighting stance. Faster than I could anticipate she jumped up and kicked her foot between my guard, slamming me in the chin. My head jerked back and pain exploded in my jaw. It wasn’t broken, but it hurt like hell.
She punched me twice in the torso before I could recover. The force of the strikes was hard enough to snap multiple ribs and send shards of agony through me. I dropped my left hand to protect my torso and swung a punch out with my right. Lian leaned back just enough that it only grazed her chin, then swung her own fist into my cheek.
It was like a battering ram hitting me with all the force of her three hundred years behind it. My body spun like a top and crashed to the patio floor. The side of my head cracked on the stone, bringing stars across my vision.
A shadowy form hovered beside me and waves of malice radiated from it. I wanted to roll away, but the moment I began to turn a bare foot stomped hard onto my stomach. Bile rose up my throat and pain coursed through my belly. It felt as if she’d pulverized my internal organs.
Through the agony, my training kicked in. I grabbed her foot and twisted it, cracking her ankle. Lian let out a cry. Her body came crashing down and her knee smashed into my throat. I shoved her away and sat up, willing myself to not panic as the swelling threatened to close off my airway. My body could survive without oxygen, but it would grow weaker. I couldn’t afford to lose any strength.
Lian reset her ankle and hobbled to her feet. I was seeing double.
“Get up. I’ve only just begun with you.” Her voice seemed far away.
I massaged my throat. Only the smallest trail of air could pass through now. My ears were ringing and my head felt as if it had been hit with a sledgehammer—my torso, too. I couldn’t keep sitting there hoping the pain would go away. I had to get up.
Pushing off the ground with my hands, I slowly rose to my feet. I’d barely lifted my head before her foot slammed into my chest. My body went airborne and my back struck the wall of the house. Shards from my broken ribs pierced my lungs and my vision blurred.
I slid down to the ground with my legs sprawled out. Lian stalked over, grabbed my disheveled braid, and dragged me up until I hung suspended in the air. I blinked back the tears that sprang to my eyes. It was a natural reaction to having one’s hair pulled out by the roots. Never mind all the other pain I felt.
“Pathetic. You don’t even deserve him.” She slapped me across the cheek. “Do you hear me?”
Her words pierced my foggy mind. She was talking about Lucas. I was proving to her and everyone else that I didn’t deserve him when I couldn’t even put up a decent fight. There had to be a way. I couldn’t give up as long as there was an ounce of strength left in my body.
Courage didn’t always equal winning, but it did mean giving it all you had. In whatever way you could give it. I spit in Lian’s face, aiming for her smiling mouth. Part of the blood mixed in it—sensor blood—stuck to her lips.
“Oh, you nasty bitch,” she shrieked, letting go of my hair to wipe at her face.
She hadn’t seen anything yet.
My feet hit the ground and I fell forward onto my knees. I wrapped my arms around her legs and knocked her over. There was a loud cracking sound as her head hit the stone. I pushed past all the aches and pains that plagued me and kept moving. No one watching would be allowed to think I hadn’t tried. That I hadn’t done the best I could against Lian.
Crawling over her body I straddled her hips and punched her in the jaw with everything I had. When her head swung to the side, I bared my teeth and sunk them into her neck. Ripping and tearing at her skin until blood gushed all over the place. The taste of her blood brought me a degree of relief and the swelling in my throat let up. At this point I wasn’t above fighting dirty.
Lian shrieked and clawed at my back. I rose up to take one of her arms, locking it vertically to my chest. Twisting my body to the side, I brought the arm down with me as I lowered onto my back. I lifted my hips just enough to snap her elbow.
She let out a high-pitched wail.
I let go and she scrambled back, using her good arm to help her get away. Before she’d gone far, I swung my leg out and kicked her in the face. Lian’s nose crunched. She reached up to cup it as blood gushed out.
It took some effort, considering my own injuries were only partially healed, but I crawled over to her. As soon as I got within reach, she let go of her nose and threw out a wild punch. It glanced off my forehead, but I kept coming.
She curled her knees and kicked her legs out. Her heels struck my shoulders, sliding me back a couple of feet. I might have hurt Lian, but her strength hadn’t waned much.
I grabbed one of her legs and yanked her body toward me, pulling her along the stone until her head was within reach. This had to end and it had to end now. She turned sideways when I shot my hand out, but I wasn’t trying to hit her. No, I grasped her hair tightly between my fingers and drew her up.
Rising higher on my knees for better leverage, I slammed her face down into the stone. Once. Twice. Three times. Only after I was sure she’d felt at least a fraction of the pain she’d inflicted on me did I position my hands on her head and twist it. Her neck snapped.
Letting her body fall limply to the ground, I looked up. There I was on my hands and knees with blood dripping down my chin and strands of hair stuck to my cheeks. Most of the crowd looked at me with stunned amazement and a few gaping mouths. Except Kariann, who was smiling. I couldn’t read Lucas’ expression at all.
Everyone present had known this was an uneven fight. There wasn’t even a real purpose to it such as defending territory or protecting innocent people. It was set up for pure entertainment and to watch a sensor get her ass kicked. And though I’d wanted a shot at Lian, there was no real feeling of triumph in this sort of victory. I’d barely survived it.
“Fuck all of you,” I said in a hoarse voice, meeting the gazes of everyone I could.
Then I let myself go, closing my eyes and swaying into the ground. It had taken everything I had to make that last statement and now I was done. No strength. No thought. Just a giant ball of pain that wished it could disappear into the cool stone.
Chapter Thirty-two
Familiar arms came to lift me up a few moments later. Lucas carried my limp body to a lounge chair and gently laid me down on top of it. I cracked my eyes open to watch him sink his teeth into his wrist. He held the bleeding wound over my mouth, but I turned my face away.
“No.”
“Don’t be difficult, sensor,” he said in a frustrated voice. “Take my blood and heal.”
It was dripping on my cheek, but I didn’t care. The wound would close up in a few seconds and it wouldn’t be a problem anymore. I didn’t want his help. Maybe he was right to argue, but my pride had been badly battered during the fight and I didn’t want to be coddled right afterward. The milling spectators had already gotten an eyeful.
“Kariann, take her legs. Sayer, take her arms,” Lucas ordered.
He was biting into his arm again.
“No, not here. Not in front of them,” I whispered.
He didn’t listen.
I fought with all the strength I had left, but the two vampires wrested control of my limbs. Once again I was helpless. My breathing came in harsh, ragged gasps and the memories of my time with Jerome returned. Being tied to the bed and completely vulnerable. No way to get free and no way to fight. That was the kind of pain that went beyond the flesh and never left you.
I glared at Lucas, arms held above my head. “If you do this I swear I’ll never forgive you.”
He took a good look at me—really looked—and his determined expression fell.
“
Let her go.”
They released my arms and legs. Slowly, I sat up and brought my knees to my chest. It relieved some of the pain from my injuries.
“Perhaps the sensor would like her dress and shoes?” Kerbasi had hobbled over to bring them to me. The gaping wounds in his legs had closed up, but the pain reflecting in his eyes said he wasn’t fully healed yet.
I reached out and took them from him. “Thanks.”
It wasn’t easy, but I managed to pull the dress over my head and push my arms through the sleeves. It hung loosely on my body. I set the shoes on the ground and wiggled my feet into them. Once they were on I fought my way to a standing position and pulled the dress the rest of the way down. Every move hurt, but at least I was handling it myself.
“Want me to zip it?” Kariann asked, giving me a cautious look.
Even I had to admit that was beyond me at the moment. Between my bruised stomach and broken ribs there was no way I was reaching back there.
“Yes, please.”
She came up behind me and zipped the dress closed. Lucas watched with an expressionless face. I’d turned down his help, but allowed hers. Little did he know if he’d offered to handle the zipper I would have let him do that much.
People were still milling around, casting glances our way. I had no idea what they were thinking, but at least the emotions coming from them weren’t hatred or anger. Lian was gone. She couldn’t have healed from a broken neck that fast so I had to assume someone had moved her.
My attention caught on Theirn striding toward us. There was an expression on his face—regret, sorrow? It was hard to tell.
“I’m afraid I’ve got some bad news, but I think you’ll want to hear this in private.”
He’d addressed us as a group. That couldn’t be good if we were all involved.
We exchanged wary glances and followed him inside. I hobbled along, refusing anyone’s help. There were still too many eyes on us and I didn’t want them seeing me as weak. Lucas hadn’t considered it, but taking his blood would have been cheating. I’d earned my injuries and had to heal from them on my own. At least until we left.