Voracious Vixens, 13 Novels of Sexy Horror and Hot Paranormal Romance

by Travis Luedke

  “You’re just full of good news, lady,” Aaden says, shaking his head.

  “Who are the last two Kasters?” Randy asks, trying to hide his excitement.

  “They have a female on the team,” The Face replies.

  “Well at least your brother isn’t sexist,” East quips.

  I glare at him and he raises his hands up as if to say “I surrenders.”

  “Who’s the Kaster chic?” Swoop asks.

  “Her name is Ruin,” The Face says.

  “Are you sure?” Aaden asks, suddenly alarmed.

  “We’re certain. Why, do you know her?” The Face inquires.

  “Ah...no. I mean, I’ve heard of her,” Aaden says, slightly shifting in his chair.

  The group and I exchange curious glances around the room but no one says anything.

  “The final Kaster is the leader. His name is Kill.”

  “We met him a few days ago. He’s the one who set the house on fire with the baby in it. I would love to get my hands on him,” Key says.

  “Same here,” I reply.

  “Since you met him, he’s changed. Malakaro enhanced him, so however violent he was before, expect him to be worse.”

  “Good to know,” Bex replies.

  “I am saying all of this because I need you to know just how much danger you are in. That way when you get the urge to wander around after demons, you’ll rethink it. This school and your home are the two places that are the most protected. And those are the places you should be—nowhere else.”

  “We got it; we’ll be good little boys and girls,” I reply sardonically.

  Mrs. Greenblatt turns away from me and addresses the others.

  “I need to know that all of you understand my instructions,” The Face pushes.

  I quickly signal to Randy. He looks over at the object that’s caught my eye on Mrs. Greenblatt’s desk. He nods slightly.

  “Yeah, we got it,” Bex says reluctantly.

  “Mrs. Greenblatt, only my mom knew the code so when you texted me, I thought...”

  “I’m sorry about that. But there’s a Para named Nelson Blake. He was an apprentice; he studied under the Para who created the Pathway. He is our best chance at putting the Pathway back together. It shouldn’t take more than a few weeks,” she assures me.

  I know she’s trying to help, but a few weeks sounds like a lifetime. And judging from the expression on everyone’s faces, they are thinking the same thing.

  “Okay, now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, on to the next. Please put your names on here,” she says, smiling brightly as she places a clipboard in front of us.

  “What’s this?” I ask.

  “Sign up sheet; all of you have detention.”

  “Seriously?” Swoop asks.

  “Your education is important. Malakaro will not interrupt it. Not as long as I’m around. All of you will report to school like everyone else,” The Face says.

  “You know we had to try and help Randy,” Key insists.

  “Helping your friend isn’t an ‘official’ mission, therefore you were cutting class,” she replies.

  “Fine, but will you at least ask the board if they can help us find Oden? He has Stirr and we need it,” I implore.

  “I will indeed broach the subject,” she tells us.

  “Thank you,” I reply, trying hard to conceal irritation.

  “Aaden-Grey, I have taken the liberty of enrolling you in this school, like the others. You are expected to attend,” she informs him.

  “You can expect whatever the hell you want,” he says as he heads for the door.

  “From what I gather, your friends didn’t come to you. You came to them. I believe you did so because they, or at the very least someone on the team, needed you. I assure you, that has not changed. The danger is far from over.”

  Aaden shakes his head in a mix of anger and frustration. He shoves his hands inside his jean’s pockets and looks up at the ceiling. As upset as he is, he makes no further attempt to leave.

  “Good; now about that detention...”

  *******

  Once word gets out that the group is in detention, it suddenly becomes the new school hot spot. There are a number of students trying to get a peek inside the classroom. The ones in the room with us try to communicate with the group without getting caught by the teacher.

  With the exception of Bex and Aaden, who remain stoic, the group is very polite to the humans. Especially East and Swoop. They’re having the time of their life, judging by the look on their faces.

  When detention is finally over, the “prisoners” flood out into the hallways. I signal for the group to follow me before they are bombarded with the student body.

  “You got it?” I ask Randy when we are far enough away.

  He smiles confidently and tosses a cell phone over to me.

  “Is that Face’s cell?” Key asks.

  “Yup, I had Randy swipe it,” I reply.

  “Why do you need her cell?” East asks.

  “Face is in school all the time. There’s no way she could be using a Port every time she has to see the board. That means they probably stay in contact through the phone. So I had Randy take it so he could use his superpower on it,” I say.

  “You have a power?” Key asks him.

  “Um...yeah, kind of,” he says bashfully.

  “He hacked Face’s cell. Whatever activity takes place on her phone will also show up on mine,” I tell them.

  “You know how to hack a phone?” Bex says suspiciously.

  “It’s the right of all nerds,” he says proudly.

  “How did you do it?” Swoop asks with admiration.

  “With a few purchases from ebay, you can do just about anything,” Randy says.

  “Never mind that right now, go put it back on her desk before she notices,” I order.

  Randy takes off down the hall with The Face’s phone.

  “So I take it you don’t plan to lay low?” Aaden asks.

  “I’m not gonna go charging into a den of demons or anything but my dad told me it’s never a good idea to rely on one being for information. Especially if that information may lead your team into an attack,” I tell him.

  “So you’re ready to call us a team but you’re not ready to tell us about page eighty-seven?” Bex asks.

  “What’s page eighty-seven?” Key asks.

  “It’s nothing,” I reply.

  “Come on, Pryor. Now is not the time to be keeping secrets. Your Dad hurt you when he kept things from you; so why are you doing the same to us?” Bex pushes.

  “Maybe she’s not ready to talk about it, Bex,” Aaden says.

  “Pryor, you need to tell us what’s going on, if you want to be a team. You need to start sharing what you know,” Bex says, ignoring Aaden.

  “Bullshit. This isn’t about her sharing information. This is about you challenging her at every turn because you’re pissed she won’t name you Second in Command,” Aaden replies.

  “Back off, Silver, I’m warning you,” Bex says tightly.

  “And what are you gonna do if I don’t?” Aaden challenges.

  “You guys need to stop this; it’s stupid and childish,” Key reasons.

  “As long as we’re on the subject, you might want to start giving up some details too. How do you know Ruin?” Bex pushes.

  “Who said I know her?” Aaden replies coldly.

  “You nearly shit your pants when The Face mentioned her. Who is she to you?” Bex says, getting in Aaden’s face.

  “You take one more step, Bex, and I will drop you.”

  “Guys, enough. Let’s just cool it for now,” East says.

  “Silver started this. All I want is information from Pryor,” Bex insists.

  “You sure that’s all you want from her?” Aaden replies hotly.

  Huh???

  What the hell are they talking about? I look over at Key and she doesn’t look as stunned as I do. She looks worried and hurt. Before any of
us can reply, Randy comes towards us.

  “Hey, I put it back. The Face will never know we—” Randy stops midsentence.

  He studies the face of the group and realizes he’s interrupted a very intense moment.

  “Um...everything okay?” he asks awkwardly.

  “Everything’s fine. The boys wanted to measure their wingspans, so that we would know whose is bigger. But we left the tape measure at home,” Swoop says disapprovingly.

  Bex and Aaden continue to glare at each other with utter disdain. The air crackles with tension and ego.

  “Do you guys really need me to say ‘that’s enough’?” I ask.

  Finally the two step back from each other. I shake my head, seriously wanting to throttle them both.

  “You guys used to be friends. What happened?” I ask.

  Neither of them replies.

  “Fine, don’t tell me. But if this keeps going on, I won’t ask for an explanation. I will demand one. Now get it together; we have more important things to focus on,” I scold.

  “Guys, we’re on the same team here,” East reminds them.

  “That’s right, we are a team. That’s why I’m going to tell you about page eighty-seven and why I didn’t show up to the Atu: I was reading my dad’s Muse,” I begin.

  “Muse, that’s the journal that chronicles your parents’ past missions, right?” Randy asks.

  “Yes. I got to page eighty-seven and I couldn’t get past it because that’s when my dad lost the first member of his team,” I admit.

  “Oh, I read that part; it was kind of sad,” East says.

  “No, it’s more than that. I’ve heard about the Guardian missions and how my parents were heroes. But I never thought about the cost of those victories.”

  “The Guardians were amazing. They saved a lot of lives,” Bex says.

  “Yeah, they had a lot of victories but there were also a lot of funerals. And the thought that I could be responsible for one of your deaths...you guys are my family. I don’t know how I could live with...”

  “Awwww, come here, Carrot,” Swoop teases as she pulls me close to her.

  “I’m serious, Swoop. I don’t want anything to happen to you guys.”

  “The fact is Malakaro isn’t giving us a choice. If we don’t pull together, he will take us out one by one. We have to start acting like a team because that’s what we are.”

  “Swoop is right and as a team we tell each other things; that is if these things are relevant to danger we’re facing. So, Aaden, do you know this demon girl, Ruin?” I ask.

  As the First Noru, I’m concerned that a Kaster could have inside info about us. She could share whatever she knows with the others and bring us all down. But then again, I don’t see Aaden sharing his secrets with her. I don’t see the two of them nestled in bed discussing their inner thoughts.

  Maybe you don’t see it because you don’t want to...

  I look Aaden in the eye and keep my expression “official.” I hide my nervousness behind an overly confident stance.

  Is Ruin just one of the many girls he was seeing before she became a Kaster? His mom ended up falling for a demon; will Aaden follow that same path? Where does she fall on the “Sluts of Silver” tour? Is she just an opening act or the main attraction?

  OMO! Does he love her? Dear Omnis, he loves this Ruin girl. He’s kissed her. They’ve probably gone all the way. It probably happened as recently as a few days ago...

  DAMN IT, PRYOR, FOCUS!

  “Aaden, how do you know Ruin?” I ask again, determined to stay calm.

  Aaden doesn’t answer me. Instead he zeroes in on Bex. While the rest of us have moved on from the tension, the two of them are still deep in it. Aaden addresses Bex in a chilling, matter-of-fact tone.

  “You ever come at me like that again, Para, and it will be the very last thing you do...”

  CHAPTER TEN: HARDLY BLEEDING

  By the time we get to my house the tension has shifted from Aaden and Bex to Bex and Key. While we discuss what our next move to find Oden should be, the couple steals concerned glances at each other. As we are about to head upstairs, Key tells her boyfriend she needs to talk to him alone. The two take off down the street.

  “She’s gonna kill him,” Swoop says, shaking her head.

  “Yeah, gonna miss that guy,” East replies.

  “Why did you say that stuff about Bex and me? You know it’s not true. Bex could hardly stand the sight of me a few days ago, let alone have a thing for me. You just said that to piss him off,” I accuse Aaden.

  “If that’s the way you want to see it, then fine,” he says.

  “East and I are gonna take Randy home. You two go to your neutral corners and when the bell rings, you can come out swinging. But please make it a clean fight,” Swoop says.

  “Do you want me to stay?” Randy asks, looking over at Aaden with disapproval.

  “No, it’s fine. You should go,” I tell him.

  Randy takes off with East and Swoop, leaving Aaden and I alone in front of the house.

  There’s so much I want to know. Where has he been hiding after being in prison? Why has he been pushing everyone away? Why would he let everyone believe he had killed five humans when I know that can’t possibly be the truth? And what is his connection to Ruin?

  If you have so many questions, why not just ask him?

  Because the answers may not be the ones I want to hear...

  “You can take off, I mean if you have somewhere to be; just come back before dark,” I offer.

  “And what will you do? I mean besides find a way to place yourself in danger?” he says.

  “I would place myself in danger a hundred times over if it means keeping Randy safe. He’s important to me.”

  He turns and studies me with growing interest. Once again, the intensity in his eyes pulls me in. I find it nearly impossible to stand still under his gaze. I fold my arms across my chest. I do that to look composed and put together. I also do that because I’m paranoid that he’s looking at my chest wondering why it’s not bigger.

  Unfortunately, my boobs aren’t where I need them to be yet. I’ve been waiting for them to grow for a while now. I study them in the mirror and wonder what I could possibly say to them to jump-start the process.

  I thought about buying mixtures to enhance my boobs but my mom wouldn’t let me. She insisted that I look fine and that all I need to do is wait for them to grow in. She accuses me of being dramatic and impatient.

  However, it’s not my fault. You see, my bra size is a 32 B and I’m sure Omnis meant for me to be a 32 C. Try as she might, my mom just doesn’t understand the pain of being one cup away from glory. Normally I don’t second-guess my body but when it comes to Aaden, I second-guess everything.

  Okay, you know what, screw this. I’m putting my arms down and taking a stand for “B”cups everywhere.

  I lower my arms and make myself look into his alluring eyes.

  “What is it? Why are you looking at me like that?” I ask.

  “You and Randy; are you two...?”

  “What? No. We’re best friends. Just friends.”

  “Oh.”

  “So were you and that Ruin girl...did you guys date?”

  “It’s...complicated,” he admits.

  “But you do know her, right?”

  “Like I said, it’s complicated.”

  “If you dated her, just say so. We need to know,” I push.

  “Who’s we?”

  “The team.”

  “Oh, so you’re asking me as the leader?”

  “Yeah.”

  “So you want to make sure that she doesn’t know anything about the Norus that can be used to harm us?”

  “Exactly,” I reply.

  “Ruin and I didn’t share that kind of stuff.”

  “So...what did you two share?”

  “Silver!” We hear a small voice shout from above.

  We look up and Sam is looking down at us and excitedly pounding on
the window. He shouts for us to come upstairs and see him. Aaden looks over at me, uncertain.

  “He’s missed you,” I tell him.

  “Yeah, I’ve missed him too,” he replies.

  We both head up to see Sam. Once we enter the doorway, the cutest Noru of all greets us. He looks better than he did a few days ago. His eyes light up and unlike last time, his eyes aren’t filled with tears. He waves his arms up towards us, indicating he wants to be picked up. I scoop him up into my arms and he begins to talk a mile a minute.

  Judging by what Sam has tells us, Tony’s strategy for keeping him calm was to make sure he was busy the whole time. Sam fills us in on all the activities and games the two of them have been involved in.

  “And, and, guess what, Pry?” he asks.

  “What?”

  “Joey’s mom said he can come over tomorrow and play with me.” Sam beams.

  Joey and Sam have been pals for a few months, but Sam rarely gets to play with him. My brother sometimes forgets to hide his strength from humans; that’s why my parents don’t let them play with each other unless they are around.

  I look over at Tony, who assures me he will be there to stop Sam from using his powers. I thank Tony for taking such good care of him.

  “Silver, do it,” Sam begs Aaden.

  I knew it was only a matter of time before my brother made this request.

  “Are you sure?” Aaden asks.

  “Yes! Yes! Do it, please. Please, please,” Sam replies.

  Aaden and I exchange a look of helpless surrender. Sam’s favorite thing in the world is to watch Aaden turn on his “demon eyes.” It both scares and excites him. Aaden pretends to be angry and his eyes swirl to a void of black abyss. Sam’s eyes widen in terror. Then Aaden quickly changes back to his normal eyes and Sam’s fear is replaced with amusement.

  “Again! Again!” he shouts.

  He makes Aaden do it a few more times. Finally, Tony takes over and tells Sam to get ready for bed.

  “Will you be here after I take my bath, Silver?” Sam asks.

  “Well, I’m not sure—”

  “Don’t go away like Mommy and Daddy okay? Stay,” he says earnestly.

  “Sam, sweetie, I told you Mom and Dad will be back. I promise,” I explain as I kneel down so we can be face-to-face.

  “Uncle Tony said that, but where are they?” he asks.