Wasteland

by Lynn Rush

  She leaned over the counter and talked to the barkeep. A tall man came over and rested his palm on the small of her back. She flinched, then a smile creased her face, and she wrapped her arm around his neck. I almost felt her arms on me instead, and the thought left me gasping for air.

  A large, longhaired man with onyx eyes appeared before me.

  “Getting a nice look, buddy?”

  “Excuse me?”

  “Time for you to leave,” he shouted over the music as he shoved my shoulder.

  I already knew it was long past time to leave, but to be told by an overgrown, arrogant human? I think not. I batted his hand away and snatched his fingers. Knuckles popped beneath my grip. Veins in his neck bulged, and his eyes widened.

  “You do not tell me when to leave.” The demon scratched at the surface of my heart, begging to be unleashed on this imbecile.

  “I know what you are.”

  I leaned close. The earthy, foul stench of ale laced his breath. “Oh yeah?”

  “Demon,” he said.

  “Then you should know better than to come at me like this, Human.” I released his hand and backed away. I couldn’t afford a challenge right now. Not while working the woman’s succulent lilac scent out of my system.

  The human shook out his hand and stepped forward like he intended to challenge me. A snarl streamed from my mouth, and my nails elongated. I let the talons dig into my palms.

  Better mine than his.

  He pointed his finger at me. “Stay away from my sister or I’ll end you.”

  The tips of my fangs elongated, dipping into my bottom lip. He’d just challenged me, and I never backed down from one. But if I morphed, I would kill him. I would not make my Mark if I was discovered.

  And that would land me into solitary again.

  CHAPTER 2

  I stormed out of the club unsure where I’d found the strength to back down from a challenge. Although nighttime, the thermal air provided little relief from the blistering-hot blood pulsing through my veins. Two thick-necked bouncers, one standing on either side of the door, watched me with narrowed eyes.

  Two short men, holding the hands of equally short women, tugged their girls out of my path as I stomped past. My face must have reflected the agony festering. I stumbled onward, my army boots clapping against the concrete.

  My chest constricted, I worked to keep the frenzied demon inside. His bays echoed within my skull. Dormant for so long, while in confinement, he urged for release. He longed for sex and death and havoc with such intensity, the emotions fermenting in my tired brain flamed my blood.

  Ahead were the beginnings of darkness. The promise of reduced stimuli propelled me down the side of the club. An alley. Perfect. In this state I might not be able to control my other half if it emerged. I couldn’t allow him out. I squatted against the brick wall. The smell of sour beer and soggy cigarette butts mingled with rotting garbage assaulted my senses.

  Have to keep moving.

  I hopped up, landing on unsteady legs. Darkness and quiet would help. Honking horns from the adjoining street, and the far-off wail of a siren had me hasten my pace in the direction of darkness. If Gage found me this close to transformation, he would provoke me further.

  Like my last babysitter insisted on doing. He had soon experienced what happened when I was provoked.

  Deep inside, the beast within me awakened. Somehow, the man in the bar knew what I was, even though my brand was hidden beneath the fabric of my shirt. Not that a human would understand its meaning. The man wasn’t demonic, but somehow he knew.

  I hurried toward the darkness, chest heaving, focusing on my human side. Normally I wasn’t so easily triggered, but the overwhelming wave of stimuli weakened my will. I sagged against the wall, jagged edges of brick digging into my flesh. The moon shone bright, but its light soothed my thrashing senses.

  I breathed through my nose, then out my mouth. I let the darkness envelop me, hoping it’d calm the churning beast.

  Soon, the agony piercing my heart subsided, and my human-half gained control. A flash of the lady-in-red’s face had my pulse skyrocketing again. Soft skin and firm breasts pressed against my body, long cover of hair—everything an effective temptress would have.

  Her lilac perfume filtered through my senses even here in a dank alleyway.

  I slammed my hand against the wall, the pain refocusing me. “Damn Master for sending me here.”

  “He’s already damned, David, as are you and I.”

  I straightened at Gage’s voice and opened my eyes. The dim streetlights behind him hooded his features, rendering him nothing but a dark shadow blocking the entryway to the alley.

  The demon shifted inside me, raking at my chest again. If he couldn’t get sex, he would settle for a fight.

  “Why fight it? You could have ripped that guy’s head off in there. I could tell you wanted to.” Gage moved closer.

  I detected the challenge brewing in Gage’s stare and tense jaw.

  “Killing innocents in the middle of crowded dance clubs would not aid me on my mission.” I rubbed my hand over my raw knuckles. The unyielding brick I’d pounded left my skin bloody.

  Gage propped himself against the wall across from me and folded his thick arms over his chest. Besides his flabby stomach creasing his shirt, he’d remained fairly fit. His biceps tested the stretching limits of the short sleeves. Shaggy, strawberry blond hair drifted over his forehead, casting an ominous shadow over his already dubious eyes.

  “True. Well, there’s always later.” Gage’s laughter bounced off the towering walls.

  I glanced down the other end of the alley. It intersected with a seven-foot tall brick wall, sealing the end.

  “Be gone,” I said.

  I didn’t dare tell Gage the man from the bar detected my demonic being. If he figured me out, and I was only half demon, he’d easily detect a full-blooded demon like Gage. But Gage would kill him without pause, as my demon half had urged me to do. I only killed if left no other option—most of the time.

  I stood straight and moved around the menace staring me down. “I shall try for my Mark again tomorrow.”

  “You can’t leave.” Gage seized my arm.

  “Don’t touch me. I’m on sensory overload as it is.”

  His grip intensified.

  I stared him in the eye—a direct challenge. He swung. I ducked and planted my palm on his chest. With a quick whirl, I drew my blade from my belt and aimed for his neck. Pinning his body against the wall with one hand pressed to his shoulder, I pricked the skin near his Adam’s apple with the tip of the silver weapon. Darkness beaded and dribbled along the blade’s edge.

  “Haven’t lost your touch, I see. Even after all these years, brother.”

  “Why do you test me? It will get you killed.” I increased the pressure cinching his neck. “Your two hundred years seniority holds nothing against my strength.”

  He’d probably hoped my time in seclusion had weakened me enough so he could kill me. But nothing abated the demonic strength of the contract that turned me into what I was and bound me to Master. I often wished there was. Death would be better than this immortal, indentured life.

  Fangs elongated and the tips of the vicious canines dented Gage’s lip. His fair skin reddened, signaling the transformation taking hold. Full demons didn’t have the control over the beast emerging like I did. It was their true nature, after all. The human form was only a mask.

  He would be fully morphed in seconds.

  “You kill me and it is back to seclusion for you.” The acidic stench of Gage’s fear coated his already foul breath.

  “Might be worth it,” I lied.

  “I don’t know why you’re his favorite.” He glared. The blackness of his pupils bled into the whites of his eyes. “You’re just a half-breed.”

  Favorite? I pushed off him, allowing six feet between us. I would not kill Gage or anyone else if possible. My demon adored the carnage too much.

  �
�Just step into it, David. Imagine the power you could have at your fingertips. The woman, in the red dress, you could have her body like I know you want to. Then it would be done. You would no longer be a half-breed. We would be true brothers.”

  Images of the woman flush against me burned my body to the core. I sensed the pleasure she would give me. Then I would be full demon. No remorse. No more struggling.

  Thoughts rioted within the confines of my skull. I didn’t want any of this. My fate had been decided by someone else. Before I had even been born.

  I fired one last glare at my demon-brother and stomped further down the alley. At this moment, darkness was the safest place for me. Hell, I’d been in it for so long, it felt like home.

  I threw a look over my shoulder and saw Gage turn the corner. Good, I was sick of his ugly face.

  Like being yanked out of solitary, shoved on an airplane, then released into one of the sunniest places on the continental US wasn’t enough, I was ordered to a bar packed with half-dressed women. It was a miracle I hadn’t morphed into my demonic half and killed an innocent already.

  That had to be Master’s plan. Deprive me of everything, then throw me into everything, hoping I’d break and give into the darkness. He’d been tempting me for centuries.

  “Hey, back off, buddy.” A female voice reverberated off the surrounding brick walls.

  I stopped to listen. I’d made it to the end of the alley and intended to hop the wall, but I couldn’t with witnesses. I glanced behind me. Empty and dark.

  “What’s a cute thing like you doing out back here all by yourself?” a gruff, slurred voice asked. The ring of crackling glass filled the air.

  I crept to the corner.

  “Sir. You’re obviously drunk. Would you like for me to call you a cab?” The woman’s voice had gone from casual to strained.

  I heard the squeak of a door opening, then a shuffle. My demon’s blazing nails prickled at my heart in anticipation of action.

  “Let’ssss call a cab. We can go to my place,” the drunken man said.

  I drifted closer to the corner. The bitter smell of alcohol stung my nostrils.

  “That shall not be happening, good sir,” the female said. “Come inside, and I will arrange a ride home for you.”

  Good sir? She speaks as if from my era.

  More shuffling. The hairs on my arm stood in attention.

  “Hands off. You are not allowed to touch me in such a manner. Get inside or—”

  Claps echoed, and I stormed the corner.

  The lady in red.

  She cranked her elbow to the guy’s forehead and buried her high-heeled shoe into his knee. His face bounced off the edge of the door, and he slumped to the ground, unconscious. Stance wide, knees bent, she stood over the motionless man, chest heaving.

  Moonlight spilled its glowing rays over her like a spotlight. Lean muscles along her arms twitched.

  She kicked his stomach. “You picked the wrong woman to—” Squinting her eyes, she jerked her attention in my direction. “Hello?”

  I filled my lungs with fresh air, hoping to calm my churning insides. The light above the door she stood under couldn’t compete with the darkness and the fifteen feet separating me from her. I knew my demon sight allowed me to see her easily, but she was human. She couldn’t possibly see me.

  “Hello?”

  I stepped back.

  She regarded the guy crumpled on the ground near the doorway and nudged his shoulder with her shoe. “You have a buddy out there?” Her forehead creased. “Who’s there?”

  “Ma’am, are you okay?” I managed to keep my voice from cracking with the rage fuming inside. For a man to treat a lady so horribly infuriated my human nature, which, in turn, inflamed the rage of my demon.

  “Ma’am?” she whispered. “Wait. Are you the guy from in the club? Come into the light.”

  She released the door handle, but the man’s foot stopped it from clicking shut. His body flinched at the impact. She tugged at the ends of her hair and faced the darkness.

  The back wall cast a long shadow over me. Coupled with the darkness of the late hour, she should not be able to identify me.

  “If you’re okay, then. I’ll be going.” The grit of the asphalt crackled beneath my soles. I wouldn’t be able to hop the wall as planned, but I needed to distance myself from her. The seductive energy rolling off her radiant skin teased my already tensed body. The subtle scent of sweat and lilacs was like a taste of sweet wine.

  “Wait,” she said.

  Footfalls approached. A rumble escaped my throat, and I hustled around the corner to run the length of the dark alley to the sidewalk. Another figure, shadowed by darkness approached. Broad shoulders. The man who called the lady in red his sister. Whereas the seduction and pheromones rolled off the female, anger and protectiveness flooded from the man approaching.

  If I stayed, I would surely fail to keep the demon at bay. I checked beside me and crouched. With one quick burst, I pounced to the top of the wall and disappeared into the shadows, keeping the humans in sight. Behind me lay an empty lot of dirt. I turned my focus back to the area behind the club.

  “Wait. Don’t go.” The woman approached the spot from where I’d just jumped. She must not have seen me leap onto the ledge of the wall.

  So human.

  Yet, she was strong in the way she handled herself with her attacker. And how she spoke. Old language, which I often used, prevented me from assimilating into this strange era. The darkness consumed her when she stepped out of the reach of the dull light. Her brother would soon come from the alley.

  Her tall, slender body came into full view. The woman’s skin glowed, despite the void of light. With the blond hair, she almost resembled an angel. I’d seen a handful through the years and with her beauty, she sure could pass for one.

  “Beka. Is that you?” the man called out.

  Beka. Beautiful name.

  “Russell?”

  He rounded the corner. “What are you doing out here in the dark?” He scanned the area, then gripped her shoulders. “Are you okay?”

  She searched the shadows with wide eyes. “Did you see a man in the alley?”

  “No. It’s just me. I’m doing the rounds. What’s wrong?” He guided her to the door, which lay propped open by the unconscious man’s foot.

  “I thought—” She glanced over her shoulder.

  “What happened here? Who’s that?” Russell knelt by the fallen man and pressed two fingers to his neck. “Are you okay, Beka? Did he hurt you?”

  “I’m fine. Some drunk tried to—how do they say it—get up my skirt?”

  “If you would stop wearing that unsuitable attire, maybe they wouldn’t behave in such a manner.”

  She turned her back to her tall, brown haired brother and looked in my direction again. Her gaze swept over me, but she didn’t appear to see me. Then her eyes narrowed. I froze, knees aching as I squatted. Maybe she was a supernatural and able to detect me. I sensed nothing of that nature, but despite the lack of light between us, her eyes penetrated the distance separating us. My heart lurched into my throat.

  Beka.

  A deep breath stretched the fabric taut over her firm breasts. The sight sparked a wild fire so fierce it nearly toppled me.

  “What are you doing?” Russell nudged her shoulder.

  “Nothing. I thought I saw someone.” She turned away. “I think I’m hallucinating. I didn’t have any alcohol tonight, but I feel like I am intoxicated.” Her slender fingers disappeared in her long, blond hair, and she combed through the locks.

  The air carried a hint of lilac, and I inhaled the essence deep into my senses.

  “Tell me what happened back here,” Russell asked.

  “Please move that guy inside and call him a cab.”

  “You’re too nice. I’d leave him here to deal with the elements.”

  “That is the difference between you and me, is it not?” She elbowed his gut, then grabbed the door handl
e. “And my clothes are not inappropriate, brother.”

  “I shall never get used to the clothing women wear in this century.”

  The door latched shut and silence ruled the alley. Beka and Russell were not human after all. No wonder Russell was able to detect my demonic half. I didn’t sense an angelic presence, and I didn’t recognize them as demons, either. Russell identified my evil so they must be Hunters. Possibly Guardians.

  Either way, this complicated things.

  I stretched from my crouched position and shook out my numb legs. Dark and quiet. Exactly what I needed. The back door to the bar snared my attention again, and I visualized Beka standing there.

  She must be a test. A trap. Something Master had placed in this mission to make me fall. But she wasn’t even human.

  Time to figure out what mess Master threw me into.

  CHAPTER 3

  “Why did you not locate Jessica Hanks last night?” Master’s raspy voice crackled through the cell phone.

  “Sorry, sir. I shall try again tonight. Are you certain she is at Club Noir?” I slouched onto the hotel desk chair, the cool, wooden back chilled my bare skin.

  “Nothing is certain, son.” His voice rumbled. “But you are my runner, and you are to retrieve that which I instruct you to.”

  I hated when he called me son. I didn’t want him as my father, yet, technically, he was since he owned my soul.

  Damn you, Mother.

  “I will do as you command. Is there any more information about her? All I know is that she’s fifteen, an orphan, and bears The Mark of Elpida on the small of her back.”

  “That is all that has been revealed to the Seers. You will have to find your Mark with that information.”

  I rested my elbow on the desktop and swiped the square sensor pad on the laptop computer I was given. Amazing device, much like the cellular phone. “I was shown how to use the Internet and searched popular websites called Facebook and Twitter but have brought up nothing useful.”

  “Do not waste your time with such electronics. Use your instincts. They will not fail you.”

  “Yes, sir.” I ran my hands over my chest, which, after seven more feasts, had begun to fill out again. Soon I would resemble the same twenty-two-year-old man I’d been frozen at four centuries ago.