by Lynn Rush
I arranged the chair to its original position and glanced to the left. The covers on her bed were peeled back, as if she’d gotten up and forgotten to make it. One step brought me to her bedside, and I knelt down. The pillow, still dented from the weight of her head, emitted her scent. I closed my eyes and pictured her in my arms, snuggled close to me in restful sleep. Soft, blond hair draped over my bare chest, the sheets tousled from making love.
Mine.
The rumblings of my demon sliced through my fantasy, and I stood on shaky legs. I gave one last scan of the room, then backed out and closed the door. Three strides carried me to the last door. The handle didn’t give when I cranked it. I knew this to be the room with the tinted window since it was next to the living room.
I dug out my picking tools and tried, without success, to disengage the lock. If I forced my way in, Beka and Russell would know someone had been there. They would probably blame Gage because of his demon status, but I might be implicated because I knew him.
A risk to be taken to get the Mark.
I jerked the handle. It gave. I pushed the door open and a stale, metallic laced darkness met me. Black walls, ceiling and floor. My phone pulsated in my pocket, and I yanked it out.
Get out.
I stole a gander into the room. Small bed. Teddy bear on the floor. Nothing else.
“Shit.”
My heart pounded as I closed the broken door and burst out of the apartment. I shut the main entrance and engaged the lock, then hurried through the roof access door but stayed close to listen.
“Beka, I need your help tonight,” Russell said, following her through the doorway on the far end of the hallway. “Stacia called in sick.”
Beka strode forward, tall and confident, dressed in a white dress that ended above her knees.
“I can’t. I must locate David. I haven’t seen him this evening. I fear he’s in danger from his associate Gage. The demon left, and I couldn’t get away to try and vanquish him.”
“So, Gage was the one I sensed in the club before, not David.” Russell tilted his head to the side. “I wouldn’t have guessed. I thought I sensed it with him as well.”
“No. It was not David. Gage is after Jessica. We must find her quickly.” She shoved the key into the door. “But first, as Guardian, I must protect the human, David. Our paths crossed for a reason. I believe that.”
Russell curled his fingers around his sister’s elbow. “It’s more than that for you, Beka, I can tell.”
“No,” she whispered. “It’s not.”
“You love him.”
Electricity pulsed through my body at the word love. She could not love me.
She rested her forehead against the door. “I’ve never felt such an intense connection like this before, Russell. I can’t explain it, but there is something about him.”
“Fight it, Beka. We must find Jessica and get her to safety. You cannot get distracted from the mission.”
Beka thrust open the door. “You’re right. But—” She palmed her forehead. “You’re right, Russell. Thank you for your loyalty, for protecting me. But please, allow me leave to check on David first. The demon works with him somehow. He’s in danger.”
Russell squeezed Beka’s shoulder. “I understand.”
“Then I will be back to help you.”
They disappeared into the apartment. No shrieks or anything, so they must not have noticed my intrusion.
But they would eventually.
I shut the door and scrubbed my face with my hands. She couldn’t love me. She knew nothing of what I was. No way Light could be with darkness.
I had to find Jessica before Beka and Russell so I could finish this assignment and leave. But locating a fifteen-year-old girl at a dance club didn’t make sense. Something felt off.
Time to push Gage for answers, because if Jessica Hanks really could change the world, she might be powerful enough to get me out of my contract.
Yes. Definitely time to press Gage.
And I intended to press hard.
CHAPTER 9
“Please tell me you found something,” Gage said.
“I found something.” I strode by him and into the parking lot of a brightly lit gas station.
Two cars were parked near the entrance and one at a pump. A young woman propped against her car held the hose to her gas tank while tapping her phone. Otherwise, the station was relatively quiet.
“Hey, where are you going?”
I kept moving, slowly allowing my demonic side to surface. This time, I would challenge Gage and see it through. He would tell me everything he knew or meet death. Too many things reeked of set up. Two Guardians protecting the girl, Master releasing me from punishment five years early, and issuing a six-hundred-year-old demon to babysit instead of the usual low-level demons.
“David, get back here. I must report your findings.”
I grumbled. Searing hot nails pierced my heart. Hair prickled on my arms and up my spine. My fingernails darkened and grew to pointed ends as I neared the darkness beside the gas station.
My eyesight sharpened and fastened on a cat perched on the dark green dumpster beside a door to the stucco building. I let a hiss slide past my fangs, and the feline scampered across the top, its nails scratching the plastic cover.
“David—”
I pivoted, wrapped my fingers around Gage’s throat and lifted him in the air. With one swift movement I rammed him into the wall, pinning him a foot from the ground. Bricks crumbled at the impact, dusting the tops of my shoes and clattering to the asphalt.
The smoky scent of Gage’s anger plowed over me, and my demon’s bellow echoed off the walls flanking us.
His eyes went black. Then his skin darkened, and his fangs slid from beneath his top lip. A hand came down on my elbow, and he swiped at my face. I met his blow with my forearm, but kept my grip.
I snapped my canines, glaring at him directly in the eye. Blood raged through my veins, pumping me full of the demon’s confidence. “Tell me everything.”
“I know nothing.” His nails grated my cheek.
With my free hand I drew my blade and held it to his neck. But at the same time a prick stung my side below my rib.
“Not so good after all.” Gage snickered.
“You’re not too bright, are you?”
He bared his teeth. Veins bulged at his temples, and his nostrils flared.
“My blade is at your neck. Yours, at my side. Which is lethal?”
His tense face softened as realization dawned on him. Demons were killed by beheading.
I pressed the silver blade to his throat. Blood beaded.
“You can’t kill me.” Gage’s voice cracked.
“I think I can. And I will if you do not start talking.” I eased him to his feet, keeping him in check with my growl and my fingers squeezing his neck. “It is I you cannot kill.”
“I could try.”
“You would fail. Why did Master really send me here?”
“The Mark.” Gage squirmed.
I loosened my grip. “And . . . .”
“And what, David? It’s always about a Mark. The next demon, nothing else. Same as always.” He batted my arm away and advanced.
His blade slashed my stomach. Burning pain crept up my side. My dagger penetrated his neck, and black blood spewed from the cut. I hadn’t exerted the pressure needed to sever the head, but enough to make an impression.
I pounded his stomach and scored my nails down his face.
He snapped at my fingers while his other hand covered his gushing wound. He pointed his blade, with a shaking hand. I paced in front of Gage, allowing more of my demon to emerge and heal my stomach wound.
“Yield, Gage,” I said. Energy pricked my skin like needles.
He struck again. His nails tore at my shirt. I spun and cracked my elbow to his temple. He stumbled forward, and I jumped behind him. My arm unyielding around his neck, I trapped his body to mine and dug my lethal fingertips int
o his throat.
“You’ve heard stories of my time in solitary, but do you know about my fingernails?”
He grunted.
“Sharper than the dagger you hold.” I carved into his skin. “Do you want to test them?”
Another grunt.
“Do you yield to this challenge?”
His body stilled against mine.
I jostled him. “Do. You. Yield?”
“Yes.” His dagger clanked against the asphalt, and his arms rose in surrender. “I yield.”
I loosened my hold, but let a fingernail glide over his flesh. Sure, the wounds would heal in minutes, but I still needed to remind him of my dominance.
He shivered, and I shoved him away. He palmed the brick wall to steady himself, then faced me. His hand went to his neck. “Damn it.”
“Change back,” I said in a low tone. “Before someone comes, then you will start talking, or I will finish what I started.”
My demon was taking hold more than I preferred. The energy. The power. I could have this all the time if I permanently transformed.
No.
I palmed my knees and focused on my human nature. In through the nose out the mouth. My nails and fangs receded, and the blaze simmered. The fight sated my demon’s needs for the moment.
Gage’s jaw tightened, and his human mask surfaced. The bleeding from his neck stopped, and he glared at me. Shame flickered in his dark eyes. No one hated losing a challenge more than Gage. Especially to a demon two hundred years his junior.
“Talk.” I stood straight.
“There is nothing else to say.”
“There’s more to this Mark, Gage.” The caption beneath her picture confirmed my hunch. “Master drags me out of solitary and throws me into a pit of sensory overload, so he must have other plans. What are they? And how is a fifteen-year-old connected to a dance club? Is there not an age limit to these types of establishments?”
“Yes. Twenty-one.”
“Then how?”
“I do not know.”
I twitched my lip up, as I paced in front of him. My claws darkened, and Gage’s gaze lowered to my hands.
“What did you find in the apartment?” Gage asked.
“I now know what she looks like. You need to answer my question.” I inched toward him. “My patience wears thin, brother.”
“Master’s Seer saw darkness and the name of the club in a vision. A faint glow, in the shape of a heart.” Gage’s jaw muscles tensed as he pulled his hand from his neck. The wound was meshing together.
I didn’t want to kill Gage but I had to know. “Why me? You’re more than capable to handle a fifteen-year-old female. Why pull me from punishment early?”
“Because you’re part human. The only one able to get past any Guardians sent to protect the girl.”
“Guardians?” Damn, he must know about Russell and Beka.
“I believe Russell to be one; however, I do not see a mark on him.” Gage glared at me with his dark eyes. “And he is brother to your woman, Beka.”
“She is not my woman.”
“Says you.”
“Beka and Russell are good friends, just call each other brother and sister as a term of affection.” Hopefully he would believe the lie. “What is so special about this girl, Jessica?”
“Master never told, but I suspect it is something very dangerous or helpful to him. He became quite anxious when his Seer told him of the girl.”
“Indeed. He released me from confinement five years early. Why would he not just tell me of the plan? Instead, he fed me to the wolves. I may have slipped with so many humans nearby. I’ve been away so long and very tempted with the seductive, half-dressed women prancing around.”
I ordered the demon inside and my fingernails to normal length. The rush of dark power flowing through my veins felt like a drug. And like my feelings for Beka, that was dangerous.
“Yes. And why do you think he did that?” Gage asked.
“Hoping I’d give in and become full-fledged.”
“Indeed.”
“If I did, I couldn’t get past the Guardians.”
“You’d still get your Mark. That he knows. You always get your Mark. Despite whoever or whatever stands in your path.” He chuckled. “Mostly.”
I gritted my teeth. Master was playing games. More than usual. Something had him spooked. That was the only explanation.
“He did that to test your resolve.”
I fisted my hands in my hair, tugging until my eyes stung.
“But, surprisingly, you have prevailed. You are very strong, David. Inexplicably strong.”
“And that scares him, does it not?” My deadly sharp nails returned to their human color, and I again felt my heart pound instead of the agony of the demon’s grip.
“Indeed. You are a half-breed, you should not be this strong. Not able to control how much demon comes through when you need its power.” He regarded my hands. “The nails. You called only a part of your demon, whereas the rest of us can only go full demon or human, not partially. That is power, indeed.”
“But not enough to break the contract.”
“Doomed to servitude by your lovely mother.” Gage smirked.
He’d been on the receiving end of my wrath when he spoke of my human mother. But right now, I needed to think. Because somehow I knew Jessica Hanks was the key to my freedom.
If I could only find her.
CHAPTER 10
“What’ll you have?” Russell said, not deviating his attention from the glass he wiped. He shuffled to the side and picked up another glass but kept himself tilted in my direction, still not looking.
“You are busy tonight,” I said. A woman grazed my arm as she settled in next to me, probably wanting to purchase a drink. Many people crowded the bar.
“Yeah. I’m short on help—” He finally straightened and made eye contact. “Oh. What do you want?”
“You are short on help. I am available if you need assistance.”
He diverted his focus. “What can I get you, ma’am?”
“Gin and tonic, please.”
“Hey, buddy. Can I get some help down here or what?” a guy at the end of the bar called out.
Russell scanned the span of the bar, then rested his gaze on me. “You know how to bartend?”
“I am a quick study.”
“Beka ran out on me, searching for you. But since you’re here, come on and pitch in.” He shook his head.
“Why do you shake your head?”
“I don’t know what she sees in you, but I need help, so you’re it.”
Glass shattered behind me, and I turned. Two guys tumbled over a table and a crowd began to form. Russell perked up.
“I will handle this,” I said. “You pour your little drinks.”
I parted the sea of people surrounding the scuffle. Two young guys wrestled on the floor while a group of ten rooted them on with fists pumping toward the ceiling.
Such immaturity.
But if I diffused the disagreement, I may gain the trust of the skittish Guardian, Russell, which would help in my quest for Jessica, so I pushed forward.
“Hey,” I yelled. The thumping music muffled my voice. No one moved. In fact, the circle of people tightened.
I yanked two miscreants aside, making room for me to break through the crowd. One of the guys elbowed my side. “Hey, dude.”
I stared into his eyes and growled. He must have sensed my anger and stepped away, bringing the girl standing next to him along.
“Smart choice, son.”
I stomped toward the two boys rolling on the ground and reached for the arm of the blond juvenile. I yanked him up. He swung at my face, but I caught his hand in mine. “Enough.”
Obscenities rolled off the drunken kid’s tongue. I kept him to the side at arm’s length.
Next the redhead pounced. “You asshole. You can’t—”
I cracked my knuckles against his cheek. He fell to his knees and slumped onto
his back, unconscious. The guy I held flailed, his elbow snagged against a dark-haired female standing behind him, and she stumbled sideways.
I tossed the blond near the unconscious one and caught the girl’s bicep before her face smacked against the floor.
“Hey, get your hands off her.” The scrawny blond charged with wild eyes.
“I’m okay,” the girl whispered, looking dazed.
I grabbed the front of the kid’s silk shirt. His eyes widened, and I jerked him close. “I think it best you leave.”
His lanky, five-foot-eight frame shrank before me. My sheer size alone should have scared him, but I threw in an extra snarl for effect. Adrenaline stampeded through my body. I’d almost hoped he fought a little more.
“Come on, babe. Let’s get out of here.” Blondie’s leer bounced from the unconscious kid to me. “This place is a meat market.”
“I’ll walk you out.” I shoved him in the direction of the door.
Within five minutes I’d escorted the blond outside with his girlfriend. I turned to the bouncer standing guard. “Don’t let him back in, please.”
The darkness of the alley beside the club proved a perfect place to cool down from the action. I stopped near the end of the passage way and leaned forward, resting my open palms against the gritty brick wall.
The breeze rushed over me, cooling my damp skin. The action inside triggered my raw senses. They were misfiring something fierce. I’d nearly let too much of the beast out while fighting those kids. Maybe befriending Russell in attempts to snatch Jessica wasn’t such a good idea.
The constant crowds, all the touching, and now the fighting. It got me too worked up. Then to discover Master had specifically put me in this situation. Using my human side for his demented needs, hoping I’d fail.
But he’d initiated a Mark, and per my contract, I had to obey.
I turned and let my back rest against the brick wall of the establishment. When I opened my eyes, Beka stood propped against the opposite wall of the narrow alleyway.
“Beka?”
“Didn’t mean to scare you.”