“Bastian—light it up,” Venom said, boots banging against steel. He needed the lay of the land. Right now. Nothing could be left to chance. Not with Evelyn in danger. Which meant Bastian’s skill at picking apart rogues from a distance would come in handy. Again, for the thousandth time in . . . well, hell. Venom didn’t know. Didn’t care either. All he wanted was the rundown—how many rogues, age, level of talent, and exhale. The precise location of the bastard sitting inside the facility. “Fill me in.”
“Fifteen rogues of varying talents. Eight fire dragons, two acid breathers, one who exhales Scald, and . . . fuck,” Bastian said, sounding pissed off. “Mac, we’ve got another water dragon in the mix.”
“Hamersveld.” Mac snarled. “About time the bastard poked his head out. Tell me where he is, B.”
“No. Ven’s female comes first.” Deep voice rolling, Rikar pulled rank, shutting down Mac’s personal vendetta against the male who’d sired him. No doubt a good idea. The new boy might be powerful, but the rogue water dragon was older, wiser, and far more experienced. No way his brother-in-arms should be tangling with the asshole on his own just yet. “You and Forge circle back around. Come in from the north with Sloan. Let’s see where the bastards are holed up.”
“Smoke ’em out.” Sloan hummed in anticipation. “Good plan. I’m three miles out.”
“And Wick?”
Wick growled. “Inbound. West side.”
“Good,” Bastian said, electricity sizzling in the background. A lightning shield, maybe? Good guess. Venom knew the sound well and almost smiled in reaction. Almost, but not quite. No matter how much he enjoyed his commander’s ability to fry rogues on contact, the setup bothered him. Outnumbered with his mate to protect—not good odds. “Stay on Ven’s six. If shit goes south, back him up.”
“On it,” Wick murmured.
“Keep it tight. Stay on script, boys.” Frost crackled, rolling with Rikar’s voice through mind-speak. “We’ll keep the assholes busy long enough for Venom to break free, then hit ’em hard.”
Mac grumbled something about missed opportunities.
Forge grunted in agreement.
Claws scraped against steel as Wick landed on the rooftop.
“Stay on the roof, Wick.” Reaching the next landing, Venom vaulted off the last step. Evelyn’s bio-energy whiplashed inside his head. He cranked the dial, tuning in to her mood. She was upset, but . . . he frowned . . . not frightened. Which meant the rogue hadn’t discovered her yet. Relief opened his lungs, allowing him to take a deep breath. “I’ll bring her out.”
Wick snarled his assent.
Venom grabbed the handle. He yanked. The door flew open and slammed into the back wall. The bang echoed up the stairwell as he ran into a wide corridor. Sliding to a stop, he glanced both ways. Empty. No nurses. Not a doctor in sight. Nothing but bright lights, pale hospital floors and—
A row of biohazard suits hanging from hooks farther down the hall.
Jackpot. Infestation central. Just what he needed to find.
His gaze narrowed on a set of doors at the end of the hallway. He read the sign warning people to keep out. His muscles bunched in preparation. Venom pulled the rip cord and unleashed his speed, racing past an abandoned gurney. Footfalls raging in the quiet, he punched through the double doors. Hinges hissed as dual panels swung inward. Radar tuned to maximum, he jogged into the quarantine area.
A long hallway stretched out in front of him.
The stench of sickness slithered on warm air, assaulting his senses. Rolling his shoulders to release the tension, he listened to the low murmur of female voices. He sidestepped a bunch of nurses in the corridor and sifted through noise, hunting for the right vibration. Evelyn’s bio-energy cut through the human hum and—
A low growl rose above the quiet chatter.
The fine hairs on Venom’s neck stood on end. Holy shit. He recognized that sound. Sensed the danger even before he laid eyes on it. Cranking his hands into fists, he tracked the unearthly snarl. It came again. His focus snapped to the left. Venom bared his teeth. There . . . right there—half-hidden by a screen, dressed in a white lab coat, the rogue stood on the threshold, fixated on something inside one of the hospital rooms. The glow of Evelyn’s bright-green aura ghosted around the makeshift barricade and into the hallway. Venom’s protective instinct came alive, moving him from half to full throttle.
He snarled in reaction.
The Razorback glanced his way. Pink irises shimmering, Ivar’s eyes widened in surprise, then narrowed in challenge. Shifting into a fighting stance, the bastard put his back to the room, blocking the doorway. “Venom . . . long time, no see. Come to protect the humans, have you?”
“Move away from the door.”
“And if I don’t?”
“You’ll die faster,” Venom said, erring on the side of caution instead of starting a fight. A difficult urge to deny when he longed to attack. Just let loose and rip Ivar to shreds. Killing the asshole would solve so many problems. Right so many wrongs. Avenge so many deaths. Lovely inspiration that, like it or not, amounted to a terrible plan. The bastard had ten feet on him. Stood much closer to Evelyn than he did and wouldn’t hesitate. Even if he unleashed his magic, Ivar would reach his female first and snap her neck . . . just to slow his pursuit.
Aggression yanked his chain.
Venom smoothed his expression. He mustn’t react. The second Ivar realized Evelyn’s importance to him, she was dead.
Dancing the dance, Venom shifted toward his prey. “You responsible for all this?”
“Science is my forte.” With a wink, Ivar countered each step Venom made, moving with him, refusing to give ground. “Playing with human lives too.”
The comment threatened his control. Venom reeled it in, refusing to give the game away. “Leave now, Ivar—live longer.”
“Willing to let me go? Strange, unless . . .” Intelligence gleaming in his eyes, Ivar grinned. “Ah, I get it. You’re here for the female. Such a lovely HE . . . nice piece of ass.”
Venom bared his teeth.
“Temper, temper, Nightfury.” Staring at him beneath his brows, Ivar took a step back. Magic writhed around him, hiding him from human eyes. But not from Venom. He saw everything in startling detail. The bastard’s intent too as Ivar planted himself between the doorjambs, trapping Evelyn inside the room, denying Venom a clear path. “One wrong move, and she gets hurt.”
“I’m going to enjoy killing you,” Venom said, shifting onto the balls of his feet.
Almost there. Seven feet, and he’d close the gap. Come within striking distance. Close enough to unbalance the bastard. Venom moved right, inched forward, setting up the takedown like a master chess player. His palms itched. His fingers twitched. God, how he wanted to wrap his hands around Ivar’s throat. A quick yank. One brutal snap, and . . . bam! Game over. One dead rogue leader.
Peace on earth, goodwill to all Dragonkind males.
Tension rolled, tightening muscles over bone. Gauging the distance, Venom started the countdown. Five . . . four . . . three . . . two . . .
One!
He leapt toward his enemy.
Ivar cursed and spun, retreating into the hospital room. Venom swiped at him. His fingertips brushed the shoulder of the asshole’s lab coat. Cotton ripped, coming away in his hand. A pop-pop-pop sounded. The spell keeping Ivar hidden from human eyes tore open.
“What the hell?” a human doctor muttered from inside the room.
“Holy crap!” Evelyn gasped, alarm in her voice.
With a snarl, Venom tossed the jacket and went after the bastard. Evelyn’s profile flashed in his periphery. She looked away from Ivar toward him. Time slowed. Perception twisted. His chest heaved. Eyes aglow, Venom painted the room red with his gaze. Her eyes widened as she met his and . . . Goddamn it. He wasn’t going to make it. Wasn’t going to reach her
in time. Ivar was too fast and—
Venom lunged at him.
The bastard threw out his hand.
Powerful magic poured out of Ivar’s palm. The smell of brimstone rushed into the room. Poison slammed into Venom, then clawed at this throat, trying to steal his air. His venomous half rose to counteract the toxin. Fisting his hand, Venom unleashed his magic and sucked the noxious fumes from the room. Evelyn coughed as the oxygen level thinned. Without thought, he enclosed her in an air bubble, protecting her from suffocating in the toxic swill.
Ivar hit him with another dose.
He fired back, blasting the bastard with neurotoxins. Hauling ass toward the window, Ivar smiled. And Venom realized his mistake.
He sucked in a quick breath.
Fire dragon side out in full force, Ivar lit the match.
Noxious vapor fed by Venom’s magic exploded into a flamethrower. Heat went cataclysmic. Curtains caught fire. Flames blew into the hallway. The bed flipped, rolling end over end. Glass shattered across the room as smoke billowed, limiting his ability to see. Ignoring the lick of open flames, Venom jumped through a wall of fire. Red scales flashing in the firestorm, Ivar escaped out the window, into the open air. Venom snarled, wanting to go after him. But he couldn’t. Not now. He needed to find Evelyn and become her shield. Before the oxygen tank across the room blew sky-high. Before the fire reached her and she burned alive.
Hunting for her in the chaos, Venom turned away from the window. Thick smoke rolled, stinging his eyes, clogging his lungs, setting off the alarm. The sprinkler system went active. Water sprayed in all directions. Humans shouted in terror. Venom leapt the overturned hospital bed. His boots thumped down on the other side and slid on wet linoleum. Fire snarled overhead. Ceiling tiles melted like wax, dripping into a toxic mess above his head.
His senses contracted. Opening the valve to feed sensory perception, he clung to the cosmic tether and widened the scope, pushing the limits of his control. The signal—her signal—he needed to find it. To reconnect with her life force. Static hissed between his temples, then died. He tried again, clinging to the magical anchor in the firestorm.
Choking on the fumes, Venom shoved a cart out of his way. “Evelyn!”
No answer. No movement. Not a whisper in the smoky air.
Fear stripped him of reason.
Panic compressed his rib cage. He yelled her name again. And then again. Nothing but silence and the hiss of ravenous flames rose to greet him.
Thrown clear by the explosion, Evelyn struggled to get her bearings. Somewhere near the back of the room, maybe? To the left of the window? She shook her head. God, she didn’t know. The shockwave had done a number on her. Picked her up. Tossed her to one side. Rattled her cage, bashing her head into the wall. Now she could only be sure of one thing—her ears were ringing. But oh, wait. That wasn’t true. She knew something else too—that she couldn’t see a damned thing. Not with the twisted vinyl seat back and hospital bed blocking her view.
Forcing her arms to work, Evelyn shoved at the chair pinning her to the floor. Pain spiraled up her forearm. She grimaced. The smell of smoke slithered in, teasing her senses. Awareness and panic hit her as the gray coil thickened, rolling on a wave of hot air. Alarm thrust shock out of the way. She pushed harder, trying to wiggle from beneath the wreckage. Bent in the blast, the heavy frame refused to budge. She tried again. Sharp metal grazed her palms. Blood welled on her skin. She didn’t care. The shallow scrapes barely registered. Only one thing mattered. She needed to get out from under the damn chair. Right now, before . . .
She glanced to her right.
Undulating like a wave, fire crept across the ceiling. Eyes riveted to the flames, she watched them lick down the walls and reach through the broken window, curling over the twisted steel frame like long, witchy fingers. Smoke followed, billowing into the night, sucking air into the room, providing plenty of oxygen . . . fueling the firestorm.
With a cry, she thrashed, bucking beneath the debris.
The fire inched closer. Smoky froth rolled in like ocean surf. Helpless in the onslaught, Evelyn inhaled deep, filling her lungs to capacity. She needed oxygen. Enough to give her the strength—and time—to wriggle free. Otherwise, the smoke would suffocate her.
The wall of gray tendrils reached out to surround her.
Evelyn counted off the seconds. She prayed for a miracle. A change in direction. A shift toward good luck. Something. Anything. Another minute to figure a way out and—
The oncoming smoke shifted away from her.
Evelyn blinked. No, that wasn’t quite right. The smoke had hit something. Inches from her nose, she watched the thick cloud slide over smooth contours—up and over without touching her. Her mouth fell open. Another round of ash puffed against the side wall. The strange barricade held, keeping the toxic swill at bay. Not understanding, she reached out. Blood smeared across the inside of the barricade as she brushed it with her fingertips. Transparent walls sucked at her skin, rippled like water, then went still as glass. She frowned and pulled her hand back. The curved sides reacted again, contracting into a multicolored wave. Red, green, and blue brushed shoulders, revealing the shape of the structure surrounding her.
Smooth walls. Shaped like a sphere. Thin as paper.
Another rolling puff kissed the strange barrier. An orange glow followed, approaching with frightening speed. High flames flicked the side of the bubble. The smooth wall warped. Panic set in. She lost the lungful of air she’d been holding and—
“Evelyn!”
The shout turned her head. Recognition struck. Evelyn sucked in a much-needed breath. Deep voice. Eastern European accent. Venom. No one else sounded like that and . . . Lord love her. Was she really hearing him? Or was her mind playing tricks, searching for help where none existed?
He shouted her name again.
Reality spun her toward belief. Oh, thank God—Venom. He was here. Really here. Not a figment of her overwrought imagination, but flesh-and-blood real. How? Why? Her analytical side wanted her to ask. Evelyn killed the questions. Her need to know—to solve the puzzle—could wait until later. Until after he pulled her free and helped her get away.
“Venom!” she yelled, struggling beneath the weight of the chair. Oh please, let him hear her over the roar of flames. “Over here—I’m here!”
Backlit by fire, a dark silhouette came through the smoke.
“Venom.” Reaching out, she stretched her hand toward him.
Shoving an overturned table out of his way, he slid to a stop beside her. “Turn your face away.”
Evelyn obeyed without question. The second she tucked her cheek against her shoulder, he grabbed the chair. He tossed the heavy piece of furniture aside with one hand. Twisted steel and broken wood went flying, flipped up and over, hurtling toward the other side of the room. A crash sounded next to the window. The bubble surrounding her evaporated. Smoke hit her in the face. She coughed, fighting to breathe. Venom’s arms came around her. He lifted her off the floor. Relief collided with gratefulness, and Evelyn didn’t hesitate. She curled her arms around his neck and held on hard.
“Go,” she rasped as ash coated her skin.
“Hold on tight,” he said, mouth against her ear.
She nodded.
With a quick move, he spun and leapt through the wall of flames. Heat rushed over her bare feet. Climbing Venom like a jungle gym, she tightened her grip and, bending her knees, wrapped her legs around his waist. His feet thumped down on the other side of the flames. Face pressed to his throat, she felt him shift against her. Hard muscle flexed. He changed direction, then dipped his head beneath something. Strong thighs brushing her bottom, he started to run.
The snarl of fire receded.
Heat downgraded from punishing to unpleasant.
The air cleared a little at a time.
Gasping, the smell of s
ulfur in the air, Evelyn raised her chin and looked over his shoulder. Fluorescent lights flickered overhead, hurting her eyes. She squinted, forcing her vision into focus. Men shouted instructions. Water fell like rain from sprinkler heads. Steel banged against walls and door frames. A group of firemen dressed in full garb sprinted past. Panicked nurses rushed to help doctors treat patients in the wide corridor. White coats smeared with soot. Faces pale with shock. Chaos squared.
The sight jump-started her brain.
“Wait—Venom, slow down.”
Scanning the hallway, he shook his head.
Both hands fisted in the back of his leather jacket, she stared at his profile. “Dr. Milford was in there. We have to help—”
“He’s fine. The humans already have him.”
Evelyn blinked. “Humans?”
He glanced at her from the corner of his eye. “I’ll explain later.”
The brief moment of eye contact set her on edge. Something wasn’t right. She frowned. Well, okay, besides the obvious. Someone had started a fire. Inside a hospital room. With her in it, damn it to hell and back. But with Venom’s arms around her, his fast pace and her fear fading, a more immediate problem sprang into view. His gaze was shimmering. In the hotel room, she’d been sure he had brown eyes. But now? Releasing her death grip on his jacket, Evelyn grasped his chin. Day-old stubble pricked her fingertips. She applied gentle pressure to turn his head. He resisted a moment, then gave in, taking his focus off the hallway to look at her.
She lost her ability to breathe. Holy crap. Not dark brown at all, but a deep ruby red. Pretty color. Completely unnatural considering the soft glow of his irises. He held her gaze a moment. The shimmer intensified an instant before he returned his attention to the double doors at the end of the hall. She tried to rationalize her discovery. Seconds ticked past. Evelyn forced her mind to sift through the facts.
It could be a trick of the light. Could be she’d suffered a concussion and was now seeing things. Imagining the worst. Creating problems where none existed. Or it could be that her mind was working just fine and there was something odd about him.
Fury of Obsession (Dragonfury Series Book 5) Page 22