by Leah Silver
I got a good hit on one of them. Sliced him right across the neck. He screamed in agony, and the Fae frowned in disgust. She snapped her fingers, and the hedge behind him swallowed him whole, silencing him forever.
While I stared at the hedge in horror, the other grabbed me, yanking my hands hard behind my back while the big one stood close enough to get a hand on me, just in case the lackey let me get away. I knew when to hold my cards, and when to fold them. I’d been beaten. For now, anyway. That didn’t stop me from glaring at every single one of them. Even Tempest’s daughter.
She turned her cold green eyes back to me. They resembled Tempest’s, but they were darker, although they still had a sparkle of magic in them. I wondered who her father was, and just how much power I was up against. I’d never gone against a Fae before. I couldn’t overpower Tempest, but I’d never had to, either.
“My name is Floresta. And now, you will come with me.”
Rock hard and ready to play
The house itself was bewitched. Of course. It looked nothing like a suburban home inside. It was huge with a maze of dark rooms, caged creatures, and potions lining the walls. A fire burned in the back room with something boiling in a kettle. A scream erupted every time one of the bubbles popped.
“What is this place, Floresta?”
“It’s my home. For now.” She seemed none too pleased about that little tidbit, and I didn’t blame her. Fae were meant to live in the forest, or the mountains. Somewhere outside. Not trapped in such a dank place.
“Huh. If I had to peg it as anyone’s home, I would’ve picked a warlock. Not Fae.”
“Yes, well, my landlord doesn’t like me touching things.”
Landlord. Who was that? Just how many supernaturals were involved in this little plot?
As they hauled me through the house, then down a dark staircase, I knew where I was heading. The basement.
“Do you think you could be a little more predictable in this?” I asked as they tossed me into a locker, one that was too small to even sit down in. No one answered as they shackled my hands and feet to a bar on the inside. “As if that’s necessary. How am I even going to move enough to get out of here?” I rolled my eyes. They were laying it on awfully thick, and it frustrated me to no end that they still had the upper hand.
Just before the big man could slam the door closed, I caught Floresta’s eye. “Tell me something, Floresta. What is my role in this? Why me?”
“You will lead me to them. And the rest of the council.”
“So it’s not me you want?”
“Oh, it’s you. And everyone else.”
She turned and left, just before the big one took way too much satisfaction in slamming the locker door closed, bonking me in the nose in the process. There were three slivers of light coming in, but I really couldn’t get to the right angle to see anything out of them.
I could only hope the guys would stay away. I didn’t want to give the enemy the satisfaction of catching us all. My instincts warned me it wouldn’t be so easy. The men would come after me, and I’d have an even bigger mess to clean up.
I worked my wrists side to side as much as I could inside the locker. The air was getting stale, and I had no idea how much time had passed. It felt like days, but it was probably just a few minutes. I decided to split the difference and call it a few hours. I’d made no progress in freeing myself, but I had nothing else to do, so I kept at it, wriggling this way and that, trying to get just a little more wiggle room than I had before.
I heard someone at the door and stopped, staying perfectly still. It was ridiculous, since they knew I was down there. They’d put me here after all. But I wanted to hear what they were saying.
“Kill her and be done with it,” a man’s voice said. It was the big man.
“She’s too valuable. Devlin wants her,” Floresta said.
“The longer you keep her, the more danger you put the rest of us in. You seem to have conveniently forgotten she’s the most notorious demon hunter to walk this Earth.” He sounded afraid, and I smiled, quite satisfied with my reputation among the demons.
“I don’t care about you. She’s no threat to me. If you were scared of her, or anyone else, why did you align yourself with Devlin in the first place?” she asked, cool as a cucumber.
“I didn’t. He showed up later.”
“I knew it,” I whispered, quite satisfied with myself. Devlin was someone’s little lackey. This was bigger than him. It went deeper than even Floresta, since she appeared to be Devlin’s puppet. What had he promised her? Perhaps with her mother out of the way, he thought she would be the new queen. But since a new queen hadn’t ever been elected, how could she leap to that conclusion? She had a thousand other sisters who could vie for the position just as easily as she could. Brothers, too, for that matter. Maybe it was time for a Fae king, or so I imagined they would say. How had Devlin convinced her this was a good idea?
“You’re in it now, so you’d better—” Their conversation was cut off by a crash above. Actually, it sounded more like an explosion. I groaned. The cavalry was here.
I couldn’t hear much except banging around and muffled shouting above me as the four men crashed into the hive. I shook my head as I listened, hoping beyond hope they would be okay. Regardless of who’s daughter she was, that Fae bitch would regret it forever if she hurt what was mine.
Since I’d passed into Floresta’s realm, I had no idea if Oscar could still hear me. That would explain why he couldn’t hear anyone inside. It was a flaw in our plan that I realized a bit too late, and it led me to another conclusion… If he couldn’t hear me, they’d have no idea where I was.
Luckily for me, Floresta hadn’t been terribly creative with where she put me. The basement was the first place I’d go to look for prisoners.
A few sets of feet came clomping down the stairs, and I strained to see who it might be, but couldn’t. I decided to stay quiet until I knew for sure. The last thing I needed was Devlin’s boys finding me in a compromising position. I shuddered at the thought of what they might do.
“Merry, are you down here?” Oscar whispered.
I heard some sniffling outside the locker. It got more intense over the little slits that let light in.
I heard a dog’s growl. No, not a dog, a wolf. It was deep, and intimidating, or at least it would’ve been if I hadn’t known the man behind it. “Ike? Is that you?”
Someone pulled on the door, but it didn’t give. “The key,” Oscar said. “We need the key.”
“No time for that,” Ed said. I felt it before I heard it. The hairs on my arm stood on end as he prepared to blast the door open with magic. I tried to shield my face with my hands, but they were chained to the inside walls. For some reason, I thought holding my breath might help, so I did that instead.
The force of the blast blew my hair back, but it did nothing to free my arms and legs.
“Good to see you,” I said, hoping that was true. “Where’s Levi?” There were only three men, and I frantically searched the space behind them, hoping he was okay. “He didn’t stay behind because of his complex, did he?”
“No, actually,” Ed said as he examined my chains. “He’s putting his charms to good use against that Fae upstairs.”
“That’s not just any Fae. It’s one of Tempest’s daughters.”
Ed stopped what he was doing, unease flitting over his face. “That puts a bit of a wrench in things.”
“At the least. Yes,” I admitted.
“What is Tempest’s daughter doing shacking up with a hive?” Oscar asked as Ike prowled, pacing a big oval around the room. He was a huge wolf with salt-and-pepper fur. A gorgeous specimen I couldn’t get to because I was still chained.
“There is no archdemon here, like Devlin claimed. She’s the one in charge.”
One of the men let out a groan. Ed went back to my chains, apparently seeing my frustration. “It doesn’t matter who’s in charge; we need to destroy the hive and get ou
t of here.” I felt a light touch of magic on the skin around my wrists and ankles. Nothing more than a feather’s touch, but with a click, I was suddenly free.
On reflex, I threw my arms around him. “Thank you,” I said into his white hair. He smelled like oils. Frankincense, maybe? I couldn’t quite put my finger on it, but it made me want to linger.
His arms were hard and warm around me, making me feel safe. I closed my eyes, relishing in the closeness as he rubbed my back in wider and wider strokes … until he palmed a hand over my rear, squeezing a handful.
I pulled back, quirking an eyebrow. He grinned, his hooded eyes belying the amused expression.
“I’ve been wanting to get a handful of that ass since we saw you in those skin-tight leather pants.”
Instead of the crude term turning me off, heat shot straight to my core. I sidled even closer, rolling my hips suggestively against the part of him that was obviously more than ready for me. He squeezed a little harder, the tingling in my breasts making me very aware of how hard he had me pressed against him.
“Have you now? Well, maybe you’ll get a turn when all this is over.” I winked before extricating myself. He reluctantly let go when Oscar cleared his throat.
Ike panted from his spot in the corner, still in wolf form.
“Well, shall we go collect Levi and blow this popsicle stand?” Oscar asked.
I looked to Ed, who shrugged. “We can’t just blow this place up. The humans will notice. We have to kill the demons. All of them. And Floresta won’t let that happen easily.”
“I believe Floresta is indisposed at the moment,” Ed said, his expression hard to read. Was he cringing?
“What do you mean by that?” I asked, knowing the answer but not wanting to admit it.
“Levi is keeping her occupied.”
Jealousy. It flared in me like a vicious beast that had been dormant for centuries. Well, forever, actually, since I’d never cared enough about any man to feel that sting before. I pushed past the two men and the wolf, then stomped up the stairs.
“Merry, wait,” Oscar pleaded. It was enough to stop my forward progress, but not enough to make me turn. I was shaking with unexpected anger. It might not be rational, but it felt as if Levi had betrayed me. How dare he?
“It’s not real,” Oscar explained. Or maybe excused was a better word. “He’s using his charms.”
“Fae don’t usually fall for charms so easily,” I argued.
“True, but young Fae are vulnerable. And Floresta is very young,” Ed said, joining Levi’s defense.
“So you’re all on his side on this? If I go up there and find them naked as the day the Mother made them, you expect me to just overlook it? All in the name of the mission?” Apparently, I’d lost all my power to be reasonable, but I couldn’t help it. Levi had acted like he wanted a life with me. He was the first man I’d let myself believe in, and at the first opportunity, he was trying to get into another woman’s pants? With me in the same house, no less.
The more I thought about it, the angrier I got.
“One problem at a time. Let’s take that anger out on the demons, hmm?” Oscar suggested, putting a hand on my shoulder. It was hard, cold, and not at all comforting. I wanted to slap it away. To move out from under it. Anything. But I felt a soft head under my left hand, a whine breaking through my anger.
“Ike, don’t.” It was a low blow. He could tell I wanted to be near him. It was obvious I was drawn to his wolf form. I wanted to bury my face in his fur and lay with him forever. He whined again, and I snorted, breaking out of my wolf trance.
“Whining doesn’t suit you.”
He stopped, and immediately changed form. Suddenly, I stood before a full-fledged, very naked man on the edge of the staircase. We were so close that if I leaned in a little, my front would be flush with his, much like I had been with Ed, except Ed hadn’t been naked.
“Merry, come on now. Get a grip. This is a job, and Levi is doing his part. Nothing more, and nothing less. Compartmentalize. Get the job done, then you can deal with whatever Levi did or didn’t do when it’s over,” Ike said, his voice surprisingly authoritative.
It pulled me up short, the command in his words turning me on more than I wanted to admit, even to myself. I’d never let anyone have any kind of control over me, but the lick of heat racing through me suggested I’d enjoy it if I surrendered to his demands.
“I’m not sure this is necessary,” I breathed.
“Oh, but I think it is,” Ike firmly retorted as he leaned in, purposefully hovering just shy of an inch away, refusing to give me what he knew I wanted, which was his skin on mine. It was the most sensual moment of non-contact I’d ever had.
I kept my eyes on his. Despite the almost irresistible compulsion to, I didn’t let myself look down. I wanted to, believe me, but it didn’t feel right. When I was with these men, and I knew I would be, I wanted to be able to focus, to savor.
Trying to get back to the task at hand, I said, “For demon’s sake, Ike. Put some clothes on, or change back into a wolf. We’ll get the job done, then you’ll let me have a go at Levi if I decide it’s necessary, even if he is just doing a job,” I conceded to him just to get us moving again. “But that doesn’t solve what we should do with Floresta. We can’t exactly kill Tempest’s daughter, but we don’t have the means to keep her captive.”
“No, but if we capture her, we can take her to the council. Let them deal with her,” Ed suggested.
I nodded. It sounded good enough to me. The more problems I could slide off my plate and onto theirs, the better.
I started back up the stairs while Ike shifted into wolf form. It was a bit jarring watching the transformation. It was so smooth and natural looking, but it also defied logic to see a naked man one second, and a wolf the next. But then again, logic didn’t come into play much in the realm of supernaturals.
“Did you guys happen to take any of them out on your way down here?”
“Yeah, one or two,” Ed answered a bit more flippantly than I expected.
“I sense there’s a story there. You’ll have to tell it to me later. Do you know where the rest of the demons are, or even how many there are?”
“Levi is working on that data,” Ed said.
“Okay,” I said through my teeth. “I suggest we search the house, room for room, until he meets up with us.
“Fine by me,” Ed said. As we approached the door, I noticed two balls of pink light in his hands. He was ready for whatever was on the other side. I hesitated, listening, but heard nothing. Demons weren’t overly skilled at being quiet, so I felt fairly safe opening the door.
Before I did, I whispered over my shoulder, “Thanks for coming to get me, guys.”
“Well, we kinda like having you around, so it left us with very little choice in the matter,” Ed said with a shrug.
I shook my head and eased the door open. A dark, narrow hallway greeted us with doors on either side. “Wonderful,” I said under my breath as I assessed the situation. “Let’s divide and conquer,” I started, but when it came down to it, I couldn’t decide who I wanted with me. Suddenly, I didn’t want to be apart from any of them. But the hunter in me knew this would go faster if we split up. Who was the strongest, then? Or maybe the question was, who was the weakest? I couldn’t even come up with the right questions.
“Son of a motherless gravedigger. I can’t deal with this,” I cursed.
Ed cracked a smile. “Let’s just stay together.”
Ike put his nose to the ground and sniffed. Maybe I wouldn’t have to start opening doors blindly. He’d know exactly where they were. I smiled, suddenly appreciating having someone else with me on a hunt.
He sniffed his way down the hallway, moving on quickly at each door, coming up empty every time. By the fourth room, I felt like the entire floor was empty. Maybe they were gathered somewhere? I frowned when Ike came to the last door on that floor.
“This is a waste of time,” I whispered.
<
br /> “Probably, but we should do our due diligence,” Oscar said. I glanced over my shoulder and saw him in full gargoyle form, rock hard and ready to play. I softly chuckled, proud of my innuendo.
“What’s funny?” he whispered.
“Nothing.”
Ike sniffed around the last door and stopped. He didn’t whine or do anything to give away our position, but he also didn’t move on. It was go time.
I pushed the door, and got everything I didn’t want and more.
It was an absolute shit storm on the other side of that rickety old door. Not only were the lackey and the big man in there, but also about ten other demons who hadn’t bothered to hide in their human forms.
Ed was the first to attack, his pink flames shooting toward the back of the room and hitting two demons square in the head.
“Two down,” he said as they dissolved from existence. Maybe having a crew wasn’t such a bad idea.
I pulled two daggers from their holsters and braced for the coming attack. But Oscar and Ike positioned themselves in front of me.
Ike leapt straight for the throat of the closest demon. She was a fiery little thing. Literally. Her skin looked like molten lava, with lines of bright orange streaking through her charred flesh. As soon as he latched on, he let out a yelp. She grabbed his scruff and lit his fur ablaze.
“Ike,” I cried as she tossed him aside.
“Who’s next?” she asked, her breath smelling of sulfur.
It made me want to gag. I hurried to Ike’s side, patting the flames with my bare hands after setting my weapons down, trying desperately to put the fire out before it made it to his skin.
The smell of burning hair was strong. I wrinkled my nose, but he wasn’t on fire anymore. He looked at me with gratitude in his wolf eyes.
After I retrieved my blades, I roughed up the fur on his head, now melted down and curly. “Ya mutt.”
He licked my hand, and we were back at it. While I’d been trying to keep Ike from burning to death, Oscar had taken the fire demon by the arm and turned her to stone. A pile of black rocks lay at his feet. With a roar, he attacked his next mark. Yes, having a crew was a very good thing.