by A. M. Hardin
“Different how?”
I look up as Hunter and Talon enter my room and hold up a finger for them to wait. They each nod once.
“Okay, from what I understand, it’d be like combining your life forces together, but the trade off is that whoever you’re saving, they’ll have the abilities of whoever was connected to the spell. It’s seriously dark magic, though, man. I don’t know of even a demon who’d try to attempt this thing.”
“Why do you say that?”
“It’s combining life forces. If the person who is being saved ends up dying, then so do the ones who brought them back. What’s weird is if the one who dies ends up being someone that brought them back, it doesn’t do anything; it causes an immense pain in the person they originally saved for days on end, but that’s it.”
“‘That’s it’,” I drawl sarcastically. Letting out a breath, I rub the bridge of my nose. “Thanks, Carsyn. Let me know if you find anything else. And do me a favor?”
“What’s that?”
I look up and meet Hunter and Talon’s eyes. Holding their gaze I say, “Send me all you know about the whole combining thing and how to do it.”
There’s silence on the other end and then a curse. “Christ. Are you fucking serious, War? Did you not hear me?”
“I heard you. I’m not saying we’ll do it, but it’ll be nice to have around.”
“Who is this person that you’re prepared to be tied to for the rest of your goddamn life?” My brother growls.
“You’ll meet her soon enough.” With that, I hang up the phone, not bothering to wait for a response.
“What was that about?” Hunter asks.
I give them a quick recap. “I don’t know if this is the answer, but so far it seems like our best option.”
“He said it was dark magic?” Hunter asks. I nod.
“So, maybe we send Kai to figure out what he can about it? Demon’s don’t usually do magic with spells and rituals. They’ve got powers, sure, but not that kind of power,” Talon says.
“That seems like it’ll be our best bet.” Hunter looks at me. “Let’s find Kai, then you and him can go discover what you can about this, since it might take a bit for your brother to bring you everything he found.”
“Kai and Parker are probably together,” I point out. “They’ve been looking for Torn but haven’t gotten any hits.”
“Library?” Talon asks.
I nod. “Yeah, that’s where I saw them the other day when they were doing it.”
We get to the library and find Parker typing away at his laptop, and Kai standing over a table covered in maps, his hands held over the papers and eyes closed.
“We’ve got some news,” Hunter announces, drawing their attention to us. Hunter gestures for me to fill them in, so I do, quickly going over what Carsyn had told me.
Kai winces when I’m done. “I won’t lie, I have heard about that, but I didn’t think it was actually real.”
“Why do you say that?” I ask, curiously.
“Because it was just a bedtime story to our people. A ‘don’t do dark magic, or this could happen’ kind of bedtime story to scare the kids into not doing dark magic. I never thought it was real.”
“My brother told me a little bit of what could happen, but it didn’t seem all that bad besides being connected for life.”
Kai nods. “There is that. But according to the story that was told, if it’s done wrong it can kill everyone involved.”
A stunned silence fills the room as we all exchange glances.
Hunter breaks the silence. “In any case, it’s the best we’ve got right now. If something else comes along, great, if not, then at least we’ve got that as a backup. Kai, I want you and War to go find anything you can over the next day and get back here. I don’t want us separated for long with Torn out who knows where.”
CRASH!
Everyone frowns at the noise, not moving until we hear a loud bang.
Cursing, we all leave the library and head toward the sound.
“Are you for fucking real?” I hear Mercy shout from the ballroom where the masquerade was held.
“Damn it,” Parker hisses under his breath, then uses his vampire speed to move ahead of us.
We each pick up our speed, running into the ballroom and come to an abrupt stop. Mercy’s surrounded by three extremely pissed-off females. And she’s without a weapon.
“Why the hell is she wandering around without her weapons?” Talon growls.
“Maybe she figured she wouldn’t need them while we were here,” I offer.
Taking in the scene in front of me, I see the crystal chandelier on the floor not far from Mercy, and a table on its side behind her.
“What the fuck is going on here?” Parker shouts, gaining their attention.
The three females exchange glances before the blonde in the middle steps forward to talk. “She started it.”
Mercy snorts.
Parker crosses his arms over his chest, narrowing his eyes at the females. “And how, exactly, did Mercy start it?”
“She started it by bragging that she was with you, saying she’d soon rule over us–”
Whatever else she was going to say is cut off by Mercy’s laughter. She’s literally bent over, clutching her stomach, she’s laughing so hard.
Parker glares at the blonde. “I don’t see what difference it makes, Chelsey. I highly doubt she said those things, because for one thing, Mercy isn’t you.” Chelsey winces at the bite in his tone.
“Let me guess,” Mercy drawls, “an ex?”
Chelsey turns and hisses, taking a step towards her. She doesn’t get far before Parker’s standing in front of Mercy, glaring at Chelsey.
“You do not touch her,” he says, his tone deadly.
“Parker, you can’t seriously be taking the side of a half-demon,” she sneers.
“If you wish to stay here then you will shut your mouth, Chelsey. You’re lucky you’re not already dead because of this.”
Chelsey’s face pales. “Y-you’d seriously kill me, over her?”
“We all would,” he says with a nod in our direction.
Her face falls, and she steps away from him. “I don’t even know who you are anymore.”
“That’s the thing, Chelsey. You never did. You were with me because of what I am. Not because of who I am. Take your friends and leave. Stay away from Mercy.”
Without a word, the three females leave, and the rest of us enter the room, moving to stand by Mercy and Parker.
“What was that about, exactly?” Hunter asks.
“Stupid bitch was complaining about how I was stealing all the men, or whatever. Honestly? I wasn’t paying attention. I just let her bitch, piss, and moan. I kind of zoned out until her friend picked up a table and threw it at me for not listening. Then she decided it’d be a good idea to toss a dagger and break the chandelier on my head. Obviously, it didn’t work.”
Parker rubs a hand down his face while the rest of us chuckle.
“It’s not funny! If that shit had hit me, it would have hurt like a bitch.”
I snort. “You’re fast, Mercy. Obviously it missed you, so I don’t know why you’re bitching.”
She narrows her eyes at me, making me laugh harder. “Quit being an ass.”
I move to her and pull her into my arms, kissing her lightly on the lips. “I’m sorry, Mimi. It is a little funny, though.”
She pinches my side, and I snicker, pulling her in for another kiss. “Dick,” she mutters against my lips.
“War, you guys need to get going,” Hunter reminds me.
“What do you mean?” Mercy asks, peeking around me to look at Hunter.
“He and Kai need to go get some information on something that may help,” he explains.
Her face falls slightly. “We’re separating?”
“Only until tomorrow,” Kai assures her moving close to her other side.
“We’ll be back annoying you before you know it,” I sa
y with a grin. Like I hope, she laughs.
“Alright, go. The sooner you guys get out of here, the sooner you’ll be back, and I don’t have to worry,” she says.
“You got it,” I say, bringing my mouth to hers, thrusting my tongue in her mouth, indulging in a long taste of her.
When I release her, her eyes are glazed over with lust, and it damn near undoes me, making want to say screw the mission and just stay. But I know I can’t.
Kai wraps his hand around her nape, directing her head to him and kisses her, just as I did.
“We’ll be back,” he mutters after he breaks the kiss.
15
Mercy
A sharp pain in my stomach jolts me awake. Opening my eyes, I flinch back at the sight of someone dressed in all black, wearing a ski mask.
A ski mask? Really?
I peek down at my stomach and try not to react to the pain that the dagger in my gut is currently causing me. The masked figure puts a finger to my lips and says in a distorted voice, “This is your punishment.”
“Hunter!”
The figure disappears from my sight the moment Hunter teleports into my room. Breathing deeply through the pain, I moan, “You just missed them.”
“Shit,” he hisses, coming to the side of my bed. “I just told Parker and Talon to let them know you’re hurt and to find a healer.” He places his hands on my waist, holding me still, so he can examine the wound.
“Weren’t you in here when I went to bed?” I ask, between pants.
He glances up at me, his expression apologetic. “I was. But I left because Parker and Talon wanted to speak to me about asking my dad about what we found. Luckily, I didn’t get that far before you called for me. I wouldn’t have made it in time if I had.”
“Sorry,” I murmur.
The door slams open, and Talon and Parker come in with Farrah directly behind them.
“What the hell happened?” Farrah demands, pushing her way past her brother, Talon, and Hunter to be at my side.
“Can we chat . . . after we get this thing out of me?” I moan.
Farrah nods. “Of course, sorry.” She grips the daggers hilt. “This is going to hurt,” she warns. Without any other warning, she pulls.
“Son of a goddamned hairy monkey-ass bitch-ass motherfucker!”
Farrah raises a brow at me. “That was definitely something I have never heard before. Hold still.” She places her hands over my wound, and I sigh in relief as the healing starts to numb the site as it knits together.
“I didn’t know you were a healer,” I say once the wound is shut.
“It’s not well known,” Farrah mutters as she focuses on healing me.
Most likely in response to my questioning look, Parker explains, “Vampires aren’t healers. There’s never been one from what anyone knows of our history. We don’t know what it means so she’s kept here to be safe.”
“Prisoners-R-Us,” she mumbles.
“You can’t blame us for wanting to keep you safe,” Parker says, flashing an exasperated look at his sister.
“Sure I can. I don’t have a life because you guys are so fucking paranoid.”
“I’m not having this conversation again,” Parker sighs.
“Good, neither am I,” she snaps as she withdraws her hands from my midsection. “Alright, you’re good now.”
“So, what happened?” Parker asks as he digs through the dresser drawer.
My brow furrows as I watch him. “Well, I woke up to a dagger being shoved into my gut, in case that wasn’t exactly obvious. What are you doing?”
“Looking for a shirt for you.”
“Uh yeah, I’m out of clean shirts,” I say, looking at the blood-soaked fabric of my shirt, fingering the hole.
Farrah rolls her eyes, but the knowing smile on her face is enough to show me that she knows why I’m already out of shirts. Freaking assholes ripping my clothes. “I just sent one of my guards to get you a shirt of mine that you can wear.”
“Thanks Farrah,” I mutter.
“Can you explain what else happened before I got here?” Hunter asks, pulling us back to the conversation before.
“Um, they were using a voice distorter thing, so I couldn’t tell if it was a female or a male. Whoever they were though, they said that this was my punishment.”
“Punishment?” Talon asks, moving to sit beside me on the bed.
“Yeah, I don’t know what exactly that means.”
“Anything else happen?” Hunter asks.
“Um, they teleported away at the exact same time you teleported in here.”
His brow furrows. “Are you sure? I couldn’t sense that anyone else had teleported in this room.”
“Um, yeah, I’m sure. They went poof.”
“Just because they went poof, doesn’t mean they’re gone,” he says, his lips curving slightly.
“Well, since I’ve never heard of anyone actually going invisible and staying invisible while moving, I didn’t really think about that.”
“Kai can do it if he focuses hard enough,” Parker says, deep in thought. “Although, from what I understand it’s not easy.”
“Maybe we’re dealing with a witch?” Talon suggests.
“But why would a witch want to hurt me? The only witch I know is Kai.”
“Maybe it’s not a witch who wants to hurt you, but someone just hired the witch?” Farrah says.
“Hiring a witch makes a bit more sense,” I mutter.
“Do you think it was Torn?” Talon asks Hunter.
Hunter shakes his head. “I don’t think so. Torn doesn’t normally make someone else do his dirty work.”
“Okay, well it was a punishment.” Parker looks at me. “The other question should be, what did you do to warrant that kind of a punishment?”
I shrug. “Who knows? I piss people off on a daily basis.”
Farrah snickers. “That’s true enough from what I’ve heard.”
“What do you mean?”
“My dad’s pissed at you, my mom’s pissed at you, and if I remember correctly you’ve got Chelsey and her little girl squad pissed at you.”
I roll my eyes. “Nothing new.”
"How're you feeling?" Talon asks, rubbing a hand across my back.
"Better," I say softly leaning against his shoulder. "I am tired, though," I mutter, my eyes drifting shut.
Talon chuckles softly, and I feel his lips brush against my hair. "Sleep, Mercy."
"Mercy," says a dark, chilling voice, echoing in my head. "You can't run from me."
Looking around, I frown when I see I'm just at my house that I've shared with my mom for the past several years.
Wait, didn't Roderick say that the house was torn apart? Why am I here?
"Mercy," that voice whispers again. "Running is pointless."
"Who are you?" I shout. The voice is vaguely familiar, I just can't place it.
A dark laugh echoes in the air and a figure dressed in a dark cloak exits the shadows of the house we're standing outside of.
I tense, automatically reaching for my dagger at my hip. My hand touches nothing but clothing. There's no dagger for me to use. No weapon.
"What do you want?" I ask, doing my best to keep my voice steady.
"I want you, little demon," the voice hisses as he walks closer to me.
"Why?"
The figure is directly in front of me now, and he reaches up to the hood that's currently covering his face.
"Because," he says as he lowers the hood, revealing Torn wearing a twisted smile, "you're mine. You can never run from me."
Gasping awake I sit up quickly and frantically look around the room, making sure that I was just dreaming and that Torn isn't actually here.
"Hey, you okay?" Hunter asks, rolling over in bed and wrapping his arm across my lap.
I rub a hand down my face before pressing the heels of my hands in my eyes. "I don't know. I guess . . . I just had a really weird dream."
Hunter presses
a kiss to my shoulder after he sits up, keeping me firmly wrapped in his arms. "You wanna talk about it?"
I turn my head and meet his eyes, suddenly feeling vulnerable. "It was your brother," I finally whisper.
He tenses. "What about him?" He keeps his voice soft, soothing, but I can still hear the tremor of fury in his voice.
"I-I was in front of the house I lived in with mom before I came to the Order. He wasn't visible at first. It was like he was hiding in the shadows, but I could still hear his voice as it echoed around me. At first I thought it was in my head, but it wasn't. He didn't show his face at first either. He waited until he was right in front of me to reveal himself to me."
"Was it just a dream where you saw him? Or did he actually speak?"
"He just kept repeating that I was his, and I can't ever run from him." I look down for a moment before meeting his eyes again. "Hunter, he looked similar to how he looked at Payne's. He didn't look as young as from my childhood. Is," I swallow hard, "is it possible that he can dream walk?"
Hunter's arms tighten around me as he thinks about it. "It is possible if he had the help of a witch."
"Do you think your brother is responsible for who got into my room last night?" I ask quietly.
Hunter presses a kiss to my temple. "I think it's entirely possible." We sit in silence for several minutes before he speaks again. "Come on, let’s go do something, get your mind off this crap."
"Like what?"
He smiles wickedly. "Well you've asked me before to reveal what kind of demon I am, are you no longer interested?"
I grin. "Seriously? You're actually going to tell me?"
"I'm going to show you, Doll," he mutters before taking my lips in a hot kiss. "Get dressed," he murmurs. "I'll meet you out in the courtyard."
"We aren't going together?" I ask, brows furrowed.
"No. I need to go check on the guys, make sure they have everything and make sure that War and Kai are on their way back."
"Okay," I agree, leaning forward to press a light kiss on his lips before climbing out of bed. He smirks before disappearing, making me roll my eyes.
I quickly get ready, thankful that Farrah had the guards bring me a few extra outfits with them when they brought me a t-shirt to replace my bloodied one. I'm even more thankful that they're the comfy kind.