by Mina Carter
“We need info, remember?” I hissed back mentally, keeping a smile on my face for the wolf pretending to be my dad. “And this guy obviously knows Rafe.”
“Either that or he wants you somewhere private so he can rape and murder you.”
I rolled my eyes and gave him a look. “If he does, then he’s up shit creek without a paddle, isn’t he?”
E-dub huffed and carried on shoving cake in his mouth. The wolf looked between us, a small smile on his lips.
“You two are twins, aren’t you? You got this whole silent communication thing going on.” He motioned between me and E-dub. “It’s adorable.”
“Twins, yeah… something like that.” I managed the words without cracking up. “I got all the brains and the looks.”
Wolf-boy grinned and winked as he pushed his chair back and stood up. “So I see. How about you and I blow this joint and deal with your little problem, shall we?”
Chapter 5
Fake-Rafe led me outside, casting a look at my bike on its stand parked in front of the diner. A hellfire construct called by E-dub, it all but growled as we looked at it, hunched over as though ready to pounce. We’d parked it by the general store but it had made its way over. I wasn’t surprised. Things made of hellfire always had minds of their own. Like rugby balls.
“Looks powerful,” he said with a whistle of appreciation. “I don’t recognize the model though?”
I shrugged as I followed him across the road and down a side street. A truck was parked halfway down. “E-dub’s a bit of a mechanic. Always tinkering with things. It’s probably a bastard-hybrid of different types…” That could also kill and eat a herd of stampeding wildebeest.
“Yeah?” He opened the passenger door for me. “Sounds like a useful guy to know. My usual guy moved away and the engine on this thing’s been knocking. Could do with someone taking a look at it.”
I almost snorted. Unless he wanted a demon-wrought engine that would suck out his soul at the earliest opportunity, he was shit out of luck. But before I could answer, the hairs on the back of my neck rose as gatecrashers joined our little party. Vamps materialized out of the darkness to surround us. Not in a mysterious form-themselves-from-shadows way but with audible pops. Like fucking bad ju-ju bubble wrap.
“What the fuck?” my wolf companion hissed, a snarl rumbling in the back of his throat as his cover slipped a little. Normally, asshole that I am, I’d have called him on it, but we had more important things to deal with. Namely the half dozen or so vamps surrounding us with menace.
“Stay behind me,” Not-Rafe murmured, putting an arm out to push me behind him, between him and the truck. I was so surprised that I almost fell on my ass and let him manhandle me.
My insides went all wibbly and warm at the caveman protective thing. Being who I am, I’m not used to men trying to take care of me. Normally they run a mile as soon as they realize who my uncle is. Not-Rafe probably would as well, once he knew the truth, but for the moment I kinda liked the feeling.
I eyed the vamps but didn’t recognize any of them. Relief surged through me. They weren’t any of Nabzon’s little group, which meant they weren’t about to rat me out to Not-Rafe. But since he was pretending to be someone else, my sexy werewolf couldn’t exactly pick fault, now could he?
I totally ignored the part in my head where I’d called him my sexy werewolf because he wasn’t. Mine that is. Oh, I wouldn’t kick him outta bed, but he wasn’t mine for keeps. No one stuck around that long. Not for me.
“Halfpenny,” one of the vamps hissed, the sound between menacing and like he had serious dental issues. “Darius has a bone to pick with you.”
My werewolf’s face set and I filed the name away for future reference.
“Friends of yours, handsome?” I asked, calling hellfire in my hidden hand. I’d worked out where I’d gone wrong with the location spell. I couldn’t cast a spell using demon magic, not up here on the surface, but raw hellfire was a different matter. It was in my very blood. I could call and throw it. The only issue was making sure the newly bristling werewolf in front of me didn’t get caught in the crossfire.
“Darius,” Halfpenny snarled, “can go fuck himself.”
As a curse, it wasn’t particularly inventive, but it did the trick. With more dental-issue snarling, the vamps rushed us en masse. And when they moved, the suckers moved freaking fast. Two charged from the front while two flew, literally flew, over the truck. But then, they were dead so the normal rules didn’t apply.
Halfpenny roared and shoved me back into the truck, trying to protect me. He almost got blasted with hellfire in the process. I yelped, closing my hand to contain the blast as my ass hit seat leather. Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m not adverse to being on my back in some sexy-as-sin guy’s truck, but I prefer a bit of smexy action going on between the thighs, rather than the blood and guts type outside. There was a lupine roar and a head hit the windshield. Definitely not the type of head action I was interested in.
With a snarl, I kicked the passenger door back open with enough force to send the vamp on the other side of it sailing through the air. Launching myself out of the truck, I blasted a vamp sneaking up on Halfpenny from behind in the ass, grinning as he popped like an over-ripe tomato. Cool. I didn’t realize they did that.
Two more blasts later and the playing field was a little more level. Halfpenny fought two vamps by the front of the truck as I turned my attention to the last one around the other side. He blinked as he spotted the hellfire crawling around my hand and halfway up my arm like a shadow and fire gauntlet.
“But…but… you’re…” His gaze flicked to my face and he lost all his color. Have you ever seen a vampire go pale? They’re like ghost-white to begin with, so they almost go like an old negative film. It’s a very strange sight and proved one thing. He knew who I was, which meant that someone from down below had been talking.
“I’m nothing you need to worry about,” I snarled, advancing on him, but he cut and ran with a squeal of terror and disappeared around the corner at a pace that would do an Olympic runner proud.
“Little f…sucker!” I hissed and then grinned as there was a squeal of terror and the sound of tearing flesh from the direction he’d gone. A few seconds later, E-dub trotted around the corner back in cat (more or less) form, his tail held high like a crooked banner.
“Hey,” I greeted him as Halfpenny knocked one of the vamps out with the only thing he had to hand, the other vamp, and then ripped both their heads off. E-dub and I watched in approval as the dust settled around him.
“He’s a good fighter,” E-dub sniffed. “For a dog.”
I hid my smile. That was high praise indeed from the hellcat.
Halfpenny straightened up, the feral amber glint in his eyes fading as his gaze flicked between the cat at my feet and me.
“He’s a shapeshifter?” he grunted, walking toward us. “Thought he was your brother.”
I shrugged. “We were brought up together, so he might as well be.”
It was a lie, but so what? I’m a demon. It’s what we do.
E-dub gave me a side look but thankfully said nothing.
“So,” I said brightly, adding a smile. “You, me and my little problem?”
Halfpenny shrugged, raking a hand through his hair. It seemed to be an absent attempt to put it into some kind of order but it failed miserably.
“Yeah, okay, but not here. Come with me. My place isn’t far away. I’ll need… supplies if we’re going to figure out how to deal with your problem.”
Taking the hint from my hard look and head jerk, E-dub slunk off back toward where we’d left the bike. He could have gotten into the truck with us. There was enough room in the cab for three of us. But… I wanted sexy werewolf all to myself and the last thing we needed was a hell-creature on the loose, even if it was shaped like a motorbike.
Climbing into the passenger seat, I waited as Halfpenny slid behind the wheel. His stilted movements caught my eye and I frown
ed.
“Hold it right there, sunshine,” I ordered, a hand on his shoulder to stop him moving. Solid muscle moved under my hand and I shivered all the way down to my toes. Yum. He was built just the way I liked my men, all power and strength.
“Did they get you?” I demanded, my gaze sliding down his body. Not in a “checking out the menu” kind of way, but more a “blood and broken bones” way. But there was no blood on his clothing—his or theirs—and I breathed a sigh of relief. Vamp blood was fatal to topsiders, whatever their species.
“No.” He grunted as he lifted his shirt to reveal multicolored ribs. “Just decided to play a little tune on my ribs. Don’t suppose you fancy kissing them better, do you?”
I arched an eyebrow, reaching out to touch his skin but stopping at the last minute. They looked painful.
“Maybe later,” I breathed, realizing just how close he was all of a sudden. “If you’re a good boy.”
“Oh, I’m good,” he promised, sitting up. His movement brought our lips within kissing distance. So close I could feel his words on my lips as he whispered. “I’m very good.”
And he was. His lips covered mine, not soft but not demanding either. Just the right amount of pressure as he explored mine, and a shiver rolled up from the tips of my toes, paying a visit to all my lady parts on the way up. A soft moan echoed in the back of my throat as I pressed closer, winding my arms around his neck as he deepened the kiss. He tasted as good as he smelled.
His big hand slid into the hair at the back of my head, holding me still as he ravaged my lips. His tongue slid against mine and I whimpered. I’ve had plenty of lovers (Hello? Satan’s niece here. Innocence left the building a looooong time ago.) but this was different. For all the erotic exchanges and scorching sex I’d had in the past, I couldn’t believe this simple, raw kiss rocked me to my soul.
Let me tell you though… Werewolves? They can kiss.
I pulled away with a little gasp, biting my lip as we locked gazes. He groaned, his eyes dark as he shoved a hand down to readjust himself in his jeans.
“Bloody hell, beautiful… don’t look at me like that or we’ll never get to Ra…” Quickly he corrected himself, a slight flush that had nothing to do with the tentpole in his pants crossing his face. “We’ll never get home.”
“Home. I like the sound of that…” I murmured, walking my fingers down his broad, heavily muscled chest. “Perhaps we should continue this conversation after we’ve dealt with my… ahh… issue.”
He grinned, a wicked little look in his eyes. “I’d like that. I’d like that very much indeed. Let’s go.”
I laughed and sat back as he started the engine and threw the truck into gear. We pulled off with a screech of tires and a spray of pebbles.
“Woah, tiger. Don’t get us arrested. Can’t get to anything interesting if we’re locked up for the night.” I shot him a wicked look of my own. “But I could put those handcuffs to good use…”
“What makes you think you’ll be the one using the cuffs?” he asked lightly, sliding me a sideways glance. “I guess I should ask your name, shouldn’t I, beautiful?”
I snorted, realizing that we’d gotten up close and personal and he hadn’t asked who I was. I could have been just anyone… I thought about that for a moment. Actually, he was probably safer with just anyone.
“It’s Jynx.”
He blinked. “Just Jynx. Kinda short, isn’t it? Is there a surname to go with that, beautiful?”
“None I want to admit to,” I said shortly and killed the conversation. Dead.
We raced past the signs on the way out of town and the blackness of night surrounded us. Lounging in the passenger seat, I pretended to watch out the window as we drove.
“So, you’re a warlock, right? A healer?” I asked. “The witch I spoke to a couple of towns over said you were one of the best.”
A strange expression crossed over his face, gone almost before I spotted it. It almost looked like guilt.
“Yeah… a healer, right. Best in the biz, baby. So, you going to tell me what little… ah, problem I can help you with?” Back to flirting, he slid me a sexy sideways glance.
“Well… it’s a bit delicate.” I bit my lip, looking out of the window and playing up the damsel in distress for all I was freaking worth. “A friend of mine ate a poisoned cookie and now… well, he has some stomach issues…” Like the fact he’ll shit himself to death, and the king of hell dying would be a bad thing.
“Poison is serious business.” His expression sobered as he looked me up and down quickly. “Especially magical poisons. Your friend needs professional help, right away.”
I bit back my snort of laughter. Hell, yeah, Uncle Luce needed professional help. He had that bit right on the money.
“That’s why I’m here. To get him some help.”
He gave me another look as we whizzed past another sign. I think it said “Boring” but I couldn’t be sure. Mentally I prepared myself for another place like Assjacket but the town beyond the sign was… normal.
Actually, with its neat little houses and manicured lawns, it verged on the storybook cute side of normal. The sort of chocolate box cute that set my teeth on edge. I’d been brought up in hell. There, anything that looked this good was usually rotten to the core.
“This place is something else,” I muttered, half under my breath, and Halfpenny shot me a small, pleased smile like I’d called him a good dog or something.
“I know, isn’t it?”
I arched an eyebrow, looking around. As cute as the place was, it was dead. Silent. Still. No curtains twitched, no shadows moved behind the nets in the lit windows. There wasn’t even a stray cat sulking about in the shadows.
“Something’s wrong.”
My voice was flat and blunt, but it held the ring of truth. A shiver, not of the sexy kind more was the pity, rolled down my spine like baby sick down a new parent’s back. Halfpenny frowned, pulling the truck to a stop and cracking open the window. He breathed in, trying to be circumspect about it, but the silence had already crowded into the cab with us like a third wheel on a date.
I smelled it at the same time as his nostrils flared in alarm. “Blood. Lots of it.”
We leapt out of the truck, the wolf a half-second behind me. I didn’t need to ask him what direction as a scream split the air, followed by another, and then a bellow. I ran, my heart punching adrenaline through my system. Whatever was happening was bad. Really bad. Rounding a corner, I stopped dead, the wolf almost piling into my back. I rocked on my toes, absorbing the impact. Any other time I’d have been all over a hot, sexy guy’s groin shoved against my ass, but right now I was too focused on the scene in front of me.
The residents of Boring were fucked, and not in a good way… more in a bend over, taking it up the ass without lube sort of way.
There were bodies everywhere in a scene straight out of a horror movie. Shifters, mostly wolves but there was a bear roaring and throwing vamps around in an alleyway opposite, were fighting them off. Within seconds I could see it was a losing battle. A bellow and a bright flash of peachy-orange light caught my attention and a huge figure of a man erupted from a pile of vamps blasting bolts from glowing hands. A warlock, and a powerful one from the feel of the magic in the air.
But he was outnumbered. As I watched, the vamps rushed him again and he went down under a pile of bodies.
“Shiiit…” I breathed, the sound lost under the roar of my wolf companion as he bellowed and ran into the fray. His roar deepened and his shoulders widened as he began to shift, preparing to leap into a mass of vampires attacking the small group of Shifters.
And he was taken out by the biggest blood-sucker I’d ever seen. Nearly seven feet, he was obviously the bastard love child of a linebacker and a Semi. I gasped and then winced as he took Halfpenny to the ground with a painful crunch of bone. Even though he was on his back, Halfpenny wasn’t down and out, slamming massive bunched fists into the sucker’s sides.
It didn’t matter that he could obviously take care of himself. Sure, Halfpenny was lying to me about who he was, but he was cute, and I’d put a mental claim on him since I planned on getting him butt-nekkid later. Fury bubbled up, racing along my veins as hellfire built. And he couldn’t do the down and dirty if this wanker of a vamp busted him up, now could he?
“Oi, asshole!” I yelled, scooping up a rock from the ground and launching it at the back of his head to get his attention. “Pick on someone your own size.”
The duo paused mid-fight, looking at me with twin looks of confusion on their faces, and then they looked at each other. It didn’t take a genius to figure out what they were thinking. I wasn’t exactly blessed in the height stakes. I didn’t give a shit, coiling hellfire between my hands like a rope. Black as pitch, it was like shadow somehow made solid enough to touch and, in my case, use as a weapon.
The vamp grunted and lifted a massive fist. I arched an eyebrow in warning. “I mean it, shit for brains. Are you really not that bright, or are you making a special effort today?”
He snarled, eyes glinting red with rage and shoved off from Halfpenny.
“GO!” I bellowed as the vamp charged me, massive tree-trunk legs powering him forward at a rate of knots. I didn’t move. Didn’t flinch. Big as he was, he didn’t scare me. Not much did. Not after spending as much time as I had in the lower levels. There are entire sub-levels down there that play kids’ TV on repeat. All. The. Time. Now that’s scary.
“I’m gonna fuck you up, little girly,” beast-vamp hissed, grinning and running his tongue over his fangs as he closed in. I yawned, bored. I’m a demon. He couldn’t hurt me even if he tried. Snarling, he leaped and I finally moved. My hellfire-wrought whip cracked, slicing through the air to wrap around his throat. Knuckles white, I yanked backward.
The dark tendril resisted for a moment but then tore through his neck like a hot knife through butter. Blood splattered the ground as his head parted company with his body. It sailed away, hitting another vamp in the back and knocking him flying, but that wasn’t my issue. My eyes widened as the body kept sailing through the air toward me. Wincing, I braced myself for the hit.