by Brenda Trim
“Promises, promises. Let’s get the hell out of this rain. It’s making my hair fall,” she said, shielding her spiky black hair.
“Nothing could make that hair fall. It’s held up with concrete,” Gerrick teased as he headed to the underground entrance.
Mack flipped him off as they splashed through puddles and made their way down the old steps. The second he opened the door, the scent of death hit him. The first time he’d passed through he had smelled mold and dust, but now brimstone and death overpowered all else. Darkness surrounded them as soon as the door closed behind Kyran. After they waited a few seconds for their eyes to adjust, they quickly progressed along the walkway. Gerrick was shocked at the difference this time around. Where there was rotting timber and debris, there was now black blood and carnage. He hadn’t been aware that the fighting had reached this end of the tunnels.
Gerrick shuddered at the sight of a pus demon carcass in one of the old buildings. Fuck, the stench was overwhelming. “We’re going to need to clean this shit up before the human authorities find it.”
“I wish everything disappeared like skirm,” Mack declared, pinching her nose.
“If only it worked that way, Firecracker,” Kyran agreed, swatting her ass.
Mack squealed and laughed. “So who gets the shitty job of cleaning this up? And, what the hell do you do with the bodies anyway? It’s not like you can parade them through Pioneer Square to a truck.”
“Yeah, that would be a sight. Shit, I guess we’re going to have to open a portal to our Whidbey Island property where we can have a bonfire. What we really need is to create a cleaning crew with all of these new lesser demons finding their way through,” Gerrick relayed. “Looks like I’ll have to be in charge of this project since Jace is working on the antidote. Maybe Killian can help me.”
“Thank God I won’t have to be part of it,” Mack muttered.
Gerrick grinned evilly. “I didn’t say that. You haven’t been properly hazed into our ranks. You will definitely be part of the cleanup.”
Kyran laughed and leaned down to whisper in Mack’s ear. “Gerrick is right. And, if you’re lucky I’ll wash your back after.”
“There is no way anything will convince me to help with this. The smell alone is enough to kill me. And, I am not touching that thing,” she said pointing to the dead pus demon that was a heap of smelly, green meat.
“I can portal them right to your room, if that’s easier.”
“Oh, no you wouldn’t,” she said, waving her finger through the air. “How many of these things do you think escaped anyway? Could they be stalking humans in the city?” This female cared about her race and had made it her life’s mission to give victims a voice. Gerrick admired that about her and wondered what was going to come of her vigilante organization. She’d taught the SOVA members to hate vampires, but things were different for her now that she was mated to one.
“I doona believe many of them escaped. Hayden and his shifters patrolled the area after we left and would have tracked as many as they could,” Kyran assured her.
Gerrick knew when they were nearing the area where the females had been held because he caught a faint hint of Shae’s jasmine scent lingering in the air. It immediately caused his body to harden with desire. Swearing under his breath, he called himself all kinds a fool.
“None of them will survive for long,” Gerrick promised, excitement building. This was what he lived for, killing skirm and hunting the archdemons who made them, not a female with jade green eyes.
They made it to the room where the females had been held and Gerrick stopped cold. The sight had his gut in knots, making him want to kill something. The conditions they had been held in were deplorable. There was so much he had missed before. He’d seen the dead bodies, but hadn’t realized how large the pile was. It appalled him that Shae had lived for months with a decaying mass of flesh and bones a few feet from where she slept.
To lie in your own filth staring into the vacant eyes of a dead human, one that you’d drained and killed had to be a special kind of hell. Not to mention, having to go to the bathroom in a bucket and not being able to clean yourself. He gritted his teeth at the icing on this particular sundae which was she had also been brutalized beyond comprehension.
He prayed to the Goddess that the cowards appeared before him so he could avenge Shae. The fervency of his need rocked him, making him question his reaction. For a split second, he wondered if Shae could be his Fated Mate and then reality sank in. There was no way she could be his. You were only given one mate in a lifetime and he’d already been given his…and lost her days later. He would never have what the others like Mack and Kyran had.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Gerrick shook off his maudlin thoughts and completed his investigation of the room. After several minutes, it became obvious they were going to find nothing but macabre reminders of what innocents had suffered. He turned to Mack and Kyran, “There’s nothing here. Let’s move to another section. I’d say we should split up and cover more ground, but there’s no telling what we may encounter.”
Kyran grabbed Mack’s hand and twined their fingers together. “Shite, this could be a futile effort. I hope the skirm were too stupid to stick around and cover their master’s tracks. Those bastards would have been too weak from injuries to come back and do it themselves.”
“Skirm are dumb as rocks. All those fuckers do is feed and kill,” Mack blurted, walking back out to the hallway.
“Och, what have I told you, Firecracker?” Kyran asked, tugging on her short hair.
“I know, I know. The big thing that looks like a devil controls them and they do what he says. They were innocent victims once, too. Blah, blah, blah. Try telling that to the people they attack.”
“It doesn’t matter what they once were. The only thing that matters now is how fast I can kill them,” Gerrick added from behind them.
Mack glanced at him over her shoulder. “Sounds like you hate them as much as I do.”
He grunted and looked away. He hadn’t told anyone about how he’d lost Evanna for four hundred years. Not until after the mate blessings had resumed. “Yup,” he said, not elaborating.
“Okaaay,” Mack muttered, turning back around. “I see someone is still as talkative as ever. You know you’ll need to warm up a little if you ever hope to have more with Shae.”
“What the hell are you talking about?” he snapped, mouth hanging open in disbelief.
“Gimme a break, Gerrick. I’ve been on patrols with you several times and not once did you give a victim your jacket, let alone your shoes. Normally, you wouldn’t care if she paraded around town naked. Don’t even try and deny it. And hey, who could blame you? Shae is beautiful.”
Kyran laughed and leaned down to kiss the top of her head. Gerrick couldn’t stop the jealousy he felt watching them. Shame followed on its heels. He was truly happy for Kyran and the others who’d been lucky enough to find their Fated Mates, but that didn’t stop him from yearning for what he’d lost. He didn’t know how long he could stay at Zeum once everyone was mated. It might be time to ask Zander for a transfer.
Zeum had been his home for two centuries. Hell, he’d help build the place. It would be difficult to leave the camaraderie and family they had developed. But, he refused to be a black spot in the happiness of their lives. There were countless other Dark Warrior compounds where there weren’t any mates.
“You’re right, she is beautiful. I feel bad about what happened to her and want to help. End of story.” That’s all it ever could be, he thought to himself. One day, she would be blessed with her mate and live happily ever after, as it should be.
“You keep telling yourself that,” Mack chided.
Thankfully, they were all distracted from their discussion when they came to a large section with a television and couches, likely used as a main gathering area. He walked over to the sofas and tossed cushions before throwing the whole damned thing across the room.
Togethe
r, the three of them had ransacked the entire room within minutes. Looking as frustrated as Gerrick felt, Kyran crossed his arms and rubbed at his chin, deep in thought. “Shite, there’s nothing here, either.”
“Let’s try that store over there with the creepy window,” Mack suggested. Gerrick glanced over and saw she was pointing to a stained glass window depicting various demons. “How the hell did they get that made and then placed in the frame? No way would I have guessed demons had skills working with glass. It goes against the hulk-smash image I have of them.”
Kyran laughed at that and Gerrick felt his answering smile. “I don’t think it’s a stretch to say they used dark magic on the previous plate-glass,” Gerrick replied as he picked up a chair and threw it at the image. The sound of shattering glass was music to his ears.
They hadn’t gone very far into the room when he felt the magic of a portal opening. He went still and ducked behind a half-wall, Kyran and Mack following suit without hesitation. They remained hidden, quietly listening for a hint as to what was happening. The hair on the back of Gerrick’s neck stood on end. There was a malignant quality to the power that had him snarling.
Instinctively, he knew it had to be a portal from the hell realm. He stretched his senses and detected traces of skirm, too strong to be remnants of the previous battle, but not strong enough to indicate a large contingency. Adrenaline dumped into his system, escalating his heart rate and readying him for battle. He signaled Kyran, letting him know what he sensed. Kyran whispered in Mack’s ear and Gerrick pointed in the direction they needed to head.
On Kyran’s signal Gerrick headed out on silent feet followed by Mack. The clunk of her combat boots was too loud for his liking and he worried it would give them away. Muttering a quick silence spell, her shoes absorbed the purple-blue lights of his magic and the three of them continued on their path.
Gerrick held up his hand outside an empty storefront. They plastered themselves in a line outside the door and he poked his head around to see what they were facing. There were at least a dozen skirm guarding a portal. They may have been outnumbered, but he could take out skirm in his sleep. It was the hellhounds and fury demons pouring through the portal that concerned him. He called his staff to him and cast a blocking spell so no new immigrants could come through. Seattle is now closed, motherfuckers, Gerrick thought.
As soon as the portal was blocked, chaos erupted and Gerrick rushed in followed by Mack and Kyran. He encountered a hellhound and drove his staff through its skull without pause. His white magic clashed with the dark of the beast and brain matter splattered across his leather pants. Distracted by the disgusting mess, a fury demon caught his right shoulder and bit down.
Twisting, he swung his staff in a wide-arc, catching the fury in the side. It went flying into the wall and crumpled to the floor. The second he turned, he noticed the determination on Mack’s face as she made a bee-line for a particular skirm with Kyran hot on her heels. When Kyran went to shove her behind his back, Mack yelled at him.
“This is my fight! That is the bastard that stole my life and now he’s gonna pay. You can’t take my vengeance from me, Kyran.” Gerrick could see what it cost Kyran to accede to his mate’s wishes, but there was no way anyone would have denied Mack’s command. The fortitude it took to hold her ground against the protectiveness of her mate was astounding. It shouldn’t surprise Gerrick; she’d proven time and again that she was a fierce warrior, and, if anyone deserved revenge, it was Mack.
Gerrick would love nothing better than to have his own revenge on the demon responsible for Evanna’s death. He had tried for years, but never discovered a name. Every time he fought, Gerrick wondered if this one had been responsible. It burned his gut that he had failed Evanna. Now he added the bastards responsible for keeping Shae locked up to his list and allowed his wrath free rein, knowing his eyes had turned black with his anger.
Gerrick put his staff back in its pocket of space and had his weapons out in the next heartbeat. The Dark energy was an annoying distraction against his shield as more demons tried to pour through the portal. Releasing his frustration, he kicked the skirm running at him, knocking it into a hellhound. The demon didn’t care for the interruption and tore into the skirm. Taking advantage of the preoccupation, Gerrick thrust his knife into the dog’s thick neck, cursing as he had to put more force behind his weapon before penetrating the tough black skin.
A fury demon took hold of one of his arms, yanking on Gerrick. Letting his body go, he used his momentum, holding the knife in the hellhound’s neck. Skin separated, revealing muscle and tendon and black blood sprayed his face, burning him. Fuck, he really hated fighting these demons. Not only were they a pain in the ass to dispose of, their skin was like acid.
Tugging the knife free of the hellhound, he proceeded to lodge it into the eye socket of the fury. A loud piercing shriek rattled the walls, causing dust to float to the ground. Waving away the cloud of dust, Gerrick was suddenly surrounded by three fury demons hissing their anger. He wondered if Shae had ever been forced to fight so many at once. Demons were vile creatures that crossed to the mortal plane for the pleasure and strength in torturing their victims. Generally speaking, only the lower ranking demons could cross the veil between worlds because it took too much of Lucifer’s power to send his more powerful demons to earth.
Recalling what Shae had gone through in this lair had his rage spiraling out of control. It burned hot despite the fact that he knew it was fueling the demons. His vampire should have never gone through these horrors. He kicked, hit and slashed like a madman until his energy was gone.
Out of breath, he stopped to focus his attack and took the opportunity to look in the direction where Mack had been fighting. She was battling the skirm she’d targeted and was kicking its ass. Kyran remained close to her keeping the remaining demons in the room at bay.
Refocused, Gerrick kicked out and tried to launch himself over the head on one fury. The creature was smarter than he gave credit and grabbed hold of his foot. He went down like a stone and his head hit the hard floor. Stars winked in his vision and fangs sank into his thigh. Not his best fighting due to the mixed emotions churning in his gut. It was a distraction he wasn’t used to. No, he was used to going in balls to the wall until there was nothing left standing.
Fire erupted in his shoulder and he realized one of the others had bitten into his flesh. He bucked and tried to kick, but the demon didn’t budge. Snarling, Gerrick surged upward, tearing his shoulder in the process as he head-butted the fury holding his ankle. The moment he was free, he thrust both blades into its skull. The crunch of bone was followed by the release of his leg. Able to move freely, he managed to get one in a headlock before another barreled into the two of them.
Maintaining his hold as they went sailing across the room was a challenge, but Gerrick would have to be dead before he gave up. Suddenly their momentum stopped as they hit something. The Gaelic curse told him it was Kyran. The warrior joined the fight and the four of them fell to the floor in a ball of tangled, bloody limbs.
“I’m going to sift, Gerrick,” Kyran warned a millisecond before he disappeared. The confusion gave them the distraction they needed. Both demons looked around wide-eyed in fear for where Kyran had gone. That little disappearing trick had likely confused them and it was almost too easy at that point for Gerrick to tighten his hold and squeeze until he was left holding a severed head.
Breathing heavily, Gerrick tossed the head through the portal and watched it disappear. The other fury snapped out of his stupor and grabbed Gerrick’s arm. Tired of playing games, Gerrick held onto the demon and turned until the portal was at its back then pulled his arm away and kicked with all his might. The fury went sailing through the portal and disappeared.
Going to his knees, Gerrick watched as Mack jumped into Kyran’s arms and lowered her head to his shoulder. “It’s finally over,” she murmured.
There was a slight tremor in the arms she’d wrapped around Kyran’s
neck. It was obvious the female was overcome with emotion. Gerrick could only imagine the gratification and sense of closure she had to be feeling. Gerrick had heard the stories about her brutal attack and subsequent mission to eradicate the world of skirm. To have finally vanquished the skirm who had started her nightmare had to be a sweet victory for the female. He would never have that where Evanna was concerned, but he would move Annwyn or hell to ensure Shae had her chance at vengeance.
“Does this mean you’ll stop patrolling and stay home with the females, Firecracker?” Kyran was playing with a live grenade, Gerrick thought. But, if the smile that spread over his face was any indication, he was anticipating the explosion.
“Not on your life, bloodsucker. What’s with you men wanting simpering females sitting at home knitting while the big-bad mates go hunting? You just hate that I kill more efficiently than you,” she boasted. It was impossible to miss the buoyancy and spirit in her voice.
“Will you show me the error of my ways when we get home?” Kyran asked, caressing her back.
“We’re not going anywhere until we drag these bodies through the portal before it collapses. It’ll be far easier to dispose of them this way. No vile smelling bonfire,” Gerrick interrupted as he tossed a body through the wall of shimmer.
“Shite, I’d rather take my mate home. Stupid fucking demons,” Kyran muttered, releasing his hold on Mack, letting her slip to the ground.
“You owe me a bubble bath and a thorough scrub later,” Mack grumbled as she kicked her way through body parts.
It was going to be a long night and Gerrick hurt all over. And the thought of Shae giving him a hot bath and scrub had his blood rushing south and making matters worse.
******
A blood-soaked Gerrick, Mack and Kyran limped into the entryway at Zeum several hours later. The bleeding in Gerrick’s thigh and shoulder had finally stopped, but was congealing and making his leathers stick to his leg. It was rubbing his skin raw every time he took a step. The first item on his agenda was to take a shower and then have Jace stitch up his wounds. All that went to hell as soon as he entered the compound and caught the faintest hint of jasmine in the air. The urge to forgo everything and make a beeline to Shae in the dungeon was a compulsion he couldn’t ignore.