by Luna Quinn
She told everyone about her encounter with Valtu, then about the meeting with Razor’s contact that had led to Castor and everything they had learned from him. It brought them to the earlier fight, and he picked up from there. He recounted to them everything after Sasha had been Called on the soul collection, leaving out their sexy little tryst, of course.
“When I arrived in Six, Carmen and her team already had a good handle on it,” Razor said, sending Carmen a smile.
Then he told them about their previous trip to Three and their encounter with Lrox. And then he got to Hailie.
Sael gasped. “Oh fuck, I want that bastard’s head on a stick.” She got up and started pacing, her body vibrating with agitation.
Romina spoke up for the first time during the entire meeting. Her hand was rubbing tight circles against her chest. While her face usually remained neutral, today there was a strange tension behind her jade green eyes. “We might have an answer about that.”
Everyone stopped what they were doing and turned towards the eldest Witch. Her sisters remained quiet on either side of her. Romina was always in the middle; it was something about their energies needing to mix in a certain way for their power to manifest. It was rumored that the three spoke telepathically like Razor and his brothers did. He had never once heard Rosalyn or Ruby speak, so he could believe that.
“We’ve been going over the magic in the items and the remains from one of the shifting Vampires. I can’t say that I know a lot about it, because my training never included the dark arts or Demon magic. But we are told about it, though mostly what not to do. The young girl’s soul being torn out the way you have described, and the events that have transpired, but mostly the feel of the magic, lead us to believe we’re dealing with soul magic. Powerful soul magic. The strongest, ugliest type of magic there is, in fact.” Romina placed a hand to her throat as if even talking about it was making her sick.
“And it’s exactly what it sounds like,” she continued, as his stomach dropped with her words. “The soul is pulled while that person is still alive. Then the soul is harvested as pure power and, mixed with the right kind of magic, becomes strong enough to power up anything the magic-user wishes. For example, a Witch can create a love spell for one specific individual with their magic, and if they took a harvested soul and used it in said spell, they could turn the simple love spell into one that would make millions fall to their feet in worship. In this case, this Demon possibly wove a lot of souls into the spell brew, using the power of the souls to activate it, and added ten thousand bonus points, if you will. Which is what I’m estimating it would take to force a creature not meant to shape-change to shift. Infusing the drugs would have certainly worked on getting the spell into the Vampires. Anything is possible when mixing magic with the right kind of power.” Romina stopped, her hands shaking.
“Like souls,” Sasha finished for her.
The Witch glanced up, nodded. “Like souls. There would be repercussions, but only the Demon would know what those would be. They could have lost an ability, or maybe their fertility, but there is no way that type of magic didn’t demand a major payment. It goes against everything we are taught as Witches, and it makes me sick to my stomach. Death, I understand. But taking a soul this way means the person never truly dies. When a soul goes to the Pit, it becomes part of it. Its suffering has a purpose. However, a soul taken this way is just cruel.”
“It never has peace, is never reborn, never takes its final journey, and breaks the cycle.” Sasha’s voice was quiet.
“Yes, Reaper.” Romina offered a small, sad smile.
“But why Vampires?” Gabriel asked. “There are so many Others in Shadow Realm, why only use Vampires?”
“My guess is she tried to kill two birds with one stone. If her plan failed before we caught her, perhaps she hoped we’d blame you and start a territory war,” Night suggested.
Edge shot up from his seat, his palms flat against the tabletop. The veins in his arms visibly pulsed with the effort of holding back. “I don’t care about motivation. I want her carcass. Or her alive. I would like the pleasure of ending her.”
He eyed everyone in the room, then bellowed. The sound was so primal and dominant that Razor and every one of the Sector leaders, plus Sasha, Gabriel, Luka, and Anila could do nothing more than answer Edge’s call to arms. As one, they made a loud noise in return. Part cheer, part war cry, the sound brought chills to his skin. It said, we’re with you, come victory or death.
The energy in the room escalated, as if everyone wanted to dart out onto the streets of Shadow Realm that very moment and hunt down Valtu and her rat.
As Edge laid out a counterattack, the aggression in the room continued to mount until Razor could take no more. He either had to go kill something, or he had to toss Sasha over his shoulder and find a nice, dark corner where they could fuck out all the aggression.
Yeah, option two was better. Plus, if the meeting didn’t come to an end soon, fights would start breaking out. The battlelust was beginning to make everyone edgy.
The minute Night called the meeting to an end, Razor turned to Sasha and laced their fingers together.
“Let’s get the fuck out of here,” he said, already dragging her out.
“And where, exactly, are you taking me?”
“To my rooms.” He stopped, turning and shoving her with his body until her back hit the wall. He leaned down and kissed her, their lips and tongues moving against each other urgently. He cupped one of Sasha’s ass cheeks, squeezing it possessively. He didn’t give a single fuck if anyone was watching. “I need to fuck you.”
Her voice trembled, thick with desire. “Um, yes, Sir?”
He groaned. “Fuck, don’t say that. My dick doesn’t need any more encouragement.”
“So, what’s up with the impromptu meeting?” Razor asked several hours later as he sat down across from Night. He and Sasha had been alternating between sex, eating, and sleeping when Night had mentally called them down. “Has there been a development?”
“Not sure.” Night was tapping a finger against the surface of the table. “Edge should be here any minute. He’s the one who called this secret meeting.”
“Why?”
“I’ll show you in a minute,” Sin answered from his spot in front of his massive computer system. They were in H.O.T this time around, and it was clear Sin was setting up the big white screen that would transmit whatever was on Sin’s personal laptop.
Night asked, “Where’s Sasha?”
“She had to make a phone call. She’ll be down shortly.”
Razor’s mind turned back to the bliss of having her in his bed for over six hours, where they had laughed, talked, and even argued. Eclipsing the happy feelings, he wondered if he was being deceitful by not telling her that he’d discovered he was bonding with her.
Or was he doing the right thing by waiting?
Goddess, he was just so fucking confused. At this point, if he told her, it would go something like this:
Hi, I apologize if this is me coming off a bit strong. You see, I’m in love with you and want to take our relationship to the next level. But I’ve been keeping something from you, only because I didn’t want you to freak out and run. Somehow, I bound myself to you for all eternity. Yeah, no idea how or when that happened. So even though I’m still not exactly sure how you feel about me, you pretty much own me. So, you know, no pressure.
Yeah, that would go well.
Razor pressed the heel of his hand over his eyes, making an effort to rub the uncertainty out of them.
The sound of glass clinking, then liquid being poured, made him glance up.
“What’s going on with you and Sasha?” Night asked, a glass with amber liquid in front of him. “And don’t say nothing, because we all know you two were up there fucking like the world was ending tomorrow.”
Razor sighed, glancing at Night, and then Sin. They were both watching him expectantly.
“I’m not sure, but I kn
ow I want her,” he hedged. No reason to tell his brothers about bonding to her. Not until he figured out what the hell he was doing. “But this isn’t the time to get into it. We need to find Valtu. My shit can wait.”
Night snorted. “This is exactly why I don’t do relationships.” He took a big swig from the glass. “Don’t any of you get too close to me. I think it might be contagious.” He shuddered. “First Sin with Luka, now you. I don’t know what the bloody hell is going on with Edge, but I have my suspicions, and I want none of it. What in sweet Hellfire is this world coming to?”
“Not all relationships are perfect all the time, Night,” Sin said, almost defensively.
“Yeah, I think I’ll still pass, thanks,” he deadpanned.
The door swung open and Edge came in, followed by Sasha, who sat next to Razor.
“I called you in for two reasons,” Edge began when he took a seat. “Sin.” Edge motioned for him to take over.
“After going through the security feeds,” Sin started, looking up from his laptop, “the video shows an extra body walking through Sector Six’s unit barracks. There was a scheduled shift change at 8:45, and there was supposed to be twenty out, and twenty in.” He then looked at each of them before saying, “Looks like we had a visitor. Or have a visitor.”
“Show me.” Edge’s voice sounded scarcely human.
Sin pushed a few buttons, and then the security footage began playing for all of them to see. A few more buttons cued up the spot Sin wanted to show them, and then his baby brother rose and walked to the screen.
The images showed the entrance to the Shadow Realm soldiers’ barracks in Sector Six. When the running time on the video reached 8:45 exactly, soldiers began to exit and enter the building. Sin slowed down the footage with a tiny remote he held in his hand, pointed at the passing bodies with his free hand.
“One, two, three, four, five…” He counted all the soldiers that entered and exited until he stopped the video altogether. Using a red marker, he made a huge circle around the image of a person frozen in mid-step.
“This one.” Sin pointed, zooming in. Razor couldn’t tell the person’s gender, but they were wearing a hooded knee-length robe thing, fingerless gloves, and thick boots.
“I was able to I.D. all the soldiers except this one. The camera angle should have captured at least part of the face the way it did the rest of them. As you can see by the hood covering the face, they intentionally tilted their head. Which tells me they had knowledge of the cameras’ presence, and I made sure those babies were well hidden. Very few people know where I placed them.”
“Motherfucker.” Sasha shook her head in disgust. “Valtu had people working on the inside.”
What the fuck had Razor been doing while Valtu’s plan had been unfolding? Guilt assailed him once again.
“So Romina could be right,” Edge said grimly.
“Right about what?” Razor straightened in his chair.
“I needed to be sure before I said anything.” Edge shifted, leaning forward as his voice lowered, like he wanted to make sure no one could possibly hear him. “After the meeting with everyone earlier, Romina pulled me aside. In short, she said there was a strange type of magic in the Night House she hadn’t felt in her earlier visits. Something dark. She’s not entirely sure what to make of it, but she’s certain she can find out what it is. She says it feels almost like a concealment spell. What she doesn’t know is what exactly is being concealed.”
Fucking Hellfire.
“Are you serious?” Sasha asked, her voice also low. “It could be anything. A bomb, an army ready to attack at Valtu’s order, anything.”
“We have to shut down the Night House,” Razor said, looking at Night apologetically.
“What?” Night looked horrified. “You’re out of your fucking mind. I’m not shutting down. You know how much shit I’ll get from the thousands of people who pay to have access to my club?”
“Stop thinking about yourself for once, and think about how many people could potentially get hurt. If this spell is concealing a bomb, it could go off at any time—”
“We’re not shutting down,” Edge cut Razor off, bringing their attention back to him. “We need this to remain between us. We don’t want to alarm Valtu that we’re on to her.” Edge’s face was grave. Or graver, since Edge’s face was usually devoid of all emotion. “That’s not all. Romina says this type of magic could be glamour.”
“Glamour? As in, used to make someone look like someone else?” Razor knew what it was, but the sinking feeling in his gut had made him ask anyway.
“Yes.”
Night cursed. “So someone who has access to my club isn’t who they say they are.”
“They aren’t who they look like would be more accurate,” Sin corrected, looking troubled.
Before anyone could say anything further, there was a polite knock on the door.
At Night’s “come in,” Miguel, the club floor manager, poked his head in. “There’s something you all need to come see.”
When they all reached the main floor, Razor was ready to kill someone. Preferably Erummon. He had known that his father wouldn’t give up so easily, but this was beyond anything he would have guessed his father would do.
“Where are they?” Razor asked as his dark eyes scanned the crowd swiftly, a silent Sasha standing at his side. Her face had remained blank when Miguel had filled them in while they made their way up to the main club. But he had felt tension radiating from her when he’d taken her hand in his.
“By the entrance to your private quarters,” Miguel replied, motioning to the side of the club that held the secured elevators to their private quarters. “It’s like they’re tracking you all by scent.”
“That’s because they are,” Razor confirmed, barely holding back from barreling through the crowd and tossing the unwanted guests out on their asses. But he knew it wasn’t really their fault. His father was a meddling bastard who would go to any lengths to get what he wanted. It bothered him to admit that he and his brothers had inherited that particular trait from him.
“The four women came in and asked anyone they came in contact with if they knew where to find the unmated princes of the Underworld,” Miguel relayed, a smile tugging at his lips.
“I’m glad you find this amusing,” Night said. “They’re probably here expecting to leave with our babies in their wombs.”
“You make it sound like it would be a chore. Wait until you see them,” the club manager replied with a chuckle.
“Are they hot?” Sin asked, arching an eyebrow.
From his peripheral vision, Razor noticed that Night, along with Edge—who had been quiet this entire time—both turned and eyed Sin. Something was off about Sin’s comment, and they all noticed it. Razor would have looked at his little brother as well, except he was too busy keeping his senses open for any reactions from Sasha. Like Edge, she’d remained completely quiet. Still, he noted that this was the first time in a long time that Sin seemed curious about anyone other than Luka.
“Sin, my man, the words Amazonian and beauties come to mind.” Miguel’s voice held wonder. “I had no idea the women in the Underworld were so lovely.”
Sin made an appreciative sound, but whatever he’d said next was drowned out as Razor took off in the direction of the Demon females, Sasha hot on his heels. Not that she had much choice; he was still gripping her hand like a lifeline.
He needed to put an end to this. If Sin or Night wanted to fuck their visitors, that was their prerogative. He didn’t want anything to do with it. Not to mention he was already pretty much mated. Regardless of whatever Sasha decided, Razor was off the market now. He was going to make it clear to these women, and to Sasha, that he was not going to play into whatever plan Erummon had tried to orchestrate.
He just hoped he could get the women to leave without a fight. Pureblood female Demons were known for being territorial and vicious, and they’d fight off anyone who posed a threat to someone they
considered theirs.
Not that Razor and his brothers were theirs, but he had no idea what his father had told them. For all he knew, his father had betrothed them to these women since birth or some shit.
When he finally spotted them, he stopped short.
“What the fuck?” were Sasha’s first words since leaving H.O.T.
“Yeah,” Razor replied, his gaze on the group of women a few feet away.
They might as well have been naked for all the clothes they had on. He wasn’t surprised that they had attracted the attention they had. Nudity certainly wasn’t frowned upon in Shadow Realm, much less in Night’s club, but on top of their near nakedness, they were acting odd. Even for people of Shadow Realm.
And, damn, they were tall. Really tall. He would guess one of them to be as tall as he was, and clearly leading the hunt.
A second later, the leader swung her head around, her nose scenting the air.
The woman’s gaze met his and her eyes went from an orange-red to entirely blood red, her gaze running hungrily down Razor’s body. Her fangs elongated, and she suddenly made a yipping-barking type sound that had the club-goers halting in their movements, all eyes turning to them. Including the other female Demons who now looked in his direction with equal hunger.
“Mine!” the tallest shouted, like a warning to the other females.
Sasha stiffened next to him, and then the Demoness began walking towards him.
Instinct made him take a dominating posture, his beast annoyed and instantly denying this female’s ridiculous claim. He felt more than saw his brothers moving up behind him.
By now, the club had come to a standstill. The music still blared, but no one around them danced. They only watched the exchange with curiosity, some with eagerness, hoping for a bloodbath.
“No. I am not yours,” he told her. “What you seek isn’t here, female.” He made sure to make his voice loud enough so they, and all the club-goers listening in, didn’t miss a single word. “Whatever you were told by Erummon is entirely false and holds no merit in our territory. Leave with your companions and tell your master not to send any more.”