Seducing Chaos

by Luna Quinn

  When she stopped seeing double, she caught Razor’s gaze, trying to convey her thoughts. He must have caught onto what she was planning, because an instant hell no flashed in his eyes. Damn him, he was being a hardheaded idiot. She could almost see him considering just shifting and attacking the Demon.

  Sasha shot him a look, telling him not to be stupid. But when he wouldn’t look at her, she tried sending him a mental message. She only encountered static in his mind. Or rather, the persistent rumble of his growling, both mentally and out loud. Razor’s beast had taken over.

  Which meant working a strategy with him in order to regain the upper hand was useless. All his Hellhound saw was his mate in danger, and swift murder was in his eyes.

  That was when she noticed the rest of the Hellhounds around Razor. Not just physically, because fuck knows they were hard to miss, but she noticed them in her mind. She could feel them. The mental connection she shared with Razor was so strong that she was, by proxy, connected to his brothers.

  Night’s voice filtered into her mind as if the volume of a speaker were being slowly turned up.

  —on her right and stay in his sightline, I’ll slip on the other side and take her out before she can even see me.

  Sasha wanted to laugh. Night, stealthy? She didn’t think it was possible.

  Apparently Edge disagreed as well. At least, that was what she interpreted his grunt to mean. Even in a mental link with his brothers, Edge didn’t do much talking.

  They were arguing about how best to save her. Well, fuck that. She’d save herself while they argued over strategy.

  When Valtu had grabbed her, she’d had to drop her gun from her left hand, but there was a small dagger hidden in her belt. It was small, but it was all she needed. Her left hand was free, but her right arm was trapped painfully between her back and Valtu’s torso. There was no way she could move her wrist to get any leverage. She briefly considered dislocating her shoulder backwards on purpose, but it would be too much wasted energy with very little payoff. She settled on a much simpler plan.

  Razor. She tried to enter his mind again, and could tell by his reaction that it had worked. His beast, though by no means calm, seemed to be able to focus again, and, in turn, Razor’s gaze cleared enough that she knew she was talking to both man and beast now. Stop growling and listen. Be ready to strike. I have a plan.

  While Razor’s weapon lowered slowly and he seemed to see that her crazy plan was the only option, he got himself ready.

  “Not going to attack me, are you? Even if I shake your female to death.” When Razor only bared his fangs, Valtu laughed. “That’s what I thought. A big, bad Hellhound, weakened by his bitch.”

  “You’re fucking dead,” Razor rumbled quietly. Valtu only laughed harder.

  Valtu momentarily distracted was really all Sasha needed. She was able to quickly slip her dagger out of her belt without the Demon noticing or stopping her. Then she lifted her hand as much as she dared for leverage, and brought the dagger home.

  Right into Valtu’s thigh.

  The Demon loosened her hold slightly, letting out a loud shriek. Sasha pulled herself away, quickly dodged to the side, getting out of the way in case the bitch tried to grab her again, but more importantly, getting out of the way while a pissed-off Hellhound charged. She managed to get away in time, but just barely, as Valtu lunged and sliced one of Sasha’s shoulders.

  It stung badly, and blood was already welling, but she kept moving even as she heard the clash of bodies and Razor’s snarled curses.

  A hand suddenly closed around her arm and hauled her to the side. She was surprised to find it was Edge who had silently gone for her. She wasn’t so surprised that he barely gave her a nod—of approval?—before he continued to silently stalk around to the other side of Valtu. With a glance, she saw Sin and Night also moving to surround the Demon. While they kept their eyes on Valtu, they also had their hands full fighting off the massive, powerful Vamp-Shifters who served as bodyguards.

  The brothers’ tactic was a smart one, especially when Valtu recovered from the pain of the stab far sooner than she had hoped. With the bitch back on her feet and looking no worse for wear other than the blood covering her pants, she was meeting Razor’s blow for blow. Sasha was frozen in place as she watched her mate fight, a beautiful sight to behold.

  He not only held his own, but landed deep and serious wounds. Valtu didn’t seem to feel them, but Sasha knew they would start to add up pretty quickly.

  Just when it looked like he was well on his way to beating Valtu’s ass into the dirt, she noticed an odd shimmer in the air. Not a moment later, an invisible force slammed into Razor and sent him flying, the pain echoing in Sasha and making it difficult for her to breathe. No wonder the bitch hadn’t seemed worried; she had magic on her side.

  But even as Valtu cleared Razor from her path, Sin was there, remarkably swift and lithe as his katanas flashed through the air. He was more aggressive than Sasha had seen him before, his face drawn in harsh, savage lines with his concentration. The Demon had no choice but to continue fighting with everything she had.

  While Sin and Valtu fought, Sasha quickly made her way to Razor, where he’d already pushed himself up. With her mate safe and next to her, her gaze was drawn back to Sin and Valtu.

  Valtu laughed at Sin, although the strain of keeping up with his speed leaked through her voice. “Is this you appropriating vengeance for your poor, dead lover?”

  Sin flinched, the barb obviously hitting its mark, but his swords kept moving fluidly. He snarled, “Fuck you,” and kept his focus on the fight.

  “You did. Several times,” she said with a sneer.

  Sin’s response was to kick Valtu square in the chest and make another deep cut in her side with his sword.

  “But that wasn’t the best part,” Valtu continued with a smirk, not backing down or seeming fazed. “Watching Luka’s face as you snuffed out his life was the real treat.” She laughed maniacally when Sin registered the words. “How do you think I got to Luka, the great Alpha of the Shifters? I needed someone who had access to this pathetic club, but also someone who actually had a life that didn’t revolve around the Night House—” She scoffed at the name. “—and who would also raise no suspicions about being out and about in Shadow Realm. Such easy prey,” Valtu taunted.

  Sin lunged, his face completely feral, his snarls filled with pain.

  Valtu only kept laughing as she met Sin’s attacks, using mostly magic to keep his blows from connecting. The Demon liked verbally inflicting pain on Sin, and didn’t stop there. “Once I came up with the plan, it was so simple. I used the glamour to look like you, and then I slit his throat while he prepared a nice cup of tea for his beloved. He bled out, and your laughing face was the last thing he saw.”

  Sin’s cry was half fury, half anguish. Sasha’s heart knocked painfully against her chest. She couldn’t even begin to imagine the agony her friend was feeling right now. To know that the man he’d loved had died thinking he was the one to commit the act…the guilt… Sasha shook her head.

  Blood sailed through the air in regular intervals from both sides. Sin’s blades moved fast to try to confuse her before sinking ruthlessly into an exposed vulnerability, and soon she was completely covered in blood, mostly her own. But, like with Razor, although Sin and Valtu were toe to toe in their fighting, her use of magic eventually gave her the upper hand. Even with rage powering his movements, Sin was sent sliding across the floor and away from Valtu with a screech of flesh against the floor.

  There was still fighting going on in the club, and she, Edge, and Razor were busy with the remaining Vamp-Shifters. As soon as Sin stood up again, he was met by two Demons keeping him from going back after Valtu.

  Night kicked his dead opponent away, and swiftly took Sin’s place. Valtu was expecting him. What she wasn’t expecting was how vicious a fighter he was. More than Razor, with his infuriated beast, and more than Sin, with his broken heart and need for vengeance. Sa
sha would never say one brother was a better fighter than the other; they all simply had different styles and techniques. Different strengths and weaknesses. But by far, the scariest thing about watching Night was how much he looked to genuinely be enjoying this fight.

  He wanted Valtu dead just as much as the rest of them did, but it was clear that every single strike Night made, he made with the sole purpose of inflicting pain. Not with a gun or a blade, but only his own body. Punches, kicks, and moves she’d never even seen before in a practical fight. Every once in a while, Night also used magic, but he mostly used it as a diversion, or to enhance the pain from his physical attacks. He knew where to hit the Demon to make her movements slow down and her attacks to become more predictable so he could dodge them. Beyond seeking retribution and justice for the crimes she had committed, Night was almost…gleeful about the ability to prolong her suffering.

  Night pushed Valtu back against one of the remaining upright pillars, his elbow pushing into her throat. “Let’s you and I have a little talk right now, hm?” he said, as breezily as if this were a friendly meeting between business partners.

  Valtu made a hand motion Sasha had learned was associated with some kind of spell, but Night didn’t react. Still loosely connected to the brothers, she realized nothing happened to Night this time. Her magic was failing her, the massive amount of energy it took to use such powerful magic obviously starting to wane.

  “Go fuck yourself,” Valtu spat, as a last resort.

  Night smiled, as if she had cordially agreed to talk. “I would like that, yes, but it’ll have to wait until after you tell me what you did with the girls after you stole their souls.”

  The bitch arched an eyebrow and coughed as she tried to talk. Night didn’t let up on the pressure to her throat, so the Demon croaked more than spoke. “What are you talking about?”

  “We know you powered up your hybrid creations by stealing souls and using them in the spell.” He gestured with his free hand in the direction of Edge killing a Vamp-Shifter.

  “Well, of course, you pathetic excuse for an heir, how else would I have done it?”

  “I don’t like missing people in my city, or dying ones. Tell me what you did with them. Are there soulless people out there?” he asked, very obviously ignoring her heir comment.

  “You’re a fucking imbecile,” she said, laughing, then shrugged. “So I accidentally killed a few people while I was tweaking my spell. What would make you think I’d want to keep their carcasses? Ridiculous.”

  Night shot some kind of magic through her stomach then, which had her spitting out huge gobs of blood. “That still doesn’t explain all those missing girls. What did you do with them?” Night pressed, his voice deceptively calm.

  Valtu snarled, but it was a weak sound. “Missing girls? How should I know? I grabbed the souls I needed and dumped the rest. I didn’t need their actual bodies, so I disposed of them. Well, Castor did. I have no need for prisoners.”

  The Hellhounds exchanged a look, as if they all had the sense that Valtu was, unfortunately, telling the truth about that.

  Apparently, the time for talk was now over.

  Night’s purple eyes glowed as he slammed Valtu into the ground. He threw another kind of spell, and her right arm started to twist. Bones crunched and joints popped as the arm turned…and continued turning, making several complete rotations. She was making more horrible screeching noises. Her skin started to rip, and after an agonizing amount of time to even watch, her arm was torn off. Night flung the limb somewhere over his shoulder. Valtu’s screams turned into a mad sort of laughter.

  It was only then that everyone seemed to realize the club had descended into silence, nearly everyone enraptured by Night and Valtu fighting. The only movement outside of their little circle was Edge battling and finishing off the last two Vamp-Shifters. As only Edge could, he was fighting both at the same time.

  Suddenly, a deep growl of pain hit her ears, along with Razor cursing creatively. With her gaze snapping back in front of her, she saw the fight had changed dramatically. Night was now the one pinned to the ground, his back arched in pain as Valtu’s remaining hand was clawed over his heart. Her nails had lengthened into talons and were inside of Night’s chest, going for his heart.

  Even worse, a barely visible bubble was beginning to surround them. Razor fired a shot, and the bullet simply bounced off the now-solid magic barrier. Sin was trying to slice at it, and Edge was throwing his black blades while simultaneously battling the last Vamp-Shifter. Everything bounced off the magic, the barrier effortlessly protecting Valtu.

  “What the—” Sasha started.

  “The blood,” Razor said past gritted teeth, his rifle still in hand, like he was just searching for the perfect opening. “I think.” He growled in frustration, and she could see the gears turning in his head as he worked through tactic after tactic.

  “Yes,” Sin said quietly, holding his side as he stalked closer to the magic barrier, attempting to kick any crack in the magic. He was bleeding rapidly but didn’t seem to mind, his focus on his brother trapped inside a magic bubble with a maniacal Demon. He spoke quickly. “Magic has a price and drains stamina incredibly fast. But she just sacrificed a part of herself, and is using that to draw more magic.”

  And none of them could do a damn thing because of that stupid magic forcefield. Yet all of them, Sasha included, attacked the magic any way they could think of. Three Hellhounds and a Reaper, and they couldn’t make a fucking dent in the thing.

  A head rolled along the floor and Edge was finally able to turn his full attention onto Valtu. His black eyes darkened more than usual, if that were even possible. The hair on the back of her neck went up, reacting to the tension in the room that had just increased dramatically.

  Valtu wasn’t paying attention to anyone outside of her protective bubble, only concentrating on torturing Night, and therefore didn’t notice the shift in the air. Night was actually taking a lot of painful shit in stride. Erummon had certainly trained the Hellhounds to be able to withstand a lot of pain. His methods were fucked up, but still… Sasha would have been impressed at any other time, and would have wondered if Night was actually taking it so well to simply stall for time.

  Before she knew what was happening, Razor turned sharply and enveloped her in his arms, tucking her to his chest, with his back facing Valtu, Edge on the other side of the Demon. Managing to peek out from Razor’s side, Sasha’s lips parted in wonder as blue flames, like a giant wave, rushed towards them, covering everything in front of her.

  Hellfire.

  The most powerful weapon borne from the Underworld, Hellfire was used for the sole purpose of destruction. It could annihilate everything and anything, except for the Hellhounds who wielded it. Starting at Edge’s forearms, the blue flames traveled down his arms and shot from his hands. Seeing the eldest Hellhound, whose eyes were usually as dark as night, with impossibly bright blue eyes was startling by itself. But the rest of the sight left her in awe. The flames ate away at everything in its path, starting with the dead bodies. When it reached the magic bubble, it devoured it in a millisecond. And then Valtu was suddenly on fire, trying to scramble away from it. The flames licked at Night as if greeting a lover, not burning him. She saw him sigh, almost lovingly running his fingers through them.

  Distantly, she saw the Hellfire spreading rapidly, crawling along Razor’s body in a similar way to how it was treating Night. She felt a comforting warmth surround her, and looked down to find the unmistakable blue flames licking hesitantly across her bare skin.

  She looked up quickly to find Razor watching the same flames in astonishment.

  “Being mated to a Hellhound apparently has its perks,” she said, then laughed when the Hellfire danced over her arm.

  Razor laughed as well, but it was a tired sound. The blue vanished, and they both turned quickly.

  The fire was withdrawing, pulled back into Edge’s body, and by the time the Hellfire was gone, Edge was swayin
g on his feet. His tawny brown skin had turned unnaturally pale, and he stumbled for a step before Razor was there, holding up his big brother.

  Meanwhile, she and Sin went to Night, who had pushed himself up on shaky arms to sit up. He had a bad cough, looked like shit, but seemed otherwise okay. Surrounding Night was a whole lot of blood and ash, which hopefully meant Valtu had been burned alive and felt every second of that pain.

  “You all right?” she asked.

  In true Night fashion, the corners of his lips kicked up, keeping his charm in place despite everything he’d just gone through.

  “I think I’m pretty hot, actually.” He winked, glancing to where Valtu had just been. “Ding-dong, the bitch is dead.”

  Sasha groaned, but resisting her answering smile was impossible. Night was still his insufferable self, which told her more than anything that it would all be okay. Shit had hit the fan, and they’d come out on top.

  But not without a few sacrifices, either.

  She clutched her chest as she looked at Sin and the way his gaze wasn’t really all the way there, looking at everything, but seeing very little. She knew the repercussions of losing Luka weren’t going to be over quickly.

  Sin smiled thinly at her when he caught her looking, then they all turned their gazes back to Edge, who was still standing. Barely. If they were all relieved that he was in this kind of condition, just what could using more Hellfire really do to them?

  As if he’d heard her question, Sin smiled wryly. “This is why Edge forbids us from using Hellfire.”

  Edge looked over, his eyes now back to their usual black. The wall to one side of him was holding most of his weight, Razor holding the rest of him. Every few seconds, he pitched forward or backward, no longer having any balance, and Razor was the only thing keeping him from faceplanting.

  Though Edge’s face didn’t really change that much, he looked amused. “I’m the oldest. I make the rules. I can break them, you can’t.”

  Razor chuckled as Sin silently helped Night to stand up.

  Night groaned playfully, but when he stood up too quickly, it turned into a real, pain-filled groan. He put a hand over his wounded chest. “Says the man who doesn’t want to be king.”