Kiss of Steel

by McMaster, Bec

  She didn’t get a chance to finish her words. Blade’s head shot up, his gaze roving the rooftops.

  “What is it?”

  His eyelashes fluttered against his cheeks. He was listening to something. Honoria looked around. A heavy layer of soot stained the buildings. Crooked chimneys formed man-shaped shadows in the darkness, until she blinked to clear her vision.

  A chain rattled. “Come on,” Blade snarled, grabbing her by the hand and dragging her toward her home.

  “The murderer?” she asked, running behind him and looking up. There were shadows moving now, running along the rooftops behind them and leaping between buildings.

  “The fuckin’ Slashers,” he bit out, sliding to a halt in an intersection. He looked up and growled in frustration. “You can’t outrun ’em.” But he could.

  Her heart leaped into her throat. The Slasher gangs were the terror of the East End, abducting families in their sleep or running down people who were foolish enough to be out at night. Maimed and enhanced with vicious hooks for hands or razor-sharp claws, they drained a person of their blood and fenced it in the slums. Or, some whispered, to the government’s official draining factories.

  “What are they doing here?” One of the reasons she’d chosen the Whitechapel rookery was because no Slasher dared enter Blade’s turf.

  “I’ll ’ave to ask one of ’em,” he said in a tone that told her exactly how he intended to get answers. Metal gleamed in his hands. “Stay behind me. Don’t run. I’ll keep you safe.”

  One, two, three, four…she counted six shapes in the darkness. No doubt there’d be more. They roamed in packs, like stray dogs.

  “Are you certain you can handle them?”

  He gave her a dirty look. “Just keep behind me.”

  Lifting a whistle to his lips, he blew. No sound erupted from it, but he seemed satisfied and dropped it back into his pocket.

  Honoria fumbled in her skirts for the pistol. She cocked it and waited, her back to Blade, searching the darkness.

  A laugh echoed out of the shadows, an eerie sound, like the hyena in Vickers’s menagerie. A chain clanked and then three of the shapes sailed out of the air, landing in front of them.

  Honoria swallowed a scream. A long, curved fisherman’s hook drifted back and forth as the one in front of her grinned evilly.

  “You get lost, boys?” Blade called. “Looks like you’re in me turf.”

  “Looks like you’re outnumbered,” one of them called back, wielding a vicious hook.

  “Oh?” Blade looked around. “But there’s only nine o’ you.”

  Which proved that there were more than she’d seen.

  “And one o’ you,” the lead man said with a laugh. “Come on, you curs!” He leaped forward, brandishing his knife.

  Honoria didn’t have time to see what Blade was doing. She raised the pistol and aimed. The man charging her—with the fishing hook attached to his wrist instead of a hand—suddenly staggered back as the pistol retorted. A great, gaping hole appeared in the man’s chest, and his mouth dropped open in surprise as he fell to his knees, then onto his face.

  An automatic reloader, the pistol had six bullets. Now only five. She spun around quickly to shoot again, but Blade was too close to the three men attacking him. He was little more than a blur as he danced among them, the pair of razors in his hands gleaming like little scythes in the moonlight. The Slashers looked as though they moved through air thick as molasses in comparison.

  Blade downed one, sweeping under a broad, awkward stroke of a short sword and flicking his razor across the man’s throat. The Slasher went down with a bloody gurgle and Blade spun around, kicking another man in the throat as the other leaped for him.

  Blade’s gaze swept past, locating Honoria for a moment before he buried his razor in the man’s gut. As the Slasher folded over the stroke, Blade whipped up with his other hand, neatly decapitating the man.

  “Look out!” she yelled, seeing a pair of Slashers on the roof. A heavy net dropped down, and the man who’d been kicked in the face dove onto Blade.

  “Get out of ’ere!” Blade bellowed, writhing on the ground beneath the net.

  The man stabbed him with a needle-sharp poniard, and Blade grunted in pain. The two who had dropped the net jumped to the ground.

  “This your little turtledove?” One of them advanced on her with a leer. A dirty eye patch obscured his right eye. “Maybe I’ll let you watch when I drain ’er.”

  “Run, Honoria!” Blade had somehow cut through the net but was struggling to disentangle himself.

  Honoria lifted the pistol. Her worst nightmare come to life, and she’d be damned if she would let them take her. Anger bit, sharp and hot. These men—these creatures—had terrorized innocent men and women. She’d had enough.

  The man’s head exploded like a rotten melon. The pair of Slashers struggling with Blade looked up in shock as his body hit the ground.

  “Christ fuckin’ Jaysus!” One of them muttered. His gaze went to the pistol in her hand. “What the ’ell is that?”

  Honoria stared down the sight at him and he scrambled out of the way, ducking into the alley. Damn it. She turned just as the man still wrestling with Blade hurdled his body toward her.

  He knocked her clean off her feet with a swoosh of rancid air. The pistol skittered across the cobbles and stopped several feet away.

  The man drew back his arm with its deadly hooked blade. “You little bitch!”

  Honoria screamed.

  In the next moment his weight was gone. Blade staggered over her, blood welling all over his shirt. “What part o’ run don’t you bloody understand?”

  She didn’t hesitate to grab the hand he offered to her. He lifted her to her feet as though she weighed little more than a feather. The man who had attacked her was groaning, having been thrown face-first into a wall.

  “You’d be dead if I had!” she retorted. She couldn’t stop her gaze from dropping to his side. “You’re bleeding.”

  “Aye. Get runnin’. There’s five of ’em left.”

  “Are you coming?”

  He pointed a finger at her. “If I tell you to run, you damned well better run! No more ’eroics, you bloody fool!”

  “Stop cursing at me!”

  A muscle in Blade’s jaw ticked. He took a deep breath, his nostrils flaring. “Honoria…” he warned.

  She dashed for her pistol and checked it. Four bullets remaining. Then she turned and tipped her chin up. “I’m not going without you. Come on. Or are you too injured to run?”

  “Nothin’ but a scratch, luv.”

  Four shadowy shapes shimmied down the drainpipes. Blade pushed Honoria in the middle of the back and they broke into a run.

  A low, whistling noise filled the air. Then something wrapped around her legs and she fell forward with a scream. The weighted ends of a rope wrapped themselves around her ankles.

  “Blade!”

  “I got you, luv.” He hauled her up, tossing her over his shoulder.

  When she looked up, she saw four men in pursuit, armed with an assortment of cruel hooks and pikes, and wearing a mish-mash of iron plating sewn together with leather togs. Weighed down as he was—and injured—Blade was barely keeping ahead of them.

  She shot another man, but the jolting skewered her aim. He went down screaming, his right arm and shoulder blown away as though an enormous shark had taken a chunk out of him. The sound ricocheted in the night and dogs started barking.

  “What the bloody ’ell are those things?” Blade yelled as the Slashers dropped back, wary now.

  “Keep running!” She lifted the pistol again, but the Slasher darted around a corner and her shot went wide, exploding a shower of brick and mortar across the street.

  “In me pocket,” he said. “There’s me whistle. Blow it.”

  She looked down at his breeches. “You want me to—?”

  “Do it,” he snarled.

  Honoria reached down and felt in Blade’s pocket
. Hard, muscled thigh met her fingers, rippling with each stride he took. She swallowed hard and tugged the small whistle out. When she put it to her lips, nothing sounded.

  “It doesn’t make any noise!”

  “Nothin’ that you can ’ear,” he replied. He put her down, panting hard. Honoria staggered back against the doorway he’d nestled her against. Sweat dampened his hair and the bloodstain on his shirt had spread.

  She paled. “That’s more than a scratch.”

  Sweat tracked rivulets through the soot that grimed his face. When he flashed her a smile, his teeth gleamed starkly. “Aye.” Bending over, he rested his hands on his hips and breathed deep, an odd whistling sound. A bubble of blood broke on his lips.

  “Oh, my goodness! You’re hurt!” She reached for him, then nearly fell over. Grimacing, she tore the ropes off her legs, then tossed them aside.

  “Hit a lung. Mebbe. Give me…the pistol…”

  She handed it to him. Blade’s dark gaze swept the streets. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, leaving a bloodied smear across his pale skin.

  Honoria touched the blood on his side. He knocked her hand away with a distracted growl.

  “Ain’t no time. They’re…comin’…rooftops.”

  The first man who dropped into the street staggered back in a bloody mist.

  “It reloads automatically,” she said, taking refuge in the doorway. “There’s one round left.”

  “Aye,” he muttered. Ducking out into the street, he aimed up and pulled the trigger.

  A scream filled the air and a man tumbled into the streets as Blade ducked back under the cover of the overhang next to Honoria. He shoved the pistol into the waistband of his breeches, hands trembling.

  It seemed even a blue blood couldn’t admit when he was hurt. Obviously a man was a man, regardless of what he drank to survive.

  Leaning down, she gathered the rope with its weighted ends. She had no idea how to use it, but it was better than having nothing to use against the Slashers.

  “Two more,” he murmured, leaning his back against the bricks, his eyes closed as he tried to breathe. “They’re cautious…now…”

  “Don’t waste your breath,” she said quietly. “Maybe someone will have heard.”

  “Whistle.”

  She blew on it again, then tucked it back into her pocket. Useless thing. She looked at Blade and saw his teeth bared in pain and his hand clapped against the spreading pool of blood. A blue blood could heal from almost anything, but he needed blood to do it.

  She swallowed. Hard. “Do you want my blood?”

  “No,” he said, shaking his head with a snarl. “Comin’.”

  “The Slashers?” she whispered, peering into the darkness. Her heart raced and she held the weighted end of the rope low.

  A sudden scream tore the air. Honoria flinched. There came a horrible growling sound, almost like an animal, and then a body sailed into the streets. It was one of the Slashers, his head bent at an unnatural angle. She’d seen her share of blood from her Institute days, but something about the fact that the body lay on its front in the street, with its head facing upward, made saliva pool in her mouth. Her stomach heaved and she turned aside, pressing her hand to her mouth.

  Blade slumped against the wall. “Will’s ’ere.”

  There was another scream and then a tile smashed into the street. Honoria hurried to Blade’s side. “Let me have a look.”

  He caught her fingers. “No.”

  Honoria pushed his hands away. “I do believe you called me foolish once, to risk my life for pride.”

  At that he looked at her. Then nodded curtly.

  She peeled the wet shirt up, tugging it free of his waistband. A flush of heat burned in her cheeks. Blade leaned his head back against the wall, his throat bared to her. Corded muscles ran over his lean stomach, and the vee of his hips dipped into the low waist of his breeches.

  “Goodness,” she murmured. Then added with a blush, “The blood.”

  “O’ course.” Despite his pain, he smiled. Then grimaced. “Easy, luv.”

  “Your breathing sounds better.”

  Another scream arose in the darkness. She couldn’t suppress a wince and looked over her shoulder. Rain was starting to spatter the street.

  “It’s healin’,” he said.

  One, two, three…four stab wounds, up under his ribs. “You’re lucky he didn’t hit your heart,” she said.

  There were two ways to kill a blue blood: severe damage to the heart or decapitation. And then, to be certain they were dead, it was best to burn the bodies.

  Blade’s gaze drifted over her shoulder. “Will. You took your time.”

  “Bloody hell,” Will cursed. “What a friggin’ mess. Couldn’t you get out o’ the way in time?”

  Honoria glanced up. The tall youth glared at Blade. Blood dripped from a cut over his eyebrow, but he appeared otherwise undamaged. A dirty gray shirt clung to his massive shoulders, with leather straps holding a shoulder sheath in place. The hilt of a knife jutted over his shoulder, though it looked rather like a short sword. Strips of brown linen bandaged his wrists, like one of the fighters she’d seen at the Pits, and he held a shiv, low and bloody.

  The two men grinned at each other. Unbelievable.

  Honoria held her wrist up. “You need blood. Here.”

  Blade’s smile died. “Need a lot. You ain’t strong enough.” He pushed off the wall, clapping a hand to his ribs and wincing. Honoria swiftly ducked under his shoulder. His weight nearly flattened her.

  “Ease back. You ain’t goin’ nowhere,” Will muttered, grabbing Blade’s arm. “Here.” The youth tilted his head, offering his throat.

  Honoria got out of the way as Will wrapped his massive arms under Blade’s shoulders, pinning him against the wall. Blade swept Will’s shaggy hair out of the way, a fierce look of hunger crossing his face. A knife gleamed. One of Blade’s razors. He met her gaze, making a small nick against Will’s throat.

  Honoria wrapped her arms around herself. The rain was starting to get heavier. She was trapped under the roof’s overhang with the two men. Looking away didn’t help matters. As Blade’s mouth closed over Will’s throat, the younger man sucked in a breath that sounded incredibly…personal.

  She’d seen blue bloods feed before. Some of the Echelon filed their teeth into sharp points—to break the skin—but most simply relied on fléchettes or thin razors. She shivered, though she didn’t feel cold. Indeed, an uncomfortable, prickly heat speared through her belly.

  Will groaned again, and this time there was no mistaking the sound. He was enjoying this. Honoria glanced up. A mistake. For Blade was staring at her, his mouth locked against Will’s throat, his hand fisted in the shaggy hair and the other arm wrapped around the man, clutching him hard.

  Will’s palms splayed over the pitted brick wall and his hips moved almost involuntarily. Small, harsh breaths broke the still night. She couldn’t look away. It was horrible…and fascinating.

  And for a moment she wanted it to be her.

  Honoria tore her gaze away. Her nipples were hard against the abrasive canvas of her dress, her breath shallow. Behind her, Will groaned again. She clenched her eyes shut. That was worse. She could picture them, locked together, bodies straining, and Blade…watching her with a fierce hunger in his green eyes. The look on his face had been complex, as though he too wished it were her. She felt his gaze right between her shoulder blades. And other places. Lower. As though he stroked a finger down her spine, pausing at the indentation just above the smooth curve of her bottom. And lower still, brushing against the delicate inner flesh of her thighs.

  “Enough.” Will sucked in a ragged breath. “Enough, damn it!”

  When she turned, Blade lifted his head, gasping. Will slumped against him, pressing him into the wall, his face buried in Blade’s shoulder and his body shaking. Blade stroked his hair, his fingers tightening at the nape of Will’s neck.

  “Easy now,” Blade mu
rmured. Color flushed through his skin and there was blood on his lips. He looked remarkably…satisfied.

  She would never have thought him particularly gentle. Yet he held Will in his arms as they slowly recovered, stroking his hair. Will made an inarticulate sound deep in his throat, then finally pushed away.

  “Do you need anything?” she asked, clearing her own throat.

  Will shook his head. Embarrassment burned in a fiery blush at the back of his neck. Blade leaned back against the wall, closing his eyes for a moment. Dark satisfaction curled over his face as he wiped his mouth.

  She didn’t dare look down, but it was quite evident from her peripheral vision that he too had enjoyed the feeding.

  Was it always like that?

  The rain began to slacken. She decided to risk it. She couldn’t stay here any longer, trapped in the steamy darkness with the two men, both of them trying to recompose themselves in the aftermath. Especially when she herself felt so unfulfilled.

  Desire scratched against her skin like the heavy wool that she wore. It hurt. She dug her fingernails into her palms, took a deep breath, and stepped out into the rain. It pattered on her shoulders, little icy pinpricks against the bare skin of her décolletage and shoulders.

  Something drifted past her nose, a rancid scent. Like rotten meat. Her nose screwed up in distaste as she gagged. “Goodness, what is that smell?” Covering her nose with her hand, she turned around.

  Blade’s head shot up, his eyes flaring wide. “Honoria!”

  He didn’t need to warn her. She looked up. A shadowy figure squatted on the edge of the roof tiles, sniffing the air. Claws gripped the edge of the gutter, its wiry, maggot-pale body leaning forward as it breathed in her scent.

  Cold rushed through her, the hairs on the back of her neck standing up. An old primeval fear that burned away every last scrap of desire. She couldn’t breathe, choking on the sudden urge to run and yet too afraid to move.

  Then it scented her, its red-rimmed eyes widening in delight. It looked…almost like a blue blood, but horribly, horribly mutated. Bald, its white skin covered in flaky patches, and its mouth opening over a set of sharpened teeth.

  Suddenly she knew what it was. And she screamed.