Massimo stood and walked over to me. “Obviously he feels you’re a threat. Why else would he want to mute you?”
“I have to agree. Which means maybe I was made a little bit better than what he’d originally planned. That’s good to know.”
He winked at me and the women in the living room, not willing to move closer cleared their throats.
“Do you need us for anything?”
“Yes.” Massimo gave me a sideways look, but I continued anyway. “Do you know what Sharon was looking for in the armory?”
“The Armory? She was supposed to be out looking for you. That’s why we…I mean, they left here hours ago to look for you. I didn’t realize they were in the armory.”
Kelly looked at Delia with a weary look. Obviously, she was confused. I also noted that for later, and asked them to leave us. Before the elevator doors opened my phone rang.
“Hello?”
“Ravana, he’s moving in already. I thought you’d have more time, but this Torrid guy is determined to kill off every vampire in a position of power in Seattle. You need to take him down,” the director of the Order, Amanda said in a rushed voice as I tried to remind myself of the other complication we’d been dealing with before Emerick.
“Thank you, Amanda. We’re on it. I’ll get back to you,” I said and hung up the phone looking up at Massimo. “We got a problem. He’s making his move. It’s time to hunt.”
Massimo shook his head obviously he’d heard the conversation. He moved to the television suspended in the air above my living room and hit the remote to lower it into the room. When it clicked on we were looking at KOMO News. A steady stream of violent fights ending in the deaths of onlookers has been reported in the last three days. The last being in West Seattle. The anchorwoman rattled on.
“That’s going to take a while. We have to take the 509, the Westside Bridge is down again,” I told Massimo.
“We have about four hours till sunrise, and you refuse to drive a car.”
“I don’t refuse. I just don’t usually have a need. Now, I have a need. Let’s go.” I grabbed a set of keys out of a drawer in the island.
As we stood in front of the parking garage I wondered what broken down piece of shit she was going to pull out in. When a newer black Dodge Ram pulled up to me and the door opened I thought I’d died and gone to heaven.
She took one look at my jaw on the floor and sneered at me. “I’m tall. A truck has more leg and headroom. It also eats up gas, so get in already.” That argument made perfect sense and I was glad I was able to get my body to move. I jumped up in the truck and got comfortable. The only thing that could make this any better would be if she had a few weapons in the bed. I couldn’t tell because the windows were tinted with blackout tint. That, and I believed the bed was covered.
Ravana was right about the bridge being out. We had to take the 509 just like the rest of Seattle. Apparently, the residents of Seattle were all already awake and commuting to work because the highway was congested, and I thought Ravana was going to abandon her truck and head out on foot. When I suggested it after another twenty minutes of not moving, she vetoed the idea. I would require the tint of the windows when the sun came up. It wouldn’t kill me, but it would be extremely uncomfortable.
Of course, we then had to drive up to Seacrest Park, which was about six and a half miles northeast. Though it was no chore for Ravana. She maneuvered in and out of traffic in that big truck as if she’d driven it every day.
I watched her. I couldn’t put my finger on it, but she’d changed since we’d met up all those weeks ago. Not that she was a more delightful person, but she didn’t have that roughened exterior she’d used to. I saw it for a glimmer up in Emerick’s home. She’d donned it for his sake. Pushing me, keeping me at arm’s length until we could both be rid of his presence. It was hardly the time to bring up such things, but I did anyway.
“Are we going to talk about what happened and why you went to find him?”
“Yes. Not now. We’re sort of busy.”
“Oh, I think you and I can manage multitasking. We’ve been here before, love.”
“Yes, but what makes you think I want to be here again? I have my mind on what I need to do. I don’t need distractions. That’s one of the reasons why I didn’t want to start something with you in the first place.”
“Because you don’t need distractions? From what, killing demons? Ok, so then why discuss it at all?”
“Exactly.”
“Indeed.”
Like a small child, I crossed my arms over my chest and gazed out the window. The moment the park came into view I blurred from the cab and left her to park the enormous vehicle. The waterfront was still. Canoes lined the edge of the beach moored on logs. Out in the distance, the water taxi was making its way to land on the other side of the river. The pier was empty, and all except for a single light at the end it was dark. The lower dock was left in complete darkness. Some of the lights were turning on in the hotels behind us. We would have to work fast.
Ravana made her way to me when I reached the facilities building and rental shop. The lights were off, but movement down the beach was echoing in my ears off the building. Like a boomerang effect. Looking across the water I could see the lights of the city. I couldn’t take too long to admire it, as I heard more urgent hushed voices coming from the rocks edge.
Ravana tapped me on my arm with the back of her hand and held it out to me. It took me a minute to register she was after her sword. I pulled it from within the large pocket of my cargo pants and handed it to her, then watched as she pulled it from the scabbard inspecting it for use.
She raised her eyebrows and motioned to the noise with her head, and like a simpering sidekick, I followed her. Patting the front of my pants pocket I made sure the vial was secure, and that it was in a place that wouldn’t see damage. Hopefully.
The beach was crawling with vamps. Big, little, fat, slim, and in the middle of it all was one very large male. He wasn’t large in a sense that he favored the Pillsbury dough-man. No, he was big as in he must have eaten a personal trainer or a bodybuilder. I haven’t come across a vampire with so many protruding veins in all my life. His square jaw and bald head made him look like a target I never wanted to go against. The way the others were circling around him, I thought that meant he was our man. That was until Ravana stepped closer to the group and the closest male to Hulk Hogan’s cousin stepped into the light of the moon as it fell from the sky.
He was about my height. Not taller, but maybe an inch or two shorter. His brown curly hair was just on the top of his head. His stance made my back go up. He was posturing for a beautiful woman, and I was going to pluck his eyes out of his head. I stood still, however, making note that we were in no position to fight. With the odds stacked at thirty of them and only two of us, I had a feeling Ravana would want to have a nice conversation and regroup with back up. Though, I have been wrong before.
Her hair had been pulled free of the band she wore earlier. She hadn’t changed out of her sweatshirt and jeans before we left, but now she wore just a tank top, her mid-drift showing as her top stopped short just past her breasts. My breath hitched, but I caught myself before anyone else noticed. They weren’t concerned with me. They were all too busy looking at her. Her eyes were hard, that tough shell going back into place. Hands on her hips, one cocked to the side. Her scabbard strapped to her waist, the sword hidden in the length of her hair.
“Which one of you gentleman is Torrid? I seem to have a wardrobe malfunction.”
The man with the curly hair smiled and stepped forward. “You know, I keep hearing that. Unfortunately, it’s still funny.”
“Then maybe when you’re driven out of Seattle, you can settle again and change it to something more appropriate for a villain,” she said with a laugh.
“Oh, I won’t be driven out of Seattle,” Torrid said with a cocky grin.
“That’s right. You won’t be,” she started that slow sed
uctive saunter that got her closer to her enemies until she was but a hairsbreadth from his face, “because I plan on killing you.”
“Many have tried. All have failed. What makes you think you’re much different?”
Ravana winked her eye and stuck her index finger in her mouth, removing it from closed lips as slowly as she dared. We were nearing a battle here, and all I could think about was my mouth inside her. When she pulled it free and then slide it down the side of the man’s face I clenched. I couldn’t believe this was how she was acting. I remembered this Ravana from our previous encounters. The ones portraying cat and mouse until I finally caught her. Or did she let me?
“I’m Ravana Moon. I’m different in every way possible.”
A feral growl escaped me when his hand reached up in a flash and wrapped around her wrist. He looked like he was adding all of his strength to the motion, yet Red never even flinched.
“You are an abomination to our kind. Severing your head will get rid of you, and then I will be the most powerful male in our world. For you are on the top of everyone’s hit list, a disease, and I have the cure.” He moved his hand behind his back and pulled it back with a blackened dagger in his hand. He touched the side of the blade to Ravana’s hand and she let out a horrifying scream. The skin on her hand began to melt away. “Vanadium, coated with black oxide. Painful isn’t it?”
He released her hand and she stumbled backward holding it up to inspect the damage. “How…”
I wanted to go to her, but that would have been a weakness and not a smart move.
“How did I figure that out? Well, let’s just say we have a mutual friend. One that hired me to find you. Over and over again. Unfortunately, our business dealings left me wanting…him dead. So, here I am. Looking for the one thing he’s wanted for so many years. One can only hope it draws him out.”
“But how did you know it would work on me? How did you know what I am?”
“Well, that’s easy. He told me. I was allowed to be as rough as I wanted because you couldn’t be killed. Until the one day, I managed to slice off a bit of hair.” She gave him a confused look, but I knew what she was doing. “DNA is stored in our hair.” He began pacing with his dagger waving in the air.
“I used every compound and chemical element I could think of. This one just so happened to jump out at me because of the symbol. V. How ironic that the periodic table is the culprit for giving away your one weakness.”
I moved forward then. “If you want this other person dead, and you’re only using her to get to him, then who else have you told about this metal compound?”
He gave me a sideways glance, but I didn’t care. I wanted him to answer and I would make him, one way or another. He was still something entirely easy to kill.
“Nobody. Do you think I wanted someone else able to take out the Ancient One before me?”
Red and I both jumped. He was after Emerick, and of course, Ravana was the center of his attraction. Which meant we’d probably have to deal with him again tonight. Twice in one night. Unless…
I took a look around. There really were about twenty vampires around us. Ravana had kept him talking long enough for her hand to heal. She’d be able to wield her blade, and maybe we had a chance of cutting them down. I looked in the shadows just in case he had more lying in wait. Red, seemed to be doing the same while Torrid continued talking about how he was going to go down in history as the one who finally killed the Anicut One. I for one would have loved nothing more than to be rid of him, but not like this. Not in an ambush. He would never be stupid enough to walk into it. Let alone get close enough for Torrid to get that blade into his flesh. Red or myself, on the other hand, he kept begging for us to get close. He wanted us to be family.
“I don’t think your plan is a sound one.” I swung my head around to face Ravana who had her hand on the hilt of her sword.
“Why is that?”
“Because the Ancient One won’t come. We aren’t on the best of terms. As a matter of fact, just tonight I tried to kill him.”
“Really?” The man laughed. “Why do I find that ironic?”
“Well, because we’re vampires, and we only seek destruction. Desire has a way of getting in the way of that. It loses its allure after a century or more. Wouldn’t you agree, Massimo?”
I shook my head in agreeance, letting Red remain the focus of the conversation. All eyes settled back on her and I was free to hit a button on the phone the Order had given me. The phone had an emergency call feature. It would make a call and give its GPS location to the Order. More specifically to Kelly, since she was my Keeper. As long as she had her phone nearby. She and Delia could send a team out to give us a hand. I didn’t need to send a fancy message to go along with it, for which I was grateful for and told her as much when she gave me the thing. Technology and I were not on friendly terms. I’d never bothered keeping up with all the new gadgets. I never had anyone I wanted to keep in contact with like that.
Now, more than ever I wished I had Nunzio at my back. Maybe if we had cell phones we’d be able to rectify that. Unfortunately, being at the mercy of the Order was not my ideal situation. I knew Ravana put stock into what they were about, but I hadn’t arrived at the conclusion that they were the good guys. Not within the short time I’d been working with them.
Ravana was still talking Torrid’s ear off. I could see the glint in her eye when she looked back at me. I gave a short nod, to let her know it was done, and she went back to taunting him. There was no way she was going to leave this beach without that blade. It may have been the answers to our prayers, but it was also a weapon that could end her. We couldn’t allow it to fall into the wrong hands. I knew of several vampires who would have loved nothing more than to slice her open and watch her life fade. I wouldn’t have it.
“So, this weapon,” she started. “How exactly did you forge such a weapon? I mean, vanadium isn’t a commonly known metal. Where would one get such an ingredient?”
“You have the resources of the Order and the PCI. You could get it quite simply. As for me, I have my ways of getting just about anything. That’s why I’m called on when anyone needs things that are hard to procure. It’s one of my…specialties.”
“Your specialties?”
“Yes, I have a knack for finding the unfindable; people, places, items of certain worth. It’s all the same.”
“I see.” She gave the appearance of someone quite relaxed. I knew better. She was about to pounce. “And say if someone no longer wanted what was sought? Like for instance, me. What are you going to do with me, now that the Ancient One no longer has an interest in my survival?”
“I don’t believe that for a second. You see, while you’ve been keeping me talking, wasting time, or stalling as you might call it, I’ve been doing the same. I’m well aware trying to detain you is out of the question. I could put this blade to your throat and hold you still, but then when he showed up he’d know what it is, and that it was a threat.” He sheathed the blade at his side for effect. “So, if we just stand here in a nice formation that shows I have the upper hand, then he’ll show himself. I don’t care what you say, he will always carry a torch for you. Tragedy, such as the one you suffered, well, that bonds people together for life. Or in your case, for eternity. Then again, you won’t be bonded for much longer. I plan on severing his head from his body.”
“I wish you luck with that because no matter what you think you know about us, we haven’t bonded over anything.”
A vehicle started creeping along the parking lot to the rental store. The headlights bobbing in the dark with each bump it hit. “Who is that?”
“Maybe it’s Emerick,” I said quickly putting the focus on me and away from Ravana. She moved so fast I’d never had a chance to see her pull her sword from her scabbard. She now stood in full attack mode.
“What have you done?”
“What I’ve done is ensure we leave here in one piece…with that blade. If anyone has the right
to kill Emerick, it’s us, not some messenger boy.”
“You bitch. I had every intention of letting you go.”
“I don’t believe that for a second. Besides. I can’t let any of you live. Now, see how liberating truth is?”
He lunged at her and she sidestepped. The hulk looking guy came after me. Of course, he did. I turned removing my jacket as he made to swipe at me with his bare hands. The Sai felt cold to the touch, the metal biting into my skin where I’d skimmed flesh past the handle. A twist of them in my hands as I brought them overhead and they sat properly in my hands. Hulk saw the weapons and still came at me with his bare hands. He aimed for my neck, and I knew I could sidestep him again, but didn’t take into a count for the other twenty vampires around us wanting in on the fun. Sidestepping hulk put me face to face with another. A thrust forward set my weapons in the vamp’s gut and he went down. His flesh decomposing from the wound until there was nothing left, but ash.
Red and I ended up back to back. Torrid had pulled his magical blade from its sheath. He twisted it back and forth in front of her, taunting. I wanted to warn her, but she twisted her wrist holding her sword. When she placed her other hand on the weapon and pulled back again, she was holding two; one in each hand. A butterfly sword. She pushed back against me and took off in a spin. Her hair spun around her body served as a distraction against her opponent.
I turned back to the rest of the pack who were all advancing on me. One went down in the back, then another. Each of them had an arrow stuck in them as they hunched over. I figured he’d show up, but wondered how close to the fight he’d actually get.
Hulk was back. He had a large rock in his hand and smashed it over my head. I stumbled for a moment, feeling blood running down my face. I wiped my eyes clear and caught my balance on someone’s shoulder.
“Take the formula, now,” Emerick yelled into my face as he tried to hold me upright. I dove inside my pocket and pulled it out. Emerick moved away. He grabbed two boulders and hit hulk on either side of his head with them, but the big guy didn’t so much as flinch. “What are you waiting for?”
The Darker Side of Me (Ravana Moon Book 1) Page 18