by G. K. DeRosa
A servile lunged at me, showcasing feeble fangs surrounded by gaunt cheeks. My fingers tightened around bardy as I swung. His head rolled right off his shoulders and landed on the floor with a thunk. The skin of my upper arm stung, and I could feel the mystical tattoo engraving into my flesh.
I didn’t have long to bask in the glory.
Another fanger darted from behind me, wrapping his hands around bardy and trying to wrench him free of my hold. “Fang off!” I growled as we engaged in tug of war. As he pulled back, I let go and the vampire staggered backward. Before he could right himself, I unsheathed the stake at my thigh and buried it into his chest.
His eyes widened in shock, and he dropped bardy right into my open palms. “Take that vamp-hole. Nobody steals my weapon.” I spat at his already crumbling form, the flesh desiccating into a pile of sooty ash.
From the corner of my eye, I checked on my team. Seline was in wolf form, running circles around the vamps as Archer moved in for the kill with icy daggers. Callan’s angel sword lit up the dark space as he slashed through the clambering immortals. Spark and Vera were headed to the second floor with a few guys from Denver’s team on their heels.
The muffled cries and clash of steel against bone blurred in the air around me. My mind was still, laser focused. A female vampire rushed me from the side, and I plunged my stake into her chest without flinching.
It would seem like our assault had been a success. Only problem was I hadn’t seen a single vamp from River’s slideshow. These guys were all the low life serviles. We needed the head fangers if we wanted to stop the Children of the Night. I tried not to focus on the other image that kept popping in my mind. Dark hair, wicked grin, and sparkling onyx irises.
Damned fanger must have compelled me somehow. How else could he have gotten into my head?
I barreled through a few more sickly vampires, dispatching them straight to hell and searched the first floor. Besides the vampire who shall not be named, Ronin and three others were the high value targets. Two males and a female.
Where the hades were they?
Did they know we were coming? Had they cleared out when we arrived?
I scanned the chamber, jumping over wounded vampires and kicking the piles of ash along the floor. Someone else could take out the garbage, I needed to find Ronin. My gaze landed on an upturned rug—one of those fancy oriental ones. Hmm… Everything in this place was rundown and dirty, but that looked new.
I slid down beside it and lifted the corner. Rusty metal hinges! Shoving the rug aside, I found the handhold. I gave it a tug, but it wouldn’t budge. I muttered a curse and scanned the room for one of the guys. Cal was busy with a female vamp, and Archer and Spark were nowhere to be found. I wedged bardy’s blade between the wooden floorboards and pushed down on the shaft. The floor creaked and groaned before the old plank finally gave way, and the hidden trapdoor snapped open.
Pressing my finger to the com at my ear, I said, “Guys, there’s a secret door beneath a rug on the first floor. I’m going down to investigate.”
“Wait for backup,” said Spark.
“There’s no time. I bet this is how Ronin and his guys got away.”
“So you’re going after them alone?” he shot back.
Sliding beneath the door, I crept onto the first step. “Just finish what you’re doing and follow my trail. I’ll try to hold them off.”
“Be careful,” he muttered.
I clicked off the com and hurried down the steps. As soon as the trapdoor slammed shut, darkness consumed me. Blinking quickly, my pupils adjusted to the dim lighting. Thank the goddess for supe vision. At least my wolfy hadn’t left me completely in the dark on that one. I would’ve laughed at my own internal musings if every tiny hair on my arm hadn’t been standing on end.
The scuffle of boots above was the only sound as I moved deeper underground. An eerie silence blanketed the narrow corridor, each step plunging me further into darkness. A chill raced up my spine, and I hugged my sweatshirt tighter around me, pulling the hoodie up. I reached for my cell and flicked on the flashlight. Dirt walls closed in around either side of me. I flashed the light toward the bottom of the staircase, hoping I was finally close. It felt like I’d been descending forever.
The tiny light landed on a chamber ahead, and I let out a breath. Now we were getting somewhere. The noise from above grew fainter until it completely fell away as I reached the final step. A large cavern stretched before me, but my poor excuse for a flashlight could only take in bits and pieces as it crawled around the room.
Finally, the bobbing illuminated circle landed on a lantern hanging from the far wall. I crept across the space, shining my phone at the dirt floor so I didn’t stumble on anything and land on my ass.
A faint sound caught my attention at the opposite end of the chamber. I spun at the noise as my heart leapt up my throat. I froze, ears straining to make out another sound. Ten seconds passed, then twenty. Still nothing. I released the breath I’d been holding and made a beeline for the lantern.
“Please work, please work,” I muttered as I turned the knob on the old kerosene lamp. The flame flickered to life illuminating the sprawling underground space. Score! At the center, sat a long table with chairs thrown haphazardly around it. Along the walls, a few cots had been set up as well as a refrigerator filled with bottles of crimson liquid.
Mother fanger. This had to have been Ronin’s hideout. We’d let them sneak out right from under our noses. I clicked on the com, and a burst of static made me wince. I let out a yelp as I pressed my palm to my sensitive ear. Dammit, no reception down here.
At least I’d told Spark and the others where to find me. They had to be on their way soon. A large parchment stretched across the table caught my eye, and I moved toward the old timber. I traced the blue lines across the yellowing paper and the dark scrawling along each floor marker. It was a blueprint of the sicari residences. More than that, it was filled with very detailed information of each level, including the names of each apartments’ inhabitants.
There had to be a spy living within the confines of Royal Castle. There was no way the Children of the Night would’ve had such specific information otherwise. My heart plummeted. They attacked building one first on purpose. They wanted to take out the veteran sicari. My stomach roiled.
A sharp creak whipped my head toward the tunnel leading away from the chamber. “Who’s there?” I shouted, my fingers clenching around bardy. I crept closer, and a trickle of sweat snaked down my back. Grabbing my makeshift flashlight, I pointed it down the earthen corridor.
Three dark forms raced down the passageway. I took off, leaping over a chair that had been knocked to the ground in their rush to escape. Pumping my arms, I raced through the never-ending darkness. With my free hand, I reached for my crossbow. I’d never catch up with these vamps but maybe my arrow would. Without slowing down, I pressed the trigger and the whirr of the projectile echoed across my ears. A faint thunk sounded ahead, the telltale sound of metal perforating meaty flesh.
An angry grumble seeped through the tunnel, and a grin curled my lips. Gotcha.
A door swung open and moonlight filled the dark passage, illuminating a figure in the archway. Cold eyes settled on me, and shards of ice rushed my veins. My heartbeats quickened, and the roar of my pulse drowned out everything else.
The male muttered something, but I couldn’t make out a word over the manic thundering of my heart ramming against my ribs. He turned, and the moon’s pale light cast across his cheek, revealing a tattoo, black whorls and crosses snaking across his skin.
The tattoo that starred in my nightmares and plagued my waking hours. Ronin. His eyes remained glued to mine, narrowed and unblinking. Crimson eclipsed the black as something like curiosity flashed across his piercing irises. I pulled the hoodie further over my head, hoping the shadows would hide me as they did him.
Spinning away, he slid through the opening and the door slammed shut.
The sharp crack
spurred me to action. Now free from Ronin’s relentless glare, I sprinted the final yards to the door. Wrenching it open, I stepped into the fresh night air, emerging between the shadows of two large buildings. Gulping in a lungful, I scanned the streets ahead for the three dark shadows.
There.
Two males and a female sped toward the river, toward the mainland. I darted around the corner and ran into a wall. No, not a wall. Arms wrapped around me and hauled me backward, pinning me to the crumbling façade of a building.
“What the hell are you doing?” I screeched as my hoodie fell back. “Let me go!”
Ransom smirked down at me. “Can’t do, Red.”
I rose to my tiptoes to see the three figures growing smaller and smaller. “Let go of me you freakin’ fanger. You’re going to let them get away.”
“Do you have any idea who that was?” he growled, the typical humor in his voice gone as he pressed his body against mine.
“Yeah, that’s Ronin,” I spat, “the leader of the Children of the Night, and you just helped him get away.”
“I saved your ass is what I did. Again!” Those dark eyes bored into me as if they were searching for some answer written in my gaze.
“No one asked you to.” I smacked my palms against his chest, but he didn’t budge. Gritting my teeth, I shoved harder.
He only grinned wider.
“This is what I do, Ransom. I hunt and kill vampires. I’m a sicari, in case you forgot.”
“Not tonight and not those vampires.” His irises lanced into me, and something stirred in my chest. A low rumble shook my core.
What the shift?
His eyes widened, then dropped to my chest as if he’d heard the strange noise too.
He’s distracted. Move now, Nix! “Fine, then I’ll have to settle on bringing in another traitor.” Pulling my arm back, I punched him in the face.
He finally released me, genuine shock flashing across those bottomless irises as he rubbed at his jaw. “Red, I’m hurt. Again.”
“You’d be hurting a lot more if I didn’t have to take you in alive.”
“Alive?” His eyes sparkled with mischief. “Aw, Carmen Rosa really does care.”
“She never said I couldn’t rough you up a little.” I spun bardy around and used the staff like a bat, swinging for his head.
Ransom was too fast and caught the pointy end of the pole, wrapping his fingers around the shaft. “Ah, ah, ah.” He shook his head, that grin still plastered on his stupid handsome face. “Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me…”
I tried to wrench my weapon free, but his fingers only tightened around the handle. So I dropped down and unsheathed my stake, driving it up as I rose. Ransom was forced to release bardy to block the gleaming silver weapon.
“You’re quick, little sicari.” He dodged my next hit. “But not quick enough.”
I growled as I charged again, the stake clenched in my fist. I went for his gut, trying to avoid major organs. It was the first time I’d ever had to bring in a vampire without killing them. This was going to be harder than I thought. I’d have to incapacitate him somehow. I searched my pocket for the vervain spray, but it was empty. Dammit, I must’ve dropped it somewhere.
Ransom’s hand closed around my wrist, and he squeezed. “Drop the stake.”
“No!”
“Come on, Red. I don’t want to hurt you.” He twisted my hand back, and I gritted my teeth to keep from squealing. Of course, the vamp-hole would go for my newly healed wrist. He knew exactly what he was doing too, since he’d been there the night it had been broken.
“No one said you couldn’t hurt me,” I hissed as he pressed closer, using his full weight against my weakening grip.
“I’m not in the practice of killing attractive young women for fun.”
I snorted. “Then what about all those sicari you took out today with the fire?”
His dark brows furrowed, and he loosened his grip on my wrist. I wrenched my hand free and brought my palm up jabbing it under his chin. He staggered back, and I crouched down to pick up bardy.
Ransom paced in front of me, eyes intent on mine. “I didn’t have anything to do with that.”
“No? Then why did I see you there?”
His teeth clenched, and a tendon fluttered across his finely sculpted jaw. “I heard there was a fire, so I went to investigate.” He shrugged nonchalantly, diverting his gaze.
“Don’t lie. We all know the queen wants you so why would you stroll right by the castle into a veritable sicari hotbed and risk being caught?”
Those eyes focused on me once again, and an interminable moment of silence stretched between us. The turmoil beneath the dark depths expelled the air from my lungs. “Don’t ask questions you don’t want answers to.”
My brows slammed together. “Why do you always have to speak in questions and riddles?”
“Do I? Do I really?” He smirked and flashed me pearly white fangs.
A growl of annoyance reverberated in my core, and I glanced down at my chest. The silver cross trembled, the echo vibrating my skin. Was that my wolf again?
“I didn’t know you were a wolf,” he said, eyeing my necklace or maybe my boobs.
“Hardly,” I muttered as I ran my thumb over the worn groove on the staff. My eyes lifted to his unbidden, and something unfamiliar gnawed at my core. That growl. “You were a wolf.” The words flew out of my mouth as if they’d been spoken directly from my subconscious.
He shook his head, the permanent smirk etched into his face vanishing. “No.”
“You sure?” I sniffed the air, and memories of the first time I’d run across him on the Isle of Mordis sprang to the forefront of my mind. I’d always thought he’d smelled different, and now I was certain I knew why.
“You’re wrong,” he snarled.
The smack of approaching footsteps sent my head spinning over my shoulder. Spark and Seline raced toward us.
“Well, it’s been fun as always, Red, but that’s my cue to leave,” Ransom muttered. “Do yourself a favor and stay away from Ronin and his crew.”
I barely heard him as my gaze focused on Spark. He dropped down on one knee and raised his arm, reaching for the crossbow. “Wai—” The word froze in my throat. I spun back at Ransom as fear lanced through my chest.
He was gone.
I released a breath as Spark loosed the arrow, but Ransom was already two blocks away and gaining speed. As my friends trudged toward me, I massaged a spot in the middle of my chest, and the ache finally passed. What the hell was that?
I’d almost stopped Spark from firing… what was wrong with me?
“Hey.” Seline reached me first, wisps of raven hair falling from her high ponytail, smudges of blood on her face. “Was that one of Ronin’s guys?”
“I’m not sure,” I muttered.
Spark trudged up, and his eyes narrowed as they focused on the tiny blur that remained of Ransom. “Was that the same vamp from Camp Kill?”
I nodded.
“You let him go again?” The accusation in his tone hit a sore spot.
“I didn’t let him go, Spark,” I snarled. “All my life I’ve trained to kill vampires not capture them. It’s not as easy as it sounds.”
“Yeah, I bet. Especially not when they’re flirting with you.” He turned on his heel and headed back toward the vamp nest.
“What was that about?” Seline whispered.
“I have no idea.” Liar.
Chapter
Fifteen
Ransom
* * *
Serves you right for following that little sicari. I tugged off my torn shirt and tossed it on the bedroom floor next to my leather jacket. It was my favorite one, and now it was scrap. I’d been stupid to go check out the fire, but damn, I couldn’t stop myself. Red was right. It had been a risky move on my part, one I’d never repeat. Carmen Rosa may not have wanted me dead, but she’d have no problem locking me in the basement and bleeding me dry.
I’d spent enough time in that dungeon when I first turned. In the beginning, I believed it would work, that her methods would cure my cravings, but the starvation and bloodletting only heightened my thirst. Once I escaped, it had been a bloodbath.
It had taken me weeks to feel human again. Then the guilt had been so bad that I turned it off—all of it. No emotions, no pain, no anger. Nothing.
And then I ended up on that damned island, and I saw her.
I dragged my fingers through my tousled hair and tugged on the dark ends. Everything came rushing back, despite my best efforts. Damned faulty switch. So easy to turn off, but not quite as easy to control on the way back to humanity.
Red.
I didn’t even know her real name. I snorted on a laugh.
After a year and a half of feeling nothing from my wolf, I felt something on that island. That furry presence that filled my soul returned—it was only a glimmer, but it was something. And every time I was around her, he resurfaced.
It wasn’t possible. Vampires didn’t have inner wolves, and yet…
Tonight, a tiny bit of the puzzle locked into place. How had I been so blind to miss it before? Red was a wolf. Her teammate Seline was as well, but I’d picked up on that right away. So why couldn’t I sense Red’s lupine half?
My thoughts whirled back to her comment. “Hardly.” What did that mean?
Shaking my head of the pointless thoughts, I stumbled to the refrigerator and grabbed a bag of O-Neg. My lips curled in disgust at the partially frozen juice box. Now that the emotions were back on, I was trying.
But gods did it suck.
Warm blood, straight from a heated human body, that was what I craved. But the price was too high. The soul-wrenching guilt that came after was too much to bear when I was functioning on full emotional capacity.
I unscrewed the top and eyed the deep crimson liquid. “Here’s to you, Sierra.” I lifted the icy bag in the air and toasted to my old friend, the only woman I’d loved in my past life. Her mate, my former supreme alpha had come to visit when I was first turned. It hadn’t exactly gone well, so I wasn’t surprised he hadn’t let Sierra come.