She blew out a breath. “Promise me you’ll call me if you need backup.”
“I promise.”
There was a knock on the door and then it swung open with Wren dangling from the handle.
“Lauris is here,” he said. “It’s time to go.”
“Is that the cutie?” Fee asked.
“Yep, I promise you’ll get to meet him soon, but I got to go now.”
“Be safe out there. I’ll get back to you on the original vamp issue.”
“Thanks, babe.”
I flung open my wardrobe and stared at my selection of boots. Now, what said Elite revenant ass kicker?
“Nice boots,” Lauris said.
I looked down at my knee-high combat boots with a two-and-a-half-inch, stainless-steel cone heel. Made from butter-soft black leather with a Kevlar lining, they said comfort could also be kickass. The Kevlar lining meant extra protection from bullets and blades while the rear corset-style lacing added that ultra-sexy vibe.
“You like? Yeah, I felt they said Elite, plus check out my stylish knife holster. Okay, all my boots have a blade holster, but this one’s hidden. And the stainless-steel heels make these definite ball busters.” I winked.
“Ball busters?” Lauris grinned. “I like that. I guess you could call mine ball busters too. And I have hidden blades.”
I looked down at his kick-the-shit-outta-you boots covered by jeans.
“But you have to pull up your jeans to get to your blades.”
He knocked his heel on the ground and a blade shot out the front of his boot with a snick.
“Whoa. I need a pair.”
He pressed his boot to the ground and the blade retracted. “I’ll get you some.” He grinned at me, showcasing fangs.
He was dressed all casual-like, open-neck long-sleeve shirt and jeans, as if he were off on a night out, which fit with the whole club and bar scene where we’d be hunting revenants. But there was no muting his silver locks and eerie silver eyes. He was extraordinary to look at and would stick out like a pimple on the center of your forehead.
“Are you going to glamour?”
“Already have,” he said. “Humans won’t get the benefit of all this lusciousness.” He bumped my shoulder with his arm. “You still get to ogle, though.”
I snorted. “Thanks.”
We walked in silence for a minute, but it wasn’t an easy, companiable silence, it was one of those pregnant silences where one person needed to say shit.
“What’s on your mind, Lauris.”
“Bador said you asked for me personally?”
“Yeah, is that okay?” Fuck, what if he didn’t want this gig.
His mouth twisted slightly. “Look, I’m sure Bramble filled you in on my situation here. I’m happy to be your guard, but only if you genuinely want me, not because you feel sorry for me.”
Ah, okay. “You kicked ass, Lauris. You saved my life. I want you as my guard.”
“I did, didn’t I?” He grinned at me, teeth flashing white in the moonlight, but then his grin faded. “Have you heard from her?”
I didn’t need to ask him to clarify. It was obvious he meant Bramble. “No. I’ve sent her several texts. No reply.”
He ran a hand over his silver hair. “Yeah, I went into Leyton looking for her last night. The usual haunts, but no sign of her.”
“Elijah said she’d come back when ready.” An empty feeling filled my chest because I hadn’t heard from Elijah either. Like Elijah, Bramble had quickly become a friend to me, but she’d been betrayed by the person she’d trusted and loved the most. She was hurting. She needed time. “She’ll be back. She has to come back.”
He nodded, his mouth turned down.
“You miss her, don’t you?”
“Pfft, like a hole in the head.”
“Do you usually go searching for a hole in the head?”
He sighed. “Point. Bramble’s a pain in the neck, but she’s always there for me.”
The atrium came into view, dark and forbidding, and with the moon hiding behind cloud cover the glass looked black and dead. The door was slightly ajar and the sound of fist hitting leather drifted out to greet me.
Yeah, I knew that sound. I’d heard it many a time while training with Dean or Fee.
“I’ll wait here,” Lauris said.
“You can come in.”
He shook his head. “Atrium is off limits to anyone but witches.”
Weird. “Okay. I’ll be right back.”
I headed into the gloom. No lights on, just slivers of stubborn moonlight that managed to pierce cloud cover. Sloane bounced from foot to foot amidst the shafts of light, smacking the punching bag with her fists over and over. She’d stripped off her long-sleeve polo shirt that was part of the Elite uniform and was in a white vest that showcased her rounded shoulders and ripped arms. She was powerfully built, and I got the impression she worked out hard, but this…this was no workout. The half-empty bottle of whiskey propped on the fountain ledge gave it away.
Sloane wasn’t working out, she was working shit out of her system, fighting demons only she could see.
This was about Brie.
It had to be.
It was almost nine. I was early. She’d probably wanted this time to herself, but fuck it, I was here.
She slapped her palm against the punching bag to halt its swing. “I said nine p.m.”
“If I’d known you’d be getting drunk and punching shit I’d have come earlier.”
The corner of her mouth turned up. “You’re not funny, cupcake.”
“Wasn’t trying to be.”
I clipped over to the fountain and swiped the bottle.
“Help yourself,” she said dryly.
I took a swig, reveling in the taste of raspberry lip gloss and the burn of alcohol.
Sloane unwrapped her hands and flexed her fingers. “You ready for patrol?”
“Are you?”
Her jaw flexed and she fixed her intense blue eyes on me. “I’m fine.”
“Course you are. ’Cause I’m sure you regularly drink whiskey and beat up on a punching bag before a patrol, right?”
Her eyes narrowed and she sucked on her bottom lip as she approached me. “I know what you’re trying to do, cupcake, and I appreciate it, but I’m not into talking about my feelings.”
I shrugged and handed her the bottle. “Me neither. So how about we go kick some revenant ass and get a proper drink afterwards. This whiskey sucks ass.”
She snorted. “It’s a cheap brand.”
“Yeah. I can tell.”
She was so close now, and the scent of raspberries was strong on the air. Her shampoo or body wash, maybe? Definitely her lip gloss. My gaze dropped to her mouth. She had a nice mouth. A sexy mouth.
She gripped my chin and forced my head up so our eyes locked. “Look at me like that again and I might take you up on your body language.”
What? “No, I—"
“Hey!” Jessie stood in the doorway. “We headed out or what?”
Sloane tugged on her polo shirt with a smirk. “Let’s do this.”
The drive into Leyton was a silent one. Sloane broke it as we parked opposite Orion’s.
“Cora, you stick with me,” she said. “Same format as last time. Stay on comms, stay safe. We might have our work cut out for us tonight. The Order has no clue we’re back up in numbers and the revenants will be out in force.”
“Can you take them all out if they are?” Lauris asked.
Poppy opened her backpack and tipped it slightly to showcase the crystal inside. “We got amplification if needed.”
Sloane took a shuddering breath. “We play it safe. If things get hairy, we get out.”
“And leave the revenants to party?” Jessie’s lip curled. “No fucking way.”
Sloane rounded on her, eyes blazing. “I will not lose another witch.”
“And I won’t let Brie’s death be in vain,” Jessie retorted.
They bristled
, eyes locked.
Poppy sighed. “Brie wouldn’t want humans to be hurt, but she wouldn’t want us to get hurt either. We play it smart and we assess the situation.”
Sloane’s eyes flinched. “You follow the chain of fucking command, that’s what you do.”
Jessie’s jaw ticked. “Let’s just get this done. I need a fucking drink.”
Oh boy.
We exited the vehicle, headed into the club, and split up like the last time, except this time Lauris shadowed Sloane and me as we made a circuit of the upper levels of the club. I knew what to look for now, but the place was devoid of revenant activity. In fact, the place was devoid of any human activity.
What the hell. “Sloane, this place is dead.”
She frowned and pulled her mobile from her pocket. “Orion. Yeah. Your business failing or something?... Shit. Why the fuck didn’t you tell me…No. Never mind.” She hung up. “A new club’s having an opening night. Drink free till midnight.”
“Fuck,” Lauris said.
“Yeah.” Sloane hit her comm. “Head back to the car. We’re at the wrong fucking venue.”
Fifteen minutes later we were on the other side of Leyton, at the edge of town where a warehouse had been converted into a club. The area around it had once been a parking lot but was now lit by twinkling lights and dotted with gazebo seating for patrons wishing to take their drinks outside. Outdoor heaters were positioned here and there to combat the chill. Music spilled out of speakers positioned strategically across the parking lot, bringing the party outside, and it worked, because the place was jam-packed. People drank and danced, uncaring about the chill, while others queued to get into the main club.
Sloane stared at the monolith. “How did we not know about this?”
Jessie was on her phone scanning local news. “There’s no mention in the town news.”
“It makes no fucking sense,” Poppy said.
I got out of the car and looked up at the neon sign, my breath catching in my throat. “Guys. I think I may know why we didn’t know this place was coming.”
Car doors slammed as the others joined me to stare up at the sign.
THE ORDER.
Motherfucker.
Chapter Ten
Sloane’s hands shook as she reached for the wheel and then her knuckles turned white.
“This cannot be happening,” she bit out.
“They must have planned this. It had to be in the works for a while,” Jessie said.
“What do we do?” Poppy asked.
I stared out the window at the unsuspecting humans, the prey for the revenants who’d use this place as a feeding ground.
“We need to get in there and kill revenants,” Jessie said.
“No!” Sloane snapped. “That’s a fucked-up idea. We could be walking into a trap.”
“They think we’re an Elite down,” Jessie pointed out. “They won’t expect us to attack.”
“Then what?” Sloane said. “We attack, and then what? You think they’ll just let us walk out? That’s the fucking lions’ den, Jess.”
“I never pegged you as a coward, Sloane.”
“I never pegged you for a fool.”
“Enough!” Poppy glared at them both. “I miss Brie too. I want revenge for what those fuckers did as much as you guys, but we can’t do any good if we’re dead. Right now, we’re at a disadvantage.”
Jessie exhaled through her nose and nodded. “Go on.”
“I suggest we scout the perimeter and get a lay of the land, then we head back to Grimswood, report this, and come up with a plan of action.”
She was right. “There must be plans of this place being converted. The council will have records. We can do some digging and find out what the Order is up to.”
“While revenants feast?” Jessie looked at me in disgust.
“I never said that. We need to come up with a new way of hunting. A stealthier way. And we’ll need hardcore glamour.”
“She’s right,” Lauris added. “It’s the smartest call.”
Sloane started the engine, and a red blur caught my eye amidst the throng of humans.
Oh fuck. “Stop.”
“What?” Jessie snapped.
I pointed out the window. “Look, do you see it? Trailing that couple.”
Everyone surged toward the windows to peer out. The crowd parted and there it was, the revenant, a crimson blob in the air hovering behind a man and woman as they broke from the throng and headed into the shadows at the edge of the parking lot.
“Looks like we’re gonna get to kill a revenant after all,” Jessie said.
We followed the couple into the shadows where a chain-link fence cut off the parking lot from the brush beyond. The couple was nowhere to be seen.
“Where’d they go?” Jessie scanned the gloom.
I moved away from The Elites and walked a little way toward the club. Movement caught my eye.
“You see something?” Lauris asked.
A reedy wail hit the air and I broke into a run, boots clipping against cement. The fence ended and an alley lined with bins shot to the right. Figures tussled up ahead.
Lauris grabbed my arm. “Slow down.” He slipped ahead of me. “Let me do my job.”
The Elites rushed up behind me and then we were hot on Lauris’s heels as he rounded the bins. I took in the scene.
The woman dead on the ground, the revenant in full skinless humanoid form, and the human male with dark cropped hair and an oval face, standing with his back pressed to the wall, wide-eyed.
“It’s okay,” Lauris said. “We won’t let it hurt you.”
The revenant turned to face us, opened its mouth, and screamed, blasting us with its fetid breath.
Gag.
“Patrick, stand down!” the human snapped.
The revenant drew back, and the human stepped forward, standing taller, broader. His eyes bled to black as he tilted his head.
Gooseflesh speckled my skin. “What the fuck are you?”
“Human,” Jessie said, hands up, palms out as if testing the air. “Human and…something and revenant. Oh fuck.”
The human thing smiled too wide. “Do you like my pretty new suit? First time taking it for a test drive.” He looked down at the dead woman. “She seemed to buy it.”
He jerked his thumb in the revenant’s direction. “Patrick needed a snack.” He smirked. “Although it’s not like we’ll have a problem staying fed now.” He frowned at Patrick. “You didn’t need to kill the human. Sips, remember; lots of sips. They’ll keep coming back and you’ll stay fed, but if you kill them…” He wagged a finger in a tut-tut motion. “Now we need to dispose of the body. Or…” He fixed his gaze on us. “We could leave the mess to the filthy witches.”
“Fuck this,” Sloane said.
The negation chant filled the air and my mind. It spilled from my lips like honey and trickled through the air. The revenant behind the human thing melted into the wall and the human thing’s eyes went wide, mouth falling open in horror.
It was working. He had a revenant inside him, no idea how or why, but the negation spell was working. Maybe we could help him.
The human thing jerked once, twice, and then sighed and stood straight, staring at us with an arched brow.
“Sorry, ladies. That shit won’t work on me.” He grinned. “But now I get to play.”
He flicked his wrist in our direction and the negation spell died on my lips.
What the fuck were we doing? Sloane should know better. She was supposed to be a leader; instead we’d wasted time arguing when we could have saved this woman.
The human thing was no longer important. Only having my say with Sloane mattered. I turned on her to find Jessie yelling at her.
“Fuck you too!” Sloane said. “You could have saved her; you were right next to her.”
“You’re blaming me?” Jessie screeched.
“You guys are both to blame!” Poppy added.
I took a step toward the tr
io, anger a pit of simmering lava in my belly. They had no right….no right to…to what? What was I pissed about?
The lava was still there but it was cooling.
“Cora?” Lauris touched my shoulder and I spun to face him, curses wanting to launch themselves off my tongue. “Whoa.”
I pressed my lips together. This was wrong. Where was the human thing? What were we doing?
“He did something to you,” Lauris said. “This anger isn’t normal.”
No, it wasn’t. I needed to shake it off if I was going to help the others. I inhaled through my nose and exhaled through my mouth, over and over, until calm settled over me.
Sloane, Jessie, and Poppy were in a full-blown screaming match now. Jessie punched Poppy in the face and the witch went down.
“Bitch!” Sloane made a grab for Jessie.
Lauris grabbed the back of Jessie’s shirt and yanked her back, and I stepped in front of Sloane and pressed my hands to her shoulders.
“Stop. Sloane, stop.”
But her gaze was dazed, jaw tense, hands fisted. She wanted to fight. She needed to fight. I could feel it.
Fuck. “Sloane.”
She shoved at me, trying to get to Jessie. I needed her to focus on something else, anything else. I cupped her face and pressed my lips to hers. Hard.
She struggled for a moment, curses trapped between our lips. No. No, you will calm the fuck down. I kept hold of her, pressing my body to hers and keeping our lips locked.
Come on, Sloane, come back to me. Jessie was still mouthing off behind us, but my focus was entirely on Sloane.
Come on, I willed her. Fight it.
She stilled, her body softening against mine, then her hands were in my hair and her mouth was moving against mine.
She was kissing me, and shit, I was kissing her back—raspberry lip gloss, cheap whiskey, and tongue, loads of fucking tongue.
Jessie’s angry words and Poppy’s exclamations faded into the background. All that existed were Sloane’s fingers massaging my scalp and her luscious mouth devouring mine.
She was the first to break the kiss, mouth hovering inches from mine, electric-blue eyes dark with desire.
Witch Undecided: The Thirteenth Sign Book 2 Page 7