by Nikki McCoy
“What’s your name?” Daneya asked.
The woman replied shakily, “I’m called 4-7.”
“Daneya!” he said sharply.
Her eyes were imploring when they turned on him. “We can’t just leave her here.”
There was no arguing with the edge of determination in her voice. He knew her well enough to recognize when she wouldn’t take no for an answer. Problem was, they might not be able to get themselves out of there safely, let alone a scared innocent. Not without killing a few of the guards on their way. Daneya could no more afford blood on her hands than he could. It would make her a target not only to Gabriel, but to the people he was working with as well.
Saden cursed inwardly. If death was on the menu, it would be by his doing. “Don’t move until I get back.”
The first two guards were on him just as he slipped out. They went down almost too easily. All brawn and no skill. The third, however, was built like a tank with the training to back him up. Saden traded blows evenly with the man, taking as good as he got. He was about to put an end to it when he saw Daneya in the corridor flanked by a small group of women. She was headed farther away from him, using the poignot’s key card to release more of the prisoners.
The momentary distraction cost him. Pain ripped through his right shoulder as his arm was wrenched behind his back hard enough to tear muscle. The tank cut off his air in a choke hold then slammed him face first into the wall, immobilizing him. What he saw next sent a wave of fear crashing through him.
All of the women had fled into one of the cells, leaving Daneya to face the two guards that had appeared on the other side of her. For some reason, she wasn’t moving. Held in an invisible grip while one of the men raised a gun and pointed it at her head. Saden drew upon all the power in his being, uncaring of the consequences. Before he could cast it out to incinerate the guards, a massive, tawny cat bounded from the room Saden and Daneya had fallen into and tackled the man with the gun.
A haze began to circle Saden’s vision. He jerked his head back and heard the crunch of the tank’s nose. When the hold on him loosened, Saden twisted around and finished the guy off, making sure he wasn’t getting up any time soon. At the far end of the corridor, Daneya had snapped out of her trance and was urging the women from the cell where they had gathered.
A man with shoulder-length, dark blond hair left the guard he’d knocked unconscious and turned at Saden’s approach. He was tall and firmly built wearing casual clothes with only a hunting knife at his belt. The golden panther that stood beside him watched avidly. Saden fisted one of his own knives, ready to attack if necessary.
The stranger held up his hands in a calming gesture. “I’m not your enemy. My name is Roshon, chief of the Thorien clan. Take the stairwell with the women up to the roof. My men are waiting to help them outside.”
Saden was about to ask what a Rakshasas chief was doing there when the panther leaped past him and pounced on a guard he hadn’t seen. Roshon ran after the cat, preparing to attack another guard who’d come from the room with the hole in the ceiling. Saden left them to their fight, his only concern now being Daneya’s safety.
He went to the last door in the corridor and pushed through the crowd of women making their way up the stairwell. There were six in all, varying in their stages of pregnancy from barely showing to full bellies. What the hell had Daneya been thinking? He knew the answer to that even as he caught up to her on the last stair. Desperate triumph was shining on her face when she glanced at him. This was personal, and she wanted Gabriel to know it.
But it was also reckless. She was risking more than just their lives in her need for revenge.
He tamped down his anger and took her by the elbow out onto the roof. Another Rakshasa warrior was waiting for them. He guided them to the edge where Saden saw two more standing on the ground below.
“They’ll catch the women when they jump,” the man said.
It wasn’t exactly safe for the pregnancies—however, there was no other option. Besides, many would probably lose the babies with no further recourse to Djinn energy, just as Cherri had. It was a sad inevitability, but necessary for the lives of the women.
Saden reluctantly let go of Daneya so she could coax the women’s trust and help them over the side of the building. A plan formed quickly as he surveyed the parking lot. “The women will take that van over there,” he told the warrior. “I need you to follow in my car. It’s parked a quarter-mile southeast with the keys inside. Head to California on I-10. Stop only when you get to Riverside. I’ll take care of any stragglers on your tail.”
When Daneya was the last woman on the roof, he relayed what he wanted her to do then took dragon form and flew to the van. Its engine rumbled to life when he hit it with a burst of his power. After everyone was inside, he closed the driver’s door for Daneya then leaned in close. “No pit stops. Straight to Riverside.”
Her eyes were imploring when they searched his. “I had to. I couldn’t leave all of them behind.”
He gave a cursory nod and backed away, too wound up to speak. If anything had happened to her… His mind shut down that train of thought, not wanted to go there. Daneya was still alive and he was going to keep it that way.
From the air, he saw the chief burst through the front entrance of the building and swooped down to meet him. “Take your men and follow that van.” He pointed to where Daneya was swerving around to the main road.
“What about you?” Roshon asked.
“I’ll be watching from above.” Once in the air again, he kept an eye on Roshon and his men and targeted the Djinn with bolts of fire aimed at their feet. It was easy to distinguish between the two by their clothing. The Djinn had no advantages of power or animals at their sides, leaving them to rely on weapons and protective gear.
There were five Rakshasas that he could make out—four men and one woman. They formed a line of two vehicles behind the van with Saden’s car taking up the rear. When the Djinn gave chase in two more vehicles, Saden spread a line of fire in front of them on the pavement. The first car skidded in a tailspin and crashed into a ditch while the second shot through the flames. This one he hit with a blast of Drakonem power that killed the engine.
Fortunately, they were too far on the outskirts of the city for human enforcement to be a complication. He remained above them, soaring through the skies and only visible to the untrained eye as a shadowed blur.
Chapter Thirteen
Five hours later, the fear riding him at Daneya’s disregard for her own life had turned to smoldering rage. He had to touch her. Assure himself that she was unharmed. Never in his life had he felt such panic as when that leisonguarde had held her in his power with a gun pointed at her head. All for the lives of women she didn’t even know.
Though he understood her reasons, it didn’t take away from the fact that she had deviated from the plan and put everything at risk. If they had failed, there would’ve been no second chances.
When Daneya pulled over onto an isolated dirt road just outside of Riverside, he landed near them and took back his corporeal form. Everyone except for the group of women got out of their cars. Daneya stood by the van and watched him as he strode purposefully toward her. Alarm sparked in her eyes when she saw his expression and she took a step back.
He knew what he looked like and didn’t try to hide it. Didn’t give a damn what the others thought of their relationship at that moment.
“Saden…” she started and put a hand up.
He ignored it, grabbed her by the arms and yanked her against him. His mouth came down hard on hers as he crushed her to him. She was stiff with shock in his steel grasp but he didn’t care. All that mattered was the heat of her body against his and the feel of her lips surrendering to him.
He wrapped as much of himself as he could around her and deepened the kiss. When her muscles relaxed and she opened to him, he delved into her mouth with a passion he couldn’t control. For that space in time, she was his and nothin
g could change that. Her courage, past and future. He was her protector, and he never wanted to feel that helpless again.
Gradually, the tension eased and he realized she was holding onto him as much as he was her. She pressed closer and entangled her hands in his hair, letting out a soft moan. When they finally pulled apart, he remembered the cause of his anger and shook her gently. “Don’t ever put yourself in danger like that again.”
A small smile was her only response.
The chief cleared his throat loudly. “I assume you have an idea of what you’re going to do with the females you rescued.”
Saden put a hand on Daneya’s lower back as he turned around, not quite able to let her go yet. “I do. First, I want to know your part in all of this. Why did you go to the facility and how did you know we would be there?”
Roshon hesitated slightly. “Let’s just say we have a mutual acquaintance who informed me of Gabriel Aikins’ work with the Djinn. He also told me how to find you and what you’re trying to do to stop Gabriel. In this, we are in agreement. The Vampyre must be exposed and his experiments on humans brought to an end for the sake of all demonkind.”
“Who is this mutual acquaintance?”
“I think, in this situation, it’s best not to look a gift horse in the mouth. Sometimes, allies can be found even among enemies.”
Saden stared at the shapeshifter, trying to size him up. There was something familiar about him, in his fair features and lean build. Something Saden couldn’t quite place. It didn’t make sense for a Rakshasa, let alone a chief in charge an entire clan’s warriors, to find interest in the affairs of Vampyres. While the two races had never gone to war with each other, neither had they joined in collaboration for any effort.
There had to be more to Roshon’s explanation than he was letting on.
Daneya put his thoughts into words when she asked, “What could this mean for you? As far as I know, Rakshasas don’t involve themselves with Vampyres.”
“You’re right,” Roshon replied. “Just as Drakons don’t usually work with vigilantes of the DCM.” When Daneya and Saden both tensed, he raised his hands in placation. “Don’t mistake my knowledge for a threat. I mean you no harm. If you’ll forgive me, I’ve been spying on you ever since I was told about you a few days ago. Honestly, I thought the only way a vigilante would stand with a Drakon is if she was being forced to. Obviously, I was wrong. No offense,” he said to Saden.
Saden knew the man had every right to his suspicions. He was a condemned criminal. The waste of demonkind and beneath the forgiveness and respect of others. Still, it rankled that anyone would think he was a danger to Daneya. “Offense taken.”
“You have my apologies. You’re not…what I expected in a Drakon. Be assured, I know nothing else about you, not even her name. What I do know is that the Djinn are rising in ways I can’t explain and we would do well to work together. Over the past half-century, the Djinn have somehow found a way to turn my men into Vanaras upon their deaths and are using them to attack us.”
“I thought Vanaras were self-made,” Daneya interrupted. “A consequence of forsaking the afterlife.”
Roshon nodded. “That is the way it should be. However, warriors I personally know would never do that are coming back from the dead. They’re also hunting in packs, a phenomenon that’s unprecedented. By the numbers I’ve come across, it appears as if the Djinn are building an army. I don’t need to tell you what a legion of Vanaras and Djinn-possessed Vampyres could mean for all of us.”
“You’re also worried the Djinn might begin impregnating your own kind,” Saden supplied. It was what would concern him if he were in the chief’s shoes.
“I am. I know you have no more reason to trust me than I do you, but I’m asking you to let us”—he gestured to include his men—“continue helping in this matter. Whatever it takes, we want to see Gabriel’s operation stopped.”
Saden studied Roshon and his men. He could find no fault in their ambition, though as Roshon had said, it didn’t exactly inspire trust. On the other hand, he could use a band of Rakshasas on his side. With the information he’d discovered at the facility, there was more at stake than just the welfare of the human females.
He looked to Daneya who gave an almost imperceptible nod. “All right, then. You can follow us back to my place. Your men will drive the women to the DCM compound near this area and drop them off as close as they can get without risking themselves. Daneya will call the director of the compound to notify him.”
Daneya shook her head immediately. “I should go with them to make sure nothing happens.”
Gently, he said, “If Vincent knew you were coming, he wouldn’t let you leave.” And he wasn’t ready to say his goodbyes just yet. Not with the way things were between them. He pulled out his cell phone and handed it to her.
She took it without further argument. When she was done with the call, she told Roshon where his men could take the women and relayed Vincent’s promise that no one would be harmed. From what Saden knew of the man, the promise shouldn’t be an empty one. He went with Daneya in his car while Roshon assigned three of his warriors to escort the women then took one of the cars for himself and the fourth man.
Saden couldn’t stop thinking about the acquaintance who’d tipped off Roshon and whether it was the same person who had tranqed the leisonguardes at Gabriel’s mansion. Whoever it was, the person couldn’t be considered a friend. Not with the vague comment Roshon had made about allies among enemies. For now, he would keep a close eye on the chief and hope that Blade might recognize him from his life before he became a Drakon.
* * * *
“So what do you think?”
Roshon glanced at Kent then put his SUV in drive behind Saden’s car. “I’m not sure yet. This Drakon is experienced at his job, that’s for sure. And I believe he means to do everything he can to bring down Gabriel. What I can’t figure out is his connection to the human woman. It almost looks as if he—”
“Cares for her?” Kent finished.
“A man in his position has no right to involve himself with an innocent. Even if she is a vigilante.”
“Because of what he is. Condemned.”
The words were matter-of-fact but Roshon heard the undercurrent of cynicism in them. He winced as he realized what he’d said could’ve been applied to his friend as well. In a lot of respects, the two men were the same. Both had pasts they couldn’t escape and a future with no hope. While Kent’s situation was slightly different, and the reasons for his damnation a load of bullshit, it didn’t change who he was.
A man apart from everyone else with no choice except to remain that way for the rest of his existence.
“I didn’t mean—”
Kent waved him off. “Save it. I agree with you. He could’ve gotten the woman killed back there. He’s tempting fate by involving the DCM in any way. Your brother was right to come to you about this. Saden’s in over his head. Bringing Gabriel in won’t stop what’s going on. The Vampyre may have started his operation, but the Djinn are running it now, maybe more than he is. I recognized one of them as a servant to Forrest.”
Roshon snapped his head around. “Forrest, the general of the Djinn in this area?” When Kent nodded, he let out a heavy breath. With Forrest in on Gabriel’s scheme, they could be in potentially more danger than any of them realized. Roshon had never met the bastard face to face. Most of what he knew of him was from the handful of Djinn they’d captured over the years and Kent, who’d had the misfortune of dealing with the leader before.
Forrest was a conniving ringleader among his kind. The one who convinced others by threat or promise to do his bidding while he stood in the shadows and collected the spoils of the wars he started. He was insane with power by several accounts and so far unstoppable. Roshon had long suspected him to be behind the recent rise of Vanaras, though he had no proof.
“Do you think Saden is aware of this?”
Kent rubbed his jaw in thought, his hazel e
yes narrowing as he shook his head. “It’s doubtful. We’ll have to inform him before he takes whatever evidence he found to his Drakonem. Sadly, Gabriel is the lesser of the two evils. There’s no telling what Forrest might do if that Vampyre is taken out of the equation.”
Roshon agreed. It was likely Forrest would simply find another Vampyre to take over the operation. Possibly in a different part of the world where no one would find him again until it was too late.
Sometime later, they reached Saden’s sprawling manor full of slanted roofs and wraparound verandas. Nothing like what Roshon would’ve taken for the temporary living place of a Drakon. It was designed more for a family, not a criminal. From the time he’d spent spying on Saden in his geis form, he was already familiar with the layout of the land. Also with the second Drakon who stayed there. What he hadn’t expected was the shock of what he found inside.
When Saden and Daneya led them into the manor, a little girl shot out from a side hallway, shouting happily for her mom. Daneya swept her up and spun her around with a smile that could only come from a parent. The girl was almost her exact replica with burgundy locks and creamy skin, but there was a noticeable difference. Roshon could feel the faint ripple of power flowing through the girl.
Not human, or least not fully. A Vampyre. He and Kent both stilled in the foyer as that information sank in.
When the little girl’s gaze fell upon them, her eyes rounded in wonder and seemed to fix on Kent. Roshon couldn’t blame her. The man was a compelling sight. Large with angular features and an unmistakable edge of darkness. The black wolf at his side only added to the effect. Another woman came from the same hallway. This one was purely human with a homely face and a burst of strawberry blonde curls. Daneya ushered her and the girl up a flight of stairs to the second floor.
Saden took them to what appeared to be a living room, although half the furniture was covered in white sheets. He threw his trench over the back of a recliner then sat down while Kent and Roshon took the couch across from him.