Forsaken Hunger

by Nikki McCoy

  It dawned on Saden then what she had done. Used her power on Gabriel to affect his physiological state, probably creating a small seizure similar to a heart attack or stroke. An ability that should’ve been far too advanced for her limited skills. Not even Gabriel could’ve accomplished that at such a young age, despite the fact that their powers were alike.

  Every protective instinct Saden possessed made him want to eviscerate Gabriel, yell at Mckenzie to run and hide, do something! Yet, there was nothing he could do without endangering her life as well. While Gabriel still held him at gunpoint, nearly every other Vampyre and Djinn in the room was focused on Mckenzie with deadly intent. Ready to take her down if she made another move against their leader.

  Saden glanced around the room to find Blade and Phoenix both tensed to strike. He moved his head in a barely perceptible shake, silently warning them to back off. Even if they managed to distract Gabriel and most of the guards, they wouldn’t be fast enough to protect Mckenzie.

  “Try that again, brat, and I’ll make sure you suffer before you die,” Gabriel snarled.

  Cherri hesitantly approached Mckenzie with her hands raised. “Don’t do this, sweetie. Please, for your mom’s sake. She couldn’t bear losing you, and neither could I. Just give me the gun.”

  When Mckenzie didn’t respond, she glanced at Rhys then began again. “Gabriel really isn’t evil. It was all a mistake. He just took things too far. The Djinn were a bad influence on him but he’s ready to make it right. You and your mom don’t have to be afraid. He wants to take care of both of you.” This time, she shot an expressive look to Gabriel as if urging him to go along with her lies.

  Gabriel smiled thinly. “You should listen to her, little girl. All I ever wanted was to keep my race alive. Your race. Without me, you would never have been born. And now you’re willing to throw your life away for what? A criminal and murderer like him?” He took his foot from Saden’s throat and cocked the gun then turned back to Mckenzie. “If you kill me, an innocent man, the Drakonem will come after you and your life will be over. Is that what you want, to follow in the footsteps of this trash? I guarantee you’ll never see your mother again.”

  Mckenzie met Saden’s gaze with wavering confidence. Tears shimmered on her lashes and her bottom lip quivered with the conflict he could see on her delicate face. He knew she was struggling to do what she thought was right. What her mom would’ve done. Pride flowed heavily in their veins.

  However, he also knew Gabriel hadn’t lied about the consequences. She would be held responsible for taking the life of an innocent since Gabriel had yet to be found guilty of his crimes. There would be no trial or review of extenuating circumstances, as there never was when the Drakonem were involved. Killing in defense of a Drakon—a Drakon whose job it had been to bring Gabriel in alive for questioning—would only extend the length of her sentence.

  No.

  He couldn’t allow her to throw away her future for his sake or anyone else’s. She was everything clean and pure in a world he’d given up on long ago. He would rather spend eternity as a Drakon before watching her fall down the path he had taken in ignorance.

  Saden’s voice was raw when he spoke, the skin around his neck bruised and weeping blood from the reopened wound. “Put the gun down, Kennie. I can’t let you do this.”

  She pressed her lips together and shook her head. “You said—”

  “Fuck what I said! Put the gods-damned thing down and go back to the kitchen!” Self-loathing filled every fiber of his being for the hurt that welled in her soft eyes. The moisture in them broke and streamed down her cheeks in large droplets. At that moment, he almost wanted Gabriel to put a bullet in his head.

  Phoenix’s voice cut abruptly through the tension. “Gabriel’s right, Mckenzie. Why should you risk everything for a man you barely know?”

  Anger suffused Saden at the unexpected contempt in the man’s tone. He tried to surge to his feet only to be kicked in the spine by Rhys. The impact jarred his side, sending streaks of white-hot agony through his torn muscles so great, consciousness teetered on the edge of his control. When he could finally unclench his jaw, he glared over at Phoenix and growled, “Shut the hell up.”

  Completely ignoring the interruption, Phoenix waved a hand at Saden. “He’s only a criminal, right? A lowlife piece of scum who kidnapped you and your mom and held you both prisoner just like these men. He doesn’t deserve your sacrifice. Doesn’t even know how to trust or love.”

  Blade roared and launched himself at Phoenix but was held back by the guards nearest him.

  Cherri spoke quickly over the commotion, imploring Mckenzie again with soothing words. “Please, sweetheart. I promise no one is going to hurt you. This really is for the best, you have to believe me.”

  A choked sob slipped past Mckenzie’s lips as she let Cherri take the weapon from her grip.

  Gabriel handed his gun to Rhys to watch over Saden while he strode toward Cherri and relieved her of the weapon. With a cold smile, he traced Mckenzie’s cheek with his fingers and said, “Good girl. Now it’s time you learned where your true allegiance lies.” Swiftly, he walked back to Saden and pointed the gun at his head. “This time, stay where you belong.”

  Saden called forth his power, knowing he was defeated yet unwilling to give up. The blast of frigid air that swallowed the flames he summoned was no surprise. What he hadn’t expected was the curdling shriek that echoed through the room in place of a gunshot.

  “No!” Mckenzie’s cry was like a tortured crack of thunder in his ears.

  Gabriel’s hands instantly flew to his head as his body began to jerk spasmodically. Trails of blood leaked from every orifice on his face and within the span of a few breaths, his eyes glassed over with the vacant stare of death.

  “Sir?” Rhys dropped his gun to catch Gabriel’s limp body as it slumped to the floor. In the next second, rage twisted his features and he sprang at Mckenzie.

  Cherri stepped between them and shouted, “Rhys, stop!”

  “Get out of my way, stupid bitch.” From the sheath at his belt, he pulled the same knife he’d used on Saden, still coated with his blood, and plunged it into her chest.

  Saden lurched to his feet and yelled, “Kennie, run!” Power shot out of him like a living extension of himself as he raced for Mckenzie. It crashed into Rhys in the form of a ball of fire, exploding on impact. At the same time, Saden barreled into Mckenzie and rolled with her to the back wall.

  The room erupted into chaos as the fighting resumed in full force. Moments later, Roshon came in with his men and joined the fray, their geis weaving in and out of the crowd like lethal shadows. A part of him wanted to jump in and do what he could to finish off Gabriel’s men, but his mad lunge had torn the seams of his wounds. He was running on fumes and losing energy with each breath.

  That and the image of Mckenzie being targeted by nearly every leisonguarde and Djinn in the room kept him where he was, on the floor using his body as a protective barrier between her and the combatants.

  She pressed herself tightly to his back and wrapped her arms around his midsection. The pain of her tight hold was nothing compared to the relief he felt knowing she was safe.

  The remainder of the battle didn’t last long. When the two Djinn still standing realized it was over, they vacated their human hosts to avoid capture. Their spirits of smoke swirling around twin spirals of black fire were just thick enough to push through one of the doors leading to their escape. No one bothered to stop them. Although Drakons had the ability to destroy them using their Drakonem power, doing so without permission would be the same as killing an innocent.

  After the last of the guards were subdued, Blade picked his way through the fallen bodies over to Saden. His limp was now severely pronounced and he favored his left side, but his shit-eating grin didn’t waver.

  Roshon strode toward them and assessed Saden critically. “How are you doing?”

  Saden took mental stock of his wounds. Every part of
him ached with intense throbbing and the loss of blood had sapped what little strength he had left. If he were mortal, his condition would be critical without immediate medical attention. Yet, a feeling of inner peace filled him that he couldn’t explain. An alien sense of wholeness that encompassed his entire being. For the first time since becoming a Drakon, the sliver of Serrakus’ soul inside him was no more than a faint pulse in the background.

  He put aside the unnerving sensation and replied in a torn voice, “Peachy.”

  “Yeah, well you look like shit warmed over. Couldn’t wait till we got here, could you?”

  Saden grunted and took Roshon’s extended hand, pulling Mckenzie up with him. She clung to his uninjured side and remained silent. “What the hell took you so long?”

  A commotion at the front of the room made them turn. Commander Weiss pushed his way past Roshon’s men, followed by the two guards who’d been assigned to him “I demand to know what’s going on here!” he bellowed. He focused on Saden with an imperious expression. “The goal was to apprehend Gabriel Aikins, not kill him.”

  “Question answered,” Roshon murmured, shooting Weiss a look of disdain.

  Saden barely reined in his temper, in no mood to argue with the korvaute. “You’ll find proof of his crimes in the files by the back door to this facility and through that room,” he said, pointing to the kitchen area. “There are a dozen human females who can testify to his real operations. Chief Roshon will remain in charge of them until you’re done with your investigation. After that, they’ll be released to the director of the DCM unit in this area. A man named Vincent Condretti.”

  Unfortunately, turning them over to Vincent immediately was not an option. The DCM would never allow them to be interrogated by the same race who had taken them captive, and Saden needed their testimonies to prove his case.

  Roshon didn’t blink at the delegation of a responsibility that had nothing to do with him. Instead, he merely nodded in acquiescence, for which Saden was grateful. Those women needed someone to watch out for their welfare, and Roshon was the only one he trusted who had the means to do so.

  Weiss’ broad face turned red with anger. “How dare you think to give me orders! You have no place in the chain of command that rules—”

  “I don’t give a damn about your politics,” Saden cut in. “Either take the deal or I’ll call Condretti right now and inform him that you’re holding human women against their will. I won’t leave them with you unprotected.”

  It was a bald accusation of the house of Avram’s inability to uphold demon laws in regards to humans and one which Weiss obviously took personal offense to. But Saden couldn’t bring himself to care. Gabriel had fooled over half the Vampyre authorities above him and corrupted the rest.

  The house of Avram had a lot to answer for.

  The commander’s jaw ticked as he calculated Saden’s threat. “You’re staying here until I’ve completed a full investigation. I will not allow you to leave until I know exactly what went on here.”

  “I take full responsibility for the deaths of Gabriel and the one called Rhys.” He tipped his head in the direction of a pile of ash on the floor a few yards away, all that was left of Rhys’ corpse. “That’s all you need to know from me.”

  Before Weiss could launch into his next argument, Blade took him by the arm and steered him toward the kitchen.

  Roshon cast a look of approval at Saden. “You should’ve been a korvaute among your kind. You wear authority well.”

  Saden lifted a corner of his mouth. “There are many things I wear. Authority was never one of them. You don’t mind seeing to the treatment of the females?”

  “Not at all. My leader won’t be pleased to know I’m assisting Vampyres, but I want to see this through. What will happen to you?”

  His response was interrupted by Mckenzie. She left his side and went to Cherri’s prone form then knelt to cradle the woman’s head in her lap. Saden bent on one knee beside her and watched the tears streaming down her cheeks. It killed him inside to see her cry over the death of the woman who had helped raise her, despite Cherri’s betrayal. No one so young should have to experience that kind of loss.

  Mckenzie looked up at him and said in a small voice, “She tried to save me.”

  “She loved you. That’s all that matters. Your mom is waiting for you outside. Blade will drive both of you back to the DCM compound.”

  With a brief nod, Mckenzie smoothed the curls from Cherri’s face and leaned in to kiss her forehead. Saden was amazed again at the girl’s calm maturity under pressure. The courage she had shown in the face of danger, the sacrifice she’d made for him, was utterly humbling. She was every bit the warrior her mother was.

  And he had to know.

  “Kennie, why did you kill Gabriel knowing what could happen?”

  Her soft brown eyes seemed to reach into him, touching a part of him only Daneya had found. “They were wrong about you. You do know how to love. You love me, don’t you? And my mom. I couldn’t let Gabriel kill you.”

  He gathered her in his arms and crushed her to him. He had no right to what he felt for Daneya or Mckenzie, yet there was no denying it. Serrakus would have to be satisfied with extending his sentence indefinitely for the murder of Gabriel. Saden would not let him have Mckenzie. Not as long as he drew breath.

  “Looks like you found your treasure,” Phoenix said from behind him.

  Saden gently pulled away from Mckenzie then stood to face the man. Fury, pure and unmasked, flowed through him as he reared back a fist and smashed it across Phoenix’s head. He moved to strike again but was stopped by a sudden, burning pain in his chest. The heat of it spread like wildfire throughout his body, crippling him with its intensity.

  Serrakus’ call was stronger than he’d ever felt it, and he was too weak to withstand the summons. His vision blurred as he hit the tiles, mind fading to escape the agony. The last thing he remembered was hands grasping at him before darkness flooded in and the world fell away.

  Chapter Twenty

  “So, we are in agreement.” Lucius stood in the center of his office in the Drakonem realm, staring through the opening of the temporal rift he had erected and awaiting a reply. His powers as a Drakonem were not limited by space as were a Drakon’s. This allowed him to create a gateway to any part of the world through which he could communicate with demons in the human realm. It was how all of his kind exchanged information with the authorities of the demonic races regarding their laws and the punishments of violators.

  Currently, he was accessing the weakened field of space found in Lady Ilsa’s private study at her mansion where Serrakus usually conducted his business affairs with the Lady. At the moment, however, Serrakus was busy in his own office punishing the focus of both their attentions and giving Lucius the opportunity to take the advantage.

  Lady Ilsa sat at her desk, fingers steepled in front of her mouth and exotic features pinched in contemplation. Behind her, a large Vampyre in the seniority of his years with grizzled hair and a granite face paced in agitation. He glanced irritably at Lucius then shook his head. “I don’t like this. Placing a Drakon in a position of authority in the house of Avram is too dangerous.”

  “Former Drakon,” Lucius reminded him. “As I said earlier, Saden has been…exonerated, so to speak. His past sins have been wiped clean. He is now as free as you are.” Or would be once Serrakus was forced to admit the truth.

  What had started as bored curiosity had turned into an unforeseen opportunity for Lucius. It could not have worked out better. When that little halfling, Mckenzie, had sacrificed her innocence by killing Gabriel Aikins in defense of Saden, she had given Saden back his treasure. Redeemed his soul and thereby liberated him from the burden of his past sins. The very act was monumental in its rarity and for the grim consequences it entailed.

  Each Drakon’s treasure was precious, for it was the reason the demon had become a Drakon in the first place. The sacrificing of that treasure by another on be
half of the Drakon often placed that other person in the same predicament.

  When Mckenzie had traded her own innocence for Saden, she had become the criminal he was. No one was aware of it yet. Saden had claimed responsibility for Gabriel’s death. A ploy which was only delaying the inevitable. Eventually, the truth would come out and Mckenzie would be taken into custody.

  But Lucius knew the truth now, thanks to Allorha, and he planned on using his knowledge to sway the outcome of the events to reap his own benefits. He’d originally thought it would be Saden’s beloved human, Daneya, who would give Saden back his treasure. However, the human’s daughter worked out just as well.

  The gruff Vampyre, Weiss, curled his lip in repugnance. “I don’t know how he convinced Serrakus to give him back his freedom, but he will never be accepted among our kind again. He is a dishonored murderer undeserving of our tolerance.”

  “He’s also our best chance at rectifying the mess Gabriel has made of my house,” Lady Ilsa interrupted impatiently. “The files we found at Gabriel’s facility are mostly encrypted, yet Saden somehow managed to discover what was on them and unravel korvaute Aikins’ secret operation. We need him to tell us what else we don’t know so we can put this travesty to an end without further embarrassment.

  “As things stand, we have no idea how far Gabriel’s influence has reached, much less which leisonguardes we can trust to capture those who were in collaboration with the Djinn.”

  “This is not a light decision, Your Highness. We should bring it before the council and let them have a say as to whether we should recruit a Drakon or not.”

  “According to the list Saden gave us, nearly half of our council has been compromised!” she replied furiously. “I can only ask for so much assistance from the other royal houses without raising their suspicions. If they find out it was one of our own who initiated contact with the Djinn and has been voluntarily giving the Djinn our offspring, I could be stripped of my jurisdiction.”