I swallowed the ash at my throat. “Oh, don’t bother yourself with that,” I said, my voice easy. “I do love myself a good slayer genocide. I’ve got a free hour or so in my schedule, so I’ll whip out and interrogate, then get rid of the leftovers,” I offered.
There was a pause. “I thought you were unhappy about being involved in this any more than you had to be,” he replied, voice flat but questioning nonetheless.
“Unhappy would be an understatement,” I scoffed. “But I don’t do things by halves, so now that I’m in, I may as well be all-in. And this might actually be fun.”
“I’ll assign you a team,” he said after he digested my words. Something I was learning about the king was he took great care in analyzing every word of a conversation before replying. It was dangerous, especially since I had to go to extreme effort to disguise the unreasonable panic in my belly.
“Ugh. No, thanks. The stiffs will just turn my fun into something like getting my fangs ripped out,” I replied. “I work better alone.”
“Your confidence is admirable but your death would be… inconvenient, so I’ll not permit you to go alone,” he said firmly.
I clenched my fist. “I don’t do well with people permitting me or forbidding me to do things, nor doubting my mad skills,” I said through my fangs. “But since your concern warms the cockles of my heart, I won’t go alone. Though I won’t take your GI Jeeves. I’ve got my own team.”
“You’ve got a team?” he asked, disbelief clear in his tone. “A collection of vampires who don’t want you to see the grave?”
I would have smiled, if not for the bitter taste of death on my tongue. I stood quickly, shrugging on my leather jacket and darting through my office. My employees glanced up at the breeze that rustled papers on their desks, but their human eyes saw nothing. “If I didn’t know you any better, Rick, I would’ve thought you just made something resembling a joke,” I said as I bypassed the elevator to dart down the forty flights of stairs it took me to get to the parking garage. “I’ve got a team,” I lied. Scott was one half breed who likely didn’t know how to fight his way out of a ComicCon, but he was better than nothing. Actually, he was worse than nothing, considering I’d probably have to spend half my time saving him from death, but I couldn’t lie to the king. I knew his practiced ears would hear it, even from my own practiced mouth. So I went for a variation of the truth.
“As you wish,” he relented, surprisingly. “But if you die in this fight, I will be most displeased.”
I got into my car, wasting no time in roaring through the garage. “Well I’d rather die than displease you, sire, so I’ll make sure to stay on this side of the earth, at least until you’re done with me,” I replied sweetly.
“In that case, indefinitely,” he replied, his voice ragged instead of smooth.
I narrowed my eyes at the response, but didn’t have time to question it as I was met with dead air on the other side of the line.
I glanced down at my phone. “Couldn’t he just say ‘good-bye’ once in awhile?” I asked myself as I dialed the one half-breed who would come running when I called.
I only hoped I wasn’t getting him running to his death.
Or mine.
Or Thorne’s.
The latter had me pressing my foot down harder on the accelerator without even considering why the thought of Thorne six feet under had my entire body shuddering.
I smelled the blood in the air before I even pulled down the dirt road to the compound I’d scouted before I’d left Thorne’s. I had thought it’d be good to know the layout for a rainy day.
And it was pouring.
Thorne’s house was small and isolated, wilderness on all sides save for the barn and the dirt road leading in and out of it. A few minutes away was what seemed to be a small suburban settlement in the middle of nowhere. It was nestled in the trees and off any main highways so no one could stumble upon it. At the time I’d been focusing on the burn in my throat so I couldn’t do too much spying, but the little community seemed to be full of slayers.
“This is exciting.” Scott’s voice cut through the bitter taste that had filled the interior of the car as I skidded down the road.
For once, I was grateful for his chatter. I gave him a sideways look. “Exciting?” I repeated.
He nodded, tapping his fingers on his thigh with one hand, the other gripping the copper blade I’d given him. I’d decided against a gun which I’d had in the back, equipped with copper bullets, not putting it past him to shoot himself before we even got to the battle. If the sounds of ripping flesh and screams were anything to go by, the battle was well in play and the slayers were not doing well.
At all.
I gripped the steering wheel, calculating that I had about one minute until I reached them.
Hopefully they could hold on that long. But a minute was a long and lethal stretch of time in a battle, especially for humans.
“Yes, seeing action,” Scott babbled. “And working for the king. I mean… wow. I never thought I’d be in such an important position… well, ever,” he breathed.
I glanced at him again. “It’s not an important position if you die while you’re doing it. Do me a favor and don’t do that,” I requested. “Are you sure you have passable knowledge of how to use that thing?” I asked uncertainly, glancing to the blade.
Thirty seconds.
He nodded, but I didn’t miss the slight twitch in his eyes.
He had no idea.
“Stick them with the pointy end,” I instructed. “In the temple, preferably. The heart isn’t ideal because it’s not as easy to find when it’s not beating, and you’ll likely get your throat ripped out while you’re trying to dislodge it from a very pissed-off vampire’s rib cage.”
He glanced down at the blade. “Temple. Got it.”
Ten seconds.
“Okay, it’s almost go time. You’re here more as an extra body. I don’t expect heroics.” I could see a blur of bodies up ahead. The blood was unmistakable that time.
“And remember, don’t kill the slayers. Vampires only,” I told him firmly.
To his credit, he didn’t even question it. Only another nod.
I slammed on my brakes before I hit a building.
“Okay, go time. Remember, your main incentive is not to die,” I reminded him.
I was out of the car and snapping a rogue vampire’s neck as soon as the last word left my mouth. Blood and death encircled my body as I regarded the cluster of houses, littered with bodies of humans and vampires in various states of death. I scanned the fight, listening for the thumping heartbeat that had become the soundtrack to most of my thoughts.
I was slammed back into a building before I had time to do so.
Because I’d been distracted, I had let the vampire crush my collarbone. I ignored the pain and focused on jumping up just in time to meet another onslaught.
Now that I was focused, I could see it wasn’t another vampire who had broken my collarbone and pissed me off, but a red-eyed freak with snapping teeth and a disconcerting amount of strength. I didn’t remember them packing the same amount of punch at the mansion.
Not having time to contemplate it, I focused on dispatching this one quickly.
The rip of flesh was satisfying. I moved to my next target just as it was bending over a woman scrambling for her knife, blood covering her face. The vampire crumpled to the side and she gazed up at me in dazed shock.
I grinned at her. “You’re welcome.” Then I kicked the knife into her grasp and went about saving the day.
When I had done a lazy recon of the compound, I’d counted at least forty heartbeats in the scattered commune. Now they’d be lucky to have twenty.
I gritted my teeth when I witnessed a small familiar-looking human standing in the middle of the battle, gripping a bloodstained knife.
I took down the red-eyed freak heading to her before snatching her up and running to a building that looked like it wouldn’t have as much
of a chance of getting her killed.
Her eyes widened as I set her down in the middle of the room. “Isla,” she breathed.
I ignored that and detached her hand from mine. “Stay here,” I ordered. “And for Lilith’s sake, don’t die.”
I left her in the house, but not before I picked up a dresser and placed it on the outside of the door.
I glanced through the battle, eyes glazing over the slayers. I noticed a familiar blond head yanking a blade out of the temple of a fallen vampire. I whistled and, surprisingly, he turned. I pulled the gun from my belt and tossed it to him.
He caught it on reflex, glancing down at it, then up to me.
“More effective than that.” I nodded to the knife before throwing him an extra clip.
A low boom vibrated through my rib cage and I whirled around to see Thorne taking on two red-eyed assholes, blood streaming down his temple and more staining his gray tee. The sheer scent of it wafted through the battle, mingled with the bitter tang of death in the air, and enticed me with its sweetness. His muscles bulged as he took down the first who charged at him, then the other in a smooth and unhurried movement that contradicted the simple fact that he was human and, despite these things not being full fangers, they were still strong. Much stronger than he should have been. His movements were sure, purposeful, made without hesitation and exemplifying his experience in fighting assailants of the fanged persuasion.
After he made short work of putting a blade in each of their temples, his eyes found mine. The chaos stilled around us, like we’d slipped through a crevice in time. His gaze widened and blazed over my body, which, until then, had been in a perpetual state of chill.
I welcomed the flames and managed to claw away from the crevice that I longed to remain in. There was a battle to be fought.
My vision of Thorne was obstructed by a rather inconsiderate abomination, intent on ripping my throat out. I returned the favor before darting to Thorne.
“What are you doing here?” he growled as we both took on separate attackers.
I dispatched mine and circled behind his to snap its neck. “Isn’t it obvious?” I asked after the vampire fell to the ground, leaving us facing each other. Thorne was breathing heavily, his eyes locked on mine.
I grinned at him. “I’m riding in to save the day.” I gave him a wink before scanning the battle. The remaining slayers were bloodied, and their faltering heartbeats told me they wouldn’t last long.
The entire area between the houses was filled with the red-eyed hybrids. From what little I’d learned about them, I knew they wouldn’t be working of their own accord. Their sire had to be close by.
I glanced back to Thorne. “You do your best to make sure your friends don’t become corpses decorating this place, and I’ll find the vampire with the controls for all of these.” I gestured to the twitching body at my feet. “And turn them off.”
Thorne’s hand gripped mine before I could leave him to hopefully not become a corpse.
“I’m kind of busy—”
I was cut off by the quick and brutal press of his lips against mine.
The fire that had simmered with his gaze became an inferno in the small collection of seconds that his mouth was on mine.
He released me. “Be careful,” he demanded roughly.
“I’m never careful,” I replied before turning to the area that was free of heartbeats and had a cold stillness that was unnatural for such a battle. The fire quickly doused in my belly when I located the source.
I ran through the door, skirting the discarded dresser that had once been barring it and coming to an abrupt stop when I saw a pale figure standing inches away from a smaller one.
Both heads darted to me. One was frantic and slightly panicked, the other cool and detached with a slim smile stretched across her face.
“So the rumors are true,” she purred. “Isla Rominskitoff is batting for the other team.”
I glared at her. “I have in the past, but now I like them male. You’re going to have to find another rug to munch.”
She quirked her brow, folding her arms casually. “Still as uncouth as always.”
“Better that than dead,” I snapped back. “Which is what you’ll be in about two-point-five seconds.”
She grinned. “Oh I wouldn’t be so sure.”
My eyes fastened on the child who seemed intent on dying before she reached puberty. “Run, you little idiot,” I hissed.
To give her credit, she did it just in time.
The vampire in front of me pounced. I was ready for it, but we still crashed through the walls of the house, each of us landing in a crouch on the grass outside.
I straightened, circling her, as did she. “Your empty womb must have been troubling if you had to create these abominations,” I said, nodding around to the red eyes that remained. “I’m sorry to say that your children are assholes.”
The fist that slammed into my jaw was expected, but the pain was still not desirable. I captured her hand and snapped it so the wrist was only attached by one stubborn tendon.
I grinned at her screech of pain and wiped the blood from my mouth.
I slammed another fist into her chest, concaving her ribs so they shattered inwards.
She toppled to the ground and I stood over her. “That was so easy, it’s just embarrassing,” I told her, preparing to detach her shiny black head from her body.
Through the pain on her pinched face, she grinned. “Unlike you, I’m not easy.”
It was then that a body barreled into my back and landed atop me on the grass. I dodged the snapping teeth, although not entirely as they tore into my neck enough to smart. I frowned at the vampire before placing my hands on either side of its head and twisting.
I tossed it aside and it was then that I realized the reason for the bitch’s grin.
Every single red eye in the place had abandoned its slayer battle and was focused on me.
Great.
“Hiding behind your minions?” I asked conversationally while fighting the first wave of them. “That’s just cowardly.”
“That’s survival,” she hissed through the bodies. “These are the warriors of a new tomorrow. It will put me in the master’s favor if I am the one to rid him off the Rominskitoff slut.”
I gritted my teeth as I fought them off. The sounds of gunshots had my head turned momentarily to see Thorne wading through the horde.
“Get you and your merry band of slayers out of here,” I gritted. “I’ve got this.”
He didn’t glance at me. “Not a fucking chance.”
I huffed and continued dispatching the wall of red eyes.
It didn’t escape me that a couple of slayers, including the mousy-haired woman from the start of the battle, had joined the fray. And the kid. The twit.
Despite that, and my efforts, it seemed that things were not going to end well. I could only fight off so many, as the torn flesh that was getting ripped as quickly as it healed communicated.
I met Thorne’s eyes once more. They were hard, determined. But resignation flickered in them, an acknowledgement of the inevitable fate.
Just as I was about to open my mouth and whisper a good-bye that would have sounded very similar to a declaration of an emotion I’d sworn off centuries before, every single snapping body froze. Like a robot that’d had its switches pulled, they all just stopped, standing much too straight, their previously frenzied eyes empty and unseeing.
And then they all fell to the ground in an anticlimactic synchronicity.
I blinked at the ground, then looked up to the area where I’d last heard the triumphant voice of the female vampire.
My eyes did not prepare me for what I saw.
Scott grinned at me, half his boyish face covered in blood. He had a gaping wound in his shoulder and his khakis were torn beyond repair, a blessing in my opinion. And he had a blade embedded in the temple of the vampire who had almost bested me.
Then he gave me a thumbs-up.
>
Silence settled heavily over the remaining survivors, which I could count as to be about three less than the number that had been there when I arrived.
The morbid atmosphere of death was stifling, but all I focused on was Scott’s stupid grin and the stares of the slayers on the half breed who had saved them all.
Her death was preferable but now there was no one to interrogate, which had us back to square one. You couldn’t interrogate a corpse.
“Isla!” a small voice squealed, and then something attached itself around my middle.
The scent of bubblegum radiated off the strawberry curls. I held my hands out to make sure I didn’t make contact, screwing my nose up at Thorne, who was standing amidst the scattered bodies, his chest moving heavily, his body stained with blood. “Get it off me,” I gritted out.
“I knew you’d come,” she said, looking up at me through the gaps in her hair.
Thorne crossed his bloodstained arms, eyes blank, but if I weren’t mistaken, there was a glint in his eye. I glared at him. “Your innocent and fragile little sibling is touching a creature of the night, a demon who drinks blood, a monster,” I told him. “Shouldn’t you be doing something about that?”
He cocked his brow. “I am doing something.”
I glared down at the head of hair again. “You can release me now. I’m sure your gratitude has been communicated.”
She gave me one last squeeze and then grinned up at me, not blinking at the bodies littered around her.
“You’re very strange,” I observed.
Cue a bigger grin. “Thanks.”
“It wasn’t a compliment,” I muttered.
I glanced to Scott, who was watching this exchange carefully. I didn’t miss the fact that he didn’t attack the remaining slayers, who were looking at us with gazes from unease to murderous. It was hanging on a precipice whether they’d attack or not, even though we’d saved their lives.
Centuries of being mortal enemies did not get cancelled out with one battle.
Though Scott wasn’t as well versed on slayer law as I was, I knew that he understood this to be unusual to say the least. But he didn’t blink that we were saving the slayers.