by Raven Steele
Before I could react, the human jumped onto my back and began to choke me. Luke was suddenly there. He twisted the human off me and threw him to the ground, driving his booted foot into the human’s chest.
The man struggled against Luke, but Luke kept enough pressure on him to keep him still.
Silas glanced back at us, annoyed by the interruption, but Luke wasn’t finished.
“We said forty percent,” Luke said, his voice firm and full of power.
To back up the strong statement, he removed a long blade from behind his back and tossed it at the vampire who had produced his own dagger earlier. It hit the creature in the stomach and dropped him to his knees. His dagger fell from his hands.
Mateo didn’t react, but his deadly gaze fell on Luke. “Fifteen percent.”
With surprising strength, the human twisted Luke’s leg hard, knocking him off balance. The human jumped to his feet and rushed at me again, but this time I was ready. I swatted him to the ground. "Stay."
“Don’t be difficult, Mateo,” Silas said, the sound of his voice near patronizing. "You know we can't operate on fifteen percent. Would you like Samira to go over the terribly boring numbers again? I know she's itching to do so."
Samira glared at him, but he didn't notice. She did, however, remove her glasses and place them on a nearby stump.
"Very well. Eighteen percent.” Mateo must really not have wanted to hear all that again.
Startling everyone, Samira darted into the fray of vampires, pulling out her sword. In a blur, she sliced off a head. It dropped to the ground, bouncing toward Mateo’s feet. The rest of the body collapsed, then slowly crumbled to the ground in a pile of blood and flesh.
"Stop screwing with us and give us what we want,” Samira said, appearing back on our side with her sword already slid into its hilt. She was faster than any supernatural creature I’d ever seen. Silas nodded his head at her approvingly, but it was her turn to ignore him.
For someone who didn’t want this deal to go through, Samira sure was fighting hard to make it happen. Maybe she came around to my point of view and thought it would be easier to just destroy the drugs once we had them. I liked the idea of her agreeing with me.
"If we must battle to decide terms, then so be it." Mateo stepped back and unsheathed a sword strapped to his back.
Chapter 25
Not wasting a second, the other vampires rushed for us with their fangs and claws extended. My wolf erupted and I began to shift, but I pressed her down. If I shifted now, I could kill most of them in less than a minute. But that would reveal my true strength, and this wasn't the time for that. Instead, I allowed just enough to the surface to make sure I didn't die.
Snarling, Mateo aimed for Silas, but Luke jumped in between the two, defending Silas like a good little wolf. He brandished two short blades, and by the way he was expertly swinging them, I wouldn’t want to fight him.
A vampire ran toward me, and I reached for the small blade in my bra as I raced toward him. I yanked it out, ripping a big hole in my shirt. “Motherfucker,” I grumbled just as the vampire reached me.
I swiped at him, catching him on the shoulder as he attempted to duck. Off balance, he stumbled backwards, tripping over the human, who was oddly flopping like a fish on the ground.
Another vamp rushed me from behind, but, sensing him, I spun at exactly the right moment, and stabbed him in the chest. He fell to his knees. Knowing he would recover quickly, I slashed at his neck, severing his artery to effectively take him out of the fight. For several minutes, at least.
A flash of silver caught my attention. Samira was swinging her long blade, nearly decapitating two vampires in a row. Like me, she wasn’t trying to kill, only severely maim, confirming what I thought. This fight was all a show for power.
I don't know what I was thinking, not bringing wooden daggers to a meeting with vampires, which would’ve made their wounds harder to come back from. Everyone else had them. Toby and Gerald had one in each hand. Even Silas unexplainably had a wooden dagger attached to the bottom of his cane. He used it to stab at any vampire in passing, while Luke and Mateo exchanged blows, neither one gaining the upper hand.
The vampires outnumbered us, but we fought for dominion, not to exterminate. None of us wanted to lose lives, but I figured a few would have to go down to really prove anything. Had we not had Samira on our side, we probably would’ve been spanked by now.
A vampire slammed into Toby from the side. He spun, his feet getting tripped up, and fell forward. He was so distracted by trying to get his feet under him, he failed to see another vampire who was almost upon him. I rushed forward to intercept, but before I could, the vampire rammed a silver blade directly into Toby’s heart.
Toby grunted, and his mouth formed an O. He looked up, his eyes finding mine as the color in his face turned gray. His life, one I happened to like, slowly faded from his watery gaze. I sucked in a breath as the vampire tossed Toby’s body aside.
I cried out and rushed the murderous vampire, cutting my way through two who stood in my way. Gerald reached the vamp before I could and slammed his stake into his heart but missed. The vampire spun to dart away, but Luke was suddenly there, holding the vamp in place, while Gerald tried again.
This time he didn’t miss.
Bile and blood spilled from the vampire’s lips and dribbled down his chin. Before the foul liquid could reach his shirt, his body began to decompose, collapsing within itself.
So far, none of the vampires we had killed had burst into ash, a trait shared only among newbie vampires. This told me the Nocturnas were an older coven who probably didn’t like bringing in new recruits. This was both good and bad. Newborn vampires were much easier to kill, but they could be reckless and unpredictable. It made me wonder how many vampires belonged to the coven.
Two vampires surrounded me, the same ones I had just cut through. And they were pissed. They also weren’t alone.
The human had returned to pester me, and he scampered around my feet like a puppy who wanted his belly rubbed.
“Beat it,” I said, and kicked at him, all the while keeping my eyes trained on the circling vampires. By the way the corners of their mouths were turned up, they seemed to be enjoying the nuisance at my feet.
Just before I lunged for one of the vampires, the human nipped at my heels. Like seriously tried to take a bite out of my fucking ankle. I could feel his saliva cooling my flesh.
I glanced away from the vampires, just long enough to kick at the human again, but it was too long. An elbow crashed into my jaw snapping my head back. Stars exploded in my vision, and I teetered. The action was followed by someone’s boot slamming into my chest, sending me flying back several feet. I crashed through the shack. Several boards fell on top of me.
There was the motherfucking wood I needed.
My eyes flashed yellow, and the skin on my back rolled into fur. I shook my head, forcing my wolf down again. Not yet.
I grabbed one of the wooden slats and split it into a smaller slice, one still big and strong enough to go through a vampire’s sternum.
No more playing nice.
I jumped to my feet and sprinted across the dirt floor, kicking at the crazed human in passing. He rolled several times across the ground, his face becoming both muddy and bloody.
Just as a vampire swung at me, I dropped and skidded along the ground, shoving my stake upward. It connected with his heart. The motion was so fast, I wondered if anyone had been able to spot it.
While he melted to mush, I whirled around to stab the other one only to be met with his sharp claws swinging at my face. I spun out of the way just in time and swung my arm backward, gripping the wooden slat tightly. It easily slid through the back of his neck. Before he could recover, I yanked it out and lowered my aim directly into his heart.
My execution had been swift and brutal. Overwhelming power, black and raw, grew in my chest giving me a desire to take more lives. I had been in plenty of fights in my life
but only killed in self-defense. What I was doing now made my heart stutter.
I sucked in a breath and stepped back. The human was crawling through the chaos toward me again, his face smeared with so much dirt and blood, he was unrecognizable.
The bloodshed needed to stop.
Certain no one was watching, I called upon my wolf's strength, the part of me I kept hidden. My body reacted instantly. It expanded, filled with power and force. My muscles snapped, my senses strengthened, and I became a little taller.
I raced to put myself between Mateo and Silas, who were about to fight each other. Silas didn’t look the least bit afraid, which made me wonder how good of a fighter he might actually be.
Mateo reacted to me, but I batted his fist away when it flew my direction and knocked his legs out from under him. He collapsed onto his back and before he hit the ground, I was straddling him with a dagger to his throat.
“Briar! Stop!”
I jerked back, distracted by Samira’s voice, and Mateo’s eyes widened at her in surprise. Ignoring her, I growled, lowering my face to him so he could see my yellow eyes glowing. “Tell your men to retreat, or I will cut off your head.”
He choked on his next words. “Who are you?"
In a loud voice, I called, “Give us thirty percent! Agree to the terms, or you will die!”
The air grew silent. No more growls, no more clinking of weapons. Even the human had gone still. Thankfully.
When Mateo didn’t give in immediately, I dug the blade deeper into his flesh so he knew I was serious. “I said thirty percent.”
I glanced back at Samira to make sure thirty was enough. Probably should’ve done that sooner. She nodded her head in approval.
"We have a deal," Mateo said, his voice even but laced with steel. In a quieter voice, he added, "I will find out more about you. A rare jewel like you will always be coveted."
I punched him in the mouth to shut him up. His lip split and his tongue snaked out to taste the crimson liquid. He grinned seductively, and I climbed off him, rolling my eyes. Vamps. One minute they’re trying to kill you, the next minute they’re trying to screw you.
I turned my back on Mateo as he stood up, brushing off dark slacks. Off to his side, I caught sight of the tall vampire who had been looking at me curiously before. He wasn’t holding a weapon like everyone else, only a briefcase, and his clothes were immaculate, which meant he hadn’t fought. Only observed. Somehow this made him feel more dangerous than the others.
Silas approached Mateo, giving me a strange look in passing. It was a calculated glare.
Had I overstepped my bounds?
Luke came and stood next to me. His hands, bloody and bruised, were crossed against his chest. He, too, eyed me with caution, confusion, and almost wonder.
Had they seen what I’d done? Maybe I’d been too careless. I’d have to be more careful going forward.
“Shit,” a deep voice whispered
Behind me, Gerald was bent over Toby's body. Samira hurried to them, as if she might help heal him with her blood, but I knew it was too late.
Samira confirmed it with a sigh. She put her hand on Gerald’s shoulder. “I’m sorry, there’s nothing I can do.”
He moaned an anguished cry and drove his fist into the ground. I kept my body faced forward, still watching Mateo closely, but also not wanting to give into the ripping feeling in my chest. In my opinion, we’d just lost one of the best members of the pack.
The vampires had also lost members, but by their stupid dead expressions, they weren’t about to show any sorrow for their fallen comrades in front of us.
Silas glanced back coolly at Gerald, probably wishing he would do the same. To Mateo, he said, “Before we sign anything binding, we expect you to leave a sample. We will want to run our own quality tests on Scorpion’s Breath.”
"Of course. Angel, the briefcase,” Mateo said, finally giving a name to the tall vampire who had stood idly by while we all fought.
Angel walked forward with the grace of a panther. His eyes lingered on me a fraction of a second too long, making Luke growl low in his throat. This action seemed to please Angel, and he further agitated Luke by winking at me. I gave him the bird, and almost swung my middle finger in Luke’s direction too. What was his deal?
Angel handed Silas the briefcase and stepped back.
Silas held it at his hip possessively. "We will meet in a week for payment on the first shipment. After that, we will require thirty percent of all profit. Is this satisfactory?"
“For now, the terms are acceptable. Same time next week,” Mateo said. He turned around and walked down the dock back to the airboat. The other vampires followed.
No one said anything as we watched the boat disappear into the growing fog skimming the top of the water. The night had grown cold, and it seeped through my thin t-shirt directly into my bones. I glanced at my hands, noticing the blood coating them. I shivered and lowered them to my sides.
"What are we going to do with him?" Luke asked.
I followed his gaze. The human was crouched at my feet, looking up at me with hopeful eyes. His arm was in his mouth, and he was absentmindedly chewing on it like a bone. Blood from where he had broken the skin dripped down his chin and onto his bent knees.
Silas gazed at him appreciatively. "We’ll take him back to Fire Ridge to see how long it takes for him to recover. Then we'll drug him again. This will be fun to experiment." By the way his voice had dropped on the last sentence, I didn’t think the words were meant for our ears.
I repressed a shiver. "I say we leave him here. He creeps me out."
Silas patted me on the back. "There, there.”
I resisted the urge to rip his arm from his shoulder.
While Gerald carried Toby's body into the SUV, Luke and I handled the human. By this time, he was less agitated, but his body randomly twitched every few seconds. One of his spastic movements caught me off guard, and his hand whacked me in the chin.
Luke struggled to hold the man in place. "It's messed up what they did to him. They keep ruining lives without expecting any consequences. We all are.”
My eyebrows lifted at his acknowledgment that we were doing something wrong. Maybe there was hope for him yet.
I picked up the human's legs to help heave him into the backseat. I gave him a firm look, my finger pointed his direction, and said, “Sit.”
He obeyed the command.
Huh.
I tried again. “Lie down.”
Again, he followed the order.
“Roll over.”
“Enough,” Samira snapped from the backseat. “Let’s go.”
I closed the backdoor. Silas still stood by the water’s edge. Moonlight illuminated the touch of gray in his hair. I could see the whites of his knuckles as he gripped the briefcase tightly. No doubt his mind was churning, thinking of a million different ways he could put Scorpion’s Breath to use. Samira was right. We needed to get it out of his hands. But how could we do that without revealing our own duplicity?
Luke put his hand on my arm. “I’m sorry about Toby.”
I stepped back. Luke’s hand fell to his side. “Um, thanks?”
His brows furrowed. “Oh, I thought maybe you two…”
I shook my head, glancing through the window at Toby’s body. Gerald sat next to him, his head in his hands. “Oh no. We never even… He would’ve been too good for me, anyway.”
Luke grabbed my hand and brushed at my middle finger. “You play with this a lot when you’re thinking. Where’s it from?”
He was talking about the ring I always wore. It was silver and of a bird in flight.
I waved my hand. “It’s nothing. Just an old ring I found in a thrift store.” That was actually a lie. I’d been given it by the only social worker who had ever cared for me. It reminded me that one day, I was going to be done with all this revenge shit and be able to fly away.
Or so I’d hoped.
He smiled, still holding on to my
hand. “I like it. It suits you.”
He stroked his fingers down my palm, causing a shiver to take hold of my entire body. He let go, but his hand fell to my hip instead. He squeezed it, then gently pushed me forward toward the front door.
Insisting I drive back to keep my mind occupied, I slid behind the wheel. Luke joined Samira in the back. I grabbed the hand sanitizer we kept in the car and lathered it over my bloody hands, doing my best to clean them. Then I passed it around.
“Here.” Samira handed me two safety pins. I noticed her glasses were back on.
“What are those for?”
“Your breasts.” She glanced down.
I dropped my gaze to my chest, just then remembering how my knife had sliced it open. My black bra with my boob practically popping out of it was in full view. Bloody hell. Maybe that’s why the vamps and even Luke had hit on me. I quickly pinned my torn material together, my face reddening. “What was that earlier? When you yelled at me. Do you know the vamp leader?”
“If you killed Mateo, Silas’ deal would be dead,” she said, not really answering my question. “Then Silas probably would’ve killed you.”
“Aww, I didn’t know you cared. You should trust me more. I wasn’t going to actually do it.” When she didn’t respond, I looked up at her. “Can I ask you something?”
She gave me her dead-face, which I assumed meant to continue.
“How come you wear glasses? You have perfect vision.”
“Better than perfect.” She reached up and pressed them up her nose.
“So….”
“These glasses remind me to be human. Without them, it’s too easy for me to become a monster. I don’t ever want to return to those days.” She turned away, ending the conversation.
I stared at her, trying to imagine her as a killing machine. It was easy to do.
We waited in the car somewhat patiently for Silas to return. I glanced back at Gerald who was so quiet, but decided not to say anything. I turned to Silas, frustrated that he was making us wait in the car with Toby’s dead body and a wasted human. I was about to honk the horn when Silas finally returned.
