by Keri Arthur
“Meaning Azriel has to make the choice—me or my uncle.” I wasn’t surprised, because I’d suspected all along it would come down to me and Hunter, but that didn’t mean I wasn’t pissed off.
“Precisely,” Hunter all but purred. “And we all know what your decision will be given what such a death would do to his sister.”
In that she was right. “Where is he?”
“In a secure depot just outside Melbourne.” She gave us the address. “I suggest you go, reaper. Jenson’s situation is somewhat precarious.”
She didn’t explain what she meant, and I didn’t ask. I simply swung around and gave Azriel a hug. Be careful. This barrier might well be set to kill both you and Rhoan.
Undoubtedly, he replied, unfazed. But your uncle and aunt are already on the way to that location, and between the three of us, we shall unpick the trap. Then I will return to help you.
She won’t let you return. I forced myself to step away from him, though all I wanted to do was cling tight. I’d see him again. I had to believe that, if nothing else.
She will undoubtedly ban me from her offices, but she is not in her office. She is deep underground, where she believes she is safe from me.
And she is. You can’t track a soul underground unless they are due for death.
Perhaps, but I can find you. Out loud, he added, “Hunter, if anything happens to her, my vengeance will be brutal.”
“Reaper, we both know that murder is beyond the realm of your charter here on Earth, so do not—”
“It has nothing to do with my orders and everything to do with desire. Trust me, neither your flesh nor your soul will enjoy the spoils of your kill for long if you decide to take that path.”
And with that warning lingering in the air, he left.
Hunter’s laugh was low and soft. “I never knew reapers could be so overly dramatic. But then, he has been associating with you for a while now.” The huge double doors on the other side of the room silently began to open. “Risa, please, do come in.”
Said the spider to the fly. I flexed my fingers and resisted the urge to draw Amaya. Hunter hadn’t actually mentioned her yet, and I wasn’t about to remind her—though I very much doubted she’d actually forgotten her.
I walked around the table and warily entered the large room beyond it. A large black desk dominated the room, with several comfortable-looking chairs in front of it and a wall of windows behind it. There was very little else in the room; no wall art and nothing personal.
Hunter, as Azriel had said, wasn’t here.
“What game are you playing now, Director?” I stopped in the middle of the room and looked around. Though there didn’t appear to be any other exits, there obviously had to be. Whether they were concealed by magic or simply brilliant workmanship was the question.
Magic here, Amaya said. Active not.
I frowned. If there was magic here, why wasn’t it active? What was she waiting for?
Even as those questions crossed my mind, Hunter said, “I’ve just received word that your reaper, Quinn, and Riley have all appeared at the depot. Time to ensure none of them can interfere with our little tête-à-tête.”
Energy surged through the room, a short, sharp caress that was both electronic and magical in feel.
Now active, Amaya said, rather unnecessarily.
“I’m afraid it’s just you and me now. The barrier that is now in place will repel any sort of energy being entry. Unfortunately for you, it will also prevent your becoming Aedh.” Hunter’s tones were smug. “Please, come on down to my true office, and let’s discuss this key matter.”
“More than happy to,” I said easily, despite the fact that I wanted to flee so badly that the Aedh magic surged unasked, causing my extremities to fade in and out of being without actually progressing to a full change.
“Excellent.” There was a slight hiss of air—like that of an airlock being released. Then one section of the wall moved forward and slid to the left, while a second door stepped back and retreated to the right. Beyond it was a small black elevator. “The elevator will bring you down to me. Oh, I believe you have an invisible sword—leave it behind. And I want to hear it hitting the floor—no faking.”
“No.” Silently, I added, Amaya, make a lot of noise but remain invisible, and get into my flesh, fast.
And then I crossed mental fingers that Myer hadn’t reported this trick to Hunter.
She sighed. “Do I really have to kill your aunt and uncle?”
“Fine,” I said, through gritted teeth. I made a show of drawing Amaya from her sheath, then released her. She hit the ground hard, her steel tip smacking against the leg of the nearby chair, the sound ringing across the silence. But almost immediately, she bounced up to my chest. I crossed my arms, holding her in place as her steel melted into my body and became one with me once more.
“Excellent,” Hunter purred. “Now the key. Hold it up so I can be sure you have it.”
I reached behind me, pulled out the key fragment, then held it up. I had no idea where the camera actually was, but I had no doubt Hunter could see the sharp bit of concrete.
“That,” she said, “is not quite what I was expecting.”
“It’s a piece of the shield on a coat of arms,” I said. “It is the key.”
“Of course, I only have your word on that.”
“Ask Myer what was at the last location before I attacked her. She’ll confirm we were inspecting a coat of arms.”
Hunter was silent for a moment, then said, “Very well, please proceed into the elevator.”
I did so. The twin doors closed with a hiss, and darkness settled like a cloak around me. I had no doubt it was meant to unnerve me—and in that, it was succeeding. But in the utter blackness, the Dušan shifted the knife, her sharp nails digging into my skin as she slithered up my arm, around my shoulder, then down my spine. As the elevator began its descent, the knife’s cold stone pressed against my skin and the Dušan’s tail whipped back and forth.
Both knife and serpent were ready to fight.
As the elevator dropped, so, too, did the temperature. The air became heavier, laden with the scents of earth and foul water. Hunter’s lair really was deep underground.
The elevator finally slowed, bouncing slightly as it stopped. The doors hissed open but didn’t really reveal anything. The ink was as dark outside as it was inside. I flared my nostrils, drawing in the scents of this place. A fresh mix of jasmine, bergamot, and sandalwood lingered in the air. Hunter was here.
“A little light wouldn’t go astray,” I said, not immediately moving from the elevator. “We wouldn’t want me tripping over and losing the key, now, would we?”
“Oh, decidedly not.”
Her reply was dry, but she nevertheless switched on a light. It threw out a cold blue glow that barely made a dent against the deeper shadows of the place, but it at least revealed the flagstone flooring beyond the elevator as well as several worn leather sofas. Hunter herself remained hidden, though her scent was coming from the left. Which probably meant she was actually standing to my right.
I stepped into the room, then stopped. The light barely touched my toes, leaving the elevator behind me wrapped in darkness—but only for a moment. The doors soon closed and the elevator left. Trapped, I thought, as my heart accelerated and pinpricks of sweat broke out across my skin. Never a good thing when faced with a vampire, let alone this vampire.
Kill bitch, Amaya said, ever practical, solve problem.
“Now,” said bitch continued, “deposit the key on that coffee table.”
Her voice was coming from the thick darkness beyond the small, slightly raised seating area. I could vaguely see the outline of a desk, but given the shadows, there was no hope I’d ever see her. This darkness was her friend, not mine.
Can lift, Amaya said.
Not yet.
Amaya muttered something I didn’t quite catch, although I didn’t really have to understand it to know she was not h
appy with the delay. She wanted to fight, to destroy; it was a sentiment that was apparently echoed by the Dušan, if the ever-increasing force and speed of her lashing tail were anything to go by. Only trouble was, Hunter’s hearing might be sharp enough to pick up the slight slap of flesh against flesh.
But even as that thought crossed my mind, the tail movement stopped. It was the first clear indication I’d had that the Dušan could understand me.
Dušan, I think it’s time for you to leave my skin if you can. Hide in the shadows near her, but don’t do anything until I say.
The Dušan immediately slithered down my left leg, its sharp little claws making my muscles twitch with fleeting pain. Then it was gone, skittering away into the deeper shadows that hid Hunter.
“You won’t get this key until I get confirmation that Rhoan is safe.”
“Dear girl,” Hunter said, voice condescending, “you are down here alone, without any of your protections. Do you really think you can survive my wrath for more than the second or two it will take me to retrieve the key from your cold, dead grasp?”
“A second or two is all I need to destroy the key and ensure you never get your nasty little mitts on it. Are you willing to take that chance?”
She seemed to consider me for a moment, as if weighing whether I was bluffing or not, but it was something I felt rather than saw.
“Fair enough,” she said eventually. “We will play it your way for now.”
There was a faint click; then brightness flared across the darkness, catching me by surprise. I blinked rapidly, and my pulse rate accelerated yet again when I realized that I was seeing a security screen—one that was split into four panels, two of them showing an unfamiliar building and lobby area, and the other two revealing very familiar figures. Quinn and Riley were in one, guarding what looked like a pile of bodies, and Azriel in the other, approaching a slowly rotating sphere of blue light.
I watched, heart in my mouth, as Azriel walked around the sphere, inspecting it. When he’d returned to his starting point, he touched it with his fingertips. Blue light crawled across his hand but didn’t appear to hurt him. After another moment, he stepped into it.
I think I stopped breathing, and time seemed to drag.
Then he reappeared, and with him was Rhoan—bloody, beaten, but very much alive.
Relief shuddered through me, and just for a second, my legs felt weak and my knees gave way. Somehow, I managed to stay upright.
“Right,” Hunter said, her attention fully on me again—something I could tell by the wash of animosity and satisfaction oozing from her. “Rhoan is safe, as is your precious reaper. Give me the key.”
“They’re not out of that building yet.”
“No, and they won’t get out of it unless you give me the key. Now,” she added, when I didn’t move. “Or have you forgotten I can still blow them all to smithereens?”
“Then take it.” I held out the hand that held the key and silently screamed, Azriel, you need to get out of there—now! Hunter has the place rigged to blow.
I had no idea whether he could hear me; certainly there didn’t seem to be any sudden awareness of danger in his or Rhoan’s actions. I wanted to scream at the screen, tell him to get his ass moving, but I did nothing, just watched, as the two men moved out of camera range, then reappeared in the next screen.
Hunter stepped forward, out of the shadows. Her gaze was on the shard of concrete rather than on me, so I carefully reached back with my free hand and wrapped my fingers around the knife. The stone blade pressed lightly against my palm; it would take only the slightest pressure for it to slice into my skin.
Dušan, be ready. You, too, Amaya.
Her excitement raced through the back reaches of my mind, sharp and eager to kill.
Hunter’s fingers hovered above mine for a moment; then she carefully picked up the concrete shard. “I can indeed feel the weight of magic within it. It is a powerful thing.” Then her gaze rose to mine. “And more the fool you are for trusting that once I had this in my grasp, I would keep my word.”
The words were barely out of her mouth when the images on the monitor behind her exploded into flame.
Chapter 16
I screamed and reacted instinctively, clenching my fist and swinging as hard as I could at Hunter’s smug face. But even as I did so, Amaya’s voice cut through the panic.
Not dead! Safe they are!
My blow didn’t land. Instead, it was caught in a viselike grip and held firm. I didn’t fight her hold; I just glared at her.
Are you sure?
Valdis contact. Reaper comes.
Which didn’t mean he could actually get in. Even so, relief flooded me for the second time that night. But I couldn’t let it show. Hunter had to believe I believed everyone I cared about was now dead.
Hunter’s grip began to tighten against mine, and her sharp claws sliced into my skin. Blood welled. Anticipation and hunger flared in her eyes, but a similar sense of anticipation echoed through me. She’d just provided the perfect cover.
My grip tightened on the blade at my back. It sliced into my palm and was met by a rush of blood. The sweet metallic scent grew stronger in the air, but I doubted Hunter was aware of this secondary source. She was too intent on crushing my hand, too aware of the blood that dripped in fat splashes down onto the paving stones between us.
“I’ll kill you for that,” I growled.
Her smile was slow and lazy. “Oh, you most certainly are welcome to try. But remember what I am; remember that what I did to the—”
I plunged the stone blade into her stomach, and the rest of her sentence became a screech that was both fury and pain. She flung me backward so forcefully that I literally sailed through the air for several feet before crashing onto my back and sliding to a halt hard up against the elevator doors.
I scrambled to my feet, Amaya out of my body and in my hands. But even as I did so, light flared across the shadows—a fierce white light that was nigh on blinding. I raised my hand against it, battling to see what was going on, where Hunter was.
After a moment, I realized the light was coming from her.
Or rather, from the wound in her stomach.
Tendrils of brightness flowed from the knife’s entry point and entwined around her, their movement getting fiercer, angrier, as they flowed up her body, then continued on, as if reaching for the very distant heavens. But they disappeared long before they even reached the roof of this cavern.
She wasn’t moving, wasn’t doing much of anything. The light held her immobile; now was the perfect time to attack—
Not, Amaya said. Light force of her god leaving. It still protects.
And wasn’t that typical of this whole sorry episode. I shifted my grip on Amaya and stalked closer. I might not be able to attack the bitch until the power of her god left her body, but I sure as hell could do so the second it had.
Dušan, when she moves, strike.
I stopped several feet away from her. She might be immobilized, but she was totally aware of what was happening. Her eyes were thin black strips that promised death, and her fury washed over me in heated waves. I shuddered. Even without the force of her god, Hunter was not going to go down easy.
Get ready to both shield and attack, Amaya.
Flames flickered brightly down her sides, and her need to kill became so fierce I could almost taste the bitterness of Hunter’s blood on her steel.
The brightness of the tendrils began to fade. The tension running through me ramped up another notch, until my whole body seemed to be humming with it.
Then I realized it was humming—and that it was Amaya’s energy flowing through me.
Together we strong, she said. Together we taste her blood.
The light blinked out. Hunter howled—a sound that was fury and grief and utter, utter madness combined—and launched at me, claws and teeth elongating. I dodged and swung Amaya, but Hunter was too fast and the blow skimmed past her side and did no damage.<
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Amaya chuckled, the sound low and savage. Hunter disappeared into shadows.
Flame, I said, and Amaya immediately did. Fire exploded from her, leaping high, tearing away the shadows and revealing the vastness of Hunter’s den.
Revealing the laser held in her hand, aimed straight at my heart.
Shield, I screamed, even as I dove away.
Can’t! Flame or shield, not both!
I hit the ground and rolled. Blue light followed me, slicing into the flagstones and across my left boot. The smell of burned leather and flesh seared the air. I bit back a scream and scrambled to my feet, forcing myself to run despite the fire in my foot. The laser nipped at my heels, threatening limb loss if I so much as stumbled.
I flung Amaya and called to the Aedh. The magic surged, and just for a moment, my legs and arms became little more than particles. Then the magic fell away and I was flesh again. Hunter hadn’t been lying—her shields were stopping me from becoming full Aedh.
Dušan, grab her!
Amaya arrowed toward Hunter. The laser shifted, hitting her. Lilac flames flared against blue light, and though Amaya slowed, she didn’t appear hurt by the laser’s hit.
Then Hunter went down, confusion briefly replacing the fury and madness in her expression.
While she might not have expected the Dušan’s presence, her surprise certainly didn’t dull her reactions.
I scrambled forward, as fast as I was able, as vampire and Dušan twisted and fought each other. Again blue light flared. The Dušan hissed and slithered away. Hunter scrambled to her feet, her movements little more than a blur as she launched herself at me. Amaya thundered back into my hand and I swung her, hard. Hunter hissed and deviated at the last moment, coming in under the blow. Her foot smashed into my kneecap and thrust me backward. Pain, white-hot, hit, but I somehow managed to remain upright. She came at me again, movements little more than a blur. That I could even see her was a miracle, and I had no doubt that it was all due to Amaya’s presence in my mind.
