Blurred Nights (1st in the Blurred Trilogy)

by Kallysten

  He shrugged, a corner of his mouth twitching in a half grin. “And you never answer."

  "How's this for an answer?"

  She couldn't have explained why she did it. The most likely answer was that, quite simply, she wanted to. All she had to do was turn her face toward his and close few millimeters between their lips. She kept it short and sweet. Blake was grinning when she broke away.

  "So you do like me,” he said, the edge of a suppressed laugh rising in his voice.

  She let out a little snort. “Believe me, I'm the most surprised about that. You're insufferable."

  Blake didn't even bat an eyelash. Still grinning, he said, “But you like me."

  "Despite my better judgment."

  "But you do like me."

  He waggled his eyebrows, but the look in his eyes didn't quite match his impish expression. Behind the cocky, playful man in front of her, she could see another side of Blake. She had only caught glimpses of this other Blake, but now she could see him, hopeful rather than lecherous, happy rather than triumphant. Her slight annoyance at the way he was repeating himself disappeared as she understood what he was waiting for. She wasn't ready for a grand declaration, but she could keep it simple and still give him what he wanted.

  "Yes,” she said, unable to stop herself from grinning. “I like you."

  Her heart stuttered as the words passed her lips. Maybe a grand declaration wasn't that far away, after all.

  Blake beamed at her. She searched past the self-satisfaction on his face and found pure, simple joy hiding beneath.

  "See, that wasn't so hard to admit.” His smile faltered and he stood, firming his grip on Seneca. “And now you won't have anything to regret if the next fight kills me."

  Just as he finished, an alarm started blaring, announcing that demons had found something. She blinked, then gasped. They were close to the rendezvous point, and the demons had been heading in that direction. She felt as though a blow had just knocked the breath out of her.

  "That was a joke,” Blake said, lending her a hand up. “Don't go worrying your little heart for me, now."

  She held on to his hand just a little longer than necessary, letting go only when Wally cleared his throat behind them.

  "Worry for you?” she said, her voice a little shaky. “Don't be silly. I'm worried for whoever they're attacking right now. Let's go!"

  She led the way out, and quickly called the rest of her team. The six of them hurried forward, blades bared and ready. The alarm only grew louder as they approached the intersection. As soon as they arrived, she could see that she had been right. The group of demons had found Elliot's team, which, outnumbered, was resisting as best it could.

  "Let's go!” she called out to her men, and they rushed forward and into the fight.

  On her right, Blake ran to the demons with a shout she could barely hear over the alarm. He slashed his sword left and right, and in only seconds he had drawn two of the demons away. Shaking her head, she forced herself to look away. She had to trust that he would be all right, or else she wouldn't be able to fight. Her eyes fell on one demon, on one side of the fight, that was pounding its sword against a dome of blue light. She hurried forward. Despite many attempts at teaching him how to fight, Simon was completely inept at yielding any sort of weapon. At least, he had kept enough of a cool head to protect himself. There was no telling how long he would hold out, though.

  She attacked the demon from behind, banging her sword against the metal plates of its armor to draw its attention away from Simon. It slowly turned to face Kate with small, lifeless, dark eyes. A row of spikes adorned its forehead, an incongruous tiara over beast-like features.

  "Come on, then,” Kate said, spreading her feet to find a better fighting stance. “Let's get to it."

  She didn't know if demons understood human speech, but as she finished talking the demon raised its axe and ran at her, its yell like thunder despite the alarm. She braced herself, gripping her sword with both hands. She was ready. She would fight, and she would kill this demon, and then another one until they were all dead. She had to because, despite what Blake had said, she would be left with many regrets if things ended here.

  The demon's axe and her sword rang like a deep, heavy bell when they clashed together. She wasn't strong enough to push the demon back, so she evaded, twisting her body to break away and to the side. The demon turned at once toward her, and this time it parried her attack. A couple more steps, another attack, another evasion, and her turn came again.

  She wondered if Blake knew how to dance. She wasn't too good at it herself, but she enjoyed it a lot.

  The demon struck again, with such force that Kate collapsed to her knees when she blocked the blow. The beast grunted in triumph. It struck again, fast and hard. Kate rolled away, bruising her arms and knees. The axe embedded itself in the asphalt, right where she had been a second earlier. The demon had to struggle to free it. She took the opportunity to spring to her feet and slash her sword at its side, where thick leather laces held its armor closed. The laces fell apart, and the armor gaped open, sliding out of place.

  It won't just give you an opening to kill, Marc had told her during one of their sparring sessions. It will destabilize the demon. Some of them just get rid of the armor rather than having it loose on their body and getting in the way. She would have to tell him she had given his suggestion a try. Maybe he could teach her other moves.

  Before she could take advantage on the opening in the armor, the demon turned to her again, the axe pointed at the ground. It didn't make a noise, this time, and merely considered her with narrowed eyes. The hair on her arms raised, and a shiver passed through her. Without waiting any longer, she attacked. She struck high, low, toward its arms, belly, legs, and neck, frustrated that she couldn't find an opening to its exposed side. It parried each blow and responded in kind, and it was her turn to parry and evade. The bones in her arms rattled every time their weapons clashed. Sweat pearled on her brow and slid down her back. It was only from tiredness, she assured herself, stepping back to catch her breath. Not fear.

  Although if she didn't find a way to end the fight before she tired much more, it would definitely be time for fear.

  The demon seemed to know exactly what she was thinking. It bared its teeth in what could have passed for a smile and lunged at Kate, both hands on its axe raised high above its head. Everything froze in Kate's mind, and in a flash she saw the opening. She rushed forward, blood pulsing through her and pushing her to go faster. She sidestepped at the last second and stabbed her sword in the demon's side, where the armor gaped open. She pushed in with all her strength before drawing the sword back. Her legs screamed at the effort but she scrambled back, holding her breath. Blood gurgled at the demon's lips, dark as ink. Its left hand fell to clutch its side. It took a stumbling step forward, then started falling.

  Kate's mistake was to lower her guard before it reached the ground. In the last moment of its life, the demon used what remained of its strength to swing its axe blindly.

  Surprise registered with her mind first; pain came next. Eyes wide, Kate glanced down and touched the torn Kevlar vest. Her fingers came away tinted with red. In her ears, the sound of her own blood beating against her temples drowned out the still-strident alarm. She turned, staggering, and looked around her. The fog swirled around forms on the ground. She couldn't tell if they were demons or humans. Four more fights were still happening, three or four fighters around each demon. Only Blake fought alone, just yards away from her. She stumbled toward him. Her lips formed his name, but she wasn't sure she said the word aloud. Her vision started blurring. She fell down to her knees. All she could see anymore was Blake's grin as he fought—as he played with the demon.

  His sword raised high for another blow, he glanced in her direction. She blinked twice to clear her vision. When she opened her eyes again, Blake was kneeling in front of her. He caught her as she fell forward. She couldn't understand the words he said, but she cl
ung to his voice as she drifted into darkness.

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  Chapter 15

  Blake couldn't smell anything other than Kate's blood as he cradled her in his arms. It covered everything, from the acrid scent of demon blood around them to the slight scent of sulfur. His fangs elongated without him even noticing. He couldn't hear anything other than her heartbeat, the fragile tempo drowning out the clash of weapons, along with the shouts of pain, triumph, and despair behind him. He didn't even realize that the alarm finally stopped as he focused on her heartbeat. He held her more tightly, leaning down to hear better. Was her heart slowing down, or was it only his fear talking?

  "Kate? Can you hear me?"

  She stirred. Her limp hand dragged on the ground, but her eyes remained closed. The scent of blood enveloped her, thicker with every passing second. He had to do something, and he had to do it fast. He had told her he wouldn't have any regrets if he died, but the lie had come easily since he hadn't thought for a second he would get hurt. He hadn't imagined she would, either.

  The idea crept slowly from the depths of his being, the same place that had taught him to bite, feed, respect his Sire, and fear the sun. He had never turned a human before, but he knew how it was done; of course he knew, he had been there at his own siring. Whether he did nothing or turned her, the result would be the same. She would die. Turning her, however, would give her a second chance.

  Blake just wasn't sure he was ready to sire anyone, let alone someone he had feelings for. What if she changed too much? What if she wasn't the same Kate he liked anymore? What if he ended up having to leave—

  He looked around him, pushing away both the temptation to turn her and the panic the thought of doing so awakened. His eyes stopped on Simon, standing just feet away. He looked back at Blake, his entire body shaking. He didn't seem hurt, only scared.

  "She ... she helped me.” Simon took a hesitant step forward. “That demon ... it would have ... but she...” He swallowed hard. “Is she dead?"

  "No. But she will be if you don't help her."

  Simon started as though Blake had hit him. “Help her? I'm no medic! I can't—"

  "Use your magic! You told me you can do anything you want with magic."

  Simon walked a little closer still, his hand gripping the leather bag that hung to his side. “I can! But I ... I've never done anything like this. What if I hurt her?"

  "What if you do nothing and she dies?"

  Simon still wasn't convinced. His head turned from left to right. Blake imagined he was looking for a medic. They had left one of them at the camp, however, and the other was with Daniel's group. Blake looked at Kate. She was still unconscious, still bleeding, and now so pale. He held her a little closer, as though his cold body might give her back the warmth she was losing. The words came out of nowhere, but he knew they would work. He wasn't playing fair, using Simon's crush on him like this, but he couldn't have cared less.

  "If you do nothing and she dies, I will never forgive you."

  Simon's eyes grew wide and he blinked furiously. “But it's not my—"

  He snapped his mouth shut so hard that Blake heard his teeth clash. Three more steps took him in front of Blake. He slid the bag strap off his shoulder as he knelt.

  "Put her down,” he asked, already digging into his bag for supplies.

  Every inch of Blake wanted to protest. He didn't dare to argue, however, not when Kate's life was at risk. As painful as it was, he forced himself to slide her off his lap and gently laid her out on the ground. Now that she rested between them, he could see her wound better, her blood spreading on each side of the cut in her protection vest. Without it, she would be dead already, but it had only bought her time.

  Time slowed down to a crawl. Blake's eyes circled restlessly between Kate's face, her wound, Simon's fingers playing over his magic ingredients, and the street around them. Two demons were still standing, each surrounded by several fighters. The fights took place far enough from Kate that Blake didn't want to intervene, but if a demon came closer, he would.

  Simon finally picked several bottles and mixed their contents into a small bowl. With a grimace, he touched Kate's blood and blended the ingredients into a paste with his bloodied fingers. The mixture glowed softly when he murmured a few incomprehensible words over it, the electric blue light casting shadows over his face and Kate's.

  "Can you pull her vest open?"

  Blake did as he was asked, gingerly sliding off her vest to uncover the wound beneath it. He peeled off her shirt and t-shirt as well, exposing her skin. There was so much blood that it was impossible to see how deep the demons’ weapon had cut her. With very careful movements, Simon applied the paste to the sides of the wound. Kate shuddered at the touch, but soon the blood stopped flowing as the glow faded.

  "It's not going to heal her,” Simon said, “but it'll keep her alive until Sasha can do something. I'm not sure how long it will hold, though."

  Blake looked up at Simon to thank him, but the words died on his lips. Behind him, new shapes were emerging from the fog, too small to be more demons.

  "Medic!” he shouted, raising his hand and waving it. “This way! Medic!"

  A silhouette, right on the edge of the fog, seemed to hesitate for a second before rushing toward them. Simon shuffled to the side to make room for Sasha. She knelt next to Kate, and he explained what he had done.

  "She was bleeding a lot so I ... I stopped the bleeding."

  She had drawn latex gloves from somewhere and touched the wound delicately, pulling the sides apart.

  "Light,” she said curtly.

  With a single word, Simon summoned a small ball of white light that hovered above Kate.

  "It looks contained for now,” she muttered after a few seconds. Pulling a glove off, she grasped Kate's wrist and took her pulse. “As far as I can tell she's stable. I can work on her when we're back at the camp."

  She started getting up. Blake grabbed her arm before she could leave. She grimaced in pain. Realizing he was hurting her, Blake released his grip but he didn't let go.

  "Help her now!” he demanded, putting all his strength into the words. He had never been very good at thrall, but trying couldn't hurt.

  Sasha tugged on her arm weakly. She blinked and turned her head, but didn't break free of his gaze. “Are there...” She wet her lips and blinked again, still unable to tear her eyes away from him. “Are others wounded?"

  At Blake's side, Simon shifted, holding his bag to his chest. “I ... I think so."

  His voice broke through Sasha's daze, allowing her to shake away the thrall. Her eyebrows knitted in confusion for a second, then she finally pulled her arm free of Blake's hold and got up, stumbling away. The little ball of light followed, bobbing along with her.

  Blake threw an annoyed glare at Simon. Without his intervention, she might just have helped Kate now. What was he supposed to do now? He looked around him. Out of the fog came Marc and Daniel. Marc missed a step when he saw Kate. He slid his sword back in its scabbard, fumbling, before hurrying forward. Daniel beat him to Kate. He put a knee to the ground and his eyes ran over her face before detailing her blood-soaked mid-section. When he looked up at Blake, his features held no expression, only ice.

  "Take her to the trucks. We'll be right behind you. Simon, go with him."

  With a nod, Blake picked up Kate, wincing when the movement, as careful as he tried to be, jostled her a little. Daniel had already moved on, but Marc was still watching, his face inscrutable. Pushing him out of his mind, Blake started toward the trucks, Kate cradled in his arms. Her heartbeat had returned to a steady rhythm, and he kept the sound at the back of his mind as he walked, his senses focused on the uneven ground beneath his feet and the fog that might still hide demons. The walk back to the truck took hours—or at least, it seemed to. The entire time, Blake tried not to wonder if Kate would survive. Humans were so fragile. He should have known better by now than to get close to one of them.
>
  He only spoke to Simon as they reached the trucks. “Can you drive?"

  Simon jumped when he looked at him; he seemed torn. “Maybe ... maybe we should wait for the others? They'll need to get back, too. And Sasha's the best medic."

  Grinding his teeth—Simon made sense, as much as he hated to admit it—Blake climbed into the back of the nearest truck. He held Kate closer to his chest so he wouldn't move her too much. He sat on the floor in the back, with her on his lap, and gently tapped her pale cheek.

  "Kate? Come on, now. You've had a long enough nap. Wake up."

  Simon had climbed in as well and sat close on a side bench, his bag on his knees. “Should you wake her?” he asked, his voice turning into a squeak when Blake scowled at him.

  Before Blake could answer, Kate groaned quietly. Her eyelids batted open very slowly, and her face settled on a pained expression.

  "Got hurt,” she mumbled. “Bad?"

  Blake smiled, relieved. “No, not bad, you'll be just fine."

  He brushed loose strands of hair away from her face. She tilted her head into his touch, and he could have sworn she smiled.

  She murmured something that sounded like ‘dance,’ or it could have been ‘demons.'

  "What was that, sweetheart?"

  Her smile faded. “Stake you."

  She had to be delirious, Blake thought. He pressed his hand to her forehead. It was hard to tell with his skin so much cooler than hers, but he didn't think she had a fever.

  Time slowed down to a crawl as he waited for the rest of the squad to return. Once or twice, Simon commented on how he was sure Kate would be OK, but Blake didn't respond. Finally, the truck filled with the smell of blood, and too many heartbeats covered Kate's. There wasn't a lot of talking as they drove back to the camp. Sasha had climbed into the other truck after checking that Kate was still stable, and she was waiting for Blake with a gurney when they arrived.

  "I'll carry her,” he said. “Just show me the way."