Acts of Mercy

by Ciara Graves

  I shrugged. “So what if I am? I’m not your problem, so get out.”

  “We can talk about this,” she tried again.

  My time was running short to reach Mercy’s place before she headed out.

  “I have plans,” I finally confessed.

  Iris’s eyes went wide.

  “Out, now.”

  “Plans? With who?’

  “None of your damned business. I’ll see you in the morning.”

  Iris studied me closely as she neared, but at least she was heading for the door. “It’s a woman, isn’t it?”

  “So what if it is?”

  “Fine, fine. Go on your date or whatever this is, but just so you know, no one will understand you as I do,” she warned.

  “Except you don’t,” I reminded her, giving her a helpful shove out the door. “Night, Iris.”

  I closed and locked it behind her, peering through the eyehole to make sure she left. It took a few minutes, but she finally turned around with a loud huff and stormed off. Great. Now she was going to be jealous of some woman I wasn’t even dating.

  “No, just jealous of the bounty hunter,” I growled to myself.

  She would either be pissed off at me all week, or she would pry into my life even more, trying to figure out who I was seeing. As long as I got the information I needed, I would deal with whatever Iris threw at me. I left the apartment and hurried to get across the city before it was too late.

  As the sun disappeared behind the tall walls of Sector 21, I ducked into the alleyway across from Mercy’s building, keeping my hood drawn up over my head, and my eyes trained on the front doors. Her bike was parked out on the street, and I cursed. If she hopped on that damned thing, I’d lose her.

  The door opened, and she walked out, wearing the same thing she had Friday night, no charm on her face this time. A few supes scattered away from her as she started down the sidewalk.

  Waiting for a few beats, I crossed the street and followed behind, doing my best to keep my distance. She turned left at the next block, and I did the same. I wondered where we headed when the bright lights of a nightclub illuminated the end of the dead end street.

  “Here?” I muttered to myself.

  More supes, more noise. But for some reason, I couldn’t see Wesley, the old crotchety gryphon, meeting her here to talk.

  Mercy walked right into the club without even waiting for the bouncer to let her in. With no other choice, and not wanting to risk waiting in line and losing her, I walked up to the door.

  The bouncer, a tall, broad-shouldered troll bigger than me, stopped me with his arm. “Line, buddy,” he snapped.

  I pulled out my badge and flashed it. “I’m tailing a suspect. Move aside, please.”

  His thick brow furrowed. “No trouble, Fed. Or I’ll throw you out on your ass.”

  He waved me in, and I rushed through the corridor that led into the main club, searching for Mercy.

  The place was packed from one end of the dance floor to the other and finding her was going to be impossible if I resorted to visual senses. I breathed in through my nose and closed my eyes, ignoring the rushing bodies around me and the pounding music vibrating through me…

  There.

  The crisp smell of apples. Mercy was close.

  I spun slowly around and spotted her hair as she ducked through a side door with an EXIT sign over it. I pushed through the crowd, ignoring the growls and curses thrown at me, and opened the door to find a hallway leading to another door. Beyond that, a set of metal stairs led up the rear side of the building.

  Mercy’s footsteps rattled above me.

  I climbed up, quietly as possible.

  We ascended all the way to the roof of the nightclub. Or, at least, what was now the roof.

  At some point, it appeared this had been another floor, but a fire had torn through it and destroyed most of the walls and ceiling. All that remained were metal studs and debris. Two brick outer walls were half there with their windows somehow still intact.

  I stayed as far away as I could while keeping my eyes on her. If Wesley was here, I couldn’t get too close for fear he’d somehow realize I’d shown up after all, and take off without telling Mercy anything.

  “About damned time,” Wesley snapped.

  I peeked around a metal post.

  Mercy approached him, toward the center of the area. “You said night. It’s night,” Mercy replied.

  “You alone?”

  “Do I look like I’m alone? Don’t have all night, Wes. What do you know about Liam?”

  Wesley appeared worse than he had the first time I saw him. Paranoid, he glanced around as if expecting to be attacked at any second.

  A shiver rushed down my back, and I did a slow turn, searching every shadow for a sign of movement, or that we were being watched. As far as I could tell, we were alone up here.

  “As soon as you know the truth about him, you won’t be safe,” Wesley warned.

  “I’ve never been safe. Spill, now. I don’t have time for this shit.”

  Time. Why didn’t she have time? Did she know something Liam was going to do that I didn’t know about?

  “Liam Manchester is into more than just trafficking dark artifacts, but you already know that.”

  “His fangs. What is he?” Mercy asked stiffly.

  “Something new and dangerous, but not the first of his kind.”

  My impatience seemed to be on par with Mercy’s because her hand twitched at her side as if she was debating pulling a gun on the gryphon. “And what is that?”

  “There isn’t a name for it, but he can’t sustain himself as a normal mage would, not any longer.”

  “Donors? He’s taking donors?”

  “Ha! If you could call kidnapping innocent people taking donors.” Wesley laughed harshly. “What he needs, no donor will be able to give him. He can’t just take a bit and be fine. Oh no, he has to take everything, blood and life force to sustain the dark magic now roaring through his veins. And he is just the beginning.”

  “What do you mean? Beginning of what?”

  Wesley spun around suddenly. “Damn it. You have to go. Now!”

  “What? Why, Wes?”

  “The files. Find the files on the missing donor cases,” Wesley shouted at her. “Get the hell out of here, Mercy. Go!”

  I sniffed the air, listening to the night, but whatever the gryphon sensed was beyond me. I figured he was just trying to scare Mercy, make her leave him alone so he wouldn’t have to say anything else.

  Then a high-pitched shriek echoed from the neighboring buildings, increasing until it surrounded us.

  “Gobs,” Mercy snapped. She drew her gun. “Wesley, what is this?”

  “I told you it wasn’t safe. I’m sorry, Mercy. Just get out of here! You must stop Liam! Stop them all before it’s too late to save everyone.”

  The shrieking grew closer and then shadows were jumping from other buildings and onto this one, an endless swarm of their green and grey-skinned bodies. I’d seen packs of goblins plenty of times in the dens, but this wasn’t a pack. It was a goddamned swarm. And they were headed right for Mercy and Wesley.

  Mercy raised her gun, but two jumped her from behind before she had a chance to fire off a shot, and then I was sprinting, trying to get to her.

  I yanked the goblins off with a yell and threw them over the edge of the roof, yanking Mercy to her feet.

  “You! You followed me?” she yelled.

  “Yell at me later,” I shouted. “We have to get out of here!”

  “No shit,” she snapped and decked a goblin who rushed her. “There’s too many to take on. Wes! Where’s Wes?”

  I searched for him amongst the rushing bodies, grabbing Mercy’s arm. “Too late.”

  “No! We need him,” she argued and threw herself into the goblins before I could grab her.

  “Mercy! Damn it, woman.” I made to go after her, but three goblins grabbed my arms and took me to the floor.

 
I punched one in the face, snarling as another chomped down on my arm, drawing blood and tearing a hole in my jacket.

  Grabbing the goblin by the throat, I squeezed, watching him squirm in my grip. Then chucked him into his kin, taking them all down.

  More and more poured onto the roof, coming up the side steps. And, what would have been our escape.

  Wouldn’t matter if I couldn’t find Mercy. Part of me said to leave her. I overheard everything Wesley said, so technically, I wouldn’t need her. But there was no way in hell she was getting out of here alive on her own.

  Despite the fact she was a bounty hunter, and I did not agree with her methods, with her alive I had a chance to see where this trail of information led. Something told me I would need her and her Underground contacts if we were to find Liam and bring him in.

  I’d be a damned fool if I let myself believe that was the only reason I was going to save her ass.

  Through the mass of bodies, I spotted Mercy finally, flinging goblins out of her way.

  She yelled for Wesley, and I followed her furious glare to the goblins who had already bound the gryphon in chains and were dragging him away. They’d gagged him too, but from the look of his face, he was attempting to yell at Mercy to stay away. The goblins were simply holding Mercy and me off now, not giving us a chance to get to Wesley. They didn’t even try to attack. Not outright. I snatched the one closest to me and snarled in his face.

  “Who sent you?” I snapped.

  The goblin’s lips parted in a creepy smile that set me on edge. His dark eyes appeared cloudy, glazed over almost.

  “Rot! You bastard,” Mercy shouted, distracting me.

  The goblin in my grasp bit down on my hand.

  I howled, releasing him and he took off after the others.

  “Sorry, sweets, but I got my orders!” Rot, the goblin who’d gone after her in the Underground, stood at the front of the line of goblins as the rest carted Wesley away and out of sight. “Throw her off the roof!”

  “No!” Mercy kicked and punched.

  No matter her fighting skills, she couldn’t take down the ten goblins that were shoving her toward the edge of the roof.

  I expected her to use magic of some kind, but nothing sparked to life around her.

  For the first time since meeting her, she was void of any magic stench. I wondered yet again what the hell she was.

  I yelled, charging in to get to her before she went over, but Rot spotted me and snapped his fingers.

  More goblins broke away from the fleeing swarm and slammed into me, knocking me over.

  There was a gunshot. Followed by another.

  Mercy screamed.

  Demon rage burst within me, turning my vision red. I roared, and the goblins trying to pin me down went soaring through the air, landing in various heaps, tangled up in each other. I barreled toward Mercy, but the goblins had her by the arm.

  I yelled, stretching my arm out, knowing I was going to be too late.

  They swung her around, and she crashed through one of the remaining windows.

  Seven stories up.

  “No!” I ran to the window and peered out as the goblins retreated. Rot cackled madly, but then he was gone, too. All of them disappeared into the night.

  Glass cut into my hands as I searched the alley for a sign of Mercy’s body. There was no way she could survive the fall…

  There!

  “Mercy,” I gasped.

  Without thinking, I jumped down to the next floor, clinging to the bricks with my bleeding hands, nails digging into the crumbling wall. I jumped to the next level, and the next, then missed a few and ended up crashing to the hard ground. But now, I was on the right level, and sprinted to her broken body, lying in a puddle of dirty water.

  I expected to find her body twisted and bloodied. I reached out a hand toward her.

  She gasped, sucking in air.

  “Mercy?” My fingers barely brushed against her arm.

  Fire burst to life surrounding her. The flames illuminated a shimmering shield that covered her. Something I hadn’t noticed before. As the flames died down, the shield sank into her body, and she dropped another few inches onto the ground.

  “What—you saved yourself.” I glanced back up to the height she’d fallen from, then to where she rested.

  Magic. She had magic in her after all, and it was damned strong, if it could protect her from what should’ve been her death. It had cocooned her body. After seeing the shield, the fire, I knew exactly what she was, and I reeled away from her, running a hand through my hair as I stalked down the alley.

  Mage. She was a goddamned mage. A witch I could’ve dealt with. But this? Every scar on my back and shoulders flared with sudden pain, and I was tumbling down through a corridor of darkness as screams echoed around me.

  Jaw clenching, I held my head, crouching down as I fought against the memories threatening to crush me.

  Rafael…

  “No,” I snarled, shaking my head violently. “No, just leave me alone!”

  You let me die… you let him kill me…

  “I tried,” I whispered. “I’m sorry… I’m so sorry…”

  No, not yet you’re not, but you will be soon enough… Soon enough, big brother…

  The voice faded away, and the pounding music from the club replaced it, as if nothing at all happened.

  Slowly, I straightened, glaring down the alley at Mercy’s prone body. Demon rage driving me, I strode right past her and made it all the way to the sidewalk, when another memory slammed into me, stopping me short as my hands curled into fists, nails digging harshly into my palms until they drew blood. It dripped in rivulets down my knuckles to the stones at my feet.

  Mercy in my arms, her lips on mine, seeing the truth in those cold eyes. I wasn’t the only one who’d been hurt. The burden she carried. It was the same as mine. The fact she never used her magic told me there was much more to her than just being a mage who hid her abilities. What right did I have to judge her after all the shit I’d been through? After everything I’d seen?

  Liam was a mage, too and yet she hunted him down with relish.

  I wasn’t even close to trusting her, but if I went off now and left her here, I’d never be able to live with myself if she turned up dead. Growling curses and praying I wasn’t going to regret my actions, I spun back around and stomped to her side.

  “Mercy?” Gently, I shook her shoulders.

  Her eyes never opened. Suddenly, her breathing grew ragged.

  I checked the pulse at her neck to find it far too fast, skipping beats and faint. The smart move would’ve been to call her some help and then leave, go to Nor, and tell him about what just happened. After learning what she was, it made sense.

  But just like when I was up on the roof and considered leaving her, I found myself ignoring what reason and logic told me to do. I picked her up carefully and carried her out of the alleyway. Taking her back to her place should’ve been my next step, but Rot, that damned goblin, was after her. There was no way to know if he’d go to her place later and ensure she was actually dead. If he found her there, unconscious, helpless, I’d be leaving her to die.

  Before I turned in for the night, I’d be sure Mercy was unarmed, so at least if she woke up first, I wouldn’t have a gun aimed at my face.

  After reaching my place, I placed her on the couch, removed her leather coat and boots, then settled her back against the pillows. Her breathing hadn’t improved, but her pulse had grown steadier. Wetting a washcloth, I carefully wiped at the scrapes on her face and hands, cleaning her up some, and smoothed her hair back from her face. When my fingers brushed across her scar, she flinched, and a spark of power jolted me.

  Her hands dug into the couch cushions, holding on for dear life as she groaned in pain, her head thrashing back and forth.

  A scream slipped from her lips as her back arched off the couch.

  I pressed her shoulders down to stop her from flipping off onto the floor.
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br />   “Mercy! Damn it,” I snapped, ready to grab my cell and call for help when she went utterly still.

  Immediately I checked her pulse again, and after a horrible few seconds, it beat against my fingertips.

  That was it.

  No way was I sleeping in my room tonight.

  I tucked her weapons away in my bedroom safe, then dragged the armchair closer to the couch, plopped down, and kept watch over the strange mage who’d stumbled into my life.

  Iris always accused me of being afraid of opening up, but that wasn’t the truth.

  The truth was I believed no one could ever understand what I’d gone through.

  Now I realized that wasn’t true, at all.

  Mercy’s scar was proof of the torture she’d endured.

  “Who are you?” I whispered to the darkness.

  But there was no reply.

  Chapter 12

  Mercy

  Something was wrong.

  The cushions beneath me, they weren’t from my beaten down, piece of crap couch. And that smell, it was… strange. Masculine, but I’d smelled it before… where?

  I shifted and then gasped as pain exploded over my body. Through the agony, I managed to catch a glimpse of my surroundings. This place, I’d been here—

  The Fed.

  This was his place, wasn’t it?

  Why was I on his couch? Eyes wide open now, I sat up only to fall right back down, cursing as I grabbed my forehead and wished I could pass right back out.

  “Good. You’re alive,” a growling voice said from nearby.

  Peeking through my hand, and trying to piece together what happened for me to end up here, I found Rafael standing in the kitchen. His back was to me, facing the stove as he cooked. The sounds of meat sizzling filled the apartment, as did the delicious scents of curry and other spices. It that had my mouth watering. I sat up again, slower, my head feeling like my brain was rolling around inside my skull.

  “You look like shit,” Rafael said as he leaned on the counter. “Mercy?”

  “Thanks, asshole,” I muttered, the words coming out garbled until I cleared my throat. “How did I get here? What—y-you followed me. Didn’t you?”

  “You don’t remember anything?” he asked with a tone that said I missed something major.