by Dina Given
He lifted from the floor and dove straight for me. I ducked, instinctively raising my arms to protect my head and face. He hit the wall behind me yet recovered quickly and flew at me again.
Staying low, I tried to get a bead on him with my gun, but he was moving too fast. The cramped elevator wasn’t large; however, this form made him quicker, more capable of tight turns, and gave him more room to maneuver since he could take advantage of the air space above my head. He launched at me with talons bared and sliced through my forearm as I shielded my eyes. The pain was sharp and intense, and blood flowed freely from the lacerations.
The elevator continued to descend, and I knew it would be only seconds before we reached the bottom and the doors opened. If he flew out of the elevator in this form, I would lose him and my chance at getting some answers. He could easily elude me in the large, dark space we would be entering; consequently, I had to subdue him, and I had to do it fast.
When I ducked against his next swooping attack, he entangled his talons in my long hair, attempting to pull my head up to peck out my eyes. I kept my head low and reached up, grabbing onto his skinny bird legs with a vice grip. He subsequently flapped wildly, trying to lift off, but I held on tight, pulling him downward. Hair that was still tangled around his talons tore painfully from my head. I struggled against the powerful down strokes of his wings while he threatened to escape my grip.
Once I wrestled him down far enough, I released one leg and grabbed a hold of a wing, quickly followed by the second wing. He tried to pump them furiously, but I managed to launch myself on top of him. He fell to the floor under the weight of my body, and I pinned his wings beneath my knees.
Reaching into my boot, I freed the knife hidden there and plunged it through the bone of his wing with such force the knife drove into the elevator floor, pinning him like a butterfly in a display case.
A piercing screech rose from the bird’s throat and gradually turned into the wail of a man as he shifted back into human form. He was naked beneath me, sweating and panting in pain from the knife that was impaled through his bicep.
Just then, the elevator chimed gently, announcing we had reached our destination, and the doors slid open, revealing the darkness beyond.
“Wake up, sleepy head.” I lightly kicked the unconscious shape shifter in the leg I had shot. He jerked and let out a moan of pain.
He had passed out soon after the elevator doors had opened. I used his torn clothing as tourniquets for his knee and bicep and then dragged him into the abandoned train car that sat waiting on unused tracks.
This railway tunnel had once connected to the glamorous Waldorf Astoria hotel as a discreet means of transporting the hotel’s more famous guests, like presidents, dignitaries, and the occasional celebrity. The train car was heavily armored yet pocked with rust and falling into decay from disuse. Access to the tunnel from the hotel had been cut off decades ago when the Waldorf walled over the entryway. I doubted any hotel employees still alive would remember it had ever been there.
I didn’t bother restraining the shifter, since I had nothing to tie him down with. He wasn’t in any condition to escape anyway. I found the circuit breaker and turned on the limited power supply. It was enough to get the train doors open and cast dim light throughout the cabin. I propped him onto one of the rotting cushioned seats and placed a larger remnant of his jacket over his naked lap. It wasn’t out of respect for his privacy; I did it to lull him into a little bit of comfort before I really put the screws to him.
“What’s your name?”
He just groaned again, his head lolling against his chest and his eyes unfocused. Another kick, harder this time, brought a higher level of awareness back to him, and he screamed hoarsely. That was better.
“What is your name?” I asked him again, louder and more slowly than the first time.
After a brief struggle to regain muscle control in his neck, he managed to lift his head and look at me. “Eddie,” he panted, gritting his teeth.
If he was going to be cooperative, there was no need not to be pleasant.
“Hi, Eddie. I’m Emma. I’m actually happy to make your acquaintance.” He contorted his face in pain and confusion. “I’ve been looking for answers, and you are going to be the one to give them to me.”
He took a deep breath and sat up taller, which drew another wince from him. Once he had gotten himself settled more comfortably, he smirked, noticing the coat in his lap. “Sorry, love. Did me huge doinker make you uncomfortable? I only get that reaction from the prudish types. Most times, the birds really love it.”
So, he was the joker type.
I shifted my hips seductively and purred, “Oh, I am far from being a prude.” As I leaned in, his eyes affixed themselves to the Star Wars logo pulled tight across my chest, with the S’s curved around the sides of my breasts.
Slowly, I dragged the tattered jacket off his lap and slid my hands up his tensed thighs. It got the reaction I was looking for, which made it all the more fun when I placed my knife at the base of his “doinker.”
He let out a high pitched wail that sounded like it had come from a six-year-old girl and scrambled backward on his seat, trying to get as far away from the blade as possible, but he had no room to maneuver. He had forgotten his injured arm, and when he placed his weight on it, trying to push himself away, he almost sobbed at the pain and injustice of it all.
“Does that mean you’re ready to talk now?” I asked sweetly.
“Yeah, yeah, yeah!” He nodded furiously. “Just get that shiv away from me todger, and we can talk.”
I didn’t move until I felt satisfied he had received the message. Then I stood, keeping the knife held loosely in my hands.
His eyes never left the blade. “Are you planning to use that?”
“Do you plan to make me?”
He took a deep breath and blew it out slowly, his shoulders sagging as the tension left his body. That smug smile made an appearance again. I had a feeling it was his factory default setting.
“I would love to make you do all sorts of wicked things.” He winked.
I rolled my eyes. “Okay, Eddie, get your mind out of the gutter. Why were you following me?”
“Maybe I just wanted to find out where you lived so I could watch you get undressed through your window.” He jerked violently as my blade suddenly lodged in the seat between his legs. “Bloody hell! Have you gone barmy?”
“Why were you following me?”
“Someone hired me to keep tabs on you. That’s sort of what I do. It’s easy for shape shifters to move around unnoticed. We can be anybody or anything you want.”
Knowing where that innuendo was going, I quickly cut in. “Who hired you?”
“Sorry, love, I can’t tell you that. I like breathing.”
“I thought you also liked shagging, but maybe I was wrong about that.” I lowered my eyes to the knife, and he instinctively covered himself with both hands.
He leaned his head back in frustration and muttered, “This bloody job has really gone pear shaped.”
“Did Vincent Darko hire you?” I asked.
“Darko?” he responded, sounding genuinely surprised. “How do you know of Vincent Darko?”
“I’m the one asking the questions. What do you know about him?”
“I know all I need to know, love. Never met him personally, but the bloke has a reputation, and not a good one. He’s powerful; can’t say what he is, though. Nobody seems to know that. I take that to mean anybody who’s seen the real Darko under that human mask is dead. I got no interest in knowing the man beyond that.”
“So if he’s not the one who hired you then who did?” I asked nudging the knife blade to make my point.
He was thoughtful for a moment, weighing his options before coming to a decision. “No point in living if I can never get between the legs of a good lass again, is there? Gabriel Marduk hired me.”
There was that name again—Marduk, the man Zane worked for. This
guy was throwing multiple henchmen at me. Why was he so interested in me?
“Tell me about Marduk. Who is he?”
Eddie squinted at me with suspicion. “Let me ask you a question, love. What’s your game?” I cocked my head in confusion. “I may not know much, but I do know you are quite familiar with Marduk. Are you trying to put one over on me?”
Why would he think I knew Marduk? Could I get Eddie to reveal more by pretending I knew what he was talking about, or should I come clean and admit I was completely clueless?
I leaned casually against a seat, trying to look like I knew a lot more than he did. “Humor me. What do you know about Marduk?”
He considered the request for a moment and seemed to think it was reasonable. “I get it. You want to know what I know. Fair enough, love. Marduk is one impressive bastard. Came up from nothing and is now vying for leadership over Urusilim. I think he’ll get there too. Got a lot of support from our kind, but who else would we support, really?” His eyes held a solemn, faraway look for a moment before he shook himself out of his reverie. “Anyway, he seems quite interested in you. Why else would he go through the trouble of sending so many of his best men through the gate?”
“The gate?” I asked, forgetting I was supposed to be sly about my questioning. His sharp look made me realize I had blundered. Clearly, I was asking lots of questions that were common knowledge where he came from. I quickly corrected myself. “Why do you think he’s interested in me? What did he tell you about me?”
He shrugged, allowing the redirection in questioning. “Dunno. All he said was he wanted to know where you were going and who you were working with. Oh, and if I saw you using any magic.” He said that last sentence with complete nonchalance, even going so far as to slump back down in his seat and remove his hands from between relaxed legs. I merely blinked, trying to process that new piece of information.
“Why would he think I could do magic?”
Eddie let out a snort that turned into a soft chuckle. When he realized I wasn’t laughing along with him and still looked utterly dumbstruck, he stopped and straightened. “Are you serious? What the bloody hell is going on? You’re acting like you know nothing.”
I could try to keep up this charade, but I knew so little at this point that I couldn’t even fake it. Eddie was working for the enemy, and I had absolutely no reason to trust him, but a part of me was warming up to the shape shifter. He was being honest with me, and he had made no attempt to escape or attack, even though he wasn’t restrained. Even his crude sense of humor was growing on me. I couldn’t get too comfortable with him, but maybe I could at least make him more comfortable with me.
I took the subway seat next to him, sitting close enough so my thigh touched his. The casual contact didn’t get past him, as I had known it wouldn’t. He caressed my legs with his eyes until I started speaking again.
Walking that fine line between obvious flirtation and skilled seduction, I kept my eyes lowered while I rubbed my hands along my inner thighs absently. “Eddie, I have to tell you something, but I need to know I can trust you.”
“Uh, yeah, love. You can absolutely trust me.” To add to his sincerity, he placed his hand on my knee.
Hook, line and sinker. Men—even inhuman shape shifters—were so predictable.
“I was in a car accident ten years ago, and I can’t remember anything of my life before then.”
He surprised me by jerking sharply back to reality, but his hand never budged. “Ten years ago?”
I nodded. “Why?”
He quickly recovered. “Oh, no reason. It just made me think about where I was ten years ago,” he said with a nervous laugh.
“Oh, yeah? And where were you?”
“Well, if you really must know, I was fifteen years old then. A boy, really, but I already had the appetites of a man, if you know what I mean.” He nudged my arm playfully, and I couldn’t help smiling in response. “Anyways, there was this human lass in my village who was a few years older than me and more beautiful than a field of wildflowers.” He looked wistfully into the distance as if he could picture her perfectly. “This was back when humans and non-humans could live side-by-side in the same village. I wanted into her britches as much as any other hot-blooded boy in that town, but she wouldn’t give me the time of day. I knew all I had to do was get her alone so I could show her my … ahem … assets, if you will. So I shifted into a beautiful white stallion she couldn’t resist riding, and I carried her into the forest. I stopped by a stream, and before she could dismount, I shifted back into a boy, and she landed square on top of me in all my naked glory.
“Here I was, convinced she would take one look at me and jump my bones. Instead, she screamed bloody murder and some passing hunters heard it and sicced their dogs on me. I knew I couldn’t outrun them, so I shifted into a dog, too, hoping the pack would take me in as one of their own. Well, it worked better than I thought it would. Some of the dogs got it in their minds that I was some kind of bitch in heat. Let me tell you, it did not end well for me.”
We both burst out in laughter, enjoying a rare lighthearted moment of connection between two people.
Before we could lapse into comfortable silence, I tossed out another question. “Eddie, do you know Zane Shayde?”
“Ah, love, I wouldn’t want to see a totty like you tangled up with a wanker like Zane. He’s dangerous, not to mention completely insane. I heard he was a true mage once, a long time ago. Powerful, too. Folks say he would have been appointed to the Mage Council one day if he hadn’t gone crazy during … well, never mind. Those self-righteous mage arses exiled him without a second thought. Marduk took pity on him, tried to heal his mind. It didn’t work entirely, but Marduk took him in anyway; that’s how powerful Zane is. I feel bad for the bloke, but I still wouldn’t cross him.”
Eddie was absently fingering the knife still lodged in the seat between his legs. I noticed the movement, readying myself for any sudden moves, but strangely, I didn’t feel threatened. Instead, I leaned in closer, eager to have my next question answered.
I rested my hand lightly on Eddie’s arm, drawing his attention back to me. “Eddie, why does Marduk want me?”
His eyes softened, and a smile of genuine concern touched his lips. “Love, I’m sorry to be the one to tell you this, but he won’t stop until he has you. He needs you. Unfortunately, I think he benefits whether you’re alive or dead, so he’s not overly concerned how you come home.”
“Home?”
“Yeah, our home,” he emphasized. “Urusilim.” He took hold of my hand, squeezing it firmly with genuine conviction in his eyes. “You’re one of us. You should come back with me. Marduk will protect you, fight for you, like he fights for all of us. He told us you could be our salvation against those bloody humans and mages who would see us all dead … or you will be our destruction if you side with them against us.”
His hand felt warm and soft around mine. I made no move to withdraw it. “Us?”
“Sure, those of us who aren’t human, the Monere.” That was the term Lilly had used to refer to evil, monstrous creatures. Was Eddie really one of those? He didn’t seem all that evil to me.
I drowned in the chocolate brown pools of his eyes. God help me, he was telling the truth or, at least, the truth as he believed it to be.
He released my hand and turned away. “I’m sorry, love. You must think I’ve gone barmy. Maybe I’ve said too much, but there’s something else you should know … about who you are.”
Just then, a spray of blood hit my face from the gaping hole in Eddie’s neck.
I leapt to my feet, pulling my gun and focusing the muzzle on Alex, who sat calmly in the shadows at the far end of the train car, a wisp of smoke trailing from the end of his staff.
I squeezed the trigger and took the shot.
It was clean and straight, aimed squarely at Alex’s chest, but with a flick of his wrist, the bullet was deflected, harmlessly hitting the wall.
“What
the fuck, Alex?” I screamed in rage and confusion.
Alex slowly got to his feet, looking completely unconcerned, and nodded toward the body. “He was about to kill you, Ash.”
His wrong use of my name momentarily startled me, but I had bigger concerns at the moment. I glanced over my shoulder at Eddie’s body, being careful to keep the gun on Alex. Psychologically, it made me feel better to have a weapon in my hands, regardless of how useless it actually was. Eddie was slumped over in the seat, rivulets of blood running down his bare chest and pooling between his legs. An unfamiliar stab of remorse speared me. I hadn’t wanted him to die.
It was then I noticed the knife in Eddie’s hands. He had pulled it from the seat without me noticing.
“Shape shifters are notoriously manipulative and cunning. He was trying to take your guard down so he could strike before you had a chance to defend yourself. I have seen good men and women fall prey to these creatures.”
“You don’t know he was going to kill me,” I protested, but even I could hear the doubt creeping into my voice.
“Do you really think a shape shifter could be so easily captured and detained?” Alex spat with contempt. “Those bastards are incredibly difficult to kill. He wanted you to question him so he could feed you lies and lead you further from the truth without you even realizing it was happening.”
Could that be true, or was Alex the one feeding me lies? Eddie did have the knife in his hands. Had he only been fidgeting with it as he had been doing during much of our conversation, or had he intended to use it on me? I didn’t have the answers, although I did know enough to understand I couldn’t trust any of them. I needed to figure out what was happening in this fucked up game. Until then, I would play along and hope somebody let something slip.
I forced myself to calm down, at least on the outside. On the inside, I was roiling with anger and confusion; however, I wouldn’t let Alex see that.
