by Jessica Gunn
Brian rose and hovered his lips above mine. His pine smell enveloped me as his warm, strong fingers cupped my cheek. “Plenty, but I can think of better ways to help.”
“Can you?” I asked, grinning.
“Mmm,” he mumbled as our lips brushed together.
Electricity seemed to zip between us, everywhere our bodies met. Lips, hands, our knees touching. I leaned forward, pushing Brian onto the bed as my cheeks warmed. He wrapped his arms around me, holding me close, as his fingers slipped up the back of my shirt.
“I love you,” he mumbled between kisses.
I went to return the sentiment, but he adjusted the angle of the kiss, deepening it before I could respond with words. So instead I prodded his lips with my tongue, asking for entrance, which he gave. He tasted of the milkshake he’d brought in earlier and… something I couldn’t identify. Something coppery. Almost like blood.
I jolted away from him, worry creasing my brow. “Brian, you’re—”
My breath hitched as I looked into my boyfriend’s suddenly-red irises, bright like rubies. I went to brace myself, to pull back into the desk chair, but my hand fell onto something dry and papery. I quickly glanced at it and found… My stomach roiled, tumbling over itself as bile slicked my throat.
My hand was on top of snakeskin.
I scrambled backward, half-tripping over the chair as realization gripped my ever-quickening heartbeat. “What the fuck?”
Brian—or, someone who was decidedly not Brian—rose from the bed. He straightened his shirt and shook out his shoulders. And as he did so, as if in response to the motion, his entire appearance shivered, sliding away into something—someone—else.
White-blond hair. Jagged teeth. Red and violet leather armor.
Veynix.
Our team’s tormenter. Talon’s soldier sent to taunt and murder us.
He was in my bed. He’d kissed me.
Horror made my blood run cold, a chill that swept through the room and swallowed all the air, as if we’d been suddenly dumped into a vacuum.
“H-How?” I stuttered, watching Veynix with wide eyes. I needed an out. A way to escape.
Veynix grinned cruelly, amused beyond words at his horrendous trick. “Air-elemental magik, Christine. It can hide pretty much everything, can’t it? Even my distain for Hunters.”
I love you. Those had been Veynix’s words, part of his playacting this night.
A blood-curdling scream sounded from down the hall from Jeremy’s room. One filled with pain and devastation.
“Help!” I cried, but my terrified voice was cut off by my own panic. “Teleportante—”
Veynix lunged, grabbing for my hand as I spoke the word-magik. He fell with me into Jeremy’s room, where—
I gasped at the sight of Jeremy holding his bleeding gut, blood creeping from between his fingers. His eyes locked on to mine. But I knew what he saw. What he must have experienced, too.
Because Emily was standing above him with his own Fire Circle knife in her hands.
When “Emily” met eyes with Veynix over my shoulder, the demon air-elemental dropped her form, becoming shorter and blonder with freckles and deep red eyes.
“Good work,” Veynix said.
The demon lifted her chin. “Shall we end them both?”
“Not tonight—”
I swallowed my disgust and, while Veynix was distracted, slammed my palm against his bicep. “Requirem!”
He growled, stepping back from me before I could take a swing. “Annoying, ignorant Hunter,” he seethed.
The air behind him shimmered and Liz appeared, a beaten and broken Emily and Brian by her sides. They struck out with their own daggers, slicing both Veynix and his friend.
“Teleportante,” the demon hissed, holding her shoulder.
“Oh no you don’t—” Liz said, reaching for her, but the demon’s teleportante trail slipped through her fingers.
The demon reappeared beside Veynix in the next breath, and they were gone in the moment after that.
Leaving my team to deal with the aftermath.
I vomited the contents of my stomach onto Jeremy’s bed, even as Liz called Fire Circle Headquarters for a healer.
Even as I had to admit to Brian I’d kissed Veynix by accident. That I hadn’t figured out the difference.
“Oh?” I had asked him. “And how much do you know about biochemistry?”
“Plenty,” Veynix, as Brian, had responded.
I should have known. Veynix’s favorite pastime was making poisons, after all.
Chapter 6
My heart pounded in my chest, and my vision narrowed to a single pinprick of light. I reached out to brace myself on the wall, my right hand coming within an inch of the newspaper clipping and snake skin. The coldness of the wall, the closeness of the newspaper article staring me in the face, pushed away the darkness around me. With a growl, I yanked the knife from the wall and brushed the snake skin and newspaper article away from me.
All this time I’d been tempting fate, hoping Talon and their bounty hunter soldiers would show up and end this, end me, without playing any more games. And now that Talon was back, that they knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that I’d also survived that night, it wasn’t relief I felt, but terror. And all that paranoia that had set in while Talon and Veynix had tormented my team, all those times where we’d never been sure who was really who, it all came roaring back.
I righted the knife in my hand, ready to strike any demons who might appear, and stormed back out to the hallway. Reaching through the doorway, I grabbed Will by the front of his shirt and dragged him inside. He stumbled, nearly dropping our grocery bags to the floor.
“Ava, what the hell?”
I put my back to the door and shut it, locking it behind me. “Prove you’re really you.”
Will’s expression became a mask of shock. The whites of his eyes showed as his gaze found the knife in my hands. “What the hell is going on?”
“Prove you’re you!” I hissed at him. I wanted to yell—to scream and panic—but with neighbors on both sides of this apartment, it’d do more harm than good. From this point forward, I couldn’t trust anyone at face value. Not if Veynix was back and if Talon had really found me. “Tell me something only Will would know.”
Will dropped groceries to the floor and lifted his hands. “It’s me, Ava. I’ve been with you this entire time.”
I charged forward, brandishing the knife, even though my hand had begun to shake. I wanted so badly to believe this was really Will. That my best friend wasn’t Veynix hiding behind another air-elemental’s power. “I was gone all night. It took me an hour to leave the ring after the fight, where a lot of weird shit happened. Prove you’re really you, Will. Or I’m doing what I have to in order to leave right now.”
Will’s chest heaved as his eyes flitted between the knife point and me. “Seventh grade, the end-of-year trip. The pool. Gina Terez. I thought she was into me and flirting, but they were just video-taping it because social media is, to quote you, ‘a fuckery.’ Then you came in and slapped her, told her to leave me alone. From that point forward, neither of us ever got another damned date because everyone in school thought we were a thing.”
I swallowed hard, replaying the memory for myself. I’d been so pissed. “And when did Brian and I meet?”
Will’s already-exasperated expression turned up six more notches. His next words came out strung together, spoken faster than I’d ever heard him speak before. “Are you kidding me? Fine, Christine Marie, you and Brian met on St. Patrick’s Day two years ago. I was fuck-all drunk and didn’t realize you got led outside by some guy you later told me was a demon that Brian saved you from. And by ‘you later told me,’ I mean six months ago, after the accident. You kept me in the dark the entire time about the Hunter Circles.” Will sucked in a huge breath. “That enough proof for you?”
My heart pounded in my chest. This was Will. I dropped the knife to my side and let out a breath. “I’m
sorry, Will. This has happened before—a tactic of Veynix’s—and—”
“Fucking hell, Ava,” Will said as he rushed me and wrapped his arms around my shoulders. “You scared the ever-living shit out of me.”
As evidenced by his excessive swearing.
“I’m sorry. I love you. I had to be sure,” I said before pushing away. “Pack a bag. We’re leaving right now.”
His expression stormed with dread and seriousness. “Ava—”
“Don’t,” I said to him. “Take only what matters. We don’t have even the small amount of time I thought we did.” Before coming in here, I figured we’d be able to tell the Fire Circle what’d happened. Now… I pulled in a deep breath and hoped the fresh oxygen would calm me down.
Now we don’t even have time for that.
Will threw up his hands, a vague acceptance, and padded across the kitchen. He stopped only briefly when he saw the state of my room before turning back. From his bedroom, he called, “And what about Ben and your bosses?”
I ran back into my room and threw my Fire Circle dagger, a change of clothes, and a box of mementos into a duffle bag. Brian’s old sweatshirt came last; I placed it on top of everything else. It still smelled like him, my dead boyfriend: like pine trees in winter. Tears stung my eyes, threatening to fall. It seemed like all I had ever done—all the team had done—since that fucking mission that had put us on Talon’s radar was run. And here I was again, running once more.
I wiped the tears away and zipped up the duffle bag. Just another night during which I’d have to stuff down my grief and exchange it for another, more useful emotion.
“I’ll send a message to Fire Circle Headquarters when we’re safe,” I said. “I can’t trust them with anything more than that right now.”
“And where exactly is ‘safe’ going to be?”
Honestly, I didn’t know. But Will didn’t need to hear that. There was only one place I could think of that would afford us protection, and it wasn’t Fire Circle Headquarters, not while Veynix could be running around impersonating or having his air-elemental friend imitating literally anyone. Headquarters, while not protected from Darkness, had never been taken before. Just like how the Hunter Circles tended not to try taking Landshaft or other known high-level demon layers. Well, except for everything Ben’s team had done last year, anyway.
Hunter’s Guild used to be the same. It was the only place on the entire North American continent where Hunters, witches, and demons alike could hang out untouched. Protection magiks enforced those rules. But even Hunter’s Guild had fallen recently, to the Emperor of Darkness’s ex-wife.
“There’s a tavern and inn in New Hampshire,” I finally said as Will appeared in the doorway to my room. He had a backpack slung over one shoulder. “It’s a protected place, though I don’t think it’s a long-term solution.”
His eyebrows scrunched together. “But you just said it’s an inn. That could be long-term if we needed it to be.”
“Maybe.” Or maybe the Fire Circle would get off their asses and do their job to protect their Hunters, regardless of the shitty two years they’d been having. “Are you ready to go?”
Will nodded. “Yeah. Do I need to worry about getting into contact with my parents?”
I concentrated on tucking my Fire Circle knife into my duffle bag in an easy-to-retrieve way. “Not yet, I don’t think.” Besides, I didn’t want to admit to Will that after today, not even his parents and brother could be safe from my own paranoia. I trusted no one but Will until there was somehow proof they weren’t really demons in disguise. Which was the main reason—along with the Fire Circle generally not doing much to help us—that I wasn’t going to Fire Circle Headquarters right away.
Three loud knocks sounded on the door to our apartment.
I froze and glanced over at Will. “Expecting someone?”
He shook his head.
I withdrew the knife I’d just hidden and lowered the duffle bag to the floor. Beckoning to Will, I positioned myself in front of the door and waited.
The knocking sounded again, more forceful this time.
“Open up!” someone shouted, sounding vaguely familiar though screaming through a door. “Ava, I know you’re there!” Then, more quietly but still loud enough to hear, “You took enough of a beating to not move for a while.”
Riker.
My heartbeat thundered in my ears. I swallowed hard, then called through the door, “Not a good time, Riker.”
The door handle jiggled. “We need to talk.”
Other footsteps sounded as others strode down the hall. The floorboards creaked under each footfall.
“Can we do this a bit later?” I asked, falling into a ready stance.
“I’ll only be a minute.”
Too bad it sounded like he had Midnight’s entire security team out there.
“Can we just go?” Will whispered.
I nodded and crossed the room to him. Will technically could teleport using the teleportante word-magik. Anyone, human or magik-user, who knew the word could. But he’d never been to Hunter’s Guild and that was the only immediate option.
“Grab my hand,” I said, holding it out to him. “And don’t let go—”
“It’s about a fight I’ve scheduled for you tonight. How’s one million in winnings for your share sound?”
I paused, my lips poised to use the word-magik. “One million?” I hissed.
“Ava…”
I shook my head. “No. That’s worth hearing him out over.”
“Is it?”
“It’s enough to get us out of the country and set up in a new life. Isn’t that what we were just talking about?”
Will squeezed my wrist tighter. “Yeah, and also all about how we don’t have time to play games.”
I squinted at him, then looked to the door. Riker pounded on it again.
“You still in there?” he called.
“One more fight, Will.” A million would be worth it, if Riker was telling the truth. But now that Riker could find out exactly who I was thanks to being unmasked, I wasn’t totally sure I could trust him.
One million.
“Stay back just in case,” I told Will before going to the door and unlocking it. “Okay, Riker. But you leave that small army of yours out in the hallway.” Where they’d be oh-so-conspicuous. It was a wonder the existence of demons had remained a secret all this time, especially in the Fire Circle these past two years.
“You betcha.”
Reassuring. I opened the door halfway and Riker pushed it open farther, stepping inside.
“One million for you to fight Blood Hunter again,” he reiterated. “Do you even know how much money that means has already been bet?”
I lifted an eyebrow. “I’m more curious as to why. What’s so crazy different about two Hunters fighting?”
Riker’s lips twitched. “You’re unmasked, Ava.” The way he said my name, so hesitant, made me wonder just how much he knew. “Plenty know the identity of Blood Hunter. He’s not a secret to the clientele on the West Coast. They’re betting on the show created because of you two possibly knowing each other, or at least both being from the Fire Circle.”
“Blood Hunter.” I hated that I even spoke that dumb name. “He’s a Fire Circle Hunter?” And how the hell had Riker known I was? That was barely a few hours ago. If they’d learned that much that quickly, that explained how Talon had gotten here so quickly too.
“One last fight, Ava,” Riker said. “Then we’ll both be rich, and you can run as far away as you’re planning to.”
My eyes narrowed. “Who said I’m running?”
Riker’s expression darkened. “I won’t turn on you because you’ve done me well these last few months. But they know who you are.” He nodded to my bedroom. “And where you are. I’d be running too, Hunter.”
I eyed him carefully, assessing whether he was lying. Maybe he planned to have me win the fight, then claim the bounty on my head afterward and walk with
his share of the winnings on top of my own.
How much does Talon have on me?
“Fine,” I said.
“Ava,” Will warned.
I lifted my hand. “One last fight. Then we take the one million and you never see either of us ever again.”
Riker nodded. “I’ll escort you out of Midnight myself afterward. Give you a good head start.”
“Do me one more favor? For the hell of it?”
He tilted his head. “What would that be?”
“Don’t tell anyone I said yes yet,” I said. “Let it be a surprise.”
I’d need all the time between now and the fight to prepare.
Riker nodded again. “Deal. See you tonight, Ava.”
I turned to Will as soon as Riker and his lackeys had gone. “Quick. We’re going to Hunter’s Guild until the fight to stay safe.”
“Not Headquarters?” he asked.
“No. Hunter’s Guild. Fight. Get the winnings, then run. Talon won’t get me this time.”
And I didn’t need the Leader of the Fire Circle, or Ben, keeping me from my escape. Or attacking me because they were being impersonated.
One last fight.
Chapter 7
I was a tightly-wound ball of nerves the entire day. Every time the walls creaked or the pipes of the old Hunter’s Guild building groaned, I shot up from the couch, armed with my Fire Circle knife in case of danger. Will was no better, constantly peering out of the one window we had access to on the second floor of the tavern and inn. He wanted to explore more of the building, having never been to Hunter’s Guild before, but I had shoved him up the stairs after paying for a single room.
We crept down the stairs and out past the wall of protection magiks around 9 p.m. to head to Midnight, where we’d sat in the locker room with Riker as our only company until my match started.
Now, I stood beneath the bright lights of the arena, listening to the audience go wild. This crowd’s cheers were even louder than last night’s. But it wasn’t me they were rooting for. I only realized this the moment my boots touched the dirt ground of the ring. In that singular moment, the entire arena quieted. And I doubted it was because of my less-than-fashionable black sweatshirt and black jeans ensemble.
