by Dannika Dark
She wanted him.
Wanted to give and take.
She trusted him, felt protected by him. Even though she was in pain, she was willing to share her blood.
This was exactly how Vampires took blood sharing too far. The desire to learn led to just one more sip. One after another after another. Before it went too far, he licked her wound to seal it and turned his head away.
“Jaysus,” he breathed. He had been so caught up in the act that he’d almost forgotten the danger of having a Jumper on the loose. He swiped a drop of blood from her neck and licked his finger.
Wyatt shuddered. “Would you like a to-go box for that?”
Christian moved Raven off him and stood up. Now that he was pumped up with healing blood, it was time to show this bastard what it meant to fear a Vampire. “Blue, give me your axe.”
She removed it from her holster. “What are you gonna do with it?”
“Knock out the lights and have a party.” He took the axe and met eyes with Shepherd, who was crouched at the far end of the Lamborghini. “Cover me on three. One, two—”
“Three,” Blue finished, stealing the axe from his hand. “Back in a jiffy!”
She sprinted down the alley toward the gate. Shepherd fired his gun several times at the shadows. He couldn’t see Kallisto. None of them could.
Blue was deadly with an axe, her aim true. She tossed it up at the building and shattered a light. Shepherd was able to fire about fifteen rounds before he had to load another magazine. Christian glimpsed Claude on the roof, and he looked deadly.
Claude’s black eyes scanned the rear wall before he ran at Chitah speed toward the front of the building again. The poor bastard was going to wear himself out climbing up and down.
Blue caught her axe when it fell and then threw it at the second light, knocking it out. Kallisto drew back his bow. When she threw it at the third and final light, the bulb shattered. Kallisto fired his arrow.
And missed.
Christian rose in the newfound darkness that blanketed them. Now that he could shadow walk, he glided like liquid toward the gate. While shadow walking allowed him to move quickly through the shadows, he couldn’t scale a building that tall. Every gift had limitations, and he still needed something to grip and climb. A man can’t just float to the heavens like a fecking angel.
Each bar was four inches in diameter. Busting down steel doors with weak hinges was one thing, but Christian had never taken on anything this ambitious. He anchored his foot on a bar and gripped it with both hands. His biceps strained from the immense pressure as he pulled with all his strength. When nothing happened, he tried a different bar. And then another.
Vampire proof.
He turned around and looked at the team. They were trapped. Another arrow pierced the darkness and shattered a car window. Viktor and Shepherd were tossing rocks, trying to get Kallisto to waste his arrows firing at nothing. But Kallisto kept his eyes trained on the cars as if he could see them.
They needed to get out of there.
Christian shadow walked back to the group and crouched next to Blue. “Keep quiet,” he said under his breath. “He’s as blind as a bat.”
Wyatt’s eyes were locked on something. “You better sit your Vampy ass down. He’s getting our location coordinates from his ghosty friend.”
“Well, what are you sitting there for, eejit? Get up and perform an exorcism.”
Wyatt scowled. “This isn’t a case of possession. It’s a specter that doesn’t want to move on, and I can’t make him. That isn’t my area of expertise.”
Christian grabbed a fistful of his shirt. “Better start learning before I drain you and make you do it from the other side.”
Wyatt grabbed the broken arrow next to him and held it to Christian’s throat. “Try it, and I won’t be the only one with a hole in his neck.”
Raven got between them. “Will you two knock it off and come up with a solution? How can Kallisto see a ghost? He didn’t see him before, did he?”
Wyatt shifted his position and sat on one foot. “I guess their near-death experience changed something. I don’t think they were asleep. I think their souls were trapped in the second realm. Like limbo. But the living don’t belong there. Sometimes when people come back, they’re not the same. And they were in limbo for a long time.”
Raven slapped his knee. “Stop creeping me out with ghost stories. We need to think of a way to distract him. What confuses specters? You said they’re not always lucid.”
Wyatt’s dilated pupils eclipsed his green irises. Christian always found it amusing how people widened their eyes in the dark as if that could make them see better.
Wyatt stroked his chin. “Electricity confuses them sometimes. They don’t like it. But we’re not exactly at a power station.”
Christian grinned darkly and clapped Raven on the shoulder. “Don’t be so sure about that. Sparky here is our very own nuclear reactor.”
Blue light crackled on Raven’s fingertips. “Not a bad idea.”
When Christian glanced up at the empty rooftop, he shoved Raven against the Aston Martin. “Other side!” he shouted.
Everyone dove back toward the car that had previously sheltered them just as an arrow struck the Lamborghini’s door.
“We don’t have time,” Viktor said. “He’s growing impatient and will jump down here soon when he’s certain of a kill.”
“Viktor, I can still shift,” Blue insisted, not taking no for an answer. “He’s blind in the dark. He won’t see me.”
“It’s not a bad idea,” Christian offered as he peered up at Kallisto. “Nothing distracts a man like a set of knockers. That’s the only weapon she’ll need.”
Raven gripped Wyatt’s arm. “How do I use my energy against a ghost if I can’t see him? You’re the expert.”
Wyatt bit his lip. “Good question. Blast the air and see what happens. The ghost is four paces away at your three o’clock. Better hurry before he blinks himself back up to the roof again.”
As Raven gathered her light and channeled it to her hands, static sparked in the depths of her irises.
Viktor leaned into their huddle. “Raven, flare all the energy you can. Blue, when I say, you shift and circle overhead. Track him if he jumps. I do not know where Claude is. Shepherd, give Christian your gun.”
Without questioning orders, Shepherd passed his firearm over. Christian wasn’t the best shot, but he was the only one who could see Kallisto.
Raven lowered her voice. “Is he still at my three o’clock?”
Wyatt glanced up. “Yeah, buttercup. He’s all yours.”
Raven stood up and threw out her hands like a zombie. A pulse of thick energy rippled through the air as she took a few steps toward where the ghost presumably was.
“Now!” Viktor hissed.
Blue’s clothes fell away, and her falcon ascended the skies.
“Holy Toledo, it’s working!” Wyatt’s smile broadened, and he gave the ghost the finger. “You reap what you sow.”
Christian stood and aimed the gun at Kallisto. Shooting wasn’t his forte, but if he could get one hole in that sodding bastard, it might buy them enough time to get out of this cage.
Claude appeared from the shadows. The ambient lights from the city exposed Kallisto, who backed out of sight. All Christian could see was his tiny head. Too small a target to hit.
When Claude charged, Kallisto jumped.
Christian turned in a circle, scanning every section of the parking area and alley. Then he swung his gaze up to the opposite building. Without missing a beat, he aimed his gun and fired. Kallisto stumbled backward, clutching his stomach.
“Gotcha,” Christian said flatly.
Raven leaned against the car. “We have to find a way out.”
Viktor stood up and led everyone over to the gate. Christian walked backward, keeping his eyes on Kallisto’s location. The Mage had no means of healing himself for the time being, not unless he jumped down to the street
and stole healing light from another Mage. That wasn’t likely, but it wasn’t impossible either.
Wyatt tried to climb the bars, using his feet to walk the wall beside it like an orangutan. He lost his footing and slid down. “Maybe Blue can get us out from the other side.”
As if she’d heard her name, Blue landed on top of the gate.
“I’m not sleeping here all night,” Wyatt said. “Too many freshies in this neighborhood.”
Raven snorted. “What’s the matter, afraid of making new friends?”
“Why didn’t the store owners wake up already and check out the gunfight?”
Raven leaned against the bars. “Maybe they don’t all live where they work. Or maybe this is such a shitty area of the city that they’re used to hearing gunfire and screams.”
“Claude’s gonna get tired, and mistakes will be made.”
“Wyatt is right,” Viktor said. “We’re not safe here. There are criminals who know who we are, and if they get wind of the fact that we’re trapped in here, they will go on a killing spree. If any humans heard the gunfire, they will have called the police. We have no time.”
Raven lowered her eyes and walked past Christian before stomping the ground with her boot heel. “What about this?”
Christian dragged his gaze down to the metal cover beneath her feet. “Over my rotting corpse. I’ll not go wading around in the sewer.”
She poked her finger through the manhole cover and tried to lift it. “We don’t have any other options. Unless one of those cars can take us into the future, we’re going underground.”
Wyatt shuddered. “Did you ever see Shawshank Redemption? He crawled through miles of shit to freedom.”
Shepherd cracked his knuckles. “I’ve been through worse.”
Christian’s stomach was churning at the wretched thought.
“Lift the lid,” Viktor ordered him. “We have no choice.”
Christian gave a mirthless laugh. “Aye. Pop the cork on a seventy-year-old bottle of filth. Let’s see what bubbles to the surface.”
Raven got on her knees and sniffed around the manhole cover. “Maybe it’s a storm drain.”
Christian knelt beside her. “And maybe it goes to a special place in your worst nightmares. You’ll have sewage seeping into crevices that—”
Her hand flew up. “Don’t talk. Just take the damn lid off before I change my mind.” Raven looked down at her nice boots. “This wasn’t in the brochure.”
An arrow nicked Shepherd’s leg, and he cursed. “Hurry your ass up.”
Claude roared in the distance.
“I’m a fecking lunatic—that’s what I am,” Christian muttered. He lifted the manhole cover and rolled it toward the cars as if it were a Hula-Hoop. Steam rose from the hole. “I’ll not forgive you for this, lass. Not ever.”
Raven sat with her legs dangling inside. “You can stay locked up in here all night, Poe, or you can follow me into a hot shower. I’ll rub every inch of your body with a loofah. Your choice.” Her tongue sensuously swept over her fangs just before she disappeared into the darkness below.
Damn her.
Chapter 16
Gem nibbled on a slice of havarti cheese. “Isn’t this divine? I never eat in bed because of Viktor’s rules. Did you try the salami? I sliced it to fit perfectly on the crackers.”
Niko ate another olive. The sheer purple fabric that hung from the canopy sparkled behind him. He was sitting cross-legged on her bed with his back to the fire. “I’ll pass on the crackers. I don’t want to leave crumbs in your bed. Are you sure you wouldn’t rather eat by the fire?”
She glanced at the flames burning in the hearth. They had moved the couch aside, and Gem admired the way the dancing light added life to her room. “Eat whatever you want. I’m not picky about little things like crumbs in my bed.”
“It’s not the crumbs I worry about but what they’ll attract.”
Gem hadn’t thought about bugs. Rats had never been an issue that she’d noticed, but the thought made her shiver. “I’ll brush them off before we go to sleep and sweep in the morning.”
His brow furrowed. “I should sleep on the couch.”
“Don’t be silly. We’re having a sleepover. Isn’t that what humans do? I really despise all the formalities that adults take on. My Creator used to grow impatient with me at times. After thirty years under her care, I still behaved like a child in her eyes. But why is having fun something only children should do? Why should we always hold our tongues and conform to an unwritten code of conduct? Children are nowhere near as cruel as adults, and they look at life in wonderment. To live in a world with all this splendor and not enjoy it is a sin.” Gem stuffed a cracker with cheese and meat into her mouth.
“I very much admire the way you see life. Are we finished dining?”
She looked down at their tray. Little was left aside from a few crackers, two slices of cheese, and the grape stems. “It’s too bad I couldn’t find any marshmallows. I guess Kira threw those out when she first came here.”
Niko stood and picked up the tray. He felt for her bedside table and touched a collection of mason jars filled with candles. When he’d gathered there was no room on the table, he set the tray on the floor and returned to the bed. The tiny dewdrop lights twined around the posts above them, making it seem as if they were trapped in the stars. Gem enjoyed Niko’s company. No one ever spent time in her room except for Raven on the odd occasion.
Gem bunched up a pillow and reclined on it, her legs curled up. “Why did you tell me such a personal thing about yourself?”
Niko pinched his bottom lip before lacing his fingers together. “I misunderstood your intentions, and I wanted you to know my reasoning.”
“So you’ve never told anyone that secret?”
“No.”
“Not ever?”
“I don’t consider it a secret. Secrets are kept out of shame or fear, and I feel neither. The book I kept was a secret. The spells were dangerous, and I feared it might fall into the wrong hands. My personal choices, however, are inconsequential.”
Gem marveled at the idea of celibacy. Women at clubs were intrigued by Niko but rarely approached, especially once they found out he was blind. He never engaged with the opposite sex that she’d seen. Most people didn’t interbreed in public, and that narrowed the dating pool. And because there were far more Mage men in the world, women were selective about their partners and who they shared their light with.
“Does it change the way you think of me?” he asked.
“Sort of.” She played with the end of her pillowcase. “Not in a bad way. I just always thought of you as experienced. Over a thousand years is a long time. But you’re one of the best men I know, and if that choice played a part, then who am I to judge? I’m sure you’ve had plenty of opportunities. Don’t you ever… want to?”
Niko leaned back on his hands. “I’ve wondered about it many times but not enough to break the oath I made to myself a long time ago.”
“Not ever? What if you fell in love?”
His gaze softened. “Love transcends the physical.”
Gem had never thought of it that way. She had never loved anyone, but people felt deeply for their parents, their siblings, their Creators, and even their friends. Those relationships didn’t evolve into anything physical and were among the strongest of bonds.
“Should I prepare myself for more jokes from the house?” he asked.
“I won’t tell anyone. Cross my heart,” she said, making the motion. “You confided in me about your family and personal life, and your past is not my story to share. The men in this house are thoughtless sometimes. They’d make more jokes about that than your pink shirt.”
“Sex doesn’t make a man. If that were true, we would be living in a much different world. My choice requires discipline and self-control. Most men are weak when it comes to their temptations.”
Gem looked at her sparkly blue fingernails. “I’m an affectionate soul. I ado
re feeling someone’s arms around me. I love soft kisses on my neck. I love holding hands and jumping into someone’s arms. I love when a man runs his fingers through my hair or lets me snuggle against him. I could do those things forever without sex and be perfectly content. That’s why Claude is the ideal friend. Physical affection is hardwired in his Breed, and he doesn’t interpret snuggling as an invitation.”
“Maybe you shouldn’t engage in something that your body doesn’t want.”
“But it’s what people expect in a relationship, even if you’re just casually seeing someone. It’s how I’m supposed to feel. Maybe I just haven’t found the right person, and that’s why it always feels wrong.”
“Do you like women?”
Gem stopped to think about it. “I’ve never been with a woman, but I don’t think I feel that way about them either.”
She suddenly clammed up, feeling weird about this conversation. It wasn’t as if she didn’t get aroused, but usually it was when she was alone. Sex had never made a relationship better, and it wasn’t for lack of trying. Most of her partners over the past thirty-odd years had been attentive. She liked the intimacy up to a point.
Niko laced his fingers together. His eyes were so mysterious and beautiful, like a character in a painting. “Remember the promise you made me?”
Gem wiggled her toes in her blue slipper socks, nervous about what he might ask. “I remember. Go ahead. Ask me anything.”
“What brought you to Keystone?”
Gem rolled over and got out of the bed. “The fire’s dying. I should get another log so we don’t freeze to death. You know, another reason I never light these things is because of all the ashes. I’m going to have a mess to clean up in the morning.”
“Gem, a person is only as good as their word.”
She tossed another log on the grate. “Why would you want to know something like that? You told me about your sex life. Don’t you want to know how many boyfriends I’ve had or why I like rocks so much?”
