A Darker Crimson

by Carolyn Jewel

  “Congratulations, Fly-Low,” Claudia said.

  He touched the container on the table. Korzha heard something moving inside. Fly-Low picked up a pair of thick, rubberized gloves. “I still feed them drosophila…” His eyes flicked to Claudia then shifted to Korzha. “She used to help me feed my goldens. I’ve been able to expand their diet, and that’s made all the difference.” He gestured behind him. “Along with the better tanks. Helps when you can afford the finest, isn’t that right, Tiberiu?” He turned to one of plant-filled terrariums. At one end of the tank, a branch emerged from a shallow pool, a bridge from water to shoal. At the other end bromelids and dense foliage rose toward the top of the tank. From there, mist showered down. Korzha caught a glimpse of a tiny golden-yellow frog clinging to a damp leaf.

  “Hey, that’s great,” Claudia said.

  “They’re shy,” Fly-Low said. “But if I’m quiet they let me see them. I like to listen to them sing. When they’re breeding, sometimes I sit for hours and listen to them sing.” He looked over his shoulder. “The common name is Poison Dart Frog, but it’s the ants that make them poisonous. Gotta have the ants or it’s no good. They like termites, too, but it’s the ants they need. I airfreight them in from South America every Wednesday. They love the ants. Eat ’em like candy.”

  “So, Fly-Low,” said Claudia. “You know anything about Laura Masters?”

  Fly-Low turned. He smirked. “Where you been, baby?” He looked at Tiber and touched the side of his neck. “Masters got converted. Everybody knows.”

  “You sure about that?” she asked.

  “Oh, bonita.” Fly-Low exaggerated his accent and looked her up and down. “You turned out fine. No wonder G was on you like he was.” To Korzha he said in a manner calculated to offend, “She was skinny when I knew her. But real, real sweet. I guess that’s why G liked her so much.”

  “I heard Masters is dead,” Claudia said.

  “Don’t know how that could be.” Fly Low’s smile broadened. “Though, come to think of it, I got a necro-wolf takes care of whatever I ask as long as every now and then I get him what he likes best. Gotta keep the help happy.” He laughed. “Not to worry, fang. Claudia’s not my dog’s type. He likes to eat blondes been dead a while.” He slipped on gloves and used a thin metal rod to stir the smoldering mass over the brazier. A tiny webbed leg popped up. “Necro-werewolf, he like everything, down to the marrow. When he’s done, the only thing left is gonna be a few cracked bones.”

  “So is Masters dead or what, Fly-Low?”

  “What do you think?”

  Claudia shifted her weight from foot to foot. “How’d you get the body?”

  “I fucking own this city. There ain’t nothing happens here without me hearing about it. And that includes your business, fang. I own fifteen percent of TK Enterprises, Inc.” He stared at Korzha. “She has a talent for comm mods. Back in the day, she used to make me a lot of money.”

  “I’ve seen her work,” Korzha replied.

  “She could-a made me a whole lot more. She making you money like that?” When Korzha didn’t answer, he shrugged. “If you two have hooked up, maybe I ought to increase my holdings. Too bad things didn’t work out for us. Did they, baby?”

  “Laura Masters?” she said again.

  Fly-Low walked to a side door and knocked once with the back of his hand. “Hey, got a minute in there? I need you to meet somebody.” He returned to the brazier and stirred the material again. “It’s tradition for me, you know? She knows that.” He tilted his head in Claudia’s direction. “Don’t you, bonita?”

  “Yeah, Fly-Low. I know that.”

  Fly-Low put his hands down and let his gloves slip off. From a drawer on his side of the table, he took out a wooden case. “Take a look at this, fang.” He opened the case and lifted a wooden tube to the light. “The native people of Colombia made poison arrows and darts. I’m a big believer in tradition.” From the case, he produced a feathered dart the size of his pinky. He smeared some of the material from his brass rod on the sharpened wooden tip. “It’s the old ways for me.” He smiled. “Do you believe in tradition, vampire?”

  “Depends on the tradition.”

  Fly-Low held the tiny dart in a beam of light. “Interesting fact. There’s enough poison on just the tip of this to kill ten people. Phyllos are the most toxic creature known to man, dog or fang. Take a vamp down long enough to kill him, if you chop his head off.” He rotated the dart. “What do you think, fang? Could this kill a demon?”

  Then, the side door opened, and Laura Masters walked in.

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  Ice slid down Claudia’s back. A layer of makeup covered Masters’s exposed skin, but up-close, it didn’t hide the fact that she wasn’t a vampire or even a dog. She was just dead. She walked slowly, but then she had to, the room was getting crowded. She stopped behind Fly-Low, arms crossed over her chest. “Tiberiu Korzha.” Her voiced sounded hoarse.

  “Soon as the Primary Assembly takes you down for converting her,” Fly-Low said, “I’ll give her to the necro. Just the way he likes them. And when she disappears again, I think the Primary Assembly’s gonna crack wide open.” Slowly, he turned and stared at Claudia. “G knows about the kid.”

  Claudia had known Fly-Low forever. For as long as she could remember. There’d been a time when she’d thought of him as the only family she had, but she thought better of that as he slid his dart into the wooden tube. “He didn’t care, Fly-Low. You know that.”

  “Oh, bonita,” he said. “You think that, you don’t know anything about him. You don’t have any idea what he can do.”

  “I bet I do,” she said.

  “Watch this.” He put the tube to his mouth, then took it away when Claudia and Korzha both flinched. “What?” he grinned. “You thought I was gonna shoot one of you? No way, man. I don’t want to kill anyone by accident. I’m going to shoot it at the wall there.” He pointed to a spot covered by dozens of blackened holes. “Target practice. Gotta practice the old ways, right?” Just before he put the tube to his mouth, staring at the wall, he said, “She even know who her daddy is?”

  “No,” Claudia said.

  “That’s just not right. You should have told her.” He puffed out his cheeks and blew. The dart penetrated the wall with a thik, the feather quivering from the center of the mass of dart holes. Fly-Low nodded and reloaded his blow gun. “Is she a good kid? Good in school?”

  “Yeah, to both.”

  “That’s good to hear.” He put down the blow gun. “That’ll make G happy.”

  Over Masters’s head, a smoky yellow mist thickened in the air. Claudia smelled burnt air and felt the pressure of air billowing out. At her side, Korzha turned toward Masters. The air shimmered. With a fatalistic resignation she watched the yellow mist take shape. Masters’s body collapsed to the floor and in her place stood a tall male form. For a moment, he was naked, and then he uttered a low word and he wore a pair of jeans and not a damn thing else. Two thin braids held back his long brown. Metallic green thread glittered in one of the braids. His eyes were pale smokey yellow.

  “Hello, Garath,” Claudia said. Even in his demon form, she recognized him. She’d been barely fifteen, and he’d convinced her she loved him.

  “Claudia Donovan.” The demon Garath clasped one hand over his fist and bowed.

  “Did I tell you to leave the body?” Fly-Low said.

  Claudia felt sickened by the realization that Fly-Low must have managed to do the very thing that had earned humans Lath’s undying hatred: bind Garath to his will. Tiber took a step closer to her, and that made her feel safer. His fingers touched her back in a gentle reminder of his presence. “Let him go, Fly-Low,” she said.

  “I got a demon doing whatever I say.” Fly-Low laughed. “I’ve been patient, Claudia. More patient than you can imagine. Never going too far, never drawing too much attention to my organization. I’m so close now I can taste it, so, no, I’m not going to let him go. With a little more
help from him, before much longer I’m gonna be running this city. Me and the demons.”

  Claudia turned to Garath. “What did he promise you?”

  Fly-Low laughed again and then answered for the demon. “We made a solid deal if I do say so myself.” His eyes darkened. “G here killed the people who were with me when we summoned them. Man, I’ve never seen anything like what he did to then. He was fucking free in Crimson City, but he couldn’t get home on account of the portal is sealed. But we came to an understanding, didn’t we, G? I gave him the other demon we summoned.”

  “He died well,” Garath growled.

  “Thing is, Claudia,” Fly-Low said. “He needed a half-demon to get through the portal so he can go home. So I gave him you, too.” Fly-Low smiled. “Your girl’s what, ten? We figure in about five years or so, when I’m running Crimson City, she can take her daddy home.”

  Korzha had an arm around Claudia’s waist, but now, he turned to Garath. “What was his exact promise?”

  “That I would do his bidding until I am able to go home,” Garath said.

  “You can go home right now,” Claudia said.

  Garath cocked his head. “I hear you.”

  “It’s true. The portal’s open,” she added. “I met Siath in Orcus, Garath. She wants you to come home.”

  Garath’s puzzled expression transformed into a wicked smile, and then the air started to heat. Fly-Low shouted. Behind her and Tiber, the door slammed open and the stringy-haired blond barreled in. The air around the demon Garath jumped and danced, rattling the glass in the terrariums. The frogs fell silent. Fly-Low darted forward and snatched the blow gun off the table. He lifted it to his mouth. His cheeks puffed out and the dart flew toward Garath.

  At the same time, Garath said a word, and Claudia’s skin crawled. She smelled burning air. Wind rippled out to catch the dart, whirling it through the air, a wild, out-of-control high-speed spin. By the time Claudia realized the dart was going to hit her, it was far too late. Korzha was in front of her. She heard the dart hit him. He pushed her down so her view of what happened next was skewed.

  Fly-Low laughed. “Kill them,” he said to the wolf. “All of them.”

  The blond’s human shoulders heaved, and Claudia heard the distinctive crackle of bone and sinew reshaping. She heard a canine growl, a hair-raising vibration.

  Korzha wavered on his feet.

  Light flashed in the room. She heard Fly-Low scream, but the sound strangled before it reached a crescendo. Garath had a hand around Fly-Low’s throat and a chilling smile on his face. The blond leapt before his transformation was complete.

  Claudia front-kicked, felt the blond’s wrist break and followed through with a spinning hook kick that caught the wolf in the back and took him to his knees. His moan ended with a lupine snarl. She figured she had about two seconds to get her and Korzha the hell out before they found out whether the necro-wolf was any good at catching live prey. She pulled Tiber out the door, on her way out ducking down to grab weapons from the box. She aimed one at Rabin and shoved the other down the front of Tiber’s pants before they hauled ass for the street.

  She didn’t know if the poison would kill him, but whatever the effect, he wasn’t in good shape. And here in the Lower, that meant he was in trouble. He wasn’t steady on his legs. Another roar came from the bar and in chorus with that, a howl as they escaped to the street. They made it around a corner just as Tiber’s knees gave way. She caught him as he fell to the ground, but his weight pulled her down until she ended up on the pavement with his torso across her lap. His pupils contracted to pinpricks of black.

  But she watched him fade anyway.

  She heard the wolf howling, then the sound of people screaming. Someone fired a gun. Overhead, the street lights surged and dimmed. She tightened her arms around Tiber. The wolf bounded around the corner and slid into a four-footed stop. The beast’s breath stirred the hair on Claudia’s face.

  The necro was bigger than she’d expected, at least four feet high at the shoulder. The wolf bared its teeth and took a step forward, hackles raised. With a rumbling snarl, it jumped and there wasn’t anything she could do. She threw herself away from Tiber and hit the ground hard. Her gun went spinning down the sidewalk. The wolf twisted mid-air and landed on top of Tiber. He straight armed the dog. The necro’s mouth opened wide.

  With the toe of her boot, she kicked up hard while at the same time she levered forward and crashed both elbows down onto the wolf’s muzzle. It shook its massive head, momentarily stunned. Claudia grabbed the gun sticking out the waistband of Tiber’s pants. She flicked off the safety and pressed the barrel behind the necro-wolf’s ear. “It’s loaded,” she lied. “I’m a cop, dog. They aren’t gonna arrest me for putting silver in your brain so back off.”

  “I can handle him, Claudia,” Tiber said.

  “Like hell.” His body was still fighting off the poison.

  The dog quivered. Claudia tightened her finger on the trigger while the air around them heated and condensed in a single spot. All of a sudden the werewolf shuddered, shrieked, and somersaulted away as if tossed by an invisible hand. It slid several feet, re-transforming as it went. By the time it came to a halt, it was a sandy haired man again. He stood, shook himself like he thought he was still a dog, then took one look at Claudia and her gun, and ran.

  She looked to her left. Aslet stood with his arms crossed on his bare chest. He wore B-Ops black; black cargo pants, black boots and a black shirt. A pair of shades hung from the neck of his shirt. The semi-automatic weapon slung across his chest had more than a few dings, like he’d been using it in an Op or two since he came to Crimson City. The demon clasped one hand over a fist and bowed. His boiling blue eyes flicked to Tiber. “He isn’t dead,” she snapped.

  “I wish the poison had killed him. Then the Elismal would be released from our promise.”

  “Yeah, well, I guess that’s too bad for you.” Claudia bent over Tiber and took his hand, twining her fingers with his.

  She felt the air change when Aslet left, but she didn’t bother looking. Shit, she was going to have to warn somebody in B-Ops that they’d been royally compromised. Tiber twitched. She touched his mouth. “Do you need to feed?”

  He got to his feet and wavered drunkenly. When she stood too he didn’t ask, and she didn’t object. His lower body pressed against hers, pinning her to the wall hard enough that she needed an extra breath.

  The air got thick and the sensation had nothing to do with Lath or any of the freaky shit that had kept happening to them in Orcus. From the light that flared in Tiber’s eyes, he felt it too. His mouth brushed hers once then dropped to her throat. She felt the pain of his fangs sliding into her neck, her reflexive recoil. He fed quickly, holding her tight, mouth working at her neck. She collapsed against him. Fast. She felt weak so fast, her brain was spinning.

  With a low hum, Korzha grabbed her around the waist and took to the air. He moved so fast her head spun, and her stomach just about flipped inside-out. Air whistled past her ears. About the time she decided she was going to puke, he came down on the roof of her building. But there, Tiber’s knees buckled. She threw an arm around him and stumbled for the stairwell.

  One-handed, she tried to open the service door from the roof, but it was locked. “Fuck!” she said under her breath. Tiber’s arms slid free of her, and he staggered. He snarled and the door popped open.

  She got him down the stairs to her apartment. Holly would have to stay with Ruth a little longer. Inside, she kicked her door shut and put her hands on Tiber’s cheeks. His pupils were still pinpricks. “Do I need to call a doctor or something? You going to be all right?” she asked.

  “Soon,” he promised. He got them to her room. Her bed. He threw aside the duvet, exposing the sheets. He sat on the bed and pulled her down to him. With his free hand, he delved beneath her shirt until his hand covered her breast, swept over the sensitive nipple. Her belly quivered and when she felt his fingers scrabbling at the faste
ning to her jeans, she lifted toward him to help him. Tiber bent over her, angling himself into her.

  She was soon free of her pants and then Korzha slid into her. Sweet. You taste and feel so sweet, she heard. Whether the words were spoken or thought, she had no idea. Her world blossomed all over again. Tiber moved inside her, filling her, stretching her. She tilted her hips toward him, helping him slide deeper. Behind her closed eyes, she saw him and felt him take on her passion, taking her to a world of dark and velvet love.

  Both his hands came between them, sliding the rest of her clothes up and off. His palms covered her breasts while he moved in her. Claudia rocked her hips along with his. Pleasure roared through her. The connection bowled her over. His mind slipped around hers, and she let it. She wanted him so badly, she felt tears in the back of her eyes, hot and burning. A low sound came from Korzha, a growl that turned into a moan. Their bodies slid along each other. Then his mouth went to her throat again, but this time his teeth found the jugular. She wondered if she would survive this.

  She felt pressure on her neck, harder than normal, and then, Jesus. Jesus. Razor-sharp teeth found the pulse of her, and she thought she’d come apart. Tiber’s pelvis rocked into her, and his orgasm blended into hers, melted her; and then he reached for something else. Something more.

  She could feel his teeth still in her, felt his the lower teeth pressing up, him taking in her blood. She felt his body reacted to hers, the exultation of his passion, the tang of the blood he craved. Her heart pounded, thudded, slowed, struggled to beat, and then didn’t beat. It paused and for a moment was like his. He was old, centuries old. So long ago he’d been a young man, born into what he now was through violence. Like music too beautiful to bear hearing; he touched her and she listened.

  She knew Tiber didn’t want to stop. He wanted all of her, everything there was to have. She wasn’t ready. Not yet. But she wanted to be with him forever. She’d die if he stopped. She’d die if he didn’t. But he did stop. Even when he’d withdrawn his teeth, when he’d stopped taking her blood, their hearts continued to beat in concert. He stayed deep in her head and deep in her body. Claudia curled herself around him while he licked her throat. He threw back his head, fangs bared, moss-colored eyes lit with passion. His civilized semblance was vanished. Even flush with blood, warm with it, pink and healthy with it, he looked about as human as a wolf. A drop of crimson fell to her chest. He bent his head and licked it away.