Ruby: Uncut and on the Loose (The Veil Book 1)

by Danica Avet

  Forcing himself not to tense, Lucian waited. His heart began to quicken. His body and mind focused on the hunt. He knew Pagan and Marie would circle back for support in case any Eturians had caught on to their game. He was ready.

  Ten minutes later, he got his reward. It began with a pulse of power that reverberated through his body. The Chieftain was powerful, more than he’d been when the chase began some twenty-five years earlier. Frowning mightily, Lucian tried to think what could’ve happened to give the Chieftain such a boost of power. The pulsing, vibrant energy moved closer and closer until his other senses caught up.

  First he caught a scent. It was awful. Like something out of a sewage. He fought the urge to gag. Under the sewage scent, he could smell spices, like jasmine or something equally exotic. His frown grew darker. That flower smell was familiar.

  Then, he saw a dog. An ugly dog. Pushed-in face, two teeth sticking out of its mouth, a trail of drool behind it instead of breadcrumbs, its squat fat body waddling for all it was worth. It would pause, look around, and cock its hindquarters to release gas. It was so ridiculous Lucian choked on his laughter. What the hell…then caught his breath because there was no way on the Gods’ green earth this was the Chieftain.

  Chieftain Julius had probably sent this woman ahead as a distraction. That had to be it. Please, Gods tell him this wasn’t the Chieftain.

  She was nearly as tall as he was. That wasn’t the problem. Dark brown hair, thick and cut short, but curly as all hell like she’d stuck her finger in an outlet. That wasn’t a problem either. She was hot. Built like an Amazon—and he knew, since he’d met more than his share—she had curves that promised she wouldn’t break if you wanted to play rough. Tattoos trailed from her face to her neck and her almond-shaped eyes were completely blacked out. The markings were similar to the ones Julius had on his biceps, and the blacked out eyes were a replica of the Chieftain’s. That so wasn’t a problem. He was a vampire. His eyes turned red when he was aroused. He didn’t care that she was apparently the last Chieftain, and Chieftains were never female.

  No, Lucian’s problem with the Chieftain was that she lit his fire faster than a flamethrower. If he wasn’t such a bloody cynic, he’d think she was his life-mate, but since he wasn’t ready to settle down she couldn’t be. He shouldn’t be waiting to capture cranky old Chieftain Julius to bring to a safe house and see a female who set his body on fire just by looking at her. He wasn’t sure what pissed him off more, that he was so completely unprepared for her, or that he wouldn’t get to try her out since she was going straight to Council.

  Without realizing it, Lucian revealed his position by growling and grinding his teeth. The woman stared at him across the lobby, her eyes meeting his with an intensity that hit him right in the solar plexus. She paused mid-step.

  Lucian took a step forward, unable to help himself, and cursed because she stepped back, right into Malachi Cromwell.

  Chapter Five

  Ruby blinked rapidly, finding herself literally between a rock and a hard place. On the seven block walk to the hotel, she’d felt a low hum of threat, but that was it. The Instinct she’d come to rely on since Julius’s death hadn’t warned her of impending danger. Now, she faced a huge shadowy man who growled, his eyes glittering like a mean junkyard dog, and had backed into another man who smiled at her like she was a brand new toy he couldn’t wait to play with.

  Talk about shitty Instincts. From now on, she would go with her gut which said this was no place for an anti-social Cajun girl. Apparently, Briggs’ gut said the same thing because he tugged hard at his leash, trying to go to the right. Deciding his instinct was probably no worse than the one she got from Julius, Ruby dove for the ground and commando crawled after the flatulent bulldog.

  Right on cue, bodies appeared seemingly from nowhere accompanied by snarls and shouts that rose up over her head. Ruby flattened herself to the ground, crawling for the cubbyhole to the right of the door. Briggs headed for a little broken panel at the foot of a floor-to-ceiling window that was just big enough for him to squeeze through, but Ruby had a little more trouble.

  She managed to shove her shoulders through, cutting them on the little shards of glass left in the wooden casing. Wedging her hands on the frame of the window and gritting her teeth, she pressed with all of her might, trying to fit her hips. Feeling her jeans and skin beginning to tear, she shoved against the wood, her feet scrambling for purchase on the floor on the opposite side of the window. Finally, with a grunt of pain, she slid through the frame, her hips and the tops of her legs slick with blood.

  Briggs woofed once, impatient to get away from the racket, prancing in place with renewed energy. Ruby stumbled towards him, and they jogged down the street away from the fight. One more block and they turned north on St. Anne. Up ahead, she could see Bourbon Street. People wandered around the area, talking, laughing and not paying attention to them. The only good thing going for her so far was the black of her jeans hid the blood on her lower body. Ruby’s upper body was scratched up, but most people ignored her as they would a homeless person.

  Leaning against a building, she peered back towards Royal to see if anyone had followed her. Satisfied no one was there, she braced her hands against her knees with Briggs panting at her feet.

  “That wasn’t quite the way I intended to introduce myself,” a wry voice said next to her.

  It was the man who’d come up behind her at the hotel. Her Instinct had failed her again! Ruby jackknifed, about to take off running again but was stopped by a firm hand on her arm. She could have broken his hold, but she felt no panic, no shortness of breath, nothing warning her to run away. Confusion held her immobile.

  “Shh,” the man said, his voice soothing, his warm brown eyes entreating her to relax. “I’m not going to hurt you. I was just going to introduce myself to you and hope I could talk with you without those beasts interfering.” He smiled somewhat sheepishly, showing off a dimple in his left cheek.

  It was adorable. Ruby could feel herself gaping at him. She couldn’t help herself. He was…cute.

  They were nearly the same height, which afforded her a perfect view of his face He had dark brown, nearly black, hair cut close to his head in a rough, careless style that managed to look chic. His face was boyishly cute, from the slightly round nose and baby smooth cheeks to the big brown eyes and thick, long eyelashes most women would kill for. He was built on the lean side but had plenty of muscle on his body showing he either worked out or worked hard. Ruby bet he did both.

  “What do you want?” she blurted out. No finesse. That was Ruby Fontenot. Blue, she amended. Ruby Fontenot-Blue.

  Briggs sighed loudly and sat down, giving up the brave fight against gravity. The man looked at him and chuckled.

  “You’re the last Chieftain,” he answered with his eyes still downcast. “You’re very valuable to this world. There are some who’d say you’re vital to their survival, and others who would say you’re valuable to their world.” His voice got deeper, and he finally looked up, his eyes glowing red. “But you’re more important to me.”

  Ruby gasped. She’d known. Deep in her heart, she’d known there was more to this whole Chieftain thing than just seeing into the lives of people. She’d known there was more out there, but she hadn’t known there was more out there.

  “I think I’m gonna be sick.” She grabbed her stomach and slid down the wall.

  “Whoa, babe,” he said, looking more flustered than she would’ve expected. “You’re not going to throw up, are you?”

  He spoke in a strange language and the shadows coalesced, forming shapes that hadn’t been there before. One of the beings came forward and handed him a bottle of water, which he offered her. Ruby almost laughed.

  Now her instincts clamored for her to get the hell out of Dodge. A little late now, don’t you think? She held her stomach, hoping it didn’t decide to turn itself inside out.

  Briggs bayed at the newcomers. The newcomers chattered back angrily, His
Cuteness snarled what sounded like a command, and Ruby freaked out. At that moment, the man who’d growled at her at the hotel came tearing around the corner at a breakneck speed.

  Ruby caught a glimpse of his face as he passed under a streetlight. And, really, why was everyone around here absurdly beautiful? Dark red hair shot through with black fell to his massive shoulders in a shiny curtain that would’ve made Pantene kill all their models. Strong cheekbones jutted out almost too harshly to be considered attractive but were softened by heavy-lidded eyes the color of jade. Ruby decided right then and there green was her favorite color. He looked like he would tower over her, which made her feel petite and earned her immediate attention. He was also royally pissed and coming down the alley like a Mack truck just a little too soon after the last confrontation.

  “Oh, shit, not again,” Ruby groaned. She threw herself over Briggs, pulled his body into her midriff, tucked her knees as close to her head as possible and took a deep breath. She couldn’t run anymore, and if that meant getting her ass pounded into the ground during a supernatural rumble, then fine.

  The Julius-infected part of her told her this was a bad idea while her gut said this was the best plan she’d had so far. She needed to rest up and form a more concrete plan before she rushed off again. She just hoped the fight ended before she ran out of breath.

  * * * *

  When Lucian rounded the corner and saw the woman with Malachi, he wanted to do more than kill. He wanted to destroy the demon’s entire bloodline. He’d never experienced such a murderous rage in his long life and, by the look on Malachi’s face, he knew it.

  With a few of Pagan’s lads on his heels, he faced Malachi and his enforcers in the alley with the girl and her dog curled in the fetal position in the corner of the building. Lucian didn’t know if Malachi had harmed her or if she was playing possum, but knowing she’d been alone with the leader of the Eturi was enough to make him want to tear down the city.

  His rage, so unexpected and explosive, almost made him stumble in surprise. Something about the woman stirred the primal beast who howled to possess her and kill anyone who tried to get in his way. For the normally easy-going Lucian, this about-face was staggering.

  “She’s mine, Oculum-se,” Malachi said, using Lucian’s title mockingly. “Even if you take her now, she’ll come to me eventually.” He smiled, his teeth a slash of white in the darkness of the alley.

  Lucian bared his teeth in a dangerous smile. “You know the ladies always preferred me over you. I just didn’t realize you were so desperate these days that you had to chase them down like a retriever.”

  He probably shouldn’t taunted old Mal, but he couldn’t resist. Their rivalry went back a couple hundred years to the days before the Eturi even existed. It was just too much temptation.

  “You’ve never changed, Lucian,” Malachi said, almost admiringly. “You never did know when to keep your mouth shut.”

  As if that was a signal, Malachi’s enforcers attacked, going for Lucian en masse. Moving on instinct and skill amassed through years studying with the Guardian Elite, Lucian cut a swath through the attackers, heading for Malachi, who stood to the back of the hoard.

  One demon jumped on his back and sucked in a deep breath, no doubt to cast a spell. Throwing his head back, Lucian crushed all the bones in the demon’s face, stopping the incantation before it left his lips. The demon fell to the ground in a boneless heap. Part of him was aware of the Chieftain crawling out of the alley, sticking to the shadows, but the rest of his attention stayed on the fight. However, that split in his attention nearly cost him his head.

  Spinning to the left, he avoided the blade aimed for him. Spinning back to the right, he caught the arm holding the serrated sword and snapped it. Lucian threw his attacker into the melee behind him, dodged another fist, and let his attacker’s momentum lead him to a size seventeen steel-toe to the groin.

  Lucian was ten feet from Malachi when a werewolf slammed into him, bouncing him off a dumpster. Normally, Lucian would’ve ricocheted off the dumpster and beat the ever lovin’ hell out of the werewolf for daring to take on the Oculum-se.

  Unfortunately, his head found a shredded piece of metal and burst like a ripe melon. Pain exploded through him, sharp and bright. Lucian fell, his blood spilling on the dark street like candy from a piñata.

  For some reason Malachi’s fighters pulled back, and before he blacked out, Lucian saw what looked like honest regret on his old childhood friend’s face.

  Chapter Six

  Ruby was back on her feet and mingling with the crowd on Bourbon Street before she even realized it. She cut through the shadows along the sidewalk with a stealth she hadn’t even known she possessed. The soft shuffle of her footsteps was masked by the fighting behind her, the sounds of Bourbon Street ahead, and miscellaneous music pouring out of the surrounding clubs. She heard the loud boom of something hitting metal but didn’t turn around. Her body positively crawled with the need to get away from the fight.

  She crossed Bourbon and made her way to Dauphine Street. She just needed to put some space between her and them. Coming to New Orleans had been a bad idea. She freely admitted it. There were too many places for them to come out at her. With no idea who the bad guys were, she couldn’t chance running into any of them again.

  Her mind spun with the surreal experience. If she wasn’t mistaken, some of those people back there had become monsters. She’d been too scared and shocked to do more than gape when wings and fur sprouted all over the place with snarls of fury and exhilaration. It had become obvious the sexy man with the long hair was a vampire because when he jumped in the fight, his fangs had slid out. Ruby shivered.

  Spying yet another little alley, Ruby ducked into it, hunching down. Briggs quietly cuddled next to her, his body quivering. He huffed softly and licked her hand. Tears, something she hadn’t allowed herself since her final hours at home, sprang to her eyes. All because of the soft, wet tongue on her hand. There was no way she’d just seen werewolves and vampires and whatever those other things had been.

  “Stupid dog. You’re gonna get us killed,” she whispered.

  “I wouldn’t blame that on the dog,” a female voice said at the opening of the alley.

  “Son of a bitch!” Ruby yelled and sprang to her feet, the tears vanishing in a haze of rage. “Why don’t you people leave me the hell alone?” Not caring if this person was a monster or not, Ruby stalked over to her, determined to take her fear and anger out on someone.

  It was the blue-haired woman from Canal Street. She stood alone, hands on her hips, looking about as comfortable as could be considering she was covered in sweat and blood, and her hair was sticking up in every direction.

  The woman wasn’t about to take any crap from Ruby, however. “Look here, sister, if you think we enjoy chasing your ass to hell and back, you have another thing coming. If you Chieftains would just stay put, we wouldn’t have to lose men to those bastards.” Her violet eyes were turbulent and extremely pissed off. “I lost two of my best guys tonight protecting your ass, and you’re gonna bitch at me?”

  Ruby was taken aback. First of all, this was the first woman she’d met who was nearly her size. Secondly, when she growled, she was showing—yup, it was fang. Blue Hair was a vampire. Fabulous. This had turned out to be a stellar day. Hell, it’d been the kind of week that went down as never to be repeated.

  Ruby closed her eyes and let the chick have at her since she obviously needed to rant and rave at someone. But when the woman went so far as to poke her, Ruby grabbed the hand attached to the pointy finger and twisted, completely forgetting about her new little ability.

  Ruby saw Penelope “Pagan” Fairchild’s life past, present, and future, and she was sorry that she hadn’t been more careful with her choice of words earlier. This tough vampire had led a very long, charmed life up until seventy some odd years ago when her beloved parents had been murdered. Ruby shielded herself from the other woman’s pain and let go of her han
d. She didn’t want to see or feel anymore.

  “Look, Penelope, Pagan, whatever you want to call yourself,” Ruby said rudely, enjoying the surprise on the other woman’s face for one spiteful moment. Really, Ruby hadn’t even known she was capable of these emotions. “I’m very sorry for the loss of your friends and that you’ve spent your time chasing after me, but I didn’t ask for any of this. In fact, I’m not entirely sure what all of this is, so I’d appreciate if everyone would leave me the hell alone so I can adjust, okay?”

  By the time she finished her little speech, she was yelling and some people were staring, but Ruby didn’t care. Briggs punctuated her impassioned tirade with a loud woof and shook his drool over the woman’s Dr. Martin’s and leather pants.

  Fine brows met over angry yet thoughtful eyes, but Ruby didn’t stick around to find out what Pagan would say. She spun around and took off again. She was getting out of New Orleans once and for all.

  * * * *

  When Lucian woke up again he found himself in his temporary rooms above The Pit. The blackened windows were barely winning their fight against the deep summer heat, and his body was covered in a light sweat even though the air conditioning was pumping full blast.

  The bare bones of the room reflected nothing more than that this was a temporary stopping point for him. Lucian didn’t mind it at all. It was a place to lay his head and a few women, then an image of the new Chieftain flashed through his mind. Yeah, he wouldn’t mind having her curvy body next to him at the moment. It had a king size bed that was immensely comfortable, a utilitarian dresser, a closet, and a chair. That was it. The bathroom was down the hall, and he shared it with up to ten different people, which was fine with him. The entire upper floor of The Pit was reserved for either the staff or visiting delegations of the Veil. Lucian had to admit Jackson had done a good job with this building when he’d been forced to retire from the Guild.