“Dalara’s integrity rose a little. He’s brave, dating Rodriguez’s daughter.”
“In return for supporting him, Lim taught Celene everything he knows, save magic. She’s qualified enough to cover the family business while I’m on assignment or ill. They tried hiding her transcripts from us, but they came to the apartment. She’s working on a master’s degree now. Jemina smashed Lim’s car when she realized Celene transferred from modeling school her first semester.”
“If you knew Dalara’s movements, why condone him? Why hide when he asked to talk?”
“Same reason Neuro is reluctant to comfort me—everyone resists change. For me, hanging in limbo negated the problem… or so I thought.”
The hairs on Aviere’s neck rose as goosebumps appeared on her alabaster skin. She grabbed Travis’s arm and ducked behind him, pressing her body close as she spotted Limere teleporting several feet away from the building. Next to him, Aviere spotted an unfamiliar figure standing beside him, offering him a sickled dagger.
Apple vinegar drifted through the smoggy air and Aviere snarled.
“Watch your claws, Mye. Attack her, and we’ll both perish.”
“I don’t like her clothes or her scent,” she declared, voice deepening the longer she inhaled. “Same scent as Sanderson, minus his blasted sandalwood. Apple vinegar means they’re secretive, and I don’t care for her schoolgirl demeanor. Actually, it’s schoolgirl mixed with Victorian princess. Something devious lurks underneath her façade.”
“That’s Soulstealer, second-in-command of the Red Coat Society.”
Aviere squinted while considering the twiggy woman dressed in dark Victorian clothing. “Well, she gives off the creepo factor. Dark clothes, billowy dress… almost mistaken for Goth until you notice the shawl adorned with runed lace and a corset.”
“I thought Goths wore those anyway.”
“Oh.”
“Anyway, she defected after advancing past Arbitrator, the highest rank before Overlord. It’s my fault she turned, I think. Happened after I saved Lyssa from the Society years ago. Soulstealer took offense she couldn’t convert Lyssa into a thrall, so she’s hunting me in retaliation.”
“You have that effect on people,” Aviere countered. “The hunting, I mean.”
“Still, watch your distance. I don’t need Soulstealer attacking you.”
She buried her head into Travis’s trench coat, preferring the aftershave to bitter apple vinegar. “Move. If we stand here any longer, I will get a migraine.”
An arm draped around her shoulder and guided her underneath the glass entrance. The crisp breeze and sweet vanilla air freshener averted the crisis as they entered the facility. The Poisoner covered her nose while glancing around and sighed when no one guarded the reception desk.
“Travis, there’s no guards,” Aviere murmured.
“They’re around,” he said in a jovial voice. “Apple vinegar messes with your nose, I see.”
“So much for surprise. We should have walked further down the street.”
“Soulstealer would have recognized us. I dampened my magic to hide our location.”
She sensed Travis’s anguish between his stiffened posture and his brusque tone. “Fair enough. Thank you.”
“Don’t thank me yet. She’s with Dalara for a reason.”
Her fingers touched until they produced a steeple. “Coercion.”
“No. I suspect Dalara found another option to dispose of the shadow wraith Argrove possesses and his parasitic demoness.”
She flinched when Travis pointed to the sickled weapon in Limere’s hands through the glass windows of the lobby.
“The weapon Soulstealer gave Dalara is a magicked blade reserved for Arbitrators. I don’t know many details—just what Lyssa told me when I rescued her from captivity—but she bound people to the blade, whether it’s with their flesh, soul, or blood.”
“You’re implying Limere agreed when it’s against his morals.”
“He’s one foot in the grave, Aviere. Dalara will deteriorate in a matter of hours. I’m not far behind between the power fluctuations. The only reason I’m standing is because of the painkillers I snatched from the hospital.”
The Poisoner moistened her exhausted eyes and covering her mouth after understanding Travis’s ominous words. Wispy magic spread from the blade and covered the man’s figure until his skin turned charcoal.
Behind her, Travis’s retching caused her to shrink backward. Loud groans heightened her despair as she recalled their previous conversation.
Magic terraformed her brother’s body and his darkened, pupilless eyes bore through her, despite the glass’s protection on her side. Soulless irises stared into hers, but she sensed the regret as Limere spun away.
Before the atmosphere dimmed and energy cackled, she growled at the Victorian-dressed brunette gliding away with her brother in tow.
I never asked for this. Angelique, the moment Lim dies, I’m coming for you and your incestuous brother, you schizophrenic bitch.
Aviere suppressed a cry as she locked her jaw. Both hands clenched into fists as icy sweat coated her forehead. She puffed her chest, straightened her posture, and stomped to the rotating glass entryway, determined to reach Limere’s altered form.
I don’t care how influential this secretive bitch is. She’s not—
Two steps in, calloused fingers plucked her arm back, then covered her mouth before she bit him.
“He shortened his lifespan by accepting the bloody demon. By agreeing to whatever Soulstealer promised him, Dalara shortened it again. Take a good look at your brother, Aviere. You won’t get a second chance after we rescue Greene and stop Donahue.”
She slapped Travis’s hand aside. “I need more time.”
“There isn’t any more time! You fucked up, Mye. Dalara and his woman acted when you hesitated. If you’re running a unit, there’s no room for mistakes.”
“He’s not a full-fledged demon!” she yelled, tiny fists clenched by her sides.
Sulfur laced the air as she met Travis’s condescending sneer. “You’re screwed either way, but it’s a worthwhile lesson. You claimed everyone loses good men, didn’t you?”
“There’s still—”
An invisible force flung Aviere into a tall reception booth, almost sending her face first into the granite counter. She shielded her body and cursed when her glove ripped near her wrist.
Sulfuric acid stung her nostrils while she whirled around to meet Travis’s darkened eyes, snarling at the murky darkness coating one arm.
Mental note, Vi; before mages cast, their speech sounds conceited and haughty.
She clutched her shoulders when the energy slithered around him and choked when Travis panted and landed on one knee. Aviere skittered back as darkness congealed with his trickling blood. Then she snorted at the crushed lenses embedded in the agent’s palm.
“Neuro’s glasses broke,” she said, voice thick with emotion.
“Aviere, go downstairs before Gemini and Donahue kill Greene.” After identifying the distorted tone in Travis’s voice, she snatched her concealed handgun. Aviere meeped as she released the safety with quivery hands and widened eyes, holding her breath at the monstrosity before her as tendrils enveloped his body, cloaking the trench coat’s leathery color.
It’s… which do I choose? Christ, Ma—life used to be simple. After today, I’ll be alone, left behind with crazy mages and assassins only loyal to the highest bidder. Then again, you would be disappointed by my helplessness.
“Go save Greene. Fuck up, and I’m stealing half your bounty.”
Aviere bolted as two tendrils sped toward her. The reflective glass along the building’s floor cracked and bullets rang through the lobby. As the floor shattered and splintered, she watched Travis’s magic act on its own while the agent struggled, squeezing his abdomen as he fell on his side.
My life transformed from a thriller to supernatural, bordering on tentacle porn, Aviere thought while pinpointing
the security guards using the reflective glass. Ma, stall God from stealing my friend, will you?
The cacophony of bullets, bloodcurdling screams and chaotic destruction distracted her inner monologue. Security guards blocked the elevator and the stairwell as they created a barricade around the Poisoner’s escape route.
Several bullets later, after two guards dropped from fatal chest wounds, Aviere leaped over their bodies and plunged down the stairs, damning her partner for ruining their ambush.
She never remembered crashing through the laboratory door or the moment her ears stopped ringing as she blacked out from the fall.
“Aviere, your escape almost won an Academy Award for greatest realistic fight stunt… until you whacked yourself unconscious with a door.”
The muffled accented voice woke the Poisoner as she raised her aching head. Blurriness impeded Aviere’s vision but didn’t stop her from straining against her bound arms. Once she squinted, Aviere groaned at a patch of black mixed with platinum.
Great, Travis. Your powers went haywire now?
Jarring movement jerked her head backward as her eyes squeezed shut. A few croaking noises subsided to long pitiful moans once she caught her breath. Grogginess subsided the longer she gasped for air.
“You’re squeezin’ too hard. Anyone would bolt with dark tentacles comin’ at them. I said wake Aviere, not suffocate her.”
“R… Reese.” The single word passed as a raspy whisper. “Breathe…”
“Set her down,” he commanded. “She’s up. Cover the boys so they can get Karyn to the emergency room. I’ll manage everything here.”
Wailing and shrieking became Aviere’s focus as Travis placed her on the ground. One set of screams snapped her aching body to attention while her chest heaved. The familiar pitch made Aviere stiffen before all color drained from her frightened face and she stopped mid-pant.
“Chelsea. Where is—what happened to—”
A sickening set of pops answered the Poisoner’s question as blood gushed over her sleeveless top, pasty skin, and the glasses Maurice dropped in her gloved palm.
She crossed her arms and covered her eyes as blood continued spraying in her direction. Aviere tensed as dizziness came from the tightening in her chest and throat. Before choking, Aviere swallowed bile and heaved while inhaling putrid copper, ammonia, and decaying flesh.
I’ll never feel clean again. I’ve killed but avoided guts and gore. To think, Gunther—Donahue destroyed everything we built together. This building was our last piece, yet he desecrated it with mass genocide.
When she peeked between her fingertips, olive bile and bone fragments stained her blouse. Within seconds, silver pierced through muscle as the sickled blade severed Chelsea Nichols’s head from her shoulders.
The runes glowed underneath the copper-coated metal before the headless body toppled to the reflective tile in an unceremonious heap. A fresh wave of blood coated Aviere’s blouse as the human being-turned-demon kicked Chelsea’s head toward the matching wall. Glass crashed like icicles, cascading beautifully as it impaled the lifeless woman’s temple and scarred her cheek.
Aviere wiped the sticky blood from her face, used a clean section of her blouse to clean her spectacles, and zoomed in on the massacred laboratory.
Next to her, while grunting in distress, Aviere caught swift movements and flashing light as Travis signaled the cross over his chest.
Wait, Travis is praying in the middle—of course. Catholics. I should have known.
Once she could see, Aviere counted the melted bodies and severed limbs littering the lab. Another shrill cry sent a bitter chill through her as Aviere concentrated on the wispy demon.
Holy shit. This place turned into a war zone.
Every time she flitted her eyes, Aviere willed her body to stop acting on adrenaline. Her human vision blurred with her feline senses when she wanted heightened hearing. She pinched her lips together after shoving her dirty spectacles into her jeans, feeling the heady rush as her eyes shifted.
Lim, this isn’t you. Why did you merge with Angelique’s demon? Armandi won’t let you live after this…
“If you’re wonderin’ what happened, it wasn’t all Limere,” Maurice said from behind her. “It’s a mix of black magic, mages, and weird experimentation.”
“I see.”
“While you slept, the boys found Karyn. They’re takin’ her to the emergency room now. I’m about to head out, unless you—”
“Stay.” Aviere stared at dried blood and gray matter coating one corner of the once pristine laboratory. “At least relieve our misery by seeing this through with us, Reese.”
“Someone exploded over there… one of the hostages here. Most were employees, but they died before escapin’. Celene is dodgin’ around, collectin’ samples for you. Think she’s on her final one now.”
From her right, Aviere glanced at pallid flesh, a color that stood out against copper and maroon. She turned and gawked at Desmond Halter’s parted lips and bloody eye sockets.
They played God with human lives. This is the punishment they deserve. Anyone foolish enough to use my tainted blood for biological warfare should pay the price.
She swallowed more bile, but failed at hiding her disgust. When Aviere parted her matted bangs, the gentle movement roused her quelled nausea. Ten seconds later, she vomited on Desmond’s corpse, which exacerbated her delicate nostrils more.
I can’t say I’m shocked, Des. Karma is a bitch, and you’ve reaped the chaos you sowed.
In the midst of chaos, Aviere found comfort in knowing the couple responsible for their family’s misery had met their demise. When a set of strong hands helped her stay upright, she wiped her acidic-tasting mouth and spat beside her feet.
Breathe, Vi. Only you can free Lim from his nightmare.
“Yeah, I threw up in the hallway,” Maurice murmured by her ear. “I ain’t into this brutality, baby girl. Limere ain’t, either. Glad to know he’s chasin’ the demon instead of killin’ everyone.”
“Thank goodness for small wonders,” she replied. “Where’s Donahue?”
Footsteps clattered across the tile, succeeded by trailing crimson cloth from someone’s trench coat.
“No idea, but I’m takin’ off after Angelique. The desperado is capable enough until I return.”
Aviere reached for Maurice but missed as he darted toward the stairs. Another woman followed Maurice and her wavy tresses trailed behind as she scrambled up the stairs with four-inch heels.
So much for support, Reese. Shit, there goes Celene, too. I wanted another—what’s that wailing?!
The sound bordered being on par with high-pitched bomb sirens, but the noise faded once Aviere pivoted and paid attention to her inner voice, rich and vibrant inside her panicked brain. It encouraged her weary form as she moved on autopilot and aimed the Walther CCP where the voice directed her.
She narrowed her eyes at Evan Donahue, who held his abdomen against the gaping wound soaking his pinstriped suit. The matching fedora crept lower until she stared into his terrified brown eyes.
Upon seeing him, Aviere’s lips curled into her famous condescending smirk.
How fitting. I’ll watch Evan Donahue beg like a sniveling weasel. Neuro, you rose from the bottom of the proverbial cesspool.
She locked her legs and tapped her foot while Donahue’s wet coughs overpowered the wailing sirens. “You fell from grace, Evan. Don’t tarnish your name by becoming a rat, too.”
“Aviere… please… this wasn’t what I thought it’d—”
“I’m not interested in information or pleas. I’ll get a cool million after dumping your ass in a body bag.”
“How… I can tell you his—”
“I’ll hunt Angelique and Dominic Argrove after collecting your bounty,” she reiterated, finger half-cocked on the trigger. “It’s nothing personal… just business.”
“Bull… bullshit.” The fedora drifted beside Donahue’s ruined shoes as he stumbled toward her
again. “Forget… turf war. Those mages… they—”
“You’ve outlived your usefulness, and I’d never associate with a shit stain like you. Consider this an involuntarily resignation, courtesy of Louis Armandi.”
Her cerulean eyes lacked their usual luster as Aviere pulled the trigger and lodged the bullet inside Donahue’s skull, silencing another blubbering plea.
A blissful silence fell after she cradled her delicate fingers. Her eyes gleamed when broken shards embedded behind Donahue’s spinal column as he collapsed like a stone.
A triumphant smile spread across Aviere’s darkened lips.
Louis, I reclaimed my stolen territory from an honorless prick. Central Baltimore better return to me after losing my goddamn brother.
She reloaded the handgun as she thought of the Native American businessman and his mischievous indigo eyes. For a millisecond, Aviere pictured his disapproving scowl at the report she’d deliver later.
I’ll waive the bounty if I—
“Behind you, Mye!”
The magazine barely clicked before something slithered across her abdomen and yanked her backward.
That does it! No more goddamn tentacle magic!
A low growl escaped Aviere’s throat as she twisted against the abomination and aimed, returning fire when a spiked black vine lunged toward her. Four times, Aviere fired.
Four times, each bullet landed, passed through the hardened mass, and then reformed as Travis bellowed obscenities behind her.
“Mother—I can’t control this! Learn to fucking move, Mye!”
Aviere struggled, tugging against the vine holding her in place. She banged the lower receiver against the object, hissing and inhaling through her teeth when it squeezed on her abdomen.
At first, her eyes widened as her mouth parted from an involuntary cry. Her throat burned while it recovered from vomiting five minutes before. When her chest heaved for air, Aviere searched for anything to grab.
Wailing turned to demonic chanting, growing louder each time the same mantra echoed through the laboratory.
Drift: The Renegades Saga: Book Two Page 33
