Zack made a show of wiping his mouth. “How quickly we turn on our friends. No respect. No thanks.” He took the lead towards the velvet ropes.
Another bouncer was standing guard, less intimidating than the one outside, but only by a fraction. Zack mouthed the word Terra. The bouncer grimaced, but opened the velvet rope all the same, allowing Sage and Grey to pass.
Zack stayed behind. “Nice knowing you both.”
“Ignore him,” Grey said.
“Oh, was he talking?” Sage replied with a smirk.
Halfway up to the VIP section, a door opened up on the landing. Sage recognized the woman peeking her head out as one of the twisted sisters who’d been smoking out on the back door when they came through. She held the door open but didn’t greet Sage with any warmth.
The office behind the door was surprisingly large, with its own back door exit. Sage made a quick mental note of the windows and doors, as well as the vampires sitting around the cozy room, hoping to avoid a fight but still wanting an escape route all the same.
Grey paid particular interest to the two women who had taken places at a very official-looking desk. Blondie, with the eye-assaulting green leggings had, the chair. To her left, perched on the corner of the desk, sat an equally 80’s-inspired lady. Her face was concealed by a black mourning cap with matching lace trim hanging over her eyes.
“Who’s the new leadership here?” Grey opened the meeting by speaking to the two women, but nodded casually toward two more gentlemen standing like bodyguards near the back door.
“Why? You here to take us out as well?” Blondie with the neon green leggings spoke first.
Her partner scowled but said nothing.
“I’m here for fact-finding. A truce,” Grey assured them.
Blondie at hissed the word truce, her glare darkening.
“We believe someone is playing both sides against the middle,” Grey continued, despite the obvious aggression. “Now, I don’t know about you, but I hate games – and being played is only causing us both trouble.”
Fangs on display, Blondie did not appear to be in the talking mood. “You’re the one in trouble right now, Terra.”
“Hey! We’ve both taken heavy losses. Do you really think threats are the right response here?” Grey was probably the worst choice for diplomat. His words might be well-intentioned, but his natural arrogance gave them a haughty edge that Blondie clearly picked up on.
“You think we’re just going to bow and scrape before you. When the Terra speak, all must listen. You talk of losses. You have no idea what true loss is.”
Blondie’s partner nodded emphatically. “Terras have lorded over us all for too long. Thinking you’re better than us. At the end of the day, you all bleed just like anyone else. And look how you come crawling when someone dares to challenge you.”
“Do you see me on my knees?” Grey shot back at them.
Sage choked on her breath. Wrong choice of words. He’s falling into their trap.
“If I wanted you on your knees, you’d be there,” Blondie cackled.
“And if ASSET wanted you dead, we’d have finished the job you claim we started.” Grey stood strong, crossing his arms at his chest and locking eyes with Blondie, daring her to keep taunting.
The men standing guard at the door looked ready for a fight. Their muscles tensed, and they kept their eyes trained on Grey and Sage as if waiting for the word.
Death was coming. Sage could feel it in her bones. This meeting would not end in words; it would end with blood. Her heart kicked into overdrive as she realized the odds were stacked against them. She might be able to hold her own against one, but there were three more to deal with. Grey acted like a badass, but how good was he? Could he take on three of them?
There had to be another way; something to calm the aggression and get them to listen. But what? She knew nothing of these people or what they cared about. No; she did know what they loved: blood. Blondie eyed her with a hunger that screamed predator.
Silence passed as Sage’s heart thundered louder. Surely the vampires could hear it. They were probably counting the beats, just imagining the blood flowing through her veins. Zack had called her an acquired taste. More out of reflex than intention, she nudged Grey, hoping he would bow out gracefully before they became the main course of the evening.
Grey spoke again, this time taking a lighter approach. “I’m not here to exact any revenge or punishment on behalf of ASSET. We’re here for peace. I might not know loss, but she does.” He turned his gaze to Sage. “Her mother was one of the darklings sent in the attack. She’s afraid and alone in this world and just wants to know how it all happened.”
“Aww, poor little baby.” Blondie wasn’t buying his change of tactic. Too bad; it had been a far nicer approach than the steamrolling he’d opened with. “If momma hadn’t been sticking her nose in places she didn’t belong, then this little girl would never know her place in the world.” Blondie’s laugh echoed throughout the room, with all her compatriots joining in on the joke.
“So much for appealing to your good nature,” Sage groaned. “You clearly have none.”
“Baby can speak? Adorable.” Blondie’s mouth twisted evilly into a lopsided grin.
“I’m going to venture a guess here. You’re new to your position,” Grey said, drawing attention back to him. “Word is the vampire covens had a major shake-up recently. Lost a lot of old blood.”
Blondie’s expression sharpened. “You Terras would know all about that, wouldn’t you?”
“It’s our job,” Grey replied just as curtly.
“To wipe out entire covens in the blink of an eye? You call us killers. Have you looked in the mirror lately?” Blondie threw her words like daggers.
“How could we wipe out entire covens?” Grey parried her angry accusations, with practiced efficiency. “By what means were your clan harmed?”
Blondie smirked. “Keep fishing, honey.”
“I told you we were after information.” Grey’s nostrils flared angrily. “Whoever it is causing the rift, they’re not just going after your people.”
“But my people are the ones paying the price,” Blondie snapped at him.
“And until we can get to the bottom of things, this kind of crap will continue to happen,” Grey responded with equal annoyance. “More vampires dead.”
“Maybe. Or perhaps the reign of the Terras will come to an end. It is after all your race lording over all the others that started this fight in the first place. The gods’ perfect creations, sent to bring order to the chaotic magic ruining precious mother earth.” Her voice dripped with sarcasm.
“Funny to hear that come from someone who’s stolen their magic.” Grey threw a dirty look at the cocky vampire.
“At least I have some,” Blondie retorted without missing a beat. “Your kind are the worst kind of immortal – useless without magic. But you can bleed.”
The men who’d been standing guard at the door looked at each other and then to Blondie. She nodded slightly, and they took that as their cue to move in.
Grey unsheathed a large blade from his waist and moved like lightning to block. He connected with one target, but the other man continued toward Sage.
She pulled a small blade from her belt and folded it back against her wrist.
More beast than man, the male vampire moved toward her with a cocky stride, certain of his next meal. Where he should have had two fangs, there was only one, and a gaping hole left in the other’s place. One fang was plenty though, and by the looks of it, sharp as a nail. The look he gave her nearly froze her in place. Snaggle-toothed he might be, but still predatory in every sense of the word.
As he barreled down on her, she remembered Devon’s warnings. This wasn’t training. It was no time to be the victim. As soon as he was in range, she whipped her arm around in a frantic swipe. The edge of the blade made contact with his shirt but didn’t stop his momentum.
She swiped her arm again with the knife
out, but he caught her with a backhand that knocked the blade from her grip. It flew into the air, but she never saw it land. Snaggle-tooth was on her before the clatter of fallen steel sounded.
Arms like vice grips crushed the wind from her body. It happened so fast her mind couldn’t comprehend what was going on.
He leaned down, his cold breath ghosting across her neck, a promise of what was to come.
Sage struggled, squirming, trying to inch away from his teeth. She sent her knee up to meet his groin. He hissed and threw his head forward, colliding with hers.
Pain kept her riveted to the moment. Her ears rang and her skull ached as if it were splitting in two. If she gave in; stopped struggling, it would be game over. She had to keep fighting as long as there was breath in her lungs.
His body was an immovable wall. His arms had hers pinned to her side and he held her weight entirely under his control. She had no moves. Devon’s words whispered again in her mind: Use what you have.
She had nothing. No weapon. No fists. She squirmed with her legs and tried again to find the sweet spot between his legs, but he’d guarded himself this time. If nothing else, her struggling amused him enough that he had not yet finished the job.
What else could she do?
Vibrations from his mocking laughter reverberated against her cheek pressed against his chest. She turned her head and bit down into his pecs as hard as she could.
Snaggle-tooth yowled and punished her with another smash of his wrecking ball of a head into hers.
Unconsciousness took her for a few precious moments.
Sage awoke to a sharp pain like hundreds of needles piercing her flesh, vaguely aware of the mouth clamped on and suckling at her neck. She’d lost.
And then suddenly, the body above her went slack. The weight of him was still pinning her to the ground, but the pressure of his mouth had gone. Sage tried to turn her head and see what was happening, but it was no use.
Screams erupted in the room and blood splattered across her face, but she couldn’t see from where or who had caused it.
Sounds of a fight raging around her continued to echo. Fear gripped her as tightly as the man crushing her body into the floor. Her heart would have been racing, but weak as she was from loss of blood, it barely registered a beat. Then, as if he’d grown wings or suddenly been filled with gas, her attacker floated off her. Immediately she rolled away and pushed herself up to her knees.
“We need to get out of here. Now,” Grey shouted. He was covered from head to toe in blood and bits of something she neither recognized nor wanted to. “Can you run?”
Sage tried to nod, but her heavy head swayed more than moved under her will. She opened her mouth, but no words came out. Only the knowledge of how dead she would be if she stayed gave her strength enough to put one foot in front of the other and stumble after Grey.
He bolted the door leading to the club and turned toward the back staircase door. Pulling her along, they made their way down the stairs and into parking lot. Sage clung to Grey as if he could keep her from passing out again.
When they made it to his bike, they found Zack sitting on it.
“Nice ride.” He always seemed to have that cocky smirk on his face. His eyes lit with something like excitement as he looked toward Sage. “Someone’s been naughty.”
“Off the bike,” Grey warned.
Zack slowly rose to his feet. “Had you come to me, asking nicely, I’d have given you all the information you needed.”
“You could have offered information willingly too,” Grey replied.
Sage vaguely remembered Devon asking or maybe ordering Zack to find out information. And the bastard had run cowering from his gym. If she’d had the strength or control over her body, she might have brought that fact up. As it was, she was barely keeping herself upright. And if someone didn’t give her a place to sit soon, she’d take her final rest right there on the asphalt.
“That’s something your kind are very bad at… asking nicely,” Zack teased. “Might do to remember that next time.”
“Are we done with the life lesson?” Grey asked.
Sage was sure he was stalling for time, and the rest of the coven would come down on them at any second. She tugged at Grey’s jacked urgently, and the strength it took nearly toppled her over.
Zack’s eyes followed her frightened motions and then sank lower from her face to the open wound in her neck. “Yes. You’d better move quickly.” He retreated from the bike and let Grey mount it.
Against her moaning protest, it was Zack who helped Sage climb on back and ordered her, “Hold on tight. Don’t let go. Don’t pass out.”
Sage nodded stupidly, already halfway between worlds, but clung to Grey’s body as ordered.
Zack closed in once more as Grey brought the bike to life with a mighty roar of the engine. “I’ll give you this one for free,” he whispered in Sage’s ear. “The one who attacked my people wore the mark of a Terra. But that was a false glamour, one made of ink and not magic.” He ran a finger through the bloody wound at her neck and licked it clean, smiling as Grey tore off out of the parking lot.
TWENTY-NINE
Fading in and out of consciousness, Sage clung tightly to Grey as he sped through the streets. Minutes might as well have been hours. Time warped and twisted as much as the bike weaving through the blur of neon and moonlight. Sage fought to keep her grip through the tempting call of sleep. She replayed the moment those snaggle-teeth had sunk into her neck. Like serrated daggers they ripped her flesh open; the pain, raw and angry. She’d never forget that feeling as long as she lived – though that might not be much longer.
Streetlights turned fluorescent as stars transformed into ceiling tiles. She’d moved, but not of her own accord. Someone had pulled her away from the death grip she’d had on Grey. When and how; were questions she couldn’t get her mouth to form or find breath to push the words past her lips. She understood one thing as weakness forced her to accept the warm strength cradling her: she was safe.
“I told you to protect her,” Devon shouted. His booming voice unmistakably angry, but not the kind of anger she was used to hearing from him. When he shouted at her, it was meant to motivate, to force her to get up and fight. His tone now struck hard, like a punch to the gut. True anger. Grey had to be his target, but he didn’t deserve it. Asshole that he was, Grey was the reason she still was still living. Sage wanted to answer in his defense, but those words too refused to come out.
Her vision faded. Halos reached out from the lights above, blurring the rest of the world so that all she could see was the bright glow. What she really wanted, desperately, was to allow herself to fall into darkness. Sleep. Rest. Time to heal. That’s all she needed: just a little time in the darkness, and then she would return.
She made that promise as her eyes began to shut; then pain, as fresh and raw as the teeth that had shredded her skin, shocked them open again.
“Stay with us!” desperate voices shouted. Both Devon and Grey were pleading for her to wake. “No sleeping, okay? Stay here, for me.”
Hands grasped her and shook her. A smack landed across her face, sending fresh pain blooming through her cheek. Anger was all that kept Sage clinging to the light, furious at them for waking her. She needed to rest. How could she heal without rest?
“We need to get her patched up. And get me some of the liquid iron.” Devon shouted orders like a general in the field. He packed her neck with something warm and wet. It tingled at first, and then the burning began, like liquid fire dripping into her already angry wounds.
She hissed, agony bringing her vision back into clarity as she came fully awake.
Fine lines etched deeply across Devon’s brow. “Yeah, it’s going to hurt.” But his voice lacked sympathy to match his worried expression. He forced her mouth open, and poured in a bitter draught, and commanded her to swallow.
If she’d had the strength she’d have wretched from the taste, bitter and coppery like the essence
of pennies.
“As soon as you can stand it, we’ll give you something to wash it down.” Devon attempted a smile, but it didn’t look convincing. She had to look pretty bad; maybe even worse than she felt.
“She’s a tough one.” Grey’s voice came from outside her field of vision. “Newbie here tried to fend him off. You gotta watch those knees of hers,” he chuckled. “And she’s a biter, too. You’d be proud.”
She had to look pretty bad if Grey was trying his hardest to praise her.
“She didn’t swallow his blood, did she?” Devon’s concern turned to fear as he spoke the words.
“You’d have to ask her,” Grey replied. “I was kind of busy.”
She reached through the fog clogging up her memory. It had all happened so quickly. She’d bitten down hard as she could, but it wasn’t onto bare skin. Layers of clothing had been between her and the damn vampire. She shook her head, and the movement tugged at the bandages Devon had just applied. Tape ripped at her hair just at the root, and she groaned. Everything she did brought on new levels of pain.
“Scrappy little fighter, aren’t ya?” Devon laid the praise on a little thicker than she’d ever heard. A testament to his relief seeing her on the mend. “I told you not to go messing with vampires.”
Her voice failed when she tried to speak. She was awake, but that was mostly due to pain. With the right meds, she’d be happy enough to drift off into unconsciousness.
“We stirred the hornet’s nest pretty good, white flag or not,” Grey said.
Devon stroked his chin. “I still don’t understand Ava’s motivation in sending you.”
“It’s well known she hates me.” Grey sounded on the edge of pure exhaustion. “But she also knows I have ties to the covens. Friends in low places. I’m less threatening than the typical ASSET agent. And newbie over here is practically wearing a neon sign advertising her inexperience. It was clear we weren’t coming for a fight.”
“You don’t waste good men on fool’s errands.” Devon didn’t sound convinced by Grey’s easy explanation. “And whether or not you were there to fight, they had already shown their willingness to pick one.”
A Weapon Of Magical Destruction Page 22
