by K. G. Reuss
Sloane and I skipped through the shadows. I wasn’t as good at it as she was. She sped ahead, leaving me to falter as I missed a shadow and fell hard to my knees. I heard shouts and the clang of swords clashing. Sparks of magic flew into the darkening sky.
Screams. Terrified screams.
I scrambled to my feet and tried to catch a shadow, but I was tired. The psy thing I’d done with Raiden had weakened me.
Reaching out with my mind, I called for Eric. “Run. Get out of there!” I shouted into his mind.
“Where are you?” he demanded. “The rakes are all over. Rotwraiths too. Jared and Damien already sent some rogue spirts back. Get here!”
“Please, run. I can’t lose you, Eric! You’re going to die!”
The connection was cut off as I was knocked to the ground. I rolled over, trying to scramble away, but fear bubbled up within me.
Vampires. Two of them.
They stared down at me with bloodlust in their eyes.
“Shit,” I hissed.
They reached for me, and I shot up, knocking one hard in the chest with a square kick. How had I not seen them in my vision?
“Bitch,” he snarled, his dark hair whipping in the wind as he stumbled back.
I ducked and dived, avoiding the attack of the second one—auburn curls and the face of an angel—but I knew better. These were true Cipher.
“Submit, bitch.”
I fell back as I took a clean hit to the jaw, making my ears ring.
“Little Mancer whore,” the first one spat at me, fangs flashing. “I bet you taste like a little piece of Hell.”
“Come find out,” I snarled, roundhouse kicking him in the throat.
He choked and garbled, clutching at his throat as the curly haired one launched himself over me in a surprising move and kicked me in the back. My weapons fell from my hands, and I landed on my hands and knees on the rough cobblestone road, my hands and knees screaming for mercy.
I was too weak and tired for this shit. I just wanted to get to Eric. With a last burst of energy, I swept my leg out. The vamp jumped and landed on my leg, making the crack of bone snapping echo around us.
I let out a shriek of pain as he wrapped his fingers around my throat and brought me forward. The first vamp was back on his feet and stalking back toward us.
“Raiden. . . Shadow,” I called out in my mind.
I knew he was busy saving Eric. I knew he felt me but was torn. We’d had an agreement. He’d let me die and bring me back. But he didn’t say anything about me becoming a vampire chew toy.
What if this time he couldn’t bring me back?
What if they changed me?
So many ideas flew through my mind as the vampire held me high, my feet dangling. My leg screamed at me.
“You know what I learned once I let go?” the vampire holding me snarled.
I gripped his wrists tight, struggling weakly against his strong, supernatural hold.
“Wha-what’s that asshole?” I managed to choke out.
He growled, “I learned that letting go meant learning to be who I truly was.”
“A-A monster.”
I clawed at his skin. Blood surfaced, oozing down his arm and dripping to the cobblestones beneath us.
“My name is Davin. I’m going to guess you haven’t chosen the right side. Yet. Perhaps you need a little persuasion. I’ll be sure you remember this moment if you live. If you don’t. . .” He shrugged. “Well, you probably will, right, Mancer? Let your Reever know we’ll break you and own you before this is over.”
“Eat shit,” I rasped.
“I’m about to,” he chuckled, his eyes darkening.
I let out a scream as he tore into my neck, his little bloodsucking friend’s teeth gnawing at my arm. More bites. More screams. This was nothing like what Nev did to me. Nev made me feel good. Free. Blissful. This? This was pure agony, each bite more painful than the last.
When Davin removed his fangs from my neck, he plunged them into my shoulder, peppering his bite marks along my skin in a streak of white-hot fire and pure hell. Every time he and his friend bit and sucked, they spat on the wound, making it hurt more. Nev never did that.
They were marking me. Scarring me.
So you remember. . .
My heart stumbled in my chest, my vision blurry.
Eric. . . I wouldn’t be the one to save his life.
Memories of my life flashed through my mind. Every single one of them held Raiden. His lips on mine. His gentle touch. His aquamarine eyes sparkling as he held me close. The night in my bedroom all those long weeks ago when I’d decided I wanted to go all the way with him, but the vision had taken hold. The look on his face in the commons room of the Conexus house as he handed me the daisy.
“R-Raiden,” I choked out in my mind weakly.
“Everly.” His response was immediate and breathless.
“I-I love—”
“No, you don’t say that now. Say it when you’re in my arms again,” he growled. “Fight. I’m coming. I’ll save you.”
I feebly swung my fist out, clocking Davin on the side of the head. He only dug his fangs in deeper. I struck again and again, deciding if nothing else, I’d leave him with a hell of a headache before he completely drained me.
Could a bloodless mancer even come back?
It didn’t matter. In this life or the next, I’d find this bastard and take him out.
I stared down at the blade protruding from the first vampire’s chest. He fell to his knees, my blood smearing his lips and a shocked expression in the fading light of his eyes. Raiden stood where he had been and whipped his sword expertly, but the other vampire had already dropped me and was streaking away into the night.
Knowing what I knew of Raiden and his hatred for vamps, I figured he’d chase him down and finish the job, but he dropped to his knees beside me and pressed his hand against the nasty gash in my neck. The blood was pumping out so hot and heavy, I assumed I’d lost another part of my neck. Last time, with the rotwraith, I’d been fortunate enough to be healed. I wasn’t so sure I’d come out of this without an ugly scar.
“L-Let me d-die,” I called out. “M-Maybe I’ll come back as a better m-mancer.”
“You’re not leaving,” he said, his voice shaking slightly. His face was bleeding. There was a cut over his eyelid.
I felt his healing warmth flow through me, knitting my wounds together.
“I-I can’t heal them all,” he murmured fearfully. “Something. . .the venom, i-it’s blocking it. I don’t understand.”
“I-I need Nev,” I whispered. “He can heal me.” I had no idea how I knew that. Intuition? Faith? Hope? A stab in the dark at this point.
Raiden’s lips thinned as he scooped me into his arms.
“Eric?” I whispered.
A muscle thrummed along his jaw, and he shook his head.
“H-He’s gone?” I wasn’t prepared for the pain.
Tears sprung to Raiden’s eyes.
No. No way.
I struggled out of Raiden’s arms and stumbled to the shadows, jettisoning myself through them, my body weak and nearly bloodless. When I missed a shadow and tumbled to my knees, Raiden was there to lift me up and take me to where everyone stood surrounding Eric’s lifeless body.
I fell to my knees beside him, my head spinning.
He looked beautiful. Like he was sleeping. The only way I knew he was dead was from the blood trickling out of the wide tear to his chest.
Sloane sobbed as Damien held her. Damien’s soft sniffles tickled my ears. I heard the gentle whoosh of other Conexus members arriving. I heard the girls’ wails of despair. I heard the shocked gasps of the guys.
I reached out, resting my hands on Eric’s torn chest and pressed my forehead to his.
“You’re my first and best friend here, Eric Craft. I’m not letting you leave,” I choked out softly. “Even if I take your place. I’m not letting you go.”
My whole experiment bringing th
e last guy back from the dead hadn’t turned out so well, but I should be able to do this. It was my freaking job, after all. Basal had been dead for years. Eric had been gone for mere minutes.
I willed all I had into him, pouring every tiny bit of strength I had into that moment. I felt Raiden’s strong hand on my shoulder, offering me strength.
“Just us,” I whispered in a gasp. “N-No one else t-touch us.”
Because I knew they would, but this was our battle… and someday mine alone. I knew that. Once I got stronger, I’d be able to do it alone.
The blue flames licked my skin, engulfing the three of us. I pressed harder, whispering, begging, Eric to return.
His body shuddered beneath my hand. His chest rose and fell. I pushed harder, giving all I had to make sure he stayed. The transfer of energy made my heart stumble harder in my chest.
“He’s alive. Oh, my God! She did it!” Chloe shouted into the night.
Eric’s warm hand wrapped around mine and gave a gentle squeeze.
“I’m OK,” he murmured.
I didn’t let go though. I had to make sure. The fire faded away, leaving us in the street beneath a rising moon.
“Everly, he’s alive. He’s back.” Raiden’s strong hand moved to my waist where he lifted me up into his arms. “You did it, Ever. You did it.” He repeated the words over and over as he cradled me, his lips at my ear.
“I never doubted her,” Damien called out. “Eric—”
“I-I need to lie down,” Eric mumbled weakly.
“Get him home.” Raiden tightened his hold around me.
“Nev,” I murmured against his neck. “I-I won’t heal without another vampire.”
Raiden adjusted me in his arms before we were whisked into darkness, leaving the town of Hell behind.
Thirty-Four
Raiden
I glared at the vampire in my office as Ever lay on my leather couch, her eyes closed, her wounds still trickling blood. It didn’t matter what I or Brandon did, we couldn’t heal the wounds enough to get them to stop bleeding completely. I’d done enough to keep her in this realm though, so I took my victories where I could get them. But she was drained of energy. Hell, I was close behind. We could probably both use a week of good sleep.
“Can you fix it?” I demanded.
Nev turned away from Ever and stared up at me. “It’ll require something you’re not going to like.”
“Like what?” Damien asked as he took a step forward. He’d only just joined me in my office after having taken Eric to Madam Ann’s infirmary.
I swallowed. An ugly thought popped into my head.
Nev cocked his head at me, his blue eyes narrowed. “General Hawthorne knows.”
Damien glanced between me and Nev as I balled my hands into fists and moved to sit beside Ever.
“They won’t heal unless I undo what was done. She’ll be left with these nasty open wounds unless I take my share.”
I ground my teeth as I stared down at Ever. She let out a soft moan, streaks of blood running down her neck and arms. The last thing I wanted was another vampire chewing on her. The fact I hadn’t gone to her when she’d first called for me made me sick. If I would’ve just gone, I could’ve stopped this shit from happening.
But we stuck to the plan. Her plan.
There was a knock on my door, and Sloane poked her head in. I gestured for her to enter with Amanda.
“What?” I sighed.
“We were just looking through some scrolls on the vampire bite.” Amanda stepped forward and handed me an old worn piece of parchment. I unrolled it and read what it said before grinding my teeth and handing it off to Damien.
“She wasn’t bit by a fledgling or a lesser vampire. The vampires who got her were strong. To cure the wounds, you’ have to get the ones who did it to undo the bites.” Sloane glanced at me then Nev.
“I killed one,” I grunted.
“Then you’d have to get a vampire stronger than them to undo what was done. If she continues to suffer, it’s likely the vampire who bit her could come back to finish what he started.”
“She was marked.” Nev gestured to her wounds. “Vampires will heal a wound if they want to save the victim. If they want to be able to track the victim, they let them bleed like a wounded animal. Blood trails are easy to track.” He smiled at me.
“How do we know Blackburn is stronger than the ones who bit her?” Damien asked. “We could just be giving his loser ass a free meal.”
Before Nev could answer, I spoke up, “He is. Right, Blackburn?”
His lips turned up into the dark smile I couldn’t stand. “Only one way to find out, right, General?”
I nodded. Ever had asked for him. Deep within me I knew he was strong. I knew he hid more than he carried on his sleeve. And I trusted Ever.
“You’re going to let him bite her?” Damien growled.
“What choice do I have?” I demanded. “Sometimes you have to do shit you don’t want to do to save those you love.”
The room grew quiet, only the sounds of Ever’s deep breathing filling the air.
“I need you all to leave. Out.”
Damien glanced at Ever then Nev. “If you screw this up, Blackburn—”
Nev simply lifted his eyebrows at Damien with a serene look. Damien shook his head and left with the girls.
“Do you want to watch?” Nev asked as I lifted Ever onto my lap.
“Yes,” I breathed out, brushing her hair away from her face gently. “Don’t you dare hurt her, Blackburn.”
“You’re not the only one who cares for her,” he muttered, taking her hand in his and turning her arm so her wrist was facing up. She had so many nasty bite marks it made my stomach twist. But I refused to look away as Nev dipped his head down and licked the jagged edges of one.
“Do your job. Stop playing,” I snarled at him.
“There’s magic in blood, you know,” Nev commented softly, tracing his finger along one of the trickling wounds. “I’ll be able to learn more about the vampire you chase in this one taste than you’d find out in the entirety of your Conexus career. Isn’t that a neat little parlor trick?”
Before I could snap at him to get on with it, his fangs flashed, and he sunk his teeth into her flesh. She arched against me, a soft moan on her lips as Nev licked and sucked along her wounds. The sounds she made had me breathing shallow. They were sounds of pleasure, not pain. They were nothing like the screams she made as the vampires ripped into her earlier.
Her small body pressed against mine as Nev moved to her collarbone, peppering his lips along the trail of bites, paying each one special attention. As awful as it was to watch, I simply focused on the fact that every wound he’d bitten over top of had healed, leaving not a mark on her perfect skin.
How the hell. . .
I’d never seen vampire wounds heal that way. They always left a mark. Always.
“Oh, God,” Ever moaned softly. Her breasts pushed against me, and her fingers wound in my hair.
I swallowed thickly, my arms wrapped around her as her body moved against mine.
Nev brushed her hair away from her neck and angled her head so his lips could meet the wound on her neck.
He was close to me. I could feel his breath as he sank his teeth into her soft flesh. I could hear the sounds of her blood pouring into his mouth and the sound he made as he swallowed it down.
His blue eyes locked on mine, bright as a cloudless daylit sky.
“Raiden,” Ever moaned, her hands moving over my body and threatening the waistband of my pants as I stared back at Nev.
He licked her final wound and pulled away, breaking his gaze from mine. He sat back on his ass and watched as Ever continued to touch me.
I blew out a shallow, shaky breath as her lips met the delicate flesh of my neck. I closed my eyes as her fingers tangled through my hair. She’d moved and was straddling me now, her center aligned with mine.
“Quite the predicament, huh, General?” Nev
chuckled softly as he watched Ever grind against my hardening length through my pants. “You want her to stop, but if she stops, she may never start again.”
I exhaled out again, not wanting the moment to end with her, but knowing it damn well had to. She’d be mortified when she realized she’d done it.
“What’s happening?” I called out softly as Ever’s lips traveled across my jaw.
“I’m a bit of a special vampire,” Nev said conversationally, his eyes glued to Ever’s movements. “I can lust a victim. Make them putty in my hands. I usually do it with a blood exchange, but Ever, well, she’s my special girl, so I’m not requiring an exchange. Anyway, I guess she finds you desirable. A lust doesn’t lie.”
“Will she remember this?” I asked thickly as her hands moved deeper into my waistband. Somehow I found the power to reach out and stop her, pulling her hands away. I couldn’t focus much on anything else as Ever moved against me.
“No, Everly,” I murmured at her, cradling her face gently before Nev could answer me.
“Don’t you want me, Raiden?” She kissed the edge of my lips, creating pure agony within me because there was nothing more in the world I wanted than her.
“You know I do,” I whispered. “Just not now, sweetheart. Not like this.”
She crinkled her brows at me, her movements slowing, leaving me aching in the stillness. Her eyelids fluttered closed, and I took the opportunity to lift her back into my arms, so she was cradled against me. I looked to Nev, my heart hammering hard.
“Will she remember this?” I repeated, not wanting her to hate me for any of it. Or herself.
“Depends. She may. She may not. It’s like waking up from a bad hangover. Some things you just don’t want to remember.” Nev stared at Everly as I adjusted her a bit on my lap. I gave her a gentle squeeze and murmured in her ear.
“Sleep, Everly.”
And then I called out softly in her mind. “I love you.”
She didn’t answer me, her mind a cloudy place. It had to be the lust Nev spoke of. A moment later, her breathing became deeper as she slept against me.
“She came to me one night, you know,” Nev said, his blue eyes locking on mine.
