Ishi’s captor smiled, his eyes almost glowing as he looked down at the small woman.
Oh hell no. Janice turned slightly to face the man holding her arm. She’d rather he beat the crap out of the two of them now, close to help, than take them out to the middle of lord knew where and leave them for dead. She wasn’t ending up as a victim on some damn true-crime, cold case show.
Locking her eyes with his, she willed him to focus on her face. She offered a little prayer up to whoever might be listening and a thank you to her friend Lisa for making her take self-defense classes. With a quick twist of her hips for leverage she spun and slammed the bottom half of her palm into the man’s nose. She felt the cartilage shatter beneath her blow seconds before blood splattered his face.
Instinctively the man let go of her arm and cupped his wound. He fell to the ground, a look of utter shock on his face as blood seeped between his fingers. Instead of attacking in rage and vengeance as she’d expected, he wrapped his arms around his knees and started rocking back and forth. Janice had no idea what the hell was happening but she took advantage of the distraction and screamed.
People rushed into the alley, jabbering in at least two different languages.
A man in a black t-shirt and slashed jeans reached out for her, asking if she was all right. Janice shivered, the adrenaline rushing through her system making her feel ill. “Help my friend,” she said to the others while holding tightly to her rescuer’s arm. Falling on her ass after fighting off a mugger would be so undignified.
One of the onlookers knelt down in front of the bleeding man. Janice’s jaw tightened, eyes narrowing as she looked at the wimp who’d thought he could hurt her. “Not him. Ishi.”
She turned to point her out but Ishi and the other man were gone.
Chapter Twenty
A crowd of howling, gibbering creatures gathered around their Lord and the two demons who’d recently returned from the mortal realm. A palpable sense of excitement filled the spectators as they waited for the coming punishment. All knew how the two demons failed in their mission. They’d brought a living human woman with them but Lord Balimorth had reacted with obvious displeasure. One shadow demon lay crouched on the burning ground, limp and beaten, while the second thrashed in the grip of their Lord’s clawed hand.
“Who is that woman?” Balimorth snarled, squeezing the lesser demon’s throat tighter, his black-tipped nails tearing through its alien flesh as his powers forced it to remain in corporeal form.
The sound of its own neck crackling spiked the shadow demon’s panic. It grabbed at its throat, legs kicking in the air. “There were two women who came from the Visionary’s home,” it babbled, black shark-like eyes widening and rolling in terror. “We brought you one.”
“You brought me the wrong one,” the demon lord growled, punctuating his sentence with a rough shake that whipped the creature’s body around like a rag doll.
“Yes,” the demon wheezed, “but she must be important to the Three if she lives with the Visionary and travels with the Empath. She can still be useful.”
“Do not think to tell me what or how I may use anything.” Balimorth swung around, using the arm he held the demon with to gesture toward the fallen woman. “Now she’ll have to do and I don’t like making do. If you’d followed your orders, nothing would stand in my way. Now I have to plan how to use this pitiful excuse for a human to stop the Three from foiling my invasion.” He brought the demon’s face inches from his own, letting it soak in his fetid breath. “We have only days left before I can cross over. Days! You cannot believe that you have succeeded in your job. You risk foiling what has taken me decades to plan.”
The gathered crowd chuckled and pressed forward, anticipating the wonderful torment to come.
“No, your lordship,” the demon sputtered, quick to shift blame from itself. “I’m only saying that when it lost the Empath and was faced with total failure, at least I had the foresight to bring this woman.”
Balimorth looked over at the demon cowering and moaning on the ground. “So you’re saying that this is its fault?” he asked.
“Yes, your lordship. I merely salvaged what I could.”
Balimorth dropped his sniveling underling and approached the other. A pleasant smile cut a path across his harsh face. Without a word he reached down and ripped the other demon’s head off. He then looked back at the first creature who watched, wide-eyed. He tossed the head at its feet, smirking as it rolled, eyes up, to stare at its partner.
“You had best never fail me again.”
Chapter Twenty-One
Erich stood tall amidst the frenzied demon horde. Though still recovering from minor injuries taken during the last skirmish, Ryo stood at his back with a pair of samurai swords poised, ready for battle. And on a hilltop in the distance he could see Jehanne watching over them, waiting for the moment to release her powers to give them strength.
Stepping back slightly, he let his back touch Ryo’s. He couldn’t risk taking his eyes off the creatures to look back at him but he needed to feel Ryo’s presence once more before the battle commenced. The broadsword weighed heavily in his hand. Erich could only pray that Ryo fought well as he did his best to watch the man’s back. But he was tired, so very tired of the fight.
He wondered how many more clashes he would endure before, like many of his comrades, he lost the will needed to survive. As long as he had Jehanne and Ryo, Erich had something to fight for. But if either of them fell he would break.
At some unseen signal the demons converged. Teeth and claws ripped at his plate mail. He growled, flinging one creature from where it tried to scramble up his shoulder. With a single swing of his sword he decapitated two demons, slicing deeply into another. The world became a blur of violence, narrowing to a tunnel of survival.
Suddenly he felt Jehanne’s warmth slam into him. It shot through Erich’s body, coalescing on the blade of his sword. With practiced ease he shoved the tip into the hard-packed earth. The power slid through the ground, seeking out and destroying all enemies in its wake.
When the last creature fell Erich turn to Ryo. The other man knelt on one knee with his katana dangling loose in his hand. The smaller wakizashi lay on the ground nearby.
Erich picked up the small sword and handed it to Ryo, who shot him a weak smile and staggered to his feet. Erich gave him a quick once-over but Ryo’s wounds seemed minor.
“How long do you think it will take them to regroup and attack again?”
“At least a few days. By then it will be another group’s watch.”
Ryo nodded, staring over Erich’s shoulder to where Jehanne stood ready to run for them. “We had best brace ourselves for her greeting.”
Erich laughed in agreement. He reached over, grabbed Ryo by the back of the neck and kissed him. Hard.
Ryo stiffened but melted into the kiss, opening his mouth and sucking in Erich’s tongue. Erich groaned. He dropped his sword, grabbed Ryo’s wrists and forced him to do the same. Once his partner was unarmed Erich dragged Ryo into his embrace. His tongue invaded the other man’s mouth, conquering. Erich needed to be close, needed to have Ryo’s taste filling his mouth.
He needed to feel alive.
Ryo didn’t put up any struggle. He wrapped Erich’s hair around his wrists, anchoring him in the kiss. Erich’s heart pounded in his chest, his cock hardening painfully under his plate mail as the other man pulled just enough. The slight bite of pain added to the attraction.
Sharp teeth bit into his lower lip followed by the soothing lick of a smooth, spicy tongue.
Small arms wrapped around both their waists and another pair of lips joined in a three-way kiss. Three tongues played. Three sets of teeth nipped. Three different voices moaned their pleasure.
“This is what I like to see, a battle well fought and well celebrated.”
Erich pulled out of the embrace and moved Jehanne behind him in the same motion. Two men faced them, one with hair the color of chestnut while the othe
r’s hair rivaled a flame. Each carried swords sheathed on their backs and knives strapped to their thighs. Erich relaxed at the sight.
Ryo bowed. “Laughlin-san. It is good to see you once more. Have you found the answer to our never-ending battles?”
“I may have,” the redhead answered as he approached. “I’ve found another woman with Jehanne’s ability to weave emotions. I believe I have a spell that will work. If my team manages to close one of their gates, I’d like you three to test it next.”
Erich felt hope for the first time in years but he looked down at Jehanne and felt a stab of fear. She was so tiny, so delicate. “What is the risk?”
Laughlin nodded in understanding. “There is always risk but, should this work, the risk will be less and the gain great. Complete one spell and never fight the demons again. I believe the risk well worth the tradeoff.”
Jehanne’s small hand pushed against his chest for attention. “I am willing to take this risk if it means a chance at a life without battle, a life spent with the three of us growing old together. What say you?”
Erich looked down at Ryo’s tired face and the fine web of scars on one side of his neck. His lover was a strong, skilled fighter. But everyone’s luck ran out eventually and even the most skilled could die. And Jehanne deserved more in life than battle after battle, wondering if her men would come home alive this time. He met her liquid gaze, took her hand from his chest and kissed her knuckles before facing his leader. “Come for us when you are ready.”
* * * * *
Eric yawned as he came awake from his nap. Damned subconscious, still fixated on Saitou to the point of incorporating him in his dream. Realistic as all hell too. Kinda felt like an RPG game, with its monsters and magic.
But it did make one thing very clear. He needed to deal with his feelings for the other man and Ryuu’s continued pushiness. He knew he needed to be firm with the man to get rid of him. Ryuu came across as the type who wouldn’t shove his way in where he wasn’t wanted. Eric just hadn’t been very convincing about that part.
Kinda hard to say you don’t want a guy when your dick blatantly says otherwise.
But he thought about Janice, the hurt in her face as she ran off. He couldn’t…no, wouldn’t be the cause of that pain.
He’d tell Ryuu Saitou exactly what he could do with his heavy-handed seduction attempts. He could control his attraction, no matter what his stinking subconscious seemed to think.
He had Janice and he didn’t need anyone else.
Really.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Silence and fear filled the car like a physical presence. Janice wrapped her arms around herself and watched the city go by. She didn’t know what to say to break the stillness. What was there to say that wouldn’t sound pathetic? How could she possibly lessen the men’s pain? At the police station, Ryuu had swooped in with Katashi in tow and spirited her out as soon as she’d finished her report. She’d had little time to think about what had happened, what it meant. But now she felt the guilt pressing down on her.
The police hadn’t found a trace of Ishi. Nothing. According to the people who’d rushed in when she screamed the only other people in the alley were the two attackers. No one else. And the two men weren’t talking.
Actually, that wasn’t exactly true. They were talking but they made absolutely no sense.
As they stopped at a light, she glanced over at Katashi in the front passenger seat. Pain surrounded him, sharp and bright, flavored with hopeless despair. Pain poured from Ryuu as well, tinted with powerless rage. The inside of the car pulsed with such a swirl of negative emotions she could barely breathe. So she sat in the heavy stillness, twisting her hands together like some damsel in distress from a silent movie.
And no matter how many times she played it over in her mind, she couldn’t figure out what had happened to Ishi. Where had she gone and why? Had there been a third man in the alley? That was the only thing that made sense. But then how could he have moved her so quickly? Why hadn’t she felt his presence? And what happened to the remaining two men? She was no expert but when the police loaded them up in a squad car, they sounded like raving loons. Not your ordinary sicko, psychotic loon, but babbling-about-monsters-in-the-shadows level nutjobs.
As they pulled into a discreet underground garage Janice sat motionless, mind racing.
Ryuu didn’t move either, hands still locked on the steering wheel. “Katashi, on my honor, I will do everything I can to return your daughter to you,” he swore. How he could make such a promise ring with conviction amazed Janice. Chances weren’t in favor of Ishi’s survival.
“I know you will, sir,” the old man whispered, voice tight with pent-up emotion and sounding his age. But perhaps that little shred of hope would keep him going in the days to come.
Janice’s throat clogged with unshed tears that threatened to shatter her into a million pieces if released. The poor man.
Ryuu turned to face the backseat, the squeak of the leather making her flinch. “Janice, I need you to come to my office. I’d like to ask some questions.”
“I don’t know what I can tell you that the police don’t already know,” she said, her voice cracking, “but if you think it will help…”
“It will help and you’d be surprised at what you’re capable of.”
Janice nodded in absent agreement. Whatever he wanted, she’d do. Finding Ishi was the only important thing. Every other concern could wait.
Chapter Twenty-Three
A sense of poignancy filled Ryuu as he led Janice up to his suite and directly to his private study. How many times had he imagined bringing home his Empath? How many times had he planned out the tour he’d give or thought of the pride he’d feel? Love and joy should permeate the room. Instead there was only fear.
He’d never thought she would be here to save the life of his closest friend’s daughter.
And it never occurred to him that he’d have to tell his Empath everything so soon, without any preparation. But time had run out. He needed to find Ishi and quickly. It didn’t matter that the thought of telling Janice everything made him want to vomit. He couldn’t help Ishi without support from his Catalyst to focus his visions. Without Janice, Eric wouldn’t even talk to him right now, much less believe the story he had to tell. Janice was the key. Without her aid searching for Ishi was hopeless.
His study had been designed to put people at ease, to make it possible for him to shut out negativity and focus his powers. Janice didn’t even take a seat. Instead she stood and stared at him, silent. He didn’t know how conscious she was of her empathic powers but he had to be giving off some powerful emotions. He fought to center himself, not to give away too much. She was frightened enough of him after the fiasco in the atrium. He needed her. He couldn’t risk frightening her even more. And so soon after her attack, she must be feeling fragile.
He pulled out a chair, careful to give her plenty of room. “Please, this will take some time to explain.”
She didn’t look entirely convinced but she did sit down. He stared at her for a moment, waiting for something, some reaction. But she sat perfectly still and expectant. Knowing her as he did, it was unnatural, creepy even. Shock, she was still in shock. Had to be. He moved slowly as he took the opposite chair.
“What I’m going to tell you, you’re probably not going to believe.”
Janice rolled her eyes. “Let me guess, you’re a member of one yakuza family and Ishi’s been taken for ransom by an opposing family.”
That managed to get a quick chuckle from him, to his surprise. “No, and strangely enough my story is even less probable.”
Janice’s lips twitched for a moment, the first real expression he’d seen on her face since he’d picked her up at the police station. He’d feared her spirit had broken so he relaxed at the sight.
“Good,” she joked. “I think having a tattoo or two is kinda hot but the whole cover your body in ink thing is a bit much for my taste.”
She still had her sense of humor. She’d need it. “Well I certainly wouldn’t want to be a turnoff. But let me start my story with you.”
That caught her off guard. “Me?”
“And what happened tonight, I wish I had more time.” Ryuu closed his eyes and rubbed the bridge of his nose. It always came down to a lack of time. “I won’t go into details yet. Let’s just say that I trust your instincts, your read of people. Did you notice anything about the two men that you weren’t comfortable explaining to the police?”
She gave him a sideways glance. “I don’t understand,” she hedged.
This part was never easy, not in any lifetime. And Janice seemed particularly hardheaded this time around. But Eric had managed to reach her. So could he.
“Janice, I need you to work with me here. I don’t even know if it’s possible to save Ishi. But I do know that we have very little time if there is a chance.” His heart froze as he watched her with disbelieving eyes. He didn’t want to beg but if that was the only way to get her to work with him, he’d do it. “She and her father are like family, the only family I have left in this country. I’ve known her since she was born. And frankly, after losing his wife, I don’t think Katashi would survive if he lost his daughter. Please just bear with me and answer my questions, no matter how strange they might seem.”
She pursed her lips but her expression softened. “I didn’t notice anything at first, which is strange.” She closed her eyes and trembled slightly. “People can’t normally sneak up on me.”
No surprise there. You can feel them coming. “Yes?” he prompted.
“I’ve worked as a personal assistant for several years now. I’ve sat in on hostile takeovers, rooms brimming with fear, desperation and anger. I’ve never met someone so filled with rage before.” She wrapped her arms around herself, shivering. “That’s the only thing I could tell for certain. Those two men hated, hated with a passion. Other than that, there’s nothing that I didn’t tell the police. One man pushed me in the alley. The second man had Ishi pinned. I hit the man behind me and screamed. A crowd came and stopped the two but Ishi was gone.”
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