But at least he’d never get his hands on it.
As he slipped into the kitchen she moved her eyes over his face and body, illuminated slightly by the light easing in through the window. He was growing thinner, weaker. Well, at least one part of her plan was working; drawing out the time meant that with each passing minute his body was growing less and less powerful.
She might just be able to take him.
He turned to her, no doubt able to see her now in the dim morning light. But instead of advancing, he shut his eyes, as though entering a state of deep concentration.
For a moment Neko contemplated lunging forward to drive the knives into his throat and chest, but just as she prepared to pounce, a hard internal blow pushed her back, temporarily freezing her in place. As though someone were invading her mind, controlling her. And she knew what had happened; he’d found his way in and was now skulking around, looking for information.
She tried to block him, to thrust him away. He mustn’t access her thoughts.
Shut him out.
His eyes popped open, and he smiled that tight-lipped, smug grin that she so hated.
“They’re at the tower,” he said. “You were leading me away by coming here, but that’s where the Relic is, isn’t it?”
She shook her head, though she knew there was no point in concealing the truth. He’d seen it.
A low, cruel chuckle rumbled up in Umbra’s chest. “Well, it’s so simple, isn’t it? I’ll bring you there with me. You’ll find it and give it to me.”
Neko breathed out a laugh of her own. “Good luck with that. There are quite a few Dragons headed that way. They’d never allow you to do such a thing.”
“Well, at least one of them will be forced into submission when he sees that my teeth have found your throat.”
With those words he lunged at her. He moved swiftly, blindsiding Neko for a moment as she leapt sideways. Umbra’s hand had managed only to grab her shirt as she escaped his grasp, thrusting the knives between her body and his. She darted around the kitchen table, using it as a barricade between them.
“Slowing down, are we?” she asked, a mocking tone permeating her voice as he stalked her from the other side of the table like a lion pondering how best to reach its prey. “Pity for you. It looks like you’re in need of a refill on blood.”
The man laughed again. “I suspect that you have quite enough for my needs,” he said. “And I mean to make use of it. There’s nothing quite as empowering as the blood of one who’s mated with a Dragon.”
“Come and get it, then.”
He grabbed an end of the oak table and tossed it with one hand to his right, smashing it against the counter as though it were made of nothing more than cardboard. Apparently his strength hadn’t entirely faded away; Neko had underestimated him, or else he’d deceived her.
She stood before him, dejected. She’d been filled with hope that she’d see Lumen again, and soon. But now she wasn’t so sure.
Only the blades clenched in her fists separated them. But fear would not win out. This was going to end, here and now.
Either over his dead body, or hers.
Hunt
“Bertie,” Lumen said as he stormed into her office at the top of the tower. “I need your help.”
“Well, hello to you, too.” Neko’s boss was sitting at her desk in the early morning light, completing the accounting that had kept her up all night. “What can I do for you, Lumen?”
“Neko took off some time in the night,” he said, breath tight in his chest. “And I don’t know where she went. I picked up her scent outside of our flat, so I know she was walking for a little. But at the street it disappeared, which means she likely got into a vehicle. I need to know where she could have gone.”
“A taxi, likely,” Bertie replied. “That’s unusual. She’s a walker, that one, as you know. She only ever takes those when she’s got a lot of gear with her…or when…”
“When what?” Lumen leaned forward, pressing his palms so hard into her desk that it threatened to tip over.
“When she’s in a hurry to get to her house up north. The trains take a while, you see, and they don’t generally run at night…the schedule isn’t ideal for late night jaunts.”
“Fucking hell,” he blurted out. “You think she headed out to the bleeding countryside?”
“I don’t know!” Bertie’s voice was wretched, her face on the verge of tears. Whether she understood the extent of Lumen’s concern or not, she knew that the Hunter was in danger, and that was enough to set her head spinning. “You don’t think she’s in serious trouble, do you?”
“Yes, I bloody do,” he said. “Listen, a whole pile of Dragons will be descending on this place very soon. Tell them I’ve gone to find my mate. I’ll call them if I need their help.”
“All right. Off you go, then,” she replied, standing too shoo him away with a sharp gesture of her hands.
Lumen looked around, agitated. It seemed a stupid waste of time to run back down so many stairs. “Do these open?” he asked, pointing at the vast round windows that surrounded the office.
Bertie slipped over to the one nearest her and flicked open a lock, pushing the right side of the giant circle, which spun open, the cool morning air wafting in. It seemed that the window was attached to the tower only at its centre, pivoting around a thick iron pole.
“Like this?” she asked.
“Yes, like that. Thank you,” he said, already sprinting towards the opening.
“No, don’t!” she shouted. “You’ll fall—”
But he didn’t go tumbling down through space. Instead, in a flash of light, his déor’s incredible silver form thrust upwards, turning north towards Neko’s country home.
“Dear, oh dear,” Bertie exclaimed, wringing her hands before clutching them together over her chest, the realization that she’d somehow turned into a fretful old lady hitting her. “I do hope he’s not too late.”
* * *
Neko was sick of waiting for a chance to make her move.
Umbra had toyed with her long enough, and now it was time to take matters into her own hands. She was a Hunter, for fuck’s sake. She’d never in her life delayed an attack; why should she start now?
You’re a predator. He’s nothing more than your prey.
She leapt towards him, blades thrusting in a flurry of outstretched hands. But he was quick, despite his diminished power. He darted to the side so fast that the knives made contact only with air.
“You’re too human, Hunter,” he chided as she spun to face him again. “Too weak. Stop being foolish.”
“I’m stronger than you,” she spat in protest. Even if it wasn’t true, she needed to believe it.
Umbra seemed to take the words as a challenge, shooting towards her to grab her left arm in one swift move. She’d anticipated his speed, though, and managed to hold onto the knife as he bent her elbow unnaturally backwards. Crying out, she cursed herself for allowing him to see that he was causing her pain. He didn’t deserve so much credit.
She spun her body round to face him, twisting like a corkscrew as her right hand dug the Dragon bone blade into his arm, forcing him to let her go before her bones snapped.
And this time, it was he who cried out in agony. A world of difference, she thought, between this experience and that in the alley when she’d stabbed his arms, her knives dropping to the ground as though they’d done nothing to his flesh but offer the equivalent of paper cuts.
She drew the blade out of his arm, swiping it at his chest, but he managed to leap just out of her reach. But he was slowing down already; she could see it. Perhaps the bone was doing its job.
Pushing forward with another series of quick jabs, she forced him back against the wall.
“How do you like it?” she growled. “How do you enjoy being on the receiving end, for a change? Just think of those you’ve killed. And know that all I want in this world is revenge for them. And for me.” With that, she slashed the
Dragon bone across the front of his shirt, drawing a line of dark crimson blood along his pale chest.
More blood, she thought, urging herself on. She wanted nothing more than to see him drained of it, as he’d done to no doubt countless humans. She wanted to steal his life away little by little, as he’d tried to do to her.
“I’ve never taken a life that was worth anything,” he said, his tone a simpering whine. “I do what I do for the greater good.”
The twisted part was that he meant it. So, the wretch really, truly thought his actions were noble.
When he’d first hired her, he’d spoken with the same sort of certainty, that the Dragons were cruel, evil, and that he was a force for good. And perhaps he really was disturbed enough to think he was on the right side of things. But the cruellest people in history had thought themselves right. It didn’t mean that they were anything less than pure evil.
“Every life,” Neko hissed, “is worth something.”
“Except mine, apparently,” he replied.
“You gave up whatever value your life had when you started going after humans. When you went after me.”
His eyes narrowed as he looked at her, the light coming through the window enough to allow him to see her clearly at last. “How absurd to imply that my hunting humans is cruel, but your hunting Lapsed is not.”
“It’s not the same,” she said through gritted teeth. “They’re…”
“What? Soulless? Mindless?”
“There’s nothing in them. They’re dead already.”
“Oh, Neko,” he said. “If only you knew.”
“Knew what?” Her voice was pained. Just what was he saying?
But he never replied. Taking advantage of her moment of weakness, he lunged, mustering all his strength and speed to dart behind her before she could spin around to face him. With a cruel violence, he tore both her arms back and upwards, his teeth sinking into her right shoulder.
Crying out in pain and anguish, she tried to wrench herself free. But his grip was too strong. And with each passing moment he was growing stronger, draining away her blood—the blood that Lumen had enhanced with his own—and she was growing weaker.
In her fists she could still feel the hilts of the daggers. She’d managed to hang onto them, or else their magic had somehow kept them securely locked in her hands. If only she could find the strength to use them….
But with each ounce of effort he held her back, the blood leeching from her body. He was killing her. There was no more power to be found; only the feeling of her body going limp, its muscles atrophying under his brutal touch.
Lumen. She sent the name out into space, hoping that somehow her mate’s mind would catch it. I love you so much. I’m sorry. I tried my best.
The world was going foggy, a mist swirling around her mind as Umbra drew out his torture. Perhaps he knew that she could hear her blood leaving her body; that her powerful ears picked up each heartbeat. Each cruel throb as her veins gave him what he so desired.
The sensation, she thought in her altered state, was almost pleasant. Like the seconds before sleep sets in, when one begins to dream.
Exhaustion was overtaking her, and she quickly felt herself give way to inevitability, hoping that it would all just end soon. That he wouldn’t be cruel enough keep her alive to find the Relic, forcing her to betray those she cared about.
Just let me go. Let me die.
As her eyes closed, she felt her head droop to the side, the knives still clenched in her fingers by some miracle. Darkness filled her mind, her senses finally fading. A bittersweet aroma filled the air around her, and she tried to recall Lumen’s scent. She almost felt that she could smell it, that glorious musk. The scent of desire. Of strength.
When the flash of light came, Neko was convinced that she was dreaming; that this was the moment between life and death, when one’s body had to make a choice between the two. But the explosion seemed oddly out of place, somehow; it didn’t fit into what was supposed to happen when one passed from this life into another.
Over her head, the house’s roof tore away, the back wall disappearing along with it. And all of a sudden daylight poured into the dark space. The warm sun hit her as it had in her dream, the back garden suddenly a field of green, welcoming her.
And she felt…happy.
Yes. She must be dead.
When she felt wind hitting her face she turned it upwards, searching for the source of refreshing air. In the sky above her, enormous, beautiful silver wings flapped. An angel? Or a Dragon?
The searing pain in her shoulder stopped all of a sudden, a voice shouting, “No!”
The Dragon’s talons reached for her assailant. Umbra was wrenched backwards, forced to release her from his grip at last. Neko, disoriented, stumbled forward, turning to face the monster one last time.
“Not dead,” she groaned, eyes ensuring that her hands still held the blades. “I’m not dead.”
The Dragon had her prey trapped by the shoulders, holding him steady. Torturing him, just as he’d done to her. And as the cloud left her vision, her mind clearing, she understood. Lumen was giving him to her—a gift.
With the last of her strength Neko threw herself at the Forsaken, expert hands aimed perfectly as the blades dug deep into his neck, slicing at vital arteries. Blood poured from his wounds—her blood—even as the sound of his choking cries met her ears. But instead of releasing him, she only dug in deeper, until the tips of the white blades emerged from the other side of his neck.
It was more than he deserved.
Die. Leave me in peace, and never return.
Neko dropped to her knees, the knives falling at last to the floor by her sides. They’d done their job.
And then the Dragon was gone, and the man he’d held. The half-breed, defeated, as her body fell limp to the floor.
* * *
“Neko.”
Her eyes opened a crack and she looked around, her head spinning. She was in the bedroom of her cottage, curtains open, a grey day outside. She turned to look up at the man who was bent over her. The beautiful, ethereal blue ocean of his eyes. The sexy smile that she’d never expected to see again. There he was, and this must be Heaven. Where else could she possibly be?
But then she remembered. Not dead.
“You hate me,” she moaned. “You hate me for leaving you like that.”
Lumen laughed. “That’s not quite the four-letter word I was looking for, no.”
“Well, loathe is six letters, so that can’t be it.”
Another chuckle. “Try love. I love, you, Neko. Damn it, I love you, you idiotic, stubborn, independent woman. I love you in spite of the fact that you drive me mad.”
Somehow, though her entire body seemed still to be devoid of muscles, she mustered a smile. “You love me?”
“Yes. Thank you for saying it first, by the way. It seems that you have more courage than I do—in more ways than just one.”
“Well. As long as I know that you love me, I can die happy.”
“Yes, you can. In about five hundred years. Give or take a few hundred.”
“Mmm?” Her eyes were closing again.
“You’re not going to die,” he said, his tone confident.
“But Umbra—he—” The memory of his teeth jammed into her forced her eyes open again. Had it really happened? Bloody hell—was she about to turn into some damned vampire creature?
“He stole some of your blood, the bastard,” Lumen interrupted. “I’m pretty angry about that. But it seems that he was stupid enough to work slowly—he didn’t expect a winged visitor to tear the house apart. You’ll be fine; you have the blood of a Dragon in you, remember. You’ll recover quickly, again.”
“Oh. Good.”
“Promise me one thing, though, would you?”
She narrowed her eyes. “I’m scared to promise you anything. You’ll ask me to stop hunting.”
“No, I won’t. I thought I wanted you to, but I don’t. I was a selfish
prick, and I hope you can forgive me for that. My Dragon was being a little more controlling than I’d like, but we’ve had a long chat and he’s promised to behave himself.”
She nodded. Yes to selfish prick. Yes to forgive.
“I just want you to stop—even just for a few days—with the near-death experiences. My heart will explode if it has to go through much more of this.”
“I promise. For a few days I won’t fight any bad guys.”
“Good.”
A sudden realization caused Neko to thrust her hands to her sides, pushing herself upwards. “Wait—did you really break my house?” she asked.
He nodded, sitting down on the edge of the bed. “A little. My Dragon had a go at your back wall.”
“You plonker.” She began to laugh. It was all so ridiculous. And yet here they were, together. Safe.
“I’ll have it repaired. It’ll be good as new. Better, even. And by the way, it was totally worth it.”
“I suppose I’ll have to stay with you in our underwater lair a little longer while the repairs are completed.”
“Yes, please. But I hope you’ll stay much longer than that.”
“Of course I will,” she said, grinning up at him. “Oh—Lumen, did you find it? The Relic, I mean?”
“Do you really suppose I would have looked for it without you? Besides, I’d never have found it. The Seeker is important for many reasons. We need your eyes, silly girl.”
“So, Umbra was telling the truth…” she murmured.
“Hmm?”
“It’s nothing. Just…I’m surprised that he was honest about anything.”
“Listen, there are some impatient Dragons waiting around the Syndicate tower. Are you up for a ride? I wouldn’t ask, normally, but the truth is that I want to get you out of here. With no back wall, this place isn’t exactly safe from intruders. I haven’t seen any Lapsed, but you never know.”
She nodded again. “Yes, by all means let’s find that Relic. I want to be done with all of this.”
Dragon Hunter Box Set: A Dragon Shifter Serial Page 28
