This World Bites (Cera Chronicles Book 1)

by Loni Townsend

  A dubious frown curved Duke’s lips. “But that’s impossible. The disease has been plaguing our world for hundreds of years. The demons only came about fifty years ago.”

  Rin ignored him. “The disease is viral. However, I can formulate a vaccine of greater potency if we can acquire a blood specimen from the original donor.”

  “But it’s like Mr. Ross said!” Katherine glanced from Duke to Rin. “That was ages ago. There’s no way that person is still alive.”

  “Everything lost can be found,” Stella said optimistically. “Take me for example.”

  Danielle shook her head. “You’re still lost.”

  Stella let out a cheerful little laugh that made my skin crawl. “Not me-me. What I am. A harnesser.”

  Michael cleared his throat. “I refrain from making age assumptions based on appearance. Therefore, might you tell us how old you are?”

  Stella beamed triumphantly. “You are the smartest boy I have ever met. I am 37.”

  I looked at my guardian for clarification. He pushed his long hair out of his eyes that were beginning to turn red like Duke’s. “The harnesser project was discontinued 70 years ago. They supposedly destroyed all the samples.”

  “No!” Katherine backed up. “We aren’t going to ask him for help.”

  “Come now, sister.” Stella caressed Katherine’s hair with a tender hand, glancing over her shoulder at me with a sly smile. “We have the perfect bait.”

  Katherine averted her gaze. “I refuse to be a part of this.”

  Stella flicked the collar around her sister’s neck. “You’re already a part of this. You’re his slave.”

  “I came on his orders. I never wanted to capture Cera.”

  I stood up and smoothed my skirt. Bits of crusty green blood flaked off. “I assume I am to be the bait. The man who sent you to abduct me, he’s the one who might know where to find the blood we need?”

  “Daegus,” Katherine said.

  “Daegus McKay?” Duke yanked me against his chest and wrapped his arms around my shoulders. “I’m not letting Cera anywhere near him.”

  I sighed. “Duke, I know we only met yesterday, but I had hoped you’d figure out by now that I’m not defenseless.”

  “I doubt that is his concern, dear.” Stella winked at me. “Mr. Ross is sweet on you and Daegus is known to be persuasive with the females.”

  “Stella…” Duke’s voice dripped with warning.

  “He hasn’t kissed you, has he?” Stella asked. “It’s because Mr. Ross knows he can’t. If he does, he will infect you and then he will hate himself. No kisses, no intimacy—no future.”

  I hadn’t considered that I could contract the disease. I looked at my date’s expression, which grudgingly assented to Stella’s deductions. “I’m sure I’d have felt some of the effects after the way you licked me from tailbone to throat this morning.”

  Duke shifted uncomfortably as Seth narrowed his gaze. “The wounds were closed.” Whatever blood that existed in his system rushed to his face. “My fluids need to…enter you.”

  I turned to Rin. “Can elementals be infected?”

  He shook his head. Enough confirmation for me. I twisted in Duke’s grasp, took his face in my hands, and drew him to me for a slow, tender kiss. He resisted at first. But seeing as I was stronger than he was, I pulled him the rest of the way to my lips. Finally, he melted into the kiss and returned with greater intensity.

  Michael cleared his throat. “Though I do not wish to rush you, Mistress Cera, I am running out of time.”

  I broke the kiss and patted Duke’s cheek. “You have my assurance this Daegus will not seduce me.”

  Katherine pulled a small sack from her belt. “I’m supposed to put this collar on—”

  “No collars.” I slashed the air with a hand. “I refuse to be collared or chained. This is nonnegotiable.”

  “Mistress Cera,” Stella said with reproach. “Daegus will know something is going on if you show up without the collar.”

  “No.”

  She stiffened and licked her lips. “Fine, but don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

  ***

  I drummed my fingers against my thigh, waiting for the mysterious Daegus to make an appearance in what Katherine called “Hell’s guest lounge.” Poorly stuffed wooden chairs lined the small room. Mine creaked every time I shifted positions. Floral print wallpaper curled away from the wall in places. A tray of stale cookies sat in the center of a coffee table with thin books stacked on either side. I glared at the grinning businessmen adorning the covers.

  I was normally not this impatient, but I had to get the sample before Michael died, or else he would be permanently stuck with the disease. Rin gave me a time constraint of mid-afternoon tomorrow and it was already dusk.

  A door opened and a squat woman with spectacles and a hair bun examined her clipboard before eyeing Katherine and me. “Mr. McKay will see you now.”

  I bit my tongue to keep from asking what had taken him so long. I followed Katherine down a hallway illuminated by glowing red wall lamps and did my best to look meek and helpless. The door at the end opened as we approached, admitting us into an office with a heavy desk in the center and a high, winged back leather chair tucked behind it.

  A man in a suit stood with his back to us, pouring amber liquid into a glass tumbler. He turned and smiled at me, offering the glass. The scent of oaken barrels, peat smoke, dripping honey, and barley dancing in a summer breeze wafted toward me. Damn. The man had taste.

  I stared at his white, straight teeth—brilliant in his charming smile. It was almost enough to distract from the color of his skin, which was the shade of a ripe tomato, and the pair of horns on top of his head.

  I took the glass and held it, but didn’t drink. I didn’t want to dull my senses with intoxication. He sat on the edge of the desk and slid his gaze over my body in slow assessment. “So you’re the one who’s been killing my demons? I imagined you’d be…scarier.”

  Scary things could come in pretty packages too. Consider Stella: exhibit A.

  I cocked my hip and glanced about the room. Not much for shelves or decorations. Filing cabinets, crystal trophies, and a pitchfork propped in the corner. This wouldn’t be easy, would it? “Do you know where I can find a blood specimen of the original Z0 donor?”

  He tensed and his mouth pinched. “I brought you here for my purposes, not the other way around.” He glowered at Katherine. “I told you to use the collar.”

  She flinched and averted her gaze. “She refused. The entire escort is dead. It was all I could do to bring her here.”

  Daegus flicked his hand and Katherine fell to the floor, limp and unmoving. Picking up a leather collar from the desk, he held it out to me. “Put it on.”

  My free hand reached for it even before I realized my body had moved. As my fingers closed around the leather, a tiny wooden dart lodged itself in Daegus’s neck.

  He frowned and lifted a hand to swat it away. Two more shot out—one striking his torso, the other, his thigh. “What the hell?” he muttered, and stood up. He suddenly grappled with something invisible around his neck. His face turned from red to purple and finally he dropped, landing facedown.

  Fues rubbed the paint from his skin, dispelling the Miasho illusion. “He tough.” The pygmy hopped from his place on top of Daegus’s head. “One dart down wolf.”

  “Persuasive with women…” I spat on Daegus’s sedentary form. “More like frigging mind control.” I stooped to check Katherine’s pulse. Still alive, just unconscious. I formed a ball of water in my palm and dropped it on her face.

  She let out a gasp and sat up, blinking the droplets from her lashes. She appeared unsurprised to find Daegus on the floor. Instead, she looked at the glass still in my hand, took it from me, and downed the amber liquid in a single gulp. She stood up, grabbed the rest of the bottle, kicked Daegus, and smiled. “Alright, I’m ready to go.”

  Chapter 11

  I FROWNED AT THE GIGGLES c
oming from behind the bathroom door. “Are they—?”

  Michael held up a hand to cut me off. “You do not wish to know.” Feverish and shivering, he was on the bed, wrapped in a blanket with an ice pack on top of his head. Duke sat next to him holding a steaming cup of red liquid.

  “But I thought—”

  “Teymir Rin formulated a vaccine based on my current condition.” Michael grimaced. “Seth is testing to make certain he is incapable of contracting the disease.” He’d been right, of course. I didn’t want to know. He coughed—a wet, sickly sound—and the handkerchief used to cover his mouth came away red with blood. “It is in my lungs now.”

  The door swung open and Seth stepped out, tucking his shirt into the front of his pants. Stella and Danielle followed, the first wearing less clothing than when I’d previously seen her and the second woman in wolf form.

  Seth stalked to Rin’s desk and held out a hand for him to analyze. Rin laid his hand on Seth palm and closed his eyes. “The vaccine works.”

  I cocked an eyebrow at my guardian. “Have fun with your testing duties?”

  He shrugged. “More fun than being bitten.” He eyed Danielle as if considering that option for additional tests.

  I handed him the bottle of water we had acquired from the government laboratory before returning to the room. It boasted a label saying H2O-1Y, listed to burn demons. We formed a circle around the slaver, and Seth let a single drop fall from the bottle lip to land on top of Daegus’s head. It sizzled and wisps of steam rose from his skin. Daegus jerked awake and tried to lift his hands to touch the burned spot. The chain around his wrist pulled taut. He sputtered, shocked at first, and then he saw me. “Hell, this can’t be good.”

  I set my hands on my hips. “I want a blood specimen from the original Z0 donor.”

  He smirked and looked at Katherine. “Come here and unbind me, woman.”

  She started to step forward, but Duke caught her before she could get any closer.

  Green strands circled Daegus’s throat and squeezed in warning. “Order my sister around again and I will remove your head.” I hoped Stella would wait until I gained my information first.

  The familiar look of alarm associated with Stella’s presence spread across Daegus’s face. Was there anyone on this world not scared of her? “Hey, Stella.” His voice rose by an octave. “I didn’t realize you were here.”

  Stella clicked her tongue. “Daegus, you have been a bad boy. You ruined Mr. Ross’s club, kidnapped my sister, and then you tried to take control of Mistress Cera. I think you need to apologize.”

  “I’m sorry.” The words tumbled out almost before Stella had finished talking. “I can help. I know who the original donor was.” The harnesser let out a light, eerie laugh and the green strands melted away. Daegus breathed a sigh. “A man named Paul Grant. He’s dead now, but I know who can get us a sample of his blood.” I lifted an eyebrow and waited for him to continue. He compressed his lips into a thin line. “I’ll take you to her.”

  “Tell us who she is,” Duke countered.

  Daegus laughed. “So you can kill me? I don’t think so. I know who you are, Duke Ross. You don’t control a third of the city by being a nice guy.”

  Seth grabbed Daegus’s hair and yanked his head backward, pouring a portion of H2O-1Y water down his throat. His ruthless dark eyes watched as Daegus thrashed and kicked. “He is not the one you should be concerned with.”

  “Stop!” Daegus gasped. He slumped, sweat beading on his crimson brow. “My Aunt Luci. Luci Fer. She worked as a contractor when they first devised the modifications. Please, make my death quick and painless.”

  Stella let out an excited giggle, clapping her hands in anticipation.

  “No.” I held up a hand. “Set him free.”

  “What?” Duke and Katherine asked in unison.

  “Killing him isn’t necessary.” I looked at Rin who was scouring information to find Luci’s current residence. He nodded, indicating his success. I removed the chains from around Daegus’s wrists. “Duke, will you take Daegus back to his office?”

  “Cera, he’s a slaver. He doesn’t deserve to live.”

  I met my date’s gaze and spoke with complete seriousness. “This isn’t my world. I don’t deliver your justice, nor am I your executioner. What he is deserving of isn’t my concern. All I want is to cure Michael and leave this world for a different place, one that may be able to help my father.”

  Duke stood in silence, emotions flickering across his face.

  Daegus let out a whistle. “Dang man, she put you in your place.” He gave my rump an affectionate slap. “You’re a sexy—”

  I punched Daegus, knocking him backward onto the floor as the chair tipped. I flicked his blood from my knuckles. “Stella, he’s all yours.”

  Chapter 12

  “OH, IT WAS AN ACCIDENT, I swear!” Luci Fer, red-skinned like her nephew but with curly white hair, cleaned her glasses with the tail of her shirt. She was a little old lady, smaller than me. “You see, Paul, he had cats. I could smell it in his blood when I was arranging the samples. My allergies were going crazy.” She placed her glasses on the tip of her nose. “I sneezed. I didn’t think any of the samples were affected, but after seeing Paul rip free from the table restraints and start biting everyone, I knew something must have gone wrong. I tried to explain, but they fired me anyways.”

  “I knew it.” Danielle pounded her palm with a fist. “Cats are evil.”

  I glanced around the tidy living space the demon called home, and my hope dwindled. Hardly anything looked like a storage container for blood. “We need a blood sample to create a vaccine. Do you happen to have any anywhere?”

  “I have better.” Luci put two fingers to her mouth and whistled.

  The floor shook as a figure burst through the basement door. One eyeball hung from the corpse’s skull and bits of flesh dangled from the bones. Pus oozed from sores running up and down the limbs and dripped into sloppy puddles on the floor. Stella shrieked and hid behind Seth, clinging to the back of his shirt. The stench of rot overwhelmed the room. Danielle doubled over, emptying her stomach on Luci’s argyle rug. I used Miasho power to bar my sense of smell and cover my taste buds.

  Luci beamed with pride. “I’d like you to meet Paul. Paul, say hi.”

  “Hhhuuuuu…” Green flecks of mold puffed out with the breath.

  “Don’t worry.” Luci smiled. “I’ve trained him not to bite.”

  ***

  “Don’t move!” The voice rang through an amplification device, making it echo and bounce off the walls. “We have you surrounded.”

  I groaned and looked out at the dozens of projectile weapons aimed directly into our damaged hotel room. “What now?”

  We had taken one of the motorized vehicles back to the hotel room since I wasn’t about to let the decaying corpse accompanying us touch me—a necessity to carry him in a transport seal. We hadn’t even had time to start conducting research before authorities arrived.

  Believe it or not, I usually try to avoid the law when visiting worlds. You never know when you might break the rules, and the consequences usually suck.

  The spokesperson, a winged man wearing gold armor, stepped forward. “You are under arrest for harboring a fugitive, abducting a foreign national, and murdering a government official. Surrender peacefully and no one gets hurt.”

  “I am here of my own free will,” Luci corrected.

  “Not you ma’am.” The winged man looked around the room. “Your nephew.”

  “Daegus?” Luci’s brow furrowed and she looked at me. “Was my little Daegus here?” Her thought process flickered across her face, and I knew the moment she came to her conclusion. Not in our favor. Her gaze narrowed on Stella. “Harnesser. You killed him, didn’t you?”

  Stella lifted a shoulder in a nonchalant shrug. “He enslaved my sister. It was a matter of family pride. Honestly, I—”

  Luci sprang at Stella, her manicured nails sharpening to vicious
claws.

  “Ma’am!” The leader of the winged men rushed into the room. “Stand down, we will handle this.”

  Stella let out a screech as the old demon woman landed on top of her. Katherine grabbed a broken rebar from the wall and swung it in her sister’s defense. The winged leader switched his attention to the bartender and Danielle, now in wolf form, clamped her teeth around his wrist. He released an angry scream, and the men with him opened fire on the room, which Fues returned with bow and arrow.

  I charged a fireball in my palm and covered Seth as he dove for the sword stashed beneath the bed. He rolled upright and countered a blow from one of the winged men attempting to rescue his leader. A swift kick to the knee dropped the man to the floor and a slice sent the man’s head tumbling backward. Paul roared, galloping through the winged men and eating anything he could get his teeth around. The men redirected firepower to the rampaging zombie.

  Daegus opened the bathroom door and stared out at the ruckus. “Aunt Luci?” Guess he wasn’t dead—only severely beaten, with one eye swollen shut.

  The ground beneath my feet rumbled. Jutting rocks shot out from beneath us. Duke tackled me, pushing me into the wall as one of the stone spikes broke through where I’d been standing. We rolled as chunks of ceiling broke free. “What now?” I shouted over the noise.

  He shook his head. “I don’t know.”

  Tentacles, slimy and writhing, slithered through the cracks, snatching whatever moving creatures they could find and dragging them beneath the rubble. Seth hacked with his sword. Rin incinerated any tentacles that reached for him. I focused my fire, using short bursts to keep the tentacles at bay. Daegus screamed as one caught him. Luci whipped in his direction and rushed to his aid. Another tremor coursed through the floor.

  The cracks widened. A tentacle wrapped around my leg, gripping me with tiny suction-cups. I tried to burn it, but it resisted the flame. It swung me through the air, slammed me against the wall and ceiling, and beat me against the floor. Seth severed it with a clean cut, but another took its place, bigger and stronger. It struck me in the arm and bones snapped on impact. Pain shot through my body. The tentacle grabbed my leg again and I caught one last glimpse of my companions before I was pulled underground.