Blood Before Sunrise: A Shaede Assassin Novel

by amanda bonilla

  Red velvet and black silk curtains lined the small room. Instead of booths or tables, I was welcomed by an assortment of beds piled with pillows and dressed in shiny satins. Keeping my gaze straight ahead, I tried not to look at the occupied spaces, but I could tell by the writhing bodies in my peripheral vision that these people weren’t too particular about who watched their nocturnal activities.

  Fallon seemed to be enjoying himself. Surrounded by Fae—as far as I could tell—with a female at each side and a sweet-faced male behind him, he lounged while many sets of fingertips and mouths caressed his skin. I shivered in the dim light and gripped the handle of my dagger for comfort. Though I could tolerate a lot, public orgies were not on my list of things I cared to witness.

  As if he’d only noticed me standing at the foot of his…bed, Fallon dismissed his groupies with a wave of his hand. He could have given Xander a run for his money with his regal behavior. His admirers glared my way before bestowing some over-the-top pouty and pleading faces. Fallon answered with a stern expression, and the trio hopped off the bed as if it were on fire.

  “Have a seat,” he said.

  I took a step forward, feeling that strange pull to do whatever he told me. I steeled myself against the compulsion and ground the balls of my feet into my boots as if they could keep me planted to the floor. “I think I’ll stand.”

  Fallon’s eyes narrowed, but he quickly erased the menace with a smile. “Don’t you like it here?”

  “I’d rather hang out in a public toilet,” I said. “Whatever you have to say, say it fast so I can go home and sanitize. No telling what I might catch.”

  He shrugged as if to say, Suit yourself. I already didn’t like his taste in entertainment; how I’d be able to cooperate with him was beyond me. Delilah’s information had better be gold, or I’d kill her just for making me go through all of this. A waitress, clad in nothing but a skimpy push-up bra and a thong, brushed by me. The heels of her stilettos were high enough to kill her if she tripped, but by the way her ass jiggled when she walked, I got the impression she didn’t care as long as she looked good while she fell. She placed a drink on a table beside the bed and traced her fingers down Fallon’s arm before scooping a twenty from his palm. Flashing an aren’t-you-jealous glance my way, she meandered away to other beds and other customers.

  Fallon wiped the hand the waitress had touched on the bedsheets as if he’d just dipped it in a bucket of chicken fat. “Humans,” he spat. “How do you stand them?”

  I didn’t justify his prejudice with a response. I’d been human once, after all, and as far as I could tell, some of them far outweighed Fallon on the respectability scale. “What do you have for me?” My patience had stretched very thin. “Either you can help me with Delilah or you can’t.”

  “Oh, I can help you,” he said, patting the empty space next to him on the bed. “But nothing in this world is free.”

  An unpleasant shudder passed from the top of my head down my spine. My foot slid across the floor, pulling my body closer to him. The other foot followed, and I pressed down on my heels to keep my feet planted right where they were. I found the man utterly repulsive; yet something beckoned me closer. “What’s your price?” I asked through gnashed teeth. My foot twitched impatiently. “I’ll need to know if it’s worth my while.”

  “Sit,” Fallon said.

  “Fuck. No.”

  His eyes hardened; his full mouth became a tight line. “Sit. Down.”

  The force of that last word snapped my resolve and, against my will, I stumbled toward the bed. As if I had no control over my actions, I lowered myself on the edge, my feet still on the floor, and Fallon smiled. “That’s better. Really, Darian, you should try to relax. Enjoy yourself.”

  “This is as relaxed as I’m going to get,” I said more to myself than to him. My pulse picked up double time as I wondered what could have made me act against my will. No way in hell was I going to let my body rebel against my mind again.

  He sighed in disappointment and downed his drink in a single swallow. “I can lift the entrapment spell Adare has placed on the Oracle. But it’s not an easy task to accomplish. I’d be putting myself on the line by doing this for you. So in return, I ask only that you do the same for me.”

  “Put myself on the line? How?”

  “Someone has stolen something from me, and I want it back.”

  “Doesn’t sound like a fair trade to me.” Boy, was that an understatement. “Besides, I’m not a thief. I’m an assassin. If you want someone offed, I’m your girl. But burglary is not my forte.”

  “Well, then, it had better become your forte. Fast. What I’m asking is fair and equitable. If I’m caught removing the spell on the Oracle, I won’t simply be removed from duty or reassigned. I’ll be arrested—or worse. If you’re caught stealing”—his eyes wandered longingly to his companions waiting at the next bed—“you’ll suffer the same fate. Fair—and equitable.”

  Fucker. “Can I have a few days to think about it?”

  “Sorry,” Fallon said, sounding anything but. “I’m afraid my offer expires in”—he checked his watchless wrist—“fifteen seconds. Take it or leave it.”

  I balled my fists at my sides to control my mounting rage. “Fine. I’ll do it.”

  Fallon snapped his fingers, and his companions returned to the bed with a grace and speed only the inhuman possessed. As if starved without his nearness, the three of them scrambled onto the bed, kissing and petting him with a perverted intensity. He stared right at me and graced me with an indulgent smile before he relaxed back on the pillows and closed his eyes. “You’ll understand if I ask you to go first.” He peeked through one lid. “Call it insurance.”

  “No fucking way. Where’s my insurance? How do I know you won’t drop me cold after I steal whatever it is you want?” My hand closed around the dagger’s hilt again. I wanted to stab him so bad, I could taste it.

  “You can keep my prize until I fulfill my end of the bargain. Is that enough insurance for you?”

  Okay, ransom could work to my advantage. If he didn’t help me unlock Delilah’s mind, I could pitch whatever it was I’d stolen—or give it back. “All right. Now, what exactly is it I’m stealing?” If I played my cards right, I could slip in and out as my incorporeal self, taking Fallon’s trinket before anyone even knew I’d been there.

  “A piece to a puzzle.” His voice was muffled as the Fae to his right stripped him of his shirt. Her eyes bulged at the sight of exposed, muscled flesh. Brilliant red hair spilled over him like a cascade of flames as she rubbed her mouth against one of his nipples. He closed his eyes for an indulgent moment. “One half of an hourglass.”

  Interesting. “And who will I be taking it from?”

  Fallon’s eyes snapped open, and a corner of his mouth lifted in a smirk. “Sidhe. If I thought you could manage it, I’d have you kill them as well. His name is Reaver, and he’s the Keeper of the Glass. His sister, Moira, is his…security.” He spat to the side. “I would shit on their corpses if I could.”

  My knees nearly buckled. I’d met the brother-and-sister duo at the PNT Summit not six months ago. And I’d hoped never to see them again. But apparently Fate had other things in mind, since I’d seen Moira at The Pit the night those magic arrows had been slung at my head. Had it been a coincidence? Something told me I was about to dig my own grave.

  “Not backing out, are you?” Fallon asked.

  I swallowed against the fear tugging at the edge of my mind and an urge to scream, Yes! Yes! “No,” I said, ignoring my nagging better judgment. “Any idea where I can find them?” Besides slinking around my favorite hangouts?

  “You have a genie, don’t you? Ask him.”

  Blood turned to ice in my veins. If he knew about Tyler, what else did he know? “Leave him out of this. Or you won’t need me to steal a damned thing for you because I’ll take your head right off your shoulders.” Razor blades would not have been as sharp as my warning.

  “Ts
k, tsk.” Fallon unfastened the male Fae’s pants. His eyes turned liquid as he looked upon Fallon as if he’d already given him a million-dollar blow job. I pursed my lips, lest my jaw drop right down to my knees. If I didn’t get the hell out of here soon, I’d have a front-seat ticket to an orgy whether I wanted one or not.

  “You have such a temper. The Jinn is tied to you, no? He can be an asset—or a liability. Which I’m sure you are to him as well. Such is the way of these bindings.” He traced his fingertip along the male’s cheek. “I’ll call you in one week’s time. Best have my merchandise by then. If you don’t, I doubt I can keep Adare from transporting your Oracle to Portland, and then you’ll never know her secrets, will you?”

  I hated him—hated him right down to my toenails. Xander would be pleased to know someone had finally knocked him from the top spot on my shit list. But I had to do this for Raif—for his friendship and for the heartache he’d endured. “I’ll have it in three days,” I said, throwing down the bravado. “You’d best be ready for me.”

  Spinning on a heel, I turned, commanding my body to ignore the need to flee for safety and walk away with calm dignity. It wasn’t until I’d cleared the doors of Seven that I allowed my body to respond to the urge to run. And it wasn’t until I was a block from my apartment that I’d finally stopped shaking with fear.

  Chapter 14

  “At least it’s not getting any worse,” Azriel said, examining the slice to my forearm.

  That wasn’t saying much. I’d never had a wound that didn’t heal fast. The fear of what the blade had been laced with scared me more than the damned gash. What could have damaged my inhuman skin to such an extent?

  Azriel’s expression didn’t give me ease. His eyes shone with knowledge, something his mouth had denied.

  “Plant extract? Rat poison? What do you think it was?”

  “I told you,” Azriel replied, his tone more than simply annoyed. “I have no idea.”

  “You said a magic blade can kill us. What if—”

  “No.”

  “Can you be sure?”

  Azriel wrung the soaking cloth from a basin of water and dabbed at my arm one more time before wrapping it with a white gauze bandage. “I’m sure. The bastard was human, after all. No reason to believe he knew what you were. Damn it, Darian, you’ve got to be quicker than that. You don’t have time to contemplate the morality of your actions. Draw your blade and cut. End of story.”

  He was angry with me for hesitating, but only because he cared for me and didn’t like to see me hurt. I should have done as he’d told me and struck with speed. My hesitation would be my downfall someday, and I didn’t want to disappoint him again.

  “Another postcard came today,” I said as Azriel pinned the bandage in place. “From Dallas.”

  “Hmph,” Azriel grunted, carrying the bowl of bloodied water to the door and throwing the contents out onto the street. “He’ll stick out like a sore thumb there. Better for Lorik if he returns to Europe.”

  “You said yourself it’s not safe for him there.”

  “Nowhere is safe for him. His father’s indiscretions have guaranteed that.”

  “What is he to you?” I doubted Lorik’s postcards were meant for me, even though they were addressed to me. We’d never been what you might call close. “You’ve taken an unusual interest in this human.”

  “That,” Azriel said, kissing the tip of my nose, “is none of your concern, my love.” He pulled the sleeve of my dress back into place, refastening the button. “Now, come lie with me for a spell. Let us watch the rain as it runs down the windows. I have need of the feel of your body against mine.”

  I smiled, my entire being responding to his words. “That sounds lovely.”

  He’s getting worse, I thought as I shook myself from memories and hung up the phone. This time, Tyler had to be escorted off Xander’s property after he’d nearly knocked the door down because he’d thought I was somewhere inside the house. The Grim Reaper couldn’t have sounded bleaker than Raif as he’d given me the play-by-play of Ty’s extraction from the mansion. And apparently, the cut on his upper arm was a scratch compared to what Xander’s guards had wanted to give him.

  I barreled through the entryway to my apartment, forgoing the pleasantries. I still wasn’t completely unwound from my meeting with Fallon, and the news of yet another outburst wasn’t doing much for my nerves. “Does this have something to do with our bond?” I demanded as I walked in. “Ty, this jealousy routine is getting old—fast. You’re acting crazy, for Christ’s sake!”

  “He wants you to stay close.” A sound not unlike a snarl tore from Tyler’s throat. “To him.”

  “I’m not going to get into this with you again.”

  “You’re mine,” he said, low.

  The apartment was dimly lit, the glow from the television illuminating Tyler’s features, making them look sharper, less like the man I loved. I curled up next to him on the couch, taking note of his bandaged arm before I rested my head on his shoulder, sighing. “What’s wrong, Tyler? This is not you. I mean, if you’re going to be jealous of someone, Xander’s armed you with plenty of ammo. Why Raif?”

  “You smell of him,” he said as he stroked my hair absently. “I can’t stand it. It’s driving me crazy.” He pulled away and studied my face. “You’ve been a busy girl tonight. I sense your fear too. And all kinds of other nastiness. Where’ve you been?”

  “Working for Xander.” Sort of. A vision of Fallon stroking a bed full of lovers invaded my thoughts, and I ran my fingers through the silky strands of Tyler’s hair to keep them from trembling. “Nothing to worry about.”

  “Strange. Xander didn’t seem to have a clue where you were. I couldn’t feel you wherever you were tonight. It was like something was blocking our connection again.”

  “I’m…” God, I so didn’t want to drag him into this. “I’m following a lead on Brakae. Xander doesn’t exactly know about it. I’m just using my royal connection as an in.”

  Tyler tried to seem light and laughed. A weak attempt, the sound barely carried from his chest. “I should’ve known you’d never be a low-maintenance girl. I don’t care. You’re worth all the trouble and then some.”

  And he was getting that “and then some” in spades with me.

  “I don’t think I can handle being around Raif, though, He shouldn’t come here for a while either, Darian. It’s for his own good.”

  I pictured what it must have looked like when Tyler burst through the door and threw Raif against the wall, his forearm pressed tight against my mentor’s windpipe while he demanded to know where I was. Distance sounded like a damned good thing—at least, for a while. “Fine. I’ll tell him.”

  “Darian, I know I’m being an asshole. Don’t think I can’t tell something’s wrong here. But until I can figure out why I’m feeling this way, it’s going to be better for him to keep his distance. I know you can’t do the same, and I’ll deal the best I can. This has never happened before. I feel like—I don’t know—like he’s what’s interfering with the bond.”

  “You know that’s not true, though.” There was no way Raif could accomplish it even if he’d wanted to. I knew the rules. No one could break our bond but me.

  “I know, but until I can sort it all out, best to tread carefully.”

  “What about the friend you went to see? Couldn’t he help you?”

  Tyler stiffened. His voice dropped to almost a whisper. “I’m afraid we’ve gone farther than a simple fix will allow.” I’d never heard him sound so pessimistic, and my heart raced at his words. “Don’t worry, Darian,” he said, stroking my cheek. “Nothing is going to touch you.”

  I wanted to scream. The kind of soul-cleansing sound that rips through your chest, scalding all the way up. But I couldn’t muster the anger to bring forth my voice. Tears stung at the corners of my eyes, and I held them back. I forbade myself from filling up with sorrow. All he cared about was me and not one bit about the fact that he seemed to
be losing his mind, his health, his grip or that we had no idea who was causing this trouble. That aspect of the bond drove me to the brink. I couldn’t stand the way he disregarded his own safety to protect me.

  “Tyler, the way you’ve been feeling lately, this is happening because you’re protecting me, isn’t it?”

  He kissed my head, the gesture as good as a yes.

  “I can’t let you do this. It’s killing me to see you this way.”

  “You don’t have a choice, love.” His voice was like a soft caress. “My protection isn’t like a light switch, something to be flipped on or off. It’s uncompromising and something I can’t control.” Laughter rumbled in his chest again. “Whoever has it out for you—they’re powerful. Big mojo. Don’t worry about me. I’ve got big mojo too. And as long as I breathe, no one will harm you.”

  Tyler relaxed beside me, his arms sliding away from me. “I’m tired.” He pushed himself up and moved to the bed, pulling me with him. “Just lie with me, for a while. Let me hold you, touch you.”

  Hell if I know why, but I did as he asked. We should have been out searching every dark corner of Seattle for whoever was wreaking this havoc on our lives. I should have been out there, finding whoever had it out for me, no doubt the same person who’d been fucking with Tyler. He’d die to protect my life. Well, I’d kill to save his.

  I curled up against him, listening to the sound of his slow and steady heartbeat against my cheek. He seemed weak—even his scent had lost its usual sweet potency, as if it were taking everything he had to protect me from whatever threatened my existence. He might as well have had a fucking target on his back. Murder attempts, magic bonds, theft, secrets, conspiracy all around, and I’d brought it to his door. I had managed to dig myself a damned big hole; if I didn’t get my ass in gear, I’d be buried alive and I’d take him with me.