by Zoe Perdita
The only weapon close by was a collection of enchanted hat pins, long and sharp. He guessed they could do a decent amount of damage, but he’d have to be able to sneak up on someone for it to work. And there’s no saying it would incapacitate them. Probably just annoy whoever he stabbed until they killed him instead.
Still, Ari slipped his hand up carefully and snagged the longest and sharpest hatpin he could reach.
A crash of glass shattered the silence, and Ari flinched.
A quick glance told him it was the front door. He gritted his teeth and moved back, knocking into a table.
The ghost light tottered.
Flickered.
In the near darkness, it barely glowed at all, but it was enough to put a big fat neon sign above his head. He groaned internally.
“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” one of the front door robbers asked the backdoor guy. He sounded like a teenage boy with a bad attitude. “This is our haul.”
“I got here first, so it looks like it's my haul,” backdoor guy grumbled, his voice impossibly deep. He sounded the way Ari thought a mountain might if it could talk.
“What’s with that weird glow? It’s moving,” one of the front door robbers said. That voice was female. Too young to be doing this. And something about it was more familiar than he wanted to admit, but he couldn’t place it right then. When he tried, his brain told him to shut up and focus on what was important.
Ari agreed with it.
“He’s in here. Think you can catch him?” backdoor guy said with a huff of laughter that sounded anything but pleasant.
“So you can grab the sword? I don’t think so. We should slit your throat right now, Chad.”
“And I should break all of your scrawny necks.”
Well, they were willing to kill each other, which didn’t put the odds of them not killing Ari very high. And made things about a hundred times worse.
The light was still above his head, giving off that ghostly blue glow. If his shop was haunted, it would’ve attracted a spirit by now. A pit formed in his stomach at that thought. He could use the lantern to get Kian to say something about what he’d done. Explain himself, perhaps.
But that was only if he made it out of here alive. And that didn’t seem likely at the moment. For one, the group of three blocked the entrance. The exit out the back was clear, but Ari had no idea if the big guy was working with someone. If he ran out there blindly and charged right into backdoor guy’s partner . . . .
Yeah, no good.
Going out the front was his best chance to escape. Get into a crowd and get away.
However, he could only do that if those kids at the front moved, and he had a clear shot to sneak out before they noticed. If they all knew he was there it made it much worse.
But the light was something that worked in his favor. Not because two of them moved toward it now, the other two (one of the front door group and the backdoor guy) took up the rear. They fanned out like they’d done this before, but since none of them had memorized the layout of his shop, they bumped into things.
Cage said he didn’t know if the rumor about the ghost light being deadly to the touch was true, and neither of them obviously wanted to try it out, but what other weapon did he have? The hatpin wasn’t going to protect him from these crazy people who were willing to kill for the Demon's Sword.
He steeled all the courage he could muster and stood, grabbing the light, and held it in front of him.
“It’s floating!” the girl gasped.
He wished they thought that for a moment longer.
Allowed the fear to build.
Chased them off.
But that mother fucking backdoor guy laughed.
Well, if they weren’t going to be scared of it properly . . . .
“No. I’m holding it,” Ari said, fighting to keep his voice steady. “I don’t appreciate you breaking into my shop. I suggest you leave before the cops show up.”
The last part was only partially a lie. If the silent alarm went off like it should’ve, the police would show up within the next few minutes. He hoped.
“The alarm I cut?” backdoor guy said, his voice smug.
At least they couldn’t see Ari’s grimace.
Still, he wouldn’t let that throw him off.
“There are other alarms in this shop. More dangerous ones. Do you idiots have any idea what kind of place you broke into? What happened to the last thieves who went after what you’re after?” Ari hoped he sounded sure of himself and not as terrified as he actually was.
And, no matter what else he thought of the wolf, now would be the perfect time for Cage to show up. Save the day. However, the chance of that actually happening was pretty damn slim. Slimmer than the cops popping in. For one, if one of Cage’s pack mates were here, they’d have no doubt done something by now.
“Those foxes that broke into your place? Yeah, we’re nowhere near as stupid as they are,” one of the front door guys said.
“We’re not stupid at all, moron,” the girl said.
Ari wasn’t sure he agreed with that, but his blood went cold all the same. If they knew those thieves were foxes that meant he wasn’t dealing with normal humans. They were either shadow folk (though he didn’t sense any magic, and even shifters gave off a slight buzz) or hunters of some kind.
Either way, it just got worse.
“If you’re so smart, what am I holding?” Ari asked, infusing all the anger into his voice that he could. It bubbled under the surface, years of being told how weak he was coming to a head. But the need to survive coursed along with it.
No one responded, but the vague outlines of bodies in the shadows stopped in their tracks. Yeah. That told him something else. They knew of magic, but they didn’t use it themselves. Not that all magic users knew about all different kinds of magic, quite the contrary, but they were too hesitant. Not like that ice mage that came into the shop that morning.
Plus, if any of them were a mage, they’d have used their power by now.
He felt a small satisfactory smile slip over his lips. “Exactly. Do you know what I am? Do you know what killed those foxes?”
“He’s just a healer!” the girl spit out, like it was a curse word.
Her comrades chuckled, but the laughter was pitched.
Nervous.
“You’re friends with an alpha. He tore them up. That’s all,” backdoor guy said, but the confidence in his tone wavered.
Ari’s heartbeat quickened.
They knew about Cage?
The alpha could take care of himself. And if they knew where Ari lived and worked, knowing who he associated with wasn’t that much of a leap. Though it might put them all in danger. All the clients he got too chummy with. The select few people he considered friends.
Dammit.
This situation was something that happened to the type of shadow folk who gambled with danger. Like Tyler or Fisk. Not something that happened to a healer who always kept his head down and worked to be as law-abiding as possible. Within reason, of course.
He forced himself to snort. “My friend wasn’t even there when they died. I have a ghost wolf who does my bidding, and if you don’t get the fuck out of my shop, I’ll sick him on you all.”
A profound silence followed that announcement, and none of them moved, neither towards an exit or towards Ari himself.
Then backdoor man shook his head. “If you had a ghost wolf why hasn’t it attacked us yet? Plus, I don’t even think something like that exists.”
The other group mumbled their agreement.
So they didn’t believe him. Well, it was worth a shot. And now that he’d done the only thing he could think to talk his way out of this mess, he had one more chance to get out.
Ari looked at the lantern, his chest squeezing with regret at all the things he didn’t get to do with it.
Learn about it.
Use it for Kian’s sake.
Not to mention, he had no idea what
would happen if he threw it. The fire didn’t burn anything but living flesh (so Felan said), but that didn’t mean it wouldn’t cause other types of destruction.
But the items in his shop weren’t worth his life. He was too pragmatic for that.
“Fine, If you don’t believe me, it’s your funeral,” Ari said and tightened his grip on the lantern.
Since his attackers were spread out like that, he was torn between choosing the ones on the left or the right. Or, he could wait until they converged, but that would put them a mere four feet away. Was that enough room for him to toss the damn lantern and avoid its flames?
He decided to wait. They might catch him otherwise.
“Shoot him and get it over with,” the girl said and something rustled in the darkness.
Ari frowned at that and tossed the lantern to the right since it would clear a path to the front door. The glass cracked and blue flames leapt free, eating at whoever they hit. A brief set of screams sounded, cut off by the fire that drowned them.
The other two of robbers gasped and scrambled back as if the fire might come after them next.
Ari charged before they gave chase, leaping over a display case with more dexterity than he knew he possessed, and knocking over a vase that shimmered with an elven luck charm. It crashed onto the ground and shattered. Looks like the luck charm didn’t do the vase itself much good.
Still, regrettable.
When he got to the door, a hand clamped on his shoulder and the sharp tip of a knife slashed his side. Not deep, but fuck! It hurt worse than any physical pain he’d experienced.
Ari used the last of his adrenaline to shove whoever held him, twisted, and drove the hatpin into their exposed throat.
His purser let go, gurgling, and Ari ran.
His legs carried him down the street, toward the light and sound of the bars on Twenty-Fifth.
His side ached.
Burned.
Not good.
He needed to put pressure on it. Get home and see to his wound with the things in his healer rooms. But he’d left his car in the alley, and there was no way he could run all the way home like this.
He pulled out his phone and grimaced as he went through his list of contacts. Seth. Yeah, he should call Seth first. But his fingers pressed Cage instead.
What the hell?
The phone rang several times and went to voicemail.
Oh. Great. Now the alpha didn’t even want to talk to him!
Ari clutched his side and hailed a cab.
On the way to his house, he called Seth and told him what happened at the shop.
“Are you okay? Why the hell didn’t you call me right away?” Seth said and sounded like he was eating something. Probably pizza from the way he chewed.
“I was kind of busy trying not to die. A few of them were injured. Maybe dead. I’m not sure. I’m on my way home now.”
“Okay. Good. Do you have someone there to—”
The phone cut out, and Ari frowned at it. It’d been half charged that afternoon. No way the battery died that fast. Unless it was tampered with somehow. He usually kept it in his pocket, but he’d put it in his office at lunch and left it there for the remainder of the day. Plenty of opportunity for one of those assholes to sneak in and do something to it.
He’d worry about that later.
The cabbie pulled up to Ari’s house. “This the place? Looks like somebody’s already here.”
Ari squinted out the window. Several figures, none of whom he recognized, loitered outside. At least two were inside. His heart stopped, stomach dropping out from under him.
They were dressed in black, and several of them had crossbows on their backs. He could only see them if he squinted.
More hunters.
How many of these guys were after him?
“Uh, change of plans. I need to go someplace else,” Ari said and rattled off the address before he realized what he was doing.
Strangely, he didn’t regret it.
He blamed that on the blood loss.
8
The alpha snarled.
The audacity of this hunter to come to his place of work and try to attack him? He would rip the man apart!
But—
Felan sighed.
Let the anger go.
If he did that, he’d have to explain what happened. Risk alerting his students or co-workers what he was. And, like he always told his pack mates, secrecy was key for integration into human society. Especially in a city like Haven.
But the alpha form wasn’t always a burden. It was more of a boon at times like this.
The hunter hadn’t moved any closer. Felan guessed the hunter had some kind of night-vision goggles, probably heat based, to help him see in the utter darkness.
Felan could get around that for a bit.
He moved behind another shelf of books and stripped as quickly as he could, bundling his clothes in a chair to keep the warmth in them for a little while. Then he fell into his alpha shape, the wolf ready to rip and tear. Protect his territory from these monsters.
Felan forced it to move in the other direction, toward the exit. He was faster in this form, heard and smelled better. His eyesight was marginally improved as well, but he’d tucked his glasses onto the top shelf and hoped they stayed there until he could retrieve them. At least he had a few spare pairs at home.
He heard a huff of breath and boots stomping, not so carefully, after him. The hunter must’ve found the clothes and realized he’d been deceived.
Felan moved up the stairs, winding around the corner carefully so as not to slam into the wall. The dim light that shone around the door gave him enough to make it to the top without tripping over his own paws.
The footsteps were closer now.
Almost on him.
Felan bit back a growl.
“Got you,” a man’s voice grumbled.
Twang!
A crossbow fired.
The bright sting of a silver bolt ripped across his flesh, and Felan bit back a whine and slammed into the door. It gave, and he tumbled into the cool night air.
The bolt ripped through his thigh, and he felt the poison working into his system, but it wasn’t embedded in him. Which meant it wouldn’t kill him. It also gave him a reason to see Ari without having to come up with a pathetic excuse. If Ari would see him, that was.
He told himself not to think about that and charged across campus, into the depths of the trees, to get away from the hunter before the alpha decided to take over for good and do what he should’ve done back there.
The hunter’s feet pounded on the cement after him. It was late enough that anyone who saw him on the street might mistake him for a large dog and not what he actually was—a huge wolf. However, it seemed that hunter was working alone because no one else pursued him.
Thank the moon!
Felan limped into a copse of trees and crouched in the bushes. The alpha snarled, begging to be freed completely. To rip the hunter to pieces for daring to come near him.
The footsteps of heavy boots clomped closer.
Closer.
Felan bit back a snarl and let the hunter pass.
Then, after several minutes, turned in the other direction and ran home.
As he climbed the stairs to his apartment he caught a familiar scent on the air: his mate.
His heart beat faster, and he pushed himself up the last few flights.
The alpha stumbled toward his apartment door and found Ari, a cloth pressed to his side and wet with blood.
Felan whined.
In all their years together Ari had never gotten hurt. He’d dealt with everyone else’s injuries, yet never sustained much more than a bruise or a paper cut himself. Not even a broken bone. Kian used to joke that he was too careful, and Ari would shrug and say he didn’t know why that was a bad thing.
The alpha form shifted back into a man, but Felan didn’t say a word. He scooped up his fallen mate, who blinked at him and winced, and
carried Ari inside, heart pounding and mind flashing with too many memories to keep his hands from shaking.
Only this time he was sober.
This time whatever happened to Ari wasn’t his fault, even if that’s not how it felt at the moment.
“I’m calling an ambulance,” Felan said.
Ari’s fingers dug into his arm, stronger than Felan thought they would be as the alpha set the healer on the couch. “I don’t know if that’s a good idea. These hunters keep showing up. I didn’t know where else to go. You’re bleeding!”
Felan huffed. “Me? It’s a scratch. You look in need of a transfusion.”
Ari shook his head again and sat up straight, though he sucked a breath through his teeth as he did. “Fuck, this hurts. It’s not deep. Didn’t hit any organs. I can stitch it myself if you still have that kit I gave you.”
Of course he had the kit Ari gave him back before everything went to hell, and he’d only had to use it a few times. Usually for Amy when she skinned a knee or that time she sprained her ankle.
Felan stood, jaw clenched, and went into the bathroom to fetch it. He ignored his reflection and the blood that dripped down his leg, or the way the silver in his bloodstream seemed to slow his movements. Ari was more important.
His vision was blurry, and he grabbed a spare pair of glasses with thick black frames.
When he brought the kit back to the brown leather couch, Ari had already shrugged off his button up shirt and took the balled up cloth away from his side. The blood leaked out sluggishly, and the cut looked about the size and shape of a switchblade.
“What else do you need?” Felan asked, fingers twitching to do something. Help in any way he could. Any lasting anger he’d had about Ari keeping Kian’s presence (real or imagined) a secret, faded into nothingness. How could he hold onto it when his mate needed him?
“Anemone, if you have it. Fresh is best. If you still have my mixing bowl, use that,” Ari said. He tried to clean the wound with the alcohol swabs, but his fingers were sticky with blood.
Felan leaned down and did it for him.
“I will, but I’m going to stitch you up first. No arguments. You taught me how to do it for a reason,” Felan said and carried Ari and the first aid kid into his cramped bathroom.
