I shook my head. I didn’t want to touch it.
He shoved it into my hands and whispered, “You need them, Rina. I don’t want you trying to cross the street and not be able to tell a car is coming.”
Hating that he was right, I took them. “Tell her thanks.”
He gave a long-suffering sigh. “I’ll take the bullet.”
I smiled up at him. I really was lucky to have such a wonderful pain in the butt for a brother. Reaching up, I hugged him tight, then hurried out the door before we woke someone else. The click of the lock was loud in the chilly night.
I rushed down the walkway as fast as possible. The box seemed to weigh a ton. I eyed it before stuffing it in my backpack. Later; I’d deal with it later. I pulled my coat closed as an odd chill ran down my neck, as if someone was watching me. I looked over my shoulder expecting to find my brother in the window, only the windows were dark. The rest of the houses were still dark. Nothing. There was no one on the street. Or in the windows. Weird. My shoulders were tense until I finally waved down a cab and got in. “The train station please.”
On the way, I ran over what Evelyn had told me. Getting pulled into a link with an unconscious woman wasn’t pleasant. I had been getting ready for bed when I felt Evie’s mental touch, then everything was black. There had been nothing but Evelyn, standing there.
“Rina, I’m in trouble,” Evie said. “Now, this is going to sound crazy. But you have to trust me.”
My nails dug into the strap of my backpack. God, this was insane.
Astrid
The ride over to the church was quiet. Ran didn’t ask, he simply let me fume. By the time we arrived at St. Joseph’s church, I was calmer. Well, as calm as I was going to get. Ranulf led me through the chapel and rectory, then into a dormitory. It wasn’t long before we met Zahur coming out of one of the rooms.
“How is she?” I asked before we even reached him.
Zahur closed the door behind him as he turned to us. “She’s all right. She has several injuries, so she’ll be unconscious for a bit, but she’ll be fine.”
“You’re sure?”
“Yes.” Zahur shook his head. “Atticus, on the other hand—”
The door opened. A disheveled Atticus leaned out of the door and shouted: “We need wash cloths and a bowl!” It wasn’t until Atticus leaned back that he noticed us. “What?”
Zahur turned to Atticus. “Don’t you think that can wait until Evie is awake?”
“No!” Atticus bit out before slamming the door behind him. Wow, without Evie, he was an even bigger dick.
Zahur turned back to us. “Falk has already taken off for Manhattan. He should be able to catch her at the Chrysler Building.”
“Do you have any idea what she’s doing?” I crossed my arms over my chest.
“No.” He rubbed the bridge of his nose between his fingers. “Ranulf, will you find Astrid a room? I think it’s best if she stayed here until we take care of the high demon.”
“Hold on, we’re just going to wait around?” I asked, my wolf pacing inside me. “Let’s go hunting.”
“It took two of us to keep that thing busy while the others got Evie out.” Ranulf looked down at me. “And one of them was a pissed-off Atticus.”
“And that’s supposed to mean something?” I asked slowly, making it clear I didn’t get it.
“Atticus has a certain ability. But he can only seem to do it when he’s furious,” Zahur explained. “He becomes extremely fast. He’s hard to see and impossible to hit.”
“Normally it would take four of us to keep a high demon occupied as long as we did with Abaddon,” Ranulf added.
Oh…well, that changes things. “But what about my pack? We could help in the hunt.”
“We’d appreciate it,” Zahur said.
Then a horrible thought occurred to me. “What happened to her store? Her building?”
Zahur turned to me. “Gone.”
“Gone?” I couldn’t believe it.
“Her apartment was destroyed in the fight, and the building went when some magic got away from her.” Ranulf shifted on his feet.
“This is going to kill her.” I shook my head. “She’ll need some clothes. I’ll go to my place and bring her back some.”
“We all will,” Ranulf stated.
“Well, I don’t have anything that would fit you guys,” I countered with a smile. “You’ll have to go shopping.”
Ranulf smirked.
“Not until sunrise,” Zahur warned. “Even though the high demon has a human body, it’ll still have to stay out of the sun, or the body will break down faster.”
The body… “What about Matt?”
They both turned to me with somber faces.
“What happens to him in all this?” I didn’t care, but Evelyn would.
Zahur rubbed his temple. “With a high demon, the original soul of the body dies within twenty-four hours. There’s no way around it; or at least, no one has found one.”
“Damn.” I shook my head. “Hold off on telling Evie that as long as you can.”
They both agreed as a Templar came down the hallway with a bowl full of wash rags.
“A bowl and towels were requested,” the Templar announced, his voice tinged in annoyance.
The door jerked open. Atticus reached out, snatched the bowl out of the Templar’s hands, and slammed the door closed again. Zahur sighed and headed down the hallway.
“There’s also a…messenger for Ms. DeHaven. On the roof.” The Templar spoke directly to Ranulf.
“From who?” I asked.
The Templar glowered at me before turning back to face Ranulf. What the hell?
“The lass asked ya a bloody fucking question,” Ranulf growled.
“We don’t answer to wolves.” The Templar turned to scowl with disgust at me. “You’re lucky you’re not being detained.”
I scoffed. I’d love to see this shit try.
Ranulf stepped forward, towering over the man. “Look at her like that again, and I’ll rearrange ya spine.” My pulse picked up at the anger in his voice.
The Templar’s jaw clenched and unclenched. “I believe it’s a goblin; it was almost killed when we discovered it. South bell tower.”
“It’s probably a Redcap; they work with Evie. We’ll take care of it,” Ranulf bit out. “Any ally of Evie’s will be welcomed; wolf, goblin, it doesn’t matter.”
The Templar smirked. “Right.”
As I watched him walk away, something about that smirk bothered me. I moved to Ranulf’s side. “What was with that look?”
“You caught that too?” he muttered.
“Yeah.” I watched the Templar’s back. “We may have to watch the Templars.”
Ranulf nodded. “Have you dealt with the Redcaps?”
I shook my head. “They stay clear of us and we stay clear of them. Our species just don’t mix well.”
We started back through the dormitory towards the back of the church, making our way to the bell tower.
“Just don’t kill anyone,” he warned.
“I would never!” I said with mock shock as we came out on the roof. The wind immediately had me closing my coat. Ranulf climbed out of the arch in the bell tower and walked out to the enormous Redcap crouching on the roof in the shadows. He didn’t look half-bad for a goblin. Six feet tall, only two eyes. And a nice smile. His grey, bumpy rough skin was mostly what gave him away as a goblin.
“Helix, what’s going on?” Ranulf greeted the goblin. When had they met?
“Evelyn wasn’t answering her phone,” Helix said. “What happened?”
“She’s hurt, but we’re patching her up.” Ranulf put his hands on his hips. “What can we do for you?”
Helix grumbled, “My patrols have reported several humans murdered by demons. It looks like another crack in the barrier was found.”
I sighed. So much for a night in bed with Ranulf.
Rina
The wind was howling, pulling at my clothes, almost kn
ocking me off balance. This is crazy, I’m crazy. Heart pounding, I clung to the metal gargoyle as I looked over the edge of the Chrysler Building to look down sixty-one floors to the busy street below.
“Oh shit.” I took deep breaths, trying to slow my heart. This was fucking insane. I carefully crawled back off the metal gargoyle’s head and backed up until I could grab the railing. I got to my feet, closed my eyes, and struggled to breathe as the world spun. What was it she had said?
“Tears of a Reaper. Normally, they’re impossible to get. Thankfully, I know one that owes me a favor. But you’ll have to get his attention first…”
Crap! I looked out over the city again. Jump and scream some grim reaper’s name and hope he gets here in time? Oh hell. Was I really going to do this? What if I was nuts? Crazy? I could have imagined it and Evie really hadn’t connected with me. Oh hell, I knew she connected with me. Astrid’s call had confirmed it. Add in the same grogginess I had whenever I linked with someone by accident. Shit! Evie was in trouble. That was a fact.
Feeling steadier, I moved back out to the neck of the gargoyle and looked over again. My heart pounded against my ribs; my hands began to sweat. My breathing sped up as I watched the dots that were cars move on the street below. Why did it have to be heights?
“Evie, if I live through this, I’m going to kill you,” I promised between clenched teeth. “Shit, shit, shit, shit.”
Did Evie really need reaper’s tears? Couldn’t she… Shit. She would never have asked if there was another way. Did I trust her? The world grew still. That’s what it came down to, right? Did I trust Evie enough to jump off a building?
“Oh crap.” I took one more step, then leaped off the gargoyle into a swan dive. Adrenaline surged through me, making me fight not to flail. I screamed, “Viktor Bronnikov!” I didn’t want to die; I didn’t want to die! I kept screaming that name. The wind flowed over me in a rush as I careened toward the sidewalk. Something hit me, grabbed me. Every part of me was squeezed tightly. The pressure released just as quickly as it began. I hit tile and rolled with someone wrapped around me. We came to a jarring stop and the air whooshed out of his lungs. I was still reeling when he let go of me and sat up.
“Who the hell are you?” he snapped, his voice thick with a Russian accent. A square jaw and chocolate hair glared down at me.
Shaking, and just happy to be alive, I tried to push myself up but my arms collapsed under me.
He sighed, got to his feet, and helped me lean against the wall of the building. “Deep breaths, milaya.” He squatted down in front of me. “I forget, not everyone is used to popping around.”
When the shaking finally slowed and I could breathe again, I looked up at him. “Viktor Bronnikov?”
“Da, I know who I am. But I am at a loss as to who you are and how you knew to get my attention,” he said in a clipped tone.
“Evelyn Dalca.”
He got to his feet and took several steps back. “You know Evelyn?”
I scrambled to my feet, only for my shaky legs to drop back to my butt. “She sent me. She’s in trouble.”
He crossed his arms over his chest and waited. “What kind?”
“I don’t know, exactly; all I got was her instructions.” I met his hard gaze. “She needs reaper’s tears.”
He raised an eyebrow. “She is calling in her favor, da?”
“I think so.” I shrugged. I had no clue what kind of favor he owed her.
He spoke in Russian; I didn’t know the language, but if I had to guess, I’d say he was cursing, long and hard. “You have a vial?”
I pulled the plastic vial out of my pocket and held it up. He took it before walking across the terrace of the Chrysler Building, keeping his back to me. As my heart rate slowed, my mind began to race. How the hell did he get me back here? What would a reaper ever need from Evelyn? There was a reaper at the other end of the terrace. A grim reaper! Holy crap. There was no cloak, no sickle, he wasn’t skeletal. He looked like a normal, living man.
I had just enough time to rein my thoughts back in before he turned around. He looked exactly the same as before. But the proof was in his hand; the vial was partially filled with clear liquid.
He held it out to me. “Tell Evelyn we are even.”
I took the vial. “Thanks, I will.”
He eyed me, then in a blink, he was gone. I was left staring at the terrace. Checking my phone for the time, I saw I only had a couple hours to get to the airport, get my ticket, and get through security before my red-eye flight took off. Thankfully, I managed to make my way to the door on wobbly legs. It was official; now I really hated heights….
I finally stopped shaking when I reached the lobby. More than a little aware of my timeline, I hurried outside and tried to get a cab. When one didn’t stop, I started walking down the sidewalk. The hair on the back of my neck rose again. I looked around, trying to find the source. I met my watcher’s gaze on the empty street. Black hair, blue eyes, handsome; he began to walk down the sidewalk on the other side of the street. I swallowed hard, turned, and hurried. He kept pace with me. I tried again to get a cab but none would stop. Cursing under my breath, I followed the corner and decided to hurry to Grand Central. There would be cabs there. There always were.
A shadow separated from the building ahead of me. My heart leapt in my chest. It was another man; pitch-black hair and a disturbing grin. Where was everyone? Normally this part of town was bustling. Every instinct screamed at me to run. Without thinking, I crossed the empty street and headed for a café. Heart in my throat, I hurried through the dim courtyard and went to the doors. They didn’t budge. What? I pulled again. The sign read: Closed for Christmas. Shit!
I turned and started back through the courtyard only to pull up short. Black hair one and two were at the entrance, slowly stalking towards me. Shit! Shit! What did I have on me? I pulled out my keys and held the tube of metal. Taking deep breaths, I started walking towards the other end of the courtyard.
Black hair one moved, making it clear they weren’t going to let me go.
“I don’t have much cash,” I said, hoping that’s what they were after.
They both grinned, their canines flashing. Vampires. Well. That changes things. I stepped back and flicked my wrist. The telescopic baton extended in my hand. Blue eyes raised an eyebrow. I smirked. Number one tilted his head as number two started towards me, laughing.
His image blurred, but I was already moving. Pressing the button, I stepped to the side and swung for the body. It was like hitting a wall with a metal bat; the vibration radiated up my arm until I couldn’t feel my fingers. The streak was knocked back, his feet kicking out from under him. I didn’t stop the swing as I brought it around and clocked him across the throat. He convulsed from the shock as he gasped and wheezed.
Black hair one’s eyebrows were in his hairline. Normally I wouldn’t have gone that far—that would kill a human—but they were vampires. They’d live.
“Collapsible baton,” Black hair one said. “Well done.”
I brought the baton up again, turning to face him. “Stun baton, actually.”
The approval disappeared from his face, and with good reason. Vampire bodies were so amped up that any powerful electrical shock could kill them, or at the very least, screw their hearts up for a while. He seemed to be rethinking his decision when something dropped from the sky to land in a crouch in the shadows. A man with wings. His head lifted; glowing, golden-amber eyes met mine. My heart pounded; the back of my neck tingled. That feeling. I knew that feeling… I’d only felt it once before. The man rose to his height. Falk. Shirtless. He was shirtless Falk. With wings. Holy… My mouth went dry as his wings folded back and in, disappearing as if they never were.
The last vampire turned to find him there. Falk stepped back, squaring his shoulders and shifting his weight.
“Gargoyle,” Thing one hissed.
Falk didn’t move a muscle as the vampire faced him. Shivers ran down my spine. The vampir
e moved. Falk simply stepped to the side, dodging him, then reached out and casually drove his hand into the vampire’s chest. My jaw dropped as the vampire screamed and fought. Falk’s face didn’t change as he jerked his hand from the vampire’s chest. The scream cut off; the dead body fell to the courtyard stone. My stomach rolled as the heart clutched in his talons beat one more time, spurting blood onto the stones. I grew cold as he tossed it away as if it were nothing more than a candy wrapper. He bent down and used the vampire’s own shirt to clean the blood from his hand.
Falk turned to me. He eyed me as he pulled a black shirt from his belt loop and walked into the light shining from the windows higher up on the building. His eyes darkened to almost black in the light. I couldn’t seem to take my gaze off the dead vamp’s sightless eyes staring up at the sky. My heart jumped. I stumbled back into the glass doors as Falk came towards me.
He towered over me. His narrowed gaze ran over my face and down my neck. Astrid sent him…and if she sent him, he was a good guy. My gaze flicked back to the dead vampire. Right?
The scent of ozone tickled my nose and made the hair on my arms stand as he continued looking me over. Dark, sharp eyes met mine. Wild, brown, thick hair curled around his jaw.
“You didn’t have to kill him.” My throat grew dry as I closed the baton.
His brows drew together as he looked at me as if I was insane. The still-alive vampire groaned, his fingers starting to flex, drawing both of our attention. Falk’s face grew cold as he stepped toward the vampire.
I darted between him and the still prone vamp. “No. You’re not just going to kill him.”
He scowled at me as the vamp groaned wordlessly. His sharp gaze shot back to the vamp before coming back to meet mine. His lips pressed into a hard line before he wrapped his hand around my upper arm. My heart jumped as a wave of heat washed through me. He pulled me away from the vampire. His fingers tightened on my arm as he got me walking out of the courtyard.
My face was warm as he dropped my arm. What the heck was that? I made a point to take deep and even breaths as we stepped out onto the sidewalk and down the street. I tried to sneak a glance at him as we walked. Falk was scary. His silence even more so. His face was a stony mask. A chill ran over my skin; I pulled my jacket closed even more. Astrid wouldn’t have sent him if he wasn’t on our side. Evie would never have dealt with him if he wasn’t… Right?
Run (Books Of Stone Book 2) Page 2
