by Nina Bangs
Almost as though she were in a trance, Lia edged away from Jenna, her gaze never leaving the battle. And before Jenna could call her back, she slipped into the shadows and was gone.
They were born to destroy. There it was. The one thing that would always separate her from Al. She didn’t have the killer instinct, didn’t understand what drove any of them, even Lia.
Jenna narrowed her gaze. Lia. Gone. She was alone in a hall filled with bloodlust-driven nightmares from humanity’s darkest imaginings.
But she forgot everything as she glanced back at Al. Bloody remains formed a gruesome circle around him, but some of those remains were pulling themselves together. Literally. The demons didn’t die, they just regrouped.
Al didn’t seem concerned with his almost-defeated enemies. He had a new worry. A pack of six wolves threw themselves at him. Werewolves? Yeah, the glowing eyes were a dead giveaway. They were huge gray animals as big as small horses, and they leaped and slashed at the already bleeding Allosaurus.
Logically, Jenna knew Al wouldn’t die. He was pretty much indestructible in his animal form. At least that’s what she’d been told. But what if that supposition was wrong? What if he could be worn down and killed? Rage exploded. Whether they could kill him or not, they were hurting him.
Frantically, she scanned the area. She needed a weapon. Then she remembered something. Drawing in a deep breath, she ran the short distance to the dark fairy still frozen on the edge of the action.
“Sorry about this, but I need the weapon more than you do right now.” Jenna pushed his cloak aside and pulled out the sword that she’d glimpsed earlier. She refused to look into his eyes. That way lay madness, and she needed a clear head right now.
Thank God no one paid any attention to her. She was human and therefore insignificant. The sword was lighter than she’d expected. Creeping closer to where Al still battled the werewolves, she set her sights on the biggest one, the one who seemed the most aggressive.
She didn’t stop to think. If she did, she’d never have the guts to do anything. Once she was close enough, she’d have to strike fast, because even though a human didn’t pose a danger to anyone here, a human with a bigass sword did. Then she’d have to run like hell to keep from being ripped apart by the other wolves or trampled by Al. She was counting on the momentary confusion among the wolves to give Al the advantage.
Her heart pounded out a terrified rhythm, and the coppery smell of blood made her want to gag, but she controlled her shaking for the precious seconds it took to raise the sword and strike.
As she brought the sword down, she pushed aside thousands of years of civilization to channel her inner cavewoman. The sword sliced into the wolf, there was a flash of light, and the wolf disappeared. She blinked and stared. Not even a drop of blood on the sword.
Whoa! Al and the rest of the wolves froze. She didn’t. Keeping a firm grip on the sword, she ran to the nearest shadowy corner. Breathing hard, she glanced behind her, expecting the pack of ravenous wolves to be in hot pursuit. She almost passed out from relief when she saw that Al was taking full advantage of her help. He methodically tore apart the remaining wolves. They’d stay dead. At least she thought so.
Luckily, everyone else was too busy trying to kill each other to pay much attention to a flash of light and one less werewolf. She hunkered down to wait out the fight. Jenna didn’t allow herself even to think about the possibility of the good guys losing.
She bit her lip as she watched the battle. It was hard to tell how many of Eight’s forces were still fighting. Al and the other members of the Eleven had come in with some vampires and werewolves. She couldn’t tell the good from the bad.
Jenna clenched her fists, trying to keep her courage from draining out of her fingertips. A screaming fit of hysterics right now might distract Al from his killing frenzy. No, that was not a tear sliding down her face.
Eyes held wide to discourage any more tear-leaking, she shifted her attention to something neutral, something that wasn’t clawing, screaming, and dying. And met the gaze of Kione.
But before the impact of that stare could knock her onto her butt, he moved his gaze to something else. She followed his stare.
Ohmigod. There were five massive vampires descending on the Unseelie prince. Swords in hands, hard faces tight with fury, they were definitely the bad guys. And they were going to cut him to pieces where he stood, unable to move.
She could stay right here and be relatively safe. After all, she didn’t know Kione. And if Eight were to be believed, the prince wasn’t exactly a protector of the light. He was evil, and evil should die. Right?
Jenna sighed. She hoped the sword worked on vampires as well as it did on werewolves, because she couldn’t let him be cut down without a chance to protect himself. Especially since she’d taken his sword.
But she wasn’t going to be stupid about this. She looked around for some backup. No one. Damn.
“Looking for a white knight, princess?” The deep and sensual male voice was familiar and very close.
“Seir. What’re you doing here?” Jenna didn’t turn around to look at him. “No, I don’t have time to listen. Come with me.” She might not be sure of Seir’s ultimate loyalty, but he was Fin’s brother. That had to count for something.
She reached the Fae prince a few strides before the vampires. Stepping in front of him, she hefted her sword with both hands and pointed it straight out in front of her. “We need to talk about whatever you have planned, guys.”
Perhaps this hadn’t been such a great idea. Close up, these men were beyond scary. No human emotion showed in their black eyes. The rage and hate surrounding them was so thick, Jenna believed she could reach out and touch it. Hot and sticky, it would cling to her, blocking out light and all other sensation until she suffocated from the pure malevolence of it.
“You wield a mighty phallic symbol, human woman. Too bad you have no male attached to it.” The vampire in the middle seemed to feel he’d made a great joke. His lips twitched in what must be a hearty grin for him.
“Move out of our way.” The vampire next to him had no sense of humor.
“No. I won’t let you kill him.” God, why didn’t Seir say something? She wanted to turn around to make sure he was there, but she didn’t dare take her attention from the five in front of her.
The end vampire hissed at her. “Jude brought us here to save you, but if you persist in defying us, we will do what we need do. Put down the sword.”
Jude? These five were on her side? If these were the good guys, she didn’t want to ever look into the eyes of the bad ones. Oh, wait, she had. She’d looked into Eight’s eyes and they’d looked a lot like these five.
“I won’t let you kill a helpless man.” She took a quick glance on either side of her. No Seir. Oh, hell.
One of the vampires who hadn’t spoken yet stepped forward. “Know you whom you defend, stupid female? He is a Fae prince of the Unseelie Court. He and his destroyed our clan. We will have our revenge.”
And without warning, she was swept aside as though a giant hand had slapped her silly. She landed on her behind with the sword still clutched in front of her.
“It’s never nice to knock a woman on her butt.”
Seir winked on. That was the only way Jenna could describe his sudden appearance. He didn’t look white-knightish to night. Worn jeans, scuffed biker boots, long black coat with hood up—he looked sort of like the grim reaper. Only those icy blue eyes and that quick slashing grin were the same as she remembered.
The five vampires moved so quickly they were just a blur. In a heartbeat they had Seir, Kione, and her surrounded.
“What be you?” The vampire who’d spoken wasn’t looking at Jenna. His gaze was fixed on Seir, and he seemed seriously concerned with his inability to identify this new threat. But at least for the moment he wasn’t thinking about Kione.
Seir shrugged. “Does it matter?”
A puzzled line formed between the vampire’s d
ark eyes. Jenna had the feeling lines didn’t often form there.
Since the five were focused on Seir, Jenna chanced a glance at Al. He was a monster magnet. Between tearing, rending, and stomping, he was scanning the hall. Looking for her? Something in the region of her heart did a hopeful flip-flop.
“I’m whatever you want me to be.” Seir the enigmatic.
The vampire leaned closer. “I’ve heard of only one Seir. Are you a demon prince of hell?” The vampire seemed to dare him not to be. “From what legends tell, you command twenty-six legions of demons.”
“Sounds good to me.”
“Which side do you battle for on this night?” The vampire tensed.
“My own side.”
The vampires didn’t seem to know what to do with that answer.
Seir turned to Jenna. “What do you want?”
“These guys want to kill Kione. Eight did something to him so he can’t move. I want him to have a fighting chance.”
Within the dark cave of his hood, Seir’s icy eyes gleamed. “Are you sure? Some things are best kept caged.”
Jenna didn’t have time for this crap. “Free him.”
Seir glanced in Kione’s direction, and suddenly the Fae prince moved. Before Jenna could even breathe, “What the hell,” the dark fairy had stripped her of his sword.
“I will remember, woman.” Kione’s voice was dark melted chocolate with a cyanide center.
And she knew that every woman on Earth would happily gobble down that center as long as he gazed at her the way Kione was looking at Jenna now. She fell into that stare, wrapped herself in it, and knew she’d do anything he wanted her to do. Anything.
Next to her, Seir made a sound deep in his throat, and the Fae prince shifted his gaze.
Kione smiled, and Jenna almost fell to her knees. My God, what kind of power did he have? Something about her reaction to him was more terrifying than slathering werewolves, bloodsucking vampires, and butt-ugly demons combined. Because Kione, dark prince of the Unseelie Court, had the power to control her will.
Seir didn’t react to the smile. Instead, he glanced beyond their happy little group. “Looks like Jenna’s man is joining us. He doesn’t look happy. He doesn’t even look sane.”
Jenna, along with everyone else, turned to stare.
Al had finally found her. Covered in blood, and with his beast’s gaze fixed firmly on her, he stomped across the body-strewn hall. Each footfall made the floor vibrate.
She had no idea what would have happened because without warning a thunderclap shook the whole building. At the top of the staircase, Diana rocked on her base. Brilliant flashes of light lit the darkness outside. Finally, what sounded like a series of sonic booms circled the building.
The noise was too much. She clapped her hands over her ears and shouted, “What happened?”
Seir glanced at the charging Allosaurus, and an unspoken message seemed to pass between them. “Zero’s arrived. He just took down Fin’s ward. They’ll be going at it outside. If Zero wins, he’ll destroy all of Fin’s people. He can’t kill you directly, but he has plenty of helpers who can. I have to get you out of here.”
“But what about Al?” Desperately, she looked at him, holding his gaze. There was no message in his animal’s eyes, so she let her gaze slide down to where she could now clearly see his human form within the beast.
“He wants you safe. Trust me.” Seir grabbed her hand and dragged her toward the staircase. “He and the rest of the Eleven here are Fin’s last stand. You don’t want him distracted because he’s worried about you, do you?”
“No, I—”
She didn’t get to finish her sentence because he simply picked her up and flew up the staircase. He had to be flying, because no one could run that fast. They’d barely reached the top when another sonic boom shook the building. It was all too much for Diana. The huge statue teetered and fell.
Seir leaped out of the way, and then they both watched the statue crash down the stairs. He shook his head. “First the Astrodome and now Diana. Fin is death on famous landmarks.”
Jenna finally found her voice. “Won’t all the noise bring the police? Oh, and put me down. I feel silly.” She wasn’t surprised when he ignored her order.
Did she want the police? She didn’t know. Zero might just decide that a bloodbath was fine by him and allow his army to kill all the humans they could. On the other hand, if humans showed up and Zero drew back his forces, then Al would be safe. The selfish part of her desperately wanted the latter, but she wasn’t sure she was willing to risk the human population to find out which way Zero would go.
“Won’t be any cops.”
As he raced through exhibits, she wrapped her arms around his neck. With his heavy hood, the act didn’t feel personal in any way.
“Zero took down Fin’s ward, but you can bet he’s put his own up. No one wants the attention of humans right now. Not during the battle.” He stopped and set her on her feet.
She gawked. “This is a Japanese tea house.”
“One of the museum’s period rooms. Stay here. Don’t make any noise. If Al is standing when this is all over, he’ll come for you. If not…” He shrugged. “Then I’ll come for you.”
For the first time in what seemed like centuries, Jenna had a moment to think. “Wait. You never told me whose side you’re on.”
His eyes gleamed from the depths of his hood. “I didn’t, did I?” And then he was gone.
Al was drowning in human emotions, and someone needed to throw him a freaking lifejacket. Once he’d spotted Jenna, he’d shed his attackers and headed toward her. His beast’s instinct didn’t go beyond telling him that he needed to take her away from all those males. He opened his jaws and roared his intention.
He might be running on his soul’s instincts, but that was as far as it went right now. His emotions churned out a million different messages. Human messages.
Seir had made things pretty simple when he’d jumped into Al’s head. Allow him to take Jenna to a safer spot or let her remain here where some blood-crazed idiot could kill her.
Al wanted Jenna safe, but not with someone he didn’t trust. Seir was a danger on a lot of different levels. Okay, okay, so the jerk was the kind of man women liked. Al didn’t want Jenna liking Seir or anyone…except for him. Mine. The one word said it all.
By the time Seir had started up the stairs with Jenna, Al had decided to try to follow them. That was when the statue fell. He stared at the spot where it lay. No way would his Allosaurus get up those stairs.
What the hell should he do? He glanced behind him where a few of Eight’s remaining werewolves were stalking him. He knew he was supposed to stay here until the battle was over. His beast thought it was just great that there were still living things left to kill.
But his humanity was too close to the surface right now. What he was feeling had nothing to do with his beast—fear for Jenna, fury at the man who’d taken her, and an emotion that felt an awful lot like…He had no name for the emotion. It wasn’t a part of his soul’s life. And it was demanding that he do something.
Al made his decision. He’d follow Seir in human form. He forced the emotions to the forefront, calling on his humanity to push his soul back into its cave.
“No.”
Fin had picked a lousy time to play big boss man. But no matter how angry Fin made him, Al had formed the habit of obedience to his leader over several lifetimes.
“Remain as you are, and finish the fight. You have to win this one on your own. I’m…busy.”
Al climbed out of his own confused thoughts long enough to listen to what was happening outside. Above the noise of the battle in the hall, which was slowly winding down, he could hear bursts of sound like exploding transformers accompanied by a strange humming and buzzing outside. What the hell were Fin and Zero trying to do to each other?
Al glanced around. Most of those still standing were on his side. They didn’t need him. Jenna did.
&nbs
p; “We can’t take a chance. I can’t guarantee I’ll be able to hold Zero off. If he gets past me, he’ll wipe out every one of you. He’s that powerful. Jenna will be unprotected, and he’ll just get one of his people to kill her. You have to make sure every supporter of Eight is dead or disabled.”
In his heart, Al believed Fin. But he didn’t want to stay here, he didn’t want to leave Jenna to Seir’s questionable mercy, he didn’t want to obey. And so he did what he’d always done. He raged against his leader even as he made a tough choice. He’d keep Jenna safe by helping get rid of every last bastard that Eight had recruited. But heaven help Seir if anything happened to her.
Al let that fury-inducing thought launch him back into battle. The hapless werewolves never knew what hit them. With the sounds of terrified howls echoing in his ears, Al almost didn’t hear Fin’s last words.
“Thank you.”
And Al allowed himself a moment to ponder that. Something in his leader’s voice made him uneasy. Then he forgot about Fin in his rush to finish off the fight so he could find Jenna.
Chapter Seventeen
If she lived through this, Jenna would have the mother of all tabloid titles—How I Survived by Hiding in a Japanese Teahouse While Vampires, Werewolves, Demons, and My Dinosaur Lover Battled to the Death.
Too bad she couldn’t concentrate on the article to go with it. She could blame her lack of focus on one major worry. If Zero won, would either Al or she survive? The fact that she put Al before herself on her worry list said a lot about her feelings.
Maybe if she’d had this kind of crisis when she was twelve, she wouldn’t have wasted her life worrying about things that didn’t matter. Nothing like a life-or-death situation to straighten out your priorities. This put everything in perspective. It was all about keeping yourself and the person you cared about alive. Period. And it didn’t matter how you managed it. She’d do whatever it took to make sure Al came back to her. Jenna wasn’t fussy when it came to the man she loved.
Whoa! She backed up to examine the last word in that sentence. Was it true? Did she love Al? Jenna pulled out her mental checklist for love. Shared interests? Uh, did wanting to save humanity count? She’d give that a yes.
