by Kali Argent
Deke thought back to the attack on the Square, and tried to recall the way Roux had described the Ravager she’d fought in the registration office. She’d said something similar, something about seeing intelligence in his eyes. He’d taunted her instead of going straight for the kill.
“Fuck,” he breathed. His pulse tripped into a wild gallop when he thought of the danger Roux faced. “Guns be damned. We have to go.”
“Wait.” Lynk caught him by the arm and pulled him to a stop, his gaze never leaving Nikolai. “What did you mean when you said your father wants us to find the Ravagers?”
“He’s hoping they’ll kill you,” the vampire answered bluntly. “You whittle down their numbers, they take you out, and if I die in the process, all the better.”
“Your dad sounds like a dick.” Deke still didn’t trust the guy, but for now, he didn’t have a choice other than to work with him.
Nikolai chuckled. “You have no idea.”
“If he wanted us to find you, what’s up with the guards?”
“They weren’t guards, not even soldiers, just servants who knew too much. They were put here for staging after the Wardens cleared out the armory.” Nikolai hung his head with a weary sigh. “Same concept as with the Ravagers. Two birds, one stone.”
Deke’s stomach turned, and when he glanced at Lynk, he knew the shifter felt the same. They’d been tricked into killing innocents, all so Elias Diavolos could keep his power.
“After we find my mate, I’m coming back here to put your dad’s head on a fucking stick.”
Growling, Nikolai stepped forward and gripped the bars until his knuckles turned white. “Once we find your mate, I’ll help you.”
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Bonfires burned around the playground of the local elementary school, the flames creating dancing shadows over the unkempt grounds. Frayed ropes dug into Roux’s skin, holding her suspended over the tall grass as she swayed from the set of green monkey bars. Blood trickled down both arms from her wrists, as well as down her legs from the punctures on her thighs where the Ravagers had bitten her repeatedly.
When the Wardens had loaded her into the back of an SUV, she’d had mixed feelings about seeing Abby huddled in the backseat. On one hand, she was glad to be with a friend, but at the same time, she hated that Abby had to go through this with her. A short ride later to the wholly inappropriately named town of Pleasantville—population before the Purge just under nine hundred—fear had begun to overtake her anger.
The eerie setting of the abandoned school hadn’t alleviated her anxiety, nor had being dumped in the dark parking lot while she watched the Wardens speed off in their vehicle. Before she’d even untangled the ropes around her ankles, two Ravagers had appeared from the shadows, and all hope of escape had wilted away.
Stripped down to her bra and panties, she’d been hoisted up on the monkey bars so that her toes barely brushed against the hard-packed dirt. Beside her, Abby hung from another set of rungs, her shorter stature preventing her from touching the ground at all. Other men and women had been hung from various pieces of playground equipment, but not one of them had gained consciousness since Roux had arrived, and she doubted any of them were still alive.
Two dozen or more Ravagers prowled around the fires, grunting, growling, and occasionally attacking one another without provocation. Beyond them, men and women of all ages and sizes lined the tall, chain-link fence, each of them naked and in varying stages of decomposition. Bruises and bite marks littered the waxen skin on some, while others were missing entire body parts.
Some of them she recognized. Bethany. Denny. Greg. Both young women who’d worked for Peter at the bakery.
For weeks, Roux had clung to the hope that they’d find everyone who’d gone missing and bring them home. In her heart, though, she’d known for a while that she’d never see them alive again. Still, that didn’t make seeing them that way—dead and displayed like the wall of some macabre hunting lodge—hurt any less.
Unless she wanted to join the mounted bodies on the fence, she couldn’t focus on the dead. She’d miss them, mourn them, but there was nothing more she could do for her fallen friends. Unfortunately, she didn’t know what she could do for her and Abby, either.
Even if she managed to free herself, she had nowhere to go. She could try to fight, but with only one of her and so many Ravagers, any attempt would be ineffectual at best and deadly at worst. Her only chance was to stall, to keep her and Abby alive until Deke came for them. Not exactly the most proactive plan, but it beat waiting around to die.
It would be easier if the Ravagers wanted something from her. Regrettably, torturing and biting seemed to bring them the greatest pleasure. The more she struggled, the more excited they became. Each time one of them bit Abby, causing her to scream, the rest of the group dissolved into a frenzy, circling around the female with predatory growls.
Then, just when things felt as bad as they could get, Roux’s night became infinitely worse.
Two Ravagers—a male and a female—marched out of the school and started toward the playground. Each one held a length of rope attached to the man between them as he twisted and jerked, snapping his long canines at his captors. Dirt and soot covered most of his face and bare chest, and clumps of mud had dried in his silvery-white hair. His camouflaged cargo pants had been ripped away at the knees, and he wore only one black boot, giving him an odd, uneven gait.
The tendons in his neck stood out, and his ribs protruded over his hollow stomach. Purple shadows surrounded both sunken eyes, and when the flames flickered over his face, Roux cringed at the blackness that swallowed the whites of his eyes. Despite his wild, deranged appearance, she had no trouble identifying the vampire being dragged toward her.
Instinctively, she knew he wouldn’t recognize her, so she didn’t bother calling to him. Only once before had she crossed paths with a starving vampire, but even he hadn’t looked as emaciated or crazed as Zerrik. She didn’t even want to guess what the Ravagers had done to him, how hard they must have pushed to break him.
Another male appeared in front of her, his hands held loosely at his sides. “Choose,” he demanded in a harsh, growling hiss.
Roux had never heard anything like it before, and the quality of his voice chilled her to the core. “Choose what? What do you want from me?”
“Choose,” he repeated, drawing the word out with a curl of his upper lip. He looked at Abby and then back to Roux. “Choose one.”
The other Ravagers dragged Zerrik a little closer, jerking on his ropes when he lunged for Roux. Watching him gnash his teeth at her, realization dawned. He was hungry, starving even, and the Ravagers intended to feed him—probably for the first time since they’d taken him. He wouldn’t be gentle, and he wouldn’t stop. Still, her choice was easy.
“Me,” she answered with conviction. “Take me.”
“No,” Abby whimpered. “Roux, he’ll kill you.”
“Quiet, Abby. I know what I’m doing.” Roux looked right into the soulless, black depths of the Ravager’s eyes and nodded. “Me.”
Smiling to show off his yellowed teeth, the one she assumed to be the leader angled toward Zerrik and nodded to his guards. Producing a long, serrated blade from her waistband, the female cut the rope between Zerrik’s wrists, freeing him from his constraints, and the male shoved him toward Roux.
She fought to remember that beneath that crazy, he was still her friend, and if she could avoid it, she didn’t want to kill him. Grabbing the rungs above her head, she gripped tight and waited. Zerrik charged at her, his mouth open, and his gaze locked on her thigh. Two steps before he reached her, Roux dredged up her remaining strength, lifting her upper body as she swung her feet over his head.
With her ankles bound, it took a bit of coordination, but she managed to trap him between her knees. Twisting to the left, she bent her right leg and squeezed, pressing her knee into his throat. The muscles in her arms burned, and her
fingers started to go numb, but she held on, even as he fought and clawed at her midsection.
“C’mon,” she muttered, swinging her body forward to jab her knee more firmly against his Adam’s apple. “Just go down, Zerrik.”
It wouldn’t take much, just one, hard jerk, and she could end it—end him. Even as the thought crossed her mind, Zerrik’s struggles weakened, and he pawed more than scratched at her. He swiped at her a few more times before his eyes rolled back in his head, his arms dropped to his sides, and he fell to the ground with a hard thud.
Her arms gave out, and Roux released the rungs. A soft, involuntary moan burst from her lips when the ropes caught around her wrists, providing a hard stop with no rebound. Zerrik wouldn’t stay down long, but hopefully, she’d bought herself some time.
Snorting in disgust, the Ravager leader stepped forward and kicked his foot out to the side, connecting solidly with Zerrik’s ribs. The vampire made no sound, and he barely moved. When the Ravager turned his sights on Roux, she met his gaze through the curtain of her hair, too exhausted to be afraid.
“Brave,” he rasped. He dug his forefinger into one of the gashes on Roux’s stomach, causing her to cry out, then brought the blood-soaked digit to his lips. “Sweet.” He rubbed his finger over his tongue and grinned. “Mine.”
“Sorry.” Mirroring his taunting smile, Roux tilted her head to the side to reveal the twins scars on her neck. “Already taken.”
Growling viciously, he wrapped his thick fingers around her throat, lifting her higher so that the top of her head touched the monkey bars. “Mine!”
Zerrik began to stir, chuffing and grunting as he pushed to his feet. He swayed for a moment and shuddered before his head snapped toward the leader. At the same time, a loud, angry roar echoed through the night, followed by a cat-like screech that cut through the playground. It was feral, determined, terrifying, and the most beautiful sound Roux had ever heard.
She could barely breathe, but she lifted her head, met the Ravager’s eyes, and smiled. “You’re all going to die.”
Zerrik launched through the air, curling himself around the leader and pulling him to the ground, sinking his fangs into the monster’s neck. The school grounds erupted with movement and sounds, Ravagers snarling, growling, and yelling as they rushed through the night in menacing groups.
A sleek cat whipped past one of the fires, nothing more than a sable blur, and in the next moment, two Ravagers dropped without a sound. A gleaming white tiger bounded into the middle of another group, taking down two opponents with his massive claws while catching another one by the back of the neck. Three men armed only with daggers hurled themselves into the fray, cutting down Ravagers in a coordinated attack.
The monkey bars shook, and hot breath fanned over the top of Roux’s head. Tilting her head back, she looked up at the big, black cat and grinned as her soldier emerged from the shadows.
“Hey, babe. Nice night.”
The cat chuffed twice, almost like a chuckle, and lowered his head to gnaw at the ropes. Within seconds, the frayed strands broke apart, dropping Roux to the ground. She stumbled twice and went down on her knees, where she worked quickly to remove the bindings from her ankles. Freed, she turned to find Abby struggling with her own restraints.
Deke leapt down from the monkey bars, landing in the dirt beside her without a sound. Purring and mewling, he rubbed his massive head over her face and licked at the side of her neck with his rough tongue. As happy as she was to see him, they didn’t have time for a proper reunion.
“I’m good,” she told him, holding his furry face in both hands. “Go. Help the others. I’ve got this.”
As Deke darted off to join the fight, Roux crawled through the dirt and high grass, reaching Abby just as an unlikely savior appeared at her side. Nikolai looked so out of place amidst the beaten, battered, and bleeding, she stared at him for several seconds and worried that she might be hallucinating. Pulling a familiar dagger with a leather-wrapped hilt from his waistband, he placed it in her upturned palm before using his own dagger to cut the ropes around Abby’s wrists and ankles.
“Deke said you’d probably want that,” he said casually as he stood, pulling Abby up with him. “Be ready to fight. We’re getting out of here.”
Roux shook her head. “Take Abby. I’m not leaving without Deke.”
“Roux,” Abby pleaded, “don’t try to be the hero. You can barely stand as it is.”
Wrapping an arm around Abby’s neck, she pulled her into a crushing hug. “I love you, Barbie.” Then she eased the female back and looked up at Nikolai. “Keep her safe.”
It had nothing to do with being a hero. Hell, it wasn’t even her usual stubbornness standing in the way. She wouldn’t leave her mate. She couldn’t. If they died, they’d die together, but as long as she could stand, she couldn’t walk away and let him fight this war on his own.
“We’ll be back,” Nikolai vowed. “Get everyone to the front of the building. Fast.”
Roux nodded and watched him scoop Abby into his arms before hurrying away. When they reached the shadows at the corner of the building, she gripped the handle of her father’s dagger and spun on her toes, searching the playground for Deke. She’d just found him scaling a plastic rock-climbing wall when a female Ravager charged her from the right. Without enough time to get a clear angle to use her blade, she tucked her elbows against her side, crouched low, and lunged upward when the woman leapt at her.
The momentum sent the Ravager over her head, but the female landed on her feet, spinning toward her with a rumbling growl. Before she could take her first step, Roux threw herself forward, ramming the bitch in the midsection. The Ravager stumbled backward a couple of steps and lost her balance, toppling right into the flames of the bonfire. Rolling to the side, Roux beat the ends of her signed hair, watching as her foe vanished into the consuming fire with an eerie scream.
She had no time to catch her breath before another Ravager dove for her. Reacting on instinct, she rolled onto her back, pointing her knife toward the sky. The monster landed on the blade, the steel sliding through his flesh with a sickening squelch. Twisting her shoulders, Roux jerked the dagger upward, piercing his heart. Her attacker stopped moving and slumped forward, pinning her to the ground as blood streamed from his open mouth.
It took more effort than it should have to push the guy off her and retrieve her weapon. Gaining her feet, she wiped both sides of her blade off on her bare thigh and returned once again to her search for Deke. As luck would have it, however, he’d found her. The big cat appeared from the other side of the bonfire, purring loudly as he nuzzled his big head against her hip.
“I’m okay,” she assured him, dropping to her knees to rub her cheek against his soft fur. “We have to get everyone to the front of the building.”
Deke huffed and nodded. Then he lifted his head to the sky and released a roar that reverberated down through Roux’s bones. Several heads turned in his direction, and she saw both Cade and Gabriel nod. Clearly, they had a plan, and though she didn’t know all the details, she trusted her mate.
“We have to get Zerrik.”
The moment she said his name, Zerrik’s head snapped toward her, distracting him long enough for a Ravager to land a solid right hook to his jaw. With a fierce snarl, Zerrik retaliated by grabbing the other male’s head in both hands and snapping his neck. By the time the Ravager hit the ground, Zerrik had already turned to fend off another attack. Once he’d dispatched two more of the feral beasts, he turned and jogged to them.
“It’s okay,” he said, slowing a few feet away and raising his hands in a peaceful gesture. “I’m not going to hurt you, Roux.”
Grateful to have him back to himself, Roux launched herself at the vampire, hugging him tightly. With a disgruntled chuff, Deke stuck his head between them, nudging Roux back from the lieutenant. She had to laugh. Only Deke would find the time to be possessive while fighting for his life.
“Go.” Zerrik pointed to the school building. “I’ll get the others.” When Roux didn’t move, he bared his fangs and growled at her. “Go!”
Sharp teeth closed gently around her wrist, and Deke backed away, pulling her toward the entrance of the school. Running away while others were still in danger wasn’t in her nature. She could, however, clear the way for them. Pulling her arm free of Deke’s mouth, she met his glowing, blue eyes. An unspoken agreement passed between them, and he lowered his head as he backed away.
Together, they cut a path through the Ravagers standing between them and their target. Each time Roux looked over her shoulder, she found their friends closing the gap between them and the building. By the time she reached the door and pushed it open, everyone except Lynk and Gabriel had caught up to her.
“Go, go, go!” She sent everyone through the door, shoving at Cade’s back when he hesitated. “Get them out, Cade. I’m right behind you.”
Deke stayed with her, pacing back and forth along the cracked walkway as Gabriel and Lynk fought their way to them. Lynk reached the building first, slowing only long enough to lift his striped head and grunt at them before hurrying after the others. Gabriel’s left pant leg had been shredded, and blood covered the exposed flesh. He jogged toward them with a noticeable limp as several Ravagers sprinted after him. Roux gauged the distance and decided they wouldn’t reach him in time—none of them except one.
“Duck!” she screamed. She lifted the blade to her ear and sent it flying.
Gabriel hit the ground and rolled as Roux’s dagger soared over his head, finding its mark in his pursuer’s throat. The Ravager stumbled and went down. Gabriel found his feet again and limped through the open door, helping Roux to close and lock it behind them.
