“How do you know that?”
“Because they are not attacking us when we are obviously weak,” she replied like it was the most basic thing in the world.
“She’s right,” my Aesir side agreed. When prey was wounded, you moved in for the kill. You didn’t sit back and relax until it was dead at your feet.
“It’s good to have you back, Fern,” I laid my hand on her shoulder, and she practically shivered in excitement.
“Master, you’ve changed.”
“I know. We’ll talk later. Right now, how about we go see what these assholes want?” I suggested.
“We’ll be leaving our cover and concealment,” Dani stated with a raised eyebrow.
“They can kill us in here, or kill us out there. Maybe this way, we won’t trip over a dumbbell,” I laughed. No one else thought it was funny.
Dani made some more hand motions, and two of the imps sprinted toward the back of the building. I assumed to take the stairs to the roof. I should have thought of that. If the talks went to hell in a handbasket, it was better to have two people up top to put some rounds in these assholes’ heads. Afterall, we had to return the favor.
I spared a second of thought for Thomas before leading the way. I made sure to pick up a dead cartel goon’s shotgun on the way out. A little extra firepower never hurt, because Dani was right; we could use Thomas’s extra sex mojo right about now. With my troll strength operating at one hundred percent, I was probably the most durable of the bunch. If someone was going to take a bullet in the doorway, it was best it was me.
“Knock, knock,” I stuck my head out the breach and wasn’t immediately shot in the forehead. I took that as a good sign.
“Finally,” a familiar voice sighed. “I thought I was going to have to go in there and dig you all out. Your cabal is like a tick in our lands. It would be fitting.”
Duke What’s-His-Face with a tongue that haunts women’s nightmares was standing nonchalantly on the right of snake girl and Fontaine. Whatever hoodoo Thomas had pulled on the werewolf was gone. If anything, she looked royally pissed, and was ready for blood. Her eyes found Ariana, and she smiled; showing us fangs stained red by the imp’s clients.
“How’s Daddy? Does he have a bit of a migraine?” she laughed.
I was able to catch Ariana before she leapt at the werewolf and ruined this little peace conference, or whatever the fuck you wanted to call it. The logical part of me said to hear the Tikal leader out, and maybe we’d all walk away from this with all ten fingers and ten toes. The Aesir side of me wanted to rip his monster tongue out his ass, and play jump rope with his large intestine. It’s a good thing I was still in control.
That control faltered when I saw what the Nosferatu was leaning against. It was a big-ass rifle.
“Fucking coward,” I snarled.
The sun was just now sliding below the horizon; so, the duke’s true form was safe, even if I peeled off his flesh mask. Instead of fighting me straight up, like a man, throughout the day, he’d sniped us like a little camper bitch from the safety of some nearby building. The Aesir in me changed his mind; I was going to shove the five-foot rifle up his ass, rip out his monster tongue, and play patty cake with his kidneys.
The Nosferatu saw me looking and smiled. “It’s a beauty isn’t it. I shot the incubus from over a kilometer away. It was outside the protective circle, but it was worth it. The cops won’t even come despite the gun shot, because that’s what happens when you own them. That’s real power, Cameron Dupree.”
“Do you two want to whip it out and I’ll judge whose is bigger?” Dani deadpanned. “If everyone is going to keep their dicks in their pants, then how about you tell us what the fuck you’re up to, Santiago? We had a truce. We had peace. You’re costing everyone a lot of money.”
It was a good angle. The only thing people like the duke tended to like more than blood was cold, hard cash. Maybe there was a deal to be made. My Aesir was completely against the idea, but that’s why Dani was doing the negotiating.
“I broke the peace?” the Nosferatu snarled, his tongue slithering about a foot out of his mouth. “Your man came into our territory. He violated our borders, just like your whore queen did all those centuries ago. You think you can just show up and take what is ours without repercussions? Think again.”
Fontaine growled in agreement, and snake girl curled in on herself, her rattle shaking ominously.
“If we want to get technical,” I stepped into the discussion, “I was dumped in your territory. Why would I want to come to this shithole unless I didn’t have a say in it? Secondly, it was you who attacked me. I was chilling with some lovely ladies when you showed up. This all could have been avoided if you took the deal back at Motel sixty-nine.”
I don’t know what offended him more; that I’d called his home a shithole, or that I called him out on not taking the earlier deal. His whole body rippled, and I almost got a look at the real Nosferatu beneath the mask before he got himself under control.
“I’m going to feast on your heart, Dupree,” he snarled.
“Get in line. So far, anyone who’s tried to kill me has ended up dead.” That wasn’t entirely true, but the duke didn’t know it.
“If in doubt, lie your ass off,” I always said.
“You wouldn’t be talking to us unless you wanted to resolve this without further bloodshed,” Dani stepped back in; shooting me a glare in the process. “What do you propose?”
“Compensation. A wergild,” the duke spat. “You’ve killed dozens of my people. They have families that need looking after. A hundred thousand dollars a man; call it five million.”
I couldn’t help it. I laughed. “Sorry,” I held up my hand as I doubled over in gut-wrenching hysterics. “It’s just . . . you caring about some human’s family,” I had to stop again, and slapped my knee for theatrics. “Whoa. Thanks for that, big guy. I needed a good laugh after today,” I got it together. “We all know you’re going to shell out a few pennies to these ‘families’ to keep them quiet, and you’ll pocket the rest. However, since we did kill all your little henchmen, we’ll give you a million.”
I had no idea if I was even authorized to negotiate on behalf of the cabal, but Dani backed me with a nod.
“You’ll have to sweeten the pot,” the duke moved on from the petty cash to what he really wanted. “I want the incubus and his daughters. Let me have them and the rest of you can walk free.”
I’d seen people lick their lips in anticipation before, but it’s creepy as fuck when a Nosferatu does it. I fought back the shiver as images of Ariana in her own tentacle porn feature played out in my head. The duke would use them up, get them addicted to his saliva, and then either toss their bodies in the local dump, or turn them into his killer groupies; like Fontaine 2.0.
Even if the logical part of me would agree to it, the Aesir in me practically broke free and started throwin’ bows. To that side of me, Ariana and Ivanna were mine. Thomas was competition, but a worthy adversary. Even there, the Aesir wanted to be the one to take down the incubus. Then there was Lucia. Lucia was . . . well, like a frightened child I had to protect. The Nosferatu had a better chance of getting his five million than the gym’s owners.
“We’ve got to take a hard pass on that one, buddy,” I shrugged, which was hard when my shoulders were tensed and ready to fight.
Shit was sliding downhill; so, I quickly went over our options. There were eight imps with weapons ranging from MP5s to bowie knives. They could be a hell of a distraction, but I doubt they’d be able to take any of the Tikals down; unless they had silverbane ammo. Fern had vanished again. Her glamour was top notch, but she wasn’t a heavy hitter. I expected her to stealth in whenever she saw an opportunity, and hamstring one of these assholes before vanishing again. Butters was hiding behind us, and I wasn’t going to count on her much. She might be able to help with the car fires, but when matched with the speed, strength, and ferocity of these supernatural predators; it would be better
for her life expectancy if she sat on the sidelines.
That left Dani, Ariana, and me; the three strongest of the group. We could divide and conquer, but that would be risky. Snake girl was probably the weakest, but she was no joke; I could personally attest to that. Judging by the fact she wasn’t still injured from our impromptu rodeo, she healed fast. That sucked for us.
I’d seen Ariana get tossed by Fontaine already today, and with her emotionally compromised, I wouldn’t want her going up against the werewolf again. Dani could give it a shot. She might be stronger than the imp, but she wasn’t faster. Speed was key in that type of fight, but the dwarf did have one advantage. I’d bet my next paycheck there was silverbane in her axe. A small nick, and Fontaine was ash. Maybe together, Dani and Ariana could take her; but only if the imps and Fern could deal with the naga. That left me to handle the duke.
I still didn’t know much about a Nosferatu’s capabilities, other than to stay away from his tongue. He wouldn’t be the boss if he wasn’t stronger than the other two; which meant my Fae gifts might not cut it. I might have to release the beast.
Apparently, Dani and Ariana were doing the same murder math.
“You’re going to have to go all out with him, Cam,” Ariana stated. “Whatever you’ve been holding back for a rainy day; now, its fucking pouring.”
“What is she talking about?” Dani’s grip tightened on her axe.
“I’ve made some recent upgrades, but they come with a price,” I replied, not taking my eyes off the duke. The Tikals could hear our conversation, but it didn’t matter. Apparently, we were at an impasse.
“If the outcome is us still breathing, I think you can pay the price,” Dani countered, shifting her stance. The movement told me she was going to take on Fontaine.
“I’m not going to be the one paying the price,” I sighed.
“What’s the price?” Dani frowned.
“Your ass, and probably yours too,” I nodded to Ariana.
“I don’t know what that means, but I’ve had worse happen to my ass,” Dani fired back.
My laughter took everyone by surprise. “We’ll see about that,” I locked eyes with the duke. Eyes were the windows to the soul, and I could see he wanted to rip mine out and smother it.
I’d use the Aesir in me if I had to, but if I could get the job done with my Fae gifts, then I’d do it.
“So, I guess that’s a no on the whores?” the duke shrugged.
“I guess so,” I replied back, baring my teeth in a smile. “You want to dance?”
“I thought you’d never ask.”
We both moved. Everything around me slowed to a crawl. Even the flames licking at the Lexus behind the duke. The people around us also burst into action; like a bunch of geriatric octogenarians. They looked like they were stuck in quicksand.
“Hot damned,” I thought. This was definitely the fastest I’d ever moved.
It still wasn’t fast enough. Compared to the Nosferatu, I was the one stuck in the muck. He moved smoothly, while I felt like I had late-stage Parkinson’s. I even caught him smile as he lifted the rifle effortlessly to his shoulder and sighted on my head. Thank the gods I’d picked up that shotgun. If I hadn’t, he’d have popped me in the dome; maybe knocked my ass out for a minute or two. In a fight like this, I’d never wake up.
I also had his proper marksmanship habits to thank. He got the rifle to his shoulder, rested his cheek against the stock, used the high-speed scope, even though I was only a dozen feet from him, and was about to gradually apply pressure to the trigger.
I had no such bad habits to get over. I fired from the hip like a bad 80’s action flick, but it didn’t matter. Shotguns were awesome like that. I don’t care what you are, taking a twelve gauge in the scrotum fucking sucks. My shot ripped away his flesh mask around his hips, and I got the satisfaction of seeing him snarl in pain right before he pulled the trigger.
My blast made him flinch, and pull his shot to the right. He’d been aiming for right between my eyes, but even on the new trajectory, the round would still leave me with the world’s worst migraine. Thankfully, I was already moving. I saw the big-ass bullet exit the chamber in a burst of fire. It came hurtling at me like a freight train, distorting the atmosphere around it. I didn’t have time to shift my whole body, but I could twist my head.
The fifty-caliber bullet missed me by about an inch, but that was only the opening act. I had already launched myself at him, and without my feet touching the ground, I had no control over the physics of what happened next.
He was still stunned by the shotgun blast when I hit him with bone-crushing force, and we went careening into the flaming car. The flames felt like a pleasant summer day as they completely engulfed the two of us.
“There goes another pair,” I groaned as my gym shorts turned to ash. I was down to fighting in my birthday suit . . . again. Apparently, that was how all these things turned out for me. I really needed to invest in some Superman-style digs. Not the tights that show off my package, but something that doesn’t fall apart when faced with something as pedantic as fire.
The duke got over the shock of my nut shot pretty quick. He rolled as we hit, and quickly threw me off him. The nearby Mercedes stopped my momentum and nocked the air from my lungs. Now, it was his turn to come at me. His speed made a major league pitcher look like a little league reject. Still, I brought up my shotgun and swung for the fences.
I hit him right in the face. The flesh mask disintegrated under the shockwave, and I saw black, leathery skin, and sharp, bloody fangs bigger than the middle finger I wanted to give this asshole. Despite a hit that would have made Babe Ruth cream his panties, it didn’t stop shit. He tackled me, cracked a couple ribs like they were toothpicks, and took me through the Mercedes and the BMW behind it. To add insult to injury, he executed a textbook combat roll at the end of the tackle, manhandled me like a child, got his feet under me, and kicked my ass through the next couple cars. I hit the fence around the lot hard enough to leave a Cam-sized dent, and slowly slouched down to the ground.
The duke had served up my spine extra tingly with a side of barely avoided paralysis. Talk about some five-star service. Everything hurt. I felt like the coyote in an ACME cartoon as the Nosferatu calmly walked out of the roaring fire like he’d just taken a relaxing steam at the country club. He was back to normal speed; with a gloating smile you could see from orbit.
“Yep, a lot tougher than I thought,” I realized he’d been taking it easy on me and the coeds back at the motel.
The abrupt slowdown of our fight allowed me to take a quick glimpse at how the rest of my team was faring. Not great. Despite our numerical advantage, we were outclassed. Dani and Ariana were tag-teaming Fontaine like pros. That was a porno I’d watch if it looked like it was going to have a happy ending. Unfortunately, it was just a shit show.
They’d alternated going low and high. Ariana would go in with a feint to sweep the leg, get the werewolf to react, and then Dani would come in to try and drive the axe into the bitch’s torso. You’d think the tactic would work, and usually, I’d agree; but not against the shifty, old werewolf. She avoided the deathblow every time. She danced out of the way; twisting and turning like a prima ballerina on speed.
The quick glance told me Dani and Ariana were already getting frustrated. Everything down to common sense said two was better than one, and the werewolf should be a lifeless hunk of meat by now. Even worse, that frustration was causing mistakes. They weren’t changing up their tactics enough. They were trying to wear her down with more of the same, and eventually . . .
“Yep, there they go,” I winced as I saw Ariana get caught in another feint, and Fontaine made the imp her bitch. Dani was already committed with a slash that would cleave just about anything in two, and at the moment, that thing was Ariana.
The dwarf was able to angle the blade away, but that meant putting her body between Ariana and the sharp edge. They collided with a smack that caused its own sonic boom, an
d both my allies went flying. The werewolf would have pounced on them, and ripped their throats out, if the roof snipers hadn’t driven her away. It gave the two women enough time to get off their asses and limp back into the fight. The Aesir predator in me catalogued their injuries, and concluded they would be easy prey.
The imps and Fern were doing better against the naga, but better than shit still stunk like rotten Indian food. The imps were relying on the old shoot, move, and communicate routine. If they hadn’t spent most of their lives in training, they’d be decomposing in snake girl’s belly; but they were on top of it.
I watched as an imp dove out of the way when the naga struck. He cleared the girl’s fangs . . . barely, and slid under one of the cars. The naga ricocheted off the fender hard enough to shake her up. The rest of the imps poured fire into her, and an avalanche of sparks ricocheted off her scales. One or two rounds might have found a weak spot; enough to make her hiss in pain, but that just pissed her off.
Snake girl lashed out with her tail, upending the car and sending it flipping through the air. The imp using it as cover rolled away before she brought her tail down and cracked him like an egg. A pair of imps tried to pull the naga’s attention away from their embattled cousin, and she rewarded them by hocking a mega-loogie in their direction.
The green-tinged phlegm splashed to the ground in front of them, and immediately started eating through the asphalt, the ground beneath it, and the imp’s tactical clothing. Now, they were the ones screaming. Snake girl’s tongue darted out, tasted their pain and terror in the air, and curled to strike them down.
They’d be dead if not for Fern. The little pixie materialized out of nowhere on a kamikaze run. She hit the naga in the back of the neck like a little meteor, knocked snake girl’s head into the ground, and then stabbed her repeatedly like a pair of car pistons going from zero to sixty; Fast and the Furious style. Where the imp’s bullets failed, the pixie’s glamour dagger succeeded. Naga blood splashed across the lot and snake girl screamed.
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