Another Way To Bleed (Midnight Assassin) (13 page)

Chapter Twenty-One

The warm, sweet liquid poured into her throat. It was delicious and she wanted more. Cole tried to push her off him, but Cassie was so consumed by the bloodlust, he was no match for her. Cassie put her arm around the crook of his neck and pulled him closer. The demon inside her rejoiced as power flooded her body.

Cassandra, please, you’re killing me
. Cole's voice rang out bringing her back to her senses. She sat back abruptly, her vision swimming and her heart racing.

“Whoa, head rush,” she muttered. Cassie clicked her fingers and flames burst out in her hands. Cole scurried away from her, holding his hand over his neck
as she juggled the flames.

“What the hell are you?” Cole demanded, but his question remained unanswered as the doors burst open and demons stomped in. Her eyes shone blood red as she turned to face the mountain in front of her. She could almost hear the music build up that usually accompanied a movie fight scene, and beamed at the thought. The ugly-ass fish demon that had gone for her before, stepped ahead of the fray,
his temper still raging.

“Come get me, bitches,” she cackled, an honest to the Goddess cackle, surprising herself as much as the onlookers. She must have looked a sight: red-eyed, blood dripping from her mouth, standing over the body of a dead hellhound while their supposed master cowered in the corner. Losing her patience, she thrust her hand open, sending the flames to the nearest demons. The smell of scorched flesh and the shrieks of bur
ning demons greeted Cassie. The power that now pulsed in her veins was impressive. The blood she drank back at Sebastian’s hadn't had this much effect on her; she had to admit that she liked it. Waving her hands in front of the nervous crowd, she summoned up the fuel bubbling inside her.

“Burn!” she yelled out and watched mesmerised as the entire group of demons burst into an array of orange as the flames consumed them. Cassie stood and watched them scramble over each other until there was nothing but dead carc
asses decorating the floor. More demons attempted to bravely charge the room, but most took in the scene that was displayed for them in full HD and fled. She kicked the sword into her hand, grabbed Cole by his collar and dragged the demon from the room. The hallways were now eerily quiet, and the hair on the back of her neck stood to attention.

Come on, Cassandra, don't be like this. It was all meant to be in jest. I promise... please don't take me to her.
             

Shut the fuck up, you miserable excuse for a demon.

She tugged the demon with her, yanking open the main door to the warehouse and stepped out into the city’s streets. Dusk was beginning to settle on the prison; soon there would no longer be an added protection from the vampires. There was an air of discontent, as if the balance in the world had been thrown out of whack. Cassie stood still for just a second trying to focus on just how she was going to lug the 185 pound demon across the city to Luka's car. Luka... His name echoed around her mind as her heart stuttered in grief. He was gone. A tear threatened to escape, but she sucked it up like a good little solider and concentrated on the matter at hand.

“You'll never get across the city before the demons catch you, Cassandra,” Cole's slippery voice whispered in her ear and she couldn't argue with him; he was probably right. Howls and wails sounded all over the city - time was running out. She considered killing Cole and cutting her losses. She would most likely be able to sneak out by herself, but her companion was anothe
r story altogether.

“Well, I'll just use your useless lump of a body for a shield as long as possi
ble. Now move it.”

They dipped into the shadows, rushing along the edges of the moonlight, hoping to remain out of the line of fire. Thunderous footfalls sounded, indicating the soon to be arrival of unwelcomed guests, but Cassie no longer feared death. She welcomed it. Maybe Cole was right, she should be called the reaper rather than the assassin because death was in her veins now, and she
would
unleash it on anyone who crossed her path. The flutter of wings drew her attention and she looked up into the darkened sky. Wings of silver and black radiated, and the handsome face of her angel looked down on her. He landed with grace in front of her, holding his arms out. “Archer!” She cried out his name as she fumbled into his embrace, the scent of strawberries and sunshine a welcome distraction from the smell of fire and brimstone. His body was bruised and battered, but was healing even as he spoke.

“Hey, Princess, so how y
ou liking this vacation?”

She shook her head laughing. “Sucks big time, angel-boy. How bout we get the hell out of here so
you can buy me a beer?”

“We’ll need a full bottle of Jack after this shit
hole, Princess... Let’s go.”

Cassie was so glad that he was okay, but she daren’t ask or hope that Luka would be alive too. If he was, then he would make his way ba
ck to her like he always did. Archer took over the job of dragging a dejected Cole from her. They crept along in the sombre moonlight. When they reached the halfway mark, the bridge, the murkiness of the water did not seem normal to Cassie. She glanced over her shoulder to warn Archer when a snake demon emerged from the water, slamming its body down on the concrete. The streets cracked under the strain, and the floor shuddered under their feet. She pushed Cole out of the beast’s way, shoving him a little too hard so that the idiot smacked his head off the wall and crumpled to the ground, rendering him unconscious. The beast screeched, deafening them briefly. Cassie steadied her stance and braced herself for an attack. Beside her, Archer did the same. They caught each other’s eye, nodded and pounced, Cassie going left, Archer right. She sank her sword into the beast’s skin, but it had no effect. The sword snapped in half, leaving just a stubby blade. Archer’s arrows were having less impact and the angel growled in frustration. As Cassie came up with probably the dumbest idea in her whole life, she called the angel.

“Hey, Archer, you want to se
e something kind of cool?”

“You know me, Princess, I love surprises,” he hollered back at her while continuing his o
nslaught on the beast. Cassie readied herself and prayed to the Goddess she was not about to do the stupidest thing possible.

“Whatever happens, Archie, just get out of the way, okay?” She pleaded with him in hope that at least knowing he was
alive, would ease her pain.

“Cassie, what are you plotting?” he called to her just as she leapt into the open mouth of the
snake as he screamed. She could hear Archer shouting her name as she slid deep inside the snake. The smell was enough to make her gag. She came to a sudden stop, reaching the middle of the beast’s stomach. Placing her hand on opposite ends, she sent all her power to her fingertips. Heat blazed all around her, and she smirked as the beast began to writhe in pain. She tried to stay on her feet as it tossed and turned, until its skin began to blister and burst around her, before it exploded into nothing but guts, goo and gore. She stumbled a bit as she emerged from the beast, her head giddy. She was dripping in bits of the beast. She tentatively raised her hands to her hair, wondering if she’d dared touch it. It was most likely a mess.

Funny ‘bout what you worry about when you almost die.
Again.
Archer hesitantly came up to her, his face grim.

“Princess, not that that wasn't just awesome, but don't you dare do that to me again.
I feel like I've aged ten years.”

Cassie punched him playfully on the shoulder.

“Angels don't age, jackass.”

“With you Princess, anything is possible.” the angel mused before going to shake Cole awake. The demon still seemed to be out for the count. Archer picked him up and slung him over his shoulder. They quickened their pace as the sound of nails grated the concrete, and they knew they needed to get off the streets before something else sought them out. Cassie for once was glad to have to listen to the angel as he groaned and complained about the dead weight he had to carry. Just hearing his voice was reassuring, safe, familiar, because Cassie really couldn't be sure that when they arrived home, anyth
ing would ever be the same.

When they rounded the corner, Cassie let out a huge sigh of relief as she set their sight on Sebastian’s. The apartment was empty, causing her heart to sink a little. Everything was exactly where she had left it, from her discarded iPod, to her beloved sword. Archer dumped the still out-of-it Cole in a heap o
n the floor with a thud.

“I think we should wait till the sun rises before we make our great escape, Princess.
Easier that way.”

He went to the fridge, taking two bottles of water and tossed one to her. Cassie opened the bottle and gulped it down in one go, not realizing she was that thirsty. They both remained utterly silent as they packed up their belongings, neither laying a finger on Luka's. Sensing her discomfort, Archer rubbed his jaw before he spoke to her.

“Cassie... I hate to ask, but was Luka alive the last time you saw him? We need to be sure before we leave.”

Cassie nodded, her heart suddenly weighing a ton.

“He tried to hold off, he really did. But in the end, not even Luka could hide from the bloodlust.” She brushed her hair absently with her hand revealing the two small puncture wounds before letting her hair fall back in place.

“That little shit said Luka had staked himself when he had played with his mind. I didn't sense him in the warehouse, or I wouldn't have left him there. What happ
ened to you, Archer? And Seb?”

Archer flopped down on the chair, his shoulders sagging slightly. He began to shake his head. “When I lost you in the warehouse, I doubled back to see if I could get Luka and Seb's help. Luka took off as soon as I told him you were missing, so Seb and I snuck in through the roof. We only got so far before we were jumped on. Seb pushed me out of the way and ended up staked. The idiot should have known a stake to the fucking chest wouldn't have even scratched me.” His tone was abrupt but his voice croaked as he spoke. “And then I was caught and tortured blah, blah, blah and managed to fre
e myself. And here I am.”

Cassie said nothing, mainly because there wasn't a single word that she could say to make him feel any better. She crawled up into his lap and he put his arm around her, pulling her close. She snuggled up into him, closing her eyes, breathing in his scent. He leaned his head against hers, keeping one eye on their unconscious hostage. “Get some rest, Princess. I'll wake you as soon as the sun rises.” For once she didn't argue, just tightened her grip on the angel and fell into
a dreamless slumber.

When she felt a gentle nudge, Cassie stirred, resisting his attempts to rouse her. He nudged her again a little harder and she looked up before s
aying, “I'm awake, I'm awake.” Archer was not looking at her but staring over her head at the door. Cassie squirmed round from her precarious position on Archer’s lap. Standing in the doorway was an apparition, a vision of beauty and menace. His green eyes were drenched in sorrow, his shoulders slumped and the strong vampire she had fallen so madly in love with seemed diminished. He gave her a small weak smile.

“I hope I'm not interrupting anything. I can
leave again if you'd like.”

Cassie scrambled from her seat and lunged at him. She chose to ignore that he flinched slightly
when her arms ensnared him. She was just so happy that he was real and alive and here. She pushed herself up on her tippy toes and planted a kiss on his lips.

“Don't you ever do that to me
again!” She grabbed the collar of his shirt and shook him just a little. “I swear to the Goddess if you ever put me in the grieving widow position, I will bring you back to life just to kill you myself... you got it?”

Luka beamed down at her, his smile wide but his eyes dark. He opened his mouth to speak when a sudden movement caught Cassie's attention. Cole had managed to evade their notice and crept up behind Luka. The blade that had broken on the snake demon’s skin was grasped firmly in his fingers. She had only a split second to think as she willed herself to move between Luka's back and the knife. She felt her body blur as she magically evaporated from one spot to another just as Cole s
truck with the blade.

The fact that she had totally bewitched it would have been awesome if the blade hadn't sunk deep into her chest as if it was slicing butter. Her lips formed the shape of an O as Cole stumbled backwards and she sank to her knees, Luka catching her before she collapsed into a heap on the floor. Luka pulled the blade out and blood gushed from the open wound. For the first time in her life, she felt cold, her body shaking
as she struggled to breath.

“Cassie, I can fix this. I can save you, but you need to agree... Say yes.” Luka pleaded with her and she knew what he was asking her to say yes to. She heard Archer bouncing Cole against the wall before the demon groaned out in pain from what she guessed w
as a swift kick to the stomach. She lifted a shaky hand to Luka's face and tried to focus on those eyes as she spoke.

“No Luka, please... I don't... I can
't... Let me go, please.”

She coughed, blood splashing against her teeth and onto her lips. Her body jerked in pain and she screamed, unable to help herself. Luka kissed her forehead and murmured in her ear. She clasped his hand as fiercely as she could muster. Her heart began to falter and she knew she hadn't long left. Her eyelids grew heavy and tiredness washed over her. She took one last look at her vampire and mouthed,
‘I love you’
. Her eyes fluttered, and as her heart stopped beating, they closed and she was lost.