Both knife and serpent were ready to fight.
As the elevator dropped, so, too, did the temperature. The air became heavier, laden with the scents of earth and foul water. Hunter’s lair really
was
deep underground.
The elevator finally slowed, bouncing slightly as it stopped. The doors hissed open but didn’t really reveal anything. The ink was as dark outside as it was inside. I flared my nostrils, drawing in the scents of this place. A fresh mix of jasmine, bergamot, and sandalwood lingered in the air. Hunter was here.
“A little light wouldn’t go astray,” I said, not immediately moving from the elevator. “We wouldn’t want me tripping over and losing the key, now, would we?”
“Oh, decidedly not.”
Her reply was dry, but she nevertheless switched on a light. It threw out a cold blue glow that barely made a dent against the deeper shadows of the place, but it at least revealed the flagstone flooring beyond the elevator
as well as several worn leather sofas. Hunter herself remained hidden, though her scent was coming from the left. Which probably meant she was actually standing to my right.
I stepped into the room, then stopped. The light barely touched my toes, leaving the elevator behind me wrapped in darkness—but only for a moment. The doors soon closed and the elevator left. Trapped, I thought, as my heart accelerated and pinpricks of sweat broke out across my skin. Never a good thing when faced with a vampire, let alone
this
vampire.
Kill bitch,
Amaya said, ever practical,
solve problem.
“Now,” said bitch continued, “deposit the key on that coffee table.”
Her voice was coming from the thick darkness beyond the small, slightly raised seating area. I could vaguely see the outline of a desk, but given the shadows, there was no hope I’d ever see her. This darkness was her friend, not mine.
Can lift,
Amaya said.
Not yet.
Amaya muttered something I didn’t quite catch, although I didn’t really have to understand it to know she was not happy with the delay. She wanted to fight, to destroy; it was a sentiment that was apparently echoed by the Dušan, if the ever-increasing force and speed of her lashing tail were anything to go by. Only trouble was, Hunter’s hearing might be sharp enough to pick up the slight slap of flesh against flesh.
But even as that thought crossed my mind, the tail movement stopped. It was the first clear indication I’d had that the Dušan
could
understand me.
Dušan, I think it’s time for you to leave my skin if you can. Hide in the shadows near her, but don’t do anything until I say.
The Dušan immediately slithered down my left leg, its
sharp little claws making my muscles twitch with fleeting pain. Then it was gone, skittering away into the deeper shadows that hid Hunter.
“You won’t get this key until I get confirmation that Rhoan is safe.”
“Dear girl,” Hunter said, voice condescending, “you are down here alone, without any of your protections. Do you really think you can survive my wrath for more than the second or two it will take me to retrieve the key from your cold, dead grasp?”
“A second or two is all I need to destroy the key and ensure you never get your nasty little mitts on it. Are
you
willing to take that chance?”
She seemed to consider me for a moment, as if weighing whether I was bluffing or not, but it was something I felt rather than saw.
“Fair enough,” she said eventually. “We will play it your way for now.”
There was a faint click; then brightness flared across the darkness, catching me by surprise. I blinked rapidly, and my pulse rate accelerated yet again when I realized that I was seeing a security screen—one that was split into four panels, two of them showing an unfamiliar building and lobby area, and the other two revealing very familiar figures. Quinn and Riley were in one, guarding what looked like a pile of bodies, and Azriel in the other, approaching a slowly rotating sphere of blue light.
I watched, heart in my mouth, as Azriel walked around the sphere, inspecting it. When he’d returned to his starting point, he touched it with his fingertips. Blue light crawled across his hand but didn’t appear to hurt him. After another moment, he stepped into it.
I think I stopped breathing, and time seemed to drag.
Then he reappeared, and with him was Rhoan—bloody, beaten, but very much alive.
Relief shuddered through me, and just for a second,
my legs felt weak and my knees gave way. Somehow, I managed to stay upright.
“Right,” Hunter said, her attention fully on me again—something I could tell by the wash of animosity and satisfaction oozing from her. “Rhoan is safe, as is your precious reaper. Give me the key.”
“They’re not out of that building yet.”
“No, and they won’t get out of it unless you give me the key.
Now,
” she added, when I didn’t move. “Or have you forgotten I can still blow them all to smithereens?”
“Then take it.” I held out the hand that held the key and silently screamed,
Azriel, you need to get out of there—now! Hunter has the place rigged to blow.
I had no idea whether he could hear me; certainly there didn’t seem to be any sudden awareness of danger in his or Rhoan’s actions. I wanted to scream at the screen, tell him to get his ass moving, but I did nothing, just watched, as the two men moved out of camera range, then reappeared in the next screen.
Hunter stepped forward, out of the shadows. Her gaze was on the shard of concrete rather than on me, so I carefully reached back with my free hand and wrapped my fingers around the knife. The stone blade pressed lightly against my palm; it would take only the slightest pressure for it to slice into my skin.
Dušan, be ready. You, too, Amaya.
Her excitement raced through the back reaches of my mind, sharp and eager to kill.
Hunter’s fingers hovered above mine for a moment; then she carefully picked up the concrete shard. “I can indeed feel the weight of magic within it. It is a powerful thing.” Then her gaze rose to mine. “And more the fool you are for trusting that once I had this in my grasp, I would keep my word.”
The words were barely out of her mouth when the images on the monitor behind her exploded into flame.
Chapter 16
I screamed and reacted instinctively, clenching my fist and swinging as hard as I could at Hunter’s smug face. But even as I did so, Amaya’s voice cut through the panic.
Not dead! Safe they are!
My blow didn’t land. Instead, it was caught in a viselike grip and held firm. I didn’t fight her hold; I just glared at her.
Are you sure?
Valdis contact. Reaper comes.
Which didn’t mean he could actually get
in
. Even so, relief flooded me for the second time that night. But I couldn’t let it show. Hunter had to believe
I
believed everyone I cared about was now dead.
Hunter’s grip began to tighten against mine, and her sharp claws sliced into my skin. Blood welled. Anticipation and hunger flared in her eyes, but a similar sense of anticipation echoed through me. She’d just provided the perfect cover.
My grip tightened on the blade at my back. It sliced into my palm and was met by a rush of blood. The sweet metallic scent grew stronger in the air, but I doubted Hunter was aware of this secondary source. She was too intent on crushing my hand, too aware of the blood that dripped in fat splashes down onto the paving stones between us.
“I’ll kill you for that,” I growled.
Her smile was slow and lazy. “Oh, you most certainly are welcome to
try
. But remember what I am; remember that what I did to the—”
I plunged the stone blade into her stomach, and the rest of her sentence became a screech that was both fury and pain. She flung me backward so forcefully that I literally sailed through the air for several feet before crashing onto my back and sliding to a halt hard up against the elevator doors.
I scrambled to my feet, Amaya out of my body and in my hands. But even as I did so, light flared across the shadows—a fierce white light that was nigh on blinding. I raised my hand against it, battling to see what was going on, where Hunter was.
After a moment, I realized the light was coming from
her
.
Or rather, from the wound in her stomach.
Tendrils of brightness flowed from the knife’s entry point and entwined around her, their movement getting fiercer, angrier, as they flowed up her body, then continued on, as if reaching for the very distant heavens. But they disappeared long before they even reached the roof of this cavern.
She wasn’t moving, wasn’t doing much of anything. The light held her immobile; now was the perfect time to attack—
Not,
Amaya said.
Light force of her god leaving. It still protects.
And wasn’t
that
typical of this whole sorry episode. I shifted my grip on Amaya and stalked closer. I might not be able to attack the bitch until the power of her god left her body, but I sure as
hell
could do so the second it
had
.
Dušan, when she moves, strike.
I stopped several feet away from her. She might be immobilized, but she was totally aware of what was happening. Her eyes were thin black strips that promised
death, and her fury washed over me in heated waves. I shuddered. Even without the force of her god, Hunter was
not
going to go down easy.
Get ready to both shield and attack, Amaya.
Flames flickered brightly down her sides, and her need to kill became so fierce I could almost taste the bitterness of Hunter’s blood on her steel.
The brightness of the tendrils began to fade. The tension running through me ramped up another notch, until my whole body seemed to be humming with it.
Then I realized it
was
humming—and that it was Amaya’s energy flowing through me.
Together we strong,
she said.
Together we taste her blood.
The light blinked out. Hunter howled—a sound that was fury and grief and utter,
utter
madness combined—and launched at me, claws and teeth elongating. I dodged and swung Amaya, but Hunter was too fast and the blow skimmed past her side and did no damage.
Amaya chuckled, the sound low and savage. Hunter disappeared into shadows.
Flame,
I said, and Amaya immediately did. Fire exploded from her, leaping high, tearing away the shadows and revealing the vastness of Hunter’s den.
Revealing the laser held in her hand, aimed straight at my heart.
Shield,
I screamed, even as I dove away.
Can’t! Flame or shield, not both!
I hit the ground and rolled. Blue light followed me, slicing into the flagstones and across my left boot. The smell of burned leather and flesh seared the air. I bit back a scream and scrambled to my feet, forcing myself to run despite the fire in my foot. The laser nipped at my heels, threatening limb loss if I so much as stumbled.
I flung Amaya and called to the Aedh. The magic surged, and just for a moment, my legs and arms became
little more than particles. Then the magic fell away and I was flesh again. Hunter hadn’t been lying—her shields were stopping me from becoming full Aedh.
Dušan, grab her!
Amaya arrowed toward Hunter. The laser shifted, hitting her. Lilac flames flared against blue light, and though Amaya slowed, she didn’t appear hurt by the laser’s hit.
Then Hunter went down, confusion briefly replacing the fury and madness in her expression.
While she might not have expected the Dušan’s presence, her surprise certainly didn’t dull her reactions.
I scrambled forward, as fast as I was able, as vampire and Dušan twisted and fought each other. Again blue light flared. The Dušan hissed and slithered away. Hunter scrambled to her feet, her movements little more than a blur as she launched herself at me. Amaya thundered back into my hand and I swung her, hard. Hunter hissed and deviated at the last moment, coming in under the blow. Her foot smashed into my kneecap and thrust me backward. Pain, white-hot, hit, but I somehow managed to remain upright. She came at me again, movements little more than a blur. That I could even see her was a miracle, and I had no doubt that it was all due to Amaya’s presence in my mind.
I waited until the last minute, until I could see the bloody glimmer of hate in her eyes, then raised Amaya. Black steel met sharp claws, and blood spurted as two fingertips plopped to the flagstones.
Lilac slithered in from behind her and wrapped around her legs. Hunter hit the floor face-first, but her hiss was more a sound of fury than one of pain. She made an odd motion with a bloodied left hand, then twisted around and grabbed the Dušan with her right, forcing the laser into its mouth. I swung Amaya before she could fire, aiming for her head. She ducked and the
blow sailed over her head, but it at least forced her to release the Dušan. It slithered away again.
Flames leapt from Amaya’s steel and anchored onto Hunter’s flesh, flickering and dancing in eager anticipation as Amaya began to feed on her soul.
Hunter either didn’t know what was happening or didn’t care. She jumped upright and ran, which was so out of character I swung around instead of giving chase.
Twelve other vampires were now in the room. Hunter certainly
wasn’t
taking any chances. If ever there was a time for Azriel to appear . . .
Can’t,
Amaya spat.
Magic stop.
Meaning it was just me and her, as I’d always feared it would be.
Fine,
I thought, resolutely.
Let’s have at these vamps first.
And with that, I attacked. Or rather,
we
attacked. Because the minute I moved, Amaya surged fully into my mind, and together we became a killing machine.
Everything became a blur. We weaved, dodged, blocked. Attacked, retreated, parried. There was pain and blood and screams, and I really couldn’t have said whether they were mine or whether they belonged to the vampires we slowly but surely decimated.