Authors: Nina Bangs
“I hope she’s at least half decent with a sword. My reputation will take a major hit if it looks like I was so bad I lost to a human.” If Jude wasn’t a big bad vampire, Jenna would have said he was pouting. “Any perception of weakness on my part will bring challengers out of the woodwork when I get back to Houston. Not that any of them would have a chance, but I have better things to do than humiliate losers.”
That’s what Jenna liked about Jude, he was such a humble guy.
Al had other worries. “Once my soul takes over, I’m still in control, just…” He seemed to be searching for the right word. “less so. I don’t think like a human. So any decisions I make might not be completely appropriate.”
Jude smiled. “In other words you think like a prehistoric predator loose in a candy store. All that prey trapped in one spot. The temptation must be unbearable.”
Al looked relieved that someone understood him. Jenna was feeling a little miffed.
She
understood. Then she took a good look at Al and Jude, thought about what they were, and realized she could never understand their urge to kill. Did that make her totally incompatible with Al? Probably. Did it matter to her? No.
Kenny beckoned them from the center of the floor, where a floodlight formed a large circle. Vampire eyes bright with excitement shone from the darkness around the ring.
This was so far out of Jenna’s experience, she couldn’t wrap her mind around the reality of it. She turned to Jude. “Why am I here?”
“Lia is human. I thought she should have a human to cheer her on.”
“And?”
He looked almost embarrassed. “She’s grown up knowing only vampires. I thought you might give her more of a…human perspective on things.”
Jenna smiled. “Well, well. Is that a spot of kindness staining all that wicked vampire darkness?”
He looked insulted. “No. I don’t do kindness.”
“It’s time to begin.”
Kenny’s announcement ended the discussion. They turned to watch as he stood in the pool of light.
“The challenge for leadership of the Northeastern Vampires is about to begin.” Any fear Kenny was feeling for the safety of his daughter wasn’t showing. “Lia Colaccio challenges Jude.”
“No last name?” Jenna scanned the darkness looking for Lia.
“Last names aren’t important.”
“Which means yours is very important.” Al seemed to accept Jude’s avoidance policy as no big deal.
Since all of the Eleven had the same last name, Endeka, she understood his thinking.
Kenny took a deep breath, which Jenna found strange for a vampire. Maybe it was just a remembered human reaction to stress. Even in this bizarre and frightening situation, she couldn’t turn off her curiosity. She’d have to ask Kenny about what happened to human reflexes he no longer needed.
“When the challenge ends—”
Challenge? He made it sound so civilized. She wondered why he didn’t call it exactly what it was, a barbaric fight to the death. Fine, so political correctness wasn’t her strength.
“The winner may allow the defeated to live or may kill him or her without consequences.”
Jude grunted. “Like hell, no consequences. If the little bitch managed to destroy me, my organization would have this whole city drowning in vampire blood within hours. Unlike Katherine, who never allowed anyone control but herself, I have a well-oiled machine in place to take over.” With that threat hanging in the air, he strode toward the circle of light.
Al glanced around. “I have plenty of headroom as long as I’m close to the circle. The vampires will need every bit of their preternatural speed to get out of my way if I free my soul.”
No one was paying any attention to them. Everyone was focused on the circle of light. “I wonder why no one seems to be afraid of you? Some of these vampires had to have been at the church when Katherine bought it.”
He shrugged. “We’re not the main attraction. And Spin was the one who did all the damage. They didn’t see my soul.” He made that sound like a threat.
Jude stepped into the light, all fluid grace and wicked beauty. He’d picked up his sword at some point, and light glinted off its sharp blade.
Lia finally made her appearance. She surprised Jenna. What was a daughter of Katherine supposed to look like? Jenna had pictured long, flowing black hair, long pointed bloodred fingernails, and a long slinky black gown. Okay, so she was picturing Morticia in her mind.
Lia was small, curvy, with short curly blonde hair. She had on jeans and a loose red T-shirt. She looked like a soccer mom in training.
Until you looked at her eyes. They were big and blue and filled with intense determination. Her full lips were drawn into a thin line of hate. And Jenna figured all that hate was aimed at Jude. Maybe some of it would have been spared for Spin if he were here, but he wasn’t. Jenna would bet that Lia didn’t know Al was here.
There was no splashy opening ceremony. Kenny just wished both of them good luck and backed out of the light. Jenna could hear the rustle of vampires moving to get the best view of the battle.
Lia moved first, stepping in and slashing with a sword that looked a lot lighter than Jude’s. Jude parried her move, the clanging of the swords setting off an excited buzz among the watching vampires.
Fifteen minutes later, Al and Jenna had worked their way through the crowd until they were just behind those in the front row.
Jenna felt like she’d traveled back in time to some primitive point in history. Who fought with swords, anyway?
There was blood. From both Jude and Lia. But the cuts inflicted on each didn’t seem to slow them down. The wounds were making Jenna a little queasy, though. Al, on the other hand, seemed excited by the battle. If opposites really did attract, then they were perfect for each other. If they had points of compatibility, Jenna hadn’t found them. She thought about the glass room on the roof. Okay, so maybe one.
Lia was impressive. She moved fast for a human. And the emphasis was on the word “human.” For a vampire? Not so fast. Jude was working hard to make Lia look good—slowing down just enough, missing his swing by just a little, and looking like he hated her guts every moment of the fight. Which he probably did. Jenna didn’t think Jude liked to look weaker than anyone, even if it was his own decision.
“He’ll give Lia her chance any moment now.”
Al’s whisper warmed the side of her neck and took her attention away from Jude and Lia. “How do you know?”
“Because that’s what I’d do. He’s kept the fight going long enough to make it look real, but if he drags it on too long, the human will tire.”
Jenna tensed.
The human
. Once again a reminder that Al didn’t count himself as part of the human race. He needed to take a good long look in the mirror. His soul was what he chose to make it, but he wouldn’t want to hear that from her. She edged away from him and returned her attention to the battle.
Which ended suddenly. Jude took a step back and pretended to stumble. Jenna wondered if this was the first ungraceful step he’d ever taken. He went down with Lia’s sword at his throat.
Lia smiled, flushed with victory, but Jenna saw what maybe the others didn’t—uncertainty in her eyes. Did she suspect anything? Jenna would have. It had to occur to Lia that a human beating an ancient vampire wasn’t the norm.
The crowd roared its approval, and Lia’s uncertainty disappeared. Jenna held her breath. Would she let Jude live?
When she drew back her sword arm, Al reacted. Ohmigod, no. Al thought Lia was going to take Jude’s head, but Jenna was still watching the other woman’s eyes. Death wasn’t in Lia’s eyes, only joy. She was simply flinging her arms into the air. Jenna reached for Al.
Too late. Before she could even blink, Al freed his soul. Jenna was the only one who screamed as she scrambled away from the monster taking up the space where Al had stood. The vampires scrambled too, but they did it silently. Humans were much more vocal.
The Allosaurus roared, and Jenna’s blood ran cold as she looked way, way up at Al’s soul. No matter how many times she’d seen dinosaurs in movies and on TV, nothing came close to seeing one live and in person. They’d never looked this big from the safety of her living room. And only the shadow of Al’s human shape within the beast kept her from running panicked into the courtyard. Which was what most of the vampires were doing.
As Lia stood frozen in place with her sword still raised, Jude leaped to his feet and strode to Jenna’s side.
“Someone needs to take this group of bloodsuckers in hand. Look at them all run. They look like someone stomped on their anthill. If my people were here, they’d be attacking Al with every power they had. And he wouldn’t be just standing there looking bored.” Jude shook his head in disgust.
“Uh-oh.” Jenna realized before Jude did that there was one person who wasn’t fleeing the scene. Lia took a deep breath and charged Al with nothing but her puny sword. That girl needed to get some common sense. Jenna watched horrified as the Allosaurus lowered his head and took a stride toward Lia. A very big stride. Who was in control inside that gigantic head with its supersized teeth?
“Stop!” She ran toward Lia, who’d at last had the sense to take refuge behind the bar. Fat lot of good that would do her. “He’s upset because he thought you were going to take Jude’s head.”
Then Jenna turned back to where the allosaurus had just made fire kindling out of most of the tables on the ground floor. Now he was looking up at a few vampires who’d taken refuge on the balcony. But when Al rose up he was at eye level with them. Not a safe place.
While Al was eyeing the tasty treats on the balcony, Kenny had reached his daughter and was dragging her into a back room.
Jenna sighed her relief. Al must’ve seen Lia’s escape too, because suddenly his soul was gone and he was once again standing beside her.
He didn’t look at her. “Scared?”
“No.” Then she amended that. “Okay, at first. You trigger an instinctual fear, but I could see
you
inside, and I had faith that the human part of you was in control.” She wouldn’t add that her faith had been a little shaky. But at least this time she hadn’t thrown up or run like crazy.
Al glanced at Jude. “You okay?”
The vampire nodded. “The little bitch was going to take my head after I handed her the crown. She’d better not show up in any of my states. Ever.” He drew his lips back from those fangs and hissed his fury.
“She wasn’t going to take your head. She’d just thrown her hands up in the air to show she’d won.” Jenna didn’t think Jude would believe her.
“You’re human. You want to believe the best about everyone. But I know vampires. She wanted to kill me.” With that, Jude turned and headed for the door.
“But Lia’s not a vampire.” Jenna’s comment was lost in the crash of the door as Jude kicked it down on his way out.
She looked up at Al. “That went well, didn’t it?”
Al led Jenna from the dimly lit club into the complete darkness of the courtyard, and it just felt natural for him to take her hand. Natural? For
humans
. There were no symbols of affection in the pack. Sex was an itch to be scratched and forgotten.
It was
human
to examine emotions and assign reasons for everything you felt. Pack life was simpler. Hungry, kill, eat, happy. Angry, fight, kill, happy. Aroused, choose, fuck, happy. Everything in his previous life had ended with happy, or what passed for that emotion. Thinking back, it was more satisfaction than happiness. Yeah, there had been times when pack members died, but he only recalled them as brief times of puzzlement and then acceptance before moving on. Not real grief. Not the way he’d felt when Rap’s body died.
Not the way you’d feel if anything happened to Jenna.
Maybe he’d thought about emotions long enough.
Since Fin wanted him to act more human, he’d think about this holding-hands thing. He felt the protective instinct of the male for the female. Not a feeling he was used to. The females of his pack had been as ferocious as the males. They hardly needed protection.
Touch? Yes, he enjoyed the feel of her hand in his—the warm smoothness of her skin, the sense of intimacy and possession it brought. Intimacy, a human feeling. Possession, very much part of his soul’s time.
Suddenly, he realized it was too quiet. Instinct formed in a world where even a moment’s inattention meant death shouted that something was wrong. Without thinking, he pushed Jenna behind him so she was sandwiched between his body and the wall. Then he looked for the threat.
All the vampires who’d left the club, including Jude, had crowded together on one side of the courtyard. On the other side of the lot two really pissed raptors stood poised to attack. Utah and Tor had let their hate get the better of them and turned loose their souls. Crap. If they’d shut off their mental connection to Fin while he was busy playing head games with Zero, then their leader didn’t have a clue that the two were about to start a freaking war.
“Tell your guys to back off before I hurt them.” Jude spoke to Al without taking his gaze from the raptors. “Tonight hasn’t been too great for me, and I’m in a lousy mood. Don’t make me show them what I’ve learned in eight hundred years.” He nodded at the other vampires. “These guys might not be the bravest bloodsuckers on the block, but trap them in a corner and they’ll fight your raptors.”
Al caught a glimpse of Kenny and Lia leaving the club. They froze. Hell. He’d have to do something before Lia decided it was her job as vampire leader to face off against Utah and Tor. “I’ll have to become an allosaurus. They’ll only understand physical force.”
Jenna wiggled out from behind him. “Whoa, wait. You can’t always use your soul as a universal problem solver.” She looked up at him from wide, frightened eyes. “What would Fin do?”
Wrong thing to say. “Damn what Fin would do.” Al wanted to free his soul. He wanted to attack all of them, the raptors and the vampires. He wanted to coat himself in blood and forgetfulness. For one more time, he wanted to know the excitement of a kill uncomplicated by emotions and consequences.
“Maybe you could try talking to them first.” She didn’t sound hopeful about his response.
“You want me to
talk
to them?” Yeah, that’s what Fin would do. But then Fin could scare the crap out of anyone with just a stare.
“I don’t know.” She looked uncertain. “I think a few words could avert a bloodbath. I don’t want to see another of the Eleven die. And I sort of like Jude.”
Like Jude?
A stab of jealousy startled him. He scowled.
“Forget it.” She shrugged. “Do what you think is best.”
Great, lay the responsibility on him. He’d had everything worked out. Free his soul, kick butt, pick up the pieces, and go home. Now Jenna had pointed out possible consequences. Now he had to
think
.
His first thought shocked him. He’d talk to them. Because
she’d
asked him to. That was setting a dangerous precedent. But he didn’t have time to wonder when she’d gained so much power over him.
Whatever he was going to do, though, he’d better do it fast. Utah sprang off his powerful back legs, landing within easy striking distance of the closest group of vampires. All the vampires hissed in unison and crouched, ready to fight back. In one graceful leap, Jude landed atop the roof of an empty store. His eyes glowed as he curled his lip to expose impressive fangs.
Al took a deep breath and strode to a spot between the two groups. He focused on the human forms he could see within the raptors, not their outer souls. “Utah, Tor, don’t make asses of yourselves.” Okay, so maybe that wasn’t the most diplomatic beginning. “If you think these vampires will go down easy, think again. Some of them will die, or one of you may. How’s that going to help the cause? We end up with one less of us or a few less of them.
“We don’t have a bunch of friends in the paranormal community. Do you want to make sure we add a big group of enemies? And how will one of you feel if the other one dies like Rap died?” Not that it was likely to happen while they were in raptor form. But once back in human form, a vengeful vampire could take them out with one good swipe of a sword. Sort of like the one Jude was carrying. Couldn’t regenerate a head.
“Even if you both survive, you’ll have to face Fin. He’ll ground you just like he did me. He doesn’t want any loose cannons out here making trouble for the Eleven.”
That last argument must have hit home because Al saw the first uncertainty in their large raptor eyes. “Come back now before this goes too far.” He controlled his need to add a more violent warning, one that included his Allosaurus kicking their butts all the way back to Ritten house Square.
While the moment of indecision seemed to stretch on forever, Al glanced over at Jenna.
She wasn’t there.
Jenna had watched the unfolding drama almost paralyzed with terror. She didn’t have preternatural speed and strength like the rest of this group, but she did have old-fashioned human common sense. The question was, did she have the guts to put it into action?
Glancing around the small courtyard, she’d made her decision. A guy she was beginning to care about was standing smack dab in the middle of two warring groups. Sure, he could free his soul in the blink of an eye, but Rap could too. It hadn’t helped him.
Everyone was watching Al as she’d slipped away. She’d run to an old fire escape that zigzagged up the side of a dilapidated apartment building. She’d started climbing.
Now, as she struggled upward, her old insecurities trailed behind her. Was she doing the right thing? Was there a better solution? Would her plan backfire? Maybe she should let Al do it his way.
No. She fought back against the habit of a lifetime. Maybe what she was about to do wasn’t the perfect or even the only way, but she wouldn’t walk away from her decision. Not this time.
She found the spot she was looking for on the fire escape. The second landing. High enough that no one could get to her too fast. Low enough for everyone to hear her.
While she stood gathering her courage, she saw Al glance at where he expected her to be. When he didn’t see her, he scanned the area. If she was reading his body language correctly, he was worried.
Whether he was worried or not, the thought gave her a warm feeling inside. She must be going crazy, because no way should an ancient predator make her feel anything except mindless terror.
He hadn’t looked up yet.
Jenna put her fingers to her mouth and whistled. Everyone below her stared up. After the first shock passed, Al looked furious. Too bad.
She waved at them. “I don’t like to interfere in your little war here. I mean, you all have your own way of settling things. But I really don’t think killing each other’s the answer. Sure, it’d be a lot of fun, but the consequences would be pretty messy.”
Jenna pulled her cell phone from her purse. “See, I’m just an ordinary human, no powers to speak of, but it doesn’t take a ton of power to solve this problem.” She calmly—okay, semicalmly—pressed 911. Then, before the vampires and raptors below could stop her, she explained to the operator that someone was threatening her, gave the address, screamed a little, and hung up.
She put the phone back into her purse. Everyone below seemed frozen. “I guess you should get moving. I don’t know what the response time is for Philly’s finest, but you don’t want to be caught here.”
Suddenly, the vampires broke and ran. They were nothing but a blur as they scattered. Guess they’d parked their cars somewhere else. Left with no one to fight, Utah and Tor abandoned their raptor forms. From where Jenna was standing, they looked sort of cranky. But not half as cranky as Al.
He glared up at her. “Get down here.”
She’d discuss his dictatorial attitude later, but they didn’t have time to argue. Jenna ran down the fire escape and over to the car where Utah and Tor were already in the backseat. She climbed in beside Al and they took off.
Safe. But not from Al’s fury. His anger filled the car with a dense cloud of disapproval. He said nothing, though, because Utah and Tor filled up the silence with their own complaints.
“You should’ve stayed out of it.” Utah seemed to be aiming his comment at both Al and her. “This was personal pack business.”
Since Al didn’t seem interested in saying anything, Jenna glanced back at Utah. He’d changed in the short time since Rap had died. No more spiked hair. No more cool piercings. No bright eyes. No smiles. He’d turned dark overnight.
Jenna tried to reach him. “I know how you must feel about your brother, but—”
He turned on her with a snarl. “Wrong. You don’t have a clue how I feel, so shut the fuck up.”
It wasn’t his words that sucked the breath from her lungs, but the expression in his eyes. There was nothing human at home in that gaze. It was cold, flat, and predatory. The eyes of a killer. Jenna knew she was seeing his soul in its basic, stripped-down version, untouched by any kind of humanity. He was terrifying.
Al hit the brake. Without caring that he’d stopped in the middle of the street, he slammed the car into park, shoved open his door, and climbed out. Then he yanked Utah’s door open. “Get the hell out of the car.”
“Glad to.” Utah’s eyes almost glowed with all his suppressed rage.
“Ohmigod.” Frantically, she stared at Tor. “Stop your brother. He can’t go off by himself while he’s this way. What if he…”
Goes crazy and kills people.
Tor shrugged. His eyes were just as cold as Utah’s, but his anger was contained. And perhaps all the more dangerous for it.
“Never could stop Utah when he had his mind set on something. I’ll tag along. Pack stays together.” Tor smiled, and his soul lived in that baring of his teeth. “We’ll only kill the ones that need killing.”
Jenna felt like the top of her head was going to explode. She was surrounded by three men used to expressing every urge in extreme violence, and none of them were thinking straight. She scanned the street. Thank heaven it was so late and the traffic was light. Taking a deep breath, she scrambled from the car and ran around to where Utah and Al faced off.
She tugged at Al’s arm. “Stop him.”
The gaze he turned on her held the same cold, flat expression as Utah’s, but without the murderous rage. “Do you want me to kill him?”
Horrified, she realized he wasn’t kidding. “No. God,
no
. Is that how you solve
everything
? Killing?”
His grin was a savage twist of his lips. “It works.”
“Look, I don’t care what he said to me. That’s not Utah the man looking out at us right now. You can’t turn him loose on Philly like that.”
“I
do
care what he said. Besides, you took killing off the table, so I can’t stop him if he wants to go.” Al’s expression said Utah’s departure wouldn’t be met with sorrow on his part.
A quick glance at Utah showed he wasn’t paying any attention to either of them. He’d turned away and was starting to walk down the street. At least he wasn’t wearing his soul on the outside yet.
Tor got out of the car and slammed the door shut with a little too much force. “Damn. I’m tired. I don’t feel like doing this shit to night.” But he started to follow his brother.
Without thinking, she punched Al’s shoulder. “Do something, damn it. I don’t want to wake up to a report of more killings.” She watched his eyes light up. “No, not that way. Don’t you dare go prehistoric in the middle of Philly. We don’t need any soul sightings to night.”
When he turned his hard gaze on her, she instinctively took a step back.
Remember who he is,
what
he is.
She couldn’t go around punching ancient predators and expect to walk away with all her limbs. She’d allowed herself to get too comfortable with him.
Then he smiled, and it was
Al’s
smile, human and a little rueful. “Yeah, Fin would shit nails if I let Utah get away.”
He turned toward the fast disappearing raptors and shouted after them. “Hey, I thought pack stayed together! You said I was pack now. I’m trying to keep you guys out of trouble with Fin. He’s in my head. He knows what’s going on. And if he has to come after you, he might just put your souls away for the duration. Give Rap some company. Then how would you get revenge?”
Both raptors stopped, and Jenna held her breath. Tor turned around and headed back to the car. Utah took longer to think about it, but at least he
was
thinking. Finally, he trailed after his brother. They both climbed back into the car without comment. Jenna felt weak with relief as she got in beside Al. He was the last to climb in. He didn’t speak to anyone as he continued driving.
“What do you think Fin will do?” Tor sounded a little worried.
Jenna refused to turn around to look at either raptor.
Al shrugged. “Nothing happened. No one died. A slap on the wrist if you’re lucky.”
Left unsaid was that both raptors could lose their hunting licenses. Like Al. But Jenna thought that Fin couldn’t afford to ground more of his men. If things kept going like this, pretty soon all of the Eleven except for Fin would be sitting in different corners of their leader’s condo.