Mortal Defiance (13 page)

“Alright, best if you guys go on in.” The bouncer opened the door and ushered their group into the club. “Try to not start any trouble. And I’ll find you on my break for that drink.” He winked at Roland, and Ree couldn’t help but smile when she saw a blush creep up Roland’s face.

Chapter 23

A loud, buoyant song provided the beat for the gyrating bodies on the dance floor. Colored lights swirled through the fog creeping along the ground, casting an eerie glow over everything. Ree had never been in a club before and quickly realized that she never wanted to be again. Pulling the power back so that she wouldn’t be bombarded by the crass emotions wasn’t an option. Instead, she would have to focus past the hunger, desperation, and dark needs. Some of the people were only there for fun and dancing, but the darker aspects were harder to handle. Unfortunately, layered over everything else was the unmistakable presence of Dark Ones, which meant Ree couldn’t let her guard down.

The crowd moved in a rhythm that made it hard for the group to keep their formation. One man bounced into Paden, causing the guy to slow down. When Paden didn’t move out of the way, the tall man turned to give him a nasty look but quickly backed down. They weaved through the mass, and Ree did her best avoid touching anyone. The emotions of the dancers pulled at her, catching her as she slid across the dance floor.

As their group neared a corner with a deserted table, Ree noticed they had attracted the attention of some of the patrons. Looking at Roland, she didn’t feel the strong pull that suggested he was still using his pheromones and wondered why they had drawn the stares of so many.

“Does anyone else feel like fresh meat at a zombie rave?” Weylin was looking around the room with a wry expression.

“We’ll never get the information we need like this,” Sophie said. “We’re going to have to mingle.” An expression akin to biting a lemon crossed her face. “I’ll go get a drink. Weylin, you’re with me. Jules, Bryce, keep our table. Ree, try to look like you’re having fun.”

Ree looked around the room skeptically. This wasn’t a place she would ever feel comfortable, especially with the evil radiating from upstairs as a constant reminder of their task.
How am I supposed to look like I’m having fun here?

“Ree, stop thinking so hard. If you want to blend in, you have to do what they’re doing.” Paden grabbed her hand and dragged her toward the dancers.

“Oh, no. No, no, no. Paden, I don’t dance. This is definitely not going to help us fit in or make it look like I’m having fun.” She tried to pull her hand back out of his, but she couldn’t break his grasp.

Turning to face her, his smile made her heart skip. Slowly, he pulled her to him until she was barely inches away. Being this close to him narrowed the rest of the world, even blocking some of the negative energy around them.

“Don’t worry about looking like you’re having fun. Forget about everyone else. Just focus on me.” Taking her hands in his own, he wrapped her arms around his neck. When his hands slid down around her waist, she couldn’t help the shudder of pleasure that traveled up her spine. When he started to move, she found it was easy to focus on just him. His hips moved slowly, brushing against hers at times, sending sparks shooting through her system.

Ree wasn’t sure how long they moved like that, their bodies finding a natural rhythm as they danced to the beat. Unable to look anywhere but in his green eyes, the rest of the world seemed to fade away. Unfortunately, the moment someone accidently bumped into her, she was ripped from the quiet world she and Paden had created. The negative energy and desperation that accompanied the man’s touch set her teeth on edge.

“Paden.” Shaking her head, she looked away from him. “I don’t think this is a good idea.”

“No one will touch you, Ree.” His fingers tightened on her hip bones, pulling her forward until there was no space between their bodies. “Except for me.” His lips grazed her cheek, and she tilted her head toward his in response. Briefly his lips touched hers before he pulled back and laughed ruefully. “Not a good idea right now. I can’t concentrate when I kiss you.”

Blushing, Ree buried her face against his chest to hide her smile. How long had she wanted him to hold her this way? Too bad it only happened when their lives were in danger. She let herself get lost in him for a little while longer, only coming back to reality when she felt the evil upstairs shift. Paden stiffened and Ree looked up at his face.

“What is it?”

“
Yes, godling, what is it?
” A slow, heavy voice whispered through Ree’s mind, and she looked around worriedly. “
Realized you made a mistake, have you?
”

 On the top landing of the stairs, a woman with large dark eyes and full brown hair stared down at Ree. A perfectly shaped mouth curved into a malicious smile as she raised one eyebrow. Quickly, Ree scanned around the club to find Sophie and the others. The Greek Guardian and Weylin were cornered at the bar, where three Dark Ones stood casually in a semi-circle as if only chatting. Roland was having heated words with a female Dark One at the edge of the dance floor. His eyes were hard, but she could feel his fear radiating over everything else. Juliette and Bryce were still sitting at their table, Dark Ones standing at the edges of the benches so that they couldn’t stand up without going through them.

“What the hell were you thinking, coming here?” A disgusted voice hissed from behind Ree.

Turning in shock, Ree looked at Shannon and tried not to wince. There were still large bruises under her eyes and a nasty gash along one cheek. Her left arm was in a black, sequined sling, tucked against her body. Wearing an expensive-looking cocktail dress, she looked like a zombie on her way to prom.

“You need to get the hell out of here.” Tossing her hair over her shoulder, Shannon stepped closer, her eyes filling with black around the edges. “You’ll make everything I’ve done for nothing, you stupid bitch. Get out before my dad comes.”

Something malicious pushed at her mind, and Ree looked back at the woman on the balcony. Pursing her lips, Della cocked her head to the side. Paden, however, was shaking in rage as his arms wrapped tightly around Ree.

“Too late,” Paden said. He jerked his head at Shannon, and she turned around to look at the older man in a suit.

“Well, it’s awfully nice of you to show up here. Certainly makes things easier for us, doesn’t it, Shannon?”

“Yes, Dad. Very, very stupid of them.” She cut her eyes to the side, as if trying to tell Ree something.

“So, the wait is over. I guess the final battle will be tonight.”

“Dad, it doesn’t work that way.” Shannon turned to look at her father, her voice rising. “You can’t step in the middle, Dad. You’re only going to make her mad again.”

Opening his jacket so they could see the butt of his gun, he tsked. “What does it really matter? If I kill her or Tristan kills her, it’s the same thing in the end. She’s dead. But if I kill her then the dark gods will look on our family favorably.”

“You’re not hurting Ree.” The growl in Paden’s chest vibrated along Ree’s back.

“What are you going to do about it, O’Reilly? You might be a godling, but you aren’t faster than a bullet.” Pulling the gun from his pants, Shannon’s father held the gun down by his leg.

“
Bring them to me
.” Della’s voice rang through Ree’s head.

“Dad, please. We aren’t going to come out of this alive.”

“Shut up, Shannon. I thought I taught you to keep your damn mouth shut. Next time, I’ll make sure there’s a permanent reminder.” He pointed the gun at Ree, and in a misplaced moment of clarity, she found herself wondering why the people dancing around them hadn’t started to panic. “I can do this now and plant the gun on any of these people. They’re so caught up in Della’s web they wouldn’t know for sure that they hadn’t been the one to shoot you.”

“If you don’t stop pointing that gun at Ree, I’ll make sure you can’t ever point at anything again.” Paden’s muscles were tense, but there was something calm in his voice. He meant exactly what he was saying. Raising the gun quickly, Shannon’s father pulled the trigger. Paden spun so that Ree was facing his chest and his back was to the gun. She felt the bullets impact Paden’s body, causing him to jerk forward with each one. Screaming, the power rushed out of Ree and flung the dancers away from them. Paden stood still for a moment. A deadly gleam filled his eyes and then with a roar he was gone. Hands grabbed her as she stumbled, pulling her toward the corner table. Using the power, she pushed at the person holding her, attempting to get away.

“Ree, it’s me.” Roland jerked her back against his chest; one of her sleeves tore as she struggled. When Ree’s power touched them, the dancers from the floor seemed to have woken from whatever spell had been holding them, and they began to scatter in fear, knocking over tables and chairs as they ran. Some of them were screaming about a gun, others were screaming about knives, but Ree didn’t care. The only thing she cared about was getting back to Paden.

“Let me go! Paden! He shot Paden!” The power flared across the floor in a wave of angry energy. She pulled power from the ground under the club, and the tables and chairs along the walls began to shake and fall over.

“He’s fine, Ree. He’s fine.” Roland turned her face so she was looking in the right direction. Paden was standing over the limp body of Mr. Duncan. He looked back toward Ree, nodded at Roland, and moved to where Sophie and Weylin were fighting. Blood dripped from the holes in his jacket, but it didn’t seem to bother him at all.

Paden moved across the dance floor with a liquid grace she’d never seen. It was beautiful and terrible at the same time. Every Dark One that came at him fell in a broken heap. Diving at a Dark One in his way, Paden grabbed the man’s head and swiftly broke his neck before tearing apart one of the metal chairs. Turning, he shoved the chair leg in the fallen Dark One’s chest. Taking the rest of the chair, he flung it at the backs of the Dark Ones near the bar, knocking them over. Weylin and Sophie quickly dispatched the others and made their way across the floor, toward the rest of their group.

“Not bad.” Roland nodded his head at Paden as he came back to Ree. She launched herself into Paden’s arms.

“Not bad? I think that was pretty impressive.” Tristan’s voice rang through the club. Ree looked up to see her brother smiling down at them. Sitting on the railing, his feet dangling in the air, he looked relaxed, even amused. Flanking him were Shannon and Della. However, Shannon’s face was grim, where Della’s looked manically happy. Pushing off from the railing, Tristan dropped to the dance floor, landing crouched like a cat. “Of course, what else can you expect from the special godling? He always had an edge in everything, so why not in immortality, too?”

“What is wrong with you, Tristan? Why the hell did you do this to yourself?” Ree looked at her brother and tried to push down the bile in her throat.
Was this it? Was this going to be her chance to end this mess?

“I wanted to be the best, and now I am.” Holding his arms open, Tristan spun in a little circle as if to demonstrate. “I deserve the good stuff. Now I have power, money, and everything else I wanted. And after I kill you, I’ll even have a planet.” Shrugging, he looked at Ree with an almost sheepish expression. “Seems like a fair trade. Actually, I think I’m getting the better end of the deal.”

“What happened to you?” Ree stepped beside Paden, and Roland moved to her other side. “Why would you think this is better?”

“Well, because it
is
better. I can do whatever the hell I want, and no one cares. Well, except for you guys. Which is a real downer, you know?” Picking up a slim splinter from the broken chair, he used it to pick something out from under his fingernail. “You know what? You could always join me. Then we both win. What do you think, sis? Come to the dark side?”

Shaking her head, Ree stepped forward. “No, Tristan. Why don’t you come back to us? We can make you better.”

“I’m not sick, Ree.” Shaking his head, he threw the piece of metal on the ground. “I knew exactly what I was—” His words were cut off by the spear of power Ree shot at his chest. The fact that he had chosen all of this, that it hadn’t been forced on him, made Ree snap. The concentrated amount of energy was almost blinding as it flew across the room. Lightning-fast reflexes saved Tristan as he dodged to the side. The crackle of burning flesh sounded through the room as the energy sliced his arm, and he dove to the floor. The energy slammed into the stairs, exploding wood chips and metal with a large bang.