The Unmaking (The Rayne Whitmore Series Book 1) (34 page)

            The intensity in her gaze
is overwhelming and I realize that I’ve now begun to sweat. Zara lets down the
walls of our bond and a hurricane of emotions threaten to topple me. Her rage
at the Immortals tastes bitter on my tongue, her love for Sage is like a
tsunami, a desire to taste me is like a pin prick, her honesty strikes me like
lightning, her ambition like a blaze, burning my skin. I find myself shivering
from all the sensations. She let me see it all and because of that, I don’t
think I will be able to deny her.

            “Let me decide once Namen
is taken care of what I will do,” I tell her.

            “You, young protector will
make the right choice. Of that I’m sure. I will not bring it up again until you
are ready.” Then, she lifts my hand to her lips and kisses me gently before
walking away, hood pulled up. It feels like her kiss burned straight through
me, the feeling still lingering.

            I sigh deeply as I lean
back against the wall. What a freaking life I have.

            After I finally get Selene
undressed and in bed, I end up falling into a deep sleep. However, there is
nothing peaceful about this slumber. My first dream is of my family getting
murdered. I have that nightmare three times and each instance, I try to save
them, but am either too late or just too weak. My last dream, I’m chained and
beaten by the Immortals while Selene looks on, helpless. They laugh and mock
me, spit on me and leave me to die.

            Selene ends up having to
shake me awake from the nightmare, saying that I am calling for her in my
sleep. I end up grabbing her by the neck before I realize what I’m doing. Then,
she pulls me in close while I sob on her shoulder. Eventually, I’m able to tell
her about my dreams and about what I learned from Diana and Zara. Selene seems
just as surprised at the news as I was. Then, there’s something else in her
eyes, reflection. But, when I ask her what’s wrong, she doesn’t tell me. After
that, we drift back off into sleep, me praying that this time, my sleep is
sound.

Chapter Thirty

           
A
t long last, nightfall comes like a curtain falling on
our final act. We begin our last preparations for our hunt; all of us ready for
part one of our plan to slow Namen down. We all move with silent intensity as
we grab our items, a quick drink of water, or a quick glance at the plans.
During the preparations the excitement is obvious. Even I can taste it in the
air. The night has a sharp chill to it, colder than usual for this time of year.
I tug my black leather closer and zip it before strapping my weapon to my back.

            I’d always hated watching
movies where preternaturals were fighting with guns and such, but since nearly
all guns had become illegal or just absolutely way too expensive to afford, it
didn’t matter.

            It took one final mass
shooting at a large church to finally get legislation passed about four years
ago. There were four shooters. Three had gone through the building through
separate doors, and one waited outside to catch those who might have gotten
away. They ended up killing fifty people, men, women, and children alike.
Despite that, I wonder how easy it would be to just put one damn bullet into
Namen’s sorry head.

            I shake the thought away,
because there is no way he’d deserve to go that quick or easy. No, I want to
slice him open. I could do it too. That is a big difference in our crime rates
now as well. People, especially gang members for all their talk simply don’t
have to balls to stab someone or slit their throat in a turf war that had to be
fought up close. Most people just can’t stomach the feeling of piercing hard
into someone’s flesh. Lawrence had once said that guns were the tools of
cowards. I understood what he meant. Still, law enforcement and military carried
them. For a year, there was uproar and protests daily because normal citizens
felt like that government just wanted to be able to keep us under their boot
easier.

            “Does everyone know what
their job is?” Anubis asks, for the second time tonight. We all nod and finally
he seems assured. Anubis is dressed in a forest green tank top and black
basketball shorts, probably knowing that he may very well destroy them in the
fight. He looks every bit of a professional athlete in them too. Even if it was
ten degrees out rather than the fifty or so it is now, he is Wolf, he won’t
feel the bite of the cold. His long dreds are pulled back again into a ponytail
and his scar on his neck that is a testament of his survival makes him look
that much more deadly.

            This time, Zara has on a
plum colored sleeveless hoodie with a black shirt showing underneath and black
pants. She still has all of her jewelry on and looks as if she is going to a
concert and not a fight. That is, until she equips herself with throwing knives
and a blade.

             Selene has on a
lightweight, brown pea coat with dark jeans. Her silky black hair is done up in
a neat bun leaving the brown of her ombre showing. Her brown leather boots with
double straps click clack quietly on the bamboo floor. I laugh quietly at how
fashion conscious our group is.

            Jaxson is wearing something
that looks like black Under Armour and I have to admit that it hugs his muscles
deliciously. I appreciate good looking forms and he’s built like a brick wall.
Taryn even looks decent in her royal blue half shirt and jeans. I don’t pay
much attention to the other wolves with us.

            After a quick look around
at each other followed by a longer stretch of silence, Anubis gives the nod and
we all head out. Once we are five minutes away from our destination, we all get
out of our respective vehicles and begin our silent trek to the labs. Zara
takes one more look at us and then vanishes into the shadows of the night,
ready to take out as many cameras as she can. We have to follow quickly behind,
so we break off into our groups to go our separate ways with Selene coming with
Jaxson and me until she meets up with Zara again.

            Excitement plows through
my body, head to toe, filling me up with a high I’m sure no drug can match. My
intricate tribal looking tattoo magically given to me through Diana’s blood
also begins to tingle, revealing itself with a glow and I have to breathe
slowly to settle my power. Jaxson’s eyes are now rimmed with yellow as he feeds
off of my own enthusiasm. Selene too looks as if she’s eager to test her power.
When we reach the outer edge of the property, awareness surges, then I feel
Zara next to me. It catches the other two by surprise and I smile.

            “Are you ready,” she asks
all of us, looking back and forth. Her eyes are still a dark brown, but the
influence of her aura in the air tells me that she’s seconds away from becoming
a deadly assassin if needed. I have no doubt that Selene will be perfectly safe
in her care.

            “Let’s finish this
quickly. I’m ready.” Selene’s magic jumps off her body to send sparks through
the air as the electricity makes her hair nearly glow. She’s ready to use her
power alright.

            “Good,” Zara smiles, her
fangs dropping. Then, she looks at Jaxson and me. “I can feel heartbeats in
there, some are fainter than others. You need to go, now.”

            We don’t say anything
else, but Selene slightly caresses my hand and I hesitate for the briefest of
seconds to let her know that I love her. At last, Jaxson and I take off to make
our move. Our footsteps are light and just as we reach the front, he expertly
breaks the lock on the door with one hand.

            Jaxson is planning to stay
in his human form since we need to get in there quickly and catch them by
surprise. He still has the strength superior of a normal human and also has
equipped himself with two claw blades, one for each hand, as well as a dagger
hidden in his boot. He can’t carry much else if he indeed needs to change
because a large weapon could slice him up.

            I check the first set of
doors that we hit as he looks around for any hidden cameras. Inside, there’s
only a set of computers and a couple desks. The room itself has one large
window and a few encouraging educational posters still left on the wall. There
are no clues here that will help us find what we need. We move on in tandem,
silently scoping for cameras or other traps. The next hallway up ahead is
silent as well except for the noise of the broken blinking lights on the
ceiling.

            This hallway forks off
into two different areas. We decide to check them separately, but only until
they begin to run off into another zone. After that, we go through each zone
together. There are more computers, some of them still plugged in, but there is
nothing on them that is important. My guess is that they are in the process of
getting ready to be used. Jaxson and I decide to destroy them. We repeat the
same thing three more times going through three silent floors and still coming
up empty.

             We’re losing too much
time and I grow more frustrated with each room that we hit. My search again
comes up empty so I head back towards Jaxson. I’m about ready to tell him we
need to change our strategy. When I get beside him, I notice that he’s sniffing
the air followed by a low rumble in his throat.

            “What is it?” I whisper.

            “We’re getting close and
something’s not right,” he informs me, his head tilted to the side as if
hearing something that my ears will never pick up.

            “Okay, let’s get there
then,” I respond just as I mentally tell Zara to have Selene begin the spell.
It should take her at least two minutes to activate it correctly, and by that
time, we should be where we need to be.

            I push the next door open
slightly and that’s when I see the camera in the corner. It’s not a fixed one,
so we just time our movements with the movement of the camera and slide through
undetected. There are more fixed cameras up ahead and those, we break.

            Then, it strikes me like
bolt of lightning. The smell of death and decay. Of fear and urine and feces.

            The foul smell assaults my
nose. Jaxson growls again and I put a hand on his shoulder to quiet him. The
lamia are feeding right now, on a child. Maybe more than one; I don’t know.
What I do know is that I’m ready to kill them. These things will get no mercy
tonight.

            In that moment I think
about all the children who won’t be coming home tonight and all the parents who
can never know what happened to their babies. I feel their terror and their
cries for help as none came and I hate the cruelty that Namen represents. It is
my duty to end him, even at the cost of my own life. Namen Young is too much of
a threat to humanity itself and I won’t stand for it. There is no rush of anger
inside me at this fact. There is only a deadly resolve built up, fortifying my
intentions. I pull Katsu, my beautiful white blade, from her sheath and I swear
I can feel her cry for justice, for blood, for victory. Yes, she will bathe in
red tonight.

            Jaxson pushes through the
door first, ripping it from the hinges, and leaping left into the huddle of
demon filth as they feed on a young boy, his face twisted in utter terror,
insides torn apart. The lamia are covered in blood and other body parts. Their
human-like female faces all share the same look of surprise as he attacks with
the rage of a bull.

            It is easy to see how they
could pass for normal women aside from the fact that right now they have
shark-like teeth. Their hair color ranges from blonde to brunette, styled in
bobs and flat irons. There are also bits of flesh and blood in their hair and
face from their meal. I look on in disgust. Some of them with their snake-like
bodies manage to slither out the way, hissing. I wait one more second and
sprint through the door, slicing low at the ones whose backs are now turned
towards me. I cut two in half before I end up back to back with Jaxson.

            We fight in sync, me
ducking under with a slice as he leaps over me with a kick. We’re slashing
sending blood flying and creating a slippery mess of fluid and guts all over
the white tile. Out the corner of my eye I see some of the lamia attempt to get
away as the others try to surround us. I don’t know how many actually slip
through because, through the other door, Anubis and Taryn push them back
inside, both of them in their man-beast form, standing on hind legs, grabbing
and slashing with powerful paws.

            I do my best to break free
of one as it grabs me, trying to give me a paralytic bite. Taryn rips it free
of my shoulder, just as its teeth graze me and breaks its neck. Then, I slash
my katana, detaching its head. Without hesitation, we turn back around and
continue our assault just as the other two  wolves all in wolf form attack like
the hunters they are. The attack is so choreographed and precise that it can’t
be anything but pack instinct taking over these wolves. I don’t have long to appreciate
the beauty in the battle because two more lamia attack me at once.

            The lamia are surprisingly
fast as they slither at me, striking out with their tails as well as their
claws. I dodge, but trip over the dead boy and find myself on the ground covered
in all kinds of bodily fluids. Bile rises up in my throat and I have to push it
back down as one of the lamia manages to bite my leg. I hiss as I kick the
thing right in her mouth, shattering teeth. That gives me enough time to roll
away as Taryn again saves my ass by pulling me up. She gives me a look as if
telling me to get it together. I nod and then slice the lamia in half that’s
trying to sneak up behind her. She then gives me an amused smile at the favor
returned.