Bozena and Sveta (Neuripra) (21 page)

Blurring through the mist, parting it with the current pummeling before us, we swoop in and violently apprehend the attackers, taking them down in three moves.

Looking at Sveta, my hopes sag.
We need Venix. Asap. Or this boy won't live another ten minutes.

A smudge of demonfire lights up the passage behind me, alarming me to hell and back, watching my superior fly into the night with Božena.

Fuck! You can't leave these screw ups without babysitters for two seconds.

Glaring at Akae, I snap, “I'll go get Venix. You keep those two bastards under. There will be a trial for what they've done.”

Turning, I vanish into the mist, out into the night spitting lightning with the fury of a very angry god.

Chapter 24

The Murderer:

The pack has her cornered. She isn't a city dweller, the roads scare her, the traffic terrifying, but still she flees.

Running through the night, she leaves a bloody trail, which is piss easy for any vampyre to track.

Laughing, I punch my fist into the air, “Get her boys!”

I have her taste on my tongue and have no clue how she evaded me back there. She won't be so lucky the second time.

*

Sveta:

“I know we're the best trackers in the world, but how can we track something if we don't have its scent? We need a starting point to find the fucker,” snaps Zauran.

Kneading my forehead with my fingertips, I try and concentrate.

I must have fallen asleep during the meeting. Jeez I have a headache and a half pounding a drum in my skull. Then recollection torrents through me and I sit up with a start.

Venix pushes me back down with a firm hand, “Easy boy. You've been through the gauntlet tonight, take it slow.”

Before I can speak, he nudges his head behind him, “Jowendrhan and Darise will be held for questioning.”

Zauran appears behind Venix, looking down at me, “Venix healed you. And you thought I fucked you up, these two made me look like a pansy stopping to sniff the flowers.”

He cocks his head, long black hair hitting his eyelashes when he gives me a goofy smile, trying to act like everything's cool.

He gives me a brotherly wink, “What they don't know is I installed cameras and mic's when the attacks started. We got it all on CD, which we've reviewed. We have hard evidence you said you wouldn't fight them, and we have the evidence that you didn't lift a finger to defend yourself. We also have you urging them to help Zena, which they chose to ignore.”

His expressions galvanizes, “They are going down for a long time. They'll never set foot in Serbia or Pravus again.”

I look at Venix, wondering what strings he's going to pull to get his golden boy out of this one.

“Božena?” I ask, my breath hitching painfully in my chest.

“
She's fine,” Venix reassures, patting my shoulder like a patronizing buddy.

“
Where is she? Can I see her?” I try to sit up again but Venix keeps me down with a blast of fire into my chest.

I'm not sure if it's the fire or the thought of Zena, but my heart squeezes so tight the spasm echoes a sharp pain across my muscles.

“She left. She went home. She's fine,” he reiterates.

Zauran indicates the sea of faces behind him, “Grab a drink, we still have a killer to catch.”

I glower at my warden until he removes the offending hand and leaves me alone to sit up. Taking the freedom, I get up, walking to the back and ransacking the bar.

Kidnapping a bottle of Absolut, I uncap it and take a long pull. So she's fine, and she left, and fuck me.

She didn't even stick around to see if I lived or died.

Nice. Real smooth Zena.

Fuck, how did I get your number so wrong?

*

Božena:

Hot fingers caress down my face, my arm, leaving me cold when it moves to my head, repeating the motion.

Opening my eyes, I stare into blue hollows.

“
Arsay?” I mumble, my tongue feeling thick and dry.

“
You're okay, sweetheart.”

“
Where's Sveta?”

“
The boys are looking after him.”

I peg straight up, “That's what I'm afraid of!”

Laughing, he pulls me to his enormously wide chest, arms like boa constrictors closing me in, “Not those boys. My boys. Akae and Zarak.”

“
Oh,” I sag with relief.

“
Is he okay?”

“
He's fine.”

Pulling out of his grip, I stretch my legs, looking at my arms and legs. My jeans are stained with dark patches.

“About that,” he says, indicating my clothing with a flick of his hand. “You're never doing that again.”

I swallow, inching away, nerves tingling my arms and numbing my fingers.

“You may notice you are no longer looking like a voodoo doll stuck with pins,” he continues.

“
And I'm supposed to say thank you?” I say, annoyed.

Why the fuck does everyone keep saving me when I want to be left alone to die in peace. I'm done with this sucky planet. I'm sick of the term love and the way it's used as an excuse to destroy people who have done nothing wrong. I'm just a pawn sent out onto the emotional battlefield year after year, and every time I stick my head out it gets chopped off.

His eyes ignite and the room swirls into a bright mist, whirling around and around, nausea jumping up to slap bile into my mouth.

“
Come with me,” he summons, lifting me, my body feeling like a bubble of helium.

I'm taken to see what I missed, reliving the attack on Sveta, as I would have if I hadn't left the room.

Sobbing at what they do, my heart ruptures, red plyx puffing out in a blinding smoke, veiling the world, hazing my sweetheart.

“
Get your facts straight next time. You two have to be honest and face each other. No more running away from life. When you hurt - you talk about it, you don't run off to damage yourself.” His big hands frame my face, forcing me to fall into his endless eyes.

“
Božena, you have to snap out of this victim mindset. When someone hurts you, you don't compound the wound by inflicting more. Stop pitying yourself and own your emotions. You can't run, there's nowhere
to
run, and the afterlife has closed its doors to you. You don't get to die until it's your time, and now is not that time. I am here to prevent you from that escape, I am everywhere, and we love you.”

“
What?” I mumble, struggling against the magnetic pull of his eyes.

“
We love you and we won't accept you home until you've done what you came here to do. You don't understand this, but you have a very real role to play on earth. It just takes one person to find the strength, and it ripples into the ether, touching lives just like yours. You have to overcome the damage. You have to trust, heal, grow, overcome. You have to change your mind and move away from being a victim and misguided martyr, and live, laugh, and that means daring to fall in love and giving yourself in trust to another. He's here, he's ready and willing to help you. Cut yourself again and I'm just going to keep coming back from the ether to heal you. The last sacrifice has already played its part. The world doesn't need more martyrs, it needs compassion. That starts with you loving yourself. When you love yourself, he will follow your lead and love you more than that.”

“
Who?”

“
We've run out of time. I have to go.”

He leans close, placing a kiss on my forehead,

“I love you,” he says, washing the sensation into me in a tidal wave of euphoria.

When he leaves my side, I'm so cosy and comfortable it's a struggle to think, to hold my eyelids up.

I am unaware of falling asleep.

*

Sveta:

I look resolutely back at the last two, downing the shot of tequila and standing up.

“I have to go before I'm too drunk to get home,” I announce, again.

Aisyx laughs, punting his knuckles against mine, “Stop getting your ass kicked. Enough drama for one day.”

I arch both eyebrows, no witty comeback appearing in my head.

I'm tired. Fucking tired.

I slap Zauran's shoulder. “See ya.”

He raises his glass in salute, “Cheers.”

Rubbing my chin, I collect my jacket, too pissed to care about my broken heart any longer. Shrugging it on and zipping it up, I amble to the doors, noting the clock at the doors reads 3:33 a.m.

That time again. Pausing, I stare at the illuminated display, trying to calculate the odds. Zarak sticks his head out of the office, staring down the dim passage at me.

“You okay?”

“
Yup,” I raise my hand in farewell, shoving my shoulder into the door and stumbling into the crisp wet night.

It smells so fresh and clean, it should feel good, invigorating, but I have a pain lodged in my chest that refuses to budge.

Rattling down the stairs, taking the four steps to my sweetheart, I wipe pooled water off the seat of the Ghost, straddling her, pausing to caress her custom paintwork.

“
You'll never leave me, will you baby?”

Leaning down, I kiss the gas tank.

This is my girl.

With my hand on the throttle, ready to fire up the bike, my boot resting on coarse gravel in the dark shadows beside Pravus, a sensation dances down my spine, snapping fingers next to my ear and creeping plyx around my nape.

Pausing in my movement, running an agitated hand through my cropped hair, I inhale instinctively.

Immediately my vision switches to neuri, burning my eyes with the brilliant glow of maple syrup.

I'm a chestnut redhead and my plyx is fiery, it masks the world with my energy so I survey it with intuition and instinct.

Footfalls clap on stone.

Twisting my torso, I look behind me, the vision slamming a fist into my heart.

Frozen, I watch long legs stretch and tense on heeled boots, dragging my gaze up her incredible body to perfect hips, a tight waist, a voluptuous swell...

Long wavy blond hair flags behind her in her haste, her lips parted with urgent breath, so perfect, so sexy, her eyes so very green, long lashes blink and they are glossed with fresh tears.

She is female bling.

I want it.

Blinking to hide my neuri fire, I set the stand back down, raising from the bike and pulling a glove off with my teeth, already striding toward the damsel in obvious distress.

My movement draws her focus and she reaches hands to me, and I want her to run.

Run to tata, let me catch you and disappear into the night with you. Let's forget Zena and make sweet passionate love until the sun comes up.

“Oh God! Please help me!”

That's all the encouragement I need, breaking into a run.

I'm coming.

She stumbles weakly, catching her fall with a hand on the side of Zauran's car, and I finally notice the blood dripping from her fingers.

Blurring into true speed, I catch her before she falls, lifting her up, inhaling the redolence of someone truly unique.

“
I've got you,” I reassure her.

Staring into her glazing eyes, I'm shocked by what I see there. A bloody hand plants on my heart, burning into my skin with power, marking my naked chest with her vitality.

It's another crimson shock to the heart, and I'm beginning to feel like I need a kevlar vest. I should have zipped up all the way, too late now.

“
Who are you? What happened?” I ask the strangeling.

“
Ch...”

She slumps in my arms, her words lost to the mercy of unconsciousness.

I check her heartbeat and breathing. Then I focus on the trees. Darkness tightens its cloak around us and I spy the shadows advancing fast.

The others are here, and I'm holding the one they hunt.

There's not a second to spare. Instantly sober and lucid, I bolt for the stairs, yelling through the ether for the demons and neuri still inside.

Telepathically drumming the panic button, calling all men to defend, to snare the fucker right here.

Blasting through the red doors, I dump her into Aisyx's arms, yelling, “Zarak! Akae! He's here!”

Zauran bolts past me, ripping his shirt off, rushing outdoors in neuri form, an alpha on the hunt for the scent, ready to defend his territory.

I'm an alpha too!

Frantically unzipping my jacket, I hurl it, morphing into neuri form while I run.

Backup's coming Zauran!

Flying into the night with my neuri vision, my body immovable in strength, I have a bad feeling I'm about to have my ass handed to me for the third time today.