Broken: Hidden Book Two (23 page)

I went to Shanti, knelt in front of her and pulled her into my arms. “You are worth something. You are an amazing, smart, wonderful person. I can’t stand the thought of you being in danger. These are sick fucks we deal with, Shanti,” I said softly, pulling back so I could look at her face. “I hate even the idea of you being near them.”

“I know how they are. You rescued me from some of them, remember? I need to do this.” She watched me. “You can’t keep me hidden away forever.”

I shook my head, and my gaze landed on Brennan. She saw. “Ask him. My training is going really well. I came close to kicking his ass a few times,” Shanti said.

“She’s a good fighter. Disciplined, focused. She’s fast as hell, and she’s not bad with a blade, either,” he said.

“Whose side are you on, anyway?” I grumbled.

“Same person’s side I’m always on. But I’m not going to lie. She’s good.”

“Good against you. You’d never really hurt her,” I said. Then I sat in my chair. “How do we know how she’d do against someone who was really trying to kill her?” I sat there, thinking. Both Brennan and Shanti watched me. Then something occurred to me, and I sent a thought at Bash and Dahael.

We sat talking for a few more minutes, Shanti trying to convince me, Brennan being reasonable. I hated it. Hated even the thought of her exposing herself to the shit we saw every day. I could admit it: I wanted her to stay safe and happy and protected and innocent for as long as possible. Nevermind that she’d already seen more evil than most humans ever did. Nevermind that she was now one of the most feared types of beings in existence, trained by the best fighter I’d ever known. I just wanted her to be safe.

About ten minutes later, the buzzer sounded, and I stood up and went to the door. As I’d hoped, Levitt, the demon I’d let go at the gateway, stood there.

“I received your summons,” he said, bowing and thumping his fist to his chest.

“Thank you for coming. Please come in,” I said to him, and he nodded and walked into the loft. I saw him looking around, noticed Shanti and Brennan inspecting this new visitor. Brennan, of course, knew about Levitt, even if they hadn’t officially been introduced yet. And I’d been lax in getting to know this demon. Maybe I could kill two birds with one stone.

“Levitt, please meet Brennan,” I said. Levitt walked over to him, and the two men shook hands, Levitt bowing his head to Brennan with respect. Well done, I thought. “And this is Shanti,” I said, and he shook her hand and gave a small nod. I could sense Shanti, and she was nervous and confused.

I looked at them all. “Levitt, I asked you here today because I need a favor from you,” I said.

“Anything you ask, I will gladly do, my Lady,” he said, bowing again.

“Good. You are a formidable warrior. I’ve fought you myself, and remember what it was like.” He was silent, though he acknowledged the compliment with a small nod. I liked him, I decided, glad my initial impression of him still held. Nothing overblown, nothing cocky, though he was confident. This would do.

“Shanti wants to join the lost girl and lost boy patrols,” I said.

He studied Shanti. “She is a vampire,” he said. “Young.”

“Not much younger than you, demon,” Shanti said, and I could sense that she was irritated.

“Looks can be deceiving, vamp. I’ve got half a century under my belt.”

“In the Nether,” Shanti said, “Which hardly counts as real-world experience.”

“Think so?” he asked, raising his eyebrow at her.

“Great,” I said, breaking in. “Shanti wants to prove to me that she’s able to do this. Levitt, I want you to fight her. Pull no punches. Do not hold back.”

Shanti was looking at him with a feral, hungry look in her eyes. “Excellent,” she said. “Let’s go, demon. The sooner I finish you, the sooner I can get to work.”

I could feel amusement from him. “After you,” he said, waving her toward the open training floor of the loft. I watched as they squared off, bowed respectfully to each other. Brennan came up next to me at the edge of the training floor.

“Are you sure about this?” he asked quietly, putting his hand on my hip.

“Absolutely,” I murmured, watching as Shanti and Levitt began to circle one another. “Neither one of us could do this. He doesn’t know her well enough to care, but he will do what I ask.” We watched as they circled, waited for the first punch to be thrown.

Chapter Sixteen

After a few seconds of watching each other warily, of circling, of studying one another for weaknesses, Shanti ended up striking first. She hit out at Levitt with so much speed I could barely track her movements, hitting him with an uppercut, then a quick jab to his gut. I heard Levitt grunt, ready himself to throw a punch, but she beat him to it and bounced back, kicking him in the gut before he could land it.

I glanced over at Brennan, standing next to me with his arms crossed over his chest, watching. A small smile was on his lips, his attention fully focused on Shanti and Levitt. I felt for him. Pride. A bit of concern, but I had a feeling, at that point, that it wasn’t concern for Shanti.

I focused on the fight again. She was impossibly fast. Light on her feet, graceful. It was like watching a deadly ballet, mesmerizing and frightening all at the same time. It took Levitt a couple of minutes, and I realized that he was not so much getting his ass kicked (which was what it looked like) as picking up her rhythms, her stance. He was already bleeding, bruising, but when I sensed for him, there was nothing but calm.

Shanti was a boiling vat of emotion: anxiety, anger, concern. I knew her. She didn’t want to hurt Levitt, especially knowing how he’d served me. But she needed to prove herself. I had a moment of guilt for putting both of them in this situation, then shook it off. Sometimes, brutal solutions were the only ones you had. I was not willing to send Shanti out on patrol without knowing she could handle it. If she could handle herself against a demon who had survived the Pit, I had no reason to worry about her on the streets.

I’d worry anyway, of course.

Levitt found his bearings, started landing hits almost as often as Shanti did. The first few weren’t a big deal. Then he drew back and hit her with a hard punch that had blood flowing from her nose. I started moving before I knew what I was doing, but Bren grabbed me, held me back.

“You wanted to see what she’s made of, right?” he said quietly in my ear. “She’s almost as indestructible as you are. A nosebleed is not a big deal.”

I made myself relax, took a breath and nodded. “I had no idea she could do this.” The fight raged on, both of them landing punches and kicks with frightening speed and accuracy. I’d fought a vampire once, and barely survived. I’d survive better now, of course — I didn’t have full access to all of my powers back then. It’s not something I had any desire to do again.

“She took to her training beautifully. At first, she just wanted to know she could protect herself. And then she wanted to be able to put the hurt on. Just like her hero does.”

“I’m not a hero.”

“To her? Yes you are.”

I was silent in response, and he continued. “Anyway, she has been dedicated since the beginning. I don’t think there’s much more I can teach her. She likes swords, but I only know really basic shit with them. We might want to ask around.”

I was about to ask how useful sword knowledge really was, when I remembered what had happened to the vampire I’d fought with. Beheaded, with a sword. By Nain. Since beheading was one of the only sure ways to kill a vampire, it made sense for her to know it.

Brennan seemed to read my thoughts. “I’m pretty sure she’s going to specialize in bringing vampires to justice,” he said quietly.

I nodded, still watching. Levitt was beginning to tire, but Shanti was still hitting, kicking, dancing as if she could do this forever. I felt frustration from Levitt, respect for his opponent. She was tireless, merciless. Her fangs lengthened in her mouth, adrenaline and the scent of Levitt’s blood apparently affecting her. I was impressed with her focus.

After a few more minutes, she kicked out at him, and he fell. She was on him in an instant, rolling him over and pinning his arms behind his back, holding him down. He struggled against her, tried to get his bearings. Determined. He tried, and he failed.

After a few minutes of trying to find some way out of Shanti’s iron grip, he rested his forehead against the wood floor. “I yield,” he muttered, out of breath.

“Thank you,” Shanti said. Then she got up and held a hand out to him, pulling him up. He bowed in respect, and she bowed back. Then, he did something I would not have expected in a million years.

Levitt pulled up the sleeve of the blue shirt he was wearing, and offered his arm, wrist up, to Shanti. She looked at him, questioning, confused.

“You defeated me. It’s your right if you want, vamp,” he said, though there was more warmth in his tone than there had been before.

Shanti looked at me questioningly, and I gave a small shrug.

She was unsure. Worried. Tempted. Hungry. The fight had taken a lot of energy. I knew she worried about hurting people, still, even though she’d been around all of us for nearly six months now and had been good about managing her bloodlust. She was worried about losing control. Then I saw the moment she resolved to stay in control. She nodded, and took Levitt’s hand in hers, brought his wrist the rest of the way to her mouth.

She kept her eyes on Levitt, I knew, to gauge any signs of pain or fear. Then she breathed a few breaths against his skin, and sank her fangs into his wrist.

Levitt stood, quiet and calm, as she drank. I watched, knowing this was a defining moment for both of them, for all of us. Building trust, building bonds. I stayed in tune with Shanti, felt her become calmer, more peaceful, less hungry. After a few more moments, she withdrew from Levitt’s wrist, licking the puncture wounds to heal them. Levitt pulled his wrist back and nodded, and he and Shanti watched each other for a moment.

“That was so much better than bagged blood,” Shanti said, then immediately ducked her head, embarrassed. “I mean…yeah. Good fight, demon.”

Levitt grinned. “Good fight, vamp. I think you probably proved your point. Who the hell trained you to fight like that?”

Shanti smiled and nodded toward Brennan. “He taught me everything I know,” she said.

Brennan grinned. “I showed you what I know. I can’t take credit for vampire reflexes, though.”

“I don’t suppose you’re taking on new students?” Levitt asked, laughing.

“Anytime, man,” Brennan said. Then he looked at me. “So?”

They were all watching me. I could feel the expectation, impatience from Shanti. I still didn’t like this. Hated it, in fact. But she had proven, beyond a doubt, that she could handle herself. And who the hell was I to tell her she couldn’t do her part?

I nodded, slowly. “Okay. You win.” Shanti let out a little squeal, and clapped a couple of times. Levitt smiled, and Brennan walked up to her and they bumped fists, and then she pulled him into a hug, and he laughed.

“But,” I said, and all three of them turned to look at me. “You need a partner.” My gaze landed on Levitt. “Any chance you’re looking to join us officially?”

He looked dumbstruck. He stared at me, then glanced around the room. Shanti was watching him expectantly, and she laughed. “Duh. You’re surprised by this? Haven’t you already been helping?” Then she put it together. “Oh. Wait. You want him to be my partner?”

I nodded.

“Why not you? Or Brennan?”

“Because I never know when I’m going to be around, and because Brennan has seven million things going on already and when he does hunt, he insists on hunting with me.”

“Obviously,” Brennan murmured.

“And,” I went on, “because you want to take on the lost girl duties, and Levitt has already been doing it. The imps have been working with him. So if you’re determined to find lost girls, you and Levitt should work together.”

“You were letting him find them alone, though,” Shanti said. “Double standard much?”

“Levitt, awesome as he is, is not as near and dear to my heart as you are. It has nothing to do, especially now, with believing you’re weak or unable to do this.”

“Or because I’m a girl?” Shanti said.

I raised my eyebrows and gestured at myself. Brennan laughed. “I’m the last one on Earth or anywhere else who’s going to pull the ‘you’re just a girl’ card, Shanti.”

“I know. Sorry,” she said.

I sighed. “Look. I love you, you little pain in the ass. Humor me in this, all right? Work with Levitt and the imps.”

She nodded. “Okay. Um,” she glanced at Levitt. “You need to join the team now or I’m gonna kick your ass again.”

Brennan snorted and I bit back a smile. Levitt watched her with a bored look. “I was going to join anyway, vamp. It’s an honor that the Angel considers me worthy.” Then he looked at me. “Thank you.”

“Thank you for all of the hard work you’ve already put in, and for doing this tonight. You’re welcome to move in. We have an empty room. Lots of food, as long as you beat Stone to it.”

He stared at me. “Here? I could live here?”

“Yeah. I need to apologize to you. I should have asked you before this. The imps told me you were making do, but…” I shrugged. “I am sorry I let you go and then left you to fend for yourself.”