Dark Cravings (18 page)

“The information will cost you,” Castro said.

Micah eyed the demon. “A favor?”

Castro held Micah’s gaze. “Of my choice, no questions asked.”

“Micah, no,” I said.

With a quick shake of his head, Micah held out his hand. “Deal.”

Castro beamed. “A demon prophecy foretells of a Vampire
Queen and a Demon Son who will harness the power that leads to total
destruction.”

Great. “We are going to end the world? I thought we were
just going to kill each other.”

“The thing about prophecies is that they are a matter of
interpretation. It tells of total destruction, but of what race? The human
race, the demon race or the vampires? Since you’re both half human and half the
other, it could go either way. It is possible the total destruction the
prophecy speaks of has nothing to do with any race—it could be a person. Or a
place.”

Castro rose and his movements were so fluid it almost looked
like he floated out of the chair. Creepy. He paused at the door and I watched
the smoke billow around him to create a moving shroud. The smoke reminded me of
the fog that had surrounded Guinevere in the cemetery. Maybe it was a family
trait.

“One more bit of advice before I go. Lizbeth is cruel and
ruthless. She will stop at nothing to eliminate any threat to her kingdom. Keep
those you love close at your side.”

Maybe it was the way Castro said it or maybe the demon lord
had decided to put a little extra emotion into his warning, but I had a
horrible premonition.
Keep those you love close at your side.

The damp air had swelled the door, so Castro’s smooth, quiet
exit was ruined when he had to slam the door shut behind him. I looked at Micah
and found him staring at me with the same wary sense of unease I felt myself.

“Wanna go kick some ass?” I asked.

Micah’s eyes softened. His smile was just as tender. “Does a
bear shit in the woods?”

“Jackass.” I grinned.

“You know you love me.”

And I did.

Howling winds ripped through the night. Across the blackened
sky, gloomy thunderheads towered. A cloud passed in front of the full moon and
the forest dipped in and out of shadows. I looked over at Micah, at the way his
body moved, at the way the air around him bent and shifted. Magnificent. And he
was all mine.

I was still processing everything Castro had told us and how
Roy had reacted when I’d relayed the information via cell phone. I’d been
assured that Eli wouldn’t let Hannah out of his sight and that the best thing
Micah and I could do was keep up with nightly patrols, to help keep the
casualties to a minimum. Even though Castro said the bonding was irreversible,
Roy was still hopeful of finding a way to give Micah and me some freedom. Until
further notice, I was officially Micah’s roommate.

A flash of lightning forked across the sky. The rain had
taken a recess, but the break wasn’t going to last long. Seconds later, a
rolling wave of thunder shook the ground. I drew air into my lungs, tasted the
fear and excitement riding the wind. My skin tightened and my heart began
beating just a little bit faster. I didn’t know how I knew, but some instinct
inside me said Julian was near.

“I think Julian is close, watch your back.”

“It isn’t my back I’m worried about.”

I turned to Micah and pushed the stray strands of hair from
my ponytail out of my face. From shadow to shadow, Micah surveyed the trees.

“You’re worried about me. I’m touched.”

“I don’t like this. Something is off, I can smell it.” Micah
cast a wary eye to the sky. “And what the fuck is up with this storm? If I
wanted to live in the rain, I would have moved to Seattle.”

As he spoke, the wind danced through his hair. The smell of
rain hit me before the first heavy drop landed on my shoulder. In a matter of
seconds, the ground was drenched.

The black thermal Micah wore clung to his muscles. Mud
splattered the front of his boots and speckled his jeans. He stalked over twigs
and branches, a silent shadow at my side. This was the first time since the
attack that we’d gone on a hunt together.

Well, strictly speaking, this wasn’t a hunt. We weren’t
hunters anymore. This was, what had Micah called it? Freelance.

“I’ve been thinking,” Micah said.

“That can’t be good.”

“Who is faster? Me or you?”

“Me.” Obviously.

Micah grinned and tugged my ponytail. “Care to place a wager
on that?”

I laughed. “Bring it on, pretty boy.”

“Oh, you’re going to pay for that.”

“You have to catch me first.” Then I was gone.

Micah sprinted after me. He danced through a thicket of
trees to my right. Another cloud passed in front of the moon and, just like
that, Micah vanished into the night. I ran faster, my laughter trailing behind
me. Twigs snapped in the distance and a tantalizing wisp of Micah’s blood
reached my nose. He must have scratched himself. The sound of his breathing
carried on the wind, a whisper tickling my skin. Our feet pounded the earth,
echoed the fervent beat of our hearts.

Through a gap in the trees, I watched Micah dart over fallen
trees and bushes. I smelled something primal. The scent was man, beast and
indescribable. We weren’t alone.

“On your left,” I shouted.

I veered in his direction and closed in on the chase. We ran
faster, pursued something I couldn’t see, deeper into the woods. The clearing
closed, narrowed into a grove of trees I knew would end the hunt. I had been
patrolling these woods that bordered the cemetery almost my entire life. When I
got there, Micah was crouched, knee pressed into the mud and his gun at the
ready. I skidded to a stop beside him, the blade I’d had holstered in my boot
now in my hand.

I stopped, drew in a deep breath and stared at the naked man
before us.

“Are you hurt?” I asked. Okay, that was a stupid question.

Rivulets of watered-down blood ran from the deep gashes on
the man’s arms and back. His tangled hair fell across his eyes. The
anticipation shining in his face told me this man was not here by accident. The
rich, coppery tang of blood was thick, like something I could touch. His blood
carried the pungent musk I’d learned meant demon. There was something else
there too, something feral. Animal. “My mistress wishes your death, vampire,”
he snarled at me.

I watched as he tipped his jaw back until his sight aligned
with the moon. I should have made my move, but the glimmering sparkle gathering
in the air transfixed me. A deep breath flared the stranger’s nostrils and
swelled his muscular chest. Without warning, his jaw snapped apart in a
sickening pop of bone. A deep yowl tore from his throat and he dropped to the
muddy ground.

Saliva dripped. The mangled remains of a human mouth
elongated. His skin peeled, falling in long strips to the ground. The creature
clawed at the earth. I looked over at Micah to gauge his reaction. He was as
transfixed as I was. A fucking werewolf. The she-bitch had hired a werewolf.

The shadows of wavering branches mostly concealed the
werewolf’s ghastly transformation. I was glad for the visual reprieve. The moon
slid out from behind hazy, dark clouds and bathed the forest in a pale light. A
beast with yellow eyes and a long, tawny muzzle now stood, shaking his head
from side to side. Snarling, the werewolf pawed at the wet earth, anxious for
his kill.

Three feral vampires emerged from the trees surrounding us,
each with glowing red eyes. Micah looked at me and grinned. The gun in his hand
jerked and the bullet exploded with a pop and a flash. I didn’t wait for the
wolf’s body to hit the ground before I took off in a run. I felt Micah right
behind me. The vampires hissed, followed and the chase was on. It took only a
minute before the large, ancient tombstones came into view. The moment I
crossed into the open space of the graveyard, I stopped and assumed a fighting
stance.

One by one, the vampires slunk from the woods. Along the
way, they’d picked up two more. The air sizzled around me and my heart began to
pound. I sensed another two vampires advancing from the back. Altogether, there
were seven vampires. No problem. I glanced at Micah and knew what to do. We
didn’t need any discussion.

He stepped to the right, drawing some of our prey off to the
side. When Micah fished a dark, mahogany stake from his pocket instead of the
gun he preferred, I gave him a raised eyebrow.

Micah shrugged from across the graveyard. “I need to work
off some aggression.”

“You’re going to get messy.” I couldn’t wait to see it.

“Tell you what,” Micah shouted. “I’ll wash your back if you
wash mine!”

His long strides quickened into a run. He rounded back on
the first vamp and struck out with a closed fist. The vampire staggered. Micah
had the opening he needed to finish the kill. I caught a glimpse of his stake
and then, with a practiced ease, Micah shoved the weapon through the thick
muscle and bone of the vampire’s chest. Turning through the ash, Micah met my
gaze. The predator, the demon inside him, stared back at me.

The fight was on.

Five vampires circled around me, while the remaining one
drew Micah away from the fight. As a group, they snarled and every heavy pant
told me exactly where they were. I pulled out a stake. Adrenaline surged
through me. My heart raced. I felt alive, exhilarated. My fist tightened then
relaxed around the wood. The weight of my weapon was familiar, comforting. The
night pressed into me and everything just vanished. By the time the first vampire
attacked, the blueprint of his assault was already in my mind.

Dust exploded in a cloud and, like Micah, I made quick work
of the first vampire. My hand was slick from the onslaught of rain. I had to
readjust my hold on my stake when I did a back somersault. Just as I landed, a
clawed hand grabbed a fist full of my hair.

“So, you’re Julian’s whore,” the vampire hissed.

His hand yanked. The wet, rain-drenched grass squished under
me when I landed. I rolled to the side and dodged the fist aimed at my face.

“Your first mistake was thinking I was anyone’s whore. Your
second was only bringing seven vampires and a werewolf.”

Flipping up, I kicked my leg out hard enough to send the
advancing vampire back. While he was still flailing his arms for balance, I advanced
and plunged my stake through his chest. Through the ash, I caught sight of a
heavy black boot aimed at my head. My reflexes kicked in. I caught the vampire’s
ankle just before he could make contact. I twisted. The wet, cracking sound of
things tearing gave me a little twinge of satisfaction. The leg in my hand went
limp.

I flipped back and forth, dodging one blow after the other.
There were little whizzing sounds of movement that came at me from all sides.
In the distance, I heard the reassuring rap, rap of fist against flesh and I
knew Micah was still holding his own. He sure was taking his sweet-ass time
about it, though. I leapt into the air just as the vampires in front and back
charged me. They crashed head first into each other.

I flipped out a Silverstone knife from my wrist sheath. With
a weapon in each hand, I attacked first one vampire and then the other until
they were nothing but dust. Victory surged through me, made each whip of hair
against my skin feel like tiny sparks of electricity. I circled the remaining
vampire.

I twisted to the side and threw all my weight to the left. I
glided into a side flip that positioned my enemy behind me. I brought my knee up,
grabbed the vampire’s shoulders and forced its lower spine into my leg.
Crack.
The bloodsucker roared. I plunged my stake into flesh.

Micah’s deep chuckle made me smile. “Show-off.”

The body beneath me evaporated and I sank down until I was
kneeling on the hard, countersank headstone of one beloved Martha Dupree.

Something snarled. I spun to the noise and took a defensive
crouch while I regained my breath. Something foul carried in on the rain and
the scent invaded my mouth. The thick awfulness on the back of my tongue was
what rotted flesh must taste like.

“What in the fuck is that?” Micah asked.

He used his stake as a pointing device.

Two demons emerged from behind a crypt and I had to crane my
head back to take in their full nine-foot height. Slowly I got to my feet. Even
from this distance, their violet-tinged skin was wrinkled and sagging. That
wasn’t my concern. Snarling in front of them was a razor-backed beast, barely
restrained by a thick chain around its neck. It scratched long, clawed paws
into the earth. The thing was as large as what I imagined Dante would be like
in cat form.

“Stay back, Micah,” I said and stepped in front of him. I
pulled out a Brimstone blade.

“We were doing so good, let’s not ruin it now.” He took up a
stance on my right.

The demons started to chant and an ancient power washed over
me. Micah and I exchanged a wary glance. Their words whispered through the
night and raised goose bumps on my skin. The energy in the air shifted.
Crackled. Lightning struck the ground just to my left. In the next moment, the
demons released the great beast.

“How much money did Castro say the bounty was worth?” I
asked.

“Extravagant.”

“Maybe we should have just stayed in and ordered a movie.”

With only a second to brace myself, I shoved Micah out of
the way an instant before the gigantic animal jumped and flew through the air
as if it weighed nothing. Bared teeth dripped something awful into my hair as
the demonic animal sailed overhead and landed where we’d just been.

I slashed my weapon at its head. The beast opened its mouth
and caught the Brimstone blade mid-swing. The creature shook its head, ripping
the knife from my hand. Powerful jaws worked. Metal crunched. The beast dropped
what remained of my great-grandfather’s blade to the ground and blinked
blood-red eyes at me.

“Shit,” Micah said.

I sized the thing up and tried to work out a plan. Jumping
on its back was out. Razor spikes fanned out from the thick hide and god only
knew what poison lay in them. The thing raised its head, roared. When it huffed
at us, smoke curled out from wide nostrils.

Micah pointed. “Under the throat.”

The beast circled, closing in and forcing Micah and me back
to back.

“I have a plan,” I whispered.

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

I somersaulted and landed past the creature’s circle, flat
on my back. The thing turned and jumped. Just before the beast landed on my chest,
I whipped out my remaining Brimstone blade.

I used the animal’s momentum against it. As it came down on
me, I shoved the knife in my hand up, through the throat. My grunt mixed with
the beast’s pitiful howl.

Hot, sticky blood poured from the dying monster. Rancid. I’d
finally found a cure for bloodlust. My arms trembled and I pushed the dead
weight off me. I stood, shook my hands and watched black, gooey blood splatter
to the ground and sizzle in the rain.

“That was your plan?” Micah asked with a shake of his head.

“Part of it. You know me. I take the hands-on approach.”

Micah’s nose twitched when I got near. “You smell horrible.”

“Kiss my ass.”

I yanked the chain free from around the dead beast’s neck.
The metal was thick and heavy. Perfect. I wrapped the chain around my hand and
wrist until I had a firm grip.

I swung the chain back and forth. With each pass, a
whooshing sound crisscrossed through the air and sent a spray of rain off the
metal links. I felt my grin, unfriendly and cold, widen as I approached the
demons. Micah hung back, probably waiting to see phase two of my plan.

Only a few feet separated me from my enemy. This close, I
could clearly see the rotting, sagging lines. Two sets of red eyes glowed in
anger. I decided to go for the one on the right. The demon wheezed and blew out
a stream of air that smelled like the rotting blood all over me.