On The Prowl (16 page)

Simon smiled at her. “But, unlike me, you won’t keep going once your heart is gone.”

“Bend to break,”
the witch chanted. “My magic to—”

“
Shut the fuck up!”
Simon bellowed. Then he spun away from Rose and rushed toward the witch. “You think I’ll stop with you? I’ll go after your coven. Every single one. I’ll burn those witches to ash. Say one more word. Utter one more chant, and I’ll send my stone beast after them tonight.”

She stopped chanting.

“Should have fucking thought…” Simon tapped the blade against his forehead. “I locked her magic down so it couldn’t leave the cell, but you get enough creatures of power together…and you made a new circle, didn’t you? A circle with just enough juice to bend those metal straps that hold my vampire.” He laughed. “Clever, but the fun’s over. Utter another word and everyone you all care about—” His voice boomed. “Will suffer! I will give them such agony you can’t even dream about the hell they will face.” He laughed. “Your precious husband, witch? I will make him scream. He will bleed and scream and the pain will
not
end.”

The witch backed away from the bars of her cell.

“That’s fucking right.” He whirled from her cell and rushed toward the angel—the angel who retreated with a sharp cry.

Rose jerked against the straps. The metal didn’t feel as strong and she was sure she could break free, if she just tried hard enough.

“Got to have more…” Simon was snarling. “Because of the vamp…she made me weak…”

She’d wanted more than him weak. She’d wanted him dead.

He put his index finger to the keypad near the angel’s cell, scanning it, then he typed in a quick code. The cell sprang open.

“Leave her alone!” It was the muse who’d yelled. “You’ve hurt her enough! Just leave her
alone!
”

But he yanked the angel out of the cell. She fell to her knees and he lifted his knife. Her wings flew out, covering her.

And he stabbed them. Again and again.

“
No!”
The muse screamed. “Stop it!”

Every time that a feather fell from the angel’s body, a flare of bright light shot toward Simon, as if power were running straight to him. His chest stopped bleeding. The wound sealed up.

He kept stabbing the angel’s wings.

“
Stop it!”
Now the witch was screaming, too. “You’re killing her!”

Simon laughed. “That’s the point, isn’t it?” But he took a step back. The angel lay huddled on the floor. “I need all the power from her wings if I’m going to get my Helene back. An angel’s wings for magic. A muse’s eyes for inspiration. A witch’s lips for spells. And the undead’s heart for life.”

The strap on her left wrist snapped free.

Rose immediately grabbed for the metal straps that held her torso down. She would get free and he would
die.

“No one can stop me now.” He laughed and in a blink, he was at Rose’s side again. He grabbed her hands and jerked them over her head. Then he pinned her wrists there, holding her easily with just one hand. His strength was incredible. Terrifying.

And he’d gotten it from an angel’s wings?

How many feathers had he cut from the angel?

Simon leaned toward her. “Humans don’t have to stay weak. We can take your power.”

The wings…the feathers…that was how he’d been able to use a compulsion, one that hadn’t broken without her blood to dilute his power. And now he was super strong, amped up on the magic of those wings like an athlete on steroids.

“I’ll take that heart of yours,” he said. “Right now.” Only he wasn’t using his knife. He drove his right hand straight into her chest.

Rose screamed in agony as she felt his fingers against her heart.

The door crashed in. A panther roared.

“What the hell?” Simon yelled as he let her go and whirled to face the new threat. “Why didn’t my guards kill your ass? I
know
that was what I told them to do. Why is it so hard to find good help?” Her blood was on his fingers.

The panther roared again and leapt at him.

But when the beast hit him, Simon didn’t go down. He caught the panther, holding him tightly, and laughed once more. “Surprise!” Simon tossed the panther across the room, and the great cat’s body slammed into the wall, leaving a deep impression. “Guess who isn’t going to lose this battle?”

The panther jumped back to his feet just as a big, white wolf burst into the room.

“Two of you?” Simon taunted. “How is that fair?”

The panther and wolf both launched at him. They all went down, crashing onto the floor as fangs and claws flew out.

Rose heaved against the bands. She broke two of them and slid her body out of the others, hauling herself up to freedom. She jumped off the table just as Simon heaved the wolf off him.

But he didn’t escape from Julian. The panther locked his powerful jaws around Simon’s neck. He bent down and she knew—

Simon’s body jerked and went still.

She knew Julian had just severed the top of Simon’s spinal cord, the way he’d told her that his kind attacked. But after that terrible bite, the panther didn’t let Simon go. His head turned and his powerful teeth raked open Simon’s throat, sending a spray of blood into the air.

“
Please, please say the panther is with you.
” The witch called out. “I
need
you to say that right now, vamp.”

She took a step forward and pain burned through her chest. “He’s…with me. So is the wolf.”

And the wolf was rising right then. Stalking toward Simon and the panther but…

The panther swung his head toward Rose. She tried to smile at him, but it was hard considering she’d just nearly had her heart ripped out and Julian was covered in a dead man’s blood.

The muse yelled, “We need to
hurry
here! Get us out, now! We don’t have long before he’s back!”

Back?
No, not again.
No way. The guy’s head was barely attached to his body.

The panther’s bones began to pop and snap. The wolf was already shifting, too.

“Get us out!”
The muse jerked against her bars. “Hurry!”

Julian rose to his feet, once more in the form of a man. Rose ran to him, ignoring the blood on her, on him, and she threw herself against him. She held him tight, her body shuddering.

“I never,
ever
liked your plan,” he rasped.

She hugged him harder. “We found them.” She wouldn’t explain just how close she’d come to losing her heart, not right then.

“How the hell do I get the cells open?” Rayce’s voice blasted.

“You need his index finger…get the index finger from Simon’s right hand,” the witch yelled back. “And the code is 1031. Halloween…because the dick thought that was some kind of awesome joke.
But hurry, before he rises.
”

Julian stiffened. “Rises?”

Rose and Julian both whirled to look at Simon. He hadn’t moved. His body was still splayed on the blood covered floor and his head was—yes, um, barely there. He didn’t look like he was rising.

“He doesn’t have a heart,” Rose whispered. “He cut it out. I don’t…how did he even live without a heart?”

But Julian swore. “Fuck. Sounds like he made a deal with someone…”

A deal?

And then understanding dawned. Of course,
of course.
A human
must
have made a deal to keep living that way. Humans couldn’t work that kind of magic, not on their own.

But Luke Thorne would never make a deal with humans.

So that meant… “Where’s Leo?” Rose asked, her voice sharp.

The ceiling fell in on them. Just gave way as something—someone—came crashing through it. Julian grabbed Rose, yanking her out of the way of the falling debris and shielding her with his body. And Rayce—he covered the angel who was still on the floor.

Dust and wood, metal and stone—they kept tumbling down.

“
Where’s the angel?”
Leo’s bellow. Because it had been Leo who’d come crashing through that ceiling.

And if anyone had made a deal with Simon Lorne, Rose knew it must have been Leo.

Julian straightened. He and Rose turned to face the so-called Lord of the Light.

“This crap is why I said
hurry!”
The muse yanked against her bars. “Because trouble just keeps coming.”

Leo glanced around, not appearing even a little concerned that two women were still caged—and that a seemingly dead man was on the floor, with most of his neck gone.

Rayce rose. The angel looked at up at him. Tears were on her cheeks.

“Dammit, why are shifters
always
naked?” Leo waved his hand and jeans appeared on both Julian and Rayce.

Julian growled. “You bastard. You did this.”

Leo marched toward Rayce and the angel. “Gave you clothes? Yes, I did, you’re welcome.”

But Julian ran forward and grabbed Leo’s arm. He swung the guy to face him. “
You
made a deal with Simon. Didn’t you? You gave him some kind of power?”

“Get your hand off me. Panther, you don’t want to piss me off.”

“He had Rose on his table! Her blood was on his hands!
You came to me, saying that some being called the Collector was after her. You said I had to protect her. You said I had to find him and stop him…so you could get your angel back.” Fury shook each word.

Rayce moved closer to the angel. She hadn’t spoken. Her head was down. She seemed to be staring at the feathers on the floor around her.

“You said you couldn’t see the Collector’s location.” Julian’s voice thundered out. “That he was using magic to block you.”

“Maybe the witch was helping him,” Leo said flatly as he inclined his head toward the cells and the witch who watched the scene with wide eyes. “Now, last warning, let go of me.”

Julian didn’t let him go. “I think Simon may have been getting a lot of help—”

The witch immediately denied, “It wasn’t from me!” Then she shouted, “Assholes, will someone open the cell?
He will come back. He got too much power from her wings.
”

They needed to get out of those cells. Rose bounded to the body. She grabbed the fallen knife—the same knife that Simon had shoved into her chest—and she cut off his index finger. Then she ran to the witch’s cell. She used the finger and she typed in the code. The door opened with a click.

“Thank you,” the witch whispered. “I owe you.”

“Get out of here,” Rose said back. “You don’t owe me a damn thing. Get to your family.
Go.
”

The witch looked over at Simon’s body. “Fire.”

Fire?

“Burn that bastard to dust.”

Then she was rushing past Rose and heading through the open doorway.

“Uh, hello!” The muse’s voice rang out. “Don’t forget about me! Right here…a helpless muse. Not a bad girl, not really, just someone who
wants the hell out!
”

Rose hurried toward her cell. She used the finger and typed in the code as fast as she could. When the cell sprang open, the muse grabbed her and held tight. “I adore you. We are officially best friends forever.” The muse squeezed her hard enough to take the breath from Rose. “But now I’m gone. And you’ll never see me again.” She turned and ran away.

Rose dropped the finger. She backed away from the cells. Her gaze flew to Julian and Leo—they were still glaring at each other with a dark and twisted fury.

“You helped Simon, didn’t you?” Julian blasted. “You made some kind of deal with him. Did you give him power? Why? Why the hell would you ever do that? Why—”

Leo drove his fist into Julian’s jaw, but Julian didn’t let him go. Julian’s claws burst out and he raked them over Leo’s chest. Blood soaked the Lord of the Light.

Julian’s face had gone feral with rage. “
He was going to kill Rose! Why did you help him? Why did you lie to me? Why—”

“You told him about the wings.” The angel’s voice was quiet, soft, and sad as it cut through Julian’s roar. “I know that you did, Leo. You told him about the power in the wings. That the feathers can give life, can give strength, can give magic. Because there is no other form of pure power that can match an angel’s wings.”

Leo flinched. “Lila…”

“You made a deal with him.” Her breath whispered out. “You gave him feathers, didn’t you? My feathers. And he wanted more and more so he took
me.
”

Leo broke free of Julian and lunged toward her, but Rayce stepped into his path, blocking him before he could touch the angel. “It wasn’t like that.”

“Then what was it
like
?” Julian demanded. “Explain it to me because I just don’t get it.”

Rose risked a fast glance at Simon. Was it her imagination or was that terrible wound in his neck closing? “Julian…” The witch had said fire. And when she and Simon had gotten in that wreck, Simon had actually seemed panicked when he’d been trapped in the SUV. Because he’d feared burning? Flames
had
been erupting from the back of the vehicle.

Where the hell was fire when she needed it?

“His wife was murdered,” Leo said. “Killed by a shifter—sliced apart while Simon watched. He wanted justice. He begged for it every night and so I thought…I might give it to him.”

Rose rocked back on her heels.

“You made him your assassin,” Rayce said. His gaze darted to Julian, then away.

But Leo had turned to fully face Julian. “Not so different from my brother after all, am I? I got tired of waiting for Luke to deliver justice. I had a human who wanted vengeance—vengeance he deserved. So, yes, maybe I gave him a few feathers. You don’t send a lamb out to slaughter wolves without giving the lamb some weapons.”

“He wasn’t a lamb,” the angel whispered. “And you aren’t God. You don’t get to decide who lives and dies.”

Leo’s face hardened. “He went after monsters—killers who tortured, raped and abused. He put them down but…problems arose. He wanted a new deal.” He laughed. “I’m like Luke, and you Julian…you’re just like Simon.”

“No, he isn’t,” Rose snapped.

“Simon wanted his beloved Helene back. He would do
anything
to get her. Just like you, Julian. Weren’t you ready to do
anything
to get Rose back?”

Julian’s gaze jerked to her.

“Love,” Leo spat. “It can make everyone weak.”

Rose grabbed Julian’s hand. “Or it can make you stronger.”

But Leo shook his head. “I didn’t agree to that particular deal, but Simon had learned too much already. He thought he could bring Helene back on his own…I told him it would be impossible to get the things he needed for a spell of that magnitude—”

“But he got them,” the angel said, her voice a bit stronger. “He got
me.
I understand it all now.”

Leo stiffened. “I came for you. I
found
you, Lila. You can go back to your old life now.” He reached for her. “We’re leaving this place, and you’ll forget everything soon.”

“I’m not going anywhere with you.” She backed closer to Rayce.

Rayce growled. “You heard the lady.”

“No!” Leo shouted. “That isn’t part of the deal. The angel comes with me!” He glared at Rayce, then at Julian. “Panther, you want the deal we made finished, then you tell your wolf to back off. You want your
happy ending—
you give the angel to me now. If you make me fight you both, the deal is fucking
off.
”

The angel—Lila—grabbed Rayce’s arm. “I can’t go back. I feel too much…it will…it will break me.
I can’t go back to nothing.”
Her body shuddered. “Please, don’t send me back.”

Rayce’s face softened as he stared down at her.

“Wolf, you do not want to get in my way,” Leo warned. “This fight isn’t yours.”

Rayce’s head snapped up. He bared his teeth. “It is now.”

Rose’s gaze flew back to Simon. Her breath whooshed out. “He’s coming back!” While they were dicking around and talking, the guy was regenerating right in front of them. “Where the hell can we get fire?”

“Fire?” Julian repeated. “I’ll just take his fucking head. I won’t leave a damn tendon connecting him this time.”

And he leapt on Simon.

His claws flashed.

Simon’s body jerked once more. His head rolled.

Julian looked up, chest heaving. “Easy enough.” Blood dripped from his fingers.

Leo sidled next to Rose. “See what he is? Not even in panther form, but he’s still a beast. A monster.”

She bared her fangs. “So am I! Now get the hell out of here before you see just how evil
I
can be!”

Leo stiffened. “I was going to give your life back to you. That was the deal he made. The angel for you. I can make you human again. I can make you—”

“Keep your deal. I don’t want to be human. I want to be exactly what I am…” She straightened her shoulders and stood to her full height. “I’m the vampire in love with a beast. And you…you can go screw off.”

He blinked. “What? You—”

Rose heard the rush of the wind. She looked up and saw the dark shadow of wings…right before Luke Thorne flew through the hole that Leo had left in the ceiling.

Luke landed right beside his twin. His gaze raked the scene, taking in everyone and everything, including the body that was missing a head. “Did someone have a party…” he murmured, his sly smile flashing, “and forget to invite me?”

“Get Leo out of here,” Rose snapped at him. “He’s been helping that human over there—the one minus the head—your brother has been helping him take paranormals!”

“No,” Leo denied. “I never
helped
Simon take them! He took them against my wishes—he stopped following my orders because he wanted his wife back! Why can’t anyone ever just let go? Why can’t—”

“Love.” Luke had locked his hand over Leo’s shoulder. “That’s the shit you don’t get. You think you’re on the right side. Full of justice and might, but you don’t understand anything. And there’s about to be hell to pay for that crime.” His powerful wings stretched behind him. He was going to fly away, to take Leo—

And hopefully drop him in an ocean or volcano or someplace where they wouldn’t ever see him again. Only…

“Wait!” Rose yelled.

She felt Julian stiffen beside her. “You changed your mind,” he muttered and there was pain in his voice. “You…want the deal?”

Changed her…
“Never,” she promised him. Her gaze met his, held. “
Never.
”

The pain slid from his face.

“Uh, yes, I’m waiting, vamp,” Luke pointed out.

Her head whipped back toward him. “I need fire.” He could give her fire. “To kill Simon…” She pointed to the body. “I have to use fire.”

Luke’s brows climbed. “He looks pretty dead to me.”

“He isn’t!” Her breath heaved out. “He’s been using angel wings to gain supernatural power. He’s going to come back. I need to burn him—”

“To ash,” Luke nodded. “Yes, you do…especially if he’s been powering up on angel wings.” He cast a pitying glance toward the angel. “Guessing my brother screwed you over, huh? Maybe Team Dark isn’t looking so bad right now.”

“Luke…” Julian growled.

He pointed at Rose. “Grab a board.”

She bent down and picked up one of the boards that had broken down from the ceiling.

Luke snapped the fingers on his left hand.

Fire ignited on the end of her board, turning it into a torch.

“I could have just lit him up,” Luke said as his gaze met hers. “But there are some things you like to do yourself, am I right?”

Yes, there were.

Her chest seemed to ache—her heart seemed to burn—as she walked toward Simon. She touched the torch to his shirt. His pants. The fire flared.

He burned.

The wind whipped as Luke flew up into the air, taking Leo away with him. And the whipping wind made the fire burn even faster, as if Luke had intentionally meant to stoke the flames.

Maybe he had.

Rayce picked the angel up into his arms and carried her out.

Rose stood right there, not moving until she was sure that Simon was gone. She wasn’t going to look over her shoulder, always worried that he would reappear.

He was one monster that she
would
end.

When he was ash, she finally turned away from him. The torch still blazed in her hand even though the flames should have gone out long ago. Probably another bit of magic from Luke. When it came to fire, Luke always had total control.

Still holding that torch, Rose made her way outside. Julian followed right behind her, not saying a word. When she stepped outside, she realized the day had turned to night. Stars glittered overhead. They were so bright in the darkness.

She didn’t see Rayce or the angel. And there was no sign of the witch or the muse. Everyone had vanished. She didn’t blame them. She wanted to get away from that scene and forget the nightmare in the Everglades, too.

“You could’ve…had your life back.”

“I like the life I have.”

“You
hate
drinking blood.”

“Not your blood.” She loved the connection she felt when she bit him.

His face was tormented in the torch light. “You never wanted this. You never wanted—”

“I wanted you.” There would be no more hiding. Not from him and not from herself. “I wanted you from the first moment I saw you, and yes, after my change, I was scared…but I still wanted you. I used to dream about you at night. I ached for you.” She swallowed. “And I loved you.” No, not
loved.
“I love you. I love you, Julian.”

He didn’t move. Why wasn’t he moving?

“Ah, right, excuse me,” Luke suddenly said as he stepped from the shadows. The guy had come back far faster than she’d expected. Luckily, Luke appeared to have returned alone. She didn’t see Leo.

The torch jerked in her hand.

“I hate to interrupt sentimental moments, but we need to seal the deal.”

Deal.
She was coming to hate that word.

“Burn the building down, Rose. I’ll make sure the fire doesn’t spread from the scene. End this now.”

She looked back at the building. And then she went forward, touching the torch to different spots of wood. Flames flickered. They grew. They spread.

She turned back to see Luke standing right beside Julian.

“You know what he is?” Luke asked her carefully.

She did. “The man I love.”