Passion Ignited (21 page)

****

“No one thought to tell us when she
miraculously just
woke up
from being dead?”

Raider shot Ash a quick look before answering
Ferox. “You knew practically as soon as we did. She woke up and
attacked. It all felt like seconds before she’d
disappeared.”

“And what do you plan to do about this?” Ferox
asked.

“I’m going after her.”

“We
are,” Ash corrected.

“Raider, you said yourself that she was
infected by the demon who bit her last night. Now she’s bitten you.
I don’t think we can risk you going out there. You need to be
monitored,” Raine said. “If she attacked you, she’s too
dangerous.”

Raider thought of the burn that spread through
his veins when Nitro bit him, but he couldn’t let that stop him
from trying to reach her. “With all due respect, I feel fine. If I
feel anything change, I’ll come back immediately. Hell, I’ll let
you lock me up if it makes you feel better, but you have to give me
a chance to find her. If you think she’s too risky for me, just
think about all the damage she could do out there. No matter which
way you look at it, it’s better that I find her.”

Ethan, Blaze, and Ash all glanced at each
other, making eye contact with the different warriors who were
standing in the foyer. No one had contacted Draven yet, so only the
Guardians who currently resided at the mansion were in attendance.
Finally all eyes rested on Ferox, as the decision was ultimately
his to make.

“Go after her,” he said. “But if she’s a
danger, you
will
kill her. I don’t give a fuck if she is one
of our warriors. From what you just told me, she’s a huge threat to
both us and our humans. But you’re going alone.”

His brothers chimed in then, none of them
agreeing with their leader’s call.

“Sorry, Ferox. But I’m going too,” Blaze
said.

“I am too. She’s my sister.”

Ferox looked like he wanted to argue, but
after a moment’s hesitation he just nodded once.

The men geared up, strapping on weapon’s
harnesses and sliding blades and daggers into their sheaths. Raine
offered them a good luck and farewell, reminding them to call in if
they needed backup or a pickup. Raider patted his pockets, checking
for his phone. Of course, he didn’t have his as it had been
destroyed. Raine whipped out a new one and handed it to him as the
three warriors walked out the door. “Thought you might need one.”
She grinned.

Raider couldn’t help but feel bad. Raine had
been getting sick a lot over the last few days, and she looked like
she needed to go lie down. He wasn’t about to saying anything
though, knowing that the Valkyrie could take care of herself. He
nodded in thanks and headed out the door.

Heavy snowfall had saturated the Guardians’
grounds. Their boots left deep tracks in the white powder as they
made their way toward Blaze’s Jeep.

****

“Alright, Raiderman, what are we
actually
up against here? I’m not buying the whole
movie-vamp bullshit,” Blaze said.

He knew he made the others nervous as hell
whenever he drove. He could tell by the way each of them tensed
whenever he got behind the wheel. Sure, he was known for distracted
driving, always playing with the radio or the GPS, lighting up some
cigs, or hell, even admiring himself in the godsdamned mirror. He
was a sexy bitch, how could he
not
look at
himself?

Despite the slick shit covering the streets,
they were making incredible time as they made their way toward the
city. “You said you fought one of these bastards last night. So,
what was it?”

Raider slouched in his seat, obviously too
tense to admire the feel of the custom-seating Blaze had opted—and
paid good money—for. The bucket seats were softer than stock seats,
and he’d had them finished to have blue and red flames on the
headrests. “That’s the thing, the one last night felt human. I
couldn’t sense anything demonic in him other than his rage. But
when I looked into his mind, it was full of death, maiming,
killing…just an overall thirst for blood.”

Blaze flicked his gaze up to the rear-view,
making eye contact with Ethan and Ash, who were in the backseat.
Then he looked at Raider again. “What attributes did he
have?”

“Sharp teeth, red eyes, smelled disgusting.
And claws, he had claws.”

“Was it by any chance a house-cat? Or maybe a
Tom?” Blaze asked. He looked pointedly at his brother, catching
sight of Raider’s annoyance at his innocent question. So shoot him.
It was a valid fucking question. Well, fine then, Raider wasn’t
amused, so they drove in silence while Blaze ran through a melee of
demons he’d come across in his lifetime. “To be honest with you,
Raiderman, that description sounds like most demons I know.” He
glanced over at him in the passenger seat. “You said that she bit
you, right?”

He sighed. “Yeah.”

“Was it a bite or a suck?”

Raider said nothing, but Blaze couldn’t drop
it. “Did she drink your blood, Raid?”

“Yes.”

He nodded, his mind re-running through the
rolodex of information he’d collected over the years.
Unfortunately, the most likely answer seemed to be the least
likely.

What a pickle.

“What’s in that head of yours?” Raider asked,
his eyes focused on Blaze.

Oh, so now his brother was interested in what
he thought. Gods, he was acting just like a chick. The bastard
could just read his damned mind if he wanted. Probably was right
now, hearing him call him a chick and a bastard.

Good
, Blaze thought. If he was
listening in, it served his ass right to hear some bad shit about
himself.

“Like you couldn’t tell if you wanted.” Blaze
snorted. Placing a cigar between his lips, he flicked his finger
and a bright blue flame ignited at the tip. He puffed on the cigar
a few times as he lit it with his finger.

“I don’t know how you smoke those.” Raider
shook his head. “They kill people.”

“Yeah, they kill
people
. They can’t
kill you or me,” Blaze argued. After a moment’s pause, he finally
answered Raider’s question. “I was thinking that Nitro and that
bastard you fought last night are Dracula wannabes.”

Raider looked over his shoulder and shared a
what-the-fuck
with Ash before facing Blaze again. “You watch
too much TV, you bastard.”

Blaze laughed. “It’s just a theory. I won’t be
decided until I can see what she can do. But if she tries to bite
my ass, I’m getting a godsdamned stake and some holy
water.”

****

Bob left Eugene on the sidewalk and bolted
down the dark alley. Although he was worn out and his body was
freezing, he powered through the fatigue he’d been feeling. Just as
he saw the group of guys, the woman’s screaming stopped. One of
them had her pinned against the cold brick of a building while
another rummaged through her purse.

Bob stopped running and stepped into the
shadow of the street as he silently crept toward them. The man who
was forcefully holding the female against the wall had a grabbing
problem, and couldn’t seem to keep his hands to himself. When the
woman whimpered, Bob couldn’t rein in his anger any longer. A sound
he wasn’t aware he was capable of ripped through his chest as he
launched himself at the group. Every one of the men stood there,
dumbfounded, as he started tearing through them. The one with the
purse dropped it on the ground and hauled ass to get away, while
the one that was holding the woman shoved her into him.

He caught her before she fell to the ground
and, holding her shoulders, he stared down at her. Her eyes widened
and she tried to step away. “Run.”

The girl ran toward the main street as pure
rage boiled through him. He went after each of her attackers, and
one by one they fell. The chill slammed into Bob as he knocked each
of them to the ground. But there were still two more he needed to
reach, the one who’d had the purse and the one who’d held her. He
ran again, following the direction the two cowards had fled, and as
he ran he felt something within him change.

He wasn’t helpless. He was a
predator.

He caught up to them even quicker than he
thought he would. They’d fled to an even danker alleyway. There was
trash all over and questionable stains on the asphalt. But the
setting didn’t matter. He launched himself forward, spread-eagling
them both onto the pavement. Stammering commenced, but he was too
far-gone to understand a word they were saying. Their hearts were
beating rapidly, fear coursed through them. He knew it as well as
he knew the back of his hand. Something was taking over him.
Something strong and powerful. Something undeniable. Like instinct.
As he slammed his fist into one of their faces, he felt something
rip through his mouth. He raised his head toward the skies and
roared, unsure of the pain he felt. But the pain quickly
subsided—forgotten even—as a delectable scent hit his senses. He
looked down at the man he’d just hit and saw blood seeping from a
cut. Need coursed through him. Yet another undeniable urge. In an
instant, he bent low and tore at the man’s flesh. His teeth—fangs,
whatever they were—ripped through his neck easily. He couldn’t
stop.

He continued biting and sucking, drinking the
blood that pumped through the man’s veins.

****

“Just look at you,” Ekhart mused. “I hadn’t
thought it possible to turn you, but look how marvelous you are.”
He looked at Nitro—his first daughter, as it was. His first
successful turn. It hadn’t occurred to him to modify his existing
creations, turning them into another. But now that it had happened,
he realized that the idea certainly had merit.

Nitro stared at him with her blood-red eyes.
The anger that rolled off of her was palpable enough that he
remained behind his line of guards. He’d learned the hard way just
how dangerous his newest creations could be.

She was a vision, his Nitro. No longer the
prim and proper lady he’d first seen that night so long ago. Now,
she wore fighting gear, donned tight pants and a form-fitting
bustier. Her eyes were no longer the rich brown color they’d once
been. Now they were red. Eerie, but beautiful all the same. Nitro
would always be beautiful, no matter what changes he put her
through.

Ekhart couldn’t help but smile as he took in
the sight of her. “You are a rarity, aren’t you, my dear. My first
successful experiment. You’re what made me continue my mission. And
now, you are a part of my newest creations. Of course, I hadn’t
intended for this to happen to you. I’d been sent after your
boyfriend.” Ekhart reacted as anger flashed across her features,
stepping farther back from his line of protection. Although, he
wasn’t completely sure she could understand a word he’d said. It
seemed the other Harbingers couldn’t, mindless bastards that they
were. They understood “kill” and “blood,” that was about the extent
of it. They could carry out a simple task, but only one that
usually ended with them drinking the victim’s blood. But Nitro only
seemed to grow angrier with each word he spoke. “Oh, calm yourself.
You’re home now, my dear. You will remain here and be my right
hand. You’ll forever stand by my side.”

It was very fortunate that his demons had
located her wandering around the city. Had they not captured her
and brought her in, she would have burned at the sun’s first
appearance. That was one drawback of this new species. They died
each time the sun rose, and lived again at sunset.

Nitro stared off into the shadows at the edge
of the room, her attention piquing as she stared at something. He
turned quickly, trying to see what held her interest, but he saw
nothing. Facing her again, he noticed how her breathing had started
to slow. Maybe she
could
understand what he’d said. With her
being turned from one creation to another, he had no doubt she’d
adapt to her new lifestyle the way she had when he’d turned her
into an Ignitis. She and her brother had been the first of their
kind. She, the most powerful he’d ever created. Her brother, the
second. He’d tried to repeat the process countless times, but no
other Ignitis had packed as powerful of an arsenal.

While the Harbingers, one of his newest
creations, were a dangerous bunch, they were fiercely loyal to one
another. It seemed that although they formed no rational thought,
merely carrying out orders as directed, they sensed one another and
worked well together.

Nitro visibly calmed as she made eye contact
with him once more. He nodded at the two Ignitis who were holding
her shoulders, gesturing that they could remove their hold on
her.

“Is that better, my pet?” Ekhart
asked.

She said nothing, which didn’t surprise him in
the slightest. He half expected her to lope off like the walking
corpse she was, which is exactly what the other Harbingers would
have done by now.

“Well then, Flame, Pyro,” he said, glancing at
the two Ignitis demons beside her. “Please make room for our newest
guest. As my first creation, she is of highest importance. You will
treat her as you would me.” Turning toward an Ignitis female, he
said, “Phoenix, ensure Nitro has everything she needs in her room.
And make sure no sunlight makes its way in.”