Phantom Warriors: Linx (13 page)

Their
scents were faint on the wind, but they were there. Linx drove as quickly as he
could, always keeping the wind in his face. When he reached a familiar part of
town, he rolled up the window and slowed down.

He
knew where Sergei had taken the women. He only hoped that he wasn't too late.

Linx
drove into the parking lot and stopped. The club was closed, but he could hear
music pounding through the speakers. He slipped out from behind the wheel and
approached the front door. It was locked, so he walked around the building to
the alley.

He
turned the knob and the back door opened. Inside, the lights were on and the speakers
pumped out a familiar song. Linx’s stomach tightened as the memory of their
lovemaking hit. He shoved it away, so he could focus. He inhaled, the air
telling him what his eyes couldn’t see. His nose crinkled, when he caught the
smell of blood. Tabby!

Linx
rushed forward and came out on the stage to a horrifying scene.
Tabby had been hoisted up by her ankles
. Her feet were bare and
black from bruises. Her swollen face was covered in blood. The hand dangling
toward the ground appeared mangled and inflamed. If it weren’t for the faint
pulse throbbing in her neck, Linx would’ve thought she was dead.

A
red haze rolled over Linx's vision until the world bled around him. Two words
pounded in his head--Protect Mate--as he stepped out of the shadows.

The
men hadn't noticed him standing at the back of the stage yet, but soon they'd
know he was there. And they'd realize what a huge mistake they had made before
he ended their lives.

Sergei
stepped forward and tossed what appeared to be water into Tabby's battered
face. She came awake, sputtering.
Her confusion and pain
plain to see.

"Not
again. Please no more." She whimpered and tried to curl in on herself to
no avail.

Linx
roared and felt his body shift. His human form melted away as fur sprang from
his pores. His incisors lengthened, along with the rest of his teeth. Claws
sprouted from his fingertips until all that remained was his beast. The huge
cat prowled across the stage.

Sergei
and his men jerked their heads up at the sound.

"What
the hell is that?" Sergei shouted.

Alexei
and Boris drew their guns, aimed and fired, but Linx was already moving. He
faded in and out slashing here, tearing there. The men's screams filled the
air, nearly drowning out the music.

"Shoot
it!" Sergei shouted, his hand already moving to his own weapon.

"Where
did it go?" Viktor cried.

"Behind
you!" Boris shouted, but it was too late.

Sharp
claws raked out, severing his Achilles tendon. Viktor stumbled forward and fell,
sprawled onto the floor. Linx sank his teeth into the man's arm at his shoulder
and shook his powerful head. There was a loud pop a second before he ripped
Viktor's arm off. Linx spit the limb out and faded again.

Taylor
and Tabby screamed in terror. Taylor pulled her legs up to her chest and buried
her face in her knees. Tabby's head jerked around to try to watch what was
happening, but Linx knew he was moving too fast for her to track.

Gunshots
ricocheted off the walls wildly. He had to end this before the sisters were
harmed. Linx leapt into the air and brought his claws across Alexei's throat.
Blood sprayed into the air in a crimson arc, before raining down upon the
ground.

It
tasted sweet, Linx thought as he licked his whiskers. But this was no time to eat
his prey.

Alexei
was dead before he hit the ground.

Boris
nearly shot Sergei in his rush to kill Linx.

"Watch
it, you idiot!" Sergei shouted, firing in quick succession as Linx
appeared and disappeared.

"Where
is it?" Boris yelled. The gun barrel jerked from side to side as he
searched the club.

"I
don't see it," Sergei said. "What the hell is it anyway?"

Boris
didn't look at him. "It's the demon. I tried to tell you."

*
* * * *

Sergei
had never experienced fear like this. He'd been tortured, shot, burned and
beaten. And never in all those times, did he feel this level of terror. Was
Boris right? Were they dealing with a demon? If so, who had summoned it? He
glared at Tabitha. Was she a
Baba
Yaga
? She didn’t look like a witch, but only a powerful
conjurer could call forth a demon.

He'd
never believed in such things, not even when he was a child in the old country.
But he had no logical explanation for what he'd seen. The large cat had
disappeared and reappeared right before their eyes.

If
they were dealing with a demon, then what did it want?

If
it
was
his soul, then it would be sorely disappointed
because he'd already promised that to the devil years ago.

Sergei
watched the beast fade in and out, its eyes like fiery pits. There was no mercy.
No compassion. Only burning fury that held the promise of retribution and death.
The animal’s gaze shifted to the woman hanging upside down and Sergei watched
the fire fade slightly.

So
that's what it wanted.

Sergei
grabbed Tabby by the hair and yanked her up. "Cut her down, Boris."

Boris
backed to where the rope was tethered. He tucked his gun under his arm and
slowly unwound the knot. The rope went slack and Tabby dropped to the ground,
but Sergei didn't release her.

"Is
this what you want?" Sergei taunted, twisted Tabby's neck until she
screamed. "Come any closer and I'll snap it."

*
* * * *

Tabby
could see the cat out of her one good eye. Every time it looked their way, she
could feel Sergei's hands tremble. He was afraid. She’d never seen him afraid
of anything or anyone. He was cornered, which made him even more dangerous.

She
had no doubt he would keep his word if the cat so much as moved a whisker. In
all her life, she'd never seen a more beautiful animal—or one more
terrifying. At first, she'd thought she was imaging things due to her injuries,
but the pain and fear of Sergei's men had been all too real. She gasped, unable
to take a deep breath.

The
cat stared at Sergei, his red eyes unblinking. It was an unnatural stillness,
the kind seen in apex predators.

The
only thing she didn't get was why Sergei talked to it like it could understand
him.

"It's
an animal," she rasped.

He
tightened his grip on her hair, pulling some out by the roots. "Shut up,
bitch!"

The
cat began to shimmer and slowly fade. In its place, crouched on the ground,
naked and bleeding, was Linx.

Tabby
couldn't believe her eyes. Had she wanted to see him so desperately that she’d
conjured him in her mind? That made more sense than anything else, but it didn't
explain everyone else's reaction. Her initial shock wore off quickly. It was
followed closely by an overwhelming sense of relief. She didn’t care how Linx
got here. Tabby was just glad that he’d arrived.

"I
told you," Taylor said. "I told you he was a demon."

Linx
glared at her twin. "I am not a demon." His gaze moved easily back to
Tabby and for the first time, she saw the pain and the fear, hiding beneath the
glowing red. “I’m sorry,” he said. “I couldn’t tell you the truth.”

Tabby
didn't know what to think. If he wasn't a demon, then what was he? Did it
really matter? All that was important was that he’d come for her.

He
took a step forward.

Sergei
twisted her neck even further. One more twist and Tabby knew he'd break it and
she'd been dead.

"Go!"
She gasped as pain speared her. "They're going to kill you."

He
tilted his head and looked at her like she'd lost her mind. "You know I
cannot do that."

"Yes,
you can. Now get the hell out of here," she said with a choked cry.
"I don't want you around."
To watch me die.

*
* * * *

Linx
felt the air ripple around him. He kept his gaze on the two men, but sent his
senses out to scan his surroundings. There, hiding in the shadows, he found
what he was looking for. Bear. He made no move to expose his Phantom brother.

"I
will give you one last chance to release her. If you do that, I will consider
letting you live," Linx said. "If not, I will make sure you die in as
much pain as you've inflicted upon her."

Sergei
sneered. "You are in no position to give orders, demon."

Linx
smirked. "That's where you're wrong."

A
bellowing roar came thundering out of the darkness. It was the kind of roar
that could only come from a member of the Claw Clan. The shadows moved with the
massive beast as it stepped out of the darkness.

Boris
gave up all pretense of bravery. He took off for the door, clutching his
injured hand. The baby mammoth-sized grizzly was on him before he could turn
the knob. It swiped out one hairy arm. Eight-inch claws took the man's head
clean off his shoulders. Boris's head rolled several feet across the ground
before coming to a stop. The beast then turned to face Sergei, its glowing red
eyes merciless as it lowered its head to attack.

Sergei
must have realized his life was about to end because his grip on Tabby
tightened and he started to twist.

Linx
faded and appeared behind him before he could finish the job. He grabbed
Sergei's hand and crushed the bones, then snapped the arm holding his gun in
half.

Sergei
bellowed in rage, pain, and disbelief as he dropped Tabby onto the ground. She
fell with a grunt,
then
cried out as she tried to roll
onto her side.

Linx
clasped Sergei's head. His claws shot out, severing tendon and arteries. Blood showered
his face, but he didn't stop squeezing or cutting his way through the man's
neck until it hung by a mere thread of skin. Linx shoved Sergei away,
then
bent to check on Tabby.

She
yelped and tried to scramble out of reach, but couldn't.

"I
won't harm you," he said softly, his voice all but cooing to calm her.
Linx knew he looked like her biggest nightmare, but it couldn't be helped. The
man had hurt her badly, and it was his fault. "I shouldn’t have left you."
He reached out a bloody fingertip, only belatedly realizing his claws were
still out.

Tabby's
eyes widened as they landed on the razor-sharp weapons. Linx willed them to
fade, leaving normal-sized nails behind.

Her
frightened gaze met his. "What are you?"
Her voice
barely audible over the music.

"Turn
that noise off, Riot. I cannot hear myself think." Linx sat Tabby up as
his Phantom brother shifted from bear into human form.

Tabby
watched wide-eyed, then fell over gasping in pain.

Linx
touched her carefully. "He hurt you. Bad."

"I
need a doctor," she whispered.

"There's
not time for that. You're bleeding internally. Already your heart struggles to
beat. You'll bleed out before you reach a medic." He couldn't lose her.
She was...everything to him. The shock of that realization winded him, but Linx
knew he had to present a strong front for her sake. The decisions they made in
the next few minutes would change both their lives forever.

Tabby
laid her head on the ground. "I'm tired."

Linx
gently shook her shoulder. "You cannot go to sleep or you will not wake
up."

"I'm
dying, Linx," she murmured. “You said so yourself.”

"It’s
true, but I believe I can save you," he said with as much conviction as he
could muster. Linx wasn't altogether certain he was speaking the truth. He just
knew that he couldn't lose her now that he'd been given a second chance.

Tabby
turned her head until she could look at his face. "How? I don't have to
sell my soul do I?"

He
would've laughed if the situation hadn't been so serious. "You won't have
to sell a thing."

"Brother,"
Riot said. "The ship is nearing."

Linx
gave him a sharp nod, but didn't look at him. He could feel the ship. He knew
it would arrive soon. That's how Riot had been able to sense his distress. Had
they been high in orbit on the other side of the planet, they wouldn't have
known he was in trouble until it was too late.

"Make
it quick," Riot said.

"Hold
your claws, okay? I will not force her. It must be her decision."

"Then
you're a fool," Riot said with a snort.

Easy for a bear to say.
They had about as much finesse as a
hippo on ice skates.

Tabby's
eyes started to close.

"No!"
Linx shouted. "Tabitha, look at me."