The Sacrifice (3 page)

Cy stood over the feeder. Blood
gurgled from his mouth and a dark puddle surrounded him on the pavement. The
blade had severed his windpipe; there was too much damage to get information
from him. He pulled his bayonet from its holster and brought it across the
guy’s neck.
Crunch.
The
sickening sound of snapping vertebra echoed through the night. A second later,
his head rolled to a stop against the outside wall of the bar.

Cy
bolted back to avoid the spray as blood spurted from the headless carcass. He
wouldn
’
t allow himself to acknowledge the fact these
beings were Sivadian. Centuries of feeding on adrenaline-laced blood had
mutated their minds. Now they were little more than blood junkies, enslaved to
their next high. They were volatile, and would kill anyone in order to satiate
their sadistic craving. If feeders had been satisfied with the synthetic blood
all Sivadians drink to survive, Cy wouldn
’
t be forced to kill
them. Everyone had a choice. In his book, taking innocent lives was detrimental
to one
’
s health.

After
the feeder
’
s heart sputtered its final beat, his body, and
his blood, combusted into a fine ash for the next puff of wind to scatter. If
it wasn
’
t for the countless lives he had taken, families
he had destroyed, there would be no trace of his existence.

Cy
glanced around the alley for Kam and Miles. They should have been there with
Mr. Clean. He grabbed his cell and hit Miles
’
number.

“What happened, man? I thought you two
would be right behind me.”

“We
would
’
ve been, but you kind of ruined our element of
surprise. That chicken shit teleported out of the bar before we got hold of
him. I followed his vapor trail while Kam wiped the memories of the humans. We
have him trapped in the basement of that sleazebag motel off Interstate-40. I
sort of rammed his head through a cement wall before he made it inside, so he
’
s
too badly injured to transport out.”

“Try to take him alive. We need to
know how many others are here, and if Vind has any clue our compound is
nearby.”

“What about the one you teleported
out?”

Cy
snorted. “He
’
ll not be doing much talking.”

“I
figured when you saw that asshole feeding on the girl, she
’
d
be his last meal.”

“You
know me so well. I
’
ll see you in a minute. We don
’
t
have time for you two to play around with him all night.”

“You
’
re
real funny.”

Cy
transported to the motel
’
s basement entrance where Miles waited. “He out
yet?”

Miles shook his head as Cy followed
him inside.

The stale scent of moist earth and
mildew filled the confined space.

Kam stood behind a cement beam inside
the basement door.

 Cy
listened for movement. “Are you sure he
’
s still in here,
Kam?”

“Yeah,
he
’
s back there somewhere, but he hasn
’
t
moved for several minutes.”

“We
better go in after him.” Miles faced the dark room and shouted. “Dude, we can
do this the live way or the dead way. It
’
s up to you, but you
have about ten seconds to decide before we come after you. The dead way works
fine for me.”

Cy
held back a grin. Both his fighting partners could get a little theatrical when
it came to feeders. Both had suffered losses. They
’
d
killed Miles’ sister, the only family he had left. Feeders had also killed both
of Kam
’
s parents, leaving him and his sisters orphaned.
He
couldn
’
t think of
a single Protector who had not been deeply affected by a feeder
’
s brutality.

When there was no response from the
injured feeder, Cy motioned for Miles and Kam to flank him. With weapons drawn,
they eased further into the dank basement, around old discarded bed frames,
mattresses and side-tables.

Kam motioned toward a stack of crates
in the back. A leather boot and lower half of a jean-clad leg protruded from
the edge. They inched around the crates. The feeder lay on his back with his
eyes closed. Blood dripped from his mouth and from a cut above his brow.

“If
you
’
re faking,”
Kam said,
“I
will
shoot you in the head. If you
’
ve never had a bullet in the brain, for a couple
of days you
’
ll wish we
’
d gone ahead and
killed you.” Several seconds passed with no response. Kam shrugged and shot the
feeder in the head, the sound barely audible from the silencer on his gun.
Other than movement of his body from the force of the bullet, the guy didn
’
t
react.

“What the
hell
did you do that for?”
Cy glared at him. “You just delayed our getting answers from him by at least a
day.”

“
I don’
t like pain enough to take a risk. Kam
’
s
devilish smile slid into place.” Not from a feeder anyway. I prefer my pain to
come by way of the fairer sex.”

Miles
shook his head and laughed. “Boy, you get crazier by the day. Let
’
s
get this asshole out of here before he bleeds to death and spoils our fun in
the interrogation room.”

“Between
the two of you, we
’
ll be lucky if he even remembers why he was in
Asheville,” Cy said. “I
’
ll head back to the compound to help Oz notify
everyone of the capture. Take this guy by the infirmary and tell Doc Regan to
patch him up enough to interrogate. One way or another, he
will
tell us
why they were in our town.”

Riana
’
s
heart accelerated as a bright blue light came from the guard
’
s
gun, engulfed her body and kept her frozen in place.
Oh God, what
’
s he doing to me!
Her heart pounded in her ears as if it were plugged into an
amplifier. Seconds later, the light dimmed and disappeared.

Sweat beaded on her brow and she
struggled to find her voice. “What the
hell
was that?”

The
guard smiled, dismissing her anger. “It is mandatory identification, ma
’
am.”

“Has no one ever told you to warn a
person before scaring them to death?” Riana yelled. In medical school, one of
the first things she had learned was to let the patient know every step of a
procedure beforehand—especially if it would be frightening or painful. And his
little gun had been both.

The
guard
’
s face reddened and he averted his eyes. “Sorry ma
’
am.
It
’
s part of my job.”

Riana
reined in her anger. The big-lug
had
made a half-assed attempt to
apologize. She turned toward Elle, making sure she
’
d
seen what happened.

“Are
you all right?”
Elle mouthed.

Riana
nodded sharply, and breathed through the burst of adrenaline coursing through
her blood. She rubbed the beads on her amethyst and lepidolite bracelet,
pulling from the crystal
’
s calming energy.

Once Elle made it through her zapping,
they followed a cobblestoned path to a second gate looming about fifty yards
ahead. It connected to a twenty-foot rock wall that disappeared into thick,
mountain forest on both sides.

“Man,” Riana said as they approached.
“Not again.”

 “
No ma
’
am,” another guard said. “This is just an entrance.
If you were not secure, you wouldn
’
t have gotten this
far.” He handed Riana an identification card. “You must keep this with you at
all times. You
’
re required to sign out each time you go through
this gate. The outer gate scans your DNA, which allows us to know who leaves
the compound, and when.”

Inside the second gate stood two,
three-story mountain lodges at each end of the compound, separated by a long
brick building.

A
female dressed in the same uniform as the guards stood nearby and motioned them
over. She was tall and lean, with black, pixie-cut hair that would have looked
butch on some females, but she retained a feminine air. Stitched into her
uniform were the words, ‘Protector of the Light.
’
The
title bestowed upon the most highly trained men and women, who dedicated their
lives to protecting both Sivadian and human races. She had to be tough in order
to make it through the rigorous training to become a Protector.

“I
’
m
Kyra,” the woman said. She took their new IDs, and then checked their names on
her clipboard before handing them back. “I
’
m responsible for you
while you
’
re here, and will teach most of your classes and
self-defense training. Once everyone gets through security, I
’
ll
show you around the compound and then to your quarters.”

Riana
glanced over Kyra
’
s shoulder and her heart did a little flip-flop.
The most gorgeous hunk of male she
’
d ever seen strode
through the gate. Completely dressed in black, his long, leather duster flapped
around his legs as the evening wind picked up. He was everything she
’
d
always heard about Protectors…and then some. Tousled, raven black hair met his
collar in loose waves, as if he
’
d repeatedly run his hands through it. Her fingers
tingled in response to the thought. As he stopped beside Kyra, sky blue eyes
locked onto hers.

Riana stepped back as the scent of
blood rolled off him in waves.

“Hey,
Cy. What
’
s going on?” Kyra asked.

“The
situation in Asheville is under control.” His deep voice was a distracted
rumble, and his gaze had never left Riana
’
s face. “You need to
get these girls to their lodge before Miles and Kam return with the prisoner.”

Kyra
’
s
head turned toward her, but if her life depended on it, she couldn
’
t
look away from the intensity of the man
’
s baby blues. Her body
tingled from her nose to her toes, and a delicious flutter pooled low in her
stomach.

Leather
creaked as his arm reached toward her. He glanced down at his extended hand,
and then jerked it back and wiped dried blood down the sides of his pants. His jacket
sleeve had a gaping hole as if it
’
d been sliced by a bloody knife.

He
removed the jacket and threw it over one shoulder. Weapons hung from every
extremity. Muscles bulged beneath the tight holsters strapped around his chest,
hips and both arms. “Sorry about that,” he said. “You probably don
’
t
want to shake my hand right now. I
’
ve been out capturing
the enemy. I
’
m Cy.”

The sound of his voice affected her
like an aphrodisiac, and the fluttering jumped into overdrive. Her temper
flared at her betraying body. This guy killed for a living. The two things she
hated most in this world—violence and death.

Riana
blinked.
“Oh…I didn
’
t
realize capturing and killing had the same definition these days.”

A
smile lifted the corners of his full, sensuous lips. “Would you rather I let
the feeder live, and possibly capture you? Trust me, I don
’
t
kill just anyone, and this guy had it coming.”

Her
mother had drilled into her the threat feeders posed, but there had to be a
better way than killing them. She could never take another person
’
s
life.

Heat
radiated from Riana
’
s face. She ignored his question and looked away
from those intense eyes. Eyes that drew her to him, lingered on her skin like a
soft caress.

Sivadians
couldn
’
t read each other
’
s minds, but with the
six girls in their group glaring at her with their mouths gaping, she didn
’
t
need to. Why had he singled her out? Elle, who looked like the perfect vision
of a beauty queen, stood beside her. The other girls stared at him like he was
the best thing since hot-cakes, too.

As
Mr. Hot-Cakes and Kyra walked away, Riana chanced another glance and was
rewarded with a perfect view of the finest backside she
’
d
ever seen. Long, muscular legs rippled beneath tight, leather pants. A long
streak of blood glistened across his pant-leg, as if he
’
d
wiped a blade clean.
He
’
s a Protector. What on Earth is wrong with me?

“Man,
your mother was right about one thing,” Elle said as they watched the couple
converse in hushed tones. “They
’
re definitely lookers. And he checked you out like
a starving dog does a bone. I think he wants to make you his next chew toy.
From the look on our instructor
’
s face, she didn
’
t like that he couldn
’
t
take his eyes off you. Maybe, he belongs to her.”

Riana
shook her head. “Well, she has nothing to worry about from me. He
’
s
pretty to look at, but that
’
s as far as it goes.”

“
Ah ha, I
’
ve known you since we
were five, and I
’
ve never seen you so flustered around a man. I
wonder what your mom would say if she knew you were seriously ogling a
Protector.”

Riana glared at Elle. “Luckily, no one
is going to tell her, right?”

Kyra and Hot-Cakes finished talking,
and he looked her way once more before turning and walking toward one of the
lodges.

The
same irritated look was still plastered across Kyra
’
s
face as she rejoined them. “We
’
re cutting the tour short. So I
’
ll
only point out the buildings you need to know for now. This compound is
approximately three hundred acres and sits on nine thousand acres of
Sivadian-owned land. The twenty-foot rock fence surrounding this area contains
treated steel, which prevents transportation. Anyone coming or going must use
the security gates and then transport from the courtyard. I
’
m
not bragging, but you ladies are inside one of the most secure places on Earth.
DNA scanners are not only at the gate, they
’
re inside the doors
and windows of every building. This prevents transportation from one building
to another. If you
’
re inside those gates, we know where you are.”

“Oh,
great! We
’
re children again,” Elle whispered a little too
loudly.

Kyra turned and pinned Elle with a
hard stare. “Is there a problem, Miss Nichols?”

Elle
lifted her chin.
“I didn
’
t
realize we would be treated like children while we
’
re
here.”

A
flash of anger crossed Kyra
’
s face as she closed the distance. “If you act
like a child and interrupt me again, I assure you, you will be treated like
one.”

Riana
looked at Elle and found exactly what she expected, a deadpan glare straight
into Kyra
’
s eyes. Elle
’
s job required her to
be the one doing the intimidating—not the other way around. She might have met
her match with their instructor.

Instructor and student stared in
silence for several seconds.

Kyra slowly shook her head before she
spoke again. “As I was saying, these systems are in place for your protection
as well as ours.” Her glare settled firmly back on Elle.

“The
buildings directly behind the lodges are used by domestic staff and strictly
off limits. Also the lodges with the Protector
’
s Crest over the
entrance are our quarters. No one is allowed inside without an invitation.
However, don
’
t hold your breath, ladies, those aren
’
t
freely given.” Her face held a hint of amusement as her gaze landed on Riana.

Oh,
shoot!
That was
directed at me. Maybe Hot-Cakes does belong to her. Can
’
t really blame her after the way I couldn
’
t take my eyes off the guy. I
’
ve never seen
a male Protector up close and personal. All that glorious flesh caught me off
guard. Yeah, that
’
s all it was. I was caught off guard.