Lost Beauty (Deadly Beauties Live On) Page 8

  There’s no way he’s guessed all of what Chaz is, but the fire and the eyes he used gave him away for one entity. He may already know about red jinn, so I choose my words carefully.

  “Yes,” I say, hating myself for feeling so deceptive. “I know you probably want to kill him because now you see him as a threat, but—”

  “He flew you out here?” he asks, interrupting me.

  “No. He can’t shift. At least, I don’t think so. He carries their powers, but he’d have shifted when the fight was going on if he could shift, right?”

  “I have no idea,” he groans.

  “Are you going to go after him?”

  It’s his pattern. Find someone too powerful, extinguish the threat... Or try to. He’s been unsuccessful in the past, and I blame it on the fact he couldn’t bring himself to kill a weaker woman when the time came.

  Leah and Roslyn would both be dead right now if he’d been able to go through with it. He won’t admit as much, probably never will, but I know that’s why. It’s why he helped me.

  He looks at us and sees the sister he lost... The sister who died while begging for her life. He sees the girl who was still mortal as they ripped her apart savagely with no remorse the day they captured him and his brother.

  But the others don’t know that. And he would never tell them that either.

  They don’t see what being betrayed by his only surviving family did to him. They don’t see what he endured. They see the scars, but they don’t know the amount of pain an immortal has to suffer to be reduced to keeping scars.

  Our bodies are flawless, designed to be such a way. Scars are almost impossible to acquire, and he’s riddled with them. His body is marked with a survivor’s tale, engraved with more pain and brutality than any one person could survive without going mad. But, contrary to popular belief, Slade is very sane. He’s also very focused. And very lethal.

  It’s why I follow him.

  He’s quiet for a long time, and it seems to take forever before the trail we’re on suddenly turns into an actual road.

  “You’re not answering me,” I say softly, not wanting to piss him off and have him turn his anger on me. “Do you find him a threat to them now?”

  “I have no plans to go after him,” he states flatly. “He’s been in their lives for a really long time. If he had any malice of intent, he’d have already shown it.” He slows down, relaxing in his seat. “I never attacked for them, Kya. The wolf hybrid hurt our people. She was a traitor. I still think she deserves to die or to at least feel as tortured as the people she dragged back into that hell.”

  “She had no choice, Slade. They broke her mind. You’re so strong that you forget others aren’t.”

  “They broke her in a few short years. I have no sympathy for her,” he says curtly. “I survived centuries without breaking.”

  I said the same thing about Roslyn. I’ll always defend Slade’s words to them. It’s where my loyalties lie. But I honestly understand why she broke. Though I’ll never admit as much to her.

  I don’t point out that this is more about his brother breaking than Roslyn breaking. The sting of that betrayal will forever stay fresh with him.

  “And as far as the Aquarius goes, you know my reasons for that. I recall stopping you from finishing what I started once you’d seen how those years were. What it was like to be hunted. What it was like to know your parents were fileted alive.”

  My stomach churns, and I swallow down the bile.

  “You need to eat,” he says, speeding up once again.

  “Not hungry,” I say honestly.

  “Not talking about food.” His answer is swift, and my stomach churns for a new reason. “You’re weak.”

  “It’s been a while,” I say quietly.

  “Their lives never matter more than yours,” he says, a grave contradiction to his words about Roslyn.

  “And if it was our people I needed to drain to survive?” I ask him as he drives even faster.

  “Then you’d pick the ones who only hurt the community, just as you do now.”

  He draws a long breath as we ride in silence for a while. A prison’s sign is on the corner of the road, and he cuts down it, changing his direction.

  “After I’m done, I’m going to make a request, and you’re going to say yes. Whatever we stumbled upon earlier... we now know we can’t handle this alone.”

  He grows silent, but I know he knows I’m right. An army of demons who can wield the power of a witch while in a night stalker’s body? We definitely need help.

  The prison comes into view, and my thoughts shift to what lies ahead.

  I always dread this, until I look into their eyes and see the sins of their pasts, the stains of the darkness around them. The heinous acts they have committed darken their souls to the point of charred ash, and the darker the soul, the better the feeding.

  I don’t say a word as he continues to drive by the prison. Taking a deep breath, I dematerialize, and when my molecules reassemble, I’m inside a small hallway with four very shocked men staring at me through their bars.

  All four... dark as night. The pain of seeing what they’ve done almost makes me nauseous. Children, women... men... They’ve hurt so many.

  Just like that, the first wave of calm washes over me, and I feel the demon’s smile on my lips, the part of me that only comes out when I’m hungry.

  “Hello, boys,” I say quietly, watching as the camera explodes. Slade will take care of all proof that I was ever even here.

  “Hello,” one says, a wicked lilt to his tone.

  In the next breath, he’s screaming as I rip his soul from his body, taking it into mine, and feeling the power grow inside me. As the last of the soul’s dark aura disappears, I moan, feeling blessedly stronger. When his lifeless body collapses to the ground, his eyes stare vacantly at the ceiling above.

  I lick my lips and turn to the other three who scream in horror and beg for someone to save them.

  To save them from the devil.

  To save them from me.

  Chapter 11

  CHAZ

  Gage’s eyes are on me, but he hasn’t asked any questions in front of Kimber, who wasn’t there when I blatantly used power I’m still unsure of.

  I lost it back there, giving into the instincts and primal urges of the beast. It was all I could do to try and be a man when I told Kya to stop me.

  What’d she say? Well, it wasn’t the right words, because I fully prepared to take her. And I’m not sure what that would have meant. Because for some reason, I think the beast wants more than just his dick waxed.

  “What’s on your mind?” Thad asks me, peering over at me curiously.

  “Crude and crass thoughts that aren’t helpful to figuring out how the hell that many demons managed to escape and take over night stalkers. It also doesn’t help us figure out what the hell the ‘Master’ has planned either.”

  I blow out a frustrated breath, wondering why my beast seems so tame inside of me now. Power hums around inside me like a fresh breath of air. Something has changed. I just don’t know what, and I’m almost scared to question it.

  Ella is cradled against me, still half asleep, stirring every so often to mumble Slade’s name.

  “I vote we not tell Kane about any of this,” I say, adjusting Ella’s head to be at a less awkward angle.

  She simply shifts and gets awkward again.

  “I second that vote,” Gage says.

  Kimber groans. “What does he do to knock her out like that? Because that would be an awesome trick.”

  “I’m fairly positive we’d have to be as strong as she is, or stronger, to be able to pull that off,” I point out.

  “Which is what worries me,” Gage says on a quiet breath. “What happens when the Master is taken out, and Slade has no one else to focus his fury on? He’s attacked us multiple times as it is. What happens when there’s no longer another distraction? It’s obvious he’s stronger than Ella, and I never though
t that possible.”

  “He’s older and more adjusted to his power. Ella is fighting a losing battle with the darker powers she holds,” I defend.

  My mind flits back to Kya, the look in her eyes and the way it changed when everyone was around. When it was just the two of us, she looked unguarded, willing, and as hungry as I felt. The wall came up again when we lost that solitude.

  I hate them and love them for interrupting. As I said, I have no idea what the beast truly wanted. I know what I wanted, but not having any control over my actions really pisses me off.

  When I groan, Kimber and Thad turn to look at me.

  “Where’s Zee and his niece?” I ask, needing the distraction.

  “He returned her to her home, and he’s staying in the area until there’s a heavy guard presence. Kane and Alyssa are sending reinforcements to look after them so that he can return and help us.”

  “So the sister knows Zee is alive?”

  “No. He’s sticking to the shadows. The kid’s memories were wiped. To her knowledge, she was taken by a crazy woman who thought she was her daughter, but let her go when she realized she wasn’t. There was only so much that could be erased, so that was the direction we went.”

  I nod absently, still thinking about Kya when I should be thinking about everything else.

  “So... Kya?” Thad asks, making me wonder if I just spoke her name aloud.

  “What about her?”

  Gage’s eyes meet mine in the mirror again, but he continues driving, not commenting.

  “What’s up with you two? Something you’re not telling us?” Thad goes on, prying.

  “How many people have you killed?” I ask casually, turning to face him.

  His eyes harden. “Why would you ask that?”

  I shrug carelessly. “You have things you wish to hold quiet, and so do I,” I tell him.

  To this, the asshole smirks. “So that’s what’s up with Kya.”

  He waggles his eyebrows, and I roll my eyes, tired of being stuck in the vehicle. I could transport home now, but then everyone would have even more questions. I’m still not sure what Ella will remember from all this.

  But there’s no doubt that Gage knows everything. Slade too.

  I’ll deal with that crossroad when I get there.

  The car ride is quiet for the most part after that, other than Kimber aimlessly spouting off hundreds of theories to the massive fucking puzzle. As soon as she ends one theory, she comes back with her own complicated sets of issues that contradict the previous conclusion.

  Why have demons taken over night stalkers?

  How are they escaping?

  How did they use wiccan magic?

  Demonic magic has a lot of restrictions.

  What does this have to do with the blood of the firsts?

  What does this have to do with the disbanded slave rings?

  All are necessary and perfectly important questions, but there are no answers that link all of them together at once.

  So it’s annoying the fuck out of me to hear them on repeat.

  My head hurts.

  It feels like ages before we finally make it back home. The sun is almost setting again—yeah, that long.

  More than ever before, I need a fight. A good, solid fight.

  That violent urge has always been there, carefully subdued by getting out the rage. It helped when I was an enforcer before the council was disbanded. And for a while now, the urge has been sated by the fight rings.

  It’s worse than ever.

  “We should talk,” Gage says quietly as everyone starts getting out of the car.

  Kimber eyes us curiously, but she heads inside, casting just one more glance at us. Thad frowns, studying us, but I don’t have time for this discussion. I need to fight, or I’m going to end up stalking Kya down and retrieving her like she’s mine to claim.

  What the actual fuck is wrong with me?

  “Where are you going?” Gage asks me as I start walking toward the woods, not waiting for his true inquiry.

  “Nowhere you should follow,” I say over my shoulder.

  ***

  As the blood sprays and the dark user collapses to the mat, spent and unconscious, I raise an obligatory hand to announce my victory.

  Cheers erupt through the air, and I take a soft breath, feeling that calm I’ve been fighting to achieve over the past three hours. I was worried I was going to be here all night.

  When I hop out, Higgins, the dark user that runs the place, walks over to me, narrowing his eyes. No one here has ever seen my face, and tonight is no exception. I keep my eyes their natural color instead of showing what I am... Even though most of them wouldn’t have a clue.

  The heat of my breath fans back from my mask to my face as I breathe through my mouth, tired.

  “You in a mood tonight? I’ve never seen you quite so aggressive.”

  I just nod, not speaking aloud. It’s another thing I don’t do here.

  “You want another fight, or are you done for the night?”

  I wave him off, letting him know I’m finished. He groans like it’s a bad thing. Then again, people show up more and pay more on the nights I’m here to fight. This is how he makes his living.

  More guys want to be here to challenge me, since I’m the reigning champ. Which means more guys spending money at his training facility as well, just to get strong enough to beat me. Powers are useless against me though. As long as I’m close enough and can focus on just one person, I can snuff out their ability to use their power against me.

  Usually.

  I haven’t tried that theory on Slade yet. I’m not sure he’d let me close enough to give it a whirl either.

  As soon as I step out into the dark alley around back, my skin prickles and the faint scent of blood assaults me. The wind slices, and I duck, slamming my elbow back into someone’s torso.

  They never learn.

  A pained yelp escapes my attacker, and I spin before grabbing someone’s short hair and slamming them into the wall across from me. They drop, and I stare at a night stalker as he spits out blood.

  He laughs, for no fucking reason, but then I hear a sharp cry close behind me.

  My body spins in time to see another guy, his eyes rolling back in his head. A dagger has been shoved through his chest... An anointed dagger.

  As his lifeless body drops to the ground, my eyes connect with a familiar set of dark ones, and the subdued beast inside me tries to stir to life.

  Kya smirks before jerking the dagger back out, and she tosses it to me through the air.

  I catch it, hearing the sound of an approach seconds before I slam the dagger back, crunching through bone and skin as a bloodcurdling scream fills the air.

  I never even turn around to see the night stalker I’ve killed. Instead, I jerk the dagger free, hearing the body thud to the ground. It’s not the first time I’ve been attacked after a fight. Immortals are sore losers.

  I hold the dagger at my side as I study the eyes of the woman who is quickly becoming the bane of my existence.

  “You look scary with that mask on. Can we go someplace where you can take it off?” she asks, propping up against the wall. “And can I have that back?” she adds, pointing to the dagger I’m still gripping.

  Her eyes are stronger, her body looks to be full of color instead of slightly pale. She’s fed recently. We’ve barely been back long at all, yet she’s managed to steal souls? Impressive.

  I glance around, wondering if we have an audience, then I suddenly appear in front of her, ignoring her quick intake of air as I wrap my free arm around her waist. Her nails dig into the skin on my chest as she clutches me, holding on as we land in the woods past Thad’s house.

  He and Roslyn will be tracking tonight, which means these woods won’t have two animals sniffing out intruders.

  Casting a cautious look around, I turn to face Kya as she smooths down her hair and blows out a breath. She takes her dagger and puts it back in its sheath
.

  “I guess you were looking for me,” I state, wondering if she knows just how dangerous it is to tempt a beast.

  “I guess I was,” she quips, poised and confident.

  Feeding does more for her than just restore her strength. Pieces of her humanity seem to be missing. There’s less doubt in her eyes. There’s a layer of coldness there now that wasn’t there before.

  “What do you want?”

  She eyes my face, then frowns. “I want that mask gone. I really don’t like it.”

  That has me smirking, though she can’t see it. “It’s just a mask, Kya. I’m the same man with or without it.”

  She glares at me before closing some of the distance between us. I make no attempt to move as she grabs it and tugs it off. When I feel the cool breeze against my skin, I give her a full smile that has her shifting awkwardly.

  She’s standing close enough for me to touch her if I lean forward just an inch, and she’s staring straight up at me like she’s daring me to touch her.

  “Why’d you come after me?” I ask her.

  “We need to talk.”

  “About?”

  “About us,” she says as though it’s obvious.

  I groan, really fighting to keep things under control now. I literally just got myself calmed.

  “What about us?” I ask, not willing to let her skate around the subject with vagueness.

  “We have a problem,” she tells me.

  “We have a shit-ton of problems.”

  Her lips twitch. “I meant us—our groups. We’re spending our time fighting divided instead of fighting together.”

  That’s the us she was referring to? Not growling becomes my primary focus.

  “Slade is a sociopath.”

  “So you’ve said.”

  “So you’ve not argued.”

  “I’m not sure what Slade is, but he is sane. I’m sure you’d be a little desensitized too if you’d spent centuries as a torture puppet.”

  I grimace, my mind slipping back to the past when I was a child begging my birthmother to spare me. She was killing me slowly, draining all the power she could. It was agonizing and never-ending.

  “Fair enough,” I say, clearing my throat. “But he’s tried killing two of our people already. I’m sure now that he knows what I am, he’ll try killing me too.”