Chapter 5
Icross the street to the park and come to a standstill in front of the wrought-iron gates.
My magic conjures the wards, materializing as a shadowy black net interwoven with Elomadh and Eloghyll.
It stretches tightly around the entire park, keeping unwanted visitors out.
They’re much like the wards on our house but less intense.
I pluck at some of the symbols, erasing and replacing them with new ones.
After a few changes, the improved wards should keep anyone out who isn’t an approved resident of this street or accompanied by one.
If the problem persists, I’ll ramp up the intensity so we’re the only ones allowed to enter.
Her comfort is more important than whether or not other residents have access to the park.
They only get to use it because I’m allowing it—a liberty I won’t hesitate to take away from them.
Besides, the stronger I make the wards, the trickier the magic becomes.
It will require more of my energy, and I would rather not spend it needlessly if I don’t know what I’m walking into next.
The scars on my arms, hidden beneath my standard glamor, sting faintly, underscoring exactly that.
I have more power now that I’m free and no longer held back by my chains, and my magic hums beneath my skin, eager to come out and play.
It’s a delicate balance to use enough so the energy doesn’t pent up and not too much, or I might find myself defenseless.
A simple wave of my hand covers the wards once more.
I turn my attention back to the matter at hand and cast a transportation spell that locks onto Nikolay’s location.
The scars on my arms tingle softly, and with a rush of magic, I go from standing in front of the park to the backyard of a suburban family home.
The back door to the kitchen stands ajar, the light inside burning brightly as if to invite me in. This already gives me a heads-up about the situation we can expect. Nobody in their right mind voluntarily invites me into their home.
I stride to the door and send my magic out to establish a perimeter around the house.
Nobody will be coming in or leaving without my permission—unless they prefer to give up their life as payment.
Stepping into the kitchen, I wrinkle my nose at the mess.
It’s filthy. Garbage litters every surface, and the sink is stacked high with dirty plates and utensils.
The smell hanging in the air is absolutely foul and nearly enough to make my stomach turn.
“For fuck’s sake,” I curse when a rat scurries past me, darting out into the garden. “Way to devalue my property.”
As I inspect the mess around me, I pull out my phone and message Thomas. The house will be free come morning, but it’ll need serious cleanup before it can be put on the market again. And an exterminator.
Pocketing my phone, I hear a whimper from deeper in the house. Carefully sidestepping the garbage bags piled against the walls and spilling onto the floor, I make my way through the kitchen. The hallway is equally messy—if not worse. The filth makes my shoes stick to the carpet.
“Going to need to burn the place down,” I mutter in disgust.
I enter the living room, and the first thing I see is a dead woman sprawled on the sofa.
Her body is partially shrouded in darkness, the single table lamp next to the sofa barely illuminating her.
She’s naked, her long chestnut hair tangled and coated red with blood.
Large chunks of flesh are missing, and the air is thick with the scent of blood and sex.
It tells me exactly how she died—something I didn’t need to know.
A sucking sound comes from behind the sofa, and a tall, slim figure rises, cradling something in its arms. A pair of black eyes catches mine, and he smiles at me with blood-coated lips, the red stark against his pale, almost white skin.
“Before you say anything”—the man nods at the woman on the sofa—“she was already dead when I got here.”
“I figured as much, Alix. You’re not this sloppy,” I reply, gesturing as I step up to him.
“Thanks?” Alix grins at me, licking some blood from his lips and draping the man in his arms over the back of the sofa.
“Besides, I already suspected you’re the reason he even dared to call.”
His mouth curls into a smile, baring his sharp teeth. “He was so scared; I couldn’t resist. It gave his blood just that little extra flavor, you know?” Alix takes a tissue from his pocket to clean the excess blood from his face, the smile never leaving his lips.
“I don’t, actually,” I say, glancing down at the still unconscious man beside us.
“Unless it’s your wife’s, I presume?” He wiggles his eyebrows, his black eyes filled with mischief. “I smell her on you.”
“I would think so, seeing what your hostage phone call interrupted.” Alix snorts. “Next time, contact me yourself.”
Just then, Nikolay stirs, slowly regaining consciousness. A pained moan escapes him as he reaches for his neck, where the vampire bit him.
“Yeah, I’m going to need his head to apologize,” I say, casting a disgusted look at Nikolay.
“Apologize? You? She must be quite something then.”
“You have no idea.”
“Hmm, we should rectify that,” Alix muses. “Bring her over. Désirée is dying to meet her as well.”
“Meet?” I raise an eyebrow. “You mean screw and eat.”
“Yeah, well, if you put it like that…” Alix shrugs.
I sigh as I lean over, because some things just don’t change, grabbing Nikolay’s hair and pulling him up. He whimpers, too weak to fight but lucid enough to answer some questions. “Did he say anything useful before you helped yourself to a snack?”
“He claims he’s innocent, yada yada. The usual bullshit,” Alix informs me while leaning back against the dining table with his arms crossed.
“Life would be so much easier if they just spoke the truth,” I mumble as I drag Nikolay to the front of the sofa.
He’s a big man, often using his size and muscles to intimidate.
His brute strength is part of why I employed him.
His viciousness and disregard for human life are the other parts.
I drop him on top of the woman and bind him down with ropes of black magic, cutting into his skin, keeping him rooted in place.
“Perhaps next time, you should tell them they get to live if they do,” Alix offers.
I snarl at him. “I pay them a fair wage, set them up with a place to live, and give them every opportunity to flourish. If it isn’t enough to earn me some loyalty, then they don’t deserve to live.”
Nikolay starts to struggle against his constraints, yelping when the magic sinks deeper into his skin. “W-what the hell?” he stammers, disbelief filling his eyes. “Lord Deimos? I, I swear I know nothing.”
“Uh-huh, sure,” I say, looking him up and down in disgust. “Your bank account tells a different story, though.”
“What—what do you mean, sir?” He swallows, sweat dripping down his forehead.
I nod at Alix, who approaches, leaning over the back of the sofa and draping his arms around Nikolay’s shoulders from behind.
“It means you’re screwed,” the vampire whispers in his ear.
Nikolay gulps, paling as he looks up at Alix. Alix takes a deep whiff, running his nose up the man’s neck.
“Seeing your line of work,” he says, his tongue darting out to lick the small puncture wounds where he bit Nikolay earlier, “I’m surprised at how little you can handle, especially for a psoglav.
Your fear is so potent it’s almost enough to make me hard.
If only the package were more appealing.
” Alix snickers, and I roll my eyes at his remark.
“Keep it in your pants, will you?” I tsk at him, and he laughs in response. He doesn’t back away from Nikolay, his arms still draped around the man’s shoulders.
“It means,” I begin, my magic whipping out, grabbing Nikolay’s chin and turning his head to face me, “I know you’ve been moonlighting on the side. Now, if it had been any other odd job, I could have looked the other way. But somehow, people end up dead, and deals go wrong on your watch.”
I place my hands next to his head, caging him in with my arms, trapping him between me and Alix at his back. “You’re hired muscle, Nikolay. Your job is to ensure people don’t die. Surely, you see how this came to my attention?”
He gulps again, his Adam’s apple bobbing. Alix is right about his fear; it’s almost palpable. Regardless of what the vampire might think, it’s disgusting.
I lean in closer, our noses almost touching.
“After some digging, I discovered you and your brother haven’t just been moonlighting; you’ve been stealing, raping, and murdering while on my payroll.
The woman whose body you’re sitting on is a fine example of the last two.
We can probably count kidnapping as stealing, meaning you’re three for three. ”
“P-please, Lord Deimos… sir…” Nikolay stumbles over his words, and I push away from him in disgust.
“Tell me, Nikolay, did you really think you could go behind my back just because I wasn’t around?”
He doesn’t answer, so I tighten the magic restraining him. The ropes cut into his skin, drawing blood and eliciting a scream of agony.
I turn my attention to Alix, who’s peeling himself away from Nikolay. “Where’s his brother?”
“Tied up in the bathroom down the hall,” Alix replies, jerking his chin toward the hallway. “Need me to fetch him?”
“That depends,” I say, glancing back at Nikolay. “Do we need to torture him in front of you to make him talk? Or are you going to cooperate?”
I’m counting on the fact that Nikolay loves his twin brother more than anything in this world—the two are inseparable, both in my employ, and they’ve both been disloyal.
“We-we’ve been moonlighting, sir,” he finally stammers, dropping his head in shame. Alix steps away from him, a knowing look on his face. I decide to play along for now and loosen the restraints just enough so they no longer cut into his skin