Within Six Minutes
Theo
Ilet go of Heaven and sit back, scoffing when she doesn’t move from between my legs for a few moments. And here she was acting like she was prepared for anything.
She isn’t.
I flick my finger, draining the glimmer of life from the bees; one by one, they drop dead to the ground.
Allie’s eyes widen before she frowns at me.
“You didn’t need to kill them.”
I cock a brow. “Did you want me to politely show them out? I take lives. I don’t save them.”
“Wrong. You saved Dante,” Blondie says as she stands. Her scent is earthy, floral, fresh, like a garden, when I’m used to the smell of death. Even Allie’s scent is darker.
“I’m not in the mood to discuss things with the two of you. So, how about you go get changed into something a little more appropriate for a midnight walk?”
“Where are we going?” Allie asks, frowning sharply.
“I told you to go get a few souls as tribute for summoning Hades.” I stand up and grab my T-shirt, pulling it on before grabbing my jacket. The girls exchange looks as I check my pockets, pulling out my keys. “Let’s go.”
Twenty minutes later, we’re in my car, and both are quiet as they sit in the back.
I’m enjoying the peace. Usually, they keep going on and on, and it drives me bloody mental.
I know where I’m going to take them, to the most depraved part of the small town of Stratford-upon-Avon, where they’ll have to select who dies.
This is going to be a lot of fun. I smirk as I park up. I’m on a narrow, grungy street. Women stand around smoking, waiting for their next clients. A man is passed out against the wall, probably overdosed on some crap or other.
There’s a club not far from us, the hum of the music and the faint lights whenever the door opens are the only sounds we hear for a moment.
“Can’t you just kill some evil people? Doesn’t your pack prison contain some people who have committed atrocious crimes?” Blondie asks, her voice as haughty as ever. I know she’s squirming inside, no matter how unbothered she’s pretending to be.
“Doesn’t work like that, Blondie. Plus, I don’t think I want to explain to my old man how someone suddenly died.
” I strum my fingers on the steering wheel, looking through my tinted windows as I see a businessman step out of the club.
He’s unsteady on his feet, and the way his shirt is undone, it’s obvious he’s just fucked around in there.
I see the glint of a ring on his finger.
“He’ll do,” I say.
“What? He’s a normal person!” Heaven says, her voice tight.
I chuckle watching the man get into his car. “Yup, who has plenty of life ahead of him, but it’s him, or we keep looking, and it was the two of you who wanted this done as fast as fucking possible, right?”
“But we can choose some-” I turn, cutting the pampered princess off.
“Choosing who dies isn’t easy, is it? If we want, we can justify every single one of them, but we don’t have the time. Now, look around, and choose your targets.”
“You’re sick, Theo,” Allie says flatly.
I chuckle humourlessly. “Thanks, so take your pick, plenty of trash around here.”
“Her.” Allie points at someone, and I follow in the direction she’s pointing, at a woman who is leaning against a pole, smoking. She looks out of it; her life span is shorter than the man I’ve finalised… but she might do.
“Allie! We can’t.”
“We don’t have a choice. Besides, she’ll die soon; she’s sick.”
“And you know that how?” I ask.
“Lycan hearing, asshole,” she bites back.
“Alright, you’re up, Blondie.”
She lets out a small huff of annoyance, but doesn’t respond. I glance at her through the rearview mirror as she stares outside, the tiniest of frowns on her face.
She’s the kind of woman Hades would love to play with; her power and her connection to her witch bloodline are something that would make him even keener. Many dead witches reside in the underworld, and the connection between the dead and the living remains.
She’s not chosen anyone, but she’s watching everyone. A woman drags a man who’s approached her down a narrow alley, where I see he’s already got his hands all over her.
I scoff. “Time, Blondie, we’re running out of time. I still need to actually take their souls, so any time tonight would be great.”
“I can’t choose someone like this… at random. Wait, I can. I’ll choose the one who holds the most evil within their heart,” she states before reaching for the front seat lever to lift it up so she can get out.
“Where are you going?”
“Outside, I need to be in touch with the earth,” she replies arrogantly, as if this is obvious.
“Just pick someone; you’re not getting out.” She’s mental.
This time, she scoffs. “Watch me,” she says with a ‘no one tells me what to do’ expression on her face.
She pushes the seat forward and opens the door, getting out. I curse under my breath. Girls are fucking annoying. I get out and look at her from over the roof of the car.
“I can manage alone,” she declares, flicking her hair over her shoulder. I cock a brow as she whispers a spell and, kneeling down, places her hand on the ground. Her eyes glow the moment her hand touches it.
Allie mutters something about that being gross, but Blondie doesn’t seem to care.
She closes her eyes, and I watch. Can she really sense out those who are evil?
“Can you really tell if someone is evil?” I ask sceptically. She ignores me, but Allie, who is standing behind her, arms crossed, looks at me and nods.
“Yeah, it’s not the best of spells because the supernatural can block it with ease, but for humans, it works well.”
Something like that could sure come in handy.
“Found one.” She looks up at me, and I raise an eyebrow.
“So how do we find them? You going to share what this ‘evil’ person looks like?” I mock, making quotation marks with my fingers.
“Yes. He’s wearing a gold watch, three rings on his left hand, and a terracotta-coloured tie.”
“English, please. Terracotta?” Is that a shade of brown?
“It’s a colour.” I frown.
“Yeah, what shade? You don’t need to complicate things. Terracotta is like a brown, init?”
She stares at me, and she doesn’t need to wear an expression for me to know she’s thinking I’m dumb.
“It’s a burnt orange.”
“Orange. You could have just said that,” I mutter.
“Not just orange, a dark brownish-orange, like the colour of Halloween and autumn.”
“Right, somewhere between brown and orange. Just get back in the car. I’ll go get him if he’s suitable.”
“He is, I can sense it.”
I meant if he has enough life left. Hades doesn’t care for someone who is about to die.
I wait until they get in the car, and focus on the mist I created, watching the sleek blue blend in with the surrounding darkness thanks to the fog.
I pass by my chosen target’s car. Pulling open the door, I look at the confused man and drag my extracted nail down the centre of his forehead.
He’ll die within the next six minutes.
Shutting the door, I’m stopped by one of the prostitutes.
“Hey sexy, looking for some fun? I charge 200, but for you, I’ll take 100.” I look at the woman who’s chewing gum, her garish make-up and bleached hair look like a fucking mess.
“No thanks,” I reply with a small smirk as I walk past her towards the club.
“50 pounds then!”
“No thanks.” Dude, that’s an insult; does she think I need to pay for sex? I mean, I know I’m good-looking. Girls line up for me for free.
I enter the club and start scanning the crowd, trying to find the person wearing a bloody terracotta tie. I pass through the crowd, heading to the rooms in the back. I look past the curtains. No one notices me, far too consumed by the women or men they’re fucking.
I see two guards ahead and tilt my head, maybe?
I let the mist cloud the dark hall and silently slip past the unsuspecting guards.
Sliding the curtain aside, I instantly frown at the sight before me.
The man wearing a very dark orange – yes, she could have just said dark – tie has his pants open and is fucking a woman that he is holding face down on the bed, but I can still hear her stifled sobs.
“I don’t think she’s enjoying that,” I say quietly, letting the fog swirl around us, coming mid-thigh.
The man pauses as he looks at me, confusion flickering in his eyes.
“Who the fuck are you?” he snarls. “Security!”
Right now, he’s in my domain, and no one else can hear him.
“They won’t hear you,” I say quietly. He still hasn’t stopped, and it’s fucking getting to me. Walking over to him, I rip him off the woman, only for my blood to run cold when she falls sideways on the bed. She’s young, fuck, younger than Allie and Heaven.
I look at the cunt. He’s at least in his late 50s. His eyes fill with unease at the look in mine.
Blondie sure chose well…
I don’t move, simply dragging my nail down his forehead. His eyes widen before they roll, and he stumbles back, tripping, his head hitting the solid table behind, snapping his neck.
That was fast.
“Get your shit together and go to the station. I don’t know how much help they’ll be, but it’s your best shot.
Go now, or you won’t be able to,” I say to the girl who is still sobbing on the bed.
She won’t remember me or what happened. She grabs her clothes before she runs from the room.
I hear the guard shout, but the moment I step out, they stop and turn towards the room, completely looking past me.
I leave the club, approaching the target Allie had selected. I drag my nail down her forehead, and she stumbles back. She’ll be hit by a car in the next six minutes. I’m returning to my car when I hear the hum of a familiar bike.
Fuck.
I clear the mist, striding towards the car, but before I get there, Jayce’s bike pulls up in front of me, blocking the path.
“What the hell are you doing out here?” he asks me, his eyes sharp.
“What do you think? You know what area this is, right?” I ask, sauntering over to him. As long as he doesn’t notice the girls...
“With Alessandra and Heaven?” he asks, narrowing his eyes.
I sigh. Well fuck.
“They wanted to come explore this side of town, too?” I try lamely. Obviously, this asshole won’t buy it.
“The truth, now,” he commands. “You know this is fucking reckless, and with the Rossi girls? You know how that’ll go down if shit goes south?”
I smirk. “I thought it would be a great payback for Uncle Al. You know, dump them somewhere, and watch him tear through everything,” I reply mockingly.
“Not funny,” he replies coldly.
“It’s kinda funny,” I snicker, but his eyes only get narrower. “Ok, fine, we should get back. This isn’t the place to loiter around,” I say.
Jayce looks around as if trying to figure out what I’m doing here. Right now, no one has noticed, but soon they will, and it will become chaotic.
He’s confused, but he’s smarter than to argue, so he jerks his head towards the car.
“I’ll follow behind.”
“If you can keep up,” I smirk before I get in the car and rev my engine before slamming my foot down, cruising down the narrow street.
Just before I turn the corner, I see a car screech behind us, followed by an ear-piercing scream, and I glance through my rearview mirror.
My dramatic passengers gasp.
The first target crashed his car into the third target before knocking into a wall, totalling his car. I watch their souls leave their bodies.
Three lives, within six minutes…
Perfect.
He kept up with us, the fucking wanker.
He even made it home first and is leaning against his bike, looking pissed.
Our drive had passed in silence. I know the girls are still shaken from the three lives we sacrificed to Hades. Even if both are acting like they aren’t, their silence is louder.
“Neither of you speaks. I got this, yeah?” I say. Neither replies.
I park up in the garage, and he walks over to us. The girls get out, and I motion for them to leave. I don’t need him to find out about the entire Hades shit.
“No one is going anywhere. What the fuck are you three up to?”
The girls exchange looks before Blondie juts up her chin like she always does before she speaks.
Right, now she’s going to come out with some patronising shit, and that ain’t going to work with Jayce.
“Right, I got this, ain’t it way past your bedtime?” I remark.
Both cast me a withering glare. “We’re finding a way to get Sienna back,” Heaven blurts out. I look at her in disbelief, but she’s staring straight at Jayce.
He frowns deeply. “What?”
“Yeah, someone’s got to do something,” Allie adds.
“What did I say about not speaking?” I ask, exasperatedly.
“No, keep talking,” Jayce says.
I observe him. His eyes might be fucking emotionless, and he’s become colder, but he still cares for her even if he pretends he doesn’t.
“We’re finding a way to bring her back,” Heaven repeats, “and we needed Theo’s help with that.
Do you want to help us?” She sounds doubtful, as if not expecting him to agree, and I get it.
In the beginning, she tried to talk to him a couple of times, but he totally brushed her off. Worse than I did, man.
“She was in my division, and that makes her my responsibility. I’m in.”
“What?” I say, shocked, then grin slyly. This is my escape! “Wait, so since you got Jayce, the Deimos King, you don’t need me, right?”
“We do,” Blondie chimes.
This crazy woman ain’t going to let me get away.
“Yeah, and I want to know how exactly you’re helping?” Jayce asks, his eyes now on me.
“Well… wait, so we’re all just going to go with it? I mean, no one wants to grill Jayce on anything?” I counter. “Why me, man?”
No one moves, all three staring at me.
There’s no way I won’t have to tell Jayce now…
“Damn!” I mutter, rubbing my jaw.
I have such bad luck.