Chapter 29
Reed
The city is more awake than it is when it’s daylight, I swear.
The lights glow bright red, green, blue, purple, orange, white, and every other conceivable shade.
Everything is shapes and shadows, darkened windows, a world turning from dusk to night.
People in business clothing hurry home, while people wearing attire to attract a mate come walking out, swaggering and sending sultry looks around as they giggle and laugh.
It’s creepy and unnerving. There are so many dangers, but humans seem unaware of the other worlders that are lurking all around them.
I stay close to Mei as we move along the sidewalk.
“Did Diablos say anything about this one?” Ronit grumbles.
“Just that we need to go to this store and talk to the owner.”
The store is a tattoo shop, and the guy standing inside, warily watching us, is not human. His hair is thick but clearly sable fur, his nails are claws, his arms just a little too long, and his teeth are sharp and deadly.
“The demon send you?” he grunts and steps back, giving way. The inside stinks of weed and incense.
I glance around, seeing the art on the walls; some of it is just normal art. Other pieces are wards, protection sigils, and curses.
“Have you ever seen markings that flow into the skin and come to the surface?” I ask impulsively.
He frowns. “Yes. If you meet one of them, stay away from them.”
“Who was it?”
“His name was Elanderth, but everyone called him Death. He died a long time ago, protecting his mate. The story is infamous. He managed to send her to another world before the demons who were hunting them got her. He almost wiped out a thousand of them. But no one demon can survive against so many, not when they kept coming.”
I rub my chin, glancing outside at Lirin, Leaf, Brio, and Mei.
He glances at us, then at Mei, and his eyes widen. “Death had a child?”
I move with the speed of light, holding a blade to his throat. “You didn’t see her. We came here today, and it was just the three of us.”
He swallows hard. “Sure. You have to understand, Death was one of the most respected warriors in Hell. He was magic. We all mourned when he died.”
I growl at him, not wanting to hear the awe and curiosity in his voice. I want him to forget her.
“I swear on my soul as a demon that I mean no ill will towards any child of Death or that omega out there.”
I snarl louder and shove the knife up higher. It bites into his skin. His massive muscles bulge, but then he relaxes.
“I’m Turn, and the creature, the job you are after, he hangs from up high and stalks people. He likes the drunk and drugged ones, chasing and terrorizing them until he finally ends it.”
“Turn?” I scoff, but Canto puts his hand on my shoulder and eases me back.
“Thank you. Is there anything else that we need to know?” Canto says smoothly.
Turn shakes his head, but his eyes are on Mei. “Death would be so happy to know she made it.”
I slam him into the wall of his shop. “She doesn’t exist,” I grit out furiously.
“There are demons who are going to want to meet her; you can’t keep her buried to yourselves forever.”
This idiot wants to die. I exchange a look with Canto, silently telling him that we should do it now. He shakes his head in a minute movement.
“We can while she’s being hunted by the creature that took her mother,” Ronit snaps in a deadly warning that leaves no illusions of what will happen to him if he continues pushing.
Turn’s grey eyes get wide, and he clutches his black leather vest to his chest, his lips turning down. Everything about him is now saying that he will obey, but I still don’t trust him.
Turn’s bronzed skin pales. “Deux?”
I whip my head towards him. “How the fuck did you know that?”
“There are a few creatures everyone fears, but a whole heap of them are locked up still or packed up, but there are rumours of Deux roaming around unchecked. I’d heard the Healer was here.”
I don’t like it. I don’t like any of it.
“But who are you?” he says, and his eyes turn golden yellow as he studies me.
My temper snaps, and I take a step, but the door opens, and the feeling of a thousand-foot wave bearing down fills the shop.
He throws himself back, slamming into the wall and sliding sideways.
“Sirens? You’re the Sirens?”
Ronit snarls. “Leaf, that wasn’t needed.”
“You’re taking too long, Mei is hungry.”
Turn’s eyes widen to saucers. “You brought the fucking Leviathan here?”
“Watch your mouth,” I growl at the useless demon.
“Okay, well, she is in safe hands, and I’m going to pretend I didn’t see anything.”
He pauses, looking between us and suddenly makes the connection.
“The Healer as well? She is Death’s daughter?”
I swipe at him, but he squeals and runs. He disappears into the back room, and a moment later, I hear a door slam shut and feet running away.
I shake my head and grab Leaf by the back of his head, dragging his mouth to mine. It’s a fierce kiss. Our first, but it feels right.
He pulls me closer, his huge hands sliding down my back and gripping my ass.
I break away. “Later.”
He growls and watches me pull away. I can feel his eyes on me as I leave the foul-smelling shop.
Mei is waiting outside, and she smiles when I approach.
It hits me hard in the chest, making my heart jump. Her smile is something I want to see all the time.
I reach out and cup her cheek. “My darling Nightmare. Are you ready to go hunting?”
She cackles and throws her hand out, flinging seven red, pulsing runes into the air. They dissolve, but the throbbing red explodes out from this spot, searching and seeking.
“It almost feels like cheating,” Lirin whines
“If you want to hunt it the old-fashioned way, you can stay and do that while we are all at home getting knotted,” Ronit says.
“Pass!” Lirin shouts.
“I thought so.”
***
I race down the street, my footsteps pounding as I chase the shadow. It jumps to the next building and comes down on the side, running as easily on it as it did on the roof. I still can’t tell what shape it is, but I’m ready to be done with it.
“I fucking hate running,” I mutter for the tenth time tonight.
Five hours of running, and you’d think we’d be getting close, but this creature is adept at escape, slipping through our clutches as if we were amateurs.
Even Mei is getting frustrated.
“We need a new strategy!” I shout, thoroughly pissed off. We could be fucking or sleeping.
Mei snarls as she gets close, leaping off a building, but at the last second, the creature dives, and she misses. My chest caves in as I watch her catapult through the air.
“LEAF!” I roar.
The Leviathan looks up and leaps through his portal, snagging her out of the air and landing next to me.
“Don’t do that again!” I shout as I continue chasing this creature. I wipe my sweaty hair back from my forehead and snarl under my breath. It sets off Lirin, who bursts out laughing, but he’s leaning on the side of a building looking like he’s going to collapse.
I pull out my trident and race faster. As soon as I get my chance, using all my strength, I throw it.
For a second, I think I’m going to completely miss, but it smacks into the creature and sends it crashing into an office window.
“Nice work, Reed!”
Ronit breaks us into the building, and we run up the stairs, which is even crueler than running in the streets.
The creature is lying on the carpet, while paper floats around the room, lifted from the broken window.
I walk over to it, put my foot on its shoulder, and rip my trident out of its body. There is no movement.
I look it over. It’s small. Much smaller than Mei, but it’s got long teeth and deadly-looking claws.
“What is it?” I mutter.
“It’s a goblin. It must have got a taste of flesh and started hunting. They become really obsessive sometimes,” Mei says with disinterest. “You can always tell by the smell of rotting flowers, it’s a whole thing with them.”
I nudge it with the tip of my boot. “What do we do with it?”
“Send it to Diablos,” Ronit says with a tiny amount of glee that I know he will deny. “Leaf, open the door to Diablos-”
The portal opens, and I look through and see Diablos, Stix, and Puppy.
Mei giggles.
I grab the corpse and toss it in.
“WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK!” Diablos roars.
“Close it, close it, close it!” I chant, but I can’t stop my laughter.
It snaps shut, and for a moment, we’re silent, but then we all start laughing.
“Nice, Leaf. That was the perfect spot.”
Leaf smiles, but there’s something contemplative in his eyes.
“What’s the matter?” I ask when we’re on the stairs.
“It wasn’t me. I didn’t open it.”
I frown, if he didn’t open it, who did?
“Hello.”
I turn around and see a woman with brown hair. She looks like she might be about nineteen or twenty. The hair on my arms rises, and I step back towards the stairs, keeping my shiver behind me.
“Hi.”
She rushes me and hugs me.
“What the fuck, lady, get off me!” I peel her off and toss her away. She comes at me again, but this time, I throw her harder, and she lies there limp.
There’s something off about her, but I can’t tell what it is.
The others have left me behind, so I rush down the stairs, anxious to get away.
“You aren’t going to believe me, but there’s this-”
I turn, and she’s there smiling at me, but there’s no sign of intelligence in her gaze, and her smile is too wide.
She made no sound. My hackles go up, and I step sideways, blocking her view of Mei.
“Go the fuck away!” I growl in my most threatening voice.
She tilts her head back, opens her mouth, still smiling, and then clacks her teeth.
I shudder.
“Ronit!”
“Ronit,” she repeats in my voice.
My eyes widen.
“What did you say?”
“What did you say?” she echoes.
“Oh, fuck, this is creepy,” Lirin whispers. “Um, what do we do?”
“Kill it!” I shout.
“Kill it!”
I pull my trident again and, to my utter disbelief and consternation, the creature does the same.
“Well, that’s not good,” Ronit murmurs.
I step towards it, holding the trident horizontal with my body. She does the same all the time, smiling and clacking those fucking teeth.
“Do something!”
“Do something.”
I shudder and feint to the left, but she does the same thing, and our tridents glance off each other. I had expected it to be a mirage or something, but our solid tridents clang against each other. Real weapons. She is real, whatever the fuck she is.
“Fuck!” Brio whispers.
Mei clamps her hand over Brio’s mouth.
“No one sings. No more words,” Mei murmurs.
We spread out and encircle this creature, and when Canto lunges, I lunge, but it imitates Canto, knocks his blade back, and then still manages to attack me.
Nope, I am a Siren. I’m not doing this.
We whirl as one, moving faster and faster. We’re a damn blur, and the creature has to use everything it’s got to keep up.
Faster and faster.
Our endurance is unrivaled.
I will not allow this thing to live.
It suddenly snarls and drops to a crouch before jumping up as an identical image of Mei.
Within moments, it’s swirled her, and they are hopelessly mixed up. I can see their faces intently, trying to spot anything that will give us an indication of who the real Healer is.
Both of them have runes that float up and vanish. Neither is smiling.
“Speak, Mei.”
“Speak, Mei.” They both say at the same time.
I lunge before I can think better of it and spear my trident into Mei.
Her mouth opens and red blood fountains up, pouring out of her mouth.
“REED! WHAT DID YOU DO!” Lirin screams.
I do not look away from this fake Mei. I know this isn’t my omega. My omega…is she mine? Not yet, but she will be. Wait…just wait a minute. Is Mei my scent match? I glance to the side and see the satisfied smile on her lips.
There’s not even a flicker of doubt in my mind, but I can feel the others aren’t so certain.
The Mei on my trident collapses, and I lower her to the road, watching as she dies.
It suddenly changes shape, and we see a grizzled old woman who is covered in wrinkles. As we watch, she turns to dust and disappears.
“How did you know?” Mei asks as she leans into my arms.
“Because you are a song I would always know.”
And that’s that.
Mei is mine.
I pull her into my arms and kiss her hard.
“Home. We’re going home,” I snarl. “I am done with this place.”