Chapter 14 #2
“And who says I need them to?” Raziel’s voice took on a different quality—not the commanding tone he used on humans, but something darker, more intimate. “Tell me, Cassius, do you still have nightmares about what I did to your precious little progeny?”
The effect was immediate. Cassius’s confident advance faltered, his expression shifting from predatory hunger to something approaching fear. “That was a long time ago.” His voice had lost its certainty.
“Not that long. I remember it perfectly. The way she begged. The way she screamed. The way she finally broke when I showed her exactly how creative I could be with a set of silver shackles and a very sharp knife. Do you know she begged for it? She hated you. Loathed you. Never wanted to be turned in the first place. She wanted freedom. Wanted to be broken. I was more than eager to do it. Mother told you not to make her, and you did anyway. And I was sent to clean up your mess. Ironic, really, when you think about it now.”
Nadi felt her stomach turn. This was a side of Raziel she’d heard about but never witnessed firsthand. The psychological warfare and the casual cruelty that had made him the most feared enforcer in the vampire world were legendary.
But it was working. Cassius’s hand that gripped the switchblade was shaking slightly.
“You see,” Raziel continued, beginning to approach the older vampire like a predator stalking wounded prey, “I learned something important that night with her. About you. About how you failed to give her what she really needed. She prayed for death because you failed her.”
“Shut up,” Cassius whispered.
“She called your name, you know. Right at the end. ‘Cassius, help me.’ Over and over again. But you couldn’t help her, could you? You couldn’t even find her body when I was done.”
“Shut up!” Cassius lunged forward, slashing his knife through the air in a blind arc at the other vampire.
Raziel wasn’t there.
He easily stepped around the blade, smooth and effortless, one hand catching Cassius’s wrist while the other drove up under his ribcage.
Cassius grunted, his eyes wide, frozen in horror and pain.
“Beg,” Raziel whispered. “Beg me for your life, and I might make this quick. Fight me, and I’ll take my time. I’ll make that night with your little pet look like a child’s game compared to what I do to you.”
The proud vampire’s resolve cracked. “Please,” Cassius gasped. “Please, I—”
Raziel’s hand drove upward, fingers punching through muscle and bone with a thick wet squelch.
Cassius had time for one last gurgling scream before Raziel ripped his heart from his chest, the suctioning sound almost making Nadi heave up her breakfast onto the floor.
Raziel held up the heart with idle fascination, observing it in the facility’s flickering light.
“Disappointing.” Raziel’s tone was disinterested as he let the body and the heart drop to his feet.
“Mother moon…” Nadi whispered. She’d known Raziel was capable of violence, but this level of psychological manipulation followed by clinical brutality was something else.
A fresh hail of bullets sent Raziel ducking behind the container where Nadi had taken shelter. “I am beginning to suspect this whole effort was a setup.” Raziel smirked. “I think we should get out of here, little murderer of mine.”
Nadi didn’t want to consider it. But their lack of company from the other Iltanis was fairly obvious. Either things went spectacularly wrong, or they had no intention of ever joining them. “I think you’re r—”
“What a massive mess this all has turned out to be!” A voice cut through the bullets. “Enough with all the noise, will you? Shit, it echoes in here. You’re going to give me a headache!”
The voice made Nadi’s voice run as cold as ice.
No. No, it couldn’t be.
Raziel grimaced, baring his fangs.
It was Lana.
But she wasn’t alone. There were multiple sets of footsteps with her. And angry voices.
“—told you this would happen,” a woman was saying. “This marriage has made every fae clan think they can take shots at us with impunity.”
“Both of you, shut up. They’re not being bold, they know this is their last stand. I shouldn’t be surprised you’re both still alive! Oh, do come out, brother dear, won’t you? And Nadi, we can still sort this out.”
Nadi grabbed Raziel’s arm, pulling him into the shadows behind one of the massive processing vats.
“Who is that with her?” Raziel whispered.
“Rosov sisters,” Nadi breathed. “Nabrisi and Asha. We can’t go out there if there’s three of them—”
The footsteps were getting closer, along with the sound of armed figures spreading out through the facility. These weren’t the human security guards they’d been dealing with—these were vampire enforcers, probably elite ones if they were working directly for the Rosov family.
But for a long stretch, they went silent. Nadi crept closer, trying to peek around the corner to catch a glimpse of how many they now had to deal with.
“How many?” Raziel asked.
“Too many,” came a voice from behind them.
They spun to find themselves facing a woman that Nadi had seen once before. Her close-cropped dark hair, strong jawline, and her insistence on wearing men’s clothing made her an imposing figure. And that was clearly how she liked it.
Nabrisi Rosov stood ten feet away, flanked by four vampires in tactical gear. Her expression was one of mild amusement, as if she’d just discovered something unexpectedly entertaining.
“The infamous Serpent,” she said, her voice carrying a slight accent that spoke of old money and older blood. She had a gun raised, pointed straight at Raziel. “And his pet fae. I see you have been having a bit of fun.”
“I can arrange for more, if you’d like,” Raziel replied, his tone conversational despite the fact that they were clearly outnumbered and outgunned.
“Mm. We shall see. Move.” Nabrisi smiled, showing teeth that were perhaps a bit too sharp, even for a vampire.
Raziel and Nadi, hands raised, were herded into the center of the processing facility.
There, standing in front of them, was Lana, looking hysterically out of place in her pure white fur coat with hot-pink liner and sequined gown. She looked resplendent, surrounded by nothing but grunge, rust, gore, and garbage.
And now a few corpses, as well.
Behind her, another figure stepped into the light.
Where Nabrisi was imposing and masculine in her bearing, this woman was delicate, almost fragile.
But Nadi could see the intelligence in her large dark orange eyes, the careful way she moved that spoke of someone far more dangerous than her appearance suggested.
Asha Rosov. The youngest of the siblings, and according to what little she knew of her, possibly the most lethal.
“Sisters,” Asha said softly, “perhaps we should simply kill them and be done with it. The longer we delay, the more opportunity for escape.”
“Where’s the fun in that?” Nabrisi asked. “Besides, I have questions. Such as what the Serpent is doing working with fae terrorists. Perhaps the fae bitch has tamed him.”
“No, I doubt that.” Lana tilted her head to the side thoughtfully. “More likely looking for his own personal army.” She sighed drearily. “You poor, predictable little bastard. Always looking for toys to break. Like Nadi. Hello, dear. Nice to see you again.”
Nadi shifted her grip on the blades reflexively. This wasn’t going to end well. By her count, there were thirty humans in the room with guns trained on them.
“Let’s start by clearing the chaff, shall we?” Raziel unbuttoned his suit coat buttons. His whole outfit looked the worse for wear. “Kill yourself.”
The two words flowed through the room with the familiar weight of his power. But this time they simply… felt different.
They felt right.
Nadi lifted one of the daggers to her own throat.
This was right.
“Nadi!”