“I got your back,” Dagan said quietly. “You’ve always had mine. And so do the others.” He rose, stepped into the shadows, and dematerialized.
Yells erupted a short distance up the alley. A herd of humans kitted out in leather, metal, and spiky hair congregated just past a bikers’ den. Goths.
Someone threw a punch, and a scuffle started, the shouting and snarling spiking.
Nik pushed to his feet and leaned against the building behind him, arms folded over his chest, watching the idiots battle it out. He could leave, but he cooled his heels and waited, knowing what would soon stalk these idiotic mortals. The supernatural bane to humanity would be drawn to the vicious fighting, then his fun would begin.
A ginger, scraggly, one-eyed feline sidled alongside the grimy wall opposite Nik, its attention on the dumpster farther down the alley. The cat suddenly froze, staring at something it sensed, but Nik already felt. The familiar icy prickles scraped along his spine, and the mystical, Gaian sword tattoo imprinted on his biceps stirred. Demoniis. Damn soul suckers were right on track, slithering toward the tussling humans.
Nik straightened, tracking the vibe halfway down the dead-end alley. Three of them. About to flash and deal with the fuckers, movement flickered atop a looming warehouse farther down the alley, and Nik paused.
A hooded figure lowered to a crouch on the roof, staring into the alley, then he sprang up and jumped easily to the next building and then the next, getting closer…to the demoniis?
Eyes narrowed, Nik watched the dark figure scale down the drainpipe like a spider monkey and suddenly appeared behind a demonii. Daggers in both hands flashed dully under the silver moonlight. The hooded form moved incredibly fast, one blade slicing across the carotid, the other ramming straight in the heart.
The demonii gurgled and collapsed to the ground, rapidly disintegrating into dust. The other one growled, rushing for the crusader who sidestepped as if he’d woven tai chi into his tae-kwon-do attacks, ending the soul sucker in the same seamless fashion with blades flashing.
Human. His aura glowed like a damn light bulb.
As the mortal chased after the final fleeing demonii, heading away from Nik, the night air serrated into an agitating portal at the dead-end alley. Massive reddish-black demons poured out. Nik stilled.
He’d never seen shitheads like these before. Their dense sulfuric odor roiled even his iron-clad stomach. What the fuck were they doing on this domain, besides destroying the mystical veils guarding the mortal world with their forbidden entrance?
He had to deal with this before shit flew.
Aethan, he telepathed the warrior he sensed closest to him. Get the others here. We have a situation! While he could probably take them all, there were humans in this vicinity. It wouldn’t do to draw attention to this horror or accidentally kill the mortals in the fracas that would arise.
A scaly demon lumbered forward, swiping at Nik with its huge fist, and he jumped back, narrowly missing having his face slashed open from lethal black talons. The thing spat. Dammit! He hastily ducked, avoiding the spittle attack, and shot up into the air. He grabbed the eight-foot-tall scourge’s head, ramming him face-first into the brick wall. Bones crunched. Growls erupted. As Nik landed on his feet, he summoned an ice lance and hurled it at the demon barging toward him, nailing him in the chest.
A feminine curse exploded nearby.
What the fuck?
Nik spun around. With shit flying all around them, he couldn’t find the human.
Dammit. Before the female got hurt, he shot out several ice arrows with a flash of his hand, freezing the menaces. The humid air displaced. Aethan and Dagan took form. They flew into the melee, their black Gaian swords swinging.
Nik barely evaded a swipe of talons to the head, searching the ruckus for the woman.
“Where in Ater’s Hell did these fuckers come from?” Aethan growled, plunging his weapon deep into a demon’s belly.
“No idea. Gotta go!” Nik shot back. “A human saw the entire damn thing.” He had to do a mind scrub.
He scanned the area for movements. There, up the alley, a figure bolted.
Surprise rocked him. The fighter in the hoodie was female?
She grabbed a drainpipe and climbed the thing as effortlessly as she’d descended earlier.
Nik sprinted after her, then skidded to a halt.
Why the fuck was he chasing her?
He dematerialized to the roof, reforming just as she appeared on top. She lashed out with a kick, and he grabbed her booted ankle before it made contact with his balls.
If he were human, she’d probably have had him on his knees. Grunting in displeasure, he yanked her closer. With the hoodie of her baggy black sweater pulled low over her face, it revealed a glimpse of creamy pale skin and lush lips flattened in ire.
Deadly iron blades flashed from both her hands. One pressed against his carotid, the other nicking him in the chest, over his heart. This tiny female would dare attack him when the top of her head barely reached his shoulders? “Go ahead.”
She growled, then her other foot rammed into his belly. Using him as a springboard, she catapulted like an acrobat and broke free. Nik dove and grabbed her wrists. Cuffing those dangerous hands behind her back, he hauled her to him. Her back slammed into his front. And she grunted in ire.
Nik tightened his grip, preventing her escape, too aware of a very feminine body pressed up against him. The scent of wildflowers with a hint of woodsmoke crowded his nose—
It was her.
Five months had passed since she’d fled from the castle, and he hadn’t seen hide nor hair of her. And here she was. Finally, he would find out who—what the hell she was—and why she pulled such a visceral reaction from him. He swung her around, keeping her wrists cuffed.
“Lemme go!”
Her husky voice crawled through him, searing his mind once more.
Despite the hoodie blocking her face, he could clearly see another ugly purple contusion marring her jaw, and the bruise he’d seen months ago made sense. Not abused, just doing shit she damn well shouldn’t. “You’re hurt.”
“Hitting the wall face-first during a fight, it’s gonna happen,” she retorted, tugging at her hands again. “Let me go, you inked weasel!”
He studied her delicate chin and flat mouth. “Not until we’ve had a little chat.”
She continued to fight him, trying to break free of his iron-clad grip. At this rate, she’d cause more bruises to herself.
“Stop fighting me.” He hardened his tone and tightened his hold fractionally, making his point. “You won’t escape, but you will hurt yourself. Explain why you ran from the castle?”
A low, very feminine snarl erupted. “I have no idea what the hell you’re talking about. I didn’t run. I simply left.” The next second, she moved, her knee shot up—
Fuuuck! Pain exploded. Nik stumbled back, agony shredding his balls. She took off across the roof and dropped from the edge of the building in a free fall.
Struggling to inhale air back into his lungs, Nik dematerialized and went after the little terror, anger, and lust warring in him. When he got his hands on her, he would—
He stopped dead. The sloped rooftop of the shorter building below was empty. Nothing moved, not even the vermin in the dark silent alley.
Again, she’d disappeared like the damn breeze.
I likesss her, his usually silent, serpent companion suddenly hissed.