Hot Blooded

This woman was deranged.

A huge blast of power hit the side of the cavern above my head as I ran. Good. She’s aiming it at us. From the angle of the explosion, I knew she was behind me. I blocked the revulsion that had erupted in my gut as quickly as I could. Don’t look at the walls! I instructed my wolf as we ran. Once I hit the middle, I leapt over the dais in a single lunge. I spun in midair, so I faced her, landing on the balls of my feet. I crouched low, protected by the angle of the stairs. I tilted my head toward the ceiling, following my wolf’s lead. I glanced upward, past all the candles, into the deep shadows and recesses. My eyesight was excellent. Selene must have made herself invisible. Can she do that?

“What’s the matter, Selene?” I called. “Too worried I’ll take you down if I can see you? Come and show me your immense powers.”

“You think to hide from me?” Selene laughed. “There is no place to hide.” Another huge ball of energy raced through the cavern.

I spotted a warped, wooden table covered in matted tissue and leftover parts. I jumped at supernatural speed, and with a running start, slid under it like I was stealing a base. Selene’s red lines hit the ground two feet behind me in a rush, rocking the cave floor, leaving a deep, rutted crater in its wake as rocks rained down from the ceiling, thumping and cracking onto the big wooden top.

The table wasn’t going to protect me from the next spell.

I poked my head out, my eyes darting around the room for the next cover. I couldn’t fight something I couldn’t see and I couldn’t throw a spell. Dammit. Do you see Rourke or Naomi? His smell was still everywhere, but I couldn’t see him. “Who’s the coward now, Selene?” I taunted.

“Glamouring yourself is such a pansy way out. I’m a weakling compared to you, right? You must really be scared to take such precautions.” I eyed my next cover, a cranny ten paces away. It might hold one strike if I was lucky.

“I do not fear you, wench,” Selene spat. “I’m just not foolish enough to put myself within an animal’s reach.” Her voice tinkled around the room. “Come and look up. See what nice gifts I have waiting for you here.”

I do not want to look.

I looked.

My breath hitched inside my diaphragm, threatening to never leave my body again. No, no, no, no,

no, I cried. My wolf echoed her painful howl right along with mine.

Selene’s glamour slowly evaporated, like a fog lifting from a mire, exposing Rourke for the first time. He hung from the ceiling upside down thirty feet in the air. From what I could see, his chest was eviscerated by a long, jagged incision. All his organs had tumbled out, masking this torso completely.

My gods. His beautifully tattooed arms were bound with silver chains. They swung listlessly below his head, as thick, coagulated blood covered them. Most of it had congealed, but a few slow, fat drops hit the ground as I stared in horror.

Selene had done this unspeakable thing recently. She had cut him open and bled him dry, wanting me to witness his agonizing death personally. If she’d done it before, there would be no fresh blood.

An agonized sound came out of my mouth as I willed his skin to knit back together with my mind.

Please, baby, please start healing! Is his chest pinned back with something to keep it from mending? I asked my wolf. She couldn’t answer me, because her muzzle was foaming with rabid anger. I crawled from under the table, mesmerized by his pain, my heart shattering. Candlelight flickered and something glinted off his side. It’s silver. She’s secured his skin back with silver. He can’t heal! My wolf stood motionless, her ears pinned back, a feral sound issuing from her throat. We have to get to him quickly. I started to run. She hasn’t severed his spine. We can save—

“Do you like what you see?” Selene cackled. I didn’t stop running. “He’s a little busy dying right now, but do you see how wonderfully he glistens? Ahhh, and that smell! Death radiates a special kind of scent. Don’t you agree?” I was almost to him. “Stop!” she screamed. “Or he dies now.” An explosion hit the wall closest to me.

My head snapped to her voice and I slid to a stop.

She must have dropped her glamour at the same time she dropped her hold on Rourke, but I hadn’t even noticed. There was a small alcove running along the cavern directly across from where Rourke hung. She was just outside it, swinging on something. Is that some kind of trapeze? My wolf didn’t answer. She refused to tear her mind away from Rourke.

The thing Selene sat on was attached to the rocky cavern ceiling by thick chains and she swung idly, like she was bored, dressed in her ridiculous biker-chick outfit: all black leather, corsets, and spikes. Her long, red tresses flowed out behind her, her porcelain skin glowing in the candlelight. I

focused my eyes harder. What she was on was too bulky and too thick to be a regular swing.

My stomach gave a wild lurch.

The only distinguishing human feature of the thing wrapped up in dark netting was the chestnut hair flowing through the holes. The body was drenched in blood and unrecognizable. But I knew who it was. I’m coming for you, Naomi. We will avenge her together.

Selene caught my eye, making sure I took in every ounce of her dramatic unveiling, and then tossed her head back. “Do you know how long I’ve waited to have my revenge on this hateful traitor?

More than three hundred years. I gave this bitch everything and she threw it all in my face the first chance she got.” She smiled, her pouty lips straightening in to a grim line. “It was so deliciously wonderful that you led her right to my doorstep. You did something her brother failed to do for three centuries! I should reward you, but honestly it will be more fun to kill you. But, because of your generous gift, I’ll save you for last.”

Eamon had failed to bring her here? That means he’s been working as Selene’s spy the entire time.

He never left her service. Things fell into place quickly. My wolf was still inconsolable, pushing me toward Rourke with all her might. Before I could get her full attention, there was a small noise behind me.

“Seize her!” Selene yelled, laughing. She was enjoying this way too much.

It was time to change things up.

I spun without looking. With incredible speed I collided with Eamon, shoving my foot into his rib cage, smashing him back into the nearest rock wall. The side of the cavern blew apart on impact.

Eamon sprang out of the broken pieces immediately, seemingly unharmed, except for a line of blood lingering at the left corner of his mouth. His lips curled at the sides as his chin started to slid down, his cheekbones twisting ghoulishly.

His mouth opened to reveal long, sharp canines dripping with blood. “Finally,” he hissed. “I get to witness your end. I’ve wanted to do this since the first time I laid eyes on you standing in front of my Queen, cocky and insolent, showing no respect to anyone. You deserve to die! You can bring nothing but madness to the supernatural race.”

“You bastard,” I raged. “You set your sister up. You knew you were bringing her to her death.

Admit it! You broke a sacred blood-bond, and you’re going to rot for it. I’m going to make sure you do.” I lunged before he could give me one of his pissy retorts. I grabbed him around the neck before he knew I’d moved a muscle, infusing power into my arms as I went, my body reacting in pure fury. My hands pulsed, my nails sharpening to long razors, power flowing out of the points that bit deeply into his neck. Blood poured out of the wounds. My wolf gnashed her teeth at him, fully engaged with me now.

Eamon gurgled, scraping his hands against my forearms in an effort to loosen my hold. “You…

will not… win…” He coughed.

“Oh, yeah,” I snarled right next to his ear. “Do you know how many times I’ve heard that in the last few weeks? You picked the wrong side, asshole. And I hate traitors.” I hauled him up like he weighed nothing, shook him hard, and brought my arms back, tossing him into the rock wall again. He smashed into it like a bullet, collapsing in another flurry of rocks.