Devil's Playground (14 page)

M
agic wafted off my body in unspent waves, needing to be used. All my wounds were healed, and the muscles in my thighs and arms—hell, every part of my body—felt renewed, fortified.

Sounds of a fight were coming from the front of the house. I held the gun, which I didn’t necessarily need, considering how hard and potent my magic was riding me.

Like a building storm, time whispered by me in slow motion. The coppery smell of spilt blood assaulted my senses, as I eased forward, making sure to watch my back, while I checked the corners of each room I entered and searched within dense shadows for any signs of vampires.

Rush’s voice floated over to me in the middle of my search, an assurance to my grandmother that the house was clear. My eyes weren’t blowing up red (or blue) like a Roman candle, the way they liked to in the presence of bloodsuckers, so I trusted Rush, when he said the coast was clear. I tucked the gun away, inside the waistband of my shorts.

“Rush, is everything all right?”

“Kris, come in here.” His words had a relieved ring to them.

I entered the living room, where Rush and my grandmother stood amongst a sea of dead things. In that space, arms and legs had no trouble finding a spot to rest across butchered torsos or scattered atop a side table or magazine rack. The smell of death was crisp in there, reminding me of something corrosive. I almost expected to see the blackened flesh of chemical burns on Rush’s and Lily’s hands, faces, and arms. But all that stained their flesh was a glistening wash of crimson.

Rush looked me over, and his terse features relaxed.

“We have some news.”

I was always up for good news, but I’d rather not hear it in a room littered with dismembered limbs. Even though I knew the slaughtered were of the evil persuasion, it was still a hard thing to witness.

“Do you mind sharing your news with me outside?”

Lily shrugged and said, “Outside is fine.”

Rush scanned the room, taking in the carnage he’d helped create, seeing it as I did.

“Sorry about the mess. Those suckers put up a hell of a fight. Wouldn’t go down easy.”

He turned and opened the door for me.

The puddles of goo, limbs, heads, and torsos belonged to vampires, so I didn’t believe they’d died easily.

“I need some air.”

I covered my nose and breathed through my mouth. All the while, I tried my damndest to ignore all the blood and body parts, as I trudged through on my way to the front porch.

***

The sky was lit up, a blue that shone bright around the waning moon. Dawn was coming. I took in a mouthful of untainted air and thought about how life should always taste and feel like that—cool and calming.

The younger vampires would be feeling the ill effects caused from the sun, as it neared. I needed to get my new creations to safety, a place where they could rest for the day.

Speaking of which, faster than thought, Rafe and the twins appeared, standing together, in the front of the house. Their sudden arrival ruined my moment of peace and prodded me into action. My smile disappeared, and I palmed my gun, swiveled around, and checked in every possible direction for trouble. But there wasn’t any. It was a false alarm. And then I realized everyone was standing around, cool as a cucumber, staring at me.

A little embarrassed, I shuffled on the balls of my feet.

Nova let out a squeak. Or was it a laugh? Whatever it was, she quickly covered it up with a hand.

I fingered a bloody rip in my shirt and asked, “Is something funny?”

Rebel wasn’t as sensitive as her sister. She laughed and met my gaze without flinching.

“No need to get excited. The party’s over.”

Rafe nudged Rebel in the leg with the back of his hand, eyes full of amusement.

She shrugged at him, saying, “What?”

I was glad to see my creations were already bonding, even if it was over razzing me.

I dragged a hand through my tangles and fell back against a column. The gun was still clenched in my hand. I relaxed my grip, and my arm dropped to my side.

“I thought….”

But they already knew what I thought. Strap a straightjacket around me and haul me away to an asylum. I was losing it. But after the last few weeks I’d had, could anyone blame me?

“Anyway, what did you guys find out?” I asked, in a desperate attempt to change the subject and because I really wanted to know.

Rush glanced at me, and I noticed for the first time how beat up he was. He had a split lip, and as he brushed his hair out of his face, I also saw a deep gash at his hairline.

“Come and see for yourself.”

“All right.”

I followed Rush down the stairs. I had to jog to keep up with him. He stopped at the back of the van.

I ignored the carnage that littered the ground around the vehicle, almost as well as I’d blocked out the mess from inside the house. Most assuredly, the Center had a team that would come and clean up all of the bodies and make it as if the bloodbath had never occurred. But I’d remember that night forever. Some things sank their claws into you and stuck. The blood of the guilty stained deep.

An awful smell filled my nose as soon as Rush swung open the van door. Old food wrappers, bodily fluids, and only God knew what else. Two heads snapped up suddenly, with eyes widened by terror, staring at us from far inside the cargo space. Both of the women’s hands were cinched together with zip ties. Their beautiful tear-stained faces were partially hidden behind wild hair.

I stepped back in shock, contempt singed my blood, and I no longer gave a shit about the dismembered limbs belonging to the bloodsuckers who had done such evil and vile things to those poor women. They deserved what they got. I kicked aside a dismembered leg, without flinching, and hopped inside the van.

I was cautious at first, hoping I wouldn’t come off as a threat. They’d been threatened enough for a thousand lifetimes.

“It’s okay. You’re safe now.”

The tops of two heads, one red and one blonde, tucked closer in together, with their knees pulled up to protect their naked bodies, arms wrapped tightly around their shins.

I wanted to ignore the proper protocol needed in that kind of situation and just run to their sides. Instead, I inched forward, stopping to rest on my knees a few feet in front of them. Up that close, I could tell that the blonde woman was bleeding badly from a neck wound. The vampires had been carelessly feeding on that one. Her face was washed white, and she was shivering uncontrollably. I needed to staunch the hemorrhaging, before she bled out. 

I pushed energy through my right hand and held it out in front of me. The tips of my fingers gleamed light blue with power.

“I can help if you let me.”

The blonde peeked between their laced arms, lifting her vacant brown eyes to my hand.

Shaking her head, she said, “I can’t take any more of this.”

I blinked back tears I hadn’t known were forming and inched a little closer.

“I promise you that I can make this all go away. You just have to trust me. Can you do that?” I asked gently.

She closed her eyes, as if she were thinking about what I’d said, and when she opened them again, they were filled with defeat.

“It’s not like I have a choice.”

“This is your fight to win or lose now. You can either let me help you live, or you can bleed to death. It
is
your choice. If it were me, I’d fight like hell to live, because if you do die, you’re letting the bastards who did this to you win.”

Her brows jumped together at what I’d said, a strong sign of a spirit not yet broken. My heart filled with hope.

The blonde whispered something into the redhead’s ear, and at the tail end of the sentence, I heard her use the name
Lisa
. Lisa nodded, and they untangled themselves from each other. I didn’t show any reaction, as she pushed herself up from her huddle. I was too scared I’d spook her into changing her mind. Her arms and legs wobbled from weakness, as she tried to shift onto her hands and knees. She made it about a foot, before toppling to the floor.

Lisa let out a strangled cry, and my gaze caught her frantic one.

“It’s okay,” I said, managing to calm her down.

Panic flew by me like wind, as I dropped my fingers onto the ripped flesh at her neck. A cool sensation overtook the tips, and light flashed out to seep underneath her skin. A small ache gripped my middle, as more and more power pumped out of me. The healing process had begun.

No one outside of the van said a word. They stood at least six feet from the bumper and watched at a comfortable distance—comfortable for the girls, not them.

Rafe was nowhere to be seen, but I could feel that he was close, off to the side and out of view. I eased closer to the redhead’s side, power flowing, gathering into one place. I was stronger in that moment than I’d ever been, and I could feel it. I finally had every bit of my magic under my complete control. I smiled to myself at that thought, because I knew from there on out, I wouldn’t be making any more accidental vampires.

The wound stopped bleeding, and the ridged ends began to close, the flesh knitting itself back together. When the wound was completely healed, I fell back and let out a hefty breath.

“It’s done.”

And that time, I didn’t feel like I was going to pass out. That was major progress.

W
hen I jumped out of the back of the van, with Red passed out in my arms, I noticed that the bodies and their parts had been moved out of the kill zone. I had a mental image of Rafe cleaning up the mess, and I knew he had done it. I saw him close the door to the house, and I sent a smile of thanks his way.

He shot me a grin and then winked.

Grime covered my tube top and shorts, and oil, dirt, and blood discolored my flesh. The stains resembled bruises new and old, making me look like an extra straight out of a zombie movie.

“You look exhausted. But beautiful,” Rush said.

It was a nice way for him to say that I looked like hell.

I blew a blood-caked strand of hair out of my face.

“Yeah, I’m making the most out of the battered look.”

With a smile, he said, “It’s working for you.”

He was flirting with me. But there wasn’t much we could do with that right then.

Rafe walked up and asked, “Would you like me to fly her to the Center for debriefing?”

I didn’t like the way he made that sound, as if we were working for the Center. Those money grubbers were the last people in the world that I wanted to be in cahoots with, but they were also the only organization I was aware of that was well equipped enough to handle paranormal problems such as the ones we had been dealing with.

A little shaky, I nodded and handed the girl over to Rafe. I was coasting on the afterglow of magic; it would take a few minutes for me to shake off its effects.

“Thanks,” I said. “For everything.”

“When are you planning on going home?” he asked.

I lowered my voice, so the human still in the van couldn’t hear me, but the necromancers and vampires easily could.

“I still need to talk to that girl, Lisa. She’s not as bad off as Red here was, but she still went through one hell of an ordeal.”

Rafe kept his gaze on me, saying, “Be careful. And call me once you get in, so I know you made it home safe.”

“I can do that.”

He was about to propel himself off the ground, when I stopped him.

“Can you take the twins home with you? The sun’s about to rise, and I have no clue how well they’ll handle it. I’ll take over tomorrow, once they’ve rested.”

Devil had lots of underground chambers beneath
Devil’s Playground
. I figured it was the perfect place for Rebel and Nova to find shelter from the sun.

With an annoyed look, the twins stepped up to stand beside us.

Nova lifted a brow and said, “That almost sounded like an order.”

Rebel crossed her arms over her bare breasts.

I really need to find them some clothes
.

“As much as I like being moved around like a chess piece, how about you let me in on any plans that regard the two of us?”

I was shocked that they’d both spoken up. I was so used to Rafe doing exactly what I needed, when I needed him to do it, that I took for granted that my new vampires would, too. Even though I was only trying to look out for them, my behavior had been unacceptable. I’d have to work on being more respectful of the bond between the four of us. I was not their lord and master.

Feeling like a horse’s ass, I said, “Sorry. That was extremely rude of me. I can be a jerk sometimes.” They both stared blankly. “Do you two mind staying with Rafe, until I get everything settled here?” I asked nicely, the way I should have in the first place.

They flashed me identical smiles, with tiny fangs that glistened sharp, as they poked out from underneath their top lips.

Nova said, “Yes, we will do as you ask of us.”

With that settled, I turned and hopped inside the van. Lisa was pulling a shirt over her head, one she’d found in a bag amongst all the other debris back there. I knew that was where she found it, because that was where I’d found the dress I used to clothe Red.

“Do you mind if we talk?” I asked.

Lisa yanked the yellow t-shirt down to ride at her hips and then pulled her hair back into a ponytail, using a small length of rope she found among the debris as a makeshift holder. With her hair out of her face, she didn’t look more than 19 years old. With a puzzled expression, she gazed over my shoulder at Rush and Lily. Thankfully, my winged creations had already flown from the scene, which left fewer people for her to have to cope with.

“That’s Rush. He’s an all-right guy.” I pivoted on one knee to look back at him. “But he can take a walk if it makes you feel more comfortable.”

Rush peeped around me and smiled at Lisa.

“Roger that. I need to put a call in to the Center, anyway. Be back in a few minutes.”

Lisa pointed at Lily and said, “She can stay.”

***

It was about 20 minutes later when Rush returned. Lisa was just finishing up telling us about how the vampires had kidnapped her from the parking lot, where she worked as a weather girl at Channel Ten News.

“And you’re sure other girls are still being held there?”

“I’m positive. I remember everything, because when those assholes weren’t looking, I spit out that flowery shit they fed us to dope us up.” She nodded rapidly. “Yeah, they’re still there. Some hurt real bad.”

Flowery stuff
, meaning what I feared most. They’d been feeding the women from the Lothario rose—the most potent aphrodisiac in existence. The extract would knock humans on their asses with lust, making it easy for Camille’s clients to do anything they wanted to them.

I rubbed my face and said, “They’ve been at
Razorbacks
the entire time.”

Lisa asked, “Are you going to leave them there?”

“No.”

“Are you going there now?”

I nodded.

A few second passed, before she asked, “Is it okay if I go home?”

“Yes. You can go home.” Looking over my shoulder, I said, “Lily?”

My grandmother eased inside and sat next to me.

“Yes, dear.”

“Can you take Lisa home?”

She patted my arm. I could tell in her eyes that she was just as exhausted as I was.

“Of course, I can.”

“Thank you,” I said, hopping out of the vehicle.

“Happy to help.” Lily gestured for Lisa to follow her, as she leapt from the back of the van. “Let’s get you home.”

As I watched them pull away, Rush walked up and stopped beside me. He grabbed my hand, lifted it to his scruffy face, and swiped a kiss across my knuckles.

“So what did she say?”

Man, I couldn’t wait until it was all over. My head ached with exhaustion, my clothes smelled like a slaughter house, and my brain was so frazzled from everything that I couldn’t wait to lie down and just be cuddled… right after a hot shower.

“The girls are being held in the basement, underneath
Razorbacks
.”