Eternal Prey (29 page)

Fled? Who the hell said fled? Did real people talk like that? Lia scrambled to her feet. Nothing knocked her down again, so she looked around. Everything was quiet. No more moving shadows. And her beast was gone. Where? Frantically, she looked around. For some reason, it was important that she find him.

Candlelight flickered on, and in its dim light stood a figure. It had a head, body, two arms, two legs, and a
neck
. Prey!

She launched herself at the figure and hit it with enough force to send both of them to the ground. Lia bared her fangs and struck at his throat. Only his throat wasn’t there anymore. He’d moved his head aside and was gripping her shoulders to keep her away from him. How did he have the strength to hold her like that? Furious at being denied all that hot sweet blood, she slashed at his arm, the only part of him she could reach.

Lia barely got to lick his blood from her lips before that unseen force slammed her off him and onto her ass again.

“Newly made vampires are tiring. Piglets at the trough. No self-control.” The voice sounded resigned.

The man she’d attacked rose to his feet. He leaned toward her.

She bared her fangs and tensed for the leap.

“Lia.”

The word was a hand pressed against her heart, freezing her in place. No, it wasn’t the word, but the voice that stopped her. She knew the voice. Utah?

The driving need to kill eased, the crazed blood chant quieted, and Lia was left standing alone with her horror. She stared down at her blood-drenched coat and hands, and knew the blood coated her face too, could smell the coppery scent of it everywhere.

She looked up to meet Utah’s gaze. The quiet sadness there made her glance away. Lia drew in her breath. Blood trickled down his arm from an ugly gash. Had she done that? She couldn’t remember.
Yes, you can.

She scraped her hair away from her sticky face. “I lost it, didn’t I?”

“Gloriously and completely.” Kione didn’t seem overly upset about it.

She dared a quick glance back at Utah. The sadness was gone from his eyes, replaced by . . . nothing.

“We need to bandage that arm.” She looked around for something that wasn’t already soaked in blood.

“Never mind. The bleeding’s almost stopped. I’ll take care of it later.” Utah didn’t sound mad.

She would’ve preferred mad.

The corners of Utah’s lips tipped up in a humorless smile. “I hope you’ve had your rabies shots.”

“Not funny, Endeka.” She took a deep breath and really looked around her.

Bodies of vampires lay everywhere. “Did the three of us kill all of them?”

“We had some help.” Kione nodded toward a shadowed alcove.

Lia frowned. A snake stared back at her. Brown, about six feet long. Looked unassuming.

“That’s an inland taipan, also known as the fierce snake. One bite has enough venom to kill one hundred adult humans.” Utah walked toward the snake.

“Don’t.” She couldn’t hold back her warning.

Utah glanced over his shoulder. “This is also Shen’s shifter form. He can wiggle into small spaces, and the enemy never sees him coming.” He grinned at the snake. “He’d return to human form, but he left his clothes upstairs.”

Lia sighed. Of course it was Shen. What else could she expect from an assistant to Fin? As she watched Shen slither back up the tunnel, a thought occurred to her. “You keep your clothes when you go from one form to another. Why?” Not a really important question, but she needed a few minutes to put the pieces of her psyche back together again.

Utah glanced down at his still-bleeding arm. “That’s because my human form never goes away. It’s not lost to my beast. If we’d been fighting in bright sunlight, you would’ve seen the shadow of my human form within the beast.”

“But the opposite isn’t true.” Kione seemed intrigued.

“No, my beast stays hidden until I need it. Fin seems to think it’s because my humanity is stronger than my beast, that someday my soul might be completely human.” Utah shrugged. “I hope that doesn’t happen soon. My beast is keeping me alive.”

Lia changed the subject. “Adam escaped?”

“He bailed when he saw his vampires going down. Guess he figures they’re expendable. Bet he has a lot more where they came from.” Utah took one last look around. “Let’s get out of here. Fin will send in a cleanup crew.”

Lia didn’t wait to see who was following her. She was outta here. Now. She could hear Utah’s footsteps close behind her as she strode down the tunnel. “I’m surprised you’d get this close to me after what happened.”
That’s right, rub salt in your wound.

“You seem okay now. I think you’re a lot like me. You have your own beast, only it doesn’t have a separate form like mine.”

“I’m nothing like you.” But even as she rejected his comment, she was thinking about it.

“Yes, you are.” He’d moved closer. “You were crazy with bloodlust back there. Your beast was in control. I know the feeling. I’ve been there.”

Talking about bloodlust. “Don’t get any closer.” Even now, she could feel the compulsion to turn and kill him tugging at her. “Oh, and so we keep my killing urges straight, what I’m feeling now is Zero’s compulsion. What I felt back there was just a new vampire’s killing high.” She made an impatient noise. “I always thought I could control the bloodlust when I became vampire. Shows what I know.”

“You were fighting for your life. The adrenaline rush tipped you over the edge. Understandable.”

“But I
enjoyed
the killing.” That’s what she couldn’t forgive in herself.

“Welcome to the predators’ club.” He didn’t back off. “I think in a calmer situation, you’ll be able to handle this.”

She knew her laughter sounded harsh. “You have more faith in me than I have in myself.” Time to change the subject. “That rabies crack was mean.”

He chuckled. “I was pissed. You’re lucky. Most vampires that try to rip out my throat end up chasing their heads down the street.”

She fell silent. The vampire thing still stood between them. Oh, he accepted her as a partner, but she couldn’t see how he’d ever again accept her as his lover. And that realization hurt. It hurt a lot.

By the time they’d reached the door to the cellar, Kione had caught up with them. They climbed the stairs to the art gallery. Tor, Q, and a fully dressed Shen waited there.

Shen grinned. “That’s the most fun I’ve had since Philly. Oh, and next time watch where you put your big feet, raptor. You almost got my tail. I’ve never tried to bring down a dinosaur. Might be fun.”

Utah didn’t rise to the bait. He was too busy worrying about Lia. She looked like she was thinking serious thoughts. He hoped those thoughts didn’t involve changing her mind about going back to Philly. “Time to head home. I know I’ve had enough for one night.”

“Go without me. I have some things I want to check out.” Kione didn’t elaborate.

“If you need a ride, Fin can—”

Kione waved Utah’s offer away. “I don’t need a car. I
never
needed a car.” He proved his point by simply disappearing.

They walked to where Greer still waited in Utah’s car. Lia climbed into the back. Utah didn’t give her a chance to argue. He slipped in beside her and closed the door.

Greer handed her a few packets of hand wipes and then pulled out of the parking lot. He cranked up the radio. Utah figured he was signaling that he wouldn’t be listening to anything they said. Good. Because Utah had lots to say.

“Stop beating yourself up over what happened tonight. It’s over. We move on from here.”

“
We
move on?” Once again, she’d pressed herself against the far door, putting as much distance as possible between them.

She scrubbed at her face and hands with the wipes hard enough to take off a layer of skin. He could tell her to stop, that the stain was gone, but he knew that wasn’t what she was really trying to get rid of. The memory of blood stayed a long time.

“Yeah. You’re my partner, but you won’t be much help if you’re fighting Zero’s freaking compulsions.” Utah knew she wouldn’t appreciate sympathy, so he appealed to her sense of duty. “Let’s figure out how to get rid of them.”

She narrowed her gaze. “How?”

How?
A good question. “Fin said he’d need someone to help him, someone with more power than Kione. Who do we know that would qualify?”

It didn’t take her long to come up with a name. “Seir.”

“He gets my vote too. So all we have to do is find a way to contact him and then convince him to help the brother he probably hates by now.”

She closed her eyes. “That’s assuming he’s not working for Zero, in which case he won’t do squat for any of us.”

When she kept her eyes closed, Utah figured she didn’t want to talk. He left her alone for the rest of the drive home. After Greer parked the car, and they walked into the lobby, Lia signaled for Utah to let Fin’s assistant go up in the elevator alone.

“What do you have in mind?” Utah knew what
he
had in mind, but he supposed it wasn’t going to happen. He’d had time to think about it, picture it, all the way back from Old Town. He must have a death wish.

“Maybe this is crazy, but Seir has waited outside Fin’s condos in three cities. Is there a chance he’s still waiting?”

“After the way Fin treated him?” But he glanced toward the door.

“There’s one way to find out.” She must’ve seen his hesitation because she rushed to explain. “You’re right. I can’t work with you like this. So we either get Seir to help, or I get a different partner.”

“You fight dirty, lady.”

She smiled. “It’s called desperation.”

They walked back out into the night. Utah led the way. “We’re only staying out here for a few minutes. If anything looks off, I mean
anything
, don’t try to fight it, just run back into the building. I don’t think even Seven would take a chance entering Fin’s space.”

Lia nodded as she scanned the darkness. “Seir?”

Utah tensed. He hoped to hell nothing else was out here.

“Fin’s going to lock you in your rooms and never let you out again. He’s a control freak, and you just keep doing things without telling him first.” Seir’s mocking voice sounded right behind them.

Utah spun, a growl rumbling in his throat. Lia simply gasped. Seir stood only a few feet away.

“Did I startle you?” Seir looked amused.

“Why the hell are you still hanging around here?” True to his predator nature, Utah got aggressive when someone surprised him.

“Why the hell are you out here calling my name?” Seir mocked him. Then he took a close look at Lia. “You’re wearing a whole blood bank. Must’ve been a hell of a vampire coming-out party.”

Utah couldn’t keep his mouth shut. “We just got back from clearing out Adam’s nest of vampires in the Shanghai Tunnels.”

“Hey, bet you loved that, raptor.” He looked from Utah to Lia. “But maybe you don’t hate the bloodsuckers as much as you used to. Maybe you’ve decided that not all vampires are the devil’s spawn. Maybe you even—”

Utah sprang at him. He didn’t bother to call out his beast. He wanted the satisfaction of planting his fist in Seir’s grinning face. He really needed to do this.

Only Seir wasn’t where he was supposed to be, and Utah ended up punching air. “Hold still, you bastard.” He turned to find Seir standing by Lia.

Fin’s brother laughed. “I’d think about why what I said made you so mad, Utah.”

“Stop it, both of you.” Lia focused on Seir. “We need a favor.”

Seir’s smile turned savage. “And why should I do anything to help my loving brother?”

“Not to help Fin, to help Lia. She’s picked up a few compulsions she wants to get rid of.” Utah hated to ask for anything, but he wouldn’t hesitate this time.

“I want to kill Utah, and I don’t want to hunt Seven.” Lia looked uncertain about Seir’s reaction.

Seir shrugged. “Doesn’t everyone want to kill Utah? I wouldn’t blame that on Seven.”

“I feel a compulsion coming on to kill
you
.” Utah sympathized with Fin.

Lia looked exasperated as she pushed her hair from her face. She glared at Utah before turning back to Seir. “Seven didn’t do this, Zero did.”

Seir stilled.

She pressed her advantage. “Look, I don’t know what’s going on between you and Fin, and I don’t really care. Call me selfish, but right now, all I want is this thing inside my head gone. I want my free will back. How would you feel if someone made you their puppet?”

Seir glanced away.

“Fin said he can’t take away Zero’s compulsions alone. He needs someone even more powerful than Kione to help him. You’re the only one we know who fits that description. Please, help me.”

Utah clenched his hands into fists. He sensed how hard it was for her to beg. He’d put his fist through Seir’s smirking face if he made fun of her plea.

Seir exhaled deeply. “I’ll probably regret this, but I’ll help. Get this straight, though. I’m doing this only for
you
.” He held up his hand to stop her words of thanks. “A few conditions. We do it out here. My brother isn’t getting me back into his condo. And we do it now.”