Most Wanted - A Fantasy Romance Novel (The Shadow Blade Series) (11 page)

Jax could not
believe anyone as stubborn as Ariel had ever lived. She was the personification
of defiance. But he realized he hadn’t stopped grinning since their last
exchange, despite the fact they were about to sneak up on one of the fiercest
demons to have ever existed. A part of him was tempted to call Cy for back up,
but that would just lead to questions from Cy about who Ariel was, and then
there was the fact that no doubt Cy would try it on with her, which Jax most
definitely did not want to witness.

He thought back
to the photograph on Ariel’s refrigerator door. The twinge of jealousy he’d
felt at seeing it there, followed swiftly by a sharp shucking pain in his gut
as he considered all she’d been through. Maybe the loss she’d suffered
explained her sharp edges, the brusque exterior she showed the world. He
understood that. He understood too why she was uncomfortable with the idea of
someone watching her back. She didn’t want to feel responsible again for
another person’s safety. It made him warm to her even more. Eight years was a
long time to mourn though. Was she over him, he wondered? His gut twisted at
the thought that Ariel might still be in love with the guy. But what did he
even care? Was he even thinking of Ariel as more than a casual fling? He didn’t
know. He had never had a casual fling before, wasn’t sure of the protocol. He
just knew that his life had become about a lot more than the hunt since she’d
sashayed into his life.

A sharp crack
brought him back to the present. He’d stepped on a twig and the noise sounded out
like a gunshot in the stillness of the night. He winced, his ears pricking,
alert for any other sounds beyond the steady hum of traffic and sirens that
made up LA’s white noise. The house was shrouded in an eerie silence but he
could sense something lurking, something dark and unpleasant. Jax wondered
where the owners of the house were. He remembered that a decade back, when the
group of Blades had killed a dozen or so of these Originals in a fight that was
still talked about, they had been living in a house in Beverly Hills.

Jax slipped his
blade out of its sheath, wondering briefly what the point was. By all accounts
it wouldn’t pierce through Original skin. The Blades from the past had had to
use shadow steel. But even though he knew he was drastically under-armed, he
wasn’t about to walk in there without any weapon whatsoever. Who knew what
other kinds of demons might be hanging around? Slowly Jax started edging around
the house, looking for any signs of life or a way in. The windows and doors all
appeared locked. He was just rounding the back of the house when he heard a
scream that stopped his heart.

In the next
instant he was sprinting towards the source. His arms pumped, his heart was
pounding in his chest like artillery fire.
Ariel.
That was his only thought. Goddamn it. She hadn’t waited for him. Of course she
hadn’t. Why had he thought she would? This was a woman who did everything on
her own terms and who hated anyone telling her what to do.

As he rounded
the front of the house he saw a window by the front door had been jimmied open.
Jax skidded to a halt, spitting up gravel. Goddamn it. Had she broken in
without even waiting for him? His breath rasped in his throat. Another scream
sent him racing to the window. With panic starting to gnaw at his insides he placed
his palms on the ledge and squeezed himself through the gap. Another scream tore
through the house as Jax rolled to the floor inside the house.

He was inside a
large atrium style hallway. A chandelier blazed above him. He spun left to
right, taking in the expanse of space, the marble floors, the faux Greek
statues decorating alcoves and the portraits on the walls.

Jax held his
breath and tried to silence his still thundering heart so that he could hear
better. There it was again, the sound of a woman screaming. Though now it was less
a scream and more of a whimper. A growl emanated from the depths of Jax’s
throat and rage flooded his system. If Ariel was hurt in any way, shape or form
he was going to bring death down on the whole demon world.

The noise was
coming from what sounded like a basement. Jax ran towards the curving staircase,
spying a doorway standing ajar. He pushed it open with his foot and the foul
stench of decaying flesh rose up and hit him full on, making him rear back and
cover his mouth and nose.

Another gut-wrenching
scream spiraled up from the darkness and Jax pushed the door open wider and
stepped into the narrow stairwell. Letting his eyes adjust to the pitch black
he began to inch his way down, the stench rising up around him, making his eyes
water and his throat sting. Ariel. Her name was on the tip of his tongue. He
was desperate to call out, to let her know he was coming. But surprise was
still his only weapon. Shit. Whose stupid idea had this been? Why had he gone
along with it? Why hadn’t he tried to stop her?

He reached the
bottom of the stairs and pressed back against a damp stone wall. Candlelight
flickered around a corner, casting long, wavering shadows against the wall. Another
long wailing scream pinned him to the stairwell, a realization suddenly dawning.
It wasn’t Ariel screaming. Relief swept over him making his heart beat wildly,
his gut come untwisted. But then, whoever it was that was screaming, started to
cry - wracking sobs that were broken by soft pleas.

Jax took a step
towards the light, his resolution strengthening even as his fingers flexed
around the hilt of his blade. This might just be the stupidest thing he’d ever
done, but he couldn’t just stand there, hiding. Not again. He took another step
and the shadow on the wall leapt at him.

Ariel
materialized in front of Jax, pushing him back into the gloom of the stairwell.

‘What are you
doing?’ she mouthed.

He jerked his
head at the flickering candles and the sound of a girl now quietly sobbing and
raised his eyebrows. What did she think he was doing? Ariel glared at him a moment
longer, then thrust something at him. Jax glanced down. It was a deodorant can.
He shook his head at her not understanding. What the hell? She shoved something
else his way. A lighter.

OK, now he
understood. He grinned at her. A homemade flamethrower was far more sensible
than a flimsy blade.

‘I need his head
to get the bounty,’ she whispered in his ear. ‘From what I remember they’re not
flame retardant though. Use that to hold him at bay.’

‘On three,’ Jax
said, feeling the buzz of adrenaline whipping through his veins like wildfire.

‘Three,’ Ariel
yelled before he could even start the countdown.

Ariel flew
around the corner and into the space, pulling up short at the sight of a naked
girl chained to the floor in the center of the room. Blood swept in rivers
around her, sweeping towards a drain set into the stone floor. Though the girl
was curled into a ball and only the curve of her spine was visible, Ariel
winced at the deep bite marks along her arms and back.

Motherfucker,
she thought, rage bubbling inside her gut. Suddenly something blurred in front
of her face and she was sent flying into the wall. The air was knocked from her
lungs. With a grunt she threw herself sideways as the thing came at her again.
He moved so fast she couldn’t even see his face, couldn’t get a read on him,
his size or his build. The only thing she had registered was that he was fast.
And insanely strong. She suddenly started having second thoughts about the
whole enterprise.

As something
whistled in the air by her face she faded and ducked, rolling beneath an arm
and coming up silently beside the girl on the floor. Ariel wanted to reassure
her that she was going to be OK now, that she was there to help her, but she
couldn’t because her blood had frozen in her veins and her throat had closed
over as she stared up into the face of the Original.

He couldn’t see
her. Or could he? He was looking right at her as if he could. Ariel held her
cloak of invisibility tight, straining to keep it in place. He was smiling, an
eerie, terrifying smile that made Ariel’s heart burst in her chest. He only
looked about twenty-five years old, though she had no doubt he was thousands of
years older than that. His skin had the smooth, pore-less appearance of molded
plastic, and looked like a hide that had been stretched tight over his skull.
His eyes were sunk deep, red embers burning in their depths. He was about six
foot, slight of build, with long black hair that hung over his shoulders and
down his back.

Ariel sunk low
into warrior pose and then leapt forwards, swinging her blade up in an arc.

The Original
sidestepped her so fast all she felt was the soft whisper of wind at her side
and then she was sent flying into the far wall, face first.

Someone caught her,
an arm locking around her waist, stopping her from smashing into the wall. It
was Jax. He hauled her to his feet and when she staggered upright he pushed her
behind him.

‘Stand back,’ he
said, flicking the lighter and searing the air with a blanket of flame. The
girl on her knees let out a scream of terror but Jax focused the flames away
from her, creating a curtain of fire that kept the Original at bay. They heard a
roar of outrage, and saw him lunge then pull back. His fangs lengthened and his
lips pulled back, exposing black gums. Ariel gripped her blade tighter.

Jax strode
forwards, backing the Original into the far corner. Ariel edged out from behind
him and made her move. With the Original caught against the wall, shrieking as
the flames started to lick him she rolled beneath the fire, feeling it scorch
her back. She shot upright in front of the Original who seemed paralyzed by the
sight of the flames and ripped the blade across his throat. It sunk into his
flesh like a spade into mud, with a wet, sucking sound.

Ariel threw her
body weight against him, wrenching her arm across his throat with a sawing
motion, the heat of the flames making sweat pour down her back. She heard
screams and the roar of the fire filling her ears and was only dimly aware that
it was her that was screaming. Finally her blade met air and she stepped backwards.
The whoosh of the flames died away and the screams cut off too. Ariel stared at
the Original. His eyes had stopped glowing. His mouth was still stretched wide
in an endless scream but no noise was coming out. As she watched, panting
heavily, the head rolled in slow motion off his shoulders and landed with the
weight of a cannon ball on the stone floor, creating a crater two foot deep. The
ground shook making Ariel feel unsteady on her feet.

Arms suddenly
came around her waist, were swinging her around and she felt like clinging to him
to stay upright. Jax set her down carefully, his hands finding her face. ‘Are
you OK?’ he demanded, his bottomless brown eyes searching hers.

She nodded
slowly. Hell yeah, she was OK. She’d just killed a goddamn Original. She
grinned at him then winced. She was covered in bruises from where she’d bashed
the wall. Jax’s expression turned dark as he noticed her wincing. But Ariel
ignored him, already wriggling out of his arms.

She pushed Jax
aside and crouched down beside the girl who was curled up on the floor, her
arms wrapped around her head. Ariel rolled her gently over. She was barely
conscious, her eyelids fluttering weakly. Sweat coated her skin and Ariel
flinched as she took in the number of bite marks covering her body. She was
infected, already feverish, the virus taking hold. If they left her alive she
would become like those other Suckers under the bridge.

Jax knelt down
by the girl’s head, his fingers feeling for her pulse. Ariel watched him as his
gaze took in the savage bite marks covering her body. A look of total
devastation crossed his face and Ariel wanted to comfort him almost as much as
she did the girl. She bent down and stroked the girl’s hair, murmuring to her,
telling her that she was safe now, that everything was going to be OK. But even
as she said it she knew she was lying, because it wasn’t going to be OK, was
it? Ariel looked at Jax. What were they going to do with her? Jax’s jaw was working
furiously but a tender look of sadness swept across his features as he stroked
the girl’s cheek. Finally, he tore his eyes from the girl’s ravaged body and
looked up at Ariel. He shook his head at her. Ariel cocked her head, not
understanding.

‘What?’ she
asked, her throat raw. Did he mean for them to kill her? The thought made her
stomach turn. Wasn’t that murder? The girl was just an innocent. But she was
going to be a Sucker. And no Sucker ever lived an innocent life. They sucked
blood, infected others, killed others.

‘She’s dead,’
Jax said.

Ariel blinked at
him, his words not making any sense. He nodded his head and Ariel glanced down.
The girl’s eyes were half-open, staring emptily up at the ceiling. Ariel
collapsed back on her haunches, a sob erupting out of her, half of relief and
half of despair. She was glad that they didn’t have to make the call on whether
to finish the job, but the despair was greater than the relief.

 
‘We were too late,’ she whispered as
tears started to fall down her cheeks.

Jax suddenly
took hold of her wrist, his fingers gripping her tightly. She looked up at him.
‘No,’ he said fiercely. ‘This is not your fault.’

She tried to
pull away but he wouldn’t let her go. He held her gaze, fury mixing with a pleading
expression. Something twisted in her gut, another sob choking out of her. ‘It’s
not your fault,’ he whispered again, his own voice breaking.

She stared down
at the girl again trying to reconcile his words. Jax’s grip loosened slightly.
With his free hand he stroked a strand of hair out of her face, pausing to wipe
at a tear that was running down her cheek. ‘Ariel,’ he said. ‘You killed him.
He can’t hurt anyone else. Think of all the people you’ve saved.’