On The Prowl (15 page)

“Uh, hi, there,” the kid said. “I’m Francis, but my friends call me Frankie.”

Did he look like the kid’s friend?

Francis smiled. “Is it time for me to go home yet?”

“
What in the fuck is happening?”

Julian had to ditch his motorcycle. The swamp was too thick and he knew he could travel a whole lot faster on foot…and in panther form. So Julian jumped off the bike and yanked off his clothes. Then he was slamming onto the ground, hitting down on all fours as the beast clawed for his freedom.

And Rayce was right with him. When Julian’s head swung to the right, he saw his friend shifting next to him. He didn’t know where Leo was. They’d left the guy as a soggy heap back at the dock.

The panther bounded forward, flying through the marsh as he focused on Rose’s scent. The dank earth was cloying, the swamp rotting, but she was sweetness in that hell. He was bound to her, and he followed her scent wildly. Desperately.

The wolf kept perfect time with him. They’d often run together in the past. Run together, hunted together, killed together, and he knew that before this day was done, they’d spill more blood.

Simon wasn’t going to walk away. There would be no lenience from him. Julian intended to slice the man into pieces—him, and any of the goons who thought they could hurt the paranormals.

They ran and ran, and soon, the tall grass gave way to a clearing. But the panther and the wolf didn’t burst into that clearing. Instead, they kept bodies low to the ground, using the tall grass as cover as they stared at the scene before them.

Two guards were at the door. Just two?
Insulting.
They’d take those bastards with no sweat. The building was long, stretching, with very few windows that he could see. A helicopter waited just a few yards away.

His nose twitched as a new smell reached him.
Brimstone. Magic.

Trouble.

The same scent he’d caught on the boat, right before the freaking gargoyle had taken Rose away. His head turned, following that scent. A man stood there, right on the side of the building, using it for cover. The man’s eyes were locked on Julian.

Julian bared his teeth.

The battle was on.

***

Rose woke to find herself strapped to a table. The straps were heavy and hard, cutting into her. She tried to break free, using her vamp strength but—

“You aren’t going to get out,” a woman’s voice whispered. “None of us are.”

Rose’s head swung to the left. She could move her head, but her arms and legs and her torso were secured too tightly. She saw a cell—and a woman inside that cell. A woman with long red hair and tear-filled eyes.

“You’re the last one,” the woman said, her lips curving downward. “Now he’s going to kill us all.” She shuffled forward and her hands rose to curve around the bars. When she moved, Rose saw the big, black wings that sprang from her back.

“You’re the angel.” Her voice came out like a croak. Her body felt weak, her head foggy—stupid drug. “I know…someone who’s been looking for you.”

A mocking laugh came from the right.

Rose’s head jerked toward that sound.

A blonde stepped forward. Her eyes were so dark they appeared nearly black. “No one’s going to find us. He makes sure of that. Anyone lucky enough to get close…Simon just says they die, and they do. The dead are thrown to the gators. The bodies picked clean. No one saves us. No one frees us.”

“I’m…here to save us.”

The blonde laughed again. “Sweetie, you’re about to lose your heart. Those bands around you are made of metal that is a hundred times stronger than steel. And a drugged vamp? You’re not going to break them. He’s just going to break you. He’ll break us all. Put the pieces together and then have what he wants most as he makes his own monster.”

Her gaze darted around the room. There were two others cells there, but she couldn’t see the people in them. It looked as if she was in some kind of lab. There was a surgical tray nearby. And lots of machines.

“Why is he collecting us?” Rose whispered.

“He’s not collecting
us.
He’s Frankenstein, and he just needs our parts.” The blonde’s voice was husky. Tired. How long had she been there? “He’s ready to build now.”

The door to that hellish place opened with a swish of sound. Simon strode inside. When he saw that she was awake, he hesitated for just a moment. “I’d hoped the drugs would keep you out longer.”

She tried to fight back the weakness of her body. “Your…mistake.”

“It is…but…I was trying to be kind. If you were out cold, you wouldn’t feel the pain.” He shrugged. “Oh, well. Guess this is really going to hurt you.”

“
You don’t have to do this!
” It was another woman’s voice calling out. “There are other ways.”

Rose glanced toward the cell near the blonde. A woman stepped forward, her skin a warm cream, her brown eyes filled with a terrible combination of sadness and terror. “Death isn’t the answer.”

“No, witch, you’re right. It isn’t the answer. Life is. And that’s what you’re all going to do. You’re going to give me back the life that was taken away.” He smiled. “Taken away by fucking monsters. You’re going to give me back what I need, and she’ll be stronger than ever. She’ll never know weakness. She’ll never know pain. She’ll live forever.”

Rose strained against the metal bands.

Simon picked up a knife. “I have everything I need. I just have to put the pieces all together…then my work will be done.”

“Your…work?” she managed to croak.

He lifted the knife over her chest and then he sliced down, cutting right through her shirt. Right through the bra. He didn’t cut her skin, though, not yet.

“The pieces I needed,” he murmured. “The wings of an angel…”

“
You’re the devil!”
The angel choked out.

He smiled. The tip of the knife pressed to Rose’s chest, drawing blood. “
The eyes of a muse…”

“You think I’m just going to let you
cut out my eyes?
” The blonde yelled. “You are such a freak! The power isn’t even in my eyes—that’s a legend! That’s bullshit!”

The knife cut deeper. Rose didn’t make a sound.

“The lips of a witch…”

“
I say the spells, dumbass!”
The yell seemed to echo around them. “It’s not like my mouth is magic!”

The knife sank—hilt deep—into Rose’s chest. “And the heart of the undead.”

“You’re…crazy,” she gasped out. And she realized why she hadn’t seen anyone in the last cell—that cell was for her. “This is just…nonsense. You aren’t making…”

“I know magic.” He smiled once more. She hated his smile. “I’ve made it my point to know ever since she was taken from me. Killed by a fucking beast. Her beautiful face slashed, her body torn.”

He had a
knife
in her chest and he was talking about someone else being a beast?

“Okay, witch,” the blonde muttered. Was she the muse? “You’ve got your fourth in here. Do your shit.”

Rose had no idea what the muse was rambling about but…

The witch started chanting.

“Bend to break, bend to break,”
the witch called out.
“Bend to break, my fucking magic to take…bend to break…”

Rose twisted her hands against the bands. Was it her imagination or did the band around her right wrist feel looser? Was it…bending?

“
Bend to break, bend to break.”
Now the angel’s voice was joining hers. “
Bend to break, my magic to take…”

Simon ignored them. His eyes burned down at her. “You think humans are helpless? I learned the magic to change life. To imprison. To control. I learned the darkest powers when I first began to hunt. I learned that with the right pain, any creature can break. And that was my key. I broke so many, but I found my way back to her.”

He started…moving the knife. Cutting her chest.

He’s cutting out my heart.
Rose screamed.

“Bend to break,”
the blonde’s voice—the muse—was the loudest of all. “
Bend to break, my magic to take. Bend to break—”

“You’re extra special, you see,” he kept cutting, still ignoring the other women as if they were of no consequence. “Because you weren’t born to be a vampire. You were a human who was made—you’re the one with the magic of rejuvenation that I need. You came back from death once. You were brought back. And your heart will bring her back, too.”

“Who?” God, she
hurt!
“Who are you bringing back?”

He paused. “My Helene. My wife. A beast took her, but I will make her live again. She
will
come back to me. I’ll pay any price. I’ll do anything…” The knife cut again. “Just like your shifter.”

No, no, he was
nothing
like Julian. Not a damn thing. And he was cutting her heart out of her chest while she just lay there, trapped.

“You know why you were warned never to be staked or burned?” Simon asked.

Her chest felt as if it were on fire.

“It’s because Luke Thorne wanted to protect your heart. He knew it was the center of your magic. A heart that came back from death to beat again, a heart that was brought back not through the bite of a vampire, but through pure dark magic.” He exhaled. “The perfect heart for me.”

And he pressed down with the knife again.

“No!”
The cry broke from Rose…and so did the band around her right wrist. Her hand flew up and locked around his hand.

He stilled. His eyes had gone wide with shock.

“My heart isn’t…for you.” Her breath heaved out. “It…already belongs…to someone else.” Then she twisted his wrist. He was leaning over her, shocked, and she used that against him. She drove the blade into his chest.

He lurched away from her, but it was too late. The knife was hilt deep in him. He staggered back then his knees seemed to give way as he fell to the floor.

Her breath heaved out. “Okay, okay…keep up that chanting…
and get me out of here.
” Blood pulsed from her chest. She was bleeding like a stuck pig, but she still had her heart. And Simon
wasn’t
going to get it.

***

He heard her scream and the world fucking stopped for Julian. Rose’s cry was full of pain and fear and he went a little crazy. He didn’t shift back into the form of a man, he was too far gone for that. He leapt out of the grass and ran straight for the building.

He heard a wolf howl behind him.

The guards started screaming. They fired their weapons, but he dodged the bullets as they flew at him. The dirt kicked up near his body as the bullets thudded into the ground.

Then he was on the first guard. He slammed into the bastard and his teeth sank into the guard’s throat. The man never had a chance to cry out.

“
Freaking monster!”
The other guard yelled. “
Go to hell!”

Julian whirled around.

But the wolf beat him to the attack. Rayce jumped onto the other guard, sending him crashing down.

“Guess that means you have to deal with me.”

Julian turned at the taunt. The scent of brimstone made his nose twitch. The guy was shifting in front of him, transforming into the stone figure of a gargoyle. Growing bigger, stronger, and standing between Julian and the thing that mattered most to him.

I’ll get to Rose even if I have to claw this bastard apart.

Time to see if his panther’s claws were really strong enough to cut stone. He was betting they were.

He growled then sprang forward. His mouth was open, his sharp teeth bared and—

The gargoyle was grabbed from behind. Hefted high up into the air by…Leo?

“My turn, you sonofabitch,” Leo snarled. “Let’s see how well
you
fly without your wings.” Then he grabbed the stone wings and he shattered them in his grip. As the stone rained down, Leo shot higher and higher into the air, taking his captive with him.

One less problem.

Julian roared again and broke down the doors of that facility. An alarm began shrieking, loud enough to wake the dead, and more guards rushed toward him. They fired and he realized they weren’t using tranqs when one of the bullets sank into his side. The bastards were shooting to kill.

He used his claws on the man to his right, raking him open. The other jerk who was trying to shoot him in the head? Julian tossed him through a wall.

Rayce rushed in behind him and the wolf leapt for the throat of a third guard.

Julian stood, his chest heaving, and he glanced around. His nostrils flared. He didn’t hear Rose any longer but he could smell her…

Her blood.

Someone is about to fucking pay.

He raced down the hallway to his left.
I’m coming, love. I’m coming.
He’d promised to have her back, and he intended to always keep the promises he made to Rose. Always.

***

“
Bend to break, my magic to take…”
The witch was leading the chant. “
Bend to break, my magic to take…”

The others were chanting with her, like a coven that had formed, and Rose could feel the power swirling in the air. “
Bend to break,”
she heard herself whisper. “
My magic to take…
” She thought the chant might be working. She could feel—

Simon lurched upright.

Oh, shit.

“He’s still alive!” Rose screamed.

“No…” The muse had stopped chanting. Her hands fisted around the bars of her cell. “That’s the problem. He hasn’t been alive, not really, in a very long time.”

Simon stared down at the knife in his chest. Then he looked up at Rose. “You bitch.”

“You bastard!”

He grabbed the knife and pulled it from his chest.

She’d stabbed him in the heart. She
knew
she had. But…he was rising to his feet. He was walking toward her. His shirt was drenched with his own blood but he was
walking.

He brought that bloody knife to her cheek. “Got a secret to share with you.”

She didn’t want to hear any of his secrets.

Her left wrist was almost free. The metal had bent, and if she could just slide her hand free…

“I don’t have a heart. I cut it out myself, a long time ago. Because it hurt too fucking much to keep living without her and feeling so damn much.”

Her gaze dropped to his chest. And…

Oh, sweet hell. How was that even possible?