Passion Ignited (24 page)

Well, it seemed neither of them had control at
the moment.

“Do you understand me?”

The beastie continued to look up at her, and
ever so slowly, nodded her head.

“You can?” Nitro asked, although she hadn’t
phrased it as a question. “What do you want?”

The demon said nothing, which infuriated
her.

“Ugh, if you can understand me, then why don’t
you say anything? Can you tell me your name?”

She took a small step backward, cowering
slightly. In a tiny, childlike voice she said,
“Kairalilium.”

This time Nitro blinked, looking down at the
little creature. “Good Kairala….la…Can I call you
Kaira?”

The demon-beastie lit up, a big, toothy smile
spreading across her face as she jumped up and down wildly. Her
head bobbed up and down as well, showing how much she’d like to be
called
anything
.

“Good, Kaira—”

She was interrupted as her door opened
quickly. She looked back at the little beast, noticing that she was
no longer in sight. Looking at the doorway again, she watched as
Ekhart and his minions strode inside.

“The others were quite impressed with your
talent,” he said. “Let’s go celebrate.”

Nitro had failed to get back into her zombie
routine quickly enough after her mini chat with Kaira. Up until
now, she’d acted just like the others of her kind. Only now Ekhart
had seen that spark of recognition in her eye. One she hadn’t
covered up quickly enough. She could see in his eyes that he’d seen
that she responded better than the other Harbingers, and honestly,
she wasn’t happy about the revelation. Of course, he didn’t know
all of it, and she was going to keep it that way as long as it was
of use to her. Because, there was one thing she wanted more than
blood. And that was Ekhart’s head.

Even if it was just an Underworld
hallucination.

Ekhart approached, his hands stretched toward
her. She placed hers in his and he led her a few steps toward the
door. “How is your side? Is it healing yet?”

She looked down at the gash that was visible
through the hole in her shirt. It had stopped bleeding, but it hurt
like hell. Some ugly-ass horned demon had stabbed his disgusting
horn right into her as if she were butter. It had been a bitch to
push herself up and slide off of it, but she’d accomplished it
right before killing the bastard. She’d had to fight with the
injury through countless more demons, unsure of how long she’d been
in the ring. Ignoring Ekhart’s question—as any mindless slave would
do—she allowed him to lead her from the room, looking back only
once to see if Kaira was still there.

Ekhart seemed quite pleased with himself as he
led her through the building. He had three Ignitis in front of him,
creating a safe passage for their master, and three more followed
behind Nitro. Ekhart was whistling a tune that didn’t sound
remotely familiar to her, but that didn’t mean anything. She was
hardly the girl who listened to zippity-do-da happy ass music. She
liked the angry shit; the stuff that made her want to throw down
and fight or fuck right then and there.

Ekhart and his minions continued to lead her
through the hallways as she scoped out her surroundings. She still
hadn’t spotted Garrick anywhere, but that wasn’t surprising. Number
one: she still wasn’t one-hundred percent sure where she was—if she
was in fact in the Underworld, if she was actually dead, or if this
was all real—and number two: she hadn’t been allowed to roam free.
In fact, none of the Harbingers were trusted with that
right.

As they continued down the hallway, she
realized that the building had once contained multiple offices. It
was clear that it had been abandoned so long that no one would have
even realized that it now housed a horde of demons, no idea that it
was now the Lore equivalent of a cock-fight pavilion.

The dim sounds of a crowd grew louder as they
descended a flight of stairs. She recognized these stairs; they led
to the arena where she’d fought only a short while ago. A trickle
of fear and excitement coursed through her before she could trample
it down. She couldn’t go up against demons again with the way she
was injured. She was starving again and knew that she needed blood
in order to heal. Her Instincts told her that much. But she’d fight
if she had to.

Ekhart walked through a set of double doors
that were being held open by some of his minions. They walked into
the arena where countless demons had gathered. There were so many
standing around that it looked like a freaking demon convention or
something. Many were talking; many were sizing each other up as if
they’d throw down on the spot. A few turned their heads as Ekhart
and Nitro entered the huge room, and a chorus of cheers rang out.
She wasn’t sure if it was directed at her or Ekhart. And it really
didn’t matter. She couldn’t afford any sign of emotion. The others
within her “new” species only did so when they were ordered. And
even then it generally stemmed from anger and hunger.

Ekhart bowed to the crowd before gesturing
toward her. “My demons,” he announced. “Tonight you witnessed a
true warrior in action. You will train with her. You will become
her. I need every one of you to gain the knowledge and skill that
Nitro has displayed. We will be the strongest army to ever grace
this realm. To grace
any
realm. Together, we will dominate
everyone and everything.” More cheers rang out, and Ekhart waited
until it dulled. “But not tonight. Tonight is a night of
celebration. A night of new beginnings. Nitro has returned to our
ranks. She fights with us instead of against us. Now, bring forth
the prodigal’s reward.”

Ignitis demons moved toward them through the
crowd. And although Nitro could see that other demons moved out of
their way, she still couldn’t see what was being brought forward.
The demons were nearly to them before the creatures closest to them
slid out of their path, finally revealing what she had been waiting
for.

The Ignitis pushed forward her reward. He
stumbled and fell to the ground, his hands sliding into the dirt as
he caught himself from falling on his face. She noticed how dirty
his brown hair and pants were as he stood to his feet. His shirt
had been ripped from him, his pants tattered at the knees. He’d
been beaten and fed on before being presented to her—his hazel eyes
showing her as much. A small trickle of blood ran down his neck,
where he’d recently been cut. Her eyes locked on to that crimson
trickle as it sluiced down his skin.

Hunger roared within her. This wasn’t what
she’d wanted. This was the one thing that made her what she feared.
Her weakness. Her gaze locked with his for a split second, and
within that second recognition flared in his own eyes. That was as
long as she could look at him before her eyes riveted back on the
blood. It had trickled farther down, now gliding over his
collarbone. Her mouth opened in response as her fangs grew even
larger.

Blood, good.

Chapter
Twenty-Three

Raider stalked the streets, alone and
completely fucked in the head. He’d never been this berserk over a
female before. As much as he’d loved Melinda—and he did,
dearly—he’d never been this batshit crazy over her. He
needed
to find Nitro. His Instinct demanded it.

He’d had to break out of the mansion
undetected. No doubt someone knew he was missing by now, and no
doubt they’d started to search for him. He refused to see one more
look of concern that every damn one his brothers had been giving
him. He felt fine. He didn’t feel infected. What he did feel was
that unwavering need to find what belonged to him. And what
belonged to him was Nitro.

The dream had sent his Instinct into a frenzy.
Ever since he’d had it, he couldn’t shake the feeling that he’d
seen it for a reason. Whether or not it was due to a blood-bond was
anyone’s guess. He’d never taken Nitro’s blood, so the bond
shouldn’t have worked that way. Plus, she wasn’t a vampire. Though
she was in a league of her own. She’d been turned into a blood
drinker, not born as one.

And none of this gave him any gods’ damned
answers.

Raider inhaled deeply, his senses picking up
on the scent of blood. He flashed in that direction, allowing his
nose to lead the way. He stopped when he found the body of an old
woman lying on the ground. She hadn’t been there long, her crimson
blood staining the snow that had gathered on the asphalt. Black
robing surrounded her, her wimple only half tucked in was now
stained with her lifeblood.

He leaned down, inspecting the nun who had
been murdered ruthlessly in a back alley. This hadn’t been a
painless murder. Someone had had fun, making hers a slow, painful
death. He’d never witnessed such cruelty to a woman who’d pledged
her life to her god; a woman whose entire life was spent caring for
others. A knot twisted in his stomach as he straightened. He’d bet
his life that it was one of the Dracs—as Blaze started to refer to
them. At first, the bastard had been joking at the name, calling
them “Dracula wannabes.” When that got too long for regular use,
he’d shortened it. The new name had stuck, and now the Guardians
were all calling the newfound demons “Dracs.”

Raider stepped away from the body, glancing up
at the brightness of the moon. No doubt the kind nun would wake up
a ferocious monster, hell-bent on murder just as her attackers had
been. He just hoped that Nitro hadn’t been the one doing the
killing.

A rustling sounded from behind him, and he
whirled around to face it. Demetrius landed, silent other than his
boots crunching on the snow. His head showed his usual light
dusting of hair, as he’d always kept his head buzzed. He stood
straight, his shiny black wings folding neatly behind his back. His
sunglasses covered his eyes, as they frequently did. Raider still
never could figure why he wore them even during the
night.

“It wasn’t Nitro.”

Raider looked at him, the seconds ticking by
silently until he finally responded. “How do you know?”

“I flew overhead just as the creature dumped
her and ran.”

“You didn’t stop it?”

“I was too late to help. There’s no way I
could have saved her, but I did destroy the creature.”

Raider nodded once. He knew as well as anyone
the importance of timing. One second could mean saving one’s life
or losing it. At least he’d caught the bastard. “You sure you
killed it?”

“A severed head still do the trick?” Demetrius
asked, a single eyebrow rising over his black
sunglasses.

“The sun will take care of the rest.” Raider
looked back down at the dead woman. “She’ll rise as one of
them.”

Now both of Demetrius’s eyebrows popped up,
his arms folding across his chest. His wings fluttered slightly
before he folded them behind him again. The blue tint they gave off
from the moonlight reminded him of his Nitro. Her hair had the same
bluish quality. “Is this how our girl was infected?”

Raider gestured for them to take a walk. He
wanted to keep hunting for signs of his female as he filled
Demetrius in on the details. He included as much information as he
could think of as they walked the surrounding streets and
alleys.

“And she bit you? Yet you haven’t changed?”
Demetrius asked. The look he gave Raider was a muted version of the
one his brothers and Raine had been giving him ever since it had
happened. Like they thought he was going to suddenly get an
insatiable thirst for blood that would turn him into a raging
monster.

“I’m not sure why I haven’t changed. Maybe
it’s because I wasn’t near death like she had been.”

Demetrius nodded, looking ahead as they
walked. The night was silent other than the sounds of their boots
crunching in the snow. “I guess the nun will give us that
answer.”

“Then again, I’m not human.”

“Neither is Nitro.” Demetrius
shrugged.

“But she is. She and Ash were born
human.”

“Yeah, they were. But no one knows how much of
that is left in them. Mixing any genes with humans is risky. That’s
why it’s always been forbidden. It’s just too dangerous to mix
mortal genes with immortals. For all we know, Ash and Nitro are
fully immortal now. But they might not be. They could still age,
wither, and die like a mortal. Maybe a lot slower,
though.”

Raider continued walking, thinking of all the
unknowns surrounding his female. “Did you know who they were before
you brought them to us?”

Demetrius slid him a glance, giving him an
expression that he’d learned long ago meant that he knew exactly
what he was talking about, but wouldn’t admit to it. The bastard
liked to evade. “What do you mean?”

“I mean, did you know that they’ve murdered
countless innocents in their lifetime, that they’re mercenaries
paid to bring torture and chaos into the world?”

“I did,” he replied simply. “I knew that they
were
, but they aren’t anymore.”

Raider could only gawk at him, no longer
focusing on where they were going.

“Don’t look at me like that, Raid. They
haven’t done those evils in ages. When I stumbled across them a few
years ago, I saw something in them. A spark. Something…special.
I’ve learned to trust my Instinct.” He stopped and looked at him.
“Just as I trusted my Instinct with you.”