Wicked Edge (35 page)

Passion reached out and clasped his hand.

“For you, and
only
for you, I’ll stop killing no matter what the consequences.” He held up his hand to stop her instinctive denial. “Don’t try to talk me out of it. Let me do this for us.” Edge took a deep breath. “Please.”

He hadn’t said he loved her, but he’d said much more. If he was no longer Death, he was of no use to Bourne. Would Bourne destroy Edge? He might feel he had to make an example of Edge so that others wouldn’t walk away from their assigned paths too. Was Bourne that heartless? Passion realized she really knew nothing about who the Big Boss really was.

“We’ll face Bourne together. And don’t give me an argument or else you’ll get some of the same that I gave to Mama Dragon.” Did she sound fierce enough?

His soft chuckle warmed her heart as he pulled her into the curve of his body.

“Let’s get some rest while we can.” A few minutes later, his breathing slowed. He was asleep.

Passion stared into the darkness and made a promise to the man sleeping beside her. Neither Ted nor Bourne would take Edge from her. She might be Life, but if she had to kill for her man, so be it.

The roar jerked Edge from a dream of making love with Passion. Beside him, he felt her sit up.

“What’s that?” Sleep still roughened her voice.

Edge was already leaping from the bed. “The gargoyles. Get dressed.”

Even as he pulled on jeans and a T–shirt, the roars stopped. “Ted must’ve shut them down, but they did their job. They warned us.” He yanked on his boots.

Suddenly, Bourne was in his head. From the shocked look on Passion’s face, he was in hers too.

“I was wrong. He decided on a preemptive strike. It’s two hours until dawn, so Dacian will be awake to fight with us.”
Bourne didn’t sound happy about being wrong.
“His avenging angels are in the castle. I was also wrong about something else. He did find demonic help. He’s brought twelve hellhounds through the portal.”
There was a pause.
“I don’t have to tell you what to do. Spare the angels if you can, but feel free to send the hellhounds home with their tails between their legs.”
Another pause.
“If Ted wins, don’t let him talk you into joining him. Leave the castle and regroup. Choose a smart leader. Don’t regret me. I’ve had a helluva run.”
Then he was gone.

The scariest part of Bourne’s message was that he’d even consider the possibility of losing. He must have upped his estimate of Ted’s power.

As much as Edge sometimes railed against Bourne, he couldn’t imagine Ted taking his place. The Big Boss was, well, the Big Boss. No cheap phony archangel could replace him. Bourne had survived for tens of thousands of years. Edge couldn’t conceive of him no longer existing.

“What’s a hellhound?” Passion was almost dressed. “Ted doled out information on a need–to–know basis.”

Edge strapped his sword to his waist. With the power he wielded, he didn’t need any other weapons. “Demonic dogs. Huge. Black fur, glowing red eyes, super strength and speed. They can get into your mind. Do not, I repeat, do
not
stare into their eyes. Meet one’s gaze and you die.”

What he didn’t say was that she wouldn’t have to worry about the hellhounds. He’d leave her safely in Dacian’s apartment with Cinn behind a locked and warded door.

Within ten minutes after being jarred from their sleep, Edge and Passion were racing down the stairs. He could hear the sounds of battle rising from the great hall before he even reached it.

Once on the ground floor, Edge took a side corridor that bypassed whatever was happening in the hall, and then led her down the stairs to Dacian’s apartment.

“What’re we doing here? Why didn’t you give me a weapon?” She sounded suspicious.

Dacian opened the door before Edge could answer. The vampire backed away so they could enter and then closed the door. Cinn sat on the couch, glowering.

Edge couldn’t put off telling Passion any longer. “You and Cinn don’t have the battle skills to survive out there. Stay here. Lock the door behind us. We’ll send Zane to ward the door. Cinn will give you a weapon.” Not that it would do any good if Ted got past the wards. But he had to believe that wouldn’t happen.

And in probably the first cowardly act of his existence, Edge turned and strode toward the door where Dacian waited.

Cinn got off a parting shot. “I love you, vampire, even though you’re being a domineering jerk about this. Don’t lose your head, or else I’ll have to turn my plants loose on all those losers up there.”

As much as Edge wanted to escape before Passion could weaken his resolve with an argument, he paused before closing the door.

Tell her. Say the fucking words.
He couldn’t. If he didn’t make it through this fight, he didn’t want her saddled with his final words of love. Better that she think he never cared that much. “Don’t leave the room.” He recognized the outrage in her eyes. “Please. I’ll be able to focus on keeping Bourne alive if I know you’re safe.” Then he closed the door behind him. He didn’t wait to hear if one of them locked it.

He raced up the stairs with Dacian. The great hall was a mass of bodies locked in battle. Edge saw Zane nearby. The sorcerer had three of Ted’s angels suspended in midair. Their curses didn’t include words like “heck” and “darn.” They’d shed their angelic natures pretty fast.

Edge managed to catch Zane’s attention and nodded at him. The sorcerer left the three hanging in the air while he headed down to ward Dacian’s door.

Sounds of battle reached him from other parts of the castle, but he’d stay here because Bourne was here. It was his job to help keep the Big Boss alive.

Bourne stood on the raised platform that normally held the long banquet table. He didn’t wave his arms, didn’t yell or chant, didn’t
do anything but stand there. And still
things
happened. Edge hated to admit it, but his leader had always been there for his people even when said people were busy cursing him out. Once again, Bourne had their backs.

A hellhound that had managed to sneak up on Holgarth as the wizard was busy knocking an angel over the head with his staff—there were times when magic wasn’t nearly as much fun as an old-fashioned beat down—suddenly exploded in a shower of blood, fur, and other unidentifiable bits.

Four angels that thought they had the numbers in their favor as they leaped on Dacian ended up bouncing off the wall at the opposite end of the hall. Meanwhile, Bourne stood staring into space—silent and untouched.

Ganymede, who’d chosen to fight in human form, was near the courtyard door. He was pulverizing five angels at once with bursts of energy that flashed and boomed. Looked like he was having a blast.

Near Ganymede, Sparkle fought in her own way. An angel, who’d evidently fallen to her special brand of magic, sprawled on the floor at her feet. He looked up at her from sex-glazed eyes while he clasped her ankle in a desperate grip. Edge snorted when the guy licked her ankle.

Sparkle was into multitasking. Ignoring the man at her feet, she was pummeling another angel with the stiletto she’d slipped from one foot. Primitive but effective.

Bain was methodically destroying the hellhounds one by one. Edge had always suspected that Bain logged lots of frequent-flier miles to and from hell. So who better to kick demon butt?

Edge continued to scan the hall even as he fought his way toward Bourne. Where the hell was Ted?

A man standing in a corner, one shoulder braced against the wall, caught Edge’s attention. Murmur. The demon was smiling. This was entertainment to him. Bastard.

Edge punctuated the opinion by flattening an angel who tried to tackle him. The guy was lucky he wasn’t warmed up. Edge hadn’t even drawn his sword yet. He stepped over his enemy. Bourne had said not to kill them, but Edge was making sure they’d stay down for a long time.

The enemy who challenged Edge next wasn’t as easy to dismiss. He didn’t fling energy blasts or shout challenges as he swung a big-ass sword. He stood in front of Edge with no weapon. Creepy. But a hostile was still a hostile, and Edge got ready to take him out of the battle.

Then Edge felt it.
Love
. An almost physical ache. It flowed over him, around him, coating every part of his body and soul. Not sexual. It was the feeling you had for a parent—not that he’d ever had one. The man was big, like all the cosmic troublemakers, and Edge knew they’d make an unbeatable fighting team. This guy would always have his back. The angel smiled, promising that they could be buddies forever if Edge would just fight at his side tonight.

Edge almost did it. But something stopped him at the last minute. He wasn’t one of the most powerful troublemakers for nothing. He grabbed on to the thought fighting to surface, the warning to wake up and smell the trap. He backed away.

The angel’s smile died. “How did you know?”

Edge didn’t answer, but asked his own question. “What are you? Not an angel, but there’s something about you…”

The angel tensed. “My power is love. I can make anyone love me.” His expression turned sly. “Or someone else.” He shook his head. “Except you, evidently.” He drew his sword. “I guess I go to Plan B now. It’s called tough love. But first, tell me who you are.”

Edge knew his smile was slow and evil. “I’m Death.” Then he slapped the guy’s sword away and punched him so hard that he hit the floor and lay still. “See, love
doesn’t
conquer all.”

Something bothered Edge as he continued to battle his way
across the hall. These phony angels all seemed to fight just like the cosmic troublemakers. They were big, tough, and seemed to have lots of different skills. Why was that knowledge important?

Edge noticed a lot of blood, but only two dead bodies. They were both troublemakers he didn’t recognize, and it looked as though the hellhounds had gotten them. Not that there weren’t a bunch of bodies littering the room, but none of them were dead. Okay, so Ted must’ve told his guys to disable but not to kill. Made sense. Ted wouldn’t be much of a Big Boss if he didn’t have anyone to boss. He wouldn’t be happy about the kills, but Ted couldn’t control demons the way he had his…His what? The fake angels were powerful, but they didn’t seem to have any real battle experience.

All thought vanished as he saw a massive black body hurtling toward him from the corner of his eye. At the same time, a voice spoke in his mind.

“Look into my eyes, Death. We are the same, you and I. We kill, and we enjoy it. Look at me and see the truth.”

“Don’t think I’ll do the eye-staring thing.” As Edge pivoted to face the hellhound, his sword was already raised. “And wrong, dickhead. I don’t enjoy it. But, hey, I might enjoy
this
.” His swing completed its deadly arc and took the hound’s head with it. At the same time, Edge loosed a flare of power that incinerated the remains. “I’d forgotten how much fun a good decapitation was.”

The fighting had reached a ferocious peak. Edge tried to keep from slipping in the blood or tripping over unconscious bodies. The three guys that Zane had left flailing in midair were still there. Where was Zane? A prickle of unease tried to surface.

This would be over soon anyway. Sure, there were lots more of the bad guys. But except for the hellhounds, the rest just didn’t seem to have the savagery, the killer instinct that the troublemakers had.
Bad for them, good for us.

Edge didn’t have long to savor thoughts of victory, though. He’d
kept an eye on the stairs leading down to Dacian’s apartment throughout the fight. No matter how much he tried to tell himself that Passion was safe, he still worried.

So he saw the exact moment when Ted appeared at the top of the stairs with Cinn and Passion. He knew it was Ted because power rolled off him in waves. Both women had the same frozen look that Passion had worn when he’d found her in the bathroom. Only this time Ted was allowing them enough movement to walk.

Fear clawed at his gut. He’d left Passion in a safe place, only it hadn’t been safe from Ted. Where was Zane? Edge could see Holgarth fighting his way toward the stairs. He was worried about his son too.

“Stop.” Once again, Bourne silenced everyone with one word.

Ted grinned. “You’re good. I usually have to shout a few times before everyone shuts up.”

Fury pushed aside fear. Edge clenched his hands into fists. This was the asshole who’d hurt Passion. Now he was standing there with a grin on his face like he’d won the battle because he held two women hostage. And one of those women belonged to Edge.

Something moved in Edge, something he thought he’d left behind thousands of years ago. Bloodlust. Blind, merciless,
hungry
.

“So while the rest of your people were fighting, you were looking for someone to hide behind.” Contempt dripped from Bourne’s words. “Looks as though you found two of them. I suppose a big man like you
needs
two women to shield him.”

Ted’s expression turned ugly. “You don’t deserve to be boss. Here’s what I’ll offer. Tell your people to stand down while you and I battle it out. Because in the end, it isn’t about them. It’s only about who is strong enough to lead.”

Bourne shrugged. “Fine. They won’t interfere.” Anticipation gleamed in his eyes.

Ted looked almost gleeful. “I’m Fallen. Have you ever battled one of us?”

“No, I haven’t.” Bourne looked unimpressed. “But then, you haven’t fought anyone like me either.”

“How do you know?” Ted’s belligerence was leaking through.

“Because there
is
no one like me.”

“What the hell are you, anyway?” Ted waved that away. “Never mind. It doesn’t matter. Let’s do it.”

Everyone else except for probably Dacian and Edge were watching Bourne and Ted. Edge was staring at Passion. She stared back at him, and something in her eyes made him narrow his. She kept rolling her eyes toward the ceiling of the great hall. Over and over. What the…

He looked up. Just in time to see five angels suddenly appear in midair. They floated just below the ceiling. Too late, Edge realized what had happened. Ted had held back his most powerful angels. This wasn’t going to be a fair fight.