Page 35 of Craving Darkness

“I dare you to fight me. I have instructions to call the guard in if you give me a hard time.” She grinned at me but it was anything but playful. She seemed almost hopeful that I would put up a fight.

With one arm still over my chest, I reluctantly shimmied the destroyed dress Valen had bought for me down over my hips and thighs, letting it pool on the floor. I looked down at the once pretty fabric and mourned the loss of his gift. He hadn’t needed to do something so nice for me. It was the only thing I had left from my time with him, and I wanted to scream and cry at the injustice of it all. Instead, I stepped out of the fabric and walked on wooden legs to the shower.

I heard Martha snort with laughter as I turned away from her. “No undergarments? My, my, what a little slut you are. Did you run away to be with a man? Tell me, slut, are you still the virtuous little princess you always pretended to be?”

I refused to answer, choosing to turn on the shower and step under the spray before it even warmed up. If I had to endure her presence, I could do it the way I was raised, with poise and grace.

My lack of response must have angered her even more because, by the time I was finished showering, my hair had been pulled and tangled so horribly that it would take me forever to get it straight again. She’d also managed to scratch me several times and tripped me as I stepped out of the shower. My towel had somehow ended up falling into the water, so it was cold and damp.

By the time I fell onto my bed after Martha was let out of my room with a parting satisfied smirk, I just wanted the whole night to be over with. I didn’t know what dawn would bring, but it couldn’t be much worse.

Chapter 24

Valen

Istepped over the bodies of the dead vampires and had to be grateful that Syn had left my boots on. However, I was definitely going to retrieve my leather jacket after I finished with this bullshit.

I stepped to the end of the hallway where all the private dance rooms were and, apparently, the door to the basement. I cautiously looked around the corner, expecting to see naked dancers gyrating on the stage. Instead, the stage was empty, and though the sound system loudly played another 80s song, Cherry Pie seemed inappropriate for what was happening in the main entertainment room.

Bodies were lying everywhere. Men were lying across tables, on the floor, and slumped back in the plush seating. I looked closely, studying the bodies without seeing any signs of life from any of them. I could only guess how Syn had accomplished it, but she somehow managed to murder her entire clientele. The sound of singing that could be heard just over the thumping music was my first clue.

I had never seen Syn in her demon form before. I shivered in revulsion as I watched the demoness half covering the body of a dead man. Her tail was long, probably a good six feet. The tailfins had long ribbon-like protrusions from the end that narrowed into sharp, thin points. The scales were iridescent, with blue, green, and purple glowing from within as if they were part bioluminescent.

Her naked torso was spotted with the same iridescent scales that covered her tail, and a large dorsal fin was situated along her spine. There were smaller fins along her forearms and the back of her upper arms. Her fingernails were dark purple and long, shaped into sharp points, easily able to puncture a victim and hold it to her. There was no need to use them at that moment, though, considering the man she was face to face with was dead as a doornail.

A body stepped up beside me as I watched Syn feeding from the poor soul. “I wasn’t expecting to encounter a Siren when I decided to see to your complaint personally.”

I turned to Crispin with a snort. “Does anybody really expect to see a Siren?” I grinned at him, and we grabbed each other’s forearms in the way of the brotherhood. “Fight hard.”

He responded to the greeting the way we always had nearly a thousand years ago. “Die well.” He pulled me toward him, and we slapped each other’s backs. “It’s good to see you, Valen.”

“Vampire, huh? How did that happen?” I asked as I turned back to watch Syn slide her body from her current victim and over to another, starting her process all over again. I noticed that the body she’d left behind looked like a chalky pale gray, as if he never had any life in him at all.

“It’s a long story, but I’ll make it short,” he said as he caught one of his men by the back of his collar and pulled him back to where he’d been standing. He stuffed his finger in the man’s ear, pushing the earplug in deeper. If I had to guess, I was sure I’d find similar earplugs in the vampires I’d left to bleed out in the hallway. “I was stabbed in the stomach with a sword. Kane said he admired my spirit and strength. Since the woman I’d thought I loved married another man, I had no reason to say no to his offer of eternal life.”

“I remember the hatred you’d held to fuel you in the ring.” I eyed him up and down, noting his crisp suit and the formal posture. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say he was some kind of foreign royalty with his faint European accent that I could detect as I listened closely to his speech. “You’ve come a long way from the leather and chainmail days. How is it you are able to withstand the singing?”

“I suppose it’s because I am mated?” He eyed me with speculation. “Same as you, I would guess. How long have you been mated?”

I held up my wrist so he could see the black symbol forever branded on my flesh. “Just a day ago, actually.” I jerked my chin in Syn’s direction. “She’s the one responsible for my mate being kidnapped by those rogue vampires you are here to deal with. But that Siren? She’s mine.”

He clapped me on the back again. “Understood. I’m surprised you haven’t already ripped her heart out.”

I frowned as I considered it. “How does one go about killing a Siren demon?” I asked as I turned to look at the man who’d once been human and who I had considered a friend and teammate. “I’m afraid to say I don’t have a lot of knowledge when it comes to demonkind.”

“There are a lot of myths out there about Sirens, just like all the other supernatural creatures. Most of them are made up stories by humans, though. Just like most creatures, losing the head, heart, or both should do the trick.” I grunted. If he were to cut out my heart, I would simply regenerate a new one while my body shut down in suspended animation to allow time to heal. When I’d lost my head, I grew a new one. I am glad that there were no cell phones or cameras back then to document the event.

“Alright, let me take care of this so I can show you where the vampire nest is.” I strode forward until I stood in the middle of the room. The music was finally turned off in the middle of a Poison song, making the room eerily silent other than the sounds of Syn’s deep breathing as she continued to suck the remaining life force out of the bodies. “Syn!” She jerked her head around when she heard her name.

Double rows of razor sharp pointed teeth snarled at me. They appeared to be serrated, and just the sight of them made me want to back away in revulsion. She hissed, her Siren song cutting off abruptly. Her expression swiftly changed from fury to embarrassment and finally to shock. “You escaped.” Her voice was different in her Siren form. Her words made a hissing sound the way I would expect a talking snake to sound. She blinked as she stared at me in contemplation, her vertical pupils briefly disappearing behind vertical eyelids.

The rest of her face was just as strange. Her nose was a small bump with tiny slits for nostrils. I figured if she were a fish, she likely had gills on the side of her neck or behind her ears. Her stringy hair was falling forward, so I was unable to see them. Her mouth was lipless, and when she closed it, there was just a wide slash that concealed her jagged shark-like teeth.

“Of course I escaped. I’m insulted you thought some chains and manacles would be enough to keep me captive.” I stalked closer to where she was lying still over the man she’d been inhaling. “I want my leather jacket back.” I tilted my head as she moved to slither off the dead body of her victim. It was strange to witness a giant fish move around awkwardly on dry land. “What did you do with it?”

She leaned on one elbow as she waved her hand nonchalantly. “I think I put it in my office,” she pouted, the slit of her mouth pulling down into a frown.

“Good,” I nodded as I showed her the knife I had been holding down by my leg. “Do you want to do this in that form, or…” I trailed off as I considered the possible attack points. I knew she’d have weaknesses in either form, but though she was incapable of standing as a Siren, I couldn’t discount the strength of a demon in its true form. Plus, she had those sharp claws and nasty teeth.

---