Page 11 of The Firebrand
“Fuck off. She screamed for help. I shut her up.”
“How?” asked the new guy.
Fisting her hips, Braelyn said, “He kissed me.”
“First things first. The name’s Chay. Tall, Dark, Demented you’ve met. You are?” He stepped forward, offering an outstretched hand, his eyes popping between Braelyn and Rein, amusement tugging at his lips.
“Braelyn.” When Chay clutched her fingers a little longer than necessary, Rein speared him with an icy glare.
She held out a palm toward her kidnapper, but when he didn’t take it, she wiped the palm on her sweats.
Chay arched his brows, focusing on Rein. “Back to the shut-her-up kiss. A muting spell works well, man.” His thick-lashed eyes focused on Braelyn. “He can do that.”
“Ylve, I’m in no mood. I didn’t have time to think of it.”
“How many secs does it take? Scream. Mute. Let’s review this. First you can’t erase her memory. Then you forget a muting spell. Something else, too. What was it? Oh, yeah. You molested the human. Not your day, Rein. I look up to you, man. But you lost control of the situation.” A raucous laugh burst from deep within his chest.
“Control is a fickle bitch,” said Braelyn. “Nobody really has any.”Moms die in car accidents. People get cancer. Crazy strangers kidnap you. Nope. Nobody controls anything.
“Rein has lots. Usually, he’s locked down tighter than a virgin’s knees.”
Her kidnapper threw up a middle finger, clenched his lips together, and ground his teeth.
Braelyn snapped her fingers. “Hey, kick and sidekick! Though this shit is entertaining, I’m not getting answers. Like what’s that?” She turned toward the hairy, still naked creature who could be a demon straight from the pages ofStrange but True.
Chay stopped laughing and straightened his back. “He’s a Kalli. He escaped. Big no-no. The job was to catch the wilding. Oops. Twisted cock-up, if you get the drift.”
“Uh-huh. What are you?”
“Aeternal from Scath. I’m ylven.”
Her gaze fixed on both guys, Braelyn drew a deep breath through her nose and blew it out her mouth. “Let’s pretend I believe you. You’re an ylve. The fuzzy creature is a Kalli. Big guy is what? Other than a kidnapper.”
“Oh, this is going to be good.” Chay rolled his eyes. “He is one-of-a-kind. A wampirus.” The ylve chuckled, shifting from one foot to the other.
“Shut up, Chay,” snarled Rein.
“No offense, man. I love mixlings. What do you call you?”
“I don’t call myself anything.”
“You don’t have to snap at me.” He explained to Braelyn, “He’s vampire, warlock, and incubus. Very mixed up. As I said, ‘wampirus.’” Another guttural laugh exploded from her kidnapper’s friend.
Braelyn watched Rein’s lips curl, exposing sharp, white fangs, while his gaze turned flinty blue. A growl rolled out of his mouth, and like water through a mud dam, he blew.
Braelyn saw only a flash of motion. With Rein’s fingers tight around the ylve’s neck, Chay struggled, his feet kicking above the ground.
Stunned, Braelyn froze, her internal clock ticking off the minutes before her kidnapper loosened his hands. When Chay’s boots touched earth, the ylve gulped in much-needed air.
“Now shut the fuck up and muzzle the mixed breed remarks.”
“Man, you are so uptight today. Who’s your problem?” Rubbing the reddened flesh on his neck with one hand, Chay wiggled a thumb on the other in Braelyn’s direction, the skin around his eyes crinkling when he smiled. “And no need to apologize for almost killing me.”
“Let’s assume I’ve fallen down the rabbit hole into your world of monsters. Where exactly am I?” She squeezed the bridge of her nose, willing a niggling pain to fade. “I’m getting a headache.”
“I’ll try again,” Rein said to Chay.
“Do it. She’s a little nervous.”
