Page 134 of The Firebrand
Lizette curled deeper into herself. When the beast bent over her, his dark braids whipping forward, she snapped. She kicked and chopped her legs trying to make contact, but he wrapped a fist around one foot, taking the strikes from her other. While he dragged her from the cell, he spoke to the boss in a gravelly voice. “I’ll take this one.”
With her slung over his shoulder, he lumbered out, passing the other cells. The radio psychologist yelled out repeatedly, “I’m Lizette Lee from New York.” She wanted everyone to remember who she was.
Though consumed with fear, she started on the steps again.
I need a new plan.
****
Gatheredoutside the stockade with hisfrerons, Rein bent a knee, slamming his boot into what looked like a barn door. With the way cleared, Firebrands streamed inside while surprised guards ran for their weapons, some not living long enough to reach them.
Cells lined one side of the cavernous structure, each occupied by a human. From front-row seats, caged humans watched the blood bath—wailing, stunned, or cheering. A naked, dirty man in his early thirties leaned his forehead against iron bars, staring blankly at the chaos, silent tears streaking through the dirt on his face.
On the other side, smoke billowed to the ceiling. Rein shouted above the sounds of death, “Fire.” Aisen was busy destroying files, rushing around, his long silver hair fluttering, his fists smashing computers while the stacks of documents turned to ash. Getting too close to a burning pile, he patted the hem of his shirt frantically, swiping at flames.
“Douse the flames. Logan, see to the computers.” Kole yelled at his tech while swinging his ax to slice off the head of the nearest attacking vampire.
Sabine charged Aisen. With her Arkansas Toothpick drawn, she backed him into a corner. His voice rose above the chaos, “Fight. They will kill you anyway. You don’t want to go to the Firebrands’ stronghold! Bitch!” He pulled a knife from a belt holster, snarling, his fangs on display.
“You have no idea how right you are.” With her blade in a hammer grip, the nymph Firebrand poised to slice off Aisen’s head.
Rein scented the pungent air, his mouth filled with the sharp canines knifing through his gums as he hacked his way through three guards. With his path open, he charged Sabine, pushing her aside.
“Mine.” Rein’s nostrils flared. His blade angled toward Aisen.
“Have at him. Piece of shit sex slaver.” Sabine shrugged, her eyes scanning for another target.
Rein growled, moved his knife closer, and spread his legs to fight. “So, the abuser of females. Let’s see what you’ve got, bastard.”
Aisen lunged but missed, Rein side-stepping his weapon. He charged again, but the Firebrand cut to the left. “At least make this a challenge.”
Hisfreronswere handling the guards with ease. Brak thrust into a sloth demon, sliced through his neck, and booted him aside. Sabine wiped her bloodied knife on her pants after she dispatched an incubus guard. Chay, doing his Ali shuffle, toyed with a female ylve until, tiring of the game, he slit her throat. Kole swung his ax high before he plunged it into the skull of a vampire. Then he jerked a blade from his harness and took off the bloodsucker’s head, watching it roll across the floor. Thorn, who shifted to wolf, sank his canines into a demon, whipping the male back and forth until his spine snapped. Unclenching his jaws, he dropped the body, reformed on two legs, seized an extra sword from Dax, and buried it in another opponent’s heart. In less than fifteen minutes, the fighting ended with bodies, limbs, and heads littering the wet, red ground.
Having played with Aisen the entire time, Rein sheathed his stiletto. “You’re not worthy of my blade.” Calling on his warlock powers, he flicked a wrist.
Aisen fell to the ground, both legs broken, the jagged edge of a femur protruding from one, the tibia from the other. Body manipulation magic was not even a stretch of Rein’s gifts, but this asshole deserved nothing showier.
When he shoved a hand into Aisen’s chest to rip out his heart, Kole grabbed his elbow, preventing the follow-through. “Stop. We need him.”
Rein saw Kole through a red haze, either from the bludfrenzy or the agony of the summons to the Bludhunt. Though the commander stayed the progress of his arm, the vampire mix couldn’t leash his beast. With an elbow locked around the Firebrand’s chest, the commander hauled him away from Aisen with a heavy-duty hold. When Rein inhaled, relaxing his muscles, Kole withdrew.
The commander loomed above Aisen, who banged his head against the wall, crying in pain, both legs broken, a bloody hole in his chest. “Where’s Silas?”
“Fuck off.” Aisen’s words slurred from his mouth.
“Did just the two of you run the operation?” Kole aimed a streak of fire at the vampire.
With Aisen’s hair ablaze, he wheezed once before his chin dropped forward, his heart stuttering to a halt.
“Oops,” said Rein. “I must have squeezed too hard.”
****
Ram, holstering his blood-stained dirk, emerged behind Kole. “Before one of the demons went to his reward, which I hope is Angor, he claims we just missed Silas.”
“See to Rein,” directed Kole. “He’s in trouble. The fucking frenzy or something.”
Ram searched the stockade to find hisfreronwith a boot planted on the chest of a dead guard. For a warrior who had it all together, he looked like shit. His muscles twitched. An eye jumped with a tic. Ram had seen other vampires in the throes of the bludfrenzy. It wasn’t pretty, but this wasn’t it.
