Chapter 36

Katya was trying and failing to sleep in a cramped train carriage smelling of boiled cabbage, dust, and mildew. The interior was painted a dull gray to match the gray curtains, gray bed sheets, and dirty gray carpet.

The public transport color of joy, she thought miserably. They had been traveling for days, and all she wanted was a hot bath and a clean bed.

They had traveled on foot until they got to a village not far from Baia Mare in Romania. From there, they hitched an uncomfortable ride in the back of a truck to the closest train station.

The places they had passed through afterward had been a blur. They were heading to Paris, and that was all she cared about. She was too focused on possible attacks and Anya"s talent to read her mind if she wasn"t careful.

Katya tried not to dwell on it too much. She was the only one with the talent that Anya could connect with, and who knew? Maybe it could be useful in a fight. And one was coming, Katya could feel it in her hunter"s bones. She didn"t have the gift of foresight like her sister, but her intuition was sending constant alarm bells off in her head.

Katya was finally drifting off to an uneasy sleep when the door to her train carriage opened, and someone slipped inside. She gripped the knife under her pillow and was ready to use it when warm hands pinned her arms down. She took a deep breath getting ready to scream, but hot lips smothered her cry with a deep kiss.

"Please don"t try to use that knife on me, Katya. It will ruin the mood," Izrayl growled.

His hands loosened their grip on her arms as his lips found hers again. His hands slid down and rested on the side of her small ribcage. She buried her hands in his thick hair as he kissed her again. Katya"s breath caught in her throat as his hand slid under her shirt and started to stroke her warm stomach, achingly slow. His exploring hands began to go south just as Katya fell out of bed onto the hard carriage floor.

"Fuck," she muttered, her eyes snapping open, and the dream ended.

Sunlight shone through the dirty curtains, and Katya groaned in frustration and embarrassment. A sex dream about a volk krovi was a whole new low.

The door slid open loudly, and Izrayl stuck his head in.

"Are you awake yet? What are you doing on the floor?" he asked.

"I fell out of bed," she said, cheeks burning.

He grinned at her. "Was it a bad dream or a sex dream?"

Katya fought the urge to bury her head under the blanket.

"Ohh, sex dream. Must"ve been juicy by the look of horror on your face." He started to laugh loudly as she struggled to get up, her legs and arms twisted up in the sheets.

"You"re delusional," she muttered.

"Here, let me help, hunter." Izrayl picked her up and dropped her down on the bed. "At least you could get enough sleep to dream. I hate trains. They make me itchy all over."

Katya adjusted the blanket to cover her bare legs. She only ever slept in a T-shirt and underwear and wasn"t ordinarily shy. Until now. "Are the others up?"

"No. I was bored, so I thought to see if you were awake." Izrayl sat down on the carriage floor and rested his back against the door.

"What time is it?"

"About 6.30 a.m."

"I should kill you for waking me up this early," Katya said and buried herself deeper in her blankets.

"You were awake already. I didn"t wake you," Izrayl replied and grinned mischievously. "Or did I?"

"Don"t flatter yourself."

"I told you. If you"re curious—" Izrayl suddenly tensed, and a low growl rolled out of his throat.

Katya sat up, gripping her knife. "What is it?" she whispered.

Izrayl"s hair was standing on end, his shoulders bunched up and tense. He held a finger over his mouth, and she shut up. Izrayl quickly pulled her off the bed and onto the floor, shielding her with his body as a dark shadow passed over the window.

"Don"t move," he whispered in her ear. "We have company."

"Vasilli?"

"No. Something else." Katya reached for her bag and rummaged around in it. "What are you doing?"

She found the sleek weight of the revolver she always carried with her, even into Skazki. "My good luck charm."

"Get dressed, and let"s go find the others. They have to be after Anya and Yvan," Izrayl said and helped her to her feet.

Katya quickly dragged on her jeans, weapon holsters, jacket, and boots. She slung her bag over her shoulder and met Izrayl in the corridor.

"I thought it would take Vasilli a lot longer to send his cronies," he muttered. "You can bet your ass he"s has gone straight to Ladislav."

Katya couldn"t hold back her shiver. "Let"s just pray that Ladislav himself doesn"t come after us."

"I am praying. I hope Trajan is awake because we are about to have a fight on our hands." As they neared Trajan"s sleeper, he emerged disheveled and tense.

"Can you feel it?" he asked Izrayl, and the volk krovi nodded. "Wake Yvan and Cerise. I"ll get Anya." He hurried a couple of doors down and knocked politely before entering. He came out carrying her bag as Anya shrugged on her heavy fur-lined coat.

Yvan stumbled out sleepily from his room further up the aisle. "What"s going on? The firebird is panicking."

"My magic is flaring strangely too," Anya said.

"Trouble is what"s going on," Katya replied. "Get your gear, prince." Yvan went back into his room just as Cerise appeared, moving through the carriages with fury and blood on her face.

"What happened?" Izrayl demanded.

"Some bastard jumped me when I was sneaking a cigarette. I managed to throw the prick from the train, but there are at least six others," she growled, holding a handkerchief to her bloody nose. "He was carrying this."

Cerise produced a phone with the case engraved with the Darkness"s insignia, a sword with a snarling black dragon wrapped around it.

"Fuck, so the Darkness is onto us already. There must"ve been cameras at the last train station that picked us up, which means they are going to have all our faces now. Who knows how many others will be waiting for us at the next stop? We are going to have to jump and find a back way to Paris," Katya said matter-of-factly. She re-adjusted her weapons so nothing would hurt her when she rolled.

"Hold onto me," Trajan said to Anya, pulling her close. "I"ll heal faster than you if we land rough."

"Good idea. I"d rather you break some bones than Anya," Yvan added, taking off his coat and shirt. The firebird was moving on his chest, its long, fiery wings stretching down his arms. Anya watched it for a moment then blushed as she looked away. Katya didn"t. Yvan had a hot body, and it had been a while since she saw some skin. Yvan rolled his shoulders, and feathers started to push through his skin like silken spikes. He bit back a groan, and Anya took a step toward him.

"Yvan..." Anya"s voice was tight with concern.

"I"m fine, Anya," he replied, his dark eyes flashing gold and red. "Hold close to Trajan."

"Are you going to be okay by yourself, little hunter, or would you like a strapping man to hang on to as well?" Izrayl asked.

"If you can find me one, I wouldn"t mind hanging onto him. I"ll make do on my own. I wouldn"t have suggested jumping if I didn"t think I could do it easily."

"You had better go before I push you out," he retorted.

"Please, Trajan, be a dear and get the door," Cerise said over the top of their bickering.

Trajan slid the doors open, and as he turned for Anya, something swung itself through, claws outstretched. Katya fired three shots, and the creature collapsed on the carriage floor. Black blood oozed from the bullet holes, and Katya squeezed the fourth bullet into its head.

"What the hell is that?" Anya asked, gripping tighter to Trajan"s coat.

Katya looked down at it thoughtfully. "I"m not sure. It doesn"t like silver, though."

It was man-shaped but was utterly hairless. Its skin was a pale gray, and instead of hands, it had claws like a bird and a mouthful of sharp fanged teeth.

"Its body is the Darkness"s problem now. We have to go before their companions arrive."

Without waiting for them, Katya strode purposely to the door and jumped out of it. She hit the ground harder than she expected, rolling three times before the long grass stopped her completely. She looked up in time to see Yvan glide through the air for a moment and land gracefully. The golden feathers were melting back into his skin like they had never been there to begin with.

Izrayl"s cursing brought Katya"s attention to a blackberry bush. She tried not to laugh while he ripped himself free, his shoulder hanging at an odd angle.

"Is it broken?" Katya asked as she straightened her holsters.

"It"s dislocated," he said gruffly.

"I can put it in—" she began.

"Stay back." He looked nervous, backing away from Katya and not sensing Cerise moving behind him.

"I have done it before. Are you afraid or something?" Katya provoked to keep him from turning. Cerise reached for his shoulder quickly.

"I"m afraid of no wom—FUCK!" he shouted.

"Good as new, sweetie," Cerise said with a mischievous laugh.

"We have to keep moving," Trajan called, slipping on his sunglasses. "It won"t take them long to find their dead companion, and we need to be far from here."

Still laughing, Katya shouldered her backpack and began walking.