Chapter 46

Katya stared at the message and let out a long breath, her fingers hesitating over the message. Isabelle Blackwood was a hunter and one of Katya"s mentors. If she was asking for help on a job, she must"ve been worried about what she was walking into.

Katya fired back another text, asking for details and hurried to get dressed. She was slipping out of her door when Izrayl spotted her from the other end of the hall. He looked fresh from a shower, wearing only jeans and was braiding his long hair.

"Sneaking out again? Are you fucking serious?" he demanded.

"I"ll go wherever I like. It"s none of your business."

His eyes glowed as he closed in on her. "It is when I have to come and bail you out."

"Then come with me," Katya said, surprising herself.

Izrayl went from overprotective to curious in a blink. "Where are we going?"

"I have a hunter friend called Isabelle. She wants my help tonight with a job."

"You have only just healed," Izrayl said, brushing a piece of hair back from her face. "Did you tell her that?"

The tenderness in his gesture made Katya"s chest feel too tight. "No, and she doesn"t need to know. She would never have contacted me if she didn"t really need my help."

Izrayl sighed. "I don"t like it, but I"m in. I can"t let you go out by yourself again."

"Oh, my hero!" Katya said sarcastically.

"Give me a second," he replied and ducked back into his rooms. He reappeared, wearing a three-quarter length black pea coat with a dark green shirt and boots.

"Are you armed?" Katya asked.

He opened his coat up to reveal an arsenal almost as impressive as hers. "I do this in human form so I don"t have your friend try to hunt me too. You got that sword with you? You look pretty hot when you use it."

"Of course I have my sword." Katya"s ring tone jingled, and she opened the message from Isabelle.

"Do you know where this is?" she asked, holding up the phone for him to the address in the 18th arrondissement of the city.

"I should be able to find it no problems," Izrayl confirmed. "We"ll take my car."

They got into the small elevator, and Katya"s adrenaline kicked up as she was enclosed in the small space with his scent and heat. She was never going to concentrate if she didn"t get this out of her system.

Katya hit the stop button and turned to look up at him. Izrayl raised a questioning brow as she rose on tiptoes and pressed her lips to his.

A low growl rumbled in his chest, and he deepened the kiss. Katya nipped hard at his bottom lip, and his self-control snapped. Izrayl had her lifted up and pressed against the elevator doors before she could blink. Her legs wrapped around him, her hands buried into his hair as she met his intensity head-on. She had fought her urge for days like an idiot. Katya"s phone chimed again, snapping her out of it.

"We have to get going," she said breathlessly, pulling away from him and leaning down to press the button to get the elevator moving. It opened at the garage, and Izrayl lowered her to her feet, his eyes still hot enough to make her second-guess going out.

"Stop looking at me like that," she said, pulling out of his grip.

"Not that I"m complaining, but do you want to tell me what that was for?" Izrayl asked.

Katya grinned and opened the passenger door of his car. "Luck."

Izrayl cursed under his breath, and that only made her grin widen.

"Does Isabelle call you up out of the blue like this a lot?" Izrayl asked as they pulled out into the streets.

"Not often, but when she does, it"s always last minute. I messaged her when we got back to Paris to let her know I had returned to Mir. She didn"t reply, which is also pretty standard. I didn"t know she was in France."

"Any idea what she"s hunting?"

"Not a clue. I hope I don"t get you killed."

Izrayl chuckled. "Just worry about yourself, little hunter."

They drove in silence for a few moments before Katya"s phone pinged.

MEET ME ON THE ROOF. B.

"She really needs to learn to text without caps," Katya murmured to herself. "Keep an eye out for a fire escape with a roof access."

Katya and Izrayl left the car a few blocks from their destination and continued on foot. It was a quiet night, and Katya could smell the water of the Canal de l"Ourcq in the air. Izrayl walked a few steps behind her, watching her back.

They scaled the building next door before making their way across to the roof of their destination. Katya didn"t know who they were about to ambush, but the dilapidated building didn"t appear to have any security.

Katya nearly crashed into Isabelle before she spotted her. Isabelle Blackwood had been a friend of the family for years, and Katya hero-worshipped her. Rumors abounded about her in the hunter community, most speculating that Isabelle was half-vampire, a demon, a supernatural of some sort.

Katya could believe the half supernatural rumor because Isabelle had never aged the whole time Katya had known her. Isabelle looked about twenty-five years old with long wavy blonde hair and violet eyes. Her looks were just another deception because she could out-fight, out-shoot, and out-hunt any of her male counterparts.

Isabelle had shown Katya many tricks of the trade, especially after she was old enough to get away from the tribe.

The first time Katya had seen her in action, she had almost gotten herself killed by standing there watching Isabelle slice, dice, and shoot. She was magic with a blade and damn frightening to behold.

In the dark Parisian night, Isabelle still looked as young as she always did. Her honey hair fell to her waist in a braid and glowed softly in scant light. Katya caught the glimmer of weapons strapped to her legs in holsters similar to her own. She wore the hunting gear that Katya had seen her in most often—tight, dark trousers, high lace-up boots, a dark blue shirt, and a many-buttoned governess waistcoat. She had a three-quarter length jacket over the top, which held, if possible, more weapons than Katya had.

"Thank you for coming," Isabelle said, her English accent crisp. She was in full hunter mode, her expression serious. Hugs and catch-ups would wait until later.

"It"s good to see you. This is Izrayl," Katya replied with a nod in his direction. Isabelle gave him a sharp appraising once-over before she offered her hand. He shook with a smile.

"Nice to have you along. Katya and I will try not to get you killed."

Izrayl grinned. "She said the same thing. You don"t have to worry. I can take care of myself."

"Oh, I"m not worried. If you die, it"s your own fault. Let"s go. It"s getting late," Isabelle said.

"Belle, info. What are we up against?" Katya interrupted.

Isabelle turned on her heel. She had an uncertain look in her eye that Katya had never seen before.

"I"m not sure. I"ve been staking this place out for a few days, and there hasn"t been anyone coming and going. The place is radiating with enough darkness to set my teeth on edge." Isabelle pointed at the houses around her. "Why do you think these surrounding buildings are empty? In a suburb like this, these mansions should be filled with people. This place has scared them off. Even normals can feel evil. Enough info?"

Katya nodded. Isabelle had unique talents, which gave her a hunting an edge. If she was this worried, it was enough for Katya to believe her without the proof.

"Let"s go take a look." Katya pulled out her gun and looked over at Izrayl. His eyes were glowing again, and she wondered if he was using his volk krovi senses to get a feel for whatever lay beneath their feet.

Isabelle reached into a pocket, pulled out two small strips of metal, and expertly picked the lock to the roof access door.

"They have minimal security whoever they are," Katya commented. "No electrical trips or cameras anywhere."

"Perhaps they don"t need them because people know better than to break in here," Izrayl said, pulling out one of his guns.

They stepped into the stairwell, and the hair on the back of Katya"s neck rose. There was a chemical smell in the air mixed with decay and sweat. Isabelle had her knives out and ready as she moved down silently down the stairs in front of them. She opened another door, which led to the top floor. There wasn"t any sound coming from anywhere.

Overturned furniture and clutter littered the three rooms, showing signs of a hurried departure.

Isabelle placed a hand on a wall and shut her eyes. Izrayl opened his mouth to say something, but Katya grabbed his arm. She had seen Isabelle do this before. Isabelle had told her that she could sometimes read objects, and Katya had never questioned her abilities.

Isabelle jerked her hand away from the wall. "Beneath us. I"m sorry Katya, I shouldn"t have brought you in." Without elaborating, Isabelle strode down the stairs to the next level.

Katya hurried to catch her and was almost bowled over by the smell. Blood and decaying flesh filled her nose, making her dry heave.

"They were torturing them," Isabelle said from the far side of the room.

There were a few old metal hospital beds with corpses left on them to rot. There were chains on the walls, small tables littered with medical instruments, and what remained of what looked like a science lab.

Plastic sheeting had been hung up as a divider, and Katya carefully lifted it with the barrel of her gun. It took her a few moments to recognize what she was actually looking at. Half of the creature looked human, but one arm was the broken wing of a bird. Feathers stuck out of it in odd places, disguising most of its face. Its liquid black eye blinked, and Katya jumped back. It made a glutinous sound, and Katya struggled to keep her nerve. The creature before her tried again, black fluid running from its mouth.

"Kill..."

"It wants you to," Izrayl said from behind her. "Do it, Katya. It"s in pain."

"I know." Katya lightly touched the feathers on its deformed face as she placed the barrel of her gun under its chin and squeezed the trigger. "Let"s find the fucking bastards who did this."

Katya pushed past Izrayl and tried to spot Isabelle. She was looking at a pile of papers tacked to a wall. Some of it looked like family trees.

"These victims were from magical bloodlines," Isabelle said, her voice cold. "Obviously, they weren"t getting what they wanted from them."

"But why leave the building like this?" Katya asked.

"Maybe they spotted me watching it and thought they were compromised." Isabelle handed her a piece of paper. It had a seal on it in black ink, a sword with a snarling dragon around it.

"Fucking Darkness," Katya spat. "I wonder if they have something like this in mind for Anya if they get a hold of her."

"Who is Anya?" Isabelle questioned sharply.

"She is a long story. One, I won"t tell you about here."

"Very well." Isabelle collected some of the papers together and stuffed them into the front of her waistcoat.

Katya turned away from the collage of bloodlines and spotted a small door, not even a meter high on the far wall. Gripping her gun, she walked over to it. Her hand had just slid the bolt across when something burst out of it, snarling and snapping, knocking her over as she fired a shot. The creature was on top of her, its legs squeezing the air from her lungs. There was a snarl, and a black wolf launched over the top of her, knocking the creature off. A wet shriek followed and then nothing.

Gasping for air, Katya rolled onto her side, and Isabelle helped her up. Izrayl stood over what remained of the thing that attacked her, his fur standing up high and vicious.

Katya stepped closer and studied the creature. It had patches of feathers growing out of it in places and a black beak filled with human teeth. Isabelle slammed the little door shut again and slid the bolt across.

"You ever seen anything like it?" Katya asked.

"No, though it looks like some kind of hybrid of a bird and person, like the others. Maybe this experiment was the closest success they got," Isabelle replied, looking over the body. She brushed her fingers over its shoulder and pulled her hand back. "Definitely made with magic. The fuckers."

Izrayl slowly transformed back into a man, and Katya tossed him his coat to cover up.

Isabelle smiled. "You didn"t tell me your friend was one of the volk krovi. How interesting."

"Surprise," Katya said numbly.

"It"s time we left," Izrayl said, his voice more growl than usual.

"I couldn"t agree more," Isabelle replied, snapping pictures of the creature on her phone before standing. "There"s something I would like to do first."

Minutes later, the three of them walked out of the building as flames engulfed the top levels.

"Come by this address tomorrow," Katya said and wrote Trajan"s house number on Isabelle"s hand. "We need to talk."

"I"ll be there," Isabelle promised. She gave Katya a tight hug. "It is good to see you despite this shitshow."

"You too, Belle," Katya replied.

Isabelle fixed Izrayl with her violet gaze. "Look after her tonight."

"I will," he said without hesitation.

Isabelle shot them a wink before she left them, melting into the darkness of the street.

They were silent on the drive back home, Katya"s chest aching and her heart hurting from what she had seen. Tears slid silently down her cheeks, and Izrayl was smart enough not to comment on them. It wasn"t until they pulled into the basement garage that Katya felt she could finally breathe again.

"Katya…"

"Don"t." She got out of the car and hit the elevator door button over and over before Izrayl grabbed her hand.

"Go on then. Make a joke about the hunter who cries after a job."

"I wasn"t going to say anything, so stop putting words in my mouth."

The elevator opened, and she stepped in. Katya hadn"t had to do a mercy killing in a long time, and she had never seen fear and pain in a creature"s eyes like she had tonight. When the doors opened again, she headed straight for her room.

Katya pulled off her boots and started to unload her weapons, placing them neatly on a table. "Don"t you have your own room to go to?"

Izrayl pulled her close, and she started crying again. "Talk to me. I would think less of you if you weren"t upset by the pure fucking evil we saw tonight, Yakaterina. I"ve seen bigger men lose their stomachs over less. It"s not a weakness to have compassion."

"I need a shower," Katya said brusquely and started pulling off her clothes as she headed for the bathroom. "Coming?"

"Are you serious?"

"After a night like this, I really don"t want to be alone. Usually, I would go and pick up some lucky guy and celebrate being alive. I thought I would see if you"re interested in showing me some of those back washing skills you mentioned."

"You would have to be the most unpredictable woman I have ever met," Izrayl said.

"Is that a yes you are coming for a shower?"

"That"s a hell yes."

Katya turned on the shower taps and tried not to grimace as she pulled off her shirt. Two massive purple bruises the size of grapefruit adorned either side of her ribs.

"It looks like you"ve been put through the wringer again," Izrayl said, running his fingers along them.

"It"s lucky there were only one of those creatures left to deal with if that"s how good my form is."

"You"re pretty hard on yourself, considering only just over a week ago I thought you were done for." Izrayl kissed the base of her neck where her first tattoo was, sending desire shooting down her spine. "You know, I would never have picked you as a wearer of sweet girly underwear."

Katya laughed. "We all have our weaknesses. Mine just happens to be underwear. What"s yours?"

Izrayl whispered in her ear, "Tough hunters who wear sweet girly underwear."

Katya turned to wrap her arms around his neck. "Good answer."