Chapter 13

CHAPTER 13

It hadn't taken long after a stop at Razorsedge to find Abe—the horny werewolf who'd helped us dispatch Victor's wife—and recruit a whole van full of demons who had no problem with wanton violence, especially to save Zee. If we'd had more time, the entire staff of Razorsedge would have gotten on board. But given the short notice, we had to make do with six. Plus, that was the maximum number of spikey wings and tails we could squeeze into the Love Wagon .

Ramone drove. Velvet, the demon who was usually on guard at the club's door, rode shotgun and played with the radio.

Victor and I sat squished in the back between brightly colored and scantily clad demons, all of whom had managed to find something sharp and stabby to bring along with them. And Abe, who fidgeted like a dog with fleas.

Victor couldn't have looked more uncomfortable if he'd been stripped, lathered in caramel, and made to dance on an ant nest. But it wasn't all because he'd been stuffed in a pungent, small, hot van with his enemies. He'd barely said three words since climbing in .

When Victor was quiet—more quiet than normal—he was mentally beating himself up.

If Zee were here, he'd sling out a sassy remark about emo vampires and have Victor trying to hide a smile. But I wasn't Zee.

Zee thought I was the filling in the sandwich of us, when in truth, we were all the filling. Which didn't make a sandwich at all. Take one of us away and the whole dish fell apart. Maybe we were more mac and cheese than a sandwich? Whatever we were, I wasn't the important part. We all were. And we needed our third back.

"Are you okay?" I asked Victor.

"I have seen a great many wrongs throughout the decades. Some, I was the source of. Many, I assisted in. I cannot help but feel I am being punished for those indiscretions."

"Yeah, but you did all those things for your queen. You didn't have a choice."

"There's always a choice, Adam. I'm not a good person."

I shrugged. "Who is?"

The others were listening in. They couldn't not hear a vampire admit to his wrongdoing with us all packed in like sardines in a can. The van kinda smelled like sardines too. It was best not to think about why.

"I'd found a measure of happiness in you and the hotel, and Zodiac, that I've never experienced before," Victor continued, aware the others couldn't help but hear him. "Fate brought us together, and is testing us. Testing me. I fear I am not worthy. And I fear what that means for Zodiac."

I could argue that fate didn't exist, like I'd tried to believe, but I was walking proof there was some higher power at work, moving the pieces around. As much as I ran from the Lost Ones prophecy, it still hung over me like a dark cloud. And the more I tried to deny it, the more it made its presence known.

"Fuck fate," Violet said from the front seat.

She tucked her bobbed, straight white hair behind her pointed ear. Her candy-pink PVC outfit gleamed in the ambient moonlight. "You do you, Daddy Vampire. We got your back."

Zee's nickname for Victor had clearly spread through the Razorsedge staff. He'd helped us stop Seb. They'd seen Victor step up for them. Zee had probably added his own flair to Victor's reputation too.

Murmured agreements passed through the gang.

Victor swallowed hard. "Thank you."

"We make our own fate," another said.

The murmurs grew louder.

"Friends of Zee's are our friends," another added.

Victor held the male demon's gaze and nodded mutely. A thousand-year-old vampire, their ancient enemy, had been accepted as one of them.

There was no war here, just friendship.

The Love Wagon was living up to its name.

Abe shrugged. "That's cool an' all, but I'm just here to maul some cops."

"We're approaching the ambush site," Ramone said. He pulled the van off the road, onto a track. "That agent said to stop off the track up here and head the rest of the way on foot. Hold your titties, it's about to get rough."

I clutched at Victor's thigh as the van bounced and jolted its way toward a patch of scrub. The approaching dawn had begun to brighten the night sky, but we had time to pull this off before the sun came up.

The van trundled to a dusty stop. Our crew began to hop from inside, stretching wings and tails. "You good?" I checked with Victor. "There's not much time until sunup. "

"Nothing, not even celestial bodies, will stop me, Adam." He grabbed the back of my neck and hauled me into a sudden, desperate, passionate kiss. I had two seconds to realize what was happening, and might have gotten into it a second later, but he pulled back and hopped from the van.

A stunned breath whished out of me. "Alrighty, then."

"Hey, Adam." Ramone twisted in the driver's seat, his voice holding me back so it was just him and me. "Every single person here will give their lives for Zodiac, and for you. General Vex."

"Oh, I . . . That's not . . . I don't . . ."

Ramone pointed. "We know everything you've done for him and for us?—"

"Oh, I don't think I've done that much?—"

"Zee said you'd be like this." Ramone chuckled.

"He did?" Wait, Zee had talked to them about me?

"We know you're special, all-American beach boy. We know Daddy Spice is special too. And Zee? It goes without saying, he's one in a million. We're yours. We'll follow you to the ends of this world and the end of ours. Use that power wisely. And stop denying it exists." Ramone winked. "Now let's go fuck up some SSD agents."

I left the van, letting his words sink in. He was right. It was time to accept a few important truths.

I forgot, sometimes, that the fancy candy-colored, feather boa wearing, high-heeled demons from Razorsedge were all hardened warriors.

They gathered now, like a carnival of tropical birds with horns and swishing tails. They looked pretty, and mostly harmless, ignoring several metal-tipped horns and other spikes. But each one of them was a vicious, highly capable killer.

The prison transport had no idea what was about to hit them .

Checking the anti-ward ring on my finger, I joined the group. "Split up. Let's have half on the other side of the canyon. When the transport arrives, drop from above."

"And cutie, what will you be doing?" Velvet asked.

I smiled. "I'm the roadblock."

Deep inside the canyon, dawn was still far off and traffic almost nonexistent. Elion had been right about the location being perfect for an ambush. We just needed to pull off a brazen jailbreak, and get away unseen.

Easy.

"I hear vehicles," Victor said, crouched in the scrub by the roadside with me. He checked his phone and sure enough, Elion had messaged to say the motorcade was a minute out.

Twisting Cain's ring on my finger, I hoped it would work. How far would its anti-ward aura reach? I'd soon find out.

"What's the plan?" Victor asked.

"I'm going to do what I do best." Standing, I brushed dust from my clothes. "Be human."

"Adam, I'm not entirely sure you're all that good at being human."

"What? Of course I am. I fooled you, didn't I."

"Not in the least."

I snorted, and left the brush for the middle of the road. The asphalt was still warm from the previous day's heat, and a faint sheen rippled off the road surface where the transport would soon arrive from.

"They're rounding the bend now," Victor confirmed, out of sight behind his bush.

I stopped in the middle of the road. A string of blinding headlights pierced the gloom. Waiting a few beats, and listening to my heart thump, I gave the motorcade time to see me, then waved my arms over my head and plastered what I hoped to be a panicked expression on my face.

Oh no. I was just a lost little human who'd run out of gas.

They wouldn't run me down.

But they would try and brush me off, considering their precious cargo.

I didn't need them to believe me, I just needed them to stop.

The procession of cars was made up of military-style SUVs, with a large metal shipping container on a truck between them, covered with tarp. As the whole line of vehicles bore down on me, I waved my arms—they didn't seem to be slowing.

They would stop, right?

They wouldn't mow down an innocent bystander?

The front SUV honked.

I waved my arms harder and squinted into the high beams.

Had they sped up?

I wasn't losing this game of chicken. They'd have to hit me and splatter me all over the road.

"Adam?" Victor called, over the roar of the engines.

"I got this!" I called back.

Okay, they weren't stopping.

Oh my stars, that SUV's front grille sure was huge . I winced. Tires skidded. The big truck's brakes slammed on, hissing, and the entire procession juddered to a dramatic, sliding halt. Shielding my eyes, I blinked into the headlights. "Uhm... help?"

"Get out of the road, idiot! By order—" Whatever the man was about to say next was choked off. Trapped in the headlight glare, I couldn't see what had stopped him, but the rapid thump of heavy things falling from the sky was a good indication it had begun to rain demons .

Gunfire barked. Muzzle flashes blinked. Radios screeched.

"Ambush!" someone screamed.

I sauntered out from the blazing high beams and blinked into the gloom alongside the motorcade. Eight cars had stopped on the road, with the truck between them. Wards were clearly painted on the truck tarp. Nobody was getting inside. Except me.

I ambled down the line of cars. Shots fired around me, the demons keeping the guards occupied. Shouts abruptly cut off. Cars rocked. Bodies thumped to the ground. As massacres went, it was efficient.

"Hey, you!"

A guard rattled his gun, pointing it at me from above. "Get down!"

I raised my hands. "Oh no, help me? I'm just a harmless human."

Velvet dropped down behind him, grabbed his head and jerked, snapping his spine. "I got you, sweetie!" The body flopped over the roof of the SUV. Velvet grinned, thumbs up, and flew off to continue the slaughter.

Ahead, a guard bolted toward me. If he'd had a gun it was gone now. A bounding werewolf was in hot pursuit.

"Help me!"

I skipped out of his way. "Yeah, no."

He sprinted on, but within a few strides Abe leaped and landed on his back.

I didn't see much of Victor, just a blur, a spray of blood, then the thump of a dropped, unconscious body. I'd seen him in action when he'd swept through the aquarium to get to Agatha. Once he got his murder on, he could carve a path through a frontline of enemies in seconds.

On reaching the truck, the wards thrummed, pushing at my glamor and the truth of me inside it, trying to unpick me. But I had the ring, and while the weight of the wards still pushed down, I moved through their barrier as though pushing through drapes.

"Thank you , Gideon Cain," I crooned.

I rounded the back of the truck to the soundtrack of more gunfire and choking noises. Unzipping the tarp revealed a huge bolt that ran from the top to the bottom of the container doors. A heavy latch kept the bolt in place. A high-tech keypad blinked red.

No human-made door could keep me from Zee.

Grabbing the latch, I gathered all my available strength and poured it down my arms, into my hands. The latch, the bolt, and half the door screamed, then bent in my hands, peeling open like the lid of a can.

Two gun nozzles filled my vision. One for each eye.

The armored guards hesitated, maybe because the unarmed, blond-haired, twenty-something-year-old human in their sights didn't look like much of a threat. The wards would protect them, right?

I grabbed their guns, shoving them skyward. They fired, peppering the top of the container with rounds that pinged and twanged. It was enough to startle the men. I yanked them forward, spun, and tossed them out of the truck where the wards didn't reach.

Multicolored demons dropped out of the sky and tore into them like vultures.

With my eyes adjusting once more to the dark, I spotted Zee at the back of the container, muzzled and chained to a bench behind other prisoners. His brilliant purple eyes went wide. He jerked forward, jolting his chains, and mumbled into the gag.

Rage boiled up from inside me. How dare anyone do this to him! I snapped the chains holding him to the bench, then the ones holding his ankles and wrists. Then carefully pried the muzzle free, snapping its horrible little straps and pulling it off.

"Adam!" He flung his arms around me, and buried his face in my neck. Kisses peppered my neck, cheeks, mouth. "Kitten, Kitten, Kitten, you came, you came for me, for me, you came!" His hands gripped my face and his mouth stayed on mine, so desperate and hungry he didn't stop to breathe.

Gunfire still rattled the night. It wasn't over yet. I gasped free and ran my hands down his face, then over the collar at his neck. Horror gripped me, rage too, but then I saw the bandage taped to his side. "Are you hurt?"

"What? No. Somers, he shot—" Zee's voice choked on what had happened back at the ring. "It's nothing. He was a shit shot. Poor bastard. I didn't want that . I never wanted that for him."

"I know." I held his face and stared into his eyes. "I know. That was his doing, not yours. I'll get this collar off. Hold still."

"It's warded. You can't?—"

Getting my fingers under it, I tugged, snapping it free as though it was nothing more than his silk choker, and tossed it onto the floor.

Zee sighed. " Oof , that feels good. My wings—get my wings." He turned, and I used my newly revealed claws to dig at the hinges on the clamp holding his wings, tossing that too.

He gasped and gave his wings a flick. "Fuckin' orgasmic." Big, proud eyes studied me. "How are you doing this?"

I showed him the ring and waggled my finger. "Gift from Gideon Cain. I took it from that nasty vampire who got turned to soup by our gremlins."

"My beautiful fucking murder Kitten." I got another messy kiss and really, really wanted to continue getting personal, but this wasn't over .

A row of prisoners blinked up at me. All muzzled, all chained, just like Zee. Two were fae, and one I recognized. "Hello, Fists of Fury." He'd been the fae who'd tried to kill Harold the troll for love.

Zee grinned and crouched. "Fuck, imagine it. The two people you were a vicious asshole to now hold your freedom in their hands. Wow, karma's a bitch."

" Now would you like us to rescue you?" I asked.

He nodded, solemnly.

I'd get to that. But first, I set about freeing the others, including another fae who had cool, calculating eyes and watched me warily, even though I was the one freeing her. She had seen me tear a thick iron door almost off its hinges and break out multiple prisoners while apparently being a boring human. The suspiciousness was warranted. But I had a hunch I knew who she was. "Are you Delores?"

She rubbed her sore wrists. "Do I know you?"

"No, but I know Elion."

"Elion?" Her eyes brimmed with emotion I suspected she didn't want to show. "Is my love here?"

"They're... behind the scenes. I'll let them know you're safe and well. They'll be relieved."

She wiped a tear away, then growled low. "Did you leave some of the guards for me?"

I gestured at the torn-open door. "Have at it."

She hopped down, and that's when I saw Victor standing, staring into the back of the truck. The dusty wind tugged at his blood-splattered clothes and hair. A frown made his face grim. He had to be feeling the weight of daylight on top of everything else.

"Demon, your incarceration has been most inconvenient."

Zee straightened, only now noticing him. " Hello , Daddy Vampire," he purred.

Victor vanished from outside the truck, appearing in front of Zee, then wrapped him in his arms and dipped Zee low, kissing him like one of those heroes who gets the girl in the old movies he liked to watch. Zee's wings and tail did the swooning for him, and for a second, nobody knew where to look.

The rest of the prisoners jumped down from the truck, leaving me to wonder if I should join them.

Victor breathlessly broke the kiss, and pressed his forehead to Zee's. He whispered something too low for me to catch, but Zee heard it and swallowed hard with a tight nod. Whatever was said, Zee's eyes shone a whole lot brighter.

They were so in love and I was so here for it.

Swallowing my own knot of emotion, I focused on the final prisoner, and freed Fairy Fists, helping him to shaky feet.

"Better?" I asked him.

"I'm sorry about those things I said, about this whole mess." He huffed, appearing genuinely remorseful.

"Funny how being locked up gives you perspective, huh?"

"I owe you," he said, making eye contact so I knew he meant it.

"Alright." I reached up and patted his shoulder, since he was a whole lot taller than me. "Let's get everyone out of here."

We all climbed down from the truck, but Victor winced and hung back. "Adam, there's not enough room in the Love Wagon for everyone."

I'd only planned on taking Zee back with us, and hadn't considered what to do with anyone else. We couldn't leave them here. At any moment, another car would arrive and report the massacre to the authorities. They'd be rounded up by daybreak and blamed for the mess we'd made.

Velvet fluttered to her feet beside us. Her pink PVC now dripped red in places .

Zee appraised her, his smile growing. "Red is so your color, Velvet."

She licked blood from her finger. "Baby, I know it. We got all the SSD assholes. What now, General?"

I ignored Zee's arched eyebrow at the "General" name. "Alright, everyone, back in the truck." Unlooping the warded tarp from its hooks, I yanked it off, taking the wards with it. "You too, Victor." I told him. "This is the darkest place we can keep you for now."

He nodded, and hopped in. The prisoners clambered back inside too, but free of their restraints and wards, they were happy to. Maybe they'd done some bad things, maybe they deserved to go to jail, but I couldn't judge them, and I couldn't leave them. Setting them free was only fair.

"I'll drive," Zee offered. "Get us a few miles away. We'll all split up away from this shit." He circled his hand in the air, encompassing the groaning, unconscious, some likely dead guards scattered about the road.

Turning my attention back to Victor, I told him to inform Elion we'd found Delores and to meet us as the hotel later.

"Adam. That's you, right?" Fairy Fists spoke up.

"Yeah?"

"You asked about Claymore. Your gargoyle friend? I uh, I know where he is. I guess... I guess I can help."

Climbing into the back with him, I banged on the container wall, letting Zee know we were ready to head off. The truck's engine grumbled to life, and we jolted forward, then bumped over a few suspicious lumps in the road.

I met Fairy Fist's gaze again. "Tell me where Claymore is."