ELEVEN

TEN

THE MOST GLORIOUS taste in the world and an argument taking place above my head brought me back to the land of the living.

I didn"t pay much attention to the words as I sucked down the most decadent dark chocolate ever created. The power contained within was madness and desire, sending zings of awareness zipping along my nerve endings.

"I didn"t think she would catch it. I have no idea how she anticipated which direction my throw was coming from," Liam snarled.

Uh oh. Someone wasn"t happy.

"Now, you know you were wrong. Perhaps you and the Lord Master can stop taking such liberties with her wellbeing," a cross voice responded.

I pulled deeper at the wrist held against my lips, moaning as liquid sin filled my mouth.

"I think she"s coming around," a feminine voice pointed out.

A soothing hand stroked the back of my neck, and I became aware I was making greedy sounds while clutching someone"s wrist to me like it was a one-way ticket to nirvana. In a way it was, since Liam"s blood had a way of sending my inhibitions into orbit.

I finally opened my eyes to see Sam"s face above mine.

"Welcome back," she said.

"Move, Samara. I need to look at my patient and you"re in the way," Joseph growled from out of sight.

Samara rolled her eyes at me but sat back.

The vampire's primary healer moved into view. Joseph's examined me with hazel eyes that always reminded me of a tiger"s. His skin was a light brown and arrogance was written on every inch of his face.

He held up two fingers in front of me. "How many fingers am I holding up?"

"If I answer correctly, will you go away?"

I thought I caught the faintest trace of amusement before his expression smoothed out again. "No. Now, answer."

"Two."

That seemed to mollify him. His face moved out of view and a set of hands steadied me as I sat up.

My chest, arms, and head all still ached. My chin felt like it"d been hit with an anvil. Liam"s blood was a super healer. If my body hurt this much, it meant I"d taken a hell of a blow.

I looked around at the rest, taking in the faces of those around me. Nathan and the other enforcers seemed concerned. Sam, or Samara, whatever her name was, and her partner looked amused.

Liam"s expression was the one I was most concerned about. It was curiously blank. No emotion there. None.

"Did I win?" I asked.

A relieved sound left Nathan. Liam thawed enough for one corner of his mouth to tilt up.

It didn"t touch the raw look in his eyes, but I counted it as an improvement.

It didn"t escape me that no one had answered my question.

"Seriously? Someone want to tell me?"

Nathan scratched his chin, looking contemplative. "Actually—"

"It was something of a draw, I"d say," Daniel rumbled.

Eric nodded like he agreed.

I squinted. "What does that mean?"

"It means you"re an idiot." Joseph snapped closed the black bag he"d brought with him and rose to his feet. "Try not to kill yourself in the next week. I won"t be so gentle when I repair you if I see you before then."

"You weren"t gentle this time," Samara called after him as he headed for the gym"s exit, stepping past a vampire who"d entered while we"d been preoccupied.

Kat Davinish gazed around her with an expression of distaste, acting as if her presence in this section of the house made her skin crawl.

It very well might.

Seeing she had our attention, she smoothed down a lock of her long, luscious, and glossy hair. Her high heels clicked over the floor as she prowled in our direction.

"Oh, lord, here we go," Samara said in an undertone.

My eyes jumped to her. I didn"t think anyone could dislike Kat as much as me, but it seemed I had a contender.

"Don"t lose your composure, Sam," her friend cautioned.

Sam ignored him, watching Kat approach with a dark look.

"It means you held onto the ball even after you were knocked unconscious," Anton drawled, ignoring the wicked witch"s looming presence. "But because you lost consciousness, we can"t say you won either."

That was disappointing. I kind of felt I deserved some type of consolation prize after what I"d gone through.

"How'd you do it?" Makoto asked.

"Do what?"

"Guess which way he threw the ball."

I shrugged. "Just lucky, I guess."

Even as I said it, I knew that wasn't entirely true. My body had known where to go. The knowledge just there and waiting, like I'd caught a split-second preview of what was about to happen.

I shook off the odd feeling as Kat stopped a few feet away. To Liam, she said, "The master is free to see you." Her gaze landed on me, repulsion squeezing her features. "What happened to you?"

Her question had merit. My shirt was drenched in blood and my skin still tacky from it. Judging by the lingering aches in my jaw and cheeks, there was probably a cornucopia of bruising on my face.

She lifted a hand and waved it before anyone could answer. "Never mind. I don"t care."

Gradually, I became aware of the division in the room. There was a wall between Kat and the enforcers. They regarded her with blank faces that still managed to be vaguely hostile, as if Kat was an interloper and only allowed to breathe because of their restraint.

Even the two vampires from Kat"s clan didn"t gaze at her with any warmth. They sized her up the way someone might a foe, like they were looking for weaknesses and imagining how they"d end her if given the chance.

It was a marked difference from the camaraderie of earlier. The room practically iced over from the aloof haughtiness they were putting out.

Kat acted like she didn"t notice. Either she had iron clad self-confidence that wasn"t impugned by anything, or she was pretending.

Something told me it was the first—but maybe that was my dislike talking.

Kat stabbed a finger at me, her lip curling with disgust. "Clean her up beforehand. The master appreciates presentation. Admittedly, she doesn"t have much to work with, but you"ll have to make do."

That had my back stiffening. Until she"d spoken, I"d been planning to wash up and change. Because of that little comment, I"d sally forth exactly as I was.

Nathan"s features hardened. "Bitch."

Anton and Makoto chuckled. Even Daniel thawed enough for a semblance of a smile to tug at his lips.

Connor"s feet whispered over the floor until he loomed behind her, not speaking or making his presence felt in any way. Still, his threat was clear if the cold and menacing look on his face was anything to judge by.

Sam and her friend went still, a gradual tension running through them as their attention locked on Connor. They might not like Kat, but as part of the same clan, they were duty bound to protect her. That was how the clans worked.

Beside me, Liam was stiff, his eyes also locked on Connor.

This situation had the potential to escalate. Much as I"d like to see Kat get her come-uppance, I didn't want to be the cause.

I caught Connor"s eyes and shook my head once.

He didn"t move.

Makoto edged to the side, his posture relaxed and casual as he got into a position that would allow him to act if necessary. Eric doing the same on the other side.

Finally, after a standoff that felt like it lasted weeks instead of seconds, Connor took a baby step back, his magic no longer spiked and lethal.

I released a silent breath.

Kat, not realizing how close we"d come to violence, flicked her hair over her shoulder. "She"s weak and arrogant. I"m not going to coddle her the way you do." Her blood red lips curved as she sent them a sly look. "I thought the council"s enforcers would be fierce. I didn"t realize they would be so easily twisted to an infant"s whims. I guess your ranks aren"t what I was led to believe."

I closed my eyes and gave my head a shake. Kat couldn't be this much of a fool. A verbal attack on me was one thing, insulting them was entirely different. They wouldn"t be able to let this go. She had to know that.

Sure enough, Anton was the first to make his move. He drew one finger along her bare arm, seduction in his features. The magic she held against her reacted, lust flaring.

"It"d be a pleasure to show you exactly what we"re capable of." The innuendo wasn"t lost on anyone, but I didn"t think it meant what Kat thought it meant.

She sent him a flirtatious smile, leaning into his touch.

Really? Even I knew better.

Anton acted the irresponsible playboy, but it was facade he used to lure in unsuspecting prey. I"d seen this same act once before. It hadn"t ended well for the woman.

I climbed to my feet, knowing the situation was quickly deteriorating. This right here was why I didn"t like coming to the Gargoyle. There was always drama.

You"d think after centuries these games would get old. Not the case.

Makoto sidled up to Kat"s other side. "Of course, before we can do that, you have to take the same pain Aileen has."

"I like this idea. Who should do the honors?" Daniel closed in on her from the front. Now she was surrounded on four sides.

Finally, the danger she"d brought down on herself registered. Kat took a step back and bumped into Connor.

He said nothing, just stared at her like she was a bug he"d found in his food.

"Are you going to stop this?" I asked Liam.

His face was coldly amused. "Why?"

Let me count the reasons.

"This"ll cause problems later on," I tried.

His head tilted. "I look forward to it."

Of course, he did. Why be reasonable when you could be vampire?

I looked at Sam and her partner. Their expressions were bland as they stared back at me. They weren"t going to be any help. Any tension they"d had when Connor made his move had disappeared when the other enforcers got involved.

If I wanted to stop this, I was on my own. Problem was, I wasn"t sure I wanted to.

A flicker of movement outside the door caught my eye. A speck of shadow slipped into the room, skating along the wall and darting behind the weights.

"Liam," I said cautiously, not taking my eyes off the door or the weights.

He went alert, sensing something was wrong. "Problem?"

"You could say that."

"What is it?"

"There"s a shadow outside that door." I nodded to the exit. "Two more smaller shadows near the weights."

Nathan moved up beside me, peering at the spots I"d indicated. "I don"t see anything."

We both knew that didn"t mean much. Just because he didn"t see something, that didn"t mean it wasn"t there.

The rest of the enforcers had already shifted to face the coming threat.

Kat pushed her way out from between the enforcers, her hair no longer perfect and her eyes glittering with anger.

While I"d been preoccupied, it seemed things had advanced on that front.

Kat stalked toward the door. "This insult won"t go unanswered. I will be sure to tell the master you interfered with one of his representatives."

"Kat, wait, it"s dangerous," I started.

I didn"t like the other woman, but she didn"t deserve whatever baddie was out there.

She spun, an animalistic snarl twisting her face. "No, you"re a liar and this is a bid for attention."

Behind her, a form pushed through the door, its shape too big for the space it was trying to squeeze through. Dark shadows oozed into the gym.

"I"m not the only one seeing this, right?" I asked.

Nathan shook his head. "Nope, definitely not."

Oh good. Sometimes I had to check.

"Move, you stupid, girl," Sam shouted, already racing forward.

Kat finally turned, a short scream leaving her at the sight of the monster blocking the exit.

"What the fuck is that?" Anton asked.

No one answered him as the creature finished pushing its way in. It rose to its full height, a blob that quickly gained shape. Towering over us by several feet, thousands of mouths opened on its body, screaming as one.

Mirrors shattered. I quailed, my hands coming up to cover my ears.

When it was over, I straightened to find the monster had grown again and solidified his form. This time he was the size of a small giant, tattoos of dark ink wrapping around his body. His lower jaw jutted out, making room for long tusks. Both arms dragged on the ground.

A cavernous hole where his left ribs should have been gaped at us. Small black veins strung with tiny fairy lights ran through the space, sparkling merrily. It was like he"d swallowed a swarm of fireflies, and they"d decided to attach themselves to his insides.

Sam reached Kat moments too late.

The creature snatched my nemesis from the ground, lifting her toward his face and the very large teeth there.

Daniel appeared out of thin air, a weight bar held in his hand like a sword. He slammed it against the arm that held Kat, sinking his strength behind the motion.

A screech of pain came from those many mouths, and the creature"s hand opened. Kat fell to the ground.

Sam snagged her arm, flinging her across the gym like she was a Frisbee. Kat hit the ground with a scream and rolled.

Liam and Daniel harried the creature's legs, distracting it from the other two.

I darted toward Kat, grabbing her arm and pulling her further out of the way.

Connor joined me, standing over us like an avenging warrior, his face fully vamped out, deadly claws tipping his hands.

Kat shoved my hand away and scooted across the floor, her cocktail dress riding up. "Get off me. Don"t touch me."

I ignored her ungratefulness, my attention already returning to the battle.

I was beginning to see a few flaws in Liam"s master plan of swaddling me in the protection of the vampire"s stronghold.

Here we were, in the midst of an attack, none of the powerful protections the Gargoyle was supposed to provide anywhere to be seen. The wards were shredded, and the promise of a deterrent in the form of a few dozen vampires making this their home didn"t seem to have had the effect Liam was hoping for.

The enforcers seemed to be holding their own until the creature grew another arm. It swung around to grab Makoto by the waist, squeezing him hard.

Connor flashed forward, ripping into the arm with a single-minded intensity that would have been scary if I let myself dwell on it for too long.

I didn"t have time. The shadows around the weight bench were doing something, magic mushrooming out of control while the others were preoccupied.

Liam plunged one hand into the hole in the creature"s side, ripping it out in the next second, a few of the fire fly lights clutched in his hand.

Another earth-shaking scream came, pain blossoming in the air around the monster.

Ropes of shadow shot out from the weights, their tips sharp and pointed.

I screamed in denial as they headed for Liam"s back. A heavy weight was in my hand before I could think. I flung it at those shadows, nailing one.

My actions distracted it long enough for Liam to move out of the way.

There was a breathless pause as the creature and its smaller friends noticed me for the first time.

I took a step back. "Maybe that wasn"t my best idea."

"You think?" Kat screeched, already scrambling away from me.

Two more shadow ribbons streaked toward me as the creature took one lumbering step.

My eyes widened as I grasped for a weapon. Any weapon. I hurled ball after ball at it, throwing them as hard as I could. Next, another weight found its way into my hand and I threw that as well.

"Any time you jerks want to help that"d be nice," I shouted as those ribbons got closer.

"But A, you make such a lovely decoy," Nathan shouted.

I snarled.

Seriously, what possessed me to ever consider that ass a friend?

Daniel and Makoto shared twin vicious grins. They worked in tandem, targeting the creature's legs as Liam appeared on its back, ripping into its neck. Flesh flew as he savaged the creature.

Connor leapt onto its chest, helping Liam from the front.

In moments, they beheaded the monster born of shadows. It hit its knees before toppling forward.

Eric, Sam and the man whose name I still didn"t know attacked the smaller creature. Between the three of them, they had it in pieces in the blink of an eye.

Panting filled the gym as we took stock.

Liam straightened from the creature"s back. His face and body were covered in black ichor. It didn"t hide the fury or bloodlust wreathing his features.

His gaze landed on me, the world fading as possession and desire took the place of violence. Blood and death didn"t bother him. If anything, it was an aphrodisiac calling to his more primal self—and mine.

Liam took a step toward me.

A pulse filled the gym, tangible and physical.

The creature and its many parts dissolved, becoming liquid shadows.

"This is odd," Makoto said.

The shadows shot toward me.

"Aileen!" Liam"s warning was too late.

The shadows wrapped around me, strands of ribbons echoing the tattoo on the creature"s body. They encircled my arms and legs, wound around my throat and torso, holding me immobile.

Out of the corner of my eye, I caught a slip of shadow dissolving into a shimmer of light. The distortion in the air grew, magic rippling across its surface.

I heaved against my bonds. I knew what that meant.

A fairy door.

"Aileen, move," Nathan roared.

"Don't you think I would if I could?" I shouted back.

Last thing I wanted was to be standing next to that door when it finished forming.

Liam raced for me, his face determined and desperate. A spear made of shadow punched through his chest. The room shook with a scream. It took a minute to realize I was making that sound.

My breath sobbed in my throat as his pain-filled eyes met mine. I struggled harder, my entire world feeling like it was ending.

Nathan roared, charging forward.

The spear lifted Liam into the air and then hurled him across the room. Liam hit the wall on the far side, his blood smearing a streak as he slid boneless to the floor.

The others found themselves occupied with simply surviving as the puddles of shadows rippled, spilling toward them.

I didn"t have time to watch, my body jerking forward a step as the shadow tattoos holding me moved my limbs.

I strained, fear and desperation making it difficult to think.

The thing controlling me forced me to face the shimmering line where a tear was forming in the world. The portal coalesced to the sounds of rage as Liam"s enforcers fought their way toward me.

They weren"t going to make it, I realized.

At least not in time to save me.

Muscle and bone popped as I resisted the tattoo"s urging. Pain leaped in me as tendons snapped from the strain. In the end, it did nothing but delay the inevitable.

Step by jerky step I approached the rift until I hovered on the cusp.

The world shook as a great and terrible sound rumbled from where Liam had been thrown. If I hadn"t been completely focused on holding myself still, I likely would have wet myself in fear.

The sound reached the primitive hind brain and the primal terror that lived there. The unreasonable madness and chaos we all held the capacity for. We liked to chain them with the rules of civilization and bind them with our belief that if we did everything right then the bad things couldn"t happen to us, but it was still there in the end. Crouching beneath the surface and waiting for our inattention.

I didn"t have time to dwell or agonize over the creature who"d made that sound.

I was losing the battle. Something waited on the other side. Big and monstrous. Its desire reached out to me even through the thin chasm.

I shut my eyes, exhaling and blocking out my surroundings as I threw myself into the center of my being, reaching for the same thing that had helped me stop Liam"s throw.

This time it was easier. The power at my center unfurled as it sensed my desperation, answering my call.

Calm settled over me. With it came the knowledge of what I needed to do.

The shadow tightened, starting to draw me forward.

I pulled as hard as I could, stealing the magic from it. Everywhere it touched my skin was a conduit. I sucked it down the same way I would have gulped down Liam"s blood. Greedily. Reaching for more even as the ball of power at my center started to feel full.

The shadow"s grip weakened. Threads of the very magic at its essence unspooled, disappearing into the well at the heart of me. In my mind"s eyes, the firefly lights winked out one by one, only for their life to be added to my own.

My skin tingled with power.

The muscles and tendons I"d damaged healed, only to be damaged again as the shadow, sensing its demise, clenched around me trying to force me forward.

I resisted, throwing everything I was into not moving.

The shadow"s essence wasn"t coming fast enough.

Unmaking this construct was possible, but probably not before it dragged me to the other side. It wouldn"t matter then if I"d learned a nifty new trick. Whatever waited me there was likely to be three times bigger and stronger. More powerful too.

I sank mental claws into the bundle of lights flickering in the shadow"s core and yanked.

It resisted, and I had one second to think I"d failed.

There was a ripping sensation, then the creature"s magic tore from it.

The shadow ribbons dissolved, black smoke rising from them.

I hit my knees, nearly toppling into the portal by accident as the bindings abruptly loosened, their smoke caressing my skin before dissipating.

Liam slid to his knees beside me seconds later, his eyes glowing with white hot fury. There was a hole inches to the left of his heart that still bled sluggishly. Other than that, there was no sign his wound bothered him.

I heaved in a sobbing breath, one hand lifting to touch the hole.

He pressed my hand against his chest, pulling me to him and away from the portal.

Anton walked up. "Would anybody like to tell me what just happened? Where did the shadow creature go?"

Makoto"s expression was thoughtful. "It"s as if the magic sustaining it was used up."

My skin itched as something solid slid down my arm.

I jerked, lifting my wrist to find one last scrap of shadow clinging to my forearm. The size of a small kitten, it quested along my sleeve, finding the edge and sliding under it, pressing its cool length against my skin.

Liam pulled up my sleeve so we could watch as it felt and prodded.

Strange enough, I didn"t sense any threat in it.

At least not until little balls rolled off it, diving into my skin like they were water drenching a parched desert.

Birds formed. Two took shape on my upper wrist, their wings spread. Around the base of a tree a ribbon wrapped, taking on the shape of a snake.

"Now, isn"t that interesting," Anton said from beside us. There was speculation in his eyes as they rose to meet mine.

Liam rumbled a warning next to me.

One side of Anton"s lips quirked up. "Don"t worry boss. I won"t tell anyone. Aileen and I are friends, after all."

My head jerked. "In what world?"

Anton started walking away. "I saved you, didn"t I?"

He had a point, but it wasn"t one I was willing to concede. Anton and the others were dangerous even under normal circumstances. The only reason Nathan had wormed his way inside my guard was because he held a lot in common with a fungus who wouldn"t go away no matter what you did.

Liam"s hand landed on mine, distracting me with the lingering trace of fear hiding in his expression.

"I expect you to show me the secret friend handshake later, Aileen," Anton called.

Nathan twisted. "What handshake? You didn"t show me a handshake."

Connor"s look was cool. "I am the keeper of this handshake. You will need to go through me."

I ignored their ridiculousness, leaning forward and pressing my forehead against Liam"s neck, fighting the urge to rock against him. He wasn"t the only one dealing with the surplus of leftover emotions from the battle.

I thought for a second that I"d lost him. This had been close. So very close.

Warm lips pressed against my skin and then his hands squeezed in warning. I untangled myself from him, standing as Thomas burst into the gym at a sprint.

He scanned the room, taking in the scene at a glance. Power boiled around him, enough to make my head pound.

"What is going on?" Thomas"s fangs were out, a sure sign of heightened emotion.

We traded glances. Who wanted to break the news to the master of the city that his fancy-smancy wards had done shit to keep a shadow monster at bay? Not me, that was for sure.

"We were attacked," Kat said, standing up from where she"d been hiding and pulling her cocktail dress back into place. Her face was flushed and anger tightened her features.

No one said anything as Thomas went still and expressionless.

Kat showed a distinct lack of self-preservation as she pointed at me. "It was her fault. The thing was after her."

I glared, but couldn"t exactly deny it. She was right. I was the target; even a blind man would have been able to see that.

Thomas"s attention snapped to me.

"An attack? In the master"s own home? My dear, Thomas, I did not expect to find your house in such disarray," a warm, feminine voice said as a woman glided into the gym.

Sofia Davinish was a breathtaking woman with perfectly coiffed hair and dancing eyes. Grace was embedded into every inch of her body, like a lady of nobility from some long-ago century.

Her gaze flicked to her two clan members, nodding a greeting at them. "My lovelies, how good of you to help the master fend off an interloper. I"m glad you were able to find some entertainment while I was in my meeting."

They dipped their chins in a bow, Sam"s eyes sparkling with repressed humor. It seemed those two were used to their matriarch"s theatrics and found them entertaining.

"Would someone care to explain?" Thomas"s boomed, power sending little knife pricks along my skin.

"My dear, they are obviously exhausted and any attack on your house would be considered a sensitive nature. Perhaps it would be best to discuss this in private," Sofia suggested.

Thomas hesitated. His eyes snapped fire as his gaze swept over Liam, Connor, and me. "You three, in my office now."

Liam patted my back as Thomas stalked out. "I guess it doesn"t matter anymore whether you won or lost our bet."

Nope. He was right. It didn"t.