TEN

NINE

ANTON PRECEDED ME into the gym as he prowled in the direction of Nathan and several of the other enforcers.

"Coming?" he asked over his shoulder.

"What"s this about?" I asked, left with no choice but to follow.

He shrugged, a gesture much more elegant on him than others. "We"re in a gym. I imagine we"ll do something physical."

I scowled at Anton"s back. Was that a vein of sarcasm I detected? Be still my heart. If he hadn"t been such a jerk since I"d met him, there would be definitely be friend potential there.

After a moment's consideration, I shook my head. Naw. My friend card was already overflowing with vampires since the addition of Nathan. No need to get crazy and add more.

As we crossed the gym, I took a second to study it. No matter how many times I came here, I was always surprised at how ginormous this place was. It had little in common with the typical home workout setup that you'd find in a mundane human's house. This place had top of the line everything.

And I did mean everything.

The weights, punching bags, and various other equipment had been modified with vampires in mind. A wall lined with mirrors allowed you to keep your eye on your form—or admire your sexy self, depending on your preferences.

Taking up half the space was a full-length basketball court, which was where we found Nathan bouncing a ball while chatting with his fellow enforcers.

Tonight, the gym held only a few vampires, some of whom I recognized. A human that I didn't recognize had parked himself on one of the weight benches, his face marked with concentration as he finished his set.

Nathan face brightened as he noticed us. "Aileen, finally. What took you guys so long?"

"I wasn"t aware we had plans." In fact, I was kind of surprised we were down here considering Liam's threat of finding Thomas.

"We got caught up in the feeding room," Anton answered, nodding a hello to Daniel and Makoto beside Nathan.

I tensed, bracing myself. He didn't say anything else about what had happened there, instead surveying those assembled. "Do we have enough players?"

That was it? No teasing that I was so low in the hierarchy even humans thought they were higher?

Maybe I'd have to reconsider my stance on having reached my max for vampire friends.

Nathan nodded. "We"re just waiting on Liam. With Aileen, we"ll have the exact right amount."

"For what?" I asked, suspiciously.

Nathan held the ball up, as if it was an explanation in and of itself.

When I stared at it in confusion, Nathan rolled his eyes.

"Dodge ball." The words were said with relish, as if he was offering me a treat.

I looked from him, to the ball, and back again. Was he serious about this?

His look told me he was very serious.

My eyes widened. Oh my. Vampires playing dodge ball. Could this night get any more surreal?

"Aren"t we supposed to meet with Thomas?"

This was not what I had in mind when Liam asked me to stay in vampire central until I figured out my next move. I definitely hadn't expected the super-serious enforcers, the elite of their field, to ask me to play a kid's game.

But that seemed to be exactly what was happening.

I couldn't decide if I loved it, or wanted to run for the hills.

"Thomas is a little tied up with something important. We thought this would be a fun way to occupy our wait."

Anton made his way to a rack of balls similar to the one Nathan held. He picked one up, slapping it between his palms, the harsh crack loud in the large space.

Anton nodded once as if to say "this will do".

He whirled, arm already cocked. He let it fly.

Only reflexes honed by many nights spent training with Nathan allowed me to catch the ball before it collided with my face.

"What the hell?" I snarled.

Nathan grinned at Anton. "She caught it. That means she"s on your team."

Anton"s lips twisted in obvious disappointment at the prospect. There went our tentative truce. No friend points for him.

The door to the gym slammed open. Liam strode toward us, his attention already on Nathan. "We ready?"

Nathan nodded and bounced the ball up. "Aileen is on Anton"s team."

What fresh madness was this? Was Liam really in favor of playing dodgeball?

My lover hardly seemed the type.

Liam's eyebrows climbed, his expression vaguely impressed. "Unexpected."

My surprise disappeared, leaving me to glower at him. That drew a smirk.

"Are we really sure the infant is going to be able to do this?" Anton asked from a spot he"d taken on one side of the court.

Liam"s look was speculative. "Only one way to find out."

Such confidence. It was a wonder my head didn"t swell from the praise.

Liam lifted his chin at the other two enforcers, Daniel and Makoto. "What about you two?"

The larger of the two men answered. "I think this round should be the four of you. We"ll wait for Eric"s arrival."

Daniel was a mountain of a man with hair the color of gold and pretty hazel eyes. One of the few vampires I"d seen who sported a beard, he looked like a Viking of old. He was built for power and a little rough around the edges. His hair was longer than what was considered trendy, but it worked on him. Most days he wore a "don"t fuck with me" expression. Today, however, he seemed softer. Almost, happy.

Where Daniel looked like he could have stepped from that Viking drama on the History channel, Makoto was a poster child of the modern era. His head was shaved on both sides, his hair longer on top and formed into a mini faux hawk. Today it was dyed neon pink. He had several piercings in his ear and tattoos winking from the edges of his shirt along his neck and arms.

"What about you?" Liam asked Connor. Until now, my semi coworker had gone unnoticed where he sat on a stack of mats reading a book.

"I will observe for now," Connor said.

Liam prowled to the opposite side of the court. "Alright, let"s do this."

Nathan paused beside me. "Just remember, A, what doesn"t kill you makes you stronger."

My stare was incredulous. Was that supposed to be comforting?

His smile broadened. "This is going to be so much fun."

He practically skipped to the middle line, setting the ball down before joining Liam at the back of their side of the court.

"Why does it feel like I"m being hazed?" I muttered to myself, trudging toward Anton. "Are we really playing dodge ball?"

"We"re not here to play tag," Anton said sourly.

"Thanks, asshole. Super helpful."

My insult had the opposite effect, making Anton grin. I stopped to stare, starstruck. That expression on his face made me see why some of the women here fell all over themselves to get his attention.

"You ready?" Nathan called.

Anton crouched; his smile bloodthirsty. "If you"re hit, you"re out. Catch it and they"re out. Try your best not to die."

I rolled my eyes at him. Such lovely advice. It warmed the heart.

I bent my knees, finding my center of balance. A familiar rush of anticipation shivered through me.

These vampires didn"t know it, but once upon a time I"d been considered the queen of dodge ball in elementary and middle school. I might not have been the hardest thrower or the most accurate, but I was always the last one standing. Dodging was something of a talent of mine. One that still came in handy.

Daniel walked to the middle line dividing the court, acting as the referee. He glanced at both sides and held up his hand. Time went still. His hand came down and an ear-splitting whistle announced the start of the game.

Anton raced forward, his body little more than a blur.

I stayed put. There was no way I"d beat Liam or Nathan in a foot race. No, if I wanted to last longer than a second, I needed to play this smart.

I stuck to the back of the court, letting Anton take the lead. He snatched the ball off the line a split second before Nathan reached it. Anton's expression was triumphant as he danced out of reach of his fellow enforcer.

Nathan sprang back from the line, putting distance between him and Anton. The other enforcer launched the ball at him. It flew, narrowly missing Nathan. It crashed into the back wall with a meaty thwack, rebounding and losing none of its speed as it shot toward us.

Liam intercepted and tossed it to Nathan.

My eyes widened as the reality of what I"d gotten myself into sunk in. This wasn"t a normal game of dodge ball between friends. It was an extreme training session gone wild.

That ball had packed some serious velocity. I knew rockets that created less noise on impact. If one of them hit me, it was goodbye life, hello broken body.

Nathan bounced the ball. "You ready for this, A?"

I shook my head frantically. No, no, I wasn"t. I needed another century or two before I"d be ready.

There was no mercy in his features as he caught the ball. Instinct took over and I dove to the side.

Wind whistled as the ball brushed past me.

I hit the floor seconds later, too stunned to do more than lay there.

"Catch it!" Anton shouted.

Too late. The ball was already on the other side of the line again.

Liam stopped it with one hand.

"What the hell was that?" I snarled, lifting myself up.

Nathan"s grin was unsympathetic. "Open season on the infant."

I glared at the vampire. To Anton, I said, "I take it back. I don"t consider him a friend."

Nathan pouted. "Aw, that"s hurtful, A. I thought we"d made real progress."

I showed him my fangs.

If by progress, he meant trying to kill me, then yeah.

The look in Nathan"s eyes darkened. "Is it really me you should be paying attention to?"

Crap, I"d forgotten Liam had the ball. He wasn"t the type to be merciful. He"d go for the throat every time.

I edged back, already searching the court and bracing for the inevitable pain.

Liam appeared at the line, his arm cocked. The ball roared toward me.

I dove out of the way, somehow managing to dodge. I rolled and popped to my feet racing to retrieve it. Again, I was too late. It sailed over the line.

Nathan caught it. "Now that we"ve got the warm up out of the way, how about we get serious?"

My stomach sank. This wasn"t serious enough?

I didn"t think I would survive them being any more serious.

As if sensing what I was thinking, Nathan smirked. He was going to target me again.

This time, instead of running, I held my ground and braced. This was going to hurt so bad. Hopefully, I wouldn"t die.

The ball sped toward me. Closer. Closer.

A force barreled into me from the side, knocking me to the ground. The ball sailed over my head. Anton cursed, his limbs tangled with mine as he fought to free himself.

I pushed and shoved, being none too gentle either.

From around us, the other enforcers howled with laughter. Nathan was bent double, tears coming out of his eyes as he held his stomach. Even Liam had an amused look on his face as he regarded the two of us.

"What the hell was that for?" I asked, shoving an elbow into Anton"s side.

Satisfaction filled me at his grunt. Served him right. I'd had it. I might have regretted catching it shortly after, but it would have been mine, nonetheless.

"I was trying to catch the ball," he growled. "I didn"t realize you were suicidal and didn"t plan on moving."

I climbed to my feet, brushing my hands along my pants. "What else would I do? We can"t win if we always dodge."

We had to stop the ball. Otherwise it would only keep ending up on their side. Eventually, they"d wear us down, then it"d be lights out.

Call me crazy, but I didn"t want to lose—especially not when all I"d managed so far was to run around and fall on the ground.

The door to the gym opened and Eric, the last of Liam"s enforcers that I knew, entered. He stopped next to Connor, watching the rest of us with solemn eyes.

Eric made a habit of keeping his own council. I didn"t think I"d heard him string more than a few sentences together in all the time I"d known him.

I think his quiet, reserved nature was one of the things I liked best about him. He rarely spoke unless he had something important to say. He treated words like they were precious gems, bestowed grudgingly on us mere mortals.

He had a poet"s face, his features refined. Amber eyes hinted at the deep thoughts moving behind his stoic mask. His hair had a slight curl to it, flicking up from his head with an abandon seemingly at odds with the painstaking perfection he took with the rest of his appearance.

Of all Liam"s enforcers, I thought he and Connor were probably the most similar.

"How are they doing?" he asked my coworker.

Connor turned a page of his book. "They seem to be having fun."

That drew a sarcastic sound from me. Yeah, if by fun he meant getting our asses handed to us by Liam and Nathan.

Liam"s enforcers watched us with varying levels of interest. Daniel was intent, already strategizing and forming a plan of attack for when he took the battle field. Makoto was preoccupied with the tablet he held in his hand. As Liam"s technology expert, I didn"t think I"d ever seen him without some type of device.

From the far side of the room, the pair of vampires who"d been taking turns pummeling the bags paused, before making their way over to us to join in the fun.

To my surprise, I recognized them, at least by sight.

I"d met both briefly before. They were part of Clan Davinish, enforcers the way Liam and the rest were, but for their Clan alone. The last time I"d seen these two, they"d been bodyguards for their clan matriarch, Sofia Davinish.

The woman who looked to be the leader was of African American descent and had the sort of bone structure a model would be jealous of. Her hair was short and slicked back against her skull. Her body was a carefully honed weapon, and it showed in the way she moved with a liquid grace that screamed danger.

The man at her side looked like he came from the same region of the world as Anton. Dark eyes observed us, cataloging everything as he protected the woman"s back. He was slimmer than all except Makoto, but I had a feeling he made up for that in speed.

"A hundred on the infant being knocked out in two more throws," the woman offered.

Makoto leaned back on one hand, peering around Daniel for a glimpse of the newcomers. "I"ll take that bet, Sam. She"s very good at jumping. I"m betting she can stay in for at least four."

I climbed to my feet, knocking nonexistent dirt off my hands. "Everyone"s a critic."

The bouncing of the ball drew my focus to Nathan. He wasn"t looking at me though. His attention was on the two newcomers. "Please, I"ll get her on the next go round."

"I"m really growing tired of his overconfidence," I muttered.

"You"re not the only one," Anton agreed. The two of us shared a look, on the same side for once.

"Someone should do something about it," I said.

"Yup."

The how was going to be the problem.

"Should you be so rough with the infant?" a vampire from the opposite side of the room called. "You wouldn"t want to break her."

Liam's expression was taunting. "What do you say, Aileen? Too rough for you?"

I shot him a one fingered salute, sparking laughter from the peanut gallery. Just what I lived for, to be everyone else"s entertainment.

Liam"s grin was appreciative. "You heard her, Nathan. No mercy."

Nathan didn"t answer in words.

He grabbed the ball, flinging it at me.

As if we had choreographed it, I slid out of the way. As soon as it was past me, I whirled facing the back wall. Anton did the same on my opposite side.

The ball rebounded, coming straight for me. This time I didn"t dodge. No more running.

I braced.

The ball collided with my chest, my arms wrapping around it while my lungs tried to relearn what it meant to draw breath.

Damn, that really hurt.

I didn"t hesitate, tossing the ball of doom to Anton. In one smooth move, he launched it at our opponents.

This time it was their turn to dive out of the way.

There was a boom as the ball hit the opposite wall and rocketed back to us.

I was already racing for the dividing line, prepared for this. Sometimes you had to be cautious. Think before you acted. Other times you had to take the world by its gonads and squeeze and hope the world didn't annihilate you.

I reached the line first, extending my arms over it. Almost. Nathan came from the side. The ball met my waiting hands, and I snatched it out of the air just as Nathan reached me.

I didn"t hesitate, slamming the ball against the ground. It hit Nathan's foot and bounced back.

"Well, look at that. You"re out." My smile was taunting as the gym went silent.

Nathan gaped. "That"s cheating!"

I shook my finger at him, transferring the ball to my other hand and holding it securely against me. "Elementary school rules—feet count as body parts. Guess you should have moved faster."

Nathan sputtered.

I handed the ball to my waiting teammate.

"I suppose this means all of you lose your bets," Connor observed from the sidelines. "I will be sure to collect her winnings later."

I cackled at the sight of their speechless faces. I knew there was something I liked about Connor.

"She"s right. It was a perfectly legal move," Eric said, acting as the referee.

Nathan bared his fangs, outright stomping to the sidelines as he relinquished the field of battle.

I gave him a princess wave, not above rubbing his face in his loss. "You know what they say, work smarter, not harder."

Nathan took his spot next to Makoto, before shooting a rude gesture at me. "You know what I say to that—training. Just you wait."

I blew him a kiss. "Someone is a sore loser."

Inside, I was quaking. Our training sessions were already brutal. I wasn"t sure how much worse they could get.

"Ready?" Anton asked me.

I nodded and started paying attention again. There was only one person left. Unfortunately, it was Liam, the most difficult adversary of them all.

It didn"t help that there was zero worry on his face.

Anton focused on the opponent as I scooted toward the back line, wanting the maximum distance in case Liam managed to get the ball.

Liam broke right, Anton following.

A heavy boom ruptured the air and Liam slid back a few feet, the ball clutched to his chest. Liam straightened, his grin cocky as he held the flattened ball out to the side and dropped it.

Nathan let out a battle cry. "You"re out!"

Anton cursed, sending me an apologetic look. "Guess you"re on your own."

Lovely thought, that.

Makoto got to his feet and jogged toward the rack. "I"ll get another one."

Anton headed for the sidelines.

"How about a side wager?" Liam offered.

I couldn"t help my immediate wariness. I knew that silky tone. It rarely boded well for me.

"What kind of wager?" I asked after a pause, even knowing I shouldn"t.

Damn competitiveness, it made me reckless.

The way Liam"s lips curved in victory, as if he had me right where he wanted me, didn"t make me feel better.

"Withstand one full powered throw from me, and I won"t tell Thomas about your new admirers," he offered.

Alright, he had my interest.

"And if I lose?"

There had to be a catch. I"d learned the hard way that there was always fine print with him. It paid to stay on your toes.

This time his grin was of the panty-melting variety. In another setting, I"d be tempted to take him up on the offer inherent in that expression.

His next words wiped the smile from my face.

"You agree to stay within the Gargoyle until we"ve dealt with this issue."

Indignation sparked. "That could take centuries."

The Scattered, like all Fae, were immortal. Waiting them out was a foolhardy plan. If they were after me, they weren"t likely to forget after a couple of months. Decades, maybe, but more likely it would be centuries.

I"d go crazy stuck in vampire central twenty-four seven for that long.

Liam"s expression was unyielding. "That"s the offer. Take it or leave it."

"This is blackmail," I told him.

He knew I had no choice but to take it. If he told Thomas, my sire would do the very thing Liam had threatened as a consequence of losing the bet. No more business. No more friends who weren"t vampires.

I"d worked too hard for my less than perfect life to sacrifice it without a fight.

"Fine," I barked. "You have a deal."

There was a chorus of ooo"s and aww"s from the peanut gallery as Liam caught the ball Makoto tossed at him.

"You lot, hush," I snapped. "You"d think you were a bunch of elementary schoolers by the way you act."

That didn"t seem to deter them. Nathan let out a cat call as the others pounded a drum beat on the gym floor.

Already, they were taking bets on how badly I was going to lose. Daniel seemed to be of the opinion I"d be lucky to keep my head. Even Nathan, my supposed friend, seemed to think I wasn"t getting out of this without a broken arm or two.

"You know I can hear you, right?" I asked.

"Ah, A, we"re just being realists. Liam has never come close to losing in dodge ball, and you"re barely in your infancy." He shrugged, not seeming regretful in the least. "The outcome is practically already determined."

I glared at him for a moment, before my attention swung to where Liam patiently waited.

No faith. Not in any of them.

I"d show them. I didn"t know how quite yet, but I would. There was too much riding on this to consider failing.

Grumbling to myself, I sunk into a crouch. After a breath to center myself, I dropped into my magic sight.

As useful tools went, it wasn"t much. My sight couldn"t give me super speed or harden my bones to take the hit I knew was coming, but maybe it could give me the smallest of advantages.

Sometimes victory was decided by a hair and not a mile.

Liam"s power swirled in my sight, a deadly armor he held close to his skin. Perfect control with not even a smidge wasted. Every ounce doing what he needed. Impossible to read until it was too late.

This was part of the reason he was so highly sought after by the council. No one I"d met had his depth of mastery. Not even Thomas. It made him a deadly force against beings much more powerful.

Worse, I knew he wasn"t going to hold back. My safety was too important to him.

Nor would he come at me head on. If he got the ball past me, it was as good as a loss.

I simply needed to stop the ball. Not redirect it. Not avoid it. Stop it.

I reached for that calm space in my head, falling into it as I listened to the breath move in and out of my lungs until I came close to a trance-like state.

There was no warning before he moved. I never even saw the ball leave his hands. One moment he was motionless, the next it was gone.

My body moved as if it already knew what to do.

A powerful force punched me in my chest. My sternum cracked, several ribs along with it. My breath whooshed out as blinding pain shot through me. My body went numb, my brain protecting me from the agony. I tried to move my arms, to catch the ball.

I had no idea if I succeeded. Darkness closed in around me, shutting off the lights.