“I will, Mr. Dupré. I swear it,” I answer. “I . . . ache inside without him. All the time.”
“Ah, well, that’s because he’s the other half of your soul, chère. You, us, and what we are? It was meant to be. From the very start. Take care now, and stay close to that Miles boy. He’ll keep you safe.”
Strong hands are shaking my shoulders with violent force.
“Riley!” Rhine growls.
I ignore him for a moment more.
“Thanks, Mr. Dupré. Could you please send your other sons to help? Time we start wrapping things up here. I’m so ready to come home. With my fiancé.”
“Ah, ma chère, how often must I remind you to call me Gilles? And Eligius’s brothers are already on their way. They’ll be in Inverness by morn.”
“Thanks, Gilles. I promise, I will bring him back safely.”
“I’ve never doubted that you will.”
I open my eyes to find Rhine and Seth glaring at me. I smile. “I’m okay, fellas. Just having a little head convo with my future father-in-law.” Jake Andorra must have spoken with Eli’s father. I pray I can keep my word. I incline my head to the street, where Rhine has been staring holes at me for the last few minutes. “Let’s go.”
Seth follows me down to the street, finally leaping to the ground. Rhine stares hard at me. “What’s up?” he asks.
“We’ve got a little help coming in the morning,” I offer. “For now, take us to the darkest dregs of Inverness.”
A knowing gleam shines in Rhine’s eyes. “This way,” he offers, and turns and heads into the shadows.
With a nod, Seth and I follow Rhine and the other Ness boys into the darkness.
I’m tired of all this bullshit.
I want my fiancé back.
I want that witchpire bitch to turn to dust.
And I want to get the fuck out of here.
Part Eight
BLOODBATH
You must make your own life amongst the living and, whether you meet fair wind or foul, find your own way to harbor in the end.
It must be bad if Riley and Noah are sending for us. I don’t like it. And Eli must be fucked-up in a serious way. That has to be driving Riley completely insane. There is no one else for Eli except Riley. They’re meant to be together. Even in bloodlust, I can’t believe he’s not tried to get at her. And whatever or whoever is controlling my brother? Vampire, witch—doesn’t matter. Dead fucking meat.
There really aren’t dark seedy dregs in Inverness. The city is pretty clean and kept up. But because Rhine knows the underground fight circuit, as well as which clubs operate from the back room, so to say, he knows a few places to hit. The kind of place that might be harboring a vampire or two. Maybe even Carrine.
I refuse to say Eli’s name with hers now. It’s totally clear to me that he’s being controlled by her; she has some ancient witch power that makes him do what he does. But he proved to me the night before that something in his brain still remembers me. The way he looked at me, as if trying so hard to remember. Despite his bloodred eyes—totally opposite of how he typically is when he turns, which is white eyes with red pinpoint pupils. We’ll fix this. Make it right. Once and for all.
One place Rhine knows in particular is tucked away near the outer city limits, in the upper floor of an older apartment building. I’ve been in places just like it back home. We encountered a place very similar in Charleston, and the vampire fight club.
Sometimes you just can’t keep the rotten apples out of the barrel.
Even with the Ness boys around.
By now, I’ve called Noah and him and his group has joined us. I quickly tell him about my head convo with Gilles, and that Phin and Luc are on their way over now.
Noah nods. “Good. I told Andorra we needed to separate Eli from the female and get him back home to Preacher.” He looks at me. “It’s going to be one hell of a plane ride back.”
“No doubt,” I answer, then glance up at the darkened apartment complex. Chunks of sandstone and brick are missing; the window is cracked on the entrance doorway. “We gotta clean this mess up first.”
Noah inclines his head. “Ladies first.”
I give him a sidelong glance. “You know, I really miss the old Noah.”
He quirks an eyebrow. “What old Noah?”
I grin. “You know. The one who used to egg me on in a fight? Remember how proud you were in Charleston when I killed my first newling?” I chuckle. “Remember that nasty fight club we went into there?” I mock-glare at him. “You were ringside, laughing. Cheering me on.”
Noah grins. “Yeah. That was before the vow.”
My eyes soften at him. “Yeah. I know.”
Memories light his silvery eyes, though, and he punches my arm. “That was some crack shoot- in’ in that ring, though, Poe.”
I shake my head. “That’s what you said then, too.”
“I know.”
“Ri, you’re not fighting tonight, are you?” Seth asks.
I shake my head. “Not if I don’t have to.”
“These fights move round fair quick,” Rhine offers. Seth is standing beside him. “Rough bunch of lads, ya ken? They’re in it for the money. An’ you dinnae fook wi’ their quid.”
“I ken,” I answer. “Just a quick appearance. Just to see if we can flush her out.”
Her meaning Carrine.
We slip into the complex and climb the stairs. Shouts, swearing, and the acrid scent of blood, sweat, and cigarette smoke fill the air in the corridor. The moment we clear the stairwell, I see a large, bald, inked guy standing outside one of the rooms.
I look at him. Move over and let us in. Don’t follow.
By the time we near him, he glances away, steps aside, and we walk directly into a large room. Dimly lit, smoke filled, and after a quick glance it looks like several rooms gutted out. Fifty humans fill the area, and it’s shoulder to shoulder as we all separate and scan the arena.
So far, nothing but humans. Mean, tough-as-shit, fighting humans. But still humans. Music thumps, hard, heavy, and mixes with yells carrying through the room. Two guys fight in the center of a human ring of onlookers. Bare from the waist up, and barefoot, both of their faces already bloodied. Both of equal size, I can barely tell them apart. Both have close-shaven heads. One has a chunk of chain mail inked into his shoulder. There. That’s the only difference I can make out.
That same guy lands an elbow punch to the other guy’s nose and blood starts spurting. He hits the floor, writhing in pain. He doesn’t get up. Cheers fly from the patrons’ mouths; money is exchanged.
Then the lights flicker. Several glance upward, to the bare bulbs swinging overhead. One by one, the bulbs crackle and break, until the very last one lighting the room pops out. The room is cast into darkness.
Noah, get my brother out of here.
Too late. The room is filling with newbloods. I can sense them now. Ravenous. Crazed.
I sense her. Carrine.