Clipped (The Clipped Saga, 1) by Devon McCormack (10 page)

Dedrus hopped to his feet and scrambled to a closet.

“The front door
,” he whispered, digging through hanging

clothes.The sword Dedrus had given Kinzer was propped beside the bed. Snatching it by the hilt, Kinzer slid out of bed and tiptoed to

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the door.

“Go out the window,” he whispered. “Get to Maggie's

room. See if you can sneak her out.”

“What about you?”

“At the least, I'l be a good distraction.”

Dedrus unfastened the window.

CREAK!

He slid it open. As he slipped out, he turned back to Kinzer.

“Be careful.”

Stepping beside the door, Kinzer nodded. He cracked it

open, peering into the hal . Holding his sword in front of him, he stepped into the hal . He glanced over the rail, looking down into Dedrus's living room. Light from a streetlamp out front outlined everything with a soft, orange glow.

Nothing out of the ordinary, and no sign of an intruder.

His cock swung like a pendulum as he made his way down

the hal , his focus shifting about, ready for someone to pop out at him. He came to the door to Maggie's room and pushed it open.

A deep, heavy breathing spilled into the hal . It was the most

obnoxious snoring Kinzer thought he'd ever heard come from a

mortal. It sounded like a dog growling.

Maggie lay in bed, fast asleep. Dedrus ducked as he slipped

through the open window beside her bed.

Kinzer took a moment to appreciate the view of his ass.

Dorky as he was, he real y did have a nice little body.

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Dedrus gave him a thumbs up.

Kinzer turned the knob and pul ed the door shut ever-so-

quietly, starting back down the hal .

As he came to Treycore's room, he noticed the door was

already cracked open.

Fuck
.

He pushed against it. A sword rushed through the crack.

Kinzer threw his before him and—

CLASH!

—blocked the oncoming attack.

The door flew open, revealing an equal y naked Treycore.

“Fuck,” Kinzer said.

“Did you hear that?” Treycore asked.

“Yeah. Dedrus is taking care of Maggie. I'm about to head

downstairs to check it out. Keep outta sight in case I need backup.”

“Al over it.”

“And promise me, if anything happens, you'l protect Kid.”

Treycore sighed.

“Just fucking promise me, okay?”

“Okay. I promise. Now get down there, and see what's up.”

Treycore shut the door, keeping it cracked open, just as it

had been when Kinzer’d noticed it.

Kinzer started down the stairwel , his eyes scanning the

shadow-filled living room.

It was so quiet.

As he reached the bottom of the stairs, he scanned the

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bookshelves, the couch, the table—trying to see if anything had

moved or shifted. Everything appeared to be just as messy as it'd been before they'd gone to bed. He peered down the hal to the

front door.

A cool breeze rushed against him.

The door swayed back and forth.

Fuck
.

“What is this?” a voice came from behind him.

He spun around, slashing his sword through the air to let

the intruder know that he meant business.

“Careful where you point that thing,” a dark shadow said as

it stepped out from Dedrus's study, into the light from the

streetlamp. Kinzer recognized the fal en, and he was less than

thrilled to see him.

“Hel o, Mika.”

“
Kinzer
,” Mika said through perfectly arched, m-shaped lips.

As he stepped into the living room, his black feathers fanned out behind him, moving slightly in a breeze from the front door.

“I'm assuming you didn't come alone,” Kinzer said.

A shadow, far more massive than Mika, stepped out from

behind him.

The seven-foot-tal fal en's flat-face and narrow, snake-like

eyes were a familiar and unpleasant sight. His name was Craetis, and his existence reminded Kinzer of how sloppy even the best of The Almighty's creation's could be.

“Last I saw you,” Craetis said, “you were begging us to spare

CLIPPED 94

your dearest Janka's life.”

His words tossed Kinzer’s thoughts to a few days earlier.

Blood trickled off Janka’s square jaw and streaked through the
bushy eyebrows that hung above his wide, blue eyes. His pupils roamed
back and forth, seemingly without direction. His lips, long and ful ,
trembled.

Craetis smashed his fist into Janka’s face.

They were in a warehouse. Overhanging halogen bulbs

il uminated boxes and pylons.

Cuffs were fastened at Kinzer’s wrists, connected to chains that
were wrapped around support beams on either side of him. He was
stark naked.

“No!” he cal ed out. As he struggled with the chains, the veins
in his forearm and biceps pressed forward.

But it was clear that the chains weren’t going to give.

Black feathers rushed from his back as his wings fanned out

instinctively, ready to attack.

Mika and Deter had grabbed either wing.

Kinzer struggled to dam up the flood of memories. He

didn't have time to think on that. He had to be strong, ready for the fight that was certainly about to ensue.

“Where's Veylo?” Kinzer asked.

Veylo was The Leader of the The Raze, the one who had

taken his dearest Janka from him.

“He had other errands to run,” Craetis said, continuing

toward Kinzer, stomping up to his sword, seemingly without fear.

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He stopped just before the tip. “We came for Dedrus and Treycore, but looks like we'l have the added bonus of finishing you off, too.”

Finishing them off?
Kinzer wondered if they knew about

Maggie or if they were just here for Treycore and Dedrus.

Mika and Kinzer stared each other down. Mika slipped his

hands to his sides and pul ed two daggers from holsters strapped to the sides of the black suit-pants he wore. The daggers sparkled in the orange glow from the streetlamp. Mika twirled them about. He charged Kinzer.

Kinzer drew his sword back, preparing to strike.

“Now, now, boys,” a voice came from behind Kinzer.

Mika stopped and gripped his daggers by their hilts.

Kinzer didn't turn around. He didn't need to. “Vera,” he

said. “Glad you could make it.”

“Me, too. Someone gonna turn on a light?” She flipped a

switch, illuminating the the lamps around the room. “Much better.”

She stepped around him and joined Craetis and Mika.

Next to the seven-foot Craetis, she was a midget. She had a

scrawny frame, with long, emaciated arms that were concealed

beneath a thin layer of black sheer that ran from the wrist-cuffs to the bust-level of the black dress she wore. A metal ic belt glistened around her nothing of a waist, matching a diamond-studded col ar around her neck. Kinzer knew that every part of her outfit had been meticulously planned, down to the nine-inch heels that, given the chance, she no doubt would have used to gouge a higherling's eyes out with.

CLIPPED 96

She stroked her fingers through thick, black hair that fel to

her chest, indicating where breasts should have been.

“Are Treycore and Dedrus here?” While Craetis had snake-

like eyes, Vera's were more like those of a lizard. Her forehead was wide, and her jaw narrow, giving her eyes and features a sort of fun-house mirror effect. Her lizard eyes stared Kinzer down. “Yes. I see they are. You know, Kinzer, we've made quite a few rounds tonight, and we're very tired, so we'd appreciate it if you'd just direct us to their rooms, so we can slit al your throats and move on to our next targets.”

“Fucking bitch.”

Vera smirked.

Kinzer scoffed. “Don't even pretend like you're going to kil

your precious Treycore.”

Vera and Treycore had been lovers, as al the immortals

knew. And Kinzer didn’t know al the details, but from what he’d heard, it was with great strain that Treycore managed to pul himself from her twisted grip.

Vera’s smile transformed into a twitching line. She turned

away. “Go ahead and kil him. He's not going to tel us. We'l find them ourselves.”

Craetis chuckled. “Can I play with him first?”

“You've done good tonight. Have a good time.”

Craetis winked at Kinzer and licked the air before him.

Kinzer pul ed his sword back and stabbed forward, aiming

for Craetis's chest.

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Craetis grabbed the blade. The edges slit into his flesh,

drawing a rush of blood, before coming to a stop.

Craetis chuckled.

“Come on, Kinzer. You don't have your wings, your powers,

your immortal strength. You'd better just lay back and take it. It'l hurt less.”

Mika's eyes lit up. Vera started up the stairs.

“Mika!” she snapped.

“I want to watch,” he pleaded.

She tossed him a fierce glare. Without hesitation, he hopped

over the rail and tailed behind her.

Craetis tugged on Kinzer's sword, reeling him in. He

wrapped his massive, muscle-bound bicep around his chest and

pul ed him close, pressing his lips into Kinzer's cheek.

“You know how long I've wanted to fuck you?” he asked.

He nuzzled his nose against his neck.

Kinzer struggled against his grip. Knowing that Craetis not

only had his immortal strength, but also a superior strength to most immortals, as his gift, he knew it wasn't going to do him much

good. With his free hand, Craetis unzipped his jeans, unleashing a nearly two-foot cock—thick, veiny, deadly. Kinzer knew that one

fuck from Craetis would easily kil , or severely damage, his clipped body. The very thought made his ass-cheeks twitch.

Craetis leaned into Kinzer, pressed his mouth next to his ear

and whispered, “Bet Janka never fucked you with one this big. This

CLIPPED 98

is gonna be like fucking a mortal, but better.”

He pinched Kinzer's nipple.

“Ah!” Kinzer cried.

Craetis chomped at his other nipple, pul ing and tugging

with his teeth.

Kinzer screamed even louder. It felt like Craetis was going to

rip it off.Craetis's mouth released it. “Fuck yeah,” he said. “I like hearing you scream.”

He grabbed Kinzer's bal s and squeezed.

“Ah!”

“Fuck yeah. Say you like it.”

“Go to Hel !”

Craetis grabbed Kinzer by the neck and tightened his grip.

“Say you fucking like it!”

“
Never
,” Kinzer strained.

“Oh, you dumb bitch.” He whirled around and hurled

Kinzer by his neck across the room.

Kinzer's back slammed into a bookshelf. He dropped to the

floor, a few books and chachkas capsizing on top of him. He

crawled to a nearby chair at the main table and climbed it.

Craetis stomped across the room. He knelt down, grabbed

Kinzer by his ankles and flipped him over his head, onto the couch, ass-up. Hopping on the couch, he straddled Kinzer. His hard cock rubbed between his cheeks.

“Say it!” Craetis exclaimed.

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“No!”

“Then get ready to be ripped apart!”

“No,” a voice came from beside him. “You get ready!”

The tip of a sword slashed across Craetis's neck. “Fuck!”

~

Treycore stood beside Kinzer, blood rushing across the tip of his sword. He had changed back into his jeans and a button-up. A stern glare crinkled his eyebrows together between his wincing eyes.

The sight of Craetis disgusted him. It reminded of him of

his time with Vera—a time he wasn’t al that proud of.

When he’d seen Vera and Veylo’s goons corner Kinzer, he’d

slipped out the window and crept around to the front door. Kinzer, being a clipped, wasn’t in shape to take on a single immortal...let alone three.

Craetis’s hand rushed to his neck. “You fucking bastard!”

“Long time no see,” Treycore said. “Now, get the fuck off

Kinzer before I cut that little dick off your nuts.”

Growling, Craetis hopped up. He stumbled to the other side

of the couch. “You're dead, Treycore,” he said, his voice laced with rage. “Not quite yet. Kinzer, you okay?”

Kinzer nodded. He turned over and massaged his nipples.

“How many others are there?” Treycore asked.

“Fuck off!”

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“Hel o, my love,” Vera said.

She leaned on her elbows against the rail upstairs. A sweet

smile spread across her face as she gaped at him.

Fucking bitch
, Treycore thought. Flashes of his time with her, the love, the hope, the betrayal, al flashed through his mind. And as he looked on at the treacherous bitch that he'd been with for so long, he wondered what he’d ever seen in her.