Magic Edge (14 page)

“Turning into a vampire?”

“No. Something else. Something new.”

“What?”

He shook his head. “I don’t know. But you wouldn’t be the first hybrid to pop up in Zurich.”

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Crimson Nightmare

VAMPIRES PLAGUED ALEX’S dreams. They chased her down the streets of Zurich, blood dripping from their fangs. In the end, when they cornered her outside an old church, she turned and massacred them all. She looked down at the nearest corpse. It was Holt. Grinning, she bent over and feasted on his blood.

Alex woke up screaming. Her heart pounding in her chest, she jumped up and scrambled over to her closet. The taste of blood lingered on her tongue.

“It was just a dream,” she told herself as she pulled on her workout clothes. She breathed in deeply, trying to calm her racing pulse. “I’m going to punch that stupid vampire in the face.”

But she was as guilty as Holt. She never should have let him mess with her head.

“Hybrid, my ass. Ridiculous.” She opened her mouth wide in front of the mirror and slid her finger across her teeth. “Ha! No fangs.”

The Dragon Born are immune to vampire venom
, said the voice.

“How do you know?”

It projected a noncommittal shrug into her head.

“Who are you?”

We’ve been over this. I’m you. Or a part of you at least.

“Which part?”

The smart part.

Haha.

Before she could argue with, err, herself further, a knock sounded on the front door. She snatched her running shoes from the floor and went to greet her visitor at—she glanced at the clock—seven in the morning. Who came calling at seven? Maybe it was Holt. She exchanged the shoes in her hands for her sword and reached for the door handle.

Metal sang as another sword lifted to meet her slash. Alex stared through crossed blades into the face of the assassin.

“Do you always answer your door by attacking the person on the other side?” Logan asked.

“I’ve had a rough night.”

“Bad dreams?”

Alex blushed. Damn it. “Uh, yeah,” she said quickly. “Vampires were chasing me.”

“Well, I’m not a vampire. And I’m not here to attack you. So you can put away the sword.”

“You first.”

Lifting up his hands with a smile, he stepped back and sheathed his sword. He was dressed for a run, just like she was. Instead of blue and purple, though, his running clothes were black. And he’d strapped bands of knives over them. Alex rolled her eyes. Assassins.

“Something amusing you, Vigilante?”

“You, Slayer. Or, more specifically, your knives.”

“Not usually the response my knives elicit, but then most people don’t go chasing after assassins either.”

“I didn’t chase after you. You are on
my
doorstep.”

“Only because you haven’t invited me in.”

“And I’m not going to,” she said. “How did you even get past Gaelyn’s gate security?”

He arched a smug blond eyebrow at her. Assassin, right. Apparently, her brain hadn’t entirely woken up yet. She gave it a nudge. Having a conversations with an assassin was dangerous enough; attempting it while half-awake was just plain stupid.

“You still haven’t put away your sword,” he said casually, as though he were reminding her to water her plants.

“You still haven’t told me what you want,” she shot back. “At seven in the morning.”

“Alex, you’re tense.”

“I’m fine.”

“Does this have anything to do with your dreams?”

“No.”

“Do you want to talk about it?”

“Absolutely not.”

He smiled. “You’re blushing.”

“Am not,” she ground out, pushing memories of that other dream out of her mind.

As he reached forward, she moved to block his hand.

“Don’t be so nervous, sweetheart,” he said and brushed a stray hair from her face.

One of the doors to Gaelyn’s house opened, and Holt stepped outside. His eyes scanned the grounds. As soon as he saw Logan’s hand on her cheek, he started power-walking over.

“Shit,” she muttered.

Logan kept his eyes on her. “Is that vampire coming over to start some trouble?”

“Well…” She glanced at Holt; his eyes had gone red. “I don’t think he’s coming over to shake your hand.”

“Invite me inside.”

“Why?”

“Because I’d prefer not to kill a vampire on your doorstep,” he said. “If we go inside, he can’t follow.”

“That invite-only trick only works on demon vampires. Holt’s a shapeshifting vampire.”

“It’s not magic that will keep him out. It’s etiquette. If he tries to break into your house, Gaelyn won’t be happy.”

“He can hear you. Heightened senses,” she said under her breath.

“I know. That’s why I said it,” he replied, loud and clear. “To remind him to behave himself. Now, let me in.”

“I had no idea the invite-only trick worked on assassins too.”

“The magic doesn’t keep me out either,” he said. “But I’m an old-fashioned sort of guy. I try not to break into someone’s house unless I plan on killing them. That’s just good manners.”

Alex stole another glance at Holt. He was almost upon them, and he looked angrier than ever. Oh, screw it.

“Get in here,” she said, grabbing Logan’s hand. She pulled him into the house and swung the door shut after him.

“See? That wasn’t so hard.”

Setting down her sword, Alex peered out of the peephole. She watched Holt give the front door a long, seething look. As he turned to walk away, she let out the deep breath she hadn’t even realized she’d been holding. She spun around and glared at Logan.

“You’re insane.”

“I’m in good company.” He looked around. “Nice place.” His lip quivered as his eyes settled on the dresser. “Is that a pink lace bra?”

She kicked the drawer shut. “No.”

“You really are a hard ass. You know that, right?”

“I hope you’re not here to talk about my ass,” she said, crossing her arms against her chest.

“No.” His gaze slid down her, smooth as satin

“Stop it.”

“Stop what?”

“You’re…ogling.”

“Assassins don’t ogle,” he stated coolly.

“What do you do then?”

He considered that for a moment. “We disarm.”

“You really have an answer for everything, don’t you?”

“Of course.”

“Then tell me why you’re here,” she said.

“We’re working together.”

“Not at seven in the morning, we aren’t.” That was far too early in the day to be playing cloak-and-dagger with an assassin.

“Cloak-and-dagger is not my style.”

Had she said that aloud? Damn. She really was tired. A magic energy boost from the Smoothie Elixir would have been mighty excellent right now. Too bad it was half a world away. There were a few smoothie shops here, but they just weren’t the same. No one could make a smoothie like a Californian.

“Magical chairs?” she asked him.

“No.”

“Ring around the rosie?”

“Are you being purposely facetious?”

She shrugged. “Well, you know me.”

“You’re snarky, reckless, and deadly.”

“Precisely.” Alex strolled over to the refrigerator and pulled out a bottle of orange juice.

“On my way over, I saw scorch marks on Gaelyn’s exterior walls.” He stopped to watch her chug the orange juice.

“What?” she asked, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. She tossed the empty bottle into the trash.

“You drink from the bottle,” he said.

“So?”

“It’s uncouth.”

“Well, don’t you have a bucketful of fancy words stored up,” she replied. “I didn’t grow up in a castle, Prince Charming. And I don’t spend my days knitting doilies and primping for the big ball. In case you’ve forgotten, I kill monsters for a living.”

“I haven’t forgotten. I do enjoy watching you work.”

She took a bite out of a prepackaged waffle. Breakfast was healthy today.

“There’s a graceful beauty to the way you kill monsters,” he continued. “If you ever decide to go to a ball, save me a dance.”

“You’re kind of crazy. You know that, right?”

“No crazier than you.”

He was giving her that look again—the one that short-circuited her brain. The one that made her reckless. It was time to put this runaway train back on track.

“Scorch marks,” she reminded him, heading for the bathroom. She grabbed her toothbrush from the cup. “Yeah, so that was the enchanted ball Daisy put back together for us. It decided it would rather be in pieces after all.”

“It exploded?”

She paused in brushing her teeth just long enough to nod.

“I wish I could say that I’m surprised,” he said. “But it fits them.”

Alex washed out her mouth. “The Convictionites?”

“Yes.”

She wiped down her mouth, then turned to him. He was leaning against the doorframe, his running suit dark—like a shadow—beneath the harsh bathroom lights. She wondered if he’d had it specially made to blend with his surroundings. Sport shops probably didn’t offer an assassins section.

“I bet you’re glad I didn’t let you stick that ball in your storage cage,” she said. “It might have taken a chunk out of your pretty car when it exploded.”

“You like my car?” he asked, bracing his arms across the doorway as she tried to pass him.

“Not really.”

When she tried to duck under his arm, he brought it down like a guillotine. She pushed against him, trying to break through—and bounced back instead. Logan’s arm scooped around her back, catching her.

“I was being sarcastic. It’s a muscle car,” she said, her gaze sliding past his bare arms. She willed herself not to see. Looking was almost as bad as touching. And much worse than dreaming.

Hehe, you like his muscles,
the voice sang.

Not now,
she snapped at it.

Oh, hold me, you sexy assassin! Put your strong, sexy arms around me!

You said ‘sexy’ twice,
she told the voice.

For emphasis.

You’re crazy.

Hey, I’m not the one talking to myself.

You claim you’re a part of me. So yes, you very much are talking to yourself.

The voice fell silent, and Alex left it to chew that over.

“Are you all right?” Logan asked. “You seemed to zone out for a few seconds there.”

“I’m fine.” She pointed at the gate he’d made with his arms. “Are you going to let me through, or do I have to pull out my sword?”

“Your sword is beside the door.”

“Maybe I have another one hidden in the bathroom.”

He gave the tiny room a quick visual scan before looking back at her. “No, you don’t. There’s a dagger hidden behind that picture on the wall, a band of throwing knives stuck to the underside of the sink, and a hammer tucked inside your medicine cabinet.”

How did he even know that? Alex gave him a menacing glare.

“You might want to practice that a bit longer in front of the mirror. Or with me. I could give you pointers…” His voice drifted off.

“If you don’t let me pass, I’ll give you pointers,” she told him.

In a single smooth sweep that resembled a bow more than a retreat, Logan stepped back. “As you wish.”

Alex walked into the main room, grabbed her running shoes, and sat down on the edge of her bed to lace them up. “You still haven’t told me why you’re here.”

“During the night, another of the Orbs was stolen,” he said.

“Which one?”

“The Otherwordly Orb.”

“That leaves just the Sorcery Orb before the Convictionites have the whole set,” she said.

“Yes.”

Alex double-knotted her laces, then hopped up. “Gaelyn doesn’t think they can do anything with the Orbs.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure. They are crafty.” Agitation tainted his tone.

“You’ve had dealings with them before.”

“Yes,” he said.

“What are they like?”

“Unpleasant.” His knuckles cracked. “Now, are you just going to stand there, or would you like to come with me?”

“I haven’t had my morning run yet.”

“I thought you might like to take it with me today.”

Suddenly, his running clothes made sense. “Did you run here?”

“Yes.”

“All the way here?”

He shrugged. “I was in the area.”

In the area. Yeah, right. He lived clear across the city, on the other side of the lake.

“How did you know I’d be running about now?” she asked him.

“You run at this time every morning. Like clockwork.”

“You’ve been watching me?”

“Yes.”

Gaelyn did warn you that the assassin likes you.

Oh, goody. The voice in her head was back.

I missed you too, mage,
it said, blowing her a wet kiss.

“We can run by the lake on our way,” Logan said, watching her curiously. Maybe her eyes glossed over when she talked to herself.

“We’re going to talk about this,” Alex told him. “Now.”

“That’s precisely what I’m doing,” he said. “We’ll run until we reach the Convictionites’ Zurich hideout. We’re going to have a chat with them about the Orbs.”

“Not about that. About how you’ve been watching me,” she replied, putting steel into her voice.

He looked at her for a moment, then gave her a crisp nod. “Much better. You almost sounded upset.”

She frowned at him.

“Cute,” he said.

She sighed. “Why have you been stalking me?”

“Observing from a distance. And it’s just what I do when someone new and dangerous comes to town. I scope them out. Learn their habits.”

“And their weaknesses?”

“Of course.”

“So this is all about work?” she asked.

“Naturally,” he said. “Though you are prettier than anyone I’ve ever had to follow.”

“Right.” She strapped her sword to her back. “I bet you say that to all the girls.”

“I can guarantee that I did not say that to the harpy-vampire hybrid who was the last woman I followed.”

Alex swallowed a laugh.

“What is it with vampires?” he asked. “There are more vampire hybrids than any other supernatural hybrid.”

“No one knows where all the hybrids are coming from. Or what is turning them.” She tried not to think about what Holt had said about her—that she was changing too. “They’ve just popped up out of nowhere. Gaelyn is trying to figure it out, but he’s had no luck so far.”