Marked (15 page)

Authors: Rebecca Zanetti

BOOK: Marked

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Nick grasped metal bars to pull himself up. “Simone?” he called.

The witch paced the small cell, her features pale, her eyes a wild black. “Get me out of here.” Her voice emerged weak.

Zane glanced at the walls. Yep. Pure phanakite—the mineral that negated a witch’s powers. If ingested, the harmless looking sparkles could maim or kill.

Nick growled and aimed a well-placed kick against the metal lock. The door swung open.

Men shouted far above, and heavy boot steps pounded down the stairs.

Nick tugged Simone from the cell and shoved her into Zane’s arms. “Take her.”

“No.” Simone struggled against him, but she hadn’t regained her strength, and Zane easily overpowered her. She tried to reach for Nick, who shook his head.

Bodies fell down the stairs, landing hard. The King of the Realm straddled a demon and neatly sliced off his head. A smattering of power rushed out. Dage turned, blood sliding out of his left eye.

“Hi, Simone,” he said.

Simone winced and nodded. “King.”

An explosion rocked the building, spinning shards of wood and Sheetrock down. One cut into Zane’s neck, and he grimaced. Damn good thing the dead demon hadn’t had much power.

Nick punched Zane in the arm. “Get the hell out of here.”

Zane tried to catch his breath and reduce his internal injuries as he focused on the king through the raining debris. “Get to headquarters. Big trap.”

Dage’s eyes shot silver through the blue. “I’ll grab my brothers and meet you there.”

Zane ducked as a beam slammed into his shoulder.

Dage paused. “You align with us.”

Zane lifted his chin, fate clicking into place. “Go. Now.” He’d worry about alliances later. Right now survival mattered more.

Another explosion ripped through the day, and a body fell from above, slamming Nick to the ground. His head thunked against the cement, and blood sprayed.

Simone cried out and reached for him.

With a growl, Zane tucked Simone close and manacled his buddy’s arm. If he was aligning with the Realm, he was taking his one friend with him. Before Nick could fight him off, he ripped open a portal and crawled through.

Chapter 19

Janie finished patching up two young vampires who’d thought to experiment with rocket fuel and laser bullets. Burns marred their arms, but those would soon heal.

Their pride was another matter.

Garrett had put out the fire and hustled both boys into the infirmary and now leaned back against a wall of cupboards, his arms crossed, his face cold.

He didn’t have to be such a tough taskmaster. Janie’s heart ached for the two wounded kids.

She patted one on the back. “It’s okay, Freddie. You should’ve seen Garrett when he first learned how to blow things up.” Truth be told, it was a miracle headquarters still stood.

Garrett shot her a look.

The teenager grinned. “I’ve heard. But, ah, don’t tell my mom, okay?”

Janie bit back a grin. “No worries. Doctor-patient privilege and all of that.” The kids had learned their lesson, so she figured they’d be safe for a while.

The two patients hopped off the tables and hurried from the room, no doubt heading to find something to eat. Protein always helped immortals to heal.

Prophet Guiles sauntered inside, his wrinkled silk pants matching his hangdog expression. Two guards reached the doorway and turned to protect the exit. “I cut myself,” Guiles muttered.

Janie glanced down at the deep slice across his forearm. “So heal yourself.” Since the bastard had tried to turn Prophet Lily over to their enemies the previous month, Janie hadn’t had much use for him.

Garrett pushed off from the wall.

The prophet perched on an examination table, his gaze raking Garrett and then finding Janie. “Fine. I thought we could talk.”

Janie turned and leaned against a table, her arms crossed. “I’m not sure we have much to talk about. You kidnapped my friend after trying to manipulate her into killing me.”

The prophet sighed. “Sometimes people get lost. Regardless, fate has made me a prophet, and there has to be some respect given.”

Garrett stepped closer to his sister. “The fact that you’re still breathing shows respect.”

Janie nodded. It was a damn miracle her father or one of her uncles hadn’t cut off the prophet’s head for his betrayal, but even big bad vampires balked at messing with fate. And only fate could permanently tattoo the prophesy brand on one of the chosen three.

Well, probably. Prophet Caleb had other ideas, notably that the marking was transferred like a virus when its host died. But Caleb disliked being a prophet, and he hated fate.

So who the heck knew.

Prophet Guiles crossed muscled arms. “Help me and I’ll help you.”

“No,” Garrett said.

Janie lifted an eyebrow, her instincts flaring to life. “How so?”

Prophet Guiles’s brown eyes glimmered. “You’re not the only physic here, Miss Kayrs.”

She lifted her chin. Could she still be considered a “miss” since she’d been mated? Not married but mated? Somehow, she didn’t think so. “What are you offering?”

He glanced around and then leaned toward her, his voice low. “I know why Fate wants you.”

“Bullshit,” Garrett muttered.

Heat rushed down Janie’s torso. “Why does Fate want me?”

Triumph curled the prophet’s lips. “Help me get free, and I’ll tell you everything. The big reason you’re prophesied, and more important, why so many species want you dead.”

Well. “Don’t sugarcoat it, Guiles.” The man didn’t deserve the title of prophet. “As far as I remember, you wanted me dead because I’m going to end up wearing your prophesy mark, which means you die.”

He shook his head. “No, no, no. That was just a manipulation on Fate’s part. You don’t end up with my marking . . . but you do end up changing the world.”

“For the better?”

He lifted a lean shoulder. “There are two paths, as usual, and it depends which one you choose. I can offer guidance as well as a road map.”

She couldn’t trust him, but he might be telling the truth. “What do you want from me?”

“Freedom,” he said simply. “Help me get away from the king and out from under his thumb. I just want to be left alone.”

Janie eyed the guards at the door. “Not sure we can take them, Guiles.” She had absolutely no intention of helping the betrayer, even if he did have useful information.

“Fair enough.” He coughed. “Now.”

The first guard turned and shot Garrett in the chest. He fell back, blood arcing.

Janie cried out and reached for her brother. In a surprisingly smooth movement, Guiles dodged forward and slid a needle into her neck but did not depress the plunger.

Janie stilled. What the hell? She hadn’t even seen him move, and she was trained. What was in the syringe? Fear buzzed through her brain, and she had to shove the sensation aside to concentrate. “This is a good way to get yourself killed.”

The guards at the doorway slipped inside and shut the door.

Janie blinked. Why weren’t they reaching for weapons?

The prophet chuckled against her hair. “You’re not the only one with allies.”

Janie gulped and glanced down as Garrett shoved himself to his feet. Blood flowed from his chest, and his eyes had turned a furious aqua.

“Shoot him again,” Guiles said.

“No. Wait.” Janie kept still so he wouldn’t inject her. “Don’t shoot him. Let’s talk.”

Prophet Guiles tightened his hold. “Now you want to talk?”

“Sure.” She kept her gaze on Garrett so she’d be ready when he made a move.

Garrett planted a hand on his wound. “What’s in the syringe?”

“Cyanide,” Prophet Guiles said. “Your sister hasn’t been mated long enough to become immortal. If I release the liquid, she’ll die. Painfully and in front of your eyes.”

Garrett eyed the two guards. “When I’m done with this Fucktard, I’m ripping your heads off.” His tone remained nearly conversational.

God, he reminded Janie of their father so much lately. She cleared her throat and struggled to keep calm. The guards would shoot her brother again, and if they ganged up on him, they could probably kill him. Sure, he was trained, but so were they, and they seemed a lot more seasoned. “Let’s all get out of here alive, shall we?”

Guiles breathed into her neck. “I like you being accommodating, Miss Kayrs. Too bad you mated that demon. I always thought we’d make a nice pair.”

She swallowed as bile rose in her throat. Gross. The man was like centuries and centuries old. “What’s your plan here?”

“My plan is for my two friends to stow us away and drive right out of here. Then we’ll get to safety and my allies.” He pulled her away from Garrett and toward the door.

Janie held back a wince. “Are you still working with the Kurjans?” If he traded her to Kalin, she might have a chance at surviving. She’d go along with the plan if she could keep Garrett alive.

“No.” Prophet Guiles tugged her toward the doorway. “The demons have a much better offer for me. In fact, I just informed Suri that three of the Kayrs brothers are in his local. Let’s hope he gets my message in time.”

God. They’d walked into a trap. “If you’ve hurt any of them, I’ll kill you myself, Prophet,” Janie ground out between clenched teeth.

Garrett angled around to the right. “What’s your plan with Janie?”

Prophet Guiles shrugged. “Alas, I do believe Suri wants her head cut off.” Guiles wrapped an arm around her waist from behind to push her along. “Although she’s quite charming. Maybe she can get Suri to change his mind and let her live. How are you on your knees, sweetheart?” His breath smelled like old coffee and stale bread.

Garrett hissed out air and stalked closer. “One chance, Prophet. Let her go, and I won’t cut off your head.”

Janie blinked. She’d never heard that tone from her younger brother.

Guiles paused at the doorway, his gaze on his guards. “Kill him.”

“No.” Janie struggled and grimaced as the needle dug into her neck.

“Hold still,” Garrett ordered. Then he smiled at the two guards. “Let’s go, assholes.” He dropped into a fighting stance, anticipation lighting his lips. Blood matted the front of his shirt, but the wound appeared to have closed.

The first guard shoved his gun in his waistband and drew out a knife. “I’ve wanted to cut off your head for decades.”

Garrett snarled. “I’ve only lived two decades, asshat. What’s your problem?”

The second guard’s blade shone bright in the fluorescent lights. “Let’s just say the bounty on your head will guarantee we live long and well.”

Garrett removed a wicked double-edged knife from his back pocket. “You’re not collecting that bounty.”

“Drop the knife, or I kill your sister,” the prophet said calmly. “Suri will no doubt grant me asylum for killing her, even though I believe he wants to do the deed himself.”

“No,” Janie whispered. “Keep the knife, G.”

Garrett’s face hardened. His shoulders went back, and his knife clattered onto the floor.

Terror shrieked through Janie.

Then a voice. “
What’s going on?
”

She blinked. A voice in her head. “
Zane?
” she thought back.

“
Yes
.” He sounded out of breath . . . and in pain? “
Where are you?
”

God. It was true. She’d mated, and she could hear his thoughts. So damn quickly. “
Help. We’re in the infirmary, and they’re trying to kill Garrett
.”

Quiet reigned for the briefest of moments.

Then all hell broke loose.

Zane and Dage dropped into the infirmary, taking in the scene quickly.

Dage went for the two guards, while Zane grabbed Guiles’s arm and yanked. Two hard, quick punches to the prophet’s face, and he went down.

Zane turned back toward Janie, his face pale, his eyes furious. “Hold still.” Reaching out, he grasped the syringe and yanked.

Pain pricked her skin, and she winced, her hand going to the injury. “Holy ow.” Then she turned to help her uncle, but Dage already had one guard on the ground, while Garrett repeatedly punched the other in the face.

Zane crossed muscled arms. “I thought we agreed you’d go underground while I took out Suri.”

“You ordered and I didn’t follow,” Janie snapped. Enough was enough. She had a job to do, and her mate would damn well figure that out. Putting her hands on her hips, she took a deep breath.

Guiles jumped up from the floor and grabbed her from behind. Pivoting, she elbowed him in the gut. He doubled over and yanked a knife from his boot.

Silver flashed.

Zane pummeled Guiles to the floor and plunged a blade into his neck. Cartilage crunched. Blood sprayed. The atmosphere morphed.

“Zane—” Janie cried out.

He was beyond listening. Zane straddled the prophet, dug in, and twisted both ways. Guiles’s head rolled away from his body.

“Oh, shit.” Garrett leaped off the downed guard, blood covering his chest and hands.

Janie backed away from the dead man, gazing wildly around.

A blue light lifted from the prophet, sliding around almost gracefully. Dage ducked as it wove around him.

Garrett backed toward the door. The light slid through the air toward him. “No,” he whispered.

The light zagged to the left and then right, finally circling around on itself and wisping out.

Janie let out a sigh of relief. Thank God.

Electricity cracked. She cried out, ducking as sparks flew. The light returned, swelling to such a true blue it hurt to see. She covered her eyes with her forearms.

Heat seared into her.

Then a cooling balm. She slowly opened her eyes and straightened. “What happened?”

Zane glanced at her and leaned forward to tug her shirt away from her neck. He was pale and sweating, probably from the numerous jumps. “No prophesy marking.” He turned toward the group. “Anybody?”

A quick chorus of “no” echoed as the collected group double-checked their necks for the mark.

Janie reached out with shaking hands to view Zane’s neck. Nothing. She bit her lip. “Who was marked?”

Zane shook his head. “No clue.”

Dage wiped his blade clean on his cargo pants. “Fascinating. Well, I imagine we’ll hear soon enough.”

Janie clenched her hands together. “When a prophet is killed, I thought somebody in the immediate vicinity gets marked?”

“Not always.” Dage kicked one of the downed guards, who didn’t move. “Sometimes it’s just a person close to the prophet. We’ll find our third prophet soon enough.”

Janie tried to mellow her racing heart by concentrating on Zane. Her eyes swelled. He was alive. But dark circles marred his gorgeous eyes, and fatigue cut into the sides of his mouth. Pain curled his lip.

“Are you all right?” she asked.

Dage eyed Zane. “You’ve transported too many times this last week. It’s a miracle your insides haven’t exploded.”

Zane nodded. “Yeah. I’m done for a while.” His eyebrows drew down in the middle, and his lips tightened. “Although I’m strong enough to have a little talk with my mate.”

Janie stilled. Oh no, he had not used that big bad bossy vampire voice with her. “We can talk later.”

“Now.” Zane took her arm and helped her over the unconscious guards.

Garrett moved to intercept them, but Dage stopped him with one broad hand.

Zane nodded to Dage, some manly look passing between them.

Now her uncle was on her shit list, too. Janie went along with Zane, biting her tongue, more than willing to give him hell in private.

The entire Realm didn’t need to hear their dispute.