“You busted the gate,” I pointed out.
He pulled out the red lollipop and kissed the end of it. “Blue let me in. The gate’s closed. Anyone up for a tossing game? Whoever gets the most in the ring takes a cut of everyone’s pay.”
Shepherd glowered. “Nobody’s got time for that. Did you see the redhead or the little man?”
I glanced behind me at the masked crowd. Gem was keeping them at bay with her electric ball, static ripping through the air like needles. “Pablo was down here earlier, and he didn’t use the slide. There has to be an elevator somewhere.”
Gem’s power ball suddenly fizzled out. “Oopsie.”
A bystander made a wild lunge at Gem, who didn’t see it coming. The person thrust their palm into her face and made a run for it. Shepherd fired his gun, and they fell like a stone. The mask came off, revealing a man who looked twenty.
When the bystanders saw we weren’t killing them, they stopped cowering. With the lollipop stick poking out of his mouth, Christian grabbed a woman by the throat and flung her into the ring.
I flashed down the stairwell. Claude was guarding a tunnel entrance, his eyes feral and all four fangs extended. A woman lay at his feet. She was lucky she had only two puncture marks in her neck instead of four, but I couldn’t imagine Claude intentionally killing a woman with his venom, even in primal mode. These people didn’t know that though, so I couldn’t think of a better person to guard the exit than a Mage’s mortal enemy.
I took off in search of Audrey. As I passed the gate to the ring, I noticed a woman reaching for the long lever so she could free those inside.
“Oh no you don’t.” I yanked her away by her black robe.
The woman scowled at me and drew closer. Suddenly I felt an uncontrollable attraction to her—those lovely green eyes, those full lips, that deliciously sexy vein in her slender neck. My Vampire side sounded the alarm bells.
“Charmer,” I hissed before biting her neck.
She struggled but eventually weakened in my grip. Her blood revolted me, the vile flavor like bug spray or old chemicals. Everyone had their own unique flavor, but mostly I just tasted their sins.
Instead of pulling her light, which was usually how I finished off my victims, I had to refrain from the urge to kill so I could get a lock on Audrey.
“Let us out of here!” a woman begged, her fingers wrapped around the bars. “I can make you so rich that you’ll never have to work again.”
I neared the bars and sized her up: diamond-studded earrings, metallic eyeshadow, nude lipstick, blond curls spilling down her black robe. Her nails were bejeweled, and mine were caked in blood. Her perfume filled my nostrils as I leaned in. “Better get used to these,” I said, tapping my fingers against the bars. “You’ll be seeing them for a long time.”
I strutted off and approached a naked man lying on the ground. It looked like Christian had secured the chain around his wolf’s neck by bending the metal and looping the other end around a torch holder. The chain was loose, so I took it off and knelt. He was barely lucid.
“Hey, you’re gonna be okay. What’s your name?”
“Tom,” he croaked.
“Tom, do you think you can stay here? It’s too dangerous to run around. Can you sit tight for a little while?”
He nodded.
“Don’t worry, you’ll be fine. We’ll take care of you.”
He shook his head. “I thought you were lying.”
“It doesn’t matter. Just sit tight, okay?”
My heart clenched. How bad was this guy’s life that death matches were a viable solution? Audrey must have targeted men at rock bottom, but no matter what they initially agreed to, they certainly weren’t here of their own free will. Not if they were caged.
“Don’t open that gate,” I warned him. “Those are the people who wanted to watch you die tonight. Anything they promise you is a lie.”
His eyes closed. Tom’s condition had nothing to do with injuries sustained in the ring, as I’d done my best to go easy on him. He probably hadn’t slept in days, dreading his certain death.
I followed the dark tunnel and approached a gate. After pulling the lever, I jogged down the tunnel until I reached Rafferty’s prison. Without a key, I couldn’t get inside. “Rafferty, open the door! I promise not to kill you if you cooperate.”
I scanned the room and didn’t see any plump shadows hiding behind one of the pillars. The only sound I heard was the low growling of a vicious panther. “Audrey? Are you in there?”
“Do you really think she’ll answer?” Christian asked darkly.
