Later, she wondered if the other miners heard his shouts forhelp.She also wondered how long it had taken for that stone to dislodge itselffrom his ass—and if he’d sifted through his shit to find it.
Chapter Three
Razr had always liked Scotland.The weather wasmoody, the landscape could almost be described as arrogant, and the people weretough as shit.Liking the place was a crazy contradiction for him, because heboth envied the humans who lived here and wasthankfulhe didn’thaveto live here.Nice place to visit, and all that.
Today’s visit, however, wasn’t about seeing the sights,drinking the whisky, or eating haggis.Just twenty-four hours after Jim Bobgave him the gold card, Razr was taking back what was his and restoring hisdignity and reputation.
Since he’d lost his ability to flash from place to placewhen his wings were bound, he’d taken a Harrowgate, a transportation systemused by demons to travel around the human and demon realms, to the outskirts ofa walled village populated bydhampires.Few knew ofthe existence of the half-vampire, half-werewolf beings, and even fewer knewabout their Scottish villages.Humans were especially clueless; their eyesmight see the towns and the people, but their primitive minds wouldn’t registerany of it, and wards placed around the properties would repel humans on asubconscious level.
His boots left deep prints in the soggy earth and fogdampened his jeans and formed tiny droplets on his jacket as he walked towardthe village’s walled east entrance.He could smell the recent rain and tastethe ocean salt in the air, but he didn’t let any of that distract him from thefact that he felt more than one set of eyes keeping track of him.Dhampireswere cautious folk, secretive to the point ofparanoia, as vicious as vampires and as unpredictable as werewolves.They’dgotten the best and worst of both species, and only a fool would let theirguard down around them.
Just inside the village wall he was met by thatch-roofedhouses and a burly female with short-cropped dark hair, razor-sharp fangs, anda crossbow slung over her shoulder.An unusual ripple of energy surrounded her,unusual in that whiledhampireswere certainly aformidable species, they weren’t generally associated with special gifts.Thisdhampire, however, looked like she kicked ass with specialabilitieson a daily basis, and maybe bragged aboutit.
As a battle angel, he could appreciate that.
She propped her fists on her hips and blocked his path.Hedidn’tappreciate that.“Stateyerbusiness,yerspecies, andyername,” shesaid in a thick Scottish accent.“And make it quick.I don’t have all day.”Shesnapped her fingers in a show of impatience.
Man, he wished he still had angel status and more powersthan the few weak defensive skills he’d been left with.He’d have put her onher ass for disrespecting an angel, no matter how disgraced.
“My business is none of yours.”
She just stared and tapped her foot.
“Maybe I’m a human traveler named George who just wants ameal.”
“Ye came through the Harrowgate, so ye aren’t human or ye’dbe dead, yelyin’ ballbag.”She crossed her arms overher chest and leaned in.“I’ll ask one more time.Who are ye, and––”
“My name is Razr,” he said, tired of this game.He extendedthe gold card Jim Bob had given him.“I’m a fallen angel, and I’d appreciate itif you got out of my face.”
She sniffed and wrinkled her nose.“Ye don’t smell like afallen angel.”
That was because thislyin’ballbag wasn’t one.“What do fallen angels smell like?”
“Shit.”
Ah.“Well, I’m newly fallen.Maybe Ihavetoearn my stench.”
Unamused, she snatched the card away and frowned down at it.“Why do ye want to see them?”
Did she think he was born yesterday?Or even a century ago?“I’m sure those who wish to see a secretive group of people don’t tell you whythey’re here.”
“No, they don’t.But what they don’t say is as important aswhat they do.”
“And what am I not saying?”
She smiled, her lips peeling back from those wicked-lookingfangs.“That ye’re seeking something.And it’s important.Which means ye needto be nice to me or ye won’t get it.”
He hated inferior beings on power trips.“Fine,” he sighed.“You’re a...sturdyfemale with big muscles and a voiceso deep and breathy that Darth Vader would be jealous.Is that nice enough?”
She barked out a laugh.“Come on, ballbag.”
She led him down a cobblestone street lined with smallhouses and quaint shops, and then onto a dirt path through a thickcopseof trees.He followed heruntil they came to a clearing, in the middle of which a stone tower stood.Asthey approached, a big male and a petite female exited.
A wave of power rolled off them, the same as the femalewho’d brought him here.And then he knew.These were the Wardens, the Triad,threedhampireschosen by fate or blood or somemystical crap to guard the most priceless things in the world.And they were inpossession of his gemstone.
The male, his dark hair swinging around his shoulders, spokefirst.“I’m Galen.You’ve already met Rhona.”He gestured to the petite,fire-haired female who hung back but who radiated more power than the other twocombined.“That is Isla.State your business.”
“You people aren’trealfriendly,are you?”They stared, and he resisted the urge to taunt them more.As anangel, he was used to the stick-up-the-ass types, and he knew they often hadshort fuses, and he didn’t want to fuck this up.“I’m here because I believeyou’re in possession of something that belongs to me.”He held out his hand sothey could see his ring.The ice-blue diamond glittered in the hazy sunlightthat managed to punch through the gray sheet of clouds above.“It’s thisstone’s larger mate.”
