With a hiss,Derrodus vanished in a puff of black smoke. The still squabbling demons disappeared along with him.
“You know there’ll be payback, right?” a familiar voice said from behind him.
Damn. Couldn’t he get a moment without anyone on his ass? Not that Pangur was a pest. He’d known the demon since childhood, and he would have been a friend if Nate had let anyone close.
“Then he’ll learn the hard way.” Nate retracted his talons and faced his sire’s old chum, more pain flaying along his spine. And he gritted his teeth.
“The angel sure is something.” A grin split Pangur’s heavy-set, tanned features. “Think I’ll lose my head if I go after her?”
Nate cut the brawny demon a flat look. “Abawill be pleased to see you.”
“But not you.” Pangur chuckled. He pushed away from the building he’d been leaning against and strolled over, his light eyes glinting eerily in the dark. “Yeah, been busy. Had a job to do for Azgor. Some scouting.”
More like what territory he could usurp. Azgor’s voracity was insatiable, always wanting more to add to his coffers—lands, beings, and symbionts. Nothing was off-limits.
“Your last match was quite something, taking on adregvar,” Pangur continued. “No one ever survived those monsters. Azgoreth made a killing in bets, deals, and prizes.”
Match?Nate’s jaw hardened. They were straight-out cold-blooded, brutal extermination.
“By the way, I have a message for you.” Pangur flicked him a glance. “Azgoreth awaits you.”
What else was new? He called, and Nate had to jump.
Nate glanced down the dark, silent street. When he still didn’t respond, Pangur laughed. “You’re lucky he leaves you to do as you please until he needs you. See you back in the Dark Realm,Sicari.”
The demon vanished seamlessly into the night air.
Yeah, Azgor left him alone because he knew Nate wouldn’t run, not with his sire’s life on the line. But if he sent for him, it could only mean one of two things—another fight or a job.
Not ready to make tracks for the Dark Realm, he headed for the biker’s bar, and his thoughts slid back to thelaika.
She’d been…unexpected. And nothing much surprised him anymore.
As far as he knew, all the Guardians were males. So, they’d changed the status quo to include a female? She must be a recent addition. How very proactive of them.
But just the thought of her and the unending abyss within him flickered. It wasn’t her beautiful face or delicate air—he snorted at the latter since she’d taken down several blood demons a pro—but something else…something that pulled at him.
Determined to find out, since he let nothing sidetrack him, Nate flashed back to the alley where he’d left thelaikaon the rooftop, not surprised she wasn’t there. He settled on his haunches, scanning the narrow street. Movement to his left caught his attention.
There. In all that darkness, like a beam of light, she glided deeper into the alley, but she wasn’t alone. A tall male with blue hair rubbed shoulders with her.
Nate narrowed his eyes.
Oh, he knew these mofo Guardians by sight. They usually stayed below the radar. One of them had mated the girl he’d felt an inkling of something for, probably his moral compass showing him that he could squeeze out some empathy and save an innocent caught in his mess. Shadow was better off with that tattooed Guardian, anyway.
If these realm protectors ever suspected the truth of what he was and did, they’d kill him faster than a heartbeat. He should leave, get out of there. Yet he remained crouched on the rooftop, watching the angel with hair like the moonlight, who, for a blinding moment, had snatched his breath—
No! He jerked to his feet. Light had no place in his darkness.
As if in agreement with his thoughts, pain rammed along his spine again, reverberating inside his skull—
“Fuck,” he grunted. He could no longer ignore this. He had to feed.
Jaw clamping down against his discomfort, Nate flashed to the Bowery and made his way to Club Nocte’s back entrance. A touch on the steel door, and the thing unlatched. He entered unnoticed, the way he preferred, bolted the door behind him, and flashed into the darkened club, music rocking through the place.
A crash of drums erupted, the sound thundering into his skull. Fuck! Another spike of agony ripped through him like claws tearing his flesh. Inhaling harshly, he halted in the crowded nightclub, pinching the bridge of his nose and tightening his mental shields. Hades knew what havoc he’d wreak if he ever lost control.
“Hard night?”
