Bonded (8 page)

He leaned over and gave her
another kiss before drawing back to study the blade through her side. He didn’t
touch it, not right away. He was peering at it and gently probing the flesh
around it. Then, with no warning at all, he yanked it out of her side with a
quick move before pressing his hand to the new hole spouting blood.

“Grab her good arm and pull,” he
ordered the big blond. “Gently. She’s got other wounds, and I need to keep
pressure on this. Watch her head, too.”

“Damn, if this is what finding
your other half does to you, it’s for the birds,” Big and Blond muttered. He
put one hand under her armpit and the other under her head. “This is going to
hurt like nobody’s business. Feel free to scream.” Then he pulled.

Emily did just that. She
hollered and cursed him as he yanked her out. Tears spilled from her eyes, and
she smacked the man with her bloody, good hand. “You asshat.” Her head was
spinning. “Son of a bitch, I think I’m going to pass out.”

The redhead laughed. “I would be
very careful. Gaius might just kick your ass for making his mate pissed off
enough to call you a…” He looked to the other large man and asked, “Asshat,
wasn’t that it?”

“Shut the hell up and get the
truck. We need blankets for her,” Big and Blond said with a growl.

Gaius waved him off as he moved
out of the vehicle, his hand still pressing hard to her side to stem the
bleeding. Cupping her face with his free hand, he stroked her cheek. “Emily,
look at me,” he said. She was trying, but it was hard. Her head was still
spinning, and she was nauseous. “Emily, look at me,” he barked in a firmer
tone. “Come on, sweetheart, look at me.”

The redhead jogged off out of
sight as the other big man came closer and crouched. “We need to get her back
to base to medical. She’ll need the bones reset and quickly.”

“I know,” Gaius whispered.
“Merc, this is Emily. Em, this is Mercury, our leader. The other two, you never
need to know—they’re assholes.”

She nodded at the man and licked
her lips. “Would shake your hand, but yeah, not so much.”

“It’s okay.” Mercury looked to
Gaius. “Others are coming to clean up the mess. You don’t have to worry about
anything. Just her.”

Emily stared up at Gaius and
smiled. “Hey, you.” She felt him leaning in closer. “I think I need another
kiss and a lovely, long nap while you take care of everything, okay? I think
that would be best, don’t you?” Oh, she definitely wanted to give in to the
oblivion that was reaching for her.

Nodding, he kissed her again. “Sleep
for now, Emily. You need it, and it will be better for us to move you if you’re
not awake. I’m so sorry,” he whispered against her lips. “I never, never meant
for you to get hurt.”

“You protected me. I’m safe.
I’ll be fine with some time, recovery, and lots of pain meds. Don’t worry so
much. Just, next time I ask for a weapon, tell me no,” she teased. She was
fading fast, but she struggled to hear what came next before passing out.

Mercury put his hand on Gaius’s
shoulder. “We’ll get her back to medical and looked over by the best. She’s
right—you saved her. There are monsters out there, and they obviously knew
about her.” There was anger brewing in his voice. “Now, to find out who the
fuck let it leak that one of the virgins’ descendants was coming in and how.”

“Whoever it is, they’re mine,”
Gaius snarled before he eased Emily into his arms with infinite gentleness as
she finally succumbed to the darkness.

Chapter Eight

Seven weeks later
…

“Gaius, I swear if you don’t
stop hovering, I might have to beat you.” Emily was teasing him. “I’m fine. I
know you have to go and follow the lead that you have, and I promise, I’m good.
Go. Do what you need to. You heard the doc—I’m good. I get my cast off in a
couple of days, and by then you’ll be back and you can give in and give me what
we both need.” She was very frustrated because he had refused to make love to
her while she was hurt. “Okay?” she asked, hopeful.

Gaius shoved a hand through his
hair as he paced. He was armed and ready to head out. They’d found the mole and
knew where he was. They were going after him and were ready for anything. But
Gaius wasn’t happy to leave her behind. He wasn’t exactly in the most trusting
of moods of late.

Finally, he moved to sit next to
her and wrapped her in a hug. So gentle that she could feel the worry pouring
off him. He didn’t say anything. He just held her and stroked her hair. After a
time, he let out a heavy sigh and leaned back so she could lift her head.
Pressing a kiss to her lips, he cupped her face. “If you need anything,
anything
, you contact Mercury. He’s
remaining here to watch over you and the base. For any reason, Emily. No matter
what. Even if it’s silly after the fact, trust your gut and contact him. Swear
to me.”

“I will. I promise.” She put her
hand on his cheek and smiled. “I love you, Gaius. Now go and get this asshole
that turned us over for money.” They had learned a lot in the last seven weeks.
“Are you taking the flirty twins with you?”

“Yes,” he growled, his lip
curling. He was not happy with either man and got his back up whenever they
came around. Not that she knew their names, and Gaius wasn’t telling her.
Mercury was highly amused by it all, from what she’d observed, but he wasn’t
giving her their names, either. “They need a good beating, and I’m hopeful
they’ll get one. If not, I’ll attend to it myself,” he said with an evil grin.

Sighing, he stroked her cheek.
“I love you, Emily. You are my heart, my soul, my
everything.
Be safe,” he whispered and kissed her again. Then he
was up and gone out the door before she could say a word.

Emily watched him leave and
smiled. “Gods, I love that man,” she said to no one. She knew why the men
picked on Gaius by flirting with her. It was because he was like a brother to
them, and it was their way of showing their acceptance. Too bad Gaius didn’t
see it like that.

Leaning her head back, she
closed her eyes, grabbed the back scratcher that Gaius had bought for her, and
shoved it down the cast to scratch her arm.

Her mind began to drift back
over the last few weeks and all that she’d learned. As a vestal virgin, she was
apparently a “key.” Mercury had explained it to her the simplest. As one of the
VV’s, as they called the virgins, she was pure in a unique way. Neither good,
nor evil, she was perfectly balanced, yet could be used by either side.

The important point of it all
was that the guardians wouldn’t use her like the evil ones would. While they
weren’t opposed to using her gifts in the right situations, they wouldn’t ever
allow harm to come to her.

The evil ones, the monsters,
were truly evil incarnate. For the most part, they were humans turned demonic.
They had allowed the insidious whispers of darkness into their hearts and
souls. The head of all of them was Hades. He wasn’t a myth, which had absolutely
blown her mind. It had definitely taken her a while to believe they hadn’t been
yanking her chain about it all. She still wasn’t sure she truly believed.

The god Tartarus used
“minions”—Mercury’s term—to spread evil across the globe. The greater the hold
the darkness had in the human realm, the stronger Hades would become. No one
was sure what the end game was, but they knew the VV’s held a key role in
everything. They were what could tip the scales of the ongoing war in favor of
the guardians and help push back the rising tide of evil. Unfortunately, evil
didn’t have any prejudice about who it went after. Including the guardians.

Gaius had explained that they’d
lost a lot of guardians over the years. Some to battle, while others had
allowed evil into their souls, turning them into the worst of the monsters the
remaining guardians faced. Fortunately, only a small number of them were
ex-guardians, because with the skill sets they all had, they were definitely
dangerous and deadly foes. Moreover, no one wanted to face a former friend on
the battlefield.

The other monsters were humans
who, through the dark arts, had pledged allegiance to Hades and given him a
door into their souls. Some were given a demon, which on the earthly plane gave
them added strength, unique viciousness, and made them harder to kill.

Others were humans that were
naturally evil, broken souls that never should have made their way from the
Wheel of Souls to partake of human life again. Serial killers, murderers,
pedophiles. The truly evil souls of the human race returned and given new
purpose, while being allowed to spread their filth and darkness onto innocent
lives.

It all boiled down to one thing,
according to Mercury. The guardians they still had standing strong against the
gathering tsunami of darkness were the human race’s last hope to keep evil at
bay. If they fell, there would be no hope left.

Unfortunately, in the most
recent battle of a seemingly never-ending war, it appeared that another
guardian may have given evil entrance to his soul. As far as Gaius and the
others were concerned, it was the only way the monsters could have been waiting
for their return. No one but those within the Mountain had known she was coming
with Gaius.

Not
good, not good at all
.
Biting her lip, she tossed the scratcher aside and rubbed a hand over her face.
She didn’t know what was coming, but she knew that Gaius and his brethren were
hanging on by the thinnest of threads to the only means of keeping evil from
spreading unchecked.

* * * *

San
Diego, CA

“You fucking bitch!” A young
woman screamed at an older lady who had hit the back end of her car. “I can’t
fucking believe you hit me. Are you that fucking old that you can’t see?”

The woman’s shock was clear. She
didn’t speak, but others around them did, many coming to the defense of the old
woman. The young girl continued to yell profanities, which only marked her for
death.

From the shadows, a smile
spread. “Ah yes, another one.” Whispered maniacal laughter followed. “I think
this one will be even more fun. I do believe I will test my new material.” The
ice had been weaponized with the aid of a helpful fellow, a man who had refused
to give his name.

Hands rubbed together. Happiness
filled the figure like warmth. Humming a tune, he walked away from the scene to
find a hidden area in order to take the shot. Ah yes, now the kills could be
made from a distance, so that there would be no trace left behind, no possible
way to track the killer. The cops and FBI were all spinning their wheels, which
made each successive assassination even better.

Traveling was a wonderful thing,
just as the man who had helped him perfect the weapon had suggested. Glorious.

With the shadows covering the
killer, a small, plastic weapon was lifted from the cooler and a puff of smoke
was all that indicated that the weapon was fired. Then, with a smile, he
watched the girl as she fell to the ground, her ugly face now made beautiful by
the round hole in the center of her forehead.

Ah yes, life was very good.

After putting the white plastic
back into the cooler, the killer walked away humming “Fur Elise.”

He looked down to the ground,
not up to the skies, because he knew where God truly was. “I have found another
to send to you, Master. My Lord, I have found another being that will be a fine
specimen for you to rain your wrath down upon. This trip was truly worth the
cost. Now I understand why you sent me to this place,” he said quietly and
smiled once more. “Thank you.”

Still humming, he began to plot
and plan inside his mind. It was time for him to ensure that another
foul-mouthed monster was taken out. Earth didn’t deserve to have these vulgar
bastards on it, but Hell deserved them. Yes, it was a very good thing to send
these sinners to Hades where they belonged. It would be good, indeed, to send
yet another soul to his master so that when he finally left this miserable
earth, he would be rewarded.

As he stepped into his hotel
room, he thought of his first meeting with his master. He had been in the
hospital after an accident and had died while in surgery. He could easily
recall the meeting with the eight-foot-tall being that radiated power.

There had been no light at the
end of the tunnel, only this large god who had stood there and offered him a
chance to live. He had accepted it. He had accepted the gift of knowledge that
was given to him and the mission to wipe out all that should be removed from
the world. The killer had been given his parameters to work within and he had.

He let out a small laugh. He was
doing His work, and even though the papers and news outlets tagged him a
monster, he knew the truth—he was a bastion of the gods. He was only doing what
fate had refused to.

No, Nelson Chow was doing what
he had always been intended to do. He was taking out the trash that no one else
would. He had been born to be the right hand of Hades and knew it. Now, it was
time for him to put his plan to work.

The End

www.april-zyon.com

Other
Books by April Zyon:

www.evernightpublishing.com/april-zyon

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