Passion Ignited (26 page)

She was battling a Drac when another came at
her from behind. Raider flashed just behind it and jammed his
blades in to the hilt. The Drac screamed and wailed just as it
turned around and sliced him with its claws. It fell to the ground
wheezing, spasming from head to toe. Raider only glanced at the
gash in his chest before he pulled his blades free of the dying
demon. He hadn’t finished him off, but there was no time. He needed
to take out as many as he could. He’d clean up later.

He made his way toward an Ignitis, but was
quickly sidetracked as he heard a child scream. Turning his head,
he flashed toward the sound, finding a dog pile of Dracs clawing at
something on the ground. He pushed through as many of them as he
could, but he could still only see parts of the little girl who was
huddled into a ball on the ground. She screamed as the demons
slashed at her, tearing her skin, ripping her apart. Her screams
died just as Raider reached for her, her heart stopping the second
his hands found her.

He looked at her for only a second before he
had to look away. Her green eyes and red hair haunted him,
reminding him of his own daughters. If only he’d been faster,
driven through the horde of demons, he could have saved her. But
that seemed to always be the case.

He always showed up too late.

Nitro cried out from the other side of the
arena. Her scream was like a beacon, calling out to Raider’s
Instinct. He turned just as she fell to the ground, a sword
sticking out of her back.

Rage overtook him and he roared in anger.
Whipping out his short-blade, he drove through the demons, one by
one, toward her. They were nothing compared to what his Instinct
released. The demon who had impaled Nitro pulled his sword free and
flipped her to her back. Raider’s vision started to blur as he
hurried toward her through the melee, each demon slain the same as
the one before it. Over and over he slaughtered demons as if they
were nothing.

And they were nothing. Nothing compared to the
feeling Raider got whenever he thought of his female. Nothing
compared to the happiness he would strive to give her if only she
could survive this night. And he would do his best to get her back
to what she once was. He was only twenty feet away now, slicing and
dicing through demons. He had to hurry, had to save her. The demon
raised its sword over its head and arced it downward, the blade
slicing through the air toward her neck.

Chapter
Twenty-Five

“You’re a hard wolf to track down.”

Thrash’s breath came quickly. He’d just been
jumped by five demons, and it had taken him a little longer than
usual to dispose of them. Q slowly came into view, his familiar
face illuminated by the orange glow of one of his demon’s burning
bodies. Q was Damion’s right-hand demon. He was of the Abassy race,
a faction of demons spawned in the Underworld that should have
never escaped their fiery hell. They were fierce, tricky bastards
that brandished iron teeth that poisoned their prey. He’d shared
the right-hand title with his brother, Clay, up until just over a
week ago when Draven had wiped the bastard out.

Another demon stayed back in the shadows,
watching, but saying nothing.

“You hurt Damion’s feelings when you attacked
the other night,” Q said.

“I don’t give a flying fuck about his
feelings,” Thrash growled.

“You should. And if you don’t you damn well
should. We know you’re on the outs with the Guardians. I’m
extending the same offer to you that Damion did. We offer you a
place within our ranks.”

“What of Damion? No one’s heard from him in a
while.”

Q decidedly sidestepped his question. “We’ve
watched you for a while now. You don’t belong with the Guardians.
You don’t belong by Ferox’s side.”

His gaze narrowed as he watched Q pacing back
and forth. The other demon remained silent, but he wasn’t the only
one watching. Thrash knew without a doubt that there were others
there, watching the confrontation. He could smell them, their
stenches stinking up the alley just as much as any of the flames
were.

“You’ll understand if I need some time to
consider?”

Q shrugged. “That’s your decision. I would
have thought you’d have jumped at the opportunity. We’ll give you
one more chance, wolf. But the next time we meet, we will need an
answer. You no longer have backup since you’re no longer a
Guardian.”

“How would you know anything about
that?”

The hidden demon laughed from the shadows. Q
smiled at the demon before facing him. “Thrash, Thrash, Thrash. Do
you really not realize I have eyes and ears inside the
mansion?”

Thrash’s grin fell as Damion stepped from the
shadows. He wore a tailored suit with a blue tie, his hair was
slicked back and he wore that air of arrogance that Ferox normally
didn’t have. Too bad Ferox had turned into a doucher over the last
few days. “Damion.”

“Wolf.” Damion inclined his head.

“Not dead yet?”

Damion’s answering sneer told Thrash all he
needed to know. He’d been lying low since the showdown with Ferox.
But for what reason, he couldn’t venture a guess. Then, Damion’s
remark about having eyes within the mansion hit him. Could the
Collective have already turned one of the Guardians? Or was it one
of the new warriors? Ash had witnessed the argument between Ferox
and himself. What if Ekhart had spoken the truth that they still
worked for him?

“Q,” Damion said. “You can call off the
demons. I see that I’ve intrigued the wolf now.” He paused from his
pacing and met Thrash’s eyes stare for stare. “I have just the
assignment for our new recruit.”

****

The little demon screeched loudly, causing
Raider’s ears to ring. She bolted toward the other demon just as
his sword came down over Nitro’s neck. Raider’s blade barely
intercepted the deadly blow, sparks ricocheting between the two
swords. Nitro lay unconscious on the ground as Raider stepped over
her body and hurled himself at the bastard who would dare harm
her.

The demon was much stronger than he had given
him credit for. Clearly he was some sort of demon leader within
Ekhart’s ranks. He wasn’t in the usual dirty and tattered garb his
subordinates donned. His clothes were relatively clean, appearing
worn only from the battle that had just begun.

Raider had planned to take this fight to the
ground, but his opponent had been too powerful to take down. The
demon struck out, his fist slamming into Raider’s cheek, making his
head snap back. Godsdamn that fucker hit hard. He saw little
birdies flying around in circles. He shook his head free of the
cartoon birds just in time to see that the demon was already coming
in for another attack, his sword raised over his head as he
barreled toward him. Raider spun, dodging the demon’s blade, and as
he turned, he jabbed out with his dagger. The knife slid into the
demon’s side like butter, causing him to roar in anger and pain.
But the bastard was tough—didn’t fall as easily as the others. He
whirled around and uppercut Raider in the stomach.

Raider couldn’t breathe as the air was sucked
out of him like the blue liquid in an airplane toilet. And come to
think of it, he
felt
like a fucking 747. The demon’s right
hook had sent him flying, landing in a heap ten feet away. His back
slammed into the cold dirt, surprisingly knocking more air from his
lungs. He inhaled as fast as he could and pushed himself to his
feet. But the demon was already on him, forcing him back to the
ground. He continued fighting despite the demon’s strength and
speed. And as he fought, he caught sight of his dagger, which was
still deep in the demon’s side.

At the first opportunity, he gripped the hilt
and yanked. Not out, but through the bastard’s skin, slicing
through more of the demon’s flesh. Blood spurted from the demon as
it tore up his side, and he wailed in pain. Raider pulled the
dagger from his body and jabbed it in again. Over and over he
struck until the bastard started to slow. But the demon kept
fighting, which was wearing down Raider’s own strength. Releasing
the dagger after jabbing it into the fucker’s chest, he allowed his
fist to fly, jamming it right into the demon’s nose. He growled in
pain and rolled to the ground, no longer pinning Raider to the
dirt.

He took the momentary freedom to jump to his
feet. He flashed a few feet away and grabbed his short-sword that
was lying on the ground. Looking down at his opponent, he saw for
the first time just how much damage had been done by his dagger.
The demon’s blood spilled freely, a crimson pool gathered around
him. Despite the obvious pain he was in, the demon slowly rolled to
his feet and faced off once more against him. In a crouching
stance, he awkwardly flung himself at Raider, though nowhere near
the speed he’d shown only moments before. Raider countered by
throwing him to the ground. He raised his sword above his head and
plunged it deep into the demon’s chest, just up and over,
kitty-corner from the stab he’d just dealt. The demon’s back
arched, allowing Raider to feel that the blade had struck clear
through to the ground below. Blood spurted from the wound and
seeped from the demon’s mouth as it shrieked, and yet it still kept
moving. He twisted the sword and watched as even more blood bubbled
from its chest. He watched in sick fascination as the bastard’s
life began to fade. Finally, the demon lay still, what little
breath he was able to breathe coming in shortened pants.

For the first time, the demon spoke—a quiet
whisper he’d had to force from his mouth. Against his own better
judgment, Raider leaned down low so he could hear the words that
the demon whispered.

“Thank you.”

****

Ash rushed over to where Demetrius stood, the
seriousness of the situation laid out before him hitting him like a
Mack truck. “What the fuck is going on here? Raider sent me a text
that he found Nitro.”

“He did.” Demetrius looked over at the
warrior. “Get in there and see what’s left. I’ve been flying the
kids to safety, but it’s been over twenty minutes since they’ve
brought any others out.” He looked off into the distance. “I’ll be
back in a few. I’ve got to go check on them.” Demetrius leapt into
the air and took off like a bat out of hell.

Ash gawked for mere seconds before racing
toward the burning building. He made it inside, but realized
quickly that there wouldn’t be an “inside” much longer. The
building was falling apart. He made his way slowly through the
hallway, not because he’d be harmed by the flames, but because
every step he took seemed to cause the surrounding walls to fall
inward. Creeks and groans, hissing and shattering, greeted him
within the structure.

He continued to wander through the building,
looking in each of the rooms he passed for any signs of
life—looking for any sign of Nitro, Raider, or anybody else. He
finally found a set of stairs, which were mostly burned apart. And
although it was faint, he thought he heard sounds coming from that
direction. He rushed down the long, narrow staircase, tore down the
winding hallway until he found the source of the sounds he’d
heard.

He’d stumbled into a battleground.

His stomach lurched as memories came crashing
into his mind. He and Nitro had been forced to battle for their
lives in a room similar to this one, but never had there been so
much destruction. Most demons were already dead, others barely
hanging on. He could see that a few were escaping on the far end of
the arena as the ceiling above started to fall down in burning
embers. But none of that is what held Ash’s attention. To the left
of him, probably eighty feet away, lay Nitro. The quiet pleading in
Raider’s voice seemed to travel all the way to Ash, sending chills
through his body. Raider and Nitro on the ground, a weird purple
demon was dangling above them, watching as Raider rocked her in his
arms as he bit into his wrist and held the bleeding wound to her
mouth.

Ash couldn’t move away from the double doors.
He wouldn’t be able to handle it if Nitro was really gone for good.
The last few days had been hell for him. He couldn’t deal with it
all over again.

She roused to life as Raider held his wrist to
her mouth. She gripped his arm tightly, as though it were her
lifeline.

It probably was.

Ash forced himself to take a step forward,
approaching them slowly. He got close enough that he could see the
fear in his sister’s eyes as she peered up at Raider. She started
shaking her head, trying to force his bleeding wrist from her lips,
but he held her tightly to it.

“Shh,” he said. “Just take what you
need.”

Nitro shoved harder, enough that her mouth
came free. “Why?” she cried.

Forgetting about the demon on the ceiling, Ash
fell to his knees at the sound of his sister’s voice. The last time
he’d heard her speak, the voice hadn’t been her own. It had been
that of a monster. He hadn’t realized until just then that he’d
feared never hearing her real voice again. Sure, her quick wit and
attitude could instill fear in others, but it also seemed to calm
him as nothing else could.

“Nitro, take it. You need to heal,” Raider
said.

She tried to fight it, but he placed his wrist
to her lips once more.