Page 31

Silas

B ollocks!

I’d been suspicious when they let us in ahead of the humans, but I couldn’t sense any bastards after coming inside. My bird deserved a night out without the worries of the world clawing at her. So, I ignored the feeling in my gut.

I shouldn’t have.

The glow of the wolf bastard’s eyes came and went, on the hunt for enemies. He’d search out the party-crashing twats and likely find them before I did. They’d gone to great lengths to conceal themselves and wait until our guard was down, but the mistake they’d made was not attacking from the start.

Now I’d have their heads.

First, I needed to get Nika out of this death trap. She’d try to save every human life. It’d make it difficult to fight whoever had come.

I didn’t think it was Rilas. Even without his time-freezing power as a demon with Soul Collector abilities, my brother would’ve attacked the second the lights cut out—and in a body we didn’t immediately recognize.

He wouldn’t want to give us any time to collect ourselves and prepare to fight.

He’d strike hard and fast, doing as much damage as possible.

He'd aim to kidnap Nika before all else.

Rilas was a shapeshifter, but not in the same way Bear Claw was. His ability let him become anyone with a little bit of their blood, and in ways that went beyond looks alone. It was next to impossible to know the difference between him and those he shifted into, even with the help of magic.

He’d made it a habit of collecting from everyone we met. I’d made sure to destroy his stash after his death, but he’d likely created a new one since his resurrection. It was why every person was a potential enemy in my eyes.

I’d mentioned it to Nika once, but I hadn’t seen the demon bastard use it so I didn’t want to worry her over a possibility. I’d deal with him if he shapeshifted.

I was his identical twin. Though his natural hair, present eye color, and the color of his magic didn’t match mine, the rest did.

I could see through the mirage of his shift.

There were always discrepancies, and eventually it broke down in my presence.

Because our genetic makeup was identical, his magic became confused around me.

If he hadn’t used it yet, that was likely the reason.

As much as it bothered me to admit, Bear Claw would know it was Rilas, too.

His nose was the best in the business. Unlike most, he’d pick out Rilas’s scent even in his human form, and with those two phantoms following my rebel around, Rilas wouldn’t have a hope in hell of sneaking past us.

So, I suspected he’d hired someone else to do the job for him, and their target would be taking Nika to the shady bastard unharmed.

Not that I’d let it get to that point.

No one in the Brotherhood was a match for me, but the vast network of magical types made a fight here dangerous. Humans would die, and while I didn’t care about a few caught in the crossfire, Nika would blame herself. If it was within my power to do, I’d never be the reason she frowned.

Spotting my confused rebel, I grabbed her arm so I didn’t lose her to the sudden chaos inside the dark club. She swung out at me, but my voice stopped her from attacking. “It’s just me, love.”

She breathed a sigh and wrapped her arms around my waist. “Oh, thank fuck. I thought time stopped and it was…well, you know.”

It was a bleeding crime how lovely she was like this, arms squeezing around me and face pressed against my chest like she’d never let go.

A lethal woman capable of world-bending feats reduced to the cutest thing on the planet.

It did things to a bloke when he needed all the blood in the right head.

Made the devious lad in me toy with the idea of recreating this atmosphere so I could exploit it for another cheeky fantasy.

“Blackout?” the lad asked.

They couldn’t see, not without the use of magic.

Here, it’d be a risk to use. I always carried my mask in some way or another.

It helped me see in pitch darkness. I’d put it on without thinking when the lights went out.

Magic transformed my clothes to the Shimmering Assassin, or what these tossers would know as Silver, and my mask would distort any human’s memory crossing my path.

Otherwise we’d have our hands full with a bunch of loonies.

Humans were yelling, in different stages of panic. I heard several try to calm the crowd, while others bellowed for their lost mates. My bird was nearly rammed while still in my arms, but I grabbed and chucked the frantic wanker several feet the other direction.

“Afraid not, lad. We’ll need to get out of here if we don’t want these humans to be collateral damage. Did you bring weapons?”

Lev nodded and removed a few from his jacket.

He handed a dagger to Nika, but my rebel was clever.

She’d already retrieved several from between her legs.

I’d need to see that trick of hers for myself later because the dress she’d worn was itty-bitty.

Even this sneaky bloke was mystified where’d she’d kept them, and how I hadn’t felt a single one when my hands spent the entire night wandering her curves.

Nika stared up at me, still blind in the dark. “I don’t want any humans killed, Silas.”

Oh aye, my bird would put her life on the line to spare a couple of humans.

With a sigh, I searched the area. “Then let’s head for the exit, yeah? They haven’t attacked, which only benefits us at this stage. The longer these numpties take, the less advantage they have. Bear Claw’s already scenting them.”

After Nika grabbed the lad’s hand, I led the way to the door.

I kept an eye out for anything and anyone looking to start trouble, but we made it outside without incident.

My guess was that they were staging an ambush somewhere nearby, thinking we’d be looking for a quick escape and not an enemy on our way out.

Not the choice I would’ve made, so they must not be an experienced group of mercenaries.

I’d thought so until we took a side street and encountered the first sign of who’d been sent.

I cursed under my breath and maneuvered my two out of the way, putting them directly behind me.

An unseen string of magic snapped and a smoky cloud rained down over us.

A strong barrier of magic sealed us into the area and our fate.

It was phase bloody one.

“Not these absolute muppets,” I groaned, dashing my hand through my hair and thinking quickly.

“Who?” Nika asked, slinking in close with a dagger gripped in her hand. Pink magic swirled around her, already postured for a fight.

“Poison and Venom,” I grumbled.

My own magic churned in a vortex before erecting a barrier to keep us away from the noxious fumes. Nika spun another dagger into existence, practiced hands at the ready, eyeing the plume of poison. With a wary stare on the fumes, Lev unclipped his gun and directed it ahead.

“A sword or dagger is better, lad,” I instructed him, unsheathing my own sword.

The enchanted bag I’d brought summoned weapons.

It wasn’t great in a pinch, but luckily we’d been given enough time to retrieve a few.

Took a few minutes to spit one out. I tossed the lad a sword so he didn’t have to settle for a dagger.

My bird was lethal with either one, and have it my way, she wouldn’t be fighting at all.

“You’ll only have an elusive underbelly on one to hit.

The rest of his body requires brute force I doubt you’ll master quickly enough to cut through.

The other one can’t be picked off by bullets unless he’s within view, which he wouldn’t be.

And that’s only if you get past his poisonous fumes.

He’s already sent his vaporous form and will otherwise stay out of sight. ”

“Vaporous? Like Vapor,” Nika asked, curiosity mixing with alarm. “Does this one have a separate physical form?”

“Unfortunately, yes.”

I searched the area, waiting for the two fuckwits who always worked together in phases. It’d be Venom next. At least I could exploit their pattern, but it was difficult doing it when I knew how dangerous the snake bastard was when he shifted.

Bear Claw wasn’t caught inside the barrier. That worked in our favor. The one who called himself Poison couldn’t be far. If he could track him down and tear him to pieces, it’d be just Venom left to take down. Which was enough.

These two ranked second to the Death Team, now likely first with those bastards dead and gone.

We knew them as well as any of the other Brothers.

They acted in stages, but it was tried and true for taking down even the strongest opponents.

All they had to do was trap them. It took every bit of your cleverness and power to escape the first phase before you were gobbled up by a slithering monster.

We were already trapped in their poisonous barrier infused with venom. It’d take too long to break down the magic, and it’d be tricky to do while fighting a giant snake and keeping the poisonous fumes from reaching my two.

Venom’s snake was immune to them. My mask would keep me safe, but not my rebel and the lad.

They’d need to stay inside my barrier, and the second it came down, they’d be paralyzed by Poison’s gas.

My guess was they expected me to focus on the fight with Venom, while the other two were paralyzed by the fumes.

Then Poison would swoop in to take my bird.

Mistakes couldn’t be made. If I didn’t do this fight right, they’d get what they wanted. I needed to explain everything before the next phase started. We only had a minute or two at most.