Page 78 of Shadowblood Souls: The Complete Series

Sixteen

Zian

M y sharp hearing paved the way for both of our escape attempts. It warned me of the guardians’ attack in Toronto.

So normally, it’s one talent I totally appreciate. But right now, I wish I could carve my eardrums right out of my skull.

I brace my hands against the leather seat of the sofa, clenching my jaw with my effort to hold my claws in. I don’t think shredding the upholstery in the fancy RV that isn’t really ours would be a good move.

Another stuttered gasp reaches my ears. An extended rustle of fabric, like a piece of clothing pulled off.

My emotions churn inside me, burning away at my gut.

It shouldn’t matter. I can’t offer Riva what Dominic is obviously giving her.

I’m too fucking messed up.

I should be glad she’s recovered enough from the shit we’ve all put her through to want any of us like that.

But somehow the faint sounds of their interlude are stirring up both searing jealousy… and a well of heat at the base of my groin.

I probably should not stand up anytime soon. My stupid dick that refuses to get the memo is at half-mast.

Part of me wants to duck into the bathroom and rub the growing tension right out of me, but just thinking of it makes me flush with shame.

How the hell would I ever look Riva in the eye again if I do that ?

Instead, I train my attention on the built-in appliances across from me. With a nudge of my vision, I can see through the surfaces to the wiring beneath.

I can see the inner workings of things. Sometimes it comes with a curious itch about how those things actually work.

If I could maneuver their parts without wrecking them like I did with the computer system in the old facility we broke into. But an RV’s oven shouldn’t be anywhere near as delicate as computer circuitry, right?

Not that I can concentrate all that well right now regardless, no matter how I try.

A stuttered breath filters through the bedroom door, followed by a moan. And Jacob’s gaze jerks up from where he’s sprawled on the smaller sofa across from me.

The noise wasn’t that loud, but clearly it’s gotten loud enough that he picked up on it. He lowers his phone, his expression tensing.

A groan that makes even Andreas’s head twitch carries through the RV, followed by a muttered voice I can barely make out myself.

Jacob’s entire body goes rigid.

A mug whips out of the RV’s sink and cracks against the ceiling.

Andreas glances over his shoulder, easing on the brake at a red light. “Perfect control, huh?”

“Fuck off,” Jacob snaps. He sinks back down into the leather cushions with obvious effort, putting on a picture of being relaxed without remotely looking like he actually is.

Andreas switches on the radio, and a jangly tune flows through the RV, washing away the more provocative sounds from the back bedroom.

I wince inwardly. If I’d thought to ask him to do that earlier, maybe the two of them wouldn’t even have had to notice.

“It’s fine,” Jacob mutters, more to himself than either of us. “It makes sense. I fucking poisoned her, and Dom healed her. Of course she’d forgive him first.”

His hands flex and ball against his lap, but no more objects careen through the air. Looking at him, I get the impression that if he’s angry with anyone right now, it’s only himself.

“Maybe we should start our sleeping shifts,” I suggest awkwardly. “Rollick wanted us to meet him pretty early tomorrow.”

Andreas nods. “I’m good to keep cruising around for at least a couple more hours. I’ll let you know when I need to switch.”

If he’s particularly bothered by what he’d heard, he isn’t showing it. But then, I can’t see much other than the back of his head.

And Drey has always been the best of us at putting on an easygoing attitude no matter what’s going on inside him.

I clamber up into the loft over the driver’s seat, where the radio will completely overwhelm any sounds from the other end of the RV, and pull the blanket over me. When I close my eyes, images of what Riva’s face might have looked like as she made those sounds float by behind my eyelids.

It’s a long time before I actually fall asleep.

The RV takes the turn onto the ramp into the underground parking garage with a slight lurch that has me clutching the steering wheel.

I can’t say I like driving any vehicle, but the massive house-on-wheels is my least favorite so far. It reminds me of my own body when I’m in a shift: too bulky, too easy to accidentally smash something—or someone—into smithereens.

But I can’t leave it to the other guys to do all the work.

When I can finally stop the RV in the same spot we parked yesterday and turn off the engine, my breath rushes out of me in a whoosh of relief.

I guess it’d be a little too much to ask the demon if he could supply us with a rotation of chauffeurs on top of everything else, huh?

Although, who knows? If these shadowkind creatures can merge into any patch of darkness, we could already have been carrying around unknown passengers who’ve been spying on us this entire time.

The thought sends an uneasy prickle over my skin. We don’t really understand what we’re dealing with when it comes to these monsters.

At least, I definitely don’t.

Is Rollick helping us because he cares at all whether we survive? Or because he sees us as a potential hazard that he wants to contain?

Would he have already slit all our throats if he was sure he could get away with it unscathed by our powers?

Those are the kinds of questions I’d expect Jacob to have thought through the answers to. And Dominic.

Who still hasn’t emerged from the bedroom where he spent the whole night with Riva.

I wouldn’t say I’m the most sensitive guy ever when it comes to emotions, but I can feel Andreas and Jacob’s awareness of that fact as we gather in the main room. The jolt of tension when the bedroom door opens seems to ripple through us all.

Riva strides out first, her chin high as if daring us to comment. But it’s the hint of a soft smile lingering on her lips that tugs at my heart the most.

Dominic emerges at her heels, his arrival more subdued. He looks remarkably unrumpled, his auburn waves smoothed back into their usual short ponytail.

I think that’s a different shirt from yesterday. Did he slip out sometime during the night to grab his backpack?

Did they shower together?

My fangs itch at my gums. But it’s none of my business.

Jacob shifts on his feet and opens his mouth like he’s going to say something.

Before he can get any words out, Rollick’s languid voice reaches us through the door. “Are you all coming out, or did you see this as just a convenient parking spot?”

Jacob’s mouth flattens. He hits the control to open the door, and we tramp out into the dank air of the dim underground lot.

Rollick is waiting there, seemingly alone. I know not to trust appearances on that score, though.

“There we are,” he says in a satisfied tone. “Bright and early and ready for work. Such industrious students.”

Jacob glowers at him. “You asked us to come here at this time.”

“And I’m glad you showed up. Let’s get started.”

Rollick’s gaze slides over each of us in turn. “After giving the matter more thought after hearing your accounts of your first training session, I’ve decided my misguided colleague wasn’t totally wrong in principle. We need to work on how you react when you’re not prepared.”

Riva sets her hands on her hips. “So you’re going to send us off to some other secluded part of town to get attacked?”

Rollick waves her sardonic suggestion off.

“No, we can keep things much simpler. Those of you who have talents that come out reflexively in self-defense will take a stroll around this lot right here—separately—and my few associates who you currently can’t see will emerge and test your ability to restrain yourselves. ”

He points at me, Jacob, and Riva. “That would be you three. Go take a hike.”

Jacob balks. “What about Dominic and Andreas?”

The demon narrows his eyes at Jake. “I’ve brought in a friend who’s particularly familiar with all things tentacle-y to take a look at Dominic’s situation.

And I’d like to personally conduct some minor experiments to see how Andreas’s talent for disappearing might be related to our association with the shadows. Any more questions?”

His voice has stayed mild, but a slight edge underlies those last three words, more a warning than a legitimate offer. A prickling sensation courses through my limbs.

Experiments. Haven’t we had enough of those?

Andreas doesn’t look concerned, though. I guess it makes a difference when we have a choice.

When Jacob doesn’t speak, Rollick motions us away. “Shoo. In different directions.”

I don’t like walking away from the others any more than I did yesterday, but I force myself to amble around the RV and then drift along the concrete wall at that side of the garage.

How good an experiment is this test, anyway? We know Rollick’s buddies aren’t going to actually hurt us.

My mind darts back to the thugs who surrounded Riva outside the shipping warehouse. Okay, maybe we don’t actually know that.

The thought has just passed through my mind when a bulky form even bigger than I am bursts into view right in front of me. One bulging arm swings at me as if to pummel me in the face.

I give a startled bark and fall back a step, a surge of aggressive adrenaline rushing through my veins. Fur sprouts from my neck and shoulders, and my face juts forward into its fanged snout.

The big green-skinned dude who sort-of attacked me just drops his hand to his side and gives me a hard-edged grin. “The idea was not to react,” he rumbles.

I make a face, which results in my wolfish lips drawing back in a snarl. With concentrated effort, I rein in my beastly side.

My jaw aches at the sharp contraction. I flex my shoulders, eyeing the figure in front of me, wondering if he’d call himself an ogre or a troll or something I’ve never even heard of.