A husky groan escaped him.
More, she needed more—
“No.” Nate dragged her hands off him, his tone brittle, expression surprised. His red-flecked eyes flared with something darker. Demon?
“Nate, what the hell’s going on,” Aba demanded. “She was supposed to be healed. You gave her otherworldly blood.”
She blinked. Another demon?
“She’s reacting to the—dammit!”
The hunger returned. “Want more,” she rasped. “More!”
“Listen to me,” Nate rasped, his grip like a vise on her wrists. “The sensation of you feeding is an aphrodisiac for males. If you want to live, take less of your donor’s life force. More will bring notice to yourself.” He shook her a little. “Shadow, you hear me? Siphon a little energy from two or three males. It will keep you safe. You aren’t strong enough to take on a demon in a fight…”
Shadow wrapped her arms around her waist. Yes, Nate and Aba had saved her, but they’d done so out of guilt because she’d been grabbed from their garage and left for dead in the alley. Worse, she’d lost all memories of her past due to the trauma of what happened. Or so Nate had explained.
But he’d vanished a few days later, deserting her. Aba said it wasn’t unusual for him to disappear for days on end. She couldn’t blame him, not when she’d attacked him like a rabid dog. After living with Aba for a few months, and rare stopovers from Nate, she left the only home she knew and ended up underground.
However, she’d proven Nate wrong. She’d learned to fight and took on both demons and demoniis, the latter, the worst of the dark species, killing several when she had to, and she still breathed.
Shutting off her hurt and loneliness, she skirted a trash bag and stuck her fingers into her skirt pocket, the crinkle of bills there reassuring her. Yeah, she stole—damn annoying Guardian trying to make her feel guilty about it—not like she had many choices in life, not when danger dogged her heels, making it impossible to get a job. But she always reserved some cash for the club, because using the dark alleys for her needs was asking for trouble as she found out soon after her change.
Shadow plodded the humid backstreet, heading toward Club Anarchy, the one place guaranteeing her safety and providing the kind of donors she required.
Nik trawled deeper into the alley, Ely at his side. Though she’d started patrolling solo, they still kept an eye on her. Usually, he never prodded another about things even if he was curious, except with Shadow. Hell, the little fighter would not leave his mind, especially with her tendency to traverse these dangerous alleys.
He glanced at Ely. “Why this life?”
“You mean signing up as a Guardian?”
“No, remaining on Earth. There’s nothing for us here, except fighting evil.”
“True.” Ely slipped her hands into her pants pockets. “But there is so much more here, too, isn’t there?” she asked softly. “I see freedom. Yes, I know we don’t have free will, but to watch humans live it, well, it makes me feel better knowing it exists.”
Nik frowned. He’d never cared about all that. He cared about nothing. He merely existed to do his job. Now, he had one troublesome female to keep safe—a female who snagged his thoughts into a direction he shouldn’t even consider. He was a ticking time bomb with what inhabited him, and he didn’t want her caught in the blast.
A harsh abrasion scraped through his mind like a steel brush. Nik tensed at the dense, unpleasant odor of sulfur wafting to him. No, not demoniis or even the monstrous Narakas he’d fought a few days ago but something else…an ancient impression. One he knew all too well from his brutal incarceration in Tartarus. This unidentified sulfur-tainted entity hammered his psyche like rusty nails. The souls careened inside him as if sensing it, too, seeking freedom.
Ely rubbed her arms. “Something’s here.”
The damn sensation made his gut churn. Nik frowned. But he had no corporeal jailor to take revenge on for his brutal incarceration in Tartarus. Unless those formless fucks found a way to get here and wanted the damn souls he housed back. Yeah, no way was he letting anyone get their hands on him. He’d rather live with the curse inside him as he had for millennia than live through that hell again.
Before he could hunt the abrasive sensation, it dissipated.
Laughter dragged him back from his spiking anger, and his focus flicked to the mouth of the alley.
Several humans rolled out of Club Anarchy, their guffaws echoing like a damn invitation in the night. Sure enough, a trio of demoniis appeared behind the men, trailing them.
Unable to go after whoever wore the sulfuric taints of Tartarus because of his oath to protect humans, Nik clamped down on ire. How the hell could mortals remain so clueless to danger stalking them?
“Finally, some action,” Ely murmured.
He would have laughed if fury wasn’t keeping him on edge.
A light downward breeze wafted past, barely cooling his temper, when a whisper of fragrance, of wildflowers, teased his nose.
Nik froze. Shadow?
What the fuck was she doing back here in this hazardous place at this time of night when demoniis and now something even worse from Tartarus trawled?
His anger found a new target. Did the female have so little care for her safety? But her scent tasted different, sporting a bitter edge, and it scuffed his mind.
About to telepath one of the other warriors, he stopped. Ely had worked damn hard to get to this point. “Can you handle those three?” he asked her.
“Absolutely.”
Nik flashed, tracking Shadow’s scent into Club Anarchy. He slowed near the queue outside the club and strode up to the entrance. The demon bouncer glanced at him then hastily looked away.
Nik ignored the male and stalked inside, skirting the loitering humans in the dim corridor.
He stopped on the landing and surveyed the bopping crowd on the dance level below. With the laser lights zipping about and heavy metal music rocking off the walls, it wore on his heightened senses like a damn bruise. Nik shut out the sounds and scanned for her.
There. Amidst the swarming crowd, he found her pushing her way to the bar. The bartender smiled, and a moment later, handed her a tall drink.
She didn’t have money, so what was she doing in a club?
The human next to her vacated his seat. She sat, legs crossed, one booted foot swinging. Her chest pushed out in a sultry pose that had Nik narrowing his eyes. One of the party revelers rolled out from the dance floor and stopped in front of her. She shook her head. He slouched off.
As she sipped her drink, she sent two more men away, then another approached. Even with the distance, the vibe of the male’s aura grazed Nik’s psyche like acid. Demon.
The asshole nodded to the dance floor. She smiled. Guzzling back the last of her drink as if she were really thirsty, she set the glass down and rose on those ridiculously high-heeled boots and swayed. Then she recycled the old stumble and arms whirling routine. The male grabbed her, and she leaned into him.
If she was back to picking pockets—
Using his heightened senses, Nik shut out the music, tuning in to their conversation.
“Anything you want, I have,” the demon rasped, running his nose along her cheek as if breathing her in.
“Do you now?” she taunted.