Passion Ignited (23 page)

“Shhh. Calm yourself,” Raine said. “He’s
freaking out again.” She called out to no one in
particular.

Raider’s eyes flashed open once more. Raine
was still sitting by his side. She’d removed some of the cloths to
re-soak them in ice water. He looked around, realizing he was in
his own room, lying in his own bed. The familiarness of his
surroundings helped calm him, but he was still wired.

“What did I fucking tell you, Raine? I knew
that he was infected. Now we have one of those
creatures
in
our home.”

She whirled around, putting her back to
Raider. “That
creature
is your cousin. More a brother than
your real one has ever been. Have you never stopped to think that
he
is the reason why we’re together? He stood by us when no
one else would, Ferox, and I will
never
turn my back on him.
He’s as much a brother to me as he is to you.”

Never before had Raider heard Raine yell at
her mate that way. Sure, there’d been some disagreements over the
years—there were bound to be some in the centuries they’d been
together—but it seemed that Raine and Ferox had been fighting more
frequently lately, and their fights grew in intensity each time. He
risked a glance over at Ethan, who had the same shocked look Raider
was sure was plastered on his own face.

Raider forced himself into a sitting position,
realizing just how weak his body had become. But that wasn’t the
worst part. His head hurt like a bitch.

“Raider,” Raine hissed. “Lay back down. You’re
not well.”

“What time is it?”

“Eleven.”

“At night?”

She nodded.

He’d slept for hours past sunset? Raider lay
back down. “Ash,” he croaked. He needed to speak with Nitro’s
brother, even if his voice didn’t want to cooperate.

Ethan’s green eyes met his. “Right.” He left
the room in a flash.

Ash came only moments later. He looked every
bit as anxious as he had the night before, but it was clear the
warrior had just barely gotten out of the shower. His onyx hair was
plastered to his shirt, which was currently soaking up all the
water like a sponge. The bastard was actually wearing a t-shirt and
jeans, which Raider had never seen him in before. He almost
looked…human.

Ash took one look at Raider before his eyes
widened. He schooled his reaction quickly before approaching the
bed. “Hey, man. What’s up?”

Raider sat up again despite Raine’s warning.
His gaze fixed on the Ignitis demon. “Tell me about the arena. You
never told me she fought alone.”

His eyes narrowed, as though he had to think
about what Raider was saying. “Why are you asking?”

“Tell me. I need to know how she survived
that.”

Ash shook his head while still regarding
Raider with uncertainty. “I can’t tell you that, Raid. She never
fought in there alone.”

Chapter
Twenty-Two

“Why have I never heard of this?”

Ally laughed at Dellingr’s awe. As with many
things, he’d never heard of video games before. He’d been
trying—and failing—to play Black Ops with Trevor for the last hour,
and despite his obvious lack of skill, he played on in
wonderment.

“Dude, you suck,” Trevor said.

“Trev!
”

He looked over the back of the couch at Ally.
“Sorry, Al. It’s just that he keeps dying. He’s making us lose.
Even Skylar plays bet—”

“Hey
,” Ally warned. She walked over to
the side of the couch and looked down at them. “Julie said she’d
keep an eye on Skye for me, I’m going out to look for Thrash
again.”

Julie was a servant that had resided at Unitas
when Ally had been taken to the temple. When Vili and his demons
started a war at the temple, it had been destroyed enough that most
deities had to leave. As a perk, Julie had come back with Ally to
serve her in this realm, just like her friend (and sun god)
Dellingr had tagged along as a sworn warrior.

“Shit!
I didn’t even see that guy until
he’d already killed me.”

“Uh huh,” Trevor grumbled, his eyes shooting
daggers at the god.

“So, I’m going,” Ally added. “Out. Right
now.”

“I’ll be right there, angel,” Dellingr said.
His character had re-spawned, and he was running around again. He
wasn’t keeping to the edges or even looking for enemies as he
darted haphazardly through the level. Not the tactic Ally would
have used herself, but Dellingr would learn sooner or
later.

Trevor looked like he wanted to kill the
god.

Ally pulled on a jacket and zipped it up.
After sliding on a pair of Skechers she walked back over to the
guys. “Alright, I’m heading out. I want to be out of here before
Draven wakes up, otherwise he’ll talk me out of going.” He had
already slept in a few hours, and she didn’t want to risk him
waking up before she got out the door.

“Dammit
!”

“You died
again
? Our team mates are
laughing at you, dude,” Trevor said.

“What?” Dellingr gaped.

“Yeah, you’re bringing the whole team down.
See that score right there? The other team is about to win because
of you.”

“They’re cheating.”

“Who’s cheating?”

“The other team.”

“You’ve said that every game.”

“Dammit
!”

“Again?”

“Yes. And it’s been true every game. I think
they know where I’m going to re-spawn.”

“Annnnd we lost. Good job,” Trevor said
sarcastically.

Dellingr sat forward, resting his elbows on
his knees. “Again. And this time I won’t die.”

“You’ve said that the last five
times.”

“Well this time it’s true,” Dellingr
argued.

Ally laughed and walked away from the guys.
She wasn’t about to break up their fun. Well, Dellingr’s fun,
anyway. She walked through the house until she reached the garage.
Phanes had gone a little over the top in building this place. The
house itself was ginormous—she didn’t think she’d ever find all the
hidden things in it. The garage was way bigger than it needed to
be. It was more like a parking lot than a garage, and yet it was
enclosed, having multiple garage doors. Truth be told, it reminded
her of something she’d see in the Batman movies. Like Bruce Wayne’s
crazy big garage, minus all the fancy cars.

But there was a major benefit to having a
house this big. It meant that there was plenty of room for a
certain semi-ex-Guardian-wolf she was about to find and bring in.
He’d definitely have his own space, if that’s what he
wanted.

Hopping in her Outlander, she drove toward
Newark.

Tonight, she wouldn’t give up until she found
him.

****

Bob opened his eyes. Despite the darkness that
surrounded him, he could easily see that he was in a strange place.
Last night’s events screamed at him. Or, more to the point, the
memory of those men screaming did.

Something had taken over him last night.
Something he hadn’t known was in him, and something he never wanted
to happen again. He couldn’t have denied whatever hunger he had
felt last night. It was as though it was an essential part of
him.

He’d ripped open the throats of both men.
They’d screamed until there hadn’t been a breath left within them,
and then he’d left them there in the empty streets behind the
buildings. Guilt coursed through him. There was something
undeniably wrong with him. He was a monster. No matter what those
two men had intended to do to that woman, they didn’t deserve a
death like that.

He sat up, feeling sick to his stomach. He
should have realized. All those dreams he’d been having, it was
almost as though they were warning him. Maybe he’d been infected,
that could be it. No person in his right mind would go ballistic
the way he had.

What would he say to Kyle and Eugene? They’d
think he was a freak and run in terror. He would in their shoes.
Perhaps he shouldn’t be around them. What if he went mad like that
again? What if someone saw what he’d done last night? He needed to
get away. He’d grown to care for the old man and his grandson. He
didn’t know what he was, and because of that, he needed to get as
far away from them as he could.

Feeling even sicker, he pushed himself off the
floor. He needed to get up and walk around. This energy that
thrummed through him was too much for him to lie down anymore. He
looked around the room, which had, at one point, been an office.
There were still desks lining the walls, covered in a thick blanket
of dust. He walked over to an old, dirty window and looked out. On
the other side of the window there was a large, empty warehouse.
The walls that lined the outer wall had broken windows every couple
of feet. The moonlight that shone through the windows highlighted a
cement floor, empty other than the rocks that had likely broken
said windows.

His eyes landed on an exterior door that had
been left wide open. That’s where he’d come in. He turned away from
the window and made his way down the stairs.

Down in the warehouse, he crossed the empty
space. His boots clapped loudly against the cement, which echoed
off the walls around him, almost as though there were others
walking with him. He stopped dead in his tracks as a memory tickled
his mind. He could almost see a group of men—warriors by the look
of it—standing tall and proud, clad in black leather, holstered
down with weapons, and standing as one. The memory lasted just a
second before it vanished, but from that trickle of a memory one
word came to mind.

Brothers.

****

“Ah, just as you were trained. You were
marvelous in the ring, Nitro. I don’t believe I’ve ever seen anyone
fight quite like you in the arena.” Ekhart stood just inside her
door, his face ecstatic, his body thrumming with excitement. “You
truly are a masterpiece, aren’t you, my dear.”

Nitro remained silent, standing in the middle
of her room, watching Ekhart.

“I do apologize for throwing you in there
without so much as any notice. But you see, the others needed proof
of your abilities.” He nodded, as if it were truly a pity he’d
thrown her in there without weapons or any warning as to what was
coming. Not that she hadn’t recognized what was going on as soon as
she got in there.

“But, as soon as I’d mentioned that I would
have you be over training, they just had to see for themselves. It
is a pity, though, that you have lost your Ignitis abilities. Are
you sure you can’t conjure up a fireball? Maybe a flame from your
finger?”

She almost choked, but she kept her features
blank as he spoke. She wanted to vomit from the fatherly voice he’d
been speaking in ever since she’d arrived. Calling her “my dear”
and “my pet” was such a load of hot-n-steamy monkey
shit.

“No? Well, maybe later, my pet. Why don’t you
rest? I’ll send for you shortly.” Ekhart turned and left her room,
followed by his bodyguards. Nitro stared after him, sitting
Indian-style on the floor until the door snicked shut.

She waited until the sounds of their footsteps
grew silent. “What do you want?” she asked quietly. “I know you’re
here.”

The mini demon that had been tailing her
crawled out of the shadows, pausing randomly as she stood on her
hind legs. Or at least, Nitro guessed it was a girl. Pink and
purple hues marbled her scales, and a patch of black hair stuck out
from the top of her head. Her big turquoise eyes blinked up at her,
staring as she slowly made her way toward Nitro.

“Why do you follow me?”

The beastie paused again at the sound of her
voice, cocking her head to the side. She looked so innocent now,
not acting like the little hellion that the others had acted like
when she’d first reached the Underworld…

She must still be in the
Underworld.

Nitro’s jaw clenched.
No one
made it
out of the Underworld and lived to tell about it. Surely this
little creature couldn’t have, which meant that she was still
within Hades’ realm.

She should have known.

The demon was near her now. She’d stopped
crawling and now stood on her hind legs, staring up at Nitro
silently, a mere two feet away. She had the urge to pick her up and
throw her, and oddly enough, another part of her was curious to
find out what she wanted.

“Did Hades send you?”

The little beast’s eyes widened. Her coloring
changed to different shades of blue as she looked around
wildly.

Okay then, that was a “no.” A strange feeling
washed through Nitro as she watched the terrified demon look around
in fear.

“He’s not here,” she said automatically. She
shut her mouth quickly, surprised that it had betrayed
her.

The demon took another step toward her, her
nose raised in the air as she sniffed her. A short, clawed hand
touched Nitro’s leg hesitantly before it pulled back, apparently
shocked it had done it.