Grinning further, I nodded. “It was a good morning … could have been even better.”
Hello, round three…
Damn the vampires for ruining our morning afterglow. Another reason to hate the child-turning evil fuckers.
Upon entering the medical wing it was immediately obvious something major was happening. The staff was running around with bags of blood in their hands, all wearing flustered looks.
Out of nowhere, a big tall male vampire zoomed into Ryder’s space and placed a hand on his chest. Ryder looked down at the hand and I saw his jaw clench.
“I want to see the girl.” Ryder’s voice was clipped and deadly. I knew him well enough to know he was three seconds from ripping this asshole’s hand off.
“No. Your orders are to disperse the mob outside the gates,” the man said in an equally deadly voice.
Ryder flicked the man’s hand out of his way and pushed forward. “I don’t take orders until I speak with the Quorum.” His voice was so cold I was pretty sure I now had frostbite on my cheeks.
We kept moving, and the vampire seemed unsure about stopping the deadly enforcer again. Smart move, asshole. The next hall we crossed into was one I hadn’t been before. Each door was frosted glass. Ugh, this place gave me the creeps. I heard a strangled noise from behind and turned to find the bodyguard vampire bolting after Ryder. Dude must have found a pair of balls after all. He barely even glanced at me, so it was easy to stick my foot out and trip him. He stumbled forward but caught himself, turning to give me a deadly look.
“Oops!” I put my hand over my mouth and batted my eyelashes. Dick.
Before this shit could escalate and I no doubt got my ass kicked, Lucas and a few other Quorum members trickled out into the hallway. From the room they exited I could hear a young girl’s voice: “I want to go home! I want more blood!”
The Quorum member known as fugly, the hideous dude with slicked-back hair and a bent nose, was my least favorite of any living creature. He was the leader of the fourth house, and a total pain in my ass.
When fugly saw us, his eyes went all silver swirl and he charged straight into a faceoff with Ryder. I was about to interfere when Lucas gave me a stern look.
“Since when do you defy our orders?” Fugly sneered at us. “We keep you fed and employed, don’t forget that.”
With clenched fists, Ryder stepped closer to him. “I work for you willingly, to help save ash from making the same mistake I did. I do not help you animals infect children and cover the evidence up. Or PR goodwill to the humans. I’m thinking about joining their picket line actually.”
Holy shit. He wasn’t holding back at all. For the first time I feared for Ryder. If they wanted him dead, we were vastly outnumbered.
Fugly sneered again, which made his nose look even more crooked. “It was an accident, enforcer, calm down! The animal is in the pit.”
Ryder didn’t seem pleased with that answer. “Not good enough. I want him dead.”
Fugly barked out a laugh, which died off as his arm snaked out and he wrapped his hand around Ryder’s neck. “Who do you think you are? Demanding such things? How about I kill you and make the other robots do as I say.”
Oh hell no.
I stepped forward. “If you kill him, the other enforcers will revolt. They won’t work for you. They take orders only from him. Look outside. Do you see any enforcers breaking up that mob? No. Because Ryder told them to stand down.”
All eyes were on me now, and Ryder chose that moment to use himself as a distraction. He knocked the vamp’s hand, and despite the fact that the evil suckers were so much stronger than us, it took him barely any effort to free himself. There was anger brewing in the enforcer’s eyes, but the way they flicked between me and the Quorum, I could tell he was afraid to start anything while I was down here too.
Ryder and I remained side by side, neither of us backing down, the child’s cry in the background. The Quorum members exchanged looks then, looks I didn’t particularly like, because they were very much on the evil and calculating side. Something more than this little girl was up with them.
Finally, when the tension was almost unbearable, fugly turned to us and said, “You ash are so sensitive. Fine, we will kill the vampire. Now get back to work.”
That was much too easy, which only increased the bad feeling in my gut. They were planning something. No way would they let Ryder get away with this shit otherwise. He might be important in the ash and enforcer world, he might have a token seat on the Quorum, but their arrogance ensured they did not allow others, especially ash, to question their orders.