Sin Undone

“Yeah,” Wraith drawled. “Sucks, because I would love to beat you to a pulp.”


All around, the shadows stirred, and from them the rest of her brothers, plus Kynan, Luc, Tayla, and a guy she thought might be a Guardian, surrounded them. “Thought” being the key word, because the tall, blond male looked an awful lot like a vampire, and she didn’t think The Aegis employed the bloodsuckers. Though she supposed that if they could keep a half-demon in charge of an entire cell, a vamp might not be a big deal.

Sin slid her gaze to Eidolon. Next to him were two female Judicia, their green skin eerily luminescent in the moonlight. Then she heard the click of weapons being brought to bear, and damn if she didn’t nearly have a heart attack.

Men in black SWAT-like gear swept through the compound like ants. That would be the R-XR. Here? Working with demons?

“What’s going on?” Raynor practically screamed. “You’re killing my men!”

“Only the ones who fight back,” Kynan said. “The rest are being rounded up. If they’re productive, harmless members of society, they’ll be freed.” Shade snorted. “Something tells me a lot of them are going to rot in some military testing facility.” “Release them, and I’ll free Sin.” For emphasis, Raynor jerked her roughly against him.

“Sorry, buddy,” Eidolon said coldly, “but the time for negotiation passed when you put that collar on her.”

“If you touch me—”

“Yeah, yeah, she dies, yadda, yadda.” Con’s voice came from behind her, and Sin whirled—or did as best as she could while still being held by Ray.

“Con?” she gasped. He moved like a ghost through the maze of vehicles, hand around the neck of a badly beaten male, the one from the warg village and the dhampire grounds. “What, you thought you could get rid of me so easily?”

She smiled so big it hurt, and tears sprang to her eyes, and geez, she was a faucet lately. “How? Oh my God, how are you here?” Something was different about him. He was still as sexy as ever, but maybe a little paler. And the way he moved… Before, he was like a panther in motion. Now, he was a phantom panther… silent, more sleek and deadly. As if his most potent, most powerful elements had been distilled, leaving nothing but raw grace and an overpowering presence. God, it was so hot. Her sex drive, which had been as dead as she thought he was for the last twenty hours, roared back to life.

“Long story. When I called Eidolon a few minutes ago, he said you’d be here, so here I am.” He shoved the male forward. “Brought you something. This is Valko, if you don’t remember. He’s going to call off Lycus.” Con’s hand slammed into the warg’s throat. “Aren’t you?”

Valko grunted. “No, I’m not. And if you kill me without a formal challenge, you’ll face a death sentence, dhampire.” “Vampire. And I’m not going to kill you.” Con smiled, flashing fangs that seemed a little larger than before. “I need you alive so you can take any punishment handed down to me, Wraith, and Eidolon for keeping Sin out of Carceris hands.” He glanced at Eidolon. “Volunteers are allowed to do that, right?”

Eidolon grinned. “Hell, yes.”

“I will never volunteer,” Valko snapped, and Eidolon shrugged.

“You will if you want your SF vaccination.”

“I already got it.”

“You got a B-12 shot. Con’s idea.” He slid Con an approving glance. “Good thinking, man.”

“Thank you.” Con’s voice was pleasant, as if he wasn’t gripping an enraged warg in the middle of a situation so tense the air seemed heavy. He shoved Valko to the ground and gestured to Raynor. “Release Sin. This is your last warning.”

“I will not. And if you slipped me a damned vitamin shot, your sister dies with me.” “You, unfortunately, got the real thing.” Eidolon stepped forward with the green demons. “And I’d like you to meet my other sisters, Omira and Ravan.”

Right… Sin remembered something about Eidolon growing up with Omira, but Ravan had been born long after he left the fold.

Raynor snorted. “Do I look like Captain Kirk? Because I already told Sin I don’t do demons. Especially not ugly-ass green ones.” Omira laughed, a curiously beautiful sound, given that, really, she wasn’t all that attractive. “My brother was right. I’m going to enjoy this.” She dug inside her leather satchel and drew out a thin, gold rope in the shape of a figure eight. “A charge has been brought against you by… well, all those present. The charge is conspiracy to commit genocide. I do find you guilty.”

“What?” Raynor’s voice was strangled. “You can’t do that! Who are you?”