Shaz paced around the room, clenching his jaw. He hadn’t said much since we got to my place. “So what it really boils down to is that the power you’re packing can’t protect you from everything. You put Alexa in danger.”
“Harley’s death put Alexa in danger. And you too, pup.” Arys’ gaze followed Shaz’ motions. “Do you understand what I’m really telling you here? Yes, I was the one who went to Vegas and messed with his business, but you two took him out. And, that left a hole in this blood ring. These guys lost a partner and a supplier, not to mention the most powerful vampire in Vegas. They’ll be looking for payback.”
I tensed when I felt Shaz’ wolf rise to the surface. This was a serious situation. We were all in deep shit. Losing it on each other wasn’t going to solve anything though.
“A supplier? How bad is it?” Shaz stopped mere feet from Arys and stared down at the vampire.
“It’s bad.” Arys met Shaz’ eyes evenly. “These guys deal in serious fetish kills. Children, virgins, pregnant women … you name it, they have it. It ain’t pretty.”
My stomach turned as revolting images flooded my thoughts. “God, that’s so friggin’ disgusting.”
“So now what?” Shaz glanced from Arys to me, worry heavy in his gaze. “What exactly do they want?”
I had to admit, some naive part of me had never entertained the idea of the kinds of fetish kills Arys had described. I didn’t want it to exist. I knew I lived in a world of blood and death. But this? This was beyond what I knew. It was vile.
Arys was surprisingly calm. “Retribution, I guess.”
“What does that mean?” I forced the question out, afraid to hear the answer.
“They took my guy apart piece by piece before they killed him. They spent all night doing it. This is a dead serious business, one I’ve managed to stay the hell away from. Until now.” The troubled shadows in Arys’ midnight blue eyes were chilling. “They’ll want Harley’s killers to take his place in their circle. Or, they might just want an excuse to stir up shit in our city. It’s hard to say really.”
“Piece by piece?” I sputtered around a sip of coffee.
“With Harley missing and his Vegas businesses shut down, I can imagine it had a big impact on them. It’s anyone’s guess what they’ll do.”
Shaz resumed his slow pacing. I wanted to tell him to sit down already because it was driving me crazy, but it seemed to be keeping him from jumping all over Arys. He was angry though. I could feel it rolling off him.
“So all this power you and Alexa have, enough that she killed Harley … none of this means anything to them? It doesn’t protect you or make you a threat to these people?” Shaz’ tone was accusing, and his clenched fists shook. “If not, then what the f**k is it good for? It has just put all of us in danger.”
Arys made a frustrated noise that sounded a little too close to a growl for my liking. “Look, wolf,” he snapped. “Nobody has power like what I share with Alexa, but power comes in many forms. There are others that possess enough to make them a serious force to be reckoned with, and there are a lot of them. The vampires that benefit from a blood ring like this are nothing like the bottom feeders you see at The Wicked Kiss. This is a whole different kind of vampire, my friend, and they are not f**king around.”
“Oh yeah?” Shaz snarled with a viciousness that had me up off my chair. “Where do you fit in, Arys? What kind of vampire are you?”
“Ok guys, that’s enough.” I didn’t give Arys a chance to snap back at Shaz. Arys had done some horrific things to his victims in the past. That wasn’t the point right now. “Let’s try to keep our heads here. This is obviously stressful enough without taking shots at each other.”
They both continued to glare darkly at one another though they remained silent. Shaz sat down in the chair I’d just vacated, a major relief. He was quiet when he spoke next.
“So what do we do then? Wait around for these bastards to show their faces?”
“I wish I could tell you.” Arys didn’t look at him when he replied. “I don’t know what they intend to do. All I know is that if they want something, they’ll come for it.”
I had to resist the urge to take up pacing where Shaz left off. I felt restless and trapped. “So, this is like the vampire mob or something? I don’t want any part of it.”
Arys actually chuckled at that, and I frowned. “Oh, Alexa. Sometimes I forget how new to this world you still are. These creatures are killers and nothing less. They want the pain and the agony of their victim more than they want the actual death. Dragging out every moment until that final breath, for days even, that’s what they enjoy. They are not vampires consuming blood to survive. They are true killers that make death an art form.”
“Ok,” I murmured more to myself than to either of them. “No reassurance there.”