“Not everyone can do what he did.” Arys offered nothing else in the way of explanation.
Adrenaline did little to ease the pain. Even as the initial blast slowly faded, the burning sensation remained. I grabbed the tissue box from the back window, taking a few and passing the rest to Arys. Another painful cough brought up more blood, and I groaned in agony.
“This is not looking good.” Jez eyed me uncertainly, but I waved a hand dismissively.
“I’ll be fine. It’s Lena we need to worry about.”
“She’s as good as dead.” Self-blame shone in Arys’ eyes. “I should have done something, tried to bargain somehow.”
“How? By handing Alexa and Shaz over to be used in a blood ring?” Jez shook her head and swore when Shaz cut off another driver. “They never gave you room to compromise.”
Shaz sped through an amber light seconds before it turned red. Under any other circumstance, I would have had a fit over the way he drove my car. With Lena’s life on the line, I didn’t give a damn as long as he got us there.
Arys slumped against the door and stared out the window. “They demanded something they knew I wouldn’t provide. This was their intent all along. Lena was just a pawn to them, a way to make us show up.”
“What were we supposed to do? They would’ve taken Jez as a peace-offering. How f**ked is that?” The sound of my own voice made my head throb.
“Julian.” Shaz’ voice was low, but I heard him clearly. “We should have arranged to give them Julian.”
“I can’t believe you just said that.” I stared at him in horror. “When did you become so ruthless?”
Shaz met my gaze in the rearview mirror. The ice in his jade eyes scared me. “About five minutes ago, when I watched my mate take a hit that dropped her like a corpse. I’d gladly hand Julian over if that’s what it took to make this situation go away.”
“You heard them,” Arys interjected. “They won’t be happy with one inferior werewolf. They want something valuable enough to buy their way into a position of power.”
An exasperated sigh came from Jez. “Yep, woke up this evening and asked myself, what’s missing from my life? Oh, I know, a run-in with vampires that would love to use me as part of their blood fetish games. Now my life is complete.”
The rest of the drive to Lena’s was suffered in strained silence. I tried to focus on pulling natural energy into me. From the breeze through my open window to the tree-filled park we passed, it wasn’t enough. The moon was washed out by the city. It offered me nothing.
Arys reached across the seat to take my hand. The power of the undead washed over me, and I fell back against the seat with relief.
Power like ours had a few drawbacks, including my mortal body; Arys was able to take more than I could. I was grateful that even as he recovered from the attack, he was able to breathe that healing energy into me.
My apprehension grew when we turned on to Lena’s street. No amount of preparation would be enough for what we were about to see.
“Nobody’s here,” Arys announced as we turned into the parking lot. “They were though.”
Kale’s car sat in the visitor parking. I almost fell out of the car in my haste. On unsteady legs, I ran as fast as my weakened body would carry me to the lobby door.
It was open, the lock broken. I abandoned the notion of using the elevator and took the stairs two at a time. Shaz and Jez easily overtook me, and I was forced to accept how badly I’d been injured. When Arys and I reached Lena’s suite, Shaz was standing in the doorway. I could hear Jez inside, her voice high and panicked.
The look on Shaz’ face said it all. “It’s bad, Lex.”
Though I’d expected that, his confirmation made my heart sink. I had to see for myself. The air inside the small apartment was stuffy and smelled of blood and death. Immediately, the harsh negativity of the energy inside crawled along my flesh as if seeking a way in. It hurt and my shield was weak against it. I was raw in places that had no physical location. The pain echoed like a scream inside my mind.
Rounding the corner from the kitchen to the living room, I jerked to a halt when I took in the scene before me. Kale was on his knees on the floor, his head in his hands. Jez knelt beside him, but her emerald eyes were transfixed on Lena’s crumpled form across the room.
She was dead. They’d torn her throat out after slowly bleeding her from every limb. It hadn’t been a quick death or even a recent one. She’d clearly been dead for a day already, long before tonight. A pool of old, black blood stained the carpet beneath her. Her limbs were bound. A gag in her mouth had muffled her screams. Her eyes were wide open, frozen in terror.
I thought back to all the times I’d come here for guidance or a visit while she forced tea and baked goods on me. How could I have let this happen?
Tears stung my eyes, crimson drops that blurred my vision. “I shouldn’t have left her alone. I should have been here.”