“Ouch.” I winced as Rowen pressed a towel-wrapped bundle of ice to my swollen face. “Shit that hurts.”
I took the towel from him with a grateful smile that turned into a wince. Now that the adrenaline had worn off, the pain was setting in. My cheek beneath my eye throbbed. It felt puffy, and though I hadn’t looked in a mirror yet, Rowen’s expression said enough.
“Are you sure you’re ok?” he asked for the third time. “Maybe you should stay in tonight.”
“No.” I shook my head, wincing again when that caused the throbbing to intensify. “I can’t. The girls are expecting me, and I don’t want to lose this gig. It’s good for us.”
He frowned and sat on the coffee table, across from the armchair I huddled in. “It’s ok to miss one gig, Spike. Shit happens. This is serious. What if you have a concussion or something? It looks like he hit you pretty hard.”
The longer the ice sat on my injured face, the more it seemed to hurt. Easing up on the ice hurt too when the heat came rushing back into my bruised cheek. “It feels like he did too. But I’m fine. Really. Nothing an Advil can’t take care of.”
My gaze strayed to the balcony door. Arrow was out there, smoking and staring off down the street. He’d been quiet and detached since coming back to himself. He didn’t remember smacking me with the bottle or anything that followed. I believed him. I’d seen his eyes, and it was obvious to me that he was under some kind of spell.
Once I accepted his apology, he’d retreated to the balcony. Arrow wasn’t the most caring guy, but I could see that he felt like crap about the whole thing. As many despicable things as I’d seen him do, random attacks on people hadn’t been one of them.
“Maybe you guys should come with me,” I suggested. “It might be safer to have him in public than to leave you here alone with him.”
Rowen stared at his brother, storm clouds moving through his eyes of fire. “I’m not afraid of him.”
“Neither was I, but he still clubbed me in the face with a glass bottle. He’s unpredictable, Rowen. We can’t underestimate him.”
“I know. I’ll be fine though. Really.” He scrubbed a hand over his face and swore. His damp mohawk flopped to one side, dripping the occasional drop down his neck. “If you insist on going, then go. But be careful, and call me if you need anything or if your head starts to hurt worse.”
I had just over an hour to get ready and be at The Wicked Kiss. Leaving Rowen alone with Arrow didn’t feel right. Of course, the dark didn’t want Rowen dead; they wanted me dead. So Rowen should be relatively safe. However, the dark had too many tricks up their sleeves. We had to be on our guard.
I pulled the ice away from my face. “How bad is it?”
Rowen grimaced and shook his head. “Go look.”
I rose too fast, and the room spun twice before settling back into place. Hoping Rowen didn’t notice my moment of disorientation, I went to the bathroom and braved a glimpse in the mirror. I gasped. My entire cheekbone was bruised a mottled blue. The bruise spread up under my eye. The swelling made my cheek puff out twice the size of the other one. I had a lot of makeup in my arsenal, but no amount of concealer would completely hide this. Damn.
Picking through my cover up and foundation, I knew this was going to be futile. Human healing speed, one of the not so great aspects of being a nephilim. Our angelic gifts were dampened by our human weakness.
Rowen appeared in the doorway. He met my eyes through the mirror and sighed. “I can’t believe he did that.”
“It’s cool.” I began dabbing some cover up on the bruise, flinching and wincing with every touch. “I can take it. It really could’ve been worse.”
Shrugging it off was my way of making light of a horribly heavy situation. The dark wanted me dead. Arrow would have killed me. My mind refused to wrap around the concept that demons had a target on my back.
“He was going to kill you, Spike. You’re in danger, if not from him, then from someone else. I see what they’re doing. They’re targeting you and Arrow to drive me to the bargaining table. Dash doesn’t care about Arrow. He made that clear. Tonight Arrow showed us that you’re a target too.” Rowen leaned his head against the doorframe, weary and watchful. “I can’t lose you guys. Both of you, you’re all I have.”
The vulnerability he exhibited worried me. Dash wanted to get inside Rowen’s head. Judging from the defeated expression he wore, it was working.
I turned to face him, a compact of concealer forgotten in one hand. “Rowen, don’t go down that path. I can see it on your face. Dash wants you to be afraid. He wants to make you feel like you have no choice here. Do not let him get inside your head. That’s what they do. They worm their way into your mind, and they will stay forever if you let them. You can’t let Dash in, no matter what he does to Arrow or to me. Do you hear me?”
Dropping the concealer on the counter, I captured his face in my hands, forcing him to look into my eyes. With a brow raised, I waited for his nod, but when it came it was halfhearted.
“Why do I get the feeling your mind is elsewhere? What are you thinking, Rowen?”
He put his hands over mine, stroking a finger over the back of my hand. “I can’t stand by, doing nothing while Dash goes after the two of you.”
“We have to be careful. All three of us.” I kissed him, ignoring the pain in my face, focusing on the soft warmth of his lips on mine.
“Which is exactly why you shouldn’t go tonight,” he said between kisses. “The three of us should stay together.”
“So tie Arrow up and come with me,” I joked, though the idea of restraining Arrow had seriously flitted through my mind.
Rowen laughed and pulled me into a hug. “You’re stubborn, you know that?”
“I can’t let the girls down. Anyway, demons don’t like The Wicked Kiss. I’ll be safe there. And I’ll come home right after.”
The sound of the balcony door opening drew our attention. Rowen kissed me once more, a tender lingering of lips that got me tingling. He drifted out of the bathroom to check on Arrow, and I turned back to the mirror to examine the challenge laid out before me.
I busied myself with getting ready. There was little choice but to accept the bruise, live with it until it faded. Cover up paled the blueness, but there was no hiding the swelling.
Dark eye shadow and deep red lipstick did little to distract from my injury. I imagined the many things people would assume upon seeing it. Sure, Jett had shown up for many a gig with a shiner from scrapping with other wolves, and she always wore it proudly, like a badge of victory. I couldn’t relate.
After tousling my hair just enough to make it appear windblown, I spritzed on some perfume made of strawberry and vanilla essential oils and turned to go to my bedroom to get dressed.
I jerked back with a silent gasp when I almost ran into Arrow who lurked outside the door.
His expression was blank, but his cheek twitched, as if he was forcing neutrality when he wanted to smirk. “Spike, I’m sorry. I know I said this already, but you’ve got to know I’d never hurt you.”
“I do. I know.” But I didn’t. Arrow wasn’t the overtly violent type, and he’d never given me reason to believe he wished me harm. Though I wanted to believe the best in him, I had to tread carefully until we knew more about what he’d been going through.
“You think I’m full of shit,” he said, but there was no accusation in the words.
“No, it’s not like that. I don’t know what to think right now. I saw your eyes, Arrow. They were black. Demon black. Whatever’s going on with you, it’s serious, and we need to get to the bottom of it.” Reluctant to touch him, I patted his arm the way one might pat the head of a dog with the potential to bite. “It’s ok. We’ll figure it out.”
Arrow glanced back to the living room where Rowen sat, watching us. Lowering his voice, Arrow whispered, “I won’t let them have Rowen.”
Because there was nothing I could say, I nodded and pushed by him to go to my bedroom. Once I’d closed the door, I let out the breath I’d been holding. My shoulders shook with the strain of what had just happened and the burden of not knowing what was yet to come.
Leggings with rainbow skulls and a flowy black tank top were donned in a hurry. Getting away from Arrow for a while would be nice. I needed a chance to think.
Rowen tried one more time to change my mind as I headed out the door. He also tried to give me his car keys. Though he was too nice to say it, he wasn’t a fan of my old beater. After refusing his keys for the fourth time, I kissed him and darted down the hallway to the elevator with my guitar bag on my back.
The Wicked Kiss was a welcome sight. After the strange few days I’d just had, the vampire bar lacked menace in comparison. It used to frighten me, and still did as far as common sense was concerned, yet it no longer posed the threat it once had. Vampires might be deadly, vile creatures who prey on the living, a big middle finger to all that is pure and good. Still, other than a few extraordinary exceptions, they were nothing compared to demons.
“Who the fuck do I have to kill?” Jett greeted me as expected when I joined her at the side stage door.
“Holy shit, Spike,” Rubi joined in, pausing as she hauled an amp out of Tash’s van. “Are you ok?”
Projecting a wide smile that hurt my cheek, I hoped it would reassure them that all was good. “Fine, really. Nobody needs to be killed, Jett.” Not yet anyway. Worry gnawed in the pit of my stomach. What if we couldn’t save Arrow?
Jett wasn’t having any of my dismissal. Her brown eyes fixed on me, and I was sure I saw her wolf inside them. “Who did this?”
No point lying. The truth was important to me. Lying only bred mistrust. Besides, werewolves could smell a lie. “Arrow—it’s not his fault. He was in a blackout. He doesn’t remember doing it.”
“Sure he doesn’t.” Jett’s fists clenched, and a vein throbbed in her forehead. “He’s so fucking dead.” Jett’s readiness to defend those she loved was one of the things I treasured most about her, but she had a tendency to fly off the handle without having all of the facts.
“No, Jett. He really doesn’t remember. I saw his eyes turn black. Then he attacked me. Arrow is a victim here too. Cut him a break.” Ignoring her fierce scowl, I helped Rubi carry the heavy amp inside. It was one of mine anyway.
Tash, already inside hooking up her bass, took one look at me and gushed, “Oh, sweetie. What happened? Are you alright?”
I assured her all was well as I scoped out the inside of the vampire club. It was bordering on packed already, although it was always packed. From where I stood, it was hard to tell vampire from human, but upon closer inspection the differences were obvious. Vampires had perfect skin and eyes that glowed with hunger and darkness. They moved differently too, gliding rather than stepping. They were beautiful, even the ugly ones, if that made sense. Some of them were powerful on a scale I could barely fathom while others lacked any true supernatural power. Yet all of them had the physical strength of several humans and immaculate healing ability.
A scan of the building revealed that the owner, Alexa, wasn’t present. I didn’t know her well and had only spoken with her about the band’s schedule and payment, but she was the reason demons stayed away from this place. If she wasn’t here, what was to stop them from coming for me?
I shook my head as if I could shake that thought out of my mind. Relying on a woman I didn’t know for protection was absurd. I could take care of myself. The altercation with Arrow provided plentiful evidence of that. I hadn’t gone down without a fight.
“I can’t let him get away with it, Spike. I just can’t.” Jett appeared at my side, gazing out upon the growing crowd.
“Let it go, Jett. Please. If anything, this is evidence of how much Arrow needs help.”
“And if he kills you?” she snapped, a growl in her voice. “What then? I shrug it off because he’s such a broken soul in need of understanding?”
“It won’t come to that,” I insisted, hoping I was right.
“You’re damn right it won’t.”
Rather than engage with the angry werewolf and rile her up further, I left my guitar on stage and departed to the ladies room. It was busy, as usual. Women lined the counter as they did some last minute primping. One lady leaned against the wall next to the hand dryer, furiously typing away on her phone. Another shouted into her phone, calling the person on the other end a jealous bitch.
Ignoring all of it, I headed for an empty stall at the end. Many things could be said of The Wicked Kiss but filthy washrooms were not one of them. They were meticulous, something I appreciated after some of the nasty clubs we’d had to play in.
When I slid the second lock into place, I felt it, the strange, heavy sensation of angel or demonkind. I reached for the door, ready to bolt, but it was too late.
With a whiff of sulfur, Dash materialized next to me, taking up most of the tiny stall. He clapped a hand over my mouth and shoved me into the metal partition. “Don’t scream. Don’t fight. Just listen.”
Screaming wouldn’t do a damn thing to help me anyway. What could the women gathered in the washroom do to help? Not a darn thing. Screaming would only endanger them all.
I stared into Dash’s blood red eyes and froze. Any movement could cause a reaction, which could very well result in my death. After what had just happened with Arrow, I was sure Dash intended to kill me. Dying in the restroom of the vampire bar was not how I wanted to go out.
When I remained stiff and silent, Dash eased his hand off my mouth. He held up one finger in warning should I change my mind. “Spike,” he murmured my name like we were lovers rather than sworn enemies. “I’m starting to lose my patience with you, sweet one. Why must you be so insistent on stealing Rhine’s boys from me?”
“I’m not stealing anything or anyone from you,” I spoke with as much calm as I could muster with so much terror shrieking through my veins. “They’ve made their own choices, Dash. You should respect that.”
He chuckled, a throaty laugh that cut off abruptly. Dash smoothed a hand over my hair, primping me like a doll he was admiring. “Their father is my brother. He served at my side, and they will too. There’s nothing you can do to save them. Let them go.”
Since he hadn’t already killed me, I suspected that perhaps that wasn’t what he came for. To kill me would incur Cinder’s wrath. He’d placed his seal on me, a warning to all demonkind that I was under his protection. Which was exactly why Dash had Arrow try to take me out. The seal by no means offered an assurance from harm, though it would keep many demons at bay. Dash, however, had made it his mission to recruit Rowen. So if he grew desperate enough, he might think my death to be worthy of Cinder’s retaliation.
Terrified, I stared into those bottomless eyes. They were like two crimson seas, no end in sight. The sensation of falling made me dizzy, and I had to blink repeatedly to escape the pull of his darkness.
“I can’t do that. They don’t belong to me, Dash, and they sure as hell don’t belong to you either. I’ll do everything I can to keep them both safe from you.” My voice was steady and strong. Too bad I couldn’t say the same for the rest of me. I quaked there against the metal wall of the bathroom stall.
Dash studied me, searching me in an invasive way that seemed to reach right inside me. I clenched my teeth and focused on closing off my mind. Freely projected thoughts could be heard by angels and demons. I wasn’t giving him a damn thing.
His close proximity was making me feel ill, and the longer I stared into his gaze, the sicker I became. Sweat broke out on my brow.
The human body he wore was nothing more than an illusive guise. Tan skin and short, dark hair made him appear as something he was not. The dark robe he wore and those flashing red eyes said otherwise. For just a moment an image flashed in my mind. A monstrous griffin bearing black wings and the head of an eagle with a lion’s body. Blood dripped from its mouth. The eyes glowed with a soul-sucking malevolence. Dash’s true form was ugly in a way words could never fully bring to life. I blinked, and the image was gone, but it would live in my memory forever.
“I’d hoped to be able to avoid having to do this,” he said, still petting my hair, uncaring that I was trying to shirk away from his touch. “Threats are so passé, don’t you think? There must be a way we can come to some kind of agreement. I’ll give you anything you want. You just have to stay out of my way.”
“I don’t want anything from you.” I bit back a shriek when his hand moved from my hair to my face. His skin was hot as he rubbed a finger over my bruised cheek.
“Such a shame that the brother you’re so concerned with saving tried to bring you harm. How is it that you deem him worthy of your talents?”
Games. Every word that came out of his mouth was designed to get in my head, to make me see Arrow as the villain instead of the victim. I held my tongue, refusing to argue about who was worth saving and why.
Dash continued with a knowing nod. “The success you seek with your music, your band, I can give that to you. Number one records, sold out stadium shows. All of it is yours. I just need one thing in return: keep your distance from both Rowen and Arrow.”
Promising fame and fortune wasn’t a new demon trick by any means. They’d been doing it since the beginning of time. And yet, people still fell for it. Every damn day. Even a tiny part of me was tempted. I was still human after all, still tempted by the material things of this world. But a bribe right after the incident with Arrow? That was a mistake.
“Your timing is all wrong, Dash. You tried to kill me tonight using Arrow, and you failed. I saw how far under your spell he is, and I am more determined than ever to keep Rhine’s sons from you. Both of them.”
Dash’s unwelcome touch grew in pressure until he was digging into my bruised cheek so hard I yelped. “Arrow is already mine. The only thing you have that might get his attention, you’re already giving to his brother. Don’t waste your energy. Arrow is a lost cause.”
“No, he isn’t,” I insisted, trying not to shout my pain into his face as he clamped down tighter. “As long as he’s alive, he isn’t lost.”
The stall grew hot, stealing my breath. The demon knew I wouldn’t be coerced by some physical pain and manipulative talk. His next tactic was the clincher, the one that would reach inside me and cause true pain.
“What are you willing to give up for them, Spike? Your dream of a music career? Your friends? Your mother? How about Jett? Werewolves make fabulous demon pets.”
I couldn’t respond, couldn’t even form words. My mind raced as I explored my options. Blasting him with fire wouldn’t help. A kick in the nuts might buy me a breath of freedom, but it would be short lived.
Nothing. I could do nothing. Sometimes nothing was better. Action had a time and place. So did inaction. It was a tough concept to accept with the demon in my face, threatening everyone I loved.
Encouraged by my lack of response, Dash released me, stepping back as much as the tiny stall would let him. “If you continue to stand in my way, not only will I destroy those you love, I’ll make certain that every second left of your pitiful life is spent in suffering.”
Trembling and dry mouthed, I shook so hard my teeth rattled. My hand went to my face as if I could protect my injured cheek from further abuse. Never had I believed embracing my destiny would be easy, but I hadn’t been able to fathom how horrifying it might get.
With a sadistic grin, Dash said, “Hey, if it makes you feel any better, you’re still welcome to join our side. I mean, why not? Your father did.”
He was gone with those words, leaving nothing but a trace of sulfuric odor to indicate he’d been there. Letting my head fall back against the wall I gasped for breath, finding my lungs had ceased to function.
I shivered despite the heat that lingered. Terror gripped me and I stood useless. I struggled to regain my composure. There was no such thing as a quick fight where demons were concerned. It’s always a war. We might have won the last battle, but Dash was coming back hard for this next round, and I feared that I might not have what it took to withstand him this time.