Stu didn't relish the idea of being ambushed, but kept his thoughts to himself. Corbin just shrugged and started up the stairs. Enough light came through the broken roof several stories above them that Corbin shut off the flashlight and stored it in his pocket. He unsheathed his dagger and held it in front of him as he ascended to the second level. His feet barely touched the steps, his lithe body agile and sure-footed.
Stu grabbed the railing, and the whole staircase shook. The groan of shaking metal moaned loudly through the building. They froze and listened for air movement, any noise that would warn them that the strix had heard the commotion.
Corbin turned his head, his mouth stern. “Fucking sakes, Stu. Be careful.”
They had passed the third level when a sweet odor filled the air. Stu's heart swept up into his throat and stayed there. He took a deep breath and proceeded upward. At the next level, he jumped over the railing and landed on the cement floor. Corbin followed. Stu unzipped his pack so he would have ready access to the salt. Corbin had taken out the dart gun and readied it with an arrow. He gripped it in one hand and held the dagger in the other.
They stood silent with their weapons poised.
Half the floor was missing, just like the other levels they had passed. Debris lay in heaps across the stained cement. Strange metal beams were half-bent. The air covered Stu in its cloying, moist breath. He pulled at his collar. His T-shirt was damp. Going inward, he brought forth his animal spirit.
The lynx formed in his mind, a beautiful, strong feline with golden eyes and orange, spotted fur that began to ruffle as the animal readied for battle. Stu's senses became painfully acute; he could discern every noise, smell, emotion. He looked up at the broken roofline. Light twinkled through the twisted rafters.
Nothing stirred.
Stu's hair spiked at his nape. Goose bumps scattered down his limbs. Taking another deep breath, he steadied his hands. He gripped the hilt, ignoring the tickle in his throat. The lynx paced within, waiting for release.
Wild Spirit, which are moving everywhere;
Destroyer and Preserver; hear, O hear!
Shelley's words were appropriate for his restless lynx. His courage became steadfast in his mind. Determination burned deep in his gut.
Stu planted his feet and took a firm stance. Corbin held steady beside him. A whisper of air surrounded them.
They waited.
Suddenly air currents whipped down from above, and Johan shot like a bullet from the dark upper levels, soaring between breaks in the floors. Headfirst, wings spread, talons extended, he headed straight for Stu.
“Above you!”
Corbin shouted, pushing Stu aside. “I'll take him. Go find Aric.”
“I can't leave you.”
“Go!”
The cloying sweetness closed Stu's windpipe. He gasped for breath. He was beyond afraid, and his heart remained lodged in his throat. His gaze darted across the room. Right. He had to find Aric. He turned and spied Johan, half man, half owlish beast, taking a swipe at Corbin. Blood seeped from his brother's forehead where the talon struck. Corbin's dagger flashed as he lunged and parried with Johan, who met each blow with one of his own. The frenzied pattern of attack prevented Stu from using the salt or his dart gun. So much for Johan's being weakened by the rising sun. Instead, from what Stu could see, the strix had all his powers at his disposal, and more.
“Go, you dumbass. Now!”
Corbin's reminder startled Stu into action. He sniffed the air and caught a faint whiff of Aric's cinnamon scent from above. Racing up the stairs, he hoped he'd made the right call.
Stu reached the two levels above, and the musky cinnamon scent hit him full force. He vaulted over the railing as his gaze swept across the room. He rushed forward once his keen eyes spotted Aric tied to a rusty beam, his limp body slumped forward. His face was hidden by a cape of black hair. Drops of blood were smeared across his chest.
The lynx roared, its anger consuming him. Stu sprinted across the ground, jumping over pipes and rusty metal debris the same way he would hop over linebackers and defensive ends on the field. His focus was on one goal—to free Aric from his binds.
Claws suddenly ripped cross Stu's back, causing him to stumble. A cry of pain caught in his throat. His lynx within cried out too. Pivoting, Stu came face-to-face with Johan. He didn't have time to worry about what happened to his brother or recoil from the human form with feathered wings and talons. Sickened, he swallowed back rising bile. Calling forth the lynx's hunting spirit, he swung his dagger in one clean sweep across the vampire's throat. Johan howled as he clutched his bleeding wound. A sharp twinge rocked Stu's stomach as his sweaty hands almost dropped the dagger. He dug into his opened pack, scooped a handful of salt, and hurled the crystals into the strix's face. A sense of satisfaction curled around his heart as Johan snarled, his sharp fangs painted in glistening red.
At the sight of those bloodied fangs, Stu's heart plummeted. Was that Corbin's blood? Aric's?
He reached for his dart gun, but a talon swept it from his hand. The weapon skittered across the floor. Too far… Now he had nothing left to fight with but his dagger. He shook with pain, anger, and fear. He'd never been so frightened or so determined. Clutching the hilt, he pushed the knife out in front of him. An inner fire burned and consumed him; the vampire had to die.
Johan rose to his full height. Already the strix's wounds were knitting together. Stu groaned as Johan lifted him by the neck with a single hand, choking off his air. He fought, swinging the dagger, but Johan held him away from his body, the knifepoint missing him by inches. His lungs felt as if they were about to burst.
Slowly, very slowly, his windpipe was being crushed.
As he reached for more salt, a talon pierced his hand. An unbearable pain shot up his arm, and he released a deep, strangled moan. Burnished gold eyes full of madness stared at him. Such a beautiful, deadly creature.
The lynx inside him snarled. It didn't like to be trapped. It didn't like to be suffocated. It didn't like defeat. A surge of strength awakened within Stu. He would not be defeated, not until he saved Aric. Johan's body was still human and had one weakness. He swung his legs together for momentum and buried his knee sharply into the strix's groin.
The strix let out a bitter cry, his body buckling, his stranglehold around Stu's neck loosening.
One chance.
One moment. Stu took it.
Using his hands and feet, he pushed away from the strix and dropped down onto the floor. As he rolled and stumbled backward, his eye caught a movement behind the strix. Corbin half crawled across the floor, clutching his stomach, a small cylinder gun poised over his mouth.
Swoosh.
A perfect shot into the neck and the strix fell into a crumpled heap.
Stu went down on his knees. Sweat blinded his eyes, and his throat hurt, but he was alive. As the tightness in his chest eased, his breathing returned to normal. He raised himself to one knee and prodded the vampire with his hand. Relief flooded over him when Johan remained still.
“Circle him with salt.” Corbin coughed up blood as his body folded and sank to the floor.
“Cor!” Stu scrambled to his brother's side. Tears formed in his eyes at the sight of his brother's condition. “How bad?”
“I'll heal, but I need to lie still.” Corbin reached for Stu's shoulder. “I'm sorry, but you'll have to do the rest. Salt first, then see to Aric. Then”—he glanced at the strix, his mouth strained white with pain—“kill him.”
A thin stream of blood curved around Corbin's chin. Stu wiped it with his hand. Taking his brother carefully by the waist, he helped him get comfortable, as much as possible on a hard cement floor. He removed Corbin's T-shirt and gasped at the gaping hole.
“You need a doctor.”
“No,” Corbin rasped. “Go to Aric. The serum…”
Stu cleaned the wound as best as he could with Corbin's T-shirt. “Hold this tight against your stomach.” And he thrust the bunched-up fabric into his brother's hand.
He then imprisoned the strix in a thick circle of white crystals. His hands still trembled, and he closed his eyes briefly to compose himself. Then he went to Aric and cut the cords that bound him.
Aric moaned, and his eyelids fluttered open. Dazed eyes stared at Stu, and his heart swelled with a surge of protectiveness. Musky spice and sweat fragranced Aric's clothes, but so did something else. A different scent. The burned-sugar odor of the strix.
Jealousy coursed through Stu, almost paralyzing him. He touched the puncture wounds on Aric's throat, smudging the droplets of blood pooled on the side of his neck. Two bright red marks against that beautiful, milky skin.
That bastard had been feeding on him, marking him as his own.
Stu wanted nothing more than to wipe away the strix's taint from Aric's body. He embraced Aric as he took control of his jealousy. Now wasn't the time for such emotion. Not when Aric was wonderful and alive in his arms. He blinked back his tears of joy. Tucking a strand of loose hair behind Aric's ear, he kissed the delicate earlobe, then seized Aric's mouth with a hungry kiss. He didn't stop to think or care where they were. Aric smiled against his mouth and parted his lips, allowing Stu inside. Stu slipped his tongue in and tasted the hint of cool water. His chest tightened from the rush of relief in finding Aric alive. Unbelievable feelings of passion and contentment, all jumbled together in a mass of other emotions, took hold of his senses.
Aric broke away first.
He fisted his hand near his temple. “Oh my God. I feel like crap, but boy, am I glad to see you.”
“I brought the serum.” Stu reined in his emotions and dug into his pack. He held up the serum housed in a vial and a needle.
Aric grinned. “You're the best.” He stuck out his arm. “Shoot me up. Quick. And try to hit a vein.”
Stu flinched at having to stab Aric with the needle, but he found a vein at the smooth underside of his arm. He took a deep breath and gently slipped in the sharp point, trying to keep his hand steady as it sank into the soft flesh.
“Ouch! You're brutal.”
Stu chuckled and pushed in the plunger. “Serves you right for lying to me and then breaking up with me.”
“Hard-ass.”
But Aric's tone had no bite.
“How long before we know if it's working?”
Aric shook his head. “I don't know.” He looked over at Johan, who was still lying unconscious. “How long will he be out?”
“What does it matter? He'll be dead in a minute.” Stu couldn't keep his disgust from entering his voice.
“He isn't
all
bad.”
“You're sticking up for that bastard?”
“He's complicated.”
Complicated, bullshit!
Stu bit his tongue to keep from saying something he'd regret. Adrenaline still coursed through him, making him jumpy. He fisted his hands and stood away from Aric. He sensed that something about Johan had changed Aric's attitude.
Aric held out his hand. “Help me.”