Page 95 of Land of Monsters

“Joska.”

He huffed, his face taking on more and more of a gorilla-like appearance each time I saw him, the human side disappearing, like he finally understood being human had been his weakness the whole time.

Balazs, the one with hyena qualities, held Raven, her wide eyes locked on me, the barrel of the gun pressing into her temple. Samu stood behind them both, his cat teeth bared at me.

“Your girlfriend’s brains will be on the floor if you try anything, fairy.” Joska sneered at me.

“It isn’t me you should be afraid of.”

Huffing, he dragged me into the room, where Rook sat in one of the pews. Eve, Nikolay, and other mafia cronies were scattered around the mock classroom, their weapons swinging to us with surprise.

My focus centered on the man in front of the room.

“Baszd meg…” Air caught in my throat. My pulse thrummed in my ears. An ache in my shoulder sprang up as if it still feltthe fae bullet he put there over a year and a half ago. My throat bobbed, the shock dissipating quickly to realization.

“Kalaraja.” I addressed the Lord of Death, spitting onto the floor. “I should’ve known.”

His pitiless dark eyes stared into mine without an ounce of feeling. So many fae enjoyed the kill, usually someone who deserved it or to save someone they loved. Kalaraja was different. He thrived off torture and torment. He felt no difference in murdering a guilty man or an innocent child. They were the same to him. Cold-blooded and relentless, he worked for the highest bidder. As far as I knew, he had no family, no weakness to pull at. If he did have a mother, he’d probably watch her die without blinking an eye. And he was another one who escaped when Sonya and Iain had.

“Too bad my bullet didn’t take you out the first time.” He folded his hands in front of him, nonplussed by all the weapons pointing at him. “I will make sure to remedy that today.”

Raven thrashed next to me, drawing his attention to her, twisting my gut in knots.

“The princess.” Kalaraja’s soulless stare made me shiver. “So you are what the fuss is all about?”

Rook grunted behind his gag, his head shaking. He tried to stand, but Nikolay shoved him back down, putting a gun to Rook’s head, forcing a cry from his twin.

Kalaraja gave him no heed, his attention completely on Raven. When he took a step, the entire room turned on each other. A stand-off between groups. Yet the Lord of Death did not stop, methodically moving towards Raven. Everything he did felt empty of emotion, of any empathy. He stopped in front of her, his gaze moving over her. I felt Raven’s fear, tasted it on my tongue, but she held her chin high under his scrutiny.

“Take them.” Kalaraja nodded to Balazs and Samu. The hyena pulled Raven back, while Samu headed for Rook.

“Wait. What is going on?” Nikolay’s head bounced between the twins. “The deal was only for one!” He stepped in front of Rook, his gun pointing at Samu.

“That was your mistake.” Kalaraja calmly turned to him. “I don’t make deals.”

I heard the click of Nikolay’s pistol.

It was a breath, a millisecond, and Kalaraja yanked a gun from the heavy black cloak he was wearing.

POP!A bullet drove through Nikolay’s head, blood and brains bursting out in a spray, dusting Rook and Eve in a red mist. Nikolay’s eyes went wide, taking a moment to register he was dead before his body crumbled to the ground.

Eve let out a scream, about to go to her lover, but stopped when Kalaraja’s aim focused on her. The other Mafia members weren’t so smart, firing at Kalaraja.

POP! POP! POP!

The three men left dropped in sequence, their lives already forgotten by the Lord of Death.

“I told you,” Kalaraja said evenly to Eve, like he was enjoying coffee instead of murdering mafia members. “I am always ahead.”

Eve gulped, her face staying neutral, but I could see the fear in her eyes. If Nikolay the Bloody, the notorious mafia leader, and his men could be taken out so quickly, so could she.

“Now it’s your turn.” He turned back to us, leaning into Raven. “Say goodbye, princess.”

“NOOOO!” My reaction was explosive, hitting so hard that the trees outside whipped into a frenzy, their branches beating against the roof as I thrashed against Joska. “Don’t fucking touch her!”

“You mistake me.” Kalaraja smirked. “It’s you she’s saying goodbye to.” My mind hadn’t even registered the modificationbefore Joska swiped my feet out from under me, my knees hitting the stone, a gun shoved into the base of my neck.

Raven’s garbled cry howled through the room, her dark dweller and obscurer beating at the cage that kept them back. Balazs struggled to keep hold of her. I sensed the push of our bond trying to connect, but it was like looking through glass, her touch just outside my reach.

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