Page 11 of Shadow Bound

As I slink across the garage, I notice the guard that had called for backup standing in the middle of one of the rows, his eyes wide and his gun drawn. His eyes dart around the space, frantically looking for something. Also looking around, I find nothing.

Stepping from the shadows, I walk toward him.

He turns his head to me and gestures around with his Glock. “There’s someone here. I don’t know what the fuck he is, but I think he can…” He lowers his voice to a whisper. “Teleport.”

Idiot. Teleporting isn’t real.

Sterling hires men who will follow him and listen to orders. I wouldn’t say many of them are necessarilybright. By that I mean, none of their mother’s had ‘proud of my honor roll student’stickers on their minivans. It’s more likely they were the kids on the back of the school bus licking the windows.

My eyes roll in my head. “Anyone ever tell you that you’re a waste of space and oxygen?”

“No.” He glares at me. “Not to my face.”

“Glad I could be the first.” I slowly spin around the space, looking and listening for signs of another presence, but I can’t sense anything. “Are you sure someone is up here?” I want to give him the benefit of the doubt, but he is a weak little human after all. They tend to be overly jumpy and paranoid.

“Of course I am,” he snaps. “I caught them trying to break into a car and then they just…” He snaps his fingers. “Poof!Disappeared.”

Other than my gift, there’s only one other I can think of that could allow them to disappear that quickly. And it’s rarer than shadow walking. There is also only one person I know of that has that gift and if he’s here, we’re fucked.

The scent of something burning fills the room and the guard—Harry?—makes a pained gasping noise behind me. I turn to find a tall, imposing man standing in front of the guard, his tanned hands holding either side of Harry’s head. Harry’s body convulses like he’s either seizing or he’s been hit with a taser before he crumples to the floor like a sack of potatoes.

I look over at the man. He looks different than the last time I saw him. I guess five years will do that. He has grown into his long limbs and his face has lost all the roundness of adolescence. His face is now all angles, sharp jaw, high cheekbones. His dark hair is longer on the top and cut close on the sides. His striking violet eyes observe me while I watch him.

“There’s only one person I know who can use hellfire,” I comment.

He pushes his hair back, but a couple pieces still hang on his forehead. “There’s only one person I know who can shadow walk.” He gives me a pointed look. “Hello Isabeau.”

“Hello Jax.”

Jax is another one of Sterling’s successes. He’s the first being with genes from three different species. Not only is he part demon with the ability to use hellfire, he’s also part wolf shifter and warlock. He wasn’t raised in the same facility as me, but we’ve crossed paths over the years. While Alexandre and I were Sterling’s prized toys, Jax was given to and trained by one of Sterling’s men, Nicolai. Poor old Nico got a little too greedy and was unfortunately killed a couple months back. He will be missed, and his death was a great tragedyblah blah blah… no, he was a twisted piece of shit and deserved to die. Just like they all do.

Jax casually steps over the convulsing guard as hellfire wracks his body. I’ve been told it’s the most excruciating pain anyone can experience.

“Still working for the bad guys, I see.”

“Is there such a thing as good guys?” If there are, I’ve yet to meet any. Stuffing my hands into the pockets of my leather jacket, I shuffle closer. I keep my posture calm and relaxed, but I’m prepared for him to strike at any time.

“I didn’t used to believe that there were,” he admits. “But I recently learned that not everyone is selfish and out for themselves. It was a weird concept to wrap my head around, but I’ve seen it firsthand. There are good guys out there—they’re few and far between, but they’re there.”

I look at him blandly, unmoved by his cute little speech. “Are you one of them now, Jax? Are you a good guy?”

His eyes flash with an emotion I can’t quite pinpoint. It’s gone just as quickly as it appeared. “I want to be.”

“Is that what you’re doing tonight? Trying to be the good guy by helping those people downstairs save a baby?”

He shrugs his shoulders. “It’s a start.”

I laugh coldly. “If you’re anything like me or have done the things I’ve done, you’ve got a long way to go before you can be considered a good person. Your little deed tonight isn’t going to save your soul. You’re already condemned to hell just like I am.”

“You’re right, I can’t make up for the things I did when I was one of Nicolai’s pawns. All I ever did was take lives, but I learned a couple months ago what it was like to save a life and I liked that feeling more.”

I rack my brain for an instance where I spared a life and I can’t come up with one. It was always either I killed them or they’d kill me. And if they didn’t kill me, Sterling or Nessa would have been more than happy to do the honors.

“That’s very touching.”

His lips twitch as he shakes his head. “Are we going to fight now? I’ve got to tell you, I’m not really in the mood. I already took on twelve of your guards.” His violet eyes look at the man who’d passed out from pain. “Thirteen now,” he corrects. “I’d rather you just let me go help my friends.”

“Friends? You have friends now?” I quip.

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