Page 38 of Hunted By Darkness

Oh aye, this lad was as clever as they came. My rebel was about to have another reason to lecture me.

Conspiratorial grin on my face, I landed a hand on Lev’s shoulder. “Funny you should say that, lad. We have need of your silver-tongued services.”

“No,” Nika immediately cut in, arms crossed and hip out. “Don’t even think about it.”

Saucy bird.

“I’m wounded, love. You think I’d ever put this cute bugger in danger?” I acted the part of the innocent rogue.

Nika sneered at me, and she’d never understand how lovely I found her no matter what venom she sent my way. “Yes.”

“Cheeky,” I cooed, snickering.

“So, what’s the play here?” Lev asked, answering my grin with his own.

17

Nika

Dashing smile on his face, my friend strolled straight across the street like he owned this city and spoke directly to who I assumed to be the leader of the group by the way the others deferred to him, waiting for his response before they gave their own. I wasn’t sure what he’d said, but whatever it was, it convinced the men to follow him.

After catching our gazes from across the street, Lev led the group to the spot we planned to ambush them. Without waiting, we all moved to get there before Lev was left alone too long with a group of money-hungry mercenaries.

I’d seen Lev in action before, but it never failed to impress me how good he was at what he did. Not only did he lure all six of the Shadow Pirates—lame name, I know—to the location Silas instructed, but he did it in under ten minutes.

Silver-tongued was right. Bureaucratic bullshit was definitely Lev’s area of expertise. I’d never been very good at it. He didn’t struggle to find common ground to exploit. I only had my seductive charms to fall back on, but Lev was the whole political package—perfect charm, words, and mannerisms. Silas was right to pick him despite my complaints.

Like demons, the two ex-Brothers swooped in on the mercenaries surrounding Lev. He and I didn’t have time to get our weapons out as we avoided the onslaught of magic, swords, and teeth.

Salvator, having taken his wolf form, and Silas, who’d donned his signature mask and cloak, were quick to navigate the dark magic violence of all six enemies. Their chosen name made more sense with the look and feel of their magic—billowy darkness that grew up from the ground like a second body.

Blue magic exploded, and the rampaging wolf moved like a swift shadow from one mercenary to the next. Blood splashed and sprayed from all directions, Lev and I doing our best to avoid the stray sprays. I’d forgotten how fast Salvator was as a wolf. Faster than I could ever hope to be on two legs with magic powering them across the floor.

The beast zoomed past me, its claws eating into asphalt and pounding the floor on its way to the next unlucky asshole. I’d barely caught a flash of fur in all the chaos. One of the mercenaries lost his arms, his mouth opening in confusion, before the rest of him was gone in a blur.

Ryker and Tometi were at my side, watching the spectacle unfold. The two phantoms had chosen to stay invisible since entering the city. It’d give us the element of surprise. As longas I was touching them, their physical forms acted the same way ours did. They could fight the same way as us, and Tometi suggested that if it came to it, I only needed to touch them and they’d join the fight.

At the very least, I could calculate bursts of assaults to surprise an unsuspecting enemy between the two unseen men. We might not know what all they could do, but at least I knew Tometi could throw a punch. A brutal one at that.

I’d seen it in action only a day ago when Salvator said something that evidently flipped a switch in the giant. I’d heard the telling sound of bone cracking when Tometi’s fist landed directly on Salvator’s face after asking for my hand with a tender smile. To say I didn’t expect the violence was an understatement. Tometi didn’t hold back. His attack was powerful and precise and knocked his previous host to the ground without fail.

It’d given the surprised shifter pause when his face didn’t correct on its own and he was forced to take a strong potion to heal his injury. Apparently, Salvator discovered his fast-healing abilities weren’t as fast as they once were. We weren’t sure if it was because he and his animal souls were no longer connected the same way, but as someone who’d shattered and broken plenty of bones over the years, I knew it was a painful few hours of recovery.

Silas became an instant fan of Tometi’s, no longer agitated by the sight of the nearly eight-foot giant.

Eyes following the trail of carnage, I nearly missed the massive wolf bite down on an enemy he’d slammed to the ground. Snarling, he dragged the mercenary’s innards out with his vicious fangs. Silas cut another to pieces, his cloak spinning around him as his sword moved with deadly precision.

If not for all the blood and gore, I might’ve thought the entire scene beautiful with how elegantly the two moved.

It was quite a sight to see the two men work so seamlessly together when all they’d done for the past few days was argue. I never thought they’d set aside their differences like this, but it was a relief all the same. The last thing I needed was to play mediator while they cut our enemies to pieces.

“Steady on, Sally. You’re making a bloody mess,” Silas called out over another swipe of his sword, sidestepping a splash of blood from the Shadow Pirate the wolf attacked.

“Oh, and you aren’t, Sparkles? Fucking hypocrite.”

I spoke too soon.

Salvator had even shifted out of his wolf form just to clap back, he was that petty. The two continued to snap at each other as the naked shifter slammed one enemy down, Silas having tossed him a dagger to use, and my masked assassin sent a barrage of glittering spikes at another, throwing the unsuspecting Shadow Pirate into a nearby wall. Their bickering carried over deadly swipes and terrifying assaults.

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