Page 77 of Dangerous Heat

“Kylan’s men, unless one of my other enemies chose this moment to pop up again. You’re coming with me. Ama and Freya would both kill me if I left you to fend for yourself. Come on.”

I reached for her hand and she frantically grabbed mine, knowing to stay behind me as I peeked out into the hallway again. Pandemonium hadn’t reached this floor yet, and Oswald was keeping watch. It was unlikely they would infiltrate this far, considering the extra security, but May was too important to leave alone even in the safest area of the building. We took the stairs, not trusting the elevator in an emergency, and May screamed when we only got down one floor before an arrow embedded itself in the drywall beside her head. “Fuck,” I shouted, pulling her to my side.

We could go back upstairs, but being stuck on the top floor wouldn’t do us any good. I lifted her feet from the ground and went through the door and onto the fifth floor, Ozzy darting through the gap as the door slammed shut behind us. There was nothing easily accessible to barricade them out with, since this was one of the apartment floors and not the office level. Mabel still in my arms, I practically flew down the hall and through a random door, turning the handle hard enough to break the lock.

A quick listen and inhale confirmed the suite was empty, but lived in. Its occupant was likely one of our security guards. They would have left the second the alarm sounded, headed downstairs to shore up our defences. Kylan’s men shouldn’t have gotten inside the building so fast, so leaving for the parking garage was what we’d trained everyone to do.

Unfortunately, it meant I was all alone here with Mabel and Oswald, and the vampires wouldn’t leave us alone. If we left out the balcony or through a window, we’d be even more exposed. I whipped out my phone and dialled Ama, who picked up instantly. “Why are they already in the building?” I asked.

“They’re what?” she asked, sounding shocked. “They’re holding them off in the garage. None of them have gotten past them and into the stairwell.”

“Well, they’re in the fucking stairwell somehow. I’m with Mabel in suite 509 on the fifth floor. We were attacked on our way downstairs. Get someone up here or we’re going to have to try leaving the building.”

“Don’t do that. My wards are up, and no one else is getting in including our people.”

I wanted to ask why her wards hadn’t been up before, but I couldn’t blame her for this. She was one of our only powerful witches, and couldn’t maintain full wards at all times by herself. Ama had been working on drawing runes around the building, but she was a busy woman and we hadn’t been at this location for long enough. We’d expected to have more warning of an attack, but our outer guards had failed spectacularly. They’d been in the building before we’d known they were coming.

Someone was getting fucking fired, if they were still alive.

“Then get up here. They’re going to find us so I’m hanging up.”

I tossed my phone to Mabel who clutched it like a lifeline. She might have had her own or may have left it behind in the panic, but there was no point in me having mine. It would be destroyed in the fight. “Get in the bathroom,” I said, gesturing to the small room. “Don’t come out no matter what you hear. Fuck, don’t even come out to mine or Ama’s voices. Some vamps are skilled mimics. Just wait for one of us to come and grab you.”

“Is Amabella coming?”

“She better be.”

She closed and locked the door, and I heard the shower curtain pull closed. It wouldn’t be much of a barrier, but anything to make her feel more secure.

When the door got kicked in, my impending loss was becoming increasingly likely. Seven vampires and two shifters pushed in through the door, trying to fit as many bodies as possible in the skinny hallway. I didn’t wait for them to make the first move, pulling the air from the first wave’s lungs.

The two men choked and were pushed to the side by two more men. I pulled out a dagger I’d had shoved in my waistband, but there wasn’t much else I kept on me for weapons. They weren’t my forte. My specialty was using my air magic to suffocate people, although it wasn’t the best method to use against multiple attackers.

As two new vampires came at me in the tight quarters, I tried my best to keep my focus on the first two. If they were deprived of air for long enough, they would end up unconscious. The fewer conscious enemies the better.

My concentration on the air snapped when a knife grazed my side, making it burn and bleed. Lurching back, I clutched the skin with a hiss. What kind of knives were these assholes using? From the slight glow on the blade and the burning in my side, I had to say it was an angel’s blade, infused with angel magic that was especially potent against the demons of Zemterra. The vamp was wearing gloves so his hands wouldn’t burn, but I didn’t have that luxury when the pointy end was aiming for me.

Oswald darted in front of me and threw up a shield, but it wasn’t very strong. He wasn’t protecting Freya, and his powers were only meant for her. Fortunately, it gave me enough time to gather my wits about me again and prepare for another attack.

This time when they came for me, I was ready for the angel’s blade. I dodged and grabbed the hilt, forcing his arm back until he plunged it into his own neck. My palm burned, but I hadn’t been holding on long enough for it to do serious damage. Letting the body and blade drop, I slammed my fist into another one’s face, trying again to steal the breath from his lungs. My concentration lasted as I beat on another man, and the first one dropped to the ground in front of me.

“He controls air,” a man yelled out to the ones behind, all tightly stuck into the hallway waiting their turn with me. “Could be Nolan Jitara.”

I’d been hoping they wouldn’t figure that out. Knowing who I was would either make them hesitant to kill me, or way more likely to.

“I’ll take the reward for his head,” another man said with a sneer.

Perfect. Kylan had put a bounty on me. I couldn’t say I was surprised.

“Not if I kill him first.”

Everyone surged toward me with new vigour, and my energy waned. Fast. Oswald helped where he was able to, tossing up the occasional shield to block a blow from the side, but there wasn’t much else either of us could do. My speed wasn’t an asset when most of them were as fast as I was. If I’d had more weapons, I might have been in a better position, but fighting this many fellow demons would be difficult, regardless.

If I lived, I’d have to invest some time in touching up my weapon-handling skills.

Another man dropped to the ground, my air magic forcing him unconscious. I got in a lucky stab with my dagger, nicking the heart of another vamp. He passed out, dying within seconds. My chances of living were improving.

Until they weren’t.

---