Page 26 of Bite of Passage
Lucky for Skarde, ever since he’d had a near-fatal altercation with a demon last year, he’d somehow become faster and stronger.Serish theorized he’d absorbed some of the demon king’s power.Perhaps he had after king super shit tried to possess him.The evil entity had been inside him for close to ten minutes before Skated managed to remove it through a combination of spells, a potion from Serish, and willpower.Bonus for him, now he was faster than almost anything in the world when fighting.
Skarde punched Cade again and emitted a deranged laugh as they traded jabs.Fighting someone trained was a treat to relish.He held back and didn’t invoke his full power, which would end this.
Cade didn’t fall backward at the repeated hits.Instead, he leaned into the strikes and punched right back.Cade’s solid hook to his lower jaw would bruise, as would the one to his shoulder.Cade was lunging again, pushing him backward with the force of his thrust until Skarde’s back slammed against the wall.
He caught Cade’s knife hand, twisted with his enhanced strength, and broke his grip.The metal clattered on the floor.
Cade’s eyes widened.He thought himself the best, the strongest and most fearsome of their kind.Surprise, surprise, little brother.
He kicked his legs out, hooking Cade’s in a tangle that sent the huge male backward.He pounced, landing with his knee on Cade’s chest and knife to his throat.
Cade had somehow managed to bring out a second knife, the blade of which now dug into the skin of Skarde’s neck.
Skarde grinned.“You’re getting slow.”
“You got faster.How is that possible?What happened to you?”
“Let’s call it a draw.”He wasn’t into having a heart-to-heart with his brother now.Or any time in the near future.
Cade panted and didn’t drop eye contact.Emotion skittered across his face.If he chose to push his knife, Skarde could let him.This could be a way out.But Cade was right.It might not work.Second…
Gemma.
Promises he made to her about survival aside, he wouldn’t leave her to the Directorate’s plans.No doubt the soulless assholes would torture her before they tried to turn her.They might kill her out of misguided fear.Or, more likely, they wouldn’t be able to complete the turn.
He’d fight them, but he didn’t want to kill his brother unless he had to.
As if Cade picked up on his resolve, he pulled away his knife.
Skarde jumped off him.“Good choice.”
As Cade adjusted his coat and retrieved his lost blade, he avoided making eye contact.The vampire the world thought the most dangerous, the one whose job it was to be the best kickass for the Directorate, had just gotten his ass handed to him.
On his way to the door, Cade stopped.He lowered his head and said in Scots Gaelic, “Tha fuil nas tiugh na bullshit.”Blood is thicker than bullshit.
“One day you may have to prove ye believe that.”
“I just did.”
ChapterTen
Gemma’s attackersat huddled in a corner of the dungeon cell.The plus side of owning a castle was these bleak, moldy holding cells with little light and no obvious way out.Secret passages existed.Some humans worked until they found the hidden escapes.Others didn’t even try.Skarde recaptured the ones who escaped when they became lost in the tunnel system, but out of respect for their survivor instinct, he made their deaths swift.He may not have known her long, but he suspected that if Gemma wanted to find an escape, she wouldn’t give up until she succeeded.
The thought made him smile.
His captive reeked of sweat.No obvious signs of an escape attempt.By now he’d no doubt reconsidered the intelligence of his murder-Gemma plan.
With a teeth-gritting screech, Skarde slid a wooden chair across the stone floor.He set the lantern down near the door, sat, and stared at the human in silence.The guy trembled but didn’t break eye contact.Skarde played with his knife, tossing it from one hand to the other.He paused to examine its sharpness.The human shook harder.
You have to drink.He didn’t want to touch this foul creature even for that.
“What is this place?”the man asked.“She must’ve whacked my head.I’m in a coma.”He pinched himself.“Wake up.”
“Tell me about these episodes, and what is a …” He racked his mind for the terminology Gemma had used.“TV show?The one I’m in?”
“Not real.None of this is real.”In an unexpected action, the human bolted forward, clearly intent on grabbing Skarde’s knife.Bold move, but stupid.Skarde punched him square in the chest.The man landed hard on his back, wheezing.He probably had a broken rib or two.
He tested the balance of the blade.“I can make you tell me about this TV.It’s easier if I don’t.”
