“She’s not doing magic here,” I mutter to Gunnar, who’s on my left. He gives me a tiny head bob, letting me know he’s heard me.
“Vanessa!” he bellows in the next second. “Stop fucking wasting my time and get down here!”
As I glance to the right, I watch as Grim sends a narrow-eyed scowl at another man, who’s coming out of one of the halls splitting off the main foyer. I recognize him the moment his beefy face comes into view. He’s one of the men I’ve come to associate as Vanessa’s bodyguard. His other half comes from another hall, joining his companion to stand before us like a united front, much the same way we are.
I can’t help myself. I step forward and give them a smile, but it’s not a smile many people enjoy seeing. “Hiya, big boys.” They stand stock-still in front of me, not even dipping their eyes in my direction. Instead, they keep their gaze on the men behind me. A small chuff of a laugh sneaks its way up my throat. I know the men behind me are deadly, I have no doubt about how this would play out if I allowed it, but I’m not patient, nor do I like the way they seemed to have dismissed me as a threat.
Without moving a muscle, and my sinister smile still in place, I call the goon on the left’s soul to me. He blinks several times. It’s the first sign he knows something’s wrong. He reaches up and drags a thin cord out from under his shirt, fisting something as his chest starts heaving. “Did you think that would protect you?” I almost want to laugh at the faith he put in the little trinket around his neck. It must be some sort of witch-created protection spell.
His cohort’s eyes dart to him, but he stands firm. I’m sure he’s wondering what’s happening. I think it’s time I show him. I release Lefty, not that I need to, and focus my attention on Righty. I reach for his soul, it’s much darker than his friends. “Oh, you’re a naughty boy,” I whisper, while he makes a gasping sound. His sins have eaten away at his aura. He doesn’t have the stink of magic, but his crimes against others are abundant. “You like little girls, huh?” I seethe.
Lefty’s eyes are wide as he looks around, either for an escape or maybe an explanation for what’s happening to them.
My mouth begins to water, and I feel my first desire to eat in days. Only I don’t want his sins, I want his entire soul. One more quick draw and Righty crumples to the floor, his face as ashen as a corpse left in the snow.
“Sorry about your buddy.” I lay a hand over my stomach as my shoulders pull back. “He was too tasty to pass up.” I purposefully lick my lips.
Lefty takes a step backwards. His eyes jerking from the man on the floor and back up to me. He still doesn’t understand what’s happening.
I feel a hand land on my shoulder. Grim steps up to meet me and he looks down, his eyes soft, without an ounce of censure. “Maybe you could let us talk to them before you consume their souls?” he suggests, like it’s really a question, like if I decide just to devour them all, it would only be a slight inconvenience.
“Damnedest thing—I just couldn’t help myself,” I admit easily. This is a new development, but one I don’t have time to worry about now.
I hear Vanessa’s heels clicking on the floor before I see her. She saunters into the room and doesn’t even acknowledge the corpse on the floor. “You called?” she asks glibly, cocking out her hip.
Gunnar takes a step forward. “Watch it, witch!” he rages, his shoulders already growing in size. “I want to know who you’re working with.”
Vanessa’s lips part and she lets out a small hiss of air. She surprised, but hiding it well. I’m not sure yet if it’s Gunnar’s knowledge that she’s working with someone else, or the fact that we don’t know who it is, that has her alarmed.
“Why would I be working with anyone?” she blusters, but it’s far too late. I would know she was being deceitful, even if I didn’t sense the untruth.
“Cut the shit, witch.” Calix shoulders his way up so he’s in line with us again.
“You’ve never been one to work well with others, Berserker, but it seems you’ve found yourself some new friends.” Vanessa’s eyes linger on all of us, me the shortest. “Powerful friends,” she mutters, focusing back on Grim. I hate the way her eyes roam over him, greedy and hungry.
I ball up my fists. Before this evening is over, she’ll be just as soulless as her bodyguard. There’salwaysroom for dessert. “Vanessa, you look like a snack,” I purr the compliment, but the meaning behind it is so much more than she could possibly understand.
She looks down and assesses her dress. “Not all of us can pull off the trailer trash look quite as effectively as you, Deanna.”
I snicker—not only do I sense her lie, but I know for certain that I can make jeans and a white t-shirt look damn good. I roll my eyes and let my head loll to the side to stare at Gunnar. She’s reaching for straws if she’s trying to insult me. “Can we get this show on the road?” I turn my gaze back to Vanessa. “I’m getting hungry again.”
“What is this, Drott? Who are these people, and why are you here?” Vanessa feigns, acting like she doesn’t know the reason for his presence.
“Listen, Vanessa, this can only go two ways. You either tell me what I want to know, and you might be able to walk away from this with just your title stripped—” I clear my throat, that’s not happening “—or I get the information I need from you any way possible,” he continues, not realizing she’s going to die either way, but that’s okay, he’s not really lying since he doesn’t know I’m going to kill her yet.
Vanessa clicks her tongue. Her demeanor shifts, and I hear several people I already knew were lingering start to come forward. None of them speak, they just line up around Vanessa in a silent show of support. A tremble works its way over Gunnar’s shoulders.
Calix, who has been relatively quiet, lets out a weighty sigh. “Bad choice, witch.” And all hell breaks loose.
Chapter 25
Gunnar lets out a roar that I think could rival Calix’s when he is in his Nemean form. His shoulders grow bulkier, and his jaw and teeth transform even beyond what they did that day in his office. I watch him, transfixed; it’s eerily beautiful. Now, he looks like one of my baddies.
I smirk and face the group of human-looking witches. A few hold their ground, while others are already looking for an escape. I want to take odds on the number that will flee at the first chance, but I know I won’t be heard over Gunnar and the shouts that ensue soon after. He reaches out—his span is nearly double what it would be in his more human form—and grabs a male witch, palming his entire head before tossing him to the side like a ragdoll. The thud he makes when he splats into the wall makes me think he probably won’t be getting up anytime soon.
The real screaming starts then. I tip my head back on my shoulders and let the fear consuming them wash over me. I lower my eyes and growl, “Let’s not let him have all the fun.”
Calix bounds forward and slams a man against the wall, he places his mouth next to the man’s ear and whispers. The stench of piss hits my nose, and I scrunch up my face.
