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The dining hal was a mess--overturned tables and chairs everywhere, broken glass from behind the bar, holes dotted the wal s, and it smel ed like someone had put out a fire in the smel iest way imaginable--the stench of urine was strong. With al the strong odors, I could barely smel the skunk.
The shouts of fighting abruptly stopped as al eyes turned to us. I held my breath, waiting for that moment, waiting for the inner urge that would propel me forward. Always before a battle, there was the deciding nudge, the prime moment when al hel broke loose. And it always came before I thought I was ready.
But this time, as I surveyed the enemy, I felt a quiet confidence. Fear, yes, but confidence. Lysanthra hummed in my hand, and I felt her shiver of anticipation. She loved a good fight, and when her edge cut into our opponents and she tasted blood, Lysanthra sang. And her song boosted my energy.
And then someone--perhaps it was a goblin, perhaps it was one of us--made a slight move, and the tableau crumbled and we were into the battle.
I raced forward, straight toward one of the biggest goblins I could see. Our policy was to start with the toughest, which general y scared the weakest ones into submission or to run away.
The brute was at least my height, but he outweighed me by fifty pounds. A surge of adrenaline flooded my body. Goblins were butt-ugly, their leathery skin protecting them like good armor. His hair hung in makeshift dreads, and he arched one eyebrow as I moved in, a sick look of pleasure crossing his face.
Camil e let out a scream--a battle cry of sorts--and joined hands with Morio. They were weaving a web of magic impossible to ignore. Smoky slipped past them, rumbling like an earthquake, and as he met one of the goblins, his nails grew into long, razor-sharp claws, and his hair lashed out like a bul whip, striking the creature in the face with a loud snap. He swiped a long gash along the demon's torso and then leapt back before the creature could touch him.
My opponent engaged me, and we circled one another. I noticed an entry--he'd let his guard down by a fraction, just enough for me to dart in and thrust. I lunged at him, Lysanthra singing in my hand, and landed a stab to his lower torso. He bel owed as I pul ed back, my blade bloody.
The goblin brought his hands up, clasping them together overhead. I looked for his weapon, then realized too late that he was casting a spel . Oh shit--a goblin mage, and I didn't have anything to counter magic!>Iris shrugged. "Typical day. Take care of Maggie, clean up around here, and then Bruce and I wil finish harvesting the last of the herbs for the season."
"I guess that covers it," I said as the phone rang. Being closest, I answered. "Hel o?"
Chase's voice rang over the line. "Delilah, we have a problem."
"What?" Whenever Chase cal ed late at night with a problem, it was usual y a doozy.
"There's mayhem down on the docks near Exo Reed's joint--the Halcyon Hotel & Nightclub. Big fight going down. I need as many of you as I can get down there. ASAP." The phone slammed down in my ear.
I turned to the others, groaning. "Nobody's going to bed. We've got trouble at Exo Reed's. Chase needs us. Iris--you and Bruce stay with Maggie and Nerissa. Everybody else, get changed double time, and let's hit the road."
A glance at the clock made me wince. We were al tired, but we had to be ready 24/7 when it came to phone cal s in the middle of the night. I just prayed that we weren't going into a major battle against Stacia tonight. We needed to find her, yes, but man, I just did not want to face her smel ing like skunk, worn out, and grungy.
CHAPTER 4
"Crap, and double crap." I slid into a pair of ripped jeans and an old sweater. "I'm going in there reeking, and anything with half a nose wil smel me."
I shimmied the pants up over my thighs and pul ed on the sweater. As I shook my head and looked in the mirror, I caught my breath. With the dark olive sweater and the black jeans, my new spiked-up multicolored hair lit up the green of my eyes like never before. For a moment, I didn't recognize myself.
"Whoa." I turned, first one way, then the other. I looked like I had bal s now. Kick-ass, no-more-tears bal s. And it looked good.
"Get a move on!" Menol y's voice echoed from downstairs, and I shook myself out of my reverie and grabbed Lysanthra, my dagger, and careful y slid her into my boot sheath. She and I had a wonderful relationship, and I never went into a fight without her now.
I raced down the stairs just in time to see Camil e and the guys come out of their room, and surprise number two in the dress department: no skirt.
Camil e was in a black velvet jumpsuit with flared legs. A silver belt rode low around her waist, and granny boots completed the retro sixties vision. She looked like Catwoman or Emma Peel, only with better cleavage. The guys were wearing jeans and tops easy to fight in, and we clattered down the stairs together.
Menol y had changed out of her gown and was wearing jeans, a turtleneck, and a denim jacket. Roz had on his usual duster-cum-armory. Vanzir was rocker-chic, of course, and we headed out to the cars without a word as Iris bolted the door behind us.
We split up into three groups. Camil e and her men jumped in her Lexus, Roz rode shotgun with Menol y in her Jag, and Vanzir hopped into the passenger seat of my Jeep. Fol owing Camil e, we eased out onto the road and headed for the docks and the Halcyon Hotel.
Exo Reed was a werewolf--a presiding member of the Loco Lobos Pack. He was also a stable member of both the Supe Community and the city at large. A psychedelic redneck with a penchant for business, he ran his hotel to cater to Supes of al kinds.
He had, however, instituted a stronger screening process after Dredge--my sister's horrific sire--had infiltrated the hotel, and we total y trashed a suite trying to stake him. After we'd dusted Dredge and done a number on Exo's hotel, Exo had hired a seer to ferret out troublemakers. Now his hotel was always ful with Supes who wanted an extra measure of protection while staying there.
The streets of the Bel es-Faire District passed by in darkness. There was stil quite a bit of undeveloped land out in this area, and some of the Fae were beginning to buy it up to keep it safe. Most of those living in the suburb didn't realize it was happening, but the quiet coup was often discussed in our Supe Community meetings, where we planned out ways to smooth interactions between our people and the FBHs.
I glanced over at Vanzir, who was staring out the side window. "You okay? You seem uncommonly quiet tonight." Usual y, the demon had no problem voicing his opinion on anything from music to politics.
He shrugged. "Yeah. I'm fine."
"You don't seem it."
