Bad Moon Rising (Dark-Hunter #18)(44)
Author: Sherrilyn Kenyon

Savitar shook his head. "Too humane for the crimes you’ve committed." He raked a suspicious look over Fang. "You gonna turn chicken and jump out and make me chase you?"

"No. I don’t want you going after my family."

"Smart wolf. It sucks to have your family pay for your crimes. Take it from someone with firsthand experience." Savitar gestured toward the black stone block that was stained in places by dried blood.

The largest splatter of it was right where Fang needed to put his head.

His stomach churned at the knowledge that soon his own blood would be added to it. And it brought home exactly what was about to happen to him.

He was here to die. . . .

Honestly, he wanted to run. Anything to have one more day. . . .

But he wasn’t about to show his fear to anyone, especially not to the one who was going to kill him. Instead, he reverted to the sarcasm that had seen him through the darkest moments of his life.

It was only fitting it should now see him through his death. "You know, you could wash that nasty thing off between uses."

Savitar shrugged nonchalantly. "Why bother? It’s not like you’re going to catch an infection the last three minutes you’re alive."

"Guess not." Fang sank down on his knees in the sand and glanced away from the dried blood. He looked around the beach and the dark green sea whose waves came rushing up, not too far from him, and realized just how long it’d been since he’d really seen the beauty that existed in the world. How many times he’d taken the sun for granted. Instead, he’d spent his life focusing only on the negatives.

But as he was about to die, he realized the world really was incredible.

"Changing your mind?"

"No." He pulled Aimee’s locket out from his pocket, which reminded him exactly why he had to do this. "Can I make one last request?"

"For you to go free?"

He shook his head and held the locket out to Savitar. "Would you make sure that’s returned to Aimee Peltier?" He reluctantly let go of it.

Why did it feel like he was giving up a limb?

Maybe because she was his heart. . . .

Savitar took it from him and opened it up to look at the photo of her and her brothers. That picture had seen him through hell and he didn’t need to look at it anymore. It was as engraved in his soul as her smile, touch, and smell.

He held it out to Fang. "Something you want to tell me about you and the bearswan?"

For the first time, Fang saw that Aimee had added a picture of him to her locket that covered the engraved words, and that almost succeeded in breaking him. Hell, he’d forgotten about it even being made. It was one Aimee had shot of him behind Sanctuary one afternoon when he’d been taking a break. She’d come out of nowhere to surprise him and snap the photo.

"Look!" she’d said, laughing, as she showed him the photo on the back of her camera. "I love when you look at me like that. I can see your heart in your eyes."

His hair, which he’d grown out only because she liked it that way, had been windblown and he had the dumbest look imaginable on his face-like some lovesick moron. "I look stupid."

"You look gorgeous." She’d given him one of the hottest kisses he’d ever had. "And it makes me want to take a bite out of you."

"That I don’t mind. But for the sakes of the gods, delete that thing before you lose your camera again and someone else sees what a friggin’ goober I am."

She’d stuck her tongue out at him before she’d danced off, her tight ass teasing him even more than her kiss had.

Gods, to have that one moment back. . . .

Why hadn’t she listened to him and deleted the damn thing? Now, in the last moments of his life, Savitar of all f**ks would see what a schmuck he really was.

But the important part was that she’d added his picture to the locket she always wore close to her heart. Not that he had any doubts about her feelings for him, but that showed him exactly how much he meant to her.

Love and regret welled up hard inside him. In that moment, all he wanted was to run back to her.

Give me strength. . . .

He cleared his throat of the tight lump. "Nothing to say." But he held an image of Aimee in his mind as he lay his head down on the block and waited to die. Closing his eyes, he felt the sword lower slowly down to touch the skin of his neck.

A shiver ran over him. Why wouldn’t they just kill him and get it over with?

The blade rubbed against his skin before it lifted up. The demon inside screamed out in panic as it realized what was about to happen.

They were both about to die.

Get up. Fight! Run!

But Fang held steady. This was for his brother and for Aimee. He wouldn’t turn craven and risk their lives. Not for anything as worthless as his own hide.

"All right," Savitar said. "Kill him."

In that moment, Fang let out a curse as something inside him ruptured. It felt like he was being shredded. The pain was excruciating as blood began pouring out of his nose. He was trying to keep his head on the block, but it was getting harder and harder as it felt like acid was crawling up his esophagus and exploding through his skull. The pressure of it knocked him flat on his back.

Savitar and the executioner put their knees on his shoulders to hold him down.

Fang cried out as something hard and painful flew out of his mouth. It shot up, then splintered into a million pieces that fell down over them.

As soon as it did, the two of them released him. Fang panted as the pain subsided and his nose stopped bleeding. Scowling at them, he wiped it away.

The executioner laughed as he pulled his helm off. It was Thorn. "Bet that was some wicked indigestion, huh?"

"What the f**k are you two doing?"

Thorn swung the sword up to rest on his shoulder. "Getting the demon out of you, dumbass. I figured you’d had about enough of him."

Bewildered by the unexpected change of fortune, Fang looked back and forth between them. Was this another head game they were playing with him? Until he knew for sure, he wasn’t getting up. "I don’t understand."

Savitar dropped the locket on his chest. "The easiest, and I use that word with all due sarcasm, way to get Phrixis out of you required an act of unspeakable altruism. I threatened your brother’s life and you came, ready to die to protect him."

Thorn nodded. "The simple love of that one act was more than the demon could handle and out he came. Since he had no body to return to, he was destroyed. Simple."

"Yeah." Savitar held his hand out to Fang to help him to his feet.

For once, he let Savitar pull him to his feet. He wanted to kill them both, but right now he was too grateful to be alive. "You’re both sick, but I appreciate what you did. The bastard was getting a little hard to handle."

Thorn twisted the sword on his shoulder, making the blade flash wickedly in the daylight. "Sorry for the trauma. There really was no other way. Had you had even an inkling, it wouldn’t have worked. But if it makes you feel better, we know you’re not the one killing those people. That would be Misery and Crew, who you now have to find and kill."

Savitar grinned. "If it makes you feel better, you took it like a man."

"No," Fang corrected him. "I took it like a wolf."

Savitar saluted him with respect. "Touche."

Fang looked out at the beach, grateful that it hadn’t been his last sight after all. "Can I go home now?"

Savitar shook his head. "Not quite yet. There’s something I want you to see."

The next thing Fang knew, he was back in his cell and this time his powers weren’t working at all.

Thorn sheathed his sword. "Thanks for the assist."

"No problem."

Sick about what had happened, Thorn looked around at the scattered ashes of the demon. "Damn shame Fang couldn’t control him. I’d had great plans for them."

Savitar arched one brow. "What kind of plans?"

"You’re omniscient. Don’t you know?"

Savitar gave him a droll glare. "You know better. I can only see the future after I’ve impacted it." Which was why he tried to stay on his island, away from the world. Here there was nothing and no one to change.

Life went on without him and he preferred it that way.

Most days.

Thorn shrugged. "I guess we all have a limit to what we can do."

That was supposed to be the law of the universe and yet he’d seen and felt things from Thorn that defied that. "That’s not what I’ve heard about you."

"You going to believe everything you hear?"

Savitar watched as Thorn vanished. He knew that man was playing a game with all of them. He just wished he knew which one.

And who Thorn’s real teammates were.

Fang pounded at the clear door, furious over being locked in after what they’d done to him. He’d been put through the wringer and right now he was ready to tear both Savitar and Thorn apart.

"Hold your fur, wolf," Savitar snapped as he appeared in the hallway.

"Why can’t I go?"

"Because I think you need to see this."

"See what?"

He jerked his chin toward the wall behind Fang. "Your brother’s time is up to bring you in."

What did that have to so with anything? "I brought myself in."

"Vane doesn’t know that. I think you should see his reaction."

"You are really sick, aren’t you?"

"No. I just know how much in life goes unsaid and hidden. Everyone needs to know, just once, how much they mean to the people around them."

Fang frowned as he vanished. The moment, he did, the clear door darkened to black and the wall Savitar had indicated a second ago turned transparent, showing him the council room on the other side.

Vane was already there. Alone.

Savitar strode over to him, again with that stoic expression that gave away absolutely nothing. "Where’s your brother?"

"I don’t know."

"You couldn’t find him?"

Vane’s features hardened with determination. "I didn’t look."

Savitar’s expression turned dark. Lethal. When he spoke, his tone was filled with malice. "Do you understand what you’re risking?"

Vane nodded. "My mate and I are bonded. I offer you my life for Fang’s, but please, don’t leave my children orphans. I know you have the ability to break a bond-mating and I ask you to have mercy. My family is innocent and they pose no threat to you or anyone else."

"You’re really asking me for mercy?"

A tic worked in Vane’s jaw and Fang knew exactly how hard the next words were for a man as proud as his brother was to say. "I’m begging for your mercy, Savitar. I can’t hand my brother over to you."

One taunting eyebrow shot up. "You can’t or you won’t?"

"Both."

"And your mate? What did she have to say about this?"

"She agreed with my decision."

"Even though it means she might not live to see your children grow up?"

Vane nodded. "We understand the consequences. As I said, we’re hoping for your mercy. But whatever you decide, I can’t live knowing my life was paid for with my brother’s blood."

"That’s a hell of a thing to hope for. You’re not really counting on me to play with a conscience, are you?"

Fang frowned as he heard someone at the door of his cell. He looked back at Vane and Savitar who were still talking.

What was going on?

"Fang? Are you in there?"

His heart stopped beating at the sound of the last voice he expected to hear. "Aimee?"

"Hurry. Get the door open."

Who was she talking to?

"Stand back, akri-wolf! The Simi’s gonna huff and puff and melt that door down. And you might not want to be too close when I do it, ’cause melted wolf is tough on the enamel and akra-Aimee might not like it if you turn into a puddle of bloody goo. Besides, burning wolf is kind of smelly to the Simi’s delicate nostrils. So stand back."

Fang was stunned. Simi was with Aimee? Ash’s demon companion? What the hell was she doing here?

What was Aimee thinking?

Knowing better than to argue with Simi, who never took no for an answer unless Ash was the one saying it, Fang did as she said. He’d barely cleared the area when the door literally disintegrated into a molten pool on the floor.

Beaming with pride over what she’d done, Simi wiped her hands together. "That was fun . . . you think Savitar will let the Simi blast through something else? Maybe that curtain over there . . ."

"No, no, Simi," Aimee said, pulling her to a stop. "We don’t want to torch the curtains."

Simi’s bottom lip jutted out into a strangely becoming pout. "Oh, pooh, you’re just like akri. No, Simi, don’t be breathing fire around the flammable objects or small children. Except for that black plastic card that’s not really plastic. It some metal thing, but the Simi loves it ’cause it let her buy everything she want without limit. He never say no to Simi when she use it. Oh, hello there, Fang. You okay? You looking kind of peaked or piqued or . . . ? Oh, heck, the Simi can never keep those straight."

Ignoring Simi’s rant, he looked at Aimee. "What are you two doing here?"