disappeared.
Gasping, Raal released my hands and stepped back. “Who are you?”
“Not important,” Ronin answered before I could speak. “A debt is owed. You will pay. Or,” Ronin threatened, looking around the shop, “Salvation Ink goes back on the list.”
Raal narrowed his eyes at Ronin. “This keeps me off the list permanently?”
“Aye, it will.”
Tightening his jaw, Raal turned his gaze back to me. “How much blood do you have?”
I pulled out the vial and handed it to him. I wasn’t sure how this worked, but I was hoping there wouldn’t be enough to do the entire design. I didn’t want to walk out of here with a full sleeve of vines running over each arm. I glanced at Ronin, about to ask, when Raal opened the vial and knocked it back like a shot of whiskey.
“What the hell…” I gasped as Raal clamped his hands around both my forearms.
His chant was jumbled, but a few words like “shape,” rang out as the vines from my design grew out of his own tattoos, covering his arms as they had mine just a minute ago. I screamed out in pain when he uttered, “metamorphose” and blood-colored vines etched across my skin, disappearing from Raal in the process.
Ronin’s name for this was accurate. The process felt as if Raal was driving spikes into my flesh.
Raal’s eyes grew wide as Harry’s blood mixed with mine and flared a fiery red all along the design. My body seized and jerked as the vines met at the base of my neck. Cursing, Raal attempted to pull away, but he couldn’t stop. He had to finish. I grabbed hold of his arms, drawing blood as my nails dug in.
“Finish it,” I yelled.
His eyes flashed crimson as a chill surged through me and settled the ink. I released him. He dropped to one knee as the ebb and flow of power coursing through my body flared, and then everything went black.
Chapter 10
“You can’t leave her here,” Raal’s voice broke into the darkness. “I won’t be responsible for her.”
“She’ll—” Ronin said.
“Screw you, man. She’s the fucking Fall Queen and you brought her here—with his blood. Fuck me, I’m a dead man.”
“She isn’t going to do anything to you or this shop. She’s going to wake up with a bitch of a headache and leave.”
Ronin was right: my head was pounding. I stepped outside of my body.
Raal was pacing, nervously running his hands over his bald pate. “What, after she levels Underworld?”
Ronin stood there with his arms crossed and a stern look on his face. His phone buzzed and he checked the time. “I have to go. And quit worrying about the lass going supernova, she knows how to handle it.
Raal barked out a laugh. “No one knows how to handle that kind of power. I can feel it building.”
The energy at my core wasn’t as bright as it had been last summer, but I could see it twisting and turning back in on itself—contained, as I’d trained my body last summer—so I wasn’t sure what Raal was sensing. The vines he tattooed on my skin pulsed with life. As I watched, a tiny sliver of energy rippled through the design. A second later, another sliver snaked its way up my arm. Tracing the pulse back to my hands, it appeared that the blood coating my nails was somehow being absorbed into my palms.
That couldn’t be good.
At least the vines weren’t visible to the naked eye. Of course, that didn’t mean the big three wouldn’t see the power as it coiled within. With a force of will, I mentally tried to dampen the power. I was stronger than I’d been in weeks, but I didn’t want anyone else to sense the change. There had to be a way to hide it.
“Oh fuck,” Raal said, backing away. “That bitch is about to wake up—I can feel it. You’ve screwed me, Hunter. I’m taking this to the big man. I should have told him weeks ago what X’s boys have been up to. I won’t be responsible for this shit.”
A red flash ran across Ronin’s aura. His eyes went glassy and he
Gasping, Raal released my hands and stepped back. “Who are you?”
“Not important,” Ronin answered before I could speak. “A debt is owed. You will pay. Or,” Ronin threatened, looking around the shop, “Salvation Ink goes back on the list.”
Raal narrowed his eyes at Ronin. “This keeps me off the list permanently?”
“Aye, it will.”
Tightening his jaw, Raal turned his gaze back to me. “How much blood do you have?”
I pulled out the vial and handed it to him. I wasn’t sure how this worked, but I was hoping there wouldn’t be enough to do the entire design. I didn’t want to walk out of here with a full sleeve of vines running over each arm. I glanced at Ronin, about to ask, when Raal opened the vial and knocked it back like a shot of whiskey.
“What the hell…” I gasped as Raal clamped his hands around both my forearms.
His chant was jumbled, but a few words like “shape,” rang out as the vines from my design grew out of his own tattoos, covering his arms as they had mine just a minute ago. I screamed out in pain when he uttered, “metamorphose” and blood-colored vines etched across my skin, disappearing from Raal in the process.
Ronin’s name for this was accurate. The process felt as if Raal was driving spikes into my flesh.
Raal’s eyes grew wide as Harry’s blood mixed with mine and flared a fiery red all along the design. My body seized and jerked as the vines met at the base of my neck. Cursing, Raal attempted to pull away, but he couldn’t stop. He had to finish. I grabbed hold of his arms, drawing blood as my nails dug in.
“Finish it,” I yelled.
His eyes flashed crimson as a chill surged through me and settled the ink. I released him. He dropped to one knee as the ebb and flow of power coursing through my body flared, and then everything went black.
Chapter 10
“You can’t leave her here,” Raal’s voice broke into the darkness. “I won’t be responsible for her.”
“She’ll—” Ronin said.
“Screw you, man. She’s the fucking Fall Queen and you brought her here—with his blood. Fuck me, I’m a dead man.”
“She isn’t going to do anything to you or this shop. She’s going to wake up with a bitch of a headache and leave.”
Ronin was right: my head was pounding. I stepped outside of my body.
Raal was pacing, nervously running his hands over his bald pate. “What, after she levels Underworld?”
Ronin stood there with his arms crossed and a stern look on his face. His phone buzzed and he checked the time. “I have to go. And quit worrying about the lass going supernova, she knows how to handle it.
Raal barked out a laugh. “No one knows how to handle that kind of power. I can feel it building.”
The energy at my core wasn’t as bright as it had been last summer, but I could see it twisting and turning back in on itself—contained, as I’d trained my body last summer—so I wasn’t sure what Raal was sensing. The vines he tattooed on my skin pulsed with life. As I watched, a tiny sliver of energy rippled through the design. A second later, another sliver snaked its way up my arm. Tracing the pulse back to my hands, it appeared that the blood coating my nails was somehow being absorbed into my palms.
That couldn’t be good.
At least the vines weren’t visible to the naked eye. Of course, that didn’t mean the big three wouldn’t see the power as it coiled within. With a force of will, I mentally tried to dampen the power. I was stronger than I’d been in weeks, but I didn’t want anyone else to sense the change. There had to be a way to hide it.
“Oh fuck,” Raal said, backing away. “That bitch is about to wake up—I can feel it. You’ve screwed me, Hunter. I’m taking this to the big man. I should have told him weeks ago what X’s boys have been up to. I won’t be responsible for this shit.”
A red flash ran across Ronin’s aura. His eyes went glassy and he
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