club. The men seated in a circular lounge area came to attention at the sight of my vampire arriving before them, although the sight of giant Arkady standing to her left no doubt caught their attention as well.
Around us, I could feel men standing up from other booths—foot soldiers realizing a gigantic threat had suddenly appeared in their midst. Then they noticed me.
It used to be that I could stay under the radar for these kinds of things, the world-class beauty by my side taking all the attention. But the digital stream of last year’s events had forever ruined my ability to hide.
Now feet shuffled and bodies angled as they realigned their priorities. Eyes locked onto me, expressions changing from the respectful yet confident way they had looked at Tanya to a strange combination of anxiety, fear, and, I’m uncomfortable to say, not a little awe.
“God’s Hammer has come among them—simultaneously an auspicious and dangerous moment for them,” Nika whispered into my ear. “The awe is real, but these are not innocent men, and having God’s Warrior in their midst is… mildly terrifying for them.”
“They don’t know whether to shit or sing a hymn,” Lydia added.
“My uncle has a saying that he uses with his cop friends. I don’t think he knows I ever heard it. They don’t know whether to fight, fuck, or go for their guns,” Stacia said. She shrugged at the look that Lydia gave her. “I heard lots of things I wasn’t supposed to. Big ears.”
Declan, who had his poker face on, cracked a smile and raised an eyebrow. “I gotta remember that one for a certain alpha asshole back at Arcane,” he said.
Tanya turned and gave us all a look of exasperation. We settled down. Our hosts looked on curiously.
“Sergei will take us before the Avtorityet —the local boss,” Tanya said. Sergei smiled at her, letting it slide across the other ladies, becoming a frown when it crossed Arkady and fading into blankness at myself. Declan was ignored—the way I used to be. Sergei turned and started walking to a door in the back wall, the foot soldiers all moving to create almost a corridor of muscle, all wearing their most surly expressions. Grim was not impressed. How long would they last if one pulled a gun or knife? There were seventeen of them. Grim’s estimate was six seconds, but that was on our own. With Tanya in link… maybe three seconds.
“Seventeen. My best is like thirty-eight at once,” Declan said to me quietly.
“What?” I asked.
“There are seventeen bodyguards. I could handle them if it got real,” he said in a whisper.
I gave him a look.
“Oh, I know you could or probably anyone in the group could, too. I was just letting you know that I wouldn’t be helpless or useless,” he said.
“Never thought you would be. But what would you do?” I asked, curious.
“Burn out their brainstems.”
“In what order?” I asked.
“All at once. That’s what I meant by thirty-eight. I’ve lit thirty-eight candles at once.”
“Big difference between candles and brainstems,” Lydia chimed in quietly.
“No, not really. The fatty deposits of the brain are highly flammable,” he said.
“How the hell do you know that?” Lydia asked.
“AP Bio. Ah, and Sorrow says that brains burn like a torch at the right temperature,” he admitted.
“That’s not creepy or anything,” Lydia muttered.
“Yeah, try living with it in your head,” Declan said.
“So you’re claiming to have something in your head?” Lydia quipped.
“Lydia, we’ve talked about this several times before, but you are old and dementia can be a real problem among the elderly,” Declan replied smoothly. The kid seemed to have found his way into Lydia’s crosshairs.
“Quiet, you two. No talking when we meet the Avtorityet ,” Tanya said to
Around us, I could feel men standing up from other booths—foot soldiers realizing a gigantic threat had suddenly appeared in their midst. Then they noticed me.
It used to be that I could stay under the radar for these kinds of things, the world-class beauty by my side taking all the attention. But the digital stream of last year’s events had forever ruined my ability to hide.
Now feet shuffled and bodies angled as they realigned their priorities. Eyes locked onto me, expressions changing from the respectful yet confident way they had looked at Tanya to a strange combination of anxiety, fear, and, I’m uncomfortable to say, not a little awe.
“God’s Hammer has come among them—simultaneously an auspicious and dangerous moment for them,” Nika whispered into my ear. “The awe is real, but these are not innocent men, and having God’s Warrior in their midst is… mildly terrifying for them.”
“They don’t know whether to shit or sing a hymn,” Lydia added.
“My uncle has a saying that he uses with his cop friends. I don’t think he knows I ever heard it. They don’t know whether to fight, fuck, or go for their guns,” Stacia said. She shrugged at the look that Lydia gave her. “I heard lots of things I wasn’t supposed to. Big ears.”
Declan, who had his poker face on, cracked a smile and raised an eyebrow. “I gotta remember that one for a certain alpha asshole back at Arcane,” he said.
Tanya turned and gave us all a look of exasperation. We settled down. Our hosts looked on curiously.
“Sergei will take us before the Avtorityet —the local boss,” Tanya said. Sergei smiled at her, letting it slide across the other ladies, becoming a frown when it crossed Arkady and fading into blankness at myself. Declan was ignored—the way I used to be. Sergei turned and started walking to a door in the back wall, the foot soldiers all moving to create almost a corridor of muscle, all wearing their most surly expressions. Grim was not impressed. How long would they last if one pulled a gun or knife? There were seventeen of them. Grim’s estimate was six seconds, but that was on our own. With Tanya in link… maybe three seconds.
“Seventeen. My best is like thirty-eight at once,” Declan said to me quietly.
“What?” I asked.
“There are seventeen bodyguards. I could handle them if it got real,” he said in a whisper.
I gave him a look.
“Oh, I know you could or probably anyone in the group could, too. I was just letting you know that I wouldn’t be helpless or useless,” he said.
“Never thought you would be. But what would you do?” I asked, curious.
“Burn out their brainstems.”
“In what order?” I asked.
“All at once. That’s what I meant by thirty-eight. I’ve lit thirty-eight candles at once.”
“Big difference between candles and brainstems,” Lydia chimed in quietly.
“No, not really. The fatty deposits of the brain are highly flammable,” he said.
“How the hell do you know that?” Lydia asked.
“AP Bio. Ah, and Sorrow says that brains burn like a torch at the right temperature,” he admitted.
“That’s not creepy or anything,” Lydia muttered.
“Yeah, try living with it in your head,” Declan said.
“So you’re claiming to have something in your head?” Lydia quipped.
“Lydia, we’ve talked about this several times before, but you are old and dementia can be a real problem among the elderly,” Declan replied smoothly. The kid seemed to have found his way into Lydia’s crosshairs.
“Quiet, you two. No talking when we meet the Avtorityet ,” Tanya said to
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