small place at the end of a hall.
Their bad luck. Bad thing about parasei—even these louts, old as some of them were, they’d only been in this world a few decades, if that. They didn’t live long enough to gain much in the way of strategic skill and most of the brain power was devoted to pain, chaos…death.
Two more peered around the corner, tried to come at him. He held still, waiting. Although he still had a dozen or so knives, he wasn’t about to throw them if he didn’t have to. The swords would do for now.
There might even be light at the end of the tunnel. Might—he’d sensed something just seconds ago, that weird prickle along his spine. The presence of a Grimm—a strong one, old. Too old to be Celine, thank God. This was too much for her—
Oh, hell. In his peripheral vision, he saw something. Fuck holding on to the knives. He drew two in one hand and sent them flying. As the demons fell, Rob dropped from the ceiling.
Jacob stared at the other Grimm, his lip curled. “I must be in dire straights if you were sent.”
“Maybe I was sent to collect your rotted carcass and I just arrived too soon.” Rob smiled, striding forward. A body blocked his way and he stepped on it—not over it the way many would have. He gave it a glance, a faint frown on his face as if he’d only just noticed it. “I can always leave and come back, you stupid old git.”
“You’re here. You might as well make yourself useful.” Jacob gave him a once-over. “You don’t even have weapons.”
“I don’t need them.” Rob cracked his neck, first one way, then the other. As several more of the parasei started to rush them, he sank to a crouch. A mean smile came and went. “This is going to be fun.”
Adrenaline crashed through Jacob, hard, fast. If he hadn’t been fighting for going on thirty minutes, then he might have echoed Rob’s thoughts—one thing they had in common. They both had a mad love for the fight.
As the parasei struck, an eerie, animalistic howl echoed through the house. In another forty-five seconds, three more parasei were dead and Rob had blood dripping from his fingers. It was almost the same shade of red as his eyes.
He looked at Jacob and smiled. “I thought you could use a bit of a break, there. We’ll split the next round.”
“Show-off,” Jacob muttered.
Rob cocked his head, listening. “They’re regrouping—they didn’t expect you’d get reinforcements this late in the game.” Red eyes glinted as he looked at Jacob. “They’ll have more of a surprise in a bit. You must have landed yourself in a right mess. You’ve got Will coming.”
“Will…?”
The brilliant flash of light came, but it was muted.
Jacob closed his eyes, briefly wondered if he could just fall down now. He felt rather cold now and—
“A right mess doesn’t even touch it, Jacob, and no. You cannot fall down. Celine, you stay in here.”
Celine —
Spinning around, he opened his eyes. Pain forgotten, blood loss forgotten, he stormed across the floor. Celine watched him, her eyes neutral, as he came to a stop in front of Will. “This entire place is flooded with parasei,” Jacob growled. “I miscalculated—she shouldn’t be here. Take her back.”
“ You shouldn’t have come in so blindly,” Will replied. “No. I won’t take her back. We finish the job.”
Jacob snapped, “She’s not ready for this—”
“That’s not for you to decide,” Celine said.
“I’m not speaking to you,” he bit off, tossing her a glance.
“Too fucking bad—if you’re discussing me , you can damn well include me in the conversation. I won’t be left in the dark.”
She shucked the long coat she wore, revealing a tooled strip of leather that rode low around her hips. It held two guns, carried extra ammo and somehow managed to look bloody sexy— keep your mind where it needs to be, he told himself. She had her knives to go with the guns, as well as her staff, and it still wasn’t
Their bad luck. Bad thing about parasei—even these louts, old as some of them were, they’d only been in this world a few decades, if that. They didn’t live long enough to gain much in the way of strategic skill and most of the brain power was devoted to pain, chaos…death.
Two more peered around the corner, tried to come at him. He held still, waiting. Although he still had a dozen or so knives, he wasn’t about to throw them if he didn’t have to. The swords would do for now.
There might even be light at the end of the tunnel. Might—he’d sensed something just seconds ago, that weird prickle along his spine. The presence of a Grimm—a strong one, old. Too old to be Celine, thank God. This was too much for her—
Oh, hell. In his peripheral vision, he saw something. Fuck holding on to the knives. He drew two in one hand and sent them flying. As the demons fell, Rob dropped from the ceiling.
Jacob stared at the other Grimm, his lip curled. “I must be in dire straights if you were sent.”
“Maybe I was sent to collect your rotted carcass and I just arrived too soon.” Rob smiled, striding forward. A body blocked his way and he stepped on it—not over it the way many would have. He gave it a glance, a faint frown on his face as if he’d only just noticed it. “I can always leave and come back, you stupid old git.”
“You’re here. You might as well make yourself useful.” Jacob gave him a once-over. “You don’t even have weapons.”
“I don’t need them.” Rob cracked his neck, first one way, then the other. As several more of the parasei started to rush them, he sank to a crouch. A mean smile came and went. “This is going to be fun.”
Adrenaline crashed through Jacob, hard, fast. If he hadn’t been fighting for going on thirty minutes, then he might have echoed Rob’s thoughts—one thing they had in common. They both had a mad love for the fight.
As the parasei struck, an eerie, animalistic howl echoed through the house. In another forty-five seconds, three more parasei were dead and Rob had blood dripping from his fingers. It was almost the same shade of red as his eyes.
He looked at Jacob and smiled. “I thought you could use a bit of a break, there. We’ll split the next round.”
“Show-off,” Jacob muttered.
Rob cocked his head, listening. “They’re regrouping—they didn’t expect you’d get reinforcements this late in the game.” Red eyes glinted as he looked at Jacob. “They’ll have more of a surprise in a bit. You must have landed yourself in a right mess. You’ve got Will coming.”
“Will…?”
The brilliant flash of light came, but it was muted.
Jacob closed his eyes, briefly wondered if he could just fall down now. He felt rather cold now and—
“A right mess doesn’t even touch it, Jacob, and no. You cannot fall down. Celine, you stay in here.”
Celine —
Spinning around, he opened his eyes. Pain forgotten, blood loss forgotten, he stormed across the floor. Celine watched him, her eyes neutral, as he came to a stop in front of Will. “This entire place is flooded with parasei,” Jacob growled. “I miscalculated—she shouldn’t be here. Take her back.”
“ You shouldn’t have come in so blindly,” Will replied. “No. I won’t take her back. We finish the job.”
Jacob snapped, “She’s not ready for this—”
“That’s not for you to decide,” Celine said.
“I’m not speaking to you,” he bit off, tossing her a glance.
“Too fucking bad—if you’re discussing me , you can damn well include me in the conversation. I won’t be left in the dark.”
She shucked the long coat she wore, revealing a tooled strip of leather that rode low around her hips. It held two guns, carried extra ammo and somehow managed to look bloody sexy— keep your mind where it needs to be, he told himself. She had her knives to go with the guns, as well as her staff, and it still wasn’t
Similar Books
