Martinis with the Devil

Book 1: Zyan Star

by A.A. Chamberlynn

Genres: Urban Fantasy; Supernatural suspense

Synopsis

Soul Thief. Bartender. Bounty Hunter.

When offered a job on the Holy Representative's special security team, bounty hunter Zyan Star couldn't be less interested - until she finds out it's her most hated of exes they're trying to track down. She's had over two hundred years to fantasize about revenge. She just didn't quite imagine it playing out alongside the emissaries of Heaven.

Working with Eli, the uptight angel who heads up the HR's security, is just about as much fun as Zy expects. He of course wants her ex brought to justice through legal avenues, which is very inconvenient and incredibly boring. As she dives into the case, however, she realizes there's more at stake than her plot for payback. Like, the free will of mankind, and preventing the minions of hell from taking over the sovereign dimensions.

This job is going to push her to the limits of her abilities, and there's just a slight problem with that: the powers she's suppressed for centuries after losing control of them are exactly the powers she's going to need to save the HR, end her millennia-old ex, and stop Lucifer's little plot to join the party and invade Earth.

Savior of humanity? Not so much. Or so she thought.

***

A sassy, sexy thrill ride of an urban fantasy by bestselling author A.A. Chamberlynn. Perfect for fans of Laurell K. Hamilton, Patricia Briggs, and Jim Butcher. An action-packed supernatural thriller with hefty doses of romance, humor, and magical badassery.

WANT MORE ZYAN STAR?

Zyan Star Series Reading Order

Martinis with the Devil (Book 1)
Whiskey and Angelfire (Book 2)
Vengeance and Vermouth (Book 3)
Black Magic and Mojitos (prequel novelette/Book 4)
Sorcery and Sidecars (origin story novella/Book 5)

The Quinn Chronicles (A spin-off series)

Death and Dating (Book 1)
Death and Promises (Book 2)
Death and Eternity (Book 3)

Zyan Star Book 6 coming soon

Release date: April 11, 2016

Print pages: 336

Content advisory: Sex, violence, adult language

Sample

CHAPTER ONE

 

I had just slammed back a cocktail and was happily contemplating my eternal damnation when the angel walked into my bar. Solid muscle, like all the warriors, and with that same self-satisfied, holier-than-thou attitude. It was the set of the jaw. Gave ‘em away every time. He paused just inside the door, scanning the patrons to the right and left of him. After a moment, satisfied his glamour concealed him, he headed in my direction.

The bar was packed, and no one but me seemed to notice that one of Heaven’s own had just joined the party. I poured a bubbling green concoction into a martini glass and slid it down the counter to a customer as the angel leaned against the black marble of the circular bar. He hooked me in an intense gaze and parted perfect coral-colored lips to speak.

I flashed him my highest-beam smile. “What’ll it be, Wings? Can I interest you in a Wild Stallion cocktail? Real unicorn pheromones.”

His smug expression fell and a scowl replaced it. “No thanks. I’m looking for Zyan Star.” His cold tone brought to mind dark, celestial skies, and my name sounded very formal coming off his tongue.

“Not a lot of heaven’s errand boys come looking for me. I’m not on the big guy’s naughty list again, am I?”

“You’re Ms. Star?” He leaned forward even more, arms crossed over his chest, bulging against his gray t-shirt. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see my fellow bartenders Riley and Quinn staring at him.

I nodded and pushed a strand of burgundy hair behind my ear. “So, what brings a pretty boy like you to Noir? Somehow I don’t think it’s just because you decided to take a walk on the wicked side and mingle with the commoners.”

He tensed, standing up extra straight. “I’m here on official business for the Holy Representative of Northwest America.” His milky white skin seemed to glow as he said it.

“Uh-huh. And?”

“Is there somewhere private we can talk?”

I made a sweeping gesture at the room around us, just one big space with the bar dead center. Floor to ceiling windows revealing a star-streaked night formed the perimeter, and the only two exits were the sky door, and the elevator for supernaturals without wings. Not to mention we were a hundred stories up. “Not so much. And I’m a bit busy as you can see.”

The angel frowned. “The HR wants to hire you for a job.” He enunciated each word as it came out, as if I wouldn’t understand him.

Which actually, I didn’t. “Come again, Wings?”

“My name is Eli,” he said, with a very angelic glower.

“Of course it is,” I crooned. “So, Eli, I kind of thought I just heard you say that the Holy Representative, that is, the direct ambassador between Heaven and Earth, God’s right hand man, all that’s pure and holy, etc., wants me, an eternally damned soul sucker who’s technically within the Devil’s jurisdiction, to work for him. Did I hear that right? Or did that extra shot of pixie dust in my cocktail push me off the far edge of crazy?” I tapped my Twizzler-red fingernails on the bar.

A muscle in his jaw twitched. “The HR wants you to join his security team. Temporarily.”

You know, when you’ve lived over two and a half centuries, not a lot surprises you. But this was so surprising as to borderline on hilarious. “Is this a joke? Are angels allowed to do that?”

“Of course we can. But it’s not a joke.” His tone tightened.

“Right.” I rolled my eyes to emphasize how ridiculous all of this was. Like my dripping sarcasm needed any help. “Really though, when he’s got a team full of devoted angels that are a hundred times stronger than the whole NFL on steroids, why would he need me?”

Something moved across Eli’s face that almost looked like fear. He leaned in and gestured for me to do the same. I sighed and cast a quick sound bubble spell to keep our conversation private. We were so close I could feel the warmth coming off his cheek as he spoke in my ear. He was obnoxious, but man did he smell amazing. Like sunshine and sage.

“There’s been a threat on the HR’s life.” His words vibrated in my ear, tickling my skin.

“He gets death threats every day,” I countered.

“This one was different.” He hesitated. “Whoever’s behind it has hired a vamp assassin.”

I pulled back a little and looked him in the eyes. “Again, with a legion of angels, I don’t see why this is a big deal. You guys are pretty evenly matched against vamps one to one, let alone a thousand to one.”

“This vamp’s already broken through our defenses twice. We don’t know how he’s doing it, and your reputation as a bounty hunter is unparalleled. We figured with your skillset, you could help us protect the HR and figure out who’s behind this.”

I stared into his lavender eyes long enough for him to think I was considering his offer. “Sorry, but I’m a bartender and a bounty hunter, not a babysitter. Not to mention I hate religious politics.” I pushed myself back from the counter.

“Okay, then.” If I’d thought his tone sounded formal before, it was nothing compared to how he sounded now. His feathers looked a bit ruffled though, and I suppressed a laugh.

“Sure you don’t want that drink now? I can make it taste like ambrosia or flower petals or whatever the hell you angels like to drink.” I smiled again, which seemed to rub him the wrong way.

“No thanks.” He gave me one last flash of those pale eyes before striding to the sky door and disappearing into the night.

Riley was on me in less than a second, Quinn a couple moments later. In fairness though, Riley had the advantage of werewolf super-speed, and Quinn was just a plain old witch.

“What was that all about, and more importantly, who the hell was that fine piece of flesh?” Riley’s brown eyes gleamed.

“Who in heaven, actually. HR security,” I added. “The HR wants me to work a security detail. Not a big deal.”

“How is that not a big deal?” Quinn asked.

“Because I turned him down. End of story.” They both kept staring at me, but over at the other side of the bar I heard some impatient calls. “We can talk more back at the apartment. Thirsty customers await.”

Quinn opened her mouth to argue, but then just sighed and strode off toward the customers. Riley crossed his arms over his chest and stomped off. Working with your best friends sucks sometimes.

I turned around and looked out at the city skyline, winking and glittering before me like an undulating dragon. To the north, a pale moon rose up over the Space Needle. In the opposite direction, the newly constructed Angel Tower rose two hundred and twenty-two stories into the sky over downtown Seattle, a tribute to the HR and the angelic forces. Here and there I saw the sparkle of a hover craft zipping through the sky. I took in a deep breath and let it out. It was my Zen moment.

One of my regulars exited the elevator. A red light flashed across the small metallic bar mounted over the doors, as it scanned and sent his unique DNA signature to the government supercomputers that watched for another non-human population explosion like the one at the beginning of Evo. Not that anyone needed a scanner to tell them this seven foot tall beet-red man was non-human.

He leaned up against the bar. “Hey, Zy. Can I get a Demon’s Milk?”

“Sure, Ripper.” I reached for an orange bottle and began pouring the milk into a shot glass. “How’s the night treating you?”

“Great. But some annoying angel downstairs is about to get his ass kicked by a bunch of demon spawn.”

“Well, that could make a nasty mess.” I didn’t need demon spawn skulking around my building. Grabbing my katana from under the bar, I slid it into the sheath on my back. “Hey, I’ll be right back,” I called to Quinn and Riley.

I walked to the sky door and yanked it open. The night air slid across my skin. I looked out over the city again, quiet and peaceful, and then I jumped.

 

 

CHAPTER TWO

 

Keeping my arms to my sides and my legs straight, I cut through the air like a blade. Inky night whooshed past me as I fell. The pavement rose to meet me. I landed in a low crouch just a few feet from Wings and the troublemakers, and as I straightened I reached over my shoulder and pulled out my katana. It whistled as it left its sheath and shone hungrily in the streetlights.

“What’s happening, boys?” I purred.

The spawn turned to look at me with their orange goat eyes. They were ugly little buggers, similar in appearance to goblins, but with tiny wings on their backs. Five of them stood between me and Eli, whose arms were folded neatly over his chest, the veins popping out along his skin.

“None of your concern,” croaked the largest one, who stood only five feet tall, almost a foot shorter than me.

I smiled. “Actually this is very much my concern, as this fine gentlemen is a patron of my bar. I don’t appreciate my customers being harassed.”

“I didn’t buy anything,” Eli said.

I rolled my eyes. Gotta love the appreciation. “Be that as it may, I’m here now, and I’m not about to let a bunch of underworld offspring lurk around my establishment.” I pinned my hazel eyes on the leader. “That’s me asking nicely. I’ll only do it once.”

A slight twitch of a muscle was the only warning the first one gave before launching himself at my face. I brought my blade up before me and watched as his body sliced in half from forehead to groin. Two pieces of black flesh fell to the ground and sizzled into ash.

“Next?”

Two more of the spawn leaped toward me, and the other two at Eli. My sword blurred silver in the night, decapitating the first and taking the arms off the second. Eli dispatched his with a blast of white energy. They poofed into the air, little gray clouds that floated off into the sky.

I leaned down over the armless spawn, who grinned at me like a mental patient. “What’s so funny about bleeding out while your appendages lay beside you?” The tip of my sword pointed under his chin.

“You can’t stop it,” he laughed. His green blood oozed onto the pavement.

“Stop what?” Eli commanded.

“He’s coming. He’s coming! And then we will roam freely.” His smile widened, then he abruptly threw his weight forward, piercing his neck on the blade. “You can’t stop it,” he gurgled through his own blood. A moment later he dissolved into ash.

“What a drama queen,” I muttered.

Eli watched me, his eyes unguarded for just a moment before he lapsed back into what seemed his usual scowl. “That sword’s an interesting choice. Not a fan of hand-to-hand combat?”

“And ruin my nails? Don’t think so.”

“Why’d you even come down here? Did you seriously think I couldn’t handle five tiny demon spawn?”

“My turf, my business. Like I said earlier, I didn’t need them hanging around here anyways.” I ran a wash of magic over my blade to clean it and then caught sight of my boots. “Oh, God damn it!”

“Would you watch your mouth?” Eli snapped. “What’s wrong?”

“Look at my boots!” I lifted one off the ground and pointed my toe so he could see all the green gooey blood soaked into the black leather. “Now I’m gonna have to throw them away.”

“You just fought off a pack of demon spawn that spouted cryptic doomsday messages and all you can think about is your boots?” His voice was hard. Like his abs. Not that I’d been looking while we were in the middle of a battle.

“Come on, you didn’t take that guy seriously, did you?”

Eli’s jaw tightened. “It is my duty to take threats to the sovereignty of humankind very seriously.”

I laughed. “Well, you have fun with that.”

“You know, some of us actually have unselfish reasons for our existence. I’m sorry it isn’t as glamorous as your life.” He lifted his chin, golden hair falling against his jaw line.

“Yes, you should be.” I turned and strode away, leaving him on the street. “Oh, and by the way, you’re welcome,” I called over my shoulder.

 

 

The hand of the clock on my bedroom wall was creeping toward three when I awoke the next afternoon. A fuzzy beast lay in bed next to me. My German Shepherd, Malakai. I ruffled her between the ears before stumbling to the window and opening the blinds a crack. Typical overcast Seattle weather. A block away, I could see the building that Noir was in. After pulling on a silk bath robe, I headed out to the kitchen, mumbling greetings to Quinn, who was bottling potions at the coffee table.

I poured my usual bowl of Fruit Loops before sitting down at a bar stool. It didn’t do anything to nourish me, but I liked the taste of them. I wouldn’t need another soul for a few days. Thankfully a couple of those a month kept me alive, and I could find enough rapists and murderers to keep my conscience clean. Though how I’d managed to cling to any morals at all with the immortal upbringing I’d had was still a mystery to me.

My first spoonful was on its way to my mouth when someone knocked on the door.

“Can you get that?” Quinn asked. She had pink goo all over her hands.

I strolled to the door, swung it open and eyed my visitors with a wide grin. “Good afternoon, boys.” I leaned against the frame in my bathrobe. “What can I do for you?”

Two teenaged boys stood before me, one tall and pimply, the other stocky and sporting carrot-colored curls. Both pairs of eyes widened to a size bigger than the bibles they held.

“G-good afternoon, m-miss. We’re here on behalf of the Pure Club to ask if y-you’ve embraced our Lord, Jesus Christ,” said Pimples. Sweat broke out on his brow.

I smiled my biggest smile. “I always wish I’d been born a little earlier so I could have known JC personally. I am a big fan.”

“S-so, do you attend a nearby c-church?” Carrot Curls asked.

“Oh, you are a cute one, aren’t you?” He paled, if one can get paler than bone. “No, can’t say that I’ve attended a service in, oh, two hundred years or so. But it’s so sweet of you to ask.”

Pimples stammered and continued on. I had to admire his dedication. “W-we’d love for you to visit our church. N-newcomers welcome.”

Since the forces of Heaven and Hell had revealed themselves to humanity, there had been an explosion in church attendance, so it surprised me they even bothered to go door-to-door anymore. “You said you’re with the Pure Club? That’s for those committed to staying human, hmm?” I looked back into the room at Quinn and smirked. “I’m afraid it’s a bit too late for us.” I batted my eyelashes. “But would you boys like to come in? I was just getting ready to eat, and I always love company for breakfast.” I giggled at my own lame pun.

The boys darted glances at each other, and Carrot Curls reached up to loosen his starched white collar. “P-perhaps we’ll just leave this bible with y-you, miss.” He stretched a shaky hand out.

“Oh, no thanks. It won’t really help with my problem, you know, eternal damnation and all. But thanks so much for stopping by.” I winked and closed the door.

“Why? Why do you never tire of it?” Quinn chastised, but a smile tickled the edge of her mouth.

“Oh, dearest Quinn, my devotion to torment them should be at least as strong as their devotion to bother people in their homes. Don’t you think?” I sunk back in my barstool, watching Quinn over the breakfast bar, and plunked a bite of cereal into my mouth.

“They’re just impassioned young people, doing what they think is right.” She poured a bright yellow liquid into a vial of purple bubbles. “They have to be very committed to even attempt their kind of work in Belltown.”

I snorted. Belltown, aka Helltown, Seattle’s most “suped” up neighborhood. “And that’s why I love you. You can forgive the burning of millions of witches throughout history at the hands of religion. Such a kind soul.” I leaned back and propped my feet up on the countertop.

“What are you two bickering about?” Riley shuffled through the room. He yawned and stretched, his cocoa skin rippling over his muscles.

“Bickering?” I asked with mock innocence. “What makes you think that?”

“Z’s just harassing the door-to-door Pure Clubbers again,” Quinn answered.

“You’d think they’d mark our place as a no-fly zone, you know?” He headed into the kitchen. “An Irish soul stealer, a witch, and a gay werewolf. We’re pretty much lost causes.”

“Don’t forget a vamp doggie,” I said, finishing off my cereal. I let out a low whistle and Malakai lumbered into the room, wagging her tail. “There’s mommy’s princess. You would have loved a nice teenaged snack, wouldn’t you?”

Quinn rolled her eyes.

“How about a nice juicy steak, instead, huh Malakai?” I put my cereal bowl in the sink and got out a raw prime rib for Malakai, which I dropped into her bowl. I scratched her behind the ears before rejoining Quinn and Riley on the sofa.

“That’s what you’re really going to Hell for, getting your old BFF to turn that dog immortal,” Quinn teased. “That would get the church all fired up for sure.”

“And PETA,” Riley chipped in.

“Screw you guys,” I said with a laugh. “You try going through eternity with everybody around you dying every two seconds. At least we didn’t make a vamp kid or something.”

“Sure, whatever,” Quinn said.

“I’m with Zy on the whole Pure Club thing, though—I hate those creeps,” Riley said. “I get that lots of people freaked after Evo, but that doesn’t give them the right to hunt supes down like animals.” His eyes went a little wolf on that last sentence.

“They don’t all do that,” Quinn said. “Most of them just want to celebrate their humanity. Humans being the “endangered species” and all now.” She rolled her eyes a little.

“I saw that!” I pointed a finger at her. “See, even you think it’s a bit ridiculous.”

Quinn blushed. “Well, what’s the estimate—like a couple million humans turned since Evo? But there are still almost eight billion of them. Some people are alarmists is all.”

“Speaking of this whole human/non-human thing, you said you were going to tell us more about this job offer from the HR,” Riley said with a pointed look.

“What’s there to talk about? I’m not interested in working for him, especially since people are all riled up about these new DNA sensors all the businesses have to have. Even though it’s the government that mandates those, the HRs support them, and I’m not exactly going to be popular with my patrons if I start working for one of them.”

“If I got to work with that delicious angel, I wouldn’t care,” Quinn sighed.

“Agreed,” Riley said. “He brings new meaning to heavenly.”

“Whatever, guys. It’s just not happening.” I listened through a couple more rounds of arguments, mostly revolving around abs, pecs and gluts, before they finally gave up. Plus, I diverted their attention to our night-off activities. One of my other managers was running Noir for the evening. “So what are we doing later tonight?”

There aren’t many places to go when you’re a supernatural bartender, and therefore pretty picky about your hangout. “One-Eyed Willie’s?” Riley suggested.

“Yeah, that’s cool,” Quinn agreed. “Willie hired a new waiter that’s pretty tasty. I wouldn’t mind getting to know him a bit better.”

Riley snorted. “How exactly do you define ‘get to know better’?”

“Bite me,” Quinn said, narrowing her eyes. She held up a bottle of hot pink goo. “You guys better help me finish bottling this stuff while it’s fresh.”

“Sure,” I said, grabbing a bottle. “But you’re buying the first round.”

 

 

The thrum of the Porsche’s engine hummed under my skin, from belly button to collarbone. Seattle flew past in ribbons of black sky and rainbow lights. I could smell the tang of bay air on the wind rushing past us. Despite the magnetically controlled roadways which measured the distance between cars and your speed, I chose to navigate myself rather than let the auto-pilot function take over. It just took all the pleasure out of driving if you didn’t do it yourself. Another one of the gov’s great ideas to preserve fragile human lives. At least they’d outlawed gas-powered cars. That had actually been a smart move.

I pulled into the parking lot by One-Eyed Willie’s at Pier 55 and got out, running a hand over my hair to smooth it back down. Quinn was doing the same with her long platinum strands, except she added a punch of magic to curl the ends.

Riley pulled up behind us on his silver Ducati, sans helmet. He was a total adrenaline junkie. “Is mine okay?” he asked, delicately poking at his dark brown hair.

“You’ve got enough hair gel in those spikes to intoxicate a small pixie,” I said, one hand on a denim-clad hip.

“I’ll take that as a yes,” he said, sauntering toward the door.

A comforting barrage of scents hit me as I stepped into the dim lighting of the bar. Vodka, blood, leather, limes and a pinch of lust. I was right at home.

“Zyan!” yelled a deep voice over the murmur of the crowd. A lanky surfer dude with shoulder length brown hair made his way across the room. He looked just like any other muscular, dreamy surfer guy—except for the single eye in the middle of his forehead. “Long time no see.”

“Hey, Will,” I said, wrapping him in a hug.

He waggled his eyebrow at me. “Maybe tonight I can finally convince you to go on a date with me.”

“No, I like you far too much to date you,” I laughed. “My romances always end badly.”

He grinned. “Whatever. I’ll wear you down slowly. For now, how about drinks on the house?”

“Sure.” I smiled and followed him to the bar.

“A drink for my girl, Zy,” he called to one of the bartenders. “Wanna try our new Mermaid Tear martini? It’s as dirty as they come.”

I grinned and nodded and Will hollered instructions to the bartender. Turning to survey the scene, I could see Riley had claimed one of the leather sofas in the middle of the room. Quinn had wasted no time in tracking down the cute new waiter and was leading him back to their table. “I think Quinn may abduct your new staff member,” I said to Will.

“Oh, Lucas? Yeah, he’s part Fae. All the ladies are barking up his tree.”

“Did you know people can get faerie blood injections now, to make them more beautiful?” Will’s eye widened. “Yep, it’s the latest cosmetic craze.” Those were at least legal, unlike vamp and were-blood injections that had replaced steroids for performance obsessed athletes.

“Maybe I need to get some of that,” he said with a chuckle.

I punched his arm. “Don’t be silly, you’re already gorgeous.” But I knew it had been harder for some supernaturals, like the Cyclops, to come out of the closet. The vamps had been the first, and everything changed after that, in ten short years. The worldwide shift, called Evolution, or Evo on the street, when even the forces of Heaven and Hell had finally revealed themselves to humanity.

“It looks like you may need to chaperone the two of them,” Will said, pointing to Quinn, who had pulled up her black dress to reveal the tattoo on her thigh.

“Yeah, that might be a good idea. I’ll catch you later.” I grabbed my drink, made my way through the crowd and dropped down on the sofa next to Riley. Some of his friends were sprawled out on the couch opposite us.

“What’s up, Zy?” asked Dan, a werepanther. The other two on the sofa nodded in greeting.

“Nothing much.” I leaned back and took a sip of my drink.

“You met the new vamp in town?” Dan asked.

“There are new vamps in town every day,” I laughed. “I lose track.”

“Oh, you’d know if you met this one,” piped in one of the other weres, Alicia. I’d been told she actually turned into a dolphin. Pretty useful for coastal living, I guess.

I raised a questioning brow. “How so?”

“Well, he’s an old vamp, first off. Really old. And he’s been asked to join The Assembly already. Connected with all the right supes.”

“Then that’s why I haven’t met him yet.” The Assembly was comprised of a bunch of powerful, rich supes who thought they could make rules for the rest of us. “I hate bureaucracy.”

“It’s weird though, because he’s been showing up at a lot of the usual hangouts too,” said Dan. “You know, where us normal supes chill. I’ve never seen another Assembly member step one toe inside any of our places.”

“Well, he hasn’t come by Noir,” I said, “So he’s obviously lacking in good taste.”

“For sure,” Riley agreed, clinking his glass against mine.

I felt a draft of cool air and glanced over at the door, which had opened. A tall figure stood there, all windswept black hair and electric blue eyes. Eyes which were locked on mine.        

Of course they were locked on mine. He’d have felt me from miles away.

“Well, speak of the devil, there he is.” I heard Dan’s voice on the periphery of my consciousness, as if from miles underwater.

Suddenly it all made sense. The new vamp in town. The attacks on the HR, by someone skilled enough to break through the angelic forces.

He wasn’t the devil. He was much worse. Someone I hadn’t seen in nearly two hundred and fifty years.

My ex. More specifically, my first ex, the vamp responsible for the loss of my soul.

 

 

CHAPTER THREE

 

If you ever love someone, really, truly love them, then a part of you always loves them, even if they screw you over majorly. As in, promise to love you forever and then abandon you at the first possible opportunity, because as it ends up they’re a vampire and everything you shared was just a game. So, when I saw him standing there, this tiny part of me still loved him, even as a wave of black rage devoured every ounce of humanity still left in my body.

“Zy.” Quinn’s voice, a frightened tremor riding it. “Zy, what’s the matter?”

He was standing next to me in a heartbeat, like only a two-thousand-year-old vamp can do. I hadn’t even seen him move. “Kaitlyn.” His voice swirled down my ear, low and intimate, for only me to hear.

“I haven’t gone by that name in a long time, Alexander,” I said.

Quinn’s eyes darted back and forth between me and Alexander, and Riley stood up next to me, muscular arms crossed over his chest, frenetic shifter energy rolling off his skin.

Alexander glanced at each of them dismissively. “I’m glad you’ve made friends. You seem to be doing quite well.”

“No thanks to you,” I growled, my own power flaring up.

“I can’t imagine what you mean,” Alexander purred. “We had a gorgeous time together.”

“Cut the bullshit. You played me, when I was practically a child.” My hands clenched into fists so tight I felt trickles of blood running down my palms where my fingernails bit through my skin. Beside me, Riley let out a deep growl, his eyes going wolf.

“Call off your dog,” Alexander said with amusement.

“Go fuck yourself,” I spat.

“Is there a problem here?” I could feel Will standing behind me. As distracted as I was, I hadn’t heard him coming.

“Yes,” Quinn answered.

Will fixed Alexander in his gaze. “If you’re not a friend of Zy’s, you’re not a friend of mine. Get lost.”

“You’re the owner of this place? A Cyclops? I guess society really has gone to Hell,” Alexander sneered.

My blade sang as it slid out from behind my back and sliced through the air toward him, but he was gone. Only his laugh lingered on the air, caressing my skin just as he’d intended. “Son of a bitch.”

“That’s your ex?” Quinn asked in a shaky voice.

Will and Riley’s faces bore matching looks of shock.

“I’ve gotta get out of here,” I snapped, stalking toward the door. “Thanks, Will,” I called over my shoulder.

I strode down the pier, the cool night surrounding me. When I got to the end, I took off my red strappy heels and hurled them out into Elliott Bay. I punched my hand into one of the rough hewn wooden posts, which splintered and fell into the water. My knuckles bled a little, but I didn’t care. I didn’t care about anything but the molten desire for revenge that bubbled inside me. How could that asshole show up after more than two centuries and pretend nothing had happened? He’d known I was here in Seattle. He’d known I was in the bar before he stepped foot inside, a convenient attribute of having fed on my blood. He had to pay for what he’d done.

“Zy?” Quinn. Brave girl.

I didn’t answer. I couldn’t formulate coherent words.

“Are you going to be okay?” I saw a ball of light form in her hand so she could see her way in the dark. The light hit my face and she stopped. After a moment, a moment she probably spent contemplating how safe I was to be around right now considering the murderous look I undoubtedly had on my face, she came and stood next to me.

We didn’t talk at first, just listened to the sound of water sloshing up against the dock. The rhythmic melody slowly eroded my rage. Which sucked because then I had room to think about things I didn’t want to think about. Things I had forced from my memory for a long, long time.

“You’ve never told me about when you became immortal,” Quinn said finally.

She was right. We’d known each other for almost a decade, and I’d never spoken of it. “I don’t want to talk about it now, either,” I said, my voice lifted away on the wind.

“Okay.”

We lapsed into silence again for a few minutes. And then, I heard myself talking. “I was seventeen. Lying in an Irish meadow picking flowers. I fell asleep, and when I woke up, the most gorgeous man I’d ever seen was sitting next to me.” I stopped, and heard Quinn’s heart pounding. Or maybe it was mine. “He asked if I was an angel, because I looked so peaceful and beautiful sleeping among the flowers. He’d made a crown of flowers while I slept, and he laid it on my head. I never stood a chance. He was so handsome and so smooth. We talked for hours that first day. I was in love with him by the end of the afternoon.

We saw each other every day for almost half a year. I felt like I was constantly walking in a dream when he was with me. And I felt like I would die when he was gone. Then one day he told me he loved me, and asked me if I wanted to spend my life with him. When he bit me, it hurt at first, but then… it was the most amazing thing I’ve ever felt in my whole life. Wrapped up in his body, his kisses searing through me…

He didn’t turn me into a vamp. I thought we were going to get married, and then he would. But my father had other plans. He beat me for disgracing the family and promised me to someone else, a man four times my age. I knew Alexander would stop it, take me away from everything. But he disappeared. I kept waiting. And waiting. The wedding came and went, but still he hadn’t returned. My husband was a terribly cruel man, and hit me all the time. I began to waste away. The doctors couldn’t figure out what was happening to me, but I knew. I’d lost the will to live, as pathetic as that is. That’s when she came.”

I paused, my body going rigid as the memory crept over me like spiders. Quinn stopped breathing.

“Olga. Red hair like a river of flame, gray eyes like the waves off of Galway.” I shivered as her name fell from my lips. “I knew who she was right away. There were legends, folktales passed down through all the villages. Tales of a beautiful girl who fell in love with a beautiful boy but was married off to another against her will and died of a broken heart. The next full moon she rose from her grave and sucked the life force out of her father and husband. And so Anam Gatai were created. Some of the legends call us Dearg Due, blood drinker, but blood is not enough to satisfy us.

“Anyways, I guess Olga wanted company, because she started turning other poor girls into immortals like her. She pressed her lips to mine and I felt my humanity slipping away, my life floating out of me, my soul flying away piece by piece. And because my tale was particularly heartbreaking, being as how the man I loved was just fooling me and actually a vampire, she gave me extra power.” I forced a bitter smile. “I guess there’s a silver lining to everything. And I did get revenge on my father and husband. Oh, and it was sweet.”

Quinn took a deep breath. “Wow, Zy, I had no idea. I’m so sorry.”

“Everything happens for a reason,” I said, looking out over the water. A tear ran down my face.

“Which is?”

I didn’t answer her at first. The tear that had dripped down my cheek now hung at my jaw. I reached up and flicked it off. That would be the very last tear I ever cried for that dick. “I lost my soul because of Alexander. I found out later in the supe gossip circles that this was his M.O. He found young girls, and told them he loved them, then took their virginity and sometimes their soul. The ultimate player, love ‘em and leave ‘em.” I paused for a mirthless laugh. “I pushed him out of my memory. I had to move on, to survive. But now that he’s walked back into my city, knowing full well he’d find me here, he’s going to pay. I’m going to kill that asshole so he can’t keep doing this shit to other girls. Plus, he’s trying to assassinate the HR. So, I’ve got a legal excuse.”

“What?!” Quinn’s head whipped around to look at me.

“Yeah, that angel that came to Noir told me a vamp has been trying. And nearly succeeding. I didn’t put the pieces together until I saw him. He is an assassin-for-hire, after all. Another lovely tidbit I found out after we were together.”

“So, what are you going to do?” Her golden witch eyes looked like glowing suns in the darkness.

“I’m going to find him. And I’m going to kill him.” I cast one last look out over Puget Sound, then headed for the parking lot.

“You don’t mean tonight, do you?” Quinn chased after me.

“It’s not even midnight. I’ve got the whole night. When’s a better time?”

She was quiet for a moment. “I’ve never felt a vamp as powerful as him. How old is he, Zy?”

“Let’s just say he may have known Jesus Christ.” I had reached the pavement and pulled out the keys to the Porsche. I pressed the unlock button and the car blinked to life.

“Holy shit! Don’t you think we need to think about this? Come up with a plan to kill a vamp that’s almost two millennia your senior?” She stepped in front of me, blocking the door. Her black dress blended into the glossy paint like the car was absorbing her.

“I have a plan. Find that bastard, and kill his sorry ass. It has a beautiful simplicity, don’t you think?” I smiled a smile I knew was not pretty at all.

“No, I don’t think. Riley!”

Damn her. She knew he’d hear with his freaking super-wolf ears. “Listen, I’m not asking you to come with me. I know this isn’t your vendetta.” I caught her eyes with mine.

Riley pushed the door of the bar open and started toward us, Dan and a couple others on his tail. “What’s going on?”

“Tell him,” Quinn said, a stubborn set to her jaw.

I sighed. “Sweet Quinn is upset because I’m going to kill Alexander. Okay? Sharing time’s over now, let me get in my car.”

“He’s two thousand years old,” Quinn snapped. “She left that little detail out.”

Dan let out a low whistle and Riley’s face got stormy. “So basically, you’re just going to end your existence in a blaze of glory, going up against someone like that alone? That’s just dumb.”

“Alright, I’ve had enough of this.” I picked Quinn up, moved her, and slid in behind the wheel. And proceeded to become frozen in place. Except for my mouth. “God damn it, Quinn.”

“I’ll release my spell if you stop and listen like a rational person,” she said. Power rolled off her like a lightning storm.

“I don’t suppose you can be persuaded to give up your suicide mission?” Riley asked, his gaze hard.

I shook my head. “Fuck no.”

“Well, then let’s come up with some sort of compromise. Like, a little extra backup.”

“From who?”

“Well, I know a certain shapeshifter who’d be happy to help you out.” Riley’s expression was innocent.

“Are you joking? Sure, let’s just bring together all the ex-boyfriends I hate for one big night of fun.” I pushed hard against Quinn’s bonds with my own burst of power, but she had me locked down good.

Riley smirked. “I’m just talking about two of them, not a thousand.”

“Cock,” I said, crossing my arms over my chest.

“So, that’s a yes then?” he responded with a knowing smile.

I knew they were right. I could see the only thing I’d gain tonight was my own death. Which wouldn’t be so bad, other than hanging out in that hot-as-hell shithole smelling brimstone for the rest of eternity. But, then Alexander would just kill the HR, and keep taking advantage of other innocent girls. And nothing would come of my noble sacrifice. I sighed again. “Fine. But only so you guys will shut the hell up.”

Quinn smiled and released me. I started the car with my power and floored it in reverse. Ah, the looks on their faces. I smiled, then slammed on the brakes. “Just joking. Get the hell in.”