CHAPTER FIVE
EIRIENNA
Eirienna slammed the door of her little car. Her talisman sent crackles of lightning around her fingers and zinged across the windshield as she gripped the steering wheel. With an effort she reined in her temper.
It was already uncomfortable enough being around so much metal without setting the car, or herself, on fire.
Calm down, Eirienna. Save it for the pits.
Her skin burned all over. Her pulse hammered in her ears. Her breath stung her parched throat, and deep inside, her most intimate flesh ached.
She screeched from the parking place.
The city was quiet, but traffic slowed as she entered the red-light district, where cars crept along as their occupants surveyed the offerings.
Neon signs advertised strip joints. Music thumped out of night clubs. Leggy women in mini skirts and stiletto heels prowled for prey.
Some of the prostitutes were Fae, sleek and beautiful. The clubs catered to every kink. So long as someone had the cash, just about anything was possible.
She'd even heard of places where sexy action with demons could be bought. Mostly female demons, of course. Nothing Eirienna was interested in. Beyond a few drunken fumbles, girls didn't do it for her. Pity. It'd make her life so much easier if they did, even if succubi tended to break their toys.
Yeah. So do incubi.
She'd do well to remember that.
Damn Scathe.
Eirienna veered onto a side street, where the gutters stank with garbage. Her headlights flashed on broken glass and rusted iron. She pulled into a parking space, killed the engine, and jumped out.
A rat skittered near her feet, and she toed it aside. A human lay in the gutter, drooling, eyes glazed from whatever drugs he'd taken. His faint, irregular heartbeat thrummed in her sensitive ears.
Her stomach growled. He was almost dead. No one would see. She could find the artery in his neck, pierce the skin, slide her fangs in...
Eirienna mentally smacked herself. Feeding from humans was a bad idea, especially drugged ones. Some of the myriad chemicals humans regularly and willingly ingested had nasty effects on Fae physiology.
She strode to a padlocked door almost hidden in shadows and whispered a spellword. With a flash of sparks, the lock broke.
Fae only, unless invited.
Concrete steps led downward. Grunts and clashing steel echoed from the darkness. She took the stairs two at a time. A hulking, green-haired Fae bouncer nodded at her and tugged aside a heavy chain-mail curtain.
Dozens of bodies in a small space made the heat stifling as the crowd shouted and cheered. She shouldered through the mob, enjoying the scents of flesh, sex, sugary alcohol, and blood. Music, harsh and energetic, drove her pulse faster.
In the corner, a couple were fucking on a wooden bench, the girl's skirt up around her hips, bare legs wrapped around his waist. His long black hair spilled over his shoulder, and he grunted, thrusting deeper, making his partner moan in delight.
Eirienna grinned. Here, Fae did what they felt like, and no one complained. Her kind of place.
In the ring, a Fire Unseelie female, and a Water Seelie male fought, steam rising from their clashing magics, adding to the humidity.
He wore biker leathers, blue ponytail swinging. She was practically naked, her clothes mostly burned away. Sweat gleamed on her lithe muscles, and her insane orange-gold eyes burned.
Not Hunters. Just Fae, taking out their rage and hunger on each other. The pits offered a useful outlet for violent urges, and the Wild Hunt encouraged it.
The fighters charged at each other. Blood splashed the dirty concrete floor. At last, the Fire Fae pinned the Water Fae down with an unbreakable hold.
The crowd screamed, and Ms. Naked roared in victory. Money changed hands, drinks clashed and spilled. The beaten Fae staggered to his feet, and his friends dragged him away.
"Who's next?" The master of ceremonies, a twisted little hunchback in a top hat and tails, asked into a microphone dangling from the ceiling. He scanned the audience.
Eirienna shoved to the front, raising her hand. "I'll take fights until someone takes me down."
He flashed white teeth. "Here's an opportunity, gents," he yelled. "Who wants to fight the pretty lady Hunter?"
Drunken cheers rose. "What's the prize?" someone yelled.
She strode to the pit's center and held up her wooden blade, sliding into a fighting crouch. Her red braid tumbled over her shoulder.
"Me," she announced, offering a feral grin. "But only if you win."
Noise erupted as betting started, and soon fighters were lining up in front of her.
Eirienna inhaled and focused. Her fingers tingled with power. She was ready. Her first opponent was a big redhead, heavier than her but slow.
In a minute, she was rid of him, with a kick to the belly and a swift slice aimed under his chin. He surrendered good-naturedly, with a pantomime of blood spurting from his throat and a bow. "Too good for me, lovely."
She blew him a kiss and whirled to face the next fighter. Tall and swift, he wore jeans and a metal-mail shirt. His weapons were a pair of knives. Her talisman scorched with delight as she fought, whirling, sidestepping, excitement pumping lust into her veins.
Her body burned. But not for him.
Eirienna knocked him to the floor. Stomped on one wrist to loose his first weapon, and sent the second knife flying with a well-placed kick. She aimed slashing fangs at his throat. Two down.
Her third opponent fought bare-handed. He was big, had mad blue eyes, and bleached hair that fell in hanks. Wiry muscles strained in his bare chest, his attacks a blur. He moved faster than someone his size had any right to.
Eirienna leapt up, her senses afire...and black demon eyes stared from the crowd. Scathe. How was he here? She staggered, feeling drunk on remembered sensations.
Her head snapped to the side from the force of the punch she didn't see coming. She went with it, letting momentum spin her around and gain some distance.
She blinked, stealing a glancing to where the incubus stood. He was gone. Just an illusion. The demon was making her lose her mind, and she couldn't afford that now.
Eirienna flurried backwards, using her blade as a shield, but his long hand snaked through, wrapped around her wrist, and dragged her off her feet.
She crashed to the floor, but as she fell her blade sliced into his flesh. He didn't let go. Jumped on her. Grappled for her hands.
Disembodied demon laughter hissed in her ears, and invisible lips kissed hot tingles down her belly, releasing a wash of heady memory.
Scathe's shadowy fingers easing inside her, filling her, stroking her to shuddering pleasure...
Get out of my head, demon!
And every other inappropriate place she felt him.
With stiffened fingers, she jabbed a pressure point in his shoulder, rolled out from under him and jumped to her feet. Her kick connected with flesh. Her opponent hit the bloody floor with a groan. She body-slammed him before he could recover. His ribs cracked.
Eirienna found his throat, and to the appreciative roar of the crowd, mimed snapping his neck. She leapt up, breathing hard, and tugged him to his feet. "Good fight, friend."
