The Blackened Blade, page 22
The feel of cold heavy metal beneath me with nothing in my way, even the beast fell silent as the world around me blurs, it was a feeling unlike any other. A feeling of being alive and truly free.
I throw my leg over the silver metal and flick the ignition key, my engine roaring to life as I hear Annex’s laughter ring out behind me.
He’s sitting on his own Ducati, having opted for a custom crimson red toward my ice silver tones. He pats the space behind him as he takes his seat.
“Hop on Red, and hold me tight.” His grin grows wider than the Cheshire cat’s.
“Why does she have to go with you?” Ezra stands behind Micai as she gazes at Annex’s bike, as if in some brief daze. “She might prefer to ride with me and Creed in the Dodger Charger.”
My gaze flickers to Creed's face. His expression says it all.
My stubborn friend loves his sleek black dodger, almost treating it as if it was his first born. He never let anyone drive it, not even us. It was his pride and joy.
Just as he’s about to open his mouth to argue, Micai speaks first.
“I’m good.” She grips Annex’s shoulder and throws her leg over the bike, steadying herself with ease.
She turns back to Ezra and Creed, meeting Creed's narrowed eyes, “Let’s go.”
He grits his teeth and heads to his car.
My brother did not like being told what to do, especially when his own words were being thrown back at him. It would be an interesting night if nothing else.
Ezra follows Creed, shouting over his shoulder “See you there!” before he hops in the car.
“Not if we get there first!” Chuckles Annex before his engine roars to life and he quickly takes off down the road.
I follow after them, swerving and twisting down the old stone roads and taking chase. They weren’t the only ones here who knew how to ride.
My beast's voice roars in my ears, the only thing we ever agree on is this. The speed and thrill of the ride.
I catch up to them, our bikes going back and forth, each only gaining an inch or two on the other. Time passes as we twist and turn around the bending roads, our speed never slowing as we race back and forth between each other.
But before we know it, we’re nearing town and our destination.
I speed up, pushing my bike to its limits and skid into the abandoned parking lot in front of our building. The noise of it ringing out around me as I come to a halt.
Smoke and dust flow from the ground below me as Annex follows in just seconds behind me laughing. “And they call me the crazy one.”
Micai jumps off the bike and comes straight at me. She stops only a couple of feet from me, her eyes searching me for something.
My beast falls silent. Calm. Watching and listening as she stands before us.
Her small frame and deep blue eyes trailing up and down me.
Her scent hits my nose and my heartbeat picks up, a light growl ringing at the back of my head as she slightly leans in toward me.
All too sudden she pulls back, a small sigh leaving her lips before her eyes meet mine.
“Do you have a death wish? Or do you just enjoy pain?” Her blue eyes narrow, searching my face for something. She shakes her head and sighs, turning back toward Creed and Ezra as they pull into the parking lot.
I clench my fist, stopping the hand that wanted to reach out and drag her back to me. To have those deep blue eyes gazing at me with that strange look of hers.
Was it worry? Did she think I would hurt myself? Why would she even care?
And why did the thought of whether she did matter to me?
We had barely talked. I had barely talked to her. Only watching and listening from a distance as she ate and glared at Annex, or gave some sort of snappy or funny line to shut him down.
She didn’t seem to be afraid of us like the others, or care about our families or power. She didn’t drool over my brothers or try to cling to them like other girls.
I could tell she knew there was something different about us, but unlike everyone else, it didn’t seem to faze her. She stares us down, stands her ground against Creed, keeps up with Annex’s crazy and gives Ezra some peace.
My brothers didn’t realise that even in the few encounters we’ve had with her, they’ve changed. There's a calm and comfort in her presence that seems to soothe some of the darkness in them without them even knowing it.
But I was different.
The darkness in me would never yield.
Only my brothers could handle me, understand it to some extent, what moved inside me. And why I had to be this way.
Anyone else that got too close would only get hurt.
I clench my fist, pulling it to my side. She would be no exception.
No-one could truly understand or accept what I was.
“Mallyn.” Ezra pulls me from my thoughts as he and the others make their way to the entrance.
The old slaughterhouse was our domain, the old factory having been abandoned a couple of decades before, and rotting until we found it.
We had claimed it not long after entering the academy as a form of amusement and to gather information and easy cash.
It also helped being able to jump into the ring and vent our frustrations from time to time.
The beast rolls under my skin with the thought, before her voice catches my ear and he calms again. The newest member of our group tonight stands just feet from me.
I don’t think she would be able to handle seeing me let loose in the ring. I never left my opponent without a few broken bones and bloodied up beyond recognition.
I shake my head. Why did I even care about what she thought?
We head into the large open warehouse, making our way through the crowds as people move out of our way. This was our territory, our operation, and everyone here knew who we were.
Cheers and shouts ring out from the crowd circled around the centre of the room. They watch on around the makeshift fighting cage as one large shifter knocks his opponent to the ground. The crowd cheers again, shouting ‘Kill him’, ‘Go for his eyes’ or ‘Take him out’.
The larger shifter partially shifts his hand, large claws extending from the tips of his fingers before he lunges forward and thrusts them into his opponents chest. Blood splatters from the smaller shifter as laughter rings out around the cage.
The smaller guy sags to the ground as the final bell rings, calling an end to the fight. The bigger guy grins maniacally as the crowd cheers around him.
These fights had no rules, but we did try to minimise the deaths as much as possible though. It wasn’t good for business or having to constantly clean up dead bodies.
I narrow my eyes at the large idiot in the cage. None of us liked to be disrespected. Here our word was law, and if you mess with that, you mess with us.
The large shifter raises his fists, shouting into the crowd, “Anyone else?” while laughing.
I take a step forward but before I can get any further, I notice Annex already making his way to the cage. He stops before pulling off his black leather jacket and top, and throwing it toward Micai. And the dark grin on his face tells me it's gonna be a really bloody fight.
He then pushes open the cage door and heads in, closing it shut behind him.
The large idiot begins laughing as he looks at my brother. He must be from out of town, because everyone here knows Annex’s face.
“You? This tiny thing?” Fuck, he really wanted a painful death, didn’t he?
No matter how built he was, or whether he stood a foot taller than my brother, he would fall and bleed like the rest of them. And Annex would make it as painful as possible.
My brother found joy in watching other people in agony, more so if he was the one inflicting it.
The crowd falls quiet as the shifter chuckles, some of their faces even going pale as they watch Annex begin to make his way toward the shifter.
I glance back toward the small blue-eyed girl holding Annex’s favourite jacket, her eyes narrowed but focused fully on him.
Another growl rings in my ears.
I shake it away and look back towards the cage.
Lets see how she does with a taste of what our darkness looks like unleashed.
CHAPTER 26
MICAI
I catch Annex’s black leather jacket and top as he heads into the large metal fighters ring and get a few narrowed looks from a few scantily dressed women around the ring before they turn back toward the fight.
I get the jealousy…his body was a lot more built and toned than even I thought.
He has a perfect six-pack that's laced with tattoos. They stretch and swirl around each ab and taut muscle, etched from the top of his neck down to his hips, and then further dipping into his low strung black trousers.
There were skulls, snakes, black roses and wisps of shapes trailing down every inch of his bare skin; the look as dark and intimidating as much as it was striking. Match that with his piercing blue eyes and bad boy aura, and even I was pulling his top closer to me.
A shiver runs up my spine, so I throw the jacket on. I was probably still cold from the bike ride over here.
Who knew I’d be riding the back of a motorbike tonight. I had never been on one before, previous life included. But I had always wondered what it would feel like. And hell if it wasn’t fun.
It was more freeing than I’d ever thought it would be. A kind of rush I’d never felt before and something I definitely wanted to feel again.
Even if I had to ‘borrow’ Annex’s bike from him to do it.
A smoky scent hits my nose as I pull the leather jacket on. It smelt like the embers of a dwindling fire, with a hint of a deep caramel scent lingering behind it.
I look around, noticing lights flickering overhead in the large warehouse. Huge metal machinery and large rusted grey chains with hooks fall from the metal beams above us. The beams and roof are rusting into a reddish-brown hue as the wall's grey paint below it fades and peels away. A large battered blue signboard catches my eyes. The words ‘Bellevere Abattoir’ are written in a greying-white script on the old decaying wood.
The crowd around me begins cheering loudly again, pulling my attention back to the fight just as the bell rings and the fight begins. Some of the people in the crowd push up against the cage in their excitement, shaking it as they continue to shout and cheer.
“You sure you’re okay here, little sea star?” Ezra stands beside me, a small awkward smile gracing his lips as he watches me.
He flickers his gaze toward the bustling crowd around us as they become more rowdy, his brow furrowing as people push past us and closer to the ring. He pulls me into his side as a large man shoulders into me, trying to get a closer look at the fight.
Ezra releases me, taking a step closer toward the man with a dark look in his eyes. I grab his hand and he whips around quickly. His gaze flickering to his hand in mine.
“I’m good, Ezra.” I give him a little squeeze, his eyes slightly softening as a small smile tilts his lips. “Let’s watch Annex. Do you think he’ll win?”
Ezra chuckles before looking behind me. “What's his odds again, Creed?”
I turn around, not having noticed him behind me.
The silent hoody boy, that I now know is called Mallyn, makes his way over to us, standing to the other side of Creed. The ass in question narrows his eyes at me before answering Ezra.
“Obviously, there's no competition.” He glares down at me. “Don’t wet yourself or run away crying when it gets bloody, Micai.” He calls my name as if he's pronouncing some slur word, a sharp bite to every syllable that rolls off his tongue.
But blood doesn’t scare me, and I don’t run from fights. Not anymore.
I give him a smile so big it stretches my cheeks.
“No need to worry, Creed. I can handle myself. You just worry about you.” I turn back toward the fight just as the host shouts ‘Begin’, and watch as the large shifter and Annex begin to circle each other.
The shifter's eyes begin to glow, preparing for whatever attack he has planned. Annex just smiles mockingly at the huge tank of muscle.
I glance back and forth between the two. Was this a fair fight?
I had never seen Annex fight before so I didn't know what to expect.
I know students and teachers in the academy fear him, but that's different from a huge shifter, that quite literally just killed someone a few minutes ago.
Would he be okay? What if he got hurt?
I know he likes to annoy me most days and can be a bit of a psycho, but there was something about Annex. He was different from all the preppy or pompous asses in the academy. He acted the way he wanted and bowed to no-one, not caring about status or other people's thoughts.
The large shifter lunges at him, but Annex doesn't even try to dodge, he takes the hit, falling to the ground with the big guy on top of him. I unconsciously take a step closer toward the ring as I watch him fall.
A deranged laugh falls from his lips as he twists around easily and wraps the guy in a headlock, stopping his movements with his legs tightening around his waist.
The large shifter picks him up and slams back into the ground with Annex wrapped behind him, but the psycho’s laugh only grows louder.
The shifter begins to slam his elbows back into Annex’s side as Annex tightens his grip around him. The crazed glossy look in Annex’s eyes tells me all he sees now is the prey below him. His grip tightens further as another laugh peels from his lips.
A small sigh of relief leaves me. If he had a look like that in his eyes, then this wasn’t his first or second fight. The way he looks and moves with such surety and strength shows me that he knew what he was doing. Probably more than he should.
And now I feel bad for the asshole he’s against.
The shifter’s movements become more desperate, realising Annex’s grip isn’t going to loosen. He begins to lash out, extending the claws from earlier again, ones I now recognize as bears.
He slashes them back toward him, trying to catch Annex with them, but thankfully Annex notices, and before the bear shifter can catch him, he flips their positions. His movement is so quick and powerful, it leaves the shifter no time to react. Annex now sits on top of the shifter with his knee to the man's throat. He stares down at him with the most deranged expression I’ve ever seen.
The shifter tries to growl, and that's all it takes for Annex to start his onslaught.
His fists slam into the shifter's face, the force of it instantly breaking his nose, the sound of cracking bone heard even from where I stand as blood splatters all over the shifter and Annex.
It sprays over Annex’s face and drips down his chin, but he doesn't stop. Again and again, his fist meets the shifter's bloodied face. Until all I can see is the blood pouring from the man as small groans and whimpers leave his mangled mouth.
Annex’s face is frozen in a demented smile, a look in his eyes that tells me he’s not here anymore, lost in a world of his own and dealing with something other than the bleeding shifter in front of him.
And that shifter would have happily killed Annex if he hadn’t gotten the better of him first. Annex was just surviving in the way he knew how, even if it was a bit bloodier than necessary.
It was a kill or be killed world. And who was I to judge him?
What I had planned for my own demons wouldn’t be noble or heroic either. It would be bloody and painful, and nobody but me would understand the carnage or darkness that would be unleashed on those that had wronged me.
I watched on as Annex’s fists continued to pummel the shifter, his face resembling a chunk of meat more and more. If this is what he needed to fight his darkness, then so be it.
“I heard you're only nineteen…” A sultry voice calls from behind me, pulling me from my thoughts and from the fight.
I turn back to see a group of scantily clad women. They avoid Mallyn, keeping their distance from him as they slide closer to Ezra and Creed.
“But that's a lie, right?” A busty blonde woman slides next to Creed, pushing her chest into his side as her already skimpy red bodycon rides further up her thighs.
She giggles, brushing a red fingernail up his chest. “Either way, I don’t mind younger guys.” She bites her pink tinted lips as she leans in further. “I’m sure I could even teach you a thing or two.”
Creed turns his gaze from the fight and toward the blonde. “Is that so?”
I hear giggles from the other side of me and watch on as two honey blonde-haired girls, both wearing matching black mini dresses, pull Ezra toward a small room across the warehouse.
My brows furrow as he heads away from the crowd and goes with them readily. They head into the room, their gazes hooded and their arms linked with his as they enter. Does he know them? Or were they together?
I guess Ezra was really attractive. And with such a sociable personality and those looks, why wouldn’t he have girls throwing themselves at him?
The blonde behind me lets out a small hum, pulling my attention back to her as she leans further into Creed as his gaze flickers toward me, their lips meeting in a searing kiss as his hand wraps around her waist, her small dress pulling up toward her ass.
His eyes stay on me as small exaggerated moans leave her lips. His hand then reaches down toward her ass and squeezes it, pulling her even further against his front.
I roll my eyes and turn away from them and back toward the fight.
Whatever little voyeurism kink he had, he could show to the rest of the crowd.
I was no naive virgin…well not in my previous life anyway.
After I had graduated from the academy, I had a couple of one night stands, wanting to shed my inexperience. It was before I was taken by the Facility. They were shitty and short-lived, but experiences nonetheless.
The crowd's cheers pull me from my thoughts as I take a couple of steps closer, making my way through the crowd and nearer to the cage. A hand suddenly slides down my lower back and grabs my ass from behind.
The asshole in question places himself beside me, his dark hair slicked back and his beady eyes pretending to watch the fight as his hand gropes me.
