Avarice Page 10
“We’re here,” Ramé said, interrupting her daydream.
Sighing, Ava opened her eyes, looking at where the dream machine had taken them. They were back by the docks, the yacht she had robbed only days ago swaying slightly in the sea breeze.
The sun was just beginning to set, and the purple and pink hues made everything around them sparkle. Ava tilted her head, noticing for the first time the elaborate golden script that slashed across the side of their yacht.
Mitera.
“Mitera… Who’s that?” she asked, resting her cheek between Ramé’s shoulder blades. How quickly she had become comfortable with these guys. She had never been a cuddler before, and now she was acting like a schoolgirl with her first crush.
“Our mother,” Ramé said, grabbing her hand where she held him.
“I heard you speaking of her. So, the ruby really was hers?” Ava recalled Midas’s words, remembering how mournful he sounded as he told her who the ruby belonged to.
“The ruby is her, wild cat.”
“What do you mean?”
Ramé took a deep breath, then let it out harshly. “It’s complicated. When we were children, Mitera took us in. She was a Sphinx and had lost her children in the purge of Eden. They stormed her village, seeking any Rarities so they could destroy them. She barely escaped with her life. After that, she began fostering others, taking in orphans from other purges. That’s how we all met. We owe her our lives.”
Ava listened intently, then kissed his shoulder as he paused, comforting him.
“She used to tell us stories of another place. A realm where we weren’t hunted like animals. Where we could flourish and grow, with entire cities full of our kind. She said she had come from such a place as a child and hoped one day to make it back there.”
“Another realm? Really?” Ava tried to hide the skepticism she felt, but these were things of myths and legends. There were no places safe for their kind. Look at what had happened with her mother.
Safety was a kind lie sold to naive children.
“Really. The men we are meeting tonight are travelers. They can jump realms.”
Ava snorted. “Someone’s been selling you fool’s gold, Ramé.”
“I’ve seen it,” he whispered.
Pausing, Ava considered that. “Seen the other realm?”
Ramé ran his fingers through his hair. “I’ve seen them come through a… portal, of sorts. The magic they wield... It’s unlike anything I’ve ever seen. They aren’t normal, Ava.”
Ava rolled over this new information, her eyes scouring the distant docks. She could see Ody and Midas walking towards their yacht, and a ball of tension tightened her stomach. “How do you know it’s safe to meet these men?”
Ramé shrugged. “It’s not, probably. But they’re businessmen. They need something we have. We’ll give it to them, and then they can take the ruby to their world.”
Scrunching her eyebrows, Ava asked, “What is the ruby exactly?”
“It’s her soul, Ava. When Sphinx pass, they transform, becoming gemstones. It’s our way of burying her. Of saying goodbye.”
Ava could hear the thickness in his voice and held him a bit tighter. She felt like such an asshole. She had stolen their mother’s soul. Who does that? Was that why she had felt so connected to it? Even then, was she feeling the mating bond’s effects?
“You should be there. To say goodbye,” she whispered.
Ramé shook his head. “It’s okay. I said my goodbyes a long time ago.”
Ava chewed on her lip, guilt making her heart ache. Not only had she stolen the ruby, but now she was basically ruining the funeral.
Shadows flickered down the side of the boat, catching Ava’s attention.
“What is that?” she asked, pointing towards the sea.
“What’s what?” Ramé looked to where she was pointing, but the shadows had disappeared.
“Something’s not right,” she murmured.
Ramé patted her hand. “It’s their magic. It makes me unsettled, too.”
“Wait. They’re already here?” Ava asked, her voice about five times higher than usual.
Ramé chuckled, caressing her knuckles with his thumb. “They don’t linger long. It will be over soon, and we can head back to your place.” He turned slightly, running his nose across her cheek, then nipping her ear gently.
Ava shuddered.
And then she noticed another shadow. This one seemed to be crawling up the side of the boat, disappearing over the ledge.
“Ramé, someone’s on the boat.” She jumped off the bike, sprinting towards the yacht, even as more shadows formed, popping up from the water and silently climbing onto the deck.
Ramé cursed, taking off after her.
Ody and Midas would be too preoccupied with the magical businessmen. They wouldn’t notice the pirates ambushing them until it was too late.
Right. Over her dead body.
Chapter Nineteen
Ody
Ody and Midas entered the cabin of their yacht, tension burning between them. It felt wrong to be away from Ava.
It would have felt even worse to have her here, or anywhere near these two outsiders.
The two businessmen were in the cabin’s lounge at the bar; one was behind it flipping bottles, while the other sat on a bar stool as if he owned the place.
The one behind the bar grabbed several tumbler glasses, juggling them before setting them down on the countertop. “Welcome, boys! What are you having?” he asked merrily, his deep voice accented slightly.
Ody watched him carefully, taking in the large body behind the immaculate attire. He wore a pinstriped suit, the jacket removed, and the sleeves of his white button-down were rolled up over massive forearms. All topped off with a fedora tilted on his head. His golden-brown skin contrasted harshly with his emerald green eyes, which sparkled with amusement at Ody’s assessing gaze.
Despite the friendly disposition of the man, Ody knew just how deadly Mattheus could be.
“I bet you’re a bourbon man,” Mattheus said, chuckling as he grabbed a bottle and began to pour them all drinks.
The other man didn’t speak yet, which Ody was fine with. Ody wasn’t one to be scared easily. Hell, he had seen more bloodshed and carnage than most men. He had been on the frontlines of battle after battle and had never hesitated.
And yet now, in his own cabin, Ody paused, debating on taking the seat next to this… creature.
As if sensing his hesitation, the man turned, giving Ody his full attention.
Ody swallowed, the hair standing up on his arms.
The man was pale as the moon, with raven hair that curled past his ears. His eyes were such a dark blue they looked black, and his body was long and muscled, just enough to be intimidating. The type of soldier who was both graceful and powerful. The perfect predator.
Dolor Comedenti raised a brow, gesturing towards the seat next to him.
Ody took assessment of both men, as any general would. It did no good to walk into battle without knowing your enemies. While both of these men weren’t exactly their enemies, they were dangerous. It was better to err on the side of caution when it came to dangerous beings of unknown origin.
Taking the seat, Ody kept his posture casual, his eyes flicking between the two men.
“Relax, man. Did you bring the goods?” Mattheus asked, sliding the tumblers to the four of them with ease, not a drop spilling from the full glasses.
Midas stepped up beside him, placing the case on the countertop. Releasing the latches, he opened it and displayed its contents to the men.
It was full of dirt. They had needed to line the damn suitcase in plastic to transport the shit. Why they couldn’t have just used a bag was as mysterious to Ody as the dirt was.
Mattheus nodded, clapping his hands. “Excellent.”
The dirt was from a cave on the island the brothers had settled on. It was an old cave, and had been a bitch to get to, but it was what the pair had wante
d. They were very specific about which cave and just how deeply they needed to dig to retrieve the soil. Ody knew better than to ask what they needed it for. They were an odd sort, and their requests were never conventional.
“Why the dirt?” Midas asked.
Fuck. His curiosity was going to get them both killed one day.
Mattheus grinned, wagging his brows. “Wouldn’t you like to know?”
“Do you have your ruby?” Dolor asked, sipping his drink. His voice was as smooth as the liquor he drank, one more weapon in his predatory arsenal.
Ody withdrew the small package, feeling the faint hum of his foster mother’s spirit. His brows furrowed as he held the gemstone, his thoughts oddly empty.
“We’ll take good care of her,” Mattheus said, his eyes compassionate. While intimidating, there was an underlying kindness in Mattheus that was lacking in Dolor. In some ways, it made Ody more hesitant. It was harder to read a man that could be your friend just as easily as he could slit your throat.
Ody nodded, handing it over, a small weight lifting inside him as it slipped from his hand.
“We have company,” Dolor murmured, taking a long pull from his glass.
Mattheus sighed, then refilled their drinks with a grin. “Well, at least we can’t say our job is boring.”
Ody stood, withdrawing a blade at the same time as Midas, their backs pressing together in their usual fighting stance as they searched for the intruder. Fuck. He shouldn’t have let Ramé bring Ava. They needed his muscle, damnit. Hopefully, they were far enough away that they wouldn’t be caught in the crossfire.
A man walked through the door of the cabin. The clichéd eyepatch told Ody all he needed to know.
Fucking pirates.
“I’ll take that ruby, mate,” the pirate said, nodding towards Dolor.
Dolor snorted, not even glancing up from his glass.
“Consider it a life insurance policy. You killed a friend of mine,” Eyepatch said, withdrawing a blade from a sheath on his hip and pointing it at Ody.
“You have friends?” Dolor slowly spun in his seat until he was facing the pirate, a grin on his face.
The pirate smirked. “More than you know.”
And then the pirates came pouring in. A dozen of them came through the door, surrounding the four of them.
Ody tightened his grip on his blade, calculating the odds. Not good…
“We have no quarrel with you,” Ody said, thinking of his next move.
Eye-patch stepped forward with all the swagger of a man who knows he’s won. “See, that’s where you’re wrong. We pirates are a tight lot. A family, you could say. What precedent would it set if I didn’t get some sort of compensation for your insult?”
Ody’s gaze flicked to the man flanking him. He was the closest. Take him out and move on to the rest. The war plan formulated in his head, the soldier in him stretching excitedly.
“Alright then,” Ody whispered. Then he swung to his right, Midas gracefully swinging to the left.
They moved in a blur of blood and bourbon. Ody could faintly hear the eerie laughter of a monster echoing in the background.
“Ody!”
A familiar cry made Ody turn, and terror pounded through him. No. Not Ava. Please don’t let it be Ava.
But of course it was Ava.
Any fear he had for her quickly evaporated.
She stormed into the yacht’s cabin like an angel of death, her green eyes blazing. Golden claws shimmering at her fingertips. She tilted her head back and screamed, an unearthly roar pouring from her throat.
“My my. This just keeps getting better and better. Mattheus, is there any popcorn back there?” Dolor chuckled, still sitting on that damn barstool.
Ramé burst in behind her, his broad body filling the doorway.
Seeing the odds worsening, Eye-patch used the distraction, sweeping in from the side and sticking his blade into Ody’s ribs.
Ody grunted and looked down, surprised to see the knife hilt sticking out of his body.
Chapter Twenty
Ava
Ava had never been in a battle before. Adrenaline and rage coursed through her, mixed with a strange sense of excitement. Her claws cut down the pirates who stood between her and her men, Ramé hot on her heels.
And hot he was.
Heat made her skin flush at the sight of him manhandling the pirates attacking them, tossing them aside as if they were mere children. His muscles flexed and strained, all the while wearing a ferocious grin that made Ava think he was enjoying this just as much as she was. He didn’t even have a weapon, and still he tore through their opponents like a knife through butter.
He was so getting laid later.
A brutal kick in the shin made Ava stumble, but before she could turn to address the new foe, Ramé was there, his fist connecting to the man’s face in a gore-filled crunch.
He grinned down at her but then faltered, his eyes widening as they snapped towards the bar.
Ava turned in time to watch a pirate twist a blade into Ody’s side.
Every instinct she had lit within her, the Wyvern spirit of her aura flaring so bright she saw stars. She tilted her head back and screamed as pain sliced across her back. Wings burst free, tearing her jacket, the sharp edges catching a pirate that had snuck up behind her and tossing him back. Agony flared along the edges of her psyche, terror and desperation pushing her forward, urging her to get to her mate. To save him. To heal him. To slay any threat that got in her way.
Vaguely, she heard her other mates scream, their pain matching hers. Their fury coalesced into a beacon of rage, a rage so intense it would light the world on fire and leave nothing but bitter ashes in their wake.
Chapter Twenty-One
Ody
Looking up, Ody was shocked to see wings surrounding him. Beautiful, iridescent golden wings, as well as wings of golden feathers. He dropped to his knees, the pain in his side shooting across his back in an agonizing arch. All of those wings seemed to slow his descent to the floor, easing him to his back. It felt… strange to lay on his back. As if he were laying on one of the fallen pirates. The last thing he needed was more blood on his good leather jacket…
Ody stared into Ava’s worried eyes.
“Let it happen, Ody. It will heal you,” Ava whispered.
“Let what happen?” he whispered back, confused.
Midas crouched down beside him, filling his vision. “Your body is trying to shift. Let it. Stop being such a control freak, damnit!”
“Shift? I...don’t know how.”
Ava leaned down, kissing him softly. The kiss grew until she was all there was, the chaos around them fading into the distance. Then someone ripped the blade from his side. He cried out, but Ava ate the sound, only kissing him deeper. He felt her grip something deep within him, a golden thread he didn’t know was there. And then Ava tugged, unraveling him from the inside out.
In seconds, Ody’s wings burst free.
They pushed him off the ground, and he continued his kiss, wrapping his healed body around Ava. His hands stumbled on the wings sprouting from her back.
Ava had wings. Glorious, gold, leather-like Wyvern wings draped down her back, ending just above her knees in sharp points. She wasn’t the only one with wings now, though. Ramé and Midas had wings as well, golden feathers that fell in a smooth arc down their backs. Ody ached to reach behind him and discover his own, but there would be time for that later.
“You have wings,” Ody said, dumbly.
Ava laughed, sobbing into their kiss until Ody finally came to his senses.
Swiftly, he stood, yanking Ava behind him and taking in their surroundings.
He searched around them, surprised to find many of the pirates collapsed on the ground, writhing in pain. Screams began to erupt, as if being ripped from the pirates one by one.
“Dolor…” Mattheus said, sitting on the bar, tumbler still in hand. “Not our battle, remember?”
Dolor sat exactl
y where he had been, staring out over the pirates. Dark shadows swirled around him, his eyes as black as midnight. Ody swore he could see stars in those eyes.
The Eyepatch fucker who had blindsided Ody lay in a crumpled heap beside the bar, groaning and whimpering, sweat covering his face.
What was Dolor doing to them all?
Dolor tilted his head, staring at the blubbering mess at his feet. “I know. But I skipped lunch.”
Ody saw movement out of the corner of his eye, irked to be taken by surprise twice in one day. He was getting old, it would seem.
A silver sword pressed up against Dolor’s throat.
“Release them,” the woman commanded. She was short, with vivid green dreadlocks and tattoos creeping up her neck.
“Lobah!” Ava cried out, nearly running to the woman.
“Lobah? The girl with the bounty?” Ramé asked, eying the tiny woman.
“One and the same, sexpot.” Lobah grinned, winking at Ramé. “Now, how about we all just take a deep breath and live to steal another day, yeah?”
Ody didn’t miss the low growl coming from Ava, the flare of her possessiveness singing through the bond. Ramé must have noticed it as well, because he stepped over to her, wrapping an arm around her waist.
Careful not to dip his chin, Dolor glanced down at Lobah. “Why would I do that?” The screams increased in pitch.
“Dolor!” Mattheus barked.
The screaming stopped, moans replacing them.
Lobah licked her lips, her nerves obvious despite her swagger. “Because those might be mutinous bastards, but they’re my mutinous bastards, and me and mine will handle them.”
“And what makes you think I give a fuck about what you want?” Dolor rumbled, his shadows thickening around them.
Lobah grinned. “Oh, I know you don’t. But I have something you want.”
Dolor raised a brow, his soulless gaze oozing skepticism. “Do you now?”
“Where’s your case?” Lobah asked, her eyes twinkling.