Chapter Eighteen
Keita knew the second she was no longer alone in the tiny pub bedroom. She opened her eyes and saw the human standing over her in the dark, a blade out.
She took in a breath, willing to blast this man—and perhaps the entire pub—into oblivion. But before she could unleash her flame, big hands came from behind the man and grabbed him, slamming him into the wall beside the door.
“You try to kill such a small female with such a big knife?” Zoya Kolesova pinned him there with her left hand. “Weak men like you disgust me.”
She rammed the flat of her hand against the man’s chest once, and Keita heard bones breaking.
Keita grinned. Perhaps Aidan was right about having these Riders with them on their journey.
* * *
The bed was small, so they were wrapped around each other, but Brannie didn’t mind. She’d woken up in worse positions over the years.
But it wasn’t being curled up with Aidan the Divine that had dragged her from a solid after-sex sleep. It was the scent of humans she didn’t recognize.
She opened her eyes and Aidan was already staring at her. They’d fallen asleep with their arms around each other, their legs intertwined, and his cock still inside her. Both of them too tired to even bother separating.
Now they were both reaching for their weapons when the door was kicked open. A hard bang was heard from one of the other rooms just as Brannie got to her knees, a short sword in hand.
Two men stormed in, their faces hidden behind hooded robes. A blade flashed, coming down at Brannie. She blocked it but before she could tear out the man’s heart, another blade slammed into him from behind.
Blood hit her in the face and the man coughed up more before he was pushed off the sword and to the floor.
Aidan had already disemboweled the other one, but she wasn’t sure it had happened before that man’s throat was cut from behind.
“We must move,” Kachka ordered, walking out of the room now that her work was done.
Brannie quickly grabbed her clothes, armor, and weapons off the floor and started for the door. “I have to check on Keita.”
“She is fine!” Zoya announced from the hallway. With her arms around the She-dragon’s human waist, she carried Keita like a child’s doll. “I will take her out. We must go.”
“I can walk, peasant,” Keita complained.
“You are too weak to fight. Look at her!” she ordered, holding Keita out. Her cousin’s arms hung limply at her sides, red hair still mussed from bed, lips pursed. If she suddenly set Zoya on fire, Brannie would not be surprised.
Quickly putting her clothes on in the middle of the hallway, Brannie asked, “Who are these men? More Zealots?”
“I tried to look,” Keita replied, “but the giantess wouldn’t give me any time.”
“She’s protecting you,” she reminded her cousin. “Be nice.”
Aidan, now dressed, crouched beside one of the men. He pulled the hood back and yanked down the cloth that covered the man’s face.
Frowning, Aidan shook his head at Brannie. “They’re not Zealots.”
Surprised by that, Brannie quickly pulled on her chain mail shirt and stepped back into the bedroom, close to the other male. She also pulled back the hood and removed the black cloth around his face.
Aidan was right. These men weren’t Zealots.
“They could have been hired by them,” she suggested. “Keita said Salebiri had been hiring troops. That’s why he needed the gold.”
“Either way,” Keita said. “They came for me, trying to stop me if they thought I could get the Empress’s armies on our side.”
“Do not worry about danger, tiny female,” Zoya told her, pulling poor Keita in close and holding her against her ample chest. “I will protect you.”
Then they were both gone.
“It will not be long before Keita kills her,” Aidan said with a sigh.
“I know. I know.” Brannie stood, took a moment to get her boots on, then grabbed all her weapons, putting her “stick” into a small holder on her belt.
Brannie went out into the hallway, with Aidan behind her. A hung-over Caswyn and Uther were trying their best to appear intimidating, even though they looked more like they were about to pass out.
She was heading over to ask them how they were when Nina Chechneva rushed back up the stairs.
“There are more men outside,” she warned. “I think they wait for us.”
“Do it,” Kachka ordered, and Nina ran back down.
“What’s she going to do?”
“Take their souls.”
And Kachka said it so matter-of-factly that Brannie didn’t really think about it until Aidan asked, “Pardon?”
“That is what Nina Chechneva does. She takes the souls of men and uses them to increase her power. We let her as long as she does not betray us. If she betrays us, then we let Zoya Kolesova tear her arms off.”
Aidan nodded at that. “So you have all formed a nice . . . bond, I see.”
“No. We loathe her and she loathes us, but we work well together to defeat the Zealots.”
“Okay, then,” Brannie said with a smile, refusing to ask any more. Because she honestly didn’t want to know.
* * *
By the time they made it outside, Nina Chechneva was nearly done devouring the last soul.
Her slim body was covered in dark light and she seemed to be in the throes of passion, her head thrown back, gasps rising from her throat, her body undulating.
It was disturbing to watch; Aidan couldn’t imagine how horrible it was to go through it. To be the one whose soul she was taking.
And what happened to those souls? Were they trapped inside her? Did they merely disappear, never moving on to the next level? Never seeing their ancestors on the other side?
Again, Aidan didn’t know and he didn’t think he wanted to. Strange things could sometimes give him nightmares and he’d rather sleep well.
Keita walked past the bodies, studying each one carefully before facing Brannie.
“I don’t know them.”
“But they’re here for you. For us.”
She put her hands on her hips and again looked at those sent to kill them all. “We need a new boat. Another way to get to the Eastlands.”
Aidan understood. Everything they’d already planned was suspect now. Someone wanted to stop Keita from making this trip.
“You need boat,” Zoya said. “We get boat.” She patted Keita’s head. “Do not worry, tiny weak female. The Daughters of the Steppes will protect you.”
The Riders began hauling the bodies to an alley so they wouldn’t be found for a while, and Brannie immediately moved to her cousin’s side.
“Keita—”
Keita raised her hand. “No, no. I have seen the benefit of having the Riders around. And I have no intention of killing any of them . . . until we’re done. If we survive, then I’ll kill them all.”
“Not Kachka,” Brannie reminded her, giving her cousin a short hug. “I’ll never hear the end of it from Celyn.”
“Fair enough.”