Just call me Reckless Erik.
A dark chuckle escapes my lips, but it’s quickly silenced as I catch sight of a couple embracing in a darkened alley. They tense when they hear my footsteps and turn around.
Roars fill my ears when I get close enough to make out their faces. A tiny female is squirming underneath a much larger male, pushing at his chest and squealing under his filthy hand. The pointy ears sticking out from under her bright orange hair immediately give her away as Fae. Probably Autumn Court. A vision flashes through my mind of Conrad leaning over Helena, and red spots fill my vision as I growl.
The Daemon male pinning her against the wall looks up at me, and his eyes flash red in the darkness, highlighting the horns pushing through his blond locks. His black, leathery wings fill the alley as he snaps them open.
I ask, “What the hell are you doing?”
The Fae bites her lip and looks between the two of us. She spits something out in a tongue I don’t understand, her wide eyes flitting between the Daemon and myself.
The Daemon says something to her in another language before he grunts, pushing off against the wall and blocking the Fae from my view with his wings. “Get out of here,” he addresses me in the Common Tongue.
I refuse. “No.”
He stares at me, shaking his head incredulously. “Do you have a death wish?”
I stand tall, bracing myself as my legs spread. The adrenaline coursing through my veins is sweet and addicting. My calling card is well known, but I can't tell if I want to slit the man's throat or shoot him and throw his body into the ocean.
"Last warning, Daemon," I say calmly. "Leave, or I'll kill you." My fingers brush up against the cool metal of the weapon against my side as I study the Daemon. He has at least a foot on me, but I’ve got him beat on muscle.
The Daemon raises a brow. “Are you challenging me,human?” he asks. He says the word like he believes I’m a piece of garbage.
“Yeah,” I calmly reply. Killing others has never been hard for me, especially when there was a good reason. Caging a woman against an alley wall and pawing at her clothes while she protests definitely falls into that.
The monstrous male in front of me stalks towards me. “If I win, you’ll be dead, and I still get her.”
I bite my lip, considering his words. “Okay.” He has no idea who I am.
The Daemon takes two steps, falling into the light cast by a nearby streetlight, and it takes everything I have not to cower. My previous assessment had been wrong. He is at least two feet larger than me and significantly bulkier.
Great.
I clench my teeth and crack my neck before raising my fists. The sound of his chuckle echoes through the near-empty streets. Footsteps approach, but as soon as the Angel gets a look at what is about to go down, they launch themselves into the night.
I scoff.
Of course, no one else wants to get involved. That’s the Gates of Hell for you. Taking a deep breath, I pull my gun out of its holster. The weight is heavy but not unpleasant, and it feels comforting in my hands. The weapon is loaded with black-market bullets specially made to incapacitate and kill even the biggest species in Aranthium.
At least, that’s what I was promised. This will be my first time putting them to the test.
The Daemon sees my gun and scoffs, “Is that all you have, human?”
He towers over me, his lumbering bulk casting dark shadows around us.
“Nope,” I say. Pulling the knife from my boot with my free hand, I cock my head. “I don’t need anything else. I will kick your ass for touching her without her permission.”
He raises a brow before shrugging. “It’s your funeral.”
Then, without warning, the Daemon lunges towards me. He whips out his hands, and there are giant claws where I could have sworn his fingers were a few seconds ago. I leap backward, thanking all the gods for my nimble feet as I shift around him.
The Daemon and I spar for a few minutes. He advances towards me, and I skirt around him. The female Fae stands against the alley wall, her eyes wide.
Everything else fades away as my focus narrows in on one thing: saving this female. I couldn’t save my mother. I tried to save Helena, but instead, I lost her.
But Icansave this female.
I swipe at the male with my knife, but he deflects my attack. We travel down the alley, leaping over broken glass and wooden crates as we stare each other down.