His mind searched for answers and it suddenly made sense as to why Michael was drinking demon blood. If only a few drops of Fallen blood could cause this kind of reaction then being able to drop all restraint and completely drain a Fallens spawn would be the equivalent of dark chocolate.
Kane moved his gaze to Aurora seeing the high color spread across her cheeks and the way her breathing had become shaky. She was becoming aroused from Michaels lips on her, not understanding that if he lost his restraint then things could turn very dangerous for her. She was an innocent in all of this even though shed inadvertently caused Michaels strange addiction.
More proof that love is blind, Kane thought to himself.
The floor vibrated through Kanes boots but he paid it no mind until he saw one of the books beginning to tremble out of its spot on the shelf. Glancing around the room, he noticed more than a few of the volumes shivering in place. Kane lifted his hand to push the book closest to him back in when he saw the lamp on the table near Michael start sliding across the polished surface toward the edge.
Michael, Kane's soft whisper sounded loud in the silence of the room.
Michael could hear the warning in Kanes voice and he flinched realizing what he was doing. Drawing away from Auroras injury, he placed a soft kiss on the tip of her finger before releasing her and forcing himself to calmly back away.
You should be careful, sometimes the pages of these old books are sharp, he smiled distracting her from what hed just done.
Aurora slowly drew her hand back and closed it, still feeling the heat of Michaels lips on her skin. She brought the hand to her chest and protectively shielded the wonderful feeling with her other hand before nodding at Michael with bright eyes.
I promise to be careful, Aurora said shyly and Skye nodded his agreement. Neither one of them had noticed the vibrations in the room because their attention had been riveted on Michaels seductive kiss.
Much to Kanes relief, the light vibrations immediately ceased and the lamp stopped sliding less than an inch from its edge.
Aurora, Skye, we will leave you to your reading while we go scout the area for anything that may pose a danger to the humans, Kane suggested, praying Michael would take the hint and come with him. Besides, if we stay here well just be a distraction.
Id say. Skyes eyes widened realizing hed just said that out loud. He smirked when Aurora giggled at him.
Michael was inwardly cursing himself and decided that Kane was right leaving the room was the best idea for the moment. What he was not looking forward to was the fact that Kane would follow him and that was the last thing he needed right now.
Turning toward Kane, Michael smiled and added, You can take the east while I search the west end of the area.
He stalked past his brother intending to do exactly as hed just said and hoped the demons were stupid enough to be close by. He made it to the porch before his brother caught up with him and grabbed him by the arm jerking him around.
What was that? Kane demanded in a low hiss. It was just a small injury, hardly worth that kind of attention.
She was bleeding, Michael growled as though that would be answer enough it wasnt and they both knew it.
Kane actually glared at him, Bleeding he shook his head. Thats not going to do it Michael. Youre acting more and more like an addict looking for their next fix and its her blood youre addicted to. Kane steadied his gaze now that hed figured it out. Thats why youre bleeding demons dry. Their blood is doing something to you, he accused.
Michaels face contorted with anger and he turned on Kane unaware that his eyes were now solid black. You kill demons your way and let me kill them my way. Everyones killing demons or havent you heard about the damned war you started. Stop babysitting me. In case youve forgotten, I can handle myself I did quite well while you were in the ground and nothing has changed.
Kanes eyes narrowed but he said nothing as Michael shoved away from him and stepped off the porch. He could overlook the insults but what he couldn't overlook was the blackness of his brothers eyes. This was the Michael Dean had been trying to warn him about.
Scrappy sat next to Kanes feet and whined low before looking up at the blonde man.
Kane looked down at the puppy and sighed wearily. I know, I know follow brother and spy on him. You and Syn must have a mental link I dont know about.
He didnt want to leave Aurora and Skye alone but he figured theyd be fine since the house was so heavily warded and luckily it looked like Michael had completely forgotten about them at least for the time being. Deciding hed given Michael a good enough of a head start, he traced after his brother using the blood hed given Michael just a couple days ago as a tracker.
It didnt take Kane long to catch up, but when he did he observed discretely from a distance. What Michael was doing was wrong well not the killing demons part but the way he was going about it. He was using their blood like a drug and as with any drug you weighted the side effects to see if it was worth taking the pill. So far, the side effects were not looking so good.
Kane crouched on the apex of a slanted rooftop and glanced down at Michael who had slowed his pace to a brooding stride on the empty sidewalk. He felt a powerful presence behind him and stood up with a sigh.
Will I need to interfere?
Kane shook his head, No papa, Ive got it covered.
Soft laughter reverberated around him, You just dont want to see Michael killed again, do you?
Not really, Kane sighed and looked over his shoulder. I owe Michael this much.
Sometimes awakening from death puts things in perspective, Syn mused but he would not take this feeling of redemption away from Kane unless he had to.
Weve tried that twice already, Kane felt the need to point out. Tell Mom I said hi.
Syn nodded and vanished, leaving Kane alone on the roof. Turning back to Michael, he saw his brother walking up onto the porch of an old rundown house beside the railroad tracks. Kane tilted his head to the side wondering what Michael was up to.
Chapter 5
Michael was in predator mode, bypassing several low level demons that didnt grab his interest when he suddenly slowed his pace near an old house. There he felt it a demon with a fair amount of power was lurking somewhere inside among the stench of rotting corpses.
A wicked smile appeared on his face. Michael approached the front door and politely knocked.
An elderly man wearing a stained shirt and frayed dress pants opened the door as far as the latch chain would allow. He eyed the well-dressed man up and down. Whatever youre selling, I aint buying, he slurred and brought a bottle of cheap liquor to his lips intending to spit it in the salesmans face.
Michael suddenly hit the door with his palm, breaking the chain lock and reached for the disguised demon. In one fluid movement he jerked him out the door, tossing him into the front yard like a rag doll.
Kane frowned when the old man looking every bit in his late eighties practically cart wheeled across the grass and slammed against the trunk of a tree. When he crumpled to the ground like any senior citizen would have, Kane started to stand up thinking maybe Michael had either lost his mind or made a horrible mistake.
He slowly lowered back into a crouch when the arms and legs of the body reminded him of a contortionist as broken bones righted themselves and popped back into place. The old man persona literally melted away revealing something that looked almost like a human sized bat, minus the wings.
Gonna do that right here in public are we, Kane breathed knowing Michael was usually a hell of a lot more discreet than this when fighting demons.
The creature looked like it was made out of worn leather, its skin stretched taut over a wiry body showing a thin but defined muscle structure. The upper body appeared almost too wide for its legs to hold it upright and its fingers and toes sported long black claws. Its head was the worst, no hair whatsoever with two long pointed ears and what appeared to be a pig-like snout above two tiny rows of sharp teeth.
Holy shit batman, Kane whispered and almost laughed at his own humor. Yeah, it was an old and cheesy joke but he didnt care this was the perfect moment to use it.
Michael arched an eyebrow when the demon leapt at him, pushing him back against the front wall of the house with a bone jarring thud. The brick crumbled around them and Michael smirked in its hissing face.
Youre just the snack Ive been looking for, Michael said and let the smirk widen so the demon could see his elongated fangs.
We will see who eats who vampire, the demons voice was full of conceit.
Grabbing the demon by the neck, Michael rolled against the wall but had to quickly release it when the demons mouth opened and clear liquid began to drip hitting the sleeve of his coat. The liquid burned through the material like acid making Michael hastily discard it. He tossed the coat aside and watched, fascinated when the acid ate huge holes in the thick material.
Michael jerked his gaze back towards his opponent and growled knowing thats exactly what the demon had been up to when it had started to spit in his face.
The demon laughed and suddenly came at him, this time swiping its sharp claws through the air. Michael winced when they caught him on the arm and he could feel an intense burning where they made contact. Grabbing the demon, they tumbled down the steps and back out into the grass as they rolled, both trying to gain dominance.
The demons acid was eating through his skin but he was healing just as quickly as the wounds could start. Michael let himself enjoy the pain and the fact that picking on the more powerful demons was definitely a learning experience and a hell of a lot more fun than the quick kills.
Michael caught the demon by both wrists in a tight grip and twisted until the bone shattered and crunched under his fingers. The demons head snapped forward with intent to bite but Michael beat him to the punch by grabbing the head and sinking his teeth into the demons neck. The demon screamed and tried to scratch at him with its broken hands doing very little damage.
He hadn't had time to completely drain the demon when somewhere below the pitch of the scream he heard a soft whimper from behind him and jerked his head back to look toward the source of the sound. Michaels black eyes widened and some of the amethyst resurfaced within them when he saw a young boy standing under a street lamp holding a soccer ball and wearing a sport uniform.
Michael relaxed his hold on the squalling demon when he noticed that it was him the boy was staring in horror at not the deformed monster in his clutches.
Kane quickly rose to his feet glaring at the demon that had reverted back to its human disguise and was now crawling across the grass. Dont even think about it ugly, he hissed softly hoping the demon would hear him.
The kid couldnt have been more than ten years old and since this was a rather safe neighborhood by human standards, he was probably on his way home from a friends house. He regretted the fact that the humans werent aware of the demon population. If they were, then they would know to keep better watch over their children this late at night.
A feral snarl erupted from Kanes throat when the demon ran toward the child obviously deciding the boy would be a good hostage to put between him and the vampire he was losing the fight too. Kane moved at the exact same moment Michael did. He traced from the roof hitting the sidewalk and took up the child just as Michael tackled the demon to the ground and pushed its ugly face into the pavement.
I dont think so, Michael couldnt control his rage it was one of the reasons he despised demons. Their need to prey on children was sickening to him and those that had taken the lives of the innocent deserved the most painful death imaginable.
His fury only fueled his blood hunger and Michael bared his fangs in a primal smile before sinking them into the back of the demons neck. He growled in satisfaction when they actually grazed the bone of its spinal cord.
The demon thrashed on the ground, acid dripping from its claws in a vain attempt to get away. They made deep grooves in the sidewalk accompanied by the hissing noise associated with the corrosive substance.
Shhh, its all right. Ive got you, Kane murmured softly and pressed the frightened boys face against the arc of his neck so he wouldnt see any more than he already had. Just the sounds that the demon was making was probably enough to give a grown man nightmares no need to add a visual.