Amy Blankenship - Blood Bond

Storm had added notes into the blocked version of the profiles and Ren had mentally downloaded those too. Storm was right… he probably knew more about them than they knew about themselves.

Zachary was a little bit of a wild child with what Storm had described as a double personality… one minute Zachary was joking and the next he was as deadly as a ticked off cobra. He’d seen the news broadcasts of the fire that took out the home of a mob boss a while back and the whole situation had PIT, more specifically Zachary, written all over it. The next morning Zachary had filed the report into the PIT system and confirmed Ren’s suspicions.

Angelica’s power was a little more complicated, being able to kill demons using the magic she was born with. Storm had once called her the key but never said what the hell she unlocked.

Her file was thicker than anyone else’s… it was as if Storm had been documenting her every move since birth. Ren couldn’t figure out why… and he didn’t really care at the moment. Without a word, he closed the door and headed into the room that served as his office. Somehow he’d known they would follow him.

“So,” Zachary said after less than a minute of awkward silence, “Do you live here alone?”

“No,” Ren said. “I have new roommates.”

Angelica smirked at the dumbfounded expression that appeared on Zachary’s face. “I think he’s trying to break the ice.”

“He’s doing a bad job,” Ren said already feeling crowded.

“I know,” Angelica soothed recognizing a quiet loner type when she met one.

Zachary sent Angelica a mock glare. “Hey, you’re supposed to be on my side.”

“Why?” Angelica laughed. “Believe it or not, some of us can go for days without running our mouths. You… I’m lucky to go two seconds without hearing you going on about something.”

“I can to be quiet!” Zachary exclaimed. “Watch me!”

Zachary then commenced to slouch back on the sofa and cross his arms over his chest with his lips pressed into a thin line. Angelica rolled her eyes before getting up to take a closer look at the computer system Storm had set up.

Ren watched her closely, ready to answer any questions she might have and glanced over at Zachary. For some reason, the other man had found something very fascinating about the buttons on his shirt. Ren mentally counted down from five before the inevitable explosion occurred.

“GAH!” Zachary yelled. “I can’t stand this.”

Ren laughed making Angelica and Zachary look at him in surprise. It didn’t last long and Ren ran a hand through his hair before taking in the others. “Go ahead and explore the castle, there are plenty of bedrooms.” he said once all traces of humor vanished from his face.

Angelica nodded, “I’ll go get my suitcase.”

Once she was gone, Ren looked over at Zachary and found himself face to face with the other side of the fire starter’s personality. “I’m curious… what powers do you have?”

“Yours,” Ren smirked, “and Angelica’s… and anyone else that comes within my succubus range.”

Zachary flipped his palm up and opened it seemingly satisfied that his powers were still there.

“I didn’t say I took your power away,” Ren shrugged, refusing to resort to parlor tricks to prove what he was saying. He locked eyes with Zach and saw the disturbed man behind the mask. “By coming near me, you are giving me the same power,” he stated for clarity.

“I take care of Angelica while she’s here,” Zach announced out of the blue.

“I’m not a babysitter and you can take care of everyone who shows up,” Ren corrected him. “It’s not my job.”

Zach nodded as if he had just won a strategic war, “I know Storm is putting together an army.”

Ren nodded, “Yeah.”

“He’s going to need one,” Zach rubbed his hands on his pant legs and stood up. “Who else has he called in for this?”

“Almost everyone as far as I know,” Ren answered. “But there are a few he hasn’t been able to locate.”

“Anything I can do to help out?” Zach asked.

Ren nodded toward the computer, “Find those that Storm can’t. He’s listed all that are still missing in action.”

Zach grinned and walked over to the computer. “Let’s see who the almighty one missed.”

Ren watched, completely fascinated with this total switch in attitude. He didn’t know which side he liked best… but he knew which one he trusted more.

Chapter 4

Angelica lay on the bed with a couple of pillows propped up against the headboard behind her trying to avoid sleep… her new favorite pastime. As soon as she came back in with her suitcase, she knew Zachary had pulled his little switch on Ren as the other man was sitting on the sofa staring at him. Zachary had told her to go ahead and find a room and get some sleep so she’d happily pretended to do just that.

She’d walked the long halls for a few moments before choosing a door at random and opened it. Upon seeing the interior she smiled and placed her suitcase on the bed. The room was decorated in shades of purple accented with gold and lighter shades of lavender.

The bed was huge, probably emperor size, with a beautiful canopy accompanied by gold and purple throw pillows and comforter. The sheets and pillowcases were lavender and she almost giggled at the little gold tassels on the corners of them.

A large armoire sat on the far side of the room. When she opened it, she half expected to see it filled with old fashioned dresses from the ballroom area. To her disappointment, it was empty. On the wall across from the bed was an antique vanity table with a large mirror.

Next to the bed was a writing desk with a supply of pens and paper, along with a note telling her the data port for her lap top was on the wall underneath it. Angelica had almost laughed when she read this and bent over to take a look. Sure enough, she saw the access point and immediately dug out her laptop and hooked it up.

From her lazy position on the bed, she had a perfect view through the balcony doors at the moonlight shining down on the ocean. She smiled because it was an honest to god balcony.

Most people that knew her would have thought that she didn’t go in for such girly things… but all little girls had the fantasy of being a princess in a castle and she was no different. She even used to pretend that she was Cinderella or Sleeping Beauty, waiting for her prince to come and take her away.

Too bad she no longer believed in the theory of a knight in shining armor coming to rescue her from the big bad demons who surrounded the castle.

With a sigh, Angelica looked back down at her drawing and sketched out a few more lines before putting the pencil down on the night table beside her. Placing it on her lap, she lifted her hand and studied her palm where the symbol was imprinted. It wasn’t a burn nor a tattoo of any kind… it was just there.

Picking the paper back up, she looked at the picture she’d drawn of Syn and added the symbol in the bottom right corner of the page. She blinked when the picture started to blur and lowered it back to her lap, closing her eyes for a moment just to stop them from burning.

Syn appeared beside Angelica’s bed as soon as she’d fallen asleep. He’d silently made his way through the castle and the city touching the minds of everyone she’d interacted with. He’d needed to gain knowledge about her life so he would know exactly what he was dealing with. So far the most interesting information he’d gained had been from Zachary’s mind.

The blonde man was sharp as a whip but hid that fact under so many layers. He also held power of his own right as a hybrid. Zachary had been assigned as her protector and he took the job seriously. Syn knew Zachary would have to quickly get over his crush on Angelica… she was not for the hybrid.