Lover Awakened (Black Dagger Brotherhood #3)(122)

John fought as Phury grabbed him around the waist and picked him up off the floor. At the same time Vishous and Rhage positioned themselves on either side of Tohr. The door closed.

Outside of the office, Phury put John down and held him in place. There was a moment or two of silence…and then a raw scream shattered the air as sure as if the oxygen were a solid.

The burst of energy that followed was so strong it shattered the glass door. Shards splintered and sprayed out while Phury sheltered John from the shrapnel.

One by one down both lengths of the hall, the fluorescent ceiling lights exploded, flashing bright and leaving streamers of sparks to bleed down from the fixtures. Energy vibrated up through the concrete floor, leaving cracks that ran into the cinder-block walls.

Through the busted door John saw a whirlwind in the office, and the Brothers were backing away from it, arms in front of their faces. Pieces of furniture whipped around a black hole in the center of the room, one that was vaguely shaped like Tohr’s head and body.

There was another unearthly howl and then the inky void disappeared, the furniture came crashing down, the trembling in the floor stopped. Papers fluttered to a gentle rest over the chaos like snow over a traffic accident.

Tohrment was gone.

John pushed himself out of Phury’s arms and ran into the office. As the Brothers looked on, his mouth opened and he screamed without making a sound:

Father…father…father!





Chapter Forty-four


Some days lasted forever, Phury thought much later. And when the sun went down, there was still no end to them.

As the shutters lifted for the evening, he took a seat on a spindly sofa and looked across Wrath’s study at Zsadist. The other Brothers were just as speechless as he was.

Z had just dropped another bomb in what was already a blitz zone of blowups. First there had been Tohr, Wellsie, and that young female. Now this.

“Jesus, Z…” Wrath rubbed his eyes and shook his head. “You didn’t think to mention this before now?”

“We’ve had other shit to deal with. Besides, I’m meeting with the slayer by myself no matter what you say. It’s really not up for discussion.”

“Z, man…I can’t let you do that.”

Phury braced for his twin’s reaction. As did the others in the room. They were all exhausted, but knowing Z, he’d have enough juice left over to hit the fan.

The brother just shrugged. “The lesser wants me, and I want to take care of him. For Bella. For Tohr. Besides, what about the female hostage? I can’t not go, and backup’s not an option.”

“My brother, you’d be walking into your coffin.”

“So I’ll do a hell of a lot of damage before they take me out.”

Wrath crossed his arms over his chest. “No, Z, I can’t let you go.”

“They’ll kill that female.”

“There’s another way to handle this. We just need to figure out what it is.”

There was a heartbeat of a pause. Then Z said, “I want everyone out of this room so I can talk to Wrath. Except you, Phury. You stay.”

Butch, Vishous, and Rhage looked around at one another, then focused on the king. When he nodded once, they left.

Z shut the door behind them and stayed with his back to the thing. “You can’t stop me. I am ahvenging my shellan. I am ahvenging the shellan of my brother. You have no standing to prevent me. This is my right as a warrior.”

Wrath cursed. “You never mated her.”

“I don’t need a ceremony to know she’s my shellan.”

“Z—”

“And what about Tohr? Are you saying he’s not my brother? Because you were there the night I was brought into the Black Dagger Brotherhood. You know Tohrment is flesh of my flesh now. I own the right to ahvenge him as well.”

Wrath leaned back in his chair, his weight making the thing creak in protest. “Christ, Zsadist, I’m not saying you can’t go. I just don’t want you to go alone.”

Phury looked back and forth between the two of them. He’d never seen Zsadist so calm. The brother was focused to the point of stone, nothing but clearsighted eyes and deadly purpose. If it weren’t so eerie, it would have been remarkable.

“I didn’t make up the rules of this scenario,” Z said.

“You’ll die if you go by yourself.”

“Well…I’m kind of ready to get off the ride.”

Phury felt his skin get tight all over.

“Excuse me?” Wrath hissed.

Z stepped away from the door and walked through the dainty French room. He stopped in front of the fire, and the flames ricocheted off his ruined face. “I’m ready to end things.”

“What the hell are you—”

“I want to go out like this, and I want to take that lesser with me when I do. Real blaze-of-glory shit. Up in flames with mine enemy.”

Wrath’s mouth went lax. “Are you asking me to sanction your suicide?”

Z’s head went back and forth. “No, because short of chaining me, you aren’t going to keep me from showing up at that movie theater tonight. What I’m asking you to do is make sure no one else gets hurt. I want you to command the others, especially him”—Z looked pointedly at Phury—“to stay away.”