Bitten Beauty (The Deadly Beauties Live On 3)

“I really didn’t mess that spell up. Something else must have gone wrong. Did you really punch your way out?”

I nod, clenching my jaw shut. I

seriously need blood right now.

Chaz walks up to me as soon as I walk in, and he hands me a glass as though he was in my head.

“Try mine. I think you’ll find it helpful.”

I cock my eyebrow at him. “Duster blood will do me no good at all. Only witches and creature gods have edible blood.”

He shoves it closer as Thad walks off.

“Don’t play dumb, Zee. You know I’m more than a duster. I’ve seen you studying Karma and the way she looks at me. Trust me. Try it.”

I don’t bother saying I haven’t noticed. He knows I know he’s a hidden freak, but it’s his business. Not mine. He’s done too much for us, and I know he’s trustworthy, so I don’t really give a damn what he is.

“For the record, you pull off acting like a duster really well. Gold dust trails and all,” I retort, taking in the scent of the blood. It’s not as appealing as Ella’s or Morgana’s.

Maybe because it belongs to a dude.

He smirks. “That’s a necessity. Drink. I’m going upstairs to pull out some old books on red jinn. I know there’s a spell in there about tracking one.”

He’s my age, but they all treat him like an old fucker. He’s definitely done his homework on the fey world. The only thing I care about are the things that want me dead.

Turning away, I drink his blood, and my knees almost give out after one sip. It’s soooo fucking good and strong. It’s even more satisfying than Ella’s, even though I know for a fact she’s more powerful.

By the time I finish the glass, I’m sated for the first time in several long weeks. Even if it’s temporary, I don’t feel as crazy and twitchy as I did five minutes ago. It’s nice to feel like me for even a brief moment.

Dice walks by me, looking crestfallen instead of annoyingly chipper. “Karma bad?” I ask him.

“Yeah,” he mumbles. “I’m a dumbass.”

“That’s not a newsflash,” I point out.

He glares at me before pulling several random things out of the refrigerator. “I meant, we haven’t been feeding her. I assumed since she was half human that she didn’t need anything other than just food. And she eats a hell of a lot of it. But I think using her powers so much is weakening her. She said they did something to strengthen her when she got too weak in the cages, but she doesn’t know what. Possessions don’t weaken her, but using her actual powers do. And we don’t know how to feed her.”

“Fuck,” I hiss. How did we miss that?

“I’m trying blood, lust and everything else I can think of. Hell, I’ll fetch some human hearts if that’s what it takes.”

He walks over to where Karma is lying down on the sofa. I hear her insisting to stay for the meeting, and Dice starts trying his tray of possible fuel candidates on her.

“Let’s lay out all the facts,” Kane says, drawing my attention. “Gage’s mother and my sire were working with someone else within the slave rings. We can assume it’s this Master person we’re dealing with.”

“Monster Evil, not Master,” Dice interjects, but Kane ignores him and continues.

“They wanted something from purgatory, and it sure as hell had nothing to do with a higher power ruling them. Thad hasn’t been a target, so it’s safe to assume whatever they wanted from purgatory has been let out, since he’s a gatekeeper and it takes two gatekeepers to open purgatory—”

“What if they’ve found more gatekeepers?” Karma interrupts, coughing when talking apparently takes too much energy.

She looks a thousand times worse than she did the last time I saw her. Going down this quickly isn’t good at all.

Everyone’s eyes flash with pity, but she glares at us. “I’m fucking fine. I asked a question,” she growls, but the wheeze deflates any intimidation factor she has.

“According to legend,” Kimber says, trying to grant Karma’s wishes, “only two gatekeepers can exist in one life. Basically one of them has to die for a new gatekeeper to be born. It’s unlikely there are two more out there. But magic does evolve, so we’ll have to keep it in mind.”

Kane moves to sit down before continuing his interrupted summary. “Assuming there aren’t any other gatekeepers, we have to be wary that whatever they needed is out. There’s still someone alive who was a part of this plan but was smart enough to stay in the shadows instead of standing at Hilly’s side during the purgatory opening.