The two of them went tumbling.
As they wrestled, the Daimon sank his teeth into Ravyn's shoulder. Hissing, he stabbed him, then kicked him back. The Daimon began spitting out the poisonous Dark-Hunter blood, but it was too late. The Daimon was dead three seconds later.
Ravyn turned right as another Daimon exploded behind him. His gaze met Susan's. "Thanks."
She inclined her head to him.
Ravyn's eyes flared as he saw another Daimon heading for Susan. Reacting on instinct, he tossed his knife, straight into the Daimon's heart.
Susan turned around with a gasp just in time to see the Daimon explode. "Thanks to you, too," she said in a breathless tone.
"Anytime."
All of a sudden, Erika launched herself at Ravyn, who caught her against his body as the Daimon who'd been chasing her skidded to a halt. Setting her aside, Ravyn lunged for him, only to have him vanish into another bolt-hole. All of the remaining Daimons followed suit.
"How do they do that?" Susan asked.
Ravyn tucked his knife back into his boot. "Magick. Certain members can summon or request a bolt-hole from Kalosis and if the keeper likes them or believes them worthy, they get in."
"I'm picturing this decrepit old man who's in charge, laughing at them."
Ravyn snorted. "No. Imagine a beautiful ice goddess who decides whether or not she wants them in her realm."
Somehow Susan liked the idea of the old man a lot better.
Ravyn frowned as he caught sight of Patricia, lying on the ground while her son, Jack, was trying to staunch the blood flow at her neck. He made his way over to them.
"We've got to get all of you to safety."
Jack looked at him doubtfully. "Where's safe? They came in here like we were nothing. "
Ravyn's face turned to stone. "The Serengeti. As a sanctuary, it's the only place that they can't breach." He picked Patricia up in his arms. "I'll meet all of you there and if I were you, I'd hurry."
"You need any help?" Susan offered.
Ravyn hesitated. "It'll be a tight squeeze, but yeah, someone needs to keep pressure on her wound."
"I'm not claustrophobic."
By his face she could tell he was grateful. "Then retract that sword and let's go."
Susan did as he said, then followed him out to his trashed car. She got in first. Ravyn carefully set Patricia in her lap. "Don't press too hard."
Her heart lurched at the sight of the unconscious woman's neck. Honestly, she didn't know how the woman could still be alive. "Is she going to make it?"
"I hope so for her family's sake. The Addamses are one of the most prominent of Squire families, and she's their grand matriarch. "
Ravyn dashed to the other side, got in, and started the car. He certainly knew how to handle a crisis well. And he could rival any race car driver's skill as he whipped his car in and out of traffic.
Thankfully, they didn't have to go more than about ten blocks before they reached the famed Seattle Serengeti Club. The windows were tinted so dark that she couldn't tell if anyone was inside or not. There didn't appear to be any cars in the area that could belong to the club or its workers.
"Is it open?"
Ravyn put his car into park and got out. He didn't answer her until he'd opened up her car door. "It opens at dusk and the owners live here."
Before she could ask about the odd note in his voice, he took Patricia from her lap and carried her through the back door of the club.
Wondering why the door wasn't locked, Susan followed him down a short corridor, toward an office area.
"Excuse me!" an attractive redhead snapped as she saw them. "Who are you and what are you doing here?"
Ravyn didn't hesitate or stop as he carried Patricia toward a door off to his right. "Get Dorian. Now."
The woman sneered at him. "And who are you?"
"Don't worry about it. Just go get Dori."
Arms akimbo, the woman looked like she wanted to lash out at him. She cast a dire go-to-hell look at Susan before she left.
Ravyn paused at a door. Susan stepped around him to open it, then stepped back for him to enter what appeared to be a clinic. He laid Patricia down very carefully on the hospital bed that was closest to the door.
"Is there a doctor here?" Susan asked.
"Yeah."
Just as she started to blink, a man appeared directly in front of her. Out of nowhere. He just poofed into the room like some weird TV show effect. With shoulder-length black hair, he bore a striking resemblance to Ravyn. "What are you doing here?" he demanded between clenched teeth.
Ravyn's face was completely stoic. "The Addamses have been attacked by Daimons. Patricia needs medical attention immediately or she's dead. The others will be here as soon as they can make it."
The man, whom she assumed must be Dorian, slid an irritated gaze to Susan. "I don't know her."
"She's a new Squire."
There was a loud commotion outside before the door flew open. Jack came in along with a short African-American woman who rushed to the bed. By the way the woman started examining Patricia, Susan figured she was the doctor.
"Who else was hurt?" the doctor asked Jack.
"Most of us. But Mom was the only one who got seriously damaged. Will she be okay?"
The doctor didn't answer. "You need to wait outside with the others, Jack."
He went white.
The man, who still hadn't identified himself, took Jack by the arm and led him toward the door. "I think we all need to leave Alberta to her work. "
Susan felt for the boy as tears gathered in his eyes. "It'll be okay, Jack," she said, praying she was right. Having lost her own mother at Jack's age, she couldn't stand the thought of him losing his.
Ravyn gave her a knowing look. "Yeah, Jack. Alberta won't let anything happen to your mom. She'll be back on her feet, yelling at you, real soon."
Jack nodded bravely as he walked out of the room.
Susan followed Ravyn into the hallway where he drew up short. Looking around him, she sucked her breath in sharply to see a group of extremely handsome but angry men.
An older man who appeared around the age of sixty curled his lip at the sight of Ravyn before he spat on the floor at Ravyn's feet. "You know better than to come here. Ever."
An air of exhaustion settled over Ravyn, as if he didn't want to deal with this right now. "It was an emergency."
That didn't seem to appease the man at all, and it was then she realized this was the sanctuary his family owned. "You should have let the humans bring her."
"Dad-"
He hissed at the man who'd joined them in the clinic. "Don't defend him, Dorian. If not for the laws of sanctuary, I'd already be tasting his blood."
Ravyn's features hardened as he approached his father. Anger mixed with hurt deep inside him. They hadn't seen each other in more than a century, and still his father couldn't look at him without curling his lip. Ravyn remembered a time when he had respected this man. When he would have done anything for him.
Part of him hated his father for the fact that he'd just stood by and watched while Phoenix killed him all those centuries ago. But another part was the little boy who'd once thought the world of this man. The little boy who used to ride on his wide shoulders and play chase with him. That part had wanted some kind of comfort over the death of his family.
Instead, they'd killed him, too. His father had even kicked him as he lay dying on the floor and spat on him. He looked at the spittle beside his boot. His father still spat at him.
And that awoke a potent rage inside him. It was what he focused on now. "What galls you most, old man? The fact that I betrayed you, or the fact that I had the balls to set it right when you didn't?"