Inked

Weres were gone again, like lightning.
    “Lia!” It was Jamie’s voice.
    I looked around, panting. He was on the floor beside Caleb, who was swearing inventively. “How is he?”
    “He is feeling like a goddamned punk,” Caleb said, struggling to his feet.
    I checked him out. It looked like the blow had been hard enough to knock him off his feet, but hadn’t gotten through his shields. He was unhurt, except for his pride.
    “The gang was using another den until this morning,” I told them. “How did they set this up so fast?”
    “They didn’t,” Jamie said, getting to his feet. “We’ve lost more than one suspect down here through the years and could never figure out why. Looks like the residents of the shantytown carved themselves a back way out.”
    “A lot of back ways,” I amended, wondering which innocent-looking stretch of wall was going to open up next.
    “All right. Form up,” Caleb ordered, taking point.
    “Why do you get to go first?” Jamie groused.
    “Because I’m the only one here who can see through illusions,” he said, tapping his little dolphin. “Sonar doesn’t bounce off them like it does real walls.”
    We formed up with Jamie in the middle and me bringing up the rear, our shields out and our nerves tight. Or at least, mine were. Caleb was back to his usual, unflappable self. “There’s a doorway on either side of us, like a cross tunnel,” he told us. “You want to go straight or branch off?”
    “How the hell should I know?” Jamie demanded. “There’s no way of telling where they are in all this!”
    “Lia?”
    “Give me a minute.” I bit my lip, trying to feel for the bond Sebastian had said was there. I was past doubting him—it was either responsible for the glimpses I’d been getting into Cyrus’s brain all day, or else I’d totally lost it. Since Cyrus’s life might hang on it, I preferred to believe the former. The only problem was that I still couldn’t sense anything.
    Come on, Cyrus , I thought desperately. You’ve been chatty all day. Don’t cut out on me n—
    Her skirt had ridden up to midthigh, and he pushed it higher. She had a few days of stubble on her thighs, enough to feel under his hands as he worked to get the damn dress unbuttoned. He finally tugged it off, leaving her in a scrap of silk thin enough that he could put his mouth on her and still feel her heat. He rubbed his nose against her until she snarled, “Stop teasing.”
    “You were right,” he told her. “You are pushy.” Her only answer was to reach back and pop the button on his jeans, pulling his briefs down. She ran a finger over the tip of him, turning his whole body into one exquisite ache. “You win,” he gasped, and snapped the flimsy cords on her panties before tossing them aside.
    The scene cut out abruptly enough that I staggered and nearly fell. But it had been worth it. Along with the images, I’d received a definite sense that they were coming from somewhere directly ahead. “Go straight,” I told Caleb.
    “How do you know?”
    “I just do. Go!”
    A dozen yards ahead, Caleb snapped, “Cross tunnel,” seconds before we were jumped from either side. My brain registered the number—too many—and then I wasn’t thinking anymore. Just senses, reflexes and training, surer than conscious thought.
    Explode a potion grenade, watch sickly green smoke immediately obscure everything. Feel the burn, eyes watering—ignore it—veer to the side as they lunge for my old location. Grab the nearest Were—one in human form. A hard chop to his wrist and bone snaps; he yelps and his hold on his weapon loosens. Twist it out of his hand, shove the Luger to his jaw and pull the trigger twice.
    I looked up, searching for another target, but they had vanished like smoke. Caleb was on his feet, breathing a little hard, a glowing whip tight around the neck of a Were in full wolf mode. It was basically the same spell that I used for a lasso, except without the safeguards. As was demonstrated when he pulled away and the head lolled, burnt through to the bone.
    “Which way?” Jamie demanded, panting hard, his blade sheened with blood.
    His fingers returned to her hips, sweeping up to her back as she moved closer, finding heat and soft, soft skin. Her eyes slid closed, her lips parted as he licked deep into her. She wasn’t vocal; the most he received was a soft “oh, yes,” but she started to move with him after a few minutes, breathing quick and fierce. He gripped