Warning: Ken molestation.

Chapter 9.

Asher used the hand on his forehead to press Goggles down to the ground and look into his eyes. Meeting Asher's pale eyes, Goggles limped almost immediately. Cherry pressed her hand down over the front of his ribs, judging the right spot, sliding her hand inch by inch along his rib cage. She was quick, the knife piercing his skin smoothly between the ribs and I heard the rush of air that escaped. The munin seemed to leap forward in me, as if it wanted to rush into that new opening, nearly making me lurch forward over him. I couldn't stop my hand reaching out, and I felt a resistance. Very slight, but I realized I was touching his aura, fighting back against the munin. I touched the warm skin of his stomach, sliding up to his chest. Raina was returning, the blood and warm flesh drawing her back. She liked it when things were hurting.

Goggles thrashed, the pain of the new stab wound freeing him from Asher's gaze. Cherry knelt down on his other arm, and he finally got enough of a lungful of air to scream. I shuddered at the feelings the scream raised in me. Raina liked it. Too much.

"Asher," I breathed. "Please."

Asher reached out with both hands to cup Goggles' face and look him in the eyes as the young man tried to resist looking at him, only interested in getting away from us. Not that I blamed him. I would have wanted to get away from us too.

"Look at me," Asher whispered and I felt it like a caress down my arm. Goggles looked, the voice luring him, and he was docile again. I looked back to the wound, a dark hole leaking very little blood now. I wanted...no, Raina wanted to dig fingers into his flesh, rip it in scarlet ribbons. I stopped myself as I felt the skin dimple under my fingernails. The smell of him, masculine, flowery, and the smell of blood was filling my senses. Cherry had removed her identification card from the uncut side of her bra and pulled the knife out, placing the card over the wound, watching me with horrid fascination.

Goggles was still gasping for breath, but it wasn't as panicked. He was actually getting air now. I felt someone touch my hair, and it was Nathaniel, having pressed close behind me. I pulled away from Nathaniel. I couldn't let Raina direct her attentions toward him. But she wanted him. Instead I leaned down over the assassin, bringing my lips close to his skin, breathing power along it. I didn't know if this would work on a human, but he had an aura that was nearly manifest. Someone touched my arm in a slow, lingering caress and I rode the sensation, moving up his chest till I met the bullet wound.

Raina wanted to rip his pants off and watch him suffocate as she took him. I tried to redirect her into the other capacity she had and didn't often use. My fingers touched his jaw, stroking almost lovely as Raina built up. She was nearly screaming in frustration, filling me with heat. I moved over him, straddling his legs, feeling my pants tight against my skin. I sat up quickly, thrusting my hands down on the bullet wound, trying to channel Raina's ability to heal down into it. My fingers dug into the wound, but it was the power digging deeper as I visualized the blood vessels refusing, torn membrane and tissue mending, flesh closing.

Released again from Asher's gaze by pain, Goggles screamed again, choking on the power, his back arching up in response and dropping back down. It wasn't working, and Raina was still clawing at me, demanding satisfaction. The power was filling his body with no direction.

"Asher," I gasped, and he turned his eyes to me. Our lips met, faces being only a few inches apart, and his power reached out for mine, pressing against it, adding his strength to force Raina into submission. I kissed at his lips, and his tongue met mine, skillfully avoiding fangs. I felt Raina relent in her desire, the warmth flowing down out of my hands and into the man's body. I pulled back from Asher's lips, power playing along our lips like mist as I gasped for air.

I leaned back from Goggles, taking deep breaths, and saw his wound was filled with bright pink flesh. His gasping had nearly calmed. The shape shifters were all around me, drinking in the munin as it faded back, satisfied for now. Zane pressed his fingers up against his mouth as if the munin were honey, licking at his fingers, trying to draw it out.

Good to the last drop? The sarcastic side of me quoted the coffee commercial, bringing me back to myself. I heard a muttered curse, not that I understood it, but the tone of it wasn't pleasant. All eyes shifted to see the redhead was awake and rolling over to get up, bloodied katana in hand. He was glaring at us dangerously.

He yelled something and Jason and Zane rose to their feet more gracefully than humans should have been able to. The redhead fell into a defensive stance, feet apart, knees slightly bent, katana hilt held in both hands, pointed up and slightly at an angle. His eyes darted from Jason to Zane, to me, and the man in front of me. He yelled again, and I didn't understand it.

"He wants us away," Cherry said quietly. Trying to save his team member. I must admit it might look questionable as to what we had been doing to him. Goggles was mumbling something I couldn't comprehend. Kannon came running back into the alleyway and slid to a stop as the redhead whirled on him, backing up so Kannon was on his side, and not his back. The other assassin was still out cold, sprawled on the ground. Cherry removed her ID card, slowly handing me the knife back. The knife wound had stopped bleeding as well, not as healed as the other, but it looked much better.

"Kannon, tell him to throw down his sword and his friend will get medical attention."

So it was a bluff. He didn't know I had healed him already. And that the ambulance had already been called. I'm sure someone had heard the shots. Why didn't I hear sirens yet?

Kannon spoke quickly, repeating himself when the redhead started screaming at him, glancing at him only momentarily. I got to my feet, facing the redhead. He hunched down lower, eyes gone cold, ready to strike. Kannon was still speaking rapidly, and the redhead was ignoring him. Jason and Zane fanned out on either side, surrounding him. I watched him look around, weighing the odds. The redhead looked at me, and spoke slowly.

"Where is the other one if his team," Kannon translated and the redhead glanced at him.

"Tell him. Tell him the vampires took him away," I said calmly. The redhead was looking back at me, body trembling with the tension. Kannon spoke and the redhead snapped at him.

"He doesn't believe you."

"Of course not." I folded my arms across the cut in my shirt, and my hand going for the Browning again. "And the longer he draws this out, the more likely it is the vampires are doing something awful to him."

Kannon flinched at my words, but repeated them in Japanese. Katana snarled at me, and I saw the bunching of his muscles. He was ready to go for me. The Browning was already in my hand.

A new voice rang out in Japanese and all eyes darted toward the source. Two figures were crouched on the rooftop behind me. One had long hair and a jacket that wrapped his body to his knees. The other had short hair, and wore very little. I could make out some sort of sleeveless shirt and pants. Long Hair lifted his face in the moonlight, illuminating it, and I gasped. Green Eyes. It was Green Eyes from the restaurant.

Katana hissed ahead of me, his eyes only for the two figures on the roof. Gee, fickle, wasn't he?

"Anita," I heard Jason say somewhere between a gasp and a whisper. I looked up at Green Eyes, and he looked right back at me, smiling.

Was verstecken Sie? [1]

My eyes widened. German. My father was German. I knew German when I heard it. But his lips hadn't moved. I reached out with my power, reaching up to him. He felt human. And he didn't seem to notice what I'd done. He was a simple telepath. But a strong one. I reached out toward his companion and felt recognition, but he was still human. My power recognized him somehow. I couldn't tell just why yet. I pulled it back to myself, puzzled.

"Du bist die Executioner," he spoke aloud finally. It wasn't a question. More of a statement. You are the Executioner. If he knew that, then he knew the vamps. The Browning pointed up at him. He laughed.

"Wer sind Sie?" [2] I asked some of the little German I knew.

The German made a sweeping bow. "Ich bin Schuldig." [3]

"Schuldig," I heard Katana snarl behind me. I had the feeling I was standing between the Hatfields and the McCoys. Schuldig unleashed a string of Japanese, followed by cackling. I took the moment while two conversed to look back at the others. The other assassin was up. The tall one. He was sitting up, looking around in a daze.

"Jason!" I hissed, and he looked. Katana looked as well.

"Youji!" he cried. Youji? So it wasn't food. It was a person. Cherry had recognized his scent. Of course.

Asher was standing, one foot on Goggles' chest, holding him down. Youji's head jerked toward Katana, and he was scrambling to his feet when Jason tackled him. They rolled across the alleyway in a mess of wrestling limbs. Cherry and Nathaniel were huddled together, unsure. Afraid. Cherry watched Jason and Youji wrestle with snarled curses.

"Old rivals," Kannon said clearly to me across the way. I had figured. So why had Schuldig arrived now?

Schuldig's companion stood up now, silhouetting a frail, thin frame. He almost reminded me of a decimated zombie. The kind so far gone they just sort of shuffled along before they had any blood. Schuldig stepped up on the ledge, hands in his jacket pockets, and jumped off. He landed with a great bending of the knees, dispersing the impact, then stood up serenely as possible. I still knew it had to hurt. His ankles must be killing him.

Katana screamed and lunged forward with his katana, slashing after Schuldig. Schuldig moved to the side so fast, I though I was seeing a lycanthrope. Humans can't move that fast. Impossible. Katana recovered from the miss by twirling his whole body around to gain momentum. I watched them fight a moment, Katana slashing and hacking while Schuldig just dashed out of the way. Jason and Youji had come to a stop, Jason holding Youji's arms twisted up behind his back and sitting on his back. Youji was busy screaming things that were either threats or insults. Asher was still standing on Goggles, who was trying to shove him off. With no success.

I watched Zombie slip down, landing with a loud thump of shoes on the ground. These guys had to have incredible ankles to do this often. I was going to be paranoid of rooftops the whole time I was here.

Zombie slinked toward me, light ghosting a pale face with an eye-patch, silvering short, pale hair. It was Zane's one-eyed, little brother! But the little brother wore more. He wore some kind of tank top under his vest. I saw a knife appear out of nowhere, the tip dragging down his own cheek as he looked at me. There was the barest hint of a smile on his face, scars criss-crossing it. Seeing where the knife was now, I could guess how he got them. I could guess this had been a rebellious child. Dear, I told you not to run with scissors. Here, put this eye-patch on.

He slowly stepped toward me, the knife point sliding along his cheek hard enough to raise a pink welt till it reached his lips and his tongue flicked out to lick at the blade. Typical bad-guy-with-the-knife move. I had the Browning pointed at him. I watched his eyes brighten almost with excitement. I'd seen that look before. On Gabriel, when he had given me back my knives so I could gut him with them. I'd been more than happy to comply. He'd been more than happy to receive it. Ugh.

Asher moved, eyes on Zombie, making Zombie look to him, but not moving the knife, so it cut his lip. He didn't seem to notice.

"You German too?" I asked him. If he was Japanese, I'd shit a brick. He turned his head slightly back to me with a small smile.

He murmured something foreign and not Japanese, maybe Latin, with a widening grin. Oh great. Yet another foreign language. I didn't even know how he got his tongue around some of those sounds.

"Yeah, sanctorum sanctis to you too," I muttered. I couldn't kill him. He hadn't touched me yet. No matter how I wanted to shoot him. He could hurt himself all he wanted. He quickly changed at my words, his eye going wild, and his hand darting out toward my face and I felt a sharp sting in my cheek as I jerked my head back.

Asher slammed into Zombie, throwing him into the wall. Zombie didn't even wince, looking back up at Asher. I waited for the snare of the vampire gaze, but Zombie just blinked, smiled, and slashed at Asher's face with his knife. I gasped. Impossible. Just what was he that my power recognized him and he could resist the gaze like I could?

Asher jerked back quickly, his golden hair falling away from his face and Zombie paused, single eye running over the scarred side of Asher's face. Asher gave him his iciest stare. The stare would have chilled me to the bones. Zombie smiled again, tongue running out to lick at his lip.

"Kirei, kirei," [4] he mumbled before cackling.

I heard a shriek. Suddenly Katana had whirled on Zane, slashing him across the chest before anyone saw it coming. Zane snarled and grabbed at Katana, grabbing him by the arm only to receive the butt of the katana hilt to his face. Now he was ignoring Schuldig completely, who had his hands tucked in his pockets, grinning as he walked toward me. Fickle indeed.

Asher had grabbed Zombie by the throat, slamming him back against the wall, and Zombie giggled madly. Not good. They weren't supposed to laugh.

"Anita Blake." Schuldig grinned as he stepped closer, looking straight down the barrel of my gun.

"Don't tell me, you're here to kill me?" I asked.

"Nothing personal," he said in English before my head slammed into the wall and I saw stars. Bright flashes of light against darkness told me I was losing consciousness. Dammit. Hate when that happens.

[1] What are you hiding?

[2] Who are you?

[3] I am Guilty

[4] Pretty, pretty