Dark Deceit by Lauren Dawes Page A

said; nudging him in the
direction he’d already been heading in.
    When he felt he could, he swung his legs off the platform and placed
his feet onto the cold, rocky ground. Slowly and unsteadily, he made it to his
feet, clinging to the rock walls for support until he made it to the bones and
rags that had been his son.
    Lifting the rags, he took the blade attached to the leather belt his
son had once worn and stood. He was shaking from hunger, from insanity, from
disbelief. He eyed the serpent hanging from the ceiling, hearing the hiss of
warning—ignoring it.
    Climbing clumsily onto the platform, he licked his lips. One cut
through its head was all that was needed. His body shook violently now, and he
only had one choice: strike now or go hungry.
    Blood flowed down his hand, his arm; dripping off his elbow from
where his knife severed the spinal column of the snake. It was cold and it was
liquid. He thrust his mouth under the flow, drinking his fill of that cool
blood then pulled the body free from the rock.
    Taking it to the cave’s floor, he peeled the skin off with weak fingers
and feasted on the flesh still writhing between his teeth. He ate until he
passed out, his eyes closing, his stomach full, his mouth moist with blood. His
head was now filled with knowledge about this new world he was a part of. He
had only one thought as he let sleep drag him under.
    He was free.

Chapter Six
    B ryn sat back in
her chair and let out a deep breath. The cops had just left discreetly from the
back door, the human trying to sell Ex on her turf cuffed. Outside the
interrogation room, Korvain had been waiting, watching the door like a loyal
guard dog.
    His presence had shaken her up more than she wanted to admit. She
didn’t know how else to explain it other than there was an animalistic rawness
to him that made him both seductive and dangerous to her. The images she’d
experienced when they’d first met had left her with a need she had never
experienced before. She didn’t understand what they meant, only that she knew
she wanted him.
    A quick glance up at the clock above the door told her it was only
just after midnight. There were at least another three hours of night left for
the humans to throw their money away on booze and women.
    Rubbing the itch from her eyes, Bryn looked over at one of the dual
screens she had set up on her desk. The CCTV cameras streamed through it,
flickering from wide angle shots to close ups on each level every few seconds.
    Every floor was packed, the people crammed in until the only way
they could move would be to rub themselves up against one another. Her eyes
darted to the shots of her bouncers. Each of them were exactly where she needed
them to be.
    Bryn’s eyes finally settled on the image of Korvain up on Level
Three . He was bigger than Adrian—wider, too. The room was heaving with
people, but around Korvain there was a large perimeter surrounding him, like
people were afraid to get any closer than a few feet. She wasn’t surprised
though. She could practically see the menace rolling off his body in large, thick
waves.
    His dark eyes flickered upwards, looking directly at the camera
above his head. A blast of heat hit Bryn’s body; her skin tightening, her
muscles trembling. A gasp escaped her lips and she looked away.
    ‘Get a fucking grip, Bryn,’ she chastised herself softly. She looked
back at the screen, finding Korvain had gone back to watching the crowd with
hooded eyes. She was losing her mind, the sleep deprivation finally catching up
with her. She looked at the mountain of paperwork she needed to attend to and heaved
a heavy sigh.
    Picking up the first invoice, Bryn got to work. When she finally
lifted her tired eyes again, it was three in the morning. The music had stopped
and a quick glance at the surveillance cameras confirmed Raven and Level
Three had been cleared of patrons.
    She was stretching out her back, yawning, when there was a knock on
the office