To Taste the Dawn

Chapter 1The worst part of dealing with Djar demons was the blood. It was as thick and sticky as tar, and had the same high, sharp smell. As far as Jesse Madding knew, it was impossible to remove it from clothes. Once a drop landed on a pair of jeans or a T-shirt, that was it. The clothes were lost forever. And Gideon always made him clean the weapons they used, which could take a full day of continuous work. That was really the only reason Jesse decided to forego using a blade in favor of his bare hands. He could get the thick, gooey substance off his skin much easier than he could the metal. The nest they found in the abandoned “no-tell” motel was relatively small. Their packs could get up to twenty individuals, but Jesse and Gideon only found five Djar demons. Unfortunately, they also found the remains of at least four people. And they weren’t really remains so much as hints of the victims scattered through the ancient hotel room. A pair of glasses here. A shoe there. A wallet in the corner. Gideon had been straining for a fight, and as soon as they knocked in the door, he practically jumped into the room, with a smile of what could only be described as exuberance. Jesse, for his part, took the time to get a good idea of just how many awaited them before he followed Gideon’s lead. The fight was short and brutal. Believing Jesse to be a regular human, all five of the Djar demons turned on him, their long snouts dripping with white saliva, their teeth clicking together with unrestrained hunger. Jesse didn’t mind being the center of their attention. As long as they were focused on him, they weren’t paying close attention to Gideon. Jesse fended off each attack with a graceful ease, his body moving automatically, each blow nothing more than a logical follow through from his previous act. He could have done more than fend them off. He could have killed each one of them, but he preferred to watch Gideon deliver the final blows. Flashes of his pale, powerful arms caught in the dim light. Gideon had been pragmatic about this fight. He’d deliberately opted for a form-fitting T-shirt, something that wouldn’t get snagged very easily, with less fabric to worry about staining. Jesse hadn’t been surprised when he’d spent over half an hour deciding what to wear, but lounging on the bed, watching a half-naked Gideon shuffling through his wardrobe, had been worth every second of the wait. It was good now, too. Because he moved like a shadow between the stouter Djar, twisting beyond their reach to land crushing punches where they least expected them. Two charged Gideon at the same time. He crouched as if to take them on, then leapt forward at the last moment. He caught a slobbering snout in each hand, heedless of razor-like teeth digging into his palms, and used the holds to twist the demons’ necks as he soared over their heads. The distinctive cracks made the hair stand up on the back of Jesse’s neck. The other three snapped their attention away from him to fix black eyes on Gideon and the two bodies he tossed casually aside. He smiled at them, his fangs glistening. “First blood, boys.” He flicked a few thick droplets from his fingers in their direction. “Too bad they didn’t live long enough to actually taste it.” The three remaining demons completely lost interest in Jesse. He had never studied the anatomy of the beasts, but he was pretty convinced they relied on smell far more than sight. Their immediate reaction to Gideon’s blood confirmed that theory. They honed in on the scent, all three charging Gideon at once. Without thinking, Jesse teleported to place himself between Gideon and the demons. He took advantage of their stupefied shock, smashing one in the snout with enough force to send it flying across the room. “Hey,” Gideon complained good-naturedly behind him. “I was just starting to have fun here.” “You’re welcome to the other two,” Jesse tossed back. Gideon growled his pleasure at the response, snatching Jesse out of the way when one of the remaining two went for his legs. Gideon took the collision instead, and the pair went down in a heap, all flashing teeth and surly snarls. Blood sprayed from a fresh wound, but the rake down his bare arm only enraged Gideon further. He drove his fist into the demon’s chest, the muscles in his forearm flexing. Several beats passed with the two frozen in the macabre position. Then, the demon went limp, the life literally squeezed out of it. The demon Jesse had tossed pushed itself to its feet, clearly stunned, blood pouring from its ears. Instead of following the scent of Gideon’s blood, or the sound of its struggling comrade, it lowered itself to the ground and barreled toward Jesse’s legs. Jesse waited until he felt the demon’s hot breath right on his legs, and then teleported again, sending the demon into the opposite wall. A crack formed beneath its head, traveling up to the ceiling. Cockroaches streamed from the plaster. He heard the death scream of Gideon’s other prey, but didn’t dare look away from their lone enemy now. Its arms fumbled blindly for some kind of purchase against the wall. When it managed to curl its claw around a gnawed limb Jesse hadn’t noticed until now, Gideon made a sound of disgust and marched over to it. The Djar was helpless as Gideon drove his heel into its snout. A second kick to its head splattered thick blood against the wall behind it. “It’s a good thing this place is already out of business,” Gideon said as he surveyed the c*****e. “The cleaning bill alone would bankrupt it.” “That’s if they could even find anybody who’d be willing to take the job. How’s your hand?” The sticky Djar blood coated Gideon’s skin, all the way past his wrist. “Just a scratch. Think the water is still on in this place?” “Yeah, but…” Jesse gingerly stepped over a sticky puddle. “Let’s find a different room.” Gideon didn’t argue, though he did grin as he followed Jesse through the smashed door. “Since when are you squeamish about a little blood?” “I’m not squeamish. Maybe I don’t like cockroaches.” “That must be why I always see Emma wielding the shoe when you find one in the house.” “Well, they’re disgusting. With their eyes and their antennae.” Jesse tested a knob but it refused to turn. With a grunt, he pushed the door off its hinges, revealing a surprisingly clean—compared to the Djar nest—room. “After you.” Gideon made sure not to get any of the Djar blood on him as he stepped past, heading straight for the open bathroom door. The sound of running water echoed against the walls. “I think we got them all,” Gideon called out. “I’m not sensing anything else around here but us.” Jesse agreed that the motel was probably clean. He had the feeling that the nest of Djar kept the whole place free of the vagrants that were typically attracted to abandoned hovels like this. That, on top of the unseasonably warm spring weather, made Jesse fairly certain nobody was going to try a surprise attack. “And the night’s still young. I cleared our whole schedule for this trip.” The water stopped. When Gideon reappeared in the doorway, he leaned against the jamb and smiled, his fangs gleaming white in the dark shadows across his face. “That almost sounds like you had plans I don’t know about.” Jesse gasped with mock indignation. “Are you implying I had anything on my mind tonight except doing a good and thorough job?” “I don’t hear you denying it.” Jesse’s lips twitched, but he bit his smile back. “Now you are. I absolutely didn’t have any ulterior motives.” “Then I guess mentioning I’m hard as a rock and starving would be a waste of time.” He shrugged and moved to go back into the bathroom. “Your loss.” Jesse didn’t have a hard time believing that. Even in the dim light, he could see the outline of Gideon’s erection against his tight pants. “Wait. Wait. Let’s not be too hasty here. You know how…flexible I am. My plans can change.” Gideon paused and tilted his head back toward him. The knowing smile had returned. “Something tells me this is exactly the plan you had in mind, boy.” Jesse closed the distance between them, crowding Gideon into the narrow bathroom. “Only because you’re always hard as a rock and hungry after a fight.” A strong hand caught Jesse’s wrist, squeezing enough to still him. His strength was actually greater than Gideon’s, a fact they were both aware of, but most of the time, he suppressed it in favor of Gideon’s dominance, swaying to his power eagerly, desperately. Now, he remained motionless while Gideon pushed his other hand beneath Jesse’s shirt, his fingers still slightly damp from where he’d washed them, and shoved it up to expose Jesse’s chest. “I’ll just take a little something to take the edge off,” Gideon murmured. His dark head bent, and Jesse tilted his chin back, ready to meet his lips. What he got instead was Gideon bowing even lower, and then the sharp drive of his fangs directly into Jesse’s taut n****e. A sharp blade of hunger sliced through him at the very first prick of Gideon’s teeth. His c**k stiffened to the point of pain, his pants suddenly feeling two sizes too small. A fight always got his blood pumping, and knowing how a good spot of violence aroused Gideon just made his heart race faster. But he was still a little surprised how swiftly his body reacted to Gideon’s bite. His teeth sank deeper, and the blood erupted from his skin, filling Gideon’s mouth. He watched, fascinated, as Gideon pulled at his flesh, his throat working as he took a second swallow. But before Jesse could get lost in the familiar sensation, Gideon lifted his head and licked the scarlet blood from his lips. There was a dangerous glint in the vampire’s eye that told Jesse the short drink had done anything but take the edge off. “Strip,” came the curt command. He released Jesse’s wrist and folded his arms over his chest, the biceps seeming obscenely large in the atypical T-shirt he wore. “Or I’m going to tear those clothes off you and force you to go home naked.” His mouth canted. “Without teleporting.” The threat wasn’t necessary, though Jesse had no doubt that Gideon meant every single word. In the four years since he had received his extraordinary powers from Michelle, the strangest things had simply become commonplace. Gideon had become remarkably tolerant of the fact that Jesse popped in and out of rooms without warning. He also became adept at adopting Jesse’s skills to his own ends. Jesse tugged his shirt over his head, letting it drop to the floor without concern. There was a good reason he bought T-shirts that came in packs of ten. His shoes and pants followed, and by the time he was completely naked, his blood was pounding in his ears, and his c**k was leaking. Gideon pressed his hand flat against Jesse’s chest, directly over the already healing marks on his n****e. His fingers curled, digging into the muscle, and his gaze never wavered as he pushed Jesse back, slowly, firmly, until his shoulders met the cold tiled wall behind him. “So what exactly were your plans, boy?” Though his voice was low and hypnotic, it wasn’t enough to distract Jesse from the path of his other hand, especially when it wrapped around Jesse’s shaft and squeezed. “Tell me how flexible you’re being.” Jesse honestly couldn’t remember if he actually had other plans, or if it had all been a ploy. When Gideon got that close to him, he often forgot important details. Gideon’s mouth was so close to his, Jesse could almost feel it. A bit of blood still clung to the corner of his lips, and Jesse’s pulse thrummed in response. “After taking out the nest, I planned to…” Gideon’s grip tightened. “Yes?” Jesse gasped. “Do a complete sweep of the motel, and the surrounding area. You know, better safe than sorry.”