Illren’s first interaction with Nora

This is an alternate POV scene from Illren Kovros. We first meet the sidhe assassin for hire in Don’t Bait Me (Nora Jacobs 3).  I really love his character. There’s just something about a sexy, morally gray, lethal killer. Sign me UP. haha.

Anyway, I don’t remember why I wrote this. I think it was just a writing prompt one day to get back into the series after I’d been working on some of my contemporary romance. I don’t have any plans at this point to add others, but I’ll let you know if I do.

***

Demons. Scum of the underworld. The whole filthy lot of them should be eradicated. My target, the bastard, stands in the shadows of the alley beside the bar. His eyes gleam when a woman pushes through the door alone, swaying on her feet from the alcohol in her system.

The stupid little girl. I should wait until the demon has his way with her before I step in. Teach her a lesson. She would deserve it for being so irresponsible. It’s after 1 a.m., and she’s walking alone on a dark street, completely inebriated.

Whether the woman was on the demon’s agenda this night or not, he can’t resist such an easy opportunity. The woman reaches a car parked beneath a flickering lamppost and starts rummaging through her bag, presumably for keys. This is when the demon makes his move. I could stop him, but the brainless human needs to feel the fear of being attacked.

The demon slinks up behind the woman and pulls her back, clamping a hand over her mouth and dragging her away from her car. She struggles, but she has no chance against the demon. He pulls her into the alley beside the bar with ease.

I slip into the alley behind them. The demon has dragged the woman behind a dumpster and has her on the ground beneath him, still holding a hand over the woman’s mouth while fumbling with his pants. The woman’s screams are muffled, but the panic is there. “Shut up you stupid bitch!” The woman thrashes wildly and the demon backhands her, snapping her head to the side. She stops fighting, probably going in to shock, or shutting down, paralyzed with fear. She’s had enough.

Before the demon has any idea I’m there, my knife is against his throat. He freezes, swallowing hard against my blade. “Give me one good reason I shouldn’t cut off your dick and shove it down your throat.”

The demon snarls. “You could try.”

Tempting, but I need him focused so I only press my blade into his neck enough for him to feel the sting of it piercing his skin. He hisses, but remains still, not trying to fight me at all. Demons are all the same. Cowards. Bullies and thugs who terrorize the weak, until someone stronger comes along, then they cower in fear. They never give much of a fight. Pathetic.

I look down at the sobbing woman lying on the ground and sneer in disgust. She’s as pathetic as the piece of shit demon who attacked her. “Get up,” I order her.

She looks at the knife in my hand and lets out another bout of annoying sobs before she scrambles out from beneath the demon. She sits up and scoots back until her back rests against the side of the dumpster. Her shirt is ripped open, exposing the black lacy bra beneath it. Her hair is a mess, her lip is split, her face is already bruising, and tears streak down her face, but she takes a deep breath and tries to calm herself. She watches me with wide eyes and makes no attempt to get away. “Th-th-thank y-y-you,” she stammers.

I glare at her. “I am not the hero in this situation stupid girl, I am the villain. If you do not wish to watch me torture this worthless piece of scum, I suggest you run.”

The demon growls but freezes again when my knife presses further into him again. A little harder and his throat will truly be slit.

The woman’s eyes widen in fear and, finally, she scrambles to her feet and runs away. Good. Now we can get down to business.

“Who are you?” the demon spats.

“That is unimportant. What matters is the information I seek.”

“I’m not telling you shi—”

Before he can finish his words, my blade is buried in his shoulder. It’s spelled to burn. It works well. I tested it myself when I purchased it from the sorcerer who laced it with magic. The pain it brings is excruciating. I find it highly effective in situations such as this one.

I smile when the demon screams out an agonized cry of pain. This won’t take long. “If you wish to keep your arm attached to your body, you will tell me who is killing fae around the city.”

“It isn’t us,” he gasps out.

I rip my blade out of his shoulder, pulling another scream from him and throw him against the dumpster. I wait until he sits up so that I can see his face. I cannot smell a lie like the shifters, but I know how to read people. Demons are excellent liars, but it’s hard for them to hide their tells when they’re in pain.

“You’re sure of this?”

The demon presses his hand over the stab wound in his shoulder and glares at me. “I’m sure.”

“How?”

“Because we don’t give a shit about the fae.”

It’s not a good enough answer so I stab his other shoulder. He holds in his scream this time, grunting through a clenched jaw. It’s impressive. Perhaps he’s not as weak as I first thought. He is extremely high in the ranks of the West Side horde. He should have a little backbone.

He tries to pull the knife from his shoulder, so I use my other to stab him through his hand, pinning his arm to his body. This time he can’t help the scream that rips from him. “Okay, okay,” he grinds out. “We had a meeting with the East Side horde just yesterday after two more faeries ended up dead. We know the fae are trying to pin it on us, but we aren’t the ones behind the attacks. If we were, we’d own up to it. We were trying to decide if it’s worth it to go to war with the fae or find the real culprit before the whole underworld turns against us.

I chew on this. I do know there was a meeting between the heads of the two hordes yesterday. I turn my blades, inflicting more pain until he cries out again. “I swear!”

He’s telling the truth. I’m almost disappointed at how easy it was to extract this information, though I suppose the demons have no reason to hide the truth. I knew from the start that the demons had no reason to go against the fae. We may be outnumbered by the demons in this city, but we are by far superior fighters. They wouldn’t stand a chance against us if we all worked together.

But if not the fae, then there is only one other option that makes sense. Hunters. It must be. Something stirs inside me. Excitement. The thrill of a good challenge. Hunters are known to be excellent at their jobs. I will enjoy turning the tables on them, and they will pay dearly for taking the lives of Shael and Nei. No one hurts me or mine and gets away with it.

The question now is how to find them.

I look down at the demon, panting and sweating with his eyes pinched shut and his face scrunched up in a grimace. He has served his purpose. He knows nothing of the murders.

I pull my blades from the demon and give him a long look. He glares at me and spits before saying, “You got what you needed. Now let me go.”

I consider it. I look him over and notice that his pants are still undone. I frown. “Perhaps I should allow you to live. You were not involved in the deaths of my friends, and you have been helpful.”

He let a breath of relief, but it’s short lived when I say, “However, if there’s one thing I hate, it’s a rapist.”

His eyes snap wide. He knows he’s a dead man. He tries to dodge my attack but he is no match for my speed. I slit his throat before he can even move. His hands fly up to try to stop the flow of blood gushing from his neck, but he can’t do much more than gurgle. “No means no. You would do well to remember that in your next life.”

I wipe my blades clean on his pants, then leave him to his fate and go home to get some rest. Tomorrow will be a long day. Let the hunt begin.

…

My cell phone rings, pulling me from a deep sleep. I hate being disturbed, and I’ve half a mind to kill whoever is on the other end of the call. Still, I’ve put out feelers and it could be one of my contacts calling with information. This calms some of my irritation. “Hello?”

“Hi. May I speak with Illren Kovros, please?”

I’m thrown by the unfamiliar voice on the other end of the line. It’s pleasant and innocent. Clearly the woman owning the voice is ignorant of whom she is speaking to. Curiosity, and nothing else, has me answering her. “I am Illren Kovros.”

There is a soft intake of breath and a long pause. That’s right, whoever you are, you are speaking with a dangerous man. I wait her out. It takes her a moment, but surprisingly, she gathers her courage and speaks. “Hello. My name is Nora Jacobs. I work as a bartender at Underworld.”

Nora Jacobs. Of course I know the name. It would be impossible not to. She has been the hottest topic of gossip among underworlders since she fell into our world. Her popularity is surprising. There are rumors that she’s fae, but people took to her even when they thought she was human. Somehow, she gained the respect of most underworlders in the city. As a human. She’s living with a troll for heaven’s sake.

I have watched her from a distance, studied her out of curiosity. She was raised human, but boldly faces the underworld even though she’s no stranger to the dangers of our world. Her courage is undeniable. People are impressed, myself included, though I am not smitten as most are. She’s a stunning creature, yes—the most beautiful female I have ever seen—but the rumors of her have to be exaggerated. I will not fall under her spell.

“Yes, I have heard of you. The little human who charmed a troll.”

My condescending tone must aggravate her because there is a little bite to her next words. “Right. Except it turns out that I’m not human at all. I’m fae. A strong one, they tell me. Whatever that means.”

I have to give her credit. She has more courage than the demon scum I killed last night. Then again, I’m not holding a knife to her throat. She may not realize exactly how dangerous I am. I can’t help pushing her buttons. “I know the rumors. What is it that you want?”

That’s the real reason I’m putting up with this call. Intriguing or not, I don’t tolerate most people, but I cannot fathom her reasons for reaching out to me.

I smirk at the irritation in her tone when she speaks. “I was hoping we could talk. I’m looking into the fae murders happening around the city. I was told that you knew both Shael Kelkas and Nei Bibella and might have information that could help.”

I consider this. She is but a slip of a woman and ignorant to our world. I know the underworld has not been kind to her so far. She’s nearly died several times after vicious attacks. Why would she go looking for trouble when it already finds her enough? Her motivation is a mystery I can’t help trying to figure out. “Why would you do that? What do you think you can do about it?”

A tiny, frustrated growl purrs over the line causing a small smile to break out across my face. Riling her up is delicious. I wish we were speaking face-to-face. I would love to see her glaring with flushed cheeks.

“I was asked by several fae clans and families of the victims to try and find the killer,” she snarks. Being spoken to like this is a rare treat. Most people cower in my presence. “They came to me because no one else is willing to step up, and I’ve been known to help others in the past.”

That the fae have reached out to her is a surprise. We do not involve strangers into our business. Though, people are getting restless, and desperate. There have been too many murders. And she’s correct that no one is stepping up. They fae do not work together, and we would never go to the FUA for help. I’ve heard the same stories that everyone in the city has. If she really is fae, and she really did help the missing underworlders and the wolves the way the rumors say, then I suppose she might just be the only one we have to turn to. Though, why she would butt her nose into business that could get her killed is still a mystery.

“The missing underworlders,” I say. “And the wolves.”

“Yes,” she snaps, and I have to suppress a chuckle. “If you already know so much about me, what’s with the third degree?”

I know the rumors, but the woman behind them is a mystery I have to find out more about. “How much are they paying you?” I ask, because what other reason could she possibly have?

There’s a pause and a scoff. I smile again. This woman is more entertaining than any I have come across in centuries. “I would help just because they asked, same as I did for the missing underworlders and the wolves,” she rants. “But it’s also personal for me this time. That bastard went after Terrance. He’ll pay for that.” The ferocity of that threat touches something in me. I must get to know this woman. She is simply fascinating.

“And besides,” she continues, and I hang on her every word because I am enjoying this game we are playing, “as a fae I’m also a target. If I can do something to stop this guy, then you bet your ass I’m going to help. I’m not useless. I may not be a detective, but I do have gifts that make me useful.”

I perk up at this. There’ve been rumors that she is more than she seems, but no one knows exactly how. “And these gifts would be…?”

“Gifts I don’t explain to random strangers,” she growls.

This time I can’t help the chuckle that escapes me. Nor can I resist the opportunity she’s just given me. “Very well then, Miss Jacobs,” I practically purr over the line, “we will get acquainted first. Meet me at Underworld at eleven p.m.”

There’s a pause and a choking sound and then, “Excuse me?”

I chuckle again. My interest has her flustered. It ignites something wicked in me. Her innocence is such a contrast from her courage. I want to toy with her. Push her boundaries. Make her squirm until she explodes with rage. And she will, I have no doubt. Her fire is too strong. It’s possible I have met my match. I must meet this woman. “I have information that may be helpful to you,” I say. “We will discuss it over drinks tonight.”

“Wait.” There’s a hint of panic in her voice. I can only imagine the look on her face. “Why don’t you just—”

“Eleven p.m. Don’t be late.”

I smirk when she says nothing to this. I’ve rendered the little firecracker speechless. “And Miss Jacobs,” I add. Taunting her with a velvet voice.

“Huh?”

I chuckle. “I look forward to meeting you.”

I hang up before she has a chance to argue or refuse me and laugh to myself again. Such a pleasant surprise. I can see why people are so charmed by her. If she can hold her own against me in person, I might just have to make her mine.