Return of the Assassin (All the King's Men) by Donya Lynne Read Free Book Online Page B

Bishop's other hand gripped his throat in the mother of all choke holds.
    "You do as I say, you miserable fuck." Bishop got nose-to-nose with him, and he cringed and grunted as Bishop twisted the knife. "Not that you'd notice or be grateful, but my pets gave you a gift. And now you'll see just what that gift is, not that you deserve it. I almost wish now that I could take it back." He yanked the knife out and stepped away, anger and frustration seething through his clenched teeth.
    Apostle looked down at the wound and clutched his side as he stumbled forward and fell to his knees. "What the fuck? What the hell's wrong with you?"
    "Just watch, brother." He nodded toward the knife wound. "See?"
    Apostle peeled his hands back and gasped. The wound was already healing. Before his eyes, the edges of the wound pulled together and repaired itself as if on a time-lapsed recording. What had taken days before now took only minutes. "What the—?"
    With a casual turn, Bishop entered the bathroom, rinsed the blood off the dagger, and dried it on the towel as Apostle stared after him. "The scorpions were genetically altered with vampire DNA. And not just regular vampire DNA, because not even vampires heal that quickly." He returned to the room. "My bio-hackers made a few modifications, and we found that using scorpion venom enhanced those alterations exponentially. So…" Bishop offered a crooked grin. "When they stung you, they implanted their designer DNA into your own genetic makeup. The aches, the lethargy…" Bishop picked up his cigarette and settled it between his lips before continuing. "Even the itching." He waved his hand in an arc as if encompassing all Apostle's symptoms. "They're all part of the changes taking place in your body, Apostle."
    Apostle stared openmouthed at him. What was Bishop saying? That he had not only begun altering his own DNA, but he had also done the same to Apostle? Without his permission? Apostle didn't want to become a hybrid. He wanted no part of the vampire gene code in his body.
    Damn Bishop! And damn his bastard Frankenscorpions!
    Bishop sauntered away, that goddamn cigarette leaving a sickly sweet trail. "Even now, you probably don't feel much pain, do you?"
    Apostle frowned, then shook his head. "No. Not really." But so what? Real warriors felt pain. They lived for it. The pain kept them sharp in the field of battle. It kept them from getting careless. And Apostle was a warrior, not some glorified lab rat.
    Someday Bishop would pay for what he had done. Apostle was nobody's fool and nobody's bitch, least of all Bishop's. Fuck him. Decision made. Maybe not tomorrow, and maybe not next week, but soon Apostle would have his revenge. A day would come, and he would get payback for the sin Bishop had committed against him in the name of science, and then he would be gone. Out of there. On his own again. Just the way he liked it.
    "See?" With a flippant wave, Bishop turned away and fondled the felt bag on the bed, unaware of the mental battle raging inside Apostle's head.
    "See what? That you're psychotic." Apostle stood and stalked into the bathroom. He flipped on the water and grabbed a washcloth from the rack.
    Bishop turned an exasperated glance Apostle's way. "Dear brother, there is a fine line between psychosis and genius."
    "Uh-huh. And you're walking it." Apostle stepped into the bathroom doorway, dabbing the wet cloth over the wound, which was already nearly halfway healed.
    A knock came at the door and Bishop sneered. "That's right. And you'll do good to remember that, little brother. Now, get dressed while I let in our guest."
    Stalemate. For now. But one way or another, this conversation wasn't over.
    Apostle watched his Malcolm-McDowell- A-Clockwork-Orange -demented brother leave the bedroom. All Bishop needed was one set of fake eyelashes, a cane, a glass of milk, and a white suit with what looked like a large diaper strapped to suspenders on the outside of it, and Bishop would be the star