Skin Deep

by Lily Luchesi

  Around the side of the house, they spied footprints but no one was there. The back door was wide open, but neither of them were so stupid as to actually go inside.

  “Come on,” Angelica called, impatient. Danny stared at her as if she’d gone mad. “Show yourself and let’s end this ridiculous game once and for all. Winner take all, loser goes to Hell.”

  From the bowels of the old house appeared a woman who could have stepped out of the pages of a romance novel. She was slim, tanned, blonde, with perfect makeup and hair. Her clothes spoke of luxury, and her eyes sparkled with a mix of delight and rage.

  “Dakota McRory,” Angelica said, recognizing the woman easily. “Come to face the music?”

  “You killed my guards and the vampires,” Dakota growled. “Always so violent, Angelica.”

  “I’m not the one on a serial killing spree,” Angelica shot back. “Now I killed your little lap dogs, so let’s settle this like the monsters we are, shall we?”

  Dakota laughed, a beautiful, musical sound. “Oh, you always did underestimate your opponents. I don’t know how you survived all this time.” She put her fingers to her lips and whistled like she was calling a dog.

  Moving as quickly as they were wont to do, the emptiness behind Dakota leading into the street, was suddenly filled with vampires, at least fifty, and all looking angry as Hell.

  “I don’t have a few lap dogs, Angelica. I have an army.” Dakota crossed her arms and smirked, her stolen body the perfect antithesis of the evil inside of her. “And they’re all pretty angry at you, between hating your laws and seeing that oh so damning video from the other day.”

  Danny glanced between the small army and Angelica, who hadn’t flinched yet.

  Unruffled, Angelica reached into her pocket and pulled out...her cell phone. She typed a short message and then clicked ‘send’.

  Dakota was flabbergasted, eyes wide and mouth open. “Are you kidding? Do you want to die, is that it? You and your husband have some sort of death wish?”

  “No,” Angelica replied, smiling and flashing her fangs as she heard the noises coming from the trees behind her. Sean’s idea, brought on by the well-wishes of the young vamp earlier that evening, had actually worked.

  “You said you didn’t want to put the PID members in danger, right?” he’d asked her.

  “Correct. I don’t run this place, it’s not my place to ask them to fight and die for me,” she’d replied.

  “Exactly. But, like you said, you are in a position to ask vampires to fight for you. Like bees protect their queen, the vamps will protect their Empress...and Emperor. Dakota got some against you, that’s true, but many will follow you into peril if you asked. So ask them,” he’d said.

  She asked, she had Sean put out a plea for help against those that had turned against the Empire, and the call had been answered by many more vampires than she had ever dreamed would come to her aid.

  At least a hundred now stood behind their leaders, an impressive tableau and a silent statement of loyalty.

  “You underestimated not just Danny and I, but our reign. All you have are a few defectors; weak-willed wannabe rogues. You tried to defeat me by taking my Empire and my company, but you again underestimated the loyalty of the Undead. We called for aid, and our subjects answered,” Angelica said. “You have an army. I have an Empire.” She waved her arm to indicate the vampires behind them. “And we will not let you win.”

  She put her arm down and as if it was a signal, the vampires on her side rushed forward, giving the Emperor and Empress a wide berth, as they clashed with Dakota’s defectors. The Empire pushed the defectors back, out of the way of their leaders.

  “No matter. I can kill you without them,” Dakota said, but Angelica could tell she was shaken. She wasn’t smiling anymore.

  “Tell your pet to step away.” She gestured toward Danny.

  Angelica brandished her sword and replied, “Danny isn’t my pet. He is my Emperor and my equal, and if you want to get to me, you have to get through him, too.”

  “You never fought fair,” Dakota commented.

  Angelica scoffed. “You had seven shifters and seventy vampires to dispatch what you thought would be two of us. Talk about fighting fair. You have nothing, you are nothing, and I’m going to turn you into nothing.” She put her sword away and pulled out her gun.

  “I’m not out of tricks yet, Elvira,” Dakota said. “Jade gave me a little gift. I assume you killed her. Too bad. She was quite loyal to me.” Dakota reached into her jeans’ pocket and pulled out what looked like a firefly with its wings cut off.

  Before either vampire could react, she threw the little thing and it exploded in front of them in a flash of blinding light. It would’ve been bad enough for humans. For vampires, it was Hell. It all went black as a sharp pain went from behind Angelica’s eyes to her brain, sending her to her knees as she tried to shield her eyes and keep her grip on her weapon at the same time. She assumed Danny was feeling about the same at that moment.

  Angelica felt hands on her shoulders and kicked out instinctively. She heard Dakota swear and then felt a stabbing pain in her abdomen, a tearing sensation that caused her to scream out loud.

  The pain cleared her mind however, and she found that her eyesight was returning, though it was blurry. She didn’t have enough human blood in her system to heal them as quickly as she’d like, but the vague blurry shape with blonde hair was all she needed to see.

  She struggled to her feet and saw Danny doing the same, not as steady as she was. Glancing down, one of the arrows was in her stomach, but the good thing was, the ampoule with the holy water hadn’t deployed.

  She gripped the shaft and yanked it out, bringing a torrent of dark blood with it, but it began to heal just enough where she was certain she wouldn’t bleed out.

  Dakota saw her bleeding and jumped on the opportunity. Using her strange abilities, she formed her hand into something that resembled a drill and shoved the sharp yet still somehow soft tip into the wound.

  Angelica screamed again, but didn’t let the pain stop her. Using her free hand, she grabbed her blade once again and chopped the hand off, revealing the rotting flesh all skin changers hid beneath their stolen exteriors.

  Dakota reared back and was forced away further by an arrow being shot into her. Unfortunately, the holy water in it wouldn’t hurt her, but the arrowhead did enough damage to make her fall straight into Danny’s waiting arms.

  Angelica looked to where the arrow had come from and saw that Daniel was awake, though he looked awful. He was holding a compound bow, while another empty one sat at his feet. She smiled her thanks and reached the struggling skin changer.

  Danny’s Undead strength was just enough to hold Dakota while Angelica tightened her grip on the acid gun and pointed it at Dakota’s wound.

  “In case you didn’t get the memo...you lose.” She shot the acid, and Dakota screamed so loud, she was surprised windows didn’t shatter.

  Danny dropped her body to the muddy ground and went to stand back while they all watched in horror and relief as Dakota’s pretty exterior began to melt away as she screamed from the pain of her body falling apart.

  The tanned skin melted into little blood clumps, the hair became dry and snapped off, and eventually all that was left on the ground was a rotted pile of black and grey muscle that vaguely resembled human shape. All that remained of Dakota were her eerie lavender-colored eyes, staring out at them, still filled with hate even in death.

  Angelica tossed the gun to the side and leaned into Danny’s shoulder, the pain making her much weaker than she’d like to admit.

  Across the street, the vampire battle had come to a bloody end, with blood and body parts strewn all over the road and lawns. Some of her allies had perished, but many of them were still standing, showing the world that, despite the odds, the vampiric Empire would not fall.

  Epilogue

  Christmas Day, 2110

  Chicago, Illinois

 
The second snowfall of the season happened during the day on Christmas, so when Danny and Angelica woke up and looked out their bedroom window overlooking Lake Michigan, they saw the city had been covered in a blanket of white. The snow was still falling lightly, sparkling with the city lights and Christmas lights. It was beautiful and magical and everything that anyone who lived in a city during the holidays could want.

  “When I was a little girl, my father would bundle me up and give me sunscreen to go outside the window below Mother’s bedroom and make snow angels that she’d see when she woke on Christmas,” Angelica said with a sad smile.

  Danny put his arms around her and kissed the top of her head. “And now your mother is looking down on you this Christmas, as your angel.”

  “You’re sweet,” she muttered. “Now come on. Daniel’s on his way and despite our being unable to eat, we’ve still got to be good hosts.”

  They spent the next hour cooking small, Angelica having gone to the store the day before to give Danny’s great-grandson as normal of a Christmas as they could. Angelica even baked a small batch of sugar cookies for him, and some Kosher ones for Sean, that she’d bring him the next day, which was the last day of Hanukkah.

  Danny was smirking at her as she cleaned up the flour and sugar mess she’d made.

  “What?” Angelica asked.

  “Nothing. It’s just...this feel good. I haven’t felt so warm and alive in a long time,” he admitted.

  “Nor have I,” she said, wiping a bit of flour off of her black Sailor Moon ugly Christmas sweater.

  Daniel arrived just a few minutes later, carrying presents for both vampires.

  “You guys decorated and everything!” he said. “This is a nice place, by the way.”

  “Thanks. I own the building, so if you ever want to move in, let me know,” Angelica said with a smile.

  “You mean the cleanup money you had to pay the city after that bloodbath two weeks ago didn’t clean you out?” Daniel asked with a smirk. “Or are you eternally wealthy being the Undead rulers?”

  Danny shrugged. “Something like that, yeah.”

  “Most of it I worked for, you ass,” Angelica said. “Inheritance from my mother built the PID, and I made investments in the city and in Europe and London. Between those and yes, what I got when I killed the last Emperor, we’re more than wealthy enough to pay to cover up a measly bloodbath.”

  Daniel just shook his head, still smiling. “Too bad I can’t brag about that. ‘Hey, I’m next in line to be the Emperor of the Undead’. It might get me a lot of dates.”

  There was a knock on the door and Angelica went to get it, leaving Danny with Daniel.

  “How’s your head?” Danny asked.

  They’d been worried that Daniel had suffered permanent brain damage from the blast of energy sent from Dakota’s brain waves, but the witches at the PID had managed to heal him completely. Danny hated that he had put his relative in such a dangerous position.

  “As hard as ever,” Daniel joked. “Stop worrying, Pops, I’m fine.” But he didn’t look fine. If anything, he looked upset.

  Danny decided not to push it. That might not even be the reason the kid looked sad.

  Angelica returned to the living room with Sean in tow. “Look what Santa left on the front porch,” she said.

  “Can we get a return receipt for it?” Danny asked, and Sean flipped him off.

  “I just wanted to wish the Mancini family a merry Christmas,” Sean said, placing three wrapped boxes on the coffee table. “And if Angelica cooked, I’ll take dinner, too.”

  The foursome spent a nice, quiet evening before the electric fireplace, talking and sharing stories of long ago adventures with Daniel. Sean’s time passing through various countries during his long life, Angelica’s Victorian upbringing, and Danny’s days as a beat cop, delivering donations to kids in hospitals.

  “I hate to break up the merriment, but when are you guys leaving? I’d like to get more face-time with you before then,” Daniel asked Danny and Angelica.

  “Yeah, I’d like to know the same thing for the same reason,” Sean added, nibbling on one of Angelica’s cookies.

  Danny felt a pang in his heart at the thought of leaving. Being back had felt right, and he didn’t want to go. He looked over at his wife and saw those emotions reflected in her eyes.

  Angelica cleared her throat and said, “We’re...not leaving. Not just yet, anyway. We have eternity, and the local vamps need us right now after that battle.”

  “Really?” Daniel said, eyes bright.

  “Really,” Danny said.

  “Besides,” Angelica added, “it’s good to be home.”

  * * *

  Daniel returned to his apartment late that night to see his roommate and three friends sitting around the kitchen table, all lights off except for five candles burning on the table.

  “Is there a power outage?” Daniel asked, hanging up his jacket and putting his gifts from Danny, Angie, and Sean on the couch.

  “Dude, c’mere. Amy’s going to teach us how to see if we got a ghost in here,” his roommate Jose said.

  “I’m not touching a Ouija board,” Daniel said, backtracking. Danny had told him when he was a boy to never use one, and he never had.

  “No, it’s called automatic writing. If you have a spirit or angel with you, they’ll talk to you with words. No arcane objects, just a pen and paper,” Amy said. “Come on, you can go first.”

  Daniel sat down and they placed a piece of paper in front of him and gave him a black pen.

  “Close your eyes, clear your mind, and write down a question you want a ghost to answer,” Amy said. “It might take a few tries, though.”

  Daniel wondered if it would work better for him, considering he was a psychic. He put the pen to paper and wrote, “Are any spirits watching me right now?”

  The pen wobbled in his hand and he heard a voice slither into his ear. He wrote down the word “yes” without thinking. His friends all muttered to themselves and Amy said, “Ask it another one!”

  “Who are you?” Daniel wrote.

  The pen wobbled in his hand again and he felt it move without his volition.

  “I am the Lieutenant.”

  Daniel just stared at the paper. He didn’t even know how to spell ‘lieutenant’ without Spell Check!

  “What do you want?” he wrote.

  The pen flew out of his hand and began to write, hovering in midair on its own. Everyone watched in mute horror as the ink turned from black to blood red, writing down three words in a beautiful calligraphy script:

  “You’ll find out.”

  To Be Continued...

  Acknowledgements

  Well, here you are. At the end of another PDS book. It was great for me to get back into the heads of Angelica and Danny (or as they have been called, Danjelica), and I hope you enjoyed the story as much as I did! Of course, writing a book is never a solo effort, and I have the following people to thank.

  To God, Who gave me this amazing career.

  To my mother for being my cheerleader, beta, and so much more.

  To Sarah, who happily extended the contract for the PDSeries when I told her I had ideas for more books.

  To Rue Volley, for kicking ass on this cover.

  To Elizabeth Anne Lance, for editing and polishing.

  To everyone else in my CHBB/HIP/ENC/VAMP family, for your friendship, support, and advice. I love you guys!

  To those who have supported me: Katie Keller-Nieman, Dr. John Benedict, Sarah Fairbairn, Barbara Gartman, Bailey and Christian of Knightingale Reviews, Kimberly Vanderbloom, Rainne Atkins, Stephanie Herman, Terrick Heckstall, EM Whittaker, Charity Rowell, Danetta Sutton, Pike Perrie, and of course all of my Vamplets and readers. Your words of encouragement, your praise, and your unyielding support is the reason I am able to have come this far.

  If you enjoyed this book, please take a moment to leave a review on Amazon. Every kind word helps!

  Thank you for joi
ning me on this unbelievable journey, and it’s not over yet…the seventh installment of the Paranormal Detectives Series is coming January 1st, 2019!

  xoxo

  LL❤

  About The Author

  Lily Luchesi is the USA Today bestselling author of the award-winning Paranormal Detectives Series, published by Vamptasy Publishing, as well as the #1 bestselling YA novel The Coven Princess. She is also the editor and curator of Damsels Of Distress, an anthology celebrating strong women in horror and paranormal fiction.

  She’s an active and out member of the LGBT+ community, a self-professed nerd, music-lover, and a little obsessed with vampires and comic books. When not writing or reading, she can be found drinking copious amounts of coffee, getting tattooed, going to concerts, or watching too much of the CW.

  Lily was born and raised in Chicago, but now resides in Los Angeles. You can find her on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Goodreads, and Pinterest.

  You can also keep up with Lily via her newsletter...and receive a free e-book as well!