Sunlight: Blood Magic Book 4

by L.H. Cosway

  “Yep,” he agreed, swerving around a corner.

  I spotted a bridge coming up ahead, looking like salvation in worn steel. My panicked heartrate slowed as we neared it just as something banged loudly against the side of the car. The next thing I knew, Ethan was curling his body around both mine and Rebecca’s to shield us from the impending impact. Emilia’s magic flipped the car completely over.

  All I felt was his solid, impenetrable muscle protecting us as Rebecca started to cry again. Less than a second later it was over.

  “Are you okay?” Ethan asked, staring down at me.

  “I think so. We need to get out of here and over that bridge.”

  “I know, hold still.”

  He reached out and pushed at the door beside me. It groaned under his strength and, seconds later, fell off, meeting the ground with a loud clang. Whoa. I had a feeling that was something he couldn’t do before he drank my blood. Ethan took Rebecca from me, and I crawled out as he followed behind. A crowd had gathered to ogle the wreckage. I readied myself for Emilia’s next attack, but it never came.

  I looked around in bewilderment. The car she and her butler had been in was nowhere to be seen. That was when my attention was drawn to the freakish giggling coming from overhead. My eyes travelled up the building in front of me until I saw two figures standing on the roof dressed in all black. No, that wasn’t right—there were three figures. One of them was Emilia, but she was unconscious as Theodore held her in his arms. Beside him was Rita, who gazed down at me without expression.

  A swirl of purple smoke surrounded them, and when it dissolved, all three of them had disappeared.

  “What the hell?” I whispered. What did Theodore want with Emilia?

  Ethan stepped up beside me still carrying Rebecca. “Did you see what I just saw?” I asked him.

  “Yes, it was Theodore,” he confirmed.

  “He took Emilia.”

  “He probably wants to use her for something. Perhaps he thinks she’ll join his side.”

  “Wonderful,” I grunted.

  He grabbed my hand. “Come. We must get into vampire territory before they come back.”

  I nodded, though I didn’t think Theodore was coming back just yet.

  When we reached Ethan’s house, I put Rebecca to sleep in one of the guest bedrooms. All the action had drained her energy. She only had a small bruise on her temple, though, which was lucky since Ethan’s car had been totalled. It was a good thing he was there to shield us from most of the impact.

  Once I left her, I went and ran a bath, while Ethan was downstairs meeting with the last of the vampires from yesterday. I unplugged my phone from where it had been charging in Ethan’s room and brought it into the bath with me. Ethan mentioned something about being unable to make any calls, but it looked like I finally had a signal again. The moment I turned it on it started beeping with messages from Amanda that had been sent the other night.

  The first read, Oh fuck! Just saw my neighbour get attacked right out on the street. WTF is happening? My parents went to visit my aunt’s farm in the country and I’m all on my own.

  And the second, Jesus, Tegan. The city is swarming with vamps gone nuts. I need you to call me ASAP.

  The final one said, I’m hiding in the basement. Please call. I’m scared.

  Upon finishing the final message, I dialled her number immediately. It only rang once before she picked up.

  “Tegan! Oh, thank God.”

  “Amanda, where are you?”

  “I’m still in my basement. There’s no food here, and I’m starving, but I can’t leave. It’s too crazy outside.”

  “You can leave now. Things have settled down. Listen, I need you to come to this address.” I rattled off Ethan’s house number and street name before reassuring her again that she’d be okay, then I hung up. I seemed to be gathering strays at record-breaking speed today. Next, I pulled up Finn’s number, but the few bars of signal I had a moment ago flickered in and out before disappearing completely. Seemed like the reception was still patchy.

  Setting the phone aside, I allowed my body to sink into the bubbles and closed my eyes. I got at least twenty minutes of uninterrupted relaxation before the door opened, and I sensed Ethan’s presence. Even with my eyes closed, I could feel his nearness. He knelt by the large tub and dipped his hand into the foamy water.

  “That’s a good look for you,” he murmured.

  “Why thanks,” I replied, a smile tugging at my lips. I reached up with my foot and turned the nob to let more hot water in. When I finally looked at Ethan, his fangs were fully descended and his eyes had grown dark.

  “I told Amanda to come here. She’s frightened at what’s been happening and needs somewhere she’ll be safe.”

  Ethan frowned. “I just sent Lucas out to gather food and clothing for you and Rebecca. He’s staying in one of the guest rooms, though, so I’m not sure how comfortable your friend will be.”

  “Just tell him to keep away from her, and it should be okay. She’s sober now and seems determined not to fall back into old habits.”

  “Okay.”

  Ethan’s fingertips grazed my nipple, and I sucked in a harsh breath, opening my eyes. He shot me a wicked, lustful glance before standing to undress. My muscles clenched with anticipation as I waited for him to join me. His top fell to the floor, followed shortly by his trousers and boxers, and before I knew it, he was climbing into the tub.

  His knee slid between my legs, nudging at my sex, and I moaned. Then he bent his head and took my breast into his mouth, his fangs grazing my skin with just the right amount of pressure to tantalize instead of cut. His arm came around my waist, lifting the lower half of my body out of the water before sliding his thick length into me, filling me up.

  I moaned.

  He lifted his head from my breast and stared intensely into my eyes. His expression was serious, his mouth hanging half-open as he thrusted in deliciously slow. Then, he smiled.

  “I hope you don’t have any plans for tonight.”

  “Oh, yeah, why’s that?”

  “Because tonight, beautiful, you’re mine.”

  For a moment, my chest seized with a pang of anxiety, my body’s instinctual response to possessive declarations from a dangerous creature. But a moment later Ethan sped up the pace of his thrusts, hammering into me with phenomenal speed, and I forgot all about my worries.

  5.

  Finn

  It took half an hour for Alora to regain consciousness. When she did, she sat up and fixed her top into place as if nothing had happened. She ran her hands through her hair and asked very politely if she could have a glass of water.

  I brought the others into the house after she’d started having her vision, so Alvie ran to get the water. I stared at her until he got back, trying to decide whether or not to ask her what she saw. She didn’t seem too keen on telling me this morning, and I didn’t think that was going to change any time soon.

  Alvie returned and handed her the glass of water. She downed the whole thing in only a couple of swallows and set the glass on the floor by her feet. Alvie sat beside her and patted her on the back.

  “You okay?” he asked.

  Alora cleared her throat. “I’ll be fine. I just have this God-awful headache, and the past few times I’ve had a vision I’ve been seeing the same thing.”

  “You don’t normally see the same thing?” I questioned.

  She shook her head. “My visions are usually unique. No repetitions.”

  “What did you see?” Delilah asked from where she stood by the door.

  “I saw a little girl with blonde hair,” Alora answered unexpectedly. “I saw her being important in bringing peace among the city’s supernaturals for the first time ever. She’ll be a formidable ruler. I guess that since it’s all I’ve been seeing these days it’s pretty important.”

  A little blonde girl? The person who most fit that description was Pamphrock’s kid, Rebecca, who, I remembered, was still
being held captive by Emilia Petrovsky. I needed to do something to rectify that situation as soon as possible.

  “Do you feel up to leaving with us?” I asked. “Your parents aren’t here, and it doesn’t look like they’re coming back any time soon.”

  Her eyes grew misty, and her throat moved as she swallowed hard. Now I felt shitty for being so tactless.

  “Yeah,” she finally whispered, getting up from the couch. Alvie helped her, but she seemed to be steady enough on her feet.

  “Who do you think the girl in her vision is?” Gabriel asked me quietly as we returned to the van.

  “Sounds a lot like Rebecca.”

  He nodded in agreement. “That’s what I was thinking.”

  “There’s no way to tell how far into the future Alora’s prediction is. Rebecca’s still too young to rule. It could be ten or twenty years from now before there’s peace.”

  Gabriel grimaced. “Let’s hope that’s not true.”

  “Yeah,” I said. “Let’s hope.”

  A couple of minutes later we pulled up outside my house, and the street seemed quiet. Dead almost. A couple of houses had their windows smashed in, but thankfully all of mine were still intact. Alvie and Gabriel went to check out the RV Rita had been staying in, and I led the others into my place.

  A soft hand gripped mine, and I glanced down to see Alora by my side.

  “Sorry. You don’t mind guiding me, do you? I’m still not used to moving around on my own in unfamiliar spaces.”

  “No, of course not,” I answered, my voice coming out unexpectedly tender. Again, I felt that tightening in my chest. I should’ve known she couldn’t just walk around unescorted.

  Inside, we found my place the same as we left it. It was a stroke of luck that nobody decided to break in and steal stuff, because I had an extra storage space full of weapons under the stairs that was probably going to come in handy.

  “You hungry?” I asked Alora as I led her into the kitchen. I pulled a packet of chocolate chip cookies from the cupboard and handed them to her. She ran her hand over the packet hesitantly.

  “What is it?”

  “Cookies,” I explained

  Silently, she nodded and opened them before pulling one out.

  “I’ll be back in a minute. I just have a couple of things to take care of,” I said, leaving her sitting at the table.

  Making my way to the stairs, I opened the door to the small closet underneath and dragged out the heavy-duty black trunk I kept locked in there. I opened it and retrieved my Benelli M4 semi-automatic shotgun. When I had to use firearms, this baby was my favourite.

  Living in Tribane, where the supernatural reigned, guns weren’t always my weapon of choice. However, they could come in useful when you needed to make a statement and scare some people into acting right.

  Since times were so uncertain, I decided to take this one with me. Upstairs, I changed into a clean set of clothes. The only stuff that was washed was my DOH uniform, so I threw that on, a sense of mourning sweeping over me as I thought of all my dead comrades. Of our dead leader. The organisation I’d dedicated my life to for years was gone. The only saving grace for me was the knowledge that there were other branches around the world. Perhaps I could rebuild things here in Tribane with the help of those branches.

  I tightened my jaw and steeled myself for the battle ahead. Theodore wasn’t going to get away with what he’d done, but first, I needed to save Rebecca. If Alora’s vision was to be believed, then that girl might be the key to our survival and possibly the key to killing Theodore once and for all.

  When I went back downstairs, Alora was still in the kitchen munching on the cookies I had given her. She heard me come in and straightened up, setting the packet down on the table and wiping crumbs from her face.

  “Where’s Delilah and Ira?” I asked.

  “They went across the street to Delilah’s house to get some of her clothes,” she answered.

  Right. I’d almost forgotten Cristescu had been living over there. Alvie and Gabriel came in from the RV, and I told them about my plan to go to Emilia Petrovsky’s house for Rebecca.

  “Are you sure that’s a good idea?” Alvie asked warily. “She’s a powerful witch. She won’t take kindly to us showing up.”

  “She’ll take kindly to it whether she likes it or not,” I answered brashly. I wasn’t normally so flippant, at least I liked to think I wasn’t, but this whole shitty situation was really starting to get to me.

  “Who is this girl?” Alora interjected.

  I turned to her. “I think she’s the one you saw in your vision.”

  “Oh,” she whispered, and her brow furrowed.

  “What is it?”

  “Nothing. It’s just I’m not sure if you’re right. I mean, it could be her, but I just have this feeling that my vision was far in the future. I feel like the girl I saw hasn’t even been born yet.”

  “Well,” I said, clasping my hands together, “I could be wrong, but I need to get her anyway. She was abducted and is the daughter of my friend who recently passed away.”

  “I’m so sorry,” she said, reaching out to touch my hand. Something about the comforting gesture soothed me.

  Half an hour later, we were all back in the van again, heading towards the district where most of the magical families had their homes. As we neared Petrovsky Manor, a black town car sped by us and stopped at the entrance gates. A smartly dressed man reached out the driver’s side window, pressed a few buttons on the entry system, and waited as the gates opened up. I pulled in directly behind him before the gates had the chance to close again.

  The town car stopped, and a man in his fifties emerged with an almighty scowl on his face.

  “What do you think you’re doing?!” he yelled, stomping towards the van.

  “I’m looking for Emilia. She around?” I asked, getting out of the van and stepping up to face him.

  He sighed long and hard and swiped his hand over his face, his forehead lined with stress.

  “No, she’s not here. She’s been taken.”

  I furrowed my brow. “Taken by whom?”

  “The sorcerer!” he cried. “What would he want with her? My goodness, he’s going to kill her.”

  “Hey, hey, calm down. Theodore has a bone to pick with the vamps. Emilia’s one of his own. Did he take the girl, too?”

  The man shook his head. “She was kidnapped by a woman claiming to be Emilia’s granddaughter. She came to the house with a vampire who could walk in the sun!”

  He looked like he needed to sit down with a strong glass of brandy as he told me this. A smile touched my lips. Tegan came for Rebecca already. The little minx beat me to it. A sense of relief I didn’t know I needed washed over me. If she and Cristescu were working together, did that mean we had nothing to fear from him? Was he going to rule over the vampires peacefully?

  I patted the man on the shoulder. “You should go inside and rest. You look like you need it.”

  To be honest, he seemed like he was going to faint any minute. I thought he was about to nod in agreement when his steely reserve returned.

  “I want you people off this property immediately,”

  “Right you are, captain,” I said, saluting him.

  I hopped back in the van and quickly gave everyone an update. The gates opened, and I pulled out of Emilia’s stately residence. What to do now though? The sky was darkening, and it would be night soon. I was tempted to go to Cristescu’s house and see Tegan, but then I thought better of it. I’d wait until the morning. That way, his army of vamps would be tucked safely into their coffins and I’d be able to talk to him man to man.

  Hehe. Tucked safely into their coffins. That was a good one.

  “Where are we going now?” Gabriel asked.

  “Back to the hotel,” I answered. “Tomorrow we’re going to pay Tegan and Cristescu a little visit.”

  Delilah chewed on her lip worriedly at the prospect of seeing her brother. I guessed she was a
nxious about how much he’d changed. That made two of us.

  We ate at the diner again, and I was beginning to get used to the greasy spoon vibe of the place. When we all separated to go to our rooms, Alora flopped down onto the bed and curled up in a ball. I bent over her, hoping she was all right.

  “Hey,” I murmured, putting a hand on her shoulder.

  “Please, just leave me alone for a while,” she requested quietly before pressing her face into the pillow. She clearly needed to have a cry about her parents being AWOL, so I left her to it. Sometimes we all needed a good cry to get it all out.

  Yeah, I was secure enough in my masculinity to admit it.

  To give Alora a little privacy, I turned on the television and went into the bathroom to shave. I brought some of my toiletries with me from the house, since something seriously needed to be done about the potential Gandalf beard I was cultivating.

  Once finished, I peeked my head into the room to see Alora fast asleep on top of the covers. I went to kneel by the side of the bed, for some reason fascinated by the way her face looked in slumber. On instinct, I reached out to touch her before stopping myself. I didn’t want her waking up and getting freaked out by me being up so close and personal like a total lech. Okay, so maybe she wouldn’t be able to actually see me, but she’d definitely sense me, hear me breathing. Again, like a lech.

  Deciding I needed to get out for a bit, I threw on my boots and jacket and headed for the minivan. I would’ve switched to my car when we went to the house, but there wouldn’t have been enough room for all six of us, especially since Ira was such a giant. The van’s engine sputtered a little and wouldn’t start.

  “Come on, baby,” I coaxed it. “Come on.”

  Finally, it roared to life, and I tore out of the hotel parking lot. Through no conscious decision of my own, I found myself driving towards the parameter of the magical barrier around the city again. People were camped out in tents and caravans now. Some were simply lying on the ground in sleeping bags. I didn’t envy them. It was as cold as a witch’s tits out here tonight.