Arctic Fire

by Erica Stevens

  It would be so easy for her to give in, to leave a trail of death behind her, but locked within Julian’s arms, she knew she could withstand the temptation. Knew he would be there to bring her back when she felt the unraveling within her. Marvin’s sneakers fell to the floor with a thud as the gray husk of the vampire shriveled further within Julian’s grasp. His ashes crumpled to the floor with his clothes falling on top of them.

  Julian shook his hand to free it of the rest of the ash before wrapping his hand around Quinn and pressing her against his chest. She could feel the tremor in his muscles, feel the increase of his power as Marvin’s life fueled him. He cradled her closer when he turned to face the unmoving, dumbfounded crowd.

  Devon stood at the front of the crowd, an eyebrow raised as his gaze slid between the two of them. Blood dripped from his face and clothes; his shirt was torn and gashes marred his chest, but he appeared otherwise unharmed. Behind him, Quinn saw the trail of bodies he and Julian had left in the room.

  “Burn like the sun,” someone near the front whispered.

  The impulse to slaughter anyone who said that hated prophecy again shot through her.

  “No!” Julian snarled. “She is not yours to use. She is not your savior. She is my mate, and I can assure you that what you just witnessed is only the beginning. You think about touching her, and I will drain every one of you in this room. She may keep her power leashed; I will set it free. Stand down, or face the consequences.”

  Talk ran through the crowd. Devon climbed the steps of the stage, his gaze still assessing on Quinn as he stepped next to Julian.

  “Can you drain them without her?” he asked in a low tone of voice.

  “No,” Julian replied in a whisper. “But these sheep don’t know that. They have no idea what we’re capable of.”

  Earl moaned and rose up as he attempted to crawl away again. Without looking at him, Julian smashed his foot into his back and snapped his spine with a loud crack. Earl cried out, his fingers scrabbled at the wood, but all motion stopped when Julian dug the toe of his boot into his back.

  Near the back of the room, a couple of vampires ran for the doors again. Before they could reach them, a ball of fire shot from the balcony to encompass them. They shrieked as flames burst over them, consuming their clothing and flesh as they raced around the room. The other vampires rushed away, cries of distress and alarm radiated from them as they tried to escape the balls of fire running toward them.

  After a few minutes, the flaming vampires mercifully fell silent as they collapsed beneath the weight of the fire devouring them. Quinn gulped, but she tilted her chin as she met the hostile and frightened eyes of the vampires in the room. Julian grinned cockily back at them, and Devon rubbed at the bridge of his nose. Quinn remained immobile as she waited to see what would happen now.

  “Get them!” someone in the crowd shouted.

  Julian pushed her behind him. As the first wave of the crowd rushed toward the stage, another ball of fire swooped down, knocking the vampires back. The flames formed a wall between them and their would-be attackers.

  “I’m going to kill her,” Devon muttered.

  “They don’t know it’s her,” Julian reminded him. “Or where she is, and most of these vamps aren’t making it out of here alive.”

  Devon’s gaze slid to the balcony, Quinn followed it, but she still didn’t see anyone up there. “We have to get out of here,” Devon said.

  “I want one or two of them,” Julian replied.

  “Why?”

  “I have my reasons.”

  Julian bent to grab Earl by the neck and lifted him effortlessly off the ground. Quinn barely glanced at Earl dangling within his grasp as she lifted her eyes to scan the vampires blocked by the fire across from them. “What will happen to them?” she inquired. “They didn’t all approve of what was being done here.”

  A muscle in Julian’s jaw ticked as he surveyed them. “We don’t know which ones didn’t, and it will take too much time to figure it out. They’re going to die.”

  Quinn shuddered, but she couldn’t feel overly bad when a good chunk of them had been quite content to watch her be Earl’s lapdog.

  Julian’s gaze slid over the crowd again. It landed on two vampires off to the side, clutching each other. “Those two,” he said to Devon and pointed at the couple. “Can you bring them here? We’ll take them with us.”

  Devon shot him a questioning look, but didn’t argue as he focused his attention on the couple. Quinn watched in amazement as their heads turned toward them, their eyes taking on that glassy look she’d seen in Zach and Jeb. She would never forget the helpless feeling that had assailed her when Earl had taken control of her.

  “Don’t,” she whispered.

  Devon glanced at her as the couple moved toward them. “I’ll let them go soon,” he promised.

  “You don’t… you can’t know what it’s like.”

  Julian’s arm tightened around her. He pressed her against his chest as the couple climbed the steps of the stage. “They’re coming with us,” he said. “But we have to make sure they’re not a threat. They won’t be hurt.”

  “Why are they coming with us?” she inquired, unable to watch as Devon directed them to the edge of the flames.

  A small break appeared in the wall of fire, allowing the couple to step through. A vamp rushed at the opening and burst through it before the wall flowed up to block the gap. The vampire didn’t run at them; instead, he tried to flee toward the back of the stage. Julian released her and Earl to chase after the vamp. He brought the man down beneath him and banged his head against the floor before he twisted it around and tore it from the man’s shoulders.

  Turning away, he took the head and carelessly tossed it into the crowd. Quinn couldn’t shake the image of a bouncing ball from her head as it thudded across the floor before coming to a halt against a woman’s legs. The woman gawked at the spectacle as she did an odd, lurching dance away from it. Julian wiped the blood from his face before returning to her and grabbing hold of Earl again.

  “Let’s go,” he said.

  He drew her against his side and kept her locked there as they made their way behind the curtains. “Hope there’s a back door,” Devon said.

  “There will be,” Julian replied with the confidence only he could muster.

  Quinn’s gaze fell to Earl’s unmoving body as Julian dragged him across the ground. His crazed eyes spun in his head, his booted toes thudded as they descended a set of stairs and made their way into the shadows behind the stage. The roar of the flames grew larger as they greedily consumed the ballroom and those within. Screams resonated around them as they walked through some band equipment before coming across an emergency door.

  Devon pushed into the bar, shoving it open and holding it for them as they stepped into another white hall. The couple followed obediently behind them. Quinn chanced a glance back at the orange glow spreading across the stage. The acrid scent of smoke and burning wood filled the air as the screams increased in fervor and intensity. Smoke curled through the shadows, its tendrils stretching toward them.

  Julian nudged her forward through the stark, white hall with white tile flooring. The doors along the hall were all open, and as they hurried down it, she realized it was a service hallway as she spotted a couple of laundry carts and empty metal shelves that had probably once held linens.

  Devon moved faster when smoke slid out from beneath the door. They were all running by the time they made it to the doors at the end. Quinn pressed her face against Julian’s chest, savoring his spicy scent beneath the aromas of smoke, blood, and sweat. His fingers slid over her face as they ran down another hall and toward the main entrance.

  “Cassie!” Devon shouted.

  Quinn lifted her head as a beautiful blonde woman broke away from the group clustered by the front doors. She ran across the marble floor and flung herself into Devon’s arms. He embraced her before turning her toward the doors. Cassie’s gaze slid curiously
toward her, but she allowed Devon to push her forward.

  “What do we do about this place?” Cassie asked.

  “Burn it all,” Julian replied when they reached the main doors.

  Cassie nodded and turned back to the hotel. She released a wall of fire that caused the desk to burst into flames. Ignoring the blood coating her, Clint grabbed hold of Quinn and gave her a bear hug. His bushy gray hair stood strangely on end, and there were burn marks on the tip of his nose and cheeks.

  It took her a minute to realize one of the vamps must have sent out an electrical jolt as she now saw all the others had their hair standing on end too. Quinn hugged Clint back; a tremor shook her as they stumbled outside together.

  They ran across the sand toward a rocky outcropping. When they made it to the rocks, Julian dropped Earl and spun toward her. Dragging her against his chest, his hand snaked into her hair, pulling her head back as he took possession of her lips. A feeling of rightness slid through Quinn as his tongue swept headily into her mouth.

  A low moan sounded in the back of her throat as she eagerly met each of his hungry, driving thrusts. He held her up when her knees gave out, but he didn’t relent as his lips moved greedily over hers. Tears of love burned her eyes, but she kept them restrained when his fangs scraped over her bottom lip before biting down.

  Quinn whimpered at the wash of relief and love pouring out of him. Through their bond, she could feel the terror and fury that had driven him since she’d been taken. Now he was unraveling as his hands ran over her back, drawing her closer. He continued to feed on her, drinking her in, in a rush that made her body quiver.

  He released his hold on her lip. She clamped onto his, needing to taste and feel the connection between them more than anything right now. His blood flowed into her, filling and strengthening her as it seeped into her cells. Releasing her hold on him, her head fell against his chest as she struggled to control the desire clamoring through her body.

  “My Dewdrop,” he whispered lovingly against her ear. She lifted her head to look at him; he gently smoothed the hair back from her face as his ice-blue eyes searched her face. “It’s over.”

  She closed her eyes. She’d spent the past six years of her life hunting for Earl and living with him hanging over her head. He was all she’d thought about for so long now; her need to get revenge on him had consumed her life. And now, it was… “Over,” she breathed. “Free.”

  For the first time in years, she felt free. She didn’t have to worry about never finding him and getting her revenge, didn’t have to wake up every morning with the knowledge he was still out there, most likely destroying other families. He may still be alive right now, but it wouldn’t be for long, and he was no threat to her or anyone else anymore. Now, she was free to do whatever she wanted, with Julian.

  “You’ll never have to fear him again,” he whispered in her ear.

  Her fingers dug into his back as she tried to pull herself closer, but she’d never be able to get close enough. He embraced her as he rocked her back and forth. She opened her eyes to look at the others, but they’d slipped away into the desert, leaving her and Julian to each other and taking Earl and the couple with them.

  Quinn turned her head as flames leapt high into the sky. Their crackling noise drowned out any other sounds. “What was this place?” she asked.

  “A hotel, or it was supposed to be,” Julian answered. “Clint said the project was abandoned five years ago.”

  “Before I came to town.”

  He pressed a kiss against the top of her head. “Are you okay?”

  She tilted her head back to look at him. The concern in his eyes tugged at her heart. She smiled at him as she placed a hand against his beautiful face. “Yes, but I’d really like to get out of this hideous dress.”

  His overconfident grin spread across his lips as his gaze raked over her. The arrogant look that made her want to kick him in the shins most of the time was a welcome sight. “I don’t know, I kind of like you in it,” he said as his eyes lingered on her barely covered breasts.

  “If that’s the case, maybe I’ll wear it to work from now on. It will probably help increase my tips.”

  The smile slipped from his face. “Not gonna happen.”

  Now it was her turn to smile at him. “But if you like it so much—”

  Before she could finish her statement, he jerked his shirt off and slipped it over her head. He tugged it down to mid-thigh, which was longer than the dress itself had been. “Much better.”

  Quinn stared at his bare chest, not so certain she agreed, but thankfully, right then she didn’t have to worry about other women looking at her vampire. The sound of engines rumbling drew her attention to the RV and a black sports car driving toward them.

  “Now what?” she asked.

  “Now, we enjoy each other, a lot.” The promise of his words made her quiver. “Then we put an end to the vampires clinging to this prophecy and we make some changes with the vampires, Hunters, and Guardians.”

  “And how are we going to do that?”

  He grinned at her as he bent to place a kiss against her nose. “I have a plan.”

  One of her eyebrows shot up, but she couldn’t resist his smile or the warmth of his lips as they slid over her flesh. “A plan?”

  “Yes.”

  She shivered when he nibbled at her earlobe. “What about Earl?”

  “He’s part of the plan.”

  “Julian…”

  “We can discuss it later,” he said as he brushed back a strand of her hair. “Just let me look at you and feel you now.”

  There was no way she could argue with that when it was all she wanted to do too. She ran her fingers over his shortened hair and the black patches marring the platinum color. “What happened to your hair?”

  “I had an incident with the sun.”

  Her eyes narrowed on him. “What kind of an incident?”

  “That can also wait for later,” he whispered against her ear.

  The black Challenger pulled up beside them. Before she knew what he intended, Julian bent and swooped her into his arms. She pressed her palm flat against his chest and tucked her head beneath his chin as she relished the strength and love radiating from him.

  Safe. She was finally safe, for now. There may still be other vampires out there hunting for the vampire of the prophecy, but Julian had a plan and she trusted him completely.

  “I love you,” she whispered.

  “You’re my everything,” he told her as he brushed a kiss over her forehead. “From now until eternity.”

  “That won’t be long enough.”

  “No, it won’t.”

  He adjusted his hold on her as he opened the passenger door and slid inside with her against his chest. Quinn’s head fell into the hollow of his neck as she pressed her lips against his flesh. She couldn’t wait to hear what his plan was, but for tonight, the only plan she had was to stay in his arms, tasting and feeling him until long after the sun had risen and set again.

  THE END

  Look for the final book in the series coming late 2016!

  You can also read more about Julian in The Kindred Series!

  Where to find the author

  Mailing list for Erica Stevens and Brenda K. Davies Updates:

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  Twitter: @EricaStevensGCP

  About the author

  My name is not really Erica Stevens, it is a pen name that I chose in memory of two amazing friends lost too soon, I do however live in Mass with my wonderful husband and our puppy Loki. I h
ave a large and crazy family that I fit in well with. I am thankful every day for the love and laughter they have brought to my life. I have always loved to write and am an avid reader.