by Jane Hinchey
“You don’t need to feed him anything.” Jordan was back. Crouching in front of me he gave the hound a stroke on the head. The hound cracked open one eye to look at him, gave his hand a sniff, then closed his eyes again and was more than happy for Jordan to lavish him with attention.
“He’s just a big dog. A big softie dog.” I laughed. “How did he get here?”
Jordan shrugged, “I don’t know how the vampires managed to summons one, but clearly he’s decided that he belongs to you and not them.”
“What did you find out? How do I look after him?” For I was surprisingly and instantly attached to my giant dog.
“You don’t need to do anything. When he’s hungry, he’ll feed off the souls of the dead or dying.”
“I can’t have him killing people.” I protested.
“He won’t. They don’t kill. They’re hunters, trackers. He sniffs out the prey but doesn’t do the killing. When he needs to, he’ll feed on the soul of the prey, but that isn’t every kill. Maybe only once a year.”
“Hmmm. I hope he likes rouge vampire souls.” I grumbled, not happy that souls were his food source, but relieved that he wasn’t a killer.
Chapter Fourteen
I thought it would be awkward seeing Jordan again, but the arrival of Bear eased any tensions – at least as far as I was concerned. I’d decided on calling my new hellhound Bear given he closely resembled one. Only bigger. It was either Bear or Dog.
“When you’re done rolling around on the dirt with the hound, we’ve got work to do.” His voice didn’t hold any particular inflexion yet there was something in it that had me tilting my head and studying him. If he wanted to talk about the fated mate thing I’d sic Bear on him.
“Yes, boss.” I climbed to my feet and dusted off my jeans. Bear sat next to me. Even sitting he was as tall as me. “What’s the plan for today?”
“One of the vampires we captured has started talking. He says the big boss is heading to Maxxan – is possibly already here.”
“And do we know who this big boss is?”
“Apparently he goes by the name Gunslinger.”
“Wait!” I exclaimed, “isn’t that the name-?”
“that was in your grandfather's file? Yes, I do believe it was.”
“So, this gunslinger dude is returning? Do we know why?”
“To sort shit out is the response we received.” Jordan shrugged.
“And you want to try and find him? But how? They blend in, they look like us, they walk in the daylight. And they're smart enough not to attack me walking down the street.”
“I know where you’re going with this and it’s not going to happen.” He eyed me up and down, his gaze hot, distracting, “we will not be using you as bait. But I do think Paige is right. This house has more secrets to reveal. I say we start searching. How’s the den going? Got through all those books yet?”
“Fell asleep in the middle of it last night.” Leading the way inside I’d kind of forgotten about Bear until he walked right through the door behind us. It was disconcerting, to say the least.
“So, hell hounds don’t have the same limitations as vampires. Good to know.” I nodded, gave Bear a pat then headed into the den.
Jordan stopped in the doorway and eyed the books, then me. I swear to God his cheeks flushed. Was he thinking about last night? Because now I was, damn it.
“Rae.” It was a sigh, a groan, a plead, all in one. How was a girl meant to cope with this amount of hotness standing right in front of her?
“Maybe you should check out the furniture in the rest of the house?” I suggested, “see if you can find any more secret compartments.” My way of dealing? Send the temptation away. Far, far, away. I didn’t take rejection well and after leaving me extremely unsatisfied last night, despite his wild claims, did not put him in my favourite person category. But we had to work together and this is the best I can offer him.
“If that’s what you want.”
“It’s what I want.” Settling myself in the den I got busy sorting through the books. Bear did his best to lay on the sofa but the hell hound just wouldn’t fit. He finally gave up and sprawled on the floor in front of it. I leaned back against him and there we stayed, flicking through book after book, finding nothing but dust and the odd scrap of paper that I assumed had been used as a book mark once upon a time.
It wasn’t until Bear lifted his head and let out a long, low, rumbling, growl that I stopped.
“What is it, boy?” He barked. Just the once but that was enough to rattle the windows.
“Okay, okay, shhh. Let’s go see.” Standing I walked to the front door, Bear squeezing in next to me so that he just about shoved me into the wall. “Come on dog, you’re the incorporeal one, not me, you walk through the wall and give us both some room.”
Just as I opened the front door I heard it. A car pulling up. A flurry of dust appeared, followed by the slamming of a door and footsteps running toward the house.
“Tyler? What’s wrong?”
“Holy fuck!” Tyler skidded to a halt, back peddling with his arms waving, “what the hell is that?”
“Oh, you can see him? Okay, well, this is my dog Bear.”
“That is not a dog.”
“Technically a hell hound.”
“And you have a hell hound because…?”
“He adopted me,” I explained. “Back to you. What’s the rush?”
“Shit. Yeah. It’s mom. She’s missing!”
“What? You took the time to drive here? Why didn’t you call me?” My voice rose and so did Bear’s hackles. I patted him absently, not wanting him to rip my little brother to shreds.
“I tried. Straight to voice mail. Is your phone dead?”
Digging in my back pocket I pulled out my phone, swiped the screen, and sure enough. Absolutely nothing. Damn it, I cast my mind back trying to remember the last time I’d charged it.
“It doesn’t matter!” Tyler cried, “Mom does.”
“What’s going on?” Jordan joined us and Tyler repeated what he’d told me.
“You think she’s been taken?”
Tyler nodded. “Her car door was open, engine running, still in the driveway. Her purse was on the ground a few feet away. There was blood.”
“Blood? A lot?” I piped up. Tyler was already shaking his head, “no. Just a few drops.”
“We’ve got this,” I said to Jordan, jogging toward the gate, Bear hot on my heels.
“Rae – hold up, you can’t go running off half-cocked, we don’t know where they’ve taken her!” Jordan ran after me with Tyler trailing behind.
“We’ve got a secret weapon.” I cocked my head at Bear. “I’m taking him out to moms to pick up her scent. He can lead us straight to them. And help bring them down.”
“Okay, well-” Before he could finish I was in my truck, Bear jumped into the tray and we were off, gunning it down the driveway in a cloud of dust. I don’t know why the vampires kept messing with my family but it had to stop, and now that I had their own weapon to use against them I had every confidence getting my mom back would be relatively easy.
I flew down the backroads to mom and dads. Every time I glanced in the rearview mirror all I could see was Bear’s massive chest. I assumed his head was above the cab, enjoying the wind in his face like most dogs liked to do. A glance in the side mirrors showed Jordan’s nark mobile not too far behind – I assumed Tyler was with him.
Pulling up out front of mom’s house I’d barely stopped moving when Bear jumped down and began sniffing the ground. In a matter of seconds, he’d found the drops of blood Tyler had mentioned and stood, nose an inch from the ground, breathing in the scent. Then he lifted his big head and barked, twice.
“Yes, good boy, yes. Go find her. I’ll follow.” Bear was off and I was back in my truck and following him before Jordan had a chance to catch up. I hoped I was doing the right thing using Bear to track mom, it worried me that maybe he’d thought I meant she was dinner and
he had to go find her so he could devour her soul. That just spurred me on to drive faster and not lose the giant hound as he bounded across fields at an incredible pace.
They hadn’t taken a direct route. We’d backtracked more than once, driven in a complete circle twice and pretty much wound our way through the entire county of Maxxan before Bear came to a halt, sitting on his haunches at the end of a long dirt track in what appeared to be the middle of nowhere. Pulling my truck off the side of the road I killed the engine and climbed out, closing the door as quietly as I could behind me.
“You think she’s here boy?” I patted Bear and squinted down the track. I could just make out a roof on the horizon. We were out in farmland, fields with swaying crops of cotton and hay surrounding us. Maybe they were holding her in an old farmhouse or barn. They’d either been invited in or whoever owned the property was no longer in the land of the living, otherwise, the vampires wouldn’t be able to enter.
Jordan pulled up behind me.
“Have you come up with a plan yet?” Jordan asked, tongue in cheek.
“Ha ha. Plans are your department.”
“I thought so too until you went running off tracking your mom without any idea of what you’d do next.” His arms were crossed over his shoulders and he didn’t look pleased.
“I’ve got Bear,” I said defensively. “Plus, these assholes have got to learn to stop taking my fucking family.”
“And how do you plan on teaching them a lesson?”
“Okay, listen up.” I whirled on him, worry for my mom pushing my anger and intolerance levels sky high, “I do not need your attitude right now. I need your help. You keep saying you’re SIA well SIA my mom’s ass out of there.”
“Whoa, burned.” Tyler snickered then shut up when Jordan shot him a look.
“Here’s what we do.” Jordan’s face was a mask, I couldn’t tell if he was pissed at my outburst or not. I didn’t have time to worry about it now. He was heading toward the back of his vehicle and we both followed. Bear stayed put, keeping a keen eye on the building in the distance.
“Tyler.” Jordan handed him a pyre gun, “stick with me. You can shoot, right?”
“Yeah, I can shoot.” Tyler puffed his chest out, pleased to be included in the action.
“Rae, I assume Bear will stick with you, give you an extra level of protection, but take this anyway-” He handed me a pyre gun “and for the love of God keep your eyes open.”
“I will.” Geez. One time, one time you fire a gun with your eyes closed and they never let you forget it.
“And don’t forget – both of you – that you have fire demon skills. Use them. Rae, stay focused. You know you can do it. Burn them if you have to – it won’t kill them but it will incapacitate them long enough for us to either get your mother out or take them down.”
“Mom’s human.” It felt like the right time to remind him of that. I could easily burn my mother to a crisp.
“I’ll protect her. I won’t let you burn her.” I trusted the confidence in his voice.
“You and Bear go that way, head around the back.” He pointed and I nodded, “Tyler and I will come in the front. You should have the advantage of surprise. And hopefully, they don’t know Bear has changed sides yet. Assuming he has.”
“Wait. What? You think Bear isn’t legit?” I stopped Jordan before he could walk away. “You think they planted him?”
“No.” Jordan shook his head and cupped my cheek, seeing the worry on my face. I was uncharacteristically attached to the hellhound, it would break my heart if it turned out it was all a ruse. “I don’t believe that at all. I think he’s here because he wants to be. Something about you attracted him, and now that he’s attached himself the rest of us can see him.”
It made sense. No-one had been able to see the hellhound before, only me. But as soon as we decided we were friends, that I was going to keep him as my own, Jordan could see him, Tyler could see him. I could only guess that the rest of my family would be able to see him too – because they were all connected to me. I wonder what I did to become so important?
“Let’s go. Wait for my signal.” Jordan said.
Shit! Had I been daydreaming? “What signal?” I asked. He shook his head, grabbed my shoulders and leaned down so his face was level with mine.
“I will create a distraction out front. Draw them out. As soon as I do, I want you to slip in the back and get your mom out.” He said with exaggerated patience.
“You’re assuming there’s a back entrance?”
“I’ve cased all the abandoned farmhouses in Maxxan. Vampires are holed up in several of them. The farmhouse on this property was burned down, all that’s left is the barn. I suspect that’s where your mom is – it has doors at both ends.”
“Gotcha.” Before I could pull away he planted a fast and hard kiss on my lips then swivelled on his heel and headed down the driveway with Tyler by his side.
“Wow,” I whispered, touching my lips. Even such a brief kiss sizzled. Shaking myself I whistled to Bear and the two of us headed through the hay field toward the back of the barn. I worried that Jordan would be in place and we were still traipsing through the field when Bear solved that problem by coming up behind me, shoving his nose between my knees and tossing me over his head. Before I knew it, I was sitting on the hellhounds shoulders and riding him like a horse. Un-fucking-believable.
We arrived at the rear of the barn on silent feet – riding a hellhound had its advantages. Sliding off Bear’s back I tiptoed to the barn and peered inside. I spied mom, tied to a beam in the middle of the barn. I could only see one vampire. I’d expected more, but then, this was most likely a trap and as soon as we stepped inside we’d be swarmed. Bear crossed to the other side of the door and sat, waiting for my signal.
“Two men, coming up the drive.” A vampire rushed in and both stood in the opposite doorway, watching Jordan and Tyler approach.
“Is one of ‘em her husband?” The vampire that had been inside asked.
“Can’t tell.” The other replied. Her husband? This was a trap for…dad? I’d thought it was for me, after all, they’d taken Tyler to lure me out. But these two didn’t seem too bright, for they’d totally left the rear of the barn unprotected, even though it’s two big doors stood open, indicating it was an entrance. Idiots. Shaking my head, I leaned against the wall and waited. I could hear movement inside, but not enough to indicated there was a horde of vampires waiting for us.
Then there was the sound of fighting, grunting, bodies hitting the ground. I stuck my head in the doorway and sure enough, there was Jordan tussling with a vampire. The other vamp was standing in front of mom, guarding her. So far, no-one else had appeared. Nodding my head at Bear, I slipped inside. Bear walked beside me. I was almost to mom when the vampire must have heard or sensed me and glanced around.
“You!” He snarled, leaping toward me. Tyler fired off his pyre gun but missed. Didn’t matter, Bear raised a massive paw and swatted the vampire to the ground.
“What the fuck was that?” The vampire wriggled backwards on the barn floor, looking around wildly. Good – he couldn’t see Bear.
“That was me.” I strolled forward, keeping one eye on the activity outside. The vampire continued to back up and as I approached I called forth my fire, tossing it between my palms. Then I thought about what I’d read in Grandpa’s fire slinger book – wouldn’t hurt to try I guess? I pictured the flames turning into a lasso and before my eyes, the flame turned into a long rope with a coil at the end. I tentatively gave it a whirl and it swung, just like a rope would. Cool.
“Jesus.” The vampire watched me, eyes wide.
“Wow!” I heard Tyler and without taking my gaze from the vampire I told him “get mom. Take my truck. Get her home.”
He ran past us and busied himself freeing mom, who was sobbing. I wasn’t sure if she was hurt if they had bitten her, but she was alive and I sent up a silent prayer of thanks.
“Now, you, what’s y
our name?” I twirled the lasso over my head. The vamp had gotten over his shock and sneered at me.
“I ain’t telling you nothin.” He pushed himself to his feet and assumed a fighting stance. Excellent. I get to try out my new toy.
“You’re right, I don’t need your name. I don’t care.” With a flick of my wrist, the lasso sailed through the air and settled over his shoulders. I tightened it with a sharp tug.
The vampire screamed. Like a girl. High pitched and long. “It’s burning!”
“Duh.” I mocked. It was a lasso of fire, what was he expecting?
“Can’t kill me with fire.” He breathed, writhing at the end of my flame rope.
I tilted my head and examined him critically, “you know,” I said conversationally, “I probably could, if I just repositioned this around your neck – and pulled – your head would probably pop right off.”
I heard moms startled gasp and frowned over my shoulder at Tyler. “Hurry up and get her out of here.” I snapped, “she doesn’t need to see this.”
“Come on mom.” Tyler slung an arm around her and began leading her out of the barn. They were as slow as molasses. With a sigh, I called to them, “take Bear. It’ll be faster.”
“Take Bear?” Tyler asked, puzzled.
“Yeah. Climb on his back. Like a horse.” I signalled to Bear who was sitting behind me. “Bear. Lay.” He did so and Tyler reluctantly approached him.
“That’s a really big dog,” Mom whispered, her voice wobbling.
“It’s okay, he won’t hurt you, he’s a gentle giant,” I reassured her. Tyler climbed on Bear’s back then held down a hand for Mom, hauling her up behind him.
“Take her home Bear,” I instructed. “Slowly!” I yelled, knowing how he liked to travel at breakneck speeds. His slow was still faster than what Tyler could run.
“What…what’s going on?” The vampire stuttered. To him, it looked like Tyler and my mom was suspended in mid-air and then floating away. I laughed. He must feel like he was on a bad acid trip. It was about to get worse.
