She didn’t want to die. Not now shed’ found Hunter and she’d broken away from Arthur to have her own life. She beat back the panicked rise of emotion threatening to choke her.
“Will you tell me where you’re from?” she asked, desperate for a distraction, desperate to know him, to spend time with him. But it was slipping away.
“I’m originally from Boston, but I’ve traveled all over the globe.”
“You’ve been alive since the seventeen hundreds.”
“Yes. As a young apprentice, I helped print the first regular newspaper in Boston, and made my living as a writer for the paper. After four years there, I moved on to New York and worked as a carpenter. It was there that I met Vlad, or rather he fell upon me and turned me. When I awoke, I ran as far from New York as I could get. I lived through earthquakes in San Francisco, tornados in Kansas, and floods in Pennsylvania. Vlad caught up with me in San Diego and convinced me to stop running and join him. By then I’d been a vampire for some time, and I decided I needed direction in my life and a stable home. I met Blythe while we worked cases for Vlad involving rogue vampires. He was already working to gain some kind of control over the clans and keep the carnage to a minimum.”
“Is that even possible? The nature of the beast is to be as brutal as possible.”
“Not for all of us, Phoebe.”
She thought about how gentle, and tender he was. She looked away so he wouldn’t see her tears. “He and Arthur have a lot in common.”
“That could be why they stay in such close contact.”
She wanted Hunter to know about her. To share something personal. As part of the Vampire Security Council, he would be required to testify against her, and tell them about what she could do. Did it really matter now?
She drew a deep breath. “My great-grandmother was a witch. A fire witch. Because GG—that’s what we called her—married a human, and so did her children, our family considered ourselves human. We assumed her abilities died with her, and that none of us had inherited any special talents.
“When I turned nineteen, I had my first…” She hadn’t felt embarrassed in a long time, and had to ease into saying the words. “My first sexual experience. Which didn’t turn out exactly as I’d hoped. I won’t go into it, but suffice it to say I was a little upset by the rat-bastard dick-with-ears. While we were arguing, his car caught on fire and exploded.”
Hunter’s bark of laughter made her smile. “I’m sorry.” He laughed again. “No I’m not. I’m amazed that the men in your life are such—” He seemed to fish around for the right word.
“Losers?” Phoebe suggested. She’d been a bum magnet then, and it hadn’t changed much after she became a vampire. But maybe her taste in men was improving—or her luck.
If she lived through the next few days, she hoped he wouldn’t walk away from her like every other man in her life. The look on his face after they made love gave her hope.
She fell silent when Hunter turned from surveying the distant treetops and tilted his head in a listening attitude. She added her own auditory powers and heard only the quiet rustle of the stiffening breeze.
“Go on, Phoebe,” he urged.
“It wasn’t until later, after several similar blazes cropped up, that I realized I was the one causing them. I didn’t dare let myself get upset for fear I’d set the house on fire. I couldn’t talk to my parents about it. They’d have been terrified, and I wanted to spare them the worry. So I went to see Zaira. That was before she opened her PI office, but I heard rumors about her. Luckily, she took one look at me and understood what was happening.”
She leaned against the railing and scanned the area. “She helped me relax a little, and gave me some instruction on how to control things. Then she took me deep into the mountains and let me practice, so we could get an idea what I could do. It turns out I’m not a traditional witch. I tried to cast spells, but it never felt natural to me, and they always went a little sideways. Not a good thing if you’re going to wield any kind of power that will boomerang back to you threefold.”
She caught Hunter’s quick grin and answered it with one of her own.
“Recently she suggested I go see Zelda. You’ve heard of her haven’t you?”
“Yes. I know of her, though we’ve never met. She lives in Assjacket, West Virginia. Very close to here. Not all witches and Shifters are as open to the type of interaction you seem to inspire, Phoebe.”
“Well, she was open to our meeting, once she discovered I’m part vampire, part witch. She helped me learn some new skills and hone several others.”
“Like cloaking yourself or others?”
She raised a brow.
“The Hamiltons appeared out of nowhere the first night we met.”
She shrugged. “I couldn’t do it consistently until after she and I worked together. My powers changed, and I had to learn how to control them all over again. In some ways my skills have become more powerful, and in others more unpredictable.”
“When you were attacked, Arthur sensed what you were and turned you.”
Phoebe took a deep breath. “I’m sure it was a kind of experiment. I almost set him on fire when I first woke up. My fight or flight had gone to all fight. Had he been a hair slower, I’d have killed us both.
She moved her shoulders, uncomfortable with the memories. “It took a while for me to control my rage at being turned.” Sometimes it still cropped up, though there was nothing short of death that could be done about it.
Only now she was facing death did she realize how much she wanted to live. She might be on the brink of having a real life with someone who really cared for her.
“Eventually Arthur earned my trust, and we became closer. Then he began to worry about how the Vampire Security Council would react if they learned what I can do.”
“Vlad is the head of the Council, and he’s already sensed what you can do, Phoebe. If he meant to end you, he would already have done it.”
“I think he’s waiting to see how things play out. If I don’t survive, he will have saved himself the trouble.”
From his stoic expression, she suspected Hunter had similar thoughts.
“He’s always on the lookout for talented people. He might offer you a job.”
She shook her head. “I’m not sure I could trust him enough to work for him. I’d be too busy looking over my shoulder.”
“Do you trust me, Phoebe?”
She glanced over her shoulder at him. At the look in his eyes, her heart stumbled and shook. She made love with this male. He’d treated her with respect and concern since the beginning. But if it came down between a tug of war between her and his sire, his loyalty would have to remain with Vlad. She took a breath to say as much.
Hunter was a blur as he rushed forward and knocked her off her feet. A blazing arrow streaked past, missing them by a fraction of an inch, and embedded itself in the log wall behind them.
“It seems they mean to fight fire with fire,” he commented, his fingers flying while he texted Babe to warn the others.
Rage ignited her powers and determination. Trevor Ricci had taken all he was going to take from her. This was her home, and he wasn’t going to damage it. She drew the fire to her, and the arrow sputtered and went out.
The two of them leapt to their feet and scanned the area around them. Beneath the cover of darkness and the heavy brush, the mountain was alive with hundreds of vampires slowly making their way toward the house. The sounds of fighting to the west reached them.
A text dinged on Hunter’s phone. “You have to get downstairs, Phoebe. Zaira is here and has the antidote.”
“There isn’t time for that now, Hunter.”
Another text came in. “The other security team has met with stiff resistance down the mountain, and they’re fighting their way up here. I’ve forwarded the message to Babe.”
Thunder sounded from the west, and lightning split the night sky like a knife. At the speed it traveled, the storm would be upo
n them within the next half hour.
A group of vampires reached the cleared area around the house, their faces moonlit as, one after another, they looked up and saw Hunter and Phoebe on the widow’s walk.
Others were emerging from the woods.
Phoebe reached out, pulling energy from the elements around her, intending to encircle the house with a band of fire to keep them at bay. Fire erupted from the ground and followed the path she’d visualized. Most of them stumbled back in fear.
“They’re going to jump,” Hunter shouted. His fangs lengthened and he braced himself for battle.
A group of ten leapt up toward the widow’s walk. Phoebe thrust her power at them. In mid-flight, the vampires’ bodies burst into flames, turned to ash, and drifted down. The wind picked up, whipping the powder around until it descended like a cloud on the next group, dusting their dark clothes and making them far easier to see.
She braced a hand atop the railing when a wave of dizziness hit.
“How long can you keep this up?”
“As long as I have to.” The release of power from the elements drained her, but she didn’t have a choice. She had to shield the people who were here to protect her for as long as she could.
Without fuel to burn, the circle of fire began to peter out. At least fifty vampires milled around the perimeter of the yard, waiting for it to die.
“Would you text Zaira and tell her to ward the house so they can’t get in?” she asked.
Hunter’s fingers flew as he texted Babe again. “She’s already on it. We have to get inside right now, in fact, or we’ll be locked out.”
They rushed to the door. The invisible barrier knocked them both back. Two vampires landed on the widow’s walk and raced toward Phoebe and Hunter with vampire speed. Hunter leapt into the air, crashed down on top of the taller of the two, and snapped his neck before flinging the body off the roof.
The other male came to a sliding halt and reached for Phoebe. “You don’t look all that dangerous,” he said with a smirk.
Before she could do anything, Hunter ripped his throat out. The vampire collapsed into a heap. He tossed aside the chunk of flesh and bent to wipe his hand on the dead male’s shirt. “We need to get off this roof, Phoebe. Others will follow these two almost immediately.”
“They’re coming now. I’ll cloak us until we jump clear.”
Hunter caught her hand and they ran to the railing.
Ten vampires landed on the roof. Four of them rushed to the door, but bounced off it, as they had.
Several vampires leaped against the exterior of the house, systematically searching for a chink in Zaira’s wards.
Hunter took her hand and looked at her. “Ready?”
“Yes.”
They leaped over the railing together and landed a few feet from a group of seven. Two males ran forward, their heads whipping back and forth, searching the area.
Though she felt close to drained, Phoebe twirled her finger around and around, sending pain toward the small group. The two closest to them screamed and fell to the ground. The others soon followed.
“Let’s go,” Hunter urged.
They leapt once more, and landed at the edge of the clearing. The brush and tall grass tore at them while they ran deep into the woods with several vamps close behind them. Hunter jerked her behind a large tree and held her close. The group ran past them for several hundred feet, then came to a halt. Phoebe and Hunter remained where they were, unmoving.
“I don’t know what it was, but it’s gone now,” one said as they walked past on their way back to the house.
As soon as they could no longer hear receding footsteps, Hunter urged her deeper into the forest.
Winded, Phoebe gasped, “Text Zaira, and tell her we’re taking cover, and not to drop the wards for any reason.”
“Done.”
When he grabbed her hand again, she staggered against him. Keeping the cloak up had drained her more than she could believe. “Hunter…I think I’d better rest.”
He caught her close. “Is there somewhere we can take shelter? It’s going to rain any moment.”
“There’s a hunters’ blind about two hundred yards north. It’s like a box with holes cut out for windows. It was here when I bought the property, and I’ve been meaning to have the boys tear it down.”
He bent and scooped her up.
Too spent to complain, Phoebe wound her arms around his neck and clung to him while he carried her.
“I loved making love with you this evening. I thought we’d have more time.”
“We will, Phoebe.”
She turned her face against his neck so he wouldn’t see her tears.
“I’ve found the blind. Do you want to try climbing up into it?”
“Yes.” Halfway up the rickety planks hammered into the tree, she had to rest. Her muscles quivered, and a strange, airless feeling weakened her further. But Hunter was right behind her to give her support and a boost when she had difficulty crawling up inside the wooden structure.
She lay curled on her side for several minutes, too weak to move. The floor, hard and rough, smelled of fresh wood. The flicker and flash of the lightning moved closer, and the thunder that followed rumbled loud enough to vibrate the floor beneath her cheek.
Hunter leaned over her. She struggled to see his face clearly. Her night vision was going.
“We have to get the antidote, Phoebe.”
She rested a hand on his arm and felt the tension in his muscles.
“It’s too dangerous. I don’t think I could keep us cloaked long enough to get inside. We’d be ripped to pieces before we ever made it. If they managed to get inside, they’d do the same to the others. We have to wait them out. Or until the others make it up the mountain.”
“Phoebe…”
She knew what he was going to say. She might not have that much time. “Will you lie with me and hold me?”
He leaned back against the trunk of the tree and lifted her into his lap to hold her against him. “Don’t let go, Phoebe.”
CHAPTER 13
HUNTER SWALLOWED BACK a roar of frustration and anguish. Her power was waning, and had dulled to a flat warmth.
He reached for his phone and laid it on the floor to type in a text. He had never sent an SOS to Vlad in all the years he worked for him, but he did now. Once he finished, he put the phone away and adjusted the two of them so he could hold her closer.
“You have to hold on, Phoebe.”
“I love it when it rains like this.” She sounded drowsy.
The steady shower created a soft, trickling sound while the wind blew mist through the open windows to dampen their clothes.
Lightning flashed, and the thunderclap was so close it vibrated inside his chest. The storm seemed to have settled over them. The elemental fury outside made him edgy and ramped up his gnawing sense of panic.
“I want to go out and see if they’ve given up, Phoebe.”
She remained silent so long he thought she might have gone to sleep.
“Please don’t be long.”
“I won’t. I promise.”
“I’ll lie down for a while until you return.” She eased away from him and curled upon the rough floor.
What if she died while he was gone? He couldn’t bear the thought of her being alone.
He slid down to lie beside her and brushed her hair back from her face. “You have to stay strong long enough to give us a chance. I believe we can have something special, Phoebe.” He bit his own wrist because he didn’t think she was strong enough to do it. “Feed from me. It will give you strength.” He placed his wrist against lips. She drank weakly from the bite, her eyes on his face.
She pushed aside his arm after taking only a few short drinks. “I love you, too, Hunter.”
It had been more than a hundred years since he had wept, but he was close now. “Don’t leave me. You have to fight.”
“I’ll try.”
He kissed her and tasted h
is own blood on her lips. “I’ll be right back.”
She gave him a small, sleepy nod. “Be careful.”
He scanned the forest for movement from all three windows before leaping to the ground through the hole cut in the bottom. Caution urged him to take his time.
A hundred yards through the forest he found twenty of Phoebe’s security team members lying dead in a heap. He sped from tree to tree until he made it to the cleared area around the house. The dead littered the ground where a hand-to-hand battle had raged. But there were still at least twenty vampires milling around in front of the house, and two wandering around on the widow’s walk, waiting for the protective wards to fall.
Trevor Ricci paced back and forth in front of the house. His shirt clung to him, rusty with blood, and the others were just as bloody. If Hunter could kill him, the rest of his clan would either die or give up. But could he reach Trevor before they realized what was happening?
He slipped back into the brush, pulled his phone out, and wiped it as dry as he could. At Babe’s answer, he asked, “How many are left outside behind the house?”
“About twenty.”
Three vampires, three Shifters, and one witch to take out forty vampires. But if he could kill Trevor, there might be none left—if Trevor had turned them all. Why would they fight for him otherwise?”
“I’m going to take Trevor out. Phoebe’s dying, and she has to have that antidote right now.”
“We’ll be watching for when you make your move, and we’ll help as much as we can.”
Hunter looked to the east and saw a feeble glow. Sunrise would be in just under an hour, and he wouldn’t be able to move Phoebe after that. It was now or never. He removed the gun at the small of his back, ejected the clip, checked it, then slapped it back in place. Fifteen rounds for thirty-five vampires.
Magic and Mayhem: Once Bitten, Twice Shy (Kindle Worlds Novella) (Have Wand, Will Travel Book 2) Page 12
