Dark of the Moon

by Amanda Ashley

  A woman with dark red hair and deep brown eyes opened the door, her expression wary. She looked him over from head to foot before inviting him in.

  “Travis, what are you doing here?” Carl asked, rising from the sofa.

  “I came to ask a favor.”

  “Yeah?”

  Travis glanced at the woman, then back at Overstreet. “Let’s go outside.”

  Carl took the woman’s hand in his. “If you’re worried about talking in front of Winona, don’t be. She’s got no love for vampires.”

  “Are you sure about that? She used to live with one.”

  “I know, but it wasn’t her choice.”

  Travis studied the woman. “Is that right?”

  She nodded. “You’re a vampire, aren’t you?”

  “Yeah.”

  “But not one of Jason’s.”

  “That’s right.” Travis let his mind brush hers and then Overstreet’s. Neither was hiding anything. One thing was certain, Carl and the woman were already intimately acquainted. Her scent was all over him. And his on her.

  “So, what’s this favor?” Overstreet asked.

  “I want you to start looking after Sara during the day again.”

  Winona looked up at Carl. “She’s the one who runs the shop that sells those fancy chocolates and stuff, isn’t she?”

  “Yeah.” Carl smiled at her. “You’ve got nothing to be jealous of, Winnie,” he said, then looked at Travis. “If Sara needs protecting, why did you leave her home alone?”

  “I warded the house. She should be safe enough while she’s asleep.

  “Why does Sara need protecting?” Winona asked.

  “Because Ronan told me Bowman is planning a comeback.”

  Overstreet swore under his breath. “What? When?”

  “I don’t know. I’m going to talk to Sara about getting out of town, but until then, I don’t want her left alone.”

  “Getting out of town sounds like a good idea to me,” Overstreet agreed. “What do you think, Winnie?”

  “The house and the café are mine. I worked hard for them and I’ve got nowhere else to go.”

  “You can come and live with me in New York City,” Carl said. “I’ve got a place there. I’ll look after you.”

  “I’ll leave you two to hash out your future,” Travis said. “Tomorrow night, I’ll see if I can convince Sara to leave town before it’s … damn! It’s already too late! They’re here!”

  Chapter 26

  In fear for Sara’s life, Travis willed himself to her house, only to find it in flames.

  Sara! Opening his senses, he got as close as he dared. Relief washed through him when he realized she wasn’t inside—only to be swept away when he caught the scent of vampire, a scent that was quickly obliterated by the scent of smoke and a sudden gust of wind.

  She’d been taken.

  The thought no sooner crossed his mind than one of the houses down the street burst into flame. And then another. And another.

  He was trying to make sense of what was happening when his sire materialized beside him.

  “We waited too long,” Ronan said, his voice thick with anger. “Bowman’s coven went through the town and took everyone who wasn’t tied to one of the vampires. And they’ve burned most of the houses and all the businesses.”

  “How did the vampires gain entry to Sara’s house?” Travis asked, frowning. “She certainly wouldn’t have invited them in?”

  “She didn’t have to. From what I can piece together, the vampires mesmerized three of the town’s newcomers and commanded them to go from house to house and incapacitate anyone who wasn’t involved with the coven, then they dragged them outside and handed them over to the vampires, who transported them out of town.”

  “Sara.” Her name was a groan on his lips. Dammit! He never should have left her alone.

  “We’ll find her.”

  “How?” Travis stared at the fires that were now burning out of control. It looked like a scene from Hell. He noted that Winona’s house was still standing. Was Overstreet with her? Or had they taken him, too? “How?” he asked again.

  “You’ve taken her blood. Open the link between you.”

  Travis muttered an oath. Of course! Why hadn’t he thought of that? But when he tried to connect with her, nothing happened. He shook his head. “I can’t find her.”

  “She’s probably been drugged. The link won’t work until she’s conscious again.”

  Impotent rage burned hot and bright within Travis. What if she was dead? What if she was alive and he couldn’t find her? Could never find her? Bowman and his coven sold humans to other vampires for a number of reasons, none of them good. It tore at his heart to imagine one of his kind keeping Sara as a food source, feeding on her indiscriminately until she was so weak, they cast her aside and left her to die. Or being sold into slavery in some foreign country.

  “I’ll find you,” he whispered hoarsely. “I swear it!”

  Chapter 27

  In the morning, Winona stood on the sidewalk in front of her house, unable to believe what she was seeing. Susandale looked like a scene from a disaster movie. The smell of smoke hung in the air even though the fires had burned down to embers. A brisk wind stirred the ashes, sending them spinning into the air like tiny fireflies. The only houses left standing belonged to women who had married or lived with the vampires.

  The coven had abducted all the people who didn’t have ties to the coven, although she had no idea where they had taken them. All she knew was what Olivia had told her earlier. Jarick had told Bowman he had decided it was too dangerous to keep the prisoners in Susandale and they were relocating. Where that might be, Olivia had no idea. All she knew was that Jarick had found a new place and those who wanted to join them there would be notified of the location at a later date.

  Winona shook her head. She didn’t want anything else to do with vampires. She’d had enough. But they had taken the man she loved. And she wasn’t leaving town until she had him back.

  Late that afternoon, the women met in Winona’s café. It was the only business still standing. Winona counted heads. Of the women who had once lived in town, only a handful had remained after the vampires left, like Olivia and Merle White, who were married to members of the coven. Winona stayed because she had nowhere else to go. She suspected Deanne had stayed for the same reason. She wasn’t sure why Margie Lusk and Amy Rogers were still in town. Paulina Samuels and Caryn Moody were forced to remain due to a vampiric compulsion, a hold that could only be broken by the deaths of the vampires they were bound to.

  “How do we know they’re coming back?” Merle asked.

  “And what if they don’t?” Paulina asked. “Liam said he’d come back for me, but what if he doesn’t? How can I live without him?”

  Winona felt sorry for the girl. Paulina was young, no more than eighteen or nineteen. She was blood-bound to Liam, although she didn’t know it. Sadly, the vampire’s hold on her was so strong, she wouldn’t have believed it even if someone told her the truth.

  “I don’t even know why we’re meeting,” Deanna said. “I don’t know about the rest of you, but I’ve decided to leave town as soon as I get packed.”

  Margie and Amy nodded in agreement.

  “The sooner the better,” Margie said. “Living with vampires sure isn’t as romantic as the movies make it out to be.”

  “I don’t blame you for leaving,” Olivia said. In a way, she was jealous of their freedom, but she couldn’t leave Jason. She was bound to him by a love that was stronger and deeper than any compulsion a vampire could conjure.

  “I’m staying, too,” Winona said firmly. Because if Carl managed to get away, this was the only place he knew to look for her.

  Sara woke to a darkness so thick she could almost taste it. When she tried to stand, a chain around her wrist prevented her from doing so. Fear spiked through her as she settled back down on the floor. She sensed others stirring nearby. Who were they? And where was sh
e?

  Afraid to call attention to herself, she remained silent, eyes and ears straining for some hint of where she was.

  “Sara?”

  “Carl! Is that you?”

  “Yeah. Are you all right?”

  “Hardly.”

  He laughed, a harsh dry sound devoid of humor.

  “Where do you think we are?”

  “Beats the hell out of me. But if I get out of here, it’s gonna make a helluva story.” He paused a moment. “Is anybody else here?”

  “I think they rounded up everyone in the town.”

  Sara recognized the voice of Robert Clary, the man who had assumed the Sheriff’s job.

  “What are they going to do with us?” This from Dr. Amata.

  As others asked questions, Sara realized Robert Clary was wrong. The vampires hadn’t kidnapped everyone in town, only those who had no ties to the coven. It sent a chill down her spine. It didn’t take much imagination to figure out that the futures of those being held in this place weren’t exactly bright.

  She knew she wasn’t the only one who had come to that same conclusion when Mary Robbins whispered, “Oh, my poor babies!” and burst into tears.

  Her husband tried to comfort her, but she continued to sob uncontrollably.

  Everyone else fell silent.

  Sara told herself to stay calm, not to panic, not to give into despair. As soon as the sun went down, Travis would find her. But what if the sun was already down? What if no one ever found any of them?

  She tried to hold onto a positive attitude, to cling to a shred of hope, but sitting in the thick darkness while listening to a mother’s heartbreaking sobs made trying to cling to hope like trying to capture a moonbeam.

  It just couldn’t be done.

  Ronan, when are you coming home? I miss you.

  Shannah’s voice whispered in his mind, pulling him from the dark sleep. I miss you, too, love. I intended to come home days ago but things have changed. Bowman’s coven has made off with all the humans in town except for those who have ties to the vampires.

  He felt her horror as she realized what that meant. Sara’s gone?

  Yes. And Travis is frantic with worry.

  Of course he is. Should I come there?

  I’d rather you didn’t. I’ve decided to go after Jarick.

  The silence that followed spoke volumes.

  I have to stop him. He’s a rogue and sooner or later, he’s going to do something that will make people sit up and take notice and once humanity starts to believe we exist, none of us will be safe.

  Why do you have to do it?

  Ronan blew out a breath. Because, he said, his voice tinged with resignation. I’m the only one who can.

  On waking, Travis immediately opened his link to Sara, blew out a soul-deep sigh of relief when he felt her at the other end. So, now what? he thought. He had never done this before. Except with his sire.

  Ronan. I need you. Now.

  He had barely thought the words when the man was standing beside his bed. “What?”

  “Good thing I don’t sleep in the raw.”

  Ronan snorted.

  “My link to Sara is active. What do I do now?”

  “If you concentrate, you should be able to follow that link to wherever they’re holding her.”

  Sitting up, Travis focused on the thin crimson link that connected him to Sara in some mysterious way he didn’t understand. As he did so, the scent of her blood was borne to him, as easy to follow as the GPS on his cell phone.

  Swinging his legs over the edge of the mattress, he reached for the jeans on the foot of the bed, then looked at his sire. “Are you coming with me?”

  “Sure. Unless you think you can face down a master vampire on your own.”

  Sara kicked and scratched and clawed at the vampire who dragged her up the stairs and out of the basement, but it was like pitting a kitten against a Rottweiler, she thought hopelessly. She didn’t have a chance.

  Growing weary of her pathetic struggles, the vampire struck her across the jaw, rendering her unconscious. And then he transported the two of them to his new lair, leaving Bowman and the rest of the coven to dispose of the other mortals however they saw fit.

  “She’s not here!”

  Ronan laid a restraining hand on Travis’ arm when they reached the abandoned warehouse located in a seedy part of a city some two hundred and fifty miles away from Susandale. “Calm down. We’ll find her. Right now we need to look after the people still in there.”

  Travis fought down his frustration and as he did so, he became aware that there were vampires in the building. The hot, fresh scent of blood told him they were feeding on the adults and their children as well. Children. The thought turned his stomach. “So, what are we gonna do?”

  “You’re going to help me get the people out of there after I dispose of the coven.”

  “What about Jarick?”

  “He’s gone. And I think he took Sara with him.”

  Travis felt his inside go cold at the thought of her at the mercy of the master vampire. “And Bowman?”

  “He’s not here, either. Let’s go.”

  The iron door to the building was locked. Ronan tore it from its hinges with little effort, then they followed the terrified cries and screams rising from the basement.

  Travis stared at the scene before him, horrified by what he saw. The vampires were so involved in what they were doing, none of them even noticed their presence. When he would have rushed forward, Ronan grabbed his arm. “Stay behind me.”

  Frowning, Travis stepped behind his sire. He swore softly as a rush of preternatural power filled the room, a force that apparently only affected the vampires, who all froze in place, their expressions stunned, their eyes red and wide with alarm as they stared at the master vampire. Travis swore under his breath. What was Ronan doing to them?

  “Listen to me,” Ronan said, his voice as cold and implacable as death itself. “I know who you are now. It’ll be no trouble at all to hunt you down. And I will do so unless you put an end to this immediately. Leave the coven. Stop trafficking in human life. Stop killing.”

  “If we do what you say,” one of them said through clenched teeth, “Jarick will destroy us.”

  “No,” Ronan said flatly. “He won’t.”

  Travis grunted softly as understanding dawned in the eyes of the other vampires. Talk about being caught between a rock and a hard place, he mused.

  As Ronan withdrew his preternatural power, the vampires scrambled to their feet. They glared at him as they filed toward the steps. All but one who, with a wild cry of defiance, hurled himself at Ronan.

  Travis watched in amazement as his sire stood his ground and then, at the last minute, reached out with one hand and ripped the other vampire’s heart from his chest.

  The rest of the coven quickly transported themselves elsewhere.

  Every eye in the place stared at Ronan as they waited to see what would happen next.

  A murmur ran through the room, along with whispers of “Did you see that?” and the sound of retching. Mary Robbins had covered her children’s eyes.

  Ronan tossed the heart aside. “You start on that side and I’ll start over here.”

  One by one, Travis moved among the people, freeing them from their shackles, speaking to them quietly, smiling at those he recognized as he assured them they had nothing to fear. Returning to Ronan’s side, he asked, “What now?”

  Lowering his voice so only Travis could hear, he said, “I’m going to wipe their memories of everything that’s happened here and then they’re free to leave.”

  Travis nodded. Under other circumstances, he might have suggested taking them home, but these people were safe now while his Sara still needed help.

  It was only after they left the building that Travis realized Overstreet hadn’t been in the basement.

  But his main concern was for Sara. Where could she be? The link between them had shut down again. What if it stayed tha
t way until sunrise? Dammit, she could be dead by tomorrow and he’d never know what happened to her.

  Carl Overstreet woke to find a woman staring at him through a pair of deep-set, impossibly red eyes. Certain he was dreaming, he blinked a couple of times and pinched himself, but the woman didn’t go away.

  Dread stirred in his gut. He had seen eyes like that before.

  “About time you woke up,” the vampire remarked, licking her lips. “It’s no fun dining on someone who’s not fighting back.”

  Dread turned to panic when she smiled at him, revealing a pair of shiny white fangs. Galvanized to action, Overstreet tried to get up, only to be pushed down again by one slender hand.

  “Where do you think you’re going, my plump little friend?”

  “Home?”

  Her laughter rang off the walls. “I don’t think so. You’re mine now. And I’m going to drink you dry.”

  “No!” Adrenaline shot through him. He had never hit a woman in his life, but this wasn’t a woman. And vampire or not, a good right cross to the jaw knocked her backward off the bed long enough for him to grab the bottle of holy water in his pocket. He pulled the cork as she sprang to her feet and hurled the contents in her face.

  She let out a scream only heard in nightmares, her hands clawing frantically at her eyes, howling like a banshee all the while.

  It gave him just enough time to get the hell out of there.

  Outside, he glanced left and right, but there was nothing to see. No houses. No street lights. Nothing to tell him where he was. But the thought of what he’d left behind added wings to his feet and he ran as if the hounds of hell were snapping at his heels.

  Two miles later he was wishing he was twenty years younger and thirty pounds lighter, but he kept plodding on, spurred by the memory of those hellish red eyes.

  Travis and Ronan parted ways half an hour before the first rays of the sun peered over the horizon. In his lair, Travis paced the floor, fearing, with every breath, that he would never see Sara again. She was in the hands of a master vampire. How long would he keep her alive? What if he turned her?