Avenge

by Sarah M. Ross

  Avenge

  Smashwords Edition

  * * * *

  Avenge

  Book Two of

  The Patronus Series

  Copyright © 2012 by Sarah M. Ross

  ISBN-13:

  Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of the above author of this book.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication/use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners.

  Discover other titles by Sarah M. Ross at Smashwords.com.

  Smashwords Edition License Notes

  This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then you should return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the author's work.

  Chapter One

  A fierce battle raged all around me. Grunts and growls filled my ears while the tart, coppery scent of blood caused my nose to wrinkle. I blocked everything out, focused on protecting my friends and the innocent soul cowering in the corner from the flea-infested beasts who threatened to attack. We were barely holding them at bay, outnumbered two to one, but I set my jaw confidently. We’d been in worse situations than this and still emerged victorious.

  “Son of a—I’m gonna need another shield over here, Lucy!”

  “What’s happening, Adam?” I yelled, risking a glance at him. I couldn’t afford to break my concentration.

  “The little prick has a knife. What kind of werewolf carries a knife?”

  “Idiot won’t have any teeth left after you’re done with him,” I scoffed, shaking my head.

  “That’s not the only thing he’s about to lose.”

  I knew that tone. Adam was about to lay a beat down even an MMA fighter would tap out of. I threw up another shield around Adam to give him a moment to inspect his wound and change weapons. I resisted the urge to move even though a werewolf inched closer to me. I couldn’t afford the luxury of dropping my concentration for a moment, even if it did cost me a few bite marks. It would hurt him a lot more than it would hurt me. I trusted that my team would get the snarling beast away from me before any real damage was done.

  “Luce, I’m good, tag me in,” Cassie yelled as she tightened the strap on her cuffs and twirled her silver dagger in anticipation. I strained to hear her over the sounds of battle that surrounded me. I dropped her shield and watched as she deftly plunged two daggers into the beast’s torso and twisted, ensuring he wouldn’t be going anywhere for a while. She gave me a quick nod, which I knew was her way of saying, “Hells yes!” and moved on to more targets.

  “Max, behind you!” He ducked and rolled just as a wolf flew at him. He missed being clawed in the back by millimeters.

  “I’m good. Thanks, babe.” He quickly bounced back to his feet and reloaded.

  “We’re almost there. A few more guys and we’ll have them all.”

  The were’s hot, wet breath stuck to me. His slimy tongue hung out of his mouth, ready to touch me and I gagged a little in my mouth. I could put up with a lot, but seriously, that was just gross!

  “Oh buddy, you have no idea what kind of hell is about to rain down on you.” I pushed a button on the gold bracelet that indicated I was a Patronus. It was something we all attached to ourselves and was like a command center—controlling our communications, weapons, and powers. And now for me, it helped me control my new power. Each of the members of my team had been granted a new gift by the Council, and mine was the first to manifest itself. As soon as I released it, the cool rush of silver slid over and around my body. It invigorated everywhere it touched, like a bucket of cool water on a warm, summer day. As the liquid adhered like a second skin, the wolf got a mouthful and howled at the pain, shaking its head furiously to try to expel the poison.

  Max rushed over to finish the prick off and recover the soul into the solid silver containment syringe by sucking it directly out of the heart of the beast. I let my silver skin disappear, missing the cool rush it gave me. As the soul was successfully locked into the safe we brought, he leaned over and gave me a quick kiss on the cheek. “I think we’re good now, babe. There are less of them than us, so you can drop the shields now. This is the home stretch.”

  “I’m exhausted. How many did we get tonight?”

  “Six, but we’ll talk later. I’m going to go help James. Only a few more, but they’re wicked. Then we’ll go home. Stay here and protect the souls.” Max capped the lid on the syringe and placed it into the airtight containment unit we used to transport. The container beeped once indicating it was secure, and I used the keypad and my bracelet to lock it up and conjured up a backpack to place the unit in.

  I wanted to help my friends, but we’d been fighting for hours, and holding up at least a half dozen shields at a time was beyond exhausting. Now, as I sat on a rusty metal bench in the dingy rest area covered in sweat, blood, and clumps of fur, I wanted only to curl up in my bed and sleep for a year. I needed to hold out a little while longer.

  I let the adrenaline flow and do its job of keeping my body alert. Inside, I couldn’t help but feel heartbroken. She wasn’t here. None of the souls we recovered were hers. It was another false lead. But now was not the time for my own problems. We had a job to do.

  I stood guard as my team demolished the enemy. This pack of weres had staked out a nursing home outside Palm Beach, Florida for weeks waiting for their opportunity to pounce. We’d set up surveillance at potential targets across the state we covered, and were lucky when these wolves got sloppy and didn’t try to hide their plan. When we saw that they’d begun sneaking in at night to steal the elderly people’s meds in order to speed up their deaths, it was the last straw. We gathered our team and set off.

  Max and James spotted the last two werewolves, waiting outside Mr. Leonard’s room. While they watched the facility, the werewolves picked out the easiest targets. The nursing home was a renovated old Victorian style house that now held eight private rooms and employed two full-time nurses. From our surveillance, we knew that every night as the nurses went on their dinner break, the old man snuck out to sip from the flask of vodka he hid in the planter behind the washing machines in the laundry room. Laundry day was his favorite, always asking the nurses if he could help fold their panties. Mr. Leonard bribed nighttime security clerk to refill the flask, and the werewolves were well aware that he snuck down here every night after Jeopardy. Max and James intercepted the weres just as they were about to scare the old man to death.

  Now, with only two weres from the pack remaining, they knew they had no shot against us and retreated. That was not going to happen. We needed to recover those souls.

  “Lucy, come with me.” Cassie waved me over. I stood up, placing a shield over the container so no one could steal it, and flanked Cassie’s side as we covered the back entrance and the boys took the front. This was going to get dirty. When weres were backed into a corner, they went down swinging.

  “Colts or knives today, guys? What’ll it be?” Adam called out to the team. The wolves crouched, ready to spring, fingers itching to
start the final showdown.

  “As much as I love the sound of silver blades tearing through flesh, last time my favorite shirt was ruined with gashes! I say we go for guns and make this quick.” Cassie pulled a Berretta from her side pocket, cocked it, and placed her finger on the trigger. “I’m ready to go home.”

  “You heard the lady, boys.” James, Adam, and Max nodded simultaneously and each pulled out their own gun, pairing up at the two exits. We’d corralled the pack into the outside employee break area. It was surrounded on three sides by thick walls of the building and the other side contained a twelve-foot barbed wire fence. The wolves couldn’t jump that high and the only way out was the door beside the fence or through the building. Both exits were now covered completely.

  “On my count. One—“

  The wolves sprung, interrupting James. Each wolf chose one of the exits, claws and teeth bared to inflict maximum damage, but my team was too good. The wolves whimpered as the bullets sprayed and pierced their bodies and they collapsed to the ground. Adam and Cassie quickly collected the souls and smiled as the realm door appeared to take us back home once again.

  Chapter Two

  I stepped out of the realm door and shivered, watching goose bumps dance across my flesh at the odd feeling. No matter how many times I transferred realms, I would never get used to it. When I first learned, I started out on the bunny slopes of transfers, and thought, “Hey, this is no big deal. Easy-peasy.” I quickly learned that practice doors were nothing like the real thing, and going in and out every few days really wore me down. The burning pressure on my body still made me weak in the knees.

  Tears threatened, but couldn’t stand the looks of pity so I stalked away from everyone, far enough away before caving in to the anger and frustration. I needed a few minutes alone. Coming home once again empty handed took its toll on me. I hated making a spectacle of myself and felt pathetic. My emotions were all over the place. I threw my favorite knife down toward the ground and watched it disappear back into my bracelet before it ever hit the soft earth. The design left behind reminded me of a Jackson Pollock painting, the still fresh blood from the tip splattering the grass.

  Voices from all around me drifted into my ears. They were wondering if they should leave me alone for a few minutes, and guilt ate at me for bringing everyone down, which only compounded my bad mood. We’d been through this enough times since she’d been taken, and my friends knew my mood grew worse every time we came back empty-handed.

  “Ugh! I’m exhausted, filthy, my favorite shirt got clawed, and we still have no clue who’s ordering all these attacks. There have been more this month than the last two combined.” I sighed as strong arms came around me and wrapped me in an embrace.

  “I know this is frustrating, but we must check each lead that comes our way in case one of them pans out. And it wasn’t all for naught, we were able to recover six souls during this last trip.”

  I turned to my boyfriend, Max, and discerned nothing but empathy and love swirling in his eyes. God I love that man, I thought. He knew exactly what I needed to hear and how to keep me from wanting to tear my hair out in frustration. Simply being in his arms could turn my sour mood around like nothing else. His touch soothed every nerve in my body, like aloe on a sunburn.

  “I know.” I leaned against him, accepting the comfort he offered. “Every time we recover a soul that has been stolen, it is a victory. I wish—“

  “I know you wish, so do I. We all do.” He kissed the top of my head before spinning me around to face him.

  “Do you see this?” He slipped his pinky into the diamond and sapphire ring I wore around my neck. He’d given it to me a few days after he revealed that we were each half of the original soul created by God. I shivered as his skin made contact with mine, and he lifted the silver band up to my gaze.

  “Yes,” I replied breathlessly. His touch always had that effect on me, and even though we’d been together several months now, it never changed.

  “This ring is more than a promise of my love to you. It’s a promise that your needs are my needs, that your desires are mine, and that nothing will stop me from giving you everything you deserve.” He bent down to kiss my fingers, which were now entwined in his own, holding the ring. “We won’t stop hunting the bastards who stole Jessica’s soul. Ever. But it won’t happen overnight. You need to be patient. Do you trust me?”

  My voice cracked as I replied, “You know I do.”

  “Then trust me to make this right.”

  No matter how frustrated I was at our lack of progress, being with Max always made it better. When he was around, his love filled me with such hope that all other emotions were pushed to the side. I gazed up at him, the world melting away with the feeling of his arms around me. I wrapped my hands around his corded neck, pulling his tall, muscular body closer to mine and wished we were alone. He placed tiny kisses down my face, stopping at my earlobe where he nibbled playfully. I giggled with delight at the ticklish sensation, completely forgetting my train of thought.

  A hard shoulder knocked me further into Max. I didn’t need to turn around; that arm could only belong to one person. A bitter, cranky old carrot top in purple Skeletoes that I swore she wore just to freak me out. “Get a room already.”

  It was Elizabeth, the British monarch whose sole purpose was to tell me how much I sucked on a regular basis, or at least that’s what I assumed since she was so good at it. I opened my mouth to retort, but was cut off again by my best friend.

  “Oh come off it, Lizzie, not everyone is a prude like you. You rock the big V like a superstar, but we all know deep down you’re just jealous you’re not getting any.” Cassie turned to me and winked before skipping away to hide behind Adam. She’d need his big, brute strength to protect her now.

  Covering my mouth with my hand, I squelched my laugh, but couldn’t hold it in for long. Even James, our mostly stoic leader, couldn’t keep the grin off his face. Leave it to Cassie to cheer everyone up.

  Elizabeth’s glare at Cassie was full of contempt; she was obviously planning retribution. Anyone who called her Lizzie had a death wish. And over the last six months, those two butted heads more than anyone else. Cassie didn’t seem to be frightened of the Queen and took every opportunity possible to put her in her place. Which was exactly why Cassie was my best friend.

  I took Max’s hand and gave it a tug as I inched my way backwards. We needed to be far, far away from here before Elizabeth blew her lid. Adam apparently had the same idea and was already leading—and by leading I do mean dragging—Cassie toward the Commons.

  “Debriefing in one hour; don’t be late,” James called to us as members of the team headed in opposite directions.

  I groaned. Each of the debriefings was the same and I was not in the mood. “Great, a few more hours of rehashing how the vampires and werewolves have been toying with us for the last six months. And how hope of finding Jessica’s soul keeps slipping farther and farther away. I’ll bring the popcorn.” My voice dripped sarcasm as I remembered why I was moody to begin with.

  “Lucy, I know you don’t believe that. You’ve seen the good that we’ve done over the past few months. We saved Mr. Leonard from dying prematurely tonight and he’s just one example.” Max hugged me a little harder and led me into the Commons where I plopped onto the couch, too exhausted emotionally and physically to go any further.

  I’d gone through several of the stages of grief in the past six months. The first night, I refused to admit Jessica was gone and spent several hours searching for her, convinced she was “hiding.” Then, after the first failed rescue mission I’d begged Marco to get me an appointment with the Alpha and Omega so I could plead for her life. That meeting never happened; Marco wouldn’t even consider it, saying it wasn’t possible and I’d make a fool of myself. I spent the next two months seething, killing so many vampires and retrieving so many souls that I received a commendation. Max accepted it on my behalf when I refused to be acknowledged. I didn’
t deserve an award for failing to rescue my sister. If anything, I should have been punished.

  Now, I was in the depression stage, where everything was dark, dreary, and nothing ever went right. My emotions were wading in a pool of honey; the harder I tried to get out, the further down I sank. I knew it wasn’t healthy for me, but getting out was harder than getting in.

  “Lucy, dear, amiga,” Cassie started, plopping down next to me and covering my hands with her own while Max and Adam went off to grab us a couple of coffees. I was going to need as much extra caffeine as possible to deal with James’ debriefing. That man could pontificate for hours if you let him.

  “I’m not in the mood to talk, Cass.”

  “That’s great, because I’m going to do all the talking and you’re going to listen.” I sat up a little in my seat hearing her serious tone. “First let me start off by reminding you that we all love you, and we’re here for you.”

  “I know that.” I smiled back up to her. “Thank you.”

  “Good. So here’s the hard part: we’ve all lost our friends and family. Death is a part of life. You need to move past this.”

  I shook my head and fought back fresh tears. “It’s not the same. Your loved ones lived full, long lives.” Cassie started to interject, but I cut her off. “But more importantly, you weren’t responsible for their soul being kidnapped by monsters.”

  “None of that was your fault. You didn’t cause her cancer. You fought your damnedest to keep her safe. You didn’t fail and no one blames you. You’ve had a crappy year—“

  I snorted a half laugh/half scoff. “Enough to put most people in therapy for life. Let’s see,” I ticked off fingers as I counted, “I died in a car accident, became a Patronus, was almost killed and raped by a vampire, was beaten into shape mercilessly by a British royal and her sidekick, my baby sister died, her soul was stolen by vampires, and I found out that I was half of the original soul created by God. Yeah, I need years of therapy and a whole lot of sleep before my world starts making sense again.”