Gaslight (Crossbreed Series Book 4)
Page 32
A heavyset man in a brown coat headed toward me, a clipboard in his left hand. When he didn’t look away, I waved.
“My boss wants me to make sure we have everything loaded.”
He stopped in front of me. “Name?”
I swallowed hard. “Temple.”
While he ran his finger down the list of names on his clipboard, I casually moved my hand out of my pocket and inside my coat where my weapons were.
“Yeah, here it is. Everything’s loaded.”
“Can I take a peek?”
He gave me an impatient look, so I gave him an indignant one in return.
“Look, I almost got fired last time when I took the guy’s word and someone made a mistake on the paperwork. They left the crate behind. I’m not saying you guys aren’t doing your job, but accidents happen, and I really can’t afford to screw up again. I swear it’ll just take a second.” Quickly realizing he was assessing my hair and wet shoes, I shivered. “I’m freezing my ass off out here. On our way over, I made the mistake of questioning him on something, and he tossed my ass out of the car and made me walk the rest of the way. Some people treat you like shit when all you’re trying to do is earn a living. Help a girl out? I’ll be out of your hair as quick as I can.”
The man’s shoulders sagged, and he recited off a series of numbers that belonged to the crate. “They leave in thirty minutes, so be sure you’re off that boat, or it’s my ass.”
“Thanks! You’re a lifesaver.”
He gave a tight smile and headed back.
I’d taken a chance using Temple’s name when he could’ve been within earshot, but Vampires often muted out sounds to keep their sanity. I glanced over my shoulder as I approached the ship, making sure no one was following. It looked clear, so I jogged up the ramp and made my way aboard.
Two men were roping something off, so I circled around them and walked along the outer edge since all the cargo took up the middle. When I found a walkway that cut through the center, I looked at each crate in search of the numbers. There were so many stacked on top of each other. How the hell was I supposed to get it open? Whatever blood I’d taken from Christian had been hours ago, so most of that Vampire strength had probably worn off by now.
I studied the first three numbers on every crate I passed until I reached the other side of the boat. The outer edge was clear, with narrow passageways through the center, allowing workers to navigate easily around the ship. When I reached the end of the next aisle, I approached a group of smaller crates on the other side. A wooden one stood out, about the same size as the one Kira had arrived in.
I squatted down and read the numbers at the bottom, which were a perfect match. “Hello, darling.”
I searched around me but didn’t see anything useful to open the crate. With time ticking, I flashed back to where the two men were working and hid around the corner. Just within reach were a crowbar and mallet. While one guy was busy telling a sex joke, I crawled around a crate and waited for my chance. As soon as he hit the punch line and they busted a gut laughing, I reached for the crowbar and scampered away.
The last thing I wanted was to get the workers involved and have to knock them out. They were just blue-collar guys who probably busted their ass for that job, and chances were it was the boss accepting money under the table for any illegal shipments.
As I neared the crate, a man in a fur-lined collar stepped into view. Definitely not one of the crew. He pressed his gloved finger against his remarkably small lips, and I knew by his smug grin that it had to be Temple. The lights on the ship revealed his pale skin, a flawless complexion despite his sagging cheeks and droopy eyes.
His black eyes were hollow, lifeless orbs that made me shudder. I dropped the crowbar and reached for an impalement stick in my coat. When his fangs punched out, I flashed to the left, but before I could reach the other side, he appeared around the corner as if he’d always been there.
The walkways were too dark—easy for him to shadow walk—so I stood a better chance in the light. I jumped on top of a shipping crate, then another until I reached the top. Niko had taught me to always keep moving and make sure I never let anyone corner me. The crates weren’t stacked level, so I jumped over a few and ran to the highest level where I could see. Eyes wide, I searched the shadowy passageways.
It wouldn’t take long for him to find me. All he had to do was listen for my heart pounding and heavy breathing. Temple suddenly slithered up the shadows and appeared in front of me. Startled, I swung my arm and missed when he backed up a step. Much too close to Temple, I leapt across the walkway to the other side and turned around. If my aim wasn’t true, he could snap my neck and tear my head away. I’d heard enough stories about rogue Vampires and had witnessed their strength to believe it.
Temple charged after me, and I sprinted away and dropped down to a lower crate. Boxed in, I had no choice but to jump to the ground.
Temple appeared as if by magic. I twirled my impalement stake and threw it hard, but he ducked out of the way. It was my best stake—the one with the heavy metal ring in the center to give it more weight for throwing.
Just as I reached in my coat for another, Viktor’s wolf moved in like a blur. His jaws snapped and latched around Temple’s arm, ripping away the sleeve of his coat. When Temple swung at him, Viktor dodged out of the way with the cunning speed of a predator. They disappeared around the corner by the edge of the boat, so I ran in the opposite direction and turned up another passageway.
Viktor attacked with fury and speed, knowing exactly the moment to let go before the Vampire could strike. From what Viktor had told me, a cunning wolf could easily take down a Mage. But a Vampire? Growling like a madman, Temple kicked at the wolf but missed. When he turned his back, I flashed at him with a stake in hand.
Sensing my attack, he turned, his eyes ripe with malice, and struck my arm as I brought it down. The stake slashed through his hand, and I ducked when he swung a second time.
With my right arm broken from his powerful blow, I sank my fangs into his thigh and swallowed whatever blood I could suck through his pants. Viktor’s wolf savagely thrashed, distracting him long enough for me to get in one good swallow of blood. Draining the Vamp was impossible, but I could use his blood to heal and borrow his strength.
Seconds later, a heart-stopping yelp ended with a distant splash in the water.
I scampered back, caught up on the tail of my coat. Viktor was nowhere in sight.
Temple looked upon me with disdain when he realized what I was—or more specifically, what I wasn’t.
With my arm now healed, I flashed my fangs at him and moved to get up. Temple’s eyes went wide, and it was then that I saw the arms around his neck and head. Christian held him in a death grip.
I grabbed impalement wood from inside my coat, raised my arm, and drove it deep into Temple’s chest. A split second later the struggling ceased, and Christian threw him to the ground like trash. Temple looked like one of those glass-eyed dolls, forced to watch the world around him but unable to move.
“Viktor,” I whispered. Without a second thought, I ran toward the edge of the boat and jumped off. When I crashed into the icy water, I clawed at the edge of the boat and kicked for the surface. My heart racing, I use that Vampire strength to stay afloat and survive.
My heart nearly stopped when something floated by.
I clumsily swam toward Viktor, and as soon as I grabbed hold, my head went under. The only way to survive was to ignore my fear of drowning and do what came natural. We were right by the shore, so after a gulp of air, I swam hard. Water went up my nose, and just when I thought we’d go under, my boot touched the ground below.
I dragged Viktor ashore. “Hang on!” He wasn’t breathing that I could see, so I pushed at his lungs to force the water out. “Christian! I don’t know how to give a dog CPR!” My hands rubbed his chest forcefully. “Shift, Viktor. Wake up and shift!”
I threw off my coat and crawled behind him, wrapping my arm
s around his body and then thrusting my hands inward. How the hell do you get water out of a wolf’s lungs?
I heard a hacking sound and then another. Water gushed from his mouth, but was any air getting in?
The rocks beat up my knees as I crawled to the other side and lifted his snout.
Christian leapt off the pier and came running. When he reached us, he dropped to his knees. “Is he alive?”
“I don’t know.”
Christian bit into his wrist, rivulets of blood spilling onto the rocks.
“Will that work?” I asked.
“Feck if I know.” He shoved his wrist over Viktor’s mouth and held the underside to prevent it from dripping out.
When he finished, I closed Viktor’s jaws and turned his snout upward to let the blood flow to the back of his throat. Then I cupped my hands around his nostrils and blew a breath.
Christian pushed at his stomach. “Did you get all the water out?”
“I think so.”
More water expelled from his mouth, and the wolf snarled and gasped in a violent fight for survival. Christian and I backed away before he blindsided us with an attack. I heaved a sigh of relief. If Viktor wanted to gnaw on my arm, that was okay. At least he was alive.
I’d seen Viktor shift before, but never this slowly. His fur appeared to melt away, limbs elongating and his muzzle transforming into a recognizable face. It was almost dreamlike. I’d once asked Blue what it felt like to shift, and she compared it to sliding down a dark waterslide. Viktor’s slide must have been broken, but it was reassuring to know the process didn’t hurt.
Christian threw his coat over him. “Jaysus wept. You scared the holy ghost out of us.”
I glared at my partner. “Where the hell were you?”
“Knitting a pair of knickers for your next birthday. I had work to do.”
I swung my attention toward the ship. “Did you kill him?”
“If I’d left him as he was, those sailors would have removed the stake, and we’d have to deal with that shitebag again. But no. I charmed the men to guard the ship and leave him alone. I let them know that if they remove that stake, I’ll bury them alive in their mother’s coffins.”
“That’s a little dramatic.”
“Nothing scares the living like the dead. And nothing scares a man more than his own mother.”
The taste of dark blood lingered in my mouth, so I scooped up water from the shore and rinsed my mouth out. The foul taste of Temple’s blood was like rotting meat on my tongue, and his sins worked their way through my body like a virus.
Christian walked over and crouched down. “Are you hurt?”
I wiped my mouth. “Why didn’t you kill him?” I asked quietly.
Christian peered over his shoulder at Viktor, who was still coughing up water. “He didn’t give the order.”
“Viktor was dead in the water because of that Vamp. We had every right.” Incensed, I stood up and stalked toward the boat. “We have every right.”
“Raven!” Christian yelled, but I was beyond listening. That fanghole almost killed my leader, and he was going to pay.
I shoved past the small crowd and boarded the ship. Christian must have charmed the men to specifically keep their shipmates off, because they ignored my presence. When I reached Temple, I stood astride him. Most of my weapons were strapped in the lining of my coat, which was back on the shore, but I had a small push dagger affixed to my belt. I freed it from its sheath and straddled him, pushing the blade into his neck all the way to the hilt. Blood seeped through the wound, and Temple’s droopy little eyes flickered with anger and the thought of all the things he wanted to do to me.
“Raven, don’t do it.” Christian crouched beside me, his hand resting on my shoulder. “The higher authority didn’t declare him an outlaw. Unless it’s life or death, we follow the rules and turn him in alive. They’ll squeeze the little arseface for information and take his head when they’re done. Think of what they can get from him—all his contacts.”
I bared my fangs at Temple when I saw laughter behind his glassy eyes. My grip tightened around the dagger. “He doesn’t deserve it.”
“None of them do. But rest assured, the higher authority will see to it that his neck meets the blade. If you want, I’ll buy you tickets to the show.” He squeezed my shoulder. “Besides, it’ll take you at least twenty minutes to cut off his head with that puny little dagger.”
“That’s the idea.”
“Viktor’s coming up the pier. Do the right thing, Raven. We have to choose our battles wisely.”
“Fine.” I pulled out my dagger and then jammed it straight into his heart. “Keep the souvenir, you filthy vermin.”
I stood up and grabbed the crowbar, using it to pry open the end of the crate until the wood split. The end fell open, and I stared down at a brunette lying on her back. When I pulled the blankets away, her innocence really hit hard. She couldn’t have been more than nineteen, a gold bracelet on her wrist and fingernails painted purple. A stake grotesquely protruded from her chest, and someone had closed her eyes.
“So that’s how he kept them quiet,” I muttered. “Hang on. It’ll only hurt for a second.” I gripped the stake, which was the diameter of an arrow, and yanked it out.
She curled into a fetal position and made the most animalistic sound I’d ever heard. Once over the initial shock of the pain, her tears flowed.
Christian pulled me aside and gave me a pensive stare. “Let me do my job.”
“You aren’t going to hurt her.”
He held my gaze, but I quickly looked away. “No, I’m not going to hurt the poor lass. I’m going to make her remember everything, and then I’m going to make her forget.”
Before I turned away, I clasped his shoulder. “Make her remember something happy.”
We waited thirty minutes before the local Council showed up and collected our statements. They reached out to the higher authority in Cognito and spoke with our contact to confirm the details of the case. After that, they strongly advised that we be gone by morning, though it sounded less like a suggestion and more like a threat. Meanwhile, with it still being dark, we needed to find shelter before we froze to death. One of the investigators gave us the location of a friend nearby who would take us in, but we had to go on foot.
“You sure you don’t want me to carry you?” Christian asked.
I trudged through the snow behind Viktor’s wolf. “Unless I die, that’s not gonna happen. Does Viktor even know where we’re going?”
“Afraid of a midnight stroll in the woods?”
“Only if we get eaten by a bear.”
“Unless you run up on them, most bears will leave you alone.” He put his arm around me. “It’s the grizzlies you have to worry about. See one of those, you best lie down and cover your neck.”
“Fuck that. I’m running.”
“They won’t kill you, lass. Not unless you fight or run, and you won’t get far trying to flash through snow. You just let them gnaw on your skull for a little while until they get tired of you.”
I elbowed him away and found myself scanning the woods. Fighting a Vampire was something I could handle; being fast food for a wild animal wasn’t. Because Viktor was in wolf form, I’d worn his coat over mine for extra warmth. We’d briefly gone back to where the plane crashed to collect his clothes and get Blue. She remained in animal form, probably too tired to shift back. It was safer for her to stay that way since her clothes had burned in the crash. She’d perched on Christian’s shoulder for a short while before flapping from tree to tree ahead of us.
“How do we even know this guy will take us in?” I continued.
“We don’t. But do you think the locals back at the pier took kindly to a bunch of interlopers invading their country and causing all that trouble on their ship? I’m sure they were standing in line to board us for the night. Ever slept with one eye open?”
“It’s not like we were taking down random Vampires.”
I snorted. “He never said they were friends.” I switched my voice to mimic the investigator. “Go stay with Crazy Joe. He lives three miles deep in the woods. No one will find you there.” I stumbled over deadfall and regained my footing. “That’s hardly a recommendation. He probably meant no one will ever find our bodies.”
“Well, I don’t think there’s a hotel just around the corner, and even if there were, we wouldn’t be welcome.”
“I’m sure this is funny to a guy who goes skinny-dipping in Antarctica, but the rest of us are cold, and I can’t feel my feet anymore.”
“Worry not. You can’t get frostbite. Even if you did, it wouldn’t last.”
“That’s reassuring.”
The smell of charred wood thickened the clean air, and my nose twitched. Viktor’s wolf barked a few times before shifting to human form. What a relief. I was looking forward to a cozy bed and some warm blankets. I steered my eyes away while Christian handed Viktor his clothes.
“Let me do all the talking,” Viktor said.
We trudged ahead until we came upon a quaint cabin with smoke billowing out of a chimney pipe. The snow near the windows glowed orange from the candlelight inside. Someone had cleared a pathway that branched in two opposite directions, each leading to the woods. No driveway, no car, no sign of civilization.
Christian and I fell back a step while Viktor rapped his knuckles on the door.
An older man in long underwear answered, shotgun in hand. “Nobody comes knocking this late unless it’s trouble.”
Though we were all the way up in Canada, Joe definitely originated from the Deep South. He looked about Viktor’s age, only his hair had more dark grey mixed with black than silver. Joe had two days’ worth of whiskers on his face, and hair that hadn’t been combed properly in weeks, given the amount of grease holding it up.