by Nocturne
He still nearly missed feeling Cass die.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Cass cringed as a cacophony of sound beat at her. She could hear the flutter of wings, detect insects crawling in the grass, pick up the footsteps of the hunters as they tried to move stealthily. And the scents!
Malachi hugged her closer and crooned against her ear. The sound was soft and soothing, and she concentrated on him to blot out the riot of noise. It only took a moment before she grimaced. “You smell like dirt,” she said, her voice modulating immediately as her own volume made her wince.
“I was buried for two years. You’re lucky I don’t smell worse.” His hand rubbed her back in comforting circles. “They’re closing in on us. Open your eyes.”
“Will my vision be as overloaded as my ears? And why am I talking with a lisp?”
“Yes, you’ll probably find your new sight overwhelming, but we don’t have time for you to acclimate slowly. As for the lisp, your fangs are down and you haven’t learned to speak around them.”
Cass immediately reached out with her tongue and hissed as a sharp point pierced her flesh. She really was a vampire, with the teeth to prove it.
“Open your eyes, sweet.”
Knowing she had no choice, Cass did it. Her fingers dug into his shoulders. The moonlight allowed her to see as if it were the sun. Colors were brighter, outlines sharper, and she could look a long distance with utter clarity.
Gulping, she turned to Malachi, needing him to anchor her. His black T-shirt had a ragged hole and she could see each fiber. For the first time, she noticed slight lines between his brows, saw the three pale freckles over his right cheekbone, and she could count the flecks of navy in his eyes.
“Cass, get control.”
“I’m trying.” And failing. There was too much.
“I can help. Let me in your head.”
She wasn’t sure what he was asking, but somehow she opened and he was in her mind. Cass could feel his essence. Malachi built a screen for her, blocking some of the sensations. It was quick, taking only seconds, but Cass felt better.
When Malachi spoke again, it wasn’t aloud. They have us loosely pinned in and we need to find a more defensible position.
Cass stood when he prodded her. Can’t we sneak past them?
We can try, but there’s enough of them and cover is so light here that I doubt we’ll succeed.
I wish we could use mind control, but hunters are trained to be unaffected by it, Cass sent.
Malachi didn’t comment, only gestured to the right and Cass fell into step with him. Remembering how weak he’d been earlier, she watched closely, but her blood seemed to have worked and he moved without trouble.
Her blood. Yeah. How long did she have before she stopped feeling as if she could leap a tall building?
Perhaps an hour.
His grimness registered and Cass guessed that meant it might take less time than that. Awesome. Once she crashed, she’d be a liability to him.
Win or lose, we’re in it together, he told her, repeating her words.
Stop reading my mind!
Sorry, sweet. If I leave your head, you’ll be deluged by sensation again. What if I pretend not to hear you?
Before Cass could decide what she thought of that idea, Malachi pulled them down behind a bush. She waited for what felt like forever before a man came into view. He crossed within feet of their position, stake in one hand, gun in the other. If it had been daylight, they’d probably have been spotted.
They stayed where they were for long moments after the hunter left. Cass fought the urge to move until Malachi took her hand and tugged her to her feet. They’d gone maybe ten yards when he stopped and whirled.
Cass’s stomach twisted when she saw who stood there. Henry Votto ranked high in the hunter hierarchy and he always killed his vampire.
“I got ’em,” he called. “Well, well, Cassie, it looks like you went over to the dark side. I guess I can put this away.” He slid the gun into a shoulder holster.
She clenched her jaw tight enough to make a muscle tic. As much as she disliked being called Cassandra, she hated Cassie a bajillion times more. And it was such a stupid thing to get pissed off about considering the situation. How had he found them and why hadn’t they known he was there?
Psi tracker, Malachi told her. We won’t elude him.
“What’s—”
He squeezed her hand hard enough to quiet her. Yeah, not now. The others converged on them, surrounding her and Malachi.
Five against two.
Cass recognized all of them, but she could only recall a couple of names—Jimenez and Quentin. “I didn’t realize I rated some of the best hunters in the city.”
And damn the lisp. She sounded like Cindy Brady, not a tough vampire chick. Cass tried to pull in her fangs, but failed.
Cass, they know you’re a new vampire and what that means. How you speak doesn’t enter into it. We’ll fight back-to-back, that way no one can come up behind us. Don’t take on the psi tracker—leave him to me.
Malachi was right. The hunters had enough experience that even if she sounded scary as hell, these guys wouldn’t be rattled. She took up her position at his back.
Three of them charged before she could prepare herself.
She swiped at Jimenez’s stake, knocking it loose. To her surprise, long talons came out of her fingertips. “Whoa!”
The weirdness made her hesitate and they took the opening. Cass barely had time dodge the blow from the second man before Quentin was on her.
With a twist, she evaded the strike and lashed out. She caught his forearm, but only scratched him.
Jimenez and Hunter Two immediately moved in.
Scuffling behind her told Cass she was on her own. Malachi had his own enemies.
She kicked out, glad her capri pants were stretchy. Too damn bad she wasn’t wearing boots. Still, she managed to strike Jimenez’s leg with enough force to tumble him to the ground.
Cass could see his pulse beating in his throat. Her mouth watered and she pulled her lips back. Fear filled his eyes and it startled her. Quentin and the other guy pulled Jimenez out of range and it was only then that she realized she’d salivated as if he were the world’s best tofu burger.
In a distant part of her brain, Cass thought that should scare her. It didn’t. She wanted to sink her fangs in. Badly.
Hunter Two rushed her. Cass reached up, caught his wrist in her hand and squeezed. He dropped the stake.
Bones snapped, but she didn’t release him.
Motion captured her attention. A quick peek showed Quentin was attacking. She grabbed the guy’s other arm and spun around, using him as a shield.
Quentin’s stake penetrated the man’s back and he screamed.
She flung him at Quentin. The smell of blood made her teeth ache. She wanted it. Craved it. Needed it.
Involuntarily, she took a step forward.
Control, Cass. Hold control.
Malachi’s voice helped her rein in, and while she had the chance, she glanced over her shoulder to check on him. Blood ran from a gash on his cheek and there was a long, ugly scrape on the inside of his arm. Votto and his companion worked like a well-oiled team, putting pressure on Malachi.
A low growl that wasn’t quite human escaped her, but before Cass could protect her lover, it went quiet behind her. Too quiet.
She spun around and saw Jimenez running at her from her right, Quentin from the left. Damn them, she wanted this over. She wanted to hold Malachi, make sure he was okay.
Instead, she had to fight these two.
One of the stakes grazed the arm she brought up. Cass kicked out again, but missed. Her momentum allowed her to pivot out of the way of Jimenez’s strike, but she felt the wood whoosh past her ear.
“You killed Suzuki,” Quentin said, mouth pulled back in a snarl. “You’ll pay for that.”
“You killed your friend, not me.” But even as she spoke, she knew it was pointless. Quen
tin hated vampires, and in his mind, she was guilty. Not him.
Jimenez took advantage of her distraction and only extra-fast reflexes allowed her to get out of the way. She kicked again and caught him on the side of the knee as he went past her. The sound made her cringe. So did the angle of his leg and his scream.
Quentin’s face contorted with rage. He didn’t bother to raise his stake as he charged.
Cass swiped out with her talons.
Two of them caught his throat. The gurgle he made—not pretty. He fell to the ground, clutching his neck. The blood fascinated her, but a shout from behind her broke Cass’s trance.
Malachi!
If anything happened to him—
She turned in time to see him rip open Votto’s throat, a feral expression on his face.
The hunter didn’t get up. The other man was already down and Cass thought his neck might be broken. Four dead, one whimpering. She took a step forward and staggered, suddenly feeling as if a breeze could knock her over.
Malachi immediately straightened, his talons and teeth retracting as he came to her. His arm went around her waist. “Let’s get out of here, sweet.”
Cass let him lead her away. “And go where? There are hunters all over the world and they’ll never stop coming after us. And why the hell can’t I get these teeth to pull in when controlling the claws is easy?”
And then she felt Malachi more strongly in her head, walking her through how to retract her fangs. It was simple and she felt silly for needing lessons.
“Don’t. Some things will be instinctive, but much won’t. You’re not the first fledgling to go through this and you won’t be the last. As for the hunters, I know.” Malachi tugged her closer to his side. “But we’re not on our own. Now that you’re a vampire, we can go to the clan lord. We’ll be safe on his estate. Believe me, the enforcers won’t allow any hunter within a mile of the property.”
“Clan lord? Enforcers?” How much more was she unaware of?
“A lot, but what I know I’ll share with you.”
They reached her car, but instead of getting in, Cass leaned against the fender and took his hand. “It’s—” She hesitated, but this was Malachi, she could share anything and he wouldn’t think less of her. “It’s scary. Being confined forever even on an estate and drinking blood. I’m a vegetarian.”
“Not any longer.” He said that gently, reminding her that she’d changed. “And we won’t be forced to spend our lives at the estate. In a month or two, we won’t be a priority to the hunters and we’ll be able to go anywhere.”
“After tonight? I doubt it. They’ll be looking for revenge.”
Malachi brushed her hair off her face and cupped her chin in one hand. “The hunters will never know for certain what happened here. Enforcers are already on their way to clean up for us.”
“What? How?”
“I sent a telepathic message. And no, I can’t communicate with everyone that way. Not yet. Only those with whom I have a direct blood link.”
Which raised additional questions, but Cass went in a different direction. “This clan lord, he’s going to want me to dig up the other vampires I staked, isn’t he?”
“Yes, but it will likely be when the furor has subsided and we’ll have a team with us to guard our backs.”
Us. This wasn’t the right time or place, but Cass needed to know. “Things were pretty stressful. People say stuff…” Hell. “Is there really an us? After you train me in, I mean.”
Malachi moved close enough that she could feel the heat of his body with her own. His other hand came up, framing her face. He met her gaze squarely and said, “It wasn’t the situation. I’ve never used those words with another woman, no matter how intense the circumstances. I love you, Cass.”
To her surprise, she didn’t feel fear. Nervousness, yes, but it was the good kind where it was like champagne bubbles dancing in her cells. Putting her arms around his neck, Cass went to her toes and kissed him sweetly. “I love you, too,” she told him.
Another wave of fatigue washed over her and she leaned on him. “Mal, I don’t think I can drive.”
He hugged her tightly. “I’ll take care of it and I’ll take care of you when you need me.” It sounded like a promise.
By the time Malachi got her car started and drove away from the wooded area, the eastern sky had begun to lighten. Cass turned her head and stared at his profile. Before she could stop it, the title of one of those damn 80s songs jumped into her head—“The Future’s So Bright, I Gotta Wear Shades.”
Yeah, she decided. The future was looking pretty awesome.
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Looking for more paranormal romance? The sizzling and spine-chilling books of Harlequin Nocturne are available at www.eHarlequin.com or your local bookstore.
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ISBN: 978-1-4268-8230-2
Shadow’s Caress
Copyright © 2011 by Patti J. Olszowka
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