Volatile Breath of Darkness

by Candice Stauffer

  address since they were on the top of the first page. He held it in front of her and pointed at the address.

  “Is this current?”

  Nodding, she smiled. “Yes.”

  He passed the address to Haden just in case he was closer. Even when shifting to a destination a

  longer distance meant it took longer to travel. He stepped out of the woman’s line of sight and shifted

  away. He ended up on an outer staircase leading to the second floor. It was a rather large older home that

  had been remodeled and split into two separated residences. He made his way up the steps before his

  body had a chance to become a solid mass. With a wave of his hand he opened the door, and then walked

  inside.

  Immediately the stench of decayed flesh overtook him. Carl was the serial killer. He knew there were

  one or more dead bodies inside. Knowing the man had killed before meant that he would do it again.

  Looking for Brianna he began to go from room to room. He didn’t care if he found the man just yet. Of

  course he would kill him, but not until she was safe. It was becoming apparent that she wasn’t there. At

  first he didn’t give the fact that he couldn’t pick up on her presence any thought. Though he discovered

  traces of blood everywhere and some severed body parts stored in clear sealed containers throughout the

  house, considering the thought of her being dead wasn’t an option. She had to survive this ordeal. Helping

  maintain his sanity was the notion that if she were still unconscious he wouldn’t be able to pick up on her

  consciousness.

  His heart was pounding as he opened the door to the only room he hadn’t checked and walked inside.

  He saw the form of a body on the bed beneath a blanket. Looking upon it, he felt death. Choking on a sob,

  he struggled to force his legs to take each step as he made his way over to the bed. His hand shaking he

  grabbed onto the blanket and yanked it from the bed. Though the sight of the recently deceased woman

  sickened him, relief flooded into him.

  “Did you find any sign of her?” Haden entered the room.

  “She hasn’t been here.” Nikolas didn’t dare turn to look at his brother. Just the thought of seeing the

  look of horror that was certain to be on his face tore him up. He opened the file and began to go through it

  again. “There has to be something else in here.”

  “Did you see this?”

  He turned around to find Haden facing a wall covered with pictures to make a collage. They both

  knew that it was the work of a serial murderer. Considering the condition of the house it was not a shock

  to find it, but more evidence of it further devastated him. Not yet ready to look at it too closely, he asked,

  “Is Brianna’s picture in it?”

  “Yes.”

  “Is she…”

  “She is alive in it,” Haden answered when Nikolas failed to find the strength to get the question out.

  “For a minute I thought there were two pictures of her, but one of them is not her. It’s a close resemblance

  of her.”

  “How close?” Nikolas first thought was that it was Sara. He took a step toward the wall, but kept his

  gaze averted from it.

  “Too close. I’d bet anything it’s her sister,” Haden explained.” It’s so slight that you have to give a

  thorough look to see the differences in their bone structure.”

  Nikolas knew he had to look at it to confirm if it was or was not a picture of Sara. Plus, the collage

  could contain information that led to finding Brianna. He moved to his brother’s side and handed the file

  to him for the benefit of having a second set of eyes look over it. The instant he forced his eyes to focus

  on the collage, Brianna’s picture jumped out at him. Unable to stand the thought of leaving it on the wall

  he pulled it off. He didn’t need his brother to point out Sara’s picture. He found it within a second or two

  of beginning his search for it.

  “It’s her.” He took picture from the wall. “It’s Sara.” It didn’t matter if Demetri had gone rogue.

  Demetri having any kind of an association with a serial killer that lived in a home tainted with the stench

  of decay didn’t add up. Nothing seemed to add up anymore. Honestly, he didn’t know what to believe.

  Brianna was convinced that Demetri loved Sara and was searching for her. He’d immediately dismissed

  her. He’d treated her opinion as if it meant nothing to him. He’d hurt her feelings by rejecting her

  thoughts before giving them any consideration at all. What if Brianna was right? What if Sara was taken

  by the same serial killer and Demetri had been searching for her? It didn’t explain what the hell he was

  doing with Mary and the tainted vampires, but deep down he knew that every possibility needed to be

  explored if he had any hope of finding Brianna.

  “It says Carl took about a week off a little over a year ago for bereavement.”

  “Does it give the identity of the dead?” Nikolas asked.

  “No. But look at this. A phone message was attached to the back of the form. Kebbell’s Funeral

  Home called for him the day after his leave started.”

  “Have you heard any news back from Joseph or the others?”

  Haden nodded. “They have an organized search going on right now. Apparently they were able to

  figure out and narrow the possibilities to five square mile area.”

  “How certain are they?”

  “I don’t know all the details but Joseph was able to organize the search right away and he was able to

  hack into security cameras to confirm it. He is absolutely convinced that she wasn’t taken out of it.”

  “Go to the funeral home. They might have something to get us closer to her. An address. The name

  of another relative. A phone number. I need to have a talk with Demetri.”

  “Do you think he has something to do with this?”

  Nikolas held up Sara’s picture. “I know he does. I’m just not sure what the something is yet.”

  “Let me know if you run into trouble with him.”

  “I will. Let me know if…” Stopping him mid-sentence he felt the faintest touch in his mind. He

  knew it was Brianna. Can you hear me, little one? As he waited for her to respond he tried to focus and

  lock onto the fragile link she was struggling to maintain with him. It seemed to him that she was having

  trouble staying conscious. I am here. I feel you trying to reach out to me. Don’t give up. Keep reaching

  for me. He could shift to her instantly if he managed to take hold of even a trace of her presence in his

  mind, but pinpointing something so tiny was the closest thing to impossible.

  I am so…

  Don’t leave me yet. You need to be strong. Put all that you have into merging with me.

  I don’t… know…you...

  Yes, you do! Wake up! Merge with me!

  “Damn it!”

  “What happened?” Haden asked.

  “I’m not sure what’s happening. She claimed she didn’t know me, but she was reaching for me. She

  tried to work her confusion out, but she is having trouble staying conscious. She didn’t have the strength

  to maintain a true connection with me. She tried, but it wore her out. She lost consciousness before I

  could assist her or track the link to locate her.”

  “Maybe she was drugged to keep her more manageable.”

  “No. I would have been able to easily push through the influence of any drug in her system.”

  “What are you thinking?”

  “He hit the back of
her head with heavy metal bar twice that I am aware of. It is more than just

  possible that she has a brain injury. It is likely. If I would have had just a few more minutes I could have

  sorted it out.”

  “Don’t lose hope. You will get another chance. Regardless of her mind working properly her soul

  will be drawn to you. She will reach for you again.”

  “Let’s get out of here.” Nikolas shifted to Wicked Sensation to confront Demetri. He didn’t have any

  doubt that Haden would head to the funeral home to retrieve as much information as possible. He couldn’t

  allow his brother to encourage him. He did not deserve to be on the receiving end of anything kind and

  comforting. He needed to keep moving, to keep searching for anything that might lead him to her.

  ~Eighteen~

  DEMETRI KNEW THAT something had gone terribly wrong. The instant he learned that a desperate

  search for Brianna had been started he went out and began his own investigation. He knew the terror

  Nikolas was experiencing all too well. He’d been forced to live with it every day for nearly four years.

  Since Brianna was Sara’s sister it was never a question of whether he would help or not. Of course he

  would. He wouldn’t gamble with Sara’s life by openly helping, but as he had been doing all along since

  his nightmare started, he could and would do all that was in his power while maintaining the appearance

  of being an enemy.

  While monitoring their telepathic discussions he learned that Joseph had been able to create a

  perimeter around a strictly residential area, but no one seemed to have a solid clue other than the fact that

  she was somewhere in the designated area. From what he picked up on by monitoring their

  communications was that they were literally going from house to house and physically checking each one.

  Eventually doing so would result in finding her, but it could take several days and possibly weeks to do it

  properly.

  The moment Demetri heard Nikolas give an address to Haden he decided to go to it, but as he was

  walking out of the club Mary stopped him. “Where do you think you’re going?”

  “Out.”

  “To do what?” she asked.

  He knew by the look in her eyes that she knew something was going on with his people. She had

  many eyes and ears absorbing and bringing information to her at all times. “I plan to take advantage of a

  problem that has popped up. With Haden distracted, getting to Caylee and the child will take much less

  effort.”

  “I would have thought that you might be slightly inclined to help Sara’s poor little blind sister.”

  Hearing Sara’s name come from her mouth took a terrible toll on his patience, but he knew better

  than to reveal it to her. He shook his head. “I have my own matters to deal with. She has a mate to take

  care of her. If he fails to protect her it’s his shortcoming.”

  “As your failure to protect Sara was and is your shortcoming.” After a short and hysterical burst of

  laughter she gave her best impression of being a warm and caring friend. “Oh, my poor, poor sweet

  Demetri. Please don’t frown. I didn’t mean to hurt your delicate little feelings. I can’t bear it when you are

  not happy. My heart aches something fierce when I know you are feeling blue. I was only playing with

  you. You only failed to protect her once. Don’t beat yourself up over it. You should be giving yourself a

  nice pat on the back. Look at the great lengths you go to and depths you stoop to every day, in hopes of

  preventing me from increasing her level of pain and suffering. Tell me what I can do to cheer you up.”

  He shrugged. “There is only one thing I can think of at the moment.”

  “Tell me.”

  “It would be excellent if you popped a breath mint in your mouth before you get in my face to laugh

  at me next time.”

  “You really are a cruel bastard, Demetri. But don’t worry. That is one of the few things I love about

  you.”

  “I’ve never found anything interesting enough in you to even think about love.”

  “You’re lashing out at me only reveals what you think you hide so well.”

  “What do you think I hide?” he asked.

  “That you’re kicking yourself in the ass every day because I outsmarted you. That I am causing you

  to suffer the most horrible pain imaginable.”

  “Are we done? I have things to deal with.”

  “I only wish to send you off with a reminder that at any moment I can end it. I can kill Sara in an

  instant.”

  “You can’t do it yet. You promised to let me try her out before you kill her,” Jeremy said, as he

  walked up to them. “I’ve heard from the others you’ve sent to her that she’s…”

  “Go away.” Considering the intensity of the rage burning in his gut he thought he was doing a damn

  good job at keeping his temper in check until Jeremy decided to get involved in the conversation.

  “What? You don’t want to share?” Jeremy asked.

  Demetri had always struggled against a powerful urge to destroy the vampire that had raped and

  turned Emily. The only thing he did not do was protect Sara from Mary throwing a fit and retaliating.

  Since Jeremy had just made himself a threat to Sara, killing him could very well be just the thing to do to

  protect her. At the moment he felt his control slipping away more than ever before. “Go.”

  “When I get my turn with Sara I’m going to fuck her until she dies.”

  And that was all it took. “I’ve decided to rob the pleasure of destroying you from Zack Savage. I am

  sure he will get over it. You will be dead. Why should he hold a grudge? You will never get a turn with

  Sara.”

  “You can’t stop...” Gasping in shock Jeremy’s eyes revealed pain and terror the moment Demetri

  conjured up and commanded flames of utter annihilation to ignite in the vampire’s gut. He gripped his

  midsection as he fell to his knees. “What are you doing?”

  “You should be asking me what I’ve already done.”

  Mary slapped Demetri’s arm. “Stop it! He’s mine.”

  “There is no stopping it.”

  Jeremy began to scream as he suffered the agony of the most horrific and violent death known to

  Demetri.

  “Leave him alone, Demetri. You’re hurting him.”

  “The pain will be over soon.” Feeling a degree of satisfaction Demetri watched on as the vampire’s

  body contorted to point of snapping his bones as he flailed wildly, helplessly on the floor.

  The flames that Demetri started inside Jeremy’s body began to burn through in small patches of his

  flesh until his entire body was encased in fire. As the vile creature continued to scream and wail in agony

  it dawned on Demetri that it was the first time in his ten thousand years of existence that he’d ever taken

  pleasure in the sound of an enemy’s suffering.

  “Stop it right now!” she yelled.

  As if he had obeyed her command the fire and smoke sucked in on itself. For a second he felt her

  satisfaction over her ability to control him. The timing amused him. Within seconds not one tiny flame

  remained to hide the charred body that the fire had just begun to annihilate. Demetri watched Mary move

  toward vampire. She had no idea the decrepit maggot was a ticking bomb. It was an honest mistake. To

  anyone not acquainted with the flames of utter annihilation it would’ve appeared that the fire had

  completely died out.


  When she got too close he was tempted to let her get caught up in the coming explosion, but if he

  allowed her to die Sara would die. “You should take a step or two back.”

  She glanced over her shoulder. “Why?”

  He shrugged. “Or don’t.”

  Obviously not willing to tempt fate she took a few steps back just as a violent burst of supernatural

  fire exploded from within Jeremy’s remains. It shot out several feet. If Mary hadn’t been thrown back by

  the brutal energy released by the initial flash she would have been engulfed in flames. The fire vanished

  as instantly as the explosion happen. It left nothing behind. No smoke. No ashes. No charred remains.

  “He was important to me. He was my right hand man. I need him to keep the other vampires in line.

  You had no right to hurt him.”

  “Hurt? I am sure he was hurting at one point, but if I am to be accused the accurate word is destroy. I

  destroyed him. But it is not my fault that he chose to be ignorant and try my patience too far. I am what I

  am.”

  “That’s your excuse?”

  “I am not offering an excuse for doing what comes naturally to me. Anyone can play pretend. It can

  be great fun unless we forget that we are pretending. He forgot. Though we will never be able to ask, I

  feel confident saying that he was not having fun.”

  “You will pay for taking him from me.”

  “It isn’t my debt to pay. If you hadn’t encouraged him to forget what I am, he would still have the

  position of your right hand leech. Since you seem convinced that you need a male around to enable you to

  achieve your goals it would be wise for you to be more careful with the next one you find.”

  Giving Demetri a small measure of satisfaction, a glimmer of fear flashed in her eyes. She

  understood that she had not just witnessed him destroy a vampire without lifting a finger. It was a glimpse

  of her future.

  “You are lucky there were no customers around to witness your tantrum.”

  Realizing he’d already wasted too much time he didn’t bother to reply. He simply shifted to the

  address Nikolas had given to Haden. The instant he arrived at the location the stench of death hit him

  hard. Rather than deal with it he used a barrier to shield himself from it. A quick look around was all he