Circle of Embers (Shadow Realms Series Book 2): A vampire hunter novel

by Kelly Carrero

  She pinched her brows together. “Explain.”

  “There are demons…and also another dark energy that’s different from the demons and vampires.”

  “That will probably be Orphelia,” she said then gestured to Joel and Parker. “We’ll take care of her, and you three take care of the vampires.” She picked up a phone and began speaking to the others in the van and cars behind us, warning them.

  “How’s it feel?” Finn asked. When I looked at him as if I had no idea what the hell he was asking, he added, “The blood lust.”

  Mind-blowing.

  There was nothing like draining the life out of a vampire and the energy they gave me in return. It was all-consuming, and I couldn’t get enough. Of course, I didn’t want to say that considering what he already thought about me, so I decided to go the whole cotton-wool approach. “They taste like chicken.”

  Kade barked out a laugh. “How can blood taste like chicken?”

  I shrugged. “Better that than telling you both blood is like nothing you’ve ever tasted before. Their sweet, evil essence is like a drug, and I will do anything to get my next hit. It awakens my soul, allowing me to truly live.”

  So much for the cotton-wool approach.

  They both sat there staring at me, unable to form a single word.

  I leaned back. “You asked.”

  The car slowed to a stop on the side of the road.

  Nessa stood. “We’ll go first. We need to disarm any wards Orphelia has put forth so you can slip through.”

  Here I was, supposedly the greatest hunter known to man, yet I was powerless against the witches.

  With the plan in place, Nessa, Joel, and Parker exited the van. I stood near the door, ready to make my move. She’d wanted Finn and Kade to stick with me, but the truth was, they would never keep up. I could outrun and outfight them. Once Orphelia was taken care of, there would be no stopping me.

  Sparks of electricity shot out around the trio as their hands twisted, circling the ball of energy contained between them. They kneeled down and pushed the balls of energy into the pavement, sending a sonic pulse rippling across the earth.

  That was our queue.

  Not waiting for the boys, I leaped out of the van and took off toward my house, following the magic, rippling across the ground. A second later, an explosion came from inside my house, glass and fragments of wood shooting through the air.

  A second later, a very pissed-off Orphelia strode out, hands raised at her sides, a storm of lights and shadows swarming in her palms. Dark clouds rolled through the sky, swarming above us, lightning crackling through the clouds.

  Orphelia raised her arms straight above her, the whispy darkness shooting into the sky. Then she swooped her arms down in front of her, sending a wave of electricity rippling through the air.

  There was no dodging her attack. It was coming straight for me.

  Pain shot through me as I gasped for air, my lungs stinging and every single muscle in my body spasming, my fingers contracting around the hilt of my daggers, bending them out of shape with my strength, coupled with the force of the electricity running through me.

  Blood pooled in my mouth as I bit down uncontrollably on my tongue. Not wanting to lose my tongue, I fought desperately to counteract the effects of the lightning, but it was too strong. I’d been naïve. I was no match for a witch. Especially one with her strength.

  The moment that thought let loose in my mind, another sonic boom blasted through the earth, dissipating the electricity into a puff of smoke, taking with it every single effect Orphelia had over me.

  Orphelia flew through the air, knocked back by the sheer force of whatever magic Nessa and her crew were using.

  As fascinating as it was, I didn’t stick around to watch what happened next.

  Lunging off the ground, I raced into my neighbor’s yard and found three vampires hiding in the shadows, teeth bared and bloodlust in their eyes.

  Reaching behind me, I withdrew my babies and slashed them through the necks of the two closest together, decapitating them as I kicked the third in the chest, sending him flying into the picket fence, snapping it in half.

  He was on his feet before I could close the distance, snarling as his ravenous eyes fixated on me. With his legs slightly bent, he stalked me from a distance as if he were a wild animal waiting for his chance to attack for the kill.

  I flicked the blades around in my hands, a maneuver Lana would’ve been proud of, as I waited for him to make his move. And like the animal he was, he couldn’t see he was no match for me as he lunged forward, swinging his arm.

  Without their witch’s interference, I was in my element, and I could see him coming a mile away, along with the vampire behind me who thought he had the element of surprise.

  Raising my blade, I took out the arm of the one in front of me as I spun around and drove the blade into the side of the vampire behind me, ripping down as I dropped to my knee. I twisted around just in time to shove my other blade into the throat of the armless vampire lunging toward me, teeth bared.

  Not missing a beat, I stood and kicked the vampire, dislodging the blade from his neck. I licked the blood off the blade, unable to ignore the call of blood any longer as I waited for my next kill.

  Kade and Finn caught up, weapons raised but no imminent danger in sight.

  “You good?” Finn asked.

  I nodded. “As long as Nessa keeps Orphelia busy.” I looked around, wondering where Max was and hoping he was okay. I couldn’t see him and wished I was able to smell my family and friends the way I could vampires.

  Kade kicked the arm on the ground. “If you’re wondering where Max is, he’s with the others in the street behind us.” He gestured to the house at the back of mine.

  I nodded again. “You guys ready? There’s another group waiting in our backyard, which I’m assuming is a trap since they haven’t come after me while I was having a playdate with their buddies.”

  Kade chuckled amongst everything that was going on. And it felt good to know that even though we were caught in the middle of what seemed to be an unwinnable war, we still had moments.

  Finn stalked toward the broken fence and peered over the hedge, his hand resting on the quiver of an arrow on his back, ready to load up. “I can’t see anything,” he whispered.

  “You may not be able to see them, but I can sure as hell smell them.”

  The earth began to shake, which I wasn’t taking as a good sign. Orphelia was no doubt fighting back, and we needed to get that damn key from under the bush.

  I leaned in closer to Finn. “I’ll go in first while you two cover my back.”

  Finn nodded as he drew the arrow and loaded it, ready to shoot.

  Eyeing the bush, I sniffed the air, trying to work out the placement of the vampires in relation to my goal. Orphelia had to have brought other hunters with her, but then again, how would she explain that the vampires were now working with them against me?

  I needed a vantage point.

  Clutching the daggers in my hands, I pushed off the ground and landed on the roof of the neighbor’s house, making such a loud sound they were bound to call the cops if they hadn’t done so already.

  The police wouldn’t be an issue, though. They didn’t come for calls of vampire disturbances. It was a fight they couldn’t win—and weren’t willing to die for.

  Peering into my backyard, I could see the full scope of Orphelia’s army of vampires. There were approximately ten out back and who knew how many in the house? The vampire I’d drained was no longer hanging from the back porch, but the others I killed were still strewn across the lawn, their rotting flesh assaulting my senses, making it harder to pinpoint where the live ones were.

  With my blades raised, I focused on the group hovering over their fallen buddies, eating the decomposing flesh from their bones. I jumped off the roof, and landed right behind them.

  Simultaneously, their heads snapped in my direction, as I swung my daggers, decapitatin
g two as an arrow pierced the forehead of the vampire to my left, leaving seven—make that six blood-crazed vampires, whose hungry gaze devoured me, as another one fell by an arrow to the head.

  I had a hunger of my own, one that couldn’t be satiated while there were living, breathing, vampires around me.

  Another arrow wizzed past me, taking out a vampire lunging toward me before I could connect my blade into his flesh.

  Five vampires left.

  Changing my target, I drove the knife into a scrawny vampire then ripped through his flesh, before striking the vampire to his right as the remaining two began screeching into the night air, calling on their buddies as they descended upon me.

  Blood splattered from every strike I made, covering me in their evil life force, sending them into a frenzy of vengeance and me into a fight for life, whilst my insides were burning with the desire to sink my teeth into them and rip them limb from limb.

  But there was no time for such pleasantries. I couldn’t enjoy the kill as much as I would’ve liked. There were simply too many of them.

  Hunters from my new crew spilled into the yard, surrounding them from the outside and little old me on the inside. Blood sprayed, heads flew, and organs spilled in the slaughter. Black smoke billowed around us as demons spilled from the bodies of a chosen few and slithered into the shadows of the night.

  When there was only a dozen left, Finn yelled, “Go.”

  I nodded. And as much as I wanted to take a little pop-top for the road, I forced myself to leave the fallen vampires behind and take off toward the only flowering bush in the yard, but not before decapitating another one who stood between me and the key that would guarantee my freedom from any demon wanting to possess me.

  My heart pummeled against my chest as I stared at the white flowers. The single most important object in the world lying beneath it, out in the open, for anyone to take. All I needed—

  Lana landed in front of me, blocking me from reaching the bush. “I can’t let you do that.”

  27

  Staring at Lana standing in front of me, I raised my blades, ready to fight. “I can’t let you stop me.”

  “Stand down, and we can go home and forget about everything you’ve done,” she said, raising her daggers. “There’s still time to make the right choice.”

  I barked out a laugh that came out a little sadistic. “That’s what I’m doing. Making the right choice. Joining the right team and fighting for the right cause. The ones who are not in bed with the evil monsters you pretend to despise.”

  Her eyes narrowed on me, and I couldn’t be positive, but I almost thought she had no idea what I was talking about. I didn’t have time for anymore conversation. For all I knew, Lana was sent in here to give Orphelia more time to fight back. “Move, or I will have to make you.” When she didn’t move I added, “I don’t want to hurt you, Lana, but I will if I have to.”

  “You already have.” Lana lunged for me, driving her blade toward my shoulder, trying to force me to drop my dagger. It was a move she’d shown me all too often. In the past, I could never defend myself. But that was then, and this was now.

  Blocking her blade with my own, I thrust my elbow into her side, following through with a gentle kick to her knee that came out a little harder than I’d hoped. A sharp yelp escaped from her mouth as she dropped to the ground.

  Guilt swept over me. I hadn’t wanted to hurt Lana. She’d been my friend. And I stupidly held onto the glimmer of hope that Lana had no idea what was really going on and was nothing but a pawn in her family’s demonic game.

  She rolled and flicked herself up into a standing position, putting most of her weight on her good leg. “Why are you doing this? I thought we were friends.”

  “Because I don’t want to be in bed with my enemy.”

  She furrowed her brow. “What are you talking about?”

  “As if you don’t know.” I stalked toward her, swinging my blades around in the palm of my hands. “You held me captive, and you’ll happily allow the demons to possess me for the Society’s own selfish plans of helping the demons take over the world.”

  Lana backed up a few inches, trying to put a bit of distance between us. “You’re wrong. They’ve lied to you.”

  “The only ones who have lied to me are you, your family, and that bitch of a witch of yours.” I spun around and slammed the hilt of the dagger into the side of her head, knocking her off her feet and sending her flying a good ten yards away.

  My heart stopped as I stared at her chest, waiting to see if she was going to rise. A few moments later, I sighed with relief then raced over to the bush and dropped to my knees as I holstered my daggers.

  Attempting to dig with my hands proved to be useless. The earth was dry, and we hadn’t thought to bring a shovel.

  Stealing a glance over my shoulder, I made sure Lana was still unconscious and the hunters had the vampires under control. Satisfied I wasn’t needed, I readjusted my tactic and got to my feet. I wrapped my hands around the stem of the bush and ripped the roots from the ground, flinging the bush a few feet away.

  Dropping to my knees again, I dug through the upheaved dirt, searching for anything that resembled the key. Just when I thought I’d gotten it wrong, my fingers hit something hard.

  With my stomach in my throat, I wrapped my fingers around it and—

  Pain exploded through my back, ripping straight through me, as warmth spilled over my skin. I looked down and saw the tip of a blade sticking out from my stomach, surrounded by a pool of blood.

  28

  My head yanked back as someone tugged on my ponytail and held a blade against my throat. “I’ll take that,” a female voice barked.

  Shit.

  I glanced over at my friends, hoping someone would come to my rescue, but they were too caught up in the fight to pay attention to me, the one who was supposedly untouchable.

  “Now.”

  Remembering the extra daggers Max had insisted I wear, I could’ve kissed him. The daggers on my back were useless, but the others weren’t.

  Pretending to go along with her request, I slowly moved my hand toward her. Then at the last second, I withdrew a knife from my pants with my other hand and stabbed it into her ankle, slashing her achilles tendon.

  The blade against my throat dug into my neck, blood spilling from the wound as her hand jerked away, making me lose my grip on the key, dropping it back into the hole.

  Spinning around, I clutched my neck and slashed the blade across her stomach with my other hand, barely nicking her before she jumped back.

  “You foolish girl,” she said, her black hair flowing around her shoulders as if she had a personal fan blowing directly on her, but there was no wind around us.

  Girl? Who was she calling girl? She was not much older than I was.

  A sadistic laugh escaped her mouth as her eyes narrowed on me. “You silly child. You thought you were the only one.”

  The blood drained from my face as it dawned on me what she was saying. The girl was just like me. Only there was something seriously wrong with her.

  She was demon possessed.

  Her black eyes stared back at me, taunting me, her fangs resting against her ruby-red lips that looked as if she’d just fed. As much as I wanted to believe it was the blood of a vampire, I knew differently.

  It was human.

  For the first time since I’d partially awoken, I was consumed with fear. The vampires may have been no match for me, but this demon chick was. I could tell by the look in her eyes. She wasn’t afraid. In fact, it was the complete opposite.

  She looked at me the way Max had before I’d grown on him, as if she knew I was no match for her.

  With lightning speed, she practically flew toward me, but I jumped to the side, sticking out my blade, hoping to slice through her torso as she passed.

  My blades never connected with her.

  At the very last second, she dropped to her knees and dug her blade into the outside of my thigh,
dragging it along with her movement until it had passed through to the other side.

  I screamed in pain, absolute fear engulfing me as I clutched my hand against my thigh, trying to put weight on my good leg when all I wanted to do was collapse to the ground.

  What kept me up wasn’t fear of dying. It was the knowledge that so many people were still counting on me.

  I’d be damned if I was going to let those demons keep my mother and kill everyone I cared about. I needed to figure out a way to take down this bitch.

  Spinning around to face her, I caught a glimpse of Lana, stomach on the ground, pulling a gun from the holster on her waist and pointing it at me.

  Great. Now I not only had a psycho demonic huntress on my ass, I also had a very pissed-off hunter.

  Letting go of my thigh, I held my daggers in front of me, preparing myself for the next attack—and a bullet from Lana. Why the hell hadn’t Max thought to give me a gun?

  If I got out of here alive, I was going to be the best gunslinger this side of the Shadow Realms.

  The demonic huntress smirked as she glanced down at my weapons. “Surrender now and I’ll let your friends live.”

  Sickness engulfed me, knowing how serious she was and the fact I couldn’t trust she would keep her end of the deal. Why would she?

  If I didn’t take her out, no one was going to walk out of here alive tonight.

  With a newfound purpose and determination, I concentrated on the power I had inside of me, calling to it.

  Energy buzzed under my skin, making my hairs stand on end, but the hair on my head still fell flat, unlike the bitch in front of me whose hair was flowing with magical demonic energy.

  Just as I started to make my move, she raised her hand in front of her, dark smoke billowing out of her, wrapping around my entire body, immobilizing me.

  The demonic huntress cackled, just like the demons from the Shadow Realms, as she sauntered toward me, an arrogant sway to her step. “You could’ve saved them all, but now I think I’ll make you watch their demise.”