Good, the Bad, and the Vampire

by Sara Humphreys

  “I know, you’re gonna tell me that you don’t care about daywalking and all that shit, but that’s not the gift I’m talking about.” He placed his hands on her shoulders and peered at her with earnest intensity. “That man cares for you, Trixie. No matter how much you want to deny it. I know that you dig him too. He would do anything for you. Think about how special that is. Love, any kind of love, should be cherished and appreciated. Trust me. Until Olivia came into my life, I didn’t even know what it felt like.”

  Trixie was rendered speechless. He was right. She was being foolish. How many nights in her human life had she wished for someone to love, to really truly love her? And now that the possibility was in front of her, she was wary of it.

  “Jeez.” Trixie let out a laugh and cracked her knuckles before punching him in the arm. “You sure do tell it like it is, don’t you?”

  “Hey”—he shrugged his massive shoulders—“I gotta look out for you. That’s what family is for. Right?”

  “Right,” Trixie said wistfully. She linked her fingers around her chain and pulled the coin out from under her T-shirt. “But our family won’t be complete until we get that baby girl back here with her mama.”

  “Yeah, well, something tells me that Dakota will move heaven and earth to find her.” He slung his arm over her shoulder and started leading her toward the hidden entrance into the building. “The sun’s coming up. Let’s get inside and go check on Chelsea.”

  “Hmmm.” Trixie bumped her hip playfully against him. “Your desire to check on Chelsea wouldn’t have to do with the fact that Suzie is with her, would it?”

  “Maybe.”

  Damien’s shoulders shook as his deep baritone chuckle rumbled through the night. Trixie smiled and was about to open the hidden panel when the sickening familiar scent of rotten flowers drifted through the air. Without even realizing what she was doing, Trixie reached out and touched Dakota’s mind with hers… Dakota, the gargoyles are here at the club!

  Trixie’s fangs unsheathed. A powerful cramp racked her stomach and she fought to stay on her feet, the pain stabbing through her body in unrelenting waves.

  “Damien, we have to get inside right now,” she bit the words out through clenched teeth, but it was already too late. “Gargoyles. That smell…it’s them.”

  “Where?” Damien glanced around warily. “I don’t see anything.”

  “They’re coming…” she said, barely able to get the words out.

  “It’s okay. I got you.”

  Damien grabbed her arm as she stumbled to her knees, but her body wouldn’t cooperate. Somewhere through the red haze of agony and the debilitating fear, she heard her friend’s concerned voice call her name.

  She peeled her eyes open and struggled to get back on her feet. That was when she saw them. Like something out of a nightmare, the two massive creatures swept down from the skies, a pair of dark hideous silhouettes with glowing eyes, descending like death incarnate. Their screeches, high pitched and ragged, reminded her of the sound a subway train makes as it comes to a grinding halt. That sound filled the air as they swooped in, claws extended and yellow eyes glowing in the night. Damien pushed Trixie out of the way just before a pair of silvery talons could slash her arms.

  Pain blinding her and their hideous scent fogging her brain, Trixie rolled down the slanted slate roof and tumbled toward the alley below. She landed on the pavement and bounced against the metal Dumpster, and as the pain racked her body, the screeches of the beasts above filled the city night.

  * * *

  Dakota had never flown that fast in his whole damn life.

  The instant that Trixie’s frightened voice filled his mind, Dakota knew true fear. The knowledge that she was in danger and those creatures could get to her was almost more than he could bear. What if he lost her?

  No. That was not an option.

  Would the fates be that cruel? Would they finally give him the one woman he was meant to be with only to take her away? He’d tried to connect with her since she called to him but had been met with gut-wrenching silence.

  The sounds of the creature’s shrieks, their battle cries, the ones he hadn’t heard for years, rippled through the early morning sky as he and Shane swept onto the scene.

  Dakota scanned the area wildly, but it didn’t take long to find Trixie. She was in the alley with one of the creatures hunched over her. She wasn’t moving. The gold coin glinted against the pale flesh of her throat as the gargoyle, its wings outstretched, shuffled around her. It looked like it was to figure out how to get the gold without getting burned.

  “Oh, dear God,” Shane murmured as he flew next to Dakota. “Damien…”

  Fury, pure and unadulterated, bloomed in Dakota’s chest when he saw his woman at the mercy of one of those things. Trixie was obviously wounded—if anyone would stand up and fight, it would be her.

  In that moment he understood the expression “blind with rage.”

  He sliced through the air like a bullet, pulling the stone dagger from the sheath in his belt. He landed on the creature’s back, slinging his arm around its throat. It fought and thrashed wildly, desperately trying to take flight, but Dakota clenched his legs down, pinning the creature’s leathery wings to its sides. The gargoyle bucked and screamed, shaking him like a bull at the rodeo. There was no chance Dakota was gettin’ thrown off this time around.

  He grinned wickedly and clenched his powerful thighs and tightened his noose-like grip around its neck. Then he raised the knife high in the air.

  The gargoyle spun around and threw itself backward, slamming Dakota into the brick wall of the building. He hung on with a viselike grip—for Trixie. Clinging to the creature with all of his strength, Dakota drove the knife down and into the chest of the gargoyle with one powerful thrust.

  Within seconds the beast stilled. A crackling sound filled the air as it turned to stone. Dakota scrambled off the creature, sheathed the dagger, and immediately ran to Trixie’s side. He knelt down and pulled her gently into his lap before noticing the ever-brightening sky.

  They had to get inside.

  “I-I couldn’t help him,” Trixie sputtered. “I couldn’t do anything.”

  “Shh.” Dakota stroked her hair and whispered, “Stay still.”

  “Hey, man.” A pair of drunken humans stumbled across the entrance of the alley. The club was closed and the city mostly quiet, but there was no escaping the presence of humans. “That was some crazy shit. What is that thing, dude?”

  Dakota was about to tell them to piss off when Shane Quesada landed silently behind them. He took them both by the shoulders, spun them around, and started whispering to them. Once he was there, Dakota barely paid them any mind. When he looked back down at Trixie, she was staring up at him with wide, frightened eyes. He helped her sit up a bit, but she winced with obvious pain.

  “Take it easy, darlin’.” He bit his wrist and offered it to her. “You definitely broke some ribs. Drink this. You’ll heal faster and then we have to get you inside.”

  Trixie took his hand and started to bring it to her mouth but stopped, shook her head, and pushed his arm gently away.

  “No.” She forced herself to a sitting position and artfully avoided his gaze. “I-I’m fine. Let’s just get inside. I want to see Damien.”

  Dakota tried not to think about how much her rejection stung, especially with everything going on and in front of Quesada. She didn’t want to take his blood because that would mean completing the bloodmate bond. Even after everything he’d said and done…she still wasn’t ready.

  “Where’s Damien?” Her voice cracked and tears glimmered in those gorgeous brown eyes that were edged with pain. Rising to her feet, she used the side of the building for support and refused the hand he offered. “Is he…?”

  Shane moved toward them, and the question died on her lips. The saddened expression on his fac
e gave them the answer neither of them wanted.

  Trixie shook her head wildly, a harsh sob tearing from her throat. Dakota reached out to pull her into his arms and comfort her, but she resisted. He stood there helplessly as she limped away weeping. Trixie tugged open the alleyway entrance to The Coven before disappearing inside.

  “Is it dead?” Shane asked quietly.

  Filled with rage and frustration, Dakota slowly rose to his feet, then turned to the hideous stone creature behind him. These beasts had stolen everything from him. First they took his human life, and now they were hell-bent on stealing his one chance at happiness. Growling in fury, Dakota picked the stone creature up and hurled it against the back alley wall, shattering it into a thousand pieces.

  “It is now,” Dakota growled, then followed Trixie inside.

  * * *

  “They’re both dead?” Olivia asked flatly. Still and virtually lifeless, Damien lay on a bed next to Chelsea, an IV blood drip attached to his arm. Olivia stared at Damien’s hulking form, her green eyes filled with tears. Doug held her in his arms as she shook with grief, trying to soothe her pain. “You’re sure?”

  “Yes.” Shane nodded, his expression grim. “I shot the one that attacked Damien. Looks like silver bullets work if you shoot them in the head. It shifted to its human form and Dakota tells me that indicates a true death. Xavier has the body in his lab.” He arched one dark eyebrow and glanced at Dakota. “The other is currently a pile of rocks out in the alley. Therefore, also dead.”

  “Good,” she bit out.

  “It’s lucky for Damien that you were the one who turned him, Pete.” Doug nodded toward the other sentry, currently standing at the foot of Damien’s bed. Pete’s eyes glowed red, a side effect of his demon heritage. “If he didn’t have your suped-up vampire-demon blood, he probably wouldn’t have survived that attack.”

  “True, but it doesn’t make me feel much better.” Pete nodded slowly. “I reached out to Asmodeus to see if my dear old dad knew anything about these creatures or the gold, but he wasn’t much help. Some bullshit about the demons in the Brotherhood not wanting to open old wounds or something. He did have one bit of information that was helpful.”

  “What’s that?” Dakota asked.

  “Dakota, you said that Trixie gets pain or cramps or something when these things come around?”

  “Yeah, but I think tonight was worse than ever before.” Anger bubbled up when he recalled the way the gargoyle had loomed over her in the alley. “She was incapacitated. She couldn’t fight back or fly.”

  “And that is not like Trixie,” Doug said with a touch of irony. “That girl has been feisty and ready for a fight since I met her.”

  “You said it,” Dakota murmured.

  “Asmodeus said that Trixie must have something funky in her bloodline. He thinks she could be descended from witches, and that’s why she gets those weird cramps when the gargoyles are around. It’s some kind of biological warning bell. I don’t know. He’s a cryptic son of a bitch.”

  “Then her daughter could have it too.” Dakota stilled and flicked his attention to Chelsea, still deep in the transition sleep. “That might be why her turn is taking so long and her blood memories were foggy.”

  “Our little coven sure is full of surprises. A witch bloodline?” Olivia said absently. “I didn’t pick up on anything like that when I turned Trixie, and her turn was completely normal.”

  “Who knows? Maybe Chelsea has a different percentage of witch genes or whatever.” Pete let out a growl of frustration and folded his arms over his broad chest. “I went through my entire human life not knowing I had demon blood. Anyway, Asmodeus said it could be way back in her family history. The kind of thing that might not have been noticed until these guys showed up from supposed extinction. You know, their presence woke up her dormant genetics.”

  “Not so extinct after all,” Olivia murmured.

  “No.” Dakota clasped his hands in front of himself and fought to keep his anger in check. “And neither of the two that attacked us tonight was the one from the cabin. The scents are different. Not only that, but I detected something strange about one of the scents I picked up at Gatlin’s apartment. I can’t put my finger on it…but it was…off.”

  “You’re sure?” Doug asked.

  “Absolutely.” Dakota nodded. “The differences between their scents are subtle but they’re there. What’s worse is that we have no idea how many more of them might be out there and lookin’ to come at us.” He set his mouth in a tight line. “The game has changed. We’re not talkin’ about one rogue. This is organized and calculated. They want that gold back.”

  “Where is Trixie?” Olivia swiped at her eyes and sat down on the edge of Damien’s bed. “Dakota, did you give her the blood she needs to get her strength back? She was pretty banged up from that fall.”

  “She’s with Maya,” Shane interjected. “And is on the mend.”

  Shane cleared his throat and flicked an apologetic glance at Dakota. He had been there. He’d seen Trixie reject Dakota’s offer. Shane may be a stodgy old son of a bitch, but Dakota could have kissed him for sparing him the humiliation of explaining that.

  “I should have seen this,” Suzie whispered. She sat between the two beds, one hand holding Chelsea’s and the other linked with Damien’s. “Why didn’t I see this coming?”

  “It’s not your fault,” Dakota said. “It’s those things. They came here lookin’ for their damn gold, and they aren’t gonna stop until they get it—or we do.”

  “How did they even know Chelsea had that gold piece?” Doug asked.

  “Xavier said she posted about it on one of them blog things. She did that with several of her unusual coins, looking for their origins and value,” Dakota murmured. “The damn Internet was how they found her. Hell, she led ’em straight to that coin.”

  “And it brought them here to the city,” Olivia fumed. “To my front door.”

  “Yes.” Dakota cast a grave look at the czar. “They aren’t going to stop until they get the coin.”

  “You want to go to Texas, don’t you?” Olivia asked quietly.

  “That’s where it all started. The way I see it, that’s where we finish it.” Dakota pulled his leather gloves out of his pocket and tugged them on. “We know Gatlin has an address there.”

  “He’s on the run with a baby,” Doug interjected. “He’s going to want to go somewhere familiar.”

  “Yes.” Dakota nodded. “We also know that other gargoyles are lookin’ for him and for this gold. That message scrawled on the mirror in his apartment—See you in Texas—that was for Gatlin. So I say we go find the gold before they do. Trixie found one piece down there, so it goes to follow that’s where the rest of it is.”

  “I haven’t heard back from Zhao, and that’s not making me feel any better about this. His assistant said he’s indisposed,” Olivia said. “You and Trixie will go to Texas and figure out where she found that coin. I want that gold as far away from our people as possible. I know she wants to find the baby, but as far as we know, that little girl was taken by her father and isn’t in any danger.

  “I love Trixie, but I have to think about the good of the entire coven and our people as a whole. If the gargoyles blatantly attacked two of my coven members in the middle of New York City, what else will they do? I’m a czar and I don’t have the luxury of making choices based solely on my personal feelings. That gold goes back as soon as possible. I’m sorry to say this, but the baby has to be a secondary consideration.”

  “No, ma’am.” Dakota shook his head and the room fell silent. “With all due respect, she is not and we’ll be doin’ it a different way.”

  “Oh really?” Olivia rose slowly to her feet, the fire in her gaze leveled at Dakota. “Care to tell me why you are blatantly defying my orders, Sentry Shelton?”

  All eyes were on him and
the expressions on their faces ranged from curious to furious. Dakota didn’t give a shit.

  “Because I love her,” he shouted.

  Olivia’s eyebrows rose but she said nothing.

  “That’s right.” Dakota settled his hands on his hips, not quite believing he’d actually admitted that out loud. Hell, he hadn’t even admitted it to himself. “I love her. Trixie is my bloodmate, but that don’t even matter. Even if she doesn’t bond with me, I love that crazy woman and I’m not lettin’ her out of my sight for one damn minute. We’ll get the gold back where it belongs, but I am also going to help her find that baby girl. And if she’s got some kind of gargoyle alarm hooked up inside her, then maybe she can learn how to find these things. Or at the very least, warn us if they’re comin’ around.”

  “How is she supposed to learn how to do that?”

  “Well, I don’t know but—”

  “I do,” Pete said in a matter-of-fact tone. “My old man has a friend who lives out west who can help. Her name is Isadora. She’s a witch, older than dirt and smart as a whip. If anyone can teach Trixie how to get her witch on, it’s that woman. I can put you in touch with her.”

  “I’d be much obliged,” Dakota said firmly. “We’ll find her grandbaby and the damn gold.”

  “You want to find all of it and use it to help you get the baby back, don’t you?” Olivia kept her serious gaze locked with his.

  “Damn straight. Those sons of bitches can have every ounce of it for all I care, but I’m not givin’ them one piece until we find that little girl safe and sound. Like I said. I love Trixie, and I am gonna find that baby if it’s the last thing I do.”

  Before anyone could argue with him, Dakota turned to head for the door and found himself staring into a pair of gorgeous brown eyes.

  Based on the stunned expression on her face, Trixie had heard it all.

  “I guess all those times that Damien said I was being a bitch…he wasn’t too far off the mark.” Trixie’s teary gaze met Dakota’s, and the pain and confusion he saw there made his gut clench. “I’ll get my stuff and meet you at the entrance to the tunnels, Dakota.”