My eyes flicked up to see Wade’s smirk widen. “Never underestimate your opponent. Always be on your guard. You need to constantly study your attacker’s moves, learning his or her weaknesses. And if you are going to attack, attack with your sword, not your arms. Keep your elbows close for now, until you know what you’re doing. The farther you stretch your arms, the slower you will be to block the next strike.”
“Come on, Miss Thang. You can do better than that,” called a voice from the audience. I recognized the voice as Brody’s.
“Step on up, tough guy. Let’s see what you got,” I goaded. His laughter drifted over to us, along with other low chuckles.
Wade ignored all of it. He then proceeded to point out my mistakes by withdrawing his dagger to shove me with his forearm. I stumbled back, giving him just enough time to maneuver his sword and position it right between my collarbones.
“Always keep your feet wide to maintain balance. If your surroundings allow it, slide your feet to avoid taking big steps,” he instructed.
“Anything else, Sensei?”
“Yes. Cancel any plans you have. You’re going to be here all day.”
†
He wasn’t lying. We stayed in the training room for the remainder of the day, long after our audience filtered out. My muscles learned the proper ways to flex and twist in a sword fight. The incredible amount of knowledge I absorbed impressed my trainer. When he was satisfied with my capabilities, he released me for the night.
I hadn’t noticed Helen still standing in the corner until I passed right by her.
“Lucy,” she said. “May I have a word with you?”
“Sure. I need to make a stop by the kitchen first.” A full day of training without any sustenance left my stomach groaning in protest.
“Of course. We can talk on the way.” We exited the gym, and as we stepped into the hallway, side by side, I detected something different about Helen’s demeanor.
She seemed somewhat… disheveled. Her usual composure showed signs of cracking. The smell of alcohol lingered like an aura around her.
“Is everything okay?” I asked.
“I’m going to get straight to the point, Lucille. You’ve shown a great deal of improvement in your weapons training, and despite a certain lack of control, you are still the most valuable asset against vampires that we have. I want you on the night guard.”
“I’m sorry. I don’t think I heard you right. You want what?” After all her warnings about keeping me a secret, she just changed her mind? It didn’t make sense. Unless…
“Did something happen? Was there another missing person?” I asked, starting to connect the dots.
The long pause told me I was right. “There were two others last night,” she finally responded.
The rush of adrenaline had me twitching, but I needed more information. It still didn’t add up. It would make more sense, now more than ever, for me to stay hidden.
“What else?” I demanded.
She stopped to face me, and her serious expression made me wish I never asked. “There was a pattern with the three missing persons. Each of them was a descendant of the Shadow-marked.”
Shock rippled through me, followed by a healthy dose of fear. These weren’t random feedings. If someone else knew about the bloodlines and were targeting them, they were intentionally creating vampires.
“Lucy, this could still all be a coincidence.”
“I stopped believing in coincidences a long time ago.” My voice had grown detached as my mind reeled.
“Whatever the case, I would feel more comfortable with you watching over the others.”
“You know they are after me, though. I’m the bait, then?” I asked.
She said nothing.
“I’m okay with that, just to clarify.” I tried easing her conscience when guilt transformed her face.
“Was this his decision to send me back out?”
“He trusts my judgment in these matters.”
So in other words, no.
The remorse returned. “Lucy, please understand that I thought there would be more time.”
“It’s okay. I’ll run upstairs and meet up with the others later.” I left her standing there, seeming out of sorts, when I spun toward the stairs.
Halfway to my room, I ran into a very distraught looking Sophie. “What’s wrong?” I asked.
She stopped and glanced up at me like she just noticed me there. “Oh, Lucy. Hi.”
“Sophie, is everything alright?”
“I don’t really know. Something is going on. You heard about all the missing Shadow-marked lines, right?” she asked, referring to the growing vampire army.
“Yeah, what’s up?” I asked anxiously.
“Well, I was looking into the other bloodlines outside of our area, and the farther I checked, the more missing ones I found. In the past few nights alone, I found eight who went missing.” Her voice shook with panic.
“Sophie, where did these disappearances take place?” I asked, already dreading the answer.
“They appear to have been between here and St. Louis.”
Deep breath in. Slowly exhale.
My world trembled underneath the revelation that this was the beginning of the end. Putting on a phony brave face, I tried my best to reassure her. “I’m hunting tonight. They won’t get anywhere near here.”
“I believe you, Lucy. But I’m still scared,” she whispered.
I wanted to promise her everything would be fine, but I wasn’t going to lie to her. I had no clue how this would all turn out in the end. “I’m a little worried, too,” I admitted.
She appeared shaken by my lack of confidence, but surprising me with a quiet, unyielding strength I’ve never seen in her, she stood taller, ready to accept whatever fate that was dealt to her.
“Good luck tonight, Lucy.”
“Thanks. And thanks for the heads up,” I added before darting toward my room to shower and change for my first night on the hunt since I arrived in this deserted tundra.
No matter how nervous I was, the giddy rush of anticipation swept through me, leaving behind only excitement in its wake. The demon inside me was stirring, growing eager and impatient for a kill. The turning point in this war finally showed up, whether I was ready for it or not.
†
Deciding on a simple ensemble of black pants and a black thermal I knew Rachel would be proud of, I made my way downstairs to meet the others in the great room. A team of five waited with Helen, discussing plans for tonight’s patrol. They all looked up when I closed in on them.
“Lucy, my favorite little vampire! I haven’t seen you in forever. I missed you,” exclaimed Nick.
Allison scoffed while Helen cleared her throat. “Let’s focus on tonight’s objective, shall we?”
Brody chimed in next with his stellar prediction for the night. “It’s all good. Lucy will keep us safe.”
Somewhere in between Allison’s eye roll and Helen’s rebuff, I spoke up. “You have a false sense of protection, my friend, if your plan is to rely on my hero skills. You clearly haven’t seen my track record for rescue missions.”
“And this is who we’re putting all our faith in to save the world? I feel safer already,” Allison spat sarcastically.
“Hey, I’m trained to kill. I don’t promise survival of any kind. Take it or leave it,” I ordered.
“I’ll leave it,” she said around a saccharin smile.
“I’ll take it,” Nick added suggestively.
“Can we just get on with it so we can proceed with the stabbing of evil baddies with these fun pointy things?” Max asked, like a man after my own heart. He handled a switchblade in one hand and his weapon of choice, an elongated push dagger, in the other. He and Wade stood by watching the entire exchange, looking a bit bored with it all.
“Enough,” Helen said. When I glanced her way, I registered her appearance. She wore jeans and a long sleeve button down, looking more like the woman I first met. S
he failed to cover up the burning stench of vodka, and the haunted look in her eyes never fully faded.
The growing tension of a rapidly approaching deadline must have finally gotten to her. She had been learning about and training for an earth-shattering catastrophe all her life, and now, this prophecy seemed to be barreling toward us at breakneck speeds. There were certain things you could never truly be ready for, no matter how much preparation you had.
“Lucille, you will be partnered with Allison tonight,” she commanded, her tone leaving no room for questions. It dared me to refuse, but I always accepted a challenge.
“What? Why?” I complained.
“Believe me, I’m not thrilled about it either, but it happens to be the only way I can get any field time,” Allison relented. She was still being put on the sidelines because of our little incident in the hallway. Seeing as how that was mostly my fault, I really tried mustering some kind of sympathy for her.
“I don’t want you getting me killed like you did with those people in St. Louis.”
And then she opened her mouth, making it damn near impossible to find any sort of pity. She gave voice to my fears and inadequacies. She was that little voice in my head telling me I wasn’t good enough, that little seed of doubt that was firmly planted after everything that went down in St. Louis. I hated that part of me.
“Whatever it is going on between you two, get over it. You need to learn to work together. Now, Lucille, as I was saying, you two will be paired tonight. Nick and Brody will be covering another part of town while Wade and Max will be centralized at the morgue. You all have your gear, I assume. Lucy, this is everything you need,” she explained, handing me a belt with a holstered dagger and several throwing knives, a can of mace, a flashlight and a watch.
Giving her the benefit of the doubt, I assumed these items were somehow tailored to vampire hunting rather than being an odd mix of every day carry items.
“What? No rape whistle?” I asked. The mockery slipped out of my mouth without provocation. It earned a couple of snorts. “I mean, come on. Who wouldn’t want a flashlight in a vampire fight? Maybe the watch is for telling the time of death?” I pondered, before flashing Helen a winning smile.
One of these days, I would seek help in finding my filter, but someone needed to lighten the mood.
She didn’t crack a smile, while the others snickered quietly. “The watch actually has two remote panic buttons. The yellow button can be used to signal for backup because the watch is equipped with GPS tracking, and the red button is to warn the rest of us when a threat is closing in on the mansion. When that is pushed, it sends a signal wirelessly to the house, and the UV floodlights lining the roof are automatically flipped on.”
“Huh.” Impressive.
“And that flashlight has a UV bulb. The mace canister contains holy water. I’m sure you can figure out what to do with the other items,” she added derisively.
One point to Helen. “Let’s hope I can.”
“Doubtful,” breathed Allison, so low no one else heard.
“One last thing, Lucille,” Helen said, holding out her hand. In it, sat a shiny new iPhone.
I stared at her like she grew a third eye. How would she know I needed a new phone? “What’s this for?”
“Everyone on the Guard needs a form of communication. All of our numbers are preprogrammed in it. Don’t lose it,” she said.
“Hey, why does the new girl get a brand new phone? Ours aren’t nearly as nice,” Brody whined.
Helen only gave him a pointed look, reprimanding him with her eyes.
Great. Another extravagant gift. As if the new wardrobe and room renovation weren’t enough. The long list of names to call that man when I saw him again just expanded.
10
Piled in a large black SUV, we drove down the snow-packed lane toward the main highway in silence. The tension in the air was palpable. Everyone knew the implications of my presence here tonight. The threat became real, and my purpose was protection.
The clear night provided a much wider range of vision than I had when I first traveled these roads. After turning onto the highway, I noted an old salvage yard about a half of a mile outside of town. When we approached the main street, numerous squat buildings came into view.
Moonlight cast eerie shadows over the road as the snow-covered sidewalks reflected its glow, washing the world in a cold blue hue. We crawled to a stop along the curb, the powder crunching under our chained tires. It appeared the main street had been plowed at some point in the last week, but all the surrounding side lanes were neglected. Wade killed the engine and turned to face the rest of us.
I focused on him, but my senses absently roamed the perimeter. Bells tinkled at a general store a block down the road. A large man in a parka came out carrying a plastic sack. He secured it to the back of his snowmobile before hopping on and riding off in the opposite direction.
“Okay, Max and I will head toward the morgue, which is a block from here across the street. If our recently deceased friend wakes up tonight, we will be the first defense. If he happens to get by us, Nick and Brody will be at the west end of town while Lucy and Allison cover the east end. I’ll call with a heads-up if he takes off in either of your directions. Lucy, Al will show you where our typical post is for that side of town. Brody, Nick, you know where to go. Be safe everyone. We’ll meet back here just before dawn.”
“Break!” I yelled, clapping my hands together. The giddy excitement resurfaced. Killing things was my happy place.
“Am I the only one who’s slightly aroused right now? All this danger and adrenaline is a real turn on,” Brody said.
Nick turned toward me while he replied, “I know, right.”
He winked at me while Brody rattled on and on about which girl in the house was the hottest. When he mentioned Carly, the red headed girl I had never spoken to, Allison complained about not being the center of attention. I rolled my eyes and opened the door, not wanting to hear the name on the tip of Nick’s tongue.
Everyone filed out of the vehicle into the frigid night while the conversation shifted into the lack of options in the house and the resulting sexual frustration. It reminded me of a similar conversation I once had with Holly. She told me my anger and snark came from my non-existent sex life. At the time, I still denied any feelings for Gavin. Even though I wanted him, I wouldn’t do anything about it. Now, I still wanted him and admitted to loving him but couldn’t do anything about it. What would Holly say about that, I wondered.
Stop thinking about them, Lucy.
No distractions. I pleaded with whatever deity was listening to help me find that Zen-like vampire composure I desperately sought.
The guys dispersed while Allison took off in the opposite direction, and despite my disdain for the girl, I followed her down the snowy sidewalk. We trudged through the massive side street drifts, losing the light of the few lamps peppering the central road. We passed several small rundown storefronts.
“Look, I may not like you, but we are on the same side, and I take this job seriously. I have your back tonight, and you need to have mine,” Allison said, interrupting the stillness of the night.
“Agreed,” I answered solemnly. “No one is dying tonight.” It was more of a prayer than a promise.
“Good, we’re on the same page then,” she responded.
Did we just have a moment?
“But I’m going back to hating you after tonight,” she added, thus ending the conversation and my internal debate on whether she had a heart or if it was merely a dark cavity where morality and self-doubt went to die. Now I was convinced she would survive a vampire attack. They only went for things with a pulse.
A pharmacy, an antique shop and several pawn shops later, we neared the edge of town and came to a stop under a tin roof overhang. Allison leaned against a wooden sign that read Bob’s Lumber. The large building sat on the edge of the woods. Behind it, a tall chain-link fence enclosed several piles of freshly milled
logs lying under the shelter of a tin canopy, as well as unprotected piles of rough lumber peaking out of their fluffy, white blankets.
The first hour dragged on with uncomfortable silence. Allison sat on a stray stump and pretended to be fascinated by her nails every time I so much as inclined my head toward her, and my anticipatory enthusiasm kept me on my feet.
A throwing knife wound between my fingers and came to an abrupt stop, perched on my knuckles, when a twig snapped twenty yards inside the tree line.
My head whipped toward the sound, and Allison immediately straightened. Honing my senses, I heard the soft snort and stomping of hooves when the source of the noises tore off through the underbrush. My shoulders slumped with disappointment.
“Just a deer,” I told Allison. She sat back on the log and continued her inspection of polish perfection.
I sighed. Five agonizing seconds ticked by. Then ten. Fifteen. “How do you do this all the time? Doesn’t the boredom drive you mad?” I burst.
“No. I like the quiet, as opposed to the alternative. I’ve learned to appreciate the boredom. We aren’t all bloodthirsty, unlike some people,” she sneered.
Ignoring the jab, I went back to knife twirling. Underneath the bravado, she was just as scared as the others. I understood her anger toward vampires. We had that in common. It was difficult to begrudge her the resentment she held toward me when I once believed all vampires to be evil myself. Maybe one day she’ll get to know one who will change her mind. Like I did.
The next hour crept by torturously, leaving me to reflect on all those things that needed to stay locked away in my dark cerebral tomb. Angelic swords, prophetic dreams, ancient grudges. Oh my! Not to mention the personal turmoil.
Actually, no. Don’t mention that, Lucy.
After another round of pacing, the ominous vibrating tone sparked Allison to jump from her seat. I pulled my new phone from my back pocket, swiping the screen to answer quickly.
“Yeah?” I said, bringing the phone to my ear.
Blinding Light (The Bloodmarked Trilogy Book 2) Page 15
