Blinding Light (The Bloodmarked Trilogy Book 2)

by Alicia Deters

  “She has until one a.m. to meet him by the lake.”

  “Lake? What lake?” Carly asked. She had moved to Brody’s other side to inspect his injuries.

  Brody looked to me like I had that answer as well. I did. I knew exactly what lake he meant. It had been him who followed me through the woods. He must have studied my tracks in the snow.

  “Wade, take Brody to the medic. The rest of you can head to the dining room.”

  “I’ll help Wade,” Carly offered, concern etched on her face. Brody’s eyes softened to her. They clearly cared more for each other than they typically let on.

  As everyone dispersed, I hung back, my eyes trained on the immovable man dressed in casual navy pants and crisp button down. His sleeves were rolled up, revealing tightly corded muscles. Who knew forearms could be so lickable? Gone was the thirst from scenting Brody’s blood. A brand new hunger took root in me when my eyes met his heated gaze.

  When Allison passed him, she flashed a seductive smile and told him she’d save him a seat at the meeting. Jealousy prodded my heart with its icy needles, but I leashed it quickly. He turned at the sound of her voice, but his eyes never connected. She stomped away at his dismissal like a four year old.

  He tilted his head down, staring at everyone’s shoes as they passed, waiting until we were alone. Once everyone filed out, he captured my attention once again.

  “It’s useless,” he said, jerking his head in the direction they went. “We already know what you’re going to do.”

  “You want me to go?” I asked.

  He cocked his head, shooting me a bland look. “You know I’ll never want you to put yourself in danger, but I’m tired of trying to make those decisions for you. I admit, it’s been… difficult, to say the least, to cope with my own need to protect you and knowing who you are. Your life will never be safe, and you’ll always be put in dangerous situations. But I’m not going to tell you not to save lives, not to be you.”

  It was my turn to give him a skeptical look. Being bossy was in his nature. And, of course, the one time I wanted him to tell me what to do was when he decided he wasn’t going to. Figures.

  He chuckled before raising his hands in a sign of surrender. He pushed off the wall and stepped closer to me. “I never said I would always agree with you. There are times I may… advise you to come up with a plan other than charging head first into a fist fight.”

  “And by advise, you mean tell me and then argue with me until you cave.”

  The corner of his mouth tipped up. “I don’t recall that being our typical method of communication. I never cave.”

  “Neither do I.”

  “That, I do recall,” he said sourly.

  Humor lit his eyes, sparking fond memories of our unique form of communication. He stepped even closer, his body heat grinding all up on me in a happy way. When his hand curved around my cheek, I leaned into it.

  “What if I lose?” I asked, surprised by my own admission of fear.

  “You don’t have it in you to lose.”

  “I’ve already lost a lot. You said it yourself. I lost to Shane.”

  “He hasn’t won either. That fight isn’t over yet. And yes, you have lost a lot. Everyone loses something or someone at some point, but that’s not what I meant. You won’t lose because you won’t stop fighting.”

  “I could die.” There I went, thinking about the consequences again. I needed to start living in the present like I used to. The future could twist and turn in too many ways to worry over. What mattered was the present.

  “You won’t,” he said firmly.

  His confidence in me filled some of the holes of self-doubt that have accumulated after leaving my human life behind. He paused knowingly, letting his strength sink into me. His forehead pressed against mine and his arms snaked around me, locking together behind my back.

  My hands ran up his biceps and dug into his shoulders as we stood there, conveying our every thought through touch and loaded glances.

  “So… the lake?” he asked.

  “Yeah, the one with the park bench that someone hauled out there,” I hinted.

  His smile widened. “There’s also a canoe buried under all that snow somewhere.”

  I pulled back to eye him questioningly. “Big nature lover, huh?”

  “It’s peaceful out on the water. I’ll take you out there sometime in the summer,” his voice dropped low with meaning. Message received, Big Guy. I would still be around for the foreseeable future.

  I didn’t need the reaffirmation any more. His presence itself was a lone canoe on a summer day, offering more peace than I’d felt since I found him alive in that warehouse.

  “I’ll be listening from a distance. If anything happens, I’ll be there. I know you can do this, but I won’t let anything happen to you. If there are others nearby, I’ll get you out of there.”

  In all the chaos, I hadn’t even thought about the possibility of others. Fear seeped back in, but I pushed it right back out. I was quickly getting over that particular emotion. I saw it more as an irritation now. And irritation led to my all-time favorite standby emotion. Say it with me. That’s right. Anger.

  I honestly didn’t care how many were out there waiting to get a piece of me, because I wanted a piece of them too. One piece in particular. Their hearts. At the end of my stake.

  Gavin’s perusal of my renewed determination brought a no-holds-barred grin to his already gorgeous face. It was a genuine, boyish smile that I absolutely adored on him, and it had me reciprocating it.

  “There she is,” he commented softly, the ice in his eyes turning into warm pools I wanted to bask in for days.

  They shifted and grew hooded with the weight of something heavier, darkening with desire, and I drew closer by his magnetism. He leaned down, tightening his hold around me.

  “I thought we couldn’t,” I whispered, my breath bouncing off his lips and clouding the thin space between us.

  “Lucy,” he breathed. “I’m trying to be good and do the right thing, but you don’t make it easy on me. You never do,” he teased, smirking.

  “Are you saying I’m difficult?” I raised my pitch, feigning insult.

  He tilted his head, aligning our lips. When he spoke, they brushed tantalizingly against mine. “The most difficult woman I’ve ever met.” His breath mingled with mine.

  I parted for him, inviting the kiss, but before he dove in, rapid footsteps sounded down the hall. We broke apart and put a respectable distance between us as we waited for our company to approach. I smelled her cheap perfume before she rounded the corner.

  “What’s going on in here?” Allison chirped.

  Gavin remained silent, refusing to answer, and I just ignored her. I walked around her, but she kept going. “Everyone’s waiting on you. Don’t worry. I’ll take care of our guest here. I’ll keep him company.”

  I whirled around, ready to do permanent damage to that bottle blond head of hers. Gavin interjected before I had the chance.

  “I’m sorry. I actually have other matters to attend to,” he explained politely.

  “Oh, well, maybe we can get together later and…talk,” she hinted, not so subtly. “Or we could spar together sometime.”

  “Maybe,” he replied noncommittally, but he flashed her his rare boyish smile.

  That one gesture filled me to the brim with wrath, permitting no room for any lingering fear or self-doubt. I was livid, and when he looked at me, he simply shrugged and winked.

  Wait… That son of a…

  Was he trying to piss me off? Get me riled before I take on my enemy? If so, it was working. But as grateful as I was for the added fuel, it wasn’t going to save him from the ass kicking he would be receiving later.

  He held my gaze a moment later to revel in my reaction and gloat over whatever small victory he thinks he won. When he turned to leave, I heard his low laughter follow him all the way up the stairs.

  Jackass.

  In true drama queen fashi
on, Allison stared me down, willing me to engage her. She saw Gavin as a competition, and I knew she hated losing, especially if it were to me. Without giving her the satisfaction of a response, I breezed by, heading toward the formal dining room.

  All the Keepers were gathered around the table, and I heard their animated voices before I entered the room. Tensions were high since it was one of their own involved. Helen spotted me and raised her voice above the chatter.

  “Lucy, so nice of you to join us.” Her tolerance of me seemed to be thinning on a daily basis.

  “I’m not staying. Just came to say I’m leaving.”

  “What?” she huffed. “Where are you going? We need to discuss a strategy.”

  “I have a strategy. Kill the bad guy. It’s a proven method that’s worked for me many times in the past.” The smartass reared its ugly head again, provoked by condescension and authority. Every time. I never could put a leash on it. Not that I ever tried.

  Her lips thinned, but she nodded her head in agreement. “Very well. Be careful out there, Lucille.”

  Every once in awhile, I noticed her edges soften ever so slightly. I wondered if it was the part of her that loved my mother. She must harbor some grudge against vampires for taking her best friend away. Against me.

  When I glanced around the sprawling table that stretched the vast length of the dining room, I saw only somber faces. The commotion had settled enough for the gravity of the situation to sink in. Peering into several sets of eyes, I noted admiration and respect in few but doubt and fear in most.

  Before my confidence wavered, I spun on my heel, stopped by the weapons room and set off into the cold onyx night.

  14

  I slipped toward the tree line but turned before I was within reach of canopy cover. I heard a faint whisper carried on the wind.

  “I’m here for you.”

  A dark silhouette crouched low along the roof’s edge. I inhaled deeply, letting the frosty air work its mystifying powers on my frayed nerves.

  The trip to the lake took forever this time around. Every small noise and movement had me pausing to prepare for ambush. The sword sheathed at my hip dangled heavily and flopped with each step I took. The wind rolled through the branches, playing tricks on my senses.

  Each creeping and crawling shadow gave me whiplash. My head snapped back and forth so fast in panic, I probably gave myself multiple concussions without knowing.

  The cloudy sky camouflaged my phantom tormentors. They melded with the scenery, making their movements subtle and more dangerous. A twinge of fear snuck through my barriers. The farther I moved away from the mansion, away from Gavin, my borrowed strength dwindled.

  When I approached the edge of the lake, I stayed hidden among the pines and huddled on the outskirts of a small clearing.

  What the hell was I doing? Nick was in trouble, and I sat cowering behind a tree. It seemed pointless to prolong the inevitable.

  I mentally steeled myself and walked to the center of the undisturbed powder, where the faint moonlight sparkled back at me from below. The spotlight was on me.

  I knew he was close. I sensed him nearby as soon as I saw the lake. Completely at his mercy, I grew restless and wanted this finished.

  “I’m here!” I shouted into the night. “Let’s do this already. I’m tired and I hate waiting.” My voice sounded steadier than I felt.

  Something shifted to my right, and I caught a flash of movement when I scanned the trees. I whipped my head around at the sound of snow crunching. My heart raced with adrenaline, my own movements becoming frenzied. Fear fully engulfed me now, and I despised this recent role reversal of hunter verses the hunted.

  Get a grip, Lucy! You’re better than this.

  Tiny hairs on the back of my neck stood on end. Behind me, a light breeze whirled through my ponytail, indicating his arrival. No sooner had I turned toward him than he had me lying on my back, staring at the dim sky, dazed and disoriented.

  When I bounced to my feet to attack, my advance was sluggish compared to his sharp maneuvers. He bowled me over like a linebacker again before retreating to the shadows, his light laughter following him.

  His words insulted me from behind. “You are more pathetic as a vampire than you were as that thing I encountered in St. Louis.”

  “Where’s Nick?” I growled, righting myself before facing him across the clearing.

  He stood well over six feet, larger than I remembered. He wore mostly black leather, and his long hair was pulled back in a low ponytail. The same eerily flawless, alien-like face and black eyes shared by all ancient vampires observed me like a cat playing with a mouse. He may have been created in Biblical times, but the evil lurking in his soulless depths dated back to a time long before mankind inhabited Earth.

  “You mean your human?” he spat. “He is close by. Listen for yourself.”

  I opened my hearing, expanding its range, and found a weak heartbeat not far from where we stood. I pinpointed the sound and adjusted my sight. Peering through the massive pines, I made out a crumpled, unmoving lump in the middle of the frozen lake.

  For just an instant, an image of Holly appeared in his place, cold and lifeless.

  A sharp pang of guilt pierced my heart before I shoved it out. It wasn’t Holly. She was gone. He was still alive. That was all that mattered. I hadn’t lost him yet, and I refused to fail tonight. Fear was a poison, but it was one I was slowly becoming immune to. Drawing on Gavin’s faith in me, I focused on his encouraging words. Then, I remembered I had my strength.

  Be in the moment, Lucy.

  This asshole was responsible for turning me into a blood-craving monster, and I have yet to pay him back for that. The smile stretched across my face as thoughts of all the ways I wanted to kill him danced through my head.

  I targeted his heartbeat, his footsteps, even his fowl musk. All of my senses sharpened and became completely in tune with my surroundings. Events of this past month stretched me so thin that my anxiety wore me down.

  But suddenly, everything snapped back into place. Free from the chains of fear, my power thrived.

  “After all the trouble you’ve caused, I’m really going to enjoy killing you,” he taunted.

  Nonononono. I was not the taunted. I was never the taunted. I was the taunter.

  I inhaled deeply, making a show of it. “Is that blood I smell on your breath? I didn’t think assassins were allowed to feed until their mission was complete. Unless… oh no, have you finally flown the coop? No longer under mommy and daddy’s roof?”

  His eyes narrowed and his lips pursed, confirming he had, in fact, gone rogue. He operated alone.

  “Do not assume you are safe from the rest. They are already coming. And the others who seek you will soon have more power than Heaven itself. They will usher in a new era of rule. If I don’t succeed, you will perish at the tip of a sword, along with the rest of your precious humans.”

  “The Sword of Michael?” I asked.

  “Some believe it was Lucifer’s. Either way, it was created for the destruction of an entire race. Once he gets his hands on it, it will be the end of the human race.”

  He must have been referring to Shane, or rather, Shane’s puppet master. I would worry about that later. My animosity left no room for it now.

  “You are so weak. Look at you. I will get little joy out of killing you.”

  “That’s funny. I’m about to get a lot of joy out of lighting you up, big boy.”

  He emitted a low growl. “You will die a slow death for your heinous crimes against our kind.”

  Was he for real? “Get with the times, dude. No one talks like that anymore. And quit wasting my time. Let’s play already.”

  I reached for the hilt of my sword, and I think he actually cracked a smile. By the time I drew on him, he was already striking with his own weapon, which made my sword look like a three-year-old’s toy. The thing had to be four feet long and a hundred pounds of solid iron. No exaggeration. Okay, maybe a little,
but it was huge. After a blur of motion and a few quick maneuvers, my Little Tikes blade somehow ended up ten feet away from me.

  Well, crap. Maybe it was a tad premature going toe to toe with a master level swordsman.

  He made my swordplay look elementary. Clearly, he was leagues ahead of me in experience. I thought I could master a few rote moves and hold my own, but, obviously, none of that mattered in an uncontrolled environment.

  He recovered much quicker and struck using advanced techniques I was unaccustomed to. It was laughable how quickly he disarmed me. I had absolutely no business going up against anyone holding a sword. Abandoning my weapon that lay in a snow heap yards away, I bolted, not giving him another chance to strike. I needed to regroup and rethink my strategy.

  He was hot on my heels, and in his typical back-stabbing fashion, he attacked from behind. I lost my footing, and we both tumbled in a tangle of flailing limbs. He poised for assault while I braced for it.

  When he charged, I feinted left but caught him with a classic clothesline. The sound of my snickering only incensed him further, because he came at me again with double the force.

  We tossed each other around, leaving a trail of falling trunks and debris in our wake. He was gearing up for another blow when I brought my arm up, barely blocking his fist from breaking my face. But as I reared back to punch him, he took advantage of the opening and drove his foot into my midsection. I was sure it knocked something out of place.

  I soared several feet through the air and spotted headlights in my peripheral vision a split second too late. A windshield broke my fall. It spider webbed under the impact, but on the bright side, I scored a free hip realignment in the process. Silver linings.

  Blaring horns and screeching tires from both directions bombarded me. I rolled off the car, locking eyes with the terrified driver. He stared at me, slack-jawed and frozen in shock, while the woman in the passenger seat cried hysterically, her ear-splitting screams piercing through the still night air.

  Other cars slowed to inspect the scene, but I didn’t stick around. I darted into the dark forest, not sparing the survivors and their growing audience a backwards glance.