by J. N. Colon
My heart skipped a beat. Headmaster Morgan was a former chemistry professor and even expressed his love for the subject. I guess his talents were well used with the hunters.
Professor Reilly released one of his trademark jovial smiles, his cheeks rosy as ever. “Yes. And it’s a lot easier poisoning shifters than vampires.”
The headmaster flicked the needled and squirted a little to push the bubbles out. “Yes. Now Rubi can watch it work before we kill her.”
He was heading for Demy. Panic dug its icy claws into my chest, more painful than the stake wound. “NO!” I struggled violently against the binds. “Don’t touch him. Leave him alone.” The thought of Demy dying nearly a foot away while I watched sent me into a frantic rage.
Madison suddenly appeared and gripped the chains with her hands, pulling unsuccessfully.
“Harder!” I yelled, causing the two men to halt, shooting wary glances my way.
“Help me then!” she shouted back.
Demy growled as the headmaster sank the needle into his neck.
“NO!” With one final yank Madison and I broke the chains binding me. I jumped up and shoved the headmaster away.
He shuffled back, but quickly recovered and pulled a shiny object out from around his back. “Oh no you don’t.” He pointed the gun at me, his eyes sharp and hands steady.
Madison flew into his body, his eyes turning dark as she possessed him. She/ he motioned a hand toward Demy. “Suck the poison out! I’ll take care of the professor.”
Terror replaced the glee in Professor Reilly’s expression as he stared at his colleague. “Morgan?” His thick palms rose as he backed away, his eyes showing white. “Morgan, what the hell are you doing? What’s wrong with you?” He tripped on his feet, stumbling sideways, his feathery white hair shifting. “It’ me!”
A strangled gasp suddenly echoed out of Demy as his violet eyes widened. His body started to convulse, trembling and quaking as the poison worked to kill him. “Hold on Demy please.” My fangs snapped out and sank into the soft flesh of his neck. I pulled hard, the sour, bitter taste of the poison filling my mouth.
“Ah!” I spat crimson on the black and white tiles, couching and nearly choking before going back for more. And more. I could feel the toxins entering my own body, but it wouldn’t kill me. At least I hoped.
I continued until the stinging venom disappeared, leaving behind the spiciness of the Russian shifter I’ve been craving for weeks now.
The headmaster shuffled over, still possessed by Madison and unlocked the chains from a weak Demy.
My world spun and dizziness overtook my body. I collapsed to the floor seconds before the door crashed open. A light buzzing down my spine told me Mac was present.
Hands were on my shoulders, shaking me. I was so weak from the wooden stake to the heart, blood loss, and poison I couldn’t hold my eyes open or concentrate on the world around me.
“Demy…?” I mumbled. “S’okay?”
“I’ll be fine Rubi.” His voice floated toward me, sending relief through my muscles.
“Baby, come on.” A piece of skin was shoved against my mouth, Mac’s salty sweet blood hitting my tongue. “Drink.”
I bit down over his wounds and pulled hard at his lovely life elixir. As it coated my insides my eyes fluttered open and I saw Sara standing in the corner, shaking her head with sadness.
Oh shit. It’s not over yet.
My world shifted and I was no longer on the lab floor. I stood watching Professor Reilly, the headmaster, Melody, and another man I didn’t recognize talking while Demy laid unconscious on the table.
“It’s ready now,” Melody said, facing off with the three men.
“But I haven’t tested it on a live shifter. How can you be sure?” Headmaster Morgan asked. “What if it goes wrong? What if it kills humans too or simply makes the shifters sick?”
She sneered at him. “So what? They won’t know it’s us. They have no idea we’re hunters. Even the Alpha, Dimitri is fooled.”
Professor Reilly rubbed his chin in thought. “I don’t know. Maybe Melody is right. What if this is our only chance?”
“Enough.” The other man’s voice cut through, silencing them. He crossed his black clad arms against his massive chest, muscles shifting and bulging while his pure obsidian eyes surveyed Melody. The shadow of black hair coated his shaved head and a small scar sliced the corner of his upper lip, glinting in the light of the lab. A long, sheathed knife dangled from his waist while two others were strapped to his legs. He was the epitome of a hunter. “Mel’s right. Let’s do it.” He nodded toward her. “I like your initiative. Always have.”
She gave a proud smile and reached for a container the size of a 20 oz. bottle. “Then I’ll be on my way.” Her smile twisted with cruelty. “We’re having gumbo today. Everyone eats my gumbo.”
The vision melted away. Pain and dizziness assaulted my body as I blinked my eyes open. Mac held me in his arms on the floor of the lab, staring at me with a shocked, pale expression.
“Baby,” he whispered. “I saw it. I was there with you.”
His words snapped me out of my haze and forced the memory of the vision into my skull. I sat up too quick, the room spinning. I grabbed my head and groaned. My gaze landed on the unusually pale shifter next to me. “Demy!” I cried out and threw my arms around him. “You’re okay.” My hands frantically searched over him, checking to make sure he was real.
“Yes, my little vampire princess. I’m okay. Thanks to you.”
I pulled back with tears running down my cheeks. “Don’t ever do that to me again.”
He smirked. “I was only trying to catch up with you.”
“Rubi.” Mac shook me. I turned to see Paisley and Rufus looming by. “The vision baby.”
I snapped myself back to reality. “Please tell me they aren’t serving gumbo for dinner.”
Paisley’s brows furrowed. “I think they are.”
“Shit,” Mac and I hissed in unison.
“When does dinner start?” He hauled me up.
Rufus checked his watch. “Right about now.”
“We’ve got to warn them.” I gripped Demy’s shoulders. “Melody is a hunter too. She poisoned the food with the same crap they injected you with.”
A snarl snaked out his mouth as his violet eyes brightened and pupils morphed into slits. His shoulders curled in until he landed on all fours as a shiny black panther, sprinting out the door.
The dining hall erupted into bedlam when we arrived. Demy in panther form jumped on tables, knocking food over as students yelped and scattered. The shifters recognized him along with most of the vampires. The humans? They thought a panther was attacking their school. I’m pretty sure I saw a few wet their pants.
I found Allison and Celestia, waving my hand frantically at them. “Don’t eat the food! Melody poisoned it.”
They dropped their bowls with a clatter.
We spotted the lady in question attempting to sneak out, but Paisley suddenly burst through the doors, tackling her with speed and precision. She may not have been a hunter for long, but before that I’m certain she played field hockey. Or maybe even rugby. She’s a beast.
The royal guards came to her aid with restraints while others tried to calm the chaos.
Demy appeared next to Mac and me in human form looking close to passing out. I wasn’t feeling much better. “My dad’s on the way with his seconds.” He wiped beads of sweat from his forehead. “Whitmore’s with him too.”
I grabbed Demy’s hand. “You should go lie down.”
Mac scoffed. “Look who’s talking. You both need to rest.”
As we exited the dining hall I spied Madison leaning against the wall with a smirk. I really hoped her new ghostly abilities didn’t turn her evil. Or more evil.
Chapter 32
A light breeze blew as I trailed through the cemetery, signaling the approaching autumn. I wasn’t sure if I should be less scared of the ancient place because I
knew ghosts were real and could actually see them or more scared.
We reached the dining hall in time. No shifters were killed and only a few became ill for a day or two. Whitmore and Dimitri captured Headmaster Morgan, Professor Reilly, and Melody. The hunter from my vision in the lab—probably their leader—was nowhere to be found. As for the three secret agents… something tells me they are no longer with the living.
A chord of fear suddenly struck me. What if their ghosts decide to haunt me out of revenge? I already had my fill of haunting hunters with Madison alone.
Speaking of Madison… Daedalus was a little miffed I let her knock him out. I tried to explain I don’t have control over ghosts, especially her. If I did I’d send the scariest ones to torment Laney Cavanaugh’s trampy ass.
I twisted the panther ring around my finger, thankful I wasn’t looking at it while crying hysterically because Demy died. If I hadn’t been able to suck the poison out, my favorite Russian shifter would be six feet under. A lump lodged in my throat simply thinking about it.
I finally got to taste his blood, I thought glibly. After the poison was gone it was every bit as good as I imagined it to be—better actually.
I arrived at my destination, staring down at the unmarked grave in the cemetery that had caught my interest my first day in Savannah. I knew now why. It belonged to Sara, my great grandmother. The hunters had unceremoniously dumped her remains in an unmarked grave.
Sadness swelled around me. Part of me wanted to rip the headstone into pieces and the other wanted to get her a better one, carve her name on it, and give her credit for saving dozens of shifters. Twice.
“I think you should go with the second option.”
My head snapped up to find Sara standing on the other side of the headstone with a somber smile. “Sara.” I hastily wiped the tears from my eyes. “Now you can talk?”
She laughed. “Well, you freed me.”
Of course there was some stupid cosmic rule like that.
I shook my head, scattering my sarcastic thoughts to make way for more pressing matters. “Was your vampire friend Julian Marius?”
A ghost of a smile split her lips as she stepped closer, absentmindedly running her finger over a chip in her headstone. “Julian to me was kind of like what Whitmore was to you when you were a little girl.” Her eyes went pensive as if reliving a fond memory. “I met him when he moved to our neighborhood. He was so sad and lonely from the loss of his wife, but he always put that aside when he was around kids. He played games with us, brought us toys and treats. I was his favorite.”
“Did you know what he was? Did your parents?”
“Both my mom and I could sense it. We had the same psychic gift of visions. And like you, I had a rare disease when I was a young girl. It runs in our bloodlines.”
Shock resonated through my body. “Julian gave you his blood to cure your disease?”
She nodded. “I was much worse than you, nearly knocking on death’s door. Julian was forced to give me so much I was a hair’s breadth away from changing. In some ways I did. From that point on I actually craved and needed blood every now and then.”
I remembered craving blood before I was fully turned, but I never needed it like Sara.
“Also like you his blood heightened my abilities and put me on the hunters’ radar eventually.”
“Yeah,” I said wryly. “I wasn’t exactly seeing ghosts before I was a vampire.”
Sara’s expression turned disapproving. “Rubi, this is a…”
I groaned and held my palms up in surrender. “I know. It’s a gift.”
“Without it you wouldn’t have saved the shifters yesterday, including Demyan Dragoniv.”
That lump was back in my throat, choking me. “What happened to Julian?” I asked, attempting to change the subject.
She tucked a lock of dark waves behind her hair, a surreptitious smile lacing her lips. “He’s around. He likes to stay out of mainstream society.”
“What are you going to do now?”
“You freed me. I’ve been trapped since my death, waiting on you to complete the vision I saw sixty years ago.” Sara looked down at her clothes, holding the material of her skirt with a grimace. “I’ve been wearing this hideous thing long enough,” she muttered under her breath.
I smirked at her dry humor.
Her dark eyes met mine, a smile shining in them. “That was my unfinished business and you helped me finish it.”
Fresh tears prickled my eyes. “So I guess you’re leaving?” I pointed toward the sky.
Sara nodded. As if on cue a blinding white light suddenly melted down from the heavens, bathing her in warmth and beauty. “What you have is a gift Rubi. I know it can be scary, but remember what that gift has already helped you accomplish.” She reached out a glowing hand.
I scrambled around the headstone and touched my fingers to hers, a warm current rushing through my body.
“I love you Rubi. I’ll be watching over you…” she whispered as the light faded back into the sky, taking her with it.
A peaceful silence stretched through the cemetery as I stared at the spot Sara had just been.
Several moments later welcomed electricity tickled my back and a familiar warm, heady scent hit my nose. I glanced over my shoulder to see Mac striding toward me, his midnight hair blowing around his face.
“What are you doing out here?” he asked as I met him back in front of Sara’s gravestone.
“Saying goodbye to Sara,” I sniffled.
He nodded and put his arms around me. “She’s at peace now.”
“I know.” I motioned to the unmarked headstone. “That’s hers. I want to put another, better one there. Okay?”
“Anything you want.” He bent down and kissed my dimple. “We’ll put a solid gold one or one made of diamonds if you want.”
I laughed. “I don’t think I’ll go that extravagant.
“Oh I would love a solid gold headstone or maybe a silver one, me being a hunter and all.”
I yelped as Madison appeared, leaning against a headstone a few feet away.
Mac’s brows knit. “What’s wrong?”
I grabbed my racing heart and shot daggers at Madison. “Nothing. Just a pesky former hunter ghost lurking around.”
“Madison?” He grumbled. “I still don’t get why she’s helping you. Even as a ghost she probably has ulterior motives.”
“Duh,” she said. “It’s my punishment.” She pressed her palms together and gave an angelic expression. “I’m atoning for my bad deeds in life.”
I snorted. “She is a puzzle.”
And just to prove my point she laid one of her cryptic messages on me. “Remember the dead don’t always stay dead Rubi.”
I glared. “What the hell is that supposed to mean now?”
Her laughter lingered well after her body disappeared.
“What?”
I shook my head. “Nothing. She’s gone.”
“Hey guys.” Hudson was striding through the headstones, waving at us. “Natasha is here. I volunteered to come get you.” He stuffed his hands in his pockets. “She’s balling her eyes out, asking for Rubi. She’s got Demy in a death trap with her arms, saying she has to thank you for saving her little baby.”
Laughter erupted between us.
“Let’s go,” I said. “I can’t wait to see the embarrassment all over Demy’s face.”
Mac grabbed my hand with another chuckle. “I’ll take pictures.”
I heard the whistle in the air before I saw it. Mac yanked me down while Hudson stepped in front of me protectively, an arrow sinking into his chest with enough power to force him back a few steps.
My heart shuddered, fear hemorrhaging into my veins as my body trembled. Why can’t the hunters leave us alone?”
Hudson crouched next to us and we all froze, waiting for the onslaught that never came. Instead an eerie silence hung in the air as we strained our eyes and ears for any sign of hunters.
&nbs
p; Nothing.
Hudson peeked over the headstone we ducked behind, his hazel gaze grazing over the cemetery. “I think they’re gone,” he whispered. He glanced down at his chest and yanked the silver tipped arrow out with a wince.
I sucked my teeth, imaging the pain that must have caused.
He flashed a reassuring smile, his brilliant white teeth gleaming in the sunlight. “Don’t worry Rubi. They missed the heart.”
Thankfully.
A drop of crimson suddenly smeared Hudson’s teeth. His smile faltered and face drained of color.
“Hudson?” Mac asked, trepidation leaking into his voice.
Hudson’s body hit the ground with a thud, convulsing violently and mouth stuck open in a silent scream. I held onto Mac as he thrashed and rolled like a wild animal until he abruptly stopped, his back arching away from the ground in a painful looking position. Blood trickled out the side of his mouth, draining into the grass.
“Mac,” I gasped. “What’s happening…?”
His hand covered my mouth as he cut me off, listening with fangs extended and eyes glowing silver.
A breath eased out of Hudson and his body slowly lowered to the ground, his muscles losing the rigid tautness. His hazel eyes drifted toward the sky, staring unseeing.
His body was silent. No breath. No pulse.
He was dead.
Tears spilled from my eyes as confusion tangled in my mind. “I thought it missed his heart,” I cried as my shaking hands reached for the arrow lying on the ground beside us.
“Don’t touch it!” Mac hissed, yanking me back with a force that would have crushed my lungs if I was still human. “It did miss his heart.”
I surveyed Hudson as the horrifying realization sank in, spurring tremors through my body. “No,” I breathed, meeting Mac’s wide eyes. I thought Paisley got rid of all my blood. “They finished their weapon.”
Keep reading for an excerpt of Tormented (A Secret Salem Novel 4)
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“In Your Grave” by Jaymes Bullet
