Sweet Destiny (The Jessica Sweet Trilogy Book 3)

by Aliya DalRae

  “Are you serious? You’re talking about my bloody balance or peripheral vision? My lack of bloody training? These monsters took more than my eye, brother. They took my sanity, my goddamned peace of mind. They toyed with my morals, values that I held onto for nearly six hundred years because it was all I had in the world. It was proof that I wasn’t the monster the Primeval made me out to be. Those Sorcerers took my very soul and shredded it into confetti, leaving me with nothing but nightmares and guilt. Are you aware that I haven’t fed from a human since the ordeal with Helmut Fuhrmann? The very thought of sinking my fangs into flesh makes me shake like a bloody tree in a storm and has me vomiting in my mouth. I don’t sleep during the day because the dreams are too bloody vivid, the guilt all-consuming.”

  Nox paced the length of the room, picked up a laser pointer, turned it over in his hands, then placed it back where he’d found it.

  “The Fuhrmanns managed to do in a few months what the Primeval failed to do in six centuries. They’ve nearly destroyed me. Would you really deny me the opportunity to ply my vengeance upon the son of the man who started me down this road of destruction?”

  Raven shifted on his feet as he considered Nox’s words. He started to speak, but hesitated, then nodded his head. “I see your point, brother. I’ll speak with Mason, make him see reason, but before that we need to visit Viper.”

  “Viper?” Nox was stoked by his brother’s acquiescence, but the weapon’s guy?

  Raven’s smile was wicked. “He’ll be able to set you up just fine.”

  Chapter Ninety-Nine

  T alon squeezed Phire’s hand, a signal for her to lay still and calm down. They were in the back of the Hummer, hiding beneath a pile of heavy bags that contained God only knew what.

  They waited five minutes after Aunt Rachel left the apartment to be sure she wasn’t coming back. Once convinced they were in the clear, they snuck down to the garage to wait for an opportunity to hitch a ride in the back of one of the Legion vehicles.

  “We’re going to get into trouble,” Phire whispered as they crab-walked their way between cars.

  “Quiet,” Talon hissed, then grabbed her hand and pulled her across the aisle to a fancy SUV with the hatch open. The Soldiers had thrown their bags into the back and were piling into the vehicle, their conversation heated as they prepared for their mission. Talon had just enough time to haul Phire into the back and bury them both in the contents before the hatch automatically lowered and the doors slammed shut.

  Talon’s heart was banging against his ribcage, and with Phire right next to him, he could hear hers as well. He was terrified that their frantic pulses would give them away to the other Vampires in the vehicle.

  However, the Soldiers were more focused on discussing the details of their mission, how they were going to “take out” the enemy, “put him down.” That, of course, did nothing to tame Talon’s pounding heart. He could just make out the panic on Phire’s face as her anxiety mirrored his own.

  The Soldier driving wasted no time in getting the show on the road, and they were soon flying down a smooth, paved surface. By the time the SUV stopped for good, Talon had gotten control of his nerves, and was ready to do what he could to save their friend.

  When the hatch began its ascent, Talon grabbed Phire’s hand, pulled her from the back of the vehicle and across the street. They were well away before anyone knew they were there.

  ~~~~~

  U li Fuhrmann stood in the window of the house he had appropriated and watched the watchers.

  He had no idea how the Vampires had found him. He’d been extremely careful in his comings and goings, using the spells his father had taught him to mask his presence, even dematerializing when it was necessary.

  And yet, here they were, watching the house like an episode of Real Housewives.

  He had plenty of food, and as long as he kept his spell in place, there was no reason to fear detection. However, eventually he would need to leave. Taking the eye from the bastard who’d killed his father was just the beginning of Uli’s plan. If all went well, he would have years, decades, to exact his revenge on the two responsible for leaving him alone in the world. First his mother, then father, and both at the hands of monsters of the same blood.

  He was going to enjoy torturing the two. Raven and Nox, they called themselves, but really, they were murdering animals—no more, no less. They didn’t deserve the designations given them. Uli preferred to think of them as Arschloch Ein and Arschloch Zwei. Anything else was showing too much respect, and he’d be damned to hell before he’d allow those assholes any level of esteem.

  The house he was staying in was a two-story clapboard, painted a dingy grey. It sat nestled at the end of a very short street, near the entrance to a covered bridge that hadn’t seen a vehicle on it in decades. Compared to the four houses on the tiny lane, the bridge was in good repair. The year 1870 stood out in bold letters against the relatively fresh white paint and the piles of leftover snow that shrouded it. A couple of park benches sat back to back in its middle for visitors to sit upon when the weather was clement. He could just see it all decorated up with red, white and blue bunting when the Americans celebrated their Independence Day or other patriotic holidays. Quite the tourist attraction.

  Uli chuckled at his own little joke, not at all impressed with this small town nor its attempt at historical preservation. They didn’t know the meaning of history. 1870, indeed.

  By 1870 Uli had been through two supernatural wars, had found and lost a mate, and was old enough to know that there was very little in this world worth preserving. That final war with the wolves had taken the most from them, from the Sorcerers. That’s where Uli lost his remaining brother, where his father had lost his mind.

  It did no good looking back, though. There was only the present, and what he needed now was to destroy the demons responsible for ruining what remained of his already too-long life.

  However, if he didn’t get out of here soon, he was going to have to kill some Vampires, and that wasn’t part of his plan. Yet.

  A movement by the bridge caught Uli’s eye. The sun had set several hours ago, and the unnatural daywalkers had changed shift with the even more unnatural creatures of the night. For the past few days there had been no more than two watching the house at any given time.

  The young male with the trim brown hair and the proper posture was there again tonight with the green-looking fellow who seemed determined to impress his superior. The two had perched themselves on the peaked roofs of the houses across the street, business as usual. Whatever was going on by the bridge, though, this was something new. It appeared the Vampires were stepping up their game.

  Chapter One Hundred

  L egion fighters were everywhere. Talon and Phire followed quietly as the Soldiers and Warriors melted into the shadows and slithered off to take their positions. They had the place surrounded by the time the twins found a decent hiding place behind a hedge not already occupied by one of the Vampires. As the Legion went about their business, the twins watched, waiting for the opportunity to warn their friend.

  They were too far away to hear what the Vampires whispered to each other on the communication devices tucked in their ears, but it looked like they meant business. Uli was going to have his hands full.

  Phire nudged him in the side and pointed, directing Talon’s attention to a side door where two very large, very identical Vampires entered the house. They were armed to the teeth, the eye patch one of them wore the only way to tell them apart.

  Talon looked at his sister and put a finger to his lips before pointing to the door where the two Vampires, Warriors by the looks of them, had just disappeared. Phire nodded, and they made their move, sneaking through the bushes along the side of the house, then dashing indoors.

  The house was dark and cold, but it wasn’t hard to determine where the Warriors had gone. Though their footsteps were all but silent Talon had no problem tracking their direction. He pointed up, and Phire n
odded, her eyes wide in her pale face. Talon squeezed her hand, and when the footsteps stopped, the young twins moved to the bottom of the stairs to wait.

  ~~~~~

  U li had moved to a second-floor window to gain a better perspective. His hands balled into tight fists as he watched the Vampires—no fewer than a dozen—surround his current location.

  Verdammt! Uli swore under his breath, as a piece of plaster from the ceiling fell on his head, knocked loose by the movements of someone traipsing on the roof above him.

  It was time to move.

  He stood tall, taking in the deep, relaxing breaths necessary to pull off the act of dematerialization. His father had worked tirelessly in teaching Uli this art. Magic was something that flowed through every member of their race. However, the art of disassembling one’s atoms here and rejoining them over there was an innate ability only born to those of a certain lineage. While anyone could walk around invisible, only a rare few could manipulate the very particles of their being. The rest of his long life had been rife with misery, but this one thing, this gift, was something he could be grateful for.

  The familiar tingling began in his extremities and worked its way into the center of his body, the sensation coalescing into a tight ball in the pit of his stomach. Just as he was about to let loose that special something that would dismantle his particles, he opened his eyes.

  The concentration of atoms untangled and Uli let go of the word that would have sent him away from this place. Safety was just a few molecules away, but this was too good to be true.

  Before him stood the bastard who had murdered his mother all those centuries ago. Uli made an instantaneous decision. There was no time like the present for revenge.

  Chapter One Hundred One

  R aven thought he was ready for the sight of this new enemy, the son of the Sorcerers he and his brother had killed. Yet nothing could have prepared him for the man before him. He was the spirit and image of his father, Helmut Fuhrmann, except for the eyes. Ulrich Fuhrmann had his mother’s eyes, eyes that would haunt Raven until the end of time.

  Eyes that opened just as Raven entered the room, blood red with fury. Fuhrmann raised his hands and his long white hair lifted and swirled around his head as he powered up his magic, his lips forming silent incantations.

  That’s when Raven dropped the bomb on him—literally. Armed with several of Viper’s M-bombs, EMP-type devices that nullified most magic, Raven pulled the pin and let it fly. There was no explosion, not really. Just a bit of a zap that had Fuhrmann’s face freezing and his hair falling in limp wisps around his shoulders.

  “You,” Fuhrmann growled and lunged, hands curled in useless claws as he tackled Raven around the middle. Taken by surprise, Raven lost his balance, sending them both to the floor in a puff of dust, with Fuhrmann landing on top.

  The Sorcerer raised his fists and swung, left then right. Apparently, if he couldn’t magic Raven to death he was going to try it the old-fashioned way. It took Raven all of a second to reverse their positions, and though the smaller man kicked and struggled, Raven was able to grab his wrists and pin them above Fuhrmann’s head.

  “I’ll kill you,” Fuhrmann spat, but Raven laughed.

  “Without your magic, there’s nothing you can do to me.”

  “Nor to me,” Nox said, then to Raven he added, “Let him up.”

  Raven hadn’t even tried to attack, figuring the curse that Sylva Fuhrmann had placed on him was sure to have extended to her son. He would no more be able to harm this scrawny piece of shit than Helmut Fuhrmann himself.

  However, his brother had no such restrictions.

  Raven picked the Sorcerer up by the front of his shirt and passed him to Nox, who was sporting his fancy new black-leather skull-and-crossbones eye patch, courtesy of Viper.

  Nox caught Fuhrmann and immediately slammed him up against the wall. Then he did it again, for good measure.

  Fuhrmann trembled, and Raven took a perverse pleasure in the scent of the man’s fear.

  “You took my eye,” Nox snarled at the Sorcerer.

  Fuhrmann regained a bit of the bravado he’d shown before, despite being without the use of his one true weapon. “You deserved it,” he spat. “That and more. Between the two of you, you’ve murdered both of my parents, the only family I had left. I owe you the same.”

  “You owe us nothing. Your parents did the vengeance thing just fine on their own,” Nox said, grasping Fuhrmann by the neck and giving it a hearty squeeze.

  “You killed them,” Fuhrmann wheezed as he clawed at the hand around his neck. “It’s not over until you’ve both paid with your lives.”

  “It’s over now.” Raven tossed a silver dagger to his brother, who caught it in his free hand. Nox flipped the dagger into an overhand grip and raised it high to deliver the killing blow.

  “No!”

  At the sound of the girl’s voice, Nox’s dagger hand froze, the blade a mere hair’s breadth from the Sorcerer’s left eye.

  All heads turned. The red-haired child stood trembling in the doorway next to a boy who could only be her brother, her chin jutting in the air in defiance. “Just leave him alone,” she said, and Raven exchanged a look with his brother. These had to be Harrier and Rachel’s kin, but how in the hell did they get here?

  Unfortunately, Fuhrmann recovered first, breaking away from Nox and diving for the children.

  “Uli,” both kids cried, reaching for the Sorcerer as he lunged for them.

  “Get back,” Nox yelled, but the kids had their arms wrapped around Fuhrmann’s middle, effectively blocking any attack the brothers might have had.

  The Sorcerer grinned, pointy white teeth bared as a lock of his hair gave a feeble twitch.

  “Get away from them,” Raven growled, taking a step toward the trio, but Fuhrmann took that opportunity to grab the girl around the neck, throwing her in front of him as a shield.

  “Uli?” the boy said, reaching for the Sorcerer. Fuhrmann pushed him away, leaving the child sprawled on the floor, confusion pulling at his young brow.

  “Quiet, boy,” Fuhrmann snarled, but his focus was on the Vampires in front of him.

  “Uli?” The girl was shaking, large, pink tears welling in the corners of her eyes as the Sorcerer jerked her to him. “Uli?”

  “Silence!”

  “Let her go,” Raven said, gathering himself to tackle the Sorcerer away from the girl. One step, and the scars on his chest glowed white-hot. His effort to do harm to the Sorcerer left Raven frozen in place. He was incapable of taking his frustrations out on the bastard who would dare use a child to protect his own ass.

  Nox saw his predicament and moved in for the attack.

  “You’ll not take me,” Fuhrmann yelled, his red eyes wild as he spun from one brother to the other, the girl’s legs swinging wildly as he maneuvered her in front of him.

  “Uli,” she cried. “You’re scaring me.”

  “Shut up!” Fuhrmann yelled, and seeing Raven’s inability to attack, he flung the girl at Nox.

  Nox caught her and placed her behind him, but this was all the time the Sorcerer needed.

  “This isn’t over,” he spat. “You may have won this round, but I will be back. When you least expect me, you will turn around and I will be there. The scars you bear now will be nothing compared to the hell I will bring down upon you.”

  And then, despite the magic-nullifying effects of the M-bomb, Uli Fuhrmann closed his eyes, raised his hands to his sides, and disappeared in an explosion of lightning and mist.

  “No!” Raven threw his fists in the air and roared as Nox searched the room for any sign of the Sorcerer.

  “I’ll check the house,” Nox said, but Raven stopped him.

  “Forget it. He’s gone.”

  “But the M-bomb…”

  “Obviously didn’t stop him. Son of a bitch! We had him. We had him until…”

  The males turned to the children, who sat huddled together in a corner, their faces stained with b
loody tears.

  “What in the hell did you think you were doing?” Raven stormed toward them in a fury, and they cowered together, trembling like autumn leaves in a brisk wind. “You could have been killed!” he yelled. “We could have been killed! How did you get here in the first place? Answer me!”

  “Brother.”

  Raven shrugged Nox’s hand from his shoulder and continued his tirade. Purple light infused the room as his eyes sparked and he ignored the bite of fang on his lip as the rage thundered through him. He took another step toward the children but stopped when a sharp pain pierced his brain. It was brief—just lasted a second—but it was enough to bring him to his senses.

  Raven took a step back and shook his head. Nox edged around him and knelt before the two sobbing kids, doing his best to calm them down after Raven had practically scared the life out of them.

  “Sorry,” Raven mumbled, then stalked out of the room and planted himself on the top riser of the staircase. He dropped his head into his hands and practiced one of the breathing exercises Nox had been trying to teach him.

  It wasn’t their fault. They were just kids. Stupid kids, but it wasn’t their fault. They were related to Harrier, after all. Still, he shouldn’t have gone off on them like that, he knew that. He also knew that he had no intention of going beyond yelling, would never dream of laying a hand on ones so young, He didn’t blame Nox for doubting, though. His brother should have known better but, well, recent experience and all.

  Raven sat up, pushed himself to his feet and headed down the stairs. He walked through the house and out the front door where a small Legion army awaited the results of their search.

  As he stood on the front step, his lack of urgency obvious, the others stepped out of their hiding places, weapons at hand just in case.

  “Raven?” Tas strode toward him, peering over his shoulder and through the door Raven had left open.