“Are you telling me that he was able to regenerate after they took his heart?”
“Child this vampire is a combination of magics that should not be. You must kill the vampire and the bokor, not just one or the other.”
“How do I do that?”
“You must contain his magic, kill the vampire, and burn the bokor.”
“Burn the head and heart, and the rest will follow.”
“Now you have it.” She smiled.
“Thank you, Miss Caroline. You’ve been very helpful,” I said, getting to my feet. I held out my hand to her again and she took it.
“Be careful child,” she warned with a warm accepting grin.
“My life doesn’t lend itself to careful.”
She chuckled at that. “I suppose not. Tyrell, show Miss Dahlia here where that devil is stayin’. Then you come right back here! You hear?”
“Sure, Grams.” Tyrell got to his feet and opened the front door.
As we stepped from the house and Tyrell closed the front door behind him, Nova and Miguel rounded the house, one from each side. As quick as lightning, the two men were on the porch.
“Shit!” Tyrell hissed.
“No swearing and like I said, vampires.”
He didn’t respond but walked side-by-side with me, keeping the two men in his sights. He was a smart kid.
We strode the two blocks, into the darkness. I knew we were getting close, I didn’t need a locator stone to tell me that. I could feel the sharp prickling of dark magic like needles in my flesh. As we crossed the street onto the second block, I slowed, letting Miguel and Nova put a little distance between the kid and me.
“Tyrell,” I said. “Go home.”
“But Grams?”
“You’re already too close. Go home, close the door, and don’t come out until daybreak.”
“Sure,” he answered as Nova and Miguel turned and caught my gaze, snarls curling around sharp white fangs.
A chill of power whirled around me like I’d run into a physical barrier. Darkness, the same unquenchable magic I’d felt at each cemetery tingled up my spine as the power sank into my bones. Tyrell turned and walked back toward his grandmother’s house, but I couldn’t watch him. My gaze was focused on the house up the street.
As we approached, the rickety old structure came into focus. The place looked like a haunted house, no paint, and shutters caddy-cornered across broken windows. The three-story Victorian had seen better days and I half-expected a guy dressed in a sheet with the eyes cut out to sail across the front of the house.
The place hummed with magic—dark magic, like a swarm in a hive. I could almost hear the pitter patter of feet on old creaky floorboards from inside the house and my skin crawled with the sensation of a thousand spiders scampering over my body. I couldn’t hold back the shiver that crept up my spine.
Stepping up onto the front porch step, I felt the wood give beneath me. The rotted slats bending with my weight. Dilapidated was one thing, this piece-of-shit house was held together with a few rusty old nails and possibly Duct Tape.
“Are we going in there?” Nova whispered behind me.
“Yep.”
I grasped the doorknob, letting the cold brass warm in my palm. I hesitated only a moment, but that moment felt like an eternity as I psyched myself up to step inside. With one deep breath, I turned the knob.
The creak of rusted hinges and the warped door echoed in the darkness. The soft shuffle of something large slithered in the blackness beyond the jamb, making my heart beat faster until it was a constant thunder in my ears.
The stench of rot and death hit my senses so strong that it almost knocked me back. My gut twisted at the smell billowing out of the front door. Regardless, I stepped into the darkness, the streetlight slicing through the pitch-blackness inside as the only illumination.
More glowing green eyes than I could count stared back at me.
My heart slammed against my chest. “Holy fucking shit.”
Chapter 27
Beyond the stench of rotting flesh and the glowing green eyes staring up at me through the dark, magic slithered over my skin and tightened around my body like a cocoon. I drew Gladi from the sheath down my back and the slow slice of metal against leather rang in my ears, drowning out the beat of my heart.
“Gonna hide behind your zombies? I didn’t think you were that kinda pussy,” I hissed.
“Dahlia?” Nova whispered behind me, filling the door with his cold power. His voice was edged with a twinge of fear.
Soft growls rippled from the mouths of dead men and women as they inched closer. The sound of their feet dragging on the creaking, wooden floor sent chills up my spine. Behind the first line, another row of beady green eyes rose.
“Shit.”
As a group, they rushed us.
I swung Gladi. The sharp edges of the blade sank into dead flesh and her delighted hum crept up my arm. Severing one head from a neck and then a second, it didn’t take long before I knew I would be overwhelmed. A hand, stronger than it should have been, gripped my upper arm. I glanced down to the dirty, dead fingers wrapped around my bicep. Another zombie gripped my left calf, tugging on my already-too-tight jeans.
A frigid wind of power and movement brushed my hair into my face as something or someone skimmed overhead in a blur of movement and speed I couldn’t follow and survive. Like a coward, the vampire had flown the coop but left me to clean up his mess. Gladi vibrated with delight as I sliced through arms, legs, and torsos. But zombies closed in fast and there was only one of me.
“Nova!”
“I’m going for the leader,” he screamed over the dull roar of moaning coming from the cluster of zombies that had me trapped.
“Go, I’ll help Dahlia,” Miguel roared behind me.
The shrill threat of a vampire’s hiss pierced my ears as Miguel jumped into the fray. The zombies were too close, too close for Gladi. Gripping the sword in my left hand, I drew the Smith & Wesson 1911 from the holster under my arm and opened fire at close range. Shoving the barrel of the gun into the neck of the first zombie, I buried the end into cold flesh. Hoping like hell this would muffle the shot, I squeezed the trigger and fired.
No such luck. The shot rang loud and true in my ears. A few zombies backed away at the sound, just enough for me to move. With the space, I had room for the gun and Gladi. With Miguel at my back, the sickening squish of flesh tearing echoed as he worked. I felt him, the cool comforting power I knew pressed against me. One after another, the zombies fell. Miguel ripped arms and heads from their bodies as I sliced through flesh and bone.
As the last zombie fell, headless in the heap of dead meat on the floor, I huffed as my heart thundered in my ears. Sweat ran down my neck and back, soaking into the soft cotton T-shirt beneath my blazer.
“Miguel?”
“I’m all right, Mi Sueno.” His voice was ragged and breathy but solid. “Is that it?”
“For now,” I said, turning. Across the street, two scared eyes stared at me from Tyrell’s frightened face as he stood on the sidewalk.
“Damn it! I told him to go home.”
“He didn’t listen,” Miguel said, meeting my eyes.
“No shit,” I huffed, brushing the dirt, blood, and gore from my jeans. “Get the car. We have to go after Nova and the bastard behind this.”
Miguel took off without another word, running through the street quicker than any human eye could catch. Striding down the porch steps, Tyrell slowly approached and met me halfway up the walk. The kid’s hand was shaking as he pointed at the pile of bodies just inside the front door.
“Y-You killed them?”
“Can’t kill what’s dead already,” I mumbled as I glanced back over my shoulder to see what Tyrell saw. It wasn�
�t a pretty picture. “Go home,” I ordered, finally angry and letting that rage fill my voice.
How dare this fucker put my city at risk! Put this kid at risk! “Tell your Grams I’ll find him. Stay off the streets, Tyrell. It’s getting more dangerous by the night.”
“No shit!”
Miguel in the Black Cadillac Escalade drew up alongside the curb and popped the passenger side door open from the inside. Stepping around Tyrell, I hopped up into the passenger seat.
“What if he comes back?” Tyrell asked, his cracking voice suddenly desperate.
“Run,” I answered. Turning to Miguel, I jerked the door shut. “Let’s go.”
Miguel hit the gas, squealing tires in the dead of night. But if no one came at gunshots, they sure as hell weren’t coming at squealing tires.
Four blocks up, Nova stood on the corner waving at us. Miguel pulled up and hit the brakes. Nova hopped into the back, graceful and smooth.
“Where is he?” I barked, turning in the front seat to glare at him.
“Lost him,” Nova said, dropping his eyes to his lap.
“Well shit!” Turning back in my seat, I drew the phone from the inside pocket of my blazer. Hitting Derek’s name in my contact list, the phone rang. Once, twice, three times before a gruff voice rumbled over the line.
“Hey, Kid.” Derek’s soft grumble echoed with the drowsy slur of sleep. “This can’t be good if you’re calling at this hour.”
“I left a pile of bodies for ya,” I said
“What?”
“Zombies.”
“Where?”
“Around the 100 Block of North Champion in the front door of an abandoned house.”
“Gee whiz, Kid. Thanks.”
“I do what I can,” I snorted.
“Yeah, yeah. Be careful,” he said with a sudden clarity to his voice.
“Always,” I said, ending the call.
Chapter 28
Power. Logan curled his fingers into a tight ball. He needed power. That bitch had killed all his children in one fell swoop. How had she found him? He’d kept a low profile, not drawing attention to himself, sticking to neighborhoods where he and his children would go unnoticed or ignored. But that bitch of a Fertiri had found him. How?
Earlier in the evening, he’d followed her. He had thought it a good idea to know where she went and with whom she met. After she and the dark-haired beauty had left that run-of-the-mill house, The Blushing Death had dropped the other woman off and set out. He’d returned to the dilapidated house just in time to set them upon her. Now, he could feel their loss as if a piece of him had gone missing. He understood now that only numbers would overwhelm her. He needed an army. In order to raise the number of dead he would need to defeat her, he needed power.
He parked the van across the street from the gray stucco two-story. Earlier, the street had been riddled with cars to the point that there wasn’t a free space to park on the crowded street. Now, the neighborhood was quiet and the cars gone. As he stepped from the van, the low hum of someone’s power made his fangs throb in his gums. He crossed the street with quick strides covering distance before someone glanced out their lace-trimmed windows to see him approach.
Logan glanced down the street at the darkened windows and shivered at the soft hum of electricity that skimmed up his spine. So quiet to house so much power. Coming up the street, headlights flashed as a car crested the small hill and slowed. He jumped into the shadows, hiding behind the hedges along the front door.
After parking the hatchback, a heavyset, older woman with white hair stepped from the car. She slammed the door behind her and strode up the walk, her anger rippling out from her core made her scent delectably savory. Logan’s mouth watered as the thump of her heart echoed in the silence.
Although not the magic he’d tasted as he stepped from the van, her energy was strong and confident. As she approached the front door and knocked, Logan stepped from the hedges and clasped his hand around her throat. Clutching her to him, her entire body froze as fear sent adrenaline through her blood stream. Her scent changed subtly so that the sweet scent changed just a bit, becoming something savory.
The door swung open and a middle-aged woman with sleek blond hair stood, her mouth open in surprise and her eyes large with fear. “Oz, what is this?”
“Invite me in,” Logan growled, squeezing the woman’s throat harder.
“Don’t,” the woman choked out.
“Oz.” The woman’s voice hitched as she met the frightened glare in her friend’s gaze. “Brittany’s just down the hall.” There seemed to be an apology in her tone that Logan didn’t like.
“Invite me in or I’ll kill her where she stands and burn this house to the ground until you run for your lives. I’ll have you either way.”
Tears welled in the woman’s gaze as her hand stiffened around the doorknob. She glanced once behind her and then back at Oz.
“Come in,” she mumbled, and the barrier separating him from all that delicious power inside was gone. He shoved the heavyset woman, Oz, into the house, following her with quick strides. Dropping her to the floor, he struck her across the face to keep her quiet. The taller, blond woman backed away from him, her eyes wide with fear. Before she could scream, Logan sank his fangs into her throat. He drank deep until he felt her sag against him. Energy flowed through him as her power seeped into every muscle, cell, and crevice of his body. Her magic helped revive him as he tasted her fear. When her heart started to slow, he dropped her. She wasn’t the one he was searching for but he needed her nonetheless. He could take all of them to raise his army.
The other woman began to sob, crawling into the corner as she hid away from him. “I knew that vampire whore would destroy us. I told them so but that little brat wouldn’t listen to me, wouldn’t understand that that woman was dangerous.”
A shift in the air-conditioning brought the heavy scent of ginger and spice to his nose, making the hair on the back of his neck stand on end.
“Shhh,” he whispered to the woman but her blubbering didn’t cease and the soft steps of someone in the house increased in pace, running.
“Mom,” the girl screamed, rounding the corner and spotting the blond woman on the ground.
Logan punched the girl in the jaw, sending her to the ground. Snatching her up by her hair, Logan tilted her head to the side and locked gazes with the older woman still cowering on the floor. She wasn’t blubbering anymore.
“Are you going to kill her?” the woman asked, and Logan thought he heard an edge of excitement in her voice.
“Why, madam, I’m going to kill all of you,” he answered, taking the three steps to close the distance. As she opened her mouth to scream, he slammed her head against the wall.
Chapter 29
“I’m sorry I lost him,” Nova said, his bright-blue eyes turned down to the floor. Sitting in the wing chair in the Den, Nova seemed small. He’d always seemed so confident, so in tune with himself. Now, he just appeared insignificant.
“Where did you lose him?” I asked, trying to curb my anger. Because we had let this vampire get away, more people would die. I should have gone after him myself! That’s why I was really angry. I didn’t blame Nova for losing him. I blamed myself.
“Downtown. He just seemed to vanish.”
“We’ve found and destroyed his lair, Dahlia. He can’t hide for much longer,” Patrick soothed, sensing my growing rage through the bond we shared.
“Neither can we,” I snapped.
The front door swung open and Ev’s heavy, quick step crossed the hardwood floors of the living room. As he turned the corner and met my eyes, Ev stopped mid-stride. His gaze darted from me, meeting the glares of everyone around the room.
“You went out without me?”
“You were at wo
rk.” I almost laughed. He sounded like my kid brother left behind.
“I would’ve rather been your back up.”
“She’s looking out for you,” Dean said with a deep rumble that made his words sharp.
“Who’s looking out for her?” Ev snapped, his tone bordering on a challenge.
“I was there. So was Miguel.” Nova’s head snapped up, and he glared at Ev.
“Fine! But what happens to me if something happens to you?” Ev said, his voice shaky and unsure.
“You’re pack,” Dean answered as if that was the answer to everything.
“And Pack takes care of its own,” I finished.
Dean’s threatening rumble vibrated against my skin until my heart raced with the warning hidden within. I glanced back at them, a question in my gaze as I met Dean’s bright Caribbean-blue eyes. I didn’t have to wait for long. The stench of death and rotting flesh filled my nose and turned my stomach as the odor permeated through the open windows.
Konstantin stepped to the bay window overlooking Schiller Park as we all watched. Through the summer drizzle and darkness, I could see slow, lumbering death gathering in the center of the open grass. And more than I could count.
Emerald Fire (A Blushing Death Novel Book 6) Page 20
