Wait for Dusk dd-5

by Jocelynn Drake

  With a tired grunt I pushed off the ground and continued my trek into the island. The storm that was brewing gained strength with each passing second, until lightning streaked across the sky, arcing from one massive cloud to the next. A knot tightened in my stomach and I fought to keep my eyes on the path before me. Rowe and his fellow wind clan members were stirring up a storm that would either fry us with lightning or drown the island in the waves now crawling up the sides. In a small break in the trees, I could see the waves closing on the far sidewalk, casting sprays of icy water into the air. The hunter would soon have to move inland if he didn’t want to get washed into the Danube. That was fine with me. By the little I could sense of Valerio, he seemed to be in the center of the island near what appeared to be a giant ornate water tower. It was a strikingly odd construction in the middle of what appeared to be a giant garden, but I didn’t question it. I needed to get to him.

  Picking up a short sword dropped by one of the dead naturi, I started a slow jog toward the center of the island. I was tempted to contact Danaus and see if he could give me an estimate of how many naturi remained and a location of where they were clustered. However, I kept my powers to myself and continued blind. I didn’t want to take a chance that Danaus was in the middle of a fight and my distraction could potentially result in an injury. The hunter would have my heart in his hand.

  They’re at the tower, Stefan announced, obviously not caring whether I was in the middle of a fight.

  Do you see Valerio? I picked up my pace to a run, reluctant to go too fast out of fear that I might succeed in stepping directly into a trap. The water tower was close now and I began to see the outline of a low building through the empty branches.

  Valerio is there. Tied up on the stage.

  Stage?

  I’m going to fall back until you arrive. I will attack from the east. Don’t singe me.

  A weak smile crossed my lips as I softened my footfalls so they couldn’t be heard over the wind. Reluctantly, I reached out to Danaus and briefly relayed the information that Stefan had supplied me. Danaus didn’t reply, but I could still sense him. He was preoccupied, but it seemed that he remained uninjured for the time being.

  My footsteps faltered when I found the enormous water tower, directly next to an open air theater with the name “Szabadteri Szinpad” written across the top. Six more armed naturi waited for me. I raised my hand to conjure up a fresh wave of flames to burn through my opponents when a naturi created a wall of fire before I could. A string of low curses escaped me as I tightened my grip on my blade and took a step forward. No easy way out this time. The light clan naturi was going to keep me from burning any of the other naturi. I would have to fight each one of them.

  “Kill the light clan while I handle the others,” Stefan said as he walked past me and engaged the first two naturi. I nodded and rushed forward. Stefan was strong and skilled enough to handle anything the wind or animal clan naturi threw at him for the time being. He had no defense against a light clan naturi throwing fireballs.

  In a couple quick slashes and lunges I dispatched the two naturi guarding the light clan member. I was surprised to find her siding with Rowe, considering that Aurora was light clan as well. I guess there was no such thing as loyalty between the various clans. The light clan naturi backpedaled a couple of steps until her back was pressed against the stone wall. With a broad wave of her hand, brilliant orange and yellow flames sprung up between us.

  A wolfish grin spread across my face as I stepped through the flames, turning them from orange to a silent and steady blue. “You’re going to have to do better than that.”

  “Done,” she sneered, lifting her chin to me.

  My only warning was the hair on my arms standing on edge. I dove forward, plunging my sword into the stomach of the naturi until the tip was buried into the wall. She grunted in surprise, but I barely heard it over the slam of lighting into the ground where I had been standing only a second earlier. Either Rowe or another wind clan naturi was close by, ready to make my night a nightmarish hell.

  Pushing off the wall, I slowly pulled the sword from the naturi, but thrust a second smaller knife through her heart, making sure she was dead before I turned my back on her. The naturi were resilient and extremely fast healers. However, they couldn’t recover from a missing heart.

  “Rowe!” I screamed, staring up at the sky for a glimpse of the naturi that seemed to haunt my every waking moment.

  “Inside, my friend! Inside!”

  “Bastard!” I growled, turning to look for Stefan. He was detaching himself from his final opponent. He walked close enough to a shaft of lamplight to reveal that he was completely covered in blood. The jeans and sweater he had worn into the woods earlier in the evening were soaked in the blood of both naturi and lycanthropes. It dripped from his chin, where it had splattered across his face and poured in thin streams from his bare hands. A part of me longed to run my tongue along his chin, lapping up such waste, but I knew better. I didn’t think Stefan would be opposed to it, but the temptation was tainted by the fact that naturi blood was poisonous to nightwalkers. Otherwise I would have been happy to bury my fangs into the devious monsters.

  The echo of footsteps stopped my first comment to Stefan. I jerked around with sword drawn, but instantly relaxed when I saw Danaus pop through the trees. He slowed down to look over the bodies scattered around the area. With a wave of my hand, they all exploded into flames, burning away the remains so there would be nothing left behind for the humans to find. I could only hope that my companions were taking the time to dispose of their prey in the Danube. Otherwise we would have an annoying mess to clean up before we could finally leave this island tonight.

  “How many are left?” I asked when Danaus finally reached my side. I didn’t even bother to scan the region. Now was not the time to hone that skill. We needed to get to Valerio.

  “Only five more,” he said after a brief pause to catch his breath.

  I glanced one last time at the sky, inwardly cringing as I waited for the heavens to strike at me once again. “And one of them is Rowe.”

  “Is he truly such a problem to kill?” Stefan asked, leaving me wishing I could bury my blade in his stomach. He had no idea what kind of a problem the one-eyed naturi was.

  “You take to the sky. Danaus and I will go in through the front on the ground. We’ll take care of the naturi. You get Valerio out of there. I don’t know how they’re holding him, but he might be too weak to disappear and reappear in Vienna. Get him somewhere safe,” I directed.

  “As you wish, Coven Mistress,” he said snidely with an elaborate bow before taking to the air like Superman.

  “Has he always been such an asshole?” Danaus inquired.

  I was about to reply when another bolt of lightning streaked through the sky, sizzling directly toward Stefan. The nightwalker instantly disappeared from the open air, but reappeared lying on the ground just a few feet away. I darted over to him, sliding on my knees as I reached him. “Were you hit? Are you okay?” I demanded, helping him to slowly sit up.

  “Fine. Wasn’t hit,” he said, but his voice sounded wobbly and broken. He may not have been hit, but it was a close thing.

  “Looks like you’re walking in with us,” I said as he slowly regained his feet.

  “Walking into a trap,” he groused, but he walked beside me as I approached the entrance to the theater. There was no doubt this was a trap of Rowe’s design, but our odds were pretty good. Of course, I was hoping to leave with all my companions alive and in one piece. Rowe didn’t care if we slaughtered the four naturi that were still at his side.

  “Get to Valerio,” I told Stefan. “We’ll provide cover and a distraction.”

  I led the way into the outdoor theater with its massive seating. There was no missing the four naturi that stood on the stage next to Valerio, who was strung up on a massive wooden cross with a stake protruding from his chest. They must not have driven it into his heart because I coul
d still sense him, but it was close enough that he was gushing blood and he was close to death.

  “No!” I screamed mindlessly. I ran up to the stage, leaving Danaus and Stefan struggling to keep up with me. Lightning rained down from the gathering clouds, slamming into the seats so that they exploded in a shower of sparks and debris.

  “Mira!” Danaus cried after me, but I ignored him. I wouldn’t allow these nature-loving bastards to destroy Valerio, the one creature that didn’t make me doubt myself. Valerio might have intended to use me to his best advantage, but I also believed that he loved and trusted me in his own unique way. I would not allow the naturi to kill him.

  More lightning fell between the stairs of the stage and me, causing me to halt. The naturi on the stage jumped down and instantly surrounded me, while Rowe finally appeared, placing one hand on the stake in Valerio’s chest.

  “Surrender!” he shouted in a laughing voice. “Surrender and I’ll consider not plunging the stake deeper into his chest. Surrender and they won’t kill you now.”

  “You’re not going to win,” I snarled, looking up at Rowe as one naturi pressed the tip of his short sword into my throat. The blade punctured my flesh, sending a trickle of blood down my neck. “We’ve destroyed your numbers tonight. You’re not leaving here alive.”

  “I think it’s the other way around. It’s your friends who are not leaving here alive. You, on the other hand, are coming with me to Aurora.”

  Despite the swords now digging into my neck, stomach, and chest, I laughed. My head fell back and a deep, dark chuckle rose from my throat. “Do you still believe that?” I looked around at the naturi standing directly in front of me. “Did he promise you absolution if you helped him hand me over to your queen?” I asked them. “Do you seriously believe that Aurora will forgive you for just me?”

  The confidence and determination on the faces of my captors wavered ever so slightly, their eyes darting from me to look at their nearest companion. They were all asking the same thing: was I worth such a high price to Aurora? Sure, I was the Fire Starter, but to them I was still just a useless, dirty vampire. They began to doubt Rowe’s promises, and that gave me my opening.

  Get Valerio! I directed Stefan. The nightwalker disappeared and instantly reappeared behind Valerio. Out of the corner of my eye I saw him lay one hand on Valerio’s shoulder as Rowe raised his hand to pound the stake deeper into Valerio’s chest. It all happened in a split second. Not even enough time for me to scream. Valerio and Stefan disappeared from sight just as Rowe’s hand passed through empty space and slammed into the wooden cross.

  “Witch!” Rowe snarled, turning narrowed eyes on my face. “Just kill her. Aurora will be just as happy with her dead body.”

  With Valerio safe, I didn’t hesitate to tap into my powers. I managed to dodge one sword at my throat, but wasn’t lucky enough to miss the one that plunged into my stomach. I groaned as I set the naturi surrounding me on fire. Unfortunately, Rowe remained at my back, so I couldn’t bathe him in flickering flames as well. I couldn’t sense the naturi, so I needed to physically see him in order to set him on fire.

  “Boil him, Danaus!” I screamed, keeping my focus on the naturi fighting the flames and still slashing at me.

  “I can’t,” he said softly.

  “What?”

  “He’s right.” Rowe laughed manically. I turned to find him standing on the edge of the stage with one hand reaching up toward the heavens. “He might be able to boil my blood and kill me, but I guarantee that I’ll be able to get off a couple lightning bolts before I go, and they’ll all be aimed at you.”

  “Kill him, Danaus!” I screamed. The last of the naturi surrounding me had finally died, and I twisted around with a sword still in my stomach, ready to hurl a fireball at Rowe when I discovered that he had already taken to the skies on a pair of massive black wings. I threw the fireball at him, but he managed to easily dodge it on the heavy winds whipping through the park. In response, a bolt of lighting sizzled through the air. I jerked backward, only to slam my back into the wall of the theater near the stairs. I was trapped. The world exploded in bright white light, and for a moment I understood what it felt like to be burned. The lightning missed me by a few feet, but it was enough to singe.

  When my vision finally cleared enough so I could see again, Rowe was gone. Danaus stood before me, one hand pressed to my stomach while the other pulled the sword free of my body. I clenched my teeth against the searing pain as the blade cut through muscle and tissue. A lump formed in my throat and I swallowed back a frustrated sob. Rowe was still alive.

  “You’re a fucking idiot,” Danaus grumbled. He kept his hand pressed to the wound in an effort to slow the bleeding.

  I leaned my head back against the wall behind me and closed my eyes. “I just want him dead,” I whispered.

  “Soon,” Danaus promised.

  But not soon enough.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Danaus stood close before me, his breathing heavy from the fight. His warm energy danced around us, beating back the cold wind, which seemed to be growing quieter now that Rowe had vacated the immediate area. I stood still, fighting the swell of emotions that threatened to swamp me. Doubt ate at me. I should never have sent Valerio alone to look into the naturi problem. I assumed that with his ability to disappear and reappear, he would be able to easily escape any situation. I hadn’t considered that he would be more vulnerable to a sneak attack since he couldn’t sense his enemy. Of course, I’d thought it was impossible to sneak up on Valerio. He was old and powerful. No one could surprise him.

  “It’s not your fault,” Danaus said when I remained silent for too long.

  I closed my eyes and shook my head. “I shouldn’t have sent him alone. I should have ordered Stefan to go along with him.”

  “Possibly, but there’s a chance that they both could have been taken,” Danaus conceded. “It’s not as if Stefan’s mind would have been completely focused on the naturi. They would have both been vulnerable.”

  “It doesn’t matter any longer,” I muttered, shoving both my hands through my hair to push it out of my face. I grunted as the movement stretched and pulled the still mending wound in my stomach. I glanced up at the sky one last time, gauging the night. “We’re leaving here first thing tomorrow night.”

  Danaus’s hand slipped away from my stomach as he took a step back away from me. “What are you talking about?”

  “We’re going back to Venice tomorrow. If we’re lucky, we can be headed back to Savannah in less than three nights. This matter here is settled. I’m not playing any of Macaire’s games.”

  “We can’t leave.” Danaus stepped in front of me as I shifted to start walking up the path I had come down only a few minutes earlier. “What about Sofia?”

  My face twisted in confusion and frustration. “We were sent here to take care of the naturi in Budapest. Unless you’re sensing some that I’m not aware of, there should only be Rowe left. And that naturi has no tie to Budapest. Hell, I wouldn’t be surprised if he followed us back to Venice. I’m his target, not world domination by the naturi.”

  “What about Sofia? You said—”

  “To hell with Sofia!” I snapped, finally losing my hold on my temper. “She got herself into that mess. Let her get herself out. It’s not my job to save every pathetic creature that crosses my path!”

  “You said we would help her!”

  “I honestly thought we would. I thought in the end that we would have to kill Veyron before we finally got to leave Budapest. I was wrong. We don’t need to kill him. What do I care about how Budapest is being run? So long as the humans aren’t being exposed to our world, it doesn’t matter what Veyron does with the other nightwalkers and the warlocks and the lycans. That’s his business.”

  “They tried to kill you! You’re just going to walk away from that?” Danaus prodded, earning a dark smile from me. I took a step closer to him, laying my hand on his chest. Beneath my fingertips I could
feel his heart pounding like a tribal drum, urging me on.

  “Now you’re just trying to goad me,” I purred. “Isn’t it enough that I risked my neck for the coven to get rid of the naturi in Budapest? You want me to go hunting nightwalkers, warlocks, and whatever other creature that crosses my path. Anything just so long as the by-product is a free Sofia.”

  “Yes,” he admitted. I clenched my teeth and attempted to push past him, but the hunter grabbed my arm, holding me in place. “You’re not walking away from me.”

  “This conversation is over.”

  “It’s not. We have to do something about Sofia. She’s trapped. She’s a poor human that has gotten ensnared by an extremely powerful vampire. Doesn’t that mean something to you?”

  “Not really,” I said with a shrug.

  “Damn it, Mira! We can’t leave her. She doesn’t have any chance of escaping on her own. Why can’t you help her? You went out of your way to save both Tristan and Nicolai.”

  “Think about it, Danaus!” I shouted back at him, wrenching my arm free of his grasp. “Was I really risking that much when I rode to their rescue? In both cases, the coven needed to keep me alive. I was in serious danger of getting my ass handed to me by Jabari or Macaire, but they weren’t going to kill me. Veyron doesn’t need me alive. He’s already proven that. Lycans and warlocks have tried to kill me in the span of just a couple nights. I don’t need to go looking for trouble. I’ve got enough.”

  “You’re not going to help me?” he asked.

  “Damn it!” I growled, balling both of my hands into fists as I fought the urge to light a fire. “Let her go, Danaus. She doesn’t deserve to be saved.”

  “How can you say that?”