Immortal Echoes (Haunting Echoes Book 2)

by Caethes Faron

  She couldn’t think about it long because Zenas came tearing into the tower. As Amaia had thought he would, he came alone. The shock and agony of his mate’s death wouldn’t leave enough room in his mind to think to summon help.

  “You vicious little bitch. I should have killed you.” Zenas narrowed his eyes and flew toward her.

  Michael collided into him, trying to wrestle him to the ground.

  “No!” It was a mistake to scream. If he didn’t know already, he now had confirmation that his attacker was Amaia’s mate. She knew she could hold out against Zenas, but she didn’t think Michael could.

  Liam and Meg reached Zenas at the same time Amaia did. Meg leapt onto Zenas’s back, pulling his head backward, removing the threat of his mouth. Amaia couldn’t focus on attacking. All she could think of was getting Michael safe. She pulled at him until she got him away from the danger. As soon as Michael was clear, Liam pulled Zenas’s legs out from under him, forcing him to fall face down on the ground.

  Jacob and Marcus strolled over, as if the proceedings barely interested them. “Hello, old friend.” Zenas’s gaze flew to Jacob, and Amaia thought she saw something in his expression she’d never seen before: fear.

  The fear quickly changed to agony as Jacob took hold of his arms and Marcus took hold of his legs. As one, they pulled, tearing tendons, splitting bones, and popping joints. Amaia thought they might pull his limbs clean off, but they stopped just short of that.

  “There, I doubt he’ll be going anywhere. Thank you all for your assistance.”

  They all watched as Marcus scooped Zenas into his arms. Even broken, Zenas still squirmed, mad with the death of his mate, trying desperately to kill despite the screams each movement wrenched from his body. Amaia wished they would just kill him and stop the agony. She hated Zenas, but his screams tore at her.

  “My Jacob has a nice iron coffin waiting for you at home. We’ll bury you so deep no one will hear your screams, if you even have the strength for them. You’ll live out the rest of eternity hungry and aching for your mate.”

  The cruelty stunned Amaia. She’d expected them to make him suffer but not this horrifically. She found herself in the strange position of pitying Zenas.

  Chapter 39

  Michael followed Amaia and the others out of the tower and stopped at what he saw. Lawrence stood before them with five vampires, one at his side and four behind him. Michael moved in front of Amaia, ready to defend her. The only thing that stopped him from attacking was the distant knowledge that they might be temporary allies.

  “How very nice of you to take care of this problem for me. You always did do exactly as I wanted.” Lawrence tilted his head so he met Zenas’s eyes straight on where Marcus held him. “That’s right, Zenas. I betrayed you. I divided your clan, and now the followers you had left will die if they aren’t dead already. You should have killed me long ago. Even Amaia saw the weakness in you the first time you met. Everything you worked for is gone, but you don’t appear to be in a position to care.” He straightened and turned to the vampire standing at his side. “Amaia, I’d like to introduce you to Timothy, your replacement. He’s quite jealous. I told him he’d have the honor of killing you.”

  “I can handle Timothy. You take care of Lawrence. Meg and Liam will handle the others.”

  Michael felt more than heard the roar that escaped him as he lunged for Lawrence at the exact moment Amaia attacked Timothy. Part of him knew he should be concerned for Amaia’s welfare, but he’d seen her fight. She could take care of herself. All he wanted was to kill Lawrence. He wished his opponent had a mate so he could exact the same torture upon him as Jacob and Marcus were upon Zenas. Oh well, when it was all over, it’d feel just as good to have Lawrence dead quickly as it would to prolong it.

  He had no experience in killing vampires from which to draw, so instead, he let his fury and instincts guide him. He rammed into Lawrence’s body, pushing him back but not quite taking him to the ground. Lawrence engaged, struggling against Michael. He remembered Liam’s lessons and didn’t focus on pinning Lawrence. All he needed to do was get to his neck.

  Michael did what he never would have as a mortal when fighting fair had held meaning: he kneed Lawrence square in the groin. The pain doubled Lawrence over, exposing his back. Michael planted a hand firmly on the back of his neck and put all of his weight behind it, forcing the neck downward. By the time Lawrence had recovered enough to try to push back, the leverage and angle Michael had were too great to overcome.

  It’d be easier to detach the head from behind, without the distraction of having to protect himself from Lawrence’s punches. Michael twisted and jumped onto his back. Before Lawrence had time to cope with this development, Michael sank his fangs into Lawrence’s neck. Natural instinct told him to suck as he would when feeding, but instead, he clamped down as hard he could until his teeth met. He flung his head to the side, ripping out a giant chunk of Lawrence’s throat. Blood poured everywhere. It surprised Michael that he didn’t want to prolong the death. He wanted the surge of victory. With both hands, he pulled on Lawrence’s head as he bit into the other side of his neck. A moment of tension and then snap, the head detached. He had killed Lawrence.

  He couldn’t resist turning the head over in his hands. The hated face stared blankly back at him. Lawrence had caused so much hurt and suffering in his life and in Amaia’s. It seemed almost anti-climactic that it had been so easy to kill him. One second he was throwing verbal barbs at the love of Michael’s life, and a few seconds later, he no longer existed.

  Michael threw the head to the ground and then stomped on it, feeling and hearing the satisfying crunch of the skull collapsing. When he lifted his foot, the head was barely recognizable. He drew his foot back and kicked it with all of his might, watching it fly away.

  And then he focused on his surroundings.

  Amaia had apparently made easy work of Timothy, as Michael knew she would. Two of the other vampires were already dead, and Meg and Amaia were working on the third as Liam took out the fourth. Michael went to Liam’s aid, kicking the enemy’s knee with enough force that it shattered. Before he could even make another attack, Liam had beheaded him.

  It was over. The only adversary left alive was Zenas, and Marcus and Jacob would take care of him in a far better way than Michael ever could. Instead of jubilation, weariness entered him. The venom-blood and stench of Lawrence covered him. Blood spattered Amaia’s face. Her hair was a hopeless mess of tangles, making her appear wild. He had never wanted her more. The killing lust that had filled his veins now changed direction. He took her in his arms and kissed her, ignoring the taste of venom-blood on her lips from the kills they had made.

  “It’s done. Lawrence won’t ever hurt you again.”

  “The battle isn’t finished.”

  “I don’t care. I got what I came for. Let them fight it out for themselves.”

  Behind him, Michael heard someone clapping in slow applause. He felt Amaia’s puzzlement as well as his own. Breaking their kiss, he turned and saw a short, black-haired man he’d never seen before.

  Chapter 40

  “Well done, Amaia. I knew after I saw you the last time you entered a battle that you were vicious and would turn on your masters.” The man stopped clapping. The fact that Amaia hadn’t noticed his approach alarmed her, though with all the commotion and the battle nearby it shouldn’t have.

  “Who is he?” Michael asked.

  “I can only guess.” Amaia stepped from Michael’s embrace. It seemed odd to her now that she had never met this man, but she felt certain she knew who he was. “I take it you’re Ezekial.”

  The man gave a slight bow to Amaia. “You are correct.”

  Surprisingly, Zenas calmed somewhat, quieting his moans where Marcus still held him. Amaia supposed he might view Ezekial as something of an ally, or at least more of one than he had at present.

  “What are you doing here?”

  “Watching the battle, of course.
You didn’t think I’d miss such entertainment.”

  “You’re alone.” Amaia didn’t ask. She knew no other vampires hid nearby.

  “I didn’t want to appear a threat. That’s hardly the right impression when I come here in peace.”

  “What do you mean?” Experience told Amaia that the only interest a clan leader took in peace was as an excuse to cause more trouble.

  “Well, the battle’s over. You’ve won.” Ezekial turned to Zenas, acknowledging him for the first time. “That’s right, old enemy. No help is coming. You’re on your own.” He faced Amaia again. “I see no reason why we can’t all coexist peacefully.”

  “And I see no reason why we shouldn’t kill you now,” Michael said as he stepped forward, positioning himself between Ezekial and Amaia.

  “It doesn’t benefit you any to kill me. All it will do is create a power vacuum in my clan. You’ve neatly sidestepped that problem with Zenas. There’s hardly any clan left for the survivors to fight over. It won’t be the same if you kill me or fight my clan. Your numbers have shrunk. You would probably win a battle, but you wouldn’t decimate my clan the way you have Zenas’s. While his clan may have been more powerful, mine’s always been larger. I’m here to offer you an alternative.”

  “And that is?” Liam stepped next to Amaia, his arms crossed over his chest.

  “We call a truce. No more tributes. My clan will disband. The only reason I ever formed one was to fight Zenas. I have no interest in controlling others. You know that. It’s why I never had draconian rules about mating and transforming as Zenas did. My clan has always been what clans were originally meant to be: a coalition to fight a common enemy. I only want one thing in return.” He shifted his gaze back to Zenas.

  “So if Jacob kills Zenas, we’ll have a truce?” Amaia’s voice was fierce and sure. She knew Ezekial would want Zenas for himself, but she wasn’t willing to relinquish him. Besides, Jacob wouldn’t let her. Zenas wasn’t hers to give.

  Ezekial appeared to think this through. She could see he wanted to argue but then noticed how outnumbered he was. “Yes.” Apparently, he had more wisdom than Zenas had ever given him credit for.

  “No, I have plans for Zenas.” Jacob spoke without emotion.

  Amaia felt herself being tested. She shrugged. “There you have it, Ezekial. You can content yourself with Zenas being tortured for eternity, or we can kill you now.”

  “You’ll regret killing me. It’ll be chaos when I’m gone.”

  “Perhaps, but I’m willing to deal with that problem tomorrow.”

  “Wait, Amaia.” Jacob’s cool voice interrupted her movement. “If Ezekial were willing to beg, I might be persuaded.”

  In an instant, Amaia knew this was what he’d wanted all along: the two most powerful clan leaders in the world subjugated to him.

  Anger flared in Ezekial’s eyes, but he quickly extinguished it. Slowly, he went to his knees. “Please, Jacob, kill Zenas for me.”

  “Why?”

  “He is my enemy. I want him dead.”

  “No, I don’t think that’s quite the truth. Pity. We’ll be leaving now.” Jacob turned, and Marcus followed him.

  “Wait! Please, don’t torture him. You’ve already taken his mate. End his misery. He’s always been an admirable adversary. He deserves better.”

  In Ezekial’s expression, Amaia saw the respect of one leader for another. No doubt he projected his desires for his own eventual end onto Zenas.

  Jacob and Marcus turned back around. Ezekial made eye contact with Zenas, a last farewell. Jacob shrugged. “Fine.” He reached over and twisted Zenas’s head off of his shoulders. The constant moaning ceased.

  As much as Amaia hated Zenas, she felt a little relief that they had killed him instead of letting him suffer without his mate. The pain of that suffering was great enough to transcend hatred.

  Ezekial spoke from where he still knelt on the ground. “I want his head. It’ll be a nice little keepsake after such a long feud. Besides, it will go a long way in convincing my people—my former people—that action against you would be unwise.”

  “Ask nicely.” Jacob had a subtle form of sadism.

  “Please.”

  Jacob tossed him the head at the same time Marcus dropped Zenas’s body to the ground. Ezekial caught the head and rose to his feet. “Thank you. It was a pleasure doing business with all of you. I trust we won’t be seeing each other again.” He bowed and ran off before another word could be spoken.

  The sounds of the distant battle had faded until hardly anything remained.

  “We must be on our way as well. Congratulations.” Just before Jacob disappeared, he turned to Amaia and smirked.

  Chapter 41

  “Nice of them to leave us with the cleanup.” Liam started walking toward the battlefield.

  Michael could scarcely believe what he’d just witnessed. The whole night seemed surreal.

  “Do you really think Ezekial will hold to his world?” he asked Amaia.

  “No, but like you said, we got what we came for. He’ll keep his clan, but he’ll not antagonize us.” She followed Liam and Meg.

  “Let’s take these bodies to the others. It’ll be better to have one fire instead of several.” Liam threw a body over each shoulder, taking two of the vampires Lawrence had brought. He carried the heads by their hair.

  Meg and Amaia followed suit, Amaia taking Timothy, and Meg taking the other two. Michael took Lawrence and Zenas and carried the heads of Meg’s two vampires since his were missing. When they reached the battlefield, a sea of bodies greeted them. The only vampires who remained were six of the ones he and Amaia had made. The rest had been killed in battle. Their youth and inexperience hadn’t left them with a chance of survival. Michael was surprised any had lived. All the other survivors must have left as soon as the fighting ended.

  Liam put the body he carried down in the middle of the field, and they each stacked theirs on top.

  “All of you, start piling the bodies here,” Michael ordered the vampires. He refused to think of them as his children. They’d be dead soon anyway.

  Even moving at full speed, it took an hour to assemble the hundreds of bodies. He stood with Liam and watched as the last ones were thrown on the heap. “Would you mind helping me dispose of them?”

  Liam raised his eyebrows. “Let me guess, you don’t want the evil vampires around now that their work is done.”

  “They are evil, Liam, and not because they’re vampires. I don’t feel that way about our kind. Like you said before, if God allows our existence, we can’t be all bad. They’re evil because they just are.”

  “You have the most absurd logic of any man I’ve met. I’ll help you, but only because we don’t need such young vampires on the loose, and I’m certainly not going to be responsible for them. We might as well get the girls to help. They can handle them just as well.”

  “We’re going to kill the rest now.”

  “I’ll help. Best to do it quick before they panic.”

  Strange that Amaia enjoyed the fear in her human victims but took a more merciful stance with her own kind. Michael took it as evidence of the heart she claimed not to have. Her own set of morals guided her. They were simply different than his own.

  Michael attacked the nearest vampire and quickly disposed of him and one other. Within sixty seconds, the six vampires were dead and their bodies had joined the others. “Now what?”

  Amaia smiled. “We have a bonfire, of course.”

  Liam drew matches from his pocket and lit the fire. The flames jumped each time they encountered venom. It didn’t take long for them to consume the entire pile, but the sun would be up before the bodies had burned to ash. The venom would aid the burning, but there were hundreds of bodies.

  They sat together, watching the fire. Once it had burned out, there would be no evidence of what had happened that night. Michael had a hard time believing that now they just went about their lives. He’d become so used to running, hidin
g, and fighting that his body couldn’t quite believe that it was over.

  Amaia's hand slipped into his as they watched the flames lick at the bodies. “We have to stay here to take care of any curious humans who come for a look. With a fire this big, it's unlikely anyone will think they can be of help, but there may be some who venture out here anyway.”

  Meg turned from the fire to face Amaia. “No, you two go on. Liam and I will keep watch.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Yes. You two deserve a little time together.”

  “I think they're looking for some privacy as well,” Michael said.

  “You're likely right.”

  Michael kept hold of Amaia’s hand as he ran. They could go anywhere. In the distance he heard water trickling over rocks and headed in that direction. Before they did anything, he wanted to wash off the stink of death.

  When they got within sight of the stream, Michael flung Amaia over his shoulder and strode right into the water, taking Amaia under with him.

  “You're getting our clothes wet!”

  “They need cleaning too.”

  “I'd prefer to swim naked.”

  “Oh, you will.” Some instinct in the back of his mind still panicked at being under water, but no physical manifestations followed it, no gulps for breath or frantic struggles for the surface.

  Michael rolled Amaia around beneath him under the water and undid the buttons of her dress just slow enough to make sure he didn't break any of them. When the dress hung loose, he removed it from her body along with all of her underclothes and let them sink to the bottom. He'd retrieve them later. The moonlight filtering through the trees and water painted fascinating patterns on Amaia's pale skin. The curve of her back was comforting like a warm pulse of sweet blood after the stress of battle. He traced her spine with his hands, relishing the little dimple at its base.

  “You’re so beautiful.” He still marveled that, out of all the men she could have had, she chose him. With Amaia, her beauty played only a small part in his attraction to her. Every part of her fascinated and intrigued him.