Blood Wars: Book 4 (The Talisman Series)

by Brenda Pandos

  His lips turned up in a soft smile. He leaned forward and kissed me tenderly. I returned the kiss, and wrapped my arms around his middle and squeezed.

  “Oh, Julia,” he whispered in my ear. “I’m so sorry for screwing this up. You’re the best part of me.”

  “I feel the same way,” I breathed.

  “I just love you so much.”

  “I love you, too.”

  We held each other, letting the embrace heal our wounds. I could have stayed there forever if Scarlett’s groans didn’t interrupt the tender moment. Nicholas turned to her and cussed under his breath.

  “I… I had no choice.” I played with the sleeves on the coat.

  “She was our only link to the seer.”

  My eyes narrowed. “I know.”

  “Someone will replace her.” He blew out a breath. “Now we’re at square one.”

  “We? I thought you weren’t working with your mom.”

  “I’m not. I meant you and me. We need the seer’s blood to make another…” His eyes darted behind me and his voice trailed off. “We’ll have to figure that out later. Come on. Let’s go.”

  Slide and another vampire stood at the doorway, guarding it.

  I stiffened. “Go?”

  “I have a plan.” He smiled and Slide nodded in agreement.

  I watched Slide for a moment, noting the kindness in his eyes. Had his quick trip to hell given him a new appreciation for doing what’s right again?

  Nicholas held out his hand, and I interlaced my fingers with his in relief. We turned to leave. A dark curvy figure in heels appeared in the opened doorway.

  “What’s going on here?” Alora bellowed.

  CHAPTER TEN

  JULIA

  The peace evaporated, and I clung to Nicholas’ hand. Her gaze panned to Scarlett, who lay still on the ground. Her eyes returned to me. Feeling exposed, I gripped the front of the jacket to make sure I’d finished buttoning it closed. Something hard inside the lining of the coat bumped into my hip.

  Although Alora appeared to have the upper hand, Nicholas’ confidence settled over me instead. I lifted my chin.

  He positioned himself in front of me. “Get out of my way.”

  She walked toward us. “You didn’t answer my question.”

  He lifted his chin. “It’s over, Mom.”

  “Excuse me?”

  “You heard me.” He sucked in a deep breath and nodded to Slide. “Arrest her.”

  He stepped out from the shadows, followed by several other burly vampires, and circled her. The closest two held venom-barbed nets. The electricity in the prod in Slide’s hands arced across the tip in an ominous blue.

  “Come now, Ms. Kendrick,” Slide said softly. “Let’s not fight.”

  She laughed and as quick as a flash, grabbed the closest goon and ripped his head clean off. It flew into the room, screaming, before it puffed into ash onto the floor. The teeth skittered like diamonds closely behind. I gasped, surprised. Shouldn’t he have had his own talisman?

  Pulling a wooden knife from her cleavage, she swung around and pierced the next vamp in the heart. She stopped and eyed Slide. The rest backed away, cowering behind him, mumbling something about the dead vamps’ armor not working.

  I palmed the inside of my jacket, looking for a stake.

  “Mother,” Nicholas warned, holding up his hands. “Let’s not kill everyone.”

  She ignored him, eyeing Slide. “You don’t want to go back to hell, do you?” she asked, fingering the wooden knife.

  His eyes widened as he gripped the prod with nervous hands, watching the latest vampire victim burn to a crisp. “No, I don’t. But what you’re doing is wrong.”

  “A vampire with a conscience. How sweet.”

  “Mom,” Nicholas said between his teeth.

  Seeing no other choice, I took the stake out and chucked it at her just as her knife left her fingers. While my stake shredded into sawdust before hitting her, her knife sliced into Slide’s chest. He shrieked and dropped the prod, collapsing to the ground.

  He looked up at her with sad eyes.

  “I won’t bring you back, this time, Sweetie.”

  Slides’ gaze swung to me, his eyes begging I rescue him.

  “Please,” he mouthed before he turned to ash.

  I gulped down my horror, watching the heartless wench angrily dust the wood fibers off her skin-tight shirt. Did no one have a talisman but her?

  “I think you’ve forgotten my protection.” She pressed her hands against her hips, and the stone caught the light, sending red shards into my eyes. “Anyone else care to argue?” she asked as she kicked aside Slides smoldering ashes.

  Nicholas’ defectors looked at one another and backed away, mumbling apologies.

  “That’s what I thought.” Alora flashed us her perfect smile.

  She retrieved her dagger, and I watched in horror as she took out two more vampires, and yet Nicholas did nothing. Was his speech an act?

  Scarlett stared at me from the floor, her expression pained. You have to end this while you still can.

  “That’s enough!” Nicholas stepped forward.

  Alora huffed. “Of all people, I didn’t expect my insurrection to come from you.”

  They glared at one another for a moment. Helplessness filled me. How could we stop her now?

  “You know the rules, Mom. Julia’s the rightful Queen, so stop this and give her your allegiance already.”

  “Oh, really?” She sauntered forward, her lips pulled tight in a sneer. “As far as I see it, I am the one in charge.” She lifted her hand and the entire group of vampires, ones loyal to Nicholas a few seconds ago, bowed.

  I reached into the coat and palmed another stake, hand shaking. Because she wore a talisman, there was only one way to end her for good. I’d need to kill her sire. I needed to kill Nicholas, even if I didn’t know the resurrection ritual.

  Nicholas charged his mother. She spun and kicked him in the stomach, sending him flying across the room. He landed on the floor and struggled to stand.

  I cringed, wanting to run to him. Why didn’t he figure out his mother’s sick power-crazed quest earlier on, when we could have done something about it?

  Katie moved into view and stood behind Alora with a sappy smile on her face. “Lookie who I found.”

  My brother Luke stumbled forward. The stake I held nearly fell from my fingers at the sight of him. Alora grabbed him by the back of the neck and pushed him to his knees.

  “NO!” I reached forward.

  Nicholas appeared by my side and held me at bay. “Let me handle it.”

  Handle it? His mother just landed a roundhouse kick to his stomach.

  “Julia.” Alora gestured to a vial in Katie’s hands. “This serum is for you. The other is for you, Son. If we have any trouble, Luke dies. Understood? Then we’ll talk.”

  “What’s in that?” Nicholas asked.

  “Something to subdue you,” Alora said sweetly. “I don’t want to risk injuring your pretty face.”

  I squared my shoulders, trying not to let her see the agony I suffered watching Luke squirm. Blood ran down his neck from her nails digging into him.

  “You’re hurting him.”

  “Then you better take the injection…” Alora motioned to Katie.

  “Of course, my Queen.”

  Her nasally voice grated down my spine, and I wanted to shove the shot up her upturned nose. Whatever sparkled inside the vial, Alora didn’t need to spare Luke’s life after injecting us. Would this be what took away the siring power? The end of my rule?

  Nicholas moved to stand in front of me. “No. You’re not doing this. Not until I know what’s in the vial.”

  “You have no choice.” She snapped her fingers and her goons poured into the room, this time armed with nets and shackles.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  PHIL

  While driving in the Audi, Mimi filled me in on the workings of the mansion and the lab, and how we�
�d get in and out without being caught. I suspected she didn’t really care about getting out and had a plan for someone to accidentally turn her, which didn’t matter to me. I had a deal to make with the devil, one I might regret later, but I couldn’t worry about that now.

  We pulled up to the mansion and parked next to a dark sedan. I scanned the house. A guy in a dark trench coat disappeared down the walkway with something large and bulky on his back.

  “Is Cain expecting company?” I asked.

  “I don’t know.” Mimi craned her neck, trying to see. “But let’s go while he’s doing whatever at the front door.”

  We stepped out of the vehicle, both of us wearing the laser pen suits, and snuck around the side of the house.

  “This way—”

  “Police. Open up!” The guy yelled from the front porch.

  Mimi grabbed my hand and pulled me into the bushes headfirst.

  “Geez. Meems.” I spit out foliage and righted myself. “Watch it.”

  “It’s the cops,” Mimi mouthed.

  I peeked around the bush that just accosted me and spied on the front door. “No, it’s not. It’s just that detective,” I said forgetting Mimi knew nothing about the break-in Cain staged.

  “Who?”

  “Never mind.”

  She squinted and strained to see him. “He’s holding this weird contraption.”

  The detective banged on the door again. “Open up. I have a warrant!”

  I huffed. Like vampires cared about warrants.

  “He’s making too much noise,” Mimi said.

  My eyes narrowed. Why weren’t they snatching him up on his free offer of take-out? “Maybe he needs to say he’s delivering pizza.”

  “More like being the pizza.”

  “Nicky!” the guy yelled. “Open the damn door!”

  My lips twitched into a smirk. Nicky? He knew Nicholas? What kind of nickname was that?

  I looked again, and he was gone.

  Mimi gasped. “Where’d he go?”

  “I don’t care. If you wanted a distraction, you’ve got one,” I said with a smile. “Show me that secret entrance.”

  We ran down the length of the yard to the backyard. Mimi walked over to a panel on the wall and punched in a few numbers. A row of bushes moved aside. In their place was a stairwell leading downward to a door under the foundation.

  “This way,” she whispered as she disappeared down the dark hole.

  “Are you sure no one is monitoring this exit?”

  “Only Dr. V. knew about it, and he didn’t know I knew.”

  I shrugged and followed, glad I had the suit on. The bushes slid over, shrouding us in the dark. After a swipe of her card on the control panel next to the door, it clicked open with a soft shush.

  “Wah-la.” She held her hand for me to go first.

  I smirked, thankful at least this secret entry wasn’t underwater.

  Turning on the pens one by one, I motioned she do the same. Though we both glowed like red crystal balls, we’d be protected if anyone tried to sneak up on us. Mimi may have reached the point of desperation, but I hadn’t. If I was becoming a vampire, I wanted to know where my sire sat on the food chain.

  “This way.” Mimi ran ahead, circling down the spiraled staircase.

  I peered over the edge, my head getting woozy just watching her move in circles. Five flights looked a lot further than I remembered. “Are you sure this is the way?”

  She looked up at me. “Oh, don’t be such a wuss.”

  “I’m not.” I ran after her, trying not to let the stairs get to me. Our plan was simple. Get in. Get the venom, stake a few vamps, and figure out how to bring Sam back. Then I’d use the elevator, or fly if I had that power, and get out.

  Simple, no. Confusing, yes. Whatever the case, I’d figure it out, even if I had to make a deal with Alora. I couldn’t let Sam endure hell.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  JULIA

  I backed away from the hoard just as Scarlett morphed into cat form and pounced toward my back. A flying net snagged her furry body and flung her across the room and to the floor in a shrieking heap.

  Do it! she hissed in my mind. While you still can.

  I ducked, narrowly missing a chain that flew toward me. Katie wasn’t so lucky as it clocked her in the jaw.

  She nursed her chin with her hand. “Watch it!”

  Chaos ensued as the swarm attacked Nicholas, separating us, but all I could see was Luke being held by Alora’s firm grip. I knew even if I cooperated, Alora would most likely kill Luke anyway.

  Katie lunged for me, and I deflected the syringe with my wrist.

  “Come now, sleeping beauty,” she grunted, whirling around. “Time for your Ambien.”

  “What?” I grabbed her wrist, avoiding the needle, and twisted.

  “You have to!” She pressed her arm toward me, trying to get the needle to pierce my skin. I scooted aside and smashed her hand into the wall over and over until she dropped the syringe. My knee slammed into her stomach, my fist holding the stake followed.

  I froze, stunned at myself for actually stabbing her, watching as she doubled over and tumbled to the floor, choking and coughing.

  “Bitch!” she shrieked as the fire began to consume her.

  Shaking myself back to reality, I lunged for the syringe when a high heel pierced my hand, trapping me. I looked upward just as Alora reached down and snagged the vial off the ground.

  “This isn’t cooperating,” she said with a sneer. “And you’ve just lost your one chance to resurrect Sam.”

  I sucked in a tortured gasp just as she let my hand free. “What?”

  She leaned over and yanked me off the ground by my neck. “You needed Katie’s blood!”

  She pressed the plunger into my shoulder and squeezed. Ice filled my veins, so terrible cold my teeth chattered. My cry morphed into that of a tranquilized cow, and I slumped over and fell limp from her grasp.

  “Mother!” Nicholas growled from under the nets. Revenge and anger filled his handsome face with fury. In his hand was a stake, aimed at his heart. “I’m sorry, Julia. I’m sorry for everything.”

  “No-o-o-o,” I bellowed.

  He gritted his teeth and plunged the wood into his chest. I tried to hold up my hand to stop it; tried to fight whatever was overtaking me. My body refused to obey.

  Then I was covered in darkness.

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  PHIL

  Eventually Mimi and I made it to the bottom of the stairs, and I held onto the banister for a moment to calm my spinning head. My stomach lurched. “Maybe that wasn’t such a good idea.”

  “Then you stay here. I’ll be right back.”

  “No.” I lunged for her hand, gripping it like a chokehold of death. “We go together.”

  “Fine. Just keep up.” She trotted down the hall, pulling me along, humming a happy song. So much for being quiet.

  We opened the door at the end of the hall, and peered into the white room filled with glass cubicles. The last time I was here, bound and gagged, wasn’t the greatest experience. The room now, was eerily quiet.

  Mimi frowned. “Where is everyone?”

  I thought about Julia for a second, and wondered where she ended up. Had the apocalypse happened without me?

  Mimi motioned I follow, and with much reluctance, I finally did. We wove through a maze of halls with too many twists to remember, and ended up in a large room with a steel table in the middle. She slid open a glass door and pulled out a tray of glass tubes.

  “Here it is.” She eyed the box like a junkie about to get their fix. The first vial she retrieved was filled with something grey and fluffy.

  “What’s that crap?”

  She pulled out another and another until there weren’t any vials left in the tray, each one was filled with the same stuff. She flicked her fingernail against the glass. “This is weird. These should be venom samples.”

  She shoved the vials into the holder, mismatch
ed and unseated, and pulled out another rack. Red liquid caught my eye—blood. The last row of the vials matched those of the venom ones—grey stuff.

  “Something’s wrong.” She shook her head, and returned the tray to the refrigerator, then checked the temperature.

  “Do Alora’s lab rats know what they’re doing now that Dr. V. is gone?”

  “Who knows?” She went to the work station and flipped through a notebook, tracing her hand over the pristine words someone with way too much time on their hands wrote. She frowned. “It says that’s where the venom is supposed to be, but I don’t get why it’s all dried up. Does venom go bad?”

  I shrugged. This was all foreign to me.

  She continued to speed read through that entry, and several others. “Oh… wow.”

  “What?” I leaned in, peering over her shoulder.

  “They made a sleeping serum, and gave it to Cain and Rachel. That’s how Alora planned to control them.” She gave me a curious look. “They’re royals, you know. I bet you we could get some venom off of them, even though they’re asleep. You think?”

  “Maybe.” I quirked an innocent smile. “Hey, does that book talk about the resurrection ritual at all?”

  Mimi’s eyes rounded. “How do you know about that?”

  I flashed her my award-winning grin. “I was brought back, once.”

  “No way!” She looked left then right, as if someone would overhear us, and leaned in. “Only Alora knows how to do that, but I did see her scoop up Slide’s teeth and ashes when she came to Sam’s house.”

  “Really?” My stomach twisted remembering the day I came back. Alora did it on the spot of my death in the warehouse. “Did you see her do it?”

  Mimi held up her pointer finger, still reading the entries in the notebook and flipped through more pages. “They’re looking for the seer. Something about making a powerful talisman with her blood.”

  “Oh really?” I rocked on my heels, tempted to whistle. “Don’t know anything about that. Wait. You hear something?”

  She slammed the notebook shut and ran to the hall. “No, I don’t see anyone.”