Blood Hunt

by Butcher, Shannon K.

  Krag’s demons closed in around them, forming a circle of fangs and teeth and claws. She didn’t know how she was going to fight them all off.

  Logan broke free and flew at Krag, knocking the demon to the floor. He was thin, his ribs showing clearly beneath his skin. And he was still wounded—covered in festering bite marks. There was no way he was strong enough to defeat Krag.

  “Run!” shouted Logan.

  Hope couldn’t. She knew it would be a death sentence for Logan if she did. He needed her help.

  Frantically, she searched for a way to fight off the encroaching monsters. They were only a few feet away now, and she had the distinct impression that once Krag was dead, no one would control them.

  Hope grabbed Logan’s shirt and used a candle to light it on fire. She tossed it toward one hideous beast that was getting too close for comfort, and then picked up the dagger.

  Krag roared, letting out an inhuman sound of pain. Logan stumbled back, holding a black, slimy mass in his fist. Krag’s heart.

  The demon twitched, bleeding onto the floor.

  The group of women who had sat still and silent through this whole ordeal began to cry and scream.

  The circle of Synestryn tightened.

  Hope grabbed Logan’s arm to hold him up. “We need to get out of here.”

  “I’ll hold them off,” panted Logan. “You run.”

  “I’m not leaving you behind.”

  “I can’t fight them off. I can only slow them down. And I can’t go in the sun with you. Another Warden will come and kill everything in sight.”

  Hope looked up at the painted windows.

  Logan saw her do it and said, “We might not make it.”

  “I don’t see a choice.”

  A demon lunged at Logan and he kicked it back into the group. “Do it. Fast.”

  Hope gathered up all the strength she could and hurled the dagger at one of the high windows. It shattered, letting sunlight and fresh air spill in.

  Demons hissed, cringing back from the light.

  A shaft of light hit the concrete directly to their left. Logan stepped into it and pulled Hope in for a tight hug.

  The air vibrated until she could feel it in her chest. Searing brightness filled the room, blinding her for a moment.

  She held on to Logan’s body, hiding her face in the crook of his neck.

  The sound of wind chimes and breaking glass exploded around them. Demons screamed.

  Something warm and soft surrounded her. She opened her eyes to see the bluish light of one of Logan’s shields. It spread out over them and the sobbing women who were staring in shock at the slaughter.

  The Warden’s swords slashed through the air, hitting something with every strike. Black blood rained down over them only to roll off of Logan’s shield.

  Hope felt his body shaking as he grew weaker. The urge to feed him swelled inside her, forcing her to act. She pulled his head down to her throat, knowing he wouldn’t be able to resist.

  He didn’t. One arm tightened around her while he pierced her skin and drank.

  The fight no longer mattered. The abused, broken women winked out of existence. The Warden and the demons and the rain of black blood became inconsequential. All she cared about, all she could feel was Logan’s mouth tugging on her throat, his tongue stroking her skin and his body growing stronger as he held her.

  It ended too soon. His mouth pulled away and she sagged in his hold, unwilling to step back away from him.

  “You’re safe now,” he whispered into her ear.

  Safe? Hope looked up. The Warden had made quick work of the demons, and what it hadn’t killed, the sun had left smoking in ashy piles. The women were huddled together nearby, safely inside Logan’s shield. At some point, he’d moved her into the shadows, leaving that glowing beam of sunshine.

  One of the steel walls of the building was buckled in. A truck had rammed into it, breaking it open from the outside. A tall woman in black leather stood next to a man with a sword. Her hand was raised, and a few feet away, floating inside a giant, translucent bubble was the Warden.

  “Cover your ears,” shouted the woman.

  Logan’s hands came down over her ears an instant before an enormous boom shattered the Warden into pretty shards of crystal.

  “Clear,” yelled the woman.

  “Friends,” said Logan a bit too loudly, as though he couldn’t hear himself.

  “Handy friends.”

  The woman tossed Logan a metallic survival blanket folded into a neat rectangle. “Cover up. Nicholas is waiting outside with the pink-haired girl.”

  Rory.

  Relief weakened Hope for a moment, but she suffered through that weakness, thankful that her friend had been spared.

  Unlike Sister Olive.

  The nun’s body was where Krag had dropped it, staring up into the sunlight. Grief choked Hope and she had to swallow twice to ease the tightness in her throat. “I have to take care of her.”

  “We will. We won’t leave her here.”

  “You go ahead and get out of the sun. I’ll take care of her,” said Hope. It was only fitting, since Sister Olive had taken care of her all these years.

  Logan touched her face, so gently it brought tears to her eyes. “You’re not alone. My friends will care for you.” His tone sounded suspiciously like a farewell.

  “Will you come find me after sunset?”

  He shook his head. “I cannot. One of the others will take you to Eric. He’ll make you happy.”

  She grabbed his arm to keep him from walking away. “I don’t want Eric. I want you.”

  His gaze roamed her face as if memorizing it. “Don’t,” he whispered. “Just . . . don’t.” And then he turned and walked away, huddling inside the metallic blanket and out of sight.

  Hope stood there, letting the chaos pass around her. He’d said he loved her. It hadn’t been a lie. She would have seen that kind of deception flare in his aura.

  Sadly, love wasn’t as important to him as duty. And because she loved him, she had to let him do what was going to make him happy. Being with her wasn’t it.

  Chapter 31

  Not even the heavy lethargy of midday could lull Logan to sleep. It had been three days since he’d slept, three days since he’d last seen Hope.

  Tynan had taken over her care, ensuring she didn’t ovulate while Logan’s blood was still pumping through her system. Tynan had also seen to her placement in Project Lullaby. He and Alexander had arranged for her meeting with Eric.

  Reportedly, she’d tried to kill him with a butter knife.

  Tynan said he had another man in mind for her—one a bit more refined and less barbaric. Whomever the man was, Logan hoped he knew how lucky he was.

  Logan rose from his bed, washed, dressed, and went upstairs to find something to occupy his thoughts.

  Hope was probably already with this man, starting her new life with him. Forgetting all about Logan and the time they’d shared.

  Jealousy twisted inside him, grating against his already raw nerves. It was unfortunate that jealousy would get them no closer to discovering why the power in Hope’s blood seemed to cling to Logan’s cells. None of the other Sanguinar had been able to extract any power from the blood he’d offered them, and they needed to determine if this was a new development.

  If so, their job of finding rich blood sources was going to become much more difficult, since no one Sanguinar could dependably identify a source.

  He went to Tynan’s lab, hoping to offer his services in some way. The need to be of use and end his heartache gave him a sense of urgency he couldn’t contain, but he couldn’t stand the thought of being around people right now. His mood was too bleak and grating. With all the tragedy that had struck them recently, Logan dared not spread around his negative thoughts for fear of the consequences on the humans here at Dabyr.

  The humans who’d been Krag’s captives had been sorted out and dealt with appropriately. Those who were not Dorjan an
d had not been with him long had their memories erased. Those whose minds couldn’t be cleansed were residing here at Dabyr, picking up the pieces of their shattered lives.

  The few Dorjan whose minds were too infected to ever be free again were housed below Dabyr in the prison cells where they would live out the rest of their artificially brief lives. Most of them would be mad within a month. He’d never known a captured Dorjan to last more than a year before their bodies simply gave out. For them, death was a blessing that couldn’t come too soon.

  Jodi was safe, living with her parents while the photography studio was rebuilt. Rory had disappeared, probably back onto the streets.

  Now that the homeless shelter was gone, Logan wondered where she’d sleep.

  An idea began to form in his mind, taking wing and offering him a small blanket of solace. He may never again be able to see Hope, but he knew exactly how to honor her memory.

  Tynan let him into the lab, set out some samples of blood for him to study, and left.

  It was Hope’s blood on those slides. Logan could smell her fragile scent filling his head. He tried to convince himself that never seeing her again was the best. For both of them. The lie left him feeling restless and edgy.

  He couldn’t concentrate on his work. He kept staring into the microscope, searching Hope’s blood for something that wasn’t there—a way he could have her in his life. Forever.

  Tynan came back into the lab, and instantly, Logan knew he’d been with her. Hope’s scent clung to him. She’d been afraid.

  Logan shoved his chair back and faced Tynan, teeth bared. “What did you do to her?”

  “Who?”

  “Hope.”

  “Nothing. She’s fine.”

  “She’s afraid.”

  Tynan let out a heavy sigh. “I found another match for her. He’s here at Dabyr. She wasn’t sure things would work out as I promised, so she was a bit apprehensive. It’s perfectly natural—nothing for you to worry about.”

  But he would. He knew he would. He’d worry about her welfare every second of every day for the rest of his life.

  How could he not when he loved her so desperately? And how could he remain here, under this roof, knowing she was here as well? With another man.

  Logan’s body was an angry, alien beast. He lurched up from his seat, knocking the microscope to the floor.

  “Either let me remove your memories of the woman or go home,” ordered Tynan, his tone final. “I can’t work around you when you’re like this.”

  Rage made his limbs shake. “You will never take my memories of her away. They are all I have left.”

  “Then leave. I cannot tolerate your destructive tendencies.”

  “I need to keep busy.”

  “Read a book. Watch TV. Just please leave me to work in peace.”

  Tynan was right. As fevered as Logan’s emotions were right now, he feared what he might do. If he didn’t keep to himself, someone might get hurt. It was best he stayed isolated until he had better control over himself. Assuming he ever would.

  He went back to his suite to pack. He had to leave this place, hole up in a Gerai house for a while.

  He stopped in the hall at his doorway. Hope’s scent lingered in the air, as if she’d passed this way.

  His heart raced and he hardened in a fast rush. He never should have lain with her. While it had been exquisite, he now knew exactly what he was missing—what some other man would now share with her. He’d never again feel the silky glide of her skin, or hear the soft sighs of her pleasure. He’d never again smell the mingling of their scents, melding together so perfectly. He’d never again taste her kisses or the heated salt of her skin. Never again taste her blood or feel the heady rush of power she gave him.

  It was too much to bear. He’d lost too much to ever recover fully. Time would ease the pain, but the hole she’d left inside him would forever bleed at her loss.

  Logan swiped his key card and went inside his suite.

  Hope was there, sitting on his couch. She froze when she saw him, her eyes going wide with surprise.

  “What are you doing here?” he asked. This was some kind of cruel joke. Someone had let her in so he’d have to suffer her loss all over again. Whoever that was would pay dearly.

  “Tynan said my choices were to stay here with my memories or leave without them. He said I could share this suite with a roommate. I was waiting to meet her.”

  “Her? He told me he’d found someone for you.”

  She stood slowly, her movements graceful and sinuous. She was so beautiful his gaze was fixed, soaking in her loveliness.

  Logan remembered every curve of her body. He remembered how she felt under his hand, the way she sucked in a breath and bit her bottom lip when he found her most sensitive spots, like the one at her nape and the small of her back.

  His blood heated and he took a few steps to his left so that the recliner hid his erection. It was his shame that he couldn’t control himself around her, but it seemed beyond his ability.

  She cocked her head to the side, unknowingly drawing attention to her neck. Her pulse beat there, strong and sure, and for the first time in three days, a knot of anxiety loosened up inside Logan’s chest. She was safe. Whole. At his side, where he wanted her most.

  “Are you saying he was trying to fix me up with another guy?” she asked, irritation plain in her tone. “After that chauvinistic asshole Eric, I’m never trusting a Sanguinar’s opinion in men again.”

  “I . . .” He trailed off, at a loss for how to respond. Of course Tynan would try to find her another mate. Whether he’d told her that was another story. “This is my suite.”

  “You live here?” she asked, taking a small step toward him.

  “Yes.”

  A smile tugged at one corner of her mouth. “Did you know Tynan told me I could live here?”

  “No.”

  “And what do you think about the idea?”

  “Idea?”

  She came closer, skirting around the chair that he was using to shield his erection from her. “The idea of me staying here. Sleeping here.”

  “Sleeping? Here?” His mind couldn’t quite grasp the concept. Why would Tynan have sent her here? He said he’d found a good match for her. That match couldn’t be Logan. He couldn’t give her children.

  “Yes. Do you mind?”

  Lack of oxygen made it hard to think. She’d been asking him something that he was sure was going to lead to Hope in his bed.

  Ah, yes. Her staying here in his suite. Tynan had told her to stay here.

  Did he mind? He’d never wanted anything more in his life. “No. Of course you’re welcome in my home.” That answer was going to cost him dearly as soon as she left. And she would. Logan could not allow himself any fantasies to the contrary. Hope’s blood was powerful and his people needed her and her children, even if it took them ten years to find a man she accepted as suitable.

  The other corner of her mouth turned up, her smile becoming victorious. She reached up and looped her arms around his neck. After so many days without it, her touch was a balm to his skin.

  He shivered against the sheer pleasure of her skin on his, closing his eyes to revel in the moment.

  Logan’s phone rang. He fumbled for it like a lifeline, knowing that ringing had kept him from doing something disgraceful.

  “She’s there, I presume,” said Tynan, his tone smug.

  “Yes. Why? Why would you do this to me?”

  “Because we both know that the root of a good match is happiness. You love her. Make her happy.”

  “But I can’t—”

  “Give her children. I know. We’ll make do. For now, enjoy her. Make her happy. You both deserve it. Besides, I can’t have her trying to kill anyone else. It’s not good for business.”

  Logan didn’t know what to say. He’d never expected to be freed from his duty, free to love Hope the way he wanted to.

  “You’re welcome,” said Tynan in the face of L
ogan’s silence. Then he hung up.

  Hope took his phone, powered it off, and tossed it onto the chair. “We have some things to discuss.”

  “As you wish.”

  “You left me. I didn’t like it.”

  “I’m sorry. Truly.”

  “You said you loved me. Did you mean it?”

  He touched her face. He couldn’t stand not to feel her skin against his fingertips for even one more second. “I did. I do. With all of my heart, such as it is.”

  She pressed her hand to his chest. “I like your heart, such as it is.”

  “It’s yours.”

  “I know your duty is important to you, and I respect that. But Tynan said it doesn’t have to get in the way of us. Is that true? Because if it’s not, I’ll walk away right now and never bother you again.”

  “No,” he hurried to say. “Don’t go. My duty is to my people, but perhaps that duty is best served by showing them that they, too, can find happiness like I have.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Positive.”

  Hope nodded. “Good, because there’s something I want to show you—something Tynan doesn’t know.”

  “What?”

  She pulled his head down until his forehead touched hers. She placed his fingertips on her temples and covered them with her own hands. “My amnesia. It’s gone. I know who I am now and where I came from.”

  Logan’s head flooded with images of a beautiful, alien place. Twin suns burned bright and the air was thick with moisture, making lush plants bloom all around. This wasn’t Earth. It wasn’t Athanasia. It was someplace new.

  “Temprocia,” she whispered against his thoughts. “I was born here. Raised here.”

  The image of a stunningly beautiful woman filled his head. She was ancient, but he wasn’t sure how he knew that. There were no signs of her age on her face, just a wisdom in her eyes and a confidence in her carriage.

  “She sent me here. To save you, to save the humans. She knows the Solarc cursed you and that you’re dying. She knows your kind can never feel the sun, so she sent me to be your sunshine.”

  “What are you?” he asked, unsure if he’d said the words aloud or not.

  “Like you. Or at least like you should have been if the Solarc hadn’t cursed you. She said it wasn’t your fault, and that no child should have to pay for a decision their parents made.”