Illumination (The Penton Vampire Legacy Book 5)

by Susannah Sandlin

  Easier said than done.

  Chapter 21 * Shay

  The crypt in Lafayette Cemetery had grown more claustrophobic and damp as the day progressed. Rain had fallen in dull thuds against the top of the structure for hours, and they had to remain quiet lest one of Simon’s minions skulked nearby.

  A few minutes after Nik had made his phone call, he’d passed out or died or whatever vampires did during the day. He’d remained motionless, curled up against the back wall of the crypt, wedged underneath the shelf of urns. He hadn’t reacted when she had nudged the crypt door a quarter-inch to the right to let in a bit of cold, damp air.

  She thought she might die if she couldn’t pee soon. Would it hurt Nik if she eased the door open wide enough to slip out for a couple of minutes?

  “Hey, Nik. You awake yet?” It looked dark out, but in this rainy weather, it was hard to tell what was late-afternoon gloom and nightfall.

  At the sound of his name, Nik stirred and, even in the near-dark, Shay saw his eyes open. Not because the dim light from the light poles coming through the cracked crypt opening was bright, but because his irises glowed.

  “You’re hungry” Shay said. Or horny, or pissed off. That’s what the late, great Jonathan had told her once about vampires when she’d asked why Simon’s dark-blue eyes had grown almost fluorescent sometimes, probably with anger. But Jon had said most vamps either fed before what they called daysleep, or as soon as they awoke. “Sorry, but I’m vaccinated so I’m off the menu.”

  Nik sat up and rubbed his eyes. “I wouldn’t want to drink from you anyway because you’re pregnant. It might hurt the baby, and I couldn’t risk that.”

  Certainly a different attitude than Simon had.

  “Because the baby could be the first new generation of vampire feeders?”

  He frowned as if she had grown horns. “No, Shay, because it’s your baby. Your son or daughter. I mean, I don’t know if you want the baby or how you feel about it, but everyone I know thinks that plan of Frank Greisser’s is sickening. We’re going to stop it.”

  They’d talk about that later. Now, she had a more pressing issue—namely, her bladder. “Since you’re awake, does that mean it’s late enough for me to sneak out and pee? I’m dying here.”

  “Wait a second.” Nik closed his eyes and sat up, leaning toward the crypt door. Shay could swear he was sniffing the air, so she sniffed too. Mud, rain, musty air, an undertone of decay she didn’t want to think about too much. What would a vampire smell?

  “I don’t scent any humans or vampires around here right now, although admittedly I’m damn new at this whole vampire thing so I wouldn’t trust my instincts too much.” He shifted his gaze to Shay. “The light hasn’t hurt me, so go ahead and try it. Just be quiet and keep your eyes open.”

  Thank God.

  Shay crawled through the opening, flinching at the cold drops of light rain that pelted her head—atypical New Orleans weather, where rain usually poured from the heavens hard enough to beat holes in your skin.

  Even outside the crypt, time of day was hard to gauge because of the dark gloom, but she’d guess it was about sundown. The streetlights were on. No wonder her bladder was ready to explode. Pregnant women had to pee. A lot. And if it was sundown, the vampires would be stirring. Maybe not quite yet, though. Maybe it took them a few minutes to wake up and feed.

  After sitting in cramped quarters and breathing stale air for hours, even the cold rain felt good. Shay edged into the narrow alley between the Le Boeuf crypt and the one next to it—barely wide enough to stand in—and spent a few seconds gulping lungsful of fresh air. Darkness was setting in fast, and the street lights around the edges of the cemetery gave off very little light.

  With a vine-covered brick wall behind her and the crypts on either side, this would have been a relatively safe spot to do her business, but it was too narrow. She could barely stand sideways in it.

  Shay poked her head out and looked up and down the grassy walkway between the row of crypts on which the Le Boeufs were stashed for eternity, and the row in front of it. All clear, as near as she could tell.

  She ran across the grass and stopped alongside a larger crypt. “Sorry, whoever’s buried here,” she said, squatting and relieving herself with a sigh. She’d needed to go for so long, even when she finished and tugged up her stretchy jeans, her abdomen remained sore.

  What a joy it would be to walk around for a few minutes before climbing back inside that crypt and learning what brilliant escape plan Nik’s friends had come up with. But this was no time for sightseeing.

  Shay turned to go back to the Le Boeuf crypt, but stopped short at a flash of movement in the narrow space between tombs where she’d been standing a couple of minutes earlier.

  Holy mother of God. She’d only thought a vampire minion was the worst thing she’d find out here.

  From the shadows slinked what looked in the dim light like a black panther or jaguar—some type of big cat. It was huge, maybe seven feet long and as tall as Shay’s waist. Around one of its back legs was strapped some type of dark cloth that almost looked like a fanny pack. She wanted to run, but forced herself to stay in place. Weren’t wild animals more apt to chase and kill things that ran from them?

  If she could get back to the Le Boeuf crypt she could use Nik’s phone to call the zoo; this had to be an escapee. But to get to that crypt, she’d have to run past the cat.

  Instead, she remained frozen, trying to regulate her breathing as the big cat came to a stop a few feet in front of her and sat. It studied her for a few long seconds with bright, alert green eyes that seemed to glow in the semi-darkness, and then it began to purr. Granted, it sounded like a small engine, but it was definitely a purr.

  Was it purring because it was happy to be out of the zoo or because it knew a nice pregnant woman was now on its dinner menu?

  The air around the cat shimmered and Shay clapped her hands over her mouth to stop her panicked squeak from rousing half of uptown New Orleans. Where the cat had been, there stood a man. One of the most gorgeous men Shay had ever seen, including Nik Dimitrou, complete with broad shoulders and shoulder-length black hair that curled in the rain. Now he wasn’t purring. He was grinning at her. And he was naked.

  “You’re Shay, aren’t you? I recognize you from the newspaper clips.” His voice was deep and had a Southern drawl—the kind one found in Mississippi or Alabama, not in South Louisiana.

  “Nik showed them to you?” Shay, you are an idiot. Of all the questions she could have asked him—Who and what are you? What are you planning to do, and are you going to do it naked?—she’d asked the stupidest one possible.

  The man laughed and leaned over to unfasten what was, indeed, a fanny pack strapped to his right calf and extracted a pair of shorts. “Guess I could get decent before we talk.”

  He was more than decent already, but Shay thought it inappropriate to say so. Instead, she said nothing as he tugged on the shorts. Her tongue was stuck to the roof of her mouth.

  “I’m Archer Logan, a friend of Nik’s.” He reached out a big hand and she shook it without thinking. “I’m originally from Tennessee, but I’m part of the Penton team who’s here to get you guys out. Where’s the Le Boeuf crypt?”

  Shay pointed behind him and to the left. He walked over, squatted, and tossed the heavy marble door aside as if it were made of Styrofoam.

  “And so we meet again, love.” A voice behind her almost made Shay empty her bladder again. She whirled to see the British vampire who’d lost his arm. The right lower sleeve of his sweater moved in the breeze, empty.

  “I’m sorry about your arm.” She cringed at the wince that crossed his face. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have mentioned it.”

  He gave her a weak smile. “Stop apologizing. My mate, Robin, tells me I’m wallowing in self-pity quite too much already. I’m Cage Reynolds, and I think you’ve met our kitty cat, Archer. I know you’re Shay. Now, introductions done. Let’s get out of here, shall we?”r />
  Oh, please dear God yes.

  “The others are over there.” By the time they reached the Le Boeuf crypt, Nik had crawled out. He embraced Archer with that half hug, half shoulder clap thing guys did, then came and did the same with Cage. Unlike big-mouthed Shay, Nik had the good grace not to mention Cage’s arm.

  “Right then. We have an obscenely large vehicle on the other side of that brick wall,” Cage said. “Archer or Nik should be able to help you over. Once I’m sure you’re in the car and locked up tight, I’ll collect Robin and Glory from the cemetery entrance and we’ll all be on our way back to Penton.”

  Shay bit her lip. She had absolutely no reason to go to Penton, wherever the hell it was. Her home and life and work were here in New Orleans. She knew she’d have to be careful, but now that the breeding house was broken up and Jonathan was dead, the vampires and their minions had no reason to come after her. Whatever feelings Shay had nursed for Nik Dimitrou in high school, they were long dead. Gorgeous only took a person so far. Besides, he was a vampire.

  She’d wait until they got her out of this cemetery, though, to decline her visit to Vampire Central. Maybe the handsome cat boy would drop her off somewhere. But where? She had no money or identification with her. She didn’t even have the keys to her own apartment or lab.

  Maybe a police station. They could come up with a plausible story for her disappearance. Maybe even name Simon as her kidnapper, and the warehouse location. Let the authorities make of it what they would.

  Shay was distracted by the sight of Archer leaping to the top of the brick wall behind the Le Boeuf crypt, followed closely by Nik. Her old classmate might be injured and hungry, but that wall had given him no challenge. Shay wasn’t sure she could climb over it without a sturdy ladder on a good day. Today had not been a good day except that she hadn’t died.

  Nik reached down and motioned to Shay. “C’mon, let’s get out of here.”

  Shay looked at the wall, at Nik, and back at the wall. “I don’t think you can lift me. You’re hurt.”

  “Trust me.” Nik grinned, giving Shay a glimpse of an older, even more handsome version of the boy she’d known so many years ago. She’d thought she loved that boy; this man, though….was a vampire. Don’t forget that, idiot.

  She nodded, dried her hands on her jeans as much as she could, and reached up toward Nik. He leaned over, wrapped strong fingers around both of her wrists, and lifted her to the top of the wall with what seemed like little effort, setting her down beside him.

  “Swing your legs over, and I’ll lower you down the other side. Or I can leap down with you in my arms.” His grin widened, and her heart beat double-time when their gazes locked. Vampire. He’s a freaking vampire. He’s a freaking vampire involved in a war with other freaking vampires. You cannot trust him. Lust, yes. Trust, no.

  “Whatever you do, would you please move your arses?” Cage stood beneath them. “I’m getting soaked and—”

  A loud pop sounded from the Washington Avenue end of the cemetery, followed by a splintering noise and another pop pop. Shay had lived in New Orleans long enough to recognize the sound of gunfire.

  Cage ran toward the shots, shouting over his shoulder. “Bring the car around to the entrance.”

  Shay spotted a live oak tree outside the cemetery gates toppling toward the ground before her own world tilted and she found herself in Nik Dimitrou’s arms.

  Chapter 22 * Nik

  Wrapping his arms around Shay Underwood felt natural. It was a crisis, right? As a soldier, he’d been trained to be protective of the innocent. He’d grabbed her, slid off the brick wall, and landed them easily on the muddy ground below. He shouldn’t have time to think how good she felt in his arms, however, or be so reluctant to let her go that she looked at him as if he were insane…or maybe unfathomable. Like an exotic bug swimming in a glass of wine, or a unicorn frolicking in a field of cows.

  “You drive—I’m going to help,” Archer called. He tossed his keys, whacking Nick in the head loud enough to be heard over the patter of raindrops. That might or might not have been an intentional shot, but at least it jarred Nik’s brain back into working order. He released Shay except for her hand, picked up the keys, and pulled her along the soggy ground toward the big Toyota SUV with the rental plates on the back. Robin must have traded in his rental for a bigger model.

  He opened the passenger door for her. “Get in. Sit on that short row in back and stay low.” He climbed in the driver’s seat and cranked the engine.

  “Simon’s people must have found us.” Shay settled into the back seat, but leaned forward instead of crouching. “I recognized gunshots, but what brought down that big tree? Freaky coincidence?”

  “I don’t think so. Get down now; talk later.” Nik floored the vehicle hard enough for the back end to shimmy when they made a quick right turn. He slowed down as he approached Prytania, then caught the red light before turning onto Washington near the cemetery entrance. Good thing; it gave him time to assess the situation.

  A growing crowd gathered around a massive live oak that lay uprooted along the avenue—but not blocking either the street or the cemetery. Glory’s aim had been good.

  The light turned green, and Nik eased the SUV onto Washington and came to a rolling stop at the cemetery entrance. The tall wrought iron gates stood open and, from the back seat, Shay gasped. “It’s that Marianne woman and another vampire.”

  “And my favorite kitty,” Nik mumbled. The black jaguar that was Archer Logan snarled and clawed at the air in front of the two vampires, whom he’d backed against a crypt. Robin and Cage edged out of the gates and ran toward the SUV. Nik finally spotted Glory, dressed in a navy sweater and jeans, standing outside the cemetery walls beside the gate, her arms held out and her head down. She was in full telekinesis mode.

  With a final snarl, Archer turned and raced through the gates toward the car, throwing himself in the middle row of seats alongside Robin and Cage, still in shifted form. Which meant his front half stretched along Robin’s lap.

  Marianne and her companion were a few feet behind him but just as they reached the cemetery entrance, Glory slashed an arm downward and one of the heavy iron gates, likely cast in a New Orleans foundry almost two centuries ago, fell on top of them. Then she ran and jumped in the passenger seat next to Nik.

  “Let’s get the hell out of here.” Cage leaned forward, looking over Nik’s shoulder. “Freeway or safe house?”

  “Freeway.” Nik drove slowly through the throngs of people examining the exposed roots of the live oak that was at least a century older than the cemetery gates. As soon as he cleared the crowd, he sped toward Tchoupitoulas and took a left, which gave him a straight shot to the interstate.

  “They’ll expect us to drive straight up I-10 toward Alabama, so I’m taking the scenic route. Think we need to ditch the car?”

  “They never saw it,” Robin said, “but we need to get Archer some clothes so he can shift back. I’m going to smell like a wet cat.”

  Shifters. Nik had never known one to keep track of their clothes worth a shit and, strange as it was, he’d come to know quite a few shifters in the past couple of years. Good ones and bad ones. Archer and Robin were good ones.

  “Okay, we need clothes for Archer. What else?” Cage looked around at Shay. “Are you hungry?”

  “Yes, and I’m feeling queasy so something carbonated would be good,” she said. “Nik is hungry too.” Nik smiled; he wasn’t sure he’d have asked, but she’d done it for him.

  “Cage, I told you he wouldn’t feed from a pregnant woman even if he was dying of starvation.” Robin reached forward and thumped Nik on the back of his head. Usually, that move annoyed him. He was so glad to be alive and leaving Frank Greisser’s worker bees that, tonight, it amused him.

  “I’m okay for a while and, besides, Shay is vaccinated. Let’s get out of the city before we stop anywhere.”

  They drove the next hour in silence as Nik took a winding route via bac
kroads into southern Mississippi, finally stopping at a superstore in the small city of Laurel. Nik’s back throbbed from the slow-healing stab wound, so he was happy to sit in the vehicle while Glory and Robin shopped for food and shifter clothes. Shay stayed behind as well, while Archer purred and stretched out on the pavement next to the SUV, hidden from the parking lot lights.

  “We need to change places.” Cage shifted to look at the seating. “Shay, you sit on the middle row with Nik and Robin. He needs to feed and the kitty has already done his feeding duty for tonight. Archer can drive once he is properly clothed, and Glory needs to be up front in case she needs to uproot another tree. I’ll sit in the back.”

  “Wait.” Shay’s voice shook as she and Cage traded spots and Nik moved to sit beside her on the middle row of seats. She touched him on the shoulder. “Nik, thank you and your friends for saving me, but if someone could loan me the money, I’d like to part ways here. You know New Orleans is where I live, where I do my work. My work is important to me, and my research is beginning to take off. I don’t know exactly where Penton is, but I do know there’s no reason for me to go there.”

  Nik’s slide onto the seat next to her blocked Shay’s exit; he stretched out his legs to make sure she couldn’t go anywhere. “No way you’re going back to New Orleans. Not even an option. You have to go with us to Penton.”

  She arched an eyebrow at him, challenging. “Why do I have to?”

  “Because…” Because he didn’t believe for a minute that Hannah was right about him loving Shay Underwood. Too much time had passed. He wasn’t even sure he liked her now; they were virtual strangers. But something inside him reacted with a skitter akin to panic at the thought of her being away from him. Besides, Hannah had said it was important for Shay to come to Penton, that she could help them somehow. “Because there’s a girl named Hannah who—”

  “Because, among other things, you are a loose end, my lovely Shay,” Cage interrupted. Hadn’t he said something similar about them when they’d left Simon’s human dead on his living room floor?