Illumination (The Penton Vampire Legacy Book 5)

by Susannah Sandlin

  All good, except she wouldn’t be there when Mirren came out of his daysleep and she loved being with him then. He’d stretch like a giant, oversized cat, wrap her up in those strong arms, and they’d show each other in every way how much they’d missed being together the past few hours.

  Finally, Glory put the last dish in the drainer, checked to make sure the fridge was stocked for late-night snackers, and hurried toward the hatch to the tunnels.

  She’d just lifted the steel hatch door when she heard a scream. Well, half a scream that had been abruptly cut off. She paused, glancing back into the training center. It was empty except for a few of the human familiars who fed their vampires later.

  Another odd sound reached her—a drill, maybe?

  Before she could start down the ladder, a mental message from Mirren reached her with such intensity she almost fell down the hole.

  “Shay’s in trouble. Can you get to Greisser’s cell fast? Don’t take any chances. Get someone to help. On my way.”

  That had been Shay screaming. Heart pounding, Glory glanced back in the training center again and saw Mark Calvert rooting around in the fridge. She didn’t dare yell and tip Frank off, so she raced across the room, came up behind him, and hissed, “Mark!”

  “Holy shit, Glory. You scared the bejeezus…what’s wrong?”

  Mark’s face had gone from laughing to dead serious in a second. “Come with me,” she whispered. “Are you armed?”

  “Yes.”

  She whispered what Mirren had told her on the way back to the hatch door. She hoped the lost time hadn’t been enough to cost Shay her life. She was injured; Glory had no doubts about that.

  Mark stopped her at the top of the ladder. “Let me take out whoever’s outside the cage while you make sure Shay is clear. Then bring the tunnel down on the lot of them. Can you do that?”

  Oh yes, she could do that. And if a stray bar of silver-covered steel happened to puncture Frank Greisser’s black, evil heart, well, what a pity.

  Mark held a finger over his lips for quiet, then climbed down the ladder. By the time Glory had followed him down, he was waiting for her with his gun drawn—the same type of big .45 Smith & Wesson that Aidan and Mirren carried.

  Glory was glad for their soft-soled shoes as they crept down the tunnel toward the cutoff to the cells. The drilling noise was louder, or was it some type of saw? Someone was trying to break Frank out. Although even if the man escaped his cell, how had he thought he’d escape the heart of Penton with his life?

  Because he’d have a hostage. And what better hostage than a pregnant human who was an innocent in all this vampire mess?

  Mark reached the ninety-degree cutoff to the cells and held up a finger for her to wait. He leaned out just far enough to take a quick look, then drew back.

  Damn, but Glory wished she and Mark could communicate telepathically.

  He closed his eyes for a few seconds, and about ten or twenty seconds later, Glory heard Mirren again. Mark says there’s one guy working on cutting the bars of Greisser’s cell. Greisser and Marianne are awake. Shay is on the ground about halfway between the turnoff and the cell doors. He’s gonna shoot the guy, then grab Shay. When they’re both clear, do your thing. We’re almost there. Be careful.

  Got it, she told Mirren.

  Mirren and Aidan could communicate telepathically, and Mark was bonded to Aidan. They had a freaking vampire chain message going.

  She nodded at Mark to let him know she understood, then took a deep breath. She thought about the structure of the tunnel extension. Around the concrete was hard red Alabama clay. The crews who’d dug it had a fit not only making inroads into that stuff but hauling it out. Mirren had come home for daysleep every morning looking like he’d wallowed in iron rust.

  Mark checked the clip in his pistol, stepped just far enough into the opening to get a clear shot, and fired twice.

  “Who the fuck are you?” Frank Greisser shoved his cot into the bars. “Derek, get up. I order you to get up now.”

  “Sorry, Derek’s gone to meet his maker.” Mark leaned over to make sure Derek was dead, and Glory stepped into the tunnel just outside the opening to the extension. Frank saw her and frowned. He didn’t know who she was, but Marianne did.

  “That’s the Slayer’s mate. Protect yourself!” She crawled underneath her cot, or as much as she could. Like that was going to help her.

  Mark felt for Shay’s pulse, nodded, then picked her up with a groan. God, his back. Mark had chronic back problems and this was not going to help them. But he moved past her and got well away from the extension opening before settling Shay down on the concrete floor.

  Showtime.

  Glory lowered her head and raised her arms, calling on whatever powers had been given to her by her Muscogee ancestors, and the concrete over the cells cracked. She didn’t look up when the chunks began to fall, or when Frank began to curse in English and German, or when the walls collapsed and filled her nostrils with choking dust and the smell of wet earth.

  She didn’t open her eyes until the big warm hands that could only belong to Mirren rested on her shoulders from behind, then wrapped her in a hug. “It’s over, Glory.”

  She turned, looking for Shay, but didn’t see either her or Mark. “Where’s Shay? Where’s Krys and Mark?”

  “Come on, let’s wait in the subsuites,” he said softly, then growled at the growing crowd of onlookers who’d flooded down from the training center. “It’s over for now. Go home and stay there. Everything’s okay. We’ll fill you in tomorrow.”

  Glory walked alongside him. At the entrance to the hall of subsuites, Will waited on them. “The rest of the lieutenants are on patrol,” he said. His amber-brown eyes were unusually somber. “I don’t expect anything to happen, but Frank might have others he’s been in mental contact with. We should’ve considered that.”

  “Fuck yes, we should have. I should have.” When Mirren’s voice came out more growl than voice, Glory knew he was furious. This time, she wasn’t even going to chastise him for cursing around her. She’d never expected to win that battle anyway.

  “Okay, now that we’re away from everyone, tell me about Shay. And where are Krys and Aidan?” And now that she thought about it. “And Nik?”

  Mirren unlocked the door to the room Aidan and Krys were staying in. “Aidan is upstairs with Krys, at the lab,” Will said. “Archer was cut pretty badly—there’s blood all over that lab, so Greisser’s guy must have surprised him.”

  Archer was a shifter; he could heal. If Robin had healed her wound, so would Archer. “Now tell me what you don’t want to tell me. Where. Is. Shay?”

  “She’s bleeding—a lot,” Mirren said. “She isn’t dead, but that asshole knocked her around and…” He picked up a plastic cup and smashed it into his palm. “I don’t know if the baby will make it. I don’t know if she’ll make it.”

  Tears welled in Glory’s eyes and began rolling down her cheeks before she could stop them. Shay and her baby represented something the women who’d chosen to live in Penton had given up. She would never have a child because she couldn’t have Mirren’s child. Same with Krys, with Randa. This baby might have been conceived for violent purposes, but Shay loved her unborn daughter, and so did everyone else.

  “Why isn’t Krys with Shay?” Glory wiped her eyes, but it didn’t stop the tears from falling. “She needs more help than Archer.”

  “She needs more help than Krys can give her.” Will’s voice was soft. “Nik drove her and Mark to the hospital in Lee County—it has the closest neonatal unit. Mark’s going to pose as her brother and take care of the bills since there won’t be insurance. He was going to be her husband, but Nik wouldn’t have it.”

  The hospital might be willing to go the extra mile if guaranteed cash payment was forthcoming. Aidan had more money than God Himself, and Mark had access to all of it. Another thing worried her, though.

  “Shay is still considered a missing person in New Orleans. They’l
l ask for an I.D., and she won’t have one. The police will get involved.”

  “Gadget has friends in places I don’t even want to know about.” Will smiled. “If she needs it, Shay has a new identity and a Chambers County address near LaFayette. It’s a legitimate house that Aidan owns. Chances are, that won’t be needed, though.”

  Glory’s head spun with everything that could go wrong. They always went to extremes to avoid human law enforcement or medical personnel. But there was no other way.

  “What about Nik? Does he need to be hanging around a human hospital?”

  Will shook his head. “I didn’t have the heart to stop him. They are bondmates now. As of last night, apparently, and the anti-vaccine passed with flying colors.”

  Oh God. Glory’s heart raced. “The formula for the anti-vaccine. Frank didn’t get it, did he? Did I bury it in the tunnel with Frank and Marianne?”

  “Aidan gave it to me a few minutes ago. Shay gave it to him last night.” Will held up a notebook with blue sticky notes poking from a half-dozen pages. “I’m taking it to Gadget.”

  Mirren seemed as surprised as Glory felt. “Why?”

  “He’s going to scan it and make copies for every vampire scathe leader who signs an agreement to back him in reforming the Tribunal.”

  Chapter 43 * Nik

  Nik glanced at the clock on the dash of his SUV for the hundredth time since they’d driven out of Penton. It was only seven-thirty p.m., yet it felt like eons had passed since he’d gotten the mental call from Shay. He’d run to Aidan’s room, who’d gotten through to Mirren, who told Glory. Mark got mixed up in it at some point.

  As soon as they made it through this—they had to make it through this because he wouldn’t allow himself to think otherwise—he would make sure Shay was blood-bonded to Aidan or Mirren directly, just as any other Penton resident was. He’d bonded with Aidan his first day in Penton, but Shay had been left vulnerable because of her vaccinated blood.

  He sat in the backseat of the SUV with her cradled in his arms. She seemed calmer and less agitated when he held her, although she hadn’t regained consciousness. He knew what that bastard had done to her. Hit her. Kicked her.

  Mark zipped into the emergency room entrance of the regional medical center about thirty miles due south of Penton. “Get her inside and tell them I’m on my way from the parking deck with her financial information.” Mark turned to look at him. “And see if you can calm down. Your eyes are glowing.”

  Shit. Before he became a vampire, Nik had envied their strength and grace and enhanced senses. Now, he realized how vulnerable they were—dependent on humans for survival, constantly looking for safe spaces for daysleep, and cursed with telltale glowing eyes.

  He eased Shay out of the SUV and nudged the door shut with his hip. As Mark sped away, Nik focused on something neutral to quell his anger and fear. The first thing that came to mind was his mom and sister, Ana, and how he needed to make his peace with them once this was over.

  A nurse met him near the entrance. “What’s the problem? She’s pregnant?”

  Nik nodded. “My fiancée. She was attacked near our home in Chambers County, outside LaFayette. She’s bleeding and hasn’t regained consciousness. I was afraid to wait for an ambulance.”

  The nurse called for a gurney and an ob-gyn, then motioned Nik to follow her. “Give me the basics first. Name, age, how far along she is.”

  Even though Gadget had come up with a fake identification, Nik and Mark had agreed to use Shay’s real name just in case her medical records were needed from New Orleans. If they had to tie her in with the missing person case, so be it. They’d figure it out as they went along.

  “Her name is Shay Underwood. Age thirty-one. She’s only at twenty-four weeks.” God, could a baby that small survive?

  “Does she have other children? Any other pregnancies?”

  “No.”

  “What’s your name—so we can give you updates?”

  “Nik Dimitrou.” He spelled the last name for her. He still had his identification, with the address of his Houston apartment on it. “We just moved here because we thought it would be a safe place to live. Can the baby survive?”

  “We have an uphill battle, but don’t give up.” The nurse and an orderly wheeled Shay into an exam room filled with bright lights and a shitload of machines. “You wait outside now. I can already tell you she’ll be admitted, so go to the front desk and do the paperwork. It’ll be a while before the doctor can tell you anything. And if she has any other family, you need to call them. If you haven’t already, you need to call the Chambers County Sheriff’s Office, or we can contact them for you.”

  The nurse was middle-aged, no-nonsense, efficient. Also kind. She put a hand on Nik’s arm. “We’re gonna do everything we can for her and your baby, okay?”

  Nik nodded, and stood helplessly in the hallway until Mark joined him. “You stay here”—Mark pointed to the ER waiting room—“and I’ll handle the formalities.”

  Nik went to the waiting room, which was about a third full, and took a vacant chair. The layer of cloth between his ass and the chair seat helped dull the image of the people who’d sat here before him. It was the first unbidden images he’d gotten since first being turned. He got up and leaned against the wall in a Mirren-like pose, which helped.

  Would they automatically contact the sheriff? That could be a problem. They might have to tell people Mark had found her, just in case it required daytime questions. They were both planning to stay at the safe house until Shay was ready to be discharged.

  What if she doesn’t make it?

  “Have you heard anything?”

  Mark joined Nik in the waiting room at the perfect time, before Nik could go too far down the road of “what ifs.”

  “Not yet. Any trouble with the check-in?”

  Mark shook his head. “They didn’t like it that I didn’t have Shay’s social security number, but at least we’d already gotten our story ready about an attack and moving to Chambers County.”

  “Better say you found her instead of me in case the Sheriff’s Office gets involved.”

  Mark nodded. “I have a Gold Card with my name on it tied to Aidan’s accounts, so once they realized this was going to be all cash and that money wasn’t an issue, everyone got a lot friendlier.”

  “Mr….Nick Dimatrow?” A woman in a white coat stood in the waiting room doorway. Nik assumed that was him.

  “Dimitrou,” he said. “I’m Nik. This is Shay’s brother, Mark.”

  “I’m Dr. Camille Costanza. Can you come with me?”

  Nik and Mark exchanged glances. The woman’s face was a sphinx. He couldn’t tell a thing. She led them into a small room with four or five chairs in it, and closed the door behind her.

  On impulse, Nik stuck out his hand. “Thank you for taking care of Shay.”

  Dr. Costanza smiled and placed her hand in his. The handshake was brief, but Nik had pulled a lot of images. Shay was alive. The doctor was compassionate. She had saved babies this young before.

  He relaxed his shoulders. “How is Shay? How’s the baby?”

  “We’re prepping Shay for delivery, so she’s being taken to our childbirth unit. She was attacked, the nurse said?”

  “I think so.” Mark introduced himself and said he’d found her outside their home. “I found her on the ground near her car. She’d been to the store, and Nik was coming over later for dinner.”

  The doctor nodded. She looked to be in her forties, with dark hair and eyes. “She has bruises on her left shoulder and hip—probably where she fell. A deep bruise on her lower back that looks as if someone kicked her.

  Nik’s fury boiled up so fast he had to get up and walk around the room to quell it. “What kind of sick freak does something like that?”

  Frank Greisser’s sick freak. Mark had killed the human, but his boss was currently buried alive and Nik would have his revenge.

  “I don’t know, but some of the things we see…”
The doctor sighed. “Anyway, Ms. Underwood is in stable condition but the baby is in distress. We have to deliver now. Our neonatal unit is good, and we’ll do our best to make sure the baby survives.”

  Nik nodded. “Can we see Shay?”

  “I’m sorry, but no.” Dr. Costanza stood and motioned them toward the door. “If you’ve gotten all the admissions work done, go to the third-floor surgical suite waiting room. I’ll update you as soon as I know anything.”

  At least Nik and Mark had the waiting room to themselves. The place had been made to look homey, with laminate floors and brightly painted baby-looking stuff on the walls. The whole thing made Nik’s skin itch.

  He looked at Mark, who’d slumped down in his chair with his eyes closed. “I should’ve said it sooner, but thanks. If you and Glory hadn’t gotten there…”

  Mark gave a brief nod. “I just wish we’d gotten there sooner. It was a fluke that I was in the kitchen when Glory came looking for help. Good thing the vampires have that mental communication thing going. You heard from Shay to start it off—does that mean you’ve become bondmates?”

  Nik nodded. “Although the more I think about what happened, the less I think we can make a go of it. Even without the obvious danger. I mean, there are no other kids. No schools. The only doctor can’t work during daylight hours. And the baby, if she lives, won’t exactly have a father who can go to her PTA meetings and dance recitals.”

  “Most of those are at night, I think.” Mark paused. “Aren’t they?”

  Nik smiled, but inside he felt like crying. “I have no idea.”

  Mark was quiet a long time, and Nik thought he must have dozed off, but he was staring at a painted tiger cavorting across the opposite wall.

  “You need to talk to Aidan,” he finally said.

  Nik frowned. “Krys told Shay the same thing. What’s going on?”