by M. R. Polish
“Luna, be ready, just like we practiced.”
“Just tell me when,” I heard her growl back.
I saw the crossbreed first through the trees, ascending the mountain. He was taller than I was, but I had more magic than him. I could feel that he was low on energy anyway.
His head snapped up and I knew that he caught sight of me. I held my ground; running away wasn’t an option. This man, with his dark shaggy hair, was half vampire, and even if he was dying, he was still faster than me. His face contorted into an evil sneer.
“Now!” I yelled for Luna inside my head.
I jumped back at the same time he lunged, and Luna materialized out of the air where I had been standing. She clamped down on his neck, sending him to the ground, where she kept him. He wasn’t strong enough to fight her off.
I leaned over them. “Who are you?”
A low grumble came from his throat, but he never spoke. I smiled as I had an idea. It might not be something Ian would be happy with, but I was sure he would have just as much fun as I planned on having.
I stood up and dusted off my jeans. “Fine. Luna, drag him home.” The crossbreed’s eyes widened.
“I like how you think,” Luna said while pulling his body over the rough trail.
I turned and started toward the cabin, keeping a so-called third eye on him. Through magic I kept my sensory waves out, not wanting to be caught off-guard for any others that might be lurking in the shadows of the trees.
“Can you let either Maztic or Dregan know that we’re bringing him?”
“Already done. You knew Maztic wouldn’t like this, right? He and Jarak are miffed.”
I shrugged. “I can’t care less what Maztic or Jarak likes.” And I didn’t care. If this was all on my shoulders, then I should be able to make my own decisions too.
I didn’t make it up the stairs to the front porch before the door opened. Jarak stepped out with an angry expression on his face. “What in the hell do you think you’re doing, Es? You could have been killed, or worse.”
“Oh, cut me some slack. It’s not like you’d care.”
Ian walked out behind him, his arms folded across his chest and a grin spread out on his face. “Nice job, Princess.” He let out a whistle and I couldn’t help but smile. At least he was proud of me.
“Don’t encourage her. She’s gonna get herself killed doing this crap,” Jarak yelled at his brother.
“She didn’t die. I’m proud of her. What would you have her do? Call out to one of us every time she sees a breed? She’s not just a witch, but a guardian too. It’s our job, it’s in our blood, and it’s in her blood.”
I smiled inwardly. Oh yeah, that was my boyfriend.
I stepped up on the last stair and planted my hands on my hips, still glaring at Jarak. “I could die at any time during this whole damn war. Encouragement might be what I need to get me through. Did you ever think of that?”
His gaze darted behind me. I knew Luna emerged from the forest with our hostage. Ian brushed past me and helped Luna carry him up to the house. I followed them inside and instantly pushed enough force to hold the man and keep him from leaving. They set him on the floor by the stairs.
“What exactly are you going to do with him?” Jarak asked while closing the front door behind him.
“Find out more about Nicholas. What’d you think?” I asked, with maybe a touch of a snippety attitude.
“Well, maybe we should wait for your father,” he snapped back at me.
I sighed with a grumble. “The last time I checked I was wearing big girl panties and could make my own decisions.”
“Oh come on, brother, have a little faith in her,” Ian said as he walked over to where we still stood by the door.
“Stay out of this, Ian,” Jarak mumbled. Maztic appeared and sat next to him. Uh oh, that couldn’t be a good sign. I needed to intervene.
“Alright, boys, you both just need some space.” I stepped in between them. I wasn’t sure if that was smart, but if they killed each other I was sure I’d get stuck cleaning up the blood.
“You afraid I’ll hurt him?” Jarak quipped.
I rolled my eyes at him and folded my arms. “Oh pa-lease.”
“Hurt me? You wouldn’t stand a chance, even with your wolf. Es is just saving you,” Ian said with a sly grin.
“Enough!” I was getting ready to let them have their fun and have a knock-out drag-out fight. The testosterone level was too high and it needed to come down—like now.
Jarak ground his teeth. “What’s your plan?”
“My plan is to make him talk.” I hadn’t really thought about my plan. I just knew that I wanted him to talk. Why I hadn’t thought of kidnapping a breed before now was beyond me. Heck, this war could have been over months ago had I been this smart.
No better time to try out my spontaneous idea than right now. I walked over to where he sat cross-legged on the floor. His eyes were red. That was new. Usually they were a copper color. He could try whatever magic he had, but he sat encased in mine, so it would never leave his little bubble. I wasn’t sure how long I could hold up the barrier because I could already feel myself weakening from using so much magic for so long.
I kicked out at his foot, tapping the sole of his boot. “Hey. You ready to talk?” I didn’t wait for a response. “What’s your name?”
He continued to glare up at me. Not one word left his mouth.
I guess he really wanted it rough. I shot my hand out, along with it a streak of electricity. His body jerked and he fell over. I watched all his muscles go taut as he strained against the pain. I almost smiled. Was it strange to want to feel good about torture? I didn’t care. He was going to die soon anyway, I tried to justify my actions.
I let up the shock, more for my benefit than his. My arm was getting heavy and it began to ache. He gasped for air as he lay curled up on the floor. I kept telling myself I should feel bad for him, but nothing came. “I asked a question.”
“Tony,” he spat out in between breaths, sitting himself up.
“Well, that’s a start. Now, maybe you can tell me about Nicholas. Where is he?”
He shook his head. “I won’t tell you.”
“You sure?” Ian stepped up, towering over him.
“I’d rather die,” Tony seethed through clenched teeth.
I nudged myself closer. “That can be arranged.”
He snapped out at my leg. I barely moved out of the way before his sharp elongated fangs slashed my jeans. Ian was immediately by my side and snatched me around the waist, moving me quickly away, but I was pissed off and squirmed out of his grasp. Angrily, I kicked Tony’s jaw, sending him backwards. He didn’t understand who he just tried to bite. I could feel the heat of my powers rising to the surface as my blood boiled.
“You just made a big mistake.” Ian bent down next to him and grabbed him around the collar. Dregan and Luna appeared next to us. Both of them snarled, showing off their sharp fangs.
“See? She’s gonna get hurt.” Jarak sidestepped over to where Tony lay and squatted next to him. It took all I had not to kick him. Instead, I rolled my eyes and bit the inside of my cheek.
Ian glared at his brother. “Jarak, move out of the way. Just because you and Julie are back together doesn’t mean you have to be a jerk. Why don’t you go find your precious witch and leave us to work.”
At least Ian approved of the torturing of the breed. Luna flanked Dregan as he inched closer. I folded my arms and raised a brow at Jarak. “You know, there was a time when you wanted to help me. A time when finding out about Nicholas and killing him was your top priority. What changed?”
Jarak threw his arms in the air. “Fine. You guys question him.” He pointed a finger at Ian. “But if she gets hurt, it’s on you.” He turned and left, shaking his head.
My gaze trailed after him. It felt like years since we’d really gotten along. This whole war messed everything up and I hated it. I brought my attention back to Ian. He was unwinding a rope, letting
it spill out onto the floor in a pile. “What are you doing?”
He gave me one of his famous mischievous smiles. “Playing. I have an idea. Wanna join?”
He always seemed to bring me out of my funks when it came to Jarak lately. I grinned. “Well, he is sorta my prisoner.”
“That’s my girl.” He finished with the rope and began wrapping Tony in it. I watched curiously as he finally tied it off. Tony looked more like a mummy wrapped up in rope than a hostage. I couldn’t help but smirk.
“What are we doing, exactly?”
He picked up and flung Tony over his shoulder. I immediately forced the breed’s mouth to stay closed by just pushing a little more magic toward him so Ian wouldn’t get bit. He could still move everything but his mouth. With his head, Ian gestured to the back door. “Come on, it’s easier if we don’t get blood on the floor; it’s a pain to clean up.”
I glanced at Jarak, who stared at us from the edge of the kitchen, but said nothing. I followed Ian out of the house dutifully, closing the door behind me.
Chapter Four
An Old Flame Returns
Esmerelda
Tony kicked and thrashed around in Ian’s arms. I placed an immobile spell on him to save Ian from having to fight so much. I stepped over fallen logs behind Ian as we hiked up the mountain even further.
“Can you tell me exactly what we’re doing?” I asked, out of breath more from the exertion from using so much magic than from the hike.
He turned with Tony still on his shoulders and walked backward. He gave me a playful grin. “Getting answers.”
Ugh, sometimes I really hated his vague replies. “Okay, well, how are we gonna do that?”
He stopped walking and dropped Tony on the ground. “How do you kill breeds, Es?”
I raised a brow at him. What was he getting at? “Um, I’m not sure killing him will get us any closer to knowing any more about Nicolas.”
He chuckled. “No, I mean, how do you kill them?”
I released a breath and placed my hands on my hips, shifting my weight to one leg. “Stab them, and then behead them.” Images of when I first met Ian and how I had to kill Ree filled my mind. I shivered knowing Meadow was still out there. I closed my mind to clear my thoughts. I couldn’t think of her right now.
“Alright, but do you know how long it takes to weaken them to a death state if you don’t stab them in the heart?”
Tony’s eyes widened.
I shook my head. “No.”
“You’re about to find out.” Ian spun around and pulled out a stake from his back pocket. I mused over how prepared he always was. “Let up on your spell a bit so he can talk.”
I released my hold on him just enough, as Ian instructed. It felt good and I immediately let myself enjoy the fact that I didn’t feel as weighed down.
Tony spit at Ian’s feet. “You’ll never get anything out of me.”
Ian shrugged. “We’ll see.” He squatted down and grabbed Tony’s wrist and slammed the stake into the pale skin.
I felt my stomach twist even though it wasn’t as bad as it could have been. Tony cried out, but then clenched his jaw shut.
Ian bobbed his head a little, like he had a tune in his head. After a couple more nods, he pulled out the stake and moved down to Tony’s thigh and plunged it in deep. This time, Tony’s cries were much louder.
Ian left the stake there and stood up. “So where’s Nicolas?”
“I don’t know,” Tony whimpered as he fought off the pain.
“That’s a lie,” Ian said as he kicked the leg with the stake. Tony hollered out.
I moved closer, understanding Ian’s motives a little more. “You want to be tortured? Just tell us where Nicolas is, or tell us anything for that matter and it can all end.”
Tony seethed through his clenched teeth. Ian kicked his leg again. “Oww… What the hell, man.”
“She’s talking to you.”
Tony glared at Ian as he spoke. “So? Why should I care who talks?”
Ian tipped his head my direction. “This is gonna get old real fast.”
I wanted to laugh. Ian had about as much patience as a five-year-old. “Well, we can’t have that.”
He gave me a wink then turned back around. “You heard the lady.”
Tony’s face went white and his sneer dropped from his face as Ian squatted down next to him.
“Oh my gosh. Didn’t your mother ever teach you not to tease? If you’re gonna kill him, then just do it already.”
I popped my head up. A woman with short blonde hair came out from behind the tree line. A small wolf with a mixture of white, black, and brown fur covering the tiny body and a black patch of color surrounding her right eye, walked closely beside her. The woman carried a large, dark purple duffel bag that she had slung over her shoulder.
Ian's shoulders slumped as he stood back up. He hesitated before taking a step back to stand with me.
She stopped and looked down at Tony then up at me. “I’m Lauren.” She dropped her bag and reached down to scratch the top of the wolf’s head. “This is Kara.”
I cast a side glance at Ian. His lips were drawn tightly together and he had a raised brow. I couldn’t help but feel that he knew her, but he never said a word. Fine. I guess I needed to introduce myself. “I’m Esmerelda.”
Lauren smiled at me. “I know. I mean, who doesn’t know that.”
So much for the sweet factor. I could see why Ian didn’t seem too happy.
“Ian, you look just as yummy as ever,” she said before chewing on her bottom lip.
Ugh, seriously? I about threw up in my mouth.
Ian tipped his head. “Yeah, well, thankfully I can’t say the same for you.”
It was my turn to raise an eyebrow. What was going on?
Lauren stood up and waved her hands all over. “I know, I know. You and miss witchy are together now. I’m not here to ruin it. I’m here to help.” She shrugged. “I can’t sit back and let you have all the fun.”
Ian rolled his eyes. I totally felt like a third wheel. Awkward. “Lauren, how do you know Ian?”
She sashayed a little and giggled. Yup, I was sick. “Well, for a while we kinda saw each other.” She held her hands up. “Don’t worry, nothing serious, just more for fun than anything.”
I closed my eyes to let it sink in. “Of course.” Why did all my boyfriends have girlfriends who kept popping up? They didn’t see any boys from Nevada showing up at the cabin coming to claim me as an ex.
She clapped her hands together, startling me. “So, are we killing him, or just maiming for now?”
Tony struggled against my holding spell, and I was getting weak enough that I almost let it go with his last pull.
Ian lowered back down to one of his knees. “I think I’m past maiming.”
The tension in the air spiked to a new thickness. “Um, maybe we should try asking him one more time.”
That seemed to peak Lauren’s interests. She bent down with Ian. “What are we trying to find out?”
His grip on the stake got tighter. “Lauren, seriously, what are you doing here?”
She let her shoulders fall dramatically. “I am hurt that you don’t believe me. I was bored watching over that bratty little witch over in the east and Hela told Kara about how Esmerelda was back and that you guys were going after Nicolas.” She rolled her head back. “Oh come on, Ian, I need some action, I wanna have fun. Kara and I are going stir crazy. Besides, you guys will need more than just Dregan and Luna.”
My muscles tensed and I straightened my back at the mention of Luna. It bothered me that she knew who I was bound with. Not sure why, maybe because it took me eighteen years to find out myself and it seemed that everyone else around me already knew.
“We have Maztic and Hela as well,” Ian said through clenched teeth.
She fisted her hands and brought them to her chest. “Hela’s here? That is so awesome. Wait, did you say Maztic?”
Ian let out a deep a
ggravated breath. “Yes.”
“I can’t believe he’s here. Didn’t she awaken the witches? I thought he’d be long gone with Julie by now.”
I threw my hands in the air. “She is right here. And no, Julie’s here too.”
Lauren stood up. “Sorry. I’m just excited to see everyone. It’s been a long time.” Her eyes lit up and she spun around. “I almost forgot.” She unzipped her bag and rummaged around until she pulled out a pair of what looked like red chopsticks and handed them to me.
“What are those?” I wasn’t sure I wanted to take them. They could be a trick or something.
“Peace offering. I just came from China.” She waved her arms around her again. “I’ve spent way too long over there, I guess, because bringing a gift for you just felt right. These ones aren’t made for eating, but I have seen a lot of women wear them in their hair. That’s not a traditional use, but oh well, it looks cool. Anyway, red is for good fortune, and I thought you could definitely use that. Soooo…”
I took the chopsticks from her and flipped them over in my hands. I didn’t restrain my smile as I noticed a wolf carved in the end of each one. “Thank you.” Okay, I admit it, they were beautiful. She was kinda growing on me. Maybe she wouldn’t be as bad as I thought.
“Can we get back to the task at hand?” Ian grumbled down by Tony.
I nodded. “Definitely.”
Lauren’s face widened with her smile. “Oh! Let me help. Torturing is kinda my specialty.”
I folded my arms over my chest. “There’s a specialty for that?”
“Well, let’s just say that I’ve done a lot of it.” She snatched the stake from Ian’s grasp before he even noticed.
“Hey,” he yelled. “That one’s mine. Get your own.”
She tossed it back to him. “Fine. Jeesh. Mine are better anyway.” She returned to her duffel bag and pulled out a shiny silver stake.
“Silver?” I asked.
She gave me a cheesy smile over her shoulder. “Of course. I don’t just kill vampires for fun. Well, yes, I do, but I also do it for a living. Wood breaks and splinters off, with silver I am guaranteed to kill them.”
I knew the look on my face must have been priceless. “You kill for a living? I thought you watched witches in the east.”
