by Lucy Lyons
“You’re suffering from shock. It feels like you got electrocuted, huh?” She asked and I nodded weakly. “It will pass. You never cease to amaze me. I haven’t seen a vampire with an animal to call in a millennium. Nicholas owes you for this increase to his power base.”
I shook my head and snarled. “No. He owes David.” She frowned at me. “I can’t be the one who tells the Venatores council. They let him stay when I told them about his mind-rape. They’ll just say this is my personal vendetta against him.”
“Can anyone vouch for you?”
“Simi saw him, Colette and Nicholas. Not to mention the rat-king, himself.” She pursed her lips.
“The only witnesses are two vampires, one of whom now controls the rats, the witch who he’s feuding with and her best friend.” She clucked her tongue. “Not a particularly strong witness lineup.”
“So he gets away with it all? For trying to kill me, for causing the deaths of those people?” I was shouting now. I didn’t care who heard me. I wanted the hunters to hear that the hunters and not monsters had caused seven human deaths. If those had even been the only ones.
“These are very serious charges. I thought the rats killed the people?” Dominique said as I watched as hunters gathered up the wererats, now all in their human forms.
“How long do you think these people have lived this way and never hurt anyone? Now suddenly there are over half a dozen deaths. Then again, there were over fifty rats in the pack before tonight, but only seven murders and all within the space of a week.” I lowered my voice and flipped my knife in my hand. “Someone made this happen. Only David and his new friends in the Venatores had anything to gain from it.”
I glanced around the room at the aftermath of the short but intense fight. Now most of the wererats were on their knees or collapsed completely at the edge of the room, surrounded by hunters.
“What’s wrong with them?” Vladikk called out. The blonde man from the art gallery stood and I saw the crescent shaped birth mark on his shoulder as I faced him.
“The change is exhausting. The one who controlled us forced the animal to the surface, then kept us that way for an extended period. Some of my people won’t survive the change back without medical attention.” He swayed on his feet and Nicholas put an arm around him to steady him.
“The vampire forced you to change.” Vladikk made it a statement.
“No. It was a psychic. A witch who controlled my thoughts. He said we were his slaves.”
“David.” I muttered to Dom and she nodded.
“I believe we’ve proven that the vampires were not the ones responsible for the killings,” Dom called out to the assembled Venatores. “Moreover,” she added, “we’ve found a shapeshifting people who we need to study and work better to understand.”
“We have seven murder victims someone needs to answer for,” Vladikk retorted.
The rat king stepped forward dragging a near-comatose Jaime by the neck. He threw the hunter/wererat on the ground in front of Vladikk and stood between him and the rest of the pack.
“There is your murderer. He led that male witch to my people and helped him enslave us. Jaime also killed people at his request. He defiled the bodies and left them where the human authorities would find them quickly.”
“Who are you to make this claim?” Vladikk scoffed; I got up on my knees trying to stand.
“Don’t start a fight with the king of his people, Vladikk,” I called out. “We don’t want a war.”
“Every action you take to be with that abomination,” he spat, “brings us closer to war.” I stood up, still shaky from the power blast. Dominique held me upright but she refused to speak on my behalf.
“What, um, what is your name, Rat-king?” I stammered, still averting my face from all the naked men and women in between me and Vladikk.
“I’m Jeremy Dunn,” he replied. I glanced at him and his naked back was still to me. Relieved, I glanced past him to Vladikk.
“I don’t know why, but I was expecting something a little more… grandiose?” Clay called out from his side of the circle. Jeremy shrugged.
“I’m just a lawyer from Fresno. I don’t know what to say, other than to thank you for saving us from that madman. He took my daughter and forced me to bring her here, then he took control of all of us. Except for the traitor,” he added, glaring at Jaime.
“They’ll kill me if you leave me here. I did everything I was told to do. I’m a Venatores, and I serve the society!” Jaime pled with Vladikk. I glared at the Viking hunter until he met my eyes.
“Last time I checked Vladikk, hunters were supposed to keep the innocent safe. The bodies I examined personally were horrifically murdered. Since when does the Church sanction the grotesque murder of humans to frame other creatures?” I strode through the prone bodies on the floor; grateful there was room to walk without touching them. I grabbed Jaime by his stringy ponytail and wrenched his head back so I could see his eyes.
“Witch,” he spat in my face.” Rage and power filled me and I wiped my face and laughed mirthlessly. I slammed the heel of my right palm into his nose and reveled in the loud crunching sound it made as it collapsed under my hand.
“You are an inhuman murderer. I have a warrant to kill the monster who murdered those seven people and you’ve confessed. You will not find protection here.” I made sure the hunters around us heard me and glanced at Clay, who nodded. I had patrolled a hundred times and practiced killing monsters every way possible. But now, I hesitated. It was my kill; I had tracked him, caught him, and claimed the right to his life. Yet I had never dreamed I would kill a naked, defenseless man who knelt at my feet.
“You have claimed his life forfeit and are within your right as a watcher and sorceress of the Venatores Lamiae to take it,” Vladikk challenged. “Why do you hesitate?”
“Because I’m not a murderer and I refuse to kill anyone without sparing a thought for what I’m doing.” I glared at him and he raised his hands in surrender.
“Let it be a thoughtful execution then,” he smirked. I glanced around at the other hunters. A few snickered, but most wore grave faces.
“Easier to see the loyal when a Venatores life is on the line,” I thought to myself. I drew my blade and took a deep breath, then slid the blade through the soft skin of his throat. I held his head back and put my knee into his back to prevent him from thrashing, but the blood ran from him so fast he was dead before I started to cry.
I stared at the ground, trying to hide my tears, but Dominique put her arms around me and hugged me tight. Clay turned me away from her and gripped me to his chest; another hunter followed him. Hunters came forward and hugged me, or shook my hand as they passed by, until all but those loyal to Vladikk had shown solidarity for my execution.
Some of the shifters had awakened. They were still weak, but they pulled their packmates closer to them and I felt the temperature rise in the circle. I raised my knife, but Dominique put her hand over mine and shook her head. The king was still on his knees in front of Vladikk when Nicholas appeared at my elbow. I glanced at his chest where there should have been a gaping wound. It had already healed enough that all I could see through his shredded shirt were four shiny scars from the claw marks.
Colette was missing and I knew where Nicholas had taken blood from to heal so quickly. Jealousy stabbed through me but I was relieved that he was better. I reached back with my cleaner, blood-free hand and he pressed my fingers lightly before releasing them and stepping past me.
Somehow, he walked through the huddled shifters gracefully, without effort and stood before Vladikk. I folded my arms as I stood behind him and glared at the Venatores over his shoulder; trying to look tougher than I felt.
“The rats have been claimed; they now belong to me. No Venatores psychic can call them. They are under my protection and you must leave immediately. The hunters all glanced at each other. No one spoke, but the Venatores started to move back, stepping over the bodies of the fallen, rat, vamp
ire and human alike. Vladikk stood at the opening the hunters said led to the surface the fastest and we filed through with weapons drawn. We certainly weren’t safe with a pack of animals at our backs and who knew how many vampires ahead.
Vladikk waited for me by the opening and grabbed my shoulder as I tried to push past him. “Well done, little witch,” he muttered as he shook it gently.
“How disappointed are you, that David failed to kill me the first time?” I said angrily.
“I’m glad you live, little witch. I may not approve of your magic but we are safer with your magic in our midst, than with it in the hands of a master vampire.”
“You might want to tell David that when he returns to you. Which, I’m sure he will.” I sniffed and wiped my face, cringing as I realized my hand was still covered in Jaime’s blood. I started to cry again and Vladikk tugged my arm so I stood with him to one side of the doorway. He scraped the drying blood off my hand as much as possible and tore a small corner off his shirt as a makeshift handkerchief.
“I’m a Venatores Caroline, not a monster. If David is guilty of the crimes you accuse him of and if he returns, he will face justice.” I made a rude noise and gulped as he glared at me from inches away. “Do not test me, witch. I still believe the Venatores are weaker because of the influence of supernaturali like you. But the charges against David are significant. If nothing else; he hid a shifter among us and didn’t tell me.”
“Ah, the crime you’re truly worried about. Don’t worry. I’ll be the first to hand him over to the council if I find him before you do.” He gave me a hard look and I shook my arm free of his grip. “Thank you for getting that off me,” I said, referring to the blood that still fell from my wrist in tiny red flakes.
“Next time; slice with a smooth stroke and follow through so your hand and knife are away before the blood starts. Cleaner and kinder to move quickly,” he chided.
“Or, maybe I will just never kill anyone ever again and then I don’t have to perfect a technique?” His glare softened to the tired gaze of one hunter to another.
“God willing,” he replied, but he didn’t sound hopeful. He followed me out to the surface, where I was left to wonder what Nicholas was doing down below. I reached out with my power and felt a tangle of shifter and vampire power. That suggested that the vampires had circled around and rejoined their master in the cavern below the tunnels.
Clay and Simi found me and escorted me to Dominique, who was waiting in a Jeep to take us to the airfield. Our belongings would follow, but Dom didn’t want to waste time going back to the hotel. David had not been caught by her sentries and she was worried he’d come after me if we stayed too long. If the vampires caught him, I was sure Nicholas would have him killed. As I thought of him, Nicholas touched my mind and assured me that his people were hunting David as we sped toward the airport.
“I still owe you a date,” I reminded him.
“I will come to you then. Farewell, my huntress. Think about the greatness you can achieve if you join with me. Tonight was just a taste of the power I could share with you.” I shut him out then, worried that Dominique might overhear my thoughts. I still didn’t want to be his servant, but with my help he’d freed the shifters from David. Now that they belonged to the vampires, the Venatores would have to reconsider following the laws they’d agreed to centuries before. The scale was no longer tipping in our favor.
Chapter 16
Clay and Simi celebrated with champagne and obnoxious behavior for the flight back, but I was content to use the tiny cubicle shower and finally get the blood off me. No one tells you how hard it is to remove dried blood. I scraped what I could off me and then collapsed on the tile floor. I had a good cry under the hot water. Finally, the water that rinsed off me ran completely clear and I got out and dressed in basic linen pants and a tank top. The clothes were big on me, but I cinched in the waist of the pants and tied the drawstring to keep them up. The top was loose, but covered my chest even when I bent forward, which was good enough for me.
I rejoined my team just as the pilot came over the PA system to warn us of our impending arrival. I still hadn’t spoken to Simi about what had happened to her, or to Dom about the attempt on my life. Dominique seemed to be thinking the same way and she sent Clay and Simi on ahead in a separate car. I watched as Clay opened the door for her and they exchanged a look I couldn’t miss. It made my chest feel tight as I thought about Nicholas and how close I’d come to spending real time with him, only to have it stolen by our duties to our own people.
Those duties never seemed to end either. Within an hour of landing, I was standing before the high council in the great hall. Cardinal Parelini and Lady Sophie sat together at the round table. Professor Eldritch and Somayo stood between the table and the door.
I ran to Somayo and he hugged me tight. When he finally released me, his eyes mirrored the shine on mine and I sniffed and glanced away at Eldritch, expecting him to scowl the warm feelings right out of me.
“Well done, Caroline,” He whispered as he took my hand between his. My mouth fell open and he chuckled. “I have as much right to compliment your hard work as I do to criticize your failings.” His tone suggested that he still expected to do more criticizing but it felt good to know he believed in me. Looking past him at the cardinal and the former queen my stomach twisted in knots. Sitting down next to Sophie was Vladikk.
They were almost touching, they sat so close and Sophie watched me with a look in her eyes that made my short neck hairs stand at attention. I couldn’t imagine what a sorceress could hate about me, but loathing rose off her like heat waves.
Thankfully; Professor Eldritch led me over to the far end of the table as more men and women I didn’t recognize filled the seats. Soon I was the only one standing as over a dozen pairs of judging eyes watched me. Dominique stood up at her place and gave her report of the events as they’d transpired, including the assassination attempt on me. The news brought curious glances and I wondered right along with them, what was so special about me that warranted a death threat.
Vladikk stood when Dominique sat and gave his report. I smirked at the large holes he left where his protégé was concerned, but he too expressed concern for my wellbeing. Then he startled me enough that I couldn’t hide it with a blank face.
“Miss Walker was responsible for the execution of a shifter that had infiltrated our society and conspired to start a war between the Venatores lamiae and the vampires of the Los Angeles area.” My face burned under the weight of the council-members’ stares and he continued. “She did so with more respect for our order and the responsibility we each carry, than I’ve seen in the last twenty years’ worth of new initiates.”
Professor Eldritch looked like his shirt was going to burst open, his chest was so puffed up and I couldn’t help but give him a tearful smile. I knew I was going to have nightmares for weeks, if not longer, over my first case and my first kill. But knowing the council wasn’t going to punish me made the knots in my belly loosen a little.
“What of the attempt on her life?” Cardinal Parelini asked.
“She’ll be placed in my protective custody,” Vladikk replied and Somayo’s glare cut off my argument. “She will continue in all her studies with Master Somayo and the Lady Domonique, with additional training under my tutelage, with the professor’s blessing.” Professor Eldritch nodded, his lips pressed together in a thin line and my body sagged unhappily. The council approved of my new life-plan and I was summarily dismissed.
I was going to miss the last of my classes, but at least the society didn’t seem to want me dead. David was long gone and in the wind. I’d heard the whispers on my way to the council chamber.
A few stray tears made trails down my cheeks as I thought of Nicholas. With Vladikk watching my every move, there was a chance I might never see him again. I needed to understand the power that he’d given me and what I was giving up in return. I felt my humanity slipping away from me with every boost in power. I
hadn’t figured out yet, if the power I was gaining so rapidly would be worth the cost when the payment came due.
I dragged myself to bed and slipped under the covers. At the end of the day, a soft voice in my head reminded me; I had protected the ones I loved and saved the innocent. If I had to be a monster to do it, then my sympathies to the creatures of the night, furry or fanged. I was a sorceress, a psychic and carried the vampire mark. Nothing and no one could stand in my way. I flinched at the thoughts in my head and realized I couldn’t tell if the voice was me, or Nicholas. Fatigue or denial prevented me from being afraid of the voice and I embraced it, for the moment.
“I hope you’re ready for me, David. I’ll be coming for you soon,” I thought to myself, “with or without Vladikk’s permission.” David was the best clue I had to the attempt on my life. I would get my answers and then; I would deliver his justice.
End Book 2
Subscribe to our Newsletter!
