End Game
Book 6 in The Vampire Hunter Series
By S.C. Reynolds
Text copyright © 2014 S.C. Reynolds [email protected]
All Rights Reserved
Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Epilogue
Chapter 1
One week from D Day. One week and seven hours, to be precise. I glanced at my phone for what seemed like the millionth time. I had called Henry when I got home last night from meeting Jet and filled him in on what I’d found out. Jet was the final piece of the puzzle. He brought me back to life after Leon had me killed. And Jet made sure that Lucas got the order to re-kill me when Leon tried to off me again.
And now Jet was protecting my family. How could Lucas despise him so much? Even Nicholas had seemed wary when they first talked about him. I hoped they both warmed up to Jet, and soon, because we just might need his help getting some of the stuff for the spell to close the Gates of Hell.
Henry, Nicholas and Emmett had spent all day Friday tracking things down. The spell called for some really common, everyday stuff, like salt, flour and eggs. “Are we making a cake or closing the Gates of Hell?” I had cracked to Henry when he first told me. I had expected him to laugh, but instead he’d just sighed.
“The hell hound fur is by far the worst item on the list, thank God, but there’s other stuff I have no clue how to get a hold of, and even though Nicholas tried to act upbeat, I got the feeling he didn’t either,” Henry had said.
Henry hadn’t told me the specifics yet; he’d been exhausted when I called him and I could tell he just wanted to get some sleep. So I hadn’t pushed the issue, instead instructing Henry to rest, and we’d all regroup tomorrow.
But why hasn’t anyone called me? I knew I was being impatient – it was barely 7 a.m., but after more than five hours of being stuck in my own head, I was ready to get on with things. Try to find a distraction, a way to help.
When the secure phone that Lucas had given me rang a few minutes later, I snatched it up from where I had tossed it on the bed and looked at the display. It wasn’t a number I recognized. My immediate reaction was that something was wrong. I hope no one is in trouble.
“Hello?” I asked, trying to keep the panic out of my voice.
“Aurora, it’s Jet,” came the deep voice on the other line.
“How – how did you get this number?” I stuttered.
“I have my ways.” Jet laughed. “Lucas isn’t the only one with a few tricks up his sleeve, some handy devices at his disposal.”
I thought of all the stuff Lucas had magically produced over the brief time I’d known him – a key that could unlock any door, a locator to pinpoint a person’s coordinates, a card that would open a locked phone. Of course Jet had the same kind of tools.
“So what do you want?” I asked nervously.
“Don’t sound so worried,” Jet said.
I relaxed a little. It wasn’t anything bad. It couldn’t be.
“I’d like for you and Lucas to come to my house again today, as soon as possible,” Jet continued.
“Why?”
“I’d prefer to talk about it in person,” he replied.
“But this phone is secure,” I said suspiciously.
“Yes, but I’d like to speak to both of you. I’m sure if you ask Lucas nicely to take one of those sunlight pills he’ll do it for you. No one can resist the request of a pretty girl,” Jet said in that deep, sexy voice of his.
Keep cool, Aurora. He’s had a million years to figure out how to flatter women, I reminded myself.
“Fine,” I said, hoping I didn’t sound as flustered as I felt.
“I’ll be waiting.” And with that, Jet was gone.
I was just about to dial Lucas and give him the good news – I knew he’d just be thrilled that Jet had called me – when my phone started ringing again. This time, it was Henry.
“Hey,” I said immediately.
“Good morning,” Henry replied. His voice sounded strained.
“You sound…tired,” I hedged.
“I didn’t sleep well,” Henry admitted. “Too much worry over…” his voice trailed off, “well, you know.”
“All too well,” I muttered.
“Want to come with me to get some coffee?” Henry suggested.
I hesitated. I was supposed to call Lucas and get our asses over to Jet’s house, ASAP.
“Other plans?” Henry immediately picked up on my pause. I couldn’t lie to him, not again.
“Jet called and asked for Lucas and me to get over to his house pronto,” I said in one long sentence.
Silence. I counted. One…two…
“Henry?” I asked tentatively.
“Yeah?”
“Well, uh, just wanted to make sure you were still on the line,” I said lamely.
“I’m here.”
“What are you thinking?” I blurted out.
“Just that it’s always about Lucas. And you.”
Ouch. But Henry was right. And he must feel hurt. Lucas had taken me to meet Magnus. Lucas was with me, even though he stayed outside, when I went to Tobias’ house. And he had been an integral part of the plan to get the hellhound fur.
“Why don’t you come with me instead?” I asked impulsively.
“No, Jet said for Lucas to come,” Henry replied.
“He just knows I won’t go alone,” I argued. “He probably doesn’t give a shit who comes with me. Besides, Lucas hates having to take those sunlight pills.” That was sort of true, at least, although I knew that Lucas would do it in a heartbeat if I asked him.
“Really, if you take me, you’ll be doing him a favor.” I tried to shut my mind off, forget that once again I was lying to manipulate a situation. I had gotten so good at that lately. And it wasn’t something to be proud of. I hated what I had become.
“If you’re sure.” Henry still sounded skeptical.
“Yes, pick me up in twenty minutes.” I clicked off the phone before Henry could answer.
I used the time to shower and get ready, all the while convincing myself that I really was sparing Lucas the painful excursion of going out in the sunlight. But deep down I knew the truth. I wanted, needed, Henry’s opinion of Jet. He didn’t already have preconceived ideas about Jet’s true intentions or know what Jet was doing a zillion years ago when Lucas and Nicholas decided they hated him.
Yes, I needed an unbiased third party to either confirm Jet was a cool guy or tell me I was crazy to trust him. Because right now I was on the fence, but I was leaning towards trusting him. And I would never forgive myself if that got us all killed.
I shuddered and pushed the thought out of my head.
After my shower, I changed into my black jeans and a gray t-shirt with sequined crosses on it. Fitting, to meet a vampire.
When I stepped outside of my room, my mom was in the hall. “I thought I heard you getting a shower,” she said. “Why are you up so early?”
“I’m going to get coffee with Henry,” I said. “That’s cool, right? It’s Saturday and I was going to text your phone so you’d know.”
“That’s fine, honey.” Thankfully, she was finally starting to trust me again. “
Is Lucas not going with you two? Weren’t they playing basketball together just this last week?”
“Uh, yeah,” I said, trying to remember when I had come up with that lie. “We may all get together a little later.” Good. That will buy me some time get out of the house today.
“Wonderful!” my mom said enthusiastically. “When you go to Lucas’ house, let me know so I can drop you off and finally meet his parents.”
“But Henry will take me,” I argued. “Mom, I swear his parents are totally normal! Why can’t you trust me?”
Mom sighed. “I don’t really think you want me to answer that, Aurora. Not with everything that’s been going on lately. Although, you’ve started to show us that we can trust you again. But I still want to meet his parents. If you don’t want me to drop you off, then bring them here!”
“Fine,” I muttered. I pointedly looked at the clock on my phone. “Henry will be here any minute.”
Mom stepped aside and ushered me down the hallway.
Henry was waiting by the time I got outside. “Sorry I’m late. My mom was interrogating me about meeting Lucas’ parents.” I paused. “I’m not sure how much longer I’m going to be able to put her off!”
“Maybe you could get Emmett to stand in as his dad,” Henry suggested with a snicker.
“Ha, ha,” I said sarcastically. “Anyway, thanks for going with me,” I said, changing the subject. I quickly gave him the directions to Jet’s house.
“You’re not worried about Jet trying to hurt us?” Henry asked, eyeing me out of the corner of his eye as he pulled out of the driveway. “You’ve painted a picture of this nice, likable guy, but don’t be naïve. I’m sure Jet is ruthless. You’d have to be, to get that much power.”
“Don’t give me something else to obsess about!” I exclaimed. “Now you’re making me think this might not be such a good idea.”
“We’ll see,” Henry said, making me feel even worse. He paused. “It’s not me I’m worried about, anyway. I could never let anything happen to you. Why don’t you stay in the car while I go inside?” Henry asked. “I can make sure it’s safe.”
“Absolutely not!” I shot back. “We’re in this together now. I’m sure it will be fine,” I said, not even sounding convincing to myself.
We didn’t say much for the rest of the car ride. When we finally got to Jet’s house, Henry let out a low whistle. “You weren’t kidding about this place looking like Dracula’s mansion. It’s enormous!” He shook his head. “I’d have turned right back around last night if I’d come with you.”
“No choice,” I said with a shrug.
We trudged towards the gate. Tentatively I rang the bell. A moment later, Jet’s voice came over the intercom. “Aurora, I’ll be right out.”
Jet came into sight, calling for Lassie to stand back.
“Come in,” he said when we reached the entrance to his house, before I could introduce Henry.
We stepped inside the spooky looking corridor. “We can talk in here.” Jet motioned to the dimly lit room directly adjacent to the entranceway. Just like the other parts of the house I’d seen, it looked like it was decorated straight out of a creepy movie. There was a large fireplace built into a brick wall, with a sheepskin rug in front of it. There were two high back chairs on one side of the room, and a long, stiff, uncomfortable looking couch on the other.
Henry and I sat down on the couch and Jet sat across from us in one of the chairs.
“This is my friend, Henry,” I said.
“Ah, I thought as much. Nice to meet you, Henry.” He smiled warmly. “Aurora mentioned you were doing the spells next week, but I didn’t know how involved you were in this…” Jet’s voice trailed off and he looked at me pointedly.
He’s trying to figure out if Henry knows about his father. I shook my head slightly to signal to Jet that he didn’t.
“I know everything,” Henry said grimly.
Not quite.
But Jet wasn’t dumb. He’d understood my silent message and wouldn’t say anything about David Matthews.
Jet leaned forward in his seat, his long legs stretching out in front of him. I noticed today he was wearing a plain black t-shirt and jeans. How is it that Lucas and Jet can manage to look so good, so effortlessly? I pushed the thought out of my mind. Sure, Jet was attractive, and I could appreciate that, but he’d called us here for a reason and I didn’t need to get distracted by his bulging biceps.
“Lucas didn’t want to come with you? I know he doesn’t like me, but I thought he’d at least be curious about what I had to say,” Jet commented.
“It’s not that he doesn’t like you,” I argued. Jet raised an eyebrow as if to say, “Really?”
“I didn’t ask him,” I admitted. “You know how it is, trying to go out in the sunlight…”
Jet smiled. “Sure,” he said, seeing right through my reasoning. “No worries, you can tell him – or not – later.” He paused. “I’m actually glad you trust me enough to bring a human with you.”
I glanced at Henry, whose face was pale.
Jet smiled. “You’ve got nothing to fear, Henry. I stopped drinking human blood many, many moons ago. But if you ever wanted to become a vampire…well, let’s just say I wouldn’t be opposed to the idea.”
“That’s not funny!” I snapped at Jet as Henry inhaled sharply.
Jet shrugged. “It wasn’t meant to be.” He directed his piercing gaze at Henry. “Just know the offer stands, if you ever change your mind. I’ve heard you’re a powerful warlock. We could use you on our side.”
Henry didn’t answer.
“Why did you ask me to come here?” I asked hurriedly, anxious to get away from the topic of Henry becoming a vampire.
“After you and Lucas left last night, I got my second surprise of the evening. I walked into this room to find a woman sitting on the very couch you’re sitting on now. I had never met her before but recognized the name. I think it’s someone Lucas used to know? Senara Grai.”
Chapter 2
I buried my face in my hands. “She was here?!” I exclaimed in a muffled voice.
“Ah, I take it you do know the name,” Jet said wryly.
“Lucas and Nicholas knew her,” Henry said.
“Nicholas?” Jet’s voice registered surprise. “Nicholas Winchester?”
“I, uh, I don’t know his last name,” I said, removing my hands from my face. Somehow I’d thought that vampires only had first names, kind of like Cher, or Madonna.
“His maker, Nicholas?” Jet continued.
I nodded.
“Wow, I had no idea Nicholas Winchester was here. Last I heard he was overseas.” Jet furrowed his brow. “I’ll have to talk to Gabe about keeping better track,” he muttered.
“But never mind,” Jet continued. “Interesting to know that Nicholas is here. Is there anyone else helping you with this plan you’re enacting next week?”
“There’s this college professor who’s also a psychic,” I said. “But you have to tell us, why the hell did Senara turn up here?”
“As I mentioned, she was sitting in my room when I walked in. She wanted to assert her power, show me that she could get past my hellhound.” Jet grimaced. “Actually, she was nice enough to point out that she could have killed Lassie, if she wanted to.”
“But she didn’t hurt him?” I asked.
“No. She chained him up. Said if I did anything to cross her, she’d kill him – and me.” Jet’s words were chilling. I looked at Henry and noticed the goose bumps on his arm. I appreciated that he’d come here with me. I knew this wasn’t easy for him.
“Aren’t you worried?” I blurted out. “Lucas and Nicholas said she was probably really powerful after stealing souls for so many years.”
“I wasn’t overjoyed,” Jet said, “but I’m not panicked – not yet at least. Right now, Senara is just letting me know that she thinks she’s boss; she’s not going to make a move unless I were to do something stupid.” Jet paused. “And I fig
ured out a very long time ago how to avoid doing stupid things. It’s why I’m still around.”
“Did she say anything else?” Henry asked.
“Oh, just that she would annihilate the entire vampire race if we interfere with her plans. From what I can gather, she’s going to kill Tobias – and anyone else attempting to make a power play.”
“Does she know about Magnus and Leon?” I asked.
Jet shrugged. “She didn’t mention their names, but I can’t imagine she doesn’t know what’s going on in Hell right now, the struggle for King. But there is one name she mentioned that you won’t like.” Before we could say anything, Jet continued. “She asked me where she could find Lucas.”
“What does she want with him?” I whispered.
“She didn’t say, and she wasn’t exactly offering me any opportunities to ask. But I guess you know that she and Lucas used to be involved?”
Henry and I nodded.
“As crazy as Senara is, I’m not sure if she’s trying to rekindle the old flame or put a stake through Lucas’ heart,” Jet said.
I shuddered.
“But vampires are strong,” Henry interjected. “Couldn’t Lucas overpower her?”
“If this were a normal fairy or even a normal vampire, then yes, my money would be on Lucas,” Jet answered. “But Senara is different. Like with Aurora, I’m not sure anyone knows how to kill her. Before she gathered all of those souls, maybe a stake would have it done it, since she’s half vampire. But now? I don’t think you could even get close enough to try it. She restrained Lassie. That’s no small feat.”
“Did you tell her where to find Lucas?” I demanded.
“I don’t know where to find him,” Jet pointed out. “But it wouldn’t be difficult for me to track him down, which means Senara can probably find him pretty easily, too.”
“Great,” I said dejectedly. “As if we needed one more thing to worry about.”
“We knew she was coming,” Henry said quietly. Jet and I turned to look at him. “It was just a matter of time. And now that we have a heads up that Senara is on the prowl, well, maybe we can come up with a plan.”
End Game (Vampire Hunter Book 6) Page 1
