End Game (Vampire Hunter Book 6)

by Reynolds, S. C.

  If worse comes to worst. Meaning if I wasn’t able to kill Leon. It would be ironic, really, if after Leon went through so much effort to get rid of me, it turned out I couldn’t kill a demon after all.

  “No,” Lucas was saying, “I’ll go, too. It’s not that I don’t trust you to protect Aurora, but I’d just be sitting here worrying the whole time. Let me take one of those pills.”

  “I figured you’d say that,” Nicholas said with a grin. “So I’ve got you covered.” He handed Lucas a small white pill, which he swallowed dry. I wondered if he always did that, or just didn’t want me to see him drinking the synthetic blood.

  I told Nicholas what had happened with Senara while he drove us to see Leon. When I had finished, he let out a low whistle. “Man, she’s one crazy bitch. But first things first, let’s get rid of Leon, then we can focus all of our brainpower on Senara. I’m sure a group of semi-intelligent creatures can come up with some plan of attack,” he joked, but I could hear the worry in Nic’s voice.

  Nicholas parked the car at the end of the road. He pointed to a dilapidated house. “That’s it. That’s where Leon is staying.” I was actually glad for once that we weren’t going out at night; the neighborhood was sketchy, with row after row of unsavory, rundown houses.

  “Wait in the car,” Lucas instructed, “and keep an eye on your phone. I’ll call you when we have Leon restrained.”

  “Are you kidding me?” I asked incredulously, getting out of the car anyway. “Hell no. I’m coming with you.”

  “But it’s too dangerous,” Lucas argued.

  I crossed my arms in front of my chest defiantly.

  “Come on, guys,” Nicholas said. “We can’t stand here all day. And I don’t know about you, Lucas, but I’m not exactly enjoying the feel of the sun baking my back.”

  “If I’m going to be a hunter, then I have to start somewhere,” I said quietly. I started walking before Lucas could answer. He followed, not saying anything else until we had reached the house. I noticed a cardboard sign on the front with the words CONDEMNED – DO NOT ENTER written in black marker.

  I shuddered. “That’s ominous. What now? We just walk in?”

  “I’ll go around the back,” Nicholas said. “You two go through the front. Whoever finds Leon first restrains him, and then Aurora can do her magic.”

  “Okay,” I said, trying to hide the nervousness in my voice.

  Nicholas jogged around the side of the house.

  “Ready?” Lucas asked me, his hand poised on the doorknob. I nodded. He turned the knob, looking surprised when the door creaked open. It was pitch black inside, but I tried not to panic; Lucas and Nicholas could see in the dark much better than me.

  Lucas stepped inside and I followed, close against his back. As my eyes adjusted to the light, I realized we were in the remains of a living room. A stained, worn couch was pushed up against a wall, half the cushions missing from it. There was a bookshelf knocked on its side and stacks of wood leaning against the already boarded-up windows. For once, I was glad I couldn’t breathe; the layers of dust and dirt on everything must have been at least two inches thick.

  We kept walking slowly, going farther and farther into the house, all the while Lucas looking around for any signs of Leon. We hadn’t heard a peep from Nicholas, so I assumed he hadn’t run into the King of Hell yet, either.

  Off of the living room was a small bathroom. Lucas went in while I waited outside. He returned a moment later with a slight shake of his head, signaling he still hadn’t found Leon. What if he’s already left town?

  Next we checked the kitchen. Nada. By the time we got to the bedrooms in the back of the house, we met up with Nicholas. He shrugged and shook his head helplessly. We were all thinking the same thing: Where the fuck was Leon hiding?

  Just as we were backtracking to check the house again, I saw a flash of movement out of the corner of my eye. “Watch out!” I screamed as a blurry figure leapt out at us, hitting Nicholas over the head with one of the wooden boards I’d seen stacked in the living room.

  It splintered and broke into pieces as Nicholas cried out in pain, hitting the ground – hard. I watched in horror as his attacker raised one of the wooden shards, ready to drive it into Nicholas’ heart.

  “No!” I screamed as Lucas slammed his body against the man and they both fell to the ground.

  Nicholas, still looking dazed, had managed to sit up now. He sprung into action to help Lucas. They picked the man up, still flailing, and forced him into a chair. Lucas pulled out rope from his coat pocket and bound his feet and legs.

  Lucas’ teeth were out; he was furious. “I’d punch your face in, if I didn’t think there might still be a human inside there. But don’t worry, you’re not long for this world.”

  But the man wasn’t looking at Lucas. His eyes were trained on me. “You!” he spat out.

  “Leon?” I asked, my jaw hard.

  “I already had you killed once,” he hissed. “And mark my words, I will find a way to do it again.”

  “Good luck with that,” I said sarcastically. I studied his face. Leon’s meat suit was about my age, with reddish curly hair and a muscular build. An innocent life ruined, I thought sadly. What were the chances that Leon had killed his human host, just like Magnus did? It was almost a certainty.

  “The Gates,” Leon said, looking between Lucas, Nicholas and me. “Are you responsible for that, too? I can’t get back into Hell; they won’t open!”

  “They’re closed – for good,” Lucas said, his eyes blazing. “Of course, we could still send you back with the demon extractor. But we thought you should get a first-hand look at the prophet’s prediction.”

  “There are still other demons on the surface, locked out of Hell,” Leon said. “If you kill me, they will retaliate. Mark my words.”

  “So then I’ll kill them, too,” I snapped.

  “I’ve got a better proposal for you,” Leon said.

  “I don’t really think you’re in any position to be making deals,” Nicholas told him.

  “You don’t want to antagonize my loyal followers,” Leon argued. “Use that demon extractor and send me back to Hell – it’s where I belong anyway, ruling as King. Not to mention it happens to be the only means to get into Hell, at the moment. And if you won’t honor my request, be prepared to spend the rest of eternity running from the monsters who will avenge my death.”

  Leon was trying to look cool, confident, but I could see the fear in his eyes. “You’re friends with David’s son,” he continued. “I’ll make sure he’s killed, too, along with your parents and sister.”

  “You can spout off as many threats as you want, but it’s time to go.” My voice sounded strangely calm. And then, acting on pure instinct with no thought to my actions, I leaned forward, placing my hand on Leon’s forehead, feeling the heat travel through my toes and up my entire body, until it reached my fingertips, which now felt like they were on fire.

  Leon was convulsing, as though my touch was sending waves of electricity through his human body. His eyes rolled back in his head as a dark smoke pooled out of his nose, swirling to the ground like a cyclone, leaving a puddle of some substance that looked like oil.

  “What? What’s happening?” The boy that Leon had possessed was talking. He was alive! “I was possessed, wasn’t I?” he sputtered, a dazed expression on his face.

  Lucas reached out and untied his hands and arms. “Not anymore,” he said quietly.

  “Who are you?” he asked. “Are you angels?”

  “Something like that,” Nicholas said, smiling. “We need to go, and you do, too.”

  “That thing that was inside of me – you called him Leon – took my car and drove it here. I still have the keys. My parents must be worried sick about me.” He stood up shakily.

  “What’s your name?” Lucas asked. His face had finally returned to normal.

  “Kevin,” he answered.

  “Just a friendly word of advice, Kevin. If you
try to tell your friends and family what happened, they’re not going to believe you. I know this sounds crazy, but you need to move on, and just be happy that Leon let you live when he took over your body,” Lucas said gently.

  Kevin shook his head, still looking out of it. “Thank you, thank you so much for saving me,” he said as we left that dump of a house.

  When we were back in the car, Lucas leaned to the back seat and squeezed my hand. “You did it!” he said, grinning broadly. “See, you knew exactly what to do, when the time came.”

  “Yes,” I said, struggling to return his smile. But the bigger, more important, unspoken question, still remained. It loomed over all of our heads: would I know how to get rid of Senara when the time came?

  Chapter 16

  Lucas insisted on accompanying me back to my house, even though I had protested profusely. Mom was sitting downstairs when we arrived, but thankfully let us retreat upstairs with a friendly reminder to keep my bedroom door open. If only she knew… I couldn’t help but think.

  As much as I wanted to reach out, to touch Lucas, my open bedroom door was a stark reminder that now was not the time or the place.

  “What if his minions really are after my family, ready to pounce?” I asked in a low voice, perched tensely on the edge of my bed.

  “I think most of Leon’s followers are still in Hell – trapped, thanks to you and Henry,” Lucas said slowly. “And I doubt there’s much loyalty between demons, anyhow. I think Leon is all talk, no action. And, personal feelings aside, I do believe Jet is doing whatever he can to protect your family.” Lucas reached out and placed his hand over mine.

  “I know, but what if it’s not enough?” I asked, trying to ignore the feeling of his fingers across my skin.

  “Either way,” he said, “after word gets out that you’ve killed both Tobias and Leon, I can’t imagine anyone – demon or otherwise – would be stupid enough to try and challenge you. The message is loud and clear not to fuck with Aurora Stone.”

  I laughed, despite myself. “Oh, Lucas,” I said, my voice trailing off.

  “Yes?”

  “About earlier,” I started.

  “Don’t,” Lucas cut in.

  I felt like I had just been punched in the stomach. Does he regret what almost happened?

  But Lucas was still talking. “Rory, I want to be with you. My feelings for you – I don’t even know where to start,” he whispered. “But I’m glad that Nic came over when he did. The first time we make love…I want it to be special.” Lucas sounded vulnerable, scared.

  “I thought it was going to be special,” I said, trying to keep the hurt out of my voice.

  “I just meant that I don’t want to rush things,” Lucas explained. “I didn’t picture getting carried away like that, taking you on my living room couch,” he said in a low voice, glancing nervously at my open bedroom door.

  “Oh, so you’ve thought about it before?” I asked. I couldn’t help the smile that spread from ear to ear across my face, making me look like a grinning idiot.

  “Of course I have,” he said simply. “Apart from everything we’ve been going through, you are the only other thing on my mind.” Lucas paused. “And I probably shouldn’t tell you this, but my thoughts – fantasies – haven’t always been exactly pure.”

  I leaned in and kissed Lucas, not caring that my bedroom door was open. Our kiss intensified, longing, lingering, until we pulled apart abruptly as the doorbell rang. Lucas and I looked at each other, and, without speaking, we jumped to our feet and ran down the stairs. It couldn’t be anyone we trusted, anyone good. If Senara had come for us, I was toast.

  I cut my mom off right as she was getting to the door. “Sorry,” I said, trying to smile. I flung it open, praying it wasn’t Senara.

  “Annabelle!” Mark’s face spread into a grin when he saw me, but it quickly dropped when his eyes flicked to Lucas.

  “Annabelle?” My mom was saying from behind me.

  “One sec!” I said to my mom, hastily stepping outside with Lucas on my heels. I shut the door behind us.

  “Mark, how did you find me?” I asked.

  “I tried calling you,” Mark said, “but I must have put your number in wrong. And then your sister came by the leasing office to ask if anyone had been looking for her. I know you said not to say anything, but I really wanted to see you again, so I told her about your visit earlier. She was nice enough to give me your address; said she didn’t have your current phone number.”

  Right, how wonderfully nice of Senara.

  Mark looked at Lucas again. “Who is this? You told me you didn’t have a boyfriend.”

  “No, er, yes,” I said, completely flustered.

  “I think there’s been a misunderstanding,” Lucas interjected. He placed his arm around my shoulder.

  Mark’s eyes flashed angrily. “Well, man, you should know your girl was locking lips with me this morning.” Lucas’ arm tensed but he didn’t answer.

  Mark turned to leave. “Waste of gas,” he muttered. And then right before he got to his car, he turned around. “Have a nice life, Annabelle, if that’s even your real name.”

  “Sorry,” I called out lamely. I didn’t want to hurt people. It had been a stupid, innocent kiss and I shouldn’t have led Mark on, but now I had more important worries.

  I turned to Lucas; the hurt was written all over his face. “You don’t have to say anything,” he told me, holding up his hand.

  “No,” I replied hastily. “Let me explain. I was trying to get the key to her apartment, and yeah, Mark kissed me. Maybe I didn’t pull back as fast as I should have, but it meant nothing. You have to believe me, Lucas. I only want you.”

  But Lucas didn’t look convinced. “Come back inside,” I suggested. “Come to my room so we can talk about this.” I noticed the sweat on his forehead from the strain of being outside in the sun.

  “I need to get going anyway,” Lucas replied. “See you later.” And with that, Lucas was gone, leaving me dumbfounded, staring at the empty road.

  I walked back into the house, in a daze. There was my mom, standing, waiting for me, looking anything but happy. “Annabelle?” she questioned. “Aurora, what in the world was that about? Why are you lying to boys about your name?”

  “Mom,” I said, “I’m not trying to be rude, but I just don’t have the time or energy to explain this to you. I have to call Lucas, and try to get him to understand.”

  “I thought he wasn’t your boyfriend!” my mom exclaimed. “What has gotten into you lately? Are you dating Lucas or not?”

  “I am! I was!” I yelled. “I don’t fucking know anymore, Mother,” I said, ignoring her shocked expression and storming up the stairs. I slammed the door to my room shut behind me. With trembling hands, I tried calling Lucas. No answer.

  I buried my head in my pillow and screamed into it, then hurled it against the wall as hard as I could. Had I really blown it with Lucas over something so stupid?

  I waited five minutes and called him again. As long as he’d gone straight home, he should be back by now.

  Pick up, pick up, pick up.

  “Hey,” his sexy voice came over the line.

  “Lucas, I know you’re mad at me. And I don’t blame you. But what can I do to prove to you that it was nothing more than a dumb mistake? My head’s been so fucked up lately; I shouldn’t have let it happen. But it did. And I want to move forward. Into the future. With you.” The words tumbled out of my mouth without giving Lucas a chance to get a word in. I finally paused, painfully waiting for him to say something.

  Lucas sighed. “I believe you; just hearing that you’d kissed someone else made me feel like I’d been punched in the gut. I get that our relationship hasn’t been very well defined. It’s just that…I haven’t been kissing anyone else, and I guess I assumed the same for you.”

  “I don’t want to, ever again,” I said honestly. “Lucas, I – I think I’m falling in love with you.” My voice was barely above a whisper.<
br />
  “I’m one step ahead of you, then,” Lucas said huskily, “because I know I’m in love with you.”

  “I wish I could be with you now,” I said, feeling like if I didn’t touch Lucas right this very second I was going to explode.

  “I know,” Lucas agreed. “I don’t want to spend a moment apart. Hopefully, soon…” his voice trailed off.

  We hung up the phone, promising to talk soon. I knew I needed to do damage control with my mom, but I was just too mentally exhausted. And really, how much longer was I going to be able to keep up this charade, anyway? Everything had changed. I could pretend like I was excited about going to college, deciding what to do with my life, but the truth was, it had never really been a decision at all. I knew my path now. I was going to become a hunter, hopefully with Lucas, if Senara didn’t kill him first. I gulped and pushed the disturbing thought out of my head.

  ###

  The next morning, I had to ask my mom to drive me to school since Henry wasn’t going to school any more. It was the first time I’d talked to her since my blow-up the night before.

  “Henry’s sick,” I told her. “Would you mind giving me a lift to school?”

  “Of course not, honey,” my mom said, her expression strained.

  When we got into the car, she turned to me. “About last night – ” she started.

  “I’m sorry,” I said hastily. “I shouldn’t have yelled at you like that. I’d just had a fight with Lucas, and I wanted to make sure things were okay with him. That’s why I ran upstairs so quickly.”

  “It’s fine,” my mom said. “I’ve been doing a lot of thinking, and I realize I need to let you grow up, make your own choices. But while you still live with us, before you go to college, I don’t think it’s too much to ask for you to tell me where you are and who you’re with. And who you’re dating,” she added.

  “Understood,” I said in relief. “Honestly, I hadn’t really been dating Lucas, not until recently.”