End Game (Vampire Hunter Book 6)

by Reynolds, S. C.

  This is what Emmett saw. His premonition wasn’t of me fighting Senara in her apartment. It was of us, in my house, with my family’s possessions broken on the floor.

  I lunged forward, tackling Senara just as she was raising her hand to Dad’s chest, again preparing to take his soul.

  “Is this how you want to play? Then fine!” Senara kicked me, square in the head. I stumbled back into the cabinets again, this time knocking off a set of knives, sending them spilling onto the floor.

  Senara picked one up and held it in front of my face, taunting me. “Little girl wants to see me use a knife?” she asked. She twirled it in her hand. I tried to move forward to grab it, but something was wrong. I wasn’t moving.

  My body was paralyzed. From head to toe, I couldn’t move a muscle. Senara threw her back, laughing. “Just where I want you,” she said smugly. “I know you’re struggling to move; don’t bother. All of the souls I’ve collected have given me superhuman strength. I could keep you paralyzed forever, if I wanted to.” She paused. “And I may not be able to kill you, but I can sure have fun trying.” And then, Senara dug the knife deep into my chest, where my heart would have been, if I had one.

  I still couldn’t move. The pain was excruciating as it traveled down my legs and up my arms. I tried to cry out, but even my mouth was paralyzed. And then I realized the terrifying truth. It didn’t matter if I couldn’t be killed; I could still be tortured. And my body, as fast as it healed, couldn’t keep up with the likes of Senara.

  Senara turned back to my father. This is it, I thought. I’m going to watch her take the souls from my family, one by one. And there wasn’t a damn thing I could do to stop it. I felt the heat of my power coursing through my body, but it wasn’t helping. I still couldn’t move an inch.

  I closed my eyes, too much of a coward to watch Senara take my family’s souls. And then I heard screaming. At first I still wouldn’t open my eyes, petrified by what I might see. But the screaming didn’t sound like any of my family. I opened one eye tentatively, cautiously. And there was Lucas, on top of Senara, struggling to restrain her.

  Lucas must have tackled her and broken whatever hold she had over me. My body was no longer frozen. Ignoring the searing pain in my stomach, I sprung into action, immediately by Luca’s side, hitting and punching Senara over and over.

  I heard my father groan from behind us.

  “You have to help him!” Lucas said frantically. “If you don’t heal him now, he’s going to die.”

  I hesitated, scared to leave Lucas to fight Senara on his own. “Go!” Lucas screamed, and I made my decision. I rushed back to my dad, putting my hand over the wound that Senara had inflicted. At first nothing happened. I pressed harder into my dad’s chest, and he winced in pain.

  And then, just like with Jet, his wound started to close. Dad’s breathing, which had been shallow and faint, suddenly got stronger. As soon as I knew he was healed, I turned my attention back to Senara and Lucas. He still had her pinned to the ground, but as I watched in horror she pushed him away, sending Lucas crashing against the wall, as she climbed to her feet.

  Senara stood in front of me, a wide smile on her face. “You can’t stop me,” she said. “I’m too strong.”

  Before, my body would get hot. Now it felt like it was boiling. I threw myself into Senara, sending us both to the ground. I dug my nails deep into her face, surprised when a hunk of flesh peeled off.

  Senara was screaming, swatting at me. And then I knew: I had the upper hand. I was in control.

  Once the realization hit me, I was completely oblivious to everything else. I pressed my hand against her throat, hoping to choke her. But Senara reached up and pulled my arm away before I could inflict any real damage.

  I looked around frantically for anything that resembled a stake. I grabbed the picture frame that had fallen and smashed it into the ground, splintering it into multiple pieces.

  The fragment of wood was small, but maybe it would work. I knew how to kill a vampire, but not a fairy, so all I could do was hope that the vampire method would do the trick.

  I drove it into Senara’s heart – at least where her heart should be – and shielded my eyes, ready for a repeat of the gruesome bloodbath when I killed Thomas and Bartholomew. But nothing happened.

  She pulled the stake out of her chest and pushed me off of her in one movement. She was back on her feet before I could react. “I don’t know how to kill her!” I screamed at Lucas.

  “Use your power!” he said.

  I knew he was right. None of the objects in the room were going to work. Which meant I had to get my hands on her. I lunged forward, pushing her against the cabinets, my hands wrapped around her neck in a vise-like grip. Senara tried to pull them away, but I was stronger. She kicked her legs out at me, bashing her foot into my right knee; I kept my balance. The pain from the knife wound was completely gone now. It had fully healed in a matter of minutes. The only thing I could feel was the red-hot heat of my power coursing through my body.

  And then I knew how I could kill her. By freeing all of the souls she was holding prisoner.

  Removing my hands from Senara’s neck, I held them over her chest, praying it would work. At first nothing happened. But then I noticed that Senara had stopped struggling. That’s odd. It took me a minute to realize that she couldn’t move. Just like I had been, she was now paralyzed.

  The heat seemed to gather into the hand I was holding over her chest, until it felt like my arm was on fire. But, strangely, it wasn’t painful in the least. No, it felt right, empowering. Senara’s eyes started to roll back in her head as the boiling heat flowed from my hand into her chest.

  And then I saw it. The lights coming out from her chest. Dim at first, but quickly growing stronger. “It’s all of the souls she’s stolen,” Lucas said.

  We stood there, mesmerized, as the souls she had been collecting, the only thing that gave her any real power, were freed from her body. I don’t know how long it lasted, but when the light stopped coming out, I finally moved my hand away from her chest. Senara slumped to the ground.

  “Is she still alive?” I asked Lucas.

  But we both knew the answer by her pitiful moans. “Stop,” she was saying. “You’ve taken everything from me. Please, just let me go.”

  Senara was so weak that she couldn’t even climb to her feet. “This should work now,” Lucas said in a low voice. He reached down and handed me the piece of wood I had tried to stake her with before.

  “Don’t you want to do the honors?” I asked him.

  “You’re a hunter now, Aurora. I think you deserve to finish the job,” he replied.

  I took the stake from him and bent down over Senara. “Just let me go,” she begged. “I can’t do anything to you. I’m powerless.”

  I laughed. “You think I’d let you go? After you tried to kill my family? Besides, you’d just return to your old ways.”

  Senara was speaking again, but I’d heard enough. I raised my hand up high over my head and then drove the stake deep into her heart. Surprisingly, no blood came pouring out. Instead, as soon as the stake connected with her heart, her body was replaced by a flash of light – her soul – which immediately dimmed.

  I stood up shakily. Lucas was untying my family and I sprang into action, rushing over to help him. When all the ropes were off, I was pulled in for a huge group hug. Everyone was talking all at once, crying, asking if what they just saw really happened.

  “It’s a long story,” I said.

  We walked into the family room and sat down. Lucas sat next to me and reached out to take my hand in his.

  “I don’t know where to begin,” I said slowly. “That woman I killed – she was evil. She was going to murder everyone I love.” I couldn’t help but look at Lucas out of the corner of my eye.

  “How did you do that?” Kayla whispered, her eyes wide.

  “Aurora’s special,” Lucas said. “She was the only one who could kill the, uh, person who was t
rying to hurt you.”

  Even though they had just witnessed me kill Senara, I knew they still wouldn’t understand everything. And so I told them that the important part was that they were no longer in danger. My family looked confused, but seemed to accept our vague explanation for what had just happened. I was sure more questions would come later, after some of the shock had worn off.

  “How did you know Senara was here?” I asked Lucas.

  “Emmett called me,” Lucas said. “He got a terrible feeling something was wrong after he dropped you off.”

  “Your father?” my mom asked, looking confused.

  Lucas and I exchanged a glance but didn’t answer. Lucas stood up. “I have to go.” He turned to me. “I need to tell Nic what’s going on – can you get in touch with the others?”

  “Yes,” I said, “but I’m going with you.”

  Lucas looked nervously at my parents, who were still sitting down, still looking dazed and confused.

  I turned to them. “I love you all deeply, but I have to go with Lucas. I’m sorry.”

  My mom hesitated.

  “I’m not asking your permission,” I said gently.

  “She wants to leave, Mom,” Kayla interjected. “Let her.”

  I gave my sister a grateful smile. She returned it, stood up and hugged me.

  And with that, I walked out of my family’s home.

  Chapter 19

  Back at Lucas’ apartment, we both started making phone calls. First I called Emmett, then Henry, who could tell Jet what happened. Everyone was thrilled that I had killed her, relieved that this horrible mess was finally over.

  “What did Nicholas say?” I asked.

  Lucas smiled. “He told me to tell you that you did a hell of a good job.”

  We sat down on the couch and Lucas hugged me to him. For a few minutes we stayed like that, embracing, enjoying the feel of our bodies pressed together. And then Lucas pulled back and kissed me. I melted into him, feeling like I could get lost in his lips forever.

  As our kisses deepened, became more feverish, I reached to take Lucas’ shirt off. “Wait,” he whispered, stopping me.

  “Why?” I asked, disappointed. “I’m ready, Lucas. I want you to make love to me.”

  Lucas moaned. “I want that, too – God, you have no idea how badly I want you.”

  “So what’s the problem?” I teased, again reaching for his shirt.

  “I want your first time to be special,” Lucas said. “Our first time.” I started to protest but he silenced me with a kiss.

  Lucas pulled back and smoothed my hair with his hand. He was gazing at me so intensely that I had to look away.

  “Soon?” I asked, biting my lip, trying to hide my disappointment.

  “Soon,” he promised. “Hey.” I looked at him again. “Don’t pout,” Lucas said playfully.

  I smiled. “I hope you’re not hesitating because you think I’m not ready.”

  “That’s not it at all,” Lucas whispered. “Just give me a little time to plan,” he said mysteriously.

  “Okay,” I grudgingly agreed.

  “Besides, there’s plenty of other stuff we can do to pass the time,” Lucas said with a wicked grin, leaning in to kiss me again.

  ###

  The next day, Lucas told me he had to go out for a while. “Why?” I asked, confused.

  “Hunting assignment,” he replied. “I haven’t been taking on many jobs lately; someone has to be the breadwinner,” he joked.

  “During the day?” I asked skeptically.

  “I’ll be fine.” Lucas popped one of the sunlight pills and leaned in to kiss me goodbye.

  After he had left, I slumped down onto the couch, my mind still reeling from everything that had happened. Lucas and I had spent hours kissing, running our fingers over every inch of each other’s bodies. It had been absolute heaven. But I still didn’t know why Lucas was holding back. Why he wouldn’t go all the way with me.

  Deciding that it didn’t really matter and I needed to exercise a little bit of patience, I turned on the TV, thankful that for the first time in months my mind wasn’t plagued with worry. It was liberating, really, to finally have the crazy situation behind me. To know I had killed each and every threat to the people I loved.

  I thought of Mom, Dad and Kayla, and a wave of sadness washed over me. My mom had looked so confused when I’d abruptly left with Lucas last night. But it was never going to end without anyone getting hurt, I reminded myself, picturing Henry in my mind.

  Lucas returned a few hours later. As soon as I heard the door, I jumped up, practically falling into him before he could even get inside.

  “Calm down, Rory,” Lucas said, laughing. He leaned in and kissed me. I pressed my body into his, relishing every delicious moment.

  Lucas took my hand and led me to the couch. “I need to talk to you,” he said.

  “Okay,” I replied, suddenly nervous by his tone.

  I sat down on the couch and looked at Lucas expectantly. He reached in his pocket and pulled out a box, kneeling down on one knee, before I could comprehend what was happening.

  “It’s not over the top,” he said shyly. “But it reminded me of you. Beautiful. Elegant.” Lucas flipped the box open, revealing a ring. It was simple: a small diamond set in a gold band.

  “Will you marry me, Aurora Stone?” he asked, his hand trembling slightly.

  Now I was shaking. I clasped my hand over my mouth in shock. “Of course, of course,” the words spilled out. I paused. “I mean, yes, I want nothing more than to marry you, Lucas.”

  With a sigh of relief, Lucas slipped the ring onto my left ring finger. “It’s perfect,” I whispered. The diamond glinted in the light.

  “Just like you.” Lucas got up off of his knee to kiss me again. When it finally ended, Lucas rested his forehead against mine. He was smiling, giddy almost. “I kind of banked on the fact that you would say yes,” he admitted. “So I hope you don’t mind that I’ve already arranged the ceremony.”

  “The sooner, the better,” I said, finally understanding why he wouldn’t make love to me the other night. “How long have you been planning this?” I whispered.

  “I’ve been dreaming about this moment for a long time,” Lucas replied. “I didn’t know if I could actually turn it into a reality until last night.”

  I kissed him, my arms wrapped around Lucas’ neck, feeling like the luckiest girl in the world.

  “It’s tonight,” Lucas said between our kisses. “The ceremony, I mean.”

  I forced myself to pull away from him. “Tonight?” I repeated.

  Lucas grinned. “I wasn’t really working this morning. I went to get the rings. It’s all set up. Nic is actually an ordained minister – it’s a funny story. One I’ll tell you sometime. Especially now that we’ve got all the time in the world,” he added. “We’re getting married at Emmett’s house.”

  “So everyone knows?” I asked, still in shock.

  “Our friends, do, yes.” Lucas paused. “I didn’t tell Jet. Or Henry. It’s your decision on whether or not to invite them.”

  “What time?” I asked, still trying to comprehend everything that was happening.

  “Sunset,” Lucas answered. “And…I want you to know you can invite your family, but only if you want to,” Lucas said hastily.

  I was torn. I wasn’t the type of girl that obsessed about my wedding day, so I really hadn’t given much thought to any details. But I was the type who wanted my father to walk me down the aisle.

  “I’ll think about it,” I said honestly.

  Lucas pulled me to him. “Sorry it’s such short notice,” he said, his voice muffled against my hair. “But I wanted to make you my wife as quickly as possible. This is why I insisted we wait. And it just about killed me to make that decision.”

  “I’m glad it’s happening today,” I said honestly. “I love you, Lucas Nathaniels, and the only thing in the world I want is to be with you, now and forever.” I kissed him dee
ply, my hand cupping his beautiful jaw.

  “I can’t imagine ever getting tired of that,” Lucas said breathlessly, reluctantly ending our kiss.

  “Me neither,” I agreed. “But right now, Mr. Nathaniels, I’ve got a wedding to plan!” I slapped his arm playfully.

  “You sure do.” Lucas’ voice was husky, sexy, and I almost melted back into his arms.

  “I could stay here kissing you all day,” I said honestly, “but I’ve got to get everything sorted!”

  Lucas laughed and released his arms from around me.

  I was on cloud nine for the entire day. I couldn’t stop looking at my ring, thinking how Lucas had picked exactly what I would have chosen. The only damper was my indecision about my family and Henry.

  Deciding to bite the bullet, I called Jet first. “Aurora! Nice to hear from you,” he answered.

  “I’m getting married to Lucas this evening,” I said in a rush. “I want you to come, if you can.”

  “That’s great! Congratulations!” Jet enthused. “Of course I’ll be there.”

  “I’m not sure if I should tell Henry,” I said. After all that we’d been through, I felt I could trust Jet, even though he had turned Henry.

  “Henry was in love with you, right?” Jet asked quietly.

  “I – I think so,” I stuttered. “Jet, Henry is my best friend, but I’m not sure he’ll ever forgive me for choosing Lucas,” I admitted. “I can’t worry about it anymore. Can you just use your best judgment? Tell him or don’t tell him. I’m leaving it in your hands.”

  “Done,” Jet said immediately.

  I couldn’t help but laugh. “See you tonight, Jet.” And with that, we hung up the phone.

  ###

  Most of my clothes were at my family’s house, my old house. I couldn’t marry Lucas in jeans and a t-shirt! I was unsure of how to broach the subject of my impending nuptials, so I went over while I knew all of my family was out.

  Rummaging through my closet, I quickly realized I had nothing suitable for a wedding. My wedding