Delanie's Fury (Vampire Huntress Saga Book 3)

by Christina Escue

  “Ready to be reunited with your family?” Christopher asked as they walked to the front door.

  “More than anything,” Jackson answered as he stepped into the sunshine.

  “Pity you won’t make the meeting,” Crompton said from just on the other side of the house.

  “Fuck,” Jackson said when he noticed the house was surrounded.

  “Oh, young Jackson, you will suffer for disobeying me,” Crompton sneered. “You will have an eternity of suffering.”

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  “Where are they?” Delanie asked, looking around the parking lot and not seeing Jackson anywhere.

  “I don’t know,” Karma responded, looking around too.

  “Something has happened,” Ramsey commented and frowned.

  “What?” Karma asked.

  “I’m not sure,” he answered. “But something has happened with young Jackson.”

  “There are vampire close,” Karma said and inhaled deeply. “And Jackson is with them.”

  “Would the vampire he was with bring more than a couple others?” Dylan asked when he picked up the scent of several vampire.

  “Not to a friendly meeting,” Holbrook responded.

  “Something about this doesn’t feel friendly,” Karma commented and looked around them.

  “But Jackson is with them,” Delanie reminded them.

  “Yes,” Ramsey said as the vampire stepped from the tree line behind the restaurant. “But that isn’t Bennett Richards with him.”

  “Crompton,” Analia muttered from where she was standing behind Nevaeh.

  Before they could register how bad the situation was, the vampire charged.

  They were outnumbered at least three to one, but as the other vampire charged, Karma focused on Crompton, who was still standing in the tree line with Jackson.

  “I’m going after him,” Karma told Dylan as the others began fighting.

  “I’m right beside you,” he told her, and they started fighting their way through the crowd.

  After killing a dozen or so vampire, they reached the area Crompton and Jackson had been standing a couple minutes earlier.

  “This way,” Karma said and took off in the direction of Jackson’s scent.

  Dylan was right on her heels, but when they entered the woods, he froze for a second as a feeling of something he couldn’t explain washed over him.

  “Karma, stop,” he called out loud enough for her to hear.

  “What’s wrong?” She asked, looking back at him.

  “I don’t know, but something isn’t right,” he said, and she darted back to him just as Jackson emerged from the shadows.

  “Jackson,” Karma breathed when she saw him. He didn’t look like the boy she’d met nearly a year ago any longer. He looked older somehow, and she could tell he’d been though a lot in just a few days.

  “Karma,” he hissed, and she heard a hatred in his voice she’d never expected to hear from someone she loved as much as she loved him.

  “Bro, what’s going on?” Dylan asked, stepping protectively in front of Karma.

  “She must die,” Jackson hissed, never taking his eyes off Karma.

  “That isn’t going to happen, Jackson,” Dylan told him calmly. “You know you don’t want that to happen. You love Karma.”

  “Master says she must die,” Jackson responded. “And I must be the one to kill her.”

  “Not going to happen, little brother,” Dylan rebutted as he took a step toward his brother. “I know the brother I love is in there. This isn’t who you are, Jackson.”

  “That Jackson is dead,” Jackson responded.

  “You’ll have to get through me to get to her,” Dylan told him, speaking very slowly.

  “My orders don’t involve you, Dylan,” Jackson said and took a step closer to them. “But I will do whatever is necessary to please my Master.”

  “You know you don’t want to hurt either of us,” Dylan attempted breaking through the hold Crompton had over Jackson. “You know who you truly are, and you know you aren’t a killer.”

  “I warned you, brother,” Jackson said before he leaped.

  “Fuck,” Karma said as Jackson collided with Dylan.

  “Hello, Karma,” Crompton greeted her from behind.

  “You son of a bitch,” Karma screeched as she turned away from her lifemate and his brother.

  “I truly am,” Crompton said and grinned when Karma pointed her Sai at him.

  “I’ll kill you,” she said and took a step closer to him.

  “You won’t,” Crompton responded. “For I am the only one who can stop those two from killing one another.”

  “You don’t want me dead,” she told him, somehow picking up on his thoughts.

  “No,” he replied. “I want you to breed with me, and the only way I will stop this is if you come with me willingly.”

  “If Jackson kills Dylan, I’ll die too,” she shot at him. “He and I have a blood link.”

  “Blood links aren’t possible with Halflings,” he told her and grinned. “I’m surprised the Senate never told you that.”

  “Joke’s on you, then,” she sneered. “I’m no longer a Halfling.”

  “Impossible,” he responded. “Only one as old as myself could turn a Halfling into a full vampire.”

  “Yes, and I do believe the Senate members are nearly as old as you,” she snapped back and grinned a little when his face fell.

  “It isn’t true,” he said, but she could hear he doubted his own words.

  “Believe what you want,” she said and took another step toward him.

  When Dylan screamed, Karma jerked around to see what was happening, and Crompton took her moment of distraction and left.

  A moment later, Jackson released Dylan and took off at full speed into the woods, leaving Dylan bleeding on the ground.

  “Dylan!” Karma yelled, as she dropped to her knees beside him.

  “I love you,” he choked out as blood seeped from the wounds on his chest.

  “You’re going to be okay,” she assured him. “You’ll heal, and be fine.”

  “I’m sorry,” he muttered, then his eyes rolled back into his head and he passed out just as the others entered the woods.

  “What happened?” Ramsey asked as he kneeled beside Karma.

  “Crompton can control Jackson,” she responded.

  “Jackson did this?” Baxter asked, looking at the wounds on Dylan’s chest and neck.

  “Yes,” Karma responded. “But he was under Crompton’s control.”

  “We’ll worry about that later,” Eduardo said as he kneeled on Dylan’s other side. “He’s losing too much blood.”

  “He’ll heal,” Karma snapped.

  “If he doesn’t, you’ll both die,” Holbrook reminded her.

  “He’ll heal,” Karma told them again, but she wasn’t sure she believed herself.

  “Karma,” Harrison said as he looked at his son.

  “Do it,” she said and looked at Ramsey. “Change him.”

  “Okay,” Ramsey responded and bit down on his wrist. When he pressed it to Dylan’s lips, he let a few drops drip into his mouth, then smiled when he felt Dylan’s fangs sink into his wrist. “He’s drinking.”

  “He’s going to be okay,” Harrison assured Karma as he sat beside her on the ground.

  “He’s going to be okay,” she agreed and ran her fingers through Dylan’s hair.

  They sat there in silence for a few minutes as Dylan drank from Ramsey, and when Ramsey pulled his wrist from Dylan’s mouth, he sighed.

  “The change is happening,” he said and looked at Karma. “We can move him to somewhere more comfortable.”

  “Let’s get him to the house,” Harrison said and moved to help lift him, but Karma growled at him.

  “I’ve got him,” she said and stood before lifting Dylan as if he weighed nothing.

  “Vampire strength,” Nevaeh reminded the Huntresses when a few of them gasped.

&nb
sp; “Is everyone else okay?” Karma asked as they walked to the vehicles.

  “Yes,” Baxter answered. “Dylan was the only serious injury.”

  “Good,” Karma responded. “Let’s get him comfortable. He’s going to be achy when he wakes up.”

  “Yes,” Ramsey responded. “Let’s get him comfortable, then we can talk about what’s going to happen next.”

  ****

  “Dylan,” Jackson breathed as he paced the room he was in. He’d attacked Dylan. He’d attacked his own brother. The person he loved more than anyone.

  He knew it wasn’t him, not really him, who had attacked Dylan, but it was. He knew what was happening, and he’d tried to fight it, but had failed. Now his brother, and Karma, could be dead, and it was his fault.

  When he’d tasted Dylan’s blood, he was snapped from whatever hold Crompton had over him, but he knew he couldn’t stay and witness what he’d done. He would never forgive himself, and if by some miracle Dylan survived, he knew Karma and Dylan would never forgive him.

  He also knew he was now on the VEB’s most wanted list.

  “You can’t hide from them forever,” he muttered to himself as he paused in his pacing to look out the window of the room he was in.

  Sighing, he turned from the window and looked at the door. He knew what he needed to do, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it yet.

  Shaking his head, he resumed his pacing as a plan started forming.

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  “Jackson,” Dylan muttered as he started to regain consciousness.

  “He fled,” Karma responded, raising her head off his chest.

  “What happened?” He asked, looking around at the room he was in. “And where are we?”

  “At the house we rented just before Jackson called,” she answered, and lifted her head from his chest. “How are you feeling?”

  “About the same as I always have,” he responded and looked at her. “You did exactly what you needed to.”

  “I told you I would if the situation ever called for it.”

  “I’m glad you did,” he responded and stroked her hair. “If I would have died, you would have too, and a world without Karma isn’t going to be a good place.”

  “We have to find Jackson,” she told him, changing the subject.

  “It wasn’t Jackson who did this to me.”

  “I know,” she assured him as she shifted into a sitting position. “But we have to find him. Being under Crompton’s control, he could do something that will get him hunted by the VEB.”

  “Remember what Ramsey said when you asked him if Crompton would be able to control Jackson?” He asked, and she nodded. “Well, just before he stopped attacking me and fled, Jackson bit me, and I know he drank some of my blood.”

  “If so, why would he flee?”

  “I think he was scared of what he’d done,” Dylan answered than sat up. “Or, maybe, he thought I was dead, and couldn’t stay and see you die, too. I don’t know why he fled, but I know he swallowed some of my blood.”

  “I need to talk to Ramsey,” she said and started to slide from the bed.

  “Shower with me first, then we will talk to him together,” Dylan suggested.

  “Did you expect an argument?” She asked as she slid from the bed and walked to the bathroom.

  “I was hoping there wouldn’t be one,” he told her and grinned a little. “No matter what we’re dealing with, no matter where we are, I crave you. Your touch, your taste, all of you.”

  “I feel the same way,” she responded. “You are my present, my future, my everything.”

  “Marry me, Karma,” he said, and she smiled at him. “After we find Jackson and eliminate Crompton, I want us to get married.”

  “Do you remember the day we talked about exchanging blood for the first time?” She asked, and he nodded. “I said then I wanted a wedding with all the bells and whistles. Since then I have realized what we do, who we are, will never allow us to have what most would call a normal life. I still want a wedding, but I want it to be small with just our family there.”

  “You realize even if it’s just our family there, it will not be small, right?” He asked, chuckling.

  “You know what I mean,” she told him and chuckled too. “Let’s shower and go see Ramsey. Jackson is out there somewhere, and if he’s no longer under Crompton’s control, we need to find him before Crompton does.”

  ****

  “Want to tell us what happened?” Delanie asked as soon as Karma and Dylan walked into the room.

  “Jackson attacked Dylan while trying to get to me,” Karma answered bluntly. “It wasn’t Jackson though. It was Crompton.”

  “Can you be sure of that?” Baxter asked, looking at them with narrowed eyes.

  “Yes,” Dylan answered without hesitation. “His voice, his mannerisms, everything about him wasn’t Jackson. When I talked to him on the phone earlier, he was himself, but when I was talking to him in the woods, he wasn’t.”

  “And you’re certain he wasn’t just putting on an act on the phone?” Johnson asked.

  “I know my brother,” Dylan retorted. “The man who attacked me in the woods wasn’t him.”

  “Enough,” Karma said calmly and all the males in the room looked at her. “The vampire in the woods wasn’t Jackson. It was his body, yes, but not him. Dylan, tell Ramsey what you told me.”

  “When Jackson was attacking me, he bit me,” Dylan told them all. “Just after it happened, Jackson released me and fled. I know he drank at least a little of my blood before he took off though.”

  “Then he most likely isn’t under Crompton’s control any longer,” Ramsey stated, and Eduardo nodded his agreement.

  “But why would he flee?” Johnson asked, looking at Ramsey.

  “He’d just attacked his brother,” Karma pointed out.

  “I think he was scared,” Dylan stated. “I’m sure he thought I was dead, and he knows if I die so does Karma.”

  “Which means he’d have killed two agents,” Baxter said and looked at the two of them.

  “Which means he’d have killed two of the people he loves the most in the world,” Delanie corrected him. “I don’t think he’s scared of the punishment he may face. I think he would welcome death if he killed Dylan and Karma.”

  “Then why flee?” Jensen asked.

  “Because he couldn’t face what he’d done,” Caia added her opinion. “When we were in those cells, all he could talk about was Karma and Dylan, and how much he would be lost without them. Dylan is more than his brother, he’s his role model, and to do anything to disappoint or hurt Dylan would be something I don’t think Jackson would deal with well.”

  “I agree,” Karma added. “Even if he thought Dylan was still alive, I think he would have fled because he would have hated himself for disappointing Dylan.”

  “That’s something we can figure out when we find him,” Dristen told them. “Because if he’s no longer under Crompton’s control, he’s in grave danger.”

  “Yes,” Constance agreed. “We must find him before Crompton does.”

  “On the plus side, since the hold is broken, Crompton’s ability to find him isn’t as strong,” Eduardo told them. “And Dylan’s should be stronger.”

  “Do you think I can find him?”

  “You and Jackson share DNA,” Aleyn reminded him. “You’ve always been able to track him, but now you should be able to do it easier.”

  “Tell me what to do,” Dylan said, willing to do anything to find his brother.

  “Close your eyes and focus on him. Not his physical appearance, but him. His personality, his strength, the part of you that he shares.”

  “Okay,” Dylan said and closed his eyes.

  As he focused on Jackson, he felt a sense of relief wash over him. Only, it wasn’t his own relief.

  “I can feel him, I think,” he said softly.

  “Focus,” Ramsey told him calmly.

  “He’s calm,” Dylan said i
n a voice so quiet they could tell he was talking to himself. “He’s determined. I can’t tell where he is though. Not a physical location.”

  “You won’t know exactly where he is,” Karma told him. “You should be able to pinpoint him through his blood though.”

  “He’s close,” Dylan told them. “Not like Karma is, but he is in the area still.”

  “How strong can you feel him?” Langley asked.

  “Not like he’s in the room with me, but not like he’s very far either,” Dylan muttered.

  “Could he be in one of the houses in this neighborhood?” Delanie asked, hopefully.

  “It’s possible,” Dylan responded.

  “Focus,” Karma breathed into his ear. “Focus on Jackson.”

  Taking another deep breath, Dylan squeezed her hand then released it and refocused on Jackson.

  “He’s calm,” Dylan told them again. “It’s almost like he’s too calm. Like he’s accepted something. Oh no, I think he’s looking for Crompton.”

  “Why do you think that?” Eduardo asked.

  “He’s calm because he’s accepted what he’s done and is looking for Crompton, so he can either kill him or be killed by him.”

  “We have to find him,” Delanie said and jumped to her feet.

  “We will,” Karma told her. “And I think I know how.”

  “How?” Dylan asked, and Karma grinned.

  “We will draw him to us,” she responded. “He thinks you’re dead, right? Well, we will make it known that you aren’t and that you’re looking for him.”

  “That will draw more than Jackson out,” Aleyn warned.

  “And we will be ready for whomever shows up,” Nevaeh told him.

  “Then let’s do it,” Delanie said.

  “I’ll make a few calls and get a press conference set up,” Baxter told them and walked to the other room.

  “Now all I have to do is figure out what to say,” Dylan said and looked at Karma.

  “I’ll be right beside you,” she assured him.

  “I don’t think I’d be able to do this if you weren’t,” he responded.

  “You’ll never have to find out,” she promised him.

  “And neither will you.”