“Watch out, your savior is rather tiny.”
Eve ducked her head down. “Little foal, you brought me back. I am forever in your debt.”
Calliope bobbed her head once. But stayed where she was.
Terese bent to her. “Since I’m already here.” She laid her hands on the foal, and the broken leg knit in a matter of seconds.
The filly scrambled to her feet, startling us all as she reared back, front legs flashing in the air. I Tracked her, felt the joy running through her.
Two Salvages now, one for Calliope and one for Eve. One more to go. One that I couldn’t feel.
A fucking blind salvage. Why, oh why did Doran have to be right about this?
Terese stood, dark circles under her eyes. “I hope you have no more injuries because I am done. I do not have the power you are used to seeing in Milly. Most witches are lucky to perform one spell a day, never mind curatives of this level.” She waved her hand at Eve. The Harpy bowed her head. “Thank you, Terese. I am, it seems, in your debt as well.”
Calliope stomped her foot into the straw, then flicked her head to the doorway. Standing there was her father, the leader of the Tamoskin Crush. The filly ran to her father, butting her head against his shoulder.
Tracker, you have brought her home. You have our undying loyalty.
At that moment, I didn’t give a shit about his loyalty. “Where were you when Eve was attacked?” I snarled, pissed off that they would just allow this to happen, to just stand back and watch Eve get gutted.
They came on suddenly, and we ran them off, but it was too late. We grieved the Harpy’s loss. How is it she is yet alive? He tipped his head to one side, then flicked his nose toward Eve.
“Your daughter saved her.”
Calliope saved … the Evening Star?
I nodded, the anger flowing out of me. “Yeah. She’s going to be something when she grows up. They both are.”
He bobbed his head once. A new generation, a new understanding. So it begins; Tracker, you are the catalyst we have waited for.
With no more words, he backed away from the door. Calliope reared up, tossing her head, her thin-spiked mane waving, and struck her front feet into the air.
“Stay away from Rocs!” I called after her as she bolted, bucking and leaping after her father into the night.
I turned to Eve. “There is no time to waste, Eve, who did this?”
“There were two groups; they hit us at the same time.” She ruffled her wings and settled away from the blood that had pooled in the middle of the barn. “First was Faris. But we didn’t think he was going to be trouble. He asked only that we take a message for you, and he took Pamela into the house to write it down.”
I Tracked Faris as Eve spoke, while my anger rose into a white heat that would put the lava we’d dodged to shame. He was on the other side of the veil, which wasn’t terribly surprising. But Pamela wasn’t with him. With her, there was still a large, blank nothing. Not even that shimmering sensation of knowing she was alive, but not being able to pinpoint her, that came with someone being across the veil. With her, there was nothing. She wasn’t with him. She was across some large body of water.
Eve continued. “The second group was like vampires, but not. I know that doesn’t make sense but—”
Liam lifted his hand. “Shadows, the servants of the vampire. They have abilities, but not quite at the level of their masters if they are like the ones we tangled with in Venice.”
“They came with weapons, in the dark. I did not hear them, and they did this while I slept.” She hung her head. “I was caught unawares. I am sorry, Rylee.”
“This is not your fault, Eve.” I put a hand to her side, just grateful she was alive.
The barn door creaked open and Dox stepped in. Alex waved at him, his claw-tipped paw flopping bonelessly.
“Hiya, Dox!”
“Hi, Alex.” He stepped into the barn. “The others are checking the perimeter. Is Eve … ?”
“I am well.” Eve fluffed her wings once, settling deeper into the hay.
Everyone looked to me, even Liam. I was going to have to make the call.
And again, I was going to have to leave Eve behind. Logically, I knew that the chances of another attack on her were slim to none. But I didn’t like it. And there wasn’t time for any other preparations.
“Terese, you stay here, keep an eye on Eve and call in reinforcements if you have to.”
She spluttered, all her dulcet tones lost in her disbelief. “You can’t possibly think you can save Pamela from a group of vampires, do you?”
“I have something they want. Something I can bargain with.” I quickly went over the weapons I had on me, and then lifted my eyes to hers. “Can you say the same?”
“Rylee, this is what they want, what Faris wants,” Liam growled.
“Faris isn’t the one who has her,” I said, striding toward the barn door.
“Alex comes too.” The werewolf shoved himself up against my side. I dropped my hand to his thick black fur.
“Yes, you’re coming this time.”
Terese threw her hands into the air. “You think he can help you better than I can?”
I stared down at Alex, and then flicked my eyes up to Terese. “He has saved my life more than once. He’s my wolf as much as Liam is. Maybe more.”
Liam grunted, but he couldn’t really argue. Alex listened to me, let me lead no matter what. That quality was good and bad. Right now, it was a good thing.
Terese put her hands on her slim hips, but I turned my back on her before she could say anything else.
“Dox, you, Sla and the triplets set up around the barn. Hold down the fort.”
Dox nodded, his face grim. He’d finally realized the realities of my life, what I dealt with everyday. Between that and making his first kill, I could see a part of him was lost. He was no longer just a gentle ogre; he’d found a dark side to himself. Whatever his past had held, he’d overcome it on this trip, and he would be stronger for it. His words only confirmed what I thought.
“Kill the fuckers, Rylee. Kill them and be done with it.”
I nodded. ‘That’s the plan.”
Liam led the way out of the barn, toward the farmhouse and the dry cellar around the back. I followed him down the steps and turned the light on. At least my weapons stash was still here.
Liam grabbed a couple more blades and my back up crossbow. I went to one knee and opened up the army green lock box that held all the pre-made spells Milly had prepped for me, and the one spell Terese had prepped for me. A holding spell, one that would bind Milly and make it so she couldn’t use her magic, as well as be unable to move. My hand hovered over it. No, that wasn’t the right one. Not yet, anyway.
I carefully lifted out three pre-made spells, firebombs that worked like napalm and would stick to everything they touched. I slid them into their hard carrying cases that would keep them from breaking and, if they broke, would snuff the fire. Then there was the obsidian blade, a four-inch fragile blade that would break the first time I used it. I slid it into a sheath and hung it from my neck, under my shirt. What good it could do, I had no idea, but Doran said to take it. So take it I would.
“Rylee, can you tell where Pamela is at all?” Liam slung the crossbow’s strap over his shoulder.
I headed back up the stairs and stared into the dark night sky. “I don’t know. Across water.”
“Then how the hell are we going to find her?”
I gave him a half smile. “I’ve got an idea.”
Her idea was not what he’d expected, not at all. Liam stood in the center of the castle breathing deeply through his nose. He could smell Pamela, but not well, just faintly.
Alex, on the other hand, had his nose crammed to the ground and was working through the castle with an intensity and focus the submissive werewolf didn’t often show.
Rylee trailed Alex, a few feet behind, her eyes searching the castle as they went. When Eve had been slipping, h
e wasn’t sure if Rylee was going to pull through. There had been too much loss for her, too much pain and grief.
Yet, here she was, her shit together and on another hunt. There was a reason others let her lead. Though he’d had to cover for her for a bit, she’d gotten herself under control again.
“Liam, anything?” She called over her shoulder.
He took a deep breath, caught a faint whisper of Pamela and vampires. “Still there, Alex is doing well.”
Alex’s tail wagged twice with the praise, and he lifted a paw with a single thumbs up, and then he was back to scenting the trail.
They wove through the castle, pausing at intersections for several minutes to be sure they were on the right track. Liam was almost certain that the vampires were Berget’s. Hell, there were only two factions of vampires, and Rylee said that Faris wasn’t with Pamela … though that didn’t mean he wasn’t going to cause trouble.
Liam jogged to her side, and lowered his voice. No need to announce his thoughts to anyone who might be lurking in the castle. “Can you Track Faris, didn’t you say he was on this side of the veil?”
Her tri-colored eyes flicked up to his, her brows furrowing as she Tracked the vampire.
“Yes, he’s on this side of the veil, close too. Fuck, that is the last thing we need,” she muttered as she loosened up a sword from her back.
Liam stepped back and shifted the crossbow so that it was angled and ready to be used. He would only make a full shift to wolf if he had to.
Focusing on his sense of smell, he did his best to block the other scents and zeroed in on Faris. The vampire was nowhere close, and he hadn’t been this way. All Liam could pick up was Pamela and Berget’s scents.
“You know who took her,” he said softly, not wanting to hurt Rylee, but knowing that they had to discuss tactics. That was the only way they were going to get in and get out with them all in one piece.
Rylee’s back stiffened, but she didn’t turn around. “Yes.”
“Then we have to talk about this. She will use Pamela as a bargaining chip to get you to do what she wants.”
She exploded, spinning on her heel to face him, eyes bright with anger. “What the fuck, you think I don’t know that? There is nothing I can do about it right now. I will do what I have to do to get Pamela back.”
His body chilled, his blood running cold.
That was what he was afraid of.
The castle seemed endless and it didn’t take me long to wish we’d brought something to mark the stone with. Alex followed Pamela’s scent for close to half an hour before he froze at the head of an intersection. His whole body stiffened and a long low snarl rippled out of him; even the hair along his spine bristled up.
I yanked my second sword out. Whatever it was that Alex was picking up on was about to have a very bad day.
Liam moved up to my side, crossbow lifted and ready to shoot.
“Alex, what is it?” I kept my voice as low as possible.
Both of the boys answered at the same time.
“Faris.”
The vampire stepped out from around the corner of the intersection, as if he were waiting to be announced, his hands lifted to the air. “It seems that you did not get my message, since the messenger has been snatched.” His bright blue eyes were hooded, lazy, and I could feel him try to bespell me. Something he’d not done for some time.
I stared at the hollow of his throat and lifted my swords so they lined up with his neck. “I don’t have time for your games. So get the fuck out of my way.”
He gave us a mocking bow, sweeping his arm forward. “Be my guest, take on your precious little sister on your own. See how far it gets you. Wait, you’ve done that once already, haven’t you? Remind me again how that went?”
I clenched my swords and lifted my eyes to his, fury keeping me safe from the lure of his eyes. Now they were just eyes, nothing special.
Liam took a step, placing himself in front of me. “What was the message for Rylee?”
Faris laughed, a chuckle really, but he seemed truly amused. “Simple. I want to make a deal with her. I want her to Track for me. I do believe we’ve already agreed that Berget taking control of the vampire nation would be a very bad idea.”
“I’m not helping you,” I snapped, moving so that Liam was to the side of me. Alex moved with me, and though he was no longer snarling, his teeth were bared and the fur along his spine hadn’t lowered.
“Fuckity fucker,” the werewolf grumbled, snapping his teeth once for emphasis.
Faris looked from Alex to me, blinking several times. “And she shall teach the submissive to stand. I wasn’t sure it was going to be you, Rylee. I truly wasn’t.”
This was not the time to get into prophecies. Pamela needed us. I put my back to the wall and slid along it. “Alex, which way did Pam go?”
He took a couple long drags from the floor and then he started forward.
“Liam, let’s go.”
Liam backed toward me, never taking his eyes off Faris. “You don’t want to kill him?”
“I do, I just don’t have the time right now.”
Faris clapped three times, condescension in his every movement. “You will regret this.”
I flipped him off. “Regret not killing you? You’ve got that right, you monkey-sucking taint jockey.”
His blue eyes narrowed. “You shouldn’t hang around ogres, it will be bad for their health.”
We slid around the corner and he was out of sight, though most definitely not out of mind.
“Jack warned you they would fight over you, that’s what he said, isn’t it?” Liam and I continued to walk backward, our eyes trained on where Faris would come from if he were to attack us.
“Yes, he said that’s why he got sick, because he wouldn’t work for them.” Jack had no one in his life to use as leverage, so they’d used his health against him. At least, that’s what he’d told me. This was what I got for caring about other people, and this was why I hated the soft emotions. They caused nothing but grief.
We walked like that for another thirty feet before I bumped into Alex.
“Pamie through there,” he said, a whine escaping him, whatever tough guy exterior he’d had slipping back behind his submissive nature.
I turned to see a thin door, maybe a foot across at the most, with a large, ornate doorknob in the shape of a skull. I looked closer. The skull had a perfect set of miniature fangs. Nice touch.
Without waiting, I opened the door and Tracked Pamela. The faintest whisper of her threads responded to me. “This is it.”
Liam put a hand out, blocking me. “I’ll go first, you next.”
Alex pointed at himself. “Then Alex?”
Liam gave him a nod. “Yes, you come through last, guard the rear.”
There was no point in waiting, we stepped through the doorway, the veil twisting and wrapping around us before spitting us out on the other side. We stepped across the threshold into a beautiful room, done all in white, creams and gold. There was a bigger than king-sized bed, covered with pillows and pale pink rose petals.
Alex grabbed my legs and whimpered. “Bad, bad, bad.”
I looked to Liam as his face drained of color. I wasn’t sure I wanted to know what the hell they were picking up on. I stared around the room, tried using my second sight, but there was nothing to see, nothing hidden from me.
Pamela was close, really close, maybe a few hundred feet down and to the right. I turned slowly, pinpointing her with ease. But before I could take a step in her direction, Liam barred my way with his arm.
“This is worse than bad, Rylee.” He shook his head as if to clear it. For Alex to be spooked was something of an every day occurrence. But for Liam to be so spooked? That did not bode well.
“What is it?”
He swallowed hard and looked around the room. “It shouldn’t be this clean, not for what I’m smelling.”
Shit on a stick, where the hell had we ended up? I walked to the bed,
though Liam sounded as if he were choking with each step I took. I trailed my hand on the cream blanket, picked up a rose petal. Soft and squishy … I lifted it higher, my gorge rising into my throat.
They weren’t rose petals, they were pieces of skin peeled and shaped to resemble rose petals. I threw it down onto the bed. It didn’t matter where we were, or what had gone on, we needed to get Pamela and get the hell out of there.
I strode toward the oversized double doors that led out of the room, twisted the handle and stepped into the hallway.
While I couldn’t be sure, if I was a betting kind of gal, I’d say we were back in Venice, below the city.
Back in the nest of vampires. Damn it all to hell and back, this was the worst kind of déjà vu.
A scream, high-pitched and violent, echoed down the hallway and Alex bolted past me. “Pamie!”
I leapt after him, Liam right behind me. There was no thought as to what we were running into, there couldn’t be, not with her screams echoing in our ears. Alex galloped down the carpeted hallway, putting distance between us.
“Keep up with him!” I shouted at Liam, as a vampire’s servant stepped in front of us. How did I know it was a servant and not a vampire? The bastard was missing an arm. I’d fought him once before and obviously needed to finish him off. I brought my sword up in an arc that removed his other arm. He fell to his knees and sucked in a lungful of air to shout or scream. It didn’t matter.
On the back swing, I took his head.
I didn’t stop to wipe my blades, just ran. Alex was gone from sight, but we were close now. Curving around a corner, we ran down a single flight of stairs, skidding to a stop as we hit the ballroom that we’d escaped only weeks ago.
Motherfucking pus buckets, I did not want to be here. In a matter of heartbeats, I took the scene in.
Like an arena, there were vampires in a semi-circle around the main event, their faces intent on the spectacle before them. In the center, Pamela stood with her legs apart, hands stretched out in front of her, and a snarl on her lips as she poured out her magic. She was cut and bruised, her hair was a mess, but she was at least alive and still standing. And Berget, she stood there, cocky and sure of herself, one hand on her hip, a golden gown clinging to her curves while she almost nonchalantly batted Pamela’s magic away.
Blind Salvage: A Rylee Adamson Novel (Book 5) Page 17
