BLOWN AWAY
Rogues Shifter Series Book #4
By GAYLE PARNESS
Copyright 2013 Gayle Parness
To my Readers: Thank you for encouraging me in my efforts
to do justice to Jackie and Garrett's story.
You make it so much fun! As Garrett would say, "Merci, mes amis."
TABLE OF CONTENTS
PROLOGUE
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
CHAPTER NINETEEN
CHAPTER TWENTY
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
OTHER BOOKS BY GAYLE PARNESS
PROLOGUE
Blood arced across the well-tended rose garden as I severed my opponent's carotid artery with a powerful slash of magic. Carlos' hands clutched feebly at his throat as he gurgled out a final gasp. I scrambled out of the way as 230 lbs of vampire crashed to the patio tiles at my feet. My speed helped me successfully avoid a broken foot, but not a blood-splattered shirt. Before the vampire's upper body hit the paving stones, Liam, my fae friend and mentor, had sliced through his neck with a clean sweep of his magical blade. We watched Carlos' head roll away and smack into the potted yellow mums before turning to dust along with the rest of the big guy. Liam and I grinned at each other. One vamp down, four more to go.
Our attitude might appear cruel or even criminal to an outside observer, but Nathaniel and several of his nest had attacked my mate, and so they were goin' down.
Garrett, my vampire lifemate and the yummy love of my life, was busy fighting against Nathaniel, this particular nest's master. He must have seen me take down Nate's second in command, because he sent me a personal message, mind to mind.
"Did I ever tell you how hot you look covered in your enemy's blood?" He managed a quick wink in my direction while easily ducking to avoid Nathaniel's kick to the head. A second later, Nathaniel grunted, thrusting out his hand with a dramatic lurch. His weapon was an ancient short sword and he was doing a great job of pretending that he knew how to use it. The thrust was aimed at Garrett's stomach, probably in the hopes of eviscerating him, but he didn't draw even a drop of my honey's blood.
"Can you be any more of a vamp?" I teased back. "Anyway, I thought he was your enemy not mine." With a swipe of his arm, Garrett broke Nathaniel's wrist forcing him to let go of the sword. Then he twisted his body like a cat and landed a flying kick to Nathaniel's nose. I heard the distinct crunching sound. Ouch.
"What's mine is yours, my love." He ducked under Nathaniel's too high swing with his fist and then danced away like Mohamed Ali, beckoning him to try again. He was having way too much fun. I'd had to tap into the magic to see him at all, since they were both moving faster than my normal vision could track.
"Lucky me. I get your enemies too. Taking on a vampire as a lifemate has all kinds of perks." He met my sarcastic smirk with a mischievous one of his own.
Hearing a grunt off to the left, I took a quick glance around. By the telltale piles of dust, I could see that Sasha, Heinrich and Liam had easily taken care of the other three vampires who'd made the foolish decision to back Nathaniel's claim over Garrett's rightful one. The remaining members of the nest were waiting in the living room as per Garrett's orders. They'd abandoned Nathaniel's metaphorical ship and were just hoping to survive the day. I mean really, was there any doubt who'd win this contest?
Garrett landed another kick to Nathaniel's ribs while continuing to tease me. "Perhaps when we're alone later we could go over the ways choosing a vampire as a lifemate can be an asset."
"You'll have to work hard to convince me." He laughed out loud then crouched, narrowly avoiding Nathaniel's attempted slash with another wicked looking blade that he'd pulled from his boot. Garrett whipped out his leg, hooking it behind Nathaniel's knees, then punched him in the stomach, making the blade fly across the patio and Nathaniel fall on his ass, clutching his belly.
"Garrett you should stop playing around and just finish him off already. We all know you're showing off for Jackie." Sasha, Garrett's second, lowered himself gracefully onto a tall stool at the patio bar, downing the shot of top label Scotch that Heinrich had just poured for him. Sash was one of those gorgeous Slavic types: 6'2'' with longish blond hair, striking light blue eyes and a mouth that made women fantasize about all kinds of wicked scenarios. Oh yeah, he was hot, and he usually behaved like he knew it, which to me was his one great flaw.
Lately I'd gotten a glimpse of Sash's more vulnerable side. He hid it well, but he'd probably experienced his own share of pain under Eleanor, so I forgave him his occasional conceited episode. More importantly, I never doubted his loyalty to Garrett and our team and I trusted him to do his job as second-in-command and protect our lives. There were few of our enemies, undead or otherwise, who could beat him in a fight.
Garrett shrugged. "Unfortunately, I can't kill Nathaniel—yet. Angel should be here soon, and then we can take care of reversing the blood spell he's used to bind the rest of his nest."
Last week, Christine, a female in Nathaniel's nest, had shown up at our house. Garrett thought that she was delivering a message, but instead she'd asked to join Garrett's nest. He'd refused, but was curious as to why she hadn't packed up and left Nate's nest and gone off on her own if she was so unhappy. She was over a century and could leave if her master agreed.
It turned out that she and the rest of the nest were blood-bound to Nathaniel. A blood magic spell had been performed each time one of them was turned from human to vampire. This meant that if Nathaniel died, so did they. He'd told them that he'd never agree to any of them leaving, so that only left one option for Christine. She had to find a stronger master who could convince Nate to let her go, someone like Garrett. Then her new master had to find someone who could undo the blood spell.
Garrett was furious when he found out Nathaniel had enslaved his nest in this way. It also meant that the hired sorcerer had killed seven innocents, using their blood and organs to complete the process. Garrett and I agreed that a master vampire who murdered so many to create a nest that he treated like dogs on a tight leash should be taught a lesson.
On top of that, Nathaniel had demanded a few weeks ago that Garrett stay out of his territory. Of course, he and his unhappy nest were actually in Garrett’s territory, on the California side of the Lake Tahoe area. There was no way that Garrett could let him get away with this blatant challenge because word would get out that Garrett was weak. We’d decided to show up unannounced, kick some undead ass and then take him prisoner until Angel could reverse the spell that linked the rest of his nest to his life force. Unlike the four piles of dust on the patio, the three solid vamps in the living room were perfectly happy to leave Nathaniel's nest and Garrett's territory without a backward glance.
The thirty or so Master vampires, (i.e. vampires who'd either reached the two century mark or were masters of their own nests), who currently lived in our rather large territory, had asked Garrett for permission with the ritual courtesy that was expected in their surprisingly well-mannered society. Following their laws, they'd made an appointment and then come to him in person. He'd granted their requests as long as they swore to follow his simple
rules. They would feed only on volunteers and there was to be no harm done to the innocent. Garrett became the top Master in the territory after killing his maker, Eleanor, in a duel. She'd been bad news and so most of the local vamps were extremely pleased to have Garrett as their new Overseer. Those who wouldn't live according to Garrett's rules, had left, so now they were someone else's problem.
Nathaniel groaned from the patio tiles near Garrett's feet, his light brown suit covered in his own blood. He'd looked pretty GQ when we'd first arrived, with his dark blond hair styled and gelled like a Hollywood actor on red carpet night. He was very slim, around 5' 10" tall with boyish features that made him seem about fifteen. That made it hard to take him seriously. His injuries were healing up quickly, but frustration and exhaustion were taking their toll. The four deaths had dramatically sapped his energy because of the blood-binding, so his own bad judgment had come back to bite him in the ass. Our visit had been unexpected, and although Garrett had treated him fairly, giving him another day to get out, Nathaniel had stupidly attacked, along with the three other members of his nest, whose remains, I'd noticed, had already disappeared with the steady breeze from the lake.
Thankfully, the ashy remnants had blown away from the patio and not into our faces. Nothing starts your evening off worse than a mouthful of desiccated vamp remains. My favorite jeans were already covered in blood and that shit was hard to get out. I didn't need to end up coated in ashes and looking like a powdered donut.
After a nod from Garrett, Heinrich moved to stand guard while Garrett strolled over to me, looking every bit the conquering hero: six feet tall, russet brown hair, a few stray strands hanging appealingly in his face, sapphire blue eyes, which sometimes shimmered with a silver heat, and the lean, toned body of a swimmer. As I took him in for the thousandth time, I heard myself sigh softly.
Vampire hearing being what it is, Heinrich laughed at me. I reacted with a half-serious glower, so he wisely shifted his gaze back to Nathaniel as Garrett grabbed my hand and pulled me closer for a peck on the cheek. As I leaned against my mate and took in his delicious scent, I had to admit that I was beginning to enjoy working with the team again. I'd been out of the loop because of my kidnapping and torture by Lord Kennet, a powerful fae who'd wanted me to provide him with an heir. Right now he was providing the Demon Realm with a different kind of entertainment.
Garrett hadn't invited our shifter contingent along to tonight's confrontation because he felt that this was a personal problem between vampires and shouldn't involve the rest. Liam and I had insisted on coming, so he'd reluctantly agreed. It's best not to argue with your mate or your best friend, who just happened to be a 1500 year old fae prince. William, the final member of Garrett's nest, had been allowed to stay home with his mate, my twin sister, Bridgett. She was going to be leaving tomorrow for her two year 'community service' sentence in Faerie.
Liam, now seated next to Sash at the bar, smiled at us and said in his musical voice, "Angel is late—as usual."
Liam's sweet tone, slight build and shorter height didn't diminish his fighting prowess. We all knew beyond any doubt, that he was the deadliest supernatural in the house. The fae were able to kill with only a thought and I'd personally seen him in action several times and it wasn't pretty.
His features were delicate: slightly turned-up nose, large violet eyes, thin-ish lips and shoulder length golden blonde hair. Some people might say he had a feminine look, but there was a masculinity to him that had nothing to do with bulging muscles. Liam practically buzzed with magical power, taking up some of the oxygen in any room he occupied. His aura was ringed in green, indicating that he was a healer as well as a warrior. We'd become close friends because we shared this gift and all the problems that went along with it.
Heinrich snorted out a laugh. "Angel probably wanted to avoid the fighting so he wouldn't mess up his pretty clothes."
Most of our team had a healthy respect for Angel's talents as a sorcerer, but didn't think much of what they called his mercenary attitude. Angel worked for money and lived a luxurious lifestyle, indicating that he was very well paid. He'd explained to me that because of his shorter lifespan, only twice that of a human without magical powers, he was determined to make it as comfortable for himself as he possibly could.
Garrett and I had no problem paying someone for their service to the team. The rest of us were all paid, so I didn't really see what the big deal was. The others claimed that Angel avoided the down-and-dirty work and just popped in when the worst was over, but Garrett seemed happy with him.
Nathaniel, his injuries already healed, tried to sit up, but Heinrich put an enormous boot-clad foot on his chest and angled Nathaniel's own sword at his throat.
"Stay, dog." Heinrich was a giant. Six foot eight inches of brawn and muscle dressed in leather biker gear, his longer brown hair tied behind his neck with a thin leather strap. His handsome, rugged face could pull off 'intimidating' better than the rest of us. Except maybe for Liam, who could turn into a ravening beast in seconds. Believe me, you definitely wanted to avoid seeing that happen.
"Angel likes to make an entrance," Liam said with a shrug. As if on cue a corner of the patio glowed with energy and a man appeared dressed impeccably in black and holding a leather sports bag.
Angel looked nothing like the shimmering adult demigods depicted in many artistic works. No, this Angel had a smile which could make a woman blush, shining dark eyes that glittered either with mischief or magical energy, and a body that—well you get the picture. His tanned skin tone and thick dark hair added favorably to the rest of his handsome Latin looks, and he seemed to ooze with a cool confidence. I heard Liam laugh quietly.
Garrett reached out his hand so they could shake. After the usual greetings were extended all around, Garrett said, "Thank you for helping us out with this unusual situation."
Angel smiled and spoke in his slightly accented voice. "I had to do some research, but I've come up with two spells that should work. Unfortunately, one of them involves his death." He glanced at Nathaniel then back to Garrett. "I hope that isn't a problem for you. It's the better choice, actually, if you want to secure your territory."
"It's a rather large problem for me." Nathaniel had spoken from the ground, still not strong enough to move out from under Heinrich's boot.
"Shut your mouth, Nate." Rick growled at him.
"Garrett, could you get your gorilla off of me? I'm obviously not going anywhere."
Garrett nodded at Heinrich who moved away but still kept the sword pointed toward Nathaniel's chest. As Nathaniel stood and dusted himself off, Garrett moved me slightly behind him in an obviously protective and extremely annoying, (to me), gesture. I twisted to see Sasha standing on my other side. Huh.
"Garrett, I can handle myself."
"When you work with the team, I'm the boss. No questions." He arched an eyebrow in my direction and I scowled back, then shrugged. Yeah, I'd agreed to that when I'd joined the team and Garrett had made it very clear that this was still a team mission and that his orders were to be followed. Otherwise I could stay home.
"She's delicious, isn't she?" Nathaniel was looking me over for the first time. "Yours, I presume?" he glanced back at Garrett.
Sasha, always protective of me, hissed at him. "I'll cut your tongue out, snake."
Garrett calmed Sash with a gesture and then answered. "Jacqueline is my lifemate and a warrior on my team. She took out your second but you may have been too busy to notice."
"Your lifemate? You sound like a shifter." He said the word scornfully. "Having only one partner gets old fast." He took two steps toward me, but Heinrich stopped him with a jab of the blade, making him wince. "She reeks of power and certainly has the look of a warrior, so I suppose I see the appeal. Her blood must be exquisite."
He stared at me curiously, then took in my scent with a long breath. "She smells like a shifter I knew a couple of decades back. She was also a magical powerhouse."
If I'd been in c
heetah form, my ears would have been straight up and swiveled in his direction. I was determined to find out more about my birth mother and was searching along with the help of Maya, another cheetah shifter and a member of the Shifter Council of Crescent City, California. She'd mentioned recently that she was following up a lead on a cheetah birth around seventeen years ago in the Lake Tahoe area. I moved closer to Nathaniel and my two 'bodyguards' moved with me, Garrett keeping a supporting hand on my lower back.
"What kind of a shifter?" I asked.
Nate smiled. "Oh, are you perhaps interested in her? You look very much alike around the eyes and the chin. Perhaps she was a relative? An aunt? A mother?"
"Answer her question, Nathaniel." Garrett's voice had gone cold.
"You're going to kill me anyway. Why should I?"
Liam moved in front of Nate with his fae blade drawn, its point held against his heart. "I can make your death last for months."
"Then, I suppose my nest won't be freed." He shrugged nonchalantly, as if his death wasn't being discussed.
"We can use the other method to break the binding. It takes longer and is much more painful for all involved. Then afterward, Liam can get the information." Angel smirked back at Nate from the corner of the yard where he was working on preparing his spell. From that distance he could enjoy all the drama while managing to stay out of it.
Nathaniel narrowed his eyes at the sorcerer then turned back toward Garrett. "Perhaps we could strike a deal?"
"Go on."
"I'll tell her everything I know about this female shifter and you let me live and leave your territory in peace."
Garrett shook his head, and I caught a hint of sadness in his expression. He didn't enjoy ordering an execution."You've killed too many innocents, Nate."
"Not while I've been here, in California, on your territory. I've followed your laws, I swear."
Liam backed away and turned so Garrett could see his face. He sent to us both, "He's lying. I can extract the information about the woman."
Blown Away (Rogues Shifter Series Book 4) Page 1
