Branded

by Rob Cornell

  I found Fiona right where she had promised, standing at the end of the approach to the nursing home’s front door. But she was most decidedly not dressed for work. I gasped at the sight of her in the evening sunlight and nearly veered off into the shrubbery lining the front of the building.

  She wore a flowered spring dress that came to just above the knees. And what a delicate and beautiful set of knees they were. Her skin looked like milk with a splash of honey. Her normally straight blonde hair had a wave to it, and it carried a fresh shine that, when framing her face, brightened the color in her cheeks as well.

  And, man, that smile that lit her face when she saw me pull up?

  I would have killed my way through a horde of zombies to get to that smile.

  As I came even with the approach, she stepped forward. She pulled the passenger side door open and ducked down to look in at me. “Going my way?” she asked.

  “Looking like that,” I said, “I’ll go anywhere you tell me to.”

  Her smile somehow cranked up a hundred watts. I felt a little funny in my belly. A flock of butterflies had taken residence apparently.

  “That’s sweet,” she said.

  “And one-hundred percent true.”

  She climbed in and we were off.

  Our reservation at El Brazon was for right when they opened at the dinner hour. We could eat, chat over wine, dessert, coffee, and the last dregs of our water if need be, and have plenty of time to get her back to the home for her shift.

  “You going to work dressed like that tonight?” I asked on the way.

  She laughed. “I think I would give some of the gentleman residents cardiac arrest. They are fragile beasts, but they are still men let me tell you.”

  Now I laughed. “You mean they try to put the moves on you?”

  “Oh, some of them are sweet talkers. No doubt they had all the ladies in their prime.”

  The rest of the evening went much like that. Fun, light conversation. At every turn until our meal arrived, I tensed, just waiting for the hard questions. What do you do for a living? What happened to your parents? Why do you have an ugly scar from a vampire bite on your neck?

  None of that came up. It was like she knew exactly what I was comfortable talking about. It never got too serious. I learned she had a hell of a wit and a sense of humor to use it with. I learned she grew up in Atlanta before moving north to Michigan with a boyfriend who ended up dumping her two months later, essentially stranding her in a strange place with really bad weather.

  But she hadn’t let it get her down. And she had refused to run back home. Instead, she made a life for herself in the Metro area. Now, she was doing pretty well and on her way to a business degree through online classes at Macomb Community College.

  By the time the waiter cleared our plates and left us with coffee, all my worries about what might go wrong on this date had faded to nothing. I had to admit to myself that this had been a good idea. And that, maybe, I could allow myself some personal happiness to go along with my professional life.

  Eventually, the magic had to come to an end. It always did. Good thing was, there was always more magic around the bend. Despite my earlier reservations, I decided I wanted to do this again. Desperately.

  As the sun sunk below the cityscape and the light took on a fiery orange tinge, we drove out of Detroit and back into the suburbs. Strangely, we didn’t talk much. It was as if we both just wanted to bask in the glow of a perfect evening. We had the windows down, the warm air blowing in, sending her blonde waves into mad swirls against her cheeks. She had some level of a smile on the whole drive back. Judging from the cramp in one cheek, I did too.

  When we reached the suburbs and were only about ten minutes from the nursing home, Fiona reached over and rested a hand on my thigh. I tingled from her touch right up to my scalp. I took one hand off the wheel and rested it on hers.

  I may have even sighed contentedly, but would deny it if asked.

  We reached the nursing home too quickly. I hated having to let go of her hand.

  I played the gentleman and came around to open the door for her, and she let me be old fashioned without complaint.

  Then, there we were, standing in the same spot in front of the nursing home where I had picked her up. I took both of her hands, smiled at her, probably looked dopey as hell and I didn’t give a damn.

  “I had a really nice time,” I said.

  “Yeah,” she said. She closed in until our bodies barely had an inch between them. She smelled like some sweet flower I didn’t know the name of. I liked it though, could breathe that in all day. She tilted her head back as she looked up at me. We had a good four-inch difference in height. “Can we do it again?”

  “For sure.”

  We stood there, quietly for a moment. I watched her lips. I wanted to feel them against mine. Honestly, I wanted to feel a lot more of her against a lot more of me, but as smitten as I may have been, I didn’t want to rush anything. I wondered if even a kiss would be too much too soon.

  To hell with it, I thought, and went in for the kill.

  Poor choice of words, because that’s when the Dalton brothers tried to kill me.

  Chapter Thirteen

  The first shot whizzed by my ear with only inches to spare. I had a fraction of a second to register what it was. Probably wouldn’t have put it together had I not heard the squeal of tires and the sound of the gunshot first. Instinct took over. I gathered my power and charged the air around me and Fiona.

  Three more shots rang out as a rusted out pickup bounced the curb in front of the nursing home, trampled a bed of flowers, and tore into the front parking lot. A man hung out the passenger side window brandishing a handgun, which he had aimed directly at me. I recognized his washed out face and nearly white-blonde hair.

  Frank Dalton.

  A quick glance through the windshield showed me Able Dalton behind the wheel. He had the same near-white hair as his brother, but his skin was ashen, his eyes sunken deep into his head as if he had given up eating months ago yet somehow continued to live.

  Despite the differences in their looks, however slight, they were both equal amounts of asshole.

  But why the hell were they shooting at me?

  I turned to Fiona. “Run inside,” I shouted.

  The pickup thundered closer, as if Able meant to plow into me. It would take a hefty amount of power to harden my shield enough to take the brunt of that. I didn’t want Fiona anywhere near me if I had to test it.

  Fiona stared past me, pale and frozen. Shock had set in. Whether by the fact that someone was shooting at us, or that the bullets had somehow not hit us, I couldn’t tell. Probably a little of both. I was in for some difficult explanations with her.

  Thanks a lot, Daltons.

  I gave Fiona a gentle shove. “Go!”

  She snapped out of it, turned, and ran for the front door.

  The truck rumbled behind me.

  I turned, bared down, and put as much energy as I dared into my shield without dipping into the stores I was still using to fight off the vamp infection. If I hadn’t still had my father’s watch in my pocket, I might not have had enough.

  I needn’t have worried, though. At the last second, Able slammed on the brakes and sent the truck into a sideways skid that stopped short of drifting into my own car.

  Frank had emptied his gun. He drew back into the truck. The brothers exchanged a couple words I couldn’t hear, then they both climbed out, drawing a matching set of katanas with them. Both blades glimmered in the remaining daylight. As did their eyes. They had duplicate crooked-toothed grins on their faces as they closed in on me.

  I released my shield and felt like I had to gasp for air in order to draw back what energy I could. I felt a sick twist in my gut at the thought of how easily my power seemed to flicker and fade. Even with Dad’s watch, I was not up to my standard. Not even close.

  “What the hell is this?” I asked, backing away as they moved forward, twirling t
heir blades in fancy circles.

  “Payday,” Frank said.

  I frowned. “Um…the Ministry is not going to let you assassinate me and get away with it. Whoever claims they’re going to pay you for my death is full of shit.”

  The brothers glanced at each other and laughed.

  They weren’t twins. Able was a few years older if I remembered right. Still, the way they moved and laughed and smiled was so similar, if Able weren’t so emaciated looking, they could have passed as identical.

  I took one more step back, then stood my ground. “I’m going to cook the two of you if you take one step further.”

  They kept coming.

  I clenched both hands into fists and pulled the heat from the air into them. The flames exploded to life with a satisfying whoosh.

  That was more like it.

  But the brothers didn’t so much as pause. Fine by me. I threw a fire bolt at each of them.

  They both chopped their blades at the flames like a pair of ballplayers swinging for the fences. But instead of knocking them out of the park, they sliced through the flames, which immediately dissipated to a thin smattering of embers.

  What the…?

  They were carrying enchanted blades of some kind that could make short work of my fire.

  Their stupid grins grew wider. They kept on coming.

  I had to back up further still. Eventually, I’d come against the nursing home’s front door and have to either run inside or get myself chopped to pieces. But I couldn’t very well draw them into the home with me and endanger all those inside.

  If fire didn’t work, I had to try something else.

  I clenched my fists again. I drew on the power of air, hardening it around each fist and then up my arm to the elbow. This was the gauntlet version of the shield I had put around myself and Fiona. I took a fighting stance and waited for the first to strike. Unfortunately, they struck in unison.

  I rose my arms to meet their blades and put a pulse into my shields to knock their swords away rather than simply bounce off. I hoped to knock the swords out of their hands, but the boys had a good grip on their weapons.

  They staggered backward enough that I could dash between them out into the parking lot. But they recovered quickly enough to swing at me before I got very far. I had to twist around to block the incoming blows, putting up my arms like a boxer blocking a punch.

  I lost my balance in the process and fell to the asphalt.

  The brothers skirted around to flank me from each side.

  I needed to do something more than merely block them. I needed offensive power. Since fire wouldn’t work, I had to use more air.

  I focused my emotions, feeding on my fear, my anger, and a piece of the excitement I still felt from my date with Fiona. I balled all of that inside of me, then poured it out. I became the eye of a mini storm. Wind whipped away from me in all directions.

  The brothers weren’t ready for it and they both flew off their feet, their swords flinging from their hands as they flailed in an arc.

  One landed in the bed of their truck.

  The other flopped into the shrubbery.

  Without wasting a second of my advantage, I jumped to my feet. Dizziness swooped over me. I staggered and almost fell again. Something churned in my gut and a cold shot ran through my veins. It took me a second to realize what was happening. Enough time that my heart almost stopped beating. Literally.

  The infection.

  I had put all my energy into the wind spell and in that moment, the infection had rushed my system.

  I clamped down, pushing my power back into that willful reserve I had used to keep it at bay for this long. But when I did that, what remained left over at my disposal didn’t amount to much.

  Which meant I needed a more prosaic measure of protecting myself.

  I ran for the closest katana and scooped it up.

  Able scrambled out of the shrubs and scowled at me. I gave his sword a little wave. I wasn’t trained on how to use one, but it didn’t take a genius to know how to chop someone’s head off.

  I backed up so I could get an eye on Frank as well, who now stood in the bed of the truck, also scowling.

  “Back off, boys. You don’t want me to make this blade dance on the wind and cut you both in half.” They didn’t need to know I didn’t have the juice to cast such a spell.

  They shared a glance. Then Able looked over to the other katana. It was at least ten feet beyond his reach. If I really did have full use of my power, he wouldn’t have stood a chance getting to the sword before I cut him down.

  His lip curled. He held out his hands. “All right, Light. You’ve got us.”

  “For now,” Frank added from his perch on the pickup.

  Able pointed to the sword on the ground. “Can I take that with me?”

  I snorted. “Are you serious?”

  “Hey. It cost some serious green to get those enchanted. And they were pretty much priceless to begin with.”

  “I’m all broken up about it.”

  Able grunted, but he headed for the truck instead of the sword.

  “What did you expect to gain from this?” I asked.

  Able paused by the truck while Frank climbed out of the back and got in.

  “What else? A shitload of money.”

  “From who?”

  He seemed to think about whether he wanted to share or not. He decided not, getting in behind the wheel without another word.

  Son of a bitch.

  He started the truck up and revved the engine while cackling at me. “See you again soon, Light,” he shouted, then burned rubber, smoking his tires as he over accelerated, and drove right back over the flowerbed he had trounced on his way in.

  Did the idiot not see the nursing home had a driveway entrance?

  I took a deep breath and held it until the Dalton brothers’ truck was out of sight down the road, then I tossed the katana aside onto the grass and turned to the front door, planning on a complicated explanation for Fiona.

  Turned out I didn’t need to go inside. At some point, Fiona had come back out. She stood just outside the front door, staring at me. She clutched a small purse against her chest. I couldn’t read her expression. It could have been shock. Could have been confusion. Hell, she also looked perfectly calm.

  And beautiful. She still looked damn beautiful in that dress.

  Too bad I’d probably never see her dressed up like that again. From here on out, it would be smock and slacks only. And maybe not even that. She might avoid me completely whenever I visited Mom. Who could blame her?

  An awkward silent and still moment passed, then she rushed toward me and wrapped her arms around me, squeezing me so tightly I lost my breath for a moment. When she pulled back, she looked up at me with moist eyes.

  “Are you okay?”

  I made a weird sound. About as close to speech as I could get. This woman astounded me at every turn. How was it she wasn’t screaming and calling for the police?

  Fiona patted her hands along my chest, my sides, my arms, as if searching for something. I realized she was checking me for injuries.

  “I’m…okay,” I managed in English.

  She stopped checking me and gave me another tight hug. “You live one hell of a life, huh?”

  Again, my tongue couldn’t flap out any coherent words. Nothing more that uhh and err.

  She took my hand. “We better get out of here before the police arrive.”

  “Is that a good idea?” I asked slowly. I wasn’t sure if anyone inside had witnessed my displays of magic. I wasn’t even sure how much Fiona had seen. It was a safe bet I could answer some questions of the local law without having to get too technical on the details. I’d been attacked by a pair of demon hunters. Ones who, despite their outward idiocy, had a solid reputation for their work. Small fish compared to myself. But still…they weren’t the types to need side jobs in order to stay comfortable.

  Whoever wanted me dead must have offered a big
price.

  Fiona tugged insistently on my hand. “Come on. No one saw anything inside. The staff all dove for cover at the sound of the shots. And if any of the residents happened to be peeking outside…” She shrugged. “Dementia is a sad thing.”

  “But you saw?”

  “I saw enough.” She pulled on my hand once more and started in the direction of my car.

  I was about to go along with her when I felt a sudden pinch in the back of my right shoulder, followed by a terrible burning pain. Maybe I had taken a bullet without noticing?

  Then something whipped by, like a large insect making a beeline for its nest.

  I turned around.

  Wouldn’t you know it?

  Anda had her crossbow aimed in my direction, as well as a gaze that could have put plenty of holes through me without the aid of arrows.

  “Where ya going, Sebastian? I just got here.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  Anda looked like something out of a fashion nightmare. She wore neon pink knee-high socks with matching shoelaces in her sneakers. She wore a pair of black shorts with white stripes down the side. Her tight tank top that accentuated her narrow waist and small chest matched the socks as well. All that bright neon, yet she still managed to come out of nowhere.

  She had always claimed mortal status, but at that moment I had serious doubts.

  She cocked her hip and tilted her head down so she looked at me from under her brow. “You…” she said slowly, drawing it out so it sounded almost seductive. “I told you.”

  “Told me what?”

  Her gaze moved to the grass. An orange ray from the setting sun glinted against something on the ground. I realized it was one of the katanas, the one I had tossed aside. She slung her crossbow over her shoulder by its strap, sauntered over to the sword, and picked it up. “This is nice.” She pointed the blade at me.

  Anda had always wanted me out of the picture, but Ministry law protected me from her ire.

  Until now.

  Something had changed. Something big.

  She grinned at me as she did a fancy twirling swing with the katana, wielding it with more skill than either of the brothers had. This woman, I swear, had training with every kind of weapon except guns. In all the time I had known her, she never used any kind of gun. Probably because guns were the least effective weapon against most supernatural creatures, unless you were shooting silver at werewolves.