A Vampire's Bane

by Raven Steele

  I returned my attention back to Faithe, my eyes pleading.

  “I’ll give you one chance, Mother. Leave now. I don’t want to hurt you.” A pink tint mottled her white skin. I noted several blisters on her hands.

  “You know I can’t do that.” I searched her eyes, trying to find a way past her blind devotion to Korin. “You say you want to be with Korin, but does he treat you with kindness?”

  “Has anyone?”

  “Was I not good to you? I loved you and still do. You’re all that matters to me in this world.”

  “But you left me.” She blinked her eyes rapidly, and that’s when I noticed the emptiness in them. Korin had broken her. Whatever humanity she’d had all those years before had been depleted. Agony burst through me. Somehow I had to find the sliver of desperation she’d expressed the other night. It was a sign that she wanted something different, something better.

  I reached out my hand. “I swear, I did it to protect you. I thought it was the only way to keep you safe from Korin. Clearly, I was wrong. Let me make up for it.”

  The Kiss’s dark power I’d unleashed earlier turned its attention to my great fear and sorrow and began to devour it. I could feel it growing inside me. Relax. Breathe.

  “I have to kill you. Kill all of them.” Her chin quivered.

  “You have a choice.”

  She laughed at this. “You of all people should know that I don’t.”

  “What did Korin say would happen if you didn’t kill us?” I glanced behind me. More Hydes were coming as if they’d been let out from somewhere deep within the building. Briar’s eyes flashed a brilliant yellow as she released her Komira powers. I felt the strength of it rush through the room, and it nearly took my breath away. I glanced away just as Briar raged forward into the incoming Hydes.

  Faithe’s expression hardened. “Then I die. One thing I am is a survivor.”

  I searched her eyes and something came alive in them. Pain raw as an open wound reflected back. “Will killing me make you feel better?”

  “It will make me alive.”

  I stepped forward, nearing the flames. “Then kill me, because your life is all that matters. But please, spare my friends.”

  Her gaze flickered behind me, and her hands shook. Doubt crept into her eyes.

  “Do it, Faithe. Then live your life, but do it without existing in Korin’s shadow. You were meant for more.” I took another step, my face sincere. I knew this was the only way to save her, to give her back what I had taken from her. Her chance for hope.

  “Stay back!” she cried. Flames roared to life in front of me.

  Heat singed my hair, but I didn’t flinch.

  “I don’t have a choice!” she screamed. Her eyes flooded with tears.

  Behind me, I heard Lynx’s voice call my name. If anyone could stop Faithe, it was Lynx using her magic. I held my hand backwards in a stopping gesture to make sure she didn’t interfere. “Look at me, Faithe.”

  The edges of pink eyes bled red as she stared at me, desperation spilling from them. She didn’t want to kill me. The tightness in my chest loosened.

  “I swear to you, I will protect you. Korin will not lay another finger on you.”

  She hissed and bore her fangs. Fire licked at my feet and legs, burning my clothing. Blisters formed on my legs.

  “You can’t protect me from him!” She glanced behind me again, her face paling. She probably saw Lynx and felt Lynx’s power.

  “Let me try.” I kept my voice calm, even though searing pain ripped through my flesh. But I could handle this. I would do it, for her.

  Her gaze, pitiful and sad, slowly returned to mine. “I’m sorry.”

  Her hands shot forward and fire followed the motion, but before it could fully consume me and anyone behind me, a strong gust of wind reversed the flames’ direction.

  “No!” I cried and lunged directly through the fire to get at Faithe before she was engulfed by the inferno.

  Pain lanced my whole body, and I gasped as I crashed into Faithe. We tumbled to the ground, my back on fire.

  “Samira!” a deep voice yelled. Hope leapt in my heart at the sound. Mateo. Mateo was here. He came for me, even though I’d pushed him away.

  Faithe pulled herself into a ball cradling her knees. Great tears spilled from her eyes. I crawled over to her even as I felt someone hitting at the flames at my back. I didn’t care. Faithe was what mattered now.

  “Hold still,” Mateo begged.

  He tried to keep me still, but I stumbled forward until I reached her. I looked into her eyes, filled with such pain and sadness. I cupped her face, even while Mateo attended to my wounds. But right now, in this moment, it was only her and me.

  “I love you.” I should’ve told her this the minute I saw her.

  “I’m so sorry,” she whimpered. Her whole body was covered in blisters, her hair singed and blackened, but she was already healing at a rapid rate.

  “It’s okay, Faithe.” I lay next to her, pulling her into my arms. “I’ll protect you,” I said over and over.

  Briar and Lynx hurried over to me, but I waved them away. “Save everyone.”

  I could still hear the sounds of fighting outside of the building, but they had mostly died down. The fight was over. We had won and yet, with Faithe lying next to me completely broken, I couldn’t feel the victory. Her pain sunk into me like an anvil.

  “Angel!” Mateo called. I winced when Mateo pulled back part of my shirt from my back.

  “No, Mateo,” I said. “He can’t heal me here. Not in front of everyone. He’s exposed his secret enough.”

  “But you’re hurt. Terribly.”

  “I’ll survive. We need to get Faithe far away from here.”

  “We will,” he promised.

  I gripped his chin, forcing him to focus on me. “You came for me.”

  His eyes darkened with anger. “Of course I came for you.”

  “But I … I left you there.”

  His hand snapped to the nape of my neck, his eyes fierce. “When will you stop doubting me? I will always come for you, Samira.” Then his eyes softened and he leaned forward, swiping his lips softly against mine. Energy buzzed through me. “I understand you more than you know, my love.”

  I closed my eyes, giving in to the moment, feeling the warmth of his love wash over me. I truly loved this man. Then I opened my eyes to look into his. “We have much to talk about, but we must wait until this is over. I need my wits about me to handle this, or the Kiss will take over me.” My voice caught. “I can’t let that happen.”

  He nodded. “I’m ready when you are.” Then he kissed me again, softly, sweetly and my whole world lit up. It was a brief kiss, but hope rushed through my body, making me feel alive again.

  “Help us to stand?” I asked, hoping he could see through my eyes how he affected me; somehow I think he did.

  His lips turned down as he looked over me. “I don’t know where to touch.”

  He carefully slipped his arm around me and lifted slowly. I pulled Faithe up with me, grinding my jaw together. I wanted to cry it hurt so much, but I steeled myself, bearing the pain.

  Briar and the rest of them, including Roma and Lynx, were inside the other section of the building beginning to unlock cages. Most of them required magic. Lynx and Roma separated and hurried up and down the long rows to break them open.

  “Let’s get out of here,” Mateo said.

  “Faithe … ”

  “I’ll take her,” Angel said. He gently took her from my arms. She barely made a sound.

  Just as we turned to leave, a wave of intense power rolled through the building, making us stumble.

  “What’s that?” Mateo said, his voice alarmed.

  I slowly turned around. The building began to shake. Bits of dust and light debris fell from the ceiling.

  “Get her out of here,” I said to Angel. “And don’t leave her, no matter what.”

  He glanced at Briar in concern, but then obeyed.<
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  Pressure in the air grew stronger, suffocating even.

  “We have to leave!” Luke called.

  “Not until we’ve saved everyone,” Briar said. Only a dozen had managed to get out of their cages. I couldn’t see Lynx or Roma. Loxley was at the end, her face pale. She fell to her knees almost as if she was in some kind of trance.

  Eddie ran in just then, his eyes wide. “Something bad is coming!”

  I slowly turned to him. “It’s already here.”

  Chapter 31

  A high-pitched wailing, louder than anything I’d ever heard, screamed through the building. Everyone covered their ears as the roaring shook right through us. Mateo and I looked at each other, centuries of pain and love in our eyes. I truly thought I’d die in that moment, especially when the lights exploded all around us, bathing us in darkness. We both felt the darkness coming.

  And then all was quiet.

  “Are we dead?” Lynx’s voice asked from the darkness.

  “We can’t be,” Briar whispered. “I don’t see Chris Hemsworth.”

  “Chris Hemsworth?”

  “A psychic promised me once he’d be waiting for me in the afterlife.”

  Luke snorted. “Everyone turn on your phones. We need light.”

  “Are you okay?” Mateo whispered to me.

  Streams of light spread out all around. “I’ll be okay.”

  “Where’s Roma?” Lynx asked.

  “Oh shit,” Luke said. “Eddie’s down.”

  My gaze followed Luke’s light. Eddie lay on the ground, unconscious.

  “So is Loxley!” Briar’s light bounced in the darkness as Briar hurried over to her.

  “Roma!” Lynx called. Her light hurried up and down the aisles. “Found her! She’s down too!”

  “That’s not our only problem,” Mateo said. He shined his own light into the cages. “They’re gone. All of them.”

  All lights turned toward the cages. He was right. Not a single prisoner remained.

  Eddie groaned on the floor next to me.

  “Help me,” I told Mateo.

  Mateo slowly removed his arms from around me to see if I’d fall without his support. When he was sure I was okay, he lowered to the floor to Eddie, who was stirring.

  “What happened?” Mateo asked him.

  Eddie lifted up on his elbow and rubbed his head. “I’m not sure. One second I was in here warning you, and the next it felt like someone was sucking the light right out of me.”

  Briar called over to us, “Loxley’s coming to. Lynx, how’s Roma?”

  “Still out!” she called back.

  Luke began walking up and down the aisles and into the other side of the warehouse. “A lot of the crates are gone too.”

  My mind reeled at the power it must’ve taken to teleport everything. “We should go. It’s not safe.”

  “Let’s go back to Fire Ridge,” Briar ordered. She assisted Loxley to her feet, while Luke carried Roma, Lynx fretting over her.

  Mateo helped me exit the building. The burns on my legs had begun to heal, but it would take much longer for my back. Every slight movement sent shooting pain throughout my body. Angel was pacing just outside the entrance, glancing anxiously inside the darkened hole. Only when Briar arrived did he relax. Faithe was sitting on the ground staring into the distance.

  “What the hell happened in there?” Briar asked to no one in particular.

  “Powerful magic,” Lynx answered as she walked past with Luke. Roma was beginning to regain consciousness in his arms.

  Lynx rubbed at her arms. “I could feel it. Dark and suffocating. It tried to get inside my head.”

  At this, I snapped my head in her direction, then flickered my gaze to Eddie, Loxley, and Roma. “Just like the Phoenix the other day when Luke got hurt.”

  Briar frowned, her eyes shooting to Loxley, who was helping Gerald carry an injured shifter to a vehicle. Briar looked at me.

  I raised my eyebrows as if to question, “Could it be her?”

  Briar’s gaze grew thoughtful, but she called out to everyone. “Load up!” Then she turned to Eddie, who had walked over to Folas. Folas still held his hands up, maintaining the illusion around the perimeter. “Give us a few more minutes to get out of here, then let it drop.”

  “Hurry,” Folas growled, sweat dotting his forehead.

  “Meet at Fire Ridge,” Briar told us. “We’ll try to sort through what exactly happened here.”

  I limped over to Faithe, trying to keep my heart intact. The despondent look in her eyes shattered everything hard and emotionless inside me. “Faithe?”

  She didn’t respond.

  I tried a couple more times while the shifters gathered their wounded and loaded them into SUVs. From the looks of it, the Silver Claws had lost three members. Briar moaned when she realized it and punched the nearest tree followed by a string of profanities. I didn’t envy her position as Alpha.

  Roma finally regained consciousness and sat in a vehicle breathing heavily while Lynx guided the ones we had saved into the back of a van. There were ten. Ten out of maybe fifty? It made me ill. By the looks of them, the glazed look in their eyes, their hands shaking, they would need time to recover. We’d take them to the Blutel Estate where the Ames de la Terra would help them recover.

  When I couldn’t get Faithe to respond, I glanced over at Mateo who was speaking quietly with Angel. “Help me?”

  He nodded. Together we led Faithe to my car that Teddy had driven over for me earlier and slowly helped her into the back. I still wasn’t sure what to do with her, but I planned on keeping my promise. I would keep her safe.

  Unable to lean into the seat, I slid on my side in the back, facing Faithe, while Mateo drove toward Fire Ridge. Angel sat in the passenger seat. I tried not to grimace over every bump in the road, but it was impossible.

  “Sorry,” Mateo mumbled, eyeing me in the rearview mirror. He drove slowly and carefully back to Fire Ridge, making us the last to arrive.

  By the time we reached there, the immediate sting of burned flesh had passed, and I was able to move without grimacing as much. What I needed was loose clothing.

  As soon as I exited, Briar found me and nodded her head toward the van Lynx had been driving. “Where should we take the supernaturals we saved? They look pretty messed up.”

  “Blutel Estate.” I turned to Angel who had just opened his car door. “Will you take them?”

  Over the last century, I’d seen him there a few times. He never stayed long, but he always came back. Just for a few days. Enough time to remind him that he wasn’t a monster. Sometimes we needed that.

  “You’ve been there?” Briar asked, surprised.

  Pain lanced his eyes, but he didn’t say anything. Only nodded his head. He walked toward the van. Briar stared after him, a puzzled look on her face.

  I stuck my head back into the car. “Faithe. I need you to come in. You’ll be safe here.”

  She didn’t respond, but she did exit the car and follow after me.

  As Alpha, Briar took control, ordering the injured upstairs to be cared for by the doctor and arranging for the dead. Families would need to be notified, funerals planned. Others may have not noticed, but as the night wore on, her shoulders sank further under the weight of leadership. She made all the hard decisions so the others wouldn’t have to, and she had to do it under a mask of strength and confidence.

  Luke and her friends helped where they could. Marge became the loud, doting, and often inappropriate mother figure, while Samantha played the role of a high school football coach, telling people to suck it up because during the next game they were going to smash balls and break spines.

  I would’ve helped more, but I didn’t dare leave Faithe, plus my back was still mending.

  Mateo came to me and, noticing my shirt was badly damaged, yanked off his jacket. Then he removed his shirt and offered it to me. As it came over his head, I eyed the perfect lines of his muscled chest and the way they rippled as he
moved. He moved behind me, giving me a smirk as if he knew I’d been gawking at him, and gently pulled my shirt over my head. Parts of the material had melted into my skin, and I gulped down the pain as he slowly, gently pulled it off me. His hands traced down my back, caressing my skin, and goosebumps broke out. I shivered and could’ve swore I heard him smile. Gently, he maneuvered his shirt over my head, and I inhaled a deep breath, reveling in his earthy smell.

  Tucked away in Briar’s office, Faithe had curled up on the love seat. Mateo and I checked on her, and I placed a blanket over her before settling into a chair next to her. Her eyes slowly closed. She would need lots of time to heal.

  While she rested, I telephoned Sersi and explained what had happened. She already knew most of it from Angel, who had shown up thirty minutes earlier. But she didn’t know about Faithe. And so I told her, speaking quietly and vaguely, unsure if Faithe was listening in, even though she appeared to be sleeping soundlessly, her chest rising and lowering slowly with each breath.

  Sersi read between the lines. “I have the perfect place for her. No one but me will know about it, and you can join her just as soon as you can.”

  “Thank you.” We spoke for a few more minutes about what to do if we found the other missing supernaturals who had disappeared. She recommended the facility in Wildemoor. My heart clenched at the mention. That’s where my longtime friend Rebecca, also a wolf shifter, used to work. I missed her terribly.

  When someone knocked on the door outside the office, I said goodbye and ended the call. Briar walked in with Luke, Eddie, Lynx, Roma, and Mateo behind her. The small office grew crowded fast.

  Briar was shaking her head fiercely before Mateo was all the way inside. “Nope. No way. Too crowded. Everyone out before I lose my shit. We’ll go downstairs.”

  I sometimes forgot Briar was claustrophobic. She mostly handled it well except for in cases like this. The night’s events probably didn’t help. Like the rest of us, her nerves had been pulled too tight.

  Everyone filed out of the room. I was the last to leave, glancing down at Faithe. She was still sleeping. I left the door open a crack so I could hear her should she begin to stir.