Cut to the Crone

by Amanda M. Lee

  I pivoted toward the tanned vampire, who had turned exceedingly pale. He looked to be clinging to consciousness. “Not good,” I replied, kneeling next to him. “Can I see?” I inclined my head toward his side.

  He didn’t put up a fight.

  The wound was ugly, to the point I knew a human wouldn’t be able to survive. A vampire was a different story.

  “Get him inside,” I instructed Gunner, standing. “Tie him to a chair just to be on the safe side. I don’t want him trying to use us to boost his blood volumes in the middle the night.” I started toward the woods.

  “Where are you going?” he called to my back.

  “To find the girl. She’s out there, alone. She’s obviously not safe.”

  “You won’t find her,” the injured vampire rasped. “She’s stronger than you. She won’t allow you to take her.”

  That was both intriguing and disheartening. “I have to try. Get him inside, Gunner. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

  Four

  I didn’t find her. The vampire was right about that. Wherever she was hiding, it was a good spot. Even the magic I tried to expend didn’t reveal her hiding place. When I hit the woods in the direction she fled, her trail somehow disappeared, right in the middle of nowhere.

  I was exhausted by the time I returned to the cabin. Gunner looked as if he was about to melt down and raced over to me when I let myself through the door.

  “I was about to go after you.” He smothered me with a crushing hug. “You scared the life out of me. Why didn’t you answer your phone?” He went from loving to accusatory in the blink of an eye.

  “My phone is plugged in next to the bed,” I replied ruefully. “I didn’t even think to grab it when we headed out.”

  “He managed a smile, but it was weak. “I didn’t even think of that.” His expression twisted. “I take it you didn’t find her.”

  “No. He was right about me not being able to find her. It’s as if she simply disappeared into nothing.”

  “I could go out and search for her,” Gunner offered. “I mean, she is part shifter. Odds are she won’t be able to hide from me.”

  I considered it, then shook my head. “She’s terrified. I don’t know that stalking her in the middle of the night is a good idea. Let’s wait until first light and then we’ll go out again.” I glanced at the unconscious vampire tied to the chair. “Make sure the curtains are drawn so he doesn’t fry. Unfortunately, we probably won’t be able to question him until nightfall tomorrow. I’m hoping we find that girl long before then.”

  “You and me both.”

  We tumbled into bed, his arms immediately coming around me. Even though there was an invader in our space, I passed out within seconds. My body refused to stay awake for a second longer, despite my worry about the girl.

  She was out there somewhere. Alone, probably terrified, and hunted. Tomorrow, I would find her. No matter what.

  I WOKE SHORTLY AFTER SEVEN AND FOUND Gunner was already awake and staring at me. A small smile played at the corners of his lips.

  “Did I drool?” I immediately wiped at my mouth.

  His grin only widened. “No, but when you’re really tired, you let loose these dainty little snores. It’s adorable.”

  I rolled my eyes. “I do not snore.”

  “Yes, you do.”

  “Whatever.” I shifted so I was on my back and rubbed my forehead. “We didn’t get much sleep.”

  “About four hours total.”

  “I think that’s going to be it. I want to look for that girl.”

  He nodded. “Me too. Let’s start moving.”

  I didn’t need to be told twice. We quickly showered together. Under normal circumstances, the shower would’ve likely turned playful. That wasn’t an option today. I strode into the kitchen, determined to feed the cat and then head out when I realized the tanned vampire was not only largely recovered, but awake.

  I pulled up short. “What the ...?”

  He regarded us, his eyes glittery slits of hate. “What sort of ropes are these? I only ask because they appear to be made out of steel.”

  His disdain caused a smile to rise to my lips, unbidden. “I made them. I infused them with a bit of magic.”

  He cocked his head, his expression unreadable. “You’re a witch ... but more.”

  I moved to the counter to grab a can of cat food. “What do you know about more?”

  “You would be surprised what I know. As for you, I know nothing specific. You are ... interesting, though. I’ve known plenty of interesting magical types over the years.”

  “Like the girl you were with?” Gunner queried, moving to the coffee machine. The fact that the vampire was awake when he should have been dead to the world, had obviously changed our plans. We needed to question him to find the girl.

  The vampire straightened in his chair. “Did Sami get away?” He looked legitimately concerned. “She wasn’t ambushed in the woods, was she?”

  I didn’t know what to make of him. His concern for a child who obviously wasn’t his was profound. “I couldn’t find her,” I replied. I saw no reason to lie. “She ran into a clearing and it was as if she completely disappeared. I used my magic to try and find her but came up empty. However she managed to hide, she’s good.”

  The vampire’s lips curved, showing off a pair of gleaming white teeth. “She’s very good. She’s also safe. You won’t be able to find her.”

  He sounded pleased with that outcome, which irked me. “And how is that a good thing?” I grabbed one of the chairs from the table and placed it directly in front of him so he had no place to look but my face. “That girl is out there, all alone. She’s a child and in danger. We want to help her.”

  “You would be surprised how many people have wanted to ‘help’ that child and her mother over the years only to turn on them. You’ll forgive me if I don’t believe you. Odds are, it’s a lie.”

  “What is she?” Gunner asked, padding to my side. He handed me a mug of coffee but kept his attention on the vampire. “She’s part shifter but she’s more. I don’t know how to explain what I felt.”

  “That’s none of your concern.” The vampire looked Gunner up and down then asked, “What pack are you?”

  “How do you know about the packs?”

  “I know a great deal about a great many things.” The vampire was pompous, and yet the way his eyes kept darting to the window told me his mind was elsewhere. If I had to guess, it was on the girl. He was worried about her, which I found interesting.

  “Where are her parents?” I asked, shifting the conversation. “If you don’t want to help us with her, tell us who they are. We’ll contact them. Perhaps they’ll be able to find her.”

  “That is an intriguing proposal,” the vampire agreed. “Unfortunately, her parents are ... unaccounted for.”

  That sounded ominous. “Were you with her parents or something?”

  “That’s none of your concern.” The vampire shifted, grimacing when the ropes kept him in place. He was obviously in pain but determined not to show it. “You should let me go.”

  I shook my head. “That’s not happening until we find that girl.”

  “If you want her found, you’ll let me go.”

  “Except we have no idea what your motivations were toward her,” I argued. “For all we know, you’re one of those gross perverts she was talking about. Maybe you enticed her online or something and plan to do absolutely terrible things to her.”

  Fury, hot and fast, took over the creature’s features. “Don’t ever say anything like that again!”

  If he was acting, he was good at it. I was convinced he loved the girl, and not in a perverted way. He was a protector of sorts, but how? That’s what I needed to know. “How is it that a vampire ends up being the benefactor of a half-shifter child?”

  “You’ll have to ask her parents about that.” The vampire’s response was stiff. “I’m sure they’ll be arriving shortly.”

  �
��Yeah?” I tilted my head. “If her parents are so close, why was she with you?”

  “It’s ... complicated.”

  “Life is complicated.”

  “It is indeed.”

  That did it. I’d had it with his blasé responses and jumped to my feet. “Do you want that kid to die out there?” My temper exploded in a flurry of magic and the light fixture above shook and flickered.

  The vampire’s eyes rolled to the ceiling. “What are you?” he asked. “You’re way more than a simple witch. Your more is …, well, more.”

  “And that child is way more than a simple shifter,” Gunner said, earnest. “I swear to you that we don’t want to hurt her. We’ll keep her safe until we can find her parents.”

  “I actually believe you.” The vampire was calm. “I still can’t help you. I made a promise to her parents.” He choked at the words and then calmed. “I won’t help you get your hands on her, whether you’re benevolent or not.”

  I had to admire his devotion to the kid. He was sincere. That didn’t mean I could simply abandon the girl. “Now you listen here,” I was deadly serious, “I don’t know who you are, and I don’t know why you have that girl. All I know is that I feel something very strongly here.” I tapped the spot above my heart. “I feel that I am destined to find that girl and keep her safe. That’s what I feel.”

  “I feel the same thing.” The vampire refused to back down. “Whether I believe you’re telling the truth or not doesn’t matter. We’ve been burned before. I will not risk her.”

  “Fine.” I strode toward the window and grabbed the curtain, giving him a defiant look. “If you don’t tell me, I’ll open this.”

  “Do what you have to do.”

  “It’s daylight,” I warned. “You’ll burn to a crisp.”

  The vampire was stoic. “I won’t betray her. You do what you have to do.”

  “Ugh.” I was honestly tempted to throw back the curtain. The only thing stopping me was the vampire’s unflappable loyalty to the girl. If he loved her enough to sacrifice himself for her, odds were she also loved him. If the girl’s parents were dead, which sounded like a possibility given the way the vampire was protecting her, he might very well be her only anchor in what would turn into a brutal world. I couldn’t risk killing him.

  Before I could decide on my next threat, there was a loud rap at the front door. Surprised, I glanced in that direction. “Who the heck is visiting us this early?”

  Gunner shrugged. “That’s a very good question.” He left his mug on the counter and headed toward the door. “Stay here.”

  The vampire had gone rigid in his chair, to the point where the hair on the back of my neck was standing on end. “Wait,” I called out to Gunner. It was already too late. I heard the front door open, and then a terrific ruckus as something slammed into the wall.

  I raced to the hallway and found Gunner on the floor, dazed. Standing in front of the open doorway was a familiar sight. It was the girl, her hands raised and glowing, and she looked ticked off.

  “I’ll take my vampire now,” she announced in a calm voice.

  “Your vampire?” Honestly, I would have laughed under different circumstances. She, however, was completely serious.

  Behind me, the vampire in question began struggling. “Sami, you need to get out of here!”

  “Rafael!” Sami shifted from one foot to the other, her relief palpable. When she turned back to me, there was a glint of determination in her eyes. “Get out of my way.” She sounded deadly and yet I didn’t miss the reverberating fear rolling through her.

  “Listen, Sami, I think we got off on the wrong foot,” I started, darting a look at Gunner. He was clearly okay, although whatever the kid had hit him with was hard enough to ring his bell. “I think we should call a truce and talk about this.”

  “I can’t.” The kid almost looked apologetic. “I need my vampire.”

  As if on cue, a ripping sound tore through the room behind me. The vampire had somehow managed to rip through his restraints and was racing through the hallway.

  My instincts kicked in. “Don’t!” I tried to step in front of him, stop him from facing death by the sun, but he barreled through me as if I was nothing, knocking me into the wall.

  I watched in abject fascination as he caught the girl around the waist and lifted her, stepping directly beneath the sun and hugging her tight. The thing is, he didn’t burst into flames. Rather he looked perfectly fine as he searched the girl’s face.

  “Are you okay?” He ran his fingers down the girl’s tear-streaked cheek. “Nobody hurt you, did they?”

  She shook her head, tears choking her reply. “I want to go home.”

  “Soon,” he promised. “We have to find your parents first.”

  Officially dumbfounded, I regained my feet. “Hold it right there.” When I extended a warning finger in the girl’s direction she tensed and looked as if she was about to unleash a bolt of defiant energy. “Don’t. I’ve been very careful not to use my magic on you, or your friend, who really should be a pile of ash about now. We don’t want to hurt you.”

  The vampire looked conflicted.

  “Rafael, right?” I addressed the vampire. “That’s what she called you. And you’re Sami.” I gave the girl my friendliest smile. “Well, Rafael and Sami, my name is Scout Randall. This is Gunner Stratton. We’re members of the Spells Angels, if that means anything to you.”

  “Spells Angels?” Sami brightened considerably. “They’re the ones Mom and Dad were looking for!”

  “Shh,” Rafael admonished her. She was a teenager and yet he kept his arm wrapped around her as if she were a five-year-old. “We don’t know they’re really who they say they are.”

  “We don’t know who you are at all,” I pointed out. “This is a leap of faith for all of us.”

  “More for us,” Rafael insisted.

  “And yet you’re a vampire who can walk in the sun and she’s a girl who obviously has a heckuva lot of magic at her disposal. You can protect yourselves. We only want to help.” I forged ahead. “Look, that kid has been out on her own all night. She’s probably exhausted and hungry. We can fix at least one of those issues.”

  “I am hungry,” Sami admitted, her imploring gaze regarding her protector. “It was freaky being in the woods all night. Can’t we just take a breath? Maybe they have a phone so I can call Mom.”

  “I have a phone,” I told her. “You can call whomever you want.”

  Rafael remained conflicted. “We’ll sit on the front porch,” he said finally. “Sami will use your phone to call her parents. You will feed her, but only after I’ve ascertained you’re not trying to poison her.”

  That made me laugh. “I’m a terrible cook. You might think I’m trying to poison her regardless.” I leaned over and helped Gunner to his feet. “I agree to your terms.”

  “Fine.” Rafael was a grumbling mess as he carried Sami to the chairs on the porch. He positioned her in the one farthest away from Gunner and me as we stepped out onto the porch to join them. Everyone was leery, which was to be expected. “I need a moment with her.” He shot me a pointed glare then focused on the girl. “Are you hurt anywhere? Does anything ache?”

  “I’m fine,” Sami assured him, looking none the worse for wear. “I didn’t even see any other vampires in the woods last night. I think those were the only ones. You know what that means, right?”

  Rafael nodded. “Your parents eliminated the others. I knew that would happen. I told you everything would be fine.”

  Sami rolled her eyes in typical teenage fashion. “Yeah, yeah, yeah. You told me. You’re smart, strong, and whatever else you want to be today. That’s not the point. Mom and Dad are out there somewhere. They can’t find us if I don’t have my phone, and I dropped it in the woods. They’re probably out there looking for me.”

  “How many times do I have to tell you that your mother doesn’t need the phone to find you?” Rafael sounded exasperated. “Your parents will
be here shortly. I have no doubt about that.”

  Sami stubbornly folded her arms across her chest. “I want to call them.”

  “Then call them. The witch said you could use her phone.”

  “I don’t need your permission.” Sami sullenly extended her hand in my direction, curious as she asked me, “What sort of witch are you?”

  I handed her the phone. “Just the normal kind.”

  “There is no such thing as a ‘normal’ witch.” Sami stared at the phone for a moment, furrowing her brow. “Um ... I don’t know Mom’s phone number.”

  Rafael rolled his eyes. “What did I tell you about that?”

  “That I could lose my phone at some point and need to call my mom from another phone.” Sami was petulant, which I found funny. “You were right, oh mighty one. That doesn’t help me now. I need to call her. They’re probably freaking out.”

  “Probably,” Rafael agreed. He rattled off the number to her. “Make sure you tell her you’re okay. Lead with that so she doesn’t burn the world down in an attempt to get to you.”

  The way he said it told me he wasn’t joking. Whoever Sami’s mother was, she was powerful. Sami punched in the number.

  “Mom?” Sam’s voice shook, reminding me that even though she was an adult in many ways, she was a child at heart. “I’m fine. I’m okay.” She was quiet a beat. “Rafael is okay, although he was nearly ripped apart by some vampires last night. We had help. We found those Spells Angels people.” More silence. “They haven’t tried to kill me yet, so I think they’re okay.”

  I pursed my lips and glanced at Gunner. Despite being blown across a hallway by a teenager, he looked relatively relaxed.

  “I said we’re fine, Mom. The Spells Angels people are going to make breakfast because I’m really hungry. I was in the woods all night under a dome and they had Rafael tied to a chair. It was all a big misunderstanding.”

  I widened my eyes when the girl handed the phone to me. “What?”

  “She needs to know where we are. She wants to talk to you.”

  That sounded unpleasant. “Okay.”