Curse Breaker

by Karina Espinosa

  Our first stop was to The Third Eye to pick up Jackson’s SUV. Luckily, it was still there and hadn’t been towed. Now that we had our own wheels and a means to escape, the three of us made our way to St. Paul’s Cathedral—the headquarters for the New York City vampires.

  It was mid-afternoon, and I had less than four hours to find Amy and get back to the house under the cloaking spell. We parked the car across the street from the church so that in case any patrolling vampires braved the sun, at least the car wouldn’t be close. Bobby accompanied us that far, but would stay at the entrance of the church as a look-out, keeping the door open and filtering sunlight into the darkened space.

  Jackson and I quietly ran down the middle, between the pews, and went to the door behind the altar. The barely discernable smell of incense told me it hadn’t been used since the trial. Once we emerged through the small door behind the altar, we took a winding set of stairs to the basement. This was the tricky part, because the space was dark and windowless. If we woke them up and they found us, we would be cornered.

  I let Jackson lead the way since he had the locator necklace. We passed many rooms as we went through the labyrinth of the church’s underground, but since the doors were shut, I assumed they were the vamps’ private rooms. The dreary atmosphere was punctuated by walls of gray concrete. With metal lamps overhead that flickered in and out, the deathly stillness made this a horror movie scene just waiting to happen.

  “Ah!” Jackson yelped, pulling the necklace away from his chest.

  “Shhh!” I quieted him, mouthing, Shut up! and placed a finger over my lips.

  “It burned me,” he whispered as he pointed to the amber-liquid stone, which I noticed had started glowing a golden orange color.

  We must be close. I looked around, seeing that we stood between two rooms. “She could be in either one of these rooms,” I murmured.

  “Her room will be locked.” He smirked and tried turning the knob of one of the doors. It turned with ease, but he didn’t push it open. Jackson went to the door across from it, but when he attempted the knob, it was locked. “She’s in here.”

  “We can’t get in without starting a commotion,” I whispered. If we busted her door down, it would be a proclamation to the vampires that we were here.

  Jackson nudged me out of the way and leaned against the door. Placing his hand on the knob, he gave a hard twist and the knob yanked free, opening the door. Not gonna lie, I was impressed by his breaking-and-entering skills.

  Inside, we saw Amy’s frail body chained to a bed by her ankle, lying with no pillow or blankets. Her normally radiant red hair was dull and flat, and she was curled in on herself like a child, shivering with cold.

  “Amy,” I murmured and ran inside. Not caring who heard, I ripped the chain from her ankle and shook her shoulders. “Wake up, Amy, its me.”

  I was relieved to see her tired eyes flutter awake, revealing her emerald greens, but the light in them was diminished. Her gaze was lazy, and I knew it was because of the daytime. Roman was always extra tired during the day, even when encased in darkness.

  “Mackenzie?” she said groggily. “Is that you?”

  “Yeah.” I smiled warmly. “I’m here to bust you out.”

  “No, no,” she groaned, pushing me away. “You have to go. You have to get out.”

  I nearly fell backward. “What are you talking about, Amy? We don’t have time for this. We have to go.”

  “It’s a trap,” Amy whispered, and the blood drained from my face.

  I turned to Jackson, who had heard our conversation as he stood guard by the door. “We knew it was a risk coming here. We have to at least try.”

  I nodded and turned back to Amy, who was having a hard time staying awake. “Come on, up you go,” I said, pulling her to a sitting position. I flung her arm over my shoulder and rested my arm and hand behind her back. My other hand went beneath her knees and I cradled her in my arms. We’re going to get out of here.

  Once she was settled in my arms, Jackson led the way and we speed-walked back upstairs. No longer caring how much noise we made, we practically ran through the maze of corridors within the basement. We had just made the last turn toward the long hallway that led to the stairs when we heard the clicks of opening doors. Ignoring them, we kept running. If anything, we ran even faster.

  We made it halfway to the stairs before the first vampire came out of his room. Jackson was closest and snapped its neck easily. Our advantage was that the newbie vamps were like zombies during the day. The older ones would be harder to put down.

  Jackson paved the way for us against emerging vampires as we pushed further through the cathedral, but now we had to worry about the vampires at our backs. I set Amy down and she slid down against the wall. “Sit tight,” I said to her and faced off against two oncoming vampires.

  One tried to run toward me at vamp speed and almost got me, but with my better-than-average wolf reflexes, I clipped him in the throat. As he coughed and gasped and stopped in place, I took the chance to snap his neck. It wouldn’t kill him, but it would put him to sleep for a little while. Just long enough for us to get the hell out of there.

  I could tell the second vampire was new because of how slow he was. He swung a languid punch at me that I side-stepped effortlessly. When he tried to grab me, I spun around so that we were back-to-back. I grabbed him by the neck, lifted him above the ground, and slammed him down, breaking his neck.

  I looked back at Jackson, pleased to see he had cleared the way in front of us. Behind us more vampires continued to stream out of their bedrooms, but I was still pretty sure we could make it to the stairs. Jackson backtracked and picked Amy up off the floor, carrying her the rest of the way up the stairs as I followed behind and kept the vamps off our trail.

  Once we made it to the altar, I slammed the door behind us, securing it with a chair wedged under the doorknob. It wasn’t much, more symbolic than anything, since vampires were strong. They could easily bust through the door, chair and all. But I was hoping that with their limited strength and sluggishness in daytime, luck would be on my side and it would give us a few extra seconds of a much-needed head start.

  We just made it down the altar and to the pews when I heard, “Mackenzie!” Lucian’s voice reverberated throughout the church, like an unflinching angel of death. “Do not take a single step out of this church. You will leave Ms. Amelia here.”

  I spun around to see Lucian emerge from the side door beside the altar that led to his office and library.

  “You know I can’t do that, Luce,” I responded tightly as I looked at him with sad eyes. “I’m taking her home.”

  “You will do no such thing. You will stay and answer for your crime.” Lucian’s blond hair was disheveled, and war brewed in his eyes. He had always looked out for me, even when I didn’t know it. But now we were on opposite sides, and I could tell he didn’t like being in that position. I didn’t like it, either.

  “Your people are wrong, Lucian. What they were going to do—”

  “What you did was a million times worse, Mackenzie!” he spat. “You killed an Elder! Have you no morals?”

  His accusation was like a slap in the face. I jerked back from shock.

  “Don’t speak to me about morality.” My voice was deadly. I was angry now.

  His jaw tightened, but he had nothing more to say. His Elders had no morals and he knew it. I wasn’t perfect and I knew I made many mistakes, but I would never allow someone to point out my defects as if they were free of imperfections.

  “I will leave here, Lucian, and I’m taking Amy with me. You can either let us go, or you can fight me. It’s your choice.”

  Lucian stomped out from behind the altar, walked past the front pews, and stood in the middle, directly in my line of sight.

  “I can’t let you go.”

  That was my answer.

  “Jackson, get Amy out of here,” I commanded over my shoulder. My pulse quickened as I looked into the vampir
e’s dark gaze. No matter how much bravado I had, I knew I wouldn’t fare well in a fight with Lucian. He had centuries of experience on me, and I was no match for his particular brand of skills. I swallowed deeply and readied myself in a fighting stance.

  Lucian snarled and lunged for me, his fangs elongated. With vampiric speed, he was on me in an instant. I took a blow to the face and gut before I even saw him move, then he grabbed my neck and slammed me on the ground. I could hear the tile beneath me crack from the impact. He squeezed the column of my neck with ease, as if I were nothing but a puff of dust. His eyes were wild as they looked into mine and I scrabbled at his hands, clawing at them, trying to get him to release me so I could catch a breath. Lucian was ancient, so while he wasn’t at full strength, he was still strong during the day and could withstand the draining effects that sunlight had on the newer vamps. He showed that force now with ease. I gasped like a fish out of water as the corners of my vision dimmed.

  Just then, there was a loud bang and all six windows in the church shattered. Glass rained around us like falling stars, which was just the distraction I needed to unhook his hand from my throat and push him off me. I gulped ragged breaths as Lucian slid across the church floor on his knees as sunlight streamed through the shattered windows. He raised his arms up to cover his face, squinting his eyes against the brightness. The force of the sun’s rays was too much, even for him. Rubbing my neck, I stumbled over to him and kneed him as hard as I could in the face.

  My body felt sluggish, as if all the blood had rushed to the top of my head. I wiped blood from my face and leaned over his body, peering down at Lucian as he cowered from the sun.

  “You chose the wrong side,” I growled. Raising my steel-toed boot, I kicked him in the side of the head, knocking him out.

  5

  Jumping into the back seat of Jackson’s SUV, we sped back to the house, trying to make it back before our four hours were up. Bobby sat in the front seat as Jackson drove, while Amy was wrapped in a cocoon of blankets to shield her from the sun. I held her in my arms, a rush of joy and relief flooding me that she was finally safe.

  “We’re almost there, Amy,” I whispered. “Hurry, Jackson!” I banged on the back of his seat as I looked at the clock on the dashboard. We were cutting it short.

  “Uh … Mackenzie, we might have a problem,” Jackson said as he glanced up at the rearview mirror. “Someone’s tailing us.”

  I spun around and looked through the back glass. All the cars around us appeared normal from my viewpoint, until one changed lanes and I saw the unmarked police car that was behind it.

  “Shit, it’s the SIU!” I yelled, turning to Bobby with accusing eyes. “I thought you said I had four hours!”

  “You do!” he shouted back. “They didn’t find you using a locator spell.”

  “Kenz,” Amy murmured. “I’m sorry.”

  “Shh, it’s not your fault, Aims,” I promised, though I worried who was tailing us. Jackson stepped on the gas and started making erratic turns into side streets that took us further away from the house, trying to lose them.

  “You can’t lead them to the house,” Bobby demanded, grasping the handle above his car door as Jackson took a sharp right turn.

  “I know,” Jackson growled. “What do you think I’m doing?”

  We turned down a desolate street, but just as we were coming up to a bridge, a black cloud entered the car and engulfed us.

  “Stop the car!” I screamed as I shut my eyes, knowing who it was. “Jackson!”

  I held onto Amy tightly as the car swerved left and right, the tires squealing as we spun heedlessly until we hit something head-on. I clasped Amy to my chest, but we still hit the back of Jackson’s seat from the force of the crash.

  I shook my head and struggled to open my eyes, seeing stars from the impact to my head. The black smoke started to dissipate from the car interior, and when I looked beside it, Finn’s body emerged from the clouds. I was so disoriented, I was seeing two of him as he stood there unmoving. I squinted to see him clearly.

  “Everyone okay?” Jackson groaned from the front seat.

  “I’m fine,” Bobby muttered, “but you’re definitely not driving again.”

  “I’m alive … sort of,” Amy slurred.

  “We’re good back here,” I offered, still looking at the multiple Finns as my door was suddenly ripped open. Literally. Hinges and all. Cassidy Chang stood there in all his over-six-feet glory, muscles protruding out of his shirt, with a police badge slung on a chain around his neck.

  He reached into the car and grabbed my arm, hauling me out and slamming me onto the side of the vehicle, facing forward. “Mackenzie Grey, you are under arrest. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law …” Cassidy continued to read my Miranda Rights as he clamped handcuffs around my wrists.

  Jackson burst out of the car in a half shift, his canines, muzzle, and claws elongated, growling as he lunged for Cassidy. Chang didn’t see him coming and was knocked to the ground. The two wolves grappled on the ground, fur and teeth flashing. Finn was about to get involved when Amy leapt out of the car and landed on top of him, snarling in his face. Even though she was weak, she was braving the sun for me. Bobby was nowhere in sight, and I figured we wouldn’t be seeing him any time soon. He cared for himself and only himself.

  A gunshot rang in the air and everyone froze as we looked over to where the sound came from. There stood Garrett Michaels, my human partner, with his gun pointed in the air.

  Jackson and Amy backed away, hovering near me protectively, even as Amy swayed woozily.

  “Stay out of it, Cadwell,” Cassidy growled at Jackson. “We only want her. The rest of you are free to go.”

  “Mackenzie isn’t going anywhere,” Jackson barked, taking a menacing step forward, thereby blocking my view.

  Cas huffed out in agitation, “Your father won’t be pleased if he hears of this.” That was a low blow.

  “Fuck my father. Why don’t you go tell him that?” Jack sneered.

  I knew then that I had to intervene. Charles already hated me because of what happened to one son; I couldn’t bear for him to hate me for another.

  “Enough,” I whispered. “I’ll go.”

  Jackson whirled around and grabbed me by my shoulders, my wrists still handcuffed behind me. “The hell you will! We’ll find another way, Kenz. We didn’t make it this far to give up now.”

  I smiled at him, and in that moment, he reminded me so much of Jonah. So unwaveringly faithful. I wished I could give him a hug for standing by me until the end. “It’s better they find me instead of the vampires. Like you said, we’ll find a way to fix this.”

  His eyes dimmed and lost their shine as he turned to Amy.

  “Kenz, I’m so sorry!” she wailed, tears rolling freely down her cheeks.

  I tried to smile. “Aims, it’s not your fault. If you thought I was going to leave you behind, you’re crazy. You would have done the same for me.”

  She nodded.

  “I’ll be okay,” I coaxed as Michaels sauntered over to me and lightly nudged my arm to direct me towards the unmarked police car. I let him take me as my friends watched me go.

  I didn’t look back.

  The drive to the precinct was relatively quiet as I sat in the back with Michaels, while Cassidy and Finn rode in the front. No one said a word at first, even though I knew they had a million questions running through their minds. The only one out of the three of them who had already been in this position was Michaels. He’d had to arrest me before, ironically enough, for murder in the human world before he knew anything about supernaturals. Maybe that was why he was handling me with care, unlike the others.

  “You’ve really done it this time, Grey.” Finn was the first to speak. He usually wasn’t afraid to speak his mind, so I had to prepare myself for him not holding back his thoughts. “Killing a fuckin’ vampire Elder? The hell were you thinking?”

  “She wasn’t. As usual,”
Cassidy replied, and I glowered at him from the backseat.

  “Let’s wait until we’ve done our investigation before we pass judgment,” Michaels muttered. I looked over at him gratefully, but he wouldn’t meet my eyes.

  “This is an open and shut case,” Cassidy grunted.

  No one said anything for the rest of the ride to the station, including me. I wouldn’t speak again until I got my one phone call.

  When we arrived, they parked the car at the front of the building and escorted me inside. It was embarrassing to have your coworkers, people you considered your colleagues, see you as one of the criminals we brought in every day. I wanted to put my head down in shame, but the wolf inside me wouldn’t allow that. Instead, I looked forward, avoided eye contact, and held my head high.

  We went up the elevator to our floor, and when we made it to the squad room, a hush fell over the entire department. All heads turned our way as I endured a literal walk of shame on my way to the interrogation room.

  The thick concrete walls prevented anything from being heard from the outside. A single metal table stood in the middle of the small room with two metal chairs sitting opposite each other. In each corner, cameras were mounted, red lights blinking to alert us that they were recording. The wall on my right side held a one-way mirror.

  Michaels uncuffed me and I took a seat where directed—the chair facing the mirror. As they filed out of the room, I knew the drill. I would be left there for hours with no interaction. I still hadn’t been processed, and I wondered what the delay was.

  The air conditioner kicked in and the air was unusually cold, more so than even I could handle. I huddled in my metal chair and laid my head on the table, rubbing my arms to keep them warm. The cold wormed through my feet, shooting throughout my body, giving me chills. It was an unfamiliar sensation because I was hot-blooded and didn’t get cold easily. They must have done this on purpose. I closed my eyes and tried to shut out the cold and everything else, mentally preparing myself for what was to come, because it would only get harder from there on out.