The Prophecy (Saga of the Chosen Book 1)

by Petra Landon

  “Then it’s possible that it was Tasia who was the intended target?” Hawk inquired pointedly, memories of the night that Tasia had been taken by the leeches still fresh in him.

  Jason looked at him searchingly. “I doubt it, Hawk” he responded gently. “Sienna is more likely to be the target especially if her mother is truly back from the dead like we suspect. It would be natural for her mother to reach out to her at some point. Remember that Lady Bethesda is known to have allied with the vampires in the past.”

  He let the young Shifter chew on his words for a few moments.

  “Look, if they were kidnapped for the reason I suspect, then the vampires will not harm either of them” Jason assured him as the young Shifter presented him a face carefully blanked of expression.

  The car door opened abruptly before the Alpha and Luis slipped into the car to join them.

  “We found them” Raoul announced. “They’re both being held in a house and we smell six leeches with them. There’s no activity outside the house. I think it’s ripe for a rescue operation. What say, Guardian?”

  “How many points of entry into the house?” Jason inquired thoughtfully.

  “Two” Luis responded promptly “The main and one from what looks like the kitchen at the back.”

  Jason thought furiously, calculating the odds. They’d need one person each to cover both exits just in case anyone tried to smuggle the women out before they could get to them. He was confident that the Alpha and he could take on the six vampires inside the house. All they had to do was stun the vampires for the few minutes they’d need to get the women out anyway.

  “Alright, this is how we do it. Luis covers the back entrance and Hawk, the front. You and I go in, Alpha. We incapacitate the vampires, grab the girls and get out quick. No drawn out fighting” he warned the Shifters. For all they knew, the vampires had more reinforcements on the way. And Jason had no intention of getting pinned down, not without the Guardians to back him up.

  “We’ll try to curb our baser instincts, LaRue” the Alpha retorted blandly, drawing a wan smile from Hawk and an open one from Jason.

  “Let’s do it.”

  Luis slipped away from the other three as they approached their target stealthily. All lay quiet within the house. A light beamed from one of the windows upstairs. Suddenly, a faint cry echoed from the house. The Shifters went on alert.

  “Alph, that’s Tasia” Hawk said urgently.

  Jason, not blessed by the Shifter’s phenomenal hearing abilities, merely looked puzzled.

  “We need to go in now” the Alpha said urgently. “Hawk, stand guard” he directed briefly, throwing himself against the door to test it. The door shook with a thud. The Alpha stepped back and kicked in the door with a mighty swing of his foot. The center of the door splintered open with an almighty crash. Lights flashed in some of the neighboring houses as people, alerted by the noise, attempted to check where it had come from. The Alpha reached in through the massive hole in the door, unmindful of the splinters that scratched his hand, to release the latch. As he and Jason rushed in, Hawk slipped in after them to stand guard by the entrance. The hall was dark, disorienting Jason who, unlike the Shifters, was unable to see in the dark. He watched as a dark mass rushed at the Alpha. There was a sound of crunching bone as the Alpha lashed out powerfully, followed by a crash when the mass flew backwards. Lights flashed on suddenly in the hall, temporarily blinding Jason who covered his eyes instinctively. Hawk had helpfully switched on the entryway lights to make it easier for the wizard. When Jason uncovered his eyes, it was to see the Alpha fighting three vampires. They flew at him with dizzying speed, their talons and fangs expanded to inflict maximum damage. For a split second, Jason found himself admiring the Shifter before him who whirled in place like a graceful ballet dancer as he used his powerful arms and legs with devastating effect against the attacking vampires.

  A high keening noise from somewhere up the stairs cut abruptly through the silently fought fight. The Alpha grabbed one of the vampires by the neck to bash him violently against the wall and Jason used his power to fling back the other vampire with force. Raoul made short shift of the third vampire. There was a sudden clatter of furniture as the vampires went down. They waited for a heartbeat but the vampires stayed down. The two men raced up the stairs to be met with two more vampires. They made short work of dispatching one vampire each before Raoul ran down the hallway towards the keening sound. It died away just as they burst in through the open doorway to come to an abrupt stop.

  Tasia lay on the floor, blood seeping from a cut on her upper arm. Sienna held her in her arms, attempting desperately to stem the flow of blood from her friend. A vampire lay slumped behind the two women, seemingly unmoving. Sienna looked up at the two men, anguish and fear writ large on her face.

  “I can’t stop the bleeding. One of the vampires slashed her.”

  “Allow me” Jason offered. “I might be able to cauterize the wound temporarily.”

  He knelt by the two girls to probe gently at Tasia’s wound. As the Guardian called on his powerful magic to try and seal the wound deep in the injured wizard’s arm, her eyes fluttered open slowly. She gasped in fright at the sight of Jason kneeling over her, attempting to move away from him. Sienna placed her arms around her friend again, trying to soothe her fears.

  “Tasia, it’s okay. We’re among friends. The vampires are gone.”

  Tasia clung to her friend but continued to struggle to move away from Jason, seemingly confused by his presence.

  “Guardian” she gasped weakly to Sienna, her eyes wild with fear.

  “Yes” her friend reassured her. “He can help you.”

  “Tasia” Jason said gently. “It’s Jason. One of the vampires injured you. I’m trying to stop the bleeding.”

  “No, no, no Guardian” she protested in a frenzy of fear and confusion, burrowing into the arms of her friend who held her tightly in a comforting hug.

  “Jason can help you, Tasia” Sienna murmured soothingly, unsure how to reassure her friend.

  “Witchling” the Alpha called out abruptly, his voice soft but demanding.

  Tasia’s gaze swung up to meet the gold eyes that watched her with a mix of concern, understanding and something else.

  “Jason is trying to stop you from bleeding out. There’s nothing to fear.”

  She stopped struggling but continued to look up at him, her eyes reflecting her inner confusion and uncertainty.

  I’m here and I’ll make sure that no other magic is used on you.

  Raoul knew what terrified her about the Guardian and he attempted to silently reassure her on that.

  You’ve entrusted me with your secret. Now trust me once more. I’ll watch over you while you’re injured, I promise.

  The silent vow seemed to do the trick. Perhaps she saw it in his eyes, Raoul mused. In any case, she subsided, allowing Jason to treat her wound which continued to bleed, though more sluggishly than before. She watched the Guardian use his power on her intently as if afraid to look away from the wizard. Raoul narrowed his eyes at her thoughtfully as he watched over her. Something else seemed to trouble her! Her eyes rose up slowly to meet his gaze again. Something in them, a brew of desperation, fear and plea all mixed in, stilled the Shifter. The Alpha’s eyes flickered to the still figure of the leech behind her. It lay at an unnatural angle, as if struck in place by unbearable agony. A memory from another night in San Francisco flashed through him. Hawk and he standing over a terrified young girl while a dead leech lay at her feet. He’d long suspected that the witchling had been responsible in some way for the death of the leech. Despite being genuinely terrified out of her wits, she’d accomplished something no Chosen he had ever heard of do – kill one of the Undead without forcing a wooden stake through its heart.

  She gasped suddenly in pain and Sienna murmured soothingly to her.

  “Just a few seconds more. I’ve almost got the bleeding stopped” Jason said softly from his position beside
her.

  Through it all, her eyes did not waver from the gold gaze that watched her so intently. And suddenly Raoul knew what she wanted from him - what the beseeching look in her eyes meant.

  “Hawk” the Alpha remarked conversationally. “Have Luis bring the car over to the front and then, find yourself a stake. There’s a leech I need you to dispose of.”

  Tasia’s eyes reflected her gratitude at the softly spoken words. So, he had guessed right, Raoul concluded. She’d killed another leech and was afraid of what that might reveal of her power. She was right to be afraid. This was a dangerous ability to have! The leeches would come after her en masse, unmindful of all their own internal divisions, if they got even a whiff of what she was capable of when it came to their kind. Jason straightened up from his position by the floor. Raoul noted that the witchling’s wound had stopped bleeding.

  “No protracted fighting, remember” Jason reminded Raoul. “We’ve got what we came for. Now let’s get the hell out of here.”

  “We will after I leave a message for the leeches. You don’t mess with my Pack without consequences” the Alpha said implacably.

  Hawk came running up the stairs with an elongated piece of wood with a sharpened end that had obviously been salvaged from the broken door downstairs. He stopped short at the sight of Tasia, injured and weak in Sienna’s arms.

  “That one” the Alpha directed curtly, pointing at the huddled leech behind the women.

  Hawk hurried towards the still figure as the Alpha came down on his knees by Tasia’s slumped form.

  “Allow me” he said to Sienna. Jason helped Sienna straighten up and Raoul put his arms around Tasia.

  “Alpha, this one’s … “ Hawk blurted out suddenly, drawing everyone’s attention to him.

  “Put the stake through his heart, Hawk” Raoul cut the young Shifter short. “Just get it done and we’re out of here.”

  After a split second of surprise, Hawk focused on the job. As Raoul tightened his clasp on Tasia in readiness to come to his feet, she surprised him by throwing her arms around his neck. He went still as she used her grip on him to lift herself up in his clasp with some effort to bring her mouth close to his ear. It allowed her to speak softly into his ear, her voice whisper-soft to hide her words from the two wizards in the room. She was lucky for they were engaged in watching Hawk deal with the vampire and so missed the byplay between the Alpha and the wizard he’d extended Pack protection to.

  “Need a few minutes to Mfector the room.”

  Only the two Shifters in the room heard her. Hawk stilled at his task in shocked comprehension as it hit him that Tasia had probably caused the death of this leech too, like the one before in San Francisco. Raoul tightened his grip on her imperceptively, turning his head slowly to meet her gaze head on, his expression enigmatic as they stared at each other, separated only by a hairs breadth of air.

  “Please” she whispered, her eyes meeting his in entreaty.

  “What is it, Tasia?” Sienna inquired anxiously. “Does it hurt badly?”

  “I’m okay” Tasia whispered in response as the Alpha straightened up with her in his arms.

  Raoul’s Shifter ears could hear the very distant sound of sirens headed their way. The neighbors must have called the cops, he realized. They’d almost run out of time.

  “I can hear sirens. The cops will be here soon. Luis should have the car here by now. Get Sienna into the car” he directed at the Guardian. “We’ll be right behind you.”

  Jason gave him a searching glance but didn’t argue. The two wizards hurried down the stairs after a last lingering look at Tasia, who now lay slumped in the Alpha’s arms with her eyes closed.

  There was a sickening sound of wood cutting through bone before Hawk straightened up.

  “It’s done” Hawk said quietly.

  “We need to get going, witchling” Raoul prompted softly.

  “Need a minute. Just one more” she muttered without opening her eyes.

  “Make sure the coast is clear” Raoul directed at Hawk who watched Tasia with troubled eyes. Hawk nodded. He made his way downstairs, watchful of any movement. The house lay still and silent. The leeches remained knocked out.

  The Alpha waited, holding his natural impatience at bay.

  “Time’s up, Big Eyes” he warned after the minute had passed, before striding out into the hallway outside.

  “I’m done, thank you” she responded softly.

  “Hold on” he clasped her tighter to him. For her part, Tasia locked her arms more securely around his neck. She felt dizzy and weak from her encounter with the vampires, short as it had been. The blood loss didn’t help either. The urgency of ensuring that no evidence of her magic was left behind for any Blutsauger to find had kept the adrenaline pumping in her. That night in San Francisco at the leech nest, she had bled out a lot more. But the chances of anyone detecting her particular brand of power and tying it back to her had been remote with the place chock full of Shifters and vampires. This incident posed greater danger to her. That she’d understood the moment she had recognized her kidnappers as Blutsaugers.

  Now that both the vampire and all evidence of her magic had been disposed of, she allowed herself to succumb to reaction from her terrifyingly traumatic encounter. The feel of the hard and warm body of the man who carried her reminded her inexplicably of their first meeting in San Francisco all those weeks ago. The memory had a soothing effect on Tasia. It helped calm her down from the panic she had experienced at that keening cry from the vampire. Only two Blutsaugers had ever died at her hands but since that first death, Tasia could now recognize that particular high-pitched cry. The cry had cut through her pain and shock for she’d known immediately what it signified – the Blutsauger had tasted her blood.

  The Alpha leapt down the stairs with his fair burden, three at a time, to land nimbly on his feet like a cat. Tasia slipped a small palm under the tee shirt he wore to feel the warm expanse of his skin. He tensed abruptly at her touch, directing a penetrating look at her. She sensed his glance but ignored it to place her hand gently over his heart. It beat strongly and steadily under her palm, not missing a single beat.

  “You must be a cat” Tasia remarked dreamily, light-headed by the loss of blood.

  “Must I?” he glanced around to observe Luis wave at him from across the road. Sienna and Jason were in the car while Hawk waited by the rear seat.

  “Your beast” Tasia explained confusedly. “I meant that your beast form must be a cat. Is it?”

  “A Shifter’s beast is a very private affair, revealed only to his Pack and his lover. Are you sure that you wish to know?” he sprinted towards the car with her. He could hear the sirens getting louder. The cops were very close.

  “I think you’re a cat” insisted a woozy Tasia, ignoring his question. “You certainly move as gracefully as one. You know, when I first met you, you reminded me of a handsome cat I had as a child” she confided trustingly. “Like you, Tiger was supremely arrogant and very aloof but he’d always purr for me.”

  “And why was that?” inquired Raoul, struggling to keep a straight face.

  “I think the trick was to pet him just the way he liked it” she answered easily, a confession borne of a complete lack of self-awareness. The severe blood loss had induced a dreamy haziness in Tasia. It loosened her inhibitions, leading her to confidences she would never have bestowed on him under normal circumstances.

  “And have you figured out how I like to be stroked?” Raoul inquired silkily, inordinately amused by the stream of unfettered revelations from a groggy Tasia.

  A car screeched to a halt in front of the leech house, three men spilling out of it to race towards the house. Raoul stopped in mid-stride to stare at the car.

  “I’d never dare” observed Tasia irrepressibly, oblivious to the unfolding events around her. “You can be pretty scary. Tiger would never have harmed me. You, I think would draw blood without a second thought if I so much as got within striking distance
of you.”

  One of the men paused to stare at Raoul and the girl in his arms even as the rest of his companions disappeared into the house. The man glanced from the illuminated entryway of the house with the broken door that swung drunkenly from its hinges to the Alpha. In that brief moment as their eyes met in the near darkness, Raoul recognized him. Rafaelo Bianchi, the leech from the Lombardi Nest – the guy who’d helped Lady Bethesda break into The Vault.

  “Try me, Big Eyes” his voice was whisper soft as he resumed his sprint towards their car. “I might surprise you.”

  The vampire stared after him silently, seemingly struck by his presence on the scene. Raoul had the feeling that he’d managed to surprise the leech. Hawk helped tuck Tasia in the backseat of their rented SUV before slipping in after her. Raoul jumped into the passenger seat beside Luis. The car took off without delay, the tires squealing on the tarmac.

  “Did you get a good look at the guy staring at you?” Jason inquired from the backseat.

  “Rafaelo Bianchi” Raoul’s answer was succinct.

  “Bianchi” Jason whistled softly, clearly surprised by the turn of events.

  “We have company” Luis cautioned, glancing at the rearview mirror. Raoul craned his neck. It looked like Bianchi and his leeches. They had abandoned their unconscious companions in the house to follow them. Or more likely left behind some of their leeches to sanitize the scene before the cops got there.

  “Forget them” Raoul directed. “The priority is to get the witchling back to the Guest House. She needs medical attention. They’ll never engage us out in the open. That would break the Supreme Edict.”

  Jason’s phone trilled abruptly. “It’s the GCW” he explained briefly before taking the call.

  “LaRue. I have her, thanks to the Shifters.”

  “No, I don’t have all the information yet. For now, it points to vampires. Someone from the Lombardi Nest.”

  He glanced at the Alpha, engaged in a low-voiced conversation with Luis.