Soulless at Sunset

by Deanna Chase

  “I know you thought he was a decent guy who only had the pack’s best interests at heart,” I said diplomatically.

  He snorted out a laugh. “You know, I think that’s probably true. It’s too bad he was also willing to lie, cheat, and murder to get the results he wanted. And damned if he wasn’t good at the lying.” Dax shook his head and let out an embarrassed laugh. “I didn’t get to tell you. Earlier in the day, he made me his beta. Wanted me to be his second-in-command.”

  My eyes widened. “But he knew you were with the Arcane. And you’d only been with the pack for a short time. Was he serious?”

  Dax shrugged one shoulder. “Yeah. He fed me a bunch of bullshit, which I swallowed hook, line, and sinker, and I guess he thought he had me completely snowed. I’m embarrassed to admit that for a few hours there, he did. But then things started to not add up, and that’s how Leo and I ended up following Dali out to English Turn. I guess you could say my Spidey-sense was tingling.”

  “I bet it was,” I said, leaning into him and slipping my arm through his. “I’m sorry about our fight at the safe house. I just did what I had to do.”

  He paused and moved me to stand right in front of him. “You have nothing to apologize for. Your instincts were spot-on, as usual. I was the one who let my bias against Allcot get in the way.”

  I pressed one hand to his cheek and lifted up on my tiptoes to give him a soft kiss. “It’s over. We’re both back on the same team. Now let’s go get my best friend and her husband out of there.”

  His dark eyes bored into mine for another moment.

  Imogen cleared her throat. “Um guys, I think you might want to save the relationship talk for later. Because right now we have a problem.”

  I spun around, realizing we were only a few houses away from the French château–style mansion, and then spotted them. “Fuck. Can’t we catch a break?”

  “Not tonight,” Dax said and dove forward, instantly shifting into wolf form just as Leo had done a few minutes earlier. He took off like a lightning bolt, and Link followed him.

  I glanced at Imogen. “Ready to kick some demon ass?”

  “As ready as I’ll ever be.”

  “Good. ’Cause right about now, I’m really glad you didn’t stay in that car.” I grabbed her hand, tapped into her power, and poured every bit of raw magic I could muster at the dozen shadow demons headed straight for us.

  24

  Our magic crackled and popped and sizzled as it bounced off the demon creatures surrounding us. They were on the short side, maybe five feet tall, wide set, big hands and feet, and oversized heads that had two rows of teeth both top and bottom in their disgusting maws.

  If one of us was unlucky enough to be bitten, it could be fatal, though Imogen could probably survive with her healer magic. And if she got to the rest of us fast enough, we might be saved, but it wasn’t something I wanted to risk. Instead, I continued to throw white-hot magic at them, battling away at their magical reserves. And when one broke through my magical assault and flew right toward me, I whipped my dagger out and prayed.

  My trusty blade slid easily into the demon’s torso. The demon instantly froze, and to my intense satisfaction, when I yanked the blade out, brilliant white light filled the demon and then exploded, annihilating the nasty thing from the earth.

  “Fuck yes! Do that again,” Imogen said.

  I grinned at her. “That was a fair bit of luck, wouldn’t you say?”

  “Looked like skill from here,” she said and jumped out of the way as another one came for us.

  I lunged, getting this one in the back and laughed when it disappeared into thin air just like the first one. The rest of the demons let out a cry of frustration and turned, running in the opposite direction.

  “No one can accuse them of being stupid,” I said.

  “True enough,” Imogen agreed, her eyes narrowing as we closed in on the house. The demons had retreated, but they hadn’t given up the fight. The ten that were left had doubled up and were going after Allcot’s six backup vampires.

  Since they were immortal, the demons’ nasty poison most likely wouldn’t kill them, but those jaws sure could do a number. Dark blood had started to stain the sidewalk in the dusky morning light, and if we didn’t so something soon, the demons were just going to eat the vampires alive.

  “Here, take this.” I handed a sun-spelled stake to Imogen. “I think this will stop them in their tracks. It appears light is what they’re most averse to.”

  She took the stake and nodded.

  “You sure you’re up for this?” I asked her.

  Her eyes narrowed as she watched one of the demons go after Harrison, the same vampire who’d helped us earlier. “Damned straight.” Then she took off, her stake raised.

  I said a prayer that she had some sort of combat training and then sprinted to catch up and launched myself into the fray.

  The fight was pure chaos. The vampires were at a disadvantage as there didn’t appear to be any way for them to kill the demons. They weren’t actually of this realm, and killing them seemed damned near impossible. The only thing that seemed to work was the light infused in my weapons. But getting the vampires to understand that while in the middle of a battle proved to be a challenge.

  And because the demons had watched as I ghosted two of their own, none of them would come near either me or Imogen. I glanced at her, held up my blade and said, “Watch this.”

  Then I bolted to Harrison, who was holding one demon by the neck and trying to fight off two more with his free hand. I aimed for the one he had by the neck. With one stab of my dagger, the demon was toast.

  Harrison stared at his empty hand for a half second, then reached for another one and held it out to me. I repeated the motion, and we killed two more before the rest of the demons realized what was going on and tried to flee. But it was too late. The vampires had caught on, and though they were bloody and battered, they kept the demons in place while Imogen and I finished them off.

  When the last demon was gone, we stood in the middle of the vampires and took a bow.

  “Thanks, boys,” I said. “You made that really easy.”

  Harrison grinned at us. “Thank you. Now get in there and help Eadric find my girl Willow. You tell them that if anything’s happened to her, they’ll have hell to pay.”

  “About a dozen times over,” I said to him, nodding. “Whistle if any more of those nasty creatures show up. Imogen and I have you covered.”

  Harrison gave us a mock salute and ushered us into the house.

  I crept into the silent house, Imogen behind me, and strained to hear any sounds or movement.

  Nothing.

  I glanced back at Imogen, raising my eyebrows in question. She shook her head.

  Okay. Think, Phoebe, I told myself. Where would a room with no windows be? The basement would’ve been my first choice, but New Orleans was at sea level and in some places slightly below. Any basement in a house in this town would be waterlogged. Middle of the house, maybe?

  A crash came from upstairs, followed by a scream I’d recognize anywhere.

  “Willow!” I cried and took off up the ornate staircase. As soon as we got to the top of the stairs, I slammed into an invisible wall and was thrown back. I bounced backward off the top step and let out a cry as I fell, tumbling down the stairs.

  Pain blossomed in my left arm, and my head slammed into one of the stairs before I came to an abrupt stop. The world spun around me and my stomach rolled with nausea. “Fuck me,” I said. “That shit hurt.”

  Imogen peered down at me. “Anything broken?”

  I gingerly pushed myself up into a sitting position and realized I’d stopped about midway. Or, more accurately, Imogen had stopped me from rolling headfirst down the rest of the stairs with a freezing spell. “I don’t think so,” I said and took her hand as she helped me up. “Thanks.”

  “No problem. Want to tell me what happened up there?” She nodded to the top of the stairs.


  “Barrier spell. I didn’t see it and bounced right off.”

  “Morena’s work?” she asked, referring to the sorceress.

  “I think so.” The idea that Morena could be upstairs casting her spells on all the people I loved made my head ache with fear and pure rage. That bitch was going down, and if she’d hurt any of them, I’d kill her twice and three times on Sunday. “Come on. We have a barrier to shatter.”

  When Imogen and I got to the top of the stairs, I lifted my hand and pushed. Heat built and concentrated in my palm, then started to burn. I yanked my hand back and shook my head. Like a little heat shield was going to keep me out. I clutched the hilt of my dagger, raised it up, and glanced over at Imogen. She did the same with her stake, and I mouthed, On three.

  She nodded, and after I mouthed the countdown, we both jabbed our weapons into the invisible wall.

  Nothing happened. Nothing at all. Our weapons had pierced the wall but hadn’t made a difference. I gritted my teeth and scowled.

  “It’s probably spelled to withstand those types of blows,” Imogen whispered. “Try slashing.”

  I raised my eyebrows for just a moment then nodded. “Let’s do it.” This time I didn’t bother to try to remain quiet. I just counted down, and on three we each attacked the wall with everything we had.

  Slash. Slash. Slash.

  Cracks started to form in the invisible fabric, lit up by the magic crackling over the surface.

  “More!” I cried.

  Slash. Slash. Slash.

  A rumble that sounded a lot like thunder started to roll, and I intensified my attack. More cracks. More rumbling.

  Boom!

  The magical barrier shattered, sending flickers of light everywhere. Shouts and cries from a battle raging nearby assaulted my senses and I realized then the barrier hadn’t just been keeping us out, it had silenced our friends too. I wasn’t sure how I’d heard Willow cry out. Maybe she’d been trying to reach me with her mind. I didn’t know and I didn’t care. All that mattered was joining the fight.

  I ran flat out again, already knowing there weren’t any more magical barriers. Not with the noise coming from down the hall. Imogen was right behind me… until she wasn’t. I was just about to burst through the door when I felt her sudden absence.

  “Imogen?” I called, spinning around. My insides went cold as my eyes landed on the back of the redheaded vampire dragging her into a room at the other end of the hall. If Carter was down there, what was going on in the room right in front of me?

  “Shit!” I couldn’t leave Imogen to Carter’s devices. There was no telling what he was up to. On the other hand, everything inside me said if I opened the door, I’d find Willow.

  Gritting my teeth and praying Allcot, Dax, and Pandora had Willow covered, I took off down the hall and barreled into the room after Carter. And that’s when I knew something was terribly wrong.

  25

  My heart nearly stopped. Bandu was lying on the bed, blood smeared from the bite marks on his neck, apparently unconscious while Carter held the stake I’d given to Imogen at her throat. Two things were crystal clear in that moment. Carter wouldn’t hesitate to kill her if she didn’t do what he wanted. And if Carter had Bandu in this room and no one had come after them, then the people I loved most were in serious trouble.

  “Heal him,” Carter ordered her.

  “I-I can’t,” she stammered, meeting my eyes, fear shining back at me.

  Carter jabbed the stake at her neck, breaking the skin. She winced as he hissed, “I said, heal him.”

  I took two tentative steps, not sure if Carter had even noticed me. But if he hadn’t, I didn’t want to startle him.

  “I’ll try,” Imogen said.

  “You’d better do more than just try.”

  Imogen’s eyes were still locked on mine when I nodded and mouthed, Try. Try anything.

  She swallowed and laid her hands on the shifter’s body. Light began to glow from her palms and spread over the limp shifter.

  “Carter?” I said softly. “What happened to him?”

  The vampire’s eyes flashed as he glared at me. “Get out. Get out! Get the fuck out!”

  I let my dagger fall to the floor and raised my hands in a surrender motion. “I can help her. With the two of us, the magic is more powerful.”

  He flicked his gaze from me to her and back again. “You’re a liar.”

  I shook my head. “No, I’m not. At least not about this. We work well together. We got past the demons and the magical wall, didn’t we?”

  His eyebrows pinched together as if he wasn’t quite sure what I was talking about, and then he jerked his head, indicating I should come forward. “If you try anything, I’ll kill her on the spot.”

  “Understood.” There was no doubt in my mind that he’d live up to that promise. The stake was hovering right over her carotid artery.

  I stepped up to the bed, standing just across from Imogen. I placed my hands over hers and squeezed. Her magic rippled over my skin, and it was easy to see she wasn’t even trying to heal the shifter. She was just sending light over him. I sent her a small smile, approving her thought process. If there was any opening, any opening at all, we might be able to stun the vampire with a blast of light. It was risky. Risky as hell to be sure since I already knew my sun agate hadn’t stopped him. But I was sure a powerful blast from the two of us would at least knock him on his ass. Hopefully I wasn’t wrong about that.

  “It’s not working,” the vampire snapped. “If he dies, I’ll rip both your heads off.”

  “How original,” I muttered.

  “Keep it up, Kilsen, and I’ll take yours just for the fun of it.”

  “Nice pillow talk you have there, Carter. Is that how you bagged Bandu here?” I smiled sweetly at him as I called up my magic.

  He scowled and said something about me being a first class bitch but clamped his mouth shut when he saw the magic sparking over my fingers. His eyes were glued to our hands, and armed with the knowledge he wouldn’t hesitate to kill us both if Bandu died, I knew we had to try. I also knew that Imogen hadn’t been lying when she said she couldn’t heal him. Healers couldn’t just fix blood loss. That required a transfusion. And since Bandu was a shifter, it required shifter blood. So if he lost too much blood from whatever had bitten him, and I was guessing it was one of the demons by the shape of the bite, he might already be a lost cause. But if we could breathe a little life into him, it would buy us time with Carter.

  “Imogen,” I said.

  Her gaze flickered to mine. “Yeah?”

  “Let’s try a massive infusion of energy.”

  Doubt flickered over her face, but when I cut my gaze to Carter for a just a moment, she seemed to get my message. She nodded and sucked in a deep breath. Light glowed under her skin, and I was awed at the sight of her building her power.

  She placed her hands flat over his chest, and I placed mine over hers. And in the next moment, she unleashed her powerful healer magic. I sent mine, joining with her yet again, almost getting lost in the gorgeous beauty of her energy.

  Goddamn, I thought. If this didn’t bring him back, nothing would. Sweet, cool magic mixed with mine, fortifying it as I held it in my mind’s eye and sent it all pumping into Bandu’s chest. He lit up like a Christmas tree, nearly coming right off the bed. Both Imogen and I jumped back. Light continued to cling to him, flickering like twinkling lights all over his skin.

  “What are you doing?” Carter roared at us. “Keep—”

  Bandu suddenly sucked in a desperate breath, let it out, and then his chest began to rise and fall in a thready but rhythmic fashion.

  “Oh my God. You’re alive,” he said, knocking Imogen out of the way and throwing his body over Bandu’s.

  Holy hellfire. Was Carter that big of an idiot? The answer appeared to be yes, because as I bent down to retrieve my dagger, Carter didn’t move. He just held tight to his lover, fighting back tears.

  I, however, was
unmoved. Carter cared for no one but himself and Bandu. And even then, he cared more about having Bandu by his side than he did about Bandu’s soul. It hadn’t escaped my notice that while Bandu had ultimately gone along with Carter’s plan, he’d done so to please Carter. The sacrifices, the lies, the corruption, it had been more than Bandu could shoulder. And while none of that let Bandu off the hook for his crimes, Carter was the one with no remorse, no moral compass, no empathy for anyone else.

  And I was done. He would not live another day to order another sacrifice of an innocent soul.

  “Say goodbye, Carter,” I said.

  “Not today, Kilsen.” Like most vampires, Carter moved so fast he was barely a blur. One second he was lying on Bandu’s chest and the next he was behind me, nearly breaking my wrists with his iron-vise grip. “Drop the dagger.”

  “No,” I said, embracing my defiance.

  His fingers squeezed and pain shot up my arm. I let out a cry as my knees tried to buckle from the agony, but I forced myself to stay upright and whipped my head back, catching him squarely in the nose. His bones made a nauseating crunching sound, and I knew I’d hit the bullseye.

  “You fucking whore,” he said and threw me to the side.

  I stumbled, let myself fall, and rolled while Imogen let out something that sounded like a battle cry. When I scrambled back onto my feet, my eyes grew wide as I stared at Carter. The gold stake I’d given Imogen was lodged in his chest. He teetered back and forth, back and forth, then crashed backward, landing on his back, his unfocused eyes open and staring at the ceiling.

  “Holy shit! How did you do that?”

  “I just threw it.” She shook her head. “I have no idea.”

  “I mean, what did you do to the stake? The last time I tried to dust his ass, it didn’t work. He actually pulled my dagger right out of his chest and took off.”

  We both turned and stared at the statue-like vampire lying on the floor.