Rogue

by Karen Lynch

  We had more than our love of the ocean in common. Emma’s favorite hobby had been painting, and she’d even hoped to study art in college. I’d dabbled in painting at one point, but drawing was my thing, even though I hadn’t done much of it lately. I found a pencil and a notepad and drew her as we talked about everything from art supplies to our favorite subjects. I mostly did drawings of people I knew and creatures I’d met. She preferred landscapes, especially the coast.

  At noon Jordan arrived with sandwiches. For dinner, she brought us plates of chicken and pasta. After each meal, I stacked the plates on the table in the hall, and Emma and I continued talking.

  By nine o’clock that night, Emma began to show signs of fatigue. I convinced her to try to get some sleep, and told her I’d be close by if she needed me. I left her room, rubbing my tired eyes, and found Nikolas in the hall waiting for me. Wordlessly, I walked into his arms and hugged him tightly. All day I’d been strong for Emma, but with Nikolas, I could let my guard down and show the toll today had taken on me. He held me and rubbed my back as I cried quietly into his shirt.

  The next morning, Emma was in better shape, emotionally and physically. Jordan went out with Chris to buy a few changes of clothes for us, and Emma was more comfortable once she’d cleaned up and put on fresh clothing.

  After lunch, she agreed to talk to Chris about her knowledge of the vampire comings and goings in Las Vegas. I’d asked Chris to talk to her because he was more easygoing and less intimidating than the other warriors. I sat with them as he questioned her about vampire numbers and locations of nests. At first she was hesitant until we assured her that none of the things she’d done as a vampire would make us think less of her. She did not remember who the Master was, but she knew a lot about the vampire activity here, and she shared it all with us.

  When the interview was over, Chris gave her a warm smile. “Thank you, Emma. I know that had to be very difficult for you. The information you gave us will help save a lot of lives.”

  “I’m glad,” she replied timidly, looking like a tiny bit of the guilt she carried had been lifted from her shoulders.

  That evening Nikolas took me aside and told me we were leaving Las Vegas in the morning. The Mohiri were sending more teams into the city in a coordinated attack on the vampires, based on the information we’d gotten from Emma. Nikolas didn’t want me or Jordan anywhere near the city when that happened.

  “What about Emma? We have to take her with us.”

  “I talked to Tristan about her, and he said she is welcome at Westhorne if she wants to come with us.”

  I hugged him so hard he laughed. When I asked about Oscar and our things in California, he said Raoul was taking care of everything.

  I went to tell Emma the news. She wasn’t as excited as I was, and I knew it was because she was afraid of being around that many Mohiri after spending the last two decades as our mortal enemy. It took a lot of persuasion to get her to agree to give it a shot since I couldn’t tell her exactly where we were going until we got there. I told her how beautiful and safe it was there, and that she could leave whenever she wanted. I made sure she knew it was her choice and whatever she decided, I’d still help her. Finally, she gave me a small smile and said she would go with us.

  When we boarded the Mohiri jet the next day, I was so excited about going home I could barely sit still. The four warriors who had come from California with us were staying on in Vegas, so it was just me, Nikolas, Jordan, Chris, and Emma on the plane. Even when the pilot told us there would be a short delay because of air traffic, it couldn’t dampen my mood. In a few hours I’d see Nate, Tristan, and Desmund. I couldn’t wait to see Sahir and hug Hugo and Woolf.

  Chris laughed as I left Jordan in the front row and moved down to sit with Emma in the middle. “Are we going to have to tie you to your seat so we can take off?” he teased.

  “When the pilot says we’re leaving, I’ll be the first one buckled in.”

  A minute later, the pilot’s voice came over the intercom to tell us to take our seats.

  Emma was quiet beside me. I knew she was still nervous about Westhorne, so I buckled in next to her to keep her company during the flight. Once we were in the air, I pulled out the notepad and pencil I’d taken from the house and doodled on it as we talked about Westhorne.

  “Is that where we’re going?” she asked.

  I looked at the outline of a building I’d been sketching. It was a large house and made of stone. I was halfway through adding what looked like a turret.

  “It looks sort of like a castle,” Emma commented.

  “It does, doesn’t it?” My brow furrowed as I studied the partial drawing. Where had I seen this house before? I dredged through my memories and came up blank. Strange. I’d obviously seen it somewhere. Why else would I draw it?

  I put my pencil to the page and continued to finish the turret. Soon, my hand was flying over the page until the finished picture lay before me. There were four turrets in all, and the front of the building had ten windows and a large door that I’d drawn in detail down to the carved door knocker.

  Emma picked it up for a better look. “This is really good. I don’t know why, but it kind of gives me the willies.”

  “Yeah, me too.” I stared at the drawing. The longer I looked at it, the more I felt like tearing the page from the notepad and crumpling it up. Something tickled the edge of my memory, but every time I tried to focus on it, it slipped away.

  “You know” – Emma held the drawing away from her to study it from a different angle – “for some reason, I feel like I’ve seen this place before.”

  Her words were like a key unlocking a memory that I hadn’t known was there. Suddenly, an image of the house appeared in my mind. Only it wasn’t my memory I was looking at. It belonged to the vamhir demon I’d pulled it from two days ago. The same demon that used to live inside Emma. The same demon that had gone with its maker, Eli, to see his master.

  “It can’t be.” I took the notepad from Emma with shaking hands.

  “What’s wrong?” Nikolas appeared beside me. His eyes immediately went to Emma who shrank away from him.

  “This.” I held the drawing up for him to see. My initial shock was passing and excitement was building in my chest. “This is his house.”

  Nikolas frowned in confusion. “Whose house?”

  “The Master’s.”

  Emma gasped. Chris and Jordan crowded in behind Nikolas.

  “What are you talking about?” Nikolas took the notepad from me. He peered at the drawing then looked at me and Emma. “Did she tell you that?”

  “No. I drew it from memory, from a memory I took from the vamhir demon before I killed it.”

  “You took the demon’s memory?” Jordan asked, wide-eyed.

  “I asked it about the Master and it showed me this house. I forgot about it with everything else that happened.”

  Nikolas handed the notepad to Chris who studied it closely. “How do you know this is the Master’s house?”

  “I don’t for sure, but something feels off about it. Emma feels it, too.”

  Emma nodded. “It gives me the creeps, and it seems familiar.”

  “I told you what Emma said about the Master being so paranoid that he compels other vampires to forget him. Eli took her with him when he visited the Master and she was compelled to forget. But no one can erase your mind that completely, and I think I found a memory he missed.”

  Chris exhaled loudly. “Jesus, if that’s true...”

  “We need to get this to our guys as soon as possible,” Nikolas said.

  “Already on it.” Chris whipped out his phone and snapped a photo of the drawing then fired off an email to someone.

  I took a photo of the drawing with my phone as well. “I’m sending this to David. If anyone can find this house, it’s him and Kelvan.”

  No one argued, so I texted David, asking him if he could locate the house for me. He replied with a smiley face and asked if I was jo
king. I told him not to worry, that the Mohiri were on it. His last text said he’d get back to me soon.

  When the pilot announced our approach into Boise my pulse picked up. We were almost home.

  “Boise? That’s where you live?” Emma asked.

  “Not quite. It’s about an hour away.”

  I grinned when I saw the two red-haired warriors waiting for us when we left the plane. It seemed fitting somehow that Seamus and Niall were the ones to drive Jordan and me home, after the way we’d left Westhorne. The little smirk on Jordan’s face told me she was having similar thoughts.

  The twins took the front seats, and Nikolas and Chris took the middle. That left the last row of the large SUV for me, Jordan, and Emma. Within minutes we were on the road toward home.

  Jordan and I told Emma about Westhorne while the four warriors talked among themselves. It started to snow, and Emma said she didn’t have boots or a coat, or anything else for that matter. I laughed when I saw a familiar gleam in Jordan’s eye. Poor Emma. Jordan had just found a new dress-up doll. I really hoped my new friend liked shopping.

  “You’ll like Terrence and Josh.” Jordan moved on to the subject of boys. “They’re pretty cool.”

  I missed her next words as cold bloomed in my chest. “Vampires!”

  Nikolas and Chris turned around at the same time to stare at me just as something slammed into us from behind. We jerked forward violently in our seats. Shouts filled the SUV as it swerved toward the edge of the icy road before Seamus got it under control.

  My stomach and chest hurt from the seat belt, but I twisted in the seat to look behind us as a large white van with tinted windows and a crumpled grill came at us again. Emma let out a terrified scream, and I pulled her against me to shield her as much as I could. Jordan covered Emma’s other side, and the three of us clung to each other as the other vehicle plowed into us.

  “Jesus Christ!” one of the twins yelled as we skidded across the shoulder and flipped down the embankment.

  Chapter 23

  The SUV rolled over twice and landed hard against a large tree at the bottom of the ten-foot drop. It was lying on the passenger side, and I found myself hanging by my seat belt over Emma and Jordan.

  “Sara?” Nikolas released himself from his seat belt and reached for me. “Are you hurt?”

  My whole body ached, but I didn’t think anything was broken. “No.”

  “Stay with Emma,” he said as he helped Chris to his feet. Then he pulled up the seat he’d been sitting on and the two of them grabbed swords. Seamus and Niall were already jumping through the front driver’s window with swords in hand. Within seconds, Nikolas and Chris were out of the vehicle and speeding up the embankment.

  A scream tore through the air.

  Jordan climbed over the seat and withdrew a sword from the weapons stash. “Help Emma,” she said before she followed the others.

  More screams. Shouts.

  “Emma, can you move?”

  “Yes.” There was a click and she fell against the side window. She moved into the cargo area to give me room.

  I braced my feet against the seat in front of me as I reached for my seat belt buckle. It wasn’t enough to hold me, and I tumbled to the other side. Groaning, I climbed into the back with Emma, who stared at me with eyes glazed over from shock.

  “Sara,” she gripped my arm tightly and cried over the sounds of fighting above us on the road. “Please, don’t let them take me again.”

  “I won’t.” I silently prayed I could keep that promise.

  We were sitting ducks in the overturned SUV. If I was going to defend us, we had to get out of this thing. I tried to push open the cargo door, but it was wedged against a tree.

  Scrambling into the back seat, I grabbed a dagger from the remaining weapons and slammed the hilt into the passenger side window. The window shattered on the fourth blow and glass sprayed over the snow, leaving about eighteen inches of space between the door and the ground.

  “Follow me.” I squeezed through the opening. Emma came behind me and we pushed through the snow and trees. Snow fell thickly around us.

  I came up short when I heard another vehicle approaching. Tires screeched. More shouts filled the air. I shoved Emma behind a clump of snow-covered underbrush. “Stay down.”

  A figure appeared at the top of the embankment, and his eyes narrowed on me. His lips curled to reveal long fangs.

  The vampire came at me like a mountain lion pouncing on its prey. He hit me before I could react, and I flew backward into the snow with him on top of me. My head banged against a tree, and the weight of him knocked the wind from me. I struggled to breathe as he rose up with a triumphant gleam in his eyes. Instead of attacking, he jumped to his feet and slung me over his shoulder. I was too dazed to fight him or call out before he plunged into the trees.

  He was old, and he moved fast. We were a half-mile away from the SUV before I was able to catch my breath and summon enough power to bring him to his knees.

  He dropped me, and I rolled a few feet in the snow. I rose up on my hands and knees, but he was on me again before I could stand. The blow to my face stunned me, and I was helpless when he pressed me facedown into the snow. I choked on the fresh powder, and panic filled me as I fought for air. I struggled to throw him off me as blackness closed in.

  “Not so strong now, are you?” he spat, his claws digging into my back through my jacket.

  My body grew heavy. Soon I’d be unconscious and completely at his mercy. In desperation I let power flood my body and heard his hiss of pain.

  Suddenly, the weight was gone from my back. I tried to move, but my body refused to cooperate. I heard the sounds of fighting as if they came from a long tunnel. A vampire screeched.

  Someone rolled me over. I coughed as I sucked air into my starved lungs.

  “Sara!” The fear in Nikolas’s voice made my eyes fly open.

  “Nikolas,” I rasped.

  He stood, lifting me into his arms while still holding his sword. “It’s an ambush. I have to get you out of here.”

  “What about the others?”

  “It’s you they want.”

  “But Emma –”

  The words died on my lips as five vampires materialized in front of us. Nikolas lowered me to my feet and pulled me behind him. There was no way he could fight off five mature vampires and protect me at the same time. Power flowed to my hands until they glowed, casting an eerie white light over the small clearing we were in. Five pairs of eyes turned to me.

  Nikolas blurred and one of the vampires screeched when his severed arm landed in the snow. Four of the vampires began to circle Nikolas. The fifth one came at me.

  The vampire hit me so fast I was momentarily stunned. Claws raked my throat, and I spun off balance. He grabbed for me again, and as soon as his hand closed over my arm, I turned my body into his and brought my other hand up to his throat. He bellowed at the power in my touch, and backhanded me so hard my head snapped back and I saw stars. He could have killed me with one blow, but he struck only hard enough to stun me. The knowledge that he wanted me alive drove my fear to an even greater height, and I screamed as I lunged for him again. This time my hand slammed into his chest. He let out a strangled cry and fell face-first into the snow.

  I moved in to finish him and Nikolas shouted, “Sara, look out!”

  I spun to find two more vampires standing ten feet away from me. The female reached into her coat and pulled out a gun. A vampire with a gun? I thought a second before she pointed it at me and fired.

  For one heart-stopping moment I waited for a bullet to pierce my chest, and I knew with unwavering certainty that I was going to die. All I could think of in that moment was Nikolas.

  Instead of agonizing pain, all I felt was a sharp sting in my right shoulder. I stared down in shock at the tiny dart sticking out of my coat. Had they tried to use a tranquillizer on me? They could not know that most drugs didn’t work on the Mohiri because of our accelerated metab
olism and healing. Or maybe they thought it would work on me because I was only half Mohiri.

  The two vampires began walking toward me. Either they were confident they could take me or they expected the drug to knock me out at any second. I wasn’t going without a fight. I summoned my power.

  Nothing happened.

  I reached down inside for my power. I could see it swirling at my core, I could feel its heat, but it refused to come. It was as if an invisible wall had sprung up between me and my magic, cutting me off from it.

  Blood pounded in my ears as I lifted my eyes to the female vampire who wore a knowing smile. What had she done to me? I backed away, though I knew there was no escape.

  Behind me, I could hear Nikolas battling the other vampires. I almost cried out his name, but it froze on my tongue. If I distracted him, he could die. Terror threatened to smother me. I had no weapons, and I was helpless against two vampires without my power.

  Nikolas made a sound somewhere between a growl and a shout as the vampires stalked me. They halted and turned wary eyes toward him. I didn’t need to see him to know he had gone into a full-blown rage. It might be the only thing that saved him.

  God, please keep him safe, I prayed.

  Without my power, there was no wall between me and my Mori and I felt its fear for Nikolas acutely. Come, I told it. We joined and its strength filled me. I didn’t know if it was enough to fight off two vampires, but I would do anything to keep them from taking me from Nikolas. He and I would survive together or we would die together.

  Another growl filled the woods and it swiftly turned into a roar. The trees shook and snow fell off them in clumps as a dark shape zoomed over the tops of them.

  My mind barely had time to register the scaled body and leathery wings before the wyvern dove at the two vampires who had stopped to stare at him in shock. Their surprise quickly turned to terror, but they had waited too long to flee. The female screamed as flames engulfed her.