Relentless (Vampire Awakenings Book 11)

by Brenda K. Davies

  Through the melee, he spotted Zan lifting Bull off the ground and throwing the massive man over his shoulder. Zan stiff-armed his way through some of the fighters as flames shot up the wall behind him.

  The bartender jumped onto the plywood bar and over top of it to the other side. Someone swung a punch at her, but she ducked the blow and drove her fist into the vamp’s gut.

  More humans fled toward the door, but many of the vamps were still so intent on killing each other they didn’t realize the fire was spreading. When Dante looked back, he spotted the red and orange flames spreading across the ceiling as thick, black smoke rolled toward them.

  His grip on Cassidy tightened; he had to get her out of here. The crowd parted enough for him to catch a glimpse of the door only thirty feet away. The humans squashed against it, beat on its surface as they screamed.

  “Are we locked in here?” Cassidy breathed.

  He didn’t want to believe it, but he couldn’t deny what his eyes were seeing. However, he held out hope that in their terror, they couldn’t get the door open as the ones in front were crushed against it.

  The vamps who hadn’t given in to their bloodthirstiness also crowded the door. Blood streaked the silver barricade as vamps and humans ripped the flesh from their fingers as they clawed at the door.

  “I’m going to get you out of here,” he vowed.

  Cassidy struggled against the panic rising to choke the air from her as more humans beat and hammered at the door. She doubted much sound escaped the building, and if it did, there weren’t many around to hear it. Besides, by the time help arrived, this place would be engulfed in flames, and it would already be too late.

  “Zan!” Dante bellowed over the shrieks and spreading fire. “How do we open the door?”

  Sweat beaded Zan’s brow and rolled down his face as he ran toward them with Bull. The heat of the place was bad before, but now it was nearly overwhelming. However, the vamps so caught up in the battle, and the humans they took down, continued to fight and feed.

  Someone punched the side of Bull’s head. It lulled to the side as Zan spun on the offender, lifted his foot, and placing it in the attacker’s gut, shoved the vamp into the flames.

  Dante jerked Cassidy out of the way when a vamp charged out of the smoke at them. The man’s eyes were a vivid red, and blood dripped from his fangs. Dante recognized him as the vamp who killed the woman. Completely out of control, the monster was looking to make Dante pay for taking away his meal.

  Pushing Cassidy behind him, Dante ducked the punch the vamp threw at him and sank his fist into the vamp’s stomach. Air erupted from the creature’s lungs as Dante lowered his shoulder and, lifting him, flipped the vamp over his shoulder. The vamp’s fingers clawed at Dante’s back and caught on the jagged piece of stool embedded in him.

  Dante grunted and stifled a shout as the vamp tore the wood from his back before hitting the ground. He spun to face his attacker as the vamp lunged to his feet and swung viciously at him. The jagged piece of wood sliced his shirt open as the vamp aimed for his heart.

  Cassidy’s panic over being trapped in this place vanished when the vamp lunged at Dante again. Cold anger descended over her as she removed a stake from her jacket and ran at the man. If her brothers and sisters taught her anything, it was how to fight and how to defend herself.

  The vamp was so focused on killing Dante that he didn’t see Cassidy coming. When he swung the makeshift stake at Dante again, Cassidy attacked. Her lip curled in revulsion as flesh and bone gave way and her stake plunged into the vamp’s heart. Warm blood spread across the man’s shirt and pooled against her hand before she yanked out the stake.

  As he fell, the man’s head turned toward her, and his mouth parted. The red was gone from his eyes as his bloodlust eased, but it happened too late to save him. Regret churned in her stomach as he fell, but after what he did to the woman, he probably couldn’t be saved anyway.

  She’d done the right thing; she couldn’t let him hurt Dante, but for the first time in her life, she’d killed another. Turning her hand over, she stared at the blood staining her palm. She’d never wanted something off of her so badly in her life.

  She swallowed the rush of saliva filling her mouth as she strained to retain her composure. With a calm she didn’t feel, she knelt to wipe her hand and stake on the clothes of the man she killed. The action felt so wrong, but she couldn’t stomach cleaning his blood on her.

  “Are you okay?” Dante demanded as he knelt in front of her and seized Cassidy’s arms.

  She stared at the body of the fallen vamp before her eyes met his again. In them, he saw her confusion and horror. Her ivory skin had paled further, and she looked like she might pass out as she swayed briefly in his hold.

  “Cassidy, are you okay?”

  She thrust out her chin as her eyes darted around the club. Now was not the time to fall apart. She hated the blood on her hands, but she’d done the right thing, and she would do it again if it meant keeping him safe and getting out of this place.

  “Yes,” she said. “I’m okay. I’m good.”

  Dante felt a measure of relief when her eyes came back to his. In them, he saw the steely gleam of determination. She slid her stake back into her jacket as he clasped her elbow and helped her rise.

  The slurping sounds of a feast mingled with the screams and roar of the inferno. Death spread through the room, billowed across the ceiling, and ate the building, but some vamps were lost to the bloodlust the blood and violence ignited.

  Dante despised himself for the hunger the blood and screams ignited in him. The feel of Cassidy in his arms helped to calm his rising bloodlust, but it still slithered like an insidious monster through him. It was times like this when he despised the vampire part of himself.

  The dim lights blinked, went out, and surged back to life brighter than before. Then something popped, and the power went out. The screams briefly rose to overshadow the conflagration, but the snap of the flames and the crackle of wood drowned them out again.

  The growing inferno illuminated the room as the red of the fire emphasized the blood coating the floor.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Dante released Cassidy and moved her behind him. With his back to her, he watched the brawling vamps as he nudged her toward the door. From out of the smoke and flames, another vampire emerged.

  It charged at him. Blood soaked the man’s lips, dripped down his chin, and coated his shirt. His red eyes were as vivid as the flames when they latched onto Dante. The humans, still clustered around the door, screamed louder. They’d come here in search of vampires, but this was not what they expected.

  He’d bet that even if they truly believed vampires were real, they’d expected them to be poor, sweet, misunderstood creatures, but they hadn’t anticipated the brutality vampires could unleash.

  Though he rarely fed on humans and never killed for fun, the vamp’s uncontrollable bloodthirstiness enticed his. His fangs lengthened and a snarl curled his lip as he anticipated the fight to come.

  He’d spent the past ten years keeping his deadlier instincts under control; that was all unraveling now. It didn’t help that Cassidy was in jeopardy and all his instincts screamed at him to protect her at all costs.

  When the vampire leapt at him, Dante caught the man under his chin with an uppercut that slammed his jaw closed. The vamp flew back ten feet before crashing into another vampire and rolling toward the fire.

  Another fighter rolled across the floor to evade a skull-crushing kick from one of the brawlers. The vamp hit Dante’s legs, nearly knocking them out from under him. He staggered back before righting himself as the roller clutched Dante’s leg and tried to sink his fangs into his calf.

  Dante seized his neck and, lifting him off the floor, slammed the vamp onto the ground. The vamp howled as his fingers clawed at Dante’s arms. These vampires hadn’t entered this building as monsters, but if they escaped, some would leave it as Savages.

  He couldn’t l
et that happen. He’d only killed once before; he was still human at the time. He was the first officer to encounter a man wanted for the murder of his wife. When Dante identified himself and ordered the man to stop, the suspect drew a gun on him instead. With no other choice, he shot the man.

  Later, he learned the gun was the same one the man used to kill his wife. He was put on leave, ordered to meet with the department psychiatrist, and returned to duty shortly afterward. While he regretted the events that transpired, he never regretted his actions. It was him or the suspect, and he made the right choice.

  Now, it was him or this vampire who had lost his humanity. And this creature could not only kill him, but he could also kill Cassidy, and Dante would not let that happen.

  He broke the vamp’s neck before pulling out a stake and plunging it into the creature’s heart. Dante wiped the bloody stake on the vamp’s clothes before returning it to his pocket and rising. Unlike the last time he killed, he didn’t feel shocked over this death.

  He glanced over his shoulder at Cassidy, who stood a couple of feet behind him with another stake in hand. Sweat beaded her brow and slid down her face. Her distress burrowed into him until it became a festering thing he would do anything to ease.

  Movement caught his attention as, across the way, a group of humans and vamps emerged from one of the halls. They gaped at the carnage and destruction filling the room before they fled the hallway for the locked door.

  Zan emerged through the growing smoke and stopped to lower Bull’s body. Kneeling beside the large man, Zan felt over Bull’s unconscious form.

  “Is there another way out of here?” Dante demanded.

  “No,” Zan replied without looking at him.

  “Then how do we get the door open?”

  “We find the keys.”

  Metal clinked as Zan jerked a set of keys from the pocket of Bull’s jeans. Fire reflected off the metal when Zan lifted them in the air before rising and running toward the door. Dante turned to Cassidy and drew her close while Zan shoved his way through the crowd to get to the door.

  “Back off!” Zan shouted as the vamps and humans shoved and pushed against him.

  Dante pulled Cassidy back as flames raced across the ceiling and arced over his head. He guided her along the outskirts of the crowd looking to stampede out the door. He started to push his way into the throng, determined to make sure she got out of this place, when an ominous creaking filled the air.

  The crowd at the door turned toward the noise, and some of the fighters finally stopped trying to kill each other as the creaking got louder. A feeling of impending doom descended over him as his head tipped back. Through a break in the fire and smoke, a hole was opening to the second floor.

  And then, the ceiling over the bar collapsed. A rush of smoke and fire billowed out from the burning timbers that had replaced the makeshift bar. A vamp, unlucky enough to have one of those beams crash onto his back, howled as he tried to claw his way out.

  “Shit,” Dante muttered as he glanced at the ceiling.

  He pushed Cassidy further back as most of the vamps lost to their bloodlust became aware the building was collapsing around them. They stopped trying to kill each other and feeding on others as their heads turned toward the door.

  “Hey, Zan!” the bartender yelled from the back of the crowd. “You better move a little faster!”

  Dante pinned Cassidy against the wall as more vamps rushed for the door. Wood splintered and cracked as the fire devoured more of the building. The sweat sliding down his body caused his clothes to cleave to him; the smoke clogged his nostrils and mouth as the stench of the fire became overwhelming.

  A few feet away from them, a woman swayed before collapsing when her legs gave out. Unwilling to leave Cassidy unprotected, he lifted his arm and kept it in front of her while he leaned to the side, gripped the human’s arm, and lifted her off the ground.

  “Got it!” Zan shouted. “Get off me!” He turned and shoved back the crush of vamps and humans swarming him. “I can’t open the door if you’re pushing me!”

  Unfortunately, the crowd didn’t hear him. Dante slung the woman over his shoulder and grasped Cassidy’s wrist. Pulling her forward, he had to release her as he started plucking vamps and humans out of the way to ease the crush against Zan.

  From twenty feet away, the small bartender lowered her shoulder and pushed through the crowd. “Get off him!” she shouted as she knocked one vamp on his ass.

  Dante tossed aside some more as Zan planted his foot against the wall, grasped the doorknob, and pushed back with all his might.

  Cassidy held her breath as she waited to see if he could get the door open. They were so close to freedom, but because the crowd was so panicked, they might die in this place with an unlocked door. Her family would be devastated.

  Cassidy blinked away the tears burning her eyes from the thickening smoke and the possibility of her family’s suffering. Kyle would never forgive himself. He was spiraling out of control now; if she died in a place he inadvertently led her to, he might completely lose it.

  Her heart ached for her twin and herself. She wasn’t ready to die; she still had so many songs to sing and so many dreams left to live. And she’d just found Dante. Whether he was her mate or not, she didn’t know, but she liked him, and she was curious to see where her connection to him would lead.

  And she couldn’t stand the idea of him dying in this awful place too.

  “Get off!” Zan roared and, releasing the door, spun to shove away the patrons crushing him.

  Dante grabbed two people and threw them into a group of vampires, knocking them all back. Lowering the woman, he tucked her beneath a table to keep her safe from the flames and crowd.

  “Give her to me!” Cassidy shouted, but he didn’t hear her as he lowered his shoulder and charged forward to knock aside those closest to Zan.

  Cassidy lost sight of Dante as the crowd surged forward to swallow the space he created. She shoved against the mob to reach the woman, but the mass of bodies propelled her toward the door. Cassidy tried to crawl over them, but they kept her packed in until she was jealous of the space sardines in a can possessed.

  She was certain they were going to crush her, but Dante’s charge through the crowd had bought Zan enough time to get the door open. The rush of fresh air spilling through the door fanned the flames to higher levels.

  When she chanced a glance at the deadly flames, she almost gawked as the fire rolling over her head like waves crashing onto the beach. Except these waves wanted to sear the skin from her before devouring her bones.

  She was so focused on the deadly waves, she didn’t see Dante return until he pulled her away from the mob and pushed her head down against his chest. Though she couldn’t see his face, she knew it was him as his scent filled her nose and the familiar strength of his arms comforted her.

  Clutching Cassidy against him, Dante shoved through the crowd as the inferno continued to build. Ashes and small chunks of wood rained down as the fire devoured more of the ceiling. He had to get her out of here, it was the only thing that mattered, but he couldn’t see the door as black smoke choked the air.

  He was sure he’d somehow gotten turned around when blessedly cool, fresh air rushed over his skin as they stumbled outside. After the screams and roar of the fire, the peaceful night was almost deafening. The once pleasant May night felt like a bucket of ice water over him; it was amazing.

  Dante blinked against the smoke burning his eyes as he turned to survey the crowd spilling out the door. Humans and vamps coughed as they staggered forward and fell to the ground. He didn’t see Zan anywhere, but the bartender was already grabbing humans and yanking them toward her as she worked to change their memories.

  He released Cassidy as he searched for the woman he left against the wall. He didn’t see her anywhere, but then he hadn’t expected to; she was too weak to stand, never mind fight her way out of the club.

  “I’ll be back,” he said to Cassidy
.

  “Wait… What?” she breathed, but before she could stop him, Dante was shoving his way back through the mass spilling out the door. “No!”

  Cassidy lurched forward to go after him, but he was already vanishing into the club. She didn’t make it more than three steps before the bartender seized her wrist, jerking her back.

  “Help me,” the bartender pleaded. “There are so many of them, and we can’t let them leave here with their memories intact.”

  Cassidy looked back toward the door as smoke and flames billowed out of it. Then she glanced back at the bartender’s pleading face and all the humans staggering around. Right now, they were too shell-shocked to process everything that happened. But soon, they would realize they should have kept on running.

  The bartender was right; they couldn’t let the humans leave there with their memories intact. It would put all of them at risk and could destroy everything they’d always known.

  And as she realized it, two humans came to their senses and started running toward the main road. Cassidy chased after them, and like a cattle dog herding a wayward steer, she cut them off and herded them back toward the building.

  She spoke to them in a low, calming tone while changing their memories of the events. The vamps who lost control in the building fled into the night, but she couldn’t change the human’s memories and hunt them down. She could only hope they got their shit together or someone else took care of them.

  Some of the other vamps stuck around to help with the humans’ memories, but most of them fled too. No one wanted to be here when the police and fire departments arrived.

  Cassidy kept glancing at the door as she worked with the humans. She resisted the urge to scream as her heart pounded out a riotous, terrified beat. The discordant rhythm was unlike anything she’d ever experienced before, and she hoped never to feel it again.

  Where is he? Why did he go back in there? Why is it taking him so long? That last question had her feeling like she was about to tear her skin off or fall to her knees, screaming while she tugged at her hair.