Shane's Redemption (Maura's Men Book 3)

by Stella Williams

  Shane was hopeless. Any thought of redemption for his past cowardice was long gone as Maura reached out to him. Shane vaguely heard a commotion erupt downstairs. The sound of metal clashing upon metal and the unmistakable zing of a bow let Shane know he wasn't going to be receiving his friends help before it was too late. Maura grabbed both Shane and Carrie by the neck and carried them towards the sounds of battle. Apparently, Shane's surrender wasn't enough, Maura wanted an audience.

  Shane was unprepared for what came into view once Maura stood out on the stair ledge. The scene below was perplexing, to say the least. Xander and Claude fought back to back, fending off not just muscled vampires but Council security forces. The weasel of a man stood by the pile of poisoned men and watched with glee as one by one they rose and joined the fight. Of course, it had been a trap all along. They had known it, and Shane had fallen for it. Dooming himself and his friends to lengthy battle that could only end with their demise.

  Maura was distracted by the chaos beneath. So distracted she hadn't noticed Greg stirring in the room behind them. Shane only saw because his drooping head was positioned at just the right angle to see the door as well as the carnage below. Shane wanted to warn Gregory to stay down. To pretend he was dead until the worst had passed. Maybe even make an escape from the small window but he couldn't. Not without giving the man away to Maura.

  Greg stood in the doorway, and Shane lolled his head to the side. Doing his best to indicate that he should save Carrie if he could. Shane was already a lost cause. He could feel Maura's pull seeping into his consciousness. Shane knew it was only a matter of time before he was entirely enthralled. Greg nodded as if he understood. In one quick movement, Greg grabbed Carrie's waist while throwing his body into Maura. The move sent all of them tumbling over the rail.

  The look on Cat's face when she opened the door to the gym was enough to send Molly into a dead sprint. Cat had already run inside her sword in hand by the time Molly got there and what she saw gave her pause. The room was filled with dueling vampires, but that wasn't what had Molly stunned like a statue by the door. Greg had just thrown himself into Maura sending himself and her plummeting to the floor below. Just her but also Shane and the bitch Carrie. The sight of Shane in danger had her powers surfacing in an instant, but Molly held back.

  It was too soon to tell if she would need them again and as far as she knew it was a single shot kind of weapon. It was best Molly save the fatal blast for Maura, even as it killed her to hear the sickening crunch of bodies hitting the pavement. Those involved would be grievously injured but not dead. Instead, she moved along the walls of the room. No one seemed to pay her any mind as they battled. One of Gretchen's arrows skimmed Molly's cheek on the way to its intended target.

  The weasel of the man who had helped Maura at the cabin. It hit him squarely in the forehead but didn't penetrate deep enough to do anything but annoy the vampire. He swatted the arrow from its perch before stalking towards the stairs. The massive pile of bodies he'd been standing by was finally depleted. The muscled vampires shaking off whatever stupor they were in to join the ranks of the already battling masses.

  Bodies were dropping like flies as her friends battled valiantly both aided and attacked by the Council forces. Molly had no idea where they had come from or why they were even there. Maura was a threat to them for sure, but there had been no mobilizing of forces rumored about amongst the vampire population. No indication that the Council had any idea of Maura's whereabouts than any of them had. Of course, Xander could have raised the alarm to them. That still didn't give them enough time to mobilize this caliber of forces.

  This whole scene felt off to Molly. It didn't take her long to realize why. The last of Maura's new army was already being stricken down. Her friends had circled into each other, breathing heavily and battle weary but their fight wasn't over. The Council forces still advanced until they were all trapped against the fallen pile that was Maura and Shane. Carrie and Greg were nowhere to be seen. Molly wasn't sure if they had fallen further away or if they had somehow managed to recover more quickly and slip away. Either scenario was good for Molly at the moment. That was two fewer people to worry about as one of the Council soldiers whispered into his wrist. A minute later Maximus came strolling in with Brody in tow. Both men looking regal and unfazed by the gore squishing under their feet.

  The Council forces parted upon their arrival allowing for Maximus to step through and face off with Xander and the others.

  "You've proved yourselves in league with this wench. I will have all of your heads before the night is over," Maximus barked out.

  Claude rolled his eyes as he settled into a new battle stance.

  "Go ahead and try old man. We took out Maura once. You will be a picnic," He snarled, and Molly stifled a laugh.

  Of course, Claude wouldn't think twice about insulting a member of the Council. It was why Xander was in charge of dealing with the Council. Claude lacked tact, and Shane lacked the warrior background to be taken seriously.

  Words were exchanged between her friends and the two men but in all of that none of them saw Maura stirring behind them. Molly herself hadn't noticed until it was too late. She saw Maura slowly stand, her mouth moving as an enchantment spilled from her lips. The temperature in the room went up at least fifty degrees in a matter of minutes. A wall of shimmering light encompassed the entire group. Molly ran forward only to bounce off the force field like it was a balloon. She stood and tried again, banging with her fists as those inside the bubble began to sink to the ground, grabbing at their throats, eyes bulging from their sockets. A few of them even had raised boils as if they were being suffocated and boiled alive at the same time.

  Now was the time to act. Now was the time for Molly to use her powers but nothing would come. She focused as best she could. Nothing happened to her. Not even a tingle until she saw Carrie standing on the other end of the bubble. Shane was awake now too, but he wasn't looking at Molly. Shane was standing in front of Carrie as she cried. He pressed his hand to hers through the barrier. Power surged within Molly instantly. She broke through the barrier, seething with rage. Molly stormed towards Shane and Carrie, but Maura got in her path.

  "I'll be taking what's mine," Maura growled lunging forward.

  She grabbed the necklace from Cat's limp body and pressed it to Molly's chest. Molly could feel the power draining from her body and into the necklace. She could see the light transforming within the stone, turning dark and menacing before traveling into Maura. The barrier began to close again. Molly was trapped inside now. Her light and life were leeching into the necklace being pressed into her chest. Instead of fire, she felt ice, slithering into her chest, wrapping around her heart and choking the blood flow.

  Molly's eyes never left Shane as he tried to comfort Carrie even in his dying breath. Molly shook her head. This couldn't be the end. Not this, not when she had just found love again with Shane. They couldn't die like this. With him comforting the woman who had nearly torn them apart forever. Maura couldn't win this fight. Not after the horrors, she'd inflicted on everyone Molly had come to love. A savage roar built in Molly's lungs before erupting forth from her mouth.

  It startled Maura, causing her to step back. As soon as the necklace was off her chest, her powers swelled. Melting the ice in her chest and spreading through her body. Molly felt flames creeping over her skin, not painful to her but when she grabbed Maura's arm, it charred the demon's skin as quickly as a flame to paper. Maura screamed and tried to wrench away, but it was too late. Molly pulled the woman to her holding her tight. To anyone else, it would seem a hug between old friends if it weren't for Maura's agonized screams.

  "Rot in hell, bitch," Molly whispered in Maura's ear even as she directed her glare at Carrie.

  Molly used her anger and jealousy to fuel the intense emotion needed to maintain the spell she had over Maura. The stench of burning flesh filled Molly's nostrils, but she didn't let go until Maura's body withered into a pile of a
sh at her feet. At least the shadows torment had been good for something. She wouldn't have been able to hold on as long as was necessary if it hadn't been for her familiarity with the sickly sweet smell.

  The necklace had still been in Maura's hands when Molly had burned her alive. Now it was not but a pile of ash along with its master. With Maura vanquished her spell vanished but the effects lingered. The men around her coughed and gasped for air. Those who had suffered boils were healing slowly. The room was thick with residual magic, and Molly welcomed it into her body. Using it to replace the energy she'd lost in the use of her own spell.

  "Molly," Shane's voice cut into her thoughts before his body was flush against her.

  "Don't you have a girlfriend to attend to," Molly said, and Shane nodded.

  "Yes, and she is here in my arms," He said before kissing her senseless.

  Molly kissed him back. She shot a dirty look, Carrie's way before closing her eyes and reveling in the love between her and Shane. Molly was petty, and she knew it. She belonged to Shane. He belonged to her. Her jealousy would be something she would have to address later.

  "I hate to interrupt, but we should get going before Maximus wakes and orders his men to decapitate us. I was up for the fight before. Now I'd much rather be home bedding my mate," Claude said.

  Shane shot him a glare but guided Molly out the door anyway. It was best they left now. After tonight there would be no hiding from the Council. Molly's powers were no longer a rumor but a fact. They needed to regroup before that hammer fell upon them. Gretchen and Claude rode in Claude's SUV with Greg and Carrie, while Shane and Molly slid in the backseat of Cat's vehicle. Xander, of course, chose to drive. Molly didn't blame him. Even after the incident that had taken Molly's life, Cat was still a reckless driver prone to fits of rage at the slightest perceived misstep of other drivers.

  Brody stood stalk still. His chest heaving as he sucked in air and tried to calm his nerves. It was deadly silent in the room below. The crackling energy of dueling magic had faded, but he was terrified of the outcome. It was only by chance that he’d slipped away before the sphere of death enclosed everyone but himself and Molly. Brody couldn’t be sure, but maybe Carrie and another man had escaped it as well. Honestly, he didn’t care. At the moment he was safe.

  A groan sounded nearby. Brody forced his eyes to open. He wasn’t in a closet as he had thought. He was in an office or rather a torture chamber. There was a desk there. The sturdy sort. Not unusual until he noticed it was covered in scratches and gauges, and stained so red with blood that the recipient of whatever had occurred couldn’t possibly still be alive. Vampire or not. He winced as he glanced around and saw the barbaric tools hung along the wall behind it.

  As a young vampire, he’d heard stories about Maura’s sadistic tendencies, but he hadn’t imagined that being one of Maura’s Men could have been so bad. He was no stranger to rough play, but the display before him was far beyond any of that. The groan came again, and a shifting figure at his side caught his attention.

  Brody’s hand flew up to his mouth to keep from vomiting as he witnessed a bull of a man tear a massive spiked weapon from his abdomen. Blood and guts spilling to the already gore slick floor. Brody didn’t have time to register anything more as the man lurched forward in a supposed attack only to fall forward. The man lay there chocking on his own blood, suffocating on his own organs as he had face planted right into them.

  Brody realized he had to be one of Maura’s army. He wasn’t quite dead yet. If by some stroke of luck Maura hadn’t killed everyone downstairs, Brody would be known as a legend in his own right for taking down one of her progeny. That thought bolstered his courage. Brody carefully walked forward, picking up the discarded weapon and lifted it high over his head. All it would take was one blow to sever the man’s spine and put an end to his misery. An end to his suffering and a beginning to Brody’s glory.

  He swung his arm down with a guttural scream. The weapon slamming onto the man’s head instead of his neck as Brody had planned. Brody yanked at the weapon, but it was lodged in the nearly dead man’s skull. Brody bent down to the man to see if maybe the blow had been enough. Unfortunately, he could still hear the gurgling coming from the man’s chest. Brody stood again. He tugged and tugged, but the weapon wouldn’t budge. He tried wiggling it out but only succeeded in splashing massive amounts of blood and gore on his bespoke suit. Probably not the best attire for this sort of thing but Brody hadn’t planned on going to battle.

  Frustrated, he kicked the dying man before trying one last time to pull the weapon free. All he needed was one more good swing and the glory of the night would be his. He pulled with all his might and finally the weapon came free. Brody stumbled back as it dislodged, his oxfords not able to find footing on the blood-slicked floor. He did his best to catch his balance but ended up falling on his ass. The weapon slipping from his grasp and landing on his leg, embedding in his flesh.

  Brody howled in pain. He lay there for a moment before starting to laugh. It would be a better story now with a war wound. No one would believe he bested one of Maura’s Men without injury. That is if Maura had been defeated. If not, well he may as well have died with the rest of the lot.

  Rodney watched the man who’d dealt the final blow to his brother from behind the massive desk. Rodney had come up to see if his brother was still alive only to be interrupted by this asshole. The council’s liaison Brody was even more of a prick than Rodney thought. Maura was dead. Rodney had felt almost immediately when her hold on him and his brother had been released. Rodney was a free man. If only he could get out of this godforsaken place undetected.

  Brody lay there laughing like a lunatic and that pissed Rodney off. His brother was lying in a pool of his own blood and guts, stuck in the limbo between life and death because he was a fucking vampire. He would lie there suffering until the last drop of blood left his body. There was nothing Rodney could do for him at this point. Yet another massive weight off his shoulders. Rodney was beholden to no one at this point. Still, it didn’t sit right with him that this man hadn’t had the decency to finish the job. That Brody was content to lay there without ending things mercifully. He deserved to die too.

  Rodney gathered his strength and rose from behind his hiding place. He didn’t have much time before the vampires he heard below would come to check things out. Rodney snatched a fireplace poker from the wall and stalked over to his target. He would dispatch Brody and get the hell out before he got caught. He would still be considered a threat by the others. They wouldn’t think twice before slicing and dicing him like the rest of Maura’s army.

  It took a moment for Brody to notice Rodney’s approach. The man stopped laughing, and his eyes widened in fear. Rodney could feel his lips curling over his fangs. He was right there, so close but when Rodney’s arms swung down, the blow didn’t hit Brody. Instead, there was a sickening crunch as Rodney severed Axel’s spinal cord. His brother could finally rest in peace.

  Breathing heavily, Rodney sank to his knees next to his brother’s still body. He roared in rage and pain. His body shook with racking sobs. He’d killed his own brother. His baby brother. Maura had succeeded in making him just as much a monster as she was.

  The door opened then, and Rodney looked up. A man dressed in black tactical gear stood in the doorway weapon drawn and ready. Rodney didn’t make a move. Didn’t open his mouth to protest as the man pulled the trigger. A searing pain tore through his chest. Rodney collapsed on top of his brother. His body draping over Axel in the same protective way it used to when their father would beat them. A fitting end to their story. Rodney protecting him in death as in life.

  One Door Closes

  Greg saw Rachel slip down the hall towards his room as soon as he entered the mansion. He was tired and badly injured but seeing her made him forget all of that. Now that the threat was gone he wanted to have a serious talk with her.

  If you had told him a few months ago that he'd be living his life hidde
n away as a newly turned vampire, hunted by an evil vampiress, and in love with a ghost? He'd have questioned your sanity. Now it was par for the course. He longed to lay with Rachel this evening. Maybe he could convince her to finally give in to the pent-up tension between them. Sure they touched, nothing sexual just innocent hand-holding but Greg wanted more.

  He wanted Rachel. She was his light on the darkest days. Today certainly qualified as one of those days. Greg marched towards his room with barely a word to anyone else. Not that it mattered. Gretchen was already swept into Claude's arms and being carried up the stairs. Claude no doubt had the same intentions for his sister tonight as he did with Rachel. He didn't like to think about that, but he could understand the man at least. Cat and Xander had just pulled up, and Cat was already leading Carrie safely away before Molly even caught a glimpse of the woman.

  As soon as Greg entered his room, he swept Rachel into his arms, kissing her like he had dreamed about so many nights. She swooned and relaxed into his embrace. Accepting his kiss with eagerness before pulling away.

  "Greg, please! Don't make this any harder. I cannot stay long. I just had to see you one last time before," Rachel didn't finish her sentence.

  Greg was noticing for the first time that her presence wasn't as clear as before. It was as if a dense fog obscured her visage.

  "No! You can't leave like this. Not now. I love you," Greg said, and she smiled sadly before floating back into his arms.

  "Kiss me one last time. Kiss me and promise you will find someone worthy of your love," she said.