Arctic Fire

by Erica Stevens

  “Not someone,” his voice actually sounded like a crisp fried corpse too, he realized. One who had been chewing on fire. “The man who took Quinn did this. It was a message to her, to me, to all of us.”

  “What’s the message?” Devon demanded.

  Julian’s knees cracked and popped as he walked. The new cartilage forming made it difficult to get them to bend the way they were supposed to. Cassie followed behind him, staying as far from the table as she could.

  “This is supposed to be Quinn’s family,” he croaked out. “Their hair has even been dyed to match them. I imagine this is exactly what they looked like before Barry,” he gestured to the young boy he stood behind, “got up and let in their killers. Quinn didn’t have any scars before that night, but what he did to that corpse matches the scars she has now.”

  “It’s meant to unnerve her,” Devon said as he rested his hands on the table to peer more closely at the scene.

  “To let her know, to let me know, he’s been watching her for a while,” Julian said. “To let her know he is still watching her, or was, as he has her now. He may not have known she turned into a vampire when she did, but when he found her again, he remained in the shadows, biding his time before letting his presence be known here.”

  Devon stepped away from the table and slid a pointed look toward Julian. “He also knows who you are.”

  “Yes.”

  “How do you know that?” Cassie asked in a harsh whisper.

  “Because this could have been some of my own handiwork not too long ago.”

  Cassie’s already fair skin paled more. Her gaze shot to him before her eyes raked over them both. She wasn’t naïve or one to live in denial; she realized it was something Devon would have done too. “I see.”

  Devon stepped back and stretched his hand out to her; she didn’t hesitate before taking hold of it. “Do you think he suspects she’s the vampire of the prophecy?” Devon inquired.

  “I know he does.” He reached for the pocket of his jeans before recalling his clothing had burned up. His hand fell back to his side. “He left a note in the hand of the girl meant to be Quinn.”

  “What did it say?” Cassie inquired.

  Julian’s teeth grated together as he recalled the words he would never forget. “You may not have been born of my blood, but I created you somehow, and I keep what is mine. P.S. Another one of your friends already belongs to me.”

  Cassie glanced at the others still watching from the end of the hall. “Do you think it’s one of them?”

  “Quinn’s acquaintance, Jeb, is the one who helped lead to her capture,” Julian replied. “I think it was referring to him, but it could still be one of them too.”

  Devon tilted his head to the side as he studied their friends. “We’ll have to kill this asshole to make sure they’re all safe.”

  “I’m going to,” Julian growled.

  Devon’s gaze slid over him. “Not if you turn yourself into ash first.” Julian gave him the best scowl he could muster with his barely there lips and cheek muscles just beginning to repair themselves. Devon gave Cassie a nudge toward the door. “Why don’t you go downstairs with the others while we try to find some clothes for Julian?”

  Cassie nodded and glanced back at Julian. “We’ll get her back.”

  “You can’t promise that.”

  “No, but I can promise we’ll do everything we can to get her back, and I can make their lives very unhappy.”

  “I know you can, Solar.”

  “I hate when you call me that,” she muttered as she walked toward the others. He knew that, but with her ability to absorb powers from others, she was like a solar panel and he’d always enjoyed needling her.

  “You shouldn’t have brought her here, not into this,” he said to Devon. “There are a lot of vampires here.”

  Devon waited until Cassie was out of hearing before turning to him. “Do you think I could have stopped her from coming? She knew you needed us. Nothing was going to stop her. She would have come without me.”

  “What about the children?”

  Devon ran a hand through his hair. “She trusts Liam and Annabelle to protect them if something were to happen to the rest of us.”

  “She has to be kept out of this as much as possible.”

  “Believe me, I intend to try and make that happen.” Devon’s emerald eyes focused on him. “I, more than anyone, know what you’re going through. Remember, she was taken from me once too.”

  “I could never forget,” Julian replied. “But this bastard has mind control, Devon. Quinn could already be lost to me, and the things he could make her do…”

  Julian trailed off when fresh anger caused his shoulder muscles to bulge and his healing body to crack and bleed.

  “My mind control is a lot stronger. I can take hold of his mind and make him release her. As of right now, he thinks he has only you and possibly some Hunters to deal with, but he’s in for a rude awakening. We’ll make sure you get the opportunity to kill him, but draining yourself unnecessarily isn’t going to help. I know how difficult it is to maintain control right now, but you have to.”

  “I had to get out of that RV before I killed one of them.”

  “I know. Come on, let’s get you something to cover yourself with so you can fill us in on the rest of what is going on. I know you probably don’t care, but I think the others would prefer not to look at your burnt kibbles and bits. It’s making me hurt.”

  “You’re just jealous.”

  Devon released a small snort. “Not likely.”

  Julian closed the door on the display behind him. Before they left here, he would burn this building to the ground.

  CHAPTER 25

  No! No! No! Quinn’s head whipped back and forth as she fought against the probing tendrils she felt trying to pierce her mind. She jerked her legs frantically, attempting to tear them free of the wall, but the motion only caused her shoulders to twist and grind together. A scream of rage tore from her throat as sweat poured down her face to drip on the cement floor beneath her.

  Her eyes flew open and latched onto the woman across from her. “Don’t let him do this!”

  Helena’s hazel eyes remained unsympathetic as Quinn jerked her feet again. Something clamped onto her mind. Her head jerked back as the sensation of fingers curling into her brain encompassed her. The fingers dug in deeper, holding her within their grasp as they slithered through her mind.

  “Relax,” Earl said.

  Her body went limp within the chains at his word; she hung with her head dangling and her feet before her. Fight! She couldn’t move though. Her body was no longer her own. Her mind wasn’t her own. Tears burned in her eyes and throat.

  Earl walked over to stand before her. “Don’t move. Don’t speak.”

  This time when he grabbed her breast, she remained unmoving. A single tear slid free and trailed down her cheek. “Don’t cry. It’s beneath you and so unattractive.”

  The tears dried in her eyes, but on the inside, sobs wracked her body. In her mind, she screamed endless denials and curses at him; she tore at his face with her nails and fangs as she shredded him to pieces with her bare hands. She wouldn’t use her power on this man; it would be too quick. No, what she would do to him would make the worst thing a vampire had ever done to another look like child’s play.

  “Stop touching her, Earl,” Helena said briskly. “We get the point.”

  Disappointment slid over Earl’s face, but he winked at her as he mouthed the word later. Revulsion curdled within Quinn’s body. An endless scream sounded in her head. Inwardly, she continued to fight, but her body remained useless. Is this what Zach and Jeb had felt like? Were they aware of their actions and fighting them every step of the way? Had it somehow been different for them?

  Why would it have been different for them and not you? She shuddered at the realization Zach and Jeb most likely had been fighting themselves the entire time, but unable to stop their actions.

 
Guilt ate at her, madness clawed at the edges of her mind. She had to keep it together, but all she wanted was to sink into oblivion, to get as far from this impossible situation and these monsters as she could.

  Are you so different from them? Her mind tauntingly whispered at her. She was different; she had killed for love, not pleasure or power. However, she’d still taken a life. She’d still played God. When her time on this earth was over, she’d welcome Hell. She would deserve it, but she was different from them. She had to believe that.

  Julian will find me. She knew it in every fiber of her being. If their roles were reversed, she would find him. There had to be some way to make it a lot easier for him to find her; she just didn’t know how to do that when she had no control over herself.

  She fell like a sack of potatoes to the floor when someone released the chains holding her up. A groan of bliss and anguish sounded in her head, but she remained mute, as she’d been commanded to do. The bullet in her shoulder succeeded in working its way out and clattered onto the concrete floor.

  “We have to get her cleaned and fattened up before showing her to the others.” Helena’s black boots stopped inches from Quinn’s nose. Quinn lifted her head to look at her. Helena had hair the color of midnight and narrow, aristocratic features. Her thigh-high boots clung to her shapely legs. The deep-red dress she wore matched the color of her nails and ended right below her ass. If she bent over, there would be no questions about what the dress barely covered.

  Helena bent to place a hand on her shoulder, but Earl shouted, “Don’t touch her!”

  Helena recoiled as if Quinn were a crocodile ready to strike. You have no idea what I plan for you. Quinn watched as the boots stepped back. Her chain was jerked until she was lifted into a seated position. Her gaze slid around the space, noting the thick pipes running across the ceiling. It looked like she was in the small workroom of a basement.

  Earl knelt before her, a smile curving his mouth. “I can make you do anything I command, but I can’t take the fire from your eyes. Interesting mix of colors by the way, very fascinating. I can’t wait to learn how you came to be. Now, dear, you’re going to keep your power leashed. You’re not to use it on anyone, unless I give you permission to.”

  Earl’s hand wrapped around her bicep, and he hauled her to her feet, jerking on her dislocated shoulder. A rumble sounded in her chest as her eyes slid partially closed. That was the only reaction she revealed to the fiery needles stabbing deep into her flesh.

  “We should learn how she was created before we take her before the others,” the other man in the room said. “We can’t take any chances she may not be who we’re looking for.”

  “It’s her,” Earl insisted.

  “Most likely, but the last thing we need is to be ripped to shreds by an angry mob because we didn’t deliver on our promises.”

  Mob? Quinn’s stomach plummeted.

  Earl stepped before her and grabbed hold of her chin. “Whatever I ask of you, you must answer, and you must answer it honestly. Do you understand?”

  Quinn tried to keep her mouth closed, but she felt the word sliding out from between her teeth. “Yes.”

  “Good.” Releasing her chin, he stepped away from her. His eyes raked her from head-to-toe and back again. “I never gave you any blood so tell me how were you able to change?” Quinn’s mind scrambled to come up with some answer that wouldn’t be a lie, but not entirely the truth. “Answer right now.”

  “I was a Hunter,” she blurted. “I already had vampire blood in me.”

  A cruel smile curved his mouth. “I know that but I’ve killed Hunters before and none of them ever came back to life.”

  “Did you stick around after to find out?” she retorted.

  A flash of red slid around his eyes. He stepped so close she could smell his rancid breath as it washed over her. She couldn’t stop her nose from wrinkling. “They never come back. What else did you do that helped you stay alive? Answer truthfully, now.”

  She never had a chance to think of a lie before the words welled up inside her throat. She struggled to keep them back, but they burned within her.

  “Answer now!” Earl commanded. A scream of frustration and suffering tore from her as the fingers in her head peeled through the layers of her brain. “It will only get worse until you answer.”

  “Vampire!” she gasped. “I was born part vampire.”

  The hand immediately retreated, leaving her shaken and weak on the floor.

  “How is that possible?” Helena inquired.

  “Answer her question,” Earl ordered.

  The crushing grip bore down on her mind again. It felt like a thousand wasps were stinging her brain over and over again. “My mother was a Hunter who was changed while pregnant with me. She gave birth to me and killed herself,” she blurted.

  The grip on her mind eased. Before she could stop herself, she vomited for the first time in her life. She had no idea what came out of her—bile, blood, or some combination of both. Her body jerked as she heaved repeatedly.

  “What is wrong with her?” Helena demanded.

  “She’s fine. Her body’s reacting to my digging through her brain,” Earl answered. “I’ve been told it’s far from a pleasant experience. She’ll learn what resistance will earn her, and then she’ll break.”

  The endless heaving finally stopped, leaving her with a bitter taste in her mouth. “What happened to my friend Zach?” Earl inquired.

  Quinn lifted her head and tilted her chin up. “I killed him.”

  Earl grinned at her. “Wonderful news! Simply wonderful.” Quinn didn’t agree, but she remained unmoving before him. He clapped his hands eagerly. “Time to get cleaned up.”

  All of her power focused on the place where his hand wrapped around her arm as she fought to get it to latch onto him, but the tentacles remained leashed. Her teeth clamped so tightly together, she was sure they would shatter by the time this was done, if her mind didn’t shatter first. Earl jerked her forward, leading her toward the door. Helena stepped in front of him before they could exit.

  “I will see to her bathing and dressing,” she said in a crisp tone.

  Earl’s hand dug into Quinn’s flesh. The blood vessels beneath her skin burst under his punishing grip.

  “Helena will take her,” the other man said.

  Reluctantly, Earl released her to Helena. “Tell her to truthfully answer any questions I have for her,” Helena said.

  Earl grabbed hold of Quinn’s chin, his nails digging into her skin as he turned her head toward him. “Answer anything she asks with the truth. You cannot tell a lie, and you will do everything she commands you to do. You are not to hurt her in any way.”

  Earl released her and took a step away. Helena clasped hold of her arm and led her out of the room, up a set of stairs, and into a white hallway. Quinn was unsure if she could only speak when Helena told her she could. But then all she really had to say to her was how much she would enjoy watching Helena scream before she died.

  She was led through a couple of hallways before they entered into a large room containing a small pool with beautiful green and gold tile lining the walls. Above her, the entire ceiling was made of arching glass. The sun beat upon the glass, but it wasn’t unpleasantly warm in the room, and the thick tint over the windows kept the rays of the sun from causing all of them to burst into flames. Five other vampires stood in the room with their hands folded demurely before them.

  She’d never seen anything this elegant before in her town. Had they taken her hundreds of miles away? How long had she been unconscious? Her mind spun at the hideous possibility of being in an entirely different state.

  “We’ve had the water recently brought in.” Helena’s hazel eyes raked over Quinn; her upper lip curled in a sneer. “Hopefully, it will be enough to wash you.”

  Quinn smiled sweetly at her in response. Hopefully, I will be feeling your heart in my hand soon.

  “Unchain her,” Helena commanded. One of
the vampires hurried forward to do as she bid. “You will not move,” Helena said to Quinn.

  Quinn’s eyes slid to her, but it was the only motion she could make. “Your eyes truly are fascinating,” Helena murmured.

  Relief filled Quinn when the chains fell away from her bruised and chafed wrists. Dried blood cracked against her abused flesh as her hands fell before her.

  “All of the men, out!” Helena commanded and waved toward the massive double doors they’d entered through only moments before. “And close the doors behind you.”

  Three women and Helena remained behind as the doors closed with a thud. “Strip her,” Helena ordered.

  Quinn’s insides twisted at the command, but she remained unmoving as they cut her filthy clothing away from her body rather than trying to remove it in the usual way. When she was fully exposed, goose bumps broke out on her skin. She ached to be able to cover herself, but her hands remained unmoving, her body trapped in the cement of Earl’s mind control.

  “So skinny,” Helena muttered and gave a disgusted shake of her head. An eyebrow quirked when her eyes latched onto the fading bite Julian had left on her thigh.

  Quinn’s eyes slid over her ravaged body. Her ribs and hips stood out in stark contrast to her pale skin. Her knees looked as if they were sticking out of her flesh. She felt like a skeleton as she stood there, but she wouldn’t have it any other way. It was worth it to save Hawtie’s life.

  “Get in the pool,” Helena commanded her.

  Turning to the others, Helena ordered shampoo and soap to be brought forth, along with clothing, as Quinn stiffly made her way down the steps and into the small pool. She stood chest-deep in the water while she waited for her next command. The other vampires stripped before joining her. They scrubbed at her flesh with a look that made it clear they thought her less than a dog. They were either unaware or uncaring of the fact that her shoulders were still dislocated as they jerked and pulled on her arms.

  The bullet wound had nearly healed, but Julian’s mark was still on her flesh. She had to have only been unconscious for one night, she realized. The bullet would have worked its way out sooner if it had been a couple of days and Julian’s bite would have healed, which meant she was most likely still in Arizona. That would make it a little easier for Julian to find her. She hoped.