by Lucinda Dark
Ashes to Ashes
Barbie The Vampire Hunter Book Three
Lucinda Dark
Copyright © 2020 by Lucy Smoke LLC
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Cover Design by Covers by Christian
Editing by Heather Long and Kristen Breanne
Proofreading by Ellen Yates and Jean Bachen
Created with Vellum
By the sweat of your face
You will eat bread,
Till you return to the ground,
Because from it you were taken;
For you are dust,
And to dust you shall return
Genesis 3:19
Contents
Acknowledgments
Prologue
1. Barbie
2. Barbie
3. Torin
4. Barbie
5. Barbie
6. Barbie
7. Maverick
8. Barbie
9. Torin
10. Barbie
11. Maverick
12. Torin
13. Barbie
14. Maverick
15. Barbie
16. Barbie
17. Barbie
18. Barbie
19. Barbie
20. Maverick
21. Barbie
22. Barbie
23. Barbie
24. Torin
25. Barbie
26. Barbie
27. Torin
28. Maverick
29. Barbie
30. Barbie
31. Barbie
32. Barbie
33. Barbie
34. Barbie
35. Barbie
36. Barbie
37. Barbie
38. Barbie
39. Torin
40. Barbie
41. Barbie
42. Maverick
43. Barbie
44. Barbie
45. Barbie
46. Maverick
47. Torin
48. Barbie
Epilogue
Did You Enjoy Barbie?
Sneak Peek
About the Author
Also By Lucinda Dark / Lucy Smoke
Acknowledgments
So many people in this industry talk about finding one’s “tribe” and for a long time I just thought “I don’t have one”. Or if I did, then I either hadn’t found it yet or it was no good. When I’d make a new group of friends, I would think to myself “I’ve found it. I’ve found the people who will support and love me no matter what”. And it happened like this over and over. And over and over, I was disappointed when my new group of friends didn’t turn out to be my tribe.
It wasn’t anything they did or said, but it soon became clear that while we could remain friends, there just was no getting closer. It wasn’t like it was in movies where you put all of your faith in a best friend and you trusted them implicitly. There was always a voice in the back of my head warning me to be careful, to keep my emotions close to the vest.
This industry isn’t easy. If anyone tells you it is, they’re either lying or trying to sell you something. This industry can be cruel and mean and clique-y and just plain anxiety inducing even for someone like me who is extroverted. What I’ve learned is that you have to have something outside of it all to help bring you back to reality. “You” being me.
And much to my surprise and embarrassment, it’s taken me this long to realize that I already have a tribe. They’re not involved with the industry—at least not past how involved I am. They’re here for me and nothing else. I’ve still got some amazing friends in the industry, women I truly care about and who care about me. They, too, are a part of my tribe and they well know how much I appreciate them and rely on them.
I’m just lucky I guess to have so much of my tribe be outside of my work. They pull me out of my head and support me in all the ways they can. They accept my weird quirks. Laugh when I talk to myself or get excited over characters and adventures that aren’t even real. I love them for it, implicitly.
So, to my friends Ashley, Michelle, Holly, Elizabeth, Des, and Caitlyn—you girls are it for me. Y’all support and love me even when I probably don’t deserve it. Thank you so much. Without you, this book (and I) probably wouldn’t be here.
To Jenna Lee, who’s been my cheerleader from the very conception of this story. To Mila Young, for her awesomeness—girl, I already miss you <3 and to all of the other authors who constantly support and love me. Thank you for everything, but also thank you for being my friend most of all.
And thank you to my readers because holy shit! Do you not get to see what I do for a living? I get to write books! I’m literally living my dream and it wouldn’t be possible without you. This one is for you guys. You’re the best.
For my readers #getstakedbitches
Prologue
Maverick
“You good?” I jerked as Torin’s voice tore through the darkness, the first bit of sound in several long minutes.
“What? Yeah. I’m fine.” I scratched the back of my neck as I stared up at the crumbling Mausoleum where we’d left Barbie’s unconscious body two weeks ago. We’d been coming back every night since. And every night since, I hadn’t slept more than a few hours at a time. I was exhausted. Running on fumes. We both were. “You think she’s awake?” I asked.
“She should be,” Torin said cryptically.
I thought that two weeks of just him and I would give me some insight on this whole vampire transition business, but I knew about as much as I did before we decided to turn her. Which was to say, I still knew absolutely nothing. He was as tight lipped as ever. I glared his way, but he didn’t appear to notice. Torin’s eyes were focused solely on the double doors leading into the interior of the building. It was a wonder that we even found it, but Rome wasn’t as unfamiliar to him as it was to me. As soon as Barbie’s transition had started, he’d known exactly where to go.
We were miles from the center of Rome now. A small graveyard in a shabby neighborhood that boasted nothing but poorly kept apartment buildings and drug stores that looked like they saw more robberies than actual customers.
“Let’s go.” Torin headed towards the double doors, reaching up and tearing away the chain and padlock we’d put on it.
“Shit!” I jumped out of the way as he tossed the heavy mass of metal over his shoulder, nearly nailing me in my own fucking shoulder. “Watch it,” I cursed. “What if she’s not awake? We might need that when we leave.”
“We won’t,” he said, sniffing the air. “She’s awake.”
We stepped into the dark entrance and I paused, staring across the narrow space to the tomb at its center. The lid was made of pure concrete; the image of a fallen woman draped in fabric was chiseled into the top of it. I stepped up next to the stone monument and swept my hand down the face of it, clearing away cobwebs.
“Grab that side,” I said, reaching for the corner as Torin did the same on the opposite side. He pushed as I pulled and together, we managed to move the top of the lid until it slid to the side completely and there was nothing left but a naturally wooden coffin inside the stone tomb. I didn’t ask where he’d gotten such a thing, or why we needed it. Just staring at it now made my skin crawl. Imagining that Barbie had been locked inside for fourteen fucking days … suffice it to say, it was probably a large part of why I hadn’t been sleeping lately.
> The lid creaked as Torin reached for it and pulled the bottom part of the coffin open. My mouth dropped. The inside was ruined. The velvet interior shredded. There were holes punched in the sides, long claw marks marring the wood. I felt sick to my fucking stomach. I took a step back and swallowed against the acidic taste in my mouth.
But Barbie … she looked unchanged. At least, she did until her eyes opened. Blonde lashes lifted and my breath caught in my chest as a pair of wickedly blue eyes settled on the space in front of her. It was as if she were there and she wasn’t because this creature was something new. She was alive—somewhat—but there was an odd eeriness to her movements. Her eyes tracked nothing but darted around. Her fingers curled around the edges of the ruined coffin as she leveraged herself up. It was then that I realized she resembled Torin now, in a way. Her skin was different—clearer. There was no hint of human flaw. It was her and yet, it wasn’t.
“When going through the transition, new vampires tend to destroy their surroundings,” Torin said as he reached forward to help her out. I jumped into action as well, reaching for her at the same time. Her eyes flashed red for a brief second and I dropped her hand.
“Jesus fucking Christ…” Was this really the same girl? What the fuck had we done? What had I let him do to her? The red glow settled in her eyes and stayed, burning at a low volume as if she were a flame about to go out.
“Barbie?” Torin frowned.
She blinked, lifting soft white fingers to her mouth as she parted her lips. My eyes widened when two sharp fangs descended from her gums. Torin took a step towards her, blocking me out as he shifted to cover her front. He said something in a low voice and I was too distracted by her movements to focus on his words.
Barbie had been graceful before. Strong and sure in her actions. But this was different. She was different. Now, she moved as if she were floating. As if each and every step and twitch of her fingers was thoughtlessly balletic. Reckless beauty. Her head turned and she looked over Torin’s shoulder straight at me.
My mouth was dry, but I licked my lips, preparing to speak. “You look…” My words trailed off again. I couldn’t say it, I couldn’t seem to string more than two fucking words together. What the fuck was wrong with me?
“Beautiful,” Torin said. I cut him a dark glare, but it wasn’t like I could refute the point. She was. Impossibly Exquisitely. Unnaturally. He stepped back, leaving room between the two of us. “How do you feel?” he asked.
She tilted her head as if the question confused her. I sucked in a breath and moved closer. “Barbie?” I reached out, stopping short when her eyes turned my way, the redness flaring and glowing bright.
Torin hissed between his teeth as her lips parted and she spoke for the first time. “Hungry,” she said.
Golden hair flashed in front of me a split second before Torin’s hand gripped my shoulder and ripped me back as Barbie’s violent red eyes zeroed in on my throat. I stumbled and hit the wall, jarring a row of old cylindrical containers. On the end, one tipped over the edge of the shelf and crashed down, shattering in a rain of spider webs and dust on the stone ground.
Torin grunted as the full weight of Barbie's form slammed into him and shoved him back against the wall. More jars fell from their perches, breaking open at our feet. My eyes widened as Torin palmed the back of her head, grimacing as she sank long, white fangs into the side of his neck.
"Shit," I hissed, reaching for her.
"No, don't," he said, lifting his only free hand to stop me. "She needs it."
"But your blood won't do anything for her, will it?"
"I'm half-human," he said, wincing as she shook her head slightly, tearing the wound in his throat as she worked to suck down more of his blood. "It'll tide her over for now."
Silence descended as I watched Barbie feed from Torin's neck, and I couldn't help but feel a kernel of envy. His fingers slid through the strands of her golden hair, cupping the back of her skull as she fed, and for a brief moment, I imagined that it was me. That it was my throat she ravaged—after all, I had been the one she was aiming for. It didn't scare me.
After several long minutes—and several long pulls from his throat—Torin gently eased her away. Barbie's eyes opened, glowing crimson for a moment longer. Looking at her brought all that we’d done to life. This wasn’t Barbie. The red eyes, the slithering reptilian movements of her limbs as she uncurled herself from Torin’s body—it was something else entirely. Her eyes slowly faded back to blue and she became the Barbie I knew once more. She licked her lips as her fangs ascended back into her gums.
"Barbie?" This time, when I reached for her, Torin let her go. Barbie sagged into my arms, blinking as her gaze clouded over with confusion. I swung her up into my arms.
"Maverick?" She licked her lips again, shaky fingers touching them and coming away wet with blood. "What ... what did I just do?"
"You were hungry," Torin answered as he put a hand over the wound on his throat. Had he been human, I might have been a little worried. He was paler than before and when he moved to take a step towards the exit, he reached out and rested a hand on the wall to keep his balance.
"You good?" I asked, repeating the same words he’d asked me earlier.
He nodded sharply. "Fine. I've got bagged blood back at the motel."
I pressed my lips together to keep my doubts to myself. Two weeks had passed since the incident that had left Barbie like this and we'd moved to a less reputable—less secure—motel instead of the hotel we'd been staying in with the school chaperones. It was a way to stay off the grid in case Torin's father came back. It certainly didn't mean his blood would be where he left it. I had a sneaking suspicion that had we left anything of major value, the rat-faced owner of the motel we were crashing in would've snuck in to steal it. It was a wonder he hadn't discovered the blood bags before now.
"I-I just—" Barbie's trembling voice drew my attention. I looked down as she gaped at Torin. "Drank ... blood—fuck. Oh fuck. No."
"Barbie—" I started.
"Put me the fuck down, Maverick," she growled, her fangs sliding back out as a soft red glow overtook her eyes once more. "I'm going to kill him."
"I'm not doing that," I said. "We have to get the fuck out of here. Sooner rather than later."
"Maverick." My name was a warning on her lips as she began to struggle. I squeezed her tighter to my chest.
"If you try to get out of my arms now, Barbie, you'll fucking hurt me. Is that what you want? Do you want to fucking hurt me?"
Her tension didn't ease, but she finally stopped struggling. Her arms came up and circled my shoulders. She and I both knew she could walk just fine on her own, but I couldn't say I didn't like the feeling of holding her. Yes, I held her now to keep her from going after Torin, who—after giving her so much blood—was looking rather shaky on his own feet, but that didn't diminish the pleasure I derived from it.
"Let's go." The man in question grunted as he moved towards the exit. "The car's waiting."
I sighed and followed the stubborn bastard, keeping Barbie in my arms the entire way. I knew that sooner or later she'd demand to be put down again. For now, though, I relished the feeling of having her back in my arms. Alive.
One
Barbie
Hatred. Anger. Fear. Those specific emotions coursed through my veins. Hatred over what had been forced on me. Anger at those who had done the forcing. And fear because of what I’d become. I stared down at the shower drain as water ran through my hair, slicking the strands against my cheeks. Beneath my skin, something new moved. Another creature in my own shape, twisted inside my body like I had a second being trying to rip its way out. I stared at my flesh, but the movement must have only been in my mind because there were no physical differences that confirmed that what I was feeling was real.
What did this mean? What was I now? What would happen? Would I be able to control it? The first thing I wanted to do when I’d woken up after I’d fed the hunger of this new mons
ter inside me was slug Torin in the face and take off, but I knew what was happening to me couldn’t be controlled on my own. I’d seen centuries-old vampires lose control when blood was involved. I was a brand new kind of being.
Before, I had been on the verge of a change. Demon-possessed and sucking in the demonic power Satrina supplied me with. Satrina? I called out for her as my hands settled on the chipped tile wall in front of me.
I didn’t need to ask the question spiraling in my mind, she already heard it. I’m sorry, Barbie. I don’t know what this means, she answered. You’re a different creature now. You’re still demon-possessed—obviously, or I wouldn’t be here, but there is a new part of you. The vampire. And if you’re not careful, she could take control. You were right to stay with Torin.
That wasn’t exactly what I wanted to hear, but as I blew out a breath, I knew it couldn’t be denied. It was what I had believed anyway. It changed nothing.
So much of life occurred in the face of death. Like one major ‘fuck you’ to the creature for whom we all seemed to fear. Even vampires, supposedly immortal, had to meet their maker someday. For me, that day was supposed to be two weeks ago. And somehow, I was still here.