Ashes to Ashes (Barbie the Vampire Hunter Book 3)

by Lucinda Dark

  Arms circled me from behind, pulling me against a broad chest covered in cotton. I could feel the outline of the medallion beneath the fabric on my spine. “There will always be unintended consequences,” he whispered, his lips in my hair. “But you can’t blame yourself for every unforeseen accident.”

  “But it wasn’t an accident,” I argued. “They targeted her because of me.”

  “You couldn’t have known that.”

  More tears slipped down, hot against my skin. I felt burned. Scalded as each wet drop slid against my flesh until they dangled precariously against my jawline. I sniffed hard, shaking my head. I couldn’t even find the strength to break his grip because the reality was—I didn’t want to. I wanted to be comforted, even though I knew I didn’t deserve it.

  My legs collapsed beneath me. Mav caught me in his arms, but instead of lifting me up, he merely eased me down so that the both of us were on the floor. With his back to my bed, he cradled me in his arms—our legs splayed together. It might’ve been romantic if I hadn’t been falling the fuck apart.

  “Why does it hurt so much?” I rasped, my throat dry and raw.

  “Because, Barbie…” He lifted a hand and stroked his fingers through my unwashed, matted hair. I hadn’t showered since we’d gotten back and I supposed there was only so much supernatural magic that could keep me from looking like a homeless vagrant. “You care. When you care, things hurt. It’s just how the world works.”

  “I don’t want to anymore,” I whispered, every word a shard of glass cutting at my insides. “I don’t want to care anymore. Make it stop.”

  “I can’t, Princess,” he replied. “Only you can do that, but Barbie—” I looked up when he stopped. His fingers found my chin as his thumb wiped the tears from my face. “If you stop caring then there’s no point in your vengeance anymore.”

  There was a point. I couldn’t let this happen again, and if we just let Arrius Priest run free—not that we could since he’d made it clear he was coming after us one way or another—it would just keep happening. Over and over again, like some hellish fucked up timeline set on a loop.

  I sighed and rested my head against Mav’s chest, letting all of the tension and residual strength left in my body disintegrate into nothing. I breathed in his scent, closed my eyes, and called for my demon.

  Thirty-Seven

  Barbie

  When I opened my eyes, I was in my old house. The one I’d grown up in with my parents and my brother. I stood in the living room, staring at the well worn floral couch. It looked like something straight out of a seventies catalog. God, it was fucking ugly.

  “This is the first time I’ve ever been called to a meeting in this way.” Satrina’s voice filtered in from the kitchen and a moment later she stepped through the open doorway. Strands of red curved around her frame. It looked like someone had taken several semi-translucent red scarves and fashioned them into an evening gown. She took one look at the couch I stood in front of and pursed her lips. “There is no way in Satan’s bedchamber that I will be sitting on that. It’s hideous.”

  I gestured to the accompanying chair. “There’s that,” I offered dryly.

  She cut a glance my way before waving her hand. The chair transformed into some sort of modern plastic monstrosity. I didn’t say anything. If she wanted to sit in discomfort, she could do whatever the hell she wanted so long as she agreed to what I was about to do.

  “Alright. I’m here,” she said, crossing one leg over the other, revealing a long expanse of skin that looked stitched together from two different beings—each made of the most perfect of colors—night and day in one being. Her one gold eye and one blue settled on me. “Speak,” she commanded. “Tell me what this is about.”

  I nodded, but instead of taking a seat across from her on the couch she’d shunned, I strode across the room—pacing from one side to the next. My father’s scimitar rested on the mantle above the fireplace. A memory of blood and bone flashed through my mind behind my eyes as I blinked. It disappeared just as quickly as it had come. I inhaled sharply and pivoted back to face the demon.

  “Do you remember when we first made our deal?” I asked. “When I first signed your contract?”

  She arched one delicately perfect brow. “I do.”

  “And do you remember the main reason we made the deal?”

  She sighed. “Of course,” she said with a wave of her hand. “That’s obvious.”

  I eyed her. “You wanted a portal to enjoy the mortal realm with,” I said. “And now I’m immortal, so technically you’ll always have a portal to the mortal realm now.”

  “Yes?” She crossed her arms over her chest and tilted her head.

  “Unless I die.”

  She rolled her eyes. “Get to the point, darling.”

  “What would you do to keep me alive?” I asked. “I am going after Arrius Priest and last time, I died. This time, that could happen again. But for real. Arrius Priest has done a lot—”

  “Much of it illegal in terms of magical interference,” she commented with a nod. “Which to be fair, as a demon, I admire in many ways. But at the same time, as a demon, I am bound by contracts and when a new being is brought into the supernatural realm—whether made or born—their soul signs a type of contract. They may not remember or understand, but every soul is bound by restrictions. If there were no limitations then there would be chaos and chaos without rules is simply madness.”

  I laced my fingers together, letting them hang down in front of me. “So, that means that he’s broken the rules of the supernatural realm, right?”

  She nodded. “Yes.”

  “Is there like … a supernatural force? A prison? An elite squad of demons to capture him? Take him down? Punish him?”

  Her laughter was like an array of wind chimes. “It’s more complicated than that,” she said as she shook her head, chuckling beneath her breath. “Demons—despite being quite adoring of chaos and madness—are a controlled group. We follow procedure.”

  “And what does procedure say to do about a vampire that has broken the rules?” I asked.

  “Well, when he dies—his soul will be taken to Lucifer—not because he’s damned for eternity, mind you. Even supernatural creatures can make it to heaven. It’s a common misconception. But for rule breakers, Lucifer gets them. He’d then look back on the soul’s life and undead life to determine the level of wrong he’s done. For your lover’s daddy, I’d say Arrius Priest has earned himself a spot of Kings in the lowest level of Hell.”

  “Satrina,” I snapped. “What does that mean? How can I get him there? I need to know how to kill Arrius Priest.”

  “He’s just like any other vampire,” she said, blinking at me. “You stake them or behead them.” I released a low, frustrated groan. “I don’t know what you expect me to do about this,” she huffed.

  “Kill him!” I said. “He created Torin—which as you’ve said before—he did using forbidden magic. He had a witch unravel Torin’s mother. Doesn’t he deserve some sort of punishment? At the very fucking least what about investigating him? Why would he create Torin and then just let Torin go?”

  Satrina was quiet for a moment as she seemed to consider the questions. “It is curious…” she admitted.

  “Then help me.” I went to my knees in front of her, grabbing her hands in her lap. “Please, Satrina. If you don’t help me—us—then he could kill us again. I’m over it. I don’t care if I have help—I’ll need all the help I can get to take him down. Arrius Priest needs to be stopped.”

  Satrina stared at me, her shoulders stiffened in surprise. Never before had I moved to touch her so casually. We weren’t friends. We were symbiont—two creatures living together in the same form. Co-habitants. Her lips pressed together, but I wasn’t going to take no for an answer.

  “Please,” I whispered. “Give me everything. Give me all of your abilities. I know I’ve only ever managed to get a percentage but I need everything to take him down. Give it to me
and go to your boss, see if there’s any way we could get some—I don’t know—divine help.”

  “Divine?” Both of her brows shot up. “You do realize that you’re speaking to a demon, darling, not an angel.”

  “Demon, angel—I really don’t give a fuck. I just need to know one thing. Will. You. Help. Me?”

  “You’re already in pain, darling,” she said, her voice calm as she withdrew her hands from beneath mine. “Or have you forgotten?”

  “I haven’t—” I broke off when instead of pulling away completely, Satrina grabbed one palm and turned it over, pressing the tip of one her nails in the center. She pressed down, and I flinched as she drew blood. “If you are willing, though, I will try to do as you ask.”

  “When—” She put her other hand over my mouth and I winced as she dug the nail in my palm deeper. Satrina looked down as blood welled up from the small wound. I didn’t know how she determined it was enough, but she removed her hand from my mouth and then her nail from my palm. Using the extended nail, she made a similar cut into the center of her own palm and then held it over mine and blood the color of tar dripped from beneath her skin into my hand. Red and black mingled, merging into a glob on my skin. Unlike what would’ve happened in the real world—my wound didn’t close immediately. Instead, the blood circled it and slowly reentered. Except this time, it wasn’t just my own. I stared down at my hand as the wound sealed over and the skin knitted back together before I looked up and met Satrina’s gaze.

  “No more,” she said quietly. “No more separating yourself from them. If they offer it, you take. Do you understand?” I knew what she meant. I nodded. “I’m serious,” she explained. “Even if they don’t offer—ask. Take what you need or else this will not end happily for you, Barbie. I have given you the right to all of my powers—dangerous for a human, absolutely insane for a vampire. You are neither, and yet, you are both.”

  “If sex is what it takes to kill Arrius Priest, then don’t worry,” I said as I slowly got to my feet. “I don’t care what I have to do. If I have to walk naked through hell, then I’ll walk as if I own the fucking place.”

  Satrina’s lips stretched into a smile and she, too, stood. “Good,” she said with a nod. “Then as you prepare to track him down, I will seek an audience with His Eminence.”

  I frowned. “Who—”

  She rolled her eyes. “Do not insult me by asking me who I’m talking about,” she huffed. “I will be seeking an audience with Lucifer Morningstar, Satan himself. If I’m granted permission … I may be able to possess you fully. And if I can—”

  “You can kill him,” I finished for her. She nodded. It was a last resort, but one we sorely needed. If all else failed, this would be our back up. “Thank you,” I said.

  And in true Satrina fashion, she laughed, swiping a long strand of dark hair over her shoulder as she turned and walked out of the house, leaving me in the remains of my past. And just like I’d done all those months ago, I walked out the door behind her—snapping my fingers—and left the building to burn.

  There was no more time for looking back, after all.

  Thirty-Eight

  Barbie

  I opened my eyes and immediately turned over to face Maverick. “Hey,” he said. The stroking against my hair stopped the second I pressed my mouth to his. I didn’t wait for him to stop me or push me back or ask me what the hell I was doing. I grabbed the hem of my shirt and dragged it up over my head, tossing it away before reaching for the clasp of my bra.

  Maverick’s eyes were still open, on me as I swept my tongue into his mouth. It took more strength than I thought I had to pull my mouth away, but it was necessary. I needed his clothes off as well. I grabbed his shirt, and instead of lifting it, I rent it straight down the middle, tearing a path open to reveal the display of his chest.

  “Uhh … what the hell are you doing?” he asked, blinking at me as I attacked the button of his jeans. I backed up, dragging them down as well.

  “I need sex,” I said. “Right now.”

  “Okay…” Despite that, he didn’t seem all that keen to help me. I ended up ripping his pants and underwear in my effort to remove them and only when he realized that his clothes were either going to come off willingly or be torn from him did he finally decide to shed them on his own before helping me out of the rest of mine.

  Soon enough naked skin was against naked skin. I cupped him in my palm, stroking his cock, pumping it with my fist.

  “No offense,” Mav said, his voice strained as his hips arched into my hand. “Not that I don’t enjoy this, but two minutes ago, you were having a fucking breakdown, Princess. What’s with the change of pace?”

  “I used my demon’s powers when I killed that vampire,” I said, lifting a leg to straddle him. “It’s been hurting ever since.”

  “Fuck,” he barked out, hands gripping my waist as I held his cock up, positioned it at my entrance so that I could sink … slowly … down. He bared his teeth, neck arching back as I took him inside. All the way, until the base of him was against my clit. “Why didn’t you say anything?” he asked when he could speak.

  “I don’t know,” I said, lifting up as I pushed down with my knees. A hiss escaped his lips. “Because I wanted it to hurt. Because I didn’t feel like it. There’s a list of reasons. I bet a therapist would have a field day with me.”

  His chuckle turned into a groan as I descended back down. He blew out a breath. “You’d send a therapist screaming in the opposite direction, Princess.”

  I leaned down and nipped at his pec, sliding until my tongue touched one flat, masculine nipple. I gripped it between my teeth and tugged. Mav’s hand gripped the back of my head and suddenly we were flipping. My back landed on the floor of the bedroom. His medallion dangled between us as he anchored one of my legs up on his, gripped the other just under my knee and pushed. He pushed my leg until it was bent and pressed against my front and then he pushed it out until he’d opened a space for him to thrust into me with rigorous vigor.

  My mouth popped open as he powered into me. I could feel my back sliding across the floor as he pounded my pussy. My nails sank into his upper arms as if that would manage to keep me steady. I thrust my chest out, my breasts feeling heavy and needy. My nipples stood on end as pleasure rocketed through me. More. I needed more.

  “Mav…” I hissed when he leaned down and took what I was offering. His mouth closed around one of my nipples and in much the same fashion as I’d done to him, he gripped it with his teeth and tugged until whatever string bound my senses together sent electricity straight to my clit.

  Sex. Sensuality. Love. We were two people thrown together—strung through the wringer—and had come out on the other side completely changed. Maverick fucked me hard. Harder than I think he ever had before and I loved it. My fangs burned to come down, and instead of fighting it, I let them. I opened my mouth as they descended only thinking a moment later that it might make him uncomfortable.

  It didn’t. In fact, at the sight of my fangs, a growl ripped free from Mav’s throat and he released my leg to grab at the back of my head—pressing my face into his throat. “Do it,” he hissed. “Bite me. I want to feel your fangs in my skin.”

  My vampire didn’t need to be told twice. She didn’t even hesitate. I sank my fangs into the tender column of his neck and gulped down strong, heated blood. The blood of a dragon. It coated my tongue, ran towards the back of my throat. Like a fucking shock to my system, it ratcheted up my desire tenfold.

  The more I drank, the heavier my breasts felt. The more blood I consumed from him, the harder my clit pounded. Tingles and sparks raced through my system, lighting me up. Setting me on fire. Burning everything away. My thoughts. My logic. My rationality. None of it was necessary anymore. I just needed him. I just needed this.

  My orgasm built on a cliffside—dangerous and impending. It loomed over me, just out of reach, but there. I cried out, tried to make him go faster, even tried to find my clit with my own f
ingers and rub myself into oblivion, but he wouldn’t let me. Maverick snarled, snatching my hands and slamming my wrists onto the floor as he fucked me.

  “No,” he growled. “You come with me or not at all.”

  “Now,” I hissed back, tilting my pelvis up to meet his thrusts. He craned his neck back, his fingers tightening around my wrists as I felt that orgasm that had been sitting just out of my sight suddenly wash over me. It was a feeling of pleasure so intense, it was almost painful.

  “Barbie!” His shout echoed up to the ceiling and I felt the exact moment that he came too. His thrusts stuttered to a stop and he held himself deep within me, both of us panting. And then he collapsed. His chest coming down against mine and flattening my breasts as his arms closed around me. “Shit,” he hissed, panting for breath. “Can you at least give me some warning before you’re about to jump me?” he asked.

  “Nope.” I pushed against his shoulder. “I have to take a shower.”

  He grumbled as he rolled to the side, watching me with suspiciously raised brows as I got off the floor. “What are you doing?” he asked.

  “Shower first,” I said. “And then we’re going to Torin’s.”

  Thirty-Nine

  Torin

  I loosened my tie, tugging it straight down until the back tail slipped out of the knot and the whole thing came off in my fist. The main house was empty. Not empty as it had been before—with the shudders closed and the lights off. No. The place had been deserted. Katalin had returned and just as quickly she’d disappeared.

  Sheets covered what furniture remained behind. The electricity and water were still running, but likely only because here you had to pay for it through the end of the month. I sighed and leaned against the wall as I tucked my tie into my suit’s pant pocket.