She pulled herself to one knee and glared at Alan. He hadn’t beaten the fight from her yet. But she knew they couldn’t last forever. Her mind drifted to another plan. They needed to contain them somehow, trap them for the sun.
It didn’t come to that.
A familiar shrill whistle cut through the air. Alan’s head snapped around, like an obedient dog. Every wild vampire funneled in one direction, toward the back door, where a single vampire stood. Victoria recognized him from earlier, from Alyson and Alan’s home.
The vampires pushed past him and into the outside, as if led by an invisible leash. Victoria watched him as he surveyed the destruction.
Their eyes met, and recognition flashed across his features. There was no darkness, no evil in his gaze. Only remorse.
The club was quiet. The only sounds were of shoes crunching through glass and debris as vampires struggled to stand. They tended to their humans and gathered themselves.
“Should we … follow them?” someone asked.
“No,” Zeke said. “Not smart.”
“And not necessary,” Victoria said. “I can find them.”
“Oh yeah? How?”
She didn’t elaborate. There was no need to explain how she slipped her necklace into a vampire’s pocket. Kevin had no trouble tracking any of his stone-based trinkets.
“Ah, shit,” Zeke said. “These people … trust me. And I let them down. We can’t take them to a hospital.”
Victoria gestured for Zeke’s smartphone. She’d lost her own in the fight. He handed it over, and she took a picture of a nearby wall.
“Don’t worry about that.”
CHAPTER 24
MARIE WAS AWARE of movement nearby. Her ears slid into focus, but strangely, her nose eluded her. Someone was shuffling papers on a desk. A chair creaked as weight shifted. A sip from a glass.
Her sense of touch returned. Coarse sheets tickled her bare skin. She was lying on her back. An uncomfortable pillow was nestled under her head.
She tried to open her eyes, tried to move. Her body wasn’t hers yet. Sleep hadn’t released her. She listened for several minutes as her mysterious companion rose from a desk and moved. He paced the floor, tapped at a smartphone.
The first scent to return was a familiar one. Pure, chocolatey goodness. Other scents poured in. A dingy bathroom, wet shower, leftover pizza.
Her eyes opened.
The groan and stretch were involuntary. She let out a yawn as her muscles quivered.
“Well, hello,” Jack said. “Welcome back.”
Her nose itched. She reached up to scratch it. The scents in the room were normal, not overpowering. Her non-magical sense of smell had returned, and she fought mixed emotions. Kevin’s potion was an amazing experience, and not one she was sure she ever wanted to repeat.
As she rubbed her nose, a jarring realization struck her.
“Jack,” she said. “Why am I naked?”
“You were covered in puke and blood. I cleaned you up. Don’t worry. I didn’t miss an inch.”
She smiled.
“I bet you didn’t. Oh, God,” she said, the memory coming back. “The hangar. What happened? How long have I been out?” She took in the unfamiliar hotel room. “Where are we?”
“We’re in Ohio. The pilot brought us here.”
She shook her head.
“Those fucking idiots. Did you kill them?”
“Yeah. Well, all but one. He’ll need some sunglasses and a few Braille lessons, but he’ll be fine. You’ve been out almost twenty-six hours. Glinda’s been stopping in to check on you. Not even his magic could wake you up. He was getting worried.”
“Twenty-six hours? I lost an entire day? Holy shit. He said it would be twelve.”
“Well, he was wrong. His guess was you being a werewolf had something to do with it.”
Marie sat up and swung her legs over the side of the bed. She didn’t bother wrapping the sheet around herself. They’d both seen each other naked many times.
“Aww. Kevin was worried?” She looked up at him. “What about you? Were you watching over me the whole time?”
“I had to take a few field trips.” He pointed to several bags in the corner. “I brought your stuff from the hotel. But … yeah, I’ve been watching over you.”
She stood up and approached him. Playfully, she tapped his chin and ran a finger down his chest.
“Were you worried?”
Jack said nothing. But his silence was the answer. There was still much to learn about Jack Kursed, like he’d pointed out, but she knew his small smirk meant yes.
He nodded behind him.
“The shower’s all yours. There’s dinner in the fridge. Then, we have to talk.”
She strode across the floor, still naked, and opened the refrigerator. There was a single Styrofoam takeout container and a few canned sodas. The scent struck her. Her stomach rumbled, and her mouth watered. The hunger attacked almost as brutally as the nausea the night before.
Steak, and a baked potato.
Marie said nothing, going to work. She set the cold dinner in the microwave, not even caring about searching for a plate. Microwaving a steak was a sin to her, but she’d committed other sins during her life. She watched as her meal spun, hypnotizing, almost teasing her.
The timer went off, and she grabbed the steak with both hands. It could use another thirty seconds, but her hunger had beaten her patience. She sat on the bed and tore into the meat, savoring the first bite.
She looked up to see Jack staring at her.
“What?” she said. “I’m hungry.”
He gestured to the dresser next to him.
“I have a plate here. A fork. A knife. You know, things civilized people use.”
She took another bite.
“Fuck civilized.”
He continued to stare.
“What are you looking at?” she asked.
“I’m trying to figure out if I’m disgusted or turned on.”
She smiled and approached. She leaned in close and took in his scent, letting it fill her nose. Her lips brushed against his neck, and she felt him stiffen. His hand rubbed her lower back.
“Let’s go with turned on,” she said, smiling.
He returned her smile, but made no further move. She nodded and understood. There would be time for each other later.
After they finished.
She set the steak down next to the pile of papers and leaned over the table.
“So,” she said. “Why are we in Ohio? Did you find Skye?”
“Not yet.” He tapped an architectural drawing of a large house. “But three blocks away is this place. Harry’s home.”
Marie studied the drawing. There were handwritten notes on the side in Jack’s writing, red circles at various entryways.
“You’ve been busy.”
“Yeah. I checked the place out. Ten guards, at different shifts. Harry’s not there. He’ll be gone a few days.”
“If Skye’s not there, and neither is Harry, then what are we doing here?”
His smile was frightening.
“It’s a surprise. Are you up for a trip?”
“Do I have time for that shower?”
*****
Marie moved a branch aside as they made their way through the trees and brush. They’d been walking for thirty minutes. Jack led the way, not bothering to slow down or check on her. He knew he didn’t need to.
She stopped occasionally to taste the air, enjoy the scent of nature, then jogged to catch up. The scent of mortal life was growing stronger. Gasoline, asphalt, concrete. They were getting closer.
“How is Tiffany?” Marie asked.
He finally paused, and took a deep breath at the one subject that brought pure emotion to his face.
“She’s … okay. I don’t know how, but she’s doing better than me.”
Marie nodded, having the answer she lacked for so long.
“Good family,” she said. “Good friends.”
“Maybe.” He looked at her. “Thank you for helping me with this. I don’t need the help. But, the company is … nice.”
“I don’t know Skye that well, but she deserves better. Not to have some asshole thinking he owns her.”
Jack resumed his pace through the woods.
“Mortals,” he said, spitting the word. “It used to be worse. Witches didn’t realize their own power. No one did. Except maybe me.” He jumped over a fallen tree, and to Marie’s surprise, he held out his hand to help her. The last thing she needed was help navigating the woods, but she accepted regardless. “They did the same thing. Keeping witches in cages, forcing them to do magic. Then they’d burn them at the stake. Witches or mortals. I’m not sure which I hate more.”
“You have a witch for a best friend.”
He whirled in place, almost falling over. Marie stifled a laugh.
“Whoa, whoa! What the hell is the matter with you? Best friend? Glinda?”
“Sorry, sorry. Forget I said anything.”
“I’ll let that slide. Once.”
She smiled as he turned his back to her.
The scents opened up as the woods ended. She reached out with her senses. Men moving about, on patrol. Quiet music from a smartphone. A tree branch scratching at a window.
Harry Tillman’s house was large, isolated from the rest of the neighborhood. The woods offered natural protection. There was only one way in, a driveway that wound through the trees. Marie couldn’t even see the road. An armed guard stood inside a booth near the electronic gate. There was a guest house in the back, an in-ground pool. Three expensive cars sat in an open garage. A man in overalls worked on one, his torso halfway under the hood.
Memories flooded back. Marie had invaded similar houses, from senators and mafia alike.
She sniffed the air.
“I can’t be sure, but I don’t think Skye was ever here.”
Jack was on one knee, studying Harry’s home. He reached into his coat pocket and pulled out two vials. One was a dull black, the other bright blue.
“That wouldn’t surprise me,” he said. “I’m sure he took her right to a cage. Probably had it built before he ever stepped foot in my house.”
“What are those?”
“These?” he said, holding up the vials. He opened the black one and poured it out into the soil. “Just some toys from Glinda.”
“I thought you said you weren’t—”
“Shut up.”
“What do they do?”
“Well,” he said, gesturing to the ground. “That one blocks phone signals. We don’t want anyone calling their mommies for help.”
“And the other?”
He smiled.
“I’m going to burn down his house.”
She shook her head and reached for the bottom of her shirt. She slipped it off, revealing her bra. It wasn’t lost on her how they both knew violence was only minutes away, and they talked about it so easily.
“Nice message to send,” she said.
“You’re bringing the puppy out to play?”
“You want it done fast? I’m your woman.”
She shimmied out of her jeans. He placed a hand on her hip. A small smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.
“You look so hot right before you kill mortals.”
“I’m going to try not to kill anyone. You should, too. Such a mess to clean up.”
“You’re no fun.”
“I’m plenty fun.”
He shrugged.
“Kill. No kill. Whatever, I don’t care. I just need this place locked down. Then, it burns down.”
She leaned in and kissed him on the cheek.
“I’ll see you soon. Try to keep up.”
Marie ran forward quietly. She kept low, the grass and brush rubbing her bare skin. The mortals did a decent job of patrol. They overlapped, covered multiple angles. But they were mortal, and lazy. A heavy-set man walking along the rear iron gate stopped for a moment, for a smoke break. Marie kept to the darkness in the tall grass, thirty feet away.
Taking a breath, she concentrated.
Her legs broke.
The transformation was painful, like it always was. Her body twisted in agony, a familiar sensation she’d spent decades learning to control. The scents and sounds exploded around her. Hair spouted all over her body. Her nose broke and stretched. She left her human form behind, as the pain subsided.
Power took its place.
She cautiously pushed forward and let out a low growl. Just enough to get the guard’s attention. He looked up, peering through the darkness, straining to see.
“Who’s there?” he asked.
Marie took another step forward, keeping close to the ground, masking her true size. She was ten feet away.
“A fucking dog,” he muttered. He pulled a gun from his belt and pushed it between the iron bars, looking for better aim. “Two points for me.”
Marie attacked.
The man screamed, tried to pull his hand back, but it was too late. She caught him by the wrist and clamped down. Blood exploded into her mouth. She could taste the bone. With one violent pull, the guard’s face slammed into the iron fence. His shoulder dislocated as muscle tore. He was dizzy, disoriented, but still conscious. Marie pulled again. The sound of his skull slamming into the fence echoed through the night. She tried to pull a third time, but the guard was done. He slumped to the ground.
Marie leapt the fence, landing nimbly on her paws. The pool smelled of urine and chlorine. The moving water threw hypnotic shadows along the back of the house.
She listened. Another guard approached, whistling a tune. In the distance, she heard a neck snap. Jack was already working.
She nudged the rear sliding glass door open with her snout. A laundry room was to her right. She ducked inside as the guard passed by.
A rough map formed in her mind, as the scents and sounds came.
There was a large kitchen down the hall. A bathroom was just one room over. What smelled like a workout area was in the basement. An old, expensive piano sat outside a living room.
Another faint scent, not far away. Upstairs. Feminine, pleasant. Cookies and coffee.
A quiet moan, followed by a male grunt.
Marie quietly moved through the home, finding the stairs. The sounds of intimacy grew louder, more urgent. The woman whispered for the man to be quieter, but he didn’t listen. Marie approached a closed bedroom door, the source of the noise. Curiosity gnawed at her. She didn’t recognize their scent. Jack said nothing about family being in the house. Only guards.
“Shit!”
The shout came from the end of the hall. She turned to see another guard, his face etched with terror at the sight of her. He pulled his gun and fired.
The first shot struck her in the chest, the second in the leg. The pain stung, but the bullets didn’t penetrate her hide. She raced to close the gap. He fired several more times, missing a few, but also grazing her cheek.
Marie leapt at him, sinking her teeth into his throat. He fired again before he died, lodging a bullet in the ceiling.
Two doors opened behind her. She looked up to see a woman tying a robe around her as she leaned into the hallway. Behind her was a boy, not much older than Tiffany, holding a gaming controller and wearing a headset.
“Brian!” the woman shouted, glancing inside the bedroom.
Brian pushed past her into the hallway. He wore only underwear, hastily thrown on, with a gun at his side. One of Harry’s employees who took guarding to another level. He took aim, but then saw the carnage. A dead companion under Marie. Blood dripping from her snarling muzzle to the carpet. Brian chose the wise path and ran. He knocked the woman and boy down as he made his escape.
He didn’t get far.
Marie sprinted, jumping over the fallen woman and past the boy. She reached Brian just as he made it to the end of the hall. She jumped on his back, slamming him into the wall. Paintings and a nearby vase fell. Brian rolled
to his back and tried to fight. He pushed on Marie’s throat and tried to punch her. She was too strong. Brian swung wildly, and Marie caught his arm in her jaws.
Brian reached for the nearby vase and smashed it across her snout. The blow stunned her, but only for a second.
Then the anger came.
She snapped her jaws twice. The first punctured flesh, severed arteries. The second splintered bone. Brian’s severed hand plopped next to him as he shouted in shock and fear. Marie swiped once across his face, leaving a gory mess. He tried to turn over, crawl away. She dug her paws into his back and bit his neck. His body went limp.
The woman and young boy were already running. She pulled him behind her as they raced away from the monster. The boy still carried his gaming controller. She could hear him crying in terror, and her heart broke.
They tumbled and fell as a figure stepped in front of them. The woman tried to scoot backwards, keep the boy behind her.
Jack loomed over them, taking a threatening step forward.
The scene of gasoline touched Marie’s nose.
“Hi,” Jack said. “Oh, wow. Looks like we interrupted some gaming time.” He smiled. “For both of you.”
Marie crouched and focused on her human form. She was already uncomfortable from being shot and struck with a vase. The transformation didn’t help. Her bones snapped, hair shriveled and vanished. Her skin turned its natural hue.
“Jack,” she moaned, still trying to find her voice.
Her nose was cut, her skin bruised. She’d heal fast, but her injuries were far away in her mind.
“Marie. Looks like you had some fun.” He took another step forward. The woman and boy recoiled, still shoving themselves backward. “You know, you can get up and walk.” He laughed at the woman. “Or maybe you can’t. Maybe you’re too sore.”
Marie used the wall to hold herself up, find her balance.
“The guards?”
“All dead.”
“Oh, God,” the woman cried. “Please, don’t kill us!”
“Go in there,” he said, pointing to the boy’s bedroom. “Hurry, now. Hurry, hurry.”
Damned and Cursed | Book 10 | Fallen Skye Page 30