by Imogene Nix
Daniel draw a deep breath and his body stilled.
“Well, we should go too.” Hope smiled, then Xavier took her hand and they too left.
“What’s wrong, Daniel?”
“It’s not what’s wrong, it’s how you taste. The scent of you catches me unawares. Like…” He dipped his head in her direction. “Right.” Closer he loomed, his eyes brilliant orbs in the low light. “Now…”
The kiss was soft and he gloried in their connection. When he finally pulled away, she was breathless. “Well. That was quite a way to end the day.”
He might think her scent surrounded him, but in his mind, he read how his stole along in her brain, enticing her all over again.
She slid her hand along his shoulders. “I can leave Samra to attend to preparing the nest for the day, but I think you need a shower, as do I. Let’s retire.”
His gaze searched her face and he noted with joy the glint of interest that lit her from within.
“Well, I’d hate to ruin your plans.”
She grabbed his hands, towing him up the stairs. “Samra? Can you take care of the house for tonight?” Her thoughts echoed in his mind.
Samra responded with chiming laughter. “Sure, and as I can guess what you plan, I think I’ll make myself useful in another part of the house!”
Cressida snorted and he grinned, hearing her vow, “I’ll talk with her about that comment. Tomorrow.”
* * * *
Consciousness rose slowly. The warmth in his bones left him tingling as he rolled. A body lay beside him and an instant of disorientation flooded him. Where…? Then awareness came and he smiled. Cressida.
He ran a hand over her curves, enjoying for a moment the pleasure of just touching her silken skin before she woke.
“Oh… That’s nice.” She moved languidly until she’d turned over to face him.
“Good morning, my love.” He caressed her cheek and she nuzzled against his touch.
“This is the nicest way I can think to wake.” She grinned and he loved the brightness in her gaze. “Sadly though, we don’t have time to lay here.”
He laughed. “I don’t only want you for the sex, you know.”
She snorted inelegantly, something she would never have done months or even weeks before, he was sure.
“Though as an added benefit—” Cressida tossed the pillow at him before he could dodge, as the phone rang.
“Ah well, I said we couldn’t just lie here.” She reached for the phone and he enjoyed the sight as the sheet fell away from her, exposing her breasts. Her plum-colored nipples puckered and for a moment he was tempted to bend over and suck. His morning erection was urgent and he knew it wouldn’t take much to entice her to dally a little longer.
“What?” Her words stilled his movements and his gaze flicked to her horrified face. “When did you realize?”
She reached up, fingers threading through her long blonde hair. “We’ll be there as soon as we can be.” She slammed down the receiver and turned in his direction. “The girls are missing. They were outside and Celina sent one of the nestlings to round them up. They can’t find any sign of them.”
His heart thudded. Marian, Rachel and Lucy were Celina’s foster daughters, found during the Slaughterhouse Rout. She’d be devastated if anything happened to them.
“Then we better get moving.”
They rose and hurried to their shared dressing room. It was huge, with tall mirrors, seating and floor-to-ceiling doors. Behind the doors hid hangers, drawers and shelving stuffed with clothes sorted by summer, winter and temperate piles.
Cressida was controlled even in the way she stored her clothes, he’d already learned. This time that attention to detail was more than welcome.
He tugged at the leather pants Cressida had told him were best for combat and pulled on a white T-shirt, realizing that if it came to a fight, his ability to move might save his life. The belt he fastened at his waist carried the ornately engraved silver dirk Cressida had presented him with after his change. He grasped the hilt for a second, testing the grip, then he dropped to the plush seat.
As he pulled on his boots, Cressida hurried around the corner. For a moment he was unable to talk, sure he’d swallow his tongue. Even in the face of a catastrophe she still had the ability to leave him speechless.
Her formfitting leather suit molded to every inch of her body, the ruby red of it the perfect foil for her carefully braided blonde tresses.
“Come on, Daniel, we need to hurry.”
Like that, he snapped out of the trance he’d found himself in.
He followed her down the stairs to where Samra and several other warriors waited.
“Cressida? The cars are ready and I’ve already sent a contingent ahead.”
A tall, pale-skinned woman kept pace with them as they raced down to the steps to the heavy black cars. They started and moved down the long drive with barely a sound, just the tiniest sensation of movement. It was the first time since his change he’d left the estate, and he considered it certainly wasn’t the way he’d hoped this would have taken place.
Worry gnawed at his gut, bitter and acidic. “There’s no more news?” His hands curled into fists as he thought about the three young girls who were nominally his nieces. They’d taken an oath to protect the innocents, and these girls numbered at the top of his personal list.
“Nothing. But what is odd, is that there is no sign of…” Samra stopped and straightened, as if what she was about to say was more than just unpalatable. “His usual modus operandi is to kill everyone in the nest. It doesn’t fit his style. To only take the girls?”
Cressida shook her head, her eyes stormy with concern and her body stiff. “No. That worries me more than anything else.”
The rest of the journey took place in silence, each of the three of them in the back seating area lost in their own thoughts.
Chapter Seven
The cars swept up the drive and Cressida leaned forward, silently urging the vehicles to hurry a little bit more.
That the girls were human was only one part of the fear that rode her mercilessly. It wasn’t that they’d survived the Slaughterhouse Rout, fought to stay together—something she appreciated more than she’d revealed to anyone—or even that at the end of the day, they were children.
No, it was that in her very private mind, they reminded her of the child she’d longed for all those years ago. The child she’d lost.
The pain in her heart never left, though it had dulled. She would use the tendrils of grief instead and focus on using her enhanced senses to seek them out. She’d look for the trail every human left behind.
Like the breadcrumbs in the story she’d spoken about to Caridad.
At the estate, Cressida snapped open the door and was out as the car came to a halt. At the top of the stairs stood Celina and Javed. Their faces were drawn with fear. “Thank you for coming.” Celina reached out a hand and Cressida grasped it.
“You don’t need to thank us. Just tell me where, when and we’ll go hunting.”
“They were in the rose garden, reading. Karen went out to call them in for their meal when… She came back in and said they weren’t there.”
“Where have you looked?” Daniel inserted himself between the two women and hugged Celina.
“The grounds. I have warriors walking the perimeter and even the witches are busy with spells. We’ve also reinforced the wards.”
Cressida nodded. “Fine. Daniel? We’ll start at the rose garden. Celina, Javed? Have you called for Hope? She may have seen—”
“We contacted her first. She had a flash of faces then darkness. I think she’s trying to shield us from the worst.” Celina’s face paled further and a single tear dripped down her cheek.
“And you have no trackers here at your nest currently?” She had to ask, unease settling in the pit of her stomach.
“No. We sent them to New Orleans. We never expected…” Javed’s broken tones died away. “Dammit, Cres
sida, we would never have placed the children in jeopardy.”
With a steady hand she reached out, gripped his fingers then Celina’s. “I know. We did the same, hoping to track Creedar and his warriors. Had you told anyone what you’d done?”
They stared at her, questions in their gazes.
“Never mind. We’ll find them.” With that she spun and headed for the garden, knowing that Samra, Daniel and the rest of her contingent would follow. Once there she breathed in, then out. Seeking to calm herself. With difficulty she focused on centering herself, then opened her senses.
Filaments of power extended, touching everything in their path as she concentrated. A lick here and a flicker there.
Opening her senses like this required every ounce of magical ability that she had but she used it, ruthlessly pushing forward.
A hint, the tiniest trail captured her attention and she focused on it. Fear. It was fresh, maybe half-an-hour to an hour old yet it was already decaying and carried an overlay of anger. Vampiric anger stank of bitterness and other dark emotions. There could have been more than a touch of excitement too, which had her swallowing heavily as bile rose in her throat.
“I’ve…” She panted, bent double as trickles of sweat dripped under the top of her suit. She needed to find her balance.
Inhale.
Exhale.
She straightened and pointed to the rear of the house. “That way.” She took an extra second, hands firmly pushed against her side, washing off the miasma, then she strode off, needing to find the girls quickly.
It hadn’t just been one attacker, but a group, each carrying their own individual scents. The trail was growing cold, but enough remained for her to follow.
The terrain was flat, with some bushes here and there, but she cursed the designer of the landscaped gardens, the nooks and hideaways they’d used to fashion the area.
“We’ll find them.”
Daniel no doubt thought to reassure her. She’d kept a tight rein on her emotions after searching.
Cressida stopped and around her the others did too, looking at her, questions in their gazes. “I read at least nine vampires. Searching for the girls. If they find them…”
“We’ll find them first. Come on.” She could always count on Samra to buoy her, and a touch from Daniel lifted her spirits.
“Fine then, let’s go.”
They ate up the ground, long strides carrying them beyond the carefully laid out gardens and into a rougher area, where rocks rested against large trees.
They slowed, picking their way along the uneven ground until they spied a small clearing. At the far end was a cave, overhung by tree branches. The mouth was maybe two meters wide, and there, she spied the children. The girls had grabbed sticks, dragging them across, using them as spears and creating a rudimentary barrier, no doubt to keep the hungry predators at bay.
Quivers of fear lashed at her, but she pushed that knowledge away, instead focusing on what the girls had done to protect themselves. To hide from the vampires and to fortify their tenuous position.
Raising a hand, she halted. The vampires hadn’t yet realized Cressida and her party were there and she smiled, the sides of her mouth widening as her teeth descended.
She flung her arms wide and indicated to surround the growling creatures ahead of her, and the warriors nodded.
Then she gave a cry of battle, cold and loud, which stopped the rogue vampires in their tracks. Their eyes flashed with hatred and power filled her. Blood pumped through her veins as she stalked toward them.
“Prepare to submit!”
Daniel watched as Cressida moved. It was graceful. Balletic almost. Step then still. He stared, lost in the dangerous symphony as her nostrils flared and she weighed the mettle of her foe. Her gaze narrowed and her teeth extended fully, far longer than he’d ever seen.
This was the predator he’d sensed in her from the start.
The others engaged as he moved his way in front of the cave. He’d protect the girls and knew that Cressida had already divined that.
The sounds and smells crashed over him, and the thrumming of primal senses urged him to participate. His muscles tensed and teeth lengthened, tearing through apertures that had opened on his change. The urge to crush those who’d threatened the children rode him hard. Instead he squared his shoulders and prepared to defend. One of the creatures, haggard and dirty, advanced in his direction.
Its eyes flicked to the children behind him, tongue licking out as if tasting the air and the essence of innocence. “Blood.”
The word was slurred and his mind made the connection. It was hunger, savage and wild, that drove them.
“Cressida, hunger. They’re starved. That’s the key to defeating them.” He pushed the thought in her direction, hopeful it would give her the advantage in beating the opposition.
She glanced in his direction, distracted for an instant. A creature stalked behind her, sensing her lack of concentration, and jumped, striking her hard from behind. It sank claws and teeth into her flesh and Daniel tensed while fear and anger rose.
My mate unprotected.
A growl rose, splitting the air.
Cressida whirled, knocking the creature back before attacking. He stared as she tore at the creature with her hands and teeth. When the brief skirmish was complete the carcass at her feet barely resembled a body, as strips of flesh littered the ground and blood seeped into the earth.
Around them the snapping and snarling had started to die down, leaving in its wake an eerie silence.
Once more he focused his attention on the vampire before him. Its eyes flicked from side to side, watching the destruction of his mates. The scent of fear rose, but so too did the cry of hunger. Even as he watched it warred with itself, the fight or flight question uppermost in its mind.
“Blood.”
When the creature spoke, Daniel gave it his whole attention and moved. A step to the side, only enough to keep the children protected.
It shuffled toward the children, attempting to sidestep the physical barrier he presented. Daniel prepared himself mentally for what he was about to do.
With a lightning-quick movement, Daniel shot his hand out, long nails digging into flesh as he gripped it by the neck and shook.
“Blood!” The piteous cry filled the night and he sighed, hand settling on the long dagger attached to his belt.
“Daniel. You must destroy it.”
His gaze collided with Cressida’s.
“Why?”
“Because it’s little more than an animal. It will only seek blood. It will kill everything in its path. Men, women and children. All it has left is primal instincts.”
With a deep breath he considered her words. He needed to know for sure, though. He used his mind, stabbing into the thoughts of the creature in his grasp.
Cressida was right. All he found was bloodlust. Nothing remained of the human it had once been.
With that knowledge came the decision.
Daniel curled his fingers around the long dagger and drew it from the scabbard with a hiss. One quick slice and in his hand he gripped the head, while the body fell away to the ground with a thud.
Silence had descended and all eyes were on him. Daniel’s and Cressida’s gazes met, hot and searching.
“An interesting way for a vampire to defeat its opponent.” Cressida flowed toward him, a tiny smile on her face.
He shrugged. “It made sense.”
Cressida grinned. “Well, that’s a good thing, because now we have to collect the remains in the shade and leave them out for the sun to do its job.”
Just like that, the battle was done.
A cry sounded behind him and he whirled, unsure what he expected, but the children emerged from the cave. “Y-you killed them.” They weren’t shocked, he realized.
“Yes. We promised nothing would ever harm you.” Daniel shrugged, unsure of how the girls would react.
Rachel cocked her head, while Lucy and Marian s
miled. “Yes you did, Uncle Daniel. But you see, we can protect ourselves.”
He narrowed his gaze. “What exactly do you mean by that?”
“We remember.” Her earnestness shone in her eyes and soft smile as she touched his hand.
Confusion filled him at her words. “What do you mean?”
“Who we are, where we come from and our parents. You see…”
The vampires crowded in and the children stood straighter, facing them. Their smiles broadened further, becoming full-blown grins. “Our parents are special. We’re special. We have powers too, just not the kind you might be used to.”
Daniel goggled at her words.
“We aren’t human, but we really aren’t were. We can do things, be things.”
Daniel felt the shock ripple through his mind. Not human? It was too much to understand, that these children were more than what they’d all thought. For a moment he questioned his sanity and that of the children. It made no sense that they’d make it up. Accepting their words at face value explained far more.
“But you were born here, on Earth?”
“Well, we aren’t aliens, if that’s what you’re asking.” Lucy rolled her eyes and they all nodded smugly.
There didn’t seem much else he could do right now. There might be questions and he needed to know how they came to these memories, but the main consideration was to get the children away from here.
Cressida was clearly intuiting his thoughts as she slipped her hand into his. “We need to get them back to the house, back to Celina, and call everyone in.” Cressida spoke with control, as if she too were shell-shocked, but she’d obviously recovered far more quickly than he.
“Yes, you’re right. The longer we stay, the greater the risk of more rogues.” He grasped the lifeline she’d granted him.
The children stepped into the middle of the vampires and they marched their way back to the house.
The large, square white building came into view, two forms sprinting toward them.
Celina and Javed. As they reached the children, they wound their arms around them. “Oh my God! I was so worried!”