Shadow Lake Vampire Society Book Three: The War

by Wendi Wilson

  “Hiding out in the basement with Desmond and Coco.” He mouthed the words, not even a whisper of sound coming out.

  I took a moment to mull over the fact that my Dad was right under my Mom’s feet, and she didn’t know it. I wondered if I should just call him up, hope Mom didn’t have a heart attack at the sight of him, and try to explain everything about the vampire world to her. I knew there was a vampire law that no humans could have the knowledge of them, except for a few extreme cases, like me and True. Could Mom be added to that category?

  I opened my mouth to ask Levi, but he shook his head and walked across the room to close the bedroom door. On his way back, he grabbed my phone from my desk. Handing it to me with a finger pressed against his lips, he pulled his own phone from his pocket and texted me.

  Levi: Ask me about Dean Purty.

  I shot him a confused look, but he just gave me an encouraging look as he tapped against the screen of his phone.

  “Where is Dean Purty?” I asked.

  “He went back to the camp with the others,” he said as another text popped up on my screen.

  Levi: Jackson is here, in the kitchen with your Mom.

  My eyebrows dropped low over my eyes as they leapt from my phone screen to Levi’s face. I had no clue what the hell was going on.

  “He wants you to come back as soon as you’re better,” Levi said, and it took me a moment to realize he was talking about the dean, not Jackson.

  Levi: He’s a vampire, Piper.

  I opened my mouth to say something smartass about knowing Dean Purty is a vampire, but I snapped it shut when I realized he wasn’t texting about him. He was talking about Jackson.

  “I-I’d like that,” I stuttered, responding to his spoken words about the dean as I furiously tapped out a message on my phone.

  Me: What do you mean, Jackson is a vampire? How is that even possible?

  My mind whirled in a gazillion different directions as it tried to process this new information. I’d been so happy for Mom when I found out she was dating again. I thought she needed to move on with her life, but I was wrong. She didn’t need to move on. Dad was here.

  “Can I just lay with you for a while?” Levi asked out loud as he climbed into bed with me, pushing a fist into the mattress to make the springs squeak.

  “I’d love that,” I said.

  Levi: I don’t know what his endgame is, but it doesn’t feel right. What are the odds that a vampire would somehow meet your mom, a human, and want to date her while we’re busy trying to take down The Society?

  Nil. That’s what the odds were. Zero.

  Me: Remember, she said she met him at grief counseling?

  Levi nodded, then tapped his thumbs against his screen.

  Levi: I think he’s a plant.

  Me: You think Warren sent him here to keep tabs on my mom?

  Levi: That’s exactly what I think.

  Me: We need to get him out of here. Now, before someone else gets hurt. I thought about what had happened to Coco. There was no way I could allow that to happen to my mom.

  Levi: I know. But we have to be careful. Come up with a foolproof plan.

  “I have to pee,” I said out loud, ignoring Levi’s stern expression as I gingerly climbed from the bed.

  He shook his head at me vigorously, his gray-green eyes ordering me to stand down, but I just gave him a semi-apologetic look and shuffled toward the bedroom door. Levi zipped over, reaching the door before me, pressing his hand against the wood as if to stop me from opening it.

  It was my turn to give him a stern look, and he sighed and removed his hand. My fingers wrapped around the doorknob as I pressed a kiss to his cheek. He wouldn’t stop me from trying to save my mom.

  But first, I hit the bathroom. I really did need to pee.

  When I pulled open the bathroom door, Levi was still standing there, keeping guard. I tried not to think about him hearing me use the toilet… I had much more urgent matters to worry about, anyway.

  He wrapped his arm around my waist and led me into the kitchen. When we got there, my mom was alone, standing near the stove as she stirred something in a steaming pot.

  “Oh, you’re up,” she said, a little startled by our sudden presence. “Are you sure you should be out of bed, honey?”

  “Bathroom,” I explained, easing into a chair at the kitchen table.

  “Well, you just missed Jackson,” Mom said, a secret smile playing about her lips. “Such a shame. He can’t wait to meet you.”

  Yeah, I bet.

  “Is he coming back?” I asked.

  “Tomorrow,” she said with a small pout. “He had to catch a flight to Seattle. He has a meeting this afternoon and a flight back first thing in the morning.”

  “What kind of business?” I asked, my Spidey Senses tingling. Seattle wasn’t that far from the train yard where we’d found Warren.

  “Uh,” Mom said, her brow crinkling. “I’m not sure. It’s something complicated a silly thing like me wouldn’t understand.”

  My head flew back as she turned to stir the soup again. I turned toward Levi, looking at him with wide, disbelieving eyes. My mom had been dating this guy for weeks, and she didn’t know what he did for a living? And not only that, but she seemed to think she was too stupid to understand the simple concept of his profession?

  My mother was not an idiot, and she’d never stand for a man making her feel inferior.

  Oh, shit.

  Images of True, her personality completely changed under the influence of Xander’s compulsion, flashed through my head. Was Jackson compelling Mom to make her like him and not demand even the smallest details about his personal life?

  That was a stupid question. Of course, he is.

  “Mom, you’re not silly, and you’re not stupid. How do you not know what your boyfriend does for a living?” I asked, my voice probably a little too harsh.

  But it had to be asked. Her answer would prove whether Jackson was compelling her or not.

  “I don’t need to know, honey. I love Jackson for who he is, not for his money or what job title he holds.”

  Whoa. Whoa. Whoa. Did she just say love? Oh, she was for sure being compelled by that asshole.

  I must’ve lost my mind for a moment, because I opened my mouth and shouted at the top of my lungs.

  “Dad!”

  The spoon Mom was holding clattered to the floor, blood-red tomato soup splattering everywhere. At the same time, the basement door flew open, and my father zipped into the room.

  Well, so much for subtlety and breaking it to her gently. Good going, Piper.

  Mom froze, staring. As for my father, his concerned and confused eyes tracked to me before settling on her. The love in their depths could not be denied. Her knees came unhinged as she began to process, tears pouring from her eyes as she stared at Dad in disbelief. He dropped to his own knees in front of her. Her shaking hands slowly moved to cup his face, as if she were afraid he’d vanish if she moved too fast.

  “Scott?” she whimpered.

  He placed his own hands on top of hers, pressing her palms against his cheeks. “It’s me, baby.”

  “But… how? Why are you so cold?”

  He pulled her to her feet and took a step back, giving her a moment to take all of him in. I watched the long-overdue reunion with tears of my own, my heart feeling full to bursting with happiness. Suddenly, Mom’s eyes darted to the side and widened with fear.

  “Coco?” she gasped, and I looked over to see my friend give her a tiny wave.

  True was behind Coco, smiling from ear-to-ear as she watched my mother take it all in. I wanted to smile, too, but I couldn’t let myself feel happy until I was sure this shock wouldn’t completely break my mom.

  “Diane,” Dad said, pulling her attention back to him, “I know this is a shock, but I need you to hear me. Jackson is not your boyfriend, and you don’t love him.”

  “Jackson?” she asked, her eyes rolling wildly. “Why are you talking about him?
And why aren’t you dead?”

  Suddenly, the pantry door flew open, and a blurry form flew out and jerked Mom away from Dad.

  Levi and I jumped to our feet as Dad roared with anger. Levi hissed as my eyes focused on Mom and the very tall, very handsome vampire holding her in front of him like a human shield. Rage simmered in my gut as I took him in.

  “Yes, why aren’t you dead, Scott? That’s what I’d like to know,” the man holding my mother hostage said, a distinct Texas twang coloring his words.

  He’d been hiding in the pantry? He must have been completely still to remain hidden from all the vampires in the house and their supernatural hearing.

  “Jackson? What’s happening? Let me go,” Mom pleaded, struggling to get out of his grasp.

  “Oh, no, darlin’. I can’t do that, or these vampires are going to tear me apart.”

  “Vampires?” The word escaped her with a squeak, like she wasn’t sure if she was the crazy one, or if it was Jackson.

  He had sandy-blond hair that stood up from his forehead in artful spikes, bright blue eyes, and when he directed a smile at me, dimples a mile deep pierced his cheeks. He was handsome on the outside, sure, but his soul was black as pitch. I could feel the evil oozing off of him, and it made me shiver.

  “Jack?”

  My eyes darted to Coco, who stood frozen, a look of pure terror etched on her face. I followed her line of sight back to Mom and Jackson, wondering what the hell was going on with her.

  Wait. Jack? Jackson. Son of bi—

  “Oh, hey there, Coco. You’re looking good, as usual,” Jackson purred, darting out a tongue to lick his lips suggestively.

  This was the “older man” Coco had been seeing. This was the vampire who killed her. Turned her.

  “Get your hands off my wife,” Dad ordered, taking a menacing step forward.

  “She’s moved on, Scotty,” Jackson said, licking a trail up the side of Mom’s neck as she stood there, dazed. “Might as well accept it.”

  Before I could take my next breath, the room exploded into action.

  Dad lunged forward, his hands reaching for Mom. Jackson jerked her backward, his mouth opening to reveal a pair of sharp incisors. His head dropped down, those teeth sinking into the side of my mother’s neck. Her scream pierced my eardrums, and my own heart stopped as Jackson ripped his head back, taking a chunk of Mom’s flesh with him.

  He released her and was gone in a blur of motion before she even hit the floor. Dad was at her side in a blink, his hand pressing against her neck as her body convulsed on the linoleum. Blood seeped through his fingers, and when he pulled them away, it spurted and shot across the floor in a wide arc.

  “It’s her jugular vein,” Levi hissed, wrapping his arms around me as I tried to dart forward to help.

  “Let me go, Levi,” I screamed, fighting him with everything inside me. Not Mom. This couldn’t be happening.

  “I can’t,” he grunted. “Trust me, Piper. Your dad will save her.”

  I focused back on my parents, fear and revulsion nearly making me black out at the sight before me. Dad was on his knees in a pool of Mom’s blood, his mouth at her neck. His throat bobbed frantically, and I watched his Adam’s apple move up and down a few times before the truth of the matter dawned on me… he was drinking her blood.

  “Dad! What are you doing?” I shouted, fighting even harder against Levi’s hold.

  “He’s turning her, Piper,” Levi said quietly, his grip on me tightening as he pulled me into his chest. “He has to, to save her.”

  My body went still at his words, and I watched in horror as my father drank my mother’s blood, draining her dry. Unable to stomach it any longer, I turned in Levi’s arms and pressed my face into his chest. Great sobs wracked my body, and even though I could no longer see the carnage, I could hear the slurping sounds. My body cringed with each one, and my sobs grew harsher and louder.

  “It’s okay, Piper,” Levi soothed, murmuring the words into my hair. “I promise. She’s going to be okay.”

  But I knew he was lying. Nothing was ever going to be okay again.

  Chapter Eight

  Both of my parents were vampires. The people that raised me, that loved me, that held me tight when the nightmares came were both dead. Or technically undead.

  And I was not.

  Sitting on the back porch steps with a blanket around my shoulders to shield me from the chilly night air, I put my head in one hand while cradling the broken one in my lap. How had this happened? How had we gone from a happy, normal family just a year ago to this? Both of them turned to creatures of the night, and us in the middle of a vampire war. Oh, and not to mention my best friend had just recently dug herself from her own grave, and I was a witch. And a crappy one at that.

  What in the hell was happening to my life?

  My wrist ached beneath the cast, my neck throbbed from the bite, but mainly my heart hurt from all that had happened. The blood, the terror, the agony. And me, stuck in the middle.

  Maybe if Warren had turned me into a vampire, I wouldn’t feel so alone and scared. Maybe if I was a vampire right now, Mom’s pale body on the basement floor wouldn’t be so terrifying.

  Maybe I should march inside and demand one of them change me. Right now.

  But Dad wouldn’t agree. No way would he want to see his little girl lying dead on the floor beside his wife. Levi wouldn’t either. He’d told me so back at the camp. He’d said I was too young and hadn’t lived enough of my life to give it all away. Maybe Coco would side with me, but then, she might agree with them. Nothing like losing your mortal life to want everyone around you to keep theirs.

  Maybe I was just upset and making terrible decisions I would regret later.

  Seeing Mom nearly drained of blood was the straw that broke the camel’s back. Levi had explained that for the transformation to work, my dad had to take most of her blood before injecting the venom that would start the change. Jackson hadn’t left him much choice, severing her jugular like that. I didn’t understand the science of the transformation and really didn’t want to, but all the vampires agreed. Mom would be okay in a few days, but until then we’d need to wait. They’d laid her nearly translucent body on a rug in the basement and hovered around it like afterlife babysitters.

  In the meantime, she looked like a corpse.

  She was a corpse.

  I couldn’t take seeing her that way. I’d run out of the room and found myself on the porch sniveling and wishing I could turn back time.

  What if she didn’t wake up? What if she woke up a monster?

  More tears slid down my cheeks as I thought over the worst case scenarios.

  The door behind me cracked open. I expected Levi, but Coco’s head popped out. “Want company?”

  I nodded, sniffing. “Sure.”

  Coco settled on the step beside me. For a moment, we let the sounds of the crickets and frogs swell around us while we stared out into the starry sky. Somewhere a neighborhood dog barked, and I marveled at how different my childhood town seemed now that I’d seen more of what the world concealed. Were any of my neighbors secretly vampires? Did they suspect that my house held four of them?

  “Your mom is going to be okay,” Coco said quietly.

  “You know that for sure?”

  She bit her lip and finally shook her head. “I don’t really know anything for sure anymore, Pipes. But, everyone I know who is a vampire survived the transition.”

  I didn’t ask her how many people that was. I didn’t want to know about the ones that didn’t make it since that would make my worry worse. What percentage of people just up and died? Ten? Fifteen? My stomach twisted with the thought.

  “Was this all my fault?” I finally asked, feeling the tears well up again. “I called Dad up. If I hadn’t… You all told me not to.”

  “Piper, no. Of course not. Jack is a vile, awful vampire.” She went quiet, and I knew she was remembering the terrible things he’d done to her, and it made me
want to rip Jackson apart with my bare hands.

  Instead, I used them to wrap Coco in an embrace, tucking us into the blanket together while being careful not to tweak my broken wrist. She settled into me, her cold body pressed up against my still warm one. “I’m sorry for what he did to you,” I whispered.

  “I’m sorry for what he did to your mom. I want to kill him. When I saw him again…” She sucked in a stuttering sob. “I know I’m not a good fighter, but I think I could tear his head off if given enough time.”

  “I’m sure you could.” I put my head on her shoulder. “Levi says they’re going to send a group after him.”

  “I don’t think they’ll catch him,” Coco said. “He’s too good for that. He’s a snake. Wiggles right between your fingers.” She twiddled hers as if to illustrate. “Look at how he hid in that pantry, and four vampires had no idea he was there. I think he covered himself with garlic to throw us off. It’s all I could smell when he popped out.”

  “Really?” I didn’t want her to be right, but it seemed like our enemies had a way of slipping through our fingers lately. We needed to figure out a way to tighten the noose. “Do you think he’s with Warren?”

  Coco nodded. “Slime balls stick together.” Then she added, “Don’t start beating yourself up about it, Piper. None of this is your fault. What Warren has done is all on him. Same for Jack. If they weren’t attacking us, they’d just be doing it to someone else. They’re evil, and they hurt people. It’s what they do. We were just in the way.”

  I nodded, knowing she was right. Warren didn’t really want me, he wanted what he couldn’t have. He wanted to hurt Levi and rub it in the dean’s face that one of his counselors was under his spell. He wanted to control me like a puppet and would have tossed me away when he was bored, which somehow made what he did worse.

  I wanted to murder him, but first I needed to figure out how.

  “I couldn’t compel Warren,” I admitted. “I tried, but it didn’t work.”

  “He’s like, two hundred years old or something. That means he’s five times as strong as the dean and two hundred times as strong as I am.” Coco shrugged, her shoulder rubbing against mine. “Maybe he’s just too powerful.”