Huntress Clan Saga Complete Series Boxed Set: Books 1-6

by Jamie Davis

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Quinn opened her eyes and choked down the bile rising in her throat as she fought her nausea from the transition. It wasn’t as bad as before. Taylor must be getting better at casting. Quinn made a mental note to thank her when she got back.

  It was dark, as it had been before. Quinn concentrated on her HUD and said, “Dammit, I need to see.” The attic space brightened with a faint green haze that looked similar to what you see through night-vision goggles.

  Now that she could see, Quinn slid over to the crawlspace entrance and got into position to open the trapdoor and stairs again. Before she pushed to open it, she listened to the storeroom below, straining to hear if anyone was there.

  She waited a good ten seconds before she decided it was clear. Placing her feet against the folding wooden ladder, Quinn pressed down just as she had the last time she was here.

  Nothing happened.

  She pressed harder and harder until she stood with her full weight on the inside of the trap door. It didn’t budge an inch.

  “Damn,” Quinn muttered.

  “What’s wrong?” Taylor said over the earpiece.

  “The trapdoor is locked or stuck. It was foolish to come in this way again. They must have added a latch or lock to the door below. Can you recall me and send me somewhere else in the building?”

  “Not if we want to send you to intercept the slayers and retrieve the bowl. I used up a lot of my energy casting the spell to get you there. I can bring you back, but after that, I only have enough left for one more round trip.”

  Quinn cursed as she crouched and studied the edges of the trapdoor. She was stuck. They didn’t have the luxury of coming back another night. She had a feeling things were going down tonight. It was now or never.

  She hooked her fingers under the frame around the trapdoor and pushed down with her legs while pulling up with her arms. There was a little movement, but only a quarter-inch or so. She could see light creeping around the edges. In a few places, the thin shadows from nails showed, and Quinn understood. She smiled. Nails could be pulled out.

  Summoning her HUD, Quinn tapped her stamina reserves and boosted her strength. Tensing again, Quinn yanked up while pressing with her legs.

  After about two seconds, the nails that had been hammered in to hold the trapdoor closed loosened all at once. The door swung down, dropping Quinn in a fall she hadn’t had time to prepare for. She landed hard on her side with a grunt that knocked the air out of her. A popping feeling inside her chest and a shooting pain in her torso told her she might have broken a rib or two.

  She laid there gasping to catch her breath. Her entrance had been a lot noisier than she’d planned, and she was injured, too. It hadn’t gone unnoticed.

  “Well, well,” a woman said nearby, her voice coming through the open storeroom door in the office next to the closet. “The boss was right. You did come back.”

  Quinn pressed her hands to the floor, levering herself up to a sitting position. She still felt like she couldn’t breathe right. The rib was definitely broken because she couldn’t take a full breath without stabbing pain in her side.

  Seated in a desk chair on the other side of the office was a woman wearing black leggings and boots, topped with a gray University of Baltimore sweatshirt.

  She stood and called out over her shoulder toward the stairs. “Zabe, she’s up here. She came back just like the Master said. You owe me fifty bucks.”

  The woman turned back to Quinn and bared her fangs. “I get to kill you and collect the price Handon put on your head. This is my lucky night.”

  Quinn climbed to her feet and drew her knife, trying to hide her inability to breathe right. She kept her elbow down on that side once she drew her blade. Pressing the arm against her side seemed to help splint the injury.

  Sneering at the vampire, Quinn asked, “If I kill you, does Zabe owe me the money?”

  “Why don’t you come out here and find out?” the vampire said, stepping away from the desk.

  A shouted answer from downstairs and the thump of feet on the steps told Quinn she had to work fast, or she was going to be both injured and outnumbered.

  Quinn siphoned more power into her speed to supplement her already increased strength and charged at the woman.

  The preternatural speed all vampires possessed still caught Quinn by surprise. By the time she’d raced over to meet the woman in the center of the office, the vampire had dodged to the side in a blur of motion almost too quick to see.

  Quinn managed to block the incoming attack from the vampire’s talon-like fingernails, now extended for combat. She batted aside the arm and twisted to the side, bringing her Bowie around in a broad slashing attack.

  The vampire had overextended herself, too confident her first attack would work.

  The blessed silver blade cut deep into the woman’s belly, hissing as it sliced through skin and muscle. A thin trail of smoke followed the silver-steel alloy through the wound.

  The vampire’s eyes widened in surprise, and she clutched the gaping wound in her stomach while attempting to back away.

  The footsteps from below were getting closer, so Quinn took a chance and dropped, kicking out with her leg.

  It worked.

  Quinn knocked the woman off her feet, and she fell to the floor with a thud. The huntress plunged the Bowie knife into the vampire’s chest and pierced the heart.

  The blessed blade did its job. The woman went limp, eyes open and vacant in final death.

  Quinn winced as she climbed to her feet. That last move hadn’t helped her broken rib at all. Suppressing a groan, she looked up and assumed a defensive stance. Another vampire, a male this time, ran across the third floor to the office.

  “You must be Zabe. You owe me fifty dollars.”

  “What the…” Zabe said. He took in the body of his friend and glared at Quinn. “I’m going to rip your arms off and beat you to death with them.”

  “Wow, that’s pretty graphic. Have you seen a therapist about your anger issues?”

  Snarling deep in his throat, Zabe charged at Quinn. As he got closer, he lowered his shoulders like he was going to tackle her and use his heavier body to his advantage.

  Quinn raised her blade up high to plunge it down into his back as he got close. She never got the chance.

  In another of those blurring vampire speed boosts, Zabe jumped into the air. At the same time, he slashed down at Quinn’s raised hand with his vamp claws.

  The razor-sharp nails cut into her wrist and forearm, hitting her with enough force to cause her to let go of the Bowie. Her hand flew up and the blade dropped to clatter on the floor about ten feet away.

  The vampire’s surprise move carried him over Quinn’s head and he landed behind her. As soon as he touched down, he launched a backward kick. The attack caught Quinn in the small of her back and launched her into the air. She flew across the room to slam into a large metal filing cabinet. The sheet metal on the side of the cabinet caved in when she hit it. Quinn struggled to regain her feet, pressing against the dented side of the cabinet to steady herself.

  Zabe laughed as he walked toward her. “Not so badass without the fancy pig sticker, are you. You must’ve got in a lucky shot to cut down Kim so fast.”

  “I’m sorry,” Quinn said. “Did I kill your girlfriend?”

  “Her? No way. Too weird for me. That girl was into bizarre stuff, and that’s saying a lot for a vampire, believe me.”

  Quinn pressed against the side of the filing cabinet to steady herself as painful muscle spasms coursed up and down her back. Now she had a bad back in addition to her broken ribs. On top of that, she was unarmed.

  Quinn made a mental note. If she survived the night, she would consider a backup blade or even two, like Clark.

  Zabe blurred again as he raced toward her. He must have seen she was injured. His talons raked at her arms as she raised them to block the incoming blows.

  His body collided with hers, smash
ing her around to the front of the filing cabinet on her knees. The earpiece fell off and rolled into the corner.

  Before she could get up, he jumped on her back and wrapped an arm around her throat, pulling her toward his waiting fangs.

  His voice snarled in her ear, “I’ve heard hunter blood is a delicacy. I’ll let you know how you taste before you die.”

  There was no way she was dying here and now, like this. Her anger fueled her to drain all of her stamina into a last surge of strength.

  “I’m a huntress,” Quinn grunted through gritted teeth. “Nobody feeds on me, especially not you.”

  Fighting the pain, her strength surging to beat the vampire, she reached up with one hand. Quinn gripped the back of Zabe’s neck and pulled down hard while sliding to the side on her knees.

  Since she had no weapon to finish him, she had to improvise. Yanking open the bottom filing drawer, Quinn shoved the off-balance vampire’s head in among the hanging file folders inside.

  Zabe struggled to pull free from her grasp, but she kept her hand clamped at the nape of his neck. Quinn slammed the heavy drawer closed, once, twice, and then a third time on Zabe’s exposed neck.

  Quinn heard a loud crack on the second hit, which sent spasms shooting down the vampire’s struggling body. The third blow was the charm, though. With a sickening crunch, the drawer slid all the way closed, and Zabe’s headless body slumped to the floor beside the blood-smeared cabinet.

  Gasping, Quinn sat back and stared at the carnage around her. She turned to crawl over to where her Bowie lay on the floor.

  She’d almost reached her knife when a slow clap from the top of the stairs stopped her.

  Naomi stood there. “That was impressive. Those were among the best of John’s coven. He was sure they’d be able to take you if you were foolish enough to show up here again. Good work with the filing cabinet, by the way. I’m not sure I would have thought of that. Quite innovative.”

  “Hello, Mother,” Quinn said as she worked to get to her feet. “If you saw what I did, why didn’t you stop me? You’re on Handon’s side, right?”

  Naomi’s eyes softened. “Oh, my dearest daughter…”

  “Don’t call me that,” Quinn snapped. “You don’t get to do that. Ever. You abandoned me.”

  “There are a lot of things you don’t understand, Quinn. Maybe another time, you’ll let me explain.”

  Quinn shrugged. She needed to stall for time until she could either go for the knife in front of her or for the earpiece behind her. “Why not now? It’s just you and me, right?”

  “We’re alone if that’s what you wanted to know.”

  “So, tell me what’s supposed to convince me not to hate you.” Quinn pressed her arm against her side as a muscle spasm grated the broken ribs together. She winced at the sudden burst of pain.

  “You’re hurt worse than you’re making it appear.”

  “It doesn’t mean I can’t take you,” Quinn replied.

  “I don’t want to fight you, Quinn. I won’t unless you force me to.”

  “Don’t you have to do whatever your sire tells you to do? I was told you are stuck under his power because you let him drink from you and turn you into this creature you’ve become.”

  “Quinn, I don’t expect you to understand everything I did. Only a mother knows the desperation that fueled my decisions that night.”

  “Stop calling yourself a mother. You gave me up so you didn’t have the liability of a baby while you tried to escape. You must’ve thought it would make it easier for you to get away from the purges. It didn’t work out for you, did it?”

  Naomi’s brows lowered and she said, “You’re alive right now because of everything I did that night and on many nights since. I gave up everything I loved for the chance that I could help you survive and hide from the purges.”

  Her voice broke as she continued, “They were killing us. All of us, Quinn. Men, women, and children, too. Nobody was spared. My sister and her entire family were wiped out in a single attack. She had twins your age. They never had a chance. It was about wiping the hunter genes away so they could never again threaten the plans made by John Handon and his comrades around the world. They killed my entire world that night, except for you. You, I managed to protect.”

  Quinn struggled with the things Naomi was saying. Clark had let on a little of what had happened, but she’d never thought about what it meant in terms of the human cost. Of course, they killed the children, too. They were totally evil bastards. She’d seen what they would do to serve their ends.

  But Quinn bit back the sorrow she’d started to feel. She didn’t want to empathize with this woman, who claimed to be the mother she’d lost so long ago. Instead, she asked, “Why?”

  “Why what?”

  “Why let them turn you into,” Quinn gestured toward Naomi, “this? A vampire.”

  “I was sure I was going to die when they caught us. They killed your father right away, feeding on him while I watched, helpless. It took four of them to hold me down while they did it, and they made me watch every second of it. Two of them drank until his screams faded and he died. I’d killed three of them in the initial attack, and I was sure the four who held me down were going to take their revenge once Brian was dead.”

  “Brian?”

  “Your father, Brian LoFasso. My husband, although he wasn’t part of the clan. I don’t think he understood what happened in the end. He didn’t really believe everything I’d told him about who I was.”

  Quinn fought down her curiosity about this woman and the man who had been her father. “So, did you plead for your life? Was that why they spared you?”

  Naomi shook her head. “No, never. It never occurred to me becoming a vampire would be an option. John Handon showed up as they were ready to start in on me. He wanted to feed on me, to taste hunter blood.

  She stopped for a second and took a deep breath before continuing. “That’s what he did. While they held me, he fed. I was sure I would die and soon join your father in the afterlife. For some reason, John stopped. I was nearly drained, delirious, and near death when he asked me.”

  “He said, ‘Perhaps you’d like to live on to see the aftermath of what we’ve wrought here with the death of the clans? You would make a suitable trophy for my collection. You must consent, of course.’”

  “At the time, weakened by the loss of blood, I was thinking of the last time I’d held you in my arms. My beautiful Quintana, who’d just learned to smile. It helped me make up my mind and do something I’d never imagined I would.”

  Naomi shrugged. “Once I agreed, it was over quickly, and I became one of them. It took me several years to work through my blood lust and gain enough control of myself to be allowed out from under direct supervision. It took still more to work my way up into his confidence so he’d give me enough autonomy to allow me to look in on you. It was all worth it, though, because here you are, a grown woman and a true huntress.”

  Emotions warred within Quinn. She wanted to hate this woman, not just for abandoning her, but for not revealing herself until now. It was irrational, and part of her knew it. Everything Naomi said made sense in a twisted but logical way. Quinn couldn’t say it aloud, though. That was too much for her to accept right now.

  “So, what do we do?” Quinn asked. “We’re at an impasse. Will you try to turn me in or let me leave?”

  “Quinn,” Naomi said. “I thought I made it clear. All of this, what I am now, was to help you become what you are today. I will not harm you. No order from my sire can make me do that.”

  “So, why are you here? If not to stop me?”

  “John told me he’d sent Zabe and Kim here to wait for you. I knew there was a chance you’d show up, so I came to send them home before you got here.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  “Quinn, I’m here to help you defeat John Handon. Once you do that, I will be free and can stop doing his bidding. Then I can finally die and rest.”

&n
bsp; “How can you help me if you’re bound to do what he says?”

  “I’m able to resist him when it comes to you, and you alone. I think it’s a final bit of my hunter blood somewhere inside me. But that won’t stop me from hurting or killing your friends if he tells me to. The only way I can get my free will back is for you to kill John Handon. Do that, and you set me loose from his control.”

  “I’m not here to rescue you, Naomi,” Quinn said. “I came here to find you and get some answers.”

  “Did you get them?” Naomi asked.

  Quinn paused to think. She didn’t know if she believed everything Naomi had told her, but most of it rang true. She nodded. “For now, yes. I might have more later on, but that’s for another time if it ever comes.”

  Naomi smiled. “Fair enough.”

  Quinn decided to see if Naomi was serious. She walked over to pick up her Bowie, watching the vampire. Naomi followed her with her eyes but didn’t move from where she stood.

  Quinn sheathed her blade and said, “I guess I need to get back and help the others find the bowl and the egg.”

  “You don’t have to look. They’re downstairs with the tome.”

  “Everything?” Quinn asked.

  “Yes, the tome, the scrying bowl, and the dagger are all downstairs, packed in a hard travel case strapped to a dolly. They’re ready for transport to the ritual. Someone will be picking them up soon.”

  Quinn tried to hide her excitement about getting the bowl and dagger while she was here. She didn’t need the book since Taylor had scanned it. A question occurred to her. “How did you figure out our location? I mean, what’s to keep you from coming and taking it all back?”

  “It was a lucky accident,” Naomi said, shrugging. “I placed a tracking chip in all the rare books here so they could be located in case of theft. I wish I could claim credit for having the forethought, but it was actually suggested by John’s insurance company to lower the museum’s rates.”

  “Who else knows we’re staying at the old hospital? This is important, Naomi. I need to know if my friends are in danger.”