The Bite of Winter (International Monster Slayers Book 2)

by Bethany Helwig

  It takes forever to get to the bottom of the hill. We maneuver around a few idiots that thought they could make it through the storm and got themselves stuck. Emergency responders and police squads are all over the place towing cars and helping at accidents. We plow—literally—right through and make for the docks. We eventually come to a stop in front of the red Duluth Field Office.

  “Now what?” I ask.

  “Now you’re going to wait here,” Jefferson says and hops out, leaving me alone with nothing but the growl of the engine to keep me company as the wind tries to break through the windshield.

  Minutes tick by until Jefferson climbs back in. A shock of cold washes over me before he shuts the door.

  “Where do you think your brother would have gone?” Jefferson asks.

  “I don’t know. He wouldn’t have wanted to put anyone else in danger but if he really thought he had a chance of saving me . . .” I let out a shaky breath. “Our best bet is to head to Scholar’s home first to make sure she’s okay. Is there any way we can warn her?”

  “She doesn’t believe in phones,” he grumbles. “She thinks they’re too easy to trace.”

  “Then I guess this will be a surprise visit. If they didn’t go there, then we figure out our next step.”

  “Good.”

  “What about the others?” I ask. “Is it just us?”

  “Melody’s coming the second she’s got Charlie hooked up to his blood supply. Nessa’s going to rally together her selkies to avenge their fallen. I’ll let them know where to go.”

  “Charlie’s going to be okay?”

  He nods. There’s that at least. Seconds later Melody hops in, passes out a set of machetes, retractable blades, and bio-mech guns, then settles in beside me. Jefferson shifts the plow into gear and we blast back down the road, the snow a billowing cloud off the side of the scoop. This is it. We’re finally going after Hawk—hopefully not a second too late.

  Jefferson expertly steers the plow through the blizzard but the trip to Sturgeon Lake takes an eternity. I run a gloved hand over the blade of the machete and imagine every time I’ve killed a vampire. They’re very weak offshoots of the lamia so killing a lamia is similar. Although, you can’t hope to kill a lamia by stabbing it through the heart. The only way is a clean beheading—if you can get close enough and not die in the process. Whenever we catch up to Hawk and the lamia it’s going to be a brutal fight and there’s no doubt in my mind that they will try to use my brother against us.

  I start to hyperventilate with too much time to think about it. My hands shake and I tuck my head down to my knees. I try to remember what Charlie told me. I’m in control. I am the weapon. I can do this. Jefferson gives me a single pat on the back.

  “Don’t give in to panic now,” he says. “You’ve been doing great so far. You can do this.”

  After a long deep breath, I raise my head and stare out the windshield, gathering all my wits and focusing them into the machete clutched in my hand.

  “I know,” I say.

  The rest of the journey is silent but my blood is boiling. Melody shifts several times beside me, restless. Jefferson clenches and unclenches his hands in a rhythm. These are two experienced agents prepping themselves for battle. Focusing on my blade, I run my hand over the length of it again and again as if my fingers could sharpen it.

  Melody never asks where we’re going or who the lamia are after. Did Jefferson tell her already? Or does she not even care?

  Moose Lake passes us by. It won’t be long now.

  “They took Charlie’s blood,” I say into the roaring silence as we take the ramp off the interstate to Sturgeon Lake. “They’ll be able to teleport.”

  “His ability requires line of sight,” Melody says calmly as if we’re driving to the store. “At least with the blizzard they can’t see far. Use your flashlights to blind them if you can.”

  Then we’re turning and the iron gates sit undisturbed in front of us. There aren’t any tire tracks but the blizzard could have easily swept them away. Jefferson hesitates momentarily before he drives forward. The gates swing open to allow entry and we take the long driveway. The mansion blinks into view between the snow flurries. In the distance I hear a resounding clang.

  “What was that?” I ask.

  “The gate,” Jefferson says and he sounds worried. “It doesn’t do that unless there’s an intruder.”

  We hustle out of the plow to the sound of an alarm every few seconds announcing some imminent danger. A rumble echoes from the mansion and the next second a faint blue light pulses at the top of the mansion through the snow.

  “The defenses have activated,” Jefferson says. “Son of a—”

  The blue light spreads like paint sliding over a ball and descends rather quickly over the entire house. When it reaches the ground, it shifts into a shiny see-through bubble around the mansion. There’s no sign of Scholar yet.

  “Dragon’s barrier,” I say to no one in particular. I reach out a hand to the shimmering wall. It doesn’t hurt me but resists against the pressure, pushing my hand away. “So, Scholar’s safe inside and we’re stuck out here.”

  “For the time being,” Jefferson says. “Eyes sharp. They’re here somewhere.”

  As if in response, a menacing laugh comes to us on the biting wind. It’s a woman’s laugh. The lamia are here. Thunder drums in my ears and I lift the machete in my hand at the ready, my other hand flicking open the retractable blade. Melody lifts her flashlight and her sword as well. Jefferson aims his bio-mech gun at the swirling snow—it won’t be able to take a lamia down but it might slow it enough for us to chop its head off.

  “You think you’re so clever,” the female says through the wind. I think it’s Epsilon. The three of us form up side by side with our backs to the dragon’s barrier. I can’t see a thing.

  “Your brother tried to lead us astray,” she says, still a ghost somewhere in the whiteout. “But I knew you’d come for him eventually. You’ve led us right to the demon’s doorstep. Well done.”

  The pit of my stomach drops into the soles of my feet.

  “No.” The word comes out of me like a desperate plea as if I could go back and fix what I’ve done.

  I led them right to Scholar.

  That laughter taunts me again. “Oh, yes. Dasc will be next once the demon is dead. As for you . . .”

  As if on cue, figures materialize through the snow all around us. They come in on all sides, dark silhouettes and ghosts, disappearing and reappearing closer to box us in against the barrier. Where did they all come from?

  Then out of the storm comes Epsilon and Zeta, Hawk tied between them. Epsilon smiles and her gaze passes over us to the mansion beyond.

  They vanish.

  I pivot on my toes as I realize where they’ve gone. The lamia smile over their shoulders at us as they drag Hawk into the house.

  They teleported past the barrier. And we’re trapped outside.

  Chapter 23

  They took my brother. They got past us like it was nothing. The dark figures surround us and start to move in one creeping, cautious inch at a time.

  “We’ve got to get through that barrier,” I snarl. “I don’t care what it takes.”

  “It won’t go down while a threat exists,” Jefferson says.

  “Then let’s take out the threat.”

  The figures sneak closer, and from the outside lights mounted on the awning of the mansion, I see that they’re vampires come at last for their revenge at the bidding of the lamia. I twirl the machete in my hand. Melody tucks her flashlight away in order to draw her bio-mech gun.

  “What are you waiting for?” I shout.

  Jefferson fires and hits the closest in the chest to knock it to the ground. I sweep into the mass of bodies and the machete in my hand sings as it slashes upwards. The vampire doesn’t even have a chance to scream before his head rolls. My sword lashes out and cuts across torsos, hands, and arms. Vampire hisses fill my ears and then the inevitable
blast of a gun firing a bullet, not the pulse of a bio-mech gun. Figures. I tuck down and roll to rise at the back of the first row of attackers only to realize there’s a heck of a lot more out here.

  It’s three against dozens if not more.

  I spin about to find one with a gun aiming at my head. My sword drives through his throat and I lean forward in the same movement as the gun fires. Ringing fills my ears but the bullet misses over my shoulder. I jerk the sword to the side and it tears out the side of the vampire’s neck. A quick pivot on my feet and I come back for a finishing chop with the machete. Two down.

  Bio-mech pulses blast through the swarm of vampires and send them to the ground in clumped groups. The stronger ones get up quickly and charge headlong. Those focused on Jefferson and Melody find my blade stabbing through their chest from behind and they crumple to join the rest of their dead.

  Melody moves like a storm unto herself, locked in a graceful dance of blood and death against those coming too close to Jefferson. As she holds the front, Jefferson keeps the vampires incapacitated, and I sweep in through the back. Every now and then a pulse comes too close to hitting me but I manage to dodge or duck out of the way. More gunshots echo and some ricochet off the dragon’s barrier. I make my way to a gun on the ground dropped by a decapitated vampire and kick it across the ground to Melody. The second it reaches her feet, she picks it up and lets off a series of deadly shots. They don’t kill the vampires but slow them down.

  Distracted for a split second, a vampire rushes me from the side and knocks us both to the ground. Not this again. My elbow slams into its face and he falls into the snow where my machete finds his chest to impale him to the ground. Jefferson shoots over my head to keep another one from jumping on my back. I rise to my feet and slip through the vampires to rejoin Jefferson and Melody.

  We’re all panting from exhaustion. Even if we manage to kill all the vampires and get inside, we’re not going to have enough strength left to take on the lamia. A loud crash echoes behind me from inside. I risk a glance over my shoulder and see a lamp roll across the entry hall but there’s nothing else. Our only hope is that Scholar can hold out by herself for a while.

  “There’s too many!” Jefferson shouts.

  I bump against the barrier as Jefferson steps back into me when a vampire launches at him. I jab out my machete from around his back and stab it through its chest, spraying us both with blood. Melody’s dispatching another on the other side so we’re left exposed a moment too long. Two more swarm in and pin us up against the barrier. We’re a tangle of limbs and fangs and punches. One grabs the bandage on my neck and I let out a cry of pain. Jefferson manages to bring his bio-mech gun around and shoots the vampire off me. Once I’m free, I help him by throwing off a vampire trying to bite his neck. Somewhere in the melee, Jefferson is wounded and blood trickles from his gray hairline. The vampires don’t give us a moment to breathe before we’re fighting for our lives again.

  More crashes and shouts come from behind. Hawk. Please let Hawk be unharmed. It distracts me and leaves me open for another vampire to try ripping the flesh from my neck. Melody comes to my rescue this time but we’re moving a little slower. This battle’s gone on too long already.

  Lights appear through the snow and grow steadily brighter, illuminating the vampires still hiding deeper in the blizzard. Headlights. An engine roars and a black SUV floors it through the vampires, sliding across the ice until it comes to an abrupt halt against the dragon’s barrier. The doors fly open and tall, beautiful women wrapped in tight black armor stream out of the SUV. A second vehicle races up, a truck with a plow that scatters the vampires on the other side. More selkies emerge and whip out their vicious blades.

  Nessa turns her dark eyes on us. “We’ve got this.” Then runs head first into the swarm of vampires.

  And stumbling out of the SUV last comes Charlie, ripping a needle out of his arm and tossing aside an empty blood bag. Melody and I rush for him as the selkies create a barrier of bodies between us and the vampires.

  “You tried to leave me behind?” Charlie asks, exasperated. He’s still too pale and shadows paint the underside of his eyes, but at least he doesn’t look like death any more. They must have given him a lot of blood.

  “You idiot!” Melody snaps and drags him to the dragon’s barrier away from the fighting. “What are you doing here?”

  “The selkies told me about the barrier defense.” His green eyes, made even more brilliant by the darkness around them, inspect the barrier behind us. “I can get us through.”

  “If you try to make a jump in your current state it’ll kill you.”

  “I can do it,” he argues. “Just one jump. I can do that.”

  “You’re not going in there by yourself,” Melody argues. “And I know it takes more energy to bring people with you when you teleport.”

  “I can take one person,” he says, panting. It must be taking him too much energy to simply stand but if he can do it, if he can get someone across the barrier . . .

  “Take me,” I say without hesitation.

  Jefferson’s hand plants itself on my shoulder. “Phoenix, no.”

  “My brother’s in there,” I snarl. “Look at me. Tell me if you think I won’t do everything I can to save Hawk and Scholar.”

  He blinks and lets his hand drop. Melody’s eyes are wide and furious. I ignore her, moving to wrap an arm around Charlie’s waist and face the barrier.

  “You can do this?” I ask.

  “You are not going in there without more help!” Melody argues, a tendril of panic in her voice.

  “I can’t bring any more people with,” Charlie says and slings an arm around my shoulders—I’m not sure if it’s to pull me along or steady himself, maybe both. There’s something dark and deadly in those eyes. He nods just once.

  “Charlie, no!” Melody shouts and reaches for us.

  “Get me in there,” I say quickly and hold on tight.

  I remember when he ported Hawk. My brother nearly collapsed from the pain of it. I brace for that same horrible pain. We’re going to be trapped together in a building with lamia. I can’t afford to be vulnerable for even a second.

  We vanish before Melody can grab us.

  The air tightens in my chest and the snow disappears to be replaced by the marble floors and columns of the grand entry. My skins burns but it’s a dull pain. The only real problem is a bit of disorientation. My feet don’t realize they’re standing somewhere else and my legs feel like jelly. Charlie slumps against my side. It’s a good thing my arm is around his waist otherwise he would have fallen to the floor.

  “Charlie?” I whisper at his ear.

  He’s unconscious but alive.

  The noise of everything outside is muted and every sound I make, like breathing, is too loud. I remain motionless where I am but my eyes dart around the room for danger. Once I think we’re clear, I drag Charlie over to a closest and hide him amongst the coats hanging inside. If the lamia don’t know he’s here, then they won’t go after him. I shut the door noiselessly behind him and creep into the house at a crouch.

  Signs of destruction and chaos mark a trail through the center of the house. Upended tables, broken lamps, claw marks on the walls, and something white and powdery spread over the floor. A bag of flour sits slashed around the next corner and a faint cloud of it still hangs in the air, leading me past the center room and to a massive kitchen beyond. Steel tabletops are dusted with more flour, powdered sugar, and splatters of what looks like blood. What happened in here? A confection massacre?

  Footprints and signs of a struggle run through the powder in the kitchen evidencing some fight I missed while preoccupied with the vampires outside. Where did everyone go?

  A tremor passes through my feet and the hanging fixtures rattle above me like some kind of earthquake. It vanishes as quickly as it came until there’s another aftershock that sends a painting on a nearby wall to the floor.

  A crash in the basement lets me
know where the source of the destruction is coming from. I pause at the top of the landing and try to think things through before barging downstairs head first. If these lamia are using Charlie’s power, then I need to remember his weakness. He needs to be able to see where he wants to port to. My best bet is to find a way to blind them, even if for a brief moment. They won’t be able to use that power indefinitely. Eventually it’ll run out, unless they’re carrying around bags of his blood and taking sips the whole time. Crap.

  I inch down the staircase and the sounds of battle grow louder with each step. Glass shatters somewhere close by. I force myself to keep moving until I’m on the bottom step. Peering carefully around the corner, I’m met by a scene of destruction. Glass shards cover the floor from the demolished dividers that had separated the hallway from Scholar’s labs. Metal tables are bent and twisted, televisions and computer monitors spark where they lie in smoking piles on the floor, and there are dents in all of the walls.

  Another crash gets me moving in the right direction towards the end of the hallway. I run at a crouch and stop at each steel support to hide and get my bearings before continuing on. This place is ridiculously big.

  Growls, hisses, and the occasional grunt of pain wrap around me. In the very last section of the lab the lamias and Scholar are set in a vicious dance of limbs and blades around a cadaver table. Scholar seems to have shifted partway between her human and dragon forms. She’s humanoid but with scaly green skin on her hands and arms and a tail lashing out like a whip as she fights the lamia off with a broadsword. The lamia hiss their fury as she cuts across their hands, their legs, anywhere she can reach. Black blood drips from their bodies and they’re every bit the monsters I saw a glimpse of in those horrible eyes.

  When Scholar pushes out an empty hand at Zeta, a shockwave ripples out before her and blasts the lamia back. Another tremor passes through the house and I realize Scholar is the source. She’s the earthquake. Despite the power Scholar holds, the lamia are quick to recover and renew their attack. Zeta rolls to her feet from where she fell, ignoring the shards of glass imbedded in her arms, and lashes out again.