Whiteout (Aurora Sky

by Nikki Jefford

  I looked at the sideways snowmachine. “Can we lift it together?”

  Fane stepped in front of me, hands cupping his elbows. “I can lift it myself, but it will be faster, not to mention safer, to continue on foot.”

  He was right. With the visibility so poor we could probably walk quicker, especially without the worry of turning over again.

  “Okay,” I said. “Let’s go, but watch your step once we near the lodge. Giselle bought traps and I wouldn’t be surprised if she set them up near the windows and doors.”

  Fane grimaced. “Thanks for the warning. Hopefully the wind will die down enough for us to shout out our arrival from a safe distance before entering the premises.”

  Fane held his hand out. I took it, but not for long. We needed both arms to help propel ourselves through the deep snow. Without skis or snowshoes, we sank down with each step. Maybe walking wouldn’t be quicker, but neither would the machine if it kept tipping over.

  I sucked in a tingling cold breath through my nose. As we pressed on, the whine of an engine hummed in the distance.

  Dante, I thought instantly. Relief surged in my heart. If they were leaving the lodge, we could flag them down on their way to the road. I hadn’t expected him to leave home base so soon, certainly not during a storm. Blizzard aside, the timing worked… until I realized the sound wasn’t coming from the lodge. It was coming from the road—the way we’d come—and it was getting louder.

  Fane stood stock still listening with a deepening frown. His pupils shifted sideways, catching the panic in my eyes. He grabbed my hand, pulling me toward the forest. We raced together as fast as we could through snow and kept going even after reaching the woods.

  The snow might not have been falling fast enough to cover our tracks in time, but at least it obscured the surrounding landscape, including the ground. Our snowmachine was another matter. Hopefully whoever it was would think it had been abandoned the day before rather than mere minutes ago.

  Once we were a fair distance into the forest, Fane and I crouched behind some low-growing foliage, listening to the rumble intensify. It now sounded like multiple machines buzzing slowly up the road. The trees picked up the sound, almost like tuning forks, vibrating the closer they approached.

  How many snowmachines were there? Two? Three? Four? More? It sounded like a horde of angry bees.

  Fear coursed through me, not for myself, but for Dante. It was too much to hope that a random group of people were out for a joyride. Not on this road in such shitty weather conditions.

  As the engines neared, I pulled my gun out of the hip holster. Fane unbuttoned his coat and pulled out a handgun from inside a deep inner pocket. It didn’t surprise me that he’d come prepared. We didn’t speak as we waited for the approaching riders, listening for them to notice our overturned machine and to stop to check it out.

  Soon enough the first snowmachine roared up. At first I thought I heard it slowing down, but then it kept right on buzzing by at a gradual but steady pace. It was soon followed by a second, third, fourth, and fifth machine. My heart lurched as each one rumbled by.

  Stop! I screamed in my head. It seemed as if they wouldn’t stop coming, blazing relentlessly across the landscape like an army of hostile machines.

  “I counted five,” Fane whispered.

  Five against three until we made it to the lodge. Maybe more if they were carrying passengers with them.

  Damnit!

  Even if Fane and I sprinted the rest of the way through the snow, we’d be late to the party. Maybe I should have stayed closer to the road, taken a shot at them as they passed.

  Right. Because hitting moving targets would be no problem at all, especially when potentially facing five or more vampires on snowmachines.

  The only thing left to do was get to the lodge as fast as our legs could carry us.

  I shoved my pistol inside the holster and trudged through the snow, hustling as quickly as possible out of the forest and onto the snow-covered road. Fane kept pace as I set out at a steady jog over the fresh ski tracks. It was more of a shuffle, like trying to run through water, than an actual run.

  The snow continued to fall heavily. I willed it to slow the group headed toward the lodge, toward Dante.

  Wet flakes landed on my eyelashes.

  Good. More. Stop them from going any farther or force them to travel at a snail’s pace. Hide the lodge in a blizzard of white.

  The flakes came down thicker, faster. At first I thought it was my imagination, but everything around us had gone completely white. I couldn’t see the forest anymore.

  Fane and I hurried forward. It was tiring, but we kept going, holding our words in to conserve energy.

  The sounds of engines buzzing ahead spurred us on. As long as we could hear them, we weren’t too far behind. Hopefully Dante would hear them in time to arm himself.

  Snowflakes clung to Fane’s jacket and hair, turning him into a walking snowman. I imagined I looked the same—hair turning white.

  Sometimes the engines hummed loud in our ears, like we were about to catch up to them. Other times they whined in the distance. And then they stopped altogether and I feared we’d been left far behind.

  I picked up my pace, Fane matching me.

  By now everything around us had disappeared in the storm. As had we. Lost in the flurries. Nothing but snow and silence.

  It was as though the entire world had vanished.

  An explosive sound cracked through the air and set my heart pumping all over again.

  Gunfire.

  More rounds were fired. The shots echoed across the mountains louder than the wind or pounding of my heart. Each sound could have meant death. The death of a vampire. The death of Dante.

  A feeling of utter sickness filled me that I could be half frozen in the storm mere minutes away while inside the lodge Dante took his last breath.

  So close, yet too far.

  21

  Blood And Bullets

  I stopped to catch my breath and looked down at the tips of my black boots in the falling snow. A little to the left, I noticed ski tracks. Walking with determined steps, I followed them, Fane trailing behind, looking side to side with a tightening jaw.

  The snow began to lighten up, almost as though clearing with each step.

  Suddenly I could see the lodge, as though a curtain had dropped. Five snowmachines without riders were parked at the front entrance.

  I took out my gun and pulled the safety back, stepping carefully toward the machines. Heat radiated off the engines, warming the air around them. Keys had been left in the ignitions. The snow had been stomped down on the stairs up to the front door. Maybe Giselle hadn’t had time to set up the traps, because no one had been caught in them, or maybe the intruders had gotten lucky. Another set of fresh tracks skirted the building toward the side entrance. At least we could follow them without worrying about traps snapping up through the snow into our ankles.

  I looked at Fane and nodded toward the side. He nodded back, indicating I take the lead. I was, after all, the vampire hunter.

  I hustled along the edge of the lodge. Fane fell back, as though covering me in case anyone came up behind us. As I rounded the corner, a streak of blond flew toward me. Ashley skidded and stopped, her eyes widening as they landed on my gun.

  “What’s going on inside?” I demanded.

  Her chest rose and fell as though she hadn’t had a chance to catch her breath. Goose bumps covered her bare arms. She still had on the black dress and leggings underneath.

  Fane came up beside me, gun lifted and ready, though not pointed at Ashley. “Who’s this?” he demanded.

  Ashley’s eyes widened.

  “This is Agent Scott, the informant,” I said.

  “I figured as much.” Fane lowered his gun. “Agent Scott, I’m with the agency. I came to bring Aurora and Dante home safely. What’s the situation inside?”

  Ashley gaped at Fane for several seconds as though attempting to assess wheth
er he was sincere.

  “Agent! What is the situation?” Fane asked more forcefully.

  My heart gave a leap of excitement at his tone.

  Ashley’s lip trembled before she opened her mouth to speak. “After I was apprehended and brought to this location, Dante and the vampire, Giselle Morrel, had a disagreement. He wanted my help getting back into the agency, but that made Giselle angry,” Ashley said, speaking quickly. “She said that wasn’t the agreement. This morning she informed Dante that she’d called a number on a wanted flyer and that vampires would be on site within the hour.”

  My fingers balled into fists. I knew we couldn’t trust Giselle.

  Ashley’s eyes had grown wide. “She seemed to believe the one you called Jared would be coming for a final showdown. I said we needed to get out of there as soon as possible, but Giselle said it was too late. Dante wasn’t happy but seemed to agree that their chances were better sticking around fighting.”

  “And then?” I asked impatiently.

  “They just arrived, but everything happened so quickly. I heard yelling and a bunch of guns firing. I heard Robert screaming my name. I thought my cover was blown, but he ran into the room where Dante had tied me to a chair and freed me. We were about to leave the room when your partner walked in and shot Robert in the leg. Robert yelled for me to run, so I did. As soon as I fled, I heard more gunshots. I don’t know who fired them.”

  A lump formed in my throat. Dante better not be dead. “Go,” I said, my voice hardly above a whisper.

  Ashley would be no use to us. She might as well leave before she got herself shot.

  Ashley looked from me to Fane. His jaw tightened. “Proceed with caution. When you reach the highway, find a phone and call the agency. Give them our location and let them know we’re under attack.”

  Ashley swallowed and straightened her back. “Yes, sir,” she said.

  I still felt as though I’d stumbled into an alternate universe with Fane giving orders to an agency informant. The “yes, sir” part particularly accentuated the point.

  Ashley hurried away from us. An instant later, she vanished around the corner. I crept forward, step by step, toward the side door that led into one of the lodge’s two side wings. I was tempted to run wild like Ashley, but I didn’t know what we were walking into.

  An engine roared to life. The sound climaxed and shot forward, away from the lodge. It was followed by shouts and a shot ringing out. The engine continued to hum across the wintery landscape.

  “Don’t shoot! That’s Alice,” a male voice shouted.

  Fane and I exchanged glances before doubling back the way we’d first come in. I walked along the outer wall, pressing my back to it when I reached the corner and looked around. A man in a ski jacket had his gun aimed at the receding snowmachine.

  “Why is she fleeing?” he asked.

  “She’s probably scared.” The second voice came from the porch. I couldn’t see who it was until he descended the stairs.

  It was Zack. Should have never let him go.

  Zack joined his buddy, their words muffled when they turned their backs to me.

  I turned to Fane and lifted my finger, mouthing, “Wait here.”

  Fane’s eyes narrowed and he shook his head.

  I nodded insistently. He might be able to command Ashley, but not me. We had to take out the intruders one by one, starting with these two idiots standing out in the open. They were easy targets. I’d have no trouble putting them down.

  Fane pointed at himself then me then the two vamps, indicating we’d each take one.

  My shoulders dropped. “Fine,” I whispered.

  While the vampires were faced away from us, we raised our guns and crept toward them. As we neared, I held my gun arm steady with my free hand and took aim, ready to take the shot as soon as I was within enough range to hit my target. Once I had Zack’s buddy lined up in sight, I fired.

  The vamp fell to the ground. He didn’t twitch or try to get back up. He didn’t move at all.

  Nice shot, I thought, guilt twisting through my stomach a moment later at congratulating myself about ending a life, even one that should have ended years ago. Survival of the fittest, I reminded myself just as quickly. It was them or us. No-brainer.

  Zack whipped around, his eyes as white and wide as full moons during a lunar eclipse. As soon as he saw me, Fane fired on him. Zack staggered back and clutched his stomach but didn’t fall. He started toward the front stairs, stopping suddenly when he stepped into one of Giselle’s steel traps. There was a metallic snap followed by a blood-curdling scream shrieked out across the snow-covered terrain. I took aim and fired two shots in his direction, bringing him down. I was doing Zack a kindness by putting him out of his misery.

  “Let’s go,” I said as I turned and sprinted back the way we’d come, racing around the lodge, making sure to place my feet in the tracks ahead.

  The side door had been left ajar. A steel trap was closed tight and tossed aside a few feet from the door. Blood stained the snow. A shudder ran through my body. Guess Giselle’s traps had served some good after all. Or maybe we’d be facing an extra angry vampire inside. He’d pried the trap off, but he had to be in a lot of pain.

  I gave the door a gentle nudge and entered the lodge, crouched, gun ready. Fane followed close behind. Having an extra gunman made me feel better about our odds.

  Five snowmachines meant at least five vampires. There were four of us counting Dante, Giselle, Fane, and me. Fane and I had already taken out two. Before we made it there’d been gunfire. If Dante and Giselle had managed to take out the other three, maybe we were already in the clear.

  My stomach tightened knowing that was wishful thinking. If they had taken the vamps inside, they would have come outside after the other two, not left them lounging around in front of the lodge. I wasn’t ready to consider what that meant.

  With careful steps, we entered the hallway. It was empty, but blood splatters stained the floor.

  We made our way down silently, following the blood trail to a bedroom on the left. I made my way there as quickly and quietly as I could, gun raised.

  When I reached the doorframe, I saw a man with his back to me. He wore a bulky black coat and skullcap over his head. His body leaned to the left. Blood pooled by his right foot.

  He was staring at something on the floor. My eyes followed the direction, down to Dante. He lay on his back, arm across his abdomen, eyes closed.

  My heart jammed in my throat and I nearly gagged.

  Dante was dead.

  No. He couldn’t be.

  Guilt knifed me in the gut. No. No. No. Please don’t let Dante die believing I’d abandoned him.

  It was a relief when the vampire standing over him spoke. “You’re going to wish you were dead after we get done with you.”

  My relief quickly turned to fury. Hot boiled rage rose up my body, into my jaw, nostrils, and eyes. They burned with indignation.

  “Hey!” I snapped.

  The vampire jerked and turned around, nearly losing his footing. Before he had a chance to point his gun, I aimed mine and pulled the trigger. He froze when the bullet hit him. Then his eyes narrowed and he staggered toward me with clumsy footsteps that creaked over the floorboards.

  Good, I wanted him to come my way. I didn’t want his body to fall on top of Dante when I blasted him for good.

  The vampire didn’t take aim. From the way his fist clenched, I got the sense he wanted to use physical force on me.

  I pointed my gun between his eyes. My hand gave a slight jerk as I fired another bullet at him.

  He fell face-first and hit the floor with a heavy thunk. After that, the vampire lay still.

  From the corner of my eye, I saw Fane look around the room before backing out into the hall.

  Good thinking; he could keep watch while I checked on Dante. I felt a tight pain inside my chest. Or maybe Fane needed a moment to gather his thoughts. He’d never seen me in action. Maybe he didn’t l
ike what he’d seen. Maybe he was having second thoughts about his earlier proclamation of love and spending the rest of our extended lives together. My stomach clenched. That wasn’t something I could think about right now.

  I raced over to Dante and dropped to my knees. His eyes were half shut, and blood soaked through the front of his shirt. Oh God, he was bleeding.

  “You’re hit,” I cried out in anguish.

  His lips twitched, and a faint smile flickered over his lips. “You came back.”

  “A hunter doesn’t leave her partner behind.”

  I reached for his hand and squeezed. He gripped mine as though grabbing a lifeline. Another body caught my eye across the room. The vampire I’d seen Ashley with at the club was lying face up by a chair near the wall. Looked like Agent Scott really would need a new assignment.

  A quick burst of relief filled me. Four down, one more to go. I needed to take care of the last one quickly. Dante looked as though he required immediate medical attention. I didn’t even want to think about the snowmachine ride back to the roadside. At least I’d have Fane’s help getting him inside the sled.

  Dante’s grip on my hand loosened as though he’d used the last of his strength to squeeze my fingers.

  “Sky,” he rasped, his voice cracking. “It was Giselle. She called them in.” Dante coughed, sending him into a fit that ended in heavy, strangled breaths.

  I leaned in closer. “I know. Take it easy. We’re getting out of here, but first I need to stop the bleeding.” As I reached for the hem of his shirt, Dante’s hand shot out and grabbed my wrist with renewed strength.

  “I can put pressure on it. We can bandage it once you secure the building.”

  I pulled my hand away. “Where is the fifth vampire?”

  Dante shook his head slowly. “I don’t know. I heard shots come from the lobby. After a while they stopped. Maybe Giselle got him.”

  “Or he got her,” I said. There was only one way to find out.

  I slipped my hand out of Dante’s and touched his cheek. “Just hang tight. I’ll be right back.”

  I leaned back and straightened my legs, rising inch by inch.

  “Sky.” My eyes met Dante’s. “Be careful,” he said.