Reborn to Bite (Vampire Shadows Book 1)

by Mark Gronwald

  Sabine rolled face-down and groaned as her spine popped back into place.

  Trent shook sand off himself and went to Sabine. "You okay, Sabine?"

  She rolled to look up at him. "I could use a massage."

  "Maybe later," Trent said, smiling. He helped Sabine get to her feet and held her as her spine made a final crack.

  "Thanks for saving me, Sabine," Esmerelda said, over the sound of Heather's curses.

  "So where the hell are we?" Sabine asked, pulling her cell phone from her pants pocket. Karma had kept her phone from getting cracked, at least. "I have no service."

  They looked around, taking in the scenery. It was dark, but the moonlight and starlight showed a tableau of desert and rocky hills that stretched to the horizon.

  "Looks like the middle of the Nevada desert, based on the geography and... wildlife," Trent said, sniffing the breeze.

  "Great. So who knows the spell to get us back home?" Sabine asked, looking around for her bag.

  "Damn you for pulling me into this," Heather cried, staring at Esmerelda. "How could you? I trusted you."

  Esmerelda shook her head. "There is much you will learn from this adventure, Heather."

  "Like not to trust you anymore? How am I going to do anything without my wand?"

  Esmerelda shook her head. "You depended on that wand too much. You have been neglecting your other skills by focusing on enchanting items. That will be one of the lessons, of course."

  "I've accomplished ten times what you did during your tenure!"

  Esmerelda shrugged. "I didn't suffer what motivates you. I just wish you could let go of your pain and find happiness again."

  "I refuse to talk about this in front of the vampire."

  Sabine had searched the entire area around them, without a sign of her bag or her hat. All she found was a few sets of burned clothes scattered around. "What happened to my bag and my hat?"

  Esmerelda took a seat on a rock, and looked up at the stars. "They're someplace in the last hundred miles is my guess, or circling the earth for eternity. When you lose track of things in a Ley line, you can pretty much kiss them goodbye."

  Sabine pulled her sword and checked it. Aside from a scuff on the pommel, it seemed fine. She sheathed it and sat on the rock next to Esmerelda. "Great. I had guns in my bag that might have been useful when we meet up with all those displaced vampires."

  Esmerelda put a hand on Sabine's shoulder. "Dear, it's doubtful they'd linger here. They've probably relocated back somewhere near San Francisco by now. Besides, how many bullets did you have? If they were all still here, I'm afraid it wouldn't be enough."

  "Looks like some burned up here on arrival," Sabine said, pointing to the clothes.

  Heather looked where Sabine pointed, and covered a gasp with a cough. "Well, it must have been past dawn here when I sent some of them. Most I sent closer to midnight."

  "If you have a dozen bullets and even a dozen vampires are left, you're better off using your sword. Vampires are notorious for dodging bullets," Esmerelda added.

  "You have a point," Sabine said, sighing and putting her elbows on her knees and her chin on her hands. "So what do we do now? There's no way I can get to that ceremony tonight and stop it. Regina and Michaela might be in trouble."

  Heather waved her arms in the air. "My daughter was expecting me to take her trick-or-treating. I lost my wand. You know how much magic went into that wand? It's practically irreplaceable. And my suit. Oh my God, my suit! Esmerelda, you owe me a suit. And a wand."

  "Is she like this all the time?" Sabine asked.

  "She has some issues to overcome," Esmerelda replied.

  "Don't you dare confide in the vampire about me," Heather yelled, stomping over to Esmerelda. "You've betrayed me."

  Esmerelda stood and waved a hand, mumbling something. "There," she said as Heather visibly calmed. "We'll practice that spell tonight."

  Heather smiled, and chucked her broken wand over her shoulder. "Okay, whatever. I'm guessing that was a contentment spell?"

  Esmerelda nodded.

  "Well played," Heather said, sitting on the rock next to them.

  "There's a glow coming from the other side of those hills to the west," Trent called from his vantage point where he had climbed a large outcropping of rock. "Maybe there's some civilization and we can catch a ride."

  "Cool! Let's go," Sabine said.

  The group started making their way over the rough landscape with Heather taking up the rear in her high heels.

  Sabine realized that while Heather was still under the effects of Esmerelda's spell, it might be a good time to strike up a conversation.

  "Heather, why do you hate vampires?"

  "A vampire killed my parents," Heather said, negotiating her way through the rocks. "I watched helplessly as my parents bled to death."

  "I'm so sorry."

  "I had amnesia about the whole thing. She used glamour on us, and bit into my mother first. The vampire tossed my mother aside when she was done, and then tore my father's throat out. My magic had grown enough at that point that her glamour didn't work on me, so I saw everything. It was horrible, and I screamed until she knocked me out."

  "Weren't your parents witches too?"

  Heather shook her head. "It skipped a generation on my father's side."

  "What ever happened to that vampire?"

  Heather shrugged. "I wish I knew. The next thing I remember was waking up at my uncle's house."

  "When did the memories come back about the attack?" Sabine asked, helping Heather over a rock. Heather didn't pull away, which was a good sign that the spell was still working.

  "When I gave birth to my daughter. I knew in that moment that she'd be a witch like me, and I felt the joy of being a mother, and it somehow triggered the memories of my mother's death."

  They walked for a while in silence, Sabine helping Heather negotiate the rocky landscape.

  "Thank you for saving my life back there," Heather said, nodding back to where they had come from. "I don't understand why you did, though."

  "I believe in good deeds and random acts of kindness. Good karma. I have hope that I'm not damned," Sabine said, as they reached a barren section of dirt that looked like a trail. She let go of Heather's arm and they walked side by side.

  "I'm afraid of you," the blonde said after a few minutes of walking. "Vampire glamour is what made my parents defenseless, and yours is the most powerful we've ever felt."

  Sabine was stunned. "I'm not out to hurt anyone, and I don't know what happened today. It got out of control. You can ask Trent, although he doesn't really know what happened. Anyway, that display drained me so badly that I fainted."

  Heather chuckled.

  "Yeah, I know. Big Bad Vampire faints." Sabine bowed her head in mock shame.

  "I didn't say anything," Heather said, making a zipper motion over her lips.

  "Uh huh," Sabine said, and they were quiet as they climbed a steep section of path.

  Trent and Esmerelda were waiting for them at the top of the small rise. Trent smiled at them. "Ladies. Glad you could join us."

  "Easy to say when you're wearing hiking boots," Heather groused, inspecting her scratched-up pumps.

  Esmerelda looked back at Heather, sensing something. "My spell seems to have worn off."

  Heather nodded. "Yeah, about a half mile back."

  "You were really being nice to me?" Sabine asked, her eyes wide with shock.

  "You saved my life," Heather said, shrugging. "I'm not sure what to do with you now."

  Trent put an arm around Sabine's shoulder. "She tends to grow on you, doesn't she?"

  Heather laughed, and Esmerelda shook her head, smiling.

  Sabine shrugged out of the werewolf's embrace, smacking his arm. "Bad fur-ball!"

  He chuckled, and pointed in the direction they'd been walking. "Looks like our glow on the horizon is an all-night diner and gas station along the highway up there."

  Sabine looked where
he was pointing. Sure enough, a few buildings broke the monotony of desert. Scattered around the area were some mobile homes and a house, along with a small church, but most of the buildings were dark. She turned to the others. "I'm guessing we should be on the lookout for vampires from here on, and I don't know what to look for."

  "You'll sense their aura first," Esmerelda said. "It'll be like a chill up your spine."

  "Speaking of which, you don't have a vampire aura," Heather said, waving her hand around Sabine, feeling the air. She turned to Esmerelda. "All I get is some vague magic and basic human. I guess you were right about Sabine being different."

  "All is forgiven, dear," Esmerelda said, holding her arms out to the younger woman, who walked into the older woman's embrace and held tight for a moment.

  Heather stepped back, wiping a tear away. "Okay, we need to be on our guard against bloodsuckers. No offense, Sabine."

  "None taken," Sabine said, checking the silver knives in her wrist sheaths. "If any of those blood suckers make a move for you guys, I'll slice them to shreds."

  Trent smiled, raising his phone. "I have signal."

  Heather borrowed Trent's phone to make a call to the witches to see what was happening. Sabine used her phone to send Gabe an email with her phone number, summarizing what had happened.

  Her phone rang a minute after she sent the email. She didn't recognize the number. "Hello?"

  "Hey, it's Gabe. You're in Nevada?"

  "Yes, and everyone is okay for now, but we may be walking into Vampire Central here."

  "We have the witches with us and we're heading across the Golden Gate Bridge to the park you mentioned. You missed a lot of drama here, Sabine."

  "I can imagine."

  "How soon do you think you can get back?"

  "I have no idea," Sabine said, watching the gas station in the distance. She wondered if she could glamour someone to give them a ride back to California, or at least to the nearest airport. What if she fell asleep on the way back, after using glamour to commandeer a car and driver?

  Gabe's voice brought her back. "We'll call you when we have more developments here."

  "I wish I could be there, Gabe. You know that, right?"

  "Yeah, sure."

  "Don't take any chances. Tell Kim I may not be back tomorrow for a jog, okay?" Sabine said, realizing she was truly worried for them.

  "I'll call you later Sabine. Gotta go. We're pulling into the park now," Gabe said, and the line went dead.

  Sabine and the others watched the sleepy little desert town from a small ridge a few hundred yards away, noting that it seemed almost dead. The gas station looked modern enough, with a large shade structure over a pair of pumps, with industrial-strength lights casting a glow all the way to the diner's parking lot and the church across the street.

  Two men, dressed in jeans and black leather jackets like greasers from the Fifties, leaned against the side wall of the gas station.

  "Those two are vampires," Heather whispered. "I can feel them from here."

  The diner next door to the gas station looked like it dated back to the early days of motoring. A few cars sat in the parking lot, but the windows were dark.

  A VW Beetle came down the highway and slowed, pulling into the gas station. Something shifted in the air, and Sabine felt it too. A strange tingle that lapped at the edges of her consciousness.

  "Yes, what you're feeling is a weak vampire glamour," Esmerelda said, seeming to know what Sabine was thinking. "Those two are young."

  Sabine nodded, memorizing the sensation from the receiving end.

  The group watched as the vampires used mind control on the new arrivals in the VW. The vampires pulled the young couple out and walked them back towards the rear of the gas station.

  "We have to stop them," Heather whispered.

  Esmerelda whispered to the others. "If we startle the vampires, they might kill that couple. If we charge out there, we have no idea what we're getting ourselves into."

  Sabine watched the vampires, filled with curiosity as to how they would feed. "I never killed anyone when I fed. Do you think they'll kill them?"

  Heather nodded. "I know they will."

  "I'll stop them," Sabine said.

  Before Esmerelda could do anything, Sabine was gone, running with vampire speed across the few hundred yards of open desert that separated them from the gas station. Trent was on his feet, charging after her.

  Esmerelda sighed. "I don't know why I bother. What's the wisdom of age worth if it's ignored by the young? 'Into the valley of Death, Rode the six hundred' ring any bells?"

  "Stop quoting dead poets and get your magic on."

  Sabine had only gotten a few steps before she started to second guess herself, wondering if she could fight one vampire, much less two of them. She felt Trent on her heels and slowed her pace, allowing him keep up and giving herself more time to think about what she would do when she got to the vampires.

  When she saw the vampires bite into the necks of the two humans, she stopped dead in her tracks. Trent ran into her and almost knocked them both over, but she recovered and started walking toward the feeding vampires.

  "What are you doing?" Trent whispered to her as they carefully closed the distance. They were roughly half a football field away from the feeding, but Trent could see that Sabine's fangs were out and her eyes were dilated.

  Sabine shook her head, trying to clear the fog. Something was making her dizzy, and it wasn't just the smell of blood floating on the air. Something magical was making her feel at ease.

  I wasn't just magical. It was Magic.

  Sabine put her hands on either side of her head and pushed at her temples, trying to force the feeling away. She started to hyperventilate, pulling at her hair.

  "What is it?" Trent asked in an urgent whisper, spinning her around.

  "I don't know," Sabine whispered, and buried herself in his embrace. She tried to fight the magic, feeling her mind swimming. Her stomach churned, and she almost threw up on Trent, but managed to hold herself together. Finally, the feeling passed and she looked up at Trent.

  He was watching the vampires. They had stopped feeding on the humans and had let them go, and were staring at the wall at the back of the station.

  Sabine rolled her shoulders. She pulled away from Trent and watched as the vampires shuffled back to the front of the gas station, oblivious to the four strangers standing fifty yards from them in the dark desert.

  "That's why you shouldn't become so dependent on your wand," Esmerelda said, startling Sabine and Trent. They both somehow hadn't registered the witches' approach.

  "I know, I know," Heather said.

  "It would appear our friend Sabine has some resistance," Esmerelda said, putting a hand on Sabine's shoulder. "You're quite an amazing young woman, Sabine."

  Sabine swallowed, fighting back the urge to vomit. Then she took a breath to speak. "Whatever you just did, please don't do it again."

  Esmerelda laughed. "It's much less painful if you don't fight it. The contentment spell made sure the vampires wouldn't kill those people. It also showed us all the other vampires in the area. Trust me, we would need more than your blades and Trent's brute strength to battle your way through all of them."

  Sabine looked around for vampires lurking in the bushes. "How many? Where?"

  "I counted fifteen, not including Sabine," the older witch said. She turned and glared at Heather. "And while those two at the gas station are not from San Francisco, many are. Most of the vampires appear to be preoccupied in a pair of houses nearby, but they're probably only a few seconds away if the two at the station raise the alarm. Or if any of them have your ability to resist the spell."

  "So what should we do?" Sabine asked.

  "I suggest we go to the church across the road there and wait for dawn," Esmerelda said, pointing to the Holy place. "Quickly."

  "Avoiding a fight," Trent said, as they started to speed walk towards the church. "You know the idea of turni
ng tail and running doesn't sit well with me."

  "He who fights and runs away, lives to fight another day," Esmerelda said, picking up the pace to a jog. "Come on young ones, let's make haste."

  They crossed behind the gas station and made it to the street before the vampires noticed them. The two vampires shared a look. Fangs bared in wicked smiles, they charged.

  Heather stumbled in her high heels, and Trent paused to help her. Esmerelda sounded out of breath. Sabine could tell they wouldn't make it to hallowed ground in time. She turned in the middle of the street and drew her sword, assuming a fighting stance to face down the charging vampires.

  "Run! I'll hold them back!"

  The two vampires slowed to a normal run and stopped in the street, facing down Sabine with leering smiles. The blond one circled to her left, while the dark-haired one circled to her right. They looked like twenty-something college kids playing at being tough. Their leather jackets looked older than them, probably taken off bikers passing through. Their jeans were well worn, and their boots looked worn out too. Sabine had the fleeting thought that they were a disappointment as far as vampires went. Maybe she could handle them. Then she chastized herself.

  Never underestimate your opponent.

  Their smell was the second-most intriguing thing about them. It was a combination of death, dry paper, mildew and old sweat. Like someone had taken an old library and a gym and mashed them together. The most fascinating thing about them was the roiling energy spewing from them in "fits and starts" as her childhood nanny would have said. The energy spoke to her inner vampire, telling her they were new; raw. Young vampires. She wasn't sure how she knew. It was just primal instinct, like knowing that a dog growling was bad.

  "Looks like we have a feisty one tonight," the dark-haired one said, his eyes roaming her body from top to bottom and back.

  "What's with the ninja sword?" the blond guy asked, glaring as Sabine shifted her stance to keep them both in sight. He smiled, fangs showing. "You think your little knife scares us?"

  "What are you, the local vampire welcome wagon?" Sabine taunted back. Her heart thumped, almost loud enough for them to hear above the thundering heartbeats of the others.