A Cold Day in Hell (The Hellcat Series)

by Hannaford, Sharon

  Lord and Lady, Gabi blinked as she realised that the car accident had been this woman trying to kill her before they even left for the Princeps' Court.

  Helene pulled a jewel-inlaid dagger from the pocket of her designer coat, her eyes glittering with blood-thirsty anticipation. "First I will be tasting you, though; I hear your blood can be quite…invigorating."

  "Whoa," Gabi cautioned. "Before we commence with the final act, how about you explain why you see me as such a threat."

  "You aren't a threat, just a nuisance. I will kill you as easily as I would kill a fly," Helene spat.

  "By killing a fly you aren't risking your own life," Gabi pointed out, hoping her delay tactics weren't too obvious. Where in Hell’s name were Kyle and Caspian? She wanted witnesses to this woman's intentions. With her succubus abilities, there was no telling if she could sway Faruq into backing up her lies in front of the rest of the Princeps.

  "You stand between me and the man meant to be my consort," she raged from between clenched teeth. "I have been working for decades to make Julius mine. And he will BE MINE." She roared the last words. "An annoyingly hard-to-kill half-breed will not thwart me." She was so furious she was actually spitting. She seemed to sense she was losing control and brought herself back with a deep intake of air. The Werewolves next to her stirred restlessly, the scent of her ire calling to their wolves. "Enough talk. Hold her down," she ordered the Werewolves.

  Gabi had run out of time. Backing away from the Werewolves as though afraid, she sent Razor a directive to go for the human with the gun while she quickly centred herself. Using every ounce of will in her, she called to the wolves. The result was spectacular.

  All three Werewolves fell to the ground, writhing as their wolves took control, demanding to be free. The gunman yelled as Razor took him in the calf. A gunshot went off, deafening in the confines of the empty room. Gabi ducked, but the bullet hit the ceiling, dislodging a puff of grey plaster and shaking the light fitting above her head. While the gunman was distracted by Razor ripping into his leg, Gabi lunged towards him, kicking him square in the side of the jaw as he bent to pistol-whip Razor away from him. A shriek of rage was the only warning she got as Helene flung herself at Gabi, the dagger upraised. Gabi twisted just in time to get a defensive arm in front of her chest, flinging it wide to knock the dagger away. Hot pain sizzled across her forearm as the blade sliced through wool and cotton, biting flesh to the bone.

  "Damn you, you will die," Helene screamed, recovering fast and grabbing the dagger with both hands to plunge it towards Gabi's throat. Gabi caught Helene's deceptively delicate wrists, the tip of the deadly blade millimetres from her neck as she yanked her face out of immediate danger. Razor growled, and the gunman groaned groggily. He was down but not out. She threw a quick order at Razor to disable the man's gun hand. If he couldn't pull the trigger, he was hardly a threat to her. She heard a satisfying male scream as Razor sank his fangs into the man's flesh.

  Helene's face was twisted into an obscene mask of fury as she pulled free of Gabi's grasp and prepared to lunge again, but then something changed in her face, a reluctant desire, her eyes suddenly fixed on the blood dripping from Gabi's arm, her mouth fell open, fangs fully extended.

  "Oh no, you don't," Gabi hissed, taking advantage of the woman's distraction and pulling Nex from the sheath on her calf. She tried to grip her sword with her right arm, but the laceration was deep enough to be affecting muscles and tendon, her grip was failing, and Helene rushed again, this time without the dagger but with viciously bared fangs. Gabi switched the sword to her left hand and braced herself with the tip directly where Helene's heart would be in a tenth of a second. The Vampire brought herself to a halt a hair's breadth from Nex's deadly kiss.

  Gabi lunged forward. Helene was gone. Two of the Werewolves had reached full wolf form and were staggering to their feet, looking dazed. Gabi speared them with a mental command to sit and stay, and hoped she had enough willpower to keep them there. Damn, she really needed to practice controlling more than one Werewolf at a time. Who knew she'd desperately need the ability so soon after discovering it.

  Too late she realised Helene was directly behind her. Fuck, she'd fought over a dozen Vampires in her years as a Hunter, but she'd never had to fight a Master. This one may be a female with no fight training, but she was still strong, quick and deadly. Before Gabi could drop and spin, Helene had her dagger across Gabi's throat, pressing it warningly against her flesh. Gabi stilled

  "I think I'll take that drink before I kill you," she whispered hoarsely into Gabi's ear. "It calls to me so powerfully. I can't risk the power dying with you. I must drink you alive. I just hope I can stop in time. I wouldn't want anyone to know it was a Vampire who killed you. There aren't many Vampires who can be awake this time of the day. I must keep my nose clean if I am to comfort your distraught consort."

  The gunman was still howling unintelligibly, and the two wolves were obediently sitting watching the proceedings as their companion convulsed on the dusty carpet.

  "Three, two…" Gabi counted down in a low voice, as she felt the heat of Helene's breath on her exposed neck. But before she could experience the bite of the Vampire's fangs, the woman yelped and jerked against Gabi's back. "One," Gabi finished, jerking her head back to slam into Helene's face as she jammed a hand between her neck and the hilt of the dagger. She spun just in time to watch Razor launch at Helene's face. Even in the dim lighting Gabi could see blood matting his tawny coat. Fortunately none of it smelled like his.

  Helene swung her free elbow at the airborne cat, as Gabi held onto the arm with the dagger. Razor yowled as her arm caught him in mid-air, but he somehow managed to latch onto her with his teeth. She shrieked in pain and alarm, trying to shake the cat loose and rip her arm from Gabi's grasp at the same time.

  Gabi had dropped Nex in the fight to keep control of the dagger, and now she brought Helene's wrist down across her upraised knee, trying to jolt the knife from her grip. Despite being attacked on the other side by Razor, the woman had a death grip on the dagger. With a quick lift of her leg, Gabi retrieved a butterfly sword from the other sheath on her leg and, sick and tired of fighting to make Helene release her weapon, brought the short sword down on Helene's narrow wrist, almost severing the hand from her arm. The woman's shriek was enough to deafen. So loud that Gabi didn't at first hear what Helene had heard. Gasping and cursing, clutching her bleeding limb to her chest, the Vampire suddenly pulled away from them, making for the door. Razor released his grip on her other arm as she ran. Standing with his tail puffed out and an arrogant stance, he watched her vanish from sight.

  A second later the ringing in Gabi's ears eased enough for her to hear what had spooked Helene. Footsteps pounded down the passage towards them. Gasping slightly as she caught her breath after the exertion, she turned back to the Werewolves.

  The first two were sitting, dark rings spreading out in front of them as a steady stream of drool dripped onto the carpet. The third was still in the throes of Changing. He’d fought her harder than the others, and his wolf had only just gained the upper hand. She could feel the human sides of the two fully changed wolves fighting to regain command of themselves, and she knew her control was beginning to waver.

  Movement and Razor's growl alerted her that the human was still conscious. She stalked over and kicked the gun from his reach, as he clumsily tried to pick it up with hands bleeding from multiple puncture wounds.

  "Just give it up, asshole," she muttered as Kyle charged into the room, Caspian a breath behind him.

  CHAPTER 18

  "Did you see her?" Gabi demanded. "Why didn't you stop her?"

  "Her who?" Kyle asked. "Are you all right? Why the hell aren't you with Athena?" Questions tumbled out as he scanned the room for danger and took in the three Werewolves.

  Caspian, meanwhile, had the savaged gunman by the throat. He was struggling weakly against the Vampire's grip, but the look in his eyes said he was resigned to his fate. Ra
zor hissed warningly as the last Werewolf came to its feet, teeth bared, sides heaving with exertion.

  "I really need to release these wolves," Gabi told Kyle. "Can you handle them?"

  He nodded, letting the details slide while they dealt with the immediate problems. He visibly braced himself as Gabi dropped the tight net of control she'd spun around the first two wolves. The room dipped and swayed as she mentally absorbed the backwash of power. An arm was under hers, and she gripped it automatically as she closed her eyes and waited for the world to stop spinning.

  She could feel the anger emanating from Kyle's wolf as he commanded the other three to his will. He didn't consider Gabi mate material, but he still considered her his in the wolf world. Any other wolves messing with her stirred his wrath, and if he allowed them to live, they felt the full Alpha weight of his displeasure. The three cowed under his orders, writhing on the floor in submission, two of them rolled over to present their vulnerable bellies. The submission assuaged some of Wolf's pique, but they didn't get any leniency. Kyle gave Wolf enough control to force the others to Change back. It would be a painful and exhausting process.

  Satisfied that the wolf was finally doing something useful, Razor relaxed his vigilant pose and went to Gabi, rubbing against her leg and purring anxiously. He nudged her purposefully, and when she looked down at him, he dropped something onto the carpet next to her foot. She bent and reached to pick it up, then stifled a groan as pain lanced through her arm. She was still gushing blood from where Helene's dagger had sliced her, and her whole arm had begun to shake, her fingers all but useless. She grimaced and used her other hand to pick up the small lumpy thing Razor had dropped. A look at it made her smile despite the pain and exhaustion.

  "Clever, clever, clever boy," she crooned to Razor. "Where would we be without you?"

  "Gabrielle, you are injured," Caspian said at last. "Let me heal you, and then you can tell us what is going on and who attacked you."

  Heal you. The words echoed in Gabi's mind. Yes, Caspian's blood would heal her as well as Julius's would. And it would taste just as appealing. And that scared her more than Helene's crazed attack.

  "Thanks, Caspian," she said, patting his arm under her hand, she could hear the tiredness in her own voice, "but I think it's best if we leave as much evidence of the attack as possible." She was amazed her mind was still working fast enough to come up with a plausible excuse. At least she hoped it sounded plausible. "I'm not backing down from the Princeps this time. This time they will know that one of their own broke incolumitas and attacked me with the intention of killing me."

  "Who, Gabi?" Kyle demanded, anger warring with frustration as he turned from the other Werewolves. When Gabi spoke Helene's name, Kyle's eyebrows shot almost into his hairline, and Caspian stiffened next to her.

  "You're sure? Absolutely positive?" Caspian whispered.

  "Can't you smell her scent in here?" Gabi asked in a flat tone. "Razor clawed and bit her. She was bleeding when she ran from here."

  "It's just…" He paused, and Gabi glanced at him sharply.

  "It's just what?" she asked, a spear of suspicion suddenly piercing her chest. "What do you know of Helene?"

  "No…nothing," Caspian backtracked. "It's just unbelievable that a Princep would risk her own life to kill you. Why?" His face had become that strange, expressionless mask. "Though if you do not have proof, the rest of them will never believe you."

  "Don't worry, I have proof," she told him. "Now we have to figure out what to do with these four until tonight." She nodded towards the three writhing Werewolves and the gunman, now slumped in a corner, as Kyle held the handgun pointed in his general direction.

  "They won't be any help in your accusations against Helene," Caspian warned. "If it was indeed Helene, then she’ll have made sure they cannot speak against her. She is gifted like that, especially with males."

  Exhaustion and pain fled as Gabi's anger sparked. "If it was indeed Helene?" she demanded, pulling free of Caspian's supporting arm and rounding on him. "You doubt me when I tell you that Helene tried to kill me?" Her voice was rising an octave with each sentence. "Not once but three times?" She stepped back, making room between them, a move not lost on Kyle, who automatically went on the alert. He may not know what was going on, but he knew Gabi well enough to trust her reactions without question. Razor, too, repositioned himself at Gabi's side, facing Caspian. "Or maybe you already knew that?" she said, her voice calm and low as her anger settled into a cold, hard fury.

  Caspian immediately held up his hands in supplication. "No, no, you misunderstand me," he said quickly, his words tumbling out. "That is not how I meant it to come out. Sometimes my English…how do you say…the meaning gets lost in translation." He stepped towards her, his attitude back to one of supplication, imploring her to understand.

  Gabi narrowed her eyes at him. She couldn't help wondering where the Caspian of two minutes ago had gone. The confident, sly Caspian that she'd glimpsed only once or twice before. It hadn't escaped her notice that he'd shown no surprise when she'd mentioned that Helene had tried to kill her more than once. The outrage was there, but not the surprise. "Please, Gabrielle," he almost begged. "Do not think I am untrustworthy. I would do everything possible to protect you. I swear it. Please let me give you just a little blood to help stop the bleeding. It is not good for you to be losing so much blood so soon after your poisoning."

  With his sudden about-face, it was hard to justify her suspicion that he was somehow involved in all of this. Gabi relaxed her fighting stance and took a calming breath. Kyle also stood down, tucking the gun into the waistband of his jeans and stalking over to Gabi.

  "He's right about one thing. We do need to staunch that bleeding," he said, reaching for Gabi's arm and turning it to inspect the damage. She winced as he pulled the tattered remains of her sleeve back from the sticky blood caking the edges. Fresh blood was still seeping from the laceration, deep enough that she could see glimpses of ivory bone.

  Caspian shifted uncomfortably, and Gabi looked up sharply. His gaze had turned hungry, and she realised the scent of her blood must be calling to him, despite his feeding last night.

  "You know this place better than we do," she said to him as Kyle ripped a sleeve off his sweatshirt. "Take the human and secure him somewhere until we have a chance to deal with him."

  Caspian nodded obediently, his eyes slightly glazed.

  "No funny business, Caspian," she warned. "I want to question him later. He'd better still be where you left him. And he'd better still be alive. If you have to, call Xavier and get him to help."

  The Vampire gave a short salute, bowed and grabbed the gunman by the back of the neck, hauling him from the room roughly.

  Kyle bound her arm with his sleeve, tucking it firmly in place and ignoring her pain-filled hisses and mutters about cruel, sadistic wolves who pretended to be caring friends.

  "Did you manage to kill all the Demons?" she asked to distract herself as Kyle fashioned a sling out of his other sleeve.

  "Yep, both of them," he said. "Luckily we arrived before any more managed to cross. Caspian knocked the bitch out, and the gate to the void sealed shut."

  "Where is she now?" Gabi asked, fearing she already knew the answer.

  "Gone." Kyle confirmed her suspicions.

  That woman had a real knack for disappearing, but she suspected that this time the Maleficus had had help. Gemini were way too interested in her to allow her to be forever imprisoned. Never mind, she knew Mariska would resurface sometime in the not-too-distant future. She still had it in for Gabi and Julius. They'd corner her soon enough.

  "You're a mess," Kyle commented, looking her over as he finished securing the makeshift bandage.

  "Ditto," she retorted, taking in his dishevelled state. The Demons had been a bit of a handful by the looks of it. "You took your sweet time finding my message and getting here," she groused. "I thought you could deal with the Demons in your sleep."

  "It was clo
se quarters," he said defensively. "Besides, you were supposed to be helping Athena keep the others safe."

  Gabi gave him a withering glare. What exactly were the chances that she'd stay behind and protect the others while there were Demons to fight.

  Kyle sighed. "Yes, I did start to wonder what was taking you so long and left Caspian to finish off the second Demon. He caught up to me just as I found the first dead body. I almost missed the wounds, but caught Razor's scent," he explained. "Not knowing this place made it hard to find you. There are so many other scents layered over every inch of this godforsaken castle that it took longer than normal to track you." He slipped the tied sleeve over her head and helped her ease her arm into it.

  "What do we do with those three?" Gabi asked, pointing her chin at the three men lying naked and unconscious in the corner of the room.

  "Leave them here for now. If you need them, I can come back for them later. They won't be going anywhere for the next couple of hours," Kyle said. "Let's get back to the others. You need to sit down before you fall down."

  Gabi pulled a tongue at him, childishness beating decorum as pain and fatigue caught up with her. If there was one thing she was more grateful for than all the other stuff since finding Julius and discovering the truth of what she was, it was that she no longer lost her added speed and strength when she was injured.

  Before Julius, if she'd sustained this level of injury, she'd be no stronger or quicker than a normal human for days, if not weeks, as her body repaired itself. But since taking blood from Julius on a regular basis, many things had changed in her body: she no longer needed to eat like a prize bodybuilder, she didn't suffer from the severe anaemia she'd struggled with since puberty, she healed even quicker than before, and she didn't need to fear injury and the weakness that followed as a result.