Charleston Past Midnight

by Christine Edwards

  Fuck! Don’t let Case lose his shit before we even begin negotiating ….

  “Where is she?” Seeing that Calla isn’t among our group, Valdon is clearly agitated.

  “Somewhere safe.” My words drip hatred as I stride closer, stopping only when he yanks back hard on the girl, causing her to scream out and grab at his hand, frantic to break his punishing hold on her hair.

  I sense that Case is about to self-combust beside me. I hope that Ambrose will step in to bring him down a notch before all hell rains down.

  “Hand over the human and we’ll walk away. Believe me, you don’t want a fight with us.”

  He sneers cruelly, “You think you know the whole picture, Severin, but what you’re not aware of is that Katerina and I were lovers long before you ever walked this earth.”

  I try not to look stunned as he continues, “That’s right, she was mine in all ways and tried to escape from me, and that was not remotely acceptable. Another choice piece of detail for you is that I was Katerina’s maker. She was indebted to me. With her death I lost her powers of seeing the future. It is a rare gift that will help to ensure that this faction will survive any future turmoil. Calla will serve me with hers. She will replace Katerina.”

  That blow was so unexpected that I actually step back and hear Ambrose cough in shock. He was her creator? Holy fuck! Suddenly her shrouded past comes into crystal clear focus. She never shared with us how she was turned or why she was so afraid of Valdon. In the end she annihilated herself, seeing it as the only means at her disposal to thwart him, knowing that he would stop at nothing to have her back under his control. Ambrose and I are both weighted with guilt over what happened. These details, had they ever been brought to light, might have helped us to protect her. Still, that is in the past, and we can’t undo what has been done. I can only direct my attention on the circumstances before me. I have to call his bluff.

  In a nonchalant manner I toss out, “Well, that’s not saying much about your qualities as a maker if she would rather take herself out in a bath of sunlight than let you lay a finger on her again. I’m guessing you must have really sucked in bed. And for the record, Calla is just as strong-willed as Katerina. She would never stand for you manipulating her.”

  I’m going to make him so furious that he will hopefully trip up.

  His eyes narrow into evil slashes of ice as he hisses, “You know nothing!”

  In a nearly bored tone I stick the dagger in farther. “I know what Katerina told me about you. That’s enough for me.”

  That did it.

  Kiana is hauled up to his chest. His fangs are bared and his eyes never leave mine as he threatens menacingly, “I will drain her dry and toss you her corpse when I’m done. Your choice, starting now!”

  Like a cobra I watch him plunge his razor sharp fangs into her neck. She bellows in agony as Case takes off in a sprint toward her. Two of his massive guards lunge for him and the furious blows start up. Ambrose and Alina take on the other two as the last one blocks my path to Valdon. No time! I can hear the girl’s heart stammering in her chest. With the way he’s drawing her down, she has maybe two minutes left. Fuck!

  I go straight for the thug and manage to get the big bastard in a headlock. He’s struggling furiously and is clocking me in the ribs with precise, heaving blows. I pummel my fist into his face over and over again, hearing first his orbital bone crunch, followed by the cartilage of his nose.

  Slower …. She’s fading.

  Off to my right Case shouts, “Tell him!” It’s the first time I’ve heard the male at his wit’s end, and even though I have a good idea what she means to him I won’t give Valdon her location. Never.

  Again he yells desperately, “He’s fucking killing her, Severin!”

  I hear a crack and know that one of my right ribs just gave way. No matter. Shaking off the pain and intent on replacing it with adrenaline, I slide my hands from his neck farther up to grip the back of his head tightly. Then I slam it down, delivering a brutal hit with my knee.

  That does it. He’s out momentarily, but most likely not for long. He drops to the ground like a stone tossed into the sea. I waste no time gunning straight for the now unconscious girl. Suddenly, before I reach him he unlatches his fangs and stares right at Case. Something’s not right.

  Although his eyes are locked with Case’s, his are miles away. Oh fuck no! Don’t let him read his mind! I’m powerless to stop him if he does. I sprint faster. Nearly there ….

  Suddenly his eyes refocus and he turns to grin at me. “Got her,” He sneers.

  I reach out, desperate to get my hands on him before he can trace. My fingertips brush the front of his dark shirt as he disappears right before my eyes. Kiana falls onto her side in the grass.

  No time!

  I whip around to make certain that things are in our favor and that everyone will be all right if I leave. The sudden blow comes from behind, knocking me to the grass with the force of a Rottweiler on the attack. I flip around, breaking his hold and prepare to take out the vampire I laid out only moments before.

  Rage burns in his black eyes as he strikes out for my face. I rear back, missing his calculated blow by centimeters. I’m frantic to get to her but I can’t be careless. I leap back to my feet and we begin to stalk each other in a slow circle, both searching for any hint of weakness. He’s huge, built like Valdon, and I wonder if he specifically recruits former heavyweight boxers as his guards. That or former military assassins with special ops training. His guys are tough, exceedingly. I’m going to have to outsmart him.

  He turns and swiftly executes a high roundhouse kick that catches the edge of my chin as I jump back. Behind the vampire I catch sight of Case’s hulking frame, bent low over Kiana. I hear his bass voice speaking rapidly to her but I’m too busy to pay close attention.

  An idea comes to mind as I hiss to my opponent, “Missed landing that one. Must be rusty, either that or your boss keeps all the good shit for himself.” I’m dead set on getting him furious. Then I’ll make my move. I keep going, “Yeah, that must be it, you look like a hired hand. You’re the boss’s guard dog who’s perfectly content with scraps. Come on, you pussy. Show me your best, because we both know you could never deliver the goods.”

  That did it. He bellows out a furious shout and in a flash I watch him drop low to execute a quick sweep with his right leg, primed on taking mine out. I grab for his ankle as it comes in close. Grasping it tightly in both hands, I concentrate my power and twist hard, hearing it snap in my hands. He screams and makes a mighty effort to pull away but I leap onto his chest before he can trace or flip out of the way.

  I’m just about to start whaling on him when a large black boot comes into view, pressing directly against the vampire’s bare throat. I cast my eyes up and see Ambrose staring down at me. He’s bloodied but in better shape than the bodies splayed out on the lawn.

  “Got a handle on this one, mate. Go. We’ll follow as soon as possible. And Severin, watch your back when you get there. He’s a slippery wanker.”

  Don’t I know it.

  As I get up I nod at him and hope that it’s not the last time we see each other. We stare into each other’s eyes, having been through so much together. The bond we share is akin to brotherhood and we both know it. I detect the first faint golden glow of pre-dawn rising off the river just before I trace to her. I didn’t count on Valdon’s ability to trace to a new locale from reading someone’s thoughts alone.

  The only thought burning a hole in my skull is that he’s in for one savage battle.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Present Day, Noon

  Seville, Spain

  “Damn it, Severin!” I’m furious as I shout into the silence of the opulent space. Filled with nervous energy I restlessly stalk back and forth across the cavernous bedroom.

  My emotions are roiling with concern for Kiana as well as Severin’s safety. I’ve seen only a sampling of that freaky ass vampire’s supernatural strength and
I know that it will take a monumental effort to take him down, assuming that’s even a remote possibility.

  I feel like a caged tiger. The heavy drapes completely cover the windows from floor to ceiling yet there is still a trace of sunlight that trickles in at the base, barely illuminating a sliver of the immaculately tiled floor. I’m not stupid. There is no way I’m going ‘exploring’ on my own, especially in an unfamiliar home. For all I know the other rooms could have airy verandas that are wide open. No, the decision is clear. I’m staying put. But he’s going to get a piece of my mind when he returns.

  From behind me a low, distinctive voice cuts through my thoughts, so chilling that it causes me to jerk back in surprise. “We finally meet in person, Calla.”

  Oh no, oh hell!

  My first thought is that I don’t want to turn around, that I want to scream at myself to wake up, but that’s not even a remote possibility. Oh God, Severin! Where are you?

  Time to face the music, girl, because this nightmare has sprung right to life.

  Ever so slowly I turn around to face the cunning vampire, knowing that I’m about to engage in the fight of my life.

  I try to focus only on his intimidating eyes because to take him in as a whole is simply too overwhelming. He’s massive and his detached, stoic demeanor is petrifying. He looks like he’s just stepped off a battlefield in Russia—a lethal commander who lives for the fight.

  His long arm extends toward me. “Take my hand Calla. Come with me willingly and I will not destroy him. You have ten seconds to choose before I take away the option, which you can assume is more than generous on my part.”

  My eyes drop down toward his tapered fingers. If he’s making me that offer then it means that Severin is still alive!

  Fuck that! He’s may be a bad-ass killer in his own right but I’d bet money that he’s never crossed paths with a West Virginian with absolutely nothing to lose. No, I had to claw my way out of those mountains and I’ll be damned if this arrogant leech is going to dictate my future to me!

  I smile sweetly and purr, “Thanks, but as you can assume I’m already taken, and well, what can I say,” I rake my eyes up and down his black designer suit, “you simply wouldn’t measure up, if you know what I mean.”

  I can tell by the way his eyes flare for the briefest moment that my words have stung. Good, there’s plenty more where that came from. I’ll never be his bitch. He’ll never use me!

  His hand slowly drops and his handsome face tilts to the side. “Ah, I know your kind, so very spirited. But that doesn’t last, not with me, beauty. You just took away any allowances I was willing to make for you. Now you will watch him die at my very hands.”

  I’m about to tell him to go to hell when a low voice coming from the shadows behind him says in a deadly tone, “You really shouldn’t go about make promises to beautiful women that you’re incapable of backing up.”

  Severin!

  Before I can process how thankful I am that he’s returned, I shudder as Valdon whips around to face him. In a scary, almost serene tone he says, “So be it. This is where you will die.”

  “Try me.”

  I slink back, frightened, as the two skilled vampires begin to circle each other in a slow, deliberate prowl. The eyes of each man are matte black, laced with blatant hatred. Severin looks positively evil with his fangs out and his mouth open.

  Never looking away from his opponent, he calls out, “Calla, trace to my bedroom. Do it now!”

  No way in hell I’m leaving him here ….

  I gasp as Severin takes the initiative, launching at Valdon in a seemingly explosive move. He grasps the vampire by the throat but is almost effortlessly pulled away as they begin to grapple with each other for control.

  My back hits against the ornate post of the canopy bed as I unconsciously move away from the wreckage that’s unfolding before me. Severin is like a snarling panther on the attack as over and over again he strikes with extreme precision, but Valdon is skilled, managing to shift away before anything connects.

  “Go!” Severin yells at me so ferociously that my neck hairs stand on end.

  No! Mustn’t leave him ….

  The violence pounds on, with Valdon tackling Severin at the midsection before tossing him hard into the right side of the fireplace. I hear Severin grunt from the blow and bite my lip as pieces of gray marble fall to the tile floor behind him. Severin lowers his right shoulder and guns for his enemy headlong, connecting with his stomach as they wrestle for dominance.

  Just then I am blindsided by a vision so vivid that I’m nearly brought to my knees from the realism of it. I’m on the lawn of Severin’s property, and I’m clinging to Valdon with everything I have. I’m screaming in agony because we’re both burning ….

  As quickly as it came it’s gone and I’m tossed back into reality in time to see Valdon lift Severin up high above his head and slam him down to the tile floor in an astonishing move that has to have required unimaginable strength. Severin must have hit his head hard because he’s out cold from the severe blow.

  Valdon’s not looking at me but I can see from his profile that he’s smiling cruelly. He strides toward the fireplace, right arm extended upward to reach for a lethal looking sword that is perched on two slim, steels brackets fastened to the wall.

  All at once, everything I’ve ever tried to suppress comes rushing at me: the twins who taunted me mercilessly my entire childhood, the neglect and indifference of our mother, my shattered dream of becoming a physician, and the most painful one, the loss of my beloved brother. It all combines to form a pinnacle of angst directed right at Valdon.

  Before I know it I’m sprinting straight for the evil vampire, determined to stop him from murdering the one man I’ve ever loved. Sword raised high above his shoulders, he is poised to deliver the death blow to Severin’s head.

  I launch into him and remember Severin’s instructions to me about tracing: It’s not ever the distance, it’s the focus that enables us to trace.

  I do just that, ignoring his sound of surprise and the clink of the sword as it hits the tile. We connect hard. With my arms banded tightly around him, I squeeze my eyes shut and hope to God that my time conversion is correct because if it isn’t dawn yet where we’re headed, then Severin and I are both doomed. If it is, then I will be the only one to die, and in order to spare Severin’s life, I can accept that.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Just Past Noon

  Seville, Spain

  I pry my eyes open and stare across the tiled floor that my cheek is pressed tightly against. Ignoring the pounding in my skull, I shove up on my arms and scramble to my feet. I panic, realizing that I’m alone. Where the fuck are they? Fear lances through my chest as thoughts fly through my overloaded brain. Suddenly a chilling thought slithers up my spine …. No, she wouldn’t. If I’m still alive, it can only be for one reason—she got him away from here.

  Oh, fuck no, Calla! I sway forward with fear for her, knowing that we had an agreement to always meet on the lawn of the house, should anything ever go wrong. I know that it’s already past dawn there, which is tantamount to a death sentence for them both. I hurry to reach for my sword that is lying on the floor at the tip of my boots. As soon as I have it clutched in my palm I trace back to our home, south of Charleston, hoping by some freak miracle that she is somewhere else, somewhere safe. The gnawing feeling in my gut tells me otherwise.

  * * *

  Clutching my rapier, I arrive on the porch of the plantation house, shielding my eyes with my forearm as I edge back into the shadows the roof provides. I hear her desperate cries and lower my arm. A howl escapes my lips at the macabre sight that is not but two hundred yards away from me. Calla is fighting to hold onto Valdon with everything she has and they are both burning. Oh my God! Must get to her!

  Without hesitation I trace to her side and shout in agony as the searing heat from the sun leaves me feeling like I’ve been thrown headlong into a pool of sulfuric acid. She i
s smoking and her skin is blistered and beginning to char. Holy fuck, I can’t believe she’s still conscious!

  “Leave!” I scream to her as I grab for his arm, determined to get a firm tether on him and finish what she started … his destruction.

  Having used her last reserves of energy to keep a rein on him she collapses to the ground inches from my feet.

  No time!

  Her dire condition spurs me on. He struggles to get away from me so he can trace, but that’s not on my agenda. No, his fate is sealed … by me this time. I have him by the front of his shirt and see that he’s in just as bad a state as Calla. With a resounding roar, I swing my right arm back and deliver the blow, allowing the sharp blade of my rapier to slice directly into his neck. As the blade connects, an anguished cry of defeat falls from his burned lips. My aim was true but the blade fell short by three inches. I’m not taking any chances that the asshole could ever regenerate. I slide the blade out of the oozing mess and with another hard slice on the opposite side his head is lopped right off, tumbling six feet down to roll on the thick grass.

  Flinging my sword to the side I quickly scoop up Calla, who is whimpering in agony. I can tell that I’m too depleted to trace both of us so I do my best to race the slight distance back to the safety of the house.

  Come on … hang in there, Calla! Don’t give up on me when you’re so close!

  I kick the front door open with my boot, take three strides into the cool safety of the dim hallway and strive not to collapse. With her clutched in my arms I back up against the tattered wall and slide down to the wooden floor. Her face is tucked tightly into my shirt and I’m so scared I’m about to lose her. Her burns are severe. I groan as my eyes roam her singed hair and nearly unrecognizable scorched shoulders. Fuck! Need to get her blood, asap!