Death of a Succubus

by Kim Schubert

  “Four hours,” I whispered. “How the fuck do we save an entire city in four hours?”

  “We have to take down the trailers at their locations,” Logan advised.

  I nodded, calling Tommy back.

  “What?” he answered.

  “Do you have the trailers?” I asked.

  “Not yet, you haven’t sent me the pictures,” he reminded me.

  “Shit,” I hissed. “The trailers are set to a timer to release 80 rogues on the city.”

  Again, silence. I put him on speakerphone, snapping the pictures and sending them.

  “How—“

  “Enough, I’ve sent you pictures. We are on our way to you. Get me the info, now.” I hung up and proceeded to dial every executioner we had.

  …

  Thirty minutes later, the mansion was swarming with cars, vampires, and shifters, and my executioners were lined up inside the high voltage fence, ready and waiting for the coming attacks.

  I threw my door open as Blue came up to the SUV. “Myrtle is an hour out with the machine guns,” he informed me.

  I hissed, “Get them here now.” I only knew of four trailers, that didn’t mean there weren’t more.

  We marched into Tommy’s room.

  “What do you have for me?” I demanded

  His fingers were flying over the keyboard. “The semi is registered to a shell company. I can’t find any others registered for that company.”

  There went that lead.

  “Becky is going over the trailer now, but the parts aren’t anything special. Nothing that we can use to track down the others with,” Tommy continued.

  “Three hours and thirty minutes,” Anna reminded me.

  I didn’t need the countdown.

  “What about everyone else?” Tommy asked, stopping his fingers over the keyboard and turning to me. “What if I can’t find them in time and they are released?”

  I squatted down in front of him. “You and everyone here are safe. I’m doing all I can to make sure we save as many as possible.”

  “Which is?” he demanded.

  I stood back up, rubbing my sore forearm. “We are going to see Tate.”

  “Olivia, you are not strong enough,” Logan warned me.

  “I’m injured, Logan, and undoubtedly not at my best, but I refuse to hide. Zachariah brought this fight to me, and I plan on finishing it.”

  “It’s my fault,” Tommy said.

  “How could it possibly be your fault?” I asked.

  “When I skipped school and Gregory kidnapped me,” he reminded me.

  “That wasn’t your fault, Tommy. I pissed him off by not letting Gregory beat the shit of the Blake while Tate did nothing. He took you as punishment for my actions.”

  “None of that matters. Zachariah planted Angelina here to seek out Blake so they could ingrain themselves in Centennial House. This was planned, we just happened to get in their way. Keep working, we will protect all those we can,” Logan reassured him.

  I nodded. “Let’s go kill Tate!” Anna cheered.

  “I want my double swords,” I complained.

  “Me, too.”

  Fifteen minutes later, Anna and I had changed and better equipped ourselves and were waiting outside.

  “Who do you want to take with us?” Logan asked.

  My father and Doyle walked out.

  “I want you two to stay here. You are my last line of defense if anything gets inside of this house,” I told them, checking my clips and ammo in the back of the SUV. I was desperate if I was putting my trust in my father, but whatever his faults, he was powerful.

  My father regarded me, saying nothing. Finally, “You are worried.”

  “Very,” I agreed, forgetting my emotions were broadcasted for all.

  “I will protect the children,” Doyle promised solemnly.

  “Thank you.” I turned to my father expectantly.

  “You would die to protect them,” my father announced.

  “Yes,” I agreed, my patience running out along with my time.

  My father nodded. “I will do all I can.”

  It was the best I was going to get from him.

  “Thank you. I’ll be in touch.”

  I turned to Logan as they went back inside. “I want Anna, who do you want?” I asked.

  “Darren, there is no one I trust more.”

  I nodded. We gathered our small group and piled into my SUV, Logan taking the wheel. It still smelled.

  “What’s the game plan?” Darren asked from the passenger seat, looking back at me.

  “Kill Zachariah and end this,” I wished out loud.

  “Ha,” he answered.

  I gave him a rueful smile. “We need information. If we can find a few of Zachariah’s vampires to question, that would be ideal.”

  “Are you going to kill Blake?” Logan asked me.

  I jerked my gaze to his in the rear view mirror. “I — I haven’t even thought about that.”

  He shrugged, “We can now.”

  I nodded, thinking. “We can, but we have more important things to do than settle an old score. Besides, I’d rather take my aggression out on Zachariah.”

  “No one is going to talk to us,” Anna said. “I already killed a few of them off.”

  I raised an eyebrow at her. “Impressive. What else did I miss?”

  She shrugged, “Nothing worth mentioning.”

  “We need to get Mal, if we haven’t already,” I added.

  “I asked Raphael to obtain her, but I didn’t see her in the mansion,” Logan commented.

  It was another twenty minutes to the Centennial House; we had two hours and forty minutes left.

  But who’s counting? I was ignoring the dread in my stomach and the what-ifs pinging around. I had no use or time for them. I had to protect those I cared about. I would try to save the rest, but I didn’t see this ending any way but bloody.

  “We should call Mercer,” I said as we made the final turn to the Centennial House.

  “And tell him what?” Logan countered.

  “That he and Mindy need to get to the mansion.” I pulled out my phone for a quick text. It would be met with questions, but I didn’t have time or answers for him right now.

  Hopefully, he’d listen blindly to my orders. I sighed, leaning forward to look at the guard station as Logan rolled to a stop.

  “It’s empty.” Logan confirmed my observation.

  “Why would they leave it empty?” I mused.

  “They’ve pulled all their resources inside, just as we have done, to protect everyone. They know what is coming, Olivia,” Anna spelled it out for me.

  I smiled at her. “I doubt they know we are coming.”

  She flipped her short red hair over a shoulder. “That much is true.”

  Darren looked back between us, clearly worried.

  Logan put the SUV in park. “I don’t want to shred the tires or take Tommy away from his current project to override the security here.”

  “You should turn it around in case of a quick exit,” Anna advised.

  I nodded and he did as she requested.

  With a last check to our weapons, Anna and I exited the vehicle. I imagined we looked similar, with our jeans, leather jackets, dual swords, guns, and throwing knives strapped to each leg. The truth was, I liked her being back. She had taken a different path when we escaped, and I respected it.

  But having her fighting at my side was reassuring. She had been the only person I could count on for so long, and maybe after the betrayal by Grams, I needed that. My gaze swung to Logan’s ass. I had that trust in him, too. My fear melted away as I felt his answering emotions in the mate bond.

  I pulled a blade, twirling it around and using the handle to knock on the tall, solid doors. “Come out and play, Tate, or I’m coming in!”

  “Please tell me we have explosives,” I whispered to my crew.

  “I’m insulted you think we need them,” Darren countered.

&nb
sp; I laughed before pounding again. “Come on, Tate, you don’t want me destroying your doors with what is coming.”

  The door creaked open and Mal’s face peered out. “Go home, Olie, protect those you love,” she hissed at me. Not exactly sure how I felt about that warning coming so late from her.

  Logan caught the door, forcing it open with one thick arm.

  “That’s why we are here, my dear,” I informed her, hands braced on my hips. “We’ve come to pay our debts.”

  Mal shook her head, looking back up the stairs. I couldn’t see who or what was there.

  “I’m not leaving him,” she whispered harshly to me.

  “Define ‘him,’” I tried.

  “Tate.” Her voice broke over the single word, a pink tear slipping down her cheek. “I love him.”

  I exhaled. “You know what is coming.” It was a statement, but I waited for her to nod. When she did, I shook my head sadly.

  “That’s a terrible life decision,” Anna commented.

  I couldn’t help but agree.

  Logan stepped forward, laying a thick hand on Mal’s shoulder. “You saved my daughter, we will do the same for you.”

  What he didn’t say, and what I felt in the mate bond, was that it would be with or without her consent. I silently sent my approval. Mal’s shoulders relaxed.

  “Do you know where Zachariah is?” I asked.

  Mal shook her head. “He met with Tate before you were taken. That’s all I know.”

  “TATE!” Logan bellowed.

  “Where is everyone?” I asked as Logan marched to the stairs.

  “Down below for safekeeping,” Mal said, rubbing her arms in a worried gesture.

  I nodded, following Logan. He had stopped at the top of the steps and I could just see his hazy outline.

  “Did you know he planned to take Olivia?” Logan asked as both Mal and I made our way to him.

  Mal gasped and I held her firmly in place. Logan had Tate pinned to the wall with a clawed hand. I can’t lie, that was hot.

  “Yes,” Tate wheezed out. He might not have needed oxygen to breathe, but he did need it to speak.

  “We need him alive to answer our questions,” I reminded Logan.

  “You said you would protect me!” Mal screamed.

  “We did and we will. We made no promises when it came to Tate. He sided with the enemy, Mal, certainly you can see that,” Anna scolded.

  Mal pushed against my restraining hand, trying to get to Tate.

  “Don’t, Mal,” I warned her. “He is going to die.”

  Her gaze jerked to my own. “What?” she whispered.

  “Tate just admitted that he knew Zachariah was going to take me.”

  Mal blinked at me, her brow drawn down, one broken exhale escaping before she looked back at Tate, sadly shaking her head. She stopped fighting against me, turning to sit on the top step, her shoulders shaking with soft sobbing.

  I turned to Tate, all my humor and kindness draining from me.

  “Where is he?” I demanded of him.

  He shook his head. I ground my jaw, crossing my arms over my chest, thinking.

  “You are just going to kill me,” Tate wheezed, all the fight leaving him.

  “You are a pathetic excuse for a Master Vampire. Leaving your entire clan at the sadistic hands of Zachariah. Did you even bother to fight him? Try to protect your House? Or did you just roll over and show your belly?” I sneered.

  “Easy for you to say. You kill everything and love nothing. You have left a path of destruction in your wake and what is coming now is all your fault.”

  “Clearly, because I forced him to create rogues and lock them in trailers.”

  “No, because you killed his son.”

  “He took Tommy. Unlike you, Tate, I protect my own. Now, are you going to start talking, or I am going to start carving?”

  He closed his mouth, not saying another word.

  Logan tore his talons through Tate’s neck, letting him sink to the floor. Tate clutched the healing pieces of flesh before tackling Logan around his middle.

  I drew a sword, but Darren stopped me. “He needs this.”

  I raised a questioning eyebrow at him and he continued, “He needs to punish the people responsible for hurting you.”

  I relaxed my stance, watching Logan shove Tate’s head into the drywall.

  “So what do we do after he kills him?” Anna asked me, leaning against the railing.

  “See the rest of the House, I guess. They will have felt Tate’s death,” I answered.

  “That doesn’t mean they will be any more cooperative,” she anticipated.

  “I know, but do you have any other ideas?” I countered.

  “He’s not going to be in the city,” Anna guessed. “He left part of his House here, thinking they would be safe, but he won’t take risks with his own safety with the rogues.”

  I locked my jaw; she was right.

  “Or he left his House here because he felt perfectly safe and is also hiding here,” Mal spoke up.

  We all turned to her, with the exception of Logan, who had torn off Tate’s arm.

  “What do you mean?” I asked her.

  “Zachariah had renovations done to the west wing. He said it was to remodel it based on his tastes, but what if he built in a safe room?” Mal continued. “He was very secretive, and the supplies being brought in, they didn’t make sense for a remodel.”

  “Is Angelina with everyone downstairs?” I asked.

  Mal blinked, surprised by my question. “I don’t know.”

  I looked at Logan, his beast pushing at the seams of his clothing, fangs descended in his mouth and over his lips.

  “We don’t have time to wait for him to finish,” Anna stated.

  The snapping of Tate’s head leaving his body had all of us turning. Logan stalked toward us in a cloud of Master Vampire ash.

  “Let’s go,” he said around a mouthful of teeth.

  I blinked at him, shocked. “You killed him, already?”

  Logan raised an eyebrow, fangs retreating in his mouth. “Yes,” he answered.

  “But he was a Master Vampire.” I was having a hard time with this.

  “Are you doubting my skills?” Logan teased.

  “No, but … okay, maybe a little,” I stuttered.

  “I’m evolving,” Logan finally confessed.

  “What does that mean?”

  “That I eat Master Vampires for breakfast,” he grinned.

  Mal made a pained sound, covering her mouth. I pulled her to me. “Keep it together. We still have to save the city.” I was starting to sound like a damn comic book.

  Unlike the heroes those brightly colored pages display, I didn’t think we were going to be successful. I pushed my mind away from that depressing train of thought. The humans were not my responsibility to keep safe, and this was undoubtedly a vampire problem, but I couldn’t stand by and let innocent people suffer.

  “How do you plan on getting into the lower levels?” Darren asked.

  Mal clutched her chest, taking a moment to pull herself together. Crap, we probably should have kept Tate alive a little bit longer. I laid my hand on her arm, pulling in the overwhelming sorrow that was trying to shut her body down. She gave a small whimper, her own hand latching onto mine.

  There are no adequate words for the loss of a loved one. Even a dumbass loved one.

  Mal slipped down, sitting on the step, folding into herself, rocking and whimpering softly. I pulled what I could. Vampires are linked to their Masters, connected and grounded through them. The loss of that is terrifying.

  “We need Raphael,” I said to Anna, still drawing from Mal.

  She nodded, pulling out her phone, which I’m guessing I was paying for.

  Mal cleared her throat, rubbing her forehead. “I felt his life force end,” she whispered.

  I turned to look at Logan, feeling his annoyance pressing against the bond.

  “We need to identify tho
se who are grieving versus those who are mildly upset. That will tell us who belonged to who,” I told him.

  I wasn’t sure we had the time. I had stopped counting.

  “We don’t have time,” Logan voiced my thoughts.

  I stood, feeling Mal gain control over her emotions.

  “I’m open to ideas,” I countered.

  “Let’s go bomb the west wing,” Anna said with a shrug.

  “Let’s,” I agreed.

  “Olie,” Mal said, shocked.

  I turned to her. “We are running out of time. A bomb won’t kill Zachariah. We don’t have time to hunt around through the house.”

  She nodded, her mind clearly preoccupied with other things.

  I turned to Anna. “Do we even have explosives?”

  “Yes, I added them to the SUV.”

  “That seems a little dangerous,” I told her.

  She rolled her eyes at me. “You never did like explosives.”

  I couldn’t disagree with that.

  “What about everyone down below?” Darren asked.

  I groaned. “There are benefits to keeping them contained. We don’t have the time to sort through who is trying to kill us and who will come over to our side.”

  I had been below the Centennial House on a variety of occasions. They had a very nice apartment for kidnapping people, huge training rooms with elevated windows, and the security hub for the entire house.

  “Can you hear them down below?” I asked Logan.

  He shook his head. “No, it must be soundproofed.”

  I nodded.

  “We have bigger issues, let’s leave them for now.” I turned, heading to the SUV.

  …

  Between killing Tate and setting up the charges, we had lost another forty minutes. We had two hours left.

  So I was still counting.

  Each passing minute dimmed my hopes of being able to walk away from this unscathed.

  Raphael had arrived and we were all outside behind the SUV, waiting for Anna to finish twisting wires together. I liked weapons, but explosives made me nervous.

  Mal and Raphael were talking in soft voices I was trying not to overhear. I wasn’t successful.

  “Joining my House will help ease your pain,” he told her.

  She nodded, rubbing her eyes before dropping her arms across her chest.

  “Nor will you be Masterless,” he reminded her. Not a good position to be in within the vampire world.