I dropped my shields without even thinking about it. I know I'd hesitated before. But being on the brink of what felt like death tended to put things a little more into perspective.
I didn’t know what the hell I was doing. But it had worked before. Why not now?
Not knowing what to do next, I made sure all my shields were lowered. Last time, my gift had worked of its own accord but right now it wasn’t doing anything. Frustration rushed through me as panic tried to rear its ugly head. Forcing it down, I instead focused on Parris’ energy.
Nothing would connect. My gift refused to be roused. But I could see his aura form around him now that my shields were gone. There was a red cloud shimmering around the part of his body I could see. It was so big, growing larger still as his hunger and lust took over, completely swamping the white light of energy that hovered around his being.
Hopelessness hit me hard. I couldn't help it. Then I noticed Florin Thorne wiping his brow, getting ready to strike Vienna again. Dread filled me. But so did rage. I reached out to him without thinking, my own energy pulling away from me and moving, as if seeking, across the room. Like an elastic mist, I watched as it attached itself to the white light of energy around Florin—exactly like it had with the rogue when I’d been on death’s door last time.
As soon as our two energies connected, a rush of white light passed across my eyes as if I was falling in a way too fast to comprehend. I couldn’t control it, or direct it in anyway, as it dragged me along to a place that was calling to me the most.
I let go as best I could to try and ease the tightening in my chest. Then, all of a sudden, I could see myself lying there on the floor, with Parris on top of me, drinking the blood from me like a wild monster.
Had I done it? Had I managed to connect to Florin’s energy? Excitement flooded me. But this time, instead of being able to move with the energy I was connected to, something stopped me. Like an ill-fitting jacket, I tried to form the energy around me. But someone—or something—pulled me from behind and punched me in the face. What? What was that? Had help arrived and attacked Florin? Was that what I could feel?
My energy fell back a few paces from the punch, but when I turned around, I could see something that resembled Florin standing in front of me. Whatever it was, it didn't look like Florin had in the flesh a few moments before. This looked like a distorted version of him—as if he was standing behind frosted glass. He went to hit me again, his movements out of focus, but this time I dodged. He kicked at my leg, but I deflected it. Uncertainty taking over my thoughts, I wasn’t quite sure what was happening.
Florin threw another punch, flickering in and out of my sight. One moment he was there, blurred and distorted. The next he was a blob of white light, trying to find his feet.
As he transcended back into the blurred Florin, he came at me again. He was quicker this time, but I swung out of the way and engaged in a full on fight with him as he came at me. Hard.
We fought, both of us trying to gain the advantage. I wasn’t sure what would happen to me if he defeated me like this. Stuck, attached to his energy, was a possibility. But there was no way in hell I was going to find out.
With all I had, I fought, and kicked, and dodged. I pulled on every reserve and every ounce of knowledge that I’d gained over the years. Succumbing to this son of a bitch, or the one sucking on my neck, wasn't an option. I jumped back from another fist aimed at my face and made fast with an uppercut to his jaw. Before he could recover, I swung my elbow down on his temple, the blow forcing whatever he was to his knees.
As soon as he hit the ground, the image of him flickered in and out like a bad TV channel. It hit me then. What the hell he was. I was fighting with Florin’s energy. An energy that was very aware of me for some reason. He stood up and came at me again as we fought for supremacy of his body. He didn’t get chance to land a hit this time though. I was faster, ducking out of his reach and hitting him hard. I pummeled him over and over again. His blocks became weaker as my own fists reached their target. The way he’d made Vienna scream brought a fierceness out in me that I’d never felt before, and I continued to hit him, blow after blow after blow, until he was on the floor and no longer moving.
Blurred blood splattered the floor beneath us, the image of him flickering out completely. But as soon as he disappeared, a white glow emerged, slowly spiraling around me. It slid over me like a glove, and my hands tingled as my eyes bulged with the pressure. I’d done it. I’d taken over Florin’s energy and gained control of his body. The scene of me beneath Parris came forth once more, and this time I roared with satisfaction when I rushed forward, pulling as hard as I could.
I was grateful when Florin’s body responded and moved with me this time. With the stake still in Florin's hand, I lifted his arm to bring it down onto Parris’ back. But at the last moment, Florin’s energy was tugged away from me, and the stake pierced into Parris’ shoulder instead.
Florin’s voice raged in my mind as he took ownership back of his energy, forcing me out.
My own essence flew back into my body in such a rush that I could barely breathe. The room spun as I tried to focus on one point to make it still. Nothing made sense. I felt too soft inside. Broken.
Rushing back into myself, I felt the weight of Parris gone from my body, and I was able to move my head around. I blinked my eyes a few times in an attempt to steady myself, and saw Parris and Florin fighting each another a few feet away from me.
“You dare to stab me in the back!” Parris roared, as he swiped his arm in Florin’s direction.
“It wasn’t me,” Florin said as he dodged the move and kicked back. “She did something to me. She took me over or something.”
Parris ran at Florin and lifted him up before slamming him onto the ground.
“She’s charmed and half dead, you idiot!” Parris roared. “She isn’t capable of lifting a finger. Let alone doing anything to you.” He lashed out again. “I knew it! I knew I couldn’t trust you. That’s why I kept you close. Why I made sure you knew your place!”
“I’m your equal!” Florin shouted back, and he engaged with Parris again. One of them kicked at the stake that had fallen to the ground during their fight, and it hit my hand. I needed my fingers to cooperate, to grab hold of it. But nothing seemed to want to comply. I couldn’t move, my own energy was too distorted, not quite aware of where it fit. The blood seeped out of my neck, sapping at my energy.
A tear ran down my temple in frustration. I could do nothing but watch the two vampires go at it with one another while I bled out on the floor.
So I wasn’t just a psychic. I think that was becoming pretty clear to me now. But I also had no damn clue about what I was dealing with. Florin hadn’t been so submissive when I’d tried to take his energy—not like the rogue had been. And snapping back into my own body had made me feel like I was no longer grounded in this world. I was no longer here.
I should never have messed around with it. Mayra had been right when she’d told me I needed to know what we were dealing with before I dropped my shields again. I know I didn’t really have a choice with Parris feeding off me as part of his new daily diet, but I wasn’t sure what was worse. Nothing worked. Nothing felt like mine. All I wanted was to curl up into a ball and forever hide from the shadows that threatened to swallow me whole without my white light to hold me in.
Tired. I was so, so tired. But then the thought of Kaleb came into mind. His smile. The way he always had my back. How he knew me so well.
And then there was Mayra. My best friend, who’d saved me from so much pain, teaching me all she could. She was always there, no matter what. She found me at a time when I was lost. She was forever finding me when I felt part of myself drifting away into helplessness … Oh, and Rosie. Another best friend, like a sister. She was someone who nurtured and loved with such tenderness, she’d helped me to trust a family’s love. She was there like a shot when I needed her. No hesitation. And I’d ruined her pretty suit. Blood s
tains were a bitch to get out of anything.
A chuckle resounded in my head at that. Slowly, I felt myself start to come back together again like the pieces of a jigsaw.
Happy to feel the familiarity of who I was, I thought of Dan. My saviour. My rescuer. And Chris. My stepdad. My dad in every which way. A man who I adored. He’d always been there for me, and he loved me as if I was his own. He was my family. And someone who’d taken to being a parent like a duck to water. My love for him was real. I could use that. I could feel that.
Then there was Cole.
That shifter sent a fire through me that acted like the glue in putting me back together again. The heat he made me feel was so real, it brought the love of my family and friends together into a whole piece that I could grasp onto. I wasn’t sure what he was to me, or if he would ever be anything more than my boss and a fantasy. But for now, I held onto it, turning him into the anchor I needed now, more than ever.
A shimmering appeared at the edge of my vision. As the roars from the two vampires fighting around me escalated, I felt myself float back down to the ground once more.
My little finger jerked with movement. After that my body seemed to remember itself again. I moved my hand along the floor, inch by inch, and grabbed at the stake, slowly pulling it beneath me so I didn’t distract either of them with the move.
It was Parris who delivered the killing blow. With his rage, he lost all rationale, taking advantage of his quick speed to come behind Florin.
“No one crosses me!” Parris shouted, putting a hand on either side of Florin’s head before Florin could stop him. Parris yanked it to the side, creating a ferocious cracking sound. But that wasn’t enough for him. With another jerk, he used his strength to tear Florin’s head completely from his shoulders, throwing the discarded head down to the ground.
Revulsion filled me as I watched the head of Florin Thorne bounce once along the floor before coming to a halt. There would be no coming back from that. No matter how much vampire venom flowed through his body.
Staying as still as I could, I didn’t move an inch. I didn’t want Parris knowing that I was free from his charms. So I stared at Florin’s empty eyes, seeing his last moments of surprise woven within them as he lifelessly stared back at me.
“See, my little flower,” Parris said, leaning down beside me once more. “Look at how powerful just one drink of you has made me.” He laughed, breathless with exertion as he leaned down to drink some more.
His fangs pierced my skin again, and the pain gave me all I needed to take the stake out from beneath me.
Slowly lifting the stake above Parris’ back, he was too impassioned with drinking from me to be disturbed by the movement. Before I could think about what I was doing, before I could think of the consequences, I slammed the stake down as hard as I could. I pushed as hard as I could, only satisfied when Parris reared back in surprised agony. Moving quickly and without hesitation, I pulled the stake out of his back and stabbed it into his black vampire heart. Pushing with every last bit of strength I had left in me, my eyes never strayed from the sudden alarm reflected in his own irises.
“H-how?” he stammered as his skin turned grey. He was old enough for the aging cells in his body to catch up with his true age as the venom poured out of his body. I said all I could at that moment, my hands still pressing upward on the end of the stake. My own need for survival refused to drop them for even one second.
“Never trust a psychic,” I whispered, and I watched, with tears in my eyes, as he crumbled to ash.
It was over.
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
CRAWLING OVER TO where Vienna was tied up, I tried to keep my focus on moving forward as the room seemed to spin around me. Taking a few deep breaths to steady myself, I finally made it. Checking her vital signs—yep, vampires had those—I could tell she was still alive. Barely.
She’d lost a lot of blood, but thankfully, like Bernard, she was a vampire. Like him, she’d succumb to some form of stasis while their bodies craved the blood they’d lost. But they were hanging on still, and that was all that mattered.
Daring myself to edge over to Bernard, I gave it a few minutes before reaching out to touch him. Gently, and tentatively, I stroked his hair away from his face. I hated that he looked like death himself as he lay there, the desperation threatening to overthrow me. I wasn’t ready to cave yet though. Not in the way that his sunken cheeks and the cuts on his face begged me to.
The blood was still pouring down my neck, so I tore off the bottom of Bernard’s shirt to wrap around the wound for now. I didn’t think Rosie was ever going to let me ‘borrow’ anything of hers again, what with the pantsuit covered in blood and grime. But I also wasn't sure she would forgive me at all if I’d ripped the thing. Bernard's shirt would have to do.
Looking around, I couldn’t find anything to cut them both loose, so I engaged the comms to get them some help.
“Engage comms,” I said, ripping the device off my leg and wrapping it around my wrist. I dialed Cole’s transmission code and he answered on the first ring.
“Terra …” he snapped in panic. But he mustn’t have been alone because he quickly corrected himself. “Agent Vane. Where are you?”
“Not quite sure. Where are you?”
“We’ve just shut down a ball happening somewhere in what’s called the House of Strigoi. We’re questioning the guests on your whereabouts.”
“Yeah, well, I’m not there.”
“I figured that much. Where, pray tell, are you?”
“I’m in a barn on Darkwood lands. I have a dead Head of House lying here in a pile of ash and a murderous vampire who has had his head ripped off. I also have two other vampires, one of which is Bernard, who are in desperate need of medical attention.”
He let out a long-suffering sigh. “Sit tight. We’ve almost got a signal on your comms. We’ll come get you.”
“Oh, and Chief Cipher.”
“Yes, Agent Vane.”
“Romeo Lovejoy is in there somewhere wearing a lovely, red gown and a blonde wig. You may wish to keep the place on lockdown before you come looking for me.”
“Only you,” he said in exasperation before he ended the transmission.
It took them twenty minutes to come find me, and I was relieved when I saw Cole walking through those barn doors.
“Am I glad to see you,” I told him, the stake still clutched in my hand. I was sitting next to Vienna on a hay bale when he caught sight of me. The concern in his eyes couldn’t be hidden in time. I’d already seen it and it pulled at me, like a longing.
“You didn’t say you were injured,” he said as he took a few steps closer. He looked at the blood covering my neck, then at the bruises Florin had left on my face.
“Surface wounds,” I waved him off, but I didn’t like the fact I was seeing two of my hands when I did so. “Might need a blood congealer until I get to a Healer Hub though.” My head spun. “And some restorative, if you have some to hand. Kind of have a low blood sugar level here.”
“Don’t worry,” Kaleb said as he hobbled in behind his brother. “I have a Healer Kit with me.”
“What the hell are you doing here?” My own health forgotten, I snapped at my unexpected partner as he limped in through the doorway.
“You’re nagging me again? After I helped rescue you?” Kaleb waved the Healer Kit at me, and I slowly stood up on wobbly legs.
“I told you to sit tight,” I berated him. “Not leave your sick bed and make yourself worse! Don’t you listen to a damn word I say?”
“He shifted and came running out to the forest to come get me,” Cole explained. “If he hadn’t, we wouldn’t have been back until tomorrow.”
“Well, it’s not like you had to come save the day,” I said sulkily. It bothered me that Kaleb had risked himself in that way. “I managed to save myself for once.”
“Yeah, I can see that.” Cole looked around the barn. “I think we’d better take your statement befor
e the others get here.”
“You need to deal with them first.” I pointed to Bernard and Vienna. And with that, the three Head of Houses came running through the door with Adalyn and Nephthys in tow. Only Marco Perduto was missing.
“I thought you had the ballroom on lockdown?” I asked Cole at the sight of the vampire intrusion. He gave me a discerning look.
“Romeo Lovejoy was apprehended using your given description.” He glanced at the Heads of Houses. “Marco Perduto has been arrested for obstruction of justice and for harboring a criminal. We handled it.”
“What’s happened here?” Lillith demanded. Ramses and Nephthys must have noticed Bernard because they rushed over to try and help him.
“We need an onsite doctor to see to him!” Ramses shouted, worried for his friend. “He needs blood.”
Cole sent a transmission through to one of the other agents instructing them to bring two onsite doctors to the coordinates of what I assumed to be our location.
“Everyone, you need to clear out,” Cole said, spreading his arms wide to usher the others away.
“Is that Florin Thorne’s head?” Lilith gasped, as she ducked beneath Cole’s arm. “Oh my goodness, there is ash on the floor!”
“What’s that about my Courtier’s head?” Donn Flannaghan, the Head of House for Sanguis, demanded. The six-foot vamp with bright red hair followed Lillith deeper into the barn.
“This is now an agency matter!” Cole roared. He wasn’t used to his orders being defied.
“What happened, Terra?” Adalyn asked with tenderness as she came up to me. She touched the makeshift bandage on my neck then asked Kaleb if she could borrow the Healer Kit.
“I can bandage her up a little better than this,” she explained, taking the kit from him.
“Agent Vane has not yet given her official statement,” Cole told them with exasperation. “She does not have to explain anything to any of you.”
Adalyn unwound the piece of Bernard’s shirt from my neck. It was saturated with blood, but Adalyn didn’t flinch as she got to work.
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