“I’m armed, you know. If I shoot Kate and Hunter,” he told Joe, “they’re dead.”
“They can shoot you, too, Elven.”
Brodie smiled. “They don’t have my speed. I can kill them before they even begin to pull a trigger.”
“Whatever. Then it will be you and me,” Joe told him.
“Joe!” Kate protested. “What are you saying?”
She and Hunter were both staring at Joe, dismayed.
They hadn’t realized they were pawns, Brodie thought. Of course, neither had he and Rhiannon. They’d gotten everything backward, thinking a human was controlling the vampires instead of vice versa.
In the second when they were distracted, Brodie pulled his own weapon.
“Now, that’s going to be interesting. You—shooting two civilians,” Joe said.
“They’re armed. Trust me, I can find a way out,” Brodie assured him, trying to appear completely calm. They had a plan—he had to know what it was.
And quickly. He had to find Rhiannon and Barrie. He didn’t fully understand it yet, but Rhiannon had been right. Three new Keepers. It meant something.
Before anything else, though, he had to rescue Sailor.
“Rhiannon and Barrie will be down here any second,” Brodie said.
Joe started to laugh. “I told you—she and her cousin have been taken care of. And now I have both the Elven Keeper and the Elven cop. Give up, Brodie. Give up, and maybe, when I’ve gotten you boxed up for a nice sail, you’ll figure out a way to escape before the sea kills you.”
“Where is Rhiannon, then?” Brodie asked, playing for time. He had to believe that Rhiannon and Barrie would figure out what was happening and save themselves. And then there was Jerry. He knew where Brodie was...but when would he suspect that something was wrong?
“Rhiannon is busy dying,” Kate said. “Your little Keeper and her other cousin are out chasing Bobby Conche—who, at this moment, looks just like that imbecile Sailor. And once he has them somewhere out of sight, he’s going to turn into a grizzly or something.”
“I wouldn’t count on Bobby beating Rhiannon,” Brodie said, praying that he was right. Then he turned to face the two humans. “Meanwhile, I want to know one thing.”
“What’s that?” Joe asked.
“Why? Hunter, you have Hollywood in the palm of your hand. Kate, you’re beautiful. Your career is just taking off, thanks to Vampire Rampage.”
Kate laughed. “Are you kidding me? The only way I even got this role was by agreeing to help Joe.”
“Same here,” Hunter said. “I was actually on my way downhill. It just hadn’t hit the gossip columns yet. You really don’t understand yet, do you? There’s going to be a new world order, and Joe is going to make us part of it.”
“Joe is ready to sacrifice you at any time for his own ends,” Brodie said. “I thought you’d just figured that out. And...what new world order?”
As he spoke, he felt something creeping along his shoulder. He allowed himself a split-second glance. It was some kind of caterpillar.
Instinctively, he knew. Barrie was here. And that meant Rhiannon couldn’t be far behind.
“I’m bringing down the Keepers—all of them,” Joe said. “This has been ridiculous for decades now...all of us hiding what we are. There will be a new world order, and the vampires will be at the top. I couldn’t have asked for a more perfect opportunity for starting the revolution. They took away the men who had strength for their grand World Council and gave us three inexperienced girls, no opposition at all. And, I must admit, it was fun watching you try to figure it out. Three, Brodie. Three new Keepers. So we threw you bread crumbs. Trace that number three. Don’t kill people unless they’ve shown up three times. It’s poetic justice, don’t you see? Now, destroy the three new Keepers. Rid the world of the new international council and the annoying local ones all at once. Strike down the ridiculous order.”
“What’s wrong with order, Joe? Everyone just wants to live and let live. Elven, vampires, shapeshifters, human beings, you name it. We all want the same things.”
“You’re wrong. And this...hierarchy hasn’t been natural. We should be able to dine on human chattel as we choose.”
“Human chattel?” Brodie repeated, laughing. “That’s you,” he reminded Kate and Hunter.
“Shut up!” Kate screamed. She raised her gun and fired.
He moved in a flash, knocking the gun from her hand. “You’re supporting the beast who would like to drink your blood,” he warned her.
“The Keepers are going down,” Joe told him. “By tomorrow morning I’ll be ruling the Canyon.” He walked toward Brodie. “A council? A world council? To rule over us? Oh, no. We are powerful, and we will rule the world. And I’m going to show you now just how powerful we vampires really are.”
Joe suddenly grabbed Kate and shoved her away so that he could face Brodie. He hissed, his fangs lengthening, and flew at Brodie.
Brodie threw him, saying, “Get Sailor out of here. Wake her up—make her teleport.”
“Who are you talking to?” Hunter cried out, backing away.
“He’s not talking to anyone,” Joe said. “It’s a ploy. Now quit being such a sniveling coward or I’ll kill you myself.” He laughed. “Distract him, at least, you pathetic human beings!”
Kate rushed at Brodie head-on at the same time that Hunter attacked from behind. Brodie backhanded Kate hard; she crashed against the door and went limp. Then he spun and easily sent Hunter flying.
Both were out stone cold, flat on the floor.
But when he turned, Joe was standing over Sailor.
“Get away from her!” Brodie roared, throwing himself at Joe.
They were locked in battle, but finally Brodie managed to trip Joe, and they both went down, rolling.
Joe broke away and ran toward the coffin, his fangs dripping.
But before he could reach her, Sailor opened her eyes.
“Teleport!” Brodie shouted to her.
And she disappeared.
Joe let out a roar of fury, turned and ran toward Brodie again just as Brodie felt himself being kicked savagely in the ribs. He looked up from the floor to see Audrey Fleur staring down at him.
In a flash, he weighed his options.
Teleport himself? Stand his ground and fight?
“Enough!” The voice was strong, full of authority.
For a moment they all stopped.
Rhiannon, tall, confident and furious, had entered the room. She drew her lips back, displaying long fangs, as she came closer.
Audrey blocked her way. “I’ll take you down in a heartbeat,” she vowed.
“I don’t think so,” Rhiannon said, reaching out, clutching Audrey by the collar and throwing her to the side of the room. Joe flung himself furiously at Rhiannon, but she evaded him and rushed to Brodie’s side.
“Trust me?” she begged him in a whisper.
He met her eyes and nodded.
“Then stay down.”
“Bitch!” Joe screamed at Rhiannon. “Stop now, and maybe I’ll let you live. But first I have an Elven to rip to shreds.”
“I want to live,” Rhiannon said. “I’ll do anything. Let me kill him. I’ll rip him to shreds for you.”
“Really?” Joe said. “How fascinating.”
“Don’t trust her!” Audrey cried.
“Don’t trust me?” Rhiannon asked. “Why not? You have the power—you have the numbers. I want to live, and it’s obvious I have no choice but to answer to the strength of a real vampire. I’ll help you overthrow the Keepers. I’ll be your servant, Joe,” she said. “I don’t want to die.”
“And you’ll really kill your lover?” Joe asked her. “That I would like to see.”
“I’ll drain his blood and find him delicious,” Rhiannon said.
Brodie knew he could fight her off, or he could teleport. But it was equally true that the last fight had taken a heavy toll on his strength. What was she playing at?
She opened her mind to him, and he read her thoughts. Trust me, she pleaded again.
He nodded his acknowledgment.
To his amazement, she sank her fangs into his throat. And then, carefully hiding her actions from the others, she ripped a gash in her own wrist with her nail and forced the wound to his lips.
A vampire bite could be poison to an Other. And drinking vampire blood...he had no idea what that might do to him.
Inordinate strength seemed to rip through him. He leapt to his feet just as Joe came at him again, enraged.
“I warned you!” Audrey screamed. “She’s done...something!”
Ignoring her, Brodie teleported, smashed the coffin, grabbed a shard of wood and thrust it into Joe’s heart.
Audrey screamed and turned to run, but Rhiannon stopped her, picking up another makeshift stake.
“No!” Audrey shrieked.
“You’re a killer,” Rhiannon said. “I am the vampire Keeper—and I condemn you to die for your actions.”
She impaled Audrey with a single thrust, never faltering.
Brodie looked at Rhiannon. “We’ve won,” he told her. “But, Rhiannon, I’m Elven. A vampire bite will kill me. And if not the bite, the blood I drank.”
She shook her head, beautiful beyond measure as she seemed almost to float over to him. “No,” she told him. “Bobby thought the same—that I could kill him. But a bite from my fangs really isn’t the same, and drinking my blood isn’t the same at all. Because it’s not real vampire blood. It was a Keeper bite. It won’t kill you, and the power will fade from you just as it will from me.”
He drew her into his arms, and they were both shaking.
But they were together....
And the enemy had been defeated.
A moment later Jerry burst into the room. “What’s going on? Barrie came for me, and... Oh, Lord, what happened? I don’t understand.”
Before either of them could explain, Sailor and Barrie came running in.
“You did it,” Sailor breathed to Rhiannon.
Rhiannon smiled and let go of Brodie to draw her cousins into her arms. “We did it,” she said. She turned to Jerry, still holding tight to her cousins. “It’s complicated, and we’ll explain later, but let’s just say it’s a good thing we have Barrie at the paper. She’ll see to it that everything’s explained in a way that...makes sense.”
“Sense?” Jerry asked. “In Hollywood? Is that really going to matter?”
Epilogue
Sailor found her new friend right away.
Or perhaps he found her.
As they walked through the kennels, their hearts bleeding for the unwanted animals waiting at the shelter in hopes of finding love and a home, a massive mix of golden retriever and...something jumped against the fence just as Sailor was passing. She jumped and then laughed, looking at the big yellow mutt.
“Well, hello,” she said.
“That’s Jonquil,” the kennel volunteer said. “His owner died. Sad story, really. He sat by her bedside until a neighbor finally came in, worried because he hadn’t seen the old lady in a week. The poor woman had no family, so there was no one to take Jonquil. He looks like a bruiser, but he’s a kitten inside.”
Sailor hunkered down by kennel, slipping her fingers through the wire. Jonquil proceeded to slobber on her fingers, and that was it, she was in love. She looked up at Rhiannon, Barrie and Brodie. “I’ve found my true love,” she told them.
“He’s beautiful,” Rhiannon assured her, and kept walking. She paused near what she thought was an empty kennel, then realized that a huge dog was huddled against the back wall. “Who’s that?” she asked the attendant, who had come up behind her.
“Wizard,” the woman said. “He’s mostly Scottish deerhound, I think. Kind of wiry, kind of gray and he doesn’t trust people easily.”
Brodie joined Rhiannon then, and she looked at him and smiled. “Hmm. I don’t trust people easily, either.” She knelt by the kennel. “Hey,” she said softly.
The dog stared back at her with wide eyes, hunching a little closer to the wall.
“Rhiannon, he might not be the right dog,” Brodie warned.
She looked up at him. “His name is Wizard. He’s the right one.”
He shrugged and hunkered down beside her. “Come here, boy. Come on.”
“Wizard?” Rhiannon called softly.
At last the dog moved away from the wall. He was mammoth, Rhiannon realized. Standing on his hind legs, he would be her height.
He came slowly toward them.
“I promise you, he doesn’t bite,” the attendant said.
“If only I could say the same about me,” Rhiannon said, looking sheepishly at Brodie.
“The occasional bite can be a good thing,” he assured her with a grin.
Just then she felt something wet touch her fingers, and she turned to look back at Wizard. His big brown eyes were on her, and she could have sworn that she saw hope in them.
“I guess you’ve found your dog, too,” Brodie said.
“Looks like we’ve got two dogs,” Barrie said, coming over to see Wizard. “I’m going to find a cat.”
“Right this way,” the attendant said.
An hour later, animals in tow, they were back at the compound. On the ride home they’d decided to have a barbecue later. By evening the summer heat would slack off, but it would still be warm enough for everyone—even Brodie—to enjoy the pool.
But with the barbecue a few hours off, Brodie and Rhiannon were busy making Wizard comfortable, setting out his bowls and making him a bed in the kitchen out of an old comforter.
“I wonder if I should make him a bed upstairs in my room, too,” Rhiannon said.
Brodie set his hands on her shoulders and said, “No. We already need to lock the door and hang up a do-not-disturb sign, what with your cousins and Merlin. We’ll give Wizard plenty of love, and he’ll be fine with that and enjoy his bed in the kitchen.” He smiled knowingly at her. “In fact, I think we should give him a chance to try out his own bed in privacy right now.”
He swept her off her feet into his arms, strong and secure. There really was nothing like an Elven for romantic gestures, she thought.
Wizard began to bark.
“It’s okay, boy,” Brodie said. “Your mama and I may be looking at a future together, so you’d better get used to me.”
Wizard sat and wagged his tail.
Rhiannon stroked Brodie’s cheek. “It’s hard to know where we’re going,” she said. “An Elven and a Keeper.”
“True—even with fortune-teller machines all over the house,” he agreed. “I do know that I’ve never been happier. We are what we are—but I know I want to be with you more than anything in life, even if it’s going to be a journey strewn with obstacles.”
“Yeah, vampires, shapeshifters, werewolves, Elven, even some gnomes and a fairy or two,” she said drily.
He nodded. “But I believe we can avoid them all. As long as you’re game?”
She smiled. “There’s nowhere else I’d rather be than where I am right now. In your arms.” Lest she get too sappy, she added quickly, “Especially since you’re Elven and very unlikely to drop me.”
“Not a chance,” he told her. “And I can scale staircases with a single bound.”
She laughed, and he set out to prove it.
In seconds they were falling on the bed together, wrapped in each other’s arms. Rhiannon was certain that the future that lay ahead would be hard, but equally certain that it would be worth it.
Then she forgot about the future, because she was too busy living in the present.
There was nothing in the world like making love with an Elven.
No.
There was nothing in the world like making love with Brodie.
* * * * *
Look for
KEEPER OF THE MOON,
the next
volume of
The Keepers: L.A.,
by bestselling author Harley Jane Kozak,
coming in March 2013
only from Harlequin Nocturne.
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ISBN: 9781460300893
Copyright © 2013 by Slush Pile Productions, LLC
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Keeper of the Night (The Keepers: L.A.) Page 21