“Shh,” I whispered.
He drew his brows together. “I’m barely making any noise.”
I held back a snort. The guy was delusional if he thought he was being stealthy. Then it hit me. Mason probably was as quiet as a mouse. It was just my heightened hearing that amplified his every move.
“This way.” I motioned Mason to follow me.
Carefully, we made our way across the roof top, then dropped onto the roof below. From there, we had a two story drop without anything to break our fall.
Falling wasn’t a problem for me, but Mason didn’t have that luxury.
Scanning our surroundings, I tried to figure out a way that I could get him down. Then I spotted a tree with strong limbs, able to handle our weight.
“Come here,” I said, wrapping my arm around his waist.
“What are you doing?” Mason asked nervously, his muscles tightening under my touch.
“I’m going to jump with you over to that tree and—”
“The hell you are.” Mason pushed against me, trying to break free. But he was weak, unable to break my grasp on him.
“Trust me,” I said. “I’m not going to drop you…” I trailed off as I came up with another way to get us off this roof.
“Can’t we use some stairs or something?” he asked, searching our surroundings. “I mean, there has to be some fire escape in a building this old.”
“The only stairs are inside where we could easily run into someone from the Society, and we can say goodbye to Dad. Or I’d have to incapacitate them so I could get away, leaving you there to take the fall.”
“Not funny.”
“I wasn’t trying to be. But you need to either grow some balls or go back inside and pretend you never saw me.”
Mason glanced over his shoulder momentarily before returning his gaze to the tree. “You sure you can make it?”
I nodded.
“Okay.”
Before Mason could change his mind, I firmly held onto him and jumped. Only it wasn’t toward the tree.
Sweeping Mason into my arms, holding him like a baby, I waited for the impact, praying I hadn’t overestimated my abilities. His face drained of color the moment he realized what I was doing, and the stench of fear that followed was palpable.
My feet landed on the ground, my knees bending, cushioning our fall.
Mason thrashed in my arms, and I had to force myself to let him down and not carry him until we were safely out of the estate.
His chest heaved, and his icy gaze locked on me. “What the hell were you thinking? You could’ve killed us,” he shouted in a whisper.
I shrugged. “I got you down, didn’t I?”
His nostrils flared with anger and annoyance. “You could’ve killed me.”
I softly whacked his chest with the back of my hand. “Get over it.” I broke out into a jog, acutely aware of Mason taking a few moments before he followed. It really would’ve been easier if I had just carried him. But the guy had an issue with that. Who knew?
Slowing down, I waited for him to catch up, making sure there wasn’t anyone around to bust us. Music carried through the air from the back of the estate where it seemed most of the security was hanging out. There were a couple of guards armed with guns stationed at the entrance to the estate, but either side of the driveway was clear, making it an easy getaway.
The distant smell of vampires still lingered in the air, tugging on an invisible cord within me, drawing me in their direction. It was hard to ignore, but I had no choice. My beef wasn’t with them tonight.
My nerves were set on edge with every crunch Mason made with his footsteps as we hurried across the grass. I turned around to tell him to be quiet when I caught a glimpse of a figure looming on the rooftop track.
Eyes going wide, I saw every detail that would’ve been hidden to me had I not had the help of Mason’s blood running through me. I didn’t know the guy on the roof, but he was armed, and alerted to a noise—us. He was about two seconds away from busting our asses. We had to move.
My options were to ditch Mason and make a run for it, leaving him to cop the fallout and probably end up in the cell. The protective part of me said that was the best place for him, but his words reminding me of how hypocritical I was being struck a part of me that was stronger, more incessant.
Deciding to take him with me, I slammed into Mason, tossing him over my shoulder as I made a run for the wall. To Mason’s credit, he didn’t make a noise. But I was sure I was going to hear about it later. That was his style. And this was mine.
Leaping into the air, I crossed over the wall with little effort then landed on the pavement of the sidewalk.
Mason bucked against me, trying to get down, but the sound of footsteps racing across the grass on the other side of the wall made me tighten my grip.
He would thank me for it later.
Taking off down the street, I put as much distance as I could between us and them then pulled up just short of the main street, stopping behind an overgrown hedge surrounding a battered, rundown home.
Lowering Mason to his feet, I assessed him for any signs of injury that I hadn’t been able to sense with my huntress abilities. Satisfied he was okay, I peered through the sparse foliage in the direction of the compound and ignored the whispered curses Mason was slinging my way.
I couldn’t hear anything other than the usual neighborhood sounds: people arguing, others watching TV, some… I shook my thoughts away. That was none of my business.
Averting my gaze to Mason, I couldn’t help but smile when I saw the irritation radiating through his eyes.
“Were you even listening to me?” Mason said, practically blowing steam through his nose.
I rolled my eyes. “You wanted to come with me, so deal with it.”
“Deal with it,” he said more to himself than me, shaking his head.
“Hey, at least I didn’t carry you like a baby.”
He glared at me. Then a couple of moments later, his lips tipped up into a smile, quickly turning into a hushed laugh. “Who would’ve thought you’d ever have the strength to carry me. I’m almost twice your weight.”
I gestured to his muscles—or lack there-of. “Dream on.” I regretted it as soon as the words left my mouth. Mason had lost a lot of body mass since he was taken by the faction, and I shouldn’t have made fun of him. Luckily, he was a pretty happy-go-lucky kind of guy and didn’t seem to care. That was probably why he was so much more popular than my snarky self. And he knew it.
Taking one more look through the hedges, I checked to make sure the coast was clear then said, “We better keep moving.”
Hunched over, we crept through the garden then made our way out onto the main street. There was a bus stop two hundred yards up the street, where a small group of people were waiting, making me think the bus was due to arrive shortly.
“Act normal,” I said through gritted teeth.
Mason cast me a sideways glance. “I don’t think it’s me we need to worry about.” When I gave him a quizzical look he added, “Have you actually seen yourself in a mirror when you’ve turned?”
“Huh,” I said, realizing I’d never thought to check myself out.
“You might be my sister and all, but you’ll scare the shit out of anyone that sees you with those fangs. You look like a blood sucker. Only you’re not as pale as they are.” He leaned closer, narrowing his eyes, then gestured to my face. “And those eyes of yours…”
I frowned. “What about my eyes?”
He cocked his head toward a car parked on the street. “See for yourself.”
Knowing I probably looked as if I were going to try to steal the car, I leaned down and stared at my reflection in the side mirror.
6
I jerked away from the car’s side mirror in surprise, then moved closer, staring at my eyes in wonder. Icy blue specks swirled through my brown iris’s like stardust, moving, changing, morphing with every second that passed. “Huh,” I muttered a
s I stood up straight.
“Huh?” Mason said. “Is that all you can say for yourself? Do you see what I see?”
“Well, what do you see?”
Mason moved closer, studying my eyes. “There are tiny blue specks in them. And it’s like they’ve got a life of their own.”
“Yep. That’s what I see, too.”
He furrowed his brows. “And you’re not weirded out by them?”
I barked out a laugh. “My eyes are the least freaky thing about me.” I pointed to my fangs.
“Oh,” he mouthed, his face going pale. He was probably remembering what the vampires had done to him, and now his sister, who was supposed to be his protector, had fangs that were able to rip him apart.
I snapped my lips closed, covering my fangs. Looking down, I said, “You know I’m not going to hurt you, right? I mean, I don’t have any urges for your blood. Actually, it’s kind of repulsive in comparison to the vampires.”
Mason placed his hand on my shoulder and gave it a squeeze. “I don’t think you’re going to hurt me. It’s just…”
I tilted my head back to look at him. Everyone in my family taller than I was. Even Mason, and he was two years younger than I was. “I remind you of them.”
He nodded.
“I get it, and I wished I had never let them take you to begin with.”
Mason scrunched his face up in confusion. “It wasn’t your fault they took me. We all know about the mandatory testing. There was nothing you could do.”
“Actually, there was,” I said, wincing at my own words. “I could’ve had Bec change the results for you like she’d done for me.”
He shook his head slowly. “You can’t live your life with what-ifs. They’ll drive you insane. What’s happened has happened. I’m just glad you all came when you did.”
I gave him a smile, filled with remorse. “Aren’t I supposed to be the one bestowing you with wisdom?”
Laughing, Mason gave my bicep a gentle punch. “See. I always told you I was smarter than you. You were just too dumb to believe me.”
I barked out a laugh. “Watch it, little brother. The tides have changed, and I can make you pay.”
The smile instantly dropped from his face, striking a nerve to my heart. “I’m sorry. I—”
Mason chuckled. “You should see your face.”
Frustration and anger swirled inside of me, my eyes going wide and my lips turning up into a snarl. “That’s it, you little turd.” I swept him up into my arms and held him there against his squirms as I strode up to the group of people at the bus stop, where I placed him on his feet.
Mason’s face was bright red with embarrassment, his manhood stripped. Served him right. “Payback’s a bitch,” I said with a satisfied grin.
Glaring at me, he bit down on his smile and shook his head slowly. I knew that look. I would have to watch my back.
I smiled, glad Mason was still Mason after his ordeal. It could’ve really knocked him down, but he chose to get back up and fight, and it was the first time I really respected him for his drive and ambition. I wasn’t sure I would’ve been able to bounce back that quickly if it were me who had been kidnapped by a bunch of evil monsters.
It was one thing to willingly go into the fire, and it was another to be thrown in. I guessed it came down to free will. Didn’t everything?
Shaking my thoughts away, I looked around, trying to find a bus timetable, but there was none. “Excuse me,” I said to the woman closest to me. “When is the next bus due?”
Her eyes widened as they locked onto the fangs protruding over my lips with every word I spoke. She backed away as fear rippled through her. I could feel it in the air.
“It’s okay.” I held up my hands. “I’m not going to hurt you. These are fake.” I pointed to my teeth.
She looked at me uneasily as the others around her whipped their heads in my direction.
Groaning, I tilted my head back, then spun around and looked at Mason. “We can’t stay here.”
He let out an exaggerated sigh. “Fine but how do you suppose we get there now?”
We lived a good thirty minutes away by car, but there was a faster way. Heading down the street, I said, “I can carry you.”
“As splendid as that sounds,” he said sarcastically, “you might have a little difficulty with that when we pick up Dad.” He looked over his shoulder as we turned down the next street then cocked his head toward a parked old blue hatchback that had seen better days. “We could take that.”
My brows shot up. “Are you insane? We are not stealing a car.”
He feigned a hurtful expression. “Who said anything about stealing? We’ll just borrow it and return it before they even know it’s gone.”
I shook my head in amazement, unable to believe he would come up with such a suggestion. If anything, that should’ve been my idea, not his. I was the rebel against authority, not him. “How do you suppose we get it started? You do realize people don’t actually leave their keys tucked between the sun visor and the roof.”
He winked at me before heading over to the driver’s door, looking around, and trying the handle. It was locked.
I had to stop myself from laughing out loud. Of course, the door was locked. I whispered loudly, “People don’t just leave their cars open…” I trailed off when I heard a click as he tried opening the trunk.
With a grin from ear to ear, Mason said, “What were you saying?”
Folding my arms across my chest, I cocked my hip to the side, waiting for him to fail in starting the car.
Mason climbed into the trunk, over the back seat, then somehow maneuvered into the front seat despite his large frame. It would’ve been easier for me to slip through, but I was having too much fun watching him.
Guilt clenched my chest as I reminded myself we weren’t there for fun. I should’ve just broken the handle. Hell, I should’ve just thrown Mason over my shoulder and carried him…home. The word felt foreign to me now. Like, somehow, I didn’t belong there. And I didn’t really belong at the compound despite me being their savior.
Where did I belong?
Letting my gaze settle on Mason, I realized home wasn’t a place. It was the people you were with. And having my brothers was all I needed.
An aching loss filled my heart, sucking the oxygen from my lungs as I thought about our mother. The memory of her in the demon veil haunted me, and I had to continue to remind myself it wasn’t real. She was dead.
Two moments later, the car engine sputtered to life, and Mason leaned over and unlocked the passenger seat.
I didn’t even want to know where he learned to start a car without a key.
I quickly scanned our area to make sure no one was watching, then walked around to the driver’s seat and opened the door. “Get out.”
He frowned. “Get stuffed. I started the car. I’m driving.”
“You don’t even have a license.”
“Doesn’t mean I can’t drive.”
“You’re fifteen years old. Do you really want to get pulled over by some cops and have to try to explain why we’re in a stolen car?”
“Borrowed,” he corrected.
“Either I drive, or I’m carrying you.”
“I’m not moving.”
I rolled my eyes, grabbed hold of his arm, and dragged him out of the car. Then I threw him over my shoulder. “You asked for it.”
“Don’t you dare,” he muttered breathlessly as his stomach hit my shoulder.
Holding on tightly as he bucked in my arms, I walked around the car, opened the passenger door, and set him down. “Get in.”
Before he had a chance to object, I zoomed around the car and slipped into the driver’s seat. The door was closed and my seat belt was on before Mason’s ass was on the seat.
He put on his seat belt and gestured to mine. “Why do you even bother?”
I shrugged. “Habit. Why do you bother arguing with me?”
Mason smiled. “Habit.”
&
nbsp; I returned his smile then peeled onto the road, forgetting to turn on the headlights until Mason reminded me. I didn’t need the light. It was more important for other drivers to see me. I could see everything around me, in detail that was hidden to the human eye. Although it was nothing compared to how my body reacted when I’d consumed vampire blood.
We drove for a few minutes in silence before Mason said, “You know, I never really thanked you properly for what you did. So thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
“I just can’t believe you were prepared to become a vampire to save me.”
I shrugged again. “You were all I had left.”
A faraway look consumed Mason’s eyes. Then he turned and stared out of the window. If I had to bet, I would’ve said he was thinking about Mom. He missed her just as much as I did, and like him, I would’ve given anything to have one more day with her. Hell, I’d even settle for a minute.
No, I wouldn’t.
If she was with me again, I’d never let her go.
The smell of vampires lingered in the air, somehow able to seep through the closed windows of the car. My mouth salivated with a thirst begging to be quenched. Mason’s blood gave me abilities of a vampire, but it was nothing compared to the real thing. The demonic essence seeping inside of me, sending my body into a state of complete awareness, and giving me unfathomable strength.
I half wondered what I would be like when I completed my transition on the eighteenth anniversary of my life. But then I remembered I wouldn’t be here. I would disappear, and my body would be inhabited by someone else.
Screw that shit. I needed to find a way to stop that.
There had to be a way.
I couldn’t leave Mason and Finn alone. They needed to remain a priority.
As I drew in a deep breath, the smell of vampires once again assaulted my senses, making my eyes widen. They were near.
Mason turned to me, his eyes swirling with fear. “What is it?”
“Vampires.”
7
Mason’s face paled as soon as the word left my mouth. He may have thought he was ready under the safety of the compound, but out here, where vampires were a reality and there was a very good chance they’d stick their fangs into you, he wasn’t ready.
Circle of Embers (Shadow Realms Series Book 2): A vampire hunter novel Page 4