As she fell whimpering to the floor, she never even realized how tight the vampire’s hold had become around her.
Rafe heard her fall, felt her fall. If the strength of a person’s heart and soul determined who would be Master, then he knew she would have stood against any and all enemies.
But the evil felled her.
However, both Rafe and Dominic stood in the face of it. Rafe felt a strength inside him unlike any he had ever felt before. It felt…solid. Clean. Real.
The land.
It was coming from the very land beneath the foundation of the club, in the air around them. Drawing on it, he forced a shield between Sheila and the presence that had flooded the room.
It had no voice, no face, no name…but he knew who it was. It was the man he was going to kill.
All of them felt the summons as the vampire tried to lure Sheila to him.
Rafe cut his eyes to her and then lifted his gaze to Dominic. Dominic understood the wordless command and he moved to hunker protectively at Sheila’s side, whispering in her ear, crooning to her. As some small part of Sheila heard him, he felt the very strength of her spirit flood her soul and she shoved the chains of fear off.
Calmly, Rafe said, “You trespass. This land, this woman…they are mine.”
A low chuckle floated through the air. “So…a Master has come to claim the land I call home.”
Rafe snorted, flicking his hair out of his eyes. It was somewhat discomfiting, talking to an enemy who had no face, yet hearing the voice echo all around them, like it came from everywhere.
But he didn’t let that show by his expression as he replied, “You call the land home, perhaps. But it doesn’t claim you. This earth knows its Master.” His lips crooked up in a cocky grin as he added, “And it ain’t you.”
Malevolent laughter filled the air. “And I assume you think it is you?”
Rafe chuckled. “What do you think?” He cast Dominic a look, then smiled gently at Sheila. “This woman’s Master is miles away, states away. She, understandably, has less strength to stand alone against one such as you. But…well, I stand. As does my lieutenant.” Okay, well, Dominic might not be a lieutenant, but he was definitely one of Rafe’s.
His first. A slow smile spread over Rafe’s lips as he realized that.
There was a silence, a stillness, like the calm before the storm. And then the rage struck. Pummeling the air around Rafe like a fist. Rafe just stood there, never blinking.
Sheila’s breath shuddered out of her in a soft, shaky sigh, but her mind and will were still her own. He felt her fear, her anger, her. Dominic crouched on the ground beside her, hugging her protectively against him.
Then the true storm hit, far more powerful than that first wave of fear, arrowing toward Dominic with focused intent.
“This one is mine…I tasted of his blood and flesh long before you saw him, Hunter. I shall take what is mine.”
That low urging came again, like a tractor beam, unseen but felt as it swept the room. It rolled off of Rafe, and it couldn’t work on Sheila unless she let the fear overtake her. With Dominic’s help, with Rafe’s presence, it was easier to fight. Only her Master could summon her, and Eli was nowhere around.
But Dominic…Rafe held himself ready to lunge for the young vampire if he had to.
The sweeping call suddenly erupted into a vicious wave of power, more like a hurricane than anything and wind whipped through the room, the storm swelling into a crescendo then dying away.
“He is mine! I know his taste, his blood…”
Rafe merely blinked. “He lay dying. Another’s blood gave him the strength to hang on, but it was my blood, my power that brought him back. He is mine. Not yours.”
Now Rafe’s power tore free, his own rage slipping to the fore. His lips peeled back from his fangs as he snarled, “Face me now…or get the fuck away from me and mine.”
* * * * *
Sheila’s chest felt tight.
If she was still human, she would have thought it was from the breath she’d been holding.
But she thought it was fear—maybe it was actually fear that made a human’s chest tighten until even breathing was agony. Maybe that’s what it was, not how they held their breath.
He was gone. The only thing left of him as they moved through the night toward their home was the fear that clung to her skin like a glove.
How had he done that?
Rafe was only a couple of hundred years old. This bastard they were after, this faceless Pierre, was centuries older.
She didn’t want to ask, though.
Hell, she wasn’t sure she could ask. At this point, she was afraid if she tried to talk little more than babbling would leave her mouth.
Sweet heaven, the fear…she hadn’t ever felt anything like that. It had rolled across her skin and pooled in her throat, choking her. How had Rafe and Dominic stood still in the face of it? Especially Dominic…he was just days old.
For once, Sheila found herself lacking. She hadn’t the strength it took to stand so easily in the face of fear. It wasn’t often she doubted her worth, doubted her ability. But now, she did.
A vampire, days old, had stood strong in the face of a demonically evil bastard and she had fallen to the floor sobbing.
She studied Dominic from the corner of her eye. That Rafe had stood, well, it had surprised her, but just a little. Rafe was a powerful bastard. He had a compelling way about him—he’d had it for as long as she had known him. She suspected it had been there for decades longer than that. She’d never mentioned it, but even Eli hadn’t been able to compare to what she had sensed within Rafe.
But Dominic…how had he done it? Was he going to be that powerful?
He still wasn’t at full strength. So how…
Maybe it was Rafe. Vampires often took on many of the attributes of their first meal…shit.
Rafe hadn’t exactly been the first meal. A vampire’s blood could sustain another weaker vampire for a short time, and it was sweet, heaven above knew. A Master’s blood could bind lesser vampires, bring them back from the brink, like Rafe had done with Dominic. A blood bond between Master and servant saw to it that the lesser vampire stayed at his Master’s side
But after a time, a vampire’s blood was…hell. Cotton candy. All fluff, no substance. A Master’s blood had more kick to it, and also provided nourishment…for a time, but only a time.
So, then…Robbie.
Had Robbie’s blood done this?
The blood of a powerful witch, even one who was as simple as Robbie, perhaps… Sheila mused over that. Better to dwell on that than her fear. Vampires tended to take on some of the traits from the first person who supplied the blood after they changed.
A person with no magick couldn’t take on the magical aspects of a witch, although perhaps they could learn to withstand some of the darker magicks that worked on emotions. That was what a vampire’s weapon of fear was. They were able to prey on the emotions of fear and terror.
Had Robbie passed some odd immunity to the fear to Dominic?
Maybe more…there was a strong heart within Robbie. A strong soul. The heart and soul of a man who would have been a force to be reckoned if he hadn’t been born the way he had.
Then Sheila felt shame move through her.
Robbie had an innocence to him, a purity that wouldn’t have survived all the long years he’d lived if he had been born whole.
Ella was dozing, curled up on her little bed, feeling the warmth of the fire on her face, the brilliant blaze making a flickering light show even behind her closed lids.
Warm, secure, almost happy…that was how it found her.
The dark nasty maw of power that slid over her, pulling at her.
“Ahhh…it is you…”
Terror locked her limbs. She couldn’t move, couldn’t do any more than wheeze out a terrified breath as her lids opened. Wheeling her eyes around in the dark, she couldn’t see him, but his voice…she’d heard his voice.
<
br /> “Come to me, little pet. It’s time to play…”
Ella whimpered, shaking her head as she tried to inch back, as though she could somehow move away from the voice that had slid inside her mind.
“None of that, pet. I’ve had enough impudence tonight. Come!”
Slowly, she slid from the bed, unaware that Robbie had woken from sleep, and rose from the cot across the room to stare at her with dark, worried eyes.
As she followed the summons, she felt as though she was a dark, mindless pit of despair. Helpless to do anything but follow.
Robbie followed her out, his jaw clenched, his hands closed into loose fists at his side.
The bad man…
Rafe and Sheila slid inside the dark little house where Ella and Robbie lived, following Dominic’s back through the shadows.
None of them had spoken more than a handful of words since they had left the club.
None really knew what to say.
Tonight was the night.
Sheila was questioning that she had done the right thing, staying. She was no match against that vampire.
Dominic didn’t think of that. Instead, he simply drifted, his thoughts floating from the time when he and Rafe had pressed Sheila’s sweet, soft body between them, to the hot splash of blood in his belly as he fed from the woman—thinking on nothing and everything all at once.
Rafe brooded.
So caught up in their own thoughts, none of them saw Leandra as she rose from her crouched position by the fire.
She had to clear her throat to catch their attention and when they turned to stare at her, they all felt a chill run through at the grim look on her face. “Dey are gone.”
Sheila started, blinked slowly, then turned her head to look around the small room. “Gone?” she asked quietly.
Leandra arched a brow. “Gone. I felt something lingering in de air when I got here a little while ago, but it faded too fast for me to track it. The little vampire and Robbie, dey are gone.”
Rafe snarled, spinning away from Leandra. The tips of his fangs had slid out past his upper lip and his eyes were glowing and hot.
“Almost dawn, mon,” Leandra said quietly. “Ya can’t be goin’ out now, dis close to the sun.”
Rafe’s hand closed over the doorknob, but even as she spoke, they all felt it. The ever-brightening sky overhead, the sun as it first slid over the horizon.
“Fuck!” Rafe ground out, pressing his forehead against the door.
Sheila moved up, reaching out to touch his shoulder but he spun away, avoiding her touch as he started to pace, swearing under his breath.
They all felt his anger, but only Leandra understood how deep it ran, and that he was angry at himself. She felt the same way. “We will go after dem…once we rest. And we must wait until the sun isn’t so strong—then we will go.”
“That may be too late,” Rafe growled.
Leandra lifted one shoulder. “I don’t tink so, Rafe. He rests too…most of us cannot fight the urge to rest during the day. Even Malachi sleeps while the sun drifts in the sky. And he doesn’t have to. It’s instinct. And this man, he is arrogant. He will sleep, tinking none of us dare to face him. I know spells dat will protect from the sun. We use those and den, while he still sleeps, we go. We find him.” An evil light lit her eyes. “I’ll get out Robbie and the little vampire, den we barbecue…”
Chapter Eight
Barbecue…
Robbie thought about that as he followed Ella.
She was gone from his sight. Soon as she got out of the house, she’d started to run.
But he could follow her. Robbie could feel her inside him and he knew he could find Ella even if she left the world.
In his heart, he always knew where to find her.
So he moved through the streets, thinking about what Leandra had said. He liked her.
She was strong. She was pretty. And she was filled with a light so deep and true blue, it almost hurt to look at her. And she was smart. A barbecue.
If he killed Pierre, they were all safe.
He was good with fire.
Robbie liked to play with it. That was the reason his father’s tribe had forced him to leave, because he liked playing with fire so much. They’d tried to cure him, making him fast and serve the holy man for years and years, but still, he’d always sneak off to play with the fire.
He hadn’t meant to catch that white man’s lone, empty cabin on fire. But after he’d done it, even though he’d stopped the fire before it could spread, his people had made him leave.
After that, there was loneliness. Robbie had no idea how much time passed between him leaving his father’s people, and Pierre taking him. He remembered wide open and empty land under the burning hot scorch of the summer sun, and then there were trains, loud smelly trains, then more towns, more people…then Pierre had come.
After they’d gotten away from him, the land had changed even more. Silver things moved through the air, and there were smaller boxes, like the trains, not as loud, but still smelly. And they traveled in packs on the roads.
But it wasn’t so bad.
Ella was with him.
So long as he had Ella… A smile spread across his face as he followed her scent. At the end of the long, dark road, he could see her. Finally. She had slowed down, and Robbie saw the long, silvery-yellow hair that hung almost to her hips.
He liked seeing it blowing in the breeze…he liked…
Pain!
It cut across him like fire and he fell to his knees, gasping for air, his hands clutching at his belly to find what was trying to cut his gut out.
Nothing…nothing…but when he opened his eyes, it was not the gravel road that he saw under his knees. It was a dark carpet that was getting darker as he looked. And Ella—her banner of hair spread around her head, while she clutched at her belly. Blood spilled through her hands, dark blackish-purple blood, and darker things…
“Ella,” he whispered, huddling on the ground, wrapping his arms around his knees as power whispered through the air. Don’t let it see me…
It drifted on past him and he felt a whimper building in his throat as he continued to stare at the ground, but saw Ella instead. They’d cut her open.
A growl rumbled in his throat as he heard the ghost of laughter, laughter he hadn’t heard in years. Rising, he stared through the darkness at the house that loomed in front of him.
“You cut her open,” he said hotly, unaware that his eyes had started to glow.
He felt Ella start as he moved toward the house. “Robbie…”
“Hush, Ella. It’s my turn now,” he said quietly as he started to circle around the house.
There were vampires in there.
Just vampires. Pierre, some others he didn’t know, though he felt the darkness of their hearts.
He hunkered down outside the house, sliding his eyes to the eastern sky.
He might be dumb, but he wasn’t totally stupid. He knew vampires. They slept during the day, even Pierre.
And day was coming fast.
Ella was hurting some, but already her vampire body was healing the injury. Pierre had done it to hurt, not to kill and he didn’t care if she healed a little. She was his puppy, his toy…
Robbie could feel his thoughts. Almost hear them, like a radio—the big idiot who always follows you? Is he with you? Pierre demanded, kneeling beside her, tracing a finger through the blood.
She didn’t answer, just focused on directing her energy to heal the hole in her belly.
Pierre didn’t seem to care. At all. He rose, kicking Ella in the side, and Robbie had to fight not to run to the house as the bastard just turned around and walked away, leaving Ella curled up and whimpering from the pain of the kick.
Robbie silently mouthed, “Barbecue.” And his hands began to glow.
Sheila cast a nervous look at the sun shining down through the cover of clouds. Even though those clouds were a fragile shield, she hoped they held.
The sun peeked out from behind them, never shining fully on them, and Sheila pretended that made all the difference in the world.
Oh, she knew it didn’t.
Sunlight was sunlight, and if it struck her, she was dead.
But the spell from Leandra glittered around her like a fine cape, protecting her body, just barely visible if Sheila stared at her skin long enough—there and then gone.
Rafe turned his beloved Bel Air over to Leandra without blinking, and Sheila briefly entertained the thought that Leandra had cast another spell, all on Rafe. But the idea was gone before it really formed.
As they drove through the burning light of day, she stared at the clouds almost hypnotized. “It’s so blue,” she whispered softly.
Dominic sat in the backseat next to her, his arms folded across his chest, his eyes scrunched tightly closed. “Dom, don’t you want to see it?”
He shook his head and said, “Why? To remind me I may never see it again?”
Sheila laid her palm against the glass, watching as they passed by a big yellow bus on the street, a small girl rising up onto her knees to wave at her. Sheila waved back, feeling a tear trickle down her cheek.
“I don’t know…maybe to help you understand why we do it.”
She watched the school bus disappear behind them and then she turned around in her seat, feeling the sun shining down on her flesh through the window. “Maybe to help remind us why we do it…we see only our world after we’ve been in the dark so long. Seeing the light helps us remember.”
They left the city, following the Sam Cooper Boulevard out of town, then turning off and taking first one turn, and then another, another until trees closed around them and the road turned to gravel.
“We get out here,” Leandra said quietly, slowing the car to a stop and turning it off, tossing the keys to Rafe.
As Sheila climbed from the car, her entire body was shaking.
The Hunters 6: Rafe and Sheila Page 15