“Why do you think he’s there?” he asked his sister gruffly.
“He said he was going to resurrect his son with your blood. You killed him in that cave. Astrophel clearly expects you to find where he is. So. The cave.”
Jackson was silent for a moment. He vividly recalled the cave. Darker than it should be, with flickering lights and black smoke choking the air. His parents, tied together in the center of a painted pentagram. The thick smell of blood. Astrophel’s son with a knife in his hands, drawing it across his parents’ throats while he and Val were held back, screaming.
Astrophel had laughed then. He hadn’t laughed when Jackson tore his son’s head from his body.
“If I drive through the night, I’ll get there while there is still daylight.”
“I’m not sure it matters.” Val’s expression twisted into one of pain and fear. “Is there anything I can do to convince you to wait?”
“He has her.” It was all he needed to say.
The smoke from the pile of vampire bodies started to splutter, showing that they were about to combust. The siblings moved a little further from the bonfire. Val’s distress showed in the lines of her face, but she shook her head.
“You know I can’t go with you.”
“I know.”
“I can’t leave my girls, Jackson. They need me, they need their mother.”
“I know.” Jackson turned to her and gripped her shoulders. “Take them to the safehouse. I want to make sure that they’re safe. Going after Astrophel is going to cause a shitstorm and I don’t want them caught up in it.”
Val hesitated a moment before she nodded. She reached forward and touched his hand, a rare soft moment from his sister. She was usually hard as nails, showing little affection, though he knew that she always was and always would be protective of him, even though she was younger.
“Are you going to take the boys at least?”
Jackson shook his head. “It’ll take too long. I can deal with him alone.”
***
He arrived at the base of the cliff where the cave was located just as afternoon started to fade into evening. He had a couple hours of sunlight left, at most.
Jackson parked the bike and shifted before he began the long hike up the rocky hill. It was a hard climb, and by the time he got to the top, Jackson was sweating with effort. The cave loomed there, the same as before, with the scent of death billowing from it.
“Here goes nothing.”
He crept into the cave mouth, squinting in the dark. His eyes roved for displaced shadows and his nostrils flared. The scent of blood and death was too strong for him to catch the sweet scent of vampire, though. He soon picked out a cage near the back, a huddled form inside.
Moving cautiously, Jackson made his way to it. Ava lay shivering inside, a jacket covering her naked body. Sweat stood out on her skin, which was a sickly green-yellow color. Jackson’s heart leapt to his throat as he reached between the bars.
“Ava,” he hissed, something hot sinking in his chest. “Ava, angel, wake up.”
There was no response from her, no indication that she was alive but for her violent shudders. Jackson jerked on the bars of the cage, but they held solid. The door was padlocked, but if he was able to work the hinges free then maybe—
“Oops,” came a voice behind him. Jackson swiveled around to see Astrophel standing there, a satisfied smirk on his face. “Looks like I went a bit overboard when I drank from her. I’m sorry that you weren’t here to see it happen.”
“Astrophel,” Jackson snarled, springing to his feet.
Torches flared to life all around the edge of the cave, letting out a thick smoke that darkened it further. The sunlight at the mouth was almost completely obscured. Just behind the vampire was the mangled body of his son—Jackson would remember that face, even mummified as it was.
“So, what’s the plan? You’ve broken the treaty with the Savage Brotherhood. They will come for you. Your kingdom can’t withstand us.”
Astrophel smirked. “You have grown weak, hiding the existence of vampires from even your own kind. We have only grown stronger. Do you think we kill every human that passes into our territory? No… better to cultivate them, to give us a continual supply of blood and new soldiers. And once you are dead, the Master will rise and then… oh, and then—”
Jackson sprang forward. Astrophel, caught off guard, was slow to dodge. Jackson was able to wrap a hand around the vampire’s throat. Astrophel threw him back. Jackson snarled as he hit the cage. He shifted and sprang at the vampire again. Astrophel brought a fist down into Jackson’s face, knocking him back once more.
Stop being reckless. He could almost hear Val’s voice in his head.
Jackson crouched, watching Astrophel. The vampire grinned, laughed, and charged forward. This time, Jackson was ready. When Astrophel reached for him, he grabbed the vampire’s wrist in his teeth and hurled him back. Astrophel rolled over his back, skittering to a stop just inside the mouth of the cave.
As Astrophel hissed and scrambled to his feet, Jackson threw himself at the vampire. They tumbled out of the cave into the last rays of sunlight. Astrophel let out a pained scream as bubbles burst along his skin. Jackson panted a moment before he closed his mouth around Astrophel’s head. With a quick jerk, the vampire’s neck snapped.
Astrophel’s body twitched, unable to move. Jackson backed up, watching as his pale skin blackened and began to slough off. There was no more painful death for a vampire than this. But Astrophel deserved it. Deserved every second of it and worse.
Jackson shifted back to human form and loomed over the burning corpse. “Does it hurt, Astrophel?”
Does it hurt, little wolf? He had breathed at Jackson when his parents’ blood mingled and stained the floor. To see someone you love die and not be able to do anything about it?
“Does it hurt?” Jackson repeated, his voice lower this time.
Astrophel’s eyes roved before his body collapsed into a pile of ash. Jackson turned his back on the monster, the heaviness in his chest not abating at all. Not when Ava was still laying on the floor, unresponsive.
“Ava,” he said again, louder this time, his voice desperate.
He searched around for the key to the cell door, finally finding it above the corpse of Astrophel’s son. Jackson ignored it. He was already dead; there was no danger coming from that mummified body. Instead, he took the keys and rushed to Ava’s cell. He unlocked it and pulled her into his arms.
Her heartbeat was faint but steady. There was a wound on her arm, with the green venom crusting the edge of two holes, but it looked clean. The lack of blood around it showed that Astrophel had drunk from her; he’d have sucked out the worst of the venom with it, then. Jackson pulled Ava into his arms, discarding the stinking jacket, and buried his face in her hair.
“It’s going to be okay, Kitten,” he promised. “I will make sure you’re okay.”
***
“Is she alive?”
Jackson grunted at Les as he carried Ava’s unconscious form into the back of the bar. It wasn’t as heavily charmed against vampire attacks as the safehouse, but he didn’t want to expose his nieces to this. Les followed after him, the first aid kit in his hands. It had taken far too long to get here for Jackson’s nerves. Now, as he laid Ava down and covered her naked body with a blanket, he saw she had stopped shivering.
“She’s alive,” he grunted as he checked her pulse. She had to be.
Relief washed over him as he felt the steady beat against his fingers.
There was a thudding noise behind him and both he and Les turned in time to see Cunningham storm into the backroom. His eyes blazed as he turned his gaze from Les to Jackson and, finally, to Ava. Rather than looking surprised, there came a tight, angry look on his face and he balled his fists.
“What the hell, Masters?”
Jackson reached for one of the spare pair of pants they had in the backroom and put them on before facing Cunningham. He wasn
’t going to do this naked. His muscles trembled as he gestured towards Ava.
“She was attacked by vampires.”
Cunningham’s jaw tightened. “She was bitten?”
Jackson didn’t answer that.
Cunningham swore and grabbed the gun at his side. Jackson snarled, his whole frame growing larger to shield Ava from Cunningham’s view. Without taking his eyes off the sheriff, he gestured at Les to leave. The bartender did so, looking more than grateful to get out of there.
“I don’t want to do this, Jackson. But if she’s been bitten, she’s gonna turn into one of them.”
“She’s a shifter.”
Cunningham pulled the gun from its holster. “Then she’s going to go rabid.”
“Astrophel bit her before and she pulled through. She’s strong. I won’t let you hurt her.”
Cunningham growled under his breath. He studied Jackson for a long moment, the gun still in his hand. “I won’t hesitate to put you down, too. Step aside and only one person has to die.”
“You hurt her, and I will kill you. I’ve already killed Astrophel for her, do you think you’ll be a challenge? We’ve all been bitten at one time or another, what right do you have to shoot her when you don’t know what the venom will do to her?”
The sheriff holstered the weapon again. He let out a sigh, his shoulders sagging. Suddenly he looked… ancient. He ran a hand through his hair and moved closer. Jackson snarled in warning, but the sheriff ignored him.
“Astrophel is dead?”
“Yeah. Nothing but ash in the sunlight.”
Cunningham nodded. “How is this going to affect things? Are we looking at war?”’
Jackson hesitated a moment. “Astrophel violated the treaty first. He hired the shifter who killed the vamp, then killed the shifter. Killing him means that his kingdom is up for grabs… I guess we’ll know one way or another within a couple months. How’d you even know to come here?”
“Got calls about a naked man riding around with a naked, unconscious woman. Who else would it be but you?” Cunningham glanced at Ava again. “She can’t stay here. If she goes rabid, I don’t want her anywhere near civilians… I’ll let you take charge of her, but if anybody gets hurt, it’s on your head.”
Jackson chewed his tongue to stop himself from snarling at him but nodded. “I’ll take her to the safe house as soon as I can.”
The sheriff watched him for a moment, then nodded. Without another word, he turned and left the backroom. Jackson let out a sigh of relief before turning his attention back to Ava. Retrieving a damp cloth, he began to wash the grime and blood from her body. It was very cold in the backroom, but when he went to turn up the temperature, Les stopped him.
“You overheat her and she’ll shut down. You need to keep her cool.”
After Les was gone, Jackson put another blanket over her—it just felt so wrong to see her shivering so violently. Then he slumped to the bed beside her. The greenish color was fading from her skin and her breathing was a bit smoother. Thank God for small blessings.
He leaned down to kiss her forehead, then her lips.
“I love you,” he breathed, touching her cheek, kissing her softly again. “I love you, Ava.”
She didn’t answer, didn’t move. Jackson held her hand, occasionally cooling her, staying up for hours on end holding her hand. He felt her pulse what seemed like every hour to make sure that her heart was still beating. Jackson felt completely broken, thinking about the idea that she might not wake up.
He couldn’t imagine a world without her stubbornness and her beauty filling it with life. His wolf agreed, staying at the forefront of his chest. He continued his fitful vigil, eyes never moving from her face. At one point she began to stir, but her eyes stayed stubbornly shut and she fell back down to sleep.
Jackson kissed her again and waited for her to wake up.
Chapter Nine
Ava
Ava’s fever was shorter than the previous one. Perhaps it was due to the fact that she was able to sleep through all of it, waking only to drink and eat before falling back under. She dreamt of Jackson holding a baby in his arms, a grin on his face. The warmth that filled her at that image was different from the burning of the fever.
When she finally woke feeling back to herself, it was almost heartbreaking to find him sitting beside her with no baby in sight. The dream quickly faded, though, as she realized how parched and weak she felt.
Jackson’s face broke into a smile as she started to sit up. He helped her, hands lingering on her shoulders. “Hey. How are you feeling?”
“Alive… Are we at the safe house?”
“For now.”
She shivered as she remembered Astrophel drinking from her. She checked her wrist, but all she saw were two red marks where he had bitten her. Jackson wrapped his arms around her and her panther purred.
“Oh!” Ava cried in relief as she put a hand to her chest. “She’s still here.”
Jackson pulled back slightly. “Your panther?”
“Yeah.”
“I guess she feels safe, then.” He nuzzled her neck. “Astrophel is dead.”
Relief washed over her, but she didn’t respond. Astrophel dead… what did that mean from here on out? Were the vampires going to descend on them now? Did it mean that they’d be cowed and hidden away? Did it mean that if Jackson left the Savage Brotherhood, Coalfell would still be safe?
Her heart sunk at the last thought. Of course, it wasn’t going to be that easy. She threw back the blankets and made to stand. Jackson wasn’t going to leave his life’s work because she asked him to. And these last few days… how could she live like this, wondering if he was going to come home to her or be killed in battle?
And that wasn’t even taking into account all the criminal activity he was involved in!
“I guess I can get out of here now,” she said.
“What?” Jackson’s surprised question made her flinch.
Ava didn’t look at him. “The vampires won’t be after me anymore. I can get back to my life.”
“Oh… well, I suppose…”
She could see the reluctance in his eyes, the hesitance to let her go. It made her tense. She didn’t need him to hold onto her. She had been just fine without him, and she’d be fine continuing on without him. All he had done was cause her trouble, really… Besides, it wasn’t as though a few weeks in heart-stopping danger was enough to turn lust into love.
She turned away from him, blinking hard as she managed to stand. It turned out to be a bit too much and she sank back down. With a shuddering breath, she wondered what she should say—she needed to start talking before he said something that neither of them could unhear.
“Is Shadow okay? And that other wolf?”
“They’re both fine. I am, too, by the way. It’s not like I took on a vampire king who was intent on killing me to resurrect his son…”
His teasing tone made her frown, but she didn’t respond to it. A look of frustration crossed his face, and he glanced away. What was he hoping for? That she’d throw herself at his feet and beg him to keep her? Or was he just wanting to make her smile?
“I’m glad that you’re okay,” she finally said. “Astrophel said something to me… something about resurrecting the master who would unite all of vampire-kind and take over the world…”
“He’s dead.” Jackson reached for her hand and she pulled away from him. “You don’t have to worry about anything he said, he’s gone… Ava… these past few weeks—"
“I know,” she said. “I know. It’s been hard. I’m sorry—I didn’t mean to be rude to you. I was just afraid.”
He sighed. “Ava—”
“But now that it’s over, we can go our separate ways, right? I can go back to my life and you can go back to your gang. No harm, no foul. I’ll pretend like I’ve never heard of vampires and you can treat me like any other girl you’ve fucked. We don’t even have to make eye contact in the grocery store.”
&nbs
p; Jackson’s eyes widened. Then they narrowed, and his lips pulled into a tight line. “Why are you doing this, Ava?”
“Doing what?”
“Pushing me away.”
Ava’s hand started to move to her stomach, but she stopped herself. Was this the sort of life she wanted for her child? To grow up in a gang? Fighting vampires? No. And it wasn’t what she wanted for herself, either. The tender look of desire and frustration in Jackson’s face wasn’t going to change that.
“I’m not pushing you away,” she said finally. “I’m walking away. Because no matter what you have convinced yourself of, there is no future here. I told you I wasn’t going to be a gangster’s side piece.”
“I’m not asking you to—”
“It’s either that or you leave the Savage Brotherhood. Step down as alpha and let somebody else take the reins. And that would open us up to attack from vampires. Don’t even pretend like you’d risk that for me. No… you have your job. I have my life. Now take me home.”
Jackson looked like he might argue, but he didn’t. Instead, he silently helped her down the stairs and onto his bike. A few minutes later they were on their way, things uncomfortably tense with her body pressed against his. Ava had a lump in her throat as she rode, trying to clear her mind, to think about anything but him. He pulled up to her place an hour later and she hopped off the bike, looking at him over her shoulder.
“Thank you,” she said. She could see the pain in his eyes but bolstered herself. “Thank you for saving me. For protecting me.”
“I will always be here to protect you,” Jackson vowed.
Ava couldn’t respond to that. She walked away, her heart feeling like it was going to explode with the loneliness and regret already welling up inside of her.
***
Melanie sat by her side, humming softly under her breath. Ava tapped her fingers on her thighs as she glanced around the waiting room. She and Melanie were the only ones there, and for that she was grateful. Part of her felt silly for asking her friend to come with her, but she was too nervous to do it on her on.
Tornado_A Paranormal Romance Page 7