The Prophecy Of Hope

by Kelly Hall

  She held Delilah’s sword, and Delilah was so excited that she ran across the room and took it.

  Delilah looked at the blade, which was beautifully etched with filigree near the hilt and pommel. “It’s amazing. You’re a true artist. I can’t even paint a fingernail.”

  “Thank you,” said Mace. “I really wanted to do something special since it’s your affinity weapon. Check the balance. I hope I got the weight right.”

  Delilah balanced the blade near the pommel on her finger. “It’s perfect. Look at that.”

  Liam walked up and looked over Del’s shoulder. “I helped,” he said. “I mean, I think all that hard work deserves a kiss, don’t you?” He wagged his brows.

  Delilah sighed. “You’re absolutely right. It does deserve a kiss.” She leaned over and kissed Mace on the cheek. “Thank you for this. I love it!” Mace had worked hard and even took her dinner down in the dungeon weapons lab. Delilah didn’t know how she’d ever repay her.

  Liam grumbled. “That’s not what I meant, but you could keep at it if you want. I’m not opposed to watching you two make out.” He cleared his throat. “Katie, you could join in.”

  Mace glared at the young man. “Stop being an asshole, Liam. Or I’ll tell Frankie what you said, and she’ll make you do another week of written study.”

  “You lied to her last time. I never peeked into your bedroom.”

  “I know,” said Mace with a shrug. “You should know better than to fuck with me.”

  The girls laughed, and Liam showed them his middle finger.

  Delilah grabbed the nearest pillow off the sofa and tossed it across the room. As it hit the floor, a loud crash sounded from the back of the north tower’s renovated rooms.

  The three girls exchanged looks. “That sounded like it came from the library,” said Katie.

  Delilah’s instincts kicked in, the hair standing up on the back of her neck as she gripped her sword tight. “Father Timms is upstairs, and Frankie is in the kitchen with Lulu gathering the dirty linens.”

  A long-haired vamp ran into the room from down the hall with another coming in behind him. “Look what we have here,” he said, his fangs bared.

  Delilah held up her sword and hit the ignition. The blade grew hot with white heat, the flame dancing on the tip. Thank goodness it worked. She was crouched and ready to use it.

  The vamp’s eyes widened, and his friend, a woman with hair so red it reminded Delilah of fresh blood, stepped closer to show she wasn’t intimidated. “What a cute little toy.”

  “My cute little toy is about to fuck you up,” said Delilah.

  While they were distracted, Katie slowly reached behind her to take her sword from the sofa where she’d placed it when she sat on the floor. The young huntresses and Mace spread out, making sure to keep an eye on the vampires.

  “Where’s the Immortal Huntress?” the male vamp asked.

  Delilah moved closer. “You’ve come to the wrong fucking castle.” She wasn’t about to tell the stupid maggots Rebekah was gone.

  Suddenly, there was a commotion from the kitchen, and when Mace turned her head, the vampire ran to her, grabbing her arm. It pulled her close, but then Delilah swung her sword, taking off his arm with her searing-hot blade.

  The limb fell at Mace’s feet, and she reached for her own weapon, a dagger she’d forged with gold inlay she’d gotten from a priest’s crucifix. Though she wasn’t a marked hunter, she was trained to kill and knew her weapon well.

  “You little bitch,” said the one-armed vamp as he lunged for Delilah, taking the weapon through the chest as he went after her throat.

  His red-haired friend was already pacing the room, walking a half-circle around them. She kept herself between the doors in case any of them tried to go see what was happening in the kitchen where the sound of pots and pans crashing told them that Lulu and Frankie were being attacked.

  It was probably too late for the women.

  Delilah looked over at the stairs and saw Father Timms, ready to pounce. But she knew he had access to the service stairs and screamed out. “The kitchen, Father.” He nodded and made his way across to the back stairs. She swung her sword, lopping off the vamp’s head in one quick motion, a task that would have been much harder with an average sword of comparable size.

  As the head rolled to Liam’s feet, he backed up against the sofa, wishing he had a weapon too as Katie engaged in battle with the redhead. She might not have fire coming off her sword, but she was about to lay waste to the vampires.

  The kitchen door burst open, and out came another one, ready to pounce. Delilah pushed Liam out of the way, and Katie slashed the female’s arm with her sword. She kept on coming, and Katie had to jump over the couch to keep from being pinned in like Liam.

  Luckily, Delilah wasn’t angry enough with Liam to make him fend for himself, which was good because his first instinct was to pick up a pillow.

  The kid is going to make a lousy hunter, she thought.

  But before she could take out that vamp, two more entered from the kitchen, and one grabbed Liam, its fangs bared and ready as it lunged for his throat.

  Mace took on one of the vamps, and while it did manage to bite her, she buried her dagger in its heart, killing it with her holy weapon.

  Liam’s scream turned Katie’s head, and seeing that Delilah was locked up in battle, she quickly ran across the couches to try and help the boy, but the redhead kept coming after her. Katie turned and kicked, her body twisting in the air, connecting with the female vamp’s face which gave Katie enough time to land and strike once more, sending her blade into the vampire’s neck.

  Liam fought against the vamp who was latched onto his vein, and as he grew lightheaded, he saw the flaming sword swinging behind him. Suddenly, the vamp’s grip weakened as blood spilled from its mouth. It gurgled blood, spitting and sputtering it all over Liam, who caught a lot in his own mouth as it poured from the vampire. He couldn’t do much but lay there pinned down, helpless and weak.

  Delilah knew the boy was in a bad situation, but she couldn’t stop to help. Taking a kick to the back, she turned to take out the last vamp in the room. Katie somersaulted off the back of the couch to land behind it to make a strike of her own. Both girls connected, Delilah’s sword hitting the vampire in one side as Katie’s struck from the other. The vamp fell, its body splayed out awkwardly.

  Wasting no time, Delilah walked over and lopped off its head. She turned and slapped hands with Katie and then gave Mace a desperate look. “Take care of him,” she said, seeing that Liam was covered in blood. His and the vampires. She knew what it could mean, but they’d have to worry about it later. She could still hear the massacre happening in the kitchen.

  She and Katie ran to help and found two vampires dead on the floor, one with a wooden spoon sticking out of its chest and the other without a head. Father Timms lay unconscious on the floor while another vampire had Lulu cornered.

  The little old woman held a sword that was as big as she was to fend off the monster. “Come and get some, fangs.”

  The vamp moved forward and struck Lulu before she could swing the sword, but Katie was on it. She moved from the door and lunged on the vampire from behind, stabbing it through the heart. When it fell dead, she stepped back, and Delilah moved in to lop off its head.

  The old woman’s shoulders slumped. “I almost had him,” she said, tossing the sword to the floor. “At least I got one of the bastards.” She walked over and pulled her wooden spoon out of the vampire’s heart. “Made this one myself out of cypress.” She wiped the it off with her apron, the vampire blood staining the white fabric.

  Knocking on the pantry door got their attention. “Let me out of here!” Frankie’s voice was muffled through a crack in the door. The headless vamp’s foot blocked her from opening it all the way.

  Katie dragged it over enough for her to come out, and when she saw Father Timms, still laying across the room unconscious, she screamed. “Randall!” She ran ove
r to his side and took his hand.

  Delilah felt for his pulse. “He’s alive, just knocked unconscious.”

  Lulu walked over, still trying to catch her breath. “They got him as soon as he came down the service stairs and then knocked him out with his own sword,” she said. “I stabbed this one in the heart and took it away from him, but the damned thing was too heavy for me.”

  Delilah couldn’t believe the old woman had taken down a vampire with a wooden spoon. “How did you learn to fight like that?”

  “Two years of training at the academy and thirty years of being the cook. You pick up a lot.”

  “Two years of hunter training? You were going to be a huntress?” Delilah never had any idea. “Why didn’t you say something?”

  “Didn’t seem important. Besides, I didn’t finish and was never marked. It’s not a big deal.”

  The door opened, grabbing their attention. “I need help,” said Mace, who stood in the door, her face a sickly pale color and her clothes covered in blood. “Liam’s not waking up, and I can’t get the bleeding to stop.”

  Katie started to head out, but Delilah reached out and stopped her. “He’s most likely infected,” she said. “We’ll need to get him to bed and watch him. I’m afraid we’ll have to chain him up somewhere the sun can’t reach him come morning.”

  “Shit.” Katie hadn’t realized it, but Delilah had a point. He had not only been bitten, but he was covered with blood, all over his face. “Are you sure it got into his mouth?”

  Delilah nodded. “I’m sure. Whether or not it takes, I have no idea. I’ve never seen it, but Canter and me studied it together our first year. We need to find someone who knows more about this stuff.”

  Katie looked over to Father Timms, who still hadn’t woken up. “If Ignis was here, he’d know, or Rebekah. We’ll have to call her.”

  Delilah nodded. If they were here, this wouldn’t have happened. “Get him cleaned up and to bed first. Tell Mace to get that blood off her. Being human, she’s susceptible too.”

  Katie nodded and headed out as Delilah walked over to kneel down with Sister Frankie. She reached over and felt his pulse. “It’s weak, but he’s okay. I’m pretty sure his arm is broken. His shoulder looks out of joint.”

  Frankie wiped her eyes, and that was when Randall suddenly moaned out softly, his foot twitching and his good arm moving as if he were going to try and sit up. When he opened his eyes, Frankie put her hands together and thanked the heavens. “Shh, easy,” she said.

  Delilah stopped him from sitting up. “Not just yet, Father Timms.” She looked at Frankie. “Call the doctor you’re seeing for the baby and have him come.” She knew he was from the nearest academy, and they would need a little help with Liam as well.

  “I’ll go check on Katie, Mace, and Liam.”

  She grabbed Delilah’s arm. The look of worry was so heavy on her brow, it aged her ten years. “Liam will be okay, won’t he? I heard what you told Katie.”

  “I hope. You need to take it easy too, you know? For you and the baby.” She looked up at Lulu, who was already dragging out the cleaning supplies to battle the blood. “Make sure she takes it easy too, would you?”

  “I hear you, Delilah. I won’t let anything happen to her or that baby.” Her word was her vow.

  Frankie looked at the old woman fondly. “Believe her. She shoved me in the pantry when she saw the vamps.”

  “You’re a hero, Lulu. I’ll make sure the Huntress knows it too. I’m going to call Rebekah as soon as I check on Liam’s condition. She’ll know what to do.” Delilah got to her feet and walked out to help Liam, leaving Frankie to tend to the former priest and Lulu to watch them both.

  Katie crouched down on the floor next to Mace. The girl’s eyes were pressed tight, and her usual tough-girl act had been replaced with helplessness. “He’s got to be okay. He hates those bloodsuckers for all they did to his family. He wanted to be a hunter to take them out. He’s going to hate being one of them.”

  Delilah knew that he most likely wouldn’t survive any type of transition if he did have the infection, and she wasn’t sure that Rebekah would let him live if he did. But she wasn’t going to tell Mace that.

  All of a sudden, the front door opened up, and Ignis strolled in, stopping in his tracks when he looked over and saw them with Liam. His eyes moved around the room to the headless vampires and puddles of blood. “What the fuck happened?”

  Delilah lost her temper. “Where have you been? We were attacked. You shouldn’t have taken off, and now Liam’s—” She choked on the lump in her throat. “He’s infected.”

  It was all too much at once for Ignis, who was dumbfounded by the scene around Rebekah’s usually tidy room. Blood splattered the walls, soaked the carpets, and there were heads with no bodies and bodies with no heads, and a random arm for him to step over once he came into the room. “Vampires.” He saw the fangs protruding from one of the decapitated heads and knew that only their kind would make such a fucking mess.

  “Yeah, they got Liam. They came from the kitchen entrance and busted into the library window. They asked for Rebekah.”

  Ignis walked over and knelt down with the boy. His neck was ripped open, the fanger not having the decency to make a clean bite.

  “It got in his mouth,” said Delilah. “It’s my fault. I should have known better than to stab the monster in the throat.”

  “You didn’t know,” said Katie. “You were trying to save him.”

  Ignis looked over at Mace. She sat against the wall, her knees were drawn up to her chin, but he could see that she was covered in blood. “Get upstairs and wash off that blood, Mace. I’ll help them tend to him.” He knew how important the kid was to her. He was like a bratty little brother, sure, but she really liked having him as her helper.

  Mace nodded, and he pulled her to her feet and kissed her forehead. If he hadn’t gone directly to Kayne’s, if he’d come back home instead, he might have seen the vamps lurking on the perimeter. Instead, he had gone there and then to the south tower to burn pages. Delilah was right. He should have been there. Rebekah would be angry when she learned of this. “I’m sorry. I’ll call Rebekah and report—”

  “No, you won’t. I am going to call Rebekah.” Delilah’s voice was tinged with anger. “You can tell us how to tend to him and what we need to do for him. Father Timms’ arm is bad, and I’ve got Frankie calling the doctor she’s seeing.”

  The young girl would make Rebekah proud. “We’ll have to put him below,” said Ignis. “I’ll give them something for the pain, and after we see the doctor, we’ll chain him up and wait. There’s not much else we can do. It’s not going to be pretty or comfortable, and if it starts, there will be no stopping it until either it’s done or it kills him. Not many make it through.”

  “He’s just a kid,” said Katie, closing her eyes. She’d seen too much for one day.

  “I’ll go see if Frankie got in touch with that doctor,” said Delilah.

  Ignis put his hand on hers before she could get to her feet. “Hey, you all did good. Rebekah is going to be very proud of you.”

  Despite knowing he was probably right, she just couldn’t get what happened out of her mind. She had given the kid a hard time, and instead of saving him, she made it worse. He’d never forgive her, and she’d never forgive herself.

  Chapter 17

  Rebekah had ridden the last half hour of the long journey in peace, with Aziel not talking and Jarreth sleeping. Canter kept his eyes on the road, where they’d been for several hours. She was still angry that the pilot couldn’t stick around for the detour, but she understood. She didn’t employ him exclusively, and the man’s schedule didn’t revolve around her drama.

  She had just sat up to turn on the radio when her phone rang. It was Dixon, calling for the fifth time, so she decided it was time to tell him where his car was.

  She put the phone to her ear. “Hey, Hoyt.” She didn’t even bother being flirty. She had a feeling his romantic
affections for her were waning, and she couldn’t blame him.

  “I expected you back already, Huntress. It’s been hours. I’ve just had to lie to my second in command about the whereabouts of our SUV, and if I have to tell him the truth, he’s going to snitch. He’s been after my position since I supported you in your trial.”

  Rebekah felt bad for putting him in the position, but she couldn’t help everything that happened. “I’m sorry, Hoyt, but you’ll need to tell him that you loaned it out or something. I’m on my way to Utah.”

  “What on earth is in Utah?” His tone was steeped with outrage.

  Rebekah decided to keep hers nonchalant. “Rogue 2K camp. They had a problem with one of their new recruits who came from the Nevada Academy. It’s a very serious matter, one I’ll be sure to fill you in on once I get another briefing.” She had no intention of making that a priority, but she knew Hoyt liked to feel important.

  “I could have arranged your transportation, Rebekah. You should have come back to the academy.”

  “I’m not allowed there, remember? And besides, we had no time to waste. I needed a dependable ride, and I know the Church didn’t skimp when it came to your academy.” They had made sure that Dixon had everything he was supposed to.

  “Well, all right. I guess I could buy some time. You know I will do all I can to help.” He didn’t sound as enthused as he had once been about supporting her, and she knew he’d been taking a lot of crap from the Church.

  “Thanks so much, Hoyt. Your loyalty means a lot to me.” She hoped he knew she really meant that. He was getting the raw end of the deal having to stay at his post, but that was the Church’s fault, not hers. She ended her call and slumped down in her seat.

  “I bet he didn’t take that too well,” said Canter.

  “No, but there’s nothing I can do about it. I put a fortune into those academies, and if I need to use a car, I should be able to.” She looked in the back to see if Jarreth was still asleep. His snoring had stopped, but he was still out cold next to the angel who stared out the window.