by Cecy Robson
The harsh clinking of metal signaled her arrival. With Jedi grace and speed, she beheaded four machete-wielding vampires. I fought my way to her, killing every Tribesmen in my way. “Shayna!”
I ducked when she flung knives over my head. Her reflexes and skill were startling. She hit a were in the throat and a vamp through the eye, allowing Misha’s vampires to kill them with ease.
Shayna grunted and whirled until the fighting around us gradually ceased. Her eyes darted wildly, seeking more targets. I approached her slowly, pulling my tigress back and speaking softly. “It’s okay, Shayna. They’re dead. Take a breath, babe.”
The floor was littered with the remains of dead Tribesmen. I had to step over several limbs to reach my sister. Our group stood triumphantly. Hank pointed to the decapitated torso on the floor. “Yeahhh! Take that, fuckers!”
I lifted the edge of my tank to wipe the blood trickling from my chin. “It’s not over yet, Hank. We need to find the Tribemaster.”
You’d have thought I’d sent the villainous bastard an Evite. The scent of pure evil filled the room, sharp and sour all at once, announcing the Tribemaster’s arrival. I swore when my tigress fixed on the rear entrance. The good news was, there wasn’t a Tribemaster. The really bad news was, there were two.
Twins. Fantastic. Just what we needed. Our mission had just doubled in size, viciousness, and ugly. Their faces were similar to that of rhinos. Tusks protruded over their drawer-sized snouts. Silvery reptilian scales covered their skin like body armor. And, funny thing, the last rhino I saw didn’t have long leathery wings, glowing yellow eyes, or fangs the size of yardsticks.
We charged on pure instinct. There was no command, no hesitation. I dodged a barrage of swings from arms as thick as tree limbs and grabs from meaty fingers tipped with six-inch nails. Five of Misha’s vamps weren’t so lucky. Blood splattered my face when the Tribemaster I fought ripped them in half. I fell to a crouch and dug my claws into his stomach, attempting to tear it open. They stuck in his thick belly and I couldn’t break free . . . until he hauled me up by my hair. He jerked me with such force my head snapped painfully back and two of my nails stayed embedded in his stomach.
He lifted me to his face. “Vení, muñeca, te quiero besar.”
It was bad enough that he called me “doll” and I wasn’t lovin’ the fact that he wanted to make out with me, but it was his dark demonic voice that made my skin crawl.
His tongue reached out to kiss me. I brought both my fists down to his snout. My claws raked down his chest when he dropped me, allowing me to shift him through the cement floor.
I plunged him deep into the earth, so only his neck and head were exposed. “Shayna!”
Shayna’s head whipped toward me. She sprinted from the fight with the other twin. Her opportunity had arrived. And damn it if I wasn’t going to let her take it.
Chunks of concrete burst upward as the Tribemaster punched through the floor. I dove on his free arm and ducked, allowing Shayna to sever his head in one clean swoop. His insides spewed like a volcano and sprayed my back in quivering chunks. I lurched to my feet, ignoring the remains crawling down my legs, and bounded toward the other twin.
Shayna chased the head she’d disjoined to finish off the brain. I heard her hacking through the skull behind me as I reached the remaining Tribemaster. The last of Misha’s vamps covered him like a swarm of insects. The Tribemaster roared with pain. But Misha’s family wasn’t enough to cripple him. He ripped them off and tore their limbs as if shucking corn. I propelled myself into the air and into a jumping spinning kick. He caught my leg and crushed my ankle.
My screams turned to roars. I changed, knowing my human body wasn’t enough to make the kill. I maneuvered my body and went for his throat. My fangs accomplished what my claws could not; I tasted his blood as I ruptured his larynx and pulled it apart. He heaved my body and threw me into the wall. It was like a Bugs Bunny cartoon. I crashed to the floor and looked up to see the perfect outline of my body dented into the cinder block. Too bad we never made it to a commercial break. I could have used the opportunity to remember how to breathe and to stop my bleeding.
I struggled to get up. Shayna appeared, twirling her sword with dizzying speed. She cut the Tribemaster’s legs off at the knees. Hank jumped onto his shoulders and wrenched his jaw back while four vampires buried their fangs into his arms. “Kill him!” Hank hollered.
I stumbled to my four paws, gaining momentum with each step I took. My claws scythed through his neck as I tackled him to the ground. His scale-skinned neck split near the torso. I thought we had him until what felt like a bomb exploded beneath me.
I remembered flying, then falling . . . rather ungracefully and painfully against a pile of rubble. The shock of the impact forced me to change back. When the black smoke and dust had cleared, the Tribemaster was gone. Shayna lay sprawled a few feet away, a giant shard of glass embedded in her chest. I crawled to her side, coughing from the dust layering the air.
Her breathing was fast and ragged, and a delighted smile lit her dirty face. It freaked me out. I thought she was going into hysterics. I tugged out the glass and quickly covered the site, but there was no blood. There was no oozing. There was . . . nothing. I removed my hand to examine the wound closely. My lips parted with shock. It had already sealed. She sat up by herself and grinned even wider. “I may not be able to howl at the moon, Ceel, but lookie what I can do.”
Despite the agony vibrating through my organs in painful rushes, I smiled back. Koda wasn’t able to turn her into a wolf, but he’d given her the perfect gift: the ability to heal.
CHAPTER 10
Maria held someone’s severed leg and waved it as she spoke. “Whose foot is dis? Oops—sorry, Celia,” she said when blood from the limb splashed me in the face. “Hello, I’m trying to sort here.”
“I think it’s mine,” a vamp mumbled. He lay draped in one of the truck beds, on top of two other vamps.
Maria huffed. “It cannot be. You are already holding two.”
He lifted one leg in each hand. “Yeah, but these are both lefties. And see, now I have an extra knee.”
The rest of Misha’s vampires had returned after tracking the enemy weres who’d tried to escape. The Tribemaster we’d fought remained at large. The vamps had found only more caged villagers. They’d released them following a light snack. I wasn’t pleased, but what could I say? Saving the world worked up an appetite.
Agnes Concepción, Edith Anne, Hank, and Tim were among the few in our group still completely functioning. Most of Misha’s other vamps were in bad shape and needed blood to regenerate.
“I guess you should get to the village so you can find something to . . . eat.” My suggestion bothered me, but if the injured vampires didn’t feed soon they’d develop bloodlust, making their appetites voracious and uncontrollable. The last thing Nicaragua needed was a bunch of blood-ravaging limbless vampires crawling around.
Shayna and I inched away from the vamps. We were team players and all, but no way in hell were we offering our blood. I left the healthy vamps to tend to the others. Vampires weren’t known for their patience. They gave up trying to arrange the various missing appendages and piled the injured and all their body parts into three trucks and left for the village.
Edith carried me to a Tribe jeep and drove us to the hotel, where my sisters and the remaining Catholic schoolgirls anxiously waited. “Later,” Liz said the moment she saw us. She and Maria flounced by us without so much as a “Thank God nothing with horns munched on you, Celia.”
“What?” Maria asked when she caught my glare. “We are hungry.”
I waved them off, although I could already hear them runway-strutting the length of the dilapidated hall. Emme rushed to my side. “Oh, my goodness, Celia. Your face is cut open.”
I rubbed my face. My tigress made my hide and limbs extra sturdy, but we had our lim
its. Everything hurt so much it was difficult to tell the extent of my injuries. Edith tried to help. She grabbed my face in her hands and took a lick. “No, that’s from a wereraccoon. Hmm . . . or maybe it’s werepossum. Let me have another taste.”
I had to physically restrain her. “Will you cut it out? I didn’t like you licking me the first time.”
Edith had the nerve to act insulted. She tossed her hair and scowled. “I’ve never had any complaints before.”
“Just go and find someone nice to nibble on.” She smacked her gums and took off. That was my favorite thing about Edith: all it took was something shiny or the offer of food to distract her.
I winced and squirmed as Emme’s healing light surrounded me. The moment she released me I bolted into the shower, eager to rid my body of whatever was making my hair stick to my flesh like glue. I’d survived my latest assignment and picked up a few new admirers along the way. I hated that I’d become so popular among the supercreepy. I’d accepted I’d eventually be well known, but why so soon? Could someone be informing the bad guys of my presence? I tried not to be so paranoid, but my sisters reinforced my fears on our way back to the plane.
Old rusted streetlamps lit our path, the low wattage barely enough to cut through the darkness. “The Tribe assholes keep calling you by name, Ceel,” Taran said. She leaned into me. I helped her walk—hell, I helped her stand. The magic-born sunlight had wiped her out. “It’s like the whole lot of them want you dead. Even those gruesome newborns.”
“I’ve noticed,” I answered her over the hoots and hollers. People lined the cobblestone streets, dancing and celebrating despite the arrival of the midnight hour. The dread surrounding the village had lifted, permitting the crisp pure air to fill the night. Hope tickled and enlivened my skin. I suspected the villagers sensed it, too. They didn’t need supernatural perception to realize the monsters were gone. At least for the moment.
“Son of a bitch. Is that all you have to say?” Taran muttered.
“There’s not much to say. The Tribe’s put a hit on me, but so what?”
Taran swore again. “What do you mean ‘so what’? This shit isn’t funny, Ceel!”
“I’m not laughing, Taran. Do you think I like being stalked? Bottom line, this doesn’t change anything. It’s not the first time something terrifying has come after me.” I sighed. “And it’s likely not going to be the last. The difference is that if it is just the Tribe, at least this time I know my enemy and I can prepare myself to fight.”
Shayna jerked her head toward me. “You think it could be someone else?”
I tried to sound indifferent—a nearly impossible task considering the subject. “It just seems strange to hear my name called. It’s like they know something about me I don’t, or someone has sent them after me.”
Emme nodded, her soft voice trembling slightly. “I can see that, but who? Those you’ve faced are all dead . . . aren’t they?”
I shuddered involuntarily, thinking back to the line of psychos I’d fought and supposedly conquered. “I hope so, Emme.”
We walked down another block to where Edith planned to meet us. A crowd of men hurrying toward us separated and rushed into the street when they sensed my predatory side. My beast remained on high alert, ignoring the celebration and seeking out those who dwelled in the shadows.
“I wish you could come home, Ceel,” Shayna added quietly. “At least we’re there to watch over you.”
I shook my head. “All that would do is bring the danger to you. Look, the Tribe has obviously targeted me, and maybe something else has, too. But at least it’s only me, and not any of you. If we’re lucky, it will stay that way.” Or so I hoped. If my sisters didn’t have their wolves, Misha would be housing three more Wird girls.
A jeep skidded to a halt next to us. Two sexy males stumbled out in their tighty-whities. Their dark skin glistened with perspiration despite the cool night air and they panted like they’d run with the bulls. Edith pulled the emergency brake, crawled across the front seat, and yanked each to her. She kissed them as if her diamond earrings had fallen down their throats and only her tongue could retrieve them. The men staggered back when she released them. “Adios, Edeeth,” they both chimed.
Edith waved to her fans. “Addy ose!” She adjusted her thong beneath her tiny plaid skirt, snapping the back against her butt cheeks. “You freaks coming?” She asked without bothering to look up.
This was the vamp assigned to keep me safe from death. I pinched the bridge of my nose. “Yup. We’re coming.”
By the time we reached the plane, most of the injured vampires’ limbs had reattached or regenerated. I shuddered. They must have taken a lot of blood to heal that quickly. Tim rolled his eyes. “Celia, our dinners are partying and having a good time. I swear on our master they’re alive and well”—he grinned—“and very, very satisfied. I have to tell you, your people are flexible.”
“My people?” I held my hand up before he could make another asinine remark. “Good to know, Tim. Let’s get back to the States.”
We piled onto the plane and collapsed into sleep. I remember waking up briefly in Texas when we stopped to refuel, but then quickly dozed off again. The entire flight was about seven hours. Shayna nudged me awake when the plane began its descent into Tahoe.
“I didn’t wake up screaming,” she whispered excitedly. “That’s a good sign, don’t you think?”
I rubbed my eyes and tried to slap myself awake. “It sure is. Maybe getting some revenge was what you needed after all.” Rain splattered against the windows. “What time is it?”
Shayna nibbled on her bottom lip. “Almost noon.”
The gray sky made me believe it was closer to twilight. I peered out the window as we landed smoothly on the runway. The plane glided to a halt, veering ever so slightly where a row of cars waited. I stiffened when I caught a pack of angry wolves emerging from the cars. Koda, Liam, and Gemini stalked to where the plane had taxied. My sisters cringed.
“Uh-oh,” Emme whimpered. “Liam looks angry.”
No. Liam looked ready to devour a T. rex.
My shoulders drooped. I wished my pissed-off werewolf was waiting for me. Especially after learning of his potential to go beast for life, I was eager to make sure he was safe.
Bren and Danny ambled next to the wolves and waited. Bren rubbed his scruffy beard, the way he often did when he was worried. Danny fidgeted back and forth, eyeing the other wolves while they continued to prowl. Behind them idled the Hummer limo with the familiar BYTEME plates. Either Misha hadn’t stepped out yet or he was still mad at me and hadn’t bothered coming.
“Shit, Ceel. Gem’s super pissed. Do you think you can carry me off the plane so I can appeal to his sympathetic side?” Taran asked.
Shayna glanced nervously toward Koda. “Yeah, dude. Carry us, too, while you’re at it.”
What made things worse was that the recovering vamps were hauled out on stretchers first. By the time it was our turn to exit, the wolves were out of their minds. I carried Taran just as she had requested and her little plan worked. Gemini rushed to us. The anger vanished from his face and he immediately lifted her from my arms. “Taran, honey, are you okay?”
“She’s just tired,” I answered, calmly. “There were several women at the nest. She had to gather sunlight born of magic to free them.”
Gemini shook his head and stepped away from me. “You shouldn’t have gone without me,” he said quietly.
Taran wrapped her arms around his neck. “I’m sorry, love.”
One down, two to go.
Emme poked her head out of the plane. Liam scowled, but his ferocity was no match for her cuteness. She gave him one of the sweetest smiles in her arsenal and threw in a blush for good measure. If that wasn’t bad enough, she wrinkled her nose at him in that way that drove him wild. Liam watched her as she timidly made her way down the step
s until the wait became too much for him. He raced up to meet her when she was halfway down and greeted her with a kiss. “Angel, I was so worried about you. Don’t ever do that to me again!”
Liam slipped his arm around her and escorted her down the steps. “I’m so sorry I scared you, Lee. I hope you can forgive me.”
It was pretty damn obvious she was already forgiven and I tried not to smile. Koda wouldn’t be so easily swayed. Shayna moved down the steps slowly. When she stood before him, he was red with fury.
“Puppy, I—”
“Don’t you ‘puppy’ me! Do you have any idea what you’ve put me through? What you put all of us through?” Shayna didn’t say anything. Anyone with half a brain could tell Koda hated yelling at her, but his fear had turned to fury. He then turned to me and growled. “And where were you? You’re the responsible one. Why the hell did you let them tag along? It’s bad enough you’re involved in all this shit—now we have to worry about the rest of them, too?”
Gemini and Liam both turned on me and glowered, completely taking Koda’s side. What the hell? I shoved my hands on my hips and glared back at them. “Do you guys honestly think I didn’t try to talk them out of it? I even tried calling you, but your girlfriend snatched the phone out of my hands and froze me in place, Liam.” I pointed at Gemini. “And your girlfriend gagged me with some kind of spell, used my voice as her own, and then knocked me out.”
I paced back and forth where the wolves had lined up. Their scowls had softened. That didn’t mean I’d forgiven them. In fact, I let them have it. “All I know is you guys better grow a few pairs and take back some control before I revoke your man cards. What kind of lupines are you anyway? You let these tiny girls walk all over you.” Okay, maybe that was a little much. But it was kind of hilarious to see their reactions. Their faces flushed slightly and they failed to meet my gaze. Take that, Guardians of the Earth.