by Nicole Rae
Their search party moved stealthily down the hall to the next room. As soon as Sebastian entered the kitchen, he leapt into action. He wasn’t striking against any attacker that Emily could see.There didn’t appear to be anyone in the room at all. Emily gasped and let out a little squeak, as her eyes focused on where Sebastian was kneeling on the floor. His movements were so fast, it was like a blur. The sight in the kitchen was so horrific that she couldn’t even enter. When she froze, it caused Tyler to run into her back.
“What the...?” Tyler asked confused.
Lying on the floor at Sebastian’s feet, was a body that definitely wasn’t alive. It was male and almost completely covered in blood. Emily’s heart pounded as she took in the sight. His throat was ripped out and he had other wounds matching that one, all over his body. It was the most horrific thing Emily had ever seen. Judging by the look on Tyler’s face when she glanced at him, he had come to the same conclusion.
Sebastian looked up at them and gestured to the back door. “Tyler. Get Kyle and Ivy, now. Tell them we need to do a sweep of the rest of the house.” Despite the control of his voice, the urgency was obvious. He lifted Casey’s arm to check for a pulse at his wrist. Not liking what he found,he moved to the slayer’s neck shaking his head wearily.
“You got it.” Tyler didn’t even hesitate as he made his way around the dead person lying partially in his path.
Emily gulped and bit her lip. “Vampires did this,didn’t they?”
“Yes. I knew we shouldn’t have left him alone after what had happened earlier.” Sebastian stared down at the body in complete anguish. His whole body was tense with pent up emotion that clearly wanted to escape.
Emily’s eyebrows shot up with confusion. “What? You know him?”
Before he could answer, the others returned into the house. Ivy took one look at the scene and rushed to Sebastian’s side. “CASEY!” Ivy bellowed. “No,Casey no, this isn’t right!” She reached out and uselessly felt for a pulse.
“Ivy, he’s gone,” Sebastian said not unkindly. He looked up at Kyle. The only emotion on his face was in his eyes. “I need you to sweep the rest of thehouse. I didn’t get a chance to before we found Casey.”
“Sure Bass,” Kyle gulped hard. He maneuvered past them and down the hall without another word.
At the mention of Casey’s name, Ivy sobbed. Sebastian put a comforting hand on her shoulder. She stared into his eyes intently, as if pleading for him to tell her it was all a dream. He must have realized that and he shook his head slightly. Her sobs commenced again.
Emily couldn’t blame Ivy. This was just terrible. She could feel a huge lump in her throat and she swallowed hard. The boy lying on the retro tiled floor, was a slayer. He was Casey, the one she hadn’t got to meet yet. He looked younger than she was. He could have been older though,she guessed. The slayers didn’t age the same as regular people.
Kyle came back into the room, breaking into her thoughts. “Clear Bass,” he reported. “There’s some blood in one of the bedrooms. Itwas still wet.” His eyes looked haunted. It was obvious he was trying to look anywhere,but at Casey’s still form.
Sebastiannodded. “Casey’s wounds are still fresh. And it hasn’t been that long since he reported to Alex.”
“I knew I should have been here!” Ivy wailed desperately. “This is… my fault. Maybe if we wouldn’t have fought. Maybe…” Ivy dropped her head and just stared at Casey.
Sebastian put his attention back on her. “You couldn’t have known. Besides, by the looks of these injuries, there was more than just one vamp here. You could have been killed too.”
“I don’t care!” Her voice was thick, but it still echoed in the empty room. “He would have had a better chance.”
“It’s not your fault,” Emily soothed.
Ivy shot her a venomous glare. “You don’t know anything about this newbie! Don’t attempt to act like you do!” Her eyes pierced right through Emily’s.
Emily took an involuntary step back. Something in Ivy’s eyes wasn’t rational and it was easy to see, that she was barely holding onto her sanity. She was looking for anyone to lash out on and just then Emily was the perfect target. Honestly, Emily didn’t begrudge her of that. She was grieving for a fellow slayer that had fallen. The anger she displayed was completely understandable.
“Ivy,” Sebastian intervened. “Don’t take it out on her.” He stood and wiped his hands on his pants. Even though they were black the blood on them that was left behind was still visible.
Ivy didn’t respond to either of them. Instead, she stared down at Casey looking totally defeated. Tears ran down her face, leaving tracks of eyeliner behind. Her body was slumped and she held onto Casey’s hand for dear life.
It really didn’t bother Emily that the girl had freaked out on her. It could have been a lot worse. When her mom died, she lashed out at everyone. It was extremely obvious that Ivy cared for Casey. It was the most human emotion that she had seen from Ivy, since they had met. Despite the awful circumstances, it was slightly comforting to see she had feelings, besides hatred. Ivy reached out and gently closed Casey’s eyes. He wouldn’t be seeing anything anymore.
The death in the air suddenly became too much. This was a lot different than seeing Beth’s injuries. The emotion in the room was a heavy weight that was palpable. It was bringing back feelings that Emily didn’t want to resurface, ever. She had to get out of there. She tried to get passed Tyler to go into the living room, but he stopped her.
He gave her a sympathetic look. “It’s going to be okay.” He wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her towards him.
Emily welcomed the comfort and melted into his chest. Traitor tears escaped her eyes, making his shirt wet. She fought them back and they came anyway. With Tyler it was different. Vulnerability was an easy emotion to slip into when he was around.She hadn’t known him for long and that didn’t seem to matter. He made her feel safe. She was so thankful that he was going through all of it with her. Going through it alone would have been unbearable.
Sebastian cleared his throat uncomfortably. “We need to get next door before anyone else needlessly dies tonight. Kyle and Ivy, I want you guys to wait until we get to the back of the house. Once we get closer to the door, I want you to move in at the front.” His voice was void of any trace of emotion now. He was all business. “We will have to come back for Casey.” I’ll lock the front door so no one stumbles across him and calls the police.”
Ivy sobbed again. “I can’t leave him Bass.” The emotion that poured out of her was raw and gut wrenching.
“You don’t have a choice.” He answered firmly, but not without kindness.
I can’t do it.” Ivy was pleading with him now. Tears streamed down her cheeks like a down fall of rain.
“I know you love him, but he would want us to get this done.” Sebastian stared down at her, willing her to see reason.
“He’s my brother Sebastian!” Ivy screamed the words at him.
Her brother? Emily was stunned. This was the first mention she had heard of any of them being siblings. It made sense. Of course there would be siblings. This was a family business wasn’t it? Emily wondered absently, what that meant for her own family. She immediately pushed those thoughts to the back of her mind. It wasn’t the time for questioning her own lineage.
Sebastian’s eyes softened. “I’m well aware he’s your brother and I’m sorry. I know it hurts to leave him,but it’s what he would want. You know that Ivy.” He reached out a hand to her in offering.
Ivy wiped the tears from her face and swallowed hard. “I don’t want to,” she said weakly. Ignoring her own words, she slowly grabbed his hand and allowed him to pull her to her feet. “Let’s get this over with. I wanna kill those bastards and go home.” She straightened her spine and squared her shoulders. Her eyes scanned the room, as if daring the rest of them to comment further.
Sebastian gave her a nod and halfhearted smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “Alright
then. Let’s get this done.” He led his group to the back door of the kitchen and the second party followed behind. Emily couldn’t help but imagine the terror that awaited them next door
CHAPTER 24 Sebastian listened intently at the back door of the vampire’s lair? It seemed weird to Emily to think of it as a home. Tyler was checking the back windows, for any sign of the undead lurking inside. Emily really wasn’t very far behind Sebastian, probably only a couple feet. Even still, she felt exposed and vulnerable out in the open.
The wind blew ruffling her pony tail and she shivered. Every little noise made her shift uneasily with the potential fear, that they might not be the only ones lurking in the shadows behind the old house. Her night vision might have increased tremendously,but somehow that didn’t make her feel any better. It just made her want to keep her head on a constant pivot, peering in every nook and cranny for any hidden monsters.
Suddenly Sebastian’s voice in her mind put a halt to her fears. The coast appears to be clear. I’m going to get Tyler’s attention so we can move in.
No need , she mind spoke back. Then not really knowing how she did it, she switched gears and tuned into Tyler. Ty, it’s time to go.
Shortly his answering, alright, broke through her mind and he was headed towards them.
Emily snuck a glance at Sebastian and was pleased to see he was shocked. “Did you do that?” He said to her quizzically with his eyebrows raised practically to his hair line. The shock over rode him for a minute, and he forgot they were supposed to be using the mind link to stay inconspicuous.
She smiled smugly at the ability to catch him off guard. Instead of responding Emily focused on sliding her knife out of its holster at her hip. After that, she double checked that the canister was loose on her silver powder supply. The time it took to get the lid off during their last battle, was ridiculous. At the thought of the last encounter, her hand unconsciously raised to her neck. She lightly probed the spot, where the filthy blood sucker had choked her.
Once they were all three in attendance, Sebastian motioned towards the door. He conferred with them in the lightest of whispers so not to be overheard by the enemy. “This is your first mission. Don’t get split up. Emily you stay with me.”
She couldn’t help feeling indignant at his command. Sure she hadn’t had much training. Okay, well she hadn’t had any training. In all fairness, Tyler had only had one official training session with Alexander. Why was he deemed to be more superior? Either way, she had been the one to kill the vamp in the alley, not Tyler. She schooled her features to look threatening. No one even seemed to notice, so she doubted it worked.
The room they entered was some sort of coat and shoe room. Two walls were lined with racks. There were enough coats and shoes displayed there to clothe a small town easily. Emily eyed the jackets skeptically. Some of them were long trench style garments that reached all the way to the floor. A hungry blood sucking monster could have been positioned behind one waiting to strike pretty easily.
Still feeling the sting of Sebastian’s insinuations, she marched over and quickly moved aside the coats. She hoped the guys didn’t see her hands shaking. Despite the fact there wasn’t a blood sucking monster waiting to eat her, she jumped back just in case.Sure it was silly, although it wouldn’t have been, had there actually been a vampire hiding there.
Sebastian moved toward the door that would take them further into the house. “If you’re done scamming for clothes, I think we should get on with this.”
Emily’s eyes narrowed at Sebastian strongly enough, that laser beams should have shot out and bit into his flesh. Not having much choice, she followed them. She glared at Tyler until he went after Sebastian. It wasn’t necessary to sandwich her in the middle. Knowing how to handle herself had been her job ever since her mom died. Fury radiated off of her and if it wasn’t for the need to be stealthy, she would have let Sebastian know exactly what she thought of his righteousness.
It was easy to see that Tyler didn’t want to go before her. He was just trying to do what he was told. The reluctance that warred on his face softened her just a little bit. The need to keep her safe was out of compassion. With Sebastian, it was more about a primal need to exude dominance and that just wasn’t going to fly.
So far the back of the house was unlit. They made it through the spotlessly unused kitchen without any incidences. You could seriously hear a pin drop in this place. Emily was afraid to breathe. Her heart was hammering in her chest. It would surely give away her presence to the vampires. Come to think of it, there really was no point to sneaking up on the bad guys. They were probably well aware of the intruders coming to get them.
Emily froze when the front door opened as they were making their way through the living room. Luckily it was just Kyle. Where was Ivy? Had something gotten her? They couldn’t have, Kyle wouldn’t be so calm. Ivy might not be the most agreeable person, but Emily was sure no one would be okay with her destruction.
Emily looked to Sebastian concentrating hard.Where’s Ivy?
She’s coming around back. He never stopped walking as he sent her the message. He glided smoothly up a wide staircase without making a sound.
As Emily ascended the stairs after them,she couldn’t help but notice how beautiful the feature was. The path up the stairs narrowed like a funnel. At the top, a hallway branched off on both sides. There were several doors and expensive paintings along the wall. She hadn’t noticed it right away, but the wall that was on the side of the stairs wasn’t there. Instead an intricately carved railing stretched the length of the entire hall.
Sebastian seemed to be listening intently with his head cocked to one side. He motioned to the right with his hand holding a sparkling dagger. They made their way across the floor where he had indicated. Emily thought it would have been better to split up but could see why Sebastian didn’t.
Splitting up would cause one of them to make their sweep alone. Not knowing what they were walking into, didn’t make that a very good idea. Wasn’t the whole reason they were here because the vampires had taken a group of humans in here? Where were they? You would think if nothing else, they would be able to hear noise from the humans.
After about the third door Emily and Tyler exchanged a weary glance. Clearly they were mice walking straight into a trap. Emily shifted uneasy as she waited for Sebastian and Kyle to come out of the room. Once they returned empty handed, they moved to the next door in their path.
The guys were still ahead of her. She had peaked into the room they had just come out of. It looked like a bedroom, a normal bedroom at that. It seemed stupid but Emily expected to see coffins instead of actual beds.
When she realized they weren’t waiting for her she tried to follow. She was stopped by a cool hand sliding across her throat. There wasn’t even time to react. She tried to suck in a breath to scream at the others but the hand squeezed cutting off her air supply.
“Hello Emily,” a voice breathed in her ear. “I didn’t expect to see you here.”
Emily’s blood ran cold. She knew that voice. “Hello... Mrs. Cleary.” She had to force the words out of her mouth before she choked on them. The same woman that was holding her hostage was the same scared woman she labeled a pod person after running into her on the way to work the otherday. “We’re here to help you.”
Mrs.Cleary laughed. “No, you’re here to kill me. I should probablywarn you, I’m a little harder to kill these days sweetie.” As she spoke her lips brushed over Emily’s neck.
There was no way this could be happening! At least that’s what her mind tried to think. It was just a defense mechanism though. No matter how bad her mind wanted to reject the truth, there it was threatening to strangle her. Those monsters had turned sweet Mrs. Cleary into one of them. She had known the woman since she was a kid and now it appeared likely she would die by her hands.
The reality of that was staggering. Emily tested her captor’s grip by trying to move. She didn’t get very far when Mrs. Cleary’s o
ther arm wrapped around her waist and tightened like a vice. Emily shrieked.
The guys raced back to her with Tyler in the lead this time. “Emily!” He called panting. “Bitch you better let her go!” Tyler stopped and trained his crossbow on them. It was shaking slightly with his apprehension. Emily was strategically positioned in front of Mrs. Cleary. The best Tyler could hope for when he let off his shot was to not kill Emily. The chance that he would hit his mark was unlikely.
“Watch your mouth young man.” Mrs. Cleary said reproachfully. Apparently her mothering instincts were only intact when it came to curse words. Putting Emily in a choke hold didn’t reach her mama bear side at all.
“Where’s your leader?” Sebastian asked seeming to ignore Emily at the heart of the fray. He wouldn’t even look directly at her.
“He’s around. Don’t worry. You’ll be seeing him sooner thanyou think." The female vampire’s voice was nonchalant. She wasn’t worried in the least that she stood there out numbered.
Just then Emily noticed a shadow moving up behind Sebastian. She screamed. “Behind you!” The grip on her throat got tighter cutting off her air and any other chance at speech.
“No no Emily.” Mrs. Cleary scolded mildly as though she were talking to a toddler. “We don’t want to give away the ending before it’s time.”
Kyle and Sebastian spun around to see the new threat. It was Mr. Johnson. Emily recognized him from the bank. He looked different. His skin was flawless and his eyes were that awful green that looked like they were glowing. His stance was predatory and full of menace.
“Nice work Sara,” Mr. Johnson soothed.
Emily realized belatedly that Sara was Mrs. Cleary. She had only known the older woman by her last name. Now she could only be known as leech. As if hearing her thoughts the grip around her throat got even tighter still. Emily gasped and coughed trying to catch her breath. “Just let me go!”