by E. S. Moore
“They jumped me,” I said. “I was only defending myself. I didn’t kill any of them and didn’t want to. I just wanted to scare them off so they’d leave me alone.”
His gaze traveled to the bloody knife on the ground. “You bring trouble with you wherever you go, you know that?” he said.
“I know.”
Bart stared at me for a long minute, never lowering his aim. “I’ve let you get away with a lot more than I’d ever allow anyone else to.”
“I know,” I said again.
“I damn well don’t know why.” He spat on the ground, grimacing. “One of these days . . .” He shook his head, letting the thought trail off.
He didn’t do or say anything for the longest time. I just stood there and waited for him to make up his mind whether he was going to kill me or not.
There was a chance I could reach him and disarm him before he could shoot. But if I were to do that, then I would have to hurt him.
But I was done hurting people who didn’t deserve it. I waited for him to make up his mind, my hands held out before me in the hopes he would take me at my word.
Bart heaved a huge sigh and lowered his gun. “Go on,” he said. “Try not to get jumped on my property again. I might not be so forgiving the next time.”
I let out my breath in a huff and nodded. I walked over to my knife and bent down to retrieve it.
“Leave it,” he said. “I could always use a souvenir to remember you by.”
I wasn’t sure if that was a warning not to come back or if he figured I’d end up dead soon enough. I didn’t bother to ask, though I hoped he would let me return to the Stake. It was one of the few places I could go to get away from everything.
I straightened and left the knife where it was. Bart could have it. Since he worked around supes all night, it might come in handy someday.
I slowly walked across the parking lot and got into Jeremy’s car. I could feel Bart watching me and it made the back of my head itch. He might have said he was letting me go, but he could change his mind at any moment.
The sad thing was, I couldn’t hold it against him. I knew the rules. I should have been more careful. I never should have let the shifted wolf get the jump on me.
I started Jeremy’s car and backed slowly out onto the road. I was lucky to be alive and knew that later I would have to thank Bart for not killing me. When I glanced back to check on him, Bart was already gone.
19
As I put the bar behind me, I couldn’t help but wonder how Adrian’s wolves knew where to find me. I guess I could understand them finding me at The Bloody Stake since Adrian knew I frequented there. He could have had his wolves watching the place for months.
But Polaris? I’d never gone there but once or twice in my entire life, and even then, I only drove through it. How would he have known to keep two of his thugs there waiting for me when I had no reason to go to the mall there? Could it have been a coincidence? Or was it something more?
I looked in the rearview mirror, half-expecting to see a car tailing me, but the road behind me was empty. Someone pulled out of a side street as I passed, but they turned the other way.
The lack of a tail only agitated me more. Someone following me, I could understand. Wolves showing up wherever I went was just a little too convenient to be coincidence. He was tracking me and I really wanted to know how.
I immediately thought of Gregory Hillis. He’d once been a member of the Luna Cult who’d supplied Adrian with information until he was decapitated by the guy he was working for. Could someone else be feeding him information now? It wouldn’t surprise me in the slightest if Adrian had someone else on the inside.
My thoughts drifted to Jeremy, but I refused to believe he could be helping Adrian. The kid was too green to defect like that. It wasn’t as if he’d known where I was going either. All he could have told Adrian was that I’d returned and then tell him of my comings and goings.
So, if it wasn’t Jeremy or someone in the Cult, then how did Adrian know?
I considered calling it a night and heading home to sort things through. I didn’t like the idea of anyone knowing what I was doing before I did. The only way Adrian could get his wolves in position, especially at Polaris, was if he knew where I would be and planted them ahead of time. I hadn’t been there long enough for him to get his men mobilized in time.
In the end, there was nothing I could do about it right away. I wasn’t about to just go home either. I wanted to get this kill done for Baset so I could put it behind me. Once I finished with Count Strinowski, I would hopefully figure out how to break my deal with Baset without getting anyone else killed. I might kill vamps and wolves, but I didn’t do it for vampire Countesses.
But Baset wasn’t a normal vampire. She’d died and come back. Her body’s decay was proof enough of that. How could I kill something that was already dead? If I tried, I might only bring down more misery upon the heads of everyone around me. I couldn’t be responsible for that.
I made a turn and slowed as a certain little sign came into view. I pulled off to the side of the road, transfixed by it.
What was I going to do about Delai? Part of me just wanted to turn down the road and forget all about Baset and Strinowski and Adrian and everyone else sticking their noses into my life. I didn’t need that kind of stress anymore. Ethan was right when he said all the killing was getting to me and here I was, adding to it. It would be so easy just to put the car in gear and coast into oblivion.
Yet, I couldn’t get past the thought that something was wrong with the town, that Ethan’s demon might be right about the place. Could I really just forget about everything and let Levi keep doing whatever it was he’d been doing to me?
I couldn’t bear the thought of letting the demon do something to me either. I knew Sienna and Eilene weren’t bad people, yet I wasn’t so sure about Levi anymore. I’d seen what he’d done to Ronnie. What else had he done I didn’t know about? Whom else had he hurt?
My stomach started churning and I felt like throwing up. The urge just to drive down the road was so strong, I found myself starting that way.
I stopped just before I made the turn. I closed my eyes and rubbed them with my palms.
“What the hell is wrong with me?” I mumbled. I took a deep breath and swallowed the bile that filled my mouth. I could do this.
I drove past the sign slowly, refusing to look down the road. If I were to look, I knew I wouldn’t be able to resist. I would have to know. I would want to see Sienna, make sure she was all right. I’d want to confront Levi, to ask him about what it was he really was doing to me and those around him.
As soon as I was past the road, it felt like something ripped open my guts and tore them from my body through my throat. I slammed on the brakes so hard the entire car jerked and skidded on the road. I was gasping for air, unable to breathe, let alone think.
And then the nausea hit me. I threw open Jeremy’s door just in time. I leaned out and heaved. Not much came out since I hadn’t eaten much, but it was enough to leave a horrible taste in my mouth. I spit over and over, wishing I had water.
I took a shuddering breath and another wave of nausea hit. I swallowed it back. The bile burned going back down, and it was all I could do to keep from retching.
I closed my eyes as the shakes hit. They were so bad I nearly fell out of car. I grabbed the wheel, held it tightly as wave after wave hit. It was like I was having a mini-seizure, though I was conscious of everything happening to me.
And then, just like that, it passed.
My stomach settled and my head cleared. The bad taste in my mouth was still there and I was a little shaky, but the worst had definitely passed.
I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand and sat back, simply breathing. It took me a good ten minutes before I felt stable enough to drive again.
I had no idea what had just happened, and part of me feared it had something to do with Beligral, yet I was no longer marked. I didn’t think he
could affect me that way without his mark connecting us.
But if it wasn’t him, then what was it?
I considered turning around and going home but nixed the idea immediately. I had to take care of Strinowski now so I didn’t have it hanging over my head any longer. I could worry about the implications of my sudden bout later.
It only took a couple more turns before I was on the road that supposedly led to Strinowski’s place. The street was mostly deserted, and the snow had started to drift onto the road, obscuring it completely in some places. It would have been hard to drive even on my motorcycle.
The houses appeared empty on either side of the road. Some had caved in, others had broken windows, doors hanging open on busted hinges. One small cottage looked inhabitable. The lights were out, but curtains hung in the windows. They fluttered ever so slightly, as if someone had a fan or a space heater sitting under the window.
Most of the mailboxes were gone, though a few still stood. I could just make out the numbers on them, giving me an indication as to how far down the road I’d have to go to find my mark.
The cluster of houses gave way to farmland long since abandoned. Where the land wasn’t flat and ruined, it was hilly. The houses became fewer and farther between. Before long I’d reached a spot where it was impossible to see one house from the next. If someone wanted to hide, the barren stretch was as good a place as any.
I turned off the headlights and hoped I could stick to the road as I got closer. Only the lump of once-plowed snow kept me from ending up in the ditch. Snow crunched under my tires as I worked my way closer to Strinowski’s hideaway.
I crested a rise and started a slow descent down the other side. I could just make out a house tucked away behind a barrier of pines. If I hadn’t missed my guess, that was my target.
I skidded a few feet down the rise and parked at the side of the road. I shut off the engine and just sat there, listening.
There were no sounds of the night here. It wasn’t the peaceful silence I was used to. The quiet here was unsettling. It felt as though there should be more sounds, even if it was just a winter owl hooting in the trees or the sound of a branch breaking as a doe scampered through the trees.
But it was completely and utterly silent, as if the entire area was holding its breath, waiting for something to happen.
The house was dark. Even if a light had been on, I wouldn’t have been able to make anything out from where I sat. The trees were too dense, planted to act as a screen against anyone casually driving by. Whoever had lived here before had valued their privacy.
I got out of the car, leaving the keys in the ignition. I had no idea what I was going to face, and just because Mikael said the guy didn’t have anyone under him, didn’t mean he was helpless. I might have to make a quick getaway. I wasn’t worried about someone stealing Jeremy’s car; not out here.
I stood out starkly against the snow as I moved toward the pines. I moved as quickly as I dared, hoping I was as difficult to see from the house as the house was to me.
I got a clear view of the house as soon as I reached the pine barrier. As I’d thought, the place was completely dark. Strinowski was a vampire, so he didn’t need light to see by. And since he was hiding, he wouldn’t want the light to clue anyone who happened by to know someone was living there.
Then again, he might not be home at all. He could be out, searching for another victim, or simply out for a stroll in the snow. Just because I wanted him to be here didn’t mean he would be.
I drew my sword and gun and scanned the grounds. As far as I could tell, there was nothing there. I could see no cameras, no watchdogs of any sort. Just an empty old farmhouse that looked as though it hadn’t been occupied in quite a few years.
The windows were almost completely black in the night. He must have put up some heavy drapes to keep out the sun during the day. A farmhouse like this probably had a cellar, but the vamp might not stay down there all the time and would want the extra protection on the other levels.
I prepped myself to move. There was nothing to hide behind the twenty yards from the trees to the house. I’d have to run it and hope Strinowski didn’t happen to peek out the window just as I made my move.
I tucked my sword under one arm, checked my gun to make sure it was fully loaded even though I knew it was. I slammed the magazine home, took a deep breath, and started forward.
It was game time.
20
I could smell the house even before I reached it. A deep, thick scent that was almost impossible to breathe in. There was blood, but there was more to it than that. It smelled of dead things, of bodies left to rot. Not even the smell of fresh blood could overpower the smell of death.
A scream came from inside, the first sound I’d heard since parking. It was a woman’s scream, one filled with unbearable agony. I couldn’t tell if she was a supe or Pureblood, and honestly, I didn’t care. From what Mikael had told me, I knew she was being tortured.
I didn’t screw around trying to peek in through the dark windows or sneak into the place. If this guy worked alone, then I wouldn’t have to worry about fending off minions. I could focus on simply finding the vamp and ending his torturous ways.
I kicked in the door with such force, one of the hinges tore clean off. The house was so old, it was a wonder it was still standing. As it was, the door slammed hard against the wall, a resounding crash that caused every other sound in the house to cease.
Both my gun and sword were in hand, poised to either fire or strike. While Strinowski might work alone, that didn’t mean he wasn’t dangerous. A vampire was a vampire, regardless of how many wolves and vamps he has around him. If I wasn’t careful, he could kill me before I knew he was there.
The silence caused by my entrance didn’t last long. The sound of agonized whimpering came from upstairs.
The front door opened into a small foyer. Traces of blood stained the floor and walls. The living room was just off that, but no one was in there. There was no furniture of any kind, just an empty room.
I started to turn away when I noticed the shades hanging over the windows. I might not have noticed anything was wrong with them, but I’d caught a glimpse of a lump of something on one.
Curiosity took over. I edged toward the blinds while keeping an eye on the stairs. No one had come tearing down them, so I had to hope Strinowski was hiding somewhere up them, waiting for me to find him.
I approached the windows warily. In the dark, it was hard to make out exactly what I was seeing, even with my superior vision. It wasn’t until I was almost on them that it all made sense.
The clump turned out to be hair. The stench was horrible, though it wasn’t as bad as the general smell of the place that I’d smelled from the outside. The blinds, all of them in the room, and quite possibly in the rest of the house, were made from skin. The side that had once faced inside someone’s body was turned toward the window. They left bloody streaks on the glass.
When Mikael had told me the guy tortured people, I hadn’t realized how bad it really was. This wasn’t just torture; it was pure brutality. How many of these skins were from Purebloods? Were there wolf and vamp skins as well? I wasn’t sure I wanted to find out.
I moved away from the nightmarish blinds and headed for the stairs. The woman was still whimpering upstairs, and I just had to hope Strinowski had been the cause of her scream. I hadn’t heard a window open or glass break or anything, so I was banking on him still being here.
The stairs creaked despite my best efforts to be quiet. The house was one of those giant farmhouses built back before modern heating. The house was cold, but not the bone-deep chill I would have expected. Chances were good Strinowski had battery-powered heaters somewhere inside or else his victims would freeze to death before he could torture them.
As I went up the stairs, I began to regret kicking in the door. Strinowski was known for being able to hide, to escape anyone who would search for him. All I’d really accomplished by ente
ring as I had was to alert him that someone else was in his house. I could have easily tried the door first to see if it was unlocked. It would have been the smart thing to do.
But it was too late now. If I screwed this up because of my mistake, I knew I’d pay for it later. There was no use beating myself up for it now.
I reached the top of the stairs and scanned the dark hallway. There were only three rooms, two to the left, one to the right. A sliding door on the right-hand wall appeared to be a closet. All the doors were closed, and no light seeped beneath them. I listened, hoping to hear something other than the whimpering coming from the only room to the right.
I started forward, taking each step slowly, eyes scanning from left to right, up and down. I wouldn’t let this guy get the jump on me. I had no idea what he was capable of. If he was some sort of shifter, I wanted to be prepared.
The first door I came to was on the left. I pushed it open, bringing my gun up, finger ready to pull the trigger the moment I saw someone. The room was completely empty aside from the thick scent of feces and blood. The tiny bathroom was barely large enough for one person to stand in. There was no curtain in the shower, nothing at all in which the vamp could hide in or behind.
I closed the door to stifle the heavy reek and checked the closet across the hall. Like the bathroom, it was empty. I peered inside just in case before moving down the hall to the last two doors. The one to the right held the whimpering woman. The one to the left was silent.
I could hear the clink of metal on metal coming from the woman’s room. It reminded me of the sound a swing would make as its chains clanked in the wind. I started to reach for the door but stopped myself. Would my vamp be in the room with the woman? Or was he banking on me to investigate the room with the sounds first so he could make his move while my back was turned?
I stepped back from the door and turned to the one on the left. I waited, my breath held in the hopes of hearing the vamp breathing on the other side.
There was nothing. I reached out, grasped the doorknob, and pushed the door inward.