She opened her briefcase and pulled out a stack of comic books—Vampire Warrior. Nick's comics. Nick was part of that world. Maybe there was something in one of the stories that would help. Plus, she liked them. Her free time dedicated to research, she'd made a quick run to a comic store at lunch. The staff there hadn't found it unusual that she'd purchased two years' worth of Vampire Warrior comics. They'd simply recommended others as well. Madeleine decided to try them after she'd gone through Nick's. He had personal experience after all.
She'd started reading during lunch that day and had instantly been caught up in the story. Each issue ended with a cliffhanger, and she had worked her way through three comics before she'd had to go back to work. Now, she had to find out what happened. She finished one, and then another. As she read on, she noticed the shift.
In the first editions, Galor, the vampire hero, loved his power and strength—he reveled in being a vampire. Then the character started to change, the drawings and story turning from the exultation of power to the search for an escape. Anguish crept into the vampire's eyes and his soul grew tortured. Madeleine felt her heart in her throat as the woman who could have saved him died in his arms.
Tears streamed down Galor's face.
The phone next to her rang, tearing her from the story. She took a sharp breath and squinted at the clock, giving her eyes a few seconds to focus. It was late. She'd been reading for a while. Stephen rushed to his place in the front of her mind as she picked up the handset.
"Hello?" She waited for Stephen's deep, dark voice to answer.
"Madeleine?"
"Hi, Char." Madeleine relaxed against the sofa. She took a deep breath to calm her pounding heart and sniffed the air. "Wait. I'm burning my soup." Madeleine pushed herself to standing and stumbled into the kitchen. She clicked off the burner and pushed the pan of boiling soup onto the cool flat of the stove. "So, what's up?"
"Madeleine, I'm scared."
The noise behind Charlotte's voice came into focus. She wasn't home.
"What happened? Are you okay?"
"I'm fine. Just scared."
"Where are you?"
"The Jungle Club." Madeleine swore silently. "Jesse called and asked me out for a drink. I couldn't spend another night in my apartment."
"What happened?"
"Nothing, but Jesse went to the bathroom and didn't come back. That's not like him."
Madeleine rolled her eyes. Jesse, Charlotte's sometime boyfriend, was more likely than not to disappear. Still, the coincidence was too great.
"I think someone's following me. It just feels strange, you know."
Madeleine nodded even though Charlotte couldn't see her. She'd experienced that in the past week—that strange sensation that someone was watching her, and only her. Icy tremors filled Madeleine's chest.
"Okay, stay in public places, don't talk to anyone. Go sit by the bartender and don't worry about being rude. If anyone comes up to you, ignore them and walk away. I'll be there as soon as I can."
She clicked the phone off. She needed help. Stephen. She grimaced. It was logical to call him. He would know what to do, but she couldn't call him. Two things stopped her. One, she had completely freaked on him after making love. And two, she didn't know if he'd help. He'd made it more than clear that death and life had different values in his world. She couldn't risk Charlotte to his indifference to a human life.
Still, she needed help. She opened the line and hit the speed dial for Scott's number. She hadn't spoken to him since they'd searched Stephen's house, and she'd discovered vampires were real. After four rings, the machine picked up. Great. What a night for him to have a date.
"Scott, it's Maddie, I mean Madeleine. Listen, if you get this message soon, can you meet me at the Jungle Club? I think Charlotte's in some kind of trouble."
She hung up. It would have to do.
Madeleine threw down the phone and raced to her bedroom. She needed protection, anything she could find. She didn't have any crosses and wasn't really sure they would work, but she had silver.
She draped another row of silver chains around her neck, adding to the strands already there, and looped more bracelets across both wrists. It was a gaudy mismatch of styles, but she ignored it. She wasn't going for fashion. She opened the drawer beside her bed and pulled out the knife she'd taken from Stephen's house. Sliding the dagger up her sleeve, she looked in the mirror. The stark glow of determination in her own eyes startled her.
Madeleine Bryant, Vampire Hunter.
She was still pulling on her coat as she opened the front door. Nick lounged at the end of the hall. He straightened when she walked out.
"Where are you going?" he called as she stormed by him, headed for the stairs. "Oh, this is a really bad idea."
She glanced over her shoulder. The vampire trailed close behind, worry etched in his young face. The stairwell was dark, as usual. She clutched the silver dagger in her hand and bolted downstairs. The comforting clatter of Nick's footsteps followed her.
"Madeleine, you can't," he shouted when they'd reached the outside of her building.
She turned on him and pointed the knife at his chest. "Who's going to stop me? You?" He backed away. "I didn't think so." She spun away and stalked off into the dark streets, her whole focus on getting to Charlotte before something happened.
The next street over was busy enough for her to find a cab. She used the ride over to calm herself and try to devise a plan. Nothing came to mind except grab Charlotte and get the hell out of there. It was simple but effective. She had enough silver that it should protect both of them—if Charlotte was still okay.
This is my fault, she reproached herself silently.
Charlotte was being threatened because of her. She took a series of slow, deep breaths, trying to concentrate on the hope that Charlotte—practical, stable Charlotte—was simply having a moment of hysteria.
The club was jumping when the cabbie dropped her off out front. Music pulsated through the walls, and people spilled out of doors and hung out of windows. The neighbors must love this. Of course, the pawnshop on the corner and the liquor store nearby probably didn't care. More business for them.
She inhaled through her teeth and moved toward the front door. She hoped Charlotte had listened to her and stayed at the bar. She didn't know how she would find her friend otherwise.
Ignoring the people around the door, she started up the steps.
In the distance, over the noise, she heard it—her name.
"Madeleine!"
The crowd seemed to evaporate to her left for one moment, leaving a clear view of Charlotte. And another young woman. Panic poured from Charlotte's eyes as she fought against the stronger woman. The stranger didn't seem to notice her captive struggling. She just kept walking, moving farther away from Madeleine, pulling Charlotte behind her.
Madeleine plunged into the crowd, using Charlotte's screams as her guide. None of the other patrons seemed to even notice. They moved aside to let Madeleine pass, but no one offered to help. Charlotte and her captor turned down a narrow alley.
Madeleine ran to the entrance and stopped. It was a trap. She knew it but couldn't think of a different option. She couldn't leave Charlotte in there. It was her fault Charlotte was in this mess. Of course, she had never intended to get involved with a group of vampires, but that didn't mean much, standing on the edge of a dark alley. She tightened her fist around the silver dagger and held it down by her side.
The alley was filled with shadows, colorless shapes that sucked light from the world. Her fingers twitched on the hilt of the knife, cascading down the handle in an unsteady rhythm. She stepped forward and stared into the darkness, waiting for her eyes to adjust to the low light.
One of the shadows—deeper than the others, more real and solid—lay at the base of the wall not far from the entrance. The dim pile groaned.
"Charlotte?" She rushed to her friend's side and knelt down. "Char?"
A cool rush of air swooshe
d by her head, and invisible nails scraped across her back.
"Aahh!" Five lines of fire burned across Madeleine's skin. Grinding her teeth together, she spun around and placed her back against the wall. She stepped a few feet away from her friend's body, needing room for whatever was next. She held the silver knife in front of her chest and waited. The air began to churn again. Madeleine tensed. A heavy wind burst from her left side. Listening to instinct, she stabbed forward. An inhuman howl reverberated off the walls as her dagger connected with a solid body. Materializing from the air, he fell and landed at her feet with a thump and pained groan. The snarling creature turned his dark eyes to Madeleine. She could see a black trickle of blood oozing out the slash in his shirt where she'd cut him. The vampire bared his teeth and pushed himself up on one arm, leaning toward her.
She reached up and tugged on a light silver chain around her neck. As she pulled, the metal cut into her fingertips. With a quick jerk, the necklace came free. Madeleine flicked her wrist and tossed the silver chain at the vampire on the ground. His neck arched forward as the silver draped itself in a line across his face. He screamed. Even in the dim light Madeleine could see the burning wound that formed instantly across his face and the pain in his eyes.
The vampire rolled to his side and grabbed at the chain in frantic motions. The silver burned his fingers. He flipped over and the chain fell to the ground. Slowly, he crawled away, his burnt fingers clutching his scarred face. Grim satisfaction tightened Madeleine's eyes as she ignored the retreating vampire and focused her attention on the next attack.
Like a magician's show, a body appeared to her right and another to her left.
She bent her knees and dropped into what she hoped was a fighter's stance. She didn't know. She'd never had to fight her way out of a dark alley before. She kept both hands low—one holding the knife, the other a silver chain.
As a unit, the two people in front of her attacked. Madeleine swiped wide with the knife toward the vampire on her right and kicked out at the creature on her left. Searing pain raked through her back as the scratches from the first attack scraped against the brick wall. She had the satisfaction of hearing one of her attackers grunt as she swung the knife in a wide arc in front of her chest. The second vampire punched his fist forward and connected with the side of her head. Bright lights burst through her skull. She fell to the ground. Survival instinct spurred her on. She rolled to her back and held up the dagger like a shield. Shadows appeared out of the dark, creeping toward her.
She was going to die. In a dark, dirty alley.
One of the creatures stood near her legs. Light from a distant street lamp glinted off a streak of metal in his hand. He had a knife, too. Just an ordinary knife, but it wouldn't take a silver dagger to kill her.
She could sense her other attackers gathering around her fallen body, but she kept her eyes trained on the one in front. He seemed to be leading the charge. Her fingers tightened on the knife in her hand. She might die, but she was going to take some of them with her. He moved forward.
An animalistic growl filled the sky and bounced off the buildings. The stalking vampires froze. Darkness flashed through the alley, and with a cry, the vampire with the knife flew into the air and hit the brick wall with a sickening thud. He slid down the side and landed in a lump on the ground. He didn't get back up.
The atmosphere grew still with anticipation. A figure appeared, standing over the fallen vampire. Stephen.
He slowly turned to face the others, his long coat swirling with the movement. His lips pulled back into a snarl, his long canines bared in warning to his enemies. Red glowed in his eyes. Before he moved, the others began to inch away from Madeleine. Stephen leapt forward. Madeleine gasped as he flew across the distance and landed heavily on one of the vampires.
She jumped to her feet and raced to Charlotte's side, revitalized by Stephen's appearance. Stephen fought two attackers. One remained to stalk Madeleine. He flashed his fangs and growled as he walked forward.
She took one of the heavier chains off and began swinging it in a circle over her head. Each pass of the chain drew closer to the threatening vampire. He bobbed back and forth trying to stay out of range of the necklace and the knife she still wielded. He lunged forward. Madeleine swiped the necklace down and across his neck. The air sizzled with his cry, and a black scrape instantly appeared at the open neck of his shirt. Madeleine raised the knife. She wasn't sure she could actually kill one of them, but she hid her indecision behind a hate-filled glare. The vampire backed away. She took one threatening step. He turned and ran.
She spun around, her weapons held ready.
One vampire lay at Stephen's feet, unmoving. Stephen held the final attacker in one hand—that hand was wrapped around the vampire's throat. Madeleine shivered as she stared at Stephen. He looked barely human. He stared at the writhing vampire as if he were nothing more than a bug set before him to torture. His fingers tightened on the man's throat. Another whimper followed. Madeleine could see Stephen's fingers slowly squeeze. He was going to crush the man's neck. She slid the knife into her back pocket.
"Stephen!"
"She's mine!" Stephen growled with clenched, fanged teeth.
"Stephen, stop!" Her shout was ignored. She stepped forward and pulled on Stephen's arm. He snapped his head in her direction. Crazed fury filled his eyes, and he stared at her as if he didn't recognize her.
"Stephen?" she asked in a soothing voice. "Sweetheart? Are you listening? Put him down." She kept up a steady stream of words—soothing, calming words, mixed with commands to release the other vampire.
The vampire had stopped struggling and hung limp at the end of Stephen's hand. Slowly, he looked up at his captive, then returned his gaze to Madeleine. A faint glimmer of light stared back at her through the blackness of his eyes. After a moment, the light grew bigger.
"Put him down, Stephen."
At her firm command, he lowered his arm and released him. The body crumpled to the ground. Madeleine knelt by the fallen vampire and pressed her fingers against his neck. "Will he have a pulse?" She'd felt Stephen's heart beating when they'd made love but couldn't remember the sound.
"Of a sort." The words were cold and muffled. Madeleine glanced up. His canine teeth were still extended, making his words blurred. "It will be much slower than a human's."
A slow throb pulsed beneath her fingertips.
"He's still alive," she said with a sigh of relief.
"Good. Now I can kill him."
Madeleine threw her body in front of the injured vampire. "No."
Fire flashed in Stephen's eyes. She tensed, but she didn't back down.
"Get out of the way, Maddie." She shook her head, and he said, "He touched what is mine. It's my right."
The bold, overwhelming possessiveness should have bothered her, but it didn't. The feminist side of her protested, of course, but she decided now was probably not the time to tell him she belonged to no one. He didn't look in the mood for that sort of discussion.
The red glow in his eyes returned as he tried to move around her.
"Let him go," she whispered. Her gaze locked with his. After an eternity of mere seconds, the hatred faded from his eyes, and he nodded. Not quite trusting his easy capitulation, she kept her body in front of the other vampire.
"I'm not going to hurt him, Madeleine." She arched her eyebrows in disbelief, and he muttered, "Not much. I just want to ask him a few questions."
Now that was something Madeleine could get behind. She'd been set up and she wanted to know why. She nodded and moved to the side, though she stayed near the fallen man.
The vampire's eyes were half shut but snapped open as Stephen stood over him. His gaze darted between Madeleine and Stephen, finally landing on the glittering display of silver hanging around Madeleine's neck. His eyes widened, and he started to press himself up. With a look of disgust, Stephen pushed him down and placed his boot on the man's chest.
"Not so fast, Antonio. We
need to have a little chat."
"I-I don't have to tell you anything." He seemed to gather courage with each word. Madeleine trailed her finger along the chains. Antonio flinched and turned back to Stephen.
Stephen's approving nod sent a warm flush over her body. This was something new. They'd talked, they'd made love—now they were working together. It was intimacy of a different sort.
"Really, Antonio, I think you want to tell me everything. Or I'll just beat the hell out of you until you're so weak you can't crawl to cover. The sun should be up in a few hours. I understand it's a very painful way to die."
"You wouldn't dare. I work for the Council."
Stephen's smile, more frightening than facing five vampires in a dark alley, sent a chill through Madeleine's chest. "And you know how concerned I am about the Council's good opinion. Now, before I crumple your body like a poorly written letter, who sent you?"
Antonio pressed his lips together. Madeleine could see him fighting for his courage. He surreptitiously looked around.
"Your friends are gone," she warned. "You won't get any help there."
"You're just a human. What do you know?"
Madeleine had had a bad day and a tough week. She wasn't in the mood for attitude. Without clearly thinking, she ripped off another chain and slapped it across the back of Antonio's hand. He yelped and jerked his hand away.
"Didn't they warn you she's got a temper?" Stephen interjected with an insincere smile. "Now, who sent you after Madeleine?"
Antonio looked away.
"Antonio, I'm not going to ask you again. Who?"
"The Council. They want her dead."
"Who on the Council gave the order?"
"Thomass."
Stephen nodded and stepped away.
Madeleine watched the defeated vampire crawl backward on his hands. Not far, just out of Stephen's reach.
"That's it?" Madeleine asked. "Don't you want to know why?"
"Does it matter?"
Silver Dagger Page 15