Wreathed in Flame (Faith of the Fallen Book 3)

by Cassandra Sky West

  Memories of her time in the Fae came crashing down on her as Warren’s blood unlocked the spell which held them back. She remembered all of it from the moment the swamp tried to kill her, to when they returned home to earth.

  Visions of Rayburn tearing Savanna apart flooded her mind and she knew she could indulge no longer. With effort, she broke the connection. At some point, she had pushed Warren down and crawled on top of him to hold him there while she fed. His eyes were unfocused and dazed as he looked up at her.

  “Thank you, Warren. I knew I could count on you.” She leaned down and placed a chaste kiss on his cheek. He mumbled his reply and waved his fingers drowsily in the air.

  Alexi climbed off him, retrieved the shotgun and headed for the door. The power the fae gave her buzzed beneath her skin. She could feel it within her, burning her up on the inside while granting her energy beyond anything she had ever felt from a feeding.

  “I’m coming Savanna. Hang on hon, just hang on.”

  “They’re in there, boss,” Ace said to Rayburn as they huddled on the roof over looking their prey. It took them a while, but they tracked her down. First to an apartment building a mile away, then to this recreation center. They could all smell her blood. There had been plenty on the sword of the man who hired him. He had laughed at the idea of a blade over a gun, but the more he thought about it, the more it made sense. He would have to look into getting one for himself.

  “Okay, tell everyone to be ready. I want maximum threat here. I don’t know who’s in there with her and I want them to surrender before the fight even starts.”

  “Should be easy. Pedro says a bunch of women went in and no one else. Three to five people, tops.”

  That was good, since he was down a man. Carter hadn’t woken up yet from Alexi’s feeding. He should have. He had seen wolves bitten by vampires before, they would regenerate like normal after. Carter seemed to be in some kind of coma.

  Rayburn’s mind turned to darker places, places he would love to go and bring the vampire whore along with him. He chuckled loud enough that it caught Ace’s attention.

  “Sir?”

  “Yeah, let’s go,” he grumbled. The chest of gold he was promised for killing this one was waiting for him, not to mention his bonus for handing over Alexi’s blood to the fae.

  The pack howled as they prepared to attack. The sound echoed down the streets and reverberated in his bones. They wouldn’t know what hit them.

  The building he was on was a few stories taller than the rec-center. He ran toward the edge of the roof and leaped out into the night. Rayburn hit the wooden roof and his weight forced beams and tinder to shatter under his assault, sending him to the floor with a tremendous crash.

  “Hand over the imp,” he roared before the dust stopped falling. His pack scrambled into the hall behind, less dramatic but no less scary as they had shifted to their hybrid form.

  Rayburn had seen a lot of strange things in his life, but it hadn’t prepared him for this.

  The five women were seated in a circle, each one had their left hand out and they were taking turns slitting their palm open with an ornate dagger.

  The fear he craved in his victims was evident in the women. They all screamed as his pack growled and roared. One of them broke and ran. She leaped up from the circle and hustled for the door, screaming the entire time.

  “Clarice, no!” the witch screamed.

  One of the wolves leaped on her, the sound of breaking bones filled the room. She screamed as he bit into her. The smell of fear and fresh blood was too much for his pack. They burst into a feeding frenzy. Shifting to full wolf they bit down on her and ripped chunks of her flesh apart. Her intoxicating screams of pain lasted a few more moments until Pedro ripped her throat out.

  Rayburn didn’t look, instead he focused on the remaining women. He grinned as the sounds of torn flesh and gnawing wolves filled the hall.

  “That is what is going to happen to all of you if you don’t hand over the imp,” Rayburn growled as he stalked forward. The sound of tearing ligaments and flesh punctuated his menacing voice.

  “Never happen!” The witch with the oddly violet eyes scooped up the dagger the dead woman had left behind and jammed it through her palm. Blood dripped form the blade down to drop on the floor. Light bursts from the drawn circles, spreading as power flowed through them. Rayburn charged. He was going to pull flay that little…

  His face impacted on thin air, smashing his nose and flinging him backward to slide to a halt on the floor.

  “It’s called magic, moron,” the witch mocked him. “When I’m done here, I’m going to make you pay for this.”

  “You think so? Keep dreaming. You can’t bleed forever and when you drop your spell, we eat. I was going to let you all go with nothing more than a nights partying for the boys, but now you’re our next meal.”

  He wasn’t wrong. Poor Clarice! She’d told them not to leave the circle. They were seconds from completing the spell when he had crashed through the roof. If she had only completed the ritual, Savanna could have protected them all.

  Clarice’s death was another on her head, like the Arcanum agent who had been pulled apart by zombies when she let herself be distracted. Like Connor.

  She closed her eyes and forced her mind to block it out. There was no other way. Clarice was already dead, she couldn’t change it. If she stopped the spell now, the rest of them would die too, including Tink.

  She looked to each of the remaining women. Bethany, Marta, Keisha and Caitlin. They were her friends, her new family, and they were terrified. She didn’t need to be a vampire or a wolf to smell the fear on them. They still held their hands out, letting the blood slowly drip on the last circle surrounding Tink.

  “S-s-savanna?” Caitlin said through trembling lips. Her skin had turned ashen with fear. One of the wolves prowled around the edge of the circle mere inches from them. Blood and saliva dripped from his mouth as he growled.

  “I know you’re all afraid, I am too. You have to trust me, we can hold out long enough.”

  “Long e-e-enough for what,” Marta said, her fear making her accent almost impossible for Savanna to understand.

  “For Alexi to save us. Make no mistake, she is coming.”

  Rayburn chuckled as he leaned forward from where he fell. He rested an arm on an upturned knee for a moment.

  “Ha, your vampire friend is dead, witch. Me and the boys killed her before we came here to visit you. Dead.”

  “You’re a terrible liar, Rayburn,” she turned to her fellow witches and looked them in the eye. “Trust me, Alexi is coming.” Savanna looked at each of her witches with more confidence than she felt.

  Bethany opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out. Finally, it was Caitlin who spoke, “She can kill them, right?”

  Savanna thought carefully about her next words. She wasn’t exactly the best liar in the world either, but she channeled her fear into one gaze she leveled at Rayburn, “I’ve seen the future, Rayburn, and you’re not in it.”

  John flinched at the scream. He couldn’t wait any longer. He would have to hope Alexi came in the next few minutes to help him, but no matter the cost, he couldn’t stand by while people were being murdered.

  “Seven-Twenty-Charlie to base, I’m investigating a possible disturbance at my location, send backup,” he said to the dispatcher that monitored his radio. The response was lost in the background as he pulled his Glock, chambered a round, and jogged up the steps.

  The front door swung open easily enough. A large lobby, with multiple doors for a weight room, entertainment room, and lounge spread out from the first floor. In the back, a small staircase went up half a floor to a double door leading to the recreation room.

  John blanched. Horrendous growling, tearing, and snapping, sounds came from the other side of the door. He prayed silently it wasn’t what it sounded like.

  He thought about calling for backup immediately, but what would the other cops do? Hell, he didn
’t know what he was going to do? Savanna’s voice carried through the noise, she was yelling at someone. He slunk up the stairs, carefully putting one foot in front of the other, using the sides of the stairs to avoid squeaking. His ragged breath was getting out of control.

  Fear reared up in him, stiffening his spine and making his fingers numb. Sweat broke out all over him as he moved closer to the sounds of rending flesh.

  Even with all the time he spent in Iraq and on the force, John couldn’t recall feeling more fear than he did in that moment. With a shaky hand, he reached down and made sure his backup piece was in place.

  “I’ve seen the future, Rayburn, you’re not in it,” heard Savanna say. She was safe at least. He pushed his ear to the door to see if he could make anything else out.

  He tried to jerk his head away as the door banged open. It caught him in the side, knocking him to the floor. He crashed into the railing. Pain blossomed in his ankle as claws sank into flesh. He lowered his gun with both hands and put the monsters head squarely in his sights. For a brief moment, his brain refused to acknowledge what it saw.

  A massive woman with large shoulders, the head of a wolf, and grossly long arms ending in clawed hands, dragged him into the room.

  He fired his Glock, the bullets ripped into her flesh as he walked the bullets up her back to her head. The fifteen-round magazine clicked empty within a few seconds.

  The hollow point bullets tore massive gouges in her flesh sending blood and tissue flying through the room.

  She didn’t let go. With her free hand, she batted his gun away, knocking it from his hand to crash into the wall. When she turned back to pull him farther in, all her wounds were gone.

  He screamed as she twisted her clawed hands into his leg and hoisted him up in the air. Hot blood ran down his leg toward the floor.

  It was Rayburn’s lucky day. As far as he was concerned, his life was blessed.

  “Now isn’t this nice. Someone you know, little witch?” The moment Amber had hoisted her catch into the air and let him spin around, the witch’s body had betrayed her. She was more terrified for this man than she was for herself.

  “Yeah, you know him.” Rayburn held his hand out, wiggling his fingers. The flesh and bone of his arm swirled like water in a funnel and reformed into a hand with long fingers ending in sharp claws.

  “How about I skin him while you watch? I can make him last for hours before he dies. He will beg me to kill him before I’m through… or, you can drop your little spell now. Hand over the girl, and we all part ways amicably like. Well, after the boys and I have a li’l fun, that is.” He licked his lips in anticipation.

  The witch glared at him as she remained silent.

  “Fine, have it your way. Don’t say I didn’t offer you a chance to surrender.” He laughed, she really had the hate stare down pat. It didn’t bother him, if she could do something, she would. Eventually her friends would run out of blood and that would be that.

  “Savanna,” one of the women muttered.

  “What are you doing in there anyway….” Rayburn stepped as close as he dare, not wanting to touch the shield again.

  “Hang in there Marta, Alexi is coming.”

  “You’re healing the imp? My, my, you’re full of surprises.” The irony of it made Rayburn smile. They were spending their lives healing the creature he was going to kill. Which would mean he would get to kill them all and all he had to do was wait.

  “Whatever you think you know, Rayburn, Alexi is coming. You don’t even rate on the list of things she’s had to kill. Master vampires, demons, werewolves, she’s killed them all. They’re gone, she’s not. Think about that. If you leave now you might get to live through this.”

  The conviction in her voice had him hesitate for a moment. Then, his ego kicked in.

  “Pshh. She’ll get here in time to join the party—” A bullet ripped through his jaw as the human rapid-fired a small pistol. The next caught him in the throat then his chest. They hurt, but it was momentary.

  “Dammit, Amber! Deal with it!” he roared at her. She slashed his arm to force him to drop the gun.

  “Damn humans and their guns. How many does he have?”

  She shook the man hard until he screamed from the pain in his leg. A badge fell from his waist to land on the floor, along with another gun.

  “I love the taste of bacon,” Amber said.

  Rayburn knelt down. The wound in his face closed almost immediately as he picked up the badge and ID that fell.

  “Detective John Yu, eh? Well, Detective Yu, I want you to know, what happens next is indeed personal,” he laughed.

  “Alexi’s going to kick your ass,” the detective growled at him.

  “Kill him,” he ordered.

  Amber growled in response.

  Rayburn turned to Savanna, “You can still stop it sweet-cheeks. Open the field and…” He was interrupted by the Detective first scream which was followed by the sound of shattering bone. Amber growled as she took another bite.

  “Guess not,” he grinned. Things were going well. Soon he would have his bounty, the wolves would be satiated, then maybe they would stop bitching about the lack of action.

  This was better than the deal with the troll. More money, more action. The smell of blood and screams called to him. His inner wolf begged him to be released and join the feast. A quick look told him the rest of the wolves were seconds from pouncing on the cop and ripping him apart. Only having already fed on a live prey held them back.

  He wanted the cop to suffer a slow death, to prolong the agony and hopefully get the witch to lower the field. One look at the determination on her brown face told him she wasn’t going to.

  “Rip him apart.”

  The cop screamed as Amber tossed him to the ground. He pushed with his good leg, the other, nothing more than a bloody stump, until his back hit the wall.

  Ace closed in on him first, his body shifting and swirling as he flowed from hybrid to wolf. The cop screamed as the beast raked at him with one massive paw.

  Change his wolf urged him. Rayburn smiled. It was time. He stepped forward to shift into his wolf form with eager anticipation—

  The double doors exploded off the frame. Wooden shrapnel blasted through the room. All the wolves turned to look.

  Alexi breezed through the door.

  “Forget the cop! Kill her!” he roared.

  Rayburn’s spirits dimmed for a moment as Ace charged her on all fours. There was something different about her. A halo of light around her he hadn’t seen before.

  The blonde’s eyes caught sight of the cop and then she turned her brilliant blue orbs on the wolves. She was ice. No way she could walk in here and not be afraid unless…Rayburn glanced down at her hands, she held a sawed-off double barrel shotgun at her side.

  “Ace, wait—”

  His warning came too late. Ace leaped the last few feet at her. She held her place and just as he was about to bowl her over she whipped up the shotgun and jammed it in his mouth.

  The wolf’s head exploded out the back of his skull along with most of his gray matter. The body fell to the ground, human before it landed. A sure sign that Ace no longer lived.

  The sudden death of their pack mate left the other wolves stunned. Alexi leaped over the body and ran to where the cop had crawled.

  She stood over him, her eyes burning with an inner fire matched only by the hallo of blue light that swirled around her.

  Pedro and Amber circled her, one going left, the other right. Rayburn signaled the Francoise to flank her. Rayburn slid to the left, hoping to pounce on her the moment she gave him an opening. She jerked open the breach, two hot shells jumped out to clatter on the floor. In a blur of motion, she jammed more in and slammed the breach closed.

  Alexi didn’t wait for them to come to her. She charged Amber and let loose a devastating flying kick that sent the wolf sliding on the hard wood floor. Pedro leaped after her, she spun between eye blinks and jammed the barrel against
his stomach.

  BOOM.

  Both barrels fired at once. The explosive shot tore the wolf in half. He only stayed together by the thinnest of tissues, two halves of a human body hit the floor in a sickening crunch.

  She moved faster than Rayburn could track. One second, she kicked Francoise in the face. The next, she landed on Ambers sprawled form to smash her head against the hardwood floor. She discarded the empty shotgun after breaking the handle against Amber’s head.

  Francoise, a towering black man nearly six and a half feet tall, shifted into his hybrid form. He pulled Alexi off Amber with his thick arms wrapped around her chest.

  Amber scrambled to her feet, she held her arm back waiting for an opening to jam her clawed hand through the vampire.

  Alexi swung her legs up, then forcefully down, her momentum pulled the black man off balance and she slammed her boot heel into the top of his foot.

  Amber lunged forward, her clawed hand angled like a spear. Alexi dropped to the ground, Amber’s blow slammed Francoise in the chest instead.

  Suddenly, Amber howled as her knee cracked sideways. The vampires rolled out from under the two wounded wolves. She brought her elbow down on the back of Francoise head to crash him on top of Amber.

  Rayburn roared with laughter as he clapped his hands together.

  “You think a few broken bones and a slap on the face will beat us? Darlin’ you don’t know the half of it. Without your silver cannon, we win. Eventually you’ll tire, we won’t. Then you, and your little friends are dinner.”

  Alexi knew he was right. Warren’s blood boiled within her, she had more than enough power to do this for a while, but no real way to kill them. The shotgun certainly thinned their numbers, but there was still three of them, and one of her. Poor John didn’t have much time left, he three shades paler than he should have been, and from the pool of blood at his feet—he was almost gone. She couldn’t lose him too.