Savannah Past Midnight

by Christine Edwards

  “That’s strange. You didn’t feel that way when we first met, when I showed you things you’d never dreamed of.”

  “Shut up, Tristan!”

  My mind momentarily blanks in a rage so black and toxic that it’s a wonder it’s not oozing out of my pores. The thought of him fucking my girl, touching her in any way, makes me mental, on the verge of going ballistic. But I have to stay in control, or I’m no good to her.

  For what seems like the hundredth time I strain with all I have against the steel cuffs. Nothing. I can’t budge an inch. My hands are locked behind my back to a thick metal pole that runs from floor to ceiling. We’re in the hull of a large ship, I can tell by the surrounding sheets of riveted metal and the way the floor sways beneath my feet. I feel the eyes of the five other vampires on me as the gravity of the situation hits home. Even if I got free, I’d be lucky to take two, maybe three of them out … that is, if I wasn’t already beaten half to hell. It’s been close to an hour since they tossed us into the back of a van, bound and hooded. Beating me over and over again on the ride to the waterfront was just their warm-up for the evening. I’m furious that she didn’t trace to get help, but she more than likely wanted to know exactly where we were headed, fearing that they’d kill me simply to make a point.

  Dammit girl, you should’ve listened to me.

  My eyes bore into hers and I know that she reads both my anger and concern. I wrack my brain for some way, any way, to get her out of here in one piece. Chances are, neither of us will survive this night.

  She jerks against him again and seethes, “Why are you doing this, Tristan? You must have a death wish because you have to know that my family will seek revenge against you. They already suspect that you’re behind the wolf attacks, and there’s no denying it now.

  He bursts out laughing at her and I want to smash his face in, fangs first.

  “She’s such a charmer, isn’t she? Unfortunately for you, my sweet, all of this falls on your shoulders. There is no denying the truth. Now it’s time to pay.”

  “What the fuck are you talking about? Are you seriously doing all of this because I dumped you?”

  My fists tighten up as his eyes go as hard as flint. He drags her closer, pulling her within an inch of his face. “This isn’t about feelings or pride; this is about power. Your arrogance and entitlement put a crimp in my plans, Cosette, and for that alone you will be punished.”

  Practically hissing she says, “Enlighten me on your plans, you sick fuck.”

  “Watch your mouth, Miss Beauvais.”

  She shocks the shit out of me by hauling back and spitting right in his face.

  Holy fuck.

  In a flash of movement—so fast that my eyes can’t track it—his fangs pierce her neck as she screams and tries to fight him, but the cuffs make her actions futile and it becomes clear that she’s unable to trace with him holding onto her.

  “Enough!” I roar from across the room. “Get off her! Drink me!”

  He continues until I think I’ll lose my mind. Finally he pulls back, his maniacal laughter bouncing off the steel walls. Her crimson blood drips down his face and saturates his light hair. “The pride and honor of a fighter. I would never let our little Cosette miss the show.”

  I’m practically foaming at the mouth as I seethe, “Turn me! Turn me so I can fuck you up, ’cause I swear to God, you do it and I’ll rip your head right off your body, motherfucker.”

  He keeps laughing, which makes me even more pissed off.

  “Really, Cosette, your standards have plummeted. A thug who barely has a grasp on the English language. Tsk tsk, I can only imagine what Severin must think. He must be positively appalled. And to think you could have had it all. You could have been at my side when I take total control of the South.”

  “You’re deranged. There are too many vampire covens around to stop you.”

  “Not if they don’t know it’s me taking them down. See, that’s where the wolves come in. It’s taken me years of preparation and planning, but I’ve slowly and methodically injected them with minute amounts of vampire blood, giving each new litter additional strength—the superior strength needed to fight against our kind. I figured once the other covens’ numbers are decimated, it won’t take me long to swoop in and claim what’s mine. I should actually thank Severin for taking out Valdon for me. He was the only vampire who ever posed any real threat to my plans. Now that he’s gone and most of his men have returned to the old country, Charleston and the remainder of the Southeast are mine for the taking.”

  “That’s insane. There’s no way you can control wolves to do your bidding, Tristan. They are wild animals and will inevitably turn on you.”

  “That’s where you’re so wrong, darling. They are trained from a young age to attack by scent.”

  “What?” she whispers in disbelief.

  “They are given the scent of enemy vampires and food is withheld, sometimes for days. They are ravenous and trained for aggression. We really have come up with a positively gruesome Pavlovian style of conditioning. I underestimated your will to live, Cosette, I really did, because I never thought you would be able to escape from my most powerful wolf, but from what I’ve heard about that night, your survival was mostly due to timing and luck. No matter, I will have the pleasure of watching you fight him once again later tonight. The prospect makes me strangely excited.”

  “You’re sick, Tristan. There is no way you’ll get away with this. You’ll be caught and put to death. It’s just a matter of time. My family will hunt you down. They will never stop until you are obliterated.”

  “So naive, my little Cosette.” He looks over to one of the guards, “Release her boyfriend. I want her to see what a pathetic choice she’s made.”

  Raw, burning anger flares in me as I stare across into his cold eyes and think to myself, You’re going to eat those words, you jackass. If it’s with my dying breath, I’ll make damned certain of it.

  The dark-haired vampire on my left closes in on me with an arrogant sneer and I steel myself for the fight that’s about to bust open. He catches me off guard, gripping me brutally by the throat and dragging me up the pole until I’m suspended several feet in the air. Still bound, I can do nothing to defend myself, aside from kicking my feet out in a wild attempt to get him to let go of my airway.

  I’m starting to black out when I hear the guards laughing and Cosette wailing desperately, “Make him stop! Release him!”

  “Yes, unchain him, Lucas. Let us all see our tough prize fighter in action.”

  His hand opens and I’m dropped right onto my ass, where I gasp desperately for air. He reaches behind me and with his bare hands snaps the chain between the cuffs. Instantly I scramble backward, struggling to get my feet beneath me. My opponent is standing ten feet away, an annoyed look on his face, most likely because he’s being forced to fight a lowly human.

  I drop a shoulder and rush him but he steps away in a blur of motion and I slam hard into the steel wall that should have been him. Snickers of amusement fill the dank enclosure as I whip around and take off after him again, this time going right for his throat. If I can just get him beneath me on the ground ….

  My fingers don’t even make it to his body. As swift as a cobra, he strikes out, twisting my forearm until it snaps in a sickening crunch from the brute force.

  The mind-bending agony explodes hard and fast. The compound fracture is so crushing that I’m brought to my knees. There’s nothing I can do to stop my own guttural screams. I try not to look down at the bone and blood that’s spewing out of my arm, but I can’t help it.

  Cosette is hysterical, yelling frantically and doing anything she can to fight off Tristan. It’s no use. He forces her to watch, saying, “I’m bored now. He was even weaker than I predicted. Drain him.”

  I’m hauled to my knees, forced to face them as the bloodsucker sinks his knife-like fangs mercilessly into my neck.

  “Noooo!” Cosette wails a heartbroken sob that�
��s worse than a fuckin’ dagger to my heart. “I’ll stay with you, anything! Just set him free, Tristan, please. I beg you!”

  “No. You had your chance. Your fate was sealed when you turned and walked away from me in my own club. Your time is up, my beauty.”

  The greedy bloodsucker is drawing me down in heaving pulls and my vision is starting to waver when Tristan leans over, piercing Cosette in the neck once again.

  How the fuck did it come to this? Should’ve done more, should’ve fought harder ….

  From deep within the shadows I hear a female voice, so alluring that it sounds almost dreamlike, something like ringing chimes. In a cold tone she asks, “A party? And no one thought to invite me? Now that really is a shame.”

  My last glimpse is of Cosette’s tear-streaked face as her eyes flare wide. Then everything fades to black.

  ***

  Tristan’s sucking voraciously at my neck and I’ve just about given up hope when I hear a familiar voice that sends shockwaves of hope through me.

  Impossible!

  My eyes shift and I stare at the vision that emerges from the far corner of the hull.

  “Katerina.” The name emerges as a whisper of solemn reverence from my lips.

  Tristan withdraws his teeth from my neck and snarls, “Who the hell are you?”

  She smiles pleasantly at him. “Why, I’m your worst nightmare, darling.”

  “But … but you’re supposed to be dead,” I whisper.

  She tosses a length of glorious hair over her shoulder, all seductive grace as she smiles down at me. “I don’t see why a vampire can’t fake her own death, do you?” Before I can respond she adds, “Now, unfortunately for you, Tristan, as retribution for trying to kill something that belongs to me, you and I have a date, one that I’m betting you won’t enjoy in the least. Oh, and such a shame, too, because that beautifully tailored Armani you’re sporting won’t fare too well with what I have planned for us.”

  “Get her!” he bellows.

  She gives a playful laugh as four of the guards rush her at once. The first one is closing in on her as she takes a blade out of the folds of her gown and flips it straight at him. He howls as it sinks deep into his left eyeball. The second guard launches over him and she catches him, ripping his throat clean out with her fangs and discarding his body in a corner like a bag off trash. These acts of speed and prowess cause the final two vampires to hesitate as the lead guard snarls viciously and stands, shoving Colton roughly away. My love keels over onto his side into a crumpled heap, and my heart sinks.

  Hold on for me, please, Colton. I love you.

  I watch for any sign of life, but his face and neck are both coated in blood and it’s not looking good. Frantic, I use all my remaining energy to scramble toward him, dragging Tristan along with me. Torn between the distraction of Katerina and holding onto me, he shouts angrily and releases his hold on my hair.

  My hands are restrained in front but I manage to I run the backs of my fingers across Colton’s shoulder, desperate for a reaction, any at all. His body is still and covered in a sheen of sweat and blood. I lean over him. “Colton? Can you hear me? Hang on! Don’t give up on me, cowboy.”

  Blood is spraying from the vicious massacre that’s happening behind us. From our time together I know Katerina’s strength and skills as a fighter surpass those of any other vampire. She could hold her own against twenty of our kind, but still, I hesitate to leave her in case she needs me. I glance back over my shoulder in time to see her fangs retract from the final guard. The man who Colton could not stop drops at her feet. Her silver gown is now splattered with scarlet, making her look like a moving abstract painting.

  With measured steps, Tristan begins to circle her, sizing her up for weaknesses. As far as I can recall, she has none. The only vampire who ever posed a threat to her was her own creator, Valdon, and now that he’s an ash heap, she fears no one.

  “Your skills are impressive, Katerina. I’ve never seen a vampire fight like you just did.”

  Her stare is cold and hard as she replies, “That’s because none can, you sycophant. Now come, Tristan, it’s nearly dawn and you and I have a date we must not be late for.”

  “A date, you say? You must be mad. I’m not going anywhere with you.”

  She licks her lush lips. “Oh, I beg to differ.” With her topaz eyes locked on his every move she calls out, “Cosette, you need to trace your human to Severin immediately. His heart is about to give out and you’ve lost too much blood to turn him yourself.”

  I strain and manage to break the cuffs as I pull Colton up and into my lap. Katerina’s dark prediction makes me cling tight to his unconscious body.

  Have to slow my thoughts and focus to trace us safely.

  Tracing with a human is incredibly dangerous. Often they don’t make it. Only under dire circumstances do we ever attempt it. And this is the very definition of worst case scenario.

  Tristan’s unholy roar makes me jump and when I whip back around they’ve both disappeared. Whatever is about to happen to him is well-deserved retribution, but there’s no time to think on it now. I have to get Colton help. I only hope that Severin wasn’t right when he foretold my lover’s death. If he’s too far gone to be turned, then I may as well be dead, because a future without Colton would be unbearable.

  Chapter Fourteen

  5:57 a.m.

  South of Charleston

  I trace us to the center of the living room, clinging to the thread of hope that someone will be around.

  “Oh my God!” Alina’s shriek cuts through the fight scene of The Bourne Ultimatum and the normally cool, unaffected Ambrose jumps up in shock at the gruesome sight of our bloody arrival.

  She immediately races down the hall, most likely to get Severin.

  I’m so wired with panic that I struggle to push out the words from my trembling lips, “Help him, Ambrose, he’s dying. Please!”

  Instantly he springs into action. “Release him, Cosette. Now!”

  He practically has to pry Colton out of my vice-like grip. I stay close, hovering like a hawk as he sits down on the floor, his longs legs straight out and his back leaning up against the end of the sectional. In a smooth motion he drags Colton’s back against his chest. If anyone can keep calm under pressure, it’s Ambrose. He’s witnessed multiple lifetimes of carnage and learned at an early age to methodically process and deal with each and every chaotic situation that rolls his way. He uses two fingers to swiftly work Colton’s lips open before ripping into his own flesh. His wrist is facing up and I watch the blood stream over the sides as it begins to drip in scarlet drops across battered Colton’s face. He adjusts his wrist twice, positioning it perfectly before flipping it over and securing it tightly to Colton’s parted lips.

  “Cosette!”

  Severin’s distraught voice slices like a blade through the tension. Dropping to one knee, he touches my back. “Cosette, are you all right? Look at me.”

  “I … I’m fine, oh God, help Ambrose!” My eyes shine with tears as I finally look over at him. “He has to make it, Severin. I … I can’t lose him.”

  He goes still, hearing the desperation in my voice. The only times I’ve ever asked for his help were in rare circumstances far beyond my control.

  Calla and Alina are standing close, eager to lend a hand. Severin leans over Colton’s chest, holding up a finger for us to remain silent as he listens for a pulse. I nearly collapse as he nods once to Ambrose.

  “Bloody hell, can’t believe the big bastard’s still breathing after the beat down he took. I’ve seen numerous men bite it from far less trauma than this. He’s a fighter all right. Have to make a mental note to watch this one in the ring, assuming that he makes it through the change. Hard to even tell if any is getting down his throat. I have his head tipped back as far as his neck will allow.”

  Severin’s eyes fly between Colton’s chest and Ambrose. “We’re not out of the woods yet. His pulse is incredibly faint. Keep your wrist la
tched onto him. The blood could take a few minutes to take effect.”

  His head turns and his eyes track my own injuries, which are taking longer than usual to heal because Tristan took so much blood from me.

  “This is the work of Tristan, I presume?”

  “Yes.”

  “They will regret ever touching you, Cosette. Nobody harms a Beauvais without payback. You’re low on blood.” He nods at Calla. “Come, Calla, assist us. Cosette needs to drink.”

  “Absolutely.”

  She sits beside me on the floor, bites into her delicate wrist and offers it to me.

  “Thank you, Calla.” My lips close over her wound as she says encouragingly, “Take as much as you need.”

  “Anything yet?” Alina asks, her voice worried as she stands beside Ambrose, arms folded.

  His blond brows snap together. “Wait … I felt something. Yes, just there! He’s drinking. I felt him drawing from me. Thank fuck for that!”

  Covered in dried blood, Colton’s body suddenly jolts hard as a guttural groan of pain comes forth from deep within his chest. Ambrose urges, “Go on, drink up. You’ll be right as rain before you know it.”

  Calla’s blood is already nourishing me, and my former strength returns in a rush. My eyes slide shut for a moment to try and comprehend what’s occurred. He made it. Now I can only hope that he’s not furious that he didn’t have a choice in his future.

  I release Calla’s wrist, wipe the traces of blood from my lips and say apprehensively, “There’s something else.”

  All eyes fly to mine as I continue hesitantly, not knowing how to deliver the shocking news. “Tristan and his men are gone, wiped out, and I wasn’t the one to do it. I know this will sound unbelievable, but it was Katerina who saved us tonight. She showed up at the eleventh hour. She’s back.”

  A bomb could have detonated in the center of the room and nobody would have noticed.

  ***

  Thank fucking Christ that the burning has let up! Hell, for a while, it felt like my own blood was boiling me alive. I desperately want to pry my eyes open, but just that simple act seems exhausting. I’m worried about Cosette and I need to get my shit together because my last coherent thought was the stuff of nightmares that happen in filthy back alleys.