“Pathetic shifter. You think to steal my prize?”
“Where is she? Where is Thessalonike?” I demanded as she reached for me, holding me now as she had held Ramara.
She laughed, and it wasn’t a pretty sound. If she weren’t so nuts and bloodthirsty, she might have been attractive. She laughed again and said, “Shifters think of nothing but sex and food. We have a lot in common.” Then she licked my face as if I were a lollipop or something. It didn’t turn me on.
“I doubt it, lady.”
“I am Vega. You will know me…and fear me!”
Dangling from her hand now, I felt my feet lift off the floor. “Okay, Vegas.” She scowled at me. Yeah, I got that from women a lot. Then Kendra appeared, dousing the vamp with gasoline. Vega didn’t seem to care or notice.
“Where’s the damn lighter, Cruise?” Kendra screamed at me. Then she was gone. Whatever had disappeared into the dark hallway flew into the room and took her away. Her hands reached for me, and I heard just the beginnings of a scream.
“No! Kendra!” I shouted, angry tears popping up in my eyes. I heard her screaming in anger, presumably as she fought with her attacker. I struggled harder against Vega’s grip, but it didn’t do me any good. I gasped for air and felt my eyes swell with the pressure of the vamp’s hand. Then I heard her scream furiously. Ramara was there; he was unable to stand, but his necklace glowed in the near darkness as he reached for her leg and twisted it savagely. Opportunity didn’t have to slap me in the face twice. I could finally take in some air, and that gave me the strength I needed to punch her full in the mouth.
Or so I thought.
Her bony hand clasped mine before it connected to her face, like an adult would have clasped a naughty child’s. Ramara was down again. I couldn’t even call his name, but I didn’t give up. I couldn’t go out like this. I had too much to live for. Vega held my neck with her right hand, squeezing it harder, and crunched my fingers with her left. Furiously I dug my left hand into my uniform pocket and felt for the lighter. Success! I grabbed it, feeling the flint with my fingers. I tried lighting her sleeve, hair—anything I could. I felt my eyesight dim; the room was going dark, but I flicked away until I heard a sizzling sound. She immediately dropped me and stared at her gauzy black sleeve that was now being licked by flames. The flame reached the gasoline Kendra had spilled on her, and in a few seconds Vega became a ball of writhing fire. She reached for me, but I stepped back and avoided her easily. However, I completely forgot about the freak tied to the wall. She savagely pulled me down to the floor, and I kicked at her as hard as I could to get away. She whimpered in pain but didn’t stop trying to reach me, bite me, kill me.
“Sonofabitch!” I screamed as I scrambled out of her reach. “Get off me!”
Vega’s screams became animalistic as she crumpled to the floor and began trying to crawl for the hallway. She’d never make it. I wasn’t too worried. Somewhere in this bloody maze a woman screamed. It sounded like Kendra, but it could have been Thessalonike. They both needed to be found and quickly. I glanced at Ramara—he was breathing but barely conscious of his surroundings. I ran down the hall calling the girls’ names and heard Kendra swearing. She wasn’t too far away. I turned left twice and came to an open room. There were torn maps on the wall but nothing else.
Except a ghastly man and Kendra. I could see by the wound on her neck that he’d bitten her once already, and she was just dangling from his arms like a rag doll. “Put her down, you damn vampire!” I pulled the lighter from my pocket again and flicked the flame to threaten him. He blew it out, leaving us in inky darkness except for a muted stream of light that filtered through a few inches of a broken window at the top of one of the walls.
“You won’t pull that on me, shifter. You should never have come here. You don’t belong on this island. This is our island!”
“Put her down!” I wasn’t going to get into an argument about property rights. “Kendra, can you hear me?”
“You wait your turn. I’ll take care of you in a minute. Just a few more drops, my dear.” He grinned at me, showing his bloody teeth, before he turned his attention back to his victim. I shivered instinctively and caught my breath. Kendra’s hand came up and cracked the vampire on the head with the Maglite. It probably didn’t do much damage other than surprise the hell out of him. He snarled and threw her across the room, delivering a vicious scratch across her back. She yelped in pain and crumpled to the ground, her back bleeding freely through her torn uniform. I watched in horror as the dark-haired demon walked toward me, his face the picture of hatred. On the floor, Kendra began to convulse. I yelled again, “Kendra!”
My heart wanted to burst, but if I was going down, he was going with me. I threw myself at the vampire, but Ramara stepped in the way. His muscular body protected me from the vampire’s violent punch. “Grab the light!” Ramara yelled over the vamp’s evil growl. I scrambled to the floor, surprised to see that Kendra had completely transformed into a white-haired wolf.
“What the…”
“Light, please!” Grabbing the flashlight, I struggled to find the switch through the blood and brains. Guess she’d gotten him pretty good. I flipped it, but nothing happened.
“You—must—be—kidding—me!” I said, banging the flashlight on the stone floor. As if it knew I was pissed, it flipped on. Light filled the room with an iridescent glow. I’d had no idea that vampires didn’t like Maglites, but I was glad my hunch had paid off. For once.
“Bring it closer!” Ramara wrestled with the vampire, and I ran closer, so close in fact that I forced the light against the devil’s body. His clothes began to smoke and then flame, and he let out a god-awful scream as he burned. He fell on the ground in a pile and whined. Between Vega’s stinking, smoking carcass and this guy, I was gagging and trying to breathe.
“Take the shifter. Get out. I’ll get Thessalonike.”
“I’ll get her!” For a split second we stood facing one another like two gladiators in a death match. Kendra moaned beside us, in human form again. An explosion in the front room rocked the man-made cavern. Something big was about to happen. Something bad.
“Okay, I’ve got Kendra, but hurry. This whole damn thing is going to blow. It’s a munitions bunker. You know what that means, right?”
“Get out, Castille.”
I didn’t argue. I scooped Kendra up and bolted down the hallway. She murmured something at me, but I couldn’t make it out. “It’s okay, Kendra. We’re almost out.” We passed through the first room, where Vega still burned. To my surprise she was still crawling, moving toward the door. I wanted to give her a good kick, but I couldn’t do that and carry Kendra too.
“Kendra, hold on. We’re going up the stairs now.” I heard the chained creature screaming as if she were on fire too. I felt a pang of sympathy for her, but she was beyond dead. Nothing could have helped her, and she would have only eaten me.
I made it to the top of the steps but didn’t stop there. I kept running until we were at the squad car. I opened the door, dumped Kendra inside and stood panting for breath. Smoke filled the air; it poured out from under the bunker now. I swore to myself as I tried to catch my breath. I had to go back. I had to help Nik and Ramara. Then another underground burst rocked the ground around me.
For the first time in a long time, I prayed that everyone was okay.
Chapter Fifteen—Heliope
Dead Husband
I walked amongst the trees, the ocean to my left and the underground cavern to my right. I knew he was there. I monitored the battle that went on under my feet. She would be okay, for he had her now. The danger was nearly past. I sighed as I plucked a single green flower from the sandy soil. They were called green fly orchids because they attracted and killed the tiny sand flies that threatened to take over the beach. The flowers were small and often went unnoticed, until someone needed to keep the bugs at bay. Interesting thought, considering the situation I found myself in.
I knew he was watc
hing me, but I pretended not to notice. It had become a practice of ours in the last few centuries. He stalked me, hoping for a few crumbs from my hand, and I rebuffed him until I gave in. Which wasn’t as often as it used to be. Sadly for him—no, sadly for us—my desire to protect Thessalonike greatly overshadowed my desire for him. Whether a trick of the Order or just my late-blooming maternal instinct, I felt an urgency to protect her, an urgency reserved for and experienced only by mothers. Though I was her mother in name only, I had known her mother. I had promised to protect her, although in my mortal life I had failed to do so by a wicked measure. Now here I was again, standing at the gate of decision. I would decide rightly this time. Of that there would be no doubt.
A breeze blew by me. It was Agrios, and yet I pretended that I didn’t notice him. This part was fun, enjoyable. What came next would not be so pleasurable. “My love, do not refuse me,” he whispered in my ear, his presence a seductive breeze.
“Show yourself. I want to see your face, Agrios.” I stood in the shade of the trees, twisting the small green flower in my fingers. I let it fall to the ground as he appeared before me.
“Speak kindly to me, wife, for I have a gift for you. It is a thing you have long desired.” He kissed my hand affectionately, and I told my heart to behave. Had I not surrendered enough of myself to Agrios? I, who had offered up my kingdom, my family and my very being to stay by his side? Yes, I believed finally that I had done enough.
Yet I closed my eyes in pleasure at his touch and allowed him to pull me to him. “A gift for me? What can it be? Some treasure beyond description?” I hadn’t meant for my reply to sound sharp, but it escaped my lips without much effort. Yes, it had become a sort of routine: me rejecting him, him pursuing me. It was time for this to end. I gathered myself, throwing up my mental barriers before he detected that something was amiss. I could not give the game away now. What must be must be.
“Let us go for a walk, my dear,” he said with a smile, my true heart yet undetected.
“Smoke billows from the earth. Whatever can that be?” I asked, hoping he would confess all now. Perhaps the Order would change their minds!
“It is the beginning. A new beginning, for you and me. Remember when I promised you a kingdom? I did not forget my promise, Heliope. Finally, after all these years, I shall give you what you want,” he said as he sat upon a large gray rock and leaned against an ancient oak. The tree was the oldest on the island, much older than the one near the underground bunker. Yet no one seemed to notice that it had a voice, that it whispered secrets day and night. I supposed only supernatural creatures listened to things like tree voices.
“What do you mean, Agrios? I think I have had enough of this place. Wouldn’t you like to leave this island? Maybe visit Greece or one of the ancient cities? I am sure I could leave my charge long enough to accommodate a lengthy visit.” I hoped he heard the pleading in my voice and interpreted it for what it truly was. A wish, a last hope.
“Why should we leave? This is your island now, Heliope. Your kingdom, my love. I have arranged everything. You are no longer bound to the girl. I have set you free. I have paid the price.” He kissed my neck and pulled me close to him. I hugged him, holding his head in my arms. I embraced him with true affection.
“This place is not yours to give, husband. Those kinds of things are left to the Order to command. The time for gods and goddesses has passed.” I touched his hair lightly as he pulled away from me. I stepped back, fully prepared for whatever blow he sent my way. None came.
“What do you mean? How can you say that? I have paid the blood-lease. I have given Vega what she wanted, and now this is ours. It will be a new world, Heliope, with you as its queen.”
The ground began to tremble beneath us. I heard a muffled explosion erupt and saw the eloi fly with the girl in his arms. Agrios seemed not to notice but stared at me intently.
“Agrios, by the authority given to me by the Order, I condemn you to eternal sleep…” I began as I stepped back. I felt the authority of the Higher Order surround me. There was no turning back now. What will be will be.
“No, Heliope. It is I. Your beloved. I have done this for you,” he said, standing now, an expression of hopelessness and disbelief on his face.
“You are bound in this place forever, bound by the illegal blood-lease you made without the authority of the Order…”
The rumbling continued, and the ground sagged under the stone that Agrios stood upon. He held out his hand to me and gave me his most forgiving, benevolent look.
“Please, Heliope. I love you.”
I screamed my reply to him as he sank into the earth, “Agrios, I am sorry!” I sobbed as the earth covered him and his voice was heard no more. In the distance, the sirens of fire trucks wailed as the human forces converged on the scene to bring into submission the fiery destruction that threatened to destroy Dauphin Island.
The earth ceased its rumbling, finally still and calm once again. In its bowels it held my husband, the foolish Agrios—and my heart.
Epilogue—Nik
Lost Scroll
The last thing I wanted to do when I got home was clean my kitchen, but thanks to my four-legged furball, it was at the top of my list. Who knew ghost dogs were so messy? “Ugh, Springer. What in the world? Why do you hate me?” He whined for a moment and then sat on the floor and flopped his tail, his pink tongue hanging out. After a few seconds he whined at me, but not the typical apology sound. It was more like the sounds he made when he wanted something specific. It was definitely not an I’m in pain whine, so I wasn’t worried—more flustered than anything.
I had a variety of things to think about. Like Ramara’s aloofness. His unceremonious exit from the “after party.” The weird new relationship between my part-time boyfriend and Kendra Tragic. Agrios’ disappointing betrayal. Yes, I had plenty to think about.
I grabbed the broom and dustpan and began tidying up the floor after I reset the table and chairs.
“I know you want to play, but you’ll just have to wait. This was very bad, Springer.” At the mention of his name, he barked at me and wouldn’t stop. Again, not a danger warning or a help me, I’m hurting bark. No, he definitely had something on his mind. Setting the broom against the counter and the dustpan on the table, I walked behind him as he loped off down the hall. “What is it? You have food and water. The bedroom door is open if you want to lie down.”
He padded through the open door of the bathroom, pausing to make sure I followed, and then sat next to the tub. Never once, not a single day in his life, had Springer ever wanted a bath. Today there could be no doubt that was what he was hoping for. Feeling suddenly tired and down about life, I sat on the floor and let him lick my face while I rubbed his scruffy neck. “Seriously? You want a bath? I definitely don’t think you’re my dog now. Body snatchers gotcha, didn’t they? This isn’t like you at all.” After some sticky dog loving, he put his paws on the side of the tub and barked at the faucet, staring at it and refusing to budge.
“You really have gone batty, Springer. Fine, I’ll give you a bath first, but you can’t go getting into the flour and cereal afterwards. Bath and then bed. Got it? You won’t be getting two baths today, pup.”
Pup. That’s what Jack used to call Springer. In fact, we toyed with naming him that until we saw how high he could jump when he wanted something. Like he had two springs for back legs. I turned on the water, and he hopped in the tub. He played in the running water and barked happily the whole time as it flowed over his head and body. Soon the tub was full, and Springer splashed and lolled in the water like he had been born in it. I tried to scrub him clean but gave up after it became clear he had no interest in getting a good scrubbing. He merely wanted to frolic. He tugged on my shirt as if to say: Come in with me.
Laughing, I unhooked his teeth from my shirt. “No, boy. I have to clean the kitchen, thanks to you.” He tugged again on my long-sleeved shirt, the one I reserved for cleaning and painting. When he wouldn’
t give up, I gave in with a laugh.
“Fine, why not?” I sat in the water with the dog, and we splashed one another like two kids. After we’d managed to get most of the water on the floor, he laid his head in my lap, his dark brown eyes the picture of happiness. He sighed, I sighed and we sat until the water got cold. It took a while to get us both dried off, and when we were finally somewhat presentable, Springer padded off to sleep in my bed. I closed the door behind him so he couldn’t sneak back into the kitchen and roll in the cornflakes. That seemed to be a particular favorite of his. I didn’t know how or by what magic my dog was back, but I was so grateful he was. He made the loneliness a little easier.
It had gotten dark outside. I put on my pajamas and tied my damp hair up in a messy bun. Just to keep the quiet away I flipped on the radio and listened to a classic Wolfman Jack show on Danger Radio. In the Midnight Hour kept me busy, and I halfheartedly sang along as I swept up a pile of spilled food.
I’m gonna wait till the midnight hour
That’s when my love come tumbling down
I’m gonna wait till the midnight hour
When there’s no one else around
I’m gonna take you, girl, and hold you
And do all the things I told you, in the midnight hour
As I opened the lid of the garbage can, I noticed something that hadn’t been there before—a scroll from the Order. I picked it up and dumped the contents of my dustpan into the plastic bag.
The scroll hadn’t been opened; the seal was still intact, meaning it had never been received. I’d never heard of the Invisible Messenger dropping a scroll in the garbage can. No, somebody tossed this here. Someone deliberately threw it away, unread. I pulled on the ribbon, dropped it in the can and cracked the seal. The words almost floored me.
Escape to Sirens Gate: Sirens Gate Books 1-3 Page 20