The Undead Heart (#1 in the Blood Thirst Series)

by Stephanie Jackson

“Don’t let them out of the car!” Richard shouted as he watched the car doors push open. Damon and Gunner slammed the doors closed.

  Tiarnán asked, “Should we throw it, Pop?”

  “No. Just get it off the road and out of sight.”

  They ran the car off the side of the road and into the copse of the trees. Richard reached under the car and tore the rear-wheel axel off before the hunters dropped it to the ground.

  “Get out of the car,” Richard ordered after they had the car surrounded. The car doors opened, and two men slowly got out.

  “Be easy, brothers,” the driver said.

  The passenger added, “We bear no arms.”

  “That’s your mistake,” Tiarnán said, drawing his sword.

  “Tiarnán, no!”

  “They took Aunt Bev, Pop!”

  Seanán added, “And killed Keith.”

  “I know they did, but I would like to know why they did it before we kill them,” he explained to his sons.

  Tiarnán sheathed his sword, but didn’t look happy about it.

  “You are all hunters,” the driver stated.

  Stepping through the trees with Bev, Potter said, “And you are Oberon, and I believe you are Thomas.”

  “Aunt Bev, you’re okay!” the twins said, rushing over and hugging her.

  “Thanks to you.”

  Surprised, Oberon said in a weak voice, “Lugh.”

  Both Oberon and Thomas dropped to one knee in front of Potter, bowing their heads to him.

  “Lugh, I am sorry. I did not know that the woman was yours,” Oberon said without raising his head.

  “She is my sister-in-law, wife to my brother, a brother that I can only imagine is terrified right now. Now that we’re all here, why don’t you tell me why you killed my hunter and kidnapped my family?”

  “I did neither of those things,” Thomas said.

  Damon almost bit his head off, “Nor did you prevent it!”

  What was going on? Why were these hunters bowed down to Potter?

  “Stand up and explain yourselves!” Potter demanded.

  Oberon said, “The vampyres have my wife.”

  “What vampyres?” Richard asked.

  “I don’t know who they are. We were traveling through Ohio when we found them, or rather, they found us. We had stopped for the night at a hotel and were settling in when Thomas and I sensed the vampyres. We left my wife in the hotel room while we went out to hunt them,” Oberon explained.

  Richard was shocked. “You sensed vampyres, and you just left your wife in a hotel room alone?”

  “I didn’t think she would be in any danger. We were in a large city. The chances of her being a victim were slim,” Oberon continued.

  Gunner snickered. “How do you feel about those chances now?”

  Oberon ignored him and continued, “We circled the city for miles, following the vampyres. They led us right back to our hotel. When I ran into the room, I found my wife missing, the stink of vampyres in the room, and a phone number on the bedside table.

  “When I called the number, I was told to meet them in Lexington, Kentucky. When we got there, they had my wife tied up in a corner of the house they’re still staying in. They said I had to find a woman.

  “They told me what she looked like, and that she would be with a hunter or a vampyre. I was to get the girl and bring her to them. I had two weeks. If I did it, they would return my wife unharmed. If I can’t do it, they will turn her into a vampyre. I had to try.”

  “When is your two weeks up?” Richard asked.

  “I have two days left.”

  Christov said, “You could have asked Keith for help instead of killing him.”

  “We didn’t think he would give us the girl,” Thomas interjected.

  “No, he wouldn’t have, but he would have helped you,” Damon said. “He would have brought you to us.”

  “I didn’t know any of you were here. It was just luck that I ran across the hunter and the girl,” Oberon sighed.

  Gunner asked angrily, “It was luck that you killed Keith?”

  “I didn’t mean it that way. It’s just that we were about to give up in this area when we saw him and the girl.”

  “Well, just so you know, if you would have taken this girl to the vampyres, they would have killed both of you and your wife,” Potter told Oberon.

  Thomas argued, “They made a deal!”

  “They made a deal with you to bring a certain girl back, but not this girl. In your hurry to do their bidding, you managed to kill the wrong hunter and take the wrong girl,” Richard informed them.

  If he was right, and he was sure he was, then this was Elderson’s doing. He’d sent these hunters after Beck.

  “I bet you were allowed to kill the hunter, but not the vampyre. Am I right?”

  “You’re correct, but how did you know?” Thomas asked.

  Potter answered, “Because we know who sent you, and I think we’ve learned all we need to know from you.” Seanán and Tiarnán drew their swords, ready to strike.

  “No!” Bev screamed.

  Seanán bristled. “Are you kidding me?! They stuffed you in a trunk, Aunt Bev! They were going to hand you over to vampyres like a sacrificial lamb!”

  “I know what they did. I was there. Think about this, though. They’re only doing what we’re doing. They’re trying to keep their family safe. The way they went about it was fucked up, but what was their choice?”

  “I would never have done what they did,” Richard said.

  “You wouldn’t? Oh, my mistake, then. So, what is the limit of what you would do to get Beck back?” Bev asked. “Where would you draw the line and just let her die?”.

  Although Bev didn’t know it, he had made that choice…once. But now? She was right. There was nothing he wouldn’t do to save her.

  “That’s what I thought,” she said when he didn’t answer her.

  Potter asked, “What would you have us do with them?”

  “Help them get Oberon’s wife back, and maybe they’ll stay to help us. I can’t see the future, but even I know that some bad shit is coming.”

  Oberon stated plainly, “If you help us, I will owe you my life.”

  “That may be the payment that’s required,” Richard told them.

  Bev said, “Come with us. We’ll tell you our story on the way home.”

  ***

  “She’s coming,” Leso said with relief, and jumped off the couch.

  Leso rushed out the front door with everyone else following behind him. They watched as the hunters ran through the front yard. Leso snatched Bev from Potter’s arms before he had a chance to set her down.

  “You’re alright! I was terrified. I wanted to come for you, but none of this lot would let me leave,” he said, casting a hateful glance at the hunters and vampyres that had stayed behind.

  “It’s okay, they saved me,” she said, kissing him.

  His eyes ran along the group of hunters. “Thank you.” Then he noticed the new additions to the crowd. “Who are they?” he asked coldly.

  Beck had been wondering the same thing. She could feel many emotions coming from these men and she knew Leso could, as well.

  She could feel their guilt and fear, and wondered why the hunters had brought Keith’s killers here. Had they brought them here for Leso to kill? “You did this? You took my wife?” Leso asked angrily, setting Bev on her feet. He started toward the strange hunters, and Beck knew none of their hunters or vampyers would stop him.

  “Don’t,” Bev said softly, laying her hand on his arm. This stopped him as nothing else would have. “Just listen to why they did it. If you still want to kill them after that, I won’t stop you.”

  Richard came over and put his arm across Beck’s shoulder, and they listened to Oberon tell his story. As they listened, she could feel Leso’s anger waning.

  When Oberon had finished speaking, Potter said, “Bev wants us to help them.”

  “Help them how?” Leso ask
ed.

  Bev sighed, “Go get his woman back.”

  “I told her we would leave it up to you,” Potter added.

  When Leso asked, “How many vampyres are we talking about?” Beck knew they were going to save the girl.

  “Seven,” Thomas said.

  Darian asked, “How long do we have before it’s too late?”

  “Two days,” Potter told them.

  Leso asked, “Will it just be the hunters or will we be giving them the full press?”

  “Let’s give them the full press. It’s time to let Elderson know that we’re done dicking around with him,” Potter said

  “Won’t they kill her if they sense other vampyres?” Bev asked.

  Richard shook his head. “No, they won’t kill her. They’ll bite her. They would think that that would be harder on Oberon than her death.”

  “They would be right,” Oberon agreed.

  Leso stared at him., “If they only bite her, we can fix it.”

  “You can’t fix that,” Thomas said.

  “We can,” Potter said. “You know that vampyre you were told not to kill?”

  “Yes,” Thomas answered.

  Pointing at Richard, Damon said, “He is standing right there with his arm around the girl you were supposed to kidnap.”

  “He’s not a vampyre. He’s a hunter,” Damon said, confused.

  “He’s not a vampyre now, but for 175 years, he was.”

  “If your woman gets bitten, we can fix it. We can’t turn her back into a human, but we can make her a hunter,” Richard explained.

  Oberon asked skeptically, “A female hunter?”

  “Beck?” Potter coaxed.

  She nodded, stepped forward, and leapt onto the roof of the house. Once she landed, she turned, and dropped back to the ground.

  Thomas gasped. “That’s not possible.”

  “Our creator didn’t make any female hunters,” Oberon stuttered.

  Potter said, “No, he didn’t. I made her.”

  “How is this possible?” Thomas asked.

  Potter explained how she had become a hunter and what abilities she did and didn’t get.

  “I can believe that, but how did he become a hunter?” Thomas asked, pointing at Richard.

  Oberon questioned this, as well.“I have always been under the impression that you had to be alive to become a hunter. I mean no disrespect, but vampyres are Nosferatu; the undead. They walk and talk, but by no stretch of the imagination are they truly alive. It is not possible for him to become a hunter.”

  All their hunters and vampyres laughed.

  “There are times that vampyres are alive, but they must be with their true mate,” Potter smiled.

  Oberon asked, “How do you know if they are your true mate?”

  “If a vampyre is with their true mate, their heart will beat when they’re making love. When their heart beats, they are basically human, and while their heart is still beating, they can be changed into a hunter,” Beck explained, unashamed.

  “What if my wife is not my ‘true mate’? What happens then?”

  “If you can’t make her heart beat, then we can’t help her. You would either have to accept her or leave her with us. The choice would be yours, and hers,” Richard stated.

  Oberon asked in a worried voice, “How can I make a choice like that?”

  “I don’t know, but it’s a possibility that you may have to,” Leso said.

  Harley was getting impatient. “Do you want our help or not?”

  “They don’t have a choice anymore. Either they accept our help, or they die in this yard. They know where we are. If we allow them to leave, they would attempt to trade that information for his wife,” Potter said flatly.

  Bruce said, “Elderson’s clan will kill them.”

  “Elderson’s clan was going to kill them anyway. They just wanted to get what they could out of them first,” Richard said. “They would have had no intentions of letting these hunters live.”

  Offended, Oberon yelled, “They made a deal!”

  “And they would have broken it. We have been dealing with the Elderson clan for many years. Trust me, it wouldn’t have mattered if you brought Beck back to them or not. You were going to die either way,” Richard reiterated.

  Potter nodded. “They may have kept their word. They may have released her unharmed, but I heard nothing in their agreement about allowing you to live.”

  “I wasn’t thinking about that when I agreed to this. I was only thinking about her,” Oberon admitted.

  Beck asked, “What’s your wife’s name?”

  “Crystal.”

  Thomas asked suspiciously, “How do I know that we can trust you?”

  “Does it matter? You’re lucky you’re still breathing after what you did!” Tiarnán yelled.

  Thomas stepped away from him. “I didn’t mean to offend you.”

  “You offended the hell out of us the second you put your hands on Bev,” Seanán seethed.

  Tiarnán snapped, “You killed our friend and kidnapped our aunt to give to vampyres, and you want to know if you can trust us? That’s bullshit!”

  “It’s you that can’t be trusted!” Seanán shouted.

  “Enough,” Leso said. “All of you. For now, let’s just deal with the problem at hand. How are we going to get Crystal away from the vampyres?”

  Beck watched the new hunters as they discussed possible plans. Oberon was around 6’ tall with a slender build, short red hair, and gray eyes. Thomas was a solid 5’8” with green/blue eyes and cropped dark blonde hair.

  “Are you sure there are only seven of them?” Potter inquired.

  Thomas nodded. “There were only seven when we were there. If they have added more since then, we wouldn’t know about it.”

  “Do they know we’re in Clarksville?” Harley asked.

  “No, but they do know that you’re in the South.”

  “How?” Bruce asked.

  “I don’t know. They didn’t explain how they knew, but they had it narrowed down to Mississippi, Alabama, or Tennessee. We missed you on our first trip through here. We searched Mississippi and Alabama. There are only a few vampyres there, and none of them had the girl. We didn’t have time to kill them all,” Thomas explained.

  Jenny asked, “Were any of them animal feeders?”

  “Not that we saw, but we didn’t get that close to most of them. We only needed to get close enough to ascertain that they were not who we were looking for. Some of them may have been animal feeders, but that was not our area of interest at the time,” Oberon answered.

  “Do you kill animal feeders?” Potter asked.

  “I’ve never given it much thought to what the vampyres I’ve hunted eat. It never seemed to matter before now,” Thomas stated.

  “I agree, but after tonight I may have to change my mind,” Oberon said. “We have given you no reason to let us live, let alone help us. I can’t begin to tell you how grateful I am.”

  “When do you want to go?” Leso asked.

  Potter smiled. “There’s no time like the present.”

  “No, wait. You can’t leave yet,” Bev interrupted.

  Leso asked, “Why not?”

  “Because I want to become a hunter first,” Bev said without skipping a beat.

  Chapter Nineteen

  “What? You said you didn’t want to do that!” Leso said in shock.

  “That was before I was stuffed into the trunk of a car. I was useless. I tried to fight him, but was helpless. I don’t want to feel that way ever again.”

  “You wouldn’t have gotten away even if you were as strong as us, Bev. There were two of them,” Potter tried to reason with her.

  “No, there was one, just Oberon. I don’t believe that Thomas would have helped him,” Beck guessed.

  She could tell that Thomas wasn’t at all comfortable with what had happened tonight.

  “I understand his desperation. It is the reason I didn’t stop him as I know I shoul
d have. However, I could not bring myself to kidnap a human female for the vampyres. It was just wrong,” Thomas confirmed.

  Oberon put his hand on Thomas’s shoulder. “I understand.”

  “Do you?”Thomas asked roughly. “Do you know that when we drove away with her that I would have fought you to the death before I allowed you to hand her over to them?”

  Beck could feel his shame at wanting to do the right thing, shame at wanting to protect the human from the vampyres as he was created to do.

  “Yes, I know . The only excuse I have for what I’ve done is my love for Crystal. I’ve been telling myself that I was only trading one human for another. That either way, only one human life would be lost. I didn’t allow myself to think that the life of this human meant as much to someone else as Crystal’s means to me. I’m sorry I put you through this, brother.”

  Thomas nodded, and it hit Beck that brothers were what they truly were, brothers like Richard and Leso. Thomas had considered taking his own brother’s head to save a human he didn’t even know. The thought made her feel sick.

  “Are you sure about this?” Leso asked Bev.

  Bev nodded. “I’m sure. I thought about it while I was in that trunk, but I made my decision when Potter back-flipped with me off the back of a speeding car. That scared me more than being in that trunk. It reminded me how frail I really am. I don’t want to be that way anymore.”

  “You flipped off a car with her?!” Leso shouted at Potter.

  Potter shrugged. “If we had brought the car to a sudden stop, it might have killed her.”

  “It was a cool trick. I’ve never seen anything like if before,” Damon smiled.

  Leso yelled again, “It was not a trick! You could have killed her!”

  “We had to do something. We didn’t know where they were going. We couldn’t just let them drive away with her,” Potter said.

  “And Lugh didn’t kill her. She’s fine,” Damon said.

  “If the hunter blood works on me, I won’t be at such risk anymore,” Bev said. “So, can we get this over with, please?”

  “I’ll get the needle,” Beck said.

  She had cleaned and put away the syringe just in case Bev ever changed her mind. She was worried about how Bev would react to Potter’s blood. She’d tried to play off the risk to Richard, but she knew how dangerous this could be. She hadn’t really thought that Bev would ever do it. Now she would have to put a needle in Bev’s vein and hope she didn’t kill her.