Zander seemed to think that we shouldn’t even tell him we were leaving. “The dude is ancient, he should be smart enough to figure out that if he hasn’t seen you for a few days, you probably left without him.”
“I agree with Zander.” Christina propped her feet up on the coffee table to adjust one of her boot buckles.
“Of course you agree with him,” I shot back at her.
Luke sat at the table with his gun taken apart and spread out in front of him for cleaning. He looked up with a glint of remorse in his eyes. “As much as I’d like to disagree, he does have a point. Why should we send you into a dangerous situation if we don’t have to?”
Drew shook his head. “No, we have to go tell him. We want to be able to trust him … well trust him as much as we can. But for us to do that we have to prove that we are trustworthy. Why should he do anything for us if we are going to go behind his back as soon as he gives us information we could use.”
Luke didn’t look convinced.
“Look,” I sat down in a chair across from him and looked him in the eye, “I don’t really want to go out into the city tonight, either. I don’t want to tell Anthony that we are leaving, but we have to. This is a risk we are going to have to take. We know nothing about the other original vampires and he is the only one who can help us find them.”
He still didn’t seem very happy about it, but he conceded. “Fine. You guys can go tell him that we are going there,” he pointed his finger at us, “but do not tell him when we are leaving. We can meet him there in a few days. That gives us lead time.”
“Deal.” I jumped up from my seat and went around to give Luke a hug. Surprised, he returned the embrace.
“Why are you so excited about this guy?” Christina asked from across the room where she was reapplying a coat of pink nail polish. I guess she had her priorities when it came to getting ready to head out for a battle.
“I’m not. I just have a feeling about this. I don’t trust the guy at all, but I can feel it in my bones that this is the answer.”
She nodded, still concentrating on her nails. “We have never done this before … joined forces with a vampire, I mean. It doesn’t feel right to me.”
“I get that,” I agreed. “I don’t think we are joining forces, exactly,”
She capped her nail polish and blew on her fingertips. “Oh, we are. We have to have a certain amount of trust to work with—”
Oscar interrupted, “No, we have to tolerate him. You are all trained to kill the likes of him. One vampire doesn’t stand a chance against us, even if he is thousands of years old.”
Everyone agreed with that, at least.
Luke began putting his gun back together. “So, we leave at first light. Drew, Chloe, you guys go ahead and drive into the city, but come right back to get your things packed and rest up.”
Drew, who had been quiet the whole time, nodded. “Yes, sir.”
Anxious to get it over with and actually be on our way to New Orleans, I grabbed my holster and strapped it on. “We’re leaving right now.” I put all of my weapons on as fast as I could, grabbed my bow, and headed for the door. “Come on, Drew.”
He was doing the same thing I had done; getting all of his weapons placed where they felt best and were the easiest for him to get to. “I’m coming, calm down.”
I really wasn’t trying to be a pain, but we had to hurry and get back to pack our things if we were going to leave at first light. Gavin, who had been quiet most of the day, wandered over to entryway where I waited for Drew. “Be careful,” he told me.
I grinned, trying to look normal. “This is nothing. Just like any other night, so no need to be worried.”
He didn’t return the smile; his face remained serious. “I haven’t met this guy, but I don’t like him. Don’t forget that he’s a vampire.”
“I don’t know why you all act like he’s my new BFF or something. I’m doing a job and I’m taking a lead to help end this crap. I’m just doing what needs to be done.”
He leaned against the wall. Stray locks of dark brown hair fell down into his eyes. I fought the urge to reach out and brush them away. He smirked like he knew what I was thinking. “We know what you’re doing, but lately you have been doing things without really thinking them through and that’s dangerous.” He paused. “Plus, with what just happened today, you might be distracted.”
“I’m fine.”
“I hope so.” He pushed off the wall.
Drew appeared beside me. “You ready?”
I nodded, moving my gaze between Gavin and Drew. “Just waiting for you.”
Gavin gave Drew that head nod that silently said ‘Good luck, but I’m still not speaking to you’ and strode back into the living room.
~~***~~
We took the Escalade instead of Drew’s loud ass truck. It was already dark, which made our entrance into the city far more dangerous than coming in before nightfall when we could hide out and wait.
“So,” he broke the silence about halfway into the city, “are you going to talk about what happened today?”
I shook my head even though he couldn’t see me. “No.”
“Are you all right?”
“I’m fine.” Boy, I was saying that a lot today. Unfortunately, I really wasn’t fine. I just hoped I would be.
“Well,” he took his eyes off the road to glance at me, “I’m here for you. I’m not going to make you talk about it, but I’m always here for you to confide in or whatever it is that you need.”
Damn the tears. I felt the trickle on my cheek and wiped it away, then reached out and set my hand on his leg. “I know you are.” After that he didn’t say anything and we rode the rest of the way in silence.
We went directly to bakery and parked out front. I hopped out as soon as the truck came to a stop. Both of my guns were drawn and my fingers were twitching to shoot something. Drew was out of the truck almost immediately after me, taking the other side of the truck.
“I’m gonna jump,” I whispered to Drew and looked up at the balcony to let him know what I was thinking.
He glanced at the balcony and then back at me, his eyes wide with fear. A quick shake of his head told me he didn’t want me to do it.
“It’s faster that way, and safer,” I insisted. “We don’t have to clear the bakery, the stairwell, and the apartment.”
“No.” His voice was firm and took on that ‘I’m the leader here’ tone.
“Drew—”
“I said no.”
Suddenly, another voice joined our whispering. “Would it be helpful if I came to you?”
Both Drew and I swung around and aimed at the source of the voice near the back of the truck. Anthony Christos stood there, dressed in blue jeans this time instead of black ones. He had on a maroon button up shirt that looked really nice against his skin and his lips were turned up in a smirk.
“Anthony!” I hissed. “You are seriously trying to get yourself shot.”
“I was not concerned about that,” he responded.
Drew rolled his eyes at Anthony’s blatant dismissal of his safety. “Obviously.”
Anthony stepped forward a few feet in our direction. “So, are we traveling to New Orleans?”
I nodded. “That’s what we came to tell you. We are going, but you can’t come with us. You will have to meet us there. We need time to prepare so we are leaving in a couple of days.”
“Mmmm,” He flicked his gaze from me to Drew suspiciously. I was pretty sure he could sense the lie. “I see. Your friends don’t want to travel with a vampire, am I correct?”
I glanced at Drew before I answered and found he had taken his eyes off of Anthony to check the rest of our surroundings. We were, after all, out in the middle of the city at night. Vampires could be anywhere. “Yes,” I finally admitted. “But you can’t blame them for how they feel. We both feel the same way.” I motioned to Drew and myself. “You’re a vampire and we don’t trust vampires … we kill them.”
> Anthony tilted his head slightly. “Speaking of which, when are you going to stop pointing your guns at me. There is no need for that.”
“I’ll be the judge of that.” My guns didn’t waver.
“Relax, little Hunter. There is no need for such acts of violence. I know that you do not trust me, nor do I trust your friends not to simply kill me off before I am ready. I will meet you in New Orleans in three days’ time. Does that meet your approval?”
I don’t know what I expected, but I certainly didn’t expect it to be so easy. Lately, nothing was easy. Again I looked to Drew before I answered. He had returned his attention to Anthony and me. He gave me a slight nod of approval and I quickly answered Anthony’s question, “Um, yeah. That sounds fine.”
Anthony chuckled. “When you get to New Orleans, find this address.” He held out a slip of paper with an address scrawled on it. “It’s in the Garden District.”
I knew of the Garden District, but I’d never been to New Orleans so it didn’t really help me any. I holstered only one of my guns, but let the other one come to rest at my side. “This is where you will be?”
He nodded. “Yes. I have owned the house for years. Rented it out for a short time. Homes in the Garden District go for a pretty penny.”
Well, at least we would know where he was and wouldn’t have to go on a wild goose chase looking for him when we got there. “Thanks.” I waved the paper at him and then tucked it in to my pocket.
Drew moved to open the driver door of the Escalade. “We’d better go now.”
“Yeah, things to do,” I agreed, wanting to get back home just as much as he did. “We’ll see you in New Orleans in three days then. Well … nights, three nights from now,” I confirmed with Anthony. He nodded and gave a slight gentlemanly bow.
“You have my word.” And then he was gone.
I went around and got into the passenger seat.
“Like his word means anything,” Drew scoffed.
I shook my head, not really wanting to talk about it. “Let’s just go home.”
Without a word Drew turned the key and started the engine. We rode home in silence, listening to the sound of the tires on the pavement and our low breathing. Both of us had things on our minds, but I still didn’t really feel like talking about my feelings at the moment. The mission was at hand and first priority for me. If we could take out a vampire line, then that came first before anything.
~~***~~
The next morning I literally had to drag myself out of bed. None of us had gotten much sleep, but we needed to get on the road. We were mostly going to be traveling during the day and hunkering down at night. It was just safer that way.
We had packed the two vehicles the night before so that we didn’t have to do it in the morning. We were taking Zander’s truck and the Escalade; that way everyone would fit comfortably since we had a lot of luggage as well. Christina had far more than any of us. Plus, we had to bring food since we weren’t sure where we would be able to get any, and we didn’t want to spend half our travel time looting for provisions.
We set out at dawn, leaving behind our little fortress and Arcadia Falls as well.
We avoided the main freeways to the cities by going around them on the back roads. Most of the cities were guarded, some were not. It just took us a lot longer by going around the major cities instead of through them. I was actually quite surprised at how little action we got and took the opportunity to sleep a lot in the car.
I was worn out, plain and simple. I needed the sleep to get my groove back and I knew it. If I had gone on much longer such a severe lack of sleep, I would have been putting myself and my friends at risk. So, the car ride was a good time to catch up and get my strength back.
The trip to New Orleans took two full days. Mid-morning of the third day we approached the city famous for its ghosts and vampires with anticipation.
Suddenly, the bridge leading into New Orleans loomed before us … but that wasn’t the only thing waiting for us at the entry to the city.
Military trucks were parked in such a way that it blocked passage over the bridge. Men in Army uniforms stood in a line across the road in front of the trucks, armed with standard military weapons. The dragons on their cheeks were prominently displayed for all to see, telling us that we were going to fight our way into New Orleans.
I sat in the Escalade with Luke, Drew, and Gavin. Alice, Oscar, and Christina were in the truck with Zander. This scene wasn’t a surprise; we knew that it was the only way in, aside from searching the banks of the Mississippi for a boat. And if we were caught in the middle of the river and needed to fight we stood much less of a chance.
We rolled to a stop, both vehicles pausing side by side. The men in uniforms didn’t budge an inch, but a loud shouting erupted from one of the vehicles. “Step out of your vehicles and put your hands in the air!”
The four of us glanced at each other, again not surprised.
“You ready?” Drew asked us.
Luke took a deep breath. “Ready as I’ll ever be.”
Gavin and I answered in unison, “Ready.”
Drew was driving and I was in the passenger seat. He reached over and gave me a much longer kiss than I would have preferred in front of my grandfather, but … it could very well be the last one ever, so what the hell.
After he released me, my adrenaline was really pumping from the contact and I withdrew my guns from their holsters. “Let’s do this.”
They drew their guns as well, then we all opened our doors simultaneously and stepped out of the vehicle.
~~~***~~~
READ AN EXCERPT FROM
THE ARCADIA FALLS CHRONICLES BOOK 4
This is an un-edited excerpt, at this time of uploading Arcadia Book 4 has not been published yet.
I was on autopilot now, open the door, get out, fight, kill … survive.
I stepped out of the car and a blast of hot, muggy Louisiana air hit me, causing a sheen of sweat to instantly appear on my skin. The breeze didn’t do anything to help matters, it only made things worse by catching my hair and making it flutter around into my eyes.
My guns were both drawn as I moved out from behind the car door to face the men who awaited us at the bridge. They had blocked the entrance into New Orleans with their trucks and stood in front of the vehicles with their assault rifles aimed at us.
The men were in military uniforms, right down to the Kevlar and flack vests. Dark sunglasses covered their eyes, but the dragon tattoos on their right cheeks stood out prominently displaying their loyalty to the Vampire Council. I counted eight men in uniforms. There were six of us, but that didn’t mean anything when we were up against assault rifles. It looked like Alice was going to have to do a lot of the heavy lifting for us to get out of this one.
“Set your weapons down and put your hands in the air!” The loudspeaker guy repeated.
I knew better than to look at my comrades, a good Hunter always kept her attention on the target. We had known this was coming long before we arrived, so we were somewhat prepared.
I felt, more than saw the shimmering bubble silently slip around me. I knew without looking that the shield was large enough to cover the whole group.
Drew, and Luke stood to my left and Gavin was directly behind me. Alice, Oscar, Zander and Christina were to our right, having pulled Zander’s truck up on that side of the Escalade. It had been decided ahead of time that none of us were going to part with our weapons. We couldn’t chance losing our only guns since there was no way for us to get any more at the moment.
“Now!” The loudspeaker guy demanded.
None of us complied with his repeated order, so his next order was to his soldiers. “Fire!”
If you have enjoyed the books in The Vampire Hunter’s Daughter and The Arcadia Falls Chronicles, please consider leaving a review wherever you purchased it.
Thank you!
READ AN EXCERPT FROM SAVIOR
A FULL LEGNTH NOVEL BY JENNIFER MALONE W
RIGHT
Sweltering heat emanated from the searing flames. Alex ignored his blistered skin and burnt clothes. He plunged both arms into the blazing orange inferno without a second thought for his own well-being. His hands frantically flailed until he found what he searched for. He pulled the charred remains up and hugged them to his chest before he gave a desperate glance toward the others.
Smoke curled into his mouth and nose and made it nearly impossible to breathe.
“Hurry, hurry. Get out now,” a gentle voice whispered into his ears. “You must go right now if you want to live.”
However, he couldn’t leave them behind.
“Go now,” the voice whispered more urgently.
Sparks flew when a giant log broke in half and fell from the ceiling. It crashed onto the floor less than two feet from where Alex stood. Flames engulfed the fallen wood and created yet another obstacle.
The voice tried again, crying out, “Hurry, Alex!”
Alex knew he needed to move if he wanted to live, but he paused for a moment to question whether he even wanted to bother. The flames grew while Alex stood motionless, undecided. Suddenly, a great push from behind thrust him forward toward a wall of fire.
***
Alex stirred in his mahogany coffin, one of the best money could buy. He felt the soft, white velvet lining rub against his cheek, but it didn't comfort him. He panted like a thirsty dog and writhed helplessly inside the narrow wooden box.
His eyes snapped open. First, he checked his hands for burns, but he found none. He groaned while he became more aware, and realized he'd had another nightmare.
He sighed, wondering if the recurring dreams were going to last forever. He reached up and unlatched the locks he’d installed for his own safety, or at least his peace of mind. He pushed open the lid and sat upright. His gaze wandered across the room while his mind tried to fight off the feeling of dread he had about the night ahead.
Vampire Apocalypse (The Arcadia Falls Chronicles #3) Page 8