Karma's Vengeance (Vampire Huntress Saga Book 1)

by Christina Escue

  “They’re focused on us, and not paying attention to what’s around them. That will be what gets them killed,” Langley said with a smile. “Let’s go greet our visitors, shall we?”

  “Jackson, no matter what happens stay inside. They cannot come in and you know where the escape tunnel is if something happens. I am leaving two of my vampire in here with you and they will keep you safe if you have to use the tunnel,” Harrison hugged Jackson and followed everyone else outside.

  “They’re here,” Dylan whispered as a line of vampire emerged from the forest behind Harrison’s house.

  “We are here for Demetri. Give him to us and no one has to get hurt,” the vampire who appeared to be the leader said loudly.

  “You have no idea who you’re dealing with, do you?” Dristen yelled back to him. “We are the Senate and Demetri is being held by us. Turn back now and we will let you live.”

  A few of the vampire looked at each other in confusion and started to slowly retreat, but the leader stopped them.

  “Do you really think we believe the Senate would hold one of its own? You must think we are stupid. Now, this is your last chance. Release Demetri.”

  “Oh, young one. You are stupid to come looking for a battle when you have no idea who your opponents are. I am Eduardo and I am over nine hundred years old. Please do not think for a nano-second you are stronger than I.”

  The vampire all snapped their heads up when Eduardo said his name and you could see the fear in their eyes. The leader even lost some of his gumption.

  “Now, we are giving you one last chance to leave before we kill you all,” Langley told them.

  “We are not leaving without Demetri and you will be the ones who die,” the leader yelled back, but with less confidence than before.

  “Have it your way,” Holbrook said with a grin.

  Before any of the vampire could move to attack, Karma was off the porch and had a Sai through the heart of the leader.

  “No one else has to die,” she shouted to the others. “We are not releasing Demetri, but we will let you all leave peacefully if you choose to do so.”

  About half of them decided it was time to go and fled into the forest at full speed. The rest stood there with their hands clenched at their sides.

  “It looks like they want to fight,” Dylan said with a grin.

  They moved to attack Karma, who was the only one in the yard with them, but before they could reach her the others were off the porch and the battle was over in a matter of seconds.

  “That wasn’t any fun,” Karma said as they sauntered back into the house a little while later. The bodies of the dead vampire had been tossed into the fire pit and set ablaze.

  “Just wait. There will be more,” Harrison said with a wink. “When Vincent shows up, he will have his army with him and then we can all have some fun.”

  “While we wait, I say it’s time to start getting some of the new vampire laws written up,” Constance said, and the Senate members nodded.

  “Harrison, is there a place close where we can go and hash these laws out?” Aleyn asked and Harrison nodded.

  “I have an office on the second floor. It’s big enough everyone should be comfortable.”

  “Sounds great,” Dristen said with a smile at Karma. “You coming to make sure we don’t miss anything?”

  “Damn right I am,” she answered, and he motioned for her to lead the way.

  ****

  “This is great. You got everything I wanted in here and a few things I never thought to demand,” Karma grinned at the elders, and picked up the document containing the new vampire laws. “I say we present this, along with myself and Dylan, to the White House. I think it’s time humans and vampire united.”

  “Sweetheart, it’s beyond time,” Eduardo said with a small smile. “The current President knows about us and has been informed this is taking place, so there shouldn’t be any problems.”

  “Awesome,” Karma said with a grin. “I want to meet with him as soon as I can, so we can get a press conference set and the announcements made. I’m hoping this will pull Vincent out into the open.”

  “I’m sure it will. The new vampire laws will be read at the press conference and he will not like them at all. He’s going to try his best to kill you, Karma. Are you ready for that?” Dristen asked with a look of concern in his eyes.

  “I’ve been ready,” Karma answered, and grinned. “Since I hit maturity, I have been itching for a good fight and I know he will give me one.”

  Holbrook grinned at her words. “You can handle him. He won’t know what hit him.”

  “Last time I faced him, he snapped my back in several places, but I wasn’t mature yet. I am now, and I know how to sense when he’s near. He won’t sneak up on me again.”

  “Good. Now, let’s get these to D.C. so we can get this ball rolling,” Langley said and held up the papers. “First though, I think we should make several copies and each of us take one, so we have them for future reference.”

  “I’ll do that right now,” Dylan said as he walked over to the copy machine. “Should fifteen copies do it?”

  “Make it twenty so we have a couple left over for safe keeping,” Dristen told him and Dylan got to work.

  “Let’s get a flight booked while he’s doing that. I want to be in D.C. by morning,” Ramsey said, and they all agreed.

  Once that was done, they packed and headed to the airport. Karma felt naked without her weapons, but she knew air travel was the quickest way.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Karma stood in line at the security check point and waited. She hated waiting, but this was necessary to achieve her goals. She wanted Vincent dead. and it seemed the only way she was going to find him was to get him to come to her. This should get him right where she wanted him.

  “Ma’am, do you have any metal on you?” The guard at the metal detector asked.

  “The buckles on my boots,” she answered.

  “Why don’t you take those off and step through for me please?”

  Karma rolled her eyes as she unzipped her boots and placed them on the belt beside the metal detector. Once she was through security, she checked the inside of her boots and was happy to notice the two small knives she had hadn’t been found.

  Even though she had her fangs, she still felt better with her knives too. They were like an extension of her hands, and she felt almost naked without them. Happy to be through security, she slid her boots back on and walked over to where everyone else waited.

  “What time does the flight leave?” She asked Dristen.

  “In about thirty minutes. We can wait in the lounge if you want. It’ll be more comfortable in there, and there will be fewer people around.”

  “Sounds good,” Karma walked toward the first-class lounge, and stepped through the door.

  “Something is on her mind,” Dylan whispered to Harrison after everyone else had walked into the lounge. “I have no idea what, but something is bothering her.”

  “You will figure it out. She will tell you,” Harrison told him with a confident smile.

  “I hope you’re right,” Dylan opened the door and walked into the lounge before Harrison could say anything else.

  “Mind if I sit with you?” He asked Karma and she smiled up at him.

  “Of course not,” she answered with a curious expression on her face. “Why would I mind if you sat with me?”

  “You haven’t talked to me much since we left the house,” Dylan told her, and she frowned.

  “I’m sorry. It’s not because you’ve done anything.”

  “Karma, what’s bothering you?”

  “Promise not to laugh?”

  “I would never laugh.”

  “I’ve never been on a plane before and I’m a little scared.”

  “That’s perfectly normal. I’ve only flown once, and it scared the hell out of me.”

  “Will you sit with me?”

  “Yes. I’ll even hold your ha
nd if you want.”

  Karma smiled at him and reached for his hand. “You can practice that now.”

  He leaned over and put his lips against her ear and whispered, “There are other things I want to practice once we get there. I think it’s time to show you how much I love you.”

  “I need to talk to you two for a moment before we get on the plane,” Langley interrupted them.

  “Okay. What about?” Karma asked without letting go of Dylan’s hand.

  “Your relationship.”

  “Our relationship is none of your concern,” Karma told him and stiffened.

  “I disagree. You two are the only two Halflings that we know of, and none of us know what would happen if you were to mate. We don’t know if you’re able to conceive, or what the offspring would even be like if you did.”

  “You can stop right there, because my relationship with Dylan is none of your concern. You may think otherwise, but what Dylan and I do, or don’t do, has absolutely nothing to do with you. If you see our relationship as a problem, we will pull out of this now and go back to Harrison’s.”

  “I don’t see it as a problem as much as a concern. We don’t know what two Halflings mating will do. It could be like two humans, or two vampire, or something totally different.”

  “Well, like I said, it’s none of your concern. Dylan and I are going to be together, we’re meant to be together, and nothing the Senate says is going to stop that.”

  “We could eliminate Dylan and end it before it begins,” Langley informed them, and Karma hissed.

  “That would be the biggest mistake you ever made,” she said through clenched teeth. “I would turn on the Senate and join the vampire. I would destroy the order you want, and make sure that serum is complete.”

  “Copula,” Dristen murmured without looking away from the newspaper he was pretending to read.

  “You two are linked through the copula. That’s the only explication for such a fierce reaction,” Langley explained, and Dylan nodded.

  “Harrison already suspected, and had mentioned it to me before all this started. Neither of us hold stock in fate verses free-will, so we didn’t really think anything else about it.”

  “I am a big believer in making my own destiny, but if this copula is what drew me to Dylan then so be it,” Karma said and looked over at Dylan. “But if anyone tries to hurt him, they will have to answer to me.”

  “No one is going to do anything to Dylan,” Dristen informed them. “Langley was just trying to get a reaction out of you. It was necessary for us to know exactly how deep your feelings for Dylan go. Now that we know, we can address the concerns people will surely have regarding you and him being the only two Halflings in existence.”

  “You’re a son of a bitch, Langley.” Karma said and punched him in the face. She heard his nose break and grinned. “Now, it’s almost time to board, so I’m getting out of here.”

  She stood and slung her backpack over her shoulders before she walked out of the lounge with Dylan right beside her.

  “She broke my nose,” Langley said in awe. “I wasn’t expecting her to punch me.”

  “Seriously? You weren’t expecting that? Have you met her?” Ramsey asked with laughter in his voice. “I’m surprised she didn’t stake you for that.”

  Constance handed him a wet paper towel to wipe the blood off his already healed nose and just shook her head. “I warned you not to bait her.”

  Before anyone else could say anything, their flight was called.

  “Time to go,” Aleyn said with a chuckle. He was so glad he had nominated Langley to talk to them.

  ****

  “Karma, wake up baby. We’re here,” Dylan gently shook Karma when the pilot announced they were getting ready to land. She’d fallen asleep about an hour ago and he had enjoyed watching her in that vulnerable state.

  “We’re here?” She asked in confusion before she shook her head to shake the sleep away.

  “The plane is getting ready to land,” Dylan explained, and Karma fully sat up.

  “How long was I asleep?”

  “Only about an hour.”

  “I’m sorry. I guess I needed it.”

  “Yes, you did, and you look so cute when you’re sleeping. Not at all like the badass warrior you are.”

  Karma laughed as the plane touched down, and as soon as they were given the okay, she stood up and retrieved her backpack.

  “So, I usually look like a badass warrior?” She asked as they stepped off the plane.

  “A sexy, badass warrior,” Dylan said, and Karma laughed.

  “I’ll have to remember that.”

  “I happen to agree with him,” Harrison said from behind them, and Karma cracked up.

  “You’re both full of crap,” she told them and walked away.

  “Dylan, can you come help me for a minute please?” Karma asked from the bathroom in their hotel room a little while later. She was tired of waiting for him to make a move, so she decided to take matters into her own hands.

  “Sure,” he answered from the other room. “What do you need help with?”

  When he poked his head in to see what she needed, his jaw dropped. The shower was running, and she was standing there without a stitch of clothing on. The steam was swirling around her like a mist and he could see the little droplets of moisture caressing her skin.

  Without saying a word, he walked to her and pulled her into his arms. His lips connected with hers, and she wrapped her arms around his neck. They lost themselves in the kiss for a moment before Dylan pulled away and swiftly undressed. Once he was as naked as she was, he pulled her to the shower, and they stepped under the hot stream.

  He grabbed her body wash and squirted a dollop into his hand, never breaking eye contact as he rubbed his hands together and laid them on her shoulders.

  “You are so beautiful,” he whispered in a husky voice. “I want to touch you.”

  “I want you to touch me,” Karma responded breathlessly. “I want you to do whatever you want with me.”

  “Karma, I have to know something first. I have to know if you’re a virgin.”

  “I am,” she answered softly and lowered her head.

  Dylan’s hands tightened on her shoulders for a second before he started moving them down her arms.

  “That is nothing to be ashamed of,” he told her as he glided his hands over her body.

  “I love the fact that no one has touched you here but me,” he said as he dipped his hand between her legs and started gently washing her most intimate parts.

  When she moaned, he turned her around and pressed her back against his chest. “Close your eyes and feel, Karma. I want you to enjoy this.”

  She nodded and moaned again when his hand found its way into her folds and started rubbing her nub.

  “Dylan,” she breathed out when his other hand started caressing her breast.

  “Yes, Karma?” He asked in a quiet whisper. She didn’t answer as her back arched and her legs shook. “That’s it, baby. Let go. Show me how this makes you feel.”

  When she clenched around his fingers, he wrapped his arm around her to keep her from falling.

  “Oh, Dylan,” She moaned breathlessly as her body shook.

  After she regained her balance, he finished cleaning her body and washed her hair before he turned the water off and helped her step out. Then he wrapped a huge towel around her and grabbed one for himself.

  “I want to show you how much I love you,” he told her and led her to the bed.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  The next morning Karma awoke to the feel of hands on her body. Dylan was gently rubbing her stomach as he spooned her from behind.

  “Mmm….” She moaned as she turned in his arms and faced him. “Last night was wonderful,” she told him and kissed him long and deep.

  “It was better than wonderful. It was absolutely amazing,” he told her when she broke the kiss. “Too bad we have to get up and meet with the Senate and a
White House representative. I would love nothing more than to lay here with you in my arms, making love to you all day.”

  “Sounds like a plan to me. Maybe soon we will get a day off to do just that,” Karma rubbed herself against him then giggled when he nipped her lower lip. “I guess we need to get up and get ready for the day. Wanna join me in the shower?”

  “I would love to, but if I do, we will not be going anywhere today, and this meeting is very important.”

  “Good point,” she said and rolled out of bed. “I’ll be out in a few minutes.”

  When she stood up and started walking toward the bathroom he whistled at her nudity and she giggled.

  Once she was in the bathroom, Dylan got up and got dressed. He didn’t care who they were meeting with, he was going to dress in clothes he could fight in because you never knew what could happen.

  When Karma came out of the bathroom a few minutes later she was dressed in her usual black pants and black tank top. She winked at him when she grabbed her boots and started checking the hidden pockets inside. “I will be so glad when Nevaeh gets here with my weapons. I really feel naked without them.”

  “Good thing you aren’t. That’d be a huge distraction to all the males in the meeting today,” Dylan walked over and sat beside her. “Want me to braid your hair?”

  “I would love that,” Karma said, and shifted on the bed so he could sit behind her.

  He brushed and braided her hair for her then bent his head down and softly nipped her neck. “Karma, this is going to sound odd, but there’s something I’ve been thinking about for a while now.”

  “What is it, Dylan? You know you can talk to me about anything.”

  “I want to taste you. Your blood, actually.”

  “Oh,” Karma said quietly.

  “It’s not something I’d ever do without you being okay with it though. You know I would never do anything to violate your trust or hurt our relationship. You are the single most important person in my life, and I would never hurt you.”

  “Dylan, calm down,” she took his face in her hands and gently kissed his lips. “It’s not something I’ve thought about, but I know you would never hurt me, and I know you would never take anything I didn’t want to freely give. Tell you what, let’s table this discussion until we get back here later. Then we will talk about it and see where it leads.”