by Karen Lynch
It had to be Yusri al-Hawwash. A man who would risk the trolls’ wrath would think nothing of hurting Sara or her uncle to get what he wanted. I tried not to think about the other option, that Eli had finally found a way to get to her. The thought of her in his hands made the blood pound in my ears and my stomach churn violently.
I had never known this kind of fear existed until today. “God, please keep her safe. I can’t lose her.”
Torture took on a new meaning for me as I counted down the miles one by one. In my mind, I replayed every conversation we’d had. I saw her eyes flash in anger when we fought, and the way her face lit up when she smiled. I watched her battle a crocotta, defend a troll, heal a dying werewolf. She was unlike anyone I’d ever met, and within the span of a month, she had become everything to me.
I recognized Maxwell’s truck outside Sara’s apartment when I roared up. I leapt off my bike and took the stairs three at a time, bursting through the front door without knocking.
Sara’s uncle and Maxwell were in the kitchen when I stormed into the apartment, and it was all I could do not to punch the Alpha for not protecting her like he’d promised.
“Who are you?” Nate Grey demanded before I could speak.
“Nikolas Danshov. I’m a friend of Sara’s.”
Recognition dawned in his eyes. “She told me about you.” His voice grew hoarse. “Please, find her.”
“I will. Tell me what happened.”
He cleared his throat. “I had some appointments in Portland, and I was on my way home when two men grabbed me at the grocery store. One was German and the other was Middle Eastern. They took me to an empty building on Crescent Street where a man named Haism Bakr was waiting for us. He told me he had business with Sara, and that if I behaved myself, I’d be home in no time. I asked him what he wanted with Sara, but he wouldn’t say. I knew it had to have something to do with the things she told me last night. She said she had to leave because people were after her.”
His voice cracked. “Now they have her.”
It was little consolation that the sheik’s men had Sara and not the vampire. The sheik wanted her to try to cure him, so he’d keep her alive. If he valued what was left of his life, he’d keep her unharmed.
“What happened next?”
“Haism’s men left and came back a little while later with Sara. Then Sara and Haism talked about his employer. He told her the sheik was angry with her because she stopped him from stealing the young trolls. He yelled at her, but she stood up to him. She was so brave, even when…”
Coldness spread through me. “When what?”
Nate’s voice shook. “When the vampire called. She was frightened, but she never showed it to them. Haism said he was giving us to the vampire to settle a debt.”
Oh God, no.
“That bastard, Haism, wanted to frighten her, to make her suffer,” Nate spat. “He was enjoying himself.”
My Mori roared in my head, and I promised it we would kill that man with our bare hands.
“How did you get away, Nate?” Maxwell asked.
“It was Sara. She made a deal with Haism. If he let us go, she’d give him some troll bile she had stashed away. The German man brought me home, and Sara went with Haism and the other man to get the bile.”
Hope sparked in my chest. I didn’t believe Haism would let Sara go when he got the bile, but she was smart and she knew we’d be looking for her. “How long ago did she leave with him?”
“Less than twenty minutes.”
“They could still be here. She’ll stall him to give us time to find her.” I looked at Maxwell. “We need to block every way out of this town.”
“As soon as Chris called, I sent the pack out. They’re covering all the exits and the harbor. The whole pack knows her scent, and my best trackers are trying to pick up her trail.”
“Good.” I started for the door. “Let me know the second they find something.”
“Where are you going?” Nate called after me.
“To get her back and to kill anyone who touched her,” I vowed coldly.
I called Chris as I jumped on my bike. “Yusri al-Hawwash’s men took her. They haven’t been gone long, so they’re still in New Hastings.”
“How do you know they’re still here?”
“Sara promised them troll bile. They won’t leave town without it.”
“Smart girl,” he said. “I’ll be there in five minutes. We’ll find her, Nikolas.”
I hung up and started my bike.
“Nikolas,” Maxwell called from the top of the stairs. “Francis picked up Sara’s scent on the old mining road south of town. He said it’s fresh.”
“I know where that is.” I peeled away from the building before he could say anything else. I called Chris on the way and told him to meet me there.
I spotted a white Cadillac half a mile down the mining road. Pulling up behind it, I saw Francis crouched beside a body on the ground.
“Vampire got him.” He pointed at the mutilated man as he pulled out a cell phone. “More than one by the look of it. I need to let Maxwell know.”
My stomach turned to ice. Only mature vampires could walk in the daylight, even on an overcast and foggy day like today.
Eli was here.
Moving with demon speed, I donned my harness and swords. “When Chris gets here, send him to the cliffs.”
“How do you know where they went?”
“I just do.”
I ran into the woods. The cliffs were Sara and Remy’s special place, and that was where she’d hidden the damn bile.
It wasn’t hard to follow their trail. I stopped to study the two sets of footprints in the dirt, and my rage grew when I saw the smaller set was made by stockinged feet. A little farther on, I found where she had lain on the ground; the same place she had escaped from her bonds and run.
Moving swiftly, I came to a stream. There were blood smears on a fallen log, and I told myself she had cut her feet while running and wasn’t suffering worse injuries.
I kept moving, and suddenly I could smell the ocean.
Then I felt her.
I burst from the trees and stopped dead in the middle of a small field. Ahead of me on the cliffs milled a dozen or more vampires, and in the middle of them stood Sara and Eli.
Red colored my vision when I saw his possessive grip on her arm. I pulled my swords free of the harness and welcomed the rage descending over me.
Sara spun, and her gaze locked with mine.
Solmi! my demon roared.
For a moment, the world faded until there was just her and me and the bond that stretched between us. My eyes greedily drank her in. Bruised and bloody, wearing torn, dirty clothes, she was still the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen.
Eli’s shout broke the spell that held me. “He is only one. Risa, Heath, Lorne – take care of this.”
Three vampires came at me. Circling me, they stayed out of reach of my swords, looking for an opening.
My Mori boiled beneath my skin, wanting blood from those who would harm our mate.
You’ll have it, I vowed as its bloodlust filled me.
A red-haired male moved toward me. His eyes darted to my left as I raised my swords, and I knew he was trying to distract me. We spun away from each other at the same time, and one of my blades cut through skin and bone.
The blond male that had attacked on my left screamed and tried to retreat, but I gave him no quarter. His face was still frozen in shock when his severed head hit the ground.
A female shrieked behind me as the red-haired male came at me again. The look in his eyes told me he was not feinting this time.
Holding my swords against me, I kicked off from the ground in a burst of speed. Flipping backward, I landed behind the charging female. She was moving too fast to dodge the male’s attack, and she screamed again as his claws gouged her face.
The male tried to veer away, but he hesitated too long and my swords were waiting for him. He cried ou
t when the first blade slashed across his chest.
Kill! my Mori growled as my second blade cut deep into the vampire’s gut, eviscerating him. No longer a threat, he sank to the ground, clutching his entrails.
The female made an inhuman sound, and I spun, bringing my swords up as she flew at me. One of her eyes had been destroyed by the male’s claws, but her good eye held enough hatred for both of them. Crazed, she charged like a mindless beast, and I cut her down easily, driving my blade through her heart. Before her body hit the ground, I brought my other sword down in an arc to remove the head of the male that still writhed on the ground.
I faced the remaining vampires, who watched me in wary silence. My eyes went to Sara and the vampire that held her captive. She was pale, and I could sense her fear. But pride and hope shone in her green eyes.
Eli’s voice rang out sharply. “All of you! Finish him.”
“Coward!” Sara screamed at him as the other vampires took a step toward me.
I prepared myself for the attack. A warrior entered every battle knowing it could be his last, and each of us had our own way of facing our possible death. For me, it had always been the knowledge that I’d lived an honorable life, keeping humanity safe from the evils that walked the Earth, and I would die doing what I had been born to do.
But that was before I found Sara, before I knew what it was to live for another person. Her fate rested in my hands now, and if I fell, she’d be lost. I would not let that happen. I’d never faced this number of vampires alone, but then, the stakes had never been so high.
Sara gasped. At the same time, every one of the vampires blanched and took a step back. I didn’t need to look behind me to know reinforcements had arrived. I could smell the werewolves, and I heard the soft whisper of an arrow being fitted to a bow.
I looked at Eli, but my words were directed at all the vampires. “Let her go and we will let you live…for today.”
Eli yanked Sara against him with his claws pressed to her throat. His lips pulled back into a snarl that couldn’t mask the fear in his eyes. “I think not. We both know I could rip her throat out and jump before you reached us.”
My breath caught when he moved closer to the edge of the cliff. He would survive a plunge from that height, but Sara might not. I had to convince him that letting her go was the only way he’d get out of this alive.
“But then nothing would prevent me from hunting you down, and this time I will not stop.”
Eli sneered. “I think sweet little Sara is important to you, and you won’t do anything to jeopardize her life.”
I didn’t respond because he was looking for a reaction to give me away.
“Nothing to say?” Eli laughed and ran his claws down her face. “Will you still have nothing to say when I taste her?”
I knew the vampire was goading me, but that didn’t stop the growl that worked its way up from my chest. The sight of his hands on her was enough to drive me and my Mori insane with rage.
“Stay back, Mohiri,” Eli shouted. “You might kill me, but not before I end her.”
The only thing that kept me in control was the knowledge that Sara’s life depended on me holding it together. “Let her go and you’ll have a chance of getting out of this alive.”
My gaze swept over each vampire. “Is she worth your life – all your lives?”
The vampire closest to Eli said something I couldn’t hear.
Eli snarled at him. “She is mine, and I will not give her up! You heard the Master. Kill her or take her, but the girl is not to be left behind.”
Sara’s voice rang out. “Kill me then. All I ever wanted was to find the one who killed my father, and here you are. Knowing that my friends will rip you to shreds – all of you – after I’m dead is enough for me.”
My shock at hearing that Eli had killed her father was tempered only by the fresh wave of fear her words sent through me. The calm acceptance in her voice filled my veins with ice.
The vampires heard it too, and I could see panic on their faces. Some of them looked around, preparing to run.
“Stand firm!” Eli shouted at them. “You would dare disobey the Master’s orders?”
The vampires rushed to form a shield in front of their leader. Behind me a few wolves let out low growls.
My eyes stayed on Sara, and my body shook as I watched Eli pull her against him and put his mouth to her ear. I could not hear his words, but I saw the revulsion on her face as she responded to whatever he’d said to her.
It killed me to stand there and watch her suffer his touch, but I was acutely aware of how close they were to the edge of the cliff. Eli was as fast as I was, and he’d be over the cliff with her before I could reach them.
“I’ll kill you!” she cried suddenly, trying to pull away from Eli.
He laughed, and Sara stopped struggling. Her eyes met mine, and I saw the resolve in them. She was planning something.
I wanted to shout at her, to tell her no. She had no chance, surrounded as she was by so many vampires.
Eli wrapped his arms tighter around her waist. “Maybe I’ll keep you until I find dear Madeline. I’ve never had a mother and daughter at one time.”
Instead of cowering, Sara taunted him. “You sick bastard! I’m going to enjoy watching you die, Eli.”
Some of the vampires turned to stare at her. Eli sneered and spoke loud enough for all to hear. “You’re brave enough to say that now, but soon you will beg to die. I will use you and drink from you over and over until I have had my fill. And when there is nothing left, I will send you to be with your dear father.”
Blood roared in my ears, and my body felt like a spring coiled too tight. My control was about to snap.
Eli jerked and made a choked sound. He stumbled back from Sara, clawing at the hilt of the knife she had buried in his chest. The same knife I’d given her that day on the wharf.
No one else moved.
Every pair of eyes was riveted on the girl who stood quietly, her face serene as she watched the vampire who had terrorized her gasp his last breath.
I was moving toward Sara before Eli hit the ground. The vampires recovered from their shock, and half a dozen of them came to intercept me. One went down before they could reach me, an arrow protruding from his chest. Chris was as deadly with a crossbow as he was with a sword. He felled a second vampire, leaving me to engage the last four. I took down one before a huge gray werewolf leapt at the throat of another vampire.
I was battling the last two vampires when a terrified scream curdled my blood. I spun toward the cliff in time to see a vampire sling Sara over his shoulder and run for the edge. “Sara!” I shouted, lunging at two female vampires who were harder to kill than their brethren.
A black wolf sped past me toward Sara. My gut twisted with the knowledge that he wouldn’t reach her in time.
An arrow zipped past my head, and the vampire and Sara crumpled to the ground. She pushed his weight off her and got to her feet, looking dazed.
A vampire ran at me, and I drove my sword into her heart as I shouted, “Sara, run!”
She started toward me and jerked suddenly. Her pain hit me, and I stared in horror at the knife embedded in her chest. Blood quickly soaked her shirtfront, and she stumbled.
“No!” I roared, slashing at the vampire that stood between us. The vampire fell, and I turned to the cliff.
Sara was gone.
I dropped my swords and raced to the edge of the cliff. Below in the foaming surf, I spotted something dark and wavy, seconds before it disappeared beneath the surface.
“Sara!” I bellowed as I dove after her.
I sensed her before my body hit the water. My momentum took me down a dozen or so feet. Then I flipped around and began searching for her. The water was deep, but I could see clearly as I cut through it with strong strokes. I swam to where she should have been and dove to the bottom. I turned in a complete circle, confused. I could feel her nearby, but there was no sign of her.
I could stay underwater longer than a human, but eventually I was forced to come up for air. I broke the surface and sucked in large gulps of air before I headed back down.
It took me several seconds to realize Sara’s presence was growing fainter off to my right. An underwater current tugged at me and I followed it, praying it would lead me to her.
The current flowed into a small cove. She was here; I could feel her. But the moment I entered the cove, she vanished. One second I felt her, and the next I felt nothing.
“Sara.” I surfaced and called to her over and over as I searched the cove.
Pain crushed my chest when I finally swam back to the base of the cliff. She couldn’t be gone. I’d know if she was dead. I felt our bond, strong and alive inside me, and the pain lessened. If she was dead, there would be no bond.
Chris was in the water when I got back to the cliff. Wordlessly, the two of us began searching. We’d covered a half-mile radius before boats arrived to help with the search. Maxwell had alerted the authorities that a girl had fallen into the ocean.
A police boat came, equipped with large search lights since it would be dark soon. They were joined by at least a dozen fishing boats and pleasure craft as word spread and the townspeople came out to help. The police organized the civilians, and they began searching several miles up and down the coast.
It was late into the evening when they called off the search for the night. They planned to come back at first light and resume their search. I heard snatches of a conversation about divers and a recovery operation. They already believed she was dead.
The only reason I left the water was that I knew without a doubt Sara was not there. A rope had been lowered to us from above, and Chris and I used it to pull ourselves up.
Erik’s team had shown up before the police, and along with the wolves, they had removed all the vampires before the humans saw them. The team had also set up a temporary campsite in the field near the cliff to use as a base while they searched the woods. Maxwell’s best trackers were out there as well looking for any sign of Sara.
Roland and Peter ran up to me as I climbed over the top of the cliff. Their hopeful expressions fell away when they saw my face.