by Karen Lynch
“Are we staying here?” she asked me.
“We’re leaving once we help get the place secured. The rest of them will pack up and move to another safe house in the morning.”
I would have left for the airport with her already, but the chances of another attack on the safe house were slim, especially now that all the warriors were here. The place was trashed, but it was probably the safest place in Vegas tonight.
It took all of us working together for two hours to clear out the bodies and cover most of the windows to keep the rain out. Sara and Jordan worked alongside us, neither of them complaining about the hard work, though I knew it had to be tiring after their long day and the attack.
Sara had been put through an emotional wringer in the last twelve hours, and I had no idea how she kept going. I hoped this was the last of the excitement for us until we got home.
As we were finishing up, the pilot called to let me know we could leave in the next hour.
I looked around for Sara. I couldn’t wait to get her out of this city.
She came down the stairs a few minutes later, wearing dry clothes someone had loaned her. I hid my smile when I saw the rolled-up legs of her borrowed jeans.
She looked tired but otherwise okay as I made my way over to her.
“The storm is letting up, and the pilot says we can take off in an hour or so,” I told her. “I’m going to call Tristan, and then we’ll head over to the airport.”
“Okay.” Her smile told me I wasn’t the only one eager to leave.
I took out my cell phone and frowned when I saw there was no signal, most likely due to the severe storms. I walked out to the covered deck at the back of the house to call Tristan, who still didn’t know we were coming home or that we’d talked to Madeline. I’d called him from the plane to tell him we were on the way to Las Vegas and that we had a lead on Madeline. But so much had happened since then I hadn’t been able to update him.
The vampire screamed as I stepped outside and closed the door behind me. Geoffrey and Abigail had been down in the basement with her this whole time, questioning her, and I could imagine what interrogation tactics they were using now. Silver probably. It was clean, easy, and effective. None of us liked that part of our job, but you had to do unpleasant things when you fought a war like this one.
Someone shouted inside the house. It was followed by a second one, and then a third.
I ran inside and down the hall to the living room as the vampire screamed again, closer this time.
The first thing I saw was Geoffrey coming through the open basement door. Then I saw the crowd gathered in front of the kitchen, bodies crouched in attack positions.
A pit opened in my stomach. I pushed my way through the warriors to the kitchen as a flash lit up the room, and the vampire sagged against Sara.
“Damn it, Sara. There are a dozen warriors here. You couldn’t let one of them handle this?”
Her glare told me what she thought of my question. “Look at her, Nikolas. She’s even smaller than I am. Do you think I can’t handle one little vampire?”
Jackson spoke up. “Don’t answer that, my man. It’s a trap.”
I shot him a hard look, though he had a point. Not that it was a trap, but that Sara was capable of holding her own against the vampire. Arguing with her just because I still had trouble with her fighting was not going to help. It would only make her think I doubted her in front of everyone.
The vampire moaned, alerting me to the fact she was not unconscious.
“We need to get her secured again before she comes to,” I said to Geoffrey as he and I entered the kitchen. “How the hell did she escape in the first place?”
He rubbed his jaw. “She picked the lock on the shackles. I don’t know how she did it. Most vampires can’t handle silver that long.”
Sara smiled wanly. “Desperation will make you do a lot of things you couldn’t do before.”
Evan joined us in the kitchen, and he and Geoffrey moved to take the vampire from Sara.
“Good job, Sara. We’ll take her now,” Geoffrey said.
The vampire woke up and bared her fangs at us as she tried to twist away from Sara. Before anyone could grab her, Sara sent another jolt of power into her, knocking her out again. The ease with which she handled the vampire and the control she displayed impressed the hell out of me.
Even more impressive was how cool-headed and fearless she was, holding a vampire in her arms. Every warrior there, myself included, was tense and ready to jump in at the slightest provocation. Sara could have been holding a life-sized doll for all it seemed to affect her.
Geoffrey whistled under his breath. “That’s some trick.”
“You should see me pull a rabbit from a hat,” she joked.
Several people laughed, but the mood was still tense as Geoffrey and Evan took the vampire by the arms and relieved Sara of her burden.
“We’ll make sure this one doesn’t get loose again,” Geoffrey said firmly. “Not sure if she’s worth keeping, though.”
“Why?” Sara asked.
He shrugged. “Some vampires break. Most don’t. After a while you can tell the ones that will.”
Jordan entered the kitchen. “Then why waste your time with her?”
“Because they can’t take the chance of not getting information out of her,” I explained.
“Wait,” Sara called as Geoffrey and Evan dragged the vampire away. “Maybe I can get something out of her.”
Geoffrey gave her a skeptical look. “How?”
I shook my head. “No.”
I knew what it would take to get this vampire to crack, and Sara was too softhearted to do what needed to be done, even to a vampire. She had a weapon we didn’t have, but that wouldn’t help when she remembered this tomorrow or a year from now.
She gave me a puzzled look. “Nikolas, you said they need information. And it’s not like she can hurt me.”
I laid my hands on her shoulders. “You don’t have the stomach for torture, and that’s what it will take.”
“Maybe not.” She chewed her lip. “I could connect with the demon.”
My stomach rolled as fear shot through me. “Absolutely not. Do I need to remind you what happened the last time you did that?” The memory of her lying on that cell floor after she’d healed Nate would haunt me for the rest of my life.
“No,” she said slowly. “But I’m a lot stronger than I was that time, and I know what to expect now.”
“No.”
She laid her hands on my chest. “I know you’re worried, but I’ve come so far since that thing with Nate. I’ve spent months working with Aine and Eldeorin, and I know what I can do.”
My heart, my Mori, and every instinct yelled at me to take her away from here. In that moment, I relived every torturous hour spent waiting for her to wake up and not knowing if she would. The only thing that had made it bearable back then was knowing she had saved Nate. This wasn’t the same. This was a random vampire who might have information we wanted. It wasn’t worth the risk.
I looked into her eyes, which pleaded with me to trust her. She was confident she could do this, just as I was sure of myself as a warrior. And her power was much stronger than it had been back then, not to mention the control she’d displayed a few minutes ago.
“Sara has powers and abilities you’ll never be able to comprehend. Don’t underestimate her, warrior.”
Eldeorin’s words came back to me. As much as I hated to agree with him on anything, he was right in this. As a Mohiri, I couldn’t understand her power, and that scared me because I’d never know if she was ready to face a situation like this one. I had to trust her to know.
I rested my forehead against hers. “Promise me you’ll be careful.”
“I promise.”
“I mean it, Sara.” I pulled back to look into her eyes. “If I have to sit by a hospital bed for another two days, I really will lock you up.”
“That won’t happen. Trust me.”
Her smile did not reassure me. I let go of her shoulders and stepped back.
“What do we need to do?”
She waved at the kitchen floor near the island. “Just lay her here on the floor, and I’ll do the rest.”
I turned to Geoffrey. “Do as she asks.”
He shot me a look that said he expected some answers later. When I nodded, he and Evan laid the vampire where Sara wanted her.
Sara looked at the vampire and then at me and the other warriors. “I need some room to do this. Can you all move to the living room?”
I was the last one out, and I stood outside the archway, refusing to go a step farther. Jordan stood beside me while the other warriors crowded in behind us, curious to see what Sara was going to do to the vampire.
Ignoring her audience, Sara knelt on the floor and placed her hands on the vampire’s chest. Immediately, her hands began to glow, causing gasps and exclamations behind me.
The vampire opened her eyes, and I took a step into the kitchen. Sara’s glow intensified, and the vampire’s face contorted into a hideous silent scream.
“What the fuck?” Jackson croaked.
My body tensed and my stomach turned to rock as I waited for what would come next.
The glow coming from Sara’s hand expanded until her whole body was encased in soft white light. Unlike before, when her power had exploded from her, it billowed out from her in undulating waves like a giant soap bubble that slowly enveloped her and the vampire.
“What the hell is that?” someone asked.
“What is she?” Geoffrey breathed.
Jordan looked up at me, her eyes wide with awe. “I heard about it, but I never imagined…”
“I know.”
My eyes went back to the two shapes that were still visible but distorted through the bubble. Sara didn’t move, but every now and then the vampire twitched as if it was being electrocuted.
Minutes ticked by. What was happening in there? Sara hadn’t actually talked to the vamhir demon inside Nate; she’d seen and heard its memories. Was she doing that now, or was she trying to talk to it? Was it even possible for her to communicate with the demon in that way?
I shifted restlessly. She’d been connected to Nate for no more than a minute. At least five had passed since she laid her hands on the vampire.
The bubble suddenly grew brighter and hotter until it was impossible to look upon and unbearable to be near, forcing us to retreat several feet.
My throat went dry when I found myself shielding my eyes against the same sphere of light I’d seen in Nate’s cell.
Oh God. I knew what she was about to do, and I was powerless to stop it.
“Holy Mother!” someone said as the sphere pulsed and the lights in the house flickered.
And then it was gone.
Chapter 43
Sara was slumped motionless across the vampire, neither of them moving.
My heart stuttered as I knelt beside them and lifted her off the vampire. Turning her in my arms, I laid her on the tile floor. With shaking hands, I checked for a heartbeat, and I sagged when I felt her strong pulse.
A girl screamed.
I looked over into the terrified brown eyes of the vampire – no, the human girl – as she sat up and scrambled backward to cower against the cupboards. Wailing, she curled into a tight ball with her arms wrapped around her head.
No one approached her. Everyone seemed at a loss about what to do.
All I cared about was Sara.
“Sara, wake up.” I patted her cheeks and gave her a gentle shake.
No response.
I brushed the hair from her face. “You promised you wouldn’t do this. You need to open your eyes.”
Nothing.
Desperately, I leaned over her and cupped her face with my hands. “Goddamnit, Sara, do not do this to me again.”
Her eyelids flickered. Dazed green eyes stared into mine.
“Why am I on the floor?”
The relief that washed over me would have sent me to my knees, had I been standing. I hugged her to me, burying my face in her hair.
“Fifty years. I’m locking you up for the next fifty goddamn years.”
“Can’t breathe,” she wheezed.
I lowered her to the floor and studied her face. “How do you feel?”
“Great.” She blinked in confusion. “My butt is cold.”
I smiled, almost giddy with relief. “We can’t have that.”
Sitting on the floor, I swept her up to settle her onto my lap. “Better?”
“Much better.”
She let out a deep breath and leaned into me as if she hadn’t the strength to do anything else. That was fine by me because I didn’t want to let her go.
Our happy reunion was soon interrupted by the sobs of the girl Sara had healed. Sara pulled away to look behind me, letting out a gasp when she saw the girl. She tried to stand, but I held her close.
“It’s not safe.”
She touched my face. “Yes, it is. Trust me. She won’t hurt anyone else.”
I looked between her and the girl, unsure of what to do. The girl might not be a vampire anymore, but there was no telling what state her mind was in after decades of being trapped in her own body with a demon.
I released Sara, and she crawled over to the girl, approaching her slowly like you would a wounded animal. When she was a foot away, she stopped and spoke softly to the girl.
“Shhh, it’s okay. You’re safe now and no one is going to hurt you.”
The girl began to cry harder. Sara reached out to lay a hand on her shoulder. “My name is Sara,” she said in a soothing tone. “I know you’re scared and confused, and I swear I won’t let anything hurt you. I’m just going to sit here with you until you’re feeling a little better.”
She sat on the floor beside the girl, her hand rubbing the girl’s back. The girl looked more terrified than threatening, but I wasn’t leaving Sara alone with her.
“Sara?” I called to her softly.
She smiled reassuringly and shivered. “We’re good. Can I get a blanket for her?”
Jordan ran and got two blankets – one for Sara and one for the girl. Out in the living room, everyone else stared at Sara and the weeping girl, whispering among themselves.
I didn’t blame them. It was my second time witnessing this miracle, and I still couldn’t believe it. Aside from Chris, Jordan, and me, no one here knew what Sara was or what she could do. We were filling people in on a need-to-know basis. This was going to be one of those situations.
At one point, Sara inclined her head toward the living room, but I shook my head firmly. Their questions could wait. Sara and her new charge were more important.
Slowly, the girl quieted, inching closer to Sara until her head was in Sara’s lap. Sara stroked her hair like a mother comforting a frightened child. It made me think of Sara with our future children. She was going to be an incredible and loving mother someday – after I had her to myself for a few decades.
When Sara started showing signs of discomfort, I picked up the sleeping girl and laid her on the loveseat in the living room. I had no idea what we were going to do with her when she woke up, but the way Sara hovered over her told me she was already feeling protective of the girl.
Geoffrey looked shaken when he came to stand beside Sara and me. “Is she really human again?”
“Yes,” Sara said.
He stared at the girl who had been a vampire an hour ago. “That’s…not possible.”
Sara gave me a pleading look.
“Geoffrey, let’s talk in the kitchen so we don’t disturb the girl,” I said.
“We can go downstairs if you don’t want to be overheard.”
“The kitchen will do.” I wasn’t letting Sara out of my sight. I didn’t care if this place was crawling with warriors.
“What just happened?” Geoffrey asked when we entered the kitchen. “I feel like I just watched a Copperfield show. I’m not sure w
hat to believe.”
“You just watched a vampire become human again.”
“But –”
“I know what you’re going to say. I didn’t believe it myself the first time I saw it.”
His mouth fell open. “You’ve seen this before?”
I stood so I could see Sara sitting on the foot of the loveseat. “This is the second time it’s happened. The first was in November at Westhorne.”
“How? How does she do it? Is she even a Mohiri?”
I watched Chris walk over to talk to Sara.
“Sara is half Mohiri and half Fae.”
He shook his head. “That’s impossible. Fae and demons don’t mix. There’s no way one of us could be with a faerie even if we wanted to.”
I exhaled slowly. Then I explained how Sara’s ancestor was undine and all of the descendants had been male until Sara. Sara’s father had been a human, making him fully compatible with Madeline.
I gave him a brief overview of Sara’s power, what had happened to Nate, and how Sara had made her uncle human again.
To his credit, Geoffrey managed to keep his questions to a minimum, although it was clear he was bursting with curiosity.
“This…is just incredible. Think of what it could mean for us. Sara could –”
“No. You saw how it knocked her out. Last time she was out for two days, and we didn’t know if she was going to wake up at all.”
I had a feeling Sara would disagree with me, and that this wouldn’t be her last vampire healing. She cared too much about people to not want to help them if she could. I also had a feeling she and I were going to be having long discussions about it.
“So what will you do with her? The vampire…I mean, girl?”
Sara looked over at me and smiled. She seemed tired but otherwise okay. We should be on our flight to Boise by now. But there was no way Sara would leave until we knew what shape the girl was in, and we figured out what to do with her.
“We’ll watch her tonight and see where we are tomorrow. I guess that means we’ll be your guests for a few more hours.”