by Opal Carew
The sides of the home were coated in ivory stucco, but exposed areas revealed pink brick quarried nearby to make the new building appear more antiquated. An old wagon wheel rested against a live oak. The lone tree provided the only bit of shade in the front yard.
Rachael took a deep breath. “Stark.”
“He likes it that way so he can see visitors approach from a distance at night.”
Her heart pounding, Rachael couldn’t calm her nervousness. “Nobody’s coming outside to greet us.”
“They’re watching from inside if any of his human hosts are awake at all. This is when we hit them before. The vampires sleep during the day for good reason, but the hosts are expected to guard the place all day long and stay up through most of the night to allow the vampires to feed on them. About midday the hosts are wiped out, no matter how hard they try to stay awake.”
Good. We might have a chance after all.
Danai drove the SUV around the back of a three-car garage and parked. “We’re out of sight of your family now. But this is where it gets complicated. We need to get into the house with Adonis. We’ll provide the distraction for the hunters first. Then when they come, they’ll provide the distraction for us.”
“And the complication is Adonis can’t let them know that’s the plan. So what do we do now?”
“I’d take you into the house, but I’m afraid Piaras would grab you, and I couldn’t do anything about it. Adonis could join us, but the hunters will notice if he suddenly vanishes from Michael’s truck.”
Rachael rubbed her arms. “So we wait.”
“Until Adonis let’s us know... “ Danai smiled when Adonis appeared next to the passenger’s door. “Speak of the devil.”
He opened the door, and Rachael leapt into his arms.
“I ought to part from you more often if I’m going to have this great a reception when we’re back together again.” He kissed her lips, the feel of his mouth against hers warm and assuming, and she responded with enthusiasm.
She finally pulled her mouth away from his. “How did you manage to get away from Michael?”
“I told them I’d do what I did before, sneak in, and open the windows. We parked out a ways.” He squeezed her to his chest. “Are you ready?”
“Yes. Piaras has to die.”
“My sentiments exactly. Danai will walk on your left. I’ll stay on your right. A human host will search you for weapons if they’re alert enough. Maybe Danai and me, too, since we’ve stirred things up a bit, if the word has reached Piaras.”
“I’m ready.” And armed. How would it look for a huntress to enter the vampire’s lair without a weapon? Suspicious.
Adonis kissed her one more time, the heat lingering on her lips, warming her before the chill of what they had to do consumed her again. Then they walked toward the house.
The double oak doors swung open. Rachael took a deep breath, trying to control the fear running rampant through her. Having Adonis and his sister on either side of her gave her some comfort, but she knew she’d have to face Piaras alone in the end.
They walked into a spacious ballroom-type living area with fifteen-foot high ceilings. Candelabras with eight candle-shaped bulbs hung from the ceilings, casting a soft light over the adobe red tile floor. Aztec blue, red and beige pillows, and afghan throws decorated cushiony beige couches while pictures of floral desert scenes covered the walls. Navy drapes covered all of the windows blocking out the sunlight. The place didn’t look anything like a vampire’s lair.
“Where is everyone?” Rachael whispered.
“We’re five hours earlier than expected,” Adonis said, his voice lowered for her ears only.
He motioned to Danai. She nodded, then headed down the hall to the east.
“Where’s she going?” Rachael couldn’t help the shivers that racked her body.
“To see if our family is still in the same room, alive.” He glanced at her. “Are you going to be all right?”
“Yes. And if your family is not?”
“We kill anything that moves. We have nothing to lose.”
A man with dark short-cropped hair suddenly came out of a hallway to the west. His jaw dropped. “We weren’t expecting you this early. We’d... we’d heard you had helped the hunters kill some of our people.”
Adonis folded his arms. “Piaras told me I had to get her here anyway that I could. If I couldn’t show them I could be trusted, they’d never had allowed me to get close to Rachael.”
“Oh, yes, well, of course. But Piaras’s still sleeping and didn’t wish to be disturbed.”
Groggy was better.
Danai hurried out of the eastern hallway and shook her head. Her eyes were hard and her lips thinned. “Not there,” she quickly said, to make sure Adonis understood she hadn’t found them dead.
“Where are they?” Adonis growled at the man. “I’ve kept my part of the bargain.”
The man ran his fingers through his hair. “He said you had to deliver her to him.”
“And I have done so. I can’t help it if he’s still sleeping. Where are my parents and sister?”
When the man wouldn’t say, Adonis seized Rachael’s arm, startling her, and she gasped. Adonis spoke harshly, “When Piaras wants to deal, we’ll deal.”
“Wait.” The host looked nervously back at the hall leading to the west wing.
It had to be where Piaras’s bedroom was located. Was Adonis going to barge in there while Piaras was sleeping? No, he had to find out about his family first to ensure their safety.
“All right,” the man said. “They’re down this hallway.” He motioned to the one he’d come from.
“Danai, go with him.”
“You’d better come, too, with the woman,” the man said.
Adonis growled a curse, but they followed the man. When they reached a double door, the human host knocked. Another, a dark-haired man with a bur cut, opened it. His dark eyes grew big when he saw Adonis.
“He brought the woman.”
“But—”
“Piaras promised Adonis he’d release them when he brought the woman to him.”
“But—”
“He’s taking her out of here if we don’t let him have his family, and you know how much Piaras wants the woman.”
Rachael was darkly amused. Human hosts couldn’t think for themselves on a good day, but right now she sensed they were exhausted. With the hunters arriving early, the hosts were totally thrown off.
“Okay.” He motioned inside the room.
A man with long brown hair, graying at the temples and dark brown eyes, who looked remarkably like an older version of Adonis, walked out of the room first. He looked tired and underfed. Danai took his hand and moved him away from the door. An older lady with dark hair and eyes and the same kind of high cheekbones as Danai, came out next. Then the sister, Pasha, younger, same rich dark brown hair and doe-like eyes, only not as thin as Danai.
“Take them, now,” Adonis said, his voice rigid and stern. “Now.”
“Rachael,” Danai said under her breath, her expression filled with regret, then she swallowed hard and hurried her parents and sister toward the front door.
“Adonis,” her father said, reaching back for him.
“Not now, Father.”
Rachael squashed the emotions of worry and panic that filled every molecule, hoping beyond hope his family could reach safety. She’d resigned herself to her own fate, kill Piaras, hopefully not dying by his hand before she could succeed, and be killed by his blood-bonds.
When Danai and her family reached the door, she tried the brass handle, but couldn’t open it. She turned back to the host.
He headed toward the door, flustered. “I wish Piaras had left us better word.” He twisted the bolt.
Suddenly a man dressed in a black satin shirt, the billowing sleeves cuffed with diamonds at the wrist and black trousers of fine linen, appeared next to the door. His long black hair was still hanging about his shoulders and ta
ngled as if he’d just been awakened and only barely had time to dress.
“Piaras,” Adonis said under his breath with hatred.
“We aren’t going so soon, are we?” Piaras’s sultry dark voice had wooed women for centuries. His jet black eyes stared at Danai.
He touched Danai’s wrist. She jerked away from him. “You must have killed my hosts when they tried to bring you to me.” He shifted his attention to Rachael, his eyes glittering with malice. “But I see the one I really want is here now.”
“Let my family go,” Adonis said, his voice commanding as if he were in charge.
“Demanding, aren’t we?” Piaras vanished and with a whoosh appeared in front of Adonis.
The animosity between the two men was electric. Rachael took a step away from them to get a better combat stance and reached behind her back to get her dagger.
“I’ve heard you’ve been helping the hunters, Adonis.”
“You wanted me to bring her to you. I couldn’t get to her any other way.”
Piaras’s smile faked, he kept his eyes on Adonis, but held his hand out to Rachael. Then he shifted his attention to her when she didn’t make a move toward him. “You’re to be mine, didn’t he tell you?” His gaze focused on the lump on her forehead.
“Your gorillas gave me that.”
“The same ones who tried to take me,” Danai said.
“It is good Danai put them out of their misery then, so that I wouldn’t have to.”
Suddenly turning to the host, Piaras hissed at him, “Wake the others.”
“Now? At this hour?” The host’s whole body shook slightly.
Piaras pinned him with an icy glare.
“Yes, yes, of course.” The man scurried down the hall that led to Piaras’s room and others.
Danai moved her parents and sister down the eastern hall away from where the vampires were housed apparently.
Piaras turned back to watch her and shook his head. “She doesn’t really believe I’m letting any of you out of here alive, does she?” He glanced at the guard who’d released Adonis’s family. “Get the hosts, fool. Instruct them to kill all but Danai.”
Adonis took a menacing step toward Piaras. “I brought Rachael to you as I promised.”
“And I never keep my promises.” Piaras grinned.
A glass window shattered in the direction Danai had disappeared.
Piaras yelled, “Get them!”
Rachael struggled to pull the dagger out from its sheath behind her back. She’d never attempted to wear one there, and she realized at once she should have practiced.
“They’ll never get far.” Piaras grabbed Rachael’s wrist. “You wanted to know why I wished to have Rachael? Her father killed my mistress. For a hundred and fifty years, we ruled together. And in a matter of seconds, he took her away from me.” He grasped Rachael’s throat. “It may take a few years, but Rachael will learn to be her.”
Adonis grabbed Piaras’s arm, both their canines extending instantly. He broke Piaras’s grip on Rachael, but Piaras immediately retaliated and slammed him against the wall, his hand on his throat. “You and Danai are mine. You’ll never break free from me. Your will is mine. The sooner you learn that, the better. As for the rest of your family, they’ll be dead soon.”
Rachael struggled to get her dagger free, cursing herself for her unpreparedness while Adonis fought Piaras’s grip on his throat.
Hosts ran down the hall toward where Danai and her family had escaped, their footsteps sounding like a stampede of cattle during an electric storm. If the hunters had made it outside, the sunlight would keep them safe from the vampires. And if Rachael’s family had reached the house by now, they’d easily kill the hosts. She prayed they’d make it.
A human cry from the hallway leading to Piaras’s room, made him shake his head. “One of my vampires didn’t like to be disturbed this early. Neither do I.”
Rachael’s fingers gripped the handle of her dagger and pulled it free. She quickly lunged at Piaras. He laughed and easily dodged her action, releasing Adonis inadvertently. Then he scowled. “You were not supposed to be armed.”
Adonis seized Piaras’s arms from behind, pinning them against his body. “Now Rachael!”
Again, she thrust, but Piaras slammed Adonis against the wall with his back. She accidentally hit Piaras’s rib with the blade. He hissed at her, his eyes filled with rage, his lips pulled back, exposing his deadly canines.
Before she could stab him again, a blond-haired, male vampire caught her arm and threw her to the floor. Except for a few bruises, she was no worse for wear. Six more vampires suddenly appeared, wearing various forms of sleeping attire, boxers, long t-shirts, and one in black silk pajamas. Their faces wore scowls, their hair dangled over their shoulders in disarray, and all seemed to wonder why Piaras had woken them at such an ungodly hour.
Suddenly, cries of pain filled the room where Danai had broken the window. Piaras broke the hold Adonis had on him, twisted around, and pinned him against the wall with an iron grip at his throat again. “Take care of Danai’s family,” he commanded the vampires, motioning with his free hand to where the commotion was. “Kill all of them, except for Danai.”
When all but the blond-haired vampire and Piaras vanished, Rachael jumped to her feet, but the new vampire bared his teeth at her.
“Don’t hurt her,” Piaras warned. “She’s mine, Tiberus.”
Using her blade, she lunged at Tiberus, but he deftly moved out of her path. “Stay still, you creep!” Anger filled every fiber of her being with a burning need to kill the creatures.
Piaras turned his attention to Adonis, who struggled to get loose of Piaras’s vampiric grip. “What am I to do with you?” He tore Adonis’s shirt with his teeth. “I wanted so to show the others I could rein in a male hunter. Don’t make me kill you.”
He constricted his hold on Adonis’s throat. Adonis gasped for air, his hands grappling futilely at Piaras’s wrists.
The perspiration beaded on Rachael’s forehead as she attempted to strike Tiberus, but his flying leaps kept her occupied while she couldn’t do any harm to him. She needed a longer reach. A sword.
Hisses and the sounds of swords striking walls, furniture, and death cries from vampires came from the eastern hall where Danai and her family had disappeared.
Rachael was certain she couldn’t reach Piaras’s heart from his back, but the blond was so sure she’d try for him again. When she turned and stuck her dagger into Piaras’s back, she surprised them both.
Piaras whipped around and struck her in the head with his fist. White stars sprinkled against a black velvet background filled her vision. But the jolt to her body when she collapsed to the floor, stirred her.
Piaras’s canines blurred from two to four, only inches from her face. He ripped her turtleneck at the throat, and she knew he intended to bite her and make her his. She clasped her hand into a fist realizing at once, she’d lost her dagger when she’d fallen.
Shoving his chin up with her left hand, she tried to keep his teeth from touching her neck.
Directly in front of her, Adonis and Tiberus fought. Adonis had managed to get to a sword. The other wielded one against him, the metal blades clanging against each other in wicked resonance.
With her right hand, she groped around for the dagger on the floor. Piaras jerked her left hand away from his face. His eyes pierced hers with intensity, then clouded over with desire. His body pressed heavily against hers and his arousal rubbed against her thigh. “This will hurt, if you fight me,” he whispered against her mouth.
Pushing with her boots against the floor, she squirmed to unseat him, the blood pounding in her ears. She couldn’t allow herself to be bitten. Turning her head from his gaze, she saw her dagger. She attempted to wriggle over to it, the silky pearl handle just at her fingertips.
Adonis groaned. Rachael’s heart took a dive. If he died...
The blond-haired vampire screamed in agony suddenly.
; Piaras turned.
Rachael grabbed the dagger. With a twist of her wrist she jammed it into the vampire as Adonis struck his sword through Piaras’s back.
Piaras grasped for her throat and cried out. But almost instantly his skin shriveled up, and he collapsed on top of her, dead.
She’d killed him. She’d avenged her parents’ deaths, but only a guarded relief filled her. What of the others? Were Danai and her family safe? Rachael’s own family?
Adonis yanked Piaras’s shrunken form off her and tossed him aside. He grasped her hand and pulled her from the floor, but quickly inspected the room to ensure that there were no other vampires around to threaten their safety. She covered the wound in his bloodied right shoulder. “You’re injured again, Adonis.”
Suddenly Gregory bolted down the hall toward them from where Danai had disappeared. He stormed toward Adonis, his eyes angry blue pools of fire.
“Get away from him, Rachael!” he commanded. “He’s one of them!” Gregory lunged forward with his sword.
Adonis groaned as he struck the weapon aside. He couldn’t kill the hunter, as much as he wanted to. Although he had every right to defend himself, the others might still feel some loyalty to Gregory, who’d been raised and trained with them. Even though many were pretty perturbed over what he’d done concerning Meghan Tanner.
Rachael tried to block Gregory with her body, but he shoved her away. Adonis’s blood boiled. If he touched her again...
Gregory struck at Adonis again, but Adonis deflected his weapon. His shoulder throbbed. Every thrust of his sword shot excruciating streaks of pain into his arm.
Rachael yanked at Gregory’s sword arm. He knocked her to the floor. Adonis fought extending his canines and hit Gregory’s sword with such force, Gregory jumped back.
Rachael grabbed Gregory’s leg and held on tight.
Gregory kicked at her. “Let go of me.” He cursed at her and Adonis struck him in the shoulder.
Michael rushed down the hall. “Gregory! Get hold of your senses!”
“He’s a vampire!” Gregory thrust his sword at Adonis’s chest.
Rachael screamed out. “My God! Adonis, no!”