Wyatt snuck up to the middle door briefly, then pulled away and nodded to me, mouthing the words, “in there”.
No shit! I didn’t feel any magic coming from her. If she was behind that door, she was without power. Had to be or I would have felt it by now.
A wave of anxious excitement washed over me. Was it her behind that door? Wyatt’s amulet was meant to detect vampires in general. Would it work the same for hybrids?
There was only one way to find out.
I nodded back, then motioned for him to move away as I raised my empty hand to pool power for a second spell. No need for subtlety—we wouldn’t be sticking around long.
Time to show this bitch a thing or two about destruction of property.
Wyatt shifted to the side and I unleashed my spell, blasting the door open with a deafening bang.
Wyatt rushed in and I quickly followed him. Was it a trap? Hell yes. Ivana stood on the other side of the room, power crackling from her fingers. Her partner was closer to the door, equally as magic charged. Neither looked surprised to see us. My stomach dropped. Somehow, they’d tricked my tracking senses.
“Well, aren’t you two clever?” Ivana said coldly.
“There’s no need to fight here.” Wyatt raised his hands in truce, Bessy resting idly against his shoulder. “We can talk this out, figure a way to bring satisfaction to all parties.”
Everyone in the room knew that was bullshit.
Ivana’s smile sent chills down my spine. She turned her cold eyes from Wyatt to me, then wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. “I don’t think that’s an option, Mr. Steel.”
She nodded to her partner, the man who I’d never actually seen but had felt. His magic signature matched the one I’d encountered a few times already, muddled, like hers, but I was detecting a familiarity there. He moved a step closer to Wyatt.
“I’ve had a taste of her blood and I want more. She’s got the right kind of power for me,” Ivana said.
Wait…what? “You tried to blow me up! You destroyed my condo! Why would you do that if you wanted my blood? Kind of defeats the purpose doesn’t it?”
Ivana’s smile faded slightly. “Yes, an unfortunate little mistake. I’d just taken blood from a pyro. Tricky bit of magic to handle.” She shrugged. “Up until last night, when I heard about your little visit with my boys at Cabot’s, I thought I’d killed you.”
Fuck. I winced and shifted my gaze briefly to Wyatt. He was never gonna let me live that one down.
“It was a pleasant surprise, and now that I have you here, I’m going to get another taste.” Ivana sneered. “Not like you’re harnessing your powers beyond instinct anyway. I can put it to much better use.”
I narrowed my eyes. “You’ll have to come and take it from me.”
Ivana laughed with such determined cruelty that for a moment I actually wanted to turn tail and run. “The silly witch has challenged me, Robert.” She turned her icy smile toward her partner.
“What a fool,” he said, smiling back at her.
The blast Ivana sent my way was a surprise, not because it caught me off guard but because it was so easy to deflect. I knew a diversion when I saw one. Robert launched himself and his magic at Wyatt.
Shit. I quickly countered Robert’s spell while at the same time layering another spell that would create a protective bubble around Wyatt and ward off any attack from Ivana. It would drain me quickly, layering spells that way, but I had no other choice.
Somehow, I kept my mind focused and my emotions in check. My spells were flowing well, the words running smoothly in my mind as I built and then launched them. They were spells I used often, so I didn’t struggle. But one moment of distraction could mean death for Wyatt and me.
I glanced at Wyatt, who stood with Bessy cocked and aimed, moving his weapon around, unable to get even a close fix on his target with Robert’s swift and sporadic maneuvering.
I was pulling spells, loading them in my hands like a semi-automatic weapon, while at the same time, launching my stakes in an attempt to nail the hybrids down. But they were both moving too quickly and the room was way too cramped to do anything really big without risking hurting Wyatt and myself.
I realized almost immediately that we needed to get the hell out into the open if we had any chance of getting away. And my plan was definitely to get away. Wyatt was right. We needed reinforcements. Billy and his team, maybe even the Council.
Ivana’s spells were weak and limited but they kept me busy defending myself and protecting Wyatt, leaving little room for an offensive attack. I knew they were calculated, that she was using my own tactic against me. Keep my spells going so that I’d drain of power, become an easy target.
“Move to the door, Kali,” Wyatt shouted through the explosions of power.
I nodded and I cast another string of spells, warding, shielding, whatever it took to keep the two vampires at bay. I wasn’t hitting true and my spells were wavering, too much adrenaline pumping, emotions running wild. This was a shitstorm in the making.
Ivana looked bored. She moved around the room, dodging the few spells I managed to send her way with ease while playfully tossing her own in my direction. Robert, on the other hand, was a little more forceful and it was taking almost all of my power to keep the hybrid from really hurting Wyatt. And Wyatt was doing everything he could, lunging at the fast moving vamp while trying to hit him with whatever weapon he had handy. Nothing was working.
I grimaced, sweat pouring down my face. We were being toyed with.
I backed myself to the door, and pushed out into the daylight. The sun’s rays should have protected us, but with the hybrid’s obvious spell casting, they were impervious to the sun as well.
We were screwed.
Wyatt trailed closely beside me, with Bessy strapped onto his back, useless unless he could get a clear shot. He seemed to have run out of throwing stakes so he pulled out his gun and was rapidly firing bullets into the darkened doorway. One or two must have hit because neither one came out after us immediately.
“We need to get the hell out of here.” Wyatt was out of breath, his expression blank. He nodded toward his truck.
The sun beat down on us for mere moments before the chill of a strong wind crept up and clouds moved in.
“What the hell?” I whispered as the hair on the back of my neck pulled tight, sending shivers down my spine. I knew what was going on. They were calling a storm again. That could only mean one thing.
Ivana’s laugh echoed from the doorway. It was Robert who was casting the spell and Ivana was blocking us from interrupting him. It took a lot of power and concentration to call the rain—concentration that couldn’t be disturbed. But if he got a downpour going, brought on the dark, there was no telling who or what would come pouring out of the hotel. There could be an army of hybrids hiding in those rooms, all waiting for a witch to drain.
“I bet you haven’t figured out everything about us, Kali.” Ivana jolted a spell my way, stronger than the ones she’d been casting earlier, but still one I shielded easily.
I glanced at the darkening sky. What was Robert going to do, zap us with lightning before ringing the dinner bell?
Ivana tsked, calling my attention back to her. “We hybrids gain quite a lot from draining you witches. The joy of experiencing sunlight, our powers back, but that’s not all.”
Wyatt slanted his eyes toward me as he moved inch by inch to the left. I didn’t know exactly what he was up to, but I could tell that continuing the distraction was something he wanted me to do. Keep the conversation going, even if my heart was pounding and my gut roiling. The storm…what was she doing with the storm? Ivana wanted to brag, so be it. Maybe it would be the cause of her undoing.
A bolt of lightning struck several yards away and I actually jumped like a scared little schoolgirl. And that made me angry. But I reeled it in
, knowing, trusting that Wyatt had some master plan that he was setting up.
Whatever he was going to do, he had better do it quickly. It felt like time was running out.
“Part of the benefit to draining a witch is that I get to use his or her powers. Well, for the short term anyway.” She shrugged one shoulder, her smile malevolent. “So I got a little taste of your tracking abilities.”
Oh fuck. That was not good.
I shifted a quick glance over at Wyatt, his mouth was set in a tight line as he looked from me to the clouds, probably wondering just as I was what her plan could be.
Ivana shifted to the side of the doorway and Wyatt swiveled his eyes back to her.
“Robert is just conjuring up a quick storm so we can put an end to this little game.” She was watching me, her smile gone, her stare calculating like a tiger eyes easy prey. “There are vampires in the cellar.”
I shot a look at Wyatt, panic surging. We were so fucked.
“As I’m sure you know, vampires are sadistic fucks. They know lots of ways to get people to talk. And I need information from you two. But after that…” She shrugged. “If I drain you completely, then I get to keep your powers forever.” She smiled sweetly then, as if that could disguise her evil intent. “Just like Robert took that little Curtis bitch’s.”
I processed her words. What? Thinking back days before, when I first saw Shelly’s body. My memory of her reeking of magic, a death spell I’d thought. But that wasn’t what had happened, was it? She’d been drained, her powers taken with her blood.
That was how Ivana’s sidekick came to have a weather casting abilities. He’d stolen it. Ripped it from Shelly’s young life and left her parents to mourn.
If Ivana had my power to track, she’d be able to find any witch she wanted and take their blood and possibly their powers completely. She’d never run out of a supply. The thought was terrifying. By the time the rest of the world figured it out, she could build an army of hybrids like her. And she was crazy enough on her own, but with a pending war?
Holy shit!
“You know about the Dark War,” I hissed.
She cackled then, just like a wicked witch. “Know about it? You stupid bitch, it was my idea!”
Anger and fear burned through me, igniting my magic with little direction. It blasted out of my hand, reeling with a powerful punch straight for her. She managed to deflect some of the spell but a good portion hit her full on, sending her tumbling backward into the room. I followed up with a few more blasts that hit the window, shattering the glass and exposing Robert, who was so deeply entranced in his spell casting he did nothing to deflect the shards that cascaded around him.
As if reading my mind, Wyatt stepped into the line of the window, raised his crossbow and fired. The sharp, whizzing succession of stakes flying was a strangely comforting sound. Ivana was back at the door, turning to follow the noise. Her eyes grew wide as she frantically waved her hand as if swatting a fly. But it was too late—Robert dropped to the ground, clenching his chest as blood coated the carpet in a sickening blanket of red.
Ivana screamed, her eyes moving wildly from Robert to Wyatt, then to me. The storm clouds dissipated immediately and the sun shone brightly once again. Wyatt stepped back, Bessy cocked and resting on his forearm. A wicked smile spread across his face as he raised the weapon and took aim again.
Ivana brought her arms down and positioned her hands as though she was holding a ball. For a moment, I could feel the power that was building and a tremor of fear swept over me.
“Wyatt, run!” I screamed but I didn’t get anywhere, Ivana was too fast. Her spell hit me full force, blasting me up, the burn of the magic etching into my chest and face as I flew backward then dropped. Slamming into the hotel’s pool like I’d hit a wall of concrete. My lungs lost all breath and I felt the simultaneous crack of several bones breaking. The water enveloped me, taking the last of my breath away.
Just as I was slipping under, another spell grabbed me, yanked me up by my hair like a strong hand and dragged me from the water. I would have screamed in agony had I any air left in my lungs. My hair felt like it would rip from my scalp and my body throbbed with the burning pain of my many injuries.
The spell brought me to Ivana. She glared down at me as she cast another spell and aimed it away. Toward Wyatt, I assumed. My mind was hazy, my lungs just starting to pull oxygen back in. The pain rolled over me in brutal waves and I knew that it was game-over. I couldn’t even raise my arm to ward her off when she bent down and hoisted me up by the throat.
She leveled my face to hers, her lips pulled into a wide grin as she brandished her wicked fangs. “You’re mine, Kali. I’m going to drain every last drop until your body is a husk of bones and skin.”
Fuck you.
Her smile widened and she bent my head to the side, leaning it and imbedding her fangs deeply into my neck.
I felt the familiar sucking sensation, felt my blood drawn to her fangs and with each of her sickening pulls, my vision wavered. It seemed like it went on forever.
It was only the faintest of sounds that caught my attention and pulled me back to consciousness. A tiny noise in the middle of Ivana’s slurping drink. Wyatt was shouting and then I felt a flutter of something sharp skim my arm. With an enraged bellow, Ivana dropped me to the ground.
I crumbled in a heap, my eyesight failing, darkness crowding in, but not before I saw Wyatt aim and take another shot with Bessy. Ivana howled in pain as she spun and disappeared.
Chapter Twenty
I awoke to a buzzing sound in my ears and a throbbing pain behind my eyes. Too much pain for being dead.
“Kali?”
Wyatt’s voice cut through the annoying sound and I latched onto it, squinting as my eyelids fluttered.
“What?” My throat was raw, speaking painful. As consciousness seized me, I realized the throbbing wasn’t only behind my eyes—it was all over my body.
“Ow,” I moaned, as I tried to curl up, pull my body into itself.
“Shh-shh-shh. Stay still.” Wyatt’s fingers pressed into my flesh, stroking my arms, my ribs, my legs. I shivered. It felt so good. It always felt so good.
Without opening my eyes I drank it in, letting his healing magic envelop me. And then darkness clouded my thoughts and I disappeared again.
* * * * *
The next time I awoke, there was no pain. The room was dark as I cracked my eyes open. I couldn’t really see anything, but I knew I wasn’t alone.
“Wyatt?”
There was a grunt, followed by the creaking of a chair. “Yeah, I’m awake.”
A light flared next to me. Ugh. I squinted against the sudden illumination and then Wyatt’s face was there, hovering over me, worry written all over his expression.
“What happened?” I croaked.
My throat didn’t hurt anymore, but I was parched. A glass of water materialized above me. I struggled to sit and Wyatt’s hands guided me up. There was no pain, but I did feel strange. Lightheaded, jittery. Like I’d had one too many coffees or something.
I took a sip of the water, then a gulp. Before I knew it the glass was empty. Wyatt poured me more and I downed that as well. When he offered me another glass, I waved it away, wiping my fingers across my lips.
He set down the glass, his eyes never leaving mine. “How are you feeling?”
I assessed my body. Nothing seemed wrong. No pain. Which was strange because I remembered what had happened. My last conscious moments were filled with the certainty that I was about to die. Ivana had nailed me with a nasty spell and then she had taken my blood. And somehow Wyatt had chased her away.
“No pain?” Wyatt asked as he scanned me from head to toe.
I followed his trail and realized I was lying on a bed, under a big comforter, completely naked.
“How long have I been out and whe
re the hell are we?”
Wyatt guided me down a little, helping me to prop up on a few pillows. I didn’t need his help. I really did feel quite fine, a little dizzy maybe, but otherwise fine. I let him do it anyway. He seemed to need to feel useful.
“We’re at the motel. Couldn’t take you to the hospital without answering a buttload of questions.”
I nodded, not like I would argue.
“Are you sure you’re feeling all right?” He winced. “You were in really rough shape.”
I nodded solemnly. “Broken bones?”
He nodded as well. “Everywhere. You were limp and—” he grimaced “—almost mushy.”
I rotated my arms, examining them before rolling my head from side to side and stretching my legs. “I feel okay now. Thank you. You seem to have this habit of saving my life.”
I felt his weight as he shifted over to sit next to me. He gently slid his hand under my chin and forced me to look at him. His eyes were soft, but intense, looking into me. “You seem to have a habit of getting yourself into trouble.”
“You keeping a tally or something?” It was supposed to be a joke, but it came out bitter. Wyatt to the rescue, my knight in shining armor, but without the chivalry.
I pulled my face away from his grasp. He was too close to me, not necessarily physically, but mentally, emotionally. He’d come to mean something to me again and I didn’t like that. It felt like vulnerability. It felt like weakness. I shifted back until I was pressed against the headboard. He got the message and moved to his seat, his eyes clouding with something that I couldn’t make sense of.
“How long have I been out of it?” My mind was reeling as I put the information together. Ivana was still on the loose, probably killing more witches, possibly turning another one into a new partner. We had to stop her.
“About twenty-four hours.”
I inhaled sharply and nodded. Yes, a lot of time wasted. “The solar flare is tonight.”
He nodded. “Twelve hours to be exact.”
The Dark War: The Dark War, Book 1 Page 13