Burning Days (The Firsts Book 17)

by C. L. Quinn

  Ben felt conflicted. Still pissed at Saul for kidnapping him and making him vampire, yet finding more and more each night that he might be exactly where he wanted and needed to be, Ben couldn’t condemn Saul, but wouldn’t absolve him either. “He changed me against my will.”

  “Aye, that’s why we sought him. Also, I have other plans for ye sire, Ben. Yer team in Oregon will help us track down and disband the human huntin’ teams. But, if he turns out to be an honorable man, Saul may be our best lead to findin’ vampires who have gone rogue. Our task is large, men, and we’ve a long road to travel with it. Once we get things on track, I’ll leave a team here to finish and return to me other duties in Europe. It’s an ever increasingly small world, and yet I still find meself far from home too often.”

  “I have no interest in helping you kill vampires,” a voice from the back of the car called out.

  “Shhh. Ye’re not part of the conversation yet, Saul.”

  At Hunter HQ the following night

  “We’re nearly finished with re-organizing the hunters outside of Seattle.”

  “Great job, ladies. Thank everyone for me, Cari. Now, Ife, I’ve another task for ya. Ye know we’ve brought Ben’s sire back to face judgment for his crime. I need ya to take a look at him on the spirit plane and let me know if he’s a risk to people or our race.”

  “Of course, Xavier. You have him in the basement?”

  “Aye. We need to settle this so he can be released to move. I hate keepin’ someone in this condition for too long a time.”

  “Then let’s go down.”

  Jack watched Xavier’s request, wondering about yet another odd vampire skill he wasn’t familiar with. What was Xavier requiring of Ife? Was it dangerous? Once the vampires had retreated to the basement, he followed.

  Ben was near Saul, his expression unreadable. Ife sat beside the sexy rogue that had changed Ben, her hand reaching for his.

  What the hell was going on with that? She had to hold hands with him? And why did he think he had any right to be jealous? Jack tried to close down his strong uber-macho reaction to his woman touching another man, with minimal success.

  He felt Ben’s hand on his shoulder. “Breathe, bro. I’ll be here for you.”

  Nodding, he accepted his brother’s support as he watched Ife scoot closer to Saul. “Fuck,” he whispered, and hoped it was only loud enough for Ben to hear.

  “Saul, have you ever done a spirit walk before?”

  “No.”

  “It’s easy. All you have to do is relax and clear your mind. Let me in. I’m only going to stay long enough to confirm your nature, to see if you are worthy to keep the gift of immortality. To see if you are an honorable man with respect for both vampires and humans. If those things are true, you will be exonerated and free to go.”

  “Then let’s get this shit-show on the road.”

  “I understand your anger. Please, try to let it go, it will make it much easier for you to clear your mind and let me in.”

  Silence let her know he was trying. His eyes strayed to Ben, to Jack, to Xavier, then back to Ife’s unusual blue eyes. “Vampires usually have dark eyes. Why don’t you?”

  “That is a conversation for another time.” Those blue eyes went to Saul’s amber eyes. “For both of us.”

  He let his eyelids drop and laid back against the sofa, his breathing slowing.

  Ife was surprised that she slid into his mind easily, Saul open and receiving her spirit as she moved into the white space and beyond. His aura colors and patterns showed a man with deep convictions, a gentle man with good values and intentions. There was nothing unkind or dangerous in Saul, unless he was fighting to protect someone or something. She saw the pain that drove him to his recent act with Ben and she saw how much the decision hurt him still. No, Xavier could not destroy this beautiful heart. While she was with him, Ife sent a healing touch to his spirit, let him know that he wasn’t ever alone, and that he had family in his vampire race. Overwhelmingly, she could feel his loneliness.

  At once, she felt him touch her back, and he sent back to her a mirror of her gift. He’d mirrored her? This was a talent she had never come across before.

  Sliding back out, easily, she opened her eyes to his, already open and staring back. He’d come out with her, exactly as she had, when he should have needed more recovery time. This man had special talents, something that Xavier needed to know. Ife smiled at him and pulled her hands away.

  Glancing toward Xavier, she noticed Jack’s upset face.

  Oh. He was jealous; it poured off him. When they went to bed, she’d have to show him that he had no reason to be.

  “Xavier, this man is a benefit to our race in every way. He’s loving, kind, has no delusions that he’s superior because he’s vampire. There isn’t any meanness in Saul, Xavier. This man is highly honorable and trustworthy.”

  “Thank ye, lass.”

  Xavier turned to Saul and flipped a hand.

  Standing, slowly, because his muscles were sore from inactivity, he stretched out his arms and flexed his legs.

  “I’m free to go, she said.”

  “Aye, ye are. One last thing, though. Well, two, but first, how do ye justify yer behavior with this young hunter? Ye forced a change.”

  “I did, and I was sorry once it was done. They’d killed my family out of ignorance and prejudice and I wondered how they would feel if faced with that choice for one of their own. It was cruel and unacceptable. I can only offer my apology in the most sincere way, that I am sorry for what I did. Ben, I know it may take a while to forgive me, but I can already see that being vampire suits you. I hope you thrive.”

  Saul looked around the room at too many big vampires for his comfort. “Now, if you’ll excuse me.”

  Starting to hurry up the stairs, Saul yanked at his arm when he felt Xavier’s hand on it. “I said two things, lad.”

  Well aware it wouldn’t do him any good to refuse, Saul followed Xavier back up the stairs and into a dismal room with four computers and large vidscreens.

  “Look, I’ve no reasonable belief that ya might want to do this, except that now that we know ya are a good-hearted vampire who cares about humans, I wonder if there is any chance ye might help us to stop the hunters? Vampires, too, if they’re rogue and hurtin’ people, but if we put the hunters out of business and stop the rogues, we win. People win. Innocent vampires win.”

  “No. Good luck with your work.”

  Saul pushed past Xavier to feel a soft touch on his arm that he responded to at once. Ife, those beautiful fingers on him again.

  “Think about it, Saul. This might be the one thing you could do to atone for hurting Ben. Even if he’s ultimately happy as a vampire, he should have had the choice. Now he’s vampire for the rest of his life, no matter what. Give us a month and see what you think. You can always join your family afterward.”

  Once again, he scanned the room. So many earnest faces. He could see they were focused on the job of ending the barbaric hunter’s groups. But he had a life to build. Family to care for. He couldn’t. Didn’t want to anyway. Then he stopped on Ben.

  His make. Family.

  “Please. Just give us one month.” Ife was still asking for a response.

  Saul couldn’t walk away, as he’d intended. Not yet. He did need to ask for redemption after that knee-jerk nasty action. Xavier was right, his family would be okay. He looked at the huge vampire. Not only was the man right, but as much as anything, Saul wanted to know what these vampires were that they could do the things they did. What if he considered…

  “When would you want me to begin?”

  “Ye can take yer time, lad. Two weeks, three?

  “I have to think about it. I’ll let you know when I decide, that’s all I can offer you right now.”

  “Aye, that’s fine, lad. We’ll be here most nights right after sunset.”

  “Okay.” After looking around the room one last time, Saul disappeared. Sighing, Xavier shook his he
ad.

  “Well, that was a beginnin’ anyway. So, Hunters, where do we start next?”

  Later that night, outside the main office of the hunter’s headquarters, Xavier leaned on a stone wall. Ife and Cairine rested their backs to it.

  “So, he’s a mystery, isn’t he?” Ife commented.

  “Aye. Not the first time a vampire didn’t fit the mold.”

  “He has talents, Xavier. I don’t think he’s a made vampire.”

  “First blood?” Cairine asked, surprised.

  “It’s possible. Did ya see his eyes, Cari? Golden. Someday, Saul and I are gonna have a conversation about his origins.”

  Ten

  Working outward geographically from their HQ in Oregon, Xavier and two first bloods from Ahmose’s village in Zambia, Kwano and Alec, had shut down five additional hunter groups, arranging new lives, new worlds, for people who had spent all or a large part of their lives chasing down vampires and eliminating what they were certain was a deadly threat to humanity.

  Each night for the past four weeks, everyone, vampires included, dropped into their beds in the mornings, dog tired, and rose to start again when night came.

  Only on a few of those mornings had Ife rolled on top of Jack or had he pinned her against a wall for sex that they both increasingly realized they needed. It had been quick and dirty, get the job done, orgasms welcomed, but then they’d fallen asleep wrapped together. It had felt exactly right for both of them.

  As the weekend approached, when they would let themselves have a day of rest, as they dressed for their Friday night work, Ife caught Jack’s attention.

  “Jack, come over here for a moment.”

  Trying to slip a boot on, he hopped over. “Yeah?”

  “I have to fly out for home tomorrow night.”

  Luckily a chair was nearby. He dropped into it, the boot suspended in his hand. “Tomorrow?”

  “I have hesitated to tell you, I didn’t want to, but I got a call from Scottie, who has been managing things since I left, and she says they aren’t sure how to proceed with the next phase. I’m needed, Jack, I have no choice.”

  “I understand. I mean, you’ve made it clear you couldn’t stay here indefinitely.”

  He pushed from his chair and sat on the bed beside her. “We’ll see each other again. I’ll visit. Never saw a rain forest before.”

  Ife smiled, her fingers curling into his hair. “You won’t quite then either. But we’re working on it. I am going to miss you something terrible, Jack Remington.”

  “I feel the same way. You’ve changed my life, Vampire. For that, I will always be grateful. And for Ben.”

  Ife nodded, words trapped because her throat felt thick. It was too soon to make proclamations, but she wanted to tell him how much she loved him. Of course, he hadn’t said it to her either. Perhaps it just wasn’t time. As she’d told Sanquinetta once, her empathic connections remained blank when it came to Jack.

  Jack threw his boot onto the floor.

  “Hey, why don’t we stay here on the beach tonight and make up for the time we’re going to lose?”

  “I’d love to, but we’re doing three tonight, remember?”

  “Shit. It will take all of us to manage that many.”

  “It will. Xavier has two reinforcements coming in next week, but we need to help tonight.”

  “Yeah, I know. All right, let’s get to it. Maybe we can finish early. At the very least, I want to hold you as long as I can before you go.”

  Ife crawled onto Jack’s lap, her kiss deep and lengthy. She enjoyed the feel and taste of his tongue in her mouth because it wouldn’t be long before it would only be a memory. Her arms tight, too tight, around his neck, she kept him close.

  Jack didn’t complain. Every second with Ife so near made him smile. Would he again after she left?

  Sliding off Jack, Ife felt his cock, hard, trapped in denim.

  “I can take care of that before we go,” she whispered.

  Split seconds later, Jack lay on the bed, naked, Ife shoving his legs aside, the tips of her teeth sliding along his thigh.

  Collapsing against the sheets, Jack closed his eyes.

  God, Ife did that so well. It wasn’t just her skill, that was inhuman and thank God, but it was that she held him in her mouth, pumping him with teeth and tongue, that it was her tongue on him, her eyes lingering over his skin, her bite. It was Ife. How was he going to do this without her at his side?

  He came quickly after she bit, and although she didn’t feed, she drew enough blood to lick it up, which shot his orgasm into overdrive.

  “There,” she laughed as she finished and lay beside him, still fully dressed. “I’ve done my job, I’ve taken care of a hunter’s needs tonight.”

  He balled that full white hair into his fist, his eyes sparkling, but she could feel the undercurrent of sadness.

  “And made him happy for the rest of his life. Job well done.”

  “Jack, it won’t be the last.”

  He believed it. He also knew that she was a vampire and he wasn’t, and life happened. Maybe they would be together, maybe they wouldn’t. No regrets.

  “I hope. Well, we’d better get to HQ, they’re probably waiting for us.”

  Ben had already left the beach house. He was the only other guest right now. Cari had returned to Colorado two weeks ago, and Xavier’s team had commandeered a hotel about forty minutes away with full amenities and sheltered rooms recently reinforced by local builders to Xavier’s specs.

  Arriving at HQ, Ife and Jack walked into an already bustling place.

  Sanquinetta noticed them as soon as they moved into the room. “Jesus! You’re late. Grab your gear, we’re moving out.”

  She turned to bark orders at one of Xavier’s men, which they followed surprisingly well, then turned to see something no one expected.

  Just inside the door stood Saul. Everyone stopped in their preparations.

  Ife spoke first. “Well, hi. We, uh, didn’t think we’d see you again.”

  “I’m more surprised than you are. So, I guess you can tell I’ve thought about your proposal to help and I guess you can see that I’ve decided to. Help. For a few weeks. See how it goes, as you suggested.”

  Ife started to move toward him to welcome him to the group when Sanquinetta put a hand up, stopping her. Everyone watched Sanquinetta approach Saul, her eyes moving over his body.

  He still kept the neat beard, long hair tied into a single braid down his back, his thick body covered only in snug black jeans and a tan long-sleeved button-up shirt. Ife had to admit he was a strikingly handsome man, and she could tell by the glitter in Sanquinetta’s eyes that she agreed.

  Once she reached him, Sanquinetta walked a slow circle around him; front, side, back, then to the front again.

  She nodded. “Okay. We’ll see how it goes.”

  Suddenly her fist shot out and caught him in the jaw, hard, brutal, enough to force him to lose his balance as he danced backward to regain it. Saul’s hand went to his jaw, massaging it, his shocked eyes on Sanquinetta.

  “That’s for what you did to Ben. Now, we’ll see how it goes.”

  A hunting group that worked out of Carmel California with six hunters, three of which were siblings, was their current target. Ben and Plato knew the members fairly well, and felt it would be best to purge all three of the siblings together. It was critical that the new story for their lives kept them in sync together as siblings. Since Xavier and Ife were still with them, they had four first blood vampires, and now unexpectedly, Saul, along, they were going to try to tackle all six at once. After the first five successful missions, everyone was getting comfortable with the method, compulsion, and physical purge of any vampire references in their lives.

  The mission proceeded like clockwork. Everyone worked well together by this point, and even Saul’s input fit perfectly. He had good instincts and Ife was pleased to see his caring touch in dealing with the hunters. It couldn’t have been easy for him
.

  At one point, she laid a hand on his to help him deal with what must have been concern that he was doing this, driving a sense of comfort with his decision. He calmed right away, as expected, but he was well aware that magics had been used on him, and he still didn’t understand how.

  With sunrise threatening, they arrived back at HQ for high-fives all around. Xavier and his group hit the skies so they would make it back to their hotel in time.

  Saul lingered. “I don’t have safe dwelling here yet. Would you mind if I stayed in the basement?”

  Ife nodded just as Jack shook his head. Her eyes struck Jack’s. “Um, he’ll be okay.”

  “I don’t want him here.”

  “Jack, the choice is here or at my house. Where do you want him?”

  Not at Ife’s house with her, no fucking way!

  “Here, then, I guess.”

  Ben hadn’t taken his eyes off Saul during the mission. Sanquinetta had kept hers on both of them, worried about the animosity and fascination Ben bore toward his sire.

  She’d felt his sense of attachment to Saul, even from that first night when they’d hauled the vampire into the basement to judge his guilt.

  Having Saul around all the time now might pose a problem, but when Ife spoke next, it helped her accept Saul’s presence easier.

  “Saul, I’m returning to Brazil tonight. I live in a beach house already prepared for vampire dwelling. You may have the house until you find other lodging.”

  She looked at Jack. “I assume you’ll return to your home after I’ve gone?”

  “Yes, I will.”

  “Perfect. Ben will be coming with me, so the house will be empty.”

  “I am?” Ben said, simultaneously with Jack’s “He is?”

  “Yes. Ben, Xavier and I were speaking tonight and we both believe you will benefit from being with a group of vampires to learn your skills and become accustomed to vampire life. Now that Saul is back, the team has a local vampire to work with then, and it might not be healthy for you two with such proximity given the circumstance of your conversion. You’re free to live wherever you want, but I’d like to take you to Las Vegas, to vampire friends you’ll learn so much from. Your choice.”