Awakening (Fire & Ice Book 1)

by Karen Payton

  The first two guardsmen fell easily, silently, as Connor crushed their windpipes in his clenched fist.

  Julian kept his eyes on the action. With his senses of smell and hearing scanning, he guarded Connor’s back. The woods hummed with the scuttling of disturbed insects, and the whisper of foliage brushing over vampire skin. The faintest of human scents wafted on the breeze.

  The third vampire emerged, but spun on his heel when he heard a noise.

  If Connor had a beating heart, it would have stopped dead, because he heard it too. Damn it. Leaves rustling, agitated movement, and a sobbing human breath shrieked through Connor’s skull. His thoughts came together into a plan of attack and he launched himself silently forward.

  The attacking vampire took off fast in the direction of his prey. Connor went with him. The snarl breaking from his throat was drowned out by the sickening crunch as he barged into the vampire’s back. Using his rival’s explosive forward propulsion, Connor veered him off course and slammed him into a tree trunk, crushing his nose and snapping both his cheekbones.

  The guardsman whipped around. His rage creased his shattered face into a comedic grin, which melted as gravity dragged at the detached cheekbones. He gurgled, and a spray of glutinous blood speckled his chest when he flew at Connor, who sidestepped swiftly. Extending a lightning-quick arm, Connor grabbed a fistful of the vampire’s hair and hauled him back. Hearing the bones grating under the skin, Connor decided to end it quickly. He pressed his stricken opponent face down into the mulched ground, applied a boot to his neck, and separated head from shoulders.

  From his vantage point, Julian watched the action closely. With his back pressed against a tree trunk, he saw the first two kills and the third scuffle. He spared a moment to admire his friend’s clinical precision before, scanning around, from deep inside the woods, Julian spotted the blurred trajectory of a fourth guardsman closing in fast on the flailing human.

  Julian heaved a harsh sigh and shoved away from the tree, launching into his own pursuit. He had taken one step when a crushing blow into his spine deadened his legs, and he went down hard with the lead weight of an attacker crushing down on his shoulders. In a split second, pushing hard, he turned onto his back, taking his assailant with him, and pinning the vampire to the ground beneath.

  Reaching back, Julian closed his hand around the guardsman’s neck, but not in time. He felt fingernails pressing into his own throat, jabbing up into the soft space under his jaw.

  “Not me, you idiot,” Julian managed to grind out.

  The vampire froze, but held firm.

  “It’s the doctor we’re after,” Julian hissed with quiet conviction, despite his disadvantage. “Do you know who I am?” Julian held up his left hand, and the pale moonlight glinted on the principal’s seal adorning his middle finger as he folded it into a fist.

  The spiked fingertips withdrew slowly and the vampire’s frame beneath him, sagged.

  Rolling briskly away and regaining his feet, Julian glared at the figure rising more slowly.

  Had he been human, the guard would have been sweating as he dipped his chin, lowering his gaze in groveling subservience. Killing a councilor would be an act of suicide, but to kill the principal was without precedence. This vampire could have made history, in a bad way.

  Julian displayed venom-coated teeth in a show of strength. He said, “Well, what are you waiting for?”

  A hundred yards away, Connor straightened and removed his boot from the vampire’s neck. He heard the thump of solid vampire bodies colliding and the scuffle, over to his left. But, keening sobs still cut through the night, to his right. Julian, or the human?

  Casting an intent gaze through the shadows, Connor stared in disbelief as he recognized the youth floundering on the ground. Thomas. The boy’s hands framed his throat and frantic fingernails raised welted tracks across his skin. Connor registered the static charge of the panic attack sweeping through the youngster’s brain at the same moment as he caught a flash of movement.

  A guardsman hurtled in on his right flank.

  Rushing forward, Connor grabbed the boy by the scruff of his fur pelt coat. He swung him around, and deposited the kid fifteen yards away in a winded heap. Tracking the vampire’s charge, Connor darted into his path and, turning at the moment of impact and shunting his elbow sharply back into the vampire’s chest, shattered his sternum.

  The vampire fell backwards, slammed into the ground by the force of the blow. Surging upwards again, he launched himself back into the fight, hissing and snarling. Connor stopped the manic forward propulsion dead with a blocking punch into the middle of the vampire’s crumbling chest. He still pressed forward, the vampire’s hands clawing their way up Connor’s shoulders, and needle-sharp fingernails buried themselves into Connor’s neck. As the claws dug in deeper, Connor drove a bruising uppercut into the soft part of his victim’s belly, forcing a relentless path through the firm lung tissue until he closed his hand around the heart and twisted. Connor smiled reflexively into the smooth, shocked face, and the vampire dropped his hands to his stomach, cradling the innards slipping out through the hole. So easy. Relaxing his fist, Connor let the body hit the ground with a muffled thud.

  Connor ran his fingertips over his neck where puncture wounds oozed pink fluid. Well, that was number four. Scanning the undergrowth, a frown creased his smooth brow when he pinpointed Thomas’ quiet rasping breath. But, the hiss of vampire conversation wafted through the woods, and as he tried to make out the words, they reeled him in.

  Primed for attack, Connor stealthily headed back towards Julian’s lookout post. He wove a path between the tree trunks, and spotted two figures standing together. What the Hell? The arrogant angle of Julian’s blond head gave Connor pause and kept him silent as he crept closer.

  “You have a job to do. I suggest you focus on that,” spat Julian. His words drifted on the breeze, and his betrayal buried a hot needle of anger into Connor’s brain.

  Striding forward, Connor plowed through the undergrowth and stepped into the moonlight.

  Julian towered over the guardsman, his hand resting firmly on the vampire’s shoulder.

  “My, this is cozy,” Connor said flatly. “Going for the accolades after all, Julian? Such a pity.” With a growl rumbling in his throat, Connor rocked his weight forward, his hand itching to close around Julian’s neck.

  Suddenly, the stutter of stumbling human footfalls rang through the trees, ricocheting from each leaf and wiping all other thoughts from vampire heads. Each one turned to peer at the spot in the darkness where two white faces made their jerky progress towards them.

  Rebekah appeared with the fingers of vampire number six clamped tightly around her throat as he nudged her forward, holding her pressed into his body.

  Connor’s eyes narrowed and he took in her pale, stiff face. What on earth do I have to do to keep her safe?

  Barely an hour before, Connor thought he had achieved that goal.

  <><><>

  Rebekah had intended to keep her promise. Lord knows I’ve caused him enough trouble. Stay still until Connor gets back, how hard can that be?

  How long they sat in the burrows, Rebekah could not say. The trance-like state of a sensory deprivation tank melted her thoughts into a semi-conscious state where time meant nothing, until the ground overhead shook.

  The scuffling sounds outside were intimidating. A number of sickening thuds, a snarl, and a heavy weight hitting the ground resolved into shocked silence as the huddled group held their breath.

  A sickening thud ended in a groan, and then the whimpering started. Rebekah could almost feel the weight of the anxious glances darting around the bunker. The hitched breathing made it clear she was not the only one struggling to stay still. The broken sobs tore at her heart. It sounds human. Young, human, and hurt.

  Rebekah agonized; the voice of reason told her to sit tight, don’t move, and Connor would help. But in the end, she couldn’t resist the wrench on her heart strings.
She felt Leizle’s fingers tighten around hers to make her stay. She squeezed back with reassurance she did not feel, and gently tugged free.

  Running her fingertips back over the network of tree roots, she found the sturdy supports framing the entrance. She moved the wooden grate a few inches, cringing when the dislodged clumps of mud sounded like hand grenade explosions hitting the ground at her feet. She shrugged the weight of the deerskin from her shoulders, and, with breathless contortions, she wriggled sideways. Anxiety ached in her chest as she squeezed through the smallest possible gap.

  After the pitch-black interior of the burrow, the undergrowth seemed almost floodlit. Thomas. Recognizing the writhing frame, Rebekah commando-crawled across to the boy, oblivious to the stones biting into her knees, and the moisture soaking into her shirt and chilling her stomach. She grabbed his shoulders urgently and hissed, “Shhh.”

  A silent scream contorted her face when an iron grip closed over her hair, and she was yanked to her feet so fast her heart slammed into the floor of her stomach. She folded both hands over the icy clenched fingers in an effort to ease the pain. She swallowed hard, trapping a yelp inside. Her only thought was that she mustn’t endanger the others.

  Pulled upright and arched back to fit into a cold hard frame, she had no doubt she was in the hands of a vampire, and Connor’s directions to stay still taunted her. Crap, he’s going to bloody kill me.

  With a painful wrench which made her hair follicles burn, the vampire marched her forward. His knees bruised the backs of her thighs, and the pain kept her concentration sharp.

  When the assembled figures came into view, Rebekah dared not look at Connor. The moon seemed intent on picking out the fierce cast to his features. His anger emanated in waves and she knew some of it was directed at her. Her chin rose in defiance. I’d do it all again. Thomas is alive, so it was worth it.

  Chapter 21

  Connor’s anger tightened sinew and pumped muscle. All he needed to do now was decide what to do with it. Julian had betrayed him, and Rebekah’s fear-slicked sweat toasted his brain cells. His outrage at the reddening of her slender neck beneath the clasp of the vampire’s fingers swelled anger to fury.

  As Connor lunged forward, Julian suddenly blocked his path. The Principal’s tight smile filled his vision. Grabbing Connor by the throat, Julian bracketed his jaw and levered it up, pressing a fingernail into the jugular vein.

  Connor twisted, ready to counter, but hesitated at Julian’s fierce growl. “Use your head, Doctor Connor, killing a member of the vampire council is never a good idea. Remember, a grain of balance will decide who lives and who dies. So, tell me...” Julian’s eyes narrowed. He stared into Connor’s crazed, gray gaze, maintaining a tight grip on his throat, until Connor finally dipped into their green depths and his purple rage began to cool.

  “Is she worth dying for?” Julian asked quietly.

  Connor held his ground, but stopped resisting.

  Julian jerked his head, directing the vampire holding Rebekah. “Well, what are you waiting for? Get her to the farm. Go.” He continued to stare Connor down, dousing his anger with the sanity of ice-green jade.

  The vampire’s grip on Rebekah’s neck tightened, and Connor tasted the fumes of her horror-struck sweat as the creaking capillaries threatened to rupture. Connor’s fist clenched in time with a knotted muscle ticking in his jaw and he watched the vampire pushing her forward once more.

  “Think, man, think,” Julian mouthed silently.

  Connor blinked slowly, his eye-color changing from molten lead to steel gray, letting Julian know his unravelling thoughts were back under control and he understood the plan. Julian relaxed his grip and let his hand fall, knocking deliberately against the vial of human blood inside Connor’s jacket pocket.

  Julian turned away, his demeanor dismissive as he scanned the face of his erstwhile attacker. Judging how hard to push it, he barked, “Don’t just stand there. You came for the girl. I’m sure Councilor Serge will show his appreciation when you report back.” Julian’s glare indicated that the show was over and it was time to leave.

  As the last guardsman moved away, Julian shot Connor a pointed look and followed the vampire out of sight. A dull thud was followed by a grunt and the sickening sound of compressed cartilage popping.

  Connor took off through the wood.

  <><><>

  Rebekah made her gait cumbersome, but the night’s events had chilled her brain. What began with skittering tension, had swelled to terror, visiting all the nerve-stripping stops along the way. Now, numbness set in as a babbling brook of thoughts, and, when she chased them down, only two thoughts broke the surface. Julian is a traitor. Thomas is safe.

  And, Connor? She knew the sentence for killing a council member was death without trial. Her ears strained for sounds of reassurance. Silently, she begged him. Please, don’t step over the line that will take you away from me forever.

  Bone cold fingers dug into her neck and her arm lost all feeling, pins and needles dancing in a fiery path down towards her fingertips. She focused on that pain as every footfall jarred her body and stirred dread in her stomach. Shadows thickened, the trees closed in, and the straggling creepers trailing around her ankles made stumbling easy.

  The vampire tightened his spiteful grip when an unexpected stiff breeze snatched her breath away. It jerked her back to the present. He suddenly ramped up his speed, and her feet were no longer on firm ground.

  Connor diverted through woods he knew better than the guardsman, choosing the setting for the showdown. The impact of each footfall rocked his heart in his chest, something he was disconcertingly aware of these days. Deliberately amplifying the noise of his approach, hissing loudly through clenched teeth and pounding his controlled stride through the undergrowth, he made sure the vampire heard him coming.

  Whilst still running, Connor snagged the vial of human blood from his pocket and cradled it in his palm. As expected, the vampire picked up speed, but when he heard Connor closing in, he aborted his flight and whipped around.

  Just when the arctic sting of rushing air numbed Rebekah’s cheeks, she was jerked to a halt, and her head spun as she pirouetted around.

  The vampire snarled over Rebekah’s shoulder, and Connor’s contemptuous grin pulled his features tight. Before the vampire could process his confusion at the vampire doctor having the finesse of a galloping buffalo, Connor launched the vial of blood, smashing it open against the trunk of a nearby tree.

  The splintering crack sent a shockwave through Rebekah as her captor’s icy grip convulsed, constricting her throat in a painful spasm. The vampire sucked in the plume of scent, his pupils blew to jet black pools, and his head snapped around to taste the vapor-cloud of blood saturating the air.

  Launching himself silently forward, Connor closed the distance between them in less than a second. He gripped the vampire’s skull, and, as it turned to follow the bait, he carried it onwards and didn’t stop until he heard the sharp crack of a snapping spine. The vibration juddered through Connor’s arms and warmed him with satisfaction.

  The deafening crack of fractured bones exploded near Rebekah’s ear just before the vampire’s fingertips ripped away, unfurling four strands of blood-red scratches across her neck.

  Before the decapitated body hit the ground, Connor reached out and pulled Rebekah into his arms.

  She surrendered to the disorientation. Her head rocked back like a rag doll as her body was yanked forward and she ran into an edifice of cold stone. A harsh sigh of lemon-iced breath gusted through her hair, and a fresh fragrance filled her lungs as the wall of muscle beneath her fingertips vibrated. Connor.

  Holding her close and pressing his cheek to her hair, Connor took a deep breath, pulling her scent inside his aching chest until he exhaled it with a frustrated snarl. “Why the Hell can’t you just do what I tell you?” He put his hands on her shoulders and looked down into her defiant white face.

  “Thomas was hurt and I couldn’t bear i
t,” she said. “I’d do it again.” Rebekah faced his exasperation with strength he’d never seen in a human, her eyes ablaze as honey-scented adrenalin pumped through her bloodstream. Her rebellious chin jerked up and began to tremble, and the rest of her body took up the rhythm as shock set in.

  “I know,” he grumbled and his lips closed over her open mouth, drawing her panting breath from her lungs. He soothed her agitation. He molded his tongue to hers and undulated a melting rhythm along its length. He wanted to taste her distressed pulse, but resisted. It would calm her. A persuasive whisper drifted through his mind, but Connor knew better than to listen. The taste of her blood, heavy with adrenalin... I would not stop.

  Rebekah’s heart slowed, but when his citrus-spiced excitement mingled with hers, it picked up speed again. The cadence of it was intoxicating, and, pressing closer, Connor absorbed the beats as if they were his own. Her fingers clenched into fists and she tugged on his hair, pulling his face down. A tide of male satisfaction rose inside him at her efforts, for without his cooperation she would never move him. But, he wanted it too, wanted to immerse his body in the clustered desire of hers.

  Visualizing the bruises he felt blossoming underneath his fingertips, he clutched her buttocks and lifted her to him, flattening his palms when she winced. But he was not sorry, he was past sorry. He wanted surrender. She drives me insane, dammit.

  The heat of her thighs framed his aching body, and his frustration leapt the divide between them. Rebekah dug her nails into his back, and Connor froze. The sensation ignited the memory of a desire he had buried inside.

  “What?” she whispered, wondering at the exhilaration lurking in his gaze.

  “Ah, just a fantasy I’ve had since we met.” He had thought about this since the day in the basement when the sound of her thighs brushing together had tantalized him, and curiosity had crawled under his skin. He wanted to taste the excitement of her nails dragging over his vampire flesh. His fingers molded to her nape as he lifted her jaw with his thumb and deepened his kiss, losing himself in her heat.