Ravana Clan Vampires: Complete Series

by Moore, E. M.

  I held on to that thought until we arrived in Calcutta and pulled up next to one of the abandoned warehouses just one block away from the river. Lex herded us upstairs to reconvene with the tech team. I wasn’t surprised to see that Matthews knew all of them pretty well, but I also saw Evan. We greeted one another briefly, and then had to sit back and wait for the scout team. They’d noticed some activity a few blocks down and were checking it out. Word around the vacant, musty room was that this was the likeliest location for Dumont. Vampire activity, and there were mysterious human disappearances in this area for the past week.

  “Two to one. Two to one,” a staticky walkie talkie cackled.

  Lex picked hers up. “One here. What’s your determination?”

  “We have the green light. Vamp spotted. Best possible entrance through the South wall window. I repeat, best possible entrance through the South wall window. Do you have eyes?”

  Evan punched a few buttons on the keyboard, and the screen lit up. The picture was grainy with a green hue, but in it, you could see the side of another abandoned factory. “We have eyes. First floor entry near the alleyway?”

  “Copy that. There doesn’t seem to be much activity on the first level, same for other levels, but we did see one enter.”

  I caught Lex’s eye. “Soren did say he would go underground.” She nodded once, and tipped her chin toward the tech team’s leader. “Can we get a schematic of that building? Do we have an entrance for a basement or any clue as to where they might have put one?”

  The tech team’s leader shouted out different orders to his guards. Evan was the only trainee, and I couldn’t help but think that Connor would also be good at this. The chances of injury were low. If Connor wanted to, it might be something Gregor would consider rather than what Nicolai wanted to do, which was do exactly what I was doing, be right in the line of fire. He would be far safer back here in a secure location.

  It took a few minutes, but a guard with dark hair had pulled up the building’s plans, and Lex and the rest of us from Team One stood over his shoulder to take a look. Sure enough, there was a basement entrance in the far corner of the building. Lex’s finger hovered over the screen. “We’ll enter here at the window. Cross to the back of the room, exit out that door, and then head for the stairwell that will take us to the basement entrance.” She turned and faced us. “The quieter the better. Once we’re tipped off, we don’t have the upper hand anymore, and Dumont is as good as gone. He’s tricky, and there’s a reason why he’s been around so long. Everyone be safe, play it smart.”

  She nodded toward the tech leader who gave his people instructions on how to suit us up including mics and a flashlight/video camera monitor combo that strapped around our head. After that, we stopped back at the SUV and grabbed our gear. Each of us took a fair number of stakes, knives, and other weapons, and then we continued on foot to the building, making sure we hid in the shadows to conceal ourselves as much as possible. We knew Dumont’s crew would be short-staffed, but it was likely he’d still have the basic security forces out making sure he wouldn’t be a target.

  A block away, Lex stopped, and we all huddled around her. “Matthews, I want you in the rear. T.J. and I will take the front with Zeke and Stuart in the middle. Do it just as we talked about in the car ride up. Nothing’s changed except we now have the location.” She held up three fingers and then counted down silently on them until she made a fist. T.J. went first, his hand at the stake on his belt with the other out in front of him, poised for attack.

  Zeke and I moved forward, following them until Lex was at the window. The earpiece in my ear went off. “Team One, we have you in our sights. First floor is clear. Proceed.”

  At this, T.J. hiked Lex into the air to reach the bottom sill where she pulled herself up and over. T.J. went next, then Zeke. Matthews gave me a little push to get started, and then he was up after me. Soon, we were boots on the ground in Dumont’s safe house. Old filing cabinets were turned over everywhere with crisp sheets of paper strewed around the floor. In one corner sat an unused desk with one lamp on it. A rat crawled over it, smelling the surface for any hint of its next meal. As soundlessly as we could, we moved through the room. The whole time my heart was in my throat, and it felt like I barely breathed. My chest started to ache, but I took a steadying breath and told myself to relax before moving into the hall toward the exit to the basement.

  Lex whispered into her mic. “Moving down. Clear until now.”

  I blinked, in awe of her. Nothing like this had ever been planned out in the history of the vampire world, at least not to this extent. The fact that she took charge and planned all this was extraordinary. When we got out of this, I’d have to make sure I told her so. In reality, it should’ve been her getting the Medal of Valor, not me.

  They crept forward and I fell in line behind Zeke. The door to the basement creaked, and the five of us paused before moving forward again. If anybody had heard that, they’d probably be on their way to check it out. Swiftly now, T.J. raced down the steps, his feet hitting the cement sounding nothing but light scuffling that could’ve easily been an animal. Closer and closer we moved until we were at the bottom door. “In three,” Lex said. “Three, two…” T.J. stomp kicked the door. It busted open, swinging on the hinges until it slammed against the wall.

  We all moved forward, stakes at the ready in our hands only to come up short. In the middle of the room was a vampire. One, lone vampire. He sat in a chair like a king in front of his congregation as we all fanned out on either side of Lex, gazing at the darkened corners of the room for any threat. It quickly became apparent that there was no one in the room but him. He smirked, clearly delighted by our surprise quickly followed up by our disappointment. “He said you would come. As you can see, he’s not here. Pity that you should come all this way for nothing.”

  T.J. started to move forward, but Lex held her hand out. “Why has he left you here?”

  He smiled, his teeth razor sharp. “To prove a point. He will have his way. He will always be one step ahead, and you will always be one step behind. Dumont is the oldest vampire living. He knows all, sees all. He won’t be kept in the shadows anymore. He will reign as the leader of all vampires. In his rightful place.”

  Anger surged through me. I’d been so close to living the way I wanted, in getting everything I never knew I wanted. And here we were, thwarted again. It did always feel like we were a step behind. Out of reach of Lex, I strode forward this time, my stake poised for a kill shot. “Where is he?”

  “I’ve lived a long life. I would love nothing more than to die saving my master. In fact…” The vampire pulled his jacket apart. My legs immediately felt like iron weights, cementing me to the floor. I’d seen enough movies to know what he had strapped to his chest. A bomb. A straight up bomb. “I’d already planned on it. You’ll get nothing from me, I’m afraid. As soon as this goes off, Dumont will know Soren gave him up. Loyalty is everything to Dumont.”

  “Step back, Ariana,” T.J shouted.

  “Retreat!” Lex said. “Bomb. Fall back, fall back.”

  I heard the echoes of Team Two and Team Three responding, but none of it registered in my brain. Paralyzed with fear, the emotion did as it had always done, frozen me in time with no way out. I thought I’d cleansed myself of that. I thought I’d conquered fear by going through guardian training, of taking control of my life, but the thing was, maybe you weren’t supposed to conquer fear. Maybe it would always win over you. I was a fool to think otherwise.

  “Move, Ariana!”

  Images of my mother popped into my head one-by-one, passing through like a camera roll speeding by. Then, it was the princes’ turn. All four of them smiling, caring, and embracing me as if I was an outsider looking on. Before I could even think it, my hand flicked out and the stake spiraled through the air, catching the rogue vamp in the throat. His eyes bugged out of his head, his fingers clawing upward as if he could save himself, and well, he actually could if he had so
me blood. The bomb was in the way of a chest shot, but it had to be done. If there was any way I could stop that thing from going off, I had to try. It wasn’t just us that I was worried about. It was about the countless homeless people that used these factories to survive in. It was about the other two teams that had risked their lives to be here as well. Sure, there wasn’t anyone else in this building but us right now, but what about the one next door, and the one after that? They didn’t deserve to get caught up in this fight.

  I grabbed the other stake from my waist band and brought it up over my head before lunging forward and plunging it down into his chest in an arc that I hoped missed the bomb entirely and passed right under it to his chest. I watched the vamp’s face as the stake hit home. The life fled from his widened eyes until his head fell back on his shoulders and a dark red spot leaked out like ink blots on his shirt. “The bomb,” I called out. “Is it on?”

  Matthews rushed up behind me, pushing me out of the way. His gaze roamed over the dynamite and wires as two hands pulled at me from behind. Finally, the grip tightened and yanked hard that I fell back into Zeke who pushed me toward the door ahead of him.

  A toneless beep sounded. Followed by another shortly after. “Run!” Lex called out. She waved Zeke and I forward and we barreled out into the stairwell, taking steps two or three at a time. Others were behind us, but Lex’s words kept echoing forward. “Faster. Keep going.”

  We were at the top of the stairs, just entering the hallway when the building shook like a major earthquake had split the Earth’s core at our feet. I fell to my knees and turtled, my hands coming up to protect my head. After the initial ground shudder, I cringed at the sound of stone and rock crumbling. It took moments before realizing I was fine, I was safe, and then I leapt to my feet. Zeke was right behind me, still hunched over. I pulled him up by the arm, and we went back through the stairwell door. A cloud of dust rushed upward as we ran inside. “Lex? T.J.? Matthews?”

  Coughing sputtered out, spurring us both on. Zeke got to the stairs first where we found T.J. just dragging himself to a sitting position, his hair caked with dust and rock shards. I scanned him for injuries. Finding none, I asked about Lex and Matthews.

  His voice was thick and dry, cracking, when he answered. “They were right behind me.”

  At that moment, “Help!” sounded from below us. It was Lex.

  Zeke was right there, running down the stairs, slipping on the rock fragments and waving the smoke of dust from his face. I helped T.J. to his feet and then followed Zeke as T.J. hobbled after us. Lex had an unmoving Matthews by the shoulders, trying her best to carry him up the stairs.

  “He got the brunt of it. We need to get him out of here!”

  I ran past her and grabbed his legs. One fell at an awkward angle, and I hissed before looking at his face. Blood streamed down into his eyes and lower, caking his entire face and chest. He made no motion or emotion as we carried him. My stomach clenched, but I couldn’t look away from Matthews face and the deadened look. With so much catastrophe around us, his face was slack, virtually void of anything and one thought ran through my head. Dead.

  15

  The plan blew up in our face. Literally.

  With every step we took, we were thrown two steps backward. Not only did the plan fail epically, Matthews was in critical condition. A guard from Team Three who’d been trained in the medical field was able to stabilize him until we got back to The Fort, but Stephan and the nurse weren’t sure if he’d make it. He was hooked up to a myriad of blinking machines and pouches with clear liquid running through its tubes and then eventually into the IV in his hand.

  He was there because of me. If I’d left when they told me to, he might not be like this. The vamp was going to off himself anyway. Why did I have to step forward?

  We were silent on the car ride back, barely uttering anything to anyone as Lex sat in the back with Matthews and T.J. drove at furious speeds. Neither of them would even look at me, making the guilt sour in my stomach. What had I done?

  A hand squeezed my shoulder where I was perched at Matthews’ feet. The princes had all come to see me when I arrived back, but only Nic had stayed with me. Stephan was of course busy. Christian and Connor were quickly called away by their father as I was sure Nic had been too, but he just didn’t go. Maybe it was his way of rebelling for not being able to go with us on the mission, but after what happened, it only played into why Gregor didn’t want him going. I looked up to find Nic staring down. “Let’s get you back to your room.”

  I nodded once. There was a fine sheet of grit all over my skin. My eyes were as dry as sandpaper, and my limbs ached from the force that knocked me to my knees. Zeke hadn’t stuck around when we got back, but Lex and T.J. were still there. I looked at them briefly before leaving. T.J. looked up, his eyes soft and nodded once. My gaze landed on Lex for a few seconds, but she didn’t make any motion that she even recognized anyone in the room. She hadn’t stopped staring for hours.

  Nic guided me through the doors. We said goodbye to Stephan and made the short trek back to the guardian building. A group of trainees in the common room stopped talking as we made our way through. I didn’t even look in their direction. Stopping to talk was the last thing I wanted to do right now, not when the guilt was so heavy like a never-ending weight on my shoulders. If Matthews didn’t recover, what would that mean?

  Nicolai pulled a key to my room out of his pocket and let us in and then locked the door behind us. He took me right into the bathroom and positioned me in the center of the floor. Tilting my chin up, he said, “Let’s get you in the shower, Ri.”

  I nodded numbly, but didn’t move. He blinked a few times, pulled the hair tie from my hair and started to strip me. He pulled my jacket off first and threw it into the other room. Next came my shirt and bra. He picked me up and sat me on the counter while he worked on my shoes and socks and then the buttons on my pants. Before I knew it, I was in the steamy shower, rivulets of dirty water running down my skin. Behind me, Nicolai came in. His hands moved up and down my arms as I started to shake. “It wasn’t your fault,” he said.

  “You don’t know that. You weren’t there.”

  “I heard and saw it all from the com system, Ri. You thought you could stop it.”

  “She told me to retreat, but I didn’t.”

  “He didn’t either. He had the same idea you had. He tried to stop it. He made his own decision.”

  “But if I’d gone…”

  “We’re going to do this ‘What if?’ thing again? No, we’re not. You know it’s just a waste of time.”

  “Lex won’t even—”

  “Lex is trying to hold herself together. I’ve seen it in her before. That is not because of you. Trust me.”

  His arms came around me, pulling me back to him as he kissed my shoulder. I closed my eyes, reveling in the feeling of our skin touching. “I should’ve… I don’t know. I should’ve done something.”

  He turned me around, and my face flushed for the first time. His eyes raked over me. “You should’ve what? You should’ve made sure he was okay? You should’ve left last so that what happened to Matthews happened to you? I don’t think so, Ri. Sometimes things like this happen, and it’s no one’s fault. Actually, I take that back. You want to blame someone? Let’s blame fucking Dumont. Dumont put that vamp up to the bomb. Dumont has no respect for others’ lives. Dumont started all this. So, if anything happens to Matthews, it’s Dumont’s fault. No one else’s.”

  I swallowed, my eyes closing as I took his words in and buried them in my chest. My fingers clenched at my sides, and Nic pulled them apart one-by-one and massaged them. He then worked his way up my hands and arms, pushing me back so I was under the pelting water. He paused, took my body wash and squirted some in his hands before he began to wash me. His hands roamed freely over my skin, digging into the dirtiest parts of me and lingering in other places that I knew couldn’t have been that dirty. After a few moments, my body relaxed. I tilted m
y head back and let the water run through my hair. I combed my fingers through my long strands, letting them fall soaked and straight against my back before Nic took over. Fluidly, his hands moved through my thick locks before they drifted down my back, and he embraced me again, his head coming to rest against mine. “I’m so glad you’re okay.”

  I pulled my hands up to place them on his wide, muscular chest. “Me too.” My throat felt thick. “I thought the next time I saw you this would all be over. I thought we’d be well on our way to living out our happy existence, but I was wrong. I don’t know how we’re going to win, Nic. I really don’t.”

  His hands clasped my face. “We will win.” He scanned my face, and then he brought our lips together, slowly at first as I drank him in. There had been a point earlier today when I didn’t know if I would have this again. If I’d ever see them again, or if I’d made the ultimate sacrifice for taking Dumont down. His hardness rested against my belly, and I moaned. “Shit, Ri. I’m sorry. I just meant to —”

  “Shh,” I told him, moving my hips closer, and taking his thick size in my grip. “I want you.”

  Right now I needed to be reminded of why we were doing this. What we were fighting for, and why it was so important that we risk our lives and the lives of those we cared about. Nic’s hand traveled up the back of my head to hold me in place before kissing me again. He turned us around and lifted me, forcing my legs around his hips while leaning my back against the cold tile. His hand moved up my thigh, rubbing up my slick skin before finding my center and teasing there. He stroked his fingers up and down, as I held on to him, deepening the kiss as I waited. Before long, he pushed a finger inside me. I cried out, but he silenced me with his words. “So hot, wet. Mmm, Ri.”

  He quickened his speed, and I broke the kiss to breathe. “Yes, Nic.” He growled, his hips starting to rock back and forth. He pulled his finger away guided himself toward me. I pushed back on his shoulder. “Aren’t you going to wear a condom?”