by Cecy Robson
CHAPTER 13
The vampires greeted us on the steps of the mansion, standing at parade rest. Black cargo pants covered their muscular legs. Fine-gauge sweaters of black silk tightened over their powerful biceps, triceps, and abdominals. Combat boots sheathed their feet. These vicious creatures of the night looked dressed to maim, maul, murder.
We looked ready to crash at the nearest homeless shelter.
My sisters and I had decided on old jeans, sweatshirts, and sneakers after Taran said, “I’m not getting that nasty bloodlust shit on my nice clothes.”
I zipped the front of my sweatshirt to conceal the spaghetti stain on my tank. Nothing like feeling like a complete jackass before charging into battle.
The vamps parted smoothly to allow their master through. Misha bowed his head. “Ladies, you have my deepest gratitude. If you will, please join me for an early breakfast. We shall leave within the hour.”
“Early” seemed the appropriate term. Sunrise still remained hours away.
I shoved my hands into the pockets of my old sweatshirt as the breeze from the lake intensified, turning the air dense and crisp. A dangerous storm brewed in the distance, threatening to fall upon us like the mighty fist of Thor. I glanced over my shoulder before following Misha inside. I’d hoped the break of dawn would bring strong light to aid my sisters in battle. Without the night vision the vampires and I possessed, the tremendous drawbacks they faced continued to escalate.
And so did my trepidation for their safety.
The vampires’ steps echoed through the vast foyer, distinguishable from ours as they marched as one solid entity. “We will invade by boat and land on the eastern shore,” Misha said as he walked. “As bloodlust worsens, the muscles of infected vampires grow too dense, impeding their ability to swim.”
Shayna hurried to Misha’s right side. “So if we have to, say, um, run for our lives, the water is the best place to be?”
Misha nodded slowly at Shayna. “Provided the depth of the water and our speed are sufficient. The thirst of bloodlust further amplifies a vampire’s strength and velocity.”
Oh. Goody.
Taran swore behind me. Bloodlust just kept sounding better and better.
“The boats are almost ready. We will divide into three separate teams.”
“Excuse me, Misha,” Emme said quietly. “But shouldn’t we use two boats, or one big boat? With only seventeen of us, it might be better to stay in larger groups.”
Emme’s blush deepened as Misha regarded her. “Once we are on land, it will be to our advantage to stay as a group. However, smaller boats will dock closer to shore and will be faster should we need to flee.”
My fingertips swept over Emme’s tense muscles as I caressed her back. “And the more boats, the more options we have for escape, honey.”
Emme nodded. I supposed I should have reassured her, but the reality of the situation offered very little in the inspiration department. As everyone veered into the dining room, I grasped Misha’s arm. He stopped, as I’d intended, but he wouldn’t allow me to pull him into the office across the way. His resistance didn’t surprise me. Master vampires didn’t take kindly to being led anywhere.
His spine straightened and those hard gray eyes skimmed along my arm until they fixed upon my face. “I need to see you privately, Misha.”
A brief wind swept across my cheek from the speed with which he whisked us into his study. I’d only just felt his grip against my waist when the door slammed shut behind us. My eyes widened as he slowly lowered me to the floor. He said nothing, allowing his body to speak for him. The smell of lust surfaced immediately. He was aroused. And crap, somehow I’d caused it.
Lust remained unfamiliar, at least on a personal level. And while I’d scented it in clubs where dancers ground, at restaurants where couples stumbled out clutching each other in anticipation, and on Bren when he’d spotted his conquest for the evening, never had it been directed at me. Yes, Danny and I had sex as teens. But what Danny and I’d shared lingered as a distant memory of innocence, attraction, and a wish to please.
Misha’s scent of bare skin and implied promises of bliss left no hint of innocence. What did I expect? After all, he’d had more than a century to learn the art of sex, and his growing aroma and need assured me he’d mastered his craft.
I swallowed hard. I hadn’t expected such a response. Nor did I want it. My eyes wandered down. Misha obviously possessed the defibrillator to resuscitate my sleeping girl parts. But beyond my fear of intimacy at his hands lay the realization that Misha wasn’t the male who haunted my dreams and beckoned my beast.
Misha leaned into me, his soft, perfect lips parting to reach mine. I shrank away. “I’m sorry, but this isn’t what I want from you, Misha.”
Judging by the blatant confusion hardening his features, I may very well have been the first woman in history to refuse Sir Misha Aleksandr. Several long seconds passed before he released his hold. His tight black sweater hugged every muscle on his two-hundred-pound-plus form. His mane had been swept back into a tail, revealing that angelic face with the devilish twinkle. I chuckled. Misha was without question the hottest thing with sharp incisors—the poster child for ethereal vampiric beauty. Yet whenever I closed my eyes, images of Aric inundated my thoughts: the way he held me, the way his gaze met mine…the way he smiled.
Misha crossed his arms, his Russian accent thick over his words: “Tell me then what it is you desire.”
My eyes lowered to the bluestone floor—beautiful, despite all the cracks and imperfections. “I want you to watch over Emme. Out of all of us, she deserves to live the most.” I forced the words out. “If it comes down to it, Misha, and the rest of us don’t make it, I need you to get her to safety.”
Misha raised my chin with a single finger, perhaps because he knew I couldn’t move just then. “If you consider her weak, why do you anticipate you and the others will perish before her?”
My tigress rose to the surface. “Because Taran, Shayna, and I will die before anything happens to her. Emme is…different. She still believes in the good of others, despite the darkness that surrounds us.” I shrugged. “The world needs more Emmes.”
Misha’s finger slipped from my jaw. He circled me slowly. “Is the world not as deserving of you?”
Sins have a funny way of resurfacing at inappropriate times. I smiled without humor. “Emme has enough heart for both of us. If her heart continues to beat, in a way, mine will, too.” I stopped smiling then. “Make me this promise, Misha.”
He waited briefly before whirling me around and exposing my palm. I gasped when his warm tongue slid against my skin. He licked it once before placing my hand over his heart. “I do not agree with your request, but I give you my word as a master.”
Misha didn’t release me; he kept his hand on mine as he led me into the Delaware-size dining room and to the marble table. My sisters lifted their heads from their plates. Most of their eggs Benedict and hash browns remained untouched. They didn’t want to eat, yet they knew survival depended on more than just adrenaline.
I sat next to Taran. She pretended to fuss with the strap of my tank. “Did he say yes?” she whispered. I nodded, both to her and to Shayna, who looked up. Shayna smiled with sadness and relief before returning to her meal.
CHAPTER 14
Small drops of rain hit my face as we walked along the beach toward the boathouse, gathering twigs for Shayna along the way. I added the small stick to the pile I cradled and yanked up my hood. By the time we reached the lengthy dock, the droplets had temporarily ceased. It was just as well; the skimpy hood was no match for my long waves, even in the ponytail I’d wrangled them into. And besides, the thunder in the distance promised a thorough drenching with or without proper rain gear.
Four white boats, flashy and built for speed, bobbed next to a small yacht. Three vampires waited in the ones at the end of the pier—our captains, I presumed. But just as I stepped onto the first wide plank the scurry of tiny fe
et alerted my senses.
“Celia, look out!”
I was already looking over the edge of the yacht before Shayna could finish shouting her warning, watching the little brown field mouse disappear into the adjacent wooded area. I stood to leap back onto the dock, but the scowls from Misha’s vampires halted me in place.
“A cat that’s afraid of a mouse. Nice,” one of Misha’s bodyguards muttered.
My jaw clenched tight. “I’m not afraid. I’m just sort of…allergic.”
“You’re allergic to mice,” one of the good Catholics repeated, disgust dripping from each word.
“Well, all animals, actually,” Emme said, frowning at them as much as her angelic features allowed. “But that doesn’t make her weak.”
The Catholic schoolgirl jerked her head in Emme’s direction. Her fair complexion and long red hair bequeathed her with a striking beauty. I might have envied her—if she also hadn’t been bequeathed with royal bitchiness. “Yes. It does!” she snapped. “It also makes her a problem. Our problem.”
“Colleen,” Misha warned.
She dipped her head low enough so that the vee of her tight shirt showcased the crease between her enormous bosoms. “A thousand apologies, Master. But what are we to do if she develops a reaction?” She scoffed in my direction. “I’m fresh out of Benadryl.”
I cracked my knuckles and landed in front of her, kicking aside the pile of sticks I’d dropped. “No Benadryl necessary. Beating your ass will fix me right up.”
She hissed, her incisors protruding out, only to land with a hard thump on the dock. Her fair skin discolored and a small gurgle escaped her throat. I exchanged glances with my sisters.
Taran withdrew the fire from her fingertips. “Damn, Celia. I didn’t even see you strike.”
I slowly lowered my balled fists. “I didn’t touch her….”
With the exception of Colleen, who continued to lie like a dying slug, and Misha, all the vamps resumed their parade-rest position with their gazes firmly dropped. Misha stared out over the water, his arms crossed in front of him, his expression blank. Yet his deadly tone left nothing to the imagination. “I find it grating to remind my family that guests—especially those who are attempting to save our very lives—need to be respected. Colleen. Is there something you wish to say to Celia?”
“Ir-kie,” Colleen croaked.
Misha turned to me, smiling. “Colleen extends her deepest apologies, my darling.”
“Apology accepted,” I mumbled, stupefied by Colleen’s clay-colored lips.
Tahoe’s magic must have been potent enough to camouflage Misha’s own. I hadn’t caught even the slightest whiff of his power. Yet there it was, squashing Colleen to the pier like a woolly mammoth on a grape.
Slowly Colleen’s natural color returned. The minute her lips tinged pink, she scrambled to her feet and joined the others, careful to give Misha ample space.
“Shall we, ladies?”
The vamps rushed to pick up the twigs my sisters and I had dropped when Colleen challenged me. They placed the neat piles at Shayna’s feet once she sat in the nearest boat.
“I don’t suppose I can convince you and Emme to ride with me?” Misha asked.
I leaped into the boat with my sisters and two other vampires. “No. I stay with them.”
Misha watched me closely from the dock while six vampires piled into the boat farthest away. “Master,” a vampire in the center boat pleaded. “You’ll be safest with your own.”
Misha joined the vampire and three others after a brief pause. “Stay no farther than six yards apart.”
“Yes, Master,” the captains echoed before the engines caught and the motors roared in unison.
Shayna adjusted the bow back onto her shoulder once she finished fastening her life vest. The vamps had eyed her suspiciously when she hauled the giant weapon out of the car, likely questioning her lack of arrows. Yet they failed to ask her directly. Perhaps they didn’t want to risk pissing Misha off. His response to Colleen’s behavior left little doubt that punishment in the House of Aleksandr was swift, severe, and potentially lethal.
No one spoke most of the way. Emme wriggled in her seat nervously and Taran kept lighting balls of fire between her palms. Shayna remained unusually still, focusing ahead, ready to attack. Her reflexes were as sharp as mine. And while she didn’t have much physical strength, the sharpness of her blades compensated for her lack of muscle.
I moved next to her and nudged her with my elbow. “You okay?”
She grinned, surprising me with her typical sparkle. “Yeah. I’m ready, you know, dude? I mean, I’m scared senseless, but it almost seems like I’ve been preparing for a fight for a long time.” Her brows quirked. “I never knew why I could pick up sword play and weapons training just by watching movies and stuff. It seemed like such a waste of a gift—with all the guns out there and all, who cares if I’m good with a knife?” She reached into her back pocket to check her toothpicks for the fifth time. “Maybe this is the kind of thing I’ve been working for.” She shoved the little box away before returning her focus ahead. “I just hope I get more than one opportunity to show what I can do.”
I tapped her thigh with my hand. “Yeah. Me, too, honey.”
Thunder and lightning struck in the distant mountains. “Goddamn witches,” our captain said. “They’re probably the ones bringing the storm.”
“What the hell are you rambling on about?” Taran asked.
The vamp rolled his eyes. “Witches often practice their spellwork in the mountains to avoid accidently killing anyone when they cast. The stronger spells charge the air with magic, stimulating nature to produce storms.”
I watched the gathering clouds and the escalating bolts of lightning. Witches smelled of magic and the dried crushed herbs they used in their spells. Ambrosial scents of spearmint, sage, rosemary, and basil thickened the air.
Taran shuddered. “Damn. Their magic is strong.”
The vamp smiled. “Yes. It makes their blood pretty damn tasty.”
Emme winced. I shook my head. Why did we always end up with the freaks?
My tigress paced restlessly inside me. Neither of us liked the boat—not enough room to move, to roam. And the whole fear-of-drowning thing didn’t help either. I stood and stretched my legs just as Fannette, Tahoe’s only island, came into view. We’d arrived. It was time.
The vampires hustled to get their gun holsters on, cringing as the clips of gold bullets brushed against their bodies. The gold would soon make them sick, but nausea was a small price to pay in exchange for the firepower we’d need.
The motors cut as we approached the bay. We glided across the fog-covered water, stopping a few yards from shore. Silence sliced like Shayna’s blade. No birds flew, and the breeze ceased to a trickle. The only sound was Tahoe’s gentle splashing against the smooth rocks bordering the beach. Yet its normally gentle lullaby failed to reassure me. An odd eagerness seeped into my pores, taunting me to draw closer.
“Come into my parlor,” said the spider to the fly.
Misha and the vampires stood as a single entity, their eyes sharp, their claws protruding. The taunting sensation grew nearer, stronger. My inner beast growled, loud enough to rattle my heart.
“Wha-what…” Emme began.
“Something’s here,” I whispered to Emme.
My tigress eyes replaced my own, but her vision couldn’t pierce through the thickness of the fog. I froze. Watching. Waiting. The urge to attack growing.
Water exploded like the start of a fountain to our left. I’d caught a glimpse of something wide, green, and thick before its arms encased the closest vampire. He vanished in a burst of water and a holler of agony. Shayna and I rushed to the edge, only to get flooded with an eruption of blood and ash.
Bullets shot wildly into the water, and the roars of my angered beast escaped. My sisters screamed—except for Shayna. Her eyes narrowed at the water as she reached for her stack of kindling. She placed the stick ag
ainst her bow. As she pulled, gold light flickered from her necklace to her fingertips, transforming the wood into a thick gold arrow, the tip wide and deadly. She closed her eyes and pointed to where the vamp had dematerialized—only to aim four feet away at the last second and propel the arrow at an unimaginable velocity.
A two-hundred-pound infected female broke through the water, tipping the side of our boat forward. Green fluid bulged her thickened muscles; a maw full of sharp teeth snapped with hunger. She screamed, revealing the arrow protruding from the top of her skull down into her throat. Shayna failed to hit the heart.
But I didn’t.
My claws struck hard through the vampire’s chest, crushing her sternum until my fingertips gathered around the hot, pumping muscle. I yanked it out in an upsurge of putrid-smelling fluid and ash. The force knocked me back, but I jumped to my feet, landing on the starboard bow.
“Stay down until I say,” I hissed at Taran and Emme.
Taran’s mouth tightened as she clutched Emme against her. “I thought these assholes couldn’t swim.”
“We’re in shallow water,” Shayna answered tightly. She pointed another transformed arrow down into the lake, one foot on the floor of the boat, the other bent at the knee against the gunwale. Her hands stayed perfectly still as she waited for the next attack. Across from us, the vamps inched around the perimeter of the boats, the barrels of the gun pointing down. Misha stood in the middle, fury and hatred pushing back the mist around him.
Something bumped the floor beneath Taran and Emme. Emme’s head shot up. I shook my head. Don’t move, I mouthed.
The vamps in the boat next to Misha’s didn’t heed me. They scrambled away from the thud against the starboard, announcing breakfast time to the bloodlusters prowling beneath. They surfaced, hungry jaws snapping as they dragged two vampires into the murky depths—including Colleen.