Alliances (Guardians of White Light, #1)

by F. J. Gale

  “Get up! Now!” he yelled to his remaining soldiers.

  He glanced at his watch.

  Mathias caught it. What the hell is he checking the time for? What is coming?

  “We need to leave this place ASAP,” he whispered in Jenna’s ear.

  She nodded.

  “You’re allied with a slayer now, Mathias?”

  “That’s right.”

  “She’s human,” Arthur said derisively, shaking his head. “But then again, it’s not much of a surprise. After all, you do have a demented predilection for human women. Just biding your time until she’s finally ready to beg you for it, are you?”

  Jenna bolted forward, incensed by his accusations. Mathias threw out his arm blocking her path. He shook his head at her. All in good time.

  He caught Arthur eyeing his watch again. He was calling for back up! He gripped Jenna’s arm and whispered softly, “Get Jax. We need to leave. Right now.”

  Jenna sped towards the corridor that led to the lab. But before she made it out of the room she was halted by the thunderous sound of heavy steel-toed boot steps. Another dozen Immortalia soldiers flooded the room.

  She watched Mathias’ face twist into its demon form. Harsh lines etched his skin. In between them, hollow caverns of nothingness. Just death. His eyes were black with the promise of evil. She had seen the true face of many vampires, but his was the first one to actually affect her. He was barely recognizable. She couldn’t help wondering whether the demon was really his true face. It didn’t seem to fit.

  He sensed her glance and they locked eyes for a fraction of a second. His yellow demon eyes to her green human eyes. What he saw in hers seemed to wound him. Why? He looked away and she witnessed him roar like a wild animal and rip Arthur’s feet from the ground. He threw him into one of the bookcases. His powerful arms wrapped around him and he smashed him into the solid piece of furniture repeatedly. Ferociously. Brutally.

  He was lost. The monster had consumed any shred of humanity that he’d championed.

  Arthur was barely conscious by the time four of his soldiers launched themselves at Mathias. They jumped on him, fighting to pull him off their leader, to protect the vampire King’s son. Jenna ran to help, but she was forced back by the sudden formation of a wall composed of six soldiers. They had her surrounded in seconds.

  She smiled at them as she withdrew two stakes and assumed a fighting stance, a stake in each hand.

  Her eyes were calm and cool as she studied them. “You want blood? Take it.”

  They bared their fangs and snarled at her like a hungry pack of wolves. She felt adrenaline coursing through her veins. It wasn’t fear; it was the thrill of the fight. She felt alive.

  The first one came at her and her stake met his chest. Dust. Another moved to strike her with his sword. She snagged his wrist in her vice grip, stopping the blade’s path. Her instincts screamed at her. To your left! With her free hand she threw her other stake. It cut through the air spinning like the blades of a chopper. Her aim was flawless. The sharp wood plunged into his heart. Right! Move! She slammed her boot into his chest. He roared as a couple of his ribs cracked at the vicious impact. He doubled over and pulled back. It bought her enough time to slam her knee into the solar plexus of the sword wielder. She felt him loosen his hold on the weapon and she ripped it from his grip. Her fist met his face, knocking him out.

  Before she could enjoy the victory, she felt the remaining soldiers surrounding her once more. She glanced behind her and eyed the four-foot tall bar. Perfect. She waited until her opponents were almost upon her and then she leapt into the air. Executing a back flip, she landed solidly on the top of the bar. Higher ground was always better.

  She glanced at Mathias. He was subdued by Arthur’s soldiers and seconds away from a sadistic beating. She couldn’t make out what they were saying but Arthur’s face was contorted with fury.

  “You’re a fool. Allying yourself with a slayer!” Arthur yelled as he socked Mathias brutally in the stomach.

  Mathias groaned as Arthur hit him again. He struggled against the four soldiers holding him up. He watched Arthur pull a dagger and grin maliciously.

  But to Mathias' surprise, Arthur stepped back.

  “You know, despite all her power and all her training, there’s one thing she’ll never have,” he said as he eyed Jenna battling his men. The bitch still has the upper hand!

  He twirled the dagger in his hand, locking eyes with Mathias. “Immortality.”

  Mathias’ eyes widened in horror as he realized what Arthur was about to do. He watched as he threw the blade at Jenna. He heard himself bellowing a warning to her. But his words couldn’t match the speed of the blade. He watched Jenna catch his eye.

  She followed his line of sight to the blade. Terror gripped her as the projectile neared. There was no way she could react in time. There was no escape. She screamed as it plunged into her side, tearing through her flesh.

  She fought against crippling pain as she continued battling her assailants. But it was impossible. In a matter of seconds her reactions became purely defensive.

  She pushed back a frontal assault with one hand as she held the handle of the dagger in her side as steady as possible. She brought her hand away briefly as she dodged out of the way of another opponent attempting to lunge at her. Blood soaked her hand, trickling down her fingers. Damn, there’s too much blood. She looked around to see that all eyes were suddenly on her. Predatory eyes. Every remaining vampire in the room snarled and had their attention riveted on her and the heady smell of her blood. Oh my God. She caught Mathias’ eye and saw that he wasn’t above it either. He was salivating just like the rest of them.

  The distraction of her wound and its accompanying nausea and light-headedness compromised her focus. She was blindsided by a fist to the temple. She stumbled into a pillar, groaning as her back jarred painfully against it. The assailant socked her again and she went down, collapsing to the floor. As he approached, she eyed Mathias wearily. Their eyes met and she watched as he fought against his handlers with a renewed ferocity in an effort to get to her.

  “This is how I like Slayers. Helpless and beaten,” a voice above her said.

  She looked up at the looming predatory figure of Arthur.

  “Stay back,” she rasped.

  He knelt down in front of her. “Or what? You’ll bleed on me?” His hand brushed the leather choker around her neck. His nostrils flared and he groaned as he savored the smell of her blood. He could almost taste it already, because it was so incredibly potent, more so than any other human’s.

  She flinched and jerked away.

  He gripped the sides of her face and forced her to look at him.

  “Humans are so fragile,” he whispered in her ear.

  She braced herself as he leaned towards her throat.

  “Back!” a voice roared from behind them.

  Arthur pulled back abruptly. Jax stood a few feet away, armed with a flamethrower.

  “Jax,” Arthur greeted as he abandoned Jenna and raised his hands in surrender.

  “Bastard child of Silas. Leave here or there will be nothing left of you and your so-called army but ashes.”

  Arthur nodded to one of his men discretely. Mathias caught it. He saw the dagger in the soldier’s hand.

  “Fire!” he roared to Jax.

  Jax didn’t hesitate. He fired. Mathias hurled himself out of the line of flame. It licked at the boots of the soldiers. They screamed as the flames encircled their legs, snaking higher and higher. In a matter of seconds their screams ceased as their convulsing bodies became ash. Dust. Jax released the trigger and eyed Arthur.

  Eyes wide, he paled with shock. And then…he ran. Jax fired. Mathias threw a stake. But Arthur was gone before any damage could be inflicted. Mathias cursed. His instinct was to go after him, but then his eyes fell to Jenna immobile on the ground a few feet away. There will be another day. He shook off the compulsion and rushed to her, skidding to his knees beside
her. Big mistake. He almost choked from the shock of being so close to her open wound and the blood pooling around her. To say it was overwhelming would be an understatement.

  He forced himself to look at her; to look her in the eyes. Establishing and maintaining a connection would prevent the demon from taking over and envisioning Jenna as nothing more than a meal.

  She eyed him wearily. He offered her a comforting smile. “It’s okay.”

  “I had them.”

  “I know. You were…amazing,” he told her, stroking her arm gently. “Just stay still now, okay?”

  She nodded and leaned her head back against the pillar. Her light-headedness was making it difficult to hold her increasingly-heavy head steady. He reached for the dagger in her side. His fingers tightened around the handle preparing to pull it out.

  “Stop!” Jax bellowed, hurrying over after putting out a few fires that had erupted from the flamethrower.

  “I know how to treat a battle wound, Jax.”

  Jax gripped his shoulders. “She’s mortal.”

  Of course! Why had his capacity for logic and common sense suddenly left him? Was it because she was wounded? Was his concern for her wellbeing affecting his judgment? Stop it! Now is not the time! Pull yourself together!

  Jax ushered him out of the way. “I need to see where the blade is before I pull it. It could kill her otherwise.”

  “I’m fine,” Jenna rasped. “It’s not serious.”

  Jax eyed the pool of blood beside her, the red liquid soaking her white tank. A haze of bloodlust enveloped him and he grunted at the effort of trying to hold back. The scent was overwhelming, made more so by her purity.

  He and Mathias exchanged a worried glance. Oh, it was definitely serious. Arthur had driven the blade deep.

  “You’re losing too much blood. I need to stop it now or you’ll bleed out.” He peered over his shoulder at Mathias. “Get the decanter over by the bar. Now.”

  Mathias understood his meaning immediately and retrieved it in two bursts of vampire speed. Jax snatched it from him and quickly gulped down several mouthfuls of the lion’s blood inside. He handed it back to Mathias. “You would do well to follow my example here,” he warned, gesturing to Jenna’s wound. They were both vamped out from the earlier battle. But they hadn’t reverted back to their human faces yet, because of her blood. They were both right on the edge, but Mathias was struggling more than him. He could see the strain on his face and his hands were shaking with his effort of fighting to keep the demon and its vampiric killer instincts at bay. Jax was actually a little surprised that Mathias hadn’t snapped yet.

  Now that his appetite was momentarily sated so he knew he wouldn’t hurt her, Jax focused on Jenna. He examined the blade, relieved to discover that he could remove it without killing her. It was what he’d hoped for, because checking her into the ER wasn’t an option. They had killed Immortalia soldiers. Reprisal would be imminent. None of them could risk stepping into a public place. They had to keep to the shadows. He instructed Mathias, “I need you to exert pressure the second I remove it.”

  Mathias hesitated. His eyes were drawn to the blood that pooled on the ground beside her, the blood on Jax’s hands. The scent was overpowering, intoxicating.

  “I can’t,” he told him, taking an uneasy step back, “It’s too…I don’t trust myself…I’m sorry.”

  Jax nodded knowingly. “There’s a first aid kit in the lab. First cupboard to the left when you walk in. Finish off that decanter while you’re in there.” Mathias needed to take the edge of ASAP, at least in some small way. The last thing Jax needed was him going for Jenna. He couldn’t tend to her wounds and worry about defending her from Mathias as well. No, Mathias needed to pull himself together.

  Mathias leapt into action. Jax watched him go. As soon as he was out of earshot he whispered to Jenna, “He can’t be near you right now.”

  “What? You’re okay with…the blood,” Jenna said, not understanding.

  “It’s different for him.”

  Jenna threw him a questioning glance. How?

  “He was a warrior for centuries and a killer for longer than that. He killed for the pleasure of it not for survival. Even though that’s no longer the case, it’s still in him. The bloodlust for him is particularly difficult,” Jax explained. “These days, he’s normally a master of self-control, but….”

  “But, what?”

  “Attraction complicates all that.”

  Jenna felt herself blush. She closed her eyes and shook her head. “I’m a slayer. I don’t get involved with vampires. This is business.”

  Jax couldn’t help but smile at her denial because her response mirrored Mathias’ exactly. He looked up as Mathias returned to the room. He handed him the first aid kit and then stepped back. He folded his arms and shifted his weight uncomfortably. Jax could see that he was trying to conceal his anxiety, but he knew him too well.

  He returned his attention to Jenna. He withdrew a gauze pad from the first aid kit and held it ready with one hand. He gripped the knife handle with the other.

  “This is gonna hurt,” he told her. “Remember to keep breathing through the shock or you’ll pass out.”

  She gulped down the fear that spread through her like ice. She didn’t want either of them to see her fear. It was weakness. But they were vampires; she suspected they could smell it.

  “On the count of three. One—”

  He ripped it out. He was so fast. But the pain that assaulted her was just as sudden. She couldn’t suppress an agonizing scream. It was unbearable. She fought back the immediate urge to throw up. A rush of searing heat and an uncomfortable chill assaulted her body at the same time. Before she could even catch her breath, he exerted painful pressure against the open wound with the gauze pad. Shit, breathe, just stay conscious.

  “Fuck!” she choked out between rapid breaths.

  She threw her head back and wiped away the sweat that soaked her brow. She closed her eyes tightly in an effort to rise above the pain. Pain is just a state of mind, huh? She hated fools who espoused such nonsense. They’d obviously never been brutally gutted. Worst battle wound so far.

  “Slow your breathing. Control it,” Jax urged her. “You’ve had worse than this.”

  Jenna opened her eyes and caught that bullshit expression on his face that she knew only too well. I invented that frigging look. “I’m trying my damnedest not to tell you to go fuck yourself right now!”

  “I know,” Jax said with a wink.

  “Stop reading me.”

  “Just making sure your thoughts are coherent. I can’t have you passing out. It’s coma territory at the moment.”

  “I’m fine.”

  Just as she’d said the words, a sudden gust of chilled air rushed at her. Mathias. She felt him before she saw him. Damn, he was fast, even for a vampire.

  There was blood trickling from his lips. She saw him exchange a couple of serious glances with Jax. Jax gave a nod of agreement and then Mathias ripped his jacket off and approached her. Jax stepped back. Before she could react to his frenzied movements, she watched in horror as he summoned his demon face. His fangs jutted to the forefront of his mouth. He guided his arm to them. Fangs tore through flesh, shredding veins. Blood spurted, flowing freely down his arm. It didn’t seem to faze him at all.

  He dropped to his knees before her and held his wrist out for her, as though it was something as mundane as a waiter trying to offer hors d’oeuvres at a stuffy cocktail party.

  “What are you doi—”

  “You could die.”

  She shook her head. “No. The bleeding has stopped. Get that gouged arm away from me.”

  “You’ve already lost too much blood. It’s too risky to take you to a hospital. Drink.”

  “Are you a doctor now?”

  “I can feel it, Jenna.”

  She looked to Jax for his confirmation. After his warning about Mathias and his bloodlust for her, she didn’t trust him enough.

&n
bsp; “He’s right,” he said, with a nod.

  Mathias pushed his arm closer to her mouth. She turned her head, her stomach churning with disgust.

  “You want to die?” he snapped.

  “That’s not your problem, vampire,” she seethed, her tone cold and hostile. Back off. No way am I drinking your blood. Gross.

  “It won’t make you a vampire. I’d have to drain you first.”

  Jenna rolled her eyes. I know that. Everyone knows that.

  “Get away from me!” she said, attempting to move away. Her body failed her and she cried out from the sudden pain that shot through her wound.

  “I’m sorry,” he said.

  Sorry for what?

  Before she could utter the question, his hand shot out and he gripped her neck. In her weakened state, her struggles failed and she could do nothing to stop him from exerting more pressure. Within moments light-headedness threatened to overwhelm her, exhausting her. Her fists unclenched of their own accord. She had no remnants of protest left in her. She barely noticed when he let go.

  “Drink,” he spoke in a reassuring velvety smooth tone.

  And she did.

  He cradled the back of her head to encourage her.

  Jax joined him and watched as Jenna drew his blood into her mouth.

  “That was dangerous,” he admonished.

  Mathias craned his neck to look at him while ensuring he kept his arm steady. “During a siring, humans can’t resist drinking when they’re barely conscious after a vampire drains them. I figured the same principle would apply here. Although we hadn’t fed from her the blood loss was as severe.”

  Jax shook his head with disapproval.

  “I could feel her pulse. There was no risk,” Mathias protested.

  “You were choking her, suffocating her.”

  “I was saving her life.”

  Jax sighed with defeat. What had he expected? Mathias would never admit to being wrong. He was wasting his breath. “It’s a good thing Immortalia isn’t here to see this. A vampire feeding their blood to a human, a slayer? The Hunter, even! Talk about flying in the face of everything those purists believe in.”

  “She’s a strong ally,” Mathias said, gazing at her as she continued to drink.