I glanced around the bumper. A number of houses were on fire, which was good. Not so good were the dozen or so angry citizens firing bullets and lobbing grenades in our direction. One such grenade bounced off the top of the car and plunked down next to Rossi. I picked it up and chucked it back in the direction it came from, satisfied at the explosion and accompanying scream it caused when it detonated.
Behind us, I could see Felipe, Ronin, and Nathan joining up with other groups of soldiers. I couldn't see Jax or Benton anywhere, which made my heart surge. I pushed it out of my mind as another explosion rocked the vehicle behind me. The soldier screamed and ducked back, holding his arm. I was by his side in an instant, pulling his hand from the wound. It was a jagged tear across his bicep and I could see the bone beneath. I pulled at my belt, freeing the medical kit I kept there. I had his arm cleaned and bound in less than a minute. When I looked up, he was staring at me, eyes wide, mouth open. At least he wasn't screaming anymore.
"Are you ok to keep shooting?"
He didn't say anything so I waved my hand in front of his face. I had to stifle a laugh when he jumped.
"That... was awesome..."
I heard Rossi giggle behind us. "I think he's in shock, Jane."
"Nah. I think he's just realized that not all vampires are blood-thirsty killers." I smacked the soldier on his uninjured shoulder so hard he rocked into the car.
He flushed red in embarrassment and picked up his gun again. Just about that time, I heard a blood-curdling scream echo down the street from the direction of the mayor house. I hazarded a look and regretted it immediately.
Coming at us full speed was a woman, a very familiar vampire. Her long brown hair blew behind her as she raced down the street. Her feet were clad in high-heeled thigh-length boots zipped up over skin-tight jeans. Donna was looking very much like she did the first night I met her, aside from the deadly hunger in her eyes and the anger on her face. Beside her ran the man who had tortured me for months.
I pulled my gaze from them and found Felipe. He was staring, unable to move. Sensing my eyes on him, he pulled himself together and pounded twice on the vehicle he was crouching behind. The sound echoed throughout the area and moments later, three men stood up. One of them was Jax and I felt a sigh of relief escape my lips.
My two comrades at the car were still firing at the blood slaves on either side of the street and I yanked them back, tucking them under my arms like a mother hen. The man struggled at first until he heard the distinctive thud of several grenades being launched. They were set to explode on impact and more than half a dozen had been lobbed. The ground shook and pavement rained down upon my head. The car rocked dangerously and I thought it might tip over, either on us or exposing us. Both would have been bad.
When the dust cleared, I indicated to the soldiers to remain where they were and hazarded another glance around the vehicle. The street was pocked with craters, each large enough for a full-grown man to curl up in. The two vampires who had been advancing on us were nowhere to be seen and I felt a sob growing in my throat until I realized no body parts lay on the ground either.
I had no time to react when I heard the roar. I knew something horrible was going to happen, so I reached out and grabbed the two humans beside me. As I pulled them in front of me, I felt the car smash into my spine, launching us into the air. Rossi's scream pierced my ears and I wanted desperately to cover them, but I knew if I let her go, she would be crushed. I was being pushed along by the weight of the vehicle and when I felt our momentum start to slow, I tossed the humans to either side, hoping they would clear the inevitable crash and not break something in the process.
When I hit the pavement, I tucked myself into a ball and rolled, aiming for a direction slightly off from that of the car. It crashed beside me, skidding to a halt. I stood and turned toward the oncoming vampires and braced myself. As I did, Donna smashed into me, flinging us both into the wreckage of the car. I felt something pierce my back and bit down on scream. I reached out, gripping Donna's shirt, and flung her to the side. Looking down, I saw a piece of metal sticking through my abdomen. With a grunt and a push, I hefted myself away from the vehicle and the rod ripped free, setting my insides on fire.
Donna was rising to her feet, a snarl on her face, when I turned toward her. Her shirt was torn and soaked with blood. I could see a gash in her side and another running down her cheek. Her left hand was burned, the flesh raw and bleeding and her jeans were scorched black.
"Donna, please." I held up my hands, begging her to stop.
She howled, a terrifying thing that reminded me of those nights I spent as a child cowering beneath the blankets as the coyotes hunted in the fields around my house. It sounded like when they caught sight of prey and went on the chase. She launched herself at me, soaring through the air, and I ducked around the vehicle. The crunch she made when she hit would have broken a thousand bones in a human's body. It barely slowed Donna down.
As I raced toward the military transport, I saw Felipe and Conrad locked in battle. Neither had weapons, which was actually a bit of a relief. Ado had had Conrad beat before Conrad managed to grab Ado's sword. At least I knew Felipe wouldn't go down the same way.
Other vampires were emerging from houses on either side of the street now that the sun was down and they were advancing on our little group. We fell back, trying to keep the battle from spreading out to far. I found my way to Nathan and stood beside him, watching Donna approach. When she saw I had company, she veered off her path and headed toward one of the soldiers. I saw several bullets pierce her, but none slowed her down. She reached him and ripped his arm off before any of us could do anything.
With my attention averted, I was a danger to myself and didn't see the three vampires coming at me from the side. Two of them worked in sync and grabbed my arm and leg on my left side. They swung me--double the vampire, double the power--and launched me into the air.
EIGHT
I've always enjoyed flying, but that is an experience I never want to relive. I hung in the air for an eternity, watching the battle play out in slow motion below me. Vampires and humans fell left and right and there was nothing I could do to aid my friends or vanquish my enemies. When I saw the ground approaching rapidly, I flailed my arms and legs, trying futilely to slow my descent. I landed with a deafening thud. I could feel several bones break. Despite our quick healing, broken bones still hurt as a vampire. My head snapped back and my skull cracked against the hard ground. Black and red mingled at the edges of my vision, threatening to pull me under and I fought to remain in control. I breathed deeply, trying to pull myself together. The battle wasn't over and I knew they needed my help.
The world spun as I tried to stand. At least it remained blurry instead of fading completely to black. I realized after a couple seconds that standing wasn't going to be an option. The most I could muster was rolling to my side. My stomach churned even at that and I fought desperately to hold onto the bacon and eggs I'd had for breakfast before we left and the liquid life I had just before the battle. My cheek rested against the rough pavement and I could smell blood--my blood. A quick glance to the side told me that a lot of it lay on the ground under me and the sight set my stomach pulsing again.
I coughed and more blood splattered the blacktop. I placed my right hand on the tarred surface and pushed, giving myself enough leverage to bring my left elbow underneath me. I balanced there, fighting against the nauseating twirl of the planet. A few deep breaths later and I had my digestive system under control once more. Turning my head slowly, I surveyed the scene.
Several feet away, I could see two vampires I didn't recognize. Both were laying on the pavement. One, a female, looked like her neck was broken. She stared at me, eyes and mouth wide, but didn't move. I couldn't tell if she was dead or alive from that distance. The male was missing an arm and a leg. He lay on his back, his remaining hand pressed to his chest. I could see blood dripping down his side to join the ever-growing pool beneath hi
m. His chest rose and fell in jagged breaths while his lips moved. If he was saying anything coherent, I was too far away to hear him.
A familiar boot off to my left drew my gaze. I cringed as I recognized the man attached to it--Jax. He was on his side, his back to me, unmoving. With his armor, I couldn't tell if he was still breathing. A quick glance around showed no others from my team, so I made it my goal to help Jax if I could. Using what little strength I had, I pulled myself forward, grunting with the effort. Something below my ribcage but above my hips felt wrong and my legs wouldn't work properly. I've never been one for biology and I pushed aside thoughts of permanent disability while reminding myself that vampires can heal better than any other species on the planet.
After several agonizingly painful minutes, I'd dragged myself the ten feet to Jax. His eyes were closed, his face covered in blood. I leaned in close, sending up a silent prayer. I almost cried aloud when I heard the faint, gasping breaths echoing from his partially opened mouth. Shoving my hand up under his body armor, I felt around for the cause of his incapacitated state and found it quickly. In his chest, just under his arm where the armor stops to allow freedom of movement was a hole. After a bit more searching, I found the accompanying exit wound. Not good that he'd been shot, but good that the bullet had gone straight through.
As I reached for the first aid kit on my belt, I heard a roar behind me. I jerked my head around, cursing inwardly as the world tilted and my stomach heaved. My left arm gave out and I landed heavily on my back, gasping for air while I fought the urge to vomit all over myself. I turned my head to the right, toward the growling sound that continued unabated. Felipe lay pinned beneath our Humvee, his muscles bulging as he attempted to push the three-ton vehicle off his lower extremities. My gaze was drawn to his left, though, where a blood-covered female vampire stalked toward him, her lips curled into a vicious snarl, makeshift stake in hand.
My nostrils flared and my eyes burned with tears that were sure to shed. Donna. Her clothes were in tatters, her hair a matted mess from a head wound. I could barely recognize her through the dirt and blood stains on her face, neck, and arms, but it was most definitely Donna--the bubbly, dog-grooming fashionista who had been my first friend at the sanctuary. And she was heading toward my boyfriend with a very sharp, very deadly piece of wood.
"Noooo." The voice sounded hoarse, pained, and unfamiliar, but I knew it was mine. My body moved before I thought to move, trying to draw itself toward the fallen vampire. I reached out a hand, clawing at the black stones, pulling myself forward. Felipe turned his head from the Hummer, seeing the oncoming attacker, then tilted his head as far as it would go. His dark eyes landed on mine, terrified. My heart seized. For the year that I'd known Felipe, I'd never seen him afraid of anything, much less death. But this was different, so different.
I opened my mouth to cry out, to plead with Donna for mercy, to tell Felipe that I loved him. The words never came. An unexpected pain blossomed across the back of my head, spidering out across my skull. The horrible agony was followed by an uncontrollable urge to yack. As my breakfast finally freed itself, my vision blurred, shrinking until all I could see were Felipe's eyes, dark and pleading. Then they were gone.
NINE
The dark faded with agonizing slowness, the light creeping in from the center of my vision and battling its way out until I could finally focus on the world around me. Afraid to move my head, I stared upward, watching the stars twinkle in the blackness above. Images flashed through my brain--images of pain, fear and death. One settled in the forefront--Felipe on the ground, Donna advancing on him.
I jerked up, forcing myself into a seated position. As I did so, my stomach heaved and I doubled over, the muscles in my abdomen heaving, trying to expel something that wasn't there. I felt a hand on my shoulder and glanced up. What I saw was the most magnificent sight I have ever seen. Nothing before or since has been its equal.
Felipe was crouching next to me, a smile on his battered face. He had a gash across his forehead, but it was healing quickly. His clothes were torn and every time he moved, I could tell he was in pain, but he was alive and that was more than I had dared to hope for. I flung my arms around him, knocking us both to the ground and causing us both unneeded pain, but I couldn't help it. He laughed and wrapped his arms around me, holding me close.
After a few moments, he kissed my head and pulled back, brushing hair from my cheek. "How are you feeling?"
"Like I got run over by a herd of elephants and not a one of them missed me."
"At least you don't feel like you got crushed by a Hummer." His trademark smirk crept across his face and I couldn't help but smile.
"Donna?" The smile faded from my face as I asked the question. I feared the answer, even though I was sure what it would be.
"She's alright. Dirty, tired, still angry, but she's alright."
I sat up straight. "What? She's ok? But she..."
He smiled at me again. "She saved my life. I thought she was going to kill me, but she didn't. When that guy hit you, you passed out. After Benton killed him, I looked back at her, thinking I was going to watch her kill me. But she leapt over me. Sitting on top of the Humvee was Conrad. He was getting ready to stake me himself, but thought she was going to do it. He never expected her to turn on him, and he wasn't prepared for her. She buried the stake deep in his heart, then grabbed a sword from the vehicle and sliced his head clean off. When he was dead, the battle turned quickly and some of the remaining vampires surrendered. The rest were burned."
"Wow... That's just... Wow..."
"I know. She's going to have a lot to answer to, but I think she'll eventually be ok. I hope."
Felipe stood and held out a hand. I took it and he hefted me up. I was still in pain, but my wounds had been bandaged and I was already starting to heal. Three of the soldiers had been killed, and the one Donna attacked lost his arm. Rossi suffered a broken leg when I threw her, but she claims to have enjoyed every minute of the battle. Jax was hurt badly and would be out of commission for several months, but he would heal. Nathan had been staked, but the vampire doing the staking failed epically and thought the heart was on the other side. Of the civilians in the town, eighteen of them had been killed, including three children who were caught in a blast by a grenade. The mayor was found murdered in his house and it looked like he had been there for awhile gathering flies.
A clean-up crew made up of dozens of vampires and humans and quite a few psychologists arrived to take care of the damage and assist those who were left behind in the carnage. More than half the town was left, and they were going to need a lot of assistance to overcome the wounds, both mental and physical, left behind by Conrad's idiocy. The rest of us headed back to the sanctuary to get cleaned up and debriefed. It was a job well done, and I was happy knowing I'd lost not a one of my team in such a violent battle.
TEN
The moon shone brightly in the clear, starlit sky. I lay on the beach, basking in its cool light as waves crashed in the ocean. Sprinkles of salt water across my bare belly told me that Felipe had finally dragged himself from the surf to join me on the blanket. I rolled over and propped myself up on my elbow, watching him dry off his perfectly sculpted body.
"Yum."
He attempted to glare at me, but couldn't suppress a smile and settled for tossing his towel at me. I caught it in mid-air and folded it up, using it as a pillow. He plopped down beside me, his wet swimming trunks brushing against my leg as he pulled me into an embrace.
"I'm so glad you talked me into this."
"Me, too," I said as I snuggled close to him.
After the mess with Donna was settled, I mentioned to Father Bellini that Felipe had never taken a vacation. Though there were still several small covens that would need to be removed in our zone, Felipe's assistance had been requested by the Americans to help clean up the plague there. Bellini had agreed, on the condition that Felipe took me with him, and that we both took a vacation first. The priest ordere
d us away immediately, sending us to a small seaside town much like the one we had recently liberated.
He had rented a small house with a private beach for a full week and Felipe and I were making the most of it. As I lay there in Felipe's arms, I thought nothing could make that moment better. That is, until he rolled over and sat up.
"I think when we get to America, we should hit up Vegas first."
"Why? You want to gamble away your life savings?"
"No, but I hear you can get married super quick there."
I raised an eyebrow at him and he grinned. I watched him reach into his swim trunks and he pulled out a plastic case. It popped open at his touch. Inside was the most beautiful ring I had ever seen. Though I feel guilty saying it, it was even more beautiful than the one Steven gave me. He got down on one knee in the sand, his eyes full of nervous hope.
"Please, Jane?"
I cleared my throat and fought back a smile. "Please, what?"
This time he did glare. "You're so mean. You know I suck at this stuff..." He coughed once, twice. Then straightened his shoulders and said, "Jane, will you be my first, and last wife?"
I smiled and jumped up, kissing him deeply as I tackled him into the sand. He slipped the ring on my finger before lifting me into his arms and carrying me into the house.
OTHER BOOKS BY THIS AUTHOR
Vampire Assassin (Jane #1)
Available on Kindle & Nook.
New Blood (Jane #2)
Available on Kindle & Nook.
Blood & Tears (Jane #3)
Available on Kindle & Nook.
Vampire Assassin (A series of novellas)
The first three books in the Jane series.
Redemption (Jane #4) Page 5