He turned to face Vlad…the one with many faces. The Impaler. The Prince. Dracula. “Gina has to die.”
“You know the rules. We do not kill our own kind.”
“She would run a stake through you while you slept. She’s a coward, a sadistic, evil coward.”
Vlad studied his nails. “You do not think she has tried?”
That caught Angel off guard. He could only stare at the elder as if he’d grown two heads. He finally found his voice. “And you allowed her to live?”
“Of course I did.”
Angel was in shock. “She deserved to be punished.”
Vlad’s eyes glittered in a way that sent chills down Angel’s back. “She was punished beyond anything you can imagine.”
When Angel only stared back at him without speaking, he continued. “I injected her with the blood of the dead and chained her to the floor in my room. She would lie there for days on end, begging to die. Just before she would take her last breath, I would give her a small taste of my blood, enough to bring her back from death’s door, but not enough that she could break her chains.”
Angel had never heard of such cruelty. He looked at the elder vampire through new eyes. “I see where your name comes from now.”
“The Impaler?” Vlad laughed. “You have much to learn.”
Shon came back into the room. “They are headed to the airport to join up with Ember’s parents.” He glanced at Vlad. “You’re one sick bloodsucker, and I so dig that about you.”
The elder raised his brows. “Twenty-first-century slang will never be my cup of tea.”
Angel moved to the window to gaze up at the stars. Gina wasn’t near, which meant that Ember would be safe for the time being.
He questioned the elder without looking back. “What did you mean when you told Ember our son would have power unlike anyone had ever known?”
“The child was conceived during the transition, which has never happened to my knowledge.”
Angel met his gaze in the glass. “What exactly does that mean for my son?”
Vlad hesitated so long Angel thought he wouldn’t answer. “He holds the power of both worlds.”
A wave of emotion washed through Angel. “You mean….he….”
“Will be the first day walker in vampire history,” Vlad finished for him.
Chapter Twelve
The blaring of horns brought Ember out of her trance. She glanced up to find the light green and Laura’s hand on her arm.
“You better go before we end up a statistic.”
Still Ember sat there. “I shouldn’t have left.”
“Yes, you should have. We did the right thing by leaving. Neither one of us can take Gina, and you know it.”
“Angel can’t kill her, Laura. I have to go back.”
“But she can’t kill him either,” Laura shot back.
“We don’t know what she can do. She’s a hell of a lot older than him.”
They stared at each other until the horns from outraged drivers became too much. Ember jumped out of the car. “Get to the airport and follow the plan. Tell my parents I’m fine and I’ll catch up with you tomorrow night.”
“Ember, damn it. If you—”
She slammed the door, cutting off Laura’s argument.
With one last look at her best friend now sliding into the driver’s seat, Ember ran. She’d driven a little over five miles, which meant she should make it back in a matter of minutes. This would be her first time trying out her new vampire legs.
* * * *
Ember arrived at the gate barely winded. She could never have imagined such speed or the euphoria she felt from using it.
“I had a feeling you would return.”
A gasp escaped her at the sound of the elder vampire’s voice. She vaulted over the iron barrier. “He’s going to be pissed.”
“That, he is.”
“Well, he will just have to get glad. I’m not leaving him here to fight Gina without me.”
Vlad stepped from the shadows, resembling a Greek God in modern-day clothing. “You think I would allow Calimari to hurt my own flesh and blood?”
“But you said—”
“I know what I said. Now come.” He waved her over. “Let us go—as you say in America—break the news.”
Ember could sense Angel before entering the house. Shon’s presence was there also. Her new skills were going to take some getting used to.
“You feel him, no?”
She smiled up at Vlad. “Yes.”
He didn’t return the pleasantry. “If you could feel him from outside the house, imagine how far away Gina can detect him.”
Jealousy replaced her euphoria. “She has to die.”
“What the hell are you doing here? You should be at the airport.” Angel seemed to appear out of nowhere, and his reprimand didn’t help her feelings in the least.
Shon sidled up next to him. “I second that,” he growled, glancing around. “Where is Laura?”
Ember cleared her throat. “She should be arriving at the airport in the next ten minutes or so.” She held up a hand, shifting her attention back to Angel. “We stay together, no matter what.”
He opened his arms. “Come here.”
She stepped into his embrace, loving the sound of his heart beating beneath her ear. She was home.
Vlad suddenly stiffened, his gaze scanning the shadows beyond. “It is time.”
Angel ushered Ember inside, leading her into the den. “This is the safest room in the house. Keep your back to the stone near the fireplace at all times. Do you understand?”
“Yes. What’s going on?” She wondered if he could hear the fear in her voice.
His hand disappeared behind his back, pulling a gun from his belt. “Do you know how to use one of these?”
Ember nodded. She’d grown up in the South. She could still hear her dad as clear as if it were yesterday. Every southern girl worth her salt knows how to use a gun. “My daddy taught me.”
He handed it to her. “Aim for the heart or between the eyes.”
“Will it kill them?”
He shook his head. “No, but it will incapacitate them long enough to remove their heads.”
Her stomach dropped.
Angel was instantly in her face. “Do not hesitate.”
Taking a deep breath, she displayed more bravado than she felt. “Got it.”
He kissed her hard. “I…”
“Don’t you dare say good-bye, damn you.” Her voice caught, belying her false bravado.
“Not a chance.” He kissed her again. “Stay put.”
“I love you!” she shouted as he ran for the door. It closed behind him, sealing his fate forever.
* * * *
Angel’s stomach was tight with fear. Not for himself, but for Ember and his unborn child. Why did she come back? he asked himself for the hundredth time. Pregnant or not, he had full intentions of turning her over his knee when this was over.
“She comes in from the North,” Vlad murmured as Angel stepped in between him and Shon. “And she is not alone.”
“How many?” Shon asked, checking his weapon.
Vlad stared ahead, his stance relaxed. “Angel can answer.”
Angel was surprised by the elder’s response. He shifted his attention to Ember’s cousin. “I can’t differentiate between vampires and humans from this distance.”
Vlad was suddenly looming in front of Angel. “You are one of the very few that possess the power of the old ones.” Taking hold of his hands, the elder vampire lifted until both of their arms were extended out to their sides. “Focus.”
Angel’s eyes slid shut as heat radiated from Vlad’s hands and into his own. It ran up his arms, filtering through his chest to consume his body.
“Feel them,” Vlad rasped. “Separate the temperatures, the cells, the very core of who they are.”
Angel’s body began to vibrate, a humming noise started in his ears, and colors took shape behind his
eyes. “I see them.”
Streetlights popped in the distance, and the presence of wildlife was no more. Even the animals could feel the evil in their midst. “She brings six vampires and one human with her.”
“A human?” Shon’s question broke the connection. Angel opened his eyes to find Vlad standing several feet away from him with a look of pride on his face.
“You had the gift all along, Angelo.”
Angel stared at the elder in a daze, too astonished to speak. Vlad had broken their physical connection before he’d sensed the number in Gina’s cavalry.
He finally found his voice. “How?”
“You just needed a small push.” He paused. “Ready yourselves, they draw near.” He disappeared before they could blink.
“You take the left side of the house, and I’ll cover the front.” Angel didn’t wait for confirmation; he vaulted to the top of a live oak where he would have the advantage.
The sounds of feet pounding the ground grew closer. Like the thunder of horses, they ricocheted off the trees and shook the earth.
Six vampires sailed over the gate with elongated fangs and rabid eyes. “Dimitrov!” one shouted as they came to a halt, forming a line across the yard.
Angel dropped from the tree, taking a young male’s head before his feet touched the ground. “One down.”
A big, burly vampire ran into Angel with the force of a truck, sending them flying across the yard and wiping out the gazebo.
“How long did it take her to teach you how to fetch, Fido?” Angel taunted as he jumped to his feet, slamming a fist into the other guy’s jaw hard enough he heard the bones crack.
Angel was on him before he could recover, his hands on either side of the big vampire’s head. He knew there was no other choice but to end his life. Ember and his unborn child were inside the house not ten feet away, and they were his priority.
With a quick jerk, Angel severed the guy’s head and jumped to his feet. Two more were stalking their way toward him. He motioned them over with his hands. “I’m your ticket to hell, boys.”
Chapter Thirteen
Shon slipped past a window and glanced inside. Ember stood in the den with her back to the wall, holding a gun in her hand. Making eye contact with him, she sent him a thumbs-up that she was okay.
He nodded and moved on toward the front corner of the house where at least one vampire resided. He could sense him coming his way.
Arriving at the side of the porch, he stepped along the edge and came face to face with…himself. “What the fuck?”
The other vampire froze with his head cocked to the side; a head that Shon had looked at in the mirror for nearly thirty years.
“What manner of trickery is this?” the look-alike asked, yanking a knife from his belt.
Shon inched forward with his arms out away from his body. “Who are you?”
“John,” he answered, leaping into the air. The cold, sharp feel of a blade sinking into his shoulder brought Shon out of his frozen state. He dropped to his knees, rolled to the side, and jumped back to his feet with his hands out in front of him. He couldn’t believe his brother was alive, currently trying to kill him, but alive nonetheless.
Jumping back to avoid another jab, he attempted to reach out to him. “John, it’s me, Shon.” When John only watched him without emotion, he tried again. “I’m your brother.”
Something flickered in the other guy’s eyes, but left as fast as it arrived. He swung the blade with a quickness, catching Shon off guard. The warm feel of blood pouring down his chest was a testament to the fact that his brother, his own twin, had cut his throat.
Shon was shoved to his knees by a hand in his hair, his head yanked back and the knife placed against his neck once more.
“Finish it,” he rasped, staring up at a brother he thought dead long ago.
John hesitated, the tremble in his hand subtle but detectable. Shon saw the moment that recognition dawned. He could only sit there on his knees while his life’s blood spilled to the ground. His brother was alive, his twin…his other half.
John dropped the knife and took a step back. “Do not allow her to own you.” He turned and fled.
“Wait…” Shon wheezed, choking on his own blood. His eyes rolled back in his head as he toppled over into darkness.
* * * *
Ember’s fangs were longer than ever before, an uncomfortable presence that ached inside her mouth. Her eyes burned behind their lids, and her vision had sharpened to the point she could count microscopic dust particles in the air.
Someone was inside the house with her. She could feel them as surely as she could feel the gun she held in her hand. Swinging her arm in an arc, she rested her finger on the trigger and aimed in the direction of the kitchen.
A young vampire with a mop of red hair appeared from out of nowhere, coming her way faster than she could track. A scream trapped in her throat as the gun was wrenched from her and instantly pressed against her temple.
Ember froze, her heart beating in a painful rhythm. She was about to die and never see her big Bulgarian again. She squeezed her eyes shut. I love you, Angel…
The pressure of the barrel pressed against her head abruptly disappeared. Ember cracked her eyes open in time to watch her enemy’s head being ripped from his body with the twist of Angel’s big hands. The floor tilted beneath her, and she dropped to her knees.
“I got you, baby.” Angel’s arms were around her, rubbing her back and touching her face. “You’re okay.” He rocked her back and forth. “He’s dead.”
Ember brought her head up from his shoulder only to turn away with a shudder. “I almost died, Angel. That would be me lying there had you not made it to me in time.” The wooden tone of her voice sounded strange to her, as if it belonged to someone else.
“It’s over now, and I will never let anything happen to you.” He brushed a kiss across her lips. “I love you, Ember Wells. More than I ever thought it possible to love another. I would give my life for you until the end of time.”
She kissed him back. “I love you so much; it hurts to look at you sometimes.”
The corner of his mouth lifted. “Oh yeah? I’m that good-looking?”
Ember’s lips twitched. “You know you are. Now let’s go check on Shon."
No sooner had the words left her mouth then the smell of her cousin’s blood reached her senses. Angel scented it too if the look on his face was any indication.
He jumped to his feet, taking her with him. They rushed out of the house and onto the front porch. Off to the side in the fetal position lay Ember’s cousin in a pool of his own blood.
“Please, no.” Ember sailed off the porch with a speed she’d never imagined possible. Her vampire skills were increasing by the day along with her hunger.
The smell of so much blood surrounding her made her stomach cramp and her throat burn with a craving she’d never felt before.
Angel, being a step ahead of her, scooped up Shon’s still form and blurred his way back inside the house. He laid him on the couch.
“What are we going to do?” Ember could feel panic threatening to set in.
“He needs blood.” Angel replied, checking Shon’s wound.
“Okay.” Ember knelt next to the couch and brought her wrist to her mouth.
Angel snatched her hand back. “Not a chance.”
He bit into his own wrist and laid it against Shon’s lips. “Come on, you pain in my ass. Take it.”
Ember nearly fainted in relief at the first signs of him swallowing. She glanced up at Angel, now sitting on the edge of the couch and noticed a suspicious emotion in his eyes. She looked away before he realized she’d seen it.
Both of Shon’s hands came up to lock onto Angel’s arm. His eyes opened and something passed between the two men before his lids slid shut once again. Ember watched in awe as the wound on his neck slowly knitted back together.
Angel disengaged his arm and licked the wound closed on his wrist. “Let�
�s move upstairs. This isn’t over yet.”
He pulled Ember’s cousin to a standing position. “Can you walk?”
“I can do better than that.” Shon extended his hand. “Care to dance?”
Angel shook his head and took hold of Ember’s elbow, ushering her toward the stairs.
“Does this mean we’re bonded now?” Shon asked, bringing up the rear.
“He’s back.” Ember and Angel announced simultaneously.
Chapter Thirteen
Angel stood on the second-story balcony, scanning the orange groves in the distance. Vlad had disappeared sometime during the fight, leaving Angel and Shon to take on Gina’s goons. It was out of character for the elder, and Angel wondered again what his motives could possibly have been.
The fact that Gina hadn’t shown up to fight also left Angel with an uneasy feeling. Aside from Dracula himself, she was definitely at the top of the food chain.
“She’s asleep,” Shon announced, stepping through the French doors.
Angel’s shoulders slightly relaxed. “Good. She needed it.” She also needed to feed, he thought, glancing at his watch. It had been several hours since she’d eaten last, which would account for her exhaustion. He would need to feed her shortly, but not until the sun threatened to steal the night.
“The sun will be coming up soon. I don’t think Gina will show.” Shon paced behind him, his boots pounding the concrete with every step.
“A risk I’m not willing to take.” Angel turned toward the door. “The hour grows late. We need to move the bodies to the grove. The sun will take care of them from there.”
Shon trailed after him as he made his way back downstairs, gathered up the redhead’s remains, and hurried outside. They cleaned up as much of the mess as possible, realizing the sun would dissolve any blood that had been spilled.
The damage to the house, gazebo, and any trees would be Angel’s responsibility. He’d have it looking good as new in a matter of days, he vowed, searching the grounds for weapons.
Ember (The Seeker Series Book 1) Page 24