Once Upon A Midnight
Page 133
“Split up!” I yelled over my own mounting fear.
The beast closest to me roared. The unholy mongrel didn’t like the fact that I figured out his plan. The group instantly obeyed my order and scattered throughout the room.
“Rush, behind you!” Deidra screamed from above. I didn’t look, but jumped to the side. I pivoted back around and brought the dagger up, slashing through the space I was just in. The blade hit pay dirt, sliding into fur and flesh. I sliced with all my might, ripping into neck muscles, slashing. Blood poured from the wound, coating my hand; my grip was almost compromised from the slick liquid.
I pulled back the blade. With no time to wipe my hand clean, I prayed for a firm grip, and stabbed the hellhound repeatedly. The dripping blade slashed down in an arc, stabbing over and over again, until the huge, black mass tumbled into a heap on the floor. The hellhound was down, but not out. I needed to take its head.
I turned my back on the two other hellhounds in the room, trusting that Torra and Rafe had the threat of those beasts handled. I jumped on the downed beast’s back. My arms wrapped around its massive neck. I sawed through bone, sinews, and muscles like a crazed lumber jack. Tossing the head aside, I cracked my neck and let out a war cry. Adrenaline was pumping fire in my veins. I jumped into the continuing battle between Torra, Rafe and the remaining two beasts. With the three of us fighting together, and after taking the lead hellhound out of the equation, the final two devil dogs’ heads were much easier to obtain.
All four of us stood at a steep drop-off. The depth was shrouded by fog. Except for the ghost, we all dripped with blood smeared across our faces like war paint. Not one square inch of our bodies was spared from the aftermath of the gruesome battle.
“It’s a dead end,” I said, infuriated. I kicked at the ash-piled ground, sending a plume of dust over the ledge. We had come too far and gone through too much to end up running into a blasted dead end.
I had a sudden vision of Kristina. She was holding her arm out to me, palm up, light dancing over her hand. A glint of it sparkled in her eyes. I felt her magic calling to mine, her love seeping into my aching heart. My throat closed over a strangled cry of despair; I had to reach her. She was in danger, I knew it.
Jump.
The phantom word slipped between her lips, serenity and assurance clear in her soft expression. Dark hair floated around her, framing her beautiful face.
I’m waiting for you.
Was it actually Kristina? Accidentally ghost walking again? Or was it her magic speaking to me without her knowledge? I didn’t know which explanation was true, but I believed in the sentiment behind it. We had to jump into the foggy abyss if we wanted to reach her. Her image slipped away, fading into nothing. But nothing was a far cry from the feelings that the fleeting vision of beauty left in its wake, pounding in my heart.
“What is it?” Torra asked. She stood next to me, staring over the ledge, searching the scope of my eye line. “Is something down there?”
“I believe Kris is,” I said, hushed. A smattering of ash slapped against my cheek, dry and itchy. “We have to trust our instincts and find out.”
Torra’s hand clamped down on my shoulder. “Normally, I fancy a good free fall.” She swallowed hard and looked down. “But this one seems like a doozey.”
Rafe threw up his hands. “Will you ever have any good news for us?”
I turned to look him in the eyes just in time to witness Deidra slap the vampire upside his thick skull. She smiled and crossed her arms. “I’ve wanted to do that all night,” she said with a chuckle.
“Hey!” Rafe said, rubbing the side of his head.
Big baby. She didn’t hit him that hard.
“You could always turn around and leave. No one’s stopping you.” I said.
Rafe shot me a mischievous look. Shaking out his hands, he crouched, kneeling with one foot behind the other. He looked like a runner poised at the starting line, waiting for the gunshot signal to bolt.
“You’d like that way too much, lover boy,” Rafe said. He shot forward in a flash and disappeared over the cliff.
“Impressive.” Torra smiled as she watched the vampire clear the ledge. Her bright eyes flared and her cheeks reddened when she noticed me watching. “But whatever. I couldn’t care less what that leech does.” She looked away.
In a flash of grey feathers and smooth flesh, Rafe sailed back over the ledge of the cliff. Large wings flapped through the ashen air, protruding from Rafe’s back. I lifted my arm to cover my face while clumps of ash and dust kicked up as he moved in closer. I was suddenly aware that I was looking at a fucking flying vampire.
“How the hell are you doing that?” I yelled from behind the protection of my arm. I ended up with a mouth full of dust. I tried to spit it out, but my tongue was coated even more.
“I don’t know, man,” he said, raising his voice to be heard from where he was hovering above us like an archangel.
He suddenly veered to the right, then jacked-knifed left. Shaking his head, he aimed his body and gaze to the surface of the cliff. After a few failed attempts, Rafe finally landed. As soon as his feet touched ground, his wings disappeared. I watched the events unfolding, shocked.
“So you’re a bird?” Torra asked. “You couldn’t have mentioned that earlier?”
Rafe looked at her, his face gone pale. “I’m a vampire,” he said, his voice almost a whisper.
He craned his arm around, trying to feel his back and shoulders. He found nothing. The wings were gone.
“Turn around,” I said.
He eased around, showing his back to me. “My shirt was ripped clean off of me,” he mumbled.
“Wow. Your tattoo is incredible. They look so real,” Torra said.
“What is she talking about? What looks real? What the fuck, man?” Rafe almost yelled. He seemed lost, bewildered, and even frantic. His eyes were about to pop out of his skull.
I took a deep breath, not believing what I was seeing right before me with my own two eyes. Vampires couldn’t fly. The idea was ludicrous.
On Rafe’s back was a set of wings. They spread across the width of his shoulders and inched over the back top of his arms, continuing down to his waist. Each individual plume was drawn out to resemble a perfect feather, overlapping to create the image of eagle wings. They looked real, but in shaded black and flesh tone.
“You have wings tattooed over your back, Rafe. They’re a carbon copy of the ones on your chest, only bigger,” I explained, not wanting to freak him out even more.
He spun around with a hand over his left pectoral. “Kris’s mark; it’s gone,” he choked out. Rafe moved his hand away to show us an unmarred chest. The wing mark was missing.
“So Kris can mark her vampires,” Deidra said. “A few other Creators in our family could do that, too.” She floated over to Rafe and put a hand on his shoulder. “It’s a gift, hun. No need to worry. And your mark isn’t gone; it just moved for better ease of use.” Deidra smiled and hovered backwards. “It appears that Kris’s totem is the bird of prey. I’m so proud.”
“So I’m not morphing into some kind of a vamp-bird, or anything?” Rafe asked, shooting Deidra a pleading look.
My mind couldn’t help conjuring up a picture of an eagle flying around with big, pointy fangs protruding from its beak. The image was disturbing.
“No, dear, nothing of the sort. You’re special and have been given an exceptional gift. So unique, in fact, that you may be the only vampire in existence that has the ability to fly,” Deidra explained.
Rafe’s entire attitude changed after hearing that. “Well, hell. Imagine that. Can’t wait to rub this news into Devil’s face,” he said with a teasing smile. “The arrogant bastard could use it.”
“If your feathers are sufficiently unruffled, we should really get back on track. Did you happen to see what’s down there?” I asked.
Rafe shook his head. “I jumped, and two seconds later, these beauties tore clean through my shirt. Next
thing I knew, I was flying,” he said, pointing in the direction of his back. “Sorry, man.”
“No matter. I was already prepared to do what’s necessary.” I looked over at Torra. She was behind Rafe, inspecting his new additions. “Do you mind giving her a lift down, though?”
Torra’s face poked out from behind Rafe’s back. “That’s a great idea,” she said, looking way too happy.
He scooped Torra into his arms. She looked over the edge, excitement sparkling in her eyes.
“I hope I can get these things to work twice,” he said, before stepping off the ledge.
Torra’s squeal of excitement followed them down.
I paced the ledge, working up the courage to jump. It was easy for Rafe and Deidra to take the plunge—one was a ghost, and the other could fly. Torra and I were extra durable—I, more than she—but a face plant off a cliff could easily kill one of us.
Fuck it. There’s no better cause to die for. After a final breath, I took the leap of faith.
Chapter Thirty-Four
Lilly and I made no sudden movements. Across the room from where we were crouched beside the bed, barely hidden, ghouls were pacing the floor, noses tipped in the air, sniffing. Those monsters were the reason we hadn’t bothered to chase Camille and Wolf as they fled like cowards from the room.
“We wait until they get closer,” Lilly whispered.
I nodded, keeping my eyes glued on the ghouls. I should have been watching my back, too. Out of nowhere, I felt a sharp pain in my shoulders; I was lifted from my crouch and thrown like a Frisbee across the room. Storm clouds filled Lilly’s eyes, her face a mask of terror. She jumped after me and my assailant, moving just as fast. Another stab of pain, followed by a trail of warm liquid, hit my neck. My hand was set on fire with light, my eyes glowed red. I was being attacked by a vampire. As fast as I could lift my hand to defend myself, another area of my neck was shredded by the vampire’s snapping fangs. Warmth seeped from my body and small blasts of cold, starting at the base of my neck, crept through my limbs.
My life force was being drained from me. I heard a shriek. I couldn’t tell where it came from until I saw my grandmother. She flew over me like a dark-haired angel, knocking the vampire off my back. My body coiled in on itself when I fell to the ground, freed. Seconds ticked by, and limbs shivered, getting colder and weaker. I tried to push myself up, but there was no use. The vampire had drained me almost entirely. Any blood left after the monster’s feast was trickling out and soaking into a building pool next to my head. I choked over shallow breaths. In my blurred vision, I could make out a movement, a hazy silhouette moving at me quickly. It was dragging something behind it.
“Death can’t put his dirty hands on you yet. You’ll heal; your heart’s still intact,” she said.
I latched onto Lilly’s voice, tethering my will to hers. But no matter how strong I was, how much I wanted to believe her, it felt like the end. My hand was lifted; blood dripped from my fingertips, sparks of light still sputtering from them. Lilly placed my palm against someone’s cold flesh. Something hissed at me. The body underneath my hand bucked and recoiled from my touch.
“Concentrate on your hand, Kris. Focus on your magic, and the rest will happen naturally,” Lilly instructed.
Her urgency echoed in a low whisper in my mind. I was barely able to untangle it. But lucky for me, as soon as my hand had touched the vampire that lay next to me, with her head almost severed from her body, my power took on a life of its own. My hand flashed so hot, I thought it would burn off from my wrist.
Colors swam over my vision, a hoarse cry barreled from my lungs. My vision slowly cleared, and the first thing that came into focus was two dark, cold eyes. They belonged to the vampire that attacked me. She stared at me in horror, her life fading as my own returned. I didn’t feel bad for using her life to heal myself. I considered it fair trade. She punched her own ticket to Hell the moment she used her supernatural gifts to murder, or in my case, try to take the life of another. My conscience was clear.
I pushed up onto my hands and knees, pausing to clear the last bit of cold and confusion from my limbs and the fogginess from my head. I could feel a piercing sting as my neck tightened, rapidly regenerating, knitting the flesh back together again. I lifted my head, my eyes landing on Lilly.
“Thank you,” I gasped, trying to find my voice.
She offered a hand to me. I took it. “We are family. That always comes first. Fighting battles, however, comes in a close second.”
She pushed forward, tugging on my hand. My body was enveloped into a tight hug. I let my entire being melt into my grandmother’s embrace. In that moment, I was no longer bereft of a mother figure. I had Lilly’s love; she was giving it to me. The hug felt wonderful and comforting, a much needed respite from the hellish torture from the last few days. Unfortunately, however, it was a peace short-lived.
“Incoming!” I yelled.
I didn’t so much see Lilly move as feel her when she turned. I wouldn’t dare take my eyes off the ghouls heading towards us, but I kept myself aware of what could come up from behind us as well. My body was completely healed, feeling even better than before. I’d never tried to heal myself with magic. Hell, I never knew I could. But judging by the strength in my legs and the way my arms pumped with adrenaline, I could do it, and do it with gusto.
Lilly left the first ghoul that reached us for me to handle, and jumped into the oncoming herd. My grandmother was such a badass. She had brought up both her daggers, and then in one swift movement, she scissor-cut the head from the first ghoul she encountered.
My first kill wasn’t as clean or precise. Vile stench wafted up my nose as I got in close enough to attempt a stab at the ghoul’s chest. Its skin was as thick as weathered leather. The blade stuck a quarter of the way in, so I pushed with all my might, grunting, until I felt the dagger sink fully into its heart. The ghoul howled. It brought up its long arms and started batting at my head with its clawed hands. I was knocked to the side. Blood dripped from a shallow cut in my cheek; a claw barely nicked me.
I jumped back up. My knife was still lodged in the monster’s heart. Empty handed, I jumped on its back. Some quick hand movements later, and I had a firm grip on the hilt. I twisted the blade, pushing it in even harder still. Another shriek and twist of the blade, and I brought the beast to its knees. I was so much stronger with the added boost I received from draining the vampire that when I yanked the dagger from the ghoul’s heart and began hacking at its neck, it took only seconds to decapitate the thing.
I looked around for another ghoul or vampire to kill. Instead of a fanged green monster, I came face to face with the most handsome man I’d ever laid eyes on. His dirty blond brows illustrated worry, and his gun-metal grey eyes shifted between the dead ghoul at my feet and back over to the blood that was splattered all over my clothes and body. A trail of decimated monsters, their heads, and limbs lay behind him. He held the slack-faced head from one of the discarded bodies firmly in his grasp. I rushed forward, smearing his sexy face with blood and goo as I desperately yanked his mouth to mine. I heard a sickening plop—the ghoul’s head thumping to the floor. With both of his large hands free, he lifted me up. My legs, knowing where they belonged, wrapped automatically around his trim waist.
“Kris….” he groaned between fevered kisses.
“Yes, my heart….” I managed between breaths.
Rush growled deep in his throat, lust and heat swarming between us. I felt his sculpted stomach muscles and a little farther down, something even harder pressing against the valley of my legs.
With a strangled curse, he reluctantly set me down. With our lips still sealed together, he grunted, “Kill now, fuck later.”
My heart hammered, my lips brushing against his collar bone as he put space between us. “You bet your sweet ass,” I promised.
Luckily, Rush’s better judgment and incredible will power had kicked in just in time. As he turned to put himself between me and oncomi
ng danger, the handsome Neanderthal ended up having to shove a dagger, which looked a lot like my own, up and into the gaping mouth of a vampire. I watched as the sharp tip of the dagger slipped through the top of her mouth, splitting her nose in two.
I stepped around Rush, putting myself face to face with the lady vamp, her mouth pinned by his dagger. She was one of the two harlots who had been pawing all over Wolf earlier, vying desperately for his attention. I wondered how they felt about their master then, after being thrown into a vicious battle, left to die to protect him while he cowered in a corner, hidden somewhere with the true object of his sexual appetites and affection. My eyes roamed over the pile of ash on the floor not too far from me—the remains of the first vampire who’d attacked me.
“Where’s Wolf?” I asked.
The vampire’s lavender eyes were crossed, staring at the dagger protruding from her once-gorgeous nose. Her gaze jumped to me, skittering across my features, looking for any signs of hope or compassion; or maybe she was gauging me to see if I was a heartless bitch, cold enough to kill her. No question about it, I was. Even though she was in incredible pain, she looked straight ahead, with a stubborn set to what was left of her chin. She wasn’t talking, and we didn’t have enough time to make her.
“You’ll join your friend in Hell, then.” I placed my hand over her heart and willed the light which animated her body to leave her and come to me. She let out a strangled cry, making blood bubble around the blade and spill over the cracks of her lips and cheeks. The red trail ran down her neck until it disappeared, soaking into the ash her body melted into. I turned and faced Rush. My lover’s hand was still holding the dagger where the vampire’s face had been seconds before. I reached over and wiped goo from his cheek.
“It’s really good to see you,” I said.
He looked at me, relief evident in every part of him. “I was so worried about you, beautiful.”