“Britt needs to know we’re here,” Jess said, striding to the basement door.
Even though Vasilli couldn’t tear his gaze from the box, he nodded.
Jess had only made it halfway down before Britt spotted her and pounded up the stairs to meet her. “Oh, Jess. I thought they’d killed you.” His voice broke and he pressed his lips against her hair.
She wrapped her arms around him and kissed him fully on the lips, whether he liked it or not.
“Now I understand why you wanted her with you in my office,” Fisk said, following Jess on the stairs. “I misjudged you. I thought she was only your pet project.”
Britt frowned and lowered his voice so only Jess could hear it. “Why’d you bring him here?”
Vasilli heard. “Because, according to your vampire amore, you need him. She doesn’t have much faith in you, it seems. She thinks you can’t fight the vampire downstairs alone.”
Bastard! Jess’s ire grew again. Britt squeezed her arm in assurance. She managed to calm herself one more time. Vasilli had better watch his tongue, though. Because the next time, she’d prove her strength to him personally.
“Why haven’t you just killed the thing downstairs?” Fisk asked. Jess purposely hadn’t told him too much, in case he backed out.
“I think he’s the Pope,” Britt whispered.
“Oh dear, that’d make sense,” she said out loud, forgetting not to reply openly.
“Pardon?” Vasilli said. He must’ve been distracted, since he hadn’t heard Britt this time.
“Just thinking out loud,” Jess said. “Fisk, you and Britt need to talk, come up with a plan. If Vasilli is right, you can’t wait until tomorrow night. It’ll be too late.”
Fisk squeezed the box even tighter under his arm. It was then that Jess realized the box was vibrating, as if trying to break free from his hold.
Vasilli noticed too, and he was moving in like a predatory tiger.
BRITT COULDN’T have been happier to see Jess. He’d barely been able to concentrate since he’d been abducted, because he’d been afraid they’d killed her.
Now, everything was coming into focus. And Jess had been on the ball. Hell, having Fisk here was very smart. That beast down there was massive, and Britt definitely needed all the help he could get if he was going to stop him.
The box under Fisk’s arm sang to him. Lured him closer. He felt the energy and knew instinctively that whatever made that blade work was excited.
Vasilli reached out to touch the box and both Britt and Fisk yelled at the same time, “Don’t!”
But they were too late. The cardinal’s fingers had made contact. Suddenly, their ears popped from the sudden shift in air pressure, and Vasilli flew backward, landing half on the sofa, and half off. His legs dangled oddly, but he looked unharmed.
His hair had been electrified and stood on his head like a science experiment gone wrong.
Jess snickered and Britt had to control himself not to do the same.
The idiot had it coming.
“What’s in that box?” Regent asked, rushing to Sampson and taking off his gag and bindings, taking advantage while Vasilli was incapacitated.
“It’s just a tool,” she said. “Something that helps Fisk with his abilities.”
Fisk scowled at her. Don’t you dare expose my secrets.”
She probably hadn’t planned on it, but Fisk had obviously pissed her off. “Oh, forgive me. Like that blade is going to let you do anything here tonight without it.”
“Fisk, do you have any ideas?” Britt asked.
He shook his head. “None.”
Britt leaned in. “The blade knows what to do, though, doesn’t it?”
Fisk glared at Britt. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“It’s affected by what’s happening in the basement, I’d say,” Sampson interjected, rubbing his wrists back into circulation.
“Who is this man?” Fisk asked in irritation. “Why are all of these people here, anyway?
Jess made a disgusted face, eye-rolling included. “Just get on with it.”
“What happens tomorrow if we don’t succeed?” Fisk asked, looking directly at Vasilli as the man pulled himself and his robe back into position with sharp movements. “And this time, you’d better give some straight answers.”
Vasilli’s eyes bulged and his face turned red.
The box vibrated even more.
Vasilli heaved a breath and tried to smooth his hair back down. “What happens? You have no idea how bad this will be. No idea.”
“Yeah, get over yourself. We fucking want the truth and you’d better tell us now. Nobody, not you, not your soldiers, will be able to stop me and Britt if we want to leave. Then you’ll be screwed six ways to Sunday.”
Vasilli paled. Regent and Sampson silently watched and waited. Jess could tell Regent had started to pray again because his lips moved. Sampson would help, but wouldn’t interfere unless they needed him. He was very loyal.
“I’m waiting,” Fisk said.
“He’s not the Pope,” Vasilli said louder this time. “But he’s under my protection. Do you understand? I’ll never divulge his identity.”
Another roar erupted in the basement and the floor shook. Regent grabbed the side of his desk and started praying again.
Fisk looked terrified and Britt wondered if he would actually hang around long enough to help.
Britt could feel the heat waft off him. He yanked off his leather jacket and shoved his T-shirt tighter into his pants before his gaze went to Jess. “You stay here, my love. You don’t need to be down there.”
He knew he’d made a mistake the minute he spoke. Her eyes became black obsidian marbles and her teeth grew.
“I have the most physical strength in this room, Britt, and you know it. I’ll be down there, by your side, whether you like it or not.”
He didn’t remind her of the night she’d been staked in the alley. He didn’t need to. She knew he was stronger than she was now. Maybe she’d been trying to appease Regent. He must be worried sick for her safety right now. And he wasn’t alone.
“Regent?” Britt looked to her brother to help him.
He shook his head. “She’s right. She’s strong and you need her strength right now. And you need me, too. We’ll be your backup.”
Britt felt like a hole had just been torn through his chest with a rusty can opener, leaving his heart exposed. He couldn’t believe he was lucky enough to have these people in his life. Then again, maybe none of them would be around for long, after tonight. “Maybe you’re right. I have the feeling if we fail, none of it will matter anyway.”
When Jess leaned down to whisper to Sampson, Vasilli moved in on her. Britt thought he merely wanted to overhear the conversation, but was shocked when the so-called man of God pulled a gun out of his hassock. Some fricking priest he was.
“Silver bullets,” he said, pointing the gun at Jess’s head.
“What the hell are you doing? We’re already trying to help you,” Britt said. “You don’t need to—”
Vasilli grabbed Jess’s arm and started to drag her toward the basement. “I have to make sure you are invested in making this work. Even if you have to sacrifice yourself to do it. You must succeed.”
“Look priest, I’m here. We’re going to try. Leave her alone.”
Vasilli shook his head. “I’m afraid I can’t. I must not fail.”
Jess whipped out a hand and wrapped her fingers around Vasilli’s arm. She could’ve snapped his wrist, but instead, she twisted it until it creaked. He yowled and cursed under his breath, calling her a few names most priests wouldn’t vocalize. She twisted a little harder and his fingers slackened on the trigger. He was stronger than she expected, but was no match for an angry vampire. It was obvious he didn’t have a hope in hell of surviving the beast in the basement.
“Drop it!” she said through her teeth. “Do it now, or I’ll snap your goddamn wrist right off.”
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“Fucking bitch!” Vasilli said and let the gun drop. The safety was off, so Jess snagged it midair. She didn’t want any misfires injuring her friends.
“I’d have thought you’d know better,” she said, narrowing her gaze on him.
“Jess, hold him here for a minute, okay? Fisk and I need to talk,” Britt said.
Fisk nodded his agreement, but his eyes were huge. He hadn’t come up against anything this difficult—it was written all over his face.
They moved into the farthest corner of the room. “Can we approach this the same way you did the olde one?” Britt asked.
Fisk hesitated, chewing on his lip. “I’m not strong enough. I’m not sure I’ll be able to help you.” The box started vibrating again.
“What’s in the box?”
“My blade. It always heals me, but this time, it wouldn’t let me leave without it.”
Britt stared at the box. “Maybe that’s because it can help us. Maybe we can join our power with it, in order to heal the vampire?”
Fisk looked pensive, as if protecting a child. “I’m not sure, but maybe.”
“I don’t know who the person in the basement really is. I don’t even know who Vasilli really is,” Britt said, shooting a look at the so-called cardinal. “But I do know we have to do something to stop that big, bloody vampire or he’ll kill us all.”
The box vibrated again and Fisk sighed. “Okay. So what do we do?”
“We go into that room and we start the healing.”
Regent moved in. “And who stops him from ripping the two of you apart?”
Britt’s gut clenched. He had no idea what he could do if that happened. He couldn’t focus and fight at the same time. But then, that was just an assumption … he’d never been in a situation like this before. Fisk certainly hadn’t told him anything.
“We’ll definitely need someone to watch over us while we work,” Fisk said. “It happens this way in extreme situations. We can’t just go in without someone buffering us from the beast’s rage, because we won’t be able to protect ourselves and concentrate on healing him at the same time.”
“Okay, so we do need protection.” Instantly, Britt knew who would protect him and he didn’t like it. That said, he had little choice. Jess and Regent were the best hope they had.
Still restraining Vasilli with one hand, Jess aimed a smile at Britt. “Damn straight.”
“Do we trust Vasilli enough to allow him down there with us?” Britt asked.
“You don’t have a choice,” Vasilli shouted, then cringed when Jess clamped down on him a little harder. “The rectory is brimming with my soldiers. Not only will you allow me to help, but you’ll need my soldiers’ help, too.”
Unfortunately, his irritating statement rang true.
“He’s right. Let go of him, Jess,” Britt said. “He’ll cooperate, if he wants our assistance.”
Vasilli sniffed and rubbed his arm after he’d wrenched it out of Jess’s loosening grip. “There’s something else. Don’t let fear enter your head while you’re down there. The vampire is fully able to take your fear and cripple you with it.”
“Great,” Fisk said. “This thing just gets better and better.”
Britt glanced at Sampson. “You in, too, Sampson?”
He made a face. “Of course, but I don’t have vampire-hunting abilities. I can do triage, though.”
“We’ll probably need it,” Britt said. “Vasilli, tell your soldiers to cooperate with us. We have to work together if we’re going to succeed.”
He nodded, but obviously didn’t like being told what to do.
Britt glanced at his watch. “It’s late—time is wasting.”
“We need to get this done before sunrise,” Vasilli said in a voice that sounded a little more repentant than bossy for once.
While Regent made the sign of the cross and said a quick prayer, Britt monitored Vasilli’s reaction. Shouldn’t he have followed suit and made the sign of the cross with Regent? In fact, everybody in the room noticed that he hadn’t.
Jess narrowed her gaze on him. “Who are you really, Vasilli?”
The man closed his mouth and crossed his arms over his chest.
“It really doesn’t matter at this point, dear,” Regent said, stretching his back and neck. “We might not believe everything Vasilli says, but one thing’s sure—that vampire must be stopped.”
They all nodded and descended to the basement. A mind-numbing pall filled the hallway while they took their positions outside the vampire’s room.
Britt checked around for Jess. He didn’t blame her for staying close to her brother, even though he looked young and tough again. He was still seventy-two, wasn’t he?
If they all survived the night, it would be a miracle.
He stepped up on the other side of Jess, then grabbed her hand and squeezed.
He just hoped it wasn’t going to be the last time he touched her.
Chapter Twenty-Two
JESS CLOSED HER eyes and allowed herself to transform. She was stronger as a vampire, and she definitely needed that strength against the brute inside her room.
But the transformation was especially dangerous to her right now, because she’d missed too many days of prayers. The dark side was seductive and right now, it lured her deeper and deeper toward the depths of her curse. She had only a minimal grip on the edges of her true self.
As if he knew what she needed, Regent touched her back. His touch rallied her. She could do this. She’d do it for her brother and for Britt, the man she loved beyond all reason, because they had faith in her.
If she had a final wish before they entered the room, she’d have kissed Britt once more. But she didn’t want to distract him. He’d need all the concentration he could muster.
Meanwhile, she, her brother, Vasilli, and six of his soldiers decided their entry positions and who would form the front line to protect Britt and Fisk from the vampire, if at all possible.
There was no decision there. No one else would do. She and Regent stepped in front.
The door opened and several of the soldiers groaned when the fetid stench of stale air encompassed them.
Jess and Regent moved in first.
Huge, caged and pacing back and forth, the vampire stayed near the back wall, below the air duct.
Since the odor disturbed her, maybe it bothered this vampire too.
Britt and Fisk stayed in the center of the group where they quickly started their work.
Vasilli and four soldiers took the rear, while two soldiers flanked Britt and Fisk.
For a second, Jess wondered who they were protecting—Britt and Fisk, or Vasilli himself, who remained at the very back of the pack.
She stopped thinking about hierarchy and their place in the line when the vampire turned slowly toward them.
He was now over eight feet tall, and his skin looked as if it had been burned in a fire. It was black and full of cracks. His eyes were deeply embedded into their sockets and his fangs had all but taken over the lower portion of his face.
He opened his mouth and his rancid breath washed over them. “Get out! Before it’s too late,” he screamed.
It wasn’t at all what Jess had expected him to say.
Britt shot a glance back at Vasilli. “Why didn’t you tell us how far gone he was?” The unsaid curse words hung in the air for all to imagine.
“It was on a need-to-know basis.”
As much as she would have loved to punch the guy hard enough to make him see stars, she didn’t dare take her attention off the vampire. Not if she wanted to protect the two men she loved beyond life itself.
“Get out your blade and hurry. We need every ounce of power we can muster,” Britt said. “This guy is huge.”
“Food is gone,” the big vampire screamed and roared again, shaking everyone’s resolve for a second time. “Need more.”
Fisk’s fingers were shaking when he opened the box and yanked out the blade. It was humm
ing at a high enough pitch that everyone in the room could hear it, especially the big vampire. And its aura seemed to be growing.
“What is that?” Vasilli shouted. “What have you brought in here?”
“Shut up,” Jess said. “They need to concentrate.”
The big vampire hadn’t charged them yet, and at first, Britt couldn’t figure out why. He’d expected an assault the minute they stepped inside the room. But now he understood. This vampire had somehow been aware of the blade all along. He’d even pressed himself against the back of the room, trying to avoid it.
“I hope to hell that blade is scaring the crap out of him,” Britt whispered to Fisk.
“Me too,” Fisk said in short, terrified breaths.
“You okay, Fisk?” Britt asked. “I mean … you can do this, right?”
“I hope so,” he said. “I know we are strong and we have special talents, but I’ve exhausted my strength this week. I know what my limits are, and I don’t think I have enough of what it’ll take to overcome this vampire. It nearly killed me to do a cosmetic job on the olde vampires in my office.”
Jess’s teeth ached and she wanted to turn on Fisk. Cosmetic? What an idiot. Then she relaxed a bit. He’d get what was coming to him. People didn’t double-cross olde vampires and get away with it.
She heaved a deep breath and wondered what the hell she’d do if anything happened to Regent or Britt tonight. She couldn’t even imagine how great the pain of her loss would be. Then she stiffened her spine. She wouldn’t lose Britt again. Not on her watch.
“Well, you’d damned well better find some inner strength you haven’t used before,” she said. “Because this job has to be done. Half-assed cosmetic healing won’t work. Not unless you want to die tonight.”
“Hell!” Fisk said, tightening his hold on the blade with visibly shaking hands.
“Don’t grip that thing so hard, you’re going to cut yourself,” Jess said, glancing back. “The last thing we need is the scent of your blood in the air.”
Fisk choked on his own terror and sweat beaded his brow. Judging by the pallid expression on his face, she was sure he would have run away like a six-year-old girl if there hadn’t been a contingent of soldiers behind him. Damned coward.
Grave Expectations (Jess Vandermire, Vampire Hunter Book 4) Page 23