by Karen Lynch
“Jordan, we need to – ”
Jordan jumped forward with the sword raised. But not to my friends’ defense. I saw the vampire as he swerved around her and came at me. He was not a baby vampire, but he was still young and his sneer was cocky, obviously not seeing either of us as a threat. Jordan staggered slightly as she spun to intercept him, and I knew she was exhausted.
I was running dangerously low on energy, but I stepped away from Chris and summoned what power I could. When the vampire grabbed me, I slammed my hands into his chest and gave him a weak jolt. It wasn’t nearly enough power to disable him, but he stopped short and stared at me in surprise.
It was all the opening Jordan needed. Our eyes met briefly, and I stumbled backward as her sword sliced cleanly through his neck. The severed head hit her boot, and she kicked it away before letting out a whoop and shooting me a savage grin.
“You and me are one badass vampire-killing duo.”
I tried to smile back as I swayed on my feet, and Chris had to grab me to keep me from falling. “Looks like you’ll have to go solo,” I panted. I was used up.
Chris yelled Jordan’s name, and she spun around as a male and a female vampire weaved their way toward us. Their ability to evade Alex and Minuet and the way they sometimes blurred as they moved told me these were almost mature vampires.
“Give me my sword,” Chris commanded, but I knew he was still too weak to fight. Jordan knew it, too, and she shook her head without looking at him. She was going to die defending us.
I heard a whimper to my left and cried out when I saw Peter slumped over one of the crocotta. He was bloody and barely moving. A few feet from them, Roland was locked in a death grip with the second creature. My friends were all going to die before my eyes, and there was nothing I could do to help them.
I felt the air move around me a second before two long furred bodies sailed over my head and hit the ground snarling. Hugo was on the female vampire before she knew what hit her, and with one bite, he tore her head from her shoulders. Woolf went after the male who had already turned tail and run. I watched Hugo give the female’s body one last shake before he dropped it and joined Woolf in the pursuit of his prey.
The remaining vampires’ courage left them when they saw the two red-eyed hellhounds that had come to join the fight. They turned and fled for the trees with Hugo and Woolf snapping at their heels and Alex and Minuet attacking them from above.
The sound of snapping bones tore my eyes away from the hellhounds, and I spun in time to see the last crocotta sink to the ground. Roland released its broken neck and staggered back from the dead creature.
I fell to my knees beside Peter and ran my hands over his head and sides. My power was so drained I didn’t know if I had enough to heal him, but I would give everything in me if I had to.
His large head lifted sluggishly, and his amber eyes met mine before he gave my chin a lick.
“Are you okay?” I asked, and he nodded once. I threw my arms around his thick neck and hugged him tightly. Roland came to sit beside me, and I found myself sandwiched between them and struggling not to fall apart. I’d come so close to losing them again. If Alex, Minuet, and the hellhounds hadn’t arrived when they did, we’d all be dead now. I wasn’t sure how much more I could take tonight.
“I think it’s over,” Jordan said in a disbelieving voice.
An eerie silence hung over the grounds. Everywhere I looked, warriors stood with dead vampires at their feet. The quiet was broken only by the distant roars and growls growing fainter by the second.
“Do you think they’ll be okay?” I asked no one in particular, staring at the woods.
Chris let out a bark of laughter that was followed by a fit of coughing. When he recovered, he wiped his eyes and smirked at me. “Sara, I’d take you and your pets into battle with me any day.”
Jordan harumphed and gave Chris a look of pure chagrin as she stabbed the tip of his sword into the ground so close to his foot, he had to step sideways to avoid losing a toe. “Next time, you can carry your own damn sword, Blondie.”
I burst out laughing at the bewildered look on Chris’s face, but my laughter faded when a familiar presence brushed across my mind. My heart soared. He’s safe. I whirled and searched the grounds breathlessly for a glimpse of Nikolas.
He tore around the corner of the main building, carrying a sword in each hand, and wearing a thunderous expression I could see from where we stood twenty yards away. Spotting us, he veered in our direction, and I barely had time to take a breath of air before he was in front of me. He threw down his swords and grabbed my shoulders, ignoring everyone else.
“Are you hurt?” he bit out. His rigid posture and the blazing intensity of his gaze told me he was close to losing it.
“I’m okay, Nikolas; we all are.” I laid my hands against his chest and felt his body tremble from the effort to calm down. Rising up on my toes, I whispered in his ear. “Please, don’t freak out on me, okay? I don’t think I can take it right now.”
A sound like a soft growl rumbled deep in his chest, and I took a hasty step back, only to be pulled against him. I started to protest, but my words were smothered and all thought fled when his mouth came down over mine.
Chapter 24
THIS WAS NOTHING like the tender first kiss we had shared. It was hard and urgent, and it sent a shock wave to the center of my being. I gasped and he deepened the kiss, sending heat unfurling in my stomach and melting the bones in my body until my legs couldn’t support me anymore. He tightened his hold, and my arms moved of their own volition to wrap around his neck.
As soon as I kissed him back, the tension drained out of him and his mouth became soft and searching. I responded in kind, my heart swelling with love. My body felt like it had been starved for oxygen, and being with him was like taking a deep breath of air. I felt my Mori sigh contentedly and whisper solmi, and I trembled when it reached out and embraced Nikolas’s Mori for the first time. An answering shiver ran through Nikolas. It was wondrous and frightening to know how deeply connected we were in that moment.
“Damn. Get a room, you two!” Jordan exclaimed, breaking the spell holding us. My whole body grew warm in embarrassment, and I pulled abruptly away from Nikolas. The bewildered look he gave me as he let go told me I wasn’t the only one deeply affected by the kiss.
Jordan let out a whistle. “Wow, I think you guys melted the snow.”
“Shut up,” I muttered, scowling at her. I darted a glance at Roland and Peter, but it was impossible to read their expressions when they were in wolf form. I refused to look at Chris, whom I suspected was enjoying the whole thing despite his weakened condition.
“You missed all the fun,” Chris quipped hoarsely to Nikolas. He teetered, and I moved to support him again, but Nikolas nudged me aside and took my place.
Jordan poked me in the side as I walked past her. I stopped, and she leaned in close to my ear. “Two swords. Smoking hot.”
Blushing furiously, I went to help the boy witch up from where he had fallen when Jordan let him go to fight the vampires. He was still shaky, and his eyes darted around him in fear.
Nikolas’s face hardened when he noticed the Hale witch for the first time. “I can guess what happened,” he said harshly.
“No, you can’t, my friend. You really can’t,” Chris wheezed. “Now, can you please get me somewhere I can lie down before I pass out?”
“It looks like you all could use a trip to the healers,” Nikolas replied. His eye narrowed when he spotted my torn and bloody sleeve.
“It’s just a scratch. I can hardly feel it,” I lied. Now that my adrenaline levels were coming down, my arm was starting to hurt like crazy. “We have to go find the people who were out on patrol. They ran into this guy,” I pointed to the witch, “and we need to get to them as soon as possible.”
“We will find them,” said Tristan in a voice I barely recognized. I turned to see him, Celine, and Desmund behind me looking like they were in a lo
t better shape than me and my friends. Tristan’s mouth was a hard line, and I could feel his tightly controlled anger. “I am relieved to see you are all safe. Go to the healers and I’ll talk to you when I get back. Maybe we can piece together exactly what happened here tonight.”
I chewed my lip, hating what I had to say next. “It was Michael. He helped the vampires.”
“Michael?” Tristan could not have looked more shocked, and he wasn’t the only one. I understood how they felt. It was hard to imagine the sweet, quiet boy hurting anyone, let alone betraying us to our enemy.
Jordan made a sound of disgust. “Little bastard led us right to them. If he’s not dead, I call dibs on finishing the job.”
Tristan shook his head in disbelief. “Why would Michael do that?”
“It’s not his fault,” I said, and everyone stared at me like I had lost my mind. “The vampires got to him somehow and convinced him they had his twin brother, Matthew. They promised to let him go if Michael helped them.”
“Still no excuse to betray everyone you know,” Jordan replied irately.
“He’s messed up, Jordan.” I understood her anger. Michael’s betrayal cut me deeply as well, but he was obviously delusional and in a lot of pain. The saddest thing was that no one had seen it and helped him before it was too late.
“Where is he now?” Celine asked, and I was surprised she sounded almost civil toward me.
I told them where we had entered the woods and gave them a brief overview of how we had ended up in there. “One of the vampires hit him pretty hard, and I’m not sure if he’s alive. We had to leave him.”
“We’ll find him if he’s still out there,” Tristan said grimly. “You go to the healers. Nikolas, we could use your help if we have men down out there.”
Nikolas nodded, and Jordan took his place supporting Chris. His eyes met mine for a moment, and I knew he was making sure I was okay before he left. It wasn’t until I smiled and nodded that he turned away and the four of them headed toward the woods.
Left alone, our group limped toward the main building. We passed dozens of vampire corpses, revealing the sheer size of the force that had attacked us. Most of the vampires had been new, or the outcome would have been a lot different. At least we knew now why so many people had disappeared in the last month. The Master built a disposable army to send against us. What they lacked in speed and strength, he’d hoped they would make up for in numbers and the element of surprise. It had almost worked.
Tears pricked my eyes, and I looked away from the bodies. My life used to be about healing and helping others. Now it was all about killing and destruction. My chest ached and I longed for the days of watching movies at Roland’s house and hanging out at the cliffs with Remy. Back then my greatest worry was keeping my secret from Nate and my friends. Now I was afraid of losing one of them.
The main hall was pristine and untouched. Thankfully, none of the vampires had been able to breach the building. Even so, I would not be able to rest until I saw that Nate was okay.
“Sara!” Nate raced down the stairs, and the sight of him safe and unharmed made the last two hours seem like some unreal nightmare. He was shaking when he pulled me into a bone-crushing hug. “I saw you out there with those things, and I thought . . . ”
“It’ll take more than a few vampires and their pets to take us down,” I said with as much lightness as I could muster. He could never know how close he had come to watching us all die. I’d dragged him into this new world, and I had to shelter him from as much of it as I could.
Two younger warriors appeared behind Nate eying the witch. “He stays with me,” I told them. They started to protest, but I stood firm. “We need him to help the people he hurt. Don’t worry, he won’t hurt anyone else.” I gave the boy a pointed look. “Will you?”
The witch shook his head and stared at the floor. I’d be afraid to meet the eyes of the people whose home I had attacked, too. He looked so young and vulnerable despite the tattoos, and it pulled at my heart for a few seconds. Then I remembered Olivia and Mark and I hardened again. Sometimes, the lines blurred between good and evil, and this was definitely one of those times. I wanted to hate him for what he’d done, but he was just a boy scared for his own family. I sighed inwardly. It was another reason why I would never be a good warrior.
Roland and Peter disappeared upstairs to change back and dress, and the rest of us went to the medical ward. The healers were busy tending to several injured people when we got there. No one was happy to see the witch, but I assured them he was no longer a threat. We deposited Chris in one of the rooms, and then Jordan and I went to get treated for our own injuries. The boy stayed with me, and he was very subdued, trailing behind me quietly.
A healer gave me some pants and a long-sleeved top to change into, and I went behind a screen to pull off my wet clothes. I longed for a shower, but I settled for warm, dry clothes and washing my face in the sink. I wasn’t going anywhere until I knew the fate of the warriors out in the woods.
Nate stayed with me while the healer treated and wrapped my arm and gave me some of the dreaded gunna paste. He and the healer wanted me to rest, but there was no way I could lay still with so many people hurt and missing. I promised to take it easy and went in search of Chris. I found him resting in a bed with his color almost restored. His face lit with a smile when I remarked on how much better he looked.
“Gunna paste never fails.”
I made a face at the taste still lingering in my mouth. “We’re lucky they have lots of it on hand.”
His gaze flicked to the witch, and he grew sober. “You saved my life out there.”
“Now we’re almost even,” I returned lightly. “Besides, what is family for?”
Jordan came in with Roland and Peter, and I could not help but smile when I heard the three of them sharing battle stories like old friends. Maybe they had more in common than just me. The boys told how us they had chased the blond female for a good three miles before they took her down. They came back looking for us and followed our scents to the river.
Jordan and I took up the story and told them about our swim in the river and everything that had happened after. She grew very quiet when I talked about Olivia and Mark. She didn’t let her guard down much, but I could tell she was hurting a lot.
It was over an hour later when Nikolas and the others returned carrying Seamus, Niall, and Ben, who were taken to a ward where the healers could tend to them all at once. I grabbed the boy witch by the arm and pushed past everyone crowding outside the door. Desmund stood just inside the doorway and the pain on his face told me how bad it was before I looked at the men. If anyone knew what they were suffering it was him.
I had to hold back a cry when I saw the twins’ pale faces and blank staring eyes. Beside them, Ben moaned and pulled at his hair until two healers restrained him. I shoved the boy forward. “Fix them,” I ordered in a choked voice.
The healers working on Ben backed up when we approached the bed. Everyone else gave us a wide berth as we stood by the bed and the boy laid a hand on Ben’s forehead. The effect was almost immediate. Ben’s hands fell to his sides, and in less than thirty seconds, his moaning stopped and color began to return to his face.
The boy lifted his hand from Ben’s face. “He will sleep now, and when he wakes he will be well.”
I released the breath I was holding, and we moved on to Seamus and Niall where the boy repeated whatever he had done to Ben. Soon all three were sleeping peacefully. After my work to heal Desmund, it was hard to believe how easily the boy reversed the damage he had done.
Two guards stepped forward to take the boy who looked at me fearfully. I gave him a reassuring nod, and he let them lead him away. Tomorrow, I’d talk to Tristan about helping the young witch’s family. No matter what he was, he was still just a scared kid and a victim in all of this, too.
After the boy left, a healer told me they’d found Michael. He was suffering from head trauma and internal injuries, bu
t they believed he’d make it. Part of me wondered if it would not be more of a kindness for him to die. He would never be the warrior he dreamed of being; he’d be lucky not to end up in a cell for the rest of his life. He would have to live with the stigma of being a traitor and the knowledge that he had betrayed his people for a brother who had died a long time ago.
Tristan assigned a guard to watch over Michael, even though the healers had heavily sedated him. I watched Tristan look down at the unconscious boy and shake his head sorrowfully. His troubled expression told me he was wondering how they had gone wrong with Michael.
It looked like all the injured had been treated when Terrence and Josh arrived carrying a gravely injured Sahir. I hovered outside the room while the healers went to work on him. Josh told me they had found him in the menagerie and it looked like he had been attacked as he was setting the creatures free. “We found two vamps fried to a crisp beside him. Looks like the wyvern took care of them.”
Another agonizing hour passed before the healers announced Sahir was going to make it. I sagged against the wall from relief and exhaustion, and I was still there when Nikolas came looking for me a few minutes later.
“You should be in bed.”
“I’m fine,” I argued weakly.
“You’re practically asleep on your feet,” he said firmly. “There is nothing else you can do here tonight. If you don’t rest, you’ll end up in here yourself.”
“Okay,” I relented and pushed away from the wall somewhat unsteadily. He moved in to pick me up, and I put up a hand to stop him. “I can walk.” I scowled at his dubious expression. “I’m tired, Nikolas, not weak.”
He laughed softly. “Sara, no one who knew you would ever accuse you of being weak. Come on, I’ll walk you to your room.”