“I second that,” Kirha muttered.
Mal held his palms out at his sides as he stared beseechingly at them. “Do you expect them to tell others about what happened here?”
“They could,” Stefan said.
“Who would believe anything they said once they started talking about vampires hunting them?” Charlie asked.
“There are those who would,” Paige said.
“Let’s say they go back and tell people what happened here,” Mal said. “Most of the people they tell will think they’re crazy. But let’s say there are some who believe them, where do they look for us? How do they find us? I don’t know about you, but I plan to get as far from this island as I can.”
“They can give them a description of us,” Paige pointed out. “Most of the hunters may be working with vampires now, but some hunters will only ever see vampires as evil.”
Mal froze before turning toward Paige. He was a hundred feet away from Charlie, but the astonishment on his face was evident as he gawked at Paige. When the rest of them stopped walking too, they formed a large circle around Mal.
“Vampires and hunters are working together?” Mal blurted.
“Yes,” Brian said.
“I’ve missed a lot after fifteen years beneath the earth.”
“You have no idea,” Aiden said. “Some people spend too much time arguing with strangers online, and we all carry smartphones or tiny computers in our pockets.”
“So Charlie told me,” Mal said. “Do you happen to have one of these smartphones?”
Aiden pulled his phone out of his pocket and walked over to give it to Mal. “It doesn’t get reception out here.”
Mal turned the phone over in his hand before giving it back. “I’d heard rumblings about these things before I came to the island, but I assumed they were urban legends. I have a lot to catch up on. Are hunters and vampires really working together?”
“We’ll fill you in when we get off the island,” Jack said.
Mal contemplated this before replying. “I look forward to hearing all about it.”
They all started walking again, and it was a few minutes before Mal spoke. “I believe the humans will keep our secrets. If they do decide to tell people, I can change my appearance so I don’t fit their description.”
“So can I,” Charlie said. “And Mal, Miguel, and I are the ones taking the risk. The humans haven’t known any of you, or Jack, long enough that you can’t eradicate their memories of you.”
“True,” Liam said.
“I don’t like the idea of them remembering you,” Jack said to Charlie.
“There’s nothing we can do about that, and they will protect us,” she replied.
“Maybe they want to protect you, but what if they also want revenge against the vamps who tore their lives apart?” Brian asked. “I would. And if they opt for revenge, they might search for someone who could help them find it.”
“But they still wouldn’t tell anyone about us,” Charlie said. “And I think destroying this island and every bastard on it constitutes revenge.”
“Maybe to some, but there are others who would want more,” Stefan said, and Brian nodded.
Charlie got the impression Stefan and Brian were the others who would want more, and they would get it.
“Even if they decide to get more revenge, they’ll know not all vampires are evil,” Isabelle said, and gave Paige a pointed look. “Which is more than most other hunters have known, including you.”
“You were a hunter?” Mal demanded.
“When I was human,” Paige said. “But I didn’t know the difference and believed all vampires were evil.”
“These humans do know the difference,” Mal said.
“Maybe so, but that might not stop them. I found my mate in a vampire,” Paige said. “I became a vampire.”
“We’re not changing them unless they agree to it,” Charlie said. “Those people are our friends and our family. We’ve lived with them for years, they helped me raise Dylan, and they’ve fed us. I understand your concerns, but you don’t understand the bond we all share.”
“We are a family,” Mal insisted, “and if any of them decide to come with me rather than returning home, I’m taking them with me. They have the right to return to the lives they were torn away from as humans. They don’t deserve to be abused by more vampires simply because they were unfortunate enough to be caught and brought here.”
“If Mal and Charlie think this is the right thing to do, it’s their risk to take,” Maggie said.
“They could convince others that vampires exist,” Stefan said. “And those others will become a risk to all of us.”
“No one, who hasn’t seen proof of a vampire, will believe they exist simply because someone tells them so,” Mal said.
“Right now, Darlene, Lucia, and Gio are our family, but if you take away their freedom, you will make them our enemies. They’ll be far more powerful enemies as vampires than as mortals,” Charlie said, giving Jack a pointed look. She could feel his uncertainty about this through their bond. “And you can’t outright kill them.”
“No, we can’t,” David said.
“By letting them leave here as humans and return home, I’m trusting them with my son’s life. That should tell you something about the bond we’ve all developed,” Charlie said.
They were silent for a minute before Liam spoke, “It does.”
“So that settles it; the humans will remain human. You can wipe away their memories of you, but Mal, Miguel, and I will remain,” Charlie said. “And if we find any survivors, you can erase their memories too.”
That would be a necessity, but Charlie wasn’t all that hopeful about finding survivors. There probably hadn’t been many still alive from the hunt, and the fire had probably wiped out any who remained.
When she looked at Jack, she saw his disapproval in his clenched jaw and reddened eyes. She closed the distance between them and took his hand in hers. “It will be okay,” she assured him. “We can trust them.”
Uneasiness still shimmered in his eyes. She understood that unease, she’d feel the same way if their roles were reversed. “Trust me on this,” she said.
His shoulders slumped, and drawing her closer, he kissed her forehead as he held her close. “I trust your judgment.”
“Good. Now let’s get this search over so we can leave here with the knowledge these bastards are all dead.”
Chapter Forty-Seven
They searched the rest of the island but didn’t find anyone else. When the search was over, they returned to the beach to go through the caves and the boathouse. Set down below the cliffs, the boathouse survived the initial fire, but after having been shot by someone inside it before, Mike suggested torching the place rather than entering it again.
No one argued with the suggestion and, after gathering some still smoldering wood from above, they set the boathouse ablaze. When the building was fully engulfed, a Savage and a human burst out the back and raced away from it.
The Savage only made it a few feet before the sun caused a fire to spark to life on his back. Screaming and half mad with pain, the Savage grabbed the human and sank its fangs into her throat. The woman shrieked and slapped at the Savage over her back.
Charlie suspected the creature was hoping the woman’s blood would heal it enough to enable it to reach the safety of the cliff’s shadows, but the fire continued to spread across it. Then the Savage’s legs gave out, and it fell on top of the woman. Their screams rebounded off the cliffs before the fire silenced them.
They stalked across the beach to examine the bodies. Mike kicked the Savage off the woman. The stench of their smoldering flesh caused Charlie’s nose to wrinkle, and her stomach churned.
“Pretty sure she’s the woman who shot me, and probably Doug,” Mike said as he examined her flaming body.
“Not a bad end for her,” Ethan said.
She was determined to make sure everyone on this island was dead,
but she was so tired of the violence and death. Charlie tore her attention away from the bodies when Jack rested his hand on her arm. “I’m ready to leave this place,” she said.
“So am I,” he murmured.
Releasing her arm, he took her hand, and they walked down the beach. They all went through the caves she and Mal knew and searched for others. In three of the caves they investigated, they found two remaining hunters and three security personnel.
As they destroyed the survivors, Jack couldn’t deny he took more enjoyment in killing them than ever before. For years, he resented the role of predator handed to him when he was turned. But, for the first time, he relished the blood as he and the others delivered it to those who had anything to do with this island, Doug’s death, and Charlie and Dylan’s capture.
Having had enough of the carnage, Charlie retreated to the mouth of the caves to keep watch with Mal who seemed to have also hit his limit. She wouldn’t leave this island until she was sure there weren’t any survivors left, but she hated this place.
The sun was sinking in the sky when they finished searching the last cave. Now, only the tunnels remained.
“This is one of the main entrances,” Mal said as they stood outside the tunnel entrance by what remained of the lighthouse. They’d spent the past hour clearing debris away to expose it. “And the other is the pit entrance. At the center of the tunnel system is the main cavern where we spent most of our time. All the tunnels are booby-trapped.”
“We should split into two groups to go inside,” Liam said. “That way, if there are any Savages within, we can trap them in the middle.”
“There are side tunnels that lead out too and others dead end,” Charlie said.
“You and Mal know all these tunnels and the traps?” Brian asked.
“Yes,” she said.
“Okay, so the two of you will each take an entrance, and the mates will split up,” Liam said. He held up a hand to end the protests that followed. “The mates can communicate with each other so we’ll know when to enter the tunnel, when the side tunnels are cleared, and how close each group is to the cavern so we can enter it at the same time. And we have to split up more than just one couple in case something happens to one of the mates.”
Everyone shifted uncomfortably at that possibility.
“Should we split up more so some of us can enter through the side tunnels too?” Ian asked.
“How many tunnels are there in total?” Liam asked Mal.
“There were three main tunnels and ten side ones that exited out, but the ocean-view tunnel collapsed. During that collapse, three of the side ones were also blocked off, so there are nine tunnels left,” Mal said.
“That’s too many. We’re spreading ourselves too thin if we separate to enter all of them,” Aiden said.
“We’ll divide for the two main tunnels and search the side ones as we make our way toward the center,” Liam said.
“Let’s get this over with,” Ethan ordered.
When the sides were divided, Charlie led her group to the pit entrance while Jack remained behind with Mal at the lighthouse. She could feel Jack’s displeasure over this arrangement, but it was necessary. And the sooner it was finished, the sooner they could all go home.
Covered by debris and with no landmarks to guide her, it took Charlie more time than she anticipated to uncover the pit entrance, and if it weren’t for her enhanced instincts, she never would have discovered it. It took them a few minutes to remove the rubble covering it, which told Charlie if anyone was inside, they’d entered through one of the side tunnels.
Charlie jumped into the pit and waited for the others to join her. She alerted Jack they’d entered before clicking on the flashlight she brought from the boat.
“Stay behind me,” she told them as she led the way.
It was weird being in the tunnels while knowing they would never be her home again. An air of abandonment hung over the dirt walls as the beam played over them, and for the first time, she felt claustrophobic.
Smoke still choked the air as they swept through the main and side tunnels. They discovered a couple of dead Savages who were taken out by Mal’s traps, but they didn’t find anyone alive until they arrived at the cavern. Before they entered, the murmur of voices and the crackle of a fire alerted Charlie it wasn’t empty.
She clicked off her flashlight as they approached. She wasn’t concerned that whoever was ahead might have seen the beam as the tunnel curved around before going straight again. That bend would hide her beam from anyone in the cavern.
Standing at the edge of the tunnel, Charlie surveyed the eight Savages gathered in the center. None of them had guns, but three of them wore the security coats. They were huddled around a small fire as they discussed how to escape. Charlie almost laughed bitterly as she recalled the numerous times she’d sat around a fire with her friends, trying to figure out the same thing.
Soot covered most of the Savages, and burn holes marred their clothes, but they were otherwise unharmed. Leaning back, Charlie leaned against the wall as she waited for Jack’s group to arrive at the other tunnel entrance. She communicated what she’d discovered in the cavern and waited for him to reply.
“We’re almost there. Don’t go in until we get there.”
“Okay,” Charlie told him.
She looked to the others and held up a finger, indicating they wait. Ian, Maggie, Ethan, Isabelle, Mike, and Brian nodded their agreement. Charlie turned her attention back to the cavern she’d spent so much time in; this underground world had been her home for three years, yet it felt foreign to her now.
When Jack whispered into her mind they were here and going in, Charlie pulled her knives free, waved at the others, and burst into the cavern. The Savages all jumped up when the two groups funneled in to trap them in the center.
Aiden was the first to reach them, and seizing one by the throat, he lifted the vamp before smashing it into the ground. Charlie pulled back her arm and let one of her knives fly. It whistled through the air before catching one of the Savages in the chest. The monster’s hands clawed at its chest as it fell back.
Jack kicked the knee out from another Savage as Liam and David took down two more. Charlie pulled a stake free and kept her other knife in hand as she circled the Savage she’d stabbed. When Maggie darted around to the back of it, the vamp spun toward her. With the vamp distracted, Charlie ran at it and launched herself onto its back.
She plunged the stake into the monster’s back and twisted it into its heart. Reeling back, the Savage stumbled across the cavern with her and bashed her into the wall. The breath exploded from Charlie as the lifeless vamp dropped out from under her.
Fury burst through Jack when he saw the Savage smash Charlie into the wall. As the Savage she sat on fell out from under her, another Savage spotted her and ran toward her. No!
“Jack!” David shouted and waved his hands in a give it to me gesture.
Jack shoved the wounded Savage he’d been battling to David who snapped its neck to the side. Free of the Savages, Jack raced across the cavern toward Charlie, but he wouldn’t beat the other vampire to her.
When she saw the Savage coming at her, Charlie rolled away from the vamp she killed and flung her knife at her attacker. It caught the monster in the shoulder, knocking him back a step.
Drawing on her blood and his need to protect her, Jack poured on the speed as the Savage recovered from the knife and went back at her. Charlie leapt to her feet and ducked when the Savage swung a large hand at her.
Before its outstretched fingers could grasp her, Jack lowered his shoulder and slammed into the vamp. Lifted off its feet, the Savage flew a couple of feet to the side before hitting the wall. Jack didn’t give it a chance to recover before he pounced on it and, grabbing the side of its head, battered it into the wall. The Savage’s arms swung at him, but Jack ignored the blows it delivered as he hit it again and again before releasing the vamp and jumping back.
Disoriented, the
vamp staggered forward while Jack pulled a stake free and slammed it into its heart. He yanked the stake free as the Savage slumped forward and hit the ground.
Turning toward Charlie, he opened his arms to her, and she ran into them. Holding her close, he nuzzled the top of her head.
“I love you,” she whispered.
“I love you too,” he said before turning to face the others.
Mike staked the last Savage while the others gathered around him. Liam walked over to clasp Mike on the shoulder while Charlie pulled away from Jack to reclaim her knives before returning to Jack and taking his outstretched hand.
“It’s over,” she whispered. “It’s really over.”
Jack drew her close and kissed her. He rested his hand against her cheek as his tongue swept in to taste her in slow caresses that left her weak-kneed. Pulling away, he smoothed back her hair and tucked it behind her ears.
“It’s over,” he said and kissed her again.
“Let’s get out of here,” Mike said.
Jack wrapped his arm around her waist and held her close as they returned to the lighthouse tunnel.
Exhausted but feeling as if a huge weight was off her shoulders, Charlie said a mental goodbye to the tunnels before returning to the surface with the others. She blinked against the setting sun and lifted her hand as she inhaled deeply. Filled with the stench of the fire, the air was far from fresh, but it was the air of freedom.
The boats came to find them, and Mia shuttled the dinghy to shore to pick them up. They could have swum out to the boats, but everyone looked as exhausted as Charlie felt, and the last thing she wanted was to swim right now.
When she was finally back on the boat, Dylan threw his arms around her waist and buried his face in her belly. “It’s okay,” she assured him as she hugged him. “They’re dead, and we’re never going back there.”
When Dylan released her, they settled on the back seat with Jack. Miguel started the boat and steered it away as Mia and David curled up together on the side bench. Charlie couldn’t tear her eyes away until the island had vanished from view.
Unforeseen: The Vampire Awakenings, Book 9 Page 28