Vengeance

by Erica Stevens

  Before he could climb away, she grabbed hold of his hand. “I don’t want to see it either, but I understand it, and I can help you. Don’t shut me out.”

  He rose back up so he was eye level with her. His eyes searched her face before he squeezed her hand. “I’m not shutting you out.”

  “You gave me training; I’ll be returning to Badwin with you. You can’t protect me from everything. It’s impossible to do so.”

  He continued to stare at her before finally giving a brisk nod. “When we get down there, don’t get off of this wall,” he told her. “Ok?”

  “Ok.” He squeezed her hand before releasing it. They climbed down until they were only seven feet away from the ledge running along the side of the mountain. He placed his hand on her back before she could let go of the mountain. ‘Stay,’ he mouthed.

  She bit her tongue to keep from arguing with him and kept her grip on the wall. She stayed where she was as he stepped onto the ledge. He walked underneath her, moving further down the trail before turning and heading up it. He strode beneath her again and further up the mountain before returning. Waving his hand, he gestured for her to come down.

  He took hold of her hand when she climbed down. “Lead the way,” he told her.

  ***

  William stood in the mouth of the cave, peering cautiously out at the town beyond. Tempest stood by his side, the cloak pulled securely over her head. He didn’t see anyone moving out there, but vampires patrolled high in the mountains across the way, keeping watch over the town. He couldn’t see the mountains above them, but he knew there would be more guards up there too.

  If they had another white cloak, they would be able to slip out of the cave, but he would stick out like blood on snow if he stepped out there now. He wasn’t about to take Tempest’s cloak and go out there to try and find another one; he wouldn’t take the chance of leaving her alone for any amount of time.

  The rattling clink of a stone hitting against the rock walls resonated through the cave system. His body stiffened as he turned in the direction the sound had come from. Taking hold of Tempest’s arm, he stepped away from the mouth of the cave. Her eyes were turbulent when she glanced up at him; her skin nearly matched the snow outside.

  “We have to move,” he whispered in her ear.

  She grabbed his hand and led him ten feet back to a small inlet carved into the cave. They slipped inside as a splash of flickering light spilled over the ground. Tempest stood before him, her back against the wall. He pressed close to her, sheltering her body with his own, as the light grew closer. He rested his hands on the wall beside her head.

  “So then I told her she was getting a little too attached, and I kicked her out of my bed.”

  This statement was followed by laughter from inside the main part of the cave. “Stupid bitch,” another man said.

  “Aren’t they all?” the original speaker retorted and more laughter ensued.

  Tempest’s nostrils flared as she turned toward the voices. A little worried she may go after the speakers, William pressed his knee against the wall beside her to keep her restrained. The glow from the men’s torches spilled the first three feet into their hiding spot as the men drew closer. Two men stepped into view, each of them carrying a torch and wearing a white cloak. His eyes latched onto those cloaks, his fingers dug into the wall beside Tempest’s head as he watched them.

  The space was too confining for him to be able to pull his bow free. He could use his crossbow, but the cloaks would be useless to him if they had blood on them and a hole torn through them. He could take out one with a stake, before the other one knew he was dead. Lowering his mouth, he pressed it against her ear, “I need you to stay here.” His voice was so low he wasn’t sure she heard him until her fingers curled into his cloak.

  Her lips pressed against his ear, “Don’t.”

  “We need one of those cloaks.”

  She held onto him for a minute more before her hands reluctantly slid away from him. He kept his mouth close to her ear, before placing a tender kiss against her temple. Stepping to the side to separate himself from her, he pulled two stakes from inside his cloak as he slid carefully in between the rock walls.

  He stopped at the end of the small crevice and watched the two men continue forward. One of the cloaks would have to be ruined, but he’d do everything he could to keep the other one pristine and useable. Stepping from the interior, he rushed at the back of one of the men. He didn’t like the idea of stabbing someone in the back, not after what had happened to him, but he’d meant it when he’d told Tempest he would do whatever it took to win a fight and keep her safe.

  The man released another cackling laugh just before William drove the stake through his back and straight into his heart. The man jerked, a startled cry escaped him as he took a couple of stumbling steps forward. The other one turned toward him, but before he knew what was going on, William drove his fist straight into his nose.

  Staggering backward, the man’s hand flew up to his nose to stifle the blood flowing forth. No blood on the cloak, he repeated in his head as he lunged at the man. He grabbed hold of the cloak at the man’s neck and jerked it backward. The metal of the brooch groaned as it twisted and bent before popping open. Tossing the cloak free of any bloodshed, he wrapped his hand around the man’s throat, lifted him up and propelled him backward into the rock wall.

  The man beat at his arms; he kicked out wildly in an attempt to dislodge William’s grasp on his neck. William twisted the stake in his hand and drove it toward the man’s chest, but the vamp dodged to the side and smashed his fist down on William’s forearm at the last second. Knocked from his grasp, the stake clattered against the rock floor as it spun away into the shadows.

  The man’s teeth skimmed back before he lunged at William. Spinning to the side, he barely avoided the vampire’s grasping fingers. He’d expected the vamp to come at him again, instead he changed course and ran toward the cave exit. William snarled, he raced forward and leapt onto the man’s back, bringing him down within feet of where the rocks narrowed in on each other.

  The vampire’s hands and feet kicked against the floor. Grabbing hold of a handful of his blond hair, William lifted his head up and smashed it into the floor with a savagery that caused bone to crack and blood to spill from the broken skin of his forehead.

  The man released a low wail; William stifled it by wrapping his arm around his neck and jerking it up. A gurgled choking sound escaped him. His hands flailed uselessly at William over his back. He continued to pull back until the rending of the vamp’s skull tearing from his spine echoed throughout the cave.

  The man’s hands fell limply to his side; he was still alive, but the snapping of his spine had left him paralyzed. He would stay that way as William wouldn’t give him a chance to heal. Climbing off him, William pulled another stake from the inside of his cloak and bent over the man who continued to make strange noises from his crushed windpipe.

  He didn’t look at the vampire as he drove the stake through his back and deep into his heart. The man released another strange sound before his head smashed down on the rock floor. Rising to his feet, William wiped the sweat from his brow with the back of his forearm. His teeth ground together as he stared at the body.

  Turning away, he didn’t look at Tempest standing at the front of the small crevice where they’d hidden. He couldn’t bring himself to meet her eyes right now, not until he gained control of the bloodlust still thrumming through him. Killing had always been a necessity for his survival, but since becoming a vampire, he’d found a completely new level of pleasure in it.

  Since meeting her, he found himself capable of more viciousness than he’d ever dreamed possible. There was nothing he wouldn’t do for her. He didn’t feel one iota of remorse about that realization, but he didn’t want her to see the red of his eyes or the fangs still tingling with their desire to shred flesh.

  Pulling his cloak off, he wiped the blood from his hands on it before wiping
his face. He removed the stakes from within his cloak and tugged the bag tied at his back forward. He slipped the stakes inside, readjusted the bag and grabbed the white cloak from the floor. A hasty inspection of the cloak revealed he’d managed to keep it blood free.

  Slipping it around his neck, he clasped his horse brooch into place before turning to find Tempest standing behind him. He’d heard her approach, but had been unwilling to face her yet. Without hesitation, she rested her hand against his cheek and rose on her toes to press a tender kiss against his lips.

  He hissed in a breath as a bolt of lust and something more sizzled through him. She was pulling away from him when he wrapped his arm around her waist and dragged her flush against him. Her hands flattened on his shoulders. She didn’t try to push him away as her body melded against his. Her lips parted to his gentle probing; his tongue swept inside to taste the sweet recesses of her mouth.

  How could she make him feel so alive, so energized and desperate, yet strangely calm all at once? Her palm pressed against his cheek, her other arm slid around his neck when he lifted her off the ground and kept her pinned to him. What he wouldn’t give to be far away from here, with only her. However, they were in a cave, and anyone could stumble across them at any second.

  That realization caused him to reluctantly pull away from her and lower his forehead to hers. The honeyed taste of her kiss lingered on his lips, need throbbed through his body, but they had to get out of here. He brushed back strands of her dirt-darkened hair and tucked it behind her ear.

  “We should go.” He couldn’t resist running his finger over her lips, still swollen from his kiss. He gave her another brief kiss before releasing her and stepping away. “I have to find somewhere to stash theses bodies.”

  “I know a place,” she said.

  He grabbed each body by the foot and dragged them into the shadowed recesses of a small side cave.

  CHAPTER 20

  Tempest couldn’t stop her fingers from fidgeting with the sleeves of her white cloak as she stood at the mouth of the cave with William. She was better cloaked than she’d been when she’d fled here before, but she felt far more nervous now than she had then. Maybe it was because William was with her, and she had more to lose; maybe it was because they’d made it this far without being caught and a part of her believed they couldn’t stay lucky for much longer. Whatever it was, she didn’t want to take one step out of this cave.

  He’d been forced to take his bow and arrows off, there was no way to keep them hidden beneath his cloak, but he still had his bolts and crossbow secured discreetly to his waist. They both had stakes on them, but even knowing she was better prepared to face a threat now, she still couldn’t force herself to move.

  The children, she reminded herself. Her gaze slid down the backs of the buildings facing them, but the orphanage was too far away to see from here.

  “Stay by my side and walk as if you belong here. We’ll go to the orphanage first and see if we can get in there without being detected,” he said to her.

  She almost grabbed hold of his arm and pulled him back when he stepped out of the cave, but she kept her hands at her sides. Throwing her shoulders back, she stepped into the windblown snow behind him. She kept her head up as they walked toward the back of the orphanage. Her eyes picked out the vampires patrolling the area as they continued onward.

  There were so many of them; like ants, they seemed to be multiplying as they moved amongst the peaks and trails winding across the cliff faces. She was so focused on the mountains, she didn’t notice the white cloaked vampires approaching them until they were almost to them. Her deadened heart leapt into her throat; her flight instinct kicked into hyper-drive. She almost turned and bolted back toward the cave, but she forced herself to keep walking.

  They had to see the panic on her face, in her eyes, she was certain of it, but the two men and a woman only gave them a brief nod as they walked by. Her neck felt like wood as she forced her head to bow in a greeting before continuing onward. It took everything she had not to look back at them, to keep her gaze focused straight ahead. They didn’t encounter anyone else as they neared the orphanage.

  She stared at the building, unsure of how to approach it without drawing unwelcome attention to themselves. “That’s it,” she told him.

  “Keep walking,” William said.

  “But that’s it.”

  “We have to make sure Kane and his cohorts aren’t in there,” he said as they moved past the orphanage.

  They trudged through more of the backyards before he turned toward the right and headed for the main street. “William,” she whispered.

  “It will be fine, stay by me.”

  She went to fiddle with the cloak again, but managed to restrain herself from doing so. There were far more vampires in white cloaks here. Some of them were vampires she recognized from town. She kept her head down, her face turned away, hoping the night and the hood would keep her face mostly obscured from them.

  At any other time they may have assumed she’d been drawn into the ranks of the soldiers who had invaded their town, but she was certain Kane and the others had put out word to keep an eye out for her after she’d escaped. If the vampire she’d pushed over the cliff had survived, his description of her would have been circulated through the town, and everyone would have realized she was also the one who had disappeared from the orphanage.

  William walked close to the orphanage, his step far more casual than hers. She felt as if she had a beacon over her head screaming, imposter, but he moved as if he fit in here amongst these traitors and murderers who had turned them all into prisoners.

  “What is the basement like?” he inquired.

  “It’s mostly used for storage,” she replied. “No one goes down there often.”

  “Are there windows?”

  “One on each side of the building.”

  “Can we climb through them?”

  “Yes.”

  “Good.” He made a right between the orphanage and the house beside it. She followed behind him as they made their way down the side yard dividing the two homes. They were almost to the end of the houses when he took hold of her arm and pulled her against the wall of the orphanage.

  “Stay here,” he murmured to her before kneeling in the snow beside her.

  Sheltered in between the two buildings, little snow had fallen into this area. Her eyes darted over the street and the vampires passing by as his hands ran over the edge of the window he’d knelt before. Footprints marred the snow around them, so their footprints wouldn’t be noticed by any passersby as unusual, she hoped.

  Her entire body hummed with tension; she could barely stand still as a muffled pop sounded from beside her. To her it sounded as loud as cannon shot, but no one on the street glanced in their direction as they continued about their business. If she’d been human, she swore she would have had a heart attack while standing there, her knees shaking. She forced herself to remain still instead of dancing around like she itched to do.

  Another pop and then William vanished as swiftly as a snowflake on the tongue, into the basement beyond. She continued to stare at the street, counting the endless seconds as she waited for some sign he was safe within. A scream of frustration surged in her throat and strangled there.

  Please come back, she pleaded.

  It felt as if hours stretched by, but it was probably only a minute before he reemerged as noiselessly as a wraith beside her. “It’s safe, go on,” he told her in a low voice before stepping forward to block her from the road.

  She glanced at him before kneeling down and slipping through the rectangular basement window he’d opened. Her feet hit the dirt ground of the stone foundation. The scent of mildewed rocks and the musty aroma from the things stored within filled her nostrils. Old furniture and boxes had been pushed into the corners of the room; white sheets were draped over most of them. Stepping forward, she brushed aside a cobweb tickling her cheek.

  She moved further aw
ay from the window when William’s legs slid inside behind her. He had to squirm more than she did to get inside, but he made no sound when he dropped down beside her. He rose to his full height and turned to close and latch the window. Tempest remained unmoving as she stared into the shadowed recesses of the basement.

  Nothing stirred within; not even a mouse scurried across the room. Her head tilted back to look at the wooden floor above her. The pall of silence hung heavily over the home. She scented the air as she tried to detect anything past the damp, mildew scent of the room around her.

  Were the children and Pallas even in the home anymore?

  “They have to still be here,” she whispered.

  “They are,” he murmured.

  She continued to try to hear or smell anything beyond this room, but there was nothing. He’s right, she told herself. They wouldn’t have taken the children out of here, it’s late, they’re probably all asleep already.

  “Now what?” she whispered.

  “Now we wait until we’re sure Kane and the others aren’t in the house,” he replied.

  Taking hold of her hand, he led her deeper into the basement and toward a grouping of old couches pushed haphazardly against the back wall. She heard the first step above as he led her behind the couches. His head tilted up toward the floor. Tempest stared at him, inwardly pleading with him not to go after Kane if that’s who was above now.

  Beside her, a shudder ran through his body. He gestured for her to sit. Tempest perched on the edge of the sofa, prepared to launch to her feet and stop him if he tried to leave. He turned away and moved deeper into the basement. She remained rooted to her spot, but she stayed focused on his every move, watchful for any sign he would bolt out of this room.

  He stopped by a pile of blankets stacked on top of one of the boxes. Pulling the blankets off, he shook them out. Dust kicked out from them and swirled in the air around him. When he came back again, a streak of dust smeared his right cheek.

  “You have to be tired,” he said.