Deadly Vows

by Arthur, Keri

  He swung right into Hargraves Street. “Do you think the proxy will be in any danger?”

  “I have no idea. I guess if things go wrong tonight and the Manananggal escapes, it’s totally possible the proxy will become dinner.”

  “I’ll get Tala to ID the photo ASAP; if things do go wrong, we can hightail it over to the proxy’s location and protect him or her.”

  He made another turn and then slowed down. A large, white-painted church building dominated the grounds of the school to our right. He pulled up in front of the drive leading into the church grounds.

  “Is this the only entrance?” I asked.

  “No—there’s another the bridal car will use. They’ll drop the bride and bridesmaids at the church steps, then park in the area on the other side of that fence.”

  “That fence is damn inconvenient. It’s too tall to see over.”

  “Monty will be our eyes—he’s standing over near the water tanks and has a good view of the entire parking area.”

  I raised an eyebrow. “And you know this how?”

  “I was speaking to him just before I picked you up.”

  “Huh.” I studied the beautiful old church for a moment. “Were you and Mia planning to get married in a church?”

  I could feel his gaze on me, but I resisted the unspoken demand to turn and look at him.

  “We split before we got around to details like that. Why?”

  I shrugged. “Just curious.”

  “For what it’s worth, I’m more a civil ceremony on home grounds type guy, but let’s be honest, a wedding day is never about what the groom wants.”

  I laughed and glanced at him. “I’m sure Mia will appreciate that sentiment when she finally gets back here.”

  The words were out before I could think about them, and I silently cursed as he went utterly still.

  “What makes you think she’s coming back?” His voice was flat; his expression shut down. “Or that I’d even want her to?”

  “You heard what Katie said when she was talking to your mother. We both know—even if you don’t want to face it—that she was referring to Mia.”

  “Yes, but that doesn’t answer the second—”

  “Oh, I think your reaction says everything that needs to be said. Don’t get me wrong, Aiden. I’m hoping like hell she doesn’t arrive anytime soon. But I also know you’re in an emotional holding pattern and have been since she left. That won’t change until she does come back.”

  “If that were true, I wouldn’t be—”

  He cut the rest of that sentence off, leaving me wondering just what he was about to admit. I had imagination enough to believe he’d come close to admitting his feelings for me. And yet the fact that he’d cut the declaration off meant that no matter what his heart might be saying, his mind had other plans.

  And they currently didn’t include a crimson-haired witch. Not in the forever together, white picket fence and babies kind of way, anyway.

  The truck’s com system buzzed, breaking the brief but tense silence. Aiden pressed a button on the console and then said, “Jaz? Is there a problem?”

  “No—just giving you the heads-up; the bridal car is about to pull into the church’s driveway. Do you want us to remain here or shall we move across to the reception venue?”

  “Head on over to the venue and keep alert.”

  “Will do, boss.”

  Once she’d signed off, he contacted Monty and updated him. Thankfully, we didn’t have to wait that long for trouble to stir.

  The wedding cars had barely driven past our driveway to park in the allocated area when my instincts prickled. I frowned and glanced around, but there was no one in immediate sight, either in the church’s grounds or on the street ahead. I flipped down the sun visor and looked behind me.

  An oddly dressed man walked toward us. While he was wearing black dress pants, he’d teamed it with an orange cardigan and a green cravat. He was also wearing mismatched shoes—one was black, one was brown. He moved in an almost robotic way, reminding me somewhat of a marionette. And while I couldn’t immediately see the strings of magic, they were obviously there. The distress in his face, the panic in his eyes, all spoke of a man who wasn’t in control.

  “Our proxy is approaching,” I said softly.

  Aiden twisted around. “The oddly dressed man?”

  “Yes. I can’t see a spell, but he’s definitely under one.”

  Aiden picked up his phone from the center console. “Warn Monty. I’ll send some pics to Tala and get her to ID him.”

  I sent Monty a text and continued to watch the stranger. Though he didn’t turn his head or look at us when he neared our car, his expression twisted and his mouth moved, as if he was desperately trying to say something. But the creature that held his leash kept him moving forward.

  My gaze slipped down to his hands, and after a second, I spotted a telltale shimmer. The spell had been concealed—that’s why I hadn’t seen it earlier. I narrowed my gaze and tried to push past the blockage, to no avail. But that wasn’t really a surprise; the magic of someone capable of bringing down half a mountain was never going to be easy to unpick—especially by someone as untutored as me.

  The colorful stranger disappeared behind the fence line. Aiden’s phone beeped, and he glanced down. “Our suspect has stopped a few meters away from the cars and is studying the area.”

  “The Manananggal is suspicious.”

  “Which isn’t surprising now that she knows she’s facing at least one witch. I’m actually surprised she’s remained in the reservation.”

  “As you’ve already noted, when has a supernatural nasty ever done the sensible thing here?”

  “I keep hoping that one of them eventually will.” His phone beeped again. “Okay, suspect is now making his way toward the bridal car. Monty’s unable to see what sort of spell is involved from where he’s standing.”

  At least it wasn’t just me. I studied the fence, wishing for X-ray vision or at least a lower fence.

  Aiden’s phone beeped again. “The spell has been placed. The suspect is heading our way again.”

  He’d barely finished saying that when our oddly dressed gentleman appeared in the driveway, did an abrupt turn, and walked back up the hill. I twisted around in the seat to watch him, instincts twitching. “I might follow him.”

  “I don’t think it’d be wise to go alone—not after what happened at the ridge.”

  “Monty has to check out the spell, and you have to touch the thing so it transfers to your hand rather than the groom’s. I’m all that’s left.”

  “And you’re sure he needs to be followed?”

  “My instincts are.”

  He blew out a frustrated breath, then twisted around and grabbed a green windbreaker and a beanie from the back seat. “Take these. I’ll track you down once we’ve dealt with the spell.”

  I grabbed the coat, beanie, and my backpack, then scrambled out of the truck. Our oddly dressed gentleman had already disappeared into what looked to be a pedestrian laneway between two houses. I chased after him, damn grateful for flat shoes rather than heels.

  I swung into the lane, saw him at the far end, and immediately slowed. I had no idea how the Manananggal was controlling him or whether she had access to his senses, but the last thing I wanted was for him to look around and spot me. He’d seen me sitting in the truck outside the church, and while he might not think much about that, the Manananggal’s suspicions would rise if she noticed I was now tailing him.

  He turned right and disappeared again. I broke into a run to close the distance, keeping to the grass that lined the edge of the old stone path so that my footsteps didn’t echo. I paused at the end and peered out from behind the safety of a scrubby-looking bush. My quarry was striding down the middle of the road, seeming oblivious of the footpath that ran along the left of the street.

  I sent Aiden a quick text and then pulled on his coat, tucked my hair up into the beanie, and stepped out into the str
eet. The wind swirled around me, filled with the scent of rain and promising yet another cold evening. But it also held a thick thread of fear and uncertainty.

  The stranger didn’t want to go wherever the Manananggal was forcing him to go.

  The footpath gave way to rough stone and a steep hill. The shadows closed in, as did the silence. The houses on either side of the road were dark, seemingly empty of life.

  I pulled out my phone again. Aiden might be able to follow my scent, but given the wind, I wasn’t about to take a chance. I really didn’t like the feel of this situation.

  We continued on for another ten minutes, and I suddenly realized we were heading for Kalimna Park—the forest where I’d found the teenage victim of a vampire. The man ahead might be under the spell of a lesser-known type of vampire, but I seriously hoped the outcome of this hunt would be very different to that other.

  The road ended in a T-intersection. The stranger hesitated, staring at the forest on the other side of the road for several minutes, and then turned right, heading up the hill on a no through road.

  I paused at the corner, waiting until he’d reached the top before crossing over to the park side of the road, then continuing on. Dusk was closing in, but at least the odd silence had given way to the sounds of a normal evening—people talking, TVs blaring, kids screaming, and, in the forest itself, small rodents skittering away from my approach.

  I reached the top of the hill. My quarry was nowhere in sight.

  I swore and quickly looked around; how could anyone so brightly dressed disappear so quickly? Had he gone into the house? Or into the forest?

  I eyed the latter uneasily. The last thing I wanted to do was traipse through the scrub in growing darkness. Not only was it possible that the Manananggal was now mobile, but it might very well be a damn trap.

  I glanced back to the house. It was a rectangular-shaped, flat-roofed brick building that had been painted white. A large carport was attached to one side, with a small Honda parked underneath. There were no lights on in the house and no indication—

  A scream cut across the rest of that thought.

  A scream that was high-pitched and filled with agony.

  The scream of someone staring into the eyes of death.

  Chapter Ten

  It hadn’t come from the house.

  It had come from the goddamn forest.

  I held still against the instinctive urge to rush headlong into the forest after the colorful stranger.

  Maybe once, I might have done exactly that, but I’d come too close to death far too many times now to do anything without taking at least some additional precautions.

  I sent Aiden and Monty a quick text and then pulled a packet of salt from my backpack. Once I’d raised a containment spell around my fingers—and crossed all things that it was strong enough to at least temporarily contain the Manananggal—I went in.

  The screams cut off as abruptly as they’d started, but there was no sense of death, only a thick wave of satisfaction.

  Trepidation stirred across my skin, and my steps slowed. This was a trap, and while I had no idea what the Manananggal intended, I wasn’t about to run headfirst into it.

  The spell threads rolling across my fingertips provided just enough light for me to pick my way through the trees. Leaves crunched under each step, and the sound seemed extraordinarily loud in the expectant hush that once again held the forest.

  I swallowed heavily, though it did nothing to ease the dryness in my throat, and kept following the vague wisps of terror that now stained the wind.

  The sense of expectation grew stronger. I slowed even further, my gaze searching the growing darkness, looking for the creature that was out there somewhere.

  Leaves crunched behind me. My heart leapt and I raised my hand as I swung around, the spell buzzing angrily around my fingertips.

  It wasn’t the Manananggal. It was Aiden and Monty.

  I took a deep, very relieved breath and lowered my hand.

  Aiden’s gaze scanned me, and some of the tension in his body slipped away. “I smelled blood and thought it was yours. Very happy to see it’s not.”

  “How far away is the scent?”

  “About a hundred meters.”

  “The Manananggal’s also close,” Monty said. “Her magic itches at my skin.”

  “Any idea just what that magic might be doing?” I turned and kept following the twin scents of terror and anticipation, my pace quicker than before. Caution might still be needed, but at least I didn’t have to deal with this thing alone.

  “No,” Monty said. “But at least the thickness of the canopy prevents her from dive bombing us.”

  “I think the chances of her dive bombing us are far less likely than her casting another—”

  I cut off the rest as another scream rent the air. The hairs at the nape of my neck rose in response—not so much at the sheer force of agony and suffering evident within that scream, but because it was undoubtedly the Manananggal’s way of directing our action.

  She didn’t want me walking through the trees. She wanted me rushing headlong through them.

  Me. Not Monty, not Aiden. Me.

  The insight had me stopping abruptly.

  “Problem?” Aiden said, voice soft but edged.

  “You could say that.” I scanned the darkness, looking for the creature even though I was well aware I wouldn’t see her until she wanted to be seen. “The Manananggal knows I’m here. It’s waiting for me.”

  “How?” Aiden said, at the same time that Monty said, “Her blood.”

  I nodded. “Using her blood to track her has somehow allowed her to gather far too much information about me. We’ll need to split up.”

  “While her awareness of you is unfortunate,” Monty said, “I don’t think that’s a very good idea.”

  “We have no other choice. She’s torturing that poor guy in an effort to make me rush headlong into whatever trap she has waiting ahead. She’s got my measure—”

  “She might have the measure of your regular magic,” Monty cut in, “but not the wild.”

  “I can’t use the wild magic willy-nilly, and I certainly can’t use it to kill.”

  Another scream. The Manananggal was desperate to keep me moving. Fear stirred, but I thrust it down. The wild magic had already proven that it could protect me against her magic.

  “Our best chance of getting this bitch is to attack from two fronts,” I continued. “I’ll keep her attention on me while you two sneak around behind her.”

  Aiden hesitated and then touched my arm and moved past me. Monty murmured a quick “be careful,” then followed Aiden into the scrub.

  I took a deep breath that did nothing to ease the sick tension within, then did a sharp left and crashed through the scrub. The noise echoed, and the sense of anticipation sharpened.

  No more screams rent the air, but the pulse of death was sharper—closer. Time was almost up for the colorful stranger; even if we could wrest him from the ghoul’s grip, life was not now guaranteed…

  I thrust the thought away. While there was life, there was always hope.

  Remember that, an inner voice said, when Clayton crashes through your world…

  My fingers clenched involuntarily, making the spell fizz brightly. I took another deep breath and pushed past the terror that particular premonition raised. One danger at a time; one monster at a time.

  The smell of blood sharpened abruptly. I paused and scanned the scrub ahead of me. There was nothing to indicate a trap about to be sprung; no spell threads, no pulse of magic, and absolutely no sign that a monster was close.

  But she was.

  And so was the stranger. It wasn’t just the smell of blood that was strong now. The stench of his agony filled my nostrils and burned across my senses. He lay in the clearing just beyond the thick line of bushes ahead of me.

  The Manananggal, however, was in the sky. I might not be able to see her, but I could sense her. Could sense her thickenin
g desire to rip my heart from my body and taste the power in my blood.

  I took another of those useless deep breaths and hoped like hell that Monty and Aiden had managed to get around the back of her. We needed to end this—end her—tonight.

  I pushed through the bushes and then stopped on the edge of the clearing, the spell fizzing brightly around my fingertips. The stranger was missing the brown shoe, and his bare foot was torn and bloody. His orange cardigan had been shredded, as had the shirt underneath. His exposed torso was bloody and torn, his innards oozing out across his stomach. The Manananggal might be capable of finesse, but she’d not used it here.

  Because of me. Because she wanted to feed on me. On my heart. On my blood.

  My gaze jumped skyward. I couldn’t see her, but that was unsurprising given she was magic capable. There were plenty of invisibility spells out there; you just had to have the power to perform them. This bitch obviously did.

  To draw her out, I’d have to step away from the trees and into the target zone.

  I scanned the trees lining the other side of the clearing. Though I couldn’t see Aiden or Monty, a familiar scent had my nose twitching. They were close. And waiting.

  My gaze fell back to the gutted stranger. Saw the rapid rise and fall of his chest. While there was life, there was hope… but only if we hurried.

  I briefly closed my eyes and then, before courage fled, strode out into the clearing.

  I’d barely taken five steps when the spell rose around me, a powerful wave of deadly intent. I dove away from the tendrils of energy that reached for me, seeking to bind, to hold. To cage.

  I hit the ground hard enough to force a grunt of pain, then became aware of the rush of wind. Looked up, and saw a nightmare.

  One that trailed its intestines behind it like a tail and whose bat-like wings ended in claws thicker than my wrist.

  I swore and flung the containment spell at her. She screamed and veered sharply away. I changed the direction of the spell, but she ducked and weaved, all the while continuing her dive. She was going to get me before my spell stopped her.