23. Chapter 23
23
A man stood directly in their lane of travel, no less than twenty feet away. They were on the tollway, traveling 65 mph, and there was no way Asmund could swerve or brake in time to avoid him.
Everything moved in slow motion from that moment.
Fabian wrapped himself around Kelly with inhuman speed.
Kelly lost control of the safeguards on her mind, and Kade’s thoughts came pouring in.
How did they track us? How many are there? Vampires, they look Russian. Fabian has Kelly. I have to be the first line of defense. How the fuck did this happen?
Then it did happen. The SUV slammed into the man standing in the middle of the road. Looking back, Kelly would realize the way he stood revealed he was bracing himself for the impact, but in the moment, nothing made sense.
The man stayed stationary as the SUV impacted him and then flipped forward, landing on its roof and sliding to a stop in the middle of the tollway.
Before the car stopped skidding on the highway, Fabian was working to get her out. He ripped the seatbelt with his hands, punched out the window, and squeezed out before he helped her. Kade was there, guarding them as Kelly crawled out. Ginna and Asmund were there too, their backs to Kelly, weapons ready at their sides.
A deep chuckle met Kelly’s ears and sent chills through her body, all the way into the marrow of her bones.
Fucking Russians. Kade’s thought came through. Her first reaction was to block it, then she realized there was a benefit to hearing his thoughts right now and left the channel clear.
“I can hear you, Kade,” she whispered. Everyone could hear her, but she hoped he understood her meaning.
Tap yer foot if ye can hear this.
She did as he asked.
Fuck the rules, this asshole already broke them. Do what ye can to defend yerself, powers included. We have to disable the master vampires to the point they cannae fly. When that’s done, I can fly ye home.
“ Kazimir, fancy seeing ye here. Yer far from home, aren’t ye?”
The chuckle came again. “Ahh, Keegan, you always did underestimate the ambition of your enemies. One would travel the universe to gain what you so fiercely protect.”
“ So who’s paying ye, then? We both ken ye dinnae do anything ye willnae benefit from.”
“Having her would be benefit enough, wouldn’t you agree?” An evil smile spread across his face and his fangs extended.
A slew of curses and insults traveled through Kade’s mind too quickly for Kelly to process them.
“Over my dead fucking body.”
“Come now, you left the door wide open for that one.” The Russian paused for effect. “It can be arranged.”
Quickly assessing the situation, Kelly counted four vampires in her line of sight. She hoped that was it.
Kade let out a blast of power, but the vampires stood firm, demonstrating their own power.
Kazimir lunged at Kade, and the two fought in a whirl of speed and power. Kelly felt waves of power roll across her and wondered how the two men remained upright. They directed blow after blow at each other with only the residual power hitting everyone else.
Fabian drew both his blades, facing off against a woman who’d chosen Kelly as her target.
“Silly fae,” she teased. “You think you can keep me from that sweet little thing behind you?”
Fabian didn’t give her the satisfaction of an answer.
Kelly drew her karambits, not feeling comfortable enough to use her powers in a situation like this. She held her blades at the ready, waiting for someone to break through the barrier of Arcane that protected her.
The woman launched herself at Fabian, and he reacted faster than she’d ever seen him move. Wisps of white surrounded him as he slashed, ducked, and dodged. He moved just as quickly as the vampire and never faltered in his defense.
Another woman came after Ginna. Wielding air in one hand and a short sword in another, Ginna met the woman halfway. A whoosh of air left Ginna’s right hand, and as the vampire stumbled back, the mage sliced across her throat with the small sword, catching her off guard.
The vampire clutched her neck, then stared at her crimson-covered fingers. Disbelief crossed her features before she masked it and came at Ginna again. Another blast of air came from Ginna’s hand, and this time Ginna followed the vampire as she stumbled back, bringing her sword down swiftly. The vampire tried to catch herself but failed, and the sword penetrated her chest, pinning her to the ground.
A quick glance at Asmund told her he was holding his own in a hand-to-hand battle.
That left her, bracing herself for a fight.
Just as she realized there was no way a group like this would put themselves in a situation where they were outnumbered, a blast of air came down from above, bringing another vampire with it.
She whirled to face him, ready to fight.
Eric’s familiar green eyes met hers. “Long time no see.” He tried to grab her, and Kelly dodged, swiping a bade in an attempt to surprise him “Still feisty as ever. Do relax, though. No one is going to harm you. We just want to talk.”
“Oh! Well in that case, just call my secretary.”
“You think you’re clever.”
“And you think I’m stupid. If you’re going to make a move, do it. I don’t feel like talking.”
That proved to be the wrong thing to say.
Eric instantly reached for her and spun her around, pulling her back to him. One arm was around her neck and the other snaked across her stomach, pinning one of her arms with it.
His grip was so solid, Kelly couldn’t even struggle. She could use one of her arms, though.
With every bit of strength she could muster, Kelly jabbed her blade into Eric’s thigh.
He grunted and tensed. “You fucking bitch.”
His grip loosened, and she stabbed him again before he grabbed ahold of both of her wrists.
He leaned in close to her, and his ice-cold breath curled around her neck as he spoke. “I’ll make you pay for that.”
“Put it on my tab.”
Kade’s thoughts came through in bits and pieces as he fought, but she managed to catch his message that he was coming to her soon, to hang on.
Fabian was gaining ground on the vampire he fought, but he wasn’t quite there yet.
Ginna had moved on to a second opponent, and Asmund still had some work to do.
Sirens wailed in the distance. They didn’t have much time—this had to stop now. If only Kade could hear her thoughts too.
“Time to go,” Eric announced. He flipped her to face him and held her so tight she couldn’t move her arms. She could barely even breathe as he hugged her to him.
A blast of power passed through her just before her feet left the ground and a blast of air came rushing down.
He was flying, he was going to take her away.
No, this couldn’t happen. Sheer panic flooded her as they climbed higher into the sky.
The air grew cooler and the smell of the city smog turned clean and crisp. How high was he going, she wondered.
We’re coming, lass. Kade’s thoughts came through quietly, as if she were barely in range.
She could hear Fabian’s coat flapping in the wind as they approached.
Eric made a quick turn, almost making her sick. He zigged and then zagged, trying to dodge them. Kelly was sure she was turning more green with each and every maneuver.
Then, Eric grunted and his grip loosened. Something ran into them, and Eric let out another grunt before he let her go in midair.
There was no stopping her scream as she fell. Not even Kade’s thoughts in her mind could convince her she would survive this.
In a useless attempt to grasp at something, Kelly flailed her arms and legs just like all the idiots in movies and TV shows. She felt so stupid in that moment, and so helpless.
The panic she’d felt before was nothing compared to this. This was certain death if Kade didn’t reach her in time.
Time, if only she could stop time right now. Damn mage bonding rules and shit.
The lights of the city grew closer as gravity took hold and pulled her in for the kill.
A whistling sound came from above her, then Kade’s hand gripped her shoulder. His arms wrapped around her, pulling her back to his chest.
She struggled at first, somehow worried that it wasn’t Kade even when she knew his touch.
“I’ve got ye, lass. It’s all right, I’ve got ye.”
Relief washed over her as the ground stopped closing in on them, and she allowed herself to believe Kade was the one holding her.
“I’m taking ye home. They willnae bother us there. Hang on, lass.”
With a deep breath to steady herself, Kelly wrapped her arms around Kade’s, hugging herself in the process.
Her karambits were still in her grip, and they faced forward, jabbing out from her fists as the two of them flew through the night.
The flight, if you could call it that, to the house was uneventful. By the time they landed, Kelly was shivering violently from the cold, and Kade’s cold body had only made it worse.
Asta burst through the door when they landed at vampire speed, and Connor followed closely behind.
“We were attacked on the road. Connor, call in reinforcements to make sure Ginna and Asmund made it out safely. We were on the tollway about a half mile south of Mockingbird.”
Connor nodded and went back into the house.
Asta came to Kelly and gently helped her inside. They went to the living room, where the fire was already burning. Kade pulled the love seat right in front of it, and Asta helped her lie down, then covered her with a heavy blanket.
“I’ll get you some tea.”
Kelly nodded, not trusting her ability to speak through chattering teeth.
Kade sat at her feet and looked at her like she might shatter at any moment.
Gods, they almost had ye.
“ They don’t, though. I’m f-f-f-fine.”
“Ye think ye can shut that down now? Give me some privacy for a minute or two?”
Oh. She’d forgotten she was doing it, which was creepy.
Kelly nodded and shut her mind off from his thoughts.
“I think I’ll get used to it, but sometimes a man needs to be alone in his head.”
Nodding again, she curled up, hugging her knees to her chest.
A mug of tea appeared in front of her, and Kelly gratefully wrapped her hands around it, absorbing the warmth through her palms. The citrusy, floral scent of lavender Earl Gray greeted her senses as she held the mug to her nose, breathing in the warm steam.
The tea sloshed a little as she fought for control of the shivers that racked her body, but Kelly ignored the awkwardness.
Connor came into the living room, cautious in his strides. “They’ve secured Fabian and Asmund. I’m awaiting further info on Ginna.”
Kade nodded, and Connor left the room.
Everything moved so quickly in this world. Kelly was still shivering, and they’d already made it back to the scene to check on everyone.
“Connor just got the call. They located Ginna too. Had to drag her off the trail of the vampire she was chasing,” Kade said.
That made Kelly smile. Her mentor was something else. “How did you know?
“I heard Connor’s phone conversation.”
Oh, yeah. His earlier update must have been just for her benefit.
On cue, the front door opened, and the rest of the crew strode in and came to stand around the fire. Connor and Asta joined them, too.
After what felt like an hour of silence, Fabian spoke. “We learned a lot today, but I think it is best to discuss it all in the morning when we have had a chance to recover.”
“Connor, get twenty of yer most trusted guards here tomorrow. I dinnae care how far they have to fly or what we have to pay them. See if there are any houses for rent nearby and arrange for four of them to stay here.”
Connor gave his usual nod.
“You all right, Rookie?”
Kelly nodded. “This is the new normal, isn’t it? Two attacks in three days. This is going to happen every time I leave the house. Will they come here, too?”
Fabian broke the bad news. “They will not come here. There is an unspoken respect for the homestead of any Arcane. That is all you can count on, though. We have wards on the house for added protection, but those won’t stop the people we’re dealing with. The only way to stop them coming for you outside of the house is to find out who is behind this and eliminate them—or for you to complete your bonding.”
Finishing her tea, Kelly tossed the blanket aside and stood. “Well then, let’s find the fucker behind it all.” No one was going to control her out of fear.
Fabian wouldn’t let her out of training in the morning. Focusing proved difficult with everything on her mind, and he was anything but forgiving each time she slipped up or moved wrong.
Just when she was about ready to give up, Kelly got the wild idea to bring her powers into the fight and tossed water at him, drenching him from head to toe.
While she didn’t catch him off guard, he was happy that she’d thought outside the box and tried something new.
He wiped the water from his face and smiled at her. “I think that is enough for today.”
“Finally.”
“If the past few days have taught you anything, it should be that you must always be ready for a fight, and you cannot let other things cloud your mind. This morning was a good opportunity for you to reflect on those lessons. You did well.”
“Really?” She’d barely maintained her sanity.
“Yes, you are improving, and you brought your power into the mix.” There was pride in his voice.
“Thanks.” She didn’t know what else to say.
—
After lunch they all gathered in the living room to go over their findings. The room was buzzing with excitement, and everyone was eager to find answers to the numerous puzzles in front of them.
Asta even brought in a rolling whiteboard to take notes on.
“Right, well, I’ll start then,” Asta said as she began writing on the board. “I talked to my mum, and the story she used to tell was an old folktale, passed down for centuries. She didn’t remember her grandma or her mum mentioning anything about the vampire’s eyes, but she did confirm they had special powers that only manifested when the two of them were together. Her guess was the tale is at least 1500 years old.”
Ginna gave their findings next. “Kade and I didn’t find too much. You bloodsuckers are a secretive bunch, and you’re ridiculously full of yourselves. Anyway, most of the history books tell about vampires and mages having to work at getting along. They certainly haven’t worked together much outside of the Council. The further back we went in time, the more the separation of the two races was mentioned. There seemed to be a fear of the two joining ranks. The Council never put any laws into force to keep the two separated, but the master vampires often threatened death to those who got close to mages.”
Asta scribbled more on the white board under the header Vampires . When she was done there, she wrote another header, Mages .
“Kelly, what did you and Fabian find?”
“Well, as far as mage history, it was about the same as vampires. There was a stigma around vampires and any close relationships with them. The further back in time, the more any dealings with them were frowned upon. I did find one story about a forbidden friendship with a vampire back around the year 400. It seemed to be just that though—a story. It was a love story. The vampire’s mother found out and reported them to the Council, and they were forbidden from seeing one another. When they disobeyed, they were killed. There wasn’t any mention of powers in it; the moral seemed to be to stay away from vampires.”
Asta finished her notes and kept them moving forward. “How about the history of the Katz family, then?”
“Connor was right,” Fabian began. “The family traces back to 1300 BC I could not pinpoint their exact origin, but I would be willing to bet they were one of the three original mage families. They did their best to stay out of the Council and kept to themselves. There have been a few timekeepers with the Katz name, but the most recent is twelve generations back. I could not trace Kelly’s mom directly, but with the family remaining so small, the chances of her being a direct descendant of that timekeeper are very high.”
More writing on the board. “Connor, I left you for last. I know you have something good.” The redhead beamed with excitement.
Connor cocked a smile at Asta, seemingly entertained by her joy over the situation.
“I don’t think it’s that good, but it’s interesting. Mary Evans’s name made her nearly impossible to trace, but the photo helped. She is not a member of the Council, and I couldn’t find anything linking her to them directly. What I did find is that she is related to a member of the Council. Mary Evans is Camille’s niece through her sister’s side. No one has seen her in years, and I have a feeling that is Camille’s doing. She’s got her niece stashed away somewhere safe.”
“Well, that confirms Luther’s idea that Camille is the one who’s after ye now. Why would she wait so long, though, if she had access to ye for eighteen years? It doesnae make sense.”
“She and I weren’t close when I was growing up. She tried to get me to do things with her, but I was too much of a tomboy to follow her lead. My dad never gave us much girl time, not that I wanted it. Looking back, I think he knew something was up, especially after what he said the other night. Maybe he was too protective and her plan just didn’t work out? By the time she divorced him, she was at the end of her rope. I think she was losing it at the end there, and she’d decided she hated both of us.”
“Sounds like she lost sight of the mission,” Asmund observed.
Nods followed.
“All right, then, my last piece of the puzzle is Kade and Kelly. You two are having strange reactions to each other. Bloodlust on both sides, Kade’s eyes, Kelly’s telepathy, and the strange attraction between a mage and a vampire. Am I missing anything there?”
Kelly and Kade shook their heads.
“History books are suggesting something happened between mages and vampires a couple thousand years back, and whatever it was scared the shit out of both races enough for them to purposely separate themselves. The folktale from my family supports this theory, especially since it hints at a special bond and extraordinary powers between a mage and a vampire. It seems possible that there is some old bond between some mages and vampires that has manifested in the two of you.”
Asta paused for dramatic effect. “I’m confident in saying we’ve confirmed that Camille is behind all of this, so now we know who to target to eliminate the threat.”
Fabian gave his slight shake of the head. “I am afraid it will not be that easy. We cannot simply eliminate a Council member. The only way to stop her is to obtain proof she is behind it all.”
“But we have it. Eric is working for her, right? There has to be a way to prove he is. Plus, the information about Mary,” Kelly said.
Fabian shook his head again. “Unfortunately, we are not in your world of journalism any more, Warrior. Public opinion does not matter here. The Council works only with their rules, and they can bend them if it proves beneficial to their agenda. Going to them without solid proof of Camille’s involvement would end in a dismissal of the accusation and a charge of defamation against you.”
“I don’t understand how such an advanced group of races can be so archaic in their laws.”
“When ye live for centuries, ye remember the mistakes of yer people much more clearly. Change takes longer because no mistake is forgotten.”
Every vampire in the room suddenly turned to face the front door.
“We aren’t expecting anyone, are we?” Asta whispered.
Kade shook his head.
They all stood, ready for a fight.
Three crisp knocks sounded, the kind that said the person didn’t have patience to wait for someone to answer the door.
Asmund strode over and unlocked it, placing his foot behind the door to block it from opening too far as he peeked out. “Can I help you, gentlemen?”
“We’ve been advised Kelly Hart is on the premises,” a man’s voice said in a monotone.
“Who’s asking?”
“Do not be smart, vampire. The Council has ordered her presence two weeks from this day at 10:00 a.m. Failure to appear will result in the issuance of a death warrant. Good day.”