Dying Forever (Waking Forever Book 3) (40 page)

Alison stifled a laugh. “I wasn’t going to say it.”

“What’s so funny?” Ash appeared behind them, dressed in jeans and a gray cotton button
-up blouse, her feet still bare.

“Just a little levity.” Alison winked at Bryce.

Bryce’s posture changed, and she resumed her assessment of the house. Alison knew she wasn’t comfortable being vulnerable in front of Ash. Though she hoped someday Bryce would realize there was no shame in that, for the moment, Alison felt an odd intimacy with her lover since she chose to be that way with Alison alone.

“Shall we?” Ash extended her hand to Alison, who took it, and pulled herself up. “Ali, you stay behind us
, and try to keep the gun out of sight.” Alison nodded, and fell in behind Ash and Bryce as they walked toward the house.

“Christine and Annabel are in the
library. There’s a lycan in the vestibule, and three in the hallway outside the library.” Bryce listened intently to the myriad of heartbeats.

“
And Colonel Mustard did it in the study, with a candlestick.” Ash joked.

Alison covered her mouth to avoid laughing out loud, amazed, given the circumstances, she had any sense of humor left.
“What are you afraid of, a fate worse than death?”

“No, just death, isn’t that enough?”
Bryce chimed in, causing both Alison and Ash to stop and stare at her. “I told you, I’ve been watching movies lately.”

Alison grinned, a look of admiration on her face. “
Nice.”

Bryce nodded as the three found themselves at the large French doors leading into the back of the house.
Opening the door, she was struck by the relative silence of the house. With the exception of the varying heartbeats, a deafening silence filled the space. In that moment she knew it was a very real possibility the other vampires had already been killed.

“What are you waiting for?” Alison whispered.

Bryce looked at Ash. The worried expression on the shifter’s face told Bryce the woman had the same concerns she did about the fate of their friends. “Nothing. Stay behind us.”

Ash and Bryce crossed the threshold first, with Alison immediately behind them. Her heart was racing, and sweat trickled down her back as she struggled to manage her fear. Clutching the Glock tightly in her right hand, she trembled as the three women made their way through the hall leading into the kitchen.

A clattering of claws on the terracotta ceramic tile that ran throughout the kitchen alerted Alison to the rapid approach of one of the four remaining lycan. Bryce squared her shoulders and a deep guttural growl emanated from her as she sprung forward, intercepting the large animal before it could launch at the group.

Grabbing the beast by the neck, Bryce
bit into the front of the animal’s throat. A loud whimper came from the animal as the vampire ripped a bloody chunk of flesh and hair from the lycan.

Using the wall as leverage, the animal thrust itself forward, slamming Bryce into the opposite wall, pieces of drywall and plaster showering the two.
The front of the lycan was a mass of matted, blood-soaked hair as the gaping wound in its throat began to heal.

Not wasting any time, Bryce reached into the still open gash and grabbed the animal’s trachea. With a single, powerful pull, she ripped what was left of the lycan’s throat free, and discarded the mangled flesh on the floor.

A loud thud filled the space as the heft of the lycan hit the tile. A gurgling sound came from its chest as it took its last breath. Reaching for a brown hand towel that hung near the kitchen sink, Bryce wiped the excess blood from her hands and face as she turned to face Ash and Alison.

The shifter stood rigid, her body in front of Alison who was pressed against the glass panes of the French door, her eyes wide with fear. Bryce loathed that the blonde was not only witnessing this carnage, but that she was the instrument of it.

“Let’s keep moving.” Bryce instructed the other two women. She would have time later to reassure Alison this was not an aspect of her personality she was interested in rekindling.

Ash moved first
, with Alison following closely behind. As she followed Ash and Bryce through the massive house, Alison detected the faint smell of sulfur and burnt wood. Crossing the vestibule at the front of the house, she heard a faint gasp come from Ash.

“Don’t. It’s a trap.” Bryce had her hand on the shifter’s shoulder, as both women looked toward the sitting area adjacent to the entryway.

Following their gazes, Alison stifled her own gasp at what she saw. Hanging from one of the exposed pine beams that lined the room’s ceiling was Lewis. A barbwire noose was wrapped around his neck, suspending him nearly five feet off the floor. His arms and ankles were also bound with the wire, and given the metal’s luster, Alison knew it must be silver.

The barbs pierced
Lewis’ pale skin. Thin streams of blood ran down his neck, causing the navy blue cotton shirt he wore to cling to his shoulders and chest. His head was hanging, obscuring his face. He was motionless.

“I’m not leaving h
im.” Ash hissed.

“Of course not, but it’s too obvious.”
Bryce scanned the room, and pointed to the floor near Lewis. “They want us in that room.” Clearly there had been a struggle. Tables and chairs were turned over, and rugs shredded.

Alison squinted, and
looking past the upheaval, was amazed to see an intricate pattern of crisscrossing silver threads. The thinness of the strands, and the fact her attention had been focused on Lewis, had rendered the snare nearly invisible.

Ash jerked away from Bryce as she took a step toward Lewis.
“They clearly want
you
in the room. I have no issue ripping through that.”

The detective took several quick steps into the room, and was immediately flung through the air, her body slamming against the stone lined wall near a large fireplace. Once on the ground, the dazed woman was repeatedly smashed against the hardwood floor, the sound of cracking bones echoing through the space.

The attack happened so quickly, Alison barely registered the faint laughter coming from the corner of the room, but when she did, it was immediately clear to her that Christine was the source of the attack. Seeing Bryce’s hesitancy to intervene given her vulnerability to the silver lined floor, Alison stepped into the room, and focusing her attention on the laughter, saw Christine standing in a doorway at the far side of the room.

Leveling the gun she still clutched in her right hand, Alison took a steadying breath, and pulled the trigger. The
gun fired, sending a jolt up Alison’s arm, and the blast triggered an instant ringing in her ears. Surprised she had held the weapon still long enough to fire it, Alison’s surprise turned to shock when she saw the witch clutching at her left shoulder, blood oozing from between her fingers. She had meant to distract the woman, and hadn’t considered the possibility she might actually hit her.

“You bitch!” A vicious sneer spread across the dark haired woman’s face as she disappear
ed through the door, and down the darkened hallway beyond.

A cool hand wrapped around Alison’s trembling arm. “It’s okay.” Bryce’s voice was calm as she carefully lowered Alison’s arm.

Tears streamed down the blonde’s cheeks, as her body began to shake uncontrollably. Bryce’s strong arms wrapped around her, and Alison forced herself to take deep breaths, finding solace in the scent and feel of Bryce.

Leaning back, Alison wiped at her face. “Ash. I need to see if she’s okay.”

Bryce nodded, and dropped her arms from around the still trembling woman. “I - I have to wait here.”

Without a word, Alison rushed over to Ash who was trying to get to her knees
. The sharp angle of her left femur bone made it obvious her leg had been fractured.

Kneeling next to the shifter, Alison laid the gun on the floor. “Wait. You can’t - I mean it’s broken.” She squelched the urge to rub the injured leg, wishing she could comfort her friend with more than words.

Clenching her teeth, Ash slid back against the wall. “Just give me a minute.” Straightening her leg flat on the floor, she cried out as she pushed down with both her hands onto her thigh. A loud snap, and the leg was lying flat.

“It will heal in a minute, now that the bone is set correctly.” Tears of pain rolled down Ash’s flushed cheeks, a thin film of sweat covering her forehead.

“What can I do?” Alison asked, absently rubbing the other woman’s arm.

Managing a weak smile, Ash looked toward the now empty doorway. “You’ve done enough.” Reaching for Alison so she could help her to her feet, Ash shook her head. “You’ve taken lessons.”

Wrapping the woman’s arm around her shoulder, Alison pulled Ash to her feet. “Hardly. Evidently seeing a dear friend being flung about by a maniac makes me some sort of sharpshooter.”

Putting her full weight on her leg for the first time, Ash chuckled. “Don’t get too carried away, it was just a shoulder shot.”

Alison scoffed. “
Thanks.”

Ash smiled, and hugged Alison. Turning toward Lewis, the detective frowned. “We need to get him down.”
Ash looked at Bryce, who stood cautiously in the doorway. “What’s the count?”

“Three lycan, and the two witches.” Bryce turned her head slightly. “Christine is clearly in distress. Her heart is like
a snare drum right now.”

Nodding,
Ash ripped through the thin silver cords as she pulled a leather club chair toward Lewis. Stepping up so her feet were on either of the chair’s broad arms, Ash wrapped her arm around the vampire’s waste and removed the barbed noose from around his neck.

With Alison’s help, Ash lowered the man to the floor, and then hopped down from the chair. “Stay back.” She gestured to Alison. “He’s lost blood, and I don’t know if -”

“I’m not unhinged, detective.” Lewis’s voice was hoarse and barely above a whisper. “I haven’t lost
that
much.”

Untying Lewis’ hands and feet, Ash took
the vampire’s hand, and pulled him to his feet. “If it’s all the same, I’ll hedge my bets.” She nodded for Alison to go stand near Bryce.

Rubbing his throat, the punctures from the wire already gone, Lewis twisted his head to the right, and then back to the left
.  A series of clicks sounded. “Fair enough.”

“What happened?”
Bryce asked.

“
Happening
.” Lewis and Ash walked toward Bryce and Alison. “They are clearly still in the house.”

“Annabel?” Bryce frowned.

“Yes. Along with Christine and a legion of lycan.” Taking a deep breath in through his nose, the vampire grinned. “Though clearly you three have made short work of most of them.”

“We got lucky.” Ash interjected. “Where’s Emma?”

“I assume with the others. It was very chaotic as the lycan swarmed the house. We were pulled in different directions.” Lewis closed his eyes and took a steadying breath. “Evidently the order of the day was to divide and conquer.”

“
They’re in the garden.” Bryce interrupted.

“Then let’s go.” Ash walked over
, and picked Alison’s discarded gun up, and handed it to the woman. “You have five shots left.”

Alison felt a knot forming in the pit of her stomach. She knew hitting Christine had been nothing more than dumb luck. Then remembering something her grandfather use
d to say, she resolutely took the gun from Ash – like her grandfather, she would rather be lucky than good any day.

The garden was dark. The myriad of shrubs, hedges and statues were shrouded in shadow. Alison struggled to focus her eyes as they left the lights of the house behind.

Bryce led the way, then Ash
, followed by Alison. Lewis was the last in line to ensure they weren’t surprised from behind. An otherwise eerie silence was broken by the sound of running water which Alison determined was coming from a large fountain near the center of the garden.

“Everyone’s here.” Annabel’s voice filled the space. “The elements of shock and awe have passed.” The long
-haired woman appeared from behind the fountain, flanked by two lycans. Her brow arched when she saw Lewis. “An escapee?” She turned her head as Christine stepped out of the shadows. “Clearly, good help is hard to come by.”

Christine clutched her shoulder, her hand and sleeve covered in blood. “I
was shot!”

Annabel turned her attention back to the
quartet. “I hate excuses.”

Something caught Alison’s attention as her eyes adjusted to the dimness of the garden. The base of the fountain was overflowing, and water was splashing over the sides of the structure. It was then that Alison saw the silver chain mail
-like net cast over the pool of water. Underneath it were the outlines of four bodies.
Jesus, she’s trapped them under the water.

Her attention on the fountain, Alison was only partially aware that Bryce was speaking. “It’s just between you and me
, Annabel.”