Of A Darker Nature (34 page)

“Bring her to me.” Starr lifted her chin high and took a deep, empowering breath. “I’m ready now.”

Her followers cheered. Only a few looked confused or scared.

Wren gripped her arm. Her eyes shone with fear. “Don’t drink from the cup.”

Trent’s elbow struck Wren in the nose. She stumbled and fell backward against Evan. Choking and sputtering, she clamped a hand over her gushing nose.

The vampire forced Emily onto the ground in front of Starr. She tried to scurry away, but Trent had other ideas. He kicked her already bruised ribs. The air whooshed out of her lungs and intense pain wrapped around her midsection. She felt certain one or two ribs had cracked. Still, she fought to get away, her life depended on it.

He knocked her hands out from under her. Her chin hit the ground, snapping her teeth together. She tasted blood on her tongue and fought to draw a breath. Dirt swirled in front of her eyes.

Trent wound a hand in her hair. He mercilessly yanked her up onto her knees. She lunged forward, desperate to find freedom. She had to get out of there and find a way to help Evan and Wren.

Starr picked up a jar full of crushed leaves and berries. Her eerie smile forced a shiver down Emily’s spine.

“Everything’s falling into place, just like I said it would.” She poured the chunky liquid into a chalice and moved toward Emily. “We have the key and the grandson. The ley line is close by, what could possibly go wrong?”

“What are you going to do with him?” Emily wheezed through gritted teeth. Her shoulder throbbed in time with her heartbeat.

Trent’s grip tightened. It felt like some of the hair tore from her scalp.

Starr laughed. “Isabella took my family from me. It seems only fitting to kill her last remaining relative, don’t you think?”

Eager to stay alive, Emily said, “I’ve changed my mind. I’ll help you.”

Starr cocked a brow. “Why should I believe you now?”

Emily twisted her head to get a better view of what the witch had poured into the cup. It had a very unpleasant odor. “The bastard bit me. You were right all along. Vampires are scum.”

Starr smiled, pressing the lip of the cup against Emily’s mouth. “Such a naïve young thing, aren’t you? He not only took blood, but marked you to keep others from doing the same. You’re his pet now.”

“Let’s go get the deed.” Emily turned her face away from the cup and the foul liquid it held. “I'll sign it over to you right now.”

Trent laughed and forced her head back. Emily clamped her mouth shut, but he used his thumb to wedge it open again. Starr poured the bitter potion into her mouth. Emily choked and sputtered on the nasty concoction. As soon as the cup was removed, Emily gagged and spit it out.

Frothy liquid dripped from Starr’s face and robes. She let loose an angry yell and backhanded Emily. Emily's head whipped to the side and explosions of light flashed in her peripheral vision. Once again Trent pulled her head back. Starr used her free hand to pinch Emily’s nose shut and forced her to drink.

The thick, sludge-like substance slid down her throat. Starr took Trent’s place. “Go help Brenda with Evan. Do what you want to him. I don’t need him anymore.”

“I’d love to.” The vampire loped away.

A gasp to her right forced Emily to cut her gaze around to find Evan kneeling a few feet away. Brenda drew back and struck him with her gun. He screamed and blood trickled from the swollen cut beneath his left eye.

“But you don’t have to kill me.” Emily gripped the front of Starr’s robe. “As long as I give you my permission, you can use the line.”

“She’s lying.” Brenda pressed the gun against Evan’s forehead.

Evan visibly trembled and whispered what sounded like a prayer.

“I’m telling the truth!” Emily was desperate to make them believe.

Starr laughed, giving Emily’s head an agonizing shake. “In death it will be undone. Isn’t that how the spell goes?”

Emily tore at the hand in her hair. Damn Brenda for being a twofaced liar!

Starr produced a long blade from the inside of her cloak. The fire’s reflection danced across the blade. She held it close to Emily’s face.

“I don’t need permission now. I only need your death. The poison should keep you docile enough for me to finish performing the ritual.” The tip of the blade nicked Emily’s flesh. Warmth trickled down her cheek and the coppery tang of blood filled her nostrils.

“Where’s your vampire now?” Starr shoved her to the ground.

A couple of the witch’s followers gripped her arms and legs. Quicker than a roper at a hog tying contest, they had her bound. They even placed U-shaped stakes over the ropes and used their feet to push them into the ground. Emily struggled, but couldn't break free.

Starr's dagger sliced her right thigh. She murmured ominous words in Latin while making a shallow cut across Emily's exposed stomach. Emily screamed, willing this to be over. If Starr wanted her dead, why didn’t she just do it already?

Starr continued to speak in menacing tones. The only part Emily understood was, “As your blood saturates the earth, so shall the earth's power saturate me.”

Not far away, Scotty’s unmistakable form passed through the trees. A few human-sized shapes weaved through the shadows behind him. The throaty howl of a wolf pierced the darkness, followed by a very human scream.

The car hadn’t even rolled to a stop when Marcus bailed out and ran toward the trees. Behind him, Jai Li, Beau, and three of the new enforcers strove to keep up with his pace. Even Emily’s sister huffed behind them.

A worried looking Hahm met them at the edge of the trees. “There are about twenty people out there, not including Emily and the grandson. There could be more, I’m not sure.”

“It's not too late to back out,” Marcus offered. “No one would think less of you.”

“Let's do this.” Hahm removed her service weapon from her hip and slipped the safety off. Her eyes filled with excitement and anxiety. “What’s your game plan?”

Marcus gave Hahm a quick summation. He should probably remove her memory of the events about to take place. That is, if the detective made it out alive.

They entered the trees, awaiting Degas’s signal that he had reached the other end of the property. Corey and the coyote joined them amid the foliage.

Noticing the gun in Liz's hand, Marcus said, “Careful who you shoot. The ammo is silver.”

Liz nodded earnestly. She’d been crying and her face was a blotchy red mess. Mascara had left dark pools beneath her eyes. “I just want to help my little sister.”

Marcus didn’t have time to explain the intricacies of the situation.

“Good. Shoot the witch if you get a clear shot. We don’t want her doing any of that hocus pocus crap.” He looked to Hahm. “And Detective? We're not making any arrests.”

The sight near the wooden alter caused Marcus pause. Evan knelt on the ground, pleading for his life. Brenda pressed a pistol against his forehead and wore an evil grin. Emily lay on the ground, the witch and her knife only a whisper away from breaking the spell. “We can’t wait for Degas. Try not to get Evan killed.”

Corey dropped his gaze and nodded, seeming to have understood the unspoken warning. Emily's life could not be risked. Evan was the expendable one.

Degas’s howl echoed below a rumble of thunder. Brenda swung the handgun in the direction of the sound.

Marcus and the others burst through the trees.

Cloaked figures screamed and scrambled away when a total of fifteen vampires and shifters raced into the clearing. Some of the werewolves had opted to partially change and draw upon their animal strengths.

Brenda fired the gun randomly, hitting one of Starr’s people in the process. Some of the cloaked figures had enough sense to run for their cars. Degas’s pack moved past them, going for those who chose to stick around instead. 

Starr held the knife at Emily’s throat and chanted in a rapid slur of words. A small pinprick of blood formed where the tip pressed into the tender flesh. Marcus was fairly certain Starr had to wait until the correct time to end Emily’s life. He wasn’t willing to wait around and find out.

To his right, Corey took Brenda down. He tore the gun from her hand and his teeth gnashed at her throat. Her gurgling screams were cut short. Within moments he was up and looking for another fight. Evan scrambled to his feet, frightened but unharmed. Beyond him, Jai Li and Beau sparred with a shifter who’d decided to go after the vamps as well as the witches. In his frenetic state, it didn’t matter if his quarry was friend or foe.

Starr continued to chant, her words growing louder. Marcus felt a surge of energy swirling in the air around them. It was becoming apparent that even if Starr couldn’t fully manipulate the ley line, she could use it partially.

The coven must have understood Starr had abandoned them to fulfill her own purposes. They stopped fighting—choosing to flee instead—but the carnage continued. Vampires fed and shifters mutilated whoever they came into contact with. Emotions ran high and it was difficult to turn them off once they reached this intensity.

Marcus neared the witch, but stumbled to a stop. Trent had pushed Evan’s head to a severe angle. His gaze sought out Marcus, malice and turmoil shining from within its depths. His fangs were inches from Evan’s throat.

“So who’s it going to be?” Trent teased. “You can’t save them both.”

Trent’s fangs grazed Evan’s throat. Evan made a high keening noise and squeezed his eyes shut.

Emily hadn’t made a sound. Her eyes said it all. The terror and knowledge that she would be the one to die radiated out to him like a wave of heat.

Trent laughed. “What will Isabella do to you once she learns you’ve failed her?”

Corey crept up behind Trent. The kid couldn’t hold his own against the seasoned vampire, but it just might give Evan the leverage he needed to escape.

“I’m sorry, Evan!” Marcus wheeled toward the witch and Emily.

His friend’s cry of shock and abandonment tore at him. With renewed intent, Marcus charged the witch.

Starr’s gaze widened and she swung the blade down.

Emily let loose a hoarse shriek. Her arms and legs jerked at the restraints that kept her tethered to the ground.

“Emily, no!” The blade slid in to the hilt. Crimson bloomed across her pale flesh and saturated the ground beneath her. Marcus's heart ached and he was torn on what to do. Go after the witch and try to stop her or try to prevent his beloved from dying? The amount of blood around her had doubled and he feared it was too late.

Leaping over Emily, he pursued the witch. It could already be too late to save Emily, but he was damned determined to put a stop to Starr's reign of terror.

“Subsisto!”
She made a jerky hand movement toward him and grinned.

Energy filled the air like static and surrounded him. His limbs grew sluggish as if slogging through knee-deep mud.

His fingers curled around the hem of Starr’s cloak and jerked her toward him. She escaped by shrugging out of the coarse fabric.

Marcus caught up to her near the fire. She twisted in his grasp, fists pummeling his face and chest. She even tried to head butt him. Fingernails scraped his chin and her knee clipped him in the crotch.

He held on, determined not to let her escape.

“A little stronger than you suspected, hmm?” She panted beneath him. “As your girlfriend's life slips away, I receive more power. The tables have turned, vampire.”

Doubling his efforts, Marcus pinned her to the ground and put his knee across her throat. It was well past time to end this.

Starr writhed and kicked beneath him, managing to hiss out a few strangled words.
“Mortis ignis!”

Another surge of energy engulfed him. Fire kindled inside him. Pain swirled through his brain and cascaded down over his chest and limbs. His bones felt like they were on fire, engulfing him from the inside out. He swayed on his knees as Starr repeated the words.

“I’m going to snap your fucking neck.” He struggled to keep her down. Wisps of smoke curled from his arms. The left one caught fire.

“What did you do to me?”

Starr kicked loose from him then scuttled to her feet.

He looked at his burning hand in horror. The skin blistered and bubbled. His left shoulder ignited next, followed by his back. Excruciating pain engulfed him and threatened to pitch him on the ground at her feet. He clamped his jaw shut, refusing to succumb to the pain or scream.

“Death by fire, idiot.” She kicked his reaching hands away. “Looks like I got what I wanted after all. Your girlfriend is dead and now I’ll be free to perform my ritual. You’re out of the way and now Isabella doesn’t have a chance. It was almost too easy.”

Starr turned to search the ground for her lost book of shadows. Plucking her cloak from the ground, she shrugged it on. She swooped down and grabbed a leather-bound book with tattered edges. She tucked it beneath her arm and moved away.

Marcus wheezed and coughed. Flames exploded on his chest, crawled over his shoulders and licked at his chin. His shirt fused to the skin and the acrid scent of burning flesh gagged him. Summoning what little strength he had left, he lumbered to his feet.

Caught off guard, the witch turned surprised eyes toward him then screamed. Marcus wrapped flaming arms around her. Her cloak caught flame and she dropped the book.

“Burn in hell, bitch.” Together, they fell into the balefire.