Redeeming the Night (19 page)

• • •

Ashley lifted Pilcher by the face, brought him close, and savored his delightful terror. Slowly, with sadistic delight, she exposed his soul a piece at a time, reaching in with her mind’s claw over and over. Carving it away like peeling an onion. Layer by layer. Even wholesome events, work deals, benign shopping trips all tasted delicious. No matter what the Mother had told the sisterhood, Ashley knew them for lies. It wasn’t about saving humanity from evil. It was about the harvest. Reaping the souls of those who the world wouldn’t mourn. If wife-beaters, rapists, and killers disappeared without a trace, who would care? No one would look too hard. None but their mothers would mourn them, and most not even then.

Irving Pilcher had nothing below the evil. No part of him treasured his wife. No part believed the girls he held captive were anything more than the dolls he left in their place. So, she drained him. Every drop was gone, but her hunger hadn’t abated.

Standing on the other side of the bed were a man and a girl. The girl was wrapped in the blanket from the bed. Their souls were intact.

They weren’t nearly as sweet as the one she’d just finished, but she was hungry. She stepped closer and reached for the girl. The man trained his gun on her, and Ashley could only laugh.

“Don’t make me do this,” he said, his gun trained on her chest.

“That won’t hurt me.” She felt her teeth gnash together as she spoke, and she didn’t entirely like it.

He shoved the girl out the door and closed it behind her. “Ashley, stop.” He holstered his gun.

Something within her fought. Struggled against the wash of new impulses.

“I love you. We’ve mated, and for me, that’s for life. If my life is to end now, at your hand, then so be it.” He stepped closer. His fingers brushed against the scales of her face, causing her entire body to quake. “Let’s live a bit longer, shall we?”

Ashley shuddered, and the creature that had taken such control over her subsided. She was still trembling when Eric wrapped his arms around her. Over the sound of her heart slamming in her chest, she barely heard him whisper into her hair that everything would be all right. How could it ever be all right? She’d lost control.

She panted like she’d run a marathon. The beast within her only wanted to feed. She had no power over it. She struggled to turn the short breaths into deep, cleansing breaths, to calm herself before she was completely overcome with nausea. Eric could easily have died at her hand and she could have done nothing to stop it.

“I don’t know.” She rubbed her hands against her face. “I don’t know if I can control this.”

Eric chuckled. “I know what you mean. We’ll figure it out. Together.” He opened the door and found Victoria Gunderson standing before them wrapped in a bed sheet, bloody from where her injuries had opened. When she saw the body of her tormentor on the ground she sobbed and ran to Ashley.

“Time to make the call,” Eric said, glancing around to see if they’d left any obvious evidence.

Ashley nodded. “We have to leave. You can’t tell anyone we were here.”

The girl nodded.

“He’s not dead, but he won’t wake up.” When the girl’s eyes widened, Ashley took a lighter from the bedside table and held it under his wrist. The flesh turned black, and the man didn’t even flinch. “We have to leave you with him,” Ashley said by way of an apology.

The girl kicked the body. “When they ask me what happened, I’ll tell them he was attacked by a dragon.”

“That’s just fine.” Eric smiled and pulled out his cell phone. “The cops will be here soon to take you back to your parents.” He led Ashley back to the car.

• • •

Aaron shook both of their hands warmly. “Don’t be a stranger.”

“I won’t, I promise.” Eric proceeded with a warm shoulder-bump hug.

“You know, you don’t have to head home so soon. Even though he’s a vegetable, it’s an open-and-shut case. I’m worried about Victoria Gunderson, though—her statement involves a vivid description of a dragon.” Aaron glanced Ashley’s way. “You can’t do dragons—never mind.” He raised his hand when she cocked her head slightly, staving off her response. “I really don’t want to know.”

“We have to get back.” Eric left out that the reason they had to leave was to deliver his ex-partner’s werewolf baby. It wouldn’t matter if Aaron’s reaction was horror, disbelief, or curiosity. Now wasn’t the time.

Aaron nodded and then shook Ashley’s hand. “Pleasure to meet you.”

Soon, Eric and Ashley boarded a flight to their new home.

• • •

Lydia was ready to pop. Ashley understood why Eric’s ex-partner wanted him by her side. Although Lydia and Ryan had been strangely welcoming, Ashley felt like an intruder. Dishes were the least she could do.

“Sorry we don’t have a dishwasher. I think we’re one of the last families in America that doesn’t.

“Oh, I don’t mind. Really. You’ve been so welcoming,” Ashley said as she donned rubber gloves.

“You’re family now.” Lydia smiled. “Before I met Ryan, I was alone. I had no plan for the future other than to look out for my career. Two years ago, if you had told me I’d be off the force, married to a man who I’m madly in love with, and about to have his baby, I’d have said you were crazy.” She brought over the glasses from the dinner table. “But here I am. When you are—what we are—family takes on a different meaning. Never mind the supernatural part of it, though that
is
huge. It’s a community, albeit a small one, to share your lives with. Now you’re a part of it … whether you like it or not.”

The memory of the Indian restaurant surfaced. “You’ll have to ask him, but I think Eric found some more family in Vegas.”

“Really?” Lydia’s expression was wary, but from the way her eyebrows arched and the corners of her lips quirked, Ashley knew as soon as Lydia went in the other room that would be her first question.

Ashley smiled. She’d wanted a family all of her life; even decades ago, her biological family had been beyond dysfunctional. The sisterhood, which had filled the void for so long, had turned on her. These people seemed so accepting, if only she could fit here. But there was still something off. Not with them. With her. She was more of a danger than they could ever be.

“Eric misses being a cop,” Ashley said, changing the subject as she rinsed the last plate and placed it on the drying rack. She took the glasses and submerged them in the soapy water. “Do you?”

“Not as much as I thought I would. Ryan still writes articles, so he works from home, and I’ve been getting ready for the baby.” She rubbed her belly. “Perhaps one day I’ll see if Eric wants a partner at his agency. For now, I can’t really think beyond the baby. It’s always on my mind.”

“I can imagine. Eric said you will most likely give birth during this full moon.”

Lydia took a deep breath and nodded. “It makes sense. So, sometime in the next three days.”

“Thank you for letting me be a part of it,” Ashley said quietly, her gaze focused on her task as she rinsed the last glass and drained the sink.

“Family,” Lydia said again as she clapped Ashley on the shoulder. “Do you have one?”

“Not exactly.” Did she dare explain? She’d barely opened her mouth to change the subject when something slammed against the kitchen window. A face materialized. Dark and fanged. Dark eyes seemed to focus on Ashley as the creature reared back and head-butted the window.

Tarma.

“What the hell is that?” A growl built in Lydia’s throat only to end in a squeak. She huffed for a moment, gripped her stomach, and called for her husband. “Ryan!”

Glass cracked and wood splintered as the creature slammed against the window again. Ashley had only a second to grab Lydia’s shoulders and steer the cursing woman away.

Glass shattered, spraying the room with shards. The demon screamed. Lydia roared. Both men ran into the kitchen. They had guns, equipped with silencers, leveled at Tarma and opened fire. The demon swiped at them and screamed louder than the gunfire. Ashley’s ears rang in pain.

Ryan emptied his clip and reloaded. The black figure fell backward out of sight.

Everyone spoke at once, but Ashley couldn’t hear any of them. Then Ryan held his hands out for them all to be quiet. After a few moments the ringing stopped.

“What the hell is she doing here?” Eric growled.

“You know her?” Ryan asked.

Eric nodded and looked at Ashley. “That was Tarma, wasn’t it?” When Ashley nodded, Eric cursed again. He climbed onto the sink to look out the window. When he faced them, he said, “Aside from the blood on your siding, there’s no sign of her.”

“Who is she? Why did she attack?” Ryan asked.

“They’re after me.” Tears filled Ashley’s eyes.

Ryan moved to be nose to nose with Eric. “They followed you here from Vegas?” His voice rumbled with his temper.

Eric nodded.

Ryan paused a moment before asking Ashley, “How did they track you?”

Lydia hummed.

Eric answered. “It’s got to be the ring. She’s tried to take it off, and she can’t.”

Ashley grasped the ring. Her indecision had endangered everyone. Lydia leaned against the refrigerator with her head down. The two men of action stared at her, standing in the middle of glass and blood.

Ashley stepped to Eric, glass crunching beneath her feet. “You are a hero,” she told him. “With everything you are, in any form. It’s time for me to be as brave as you.” She glanced back at Lydia and then bowed her head. “I can’t endanger my family.” With that, she strode from the kitchen and into the night.

• • •

Eric and Ryan both moved to follow her, but Lydia’s groan halted them both. “Were you hurt?” Ryan moved to his wife’s side.

She panted and met his gaze through a curtain of hair. “I’m in labor. My water broke.”

Eric stepped to her other side to support her. “Are you sure?”

“Unless the baby is popping champagne corks in there, yes, I’m sure.”

A scream sounded overhead. Ryan kissed Lydia and then stepped back and checked the clip of his gun. To Eric, he said, “You’re up.”

“But—” Though one arm was tucked under Lydia’s, his other hand held his gun.

She groaned, and her grip on Eric’s shoulder tightened. Ryan moved back to her and held her up on her other side. When the contraction passed she shrugged out of their grips and barked orders like a general. “Eric, you have experience delivering babies. You’re with me. Ryan, go. Protect our sister-in-law.” She waddled into the other room, her wet pants clinging to her thighs with each step.

“Careful, Ashley can turn into one of those things, too,” Eric warned. “She doesn’t have control.”

Ryan hesitated a second to glance after his wife, who had already stripped from the waist down. Her body shook as she breathed through another contraction, supported, in part, by her claws embedded in the doorjamb of the living room. “You’ve fought them before, what works best against them?”

“Teeth and claws,” Eric answered. “But take this anyway.” He passed Ryan the loaded weapon.

Ryan slipped the Glock into his belt and disappeared into the night.

“Eric?” Lydia barked.

He rolled up his sleeves and moved to assist his laboring partner.

• • •

The blood trail circled the house. Though Ryan and Lydia lived on the outskirts of town they had three neighbors within a half mile of the house. Trees would block the view, but the scream of the circling demon echoed off the surrounding hills. No one could miss that.

Ashley moved into a clearing behind the house. Moonlight seemed to bleach the beds of flowers and short blades of grass. She walked to the center of the field. Tarma wouldn’t be able to resist the bait.

A screech sounded behind her, just before a shadow blocked the moon, casting the field into momentary darkness. Ashley crouched as Tarma dove. Ashley spun and caught Tarma’s leg. The beast lurched, off balance now that the slash that had been meant for Ashley’s chest raked her arm instead.

Tarma’s wings tangled under her. Ashley didn’t hesitate to leap upon the sprawled demon. As Ashley moved, her form changed. The form that had so controlled her at the motel rose to the surface, though instead of fearing the demon, now she embraced it. Claws bit into Tarma’s scales as Ashley swiped at her foe. The slim yet powerful tail balanced her as she reared back to deliver another blow. Teeth gnashed as Ashley struck again and again.

The warm flow of Tarma’s blood trickled down and around the disturbed scales. The beast fought for breath.

Ashley stood and relaxed into her own form. Her arm burned. The light blue blouse she wore now hung like ticker tape from her shoulders. Only the collar held the fabric on her frame. Blood had stained her bra and the scraps of her shirt. The demon within her was braced just under the surface.

Tarma grunted and hissed as she rolled and clawed to her feet. Her tail no longer swung but rested limply on the ground behind her. Still, Tarma grinned when she saw Ashley the woman standing in front of her. Tarma’s fangs clacked as she spoke. “Do you think you can get away with murder? Lena was your sister.”

“So was Nichole.” Ashley thought of the innocent girl several times a day. “And how many other sisters did you kill because they refused to follow blindly in feeding the souls of men to demons?”

“Only the Mother can make the call to retire a sister. You are not in the inner circle yet.” She chuckled the dry, raspy sound of sandpaper. “You judge the demon, but you’ve accepted it well enough. Your bond is almost complete.”

The thought chilled Ashley’s blood. She would not be a demon’s puppet. “I want out of the sisterhood entirely.”

“It’s too late. You’re more a part of us now than you ever were. You will be punished for Lena, but you will learn.” Tarma shifted her head toward the house, as if listening. “The Mother decides who goes and on what terms.”

A door shut. Ashley could hear Ryan sprint across the gravel driveway and into the clearing.

“You think playing house with these werewolves will protect you from your destiny?” Tarma growled. “It’s already inside you.”

Ryan slowed and leveled his gun at Tarma’s massive frame. Even injured, Tarma could rip him to bits, so Ashley moved between them. Tarma would have to go through her to hurt her new family.