Coldstorm (Heart of a Vampire, Book 7) (26 page)

Anca got to the end of the trail, finding, again, exactly nada.

Nothing. Zip and zilch.

With weariness, thankfully, overcoming the pushy drive of anxiety she slowed her stride on the way to the next scene. Double checking her internal map, she realized she wasn't too far from the train depot.

Not that the idea of reentering the outer warehouse where so much torture had taken place sounded like a good idea, but it wasn't like she'd ever needed a partner along before. She didn't need
anyone's
help now.

A few intersections past the dead end of the Rogue's trail, the hairs on the back of Anca's neck prickles. Her senses buzzed lightly.

Someone watched her.

There wasn't even a hint of the slightest sound, but the whispers in the air, the frantic jerky reaction of the earth spirits, alerted her to someone's approach.

And they were coming fast.

Finally she sensed them.

Behind her. Moving fluidly, Anca drew her
saif
and spun.

Just in time to be blinded by a brilliant silvery-blue flash of light.

The scrabble of claws on concrete pinpointed the rushing foes. They came at her from all sides. Blinking against the slowly fading glow of light, Anca strained for her eyes to readjust.

Her other senses told her more, at least. Many. How many, she couldn't pinpoint. Coming faster. The air sparked with an animalistic rage.

Anca jumped back, surging from the sidewalk into the street, gaining distance and the ability to see, if not well yet.

Four wolves stopped on the sidewalk where she'd been.

Their heads swiveled as one. Angry ice-blue eyes latched onto her. Growls rumbled.

Their auras were different from what she'd expected. Arctic blue pulsed through the faded peach of humanity. Both colors were entwined with a barbed strand of black.

Continuing to move as one, the four wolves slowly stalked closer, leaving the sidewalk and joining her in the street.

Anca inched away but didn't show any hint of fear or worry. She shoved the power of a command into her voice. "In the name of the Magic Council, I command you to halt and desist your attack."

The two on the right stumbled. A haze dulled their eyes for a second, then cleared.

They both growled louder. Hackles raised, they took a few more stiff steps toward her.

In the two wolves' auras, Anca caught a shadowy glimpse of buried magic. Barely there, only a hint, lay hidden—damaged? Possibly—ties of the local packs' bonds. In all the reports she'd read and heard, all those she'd questioned, there had been no hint of the pack working with the Rogues.

She repeated her command, filling her voice with the magic that few Arcaine could resist. "Stop. Now."

All four wolves froze this time. A pent up breath escaped her silently. She realized she'd unconsciously been worried her Council magic would slide off of them as easily as it had the wolf lieutenant and the siren.

From behind her, about a block away, a new howl rent the air.

The air swirled, the earth spirits jerking at her to run.

"Stop," she said quietly.

They settled, but their sparking colors of magic pulsed with fear.

Another howl ripped through the night.

Powerful.

And closer.

The wolves in front of her growled. Claws clicked on asphalt as they danced in place, wanting to attack, but not able to.

Holding the hilt of her
saif
with a tighter grip, Anca poured power into the blade, then summoned the Council's restraining spell. She slashed her sword at the wolves.

Magic settled over all four of them. Weighty, the air and magic shoved them down, pinning them to the ground. The two on the right, with the shadowy auras that made her think pack, whined horribly, as if under attack.

The other two silently glared with fury blazing through blue and red eyes.

Air swirled around her.

Anca whirled and ducked beneath a shaggy black wolf's leap. The newcomer flew over her head and landed lightly, facing her with loud echoing growls.

No humanity remained in the very, very large animal's gaze. Only hunger and rage.

Calling to the power welling within her, Anca threw another spell at this new wolf. It snapped the air viciously, then howled again. Unnaturally loud.

The sound pounded at her ears, at her temples.

In a rush of far-too-fast moves, the wolf broke free and slammed into Anca.

They flew back. She landed on asphalt, the animal on top of her. They skidded, road rash flaring over her arms and back.

The wolf's weight compressed her chest. She couldn't breathe.

Before they came to a complete stop, Anca threw herself into a roll, going with the energy of the skid.

The wolf tried to dig in with its claws.

Her blouse shredded easily. Slashes ripped along her stomach.

She managed to get her arms between them and continued to roll, at the same time, she drove her elbows into the wolf's ribs.

Bone crunched. The animal tumbled off and over the road, remaining eerily silent.

Anca stopped on her hands and knees. The salty sting of sweat on cuts grew from head to toe, the most notable being a throbbing ache at her temple. When she blinked, her right eye took on the reddish hue of blood.

Adrenaline pumped through her veins at the same time a steady calmness drew over her nerves. She scrambled for her sword.

Hackles raised, already back on its feet, the wolf bared its teeth. It snapped at the air, then howled again. Long. Louder. Impossibly. Loud and powerful.

She fought the instinctive urge to drop her
saif
. To cover her ears against the beating magic.

Behind her, the wolves she'd pinned down strained harder, their claws clicking on asphalt.

The overgrown black one commanded her full attention. Hindquarters low, muscles bunched, gaze tracking her every movement, it readied to leap.

Question was, who would attack first, him or those behind her?

Gathering her magic close, Anca expanded her senses. She watched the worried, fearful colors of the earth spirits.

Aches and pains throbbed or stung over her entire body. She'd be colorful tomorrow. Assuming there was a tomorrow.

Weakness tried to spread, her strength and power draining too quickly.

With the shakes in her legs and arms, things weren't looking very good.

She let the night fill her senses.

Now wasn't the time to give into weakness.

She shoved it all away, clenched her power tight, and let the night fill her senses. Aware of the slightest movement, a brush of fur on the breeze, a scrape of claw on the street.

The air stirred a split second before the black wolf surged. In the same second, some of the animals behind her attacked.

Anca loosed her power. It exploded, slamming a barrier up. Two wolves hit it from behind. Garbled screaming howls of agony were a song on the night. The smell of burnt fur and flesh clawed into the back of her throat.

She didn't have time to check their status, could only hope them incapacitated. Because the black wolf didn't crash and burn at her shield.

As if it was nothing, the animal burst through her barrier. It's claws dug at her arms and chest. Fetid breath made her gag. Sharp teeth cut across her chin.

She slammed her head down, protecting her throat. The wolf didn't react when she rammed the top of its muzzle with her chin.

They fell, the asphalt hard against Anca's injuries. Her head slammed with a thick thunk. Pain drove through her. Bright strobe lights flashed, turned her vision white, then black.

White. Black. Over and over.

The animal once more pinned her to the street, compressing her lungs.

Pinpricks starred her vision. In a rush of fading magic and strength, Anca called the last of the power inside of her, the magic residing in her
saif
.

Her
tată's
magic flooded the area. Mixed with her own.

Anca shoved every last bit into the blade. Stabbed the wolf in the heart.

It howled against her ear. The sound drowned her senses.

Claws and teeth frantically scrabbled at her, but the wolf's strength was fading fast. It didn't have enough to mortally injure her.

Not anymore.

Not with her magic destroying the animal from the inside out.

It staggered a few steps away. Fell to the ground on its side. Dark eyes glared, the wolf's thoughts still on hunger and killing, even with its dying breaths.

Anca dragged oxygen into her lungs. Frozen, exhausted, with her mind still circling dizzily, she watching the light of life fade from the crazed animal's gaze. Moments later it stilled, silent.

The world spun but she struggled to stand. Slowly, the ringing, stabbing pain in her head lessened a bit. Enough for her to try to think.

She surveyed the three dead wolves.

Wasn't this the perfect end to this day? More deaths on her conscience. Warranted or not, it bothered her greatly.

She didn't even know the names of the slain.

Anca shoved the idea away.

It tried to reach for her again, to bite at her, but then it stumbled and fell away.

Climbing to her knees, Anca glanced back at the other two wolves. And their auras, holding magic disturbingly close to that of the local pack. They both remained bespelled, pinned to the street about fifteen feet away, glazed eyes dim and unfocused.

Without notice, without even a hint of warning, another furry creature slammed into Anca's back.

The impact sent her crashing forward. She stumbled over the dead black wolf, and fell, scraping her knees deeply. The ringing in her ears came back. Darkness edged her vision.

Claws swiped at her back, opening new painful wounds.

Gripping the hilt of her
saif
, Anca shoved the blade back along her side.

The creature behind her roared as the sword bit deep.

A huge paw swiped the side of her face. Her head hit the ground again. For long minutes, she saw nothing but blinding stars. When everything quit spinning, she slowly sat up, then stiffened.

Her two captive wolves were gone.

So too was her latest attacker. Gone and she hadn't even gotten a clear look at him.

It took her a bit to climb to her feet. A headache bloomed with thunderous beats at her temple. Pain radiated over every inch of her body. Blood oozed from numerous wounds, some pretty bad, considering her woozy sluggishness.

A shiny pickup truck screeched to a halt a little down the road.

The Keeper got out of the driver's side. Shane Spencer shot her a scowl. From the passenger side stepped a tall woman. Long dark hair fell straight around her pale face.

Anca blinked at the familiarity.

One of the women from her visions at the burned farmhouse.

Her vampiric aura flashed with strength, not only of magic, but of great will.

They headed toward Anca, side-by-side, their arms and legs brushing. If their closeness hadn't been enough, the look in the vampire's bright eyes when she glanced at the Keeper would be.

The woman stared at the three dead wolves lying in the street, then glanced at Anca with an impressed smirk.

The Keeper's voice was soft, but held an underlying anger and accusation. "What the hell happened here?"

Anca started to shrug. The flare of pain stopped the movement. "I was attacked." Her voice came out a bit hoarse, dry.

Shane shook his head, staring at the dead wolves. "They're not pack."

"No." Still woozy, Anca spoke before her brain caught up and stopped her. "How does a Keeper having a relationship with a vampire work? Wouldn't that be considered taking sides?"

The woman flashed Anca a small grin.

Shane waved at her. "Niki DeVeraux, meet the representative from the Magic Council, Anca Fieraru."

Niki arched a brow. "So that's how you were able to take down three of these damn Rogues plaguing the town."

Studying the smaller details of the woman's aura, Anca realized she wasn't tied to the clan. The bonds were there, but not closed. Another rare oddity.

"Are you all right?" Niki asked.

Anca nodded slowly so as to not stumble.

Or fall.

Belatedly, she cleaned her sword on one of the few patches of her shirt not already blood stained, then politely resheathed it.

After a moment, she began to find her balance.

As her body tried to heal, however, a new weakness swept through her, making her shake. Anca bit her tongue until she tasted blood, and found a little more in her reserves. At least most of her deeper wounds had stopped bleeding freely.

She'd live, so for the moment, she'd suck it up.

Shane strode around the area, looking at every inch of street and sidewalk thoroughly. Finally, he approached the large black wolf, and knelt down to study the body. "Tell me everything that happened."

Anca did, leaving out only one detail—the shadows in the two missing wolves' auras that had looked like bonds with the local pack.

Once more she glanced at Niki's aura. And the clan ties, there but not bound. The wolves hadn't been the same, though. Something different. Something Anca hadn't seen before.

Shane held a hand over the black wolf's body. He chanted beneath his breath in a low, steady rhythm. The ghostly image of a grizzly bear appeared around the sheriff again. Shamanistic power burst through the street.

Magic zipped along Anca's skin.

It coalesced into a glowing orb just above the black wolf. The ball of light slowly sank into the animal. With a fizzle of pulsing magic, the body shifted back to human.

Shane grunted. "I don't recognize him."

Niki shook her head. "Me either."

With a raised brow in question, Shane looked at Anca.

"I've seen only a handful of people since I've been in town. No, he's not one of them."

After forcing the other two bodies back to human and confirming no one recognized them either, Shane asked, "You never got a good look at the last attacker?"

"Fur, I can't even guess the color, other than dark. A paw as big as my head."