Dead Force Rising (13 page)

Giving a low snarl, she twisted her
neck side to side feeling the joints pop. Standing, she focused on the creature
watching her through wide, frightened eyes.

“Where did Thomas go?” She asked,
stalking toward him.

“Master, my Master he said not to he
said,” the thing blathered as it attempted to crawl further into the corner of
the chipping concrete wall.

“Where?” she roared,
feeling the rage taking control of her conscious thoughts.
“Perhaps I’ll suck the answer from
your bones then if you're of no use to me.”

Stopping, Thorn spun toward the bent
garage doors in the opposite direction, realization gripping her. There were
only two other family members left out of this fucked up little reunion. Thomas
was going after his wife and child. Rage shook her over the edge until Thorn's
thoughts went blank and she gave herself over to what she already knew now
lived inside her. Now free, her beast reared its head and bellowed.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

John crouched low in the underbrush
near the entrance to the building where Caroline Grant and her daughter
resided. Hark was positioned across the street in the shadows of the alleyway
while Bell had taken up high ground on the roof. They’d been there about an
hour now, trying to watch every movement in or around the building while
attempting not to freeze to death. The temperatures had taken a dramatic drop
since sun set and a bitter wind cut its way through the streets, making
everything sparkle icy and cold.

His beast was there on the surface
barely contained. John doubted he would ever be able to restrain it should
anything happen to Thorn. She’d become his anchor allowing him to command a
beast much stronger then himself.

A slight movement up the street
caught his attention. Two shadows moved along the street, ducking and weaving
among the parked cars.
 
He waited saying
a silent mantra to calm his other half, a promise of release and revenge
against those who would dare touch what was his. Another movement in a doorway
three buildings away also caught his interest. Larger than the two still moving
toward them, John wondered when it managed to slip into the small aperture.
 

“Thomas,” he breathed the name
lightly on the breeze watching as the shadow stepped out into the dim glow of a
street light.

“I smell you, John!” Thomas called
out.

John took a breath to calm
himself
, trying to prevent the adrenalin from pushing him to
do something hasty. He needed to be rational and use his head. He’d always been
the strategist between the two of them and John prayed it would serve him well.
Standing, he stepped out from the brush that he'd used for cover to face the
man he’d once called brother.

“Where is she, Thomas?” John asked,
squaring his shoulders.

“Tucked safe for
now.
Nice to see
you were taking care of my lovely sister until I returned,” Thomas taunted with
a cynical chuckle.

“Why are you here?” John asked,
positioning himself strategically in front of the doors to the building.

“This is my family, why wouldn’t I
come to claim them?”

“No Thomas, Why are you here?” John
reiterated.

His laughter stopped and Thomas
looked at John with a menacing glare of his amber eyes.

“You and I were just pawns to
mankind. Look how they treated us, as though our lives were disposable. I’m
going to enjoy showing them all how little and weak they truly are.” He smiled
wide, throwing his head and arms up in the air as though he were king. “Join me.
Together we’ll show mankind they are no longer top of the food chain.” Thomas’
eyes were angry and wild, revealing the madness that twisted him.

“Sorry Bro, but I can’t let that
happen,” John said, shaking his head and prepping for the fight he knew was
coming.

“You can’t stop me Rose, just like I
took Thorn right from under your nose. I’m going to have my way
and
 
there's
nothing
you can do about it.” Thomas took a step forward, his shoulders heaving.

“We’ll do whatever it takes and just
so you know I’ll find Thorn. I love her. If that means putting you down for
good, so be it.”

John could see the change in the man
who was once his closest friend as he released his beast.

He released the fragile reigns on his
own beast, knowing the time for talk was over. He could feel the sting of his
fangs as they descended from his gums and the muscles in his body tighten and
shift. Within second two men no longer stood on the street, instead they’d been
replaced by something from the dark hallows of the most demented depths of hell,
both hybrid crosses of all the monsters confined in the cells of the Nest. They
were some sort of unimaginable, undead werevamps.

A long howl in the air signaled Bell,
Hark, and Thomas’ minions were also preparing to go fist and fang. John could
only hope the commotion that was about to occur didn't draw out any innocent
bystanders. The last thing he needed was to try to keep some civilian from
getting tore the hell up while battling the self-appointed king of the dead.

Both man-beasts launched themselves
at one another, clawing, biting, and punching as they rolled across the snow
covered asphalt. Neither seemed to be able to out power the other as blood
poured from a series of wounds each inflicted. John managed to push Thomas
backward, sending him crashing into a parked car, smashing in the entire roof
with his large body. In retaliation Thomas dove from the crumpled metal
propelling them both into a dark blue mailbox, which crumpled like a tin can.

A foreign, high-pitched wail nearby
caused both men to pause in their battle. There was someone, or perhaps
something else, on the street with them all. Rolling apart, both men put a bit
of distance between on another though watch the other closely as they stood.
Evidently, the sound had caught the attention of the other members of Dark
Force and Thomas’ minions. Every man was standing about staring down the street
into the darkness. A shape began to form in and out of the dim glow of street
lamps, moving closer with each passing moment.

“Thomas, we need to have a little
talk.”

John sucked in a deep breath of both
relief and anxiety at the sound of Thorn' raspy voice. Mixed emotions pulled at
him, gratitude that she was unharmed accompanied worry for her current safety. However,
there was something very different about her, something that had his beast
sniffing the air as she approached.

“Thorn?
Are you alright?” John asked, still
rather horse do to the fact his beast still moved freely through him.

As she stepped beneath the glow of
the closest street lamp, shock raked him. She was different. Her hair danced
wildly on the wind, her eyes flashing bright amber as she flashed a bit of fang
in a growl toward her brother. Thorn had a beast of her own and despite his
fear of what it could possibly mean, his own animal wanted to howl in delight.

“It looks as though you’ve gotten to
know my little sister better than I thought,” Thomas said with a wicked smirk
as he looked from one to the other.

“Oh my god, Thorn I’m sorry I didn’t
think the bites would cause this,” John apologized, moving to take her by the
hand.

“Bites,” Thomas laughed loudly. “You
didn’t convert her with your bite, dumbass. It was your seed, which I should
really thank you for. The idea of having to fuck my
sister
 
wasn't
something I looked forward to.”

Both John and Thorn stared at him,
disbelief written all over their faces, their beast receding for the moment.

“Seems that slight
genetic difference between men and woman creates a unique issue with our kind.
Renewal of a male requires a viral
bite. Women, however, require a more intimate conversion,” Thomas continued in
explanation.

****

Thorn felt all the air drive from her
chest. How could this monster have once been the brother she loved and adored?

“You would've...” She couldn't even
say the words.

Thomas gave her a sort of no big deal
shrug. "I probably would've given you to one of my team members.”

“You bastard,” Thorn hissed, her
beast once again raging for freedom.

“Team?”
John interrupted.

“Just hold on,” Thorn told him as she
took a step toward her brother, an ass kicking in her mind.

Before she could move any closer,
John hooked an arm about her waist and tossed her behind him.

“Hold up there, babe. It’s time to
let me handle this,” he told her, leaning down to press a kiss to her forehead.

“Aw now isn’t that just too sweet,”
Thomas taunted. “Too bad I can’t give my blessing.”

“I’m sorry but I buried my brother in
Arlington. You’re just a meat sack with his face,” Thorn snarled from behind
John who now turned to face their enemy.

“I can’t wait to slap that smile off
you pretty face. But first I’m going to let you watch as I kill your boy here
and convert my wife,” Thomas rebutted.

Thorn watched as both men allowed the
beasts within them to again surface and launched at another, rolling across the
snow covered ground. Turning, she intended to make a run for the apartment
building, just in case things went south she wanted to have a change of getting
Caroline and Becka to safety. Looking up, she froze and the world around her
seemed to slip into slow motion. A large werewolf looking creature leapt from
the shadows, its massive claws poised to strike. From somewhere behind her,
Thorn heard a loud roar as Hark sprang overtop her and caught the monster mid
air, driving it to the ground a few feet away.

Wasting no time, Thorn headed into
the building taking the stairs two at a time to Caroline’s third floor
apartment. Reaching the door, Thorn pounded until she could see the light
stream through the tiny crack at the bottom of the entry. She wasn’t certain
exactly where she planned to hide them or even where they would be safe,
however Thorn wasn’t about to let Thomas get his hands on either of them.

“Caroline! Open the door. It’s me
Thorn!” She shouted through the hollow wood panels.

“Thorn?”
A sleepy Caroline answered as she
opened the door slightly to peek out. “What’s wrong? You scared the hell out of
me.”

“I don’t have time to explain. Gather
up Becka, we need to get out of here.”

“What do you mean? It’s the middle of
the night.”

“I told
you
 
there's
no time, just do it!” Thorn
ordered, pushing her way inside and locking the door behind her.

Locking the frail door was instinct but
she knew damn well it could never keep Thomas out. Looking around, Thorn noted
the unusual disarray of the room. Piles of old pizza boxes, pictures and empty
pop bottles littered the coffee table. Evidently, Caroline had not been doing
as well as she’d let on the last time they spoke. Caroline returned to the
living room, a sleeping Becka wrapped in a blanket and a look of shame on her
face at the realization that Thorn had seen this mess.

“Caroline, I have something I need to
tell you,” Thorn said, taking a deep breath. “Thomas is...”

“Caarroollinnee” Thomas’ voice echoed
from the building’s main entrance causing both women to freeze.

“He’s not the person you think
anymore,” Thorn told a wide-eyed Caroline. “It’s not the man you married.”

Slowly she watched as her
sister-in-law laid the still sleeping child on the couch and turned toward the
door.

“Don’t go,” she warned, attempting to
grab the woman before she dashed out the doorway. “He’s a monster. Not Thomas.
Thomas is dead.”

Her words fell on deaf ears as
Caroline threw open the door and ran toward the sound of her lost husband’s
voice. Thorn stared at the sleeping form of her niece on the couch. If she
chased off after the girl’s mother, who would be her to protect the child and
if she didn’t go try and stop Caroline, how would she face her niece.

“Shit,” Thorn grumbled, heading for
the door. Releasing her beast would allow her to catch up with the woman on
bottom floor. With a little luck, they’d both be back inside the apartment and
Becka would never wake to find
herself
alone. There
would be no running or hiding, Thorn knew this now. This was a battle to the
death, either Thomas’ or
her own
.

Herself set aside and the monster,
which now owned half her soul, set free, Thorn leapt over the banister and
landed at the bottom of the stair just as Caroline stumbled backward, screaming
at the sight of the true Thomas. Covered in mud and blood, his face distorted
by his beast, his eyes shined dark amber. He looked every bit the monster he
now was.

“What the fuck are you?” Caroline
screamed as she inched herself back toward the stairs away from him.