Ember's Curse (Prime Wolf) (9 page)

"I am feeling awkwardly unneeded right now," I said to Collin who was standing a few feet away leaning lazily against the wall.

"Welcome to my world, sexy lady. Tegan is a force all of her own."

That "force" delivered a roundhouse kick to one of the attacking vamps, and while in mid-turn from said kick, used the momentum from it to push the stake up and under the rib cage of the second one. The garden stake sunk effortlessly into his heart. "One down," Tegan said, letting the now dead vampire slide limply from her weapon and turned to face the other. “One more leach to go."

She twirled the blood soaked stake like a baton. Blood splattered everywhere; across the walls, floor, and all over Tegan’s clothes and face. Nathan was going to be pissed off at the mess she was making.

The remaining vampire rushed Tegan. She jumped into the air and brought her leg up for a kick to his head. Right before her boot made contact, he grabbed her calf with both hands. Spinning in a circle, he twirled her into the brick wall. She fell to the ground on her side and the air rushed out of her. Tegan pushed herself up and onto her feet. She wiped the blood that trailed down her hairline from a fresh cut and charged.

The vampire bared his fangs and hissed before he launched himself at her as well. They crashed together, legs and claws flailing. The vampire got his arms securely around her and began to squeeze. Tegan yelled in pain from the constriction. Her arms were trapped against her body under his hold. She began to chant words I'd never heard before. Her eyes were closed and frown lines creased her forehead. Collin raced for his niece to help her, but slammed into an invisible barrier a few feet before reaching her.

"What the hell?" he yelled, rushing the clear wall again to no avail. "Tegan. Let me through!" If she heard Collin screaming for her, she didn't let on. Tegan just kept up the melodic chant. Her lips moved frantically and small wisps of smoke started trickling out from under the vampires black fatigues. A horrid smell reached me and I covered my mouth and nose with my shirt. It smelled like rotten flesh set to boil.

The vampire dropped his hold on her but she still kept up her chant without missing a beat. Light spilled out all around her. Every part of her lit up like a light bulb. Oddly enough, the bright light only hit the vampire she was fighting. The other one was still safely tucked away in the corner.

There was an agonizing scream, along with unknown liquid gurgling out from between the burning man’s lips. Flames burst out and licked across his contorted face. Then after a short few seconds, all that was left of him was a pile of ash on the ground. It happened so fast I had to rub my eyes to try to clear them before I could take another look. Still that's all that remained of him.

Collin’s constant pounding on the invisible barrier abruptly ended and he rushed to Tegan’s side. He reached her just in time to catch her from toppling to the floor. Her body was limp and she had turned as pale as a ghost.

I moved myself from the spot I had been rooted to and ran to her as well.

"Ember, I heard screaming...is everything okay?" Harper yelled at me as she and the guys barreled through the door, almost falling on top of each other. "What reeks?" she gasped, pinching her nose.

"The assassins turned into vampires," I said, pointing to the charred remains. “Tegan, Collin’s niece, incinerated that one." I then pointed to the other dead vampire. "She staked him through the heart."

Nathan shook his head and started to laugh hysterically. He could barely take a breath from laughing so hard.

"Have you lost your damn mind?" Harper asked him.

Collin walked past all of us with Tegan in his arms. He stopped by Nathan and gave him a death glare. "Keep it up and I'll take you out back to beat some damn sense into you."

Nathan struggled to speak. He grabbed Collin by the shoulder before he could pass and stopped him. "I meant no disrespect," he said seriously. "It's just that every time I fall asleep, I wake up to dead bodies and the women I care about either half dead or passed out." He shrugged his shoulders, completely sobered. "It was my way of letting all the tension and frustration out, I guess...sorry man."

***

Sparkles of light covered the entirety of Tegan’s body. She was still pale and weak but her eyes had already opened to the world around her a while ago. White fur replaced the brilliant light that hovered over her body like a second skin. She had been spontaneously shifting into wolf form for quite some time now.

"She is looking so much better Collin," I said, setting a change of clothes onto the table next to Tegan’s sick bed. "I don't get it...why can't she stop shifting?"

Collin folded me into his arms and gave me a tender kiss. His body was slightly shivering. His niece must have given him an even bigger scare than I'd initially thought.

"She is healing herself. Using that much power drains her," he answered me while setting his chin on top of my head and letting out a deep sigh. "The spell she used tonight is the one she uses to clean up bodies...dead ones. Using her power on the living could tap her out completely. Her wolf is in the process of trying to save her life."

"Her eyes are open so I'm assuming that's a good sign, right?" I asked.

"Yes, my love. It's a very good sign. She will live through this." Collin gave me one more squeeze then walked over to Tegan’s side. "But will she live through the wrath of her mother once she finds out about the forbidden spell her daughter foolishly cast? That's another matter entirely."

"I believe it," I said with a shiver of my own. "In my experience, witches aren't known for their kindness."

"I know your family doesn't have the best track record with them. What Alexandra did to your family centuries ago was cruel. But trust me, my darling. Not all witches are evil."

I watched Collin dress his niece’s tiny little body. She had finally stopped shifting and was now breathing heavily from exhaustion. One or two shifts were a bitch on a werewolf's body...let alone several. She would be out of commission for a while.

"Milo and I are going to take her back to the compound. Are you going to be alright here with the newborn vamp?"

"I'll be fine," I reassured him. "I have Harper and Nathan here to help me. Just worry about getting her home where she can heal safely."

***

"Why hasn't he tried to attack us? He must have incredible will power," Harper asked while inching her way closer to the newborn vampire. She held a bag of blood out in front of her to try to coax the skittish vamp out of the corner.

"He looks scared more than anything," I said, kneeling down next to her. "Here, let me try." I took the bag from her and set it down in front of him. He lifted his head, which he had hidden behind his crossed arms, and peeked over them at me. I signaled at Nathan and Harper to back off and did the same thing myself, slowly, so as not to spook him.

Just as I had suspected, as soon as we were far enough away he scuttled out of his hiding spot. He snatched up his meal and made his way back to the corner with it pressed tight against his chest. Before he even settled himself in, he bit into the bag and tore at it like a starving animal. Thick, red liquid dripped off his chin while he made loud sucking noises. It only took him seconds to drain it. His first drink as a vampire went a long way in clearing his frazzled mind. He no longer acted like a savage. I could see the clarity of what was going on hit him like a ton of bricks.

"Are you going to kill me now?" He asked, standing up. He took a good look at his ripped clothes and muddied arms, and grimaced. "You might as well. Life for me is over. I never wanted this. All the others did," he said with a sigh, "but not me."

The utter defeat in him pulled at me. I knew how it felt to be restrained by others; knew the helplessness of having to follow a not-so-moral superior’s orders. Worse for him because he was just a puppet on some vampire’s string. He couldn't have rebelled and fought against his orders, like I have done so many times, even if he tried. And now, he gets to live the rest of his existence as one of them. It just wasn't right.

"No one here will hurt you," I reassured him. "Unless you try to attack us like the others did."

He shook his head violently and said, "I don't mean you or your friends any harm. I just want to go home to my family...it's been years since I've seen them." He looked at us all imploringly. I didn't have the heart to tell him that now that he was a vampire it was forbidden for him to have a human family. Harper didn't have my same problem.

"That can’t happen," she said. "We have to turn you over to the Adelphi. It's the law."

"No, you can't. You don't understand," he said terrified. "He will kill me." The vampire began looking around the room. I could tell by the change in posture and the way he shifted his feet that he was getting ready to make a break for it.

"Calm down…umm…uh," I cleared my throat, "what was your name again?" He looked at me nervously and I focused solely on his eyes. I moved slowly and talked in a low soothing voice.

"I haven't told you my name yet," he said.

"Well, let's fix that right now." I said, trying to shift him out of panic mode. I could thank Harper and her tactlessness for this predicament I had now found myself in. "I’m Ember...and the ‘tude with boobs over there is Harper," I said, rolling my eyes at the same time, still working the “no big deal” angle.

"Charmed, I'm sure," Harper said, waving both of us off with a bored look on her face. "I'm heading back into the house for a bite to eat. You can all join me when the drama is over." Then she twirled around, her short blonde hair fanning out in the process, and slammed the door behind her.

"Well, okay then," Nathan said, walking up to the vampire. "I'm Nathan. If you can find it in you to trust me, I will do everything in my power to keep you from harm." Nathan held out his hand, and waited for the reluctant man to take it, but he hesitated. "Look, don't worry about Harper. She's had some bad experiences with her brethren so her bitchiness has nothing to do with you. She has a problem with all vampires."

"I can hear you, Mongrel!" Harper yelled through the wall that separated the kitchen from the garage.

"Good, ‘cause you are being a jerk," Nathan yelled back.

The vampire grabbed Nathan's hand and gave it one good shake before releasing it. He looked over at me with big, sad, chocolate eyes, and I could tell what little fight he had left in him was now gone. His shoulders fell forward and he practically dropped onto the bench behind him. I had an overwhelming urge to give him a comforting hug, but quickly squashed the idea. No matter how non-threatening he looked at the moment, I knew without a doubt how dangerous someone who felt cornered and hopeless could really be.

He opened his mouth to talk and his fangs popped out. He rushed to cover them up and looked down in embarrassment. "I'm Brady, Brady Garcia.” His name whistled out around his fangs and through his fingers. He gave up trying to cover his teeth and said, "My friends, when I use to have some, called me Cherry."

"Let me guess," I said, "after the ice cream?"

"Yeah, my best friend said I was the sweetest person she had ever met. Add that to the fact that her favorite dessert is Cherry Garcia ice cream and boom! The worst nickname in the world was born." Brady let out a weak chuckle. "Tyson will hunt me down and kill me if he thinks, for even a second, I'm talking to the Adelphi. So you see, if I'm taken into custody, I'm as good as dead."

"Do you mean Tyson Ford?" Nathan asked. The way he said the name immediately grabbed my attention.

"One and the same," Brady answered. "I was the human servant of the leader of the Gatherers. And he won't be too happy to hear that I've turned and that I'm no longer under his control."

I looked over at Nathan. We both wore an “oh shit” look on our face. We had in our possession what was pretty much equivalent to a ticking time bomb.

Chapter 8

Collin and Milo entered the house with Collin in the lead. They both looked in much better spirits than they had a couple hours ago, before they left to dispose of the dead vampire and to deliver Tegan safely into the arms of her family.

My delectable man threw his jacket on the leather recliner that sat by the entrance of the front door, before making his way over to me. I stood up to greet him and couldn't help but notice how his eyes watched my every move. I felt like a juicy steak that was kept just out of reach of a hungry wild animal.

"I missed you," he said as he reached out with his long, muscled arms to snag me up by my waist. He pressed us so close together I had to tip my head back to look into his hypnotic eyes.

"I missed you too," I said, and meant it.

Milo walked by us and headed towards the open entryway to the kitchen. "Don't mind me,” he said without even a side glance. "I'll just be in the kitchen feeding Mojo."

The cute little ball of fur stuck her head out from behind Milo's leather jacket at the mention of her name. He pulled her out of his pocket and carefully set her down. Mojo wagged her tail, letting out a "yip", the sound of tiny nails tapped against the hardwood floor as she dutifully followed her master into the other room.