Reborn to Bite (Vampire Shadows Book 1) (15 page)

Sabine nodded, memorizing the sensation from the receiving end.

The group watched as the vampires used mind control on the new arrivals in the VW. The vampires pulled the young couple out and walked them back towards the rear of the gas station.

"We have to stop them," Heather whispered.

Esmerelda whispered to the others. "If we startle the vampires, they might kill that couple. If we charge out there, we have no idea what we're getting ourselves into."

Sabine watched the vampires, filled with curiosity as to how they would feed. "I never killed anyone when I fed. Do you think they'll kill them?"

Heather nodded. "I know they will."

"I'll stop them," Sabine said.

Before Esmerelda could do anything, Sabine was gone, running with vampire speed across the few hundred yards of open desert that separated them from the gas station. Trent was on his feet, charging after her.

Esmerelda sighed. "I don't know why I bother. What's the wisdom of age worth if it's ignored by the young? 'Into the valley of Death, Rode the six hundred' ring any bells?"

"Stop quoting dead poets and get your magic on."

Sabine had only gotten a few steps before she started to second guess herself, wondering if she could fight one vampire, much less two of them. She felt Trent on her heels and slowed her pace, allowing him keep up and giving herself more time to think about what she would do when she got to the vampires.

When she saw the vampires bite into the necks of the two humans, she stopped dead in her tracks. Trent ran into her and almost knocked them both over, but she recovered and started walking toward the feeding vampires.

"What are you doing?" Trent whispered to her as they carefully closed the distance. They were roughly half a football field away from the feeding, but Trent could see that Sabine's fangs were out and her eyes were dilated.

Sabine shook her head, trying to clear the fog. Something was making her dizzy, and it wasn't just the smell of blood floating on the air. Something magical was making her feel at ease.

I wasn't just magical. It was Magic.

Sabine put her hands on either side of her head and pushed at her temples, trying to force the feeling away. She started to hyperventilate, pulling at her hair.

"What is it?" Trent asked in an urgent whisper, spinning her around.

"I don't know," Sabine whispered, and buried herself in his embrace. She tried to fight the magic, feeling her mind swimming. Her stomach churned, and she almost threw up on Trent, but managed to hold herself together. Finally, the feeling passed and she looked up at Trent.

He was watching the vampires. They had stopped feeding on the humans and had let them go, and were staring at the wall at the back of the station.

Sabine rolled her shoulders. She pulled away from Trent and watched as the vampires shuffled back to the front of the gas station, oblivious to the four strangers standing fifty yards from them in the dark desert.

"That's why you shouldn't become so dependent on your wand," Esmerelda said, startling Sabine and Trent. They both somehow hadn't registered the witches' approach.

"I know, I know," Heather said.

"It would appear our friend Sabine has some resistance," Esmerelda said, putting a hand on Sabine's shoulder. "You're quite an amazing young woman, Sabine."

Sabine swallowed, fighting back the urge to vomit. Then she took a breath to speak. "Whatever you just did, please don't do it again."

Esmerelda laughed. "It's much less painful if you don't fight it. The contentment spell made sure the vampires wouldn't kill those people. It also showed us all the other vampires in the area. Trust me, we would need more than your blades and Trent's brute strength to battle your way through all of them."

Sabine looked around for vampires lurking in the bushes. "How many? Where?"

"I counted fifteen, not including Sabine," the older witch said. She turned and glared at Heather. "And while those two at the gas station are not from San Francisco, many are. Most of the vampires appear to be preoccupied in a pair of houses nearby, but they're probably only a few seconds away if the two at the station raise the alarm. Or if any of them have your ability to resist the spell."

"So what should we do?" Sabine asked.

"I suggest we go to the church across the road there and wait for dawn," Esmerelda said, pointing to the Holy place. "Quickly."

"Avoiding a fight," Trent said, as they started to speed walk towards the church. "You know the idea of turning tail and running doesn't sit well with me."

"He who fights and runs away, lives to fight another day," Esmerelda said, picking up the pace to a jog. "Come on young ones, let's make haste."

They crossed behind the gas station and made it to the street before the vampires noticed them. The two vampires shared a look. Fangs bared in wicked smiles, they charged.

Heather stumbled in her high heels, and Trent paused to help her. Esmerelda sounded out of breath. Sabine could tell they wouldn't make it to hallowed ground in time. She turned in the middle of the street and drew her sword, assuming a fighting stance to face down the charging vampires.

"Run! I'll hold them back!"

The two vampires slowed to a normal run and stopped in the street, facing down Sabine with leering smiles. The blond one circled to her left, while the dark-haired one circled to her right. They looked like twenty-something college kids playing at being tough. Their leather jackets looked older than them, probably taken off bikers passing through. Their jeans were well worn, and their boots looked worn out too. Sabine had the fleeting thought that they were a disappointment as far as vampires went. Maybe she could handle them. Then she chastized herself.

Never underestimate your opponent.

Their smell was the second-most intriguing thing about them. It was a combination of death, dry paper, mildew and old sweat. Like someone had taken an old library and a gym and mashed them together. The most fascinating thing about them was the roiling energy spewing from them in "fits and starts" as her childhood nanny would have said. The energy spoke to her inner vampire, telling her they were new; raw. Young vampires. She wasn't sure how she knew. It was just primal instinct, like knowing that a dog growling was bad.

"Looks like we have a feisty one tonight," the dark-haired one said, his eyes roaming her body from top to bottom and back.

"What's with the ninja sword?" the blond guy asked, glaring as Sabine shifted her stance to keep them both in sight. He smiled, fangs showing. "You think your little knife scares us?"

"What are you, the local vampire welcome wagon?" Sabine taunted back. Her heart thumped, almost loud enough for them to hear above the thundering heartbeats of the others.

"I call dibs," the dark-haired one said.

"You got the last woman, Hector. I get this one."

Sabine glanced back and saw that the group had made it to the church's front lawn, and she backed slowly that way. "You boys seem to forget that I'm armed. If you attack me, you might get hurt."

In a lightning quick move, the dark-haired one named Hector lunged at her back. Time seemed to slow down. Sabine felt him coming. She started a backhand swing with her sword, aiming high. Hector's arms came up to grab her. The silver blade sliced his neck, passing through the bone and out the other side with the force of her strike. Sabine spun her body all the way around, back into a guarded stance.

Hector's head toppled to the side and rolled away as his body fell forward, landing behind Sabine. The lower part of Hector spewed dark liquid from the place his head had been, covering the pavement in a widening pool.

Sabine's cross flew out with the momentum of the spin and bounced lightly on her chest as she stopped moving. She glared at the blond, ignoring the corpse at her feet and the rush of adrenaline.

The blond vampire shielded his eyes from her cross. "You're so dead, bitch," he said with a glare. He followed up the glare with a wave of power aimed at controlling her body. His will crashed against hers, and she put up a hasty defense around her mind. She avoided using her own energy, because she wasn't sure what would happen. And as long as he didn't know she was a vampire, he'd continue to underestimate her.

That suited her just fine.

As the battle of wills progressed, she stepped back over Hector's body. She swallowed back the combination of nausea from the horror of what she'd just done and fear of what was yet to come. One pace closer to hallowed ground. Then another. She could sense more vampires now, approaching from various directions. Time was running out.

She took two more steps back before he lunged at her. She swung at him, but he was ready and dodged away. Her hand shook, making him smile as he noticed it.

Another step back. He lunged again, this time retreating with a slice to his hand.

"Damn you're fast," the blond said, "but the master will be here soon. He's gonna make you pay for killing Hector."

Sabine stepped back three more steps and Trent pulled her onto the lawn.

A wave of vertigo slammed into her as the night suddenly got darker. A throbbing sensation pounded in her skull, and pain cascaded over her body like needles stabbing her. Her chest felt like it was imploding. She jerked against Trent and again fought the urge to throw up. She gasped and took a deep breath. She struggled to right herself, trembling.

The vampire hissed and bared his fangs as several other vampires appeared with a disconcerting suddenness. Sabine wasn't sure, but she thought one might have actually flown. Maybe he'd just jumped in from a ways back to make a more dramatic entrance. Six vampires - three males and three females - joined the blond vampire.

They took one look at the witches and turned on the blond vampire.

"What have you done this time, Dustin? Do you know who these women are?" The man who spoke wore a businessman's suit; unlike the other vampires, who looked like they were dressed for a Halloween party.

Before Dustin could reply, three more male vampires appeared beside him. Then three women; two dressed in lingerie and one in leather. Thirteen vampires now stood in the street, six facing seven.

One of the men apparently defending Dustin looked like a snake oil salesman with a weasel-like face. He stepped toward the six that were staring down Dustin. "Back off, Lorenzo," he said. "Unless you want a war with us."

The vampire in the suit, Lorenzo, glared. "Nobody touches the witches."

Sabine started to feel dizzy, and took a breath as a reflex, then another. Breathing seemed to help reduce the nausea, so she kept it up. She shook as her whole body throbbed. Trent helped her up the steps of the church, following the witches. She seemed to be having a reaction, and then the full emotional weight of having taken a life hit her shock-addled brain.

"I killed him," she whispered. "I've never killed anyone before."

"You did good, Sabine," Trent said, holding her and glaring back over his shoulder at the vampires.

Sabine took one last look at the thirteen vampires watching her from the street. Taking a deep breath, she put a toe across the threshold of the dingy little church, ready to pull her foot back if it caught fire. When the toe didn't burn up, she inched her way through the doorway and shrugged at the amused expressions on the other's faces. Her lungs ached, so she breathed again. She held her stomach, wondering why her body seemed to be throbbing. "What? You'd be cautious too if you were in my shoes."

Heather smiled. "I really did misjudge you."

Trent looked out at the small assembly of blood suckers in the street before closing the door. "Looks like the local kids are going to wait in the street for us to come out and play. One of the women waved at me."

The paint on the walls of the vestibule entry peeled in a way that made the place look like it hadn't been maintained in ages. The carpet looked clean, but the pattern hadn't been popular for several decades. Benches lined the walls, their vinyl pads cracked. Sabine slipped into the lavatory as the others started chatting about what to do next. The muffled conversation silenced as the bathroom door closed. Normally a closed door wouldn't stop her hearing, but that thought got lost in the maelstrom of emotion over killing someone. She pulled some paper towels from the dispenser with shaking hands.

A life had been snuffed out at her hands. Granted, he was a monster, most probably evil, and would have done bad things to her if she hadn't killed him, but justifications were a weak salve to her nerves. The blade she'd used to kill the vampire still had blood on it, so she wiped it clean and sheathed it. With her gloves tucked in her belt, she looked up into the mirror and blinked at her reflection.

Her cheeks looked flush, eyes dilated, but her image seemed less crisp than usual.

She closed her eyes and fed her lungs more air. The stress of dealing with the werewolves, the hunters and the witches and now vampires was too much. Dipping her shaking hands in the water, she thought about splashing her face, but settled on dabbing the back of her neck with a wet paper towel and rubbing the tense muscles. Her whole body felt tight, like she could explode any second.

The tap squeaked as she turned it off. The paper towel rasped as she crinkled it and scrubbed her hands dry. Her reflection blushed at her in the mirror.

"It was self-defense. I had no choice. Right?"

She put her gloves back on, covering the strange symbols on her palms, and breathed again. Opening the restroom door, she found everyone sitting on the benches by the walls.

Sabine walked up to Esmerelda, wishing the shaking in her hands and the throbbing in her head would stop. She wondered if people were hiding deeper in the church, but didn't sense any heartbeats.

She didn't sense any heartbeats over the throbbing in her head. It played out a regular rhythm, and in that moment Sabine realized the full impact of what was happening.

My heart's beating!

The sensations she used to be able to feel as a vampire were gone. She tried to make her fangs descend, and they wouldn't. The breathing she'd had to do the last few minutes wasn't just from stress; it was from a biological need. Her knees went weak, and she slumped onto the bench between Esmerelda and Trent, a smile spreading across her face.

I'm human again!

Sabine's mind started racing, contemplating how she could leave this crazy supernatural world behind once and for all. No more witches and werewolves. And especially no more vampires. Her vision of the future took on a bright light. She thought of Doug, and his little daughter Tiana, and hope filled her heart at the prospect of being a more substantial part of their lives.

A gunshot outside made everyone jump. They got up to look out the windows. Sabine nudged Trent to get a better view, and gasped at the sight in front of her.

The vampires were fighting each other. One of the men shot another with what looked like an old-west gunslinger pistol. The wounded vampire collapsed for a minute as the battle raged, before getting up and tearing at the wound. A woman with a sword hacked the arm off another woman as they dueled with blades. The wounded one dodged her companion's blades as they came forward, giving her a break in the melee to grab the fallen arm. Sabine stared as the wounded one put the severed arm back and held it in place. A minute later, the wounded woman was back in he fight, the arm healed.

"This town's troubles are your doing, Heather," Esmerelda said.

Heather blushed and stepped away from the window.

Esmerelda followed her. "You need to put an end to this."

"How?" Heather asked. "I don't have a charm spell powerful enough."

"See? I told you that putting all your energy into enchanting devices was a problem," Esmerelda said.

Heather huffed. "You don't need to turn this into a lecture. Why not use your magic?"

"I used mine earlier. It'll take a few hours for me to recharge. Maybe if we get their attention, and bring them together, then you can focus enough magic to charm our way out of this."

"Just wait for them to kill each other," Sabine said, forcing herself to ignore the fight and sit on the bench.

Trent shook his head, still watching the fight. "They don't seem to be making any headway in that department. They're pretty evenly matched. And they keep healing."

"The only way I can use my charm spell," Heather said, "is if we can get them to stand in a ten foot circle while I inscribe runes around it."

Esmerelda turned to Sabine. "Do you think you could use your vampire powers to make them stop fighting and stand still for a while? It might be possible if your glamour can touch them, Heather could cast her spell through you as a conduit."

"Are you kidding me?" Sabine stared at the women. "Seriously?"

Esmerelda looked confused. "Dear, what's wrong?"

"Nothing. Nothing at all," Sabine said. She crossed her arms. "Just that I'm human again. So, no vampire powers. I intend to wait out that fight and catch a ride back to San Francisco in the morning." She thought about Doug and Tiana and felt a yearning she couldn't describe. She could be like them. Normal. "Don't you see? This is my chance to go back to a normal life."

Heather stared for a second before grabbing Sabine's wrist. "She's got a pulse."

Trent checked her other wrist. "Well, damn."

"What about Doug?" Esmerelda asked. "Will you leave him to us, and forget our world ever existed? I thought you cared deeply for the boy. If you go back to your normal life, it'll be without your friend."

Sabine swallowed back her sudden nausea and dropped her gaze to the floor. As long as Doug was part of this, she was too. Nothing to do but suck it up and try. But go into a battlefield? "I really don't want to get shot or stabbed, if I can help it."

"Maybe I can distract them," Trent said, taking off his shirt.

Sabine stared at his muscled chest for a second before her brain restarted. "That might work on the lady vamps, but what about the guys?"

Trent paused from loosening his belt to grin at her. "I'm going to shift."

Sabine opened her mouth to respond, but Esmerelda turned her and Heather toward the restroom. "Give us a minute and then come out."

Sabine noticed Heather trying to look over her shoulder as Esmerelda shoved them into the restroom and shut the door on them. "So, you like Trent?"

Heather licked her lips. "Did you see his abs? Maybe you stopped at his biceps."

Sabine laughed.

Heather crossed her arms, indignant. "Look, it's been a while, okay? My ex-husband left me three years ago, and I've been more or less celibate since then."

"To answer your previous question, yes," Sabine said, pausing. "Yes, I did see his abs."

A minute later, the bathroom door opened and Esmerelda led them into the church's foyer again. Standing over Trent's discarded clothing was a pony-sized black wolf. The beast that had been Trent eyed them like a predator would a meal. Esmerelda slapped him on the nose, and he whimpered.

The gunshots had died down and the only sounds from the street were the clanging of metal and the occasional yell. Esmerelda opened the front door of the church. Trent launched from the opening and charged into the fray. The vampires formed into two tight-knit groups, all with swords or blades of various types, as Trent ran circles around them. He lunged at each group as he passed in a blur of fur, herding them closer together.

"What are they doing?" Sabine asked.

Esmerelda whispered in her ear, "The vampires learned long ago that wolves in their wolf form are faster than most vampires. Wolves like to attack from behind. So the vampires developed a defensive strategy of forming into a circle."

"I thought vampires were faster than werewolves," Sabine said.

Esmerelda smiled. "Have you ever seen a human outrun a dog? Or a horse? Or a piranha?"

"Um-"

"Only very powerful vampires can keep up with a four-legged preternatural creature of similar magical energy," Esmerelda said.

"Are the vampires trying to use glamour?" Sabine asked. "I can't feel anything."

Esmerelda nudged Sabine forward through the open doorway. "When a werewolf is in wolf form, vampire mind tricks have no effect on them. Trent will keep them on the defensive while we get them all within range for Heather's charm. Or so you can try to glamour them and then we can spell them."

"But I'm human."

Esmerelda patted Sabine on the back. "Let's just see what happens when you step off holy ground, shall we?"

Sabine stared back at Esmerelda as they walked out. "So I wasted an afternoon teaching him how to fight vampire mind tricks?"

"Good deeds are never a waste of time, Sabine," Esmerelda said. "Trent's defenses in human form were under-developed. I had nagged him many times to work on them, but I think it took a defeat to make him value the practice. Now, it's time for you to do another good deed."

Sabine stumbled as she walked across the dried-out lawn by the light of the gas station across the street. Trent's wolf had driven the vampires closer together, but the two groups refused to merge into one. They kept a good fifteen feet of distance from each other, standing on opposite sides of the road.

As Sabine approached the edge of the lawn, her heart started to race. She felt a lump in her throat, and turned back to look at the witches. Esmerelda smiled at her, and nodded her encouragement. Sabine opened her mouth to argue again, but realized it would be futile. Would she die when she crossed the boundary? Would she become the monster again?

The group of vampires on the opposite side of the street noticed her approach, and tried to move toward her with looks of hatred in their eyes. The closer group moved to block them. The vampire nearest Sabine, a blonde girl that looked like she was still a teenager or maybe barely drinking age, waved. The blonde's teased hair cascaded perfectly over her shoulders, and a leather bolero-style jacket topped her skimpy black mini-dress. Her belted leather knee high boots gave her a kick-ass clubbing look, but clashed with the sword in her hand. "Vampire Barbie" seemed to fit her.

Next to her was a tall handsome guy with dark hair styled like a movie star from the thirties or forties; which seemed to suit his leather bomber jacket and jeans very well. He held a large hunting knife in one hand, and carried what looked like a Colt revolver, cowboy-style in a hip holster. His boots were modern commando. "Warrior Vamp" seemed like a good nickname for him.

Next around the circle stood a svelte Italian looking brunette woman with a slick leather jacket and bustier, her jet black hair pulled back in a low ponytail nearly touching the top of her black jeans. She wore black boots over the jeans, and held two long daggers that gleamed in the light from the gas station. Sabine decided "Vampy Vamp" suited her.

The man facing away from her wore an exquisitely tailored suit. Its cut showcased broad shoulders and a trim waist. From the glimpses Sabine got of his face, she guessed he was the type of handsome man who would have his pick of companions. The weasel-like vampire had called him Lorenzo. She guessed he was the leader of the closer vamp group.

The last two vampires resembled an odd couple from the seventeenth century. The couple included a man Sabine thought of as "Highwayman Vamp", because he wore a long dark highwayman's coat and tricorn hat over light brown hair, high riding boots, tan equestrian pants and a frilly shirt under a tailored waistcoat. He wielded a saber with casual ease.

The woman beside him wore a cinched up corset dress that sprouted black lace all over and looked like it was wrapped in barbed wire at the waist. She wore what looked like a silver necklace but Sabine suspected it was something else. The necklace had an amazing emerald center stone that matched the woman's eyes. She wore her wild brown hair decorated with what looked like small leaves and flowers. Maybe "Flower Child Vamp" suited her. She held two small daggers, and was the only one of the nearer vamps that glared at Heather.

All of them had wounds of some kind, and their clothing was sliced.

Esmerelda and Heather stopped a few feet back from the boundary of the church property. Sabine moved to the edge of the lawn.