The Soul's Mark: HUNTED (29 page)

Cole hit the ground and bounced.  Another scream erupted from him, but it was a sound that came from deep within his gut, the kind of sound that comes from excruciating pain.

Josh bolted over to him with mind-blowing speed and heaved him up.  Cole’s cloak fell away, and Amelia caught sight of the arrow that stuck out of his leg.  His body morphed into bones, and the arrow dropped to the ground.

Amelia felt the magic brewing in the pit of her stomach, and she saw the strands of light seeping from her side in Mitchell’s direction just before the first bolt of lightning flew towards Josh.  She glanced at Mitchell, just a quick look, and saw him toss ball after ball.

Megan started her own assault from above.  When the first bolts hit, Josh shed his skin, and the flaming orb passed right through him.

What was left of Josh growled fiercely and started to retreat with Cole in tow.  Luke and Lola lunged at them.  It was in that moment that Amelia put what seemed to be the obvious together.

“Stop,” Amelia screeched.  “They can’t be hurt this way.”

Amelia was floored that Luke and Lola stopped in mid step, and all the orbs of magic ceased instantaneously.  All eyes narrowed at her, and she blurted, “It’s their skin that makes them vulnerable.  We can’t hurt them this way.”  But what she didn’t say was that she was certain that Cole and Josh could still hurt them.

“This isn’t over,” Josh growled.  They had retreated far enough away that the only thing that even indicated where the voice was coming from was the two sets of eerie yellow-green eyes.  “More of us are coming, and the next time we meet, you two will join us.”

“Don’t hold your breath,” Amelia spat venomously.  A second later, the metallic sound of a car door slamming clanked, and the roar of a diesel engine rumbled.  Amelia’s lungs burned, and she sucked in air as she realized that she had been holding her breath.

They all stood staring into the tree with a hushed stillness. At some point during the fight, the rain had stopped and the sky had cleared enough for the crescent moon to break through the clouds, coating the grassy puddles with silver.

“Well, that’s new,” Angelle said when the truck engine could no longer be heard.

“What the hell are they?” Lola asked.

“Hybrids,” Megan yelled.  She leapt from the tree, landing in Eric’s arms.  “Half witch, half hunter.”

Erin looked at Amelia with wide eyes.  Her forehead creased, and her voice squeaked with the question, “Did his skin just disappear?”

Amelia didn’t answer.  She wanted to.  She thought about it, but the words just wouldn’t come.  “Amelia?” Mitchell said her name like a question, and he was suddenly in front of her.  “Amelia, are you okay?”

Amelia shook her head.  “Not really.”  And then she launched herself into his arms, wrapping her legs around his waist.  “I love you,” she said and began littering his face with a slew of frenzied kisses.  “I thought I was going to lose you.  I love you.”

Mitchell hugged her tightly.  Love and relief swelled from his heart, and the sensation pushed against her from all sides.  She soaked it up, basking in the feverish bliss that came with feeling his emotions.

As the emotions deepened, her neck began to tingle, and Amelia instinctively knew what was happening.  She could feel her mark, circle by circle, letter by letter, reappearing on her neck.  Megan squealed in delight, confirming that hers had come back as well.

Amelia couldn’t say how long she stayed like that, kissing him and declaring her love, but at some point she finally got over the shock of seeing Mitchell alive, and now she was furious.  “I told you to leave,” she said, leaning back in his arms to meet him square on.

Mitchell chuckled and kissed her cheek.  “And I told you that I wasn’t going to leave you.”

CHAPTER 31

Luke called the police, and it didn’t take long for a swarm of police cruisers and ambulances to descend upon them.  Officer McLean made an attempt to collect statements, which Amelia thought was a complete joke.  What was he going to do?  File a police report about vampires killing vampire hunters?  Yeah, right!

McLean quickly gave up, not that he had much of a choice in the matter.  Mitchell used persuasion to send him off and help clear out the bodies.  After that, they left in a hurry, dodging the paramedics’ attempts to take Amelia and Megan in for an examination.

The air had turned sticky and thick from the rain, and Amelia and her friends trudged through the muddy puddles it had left behind.  Her jeans were soaked through, sticking to her skin and making the journey uncomfortable.  Amelia loved the spring, enjoyed the rain, but this year it had quickly become old.  The storms seemed more ferocious and had been almost a daily occurrence during the last few weeks.  She wondered if her bitterness towards the rain had something to do with the pandemonium that had come with it, but even so, she was over it, and was seriously craving a hot and dry summer.

On the walk towards their house, Amelia and Megan filled their family in on the little they knew of the
new
breed of hunters.  They explained how it was
supposedly
their destiny to help the hunters build a new race of hybrids.

“So, they want you to be a breeding mule,” Lola said with a smirk.  She giggled a little at the thought, and Luke joined in with a booming laugh.

“Now that’s kind of creepy,” Amelia said, narrowing her eyes at Lola.

“What?” Lola asked through her giggles, befuddled.

Mitchell laughed a side-splitting roar.  “That’s the exact same thing Amelia thought when they told her.”  He winked and nudged Amelia’s side playfully.  “And you two act like you hate each other.”

What in the world happened to my Mitchell?
Amelia wondered and shot him a sideways glance.  Not that she was about to complain; she liked the playful look on him and she was sure she could get used to it, but it just seemed wrong to be laughing after what they had just been through.  But then again, Amelia guessed that laughing was better than the alternative, and she pushed her nagging conscious aside, letting her own giggles spill out.  And man, she had to admit it, it felt good to have just a moment where she was not stressing about saving her family or dealing with freaky skeleton vampire hunters.

“How did you get everyone out so quickly?”  Megan asked.

“Err, about that,” Eric said.  “We didn’t.  The whole street is kind of locked up in the dungeon.”

“You what?” Megan gasped, and smacked Eric.  “That place is horrible.  How could you?”

Eric winced, faking pain, and rubbed at his chest.  His green eyes sparkled with amusement.  “What were we supposed to do?  Send them out to meet you on the road somewhere?”

Megan grumbled something at Eric that Amelia couldn’t make out, and he laughed.  His laughter was contagious, and in seconds, Megan joined in.  Eric wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her close as they walked.

They broke through the willows in the backyard, and the house came into view.  Amelia’s breath caught in her throat.  The silvery glow from the moon touched the fog that rose around the house, casting it with an otherworldly glow.  Soft lighting from the inside lit up the many balconies in a welcoming shine.  The turrets towered into the night’s sky, and the stone clad walls winked and sparkled as the waning light splashed upon the rain-dampened exterior.  It oozed magic and mystery, and the sight was exquisite—perfect.

“I never thought I’d say this, but damn does it feel good to be home,” Amelia said, gawking at the beauty that stood before her.  The day had felt longer than any other day in her life, and the only thing she wanted to do was go to bed with Mitchell.

Angelle brushed past Amelia.  “I need to take a hot shower.  I’m so done with tonight,” she grumbled.  She hadn’t looked at Amelia or Mitchell since the police showed up.

“Ditto,” Erin said, casting a hateful look in Amelia’s direction.

Amelia’s gut twisted and plummeted down to her toes.  “You told them all, right?” she asked Mitchell.  “They know that the fight between us wasn’t real?”  Now that the fight was over—at least for now—the scene from earlier that day was eating away at her insides.

Mitchell grinned feebly and squeezed her hand.  “Yes, and they’ll get over it.”

As soon as they stepped into the house, it didn’t take long for Eric and Megan to disappear.  Luke and Lola followed quickly after them.  Mitchell offered to deal with everyone that had been locked up in the dungeon (or downstairs, as Amelia liked to think), and Amelia scampered off before he changed his mind.  A steamy hot shower was calling her name, and truthfully, she didn’t think she could deal with all the commotion and questions that everyone was sure to have.

By the time Mitchell made it back to their room, Amelia had showered and was curled up in bed, snuggled deeply in the overabundance of pillows and cushions.  She sat up when he walked in, and she put on her most convincing
I’m okay
smile
.
  Now that she had time to let everything sink in,
okay
was far from what she was feeling.

Mitchell saw right through her tough act and sat down beside her.  “It’s going to be okay, love,” he assured, rubbing her back gently.

Amelia scowled at him.  “How can you even say that?  People are dead and the hunters…”

“Because,” he said, stopping her in mid-sentence, and shrugged.  His sky blue eyes were full of optimism.  “We’re together.”

“That’s some pretty crappy logic, Mitch,” Amelia said, shaking her head, and then she grinned.  “But I won’t argue with it.”

Mitchell grinned and gave her a quick kiss.  “I don’t know about you, but I need a shower,” he said.  His expression changed to deviant, and he wiggled his eyebrows.  “Want to join me?”

Amelia laughed and swatted at him playfully.  She thought about pointing out that she had already showered, but instead she ran her fingers through her damp, tousled hair and said, “You go.  I’m just going to grab some Advil.  I’ll be right behind you.” Mitchell winked at her, and his smile widened.  “Don’t be long.”  He jumped up from the bed and padded over to the bathroom, giving her a smirk before shutting the door.  Within seconds, Amelia heard the shower turn on.

With another glance at the bathroom door, Amelia got up and headed to the kitchen to grab a glass of water.  She rounded the corner into the foyer, and stopped when one of the outside motion lights flicked on and she noticed Megan’s red hair through the window.

Amelia went straight to the front door, threw it open, and stepped outside.  “Hey, Meg, what are you doing out here?  Where’s Eric?”

Megan looked at her, eyes wide with terror.  Her mouth was moving, but Amelia couldn’t hear a thing.  Megan nodded to the right, and Amelia followed her panicked eyes.

“Shit,” Amelia breathed.  Cole stood pressed against the house with an arrow drawn, pointed at Megan.

The door clicked shut behind her, and Amelia spun around.  “Make a sound and she dies,” Josh whispered.

Josh flicked his wrist, and a blast of energy hit her, covering her in a blanket.  She could see the white force field knitting around her and closing in.  It molded around her, sucking out the air as if she was being wrapped in plastic.  And then, everything went dark.

###

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Ashley Stoyanoff lives in Whitby, Ontario and loves diving into the magical world of creating fiction. When not writing, she can be found reading sappy novels, watching cheesy chick flicks, and buying far too many clothes.

Connect with Ashley Stoyanoff Online:

www.ashleystoyanoff.com

www.facebook.com/AshleyStoyanoffTheSoulsMark

www.goodreads.com/ashley_stoyanoff

If you liked this book, you may also like Fated Dreams, Book One in the Affinity Series by Christina Smith.  Read on for a preview.

Prologue

Brownridge, Vermont

Three years ago

“How did I get here?” I asked myself for the fourth time, although I already knew the answer. My voice was muffled inside the closed, confined space.

It was Saturday night, and instead of hanging out at a party with Derrick and Emma like I was supposed to be, where was I? In a closet, and not the proverbial kind either. I was literally in a closet, fluffy towels and all. Why? That’s a good question, and the only answer I could think of was my own stupidity.

Stephanie Brown, honey-blonde hair, vivid blue eyes, and a body every boy drooled over, had it out for me. And again the question was, why? Well, the obvious answer could only be Ryan Crenshaw, her ex-boyfriend. Not that he wasn’t worthy of her attention—his wheat-colored hair and soul-deep blue eyes would make male underwear models envious—but he just wasn’t interested in her anymore.

He told me once that the only reason he liked her in the first place was because he was new to the school and didn’t know any better. But once he did, he dumped her right on her cashmere-covered ass. And when Ryan started eating lunch with me, she decided that I was her enemy. She even convinced the entire school to hate me, and the social-climbing drones of the student body listened to her. Ever since I started at Hadley Academy six months ago, the only friend I’d had was Ryan, and he was only a friend. As much as Stephanie, the self-proclaimed queen of the school, thought differently.

Not that I was desperately in need of extra friends. I had two of the best ones anyone could ask for, but since they attended a public school on the other side of town, my days were filled with cold stares and the occasional prank.

I thought my luck had changed a few days ago when the queen witch herself asked me over for a slumber party with her two best friends. At first I was skeptical, considering her obvious dislike for me. But since she had made the effort, I hoped it was the start of a normal life for me at school, so I agreed against my better judgment.