Waking Up Dead (The Western Werewolf Legend #1) (20 page)

She turned and smiled. “Your aim is
good, Ty, but I don’t think you used the right tools.” The smile
she gave him was sardonic and wicked all at once.

“
Bitch has a problem with
improvisation?” He dropped the gun and hurled a wooden chair leg
directly at her heart.

Widow St. John doubled over and turned
to the reverend to ask, “Jonesy?” A clap of thunder and she’d
disappeared into dust.

“
What the hell is going
on?” Ty threw the question to the room at large.

“
She was vampire, born in
evil and nurtured in werewolf blood.” Hortence flicked a glance at
him.

“
Why do you always talk in
riddles, old woman.” The frustrated anger was raw in Ty’s voice.
“Can’t you see we’ve got troubles here?”

“
It is true, young one, you
have troubles. The greatest is yet to come. Your mate has been
violated, her blood stolen in secret.” Hortence’s spared him a
narrow glance. “Let this be a warning to you, Tyler Loflin. You
stay put and protect your mate at all times. Do you
understand?”

Reverend Jones stepped toward Sonja
gripping her about the neck in a vampire’s claw. His features
started to shift, the cold gray of his true self began to emerge.
“Stay back, all of you.” He waved his gun freely between Jeb and
Ty. “Don’t do this,” he warned gravely. “You’ll regret having done
this. There’s so much to lose.” He threw up his hand and a picture
of Sonja and Briann’s children staked to a fire pile where torches
encircled the pile formed along the ceiling. “All I have to do is
snap my fingers and it’s over.”

The image was so real, Sonja let out a
gasp. Briann’s trembling fingers reached out. “Help, Sonja!” she
cried.

Ty’s growl came from deep within. His
eyes glowed icy blue as he hunched forward. “She’s not yours. She’s
not here to be stolen. She’s here to save you from your rightful
end. Do you understand, blood scum?” His last words rushed out in
more of a guttural growl than a man’s voice. His face began to
change and his claws lengthened.

Jones laughed so loud the windows
shook. “You speak of things you know nothing about, wolf.” Pointing
at the door, Jones asked sardonically, “Do you wish to speak of it
with our leader?”

Suddenly, the bedroom door flew open,
banging against the wall. The man who stood stoically smirking at
them resembled Sonja’s late husband. Ty remembered a picture of him
sitting on the fire’s mantel in Sonja’s cabin. “I thought you told
me your husband was dead. This is your husband?” Ty cut Sonja an
icy stare. “He looks hale and hearty to me.”

Her hands trembled against the
reverend’s hold. She stumbled and slumped in his arms. A blank
stare filled her face.

Robert Brooks was never more alive.
His raven hair blew wildly about his thin face.

“
You look surprised to see
me, Sonja. I’d have thought you of all people would understand I’ve
been with you all along.” He strolled ideally into the room. “Oh, I
admit at times, I took on the image of another. Your blood allowed
me to do that you know.”Sharing a wicked smirk for Sonja and Ty, he
explained. “Do you wonder who attacked you that first night on the
trail or why Perkins kept returning to fight you? Perhaps you were
perplexed over the fatigue you felt while on the trail.” He flashed
his white teeth before continuing, “Don’t worry, Sonja, you’re not
pregnant. Just me - sampling the gift.” His laugh sounded caustic
and vile.

“
You son of a bitch! I’ll
rip you from your gullet to your worthless dick.” Ty’s eyes glazed
over.

Glancing down, Richard flicked lent
from his elegant black suit coat. Ignoring Ty’s attempt to bait
him, he flicked a careless glance back at Sonja. “You see, dearest,
your blood allowed me to do things I never dreamed of doing.
Unfortunately, I always needed more. I even shared some with the
good reverend and the widow.” Inclining his head toward Jones, he
gave a quick shrug. “The new ones are still learning I’m afraid.
Now, my pet, don’t look so shocked. I’m still yours and will be for
all eternity.”

Sonja sagged again in the reverend’s
hold. A single tear ran down her face. The facts had been there all
along. He’d used her and trailed them out of Pennsylvania because
he was a vampire with a hunger for the daylight. A movement caught
her eye. “Ty – don’t!”

Ty absorbed the fact the only way he
could. He leapt at the vampire with his claws at the ready. The
shift came full circle.

Jeb took the opportunity to lunge at
the reverend. The stake the widow St. John had used missed his
heart so he used the wood on Jones. A look of disbelief showed on
the pallid face of the vampire. He stumbled backward.

Released, Sonja dropped to her knees
gasping for air. Within moments, her feral nature surged up and
soon she stood as the she wolf, her silvery white fur glimmering in
the gaslights illuminating the room. She glanced from her husband
to Ty’s wolf and the general. Fangs gleaming, she lunged, latching
on to Robert with her claws and tore at his neck. Ty’s sheer weight
atop the vampire held him down for a few seconds before he flung
them off like dirt and hovered near the window.

“
Take heed, Werewolves,
your time is now. I’ll burn those dearest to you or you will do as
I say. I’m older and stronger than the both of you combined. Heed
my words and obey,” Robert growled.

Sonja glimpsed Jeb’s retrieval of the
stake. He hurled the wooden spike like a tomahawk at Robert’s
chest. The vampire smoothly blocked the blow and laughed softly. “I
fear you all will rue the day you came up against me.” Turning to
Sonja, he pointed a finger. “Rise, Lycan, and meet your new master.
I’ve waited so long for this moment.” Smiling, he reached out as
Sonja’s wolf rose from the floor and floated toward him.

She struggled, protested and attempted
to claw his face, but in the end, his cold hand wrapped around her
silver collar of fur and held on.

Ty’s wolf, snarling and growling,
paced out of reach of the Robert’s lecherous clutches. A barrier of
some kind prevented him from reaching the vampire. The desire to
attack struggled with the need to protect his mate.

Jeb reached from under his coat and
drew out a revolver. “You’ll have to return to hell where you came
from bloodsucker.” He fired the first bullet and Robert’s face
froze. The second followed and Robert lost his grip on Sonja’s
wolf. He glanced down at his chest and back at Jeb. The realization
came in the twinkling of an eye.

“
You see vampire, I know
what kills you, too. I’ll have to thank Tyler for giving me his
wooden bullets. They’ve sure come in handy.” Jeb’s smile never
reached his eyes.

Robert fell to the floor and crumbled
into pieces before fire swallowed him up.

***

Sonja came back slowly. Hortence
crooned her name and offered encouragement. Struggling to sit, she
searched for Ty. “Where is he?” She sought her mate in all four
corners of the room. “Jeb?”

Hortence reached out and stroked her
glistening blonde curls. “Easy, my love. They’ve gone to check on
the children.”

Sonja blinked to focus. She rolled her
shoulders. The change back to human was almost complete. Scrambling
to her feet, she went to the bed where her sister lay sleeping
peacefully for the first time in over five hours. “Her head is
cool. The fever’s gone.”

“
Her fever came from black
magic.” Hortence appeared on the other side of the bed. “Those
vampires are gathering support in any form they can.” She clutched
at a small pouch hanging from a string around her neck. “She will
be fine now.” Her eyes narrowed and searched the ceiling. “The
train is in danger though. You must go! I’ll stay with
her.”

With Hortence words, Sonja’s alarm
grew. “I won’t be in time.”

“
Yes, you will. You are
stronger now. Take my hand and close your eyes. Don’t worry, let
the spell happen.”

Sonja obeyed with fear running cold in
her blood. She couldn’t see what was happening. Darkness surrounded
her as the rushing of the wind fanned her from all sides. Could the
vampires have done something to block her sight? Soon the train
appeared in front of her. The wagons swam in a haze of smoke and
heat. Sonja tried to contact Ty with her wolf senses. There was no
response. Struggling to drive down the panic, Sonja raced toward
her wagon where fire rose angrily from its bed. The children
weren’t there. “Ethan? Nathaniel?” Where could they be?

The shotgun blast took the last of her
words away on the wind. Soon other shots joined the first and Sonja
whirled in horror to see an Indian riding hells-bells for her. His
war cry was spine numbing. Without thinking, she dove under the
wagon. If Ty’d been there, he’d have already snatched his revolver
from the holster and shot the red man square between the
eyes.

She frantically searched the wagons to
locate Briann before remembering her sister didn’t need her
worrying about her. Tucked safely in Balch Springs with Hortence
watching over her, she was safe.

In a flash Ty’s familiar face filled
her vision. He was so real. “Stay here,” he commanded and shoved
the bear gun in her hands. “I’ve got to go help the
others.”

Sonja nodded, while her eyes darted
from one wagon to another. Muffled sobbing and screams permeated
the air. Smitty and the others of Ty’s detachment came rushing out
from everywhere. Some in their long johns, some wearing pants and
nothing else. Fire erupted near the Blakely wagon and she scurried
from under the wagon before she remembered Ty’s order to stay put.
If Mrs. Blakely needed help, she would go. Darting across the
semi-circle at a dead run, she spied Jeb fighting with an Indian
before sinking his fangs deep in the Indian’s neck. Reaching the
wagon, she helped Mrs. Blakely pour water out of her precious
supply barrel to douse the flames. With water sloshing, she aimed
at the flames licking at the back of the wagon’s canvas cover and
threw the liquid as high and precise as she could. Disappointed at
the outcome, Sonja hurried back for more water. The majority of the
first bucket had missed the mark completely. The fire picked up in
intensity.

Struggling under the water’s weight,
she didn’t have time to see where Ty had gone or what was happening
at the moment. The second bucket made more of an impact. Small
flames still sizzled and smoked around the perimeter of the fire,
but most of the blaze was out.

“
Thank you so much,” Mrs.
Blakely said breathlessly as the women crouched near the back
opening of the wagon. She worked loading pistols and a shotgun
almost as big as Sonja’s before handing them over to anyone who
needed a gun. “Where’s your bear gun?”

Sonja’s mind went back the moment when
Ty’d shoved the bear gun at her under the wagon and commanded her
stay put. Laying a hand on Mrs. Blakely, she yelled over the noise
and confusion. “I have to go!” Racing back across the opening where
men now lay sprawled, she tried to find Ty. Suddenly, the sound of
the mules braying, stomping and stirring in fright came to her
ears. “Daisy!” A large Indian held her rein while he tugged her
backward.

Without thinking, she snatched up the
bear gun. Smoke poured from the wagon as she flew by.

He yanked harder on Daisy’s
led.

Giving a loud yell, she tried to fire
the gun. It didn’t go off. “Damn!” She’d forgotten the shells.
Frantic to stop him from stealing Daisy, she charged the Indian
swinging the gun butt wildly. “Leave them alone! Get back! Get
away, you vulture!”

The Indian threw back his head and
laughed from deep in his gut. He mocked her!

A surge of adrenalin fueled her
temper. Sonja’s eyes glowed golden.

The Indian smirked. “Vulture
indeed.”

Sonja froze. She’d seen that smirk
before. That voice – so familiar but quiet impossible. The Crow
Indian stepped toward her.

“
Did you think you’d be rid
of me so easily, my pet?” Robert had always used the endearment for
her.

“
Robert?” Her heart froze
in her chest.

“
In the flesh, or should I
say in the undead flesh.” He spread his hands and kept
advancing.

Sonja stumbled backward and turned to
flee. He grasped her around the neck and threw her to the ground.
Every bone in her body shook with the jar of hitting the hard
packed earth. Her focus was gone. She struggled to see. Two and
three of Robert swam in front of her eyes. “Ty! Help me!” She
cried. Rolling sideways, she did her best to escape. Robert’s
strength was immense and Sonja, so addled, couldn’t focus on
shifting. He punched her hard across the face. Vampire fangs
hovered over her face before the lights went out.

Chapter 10

Rescue

After all they’d been through, why
would the Indians pick this particular night to show up? Ty cursed
low as he shot another. The Indian slumped and fell. The fact they
attacked after nightfall disturbed him most. He’d never encountered
an Indian attack after the sun went down. Grateful Jeb had been
able to locate the children and whisk them to safety, he struggled
hand to hand with yet another Crow Indian.