Stake and Dust (Stake and Dust series, Book I) (27 page)

The End

Enjoy a sneak peek at Flowers and
Fangs,
(Stake and Dust series, Book II).

Chapter One

The shadow blocked the porch light for a
flicker of a millisecond, but it proved enough to alert Derek Hayes
of the vampire's presence. Supernatural presences tended to feed
off energy. "He's heading toward the back of the house," Derek
whispered into his earpiece as he motioned to his brothers Axel and
Wade with a quick flick of his hand.

Axel nodded and jogged around the corner of
the house with Wade trailing behind him with his claymore—his sword
of choice—gripped tight in his hand.

Over the years, Derek had catalogued over
fifty different vampire septs, some more lethal than others. Quite
a few could feed off the humans with no ill effect—as long as the
vamp didn't lose control, while other vampire bites would insure
the human would turn from just one nick of their bloodthirsty
fangs.

The vampire Derek and his brothers hunted
tonight happened to be from one of the nastier septs called the
Nosferatu. They were as mean as they were hideous with long jagged
teeth and deep set red eyes. In their true form, they looked more
like the black and white horror flick vamps, but they were known to
glamour the humans they chose to feed upon. One bite and they were
able to work their charm. The victim didn't have to be drained of
their blood to be turned by a Nosferatu. Their bite infected the
victim like a terminal disease. They were doomed no matter if they
survived the initial onslaught.

The vamp had targeted Grift Wilkins and his
family. He already killed Grift, his wife, his daughter, and even
went after his ex-wife.

As far as they could tell, the vamp
infiltrated the family's life by posing as a therapist for the
youngest child, Kylie. She was seeing the therapist to help her
cope with family issues. How effed up was that? Now the child was
dead and so were the rest of the family—except for Kylie's brother
who had given them the slip. T. Wilkins—the 'T' standing for Trent
or Tim. Unfortunately the details emailed to them by the
Preternatural Regulating Bureau
hadn't been clear on the
guy's name, but they knew the male was in his early twenties, the
son of Grift and his ex-wife, Marla. They had to take care of T.
Wilkins, and dust the Nosferatu that caused this devastating mess
before anyone else ended up infected or dead.

Derek took careful steps, making sure to keep
his handheld crossbow ready. He would only have one chance to get
off a shot. If he missed, it could cost him his life. Sweat
trickled down the side of his face even though the temperature was
a crisp forty-five degrees.

Reaching the end of the house, he leaned
against the siding and waited for Axel and Wade to be in position.
The paint on the eaves above him were peeling, but otherwise the
Wilkins' house was well maintained. It was a two-story home in the
midst of charming suburbia, a good neighborhood where most would be
thrilled to make their home. Where the neighbors knew each other
and probably had a block party every
Fourth of July
.

He once dreamed of such a life—boring,
mundane…normal…

However, he'd been born into the hunter's
life without a choice in the matter. The Hayes family hunted down
vampires, demons, basically anything that used humans as their
playthings…or their meal.

When most children played outdoors with their
friends and rode bikes to the park or played some kind of sport, he
and his siblings were given years of grueling training to kill
Otherworldly beings. He'd killed his first vampire on his tenth
birthday; a bloody long battle, but his training had kept him
alive.

He had two brothers and one sister. He could
rely on all his siblings to have his back, but he was closest to
his sister Cassandra…or at least he used to be. A few months back,
she'd been sent to the Hamptons to find and kill a vampire from the
Oiche Sith sept, but instead she did the stupidest thing
imaginable—she fell in love with the blood drinker. A great big
no-no. Hunters did NOT fall for their prey.
Stake and dust
was the Hayes' motto. You didn't invite the preternatural being
back to your place for a nightcap. He knew all this, had it drilled
into his head the rights and wrongs of a hunter's life, but he
still envied his sister's audacity to defy the odds and find love
with a creature they all thought incapable of such a feeling.

He shook his head to clear his thoughts. Now
was not the time to think about his sister's life choices. The vamp
they hunted wouldn't want to be all nice and cozy. Rip his throat
out...yep, but he didn't like to play nice either.

From where he stood, he could see a swing set
with a slide and bars. It saddened him to think Kylie Wilkins would
never again enjoy an afternoon in the sun. The vamp devoured Kylie
Wilkins. Only a pool of blood in her bedroom was left of the little
girl. These nasty fellows thought of children as a delicacy and
they didn't waste a morsel.

Finally, the familiar static tickled his ear
and Axel's voice came through the earpiece.

"Ready?"

"Ready to stake and dust," he replied.

"Let's do it on three. One…two…Go," Axel's
war cry caused his ears to ring. He really wished his brother
wouldn't do that. He charged, too, expecting to see the vamp
waiting for them, but the yard stood empty. He met his brothers'
gazes from where he stood. Axel in his leather jacket and lethal
glare, made him look like a leader of a motorcycle gang, wicked
guns, broadsword and all. Wade sported a black Stetson that had
seen better days, worn out jeans, T-shirt with the logo of some
country band he'd gone to see, and a pair of snakeskin cowboy
boots. Country singer came to mind. Well, all except for the lethal
claymore he gripped in his hand instead of a guitar. No doubt he
sported daggers and other weapons in his jean jacket.

He shifted his gaze, searching for any sign
of where the vamp hid. The creature had to be near.

When they arrived at the Wilkins' home, they
found the Nosferatu in Kylie's room, rummaging through her drawers.
Most likely hunting for a souvenir to take back to his nest, a
memento of his successful kill.

No, the vamp hadn't left. He wouldn't leave
without what he came here to retrieve.

A whoosh of wind blew the ends of his hair
off the base of his neck. "Look alive, bros," he warned his
brothers as he spun in the direction, he believed the vamp to be,
with his weapon ready to shoot.

"Holy effin' hell," Wade cursed. His Stetson
no longer sat upon his head, but lay a few feet to the left of him,
but Wade knew better than to let this distract him.

The vamp toyed with them, flitting in between
them like a ghost before hiding in the shadows.

The chains clicking like wind chimes drew his
attention to the swing set. The swing blew in the breeze. He
narrowed his eyes and shifted his gaze toward the large oak tree,
the vamp sat no more than a few feet away among the foliage and
flowers. Two glowing red eyes peered back at him. "Gotcha." His
forefinger pressed on the trigger and the arrow flew.

The vamp bellowed and stumbled forward. Derek
didn't waste any time and loaded another arrow, but the vamp had
already dislodged the weapon from his shoulder and flitted.

"Behind you," Wade shouted.

Derek heard his brother's warning as he swung
around to fire off another shot. The vamp stood a foot away with
his hands outstretched and his fangs a nasty length meant for
tearing. If he'd been a millisecond slower, he would have been this
vamp's next victim. The vamp fell to his knees then face forward,
landing hard. He had hit the vamp's heart, paralyzing him, but the
creature was far from dead.

Derek rolled his left shoulder to loosen it
up. Too bad the legends had it all wrong. A simple stake to the
heart didn't dust a vamp; the wood only immobilized it. To truly
kill a blood drinker, they had to relieve it of its head. This took
a good deal of muscle, but once done the blood drinker literally
turned to ash.
Yeah, dust to dust, ashes to ashes…yada yada
yada…

"Do you want to do the honors or shall I."
Axel leaned on his sword, waiting for his reply.

"I'm good. Go for it."

Axel strode forward and rolled the Nosferatu
over. The vamp snarled and snapped its jaws. He wished the stake
through the heart rendered the vamp's vocal chords, too.

"Don't think this is over hunters," the vamp
spat.

"Damn, it is an ugly bastard," Wade grimaced.
He placed his hat on his head.

"Where is Wilkins?" Not that Derek expected
the vamp to be forthcoming, but life sometimes was full of
surprises.

It snickered. "Double the trouble." It
chortled again. "His gal is a real pal, too."

Derek exchanged glances with his
brothers.

"Just
off
the wanker." Wade bored
easily, but it would be better to hear what the fiend had to say
first.

"So Wilkins has a girlfriend?" Derek
asked.

"Girl, yep. Friend, yep." Then he laughed
again and gurgled up blood when he chugged his spit wad. "Double
the trouble." He paused then and sniffed the air. He leveled his
gaze on Axel. "You smell different, hunter."

Derek frowned and stared at his brother. Axel
didn't answer, but lifted his sword and brought it down with one
swift move. The head rolled to the side, still grinning. It
cracked, shriveled, and then disintegrated into a pile of ash,
seconds before the body followed suit.

A screech from behind them, made them whirl
around to see a young male, early twenties and no doubt a vampire
with his fangs showing. He was perched on the roof of the patio
cover, glaring—his eyes glowed stoplight red.

"Mr. T. Wilkins," Derek murmured. Had to be.
What other vamp would be so put out that the Nosferatu met its
death? He hadn't expected the guy to be hanging out with his maker,
but perhaps the vamp was teaching his new recruit how to hunt for
prey.

"You're dead!" T. Wilkins screeched as he
leapt off the roof, sailing through the air like a bat taking
flight.

Wade did the honors and his dagger flew from
his fingertips, hitting Wilkins squarely in the chest, right where
his vampire heart lay beneath. The newly made vamp fell to the
ground mid-flight like a stone effigy.

They strode over to the last remaining
Wilkins. He looked momentarily stunned as if he couldn't wrap his
mind around why his brain worked and his limbs had taken a
snooze.

"So who's your girlfriend?" Wade asked. "Did
you turn her, vamp?"

Wilkins blinked then snarled. "Go to
hell."

"I'll consider the holiday if you cooperate."
Wade sat on his haunches next to Wilkins and rifled through the
vamp's pockets. He retrieved his wallet and stood.

"Give that back," Wilkins demanded.

"In a moment, vamp. We want to take a
looksie." Wade pulled out the driver's license. "We have a winner,
boys. This is Trent Wilkins." He leafed through the other
compartments of the wallet. "Twenty dollars." He pocketed the
money, which had Trent cursing and snarling all over again. "And…"
He held up a photo with a frown.

"What's wrong?" Axel asked and Wade handed
him the photo.

"Oh, hell." Axel then thrust the photo to
Derek.

Derek stared at the photo. Trent and… another
Trent? "He has a twin?"

Trent chortled. "My brother will wipe
your—"

Wade pressed his boot into Trent's windpipe.
"Shut the eff up. If anyone's doing anything, it's us. Got it?
Blink if you got it," he demanded.

Trent's eyelids closed and reopened.

"Good." Wade removed his boot and let the
vamp breathe again. "Now if you help us out, I just might see fit
to let you go."

Trent licked his lips. "You'll let me go?" he
asked.

"I said I might, didn't I?" Wade tipped his
hat back on his head.

Trent was silent for a moment, processing his
options and coming up with one. "Tim's my brother and his girl is
Sloane McBride."

Derek's gaze narrowed onto the vamp with
renewed interest. Sloane McBride? He'd known a Sloane McBride in
high school. Thick dark hair, light eyes, kissable lips… His breath
hitched at the thought of her, but really, what were the chances
that it was the same girl? Crap, he really hoped it wasn't. He
really liked her. He had kissed her… more than a few times. He
shifted his weight uncomfortably and focused his attention on
Trent's next words.

"Don't know if my brother has changed her or
not," Trent rambled on.

"We'll need an address," Wade said.

Tim didn't have the street number, but he had
the street name, the color of the house and the name of the dog.
Good enough to roll.

Wade turned toward Axel who stood leaning on
the hilt of his broadsword. It was an ancient weapon belonging to a
highlander back in the sixteenth century. Axel kept it in good
shape and extra sharp. "He's all yours." Wade stepped aside and
Axel took his place.

"Hey, you said you'd let me go." Trent's
voice held a note of panic.

"I said I might consider letting you go,"
Wade said with a grin. "I considered… Ain't goin' to happen."

Trent's fangs lengthened as Axel brought down
the sword. Trent's mouth opened in a silent scream before crumbling
into dust like his fallen master. Axel wiped the sword off on the
grass.

Derek eyed his older brother, Axel. He'd
become distant in the last few months. Granted he wasn't much of a
talker in the first place, but now more often than not, he kept his
time with them at a minimum. "So what do you think the vamp meant
by you smelled different?" Derek smirked.

Axel's gaze riveted to his in alarm before he
concealed it with a smart mouth response. "How in the hell am I
supposed to know how the vamp thinks? Maybe he didn't like my
cologne."