Stealing Fire (Bad Boys Of The Underworld Book 5) (13 page)

“You, um, you should’ve told me.” She couldn’t think straight when he was this close to her.

“When will you admit it? That was your old life. You’re mine now.” He pushed away from her and strode to the stairs, never once looking back at her. As his footsteps pounded on the steps, he called back, “Dean is taking Reno to the vet in half an hour.”

Ella let her head fall back against the door.
What was she supposed to do about him?

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E
lla narrowed her eyes at the light switch all the way across the room.
Should she walk the short distance to flip it on?
There was still just enough sun for her to make out the words in her book, but it was starting to get darker.

Sighing in defeat, she moved to get up but stopped abruptly when the air in front of her blurred. A second later, Cade stood in front of her.

She threw her book down. “Haven’t you ever heard of knocking?”

Cade held up a finger over his mouth. Softly, he said, “I saw something on the cameras. Not really sure what. Could just be a coyote or something. I’m going to check it out. You should probably hang tight.”

“You’re not afraid I’m going to run if I’m left alone?”

Cade drew his brows together. “Since I’m making sure nothing that might want you dead is lurking in those woods, I’d recommend staying inside.”

Ella searched his face, looking for any sign he was kidding. Nothing.

She shook her head.
Where could she go if she ran anyway?
Lucian would find her. She could run to China and he would still be able to track her down and drag her back. “Isn’t it too light for vampires?”

“There are other beasts besides vampires. Besides, at this time of day, there are plenty of shadows to keep them from burning too bad.”

Ella turned to the window, arms crossed over her chest. “Whatever. Go. Try not to die.”

“I’ll do my best,” he muttered.

“Oh, wait,” she called as he started to disappear. “Can you turn the light on as you go?”

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L
ucian rapidly blinked his eyes as he maneuvered his car through the dark, winding roads that led up to his compound.

He’d planned to get back sooner, but after Dean dropped Reno off to have his little soldiers removed, Lucian took the car to do some discreet checking up on Ella’s father while Dean transported to New York to handle some business.

Things weren’t looking too good for the old man. He was locked down tight in the hospital, with a police guard posted outside his door. If they hadn’t charged him in Ella’s disappearance yet, they would soon.

Which meant he’d have to call in a favor with the vampires to get the police to think Ella’s disappearance was voluntary.

He shook his head as his nerves started to tingle. The sun had just disappeared behind the dense forests of Maine. It was deserted enough that he could probably change without scarring the minds of any innocents with his myotis form, but he decided not to chance it. He should be back to the safety of the compound in five minutes anyway.

He curved around the next corner as the blast hit. A sudden burst of light blinded him right before his car was thrown from the road as though it was nothing more than a toy.

The next few seconds seemed to tick by in slow motion. He reached out for something to brace himself with, but nothing was safe when being hurled through the air. Instead, he held his forearms over his face just as the metal of the truck’s body smashed into the trees.

The car tilted in the shockwave of the explosion and landed on its side with Lucian’s window resting against the forest floor.

He blinked his eyes a few times as he reached for his seat belt and tried to get his bearings. He could transport to the compound but needed to know what threat he was dealing with first.

The explosion could’ve been an accident caused by some sort of chemical truck, but Lucian had his doubts. A blast big enough to crash the pickup into a tree and flip it over seemed too forceful for an accident.

The damn seat belt wouldn’t unlatch. Groaning, he threw his head back, grimacing at the pain in his head he hadn’t noticed until that moment, and focused on a spot on the street to transport to.

A moment later, he felt himself reforming on the pavement across from his wrecked car. He heard a stick crunch behind him; a sharp sting shot through his neck just as he turned to investigate.

He ripped out the dart as his eyes scanned the dark trees surrounding him. Not a sound came from the forest. Whoever—whatever—it had done this, they were holding their ground.

Lucian tried to transport himself to Ella’s room, but nothing happened. Cold fear rippled through him, a most unfamiliar sensation.

He cleared his mind and focused all his concentration on getting to Ella. Once again, nothing. “Fuck.”

A branch being pushed aside sounded from behind him, and Lucian decided it was best to abandon his position. He slunk through the forest, careful not to step on any sticks that would betray his location. He wasn’t used to having to conceal his steps. Normally he would leapfrog through space to get to wherever he needed to go.

He’d been trained in the art of moving stealthily, but that was ages ago. He wasn’t a small man, and the forest floor was littered with dry needles and branches, all just waiting to give away his position.

It only took a few steps before something slammed into him. Lucian hit the nearest tree, feeling as though he’d just been run over by a semi-truck. He fell onto the dirt and pushed himself up. All he saw was darkness. Despite what his eyes told him, he knew he wasn’t alone.

He could feel the vampire stalking him.

Lucian closed his eyes, using his other senses to find the hunter. He didn’t hear a single footstep or indrawn breath, but he felt the subtle shift in the air as the vampire struck. Lucian was ready.

He rolled away at the last second. The vampire’s fist struck the ground with such force that there was a one-foot hole where Lucian’s head would’ve been.

In the split moment the vampire was distracted, Lucian wrapped his arms around his neck and twisted, the sudden snapping the only sound in the darkness.

The vampire twitched and writhed in Lucian’s arms. Breaking the neck wouldn’t kill him like it would a mortal, but it weakened them, making their movements uncoordinated and slower. Giving Lucian the advantage.

It would’ve been easier and faster to rip off the vampire’s head, but the blood would draw all of the vampire’s friends, and Lucian didn’t have time for any more fights. Even now, they were making their way to the house. He prayed Cade would hear the danger and transport Ella to safety before they dosed him with whatever was grounding Lucian.

He dropped the vampire to the ground, pacing to the nearest tree and ripping off a branch. The vampire struggled to crawl away. He was still faster than a human, but not faster than Lucian. He easily caught up to the injured man and rolled him on his back. As soon as he had a clear shot, he rammed the makeshift stake into the vampire’s heart.

The vampire’s claws scraped at the branch, but it was too late. After ten seconds, the struggles stopped and the vampire lay motionless.

Lucian stared down at the dead body. The vampire was bald; various tattoos covered his neck and head. He knew hundreds of other markings in the same style would cover the vampire’s arms, legs, and torso. It was the most obvious way to spot one of the invading rebels.

Wherever they came from, tattoos were their status symbols and personal diaries. The most skilled fighters had little to no skin visible. The one at his feet had probably seen a few battles but wasn’t exceptionally experienced.

Lucian was.

He ripped the branch from the dead vampire and continued on toward the house.

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A
ngry music blared in Ella’s ears. She closed her eyes and let the wails of Halestorm take her to that small place in her mind where she was allowed to scream and fight. She wished Reno was here. She would’ve liked to have something furry, cuddly, and completely nonthreatening around.

She hadn’t spoken to Cade since he left her alone over two hours ago. She expected him to pop in and let her know everything was good, but so far he was a no-show.

Could he be in danger? No.
If he saw anything remotely threatening, he’d take her to safety. She was Lucian’s number-one priority, therefore Cade’s number-one priority. She’d kept herself in her bedroom for the most part, only leaving to go to the bathroom, but she hadn’t heard anyone moving around downstairs.

Shouldn’t Dean be back by now?
He left with Reno hours ago. If Cade had been really worried, he would’ve called Dean and he could’ve transported to help out.

For all she knew, they were playing video games or something strangely normal while in their creepy monster bodies right below her.
What had Lucian called it?
Myotis form.

The song switched, from an angry anthem to a softer ballad, and Ella grimaced.
Screw the love songs.
She wanted angry, vengeful women songs. Some Alanis maybe. Heck, at this point Katy or Taylor would probably work.

Ella skipped to the next track and heard a creak coming from the stairs in the few seconds of silence. She paused the MP3 player and listened, trying to hear whether Lucian was coming up to his room.

He didn’t use the stairs a lot, but it wasn’t impossible for him to get the urge to work his legs. Another creak sounded, and it sounded as if it came from the second story. Ella frowned and took off the headphones. The old house squeaked plenty when her three roommates/captors moved around, but the soft and subtle sounds coming from below her was different.

Someone was trying really hard to keep their movements disguised.

Now that all her attention was on the creaks, she realized there were at least four others in the house. No one was talking, but the house was very vocal. Ella had only been there a bit over a week, but she’d already memorized the normal moans and groans of the old Victorian.

How could they have gotten past Cade? Why wouldn’t he have called for help?

All she could think was that he was either incapacitated or dead, but she tried not to let her mind dwell on those thoughts. A cold chill snaked down her spine. She needed to get out of this house.

She stood and moved for the door but stopped mid-step. If she stepped on that board, they would hear her. She changed her direction and headed toward the vanity. There must be something she could use as a weapon.

What killed vampires?
Destroy the heart, rip off the head, fire.
Great.
She was basically dead.

She winced at the negative thought.
You can do this. You’re a survivor.

If she couldn’t fight, she could run. Except they could move faster than her and had a better sense of smell than Reno.

You can do this.

If she couldn’t run, she’d have to hide. She didn’t know how to mask her scent, though.
Would rolling in mud be enough or would it just make her really dirty when she died? Was there any mud around her? When was the last time it rained?