“Is that the door going up?”
“Yup,” Drew says while hustling across the open space between our location and the cleared airstrip. Ignoring the stitch in my side, I hurry to keep up. “I don’t hear an engine yet,” he says. “She must be planning on pushing the plane into position on the runway to remain undetected as long as possible.”
Adrenaline spikes through me as I sprint alongside Drew. What the hell are we doing? Shouldn’t we be waiting for backup or something? I sure as hell don’t know how to fight my way out of a paper bag.
Strength courses through my frame, along with gut-wrenching fear. Despite never being in shape and never being good at sports, with each pounding step we took through the forest I felt more alive than ever in my life. We race around the corner just as the propellers come into view. Drew uses his momentum to slide under the body of the plane in a perfect imitation of a runner forced from third closing in on home plate, to come at the slight, black-clothed figure on the opposite side.
I stutter to a stop and look around for a weapon of some kind. Drew must have engaged her already because I can hear blows landing on flesh and the plane has stopped moving forward.
Gasoline and engine oil coat the cold air, leaving a faint metallic taste in the back of my throat. A few expelled breaths and curses reach me as I scramble for a weapon.
Come on. Come on. There’s got to be something here near the doors I can use. There! I latch onto a crowbar and head around the tail to the far side of the plane. I rush in to join, barreling at the slight figure with the make-shift weapon raised.
Despite her blood loss and weakened state, she steps nimbly to the side and grabs my coat. My own momentum is used against me and I go sailing across the hangar. Pain spikes through my spine as I crash into some shelving and metal parts. I fall to the concrete, and large pieces of plane fall on me. Jesus, was that landing gear?
The agony in my back crests; it threatens to overwhelm my mind and drive me to lose consciousness—and then winks out. My vision clouds and I reach out through my bond, hoping I can open the link back up that Rafe closed in the clearing.
I push hard, screaming with my mental energy for all I can,
She’s at the air strip!
Judging by the grunts and muffled sounds of more landed strikes, it appears Drew is holding steady, for now. The hangar springs back into clarity and I see my seethe-mate keeps the quiet woman occupied with a long rusted pole, brandishing it like a sword.
They dance back and forth; she’s weaponless and weak, but still able to defend herself. She stumbles and Drew closes in. With just her bare fists and flying feet, she keeps the younger vampire at bay.
The crowbar is no longer in my possession, having clattered out of my grip when I was unceremoniously tossed by the ninja-vamp. Ninja-vamp? I shake my head while dragging my ass off the concrete. God, that sounds like a cheesy Saturday morning double feature. I grab a long screwdriver lying nearby on the floor. Maybe if he keeps her distracted, I can come at her from behind. Unwilling to examine the implausibility of me sneaking up successfully on a ninja, I step out from behind a dissected engine, determined to help.
Drew’s repeated thrust and parry with the skilled fighter never wavers. His eyes focus on her black-clad limbs and no words break the concentration they have on one another. A wound in Emiko’s side, whether old or new, I can’t tell, leaves a trail of blood to trickle down and land on the floor.
Their footing becomes slick in the patches of red and once or twice they both falter, but catch themselves before they go down. I ease out, stepping as silently as I can, and inch my way across the expanse of the hangar.
Please, don’t look my way. Please, don’t look my way,
tumbles through my mind over and over again as I creep closer to the two. Not once does Drew glance in my direction to reveal my advancing position on Emiko’s unprotected back.
Ten feet now separates me from them.
Quiet as a mouse. No one can hear you.
I slink up as close as I can, waiting for the perfect moment to strike. At one point, their positions change slightly and Emiko’s back is no longer to me. Her head never moves, but stays fixed on Drew. I can’t tell if she’s seen me out of the corner of her eye or not.
Drew starts to tire as the ex-enforcer presses forward, driving him with pummeling hands and feet toward a dark corner of the hangar where the curved wall will hinder his movements.
Quiet. Each step like air. Can’t see me.
Her slim back stills for a moment as she locks both hands onto the rusted pole, trying to wrest it from Drew’s grasp. She pulls it free, overpowering him despite still recovering from the silver poison and being shot, executes one fluid motion, intending to turn the weapon on Drew.
Now!
I scream in my own mind. Thrusting with all my might, I aim at the edge of her left shoulder blade.
The long, flat-headed screwdriver pierces flesh and bone. It sinks in deep, the hilt halting its progress. The scent of fresh blood spills into the dimly lit air. The rogue crashes to her knees and I follow her down, keeping the thin piece of metal lodged in her heart.
“Where the hell did you come from?” Drew rasps while drawing the pole out of her hands. Using it like a bat, he sends it flying at her skull, bashing in the bone and splattering blood all over the two of us.
Shaking like a leaf, I don’t answer. I watch as Emiko lists to the side and falls on the concrete floor. Drew reaches behind his back and takes out a compact hunting knife. Tossing it at me, hilt first he says, “Here, cut out her heart before she can heal.”
I catch the knife and stare at it in horror. “What?” My gut roils and terror fills me. I just stabbed someone and now I’m expected to cut out their heart? “You want me to do what?”
“I don’t know how you did it, but it was an honorable kill. At the end, she had me and she knew it.” At my panicked look he continues, “Look, I know it’s hard, but you’ve got to move fast or she’ll be like the Terminator and come back to kill us both.”
My limbs feel heavy, like I’m swimming through sludge. I pull the screwdriver out and push the damaged vampire onto her back. Her blood-covered eyes lock on me and I cringe.
“Don’t think about it, Paul. Just act. If it makes you feel any better, think of dressing a deer.”
My stomach lurches and I fight to keep from spewing. Oh, God. Is this what I signed up for? Can I be ruthless and live like this? The image Vivian projected of Coraline holding Bunny’s head aloft in the conference room snaps into my head. My wife’s face frozen in terror while blood dripped from her severed neck.
What would I do to protect my family?
The answer is simple: I’d do anything.
As I bend to complete the task, Emiko reaches up to wrap a hand around my throat. Pressure tightens as I fumble with the knife. Sliding the well-honed blade through fabric, I slice deep into her flesh.
In a final push of will, determined to finish the job, I close my mind off from the screams pounding inside my skull.
Howls fill the night as I
dodge bushes and trees. The smaller wolf dogs brush against my fur as we run through the darkness. Retching sounds reach our ears as the low group of airport buildings comes into view. We slow down, half of the pack breaking off to flank around the other side of the hangar.
Outside the entrance, we encounter Paul’s hunched form kneeling over a pool of blood in the snow.
“Oh God, Drew,” he says between gulps of air. “Something tasted bad in her blood.”
“Sorry, I made you do it. Must have been the silver bullet.” The vamp shrugs, a bulging sack dripping vampire blood held in one hand. “Or some of the silver poison was still in her organs. I bet that shit takes a while to flush out completely.”
“That makes sense,” Paul replies while wiping his mouth, he leans against the corrugated metal. “I doubt we could have taken her in a fair fight.”
“Speaking of which—how in the hell did you sneak up on her?”
I glance back at the dogs and dip my muzzle to convey my wishes to have them hang back. Sometimes I think they’re smarter than people. I edge into the small circle of light from the safety lights and Paul jerks with a start. “Christ, is that one of the werewolf hunters?” he lurches to his feet, stumbles. “Don’t let them touch the body, they’ll get sick, too.”
“No,” Drew says while walking closer, examining me. “I think it’s Jon.” I cough and drop my head down and up. A smile splits his face and he moves as if to pet me. A low growl issues from my throat and the vampire steps back, hands out in a placating gesture. “Yeah,” he laughs, “I’m pretty sure that’s him.”
Asa strolls out of the darkness, coming from deep within the hangar. “We left the windmills together, but once his pack joined us I gave them some space.”
Paul clutches his middle and turns to hurl once more. Once the spasm stops, he wipes a hand across his bloody mouth and glares at Asa. “Dude, would it fucking kill you to knock or something? Scared the blood out of me, literally.”
Asa pulls off his facemask and runs a hand over his shaven head. A smile splits his normal stern expression and he chuckles. “Do you mean to tell me you tried to drink her silver tainted blood? You’re lucky all you’re doing is puking.”
“It’s Drew’s fault. He made me sound like the biggest pussy in the world if I didn’t do it. ‘Drink from her neck—be a true vampire.’ Fucking prick.”
Drew scrunches up his face. “I’m not apologizing twice. It was a mistake. Get over it.”
Asa looks over at the wreckage on the right side of the hanger. “Damn, looks like I missed a good fight.” He saunters over to the corpse and pats it down to find the camera. He lifts it up and angles it in the dim light to read the back. “One time being up in the Arctic has its advantages.”
Drew steps closer to examine the camera. “What do you mean?”
“This camera can upload direct to the net.” He smiles. “But not if there’s no wi-fi signal.” He ejects the memory card and destroys it on the spot, crushing it on the concrete beneath a boot heel. At Drew’s raised eyebrow he says, “Not worth taking a chance.”
“Weren’t you curious to see the picture?”
“Why?” Asa stares at the older vampire intently. “So I could see Paul’s head buried in the snow?”
“Nah, just saying.”
Asa locks eyes with me and then looks back at Drew. “You weren’t thinking about keeping it were you?”
It’s apparent to me, by the expression on Drew’s face, he didn’t intend anything with his question, but he clearly understands where Asa is going with his assumptions. “Do I look like I have a death wish?”
Asa relaxes and the two start to push the plane back into the building. I head to the bathroom in the far corner, transform out of my wolf form, grab a set of clean, mechanics’ overalls and slip them on. The physical intensity of the change keeps the worst of the cold away, but it won’t last for long.
I pad barefoot back to the garage opening to see the dogs standing at the ready, far away from Paul and his pool of regurgitated blood. Ten sets of eyes wait for my command. “Home,” I say, following it with a loud clap of my hands. The half-breeds race off, playful yips filling the air as they disappear. They’ll make their way back to my cabin and their heated kennels in no time.
Drew’s voice comes from behind me. “Should we burn the heart here or burn it back at the inn?” Paul begins to retch again at the mention, while I stifle a laugh and reach for a rolled up mound of dirty fabric on a shelf.
Asa shakes his head at Paul’s poor luck and grabs one end of my bundle. “There’s a great spot near the pool wing. I used it for the others.”
“Yeah,” I say while we spread out the old, oily tarp. “The fire pit is nice. Too bad you undead bastards never get to use it in the summer.” I roll the body up and a slight pain shoots through my healing side.
“What do Vivian and Rafe do during that time of year?” Drew asks.
“The three of us, and maybe a few of the other employees, usually go to a tiny island they own off the southern tip of Argentina. It’s winter down there then.”
“‘Usually?’ Not this year?” Drew asks.
Pain and joy war for dominance in my middle, showing my conflictions over the new plan I discussed with Rafe earlier. “Most years the resort closes, and the employees do what they want. Some leave and visit with their families… others enjoy hunting the big game that migrates north.” Not willing to risk a tear internally, I motion to the vampire to pick up the body before I turn for the door. “You grab her and I’ll drive, okay?” I call back over my shoulder, expecting the others to follow.
A shuffling and murmur of voices trail behind me. I smack the “down” button on the wall as I walk past. The metal door starts its slow descent as Asa hustles past me to dump the tarp in the back of a nearby four-door pickup.
I throw open the squealing door and climb behind the wheel. Paul looks a little shaky still and Drew and Asa stand outside the truck while he tries to pull himself together. They don’t seem to know what to say to him. “You bloodsuckers coming or you plan on sitting with you thumbs up your asses all damn day?”
The three climb in, Paul still looking a little green. I start the engine and shut off the vents so we aren’t blasted with frigid air. We drive away from the air strip in silence, the headlights illuminating our way over the rough, but plowed, narrow road.
Overall, the general good vibe of surviving the ninja permeates the atmosphere of the truck cab. Weakened though she may have been, we all walked away—what more could anyone ask?
“You still didn’t answer my question,” Drew reminds me.
Excitement bubbles under my breastbone as a steel hand clamps around my heart. “Rafe suggested I stay here this season and keep the inn open.”
“Open to whom?” Asa asks. “It’s not like vampires will be coming up here when the sun shines 24/7.”
“No, but werewolves and other supernatural critters will.”
Paul shoots forward and grabs my shoulder, “Pull ov—”
I slam on the breaks before he even finishes his sentence. He thumps into the back of the passenger side seat and shoots me a glare. Cracking open the door, the chef leans out and spews.
“Push his ass out,” I say.
Asa looks at me in the rearview mirror. “Don’t you think that’s a little harsh?”
“You feel like cleaning poisoned vampire blood out of the floor mats and upholstery?”
With one shove, Asa sends Paul flying to the snow-covered pavement below. “Sorry, man.” A yelp reaches us as he pulls the door shut.
“Wait.” Drew says as I start to pull away. “He can ride in the bed of the truck.” He powers down his window and calls back to the pissed-off vampire. “Climb in the back, Paul.”
“Next to the body?” he says while scrambling his way over the truck’s side. “You guys are gems. Let me tell you.”
Drew closes his window to muffle the angry litany Paul shouts between retching.
I grin at some of the colorful insults he throws at his seethe-mates, “Am I understanding things right—Paul dealt the killing blow?”
Drew shakes his head. “I’m still not sure how he did it. He bumbled his first attack and then I never saw him again. I honestly thought he’d fled.”
From the backseat, Asa clears his throat. “Could he have been there and you just didn’t see him?”
“You mean like an illusion?” I ask.
Silence fills the cab, none of us wanting to answer the obvious question. I continue back to the main building, each of us lost in our own thoughts. Rafe approached me about his summer idea while Dria tracked Emiko. In hindsight, she should have killed the woman in the woods, when she had the chance.
The elaborate setup fooled us all. They knew we’d check out the rogue independently the moment she arrived. They must have planted the evidence to lead us down a trap of our own making.
I shake my head while pulling into the wide circular drive. Every light is on in the inn and the twinkle of the twisted blown-glass chandelier can be seen through the transom above the door. People mill about in the oversized foyer. A few partiers can be seen hanging over the third floor railing, dressed in leather and showing a lot of flesh.
I turn off the engine and let out a sigh. “Do any of us know what the story is regarding Coraline? Is she in there thinking Asa and Drew killed Emiko or what?”
“Vivian would have told us if she changed the plan, right?” Concern colors Drew’s tone.
“Let me call them,” Asa says, “and report what’s happened.”
I snort and look at him in the mirror. “Probably should have done that back at the air strip.” I pull the release handle to open the pickup’s door, and the screech sounds like a whisper compared to the blaring classic rock coming from the building. Asa stays in the cab while Drew and I lean together against the driver’s side fender.
Paul falls over the edge of the truck bed. “Whoo! I missed the party last time. Glad I’ll get to be at this one.”
I laugh. “Dude, you’re so fucked. You really think Vivian wants you puking on her wood floors and antique rugs?” I shake my head at his bewildered expression.
Drew pushes off the side of the truck. “I’ll take him round the kitchen entrance to the basement.”
“Noooo….” Paul yells while running hellbent into the dark, away from the pursuing Drew.
“You really think you can outrun me, Paul?” Drew calls, humor ringing out in his tone. “Think this through, man.” He leans down to scoop up some snow and sends it sailing after Paul’s head. “We can’t go in looking like this—we’re both covered in blood and you reek of vomit.”
I shake my head and glance back toward the inn, catching sight of one of Romeo’s werewolves, Spike, through the window. He’s the one with the penchant for wearing black and staring at me. One slender hip leans on a windowsill as his heavy-lidded gaze watches me through the glass.
A slight shimmer encases him for a moment and an athletic looking woman in men’s clothes with long, mahogany hair cascading past her shoulders winks at me. I straighten away from the door and wonder at what in the hell I’m seeing. In a flash, the form of the woman is gone and Spike smiles quick and winks before turning his back on me.
“What the fuck was that?”
Asa’s door creaks open and he slides out. “You talking to me?”
Confusion, hope, and despair run amok through my mind. Did I imagine he was a woman because I’m drawn to him? Is something else going on?
“Jon?” Asa pushes my shoulder. “You okay? You look like you just saw a ghost.”
A nervous laugh escapes me. “Nah. How crazy would that sound?”
“Come on, man. Let’s get inside. I’ve had enough of the cold to last me for days.”
Uncomfortable in party settings, and not ready to face Rafe and Dria’s coziness or awkward attempts to pretend there’s nothing wrong between us, I shake my head. “You go ahead. Someone’s got to take care of burning the heart.” With that, I grab the soggy bag he tossed in the truck bed and head around the right side of the building, taking the long way to the fire pit in the stone garden.
I plan on getting rip-roaring drunk tonight and indulging in some self-pleasure. I’ve got to get this freaky shit out of my head.