would keep her dry. “You don’t have to. You point me in the right
direction, and I’ll take care of her. It’s my responsibility, not yours.
You’ve done your job.”
Those clear green eyes rolled back. “Stuff it, sweetheart. Don’t
give me the lone warrior routine. I’m still a freaking vampire, and I
have my pride. Besides, my cousins would kick my ass if they found
out I sent their wife in to face a hag and her nasty little cat while I
stayed safe and dry in my tent. I’m going with you, and that’s that.
Now, since we’ve gone ahead and acknowledged that we’re about to
die, how about some end-of-the-world sex? If we’re going out, we
should go out with a bang and a really good orgasm.”
Meg pointedly zipped up her jacket. “You’re worried Beck and Ci
will be upset if you send me in alone, but you think they’ll be okay
with a little infidelity?”
“It’s for a good cause,” Dante explained innocently. “Besides, if
they don’t understand and we happen to survive and they happen to
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survive, then the ass-kicking I get will be totally worth it. And if you
do anal, that would make my death so much more meaningful.”
“Dante, I might shoot you myself,” Meg promised as she pulled
the hood over her head.
“What are you going to shoot me with?” Dante zipped up his own
jacket. “And what was that cool-looking toy you hid in your jacket?”
Meg stopped and stared at the vampire, trying to figure out if he
was joking. “You don’t know what a gun is?”
“No.” Dante pulled the hood of his jacket over his red-gold hair.
“What does it do?”
If the vampires didn’t have guns, then there was no way Liadan
would know what was coming.
“They kill people, my friend.” Meg felt a deep satisfaction that
she had the upper hand. “And here’s something even better. I’ll make
you a deal. If you manage to survive, I’ve got a little present for you. I brought back three bottles of the strongest sunscreen you can buy at
Target. I’m sure that one of those brilliant vampire scientists will be
able to reverse engineer something from them.”
Dante’s eyes lit up. “Oh, yeah, they can, and I’ll be the one who
brought it to them. This, Meg, is going to get me out of refurb hell.
Nice. I’m totally going to live. Profits are on the line. No vampire
goes down when profit is on the line.”
“I thought you might say something like that,” Meg replied,
heading for the door to the tent. “But, Dante, I’m going to need a cut.”
She let the flap close behind her as she heard the vampire curse.
* * * *
Meg looked through Dante’s binoculars. They gave a close view
of Beck and Cian’s small fortress, even through the rain. Dante eased
down next to her and nudged her carefully. He pointed to a figure
standing mere feet from the green sanctuary. A black cat twitched
anxiously around her ankles. Kitty didn’t like the storm, it seemed.
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It was Liadan all right, but she didn’t look the way she had before.
She stood on the ground with her hands at her sides. Her previously
pristine dress was soaked and caked with mud. There was a deer
walking toward her as though she had called it. In an instant, Liadan
was attacking the gentle creature, slitting its throat from ear to ear.
“She uses the blood to strengthen her spells.” Dante leaned close.
There was a shiver in his voice. “I wish she would use a spell to make
her not look like that.”
Damn, girlfriend was ugly. Liadan had shed the vestiges of her
public persona. Her face was withered and cracked. Her hair, though
still blonde, was gnarled, as though rats had nested in it. She had long
fingernails, and she used them to extract the blood she needed.
The hag began chanting something in a language Meg didn’t
understand. After a long moment, some of the vines protecting the
sanctuary retreated. Now Meg could begin to see the walls of the
structure. The minute Liadan managed to unveil the door, she would
be on the kings.
“She’s been doing it for days,” Dante explained. “She’s getting
close.”
If only Meg could stop the driving rain. It poured down in sheets
making visibility a real problem. While she could see Liadan’s body,
the downpour made it a hazy thing. Meg wasn’t sure she could
properly aim. She had practiced and learned to be a good shot. Still,
she didn’t want to risk it in this drenching downpour. She might only
get one real shot.
She couldn’t stop the storm, but she knew someone who could.
She had to hope her husbands weren’t so far gone that they couldn’t
respond. Silently, Meg put the binoculars down and opened the
connection she had with her husbands. She closed her eyes and sought
them with her mind. A tendril of psychic energy brushed against her
mind. It felt like Cian. He reached out toward her. He was weak, so
weak, but Meg sent the message any way. She let her mind wrap
around his energy for a moment, almost pleading with him to be okay.
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After a long moment, the rain ceased.
Dante tensed beside her. He looked up as though he could figure
out why the rain had stopped. “Is that a bad sign? Does that mean
something’s wrong with Beck?”
Meg reached up and pulled the vampire lower. She didn’t want to
give up their position because now the hag was trying to figure out
what had happened, too. Liadan was paying attention to the forest
around her. The hag turned looking all around. Those black eyes of
hers flashed back and forth, taking in everything.
“Beck is fine. I made contact with Cian and asked him to shut off
the waterworks,” Meg whispered. The jacket Dante had provided her
with was set to camouflage mode. So far, the hag hadn’t seen them.
Meg couldn’t imagine that it wouldn’t take her long, though. Already
the black cat was staring in their general direction, her triangular head
tilted in a curious manner.
“I’ll take the hag, you get the cat.” Meg never took her eyes off
Liadan. She stared in almost helpless fascination. The hag appeared
bigger than she had before, her body stronger. There was no question
that Liadan was a predator.
Dante’s voice cracked just a bit. “I really don’t like cats. They’re
creepy. I’m more of a dog person.”
“I’m not asking you to take it as a pet,” Meg practically snarled
back at the vampire. “I’m asking you to kill it. I’m taking on the big,
scary hag. You can handle one little kitty.”
“We really need to talk about this new trend toward emasculating
me at every given opportunity,” Dante muttered. Meg stared at him,
her eyes narrowed. “I can handle the cat.”
“Do that.”
Meg pulled the gun out of the holster and shrugged out of the
confines of the jacket. She no longer felt the chill in the air. Her skin
was hot with the ant
icipation of the next few kill-or-be-killed
moments. Her heart was pounding as she faced down her enemy.
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Liadan was facing away. There wouldn’t be a better time. Meg stood
up.
“That’s not a good idea.” Dante tried to pull at her hand.
“Just take care of the kitty,” Meg shot back at him.
Meg looked out across the forest that separated them and took
aim. The cat hissed, the sound so much larger than it should have
been. It echoed through the forest. As the hag turned, Meg let out the
breath she had been holding and pulled the trigger.
The hag was quick, but not fast enough. She moved to the left.
Meg had been aiming at her heart. Blood bloomed across the hag’s
shoulder, and she shrieked as the hollow-point lodged itself in her
flesh. Meg cursed when Liadan staggered, but did not fall. She
remained on her feet despite the blood that was beginning to soak her
dress.
Liadan snarled as her eyes found Meg. Meg pulled the trigger, but
Liadan moved, jumping across the space. One moment, the hag was
there and the next she was ten feet away, the bullet flying useless
through the forest. Liadan held her good hand and spoke some words
Meg didn’t recognize.
It was as though a giant rush of pure energy struck Meg squarely
in the chest. It knocked her off her feet, but she didn’t hit the ground.
She flew back, the air sucked from her lungs. The hag grew smaller as
Meg raced backward through the forest. Everything seemed to spin
out of control. The weight of the gun in her hand was the only thing
that seemed real. She clutched it tightly and didn’t try to fight her
flight. Her back hit the rough bark of the tree, but Meg let her head
fall limply forward.
Breathe. Beck’s voice spoke inside her mind. He was calm and
patient, and Meg suddenly didn’t feel so alone. Beck was with her,
and he was lending her his experience.
Meg dragged in a breath as her body slid to the muddy forest
floor.
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Stay down and take cover. Don’t panic. You can do this. Take out her heart and she’ll die.
“Easier said than done,” Meg complained quietly as she shoved
the gun in her holster and forced her aching body to crawl through the
mud toward a downed log. Every inch she crawled made her bones
ache, but she’d held on to the gun.
“So, the little bitch made it back.” The hag’s voice boomed
through the forest. “I wonder how much that cost you. What did you
have to pay the demon for the trip back, little Meg? And he gave you
some form of magic as well. You must have given him a lot.”
Meg nudged her head up, peeking over the log. Dante was still in
his hiding place. He was crouched down, his eyes seeking something.
The cat prowled not far away. Her nose scented the air with predatory
grace. The hag paced back and forth as though the pain from her arm
was bugging her. Her black eyes scanned the area up and down,
seeking any sign of where her enemy had gone.
“I had to sacrifice a virgin to that damn demon,” the hag admitted.
“And look what it got me.”
Meg clenched her fists together. She knew what the witch was
doing. She was trying to force her out. The hag had killed Bri, and she
knew that would make Meg crazy. The voice inside her head was
urging patience.
“I slit that stupid girl’s throat, and you’re back anyway,” Liadan
said with a sigh. “Do you have any idea how messy that can be? She
had a lot of blood in her. It should have gotten me something better
than this. Ah, Ain found your friend.”
There was a loud hiss and then something that sounded like a five-
year-old girl’s scream. Apparently, Dante really didn’t like cats.
Dante landed on his back as the cat pounced. Ain, as Liadan had
called her, was a hissing mass of claws and sharp teeth. Blood
streaked across Dante’s face as the cat’s claws found purchase in his
flesh. Dante wrapped a hand around the cat’s throat and squeezed.
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“I changed my mind,” Dante yelled. “I’ll take the hag. You take
the cat.”
“Too late,” said a voice right beside Meg’s ear. Meg turned and
the hag was at her side, so close Meg could smell her fetid breath.
Meg twisted her body and rolled up into a crouch, every muscle
screaming in pain. The hag’s fist came out, lancing from her body. It
crossed Meg’s jaw and the impact snapped her head back, the gun
slipped from her hand. She groped for the gun, but Liadan was too
close. Forcing herself to keep moving, Meg kicked out as Liadan tried
to jump on her. She heard a satisfying groan from the hag as Meg
made contact with her gut. Meg got to her feet, and Beck was
whispering to her.
Take the advantage.
Meg leapt up, catching the low limb of a thick oak tree. She
swung her legs back and came forward with all the force she could
muster. She planted her boots in Liadan’s chest as the hag got up.
Liadan hit the muddy forest floor. She jumped on the downed woman,
planting her knees on Liadan’s torso. She was taking no chances this
time.
Meg placed the barrel of the gun against the hag’s chest. She
steadied herself to pull the trigger when a terrible pain lashed across
her back.
Ain leapt on Meg’s back, scratching and clawing through tender
flesh. Meg tried to get a hold of the blasted thing, but it sank its teeth into the back of her neck and wouldn’t let go.
“Oh, no, kitty cat,” Dante growled.
Meg looked up and saw Dante in full claw and fang mode. He was
bloody. He looked like he’d had just about enough of cats for the day.
“We weren’t done, kitty,” Dante said.
Meg immediately felt relief as Dante hefted the cat off her. She
pulled the gun to finish off the hag, but Ain had bought Liadan just
enough time. Liadan grinned up at Meg and thrust her hand forward.
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Meg flew back, and this time her head cracked against the log
where she had previously found safety. She saw stars and the world
started to go dark around her.
You stay awake. The voice was ferocious now. It slapped at her
mind and forced her eyes open. It wouldn’t let her go under.
Liadan fell on her. She sat on Meg’s waist, holding her down with
the bulk of her body and wrapped her good hand around Meg’s throat.
She tried to struggle, but Meg couldn’t get her legs to move under the
heavy weight of the witch.
“I need more blood to get through that fucking wall the king
erected,” Liadan explained with a ghoulish grin.
Meg felt for the cool metal of the .357 Magnum. She’d dropped it
when she hit her head. Her fingers clawed through the mud,
desperately trying to find it. Liadan’s hands were choking the life out
of her. Meg fought for breath, but the hag tightened her hold.
“Do you know what I’m going to do to those boys when I get a
hold
of them?” Liadan moved close. Meg could smell the blood on
her breath. Her stomach turned. “I’m going to gut them. I’m going to
pull their insides out. Why don’t I give you a demonstration?”
The witch cackled and pulled back, showing off the way her
fingers changed into thick, dirty-looking claws. Meg dragged in air
the instant she could. Liadan pulled her clawed hand back just as
Meg’s fingers met metal. Pulling the gun up, Meg brought it between
her chest and the hag’s.
Meg pulled the trigger just before those knives on the hag’s
fingers met her flesh. The report boomed through the forest.
Liadan looked down at the hole in her chest dumbly before falling
over dead.
Meg was shaking and trying to breathe as she pulled herself up.
Dante walked over, holding a limp body in one clawed hand. His
handsome face was a mass of scratches, but his clothes had already
mended themselves. The nanites were fast little suckers.
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“You okay?” Dante growled down at the cat and then hurled it
through the forest.
“I’ll live.” But just barely. Meg stared at Liadan’s body. The flesh
of her face was wrinkled and desiccated, as though the body before
her had lain dead much longer than a few moments.
“If I never see another fucking cat, it will be too soon.” Dante
offered her a steadying hand. “It didn’t even taste good. It tasted evil.”
Meg managed a laugh. Adrenaline was still coursing through her
system making her feel jittery even as a fierce joy curled in her heart.
She was alive. “What does evil taste like?”
“A little mangy,” Dante replied. “I’ve decided I’m a lover, not a
fighter. I’m rich, damn it. I’m the only son of one of the most
powerful families on my plane. From now on, I’m paying poor people
to fight my battles. Better yet, next time tell Beck to handle his own
shit.”
Meg’s hands shook, but that didn’t matter now. “I’ll tell him,”
Meg turned to the cabin overrun with vines. “Better yet, tell him
yourself.”
Meg managed a smile as she looked toward the little sanctuary
where her husbands lay in safety. They were still weak, but she felt