B005EMAYWS EBOK (16 page)

The sinister thought made her shudder. She was determined not to become Marius’ lover or feeder. With new resolve, she stepped to the window to examine it. Maybe there was a way to climb down to the ground from the window? The idea died before she’d had a chance to fully think it through. The bedroom window was secured with bars.

* * *

Marius stepped into the parlor where he knew he’d find Omar. He should have feared the ancient vampire, but he was beyond that now. Omar wouldn’t be pleased, but that didn’t matter. What mattered was binding Summer to him and taking her as his mate.

Omar must have felt his presence because he spoke without turning to look at Marius.

“You’ve brought a captive to our haven instead of killing her … why?” As he uttered the last word, her turned to glare at Marius with piercing eyes. His head was bald and he wore a red ceremonial robe embroidered with gold thread.

The vampire with the curly blond hair stepped into the room and whispered something in Omar’s ear. When she left, the ancient vampire again set his eyes on Marius. Faster than the blink of an eye, Omar was next to him, his large hand wrapped around his throat.

With little effort, Omar lifted Marius off the ground. “You dare to bring a shifter among us!”

“She has only … limited abilities,” Marius tried to force the words from his compressed vocal cords.

Omar dropped Marius and he fell to the ground. “We are not ready to confront the wolves yet. How could you have been so stupid? Her scent is everywhere.”

* * *

Ethan heard them climbing the stairs to his office. He could sense the presence of a wolf. Eying the door, he watched as it swung open and the group entered. He knew Lex, Nicole and Sarah, as well as, Alec and Darrien, but he had no idea who the delicate creature was that stood among them, or the giant man that his senses picked up as a wolf.

The young girl was the very essence of darkness and beauty. Her deep black eyes reflected the pain of a tormented soul - one that had known little happiness in life. She was petite, with delicate features that would have fit perfectly on an angel.

His gaze traveled from the girl to the rest of the group. Ethan was relieved to note that Darrien almost looked normal again. The scarring that had resulted from his exposure to the sun was faint and getting better each time he saw him.

Darrien stood there with his hand entwined with Sarah’s. It was heartwarming how the newlyweds were almost inseparable, considered they’d only found each other because Darrien had been sent to assassinate her.

“We need your help.” Sarah’s green eyes pleaded with him. “Summer has been taken. So far they haven’t found her body, which is encouraging, but we need to get her away from that vampire. Is there anything you can do?”

Ethan had heard about the murders that plagued Reno over the last month, but he wasn’t aware that Sarah’s friend had become a victim.

“I just don’t know,” he shook his head. “Reno isn’t my city.”

The wolf man with the long blond hair spoke up. “I don’t believe that she is still in Reno. I think that she is now in Louisiana.”

“Is it possible that the one that took her is one of Omar’s vampires?” Lex wanted to know.

“It’s hard to say. That killing spree in Reno is a lot like what has been going on everywhere, but something doesn’t fit.” Ethan frowned.

They were interrupted by the sound of someone rapping loudly on the office door. Dash stepped through the threshold. With him was a man with long black hair and the noble features of the Native American. The vampires in the room knew instantly that he was a wolf, but what they didn’t know is that he wasn’t just any shifter. Justin was the main man - the one that called the shots when it came to
Outerlands
and war with the immortals.

When Nicole saw Dash, she squealed with delight - rushing to throw her arms around his neck. “You made it back! I thought I’d never see you again.”

Everyone in the room stared wide-eyed in Gray Eagle’s direction. It was so quiet you could have heard a pin drop. Finally it was Lex that volunteered to give the leader of the
Sungmanitu
the bad news.

“She was taken by a vampire. We are in the process of trying to find her now.”

Justin’s eyes went from the color of dark chocolate to fiery yellow. A low growl emanated from his chest, forcing its way up through his throat. He threw back his head and roared. The bones in his face were twisting - morphing into something unrecognizable as human.

Anton stepped forward. “It was the Gatekeeper’s wish that you not be told of her fate yet. There is still a chance that we can save her.”

The wolf retreated momentarily. “Take me to Donavan,” Gray Eagle demanded in a deep - dangerous voice. There was murder in his eyes, but he seemed to sense the importance of maintaining control.

* * *

Summer’s eyes fluttered open. She was forced to bring a hand up to shield her eyes against the early morning sun. It had been so long since she’d seen the sun, its radiance was almost blinding. She felt strange, as if she wasn’t alone.

Had it been the sun that woke her, or something else?

The floor next to her bed creaked. Summer turned in that direction to see someone standing next to her bed - watching her. She was a pale and sallow looking girl with stringy brown hair and sunken eyes. The bite marks on the side of her neck had angry purple bruising around them. This girl was a feeder. Summer wondered if the girl was aware that she would soon die.

Summer had heard of Omar. He was the vampire that had been trying to kill her friend, Sarah. If she was among Omar’s vamps, Summer knew that she was in serious trouble. Even if Anton could find her, she didn’t know how much of a chance he would stand against these vampires, especially if he came alone. That would be just like Anton. He liked working alone. She could only hope that he knew better than to do so this time.

Summer was sure Anton was looking for her, though she had no idea how he’d be able to track her to Louisiana.

Reaching up to grasp Candy’s frail arm, she told the girl, “You know that you will die soon from loss of blood. You already look very weak.”

Candy pulled her arm from Summer and looked away, but not before she saw the sadness in the girl’s eyes. “It doesn’t matter. My life was over before Omar took me.”

It was then that Summer noticed the tracks on the girl’s arm. She was a junkie - someone that wouldn’t be missed. Vampires targeted these types of people. They were easy to conquer and there was no one to notice when they didn’t show up for dinner one night. They could disappear from the face of the earth and no one would even think to look for them.

Summer was saddened by the thought. She had no idea what life would have been like if she hadn’t had her family to give her love and support. She felt shame when she realized that only days before she’d thought of turning away from her family. Her father would have listened to her and considered her objections to this marriage. He’d always listened to her before.

“Why don’t we help each other?” Summer suggested. “You could help me get out of here and come with me. We could escape together and I can help you make your life matter again.”

Candy shook her head. “Life is actually bearable here. They give me just enough smack to fix me up and I don’t have to look for a bed at night.”

Summer’s heart was sitting in the pit of her stomach. Convincing a junkie to run away from their supplier would be nearly impossible. She was on her own.

Candy reached over and picked up a dress that had been flung over the chair. “This is what you are to wear,” she told Summer.

The gown was beautiful. It was made of red silk and black lace, but was old fashioned - out of style by at least a hundred years.

* * *

The vampire and the wolf scrutinized each other with open curiosity and distrust. Donavan didn’t hate the wolves, but he did not make the mistake of underestimating them like so many of the immortals did.

The scene in the elegant drawing room of the Garden District home might have appeared to be a simple informal gathering, at least to the average person. If you were one of the few people that were aware of the creatures that lurked undercover of darkness in the cities and towns around the world, the picture would seem very bizarre. Whenever vampires and wolves came together, the result was usually destruction. But for the first time in thousands of years, the wolves and vampires had joined in a fragile partnership.

“I regret that your daughter got involved in this business.” Donavan told Gray Eagle. “But it would seem that it was one of your own that is the cause.” Donavan turned his hard eyes on Anton.

“The girl took her own life. I did not feed her the poison that killed her.” Anton glared at the vampire.

“This is of a personal nature. I don’t see how I can be of any assistance,” Donavan told them.

Looking every inch the predator that he was, Gray Eagle’s features had become rigid with fury. “If anything happens to my daughter … there will no longer be peace. We will drive you into extinction.”

Donavan’s smile was cool and unyielding. “My brother is already determined for the peace to end. He thinks that our creators will return soon and he wants to prove his worth to them. This situation with your daughter has only catapulted the situation.”

Justin Gray Eagle turned his attention to Anton. “Can you take me to this nest of vampires?”

“I don’t know the exact location. I only saw that it was a large house, here in Louisiana somewhere. It looked like an old plantation.”

“I have been able to track them to Lafayette, but I don’t know where they are beyond that,” Ethan informed them.

Nicole had remained on the sidelines, watching the scene unfold, but now she stepped in. “I can show you the old houses in that area and you can pick out the one you saw.”

Donavan shook his head. “It would be foolish for you girls to get involved in this. Let the wolves handle this on their own.”

“I was told by the Gatekeeper that Summer plays a major role in the destiny of the immortal sisters,” Anton growled. “If you let them kill her, you will bring harm to your own daughters.”

“He tells the truth,” Lex interrupted. “Kathrina! Come and introduce yourself to your father.”

Lex had thought it best that Kathrina wait to confront her father until it was necessary. The fewer people that knew the sisters had finally come together, the better. Now she stepped from the hall into the drawing room.

It wasn’t easy to take such an old vampire by surprise, but Donavan’s shock was evident.

“Regardless of what their final destiny is, these girls were born to be slayers. It is time that their training begin,” Lex told him.

Donavan looked upon his youngest daughter with pride, as well as fear. She was the strongest of the three - the child that would bring it all together.

Nodding to him, Kathrina uttered only a single word. “Father.” Her face was an emotionless mask, revealing nothing of what she might be thinking. Her eyes held no questions for him.

Donavan reached out with his mind to probe her thoughts, but he hit a brick wall. Never had his power failed to provide him insight on the thoughts of another, with the exception of the ancients, but Kathrina was different.