Blood Lust (The Blood Sisters Book 1) (27 page)

Amanda
clawed for Jessica’s ankle, but Duncan gathered his arms around the younger
Blood. “No!” Amanda’s voice screeched with pain. “Jessica!”

Glancing
back at them, Jessica saw the terror
on
Amanda’s face as something circled above them. It was beautiful and holy. l It
was like a person and a dove, all wrapped up in one. Oddly, it smelled like
nutmeg, and that made Jessica think of her mother’s apple pie.

Sorry,
Mom. I failed. I’m so sorry.

You fool! You will pay
for your betrayal!

Jessica
heard Lourdes’s anger echoing in her head, but she hadn’t betrayed the most
important person. It wasn’t
Amanda
or
even her parents, it was herself.

“Take
care of each other.”

Duncan
took Amanda in his arms, but she fought against him. Her arms outstretched,
reaching for her big sister. “Jessica!” The look in her eye was one Jessica
hadn’t seen in a long time. It was the same look she had in the mental
hospital, years before, when Jessica lied to keep Amanda safe.

It
was a look of betrayal. Of Abandonment. What was left of Jessica’s heart felt
as if it’d been torn from her chest and stomped on. Aunt Gwen, or something
using Aunt Gwen’s body, had done this to them.

Tears
rolled down Jessica’s cheeks. “I’m sorry, baby. So sorry.”

Amanda’s
face twisted at the sight of Jessica’s tears. “Jessica doesn’t cry.” With
defiance
her nostrils flared and anger reddened
her cheeks. “I cry! I need help. Jessica fights! She wins!”

Once.
Baby sister was so angry with her, Jessica was sorry that this was the last they’d
see of each other. If they were lucky.

Jessica
hollered in pain as the burning on her back became too much. She crashed to the
ground, in the fetal position; her body curled small, then stretched out,
trying to escape the burning. The smell of her charred flesh.

The
ground beneath her glowed red, forming a circle around her body, then the
shimmer grew, climbing up her legs as if she was in a river made of lava.
Jessica gasped as the burning fire engulfed her body, charring the flesh from
her bones. A moment later there was nothing anyone could do about it.

Not
even an angel.

The
ground swallowed her whole.

Jessica
returned to the Earth. The redness faded and was replaced by the grimy floor of
the club, as if nothing had happened. As if a portion good in the world hadn’t
just been ripped away. Duncan felt numb, but there were demons outside and soon
they’d return for Amanda. Soon they’d want to put an end to this party and now
it was up to him to protect her.

He
had
a promise
to keep, but his heart…oh
man, his heart might have just been incinerated with her.

Amanda
broke free from him and scurried to the spot Jessica had just been. “Jessica!”
Amanda screamed and clawed at the floor as is she might be able to dig her out.
Like she could get her back, could find her buried under the floor.

Where
Jessica was, no human could follow, at least not easily. At least not with a
round trip ticket. When humans went to the underworld, they didn’t come back.

Duncan
rushed to Amanda and cupped his arm around her waist. “We have to get out of
here.”

She
wouldn’t stop her digging. She kept pushing. Franticly digging and grunting
with effort, as if she couldn’t hear
him
trapped
in her own personal hell.

“Mandy!”
Duncan shook her by the shoulder to snap her out of it.

“Not
without my sister!” Amanda fought against
him
and lashed out. Duncan didn’t blame
her
.
The Blood girls had been through so much together, the thick of it—and then
thicker still. Did Amanda know where she ended and Jessica began? After
everything, how could Amanda let her sister go?

It
was Duncan’s job to make sure she did.

The
sound of a thousand wings beating swept over him, something that should have
taken a flock of birds to create, but, as he looked up it was just one. It was
an eagle, except
it had
the face of a
woman and wore a long flowing dress. In this business, nothing surprised Duncan
anymore, except losing Jessica like that. Yeah, that would always surprise him.

She
was really gone.

What
awaited her, torture?
 
No, Duncan
wouldn’t abide that. He’d find a way to get her out even if it meant calling in
every nasty favor he had. He’d get her back; he’d bet his soul on that.

The
angel landed with the sound of thunder, her wings folded and her face tilted
with sincerity toward Amanda. “Now is the time to make your escape, Amanda.
Above all else, you must be safe. The way will be clear. Hurry and get her far
from this place,
human
.”

So
much distaste for him? Funny, Duncan didn’t think he’d ever met an angel
before. “My reputation precedes me, I’m sure.”

“My
sister!” Amanda’s chest shoved out. “You need to save my sister!”

The
angel took Amanda’s hands and closed her eyes. The angel cringed and blew a big
breath from her nose. “Where your sister has gone, I can’t enter. Not without
the backup of heaven on my side and that…that will take the
time
to earn back.”

Great,
they knew an angel who was on the outs with heaven. Didn’t that just take the
cake?

Amanda
opened her mouth to speak, but the angel raised her hand. She turned to Duncan,
she was done with Amanda, and had nothing more to say on the subject. “Get her
clear. Your car is outside. Now it’s safe, but there’s only so much protection
I can give. You won’t have long.”

The
angel shot up in the sky and her dress fluttered like a leaf on the wind. “Stay
on this path, Duncan Jasper. Don’t prove all of
heaven
wrong.”

Did
that mean heaven believed in him? Were
they
taking bets in heaven on whether he’d be good or bad? Still, to hear those
words puffed up his chest.

The
angel shot out like a missile rocket toward the sunset, but the doors of the
club opened by themselves and demons ran in to surround them. There was no
cover and Duncan only had one gun.

They
were sitting ducks. So much for protection.

“We
have to get to cover. Amanda!” Duncan tugged on her, but like a weighted stone,
Amanda didn’t move.

Sitting
there with her arms around her waist, she swayed back and forth. Her mind was
deep inside of herself; Duncan doubted she even heard him. He didn’t pretend to
know what the Bloods felt for each other, but it was his job to protect her.
Hell or high water, that’s what he was going to do.

“Amanda!”

Her
head rolled to the side and Amanda screamed just as the first demon put his
hand on Duncan’s shoulder. Guns were fired and Duncan threw his elbow back to
toss the demon off, then Amanda’s scream stopped everything. The scream echoed
like a living thing, the room reverberated as it, grew in intensity, like a
tidal wave; the demons were all thrown back and fell to the ground as dust.

Even
bullets in midair stopped, and crashed to the ground.

Duncan
gazed down at Amanda and she looked up at him with despair. He thought it best
to not mention whatever had just happened—at least not yet—and offered her his
hand.

Her
green eyes were wet with fright as she took it. “I don’t know if I can walk.”

“Then
I’ll carry you,” Duncan said. Just as Jessica Blood carried her all her life,
now Duncan would take up that torch.

He
gathered Amanda in his arms and walked into the courtyard, which looked like the
aftermath of a war. Demon bodies littered the ground near the fountain, and the
outer walls had crumbled as if they had seen decades of battle. The car wasn’t
far, and the only damage appeared to be cosmetic. Bullet holes in the
doors,
but Duncan just prayed it would still
run. The demons were preoccupied as they took potshots at the angel circling in
the sky.

Her
battle cry was like a joyous song, a choir of cherubs. To Duncan, it was
beautiful, but the demons, shuddered and covered their ears. Now was the
perfect time to make their escape, before the demons regained composure.

 
“We have to get to the car,” Duncan whispered.

Amanda
shook her head as it rested on his shoulder and her chin quivered. “How can you
just leave her, Duncan? I thought you loved her. I felt it. I know I did, so
how—how?”

The
accusation was slight in her voice, but it pierced Duncan like a thousand
swords. “I made a promise to protect you. After everything she went through to
save you, do you think I’d risk you by staying here to fight a fight that can’t
be won?”

Her
eyes grew sharp, and her mouth opened, but Duncan didn’t give her a chance to
say anything. He pursed his lips together, and continued

“We’re
not leaving her, she’s not here anymore. Where she went, we can’t go—not even
the angel can. Look, we have one of Lourdes’s demons under lock and key. She
can help us. Just trust me, will you? I know you always have.”

Maybe
she didn’t want to, but Amanda backed down. She nodded and her eyes downcast
not meeting his face. She was still weak, so Duncan hurried with her to the
car, ducking and throwing himself to cover as a few stray shots came close.

Demons
were firing at the flying angel in the sky while debris was falling from the
walls as she decimated what was left of Vaughn’s fortress. If it was Vaughn she
was after, Duncan saw no sign of him.

Getting
to the car, Duncan tore the door open and pushed Amanda into the passenger seat
with little regard for how rough he was. Safety had to come first and although
it was the angel the demons wanted, he and Amanda were in a dangerous
thunderstorm of bullets.

 
They needed to get out now, while the demons
were distracted.

He
fished the hidden key out from under the rug and started the car up. Slamming
the door shut, Duncan heard a moan coming from the
backseat
.

“It’s
about time you showed up,” Father Mike said.

“You
hurt?” Duncan asked, glancing in the rearview to see Mike’s head was gashed and
he had a few bruises, but all appeared to be flesh wounds.

“Nothing
time won’t heal. I blessed the water in the fountain and turned it into holy
water. Let’s just say I used it to my advantage.”

Sounded
like good
ol
’ Mike. “Brace yourself.”
Duncan punched the accelerator and the car burst through the remains of the
gate. Out of the compound, he saw the charred ruins of the trucks they’d
brought with them. The drugs and vials were destroyed, along with half a
battalion of demons.

He
kept his head down and just kept driving, but they were coming. Duncan heard
the sounds of trucks starting, the demons were pursuing them. Duncan had
Amanda, stole her right from under Vaughn’s and their noses, and that wasn’t
something they’d let go.

“Where’s
Vaughn?” Duncan asked, a tightening in his chest.

Glancing
back, he saw Mike sit up. “I don’t know.” He was clutching his arm. “As soon as
that angel showed up, I climbed in the car. The last I saw Vaughn; he was
fleeing in a van of girls, chasing after our men didn’t want to get caught in
the crossfire with the angel.”

The
girls. In all the commotion, Duncan had forgotten about them. He tightened his
grip on the steering wheel and
grunted
for his utter failure on that part. Lost in the shuffle between good and evil,
those poor girls were in their own personal hell, and there they’d stay until
someone killed Vaughn or until they died.

Souls
torn from their bodies bit by bit, the idea of it churned his stomach. Made him
think back…

Mike
shook his head. “Vaughn doesn’t like to lose. Today he lost big. Even lost his
angel. I’m guessing that had to do with you.” He smiled at Amanda, but she
didn’t see.

Didn’t
see or just didn’t care. “We have to go after
him,
”
Amanda said, her head collapsed on the headrest. “What he’ll do to those girls,
we have to—”

“You’re
of no use to us until you
heal,
” Mike
said. He rested his bloody hand on her forehead. “Oh, dear Child, you need to
heal, and it isn’t just these wounds, is it?”

Mike
glanced at Duncan and Duncan read his face with ease. Amanda wasn’t herself.
She was on something, and coming down? It’d be bad enough for someone normal, might
even lead to death.

But
to an empath like her? They were going to need something more than time. They
were going to need an answer to a prayer. What she just did at the compound
wasn’t right or maybe it just wasn’t natural. Amanda’s power had always been
passive; she had never used it to attack, not even to defend herself. Duncan
didn’t want to think about what that meant.

Get
her to safety first and then worry about the future.

Amanda
licked her lips. “Those women—”

“Deserve
our help,” Duncan said, “but so do you. So does Jessica. Until those drugs
leave your system…”

“I
know,” Amanda’s voice cracked. “I need to save her, Duncan. All my life she’s
been saving me. Now it’s my turn. Can’t you understand?”

Duncan
understood more than Amanda knew. He looked in the rearview mirror. The
vehicles he spotted earlier were gaining ground. On bikes and in modified dune
racers, they looked like a scene from Mad Max, with demons hanging from the
vehicles screaming and raving.

“More
than you know, but Amanda, there’s something we need to tell you. About the
demon we have. We have to talk about your aunt Gwen.”

Amanda
jerked her head toward him. “Is she alive? Did she find you?”

Some
of their pursuers gained on them and he heard gunshots and the plink of bullets
hitting the car. Looking at the speedometer he saw that it was buried at 120
miles per hour. The old girl could hit 200 and he jammed gas pedal into the
floor praying the tires would hold up on the rough desert terrain.

Ahead
the desert fell away, forming a crater. Duncan jerked the wheel to avoid it and
nearly drove into another. More of the desert floor opened up, forming a long
gash. Smoke and flame roared out into the afternoon air.

Playing
with darkness and danger.

Just
his style.

He
eased off the gas and cranked on the wheel, fishtailing wildly. The back tires
must have skirted the edge for a moment, before he gained control and raced
parallel to the gash in the earth. He glanced behind and saw a demon on a
Harley soft tail lose control and fly over the edge.

There
had to be an ending. There had to be a way around.

Amanda’s
breath was frantic and she gripped the armrest of the car. “She doesn’t want to
let us go. We’re never going to get out of here, Duncan!”

The
panic in her voice set Duncan on edge, and the who she was talking about—had to
be Lourdes. The queen of the underworld came so close to getting her claws into
Amanda, she wouldn’t want to let her go so easily.

Amanda
turned her head and placed her hand on the window. Flames were burning so high
that Duncan felt his own cheeks burning, as if he stood too close to a
campfire. He gritted his teeth as he circled back towards the charging demons.