End Game (Vampire Hunter Book 6) (2 page)

I buried my face in my hands. “She was here?!” I exclaimed in a muffled
voice.

“Ah, I take it you
do
know the name,” Jet said wryly.

“Lucas and Nicholas knew her,” Henry said.

“Nicholas?” Jet’s voice registered surprise. “Nicholas Winchester?”

“I, uh, I don’t know his last name,” I said, removing my hands from my
face. Somehow I’d thought that vampires only had first names, kind of like
Cher, or Madonna.

“His maker, Nicholas?” Jet continued.

I nodded.

“Wow, I had no idea Nicholas Winchester was here. Last I heard he was
overseas.” Jet furrowed his brow. “I’ll have to talk to Gabe about keeping
better track,” he muttered.

“But never mind,” Jet continued. “Interesting to know that Nicholas is
here. Is there anyone else helping you with this plan you’re enacting next
week?”

“There’s this college professor who’s also a psychic,” I said. “But you
have to tell us, why the hell did Senara turn up here?”

“As I mentioned, she was sitting in my room when I walked in. She wanted to
assert her power, show me that she could get past my hellhound.” Jet grimaced.
“Actually, she was nice enough to point out that she could have
killed
Lassie,
if she wanted to.”

“But she didn’t hurt him?” I asked.

“No. She chained him up. Said if I did anything to cross her, she’d kill
him – and me.” Jet’s words were chilling. I looked at Henry and noticed
the goose bumps on his arm. I appreciated that he’d come here with me. I knew
this wasn’t easy for him.

“Aren’t you worried?” I blurted out. “Lucas and Nicholas said she was
probably really powerful after stealing souls for so many years.”

“I wasn’t overjoyed,” Jet said, “but I’m not panicked – not yet at
least. Right now, Senara is just letting me know that
she thinks
she’s
boss; she’s not going to make a move unless I were to do something stupid.” Jet
paused. “And I figured out a very long time ago how to avoid doing stupid
things. It’s why I’m still around.”

“Did she say anything else?” Henry asked.

“Oh, just that she would annihilate the entire vampire race if we
interfere with her plans. From what I can gather, she’s going to kill Tobias
– and anyone else attempting to make a power play.”

“Does she know about Magnus and Leon?” I asked.

Jet shrugged. “She didn’t mention their names, but I can’t imagine she
doesn’t know what’s going on in Hell right now, the struggle for King. But
there is one name she mentioned that you
won’t
like.” Before we could
say anything, Jet continued. “She asked me where she could find Lucas.”

“What does she want with him?” I whispered.

“She didn’t say, and she wasn’t exactly offering me any opportunities to
ask. But I guess you know that she and Lucas used to be involved?”

Henry and I nodded.

“As crazy as Senara is, I’m not sure if she’s trying to rekindle the old
flame or put a stake through Lucas’ heart,” Jet said.

I shuddered.

“But vampires are strong,” Henry interjected. “Couldn’t Lucas overpower
her?”

“If this were a normal fairy or even a normal vampire, then yes, my money
would be on Lucas,” Jet answered. “But Senara is different. Like with Aurora,
I’m not sure anyone knows how to kill her. Before she gathered all of those
souls, maybe a stake would have it done it, since she’s half vampire. But now?
I don’t think you could even get
close
enough to try it. She restrained
Lassie. That’s no small feat.”

“Did you tell her where to find Lucas?” I demanded.

“I don’t
know
where
to find him,” Jet pointed out. “But it
wouldn’t be difficult for me to track him down, which means Senara can probably
find him pretty easily, too.”

“Great,” I said dejectedly. “As if we needed
one more
thing to
worry about.”

“We knew she was coming,” Henry said quietly. Jet and I turned to look at
him. “It was just a matter of time. And now that we have a heads up that Senara
is on the prowl, well, maybe we can come up with a plan.”

“My head is already swimming from the colossal plan we have in place for
next Saturday!” I exclaimed. “I don’t think I can take any more.”

“Henry’s right,” Jet said. “And now that the entire vampire race is being
threatened, let’s just say I have a vested interest in helping you. No, I still
don’t want to be part of the war, but I don’t see how I can keep my hands
entirely clean, either.”

“Did Senara say anything else before she left?” I asked.

“Just that she’d be in touch.” Jet paused. “It’s actually a good thing
you’re here, Henry. How’s it coming along? What else do you need for the
spells?”

“We’ve got the one covered to open the Gates of Hell,” Henry said slowly.
“Kind of scary how that spell’s not very difficult. But closing the Gates for
good, now that’s another story. Between Nicholas and Emmett – he’s the
psychic Aurora mentioned – they’ve got maybe 70, 80 percent of what we
need.”

“What’s left?” Jet asked. “Maybe I can help.”

“Tooth of a wendigo, flesh of a reaper,” Henry said morosely. “Blood from
a human that’s possessed by a demon – but Nic assured me he’s got that
one. He said it might even be fun.”

Jet laughed and shook his head. “Nicholas doesn’t remember, but right
after he was turned, our paths crossed. Even back then, he was a character. He
was so crazy; I figured he’d be dead in less than a year. I guess he calmed
down with age.”

I wanted to ask Jet more about Nicholas; understanding the time they were
‘born’ as vampires was almost impossible, but we had bigger issues to deal
with.

“Is that all that’s left?” I asked Henry, feeling like I might burst into
hysterical laughter at any moment. I didn’t even know what a wendigo was!

“Well, those are just the two that have us tripped up,” Henry admitted.
“Like the blood that Nicholas is going to get, the other weird stuff can be
found. But we’re stumped on the wendigo and the reaper.”

“I can help with the reaper. I personally know one. We have a…mutual
respect for each other’s work. His name is Niall. I’m sure once I tell him what
spell this is for, he’ll let us have a bit of his flesh. It will grow back
almost instantly, anyway.”

“That’s a relief,” Henry said, smiling for the first time. “But what
about the wendigo?”

Jet screwed his face up into a sour expression. “Are you two familiar
with wendigos?”

I shook my head no. “Only a little, since it was in the spell,” Henry
said. “But please, tell us.”

“They’re nasty, vile creatures that feast on humans. Supernatural
cannibals, if you will. They live in wooded areas, preying on unfortunate
campers, eating bears and other forest animals when the humans aren’t around.”

“Gross,” I muttered.

“They are,” Jet agreed. “The only good thing about this is that they are
not
smart creatures. They travel together in twos and threes. I can find out
where some are in the area. I’ll get one of my vampires to come with me and we
can extract a tooth. You just need one, right?” he asked Henry.

“Well, yeah,” Henry hedged. “But –  ” he paused and looked at
me, “there’s a catch.”

I groaned. “There’s always a catch.”

“You see, unfortunately, the tooth has to be extracted by Aurora.” Henry
gave me a wan smile.

“
Me
?” I asked incredulously. “Henry, that doesn’t even make sense!
No one wrote that spell with
me
in mind.”

“Okay, not you
specifically
,” he amended. “But that spell is
fucking complicated. It has to be a tooth that was pulled by ‘the living dead.’
So unless you want to ask Tobias to do it, you’re SOL.”

“Maybe that doesn’t mean me,” I argued.

Henry looked at Jet. “What’s your opinion? I had the same reaction as
Aurora. Is there something
else
that would qualify as the living dead?”

“I don’t think so,” Jet said slowly. “I’ll have it checked out to
confirm, but I agree; it sounds like Aurora has to do it.”

“Great!” I said sarcastically.

“I’ll go with you, protect you,” Jet offered.

Somehow I don’t think Lucas is going to go for that.

But aloud I just said, “Thanks, Jet. We’ll figure it out.”

“Soon. We need to figure it out soon. We’re running out of time.” Henry’s
words hung in the air, thick and ominous, as the three of us fell silent.

Jet was the next one to speak. “Just to confirm, that’s everything,
Henry? Provided we get what we need from the reaper and the wendigo?”

“Yes,” Henry said.

“Good,” Jet replied. “I want you two to know that I’ll do
everything
I
can to help you. But come next Saturday, it’s down to you. I can’t go to the
Gates with you. I can’t risk my empire if something goes wrong. I hope you
understand.”

“Yes,” I replied immediately. Of course, ultimately Jet had to think about
himself, about his position as head vampire. If something happened to him,
total chaos amongst the vampire community was likely to erupt.

“I understand,” Henry echoed my thoughts. “Without you, I’m not sure we
could even get everything for the spell. I can’t say thanks enough.” We stood
up to leave.

“You can thank me when the Gates are closed and Tobias, Magnus and Leon
are locked in Hell forever,” Jet replied.

“Deal,” Henry said with a forced smile. They shook hands.

“I’ll call you again when I have news,” Jet said. “And in the meantime,
let Lucas know he might be getting a visit from Senara.”

“Okay,” I replied nervously.

 Jet saw us out and we walked down the long path to Henry’s car. The
surroundings weren’t quite as creepy in the daylight, but it still wasn’t the
type of place I could ever imagine living in.

“What did you think of him?” I asked once we were back on the road.

“He seems alright,” Henry said slowly. “I mean, I don’t get a bad vibe
from him or anything; I didn’t feel unsafe, and there’s no other
choice
but
to let him help us.”

“Good. I knew I needed an impartial opinion – a human opinion.” We
both laughed.

I glanced at my phone and saw I had a missed call and a text from my mom.
Don’t forget I want to meet Lucas’ parents today!
it read. I groaned.

“What now?” Henry asked in a weary voice.

“I wasn’t kidding about my mom being totally crazy about meeting Lucas’
parents. She’s mandating that it happen –
today.
”

“Can’t you put her off?” Henry asked.

“How?” I said. “You know how my mom can be.”

“Yes, persistent. Just like you.”

I shot Henry a death look as he tried not to smirk.

“Maybe what you said earlier could work,” I said slowly. “You know, about
Emmett pretending to be his dad.”

“I dunno.” Henry sounded skeptical. “Emmett’s average height, small
frame, whereas Lucas is tall and built. And besides, I don’t think Emmett’s old
enough to be the father of a teenager.”

“It could work,” I argued, not quite sure I believed it myself. But we
had no other options. “Emmett once said that he was thirty-six. And Lucas told
my mother his dad is an accountant. You’ve got to admit that Emmett fits the
image – glasses and scholarly looking! And if my mom seems weird about
it, I’ll just tell her that Lucas takes after his mother.”

Henry snickered. “That paints an interesting picture. A 6’4 female
bodybuilder.” We both laughed.

“It’s worth a shot,” I said.

“Do what you like,” Henry replied. “It’s not me you need to convince
– it’s Emmett and Lucas.”

“Oh, I’ll convince them,” I said with a lot more confidence than I felt.

“Come on,” I wheedled.

“No,” came Lucas’ reply over the phone.

“My mom is going to forbid me from seeing you if she doesn’t get to meet
at
least one
of your parents,” I argued.

Lucas sighed. “You realize how ridiculous this is, right?”

“Of course.”

“I guess…if Emmett’s willing,” Lucas said grudgingly.

“I’m sure he’ll do it,” I said confidently.

After we hung up, I called Emmett and gave him the same spiel as Lucas.
“It will just be for five minutes,” I assured him. “My mom isn’t going to try
to hang out with you or anything. She’s always been funny about meeting my
friends’ parents.”

“Oh, fine,” Emmett said. I was surprised he didn’t put up more of a
fight.

We arranged for Lucas to drive to his house, then I’d get my mom to drop
me off there.

Mom was over the moon when I told her she’d finally get to meet the
mysterious Lucas’ father. “His mom’s not around most Saturdays,” I explained,
thankful that Lucas’ story about his mother’s profession as a real estate agent
supported this. “The weekends are her busiest time for showing houses.”

“I understand,” Mom said. “I’m just glad his dad is around. What’s his
father’s name?”

“Emmett,” I said, not seeing a reason to lie about that. But I was
nervous. The truth was, Emmett
didn’t
quite look old enough to be Lucas’
dad. My dad was in his early forties and mom had turned forty this year. But
there was no time to start second-guessing the plan.

Mom pulled the car up to Emmett’s house and parked on the street. We got
out and walked up to the small house.

“I thought Lucas had a basketball net at his house?” she asked.

“Um, they have a paved patio in the back, so it’s out there,” I replied,
hoping like hell Emmett didn’t offer to show her around.

Lucas answered as soon as I knocked. I resisted the urge to laugh, seeing
him towering in the doorframe. “Please, come in,” he said to us.

“How are you, Lucas?” Mom asked him.

“Just great, Audrey,” he said, not sounding nervous at all. “And you?”

“I’m happy to finally meet your dad,” Mom replied. “I’m just sorry your
mother isn’t around today.”

“Yes, Saturdays are her busiest day of the week.” Lucas motioned for us
to sit down on the couch. “Dad’s in his office. Let me tell him you’re here.”
Lucas retreated to the back of the house.

The picture of Rachel and Emmett, the one that had been on the coffee
table the other time I came to Emmett’s house, was sitting on one of the
bookshelves. My mom caught me staring at it. “Are those Lucas’ parents?” she
asked.

Luckily, I didn’t have to answer because Lucas and Emmett walked into the
room. Surprisingly, Emmett looked calm, collected.
Maybe this won’t be so
awkward after all.

They introduced themselves and Emmett and Lucas sat down on the couch
across from us. “Lucas said you’re an accountant,” Mom commented. “What firm do
you work at?”

“Dad’s self-employed,” Lucas answered quickly. Emmett flashed him a
grateful smile.

“That’s right,” he said. “I contract out with various firms,” he
explained vaguely.

“Well, I hope you don’t mind Aurora hanging out at your house all of the
time,” Mom said. “I keep telling her to bring her friends to our house, but she
seems to like to come here better.”

“Not at all!” Emmett said, a little too enthusiastically. He wiped his
palms down the front of his pants, something I noticed he did whenever he was
nervous – which was pretty much all the time. “The kids are always
welcome here. Watching TV, playing video games…” His voice trailed off.
Must
be the only thing he knows that kids like.

“And they play basketball as well, right?” Mom prompted, trying to check
my story I’m sure.

“Yep,” Lucas answered. “It’s my favorite sport.”

Mom smiled. “Since Aurora and Lucas are together so often, would you two
mind if I put your numbers in my phone?” My mom shot a sideways glance at me
and I forced my face to remain expressionless.

“Of course not,” Lucas said. “Would you mind if I put your number in my
phone as well?” Lucas, Emmett and Mom all exchanged phone numbers, while I
stood there watching the odd scene unfold.

Finally, Mom stood up. “Well, I’d better get going. You kids have fun. It
was nice to finally meet you, Emmett.”

“Likewise,” he said, looking relieved.

“And you’ll be here all day?” Mom asked.

How mortifying! She doesn’t want me to be alone with Lucas. If only
she knew what had really been going on lately.

“Oh, yes. All day,” Emmett echoed.

Mom turned to me. “Aurora, call me if you need a lift home.”

“Thanks, Audrey, but I’ll drop her off,” Lucas said. “What time does she
need to be home?” he added quickly.

“Oh, no rush,” Mom said with a smile. “Just text me, Aurora, to let me
know what you’re up to.”

“Yes, Mom,” I said, forcing a smile.

“I guess she bought that I’m Lucas’ father,” Emmett said peevishly as
soon as she’d left.

“Right, which we needed,” I reminded him. “Thanks, you guys, for doing
this,” I said gratefully.

“Since you’re both here, I need to tell you what happened this morning.”
I proceeded to explain how Henry and I had gone to Jet’s house, leaving out
that Jet had originally asked me to bring Lucas.

“Aurora, I can’t believe you’d go out there without me!” Lucas exclaimed.
“It could have been dangerous. I don’t trust him.”

“Why?” I countered. “He’s done nothing but help us. Do
you
know a
reaper?” I asked pointedly. “Or how about a wendigo?”

“Well, you’re not going with Jet to get a wendigo’s tooth,” Lucas said,
his voice hard. “I’ll go with you, if it
has
to be you.”

“That’s perfectly fine with me! I’d rather go with you anyway,” I said
honestly.

Lucas sighed. “And I’m not thrilled to hear that Senara is looking for
me. I’m not exactly in hiding. She’s bound to find me. All she has to do is get
into the database. I’m legal. It’s got all of my information.”

“You could move,” Emmett suggested.

“No, hiding isn’t the answer,” Lucas replied.

“But what if she tries to hurt you?” I asked worriedly. “It sounded like
Jet thinks she’s more powerful than a vampire.”

“Yes, I’m sure she is,” Lucas confirmed.

“I’m going to have to kill her, aren’t I?” I said quietly.

“I don’t know, Rory. I really don’t know.” Lucas sounded tired, defeated.

“I might be able to help,” Emmett said.

“How?” I asked. We both turned to look at Emmett.

“I don’t know. I – I need to
think
,” Emmett said. He looked
pale, weak.

“We should go,” I said quickly. “I’m sorry for being such a burden,
Emmett.”

Emmett managed a frail smile. “You guys are never a burden. But yes, I
think it would help if I could relax. Maybe get some sleep. Things tend to come
to me when I’m not trying to force the issue.”

“Thanks for helping today,” Lucas said.

“Yeah,” I echoed. “Thanks.”

“Anything. Anytime,” Emmett replied. “I’ll be in touch with one of you
tomorrow.”

We said our goodbyes and left.

“I can’t go home,” I said once we were in Lucas’ car. “Mom doesn’t expect
me back until
much
later.”

“I would invite you over, but I’m not sure my apartment is safe. Senara
is going to find me, probably sooner rather than later.” Lucas looked worried.

“It’s daylight,” I pointed out. “Senara is half vampire. She won’t be out
and about until this evening.”

“Maybe.” Lucas didn’t sound convinced. “Who knows what the extent of her power
is? For all I know, she can walk around in broad daylight without a sunlight
pill.”

I laughed nervously. “I’m sure that’s not the case.”

Lucas didn’t say anything for a few minutes. We approached an
intersection, and I knew if he turned right he was taking me home, but if he
turned left, we were going to his apartment. He turned left.

“You should tell Henry to meet us at my place,” Lucas said.

“Why?” I couldn’t help feeling a little disappointed that I wasn’t going
to get to spend time
alone
with Lucas.

“Because when he opens the Gates of Hell, he needs to be protected from
any demons that might come out.”

“Protected?” I asked.

“Yes, there’s a marking he needs on his chest, by his shoulder blade,
that will keep demons from being able to possess him,” Lucas explained. “You,
Nic and I are safe since we’re not human. Truthfully, it’s not a bad idea for
Henry to keep the marking on him all the time. It’s the only way for a human to
ward himself from a demon.”

 “Is it common for demons to come to earth, possess humans?” I
asked.

“I think they’re showing themselves more, finding host bodies and trying
to position themselves for the war,” Lucas said grimly, not directly answering
my question.

“I’ll text Henry,” I said, getting out my phone and typing him a quick
message to see if he could meet us at Lucas’ apartment.

Henry confirmed that he’d be there in about a half hour.

When we got inside Lucas’ apartment, I sat down on the couch and Lucas
sat down next to me. Lucas smiled, but it was a sad smile.

“What’s wrong?” I asked. “Or should I say, what’s wrong
now
?”

“I was just thinking,” Lucas said in a soft voice, “that this is the
first time I truly don’t know if I can protect you.”

“Because of Senara?”

“If Jet’s unnerved – well, that’s saying something. Even though I
hadn’t met Jet before the other night, I’d heard of him. Brazen. Powerful.
Ruthless. Would do
almost
anything to get – and stay – on
top.”

I thought about Jet’s request for me to help recruit humans he could turn
to vampires. It’s true, he was power-hungry, but was that such a bad thing?
Wasn’t it possible that was simply human – and vampire – nature?

“It sounds like Jet was shaken by Senara’s visit,” Lucas continued. “And
that’s what has me concerned at the moment. If she’s that powerful, I’m not
sure that Nic, Jet and I working
together
could stop her.”

I shuddered. “Then how in the world am
I
supposed to be able to
kill her? On my own?”

Lucas put his hand on top of mine and started absentmindedly running his
fingers in little circles across it. I liked the sensation and scooted in
closer to Lucas on the couch.

Wordlessly, he reached out and pulled me into his arms, so that I was
leaning on him with my back against his chest. I caressed his arm, which was
holding me around the waist. I could have stayed like that for eternity.

“Lucas?” I said after a few minutes.

“Yes?” He sounded sleepy, like he’d been drifting off.

“What’s your last name?”

“What?” Now Lucas was fully awake – and amused. “What in the world
made you ask that question?”

“It’s just that Jet asked us if the Nicholas who was helping us was
Nicholas Winchester. And – as stupid as this sounds – I really
hadn’t given much thought to the fact that you
have
a last name,” I
explained.

“I hope there doesn’t come a day that I’m so infamous I only need a first
name to be recognized,” Lucas joked. “But, since you asked, my last name is
Nathaniels.”

“I like that,” I said.
Aurora Nathaniels.
It had a nice ring to
it.

There was a knock on the door and I grudgingly sat up, wriggling out of
Lucas’ arms. He got up off the couch to answer it.

“Hey,” Henry said, walking into the apartment. “Before you tell me why
I’m here, please promise nothing else is wrong!”

“No, it’s nothing bad at all,” Lucas assured him. Henry sat down on the
couch next to me and Lucas explained about the symbol that would keep anything
from possessing Henry.

“You mean this?” Henry asked sheepishly when Lucas had finished. Henry
stood up and pulled his t-shirt off. There, on the left side of his chiseled
chest, near his shoulder blade, was a small triangle with markings inside of
it.

“How did you know?” Lucas asked.

“Yes, how?” I echoed, trying not to stare too hard at his abs.

“Remember, Rory? Those drawings that you saw in my binder? This was one
of them,” Henry said. “I don’t know why or how, but I have these images in my
head, and I knew what this one was for. So I drew it on myself, you know, just
in case.”

“Well, I’m sorry to make you come over then,” Lucas said, smiling. “Seems
like you’re already one step ahead of us.”

“I was going to tell you guys,” Henry replied. “Honestly, it just slipped
my mind, with everything that’s been going on.”

“Understandable,” Lucas agreed.

“So now what?” I asked.

“I’m going to spend the rest of the day getting as much of the spell
stuff in order as possible,” Henry said. “We have to go back to school Monday
and I want to have it all ready in plenty of time. I need to know the spells
and the order of the items forwards and backwards. There’s only one shot to get
this right,” Henry said nervously. “I don’t want to fuck it up.”

“Can I help?” I offered.

“No, I’ve got to figure it out by myself,” Henry replied. He forced a
smile. “After all, it will be me doing the spell. You’ll just have to stand
there and look pretty,” he joked. “Oh, and possibly push Tobias and Magnus into
Hell.”

I laughed. “You make it sound so simple.”

“Henry, if you focus on making sure you’re ready to do the spells, I’ll
get with Nicholas and see if he needs any help this evening, after the sun goes
down,” Lucas said.

“At least let me help you and Nic then,” I offered.

“No,” Lucas started.

“Why?” I cut him off. “You’re going to have to start trusting me as a
capable adult who can help out! We’re about to be in a war; you can’t protect
me forever,” I said in an annoyed voice.