Fall For Me ((The Tate Chronicles #1)) (28 page)

Grace placed her hand on my cheek. I knew she felt cold, hard skin, and not the warmth that used to be there before I was changed. I wondered what she would feel if I kissed her, if it would be different, if I could ever be as tender as I used to be. Maybe now I was a vampire we weren’t supposed to be together. I saw how Charlotte looked at Archer, and even though they weren’t actually together, I knew it was possible. But Charlotte was an exception. She was like an angel trapped in a demon’s body. Could I ever be like that? Could I really give Grace what she wanted, what she needed? I leant in to softly brush her lips with mine. For a brief moment we kissed. Then she misted, and I was left standing in an empty cemetery with no one but the dead for company.

GRACE

Early Monday Night

B
y the time I returned to the shed it was almost nightfall. After I saw Josh I’d gone to the outcrop, dropped to my knees, and wept. Through my tears I’d watched the sun set over the valley, turning the soft white clouds beautiful shades of pink and orange. The thought of spreading my wings and flying away had crossed my mind, but I couldn’t do it. I needed to stay for Archer, and Charlotte, if not for myself.

I misted to the middle of the clearing, and my friends came rushing towards me. There were lots of questions. Seth stayed silent, standing back to let the others help me. He knew I’d wanted to be by myself, and I let him in so he could see everything that happened after they’d left me at the cemetery. He smiled.

“Guys, I’m ok. I just needed thinking time.”

“A lot happened while you were
thinking
Gracie.” Archer made little speech marks in the air.

“What could possibly have happened? Can’t I stop for just one minute?”

“Good news first?”
Seth asked.

“There’s good news?” I scoffed.

“Believe it or not, yes. Angelica has gone home.”

That
was
good news and one less thing to worry about. I could get back to fighting the bad guys and sorting out my life.

“And the bad news?”
I looked back and forth between my friends waiting for someone to continue.
“Just spill.
If you don’t hurry up I’ll come in and take it anyway.”

“Josh came looking for you,” Charlotte said. “We
kinda
kicked him out. And, I picked up Cain’s scent in the forest. He’s been very close to the shed.”

Well, fighting vamps was my job. Even if Cain had some of Charlotte’s blood, I could still take him. Besides, I hadn’t dusted anyone in the last day, so there was something to look forward to. Josh, I would have to deal with later.

“There’s more.” Seth stepped closer. “Angelica has gone, but my sources tell me she’s planning to return. You have something she wants.”

Oh boy, that
was
bad news. My hand went to my pocket and felt Annie’s ring.

“Your sources?”
I looked at Seth.

“I know people. Not all Angels of the Light follow the rules. And like I’ve said before, you have a lot to learn.”

I went into the shed to freshen up. After splashing some water on my face and checking my hair, I changed from my uniform into jeans and a black top.

Outside, we armed up before walking the perimeter. I sensed Josh’s presence a split second before Seth did, but it still wasn’t enough to stop the rock from connecting with Seth’s shoulder. The force of the blow spun him sideways and he thumped into me. I managed to hold his weight and prevent us crashing to the ground.

“Ouch,” Seth cried, “that hurt!”

When I looked back along the rock’s flight path, I came face to face with Josh. I thought maybe we’d made some progress this morning, even if I had left him hanging. His once beautiful sparkling blue eyes were now a hard, angry black. Hatred for Seth radiated from him, and you didn’t need to read his mind to know it. I sensed Archer and the others moving in to protect me. There was no doubt Ryan would do anything to help, I could feel his anger, too, and at that point he loathed Josh more than he ever thought possible.

“Do you condemn me by casting the first stone?” Seth stepped forward. “You forget, Joshua, I’m still an angel, and angels don’t throw stones.” Seth spread his fingers and flicked his wrist. “We throw fire.”

I lunged and knocked Seth’s aim off course, sending the flames hurtling towards a tree instead. It went up easily and Archer ran for the hose at the end of the shed. Josh snarled and bared his fangs then went for Seth, but I placed myself between them.

Seth scowled. “Way to go, Grace.  You just ruined my punch line.”

I put my hand on his chest and pushed him back a few metres. “We’re on the same side, remember?” I wanted to say something along the lines of,
grow up and quit being a baby,
but by then the boys fighting became insignificant.

Cain stood just beyond the edge of the clearing.

Suddenly, all I cared about was Josh, but my feet were frozen in place.

“Josh, behind you!”
I screamed.

He spun then crouched as Cain sprung towards him. Josh grabbed him below the knees, picked him up and threw him over his shoulder. Cain landed with a thud at my feet. I looked down into his evil black eyes.

“I’ve been waiting for you to show up,” I said.

Cain jumped up and grinned wickedly, parading his own set of sharp, glistening fangs. He threw his head back and laughed. I couldn’t see what was so funny; then I looked around and understood the enormity of the situation. There were at least twenty sets of shiny eyes staring out of the forest. The sun hadn’t set so I presumed they were high on Blaze blood.

“Josh, if you want to live, I suggest you get behind me,” I said.
“Now!”

He glanced over his shoulder then his figure blurred as he ran to stand with the rest of us.

“Are they on what I think they’re on?” Archer asked.

“Looks like it,” I said.

“Be careful everyone,” Charlotte called. “They’ll be stronger than you think.”

The six of us formed a line and edged backwards to the centre of the clearing. Six against twenty wasn’t very good odds, but I had faith.

“Back to back when they circle us.
And Charlotte, please keep Ryan alive,” I said.

The sound of twenty vampires letting out their war cry was deafening, and I was glad our neighbours weren’t close. We all had weapons except Josh so I threw him a stake.

“Try to stay away from the pointy end; it’s bad for your health.”

“Thanks for the tip, Grace.” Josh smiled, and his fangs extended. He looked just as mean and nasty as Cain but at least he was making jokes with me, one small step in the right direction.

Arms and legs, stakes and fangs, flew everywhere. Within minutes we’d knocked off a third of the pack.

“Where did you get these guys from, Cain, they’re not too bright,” I yelled as I round house kicked a pretty brunette vamp in the face. A quick stab to her chest and she was dust on my boots. I really loved my job.

“Seth,” I called out to him, “let up on the fire balls. You’ll burn the shed down.”

“Not in my nature to let up on anything, Grace.”

Archer and Seth were fighting side by side; if I’d had the time to stop I would have taken a photo or two as proof. Josh was taking his anger out on a rather large vamp with big arms and lots of tattoos, and Charlotte was keeping Ryan out of trouble.

A warm wind rushed through the clearing. I looked up to see Seth in all his
glory,
wings spread wide, raining fire down on two vamps. He was magnificent. His black feathers rippled under the light of the rising moon, and his tanned skin glowed with the reflection of his own fire. I didn’t want him to have all the fun, so I unfurled my wings, joining him in the air.

Everyone stopped fighting and stared up at us. A few of Cain’s so called followers took the opportunity to make tracks into the forest. That left five against five. Cain stood in the middle of what was left of his troop, and he didn’t look very pleased.

“Nothing like a fair fight, is there, Cain?” I said.

He glowered up at me. “I’m going to…”

“What? Kill me?” I laughed. “I’ve heard that before. What’s your beef anyway?”

“You killed Tyler and Matthew, and I want her blood.” He pointed to Charlotte.

“Actually, just Tyler, Seth killed Matthew, and you can’t have her blood.”

With the flick of my wrist, I formed another ball of fire in my palm and twirled it with my fingers. Cain looked at each of us in turn, sizing us up.

“It’s one on one now, isn’t it?” I said. “I guess you need to ask yourself, do you want to die tonight?”

“Can we quit with the nice chit chat and finish them off?” Seth growled, landing in front of a slender vamp with black hair. She was a little like me if you looked at her from the side, only with fangs. “Boo!” he said, and she jumped. I could hear her tossing up between running and fighting. Seth staked her before she could make a decision.

Cain roared, and we all jumped into the fray. Charlotte took Ryan away to a safe distance. Seth was left with nothing to do after about a minute. Archer had to work a little harder, but he was done quickly, too. That left Josh and me still fighting. Cain was really giving me a run for my money, but I loved every minute. I knew I should just finish him off, but after the week I’d had, it felt good to let it all out. Seth was getting a little antsy with nothing to do, so he strolled over and staked Josh’s opponent in the back.

“Hey, I almost had him,” Josh cried.

“We haven’t got all night. I thought you could use a little help.”

It was probably a good time to get Cain under control, so I dropped to a crouch and kicked his legs out from under him. Then I sat on him. His attitude changed once I had the upper hand. The one thing I hated more than evil vamps was evil vamps that grovel.

“This,” I said, driving my stake into his left shoulder and giving it a twist, making him scream, “is for Charlotte.” He writhed under me, trying to grab at the piece of wood.

Seth came over and stood at Cain’s head. “Do you always play with them like this, Grace?”

“Yep, she does,” Archer said.

I ripped the stake from Cain’s shoulder, he screamed again and I laughed. Maybe I was having a little too much fun.

“And this,” I said, aiming for his heart…

“Is for what?” Cain grabbed my wrist in a sudden burst of strength and squeezed it until I dropped the stake. He threw me and I landed with a thud. Before I knew it he was gone, and I was very pissed off.

“Is for being a bad boy,” I mumbled, getting up and brushing the grass off me. “Well, that was fun.”

Archer raised his eyebrows and the others looked on in silence.

“What? Why are you all looking at me like that?”

“Did you not notice Cain running away?” Archer said, throwing his hands up in exasperation.

“I don’t see any of you chasing him!” I cried.

Absentmindedly, I rubbed my wrist where Cain had grabbed it. There was a faint bruise starting to form but nothing that wouldn’t heal just as quickly. Seth took my hand, inspecting the damage. I had cuts and
bruises
everywhere, we all did, but it was nothing to worry about. He brushed some grass from my hair, and without thinking I leant into him. Seth put his arm around me, and Josh made a deep growling sound, baring his fangs. Oh great, we were right back where we started.

I knew Josh was about to take a swing at Seth, so I moved out of the way. They fought punch for punch for a few minutes, it was mildly amusing, and then I started to worry. Seth had the upper hand—Josh was strong but inexperienced—and it was getting rough.

“Ok, stop!” I yelled, pushing between them. “I will hit you both if I have to.”

“There you go, are you happy?” Josh yelled, making me flinch. “I killed a few vampires and helped you save the world, but you’re still with
him.
”

“Leave her alone,” Ryan yelled. He came to my side, never taking his eyes off Josh. “I think it’s time for you to leave.”

Archer and Charlotte moved closer, too, and it looked like all of us against Josh. I didn’t want it to be that way, I wanted the old Josh back, but he was gone and the new Josh scared me. He was someone I didn’t know. Maybe it was my fault, and maybe there was something I could’ve done differently, but I had to do what was best for everyone.

Ryan is right, Josh,
I pushed into his mind,
maybe you should go.

His brow furrowed. He wiped a trickle of blood from the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand.

“Josh…” I moved towards him.

“No. Stay away from me. I can’t do this anymore. It was always going to be him or me. Looks like you got what you wanted.”

I couldn’t respond. I didn’t know what I wanted. I certainly didn’t want him to leave, but I knew he couldn’t stay either. I stood in the clearing where so much had happened, where for a little while Josh and Seth weren’t enemies but had fought side by side, and even though I was surrounded by my friends, I felt completely alone. All I could do was watch the person who should have been the love of my life walk away until he was swallowed by the night.