Kissed by Moonlight (7 page)

A quick pounce, and I was on her, giving the blade a vicious twist before yanking it out in a gush of dark blood and yellow fluid. The ruined eye plopped out onto her cheek, held there only by the optic nerve. So much for icy beauty.

Her scream nearly deafened me, and the blood and eye goo made the
skean dhu
slippery in my hand. I tried for her throat, but my hand slid, the point of the blade grazing skin and glancing off her collar bone without doing any real damage. Enraged, she gave me a push, heaving me off her so hard I flew several feet across the parking lot. My head connected with the side of my car with a sickening thud, the knife skittering away under the vehicle. The pain and resulting nausea was instantaneous; I had barely enough time to lean to the side before I heaved up what little was in my stomach. Gods, this was the second time I'd lost my lunch during a fight. Good thing I hadn't been eating much lately.

That gave vamp lady enough time to get to her feet. She towered over me, her good eye snapping with anger, hatred, and something else. Something I'd seen once before.

Holy shit, the vamp had a soul.

"So, this is the mighty hunter of Portland, Oregon?" she taunted, her red-painted lips turned into an unattractive snarl. "What a pathetic little piece of trash."

She gave me a swift kick in the gut with her stiletto, which only served to make me puke again. I lay there completely helpless as wave after wave of dry heaves drained me of strength and left me vulnerable.

With a snort of what sounded like disgust, she squatted down next to me and grabbed a handful of my hair, yanking back my head so she could see my face. "Are you finished?" Yep, definitely disgust.

My voice was scratchy and raw, and I swear there were two of her swimming around in front of me. "Not hardly."

With one smooth move, I slid my second blade from my boot and thrust it into her abdomen just about where her diaphragm should be. She stared at me in shock as I ripped the blade downward, using the weight of my body to force the blade through muscle and sinew. With my strength nearly gone, gravity and body weight was all I had left.

Blood bubbled from her lips as she fell to her knees in the gravel. She stared in horror as her innards spilled out, glistening black in the glow of the headlights. She tried to stuff her guts back where they belonged, but I'd done too much damage. A stab wound was one thing, but once the insides were out, there was no coming back. The skin might heal over the mess, but the vamp would be trapped inside a non-functioning body. Nasty. Plus, I'd perforated something vital because the stench was nauseating. If I hadn't already puked my guts out from the blinding headache, the smell would have done it.

"Bitch... " It was hardly more than a whisper, but there was so much anger behind it, I might have been frightened if I'd been thinking straight.

I sank to the ground, my strength completely depleted. I stared up at her as her blood and other gunk poured over me, my knife blade still buried in her belly. I felt the Darkness that lived inside me raise its head. It liked causing pain, and I was causing vamp lady a lot of pain. In my current condition, there was no way I could control the Darkness, so I had to make this fast. I had one question. "Who gave you a soul?"

"Bitch... " Stronger this time. "I'm going to kill you."

"I doubt it. Now answer my question." I gritted my teeth against the throb of pain in my head, reached over, and gave the knife a vicious twist.

She shrieked in agony, trying to pull my hands away from the knife, but she was as weak as I was. "Fuck you." It was less a snarl and more a whimper.

"No, thanks." I turned the knife again, eliciting another cry. "You're not my type. Now tell me. Who did this?" The Darkness was surging. I had seconds at best.

She looked me right in the eye. I could see it all there... the pain, the suffering, the anger. Even the need for revenge. And, yes, I could see her soul.

"Fuck. You." She practically spat it.

The Darkness broke free, and the whole world tunneled down, narrow and dark. I watched my hand rip the blade from the vamp's belly, and then slash it across her throat in one fluid movement. My hand plunged the knife into her chest, punching though tissue, past bone, until it reached the heart.

Her eyes widened, and in a split second, she was so much dust, slowly sifting to the ground. The knife clattered from my numb fingers as the Darkness threw my head back and howled at the moon.

Chapter 10

I came to with my cheek pressed against the rough gravel next to my car. I had no idea how much time had passed, but I was chilled to the bone. My cheek was scraped raw from where a particularly pointy rock was poking it, and my head still hurt like hell. I tried to move, but the throbbing pain sent my stomach heaving again.

There was no way I could drive like this. Heck, I couldn't even get myself off the ground. And what about vamp lady's car? It was still there, one door wide open, motor running and headlights on. I couldn't leave it like that. Someone would see it and report it to the cops. Which would be fine except there was blood everywhere, including on me. It looked as if I'd survived a massacre.

My lips twisted wryly. Not far from the truth.

I managed to wiggle my phone out of my pocket without causing my head too much agony. The numbers swam in front of my eyes as I squinted at the screen. Finally I gave up trying to figure out the time. It was still dark.

I considered my options. Kabita had already had to clean up after me once. She would read me the riot act and then march my ass to the nearest hospital, which probably wasn't a bad idea based on how I was feeling. Jack would bitch at me and give me a bigger headache. Trevor? Well, what was family for if not to rescue your sorry ass in the middle of the night? Plus his contacts could get the "crime scene" covered up in no time, faster than even Kabita could manage. Perfect.

Unfortunately, actually dialing his number was another matter. I couldn't focus on the screen well enough to make out names. My fingers were numb and fumbly. I could hardly scroll through my contacts list. Shit. I really needed to get one of those phones that talked back.

I finally gave up and stabbed at a random contact. All I could do was hope I hadn't chosen my mother.

***

Chill wind lashed at my clothes and hair. I tasted salt in the air and the scent of sea teased my nose as I inhaled deeply. The bleak landscape was bathed in the sliver glow of the swollen moon overhead.

She stood at the edge of the cliff, her simple shift dress soaked from the spray of the ocean. Around her body I could see the glow of her inner fire. She was burning from the inside out.

I knew this place. This dream. I'd had it before. Only that time I'd been the girl... Fina, a creature of rage and fire, the Fire that lived inside me now.

I knew she burned with hunger. To devour, destroy. I knew because I'd felt it within me, and it scared me to death.

Below, the sea crashed against the jagged black rocks, sending another icy spray over her. It sizzled against her skin like oil on a hot stove, evaporating in seconds. She didn't notice.

"Fina! Fina!"

This time, I was the one who called to her, not the boy. The moon child, Iah, was nowhere to be seen. Even the temple that was supposed to stand on the hill behind us had vanished. It was just the two of us, the rocks, and the sea.

The girl stepped closer to the edge of the cliff.

"Fina, please," I begged. My heart ached for her and for the boy she loved. It wasn't fair. "It doesn't have to be this way." After all, I'd survived with the Fire inside me. So far, anyway. Why couldn't she?

She didn't answer. Instead she stared out to sea, her body rigid as the wind plastered pale pink robes to her slender form. Her long red curls danced madly on the wind.

"You have to listen to me." My voice was hardly above a whisper, yet I knew she heard me. "What will Iah do without you?"

Still she ignored me. I knew it was only a dream, but somehow I wanted to change things. Wanted to make sure it turned out differently this time.

"What can I do, Fina?"

She turned to me, her face a pale mask. Her eyes were living flames. Terrifying. My heart raced in my chest as she held out cupped hands to me, each one filled with rich, loamy earth. The dirt trickled between her fingers as she stared at me, her eyes burning hotter with each second.

"Fire burns," she whispered. The glow around her intensified, so bright it made my head throb. I had to close my eyes against the light. "Earth cleanses... "

Chapter 11

My head felt like somebody had used it for batting practice. With every beat of my heart, a throb of pain made my stomach roil. I didn't want to open my eyes, but someone kept yakking at me.

I wanted to tell whoever it was to shut up, but my mouth refused to connect to my brain. I inhaled and tried again. "Go 'way," I mumbled. It came out a lot whinier than I'd intended.

"Not until you open your eyes." Kabita's tone brooked no argument.

I mumbled something rude.

"The same to you. Now open your eyes, or I'll open them for you."

I cracked open an eyelid only to have the light stab viciously at my eye. Pain was a hot poker in my brain. I hissed and tried to block out the light with my hand. I was only moderately successful.

I was in the hospital in what looked like a private room. Not that I was impressed. The mattress was too thin, and my back ached from lying in one position too long. The walls and floors were too white, the florescent lighting too harsh. It was clinical and cold as hell. The only colorful spot in the room was a really ugly painting of a vase of flowers which somebody with very poor taste had thought was a good idea.

I turned slightly toward my visitor, careful not to jar my throbbing head. Kabita Jones, best friend and boss, let out a sigh as she dragged a metal chair next to the bed and sank down on it. I closed my eyes again as she propped her feet on the mattress next to me. "You really do know how to cause trouble, don't you?"

I winced. "Keep your voice down. You're hurting my head."

"Well, at least you're alive."

Gods, I almost wished I wasn't. The pain was intense. I kept my eyes shut against the light. "Tell me you didn't call my mother."

"I didn't call your mother."

"Liar."

"You're in the hospital, Morgan," she snapped. "I had no idea how bad it was, but it didn't look good. At all." She sounded worried. And if Kabita was worried, I knew I was a hot mess. "Of course I called your mother. "

Great. Just great. All I needed was my mother hovering over me, listing everything I was doing wrong with my life, up to and including my choice of career. Granted, she thought I was a night manager at a local hotel, but I doubt she would have found vampire hunter a suitable occupation, either.

I swallowed. My throat felt like it had been given a good scrubbing with sandpaper. I opened one eye a slit, hissing against the sharp light. Unless she was hiding in the bathroom, my mother was nowhere to be seen.

"Where is she?"

"I sent her to get a cup of coffee. She was... stressed."

I would have laughed if my head hadn't hurt so badly. "Stressed" was no doubt an understatement. And, knowing my mother, she wasn't the stressed one. She was the causer of stress.

"Besides," Kabita continued, "we need to talk." Her face was expressionless, which didn't bode well.

Frak. Just what I needed. I sighed, closing my eyes again. "Listen, I'm not really up for a convo right now... "

"Don't care what you're up for," she snapped. Her boots hit the floor with a solid
thunk
. "I'm done with this death wish you've got going."

This time, I cracked open both eyes despite the pain hammering at the inside of my skull. Kabita's jaw was clenched, her silky dark brows drawn together in a frown. Man, she was pissed. "What are you talking about?"

"Ever since Inigo got... injured, you've been acting nuts."

Injured. That was one way to put it.

"Nuts?" I thought I'd done a pretty good job playing normal the last few weeks.

"First, you don't eat for months on end."

Kabita was totally exaggerating. Besides, it wasn't like a couple months without food would hurt me. There were enough donuts on these hips to insure survival through any famine.

"Next thing I know, you're calling me to rescue you from the bottom of a reservoir."

She made a fair point there. Although the whole "bottom of the reservoir thing" hadn't entirely been my fault.

"Then you take off for goddess-knows-where and end up in the middle of a prison riot," she continued.

"Okay, that part isn't exactly true. There was no riot."

She ignored me. "And then you manage to nearly get wasted in a parking lot. I know you're attacking random vampires, trying to get yourself killed."

"First, I was not
trying
to get myself killed. The vampire attacked me. Second, that's my job."

Kabita leaned forward, right into my face, her expression so fierce it was actually a little bit scary. "You went out there with nothing but a little bitty cooking knife and a boot dagger. What else am I supposed to think? You've gone off the frigging deep end, and I've had enough."

Damn. And here I thought I'd been hiding it so well. "So, what? You're firing me?"

She looked surprised at that. Her chair squeaked a bit as she sank back and crossed one jean clad leg over the other. "Of course not. Don't be stupid. Oh, too late."

I tried to scowl at her, but it gave me a worse headache than I already had, so I ignored the jab. "Then what?"

I swear to gods, Kabita smirked. "I'm sending you somewhere you can't hurt yourself. With someone who can force you to deal with your issues in a healthy way."

I blinked. She sounded like my cousin, the therapist. "What the hell are you talking about?"

Kabita gave me one of her enigmatic smiles and crossed her arms, feet back up on the bed. She was nothing if not smug.