Magicstorm (Heart of a Vampire, Book 4) (13 page)

Brandon fidgeted against the wall. It was all
Celeste could do not to pepper him with questions.

“Go on,” she told her sister.

“Well, then Jess looked at me. He pointed the
dagger at my chest. I didn’t even see him move, but somehow he cut
me.” She drew a finger along her chest. “He laughed again, and said
I’d be a weak offering to his Master, but at least I’d be of some
use.”

Her heart was breaking for Shana, for the
hurt in her sister’s eyes. The bastard was going to pay for what
he’d done. She’d damn well make sure of it.

“Then Jess came closer. He pressed the knife
against the side of my neck and told me not to move or I might lose
my head.” Shana’s eyes turned pleading. “I couldn’t move, though.
It was like I was frozen, too scared to even think. But I was
trying to move, I really was. I just couldn’t.”

“It’s okay to be afraid,” Celeste said
softly.

Shana jerked her head. “No. It wasn’t that.
It was... this is gonna sound crazy, but it was like someone put a
spell on me so I couldn’t move.”

Celeste glanced at Brandon. His jaw was
clenched so tight, a muscle ticked.

“The animals, creatures, in the room all
moved back to the walls,” Shana said quietly. “Something banged on
the ceiling. It sounded like this huge monster coming to get me. I
panicked, terrified. And somehow, I managed to jump off the
counter. I rammed my knee in Jess’ groin and ran.” Her eyes grew
unfocused once more. “I don’t remember running. How I got clothes,
or even how I got here.”

Celeste said, “Well, you’re safe now. That’s
what’s important.”

Shana’s eyes cleared. “Jess laughed at me as
I ran away. He said we were connected, and he’d never let me
go.”

“He won’t touch you again.”

Shana didn’t look convinced. “I’d like to be
alone now.”

Standing, Celeste said, “Get some sleep. I’ll
be right down the hall.”

Shana lay back down, curling up. Tugging the
blanket over her sister, Celeste fought her anger.

She reluctantly left, Brandon leading the way
to the living room.

He stopped at the window, fists clenched so
tightly his knuckles were white.

Reaching his side, she asked, “What the hell
is going on?”

Brandon glanced at her. His eyes shone pure
red. “Hell just might be the right word.”

Chapter
thirteen

“Q
ué cabrón
!” Celeste stared at him, a
shiver crawling down her back. “You mean literally.”

“I do.” He glanced out the window once more.
“What do you know of sorcerers?”

She snorted. “Magical. Powerful. I don’t
know. Only what I’ve read, or seen in movies.”

“They are powerful. They can use dark magics
for many things, including stealing souls, binding people to do
their bidding. Force them to do anything.” His voice was dark,
pained.

“You sound like you know from personal
experience.” She longed to reach out and touch him, comfort him.
But she wasn’t sure how. Or even if he’d let her.

He continued to stare out the window, every
line of his body tight with tension. “Long ago, when I was mortal,
a sorceress came to my family’s land. She had hellish creatures
with her. They destroyed everything in their path. Killed my entire
family except for my brother. He and I fought them, and for some
reason, the sorceress let us live.” He laughed humorlessly. “If you
call such an existence living.”

“How’d you get free?” she asked, unable to
stop from laying her hand on his arm.

Startled, Brandon glanced down at her
delicate fingers resting on his arm. Her eyes shone with
compassion.

She was trying to comfort him even at a time
when she was so worried for her family. Something inside tightened
almost painfully as she helped draw him from the past.

Through his burning throat, he said, “A
vampire rescued me and my brother, and killed the sorceress.”

“That’s how you became a vampire?”

“Yes.”

“So you think it’s a sorceress killing women
here, now? How can we fight such a thing?”

He turned to face her, taking her hand and
staring at it. She trembled, but didn’t back away. Shame at all
he’d done in the past flooded him at the innocence of this
woman.

Yet her strength comforted him in ways he’d
never known possible.

Uncomfortable, he stepped away from her. “I
need to get some food. I’ll bring enough back here that I won’t
have to leave again anytime soon.”

Hurt flitted through her eyes before she
could hide it. Crossing her arms over her stomach, she turned away.
“All right.”

Unable to stop himself, he strode to her and
spun her around. Dipping down, he kissed her, devouring her
mouth.

She grasped his shoulders as if hanging on
for dear life.

Drawing away, he said, “I’ll be back soon. I
promise.”

She nodded, looking slightly dazed.

Brandon left the apartment, torn and confused
over the feelings stirring inside him. Part of him didn’t want to
leave. He wanted to stay and protect her.

But whoever was out there didn’t know who she
was, or where she lived. They’d not shown up at all. He would have
seen the signs.

He had time.

Brandon headed for O’Grady’s. He could stock
up on a week’s supply of blood, grab some food, then come back to
Celeste.

Twenty minutes after Brandon left, a bang
rattled Celeste’s front door. A grin crept over her lips as she
hurried to let him back in.

Just as she reached the door, Hercules raced
into the room, fur standing on end.

The kitten stumbled to a stop, facing the
door and hissing.

The door rattled as someone knocked
again.

Celeste stepped back as her kitten yowled. It
couldn’t be Brandon. He would have called out by now.

Spinning, she raced to her bedroom and
grabbed her gun from the bedside table. She hurried back down the
hall, into Shana’s room.

Her sister glanced up, startled. The cell
phone she’d been talking on dropped to the bed.

“
Merida! El stupido,
Shana. Who did
you call?” Celeste demanded.

“None of your business.” Shana reached for
the phone, then froze as the banging on the door sounded again,
louder and more insistent.

Shana’s face whitened.

Striding to the bed, Celeste grabbed the
phone and glanced at the number before turning it off.

“Who were you talking to?” she repeated.

“A friend, okay?”

“Not okay. Someone’s here. They could have
traced you by your phone,” she growled.

Shana stiffened, staring at the bedroom
doorway.

On the other side of the apartment, wood
crashed.

“Get under the bed and don’t come out until I
say.” Celeste pushed Shana to the floor.

Her sister scrambled under the bed as heavy
footsteps came down the hall.

Fur standing on end, Hercules raced into the
bedroom just before Celeste slammed the door shut. She pushed the
dresser in front of it, grunting from the effort, then sank to the
floor.

Still hissing, Hercules jumped on her
lap.

His little claws dug through her jeans, but
she didn’t bother pushing him off. Punching in Brandon’s cell phone
number, she waited on edge as it began to ring.

Behind her, someone rammed the door. The
dresser shuddered against her back.

Across the room, under the bed, Shana watched
her with eyes full of fear. “I’m sorry,” she whispered.

Celeste didn’t say a word as the phone
continued to ring, then clicked. Brandon’s voice came on the line,
telling her to leave a message. She remembered he’d left the phone
back at the station.

She slammed the disconnect button, then
stared at her useless phone. She couldn’t call the cops. They
couldn’t deal with this.

Which left no one.

She was on her own.

Straightening, she glanced at her sister. It
didn’t matter what it took, she would keep Shana safe.

In the hall, wood cracked as the banging
continued. The dresser continued to shudder with each impact.

Brandon tapped his foot impatiently as
O’Grady gathered the requested supplies. The old man was affable,
but all Brandon could think about was getting back to Celeste.

One of the waitresses sidled up to the bar,
whispering in O’Grady’s ear.

The man’s eyes widened as he turned to look
at Brandon. Then he shoved a to-go bag in Brandon’s hands. “There’s
a message for you, just came in. Someone called to tell you to back
off. You and your little cop.”

The blood drained from Brandon’s face. He
felt lightheaded as his heart beat madly. They knew about
Celeste.

Without thought, he clutched the bag in his
fist and sprinted from the bar, flashing through the night, heading
for Celeste.

He could only pray they hadn’t found her
yet.

Celeste rose on shaking legs, facing the
door. “I’m armed. You have five seconds to leave before I
shoot.”

The person in the hall laughed, slamming
against the door again.

Taking a deep breath, Celeste aimed for the
top of the door and fired a warning shot.

Silence descended.

Behind her, the window shattered as a large
shadow burst into the room. She swung, bringing her pistol up.
Before she could aim, pain raced up her hand as the gun was clawed
from her grip.

She stumbled back, staring up into a
partially cloaked face. Large, luminous green eyes, inhuman in
shape and size, peeked from the shadow of the cloak. Sharp rows of
teeth glinted from the creature’s grin.

Behind her, someone crashed into the door
again. Wood splintered and the dresser screeched forward a few
inches.

Celeste rushed from the door to stand in
front of the bed. The creature barely looked at her as it flung the
dresser across the room and ripped open the broken door.

From the hall, a giant of a man entered, his
strength and bearing almost regal. Short black hair framed a pale,
angular face. Behind him, two wolves peeked in, their eyes flashing
a bright blue, low growls emanating from their chests.

Strength tried to desert her in the face of
these creatures. Refusing to cower, she lifted her chin and stared
at them, watching, waiting for them to make their move. Praying she
could come up with some way to keep her sister safe.

The hooded creature glanced at the window,
hissing, “Already he comesss, master.”

The crackly voice sent shivers skittering
down Celeste’s spine. She glanced around the room, looking for
anything she could use as a weapon.

The giant came further inside, then squatted
to stare under the bed. “Jess is dead, darling. Your connection to
him has become mine. Come to me, now.”

Celeste took a deep breath. “Get out of my
house and leave me and my sister alone.”

“You should be thanking me for killing the
man who beat your sister.” He glanced up at her, flicking his hand
as if she were insignificant. “Step away. You have no hold over her
any longer. She is mine.”

Fisting her hands, Celeste stepped forward an
inch. “She doesn’t belong to you and never will.”

“Really?” He raised a brow as he grinned.

From under the bed, Shana mewled as if in
pain.

“Leave her alone,” Celeste demanded, rushing
forward and striking out with her fist, aiming for the man’s
face.

She hit only air.

Arms clamped around her, spinning her to face
the bed. Shana was slowly climbing out from under it.

“Get back under the bed,” Celeste
shouted.

Shana glanced at her, blinking, but her gaze
was unfocused as if she were sleep walking.

“That’s right. Come, my dear. Come, and I
won’t be forced to harm your delectable sister,” the man cooed.

Celeste shivered as the man trailed his slimy
tongue along her neck. She tried shoving her elbow back, but
connected with nothing. Raising her foot, she slammed it down on
his instep. It would have been highly more effective with shoes,
but the man still cursed, his hold around her loosening.

Celeste grasped at the opening, slamming her
arms up to widen his arms. She grabbed the man’s wrist and wrenched
his elbow back. He stumbled a step, giving her much needed
space.

He glared at her, his eyes turning a deep,
bloody crimson. He grinned. “You will make a fine prize.”

The wolves growled, darting forward. The man
shouted a command in a strange language, and they whimpered,
backing up once more.

Hercules dashed over, yowling and hissing
loud enough to wake the dead. He swiped a claw-tipped paw at the
man. The giant swung his hand at the kitten. Hercules dashed out of
the way, racing under the bed.

Celeste kicked at the man’s thigh, but the
damn man disappeared once more. Spinning, she looked for him. The
shadows in the room undulated, wavering around her as if alive.

“Master, he’ssss here,” the hooded creature
said.

“Damn it.” Then the man’s voice echoed
through the room, once more in that strange language. This time he
spoke so fast the strange words became a blur. Dizziness swept over
Celeste. She tried to raise a hand to her temple, but couldn’t
move.

A bellowing cry of rage broke through the
fogginess. Celeste blinked, and Brandon was in front of her.

His gaze swept over her, then he turned,
facing the bed. “Where are they?” he asked.

“I...” She tried to swallow through her dry
throat. “I don’t know. They were just here.”

As the dizziness slowly faded, Celeste
glanced around the room. The creatures and the man were gone.

So was Shana.

Chapter
fourteen