When Darkness Hungers: A Shadow Keepers Novel (Shadow Keepers 5) (26 page)

As she watched, Leena went through the motions of tracking the vampire’s aura. Of pulling it into the ball. Of turning the ball into a map. She was working hard, faster than usual, calling her powers out with more force than Alexis had seen her do in the past.

Beads of sweat formed on her forehead and upper lip, and her fair skin splotched red from concentration. After what seemed an interminable length of time, Leena finally looked up with an exhausted smile. “Look,” she said. “Our vamp’s on the move.”

Sure enough, that pinpoint of light had appeared on the etched surface of the ball. Alexis took it and peered closely, trying to discern the location.

“I’ll get the street map,” Leena said, but Alexis only shook her head.

“No,” she croaked, realizing her throat was thick with fear. “I recognize it.” She met Leena’s eyes. “Oh, God, Leena. He’s
here
.” She lunged sideways, going for the gun she’d left sitting by the kitchen sink. She didn’t make it.

“
She’s here
, you mean.” The voice was cold and feminine, and before Alexis made it to her weapon, a dark figure was at her side, mouth at her neck, and Alexis knew that this was the end. This vampire had found her, and she was going to kill her, and damn Alexis all to hell, but it wasn’t Tori she was thinking about, but Serge.

“No!” Leena’s scream cut the silence as she rushed forward, shoving the end of her cane toward the vampire. But the female only grabbed the cane and pulled Leena close, then pressed a palm against her chest and shoved her so hard she slammed into the far wall.

“Don’t worry,” the female said, turning her attention
back to Alexis. “I’m not going to kill you straightaway. You and I are going to have so much fun together.”

“Can’t I play, too?”
Serge’s voice
. Alexis blinked, certain that she was dreaming. That the female had already bit her, drained her, and she was hallucinating as death approached.

“Sergius!”
The female’s cry was delighted. “Derrick will be so thrilled!”

On the ground, Leena screamed, her hands clutching at her temples as she writhed in pain, and Alexis could only stand there, fearing for her own life and listening to her friend suffer.

“We haven’t been properly introduced,” Sergius said, his attention only on the female.

“I’m Bella. And you are nothing short of a legend.” She shook Alexis, who stiffened and tried not to be afraid. “Would you like the honor of the kill?”

His eyes were cold, hard, like nothing that Alexis had seen before. And as he walked toward her, she knew this was the end. Oh God, oh God, how could she have been so stupid? How could she have trusted a vampire? How could she—

And then it was over. With speed too fast to be seen, Serge whipped out a stake and drove it hard into the female’s chest. The woman’s mouth formed a surprised O, but that was all. Then she was dust, gone, and with nothing to hold Alexis up anymore, her knees went limp and she started to fall.

Serge’s strong arms caught her, pulling her back up, pressing her to him. A swell of relief passed through her—she’d doubted him. She’d doubted him, and yet he’d saved her anyway.

“Alexis,” he murmured, his lips touching her hair. “God, Alexis, if I’d been even a little bit later.”

“I’m okay. I’m okay.”

But the world was still tilting, because through the haze of relief, she saw Leena stand. Saw her grab Alexis’s gun from where she’d left it on by the sink. Saw her aim it at Serge.

“Leena, no!”

“It’s Sergius,” her friend said, her eyes wilder than Alexis had ever seen them. “It’s Sergius, and he has to die.”

He’s right there
. The vampire. One of the pair she’d been searching for.

His chest opened to her. A gun in her hand. A wooden bullet, and a clear shot to satisfaction and revenge.

Eva didn’t take it.

Not because he deserved a second chance, but because she could use him. It was all so clear now. Alexis had led her to Sergius, just as Eva had seen in that very first vision. A blinding flash of prescient knowledge the first time that Leena had taken the girl’s hand. A spark that let her know in no uncertain terms that somehow, someway, Alexis was the key to finding Sergius and Derrick. That somehow Los Angeles played into it.

And then, when Leena had learned that the vampire Alexis sought was in Los Angeles, the pieces fell into place. They moved here, and the hunt began.

Now she’d found Sergius, just as the vision had predicted. And if she let him live a little bit longer, Sergius could lead her to Derrick.

It was hard to think—her head still throbbed. But she fought through the pain, and knew what she had to do. It wouldn’t be hard.

She’d been patient for so long … she just had to wait a little bit longer.

Wait … and keep the little bitch down.

Not that Leena wasn’t without her uses, just like all the others before her had been. And there’d been so many before her, starting with her own daughter.

The men had arrived unexpectedly, surprising Derrick, who held Tomas in his arms. The other one, Sergius, had already grabbed her, had ripped open her vein and was drawing in her blood. She’d been fading, losing her grip upon life, his actions proving that it wasn’t her help that he’d truly wanted, but her blood. He wasn’t worthy of what she could offer, of the way she could bind his daemon. How could he be, a filthy vampire? A bastardization of nature?

Death might be coming for her, but he’d die there in the cookhouse, too, she was certain of it. The Dumont men were fools; not one of them truly understood what she was, what power she wielded. But they were not weak, and they knew well how to defeat vampires. Derrick and Sergius would see no more of the world. Their reign would end tonight
.

Except it didn’t
.

The men took Derrick away, but she later learned that they didn’t kill him, choosing instead to torture him for eternity, locked deep within a crypt with no blood to nourish him
.

They’d planned the same fate for Sergius, and they’d rushed him, not the least bit mindful of her limp body
when he tossed it aside, a barrier between him and the raging men. Still, there’d been no escape for the vampire, and of that she’d been glad
.

But she hadn’t anticipated her own daughter. The foolish child had made a noise, and the vampire had heard it. He’d grabbed the girl from the cupboard in which she hid, and he’d used her as a shield. It had bought him time and distance, for the child’s father wasn’t Tomas, but the eldest Dumont male. And thus Sergius had escaped, tossing the child back into the cookhouse at the last possible minute and buying himself a few precious seconds
.

Evangeline, however, continued to lay dying, bleeding on the floor as the men rushed out, searching for a vampire they would never catch
.

She’d called the child over, and the little girl had come, tears streaming down her face, her small voice whispering, “Maman! Maman!”

Evangeline had hardened her heart, clutched the child, and uttered the words she’d been warned by her own mother never to use. An abomination, even for one who delved into the darkness as she did. But it was either that, or die
.

And Evangeline chose to live—her body gone, but her spirit alive inside the body of her daughter. Cramped down, buried deep, able to rise only through the force of extreme will that left the girl clutching her head and fearing that her skull would explode from the pressure
.

The girl never knew what lived inside her. And when she grew and aged, Evangeline moved to the next one. A granddaughter. Then a great-granddaughter. And on and on until she’d settled in Leena. And with each generation, Eva had to fight her way out again, able to
claim only snippets of time, using those moments to search for the vampires who’d destroyed her world
.

Now that she’d found them, she’d fight brutally to keep control of this body. To keep Leena down. She needed it now. Because she had a plan
.

Because Sergius could lead her to Derrick, and she’d finally be done with the both of them
.

“Leena!” Alexis’s voice cut through the haze of memories. “Leena, put the gun down. Edgar was wrong. He’s not dangerous. He’s helping. I swear, he’s helping.”

Slowly, she lowered the gun. Slowly, she managed a smile.

Inside, she could feel the girl twisting, trying to regain control.

But Eva wasn’t having that.

Leena might never have known that Eva lived inside her, but Eva had witnessed every moment of her life. She knew how to be the simpering little gimpy Leena, and she’d play the part until the end.

Then—when she finally plunged the stake into Sergius’s and Derrick’s murderous hearts—she’d tell them the truth: that it was Evangeline who took their lives, just as they’d taken everything from her.

Serge clung to Alexis, barely able to comprehend the horror of what would have happened if he’d arrived even a moment later.

He’d almost talked himself out of coming, but the memory of how her face had looked when she’d found out about Edgar had haunted him. He hadn’t known her long, but he understood the core of her—he’d seen it and had recognized it in himself. She wasn’t the type to sit back and wait for justice. She was going to go on the hunt.

She might not want him at her side, but he didn’t care. She was in his blood now, and he wasn’t going to see her destroyed.

And yet she’d come so close.

He pulled her closer, holding her, then pushed her away and searched her eyes. “Damn little fool! You were going to go out? By yourself?”

“Fool?” Unexpectedly, she laughed. “In case you didn’t notice, she didn’t attack me on the hunt. She came to me.” Her brow furrowed. “Why was she here?”

“You’ve been hunting rogues,” he said. “You can’t expect to stay under the radar.”

She nodded, then stepped back from him and ran her fingers through the thick waves of her hair, now loose around her shoulders. She flashed him a quick smile. “I don’t know why you came here, but thank you.”

“Yes,” Leena said stiffly. “You arrived in the nick of time.”

“Are you okay?” Alexis was looking at her friend with concern. “Your head?”

Leena raised a hand to her temple. “It’s better now. Just a dull ache.”

“Do you want to crash here?”

For a moment, the girl seemed to consider it, her eyes never leaving Serge. They were old eyes, and he found himself hoping that she’d leave, but whether that was because he wanted to be alone with Alexis or because the girl made him uncomfortable, he didn’t know.

“No,” she finally said. “Thanks, but I think I want to go home.” She nodded at the pile of dust. “We found the vampire that killed Edgar, but we’re still looking for the one that killed Tori. Maybe I can work on that tonight.”

“Don’t even try,” Alexis said. “You’ll get a migraine, and it’s not worth it. Not tonight. Just rest, okay? Promise me?”

The younger girl nodded, and Alexis went to her side, then pulled her into a hug that Leena stiffly returned. They broke apart, and Alexis handed her the fallen cane, then walked her outside to her car. Serge followed at a discreet distance. Foolish, perhaps, but he wanted to stay close enough to protect Alexis.

When she returned, her smile was timid. “So. Thank you.” Another ghost of a smile, then she eased past him into the kitchen. “I want a glass of wine. Do you? I mean—do you drink?”

“I do, and thank you.” He grinned, hoping to lighten the mood. “A snack would be good, too. The kind that doesn’t coagulate.” It was a ridiculous attempt at levity, but it seemed to work. She rolled her eyes and nodded.

“Right,” she said. “Have a seat and I’ll see what I can find.”

She ended up bringing two glasses and a bottle of Malbec to the table along with a plate of cheese and fruit. “I’m not really hungry,” she said as she nibbled on a slice of cheese. “I eat when I’m nervous.”

“Who can blame you for being nervous? You almost got killed.”

Her smile was tremulous, and she didn’t quite meet his eyes. “I’m not sure that’s why I’m nervous.”