Wulf's Redemption (Borne Vampires Book 3) (14 page)

“Actually,
Mom said he’s not as mad as before, but to still keep on our toes though. You
know Rathe.”

“Unfortunately,
I know him too well.”

A
truck headed for them. He recognized the driver as one of Herrick’s sons. He
parked beside them and got out. “Master, the hunters have gone into the forest.”

“Good,
they must think we are still lost. That should keep them busy for a while.”

Michael
returned, having exchanged his rifle for a pump action shotgun. A Glock was holstered
at his hip. He waved them to the pickup his brother had just driven. “I’ll take
you and Miss Kai to the farm.”

“We’ll
ride in the back.”

“Why?”
Michael asked, mistrustful.

“If
we are indeed up against a demon vampire, Kai and I can hold them off while you
drive,” Alex explained, shrugging off his sword.

“Oh!
I-I thought….” Michael fell silent.

Kai
grinned, shaking her head at him as she unbuckled her sword. “And here we
thought you would be prejudice against us, vampires. Let’s get going. If the
family was murdered by a demon vamp, then we will have to go to the morgue and
dispose of them.”

The
big Gypsy blanched, his swarthy skin went pale. “Miss Kai, the children were
ten and seven.”

“What?”
Kai gasped, stunned. “Are you certain?”

“My
son was best friends with Peter’s boys.”

✝✝✝

Anguished, Kai watched the children sitting around
Gaeta, who were listening intently to the tale the old woman spun, distracting
them from the talk about the Damned. If the boys had not been killed by the vamp,
who attacked them, they’d turn. She’d never killed a child before. Never had
to. Children under sixteen were off limits, until now.

A soft breeze caressed her face. Instead of
bringing relief from the heat, she smelt the stench of dead flesh. Putting her
hand on the handgrip of her gun, she stretched out her senses, not really
expecting to receive anything. Boy did she get a surprise!

Hit by chaotic emotions of jealousy and regret,
she realized she’d connected with the one who had killed the family. Unable to
make out if the demon vamp was female or male, she had the impression the
vampire wanted to come to Wulf Manor, yet it kept its distance. It wasn’t afraid
— it was being cautious. It wasn’t ready yet.

Ready for what?

“Alex, we need to hurry. I got a line on the vamp.”
Setting her sword on the floor of the truck bed, she climbed in, pulling out
her gun.

On alert, he set his sword beside hers and drew
his gun. “Where is it?”

“It’s in the direction of Magdeburg. Waiting.”

“Waiting for what?” Michael asked, scanning the
forest nervously.

“Waiting for us.”

Michael anxiously stared at his family. Alex held
out his hand. “Give me the keys.”

“No, I will take you.” His brave words did not
match the fear Michael felt about leaving his wife and sons.

“No, you will stay here and protect your family.
What we must do tonight, you shouldn’t be a part of,” Alex stated bluntly as he
holstered his gun and took the keys from the man’s slack fingers.

“You…?” Michael stopped, looking as if he were
about to be sick.

“We have to finish what the demon started or
others will either be infected or killed.” Alex climbed into the driver’s seat
while she tossed in their swords and jumped in the other side. “Where is the
farm?”

“Four miles to the main road, take a right, and
it’s the first driveway on the right. Peter Skaggin was his name.”

“Keep everyone together,” Alex ordered. “No one is
allowed to go off by themselves, do you understand? Stay near the fire. If you
are attacked, run inside the house. They cannot enter without invitation. Do not
invite anyone inside, even if you know them. We do not know who is who and must
consider anyone outside the family the enemy. Do you understand?”

Bobbing his head, Michael replied, “I do. May your
hunt be successful, for all our sakes.” He hurried back to his family.

“Kai,” Alex looked at her.

“Yes?”

“Can you get a lock on the demon?”

“Sort of.” She shrugged. “Still not one hundred
percent online. I get the impression it’s remorseful about what it’d done to
the family.”

Starting the truck and shifting the steering
column gear into drive, he drove back to the road. “Remorseful? That’s not like
the Damned.”

“It knows it crossed the line in attacking the
children. It worries it will be punished. Crap, I can’t tell if it’s a guy or a
woman!”

“You see only one vampire?”

“Only one so far. I can’t go any further than the
woods. Sorry.”

“At least you’re getting your gifts back.”

It hit her why she was having difficulty tracking
the vamp. “Son-of-a-bitch!”

“What? Did you see something?” Alex searched out
the windshield.

“No,” she shook her head, “it’s trying to block me!
The vamp is actually attempting to block me, like Angel and Sin did.”

“They kept you out of their minds? How?”

“With practice, Sin said. He did it to keep Angel
out of his mind.”
 
The dungeon! “Alex, remember
how Jarrod was obsessed with getting me and Mom, to turn us and use our psychic
abilities?”

“Yes, I remember.” His hands tightened on the
steering wheel.

“Angel wanted to turn me and use me to control the
others, to help her win her war.”

“The Prophecy.” He sat back in his seat, shaking
his head. “Great, Angel believes in it, too.”

“Alex, Mary has premonitions. Her gift is what led
her father and brothers to us. She saved us.” Kai shifted to look at him
better. “What if Angel and this vamp finds out about her? They’ll want to turn
her.”

“They’ll think twice knowing the gypsies are under
our protection.”

Kai wasn’t as convinced. “Mary told me she has the
impression the vamp and the hunters are searching for someone … possible other
than us. Actually, she said ‘something.’”

His frown deepened. “Something? She said that?”

She shrugged. “She isn’t sure what they are after.
Mary just warned me to be careful.”

“We’re warned at least. Let’s find out what we’re
up against.”

Couple miles down the road a ‘Stop’ sign loomed
ahead the headlights, and he braked at the main highway. No traffic. Heading in
the direction Michael told them to go, Alex slowed when the first right
appeared and turned down the lane. At the end of the road was a white with blue
trim, two-story farmhouse. No lights were on. Not even the motion lights came
on. Parking, he turned the engine off. They got out of the truck and grabbed
their swords, strapping them to their backs.

No sounds, nothing except the unsettling aftermath
of murder. She drew her gun, as did Alex. He led the way to the front door. The
warm summer’s breeze caressed her face, and she nearly gagged on the stench of
decaying flesh. Searching the clear sky, she found only a three quarter moon
watching them impassively. She followed Alex onto the wide porch. Quietly, he
opened the door and they entered the Skaggin house. The stench was worse
inside. Following Alex, her gun’s muzzle pointed at the ground, she saw him motioned
with his head for her to head upstairs.

Great
,
she grumbled.
I get to go upstairs where the
kids were killed. Wonderful.

The stairs were carpeted, giving her the added
stealth she needed as she crept up them. The scurry of bare feet against
hardwood floors made her lean into the wall. At the top of the stairs, she
cautious peaked around the corner. A huge hand wrapped around her throat,
jerking her into the air. Feet dangling off the floor, Kai stared into blazing,
red eyes.

Grinning, Peter Skaggin sprayed spittle on her
face as he leaned closer and said, “Pretty. I like you.”

“Well, I don’t like you,” she choked out, pulling
the trigger, unloading several silver bullets into his chest.

He howled, screaming as he dropped her to the
ground and tried to dig out the silver bullets buried in his flesh. Kai shot
two rounds right between his eyes. Roaring his agony, exposing rows of
needle-sharp teeth, Peter clutched his bloated face in agony as smoke poured
out of the wounds as the silver burned into him. Drawing her sword, she sliced
off his hands and head in one hard swing. Headless, the body sunk to his knees
and collapsed on the hardwood floor, next to his head and hands. Green,
putrid-smelling blood poured out of his severed neck and head.

Holstering her gun, a high-pitch scream behind her
made her whip around and she struck with her sword, realizing too late it was
one of the boys. He stared at her in surprise. Blackish-green blood gushed from
the cut to his hand. He gaped in wonder as the cut healed itself, then his gaze
switched back to her. The child’s innocent demeanor transformed and the demon
rose, altering his physical features. He snarled, exposing rows and rows of
sharp teeth. Letting out an ear-piercing scream, he charged her.

“Forgive me,” Kai whispered as she cut off his
head.

As the child’s head parted from his stocky body, the
horror of what she’d done threatened to overwhelm her. She focused on finding the
mother and her other son, who must have been turned also. No one else was on
the second floor. Kai found herself desperately praying they hadn’t changed
into demons as she reached into her backpack and pulled out the water bottle
full of Holy water.

Where the hell was Alex?

✝✝✝

Finished searching the back rooms, Alex heard the
screams upstairs. Running to Kai’s aid, he was in the living room when he was
tackled through the picture window, straight into the yard. Momentarily
stunned, he lay on his back, managing to stay his attacker by slamming his
hands onto the chest of the person, encountering large breasts.

Bloody hell, Mrs. Skaggin!

She growled at him, her face inches from his.
Flinching as hot, slimy drool dripped onto his face, he struggled to keep her
sharp teeth from making contact with his flesh. Snarling, he shoved the heavy
woman off him. Leaping to his feet, he drew his sword and faced her. The vampiress
circled him, her blood-shot eyes centered on the broadsword he held ready to
strike.

Flickering her bloodshot gaze back to him, she
frowned, seeming confused. “She said we weren’t to touch you. Why is that,
Slayer? Why does my mistress want you alive? Why can’t we feed on you?”

“Who is your mistress? Is she Angel Heart?”

Giggling, she shook her head. “Oh, no, Mistress is
no angel. She hungers for you. Wants you bad. Told me to tell you to make the
pretty Slayer go away or Mistress will kill her.
 

A short bark escaped him. “Tell your mistress that
Kai is a lot harder to kill than she thinks.”

With a secretive gleam in her dead eyes, the
vampiress moved around him, snake-like in her motion. The restless twisting of
her head and the hungry smacking of her lip set his nerves on edge. The woman
sidled closer to him, cautious of his sword. Rubbing her hands, she cackled
insanely.

“Slayer, Mistress knows your secrets. She knows
your sins. You are more damned than we are.”

Inside the house, he heard Kai shout, “Alex, where
are you?”

“Outside,” he yelled back, keeping a watchful eye
on the vampiress, who hissed at the house.

Peering out the broken window, Kai held her gun
ready to fire at the vampiress. “You okay?”

“Yeah, I’m just having a nice little chat with
Mrs. Skaggin.”
 

The vampiress jerked her head up as the smoke
trickling out the open windows upstairs. “Slayer, where’s my husband, my son?”

Eyes narrowed, Kai’s soft lips pinched flat.
“Taking a nap. A permanent one.”

A wail of sorrow broke out of the vampiress as she
sank to her knees, hitting the lawn with her fists. “My eldest son. My husband.
Dead, dead, dead. Why am I alive? Kill me, too, Slayer,” she begged him, tears
of blackish-green blood streaked down her swollen, blotchy cheeks.

Alex steeled himself against feeling sympathy for
the woman. Demons loved to fake emotions, to draw their prey in. Compassion made
their victims vulnerable for the kill. “Where is your mistress? The one who
made you and your family into monsters?”

Shifting her head back and forth nervously, the
vamp struggled on how to answer him. Loyalty to her family or her maker? The
vampiress called out to the darkness, “Emile, come here. Come to Mama.”

A young boy scurried out from under the front
porch. He went into her arms, holding onto her, fear wild in his bloodshot eyes.
The wounds he suffered during the vampire attack were left unhealed and oozing.

“Slayer, the woman you seek is—” A loud, savage
roar made Mrs. Skaggin scream. She tried to shield her son as a huge, silver
wolf leapt upon them, ripping into them with huge claws.

Alex ran back to the house and jumped inside
through the broken window. He exchanged a quick look with Kai, who was just as
shocked as he was. They aimed their guns at the huge beast as it hovered over
the now dead vamps. The wolf growled at them, its long muzzle covered in dark
green blood. The silver fur along its back rose as it snarled it’s defiance at
them. It slowly stood on its back legs and walked unsteadily toward them,
snapping its long, sharp teeth hungrily. Piercing red eyes, human-like, began
to glow white-hot as it gathered sped.

It was charging for Kai!

“Shoot
it,” he shouted at Kai, unloading his weapon into the oncoming wolf. She didn’t
hesitate and fired at it.

The
wolf disappeared.