Night Light

скачать книгу бесплатно

“Don’t make me chase you,” Steven gritted out as he jerked his head to the side and locked his gaze on her. “I said he could go home… not you.”

Jewel’s lips parted as she froze in mid motion. How dare he give her an order? She gritted her teeth realizing she’d obeyed him anyway. She raised her chin up a notch in defiance as she came to a conclusion. The moment she got away, she would keep running… from all of them, including her father.

“What are you going to do with her?” the priest demanded indignantly.

“I’m going to do what you can’t do… keep her safe,” Steven yelled not wanting to fight about this. The bruise on Jewel’s face had quite literally shattered his nerves and he’d be damned if he was going to send her back to the man that did it.

“I don’t need another protector,” Jewel turned to leave but stopped short seeing two dangerous-looking men blocking the doorway.

Dean had felt Steven’s distress all the way down the stairs and now that he was looking at the girl who was causing it, he could see why. Reading her soul, he caught a fleeting glance of the elusive angel of death.

“You’re wrong.” He moved so fast, even the two shifters in the room missed it. “You do need a protector.”

Jewel stifled a scream when the man’s palm pressed against her sore cheek and his eyes turned the color of mercury. The cold hand that had been clinched around her heart with icy fingers for so long melted. Suddenly, she was reminded of feelings she had forgotten existed… warmth, safety… love.

The priest leaned back against his desk when the shadow of wings sprung out from the man’s back, flickered brilliantly, then disappeared.

“I’ll be downstairs,” Dean stated as the wind rushed in to fill up the space he vanished from.

Steven didn’t know why Dean had chosen that moment to reveal his power but he was glad the fallen had done it. Jewel’s cheek was healed and the priest looked like he’d just seen the light.

“We need to leave… now,” Nick said from the doorway.

Steven grabbed Jewel’s hand and started for the door, glad the shock had taken the fight right out of her for the moment.

“Wait,” the priest called, making Steven and Nick stop to look back at him. “Was that…?” he faltered, pointing at the spot where Dean had stood moments before.

Steven smiled genuinely at the excitement in the old priest’s eyes. “Yeah… it was.”

The priest smiled when Steven and Nick left the room with Jewel in tow. He nodded once and began gathering the tools he would need. In his mind, God was preparing the earth for His return.

Steven and Nick stepped out of the church but Steven pulled Jewel to a stop so he could glance up at the office window. He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the office light go out.

“Looks like the old geezer is taking your advice,” Nick said.

Steven shook his head, “More like he saw Dean for what he was and is having some kind of religious experience. He gave me his phone number, I’ll call him when the coast is clear.”

“I don’t think a couple hours will be enough time,” Nick informed him.

“It is what it is.” Steven responded. “Right now, let’s get back to the club so we can give the news to Warren and Quinn.”

Dean sat on the roof of the cathedral and smiled down at the trio as they left the church behind. He’d given Steven all the help he could but the calming spell he had put on the girl wouldn’t last forever. He could feel the darkness under the building starting to mount as the vampires began emerging from their tunnel.

Unlike those from the other night, these were being influenced by something even darker, more sinister, than Dean had ever encountered.

Dean frowned wondering why he hadn’t sensed it when they cleaned out the first group that had taken residence here. This influence was very old and very powerful. As suddenly as he sensed it, the darkness was gone and only the vampire presence could be felt.

The fallen gained access back into the church to check up on the old man and make sure he got out alive.

Chapter 4

Trevor and Kat had tracked the vampire they’d discovered halfway across the city.

“What the hell is he doing?” Kat whispered, starting to get suspicious.

“Looks like he’s going shopping,” Trevor answered when the vampire stopped in front of a shop window and looked at the darkened display.

This vampire was young, barely eighteen from the looks of him. He had straight black hair and wore round-rimmed eyeglasses. With his hair pulled back, he would have looked almost presentable except for his pale skin.

The two picked up their pace when the vampire abruptly turned away from the window and started walking down the street again. Even with the shops closed, the sidewalks were busy this time of night.

They’d discovered the body of the vampire’s latest victim sprawled out on a well-manicured lawn. With their sense of smell, they’d been able to catch up with the bloodsucker just as the vampire reached Rodeo Drive. From there, Trevor had to hold Kat back a bit explaining that there were too many people around for them to just run in blindly.

Now, here they were, following a vampire on foot and neither one in the mood for conversation. Next thing they knew, they were on a city bus not really paying attention to its destination. Finally, the vampire reached up and pulled the cord to get off. Kat and Trevor rode down to the next stop and got off themselves before resuming their pursuit. The vampire continued walking and Kat growled in frustration.

“I’m starting to think this vampire is on drugs. We’ve almost made a complete circle.” She complained. “We’re only a few blocks away from the club.”

“There he goes!” Trevor exclaimed and ran toward an alley where the vampire abruptly vanished.

Trevor’s sneakers made a skidding noise when he reached the mouth of the alley and peered into it. Kat stood beside him, ducked down a bit so they could both peek around the corner.

“Damn,” Trevor cursed and drew out his 9mm.

“I still don’t understand why you carry a gun,” Kat said even though she knew Nick carried one too. It wasn’t the gun Nick relied on… it was the specially made wooden bullets that filled it. “Those things are useless against vampires.”

Trevor smirked, “You forget who I work for. These bullets are specially designed to explode on impact and the center is hollowed out and filled with just a bit of muriatic acid. That shit will eat through just about anything.”

“Why doesn’t the acid eat through the bullet then?” Kat asked, secretly gathering info to bribe Nick with.

“There’s an inner casing placed inside the bullet when it’s hollowed out that the acid can’t eat through. I forget the name of it at the moment.” Trevor explained. “It’s strong enough to not be damaged by the acid but fragile enough to break when it collides with something.”

Kat slowly stood upright, “Shall we go in?”

Trevor tightened his grip on the gun and headed in first, followed by Kat who had a razor sharp dagger in each hand; courtesy of Trevor. They combed the entire alley before they realized the vampire had vanished.

Trevor released his stance and let his gun arm down. “He’s gone!”

Kat released a frustrated sigh, “Well, since we’re this close, we may as well go back to the club.”

“As much fun as I had tonight leading the two of you idiots all over the city,” a voice said from behind them. “I must insist that you stay for dinner.”

Kat and Trevor whirled around toward the voice and froze when they saw the vampire they’d been tracking along with five others.

“The son of a bitch knew we were following him,” Trevor growled as he brought the gun back up and steadied it.

With walls on three sides and the vampires in front of them, Kat knew she and Trevor would have to fight their way out of here. She crouched down low when the vampires quickly closed in on them. One with flaming red hair leapt up hoping to get the drop on them, quite literally.

Kat immediately pushed up from her crouch and tackled the vampire in mid-leap. Her long nails now resembled claws even though no change had taken place. They crashed to the ground with the vampire on his back beneath her.

The bloodsucker gripped her right wrist so tight, she felt the bones start to grind together painfully. Swallowing the sickly pain, she flicked her wrist downward, driving the dagger into the vampire’s wrist as payback. Gaining her freedom, Kat wasted no time driving her right hand into the monster’s chest and pulling out his heart.

Trevor took aim and fired at the vampire they’d been tracking all night. The bullet hit the creature in the throat and, for a moment, he just stared at Trevor with an expression of disbelief before he started to scream and claw at his own throat. The scream abruptly cut off when the acid released from the bullet reached the vampire’s voice box.

Trevor didn’t actually see what happened next as he was immediately attacked by another vampire. His body was thrown against the alley wall where he slid to the ground. His 9mm went flying while he tried not to count the stars forming in his vision. The other vampire was closing in when Trevor felt something against his leg. Looking down, he saw the head of the vampire he’d shot and reached for it.

Taking the severed head by the hair, Trevor threw the still disintegrating object at the approaching bloodsucker. The creature dodged it and snarled at him, ready to pounce. Something shiny flashed across his vision and Trevor saw a long dagger sticking out of its chest. Turning his head, Trevor saw Kat standing there looking like a bloody mess.

“Look out!” Trevor yelled.

Kat raised her other dagger and gasped when the vampire took hold of her hand and drove the blade downward at an ark, directly into her inner thigh. The pain alone gave her the strength to push the vampire off her. She quickly stumbled backwards toward Trevor and managed to pull the dagger out of her thigh. Warm liquid quickly followed and made a path down her leg.

Trevor knew something had to be done. They were both injured now. He could feel the pain in his ribs and shoulder where he’d hit the wall and was finding it hard to breath. Looking up at Kat, who was standing protectively in front of him, he thought about their next move.

He needed to shift into something big enough and strong enough to fight them and survive. The downside was if he shifted, he’d give away his true nature to Kat. His kind had never gotten along with the other shifter tribes because of their diversity. They could blend in with any of the clans and disappear without a trace, sometimes for decades at a time. They were the perfect weapons in a war.

Because of this, any animal he chose would always be ten times stronger than that particular animal. In his human form the same rules applied, but it hadn’t helped them much so far. However, if he didn’t shift, their asses were goners.

Suddenly Kat dropped her weapon and hunched over. Because of her injuries, the change was seconds slower than normal. Her body shifted until she was on all fours. The clothes fell from her body and a beautiful tan and black spotted fur coat took their place.

One of the remaining vampires attacked and Kat rose up on her hind legs, blocking him with some kind of wrestling hold. Her claws dug into the creature’s shoulders and her long teeth were bared at him. Without thinking twice, Trevor chose that moment to shift.

The two remaining vampires hissed angrily when the human they were closing in on transformed into a Kodiak bear. Trevor swung a giant paw at the closest one and took the entire half of its body clean off, leaving the legs to fall lifelessly. Knowing the vampire wasn’t dead, Trevor ambled over to it anyway and crushed its head with his powerful jaws.

He rose up on his feet to help Kat when the last two vampires attacked him full force. Trevor stumbled back a few steps before roaring loudly and pulled one off, throwing him down the alley. He roared again when the last one sank its teeth into his shoulder blade. He heard Kat’s jaguar scream and felt the brick wall ram into the side of his temple before he fell from the impact.

*****

Quinn and Warren had combed the entire area in a five-mile radius from the club.

“There’s nothing around.” Quinn stated and tried to let go of his frustration. Something wasn’t right… he could feel it in the air.

Warren heard the tightness in Quinn’s voice. “After the fight at the warehouse, I’m not that surprised.” His phone buzzed causing both men to jump and realize just how tense they were. He pulled the cell phone out of his jeans pocket.

“Hello,” Warren said into the cell phone and then nodded after a moment. “Okay, we’ll go check it out.” He hung up and slipped the phone back into his pocket. “That was Nick, seems they found an underground tunnel under the church.”

“We should go check it out,” Quinn stated trying to ignore the fact that his skin was crawling with adrenalin and he hadn’t a clue where it had come from.

The distinct scream of a jaguar pierced the quiet night making both men freeze in their tracks. They turned their heads in the direction of the sound before looking at each other.

“Kat!” they exclaimed in unison.

Warren immediately removed the cell phone from his pocket and placed it in an elastic holster around his ankle.

There was no hesitation and a few seconds later the two men had shifted and were racing down the street. People screamed and ran to get away from the huge cats, causing quite a commotion. Quinn took the lead and ran out into traffic causing a car to slam on its brakes. The car behind it crashed into the first one from behind, creating a chain reaction.

Warren leapt onto the hood of the first car and glanced in to make sure the people were all right before chasing Quinn across the roadway.

The driver of the car was shaken by what just happened and picked up his cell phone.

*****

Jason was bored out of his mind. Nothing had really happened for the last few days and with Tabby and Envy out of town, he was going stir crazy.

When the phone rang he nearly jumped out of his skin and quickly reached over to answer it.

“Ranger station,” Jason said in a dull voice.

“Yes,” a shaky voice answered. “I’d like to report something unusual.”

Jason mentally sighed and grabbed a pen and paper. “Okay, tell me what you saw, sir.”

“The damnedest thing I’ve ever seen,” the man said breathlessly. “I just saw a cougar and a jaguar running loose in the middle of town. I slammed on my brakes when the cougar ran out in front of me and a jaguar appeared on the hood of my car, looked at me, and then took off after the cougar.”

“It’s probably another escape from the zoo,” Jason said, even though that was a lie they told the public to hide the fact that the city seemed to be teaming with dangerous wildlife these days.

“No,” the man exclaimed. “The jaguar had a cell phone strapped to its hind ankle.”

Jason looked up at the other ranger in the office with him, Jacob Savage.

“So you’re saying the jaguar had a cell phone strapped to its leg?” Jason asked.

Jacob nearly choked on his coffee and set the cup down, wiping his nose indicating that some of the liquid had gone up into it.

“That’s exactly what I’m saying!” The man shrieked loud enough for Jacob to hear it.

Jason nodded, “All right sir, calm down. You said it ran off, so you’re safe. Thank you for calling, we’ll look into it.”

Jason hurriedly hung up the phone and stared at it for a moment like the device was going to jump up and eat him.

“Alrighty then,” Jacob managed after he cleared up his coughing fit.

*****

Warren finally caught up with Quinn just as they neared an alley were Kat’s scent was the strongest. Rounding the corner, they were just in time to witness Kat rip the throat out of one vampire and an enormous bear drive its huge claws through the chest of another. The bear claw came out the backside of the vampire, clutching the vampire’s bloody heart before squeezing it like a water balloon.

Kat blinked, realizing somehow during the fight… the vampires had multiplied. She barely had time to take a breath before she was attacked by one of the remaining vampires. She released a primal scream when the sharp fangs dug into her flank. Her claws pierced the back of the attacking vampire trying to pry him off. Suddenly, the weight on her side was gone and she fell over, passing out from pain, blood loss, and exhaustion.

Quinn saw the vampire attack Kat and felt rage well up in his chest. He ran down the alley not caring if Warren was with him or not. Tackling the vampire to the ground, he snarled menacingly in its face before ripping into its neck with his sharp teeth. He could feel its claws digging at him in panic but he didn’t care as he kept ripping. Tossing the head aside, he turned back to Kat and growled.

Trevor had made short work of the last vampire, ripping it apart until there was nothing left but a headless, limbless torso. He looked up when he heard Kat scream then saw a cougar pounce on the vampire attacking her. When she transformed back into her human form, Trevor moved to stand over her nude and unconscious body, hunching down to protect her from further attack.

A deep growl caught his attention and he met the gaze of a very angry cougar stalking toward him with a very obvious intent to kill… Quinn Wilder.

Due to the fight, Trevor was tired and that made his reflexes slow. He wasn’t able to drive Quinn off and took the full force of the attack in the side. Trevor was knocked across the alley and into the brick wall for the second time that night.

Trevor growled and was able to stand up on his hind legs for a total of two seconds before he leaned back and slid down to the ground. Quinn was coming closer and he didn’t want to shift back in front of the cougar but knew he had to. Kat would eventually tell them anyway… so what did he have to lose? Unable to see his wounds under all the fur, he slowly shifted back and tried once more to rise to his feet.

Quinn paused when he saw the human male from the bar… Warren had called him Trevor. He hissed when his sense of smell told him that Trevor wasn’t a normal shifter… or at least not any kind he’d ever run across. Not knowing what he was up against didn’t do much for easing his temper.