Arctic Fire 2 (27 page)

Helena stumbled back before turning to run. “No!” Quinn shouted.

She leapt off Earl and pounced on the woman before she could escape. Helena toppled beneath her weight when Quinn landed on her back. Grabbing hold of her hair, Quinn smashed her head into the floor. Helena’s movements slowed, and Quinn delved into her and latched onto her life force.

A sigh of pleasure escaped her when she felt the rush of Helena’s power filling her. There was so much of it. She’d been denied for too long, and now she had the opportunity to feast on those who had imprisoned and humiliated her. Helena’s hands shriveled on the ground; her skin turned gray and peeled back from her muscle. Her red nails sparkled in the light as a few of them fell off her brittle fingertips.

Around her, Quinn could hear shouts and the smell of blood intensified, but she continued to devour the woman beneath her. Unlike Earl, whose death she planned to savor for hours, she didn’t care if Helena died now.

Helena’s body shriveled until nothing remained of her. The dress she’d worn lay flat on the ground with her ashes around it. Quinn flicked Helena’s ashes off the tips of her fingers as she fell away from the remains.

She staggered to her feet and nearly fell over as power surged through her body and into her head. She stumbled to the side and fell beside Earl, who was trying to drag his useless legs across the stage away from her. “No!” she yelled.

Arms wrapped around her, pulling her against a solid chest. Unable to control it, she felt the tentacles slithering out again, seeking the vast amounts of power and life she sensed in the arms embracing her.

“I’ve got you, Dewdrop,” Julian whispered against her ear. “I’m here.”

She shuddered against him. The tentacles instantly retreated as love and warmth flooded her body. “It’s okay,” he whispered, his lips brushing over her forehead. “Feed from me if you must. Take whatever you need from me.”

Helena and Earl’s life force flitted through her like a ghost trapped in a house. Julian’s life slipped in and out too, flowing to mingle within her as she returned what she’d taken from him, plus some. There was too much in her, she couldn’t handle it, but Julian was older and stronger, he could. She had used him before to fuel her power and as a source to funnel it into.

“Quinn,” he breathed. His arms clenched around her when she continued to feed life and power into him.

He launched to his feet and spun her out of the way when Marvin leapt at them with his fangs snapping. One of Julian’s arms remained latched around her waist; his other hand shot out to take hold of Marvin’s throat. The flood of life continued to flow from Quinn and into Julian. At the same time, she kept her eyes narrowed on Marvin as she began to draw from him again.

“Shit,” Julian breathed against her ear when Marvin withered and shrank within his grasp.

Julian’s heart gave a mighty kick. It pumped for fifteen beats before stopping once more. Those beats hadn’t gone unnoticed by the vampires within the room. They’d all frozen at the booming sound of life pumping within a dead man’s chest.

Quinn continued to use Julian as a conductor to drain Marvin. She relied on his vast strength to curb the rush of power and the feeling of being out of control as her body craved more and more life.

It would be so easy for her to give in, to leave a trail of death behind her, but locked within Julian’s arms, she knew she could withstand the temptation. Knew he would be there to bring her back when she felt the unraveling within her. Marvin’s sneakers fell to the floor with a thud as the gray husk of the vampire shriveled further within Julian’s grasp. His ashes crumpled to the floor with his clothes falling on top of them.

Julian shook his hand to free it of the rest of the ash before wrapping his hand around Quinn and pressing her against his chest. She could feel the tremor in his muscles, feel the increase of his power as Marvin’s life fueled him. He cradled her closer when he turned to face the unmoving, dumbfounded crowd.

Devon stood at the front of the crowd, an eyebrow raised as his gaze slid between the two of them. Blood dripped from his face and clothes; his shirt was torn and gashes marred his chest, but he appeared otherwise unharmed. Behind him, Quinn saw the trail of bodies he and Julian had left in the room.

“Burn like the sun,” someone near the front whispered.

The impulse to slaughter anyone who said that hated prophecy again shot through her.

“No!” Julian snarled. “She is not yours to use. She is
not
your savior. She is
my
mate, and I can assure you that what you just witnessed is only the beginning. You think about touching her, and I will drain
every
one of you in this room. She may keep her power leashed; I will set it free. Stand down, or face the consequences.”

Talk ran through the crowd. Devon climbed the steps of the stage, his gaze still assessing on Quinn as he stepped next to Julian.

“Can you drain them without her?” he asked in a low tone of voice.

“No,” Julian replied in a whisper. “But these sheep don’t know that. They have no idea what we’re capable of.”

Earl moaned and rose up as he attempted to crawl away again. Without looking at him, Julian smashed his foot into his back and snapped his spine with a loud crack. Earl cried out, his fingers scrabbled at the wood, but all motion stopped when Julian dug the toe of his boot into his back.

Near the back of the room, a couple of vampires ran for the doors again. Before they could reach them, a ball of fire shot from the balcony to encompass them. They shrieked as flames burst over them, consuming their clothing and flesh as they raced around the room. The other vampires rushed away, cries of distress and alarm radiated from them as they tried to escape the balls of fire running toward them.

After a few minutes, the flaming vampires mercifully fell silent as they collapsed beneath the weight of the fire devouring them. Quinn gulped, but she tilted her chin as she met the hostile and frightened eyes of the vampires in the room. Julian grinned cockily back at them, and Devon rubbed at the bridge of his nose. Quinn remained immobile as she waited to see what would happen now.

“Get them!” someone in the crowd shouted.

Julian pushed her behind him. As the first wave of the crowd rushed toward the stage, another ball of fire swooped down, knocking the vampires back. The flames formed a wall between them and their would-be attackers.

“I’m going to kill her,” Devon muttered.

“They don’t know it’s her,” Julian reminded him. “Or where she is, and most of these vamps aren’t making it out of here alive.”

Devon’s gaze slid to the balcony, Quinn followed it, but she still didn’t see anyone up there. “We have to get out of here,” Devon said.

“I want one or two of them,” Julian replied.

“Why?”

“I have my reasons.”

Julian bent to grab Earl by the neck and lifted him effortlessly off the ground. Quinn barely glanced at Earl dangling within his grasp as she lifted her eyes to scan the vampires blocked by the fire across from them. “What will happen to them?” she inquired. “They didn’t all approve of what was being done here.”

A muscle in Julian’s jaw ticked as he surveyed them. “We don’t know which ones didn’t, and it will take too much time to figure it out. They’re going to die.”

Quinn shuddered, but she couldn’t feel overly bad when a good chunk of them had been quite content to watch her be Earl’s lapdog.

Julian’s gaze slid over the crowd again. It landed on two vampires off to the side, clutching each other. “Those two,” he said to Devon and pointed at the couple. “Can you bring them here? We’ll take them with us.”

Devon shot him a questioning look, but didn’t argue as he focused his attention on the couple. Quinn watched in amazement as their heads turned toward them, their eyes taking on that glassy look she’d seen in Zach and Jeb. She would never forget the helpless feeling that had assailed her when Earl had taken control of her.

“Don’t,” she whispered.

Devon glanced at her as the couple moved toward them. “I’ll let them go soon,” he promised.

“You don’t… you can’t know what it’s like.”

Julian’s arm tightened around her. He pressed her against his chest as the couple climbed the steps of the stage. “They’re coming with us,” he said. “But we have to make sure they’re not a threat. They won’t be hurt.”

“Why are they coming with us?” she inquired, unable to watch as Devon directed them to the edge of the flames.

A small break appeared in the wall of fire, allowing the couple to step through. A vamp rushed at the opening and burst through it before the wall flowed up to block the gap. The vampire didn’t run at them; instead, he tried to flee toward the back of the stage. Julian released her and Earl to chase after the vamp. He brought the man down beneath him and banged his head against the floor before he twisted it around and tore it from the man’s shoulders.

Turning away, he took the head and carelessly tossed it into the crowd. Quinn couldn’t shake the image of a bouncing ball from her head as it thudded across the floor before coming to a halt against a woman’s legs. The woman gawked at the spectacle as she did an odd, lurching dance away from it. Julian wiped the blood from his face before returning to her and grabbing hold of Earl again.

“Let’s go,” he said.

He drew her against his side and kept her locked there as they made their way behind the curtains. “Hope there’s a back door,” Devon said.

“There will be,” Julian replied with the confidence only he could muster.

Quinn’s gaze fell to Earl’s unmoving body as Julian dragged him across the ground. His crazed eyes spun in his head, his booted toes thudded as they descended a set of stairs and made their way into the shadows behind the stage. The roar of the flames grew larger as they greedily consumed the ballroom and those within. Screams resonated around them as they walked through some band equipment before coming across an emergency door.

Devon pushed into the bar, shoving it open and holding it for them as they stepped into another white hall. The couple followed obediently behind them. Quinn chanced a glance back at the orange glow spreading across the stage. The acrid scent of smoke and burning wood filled the air as the screams increased in fervor and intensity. Smoke curled through the shadows, its tendrils stretching toward them.

Julian nudged her forward through the stark, white hall with white tile flooring. The doors along the hall were all open, and as they hurried down it, she realized it was a service hallway as she spotted a couple of laundry carts and empty metal shelves that had probably once held linens.

Devon moved faster when smoke slid out from beneath the door. They were all running by the time they made it to the doors at the end. Quinn pressed her face against Julian’s chest, savoring his spicy scent beneath the aromas of smoke, blood, and sweat. His fingers slid over her face as they ran down another hall and toward the main entrance.

“Cassie!” Devon shouted.

Quinn lifted her head as a beautiful blonde woman broke away from the group clustered by the front doors. She ran across the marble floor and flung herself into Devon’s arms. He embraced her before turning her toward the doors. Cassie’s gaze slid curiously toward her, but she allowed Devon to push her forward.

“What do we do about this place?” Cassie asked.

“Burn it all,” Julian replied when they reached the main doors.

Cassie nodded and turned back to the hotel. She released a wall of fire that caused the desk to burst into flames. Ignoring the blood coating her, Clint grabbed hold of Quinn and gave her a bear hug. His bushy gray hair stood strangely on end, and there were burn marks on the tip of his nose and cheeks.

It took her a minute to realize one of the vamps must have sent out an electrical jolt as she now saw all the others had their hair standing on end too. Quinn hugged Clint back; a tremor shook her as they stumbled outside together.

They ran across the sand toward a rocky outcropping. When they made it to the rocks, Julian dropped Earl and spun toward her. Dragging her against his chest, his hand snaked into her hair, pulling her head back as he took possession of her lips. A feeling of rightness slid through Quinn as his tongue swept headily into her mouth.

A low moan sounded in the back of her throat as she eagerly met each of his hungry, driving thrusts. He held her up when her knees gave out, but he didn’t relent as his lips moved greedily over hers. Tears of love burned her eyes, but she kept them restrained when his fangs scraped over her bottom lip before biting down.

Quinn whimpered at the wash of relief and love pouring out of him. Through their bond, she could feel the terror and fury that had driven him since she’d been taken. Now he was unraveling as his hands ran over her back, drawing her closer. He continued to feed on her, drinking her in, in a rush that made her body quiver.

He released his hold on her lip. She clamped onto his, needing to taste and feel the connection between them more than anything right now. His blood flowed into her, filling and strengthening her as it seeped into her cells. Releasing her hold on him, her head fell against his chest as she struggled to control the desire clamoring through her body.