Devil's Playground (12 page)

A
rancid odor hung heavy in the air; it was the first thing that hit me, as Rafe flew us through the hole in the roof. It was a bit cramped, with his wings tucked around me, but after a masterful turn, they flared to life, just in time to land us safely on the ground.

Every thought, sound, and smell slowed by degrees, as a sharp pain bit at my arm. I felt that sensation before the sound of a gunshot had even registered. Confused, I blinked several times. With wide-eyed despair, I watched blood emerge from a wound in my left bicep.

A deep demanding voice, yelling, “Get down!” rang out through the space, cutting through the shock and horror of the fact that I’d just been shot.

My head snapped toward Rush’s voice. I leaned forward, a hand across my stomach, as the relief of knowing he was okay almost knocked the breath from me. Gone completely was any concern for myself.

“Rafe, get Kris the fuck out of the way!” Rush roared.

I stiffened with perplexity. Wasn’t I supposed to be doing something?

Menacing growls filled the room in thick waves that tickled my chest, invading me like the bass from a speaker. Hellhounds were somewhere in the barn.

My lips parted. Still disoriented, I spun in slow circles, looking for them, but where they were, I didn’t know. Something was wrong. I looked down at my wound and gasped. It was no longer bleeding; instead, long black veiny lines were sprouting from it, running under my white flesh and circling my upper arm.

“She’ll be dead soon without the antidote,” Camille said. Her voice sounded tinny, almost unreal.

“She can fight it, just like before,” Rush said.

My head was shaking, with realization of the situation setting in, as I met Camille’s gaze from across the room. She was standing between two midnight black Hellhounds, with a hand on each one of their massive heads. Her body waved in distortion, colors flowing in ribbons that made me dizzy.

Is it real? Or is all that in my head?

Those thoughts played on a loop, baffling me even further. One thing was for certain—I was fucked. I ran my hands over my face. No, I wasn’t going crazy. I’d been poisoned.

Suddenly, my body prickled with heat. I knew without question that the building warmth was a good sign, because even through the disorientation, I recognized the
feel
of my own magic. Whatever paranormal force fed my hyper-acute strengths and supernatural abilities was rearing up for battle. It wasn’t time for surrender, not by a long shot.

I watched with glee, as the blackness overrunning my veins lightened and then almost faded away completely, leaving a dark blue shade in its place.

I smiled at Camille and said, “You’re wrong, bitch. You will be the one who dies here tonight, not me.”

She grinned, showing me her pearly whites.

“We’ll see about that.”

Then I was pulled off of my feet from behind. My body was hefted into the air, and seconds later, my palms and knees slapped down hard onto a planked floor. It was dark, and I felt around the space, my fingers running into what felt like loose articles of clothing.

“What in the world?” I whispered, looking around me, just in time to see Rafe fly overhead.

I sprang up and followed him, tracking his descent, as he disappeared over the railing. I spotted Rush, and we stared at each other for a moment. As our eyes met, my heart thundered. He was truly alive, and by the looks of his tensed jaw and balled fists, he wasn’t in a good mood.

Camille was standing in the same spot as before, a full story separating us. Rafe swooped over her head, before landing across the room, at Rush’s side.

My cheeks burned, as anger flared in me.
Oh, hell, no!
There was no way I was going to be shoved to the side, unable to fight.

The barn doors flew open, and several leather-clad vampires poured inside.

I glanced left and then right for a way down.

“Shit!”

It was somewhat ironic and terribly inconvenient that I could create a vampire with wings and the ability to fly, but I didn’t have that same power at my disposal. I was going to have to get down there the hard way.

I grabbed the banister and climbed over the railing. All the while, I watched the growing group of vampires, as they formed a tight wall behind Camille. She hadn’t taken her eyes off of me; they followed my every movement. But I didn’t care.

I dangled from the wooden railing, and without the slightest hesitation, I kicked the wall with one leg to push off, and half my body swung out and then descended.

After landing on my feet, my legs quaked with pain. Luckily, nothing was sprained or broken from the fall. It was only a one-story drop. I could handle at least two, without fear of injury, unless I landed wrong or was recovering from a toxic affliction, which I was.

Rush stiffened, as I landed. I gave him a look of assurance and then walked across the open space of the large barn, coming to a stop next to him. No one moved to approach me. I was pretty sure the vampires knew better than to try and touch me, after they witnessed what I’d done to the last two who were dumb enough to try.

“Your body is still fighting the Hellhound venom. You’re not safe,” Rush whispered.

He sounded frustrated and concerned all at once. I didn’t have time to argue with him about it or to try and soothe his nerves. I knew I was fine, and that would have to do.

“I’m glad to see you alive,” I said, noticing the strain in his eyes and his staggered, uneven breaths.

Amongst the danger and stress of the situation, Rush managed to flash me a quick grin.

“Me, too.”

We broke eye contact the moment we heard a bark from one of the hounds. I watched, as the massive poison drooling beast lowered his red glowing eyes onto Rafe, who was slowly making his way to my side. I hadn’t seen his movement at first. I was too mesmerized by my man and the fact that he was alive for anything else to register.

Luckily, the demon dog had tipped me off to his slinking presence. I sidestepped away from Rafe, so he couldn’t pull anything wonky, like scooping me up and flying me off with him again. There would be no more of that nonsense. I pointed a finger at him, with a hard set brow.

“Not another step.”

Rafe opened his mouth to say something, but instead, he scowled and took a step back. He knew better. Smart vampire.

At that point, we were all safe. Well, kind of. There was still the slight annoyance of being surrounded by vampires but nothing I couldn’t handle. Those poor women, however, were anything but secure.

My eyes drifted to Camille, and I asked, “Where are you keeping the women?”

She lifted her arm and pointed, smugness flittering over her face.

“The cattle are behind those doors, several feet behind you. You can go to them if it pleases you.”

When I glanced back over my shoulder, to where she was pointing, I saw a door. Upon closer inspection, I noticed that it looked thick, sturdy. It was in way better shape than the barn. Something pretty important was tucked away behind there.

By Camille’s calmness, and the extra security measures, I knew she was telling the truth. I clenched my fists, fighting the urge to run and help those women. But then, what would jumping the gun accomplish? I wasn’t leaving the room without a fight.

“I’m not going anywhere, until every last one of you murderous scumbags is dead. But nice try,” I said with a smirk.

One of the vampires chimed in, saying, “Let’s just rush them. I count three of them and a whole bunch of us.” He chuckled, his stance wide, arms and fists at his side, the picture of cockiness. “They don’t stand a chance.”

I stepped forward, calling on my magic with all my might. I teetered on my feet; my ears echoed my heartbeat. And to my horror, the familiar buzz and heat of the magic that usually flowed within me, always surfacing when called upon, didn’t respond—I’d hit a wall. I closed my eyes tight and tried again. Still, there was the same dizziness, accompanied by a strong nauseous feeling. My body was sick. Not mortally wounded but crippled by the poison that had ravaged my system. I was completely tapped—a drained battery.

Shit, this isn’t good.

The sound of gunshots tore across the silent terror of my realization. I jumped to the side, away from the onslaught of bullets.

A breath later, I could hear screams and then more gunshots. Something large, with a trail of blonde hair following behind it, almost hit me. But somehow, I was able to jump to the side, barely dodging the hairy mass right in the nick of time. Whatever it was crashed into the barn wall and slammed to the ground. I watched the lump for several seconds, but it didn’t move. All it did was let out undecipherable moans.

I had two choices: I could stand there like an idiot, while everyone I cared for got maimed or killed, or I could find a way to fight the battle without my magic.

A cool calm deadly voice came from within me, answering my own question. And then I was suddenly brave, equally capable, and utterly without my marbles. I was going to fight those monsters without a lick of magic at my disposal.

I met Rush’s eyes from across the room. His arms rose up, and he slammed a 2 x 4 upside the head of a vampire. He was a Creator, like me, and he was holding his own just fine, without any extra special magic. Necromancers were strong, but damn it, vampires were stronger. But were they smarter?

Abandoning my semi-safe spot in the shadows, I leapt into the fray. Rafe yelled something from above, but I tuned him out. I scanned the space for Camille. She was standing by the opening of the barn, a pleased smirk on her face. Then her cool eyes turned to slits, and a look of anger seeped across her features, like a thickening fog. She spun around, and her hounds turned with her.

In the next second, I was face to face with a vampire. He was thin but still muscled, wearing nothing more than a leather vest and blue jeans. His face was smooth, perfect. Not even a single line marred his beauty. His stare was cold and vicious, blank—a disoriented madness.

I could see Camille over his shoulder. She was motionless.

The vampire stared at me long and hard. It was like he didn’t know what to do next. I understood his confusion. By that time, I’d have already charged up the juice and obliterated that fool if I still had the use of my magic.

“You’re helpless.” His statement sounded more like a question.

I was hard pressed to hide the wince that followed.

The revelation made him smile wide enough to flash fang.

“Oh, you’re going to taste so good.”

There was a long pause, as another stepped up beside my current tormentor.

“What do we have here?” he said, flicking the point of one of his fangs with his tongue.

And then another one joined in, asking, “Can I play, too?”

Rush had picked that moment to play baseball with the third vampire’s head.

“Sure, join the fun, but I’m on the pretty lady’s team.”

He swung the same wooden plank I saw him use earlier like a bat. The homerun-worthy swing cracked hard against that one’s temple with a
thwack
. His face scrunched up, blood spraying from the side of his head and the corner of his mouth, and then he fell to the ground, out cold.

Not wasting any of the paralyzing shock Rush had inspired, I dropped down to the ground, grabbed a piece of the splintered board, and stabbed the long ragged shard straight through the vampire’s heart. Only a clean decapitation or the total decimation of the heart could kill one of them… or me. But the impalement would stun and hurt the bloodsucker enough to keep him down for a while.

I met Rush’s stare, and his eyes sparked with fire and determination. He gave me a wink. I smiled and hopped back to my feet. My eyes widened, when I saw a group of vamps running toward us. I bent over and yanked the makeshift stake out of the one at my feet. I spun it once in my hand and then gripped it firmly.

“Incoming!”

I stabbed one of the attackers in the chest, and he fell to his knees. I ducked a punch from another and kicked the one rushing at me from behind in the gut. In the midst of the melee, a headless body fell to the ground from out of thin air. I swung my head up to the ceiling, just in time to watch Rafe cut a vamp’s neck wide open. There was a rabid look in his eyes, a determination in the swift and deadly strokes of his knife.

I turned away from the bloody scene, scared to be caught off guard, but there were no more vampires coming at me. What I did notice in that moment of calmness was the sight of Camille, as she ran from the barn, with something hanging from around her neck and flapping out behind her. A familiar-looking ghost was hot on her tail.

“Jude!” I yelled out.

What the hell is he doing here?

I turned away from Jude, to check on Rush. He and Rafe were cutting through the remaining vampires like a well-oiled chainsaw, with limbs and blood flying. They had all of the monsters distracted enough for me to see what lay behind that door. Hopefully, I’d find the women who were being held as blood and sex slaves.

With urgency, I put sole to ground, as I splashed through never-ending puddles of crimson. As I reached the door, I called upon all the strength I had left in me. Even though I couldn’t produce a spark of the kind of magic I used to animate corpses, I still had the extra strength that being a supernatural creature allotted me. I lifted my leg and kicked out with all I had and winced, as pain reverberated through bone and muscle on contact. I’d barely made a dent, but I jacked up my knee.

Damn it
.

My anger burned, along with my muscles. I backtracked several paces for a running start. I wasn’t going to give up. It was personal. I may’ve been a blood-drenched petite and exhausted woman, who was facing insurmountable odds by fighting vampires without the use of magic, but I wasn’t a quitter—never that. I shot the door a glare and let out a fierce shout that was more growl than words.

“You’re going down!”

And then I charged.

T
he door crashed in, taking me with it. Since my shoulder had taken the brunt of the impact, it sizzled with pain. Tears welled, but I pushed them back and sat up, in the midst of splintered wood and,
golly gee
, some more of my own blood. I seemed to be losing a lot of that stuff.

A quick exhale blew the frazzled strands of hair out of my face, and with a firm hand pressed against the pain in my shoulder, I pushed out of the wood pile. The room spun, as I scanned and spotted dim lights that glowed from the back of the sparse room, behind a wall of flimsy partitions. A few chairs were scattered about, and a folding card table was situated smack dab in the middle of the space.

Beads of condensation still pearled on two beer bottles that sat on the table, next to an ashtray, a pack of cigarettes, and an old metal lighter. Whoever had been there had decided to beat a hasty retreat. Since there seemed to be no danger in that part of the room, I hobbled in the direction of the light.

Panic was building inside me like a wild animal restrained by chains, but I controlled it. Everything was about control. My wounds would heal soon, but not fast enough for what I feared I’d find behind those panels. A rancid odor hit me, as I neared the partition.

That part of the room felt colder, and the first thing I saw, other than the pathetic and gross state of the space, was three metal cots. Each one had a paper-thin mattress covering it and was pushed up against the wall. They were empty, with only crumpled-up sheets and restraints with Velcro straps secured around the metal legs.

On the far bunk, the bedding wore a big red stain.

I inhaled deeply, testing the air, and I could tell right away that the blood was still fresh. Someone had died there recently, and the killing had been a grisly one, judging by the size of the stain on those sheets. So where was the body? I looked around, hoping to spot some more clues, and after a few slow beats, I hit paydirt. Bloody footprints, which were shaped more like streaks than feet, led to the farthest part of the room. I squinted, but I couldn’t see beyond the shadows gathering there.

Shit
.

My body tingled from head to feet, as I realized there was only one being that could create shadows in spaces where there shouldn’t be any. A vampire was hiding in the room. Considering my natural armory was of no use to me, I kept my cool, turned my back on it, and scanned the room for anything I could use against it. My spirits brightened, when I saw a can of kerosene over by the window. I remembered the lighter on the table, not too far behind me. If only I could get to it before the monster figured out that I knew it was there….

I moved away from that corner of the room and prayed the lurking vampire still believed that I had use of my power. I couldn’t think of a single reason why he’d know any different, so I had that going for me.

Rush and Rafe were a room’s length away, and I could still hear the sounds of their battle. I needed to get back out there with them.

My steps amounted to six, by the time I reached the window, and as I gazed out into the nightscape, goosebumps skittered wildly down my spine. I could feel the vampire’s stare, burning into my back; it felt as if it were almost a physical thing. Ignoring it, I turned from the window, knocking the fuel can over with the side of my foot. I swallowed a smile, when I smelled the kerosene spill out. I didn’t know how much of it had escaped, and I wasn’t about to draw attention by checking. I had to hope it was enough. I relaxed my muscles and readied myself for what was to come next.

Swiping the lighter from off the table was easy. It was the sound of grinding metal against flint that stirred the monster into action. She revealed herself to me, emerging from her false shadows, swallowing them up, until all that was left was an unimpeded view of her, with her short red hair and deep green eyes, wearing body-hugging short leather overalls. Her skin was white, almost an albino shade of pale, which ended up being quite a fetching match, against the shade of her eyes and hair. The vampire ghosted forward, to stand on the other side of the table from me. She sniffed the air, her festive eyes glued to the flame in my hand.

“What are you doing, necromancer?” she asked in a shaky voice. Her eyes twitched to the ground, where the can was tipped over, and she considered it briefly. “Do you think I’m scared of a little fire?”

All at once, my instincts took over, and I tossed the lighter at the fuel can… and waited. And then I waited some more… but
nothing
happened. There were no menacing flames, shooting to the ceiling. Not so much as a spark…there was just a bunch of zip, zilch, zero for my efforts. It was all very anticlimactic.

I glanced at the vampire. She was amused. Her lips spread into a toothy grin that showed off her pointy fangs. And as an added hit to my ego, she looked like she could bust out laughing at any second.

I cleared my throat and said, “Do I at least get an
A
for effort?”

Her features morphed into something ghastly, and she took a step forward, which left her stomach pushed up against the edge of the table. I hadn’t realized she was so short. I guess I had other things on my mind, like her deadly fangs and strength.

“More like
D
for
dead.
”

I didn’t have a comeback for that, because it was too close to the truth.

She cocked her head, and a choppy swath of red hair fell to shade the right side of her face.

“Why aren’t your eyes shining that awful red color they do when you’re around my kind?”

“Because I’m… uh, wearing special contacts. That’s why.”

Even though I’d finished strong, I still ended up sounding like a scared idiot.

Fear seeped into my chest, making my heart beat wildly. Being a vampire, she picked up on that telltale sign of terror real quick, and before I could blink, I was thrown against the wall, with a forearm pressed against my windpipe. The pain was indescribable.

“You’re so fucking dead, bitch.”

Her fangs sliced into my neck.

I’ll never get used to the strength of these monsters.

As she drank, her arm shifted, and she subdued me by grasping onto my neck. I felt like coughing, but I couldn’t catch enough air to make it happen. I thought I was going to pass out and collapse onto the floor at any second from the loss of either air or blood. It didn’t matter how it came to pass—dead was dead.

As a last-ditch effort to save myself from becoming an evil predator’s dinner, I opened my mind and followed the path I’d established with my vampire creation, Rafe. It took only a second to latch onto to him but longer than that to get a clear connection. Nonetheless, once linked, it was like I’d been doused with pure adrenaline.

I’m in trouble.

Rafe caressed my mind with an immediate response:
Not for long.

I felt a flush of terror, as the room blinked in and out. Each time my eyesight cleared, it was like a gift from the heavens, because I knew I was still hanging in there. I braced myself against the wall, but my backbone felt like it was made out of jelly. My knees wobbled, and my hands swatted limply at my attacker’s back. I was running out of time.

A dim light sparked between my cracked lids, catching my focus, and with great force, my lids lifted once more. It was a feat I knew I wasn’t going to be able to accomplish for a second time, not if she drained me of any more blood.

In an instant, the vampire’s fangs were ripped from my flesh, and she flew backwards. I fell to the ground and tried in vain to slap a palm to my wound. I was much too weak to do anything other than hold up the wall.

I heard a loud crash that echoed like a hollow bass in my head and then a gut-wrenching scream. And somehow, through it all, I managed to think.

Man, it sucks to be her.

Since I was no longer being munched on by a vampire, I needed to get to my feet. My best chance at making that happen was to heal. I’d successfully used my power to revive Alayna, but how I could do that for myself was a mystery. I remembered the feeling, like a boost of energy moments before, when I’d established communication with Rafe, so my best bet was to try and tap back into that connection.

I closed my eyes and concentrated. Rafe was close enough to touch, but it wasn’t my fingers I needed to adjoin to him with. It was my essence—the mystical part of me that had created him and could heal.

For a brief second, a blue glow cast a shadow across the back of my eyelids, as a fog-like vision that rolled out and then into Rafe, in search of our shared essence. I opened myself up to the magic completely, and it was beautiful. Immediately, I felt more alert. I opened my eyes and was shocked to see that I was no longer sitting in a heap on the floor. Instead, I found myself standing face to face with my vampire, with both of my hands laid flat against the sides of his head.

He looked at me with tender eyes, his dark hair wild and drenched with blood from his recent kills. Tiny dots of red were splattered across the muscled arms of a killing machine. His strength was impressive and had increased exponentially from when he was newly animated and weak. On the surface, his flesh held the scent of copper and sweat—the aroma of death. But underneath it all, I tasted pure energy.

Rush walked into the room, breaking the silence and my concentration. His eyes skipped from me, to what was left of the mangled body that belonged to my attacker. I watched, as his face rolled with the realization of what happened in that room.

He turned to Rafe and said, “You did this?”

Rafe flashed a bit of a grin, with an ease that made me feel safe.

“Of course, I did. The leech was attacking our girl.”

Rush’s jaw tensed, as he said, “Thank you,” while stuffing the makeshift stake he held tight in his fist into the waistband of his jeans. “It took me a minute to notice you’d left the fight. At first, I was pissed off, but now I see you had something much more important to tend to. I just wish you had told me Kris was in danger.”

The two men stared at each other, before Rafe said, “There was no time.”

Rush’s stare lingered a bit longer.

“She contacted you by using that mind meld trick you guys have?”

“Yes, she did. It comes in handy.”

I rubbed at the bite mark at my neck; it was healing pretty quickly. The energy I pulled from Rafe was working its magic.

“You can say that again.”

Full of heat, Rush’s eyes shot to mine.

“I would’ve liked to have been the one who busted that monster apart with my bare hands for you. But somehow, I seem to always be a step behind Rafe.”

I squared my shoulders, ready to say something, but before I could, he dropped his head.

“Man, how pathetic do I sound, complaining about who saved you? I should just be grateful that you were saved in the first place.” His eyes lifted to mine and held. “Please forgive me.”

Regardless of his jealous nature, Rush always seemed to find a way to do or say the right thing. My shoulders relaxed, and I walked the few steps that separated us.

“Just hold me.”

He opened his arms, and I fell into them. My head rocked to the side, and I caught a glimpse from the window of two women in the midst of a knock-down drag-out fight. And on the sidelines, I could see my best friend, bobbing around, cheering, like he was watching a prized fight.

Time froze for a minute and then rushed back with the bitter truth—I wasn’t done yet.

I drew back from Rush and searched his face. He looked calmer. Too bad that wouldn’t last. I kissed him on the chin and then bolted for the door. I couldn’t allow myself to worry that with everything I’d put Rush through, he’d eventually bolt for the door himself. But when it came down to it, I’d choose saving a life over not pissing off the man I was in love with any day. In the end, it was just an easier anguish to live with.

Behind me, I could hear the beat of large wings and a mumbled curse. It didn’t take much for me to figure out which sound had come from whom.