Fashionably Hotter Than Hell: Book Six, The Hot Damned Series (11 page)

Ethan closed his eyes and telepathically sent a directive that went to every Vampyre in the compound as he also spoke his thoughts aloud.

"We will go out in three groups. We will exit the compound from all sides since we are surrounded. We will enter the battle in units separated by five-minute intervals. It's best we don't show all our troops at once. The second group will cloak themselves and try to get behind the Trolls so we can take them from both sides. The Wraiths are clustered to the north. Raquel, you will take the exit through the sunroom. Heathcliff and Jean Paul will go with you along with Astrid and me. Raquel will have to stand still to banish them, so make sure we are all moving targets around her to distract them," Ethan instructed.

"God damn it, we're sending her out there to die," I ground out through clenched teeth as I held on to my sanity by a thread.

"We may all be walking out there to die," Ethan stated calmly. "Raquel is our only chance of eliminating the Wraiths. I don't know about you, but I prefer to go out fighting."

"That's my hot, sexy Vampyre," Astrid said with a wide grin as she patted her grenades and checked her sword. "I'm ready to go kill some fugly bastards and rip an unwanted sibling from limb to limb."

"You're hot when you're bloodthirsty," Ethan said as her laid a kiss on his mate that should have been done in private.

"I know. Right?" Astrid giggled and grabbed his ass.

"If anyone gets their hands on Juliet, it would be best to take her alive," Raquel said tersely. "I have quite a few questions for her."

"As do I," Astrid said, going from giggly to deadly on a dime.

"How long do you have, Raquel? Sundown is in about thirty minutes," Ethan said to his sister.

"Then I should have about forty-five minutes to an hour, give or take," she replied.

"Is that enough time?" I demanded, still not understanding what she was up against.

"It will have to be, now won't it?" she said cryptically.

Again I was tempted beyond reason to snatch her up and lock her in the Panic Room with Samuel and the others, but it was a dream that would not come true—similar to all my dreams where Raquel was concerned. I shook off my dread and glanced around the room. Aside from my father and my sister, it was filled with the people I loved most. If we were going down, we were going down together. I couldn’t let my worry keep me from being effective.

"Okay. Are we ready?" I asked in a clipped tone. My warrior side had at last taken over. I was now ready for the fight and I had no plans to lose.

"Yes," Ethan said. "We are."

"Then let's go have some fun," I said as I led the way out of the room.

***

The rolling hills around the compound were eerily quiet. Ten foot high Trolls stood as still as statues peppering the hills menacingly while the Wraiths looked like a swarm of bloody bees in the distance. They hovered around a lone figure with wild blonde hair and piercing red eyes.

"Son of a bitch," Astrid swore. "It
is
her."

Juliet's arms were raised and her fangs were bared. She appeared to be deranged and ready to snap. She was clearly controlling the Wraiths. They moaned and screamed impatiently as they floated around her in a frenzy.

"I'd say it's nice to see you," Juliet yelled. "But it's not." Her laugh pierced the air and the wailing of the ghosts increased to deafening levels.

"Jesus Christ, she's a fucking nut bucket," Astrid hissed.

"She always was," Raquel said as she watched her sister with disgust. "She used to steal my clothes and then burn them after she was done wearing them."

“What the Hell?" Astrid griped. "I hear you. The hag stole my really expensive nail polish. She's going down."

"Because she took your nail polish?" Ethan asked, completely confused.

I had to admit I was a bit confused too.

"No," Astrid snapped. "Because she's still trying to take what isn't hers. She can’t have my baby… or my damn sister-in-law. They’re mine," she yelled as she started to glow.

"Got it," I said as I put a calming hand on her shoulder. It would be a clusterfuck if Astrid started blowing up the hillside. It wouldn't kill the Trolls or the Wraiths and it would make our job much more dangerous than it already was.

"Heathcliff, you will talk to her. She'll be more volatile and less reasonable with her blood relatives," Ethan instructed under his breath.

"You’re kidding yourself if you think Juliet's going to be reasonable with anyone," Raquel muttered. "She's completely lost her shit. Look at her."

I had to agree with Raquel, but Ethan made a good point. She didn't know me like she knew her family. I was an unknown to her. It might throw her.

"What do you want?" I shouted up the hill as I stepped forward, making sure I'd blocked Raquel from her sightline.

"And who are you?" she demanded shrilly. "You're very pretty. Maybe we can spare you."

Raquel's hiss of furious jealousy behind me was music to my ears, but the insanity in front of me was my focus.

"My name is not of importance and looks can be deceiving. Are you here to negotiate or are your terms as we have heard?"

"I really like you," she bellowed with a grunt of animalistic pleasure. She ran her hands over her body and cupped herself between her legs. It was all I could do not to turn away in disgust. Pissing her off right off the bat would not bode well.

"Terms?" I shouted again, knowing she had none. However, treating her like a sane equal might help.

"No terms," she shrieked. "No negotiations. I want the baby and I want my sister. Now—or else everyone dies… and I still get my sister and the baby."

The Trolls watched the insane woman with narrowed eyes. Were they a joined enemy or were we dealing with two separate factions?

"No can do, Juliet," Astrid shot back. "You don't look like the motherly type and Raquel thinks you're an assjacket."

"Love what you've done with your hair," Juliet snarled. "The red streaks make you look like a whore."

"What the fuck?" Astrid stomped her foot and the ground beneath us shook. "How many different immortal whackjobs can call me a whore? I mean, I have plenty of faults, but loose morals are not one of them. I'm sorry guys, but I have to kill her."

"Fine by me," Raquel hissed.

"Not yet," I said calmly. "Let her make her move. We don't know if she's controlling the Trolls too. If we keep her talking there's more of a chance of taking the Trolls from behind."

"Mother humper," Astrid complained. "I hate it when you make sense."

"Getting bored up here," Juliet screamed and began to pace in tight erratic circles. "Get the baby. I want the baby. And send that bitch Raquel up the hill before the sun goes down. I'm hungry."

The Trolls were grumbling and examining Juliet with detached hatred. Were they with her or against her? It really didn't matter in the end because they definitely didn't like us either.

"How many Wraiths have you sent back to Hell at one time?" Ethan muttered to his sister as we all watched the deadly ghosts shimmer and shriek.

"Ten."

"I will pretend I didn't hear that," I ground out as my stomach lurched. "That might have been a good fucking question to ask while we were still in the planning stages."

"I'm your best bet for getting out of here alive," Raquel snapped. "Ten or a hundred—what does it matter? If I fail, we die. If I try, we might not."

She was correct but I was furious. I had no ability to help her or save her. It didn't sit well with me and it went against everything I knew as a warrior.

"Fine," I growled. "What do you need? How can I help you?"

"I need them to come closer. They need to be within twenty feet for me to banish them."

"Not a problem," Astrid informed us. "Watch this… Hey, you skanky douchebag," she shouted at Juliet. "You're not getting anything except a visa to the bowels of Hell. You're stupid and shortsighted and you look like you've gained about ten pounds. Your ass is huge."

The shriek from the hill was insanity personified. Juliet was coming unhinged and the Trolls began to tremble with rage.

"I will kill you, you bitch," she screamed at Astrid. "You’re a worthless nothing. I should have eaten you when you were born."

"Now that's just fucking gross," Astrid said and then laughed, which sent Juliet into a psychotic break.

"Enough," one of the enormous Trolls bellowed.

Trees bent and snapped at the root from the sheer volume of his voice. The Wraiths shot up into the air and tore at each other in confusion.

"The woman is not in control here. We are. We will kill her for you, if you give us the child. We don't care about the one who dies. She means nothing to us. We have come for the child. He is our Savior. We will not harm him."

"Shut your ugly mouth, you filthy beast," Juliet screeched. "The baby is mine and so are the rest of them. We have a deal and you will abide by it."

"The baby is ours," the Troll bellowed as smoke and fire blew from his nose. "You only get the one who dies… or you will die—violently."

"You stupid fucks," Juliet roared. "The Wraiths can kill you too. You watch what you say or it will be your bloodbath."

I shook my head as I listened. Clearly a thin thread connected our foes. This was interesting.

"Since when did people start showing up and thinking I would hand my child over?" Astrid demanded.

"I'm afraid this is just the beginning," Ethan said angrily.

"Well, they're smoking crack if they think this will be easy. And what in the Hell is Sammy supposed to save the Trolls from? Being butt ass fugly?" Astrid snapped. "I can't believe I'm going to say this, but we might be safer if we lived in Hell. Satan would never put up with this bullshit."

"And neither will I," Ethan said.

"Astrid, shoot her with magic like you shot me in the ass. Piss her off enough to release the Wraiths. If the Troll kills her first, there's no telling what the Wraiths will do," I directed urgently.

"My fucking pleasure," Astrid said with delight. "You ready, Raquel?"

Raquel grabbed my arm and turned me to face her. She reached up and pulled my face to hers. With no wasted movement, she kissed me like it was the last time she would ever do so and let me briefly into her mind. Her desire, love, and need for me almost sent me to my knees. "If we don't make it out of here, I needed to do that. If we do, this will go down as one of the most awkward moves I've ever made," she said as she pushed me away.

"Awkward works for me," I muttered as I licked my lips to savor her taste.

"Guys," Astrid cut in. "We gotta kill some shit now. You with me?"

"Yep. Zap her ass," Raquel hissed.

And Astrid did.

Then all Hell broke loose.

Chapter 9

"
Move
," I shouted as the Wraiths expanded grotesquely and started their descent down the hill straight toward us.

"Distract them from Raquel," I commanded as we began to sprint around her with Vampyre speed.

Astrid's electrical strike did exactly as we planned. In her pain and deranged fury, Juliet released the Wraiths and the battle exploded.

The roar of the Trolls shook the entire valley and they began to charge like freight trains from the bowels of Hell. The cries of the Wraiths reached ear-splitting decibels and some of the Vamps in my sightline fell to the ground in agony.

"Move. Keep moving," I bellowed at Jean Paul as the wind around us picked up and made staying on our feet difficult. Ethan and Astrid ran forward with swords drawn to counter the attacking Trolls as they barreled toward us. Thankfully, Unit Two had gotten behind the beasts and were wreaking havoc and confusion.

Raquel stood frozen to her spot with her arms raised above her head and began to chant in an ancient language that was both melodic and macabre. Her red hair whipped wildly in the wind and her eyes rolled back in her head. Gold and peach gusts of glitter burst from her open palms and her body swayed violently.

The Wraiths flew at us en masse as if they knew Raquel was their target. That left the rest of the Vamps free to attack the Trolls, but a hundred Wraiths to three Vampyres was looking pretty grim at the moment. Death was on our heels.

Glancing quickly to my left as I sprinted around Raquel. I saw Astrid. She was lit up like a fucking inferno and plunging her sword through the neck of a Troll. Ethan was faring just as well, so I turned my attention back to the ghostly specters trying to invade our bodies.

"Merde," Jean Paul gasped out. "So fucking cold."

He was correct. As the Wraiths ripped through our bodies, it felt as if our veins turned to ice. Generally speaking, Vampyres were impervious to temperature, but the ghosts carried a blistering wind with them that shot through us like frozen daggers. Jean Paul was slowing down, clearly affected by the frigid temperatures. I was barely able to make out the battle beyond as the Wraiths cocooned us in a deadly blood red haze of light.