Magick Rising (22 page)

managed to stab her sister with a metal nail file. But that hadn’t stopped her.

Lissa had become a vampire. Stopping her required much more than a

nail file. Still, the slightly wounded Lissa had fled.

The police had thought Hayley delirious when she’d gone to them for

help. That left her to track and stake her only sister—a task that left her

sobbing for hours afterward until a new resolution replaced the desperate

sadness with a grim determination.

She would find and eliminate Lissa’s killer. Since then, nothing else had

mattered. She’d had an inheritance from her deceased parents and the life

insurance from Lissa to fund her dark mission. But the money was going

fast. She had to find the Destroyer soon.

For now, she needed to gather her weapons and arrive at the cemetery

before the sun set.

And be ready to kill when another of the Destroyer’s victims rose from

the dead.

THE SKY WAS still gray when Hayley arrived at the cemetery, but at least

the rain had stopped. The heavy clouds made it difficult to judge the

twilight, difficult to tell when the sun would set. Already, dark fingers of mist

clung to the trees, and shadows wove their way around the tombstones.

Fortunately, new vampires were predictable. The moment the sun set,

they started clawing their way out of their grave. The newspaper had placed

sunset at 5:47 p.m. Hayley glanced at her watch. She still had fifteen minutes.

She slid her backpack to the ground and extracted some wooden stakes.

Even though the new vampires were predictable, she’d better be prepared.

With luck, this would be another easy staking . . . if any could be called

“easy.” She’d learned that she had a few moments to catch a new vampire

off-guard when it first emerged from the grave in a disoriented state. Once

those moments were gone, the vampire had all the advantages—speed,

strength, and a maniacal lust for blood. And if the vampire managed to make

its first kill, it became even more powerful. She’d barely survived some of

those encounters.

Hayley paused. From legal assistant to vampire slayer. Not the life she’d

envisioned even a year ago. Not the life she really wanted now. But if she

didn’t do this, who would?

After tucking some stakes in her belt, she surveyed the cemetery and

gasped. The stranger from the funeral stood only a couple of feet away. He

had ditched the umbrella but still wore the black trench coat. He was as

dark . . . and as devastatingly handsome . . . as she remembered.

“What are you doing here?”

“I was about to ask you that same question.” His voice matched his

appearance—smooth, elegant, appealing, with just a hint of an accent.

Hayley glanced over her shoulder at the grave behind her. No activity

yet. “I was just paying my respects.”

“Didn’t you have enough time for that earlier?”

“No.” She met his dark gaze. Were his eyes really a dark gray, or was it

the approaching night that made them appear that way? “Are you paying

respects, too?”

“Actually, I wanted to talk. To you.”

That surprised her. She took an involuntary step backward. This man

exuded a masculinity that threatened to overwhelm her.
No. No. No.
She

couldn’t afford any distraction. Not now. Not with a monster in the ground

behind her.

How did the man know she’d be here? “You want to talk to me? Then

why didn’t you speak to me earlier?”

“By the time I realized I needed to, you were gone.” He smiled, a

devastating parting of the lips designed to turn a woman’s bones to water.

Hayley sucked in a deep breath, not as immune to that smile as she

needed to be. Okay, her bones weren’t water, but she wouldn’t call her knees

exactly stable either. “What do you want?” she asked. She only had a few

minutes to get rid of him.

“Your name.” He stepped closer, his voice mesmerizing. “Your phone

number.”

Hayley blinked. “You’re hitting on me? In a graveyard?”

Again that smile. “Yes. Why do you find that hard to believe?”

Maybe because she knew she wasn’t the type of person to instantly

attract a man, especially dressed as she was tonight with her worn black jeans

and baggy sweatshirt and her dark auburn hair pulled up in a ponytail then

jammed under a black stocking cap. The still red, jagged scar trailing down

her cheek to her throat didn’t help either. “What do you want?” she asked

again. “Really?”

He chuckled, a sound she instantly wanted to hear again . . . in less

gloomy surroundings. “I’m Rurik Anatoli. I live here in Manitou Springs. At

least, for now.” He pinned her with his gaze. “And you are?”

“Hayley Donahue. I’m just passing through.” He was dangerous. She

knew it, felt it. She usually managed to keep people at a distance, her

emotions blocked, but this one threatened those captive emotions. Already,

he piqued her interest—something she couldn’t afford.

“Then we ought to make the most of what time we have together, don’t

you agree?”

He sounded so reasonable, so persuasive, she almost agreed. “I . . . no.”

She shook her head to clear away the haze created by his presence and

glanced over her shoulder at Paul’s still undisturbed grave. “I don’t have

time.” She had more important things to do.

“Make time.” He tucked a stray strand of her hair beneath her cap then

cupped her cheek with his palm. “Do you believe in fate, Hayley?”

She found it difficult to breathe, to move. She stared at him as he

lowered his head. “Don’t you believe we were meant to be?”

He meant to kiss her. What the hell? Jerking away from his touch, she

stepped backward. “No. I don’t.”

A low growl rumbled behind her, but before she could react, Rurik

tossed her aside so that she sprawled to the ground.

Stunned, she blinked then shook her head to clear it. Damn. She was

too late.

Paul stood facing Rurik, dirt clinging to his burial suit, his eyes red and

gleaming, his fangs ready to strike.

Instead of shrinking from the vampire, Rurik held up his hand. “Wait,

Paul. I can help you. I—”

Was he crazy? Hayley jumped to her feet, snaring a stake from her belt.

“Look out.” She ran toward Paul, intending to plunge the stake into his

heart, but Rurik caught her arm so that she impaled Paul’s shoulder instead.

The vampire reacted with an angry cry of pain and knocked her away as if

batting a fly.

She landed once more on the soggy ground. She tucked, rolled once,

then used her momentum to return to her feet while she grabbed another

stake. Thank goodness for those years of gymnastics as a child.

Before she could attack, Paul seized her shoulder, his overly strong

fingers digging deep. She responded with a swift kick to his groin that wasn’t

nearly as effective as on an ordinary man, probably only working at all

because new vampires reacted more out of memory than actual pain. He

doubled over with a groan, just enough for her to pull free.

But he recovered quickly, reaching for her again.

She raised her hand, ready to strike. To her shock, Rurik rushed

between her and Paul.

“No.” Rurik spoke as if to a child. “Leave her alone.”

Paul frowned as if trying to decipher the words. “I need . . .” He

struggled to speak, each word hoarse.

What was going on here? Did Rurik have a death wish? Hayley edged

around him.

“No,” Rurik repeated. “I have what you—”

Hayley leapt forward again, driving the stake into Paul’s chest. And

missed his heart. Not by much, but still a miss. Damn.

He roared in pain and swung his arms wildly, tossing both Rurik and

Hayley to the ground. By the time she regained her footing and searched the

graveyard, he had disappeared.

“Damn.” She seized another stake then scoured the tree line. Where

could he have gone so quickly? His grave was empty, a pile of exploding dirt,

splinters, and flowers.

If he made a kill, he’d be twice as deadly, twice as difficult to find and

stake.

She spotted footprints fresh in the wet grass and followed them until

they disappeared in the thick trees surrounding the cemetery. At least he was

heading away from the town, toward the mountains. Good.

Before she could dive into the trees after him, a hand snared her

shoulder. Stack raised, she whirled around to find Rurik behind her, a frown

deepening his brow.

He hadn’t appeared shocked by Paul’s appearance nor frightened when

any normal person would be. He’d even tried to reason with the demon.

She gripped the stake tighter. “Just who the hell are you?”

“I’M RURIK ANATOLI. I told you that.”

He replied with such calmness that Hayley’s stomach twisted into a

knot. No one should be calm after what they’d just experienced.

“There’s more you haven’t told me.” She clenched the stake so tightly

her knuckles turned white. Even if he wasn’t a vampire, a stake in the chest

would do some damage. “You acted like you expected to see a vampire.”

“I did.”

“And?” If he was any more taciturn, he’d be dead himself. Hayley

hesitated and narrowed her eyes. Was he? Was she allowing his

handsomeness to blind her? No, all the vampires she’d met had been

maniacal heartless killers, barely more than wild beasts, focused only on

finding blood to survive. This man oozed culture and sex appeal.

“I study vampires.” He produced a ghost of a smile. “I find them

fascinating.”

“Fascinating?” She could think of many other words to describe them.

Deadly. Demonic. Dangerous.

“I thought perhaps if I could talk to one, reason with him, I’d learn

more.” His voice held the warmth and smoothness of hot buttered rum.

“Are you nuts?” This man was an idiot. “Newly risen vampires only

want to eat. I’m surprised either of us are still alive.”

Rurik smiled wryly and pulled a flask from inside his coat. “I brought

blood. I thought that might help.”

Actually, that could be a good idea. If the vampire focused its attention

on drinking the blood, she’d have a momentary advantage.

Hayley lowered the stake but kept it ready. “That might work, distract

him. The best thing to do is destroy them.”

“Is it?”

His gaze bored into her as if he could see her soul. Hayley shifted,

uncomfortable beneath it. Why should she feel guilty about destroying

vampires? They deserved it.

“Who did you lose?” he asked so quietly she barely heard him.

She snapped her gaze back to his face. He now stood before her.

“What?”

“You obviously lost someone to a vampire. Someone you cared about.”

He brushed his fingers over her face, startling her not only with his touch,

but with his gentleness. “Who?”

“My sister.” She hadn’t expected to answer him, but she found the

words escaping her lips.

“I’m sorry.” He cupped her chin when she would have jerked away. “Is

that what turned you into a vampire hunter?”

Hayley inhaled sharply. He saw too much, knew too much, touched

feelings she’d long buried. Pulling away, she grabbed her backpack and

turned toward the trees. “I have to go.” Paul was already too far ahead of

her.

He fell into step with her. “I’m coming with you.” He flashed his white

smile. “After all, there is a vampire on the loose.”

“And I’m going after him.” She glared at Rurik. “
Without
your help.”

“I’ve followed you this far, might as well stay.”

Alarm sizzled down her spine. Hayley tightened her hold on the

wooden stake, her palms cold. “Followed me? Why?”

“Because I suspected Paul might rise as a vampire, and I wanted to see

if you believed that as well. When you came here, I knew.”

“Then what was all that phone number stuff?”

“I wanted to distract you, give Paul a chance.”

It figured. And bothered her. That small piece of old Hayley deep inside

had liked his attention. “Well, that worked.”

“I noticed you at the funeral.” Rurik’s gaze lingered on her face, as

intimate as a touch, and Hayley’s pulse skipped a beat. “You were totally

focused. Yet you didn’t stand with his family.”

She looked away from him, more unnerved than she cared to admit.

“So?” After months of traveling from town to town, talking to police across

the country, she thought she’d mastered the art of blending in. So much for

that.

Frustration bubbled to the surface. This conversation was not helping

her find Paul. “Go away.” She shot him an angry look. “I mean it.”

Pushing into the forest, she pulled a flashlight from her backpack and

scanned for broken branches, footsteps, any clues to Paul’s path. To her

surprise, Rurik didn’t come with her. Good. He’d scrambled her thoughts

enough already, a weakness that could her k—illed.

Now to locate a rogue vampire before he fed.