Stake and Dust (Stake and Dust series, Book I) (14 page)

Tremayne didn't hesitate a second longer and
plowed through the window, ignoring the glass biting into his
arms.

Lorelei whirled toward Tremayne with a hiss
and shifted into her true form – serpentine in appearance and quite
ready to take their heads – literally.

Cassandra shot off another arrow as she
strode into the room. Her light and durable weapon proved a big
asset and easy to reload, definitely something every hunter should
pack in their survival kits.

Lorelei screeched when the arrow hit its
mark. She turned toward Cassandra and advanced.

"Lorelei!" he bellowed her name and for a
moment she paused and turned toward him.

Lorelei was a vision to behold even in her
true form. She possessed long flowing blonde locks, and eyes like
the sea. Her upper half appeared almost humanlike, though her
breasts were covered in scales that resembled a bathing suit top.
Only he knew it wasn't the case. Her lower half revealed her true
nature clear enough as her tail shimmered like jewels from the
overhead light.

"So you show your face, my good bartender,"
she said the last with a hiss.

"Lorelei, you must stop this," he warned for
what good it would do. He knew from past experiences, he could not
reason with her.

She chuckled and glanced at her latest victim
sprawled on the bed. "I think it's a little late for that," she
snarled. "Do you want a taste?"

"Don't be a fool," he told her.

"Fool?" Her cackle befitted a witch of
legends. "It's only a matter of time before the GOJ come knocking
at your door. You're no saint, though you pretend to be."

"What's she talking about?" Cassandra asked
still keeping her eyes on Lorelei and her weapon ready.

"Hell, if I know," he lied.

"You betrayed me," she hissed. "The GOJ kept
me locked up, tried to rehabilitate me for what good it did." She
let out a demented laugh, proving her claim.

A woman scorned—be it Lamia or human—it was
never pretty.

Lorelei turned her gaze on Cassandra. "How is
it you've hooked up with the likes of him, dear sweet hunter?" Her
seductive voice now had a musical quality, alluringly so as if she
could hypnotize Cassandra like a snake going after its prey.

"Stand down, Lorelei," he tried again.

"Or what?" Her gaze riveted to him. "You'll
have me run out of town? Trust me, it's not going to happen." With
her promise, she lunged toward him, but anticipating her move, he
dove out of her way and rolled to a crouched position with his
dagger ready.

Cassandra raised the handheld crossbow to
take another shot, but Lorelei swung her tail and whipped the
weapon from her hands. The weapon crashed over his head, slamming
into the wall. Cassandra already had her sword drawn. The woman's
skills were to be admired, but later. Tremayne flew to his feet and
dove for the crossbow behind him. He swung around and pulled the
trigger.

The arrow hit Lorelei in the back,
penetrating the scaly skin. It didn't reach her heart, but it did
manage to piss her off further. She whipped her tail, sideswiping
Cassandra off her feet before she turned and charged toward the
window, taking half the wall with her as she barreled her way out
of the room.

"She's getting away," Cassandra managed to
find her footing and charged after Lorelei, only to skid to a halt
when she must have realized there was no way to follow without
hurdling three stories down to the pavement below. She teetered on
the edge as plaster crumbled around her feet. Tremayne yanked her
back to safety.

"Dammit," Cassandra stared after Lorelei.
Once landing on the ground, she'd shifted into her human form and
sprinted toward the street.

This would have been the best time to tell
Cassandra he was a vampire. He could easily follow Lorelei, but
that one little lie about his identity prevented it. It really
sucked to be human. Even if it was only for pretend.

Cassandra turned toward him, but then her
gaze shifted to Lorelei's latest victim. "Can he be saved?" she
asked.

He strode over to the man, who had most
likely withered away to a fraction of his former self, if he could
rely on the sunken cheeks, and skin paler than an Irish vampire's
hide, as a reliable indicator. He pressed two fingers to the man's
neck, even though he could hear the slow beat from where he stood.
"Pulse is thready," he told her. "We can call it in, but I'm not
sure if there is anything they can do. A Lamia is like a vampire
and a succubus combine. They feed off of both the blood and the
essence of the victim. The more successful the artist the more she
can feed. I'd say this bloke had been good at his craft."

Cassandra pulled out her phone anyway.
"Hello, we need medical assistance." She gave the 911 operator the
address to the hotel then she put another call through to the
police.

"We can't stick around here," he told her.
"The police will hold us for questioning."

"I know. So let's get a move on it," she said
and strode out the door. "We have a Lamia to capture."

"Where are you going?" he asked as he kept
up.

"The marina. She's injured. She needs the
sea, and I'm betting that's where she'll head."

Of course she was right, but he wished she
wasn't. He much rather pursue Lorelei on his own, but for now he
was forced to follow her lead, if only to protect her.

Lorelei was wounded, and confronting her now
would make the fight in the hotel seem like child's play.

"We should take the stairs," he told her and
bolted toward it with her following close behind.

As they made it into the lobby, Cassandra
shouted to the clerk on duty without slowing her stride. "We called
911. There's a man upstairs in room 306 who needs medical
attention."

They could already hear the sirens in the
distance as they flew out the door and hurried across the busy
street. Car horns blared and headlights blinded them, but they
managed not to get run over as the vehicles swerved around
them.

Lorelei needed seawater to heal and the
waterfront offered her access.

"I see her," Cassandra said as she took off
after Lorelei, obviously hoping to overtake her before she dove
into the water.

Lorelei hurried past the boat slots, most
likely searching for an open space to enter the water without an
onlooker playing hero and trying to save her, but as the seconds
ticked by, desperation must have taken root. She shimmered into her
true form. A definite no-no in the preternatural world, but then
Lorelei was running for her life and protocol would take a back
seat.

Onlookers screamed in terror and ran the
other way, dragging their loved ones with them.

Tremayne reached Lorelei first. She hissed
and lunged like a cobra, but he was ready. He flew at her and
plunged his dagger into her neck. She screeched and lashed at him.
The swat sent him flying back a few yards as he slid across the
pier. Cassandra didn't slow her pace. She flew past him and went
after Lorelei. She leapt at the beast Lorelei had become with her
dagger arm raised. She plunged the dagger into Lorelei's chest.
Lorelei screeched in pain and anger as she stumbled toward the edge
of the pier. At the last moment, Lorelei's hand shot out, grabbing
a hold of Cassandra's arm as she fell into the inky blackness
below.

"No!" Tremayne bellowed as the two fell into
the marina. Tremayne charged to the edge and stared at the water
still rippling where they had entered. "Cassandra!" he yelled for
her and dove into the water after her. It took him a few seconds
for his eyes to adjust to the murky depths, but then he spotted the
two, both struggling to get the upper hand.

Lorelei's body could not fully heal with the
silver embedded in her chest. This proved the only reason Cassandra
still had a shot to break free from her grip.

Cassandra went for the dagger protruding from
Lorelei's chest, but Lorelei anticipated her move and grabbed her
arms and prevented her from obtaining the weapon. Lorelei only had
to wait until Cassandra ran out of air then it would be over.
Cassandra would die and Lorelei would swim away to lick her
wounds.

He swam toward them, not caring he swam
faster than deemed normal for a human's ability. If he didn't reach
Cassandra, it wouldn't matter if she found out if he were a vampire
or not. She'd drown. HeHe HHHHHERHEHWE

He plowed into Lorelei with brute force and
the jolt made her release Cassandra, but the fool woman didn't swim
to safety, and she had to be about out of air. No, Cassandra kicked
her feet and swam toward Lorelei who he held in a chokehold.
Cassandra grabbed the dagger from Lorelei's chest and yanked it
free before she brought it down again, this time hitting her mark
straight through the beast's black heart.

Lorelei gasped, air bubbles releasing the
silent scream before her body stilled with death. He released her
and her body sank lower, her arms outstretched, eyes staring, and
her mouth open as if trying to speak.

Tremayne turned away and swam toward
Cassandra, knowing she didn't have the strength to make it to the
surface. Her eyes closed and in a second she'd lose consciousness
and her body would take an involuntary breath regardless that she
would take in water.

He grabbed her and pulled her close. He
covered her mouth, giving her a breath of air as he swam.
Hold
on, hold on…
he silently prayed.

Once they broke the surface, he didn't let
her go, but allowed her to take a well-needed gasp of air. It came
in ragged gulps.

He brushed the dark mahogany strands, loose
from her ponytail, away from her face. Her green eyes met his.
"H-how…did you d-do…that?" she asked, her body shaking, and her
teeth chattering from the cold water and the adrenaline overload.
"You b-breathed air into m-my mouth. I w-would have d-died if
y-you… How is that p-possible?"

"It's an old trick, I learned from a diver.
If we hadn't been close to the surface, I wouldn't have been able
to do it."

She looked like she wanted to argue the
point, but in the end she let it slide. They had killed the target
and ended the nightmare. And more importantly, they were both
alive.

"Let's get out of the water," he told
her.

* * * * *

With the commotion Lorelei had caused, the
police were called to the Marina. There was no covering up what
witnesses had seen. So they played along, answered questions, and
stated Lorelei had been wearing a costume. "A sea creature?"
Cassandra said and chuckled. "There's no such thing. The only
monster on the pier tonight was a woman who poisoned young men for
kicks."

According to Cassandra, the cleanup crew
she'd contacted from the bureau had already put the tale into
motion.

Cassandra said goodbye to the detective on
the case and headed toward Tremayne. Someone had given her a
blanket to drape over her shoulders. She was wet, and dark strands
framed her face, making the dark rings under her eyes standout
stark against her otherwise perfect complexion. "Good news," she
said. "The young man we found in Lorelei's hotel room is Tony
Mailard. The officer said Tony has a good chance of pulling
through."

"Then why the frown," he asked as her
eyebrows puckered.

"The authorities plan on searching for
Lorelei's body in the morning."

"Good luck to them," he said. "By then the
Lamia will be nothing but sea foam."

They stood there in awkward silence for a few
minutes, which probably in all reality had only been seconds.

"I guess I'll head back to the hotel to
change." Cassandra finally broke the silence.

"Good idea. You look like you're
freezing."

Her lips turned up at the sides. "You could
do with a hot shower too."

His eyebrows shot up. Had that been an
invitation?

"If it's all right," she continued, "I'll
come by the pub tomorrow. I just want to sleep a few hours…or six."
She chuckled.

Not an invitation to shower with her then. He
couldn't help feeling a wee bit disappointed. "I guess you can go
home now with a win. You're family will be proud."

She nodded but she didn't appear happy. "We
took care of the threat, but still the other victims… so many."

"There would have been more if we hadn't
stopped Lorelei Rivers."

"What about Gunthorn? He's still out
there."

"Not for long. My informant told me the GOJ
is on it. They'll catch him." He wanted to lean down and press his
lips to hers and tell her everything would be all right. He
clenched his teeth and willed himself not to react on the impulse.
"You can go home with a clear conscience. You took care of
business."

Her brows drew together once more as she
stared at him. Most likely wondering why he was pushing her away
when he'd made the cockamamie suggestion they should go on a date
after they closed the case. However, almost losing her tonight, put
things in perspective. Cassandra Hayes needed to go home. It was
for the best…for both of them.

Chapter Nineteen

Once in her hotel room, Cassandra retrieved
her spare phone from her suitcase. In her line of work, she never
knew when she'd have to replace the device and always packed two
for emergencies. Tonight's unintentional swim proved her point.

With one quick call to her brother Axel, all
her calls from the old phone were forwarded to the new one. She
headed for the bathroom to take a long hot shower. She placed the
phone on the sink and plugged in the charger, then proceeded to
strip out of her damp clothes, tossing them in a pile on the floor.
While she waited for the water to warm in the shower, she glanced
in the mirror and grimaced at her reflection. She looked a sight
with her hair plastered to her face in disarray. Her mascara had
smeared and she had the starting of a bruise on her cheek too. She
gingerly touched the area and winced.