Tears of No Return (21 page)

“He’s not a vampire anymore,” Karen pleaded. “He’s like you, a hunter.”

“I’ve had about enough of you,” Ben said. “Boys, remove the girl.”

“Yes, sir,” they said in unison, dropping their lances and starting in Karen’s direction.

They weren’t as big as their father, but large nonetheless. Karen wouldn’t stand a chance.

She and Morgan had come so far, been through so much, and to let it all fall apart because of these idiots was outrageous. She couldn’t let that happen. Anger boiled within her. It couldn’t all end here. She was about to lose Morgan, someone she’d grown to love, to share secrets with, and to count on. She had to act fast.

Karen looked in the direction of the two approaching men, focusing on the space between them. Using her peripheral vision, she saw them as a single entity, but in two places, and probed them together. She wasn’t sure it was even possible to do such a thing, but tried.

Her mind was bombarded with a cacophony of the two voices, almost causing her to drop the connection as she was unable to decipher their words. Then, like putting the correct puzzle pieces in place, she was able to hear both sets of thoughts clearly. The man on the right thought she was hot and wouldn’t mind doing her. The other man just wanted her to leave the area so he could get back to business. She amazed herself at being able to read two minds at the same time. This was new territory, something she had not yet thought about. It was definitely something she would have to experiment with at a later time.

She tried delving deeper into the two minds, hoping to repeat what she was able to do with the agent, but the strain was too much. She quickly abandoned her connection to one of the men, focusing strictly on the brother that thought she was hot.

Karen was in a world unto herself now, seeing only the man she was probing. The peripheral vision was gone, blacked out as if she were looking through a tunnel, the man’s face at the end. Sweat began building on her skin. Karen was in deep, seeing more than just present thoughts. She saw fears, desires, and a number of other private things. She saw the man’s mother lying in a coffin before opening her eyes and mouth, fangs bared like a wild animal. Karen wrapped herself around the image, bringing it to the forefront of the man’s mind.

She knew the man’s name. It was Boyd Morse, son of Betsy Morse.

Boyd halted, as if his feet became cemented to the ground, his face contorting into an anguished grimace. He cried out, “Momma, no!” and fell to his knees, sobbing.

Boyd’s brother turned upon Boyd, his face appalled. He glanced back to Karen, pointing a finger. “Witch!” he shouted. “Dad, she’s a witch!”

Deciding to go with it, Karen said, “That’s right. I am a witch and a very powerful one, too.”

The brother’s face screwed with rage as he charged Karen.

“Stay at ease, Jim!” the father commanded, stopping the charging man in his tracks. Karen was impressed with Ben’s control over his son, but began back-pedaling as the man stormed toward her. She couldn’t show fear. She was a powerful witch and needed to act like one. Righting herself, she took a step forward. The son named Jim stopped, appearing wary.

“You’re going to let my friend and I go or your boy here dies.” Karen felt her voice wanting to crack as her body trembled with nerves.

“Bullshit,” Ben said, the wariness no longer present. “You ain’t no witch. But you are something else, aren’t you?”

“That’s right,” Karen said, making sure her voice boomed over the crying Boyd. “Something much more powerful. So back off.” She took a step forward.

“What have you done to my boy?” the man asked.

“He’s getting a visit from Mommy and will go permanently insane if I don’t release him soon.”

Ben and Jim remained where they were.

Karen moved beside Morgan. “Drop the Taser,” she demanded.

Ben did as he was told.

Karen yanked out the darts. Boyd continued crying, but was now writhing on the ground, his condition worsening.

“Dammit, woman,” Ben said. “Take your spell off my son.”

“Not until we’re safely out of the area.”

“Release him now. I won’t tell you again.”

“I say we kill her, Dad,” Jim suggested. “Maybe it’ll break the spell.”

“Do that and he’ll die for sure,” Karen said, trying to wake Morgan by shaking him. She felt herself growing weaker. Keeping her connection to Boyd was draining. How could she expect to add walking to the other activities without completely depleting her strength? And once they knew she was no longer a threat, they’d kill Morgan for sure, and probably her, too.

“I want to show you something,” she said, and pulled out the cross-necklace Morgan had given her. She held it out for them to see. “I’m going to place this on Morgan’s skin.”

Ben eyed her suspiciously. “I don’t think so. Jim, give the lady one of
our
crosses.”

Jim removed a small wooden cross from one of his pockets and tossed it to Karen. Next, he produced a small vial and tossed that to her, too. “Holy water,” he said, then pulled a chain with a large cross on it from his shirt and let it rest against his chest.

Ben followed suit and produced his own large silver cross from under cover of his shirt, letting it dangle on the chain. Karen figured they all wore them, but had kept them tucked away while dealing with Dean.

Morgan stirred.

“Morgan, sweetie,” Karen said, shaking his body while keeping an eye on the hunters. She placed the cross on his forehead, then looked at Ben. The hunter’s mouth hung agape, his disbelief clear. She took the vial of holy water, undid the cap and poured the contents over Morgan.

“What the hell’s going on, Dad?” Jim asked.

“You see,” Karen said, her voice stern. “He’s not what you think he is.” When the vial was empty, she tossed the container back to Jim along with the cross. She stood and disconnected from Boyd, and he immediately ceased sobbing but remained shaken.

Ben said, “I’ve never seen such a thing.”

“He isn’t bothered by the sun either,” Karen added.

“That would explain his escape from our trap the other day.”

“It’s got to be a trick, Dad,” Jim said, looking ready to attack.

“There’s no getting by the cross or the holy water, Son. You know that.”

“I’ve released Boyd from my grasp,” Karen said. “Now, can we talk without the threat of another attack?”

Ben nodded. “That, for now, we can do.”

Morgan sat up slowly. Ben kept his weapon in hand while Jim tended to his brother.

Karen explained Morgan’s situation, how The Murphy Group changed him into a vampire-killing machine. She knew Morgan wouldn’t be pleased. He needed to be able to blend in with the vampires, be a chameleon, taking out vampires when they least expected it. Informing the hunters was a dangerous risk, not that they would tell anyone, but simply having others know about Morgan made his secret that much closer to becoming public knowledge.

“This would’ve been a lot less messy for all of us if you’d just told us the truth. You know, figured out a way of showing us like the missus here did,” Ben said to Morgan.

Morgan stood and glared at Ben through narrowed eyes.

“But,” Ben added, clearly seeing Morgan’s anger, “I can understand why you’d want to keep that a secret. You’d be useless if your own—excuse me—your
former
kind found out about you.”

“You can’t tell anyone about this,” Karen demanded. “Not even the other hunters.”

Ben considered the statement. “I agree. It won’t be easy, I’ll admit, but you can be assured neither me nor my boys will speak a word of this. We need someone like Morgan on our side.” He reached out and offered his hand.

“We’ll see,” Morgan said. He stepped forward and accepted Ben’s gesture. The two men shook.

“Glad you’re on our side,” Ben said. “And sorry for all the trouble we’ve caused you over the years.”

Morgan shook his head. “I can’t blame you. You were doing your job.”

“Well,” Ben began, “we better part ways. Wouldn’t want someone seeing this and getting the wrong idea.”

Both parties said their goodbyes and began walking away when the big hunter turned around and said, “Hey, maybe we’ll work together some day in the future.”

Morgan rolled his eyes. “I hope not,” he said softly to Karen as they walked out of the park.

She smiled and was glad to see Morgan with a sense of humor again.

Chapter 33

Karen and Morgan arrived back at the house. Still needing sustenance, Morgan would find a vampire tomorrow night and restore himself to full health.

Karen looked around the living room. The dead vampire was gone, only a small pile of ash remaining where the body had been. She didn’t understand much about the hidden world that existed alongside hers. Vampires were real. That much she was certain about. But what about other supernatural beings? With her world quickly merging with a new one, a dangerous one, Karen wanted answers.

“What happens to vampires when they’re destroyed?” she asked as Morgan began pushing the paintings back into place and resetting the vampire trap.

“Their blood dries up and they become ash.” After setting the last painting in place, he said, “I guess you’ll want to know a little bit about them…the former me.”

Karen helped Morgan tidy the place up, almost laughing when he produced a dust pan and broom to sweep up the vampire’s remains. After the mess was cleaned, Morgan made tea—Earl Grey. They sat on the couch and talked between sips.

“Vampires can be killed in a number of ways, and they have weaknesses.”

“Like?” Karen asked.

“Blessed items—the crucifix, Stars of David, Bibles, Torahs, Korans and whatnot can wound and keep vampires at bay. A blessed item, like a cross or a piece of wood soaked in holy water, can also be used to kill a vampire if stabbed through the heart. Chopping off the head works, as well as setting them on fire, or letting them roast in the sunlight for a few minutes.”

“You make them sound so easy to kill,” Karen said.

“Don’t fool yourself. But they’re not indestructible, as you know. Do enough damage to a vampire’s body, it will die.”

Karen had seen the vampire trap in action, the power of the blessed crosses. And she’d witnessed firsthand what bullets could do. Remembering how bad Morgan looked mere hours before sent a shiver through her body.

“What about garlic?” she asked.

Morgan flashed a humorless smile. “Oh yeah. It won’t kill them unless you shove it down their throats, but it will keep them away. The stuff burns like acid would to a human.”

Karen took another sip of her tea and stared into the mug. She was hesitant about asking the next question and placed the cup on the coffee table before blurting it out.

“And what about you?” she asked. Their eyes met.

“Me?”

“Yes, you. Do the same things work on you?”

“Beheading works against me,” he said.

“I kind of figured that one.”

“I burn up like anyone else when set on fire. Not feeding at least once a week will drain me and ultimately kill me. So I need to always be around vampires. Other than extreme damage and not feeding, there isn’t much. I don’t have a lot in common with them anymore.”

“What about garlic?”

“For some reason that stuff still bothers me. Maybe I’m just allergic.”

“What about other beings? Other things out there?”

“What is this, twenty questions?”

“I’m curious and I think I ought to know. Especially now that I’m a part of this other, bigger world. I need to be prepared.”

“There are other supernatural creatures out there besides vampires.”

“What kinds of creatures?” Karen’s heart fluttered.

“Zombies, werewolves,” he said, then added, “ghosts, demons, wizards.”

“You’re screwing with me, aren’t you?” She shoved Morgan playfully. His face remained cold, serious.

“No, I’m not. Those things are real. Very real. And very dangerous, especially to people who know about them.”

“Tell me everything. Start with werewolves. I always loved them as a kid.”

Morgan glared at her. “Karen, this isn’t the time or place. I promise we’ll go over all that stuff, but for now we need to concentrate on a bigger problem.”

Karen’s shoulders slumped. Morgan was right. It was just nice to be able to talk about something other than their situation. She was sure if she had to face a werewolf or demon that it would be the scariest thing she’d ever have to do, but talking about that stuff distracted her from the Murphy business.

“Okay, you’re right. So what do we do next?”

“We plan a kidnapping.”

Chapter 34

The following morning, Morgan awoke early and went out. He left Karen behind, telling her it was safer than having her out on the streets. He purchased a couple of cheap throw-away phones, and on his way back, bought Karen breakfast. Her old phone could never be used again.

She sat, legs crossed. “I didn’t like waiting around one bit,” she said heatedly. “I kept worrying that the agents found you or something.”

He handed her a brown paper bag and a large cup of coffee. “I know, but it’s for the best. Wasn’t sure what you like to eat, so I went with eggs and a bagel.”

“That’s fine. I’m starving.”

Morgan pulled out a chair and sat while Karen ate. “I got these phones for us to keep in contact with. They’re fully charged.”

“Good idea,” she said between bites. Then her face faltered. “Wait, are you going somewhere without me?”

Morgan sighed, placing the phone back into his pocket. “About the waiting around. You’re going to have to do a little more of it.”

Karen stopped eating. “Why?”

“We’ve got the location of the Murphy base, and I’ll need to scout the area to see what we’re up against. I won’t be able to do that as efficiently if you’re with me.”

“So I’m just supposed to sit here and do nothing, hoping you come back in one piece?”

Morgan wiggled the cell-phone in front of her. “We’ve got these to stay in touch with should anything happen, which it won’t. I move fast and quiet and I don’t think you’d want to go traipsing around in the woods with me.”