The Warrior Vampire (36 page)

“Naya!”

The urgency in Ronan's voice stopped her dead in her tracks and she turned. In an acrobatic move he launched himself in a graceful arc, his boots barely clearing her head as he flew past her. She whipped her head around in time to see him clash with a massive black and orange form as he took the massive jaguar to the ground.

“Get the hell out of here! Run!”

The scream of an angry cat pierced the night and Naya's lungs seized. Indecision gave her pause. Ronan was strong. A warrior. A supernatural creature with speed and quick healing. Virtually immortal. Manny, on the other hand, wouldn't last if the mapinguari got ahold of him. Each step that took her away from Ronan was like wading through sludge. Her body resisted, urging her not to part with him. But in truth, he was safer in a tussle with a Bororo shifter than he'd be with a demon.

Naya didn't have time to worry about which member of the pod Ronan fought and, more important, why he was out here. Hunting a vampire, maybe? And was he alone?
Shit
. Her boots dug into the soft earth as Naya propelled herself forward. The sound of limbs breaking and wood splintering behind her caused her heart to stutter in her chest, but she pressed on.

Stay on task. Get to Manny. Bind the demon.

She covered the next thirty yards at a hard sprint, her step only faltering once as she tripped over a rock. How much farther? Where was he? Where in the hell was Luz? Naya spotted the dark outline of a body up ahead and she slowed her pace to a careful jog. She pulled her dagger from the sheath, massaged the grip in her palm until it felt like an extension of her hand. Riotous music burst in her ears, wild drums and screaming horns.

“Naya…? Luz…?”

The dark shadow of Manny's body didn't so much as twitch. Through the darkness, Naya made out the white outline of a circle on the ground around him. The salt would deter the mapinguari but wouldn't stop it.

“I'm here. Luz?” Silence answered and Naya's heart stuttered in her chest. “Luz?”

Damn it.

Another complication to draw her focus. Nothing was going according to plan so far, and her watertight plan was beginning to leak like a sieve.

“I don't know what this thing is, but it's packing a punch.” Manny's words were muffled as though he spoke from the corner of his mouth. “My skin is crawling with magical energy and the damned thing isn't even in sight. Not gonna lie, Naya, this is making me nervous. And where's Luz?”

That made two of them. Her nerves were pulled as taut as a guitar string. One hard pluck and she'd snap. She couldn't let herself think about Luz right now. Between her safety and Ronan's, Naya's concentration was shot. She needed a clear and level head to center her own magic. She wasn't going to be of any use to anyone otherwise.

“Luz can take care of herself, Manny.” Naya could barely hear her own voice over the din of the music. She crept closer, keeping to the foliage until she stood off the foot trail, just to the left of the salt circle that surrounded him. “Where is it? Can you tell?” The music was already too loud for her to discern the location of the source.

Please don't say south
.

“To the south I think. That's where I feel the most intense concentration of energy.”

Naya's teeth gnashed and she gripped the dagger tighter in her palm. Luz had flanked Manny from the south.
She's okay. She can take care of herself
.

The trees rustled several yards ahead and Naya tensed. She'd feel a hell of a lot better about the impending fight if she'd known everyone she cared about was safe.
Focus, damn it
. Naya crouched low, ready to pounce as she waited for the mapinguari to approach. Power gathered in her gut, the magic snaking through her limbs with silky warmth. She shook with pent-up energy and her head pounded from the cacophony of music that blared in her ears. Just a little closer. A few more steps and she'd have it. A sleek, dark shadow crept down the trail toward Manny. A chuff of breath fogged the air as the mapinguari approached. A little closer. A few seconds, that's all she needed to wait before she could attack.

*   *   *

Whatever Ronan fought, it wasn't a shifter. At least, not anymore. The cat was larger than the jaguar he'd fought a couple of nights ago. Its eyes glowed feral green in the darkness and its incisors were unnaturally long. Likewise, its body was bulky with heavy muscle, the animal's shoulders larger and out of proportion with the narrow taper of its body. Powerful haunches flexed as the beast moved to pounce and Ronan shifted on the balls of his feet, ready to dodge an attack if need be. This was a planned distraction. Something engineered to separate him from Naya. He needed to put the animal down and get to her ASAP.

“You're the second male I've fought too cowardly to meet me face-to-face.”

The cat snarled, revealing its long, sabered teeth. It lunged at Ronan and he started, a prebattle ritual a lot like playing chicken. Armed with one of Naya's long daggers and a .45 Ruger loaded with silver-tipped rounds, the obvious solution would be to shoot the fucker Indiana Jones–style and walk away. The gun remained holstered at Ronan's side, though. He doubted a bullet would slow the mutated cat, let alone stop it.

This was going to have to be hand-to-hand combat. Well, hand-to-giant-fucking-paw.
Damn it.
He needed to get to Naya. Now.

The cat lunged again and Ronan crouched low, the dagger held firm in his grip. “You aren't the only one with fangs, you big bastard,” he goaded. “So quit posturing and
do something
!”

In a single graceful leap, it attacked. Rather than dodge the tackle, Ronan met it head-on, the dagger poised to stab. The blade slid between the cat's ribs, buried to the hilt. Its scream echoed in the night as they fell to the ground, breaking tree limbs and smashing bushes as they rolled down the embankment. Their downhill progress was stayed by a large boulder, and they crashed into it in a crunch of tangled limbs.

The jaguar was stunned and even Ronan was a little slow to move. A large branch jutted out from his right pec and the scent of blood was thick in the air. He might have been quick to heal, but he hurt like a sonofabitch. He wrapped his hand around the branch and yanked. “Motherfucker!” Ronan's shout echoed around him and he panted through the pain as the wound began to close on its own. He rolled over, the bloodied dagger discarded a few feet beside him, and scooped it up.

The jaguar slowly came to. It rolled to its stomach and shook out its massive head. Ronan didn't have time for this bullshit. He stabbed down quickly, driving the blade between the animal's shoulder blades. It let out a pained yowl before its head slumped to the ground. He pulled the dagger out with a yank and scrambled back up the hill, his speed making him a smudge of shadow in the dark as he raced back to the trail that would lead him to Naya.

“Don't move, Manny. Stay in the circle, understand?”

Naya's tone was wary but not frightened as Ronan approached. He kept his steps light, though what he wanted to do was rush to her. Hold her. Get her the hell away from anything that could hurt her. But in her soul, his mate was a warrior. Brave. Stalwart. He could no more ask her to back down than he could ask the wind not to blow. Naya was a force of nature, and he had to trust that she could take care of herself.

That didn't mean he wouldn't fight by her side, though. And it looked like she'd need all the help she could get.

The mapinguari towered over her.
Huge
. Much larger than the one they'd fought two nights ago. Covered in coarse, dark fur, this one looked a lot like a bear on steroids. Freakish, supernatural steroids. Each of its massive claws resembled daggers affixed to its paws, and its beady crimson eyes were barely noticeable on its face. The damned thing smelled like death warmed over, and gooey, thick saliva dripped from its maw of a mouth. It regarded Naya with a frightening intensity, much too calm for Ronan's peace of mind. This wasn't some mindless beast with an appetite for chaos. The mapinguari had a plan and it simply bided its time before putting the plan into action.

A demon with a brain. Great.

Luz was nowhere in sight, just one more kink in an otherwise perfect plan. Considering the circumstances, the human seemed to be holding up well, which earned a fair share of admiration from Ronan. Because on a scale of one to a hundred, their situation ranked somewhere near fucked beyond repair.

“Behind you, Naya.” Ronan kept his voice even so as not to startle her. “I'm right behind you.”

She let out an audible sigh of relief but didn't turn. “Are you all right?”

“Five by five, love. You?”

“I will be once I bind this thing and find Luz.”

The beast canted its head to the side, looking over Naya's head at Ronan. It sniffed the air and a low growl rumbled in its chest. A giant gob of spit dripped from its mouth and landed on the ground with a wet plop. This was seriously fucked up, and Ronan had seen some hair-raising shit in his life.

“What's the plan?” The thing was obviously sizing them up and Ronan didn't think that giving it time was going to work in their favor. They needed to put it down before it got tired of waiting around.

Naya turned the dagger over in her palm, a quick twist that Ronan imagined she did subconsciously. “I need to bind it. But it's bigger than I thought it would be. I don't know if I can do it without Luz's help. What about your trouble? Is it taken care of?”

He hoped it was. The cat was at the least incapacitated, if it wasn't dead. “Think so. Though I have a feeling that someone from your pod has been drinking the Kool-Aid, if you know what I mean.”

Naya cursed under her breath, “Fuck.”

Yup. Pretty much.

The mapinguari shifted and Naya mirrored its movement. It looked past them to where the human stood confined in a ring of salt, and a hungry rumble bubbled from its gut. It brought its enormous snout up to scent the air before its gaze landed on Ronan.

“I can immobilize it.”
Probably.
The fucker was
big
. “Just say the word.”

The mapinguari swayed, craning its thick neck once again to see around Naya and Ronan to Manny. Naya followed its movement and listed to the other side. She blocked the demon's view. It swayed again. Like a cobra and a snake charmer, their strange battle dance continued for another few seconds. A jolt of energy snapped out at Ronan through the tether and a burst of battle-fueled adrenaline dumped into this system.

“Get ready, Ronan. On my count. Three … two … one.”

Ronan sprang into action, but before he could lay a finger on it the mapinguari crumpled to the ground like a puppet whose strings had been cut. Fluorescent light bled from its lifeless body, oozing and winding down the footpath toward them. The dark magic inside of him surged, a blizzard of icy cold that raged. He snatched Naya by the waist and spun, keeping her clear of the viscous substance headed their way.

“Holy shit!” she exclaimed. “What in the hell just happened?”

The demon's essence, blood, or whatever the fuck it was continued on its path, surrounding Manny. The salt circle kept the magic at bay but officially turned the human's sanctuary into an island. No way in—or out.

“Sit tight, Manny,” Naya said. “I'll get you out of there.”

“Yeah. Let's work on that.” From the quaver in his voice, Ronan suspected that if they didn't get Manny to safety soon the human was going to lose his shit. “The faster the better.”

“I need Luz.” The worry Naya was throwing off buffeted Ronan's senses with the prickle of a cactus. “Where is she? Without the mapinguari, we're screwed. I've never tried to contain or control dark magic outside of a body. Hell, I don't even know if I can banish it on my own.”

Ronan's grip tightened on her waist and his fingers curled like claws. A powerful urge to sink his fangs into Naya's throat overwhelmed him. And he wouldn't stop there. No. He'd rip the flesh. Tear. Bathe in her blood.
Kill
.

With an abrupt shove Ronan cast her from him. Naya grunted as she stumbled, her expression severe as she turned to face him. The anger melted as he went to the ground. He collapsed to his knees and cradled his head in his hands. Cold enveloped him. Cold and darkness and hatred unlike anything he'd ever felt.

“Ronan?”

“Don't come near me, Naya,” he ground out from between his teeth. “Don't fucking touch me!”

 

CHAPTER

32

Naya didn't have to ask Ronan what was wrong to know that he was in the grips of the infectious magic. It vibrated around her. Crawled on her skin. Soured the air until she didn't think she could take a decent breath. And gods, the sound of it. She slammed her hands over her ears in a desperate attempt to block it out.

“Naya, this is bad.” There was too much going on for her to manage on her own, and Manny's panicked words weren't doing anything to decrease her stress levels. “We need to find Luz and get the hell out of here!”

No shit.
But with one member of their party trapped inside of a cleansing circle, the other in the grips of dark magic, and the other currently MIA, there wasn't a whole hell of a lot Naya could do. Her
magia
was tight, but it didn't give her powers of teleportation.

“Manny, you're safe in the circle. Don't move.” Without a physical body, the dark magic that evacuated the mapinguari's form would have a tough time breaching the salt circle. Of the four of them, Manny was definitely the safest. “You need to hold tight until I can form a plan of action.” Her attention was divided between the trickle of magic that surrounded Manny and the male buckled over and cradling his head in his palms not ten feet from her. “Ronan, can you hear me?”