20. The Warrior

Emerson Holt. I spend the night anticipating. It is the only thing I can do to keep my head from exploding. My creator is out there dealing with the most vicious of our kind I’ve ever met.

Perpetrator of the most unspeakable things since Leland turned him, not to mention the sort of things he’d done before. He is an excellent liar, his innocent face makes people think he is a kind soul, and we quickly learned he wasn’t. It was right when we came to America that he flipped the switch as far as we know. He”d hidden it well if he’d done anything evil and demonic while with us in Europe.

But what he’d done when we turned our backs for one night…

It was disgusting.

Heis disgusting.

Wren looked ill when I told her, and I’d spared her the details, but the broad stroke of what happened was enough.

This is the kind of monster Leland had made a vampire.

What’s worse is that I had practically begged him for it.

I rub my temples. Vampires don’t get headaches, but whenever my mind is pulled in enough directions it sure seems like I will. I don’t blame Wren for avoiding me most of the night. I am certainly not a joy to be around, and everyone who remains in the house is on edge. Even if they don’t know Emerson, they’d all heard the stories.

Hours pass, and Wren leaves to watch the lake in hopes of closure. Even if I want to protect her from everything, she needs this. But my mind can’t stop wondering why we haven’t heard from Leland. Something isn’t right. He’s not dead, Emerson would’ve gloated about that by now, but Emerson isn’t dead either, or Leland would’ve checked in.

No, something is wrong.

Madness will settle in soon if I don”t hear something from someone. I should have insisted Leland take the whole coven for this, that we go in heavy and hard. I know he is hoping he can go in with the element of surprise and that a smaller team is better for that, but Emerson is not a stupid man. He will be prepared for Leland’s wrath this close to us.

Light spills into the living room and stretches across the floor to the study.

Dawn.

Morning came on too quickly, and my stomach pits. There is definitely something wrong. He should have checked in by now. Say he went there and decided to wait a night, he’d have told us. We would have to go when the sun sets in the evening. I would arm and take everyone. Another hour passes, I look for Wren in the living room, but she isn’t there. Turning to Charlee, I ask, “Have you seen Wren come back yet?”

Shaking her head, “No, but you know police, it’s probably taking forever.”

With my worry for Leland and hatred of Emerson, I have already forgotten about the lake. I should be there for her. She likes to think she can handle everything on her own, but as separated as she is from herself, she is vulnerable. I don’t want any harm to ever come to her if I can prevent it. That is my duty as her mate. Even if she can protect herself, I will always be there to have her back.

I decide to wait a little longer, there is no reason to panic. Dredging up the lake could take hours. Even then, she might want some time to process. Since she learned she wasn’t doomed to darkness forever, she’d been getting up earlier and staying up later, enjoying the rays of sun she thought she had lost forever. I make a mental note to get a phone for her as soon as possible. We’ve been so involved with one another that it hasn’t been a priority.

Eleven in the morning, and I am officially losing my mind. “I’m going to go look for Wren,” I tell everyone, unable to contain myself anymore. Charlee wordlessly joins my side. I nod, and we make our way outside. Keeping to the trees in case the humans are still around slows us down, but we are still making decent time.

Silence forms between us, and that unsettles me even further.

Charlee is a quiet woman only when she is deep in thought. The fact that she is silent now speaks volumes to me. She and Wren have grown so close that sometimes I wonder if she’s as protective of her as I am.

A jolt of fear, pain, and anger forces its way into me. The whisper of words edge my mind, but they aren’t clear enough to make out what Wren is saying. I get the distinct impression that she is in trouble, but where?

I freeze in place, and Charlee doubles back, waiting.

My awareness reaches into the sensation of Wren’s emotions, and I try to see if I can use it to sense where she is. I have a strong urge to go straight to the road, ignoring the risk of humans. Pointing my feet diagonal to our position, I take off, “This way!”

Running at full speed, we reach the site of the accident in minutes. My eyes run wildly through the trees, searching for any hint of Wren. There’s no sign of anyone, human or vampire though her scent lingers. Her sweat, the smell of sweet honeysuckle, and… her blood.

A small puddle on the ground, of what is definitely Wren’s blood. Sitting in the pool are small white rocks. Compelled to pluck one from the ground, I hold it up and examine it closer.

A tooth?

One of Wren’s fucking teeth!

There are two others on the ground as well.

Forcing my panic from my mind and into my gut, I close my eyes and take a deep breath.

Wren, blood, and… gasoline.

Something else, something familiar. Flashes of a blood-crazed maniac ripping into any human he could sweep across my vision. Emerson.

“FUCK!” I yell, my hands going to my head in distress. Emerson had come for us, found her first, and taken her. Pride that she fought as hard as she did swells within me. She slowed them down enough that they had retreated instead of continuing to the house for a larger fight. That means I can find her, and I can save her.

Certainly, it couldn’t have been his goal to steal Wren. He wouldn’t have known she was out. No, it is a sick coincidence that she was on this road when he and his henchmen arrived. I look towards our home. This road gives great cover for vehicles and would have allowed Emerson and his men to make their way to the house undetected.

No, this was an impulsive reaction.

Emerson had seen an opportunity, and he took it. Hell, he could probably smell me all over Wren, which undoubtedly made it all the more exciting.

Charlee examines the plant life around us. Broken branches, strange sliding marks in the dirt, blood that smells distinctly vampire but isn’t Wren’s. There had been a fair number of people with Emerson. They ganged up on her like the weaklings they are. “We’re going to get her back, Oz.” I watch my sister’s face reflect anguish similar to mine. “We’ll find him and tear down everything he’s built. Watch as it falls around his head. And then, we’ll make him suffer.” Through her tears, I can see her seething rage. Nobody hurts our family and gets away with it.

Returning to the house doesn’t take very long, and we relay what we learned to the others. Everyone is on board to follow me into the city and take back our family. If they are dead, I don”t even want to think about that possibility. Though if they are, I won’t rest until I carve Emerson up the same way he carved up Roanoke.

We load up on weaponry. Everyone has a fully automatic rifle and a pistol or shotgun, depending on their style. I will rip holes through every last one of them to get to Wren and Leland.

Rolando bursts through the door, looking like absolute shit.

Charlee jumps and rounds on him. “What the fuck?”

He looks like he is about to fall over.

“Nice to see you too.” He doesn’t fall so much as slides down the door. I close the distance between us, biting my wrist and offering my blood to him. He doesn’t hesitate and drinks deeply.

Taking the blood of a well-fed vampire healed our kind quicker than regular human blood. It doesn’t satisfy hunger the way human blood does, but healing is what we use it for the most anyway. Immediately Rolando’s wounds begin to close, and strength returns to his form. I would be a little weaker, but I intend on eating before we attack.

“What happened?” I pull Rolando to his feet, my eyes search his for an explanation.

“It was a setup,” he says. “He must have known he had a mole because they were ready for us. Taka was nowhere to be seen when we got there, but a whole bunch of big nasties were. I didn’t ever see Emerson though. Leland shoved me out at the last second, and I ran the whole way here.”

A smug smile crosses his lips. “Had to take out a few of his guys on my own. They won’t make it back to tell him I got here, but in a few hours I’m willing to guess he’ll know.”

“He’s got people reporting to him. None of them are exactly stellar citizens. I recognized a couple of serial killers. I’m sure there are other murderers and rapists in there too. The kind of company he likes to keep, you know.”

I nod. It’s not surprising that he would find the scum of the earth to rule over.

“He’s also got Wren,” I say, watching as his eyes go wide. “Signs of a fight, her blood and teeth.” I have to choke out the last bit, rage beginning to consume me. How dare he touch Wren. She is mine. I know that’s precisely why he took her, to lure me. I have to play this smart.

“Let’s go,” I call to the rest of the house. “We’re heading out.”

The sun is up, and though it isn’t like us to move at noon, I still need to find the bastard. We leave for the city, grabbing some all too willing food and set up shop at one of our many safe houses. A few calls from contacts throughout the city let me know where Emerson is really hiding out. A factory near the outskirts of Callery.

He is smart.

I’m smarter.

The run-down house ten blocks from there had been a decoy to lure us in. This is perfect though. We are less likely to have to deal with human police when the shooting starts. Hardly anyone lives out there and those that do have no care what goes on around them as long as they aren’t involved.

I manage to get my hands on the blueprints for the building as the afternoon wears on, and we plan our attack—a group in the front, a group in the back. Our best marksmen set up to take snipes at any windows they could, and a final team will start on the roof and work their way down. Finding Leland and Wren and getting them out is the top priority.

We aren’t taking any prisoners.