Chapter 19

Summer's words slapped Brigid like a dash of icy water. "Ivan is hosting hunts again?"

"That's why he's kidnapping hikers." Summer was trembling and pale. She looked inches away from collapsing, but her voice was strong. "He told me after he captured me again. We tried to escape before because we realized that people were disappearing, but then Ivan told me—"

"Summer!" Jamie ran toward his daughter and enveloped her in a fierce embrace. He immediately dragged her away from Brigid, Baojia, and Natalie, ushering her toward the creek as Ross brought up the rear.

The vampire turned and looked at Brigid. "Do what yer gonna do. We're seein' to our girl."

Brigid turned to Carwyn, who had come to stand behind her. "What do we do? If Ivan's not going to come tonight, that blows my entire plan out of the water."

It was rare for Brigid to see her husband turn cold and hot in the same moment. He was one of the most warmhearted immortals she'd ever met, but in that instant, she saw the icy rage behind his blue eyes.

"These men were keeping humans captive and feeding them to Ivan for his hunts." Carwyn turned his face to the humans approaching with guns and quad bikes, swarming the woods and looking for Summer. "We're taking them all out."

Baojia said, "Carwyn, we have to—"

"No." Carwyn's jaw was set. "We will get Ivan, but this farm is being cleared tonight."

With that, Brigid saw her husband bare his teeth and rush toward the oncoming lights. Baojia, with a low curse, followed him, Natalie at his side.

"Sweep the camp," Baojia shouted to his people. "Gather the humans in the kitchen."

Brigid saw the moment that the guards realized vampires were coming after them. The quads turned and headed back to the camp and the guns fell silent.

"Get out of here!" one yelled. "Get to the trucks!"

One bike split off and made for the road, only to have a shadow sweep down from the sky. Daxa plucked the human from the back of the bike and tossed him toward the waterfall where he tumbled over as the bike veered over the bridge and flipped end on end.

"Baojia!" Brigid yelled, watching Natalie sink her teeth into the neck of a guard, twisting his head until the pop was audible. "Where are your humans?"

Baojia turned and nodded his head toward the farm. "I had them positioned near the cabins. They're point on getting the humans out."

But there were only two of them, and the dozen cabins were scattered over the farm. "If they try to eliminate witnesses…"

"Fuck!" He bared his fangs. "Daxa! The cabins! Pick off any guards you see heading toward them." He whistled, and two black-clad soldiers were at his side. "Go with Brigid. Getting the humans is the priority. Try not to reveal yourself."

"Yes, boss."

"On it."

Brigid ran toward her husband. Carwyn was already charging through the forest and into the clearing where most of the cabins had been built. He ran like a galloping bear, jumping over brush and leaping over fallen trees.

Brigid didn't have his power, and she was perilously close to losing control of her fire, which would be disastrous in the middle of the woods even if they were foggy and moss covered.

"Follow Carwyn!" She pointed at his disappearing figure and made sure the two soldiers were following his lead before she veered back and headed toward the sound of water.

Better safe than sorry.

She dunked herself in the flowing water of the creek, feeling the sizzle of cold against her heated skin. Water bubbled around her fingertips, and a faint fog rose around her. She dunked her entire body in the creek, submerging her head and raising it just in time to hear the gun cock over her.

"I know what you are," a voice said. "And the gun's pointed at your neck. Don't fucking move."

Carwyn had lost all sense of strategy or politics. All he could think of was humans being taken, beaten, and hunted. The bruises all over Daniel Uriarte's body and the tortured look in Summer's eyes. God in heaven knew what else they'd find when they rescued the humans from those little rickety cabins around the farm.

He reached the first cabin and paused, trying to contain his rage. "Don't scare them more, old man."

Carwyn knew he could look like a beast when he was enraged. It was something he'd learned how to temper, even as a human. He'd always wear a smile, pitch his voice to a soothing low timbre, and slump his shoulders just a little. Anything to put the vulnerable at ease.

He had to concentrate when he heard muffled crying coming from inside. He took a deep breath and clamped down on the bite of anger. "We're here to get you out," he said softly. "Can you open the door?"

Hesitation coming from the other side. Carwyn looked over his shoulder to see two of Baojia's soldiers at the cabin in the distance, the female soldier with her hand against the wall, probably asking something similar.

Finally a voice spoke. "We can't open it."

"That's fine. I can break the lock; I just don't want to scare you." With a warning given, he twisted the latch to one side, the metal falling apart in his hands like cardboard. He pulled the door open and saw two figures huddled in the corner.

They looked up, blinking. Two young women—related, Carwyn was guessing, from the looks of them.

"I'm Carwyn." He held out his hand. "My wife and I were hired by the family of another missing girl. Her name is Summer. Are you injured?"

Both the young women crawled from the corner. One pointed toward the door. "My shoes are over there, but my feet are in pretty bad shape. They took my socks."

"Mine too," the other girl said. "But I can walk. Rachel's feet are worse."

"If you'll allow it, I can carry you to the kitchen. That's the meeting point."

"Will the guards—?"

"My wife and the others are taking care of the guards." Carwyn allowed the growl to reach his voice and saw the two girls eyes begin to tear up. "Come on." He held out his hand again. "Let's get you home."

"Oh my God, am I dreaming?" The girl called Rachel was fully crying now. "Carrie?"

"I'm here."

Carwyn lifted the girl in his arms and saw the other one take her hand.

"I'm here, Rach; you're not dreaming, okay?"

Rachel broke down, her shoulders shaking as Carwyn walked the kidnapped girls toward the kitchen. "Shhhh." He brushed a kiss over the crying girl's forehead. "There now, you're going to be all right." His rage was screaming on the inside, but he forced himself to keep alert and calm for the two traumatized girls in his care. "Try to be as quiet as you can, yes? I'm not sure where everyone is."

Carwyn saw Baojia's two soldiers escorting a pair of young men in the same direction. He flagged them down. "You there!"

"Sir?" The young soldier ran to Carwyn. "Is she injured?"

"Her feet," the girl named Carrie said. "Other than that, we're okay."

Carwyn looked at Rachel. "Will you let her carry you so I can look for others?"

Rachel nodded and wiped the tears from her eyes. "Yeah. I feel stupid not walking. I can walk if you need me to—"

"It's fine!" The female soldier was nearly as tall as Carwyn, with strong Slavic features and a slight Russian accent. "There's nothing worse than hurt feet, is there? You can't think of anything else. I've had the same."

"Really?"

Carwyn gently shifted the young woman from his arms into the soldier's, reassured that they were in good hands.

Brigid lay calmly in the water, more than slightly pissed off that she hadn't noticed the human sneaking up on her.

"So you know what I am, do you?" She focused on her amnis, felt the rush against her skin that reached the surface and sizzled as soon as it met the water. Steam rose around her.

"I know all about you fucking vampires."

Brigid finally turned and looked at him, widening her eyes, which often freaked humans out. Just a little.

It worked. The human took a step back but didn't change the angle of the weapon. It was still pointed at Brigid's spine.

Still, it wasn't against her neck anymore. That was something.

She rose slowly, her eyes locked with the human's. The water sizzling against her skin formed a cloud of steam around her, and she stared at the man with every ounce of predatory intent she could push into her expression.

She imagined his blood, hot and sweet in her mouth, his neck snapping beneath her hands, and her fangs lengthened. She curled her lip and smelled urine.

"You know about me?" She asked again. Then she dropped her voice. "Do ya really?"

"I… I know if I shoot—"

"What's your name?" She walked toward him, the water against her skin bubbling into vapor.

"J-Jess. Don't come any closer." The gun was starting to waver.

"Jessss." She hissed out his name, perfectly content to play to human fears about the big bad scary creatures of the night. "What do you think you know about vampires, Jess?" She inched closer to him.

"I know that if I shoot your neck—"

"Not my neck, Jess." She moved closer, and the human took a step back. "Precisely and directly through my spine, severing it completely in one shot." She widened her eyes. "Anything less than an exact shot will only piss me off, Jessy. And a pissed-off vampire—"

He shot wildly, the bullet barely grazing her neck, and Brigid leaped on him, launching herself at his retreating figure, tackling him to the ground and jerking his neck to the side.

She heard the quick snap a second before her fangs pierced his vein.

Carwyn ran around the perimeter of the main field, checking each cabin, though most had already been opened and he saw no guards. He branched off a path that led to another clearing, another field, and another set of cabins. The first was already being opened by Baojia and Natalie.

"I promise," Natalie said. "We're here to get you guys out. We do not work for Ivan."

He could hear the furious argument between a man and a woman on the other side of the cabin doorway. He pulled Baojia away.

"Have all the guards been eliminated?"

"We've found nine, which is what Summer indicated, but there could be more. There's no guarantee that was an accurate count. Even Daxa had a hard time telling them apart from the air. I think they dressed the same to throw the prisoners off."

"Smart," Carwyn muttered. "And no other vampires?"

"None. The guards that are still alive babbled about Ivan, but no one seems to know where he runs these hunts." Baojia's expression was grim. "If I've let that man escape, Katya—"

"Katya will understand rescuing innocent people from a monster," Carwyn said.

Baojia cocked his head. "When was the last time you worked for someone who didn't fear you, Father Carwyn?"

"I don't know what that has to do with—"

"It doesn't work like that for those of us who are part of a hierarchy. Is Katya benevolent? When she can be, which is one of the reasons I work for her. But this vampire challenges her authority. Don't pretend that I made the call back in that forest. This was you and Brigid, and I backed you up because I could see the original op was blown. But if I don't get Ivan, Katya will blame me. And a few rescued humans aren't going to make her any less angry."

Carwyn put his hand on Baojia's shoulder. "We're going to get him."

"Do you have any leads?" Baojia crossed his arms over his chest. "Because I sure as hell do not."

The sound of a human footfall made them both come to attention. Baojia's handgun seemingly appeared out of thin air, pointing in the direction of the noise, and Carwyn's head swung around to see a burly man with a silver-flecked beard poking his head from behind a tree. He was wearing the orange cap and dark clothes of all the other guards.

When he realized he'd been spotted, the guard stepped forward with both hands raised. "I'm not gonna fight. I promise."

"Do you know where Ivan is?" Carwyn asked.

Natalie was ushering two prisoners out of the cabin, soothing them, explaining what was going on, and glancing at Baojia and Carwyn as she passed. She didn't stop but hustled the humans away from the vampires and the guard as quickly as possible.

"She still passes for human so easily," Carwyn muttered.

"It's a useful tool." Baojia was glaring at the man. "You didn't answer my friend here. Where's Ivan?"

"I don't know. I swear I don't. But I'm pretty sure he'll be back tomorrow night." The guard glanced over his shoulder. "He's gonna need to pick her up."

Carwyn's felt the ice wash through his veins. "Pick who up?"

The man's face went pale. "I don't know what to do. I just… I did what he told me, and I didn't get close. I figured maybe you two could help her, y'know? She's just a kid."

"Who's just a kid?" Baojia asked, never letting his gun waver from the man.

"The new one." He seemed to shudder a little. "Like you guys."

The cabin had been built in a remote clearing of the forest, at least two kilometers from the rest of the compound, but it wasn't like the others. While those had been rickety and near collapse, this one was made of sturdy blocks, a concrete floor, and a solid metal roof. The door was metal, and the locks were solid.

It still wasn't enough to hide the sobbing from the creature inside.

"Hello?" The voice was plaintive. Deceptively so. "Hey, is someone there? I hear you."

Baojia, Carwyn, and Brigid stood at a distance, knowing exactly what was inside. The smell of new amnis was everywhere, as was the smell of fresh blood.

"Ivan's?" Carwyn asked. "What was he thinking?"

"She's a human in Katya's territory," Baojia said, "who was turned—probably against her will. He has no claim on her."

"I don't know what's going on," the voice came again. "Please help me." She started to cry. "I'm so thirsty."

"She probably has no idea what's going on," Brigid whispered. "And she sounds desperate."

"Desperate doesn't mean not dangerous." Carwyn knew better than most, being the sire of many vampires, just how dangerous newborns could be. They were wildly uncontrolled, yes, but their brute strength could be shocking. Vampires as young as this one, with no mental or physical preparation, could be as dangerous as a trained warrior because they were creatures of complete and utter instinct.

Easy to kill? Sometimes. But utterly unpredictable.

Brigid walked to the door, and Carwyn tried to hold her back. "Darling girl—"

"No." She cut him off. "She's a victim, just like the others—more than the others, in fact. She's scared as hell, Carwyn."

Baojia held up a single finger. "Just remember, she's desperate. And if she's hungry, she will attack anything."

Brigid leaned against the door and raised her voice. "Hello? My name's Brigid, and I'm here to help you. What's your name?"

There was sniffing. "Um… it's Tiffany."

"Tiffany, do you know what happened to you?"

"I know… I mean, I don't really know. Ivan didn't tell me much. He just put me in here. And it hurt. I don't remember much." She was crying, nearly choking on her tears. "I think I… I killed someone."

"Fuck." Baojia barely mouthed the words. "When was that, Tiffany?"

Carwyn closed his eyes and said a brief prayer for the lost soul and for Tiffany's conscience. It was clear the death tormented her.

"Maybe a day ago? I can't tell. He keeps it dark in here all the time. There aren't any lights or anything."

"Okay," Brigid said. "We're going to figure out a way to get you out of there, Tiffany. None of this is your fault." Brigid turned to Carwyn. "Poor lamb. She sounds about seventeen."

"Um, Brigid? Is that the right name?"

"Yes, Tiffany. It's Brigid. I know I have an accent, so if you can't understand me, just ask again, okay?"

"I… I know this sounds crazy, but I drank his blood. I don't know what's wrong with me. Please don't come in. I mean… you can." She was crying and trying to speak through her tears. "But I don't know what I'll do. Don't come in." The girl was flat-out sobbing. "It hurts. It hurts, but don't come in."

Baojia raked a hand through his hair. "Fuck, what a mess."

"What's he doing?" Carwyn didn't understand it. Keeping a new vampire around humans was a recipe for disaster. "What the hell is Ivan doing?"