Blood From a Silver Cross (Kat Redding) (19 page)

We were close. I could tell by her body language that she was both relieved to have gotten to a place of perceived safety and terrified about what she’d just escaped.

She went a few blocks farther and then stopped in front of what had once been a restaurant. It had been abandoned for years, though graffiti on the walls told me it had become a hangout for kids. She walked slowly across the parking lot and knocked on the door. There was a call from inside to which she answered, but I couldn’t make out the words from as far back as I was. She seemed to be arguing with whoever was inside. After a few moments, the door opened and she was yanked inside.

I watched the place from across the street, almost hoping someone would come outside so I could get a good look at them. The building’s windows were boarded up and even the glass doors had plywood on them, making it impossible to see inside. There had been a flickering light when the door had opened, telling me they were more than likely using candles to see by. There’d be no power here.

Minutes passed and nothing else moved. I saw no guards walking the parking lot, nor did I see anyone on the roof or around any of the corners. Nearby, there were a few other abandoned buildings, as well as a few that were not so abandoned. I could hear laughter coming from a gas station down the street, but otherwise, hardly anyone was near.

Pablo had told me to return once I found out where the woman went, but I wasn’t so sure I could do that. Just because she’d come here didn’t mean the entire Left Hand was here. This could be just one of a dozen similar places throughout the city. Since she thought she’d escaped, she might be nervous about staying here. Chances were good the entire group would up and move, just in case she had been followed. It would be the smart thing to do and as much as I hated the Left Hand, they’d proven themselves smarter than the average Pureblood.

I couldn’t let them get away.

Going in alone would be stupid, I knew. The Left Hand might work in the shadows, using syringes and knives to do their work, but I didn’t believe they wouldn’t use guns if it came right down to it. They had silver for their injections, so silver bullets weren’t too far out of the question, either.

Then again, as long as they didn’t hit anything vital, it wouldn’t slow me down too much.

I took a deep breath and held it. This might be stupid, but it might also be the last chance I’d get to put an end to the Left Hand. I could take out this base of operations, capturing someone to interrogate later.

I checked down the street, saw no one that appeared to be watching, and then made my move for the building I knew held members of the Left Hand.

I
darted across the parking lot, gun in hand. My eyes scanned the lot and the front of the building, fully expecting a shot to ring out. This was the Left Hand. They wouldn’t leave their hiding place undefended in the middle of a big city overrun with werewolves and vampires. They had to have some sort of protection.

But no shots were fired. I reached the front of the building without incident. I might have been seen and the people inside could be ready for me, but at least I’d gotten this far without getting killed.

I pressed myself against the wall between a boarded up window and the door. I could just make out the sound of voices inside.

“You know you aren’t supposed to come here until daylight!”

“But I—” The sound of a slap cut her off.

I tensed, listening. It sounded as if the other members of the Left Hand weren’t so happy about the woman coming back to them. I hoped I could somehow use that to my advantage.

“What if someone followed you?”

“They didn’t.”

“How can you be sure?”

There was a long moment of silence. I could hear other faint sounds—the scrape of a chair on hard flooring, a feminine cough. I couldn’t tell how many people were inside. So far, only the girl I’d followed and the man who was yelling at her could be heard.

“We’re going to have to move.” This was a new voice. The guy sounded big, but that could be misleading. I’d heard small people with extremely deep voices before.

“We can’t go. My sister . . .”

“Will be fine. She’s doing what needs to be done.”

I slid closer to the door where I could hear better. I waited for them to go on, but the sound of shuffling began, as if a lot of people had started moving around. There was still talking, but I couldn’t make out another word.

My mind raced. Going in might very well end in my death, but it sounded like I’d been right when I’d thought they’d get up and leave when she returned. If I went back to tell Jonathan now, we’d lose them for sure.

I couldn’t let that happen.

With deliberate slowness, I reached down and tested the door. A faint, unpleasant, sensation coursed through my hand where I touched the doorknob. When I pulled my hand back, there was something on it. With a sniff, I quickly determined it was a thicker version of the stuff they injected in their victims. If a normal werewolf or vampire had touched the door, the silver in the mixture would have caused them immense pain.

It’s a good thing I wasn’t normal.

This time when I tried the door, I didn’t pull away. The door rattled slightly in its frame, but otherwise was locked.

“What was that?”

All sounds inside ceased.

It looked like I was going to have to do this the hard way.

I took three quick steps away from the door. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a small section of plywood at one of the windows move aside, exposing a single eye.

Knowing it was going to hurt, I charged the door.

Glass shattered as I slammed into it with all the vampire strength I could muster. The wood on the other side didn’t stand a chance. It tore from the frame as I went through the doors and crashed to the ground amid a shower of glass and splinters. The harsh scent of silver dust just about choked me as I hit. I could feel it stinging the cuts all over my face and hands from the shattered glass.

I rolled to my feet almost immediately. There were at least a dozen shocked faces staring at me. A man who had to be in his sixties stood at the window, hand still on the piece of wood that had created his peephole.

My gun came up, but I wasn’t sure where to aim. Everyone was standing completely still, looking at me as if waiting for me to act first. I don’t think they expected anyone to make such an extreme entrance, especially someone not affected by the silver they’d coated everything in.

“It’s her.” The woman drew my eye. She was trembling beside the counter. “She’s the one who captured me.”

And that was all it took.

The entire room burst into motion. Cases of various types sat around the room. I knew each and every one contained syringes, serrated knives, and that damnable mixture the Left Hand used to paralyze their victims.

“Stop!” I shouted at a man to my right. He already had his syringe in hand and was running toward me. I gave him two more steps and when he didn’t stop, I shot him between the eyes.

Coldness swept over me as his blood splattered the floor. My hunger flared. I was suddenly aware of how pure their blood was, how plentiful. I had yet to feed. There were enough people here to sate me a dozen times over.

I turned and shot the older man, just as he reached out to stab me with his syringe. My ears were ringing from the sound of gunshots. I felt a twinge of guilt for killing someone of his age, but it was quickly swallowed by my rage, my beast.

Fangs extended, I grinned. I was losing control. The monster was coming out to play and I was practically helpless against it. It was commanding me to kill, to feed on every last one of them. The urge to throw down my weapons and charge bodily into them was so strong, I actually took a step forward before I regained some of my composure.

Besides, I didn’t need to charge. They were coming to me.

I spun to the side just as the Left Hand woman I’d followed tried to flank me with a serrated knife in hand. She had time to widen her eyes and open her mouth to scream before I was on her. My instincts had taken over. I knocked the knife from her hand and wrenched her head to the side. I bared my fangs.

And then I struck.

Hot warmth sprayed into my mouth and down into my gullet. I sank my fangs deep into her neck; so deep, there was no chance she’d survive this. I sucked hard, filling my essence with her life. She shuddered against me and her legs gave out. I held her in place so she wouldn’t fall.

Ecstasy made me dizzy. I pulled her close to me and drank. The world around me vanished. All I knew was the blood.

A loud bang caused me to jerk back. The woman, who should have still been alive, fell from my hands, dead. She had a gaping hole in her head, mere inches from where my own head had been.

I turned, snarling. Blood dripped down my chin, covering the front of my black leather. I still had my gun in my hand, but I wasn’t thinking clearly. I needed more blood.

A middle-aged man stood next to the counter. Fury lined his features as he did his best to aim at me. His hand was shaking so badly, I wasn’t sure he’d manage to hit much of anything if he fired. I think hitting the girl had been an accident.

“Monster,” he said. The remaining Left Hand members stood nearby, syringes and knives at the ready. He was the only one with a gun. “Gabriel is right. You are nothing but monsters.”

Our eyes locked. I knew that if I moved, he would fire. There was no way I’d get my gun up in time.

“You’re no better,” I said, slowly licking the blood from my lips. I was starting to regain my control. My beast wasn’t quite sated, but it was calming. “You kill, heedless of who you hurt.”

“We hurt those who defy Him in his greatness. We kill those who cannot abide the light of His creation.” His arm tensed and I knew he was going to shoot.

I moved quickly, darting to the side, just as he pulled the trigger. The bullet hit the plywood behind me, went through that, and shattered the glass on the other side. Someone screamed at the deafening sound.

I dropped low to the ground, rolled past a table and came up next to a woman standing off to the side. I grabbed hold of her, thinking it might buy me some time, but the man shot at me anyway. The bullet took the woman in the belly. I let her go as she fell, screaming.

I darted for the counter, thinking I might be able to use it as cover. This time, his shot was true. The bullet hit me in the shoulder as I leapt for the counter. I spun and fell hard on my back as pain seared through me where the bullet had gone in. It was like fire blooming from the impact, and I knew it wasn’t a normal bullet.

I didn’t get up right away. Part of it was the pain and part of it was the knowledge that if I rose now he’d probably put a bullet in my head. I couldn’t survive that.

“Silver bullets,” the man said, coming around the counter. “Who would’ve thought that all those silly movies had gotten it right?” He set his gun on the counter and held out a hand. Someone slapped a syringe into it. “It’s so easy, you see. Your kind have weaknesses. We exploit them. Thanks to His guidance, we know exactly what needs to be done.”

He took a step closer. I held completely still, acting the part of a paralyzed victim. I could feel the silver working through my veins, but it wasn’t doing anything more than burning ever so slightly.

“I don’t know how you managed to avoid getting infected when you burst in here, and I don’t care. You showed us our defenses might not be as secure as we thought.” He knelt beside me. “I will pray for your soul.” The syringe moved toward my neck.

I brought my gun up and pressed it against his chest. He had a moment to look surprised before I pulled the trigger.

Blood splattered my face as he jerked backward. He fell off me, landing hard on his side. His eyes were already starting to glaze.

Pain ripped through my shoulder as I rolled to my feet. His shot hadn’t hit anything important but it hurt like hell. I was going to be feeling this one for quite a while.

The remaining Left Hand members were staring at me in shock. One of them made for the counter where the gun sat. I grabbed the gun despite the flare of pain it caused in my injured arm. The man stopped and raised his hands, taking a single step back, though his eyes told me he was ready to charge again the moment I let my guard down.

“Funny thing, silver,” I said, turning the gun over in my hands. It was a little bigger than my gun, a little heavier. “It doesn’t work on all of us anymore.”

A guy who looked no more than sixteen screamed and charged, knife raised above his head. I actually felt bad for shooting him. The boom of the gun was so loud, I didn’t even hear the knife clatter to the ground.

“Any more?” I growled. Pain and bloodlust had me seeing red, but at least I was in control. If I gave in, the remaining four members would be dead in seconds. I could revel in their blood, feed until sated.

But I needed them. I didn’t know if I’d found their leader or if there were more of them roaming around. I needed to know.

“How many more like you are there?” I asked, eyeing the group.

A woman darted to the side, grabbed a purse, but before she could so much as open it, I shot her in the head. She dropped without a sound.

“Gabriel!” I shouted, hoping to draw him out. I hated killing Purebloods, even ones who were out to kill me. I was tired of it. I just wanted answers.

“He’s our leader.”

I turned to the speaker. She was maybe twenty, though she looked haggard, as if this life wasn’t quite right for her. She, of everyone there, looked the most terrified.

“Is he here?”

She shook her head. “He will know what has happened here and won’t return. He knows everything.”

“Where can I find him?”

“Aubrey . . .” The man who spoke reached out to grab her. I shot him.

Aubrey screamed as blood splattered her face. She trembled, eyes closed. Tears streamed down her cheeks, mingling with the blood.

Guilt seeped into me, but I pushed it away. I couldn’t take it easy on anyone here. Given the chance, they’d all kill me. Aubrey might be the only one who would regret doing it, but I wasn’t under any illusions that she would spare me.

“Where can I find him?” I repeated.

“He doesn’t stay here with us,” she said, voice wavering. She was seconds from a breakdown. “He keeps his own place and checks on us when he has a target for us. We rarely see him otherwise. He has important things to do.”

“Where is he staying?” I was growing impatient. I didn’t like the way the last two men were looking at her.

Aubrey squeezed her eyes closed and took a deep breath. “I can’t betray him,” she said. “He works through His grace, guides us on the right path.”

“Do you think all of this death is truly the right path?” I asked, knowing how it had to sound coming out of someone who had just sucked the life out of someone.

She shook her head, refusing to look at me. “I can’t.”

“Aubrey,” I said as gently as I could. “Tell me. I won’t hurt you. I’ll let you turn around and walk right out of here. You can make a life for yourself, a real life.”

Her eyes opened and I saw hope there. “He’s sta—”

A pair of screams caused her to stop. Both men charged her at the same time. I shot one before he made it more than a step. His head snapped back and he fell hard on his back, dead before he hit the ground. I swung my aim toward the other, but wasn’t fast enough.

Aubrey cried out as he grabbed her from behind. He raised his hand and swept it across her throat. Blood bloomed as the knife he held bit into flesh. He wrenched her head sideways, back into the knife, and slammed the blade home. It nearly severed her head from her body.

She gurgled something inarticulate and then collapsed, blood pumping onto the ground.

The man looked at me and grinned. Aubrey’s blood covered his face. “He will avenge us,” he said.

“Not if I find him first.” My hand trembled where I held the gun. I wanted to shoot him in the worst way, but I needed him. He might not think he’d talk, but once I was through with him, he wouldn’t have a choice.

“No,” he said, grinning. Blood dripped into his mouth, staining his teeth red. “He’ll find you.”

And then, before I could stop him, the last member of the Left Hand plunged the knife directly into his own eye.