Pretty When She Destroys (22 page)

“Oh, thank God. I know I’m doing this all wrong, but I’m a little frazzled.” Jeff pressed his lips to her hands, then slipped the ring on the wrong finger.

With a little smile, Samantha switched the ring to the proper one. “Engagement finger,” she explained, wiggling her digits. “Marriage finger is the opposite hand.”

“Oh.” Jeff grinned. “I’ve never been engaged before.”

Samantha clutched his trembling hands tightly. “I was, but it was totally not with the right guy.”

To her surprise, Jeff’s eyes were wet with unshed tears. “Samantha, I’m so glad you found me that day at the Spiderhouse. Life has been so incredible since that day. Just being around you makes me so happy. I love you so much, honey.”

Wiping away his tears, then her own, Samantha pressed a tender kiss to his lips. “I love you. You make me happy.”

“I’m doing this because I love you. Yeah, the whole end of the world thing speeded it up a little, but I would have done it anyway.”

Samantha snuggled into him as they fell back on the mattress together. Beatrice hissed and haughtily hopped down off the bed.

“I would have said yes anyway.” Samantha held up her hand so the lamplight could catch the sparkle of the diamond.

“It’s curse free, by the way. Aimee checked it.”

“Then it’s perfect,” Samantha said, grinning. “Like you.”

Combing his fingers through her blonde hair, Jeff grinned. “No, you’re perfect. And a little scary. When I was high on Cian’s blood, I could see your new nature. It was...intense.”

“Did I look supercool? Because Amaliya totally looked supercool.”

“You were beautiful. It was like you had ghostly wings and a halo around your head. Like a goddess.”

Samantha liked that description. It made her feel even more confident in her new abilities.

“So even though Cian was being a total dick when he force-fed me his blood, I’m kinda glad he did.” Jeff’s lips lightly brushed over hers.

“It was mean.” Samantha had been pissed off when Jeff had told her what had happened. Cian had quickly received an earful, though she could tell he wasn’t really listening to her at all. He’d been worried about Amaliya, who had looked somewhat pale and a little sickly after all was said and done. They’d left soon after to go hunt.

“Yeah, but I think I may ask him to do it again in the future. It was reassuring to actually be able to see the magic going on around me. Seeing the ward and your powers made it more tangible.” Jeff exhaled. “I just don’t like the whole blood thing.”

“It’s pretty gross,” Samantha agreed.

“Well...” Jeff rubbed his face. “It’s more than that. Don’t tell anyone this, but Cass nearly killed me when she hit puberty. One of the side effects of being a dhamphir is bloodlust. We didn’t know that though. We were young, foolish, and thirteen. I had the biggest crush on Cass. She was so beautiful and I was a hormonal teen. One day, I grabbed her and kissed her.”

Samantha immediately knew what had happened next. “She bit you.”

“Actually, she shoved me off her, tackled me, beat me up a little bit, then bit me.”

“I can see why you didn’t want this story getting out,” Samantha said, patting his arm.

“My dad found us and saved my life. It was not a good moment for any of us. Cass and I have never even talked about it. We just pretend it never happened.”

“It must have been really hard for you to let Amaliya feed off you when we were trapped in that farmhouse.”

“Well, it was hard for me to ask her to save you because of what had happened with Cass. Yet, it saved your life.”

“And changed me into a phasmagus.”

“I didn’t see that coming!”

“None of us did.” Samantha laid her head on his chest, listening to his heart beating.

“If I decide to become an infused human, I’ll have to let Cian drink from me and then drink his blood to allow his blood to imbue me for much longer than a few hours.”

“You don’t have to, Jeff.”

“No, but I may need to.”

Jeff’s warm embrace, the rise and fall of his chest, and his heartbeat were quite soothing. “Let’s not think about it for now.”

“Right. We’re engaged. We should celebrate it.” Jeff grinned at her. “Have any ideas?”

With a wicked smile, Samantha lifted her head and kissed him.

Part Four

Interlude

Chapter 18

September gave way to October. October faded into November.

The heat of the summer gradually faded away as cold fronts slithered across Texas, dropping the temperature in Austin to a much more palatable degree. Austinites started to don their sweaters, hoodies, and boots, leaving their shorts, tank tops, and flip-flops in their closets. The leaves of several species of trees turned dull orange and yellow, while others shed their coats completely. The chaotic energy of summer gave way to a more relaxed atmosphere as the holiday season loomed on the horizon.

The transformation of the city around the small cabal was barely noted as they fought their battles against the growing tidal wave of darkness threatening to devour the world.

It became increasingly evident that while Cian did not want to make vampires as cannon fodder, The Summoner was perfectly willing to do so. As the reports of missing people in San Antonio and the surroundings towns escalated, fledgling vampires crazed in the madness of bloodlust began to invade Austin on an almost nightly basis. Aimee’s perimeter spells instantly alerted the witch to any incursions. Tracking spells immediately went into effect, allowing Cian’s cabal to chase down the intruders and eliminate them. Most of the trespassing into Cian’s territory took place in less populated areas, which the vampire master regarded as The Summoner’s attempt to observe either Samantha or Amaliya’s powers from afar.

With that in mind, Cian deliberately kept Amaliya and Samantha back from the front lines. Cassandra, Aimee, Baptiste, Eduardo, Cian, Jeff, and Benchley managed quite well against the intruders with the invisible assistance of Roberto and his growing army of sentient ghosts under Samantha’s remote control. Amaliya, though frustrated, raised her zombies and sent them out to patrol nightly while remaining behind. She no longer had to have her blood spilled in the cemeteries around Austin to raise the dead, though she still had to shed her own blood to activate her magic. It was obvious by the startling human appearance of her zombies and their super-human strength that she was growing in her power. She could now observe through the eyes of her raised zombies, something she could never do before.

Even as the cabal grew in strength, they were aware of the dwindling number of days until the inevitable battle against The Summoner.

***

Cassandra vaulted through the air and landed behind the rabid vampire. The creature twisted about, baring long fangs. The dhamphir barely registered the woman’s youthful appearance before slamming the stake through her heart and barreling toward the next vampire.

White flashes of light zipped through the night as Aimee tossed orbs of magic at the rush of vampires descending on the old neighborhood on the east side of Austin. Bronze hair flying about her face, she levitated off the ground, her magic swirling around her like a rainbow.

Meanwhile, Baptiste cast conflagrations at the vampires, setting them aflame. Before the dying vampires could set the dry foliage about them on fire, the elemagus wrapped them in swirling winds and lifted them into the air to let them burn to ash.

Cian slashed his way through the vampires, decapitating them with a swipe of his obsidian blade. Around five of the blood-crazed fledglings leaped onto him trying to take him down, but he easily flung them off before dispatching them.

Benchley hurled spell bags at the assaulting forces. On impact magical vines of power wrapped around the vampires and dragged them down to the ground where it was easier for Jeff to plunge stakes into them.

In his beast form, Eduardo gleefully tore limbs from the vampires. Chunks of flesh and blood spray followed in his wake.

“How many left?” Cassandra gasped.

“Maybe twenty!” Aimee shouted back.

The neighborhood street glowed with suppression spells keeping the humans inside their homes and out of danger. Red-eyed, fearsome vampires ripped through the shadows. Crazed with the bloodlust, the feral creatures hurtled themselves at Cian’s cabal. Nearly fifty were scattered across the ground or burning to ash in fiery whirlwinds spinning above the ground. It was the biggest incursion yet.

Cassandra slashed at a vampire with her silver-bladed daggers, taking it to the ground where she could lop off his head. After burning so much of her blood power, she was starting to tire. Nearby, a vampire tackled Benchley from behind. Cassandra started toward him when she saw Cian materialize next to the fallen man and jerk the vampire off him and toss it into an oncoming group about to tackle them.

Aimee and Baptiste set the attackers on fire with a combination of magicks. The cool damp air filled with ash while steam rose into the night.

The Summoner’s vampires were relentless in their madness. Cassandra swept her blade through the neck of one vampire, then seconds later felt fangs clamp down on her shoulder. With a scream of pain, she grabbed the attacker’s thick dark hair and wrenched it from her flesh. The vampire’s teeth rent a hole in her sweater and skin. Cassandra tossed the growling creature to the ground with an angry grunt. Before she could move in to kill it, Aimee
hit it with an orb of light that set it on fire.

Blood, hot and coppery, pumped from the wound and Cassandra pressed her hand against it to staunch the bleeding. The vampire had hit something major. She had to burn even more of her blood power to heal, making her dizzy. Cian abruptly landed before her and grabbed her hand away from the wound. Without hesitation, he clamped his mouth over it and she felt his cold tongue probe the wound. Aimee slid through the air toward them, bolts of magic erupting from her hands as she kept the vampires at bay. Removing his mouth, Cian tore open his wrist. Already Cassandra’s wound was starting to heal as his saliva worked on it.

“Drink.”

Cassandra hesitated, then grabbed her father’s wrist and took three big draughts of his blood. Instantly, she felt a rush of power hit her like a sledgehammer. It felt great. “Thanks, Dad,” she muttered, wiping the last of his blood from her lips.

Cian nodded and rushed back into the thick of the battle.

“Where are the ghosts?” Benchley exclaimed.

Jeff pounded another stake into a vampire, then scuttled toward another one. “No clue!”

“Keep fighting,” Cian ordered.

With a grin, Cassandra dove into a cluster of the vampires, fighting with renewed vigor. Her blades flashed in the streetlight as she slashed, feinted, twisted, and fought her way through them. Eduardo battled near her, his claws covered in blood and flesh. It was a deadly tango they danced through the vampires. The fledglings’ only advantages were their insanity and numbers. With many of their comrades moldering on the street, The Summoner’s forces were rapidly falling into disarray.

As the head of the vampire in front of her flew off into an overgrown yard, Cassandra was startled to see a very handsome, pale man standing in the center of the street watching her. White-blond hair fell to his shoulders and his fine-featured face was both handsome and cruel. Because he was clad completely in black, it was as if he was clothed in the very night. When his cold blue eyes met hers, Cassandra’s gut contracted painfully. Fear ripped through her, paralyzing her in place.

“He’s here,” she rasped.

The sound of the blood dripping from her blades filled the night as the world was plunged into silence.

“He’s here!” she screamed, her gaze not wavering from the necromancer. “Dad!”

The Summoner granted her a slight smile as he nodded his head. “The dhamphir is Cian’s daughter. I see.”

“Dad! Aimee! Jeff!” Struggling to move, to breathe, to even think straight, Cassandra was utterly trapped in the power of The Summoner’s gaze. Her daggers fell from her fingers as they grew slack. The numbness that was spreading through her limbs sent her to her knees.

“This will be so much more interesting than I anticipated,” The Summoner said with delight.

Then he was gone.

“Babe!” Aimee gathered Cassandra into her arms. “What happened? Are you okay?”

Gasping, Cassandra saw that the battle was over. The street was littered in the decaying bodies of the fledglings. The suppression spells cast flickering light over the dead.

“Did anyone else see him?” Cassandra let Aimee help her to her feet. “Dad, did you see him?”

“Who, Cassandra?” Cian strode toward her, wiping his blades off on his jeans.

“The Summoner. He was right there. Watching us.” Cassandra pointed to the spot where the necromancer had stood.

“I didn’t see Bianca,” Jeff said, his face somber.

“It wasn’t Bianca. It was
him.
I saw The Summoner as himself.” Cassandra ran shaking fingers through her hair. “He looked at me and I was paralyzed. His power was overwhelming.”

Cian and Aimee glanced at each other, both appearing unsure.

“I saw him! I swear to God, Goddess, and all that is holy that he was standing right fucking there.” It still hurt to breathe even though she was released from his power. “He said something about me being your daughter, Dad.”

With a somber look, Cian sheathed his weapons as Baptiste and the others gathered behind him. “How did he know you’re my daughter?”

“I called for you.” Cassandra winced, realizing her folly. “Sorry.”

It was shocking how much older her father suddenly appeared. Cian’s expression projected clearly what he was thinking. Cassandra had just granted The Summoner yet another pawn to play against Cian. “It’s fine. He would have figured it out eventually. We do look a bit alike.”

“But how could he be here? Isn’t he in Bianca’s body?” Baptiste asked. He smelled of smoke and rain, a strange combination.

“Astral projection,” Aimee said in a glum voice.

“But wouldn’t that let Bianca free?” Benchley looked at Jeff. “If she’s possessed by him and he left her body, she’d be free to escape.”

“Unless she’s not in the body, and it’s just an empty shell,” Jeff answered.

“Or they tied her up.” Eduardo was naked, human, and slathered in blood. The grin on his face was a little disconcerting, as was his big erection.

Cassandra and Aimee both made a point of looking away from it.

“Tied her up?” Cian mulled this over. “A possibility.”

There was a shimmer in the air then Roberto appeared. The ghost looked almost human, his edges solid. Only his strange hollow eyes spoke of his true nature. “You need to get back to the house. There was an attack.”

“Is Samantha okay?” Jeff and Benchley asked in chorus.

“They couldn’t breach the wards, but there was a skirmish in the street,” Roberto answered. “It was over almost as fast as it started. I took care of it along with Amaliya’s zombies. But that’s not what has them spooked.”

“Did you see The Summoner?” Cian asked pointedly.

Roberto looked at his former friend in surprise. “Yes, we did.”

“In his old form?” Aimee’s fingers were trembling in Cassandra’s grip.

“Yes, but then Amaliya saw Bianca. Inside the house.” The ghost flickered. “Samantha is calling me back.”

“This just keeps getting more and more fun,” Eduardo decided.

“Put some clothes on,
Eduardo, and stop showing off” Cian said, then motioned to the bodies. “Baptiste?”

“On it.” The elemagus set the last of the vampire bodies on fire, burning them embers in seconds. A strong wind followed, scattering the remains along the road.

Aimee flicked one hand and the suppression spells fell.

“Let’s head back.” Cian slid his arm around Cassandra’s shoulders and guided her toward his car.

“Dad,” she said in a lowered voice, “I’m really sorry.”

To her surprise, he kissed her temple. “Never say you’re sorry for something that isn’t your fault. You were immediately a target once you joined my cabal. Now you’re just a little more interesting to him.”

Suppressing a shiver, Cassandra glanced toward her girlfriend. The witch gave her a worried look along with a faint smile. Tightening her grip on Aimee’s hand, Cassandra wondered just how much worse things could get.

She was afraid they were going to find out.

“It was a flicker,” Amaliya explained. “I saw Bianca for just an instant. She looked like she was in distress.”

Cian rubbed the whiskers of his goatee between his fingers as he listened to Amaliya speaking. They were in Jeff’s kitchen, the crew scattered across the room. Some were eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, while others were sipping hot chocolate. His daughter kept giving him apologetic looks that didn’t help his mood. He wished adamantly that she hadn’t slipped and revealed who she was to The Summoner, but he also knew it was only a matter of time before their enemy would have sorted it out. He was hungry and tired. The attack had come early enough in the evening that he hadn’t been able to feed yet. It had been a deliberate ploy and a smart one to catch him when he was weak.

“Did she look tied up?” Eduardo asked, then shoved an entire sandwich in his mouth.

Amaliya gave the coyote a disgusted look.

“Eduardo thought maybe The Summoner had Bianca tied up while he astral projected so she couldn’t escape,” Jeff explained.