Redemption (6 page)

"Wait!" Hannah cried as she instinctively stepped between Lucas and the vampire grabbing for him.

Calvin's guard stared at her as if she had just started blubbering gibberish when she smacked his hand away. "Hannah!" Lucas grated as he grabbed for her arm. "Hannah get out of the way."

She shook Lucas off though and pushed the guard's hand away when he made a grab for Lucas again. William was standing in front of Kane with his bow on his back and a stake in his hand. He had a look on his face that clearly dared Kane to even try and touch him. She didn't know where the stake had come from, but she wasn't overly thrilled that the human was so well armed against her kind.

Her shoulders began to ache from holding Lucas back. Her head spun as the situation began to spiral out of control. If the gleam in Calvin's eyes was any indication, this was exactly what he had been aiming for, and they were all going to find themselves in the stocks, jail, or dead before the day was over.

"What is going on here!?" her Uncle Abe demanded as he emerged from the kitchen.

"Stay back Dad!" Lucas warned.

"No!" Hannah gasped when Calvin's hand encircled almost all of her forearm and he pulled her against his chest. It felt as if a thousand bugs were crawling over her as her flesh revolted from the touch of him. "Let go of me!"

She jerked on her arm but his grip became bruising upon her as he refused to relinquish her. "Easy Hannah, I simply would like to speak with Lucas, this human, and the other vampire that was with him last night," Calvin said. "No one has to get hurt."

It was a lie, she knew that, but there was little she could do to stop him right now. "Stop this!" Uncle Abe shouted.

"You better put that away boy," Kane growled at William.

To her utter astonishment a smile merely curved William's mouth as he twirled the stake in his hand.
Jesus, he was insane
, she realized.

"I've taken down bigger than you," William returned.

Kane lunged toward William; somehow he managed to duck Kane as he spun away. Hannah jerked on her arm and bit back a cry of pain as Calvin's grip began to squeeze her bone. She was tempted to lash out at him but it would only send him over the edge and sign Lucas's death certificate if she did. If she played her cards right she might be able to get Calvin to spare him. If she didn't, he would destroy Lucas right here and now. She kept her body in between Calvin and her cousin, but that wasn't going to be enough to stop Calvin from taking Lucas if that's what he decided to do.

A table scraped on the floor as William managed to get it in between him and Kane. Kane released a disgruntled sound and flipped the table into the air. Wood splintered as the table crashed against the dark wooden beams that framed the building. Throwing her hand up, Hannah ducked as splinters of wood rained down on all of them.

"Enough!" A booming voice reverberated through the room with enough force and authority to freeze everyone in place, including Calvin. Hannah glanced around rapidly as she sought the source of the voice, but it wasn't until she spotted movement at the top of the stairs that her gaze was drawn to the man striding down the steps. Despite the awfulness of this whole situation, she couldn't stop her mouth from dropping as the vampire William had been with last night stepped off the last step and purposefully strode toward them.

There had been an aura of power about him last night, but now it seemed to radiate from him like moonbeams on a cloudless night. Even shirtless and barefoot she suspected that he could take down almost every vampire in this room. The rays of the sun spilling through the door played over his hard chest and sculpted abs, his steel gray eyes pinned Calvin to the spot. Even though he stepped out of the light and into the shadows as he closed in on Calvin, she was able to see the flecks of blue speckled throughout his gray eyes.

His hair, still tussled from sleep, stood out in spikes about his face. It was a look that may have made other men appear boyish, but the expression on his face was anything but boyish as his gaze fell on Calvin's bruising grip upon her arm. His upper lip curled into a sneer as a ring of fire encircled his eyes.

It was the red gleam in his eyes that finally forced her mouth closed as a dull heat suffused her face. It was silly of her, especially right now, but she couldn't shake the pleased feeling that trickled through her at the realization that he didn't like Calvin touching her. Her gaze darted away from his bare chest, but despite her best attempts not to look, her eyes were inexorably drawn back to him.

She'd grown up in this tavern, she was used to how wild and riotous men could be. She wasn't used to seeing such well-built ones, half naked, with their loose fitting pants hanging low on their slender waists, but then she'd been entirely captivated by him even when he'd been fully clothed.

"What is going on here?" His authoritative voice whipped out of him as he folded his arms over his chest and unrelentingly met Calvin's gaze.

"Were you involved in the fight here last night?" Calvin demanded instead.

"Is
that
what this is about?"

"Fighting is illegal in these parts and can be punishable by death!" Calvin lashed out as his composure momentarily slipped.

"Says who?"

"
I
say,
I
am in charge of this town."

A smile quirked the stranger's full mouth as his head tilted to the side. Then his gaze settled on Calvin's hand wrapped around her arm. Any pretense of amusement faded as his upper lip curled to reveal his elongated canines. A sound that was a cross between a snarl and a roar, and was entirely inhuman escaped him as he took a step closer to Calvin.

"Release her!" he commanded harshly.

He was defending
her,
but even she took a step back from him as he approached. Over her shoulder she saw Lucas step closer while William edged to the side in an attempt to circle behind Calvin.

Calvin flung her arm away from him and took a step closer to the new vampire. They stood toe to toe, neither backing down as they glared at each other. Violence seemed to pulse within the room and she wouldn't have been the least bit surprised to see the windows shaking from the growing tension.

"What's your name?" Calvin demanded.

"What does that matter to you?"

"I like to know the name of every human and vampire I have executed."

Both of these strangers were insane,
she decided when the new vamp released a snort of laughter. "My given name is Jericho."

Hannah had forgotten her uncle was in the room until a small sound escaped him and he almost fell over. He somehow managed to get onto one knee and bow his head. Hannah exchanged a confused look with Lucas as his father took hold of his hand. "Down son," Uncle Abe murmured to him.

Lucas tugged at his hand, but though he looked like a good wind would blow him over, Uncle Abe was stronger than he appeared as he continued to hold onto Lucas. Hannah was beginning to believe everyone was losing their minds as she gawked at her uncle. "My friends call me Jack." Her attention was drawn back to Jack as he continued to speak. "I don't think we're going to be friends though."

Calvin stared at Jack like he was trying to figure him out but Hannah didn't think that was going to be at all possible to do. "I see," Calvin finally said with a glance toward where her uncle remained kneeling and then he looked over at William.

"I think you just might." Jack said with a small nod. "The king's laws don't allow for death, or even imprisonment for fighting unless someone is injured or killed. Since no one was either of those things last night, and since I
know
you're not the king, you have no say here." Hannah remained unmoving as Jack's unflinching eyes settled upon her. "Or unless the owner of this establishment intends to press charges for property damage, do they?"

It took her a few seconds but she finally found her voice. "We are the owners," she said with a glance at Lucas and her uncle.

"Do you plan to press charges?" he asked in a clipped tone.

"Like the laws would apply to you," Calvin grated through clenched teeth.

Hannah took another step away from Calvin. A muscle in Jack's forehead jumped as he focused on Calvin again. "The king's laws apply to
everyone
, including the king. Do you plan to press charges?"

Hannah shook her head as she edged further away from the two men she was certain were about to go at each other like rabid dogs. She kept waiting for Calvin to strike out, to attempt to destroy him like he would have any other man, or vampire, that had dared to stand up to him. He remained unmoving though as his right eyelid twitched. She was terrified of incurring Calvin's wrath by going against him, but she was going to do whatever it took to keep her cousin free of Calvin's hands.

"No," she whispered.

Jack gave a brisk nod as his arms fell away from his chest and he took a step back. "Then the matter is settled."

She'd never heard anyone dismiss Calvin before but if the frustrated look on Calvin's face was any indication, he wasn't going to do anything about it. "Let's go," he commanded his men as he nodded his head to the side. "Kane!" he barked when the stocky vamp continued to eye William like he was something he was tempted to stomp. Kane bowed his head before following Calvin out the door.

Hannah wouldn't have been more shocked to see elves break through the windows and start singing
Ave Maria
as she was to see Calvin walking out the door. Her gaze slid back to Jack as he stalked across the room and slammed the door closed behind him. Thoughts tumbled through her mind so fast that she couldn't grasp hold of just one as he slid the bolt into place. She may have just signed all of their death certificates and yet she couldn't tear her gaze away from the smooth skin playing over his well-muscled back. Her fingers twitched as she was gripped with the overwhelming urge to run them over that skin, she had to know what it would feel like as it flexed and flowed beneath her hands.

Thankfully Lucas was faster to recover and nowhere near as idiotic as she was. "What the hell just happened?" he demanded.

Hannah couldn't tear her eyes away from Jack as he turned away from the door. His gaze fell briefly on her before sliding to her uncle. His brow furrowed as he frowned disapprovingly. "Get up," he ordered briskly. Hannah couldn't quite figure out what her uncle was doing as he remained where he was. Jack stepped away from the door and hurried toward him. Taking hold of his arm, he helped Uncle Abe rise to his feet when he seemed unable to do so on his own. "I'm not worth this."

Hannah exchanged another look with Lucas but her cousin appeared just as mystified as she felt. "But you are," Uncle Abe insisted.

Jack didn't look at all pleased with Uncle Abe's answer as he released his arm and quickly stepped away. His face was inscrutable as he turned and walked toward her. Her head tilted back, her mouth parted when he stopped before her and took hold of her arm. Tingles slid up and down her skin, heat pooled all the way to the tips of her toes as his fingers prodded at her tender flesh. She couldn't stop her fingers from clenching as she stared up at his striking face.

"Are you ok?" he demanded.

"I'm fine," she managed to get out.

She started and almost let out a small squeak as his fingers slid down the bare skin of her arm before he released her. Her hand fluttered up to rub over the area that he had just touched. There had been a lot of men in and out of here over the years but none of them had affected her in this strange, bats flying around in her belly, kind of way.

"Who are you?" Lucas asked as Jack grabbed a toppled chair and set it right.

"
Lucas!
" Uncle Abe hissed.

Jack didn't even bother to look at her cousin as he turned to William. "It looks like we'll be staying here for more time than we had planned."

William nodded as he pulled out a chair and plopped onto it. Turner's low moan drew her attention back to the man. "Turner!" she blurted, ashamed to realize she'd forgotten about him. She hurried over and knelt at his side to examine him.

His battered eyes blinked opened and focused on her. "Don't tell Lola about this."

"I don't think you're going to be able to hide this one old man," Lucas said. "Come on, we'll get you into a room upstairs and get you cleaned up. My dad can let Lola know where you are and that you'll be home later."

Turner groaned even louder. "Just kill me before she does."

Hannah stifled a laugh as Lucas carefully lifted Turner onto his feet. "I'm going to take him up but I'd like to know exactly what just happened here when I come back down," Lucas said.

Hannah was curious about the exact same thing, but she wrapped Turner's other arm around her shoulders and helped Lucas carry him upstairs.

Jack leaned back in his chair to watch Hannah as she left the room. Even though it was too large on her, he admired the way the material of the dress moved around her lithe figure. There was something about her, something he couldn't quite pinpoint. It was
there
, right in the back of his mind...

"I think you pissed that guy off," William interrupted his thoughts.

"Hmm," Jack reluctantly tore his attention away from Hannah.

William glanced toward where Hannah had disappeared. "But it seems you may have found someone else to focus on."

"I'm going to be pissing him off again before we leave here." Jack's fingers tapped on the water stained tabletop as he completely avoided William's comment.

"You're just so good at it."

Jack scowled at him. "That's the pot calling the kettle black."

William shrugged nonchalantly as he stretched his legs before him. "I never said I wasn't good at it either."

"Can I get you anything Your Highness?"

Jack glanced up at the frail vampire hovering at his side. A knot formed in his chest as he shook his head. "Don't call me that and please don't bow to me again."

Abe rang his hands together nervously as he continued to linger at his side. "You are
the
Prince Jericho though, right?"

He didn't know how to answer that question. Being a prince was something he had been born into, but it was a role that had never suited him. He'd also been the last son born, the most useless son, and it was something his father had never let him forget as his fists and feet had repeatedly rained down upon him as a child. There had been too many beatings to remember, hatred and cruelty had continuously festered within the walls of the multiple places his father had called home over the years. He was nine hundred and thirty two years old but the memories of his childhood were still something he preferred not to recall.

"The king is my brother," he confirmed.

He hadn't realized that Hannah and Lucas had come back downstairs until he heard the squeak of their feet coming to an abrupt halt at the bottom of the staircase. Hannah's rosebud mouth parted as her hand flew to her lips. He was unfamiliar with the feeling that twisted through his gut at the look she gave him. People always reacted differently to him when they realized who he was; he didn't want
her
to though. He wanted her to see him as the simple man he was, and not the prince. He didn't want her to think twice before throwing a pot of water on him again.

Her hand fell back to her side as she and her cousin attempted to kneel. "Don't!" Jack's voice was far more thunderous than he'd intended as he rose out of his chair, but the thought of her kneeling before him made him feel like a volcano about ready to erupt. They froze in mid-kneel, Lucas tilted awkwardly but Hannah managed to snag hold of his wrist before he could face plant onto the floor. "Don't kneel for me."

The cousins exchanged a look before straightening back up. Hannah straightened the front of her dress and stared at Jack as if she were afraid he might leap on her and sink his fangs into her slender throat. It was a notion that he didn't find all that unappealing, even if exchanging blood was something that vampires rarely did with each other.

Sitting back in the chair, he stretched his arms up and folded his hands behind his head. Though she seemed to relax a little, she didn't come any closer. "What brought you here?" she asked in a bare whisper.

Jack shrugged as he tried to appear casual, but his muscles remained tensed. "New laws have been established in the land. We've been traveling around making sure those laws are being obeyed in the outer towns."

"There are no blood slaves here," Lucas told him. "There were few vampires in this town that used the practice to begin with."

"Calvin seems to have his own set of rules though," William pointed out.

Abe nodded his agreement. "Calvin has always had his own set of rules. I've known him for four hundred years now. The minute he stepped into this town he began to take charge of it. I suppose it was easier for him to do so here."

Jack frowned as the strange words completely pulled his attention away from Hannah. He dropped his arms down and flattened his hands on the table before him. "Why would it be easier for him to do so here?"

"This has always been an extremely remote community, hidden within the mountains and in a location that wasn't even appealing to the most diehard outdoor enthusiasts. I was seven when my family moved here six hundred years ago. Other than the people and vampires that were born here, there hasn't been a new outside addition since Ellen arrived twenty five years ago. We've had out-of-towners pass through, but most move on within a week and few have stayed for over a month. There is a boarding house at the end of the road, that's where most of the travelers that plan on being here for any length of time stay, but Tilly doesn't do much business."

Jack pondered Abe's words. The fact that they didn't get many travelers wasn't a revelation to him; vampires weren't exactly known to embrace new things, including new towns and new people, especially the older vampires who were far more settled in their ways.

"And Calvin decided to claim this town as his when he first arrived?" Jack asked.

"No one else would have." This comment, from Lucas, caused Hannah to elbow him sharply in the ribs. He frowned at her as he rubbed the offended area. "It's true, no one would claim this town," he protested.

"My brother does," Jack told him. "Braith is working to unite all of the towns and communities."

They stared at him before glancing at each other again. "To be united with other towns would certainly be strange for us," Abe said after an extended silence.

"We'll be staying here to work on it," Jack assured him.

Hannah shifted her weight from foot to foot as Lucas began to tap his fingers against his leg. "Perhaps you would be more comfortable at the boarding house then," Hannah suggested. "Tilly is better suited to accommodate long term guests."

"Hannah," Lucas said under his breath.

"What?" she whispered back to him. "It's true."

"He has coin."

Hannah held her hand over her mouth but Jack was still able to hear her words. "He's a
prince
."

Lucas glanced at him before shrugging his shoulders. "Yeah, ok," he muttered.

Annoyance filtered through him, but he managed to keep his tone neutral when he spoke again. "The rooms here are fine."

She blinked at him and then opened her mouth to protest, but Abe cut her off. "And we will be happy to have you here. I think it's time we get some rest now. It will be time to open again before we know it."

Though she still didn't look pleased, Hannah didn't argue with her uncle's decision. "Is there anything we can get you first?" she asked him.

He found he couldn't tear his gaze away from hers as her full mouth compressed. "We'll be fine," he assured her.

"I need some sleep myself," William announced as he bounced to his feet. "It's been a tiring night."

Jack had to force himself to focus on his friend. "I'd like to take a look around town later today."

"Wake me when you're ready."

William turned and walked up the stairs with more energy than most humans would have after a night of no sleep, but lack of sleep was something William tolerated with far more ease than the average human. They had learned last year that William most likely had vampire DNA in him when Aria had survived the change from human to vampire.

Hannah released a soft noise when Jack rose from the table. Her eyes flitted away when he turned toward her. He hadn't thought it was possible but the color that crept into her cheeks made her even more appealing. There were few times in his life that he'd been enchanted by something, but he was beginning to feel a little bewitched by this woman before him.

"Just ring the bell if you need something," she blurted.

As she hurried up the stairs Jack couldn't help but wonder if
something
would include herself.

***

"This is one strange little town," William muttered as he looked around at the people and vampires staring at them with open curiosity.

"Word has probably spread as to who we are."

"As to who
you
are my friend," William retorted.

"Your sister is the queen," Jack reminded him.

William scowled at him as he ran a hand through his already disheveled hair. Over the last year his shoulders had become broader; he'd put more muscle and bulk onto what had once been a frame kept slender by lack of food. Starvation wasn't a concern for him anymore though and his body had developed into the physique it was meant to have. William was still about an inch shorter than him, at about six foot two, but Jack was beginning to think that William would become broader than him soon.

"I always knew Aria would drag me down with her," William said.

Jack released a bark of laughter as they stepped off the wooden sidewalk and made their way across the street to the other sidewalk. Dust kicked up around their feet from their passing over the cobblestone street, the particles of it drifted through the crisp mountain air. They walked past an assortment of stores and homes, some of which had their shutters closed over the windows and others that held welcoming signs. He spotted people and vampires moving around within some of the stores and sitting at tables within the small diner.

On the surface it appeared to be like so many of the other towns he had passed through over the years but he couldn't shake the feeling that there was something different about this one. Most of the occupants openly watched them but none of them spoke to either he or William. He got the distinct impression that they wanted to though, some of them took a few steps closer as if to start a conversation. A young vampire child stopped to watch them but his mother grabbed hold of his arm and pulled him in the other direction.

"Do we stink?" William asked and surreptitiously sniffed at his armpit.

"Something around here does," Jack said as a human couple stopped to watch them before retreating into a thrift store.

At the end of the road an old Victorian with two turrets jutting out the top of it, rose into the sky. It loomed over top of the other buildings like some ominous gargoyle marking its territory. Nearing the massive gray and black home, Jack knew who it belonged to even before he saw the wrought iron gate with two foot spikes jutting out the top of it, surrounding the property. Two dogs, each about the size of a pony, patrolled behind the gates in a pattern that had worn the grass down to dirt around the perimeter. The fading rays of the sun glinted on the windows as the sun slipped over the horizon.

William let out a low whistle. "I guess we know who owns that house."

"Hmm." Jack rubbed at his chin as he studied the formidable structure that sported fresher paint, newer roof and windows, and almost ten times the space as most of the buildings and homes surrounding it.

"Are you going to go in there and act all princely with him again?"

It had been amusing when William had turned that cocky smirk on Braith, he didn't find it amusing now. "I'd like to learn a little more about this place, and him, first."

Turning around, their boots clunked on the wooden walk as they strode back toward the tavern. It grated on his nerves that humans and vampires continued to step aside to let them pass by. He grew so tired of it that he threw the door open on the next business they came across. Shadows hugged the two dozen or so racks of clothing set up within the small store. A young woman, with hair the color of the sun, lifted her head from where she had been resting it on her arms. William perked up like a happy puppy being offered a bone as he sent Jack a questioning look.

"Human," Jack confirmed as he caught the faint beat of her heart.

William was smiling confidently as he strode toward the young woman. Jack shook his head and began to weave through the racks of clothes to the back of the store. His fingers trailed over the wool clothing that wasn't as fine as the wool and sometimes even silk cloth in the towns closest to the palace, but it was a far sturdier quality than the flaxen materials he'd worn while he'd been with the rebels in the woods. His fingers idly rubbed at the material as his mind drifted away to another time and place...

"Here you go."

Jack stared at the young girl that thrust the clothes into his hands and gave him a lopsided smile. Her auburn hair gleamed in the sun's rays, dirt streaked her freckled face but her teeth were good and she appeared healthy even though the edge of her collarbone stuck out from beneath her shirt. She didn't look any older than thirteen or fourteen but there was an air surrounding her that made her seem twenty years older.

In fact, there was something about all the humans gathered within the woods that made them seem at least twenty years older. He glanced at the faces surrounding him. Though he saw pride and determination in their set chins and steadfast gazes, he also saw an air of acceptance that their lives would never be any better than this, that most of them wouldn't live past fifty, and that if they were caught they faced a fate worse than death.