“It’s for a good cause,” Dante explained innocently. “Besides, if they don’t understand and we happen to survive and they happen to survive, then the ass-kicking I get will be totally worth it. And if you do anal, that would make my death so much more meaningful.”
“Dante, I might shoot you myself,” Meg promised as she pulled the hood over her head.
“What are you going to shoot me with?” Dante zipped up his own jacket. “And what was that cool-looking toy you hid in your jacket?”
Meg stopped and stared at the vampire, trying to figure out if he was joking. “You don’t know what a gun is?”
“No.” Dante pulled the hood of his jacket over his red-gold hair. “What does it do?”
If the vampires didn’t have guns, then there was no way Liadan would know what was coming.
“They kill people, my friend.” Meg felt a deep satisfaction that she had the upper hand. “And here’s something even better. I’ll make you a deal. If you manage to survive, I’ve got a little present for you. I brought back three bottles of the strongest sunscreen you can buy at Target. I’m sure that one of those brilliant vampire scientists will be able to reverse engineer something from them.”
Dante’s eyes lit up. “Oh, yeah, they can, and I’ll be the one who brought it to them. This, Meg, is going to get me out of refurb hell. Nice. I’m totally going to live. Profits are on the line. No vampire goes down when profit is on the line.”
“I thought you might say something like that,” Meg replied, heading for the door to the tent. “But, Dante, I’m going to need a cut.”
She let the flap close behind her as she heard the vampire curse.
Meg looked through Dante’s binoculars. They gave a close view of Beck and Cian’s small fortress, even through the rain. Dante eased down next to her and nudged her carefully. He pointed to a figure standing mere feet from the green sanctuary. A black cat twitched anxiously around her ankles. Kitty didn’t like the storm, it seemed.
It was Liadan all right, but she didn’t look the way she had before. She stood on the ground with her hands at her sides. Her previously pristine dress was soaked and caked with mud. There was a deer walking toward her as though she had called it. In an instant, Liadan was attacking the gentle creature, slitting its throat from ear to ear.
“She uses the blood to strengthen her spells.” Dante leaned close. There was a shiver in his voice. “I wish she would use a spell to make her not look like that.”
Damn, girlfriend was ugly. Liadan had shed the vestiges of her public persona. Her face was withered and cracked. Her hair, though still blonde, was gnarled, as though rats had nested in it. She had long fingernails, and she used them to extract the blood she needed.
The hag began chanting something in a language Meg didn’t understand. After a long moment, some of the vines protecting the sanctuary retreated. Now Meg could begin to see the walls of the structure. The minute Liadan managed to unveil the door, she would be on the kings.
“She’s been doing it for days,” Dante explained. “She’s getting close.”
If only Meg could stop the driving rain. It poured down in sheets making visibility a real problem. While she could see Liadan’s body, the downpour made it a hazy thing. Meg wasn’t sure she could properly aim. She had practiced and learned to be a good shot. Still, she didn’t want to risk it in this drenching downpour. She might only get one real shot.
She couldn’t stop the storm, but she knew someone who could. She had to hope her husbands weren’t so far gone that they couldn’t respond. Silently, Meg put the binoculars down and opened the connection she had with her husbands. She closed her eyes and sought them with her mind. A tendril of psychic energy brushed against her mind. It felt like Cian. He reached out toward her. He was weak, so weak, but Meg sent the message any way. She let her mind wrap around his energy for a moment, almost pleading with him to be okay.
After a long moment, the rain ceased.
Dante tensed beside her. He looked up as though he could figure out why the rain had stopped. “Is that a bad sign? Does that mean something’s wrong with Beck?”
Meg reached up and pulled the vampire lower. She didn’t want to give up their position because now the hag was trying to figure out what had happened, too. Liadan was paying attention to the forest around her. The hag turned looking all around. Those black eyes of hers flashed back and forth, taking in everything.
“Beck is fine. I made contact with Cian and asked him to shut off the waterworks,” Meg whispered. The jacket Dante had provided her with was set to camouflage mode. So far, the hag hadn’t seen them. Meg couldn’t imagine that it wouldn’t take her long, though. Already the black cat was staring in their general direction, her triangular head tilted in a curious manner.
“I’ll take the hag, you get the cat.” Meg never took her eyes off Liadan. She stared in almost helpless fascination. The hag appeared bigger than she had before, her body stronger. There was no question that Liadan was a predator.
Dante’s voice cracked just a bit. “I really don’t like cats. They’re creepy. I’m more of a dog person.”
“I’m not asking you to take it as a pet,” Meg practically snarled back at the vampire. “I’m asking you to kill it. I’m taking on the big, scary hag. You can handle one little kitty.”
“We really need to talk about this new trend toward emasculating me at every given opportunity,” Dante muttered. Meg stared at him, her eyes narrowed. “I can handle the cat.”
“Do that.”
Meg pulled the gun out of the holster and shrugged out of the confines of the jacket. She no longer felt the chill in the air. Her skin was hot with the anticipation of the next few kill-or-be-killed moments. Her heart was pounding as she faced down her enemy. Liadan was facing away. There wouldn’t be a better time. Meg stood up.
“That’s not a good idea.” Dante tried to pull at her hand.
“Just take care of the kitty,” Meg shot back at him.
Meg looked out across the forest that separated them and took aim. The cat hissed, the sound so much larger than it should have been. It echoed through the forest. As the hag turned, Meg let out the breath she had been holding and pulled the trigger.
The hag was quick, but not fast enough. She moved to the left. Meg had been aiming at her heart. Blood bloomed across the hag’s shoulder, and she shrieked as the hollow-point lodged itself in her flesh. Meg cursed when Liadan staggered, but did not fall. She remained on her feet despite the blood that was beginning to soak her dress.
Liadan snarled as her eyes found Meg. Meg pulled the trigger, but Liadan moved, jumping across the space. One moment, the hag was there and the next she was ten feet away, the bullet flying useless through the forest. Liadan held her good hand and spoke some words Meg didn’t recognize.
It was as though a giant rush of pure energy struck Meg squarely in the chest. It knocked her off her feet, but she didn’t hit the ground. She flew back, the air sucked from her lungs. The hag grew smaller as Meg raced backward through the forest. Everything seemed to spin out of control. The weight of the gun in her hand was the only thing that seemed real. She clutched it tightly and didn’t try to fight her flight. Her back hit the rough bark of the tree, but Meg let her head fall limply forward.
Breathe. Beck’s voice spoke inside her mind. He was calm and patient, and Meg suddenly didn’t feel so alone. Beck was with her, and he was lending her his experience.
Meg dragged in a breath as her body slid to the muddy forest floor.
Stay down and take cover. Don’t panic. You can do this. Take out her heart and she’ll die.