Chapter Seven
Destiny moved slowly, carefully positioning herself as she examined every inch of her surroundings. The wind was kicking up paper and small leaves and whirling the debris down the street. Her wary gaze slipped over the buildings, took in every detail, every shadow. She had come looking for a fight; she was in for an all-out war.
She needed room to maneuver. Smiling sweetly at the little rat, Destiny glided swiftly into the open, out from between the towering buildings into the middle of the street. “I see you are in your true form, Pater. Ever the nasty little rat. And you have all your little friends with you this time, running in packs the way ratty little creatures tend to do. What is it? A reunion? Old home week? A vampire’s seminar and no invitation for me? I feel left out.” She used her most compelling voice, so that those listening would reveal themselves, if only for a moment.
At once she saw them in their true form. Tall, gaunt figures with jagged, stained teeth and gray skin stretched tight over their skulls. The illusion of physical beauty was projected by their minds, while their bodies had decayed to match their rotted spirits. There were two beside the trash cans. One on the roof of the nearest building. One in the shadows of the alley itself. And the last one clinging to the side of the building looming just above her, hidden as a dark splotch, a spider waiting at the center of the web, to attack when the net was drawn tight.
Destiny’s heart thudded wildly, then settled into her normal rhythm. She moved easily, casually, saluting the macabre figure crawling up the side of the building. He bared his teeth at her, his fetid breath fouling the cool air, so that she was grateful for the fine rain dispersing the odor of corruption.
Pater folded his arms, calmly regaining his illusion of beauty. “Indeed, my dear, we have an invitation for you. We have come to ask you to join us. What is the sense of fighting amongst ourselves?” His voice was soft and persuasive so that deep in her heart she cringed, remembering another voice calling to her, summoning her. And she had followed him. Her gravest sin. Why hadn’t she confessed to the priest? Told him the truth while she had the chance?
Destiny shook her head to rid herself of guilt. She needed absolute concentration now if she were to have a chance of defeating the undead. “Why would I want to serve you when I can choose my own path?”
The vampire on the roof began a low chant, his feet pattering a rhythmic dance. The vampire beside the trash can to the right of Pater took up the singsong refrain, and the flash of his feet moving in the silver threads of rain was mesmerizing. Destiny gritted her teeth and resolutely pulled her fascinated gaze away, blocking out the sounds of the chant as she did so. It was an old trick, but one that often worked on the unwary.
“Do you think me such a fledging to be caught so easily?” Her eyes flashed at Pater, a glinting promise of retribution.
He bowed low, in no way perturbed. A simple hand motion stopped the refrain and the dancing pattern. Once again the vampires were still and watchful. Waiting their chance. Watching for an opening, a mistake on her part. Just one moment of inattention. “You are a curiosity. You know much for one so young. You are a woman, yet you combat us successfully. You share our blood, yet you are a hunter. How have you not heard the news spreading throughout the world? We are emissaries of the strong one. I am one of his most trusted commanders. We are at war with the hunters, and yet you do not know this. We have entered a new era in which we band together and fight our enemy.”
There was movement within the fog. She sensed it more than saw it. Nicolae. Of course he would come. And his brother would be guarding his back. She felt herself relax a little. “Fight for whom? For what? You make no sense, old one. Why would I fight to bring power to an evil one? My death is nothing to him. Your deaths are nothing to him. We are cannon fodder while he hides and gloats and waits for us to bring the hunters to their knees. I see no sense in dying for someone else.”
“But we will defeat the hunters, attack in packs. He is wise, our leader. He will make the world ours.” The voice held compulsion. She could feel it working on her mind, undermining her confidence, dragging her closer to the net of outlaws. There was something different in the compulsion, something elusive she could not quite assess. The cadence should have been recognizable, yet it wasn’t; it was almost as if his voice were tuning itself to her personally, finding what tone would be the most pleasing.
Destiny lifted her hands, palms out, wiping away the intriguing sound of Pater’s voice. Tilting her head to one side, she smiled again, a slow, sexy come-on, her small white teeth perfect and gleaming. “Why would anyone as powerful as you follow another?” Her tone was flirtatious, flattering, admiring. Her hands fluttered gracefully as she talked. Destiny noted Pater’s chest swell visibly. Like all vampires, he was susceptible to flattery. “You look like a leader to me. You survived three hunters the other day. How many others could accomplish such a feat? Could your leader? He’s hiding behind you, cowering, afraid, while you face the hunters.”
“He has vision,” Pater told her.
“Have you even seen him? Has he dared to show himself to you?” She sounded curious, feminine. Filled with admiration. Her hands were flowing as she spoke, a graceful swaying that matched the beautiful allure of her voice. She smiled, a conspirator’s smile, lowering her pitch. Her voice was husky. Sexy. Tempting. “
You
join with
me
. We don’t need an alliance with others. This is my territory. All of it. Share it with me. We can defeat the others.”
At once the snarls and rumbling began; the vampires shifted tensely, fangs exposed, talons curling in anger. It didn’t take much to drive a wedge between unholy allies. They were deceivers, betrayers, preying on each other as well as on human victims.
Pater again waved the others to silence, a sign of his leadership among the worst of abominations. He held out his hand to Destiny. “Come to me now, join us. You are weak with hunger. You cannot possibly defeat us all. Let me give you my blood to sustain your life. Join our family.”
His words cracked open a door in her mind, spilled out a memory. A small, dark-haired girl crawling in the dirt, dragging herself along a damp cave floor, weeping useless tears and trying to drown out the sounds of begging, pleading. The horrible screams, the river of blood. The monster dropping his latest victim and turning to look at her in slow motion. He always turned in slow motion, his teeth still black from his victim’s blood. A dark shadow looming over her. Maniacal laughter.
Take my blood to sustain your life.
Hands roughly squeezing and probing her small body. The slaps, the fetid smell, the teeth tearing at her tender skin. A brutish savage pounding into her, ripping her body in two, while burning, coppery-flavored acid poured down her throat.
Destiny couldn’t think. Couldn’t breathe. Her throat closed, her lungs seized. She began to choke. The violation of that child was more than she could endure. Sweat broke out on her body, a terrible trembling took over, one she couldn’t control. She was no longer standing in the streets of Seattle, a full-grown adult, a powerful hunter; she was trapped back in that cave, mindlessly dragging her little torn body along the damp, blood-covered floor.
I am here with you. The voice came out of nowhere, was simply there in her mind. Calm. Steady. A rock that always anchored her. When there was nothing left, when there was no sanity and no reason, there was always that voice.