Heaven & Hell, page 7
part #7 of The Gallows Series Series
Dev was no help when it came to boosting her willpower. He kept buying it to watch her eat it. He told her it was like watching her have an orgasm. She threw a cushion at him for saying that, but he didn’t stop buying it.
The jeans she’d been wearing were a size too big, usually. Her mum had given her them the Christmas before and she’d tossed them in a drawer like she usually did with gifts from her mother. She hadn’t expected to ever take them back out, let alone wear them.
Her phone beeped when she finally got off of the train at White Oaks. Sophie was asking where she was. She was convinced the vampires could smell her from across the street.
Sarah snorted as she texted the witch back that her ass was in gear and she’d see her in five minutes. The weird combination of nerves and blast-them-out-of-the-water spells made Sophie seem marginally insane. Vampires gave the witch the shivers, but she could kill them with a lot less effort than Sarah on a good day. The girl jumped when Sarah placed a hand on her shoulder.
“So how’s it looking?”
“Uh… Yeah, there are six of them.”
“And it’s broad daylight,” Sarah said, gently.
The sheepish smile from Sophie made her sigh inwardly.
“Do you mind if I go on ahead?” Sarah asked, wondering if it would be mean to find a way to lock Sophie out of the house. She could really use a challenge and six vampires would be good enough right now. But not if her witch partner took them all out before she could work up a demon-bond-facilitated sweat.
“Uh, shouldn’t we go together?”
“I actually wanted to try something,” Sarah told her. “I haven’t done a soul-gaze in a really long time. Some vampires were just people who were forced to turn. I should be checking more of them, really.”
Sophie flushed. “I forgot that part. Sorry. I just… they freak me out.”
“I get it. How ‘bout you wait out here and I’ll call you when you can come in?”
Sophie blew out a breath and then nodded. Sarah smiled as she turned towards the house. The ‘for sale’ sign had been snapped in half and was hanging over the fence. The overgrown grass was covering part of the cracked path. Sarah jumped the gate and walked towards the front door. She checked the handle; the door was locked. No big surprise. If there were vampires hiding out there, they would hardly want to be disturbed so easily.
She moved around to the back of the house, noting the basement windows that were blacked out as she passed. Three guesses to where they were hiding and the first two don’t count. Sarah got to the back door and found it locked. A break-in was in order. She glanced around.
Daylight was always a weird time to be breaking in to a house. Even if there were six-foot fences hiding her illegal activities from sight. She shrugged as she wandered around the overgrown back garden. The police and the Council would talk if she ‘got caught’. She was on a job, so they couldn’t lock her up for it, even if she was about to break a window. She hefted the brick in her hand, ignoring the damp and slimy backside that had been resting on the ground. It was just moss. She was point-blank ignoring the creepy crawlies that had scattered when she’d picked it up. The churning of her stomach was just because she was out of practice. There had been too many nights lying around with Dev instead of rushing around, chasing down demons. The occasional late night sprint through the woods not with-standing, she was in danger of becoming unfit.
Her gaze drifted from the glass panel in the back door, to the rather snug little blacked-out basement window, and back again. Risking being bitten while she slid through the basement window was the only thing that made her pause. She threw the brick at the door panel, shattering the glass into the kitchen. Getting onto her tip-toes, she reached inside and cursed loudly. The key wasn’t in the door. Why hadn’t she checked that first?
Sighing, she looked around for another brick. If she was going for a basement window, she’d have to be fast. They might have heard the first pane shatter. If they’d been sleeping they’d have awoken and made a move to check out the cause of the noise. She located half a brick partially hidden under a bush. She picked it up and threw it at the basement window, taking a run at the window as it shattered. Closing her eyes she flung herself through the gap, feeling shards catch on her jacket before she landed with a thump on the dirt floor of the basement. The hissing alerted her to the immediate threat of the vampire nest she’d just pelted into. She drew her sword and swung around quickly, catching two vampires unaware. The head of the first flew into the second as Sarah slashed him in half from the chest. They burst into black mulch simultaneously. She smiled at the remaining four. They’d all been men when they were turned. They were all at least mid-thirties.
“What’s this I’m hearing about missing school girls?”
“We don’t want trouble,” one of them said, snapping his fingers at the other three. They stood still, letting their boss move forward. This one had all the control.
“Oh, I’m sure.” She swung the sword again, feeling her stomach heave. The smell of the gunk at her feet was making her woozy. It was the smell of death and it was clogging up her nostrils like a bad cold. She shrugged the thought off and smiled tightly. “But maybe you should have thought of that before you tried to abduct that girl.”
“I’m sure I don’t know what you’re talking about, tracker.” The vampire was confident, but he didn’t try to make a move on her. He knew what she was. He knew she was there to kill him.
“And I’m sure you do.” She thought of what her mother had told her on the phone. “I soul-gazed the girl. I know exactly what you did.”
He stared at her, standing in the remains of his friends, his amber eyes glowing in the darkness. Sarah remembered those glowing eyes on a different vampire. She remembered making love to War.
“Oh God,” she murmured, feeling another heave and unable to stop as she doubled over and threw up onto the remains. The gasp of the vampire reminded her she had a job to do. A job she’d foolishly decided to cut her back-up out of. She straightened, wiping her mouth. She moved quickly as the click of fingers was followed by an attack. Three vampires flew at her at once. She sliced her sword through the air, using both hands to keep the weapon steady. It felt unusually heavy in her hands, and every move she made hurt. What the hell is happening? She tried to focus but the vampires were barely taking any damage. A slash that took off a head sprayed her with the foul black gunk she couldn’t stand the smell of. She held her breath as she narrowed her eyes and took a hard swipe at her remaining enemies. The two were felled as one, the second taking the tip of her sword through his chest as the first lost his head and shoulder. She moved back, coughing, as the gunk spattered the ground. The final vampire wasn’t there. He’d left the room. She got her phone out and called Sophie.
“I need teleported out of here, now.” Something was definitely wrong. Something she suspected had everything to do with War and their bond. The bond she’d been ignoring for so long. She was so screwed. The time to break the bond was here, and she still didn’t know what to do. How could she ask someone to be bonded to her for life to break it? She took in a few deep breaths as Sophie’s teleport deposited her in the back garden. Being out of the basement was a relief, but she was still covered in the slimy black stuff that had made her puke. She concentrated on breathing, hoping to quell the lingering sick feeling that was churning her stomach.
“What happened?” Sophie asked with wide eyes. She helped Sarah onto her feet and blasted her with the cleaning spell that removed the gunk from her in the same instant.
“There’s one of them still in there. He took off.” She tried to pick up the trail, but the effort made her dry-heave.
Sophie jerked away from her, wide-eyed and tense. “Are… are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” Sarah lied, once she managed to stop retching. “Can you find where he went?”
Sophie nodded quickly, teleporting out while Sarah tried to settle her queasy stomach, inhaling the summer breeze. Her skin was warm, but not as burning hot as it had been before. The lack of contact with War was clearly having other effects on her now. She groaned. Puking at the smell of vampire remains was pathetic. She was a tracker. Killing vampires was an essential part of that.
Sophie ‘ported back, wide-eyed and gasping in breath. “He’s a day-walker!”
“A what now?” Sarah let the information sink in. Day walkers were widely thought to be a myth; a flight of fancy for daydreaming vampires. “Wait. Tell me what happened.”
“He’s headed to the school. He’s just walking around,” she said, waving her arms in a panic. “My spells didn’t work. He can’t be killed!”
“Hold up. What do you mean, he can’t be killed? What spells did you try?” Sarah tried to work it out. “Wait. Just, take me to him.”
She steadied her sword and took a few breaths. She could do this. It was one vampire. Even if he could walk in the sun, there was no way he could survive decapitation.
Thankfully Sophie’s teleport didn’t have the same effect as the smell of vampire remains on Sarah’s nervous system. They arrived outside the school gates where the vampire was standing staring through the bars. Sarah took a breath and swung her sword. The motion made every muscle in her upper body ache. She winced as she stepped forward.
“Get away from the gates.”
The vampire turned. He didn’t look human. He wasn’t hiding what he was. She glanced behind him, thankful that no-one was outside. Class had to be in session. The bell rang and she blinked.
“Shit,” she whispered as he growled at her. She swung the sword and it missed. He was too fast. He was behind her, knocking the blade from her hands before she could figure out what had happened. Something was seriously wrong with this vampire and she was going to have to smell him to figure out what it was. Groaning, she checked her tracker senses. The scent of vampire was blended very faintly with something else. She retched as his fangs clamped down on her throat. The elbow to his stomach didn’t do anything. Vampires didn’t feel pain. Nothing less than a kill shot would do anything to the day-walking monster that was starting to feed on her. She concentrated. Black magic, she realised, with a wry smile; what else? The source of the magic had to be a charm. She’d seen a sliver of black leather around his neck. There was only one way to find out if that was the source.
“Sophie,” she said, quietly, watching as the main doors of the primary school opened. “Can you get us all out of here?”
The witch, who’d been staring nervously at them nodded quickly and grabbed hold of Sarah’s arm. A second later all three of them were in the woods. Sarah smiled, nothing like having the home advantage. She grabbed hold of the vampire’s throat and squeezed, forcing him to release his fangs from her neck. The awkward move allowed her just enough opportunity to get out of his grasp. She didn’t try to move away from him, she bit down on his arm instead, making him jerk back of his own accord. She licked at her lips.
“What’s the matter, baby, you don’t want to bond with a tracker?”
“You’re crazy,” he said, shock hitting his features as he morphed back into a human. “You’re a fucking lunatic.”
“And you’re just a vampire,” she told him, grabbing hold of the leather cord around his neck and yanking hard. His head connected with hers. The black stone slipped forward, cold against Sarah’s hand. She grabbed it and yanked it loose of the leather cord. The little silver link snapped. She smiled and bent to pick up her sword. He stumbled backwards as she threw the charm to Sophie. His trail was all vampire now. Sarah grinned as he ran into the woods. She glanced at Sophie before she gave chase. “Stay there, I’ll be right back!”
***
Sarah appeared in the middle of her own living room and grinned at the shock on Dev’s face as he came through from the kitchen. He dropped his pint of Irn-Bru and the fizzy juice splashed over the floor and his socks. He put a hand to his chest.
“Jesus was a titty-fucker!”
“Was he, though?”
“Give me a minute, I might be having a heart attack here.”
She smiled. “Sorry.”
He took a deep breath and grinned. “Okay. Okay, I think I’m good.”
“Sophie sent me home,” she told him. “It saved time.”
“I can see that.” He rubbed a hand over his face. “Doesn’t she usually drop you off outside the house?”
“Yeah, I just thought this might be fun.” She pulled him down by his shirt so she could kiss him as she passed. “You’re lucky the glass didn’t break.” She picked it up and went into the kitchen.
He followed, grabbing a tea-towel as she passed him the kitchen roll. He went back to the doorway and called back to her, “So how was the job?”
She winced to herself, knowing she should admit the demon bond was having a bigger effect on her now. But she didn’t want to force Dev to do something so permanent. She knew he’d offer to bond with her again and she didn’t want that. It was too messed up. He was the only thing in her life that was normal. She didn’t want to lose that.
“It was fine. The usual, you know. Vampires being arsey.” She poured him another drink while she tried to think of some other alternative to the demon bond problem. Maybe she could die and get resuscitated? That always seemed to work out okay in movies; sort of.
He snorted as he came back with a stained wad of kitchen roll. “Well, I’m sure they ended up sorry for being arsey when you came at them with your sword.”
She shrugged. “There’s only one way to deal with vampires.”
“Hey, so since you’re home, do you fancy going out for dinner tonight?”
“Ooh, sounds nice,” she said, already thinking about the shoes she could wear. They’d gone out a lot since they’d been dating. Her designer shoe collection was going to need expanding soon.
“Cool,” he said, with a smile. “I’ll go round the shop and get us some booze. We can celebrate.”
She raised an eyebrow. “Celebrate?”
He kissed her on the nose and headed up the stairs. “I’m getting changed first so you can take your time when I go round the shop.”
She sat down on the couch and wrinkled her nose. She knew Sophie had gotten all of the vampire gunk with her cleaning spell but Sarah could still vaguely smell it and she didn’t want to be feeling queasy at dinner. She located the source when she took off her boots. Getting up and tossing them onto the porch, she relaxed. When Dev came back down the stairs in a dark shirt and trousers she smiled. A night out could be just what they needed.
Chapter Twelve
Every night was the same old shit. Ray went for a walk, charmed some pretty, clueless girl into going someplace dark and secluded, and he drank as much as he wanted to, every time. The demon was becoming more of an ally than an enemy. He found its suggestions more amusing all the time, though he’d yet to actually act on any of them. The demon didn’t know the meaning of the word subtle. He didn’t know how much shit he’d get them into if he was in charge. The threats to Ray’s undead life were higher than the creature realised.
Winter’s demise had brought the start to lighter nights that only got earlier and more irritating throughout spring and into summer. June was a special kind of torture. His memories included too many sun-soaked days. He missed the heat of it on his skin. Though nowhere near enough to go out there and burn to death, it was something he hadn’t thought about when he’d made his decision. Not that it would have done anything to change his mind. He didn’t think anything would have had the power to do that. There was only one thing he could think of that might have. He never would have predicted Sarah would be so strongly against what he’d done. He couldn’t waste time thinking about it. There was no going back now. He’d win her over somehow. He’d find a way.
She’d left him alone these last seven months and he’d kept his distance. He knew he wasn’t in any danger of being staked. Her feelings for him wouldn’t allow that. She was mad at him, but that would change. Her relationship with his idiot friend hadn’t ended quickly like he’d assumed it might, but he knew how to sever it. He would just put Dev in a situation where he’d be tempted to cheat. There was no way Sarah would forgive him if he slept with another woman. They’d be over and Ray would have his chance, finally, to be back in her life permanently.
This plan came to him while he was drinking from a girl he’d picked out of the queue at Ravenstow’s night club. She’d willingly gone into the woods with him and he’d been surprised by the sweet taste of her blood. She was young. He’d have guessed at eighteen, but tasting her told him a different story. She’d been a little nervous as she’d taken his hand. She’d been drinking already, with her giggling friends. When he really thought about it, he doubted any of them were old enough to be legal. He withdrew his fangs from her pale throat and licked at the dribbles of blood. His demon was pleased. He told Ray that the girl was a virgin. That was why her blood tasted better. Ray was dubious, considering what the girl was wearing. She muttered incoherently as he set her down in a sitting position against a tree. Her short skirt and cleavage enhancing top had attracted the predator in him. He’d known she would go with him without a fuss, and without compulsion.
His demon whispered that virgin blood was almost as good as tracker blood. He knew the taste of both. Ray accepted what he was saying as he walked back to Burrow Meadows. The girl had tasted good, different from the others; purer, he supposed.
He spotted Dev coming out of the pub as he headed towards the path to Sarah’s house. His demon had wanted Ray to rip the guy apart and it was the first time he’d really come close to ignoring his own common sense and listening to the thing.
“Hi, Dev.” He caught the look of horror on his former friend’s face and smiled. He would be broken so easily. Ray was going to take great pleasure in that act of torture, after he completely destroyed the fucked up relationship Dev had started with his fiancé. Sarah wouldn’t care if the guy had disappeared off the face of the earth once he’d betrayed her. She’d hate him as much as Ray did right now.
