Warrior

Chapter 15-1

Chapter 15

“This is the last one.” I walked up to the large bonfire and tossed a body on top of the pile there. The stench of burning flesh assailed me, despite the wind blowing across the desert, and I held my breath until I put a safe distance between the fire and me.

“Thank Jesus,” groaned Noah, one of Geoffrey’s warriors. “I don’t think I’ve ever lugged around that many dead suckers.”

Abigail, the only female warrior on the team, stared at the fire. “Twenty-six vampires. I’ve never heard of a nest that big.” She looked across the fire at me. “Have you?”

“Yes, but it’s rare. Usually they are new vampires. You don’t often see that many older vampires living in the same nest.”

Mature vampires were territorial over their nests and didn’t play well with others their age. Younger vampires were weaker and more easily led, so it was common for an older vampire to surround themselves with younger ones.

It was the second nest we’d cleaned out this week. The first one was much smaller – five vampires holed up in an apartment in Spring Valley – but one of the vampires we’d interrogated had led us to the larger nest. All in all, it had been a productive week.

My phone vibrated, and I knew it was Tristan before I saw his name. He called me every other day with updates on Sara, which he received from Claire. His trip to India had been extended by a few days, and he’d flown back last night, eager to finally meet his granddaughter.

I felt a pang of envy that he was with her while I was seven hundred miles away in another state. I’d kept busy in the week and a half since I’d left Westhorne, but no matter what I did, it couldn’t assuage the lingering ache in my chest. It didn’t help that my Mori constantly barraged me with angry longing and images of our mate from the last time we saw her. The only time the demon eased up was when I was killing vampires.

I walked away from the fire as I put the phone to my ear. “You’re back.”

“Yes, and I see you’ve been busy. I’m looking at a report that just came in and I’m sure the numbers must be wrong. It says you took out a nest of twenty-six vampires last night.”

“That’s right.” I stopped walking and turned to look at the group of warriors near the fire a hundred feet away. “We’re just finishing the cleanup now, in fact.”

Tristan let out a low whistle. “I take it you took lots of backup this time.”

“You can let the Council know I went in with two heavily armed units. It was completely by the book.”

He laughed. “You’ve never done anything by the book in your life.”

My lips twitched. “Okay. It was close.”

“I’ll be sure to make a note of that.”

There was silence for a moment until I asked, “Have you seen her?”

“Yes.” A note of wonder filled his voice. “I just watched her… I’m not even sure how to describe it.”

Having spent so much time with Sara in Maine, I could only imagine what stunt she’d pulled to make one of the most composed warriors I’d ever known speechless.

“Well, don’t leave me in suspense. What has she gotten into this time?”

He took a deep breath and let it out. “Callum and I were walking to the arena when I saw Sara come out of the woods with Seamus and Niall. She likes to walk alone in the woods, and they keep an eye on her.”

“She loves being outdoors,” I said almost to myself. It was one of the reasons I’d known she would like our valley. The Irishmen were good warriors, and I was glad to have them watching over her. Knowing how much Sara valued her independence, she probably wasn’t as happy about them.

“So, what happened?”

“What happened was that those two beasts got loose.”

My stomach lurched. “Is Sara okay?”

Tristan let out a hearty laugh. “If by okay, you mean did she step in front of two charging hellhounds and command them to stop, then, yes, she’s perfectly fine. And then she ordered me and my warriors to lower our weapons because we were upsetting her dogs.”

I pictured Sara standing in front of the hellhounds, defending them from the warriors, just as she had put herself between me and her troll friend. She was fiercely protective of those she cared about.

“What did you do?”

“What could we do? We lowered our swords.” He laughed again. “I think we were all in shock. One minute, we were prepared to fight for her life, and in the next, she had those beasts fawning over her with their tails wagging. Then she made Seamus take her to the menagerie so she could make sure her hellhounds were being treated well.”

I smiled at the images his story created. Sara was already making her mark at Westhorne. I had a feeling life at the stronghold would never be the same.

Tristan exhaled loudly. “You told me about the things she did in Maine, but seeing it…”

“I know.”

“I can’t wait to get to know her. Don’t worry; I won’t push her. I want her to be happy here.”

I smiled. “Just let her know that her family is ready to meet her when she is. She might surprise you.”

Sara harbored a lot of anger toward Madeline, but she hadn’t been able to hide her interest when I told her she had a Mohiri grandfather. Once she saw Tristan was nothing like his daughter, she’d open up to him.

“I’ll do that.” His chair squeaked as he settled back in it. “Did you find anything in that nest last night?”

I watched the warriors who had started digging a pit in which to bury the burnt vampire bodies. “Not yet. We tended to the humans and dropped them at the hospital. We’re headed back to the building when we’re done here. If there is anything in that place that’ll lead us to Eli’s Master, I’ll find it.”

“The Council is making the hunt for this vampire a priority. We’re organizing a special task force that will focus solely on searching for him.”

“Who did you get to lead the team?” Normally, I would have been one of the first people approached for a job like this, having hunted three Masters and killed two of them. Tristan wouldn’t have asked me to lead this one because he knew I could not leave Sara for that long.

“Mateo Ruiz is going to head it up. I believe you and he have worked together a few times.”

Mateo and I met on a Master hunt in Bolivia many years ago, and I’d never known a more ruthless hunter. When he was five, his entire village, including his human mother, was wiped out by a Master. The only reason Mateo had survived the attack was because his mother had sent him to a Catholic mission ten miles away for help banishing his “demons.” The Mohiri found Mateo when they came to investigate the attack.

Since then, Mateo had devoted his life to one cause: hunting Masters. He had four Master kills to his name, a feat surpassed only by Tristan, who had been around a few hundred years longer.

“Yes. If anyone can find this vampire, it’s Mateo.”

“I agree.” He paused for a moment. “I told the Council about Sara. They needed to be made aware of her unique situation.”

“And?” I asked tightly.

“We decided the task force should have the information. Maybe it will help them figure out why the Master wants Sara.”

The less people who knew about Sara, the better. But Mateo was discreet and I trusted him. I was still worried, however, with any other plans the Council might have.

“I can guess why you’re so quiet,” Tristan said. “The Council has some concerns about Sara’s power, but I made it clear that my granddaughter is off-limits. They won’t press me on this.”

“Good.” The Council and I didn’t agree on a lot of things, but we’d always been on the same side. If they believed they were going to have any say in Sara’s life, they were in for a rude awakening.

There was a beep on the line followed by Tristan’s sigh. “Speaking of the Council. Back less than twenty-four hours and already they are calling. I have a feeling my phone is going to be busy for the next few months.”

I started walking back to the others. “I’ll let you know if we find anything at the nest.”

“Great. And someone from the task force should be reaching out to you soon. Going forward, you’ll give any information you find to them as well.”

“Sounds good.”

* * *“You have a visitor.” Chris walked into the garage where I was cleaning my gear. I wiped down my weapons after every job, but to keep them in the best condition, I polished the blades daily with a light coating of oil.

I ran a cloth over my blade. “Who is it?”

“She’s from the task force. She’s here for an update.”

“Geoffrey has everything she needs.”

“But I’d much rather talk to you,” said a warm English voice.

My head came up and I stared at the blonde warrior standing in the doorway behind Chris. A smile spread across my face, and I laid aside my sword so I could stand.

“Viv! Why didn’t you tell me you were coming to Vegas?”

“I only found out myself last night.” She entered the garage and walked over to hug me.

My Mori cringed away from her, surprising me by its reaction to someone I’d known my entire life. Then I realized Viv was the first female I’d touched since I met Sara.

I gave her a quick hug and stepped back, earning a puzzled look from her.

“So you’re on the task force?” I asked as we walked back into the house.

She sank gracefully onto the couch. “Tristan called yesterday and asked me to be part of it. I’m surprised he didn’t tell you.”

“He probably thought it would be nice if you surprised me instead.”

“A good surprise, I hope.”

I smiled. “You know I love seeing you. I assume you’re here on business.”

She laughed. “I always mix business with pleasure, you know that. Have you eaten? I’m starving.”

“Not yet.”

“Good. Let’s go out. There are a ton of great restaurants in this city.” Her blue eyes sparkled. “Or we could go to my hotel and order room service. I’m staying at the Palms and the accommodations there are wonderful.”

The thought of being with anyone besides Sara caused an unpleasant sensation in my gut and made my Mori growl.

I shook my head. “How about Japanese instead? I know a great place you’ll like.”

“Japanese would be perfect.”

Her smile faltered a little, and I realized my tone had been a bit cool. I immediately regretted it. Vivian was one of my closest friends, and she deserved better.

I extended my arm to her, and she took it, letting me pull her to her feet.

“I’m sorry, Viv. I’ve been in a foul mood for a few days.”

Chris let out a bark of laughter as he passed us, heading for the stairs. “A few days. Sure.”

I ignored him. “I’d love to have dinner with you.”

Her warm smile returned. “Only if you tell me what’s causing your bad mood.”

“I will.” There was very little the two of us hadn’t been able to talk about over the years. We would never be intimate again, but our friendship was important to me, and I valued her advice and her opinions.

“Good. Let’s go then, because I’m famished.”

We went outside, and I chuckled when I saw the red Aston Martin sitting in the driveway. Vivian had a weakness for fast cars, and she didn’t believe in being inconspicuous.

She insisted on driving, and she was grinning when we pulled up to the valet parking at the restaurant. “God, I love this car.”

The valet’s eyes gleamed when she handed him her key along with a hundred. “Take good care of her for me.”

“Yes, ma’am!”

“You treat your cars better than you treat your men,” I teased as we walked into the restaurant.

Her rich laugh drew the attention of people nearby. “She’s not mine yet, but I think I’m in love.”

At my request, the hostess seated us in one of the restaurant’s small private dining rooms. A waitress came, and we ordered enough sushi to sink a boat, along with two bottles of their best sake.

The girl looked from me to Vivian. She was no doubt trying to figure out where someone as slender as my companion was going to put all that food. I hid my smile. Mohiri females’ appetites rivaled the males’, and Vivian loved sushi.