“You made good time,” Jax said to Scar as we drove farther inland toward the plantation. Dallas had said two miles. I silently prayed he wasn’t messing with us, and we were about to drive into an ambush. The headlights bounced across the ground, cutting through the night sky. We’d have to turn them off soon if we didn’t want to be seen.
“Weren’t far away.” Scar threw a stick of gum into his mouth and chewed. Loudly. With his mouth open. The sound grated on my nerves. My fingers began drumming on my knee, and my foot started tapping.
Jax placed his hand over mine and squeezed. “You should heal that head wound,” he whispered in my ear. “Don’t want the vampires catching a whiff of your blood.”
“Of course.” Pulling out Marie’s pocket mirror, I flicked it open and studied my reflection. The cut wasn’t bad, just a scratch really, an inch long leading into my hairline. With a sparkle of pink, the wound healed, another sparkle, this time of blue, and the blood disappeared.
“Neat trick,” Shadow said from my left.
“Magic,” I replied. “But I need to be careful. My magic has been known to be unpredictable.”
Scar killed the engine, and the car rolled to a stop. Turning off the headlights left us sitting in pitch black. “We walk from here,” he said, opening the car door. “Shade, get the weapons.”
Shade, the bear shifter, climbed out of the car, the vehicle rocking with each movement, and made his way to the trunk. Shadow, the gargoyle, slid out, his movements practically undetectable, while Jax climbed out the other side. Banks jumped from my lap to the seat Jax had just vacated. I halted my familiar with a hand on his back. “Be careful, okay?” I whispered, running my fingers through his fur. “Stay out of trouble.”
“Always.” Banks’ head bumped my arm, he purred loudly, then he jumped out of the car, leaving me to follow. Jax had our duffel bag at his feet. Rummaging inside, he pulled out two pistols and loaded them with wooden bullets we’d bought from the Blacksmith before handing the shotgun he’d used on Dallas to me. “It’s loaded with salt,” he said.
“Thanks.” I took the shotgun and held it cradled in front of me, waiting for the trio at the trunk to join us. When they did, they had more weaponry than an entire army strapped to their bodies. Knives, swords, guns, you name it, they had it.
“Wow.” I looked them up and down in the moonlight. “You guys came prepared.”
“It’s what we do,” Shade replied gruffly. “Vampire hunters.”
“Right. Well, just remember, do not harm my aunt. Marie Laveau has control of her body, and I intend to evict her, but I can’t do that if any of you accidentally kill her, understood?”
“We’re just here for the vamps,” Scar said.
I motioned for them to gather around, and we huddled in a circle, our heads together. “Stealth is key,” I whispered. “I suggest we spread out, approach from all sides. Guns are the last resort. Try and take out as many as you can. As quietly as you can. We’re going in blind and have no idea what we’re up against.”
“Gotcha.” Scar nodded, high-fived his buddies, and headed into the night. Within seconds, they’d disappeared into the shadows. I couldn’t even hear their footsteps. Yet, as stealthy as they were, a cold shiver ran down my spine.
“I’ve got a bad feeling about this,” I whispered to Jax.
“You don’t think they’re up for it?” he asked, surprise in his voice.
“I’m worried I’m going to get them killed.”
“You heard Shade. They’re vampire hunters. This is literally what they do. Come on, let’s get moving. The plantation isn’t far away.”
“Just one more thing to do,” I said. In the duffel bag was the blue candle I’d purchased from The Broken Vial. Setting it inside the trunk of Scar’s car, I snapped my fingers, and the candle burst into flame, the orange glow flickering within the confines of the trunk.
With my hand clasped in Jax’s, we crept through the night, Banks trotting ahead, keeping to the undergrowth where he couldn’t be seen. My eyes had adjusted to the dark, and I knew the others wouldn’t have issues with their vision due to their shifter status. We’d made it to a dilapidated building, backs pressed against the worn siding when all hell broke loose. I watched, mouth hanging open, while Scar ran into the clearing in front of the main house, guns blazing, screaming, “Yippee-ki-ai bloodsuckers!”
My head flopped back against the siding, and I closed my eyes. “So much for stealth,” I said under my breath. Jax palmed his pistols and grinned. “Looks like we’re doing this!” and joined the fray.
Jax, in a fight, was a sight to behold. He stalked forward, not running but moving with a fluidness, relaxed and ready. He was a killer, no doubt, and had more guns than ammunition, but I had to admit it was kind of hot. A bullet whizzed by, missing my head by inches, and, keeping my hand steady on the shotgun, I brought forth the power of Luna.
Using the moon above us, I scoured the area. My vision shifted, no longer viewing the world in black and white but in every shade of gray. Even my clothes and hair wavered and moved. It was so bizarre and made me feel like I was trapped in a sea of fog. Yet the fog undulated and swayed and was lit from within by a ring of blue surrounding me. Vampires. I saw vampires everywhere.
Gallons of blood sprayed the night sky as vampires exploded when the wooden bullets found their marks before their bodies turned to ash. Vamps were coming at us from all sides, and while I knew I’d meant the hunters to beat the vamp ass, I’d forgotten to mention if they could tell the difference between their own asses and the other guys.
“Okay, okay, okay,” Banks meowed from beside me. “Let’s get this done. Time to find Aunt Tilly.” With a flick of his tail, he launched forward.
“Be careful,” I whispered into the night. Banks was already a good distance away, a streak of black sneaking his way through the trees toward the homestead. If I didn’t have a countdown going on in my head, I’d have been worried about him.
A scream from behind me spun me around. Jax was flat on his stomach, the wind completely knocked out of him. A vampire held him in a headlock, his fangs preparing to sink into Jax’s neck. I balanced the shotgun in my hands and fired. The boom rattled my teeth, but it was enough to knock the vampire backward. The salt wouldn’t kill him, but it was a distraction, and that’s all Jax needed to break free and ram a stake up under his ribcage and into his heart.
I didn’t watch the body turn into dust in the wind. I was already searching for the next target. Two vampires were on Shade, their teeth digging into his flesh. Shadow had come to his aid, though, darting in and out with his sword, slicing them open. With a roar, Shade released his bear. The head of the one vampire holding him in place was ripped clean off his body, while the other screamed when fur blurred in front of him, and its heart became bear chow.
The vampire burst into flame, his cry of agony cut short as the vamp’s body incinerated. I turned back to the fight, but it was ending. The last vamp fled into the woods. Shade and Scar were chasing after it, but Jax was already back on his feet, dusting the dirt from his shirt.
“Badass,” I said, making my way toward the homestead where I assumed Aunt Tilly would be. “That wasn’t so bad.”
“It didn’t last long,” Jax agreed, falling into step beside me. “But I guess that’s a good thing.”
As we approached, the door to the plantation house crashed open, and Marie Laveau stepped out, dressed in a flowing white ball gown. She scanned the chaos before her, her dark eyes resting on me. “Midnight.” She spat my name, then clapped her hands in a slow round of applause. Despite myself, I shuddered at the sound. “Bring her to me,” Marie commanded.
Four vampires appeared behind her and turned on me, flying across the ground in my direction. I braced myself, knew my shotgun of salt wasn’t enough to save me, but I had Jax, who opened fire.
The moon flashed from behind a cloud, its light bathing me, and at that moment, I spoke a word in a language I’d forgotten I knew, the power burning in my chest when it left my lips.
Laveau’s face, a picture of shock in the moonlight, was a sight to behold. I could see her mind working through the implications of what she’d just heard, but before she could speak, I spoke the words she was dreading to hear. The ones that would banish her soul to the afterlife where she belonged. I chanted the incantation, the pocket mirror clutched in my hand.
Her wail of anguish was loud and had the hairs on the back of my neck standing on end, but I didn’t let it stop me. With a blinding flash of white flame, she was gone, in her place, Aunt Tilly, who staggered and fell to her knees.
“Midnight?” she croaked, reaching her hand out toward me.
“It’s okay, Aunt Tilly,” I called, hurrying up the stairs toward her. “We’ve got you.”
Only I’d forgotten one thing. Marie Laveau had not been acting alone. I’d forgotten the witch who had started it all. The door opened, and Daisy Willow appeared on the threshold.