Wulf's Redemption (Borne Vampires Book 3) (15 page)

Shaken,
Kai handed him another clip. They dropped their empty clips and reloaded. Setting
a bullet in the chamber, they were ready to shoot. “That was a vamp, right? Not
some damn werewolf?”

“Yes,
that was one of the Damned.”

“Great.
Just great. What was the purpose of turning the Skaggin family into vamps only
to kill them?”

Instead
of answering, he held out his hand to her. “Hand me the Holy water.”

Handing
him the water bottle, Kai’s eyes narrowed as she asked, “Any idea who the wolf
is?”

“Not
a clue.”

Chapter Eight

Liar!
 

It had the same markings, the way it moved and
snarled — its eyes, she knew it was the same wolf she’d seen in Alex’s dreams. By
the smell, it was definitely one of the Damned.

Alex sprinkled Holy water on the remains of the
woman and her child, mumbling the prayer he ritually used after a demon kill. Flames
engulfed the corpses, burning away their brief, tortured existence. What was
Mrs. Skaggin about to say before the wolf killed her?

Why did Alex deny recognizing the wolf?

Kai tried to read his mind, only able to see
blurred images. Nothing to help her figure out who the wolf was. Frustrated, she
holstered her gun and leapt out the broken window. Half way to Alex, a girl’s
scream reverberated through her brain. The brutal pressure brought her to her
knees, clutching her head, unable to escape the pain.

To her astonishment, she heard Mary call out,
“Kai,”
terror radiating in her young voice, “
help
us! The Damned is here!”

Alex was kneeling beside her, his hand on her
back. “Kai, what’s wrong?”

“The gypsies,” she gasped out, “are under attack.”
The pain lessened, and she was able to stand with his assistance. “We need to
go to them.” She made to fly, held back when he grabbed her arm. “What’s wrong?
They need us.”

“It’s a trap. We’ll take the truck and drive to
Wulf Manor.”

“You know who the wolf is, don’t you?” Alex made
to turn away, she stopped him “Who is it?”

Alex released her and started walking back to the
truck. “Let’s go.”

“Screw you!” She launched into the air.

“Kai, no!” Alex shouted at her. Fear was in his
voice, making her hesitate.

Mary was screaming. Guns fired. She poured on the speed.
Searching mentally and physically for the Damned, she followed the road back to
the manor.
T
he bonfire, the gypsies had made, stood out like a beacon in
the night. Outside the opened gate stood Michael and his brothers, they aimed
their rifles and fired at her.

“Shit!”
Kai spun around, barely avoiding the bullets, and hit a tree. Dazed, she
crashed to the ground on her back. Bruised and winded, she stared at the
branches blocking out the starry night. “Damn, that’s gonna leave a mark.”
Rolling over onto her stomach, she came face to face with a dead man. Stench of
the Damned was on him. Closer inspection, she saw his throat had been torn out
and the pattern jolted her upright — same done to the girls in London.

Crap,
the Ripper was here!

Shoving
to her knees, she turned the man’s head and found his spinal cord severed. No
turning for this boy. Checking him out, the camo attire, sniper rifle, and a machete
strapped to his back, he was a vampire hunter. Disgusted, Kai shoved him away.
Where were his partners?

On
her feet, she cautiously made her way to the road and saw the gypsies and they
were searching the woods, ready to shoot again. She heard Mary yell, “Michael, stop
shooting! That was Kai!”

“It
was?” Michael called out, “Miss Kai, forgive us! We did not recognize you.
Please, you can come out. It’s safe.”

“Just
don’t shoot me, I’ve already have enough bullet wound scars. Don’t need more,”
she grumbled as she walked out of the woods. Mary ran to her and threw her arms
around her waist.

Michael
grimly asked, “Were you hurt?” He slung his rifle over his shoulder, his
brothers kept vigil, watching the woods and sky.

“No,
I’m fine. What happened after we left?”

“We
heard men screaming in the woods and went to check it out. Before we reached
the gate, we heard a woman laughing and bodies began falling on us. I’ll show
you them.”

Mary
held onto her as they followed her brothers past the gates. Michael pointed at
the bodies strewn about the courtyard. “It was like they were being catapulted
at us.”

Taking Mary’s shoulders, she gently drew the
frightened girl back. “Mary, I need to check them and make sure they won’t
turn. Go with your brothers and wait by the fire.”

As the gypsies hurried back to the bonfire, Kai
drew her sword as she approached the closest dead guy. Another vampire hunter
and was killed the same way as the one she found in the woods. Checking to see
if he’d rise, she wasn’t sure if she should be relieved or worried when she
found his neck broken.
Ten
hunters. All had their throats ripped out and none would rise. She heard
children
crying. Searching for them, she found them in the center of the circle the
adults had made. Gaeta was with them, armed with a silver knife in her gnarled
hand, ready to protect the children.

She
sheathed her sword and jogged back to the waiting gypsies. Herrick sat on a
hewn log, clearly he was in shock. “They just fell out of the sky. The bodies
fell on us….”

Sarah
wrapped her arms around her husband’s shoulders, traumatized as he was. “Miss
Kai, how did you know to return to us?”

“Mary called out to me.”

Mary’s eyes were wide and tears rolled down her
cheeks. “I-I didn’t know if I could do it. I just tried.”

Hugging the poor girl, Kai smiled at her. “You did
it. Everything is going to be alright. Is everyone accounted for?”

Michael nodded. “We are unharmed. Did you
encounter the Skaggin family?”

“Yes and they are at peace now.” She addressed the
gypsies, “Did any of you see the vampires who killed those men?” They shook
their heads.

“Miss Kai, I must speak with you.” Gaeta patted
the children’s heads, told them to stay with their mothers. The old woman took
her arm and led her to the nearest dead man. “Only one vampire, Miss Kai,
killed them. She laughed as she threw these men at us, and then she started
singing a song my papa sang to me when I was afraid, one I sing to my little
ones. I fear for my family, Miss Kai.”

“Gaeta, what do you know about Aldric Wulf and
Lisle Breber?”

Hatred twisted Gaeta’s wrinkled features. She spat
on the ground. “We do not speak of the bitch. A thousand curses upon the Breber
whore. May she rot in Hell!” Gaeta spat on the ground again for good measure
her hatred.

“What did Lisle do to Alex and his brother?”

“Child,” Gaeta’s eyes narrowed, “does the Master
know you can see into his mind?”

“I—” Staring into Gaeta’s faded black eyes, eyes
that saw deep into people’s souls, she knew it was useless to deny it. “I
haven’t told him yet. Alex has so many secrets that I think he’s unraveling,
unaware he is sending his … his memories to me. Since I drank his blood, the
connection is stronger and I am trying to piece together what’s happening now
and back in 1819.”

They
turned at the sound of a truck’s engine approaching in the distance. “The last
dream Alex had was of a silver wolf carrying a bundled infant. The wolf walked
on two legs.
We encountered a wolf that walked on two legs at the
Skaggin farm. It killed its own creations.”

Pressing
a gnarled hand to her heart, the old woman’s eyes went wide. “The wolf you saw
tonight, did it appear to be the same or different?”

“The
same. Alex denied recognizing it, but I know it’s the same one I saw in his
dream.”

“Merciful
Father, protect my babies,” Gaeta wailed, clutching the silver cross she wore
around her neck in her hand. Suddenly, she held out her wrist to her. “You need
to drink my blood. You need the power of a witch to make you stronger than your
enemy —
this
enemy!”

“No,”
Kai shook her head, backing away from Gaeta until the old woman grabbed her arm
in a surprisingly strong grip.

“You
must,” she insisted. “Evil has returned to Wulf Manor and you must be strong to
fight it.”

“Please,
Gaeta, you cannot ask me to do such a thing. It’s not right.”

“Is
it right to allow the innocent to die or worse, be turned? You must be
completely healed to face the Wolf of Magdeburg.”

Gaeta
was right. Although the dead blood was out of her system, she wasn’t completely
back online and she needed to be to fight the vamp hunting them. Kai reluctantly
took Gaeta’s hand in hers. Blue veins raised along the back of her aged hand,
her skin thin.

Turning
it over, she whispered, “Are you sure you want me to do this?”

“You
must. The wolf will destroy the Master and us with him. Take my blood,” Gaeta
ordered hoarsely.

The
truck was less than half mile away, and Alex was speeding. Kai dropped her
fangs and reluctantly bit into the woman’s wrist. Gaeta gasped. Blood, rich and
potent, flowed into her mouth. Never tasting such powerful substance before in
her life, she closed her eyes and drank. There, in the darkness, women of
different ages, from different eras appeared. They nodded to her and she
realized they were part of Gaeta, and now were a part of her.

Feeling
the tremble in Gaeta’s hand, she withdrew her fangs. Kai put a supporting arm around
her narrow shoulders and supported her as Gaeta swayed unsteadily. “I’m so
sorry. I took too much.”

Patting her hand reassuringly, Gaeta smiled faintly
at her. “No, my child, the night has been one of many trials, and I am merely
tired.”

“Let’s return to the bonfire and get you a drink.”

“My son brews fine ale. You must have some, too.
It will strengthen you, just as my blood will.”

Chuckling, Kai agreed. “Yes, the ale Herrick brews
is quite delicious. Another cup would be welcomed.”

With a sigh, Gaeta sat down on a wooden chair near
the bonfire
as the
truck slid to a grinding stop ten feet from them.

The driver’s door opened and Alex climbed out and
hurried over to them. “Gaeta, are you and your family safe? No one was hurt,
were they?”

“No, we are fine. The dead, however, are not.”
Gaeta waved to her son and his wife, “Bring us three cups of your fine ale, my
lovelies. Our guests and I need a drink.”

“Ja, Mama. I will bring a keg out.” Herrick,
joined by Michael, went inside the manor.

“Kai,” Alex approached her, “did you see the
vampires who killed those humans?”

“No, the bodies were tossed at the gypsies.” She
pointed past the gates, “There’s another body in the trees, close to the road. Each
one had their throats torn out, exact same mode of kill like the girls Mina and
I investigated in London. Also, I checked the hunters, and they won’t rise.”

“I thought Angel was responsible for the killings
in London?”

“She was recruiting, building an army. We believe a
vampiress named Lisa is responsible for murdering the women. Sin and Mina met
her at a club, and he said there was something off about her. Angel was
dangerous, but he said he could deal with her level of psycho. Lisa made him
nervous. I think she’s the Ripper.”

“Made Sin nervous? Damn, she must be demented.”

“That’s not all. We got a call from Inspector Hugh
at a crime scene and the bodies had been ripped limb from limb and that there
was green blood everywhere. While Inspector Hugh was talking to us, a gust of
wind blew across the bodies and they ignited, presumably doused with Holy
water.”

“Someone killed the Damned and left them for the
humans to find? Why? Who doused the bodies?”

“We are pretty sure it was Lisa who killed her own
kind, and Angel had the bodies disposed of.”

“Why didn’t Angel put her down?”
 

“She was trying to recruit Lisa to fight with her,
just like she was trying to get Sin on her side.” Kai paused. “Alex, when we
were held in Angel’s dungeon, Lisa was there. She smelt me, went crazy-weird
and kept saying, ‘she has his scent. Why does she have his scent?’ Then she
fled, leaving Angel pissed and deciding to wash her hands of her. For some
reason, Lisa’s followed us to Germany. Or,” she gave him narrowed look, “she
was coming here already. Gaeta said the vamp who tossed the bodies into the
courtyard sung an old nursery song afterward. Lisa is German.”

“Son-of-a-bitch. You think you she’s here to hunt us?”

“You tell me, Alex. You looked pretty shaken when
you saw the wolf back at the Skaggin farm.”

Scowling at her, he asked instead, “What do we do
with the hunters? Burn them?”

Disgruntled he avoided her question, she shook her
head. “No, we call the police. We need to alert local authorities the Damned and
vampire hunters are hunting in their jurisdiction.”

“We can’t tell the humans that!” Alex was shocked
at her plan and she couldn’t blame him, especially with so much at stake.

“We told Inspector Hughes and his team that there
was a vampire cult spreading like a plague, been around for seven years. Mina
came up with the story and it gave us the resources we needed to hunt the
Damned.”

“Does Faeroes know what you and Mina did?”

“I don’t know, but Rathe ordered Mina to wipe the
information from Hugh’s mind.”

“Did she?”

“No, she didn’t. In fact, the three cops who
helped us at Angel’s castle never had their memories wiped either.”

“Why did you do expose us to the humans?” he asked
curiously, not accusingly, which gave her hope he would listen.

“Because they have just as much right to protect
themselves against the Damned as we do. They need to know they are being hunted.
We protect our children, and they should have the right to protect their own,
too.”

“If we call the police, how do we explain the
silver on the dead hunters?”

Gaeta offered an idea as she accepted the clay
cup, topped with foam, from her son, “The slain men are vigilantes disguised as
vampire hunters. They were killed and dumped on us as a warning, because Kai is
hunting the vampire cult.”