End Game (Vampire Hunter Book 6) (6 page)

“Aurora!” I spun around, not sure if I’d really heard my name. It was
Henry!

“What the fuck are you doing? Come on! Come on! We’ve got to go!”

His panic spurred me into action and I followed him out of the gym in a
daze. Benji was still lying in a heap by the wall.

“I hope he dies,” I said harshly as I got into Henry’s car.

“No you don’t,” was his immediate response.

“Oh yeah, I do,” I replied vehemently. I uncurled my fist and let the
hair fall to the floor of Henry’s car. “Henry, you take this and do whatever
spell you want,” I said calmly. “But I’m done. Benji is a worthless excuse for
a human. Mark my words: if you don’t kill him, I will.”

I had to tell Lucas about Senara. But I hadn’t quite figured out what I
was going to say. It was too embarrassing to admit the truth, and even worse,
I’d let her get inside my head. I was having doubts about Lucas’ character.
She’d known him a lot longer than me. And by his own admission he’d done some
terrible things in the past. Did that involve using women for sex and tossing
them to the curb?

But I couldn’t put off warning him. Senara was obviously making the
rounds. First Jet, then me. She’d be visiting Lucas soon; I was sure of it.

He picked up on the first ring when I finally forced myself to call him
that evening.

“Rory,” he said, sounding genuinely glad to hear from me.

“Hey,” I replied, hoping my voice was normal. “I was at the library after
school today, and Senara showed up,” I said, getting right to the point.

“What? Are you okay?” Lucas demanded.

“I’m fine,” I assured him. “She was just trying to intimidate me. Said
she was checking out the competition. Sounds like she’s heard the same prophecy
as Leon.” I paused. “But I’m afraid you could be in danger, Lucas. She said if
I didn’t stay away from you that she’d kill you.”

Lucas sighed. “So she knows that I was supposed to hunt you and didn’t go
through with it.”

“She mentioned that,” I said vaguely. “Lucas, I think you should leave
your apartment, go into hiding.”

“No,” he said.

“Why?” I asked. “You’re always telling me to be careful, not take risks.
If you stay in your apartment you’re a sitting duck!”

“If Senara wanted to kill me, she’d have done it already,” Lucas argued.
“I’m not going to be threatened by her. Besides, you think she doesn’t know
where
you
live, too? Let’s face it, she can find any one of us if she
really wants to.”

“What are you going to do if she shows up?” I asked.

“I won’t antagonize her,” Lucas assured me. “We just need to get through
this weekend. Once we have Leon, Magnus and Tobias locked in Hell we can
formulate a plan to get rid of her, too.”

“Okay,” I whispered.

“Did Senara say anything else?” Lucas asked.

“No,” I said hastily. “I’ve got a lot of homework to do. I’d better get
back to it.” I hung up the phone before Lucas could answer.

My head was screwed. I didn’t know who to trust, who to believe. I felt
like I was losing my mind. How had I come so close,
again
, to killing
Benji? And why hadn’t I been able to unleash that power on Senara?

I flopped back down onto my bed and closed my eyes. I stayed there, lost
in thought, until I heard the doorbell ring, and then I sat up abruptly.

Surely Senara hadn’t come to my house to threaten me
again
. I
couldn’t take another surprise.

“Aurora?” Mom called up the stairs a minute later. “Lucas is here to see
you.”

Lucas! “Um, okay,” I said nervously. “Tell him to come on up.”

I took a quick glance in my mirror, trying to smooth my hair, wishing I’d
had warning that he was coming over. And then there was Lucas, standing
awkwardly in the doorframe of my bedroom.

“What are you doing here?” I asked in a low voice, motioning for him to
come inside.

“Door open or closed?” he asked.

“Uh, I guess closed,” I said. I didn’t know the rules about boys in my
bedroom with the door closed, mostly because it had never happened before.

Lucas sat down next to me on the edge of the bed. “I just had to see you.
You didn’t sound like yourself on the phone.”

I wouldn’t meet his gaze. “I’m fine. It’s just been a long day.”

“I don’t believe you. What else did she say to you? I know how Senara
works. I’m sure, if she had any clue how close we’d become, that she’d try to
poison you against me.” Lucas gently touched my face, tilting it towards him.
“Come on, look at me,” he said.

I leaned forward and buried my face in his chest, wrapping my arms around
his neck. “It’s embarrassing,” I said in a muffled voice.

Lucas caressed my back. “After everything we’ve been through, you
shouldn’t ever have to feel embarrassed to talk to me about anything.”

I pulled back and looked away again. “She just made a jab at me about
being…inexperienced,” I finally said.

“I like that you’re
inexperienced
, as you put it,” Lucas said in a
flirty voice. “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

“That’s part of the problem,” I blurted out. “She said if I got close to
you, you’d use me for one thing and leave me afterwards.”

“What?” Lucas sounded genuinely surprised. “She’s just trying to get in
your head. Even in my wildest days, I didn’t do that kind of stuff,” Lucas
said, shaking his head.

“I guess I know that deep down,” I said haltingly. “It’s just that
– I don’t know, the fact that she’s
been
with you and I haven’t
been with anyone…” My voice trailed off.

Lucas hugged me to him. “I wish I could erase that part of my past,” he
admitted, “but I can’t. But I promise you, you don’t need to waste your time
worrying about any of the garbage she said to you. I don’t ever think about
her.
Ever
.”

I smiled, feeling a little bit better.

“Now we’re even. I’ve had my freak out over Jet and you’ve had yours over
Senara,” he said jokingly.

“Oh, Lucas, what are we going to do?” I asked.

“You have to believe in yourself. When the opportunity comes, I know
you’ll be able to get rid of Senara. It’s too bad we can’t push her into Hell,
too,” he mused.

I laughed. “I don’t think we should complicate that plan any more than we
already have. But I’m worried, Lucas.”

“So am I. But all the worry in the world won’t change a thing.” Lucas
cupped my chin in his hands and kissed me softly.

“Knock! Knock!” came my mom’s voice from the other side of the door.
Without waiting for an answer, she barged in. Lucas and I jumped apart
guiltily.

“Lucas, I brought you some iced tea,” Mom said, pretending she hadn’t
seen us kissing. “And I wasn’t sure if you like it sweet or not, so here are
some sugar packets.”

“Thanks, Audrey,” Lucas replied, taking the glass from her.

Mom turned to leave,
not
closing the door behind her.

“I wish we could have our own space,” I said wistfully.

“Maybe we can,” Lucas replied with a smile. He stood up. “I’d better get
going. I know you have homework to do,” he teased.

I slapped his arm playfully. “Am I that transparent?”

“I knew something was wrong, and that’s why I rushed over,” Lucas
replied. “I don’t want you keeping things from me, no matter how trivial
– or embarrassing – they may seem. And I promise I won’t keep
anything from you. Deal?”

“Deal,” I agreed, walking with Lucas downstairs. I took the glass of iced
tea and poured it down the sink so my mom wouldn’t ask why he didn’t drink it.

“Thanks again for the tea, Audrey,” Lucas said to my mom when we got into
the main room.

“Oh, you’re going so soon?” Mom smiled. “As long as Aurora’s caught up on
schoolwork I don’t mind if you hang out here. You’re welcome to stay for dinner
as well.”

“I appreciate the offer, but I do need to get home,” Lucas said. I
stepped outside with Lucas, closing the door behind me.

Lucas took my hand and gave it a squeeze. “See you soon,” he whispered,
and then he was gone.

The rest of the week crawled by at a snail’s pace. Henry told me he had
done the spell to make sure Benji – at least temporarily – wouldn’t
be able to hurt anyone else. And thank God, my total ape-shit freak out hadn’t
caused any
real
damage. Benji was back at school the next day, looking
like his usual ugly self except for the long scratches I’d left down his face.

And then, as each day painfully ticked by, suddenly it was Saturday.
After her visits to Jet and me, Senara had remained eerily quiet. Don’t get me
wrong, I was glad she hadn’t contacted Lucas, but I was sure she was plotting
and just waiting for the right moment. And that scared the hell out of me.

Lucas called me Saturday morning. “You ready for tonight?” he asked.

“As ready as I’ll ever be,” I replied.

“And what about Henry?” Lucas said.

“He says he’s ready. I don’t know. Henry’s been…distant this week,” I
said. I had barely seen him at school apart from our classes, and he hadn’t
joined me for lunch in the library even once.

“I’m sure he’s just got a lot on his mind, like all of us.” Lucas paused.
“Nicholas and I will pick you up at 7:30 tonight. We can pick up Henry, too, on
the way. We need time for Nic and me to hide and figure out where Henry is
going to set up shop. It will be tricky making sure we’re all out of view from
Magnus and Tobias. I’m sure Magnus expects me to accompany you, but he’ll know
we’re up to something if he sees Henry or Nic.”

“Okay,” I said nervously.

After I got off the phone with Lucas, I called Henry.

“Lucas will pick you up after he gets me,” I said. “So we can all ride
there together.”

“No, I’m planning to go myself,” Henry replied.

“Why?” I asked in surprise.

“I need to get there early and set everything up,” Henry explained.

“But there’s safety in numbers,” I said worriedly.

“I’ll be fine,” Henry assured me. “I’ll text Lucas and get the
coordinates. I’ll already be there when you guys arrive, ready for go time,” he
said grimly.

I gulped. “Okay. And Henry?”

“Yeah?”

“If I don’t get to talk to you, you know,
before,
well…good luck.”

“Same to you,” he replied. “And no matter what happens tonight, Aurora,
promise me
we’ll
still be okay.”

“That’s an odd thing to say,” I replied. “Do you think I’d be mad at you
if the spell didn’t work or something?” I asked in confusion.

“No, nothing like that,” Henry assured me. “It’s just I have a feeling
that after tonight life as we know it is never going to be the same. And I just
need reassurance from my best friend that you’ll still be there.”

“Of course I will!” I said. “And I have every confidence that you are
going
to close the Gates, with Tobias, Magnus and Leon trapped inside.
For eternity.”

“That’s the plan,” Henry said lightly.

###

Lucas and Nicholas arrived at 7:30 to pick me up. My parents had gone out
to dinner, so at least I didn’t have to deal with my mom tonight. I guess after
seeing me kiss Lucas – despite my claim that there was nothing going on
between us – she figured we were going out on a date. I didn’t actually
even try to deny it. Just told her we were seeing a movie and would be back
later.

Yeah, front row seats to the new action-packed thriller, The Gates of
Hell,
I thought sarcastically.

“How are you doing?” Nic asked, turning around in the front seat.

“I’m hanging in there,” I said nervously.

“We’ll be right nearby,” Lucas assured me. “And as soon as Magnus pushes
Tobias through the Gates, I’ll throw him in after.”

“Okay,” I said, hoping it would be as easy as they made it sound.

“The Gates are right around here,” Lucas said, pointing at an open field.
“I’m going to park farther away so my car isn’t in plain sight.” He continued
another quarter of a mile before pulling his car to the side of the road.

Wordlessly, we got out and headed back towards the field. “Where are you
going to hide?” I asked. “If it’s just an open field.”

“The Gates are at the edge of the field,” Lucas explained. “We’ll be
hidden in the trees behind.”

“Where’s Henry?” Nicholas asked. We all scanned the trees and then there
was a low whistle. My eyes focused on where it seemed like the sound had come
from and Henry waved. He was about thirty feet away from us.

“I’m going to go make sure he’s okay,” I said, starting to walk in that
direction.

“No, stay here,” Lucas instructed. “It’s almost time. We need to go
hide.” Lucas squeezed my arm. “We’ll just be right over there,” he said,
pointing.

I nodded, too scared to speak. Lucas and Nicholas turned and started
walking. I watched their backs until they blended into the trees.

I scanned the field for signs of movement. Magnus should be getting here
soon, but I wasn’t sure where he would be lurking. Probably near Lucas and
Nicholas, at the outskirts of the forest.

“I wasn’t sure if you’d have the guts to show,” a voice cackled from
behind. I spun around. There was Tobias, standing in front of me, licking his
lips in anticipation.

“Tobias, I was just looking for you. I’m so glad you’re letting me show
you I can kill demons,” I gushed.

“Yes, yes.” Tobias waved his hand as though he were shooing away a pesky
fly. “Let’s get on with this. I haven’t got all day.”

“Yes, the Gates should be opening any second now,” I said in a loud
voice. I shot a nervous glance towards where Henry was hiding, hoping he was
starting the spell to open the Gates. “Leon told me he’d send the demons up at
eight o’clock sharp.”

Tobias tapped his foot impatiently. I looked around again, scanning the
trees, while we stood there for what felt like an eternity.
What if the
spell isn’t working?
Surely the Gates should be opening
any second
.
What if after all that planning, all the stress and worry, the first spell
didn’t work?

Just when I had all but given up hope, there was a loud popping sound. I
jumped and scooted backwards, watching in awe as a huge crack split open in the
ground right in front of us.

“It’s happening!” Tobias exclaimed, rubbing his hands together gleefully.

Mesmerized, I couldn’t take my eyes off of the scene unfolding in front
of us. As the crack became wider, a bright, blinding light shot out of the hole
in the ground. The noise was deafening as the crack continued to spread. When
it finally stopped, there was a huge, gaping hole in the ground. It must have
been the length of five cars and at least twenty feet wide. Tentatively, I
leaned forward and tried to peer into the abyss. Flames licked up out of the
opening, and it was then that I realized the fire was the source of the
blinding light shooting out.

“Where are these demons you promised to kill?” Tobias demanded.

“They’ll be here any second,” I fibbed.

Come on, Magnus,
I screamed in my head. And then I saw him. He
hadn’t been in the trees, like Lucas, Nicholas and Henry. No, he must have been
hiding down by the road.

“Look, I think they’re coming out of the Gates!” I exclaimed, hoping
Tobias would lean forward, making it all the more easier for Magnus to push him
in. He did as I expected.

“Where? I don’t see anything! What is this? Some kind of joke?”

But I didn’t have to answer. Because Magnus had reached us now, was
standing directly behind Tobias.

Magnus tackled Tobias to the ground, and they rolled towards the open
Gates. The whole thing happened so quickly that I didn’t have time to react. I
tried to position myself next to them.
Maybe I can kick them both in
.

But the opportunity was lost as Tobias and Magnus pummeled each other,
screaming furiously. Tobias managed to get out of Magnus’ grasp and move away
from the hole. Magnus, close on his heels, again pulled him to the ground.

Where are Lucas and Nicholas?
They should be here by now,
overtaking both of these cretins and sending them flying through the Gates.
Something
must have happened.

I was torn between running towards the woods or trying to interfere with
the fight that was still going on right in front of the Gates. Lucas’ words
rang in my ears.
Do what’s best for the mission.
Which meant it wasn’t a
decision, really. I had to go after Magnus and Tobias and somehow send them
both to Hell, all by myself.

But they were moving so quickly, I couldn’t even get near them. Magnus
managed to gain the upper hand. He had Tobias pinned down and Tobias’ head was
inches from the gap.

Making a split second decision, I charged forward, hoping to ram my
entire body against Magnus’ back and send
both
of them through the Gates
and into Hell.

And it worked – sort of. I caught Magnus by surprise. He tipped
forward and rolled headfirst through the opening of the Gates. But my attack
hadn’t budged Tobias. He was still lying where Magnus had him pinned down, and
as soon as Magnus went through the Gates, Tobias was on his feet again.

“You betrayed me!” he seethed. “You led me here to let
Magnus
send
me to Hell? I knew I should never have trusted you!”

Tobias dove at me, knocking me to the ground. I tried to scramble to my
feet, but Tobias was a lot faster – and stronger – than he looked.
He grabbed my hair and started dragging me along the ground, towards the Gates,
towards Hell.

He’s going to throw me in.
I tried to dig my hands into the
ground, to kick my feet, but nothing was working.

“You couldn’t mind your own business,” Tobias screamed. “And now you’re
going to pay. Have fun in Hell!”

We were at the opening now. Tobias let go of my hair and began kicking
and pushing my torso. I flailed out wildly, punching the air, trying to connect
with any part of Tobias that might slow him down. I could feel the heat, the
overwhelming heat, as my head was pushed over the gaping hole. A few more
pushes and I was going through it. To Hell.

I couldn’t see what was happening; I was completely disoriented by the
blinding light, but Tobias had stopped pushing me towards the Gates. I rolled
away from the opening, trying to get my bearings, and climbed to my feet. And
then I saw it. Tobias was lying on the ground on his back, and standing over
him with a huge mallet in his hand, was David Matthews.