Blade Song

chapter Twenty Three

It could have been an hour.

It could have been minutes.

I didn’t know how much time passed before there was a pause in the arrows coming my way. I couldn’t just fade away because they’d see me and I wasn’t going to reveal that secret in front of them, unless I had no other choice.

Arrows—why were they using arrows? I wondered. Stupid. Just stupid, although it gave me a leg up once I’d managed to crawl my way over to a tree and get behind it. I had a feeling there were four different archers. Wasn’t positive, but I thought. Judging by the various angles they were coming from and the different kinds of bolts and arrows, there were definitely at least four, but somehow I didn’t think they had a couple of people lying in wait, just to throw me off.

Regular fiberglass arrows, as well as bolts, the kind somebody would fire from some of the crossbows out there.

I’d grabbed one of the arrows closest, checked it, smelling it for some sign of poison or anything else and there wasn’t anything.

Why arrows and no guns?

Didn’t make any sense. Peering around the tree, I caught sight of a scrap of white. Another arrow whizzed by, but that was fine. I had a location now. Smiling, I reached for one of my arrows.

My aim is true—

Unlike theirs.

I heard the strangled scream and a furious swear bounce through the trees second later.

One down.

Another volley of arrows came raining around me. Sighing, I leaned against the tree. My eyes drifted to the pit. Was Kori alive—?

Couldn’t think about that. Just couldn’t.

After another twenty minutes, I found another target. The sound of his scream was like music.

Within an hour, it was down to just one.

And I was confused as hell. They were wasting all of this time, the ammo—why?

By the time I figured it out, it was almost too late. I heard them drawing near, another group coming to catch me in a pincer move. I didn’t have time to find another place to hide myself and I couldn’t leave Kori.

Damn it—

Fade—no choice now, not if they were doing what I thought.

I faded and took out the last target and then moved over to peer down into the hole at Kori.

The site of her locked, open gaze hit me like a fist to the chest. The arrow had pierced her heart, and I knew iron when I saw it. It would have killed her instantly. They’d been using fiberglass to pin me in place, but they’d specifically chosen to shoot her with iron…they’d wanted her dead. Witches were stronger than humans and able to heal, but iron weakened them. She could have healed if it hadn’t pierced her heart, but it had.

Slanting a look across the water where the archers had hidden, I narrowed my eyes.

If I hadn’t killed all of them, I would.

She was gone, so there was no reason to linger here.

Carefully, watching every step I took, I started to move. The path was littered with arrows and bolts and branches and I had to be careful not to touch them. I could hear them coming closer and closer now and they were quiet. Hunters, all of them, humans who liked to spend their days prowling through the wild in search of prey. Made a study of it.

Today they wanted me to be the prey.

No.

Absolutely no.

Once, I caught a glimpse of them from the corner of my eye and I could hear them as I made my way around the bend to where the archers had lain in wait. Four of them, just as I thought. Although one of them wasn’t dead. The arrow had gone through his lung just below the heart.

Damn. My aim wasn’t as true as I’d like.

I searched the rest of the area before I went to his side. As I knelt beside him, I heard the crackle of a radio.

“Where’s the target, Hooper?”

The man just inches away panted, scrambling for the radio a few feet from his hand. I rose away and let him roll over, grunting, whining with pain. “She’s…over. There. Saw her. F*cking bitch. Gut the bitch. Need help. Hurry.”

“She’s not here, Hoop,” a voice said. “We’re heading out. Got to find her before he gets here.”

He fell back on his back and started to cry, clutching at the arrow going through him.

He…?

I knelt down beside him and faded back into sight, smiling as I covered his mouth with my hand.

“Hello, Hooper.”

Grabbed my arrow, I jerked on it and laughed softly as he screamed against my muffling palm. “We should chat. Who is he and why is coming after me?”


It was six minutes I’d never get back.

Hooper had nothing to tell me and I ended up killing him with my knife across his throat.

It was quick, painless and easy—far easier than I’d rather give him, but I didn’t believe in torture.

As I cleaned the blood off my blade, I heard a dreaded slithering sound and I swallowed the bitter, noxious taste of fear cloying in the back of my throat. Tracking the noise, I found the snake coming through the grass. Another big-ass snake, too.

Man, I think I could really start to hate those things. With a passion.

But it didn’t come for me. Okay. This was looking up. It was checking out one of the dead bodies.

“Have at it,” I said.

Its tongue came out, tasting the air.

Those freaky eyes watched me as I circled around, keeping a very, very wide berth. I had men to kill and no damn snake was stopping me. I just needed one thing—

Hooper’s radio.

It had a rugged little wrist strap which I caught with the tip of my blade, still watching the snake, keeping my ears out for the sound of any more. Did they like dead bodies? Didn’t know. Didn’t care. So long as they stayed away from my live one.

The radio in my hand crackled, loud. Too loud. As the snake started to coil around the body, I fumbled with the volume. “Where in the hell is she, Hooper? We’ve only got until sunset…”

Sunset.

My blood went cold.

I peered up at the tree, then at the bodies across the lake. I could still see most of them but I didn’t know how many were there…

I had a couple of hours. Getting out of here would take every single minute of them. But if I ran into more men…Between the pack I was hauling, my weapons and the fact that I’d have to fade out and be quiet, it was going to be hell. I’d paid closer attention this time and I knew the way back, but still.

I had to get out of here.

I didn’t have the missile I’d need for this fight, although why in the hell he wanted me now I didn’t know.

Evangeline’s voice echoed through my memory.

He’ll be in contact soon, Colbana. You don’t want to keep ignoring him. It won’t go well for you.

My breathing hitched as I remembered the dream.

You…the energy in you is pleasant. I feel it without even feeding from you, but ever since I’ve fed…It’s a pleasure like no other, Kit, and I can’t wait to have it again. It’s unparalleled.

It didn’t make sense that he’d set this up just to try and grab me. Didn’t make sense that this had been constructed for my benefit. But if Jude had been behind it all along—for fun, money, or whatever his f*cked-up reasons and I got in the way…? Had he just decided to go ahead and grab me because it was convenient and he’d wanted me all along anyway?

It would make sense…if that was what Jude wanted to do.

He’d asked me if I was going back home. The boy had been found, after all.

Why not go back home?

Because it just wasn’t in me, but Jude wouldn’t understand that sort of thing, would he?

He would understand one thing, though—Damon had called me persistent. Maybe Jude had realized that if I didn’t go home, I’d tie this to him. And he’d go down.

Was that it?

Strange, wet cracking sounds came to my ears. I looked up and immediately wished I hadn’t. The snake was coiling around the body. Constricting. Shit. That was nasty, but it served as a reminder. I didn’t have time to worry about why Jude was coming for me.

He was coming for me and that was a problem. Dumping my pack on the ground, I went through and removed what wasn’t vital. The food was the first thing. I dumped everything but three bottles of water and two protein shakes. If I didn’t make it out of here before I went through those, it wouldn’t matter.

Jude would have found me by then and then…

I stroked my thumb over my wrist.

Then Damon would be after us both. Nothing hurts you…

I wasn’t going to rely on Damon to save me, though. I was alive and sane because I’d saved myself, and damned if I’d stop trying to do that now. I wasn’t a quitter, and despite what my grandmother thought, I wasn’t weak.

I’d hold on to that.

Hold on to that, and my sword.

Hefting my lightened pack onto my back, I faded out and started to move, following a line that took me away from the hunters and straight to my car. I’d come back for them. All of them. If Kori could taste fear in the dirt, then surely Es had another witch who could do the same.


My legs burned.

I knew how to run and I could do it for a long time, but not like this.

Still, I kept moving.

Those idiots were still using their radios and it was a blessing, because a few times, I caught that warning crackle just in time to freeze.

One time was bad. They had dogs. I heard them baying after me and the excitement of the men.

I laid it on harder, until I thought my lungs might burst.

Finally, the sounds grew distant and I let myself slow. Thirty minutes, I thought…Maybe thirty minutes to the car, and almost to one of the more populated areas.

My head was pounding. The burden of keeping myself unseen was getting to me but I couldn’t drop it now.

I heard a laugh—young and girlish, followed by a deeper one. Male. Young. Shit. Getting close to people.

Was that a good thing or bad?

The radio I’d hung at my waist crackled.

“Girl.”

I stopped.

“Come on, girl. I know you took Hooper’s radio. We doubled back and counted, saw your shit, saw the snake eating him—we won’t hold that against you, since that’s the way things sometimes play out when you play a real hunting game. The snake won that round. So did you. But it’s time to listen to the rules of the game.”

Rules of the game…you son of a bitch. I took the radio off my belt, still listening to those voices. They were still a few hundred yards away and my gut whispered, Human. Kids out for a hike or what?

“What do you want?” I said.

“You.” The man’s voice was blunt and honest. “What do you think?”

“F*ck yourself. Sideways.”

He chuckled. “Now, now…here’s where we have a problem. You weren’t ever supposed to be a target. You’re human and we don’t like hunting our own.”

My skin prickled and crawled.

“But we’ve got somebody interested in you and if we don’t give you to him? He’ll take it out of our throats.”

“That’s what happens when you f*ck with vampires,” I said.

There was a pause and then a laugh as he said, “Nobody said nothing about vampires, kid.”

It was a lie—I heard the strain in his voice.

“I did.”

More silence. “You aren’t going to get out of here, girl. If you try, we’ll come after your ass. We’ll hunt everything, everybody you love. We’ll kill anybody that gets in the way, starting with the kids that are between you and the exit of the park…are you there yet?”

Another whoop came from up ahead. He couldn’t have heard them. I wasn’t talking when they’d been laughing and I didn’t have the button down now.

So he had people up there. Around here.

Close.

“And why should that matter to me?”

“Because you lingered long enough to make sure your friend was dead before you left her…we were watching. Because you hung around even after we let you find the kid you were hired to find, the girl witch, and the wolf. We didn’t think you would come back, but you did. Since you’re still here, I’m going to assume it’s for a reason. You’re soft. You’re okay. It’s okay. The world needs people like you. We don’t need to waste time and play games. You don’t want me killing those kids, do you? Nice girl like you, you don’t like waste, but either you come to us, or there is going to be all sorts of waste.”

I listened to the laughter, waited for it to fade. “You want me, you f*cker, you’ll have to find me. I won’t leave the park, but you want a hunting game? Hunt me. And I assure you…there’s going to be a lot of waste. I’m having fun with all of these gators out here anyway.” I smiled as I said it. Most of the gators were back by the water and I’d left that behind a good thirty minutes ago.

He wanted to play a hunting game? The son-of-a-bitch had no idea who…or what…he was messing with. Bow ready, I started for the kids.

First thing to do? Get rid of the possible hostages.

I bypassed four of the hunters in silence.

I think one of them sensed me, turning his head my way. I was tempted to bury the length of my blade in him—via his throat. Instead, I ghosted past him, pausing long enough to learn his face. I was aneira—watered down version or not, I was still a f*cking assassin and I’d find my target.

Thirty feet from the kids, close enough that I could intervene when the men came running, I picked my place. There weren’t any others between me and them.

And fate smiled on me. One of the park rangers came driving up the rutted path. Smiling, I took aim.

My aim is true—

It landed two feet from the girl nearest to me.

She screamed and started to run.

I shot another. The boy had just thrown a football and I watched as my arrow went through it.

All five kids were screaming and running now and I heard the park ranger bellowing for them to get to his jeep even as he whipped out his radio. They didn’t waste time.

Behind me, I heard cussing, swearing.

Spinning, I took aim. I faded into view—smiled at the man who’d heard me. “Gotcha,” I whispered as he fumbled with his bow. I loosed the arrow, faded before he’d even hit the ground.


Night was coming.

The park was now crawling with cops, too.

It didn’t matter.

I felt the ominous thud of something slam against my brain and I still hadn’t managed to get to my f*cking car.

It was close, but every time I almost made it, one of the hunters got in the way. I needed to avoid killing any more of them—really. Despite what they thought, I wasn’t human and unless they attacked, if I killed them without proof, I was f*cked.

And Jude wasn’t going to leave a trail, I knew that.

Earlier, at least, I had them attacking me. It would go before a Banner court and one of the Banner-retained witches would question me, so I would be okay, I thought.

But if I killed one just because he got in my way, I was f*cked.

So I had to dance around. Dodge.

And then I just ran out of time.

The sun wasn’t kissing the horizon, but it didn’t matter. I felt the chill dance through the air and I knew what it meant.

He was there. Jude was in the f*cking park, looking for me.

How in the f*ck had it come to this?

Six years ago, he’d saved my ass and now he was hunting it. I’d killed some of the men he’d set on my tail and I didn’t even know why.

Somebody screamed.

I didn’t know where it came from it—the sound bounced and danced through the air, echoing from all around me and ending far too soon. My gut went tight as I wondered just what had happened.

Jude wasn’t a fool. He wouldn’t leave a body where it could be found.

But then again, there was no shortage of hiding places here. None. At all.

All he had to do was find a f*cking gator. Or a snake.

My gut clenched as I continued to run. It was futile at that point, but it wouldn’t stop me. I’d keep going until—

He stepped out from behind a tree.

Elegance and beauty, a face just barely saved from being too pretty. The snapping intelligence of his eyes helped, the carved line of his jaw. Jude was a handsome bastard, I’d give him that. His hair was a darker blond than mine, pulled back from the strong, clean lines of his face and his eyes were pale green.

Other than those few minutes at my office, I hadn’t seen him in the flesh for months and I really hadn’t wanted to see him again until I had a rocket launcher. Or at least something other than just my sword. The silver in her would hurt him, but he was too fast for me and if I got close enough to cut him, he’d also be close enough to hurt me.

Can you call another weapon…?

My hand itched. The sword was in my hand, though.

In the back of my mind, I heard a song. Her tribal rhythm. Whispering in my mind, the beat of her drums, thudding in time with my heart. “Hello, Jude.”

“Darling Kit,” he murmured, the raw silk of his voice wrapping around me.

“Stop.”

Cocking his head, he smiled. “Stop what?”

“Don’t darling Kit me, don’t look at me like we’re some sort of friendly types. Just stay the f*ck away.” The itching got worse.

Call me…I’m here, I’m here—

The bow.

Shit.

I couldn’t call her.

But the image of her lurked in my mind as I stared at him.

Could I?

I’d been struggling with the guard the first time my mother’s sword had come to me. I hadn’t even known I could call her, hadn’t even known she existed—

Flexing my hand, I rotated the blade, watched as his eyes dropped to it. A smile curved his lips. “Why the sword, pretty little Kit? I’m just here to offer aid, as promised.”

“Yeah. You should have tried that line before you set a bunch of bloodthirsty humans on my ass.”

“I don’t know what you mean.” But there was a smile in his eyes.

“I’ve been dodging arrows all afternoon and a woman I liked is dead because of you, Jude. Stop the bullshit.”

He sighed and shook his head. “Kit, all you had to do was come to me and all of this could have been avoided.”

“You can’t expect me to believe you set all of this up just to get to me?”

He laughed. “Of course not. This…” He shrugged and glanced around. “It’s a game. A pastime. Those fools weren’t supposed to take the Alpha’s boy, but they did. I would have handled it myself, made sure he was returned, had I known. Then you barreled in and…” He shrugged once more. “Why didn’t you just leave, Kit? You had what you needed. Nothing more to worry about.”

“The Assembly will take you out for this.”

“No.” He smiled. “The games will end and nothing can be traced back to me.” His fangs flashed as he murmured, “And for that matter, for all you know, I’m f*cking with your head—you bitch so often about how I like to do it. Maybe this is just another headf*ck, Kit. You don’t know, do you?”

“Yes, I do.”

He took a step, liquid and gliding. Rising my sword, I said, “Stop.”

His laugh was warm and sweet, wrapping around me and if I hadn’t already experienced his poison, I might have been tempted.

“You know that thing won’t stop me,” he murmured. His eyes started to glow. “Although it’s possible you could just tease the hunger if you cut me. Then again, it might anger me. It’s a risk either way.”

I stared at him.

Cracking my left wrist, I listened to the song in my head. Louder, louder—

Call me—

I banished the sword and hoped.

Only a heartbeat later, the bow was in my right hand, an arrow in my left. I took aim and watched it fly.

Jude was still laughing.

He saw it coming, though, and moved—I’d been counting on that and shot off center. “Stupid, Kit,” he whispered, flinging the arrow down. “And bad aim—”

The next one was in his chest.

“I don’t miss, Jude.”

I said it on the fly, speeding down the path and praying hard.

The arrows weren’t silver tipped.

But they were wooden. It had gone through his heart. He was old enough that it wouldn’t kill him, but I had a few minutes. He’d have to be careful pulling it out or he’d damage himself and that would take him longer to heal. It had bought me a few minutes, far more than a fiberglass weapon could

It wasn’t much. But a few minutes was still a few minutes and the car was close.

The second I saw the car, I sent the bow to her place in the trunk and pulled my keys out. There was no time to fight with my pack so I just shrugged it off as I ran and let it fall.

I dove behind the wheel just as I heard a furious wail and felt the blanket of cold as it struck the air.

He’d gotten it out.

I punched the car into reverse and sped out.

There were cop cars everywhere, but I was just going to have to hope and pray I could get away from them and get to the witches’ house. My cell phone sat in the cup holder and I fumbled for it.

I saw something in the rearview mirror. A pale form. Cutting through the sky.

Older vampires were a bitch. They could fly.

Scrambling for the phone, I saw I’d had calls. A lot of them. I hit the recent ones I’d made, calling Es. An unfamiliar witch answered, but at the sound of my voice, she immediately came on the phone.

“Kit, thank goodness. We have problems—”

“Listen to me, damn it. It’s Jude and there are cops everywhere. If you have any contacts, please tell them not to pull me over—we’ll both be dead if they try.”

She barked out an order. “I’ll send word, but I can’t promise. Kit, Damon is on his way.”

“He won’t make it in time.” I glanced at the mirror, saw the form swooping closer. I’d survived pain before. I could do it again. “I can get through this as long as Jude doesn’t kill me. Maybe I shouldn’t have shot—”

My car went airborne.

I swore and opened the door. It went flying in one direction even as I lunged out, but I never hit the ground.

Steel arms came around me.

“That was very, very foolish, Kit. I never wanted to hurt you until now,” Jude rasped as we hurtled toward the ground.

“Funny, you trying to drown me in my dreams wasn’t a good sign of that.” I spat in his face.

He squeezed so hard I felt my ribs crack. He sat me down and I stumbled away from him, popping my wrist. Nope, I decided as my hand heated. I didn’t regret shooting him. I was going to do it again, the second I had a chance. Enough wood in his heart might destroy him.

He swung out a hand and I ducked. Not in time, though. I was fast, but the broken ribs slowed me and vampires were faster than I was on my best day. This definitely wasn’t it.

As I went rolling through the dirt, I called my blade. When he came at me, I shoved into his gut. He howled and I bit back a shriek as the bones in my arm snapped. Not again—

He flung the sword away and hauled me upright. “I’ll melt that thing down and make you a collar from it, you stupid bitch.”

“Try it.”

He let go and I swayed on my feet, gasping around the pain in my ribs, the pain in my arm. Survive, damn it. That’s what I had to do. But my stupid mouth was going to be a problem.

“You need to be silent,” Jude said quietly. “I never intended to harm you but when you attack, it enrages me.”

“Gee, I never noticed. You have control issues—too bad you’re a vamp. Docs have drugs for humans, but you’re just out of luck.”

He caught my face in one hand, cruel fingers digging into my flesh. “Little Kit…don’t you understand? You’re caught. Well and truly. It’s time for you to shut up and accept it.”

I closed my hand around his wrist and tried to shove him away.

The pale green of his eyes started to glow. Bleeding away until just a red fire gleamed. Red hellfire, I thought…

He grasped my wrist, jerking it up and staring.

Damon’s bite—

“What the f*ck is this—?”

I smiled at him. “It’s pretty much exactly what it looks like, Jude.”

Any answer he might have made was lost as a growl split the air. Jude shoved me backward as a giant beast, caught between man and cat, came leaping out of the night. I tried not to scream, but I couldn’t stop it. Black and red dots danced in front of me and then I was gone.

“…hold her steady—have to make this fast—”

I came to with a cry as something snapped in my arm.

“There, there…”

Es. Her voice. I knew that sound.

Other sounds, I struggled to place.

Voices. Snarling. Growling. Cursing.

Through a wash of pain, I stared up at her.

“What…?”

She touched my brow. “Just wait, get your breath. They’ll likely be done soon. They’re too evenly matched, considering they’re both wounded.”

“Who…?”

“I should have gutted you the first time I saw you. I’ll skin you, cat, when I’m done. Your pelt will grace the floors of my home.” That voice…Jude.

“You’re losing blood, leech. How much more can you lose?” Damon.

With a groan, I sat up, shuddering as the pain ripped through me.

Es sighed and stroked my head. “Stubborn girl. Be careful—I haven’t worked on your ribs yet.”

In the dim light, I could see them fighting. They’d go forever, I thought, if something didn’t stop them. It didn’t matter what Es said.

Something came in the form of the flashing silver lights of the Banner unit.

Disembodied voices washed over us, broadcast by a loud-speaker.

I also felt the ripple of protective magics settle in place, around me, the Banner cops and the witches around me. Es sniffed. “Really, as if I can’t care for myself,” she muttered. Then she lapsed into silence as a Banner cop started to speak.

“Jude Whittier. Alpha Damon Lee. Members of the Assembly, you are hereby under orders to cease and desist at once or face immediate action—sanctioned by the Assembly under Article Thirty-two A regarding Non-Human entities in a populated area, under emergency circumstances.”

I gulped.

Article 32A gave the Banner cops the right to blow them to high hell.

“Damon,” I whispered.

I don’t know if he heard me or if the Banner directive got through, but he shoved off Jude and stood.

Bleeding from more wounds than I could count, he shifted from one step to another and was human as he started towards us. “Desisting,” he barked out. Then he looked back at Jude. “Keep the f*ck away from what’s mine, leech.”

Jude flowed up from the ground, paler than normal, his eyes still glittering and red. “Mine first, cat. I’ll challenge that with your Alpha…and she’ll acknowledge it. She won’t risk my wrath over a paltry little half-human.”

“Hey,” I snapped. “I don’t belong to you, jackass.”

Jude ignored me.

Damon didn’t, though. An odd little smile curved his lips as he paused, staring at me. Then he stopped and turned. “You didn’t hear them as they were talking, did you, leech? They said Alpha. Annette died today. You want to challenge my right? Take it up to the Assembly…and they’ve got different ideas on that antiquated idea. Ask Es here, but I suspect they’ll tell you to get f*cked.”

“Oh, yes.” Es smiled. “We will. Vampires can no longer claim ownership just because they laid a bite on somebody…especially when you didn’t explain all it entailed, Jude. Naughty, naughty, that. But I can always address it when I go to session next week.”

I barely heard her.

I was too busy staring at Damon.

The cool weight of Jude’s fury struck us, but seconds later, he was gone, launching himself into the air. The air lashed us with the speed of his departure and I batted at my hair as it flung itself into my eyes.

“Damon?”

I think I saw him smile at me. But then the pain in my lungs ripped through me again as I took a deep breath. Darkness rushed up at me.