A Guardian's Love Read online

  Paloma turned and moved in the direction of the waiting car. In the distance, she could still hear the ongoing battle between the vampire hunters and the ghouls. Cloaking her presence, she walked right up to the service van parked outside the high wall of the mansion.

  A man, the driver she presumed, was leaning against the driver’s door, smoking a cigarette. He must’ve sensed her presence, because he flicked away his half-smoked cigarette, hopped into the driver’s seat, and drove off. No one else was in the van with him, but his behavior was suspicious enough for her to follow the speeding vehicle. The mansion was rather isolated and there was no one for another 5 km. Why would an empty van be parked here at the same time a group of ghouls attacked the house? She was convinced the driver somehow was part of the ambush.

  †

  Inger groaned and lifted a shaky hand to her throbbing head. She stiffened when she encountered a large bump. That is not good, she thought. She tried to sit up, but fell back immediately when the world began to spin dangerously. She lay still and took a deep breath as she waited for the pain to ebb. A feeling of déjà vu washed over her as she remembered the last time she had been kidnapped. Where was she and what happened? Cautiously opening her eyes, she looked around slowly so as not to jar her aching head. She was surrounded by total darkness. Frowning, she turned her head to the other side and gasped. Twin red dots glared at her from across the dark expanse.

  A vampire!

  The last thing she remembered was directing the staff to the bunker. A quick head count revealed that her grandparents were not amongst the group. She’d dashed upstairs to their room to collect them. She never made it to their suite, however, because something heavy crashed into her body from behind and then everything went black. Having peppered the ghoul at the door with bullets, causing it to run off, she’d though it was safe to check up on the others. This second ghoul had taken her by surprise.

  She heard a soft scuffle, and the red dots disappeared. Groaning, she tried to sit up again, probing the darkness. When she turned her head, she bit back a scream. The red dots were closer now, and she cringed inwardly when she heard a soft snarl. As she watched, the dots came closer and closer until she could feel the warm breath on her cheek. The growl grew deeper and she closed her eyes tightly. What the hell was a vampire doing up at this early hour of the day anyway?

  < Mother, where are you?> she screamed.

  The door abruptly slammed open and a ray of light fell onto her. The vampire hissed angrily, but didn’t move away from her. She could still feel its hovering presence nearby.

  “Ah, I see you two are getting along just fine,” a deep male voice said. Squinting to see the face of the newcomer, Inger grew frustrated when all she could see was the person’s outline. She slowly rolled away from the lurking vampire and grunted when she fell onto a hard floor. She realized then that she must’ve been lying on an elevated surface and she had rolled over the edge.

  The newcomer laughed as Inger struggled to her feet, her head pounding. Just as soon as she’d come to her feet, two cold hands clamped onto her upper arms, and she was dragged backwards into the shadows. She stiffened when she heard the vampire’s ragged breath from behind her.

  “I know you are hungry, but the Master wants to see her first. In her human form, that is.”

  She heard a switch being flicked and light suddenly filled the room. Blinking as her eyes adjusted to the brightness, Inger noted that the room was empty except for a concrete slab in the center. She was still held tightly against the vampire, making it impossible for her to move. Inger’s gaze narrowed when her eyes fell on the man. Toro! He fitted Marsha’s description to the letter: gleaming bald head, heavy muscles, and big nose ring. She felt the vampire’s hold tighten and bit back a scream at the piercing pain of the creature’s sharp nails. She wasn’t going to give them the satisfaction of seeing her fear or pain. Renegades thrive on pain and would think nothing of toying with her to exert even more pain before they killed her.

  “You heard what I said. Lord Mercredi wants to see the human. Now!” The man’s voice cracked like a whip in the quiet room, but he kept his distance. “You are only to feed when he says so.”

  “Then come get her,” vampire taunted. Inger was shocked by the lilting feminine sound of the voice. “Or better yet, tell Mercredi to come and get her himself.”

  The man hesitated before taking a cautious step forward.

  “Mercredi was simply testing your resolve when he asked that she be thrown in here with you. He knew that even with the thirst upon you, you wouldn’t take the life of a human. Or so we thought.” He laughed softly. “I stopped you just in time it seems.” He took another step closer, but came to an abrupt halt when the vampiress sucked air through her teeth.

  “Would you like to take her place? Knowing Mercredi, he would revel in taking her life himself.” The voice sounded tranquil, but Inger could hear the dark undertone of malice. She wished she could see the vampiress’ face. Could they be one and the same? Genevieve? The woman whose name brought a deep sadness to Pierre's eyes and troubled those who’d known her?

  “The girl is very important to him. That’s why you should let her go.”

  The vampiress bent her head, and combined with the warm breath on her neck, Inger felt the faint scraping of fangs on her skin. Her heartbeat sped up, and she felt the vampire stiffen against her back. With her greatly enhanced hearing, the vampiress no doubt could hear the blood coursing through her veins. Inger closed her eyes, anticipating the bite.

  “I would not do that if I were you, my dear,” said a different voice, deep and grating. Inger pried her eyes open.

  She grimaced at the sight of the creature with the deep-set red eyes. Dressed in a long black hooded cloak, the only part of him that was visible was his face. The sight of it made Inger shudder. The features were disfigured by thick welts of tough, grayish-looking skin. This must be Mercredi. Father and son seemed to have shared the same repulsive looks. The vampiress slowly lifted her head and chuckled.

  “So, you have come. I could smell your approach a mile away, Mercredi. Did I ever tell you that you stink like hell?”

  Inger felt reluctant admiration for the vampiress, who showed no fear in the face of this creature.

  “I do not have time for your childish bickering now. Hand me the girl, and I will send you someone else to feed on.”

  “This one will do just fine.”

  The beady red eyes began to smolder, and Inger felt waves of menace coming from the creature. “She is important to our cause, Genevieve.” He lifted his claw. “Let her go.”

  Inwardly, Inger sighed in relief at the confirmation of who her captor was. She wasn’t in completely safe hands, but she was in the hands of somebody her mother and the others trusted.

  “I take it you mean ‘she’s important to your cause’, not mine.”

  The renegade leader stepped closer. Inger had to stop herself from gagging when she caught a whiff of his putrid odor. “She is the daughter of the Vampire Queen and the mate of the Assassin. You would not be one to hurt one of your own, now would you?”

  Inger couldn’t see Genevieve’s reaction to the news, but she felt the vampiress’ body stiffen again. The bruising grip gentled immediately as she was slowly turned around. Inger found herself staring into the most beautiful green eyes she had ever seen. They looked back into hers with gentle curiosity.

  Inger hesitated for a second before she allowed her eyes to travel over the face of the woman. She was absolutely stunning. Rich, shoulder length auburn locks framed an oval face, which was enhanced by a well-proportioned nose and a wide mouth. She obviously laughed a lot—or rather—used to laugh a lot. They were about the same height, but being a vampire, Genevieve’s dangerous aura made her seem taller.

  “But you are just a baby. I must have a word with that cradle-snatching Paloma,” Genevieve said suddenly, her green eyes studying Inger closely. “Yet you have spunk, just like my own daughter.”
The green eyes lifted and focused on the creature standing behind her and Inger was shocked at the cold, murderous look that came into the green eyes. “This child is under the protection of the most powerful vampires on the planet. Before the sun rises this morning, you and your black heart will be languishing in hell—where you and your kind belong.” She looked down into Inger’s eyes. “I am not leaving her alone with you. You take me with her, or she stays here with me.”

  Centuries of decadent living had taken its toll on the renegade leader. When he tried to use preternatural speed to snatch her from Genevieve’s grasp, he was too slow for the Royal vampiress, who easily pulled Inger with her as she sidestepped Mercredi’s attempt. His beady little eyes hardened and he turned towards Toro.

  “Subdue her and bring the girl to me.”

  Toro nodded and followed Mercredi out of the room. Once they were alone, Inger turned to the vampiress and found the green eyes focused on her. They held a disturbing look.

  Chapter 18

  “In hindsight, you probably would have been much safer with Mercredi than locked up in here with me,” Genevieve said suddenly, and Inger felt an acute feeling of unease come over her.

  “What do you mean?”

  The vampiress slowly stepped away from her.

  “They have starved me for the past three days, and my strength is slowly fading.”

  Inger nodded slowly. She got the picture, but she wanted this angelic-looking woman to put her fear into words. “What are you trying to tell me?” she asked softly.

  Right in front of her, the green eyes changed to a deep glowing red.

  “I need to feed…now.” The words sounded hollow as the atmosphere in the room turned slightly ominous.

  When Genevieve took a step closer, Inger quickly took two steps back. “I do not mean to hurt you, child, but my nature is that of a predator. I need to feed to survive.”

  Turning to look at the closed door, Inger took a shaky breath. How ironic, she thought. She was saved from the monster only to be snacked on by a beautiful soft-spoken vampiress who happened to be married to her uncle.

  †

  Tahlia was worried about Paloma. The Assassin stood at the window staring out as she had been since she had returned to the mansion. The ghouls had done major damage to their number, having seriously injured five of their seasoned warriors, including Juan. After patching them up as best they could, they had quickly put the injured to ground to heal while the rest of them gathered to devise a plan on how to breach Mercredi’s fortress.

  Upon their return, they’d searched the mansion and found everyone accounted for except Inger. Jemima had frantically searched the house twice before collapsing in Tahlia’s arms, sobbing as if her heart was breaking. At that moment, Paloma entered the house, a dangerous gleam in her eyes.

  “I followed one of their cars to a building in the city center. There seems to be some kind of an underground safe house there. I believe she is being held there.”

  Jemima was up and ready to go immediately, but Tahlia had held her back, making her turn her anger loose on both her and Paloma. “My child is in the clutches of a ruthless killer, and the two of you are sitting around instead of rescuing her! She might already be dead while you’re wasting time,” she had screamed, pummeling Tahlia’s chest.

  It had taken Pierre’s gentle explanation as to why a soundproof plan was the optimal way to go to finally calm Jemima. Luckily, James was nearby to take over for Pierre. That was five hours ago. Tahlia knew she had to keep a level head and not become emotional, even though the thought of her baby, scared and alone and in the clutches of Mercredi, was too much to bear. Mercredi was out for revenge. They had taken his son, and he wouldn’t let the opportunity pass to inflict the same pain on them. Inger was in mortal danger.

  “We will get her back, Paloma.”

  “Alive?” Paloma’s voice was filled with so much anguish that Tahlia walked over to her friend and placed a hand on her shoulder.

  “Yes. We will go in there and turn the place upside down until we find her.”

  “Good.” The silver eyes had turned to her and the coldness in them was unsettling. “Then come with me and let me go get my mate, Tahlia.”

  “I understand how you must be feeling, but I think we need to wait for the Consortium to send more hunters. Mercredi will be well protected, and he would have laid a trap for us by now.”

  Paloma turned back to gaze out the window again, her broad shoulder slumped in defeat.

  “They will also not expect us to attack during the daylight hours,” Paloma added.

  That made perfect sense, too. She had to save her daughter and redeem herself in the eyes of her wife and her friend. She just hoped they hadn’t wasted too much time and that Inger was still alive. Just the thought that Inger might not be was too much to bear. Jemima and Paloma would never forgive her if Inger were hurt—or worse.

  “Let’s go.”

  †

  The door opened again and this time Toro was accompanied by two burly guards, all armed to the teeth. Toro’s eyes swept the room, confused, as they came to rest on her. Inger gave him a shaky smile and just then, the radio stuck on his left shoulder crackled.

  “Get out of there now, Toro! She’s on top of you,” a panicky voice sounded, but it was too late.

  Death came from the ceiling and its punishment was swift. Genevieve went for Toro, grabbing him by the neck. She flung him against the granite wall and Inger watched as he slowly crumbled to the floor, unconscious. She had no idea if he was dead or simply unconscious. She wasn’t particularly worried about his state right now.

  She turned her attention back to the fight. One of the guards opened fire and was shooting blindly into the room. Inger dived behind the marble slab as bullets ricocheted dangerously around the room. The shooting ended quickly. She wanted to sneak a peek to see where Genevieve was, but found that she couldn’t move. A dull ache in her chest made her glance down quickly, only to see a bright red stain blossoming on her tan dress. She’d been hit. She slowly lifted her hand to touch the stain, but she was quickly swept up into strong arms.

  “You have been shot. Hold on, little one. I will get you to safety.”

  As if in slow motion, she saw them dashing down the long corridor, but before they could reach the end, a male voice raised the alarm. With a soft curse, Genevieve changed course and turned back, running back the way they’d come.

  †

  Shrouded in complete invisibility, they entered the building through the underground parking. There were no guards in sight. Even if there had been any they wouldn’t have known of the two vampires slipping past them. Inside the building, Tahlia turned to look at Paloma and was once again shocked by the deadly look in her friend’s eyes.

  “Remember, it is a grab and go. We locate Inger and Genevieve then we leave. We leave Mercredi and his goons for later, when our women are safe.” As she gave the order, Tahlia knew that even if Paloma answered in the affirmative, she had to prepare herself for whatever could come their way. She came for her daughter, but the flint-eyed woman next to her came for more than just the love of her life. She had come for her survival and possibly for revenge.

  “Yes.” There was a deadly undertone to the soft-spoken word.

  They came to an abrupt halt when shots rang out. Both groaned simultaneously when they felt the ruthless pain of a bullet piercing skin. Panicked, Tahlia knew exactly what it meant: Inger had been hit. Before she could react, Paloma was already speeding down the hallway. She quickly caught up with Paloma and just as they turned a corner, a hail of bullets greeted them. Doubling back, she glanced at Paloma to find her eyes a stormy grey.

  “We need to get to Inger, Tahlia.”

  A dark shape suddenly blurred past them with guns blazing, and Tahlia heaved a sigh of relief. The red-haired renegade easily took out four of the six gunmen before she ducked into a doorway further down the hallway. She turned to look back at them.

  “I w
ill cover you.”

  Tahlia stared at the woman for a few moments before nodding. “I am indebted to you.”

  The green eyes that looked back at her were cold. “Just make sure you save Genevieve, and we can call it even.” The girl stepped out of her hiding place, firing as she sped towards the remaining gunmen.

  †

  A few doors down the hall, Mercredi looked up from where he was busy feeding on a teenage boy, his teeth stained with blood. He turned to look at the guards surrounding him. With flaring nostrils, he sniffed the air and growled deeply.

  “What are you waiting for? They are here.” He threw the motionless body of the boy away from him as if it were a piece of stained cloth. “The one who can bring me the head of any of the master vampires will be richly rewarded.”

  †

  Genevieve anxiously looked down at the unconscious girl in her arms. Thick streams of blood seeped from the girl’s wound, soaking her shirt and dripping onto the floor. The girl needed a doctor or she wouldn’t make it. For a second she contemplated an option, but as quickly as it grazed her mind, she discarded it. Only once in her life had she turned a human and that was four hundred years ago. She had promised herself that she would never do it again. Luckily, Trinity turned out to be a pure, caring soul. The sounds of gunshots came closer and she was pulled her out of her reverie.

 

  There was silence for a second or two before she heard the deep, calm voice of her husband.

  < I am close by, ma Cherie.>

  Sighing with relief, she held the girl closer to her. She would not let her die, even if the odds were against them. Earlier, this young woman had selflessly offered her life’s blood to her. She had been scared but, with grim determination, held out her wrist for her to feed. Brave child, she thought and placed a tender kiss on the cooling forehead. She was spurred into action by a ricocheting bullet chipping the wall close to her head.