Chapter 8
Daddy's Girl
The word rests heavily in the air, causing confusion and more disbelief in the eyes of the night stalker holding onto me.
"Why the hell would Drackus be here? How would he have gotten out of his prison?"
That's laughable. The world really does know very little about him.
It's not a prison; it's a home he stays in by choice. He's only barricaded by pointless magic - the light and dark's feeble attempt to feel in control of the man they fear more than anything else in the world. Good thing they don't know how strong Mom is.
I can't believe Drackus is here instead of Mom.
"That prison was futile to begin with. You need to go," I murmur forcefully while entwining my fingers with his. "He won't spare you no matter how hard I beg. He'll blame you for this."
Jude curses under his breath as his eyes find mine, and he gurgles out, "You. It's you. Fuck!"
His breath is stolen by death when he finally loses his connection to the world he never belonged in.
I start dragging Kane behind me, his dumbfounded steps quickly catching up as we race down the hall.
"He just killed a demon without even being in the room. Why is he here to save you?"
"Just get out of here, Kane. I'm serious. He'll kill you without so much as batting an eye. You've already felt his power, and that was just a taste of the pain you would have endured if I hadn't realized what was going on. You're obviously not immune to him the way you are the rest of us."
Suddenly, Thad rounds the corner, blood staining his hands and mouth - blood of the men he's apparently killed on his way to find me. He rushes toward me, but I hold a hand up.
"You can't touch me. I'm blocking out his power to keep Kane from becoming a pile of broken bones. If you touch me, it'll shock the fuck out of you."
He stops and glares at Kane with venom. "Maybe you should let Drackus finish them all before they have the chance to come after you later."
Kane growls, but I step between them. "Just shut the hell up and get out of the way. I'm losing my strength, and I won't be able to hold it much longer. I have to get him out of here."
Thad's lips tighten, and then Gage materializes in front of us, throwing out heaps of his dark energy to fold the night stalkers already crumbling under my father's power.
"This is almost too easy," he quips while falling in behind us.
"I can't believe you two called him," I scold, but Gage rushes up beside me, careful not to touch me when he feels the energy flowing through me.
"We had to. Desperate times and all. I refused to let you just die."
Kane grumbles under his breath, and his hold on me tightens. It's almost painful to be touching him without being tangled around him, but I have to keep my focus.
"How the hell is a light witch involved with Drackus to the point he would break out of his prison and come to save you? Please don't tell me he's in love with you," Kane says with a bit of a pained tone.
"Gross," I dramatically release, making Thad cough out his laughter.
"Well then, why?"
"Because he's her-"
"Because he used to be involved with my mother. That's why he sent Thad to help me out," I say to interrupt Thad.
My eyes cut to the blabbermouth changer who was so willing to expose my dirty little secret.
"Your mother? Callie Coldwell?" Kane asks, sounding confused as we briskly stride through the labyrinth of corridors.
This is so not the time for this.
Gage's eyes are locked on my hand that is entwined with Kane's, and his jaw clenches tightly as he throws forth another powerful shot of energy to blast the wall open to the outside.
"Shortcut," he says curtly, and Thad lets out a teasing chuckle as he stares at him.
Once outside, I see Kane's friends rushing toward us, with a wave of my hand, I blow them back, keeping them away from the point where I sense Drackus's power reaches.
"What the-"
"They almost tasted power they wouldn't survive," I say to interrupt Kane's angry question.
"Stay back," he yells as we close in on the line, sprinting toward them now. "You'll get killed if you come any closer."
Amy growls at me, her eyes flashing orange as she stares me down, her lips curled back in a defiant snarl. But her eyes quickly fall back to Kane, tears springing free as she takes him in and sees he's safe and alive.
The nagging pang of jealousy strikes when we reach safety and I release him only to see Amy leap into his arms. Her lips find his, and I'm forced to turn away.
"Damn it, Amy," he softly scolds, breaking free from her clutches and gently pushing her away. "Don't keep doing this to yourself."
I almost breathe out a sigh of relief, but I hold it back. She wipes her tears while shaking her head.
"Sorry, I just-"
"I know," he says a little softer, and then he gives her a kind hug. "I'm fine."
"I need to go help Drackus," Gage says to draw my attention away. Then he looks toward Thad. "Get her out of here."
"Drackus?" Sierra gasps while covering her mouth.
Amy proves she's new to all this by seeming completely stumped as to what that name means.
"I'm coming with you. I need to make sure this is the only place he destroys," I mumble in objection.
"Oh hell no," Thad interjects while picking me up and throwing me over his shoulder. "I've got orders to get you out of here. I sure as hell am not going to piss off the boss."
I would laugh if I wasn't so worried. I don't have time for this. If Drackus loses all control, I have to be there to talk him down. Mom has been the only one to ever do such a thing, but I'm hoping I might stand a chance, since I am his flesh and blood.
"Sorry, Thad. I hate to do this."
"Do what?"
I answer by pressing my hand to his back and forcing a shock through him that's strong enough to knock him unconscious. He falls like a giant from a beanstalk, and I bounce to my feet before anyone knows what I've done.
"You're a pain in the ass," Gage gripes as I join his side.
"You missed me," I say with a wink.
His anger flees and his eyes soften as guilt flashes over them.
"Alyssa, you can't go back in there," Zee interjects. "You're still just mortal."
"I'll be safe. Just get Thad out of here, please. He'll wake up pissed, and I'd like for him to cool down before I see him again."
Kane starts to say something, but Amy tugs on his hand, distracting him long enough for me to lean into Gage's arms.
"Vaporize us, dark boy."
He smirks, and then we're splitting the planes, just a shadow to the others. Only the hands of a night stalker could stop us, and night stalkers don't want to be anywhere close to where we're going right now.
Before I realize it, I feel the cool silver of a lip ring sliding against my lips before his tongue finds mine. I smile, realizing this is the first time he's ever tried kissing me when we weren't trying to do much more.
At the same time, I feel like a slut, considering what I just did with Kane. It seems pointless to have given myself to him now since my rescuers showed up directly after. It did calm my overwhelming desire to be touched, though it certainly didn't fully quell it.
"You're right. I missed you. I've been worried to death," he says as we materialize in a part of this castle-like place I've never seen.
"I'm fine. Just a scratched knee. How'd you find me?"
He smiles as he tugs at his jacket I'm wearing.
"She masked your scent, but she didn't realize you were wearing my jacket. She never thought to get rid of it. That was her fatal mistake. Drackus will rip her heart out."
"So he knows you're here with me now?"
"Hell no. Thad told him he was the one trying to get you out of town before Castine did a sneak attack. We need to find Drackus and see if we can bring him down before the high takes him."
The exploding sounds in the darkness ring out, and we follow the sounds at a brisk pace. Gage humors me by keeping my speed, not vaporizing. I know he won't leave me alone though.
We stumble into a wide, spiral stairwell. The cylindrical middle gives us a glimpse of the battle raging on below between my father and Castine.
His black leather duster jacket sweeps behind him as he spins out of the reach of the deadly blast she shouldn't have disposable at her fingertips. Drackus killed a demon without so much as touching him, yet he has to fight to beat the Vampiress. That doesn't make any sense. What did our kind do to help her get this much power?
She shrieks as the dark eyes of my father glisten, and he sends a shot so deadly at her she shouldn't be standing. She does stand though, and she tries to use her powers of subduing against him.
It proves fruitless when he grabs her hand and breaks it in his. She screams out again, but she slips free from his clutches before he can catch her by the neck.
His jet black hair is shorter than the last time I saw him. His misleading appearance would make you think he's in his early thirties. His centuries of death and destruction would prove otherwise.
Just as he's about to finish her off, a dark shadow appears. A dark-haired man materializes beside Castine, and then they begin to vaporize. Drackus growls as he lunges at the shadow, but they're gone before he reaches it.
"Damn it!" he snaps, staring at the air devoid of any presence.
"She has dark users on her payroll? Why the hell didn't I know this?" he barks to someone I can't see.
"I didn't know she had dark users," a familiar voice says as he goes to join him.
I gasp when I realize it's Dray, Kane's friend. He's working with my father?
"If that bitch comes within a hundred miles of my daughter again, I'll rip his throat out for ever bringing his fight to her. Do you understand that?"
Dray nods, not seeming the least bit rattled by my father's presence. He apparently knows him, but if he knows him, then why doesn't Kane know who Drackus is to me?
"We need to go. Your dad seems to be unaffected by the toxins this time," Gage whispers against my ear.
"I want to talk to him. That guy knows Kane."
"Not now, Alyssa. Thad was supposed to get you out of here. If Drackus finds out he failed, he'll be punished. I was fine with you coming when I thought you might be the only one to bring him down, but he doesn't need to be brought down. Let's go."
Crap.
Thad better be glad my concern for him outweighs my need for answers.
Gage pulls me to him, and then we vaporize into the air, leaving behind the conversation I desperately want to stay and overhear.
"By the way, I know what this mark is now," I murmur as we materialize outside, next to his car.
He steadies me as the dizziness sweeps in without mercy.
"What is it?"
"Something you're really not going to like."