Page 56 of From the Shadows
“Borne!” Ranna screamed. “We need a portal.”
The air shimmered and Borne stepped out of an aperture in space. “Where?” he asked, his voice like ice.
Shay read the address off, and a moment later, there was another opening in the room. Ranna, Borne, and Jakar stepped through it, and then it closed behind them.
“Please hurry,” Shay whispered as he went to pull a panicked Jeremy into a hug so they could worry together.
Chapter 17
Diego cursedas he lost signal. Now Shay would be freaking out, and that irritated him greatly. He misted, appearing near two vampires, and broke their necks. They crumpled without a sound. The fact that he was able to get so close without alerting them spoke of their recent rebirth.
Martin was near his limit. He’d gone flame as soon as the vampires pulled them into the building, and the floor, dotted with an ever-increasing layer of ash which was choking him. He’d taken down dozens, maybe more, and his powers were nearly gone. Diego was doing his best to keep up, but even he was falling beneath the swarming tide of the enemy. In his desperation, he called Shay, but then lost signal.
The vampires had chosen their spot well. Diego had no clue what the building was originally used for, but the walls were several feet of thick concrete, which was effectively killing his reception.
How had Cristobal amassed this many thralls? Why had no one noticed them disappearing? The answer, as much as Diego hated to admit it, was the army he created was the unhoused and indigent. People no one would even notice were missing. Bad enough they’d lost everything in life and had been forced to live on the streets, butnow they were being sent to their deaths. Diego would say a prayer for their souls later. If they got out of this place.
When the portal appeared, Diego breathed a sigh of relief. He wasn’t happy when Ranna stepped out and quickly shifted to her wendigo form, but right now, beggars couldn’t be choosers. She was slower, not nearly as graceful a killing machine as normal, but she still tore into them with a fervor. Borne was crackling with dark energy as he decimated scores of them, their bodies piling up ever higher. The last person with them was someone Diego vaguely recognized. He knew the man was a wendigo, but he didn’t shift when he fought. Instead, he harnessed the powers of nature, striking with lightning, wind, ice, fire. It wasn’t nearly as effective as Martin or Borne’s, but it was still holding them back enough to give Diego a chance to check on Martin.
“You okay?” he asked, gripping Martin’s shoulder and squeezing gently.
“No, not really. These bastards are pissing me off,” he growled, his skin glowing red.
“Stand down. Rest a bit.”
He smirked. “Don’t need it.” He stood, wobbly on his feet, before he burst into flames and waded back into the fray. Despite the claim he didn’t need the rest, he wasn’t moving as quickly as normal, and the things he touched didn’t disintegrate into ash as fast. Still, no matter how many they took down, the vampires continued to show up. There had to be hundreds of them, and they kept coming. The team was already weakened with Ranna’s injuries and Martin’s loss of energy, but they still fought tooth and nail.
Diego misted, killing anyone he came across. Guilt swamped him at the knowledge these people had probably been like him. Forced by Cristobal to become vampires, then sent out to fight and die for him. Hard to believe such a beautiful face held such evil behind it.
And then he saw the devil himself. Standing high on the upper beams, smiling down at the carnage. Diego misted, landing beside Cristobal, who turned and smirked at him.
“I knew you’d come,” he said.
Diego didn’t speak, he merely lashed out. As fast as he was, though, Cristobal was far faster. He dodged every attack Diego made. He was like an awkward teenager, all limbs and not an ounce of grace. When Cristobal thrust an arm out and grabbed Diego by the throat, he realized he couldn’t fight back.
“You’re mine,” Cristobal snarled. “As your sire, you do as I bid. Show your love for me and kill your friends.”
Then he threw Diego off the beam, leaving him to plummet five stories. As much as he wanted to, he hadn’t been given permission, so Diego couldn’t mist. When he hit the bottom, it rattled him, sending a jolt of pain through his body.
“Diego!” Ranna screamed.
He stood, Cristobal’s voice echoing in his head, demanding the blood of his team. He spun around and stalked toward the closest person. The other wendigo. He would make a fine tribute to Master. The man didn’t even turn around when Diego reached him. That was his mistake. He grabbed the man’s long, dark hair and yanked it back. True, Diego couldn’t drink from a paranormal, but there were other ways to kill him.
“You’re a good person, Diego. A little bit of an asshole, but who isn’t? Keep in mind, though. You’re our asshole.”
Shay’s voice? That was the day Shay offered to let Diego drink from him. The day he began the blood-tie to Shay, who instead of being horrified, helped to make him better. Then provided what he needed to become whole. To become….
“I am Diego Ramirez!” he screamed, his voice echoing through the warehouse. “I serve no one!”
He turned the man he was holding loose, then moved to help him finish off the vampires he’d been fighting.
“Help Ranna,” the man said, his voice dark. “The princess cannot be allowed to die.”
Princess? Ranna was fucking royalty? Sure, why the hell not? He’d have to talk to her about that at some point. Right now, he had other things on his mind. He jerked his head up and found Cristobal, his lips twisted in apparent anger. Before he could go after him, he misted and vanished into the murky depths of the warehouse.
As soon as he was gone, the remaining vampires were easily dealt with. Apparently, having Cristobal near fueled their strength and determination. It made sense, they were extensions of his will, after all. Which also meant that at each of the attacks, Cristobal had to be nearby, watching what was happening.
When the fight was over, the hunters gathered around. “I thought for sure you were going to kill me,” the guy said.
