By now, all three girls were free, and Ashley pounced on him, taking care of the remainder of the flesh and muscle of his neck before he also poofed into ash. Cadence surveyed the living room, saw they were clear, and headed for the front door.
The Vampires she’d seen on the street were in the yard now. “Head for the car!” she shouted, tossing the keys, and opening fire as her sister and Ashley did as they were told. Cass jumped into the driver’s seat and started the engine, and Cadence didn’t slow her shots long enough to consider the fact that her sister didn’t have her driver’s license. To her knowledge, Cass had no idea how to drive.
Her shots sank into the ten or fifteen Vampires that were headed their direction, slowing but not stopping them. In the distance, she heard heavy gunfire and saw that Job and his people were engaged. It seemed Holland had an endless supply of undead to send their direction.
Ashley flung
Time wasn’t on her side, though. Before she could recover, there were three more Vampires baring down on her, two musclebound brutes and a woman who reminded her of Aurora because she was huge and probably just as strong as the men. “Did someone call in the brute squad?” she said as she regained her footing.“We are here to destroy you,” the woman said through clenched teeth.“Not today,” Cadence replied, though she didn’t feel quite so confident that that wouldn’t be the case when one of the men grabbed her right arm, her stabbing arm. She reached for her Glock and fired directly into his face, but it did no good, and the other man easily disarmed her as the woman stepped in.She knew this move. She’d performed this move a hundred times before, though the two people she usually worked with were not here. The two men were intending to hold her arms while the woman grabbed her neck and twisted—unti
Hines sulked into the room with his head down, and Asteria didn’t even bother to look up from the bag she was packing for more than a second. “That was pathetic,” she said, wishing she could stab him in the chest cavity like Cadence Findley had every Vampire who’d tried to take her down, save the ones her sister had taken care of for her.“I’m sorry, Your Majesty. They’re just not strong enough. LIGHTS has depleted our forces, and obviously, they knew we were coming. It’s that little bitch and her magical powers.”“It was obvious we were coming,” she said, regurgitating his own words. “They will be on to us from now on, expecting us at every turn. We will have to come up with something else, something they won’t expect. In the meantime, I’m finished hiding out in this hovel. I’m going to collect my son, and then we’ll head to America. That’s where they are; that’
It hadn’t taken too long for the demons to come out of the corners once the numbering process was over. It seemed as if the portal opening may also have had something to do with it, as Aaron noted they tended to move faster during the time that everything was shifting. This battle was taking longer than the previous ones, probably because there were more assailants, and he reloaded his Glock with the last clip he had on him just as something that looked like a cross between a dust bunny and a Wonder Mop shot out of the shadows, barreling toward him. Trying to conserve ammo, he shot it only once and regretted it immediately as the monster knocked him hard into the lava rock wall behind him.A knee to the groin did nothing to the creature as the monster opened a hole in its face he could only presume was its mouth and bared rows of sharp teeth. Aaron used the heel of his hand to strike the monster right beneath the opening, assuming that would have the same effect as a bl
“I’m certain,” Alex replied, not even opening his eyes. “It’s been a pleasure working with all of you. Jamie, I’ve never seen another like you in all of my years. And that’s a lot of years. Aaron, you’re a fine man and an outstanding leader. Miss Findley is lucky to have you as her betrothed.”“Thank you, Alex,” Aaron said as Jamie replied much the same way. If he were to stop and think about the national treasure expiring in front of him, it likely wouldn’t compute. This man had signed the Declaration of Independence, allegedly died in the most famous duel in history, and had a Broadway play based on his life. Not to mention he’d saved Cadence from certain death not that long ago.Alex’s breathing became staggered, and it became clear that he was about to pass away. Despite the Blue Moon Portal, despite the fact that he was a Guardian, and only a Hunter should’ve been able to kil
The flight back to Kansas City was relatively silent. Ashley was asleep on Cassidy’s shoulder, and her sister had little to say. So Cadence spent most of the three hours staring out the window, fingering the locket Elliott had given her, and trying to determine if she was doing the right thing.It would’ve been a great time to get some work done, but everything she needed to do next had to happen in person, and most of the other Hunters had been leaving her alone since Aaron had disappeared. Cadence should’ve been out of commission now anyway, preparing for her wedding, which was supposed to happen the next day. The Area Leaders had already planned on this. There weren’t a lot of Vampires left now, since the raids earlier in the year. Unfortunately, the ones who remained were feisty sons of bitches.Her mind went back over everything that had happened in the last thirty-six hours and then through what she would need to do when she landed. It was
Cale followed the road back around the way that Cassidy directed, and Cadence asked, “Who let you know to pick us up?”“Hannah. I just got here a few minutes before you did, so she asked me to wait for you at the airport.”“Oh, how was your flight?” Cadence realized she was just making polite conversation at this point and hoped he didn’t mind a little bit of normalcy for normalcy’s sake.“Not bad. The movie was lame, but I had all of the peanuts to myself.” He pulled into a parking lot and flashed her a goofy grin, and Cadence found herself chuckling for the first time in a long time. He’d taken a private plane, she was certain, which made the comment even more ridiculous.“Was it Chicken Run?” Cassidy asked, pushing her door open. “Because I hate that movie.”“Nah. National Lampoons Vacation—the Ed Helms version.”&
“How much of it is about the portal?” Cassidy asked, jumping right in.Ward carefully opened the book to a point about three-fourths of the way into the volume, which looked to be about three hundred pages long. The sheets were a discolored yellow, and the ink, had clearly changed colors in several places, varying from a dark black to a lighter gray. It was clear the entire tome had been handwritten. Cadence envisioned an ancient Vampire sitting down with squid’s ink or the blood of a freshly beheaded chicken to dip his crooked talon in a well and scratch each letter out on the page.“Only four pages are devoted to the Blood Moon Portal. Though there are other mentions of it elsewhere, they are all in reference to information shared here or not recorded at all.”“Four pages doesn’t seem like much,” Ashley said, and for a moment, Cadence considered sending her someplace else. But it was almost 6:00, and she had a fe
“How do we know it just doesn’t mean some spot in alignment with the east side of Jupiter?” Ashley asked, wiping her nose with a tissue she pulled out of her pants pocket.“Brandon said that Heather told him it really is outer space. The first time the portal opened while they were in there, it was under the ocean, and she refused to go. Besides, they only have a few seconds to get to wherever the opening is, and it’s usually pretty far from where they are. They are trying to figure out a pattern so they can guess which tunnel is going to open next and be there.” Cassidy’s tone seemed normal again, despite the fact that her eyes were still a little misty.“The ocean?” Ward asked before Ashley could formulate a response. “So that was likely the eighth place on the list or the twenty-seventh. One says trainnse de dh'uisge domhain, which I believe is Challenger Deep, or the Mariana Trench. The other says
Hannah took Jo to give her a bath, and Ona helped Cadence get Cadon latched while Jamie left to go check on his own one-month-old baby. Cadence’s son was a pro almost immediately, latching on the first try to resting peacefully while he nursed. Cadence couldn’t believe how lucky she was to have even one sweet baby, let alone the blessings of two. He wore a tiny little cap to keep him warm, and she couldn’t help but stroke his head while he made soft baby noises in her arms.Hannah brought Jo back before Cadon was finished. It took her daughter much longer to latch. She kept turning her feisty little face away, growling her discontentment as Cadence tried to get her on and not disturb Cadon at the same time. With Aaron’s help, their daughter finally latched, but he had to have his hand on her back or else she’d pull off again. “She is definitely a Daddy’s girl,” Cadence declared, shaking her head at her strong-spirited daughter.
“For the record, there really is no comparison between us naming our son after a famous jazz pianist and you naming your daughter after a murderous dictator,” the Healer pointed out before getting back to the task at hand. “I think in two or three more pushes, we’ll have a baby.” He was looking at Cadence now, smiling at her above the draped sheet that made her feel a little more secure even if it didn’t really hide anything at all from the doctor.“Okay,” she said again, ready to get it over with. Jamie told her to push, and she did, as hard as she could, hoping for two and not three as the lucky number.“Keep pushing,” Jamie said, even though Aaron had reached ten. “She’s almost there.”Cadence strained even harder, giving it every bit of energy she had left, and a few seconds later, she felt her daughter slip into the world. Listening to her cries made Cadence’s heart melt all
“One more push, Cadence,” Jamie insisted, his normally friendly-tone replaced by his not-quite-as-friendly medical professional tone. “One more time, and we’ll have a baby.”Cadence could feel the sweat dripping off of her forehead and wondered how normal human women did this, especially the ones who refused any sort of pain medication. Even with her superhuman strength and resilience, she was tired. Jamie had gloves on so he wasn’t using any of his healing powers to help her, but she had opted for the epidural, which minimized her pain but did nothing for the exhaustion.“You ready?” Aaron asked, standing next to her, holding one leg while Ona, a Healer who was acting as Jamie’s nurse, held the other.“I’m ready,” she nodded. Her husband’s smile hadn’t dimmed since her water broke three hours earlier. It might not have diminished since they’d left Prague eight months ago,
Jamie gently wrapped his arms around her. “I’m so glad you’re okay.” He kissed her cheek. “Love you, Cadence.”“I love you, too,” she said, returning the kiss. He took a step back and smiled at her before heading off toward the mountain.Cassidy hugged her sister a little more tightly than the doctor had. “Don’t you ever die on me again.”“I won’t. You neither. I love you, little sister.”“I know.” Cassidy giggled at her own smart remark. “I love you, too.” Cadence kissed the top of her sister’s head, and Cassidy let her go, stepping back to wait for Brandon.“Good job getting the monster.” Brandon’s hug was more like a pat on the back, and Cadence almost laughed, wondering if he just didn’t want to break her or was embarrassed.“Thanks, Brandon. Take care of my sis.”“I will try,
“The baby, Cadence,” Aaron said in her head. “You’re carrying our baby.”Cadence sucked in air all over again, like she had when she’d first fought to open her eyes. The baby! Jamie had told her she was pregnant before the hunt. How it had slipped her mind was beyond her, but yes, she was going to have a baby.Or was she? Her eyes flew to Jamie’s face, all of her questions bottled up in her eyes as she raised both brows, hoping he could alleviate her worry.Jamie smiled and gave a small nod only she could see. All of the air rushed out of Cadence’s lungs again as her hand flew to her abdomen, sighing in relief.“What is it?” Cassidy asked. “What was the other thing you couldn’t remember before?”Part of her wanted to keep their little secret just that, and she was disappointed that she hadn’t been the one to tell Aaron. She looked to him to see if
Cassidy smiled, but didn’t say anything, and Cadence could tell by her expression, she didn’t know what to make of Cadence’s revelation. It was no matter—she moved on.“Jack was pitching, Elliott. And the batter was a guy who looked so much like you. I couldn’t remember you at the time—sorry—but I asked, and my grandparents said the batter’s name was Jimmy.”“Jimmy?” Elliott echoed. “I don’t think I’ve ever mentioned that name to you.”“I don’t think you have either, but that’s your brother’s name, isn’t it.”Elliott’s head rocked back and forth slowly. “Wow. If that don’t beat all.... It’s like the freakin’ Wizard of Oz. ‘And you were there, and you were there....’ Hmmm.”“Well, it gets Wizardier because your mom was there, too. Arlene. And she wa
A growl from Elliott let her know he disagreed, but he didn’t say anything more, and Christian only nodded before he faded out of view. It was just as well. Cadence was exhausted. She didn’t really want to talk to anyone else, just let her husband pick her up in his strong arms and carry her back to the SUV so she could take a shower and fall asleep for a few years.“I hate to interrupt,” Scarlet said, taking a step closer to where they were sitting. “Cadence, it is wonderful you’re okay. But Jamie, what about that serum you made? Do you think we should try it? If we can get the Hybrids back up there, we might be able to save some of those people who are still trapped in the holes.”“Oh, right.” Jamie scratched his head, like he’d forgotten about the serum. “Yeah, why don’t you and Cale start working on that. The serum is in my backpack, which is in the trees near where we first encountered the bla
Lungs burning, body aching with the pain of soldering itself back together, eyes blinded by brilliant white, Cadence opened her mouth and sucked in air for the first time in as long as she could remember. Her legs still felt like they were on fire, like she’d been running for hours, but as she tipped her head back and began to cough the memories of what had happened to her, how she’d killed Daunator and then found herself in the air with no ground beneath her boots, flooded her mind, and every trace of memory about why she felt like she’d been running fled her mind.“Cadence? Cadence!”Aaron was there. She could feel his hands on her, even though she couldn’t open her eyes to look at him yet. Her throat burned as she continued to sputter, coughing and choking on the air she so desperately wanted in her lungs. How long had she gone without taking a breath? Why did her heart feel like a jackhammer, her chest muscles sore from the exert
Jamie was at twenty-two, and Aaron was trying to focus, but the voices to his left were prominent in his mind. He could still hear Elliott’s murmurs, Cass’s sobs, sighs and gasps from others. Christian was pacing back and forth, back and forth, back and forth, behind almost everyone. Aurora, free of her handcuffs now that she was no longer a threat, was doubled over on the ground, her hands linked around her knees, her wails having lost their voice minutes ago so that she was no longer making a noise as her body shook and spasmed. Eliza had her arm around the much taller Hunter, trying to be comforting, but Aaron was aware that, of everyone here, Eliza Wrath was the only one who really didn’t care if Cadence ever opened her eyes again. He could feel it rolling off of her in waves of ugliness like the sea during the type of storm that leaves debris littered all over the beach, breaks boats in its wake, and sends sailors to the bottom of the ocean.There were