Hunted (Vampire Wars Book 5) Read online

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Vampire Wars

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  About Violett

  Coming Soon!

  Copyright 2018 by Violett Skye.

  All Rights Reserved.

  Love is blind, and lovers cannot see, The pretty follies that themselves commit.

  -William Shakespeare

  1 Ella

  Ella laughed. “I don’t think so. I believe her name is Isabella. Maybe she’s why his magic stopped working.”

  Ella eyed the creature in the driveway as it made its way toward the car, and before she had time to consider her next move, a shadow lunged from the dark cover of trees and into the creature.

  “Dillan! He’s not dead.” She’d been afraid that he’d been dead since the wards at his house went down. She inhaled a breath of relief at seeing him alive and well.

  Jeremy mocked. “Oh, good. I’m so relieved.”

  Ella ignored the sarcasm in his voice, unwilling to allow anything to dampen her spirits. Dillan was alive!

  She reached for the door handle. “I’ve got to help him.”

  Jeremy automatically locked all the doors of the vehicle and shook his head rather firmly. “No. No way. You can’t be serious, Ella.”

  Ella sighed. “Look, there’s some things I need to tell you—to explain what’s been going on—but I can’t get into it right now. There isn’t time.”

  She stared at him, waiting for him to unlock the door, but he wasn’t budging. Stubborn boy. She sighed. “I’m getting out. Please stay here. I mean it.”

  “Yeah, right. Like I’m going to let you get out and fight, and I’ll just stay in the car and let my girlfriend—er, um—you protect me.”

  He sat, staring out the front windshield, hands gripping the steering so hard that his knuckles showed white. Unwilling to wait any longer, she reached across him and hit the unlock button. Ella then leaped from her side of the car, ignoring his plea for her to stay put. There just wasn’t time to explain anything to him right now.

  “Lock the door behind me.”

  She slammed the car door behind her and walked into the fray, watching the witch and vampire fight with demons. All her thoughts of Jeremy fled her mind. Somewhere in her mind she considered how strange this all seemed—she was contemplating how to help a witch fight demons as though this was somehow normal. But she didn’t pay it any attention. After all, this was her new normal now. Her mind quickly shifted from worry to what she should do next. Ella hadn’t the slightest idea how to fight these creatures, but she had to do something. A horde of unsightly creatures moved toward the car, and she had one last thought before leaping to action. Whatever she did, it was certainly more than Jeremy could do.

  Ella tackled the nearest demon as they advanced again toward the car, amazed by her own strength. Apparently the magic that had begun to push them back was fading. She hit the ground from the impact with the creature, her fall cushioned by the fish-like creature, and the rotten stink of him caused her eyes to water.

  Another smelly thing pulled her off her victim, and she screamed. Before she could do much else, it leaned in to kiss her. She was horrified and her mind racing.

  Why would this thing want to kiss me? Disgusting.

  As his rotten lips came closer, she wanted desperately to look away but couldn’t. Its red eyes held hers in a trance, making it difficult to think.

  This one seemed to be different than the others. Instead of reeking of rotten fish, he smelled like a different kind of decay and filth. She wondered idly if this is what a dead body looked like. His skin—she assumed it was a boy—appeared to be flaking off in layers. She found it impossible to look away from.

  “Ella!” Dillan’s voice sounded distant. She felt like she was in quicksand. She couldn’t fight whatever it was doing. She couldn’t turn her head. She couldn’t close her eyes to save herself from the horror of those cursed red eyes.

  She snapped out of her fog the moment Dillan’s body knocked the demon away from her. Her mind felt muddled, but she looked around trying to see something in the night besides the red eyes that she knew would haunt her dreams.

  Her eyes focused as her brain gained speed, and she saw Dillan fought three of the demon creatures. Somehow, he held his own.

  Dammit. How do I fight these things?

  She watched Dillan shove and punch and wished she could be as effective as him in a fight.

  Two more creatures appeared out of the night and leaped toward Dillan, trying to turn the odds in their favor.

  Ella screamed at the horde of monsters who seemed to be getting the better of Dillan and leaped on top of the pile.

  “Get away from him,” she shrieked. It occurred to her that this was a lot like the dog-pile-on-daddy game she used to play with her parents when she was a little girl. Nobody died during that family game. Those days seemed so far away. There was much more at stake here.

  Her screams didn’t do much. They distracted the demons for a only a brief moment. But it was enough to get Dillan out from underneath the pile of writhing bodies.

  He grabbed Ella’s shoulders, his movements rough and jerky. He moved her quickly to a safe distance from the monsters.

  “Ella,” he yelled gruffly, “go. Take Jeremy and go. Take him somewhere safe. I cannot protect you and fight.”

  “Dillan, no. I want to help you.”

  “No, Ella! NO! Go. Go now. I’ll find you. Go the Stone Forest. Isabella’s returned, so nobody will be there now. It’s probably the safest place in all of Cedar Falls right now. Wait for me there. You have got to go.”

  He turned and ran back into the horde, ignoring her protests, and Ella watched him tackle another monster.

  She stood, uncertain of what to do, while watching the mayhem. She couldn’t leave, but Dillan made a good point about getting Jeremy to safety.

  Ella decided Dillan was right. The Stone Forest. All the creatures opposing Dillan would come here for him, including Cedric. And since Isabella was here then everyone else had broken free already.

  Ella ran for the car at the edge of the driveway. She met Jeremy’s eyes in the rear-view mirror as she wrenched the door open. She slid in next to Jeremy

  “Drive. We’ve got to get out of here.”

  He didn’t question her at all, for once.

  “Where to?”

  “Head up the canyon. I’ll tell you on the way.”

  She turned and looked over her shoulder and gasped in horror. She saw the witch collapsed on the lawn, apparently having exhausted the last bit of her magic. Worse, her last view of Dillan was of him being overrun by at least ten demonic creatures.

  If they were down, she certainly couldn’t do anything to help them, but she could make sure Jeremy was safe. The creatures would likely come for her eventually if Dillan and Isabella didn’t defeat Cedric, but she’d lead them out of Cedar Falls so that Dillan and Chloe and Jeremy would be safe.

  Suddenly Jeremy shouted, “Chloe! There.” He pointed up the road and Ella saw Chloe pulled over on the side of the road. “The demon, it came to my house and I told her to take my truck and meet me at the Stone mansion.”

  “Great.” Ella raced toward her, pulling over just next to her car.

  “Ella? What the hell is going on?” She looked between Ella and Jeremy, clearly confused and probably not a little bit pissed off. Super pissed off. And a little terrified.

  “I can’t explain right now, but I will I pro
mise. Follow me. I’ll take you somewhere safe and explain everything.”

  Ella didn’t wait for Chloe’s response. Instead, she peeled out and checked the rear view mirror to make sure Chloe followed. Luckily for her, she had. The worst thing she could have done just then was go to Dillan’s.

  Now, Ella thought, I’ve got to figure out how to tell them what’s happened. I supposed after an encounter with the stinky, yellow-eyed demon, my story might not seem as strange anymore. Maybe, by some miracle, I could still have a life with my friends. Here’s hoping.

  She sped down the highway with a tiny bit of hope.

  2 Isabella

  Isabella sighed with relief as the car pulled out of the driveway. Now they’d be able to fight without worrying about children getting in the way.

  She was dizzy from having been knocked down by the demons before they’d turned their attention to Dillan. She pulled herself up as she watched Dillan.

  She smiled as he fought hand-to-hand with at least a half a dozen creatures. She knew how good he was and wasn’t worried for his safety. Although, she was slightly giddy watching him take a beating. She certainly didn’t want him mortally wounded, but a little abuse was only fair—considering all they sacrificed, especially those one hundred and fifty years of imprisonment.

  He called to her from somewhere under the pile of horrid-smelling lake demons.

  “Isabella? I haven’t got all day.”

  She rolled her eyes and considered Cedric’s demons. He could have been a bit more creative in his demon summoning. I mean, really, lake demons? How boring. Rather a poor choice for land fighting, she thought. If we were fighting these in the water, this would be much tougher. Cedric is clearly off his game.

  Dillan’s voice sounded a little more irritated as he continued to call for her. “A little help here, Isabella? I know you enjoy seeing me suffer, but…”

  Deciding he’d suffered enough, she trapped all of the creatures that were on Dillan in a grip of air with just a flick of her wrist.

  Dillan stumbled to his feet, looking annoyed.

  Good, she thought.

  “About time, Isabella,” he spoke, if a bit breathless. “What were you waiting for?”

  She grinned at him and winked. “It was the least you deserved after screwing this up, Dillan. I was stuck in that damned forest for a long time.”

  “I suppose you have a point.” He spoke with ease. “Nice to see you again, love. I was beginning to wonder if you’d ever break out of the Stone Forest. I thought I was going to have to take Cedric out without you.”

  “That would have ended badly, Dillan. If you’d still been bound to my magic, you’d have been killed when Cedric died.”

  “Well, you were taking your sweet time. I didn’t have much choice. He was bent on destroying Ella and her…her boyfriend, Jeremy.”

  He let out a deep sigh after speaking the boy’s name.

  “You turned her and she’s in love with another? That child that was with her?” She raised her eyebrows in question. “You have made a mess of things, dear one. Bringing Cedric back for unrequited love, is it? I should have thought that not worth it.”

  “She was dying. I couldn’t just leave her to it. Not again. Not after Stephanie.”

  The playfulness had left both of their voices, now that they were onto more serious topics.

  “I suppose not. What’s your plan? Or hers, for that matter? Is she going to stay with you? That might be awkward, given her attachment to him.”

  Dillan shrugged. “I told her I’d let her go as soon as she was safe. So we’ve got to find Cedric and end this. I’ve had enough of his games.”

  Isabella nodded thoughtfully. “I agree with you there, my friend.”

  Dillan looked at the air-bound creatures still wiggling as they tried to free themselves. “Robert’s not here. He must be with Cedric.”

  Isabella voice rose an octave. “What? Robert’s fighting with Cedric? Why?”

  “No, not really. Cedric summoned his body before he could come through on his own and had it possessed with a demon. When we find him, we’ll need to exorcise the demon without damaging Robert’s body. You’ll help me, I hope?”

  She nodded, chewing her lip as she thought. “Of course. It will be a tricky thing to get Robert’s own spirit back into his body, though. I’m not certain where he’ll be. I was the last one to come out of the Forest.”

  She watched Dillan’s eyes glint with rage. She rushed to reassure him.

  “I said tricky. Not impossible. Don’t worry. We’ll work it out. Robert will be fine.”

  Dillan nodded, but she could see the skepticism in his eyes.

  He tilted his head in the direction of the creatures again. “What are you going to do with them?”

  Isabella shrugged. “Kill them, obviously. Then we need to find Cedric. I’ve just about run out of patience with that werewolf, too.”

  Dillan nodded absentmindedly. “Good. So have I.”

  “I’ll be less forgiving of him than I was of you.”

  He looked at her expectantly. “Shall we get on with it?”

  Isabella nodded as she wove a suffocation spell. They watched as the creatures struggled for air. Their eyes bulged and their bodies jerked spastically in their prison. Once they stopped moving, she cast a fire spell and then dropped the still-bound creatures into the crackling, purple flames. Dillan and Isabella stayed long enough to watch the bodies burn, making sure they wouldn’t have to deal with these monsters again. They were a small nuisance compared to Cedric’s strength, but an annoyance that she’d rather not deal with again. She wanted to put an end to Cedric, once and for all.

  They talked softly while waiting for the flames to finish their job.

  “Isabella.” Dillan’s voice and eyes were serious still. “Where is everyone else? You don’t think Cedric has turned all of them into demons?”

  She shook her head. “No. I was wondering about that myself.” She grinned suddenly. “I did a locator spell on all of them before I left the Stone Forest—looking for your fool self—and discovered that most have run off. Avoiding Cedric and this type of situation, I imagine. I don’t expect many are eager to find themselves in the middle of another Vampire War.”

  “There are only two vampires involved in this fight. Don’t you think it’s time to give this war a different name? If you don’t mind.”

  She motioned at the nearly burned corpses in front of them.

  Dillan and Isabella stood shoulder to shoulder in silence as the magical flames began to dissipate. With nothing left to burn, the purple flames just faded away.

  When there were only ashes remaining, Isabella pulled herbs out of her pouch and started another locator spell. She guessed Cedric would be close by and didn’t waste any more time looking for him.

  “The Stone Forest.” She looked at Dillan. “You ready?”

  His eyes grew wide. “That’s where I sent Ella. I thought it would be safe. I swear if he hurts her…”

  “No time to spare then.” Isabella motioned in the direction of the Forest.

  He nodded, resigned. “Yes, let’s end this.”

  Three - Dillan

  Dillan pulled into the clearing in time to see Jeremy collapse at the wrong end of solid blow from Cedric.

  “Why did I send them here of all places? Honestly, I don’t have good sense these days.”

  Instead of waiting for Isabella to answer, Dillan jumped from the car, frantically searching the clearing and the edge of the trees for some sign of Ella.

  He knew that Isabella was close behind.

  Dillan spoke over his shoulder. “Isabella. I don’t see her.” His voice was tight with tension.

  “Me either.”

  Dillan growled, long and slow, his eyes locking on Cedric. I swear, Cedric, if you hurt her. If there is even one bruise on her skin, I will kill you. Even though Cedric’s life was forfeit, Dillan vowed to make Cedric’s death more painful than he’d already planned. One
way or another, Cedric would pay. For causing all this. For Ella.

  First, I kill Cedric, he thought. Then I find Ella.

  He raced across the clearing and dove for Cedric just as Isabella wrapped Cedric in a prison of air, trapping him neatly for Dillan.

  Dillan was glad they took the time to discuss strategy on the drive up the mountain. In the past, they’d tried only to incapacitate Cedric in the hopes that he could be brought to see reason. After they learned how blood-thirsty he was, their armies were divided and beaten down. Too late to stop him. That’s when Isabella used her magic to bind him and all the supernaturals to the Stone Forest.

  This time, they knew what had to be done. Cedric would die. And quickly. But first, Dillan wanted answers. About his brother. And Ella.

  Dillan held Cedric down as Isabella’s spell kept him immobilized. He began demanding answers from him. “What did you do to Robert? Where’s Ella?”

  Dillan knew Cedric would live just long enough to tell them what he knew. Then he would die.

  Dillan pressed a syringe full of liquid silver against Cedric’s neck. It was ironic that one small move, a push of his thumb, would end all this. Dillan held back, waiting to hear what Cedric had to say.

  Cedric’s eyes widened in disbelief when he saw the liquid death sentence in Dillan’s hand. He looked frightened, and Dillan was glad for it.

  “Wh—Where did you get that?” Cedric stammered.

  “Oh, this little old thing?” Dillan’s voice dripped with vengeance.

  “I had all the quicksilver destroyed before your witch bound me to the Stone Forest. Where did you get it?” Cedric repeated himself, growing paler by the moment.

  “You’ve been away for a long time, Cedric. Did you really suppose that I’d unleash you on the world again without a way to stop you this time? Where is she?” Dillan asked through gritted teeth.

  Silence.

  “Where?” Dillan screamed, digging the tip of the syringe a bit further into Cedric’s neck. “Where is Ella?”

  Cedric laughed. “Your girl? She’s a coward, that’s what she is. As soon as she saw me, she ran into the forest. I haven’t seen her since. She didn’t even stay to help her boy toy here.” Cedric tilted his head in Jeremy’s direction.