The Sacrifice Read online

  Kam’s sullen look vanished. “A feeder problem?”

  “Yes. Two were spotted a few blocks from here. For feeders to appear on the same day trainees are arriving is not a coincidence. Vind could already know our location.” Cy ran his hands through his hair. “Oz is dispatching everyone downtown. Once the feeders are apprehended, he’ll call everyone in for an emergency meeting to discuss our next move. Until then, we’re covering the area west of downtown.”

  Miles and Kam were two of his best Protectors. Between the three of them, if feeders were still around Asheville, they’d be either dead or in custody before midnight.

  “I hope you two brought snacks.” Cy used their catch phrase for, ‘are you fully armed with weapons?’

  “I don’t leave home without them,” Miles said.

  A devious grin crossed Kam’s face. “I felt extra hungry tonight.”

  “Okay, let’s do this.” Cy drained the rest of his beer. Keeping the innocent safe was the last promise he’d made his dying father. And one he never intended to break.

  ***

  One hour and four bars later, their search ended. A large feeder sat in a dark corner of the bar, drinking from a girl straddling his lap. He had them shrouded, so humans would only see two people making out.

  His bald friend leaned against the wall nursing a beer. He watched the patrons with a predator’s eye, no doubt in search of his own meal. As his gaze landed on them, he blinked and his head jerked back.

  Kam burst into laughter. “Boys, I don’t think he expected us. What say we seriously curb that asshole’s appetite?”

  Cy narrowed his eyes, directing his gaze on the guy feeding from the girl. In order to boost their high, they would enter a victim’s mind and paralyze them, while doing nothing to control their rising fear. The bastard would be juiced-up on endorphins, and that would leave him as strong as a mule, and about as stupid.

  “That one’s mine,” he said as he strode forward.

  The bald feeder, who resembled Mr. Clean with fangs, pulled his friend from the girl’s neck. The guy lunged from his chair, carelessly allowing the girl to hit the floor. The jolt snapped her out of the trance and she bolted beneath the next table on her hands and knees.

  “Gentlemen.” Cy kept his tone as casual as if ordering a drink. “You need to join us outside.”

  The guy who’d fed on the girl stalked around the table, stopping only inches from him. “Why would we do that? I don’t give a damn about these…pathetic…little…humans.” He spat the last three words in Cy’s face.

  Cy swiped spittle from his face and shook his head. The bastard believed he was safe inside a bar filled with humans. “Now, why would you go and say something like that?” In one fluid move, Cy buried his fist deep into the feeder’s gut, bending him double, and then circled his arm around the feeder’s neck and transported him to the alley behind the bar.

  Once they materialized outside, the feeder staggered backward. Cy pulled a knife from his belt and buried it to the hilt in the guy’s chest, knocking him to the ground. The scent of blood filled the alley as it gushed from the wound, and his eyes widened. He jerked the blade from his body, sprang to his feet, and then flung the knife toward Cy.

  As Cy blocked the blade with his arm, it sliced the sleeve of his leather jacket. The knife skidded across the pavement out of the feeder’s reach.

  Fury flashed across the guy’s face, and he pulled a gun from beneath his coat.

  In an instant, Cy plucked another dagger from his belt and sent it straight into the center of the guy’s neck. His attacker hit the ground with a loud thud.

  Cy stood over the feeder. Blood gurgled from his mouth and a dark puddle surrounded him on the pavement. The blade had severed his windpipe; there was too much damage to get information from him. He pulled his bayonet from its holster and brought it across the guy’s neck. Crunch. The sickening sound of snapping vertebra echoed through the night. A second later, his head rolled to a stop against the outside wall of the bar.

  Cy bolted back to avoid the spray as blood spurted from the headless carcass. He wouldn’t allow himself to acknowledge the fact these beings were Sivadian. Centuries of feeding on adrenaline-laced blood had mutated their minds. Now they were little more than blood junkies, enslaved to their next high. They were volatile, and would kill anyone in order to satiate their sadistic craving. If feeders had been satisfied with the synthetic blood all Sivadians drink to survive, Cy wouldn’t be forced to kill them. Everyone had a choice. In his book, taking innocent lives was detrimental to one’s health.

  After the feeder’s heart sputtered its final beat, his body, and his blood, combusted into a fine ash for the next puff of wind to scatter. If it wasn’t for the countless lives he had taken, families he had destroyed, there would be no trace of his existence.

  Cy glanced around the alley for Kam and Miles. They should have been there with Mr. Clean. He grabbed his cell and hit Miles’ number.

  “What happened, man? I thought you two would be right behind me.”

  “We would’ve been, but you kind of ruined our element of surprise. That chicken shit teleported out of the bar before we got hold of him. I followed his vapor trail while Kam wiped the memories of the humans. We have him trapped in the basement of that sleazebag motel off Interstate-40. I sort of rammed his head through a cement wall before he made it inside, so he’s too badly injured to transport out.”

  “Try to take him alive. We need to know how many others are here, and if Vind has any clue our compound is nearby.”

  “What about the one you teleported out?”

  Cy snorted. “He’ll not be doing much talking.”

  “I figured when you saw that asshole feeding on the girl, she’d be his last meal.”

  “You know me so well. I’ll see you in a minute. We don’t have time for you two to play around with him all night.”

  “You’re real funny.”

  Cy transported to the motel’s basement entrance where Miles waited. “He out yet?”

  Miles shook his head as Cy followed him inside.

  The stale scent of moist earth and mildew filled the confined space.

  Kam stood behind a cement beam inside the basement door.

  Cy listened for movement. “Are you sure he’s still in here, Kam?”

  “Yeah, he’s back there somewhere, but he hasn’t moved for several minutes.”

  “We better go in after him.” Miles faced the dark room and shouted. “Dude, we can do this the live way or the dead way. It’s up to you, but you have about ten seconds to decide before we come after you. The dead way works fine for me.”

  Cy held back a grin. Both his fighting partners could get a little theatrical when it came to feeders. Both had suffered losses. They’d killed Miles’ sister, the only family he had left. Feeders had also killed both of Kam’s parents, leaving him and his sisters orphaned. He couldn’t think of a single Protector who had not been deeply affected by a feeder’s brutality.

  When there was no response from the injured feeder, Cy motioned for Miles and Kam to flank him. With weapons drawn, they eased further into the dank basement, around old discarded bed frames, mattresses and side-tables.

  Kam motioned toward a stack of crates in the back. A leather boot and lower half of a jean-clad leg protruded from the edge. They inched around the crates. The feeder lay on his back with his eyes closed. Blood dripped from his mouth and from a cut above his brow.

  “If you’re faking,” Kam said, “I will shoot you in the head. If you’ve never had a bullet in the brain, for a couple of days you’ll wish we’d gone ahead and killed you.” Several seconds passed with no response. Kam shrugged and shot the feeder in the head, the sound barely audible from the silencer on his gun. Other than movement of his body from the force of the bullet, the guy didn’t react.

  “What the hell did you do that for?” Cy glared at him. “You just delayed our getting answers from him by at least a day.”

  �
��I don’t like pain enough to take a risk. Kam’s devilish smile slid into place.” Not from a feeder anyway. I prefer my pain to come by way of the fairer sex.”

  Miles shook his head and laughed. “Boy, you get crazier by the day. Let’s get this asshole out of here before he bleeds to death and spoils our fun in the interrogation room.”

  “Between the two of you, we’ll be lucky if he even remembers why he was in Asheville,” Cy said. “I’ll head back to the compound to help Oz notify everyone of the capture. Take this guy by the infirmary and tell Doc Regan to patch him up enough to interrogate. One way or another, he will tell us why they were in our town.”

  Chapter 3

  Riana’s heart accelerated as a bright blue light came from the guard’s gun, engulfed her body and kept her frozen in place. Oh God, what’s he doing to me! Her heart pounded in her ears as if it were plugged into an amplifier. Seconds later, the light dimmed and disappeared.

  Sweat beaded on her brow and she struggled to find her voice. “What the hell was that?”

  The guard smiled, dismissing her anger. “It is mandatory identification, ma’am.”

  “Has no one ever told you to warn a person before scaring them to death?” Riana yelled. In medical school, one of the first things she had learned was to let the patient know every step of a procedure beforehand—especially if it would be frightening or painful. And his little gun had been both.

  The guard’s face reddened and he averted his eyes. “Sorry ma’am. It’s part of my job.”

  Riana reined in her anger. The big-lug had made a half-assed attempt to apologize. She turned toward Elle, making sure she’d seen what happened.

  “Are you all right?” Elle mouthed.

  Riana nodded sharply, and breathed through the burst of adrenaline coursing through her blood. She rubbed the beads on her amethyst and lepidolite bracelet, pulling from the crystal’s calming energy.

  Once Elle made it through her zapping, they followed a cobblestoned path to a second gate looming about fifty yards ahead. It connected to a twenty-foot rock wall that disappeared into thick, mountain forest on both sides.

  “Man,” Riana said as they approached. “Not again.”

  “No ma’am,” another guard said. “This is just an entrance. If you were not secure, you wouldn’t have gotten this far.” He handed Riana an identification card. “You must keep this with you at all times. You’re required to sign out each time you go through this gate. The outer gate scans your DNA, which allows us to know who leaves the compound, and when.”

  Inside the second gate stood two, three-story mountain lodges at each end of the compound, separated by a long brick building.

  A female dressed in the same uniform as the guards stood nearby and motioned them over. She was tall and lean, with black, pixie-cut hair that would have looked butch on some females, but she retained a feminine air. Stitched into her uniform were the words, ‘Protector of the Light.’ The title bestowed upon the most highly trained men and women, who dedicated their lives to protecting both Sivadian and human races. She had to be tough in order to make it through the rigorous training to become a Protector.

  “I’m Kyra,” the woman said. She took their new IDs, and then checked their names on her clipboard before handing them back. “I’m responsible for you while you’re here, and will teach most of your classes and self-defense training. Once everyone gets through security, I’ll show you around the compound and then to your quarters.”

  Riana glanced over Kyra’s shoulder and her heart did a little flip-flop. The most gorgeous hunk of male she’d ever seen strode through the gate. Completely dressed in black, his long, leather duster flapped around his legs as the evening wind picked up. He was everything she’d always heard about Protectors…and then some. Tousled, raven black hair met his collar in loose waves, as if he’d repeatedly run his hands through it. Her fingers tingled in response to the thought. As he stopped beside Kyra, sky blue eyes locked onto hers.

  Riana stepped back as the scent of blood rolled off him in waves.

  “Hey, Cy. What’s going on?” Kyra asked.

  “The situation in Asheville is under control.” His deep voice was a distracted rumble, and his gaze had never left Riana’s face. “You need to get these girls to their lodge before Miles and Kam return with the prisoner.”

  Kyra’s head turned toward her, but if her life depended on it, she couldn’t look away from the intensity of the man’s baby blues. Her body tingled from her nose to her toes, and a delicious flutter pooled low in her stomach.

  Leather creaked as his arm reached toward her. He glanced down at his extended hand, and then jerked it back and wiped dried blood down the sides of his pants. His jacket sleeve had a gaping hole as if it’d been sliced by a bloody knife.

  He removed the jacket and threw it over one shoulder. Weapons hung from every extremity. Muscles bulged beneath the tight holsters strapped around his chest, hips and both arms. “Sorry about that,” he said. “You probably don’t want to shake my hand right now. I’ve been out capturing the enemy. I’m Cy.”

  The sound of his voice affected her like an aphrodisiac, and the fluttering jumped into overdrive. Her temper flared at her betraying body. This guy killed for a living. The two things she hated most in this world—violence and death.

  Riana blinked. “Oh…I didn’t realize capturing and killing had the same definition these days.”

  A smile lifted the corners of his full, sensuous lips. “Would you rather I let the feeder live, and possibly capture you? Trust me, I don’t kill just anyone, and this guy had it coming.”

  Her mother had drilled into her the threat feeders posed, but there had to be a better way than killing them. She could never take another person’s life.

  Heat radiated from Riana’s face. She ignored his question and looked away from those intense eyes. Eyes that drew her to him, lingered on her skin like a soft caress.

  Sivadians couldn’t read each other’s minds, but with the six girls in their group glaring at her with their mouths gaping, she didn’t need to. Why had he singled her out? Elle, who looked like the perfect vision of a beauty queen, stood beside her. The other girls stared at him like he was the best thing since hot-cakes, too.

  As Mr. Hot-Cakes and Kyra walked away, Riana chanced another glance and was rewarded with a perfect view of the finest backside she’d ever seen. Long, muscular legs rippled beneath tight, leather pants. A long streak of blood glistened across his pant-leg, as if he’d wiped a blade clean. He’s a Protector. What on Earth is wrong with me?

  “Man, your mother was right about one thing,” Elle said as they watched the couple converse in hushed tones. “They’re definitely lookers. And he checked you out like a starving dog does a bone. I think he wants to make you his next chew toy. From the look on our instructor’s face, she didn’t like that he couldn’t take his eyes off you. Maybe, he belongs to her.”

  Riana shook her head. “Well, she has nothing to worry about from me. He’s pretty to look at, but that’s as far as it goes.”

  “Ah ha, I’ve known you since we were five, and I’ve never seen you so flustered around a man. I wonder what your mom would say if she knew you were seriously ogling a Protector.”

  Riana glared at Elle. “Luckily, no one is going to tell her, right?”

  Kyra and Hot-Cakes finished talking, and he looked her way once more before turning and walking toward one of the lodges.

  The same irritated look was still plastered across Kyra’s face as she rejoined them. “We’re cutting the tour short. So I’ll only point out the buildings you need to know for now. This compound is approximately three hundred acres and sits on nine thousand acres of Sivadian-owned land. The twenty-foot rock fence surrounding this area contains treated steel, which prevents transportation. Anyone coming or going must use the security gates and then transport from the courtyard. I’m not bragging, but you ladies are inside one of the most secure places on Earth. DNA scanners are not only
at the gate, they’re inside the doors and windows of every building. This prevents transportation from one building to another. If you’re inside those gates, we know where you are.”

  “Oh, great! We’re children again,” Elle whispered a little too loudly.

  Kyra turned and pinned Elle with a hard stare. “Is there a problem, Miss Nichols?”

  Elle lifted her chin. “I didn’t realize we would be treated like children while we’re here.”

  A flash of anger crossed Kyra’s face as she closed the distance. “If you act like a child and interrupt me again, I assure you, you will be treated like one.”

  Riana looked at Elle and found exactly what she expected, a deadpan glare straight into Kyra’s eyes. Elle’s job required her to be the one doing the intimidating—not the other way around. She might have met her match with their instructor.

  Instructor and student stared in silence for several seconds.

  Kyra slowly shook her head before she spoke again. “As I was saying, these systems are in place for your protection as well as ours.” Her glare settled firmly back on Elle.

  “The buildings directly behind the lodges are used by domestic staff and strictly off limits. Also the lodges with the Protector’s Crest over the entrance are our quarters. No one is allowed inside without an invitation. However, don’t hold your breath, ladies, those aren’t freely given.” Her face held a hint of amusement as her gaze landed on Riana.

  Oh, shoot! That was directed at me. Maybe Hot-Cakes does belong to her. Can’t really blame her after the way I couldn’t take my eyes off the guy. I’ve never seen a male Protector up close and personal. All that glorious flesh caught me off guard. Yeah, that’s all it was. I was caught off guard.

  “All right, ladies, I’ll show you to your lodging quarters, and you’ll have one hour to settle in and have evening meal. All meals are delivered by kitchen staff. If you require anything not already provided, all you need to do is pick up the phone and ask a staff member. The long brick building houses the classrooms and gym. We’ll meet in classroom C at eight o’clock to go over the syllabus of activities and requirements for the next four weeks. Your training starts first thing in the morning.” Kyra turned and left them standing in front of their lodge.