“Yeah, but we’re here now, because of him.” She shrugged. “I’m just grateful that we have this moment together. What do you think about inviting Chase to our Solstice ritual? He doesn’t seem to have anybody in his life either.”
Surprised, I said, “I like that idea. And Iris, of course.”
Menolly wrapped her arm around my waist. “Let’s go inside—” But before she could finish, my phone rang.
I glanced at the caller ID. It was Lukia.
“Hello? What’s up?”
Lukia was breathless, sounding frantic. “Can you come over? There’s something in the yard, and I heard something screech out there. I managed to get my dog in, but she was terrified, whimpering and cowering. She’s okay—I checked her over—but something scared the hell out of her. And now, I hear scratches at the door. Please help?”
“We’ll be there in a few minutes.” I hung up and turned to Menolly and Camille. “Camille, grab the short swords Father sent with us. Lukia needs help—we need to go.”
“I need boots,” she said, darting up the porch steps.
Menolly and I followed her. While Camille changed from her heels into boots, I grabbed the two silver short swords that our father had given us. Menolly couldn’t touch silver, given she was now a vampire. But she had plenty of attacks of her own.
We were out the door in five minutes and into my Jeep. A moment later, we pulled into Lukia’s driveway and were out, looking around. I had grabbed flashlights along with the swords. As we started to look around, I texted Lukia that we were outside and to stay indoors until we texted her again.
Within less than a moment, I sensed something near. The energy was thick, the malevolence riding the breeze that whipped the light snowfall to-and-fro. I broke off from Menolly and Camille to examine a huckleberry bush covered with snow. The next moment, something burst out from behind the shrub and headed right toward me.
CHAPTER SEVEN
“Fucking hell!” Camille headed my way as I stared at the oncoming creature. It was a redcap—it had to be. “Your sword!”
I shook myself out of the daze and grabbed for my sword. Daggers were easier, but short swords were easier to use than some weapons I’d been trained in. As the redcap charged me, I spun out of the way, landing lightly on my feet.
He turned my way and whistled. As he began to circle me, three more of the creatures edged out of the bushes. They were carrying small blades that looked as nasty as they did sharp. I eyed the four men warily.
Camille was gathering her energy for a spell—by the look in her eyes, I could tell she was as nervous as I was. Menolly looked personally insulted. She did a backflip, landing in front of our opponents, a smile on her face that showed her teeth. Her eyes were ringed with crimson, and she furrowed her brow.
The redcap directly in front of her stopped short, and his sneer quickly turned into a look of alarm. He stumbled back as the other two with him turned on Camille, ditching their companion. They raced toward her, silent and swift, as she built the power of her spell.
“Camille—incoming!” I shouted, then turned back to my own adversary.
Camille let out a shout, and the sound of an explosion—like the firing of fireworks—echoed from where she stood. I glanced over in time to see a bright flare of energy light up the two redcaps. One of them shrieked and fell, but the other pushed on, only inches from her.
Meanwhile, Menolly lunged at the redcap and grabbed him. She wasn’t much taller than he was, but she lifted him off the ground with one hand and swung him like she might swing a stick, slamming him against the trunk of the nearest tree. He let out a shriek that sounded more angry than hurt and began to kick at her as she dragged him back to her embrace. As she threw him to the ground and landed on her knees by his side, his shriek turned into a cry. Menolly sank her teeth into his neck, and the redcap thrashed. In seconds, he was still. Menolly looked up, her mouth stained with blood. Her fangs were still down, and she gave me a long look.
I sucked in a deep breath, my dinner lurching in my stomach. After all this time, I still hadn’t fully learned to just blithely watch her feed. But I didn’t have time to be sensitive because the redcap facing me came racing in with his blade and slashed at my knees.
As he brought the blade across my knees, I yelped—he managed to hit, cutting through my jeans and slashing right above my kneecap. As the warm blood began to seep through the material, I let out a growl and brought my sword down, swinging like a wildcat. I managed to catch him on the shoulder, the blade cleaving down his belly. It wasn’t deep enough to eviscerate him, but it did make him fall back, groaning as he reached for his shoulder where the cut had been the strongest.
I turned toward Camille to see Menolly racing over to help her. I turned back to my opponent and, seeing red, literally as the blood soaked through the legs of my jeans, I leapt on him, knocking the creature flat. He tried to bite me, and I smacked him across the face. Then, before I could think it through, I laced my fingers around his neck and tightened them, choking the light from his eyes. As his head slumped to the side, I dropped him, breathing hard.
The next moment, Camille yet out a yell and I turned. Menolly had killed another one of the redcaps, but the fourth had Camille down, and he was aiming his blade for her throat. I bounded their way, ignoring the pain in my legs, but at that moment, Camille slammed her hands against his face, uttered some chant I’d never heard her use before, and a brilliant bolt of energy raced through his body, electrifying him. He convulsed under her touch, then rolled onto the ground, the faint scent of char wafting off him.
Camille groaned, sitting up, as Menolly kicked his body to the side. She held out her hand and pulled Camille to her feet. I joined them.
“I think they’re all dead,” Menolly said. “At least these four. Do you think there are more?” she asked, looking around.
“I’m not sure. We have to break those statues,” Camille said. “I’m afraid, though, that if they’ve placed several of them, we aren’t going to be able to find them all. I’m afraid they’ve found their own portal into this world and that this isn’t the last time we’ll be facing them.” She dusted off her skirt then. “Damn it—they ripped my…” She froze as she glanced my way. “You’re hurt—let’s get you inside!”
Menolly turned to me. “I sensed blood that didn’t belong to the redcaps. Hurry up. We need to look at those cuts.” She pushed me toward Lukia’s front door. Camille gathered up my sword, which was on the ground, and followed us.
As Camille and I entered the living room, Menolly hung back.
“I’m afraid you’ll need to ask me in,” she said.
