Rhiannon Frater - Pretty When She Destroys

“The thought did occur to me,” Cian confessed.

“Okay, the gang is all here. Let’s go!” Amaliya headed toward the door.

Benchley moved to cut her off, his round face grimacing. “Not so fast.”

“Out of my way, Bench.”

The man flinched under her glare, but the sexy coyote stepped in front of Benchley and put his hands on Amaliya’s shoulders. “Listen to the man.”

Amaliya shrugged off Eduardo’s hands. “Fine. What’s up? Time is a’ wasting.”

“I was checking the local emergency channels in both Austin and San Antonio to make sure we don’t run into any issues,” Benchley said, holding up his phone.

“Then we heard something you’re not going to like.” Jeff joined the cluster of people in the front hall. “There’s no point going to San Antonio.”

“I’m still going. You’re not going to stop me,” Amaliya declared, pushing past Benchley and Eduardo.

“Santos’ mansion burned to the ground today. It also burned a lot of the surrounding woods and one neighboring house. It’s smoldering right now. The San Antonio fire departments were fighting it all day.”

Jeff’s words cut through her and sent her mind spinning. Slamming her hand against the heavy metal door, she growled with frustration. “What?”

In the main room she could hear Cian tapping away at his computer.

“It’s all burned up,” Alexia said, wincing.

“Cian has it on the computer!” Samantha called out.

Amaliya stalked down the entry hall and into living room. Cian was at his computer watching a video from the local TV station. Lightly stroking his chin with his fingers, his hazel eyes flicked toward Amaliya when she leaned over him.

“No!” Amaliya hissed. “No!”

“They probably left last night,” Cian said.

“Fuck! No!”

“Maybe they’re dead in the fire,” Benchley said hopefully.

Aimee and Cassandra joined the group of people crowding around to watch the news report on the fire.

“It’s not unusual for vampires to burn their abandoned havens,” Cassandra remarked. “It makes it harder to find out where they’ve gone.”

“Nothing left for a tracking spell,” Aimee muttered.

“Maybe they’re dead. In the fire.” Benchley tapped Cian on the shoulder. “Right? Maybe it was an accident and they all burned? Right?”

Cian shook his head. “No. No. This is what Cassandra surmised. The Summoner and his people abandoned it last night and had someone burn it down during the daylight hours.”

“I’m sorry, Amaliya,” Samantha said, patting her on the shoulder.

“Fuck this shit!” Amaliya shouted, storming away from the looks of sympathy and pity. She launched herself out onto the balcony, her fingers closing around the rail. The scream that erupted out of her was torn away by the hot night wind. Grabbing fistfuls of her hair, she buckled over, weeping. When Cian took her in his arms, she sank against him.

“I’m sorry, Liya.”

“I want him dead,” she sobbed. “I want that fucker dead!”

“I know. I know.” Cian kissed her brow and held her firmly against his body.

“It’s not fuckin’ fair that he killed her. It’s not fuckin’ fair! She was trying to save Bianca!”

“Innocente was a very good person,” Cian agreed.

“I want to fuckin’ rip his fuckin’ head off!”

“And you will.”

Clinging to Cian as her rage dissolved into despair, Amaliya shuddered. It was as if her body couldn’t fully contain the strong emotions roaring through her.

“Liya, Jeff is going to research the rings that The Summoner wanted so desperately. Once we find out what The Summoner is planning, we’ll find him and stop him. You’ll take his head. You will avenge Innocente and Pete. I know it.”

Lifting her head, she stared out over the Austin skyline toward the south. “Do you think he’s still in San Antonio?”

“I have a feeling he picked that city for a reason. So, yes, I do think he’s still there.” Cian pressed his lips against her forehead, his hands rubbing her back to soothe her.

In all her life, only Cian could calm her when she felt like this. Only he felt like a safe harbor from her dark emotions. When she was at her weakest, he always made her feel strong.

“You are strong,” Cian whispered against her cheek. “You’re amazing. You will get your revenge. I swear it.”

Nodding, she wiped her tears away with irritation. “I will.”

“But we need to go now. Not to San Antonio, but my secondary haven. The Summoner is in hiding and we should be, too.”

“It’s all falling apart,” Amaliya moaned. She had tried so hard to adapt to her new life and just when she was finally settling into it The Summoner had once again wrecked it.

“No, no. Not falling apart, Liya. Just changing.”

Amaliya knew he was right, but all the recent changes were filled with blood, pain and death. The only way to stop it would be through blood, pain, and the death of The Summoner.

Two Weeks Later

“Lucifer’s sword was found by the Mayans. They believed it was the weapon of a fallen god and built a temple to house it. The Spanish conquered the Mayans, took the sword and the myth around it and delivered it as a gift to the Catholic Church.”

Amaliya sat in the big back room of Jeff Summerfield’s occult book shop listening to the information gleaned over the last few weeks by the young man with the soulful eyes and messy brown hair. Outside, the summer wind pummeled the side of the old house that was transformed into the bookstore. The tall pecan trees that bordered the building pelted the metal roof with nuts. The sound was a little distracting as Amaliya tried to pay attention to Jeff. The long oak table was surrounded by a strange assortment of people. Cans of soda and cups of coffee sat before the humans, while the spaces before the supernatural beings remained bare. Though Jeff and his group of friends called themselves vampire hunters, they were actually more along the lines of paranormal investigators. Amaliya liked all of them, but wasn’t too sure how effective they would be in the coming battle with the ancient vampire who had created her and infused her with his necromantic powers. Looking around the table, she wondered again if maybe she should just try to find The Summoner on her own. The people were definitely a motley crew of mortals and supernaturals.

Benchley and his sister, Alexia, were regular humans that had started off as paranormal investigators before becoming hunters. Samantha had been Cian’s mortal girlfriend before Amaliya had landed in their lives and disrupted it. Now the perky blonde was a phasmagus – someone who could control the spirits of the dead – thanks to ingesting Amaliya’s blood when the vampire had tried to save her life. Rachoń, the strikingly beautiful black woman next to Jeff, was Cian’s vampire sister who ruled all of Louisiana and up until a few weeks before had been considered an arch enemy. Cassandra, Cian’s dhamphir daughter, and her witch girlfriend, Aimee, sat snuggled at the end of the table. Amaliya liked both the women and was glad that they had decided to stay in Austin and join the fight against The Summoner. The man sitting near them was not so welcomed in her eyes. She wanted her cousin, Sergio, to go home and be with his wife and kids.

“They gave the Catholic Church Lucifer’s sword?” Eduardo, the were-coyote and the last of their crew, let out a snort of contempt. “That’s pretty stupid.”

The geekily cute Alexia shook her head at Eduardo. “Actually, it makes sense. It would’ve been made in heaven. It may have been his sword, but it could’ve been considered a holy relic.”