Page 3 of Embers in the Wind

My eyes trace up the hillside, taking it in. It’s just like the witches’ cavern that we uncovered with the vampire masters while searching for the rogues not so long ago. Yet gramma wasn’t a witch but a psychic, at least that’s what I’ve been told.

I turn the old knob, surprised, when with a gentle pull it begins to open, as though propelled on its own, with no force at all from my hand.

“Hello?”

Chapter 3

Corvinus

The forest floor is swarming with critters as I trudge through the underbelly of the fucking forest night after night, only time and time again to find I’ve just missed the elusive little vampiress who wants nothing but to be left alone.

And these damn creatures are little to no help at all. I swear if I see one more furtive glance between the other as they lie right to my face, I’ll sear them all to hell with a blink of my eyes.

Why Overmaster Descallia and Lucianna, and her other friends, do not allow her time to grieve, is beyond my imagination. It’s only been days since her mate Lucas was killed, sure, longer than that when she realized who and what he was according to the gossip amid foot, but still, his death had to have hurt, no matter the reason or her allegiance.

Why not just tell her not to tread on the land that the vampires and witches have battled over for centuries? Maybe it will be as easy as that when I find her. But something about the way Descallia handled the entire thing tells me that’s not going to be the case and I’m going to have my hands full with this Embry if the rumors about that little mouth of hers are true.

If I had my way, we’d be done with this hunt. Cut our losses and let her go. Nothing good can come of bringing her back. Give her a warning to stay clear of the land and let the witches deal with her if she doesn’t obey. There are too many who believe her to be the enemy, no matter that Lucianna still stands loyal to her friend.

It would sure as hell make my job easier.

But, as long as Lucianna is determined to find her friend and have her brought back into the Vampire Master’s fold, I will be chasing the elusive vampiress who according to those along the way, have seen her fleetingly, watched her disappear into thin air, turn into a bat, and battle a demon with her bare hands and a sword, and come out winning, in only the last few days.

A female with extraordinary combat skills, said to have slayed some of our centuries-old enemies without an assist, but yet sleeps with our enemy for months and months with no clue of the traitor’s intent?

No, this female is too smart, cunning and adept for that. Surely, she would see right through the guise of anyone wanting to use her to get close to the vampires at large. Besides, she came to our community through Lucas. He brought her into the fold, not the other way around. There would be no reason for him to bring her into our coven of vampires unless he wanted her help. The kind that only a woman like her was more than happy to give.

Befriending the females, infiltrating their friend group to get the inside track. Maybe it was Lucianna who was duped, fooled by the cunning female who wanted to help her lover and long-time family friend take over as ruler of our kind.

She certainly hasn’t shown any remorse in staying with him for so long, didn’t apologize to the coven as a whole for not knowing the enemy we were searching for, the one who wantednothing more than to send every single pureblooded vampire back to the dark ages, was sleeping in her bed.

They may feel pity for the young vampiress, but something tells me there is far more than what they are seeing, far more to Embry than meets the eye. She and Lucas were friends for years. Her grandmother fought by Lucas’s side, and was rumored to be a psychic. How can people not see this female for what she really is? Maybe I’m not giving her the benefit of the doubt, which is her right.

Pain in the ass that she is…

Frustrating beyond belief. Trudging around in the forest, night after night, but at least now, I have closed the distance. Finally catching a break, inhaling the unique scent of the female from a sudden breeze, a wind that whipped up from nowhere and put me on her trail.

The minute her scent soaks into my nostrils, the runaway female is done. Known for my hunting skills, I will not be outsmarted. Never mind those I’ve encountered along the way weren’t as forthcoming with the knowledge of her whereabouts as I thought they may be. Now that I’ve found her, she’s not getting away.

The other creatures were no doubt manipulated by the female’s charms, but she won’t get that lucky with me. I’ve had enough of this dance, and in short order, she’s going to heed my word and return to our land.

Lucianna can deal with her wayward friend. I’ll have done my duty as asked by Overmaster Descallia and begin the task of putting the warriors back together again. Now that is a task worthy of a lord, not mucking around on the forest floor chasing the skirts of a runaway girl.

The scent of her in the wind becomes strong, drawing me in, homing in on my little black-caped prey. She may have fooledothers by hiding and keeping her fangs at bay like an innocent marm, but she won’t fool me as easily at all.

She looks up, gazing at the moon with bright purple wonder. There is no hiding those unique orbs of hers, no matter if she’s changed the color of her hair or has only hidden it tonight.

Embry’s eyes shine under the light, confirming what I already know. I’ve found the little troublemaker. The one who’s cost me countless nights of sleep, and a soft bed back home which I’d far rather be lying in than chasing after her in the night.

I hover forward, my cape cloaked around me as my keen eyes penetrate the trees, scanning the darkness, falling on eyes that peek out from beneath the brush, hissing a warning that makes even the smallest of creatures scramble for a safer place to be.

The large cat sniffs the air and decides he doesn’t want to play.

The scared little creatures can run, and they will be safe, but there is no safe haven for the one with purple eyes who is suddenly alerted to my presence and streaks across the clearing, intent on getting to the other side.

I give chase, one minute on the ground and the next transporting through the air, intent on closing the gap, on one thing and one thing only, catching my prey.

Seconds count, and as soon as her hand touches that knob, I lunge. Some six sense tells me that as soon as she gets through that door, she will have reached the destiny that will safeguard her, exactly what she’s been looking for, because she’s sure as hell not going to invite me in and this looks as close to a witch’s hideout as I’ve ever come.

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