Page 24 of The Huntress (The Blood of Legends #1)

Chapter Twenty-Four

DESOLATION

“W hat do you mean, she’s gone?” Gabriel rose from his chair in one swift movement.

Leo’s serious and concerned expression conveyed an urgency Gabriel could not ignore.

“I heard my name, and only when she insulted me did I realize who called to me. Like I said—the Devereaux sisters are maddening.”

“I don’t give a fuck about that. Are you saying someone would dare…”

Icy fear gripped his heart, and he bolted. Dissolving into a mist was out of the question with his unstable thoughts and emotions. So he ran. The wind whipped his hair, deafening his hearing, but it didn’t matter. He doubted he’d ever run this fast, which was why he burst through his door instead of stopping in time. It hung in pieces off its hinges.

He drew to a halt once he reached their bedroom. It was devoid of her radiance, her life essence, the joy that migrated to him when he was in her presence. The blood-splattered sheet lay discarded on the floor, as if pointing in the direction she’d gone. Crumpling to his knees, he gathered the sheet in his trembling hands and buried his face in it. Her scent engulfed him, and he inhaled, drawing it deep within him.

“Darius,” Leo said from behind him, startling Gabriel.

He hadn’t sensed the man had followed since his duty was to guard Syl. He valued Leo’s skills, and therefore would not protest his company.

He sniffed the air and growled, picking up Darius’s unique stench.

“Can you track his thoughts?” He tried to keep the hopeful note out of his voice, but he was unsuccessful.

Leo shot him an arrogant look and frowned, closing his eyes to focus. His frown deepened into a scowl, and he opened his blue eyes to shake his head.

“Damn it! Where would he go? He’s exiled from our Hold if I don’t kill him for this.” A buzzing sound interrupted Gabe, and he glanced around in surprise.

“I do believe that’s your cell phone,” Leo said.

Gabriel rushed to his living room, toward the bookshelf where he’d left his device, alongside the old text on Greek mythology. The sight of Callie’s arsenal pierced him…she was unarmed and vulnerable.

“What the fuck is going on?” Mike bellowed down the line as soon as he answered. “I’ve got Callie’s distress signal going off, and this had better not be a joke.”

“Someone took her,” Gabriel said, a fresh wave of hope hitting him, affecting his voice.

That she’d set off the signal made his chest swell. Although he trusted her, her sending the signal proved she’d gone unwillingly. Moreover, she thought on her feet and acted even when in distress.

That was his woman. His brilliant, intelligent Callie.

“What do you mean? You’re fuckin’ immortal, supernatural beings. How could you let someone kidnap her?” Mike’s voice spiked as his anger rose.

“How the hell do you think I feel, Barrows? I left her asleep, and that Darius would dare to touch her…” Gabriel’s voice hitched on the sheer audacity warring with the fear gripping him.

“Darius? Hmm. Any idea what his intentions are? In other words, how much time does she have?”

Gabriel released a long breath. At least Mike didn’t think him incompetent. He knew who’d taken her, which was progress in the eyes of the detective.

“Worst case? To sire her and eventually claim her.” He shuddered. He’d kill the runt.

“Shit.” Mike paused. “Any idea where he’s headed? I tracked her northwest of your location until the signal stagnated.”

Hope shot through Gabriel like a beam of sunlight—hot, hard, and needed. “Northwest? All right, I’m heading in that direction now. If you’ve lost the signal, then he might have her underground. Where did it last pulse?”

“Dandelion Ridge. That ain’t a nice area, Gabe.”

“I’m not in a nice mood,” he growled. The burning urgency in him had determination solidifying his resolve. He would kill for her. Violence and anger roiled through his body. “Send me the coordinates.”

“I’m heading there as well. Wait for me.” The line cut off.

“Humans lack the proper respect. My sire would’ve been most displeased,” Leo said as he shifted closer to stare at the phone clasped in Gabriel’s fingers.

His knuckles were white, and the device crackled under the force he applied, but he wouldn’t damage it. The phone was the only lifeline he had to recovering her. As soon as he received Mike’s text, he activated it and bolted outside to launch into the air.

“You go to the location. I’ll stop off at Dimitri’s,” Leo said from beside him, having taken to the air.

Gabriel grunted since he hadn’t given protocol a thought. A vamp couldn’t hunt in another Hold’s territory, no matter the lineage, no matter the reason. Despite Syl ruling the city’s vamps, Gabriel still had to show deference.

“Thank you. I don’t have it in me to be polite, Leo.” His words were the closest he’d come to offering his gratitude.

“I assumed as much.” A smirk played across Leo’s features. He veered to the left and abandoned Gabriel, who increased his speed.

As far as he was aware, the de Winter Hold didn’t own properties this far north. He wouldn’t put it past Darius to oust an unsuspecting family, or to feast on them as if they were chattel. Such behavior jeopardized the vampires’ position among the humans and shifters. Keeping the shifters at bay and the humans docile was a delicate balance. Nothing stopped them from nuking the Holds and Dens, and if more vampires behaved as Darius had done…Well, Gabriel wouldn’t blame the humans.

He would meditate on the possibilities at a later stage, with Callie lying next to him. He would also increase his security. Not once had he considered someone would dare to intrude. His seclusion had drawn forth complacency from his fellow vamps. Time to remind them who was the predator in their midst. He would deal with them old-school since violence was the only language they understood.

He descended to the house, landing with softness on the tiled roof. The temptation to storm in gripped him, desperate as he was to find her. Less than an hour had passed since Darius had taken her, and it killed him he hadn’t found her yet.

Drawing in a deep breath, he focused his mind, calmed his thoughts, letting nothing ripple the surface. With a slow exhale, he misted, catching a passing breeze as a diver would the dorsal fin of a dolphin. He allowed the zephyr to carry his form along the roof and down. Sliding under the door, he paused, taking stock of the interior. A fire burned in the hearth, and a poor but hopeful family sat around a dinner table. He wouldn’t let the idyllic scene distract him. They might not be aware of the vamp in their home.

Moving past, he ignored the shivering mother as he located the basement door in their kitchen. He slithered through the keyhole and down the cracked steps. The basement smelled of age and disuse. For months, the air had remained undisturbed.

He escaped the house with speed since he no longer needed caution. He fought to maintain his focus, to keep the surface of his mind unmarred. As he rematerialized, the roar that tore through him shredded his throat, setting off car alarms and barking dogs. He waved his hand to silence the cars closest to him.

Callie wasn’t there. She had never been there.

But the signal?

He took out his phone—his unsteady hands fumbling it—and followed the blue icon said to be accurate within ten feet. The flashing red light caught his eye…her smartwatch.

He scooped it up with trembling fingers, bringing it to his nose to sniff. Hot pain lanced through his chest at her familiar scent. He didn’t detect blood, which meant Darius hadn’t harmed her, for now. It was a small mercy, but he was grateful, easing the tension between his shoulders.

“Did you find her?” Barrows asked, striding toward him.

His police vehicle was just behind him, its lights flickering. He hadn’t heard Mike pull up or jump out of his car, but his lack of awareness didn’t bother him. His focus was where it should be.

“She’s not in the house, and here…” He tossed the watch at the detective, not caring whether Mike caught it or not.

“Shit! Now what? How far could he travel with her? Or do we continue to search for her in Dandelion?”

Gabriel stared at the concerned human, knowing what the poor man was enduring since he suffered the same emotion—sheer damn panic. Adrenaline pulsed in his veins, his heart leaping without a steady rhythm in mind and desperation coated his actions. He sniffed the air, hoping to catch her scent yet knowing that was futile. He couldn’t scent Darius either, though Mike smelled strongly of fear, permeating Gabriel’s immediate surroundings with bitterness.

Leo? He voiced along their mental path. She’s not here .

I’m on my way.

“Leo’s on his way. We’ll decide then.” Not bothering to shroud himself, Gabe shot into the air, hovering above the house.

He focused his senses, taking slow and deep breaths. With his enhanced hearing, he listened, picking up and discarding sounds as soon as he cataloged them. I can’t hear her, Leo. Can you communicate with her?

I’ve been trying since I left you. She’s not responding or is…unconscious.

Gabriel winced, not liking the possibility that Callie would be vulnerable to Darius’s ministrations. What he needed her to do was smear her blood across his mark. Then he could find her with ease, but since she had yet to do so, she was either unconscious as Leo had suggested, or she’d forgotten about it.

He descended to the sidewalk, landing on soft heels beside Mike.

“Who’s this Darius? What do you plan to do with him when we find him?” Mike had removed his gun from its holster and its magazine, checking its capacity. “I’m aware you have your own justice system, which I hope is harsher and more definitive than ours.”

“Yes, we do. For this infraction, I will bring Darius before our king for judgment.” Gabriel glanced at Mike, meeting his gaze, which was easy to do with his superb vision. “However, he will have an unfortunate accident en route to my brother.”

The wicked grin that split the elderly detective’s face meant Gabriel had received his approval, and that he’d look away when the time came. The police didn’t bother with vampire-on-vampire crime. They became involved only when the crime occurred in front of them or included innocent humans.

“Good. Taking our Callie is unacceptable, and you need to send a message stating that.”

Gabriel’s smile was tight and not sweet. Our Callie was to remain untouched, unmolested, and above all, protected.

Leo landed beside him with Dimitri, who’d brought quite a few of his hunters with him.

“Dimitri, thank you for this. You may ask a favor from me, as and when needed.” Gabriel hugged the fellow vampire—one he’d known and respected for years.

The tall brooding man returned the hug with a thump on Gabriel’s back.

“Gabriel. Rumors abound that you claimed a human woman. She must be remarkable, this tsvetok .” Dimitri flashed a small smile, which was bright against his olive skin. “We will find her, your flower. Have no fear, brat .” He nodded at his men, and they dispersed. “My pal’tsy will find her and the bastard who dared to do such a thing.”

Dressed in a black leather jacket over dark denims, Dimitri was intimidating with his black hair and green eyes.

Gabriel glanced at Mike to determine whether he was nervous around such an ancient vampire as his Russian friend. Barrows seemed unaffected, and he smelled as fearful as when he’d first arrived.

“Dimitri, this is Callie’s partner, Detective Barrows. Mike, this is Dimitri Vasiliev, head of the Northeast quarter.”

“Evening.” Mike thrust out his hand for a quick shake. “I assume you’ve dispatched your men to hunt for news of her?”

“Yes, my skilled fingers are thorough, and they know this city well.” Dimitri gestured to his dispersing men.

“I appreciate any help you can provide. Please excuse me. I have my men looking as well.” Mike scurried to his car. Seconds later, he spoke to Callie’s captain.

“So, we wait?” Standing around and doing nothing didn’t sit well with Gabriel.

“Yes, I have many fingers… pal’tsy in many pies. It won’t be long.” Dimitri turned, and within a blink of an eye, stood at Mike’s opened car door. “Detective, send your men to scout the harbor. Water confuses our senses.”

Mike fired commands down the line. He nodded at Gabriel, hopped into his car, and with a burn of rubber and a siren’s whoop, he drove off.

“Leo, can you communicate with any brain?” Gabriel asked. “This city has millions of rats scurrying through gutters and infesting every nook. Can they not be our eyes and ears?”

“You want me to…? I’ve never tried, to be honest.” Leo raised his face to the moonlit sky, and a painful grimace crossed his features, worrying Gabriel. It could mean many things—failure, success, but he knew better than to assume, not with Leo.

“Their minds are individual,” he whispered, and if Gabriel didn’t know better, with awe. “I’m scanning as many as I can. One of them must have seen something.”

“Good,” Dimitri said. “Tell me, Gabriel, is your woman strong enough to withstand this? Leonardo indicated you have yet to convert her?”

“My Callie is impressive, Dimitri. You will see. One or two more feedings and she’ll be mine for an eternity.”

“I am pleased for you, my friend. Now let us find her.” Dimitri shot into the air, flying toward his fast-disappearing fingers.

That his infamous pal’tsy were aiding in the search for Callie had Gabriel breathing easier.