A Vampire's Embrace (Blood Rose Time Travel 2)

He swiped his tongue over the small wounds, sealing them up, then drew back. “Sorry.”

Wanda shook her head. “No, problem.” She then held his gaze, her eyes glinting. “Is there anything else I can do for you, Rez?” Her voice dropped to a honeyed whisper. “I’m willing if you are.”

He chuckled. “Your friendship is way too important to me to go down that road. But I appreciate the offer. You’re good people, Wanda.”

She sighed gustily. “Fine. And you’re probably right.” She rose to her feet and pulled the sleeve of her sweater back down her arm.

He rose to his feet as well, but was surprised when he listed. But then again, he’d just been poisoned by a dark fae.

He righted himself easily enough then ran his hands through his hair, pushing the mass away from his face. He’d chopped off the Guardsmen length when he’d refused to return to duty. Shoulder-length worked just fine.

In the distance, he saw several members of the Tannisford clean-up crew headed his direction. Someone must have called to let them know there were four dead Invictus in Millerell.

He worked most of the villages in this part of Tannisford, one of the more rural areas of the realm. From the time his family had died, he’d made it his mission to do what he could to guard the local, vulnerable hamlets from Invictus depredations.

The final battle against Margetta on the coastal plain to the south, should have ended the Invictus problem once and for all. But a large number of wraith-pairs had escaped into the hills north of the battlefield though Rez had thought most of those had been hunted down, captured or killed. He was rarely called out anymore to battle the Invictus. So, again, where had these two pairs been hiding?

His thoughts were drawn to a recent occurrence near his home in Boylbury. His neighbor and friend, another mastyr vampire, Devyn, had recently connected with a blood rose. From what Devyn had told him, he’d battled Invictus pairs that were both deadly and bizarre since they didn’t behave like normal Invictus.

Was the sudden appearance of two more pairs, an indication of another surge of the enemy? If so, who or what was behind it?

He realized Wanda had grown very quiet next to him. He glanced down at her and saw that her gaze was fixed on the corpses. “Don’t look at them.”

“I don’t mind the gore. I see plenty from watching the shifters and vampires fight in the bar. But I thought this was over. Mastyr Devyn battled a pair a couple of weeks ago. And a really messed up mastyr who was somehow involved with a dark fae.”

She levitated so she could meet his gaze. “I thought we were done with all this.” Her scowl sat heavily between her brows and the three ridges of her troll forehead were compressed.

He understood. All Nine Realms had celebrated the end of the war against Margetta and her Invictus creations. “I don’t have answers. Wish I did.”

“Well, I’m heading back to the Wild Boar.” She patted his shoulder. “Take care of yourself and as always, thanks for protecting our villages. I don’t know who else would have done it but for you. We’re at the ass-end of the realm and Stone’s Guardsmen could never have gotten out here fast enough.”

He knew the truth all too well. “Thanks for donating.”

She took off, rising into the cool night air.

He turned to watch the troll crew bagging the bodies and loading them onto stretchers. Some of the smoky water from the fire had mixed with the blood. The street was a mess. But the village was well-governed and cleaners already stood by ready to take care of business.

Rez helped load the heavy, Guard-sized vampires from the cobbled street to the back of one of the vans. They’d been big men. Their female wraith-mates, in strong contrast, were rail thin and light as a feather.

But as the last wraith was settled into the van something caught his eye. “Hold on. Let me have a look.”

“Of course, Mastyr Rez.” The troll leaped down from the back of the van.

Rez climbed in and took a hard look at the wraith’s face. That’s when he realized he wasn’t looking at a wraith at all, but a lean fae woman with dark lips and yellow eyes. She wore the long red gauzy gown most wraiths wore. She’d levitated easily as well. Her stringy black hair had covered her face while she fought.

The battle had been quick and fierce with one against four, so he hadn’t noticed the profound discrepancy until now.

When he heard the second van’s engine roar to life, he called out to the troll to hold up. He checked the second female. She wasn’t a wraith either. What the hell?

He went back to the first pair to check her out once more. He didn’t get it. The woman had some wraith qualities but she was fae. He’d bet his life on it.

He drew his cell-phone from the pocket of his leathers and called the Tannisford Communication Center. He provided the information as an anonymous caller, not wanting to wrangle with anyone about his identity. Having refused to rejoin the Vampire Guard after his family was slaughtered had given him a bad reputation among some of his former fellow Guardsmen. By many, he was considered a deserter.

At this point, he didn’t care what any of them thought. He’d simply made a personal vow to devote himself to the safety of as many of the unprotected communities in the northeast part of Tannisford as he could.

Given how many Invictus he’d fought and killed in the past two years, he had no regrets. He’d do it all over again even if he took a lot of heat for his decision. His friends, like Devyn and several other Guardsmen, had accepted and at times applauded his decision.

Again, he didn’t really care. He had to do what he had to do.