Dangerous Sacrifice (The Harcourte Vampyre Society Book 6) Read online

  He raced for the door, and he was gone.

  Kiera’s heart was pounding in her chest. She had never been so scared in her life. This wasn’t the first time she’d encountered the dead, but it was the scariest.

  And the demon.

  Jaysus, Mary, and Joseph!

  She crossed herself, trying to calm down.

  Kiera had to relax. Her heart was pounding in her chest. At this rate, it felt like it was going to explode.

  Taking a deep breath, she was simply grateful no one else had been in the store. Heading toward the door, she closed it, flipped the sign, and opted to call it a night.

  She was so rattled that she couldn’t do readings.

  Her focus was scattered.

  She needed some tea and a shot of whiskey to help her forget. For now, she needed to distance herself from them.

  Kiera never wanted to see them again.

  Not for as long as she lived.

  * * * H a r c o u r t e * * *

  Flynn found his mates, and Jacques was hovering over Jolie as if someone was going to snatch her away. As soon as he caught up to his mates, Jacques wasn’t happy.

  “I knew this was a bad idea!” he hissed.

  Flynn stared at him. “Go ahead and blame me. You’re thinking it.”

  He was.

  “You said she would be safe.”

  “She shouldn’t have been able to tell what we were. You’re forgetting that I’m new at this too. It’s not like I have a seven hundred year learning curve.”

  Jacques wasn’t happy at all.

  Jolie took both of their hands as they headed toward the SUV. She’d called for Mina and Percy, and they were on their way.

  “Next time, we’re listening to my instinct.”

  Flynn growled. “Are you saying I can’t be trusted to keep our mate safe?”

  Jolie tried to quiet them down.

  They were in the middle of the street. There were people all around, and she could tell that Flynn was dangerously close to going demon on them. There was electricity coming from him.

  He was pissed.

  “I’m saying I’ve been doing this long enough. I’m the guardian. Let me do my job.”

  Jolie touched Flynn’s cheek. He stared down at her.

  She didn’t have to speak.

  Her eyes were begging him to back down on this one. He was alpha.

  Yes.

  He was stronger.

  Yes.

  He could exert his power over Jacques.

  But he needed to throw their mate a bone on this one.

  Flynn took a deep breath and calmed down. ‘For you, Jolie, and only you.’

  ‘Thank you, my love.’

  She held his hand as they walked back to the SUV.

  The entire trip there, Jacques walked ahead of them, and he and Flynn kept shooting each other daggers with their eyes.

  Jacques was cranky because of what had happened earlier, and this was the icing on the cake.

  Jolie had been identified.

  He needed to make plans to get her out of there. Visiting Ireland, whether Death liked it or not, was a bad idea for them. It was dangerous.

  Witches were always a bad mess to get tangled up with in his opinion.

  The tension was getting overwhelming.

  “I’m fine,” Jolie said, trying to keep the peace. “I really think that from here on out, I’ll just stay away from witches and tarot cards.”

  “Good idea,” Jacques stated.

  Flynn said nothing.

  He was trying to stay calm. He didn’t like that Jacques was blaming him for this. How was he supposed to know the witch was warded? It’s not as if you can feel those spells or jewelry from across the room.

  “We should go home,” Jacques stated.

  That was more than okay, since no one was in the mood to shop. They were at their max for the day.

  When they got into the SUV, Flynn hopped into the back with Jolie, keeping her by his side.

  She was hurting. He could feel it. As Percy and Mina got in, he reached for her mind.

  ‘What hurts?’

  She pointed at her boots.

  Flynn immediately got it.

  ‘Maybe you should wear sensible shoes.’

  She started laughing.

  Jacques glanced up at them.

  He stared at Flynn as if he was the enemy. He didn’t get it. He’d made a mistake. He’d been wrong. Why the hell was the man riding his ass over it?

  Jolie was fine.

  ‘He’s pissed,’ Jolie offered.

  ‘I noticed. He looks like he wants to kill me.’

  ‘Please try to stay calm. We don’t need this. We can’t have a fracture in the foundation. I rely on you both to keep me grounded.’

  He was aware.

  Jolie really wanted to get home, get off her feet, and forget about what had happened.

  Apparently, she wasn’t the only one.

  Silence fell over the SUV.

  When they pulled into the garage, and only when the door had come to a complete close, did Jacques and Flynn exit the vehicle.

  Once inside the safety of the house, Flynn scooped Jolie up in his arms. He made it to the door, leading into the kitchen when he felt the disturbance.

  “Vanth!”

  There was a fluttering of wings.

  “Yes, Master?”

  “The vampyre from last night has been here. He’s been in the house. Search it, and then look outside.”

  Jacques stared at him.

  “That can’t be,” he said. “I’d know.”

  “Oh, yeah, you’re right. Only I make the mistakes in this family.”

  Jacques glared at him.

  Vanth reappeared with an envelope in her hand. “We’re alone, but I found this on your bed, Master.”

  Flynn opened it.

  Silently, he read it.

  Then he glanced up at his mate.

  “What is it, Flynn?” Jolie asked.

  Instead of telling her, he handed Jolie the note and the envelope it came in.

  It reeked of vampyre.

  She read it out loud.

  ‘You, your mate, and Guardian are cordially invited to the next council meeting.

  Topic on the table?

  Your family being in our city without consent. It will be held Wednesday evening, at dusk, at the address inside envelope.

  No need to RSVP, you don’t have an option.

  ~ County Cork Council’

  Jacques didn’t know what to say.

  “I guess not telling the council there were vampyres in town was my fault too,” Flynn stated. “Oh wait. That was your call. It looks like you screwed up too.”

  Jacques stared at his mate.

  His words pissed him off.

  Then Jacques did something completely out of character.

  He attacked Flynn.

  ∞ Chapter Seven ∞

  Paris

  They hunted for their next hit of energy. Together, they’d worked out a system. They’d tried their best to find food, but they were children when it came to the hierarchy. Paris was a city full of much older vampyres.

  They were struggling.

  They might have to leave.

  Truth be told, Mathew was a loose cannon, and Clariel didn’t know how long they had before he started losing it. With each hunt, she had to stay in his mind, making sure he didn’t kill a human. Basically, she had to babysit him.

  It was draining.

  That wasn’t all.

  He was skipping his art classes, tossing away any hope at a future, and she didn’t know what to do. She was afraid for both of them at this point.

  His behavior was getting risky.

  As they tracked the man into the alley, Clariel used herself as bait. He was a horrible human being, and they both knew it. He preyed on the weak, the poor, and the destitute.

  They’d picked him for that reason.

  Well, Mathew had picked him.

  C
lariel just wanted to take his energy, and then be done with it, but they’d gone nearly two months without blood, and it was beginning to make them weak.

  She’d only agreed to it if Mathew promised to take some, and let the man go.

  She’d go first.

  So, as they followed him into the alley, Clariel dropped down behind him. “Excuse me. Can you tell me how to get to Rue one twenty-five?” she asked.

  He spun around, surprised at her being there.

  “Oui.”

  He moved toward her, and he looked like the typical pervert. Clariel was dressed to attract attention, and from the look on his face, she’d done it.

  As he moved within arm range, she moved at him, burying her fangs in his throat. Slowly, she slipped into his sick, twisted, and perverted mind to control him.

  As she reached the limit she could take, Mathew appeared.

  He moved in for the second feeding.

  “He’s all yours,” she said. “He tastes like evil.”

  “You better go stand watch. We don’t need to get caught,” he stated.

  Clariel went off, doing what he asked.

  In the meantime, Mathew feasted.

  He didn’t stop.

  He didn’t keep his promise.

  As the man’s body went limp in his arms, he drank him dry.

  Immediately, he felt better.

  He wasn’t weak like he had been. The blood had made him feel alive.

  Dropping the man, he started back toward Clariel at the mouth of the alley. He was blocking her, so she wouldn’t know what he’d done.

  “Is he okay?”

  “Oh, he’s fine. He’s resting peacefully.”

  She followed him out, linking her arm through his. “Thank you for not killing him,” she said, smiling at him. “If we just feed this way, we’ll be okay.”

  “I agree. I feel better already.”

  She let him lead her back to the art district.

  All the while, Mathew was thinking about what he’d done.

  And how killing the human felt right.

  * * * H a r c o u r t e * * *

  County Cork

  Ireland

  When he slammed into him, Flynn was ready for it. He smelled the anger well before his mate took him to the ground. At first, he was ready to defend himself. Then he felt the heat coming from the tattoo on Jacques’s chest.

  He was wearing a protection symbol, and Jolie was at risk. It had activated, and now they had to ride it out. Like with his tattoo, he had been helpless to stop it. Being a demon was one thing, but these markings were from Death herself.

  It was stronger than Jacques.

  In that split second, he had to decide if he would fight, or let Jacques kick the shit out of him.

  For Jolie, he went with the latter.

  They slid across the kitchen, Percy and Mina pulling Jolie out of the way.

  “Jacques!” Jolie shouted, trying to get to her downed mate. Jacques was above him, pummeling Flynn with his fists and claws, but Percy held her back.

  He was speaking in some language they didn’t understand, and Flynn wasn’t defending himself.

  Jolie watched as one mate tried to calm the other, even as he was taking blow after blow to the body.

  Flynn’s eyes remained blue, his fangs stayed hidden, and he let Jacques wail on him.

  She was scared.

  Flynn remained focused. Jacques was lost in the tattoo. There was nothing he could do to stop him. It looked like he needed to let it run its course.

  When he went for Flynn’s jugular with a silver blade, Jolie gasped.

  He slashed, severing the artery.

  Blood sprayed out, coating them both. It wasn’t the normal spray of blood, but instead the black murk that proved he was a demon.

  Jolie wanted to weep.

  “Flynn! Protect yourself!”

  He couldn’t do that. It would mean Jacques’s life.

  Although Flynn couldn’t die, it still hurt like hell.

  He hissed, baring his fangs as he shoved Jacques from his body. His big worry was he’d go for Jolie. If he stayed focused on him, they’d be fine.

  When Jacques lunged for him, he felt it.

  His heart stuttered.

  His body went numb as he stared down at the blade sticking out of his heart.

  He didn’t have long.

  ‘Protect Jolie,’ he whispered to Percy.

  Then he went out.

  Jacques could see what he was doing.

  It was the weirdest feeling to be watching his body under some kind of spell, but not being able to stop it.

  He could see himself pummeling Flynn.

  He could see his mate take punishing blow after blow to his face and body.

  Jacques was hurting someone he loved, and he wanted to stop—only he couldn’t.

  He couldn’t get off the ride.

  When Flynn pushed him off his body, he needed to stop this. He commanded his body to end it, only that’s wasn’t the outcome he wanted.

  He watched as he slashed his mate’s jugular with a silver blade from his boot. He could taste his blood as it splashed across his face, chest, and arms.

  He screamed his mate’s name, begging him to put him down or stop him.

  Then he saw the most horrific thing in his life. He lunged for Flynn, burying the dagger in his heart.

  There was Jolie’s scream.

  Flynn falling to the ground.

  It was all a nightmare for him.

  Only it wasn’t over.

  Then Jacques turned on his other mate, heading her way. Jolie moved toward him, and he prayed she’d run for her life. He couldn’t stop.

  He was going to hurt her next.

  It was then that a part of him died inside.

  She called Death.

  Jolie wasn’t sure that would work, but what choice did she have? Vanth was standing there, helpless to do anything. She could put him down, but it would likely be for good.

  Flynn was on the floor, motionless.

  This was up to Jolie.

  Whatever was possessing Jacques was out of control, and she was likely the only one who could stop it.

  As the black tendrils crept from her body, she had to hope that Death would help her. After all, she wanted to feed on energy, and Jacques needed to be slowed down. Hopefully, it would work.

  The darkness coated her mate. It was beginning to drain him of his fight—and whatever else had possessed him.

  It slowed him down.

  Jacques went to his knees.

  It was working.

  Just as he fell backward, landing on the floor, she pulled Death back to her. She’d drained Jacques enough to push him into death’s grasp for now.

  Silence fell as no one could believe what they’d seen.

  As soon as she was back in control, she raced toward Flynn. “Check on Jacques,” she ordered, pulling her mate into her lap. He wasn’t healing, and she suspected it had everything to do with the blade sticking grotesquely out of his heart.

  Mina crawled toward Jolie and Flynn while Vanth and Percy stood over Jacques.

  “Is he dead, Mistress? Is Master Flynn gone?”

  Jolie reached for the blade. “He’s dead, but he’ll be back.”

  The second it was pulled from his body, he gasped that first breath. Immediately, his wounds closed.

  Mina yelped and couldn’t believe her eyes. That was something you didn’t see every day.

  “Flynn! You scared me,” Jolie said, touching his bloody cheek.

  He stared up at her. “Did he hurt you?” he asked. Flynn wouldn’t be able to contain his rage if he did. Tattoo or not, there were limits.

  “I’m good. I called for Death, and it drained him. Why didn’t you fight back?” she asked.

  “It was the tattoo,” he offered, sitting up.

  He noticed Mina was staring at him with fear, shock, and a little curiosity thrown into the mix. “For the record—that sucked.”


  “Do you need energy, Master?” she asked, not sure what she should do. Mina had been around the vampyres for years, and this was definitely a new trick.

  “I’m good.”

  “He’s activated?” she asked.

  “Yeah, and I think it was because you were in danger, and it set something off in him. He carries the symbol of the protection God, so I’m not shocked. Fighting him wasn’t the way to get it to pass.”

  Jolie kissed him softly on the lips. “God! I love you.” In that moment, she realized what he did. “You let him beat on you so he’d wear down.”

  “If I attacked him, I would have killed him. I could feel my tattoo reacting, and I didn’t need it to escalate. Mine is the symbol of battle.”

  She touched his cheek.

  “Is he okay?” Flynn asked, glancing over.

  “He’s empty and with death,” Vanth offered. “He’ll wake when she lets him.”

  They were glad.

  “Can you get him to our bed and cleaned up?” Flynn asked the other demon.

  “Can I lick him?” Vanth asked.

  “Yes,” stated Flynn.

  “No!” corrected Jolie.

  “Come on! Think of the fun I can have with this when he wakes up. He did try to kill me,” Flynn reminded her.

  “Flynn!”

  “Take him upstairs, and you can’t lick him. Jolie won’t let you.”

  There was a flutter of wings. “She’s a spoilsport. It’s not like I was going to eat any of his dangly bits.”

  Jolie pointed at her. “I need those dangly bits, and stop laughing, Flynn. Don’t get Vanth started.”

  He couldn’t help it.

  It was funny.

  Percy and Mina looked around the wrecked kitchen. The place was a mess.

  “We better clean this up.”

  Flynn was grateful. “Where’s that note? Jolie and I are going to get cleaned up, and she and I are going to discuss this in the family room.”

  “Without Jacques?” Jolie asked.

  He glanced over at her. “Want me to wake him? We have six or seven more rooms he can trash, and I love the feeling of having my jugular cut and heart impaled.”