The head rolls to the side. A final grimace of hatred contorts Ivan’s angry features. Blood begins to pool below the body, staining the tile in a slow-spreading circle.
“Drink and finish him,” I command.
“What?” Drew’s voice sounds shocked.
“Drink the blood of your enemy then cut his heart out.”
I deliver my instructions as matter of fact as I can. It’s not the fun part, but it needs to be done.
“You gain in strength by consuming his power. Live to fight again another day.”
Drew looks unsure of himself. I take it he has never killed another vampire before.
“Now!”
Drew moves to follow my command. Choosing to drink from Ivan’s wrist rather than the obvious outpouring from the severed neck. Pitiful. Drew never would have made it as an enforcer.
The pulling force of Drew’s feeding stops the spreading pool beneath the body from getting larger. Good thing Ivan was weak with blood loss or we’d have a larger mess to clean up. Joanna and Asa watch in fascination. It takes about five minutes for Drew to drain Ivan. I reach down to the silver dagger strapped against my thigh.
“Here,” I say, offering Drew the blade, hilt out. “Cut his heart out and we’ll burn it.”
Drew takes the blade, bending to do the messy task. Tears pour down his cheeks. He may have wanted to avenge his wife after she died, but I don’t think he bargained for all of this when he came here seeking solace in our remote Alaskan resort.
Jonathan comes in the wide-open fire door with Jet right behind him.
“Damn, we missed all the fun. Would have been my first vampire kill.”
Both men saunter in naked from their shape change. Jon grabs a towel from a nearby stack, tossing it to Jet, before getting another for himself.
Drew stands over the body with the bloody heart of his wife’s killer in his hands. The tears stop and a new resolution forms beneath the shock.
“Where, Vivian?” Cold eyes meet my own. “Where can I burn it?”
“There’s a fireplace in the lobby. It’s the closest one.”
Rafe retrieves Ivan’s discarded clothing. “Here, Drew. Wrap the heart in these. Let’s get rid of all of it.”
Rafe walks Drew out to handle the fire while I’m left staring at the beheaded corpse.
“There won’t be enough daylight to fry the corpse until spring.” I scratch my head, weary from the past two days, weary to my bones. “Asa, can you drag yourself from Joanna long enough to help?”
Asa jumps like I’ve stung him with a cattle prod.
“Yes, ma’am.”
Jon snorts and turns it into a cough, trying not to laugh out right at Asa’s reaction.
“Haul the remains out front. We’re going to have us a bonfire on the driveway. Oh, and go around the wing, will you—not through the lobby? I’d rather not get any blood in there.”
Asa bends to his assigned task, so I turn to face the towel-hipped Jonathan.
“Can you start calling all of our people up and get them to spread the word? I’ll call the rest of the hunters in.”
“Don’t bother,” Liam calls out from the doorway. He’s standing with Antonio and Salvador. “We heard gunfire and ran right over. Once we saw you all had it under control, we stayed back to let Drew have the kill.”
Liam pats Asa heartily on the back as he walks by carrying the headless corpse in his arms, the severed head piled on top.
“What a fine way to spend a vacation,” he says with a big grin. “I can’t tell you when I last had so much fun.”
The charred smell of a burning heart and bloody clothes in the fireplace apparently make the others think party. I’m not sure how it happens exactly, but before I could say boo, the lobby had filled with the people coming upstairs from the basement.
Warm hugs and loud, life-affirming kisses could be heard through the vast space. The giddy high associated with surviving a terrible event, seems quite prevalent here tonight. Laughs come out a little too loud, a little too quickly. Word of the bonfire spreads and as Dr. Cook mills around, checking for signs of shock, some industrious soul has set up a buffet table for the enjoyment of those who can still eat.
But still, I feel like all that’s happened is rather surreal. The retelling of “the hunt,” as they’re starting to call it, has begun. Sal’s role in flushing Ivan to the main building has become a thing of legend. Liam’s brave part, flying around as a cloud, sounds