Vanquished by Nancy Holder, Debbie Viguié Page B

Antonio de la Cruz had finally shown his true fangs. He’d lured everyone to “rescue” him in Las Vegas, where’d he gone on a killing spree and nearly drained a baby at its own christening. That was who was getting all the attention. Meanwhile, the warlock stalker who was in league with the very same vampire who had kidnapped Antonio had hold of Skye. And no one was doing shite about it.
    Jamie clenched his jaw. Arse-backwards, the lot. If he could take out Antonio with his wood-bullet gun once it was finished, he’d be doing their side a favor.
    “Thank you, Father Sebastian,” Father Juan said, dismissing the other priest. “I’ll give you an answer for the Brotherhood after I’ve had a chance to talk with my team.”
    Father Sebastian lowered his head. Then he made the sign of the cross over each person in the room. Father Juan and Antonio crossed themselves as well. It was an abomination, Antonio doing that. Jamie hated him down to the soles of his boots.
    Father Juan glanced at Jamie, and Jamie pursed his lips and made a show of obediently crossing himself. Bloody hell.
    After Father Sebastian left, everyone looked expectantly at Father Juan.
    “I’ve cast the runes,” Father Juan said. “And some things have been revealed to me.”
    Skye, Jamie thought, holding his breath.
    “Runes? What’s he talking about?” Jenn’s mother asked. “What are those? What about Heather?”
    “Shh, Leslie,” Jenn’s gran murmured. “Let him speak.”
    Father Juan began, “I have prayed about them.” He gazed directly at Jenn. “Your leader is right. It’s time to take the fight to our enemies. Antonio must go to Romania to protect himself from—let us call it—a relapse.”
    Jamie opened his mouth to say all the things he was thinking. Father Juan held up a hand for silence. Jamie grudgingly stayed silent.
    “And each one of you—of us—must be as strong as we can be. I have been casting magicks since your graduation, and I believe I can create more doses of the Hunter’s elixir. Enough for all of you hunters.”
    “Too right!” Jamie shouted.
    When he hadn’t received the elixir, he’d nearly packed it in and left. But to have a second crack at it . . . his faith in miracles was restored.
    Holgar grunted. “Hunter elixir on top of werewolf strength? That would make me hard to beat.”
    “The same is true for Antonio,” Father Juan said. “Which is why we must be sure of him.”
    “You said you could only make the one dose,” Jenn cautiously reminded the good father. “Because of the ingredients. And all your other supplies were burned up in the fire.”
    Father Juan nodded at Jenn. “It’s true that my things were destroyed. Including the single most important ingredient: the petals of a rose that grew in the garden at Salamanca—a rose called las Lagrimas de Cristo , the Tears of Christ. It took two years of cultivating the rosebush to harvest enough petals for one dose. But I’ve had word that a similar flower grows along the French and Spanish border, in the maquis.”
    “I was changed into a vampire in the maquis,” Antonio said, his voice subdued. “I know the terrain. I should go with you, Father.”
    “No,” Father Juan said. “You need to go to Romania. And I want Jenn to go with you. And as backup, Jamie.”
    “Holgar can be backup,” Jamie insisted. “ I’m looking for Skye.”
    “My son,” Father Juan began, “let’s think this through. We’ve no way to get in touch with Skye. I tried to reach the Circuit to ask them for news, but they’re not responding. We need more information—”
    “Damn it to hell!” Jamie shouted. “We need to track her down .”
    “I’ll go with you to get the rose,” Esther told Father Juan.
    “No,” Jenn’s ma protested, but Esther patted her hand.
    “Yes, dear,” Esther murmured. “We all have to do our part. You look after Sade.”
    Yeah, so much for that one helping out. Sade was a freak and a wreck.
    Father Juan