Break You (Stake You #3)

By Claire Farrell

Devlin O’Mara’s world has been turned upside down time and time again since she first came across a vampire. And it’s not over yet.

The vampires may have left her small town alone for a while, but they’ve provoked curfews and martial law in the capital city. The aftermath of their last attacks are still rippling outward, and it soon becomes clear that Emily’s sire is gathering an army.

Even though her personal life has fallen apart, Devlin can’t let the vampires win, no matter how much they hurt the people she loves. Death is everywhere, and the only way to win is through joining forces with unusual allies.

One final battle is coming. But who will survive?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Claire Farrell
• Release date: Feb 22, 2015
• ISBN: 9781311396709

Claire Farrell

Claire Farrell is an Irish author who spends her days separating warring toddlers. When all five children are in bed, she overdoses on caffeine in the hope she can stay awake long enough to write some more dark flash fiction, y/a paranormal romance and urban fantasy.

Book preview

Prologue

Afinal achingly slow thump, and then the heart gave up for good. And there it was. That empty space in a memory he had spent lifetimes trying to resuscitate. That frustratingly brief illusion of peace that he craved during every moment of his existence. He saw it as a connection to an ethereal world that was out of his reach, a whispered promise of a better place if only he could see past the fog.

But only a split second of satisfaction followed before the rage engulfed him anew. He ripped out his lifeless victim’s throat and tossed the body away. It slammed against the wall then crumpled and came to rest on top of countless more bodies. As lifeless as a ragdoll stuffed with cloth and straw. And that’s what humans should be to him. Objects. Playthings. Food. Nothing more. Not this irritant that rubbed at his nerves and consumed his thoughts.

He wiped the blood from his mouth and looked at his hand. The smear already looked dead, empty of the essence he desired. He was still thirsty, but the blood wouldn’t satisfy, not anymore. Had it ever? He was too old to remember.

Something thrummed. He slunk across the room like a big cat on the hunt. There it was again. He moved until the irregular heartbeat sounded directly at his feet. Unfinished business. He grabbed an arm from the offending human who dared to live too long, yanking the limb free from its socket.

Frustration. All he felt was an impotent sense of frustration. He threw the arm at his children and let out an almighty roar that made the very walls shudder. The sound reminded him of his power.

His son stared at nothing, as immovable as always. This one didn’t flinch, not even when the arm hit his head. Unflappable, or perhaps too stupid to care, this one was never driven by bloodlust. His favourite progeny was a mindless soldier first. Reliable. He had been able to tell the boy would work when he saw the child hunt one of his village’s dogs, a favoured pet of the chief, without remorse. He had returned for the man, satisfied by the lack of empathy and intelligence in those ice-cold eyes.

His daughter, on the other hand, cowered in the corner, whispering prayers to a false god from her human life, words she should have forgotten by now. She had been his mistake, and yet he had persevered for so long, refusing to acknowledge his error. The child of a slave, her diluted skin colour marked her as different to both sides of her heritage. He had come upon her as she fled from a gang of men. Their movements had triggered the instinctual hunter within, and he had killed them all only to see her standing a few feet away, just… watching him. What he thought had been a defiance, perhaps even a desire, had only been terror. She had been too much of a coward to run.

And a coward she had remained. Her only desires were to control men in the way they had once controlled her. Except it was merely the illusion of control, backed up with the force of her pathetic thrall. That wasn’t as bad as her need to feel free. In that desire, she had defied even him.

The second generation were weak. The third were unhinged. This was why he forbade his children from siring Thirds. Only the Firsts were strong. He only knew of ten left, counting himself. Only ten perfect examples. Ten.

He had chosen badly with his daughter, he acknowledged as he pulled another living, breathing, whimpering human to his chest. He had picked her for the wrong reasons, but he had always been eager to explore what would happen to the second generation, the nuances that made them differ from one another. Was it the human version of themselves that weakened them so, or was there simply no chance at the purity that existed in him? This was one experiment that should end, he decided as he watched her wrap her arms around her body as though seeking comfort. His kind neither needed nor desired human comforts, and away from him, her life had descended into luxury and decadence. His next choice would be an improvement.

A dull pain spread across his chest, and he looked down in surprise, having half forgotten what he was doing. The human struggled in his arms, fighting like a cat, hissing and scratching. He observed her with interest. Dark eyes and hair, and a filthy mouth. This was the kind of human he should have sired. A survivor, even in the face of death. He had to respect the ones who refused to give up, even when safety was the dullest glimmer in a far off distance. He rewarded those with a quick death. Nodding with respect, he broke her neck and fed.

But it wasn’t enough to quell the storm inside him. He was angry, angrier than he had been in centuries. He had been forced to rescue his daughter from humans. Having managed to lose two consecutive Thirds, she had been surrounded by humans when he came for her. He should have let her die, but his pride was a living thing. All-consuming. His pride said he would teach the humans a lesson. Break them completely.

He had spent too long on a dying planet, too long being hunted and hiding his existence to let a couple of humans away with their sins. Something inside of him had been breaking for centuries as the world had closed in on him, changing so swiftly that he had been left behind. His control had eroded, piece by piece. This was too much. When he saw his daughter, it only reminded him of her failure. Of human successes. He couldn’t let it go. Children killing vampires. If he wasn’t so angry, he would turn them himself. But they didn’t deserve that.

And the hunters were closing in again. Their numbers rose and fell like the waves, but they had been following him for centuries, and he had recently given them the chance to catch up to him.

For the first time, he had slowed down, but there had been something freeing about it. Nature dictated that he should never be the hunter. Nature could never be fooled. Nature was always right. It had been so long since he felt true satisfaction, so long since his needs were satiated. His vague memories of the days when he could hunt humans at his leisure were no longer enough.

He had led the hunters on a merry chase, but it was time to shift the dynamics into their rightful places, to lure the hunters to their deaths.

It was time the humans remembered truths long forgotten. Time the real hunters came out from behind the shadows. He was in charge. He was in control. And he would kill as many as it took to force the humans to collectively cower as his own daughter did. He would destroy their hope, and they would see him as a god.

He dropped the body, unable to taste past his rage. He glanced over his shoulder at a group of beaten humans, huddling together at the back of the room. The stench of urine gave him a headache.

Kill them, he commanded. Kill them all. Make them suffer.

His son moved without hesitation. The screams for mercy came as he left the room, and a little of the hate eased. But not enough. Never enough. He would teach his children what it meant to be vampyre, if it was the last thing he ever did. He would show them how to break the humans until they begged for mercy. And his kind would be kings once again.

Chapter 1

Icaught a cardboard box full of breakables before Maisy dropped it on her toes.

She lifted her shoulders in a sheepish shrug. Sorry.

I set the box down on the pavement. Sit down for a minute.

We have to get this done. She looked up and down the road with an exaggerated air of concern. Leave this stuff for much longer, and it’ll be fleeced as soon as our backs are turned.

"It’s not that bad an area. Probably. I searched her face for signs of weariness. Her curly hair had turned to frizz, and her already pale cheeks were a shade closer to milk, but she looked steady enough on her feet. You weren’t supposed to be doing any of the heavy lifting anyway."

Oh, for the love of chocolate, please stop mammying me. If I wasn’t okay, I’d be slouching on the sofa, letting you do all the work.

Ha. If you did that, I’d know you were back to normal. I picked up the box again. Just don’t overdo it is all. I jerked my chin toward Base’s car. Get the light, fiddly crap. The last thing I need is for you to start passing out on me.

I left her there and headed inside, but I had to wait for a family to descend before I could start up the narrow staircase.

Maisy soon followed me, making faces at the toddler in the pram who gazed at her wide-eyed before releasing an infectious giggle. The parents looked stressed, speaking rapidly under their breaths in a language I didn’t recognise. I wondered if they were arguing, but I couldn’t really complain if the worst things my new neighbours did was whisper-argue on the stairs.

When the family had moved out of our way, Maisy nudged me and hissed, My blood levels are back to normal.

I gave her a steady look.

Almost, she added under her breath.

I shifted the weight of the box and took on the staircase as Base was jogging down, annoyingly unaffected by the stairs or the weight of the boxes. My arms felt as though they might fall off, and I had a serious stitch in my side. Being out of work for a while had really made me notice how much heavy-lifting I had done in the pub.

Still slacking? Base ruffled my hair as he passed. And did you really have to pick the top floor, Dev?

Beggars can’t be choosers or live in apartment buildings with lifts.

He came back to drop a kiss on my cheek. I can always carry you.

Don’t even think about it!

Laughing, he moved on. Maisy made a noise usually reserved for baby animals.

And don’t you start either, I warned, continuing up the stairs.

She laughed. It really kills you how cute you are, doesn’t it?

Cute didn’t seem an appropriate word to use on a pair of vampire killers.

We reached the top floor and pushed open the ill-fitting door with a dodgy lock. The same sigh came over me each and every time I stepped into my new home. It had taken a deposit and a month’s rent in advance to secure the tiny place, and it was all I could afford. The flat was cheap, and not very cheerful, but after my old house had been attacked by a pissy vampire, I had been desperate for a new start. Having a roof over my head that hadn’t been defiled by a supernatural creature had trumped comfort.

Every wall in the flat had been badly painted in a sunny yellow shade that had a habit of bubbling and peeling, but at least the place was clean. I had been particular about seeking out anything that even remotely resembled rodent droppings, and so far, so good. It was a definite downsize, and another step closer to the bad side of town, but I’d run out of options.

I rested the box on top of the others and stretched my arms. Think she’ll like it?

That was a stupid question. My mother had hated every flat I had shown her pictures of. I’d been forced to make the decision alone, and I already knew she wouldn’t appreciate what I’d done in her absence.

Anything will look better than the mental institution she’s been stuck in.

I gave Maisy a sharp look.

Sorry, rehab, she said dryly.

But she hadn’t been entirely wrong. Plenty of people in rehab had serious psychological issues, and my mother had been moved farther and farther into the restricted wards that were in the psyche part of the building. I had persuaded my mother to act a little unhinged so she could stay in the safety of a hospital while I was being tormented by a vampire, of all things.

Her performance hadn’t been as much of an act as I thought, and she had been given a choice: AA meetings and regular check-ins or rehab. She chosen AA, and it was there she had reverted to type. She found a man, and when he fell off the wagon, he had dragged her down with him, his willing victim.

All of her hard work, all of her strength, gone in one fell swoop. We had lost our jobs, and without something to do, she had clung on to another loser. Her old habits hadn’t died at all, and I had been so blind to it that it had hit me harder than usual.

When I thought of her now, I saw her raving and clutching at me, begging for a drink, for just one more sip. I hadn’t hesitated to sign the papers. She was more than I could deal with anymore. We both needed help, real help, not just me hovering around, watching her like a hawk. But whenever I visited her, the doubt lingered a little longer. I tried to keep what was happening in the outside world away from her, but her demeanour told me volumes. She knew what was happening, and she had lost hope. Maybe I had made the wrong choice. It was an argument I had in my head at least ten times a day.

I realised I had been staring into space when Maisy nudged me.

She’s going to be okay, she said, taking my hand and squeezing my fingers. Everything will work out.

I wasn’t so sure anymore. My mother had given up, so I had to keep everything else going until she figured it out. Of course, I said cheerily.

Maisy frowned. Her concern for everyone else was so obvious. That was what she had to hold on to when she got scared. She had been kidnapped and hurt by vampires, all because of me, but it was her love for others that pulled her through the trauma. I had a lot to learn from her. Is Brian staying with you tonight?

I shrugged. I doubted it. When he was with me, he was all there, doing everything a boyfriend was supposed to do, being whatever I needed him to be. But he was never with me for long. He made excuses to leave, and he seemed to always be on the move. He barely slept; that was obvious from the bags under his eyes. He was keeping a secret, and I was waiting for him to tell me what it was. And if he decided to tell me he was planning on leaving me behind to join a group of vampire hunters on their travels around the world, then I wasn’t going to take it well.

He has to, Maisy said. Who wouldn’t want to christen the new place?

I laughed at the exaggerated winking. Just do me a favour and find the teabags and the kettle. It was probably the least strenuous thing she could do, and I was happy when she agreed.

On the stairwell, Base got in my way. I cocked my head to the side, hiding my smirk. What now?

He laid his box down and gathered me into his arms. This move is going to be good for you.

I relaxed in his embrace. He was tall and broad and strong, and the cave woman in me said that was good, especially when vampires tried to kill me, but it was his soft brown eyes that I had fallen for. The fact he could make me smile at the drop of a hat coupled with his sense of responsibility toward his family made it a hopeless case. I, Devlin O’Mara, was thoroughly smitten with Brian Gilligan, and I was no longer ashamed to admit it.

You know, he said, a lopsided smile lighting up his face. You look kind of cute when you’re all messy and sweaty and dusty.

And now I badly want to shower.

He held me closer, his large hand gently touching my neck. It said a lot that I didn’t jerk away from him. That was somewhere the vampires tended to aim for. I was about to make another smart remark when I realised how soft his eyes had gotten. The look he gave me reached all the way to the tips of my toes, and I forgot all about words and how to work them into sentences that made sense.

Some of my hair had fallen down from my bun. He brushed it off my face and kissed me thoroughly. When he broke away, I was breathless. Now get back to work!

I headed back down the stairs to fetch another box from the car, but this time I had a smile on my face.

Within an hour, we were done. We had shoved all of the boxes in the tiny living room. The thought of unpacking wasn’t exactly pleasant, despite the fact there really wasn’t all that much stuff there. We had lost a lot when our house was trashed. We had to dump even more when it became apparent we would never have the space in a flat.

Of course, when I said we, what I really meant was me. Mam hadn’t had much input into the new place. Or much of anything else, lately. A part of me was happy to have control of at least one part of my life. If I hadn’t moved, I would still be drifting, trying to figure out a way to adjust. Moving had filled my time so that I didn’t have to think about unpleasant things as often.

I’m starving, Maisy said. I told you we should have bought food.

There’s not even a freezer, I said. I have enough food for tea and sandwiches.

Enough of that, Base said. Tonight we eat like kings.

Maisy folded her arms and raised both eyebrows in question.

Brian made a face and shrugged. There’s a half decent chipper on the corner. What does everyone want?

Twenty minutes later, we were all eating greasy battered fish and salty chips in silence. The smell of our dinner lost out to someone else who had cooked pungent cabbage for some indiscernible reason. The stench filtered upward in an obnoxious manner. Maisy screwed up her nose, caught my eye, and burst into infectious giggles.

Jesus, Base said. "What is that?"

Shut up! I couldn’t hide my grin. There’s nothing wrong with my palace.

Base threw the leftovers into a black refuse bag. I’ll take this outside with me. No point having the smells converge on you.

You’re leaving? My heart skipped a beat. I thought for just one night, he would stay.

Yeah, he said. I have to head on. You’re staying, right, Maise?

She blinked a couple of times. Uh, yeah, okay?

Good. You both have my number if you need me. He leaned over to give me a brief kiss on the lips. Let me know how work goes tomorrow.

I gave a weak wave as he left.

Maisy frowned. Where’s he off to in such a hurry?

Probably has to take care of his brothers. But I knew he wasn’t. He was up to something though. You don’t have to stay with me. Don’t worry.

Nah. It’s close to curfew anyway. Or it will be by the time I feel like getting up off my arse again. I’m stuffed.

I switched on the television and looked for the evening news. I reached out for Maisy’s hand as a reporter began to rapidly speak about a bloodbath in the city.

Not again, I whispered.

There have been no estimates given on the amount of deaths, but emergency services have urged people to be inside their homes well before curfew begins. This latest attack in a spate of crimes by rival gangs has—

Turn this shit off. Maisy leaned over to unplug the telly. We don’t need to watch this tonight.

I ran my hands through my hair, trying to hide the trembling. Ever since the night we had seen a powerful vampire capable of things I had never dreamed of, there had been weekly attacks. The vampires had left our town alone, but a trail of destruction had followed them. The attacks had sent shockwaves through the country, and everyone assumed it was a crime wave driven by some new kind of drug.

There were never any witnesses or survivors to these attacks, only terrible, bloody deaths. People were going missing in the capital city, and the entire county was on lock-down. The police were getting nowhere, and they hadn’t appeared to make any connections between these new crimes and the old kidnappings and murders that had happened in our town.

It’s never going to stop, I said at last. We know what’s happening, and we’re doing nothing about it, and people are dying.

The hunters are doing something about it, she said firmly. That’s all you need to know.

I knew that much was true. The hunters had left when the vampires did, destined to follow in their path. But the path hadn’t taken them far enough away, for my liking. "And if the vampires come back here?"