Vampire Fugitive: Angler

By Annie Nicholas

Wanted: Princess Maggie Bence.

That's me with a ten-million-dollar bounty on my head.

My home was attacked and I escaped, but I don't know what happened to my family.

Every vampire in the world is hunting me.

No money, no passport, no allies.

I stowed away on a ship and landed in New York.

That's where I met him.

Rumors are the overlord of New York is a real sadist.

A Nosferatu warrior named Mutt.

And he's the only one who can help me save my family.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Annie Nicholas
• Release date: Mar 31, 2018
• ISBN: 9781386094395

Book preview

Chapter One

The yellow aura surrounding New York City glowed like a beacon of hope. My mother rarely spoke of her birth place, but she had once said that if I ever needed help, this was the place I’d find it. I have never needed more help than I did now.

The freighter I had stowed away on cruised into the commercial harbor. I chewed on my bottom lip as I scanned the dark docks from my hiding spot. I wish we had landed during the day. Daylight was my only friend. The only time I felt safe.

I peered into the night, scanning for guards. Human or otherwise. Most of the world thought monsters didn’t exist. I knew better. I’d been raised by the scariest one in existence. Once in the city, I’d have to be careful and not attract any vampire attention. Rumors were the overlord of New York was a real sadist. The last thing I needed was to attract his attention.

The muscles in my legs trembled in anticipation. Soon...

Soon, the ship would extend the gangplank and I could escape into the city. Hiding on the ocean had given me time to think, regroup, and develop a plan. My father would be proud. He’d taught me to always think ten steps ahead of everyone. I didn’t have ten steps, but I had a goal. I wouldn’t be running directionless like a chicken with its head cut off. Not like the night of the attack.

Some of the crew poured out a doorway. I scanned the starry sky. The cranes weren’t moving so the ship wasn’t going to unload yet. The men wore clean clothes and someone had shown them how to use a comb.

The gangplank extended and locked in place.

Yes! Tendons springing, I leaped forward. I sprinted past the crew with speed born of desperation. I couldn’t allow myself to be caught. Who knew what kind of punishment I would receive for stowing away on a ship and entering a country illegally? I bet it involved a lot of questions and I couldn’t possibly explain. They would lock me in a mental ward and throw away the key.

Shouting followed in my wake, along with footsteps. They were chasing me.

Where are you going? one of them called out in Greek.

Leave me alone, I shouted back in the same language over my shoulder. I didn’t want to hurt them, but my family was depending on me. I’d do anything to stay free.

The night was pierced by the occasional lamppost along the dock. Not enough lighting. However, all the streetlights in the city wouldn’t make me feel safe. If I was smart, I would have waited until dawn before disembarking. That was the little girl inside me talking. The woman that I was growing into knew that staying aboard the ship wasn’t any safer.

Vampires weren’t afraid of water.

I headed toward the aluminum sided warehouses that lined the shore, away from the lamplight. The dark was my enemy. That didn’t mean I couldn’t use it to my advantage. Between the buildings, the night extended its arms to me like a long-lost lover.

I only had to reach Red and I would be safe. My mother had promised me.

My every breath jagged, my heart out of sync, I crossed into the darkness. Right away I sensed them. I slowed to a halt. The only noise was from the shouting crew chasing me.

The first sailor grabbed me by the upper arm and whipped me around. Where do you think you’re going? Looks like Adrian was right. There was a stowaway.

I twisted my arm like my shifter teachers had taught me and easily broke his hold. Shush, they’ll hear you. I returned my focus to the dark.

The crews’ prey instincts must have finally kicked in since they finally went silent. They sensed it. Predators surrounded us. The sailors gathered closer, forming a circle. The one who had grabbed me looked both ways along the alley. No other souls to be seen, no traffic or city noise. Dead.

My throat grew dry and I swallowed reflexively. Maybe we should return to the ship. Disembarking had been a terrible idea. I knew what lurked out in the dark and though I desperately needed to escape, I couldn’t abandon these men. They wouldn’t stand a chance. With me, their odds increased a tiny bit.

Are you afraid of the dark? one of the crew asked and gave a nervous laugh.

Yes, I whispered. Ever since someone had attacked my home and taken away everyone I loved. The back of my mind remained silent. No presence, no whispered words of encouragement, no father. Were they all dead?

The noise of fingernails being dragged over metal pierced the cold air. A shiver ran down my spine.

A crew member stumbled back against me. I spun around.

He stared down at his chest, his mouth opening and closing in silence. He raised his chin so our gazes met and his eyes filled with fear. Red bloomed on his shirt where his heart used to be. He sank to the ground at my feet, a fist-sized hole in his back.

Behind him stood a silhouetted figure who blocked the way to the ship. He held his hand out then he relaxed his fist. Something wet bounced on the cement and rolled toward us. The dim light from the dock shone on the moist surface. Copper tainted the air.

A heart.

I held back a scream, the pressure so strong it popped my ears. L—leave them alone. I was the one they wanted. They had been waiting. How had they found me so fast? I could have sailed to any port. No one knew which ship I had hidden aboard. The docks in Greece were always full.

Y-your M-majesty. He bowed as he made fun of me.

What are you talking about? My voice cracked and I shoved the sailors, trying to wake them from their paralysis and get them to move.

What’s your name? He sounded unsure now.

Run, I shouted, putting as much command in my voice as possible. I sounded like the imperial captain.

The crew charged in the opposite direction, away from the boat.

Behind the vampire, others gathered. Light glinted off sharp teeth and feral glares. I’d heard fear made human blood taste sweet. These guys would get cavities if they fed off me.

I pulled a wooden stake from the waistband of my worn, dirty jeans. Neither my clothes nor my body had seen soap since I had hidden on the ship. The wooden weapon shook in my grip. In my mind, I heard my trainer’s voice. Deep breath. My lungs burned as I forced air into them. Center yourself. I took a fighting stance, feet apart, knees slightly bent, leaned forward, stake held at chest level.

They charged all at once. Heart-ripper arrowed straight for me. His hand grasped my throat before I could blink and he lifted me off my feet.

Muscle memory kicked in as my brain shut down in a panic. I kneed his jaw, the contact sending a jolt of pain in my joint. It shocked him enough to release his hold. I landed on my feet with cat-like luck and stabbed forward, stake aimed slightly up. It was easier to hit the heart if I went under the ribcage rather than through it. I used my right arm to aim the point and the left for strength.

The stake slid into Heart-ripper. Slayer? He asked then he crumbled to dust.

I retreated, not wanting him on my shoes. I had witnessed many vampire deaths, but he was my first kill.

The screams of the crew yanked me from staring at the pile of ash. I spun around, a battle cry roaring from my raw throat. The crew was surrounded. I wouldn’t be able to save them all, but I’d go down trying. That was the Bence way.

Out of the corner of my eye, I caught sight of a vampire leaping from the warehouse roof. He landed among the sailors and vampires, joining the fight.

The vamps ignored me as I raced toward the sailors. I reached the furthest vampire from the group and stabbed him from behind. My stake groaned on impact. It wasn’t made of the best material. I had carved it from a broken chair I’d found on the ship. I twisted around and spotted the large vampire. The one who had jumped from the roof. He towered over everyone else, his broad shoulders taking out one of the vampires like a linebacker. A black woolen hat covered his head, though it wasn’t winter yet.

Mutt

I knew these vampires were going to be trouble. I should have dusted the bunch when I’d first laid eyes on them, but of course, I owned a conscience. Now, a human was dead and if I wasn’t careful, these others would join him. I straightened from the tackle that had sent three of them to the ground.

Stay behind me, I ordered the sailors. I backed them up against the warehouse wall and faced our regrouping assailants.

There had been a girl but she was too far for me to reach in time. By now, she was probably gone too. Stomach acid burned my throat. If I had gone after her, the other humans would already be dead. I hated these types of decisions. How are you planning on sharing these five among the ten of you?

Something was off. Hunting in packs was for werewolves.

I pulled out my stakes from a chest holster. It had been a Christmas present from my wolf shifter friend. It held four. One for each hand and extras when those broke. I bared my fangs and slid into combat. My speed was faster than the average vampire. They hadn’t a chance. Not unless they were well trained and could coordinate their attacks. Even then, I’d been practicing for just that occasion. Hadn’t happened yet. Vampires didn’t tend to work well together.

Three piles of ash—well two; I had stepped in one during my attack—gathered around me. The other vampires exchanged glances.

I heard the human girl’s heartbeat. She was still alive? I glimpsed her striding toward us. Get with the others.

We didn’t mean to infringe on your territory. We just want the girl. The vampire wearing a dark hoodie pointed at her.

She didn’t even hesitate at the vampire’s demand. Instead, she stormed to me and connected her fist to my groin.

I doubled over at the unexpected sharp jolt of agony. She was short and just the right height to throw her full strength into the punch.

I said run. An imperious tone as she addressed the human males. As if by reflex, her knee rose to connect with my nose.

He told us to stay here, one of the sailors responded.

Blood streamed from my nostrils and I clamped my hands around her shoulders before she kicked my ass any further in front of my subjects. I lifted her slight figure and set her among the sailors. I said stay here.

Hands grabbed at my shoulders and dragged me back onto the ground. The vampires had figured out how to work as a team for once. Fear was a great incentive for learning. I knew this firsthand. Kicks and punches landed in a chaos of strikes to my head, gut, and kidneys. I couldn’t defend against their speed, but I had been trained to accept pain. To embrace it like an old friend. I rolled and reached randomly to grab the first limb in range. Bones cracked under my grasp, followed by a sharp cry. Weak, they were so weak. Let them spend one evening under my brothers’ teaching methods and they would all learn that pain was just part of living. Nothing to cry over.

I rose to my booted feet and faced my attackers. The farthest crumbled into ash before my eyes. Behind him stood the girl, holding a cracked stake. I nodded my gratitude.

She ignored me and went after the next vampire with the same determination that she had shown me. Poor sucker.

I pulled out my remaining stakes and struck out. Soon the girl and I were back to back. She defended me as I attacked. The fight didn’t last long, though it felt as if hours had passed.

Her chest heaved as she struggled for air. She held the stake with an expert’s ease as she backed towards the sailors. Come on, big boy. You want me too. What are you waiting for? She feinted forward, stake raised.

I held my hands up and out. I don’t want you. Damn, I had just saved her and she was ready to dust me. My gaze traveled to the sailors behind the fierce little woman. They were pale. I touched their minds. Terror had a hold of them. Good—this made wiping their memories easier.

She crouched in a fighting stance and began to circle me.

Seriously? I shook my head. This was the kind of gratitude I was shown in my own city. I leaped to the top of the warehouse roof, not wanting to be forced to hurt her.

Had Colby hired a new slayer without telling me? She sure fought like one.

Forget. I sent out the mental thought in one blast, wiping out their memories of vampires.

Wait a second. The girl, I couldn’t touch her mind. She was shielded. Her memories would remain intact.

Crap, she was going to get me in trouble with my brothers.

Chapter Two

I didn’t go far. I had to keep an eye on the new slayer.

She hurried to the human males and spoke to them in a foreign language. My brothers pushed for me to learn more than English. One of them was forcing Russian on me. I had no time to study, but I could see their point. For all I knew, she was directing them on how to attack me.

Two of them rushed to the dead body. One knelt in grief while the other pulled out his cell phone and made a call. Probably for the authorities. I knew that’s what I would’ve done. The place would be crawling with cops soon. The only evidence they would find was a bunch of ash and five shell-shocked humans.

With my mind, I reached out to change her memories again. I had to be extra careful. My powers were better for destruction than finesse. It was easier to do a mass memory wipe than slipping inside one head. For me anyways. Like humans, not every vampire was the same. I bounced off her mental shields like a rubber ball. The whiplash sent me to my knees and my stomach heaved.

What. The. Fuck?

I had met slayers with powerful mental shields that the average vampire couldn’t touch, but I was Nosferatu. A few years ago, this might have happened. I had been weaker then. However, my clan had invested much of their time in my training since then. I had the emotional scars to prove it. A slayer shield would have slowed me but not swatted me away. I shook my head and climbed back to my feet, searching below for this enigma that was a human girl.

She was nowhere in sight.

One of the human men was staring off in the distance. I followed his gaze and spotted her running. Gazelle strides eating pavement. Had she sensed my attempt to breach her mind? I backed away from the edge, giving myself enough distance to gain speed. I ran back. Before I hit the edge, I leaped to the next warehouse and continued racing over the rooftops, following the new slayer in town.

She ran as if the devil was on her heels. In some circles, I was considered that devil.

Maggie

I didn’t believe for one second that huge vampire had left. Vamps hunted like tigers. Hiding and patient, just biding their time, waiting for a chance to attack.

As soon as I had seen the crews’ gazes glaze over, I knew the surviving vampire was wiping their memories. A second later, I sensed the sledgehammer strike against my mental shields. It left me dizzy. The shields remained intact. It was the only evidence I had that my father, Tane, was not dead. He was the one who created and maintained them via his vampiric powers.

Activating the GPS on my cell phone as I ran was a feat of coordination but terror made me agile and focused. I followed the app’s chipper voice, which directed me to the only friend my mother trusted. Ever since I could remember, she had always told me I could count on him if I was in trouble.

I had planned on reaching the city during the day and taking my time to find my destination. Of course, my impatience had screwed everything up and I was running through an unknown city being hunted by a vampire. It was déjà vu. I had escaped my home in a similar situation.

Uneven sidewalks, row upon row of duplexes, lampposts, bright neon signs...

A horn blared as I crossed against the streetlight. Breaks squealed. The bumper of a yellow taxicab grazed my calf. I slammed the palm of my hand on the hood for balance. Sharp needlelike tingles shot through my skin from the impact. It was cold and I pulled the oversized jacket I had stolen off the ship around me. Quickly, I glanced over my shoulder. There. A dark woolen hat peeked over a group of people walking in my direction. He was on my trail.

I continued along the street, weaving through the people. The crowds were growing thicker. Where had they all come from? I took a sharp right onto the next street, though my GPS told me otherwise. I needed to remain among the crowds. They kept me safe. Vampires were discouraged from any public attacks. When I said discouraged, I meant they were severely punished by a Nosferatu clan. And when I said punished, I meant they were usually killed. This law kept the regular vampires in line and most humans in the dark about their existence. The attack on the dock had been unusual, but I was a valuable prize.

The huge vampire had wiped four people’s memories within seconds. That meant he was quite powerful. The more witnesses I had around me the safer I’d be. He couldn’t clear that many people’s heads, could he? Maybe he was Nosferatu? It was hard to tell in the dark while fighting. My father’s clan was very small. Only twelve of them existed at one time. They didn’t bother themselves with lost human girls. Not when their king was missing. I glanced over my shoulder again. I could be wrong. If so, I was up shit’s creek.

My steps slowed as I tried to absorb what I was seeing. A festival of some kind. The smell of food weakened my knees. I couldn’t remember the last real meal I had eaten. Food stands lined the street, which was blocked from traffic. There was loud music and a stage with a band. That explained the crowds.

I watched my GPS as it rerouted my path. No matter what, I would have to leave this area at some point and make a break for my destination. I couldn’t see any other solution. The only contact information I had was this address and a name. I turned a slow circle but I couldn’t spot him anywhere. How did such a big guy hide so well?

Then I raised my chin. The rooftops. He was there, waiting for his chance to drop down on me. Just like at the docks. I fingered the wooden stake in my pocket. He had fought well and had supernatural strength. It was stupid for me to try and fight him, but what other choice did I have? I hadn’t asked why he killed the other vampires. They killed each other all the time.

Following directions, I came to a street corner where I would have to leave the festival. I pulled out the stake and took a few deep breaths, then ran. That was something I had always been good at. Something I had in common with my mother. There wasn’t much that we did together except run. I had the volume turned to the highest setting so I could hear the GPS’s directions as I sped through the neighborhood.

Shoes scraping over the asphalt, wind in my long hair, sweat trickling down my spine, lungs burning. There to my left was an outdated brick apartment building that the GPS declared as my destination. I hit the door at full speed and tried the knob, but it didn’t budge.

Locked.

I scanned the names listed by the door. Red, Red, Red. Where was it? There it was. Thankfully, he still lived here. I buzzed for entrance.

The speaker squawked before a gravelly voice answered. Who’s there?

It’s Mutt. A deep male voice spoke from behind me.

I spun around, stake grasped in both hands. I plunged forward, throwing my weight behind it.

Smooth as silk, he sidestepped out of my way and plucked the stake from my hands. Careful, you might poke your eye out with that. He slipped my stake into a holster he wore around his shoulders.

The door buzzed and the vampire held it open for me. Ladies first.

I don’t think so. My heart hammered so hard I feared it would bruise my ribs. I had led a vampire here. He had taken my only weapon. What now? I really needed a break. It seemed for every step forward I took, fate shoved me back three steps. My eyes burned but I refused to shed a tear. My birth parents were probably dead and my adopted father was missing. Broke, hungry, and...tired of running. Wait... I glanced at the speaker. Red had buzzed the vampire in, not me. I hadn’t had a chance to even speak.

The slayer I wanted to meet knew him. When had vampires and slayers become friends? Something was amiss and I had no other choice but to figure it out.

I’m not going to wait here all night, sugar. Are you coming in or not?

I passed through the door and climbed to the third floor, dogged by the vampire the whole way.

Do you have a name? He walked so close I was surprised he didn’t step on my heels.

Yes.

He waited. And waited. Is it a secret?

He had no idea. That was good. How could he be involved with the ambush on the dock if he didn’t know who I was? Too many unanswered questions. Why were you at the harbor tonight?

Why were you?

I ground my teeth. We were going to get nowhere. He didn’t trust me and I couldn’t trust him any further than I could throw him. And I really, really wanted to throw him. Right out that window at the top of the stairs.

The apartment door at the landing creaked open and a large, white haired man stepped out. His eyes widened when his gaze landed on me. Connie, why the fuck did you dye your hair black?

Chapter Three