Blood & Stone: Venom Valley, #3

By Hank Edwards

A small mining town, lost.

New lovers fighting for their future.

An Army sergeant with secrets of his own.

 

With Belkin's Pass overrun by vampires and wolves, Josh Stanton, his lover, Dex, former saloon girl Glory, and US Army Sergeant Walker Maxwell, are forced to flee to the abandoned Fort Emmerick. There, they make plans to take the battle to Balthazar's cave in order to stop his plot to turn every human into a vampire.

 

But much stands in their way. Josh must learn to control his ability to raise the dead. The few survivors need to be trained to fight. And they will need a greater number of soldiers in order to triumph over Balthazar and the people he has turned. Their final, desperate battle will soon take place across the unforgiving landscape of Venom Valley, and the outcome will decide the fate of the entire country.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Hank Edwards
• Release date: May 15, 2023
• ISBN: 9798223728870

Hank Edwards

Hank Edwards has been writing gay erotic fiction for more than twenty years. He has written over two dozen novels and even more short stories. His writing crosses many sub-genres, including romance, rom-com, contemporary, paranormal, suspense, mystery, and wacky comedy. Find out more at www.hankedwardsbooks.com.

Book preview

Chapter

One

C ome outside, Joshua Stanton.

The voice was quiet, the timbre low. It promised release and an end to Josh's exhausted struggle. Open the door and step onto the porch. Let me kiss you, taste your blood, compare yours to that of your man's.

Josh shuddered awake and staggered to his feet. His hands gripped the barrel of the musket so hard they ached. His eyes were gritty from sleep, and he couldn't seem to focus on where he was for a long, frightening moment. Then, in a rush, it all came back. Dex had escaped from Balthazar. They had taken refuge in the Belkin's Pass church, along with Sergeant Maxwell and his few remaining soldiers. And he had fallen asleep during guard duty.

Come to me, the calm, deep voice beckoned. Step outside, join me.

Josh turned to peer through the narrow gap in the boards nailed over the window behind him. Never, you foul monster. Leave us.

A deep chuckle floated in from the dark night beyond the glass. You're running out of time, Joshua. Your man is closer to vampire than human now. One mistake, one careless moment, and he will belong to me, forever. All of this can end tonight. You can spare all those sleeping around you the pain of day after day of struggle. You are the one I want, not them. Come join me, teach me of this secret power. You can spend forever by my side. All you need to do is open the doors.

Josh shook his head as he scanned the dark shadows that clung to the empty buildings across the street. Would Belkin's Pass ever be like it had once been? Filled with people and goods and commerce? He didn't think so. It would be consumed by the prairie, abandoned and haunted. Right now, in the depth of night, surrounded by evil, it felt to Josh as if the whole country had forsaken them.

He gathered his courage from the corners of his soul and said, I will never join you. We'll come for you, you know.

A pair of glowing red eyes appeared before him, and Josh stepped back, a gasp slipping from his lips. Before he could be caught by Balthazar's stare and put under his spell, Josh looked away.

Oh, I hope you come for me, Balthazar whispered. I do, indeed.

A loud, piercing shriek from behind him made Josh jump, and he turned to glare over his shoulder. On the altar at the front of the church, Sally, one time owner of the One-Eyed Rooster saloon, had been chained to the pulpit. She was rail thin and pale, her eyes sunken deep within the stretched skin of her face. Her hair, which had once been so fastidiously cared for, lay in dirty swirls across her scalp and knotted clumps around her bony shoulders.

Shut your fuckin' mouth, hag! one of the Army men—Corporal Willett?—shouted.

Here now, there's no need for that language. This came from the town's doctor, Doc Brandt.

Willett narrowed his eyes at the doctor. Third time she's screamed and woke me up tonight. I'll call her what I please with that kind of behavior.

Her body's still wanting the absinthe she's drunk for so many years, Doc Brandt explained. She's prone to outbursts and erratic behavior.

Willett snorted, shot Sally a glare, and then rolled over on his thin bedroll.

Josh let out a shaky breath and turned back toward the window, muscles tense and ready to turn away if those glowing red eyes should appear once again. Nothing beyond the glass now but moonlight and heavy shadows. But Josh knew there were dangerous creatures out there other than Balthazar. There were wolves and other vampires, all under Balthazar's command, all lying in wait for them.

Master! Sally screamed, startling awake everyone in the church once again. Free me! Let me serve you. She strained against the chain that secured her to the pulpit, her eyes fever bright in the dim glow of a nearby lantern. The chain on her wrist had rubbed the skin raw, and a long, ragged line of blood ran down her pale forearm and dripped from her elbow onto the wood planks of the altar floor.

That's it! Willett shouted, and pushed to his feet. With clenched fists, he stomped around the others huddled in sleep near him, heading toward Sally. I'll teach her how to be quiet.

Corporal Willett, I order you to stop!

Sergeant Walker Maxwell's deep, commanding voice roared through the church, stopping Willett in his tracks and sending a shiver through Josh. Though Josh loved and had committed himself to Dex, one time deputy of Belkin's Pass and his best friend for years, Walker Maxwell had a dark wildness inside him that had sparked an unwanted attraction within Josh. He felt a trace of guilt afterwards, but banished it quickly by assuring himself he would never act on his attraction to Walker. He loved Dex. They had history, years of it, and he would not be swayed by a handsome sergeant from Fort Emmerick he had known less than a week. Besides, Walker had not made any indication that he was of the same persuasion as Josh and Dex. And even if he was, there was no certainty he would even be attracted to Josh.

And why was Josh even thinking whether or not Walker Maxwell might find him attractive?

Willett turned toward Walker, one corner of his lip curled up in a sneer. You can shout out orders and tell us few men left under your command what to do, sir. But how you do aim to keep us alive if we ain't even allowed to get a decent night's sleep? Something's gotta be done about this harlot.

Stow that kind of talk, Walker said as he strode across the church to loom over Willett. Walker's hair was mussed from sleep, and dark whiskers covered his dimpled chin. Josh thought that if Walker didn't shave soon, he would grow a beard to connect the mutton chops that ended at the corners of his mouth.

Josh held his tongue, allowing Walker to manage his men. Instead, he turned to squint out the window again. He was supposed to be on guard duty, after all, keeping watch for any sign of organization from the wolves or vampires. With cold, trembling fingers, Josh touched the gem stone in his trouser pocket, felt the warm surge of power flow through him. Glory had given him the stone, carnelian she had called it, and it had helped him rein in the unpredictable power that burned within him whenever he was near the dead. It was with this power, and this stone, that Josh hoped to defeat Balthazar and rescue his mother from the vampire's cave. But they had much yet to do, and only so many hours of daylight in which to get it all done.

Sally turned to face the large stained glass window that faced east and lifted her hands toward the rugged wooden cross hanging from the ceiling. She dropped to her knees, whispering feverishly for deliverance. Josh knew who she was begging for deliverance, and it certainly wasn't God. Sally seemed to be in tune with Balthazar, and she reacted very strongly whenever he was near. As dangerous and unpredictable as she was, Sally also acted as a kind of early warning for the vampire's arrival, which was why Josh wanted to keep her with them. And, he supposed, somewhere deep inside, he felt a dark sort of pity for Sally.

Here now, see? Doc Brandt said, stepping up to join the discussion between Walker and Willett. She's praying for her soul.

Not likely, Beatrice called as she stretched out along a wooden bench, her wide shoulders and hips just managing to stay balanced on it. My money's on her praying for more absinthe. Her frizzy red hair hung down to either side of the bench, and the man's shirt she wore stretched tight over her bosoms.

Josh looked around the church and met Glory's dark-eyed gaze. She looked alert even though just moments before she had appeared to be fast asleep. Josh could see the traces of her white mother in Glory's face, though she most resembled her Indian father. Glory nodded to him and he returned the gesture. They both knew it was dangerous to keep Sally with them, but that she was too dangerous to leave to her own devices.

A rock twice the size of a man's head crashed through the stained glass window. Shouts of alarm rose from all of them, and everyone but Sally jumped. It seemed she had been expecting some kind of attack, as she tipped her head back and laughed up at the wood beams of the ceiling. The rock just missed the cross and crashed into the pulpit to Sally's right, shattering it into kindling. The stone rolled onto the floor of the church until it came to rest beneath the bench Beatrice had been lying on.

Arm yourselves! Walker shouted. To arms!

Everyone moved fast, grabbing up muskets and swords, clutching wooden stakes and handfuls of silver coins. They formed a circle in the middle, backs to each other to face out and see all sides of the church at once.

Eyes sharp, Josh said. Vampires cannot enter holy ground, but wolves have no problem.

You hurt? Dex whispered from Josh's left.

No, Josh whispered back. You?

Dex was quiet, and Josh risked a glance at the man, noted the shadow of dark whiskers along his strong jaw, the gray of exhaustion beneath his blue eyes, and the twitch of a muscle in his right cheek. I feel him out there, Dex whispered.

Balthazar? Josh asked. He kept his voice low and adjusted his grip on the musket loaded with a silver ball.

Yes. Cold, but familiar. Dex glanced at Josh and then away. He tipped his head left and right, his neck cracking and the lantern light revealing the small red marks left by Balthazar's fangs.

Can he control you like he does the others? Josh asked, knowing as the words left his lips that he had not put the question well.

Dex glared at him a long, quiet moment. No one controls what I do. I still think and feel as I wish.

I didn't mean it that way, Dex⁠—

The shattering of glass and a shout from the opposite side of the circle brought Josh, Dex, and Walker around to face the altar.

She's kicked over the lantern! shouted Boon, one of the Army men. That bitch is going to burn us out!

Josh pushed through to the front of the line of Army men and saw that Boon had been right. The stone had crushed the pulpit that Sally had been chained to, allowing her to get to the lantern hanging just out of her reach. She had dashed it to the floor in the pile of hay laid out for the horses that now stamped and reared up, eyes wide with terror as the flames chewed through the hay and climbed the curtains toward the wooden roof.

Fire! Dex shouted, snapping them all out of their stunned staring. We have to get out! Grab all you can.

The horses! Walker instructed his men. Free the horses!

But the vampires and wolves are outside, Corporal Willett said, his eyes wide in the brightening light of the fire.

Arm yourselves and get ready for war, men, Walker told them, and pulled on a glove before grabbing a silver sword and running toward the frightened horses.

What about Sally? Glory asked Josh.

He turned from watching Walker cutting the horses free to where Dex and Beatrice pulled apart the barricade they had built to block the church doors, and then looked at Glory. Josh hesitated, looked up to the altar where Sally spun in place, arms outstretched and laughing up at the shattered stained glass window as the flames climbed the walls around her.

Let her burn, he said. She did this to herself.

Dex turned to look back at them, his eyes wide and jaw tight in the yellow light of the fire as he gripped one door handle and Beatrice held on to the other. We'll let the horses out first to give us some distraction. They'll bolt and might draw off the wolves. The vampires will be waiting for us though, so be alert and be fast. Stakes to the heart, silver swords to their throats. We go across the street to Doc Brandt's office. Ready?

They all nodded. Behind him, Josh could hear the crackle and pop of the fire as it chewed into the wooden roof. The clatter of the approaching horses' hooves on the wooden floor of the church got them all to step aside, and Dex and Beatrice pulled the doors open to reveal a number of snarling, snapping wolves that lunged toward them.

Chapter

Two

The warm pulse of Ohanzee's protection surged around Glory, and she could almost feel his arms around her. She relaxed her muscles as she had learned to do for the many years Ohanzee had been protecting her, and allowed him to move her out of harm's way. Ohanzee tipped her away from the fangs of a snapping wolf, but then she felt a sharp pain burn up her left arm. Blood, warm and sticky, flowed along her skin, and she turned to see an Army man—the youngest of the group, Private Kirby—staring at her with wide eyes, a sword shaking in his grip as he stared at the cut he had delivered.

I'm sorry, Ms. Glory, Kirby said. I was just holding the sword like so, and you moved all sudden like, and your arm grazed the blade.

Move! Glory shouted to him. Kirby jerked his head back in surprise, and then jumped in front of her to cut down another wolf rushing through the doors.

More wolves swarmed through after that one. Behind her, Glory felt the heat of the fire swell as it grew larger. Ohanzee helped her dodge left and right, and Glory stabbed one wolf through the chest, and then used her foot to push it off her sword. Before she could try for another, Ohanzee seemed to shove her aside, back from the doors. A second later, the horses bolted past, trampling several of the wolves and, from the cry that arose, one of the Army men, as well.

Once the horses had cleared the door and were fleeing along the road with the wolves snapping at their hind legs, Glory turned to find the young Private Kirby lying on the floor clutching his right foot.

Soldiers! Sergeant Maxwell shouted above the noise. Solider down! We leave no man behind. Stay together in tight formation!

Two other soldiers grabbed Kirby roughly beneath the arms and dragged him out the doors of the church. Glory looked back at Sally who stood with her back to them, flanked on either side by flames, her arms outstretched as she laughed up at the shattered stained glass window. Turning away, Glory ran out the door behind Beatrice, keeping both hands tight on the handle of her sword as blood ran down her arm. Ohanzee's presence strengthened around her, and she knew they were not yet safe.

The vampires came for them fast. Before she knew it, one of the soldiers had been yanked screaming out of their group, and the cold burn of panic filled Glory's chest. She was protected by Ohanzee, the spirit warrior her father had called to guard her when she was a child, but these creatures were numerous. They moved fast and were incredibly strong. Could Ohanzee keep her safe from all of them? She was determined that she would not become food for these monsters, nor would she join them. As long as she could draw breath, she would fight to clean the land of them.

A touch on her shoulder startled her, and Glory snapped her head around as she brought up her sword. Josh stood behind her, a wooden stake clutched in one hand. He nodded to her and she relaxed, somewhat, and faced forward once again, following Beatrice toward Doc Brandt's office. Even though it lay just across the road, it might as well be miles away. The mud of the road grabbed tight to their boots, slowing them down and making the Army men, and Beatrice, curse. Somewhere off in the night, one of the horses let out a terrified scream, and the sound sent a shiver through her.

Cold fingers brushed against her neck, and Glory was suddenly bent forward, doubled over by Ohanzee's strong will. Josh stumbled around her and she saw his boots skid to a stop in the mud as he turned back. Glory straightened up and shouted, Go! I can handle myself! before she was spun around to face back the way they had come.

Edith stood in the road, her face in shadow from the light of the fire behind her, eyes glowing red as the sparks floating up from the brightly burning church. She had been Glory's closest friend in life, had known Glory better than any other. Now that Balthazar had turned her, however, Edith might prove to be her greatest foe.

Your spirit guide can't protect you forever, Glory, Edith said. Come to me. Let me set you free from all this worry and suffering. I'll be gentle. You won't feel a thing. You can't imagine the power you'll wield. There will be no need for a protective spirit.

Leave us, Edith, Glory said, and took two steps back, her feet sinking in the mud. The wolves had departed, having chased either the horses or the remaining survivors of the group. Now, the road lay empty beneath the cold white moon, just the two of them facing each other.

We can't just leave you, Edith said and held her hands out palms up as she shook her head. You know too much about us. About our Master.

This isn't you, Edith. You are kind and good and sweet.

Oh Glory. Edith made tsking sounds, and then Glory noticed Edith's red eyes shift to fix on the blood dripping from her elbow. Edith licked her lips and said, Foolish, bleeding Glory.

In a blur of motion Glory had no hope of tracking, Edith rushed her. But Ohanzee had no trouble anticipating Edith's attack, and he twisted Glory's body at the waist, moving her just out of reach of Edith's sharp nails as she ran past. They parried back and forth, Edith rushing at her and Glory letting Ohanzee move her out of harm's way. Glory could tell Edith was growing frustrated, and she could only hope all the other vampires left them to battle alone. She wasn't sure Ohanzee could save her from a number of attackers with that kind of speed and strength.

Why won't you hold still and let me come close? Edith asked, her tone edged with anger. It won't hurt, Glory. I should know, you left me alone to let the Master bite me, didn't you?

That's not fair, Edith, Glory said, surprised to feel a tear spill from her eye and a hard knot of grief in her chest. I didn't know what he was. And I did try to stop him, but I was too late.

All these pretty excuses, Edith shot back. Just to make yourself feel better. I've got something to help you feel better.

Edith ran at her again and Glory once more went where Ohanzee moved her. But this time, when Glory turned to face her, she found another vampire standing beside Edith. It was a young girl, sixteen maybe, someone Glory had seen about town in the days before Balthazar started turning and killing people.

Have you met my sister in blood, Betsy? Edith smiled then crouched low to the ground. She runs even faster than I do.

Fear curled sharp, cold claws into Glory's belly, sending a shiver through her despite the warm feel of Ohanzee's protection. She pulled one foot free of the sucking mud to step backwards toward the Doc's office, and then the other. The sword trembled before her, testament to the pain that burned along her left arm from the gash delivered by Kirby's sword.

She's weakening, Betsy said, and cocked her head to the left. The movement reminded Glory of a dog she'd had when she'd been a child. Her father had brought him home from a farm as a pup, and Glory had named him Digger because he liked to dig holes. Digger had followed Glory through meadows and down into creek beds, romped through the woods with her, chasing birds and rabbits. He had been her only friend growing up in the remote cabin in the woods. When the men had come to take her father away and hang him for laying with a white woman, Digger had bitten one of them and they'd shot him for it, leaving him dead in the dirt by the fence.

A spirit protects her, Edith explained, bringing Glory back into the moment. But even he has his weakness.

Glory took another shaky step backward, the mud trying to hold her back as she moved. Another few yards and she'd be at the steps up to the boardwalk. Another few breaths, and she might be dead, with or without Ohanzee to protect her.

They came at her as one, Edith from the left and Betsy from the right. It all happened fast, too fast for her to follow, and she let Ohanzee have control of her as a shot rang out behind her. From the sound, it was one of the muskets they had loaded with silver balls. Edith stumbled, Glory saw that much, the movement sending her off target. And then Ohanzee moved her, bent her at the waist and twisted her to the side, her spine crackling all along its length. With what felt like the last of the strength that remained in her left arm, Glory lifted her arms independent of Ohanzee's direction, raising the sword and extending it out at chest level. A shudder of resistance trembled along the blade, and when she looked back over her shoulder, an exhausted relief pushed back a small bit of the fear within her.

The silver blade had passed through Betsy's neck and taken off her head, sending it into the mud where it landed face down. The girl's headless body stood weaving in the road for a moment before it crumbled into dust that scattered in the wind. Edith was nowhere in sight.

Glory!

Beatrice's voice snapped her out of her shock, and Glory turned away from the remains of her attacker. Beatrice stood in the open doorway, holding a smoking musket. The others stood crowded behind Beatrice, shouting for Glory to hurry. She lifted her hand in acknowledgement and started for the doctor's office.

You took one of my girls.

The voice came from directly behind Glory, cold and deep, and stopped her in her tracks. Ohanzee's warmth pulsed around her once again, and she could feel his arms wrap around her chest. It was, of course, Balthazar. But he had no power over her. Because of Ohanzee, Glory was not susceptible to Balthazar's spells, and she was free to look at him.

She turned to face him, bringing up the sword once again at the sight of Edith standing just behind him. Edith held a hand over a blood spot on her hip, her fangs bared and her eyes bright red with anger.

I want her, Master, Edith whispered in a cold, dead voice. I want to drain her blood.

And you shall have it, my love, Balthazar assured Edith. He took a step toward Glory, then stopped at the same time Glory felt a hand press against the small of her back. She turned to find Josh beside her, his arm extended toward Balthazar,