Everything in me screamed to go after him. But with violence so close, I had the inn to protect.
I held very still, trying to listen to the night noises. Gloom drowned the subdivision streets.
Come on, Sean. Don’t get hurt and get out of there. Someone will call the cops.
If they arrested him, I’d totally bail him out.
A faint scrape came from the right. I turned, scanning the house across the street. It set with its side to me, facing Camelot Road. I peered at the darkness under its bushes, searching for any hint of movement.
Nothing.
Something watched me from the darkness. The hair on the back of my neck stood up. The gaze pressed on me, like a razor blade slowly cutting into my nerves.
The broom flowed in my hand, forming a five-foot shaft with a three-foot-long sword-like blade on one end. I modeled it after the Japanese naginata.
Show yourself.
Nothing.
At least Beast was locked inside. The last thing I needed was her getting hurt.
Somewhere in the darkness muscles tensed, ligaments stretched, as something prepared for a leap. I could almost feel it.
“Do not fire,” I whispered. The inn creaked in acknowledgment. The less noise, the better.
In the depth of the subdivision a dog barked.
The darkness stared back at me with invisible evil eyes. My knees shook. Every muscle clenched inside me. Now wasn’t the time to freak out. Whoever it was staring at me from the gloom would not enter my inn.
Show yourself.
A stalker shot out of the gloom under the bushes and sprinted across the road, so fast it was a blur. All thought dashed out of my head in a terrified stampede. I spun my weapon, gathering momentum.
The stalker leaped over the hedge, flying straight at me.
I sidestepped, spun my naginata and struck in a devastating diagonal cut. The blade carved through the stalker’s shoulder and side, slicing through the ribs with ease of a cleaver. The stalker fell into the grass. The inn’s roots shot out of the ground and grasped the stalker. It buckled, straining. I swung and sliced its head off. White liquid bubbled from the wound.
Inside the house Beast exploded with hysterical barking.
A second stalker leapt over the hedge and charged me. I braced myself, lunged, and drove the blade into his chest. The metal cut through flesh like knife through a ripe fruit. The stalker gurgled, impaled on my spear and trying to claw at me.
A low snarl tore through the night, coming from behind me on the left. Another stalker was coming. I chanced a glance and saw it running full speed down the road. My blade was still stuck inside the second stalker. I needed to finish it fast.
I sent a pulse of magic into the broom. The naginata’s blade split inside the second stalker’s chest, turning into a dozen foot long spikes. The spike tips burst through the beast’s back, their razor-sharp tips bloody with white and glowing with faint blue.
The stalker gasped and went limp.
I retracted the spikes and yanked the naginata out of the body.
The third stalker was almost to me.
A muscular furry body leapt onto the road, blocking the stalker’s path. Sean. An armored figure hung over his shoulder, slung fireman style.
The third stalker lunged at him.
The werewolf swept the creature off its feet and jerked it up, one enormous clawed hand constricting the beast’s throat. Sean shook the hundred pound beast once, a violent sharp motion like cracking a whip or snapping a wet towel. Something crunched with a sickening bone-snapping sound. The stalker hung limp. Its head lolled to the side.
He just killed a stalker, one-handed. Okay. Good information to have for the future, especially if I decided to threaten him again. Also letting him hit me with a wet towel would be a really bad idea. He could probably take my head off with it.
The sound of an approaching car’s engine rumbled from the right.
“Sean!”
The werewolf tossed the stalker on my lawn and dashed to the house. I stabbed the stalker’s corpse just in case and stepped behind an oak. Sean ducked into the doorway.
Car lights illuminated the night and a lone truck rolled past us and kept going.
Phew. “Secure the bodies.”
Pits opened under the stalkers, as the house pulled them under. I ran to the house, melting the weapon in my hand back into the broom.
#
Inside Sean laid the vampire on the table. Brown mane touched with silver spilled over the edge. Lord Soren. Oh no.
“Console,” I ordered.
A communication console emerged from the floor, like a mushroom on a thin stalk. Blue icons flared on the smooth metal surface.
“What happened?”
“They were ambushed.” Sean pulled at the armor. “He hit them hard. One vehicle is turned completely to chunks of scrap metal, like something froze it and then busted it to pieces. The other was in the ditch.”
Something gurgled, whistling, and I realized it was Lord Soren breathing.
Sean tugged the armor again, nearly lifting the prone vampire off the table. “By the time I got there, their vehicles were in the ditch and two stalkers were dragging him off. He’s a tough old bastard. He killed two before the others got him. He was the only one I found. Dina, he’s bleeding out. How do we get this damn armor off?”
“We can’t. It’s genetically locked onto him. Unless he becomes conscious or a blood relative shows up, we’re stuck. I can heal him, but not with the armor on.”
“Can’t we cut it off?”
I shook my head, adjusting the settings. “That’s why people killed them with stakes. Back when the legends started, they didn’t mean little garden stakes, they meant a sharpened four by four. If he were a man-at-arms, we probably could, but he’s a knight. It’s reinforced.”
“So he’s just going to die?” Sean stared at me, incredulous, his eyes luminescing.
“Not if I can help it.”
He finally noticed the console. “What are you doing?”
“We can’t get the armor off, but other vampires can. They got here very quickly, which means either there is a gate somewhere or they have a craft in orbit.”
“And since this is an extraction, they didn’t plan to stay long,” Sean said. “Either way, they would’ve left someone to guard it.”
“Exactly. He should have a House crest on his body. It will have that panther-bear with teeth.”
Sean plucked the crest from the armor and passed it to me. It was about the size of a notecard. I slid it into the receptacle on the console. It stood like an i-Pod. I touched the exclamation mark on the console. The crest pulsed once. A tiny red light ran along the edge of the crest, circling it.
“Exclamation mark?” Sean asked.
“Universal sign for distress. If he has any members of his House in the vicinity, they will arrive shortly. Until then, keeping him comfortable is the only thing we can do.”
A pale pink line appeared on the wall above the table. It moved, drawing peaks and valleys.
“Heartbeat?” Sean guessed.
I nodded. “If it stops, he’s dead.”
We looked at each other. The pink line gently zigzagged on the wall.
The only thing we could do now was wait.
Thank you
oh what a perfect start to the weekend.
Wow! Spooky, tense, and action-filled much? Totally awesome! Thanks!
By the way, how did Sean know the crest was removable and would go into Dina’s console?
Because any werewolf helping a hurt vampire would had noted?
Silly reader.
1. After you say “thank you”, please don’t question our generous, free treat.
2. He didn’t know where it was going, he found it as requested and handed it to her.
Wow. Those vampires went down quick. Wonder who is going to come get him?
Well, that escalated quickly! I can’t wait to read more; this is getting really good.
Thanks for a great start to the weekend!!!
Wheeeee! I love this story! So so so good! Thanks guys!
I want longer stories!
Gods, I love this….
Since I realized you guys were posting this a couple weeks ago, These are literally the highlight of my week, and make my Fridays a lot less dreary than usual! Thank You so much!!!!!
THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU! Hope things turn around soon for you guys!
Love it! Sorry to hear about your Home Depot troubles! I’ve had people tell me that buying big things from them can be a very bad thing and now I know why!
Such a great way to end the week!
Quick question for anyone – - was there a physical description of Dina in one of the previous installments? I was going through some from the beginning and I can’t seem to find one…
Thank you!
Why does the comment section think I am in Europe? It is showing a time stamp 8 hours ahead of my location…is there a T.A.R.D.I.S. in the area? Or a causal lope? Or your blog set to Greenwich Mean Time?
as always- awesome!!
Thank you so much, what a great start to the weekend.
As for Home Depot, I really want to put you in touch with my daughter. She lives in Gatesville, but will be gone this weekend. She had a similar situation with Lowes and she might be able to pass on some tips for getting through this.
Love this story. Thank you!
YAY! Thank you and Gordon so much for this! I’m sorry about your Home Depot woes…
Thank you Ilona. Hopefully this bit of writing helped with the crazies.
Thank You! Always love it when we get more to the story!
Ack – more, I need more! This is so awesome – thank you for sharing it with us!
It’s picking up the pace now. How exciting!
Totally hooked now
Thank you
Definitely hooked!
I keep coming back to read it through again!
Fantastic piece of work, keep it up and as I’ve said before, make it a book and it will sell.
Congratulations on your hard work, it’s paid off.
You two are wonderful and I thank you! Such goodness is amazing.
Thank you guys, TGIF and CleanSweep day:)
TYPO? ” It set with its side to me, facing Camelot Road. ” in line five – it “sat” sounds better to me.
YEAH! Thank the Gods for another installment
.
Kept hitting ‘refresh’ every few minutes today. Can’t wait how this will play out. Thank you! It makes the wait for Magic Rises just that little less longer.
OMGEEE! I love this!! It keeps getting better and better!
this is great! but I want to know what happens and now I have to wait. Thank you for a terrific read
You rock.
Thank you so much for taking time to write another piece!!!
I can forsee so much withdrawal in my future. As the story progresses and the tension builds, half a chapter is so not enough… not that it was in the beginning either but it’s worse now
Thank you
Thanks for the stories. If you need to vent, you can always send Sean to best buy and accidentally on purpose mark the store as his territory
Awesome. Thank you. Loved it.
Whenever I read these, I have no words, just sounds… like “GAAAAHHH!!!” or “EEEEHHHH!!!!” You guys rock!
I see a wonderful series here…
I completely agree! I would love to see this become a series.
Yeee-haaaa! Or, to give the Yankee Yell, ayup.
Thanks so much.
Wonderful. Thanks so much.
Holy Cow Batman! That was awesome! I’m sitting here nose to my iPad screen, literally drooling with anticipation. Hehe…I have to go back and read it again! You guys rock!
Brilliant! Thank you!!
Ahhh, so happy right now… Thank you guys!
Would it be possible to post the last few lines of the previous installment on each post? When the new installment comes out, I always have to click back to see what just happened.
I love this story. If you ever decide to publish it, I would definitely buy it.
I absolutely love this series! Thanks!
What can I say that hasn’t already been said… You Rule……Great way to go into a week-end with. But now waiting with baited breath for the next installment… Sorry about HD (*hades department*) troubles.. Hope it gets straightened out….
I absolutely love this series!! You guys haven’t disappointed me yet!! I need more, feed me Semore!!
Ditto!
Hurray for more chapters! Waiting for the next installment is hard! Eventually, when it is finished, I would love to get this in the audible or kindle formats!
Typo: A sent a pulse of magic
Intended to be “I sent a pulse of magic”?
Squeee! Great installment. Thanks o much
Sorry you are having problems with the Home Despot – this type of tyranny needs to be overthrown. Chuck them in a wormhoe and send them far far away from this planet
When it rains it pours. This was my one ray of sunshine. Thank you.
What fun. I needed that today. I look forward to the next installment
Just what I needed…thanks! Actually, I lied…I need much, much more…. It’s terrific!
Those were some impressive fighting moves from our favorite werewolf from Avalon subdivision…
Than you guys, you’re awesome!
Dina is so awesome — I love the visuals with the naginata. Love her as a heroine.
The werewolf picture gave me chills before ever reading. Thank you.
LOVE THIS!!! I hope the good news you hinted at will that this is going to become your new book series!!!
Wow!! Great story! Can’t wait for the next installment!
Thank You, Thank you Thank you. Loved it as always.
Its always a happy happy day when your link shows up for a new installment. Thank you so much!
Oooohh!! So AWESOME!!!! YAY!!!
Really great, enjoy your stories so much. Thank you for sharing them!
Wow. Bad assery to be had by all. Loved the reveal of how awesome the last Werewolf upgrade was …
“Okay. Good information to have for the future, especially if I decided to threaten him again. Also letting him hit me with a wet towel would be a really bad idea. He could probably take my head off with it.”
Oh I love the snark.
Lovely, it brightened my friday night when I had nothing to do.
Thank you for the wonderful story.I don’t know if it’s going on o be a full-blown series but I sincerely hope so and I will purchase all of the books, just like with all of your other wonderful stories. you and your husband are increasingly gifted story-smiths.
Most salutatious Thanks
this is amazing but you can’t leave it like that we need more more more – I understand though and thank you guys for these amazing ‘short’ weekly bits…..
Thank you very much !
TYPO: “A sent a pulse of magic into the broom”, should be I.
wooohoo happy australia day to me
omg cliff hanger lol
WOW!!!!!!!
i love love love love loooooooooooooove love Clean Sweep!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thanks guys, this was brilliant.
I can never wait for the weekend to come around anyway, and this series adds to the anticipation.
It took me a while to get here but I am officially hooked to the story… Can’t wait for more
thanks so much
TYPOS!!
Paragraph 7: “…Like razor blade..” a razor? razor blades?
Paragraph 19: “…carved through stalker’s shoulder..” the stalker’s shoulder
Paragraph 22: “I need to finish it fast.” needed
Paragraph 23: “A sent a pulse…” I sent a pulse
Paragraph 31: “The sound of approaching car’s engine” The sound of an approaching car engine
Paragraph 50: “A craft in the orbit” A craft in orbit
Paragraph 55: “…within the vicinity..” in the vicinity
Nothing major…just chaff….guys, this story is rockin’!!
Damietta, want to proofread for us?
I agree, she’s good.
Thank you so much! I love all your work. I can’t wait for the next installment!
Ooh! This is getting better and better!
Sorry to hear you are still having an issue with Home Depo, but thank you very much for the next installment, I loved it and can’t wait for the next one.
Thank you for this.
I just found out that my beloved doggie is dying from kidney failure. She doesn’t have much to live. I just need something nice right now
Thank you for the action packed installment
It definitely makes the wait for the Magic Rises a lot more bearable!
That certainly got my blood pumping – awesomesauce, as always
thank you!
Rebel Yell!! Got another chapter!! Go you (and all!). Don’t let the HD B%@#$ drive ya down!!
You guys are fantastic. Many many thanks. It was killing me to wait while I was doing some housework. But the wait was worth it.
Much appreciated as a way to start my weekend!
Thank you so much. My weekend was going lousy but I feel much better now. I just preordered Magic Rises today as well. Sudenly birds are singing. Sun is shining. It’s a great day!
Sorry about Home Depot. They really should pay for your floor.
This is literally killing me!!!! Want more of precious installments.
Wow! What a wonderful chapter to start our weekend. I know what you mean with the appliances and computers. We had our microwave, treadmill and stove break all within a little over a week. The micro and stopover are toast, but the stove needs apart we ordered fro,pm Amazon. Good luck with up your desk top i have given up in them. Since getting an IPad I only use my laptop for those things I can’t so on the iPad. For whatever reason we have more issues with the desktop even though it is only a few month older than the laptop. Thank for the heads up on Home Depot. I know need to find a place to be a reasonable treadmill.
Have you protected all you eletronics with surge protectors? With the regulations on power companies changed they do not have to maintain an even flow of electricity anymore and can allow spikes to occur that destroy your appliances.
Mike Holmes (Holmes on Homes) recommends a whole house surge device that is installed by an electrician on the main panel. Since everything these days has some sort of chip in it, we are thinking of getting one.
Thank you! Always appreciate your gifts to us fans.
Thankyou, you just made my morning better after a rather shoddy overnight shift.
Totally awesome but what a cliffhanger place to stop! Oy! I’ll be ready for the next one!
Home Depot = stalker. No guesses as to who = Innkeeper and who = Sean. I wouldn’t like to be Home Depot’s shoes.
Best Birthday present ever!!!
Just adding my Thanks. Good luck with all the breaks and fixes. Doesn’t always seem things happen at once? I am glad to know that writing Innkeeper helps you to keep focused. I know it helps me and, it sounds like it does others. Hang in there. You have a lot of people thinking good thoughts for you.
So, was stalker #1 a stand in for Home Depot and stalker #2 a stand in for your desktop computer? Good way to let go of some frustration!!!! I am loving the InnKeeper concept and would love to have a series to follow the Edge!! Thank you for sharing your talent!
Thank you, thank you. It has all been so amasing! And this particular part is like a birtday present for me – only two days past. Thank you so much for it.
Thank you, I am so enjoying this
I just love this story , but when you finish it please put it in paperback too because i dont have a a E-Reader. I still wish to thank you for this story. I rate it 11 out of 1-10.
A woeful night with the bush fires here in Australia. What an amazing thing to brighten my day. Thankyou ever so much!
Thank you!
Thank you so much! I always look forward to fridays because I get to read your wonderful writing.
Fabulous, as always!
Thank you so much! Reading your updates is always fun! Having this serial is just fab!
OMG!! Thank you, thank you! Awful week at work so this was such a great pick me up for the weekend.
you guys are the bestest for thinking of us when things are crappy for you.
Mwah!
Thanks for this – this story rocks. Really could care less if there are typos or inconsistencies, any more than I care if the strawberry is not quite centered on my slice of delicious cheesecake. Can’t wait for the next installment.
Thanks for sending some joy out into the world at a dreary time of year. These installments are really fun and I look forward to the next one. Your positivity will come back to you! Karma will kick in with the HD situation. Best of luck with resolution of that. Sounds like they’ve already reached out to “Kate” to discuss. (Snicker.) I think you should turn Curran and Sean loose on them – now there’s a cross-series dream tag team!
Wonderful as always! Thank you for the treat!
I am hooked!
Thank you that was great!
Love the action. Definitely bringing others’ attention to your work.
Well that was butt puckering and great Thanks
thank you!
Oh man, what a chapter. Sure hope he lives, even if he is a vampire. Can’t wait to find out what happened during the ambush. This just keeps getting better and better. Thank you, can’t wait for the next installment.
Ha! Found your innkeeper today and devoured everything there was! Can`t wait for more, my kindle is quivering to get its talons into the whole book, once it is available!!!
i`m like addict
cant wait for the next chapter
thanks
SO cool!!!
Enjoying the series tremendously, went through minor withdrawals thru the holidays, but loving that it’s back up. Thanks.
Oh yeah… That’s the stuff.
Great read as always. Thank you!
Love as always! Waiting anxiously for the next treat!
yay! more Innkeeper
I hope the vampire will recover.
Awesome!
I found this story last night and could not stop reding it’s great thanks for shearing. I am looking forward to the next chapter…..
Ahh! Great installment!
I love this action and man Sean sounds like he’d make a very strong protector!
I just found your site and “Clean Sweep”, to say that I am in love with your writing and gift for storytelling would be an understatement. I just read all eight chapters in one sitting and can not wait for the next installment.
You guys rock! I was starting to go into withdrawls since the edge series ended, finding this story was a definite pick me up. I’m totally hooked! Thanks so much for finding the time to write this for us.
Love this book. I also got my sister addicted, so at least I don’t have to endure the wait alone. After this segment, I’m wondering what Anocracy law says about people who save your life, at risk to their own, when it wasn’t their fight.
Ha! Just saw the icon I got–looks about how I feel tonight. Stupid migraines.
I just want to say thanks and this is a really great story. I’ve been enjoying it a lot.
Dez
I really love this story. But one thing I’m wondering, the part when the pickup drives past them, wouldn’t the driver have seen the stalker bodies on the lawn since Dina didn’t have the inn hide them until after the pickup was gone?
Not necessarily. I’ve driven past friends houses that have bushes and trees on their front laws and at night you can’t always tell what’s plant or shadow
Phew. “Secure the bodies.”
Pits opened under the stalkers, as the house pulled them under. I ran to the house, melting the weapon in my hand back into the broom
So the pickup never would had seen the stalkers
OMG (sorry for the text speak), I’ve just found this website of one of my favorite author(s), and here is this awesome serialized novel! I’m in heaven! Thank you thank you! I can hardly wait until the next chapter! *bounces on her toes*
Just discovered this site, devoured it all from Chapter 1 to Chapter 8, part two …. how can I now cope with installments! *brain scream!* I am soooo glad I found this! Thank you, thank you, thank you!
I’ve been a Kate Daniels fan for years, and just this week decided to go ahead and start reading Clean Sweep. I started Chapter 1, and couldn’t go to sleep that night until I’d finished what was available. I have to say that I LOVE that while you’re still doing magic and werewolves and vampires, it’s so completely different from Kate’s world. This universe is very intriguing, and based on the first 8 chapters, I would happily buy this in book format.
Of course, now I have to wait for the next installment. I am not good at having patience. Thank you so much for sharing this with us.
Put off reading this until now . . . totally sucked me right in and now have to wait. Damn. Yes, I will buy this in book format too. Fun new universe you all have created. Waiting impatiently for Magic Rises to be available & this series helps.
Thanks for another great read!
Excellent.