by Rye Brewer
“His battles aren’t yours to fight,” Fane reminded me.
“Then why do I feel like they are?” I sighed, staring at the door Scott had just walked through.
He chuckled. “Because you’re a leader, and leaders tend to take on the burdens of those they lead. It’s something we all have in common once we step into positions of power—those of us who take our positions seriously. I can’t imagine Lucian ever caring about the problems of those closest to him.”
“Or Marcus,” Anissa muttered, shuddering.
The mention of his name brought me back to reality. There was still so much to be settled, including the matter of the two prisoners being held in the dungeons, and the guards I still barely trusted.
In addition to the man my sister was in love with, who, as far as the league was concerned, had killed his father. And now Vance was free.
Not to mention the fiancée who only seemed to trust me when it was convenient for her.
30
Micah
“It’s good, being out here with you,” I said as Cari and I stalked through the park together. “And on such a beautiful night as this.”
“It is a beautiful night,” she agreed, and I naturally noted the way she didn’t share the original sentiment. She was being very careful with her words as of late.
Something was wrong.
I used every last bit of control in my possession to keep from pressing her for an explanation. She would pull even further away if I did, and for nothing. There was no room for paranoia. It would only ruin what I had worked so hard to build between us.
“Are you feeling well?” I asked, keeping my tone light.
“Oh, yes. Is it possible for those of our kind to not feel well?” She grinned. “There’s still so much I don’t know, of course.”
That was much more like it. Her light sense of humor, her intelligence. What I liked best about her, aside from the beauty which only seemed to grow by the day. Gage had done a great thing by turning her, perhaps the smartest act of his entire life.
“Well, I can share a secret with you,” I murmured, glancing back and forth as though looking for eavesdroppers.
She giggled. “What is it?”
“You have a very, very long time in which to figure it all out.”
Her laughter was like the tinkling of bells. “It feels as though I’ve been like this forever already.”
“Oh, ma cherie.” I linked my arm with hers as though we were two sweethearts on a stroll through the park on a lovely evening, “your understanding of time will change greatly as the years roll on. I promise you that.”
“And you’re never one to break a promise.” She smiled in return.
My own smile faltered slightly before I could stop it. What was she driving at? It sounded like a perfectly innocent statement on the surface. Anyone who’d heard it would’ve assumed she was being sincere.
I wasn’t so certain.
Was I driving myself mad? Was this all in my head? It had been so very long since I’d met anyone even close to my level of intelligence. It had been my main weapon for much of my time in Paris, the thing which had kept me alive in the early days. Before I’d established a place for myself.
We passed a lit fountain, water spraying high into the air. The droplets resembled jewels, lit as they were. Several couples stopped to enjoy the sight. We stopped, too. Anyone would think we were just like them as we stood with our arms linked.
I watched her from the corner of my eye. There was no way she knew anything. I was fooling myself into seeing things which simply didn’t exist, and I knew better than to let my imagination run away with me. At least, I had always been before.
“Do you see anyone you enjoy?” I murmured, leaning in close as though I were whispering something sweet in her ear.
She smelled so lovely. I couldn’t help lingering there.
Until she pulled away with a light laugh, as though she were teasing. “Maybe. Maybe.”
“Who?” I asked, endeavoring to keep the mood easy. Why did she pull away from me? Why did she still resist? It had been two weeks. She was no closer to being mine than she’d been while Gage had been in the picture.
What was it about him that made him so impossible for her to forget?
“There’s a girl walking past, on the other side of the fountain,” she murmured, her eyes shifting in the direction of the girl she described.
I followed her gaze and saw who she referred to.
“You have a good eye.” I smiled.
The two of us began walking in her direction, making sure to keep our pace leisurely but deliberate.
“I thought you knew that by now.” She chuckled. “You always manage to make it sound as though you’re surprised.”
“I suppose it’s still a surprise you’ve taken to this life so quickly.”
“I wouldn’t say I’ve quite taken to it entirely,” she murmured, the two of us speeding up as we followed the short, dark-haired girl deeper into the park.
“What does that mean?”
“This still makes me uncomfortable on some level. Taking advantage of someone who doesn’t know what’s about to hit them. Using the things I know against them without their knowledge. It’s unfair. I wish it didn’t have to be this way.”
“Think of it as survival,” I whispered, my consciousness beginning to fade away as I focused on the meal in front of me. She was plump, fairly glowing with good health, and I imagined there being more than enough for the two of us to share. An appetizer of sorts, before we both chose an entrée to enjoy on our own.
“Survival,” Cari repeated.
“Yes. It’s either you or them.” The thirst began overtaking me, my senses beginning to pinpoint, completely focused on the task at hand—luring the girl, overtaking her, draining her.
“You’re right,” Cari whispered, as though she were very far away; she could’ve been on the moon, even though we were still touching. “It’s all a matter of survival. Thank you for making this so much easier for me. I’ll never cease being grateful to you for that.”
I didn’t care much at that moment about her gratitude. I wanted to feed.
“I’ll even give you this one all to yourself. My gift to you,” she whispered.
It was exactly the right thing to say. I released Cari’s arm and caught up with the girl, smiling at her just before I clamped a hand over her mouth and ducked behind a tall hedge. She never stood a chance, poor thing.
I drank deep, drank until her weak struggles ceased. It was like being born again. Every single time, like being reborn. Drinking in the very essence of another being, their vitality, their energy.
Everything sharpened, came into clearer focus. The cool night air on my skin, the way it ruffled my hair, the softness of her body as it slid to the ground, crumpling in a ball at my feet.
The sting of silver at my throat.
“Now that you’ve finished,” Cari hissed in my ear, the blade hovering just over my skin after the first startling contact, “I would appreciate your being so kind as to tell me where you’re holding Gage.”
31
Cari
My hands shook inside the gloves I’d slid on while Micah was feeding, but I never lost my grip on the knife. It was a matter of life or death, and I didn’t intend to lose.
He let out a sharp laugh of disbelief. “What is all this? A joke? I don’t find it very amusing.”
“You know what I don’t find amusing, Micah?” I whispered, tapping his throat with the blade and delighting in the way he jumped when it made contact. “I don’t find it very amusing that you had Gage taken away and blamed it on the league. I don’t appreciate that you’ve been lying to me all this time. I hate what you’ve done. But you’re going to tell the truth now because, otherwise, I’ll slit your throat with this knife. How does that sound?”
His powerful body tensed in front of me, pressed against mine. “It sounds as though you’re bluffing.”
“Am I?
” I touched him again, this time more than a mere tap.
He jumped, gasping in pain.
“Now, now,” I chided. “Be careful with the sudden movements. I wouldn’t want to do something we’ll both regret.”
“Where did you find a silver knife?”
It was a stall tactic, but I didn’t mind. “You’ll appreciate the poetry of this,” I murmured with a smile, my breath stirring the hair at the back of his neck. “I found it in an antique store. It’s roughly as old as you. Don’t you find that fascinating? Both of you are so old, and yet you look as good as new.”
“That is rather poetic,” he murmured with a dry chuckle.
“By the way, here’s something I do appreciate, the way you’re doing your damnedest to placate me. To make me believe we’re friends. To share a joke with me. I’m not in a joking mood, and I see through all of your tactics now. I can’t believe I was ever so blind.”
“What is this all about? You think I have something to do with Gage’s disappearance?” He was breathing faster than normal, trying hard to pretend he was in control though we both knew he wasn’t.
I could practically see the wheels turning in his head as he weighed his options. There were none, of course, but he didn’t know that. The fool.
“I know you do. I know you had him taken from me because you’re selfish and evil. All you want is what you want. It doesn’t matter what others want, or what happens to them once you’ve grown tired or bored. You only think about yourself. Isn’t that right?”
“You think you know me,” he whispered, freezing again when the knife tapped his throat.
I might have enjoyed that a little bit too much, but I reminded myself it was nothing compared to what Naomi had described as starvation. What Gage was going through.
The memory of this got me back on track. I didn’t want to prolong his pain. It was bad enough I’d had to wait an entire two days since Naomi came clean to enact my revenge—one night to get out and find the knife, then this night. But it wouldn’t be much longer.
I’m coming, Gage. I swear.
“I do know you,” I whispered, cooing in his ear the way he’d done to me in his clumsy attempts at seduction. “Someone told me everything I needed to know. All I have to do is confirm you’ve left Gage in that old prison outside the city. The one you used before.”
He let out a sharp laugh. “You can’t be serious.”
I let the blade touch his throat, harder this time, and longer. His skin sizzled. He gritted his teeth against the pain but couldn’t hold back a groan. “I’m very serious. Stop wasting my time, or I’ll end your worthless life here and now. Don’t test me, Micah. I’m still young and strong. Do you think you stand a chance? Truly? When you know how desperate I am?”
“Even if he was in a prison,” Micah began, his voice a little shakier than I’d ever heard it, “how in the world do you think you could ever get him out? Magic? Or perhaps this super strength you just alluded to would be enough to break iron bars.”
“I don’t need iron bars.” I released him, and he staggered forward with a gasp of surprise, one hand over his throat when he whirled on me.
His eyes bulged when he recognized the skeleton key I held up.
“Where… where did you get that?” he demanded, eyes still wide with shock.
The explanation was simple. “Naomi gave it to me.”
“No! She would never do that. What reason would she have?”
“It’s simple, Micah,” Naomi said as she stepped out from behind a tree a few yards away. “I did it for myself. And for Xavier.”
He gaped at her. “How dare you? Are you insane?”
“No.” She smiled and shook her head. “I’m very sane. Finally, I’m sane. I always knew what you did to him, though I didn’t want to believe it. I had myself fooled into believing I needed you more than I loved him. That’s just not true. He didn’t deserve what you did to him, just like Gage doesn’t deserve what he’s currently suffering through.”
“You don’t know what you’re talking about.” He whirled on me, eyes wide. “She’s never been reliable. Always had emotional issues. I’ve kept her close to my side for decades because I didn’t trust what she would do outside my supervision.”
“Spare me your lies,” I murmured, still wielding my knife. I took a jab at him with it and delighted in the way he flinched away. “I know where he is, and I’m going to get him now. And you’ll have the knowledge that your plans didn’t turn out the way you wanted. Not this time.”
“You will not leave me. This is outrageous. What do you think you’ll be able to do on your own, with no protection?”
“Honestly?” I asked, tilting my head to the side as I considered this. “It’s a good question. What will we do without protection? The way I see it, we can’t do much worse than we did with you.”
“If he’s even still alive,” Micah spat.
Just like that, the mask dropped, revealing who he truly was. He worked hard on that façade of his. It was bound to fail sometime, I guessed.
“I would tell you, you should hope he is, or else, but…” I looked around as one by one, more clan members trickled in from the darkness. “Well, I think you’ve got bigger problems than that right now.”
He looked around, eyes wide and wild. “I’m glad you’re here. Look what they’re doing to me. Help me! Restrain them!”
Naomi and I exchanged a glance, then laughed. But it was a bittersweet moment. Neither of us particularly rejoiced in what was happening—still, it was a victory to watch Micah crumble. And sort of pathetic that he thought his clan was there to help him.
“Micah, Micah, Micah,” Naomi murmured. “Do you think they’ve come to protect you? Do you honestly believe you deserve protection after what you’ve done?”
He blinked, then looked around again as a dozen of the vampires I had gotten to know since arriving in Paris surrounded him. “You told them your lies? You spread your vile stories about me?”
“Enough,” she replied, cutting him off with a sharp glare. “Enough of this. It’s all over for you. They know what you’ve done, what you did so long ago. To a member of your own clan, and then to your oldest friend. This is unforgivable. We might be outside the league’s jurisdiction, but we have our own laws. Laws of which you’re well aware.”
He glanced from one of them to the other, wordlessly. It wouldn’t come. He was beyond help, anyway, and through no one’s fault but his own. He had dug his own grave.
Naomi shifted her gaze from him to me, tossing the backpack my way. I caught it deftly. We exchanged a long, meaningful look.
“Go. Hurry. Don’t worry about what happens here.”
“Naomi…”
“I know,” she whispered, nodding, a single tear running down her cheek. “Make it right, now. You can. There’s still time.”
“Thank you. Thank all of you.” I turned away. I couldn’t see what was about to happen.
He deserves this. He has this coming to him for everything he’s done. He’s hurt so many people. He made his choices.
Everything Naomi had told me before I left for the hunt with Micah ran through my head as I turned my back on him.
“Cari!” Micah’s voice was little more than a whisper as I hurried away, tears in my eyes.
The last thing I heard before coursing in the direction of the old prison was the snarl of a dozen vampires descending on their prey.
32
Gage
I pried my eyes open when the rat who tugged at the hem of my pants got a little too forceful.
But I couldn’t muster the strength to shake him off. I tried. I did. But he knew I wasn’t really going to stop him. They’d all grown bolder as I’d deteriorated. I could only moan in mind-bending agony as they danced around me, waiting for the chance to begin their feast.
They would start soon. And I would have no choice but to kill them and have a feast of my own.
I needed to feed. I would be forgiven for t
aking such drastic steps. I had to be. Didn’t I? Anyone in my position would do the same. They would drink if it meant an end to the agony. There was a never-ending supply of them running in and out all the time. I didn’t need to starve. I didn’t need to suffer.
“Get. Off.” I growled with all the strength I had, in spite of the pain in my throat and my head and all through my body. “Get off me!” I jerked my leg, and the little beast went flying.
But he wouldn’t stay away for long.
“Please… let me die…” I moaned, my head rolling from side to side as I lost my already weak grasp on sanity. It would leave me entirely, and soon. I would begin dining on rats and spiders, and that would be it. I would be gone forever.
Even if Cari ever found me, what would she find? And perhaps that was how Micah wanted it. He’d wait until I was so far gone as to be unrecognizable then bring her to me.
Would I even know her?
I swallowed, wincing as fire raced down my dry throat. Just a drop of blood. Just a single drop. I found myself looking down at my wrist, pondering the idea…
“Gage!”
My head snapped upward, the pain ringing out but less sharply than before because that was her voice.
But no. I had to be imagining it. Just as I’d been doing for days on end.
“Gage! Where are you?”
Feet pounded the floor as someone ran through the place, feet I imagined.
It couldn’t be true. Just another cruel trick my broken brain was playing on me. I couldn’t be bothered.
Perhaps I should bite into my wrist after all…
“Gage! Just tell me where you are!”
The footsteps grew louder, as did the voice that sounded so much like Cari’s. A voice with an edge of panic in it.
Panic?
Panicked. As though she was looking for me.
“Cari?” I croaked. Even I could barely hear myself. I swallowed, squeezing my eyes shut and summoning every last bit of strength. It’s now or never. “Cari!”
