Blood Wicked

by Sharon Page

  20

  Vivienne stared in horror as Heath’s jaw twisted sharply to the right and then left with such vigorous force, she heard the crack. His forehead swelled and receded and she had to clap her hand to her mouth to hold in the scream. The large, solid muscles of his arms, which bulged against his linen shirt, rippled and undulated like live snakes.

  He bore it all with his teeth clenched. “Hell, it’s happening,” he rasped through his tight mouth.

  “Why?” Vivienne gasped. “I didn’t make love to you again. We didn’t do it twice.” Sarah was whimpering in fear, but she couldn’t go to Sarah and comfort her. She had to race to Heath. She tumbled to her knees in front of him. Mud soaked into her skirts, but she ignored the damp and the terrifying darkness. She caressed his face and felt his cheekbones pulse beneath her hand.

  “No.” He pulled back, tore away from her. “Don’t touch me. It’s too dangerous.”

  “This is my fault. My—my father said that making love to me started the curse,” she whispered. “We made it begin to work, even though you didn’t make love to me again.”

  He doubled over, and his spine bulged beneath his skin, stretching it as though the bones would rip through. “I fell in love with you. With everything you’ve done with me. That was enough.”

  His words speared her.

  “No. No, you cannot be in love with me, Heath. I won’t allow it.” Not if it was going to destroy him. She had to stop this. Guidon had told her Heath had to fight the terms of the curse. But how did they do it?

  A shadow moved beside her and Vivienne gasped in shock, turning swiftly. But it was Sarah. Her face was white and stricken, and she laid her hand upon Heath’s undulating back. “Mother, we must do something.”

  “I know.” But what? Yet her daughter’s strength humbled her. Sarah had just lost the man she loved, but she’d found the courage to break out of the shock, to come to Heath, to try to save him. Both Vivienne and Heath had to be as strong.

  He had to fight the curse. But he believed he should be punished. He believed he should be cursed.

  She put her hands on Heath’s shoulders. Beneath her palms, muscle and bone moved and popped. It sickened her, but she kept her hands there. “Fight it, Heath. We both love you. We will not let you go. We are your family now.”

  She heard Sarah gasp. Saw a tear roll down her daughter’s cheek. “Yes,” Sarah whispered. “We are your family. You saved me, and you saved my mother. I will love you always.”

  Heath’s face contorted into a grimace of sheer agony. “God no,” he growled. “I am not going to let this happen.” Then softly, so Vivienne could barely hear, he murmured, “You need me—I won’t fail you.”

  The undulations of his spine ceased, his muscles stopped pulsing beneath his skin. His face was no longer twisting and distorting. His clothes were torn, the seams ripped by the powerful motions of his body, but it appeared to be over. He bowed his head and sucked in sharp breaths.

  Vivienne cupped his jaw, tilted his head up so she could see. He reached up and clasped her wrists. “It’s stopped,” he whispered, his voice hoarse. “Thank you, Vivi.” He turned to Sarah, and gave her a smile. “Thank you, Sarah. You have no idea how much it means to me to have won your love.”

  “I don’t care about who my father was,” Sarah declared. “I want you to be a part of our family, Lord Blackmoor.” Then tears began to flow down Sarah’s face again.

  Heath cradled Sarah close, held her and whispered, “I love you,” until Sarah’s sobs stopped. Shakily, he stood. And he held both Vivi’s hand and Sarah’s and lifted them to their feet, too. “I am honored. Humbled. I promise I will never fail either of you.”

  He tucked Sarah’s arm in his, and he began to move into the foreboding dark of the passage. But Vivienne couldn’t move. “Are you certain you are all right?”

  His mouth cranked down. “You’re afraid of me, aren’t you?”

  “I’m not afraid of you,” she said firmly. “I am afraid for you.” Had they truly stopped his transformation? Did it mean the curse was broken? Had it been enough to tell him they loved him? He had promised not to fail them. She feared he didn’t yet believe their love was unconditional. Or perhaps he was afraid of unconditional love, because he’d had it before. Perhaps their very offer of love was a torment for him.

  “Come, Vivi.” She could not see him in the dark, but there was no ignoring the deep authority in his command—and the note of fear beneath it. “We have to move.”

  She knew they did. She had to rush onward and throw herself into the power of her father, a man she feared and hated.

  Heath had hoisted Sarah onto his back, the way a man would carry a small child. He held out his hand to Vivienne. She hurried to his side and raced along with him.

  Somehow, she had to make Heath see he didn’t deserve to be cursed.

  Heath knew the secret passage well. Designed as an escape route from the council or from slayers, it sloped downward, then branched in three directions. Two tunnels were false paths, dead ends that led to booby traps. He knew the route they had to take. And as he plunged forward, he knew it was his responsibility to plan beyond this desperate race for safety.

  He had a family again. The truth: he was not ready for a family. He could not give either Vivi or Sarah what they truly needed. They had declared their love to a man who had no choice but to destroy himself. All he had done was force them to open their hearts; now they would know heartbreak.

  Sarah was so light seated up on his shoulders with her heels bumping against his chest. She’d wrapped her arms around his neck. She trusted him and cared about him. Two things he had thrown away a decade ago, when he’d lost Meredith. Sarah did not know about his past. But Vivi did. How could she say that she loved him, knowing what he had done?

  He could destroy Nikolai, which would protect Vivienne from whatever evil plan his sire had concocted. But how did he protect her from the council? How did he give Vivienne what she truly deserved—real freedom?

  “There must be another way.”

  Vivi’s soft voice beside him jerked him from his thoughts. “Another way? No, love, this is the only way out. There are three branches to this tunnel; we’ll reach the fork soon. But trust me, I know which way to go.”

  “No, I meant, is there any other way we can hide without going to Nikolai? This is absolute madness. I do not have to do what Dimitri says. I do not have to let anyone dictate to me.” In the dark, he saw her brow arch. “Except perhaps you, because I trust you.”

  “Dimitri’s plan is to put you under the protection of a vampire who is more powerful than any man on the council. He knows your father won’t hurt you. Dimitri is trying to buy us time, time for me to devise some way to rescue the two of you.”

  “And it should not be wholly your responsibility, Heath. I am not going to stand by like a ninny and wait to be rescued. Could we not just run and keep running? We could leave England.”

  “The vampires of the council can fly around the world if they wish.” A rank odor rose from the ground and his boots squished in mud. Vivi’s slippers made an answering squelsh. She wrinkled her nose and gasped, “Ew,” making him chuckle. Hades, he adored her.

  They had reached the lowest section of the tunnel, where it branched into three more tunnels. Heath clasped Vivienne’s hand to lead her forward into the pitch darkness.

  He could detect the faint sound of hammering behind them. It had to be the demons, trying to bludgeon their way through the special iron door that secured the tunnels. He prayed—if a vampire could—it didn’t mean all the vampires in the house had been destroyed.

  Vivi followed him, plunging into the tunnel without question. If he needed any more proof of how much faith she’d given him, he had it.

  “If the council could not get into Dimitri’s house before,” she whispered, “how were they able to do so tonight?”

  “Dimitri’s defenses are based on ancient magic spells. Someone must have betrayed Dimitr
i; they must have told the council which spells he uses.”

  Could it have been Julian? she asked in his thoughts.

  I don’t believe it was. Julian gave up his life for Sarah. He truly loved her.

  Vivi gave a soft sob. “What about Guidon? Would he know ancient spells?”

  “It’s possible. And if it was Guidon, it’s my fault.”

  “It can’t be.”

  “Guidon returned to London from the Carpathians. No one but Dimitri knew he had done so, or knew about his bookstore. I led the council right to him.”

  “Or I did. But why would Dimitri leave Guidon without protection?” Vivi asked.

  “I don’t know.” But he agreed with her. Why didn’t Dimitri protect Guidon, and thus protect his home?

  “J—Julian,” Sarah began, above him, but her voice choked on a small sob.

  “Sarah, it’s all right. Shh. You don’t have to talk about it,” he soothed.

  “I do not need to be soothed and silenced.” Suddenly the girl sounded very fierce. “It is hard for me to say his name, but I can do it. Julian told me there are vampire queens. They are the most powerful beings of all. He told me the vampire council was created because male vampires could not stand being ruled by these strong females. Wouldn’t the queens help us?”

  “The queens rarely help other female demons,” Heath said gently. “They are generally ruled by jealousy. I was afraid they would want to destroy Vivienne; she’s too lovely.”

  The vampire queens had once kept the ancient vampires—like Dimitri and Nikolai—as consorts. But like most men given infinite wealth, power, and handsome looks, they proved to be unfaithful. They had betrayed the queens. And so the queens hated them, but they couldn’t destroy the strong, ancient male vampires. With Nikolai as his sire, the queens wouldn’t want to help him.

  They started to trudge uphill toward the exit. It emerged close to the Thames on Dimitri’s grounds. Heath pulled Vivi to a stop. In the pitch dark, she couldn’t see the iron door just two feet in front of her. “We’re at the end of the tunnel.”

  She reached out and felt the door. “There is no handle.”

  “Magic,” he explained. “It requires an incantation—”

  But before the words could leave his lips, the door suddenly glowed red. He pulled Vivi backward as it shot open.

  “I thought I should come and fetch you, my dear.” Wearing a smirk, Nikolai stood there in the doorway, flanked on each side by giants—men at least seven feet tall, dressed in rough brown tunics. Nikolai smiled at Sarah. “My delightful granddaughter. How splendid. Come, Vivienne, you are safe now. If you do as you are told, no harm will befall you.” He waved the giants forward. “Subdue the vampire. He is close to his transformation. We can take no chances. Take my granddaughter from him.”

  Sarah screamed and Heath moved back, but with Sarah on his shoulders, he couldn’t fight. The beast plucked Sarah from his shoulders.

  Vivienne leaped forward, but Nikolai raised his hand and she crumpled to the ground. “I—I can’t move,” she cried.

  Heath drove his boot into the crotch of the man holding him—no rules when he was fighting for his life—and then plunged his fingers into one of the beast’s eyes. It howled but didn’t let go.

  A surge of light shot from where Nikolai stood. It hit Heath’s chest, hot as fire. Heath tried to lunge for his sire, but his legs wobbled. And he fell.

  The giants propelled her, with her hands chained, through Nikolai’s lair: the abandoned brothel. Most of the rooms were dusty and tattered, but the one ahead of her, his private study, was opulent and lavish. Men in flowing pants and turbans flanked the doors. They held massive, curved blades. And Nikolai lounged in a huge chair behind a gilt-encrusted desk.

  In the carriage, she had tried to speak to her father. She had told him they needed him to protect them from the vampire council. He had promised they would be safe, but then he had commanded her to hold her tongue and speak no more about it. Instead he’d talked to Sarah, happily and politely, as though they were attending a garden party. But when they reached the brothel, Sarah had been dragged away from her and locked in a pretty bedchamber with bars on the windows and no escape.

  Her father was every bit as arrogant as any English peer who had ever pursued her. Vivienne had to remember that. She must use it.

  Nikolai snapped his fingers, and more men in turbans carried a litter into the room from a second door. Heath lay upon it.

  Vivienne tried to rush forward. But the guards pulled her back.

  “What have you done to Heath?”

  He lifted a supercilious brow. “Nothing that cannot be undone.” He muttered some words, conjured a ball of swirling light on the palm of his hand, then sent it spiraling at Heath’s chest.

  Heath’s body curled up as the light hit. His eyes flickered open.

  Nikolai smiled at her. “Vivienne, you know what you must do. It is your job to seduce Lord Blackmoor.”

  “No.” It came out as a croak. Then she lifted her chin, and shouted, “No!”

  Red blazed in her father’s eyes. Every instinct told her to cringe. To cower, like her mother used to do. But she straightened and stood as tall as she could. She gazed at Heath, who was covered in wounds from his battle with the bats. He swayed on his feet, and one of the giants gripped him by the shoulder.

  “Let him go,” she cried to Nikolai. Even though she knew Heath would hate her if she got her wish and he was freed.

  “So sorry to disappoint you, my delightful daughter, but I cannot.”

  She realized Nikolai did not want her to seduce Raine. What had happened to Heath’s brother? But before she could ask, one of the turbaned men approached Nikolai. The man made an unintelligible sound, then bowed deeply from his waist.

  Nikolai smiled. “Indeed. Open the door and allow him entry.”

  She whirled around as the servant did his master’s bidding. A black hulking … thing filled the doorway. The creature ducked its head and waddled slowly into the room. It stood at the same height as the giants, but an enormous pair of wings jutted from its shoulders. The feathered wings wrapped around its body, the tips touching at the front.

  The demon opened its wings. Against its chest, it held a small, squirming man. Vivienne’s heart gave a lurch. It had only been two days ago that this little gnome of a vampire had given her tea, and hope, when he’d told her Heath could break the curse.

  The beast released its grip and Guidon tumbled to the ground with a high-pitched squeal of surprise. Vivienne tried to move forward, but one of the giants grabbed her shoulder and held her. It was obvious from the way Guidon cowered that he had not betrayed Dimitri willingly. His wrinkled face was pasty white.

  She had to speak to Guidon. She had to make him tell her how Heath could break the curse.

  Nikolai stepped forward. His robes swirled around his long legs, and he moved until his feet were almost treading upon the librarian’s gnarled fingers. Nikolai waved his hand and Guidon was lifted into the air and set down on his feet.

  “It was very disobedient of you to try to escape the bargain you made, Guidon. You traded your knowledge for your life. I will need you to control the demon. This time I suggest you obey.”

  Guidon let out a whimpering sound. He met Vivi’s eyes pleadingly.

  But Nikolai’s cold, triumphant voice wrapped around her. “If you do not do as I ask, Vivienne, I will kill Heath. Right now. Right here.”

  She swallowed hard. “I can’t do it. I can’t make love to him again. You can do anything to me you wish, but don’t hurt Heath.”

  “You will change your mind, my dear. But it would help if your lover was a little more … awake on his feet.” He sent another ball of light at Heath, and this one sucked into Heath’s mouth and his hands.

  Suddenly Heath came to life. He fought against the giant holding him.

  “Now, Vivienne, do as I ask. Or you will suffer greatly.”

  “No,” Heath roared. “You don’t
need to hurt her. Find another woman. I’ll make love to her twice in a row, if you bloody well want. Let Vivi and Sarah go.”

  “Unfortunately for you, Blackmoor, I require Vivienne to unleash the curse. It is the only way I can ensure you will have the power I need you to have. Vivienne has a great deal of strength and power. And the five men she seduced have added to her power. Those men all gave her strength from their unique skills. One was a fighter. Another a fierce lover. One had a quick wit and the courage to take chances in gambling. The other two had great physical strength. And you were the adventurer. You have all made her strong.”

  “I have no power,” she shouted.

  Her father’s perfectly sculpted face contorted in a sneer. “Do you think I would waste my seed to create something weak? Your power hums inside you. It glows within, like a sun. Over the years, the passion you have taken has stoked that power, like coal fed into flame. But that power has been carefully protected. I had to ensure that, so it could not be detected by other beings—other demons, or the vampires. I made you both to work together. You hold the power that will give him so much strength he could destroy the world. Blackmoor is the only man who can unleash the power hidden within you.”

  Made for each other.

  “That’s impossible. I was only made into a vampire a few years ago,” Heath said. “Long after Vivi was born.”

  And Vivienne understood. Her father had planned this since her birth. Perhaps before. “I was created for one reason only, wasn’t I? To bring about the end of the world.”

  Nikolai nodded. “I had to wait to find the right male for the task.”

  She faced her father, confronting a vampire she knew could kill her. “You created Sarah’s mysterious illness to force me to go to Mrs. Holt and pay her price for the medicine. Sarah was never really sick. It was something you did to her. Even though she is your grandchild.”

  She almost felt frost emanate from Nikolai’s black, bottomless eyes. “And she did not die, did she? You, my obedient daughter, did as you were told.”

  “You ensured Heath found and rescued me, didn’t you? Somehow you pushed us together, forced us to fall in love.”