“Kill…dead anyway.” The harsh sound of the Dame’s whispered order echoed in the room.
Hearing her sound that way was like walking on broken glass. Ranulf wanted to deny her final request, but he’d served her too long to refuse her now.
He dropped his gun to the floor, hoping the clatter would distract Bradan for a second or two. No such luck. The Talion’s grip on Judith tightened briefly. She didn’t even whimper as he stripped more of her energy. Then in a surprise move, he flung her body aside and brought his hands up, one pointed toward Sandor, the other right at Ranulf.
A blast of energy burst from his fingertips, heading straight at where Sandor had been standing only a heartbeat before, leaving a smoking hole in the carpet. Ranulf sent a return shot of power at Bradan that should have fried the bastard on the spot.
Instead he deflected the jolt, redirecting it right at Ranulf along with a boost of his own energy. It shimmered along Ranulf’s skin, burning but doing no permanent harm. Bradan must have been living and breathing dark energy round the clock for days to put that much power behind a single charge.
He felt Kerry moving up beside him at the same time Bradan spotted her. Ranulf would have shoved her back, but he couldn’t afford to break his concentration. Sandor saved the moment by going on the attack while Kerry laid her hand on Ranulf’s arm, sending her own powerful energy coursing through him to blend seamlessly with his. Where had she learned that trick?
Bradan blocked both attacks again, this time absorbing their energy instead of deflecting it. His face lit up with unholy joy as he taunted them. “Is that the best you’ve got? If I’d known it was this easy to take on Judith’s precious elite enforcer, I would have done this years ago!”
“Wish you had, Bradan. It would have saved us putting up with you for all this time.” Ranulf met him smile for smile.
“Ah, but then I would have missed the chance to meet Miss Logan.” He gave her a lingering look that made Ranulf see red and then black.
They had to figure out a weakness soon.
Kerry stepped away from Ranulf, making herself into a target while she tried her best to plaster Bradan against the wall. For the first time, Bradan’s shields flickered, forcing him to retreat a couple of steps. Ranulf joined and went on the attack while Sandor did the same.
Slowly, inexorably they went after Bradan, but then he managed to tap in to more of his energy and returned their attack with interest. Each blow he landed shorted out more of their ability to retaliate, until he got in a lucky shot and hit Sandor square in the chest. Kerry screamed as the Talion collapsed in a boneless heap. If Ranulf hadn’t grabbed her, she would have gone charging right into the line of fire to get to the fallen Talion’s side.
Ranulf dropped back a few steps, dragging Kerry with him, hoping to lull Bradan into thinking they had been seriously weakened at the loss of Sandor’s energy. He hadn’t fought and won such battles beyond count without learning a few tricks.
Reaching down deep, he turned his rage into a burning cold fire, letting the pressure build, knowing this would be his one shot to burn Bradan right down to the ground. If necessary, he’d go down with him, but this shit was going to stop.
Now.
* * *
Judith hadn’t moved since Bradan had thrown her to the floor, and from this angle Kerry couldn’t tell if Sandor was breathing or not.
The air between Ranulf and Bradan coalesced in swirls of energy, arcing and hissing, sometimes bulging toward her lover and sometimes toward Bradan. It was a standoff, one that frightened her more than the earlier blasts of power that had bounced around the room, leaving holes in the wall and smoldering burns in the old shag carpet. At least one had left her feeling a little fried around the edges, but otherwise unharmed.
How could she help Ranulf? She focused on Bradan, studying the monster who had caused so much pain and death.
Her shoulders tingled and stung, the sensation just shy of pain as it radiated down her arms to her fingers. Instinct made her splay her fingers wide, her eyes narrowing as she searched for a vulnerability in Bradan’s defenses. There, despite the thickening haze in the room, she could see his lower legs clearly.
She sent the energy spiraling out of her fingertips in a lightning-quick strike at the side of Bradan’s knee. He screamed, the outpour of his power faltering and flickering. She sent another burst, alternating with Ranulf’s darker blend of power.
When Bradan fell to his knees, Ranulf hollered a battle cry and went charging forward, only to see Sandor scramble to his feet and dive onto his former friend, his face flushed red with hatred and rage. As the two men grappled, Ranulf held Kerry back.
“Don’t touch them, Kerry. I doubt Sandor would even recognize you right now, and Bradan wouldn’t give a damn if he killed you.”
The battle rolled toward the other side of the room, giving Kerry room to finally get to Judith. With Ranulf’s help, they carefully carried the Dame to the safety of the kitchen. Her skin was cold and blue, her breathing horrifyingly shallow and infrequent.
Kerry tried to piece together enough energy to share with the older woman. Ranulf’s hand came down heavily on her shoulder, sharing what he could from his own reserves before running back to help Sandor. His warmth washed over her, through her, and into his Dame. Though Judith soaked up the healing energy like a desert thirsting for rain, it clearly wasn’t enough to free her from death’s grasp.
But her pained expression slowly transformed into peaceful repose, the bruises and swelling fading to reveal the elegant beauty below. Kerry gently brushed the hair back from Judith’s face as the injured woman’s eyes fluttered open. At first she looked confused, but then she smiled so sweetly that it brought tears to Kerry’s eyes.
“Don’t waste any more of your power on me, young lady. You’re going to need all you can muster if you’re going to take my place.” Judith’s eyebrows drew together in a worried look. “You will, won’t you? The Kyth will need your strength to get them through this.”
How could she deny a dying woman’s request? “I’ll try, Judith. It’s all I can promise.”
“Take my talisman. It should be yours.” Her hand fumbled at the neckline of her sweater to grasp her necklace. “I hope life brings you joy, Kerry Logan.”
Kerry helped Judith remove the necklace. It felt warm and heavy, as if the responsibilities and burdens of being Dame had been absorbed by the metal itself. When Judith closed her hand over Kerry’s there was a blinding flash, followed by a montage of images flooding into Kerry’s mind, one after another, faster than she could make sense of them. Her stomach lurched and rolled, as if she’d been on a roller-coaster ride. Finally they slowed down and settled into her head as if they’d been her own memories, instead of belonging to a woman whose life had spanned a millennium.
When the imagery finally stopped, Judith smiled again. “My history. Our people’s history. Now it is yours, Kerry Logan. May the gods bless you and give you long life.”
The Dame’s wounded body was wracked with another spasm of pain, clouding her expression once again. “Where’s Ranulf? I must set him free of his oath to me…served me so well…not fair to him.” She grasped Kerry’s hand in a painful grip, her gaze desperate. “Tell him I was proud to call him friend.”
Kerry blinked back her tears. “I’m sure he knows, Judith, but I’ll tell him you said so.”
The light in Judith’s eyes dimmed. “Sandor will have a hard time with all of this…Bradan…and especially your love with Ranulf…Takes a strong woman to convince a strong man that he needs her…” She coughed and drew a ragged breath, then tried again. “Needs you more than his freedom.”
Then there was silence. Tears burned acid hot as Kerry eased Judith down to the floor, closing the faded blue eyes with a gentle touch. Bowing her head, she prayed for Judith and so many things.
When she whispered “Amen,” she sat in silence for several seconds before realizing that the whole house was silent. Had the f
ight ended? Dear God, please let my Talions be all right.
Grabbing hold of Judith’s talisman, she charged to the rescue. As she rounded the corner, she came to an abrupt halt.
The three men were locked together in a battle to the death, so entwined that it was impossible to tell where one ended and the next began. Kerry circled around the tangle, looking for an opening, some way to help her friends without breaking their concentration.
It was obvious that Bradan was on the losing end. Sandor had his hands around Bradan’s throat and face, his expression grim. Ranulf had talked of stripping a renegade of his energy, but hearing about it and seeing it happen right before her were two different things.
The skin on Bradan’s face had drawn so tight that he looked like a skull stripped down to bone, his lips pulled back over his teeth, his jaw locked open in a silent scream.
“Damn it, Sandor, let me finish it!” Ranulf was bruised and cut, but he seemed unaware of the blood dripping down his cheek as he tried to pry Sandor away from Bradan.
“Mine, damn it. He killed Judith!” Sandor shouldered Ranulf aside. “He deserves to suffer like his victims did.”
“No, Sandor! He deserves to die, but make it swift and clean. You’ll hate yourself for what you’re doing.”
But Sandor’s eyes glowed and flickered with sparks of deep red. Energy pulsed and writhed across his hands and up his arms, leaving smoking black streaks in its wake. The sight of it flickering under his skin left Kerry feeling nauseated and dizzy.
Bradan’s death stretched out for an eternity. His skin slowly lost all color, his bones their substance, until finally all that was holding him up was Sandor’s death-giving hold on him. Finally, the last of his breath left his body in a single rush of smoke and air.
He was dead—the enemy vanquished. All that was left was an empty shell that collapsed in on itself when Ranulf finally succeed in prying Bradan’s skull from Sandor’s grip.
Sandor’s dark eyes were wild and unfocused, as if he no longer recognized his surroundings. He held his hands up in front of his face, grief slowly combining with horror across his face.
Ranulf caught him in his arms, holding him close as Sandor’s body shook from the effects of what he’d done.
“Get the door.” Ranulf muscled Sandor up into his arms. “We need to get him out of here.”
Kerry gestured in the direction of the kitchen. “But what about—”
Ranulf shook his head. “I’ll come back later, but we need to get Sandor out of here now.”
She opened the door. “Go ahead. I’ll be right behind you.”
“Make it quick or I’ll come drag you out.” His words were gruff, but the worry was real.
“Five minutes, I promise.”
As soon as he hauled Sandor through the door, Kerry hurried through the house turning off lights. The last thing they needed was for it to act like a beacon.
She left the stove light on in the kitchen, not wanting to leave Judith alone in the cold, dark night. After saying another small prayer, she hurried out the front door.
They’d fought the battle they’d come to fight. Now it was time to mourn their dead and move on.
And say good-bye to the one man she’d give anything to spend her life with.
* * *
The trip through the woods had been a rough one. The battle had left Sandor weak and sick at his stomach. After stopping twice for him to heave up the remains of his dinner, they’d finally made it back to Ranulf’s house. They’d headed straight for the bathroom.
“Damn it, Sandor, stand up.”
Ranulf wanted to smack the man, but it was no fun beating up on someone who was already being harder on himself than Ranulf could possibly be. The killing rage that had possessed Sandor had worn off, leaving him badly shaken by what he’d done.
“Brush your teeth and do whatever else you need to do. I’ll wait in the hallway.”
He was still waiting for Kerry to get back from Bradan’s. She’d promised to be only a few minutes, but the five she’d promised had already stretched to double that. If she didn’t show up soon, he was going to go back after her.
What had been so damned important that she’d lingered at Bradan’s house of pain and death? Judith. That had to be it, because it had damned near killed him to leave the Grand Dame behind. He reached out with his senses, and felt Kerry’s approach. Something about her felt different, but familiar at the same time. What was up with that?
The bathroom door opened, and Sandor came lurching out. Ranulf quickly pulled the younger man’s arm around his neck and helped him put one foot in front of the other until they reached the living room. He slowly lowered Sandor onto the couch and covered him up with the same quilt Kerry had used earlier.
“Thanks, Ranulf.” Sandor covered his eyes with his forearm, shutting out the dim light in the room. “I owe you.”
“No, you don’t. We were there to do a job, and we did it. Nothing more, nothing less.” He fought the urge to pat Sandor’s shoulder, knowing the man wasn’t ready to accept sympathy yet.
“Bradan deserved to die, but—”
The front door opened, and Kerry stepped into the room. She looked like hell, but just the sight of her soothed Ranulf’s soul. Her heart and her courage humbled him.
Sandor rolled on his side toward the back of the couch.
Kerry tiptoed past the couch after giving Sandor a worried look. “Is he okay?”
“Not yet, but he will be. He’s a Talion for good reason.” Ranulf pitched his voice loud enough to carry. Sandor wasn’t ready to talk about the evening’s events, but eventually he would have to come to grips not with what he’d done but how he’d done it. Hopefully he would be strong enough to live with that burden.
Kerry’s eyes looked unutterably sad, the color in her face washed out.
He needed to hold her. “I don’t know about you, but I think we should all get some rest.”
Especially with her tucked in next to him. He was almost afraid to ask, because she’d finally seen him at his worst. He’d give anything to know what she was thinking.
She knelt by Sandor. The Talion tried to bat her hand away, but she forced him to accept her gift of healing energy. It didn’t take long.
Rising to her feet, she finally came close enough to Ranulf to lay her hand against his face. A surge of healing warmth washed over him. He should’ve stopped her from wasting her depleted reserves, but right then he needed her touch, even if she treated him with the same clinical detachment as she had Sandor. That hurt, but he understood.
Finally, he said, “Look, you can have my room. I’ll bed down out here on the floor where I can keep an eye on Sandor.”
Kerry frowned, but all she said was, “Come get me if you need me.”
Her words confused him. Of course he needed her. He watched her walk out of the room, ripping his heart out as she went. While she showered, he reestablished his wards and moved around in the kitchen, too skittish to settle down. Dark energy always had that effect on him. After Kerry finally left the bathroom, he took a shower before heading straight back into the living room.
“I don’t need a babysitter, Ranulf.” Sandor lifted his head long enough to glare at him. “Quit being so damned noble, and go to her. If you let her slip away now, you’re a bigger damn fool than I’ve always thought you were.” Then the weary Talion yanked the quilt over his head and curled in on himself.
Sandor was right: he was being a fool. This could be his only chance to convince Kerry that he could never let her go back down that mountain alone. Still, it was her choice to make, and this was the toughest mission he’d ever faced. The bedroom door was closed, but he didn’t knock before entering the room. Feeling as if he was about to plunge off a cliff onto the rocks below, he braced himself.
“Kerry, I need you.”
She was waiting for him in the bed, with a soft smile and sad eyes. “Took you long enough.”
As soon as he took a stumbling ste
p toward her, she held back the cover in invitation. He didn’t have to be asked twice. She met him in the middle, with a kiss that healed his heart and inflamed his passion at the same time.
“Will you love me tonight?” Her smile was tentative.
“That’s not nearly long enough,” he told her firmly. “I’m going to love you the rest of your life.”
She blinked twice, clearly not believing what she was hearing. “Judith shared herself with me tonight, Ranulf. I have all her memories locked in my mind, including how she’s used you all these years. I can’t walk away from my responsibilities, especially now that I know how badly I’m needed.”
She took a deep breath and gave him a ragged smile. “Looks like I’m going to be the new Dame. You’ve already served our people for a thousand years. I won’t ask you to do that again.”
Once again, this little slip of a woman was trying to protect him. The beauty of her generous heart stole his breath.
“The difference is that this time I’ll be serving my wife, not just my ruler. If you’ll have me.”
There was hope in her eyes, however tentative. “But I thought you wanted to live up here on the mountain?”
“I do, but I figure we can add a few guest rooms and spend weekends and holidays up here.” Then he kissed her, deepening it until they were both breathless with need. “Now—we can talk some more, or we can find something else to do in this bed. Your choice.”
“That’s easy. I choose you.”
And she did.
Epilogue
Kerry held her hand out to Sandor. “Dance with me?”
He clearly wanted to refuse her, but she would have none of it.
“Must I remind you that it’s my wedding day, buster, and everything has to go my way? So I’m sorry, but you can’t say no. It’s just not done.” She gave him her haughtiest look, but spoiled it with a giggle.
He gave her a ghost of a smile as he swept her up into his arms. Even depressed, he could out-dance almost anyone else she knew.
Dark Warrior Unleashed Page 22
