Midnight Sun

by Lyons, Rene

  Before leaving Seacrest, the Templars made sure they were strapped with enough weaponry to take out a small village. Along with their swords and daggers, they added some firepower to their arsenal. The guns might not be able to end a vampire, but bullets would hurt like hell. Hurt enough to stun should they find themselves in need of a few seconds to gain an upper hand.

  None of them were so arrogant as to believe they were indestructible. The things that could take out an ordinary vampire could take them out as easily. The sun had the power to burn them to dust. A blade could take their head as quickly as it could a renegade’s. And anything holy would cause as much damage to them, as Sebastian’s knee, which was burnt to the bone proved.

  Much to Sebastian’s frustration it took the better part of three hours of driving down roads no more than dirt trails before they finally found the house Constantine saw in his mind. Driving up the narrow road, Sebastian peered through the black of the night, broken only by the pale glow of the half moon. His gaze lit on the large white house standing in the distance. Old and dilapidated, set in the middle of a huge barren field, it stood out against the desolate backdrop.

  They passed under a leaning wooden archway that read Double D Ranch. The barn long since collapsed into a heap of rotting wood. The tremendous stable looked like it wasn’t going to make it through even one more harsh mountain winter. But what caught, and held, his attention was the sleek silver Lexus and white Lincoln Navigator.

  Leaving the Charger behind the truck, Sebastian got out, the stink of death crept around him, mingling with Allie’s fear. Good God, it was everywhere. Death, fear, and pain thickened the air. They filled his senses until he thought he’d be dragged down by the weight of the them.

  Constantine followed him, and took a deep breath. He grunted with frustration and voiced what they all already knew. “Lucian’s not here.”

  Raphael, usually so blithe, had the look of the warrior he was. Gone was the easy smile and seductive gleam in his eyes. Replacing it was the hard edge of the Templar Knight he had been in life. Everything about him proclaimed his intent to cut down those renegades who dared to harm those closest to him.

  These renegades made a detrimental mistake thinking they could strike against the Templars and not bring down their wrath, complete and without remorse.

  “At least we found Allie.” Raphael’s tone was tight. “We’ll get our girl out of here and then we’ll find Luc.”

  Constantine’s muttered curse gained Sebastian’s attention. A second later he went sick with dread when a scream broke through the night.

  There was no mistaking it was Allie. That knowledge slammed into Sebastian like a hammer to his gut.

  Everything feral in him came to the forefront. All he fought to suppress over the centuries rose like a violent storm. It broke his thin hold on humanity, flaring to life the feral instinct in him to protect his mate. The need to spill the blood of his enemies was an all-consuming hunger needing to be fed.

  With a vicious snarl and a bellow of rage, he shrugged his shoulders and loosened his duster only enough so he could pull free his sword. Grasping the hilt, he welcomed the weight of the weapon, which was more of an extension of his own arm than a separate entity.

  “He’s mine,” he declared just before he broke into a dead run toward the house.

  Who “he” was didn’t need to be clarified. It didn’t matter who he was specifically. He was the bastard hurting Allie.

  As far as Sebastian was concerned, taking out the prick who pulled that scream from Allie was non-negotiable.

  Over the ages he bled and killed for God. He killed to protect the lives of his brothers-in-arms. He fought for so many reasons, but never for love. That was the one thing he never believed in enough to shed blood for. Until Allie. For her he was willing to bleed himself dry. For her he was willing to walk through the fires of hell.

  Leaping onto the porch, Sebastian slammed his shoulder into the door. The old, dried wood splintered off the frame and crashed to the floor in pieces as two renegades met them with katanas. Sebastian ended one with nothing more than a single cut of his sword, severing the vampire’s head. He exploded into dust before he even hit the floor.

  Constantine took on the second renegade. This one was more experienced with his sword, giving the Dragon, if not a good fight, at least one that wasn’t ended in less than ten seconds. Constantine was able to make quick work of him, ending the vampire in a few strokes of his blades. When the renegade was reduced to dust, Constantine broke through the cloud bodily to follow Sebastian up the stairs.

  Raphael turned his back to the fight and guarded the entrance. Here was where he would stay, primed to prevent any other vampires from entering while Sebastian and Constantine searched for Allie.

  As Sebastian climbed the steps to the second level two at a time, he saw Allie’s ex-boyfriend at the top of the stairs. He and two other renegades stood before a closed door. Sebastian sensed Allie inside. She wasn’t alone. A renegade was with her and she was terrified.

  He narrowed his eyes on Jude, drawing back his sword to strike him down. He stood in front of a closed door. “Get the fuck out of my way.”

  Jude, too stupid for his own good, gave Sebastian that same arrogant smirk he gave to everyone. The other two renegades, knowing the threat Templars were to their immortality, wisely took a step back.

  “He’s not going to let you have her,” Jude announced arrogantly.

  Sebastian cocked a brow at that. He leveled his blade at Jude’s neck. Allie’s ex looked like he was going to shit himself. “He doesn’t have a choice.”

  With a violent shove, Sebastian sent the blade clean through Jude’s throat. The tip of it embedded in the plaster with a solid thud. Pinned to the wall, Jude’s eyes went wide with shock as he grabbed at the blade. He lost two fingers in his frantic bid to pull the sword free.

  The digits burst into dust before they even hit the floor.

  Sebastian hissed with pain when he was stabbed from behind. He felt the blade being pulled free just as he gave his own sword a vicious jerk to the right. Jude tried to scream as blood pooled in his throat. The gash was enough to end him.

  The moment Jude turned to ash Sebastian pulled his sword from the wall and turned to his attacker. He deflected the young renegade’s blows, though he couldn’t get in a quick killing blow. The renegade proved a good fighter and had surprising agility. Unfortunately for the renegade, what he lacked that Sebastian possessed was the determination to get to Allie. He wasn’t about to let anyone stand in his way while she was being hurt.

  Able to call on that determination, Sebastian drove the renegade back with one hard shove and kept him there as he showered down a rapid succession of blows. Unable to match skill with a Templar, the vampire quickly tired and got sloppy. He dropped his sword and it was all the advantage Sebastian needed to get in the killing blow.

  Swinging his sword around, he severed the vampire’s head in a brutal, but clean, blow.

  Ash exploded around him as the vampire disintegrated. Bleeding from his stomach wound, Sebastian lunged for the door. Another renegade thought to stop him by throwing a dagger at him. It caught him in the left shoulder. He pulled the dagger free and spun on the renegade and hurled the dagger back at him. His aim was true. The dagger landed in the renegade’s throat. Choking on blood, the vampire stumbled back. Sebastian lunged, stabbing the renegade in the chest. With a fierce growl he took hold of the dagger and used it to take the bastard’s head.

  Sebastian caught sight of Constantine, just as he impaled the youngblood he was fighting with his daggers. Pinned to the wall, the vampire snarled and tried to pull himself free.

  “You’re fucked now, aren’t you, boy?” Constantine taunted.

  “Screw you,” the renegade spat out.

  Pulling the dagger from the renegade’s right shoulder, Constantine held it against the vampire’s throat. “See you in Hell.”

  In one swift motion, Constantine cut d
eep enough to sever the head. He stepped back carelessly when the vampire went to dust.

  Time came to a crashing halt when Sebastian charged the door, splintering it off the frame.

  Frozen, Sebastian saw Allie being held roughly against the chest of a renegade. Sebastian knew the bastard. His name was Daniel Parsons. A particularly brutal vampire, he cut a bloody path through Europe, beginning shortly after he was turned sometime around the time of Queen Victoria.

  Daniel held a knife to Allie’s throat as tears slipped down her face. Each one of those tears cut though Sebastian like a knife. He heard the thundering of her heart, the roar of her blood pushing through her veins, felt her fear like a punch to his gut.

  Sebastian let his gaze travel over her and take in her pale color, her dry and cracked lips, the two bruises on her face the size of men’s fists, and the blood on her neck. Rage, hot and swift, shot through him when he noticed the puncture wounds left behind by a vampire’s bite.

  Snarling, Sebastian moved forward. Only when Daniel pressed the blade harder against her neck did he realize he’d advanced on them. He came to a dead halt, though Daniel kept the knife pressed hard on her.

  A thin line of blood formed under the blade. Sebastian’s nostrils flared at the scent of her blood. Allie’s gaze, wide with terror, locked on him as she bit back a whimper.

  “Take one more step and I’ll slit her throat.”

  Allie went to say something but the renegade gave her a hard squeeze. The movement caused the blade to cut deeper into her flesh. A thin line of blood appeared on her throat. Any words she might have uttered stilled on her tongue.

  “This fight has nothing to do with her.” Sebastian struggled to remain as calm as possible despite the fact that he wanted to hack him to pieces and leave Daniel for the sun. “Let her go.”

  Daniel’s lips curled in a lazy smile. “That’s where you’re wrong, Templar. This has everything to do with her.” He jerked Allie. This time she cried out as the blade scraped her neck. Blood trickled from the shallow slice. “Stay back, Dragon, or I’ll bleed the bitch.”

  Sebastian motioned to Constantine to cease his slow advance. Constantine froze, though Sebastian could hear his furious thoughts in his head.

  “We’re not moving. We’re staying right where we are. Right, C?” Sebastian asked calmly. Constantine nodded and grunted an affirmation. There wasn’t any doubt if given the chance, Constantine would have torn the vampire to pieces.

  Daniel smirked and pulled Allie even closer. She looked like nothing more than a rag doll in the bastard’s arms. “You truly have no idea what she is, do you?”

  “No, so why don’t you tell me?” Sebastian figured as long as the situation remained calm, and he kept the bastard talking, that knife wouldn’t cut any deeper into Allie’s throat.

  If he lost her…

  He couldn’t allow himself to dwell on that thought. If he did, he’d snap and do something stupid, something that couldn’t be undone.

  He eyed the scabbard at the vampire’s hip. He knew if he lost focus, things could turn ugly fast. Which was why he was trying to keep the situation as calm as possible, even as everything feral in him wanted to tear out the renegade’s spinal cord.

  When Daniel rubbed his cheek over her hair, Sebastian saw Allie squeeze her eyes shut and bite down on her bottom lip to keep from crying out. Her bravery astounded him, even as he saw her body convulse with revulsion.

  Helpless to move without putting Allie in further jeopardy, all Sebastian could do was let out an ominous growl as he watched the vampire’s hand play over the flesh of her stomach.

  Behind him he heard a sound ripped right out of Hell come from deep within Constantine.

  Sebastian wanted to strike. Now. Take out the bastard and send him to the devil. Reason held him back. As long as the blade bit into Allie’s throat, neither Templar dared to make a move.

  They’d never get to him in time to prevent him from slitting her throat.

  Daniel’s eyes narrowed on him. An almost maniacal light gleamed in the depths of them, making it all too clear he was half crazed. A slow, sinister grin pulled at his lips. His words, when he spoke them, blew colder than the bitter breath of Death.

  “She’s the Daystar.”

  Sebastian’s gut twisted sickly when Daniel dropped that announcement. He saw Allie’s eyes fly open and lock on him. The desperation he saw reflected in them caused a physical pain in his chest.

  If this maniac believed that, it was safe to assume he’d do anything to take the power he believed she possessed. One wrong move on his part, and Allie was going to die.

  Behind him, he felt the tension in Constantine, as the Dragon strained to hold himself back. “Go easy, C.”

  “I can feel her in me. She’s screaming in my fucking head.”

  The tortured way Constantine said that was a kick to his heart. “Tell her it’s going to be alright. Tell her I love her.”

  Constantine let out a grunt and took a step back. “She can’t hear me.”

  What Constantine didn’t say, but what Sebastian knew, was that Allie couldn’t hear him past her own screams.

  Sebastian’s hand tightened around the hilt of his sword and his entire being hurt to take this vampire’s blood. Still, he remained outwardly calm as a war of emotion raged within in.

  “Whoever told you she’s the Daystar was wrong.”

  Daniel shifted his hold on Allie. Sebastian stood still, afraid to move as the renegade took hold of Allie’s chin. She choked on a sob when he lifted her head. The knife was still at her throat, slowly cutting into her. The vampire brought his mouth down to the side of her neck. His fangs hovered over her furiously throbbing vein.

  “Care to put that to the test, Templar?”

  This time it was Constantine who had to control Sebastian.

  Sebastian needed to be physically restrained by Constantine to keep him from lunging toward Daniel. The vampire laughed, his fangs nipping at Allie’s neck. Her terrified whimper cut right through his brain, robbing him of reason. Like a man possessed, he tried to fight off Constantine’s hold, going so far as to try to cut at Dragon’s arms with his sword.

  “No, Sage,” Constantine hissed in his ear. “That’s what he wants.”

  He knew Constantine was right, but God help him all he wanted to do was tear the bastard away from Allie and send him to Lucifer where he belonged.

  “Get the fuck off of me,” Sebastian demanded. “The prick is bluffing. He won’t kill her as long as he thinks she’s the Daystar.”

  “And if he’s not bluffing?” Constantine growled back. “You want to take that chance, Sage? You want to risk him killing her?”

  Sebastian knew Constantine was right. He needed to get control over himself and not have his emotions rule his mind. If he allowed that to happen he’d get sloppy and sloppy would get Allie killed.

  Calling on all the lessons he’d learned over the centuries, he wasn’t going to let Daniel to goad him any more than the renegade already had.

  Narrowing his eyes on Daniel, in his stare was the promise of Hell, which the renegade was smart enough to shrink from. Stepping back, he dragged Allie with him. From the smug expression on his face, Sebastian knew.

  He knew he had them, that they were his fucking puppets in this twisted game.

  *

  Feeling Daniel’s hold on her ease a bit, Allie took advantage of her captor’s distraction to make a move to try to free herself from his deadly hold. Twisting in his arms, she brought her knee up hard, catching him directly between the legs. Though dead, he could still feel pain and he howled and doubled over. The sword fell to the floor. She lunged for it, grabbing it before Daniel could. She tried to get away from him, but Daniel’s arm came down on hers.

  With a roar that shook the very foundation of the house, Sebastian charged. He grabbed Daniel by the throat and slammed him against the wall. Unfortunately, Daniel’s hold on Allie brought her back with him. She hit the wall with a g
runt. Dazed, she slid to the floor, the weapon falling from her hand. It skidded to a halt near her feet. She kicked it away, preventing Daniel from grabbing it and using it against Sebastian.

  Yanking her arm away from Daniel, she tried for the knife again, but the fight going on above her forced her to crawl away before she was caught in the middle of it.

  Constantine rushed toward her. For a second she thought he was going to join the fray and help Sebastian end Daniel. Instead, he came for her.

  One second she was trying to crawl away from the fight and the next she was scooped up in Constantine’s arms and carried across the room. When they got to the doorway renegades blocked their exit.

  “Fuck all,” Constantine swore, and unceremoniously dropped her.

  Allie went to the floor with a thud and rolled out of the way. Constantine fought off the attack as she scurried over to the far corner of the room and crouched down low. Her energy spent, she was so weak she couldn’t see straight. Sebastian and Daniel looked like a blur, locked in battle. Giving Daniel a good punch that sent him flying, Sebastian turned to her and warned her to stay where she was. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Daniel grab at the dropped sword and screamed out a warning.

  A few years ago she would have thought a gun was mightier than a sword. She’d since learned that wasn’t the case since a bullet didn’t do shit to a vampire.

  Especially if the sword happened to be in the hands of a Templar.

  Constantine palmed the sword that hung at his hip. He swung the thing with an expertise that rivaled Sebastian’s. The sound was deafening as blades crossed and clashed. Allie put her hands over her ears and kept her focus on Sebastian as he battled Daniel. After what the renegade did to her, she didn’t want to miss her Sebastian ending the bastard who had every intention of killing her.

  The sudden explosion of dust pulled her attention away from Sebastian’s fight, however. Constantine took out one of the vampires. The other was proving harder to finish off. The bastard was a damn good opponent. He also fought with that same hacking, brutal style as the Templars.