by ML Guida
“Aye, he’s telling the truth.”
“Mon Dieu, I did not know they existed. I have heard many stories, some pleasant, some not so pleasant.”
“Let her go.”
“I do not think so. You plan on killing me, no?” Celeste narrowed her eyes, but rather than fear or hate, excitement flashed in them. She curled her lips into a sneer. “I do not like to lose. Step back, or I will kill her.”
Amadi did as he was told but pulled back his lips, revealing his fangs. His hands twitched. If he attacked, could he rescue Violet in time?
Black smoke billowed outside the kitchen window. Pistols exploded. Fire flickered against the night sky. A loud shriek echoed outside.
Celeste moistened her lip. Her face paled. Perspiration trickled down her temples, and her hand holding the sword shook.
“Tell me, Maîtresse.” Amadi’s voice was low and mocking. “Are you afraid of a dragon?”
“Êtes un imbécile. Who would not be afraid of a dragon?” And the voice, the sneering voice of the Maitresse, now sounded different, quiet, hysterical.
He crossed his arms over his chest. “I’m not afraid.”
“Then you’re a fool. Stay where you are.” She forced Violet to move backward, but Violet dug her heels into the floor and closed her fights, striking Celeste’s thighs.
“Keep struggling, Violet, and I will slit your throat, mon pet.”
“Violet, stop,” Amadi ordered. His heart threatened to burst through his rib cage. He could not bear to see her bleed, not because of her enticing blood, but because she was the woman of his fantasy—fearlessness, determined, strong.
Amadi lifted his eyebrow. “You’re not going to fight for your plantation?”
Celeste laughed, but instead of her usual devilish laugh, ’twas nervous, as if she was trying too hard to sound brave. “If it is burned to the ground, I can rebuild. I will not be burned alive.”
He folded his arms. “What about your men?”
She shrugged. “They are expendable. I can get new men. I am rich.”
Her heartlessness churned his gut. She was even more selfish than her evil brother. “You actually think you’ll survive?”
Celeste cocked her eyebrow. “Cerainement. Je suis la Maîtresse.” A quiver of doubt trembled in her salty voice.
“You’re wrong, dead wrong.” Amadi hoped his voice hid the fear pulsing through him. If Celeste suspected he was vulnerable to her hurting Violet, she’d use it against him. Something he could not afford. “Wherever you hide, I will hunt you down.”
“Move, Violet.”
Violet mouthed the words. “I love you.”
Amadi’s heart quickened, but his blood thinned. His dry throat thickened. He knew he looked like a creature right out of hell, but this woman accepted him, even loved him—him, a lowly slave.
“Stay alive.”
“She will live, as long as you do not do anything stupide.” She dragged Violet toward the fireplace in the kitchen.
“What are you doing?”
Celeste flashed him a triumphant smile. “You will see, beau.” She pushed on a brick in the fireplace, and the wall next to it, swung open. A secret passage. She shoved Violet inside and followed.
The wall slammed on his heart.
Amadi rushed toward the opening, growling and snarling.
“No!” Violet cried on the other side.
He pressed the same brick, and the wall moved again, but when he stepped inside, darkness blanketed the tunnel. Cold, stale air and cobwebs hit him in the face. Stairs plummeted into blackness. Even with his vampire eyes, he could not see make out any two forms. “Violet, where are you?”
A muffled cry answered. Not caring what awaited him below, he rushed down the stairs. “Violet! Answer me!”
“No!” Violet pushed Celeste, who stumbled and fired. A shot whizzed past Amadi’s ear.
He rushed toward Celeste, but before he could reach her, she whipped out her sword and stabbed Violet in the chest. Violet crumpled onto the floor, blood pouring between her breasts.
His soul turned ice cold. Anger exploded him like an canon. Violet lay motionless on the floor. He detected her beating heart, but her breath was shallow, too shallow.
“She lied to me for the last time, no?”
“You bitch!” Amadi rushed toward Celeste, his arms stretched out, determined to strangle her.
But fire blasted through the darkness, slamming into his chest. Amadi flew backward and smashed his head on the back of the stairs. Pain and dizziness seized him. He needed more blood.
“Now, who is at my mercy?”
Amadi recoiled at Celeste’s overconfidence. His strength was waning. Blood, he needed more. He had to save Violet, get her out of here.
He scanned his surroundings. ’Twas a cellar, filled with barrels, but what caught his eye was the pistols and muskets in gun cases and swords piled against the wall. This was her armory. No telling how many weapons she had.
He opened his mouth to swear at Celeste but changed his mind. He forced himself to lay perfectly still, held his breath, and closed his eyes.
Celeste kicked him in the foot.“Vampire. What a disappointment.” The sound of another pistol being cocked froze his heart. He waited for pain.
It fired and the stench of sulfur choked him.
Agony stabbed his gut like a hot poker, and he bit back a moan. He wouldn’t die, not with a pistol shot. Only slicing off his head would kill him. But then Celeste was a twisted wench, and her depravity had no bounds. She’d cut off his head on a whim, just for the fun of it.
His heart hammered so hard he was afraid Celeste would hear.
Celeste walked up the steps, her shoes scraping on the stone.
Pushing the pain behind him, Amadi swung his arm and smacked her in her legs. She screamed and fell forward. He seized her wrist. She still clutched the sword and sliced his thigh.
He squeezed her fingers and she cried out. The sword banged onto the stone, then clanged, clanged, clanged down the steps into the cellar.
“No, stop.” Her terrified voice didn’t tap one ounce of his mercy.
“I’ve just begun.” He tossed her onto her back and covered her with his body.
She squirmed, her fists beating on his chest. “Get off me this instant. You are a slave. You will obey me. Or I will—” Her strong voice went from commanding to hysterical.
“You days of tyranny are over.” He was tired of listening to her piercing voice. He bit into her flesh. The stench of citrus choked him, but he pushed past it. Being this close to her twisted his insides.
She gurgled and screamed. With other victims, he’d always been tender and careful, but not with Celeste. She wasn’t human. She was a monster. A monster whose lifeline had just run out.
He drank deeper, wanting to get this over with. He hated taking her warm blood, but he needed it to heal. The pain in his shoulder lessened, and the burning in his gut dulled. Her salty blood satisfied the curse.
She slowly stopped moving beneath him, and her heart stopped beating against his chest. ’Twas over. She was dead.
He got off her and stood tall. He’d dreamed of killing her over and over again, and each time, he’d felt happier than when he escaped from the Sorcière de Mer. But now, all he felt was numbness.
No excitement.
No joy.
No elation.
A small gasp grabbed his attention. He rushed over to Violet and lifted her into his arms. “Violet, Violet, can you hear me?”
Her warm breath exhaled onto his face, her heart faint. She was dying. Tears blurred his eyes. He swallowed hard sorrow, terrified he’d lose her.
He snatched a sword then ran up the stairs two at a time and burst into the kitchen. If any man tried to stop him, he’d cut his head off.
He needed William. William could fly back to them back to the Soaring Phoenix to Doc. Doc could save her. He had to save her.
Chapter 18
Amadi skidded to halt
and held Violet close to his breaking heart. The crew of the Soaring Phoenix stood in the kitchen, all armed and all vampires and all brothers.
They came.
They came to find him.
The cap’n hadn’t given up, just like Amadi knew he wouldn’t. Emotions flooded through him, robbing him of his voice, squeezing his throat.
Captain Kane O’Brien, Sean Mallory, and Ronan MacMillan all stood behind Doc, who knelt next to Dubois’s body. “Dead, cap’n. Drained.”
Finally, Amadi spoke. His voice was strained and a bit crusty. “Cap’n, Doc?”
The Cap’n raised his eyebrow. Perception reflected in his keen eyes. “And here I thought you’d need rescuing.”
Amadi could hear the pride and admiration rolling off his Irish lit. He’d be blushing inside if it weren’t for Violet. All that mattered was saving her. “Doc?” He couldn’t choked out the rest of his words or blink away the tears in his eyes.
Doc stood, and concern flooded his red eyes. “What de ye have dere, Amadi?”
“Violet. She’s…she’s…hurt.” Amadi wasn’t the strong master gunner, always so sure of himself. He was a man, panicked over losing the woman he loved.
Doc rushed over and examined the wound in Violet’s chest. “I’ve got to stop da bleedin’.” He glanced over his shoulder. “I need time, Cap’n. I’ve got to get her back to the ship, or she’ll die.”
Amadi held Violet tighter. “No.”
The cap’n tilted his head. “Sean, find William.”
“Aye, aye, Cap’n.” Sean ran out of the kitchen. He always reminded Amadi of a fierce blond angel with his too-good looks, tall form, and fierce fighting skills.
The Cap’n clutched Amadi’s shoulder. “Your woman?”
Amadi nodded. “Aye.”
“Anyone else alive below?”
“No.” Amadi hardened his voice. “Da bitch’s dead.”
The Cap’n lifted an eyebrow. “Jacques’s sister?”
Hate lodged in Amadi’s throat and he couldn’t talk for several minutes. The bitterness blocked out all reason.
He gazed at the cap’n. “She was worse than Jacques.” His quiet voice was barely audible, but by the looks of his brothers, they heard.
Ronan clicked his tongue and shook his dark head. “So much evil in one family.” He held a sword in his hand, but he stuffed his right wrist into his pocket. He’d lost his hand in the last battle they’d fought against the demon Zuto. He’d been brooding last time Amadi saw him, never leaving his cabin. For him to leave honored Amadi.
“Da slaves?” Amadi licked his lips. “You didn’t—”
“They’re safe,” the cap’n said. “We will take them aboard the ship. They won’t be able to stay here. We’ll burn this place to the ground.”
Amadi nodded. “Good.” He couldn’t even muster a small smile. Defeating Celeste would mean nothing if Violet died. His world would end. He couldn’t imagine a world without his little truthful seer. A white woman sacrificed her life for him––a pirate vampire.
Sean rushed inside. “William’s outside.”
“Go back with Doc and her.” Cap’n tilted his head. “We’ll take care of this place. You won’t be much good here anyway, worrying about her.”
Amadi hated riding dragon style—he didn’t have much choice. He couldn’t change into a bat and carry Violet. He’d do anything to save his woman––even ride a dragon.
He and Doc raced outside. Smoke burned Amadi’s eyes, and he choked. The smell of sulfur, burnt leaves, and wood filled the air. Everything was engulfed in flames—the barn, the sugarcane fields, the stables. The crackling flares’ heat turned the plantation into a raging inferno.
Amadi broke out in a hot sweat, and he could barely breathe. Tears streamed from his eyes from the vapors. How the hell could the slaves live through this?
But he trusted the cap’n. If the cap’n said the slaves were safe, they were safe.
Doc motioned as he sat across William’s large back. “Come on.”
Amadi climbed onto William. “Hurry. We don’t have much time.”
The dragon was big enough to accommodate all three of them. William had the gift of changing his body to any size he wanted. One of the many dragon magic gifts he possessed. William stretched out his wings then jumped into the smoky air.
Amadi pressed his knees against the dragon’s side. Wind and black smoke rushed over him, and he hacked, his whole body shaking. Violet gasped and moaned in his arms. He held her tight, afraid he’d drop her.
“William,” he hacked, coughing into his arm. “Get out of da damn smoke.”
The air changed from charcoal to clean sea. Amadi inhaled, clearing his lungs. The ocean spread out before him, and his heart swelled at the sight of the Soaring Phoenix anchored in their secret cove. The taste of freedom consumed him. He and Violet had escaped. “Hang on, Violet.” He petted her sweating head with his shaking hand. “We’re almost there.”
His voice died on his stiff lips.
But she didn’t answer.
William folded his wings to his body and stretched out his talons. Men moved out of the way, and only the stern was available. Amadi sucked in his breath, waiting for them to crash, but William smoothly boarded the sloshing ship.
Hannah, Kane’s woman, waited for them. “What happened?”
“’Tis Amadi’s woman. She’s wounded.”
She blinked, looking between Amadi and Violet. “Take her to my cabin.”
Amadi choked at her words and could only nod curtly. Hannah had always treated him as an equal; for her to offer hers and the cap’n’s cabin honored him.
“Come on.” Doc slid off. “Take her to da crew’s quarters.”
Amadi rushed after him, wedging him between the questioning crew. Violet’s face paled, and he strained to hear her breathe. She was dying. His heart weighed heavy in his chest. She couldn’t die.
Bitterness blazed through him, ripping away his hope. Slavery had robbed him of people he loved. “Don’t leave me.” His low voice trembled and faded.
He was surprised he had tears leaking from his eyes. He never cried. Never. How could this mere girl strip him of his hardened defenses?
Doc led him into the cap’n’s cabin. The smell of well-oiled wood and lemon permeated the room. He laid Violet on the neatly made king-sized bed. Doc rushed in, carrying his bag. Hannah trailed after him, carrying a bowl of water and rags.
“Amadi,” Hannah said. “Let us work on her.”
Amadi wanted to argue, but he did not have the medical knowledge that Hannah and Doc possessed, and he stepped aside. He paced the cabin, clenching his hand, never taking his eyes off Violet. Hannah cut away Violet’s bloody shift, revealing her perfect breasts, now coated with blood. Hannah wiped the wound clean, but blood leaked out. She placed pressure on Violet’s chest. “The bleeding has stopped.”
Amadi hurried to her side. “I can do dat.”
Doc glared. “Stay back.”
He rubbed his sweaty palms on his thighs. “I can’t stand and do nothin’.”
“Aye, you can.” Doc stuck out his chin. “’Tis a serious wound. But her lips are not blue an’ I do not hear a cracklin’ sound.”
Hannah rested her hand on Violet’s forehead. “She doesn’t have a fever.” She wiped Violet’s face with the rag.
Doc smiled. “’Tis a good sign. We’ll done have to wait to an’ see how bad it is.”
Amadi’s stomach sank, and he broke out in a nervous sweat. “Wait and see?”
Doc mixed olive oil and beeswax and used a knife to spread the mixture onto the bandages. He placed the bandages around three sides of the wound.
“What are you doin’, Doc?” Amadi growled. “She’s dyin’.”
“You do not know this. Da bandages will seal da wound but allow air to escape an’ not return. The wound may heal on its own. You got to trust me on dis.”
Amadi stared down at Violet, her pale voice ripping his heart out. “What happ
ens if she gets worse?”
Doc washed his hands. “Have faith, man. She’ll pull through.” His voice was confident, but his wary eyes gave away he was worried.
“Then what do I do?” Amadi felt more helpless than a flapping fish.
“Stay with her.” Hannah touched his arm. “She needs you. If there are any changes, come and get us.”
Doc gathered his bandages and gauze while Hannah picked up the bowl and rag. They gave him a brief nod as they exited the cabin, leaving him alone with Violet.
He approached the bed cautiously, afraid if he did anything rash, he’d wake her and she’d cry out. Her chest rose up and down. He sat in a chair and waited. Weariness beat down on him, but he refused to sleep. She needed him, and he’d be awake when she woke from her slumber.
Hours ticked by, and she slept. Every time she sighed or moved, fear seized him. He paced back and forth, hating the helplessness.
“You don’t have to be afraid.” Violet looked at him with a weak smile.
He rushed over to her and pushed her hair out of her face. “You’re awake?” His voice cracked.
“Aye.”
He stopped, not wanting to hurt her. “You’re in pain?”
She nuzzled closer. “A little. Mostly tired. Will you stay with me?”
“Always.” He kissed the tip of her pert nose and held her close. “I’ll be right here. Doc says the wound may heal on its own.”
“I heard.”
He cocked an eyebrow. “You were awake?”
“In and out.” She lifted her hand.
He took it and rubbed her palm, then kissed the top of her hand. He put her palm on his chest, wanting her to feel his heart swelling against his ribs. “Did I tell you I love you?”
She didn’t respond right away, and he cursed himself for blurting his love out. What was he thinking? She’d escaped from the Sorcière de Mer. Why would she want to be with a vampire slave?
She squeezed his hand. “I know you do.” Her eyes flutter shut. “I love you. I loved you the minute I saw you. Just need to rest.”
