‘Then it’s not just Maris and Douglas, doing this?’
‘Oh no, there’s more. No way those two could have done this on their own. It took eight of them to grab Sam and me. It appears we have another rebellion on our hands.’
‘So how many?’
‘I sense twenty-two behind that curtain.’ His brow furrowed. ‘One of them feels vaguely familiar.’
‘There’s no way Alec can take them all on, even if he is stronger and faster.’
He shook his head. ‘He won’t be on his own. That’s what they’re counting on. They’re hoping to eliminate all of us tonight—Luc, Cal, Jean and Jake. They’ve already got two of us.’
‘And now me.’
Terens nodded. ‘We’re the bait.’
I was the lure to bring him here, but when I recalled the way we parted, the angry words… I had a feeling he’d come only because he was obligated to, as my guardian. I glanced up at my manacled hands. The ring had a faint glow. That could only mean one thing. Alec was on his way and walking into a trap.
Then I remembered what he had said to me last Friday night, about the rings telepathic powers in times of danger. Regardless how angry I’d been with him earlier, I couldn’t bear to see him killed. Closing my eyes I mentally called him. ‘Alec, if you can hear me, it’s a trap. There’s twenty-two of them.’
‘I’m outside. Hold on.’
My eyes snapped open at the sound of his voice in my head. It had worked. There’s no way it could have been my imagination.
‘Alec?’ I whispered. There was no answer.
Sam stirred in the other cage and let out a deep groan.
‘They kept Sam out for longer,’ Terens said, anger tinging his voice. ‘That sow’s arse wanted to hurt him. He’s her sire.’
Well, that explained the warning look he sent her at the start of the Ritual. He probably knew her better than anyone else. ‘Is that why she hates him so much?’
‘On the contrary. She begged him to change her and he spent the next century training the bitch! When she started killing and getting out of control, he threatened to have her executed. For a while she stopped, but at the end of her servitude he set her free and walked away.’
Had Alec done that to her? Although Terens hadn’t said it aloud, it hung there, all the same. It appeared Maris wasn’t the type to let her man go easily.
Terens leaned himself forward as far as his bound position allowed and turned his head to look past me to Sam. ‘Wake up, Sam. Come on, my brother, you can do this. Don’t let her win.’
Sam stirred and briefly opened his eyes before his head dropped again.
‘Will he recover?’ I asked.
‘We can heal at night, although it takes a little longer. It’s the day sleep that works best on our kind. I hope he can hang on for another six hours until then. If not I’ll wreak such a vengeance they’ll speak of it among my kind for eternity!’
No idle boast, the pain in his voice rang out clearly. He tipped his head back and roared till the ground beneath me shook. The sound reverberated around the walls, the ceiling and through my body like a shock wave. I stared at him open mouthed. Even in his injured state, Terens’s power was frightening. What was it like when he was whole?
He looked at me. ‘I’m sorry, Laura. I couldn’t hold it back.’
Panic welled up in me that had nothing to do with Terens’s outburst. There was no way I could slip my hands through the tight iron that held my wrists. The more I tried the deeper the metal cut into my skin and I risked bleeding as a result. I gave up, never having felt more helpless in my life.
‘They’re going to kill him, aren’t they?’ I may have been angry with Alec, but the thought of him being killed sickened me. I didn’t want to lose him. His kisses the other day affected me far more than I’d been willing to admit.
Somewhere nearby, a hideous laugh began. I raised my head to try to locate its source, only to see Maris stroll up and stand before me, hands behind her back. I trembled to think what she was hiding there—the riding crop? Was she going to amuse herself by flogging me again?
I braced myself, determined not to scream this time. There was no way I was going to give her that satisfaction again.
She didn’t bother to crouch down to my level and I didn’t want to look up at her, so I stared at her knees.
Stupid cloak, I thought.
She bent down, her face only inches from my own. I turned my head away, but she grabbed my chin and forced me to look back at her.
I tensed and closed my eyes.
‘Look at me,’ she demanded.
What could she do, rip my eyelids off? Actually, she could. I opened my eyes and caught her icy gaze. Her stare was enough to make any snake envious.
She whispered. ‘I have no intention of killing him.’
Confused, I said, ‘Then why…?’
‘He was my lover and will be again. All he needs is a little persuasion. You are my leverage. As long as you’re in my hands, he’ll do whatever I ask.’
‘You want me as your hostage?’
‘No, sweetie, you’re the power source and once I and my Brethren take a few sips from your little vein’ —she tapped my wrist with a long, red-painted fingernail—‘our strength will be equal to his.’
My blood chilled at the thought of being fed on by more than twenty vampires. I’d never survive it. ‘How many?’
‘Don’t worry. You’re no use to us dead. It’s the Principate we want to end, not the Ingenii. That needs to go on otherwise we’ll never be able to daywalk. I need you alive, sweetie. Then maybe in a year or two, I’ll find a nice human to breed you with to produce the next generation of Ingenii.’
If she hadn’t been holding my jaw it probably would have dropped. Yet her smiling manic face told me it was obvious she believed every word. Mental! As if Alec would go along with that. She didn’t know him at all. The word, delusional, didn’t begin to cover it.
I kicked down my fear. ‘You can’t think Alec would agree to that?’
‘How long have you known him, four, five days? I’ve known him nearly a century and there are things about him would surprise you.’
I only met Alec a few days ago. Maris was right on that score, but Luc had transformed him into a vampire and surely he would not have made him my guardian if there was anything questionable about him? Luc was my father and he’d never… No! Maris was wrong. She had to be.
‘You’re delusional!’ I had to believe that.
She laughed. ‘Oh, you are so naïve. Keep thinking that, sweetie. There’s nothing like misplaced hope.’
I glanced up at my ring. It glowed strongly and my heart gave a leap. Alec was somewhere close. I managed to twist the ring so the serpent faced my palm then curled my fingers into a fist.
‘I always knew you weren’t right in the head,’ Terens said from his cage. He’d been listening to our little exchange. ‘As if the other Elders will go along with that!’
‘Doesn’t matter. By the time they hear of it, it’ll be too late,’ she said and released my chin. I dropped my head in relief.
Maris straightened up and walked over to Terens’s cage. She ran a pointed scarlet nail down the length of his chest as her eyes raked his body.
‘Pity,’ she sighed. ‘I once considered taking you as a lover.’
‘I’d sooner bed a cockroach!’
Oooh, that had to be an ego bruiser, I thought, while trying not to imagine the anatomical impossibility.
She recoiled and hissed at him. ‘Then I hope you’ll enjoy their company when we dump your bodies in the morning sun!’
She snapped her fingers. I tensed. The curtain drew back and spotlights flicked on. I blinked at the sudden brightness as we were illuminated to the waiting crowd. It was difficult to distinguish anything in the darkened space before me. But as my eyes adjusted I made out movement. Several rows were occupied—I counted twenty-two—and, surprise! surprise! they were robed in black, hoods draped low over the
ir faces making any individual recognition impossible.
Cowards, I thought. Some among them must have spoken, maybe even danced with me at the Ritual on Monday night. Yet now, they had gathered for one purpose—murder. As one, they rose and clapped. Some called out, others jeered and laughed.
‘Don’t you realise this will cause a civil war!’ Terens yelled from his cage.
‘At least we’ll be free!’ Someone called back.
‘To kill?’
‘To be ourselves!’ Another voice said.
The Serpent Ring burned into my palm. Alec! He was near. Yet none of them gave any indication they could sense him.
‘Maris,’ one of the vampires called out. ‘It’s time.’
His voice sounded familiar, yet I couldn’t place it. As he rose from his seat and made his way to the stage, some of the others around him did the same. Maris turned to face him, her hands clenched into fists at her side. I could only surmise she had something to hide. Could it be that she had no intention of sharing my blood, or perhaps intended to take more than the others so she’d have the advantage?
As the unknown vampire came closer his hood slipped to reveal a face I knew—Russell!
I was stunned.
‘Russell! You’re Alec’s friend. How could you?’ I had actually liked him.
He looked at me with mock sympathy. ‘I’m so sorry Laura, but you know how it is.’
‘No, I don’t know how!’
‘You must understand, you have something we need and Alec is keeping it all to himself. Share and share alike, is what I say.’ He stooped low until his face loomed close to mine and an angry scowl darkened his features. ‘Why should he be the only one able to walk in the sun? You think we enjoy cowering in the darkness?’
Murmurs of approval echoed around the theatre.
His face resumed its usual bored expression. ‘I have nothing against him, really. I like him and I like you, but…’ and he shrugged. ‘This is purely business. Don’t take it personally!’
The bit about the sun I could understand and, perhaps even sympathise, but that last comment was the most lunatic thing I’d ever heard! From my right I heard a derisive snort. Sam had regained consciousness.
‘And how do you suggest she do that, friend?’ he asked.
I glanced at him amazed his injuries had already begun to heal even without the day rest. The charred and blistered flesh was slowly being replaced by smooth, pale skin. His fangs were bared and his eyes gleamed with menace.
Turning to Terens, on my left, I observed the same thing. It appeared this unholy gathering—in their obsession to take my blood—had forgotten about their caged captives.
‘Sam, I’m glad you’re with us again. It would’ve been a shame had you missed anything. Maris has promised quite a show.’ Russell smiled so sweetly, fangs protruding, it was chilling. ‘Isn’t that so?’ He said to her.
‘Of course,’ she replied. ‘I’d originally planned to capture you both a few days earlier, starve you then throw in a couple of those street brats I’ve been feeding on so we’d all enjoy the spectacle. But,’ she shrugged, ‘it wasn’t to be! Pity, Douglas so enjoyed procuring them for me.’
I gasped. So she was the murderer Matt was hunting!
‘You murderous bitch!’ Sam exclaimed. ‘I should’ve terminated you long ago.’
‘You didn’t and now you’re the one in the cage!’ She laughed.
Sam snarled.
Maris turned her back on him. ‘I believe our guest of honour needs a little encouragement to join us. We can’t perform our ceremony without his presence.’
I had a pretty good idea who this “guest of honour” might be.
‘May I suggest you use your two incentives?’ Russell looked at the two cages on either side of me.
Maris snapped her fingers again and two hooded figures appeared from either side of the stage. They positioned themselves directly behind Sam and Terens and, through the bars of the cage, placed their hands firmly on their prisoner’s backs.
An awful chill ran through me. I guessed that at a given signal, they were to be thrust onto the sharpened stakes. They both braced their legs against the cage.
‘I do regret this, boys. We’ve had some good times, but I can’t say I’ll miss your pretty faces, although perhaps the ladies will.’ Russell grinned. ‘I’ve heard you two have quite a reputation there.’
‘Jealous?’ Terens retaliated.
Russell’s eyes narrowed. He glared, then seemed to collect himself. ‘Sorry, but the fish aren’t biting today, which is just as well as you both seem to have passed your use by date!’
Sam snorted again. ‘That’s lame, even for you Russell. But I wouldn’t be too sure as yet.’ He had recovered fully and the vampire in him was loose and straining at the metal bars of the cage.
‘It’s titanium, especially built to hold one of our kind. Don’t strain yourselves boys,’ Russell said with an icy smile while laughter drifted up from the stalls. He leapt up onto to the stage and joined Maris.
‘Let’s begin.’ She nodded to the two hooded figures behind Terens and Sam.
‘No!’ I screamed. Where was Alec? How could he let this happen? They’re his friends!
Chapter 26
Concealment
ALEC
I rushed through the entrance foyer and up the carpeted stairs to the balcony. From there, I had a clear view of what was happening. Below me, a large group of black-robed Brethren, hoods drawn low over their faces, sat silent and unmoving in front of the stage as if waiting for the entertainment to begin.
Their cloaks intrigued me—why the concealment? Yet on the other hand, why was I surprised? They were too craven for an outright confrontation, but brave enough to try to intimidate a helpless woman. So far, no one seemed aware of my presence. The ring was working.
I was about to move when a familiar voice spoke out from among the hooded rebels below me. Russell. Of all the Brethren I had never suspected him. I’d liked and trusted him, believed him to be a friend.
Luc cursed, ‘Fils de salope!’
Jake and Cal gave a quick intake of breath. They were listening to everything from outside.
Over several years, Russell had declined our invitations and stopped visiting the House. He’d seemed friendly, if somewhat distant. Would he actually want to kill any of us? Had I been blind to this side of his character, or was this a recent development? Yet titanium cages are not built overnight. How long had he been planning this?
I would probably never know.
One thing was certain, he could dismiss years of friendship without a second thought and Terens and Sam were to be the first casualties. And Douglas? He was nothing but a pawn in Maris’s sick games, yet he was a monster too. He killed those human children. It explained the DNA the police took from their bodies.
Those two had just signed their own death warrant.
‘Luc, you heard?’ The rebels below me were too preoccupied to hear our voices.
‘They’ll pay,’ he replied.
An idea came. ‘Leave their bodies here. Burn the place down around them.’
‘Police find them—on a mysterious tip off—match their DNA to those on the kids bodies and case closed.’
‘Uh huh.’
‘I like it!’
Two black-cloaked and hooded figures strode up and stood behind Terens and Sam. I stiffened. ‘Damn!’
‘It’s Cal and Jake. I sent them in. No one will detect them while they’re blocking.’
I let out a tense breath. ‘Luc, I said—’
‘That’s my daughter they’re holding captive, Alec! We’re still waiting on your okay.’
Just then Laura screamed.
‘Luc, stay there!’ I leapt over the railing and into their midst.
Chapter 27
Betrayal
LAURA
‘There’s no need for that,’ Alec coolly announced, as he suddenly landed on the floor in front of the stage.
Black hoods scattered in all directions. So much for their bravado.
I felt like screaming his name, but as a modern 21st century woman I didn’t want to appear like the helpless heroine from a Regency novel—even though my current predicament seemed just that. And who was I kidding anyway? I was scared and seeing him there was close to heaven.
‘What took you?’ Maris said.
He gave her a dazzling smile that took my breath away. ‘Darling, I always show at the right time.’
What? I hoped he was being facetious, yet my mouth went dry all the same. He didn’t as much as glance at me, his eyes were glued to her.
‘Nice of you to join us. At last we can begin,’ Russell said. A cold smile played around his mouth.
From my place on the stage, I saw him nod to someone and four vampires jumped on Alec, brought him to his knees and pinned his arms behind his back. He didn’t struggle. Why?
‘I’m sorry, Alec but Russ insists,’ Maris said.
‘This really isn’t necessary,’ Alec replied. ‘I’ve come here on my own, following the smelly trail your pet, Douglas, left behind.’
Douglas growled and bared his fangs.
‘Tell him to sheath them or I’ll rip them out!’
Maris laughed, made a gesture with her hand and Douglas sat back down. She then strode to my side, crouched down next to me and grabbed my chin. Her fangs were bared; their tips touched my skin and made my nerve endings crawl.
Russell joined her and sniffed at my throat. ‘Mmmmm, delicious!’
‘Maris, if you want us to be together again,’ Alec said dryly, ‘all you have to do is ask. There’s no need to kidnap and terrorise the girl.’
No! He couldn’t be serious. I glanced to either side of me, at Terens and Sam. Terens wore a frown, but said nothing, and Sam’s eyes were narrowed. They merely watched.
Before I could open my mouth to yell a protest, the spotlights that were focused on us, moved. All except one, which was trained on me, moved to Alec.
Maris rose and left me, neatly leaping off the stage to stand in front of him.
‘Alec, if you’re playing with me—’
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