"Olden blood," the vampire finally panted. "He found blood of the true ancients in the lower catacomb vaults after a quake tore through the caves. Pure blood."
"So, he found a bottle of blood. What's the big deal?" Falcon chimed in.
The vampire leveled his good eye on him. "Like any species, our blood had become diluted over the centuries. The lines did not remain as true and strong as they should have. At first, Lotharus tried to use the blood to convert himself. When that didn't work, he made us. But then the scroll that spoke of the Draco Crystal, the ritual, fell into his lap and he abandoned everything he'd worked on to find it and prepare."
"And what's so special about you?" Griffon said with a grunt. "Other than those freaky eyes, you all look and die the same to me."
"It is said the true oldens possessed memory blockers."
"Memory blockers?" Tallon asked.
Griffon leaned over her. "It means they could feed off their prey without conscious," he replied under his breath. "Feed off humans again without the threat of going mad."
Falcon pushed his way back to the soldier, his hands fisting the vampire's bloodstained collar, nearly yanking him off the chair. "Anything else?"
"Yes," the soldier snapped. "It's also said they could walk in the sun."
A collective gasp filled the room. Falcon released his hold of the soldier and took a shaky step back.
"Can you?" he asked.
"Haven't tried," the soldier replied, sulking back into the chair.
"As interesting as all of this is," Declan said, "it doesn't help me find Alexia."
"Alexia?" The soldier arched a brow and turned toward Declan. "Lotharus plans to kill her at midnight when she ascends and steal her power. With the ruler's force harnessed in the crystal, he can overthrow the order and become the first man to rule our horde in centuries."
The vampire's face showed no feelings, his voice held no inflection of emotion, which amazed Declan as he stood in speechless disbelief.
"But the Queen..." Tallon finally said, staring at each of them with shocked incredulity before turning back to the soldier. "He can't do that, can he? Won't she stop him?"
The soldier shook his head. "He's already killed her."
Declan's heart stopped. Without a word, he spun, heading for the door. "Dec, wait."
When he didn't slow, Tallon's hand grabbed his bicep, turning him around.
"I'm going for her, Tallon. You're not stopping me."
Her pink lips twisted and she reached beneath the tattered hem of her sweater to dig something out of her pant pocket. "Then you're going to need this."
Declan glanced down. She held one of their black tracing sticks in her hand. The red light at the top blinked in a steady rhythm, meaning not only was it turned on, it was tracking something. Someone. Frowning, he reached for it.
Tallon dipped her chin. "I put a tracer on her last night."
His frown tightened into a scowl.
"I won't apologize, so don't ask me to. You're my family and I'll do what I think is best to look after you, no matter what."
Declan took the device from her hand, unable to utter the thanks on his lips.
"For the record," she continued, "I don't agree with this. You shouldn't go there. It's too dangerous."
"She's right." At Falcon's voice, Declan glanced up. "You need a plan. If Lotharus has already killed the Queen, he will be even stronger now than before."
Declan closed his eyes and took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down. "All right. Griffon and Falcon, head back out to the catacombs and see if you can spot any activity that might tip us off to Lotharus's whereabouts." Opening his eyes, he set what he knew was a worried gaze on his sister. "Tallon, go and get me Doc. Tell her to bring every bit of parchment, every book and scrap of paper regarding the vampires and their histories with her and meet me in my chamber. Make it quick."
"Right," Tallon said. "I'm on it."
ALEXIA RAN INTO THE HEART of the garden, stopping at the fountain. As always, Diana stood with one palm up, the other offering water to the sunken city. Panting, Alexia carefully pulled the crystal from underneath her heavy sweater. It seemed to grow heavier in her hand, as if it knew what she was about to do. Wanted her to do it.
"Mother, I hope this works," she whispered, placing the ball in Diana's hand. Slowly, Alexia released the stone, pulled her hand back and held her breath.
Nothing happened.
Alexia sighed and muttered a curse. She was about to reach for the crystal when a soft hiss, like air escaping a balloon, whispered through the garden. Alexia froze, watching wide-eyed as the statue began sinking into the earth. The fountain turned off until only small droplets of water fell from the lip of the pitcher. The bottom of the pond fell away and water streamed out, revealing the secret hidden beneath.
It was then she saw what she'd come here to see. Davna Vremena. And on the far side of the pool, farthest away from Diana, it sat, alone and forgotten. An island shrouded in myth and Myst.
Dragon Island.
Alexia quickly scribbled a rough map of the island, stowing the paper in her boot before staring once again at the wonder before her.
"Over the Boginja Mountains, across the Uklet River and beyond the Zavodnica Sea." She repeated her mother's words, adding in the landmarks before her. "Far away where she couldn't touch them." She looked over her shoulder at the statue of Diana, who stood at the farthest possible point from the tiny island.
There. That was where mother had hidden them.
"So, you brought it."
Alexia instantly spun, clutching the crystal with one hand, training her gun on his chest with the other. "Brought what?"
"Don't play with me." Lotharus stepped out from behind a tree, his shadowed face a study in rage as he examined the slowly filling pool of water. "Did you really think I didn't know what your mother had done? I allowed her to keep her pets alive, knowing I'd learn their location the minute I tasted her blood."
Despite the sweat breaking out on her brow, hair rose on the back of her neck. "Then why did you kill her?" Alexia seethed, shaking the hand holding the gun on the last syllable.
"I assure you, killing her was not the plan. I needed her very much alive in order to harvest her at peak power. But now I suppose yours will have to do. I do hope it's as potent as the auld texts say." He took another step into the faint light of the garden.
Narrowing her eyes, Alexia tilted her head and looked closer. Four bloody scratches ran in parallel lines down his cheek. Not scratches, claw marks. Someone had run their nails over his face in what looked like a last-ditch attempt to save themselves from a fate horrible enough to warrant such panicked recklessness. At the thought it had been her mother, fighting for her life, bile tickled the base of her throat.
"You'll be slaughtered by the vanators for what you've done!"
"Perhaps in your world the blood hunters would come for me. But not the one I'm creating. The one I rule."
Alexia shook her head, unable to believe the sheer lunacy in his eyes. "You're mad."
"No. It's evolution, Alexia. Think about it. The dragons have male leaders, do they not? Even the humans know better. It is only us, the bees and the elephants that have not yet realized our mistake, moved on and evolved."
"What you're saying is treason," she said. "You'll be exiled."
"By whom?" He cocked a brow and prowled closer. "You? My soldiers?"
Alexia swallowed down her fear and trained her gun between his eyes. "I'll shoot you where you stand."
Lotharus grinned and stood with his hands stretched to the side. "Give it your best shot." The malice and madness in his eyes had her pulling the trigger without hesitation. However, before the bullet left the chamber, he appeared beside her. A moment later, a shattering pain ripped through her wrist and the gun was wrenched free.
"Not good enough," he said, dangling her gun from his fingertips before tossing it aside. On reflex, Alexia shot her arm out, catching his c
hin with a jab. When she tried to follow with another, Lotharus snatched her arm and hauled her to him.
"You smell like him. Every filthy inch of you," he snarled, swinging his arm in a wide arc. Alexia twisted her arms free and dove to the side. Tucking into a ball, she rolled back up to stand two feet away, missing the blow by seconds.
"You fed me lies," she panted. "About the war, about the dragons, about everything."
"Of course I did. Why whip the mule into action when it will work twice as hard for a carrot?"
Alexia's blood boiled. Narrowing her eyes, she reached behind her back, curling her fingers around her dagger's hilt. "Dangle that carrot too long, your mule will get hungry and bite you instead." Grunting, she flung the weapon toward his heart. The blade sank into its mark, protruding from the center of his chest. She released a breath and stood, watching as blood oozed from the wound, staining his shirt. Lotharus looked down, curled his long fingers around the hilt and pulled. Alexia stared in disbelief as the flesh healed within seconds.
"No." She shook her head. "That's not possible."
Lotharus glanced up, his lips curved before he vanished in a plume of smoke.
Gasping, Alexia turned to see if he'd materialized behind her. Something smacked her across the face so hard, so fast, she fell back. A small cry of pain hummed from her lips as she sensed a welt already forming above her jaw.
She rested the wounded cheek on the stone pathway for only a moment before shifting to her hands and knees, about to stand. Something wrapped around her, yanking her up hard. She spun and saw Lotharus standing a good five feet away. He was using mind power against her, pulling her to him. Alexia twisted and fought with everything she had, but it was useless.
Goddess, he was fast and so strong.
When she stood before him, his hands took the place of his will. He clamped her body tightly against his until it felt like iron manacles encircled her wrists.
"Too bad for you--I'm not scared of your bite," he drawled. Tilting his head to the side, his black eyes traveled the length of her body. "But I am interested in something else."
"You really are pathetic, you know that?" she said, keeping the fear out of her voice.
He blinked but didn't lift his eyes from her bodice. "And why is that?"
"It's like Declan said, you have to force someone to lie with you to get any at all."
His gaze snapped to her face, but instead of anger, bloodlust lit up his eyes. Slowly, his fangs lengthened to hang over his lower lips. Fear, thick and debilitating, slid down her spine.
"Who says I want you, Alexia? You never did anything more than lie there like a petrified tree. But this..."
A whimper escaped her as he wrenched her neck back, exposing her throat.
"This I've wanted to do for nearly a century." He swooped. Brutal and with no regard to pain or thoughts of pleasure, Lotharus plunged his teeth into her throat.
Alexia's eyes watered as he twisted his head, sinking his fangs deeper into her flesh, increasing the flow of blood to his mouth. She slammed her eyes shut. Thoughts of Declan, images of him burned behind her closed eyes with Technicolor clarity. Fight, a voice screamed in her head. It was his voice, deep and smoky and ordering her not to die here. Not now. Not like this.
Lotharus let out a low groan. The hand on her wrist slipped an inch. Using the advantage, Alexia tugged her arm free, jabbing her fist against his ear. Bones crunched beneath her knuckles. Lotharus howled and fell back, clutching his head as he stumbled back from her. Alexia fell, her back smacking the jagged stepping stones. Wincing, she flipped over. Blackness swallowed her vision. Grabbing a breath, she began crawling down the path, using her arms and fingers to pull her.
A hand seized the waistband of her pants, tugging them and her backward. "If you would have just drunk out of the goblets I served you, like your mother did, this wouldn't be so hard." Through a hazy film, she saw her gun and reached for it.
"I tried to keep you both complacent. Tried to make this easy for all of us." Knees dug into her back, pinning her to the floor, as his fingers bit into her scalp and pulled hard. Alexia gasped when his teeth clamped down hard on the back of her neck. A low groan of triumph, of domination, filled her ears. Using her last reserve of strength, Alexia bucked him off and threw herself forward, toward the gun, frowning when her limbs wouldn't move. She tried again and could barely lift them an inch.
Lotharus clutched her shoulder, easily flipping her over. His hands dug into her pocket, retrieving the crystal. "But you, Alexia, chose the hard way," he said, studying the ball. "And I still win." His bloodied lips were the last things she saw before he lowered his head and bit down hard. His mouth covered the column of her throat, his teeth piercing deep, constricting her windpipe. The fresco ceiling above swirled as she felt her consciousness slowly fading. Heavy and weak, every muscle in her body drooped limp until she thought she might sink into the ground, into her grave.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
DECLAN SAT AT HIS DESK, poring over every line, every word and every implied nuance of the old texts Doc had given him until his vision blurred. There had to be something they'd missed, something they weren't seeing. Declan would not believe they were helpless against a simple stone. There had to be a way to use it against the vampires, had to be a way to fight back. The power in that crystal couldn't only go one way. But how? Why? He stared down at the book in front of him. The answer was right there before him, but he couldn't read the language.
Swiping a hand over his burning eyes, he flipped over another page of the ancient book. Particles of dust flew into the air, landing behind his eyelids like sandpaper. With a frustrated growl, he shoved the useless book to the floor. The sound of it thudding against the ground drowned out the faint knock on his door. "My lord?"
Declan spun in his chair at the voice. A small female stood in the doorway. "Doc, you're back. Have you found something else?" Declan felt his heart race in anticipation of her positive answer.
"I hope so," she replied, wedging the door open with her shoulder. The white lapels of her lab coat flared to the sides as she stepped inside. Hands full, she kicked the door closed, barely managing to balance the copious amount of books and scrolls piled in her arms.
"Here, let me help you." Declan walked forward, taking a few of the heavier books from her stack.
"Thank you," she replied, her gaze flitting up only briefly before settling somewhere near the floorboards once more. Declan couldn't help but notice that even after she'd gained an appointed seat on the council, even after all he'd done to help her, she still had trouble making eye contact with him. It was the same story for all the other dragon lords. Declan chuckled to himself, thinking it amusing that someone as small and timid as the Doc had his mighty dragon captain, Kestrel, wrapped around her frail little finger.
Carefully, Doc laid the scrolls on the floor. Rising back up to stand, she took one of the parchments off the top, unrolling and flattening it on the desk before him.
"I ran some specs on the ceremony off what we man aged to translate from these scrolls and the soldier's testimony. Now, nothing seemed out of the ordinary and none of it connected to the Queen or her daughter until you mentioned the word ascension, and the fact that Lotharus had already killed the Queen."
Doc pushed her glasses up her nose and bent over the desk, her thin, blond ponytail skating over her shoulder, concealing the protruding collarbone poking beneath her delicate form.
"Now." She tapped her finger on the paper, drawing Declan's attention. "I did some digging and put two and two together. I believe Lotharus means to take over the horde."
"Yes. We gathered as much from the soldier Griffon brought in."
She turned her face to his, her light brows drawn together in concentration. "He told you Lotharus is overthrowing their society and creating a new one? Reverting them back to the dark times when men ruled the horde?"
Declan nodded. "But what does that have to do with the crystal? With Alexia?"
/>
"Uhh, well," she said, bending to the scrolls and books she'd laid on the floor. "As an olden, he is powerful enough in his own right. A fact I'm sure you can attest to if you've faced him and lived through it," she said, flipping through the stacks of paper. "However, his ability now is nothing compared to an ascended Queen's at the height of her youth, like Alexia would be after tonight. That is where the crystal comes in. Ah, here we are." Selecting one of the parchments, she stood, placing it on his desk. Unraveling it carefully, she pointed to what looked like a sketch of a long staff with the crystal set atop it. "If he can harness the energy in the crystal, contain it within the power center here, he could wield her force from outside his corporeal form."
"In other words, he could turn the crystal into a weapon?"
"Exactly."
Declan fell back against his desk chair. "But in order to gain Alexia's power and harness it within the crystal..."
"He has to kill her."
Declan swallowed down the urge to be sick. "How do I stop him?"
He heard the desperate panic in his own voice. Knew the minute Doc leveled her unsettling gaze on him, she'd heard it, too. Declan ran a hand through his hair, wishing he could punch his fist through a wall instead.
Doc squatted down until her eyes were level with his. A sudden rush of energy and heat charged the air between them. The hair on Declan's forearms and neck stood on end as if static energy pulsed through his pores.
"Doc, what are you...?"
Without a word, she moved closer, closing the distance between them. His gaze locked with hers and he realized at once what was happening.
Declan knew Doc used her empath powers when she healed wounded legionnaires in the infirmary, himself included. However, her patients had always been knocked out cold when she'd worked on them, and no one ever witnessed her powers firsthand. He had no idea what to do, or how she wanted him to react. So, he did nothing. He only stared at her, hoping he wouldn't have to do anything for Doc's magick to take effect.
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