As he raced toward her, she threw herbs at him.
He could feel the burn. Kiera’s spell wasn’t fighting it. He had one choice. He retreated—not from battle, but he called out the man living in him.
‘Flynn,’ he whispered.
His eyes bled back to blue, and he grabbed the longer sword at his feet.
“You’re dead,” he said, as the wicked vampyre witch tried more herbs.
How he was staying safe, he didn’t know. All Flynn knew was someone had to die.
“Come and play, human,” she said, pulling her own blade.
“She’s the one who tortured me!” Alex shouted, felling another vampyre.
“Oh, she is, is she?”
That was all he had to hear.
Flynn moved closer, and when she swung at him, missing him completely, he did what Rinnon was instructing into his mind.
He slid the iron through her body and pinned her to a nearby tree.
Katya howled in pain.
She called for Gradius to save her.
But he was gone…
Alex raced toward her. “She’s mine.”
Flynn knew he’d want to end her. He had to get to Jacques before it was too late. As he raced to his mate, he saw him holding his father’s hand.
Mordechai was going gray.
He was dying.
“Vanth! Come to me!”
There was the flapping of wings right before she appeared. “Master, the women are safe.”
“Get him home. Do what you can.”
Jacques didn’t want to leave his father.
“Take Jacques with you.”
He glanced up at his mate. “Thank you.”
They were gone.
As Flynn headed back toward his wife’s brother, he was busily cutting chunks of the vampyre apart. Her breasts were gone, her thighs were a mess.
“Where is he?”
She screamed in pain.
Flynn touched her head. He tore into her mind and found the address.
“I have it. End her so she won’t be fighting another day. She’s Gradius’s right hand woman.”
“He’ll avenge me.”
They laughed. “He left with another woman. What do you think that means?” Alex asked.
Tears filled her eyes. “No.”
He didn’t let her say anything more. He drove his blade through her heart.
She was dead.
Flynn looked around. The field was filled with dead vamps going to ash. They wouldn’t have to worry about anyone finding them. Most of the Tueur were old. They didn’t last very long once Death claimed them.
The field rumbled.
Speaking of Death, there she was.
“You let him get away!”
Flynn turned and faced down the wickedest bitch of them all. “I had to find where they were going. I’ll begin tracking them.”
She screamed in anger. “You were so close!”
He moved toward her. “I will find him. Jacques’s father is dying. Have some mercy for once in your life,” he raged.
The ground shook.
It was no longer Flynn.
Rinnon was back to driving the bus, and he wasn’t happy at all. Death needed to slow her roll. They had other priorities.
“We will get him. I’m going after him now. How about you pop into my home and save a vampyre?”
“I can’t save him.”
“Yes, you can, and you will.”
“Rinnon, my hands are tied. Fate will kick both of our asses.”
He didn’t care.
“You do whatever you can. I’m going after Gradius and Morganna.”
She huffed and disappeared.
When he turned, Alex was shaking his head. “I feel sorry that you have to deal with her.”
Yeah, tell him about it.
Death was a pain in his ass.
∞ Chapter Forty-Three∞
Rinnon’s Lair
When they appeared, Jolie immediately rushed to her mate’s side. He was holding his bleeding father, and there was nothing they could do to save him. That was evident from just looking at him.
Without a miracle to save him, they were going to watch Mordechai go to Death—for good.
This was out of their power.
“Jolie, my father saved me.”
She was aware. Jolie had seen it all happen. She knelt beside the dying vampyre and placed her hand around the blade. If they pulled it out, he’d be gone in seconds.
“Help him, please,” he whispered, overcome with guilt. He’d trusted his mother, doubted his father, and in the end, the man saved him.
Jolie could call death.
He couldn’t.
She knew what he needed. “Death! Come here! I need you.”
The Destroyer’s stone around her neck glowed. It didn’t take long for her to pop into the room.
“Save him.”
“I can’t! You don’t get it. Fate has him chosen for death. I can’t intervene. I already told Rinnon that.”
The house shook.
“Oh, stop! I can’t! If I do, she’ll screw with something else. Right now, you’re all alive.”
“It’s okay,” Mordechai said, patting his son on the face. “I paid for my sins. I saved my boy. That was my job in life. I’m sorry, Jacques. Forgive me for being a horrible father. Forgive me for all the hurt. You love those children. You do the opposite of me.”
Tears streamed down his cheeks. “Father.”
“I’m ready. Remove the knife. Don’t prolong it. I’ve lived my life. It’s done.”
Death pointed at the witch. “You have a spell.”
“I don’t!”
The paper fell from a book that opened on a shelf. “You have a spell. It’s all that I can do.”
With that, Death was gone.
Kiera read over it. “Jacques…”
“Just do it. I don’t care. Just make it happen. I can’t let him go like this.”
She tried to explain.
Vanth tried to explain.
They both wanted them to be aware.
“I don’t think you want me to…”
“DO IT!”
She didn’t have a choice. The man was distraught. “Do I have your permission, Mordechai? I can buy Rinnon some time.”
“Yes.”
No one asked what she meant. Kiera didn’t like this at all, but she would do it.
“Get him into the circle. I’ll do my best.”
It was all she could do.
* * * H a r c o u r t e * * *
Gradius’s Main
Office
When they arrived, he was already gone.
There was no way he’d beaten them back by this much. That meant that Gradius had packed, ready to leave just in case, or he had some of his minions do it when the going got tough.
That sucked.
The bastard was in the wind.
It pissed Flynn off. He began tearing the place apart, looking for anything that would help him find the next place.
When he picked up the laptop, ready to throw it through the wall, he saw the paper fall.
“What’s that?” Alex asked.
He picked it up and began reading it.
‘Jolie Harcourte, these babies won’t live. It’s you or the people you love. Give yourself up or I will start killing your family one by one.’
Flynn roared in anger. “It’s never happening. I’ll stop you, Gradius. This isn’t over. You’re going to pay for touching our family.”
Alex touched his arm. “We’re leaving the fortress, aren’t we and heading back to New Orleans?”
“We?” Flynn asked. “Are you including yourself?”
Alexzandre put his hand on the man’s shoulder. “You’re married to my sister. I’m coming with you. I’m not letting you down. I left once. Kiera and I are standing with our family.”
Flynn patted him on the arm. “Thank you.”
“Let’s get back.”
&
nbsp; Before they did, Flynn called for Vanth. She appeared.
“Master.”
“Flynn.”
“You have to get back. Death is up to her craziness. She gave them a spell.”
“For?”
She told him.
Rinnon glared at her. “From the book in my office?”
She nodded.
“We have to go. I want all these file cabinets, Vanth. Get them back to our home. I want to go through them all.”
“Yes, Father.”
Flynn snapped his fingers, and he was gone.
Vanth got to work, taking her time. She didn’t want to be anywhere near their home when he got there.
Rinnon was going to lose his mind.
Big time.
* * * H a r c o u r t e * * *
Rinnon’s Lair
When he arrived, Jacques was already mourning. He held his father as he began decaying. Flynn dropped to his knees and tried to help Jolie soothe his broken heart.
“He’s gone.”
Flynn touched his cheek, and his eyes bled back to blue for the man who needed his mate, not the demon.
“I’m so sorry.”
Jolie held him as he clung to his father.
“Flynn, is there nothing we can do?” she asked. “Death was here, but she’s gone.”
He called for her.
She didn’t come.
“Death!”
Still, she ignored him.
Flynn didn’t know what else he could do. Without more of his memories back, he didn’t know if Rinnon could even help.
‘I can’t,’ he heard in his head.
“She tried a spell, but it didn’t work.”
Kiera stood there, Alex holding her to his body. She didn’t know how to tell them the truth.
Oh, it worked.
She could feel it.
“Um…” She hoped Rinnon didn’t flip out. “The spell worked.”
They all looked over.
“It did?” Jacques asked. “Then why is he going to ash. He’s gone. My father is gone.”
The paper on the table slid to the floor, across the stone, and to Flynn’s boot. He reached down, and picked it up.
After reading it, he stared over at her. “This was the spell?”
She nodded. “I tried to tell them.”
He stared down at the man who was nothing more than ash through his son’s fingers.
It looked like they had more than just one issue to worry about. They were heading back to New Orleans to save the family, and now they had this mess to worry about.
“Flynn, what is it?” Jolie asked.
“Death get your ass here now!”
There was laughter but she didn’t appear.
“She bought us some time,” Kiera offered. “I don’t know what more to say.”
Jolie needed to know.
“What did she do?”
He handed her the paper so she could see for herself.
Jolie gasped. “Oh no!”
Jacques didn’t like the sound of that. In fact, he really was starting to get that sick feeling over the whole thing—worse than losing his father. “What happened?”
The door across from them creaked open.
They all stared.
There, standing in the frame, was an apparition. It was barely visible, as it struggled to move toward them.
“Oh, she bought him time. Death gave her a spell to bind him here—in our house. We now have a ghost,” Flynn said, calling for Death again.
The bitch was hiding out, and he didn’t blame her. He was going to kill her yet.
When he got her hands on her…
This was horrible timing.
Jacques couldn’t believe it.
“My father is a spirit?” he asked. “Is that possible? Can she do that? We don’t have souls. How did she give him one and keep him here?”
Jacques didn’t know what to think. Should he be angry or happy to have more time?
It was a toss-up.
“That was the Book of the Dead spell grimoire. I killed a vampyre who was using it to torment his enemies by binding them here forever. I figured it would be safe here,” Rinnon said, his eyes swirling with red flashes of anger.
“DEATH! We don’t need this right now! Tell me how to fix this!”
And it was true.
They really didn’t.
∞ Epilogue ∞
Three Days Later
They managed to get away. How? Gradius didn’t know. The whole thing shocked the hell out of him. Before their next encounter, he’d have to think this all through and work out a better plan.
Heading right to his next hide-y hole was what probably saved his life.
Now he was back in control.
Beside him was the woman who betrayed and murdered her mate. She’d been silent the entire time.
“I hope you’re not having second thoughts,” he offered.
“No, but I am worried. My son is tenacious. He will hunt me down.”
“I’m not worried,” Gradius said, pulling her into his lap. He was hard, horny, and needed a way to burn off some adrenaline. Katya was sacrificed for the good of his escape, so there was only one choice.
Morganna.
He hoped she liked it rough. He planned to make her scream for hours. What they’d had before was nothing compared to what he was going to have now. Before, he let her have some control. It was to lure her in. He had her blood, he had her caged, and she’d burned all her bridges.
She was trapped.
Until he had Jolie Harcourte chained to his bed, she would have to do. Then he could care less about her. She would be useless to him. He would have the mother of the next Destroyer carrying a new baby.
His child.
The idea thrilled him more than anything in his life.
“Gradius,” she said, as he tugged her blouse open, revealing her breasts. “Now? Here?”
He stared at her bra.
It was hideously serviceable. He wanted her wearing the things Katya wore for him.
He missed her.
She knew how to serve on her knees.
“I told you what I wanted you to wear under your clothes for me, Morganna. You’re mine now. Unless you’d like me to let you walk out that door. Then you can try to survive all alone in the world. I bet it’s been a while since you’ve had to fend for yourself. I’m betting Mordechai bought you everything you asked for in life.”
That scared her because he did. He was a bastard, but she was well cared for every day.
She was officially screwed.
“No, I’m sorry, I didn’t…”
He slapped her.
Morganna fell backward onto his desk. It entertained him that she looked surprised. That she was shocked that he’d hurt her. Oh, she had no idea of the pain he needed to get off. She was going to beg for death.
“You’re mine now, pet. Do you understand what I’m saying to you?”
His hand found her throat, and he slid her toward him until the vee between her legs was pressed securely to his erection.
Her eyes went big.
Yeah, he was going to take her.
He reached into her mind, planting every compulsion he’d need to keep her in line. When she stared up at him, glassy-eyed, he saw the willingness to do his bidding. Nothing would be off limits. By the end, he’d make sure she was used up, washed out, and nothing more than another whore on her knees.
Sex was going to be fun.
“Jolie is about to go home to a very different New Orleans. One she won’t recognize. I have Tueur still there, and they’ll start working on laying the ground work for the final fight.”
Morganna moaned as his hand slid beneath her skirt. When he found her panties wet, he was pleased.
She was his slut, and now his personal property. She should have stayed with her mate.
This was going to be hell.
“Strip for me, and get on the desk. I have to make a phone cal
l,” he said, watching her do exactly what he asked. “Slowly. I like my whores to tease me before I feast on their bodies.”
She did what he asked.
It was his test.
She was completely under his control. There wasn’t an ounce of hesitation.
As he watched her touching herself, trying to please him, he dialed the phone. When his assistant answered, he gave the order.
“Tell them restrictions are off and the humans are now food. I also want every member of the Harcourte society found, rounded up, and executed. Have their bodies dumped for her to find. Start with the humans, make sure you kill the babies, and rape and pillage the women. The war has begun.”
The assistant laughed and dialed the number, it was about to get down and dirty in New Orleans.
When he hung up, he began slipping out of his elegant suit. Slowly, he undid the buttons as he sent Morganna pictures of what was to come.
She actually wept, unable to fight what he was planning. As she lay there, he stroked himself.
The fun was about to begin.
Jolie Harcourte was going to be his.
One way….
Or another.
* * * H a r c o u r t e * * *
Coming Next:
Oracle Saving
Book Three in the Phoenix Files.
Other books by Morgan Kelley:
Standalone books
The Junction
Serial Sins
The Blood Betrayal
Romance/FBI Thriller Series
Elizabeth, Ethan, and Callen
The Killing Times (book 1)
Sacred Burial Grounds (book 2)
True Love Lost (book 3)
Deep Dark Mire (book 4)
Fire Burns Hot (book 5)
Darkness of Truth (book 6)
Devil Hath Come (book 7)
Consumed by Wrath (book 8)
Dangerous Sacrifice (The Harcourte Vampyre Society Book 6) Page 52
