Release (The Protector Book 3)

by M. R. Merrick

  Dante and I were locked in a stare. If he was anything like Alessia, my shields didn’t matter. He could break down my mind in a second, even if I hadn’t looked into his eyes. When I considered what I’d seen of Alessia’s abilities and remembered Dante throwing Vincent across the room without a touch, any words I might have managed were stolen.

  “Is he a mute?” Dante asked. “I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised that you’re pinning all your hopes to the deaf, dumb, and blind.”

  What was I supposed to say? I couldn’t use my elements and my shields were futile. Months ago I would have swung my fist against his jaw just to see what happened, but I knew that would be useless, even if it would make me feel better.

  “Oh, I can talk,” I said. “I’m trying this new thing though, where I don’t respond to asshats with greasy hair.”

  “It speaks.” Dante’s face didn’t change from its solemn expression. “Although the unintelligible drivel that pours from its fragile lips is near incomprehensible. Are you uneducated in speech, or do you relish in being an imbecile?”

  “You sure do like to hear yourself talk, don’t you? Why are you here? What is it that Vincent has done?” I asked, trying to keep my attitude in check, but the old me was dying to see if I could break his jaw.

  “When I’m the only one saying anything of importance, yes, I do.” Dante stepped away and moved to the bar, filling a martini glass from a bag of blood. “I can’t believe I’m forced to drink this…slop.” He grimaced as he took a sip. “What a shock, my son didn’t tell you about his wrongdoing? He never was one for taking responsibility for his actions.”

  “They do not need to hear this,” Vincent said.

  “My son, if you’re going to lure these…so-called heroes here to fight your battles, the least you could do is let them know what they’re fighting for.”

  “They are friends. They do not need to know.”

  Friends? We were so far from friends the thought nearly made me laugh, but I cleared my throat and forced myself not to grin. “No, actually, I’d love to know.”

  “Story time bores me. I’m going to get a real snack,” Caterina said. “Besides, I always thought Rozeilia was a bitch.”

  “You will not speak of her!” Vincent shouted.

  “That she was. One would think she could have curbed a sailor’s tongue.” Dante smiled. “Enjoy an extra taste for me, my sweet Caterina. I’ll remain here and drink this…imposter.”

  Caterina’s purple heels tapped along the marble floor and she disappeared out the wooden door.

  “Alone at last,” Dante said, holding the martini glass in his hand. “Where were we? Oh yes, Vincent’s insult to the Sovereign. It began centuries ago, when Vincent was but a baby.”

  “Enough,” Vincent said. “If they are to know the truth, I will not have it degraded by your tongue.”

  “I suppose even a criminal in our community deserves a final few words. Besides, my articulation is better spent talking of important matters, not the wretched story that belongs to my should-be fangless son. Be sure not to leave anything out.” Dante settled himself gracefully on a barstool.

  Vincent looked back at his father, then to us. He shook his head and began pacing the room, mumbling something under his breath.

  “Come now, son, on with the story. It is not polite to keep your friends waiting.” Alessia found a spot on the couch. Her purple eyes were dark and the gold ring around them glowed in the dimly-lit room.

  “Yes, Mother. Thank you.” Vincent sighed and continued pacing the room, staring at the floor with both hands clasped behind his back. “I was a child, merely seventy-five years old. I had two centuries before I could accept any status among the Sovereign and I was a wild mess. My…crime, as they call it, was a crime of passion, for I fell in love.”

  “I’m sorry, what?” I asked.

  “Is that so hard to believe?” he asked. I raised an eyebrow and Vincent shook his head. “Don’t answer that.”

  “His being in love was not the problem. The Sovereign has spent a thousand years exploring the beauty that is love. This was far from beautiful. It was a disaster of great proportions and an embarrassment to all things Underworldly.” Dante drained his glass. “She was human.” He raised his hand and swallowed the last gulp. “I know, I know. How painfully original.”

  “Will you let me tell the story?”

  “Yes, of course.”

  “Yes, she was human, which is against Sovereign rule. Humans are food and slaves, nothing more. That’s the way it has been since the beginning of our time.” Vincent glared at Dante. “I didn’t agree with their rules, and I wanted to turn my love into a creature of the night and live an eternity with her.”

  Dante stifled a laugh and Vincent’s eyes were fierce. “My apologies,” Dante said. “That part gets me every time.”

  “I was a prince in the Sovereign, but that meant nothing at the time. I was not a true member.” Vincent continued, anger rising in his voice. You are not born into the Sovereign, you are invited, but it takes time and politics. Games I did not care to play.”

  Was he serious? The Vincent I knew thrived on the politics and the games. I couldn’t think of a different version of him.

  “Still, I would not let this love go unfulfilled. I moved to Vienna with her, and we spent months together, though still in secret.”

  “Please, it was far from a secret,” Alessia said. “The Sovereign has always, and will always, have eyes everywhere.”

  “Mother, please.”

  “You are boring our guests, son.” Alessia patted him on the shoulder and stepped towards us. “Vincent told us she was simply a vampling—a common snack we feed from, and one who would serve him. But we were not fooled. Vincent had lust in his eyes and his mercy weakened him. She needed to be dealt with.”

  “That seems a little harsh,” Rayna said.

  “Harsh?” Vincent asked. “There is no such thing with the Sovereign. You do nothing without their approval. As such, I followed all the necessary channels. I wrote a letter with my request and sent it to them.”

  “Ah yes, the letter—a poorly penned attempt at groveling,” Dante said. “You see, all requests, no matter how outlandish, receive a reply, but this…this was beyond unfathomable.”

  “Oh, was it? You’d think I was the first to take interest in a mortal,” Vincent said. “Don’t think I’m not aware of your days as a youth, Father.”

  “We all experiment, Vincent. But most of us eat our food after we play with it. We do not bathe it in jewels, and false promises of eternity.”

  Vincent growled and walked away from his father. “After eight months, I had no response. The Sovereign sat on their high thrones, laughing heartily at my request, and it was trying my patience. I left a letter for my sweet and left for Rome myself.”

  Vincent paused and looked at me. I couldn’t deny his story surprised me, and my eyes were locked on his, waiting for what came next. I didn’t know the Vincent he spoke of—one that cared or showed love for another. It was surreal.

  “Tell them what happened next, dear,” Alessia said, strutting around us. Her fingers tapped along my shoulder and up my neck, forcing a chill through my body.

  “I was right. They were laughing at me, as was the entire vampire community. I demanded a sitting with the entire Sovereign, and when I had finished declaring my love for Rozeilia, they hushed the laughing audience and dismissed me. My father, however, found purpose in all this, and offered me a sought-after invitation to the Sovereign a century and a quarter early. He stated there was no need for politics. If my request for a fulfilled love was sincere, there was no better way to prove my commitment than sacrificing that which I treasured.”

  “You gave up all you ever wanted for a girl? Didn’t see that coming,” I said.

  “What?” Vincent glared at me with ferocity in his eyes. “A girl? A girl!” Vincent stormed towards me, stopping inches from my face. “This was no girl, Mr. Williams. This was…she
was…my everything,” Vincent said the last words just above a whisper.

  “She was an arrogant bitch who got what she deserved.” Caterina slammed the door behind her, reentering the room. She wiped a trail of blood from her chin and fell on the couch.

  “She was nothing of the sort!” Vincent clenched his fist. “She was exotic and beautiful, and her eyes made my heart dance. When she sang, the world ceased to exist. Her voice could heal a broken man. It could calm a crying child. When her lips parted and that sound escaped, it lifted the air we breathe. This was not a girl. This was my soul’s reflection in a fragile shell, and she pulled back the shadows and gave light not just to my world, but to all the lives it touched.”

  Dante shook his head. “I always knew you were capable of manifesting intelligent words, yet you waste them fabricating lies.”

  Caterina burst into laughter her braids danced across her shoulders. “Rozeilia was a peasant entertainer—something tossed away like a rotted peach. She belonged in a whorehouse with her mother and sister. And wasn’t her brother lame? He was, if I recall correctly. Though he did taste rather pleasant, even if he was missing a gene or two.”

  Dante laughed. “Yes! Yes he was. Poor cripple tried to fight me off with a makeshift cane.” Dante sighed. “Oh, to be in the old days once again.”

  Vincent’s eyes met mine and he clenched his jaw. “Because they denied my plea, I refused the Sovereign’s invitation and forfeited my status as prince. I resolved to never have any connection with them from that moment on.”

  “The most unintelligent decision I’ve ever seen in all my life,” Dante said, shaking his head. “You sacrificed everything for a blood-filled skin bag.”

  “I sacrificed nothing! I had all I could ever want in her.”

  “And then he ran away like a dejected child.” Caterina smirked.

  “When I realized what I had done, it was too late. I hadn’t just signed my own death certificate—I had signed my sweet Rozeilia’s as well. When I returned, her head was on a spike outside our home. Rozeilia’s body had been mutilated. Her feet had been burned and her skin cut open with jagged shears, and most of the damage she had been compelled to do to herself…” Vincent’s shoulders trembled and he closed his eyes, taking a long, deep breath. His eyes came back with a calm that had been missing, and he lifted his chin.

  “Don’t forget what we did with her eyelids!” Caterina giggled from the corner of the couch and grotesque suggestions flashed in my mind.

  Vincent shuddered and shook his head. “And so I ran. Like a coward I ran and boarded a ship to America where my newfound life, although empty and alone, was waiting. I spent centuries on the run before finally settling in Stonewall. It was large enough to have the life I desired, and small enough to keep me off the map from the Sovereign. Until now, of course.”

  “And cut. That’s a wrap!” Dante rose from his chair and clapped his hands. “A fine, dramatic performance.” His smile and clapping stopped and he tucked both hands behind his back. “And now you know why you have been dragged into this very sad and pathetic situation. What he failed to mention was on his way to the boat, he murdered seven Sovereign guards. All of whom were royal children, awaiting their acceptance into the Sovereign. Because of this, Vincent must be punished for his atrocities.”

  “No,” Alessia said. “He must return home with us so we may be a family again. Our son lost his way, as you once did, Dante, and this is his time for redemption.”

  I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. I knew all creatures of the Underworld had rules, but this seemed extreme, even to me.

  “He has had his chance. His disrespect and insolence has proven he is not worthy. The Sovereign will not grant his pardon—I will not allow it! And if you recall, I took my punishment like a man. Vincent will do the same, and with any luck, the process will cleanse him of his sins.”

  Alessia laughed but a look from Dante quickly silenced her.

  “I require no pardon, Father, and I will not be returning either, Mother.”

  “Enough games, Vincent. You are coming with us, and you will face the consequences of your misguided youth. You will take the judgment cast down like a true Lazzario.” Dante’s face was stern and his voice unmoving.

  “I will do no such thing. I am not a Lazzario. Not anymore. I am a Taryk, and I am done with your games. I stand before you a changed man, but I do not regret my actions. The only regret I have is resigning. I should have vanished without a word and my Rozeilia would still be among us. Now take this opportunity and be gone from my home!” Vincent’s skin became clear and black veins rippled across his face.

  “If I could go back in time, I would tear that beggar woman’s throat out myself,” Dante said through gritted teeth. “You are coming with me, or so help me gods—”

  “No!” Vincent shouted and his power flooded the room. “Enough is enough. I am not running. Not anymore. My family is here, and your gods cannot change that.”

  Awkward silence fell around us and my hands grew clammy. Rayna’s hand touched my arm, but we both jumped as Alessia shouted behind us. “Vincent, why are you doing this to us?”

  “To you? I have done nothing. You stole the only thing I ever treasured, and I will be damned if I let you do it again with my family.”

  “Those…things are not your family.” Alessia pointed at the wooden door. “They are mistakes—flukes of nature that should not exist. They are filthy, rotten—”

  Vincent moved with a speed I couldn’t follow, and when he finally stopped, he had his mother pinned against the wall by the throat. His veins swelled beneath clear skin and his fangs dropped. “They are all I have left and I will die protecting them.”

  Alessia’s power crashed over Vincent and her hands gripped his arm. “Release me,” she said, pouring her power into him.

  Vincent shook his head. “I have grown too much for your abilities, Mother. Your power no longer affects me.”

  Claws shot from her hands and she shoved them into Vincent’s stomach, but his grip didn’t falter.

  “Vincent, this is your last warning. Release your mother or I will skin you myself.” Dante walked towards him and I stepped between them.

  “Remove yourself from my path,” he said. “Your death will come in time, but not until my disgrace has been dealt with.”

  “As far as I can see,” I said, “Vincent has done nothing wrong—except for killing all those vampires…but really, I can’t blame him for that—and to be honest, you’re even more of a dick than he is, so I’m not going anywhere.”

  Dante’s magic crashed into me and my feet left the ground. My body crumpled against the bar’s marble counters and I landed on the floor. I felt the swelling already from the force of the impact and I struggled to my feet.

  Rayna drew her knife and plunged it into Dante’s back. He roared and swung his hand around, his knuckles connecting with her face. Rayna flew into the wooden door and shattered it to pieces.

  Caterina charged us, but Veronica met her in the middle, claws tearing across her face.

  Rayna panted on all fours, wincing from the pain. Her head snapped back and a deep, throaty growl escaped her lips. Bones cracked and her clothes tore, falling off her body. Clear fluid burst into the air and she cried out in pain. Blood ran from her mouth as long fangs extended. Her jaw snapped and popped as it dislocated and reformed itself into a long snout.

  I balanced myself on a barstool, using it as leverage. Pain throbbed in my back and my elements churned inside me. Vincent rolled across the ground, exchanging blows with his mother, and Dante stalked towards them.

  Goosebumps danced along my arm at the sound of Rayna’s knees snapping out of place. Her skin split, pushing blood and fluid down her sides as thick black fur pushed its way out. Her bones shifted and her clothes fell to the ground. A waist-high panther stood in front of the door with teeth bared. Bright green cat eyes glowed and she unleashed an ear-shattering roar.

  Dante winced and turned a
round, responding with a primordial roar of his own. His milky skin vanished, replaced with a glassy film that showed all the working muscles in his face. Fangs descended from the top of his gums, and another longer set from the bottom. Talons dropped from his hands, and they were jagged and fierce.

  Rayna broke into a run and in two short strides was across the room. Her claws tore into Dante’s face before he could react and her teeth ripped into his neck. Blood spurted and his power collided with her body. Rayna yelped as her body rose into the air and Dante climbed to his feet.

  Without touching her body, Dante smashed Rayna into the floor repeatedly, until her body dropped to the ground in a limp mass of dark fur. He snarled and the power in it made my knees weak. I let the fire element spark inside me, giving me the strength to push off the stool and rush towards him.

  Dante stepped towards Rayna and drew his talons up. The moment he started to bring them down, I unleashed my air element at him. His body folded in half and flew across the room.

  Alessia was on top of Vincent now, her claws back and ready to strike, but Dante’s body flailed through the air and crashed into her.

  Vincent’s face was covered in blood, but he was on his feet in a flash and hovering over Rayna.

  “What have you done?” he screamed, his words slurred through his fangs. He ran his fingertips along Rayna’s furry side and growled.

  Dante and Alessia brushed themselves off. “We have done what is necessary. Your brain has been mutilated by bagged blood and half-vampires. You must answer for your crimes and be cleansed!” Dante screamed.

  “I do not care what you believe. Love is not crime. Not now, not ever.”

  “Love itself is not a crime, no,” Alessia said. “But loving a lesser creature and supporting that filth to become like us is of the utmost disrespect. As is attacking a member of the Sovereign—a lesson I thought you had learned. I sought to bring you home and wipe the slate clean. Yet you insult me with your feeble attempts to save a creature that does not deserve the name vampire. You disrespect your father and your sister. You are a recurring disappointment.”