Malia sneered. “I don’t need more, I have unlimited power already.”
“How could you kill people of your own coven?”
“My coven? I’m as old as Jacques, and yet I have been relegated to the dregs of this place. I should be the one in charge. Not forced to bow down to yet another male.”
Cat blinked, as the faces of all the dead rose before her. “All of this is because you’re not in control?”
Malia sneered. “You say that as if control is nothing. You don’t know, have never experienced, how power can turn another into a monster.” Her eyes unfocused, blazing pure vampire red. “Someone to be despised as they wield their control over others until everything is covered with blood and the dust of bones.”
“Not everyone with power uses it badly,” Cat stated a bit shakily at the venom and pain in the woman’s voice.
With a cry of rage, Malia focused once more on Cat. “You understand nothing. Your safe, precious world has never been decimated by evil.” She raced for Cat, her hands clawed.
Cat didn’t have any weapons, and she feared trying to use more fire until she was certain it would do enough damage. Already, she could feel her miniscule reservoir of power weakened from using it on the zombies in the hall.
She sank into a crouch, taking a deep, centering breath, gathering her strength. When Malia drew close enough, Cat punched.
Her fist landed in the center of Malia’s chest. Ribs cracked.
The woman screamed as she stumbled back.
From across the room, a screech rang out. Jenna flew across the room, barreling into Cat. Sharp claws sank deep into her shoulders as she was lifted and thrown against the far wall.
Stunned, head spinning, blood running in rivulets down her chest and back, Cat stared at Jenna.
The woman held Malia in her arms, patting her head, whispering something.
Shaking, Cat struggled to her feet.
Jenna’s face contorted in furious anger. “You hurt her.”
“How many has she killed? She deserves to die.” Cat knew it was either these women, or her and Eric. But not everyone would be leaving this room alive.
Jenna pushed Malia to the side and behind her, advancing on Cat. She held her hands out, her skin and fingers twisting into talons.
Across the room, metal groaned, snapped. Eric jerked from the cross, chains dangling from the cuffs on his arms and ankles. The metal rings on the ends were twisted, as if he’d ripped them apart.
When he glanced at her, his eyes were drenched in red.
Jenna looked at Eric. “Malia, love. Take care of the whore. I shall dispatch the Viking.”
Cat warily watched them both.
Jenna headed for Eric.
Malia faced Cat, smiling. “Now you’ll get a taste of what I can do.” She raised her hands, whispering some strange language.
A fogginess grew over Cat’s mind once more. Pure magic. Fey magic.
Something deep inside, something she’d never felt before, never even known existed, rose up inside her.
Across the room, Jenna shouted in triumph. Cat glanced up in time to see Eric fly through the air and ram into a wall, blood streaming from a gash along his temple.
Between the strangeness welling up inside her and the spike of terror for Eric, the fog in her mind cleared.
She stared at Malia and stepped forward.
Malia’s eyes narrowed, her lips tightening. A flash of fear raced across her face before she could hide it. “What are you?” the woman demanded.
“None of your damn business.” Feeling the spell trying to weave around her once more, Cat let the inner strangeness flow through her.
Her entire body warmed, as if any moment, she’d spontaneously combust. She funneled that heat, directing it at Malia. The woman continued to advance, murder in her gaze.
Pushing all her pain at the needless deaths, all her fury, into the command, Cat stepped towards her, chanting, “Incendium”, again and again.
Malia screamed as flames engulfed her. Her gaze, stricken with horror, met Cat’s. “No! You can’t.”
Cat sneered as the woman fell to the ground, her shrieks quieting as her body slowly turned to deadened ash.
Across the room, Jenna screamed in fury. Her face contorted in furious anger. “You killed her!”
“I told you she deserved to die,” Cat replied wearily, the well of power beginning to fade.
Yet this wasn’t nearly over.
Eric silently crept up behind the woman.
Cat’s heartbeat spiked when Jenna whirled. Moving almost too fast to see, she reached Eric. Grabbing his hair, she jerked his head back.
She raised her other hand, staring at Ca, her fingers still twisted into sharpened claws. “Now it’s his turn.”
She moved to slice Eric’s throat.
“No!” Cat screamed, her heart seeming to stop as she raced forward. She didn’t think, only reacted, throwing balls of fire.
The flames encased the woman, lighting her brightly for a second, before sliding to the floor and burning out in a whiff of smoke.
Jenna laughed. “You can’t touch me with such pitiful powers. Lamia are born of the deepest flames of the earth. Fire is our mother.”
Her claws touched Eric’s throat. Blood welled over his tanned skin.
And Cat knew she’d never reach them in time to save him.
But she’d made the woman pause earlier. She flung another ball of flames, then another. With each running step she drew closer.
A hurricane wind whipped her backwards, slamming her into the wall once more.
Eric glanced at her, his eyes drenched in red once more. With a war cry, he grasped Jenna around the throat and flung her against the cross, pinning her to the wood.
She scratched at his arm, but he didn’t even seem to notice the pain.
“Lamia,” he said. “How do you condone such magics?”
The woman hissed, the sound turning into a choked whisper. “I do what is necessary for love.”
Eric twisted his wrist and her neck snapped with a pop.
Then he turned to Cat.
A shiver worked down her spine as he stalked towards her, murder still in his eyes.
* * *
His mind whirled, the world drenched by berserker rage. It carried him towards the woman huddled against the wall on the other side of the room.
Thoughts slipped in and out of his consciousness.
Magic.
Hate.
The woman rose, staring at him with cautious fear.
Cat, his mind whispered.
“Eric?” Her voice dimly penetrated the haze of fury roiling in his chest.
He reached her, slamming one fist into the wall beside her.
She jumped.
“I could never hurt you, Cathrina Bienville,” he stated. “But why did you not torture me when you had the chance?”
He fought his confusion. She’d been under the voodoo spell, yet had somehow managed to break free.
She swallowed, looking away. Her eyes widened in horror and Eric spun.
Near the cross, Jenna climbed to her feet. She gazed at them with such deep malice, an itch spread over the back of his neck.
“You can’t kill a Lamia so easy. We are immortal,” she crowed. Her skin rippled as she shifted from human to beast. A mythical chimera, a huge creature with three heads—lion, dragon and bear—swung to face him. A scorpion tail rose from her back, a foot-long stinger oozing a greenish venom.
Three heads? Great.
Shielding Cat with his body, Eric searched the room for anything he could use as a weapon. A glint of metal caught his eye, and he blinked in disbelief at the sight of BrynTröll’s handle on a table on the other side of the room, nearly hidden by other blades.
Now he just had to get to his axe.
The lamia whipped her tail side to side, drops of venom scattering on the floor. Her dragon head snorted.
“Lovely.” Cat mumbled, moving to his side.
Jenna stepped towards them, long claws clicking on the stone floor. Her lion head roared, the noise sinking deep into his mind. His ear drums felt on the verge of bursting, as if the sound carried shards of glass that sliced into him.
Cat cried out, slapping her hands over her ears. Using the only thing he had, the chains still dangling from his wrists, Eric darted toward the beast, whipping a chain above him. Getting close enough to strike, he slammed the end of the chain on the lion’s nose.
It yowled. The magic it had used to make its voice painful abruptly stopped.
The stinger stabbed at Eric, but he jumped out of reach before Jenna could dig her poison into him.
Unfortunately, she still stood between him and the table across the room. He needed his axe. The chain’s could hurt her, keep her back, but it would only be a short standoff, before she figured out a way around them.
* * *
Wearily, Cat inched to the side.
Jenna’s attention seemed focused on Eric and the swinging chains.
Cat had seen his glance at the back of the room. The table of weapons. If she could just get to it...
“Cat!” Eric shouted.
The stinger swung at her head. Tucking down, she dropped to the stone floor and rolled out of the way. And past Jenna.
Dashing for the table, Cat picked up a sword. Then she spied the long handle with its runes. Grabbing Eric’s axe, she hugged the wall, trying to reach him once more.
All three heads roared as Jenna darted toward Eric, only to be hit multiple times with the chains he wore. But this time, the beast ignored the pain and surged closer. Her stinger swiped across Eric’s chest, leaving a trail of blood mixed with green poison.
Cat’s heart stopped.
He cried out, stumbling back, clutching at his chest.
“Eric?” she yelled, running. Raising the sword, she slashed at Jenna’s flank.
The woman-beast roared again, spinning. She leapt at Cat.
Instinct took over. As Cat dodged claws and snapping teeth, she once more called on the mysterious well of power deep inside. “Incendium.”
Fire flickered over the creature’s skin and the attack faltered.
Cat darted to Eric’s side, handing him the axe. He grinned, a predatory smile full of blood lust. “Let’s do this,” he said, nearly laughing.
She glanced at him, worried he’d lost his mind, but he truly seemed to relish the thought of the fight. She shook her head, muttering, “Vikings.”
“Take the left, I’ll go right,” he commanded.
She followed his lead, moving to the left.
Jenna didn’t look like it would be an issue dividing her attention, as the lion’s gaze stayed on Cat, the other two heads tracking Eric.
“We’ve got to cut off her heads. That’s the only way to kill a lamia,” she called.
Jenna tried to spear her with the long stinger. Cat raised the sword, blocking the thrust. The blade bit deep into skin and the beast growled as blood welled.
Cat didn’t even see the swipe of the paw. Claws sliced her thigh, the force of the hit sending her tumbling backwards until she hit the wall.
Dazed, she shook her head.
Across from her, Eric slammed his axe into the Jenna’s flank. The woman-beast screamed in fury, in pain, as she spun, giving full attention to him.
Cat tried to shake off the dizziness, but it clung stubbornly. She took a step toward the fray, only to wobble on shaky knees. The fire of the slices across her thigh blazed.
Eric shouted and she glanced up, the sight of the claw marks across his arm terrifying her.
She bit her tongue, hard, pushing back the pain and shakiness as far as she could.
“This isn’t working,” she called.
Eric kept his attention on the creature, but she could see him thinking. Then his eyes lit.
* * *
He glanced at Cat. Drenched in blood, she stepped forward, rallying for the fight, yet he could see exhaustion taking its toll.
His chest burned. The poison was debilitating his strength as it crept into his blood and spread out. They had to end this soon, before one or both of them faltered.
All Jenna needed was an opening and she’d be on them, ripping them apart.
Which meant he had to ask the one thing he’d never thought he could.
He stared at Cat, reminding himself she was not like the women from his past. “Can you throw your magic fire at Jenna when I tell you?”
Shocked surprise flitted over her face before she straightened, lifting her chin. “Yes.”
He stepped toward the beast. “Come on, then,” he called, raising his axe. BrynTröll vibrated in his hand, as if glad to be home again.
The beast rushed at him, dagger-like claws clicking over the stone floor. Its tail whipped side to side, all three heads snapped their fanged teeth.
He shoved his blade at the lion head, but the creature jumped out of reach. Eric followed, backing it into a corner as it evaded each swing.
Its tail whipped down, the tip slicing over his upper arm. He ignored the burning as more poison seeping into his blood and grabbed the tail. “Now,” he shouted.
Flames flickered over the beast, weak at first. The next sphere was stronger, blazing over Jenna’s flanks and back legs.
The creature screamed, trying to jerk from his grasp.
Not wasting any more time, he whipped his axe at the tail. The blade slid through flesh, through bone, and the tail dropped to the floor.
Jenna roared in pain as she raked her claws over him and tried stumbling away, but there was nowhere to go. With a scream of agonized fury, all three heads surged at him, with snapping fangs.
He jumped back, dodged forward and hacked at one neck, severing the dragon’s head. The creature shuddered and a flash of pity speared him, but he couldn’t stop.
He cut off the other two heads.
As Cat’s flames died down, the creature went limp.
Eric stumbled from the body, the poison in his veins burning hot, deadly. He fell to one knee.
With a cry, Cat rushed to his side, grabbing his arm and helping him up. “Come on. We have to get out of here, find something to stop the venom.”
There wasn’t time, but he didn’t say it out loud, only stared at her, relishing the sight of her beautiful face, her presence.
She was safe now.
“We’ll stay here for now, figure out how to get past the horde of zombies in the hall way.”
Her lips trembled. “I’ll blast them all if I have to.” She jerked him forward a step. “Come on.”
The door shuddered beneath a heavy force, then burst inwards. The horde of zombies fell into the room and turned, as one, toward Cat and Eric.
She pushed him back, raising her sword. “Stay behind me.”
Her fierce determination to protect him filled him with such emotional warmth, for a second, he didn’t feel the burning poison. “You will not die for me,” he commanded.
She glanced at him with a wry grin. “Neither of us will die if I have anything to say about it.”
The horde stopped advancing, then parted, opening a path.
Four hooded figures entered, magic snapping in the air.
“They are no longer under the control of dark magic,” one stated. “Between my power and this one’s death, the curse is broken.”
Eric straightened as he recognized the vampire sorceress’s voice. He didn’t move, or even look away as he asked, “Are you certain the lamia is truly dead?”
The sorceress replied, “Yes. Her magic has gone. She is returned home to the earth. Ashes to ashes, dust to dust.”
He tried to take a step, but fell to his knees as the poison from the stinger rushed through him faster.
Agony twisted his belly. Breathing became hard. The world narrowed to a small pinprick of light, filled with Cat’s pale face.
“Eric?” she cried, pushing him to lay back. She looked up. “Help me.”
&nb
sp; A cool breeze drifted over him and suddenly, he was staring up at the sorceress vampire. She pushed back her hood, revealing an immense beauty hidden by scars covering part of her face.
“Be still,” she said, laying her hands over his wounds.
The fire in his blood was replaced by ice. He shuddered, jaw locking tight against a building scream. The agony lasted an eternity before fading.
He blinked as light filled his vision, letting him see clearly once more.
“He will be well,” the sorceress stated before rising and heading to the door. “I will free the minds of the rest of the prisoners. Those few who still live, anyway.”
“Thank you,” Cat whispered, staring at Eric.
Long minutes passed before he felt his strength returning. He slowly sat up.
Cat sat back, blanking her face into an unemotional mask. “I need to check on the people. Try to find my coven members. My sire.”
He unsteadily stood, then replied, “Let’s go then.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
Hours later, Cat glance around the main room of the basement.
Eric leaned against a wall, out of the way, slumped in exhaustion. The room was a hive of activity. Cat had called in her coven guards, who’d brought blood and food for the newly released prisoners.
Eric had eaten plenty, but he looked like he desperately needed rest. She waved Blake over, who still seemed dazed by his recent zombie experience, but was determined to help.
“Drive him to my house, or wherever he wants to go. He shouldn’t be in control of a vehicle right now.”
Her guard nodded and approached Eric. With a short, assessing glance her way, he left with Blake. She felt a small piece of her heart shrivel, deaden, from roaring pain, but she didn’t have time to think about it now.
She moved to Jacques’ side. Her sire was nearly dead, and she wasn’t sure she could save him. It hurt almost as badly as Eric’s leaving. But at least with her sire she had options, and she’d damn well not give up trying.
A long time later, everyone had been taken home, or loaded into vehicles heading out to different safe houses. Blake had returned, and now helped her carry Jacques to his truck, then he drove them to her home.
The sight of her plantation raised her spirits a bit. At least she had this place, somewhere she’d be safe, if alone.
Firestorm: Heart of a Vampire #5 Page 15
