The airship descended quietly in the open area just outside Blackwell’s hunting lodge, Daniel at the controls and Oliver assisting him. The building was dark, and Lucy wondered if Candice had intentionally led them in the wrong direction. What could she possibly gain by keeping Kate alive? As much as she wanted to remain hopeful, Lucy fought back waves of despair.
“We fan out.” Oliver vaulted up to the railing, preparing to climb down the side ladder and secure the moorings as soon as they touched the ground. “She’ll see the airship, undoubtedly, but it doesn’t matter.” With a quick, apologetic glance at Jonathan, he added, “She wouldn’t have bargained with Miles if she had made other plans. Our one chance will be to catch her unaware. We’ll have to get Kate away from her because she’s not going to willingly hand her over.”
“Are you certain she’s already in the lodge?” Lucy watched as Oliver lowered himself down the side, followed by Sam, who ran to the other side of the ship to secure the rope that hung to the ground.
“No.” Miles checked his ray gun. “But either way, we approach by stealth. If she’s not there yet, then we have the advantage of setting up first. I will bring Kate to you, Lucy. You must promise me you will remain here.” He wrapped her in his arms. She nodded, and he nudged her face upward for a kiss. She made every effort not to cry, but the tears gathered anyway, and she clutched his lapels, swamped with fear.
“Please, Lucy. Please, no heroics,” he whispered. “I will not think clearly if you are in danger.”
“I promise.” She wiped at a tear with her hand. She wished she could be of use to them, could help in some way or be an important element of their team. As it was, she was exhausted and terrified, still healing and trying to forget the sounds of Arthur Charlesworth having his throat ripped out.
She gave Miles a final squeeze and then turned to Daniel, who was finishing his landing procedure checklist. “I’m not shutting her down completely,” he said. “We may need to get away quickly, so she’s idling.”
Lucy placed a kiss on his cheek. “Be safe.”
“Always.”
Miles embraced Jonathan, who wasn’t happy at staying behind with Lucy but who also seemed to realize he’d be more of a hindrance than a help. He was armed with a ray gun that he claimed he’d shot before, but Lucy had her doubts. Miles patted Jonathan once on his face and then moved to the railing. He gave Lucy one last, long look before climbing down and disappearing over the side.
Five minutes became ten, and then fifteen. Lucy stared out into the night from the safety of the dark wheelhouse. The wait was agony, as she had known it would be. Jonathan prowled the lower deck. She saw his shadow as he moved back and forth, the ray gun an extension of his hand.
The blurry flash across the bow had Lucy blinking in momentary confusion before she heard a faint thud, rather like someone hitting the deck. Her heart tripping, Lucy ran for the wheelhouse door and wrenched it open, stepping outside and squinting into the dark.
“Jonathan?” she called softly.
Something clamped around her waist from behind, and she felt a cold sensation against her neck as her head was wrenched painfully to the side.
“So predictable,” Candice murmured, her teeth scraping against Lucy’s skin. “I tell him to come alone, and he brings you and his ridiculous brother. Most likely his trio of cronies are somewhere around, as well.”
“Where is Kate?” Lucy managed. “If she’s still alive, let her go.”
Candice squeezed tighter, her arm like an iron band around Lucy’s torso. “She’s down there with her beloved,” she said and shoved Lucy forward to look down over the deck. In the dim starlight, she saw Kate’s crumpled form in her white dress lying against what Lucy could only assume was Jonathan. Neither moved.
“And where is your beloved?” Candice murmured in Lucy’s ear, nipping it hard enough to draw blood. “Oh, dear,” she sighed. “How clumsy of me.” She pulled Lucy away from the wheelhouse and dragged her down the stairs to the main deck. “And I doubt you happen to have any anti-vamp with you this time.”
Lucy felt the trickle of warm blood trailing down her earlobe and onto her neck. Keep her talking, keep her talking . . .
“Why did you poison Clara?” Lucy asked. “And why have Marie killed? You could have just bitten them both, and nobody would have been the wiser.” She grunted in pain as Candice lifted her and flew down the last few steps. “They would have blamed it on some ‘local rogue vampire.’ No one would have even thought to look in your direction.”
“Because I didn’t have these abilities then!” Candice snarled.
The air whooshed painfully out of Lucy’s lungs as Candice ran with her and leaped into the air.
They flew toward the top of the hunting lodge, but Candice faltered, dropping drastically before they surged upward again, barely clearing the roof.
They stumbled to a halt on the center of the roof, skittering and nearly falling, but Candice again hauled up on Lucy’s midsection so tightly that she saw black spots dancing before her eyes. There was a small portion of roof that was flat, and Candice dropped Lucy onto it.
“You’re nearly spent,” Lucy said, trying for a laugh that she couldn’t manage. Pain stabbed her ribs. “You used so much energy flying Kate here that you’re almost done for.”
Candice kicked her, catching the side of Lucy’s face with her boot and sending her tumbling down the roof. She came to a halt at the roofline, where a row of tall, wrought-iron spikes were evenly placed. Candice caught her, throwing her back up to the top. Lucy hit the stone chimney with her shoulder and bit her lip to keep from crying out. She refused to give the other woman the satisfaction of hearing her distress. Her face and shoulder throbbed, and she clung to the chimney, her head spinning and her ear on fire where Candice had nipped it. She took shallow breaths to keep the encroaching nausea at bay.
Keep her talking, keep her talking . . .
“I don’t understand,” Lucy gasped.
Candice crouched down and wrapped her fist in Lucy’s hair, pulling her head back. “Of course you don’t,” she spat. “You can’t imagine what it’s like to be in love with someone your whole life and then watch him marry another!”
“You killed Clara because you’re still in love with Miles!” Lucy exclaimed as the pieces began to fall into place.
“Clara was a stupid, sniveling girl.” Candice wrenched Lucy’s hair tighter, and Lucy gasped again. “Once I programmed the ’ton to do the work for me, everything else was simple. With Clara gone, I was going to step in and console Miles and take my place as his wife.”
Candice abruptly released Lucy’s head and stood, forcing Lucy to look up at her. “But then my mother sent me to London to meet potential suitors.” She smiled, and Lucy shivered. “And I met Oliver Reed’s brother.”
Lucy frowned. Oliver’s brother?
“Lawrence Reed was the one who turned me. Met me at a soiree in London just after Miles’s wedding. He established a ‘friendship’ by saying his brother and my cousin were bosom friends, and that was as good as a proper introduction.”
Lucy closed her eyes against Candice’s snarling face and wicked teeth, and then she opened them again, willing herself to stay strong, to not give an inch.
“And then,” Candice continued, her voice low, “he lured me outside, promised to court me, said he planned to ask for my hand. And by the romantic light of the spring moon, he bit me. Turned me into this.” The vampire’s eyes took on a red glow, her face all the more haunting because of its beauty.
“But you must have started sending the notes to Miles before leaving for London. How did you know—”
“—that my cousin is a dog? I thought it odd that he kept coming to this lodge so religiously, like clockwork. So I spied on him one weekend when my mother thought I was in Bath with friends. When I was sure of the truth, I devised a plan and sent th
e notes. He was already making plans to marry his American heiress, and I decided to convince him otherwise.”
“By coercion? Blackmail?”
Candice’s eyes flashed. “By whatever means necessary! Love requires dedication. But Clara’s family was all too eager for a quick courtship and before anyone knew what had happened,” Candice threw her arms wide, “Miles had himself a countess!” She crouched next to Lucy. “And it wasn’t me.”
“But Marie wasn’t the countess. She didn’t stand in your way.” Where was Daniel? Where was Miles?
“She got in my way once she discovered the programmed ’ton cards in my chamber before I could properly destroy them. She knew I had poisoned Clara. She was going to tell Miles, so I lured her to her garden. Had a stable boy complete the task—and then I sent the note for Miles to find her. And hopefully be caught shifting. He would face charges for murdering his sister and for being a predatory shape-shifter.” She clapped her hands and smiled. “Problem solved!”
Lucy scoffed in spite of her fear. “I thought you said you loved him.”
“But I do! Don’t you see?” Candice’s eyes blazed again. “It’s better this way. He will be humbled and ready for me to save him. He swore after Clara died that he would never remarry, but I must be the countess. It is no longer about love. Now that I am what I am, I need money, resources. Power.” Her nostrils flared, and she sucked in a breath. “And you will not stand in my way. My mother told me of your engagement earlier this evening. I would congratulate you if the blessed union were to ever be a reality.”
Lucy was dizzy, and pain radiated from head to toe. Keep her talking.
“But what about Oliver?”
Candice’s face contorted. “Oliver is a pawn. I am not yet strong enough to confront Lawrence, but when I am—”
Lucy lunged, trying to get away, but Candice backhanded her with enough force to send her flying. She scraped her fingers nearly raw trying to scramble for purchase and keep from falling off the roof.
Candice stopped her from falling to the ground by stomping on her left wrist, and Lucy finally lost her battle with bravery. Crying out in pain, she cast desperately about for what she knew of vampires, of their destruction. Direct sunlight wasn’t an option; even if it were daylight, Candice had enough Vampiric Assimilation Aid in her system to withstand it. Lucy had nothing with which to impale her through the heart, and she didn’t possess the strength to rip Candice’s head from her body.
“Why Kate?” Lucy fought to keep her voice steady, but tears formed unbidden. Her wrist was the only thing supporting her body weight, and the pain caused spots to form before her eyes. “Jonathan isn’t the earl. You have no reason to want her dead.”
Candice shook her head. “Oh, Miss Pickett, I really did imagine you to be brighter than you are. If Miles refuses to marry me or is killed, Jonathan is my contingency. I will be the countess of Blackwell one way or another.”
Candice had been delusional before she became a vampire, and the mania now was only amplified. “What do you want from me?” Lucy finally managed through gritted teeth, a welcome surge of anger supplanting her despair. “What are you waiting for?”
“Silly girl.” Candice smiled. “We are waiting for Miles. I will explain his options, and he will decide how we shall proceed. Arthur’s interference has forced my hand, I’m afraid. I no longer have the luxury of time.”
“And what are Miles’s options?” Lucy inhaled, trying desperately to catch her breath.
Candice’s smile widened. “How fortuitous that I didn’t kill you that night at the manor—although you were a dreadful nuisance and very nearly derailed everything. ‘I don’t want anything to touch Kate’s lips that I haven’t tested first!’ You delayed my plans by weeks! But I need you now as a bargaining chip. Miles will decide whether or not you live. If he agrees to marry me, I will tell him I shall return you to your mother none the worse for the wear. If he does not, you die here before his eyes.”
Lucy shoved at the roof with the toes of her boots, trying to relieve the stress her body weight caused on her wrist. “You will not let me go home,” she managed.
“You are a smart girl after all. Your death is one more feather in my cap; I will gain high favor indeed for ridding the vampire world of a botanist bent on destroying the Vampiric Assimilation Aid. And once Miles and I are married, he will introduce legislation in Parliament that will reverse the banishment order—if he wants his brother to continue to live.”
Lucy laughed, and to her surprise, it was genuine. “You are an absolute fool,” she said, sprawled atop the roof, held in place by nothing but a foot on her wrist. “You honestly believe he would do that.”
“You think he values you so highly, then?”
“Not me,” she said, her arm going blessedly numb. “There is no way in the depths of hell he would introduce that legislation. My friend, you have wasted a large amount of time and energy.”
Candice screeched in outrage and picked up Lucy by the wrist. The vampire’s energy clearly was fading; Lucy saw her chance. She pushed up on wobbly legs and shoved the heel of her hand into Candice’s chin.
Candice staggered and grunted. The vampire’s head snapped back, and she released Lucy’s arm, giving her momentary reprieve, yet her relief was short-lived as she lost purchase and began sliding down the rooftop.
“Drop, Lucy! Drop straight down!”
Lucy appreciated the advice Miles shouted to her as he grabbed Candice from behind but figured she didn’t have much control over the matter. She fell off the roof and braced herself for impact with the ground.
Miles had finished searching the lodge when he heard noises coming from the roof. When he climbed to the top, he fully expected to see Candice struggling with Kate, not Lucy. He had told the other men to position themselves on three sides of the house and hope for the best should the hostage fall.
His heart in his throat, he’d been wondering how to distract Candice enough for her to relinquish her hold on Lucy when his sweet little fiancée nearly shoved the vampire’s head from her shoulders herself.
Candice’s strength surprised him. Even in a weakened state, she twisted free from his grasp and snarled at him, her pretty face eerily evil as she took a swipe at him with nails that could, he knew firsthand, dispense lethal venom. He dodged her movements and moved forward slowly as she began to retreat, her ability to hover diminishing. She slipped but regained her footing at the top of the roof, and he pursued her with a rising sense of rage that was heightened by hours of worry and fear.
“You have made my life quite interesting this year, Candice,” he said softly, watching her every move, every twitch, as she pressed herself against the chimney. “I do not much appreciate it.”
“You should be thanking me,” the woman snarled at him. “If Clara were still alive, you wouldn’t be free to propose to your precious botanist!”
“And I was under the impression that you were reserving the role of countess for yourself.”
“I will kill her after I finish with you. I will drink every last drop of her blood, and I will do it slowly. She will die knowing that you could not save her.” Candice smiled at him. “Or perhaps I shall turn her instead.”
He knew she bated him, and still his vision filled with a red haze. He grabbed her shoulders, but she had anticipated his movements—he’d left her just enough of an opening to lunge at his neck. He felt the barest brush of her fangs against his jugular before he picked her up over his head. He allowed himself to slide sideways down the roof until they reached the roofline’s wrought-iron spikes.
With a snarl, he impaled her on one of the spikes and then held fast to the metal with one hand as his body swung over the edge. Slinging a foot over the edge of the roof, he climbed back up and looked to be certain the vampire had been staked through the heart.
“You regained your strength,” Candice
murmured as a trickle of black fluid escaped the side of her mouth and ran down her cheek. “Impossible. Your heartclock . . .” The same black liquid spread from the spear through her heart and stained her dress as she bled out. Any affection he might have felt for his cousin was absent as he looked at the creature who had replaced her.
Her eyes widened slightly and then she was still.
Lucy climbed from the bed in her guest room at Charlesworth House and looked out the window at the softly falling snow. She
was sore from her head to her feet—there wasn’t a bit of her that didn’t hurt—and yet she hadn’t taken a pain reliever for fear it would put her into a deep sleep. It would soon be dawn, and there was one thing still left undone.
After Daniel had caught her when she’d fallen from the roof, he had run to the airship, intending to use it to lift Miles from the rooftop. He had told her he was going to “blow the vamp’s head from her shoulders” with some high-powered weaponry Lucy figured he probably was not legally allowed to have aboard a civilian ship. It hadn’t been long, however, before Lucy heard Candice’s shriek, followed by the sickening thunk of her impalement.
Miles, Daniel, and Oliver had disposed of the body—first severing the head for good measure—while Lucy had accompanied Sam back to the airship to tend to Jonathan and Kate. He’d revived both of them, and treated Lucy’s wounded ear with a supply of anti-venom he’d procured from London. Her beautiful ball gown, to say the least, was no longer beautiful.
The flight to Blackwell Manor from the hunting lodge was short, but Lucy found a moment to share with everyone what Candice had divulged about Oliver’s brother. Oliver had taken the news with the stoicism Lucy had come to recognize in the man as his preferred mode of defense against all things emotional.
“How long has it been since you’ve seen him?” Miles asked Oliver.
“Not since before the war. We were never close.” Oliver moved to stand by the railing, and the others left him in peace.
At Blackwell Manor, Lucy gave Kate a good dose of restorative tea and as much toast as she could manage to shove down her throat. She kissed her cousin good night and left her with Jonathan, gratified to see Kate’s features at peace and some color returning to her cheeks.
Beauty and the Clockwork Beast Page 31
