Love Me to Death (Underveil)

by Marissa Clarke

  Elena’s chest felt like it was being squeezed, and she couldn’t get a breath. She had no idea what she was going to do. Hell, she didn’t even know what she could do. This family had suffered so much. And Nik was probably suffering right now. She had to stop it. “How many men does he have?”

  Aleksi pulled a bathrobe out of her wardrobe. “Thousands. Tens of thousands. He commands my father’s army and the Slayer Elite Forces in addition to the armies of other species he has blackmailed and bribed into submission.”

  “No. I mean how many people here, right now in the castle that would defend him.”

  “Most are only loyal out of fear. If he’s on the losing side of a battle, they will follow the winner. If Nik took the throne, most would fall away from Fydor immediately to follow him. My uncle only holds them through ill-gotten power. And I know he’s behind the death of my father. I just can’t prove it. If I could, this would all be over.”

  “How many?”

  “Thirty tops. Maybe ten at this time of night.”

  Elena thought about Uza’s cat shifters and how she had fended at least thirty off. How her body had sensed where they were and when they would strike. Right now, her best hope was that she could do that again with tougher opponents and much higher stakes. And she felt strong, too. Nik’s and Ricardo’s blood had made her powerful. She could do this.

  “Is Nik in the tower opposite this one?”

  “Probably. The dungeon is under the building, but the tower is where Fydor likes to work. He calls it his rec room.”

  A plan began to formulate. “Who is in the dungeon?”

  Aleksandra took a large towel and wiped off her chest and abdomen. “Fydor’s enemies. Well, the ones that he hasn’t killed yet because they might become useful. Ow. Shit.” She patted at a nasty-looking gash over her ribs.

  “How many guards?”

  She leaned down to wipe her legs. “At this time of night, two in the front hall, one will be in the rec room if that’s where he’s holding Niki, one outside my mother’s room, and two in the dungeon.”

  “Do people know about the prophecy of the Uniter?”

  “Everyone does. Everyone is waiting. If you reveal yourself as the Uniter, some will fall away from Fydor’s hold just because of the prophecy.”

  Perfect. “Will they recognize the symbol of the Uniter?”

  She smiled. “Of course. Nik bears the whole prophesy, but every Slayer bears the symbol. They appeared on our skin at the moment of the kings’ deaths. Fydor says it is black magic. A curse. Probably because he doesn’t bear the mark.”

  “Awesome. Are you feeling up to a fight tonight?”

  Aleksandra’s smile was huge. “I will be. Just need some more time to recoup.”

  She smiled back. “I have a plan, but first I need to borrow some clothes, and I want you to tell me everything you know about your uncle.”

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Fydor paced the far end of the cell. Nikolai knew there was no way in the world his uncle was going to buy this sack of lies. No way in hell. Nobody was that stupid. He wiggled his fingers to keep them from going to sleep. The cuffs chaining him to the wall were not tight, but they kept his hands above his shoulders.

  Fydor stopped pacing and faced him, hands behind his back. “So, you will agree to stand on the balcony and swear allegiance to me in front of witnesses and a gathering of subjects?”

  Maybe he was that stupid. “Yes.”

  He struck out pacing again, which was out of character. Fydor usually remained unreadable and still. Right now, he was agitated to the point of being twitchy. Slayers were trained from birth to be calm in the face of adversity or danger to promote concentration and effectiveness. If his physical life were an accurate indication, his uncle was highly ineffective right now. Good.

  “Get out,” Fydor shouted at the bear shifter guard lurking in the doorway.

  The huge hulk of a man lumbered away from the cell, leaving the door open behind him.

  His uncle came within inches of him. So close, Nik could smell the elven elixir on his breath. Fydor had been hooked on it since the death of Ivan Itzov. A sickening churn rolled through his gut. This was his fault. He had been so selfish and consumed with revenge, he’d allowed this weak-minded, drug-addicted sadist of a man to destroy everything his father had built. He had to stop him. Elena had changed everything. He saw clearly now. His duty was here, to his people. Hopefully, he wasn’t too late.

  “I will need you to prove yourself before I allow you any kind of freedom again,” his uncle said, still right up in his face.

  “Of course.” He would say whatever it took to get out of these cuffs so he could kill the bastard.

  “You will lead the first massacre.”

  Fuck. “What massacre?”

  “The only way to let the humans know that fighting us is futile is to make a bold opening statement when we lift the Veil. I have an army ready to invade. Until that happens, you will remain captive.”

  No fucking way was he going to let that happen. “When?”

  “When I’m given the command.” His face paled when he realized his slip.

  Finally, a foothold. “Who commands you?”

  Fydor stormed to the other side of the cell. “No one! No one commands me.”

  Whether it was the drug in his system or fear, something had his uncle rattled. Nikolai just needed to find out how to exploit it. Only one person could hold that kind of power over the Slayer king.

  “The sorcerer Borya,” Nikolai said.

  Fydor stopped pacing and closed his eyes.

  “Borya holds your strings and uses you like a puppet.”

  “No one uses me!” he shouted. “I am the king!”

  If only he were not chained to the wall. With his uncle this agitated and out of control, Nikolai knew that even injured, he could take him down with his bare hands. “You are nothing but his tool. A pawn in his game.”

  Fydor pulled a vial of purple liquid out of his pocket, uncapped it, and drained the contents into his mouth. Never looking at Nikolai, he leaned against the wall and closed his eyes. After a few moments, his shaking subsided and he opened his eyes. “I answer to no one.” He dashed the vial on the stone floor like a spoiled child. “My offer no longer stands. You will be executed at midnight tomorrow.”

  “You’d better get permission first,” Nikolai shouted at his back before the door slammed shut.

  Fuck. Not good. Not good at all.

  Elena pulled the cloak tighter around her as she descended the stairs to the dungeon. The guard at the top had been no problem at all. One zap from her palms and he was out cold.

  As she neared the bottom of the narrow, uneven stairs, gold candlelight flickered across the pitted bricks of the wall and floor, making them appear to move like scales of a slithering snake. She stopped and closed her eyes, hoping for a vision of how Aleksandra was faring, but received nothing. She ran her fingers around the short sword strapped to her thigh and took a deep breath. She’d only need it if she ran out of electrical energy or if she had to really kill someone…or something. She hoped it didn’t come to that.

  “Who goes there?” a man’s voice called.

  Rounding the corner, she readied herself, allowing charge to build in her hands. The man looked up from where he sat behind a table and scanned her head to toe, then gave a dismissive wave of the hand. “Nobody’s allowed to see the leach. Take your fantasies elsewhere.”

  She simply stared at him, trying to figure out what he meant. His dark hair and gold eyes indicated he was a Slayer, but she didn’t see a sword. He wore a dark blue military outfit of some kind.

  He shook his head. “Oh, yeah. Play dumb. We get girls down here all the time wantin’ a look at him. It’s not permitted. Off with ya. Shoo.”

  “She’s with me,” Aleksandra said from behind Elena’s shoulder, nearly causing her to launch out of her skin.

  The guard stood, removed his cap, and bowed. “Lady Aleksand
ra. I apologize.”

  She was wearing a long, hooded cape that obscured her face, so he must have recognized her voice.

  “No apology necessary. You were doing your job, Claude.” She ran her finger from his throat to his waist. “Very well, I might add. Please unlock the door.”

  Sweat beaded on his forehead. “I…I… I’m sorry, Lady Aleksandra. Nobody goes in without a pass, not even the royal family.”

  “Since when?” she asked.

  The man’s discomfort was evident by his nonstop shuffle from foot to foot. “Since this morning. King Fydor said no entry without a pass until after day after tomorrow.”

  “What happens day after tomorrow?”

  “Well, uh, they’re evidently going to execute the leach and the other prisoners. All the surrounding villages know about it, so he didn’t want any escape attempts or interference.”

  “A public execution?” she asked.

  “Yes, my lady. Burned on the stake.”

  Elena was amazed how unaffected Aleksi seemed by the news. “Does he plan to kill the elf?”

  The Slayer nodded, clearly shaken. “Not so sure that’s a good idea, but yes.” His eyes narrowed as he studied Aleksandra. “How did you get past the upstairs guard? He wasn’t supposed to let anyone pass.”

  “Claude, how long have you known me?”

  “Centuries. Since you was a little girl.”

  “And you knew my father.”

  He crumpled his hat in his hands. “Yes, miss. Of course. King Ivan was a great man.”

  “And you are really wondering how I got past the upstairs guard?”

  His gaze flitted between Aleksi and Elena.

  Aleksi’s voice was as smooth as honey. “Open the gate, Claude. We’re in a hurry.”

  “I can’t, my lady. You need a pass or he’ll kill me, too.”

  “Open it, Claude.”

  “Oh, please, Lady Aleksandra. He’ll kill my wife and children.” He shook all over.

  Elena’s anger flared hot in her chest at the suffering these people experienced at the hands of Fydor. Aleksi said all Slayers would recognize the mark of the Uniter. She hoped this guy was really a Slayer and was fed up enough with fear to react according to expectations. “I have a pass,” she said, untying the cloak from her neck.

  The man’s eyes grew huge in the candlelight as he stared at her chest. The leather top she had borrowed from Aleksi was so low cut it left the entire mark exposed. The part about the baby was below her ribs and well concealed. She was pretty sure that Stefan was the only one in modern times who read the “old language,” but she didn’t want to run the risk.

  “Ah, I…” He met her eyes and then stared at the mark again, then recited the opening of the prophecy in a slow monotone. “From the ashes of death, the Uniter shall rise.”

  “Yeah, yeah. From the blood of a warrior, I awakened. Now open the freaking door so I can go dethrone a tyrant, will you? We’re running out of time.”

  Aleksi took the key from his shaking hand when he produced it and unlocked the heavy wooden door. The stench of unwashed bodies was oppressive and made Elena’s nose burn.

  The man followed them in, carrying a candle. In the dim, flickering light, she could make out cell after cell on either side of a wide hallway. The bars were too close together to get a hand through.

  “How do they feed them?”

  Aleksi laughed. “They are immortal. Why waste the money? They can’t starve.” She moved farther down the hallway.

  “But they can suffer,” she muttered, more to herself than anyone else.

  Aleksi spun to face her. “Don’t go soft on me now. I’m in way too far to back out without landing myself a starring role in that execution day after tomorrow, and I’d rather not go to that party, okay?”

  “Were it not for me, Slayer, you’d still be chained to your bed, doing the backstroke in a pool of your own blood.”

  “You have a point.” Aleksi stopped at the cell at the end. “Hello, Vlad, baby. You hungry?” It was too dark to see into the cell, but the low, rumbling chuckle that came from it made Elena’s hair stand on end.

  She took the candle from the guard and moved closer to the cell. The circle of light crept across the floor until it lit a huge, red-eyed hulk of a man in tattered clothes. A gorgeous, red-eyed hulk of a man in tattered clothes.

  He chuckled again.

  The lack of light was maddening. “I wish we had a flashlight,” Elena grumbled. Her palm burned like crazy, so she waved it by her side and the entire room was enveloped in light.

  “Shit, girl,” Aleksi said. “What else can you do?”

  “I’ve got something she could do,” the vampire in the end cell said in his deep, rumbly voice.

  Her palm was throwing off flecks of light like a sparkler. Certain it used too much energy, she willed it to dim, and it did.

  At least she could see now, but what she saw filled her with horror. Every cell had an occupant chained by heavy cuffs to the wall. There appeared to be one of every kind of immortal there, like a zoo of exotic, sentient, humanlike creatures. Some cringed at the light, while others snarled or simply stared. The vampire, however, leaned his long body against the wall to which he was chained, looking amused. She decided he was the most dangerous force down there. No matter how you sliced it, this situation was not amusing.

  “Okay, listen up, losers,” Aleksi shouted. “We’re going to bust you out of here, but only on the promise that you will help the Uniter. Once Fydor is defeated, you can have your lives back. We’re going to send you to your people to spread the word. You must commit to follow her before we free you. If you renege, you will die.”

  “Follow her?” the vampire asked quietly with a smirk. “You should hear her thoughts. Following her is suicide unless she gets herself under control.” He moved as close to the bars as he could, stretching the chains binding his arms and legs tight. “But you’re right about one thing, little Dhampir. I’m the most dangerous force down here.”

  “You’re a Dhampir?” Aleksi said conversationally, as if the guy wasn’t all doomsday creepy. “That kinda kicks ass.”

  What Elena wanted to do was kick the big vampire’s ass.

  He busted out laughing. “Much better!”

  She hummed a round of “Respect” to mask her thoughts, and the vampire laughed even louder. “I take it back. She may be worth following after all.”

  “So, here’s the choice, my lovelies,” Aleksi announced to the creatures in the cells. “Either you help us, or we leave you here.”

  “What’s in it for us?” a guy in the cell behind Elena asked. She spun to come face-to-face with a wood elf.

  “I’ll tell ya,” Claude shouted. “Fydor has a mass public execution planned for day after tomorrow. One of every creature of the Underveil will be burned alive in a show of power intended to secure his place as ruler of the Underveil. The inhabitants of this dungeon are the lucky representatives chosen for sacrifice.”

  Elena placed the candle on the floor and then raised her arm to make the light from her palm spread farther into the back of the cell next to the wood elf. Crouched in the corner was the most delicate, beautiful creature she had ever seen. Dainty and feminine, its white-blonde hair was matted and its clothes torn and filthy.

  “What are you?” she asked.

  The creature only stared with enormous, dark eyes.

  “She’s a light elf,” Aleksi said. “Fee, the Alchemist, sister of Aksel the Forger. The shackles dampen her light and render her mute.”

  “Unlock her,” Elena ordered the guard.

  Claude unlocked the door and flung it open with a bang. The tiny elf flinched and shuddered. “I only have a key to the cell, not the shackles. Fydor keeps the only key,” he said.

  The heavy bands around the creature’s tiny limbs had a keyhole on top that looked exactly like the ones on the bands Fydor had used to restrain Aleksi. Elena reached between her breasts and pulled out the key she’d taken from
Aleksi’s room, unable to contain her grin.

  This time she sang out loud to keep the vampire out of her head. “R-e-s-p-e-c-t. Find out what it means to me.” She inserted the key into the keyhole on an ankle band and laughed out loud when it popped open.

  She unlocked the band on the other ankle. So, I hold the only key to your freedom. What do you think of me now, asshole? she taunted in her head.

  “I think I love you,” the vampire called from his cell.

  She laughed and hummed another chorus as she unlocked the elf’s wrists. The minute the last shackle dropped, the creature glowed brighter than her hand on high-power mode. No need for glowy palm anymore. Elena concentrated on sucking the power back into her body from her hand, and it dimmed to appear normal.

  She passed the key to the guard. “Unlock all who you think will be loyal. Do not free the wood elf or the vampire.”

  The vampire laughed and her skin prickled.

  The glowing elf reached out with a slender finger and traced the glyphs on Elena’s chest. Then, she touched her under the collarbone in the same way as the elf in the woods. Her voice was beautiful. So entrancing, in fact, Elena stopped humming to listen. “Drink me.”

  “Don’t do it. She’s toxic,” the wood elf in the cell next door warned.

  “Not to you,” the light elf said in a high voice, barely above a whisper. “You have blood of a vampire, human, seer, and Slayer in you. You need an elf.”

  No seer. Only vampire and Slayer…well, and human if her mom counted.

  “She lies,” the wood elf shouted.

  “Focus, Dhampir,” the vampire said. “Trust your instincts; they never lie.”

  She hummed out loud. Her instincts may not lie, but they also didn’t have a basis in real life. Everything was new. Everything was scary and threatening.

  A cell opened down the hall as Claude set about unlocking another prisoner under Aleksandra’s watchful eye. “Stand against the bars,” she ordered whatever creature they had released. “Move and you’re dead.”