by Kailin Gow
It took Scarlett a second or two to steel herself for what she knew she had to do next. If she was wrong, then she could well end up killed. Yet the ache that came with the thought of not going to Rothschild was worse than that fear, and Scarlett knew that she would do it, regardless of the danger. She got down on her stomach and crawled, hoping that she was correct.
Scarlett inched between the statutes, and again, fire shot out. Scarlett pressed herself flat to the rock floor, dragging herself forward with her arms. It was slow, terrifyingly so with the fire continuing to pour forth above her. Yet inch by inch, Scarlett made it past the barrier presented by the raging inferno, standing up again only once she was sure that she was clear.
She hurried forward again, keeping a careful eye out for more potential dangers. She quickly found herself in a star shaped room with at least a dozen tunnels branching off it. Which way this time? Scarlett pressed her hand to the mark on her neck, hoping for a clear sense of which way to go. She could feel that Rothschild was ahead somewhere, but that only served to narrow down her options a little. There were still three or four tunnels that could have been the correct one. And, given the dangers in the rest of the cavern complex, Scarlett did not want to risk going the wrong way.
Scarlett looked around the tunnels, trying to pick out some kind of difference between them that would help her to make up her mind. She found it only when she brought the torch close to the floor. She had been hoping for dust or dirt on the floor of the tunnels that might show footprints where others had gone that way. There were no footprints, but there was something almost as good. Most of the tunnels had dust and dirt, exactly as Scarlett expected, but one of them had been swept clean, obviously to obliterate earlier footprints. It was as good as a trail.
Scarlett hurried along it. Behind her, she could hear the sounds of an argument, and even with the echoes of the caves, she could recognize the voices. Cruces and Tavian were following her. Caesar too, from the sounds of it. The sounds of the voices were distorted and channeled by the tunnels, so that Scarlett could not tell exactly how close they were, but it was likely that they could not be far behind.
Briefly, Scarlett thought of going back for them and claiming that her flight was all a mistake. After all, she did not wish her friends to become lost in the caves when to do so might mean so much danger for them. Yet at the same time, Scarlett was only too aware that Cruces and Tavian would probably think she was not acting rationally. They might even insist that they abandon their attempt to get to Rothschild in some misguided attempt to keep her safe.
Being away from Rothschild was not safety. It was an agony of separation that Scarlett simply was not going to allow. She had to get to the vampire before the others caught up with her. In desperation, Scarlett put her hand to the mark she bore, hoping that this time she might be able to get a response.
“Rothschild, please. I am in the caves, coming to you, but I will not be able to find my way quickly enough. The others are not with me now, but they will find me if I do not hurry.”
For a second or two there was no response, and Scarlett stood there in despair. Surely Rothschild must be able to hear her so close? He had heard her when she had been close to his home in London, after all. He had to answer. He had to.
And then he did.
“Scarlett? You are in the caves? Where?”
Scarlett tried to explain, retracing her route mentally in the hopes that Rothschild would be able to see it. “Cruces and Tavian are behind me, but I think I have managed to get away from them for now.”
“That is good,” Rothschild whispered into her thoughts, “now come to me, dear Scarlett. Come to me.”
In that moment, Scarlett knew how to get through the remainder of the tunnels. There was not far to go, and there were no more traps on the way, meaning that even with no shoes, she could run to meet her beloved. Scarlett did not hesitate.
She came out of the tunnels into a cavern that was huge and partly lit by a shaft of sunlight coming from above. The cave was bigger even than the submerged one they had come in through, though this one had a smooth floor of black stone. In the middle of that floor stood a familiar figure.
“Rothschild!” Scarlett started to take a step forward, but a hand clamped onto her arm. She looked around to see Cruces, with Tavian and Caesar behind him. The vampire looked furious.
“You followed me,” Scarlett accused.
“Of course we followed you,” Cruces said. “What other way was there to end this madness? Rothschild, this is enough. Enough I say!”
Chapter 16
Scarlett put all her strength into breaking free of Cruces’ grip, tearing her wrist clear so that she could rush over to Rothschild. She turned to make sure that the others stayed back, glaring at them for following her like that. If they meant Rothschild harm, they would have her to contend with.
Satisfied that Cruces, Tavian and Caesar were staying back for now, Scarlett rushed to Rothschild, kissing him deeply. The vampire ran a hand down her neck, over the mark that sat there. The pleasure from just that movement was enough to make Scarlett half close her eyes for a moment or two.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I did not mean to lead them to you. I just could not bear to be parted from you.”
“I know,” Rothschild said, turning Scarlett gently and hugging her to him from behind. Like that, Scarlett could see the pain on Cruces and Tavian’s faces. Couldn’t they just be happy for her? Couldn’t they accept that this was what Scarlett wanted? No, that was a lie. This was only a small part of everything Scarlett wanted from Rothschild, but it was a beginning, and if the others could not accept even this much, what hope was there for the rest?
“I do believe the great Cruces is jealous,” Rothschild murmured beside Scarlett. “Why not tell him who you love, my dear?”
“I love you, Rothschild.” Scarlett said it without hesitation.
Cruces took a step forward, a pained expression on his face. “Step away from her, Rothschild. Hand over the bow or face me like a man.”
Rothschild sighed. “Oh, how tiresome. No, I do not believe that I will. After all, Scarlett does not wish me to step away from her, do you Scarlett?”
Scarlett shook her head. “Please do not fight,” she begged. “Cruces, if you harm Rothschild, I will never forgive you for it. I will not allow it.”
“You can see how much Scarlett loves me,” Rothschild said. He moved beside Scarlett, taking her hand and lifting it like he might kiss it. He turned it over instead, kissing the inside of her wrist, right above the point where her pulse thrummed with excitement. Did he plan to bite her? Scarlett found a strange hint of fear in her at that, but she trusted Rothschild. Trusted him completely in that moment, even as it occurred to Scarlett that he was kissing her there because it was the spot that had borne Cruces’ mark.
“Enough,” Cruces said once more.
Rothschild straightened up and smiled. “Oh, I don’t think so. Not enough by a long way. Scarlett and I are going to get so much closer before I’m done.”
“Because of Cupid’s bow,” Tavian pointed out from beside Cruces. “That is hardly real love, Rothschild.”
“You were happy enough when Aphrodite’s curse meant I loved you,” Scarlett shot back. She saw Tavian wince. She also saw Caesar back away, towards the edge of the room. It could not be easy for him, being caught up in their argument like this.
Cruces made a face. “You are a coward, Rothschild. If you want Scarlett, do the honorable thing. Use the bow to free her from all compulsions.”
“Why would I do that?” Rothschild demanded. “Why would I risk that when I am currently so irresistible to our dear Seeker?”
He was irresistible, Scarlett thought. So much so that she could hardly think about anything else.
“If you truly believed that you were irresistible,” Cruces pointed out, “you would allow Scarlett the choice. You do not truly believe that you could win her heart by fair means, or you would not hide
behind magic.”
Rothschild laughed then. “Fair? This is not about whether I am being fair, is it Cruces? You simply cannot stand that once again, a woman has found me more attractive than you. I would have thought you would be used to it by now. After all, it has been that way since our sire made us what we are.”
“As I remember it,” Cruces retorted, “your charm was simply that you never had any restraint.”
Scarlett almost laughed at that. Cruces was arguing that another vampire lacked control? Given everything that she knew of him, it seemed ludicrous. Yet perhaps he had a point. Rothschild was more dangerous still than him, less inhibited. For all that Cruces was not shy when it came to getting what he wanted, Rothschild simply took it. It was part of what made Rothschild infinitely more attractive to Scarlett in that moment than Cruces could ever be.
Rothschild shook his head. “I would say that if you spent a little less time being responsible you might have a chance with Scarlett. However, that simply wouldn’t be true. Would it my dear?”
Scarlett looked up at him with love. She could remember what she had felt for Cruces. She could even remember why she felt the way she did for Rothschild. That changed nothing.
“No. I could never love anyone but you, Rothschild.”
“Because of the bow,” Tavian said.
Cruces nodded. “Isn’t this hurting you, Rothschild? You are so proud of your own charms, yet here Scarlett is, held by a compulsion. Wouldn’t you rather have her choosing you of her own free will?”
Beside Scarlett, Rothschild shrugged. He pulled Scarlett back to him. “I find that free will is overrated. Scarlett here is precisely the kind of young woman who needs to be compelled. She has too many suitors to ever make the choice for herself, and I will not risk losing her.”
“As I said,” Cruces snapped. “You are a coward.”
Rothschild’s grip tightened on Scarlett just a fraction. “Really? I am not the one who has spent time painting me in the worst possible light. You poisoned Scarlett’s mind against me as soon as we met, dear brother.” He looked at Scarlett then. “You must have hated me when Cruces told you such things about me.”
“No… I…” Scarlett wanted to tell him that she could never hate him, but strangely, she could remember a time when she had. She nodded.
Tavian joined in then. “And of course, you need Scarlett to love you so that you can manipulate her into using her gifts to help you. That is what this is about, isn’t it Rothschild?”
“Do not presume to know me, boy,” Rothschild snapped. “I want Scarlett because of all that she is. Yes, her powers, but the rest of her too. How do you know that I do not love her as much as she loves me now?”
“You love no one but yourself, Rothschild,” Cruces said. Scarlett noted that he’d started to circle, obviously looking for a way past Scarlett to get to Rothschild. Scarlett moved to keep herself between them.
“This from you, Cruces?” Rothschild demanded.
“Isn’t it true?” Cruces stalked around them another pace. “Show me a time and a place where you have genuinely cared about someone. Where you have not just used your looks to take what you want until you have become bored and cast your conquests aside.”
Scarlett’s heart constricted at that. “You would not cast me aside, would you?”
Rothschild silenced her with a kiss. “Never.”
“Never?” Cruces scoffed. “Then what about Cecilia? How long did you promise to stay with that foolish girl? How well did you keep your word there, Rothschild?”
“Be silent, Cruces.”
The vampire shook his head. “Scarlett is, despite the adventures of her life, both pure and innocent. Yet you are going to ruin that for your own ends. And I fear it will bring disaster. How do you know that the very purity you have corrupted with this magic is not what allows her to use her powers?”
“Nonsense,” Rothschild said, but Scarlett couldn’t help noticing that he loosened his grip on her a little. “It cannot be true.”
“Why not?” Cruces asked. “There have been stories throughout time of young women who had power only so long as they retained that innocence. Are you truly willing to risk it?”
Scarlett turned away from Cruces then, throwing herself at Rothschild once more. She was not about to let Lord Darthmoor separate them with his words. She was not going to let him put doubt into the mind of the man she loved. Scarlett looked up into Rothschild’s eyes.
“I love you,” she said simply. “Do not listen to him. I will do anything for you.”
“If you do love her,” Cruces said, “there is one other thing to consider. That is not Scarlett. Oh, she looks the same. Her hair is as golden, her form as lovely, her features as beautiful. It is not her, nonetheless.”
“Do not be foolish,” Rothschild snarled.
“I am not being foolish. What attracted you to Scarlett?” Cruces looked his vampire brother in the eye. “Was it merely beauty? We have both had many beautiful women through the centuries. No. Scarlett is more than that. She has wit. She has fire. Or she had it, at any rate. Now, she is too besotted with you to do more than simper. Is that what you want? Well, do you?”
Rothschild smiled. “I happen to think that Scarlett is very alluring this way. And I know that you have no objection to your women empty headed and doting, Cruces. What about you, gypsy boy? Or you, the newcomer? Who here does not find Scarlett at least as attractive now that she is willing to do anything for the man she loves?”
Scarlett looked up at Rothschild. She wanted to argue with that, because even though she loved him, it did not mean that he could say such things about her. Yet doing so might make him angry. Might make him stop loving her. No, Scarlett could not risk that.
Away in the shadows at the edge of the cavern, a sound began. It took Scarlett a moment or two to place it, and even when she did, it made little sense. It was the sound of someone applauding slowly and sarcastically. It kept going until everyone there was looking in the direction the sound had come from.
A voice followed. It was a woman’s voice, and it was beautiful, but there was a streak of authority running through it that lent it a harsher edge, suggesting that there was little kindness to be found there.
“Oh, my brothers. Arguing as usual over your toys. All these years and the two of you still haven’t grown up that much? Disappointing.”
A woman stepped from the shadows. She was beautiful, but over the past few days Scarlett had seen many beautiful women. What set this one apart was the sense of authority she exuded. She walked like she expected adoration at every step, and would take it if she did not get it. Her hair was dark and fell midway down her back, matching the loose dress she wore. Something about her features reminded Scarlett strongly of Cruces. Scarlett got the feeling that the newcomer was looking directly at her.
“And Rothschild, why is it that you must always reduce your women to such foolish, vacuous dolls?”
“Rothschild, Cruces?” Scarlett asked. “Who is that?”
Rothschild sighed. “That is Lydia. Our sister.”
Chapter 17
Lydia stalked forward, and even Scarlett had to admit that she was beautiful. It was not, perhaps, the impossible beauty of Aphrodite, but it was there nonetheless. It was a cruel beauty though. It was not one that would have men throwing themselves at her so much as admiring her from afar and possibly secretly hoping that the vampire might call them closer. The resemblance to Cruces also had Scarlett thinking.
“She’s actually your sister, isn’t she?” Scarlett said. “Biologically, as well as the way that dear Rothschild is your brother.”
Across from them, Lydia shook her head sadly. “You were doing so well until the ‘dear Rothschild’ part, too. As I said, Rothschild always makes such stupid dolls of his playthings. Yes, I am Cruces’ sister. Though he has long since forgotten what vampires are for.”
“I have not forgotten,” Cruces said. Scarlett noted that he moved into something close to a d
efensive stance. Apparently, he did not trust his sister. “I have simply learned a better way.”
Lydia shook her head and stopped moving forward. She had moved into the spot where the light shone down behind her perfectly, forcing those there to pay attention to her. Somehow, Scarlett knew it was deliberate. “There is no other way than the one the immortals decreed for us.”
“So you say,” Cruces said.
“So I know. We were to be the instruments of fear among humanity, reminding them of their place in the great order of things. We were to make them cry out for the aid of the gods and goddesses. That is what we are. What we were made for.”
“But it does not have to be all that we ever are,” Cruces said softly. Had he had this conversation with his sister before? His tone made it sound like it was a well worn argument. One that neither would give ground on. “When I became the Keeper, I learned to love them, to want to keep them safe.”
“I remember when you used to be more than that,” Lydia countered. She sounded not just sad now, but angry. “You used to fulfill your purpose. Our sire was not pleased to hear of your betrayals.”
Cruces shrugged. “I helped humans, and in doing so, I did what I believed to be right, Lydia. Can you say as much?”
Lydia paused. She did not back down, though. “I do what I was created to do, brother. I do what we were all created to do. It is all I can do.”
Beside Scarlett, Rothschild sighed, and this close, Scarlett could feel his annoyance spilling into her like a wave. “You know, there’s a reason I dislike family reunions. Nobody ever sticks to the point. What are you doing here, Lydia?”
The female vampire spread her hands elegantly. On anyone else, the gesture might have seemed innocent and open. Somehow though, Scarlett doubted that she had ever been those things.
“Can a sister not see her brothers?” Lydia asked.
