Another ball of fire the size of a tennis ball exploded to Lupien’s right. It only burned for two seconds before it extinguished.
Lupien pressed the weapon against Erwan’s stomach. “Of course it would be a lot more fun to shoot him in the gut, to watch him suffer while he dies so very slowly.”
This time bigger flames leaped off the floor on Clelia’s left. She felt the power inside herself, knew that by mere desire, she could spur them on if she wanted, let them lick and consume the man who threatened her grandfather with as little as a change of thought. She also sensed danger in being on the verge of giving herself over to the frenzy that demanded entrance into her mind. Instinctively she knew that she could enter that state of mind right now that would allow her to burn anything she wished to ashes, but with all of her last, remaining conscious logic, she held onto the shreds that kept her human mind in control.
As the need to protect Erwan grew, so did her power, and she saw Lupien enjoy watching her fight not to give in to the overpowering urge to lash out at him. Her body shook and her teeth chattered. She could not look away from Lupien. She felt herself slowly being taken over by a force that demanded nothing less than the extinction of the evil man facing her. It was like a shadow that started to fall over the sun, inch by inch working itself to a full eclipse. Her nails dug into her palms as she tried to hold on to reason, to expel the fierce need for hating Lupien that started to take shape in her being. The mental and physical effort made her breath come in gulps. She sweated and trembled while Lupien laughed.
Invisible flames surrounded her. She could feel it in her mind. It was both frightening and liberating. Trying desperately to direct her attention away from Lupien, she turned her head and focused on the far end of the corridor. Clelia watched in shock when a much bigger fire erupted exactly where she had her eyes trained, the flames reaching all the way to the ceiling.
“That’s it baby girl,” Lupien crooned, “burn for daddy. Come on Josselin’s whore, just a little bit more.”
“Clelia, no!”
Erwan’s voice drifted to her, but it was distressed, and instead of calming her, it added fuel to her fire, the need to save him an almost uncontrollable rage now. She watched helplessly as she started to fulfill Lupien’s command by letting the flames go higher, arching off the ceiling, the smell of burning wood infusing the air.
“Clelia, don’t.”
The voice that spoke came from downstairs. It was measured, unemotional, and controlled, and it had the desired effect, because the flames retracted. Her reason gained ground as her fury calmed.
She knew that voice. It was distinct. She would recognize it anywhere.
“Cain,” she said, before she turned to face him.
He stood in the front door in a white suit, leaning on his cane. “That’s exactly what he wants,” he said, crossing the entrance.
“Cain,” Lupien said smoothly, “now my joy is complete. When I take her art, you’ll die screaming. I’ll burn you alive.”
Cain took his time to mount the first few steps. “You could have had so much, but you wanted it all, and now you’ll end up with nothing.”
Lupien snickered. “You can’t stop the second Dark Age from coming. It’s time. We’ll reign, just like before. But this time we won’t be snuffed out and forced underground. I’ll take what’s rightfully mine, and then I’ll enjoy smelling your flesh and bones melt.”
Cain was halfway up the stairs now. “You’ve had your chance, Lupien. And they don’t come along twice.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
Siril was sitting on the terrace steps when Josselin pulled up to the castle. He was surprised to see the boy still there. It was a little past lunchtime already. The weapons contact he had met in Vannes was late, to his irritation. For safety reasons, Josselin had decided not to take Clelia along, but he had been eager to get back to her. He also had been eager to get the guns. They needed all the protection they could buy. Lupien wasn’t far. He could feel it. At the first chance that presented itself, he’d go after the bastard and take care of him once and for all. It was a pity he couldn’t do it before, but getting to Clelia was a priority.
Not wanting to exhibit his purchase in front of the boy, he left the weapons in the boot of the car and crunched his way across the gravel to where Siril sat with his hand on his chin.
“What’s up, boy? Why are you still here? I thought you’d be long gone by now.”
Siril squinted up at him. “Madame de Arradon took my bike. I’m waiting for her to get back.”
Josselin froze. “What did you say?”
Siril pulled his shoulders up to his ears. “She said she was going to the market to buy food for lunch.”
Josselin had to take deep breaths not to explode. “How long ago?”
Siril checked his watch. “Maybe two hours.”
His blood ran cold. Two hours was too fucking long. It was hard to keep a calm demeanor.
“Which village?”
“I think she was going to Josselin. She asked how long it took to go there by bike.”
Anger and fear flared in him. “Wasn’t your aunt supposed to cook lunch?”
“Madame said she wanted to surprise you. She told me to call Izabell and tell her not to come.”
“I thought I made myself clear when I said she should stay here,” he said more to himself than to the scrawny red-faced boy who looked like he wanted to bolt.
“I gave her the phone you left,” Siril said, squirming under Josselin’s hard stare.
“Stay here,” Josselin instructed, turning back to the car with long strides.
“Er, can I catch a lift with you back to town?” Siril called after him. “I can get my bike later.” He mumbled under his breath, “Don’t feel like facing wolves again.”
Josselin paused and swirled around. “What did you say?”
Siril’s face flamed. “Nothing.”
Josselin walked back to him slowly. “What was that part about the wolves?”
Siril almost cowered. “It’s just been a strange morning.”
Josselin’s scalp pricked. “Why?”
“A pack of wolves cornered me inside for almost half-an-hour. The beasts were waiting for me at the door. I couldn’t come back outside until they were gone.”
“Four of them?”
“Yes.” Siril frowned. “Do you know about them? I knew there were foxes in the woods, but wolves are only supposed to exist in the legends.”
“They’re not wolves, they’re dogs.”
Siril blew air through his noise. “Could have fooled me.”
“And then they left?”
“I hope so.”
“Did anything else happen?” Josselin asked carefully.
“Like what?”
“Did anyone come around?”
“No.” Siril scratched his head. “Only that man called for Madame de Arradon.”
“What?” Josselin nearly grabbed Siril by the collar and shook him. “Which man? Where did he call?”
Siril looked baffled. “I think he said his name was Erin. No, Erman. Wait, Ernan.”
“Erwan?” Josselin said, finding it hard to keep his irritation hidden.
“Yeah. Erwan.”
His heart started pounding in his chest. No one had that number. Only one person had the means to break through all the measures Josselin had taken to keep the number secure.
“What did he say?” His voice was flat, his body a string ready to snap.
“Uh, he said he’d wait for Madame de Arradon in your house.”
Holy fuck. It couldn’t be. Please, God, no. Not that.
In a second, his vision blurred. If anything had happened to Clelia...
“I’ll call your aunt to come get you,” Josselin said.
This time he sprinted for the car, praying that he wasn’t too late.
* * * *
The stairs creaked as Cain took another step. “Don’t give in to your anger, Clelia. It’s the onl
y way he can harm you.”
Clelia felt her emotions stabilize at Cain’s gentle warning. His even, almost disinterested tone had a calming effect on her. In a second, the fire that raged at the end of the hallway shrunk to half its size. The tongues of flames didn’t reach all the way to the ceiling any longer, but neither did they die down as Clelia had expected.
Lupien chuckled. “Yes, she started that one Cain. Look at that beautiful fire. The others died before they could live. She killed them with her fear. But this one, she gave it life and it’s feeding now, on the floorboards and the rail and the curtains... It will feed on anything that stands in its way. It’ll feed on you. It’s too late, now.”
Clelia turned her head in Cain’s direction. She felt sick.
“Don’t listen to him, Clelia,” Cain said. “He’s trying to twist you. He can’t take you if you haven’t given in to the dark side of you.”
Lupien pressed the gun under Erwan’s chin. “We’ll see how dark she gets when I do some wall art with her old man’s brains.”
“Keep your eyes on me, Clelia,” Cain said. “Don’t look.”
She started shaking uncontrollably when she realized that Cain had already accepted Erwan’s murder as fate.
“No. No,” she said through trembling lips. “I can’t let him kill Erwan. I can’t let him do it.”
Her eyes were drawn to a movement by the door. Her heart slammed into her ribs when Josselin entered, his coat trailing behind him, his arm muscles flexing, his face pulled into an expression of calculated murder.
“Ah!” Lupien exclaimed. Clelia looked back at him to see her father do a crazy little tap dance. “Just the guest I was waiting for. Welcome home, Josselin. Now you can tell us exactly where you mother’s organs were draped when you found her, so I can reconstruct it accurately when I rip your whore’s insides from her belly.”
Josselin launched up the stairs. He looked like a demon. Underneath his coat, Clelia saw the body holster with the weapons.
“Josselin, no!”
Her voice was only a whisper and not enough to penetrate Josselin’s state of rage. She knew he was going to go for the kill. Fear knotted her insides together. Josselin passed Cain, and when he reached the top of the stairs, she reached out to touch his arm, but before her fingers came near him, his coat burst into flames.
Clelia screamed, but Josselin only peeled the garment from his shoulders as if he couldn’t hear or see her, dropping the coat to the floor to reveal the extent of the protection strapped to his body. The flames smothered under the cloth. Smoke rose from the fabric.
Lupien giggled like a girl. “Coming to me with knives and guns, Josselin? All right, let’s have some fun first.”
Clelia stared in horror as Josselin’s long hair caught fire. Her whole being protested. She ripped her sweater over her head and frantically beat at the tiny orange tendrils that rapidly melted the ends of Josselin’s hair. It wasn’t hard to put out and she guessed that Lupien was just playing with them. It was a game of cat and mouse. The smell of burnt hair filled the space. Her hands went to her mouth.
“Fight me like a man, Lupien,” Josselin said, still not paying Clelia any attention.
“And spoil all the fun?” Lupien said. “I don’t think so.”
A fire sprang up around Josselin, surrounding him with white tongues of heat. Clelia immediately sensed that it was a different kind of fire. Josselin seemed to know it too, because instead of jumping through it, he stayed put.
“The heat is enough to melt your bones to ash in a second,” Lupien said. “Do you like my pretty prison? Now, stay, like a good dog, and watch your witch whore die.”
Only then did Josselin meet her eyes. She could see the emotions flickering in his–fury, anxiety, passion, pain...
Josselin unclipped a clasp on the weapon harness and lifted a strange gun. It looked like a shotgun with a cone-shaped barrel that flared out at the end. He aimed it in front of him and pressed the trigger, which released a stream of white foam. The flames where the foam hit disappeared instantly, and even as he moved forward to exit the burning circle, he already had his free hand on another weapon. Before his foot was outside of the danger zone, the flames jumped back into place.
“Not so fast,” Lupien said. “Another move from you and I cremate her now.”
Josselin looked at Clelia, his helplessness and his fury etched on his face.
“I want to have some fun first,” Lupien said. “I’ll start with the old man and my rival Cain, then I’ll do her.” He pointed the gun at Clelia. “I’ll have you last,” he said to Josselin, “so that you can benefit from the show I intend to make of burning her.”
Tears ran down Clelia’s cheeks. “Please. Let them go and I’ll give myself freely.”
Josselin reached out then. “No. You won’t give yourself to that monster, do you hear me? You won’t die.”
She bit her lip, holding her husband’s gaze. “I just want it to end.”
“Good girl,” Lupien purred. “You make your daddy proud. I’ll give you one chance to hurt me, to turn your pretty heart black, before I burn you like a witch and feed on your delicious power.” He licked his lips.
“Don’t do it,” Cain said from behind her, his voice even. “That’s what he wants.”
“Be a good naughty girl and do like daddy does.” Lupien’s smile was a grimace. “Or watch them die.”
The white flames flared around Josselin.
Clelia cried out. “Please, I’ll hurt you, I’ll let you have what you want, just let them go.”
“He won’t let us go,” Cain said. “You cannot give him what he wants, no matter what he does to us. We’re a small sacrifice in the greater scheme of things.”
The words rang like a distant echo in her mind. Not so long ago she had believed herself to be the sacrifice Josselin was willing to make for justice. She looked at him with love and longing, seeing the flames slowly advancing toward him. She knew with a clarity like never before that she couldn’t stand by and watch Lupien destroy the man she loved. She’d rather die.
Clelia pushed her body against the staircase rail. The fire from the end of the corridor was approaching. Soon, they would all be burned alive. She looked down over her shoulder. It wasn’t a high fall to the bottom, but hitting the hard marble floor headfirst would be fatal.
Josselin’s eyes widened. “No.” He lifted his hand. “Clelia, I beg you.”
Cain had followed Josselin’s gaze. “Josselin’s right. Taking your own life won’t help. You’ll just play into Lupien’s hand anyway. Ending your life would be just the same as taking that of another. You’ll give in to the darkness inside of you.”
She shook her head. “No. Sacrifice is not the same as murder.” She knew it instinctively, grasped a new kind of natural law about her kind that had always been imbedded in her, but that she had been blind to before.
She turned her head toward Lupien, feeling strangely calm now. “Isn’t that so, father?” From the worried look that flashed in his eyes, she saw her victory. “An eye for an eye. It’s the law of our kind, the answer to salvation. My life for my mother’s.”
“I’ll kill them all,” Lupien said. “I’ll kill every fucking one you love.”
“If I’m dead without giving you my soul, my gift will be lost. I won’t give the art you’ve imposed on me to evil.” She knew Josselin wasn’t acting because of his concern for her life. If she was out of the way... “And then Josselin will be free to kill you, to rid the world of your darkness.”
The circle of flames around Josselin narrowed. She saw the gun in Lupien’s hand move from Erwan to Cain. She turned so that her tummy pushed against the rail, preparing her body and mind for the inevitable, but then her gaze fell on the dogs that sprinted through the door, four blurry lines of motion that shot up the stairs.
“What the–” Lupien said, and then she heard a shot being fired.
Clelia flung around. Before she had time to take another breath, a
deadly growl sounded in the open space and a split-second later a white ball of fur launched through the air. It took her a couple of seconds to find her bearings, and by the time she did, Lupien’s body was flat on the floor with her dogs at his throat. The gun had fallen from his hand, but still lay within reach. She couldn’t move. She saw Snow going in for the kill, aiming straight for the windpipe, but Lupien’s fist lifted and collided with an inhumane blow on the animal’s jaw. Snow yelped. Shaken from her frozen state, Clelia ran forward to get the gun, but Lupien was faster. As he got hold of the weapon, she heard Josselin, still trapped in the circular blaze, shout her name, but it was Cain who was behind her now, grabbing her arms, holding her back.
Blood ran down Lupien’s neck. Snow had broken the skin. Chilling human screams cut through the air as the animals tore and shook the body of the man on the floor. Snow, recovering from the blow, jumped, his jaw locking around Lupien’s throat again. The sound of fabric and flesh tearing mixed with growls and a single gunshot filled the space. It rang loud and clear into the air. Cloud, Thunder, and Rain were still ripping Lupien apart, pieces of skin coming off his muscles while the white of bones showed in his shin and hip. Snow had fallen with a thump to the side.
Clelia fought the blackness and the nausea. She looked around frantically, her mind refusing to process the visual data. Erwan sat motionless in the chair he was tied to. Cain stood very still. The white flames had died around Josselin.
She watched as if in a dream, a very bad nightmare, while Josselin unstrapped the holster, dropped it to the floor and ripped his shirt from his body. He rushed to her, pulling his shirt over her head to cover her, stroking her hair. Her gaze went back to Lupien’s bloody body. Snow?
“Don’t look, angel,” Josselin said. He cupped her head and pushed her face against his chest. “It’s all right now.”
“Snow?” she said, staring up at Josselin.
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