The Dark Rose

by Ramsey, Valentine

  Paul and Brighton’s bellow of triumph went up. Pan’s head whipped around. Taking off in that direction, she came up on them feeding.

  “Kill him!” Kida K. yelled, as Brighton’s man was still struggling, her eyes jet black. Kida K. lunged to jump in, but Prince Warwick caught her waist, holding her back.

  “This is his kill,” Warwick said. “He wants to draw it out.”

  Paul, however, spared no mercy, mauling a shrieking Ryan like a savage lion.

  Looking around, Pan noticed Raphael and a few others were missing. “Where are the others?”

  Andre scanned the faces. “I don’t know.”

  But there was a sudden inaudible call. Taking off running in that direction, Pan burst through some bushes. Horror striking her hard, she stumbled, her knees nearly giving out at what she saw. Andre caught her around the waist to keep her from collapsing. Pan gasped, clapping a hand over her mouth.

  Stabbed through the heart with her Rose part, face and neck strained, Gaston withered on the ground, his veins spider-webbing like molten silver. Trembling, he cried out in agonized pain, clutching the sword, silver tears leaking from his bloodshot eyes.

  “A name?” Andre demand, trembling with fury. “Tell me now and from where they came.”

  “It was a Gray,” Horace said, staring in shock as he pointed. “And there they stay.”

  Pan didn’t know what stunned her more: Gaston’s poor wretched corpse sprawled the measure of an unmade grave, resigned to earth, set to surrender, its way already paved, or Dom standing across the open field with his cousin Urijah. They turned and ran.

  “They’re inside the Gray boarder,” Jean-Philippe growled.

  “Send us, send us,” Joaquin said, bouncing eagerly. He vibrated like a bloodhound waiting to go after a rabbit.

  “Go!” Andre roared.

  Joaquin and Khalil burst out of the woods behind them. Running, they leaped and in midair exploded into their wolf forms, clothes falling in shreds. Landing, they flew over the earth so fast they were like rippling ribbons, chasing them down.

  Tears streaming from her eyes for more reasons than the obvious, Pan dropped to her knees. Hands shaking, she hesitantly cupped Gaston’s face. He was as pale as ashes. “Gaston—”

  His breath let out. “I’m bound—for the ground,” he said, voice ragged and weak. He met her eyes, silver tears leaking from the corner of his. “A plague…on both…your houses.”

  His strain eased as his dead life was freed from its tortured strife. His body relaxed, cold eyes gazing up at his destination, heaven.

  “Which one?” Andre asked.

  “The Prince,” Jean-Philippe said. “As our feet flew to the scene the assassins fled into the green and Gaston’s spirit was already guaranteed to be fed to the dead.”

  Andre pulled Pan up, hugging her protectively as she shook. “Who saw it?”

  “Gaston caught a strange whiff,” Raphael explained. “He went stiff then ran. I followed. When I came through he was already fighting with the Prince. His little friend slammed into me. As we fought I dropped the sword. The Prince picked it up and did his bid.”

  Horace shook his head. “Why? The Castle’s and Gray’s love as kin.”

  Raphael shot Pan a scathing look. “Yet the way he struck him dead said he held not a sin. We surprised them in Rose territory. They had to fight or face our blight.”

  Jean-Philippe kneeled by his best friends blood piteous corpse. “His gallant spirit has aspired to the clouds.” He closed Gaston’s eyes then took hold of the hilt and yanked the sword out. Horace recoiled as if it gave off immense heat. Jean-Philippe’s face darkened as he stood, jaw clenched. “I declare war.”

  “I declare war,” Horace said.

  “I declare war,” Raphael said, blaming her with his glare. “This night’s black fate on more days does depend if it is to stay, but here begins the woe of others we must now end. Fire-eyed fury be my conduct now, I vow to kill the heart-still Dominic del Romeo Gray.”

  Pan buried her face in Andre’s arm to stifle her sob. Dom’s serpent heart had been well hid by a lovely flowering face, deceptively innocent, an angelically handsome lie that had deceived her eye.

  Heart hallow, Pan swallowed her grief. She had been so foolish and now the truth lay shriveling miserably. Her lover a beautiful tyrant of blood ancient sin, angelical fiend, his deviant show slow to grow, honorable villain, heavenly deceiver, damned saint, wolfish-ravening lamb, all harbored in immortal paradise of such sweet and bitter flesh, revealed now its true confess.

  How could deceit dwell in such a glorious and gorgeous place? Pan wondered. A tear rolled down her cheek. She instantly knew. It couldn’t and it never would.

  So back foolish tears, she ordered. Belief in this crime had had its time. Back keepers of woe from these eyes of doe, back to your native spring. You are only welcome to offer up joy, not here, with this foolish ploy.

  Pan studied Gaston. This wasn’t Dom’s work. He knew no evilness such as this. Not her lover in cover. Heart strong and certain, Pan pulled from Andre, wiping her face.

  While her mind had held its own court, the men had come up with a plan of a sort.

  Though a plan it should loosely be called as the others had run up and discovered this fatal brawl, demanding vengeance in another that would consume all.

  Pan began to get scared as they were turning into a blood raving mob. She knew they held no humanity, but she didn’t know if they still possessed any sanity not to turn on her, the warm bodied, blood pumping, human.

  Raphael suddenly bumped her shoulder hard. “Do you see what you’ve done?” he growled. “This is your fault,” he hissed in her ear.

  An involuntary feeling of shame burned her cheeks. Pan flinched as they cried their roars of lynch and the whore Lorna screamed, “Let’s go!” She took off like a streak, her ginger hair vivid in the faint moonlight.

  The others followed like frantic ghosts, chasing down their phantom hope leading them back to their dead hosts. Andre made to take off after them, but paused and doubled back, remembering her.

  “Wha—” But he snatched her up in his arms and took off running, turning the forest into one long blur.

  The rushing wind cooling her hot face, Pan had to close her eyes against it. Seconds later, Andre slowed and Pan opened them to see they were back at the cars. He ran to the SUV Isla was in, appearing so fast, she screamed. Andre ripped open the back door and tossed her in.

  “Andre, no!” Pan yelled.

  “What’s going on?” Isla asked, scared.

  “Don’t ask questions,” Andre said. “Drive your Princess home immediately.”

  “But—”

  “Do it!”

  Recoiling, Isla dropped her iPod and scrambled over the council into the driver’s seat. Andre slammed the door as she started the car.

  “Andre!” Pan screamed, pounding on the window, but he was gone.

  Isla stomped the gas and Pan slid across the seat as they shot forward, jostling roughly over the bumpy terrain. Struggling to hold on and sit up, Pan jammed her hand in her pocket for her phone.

  “What’s going on?” Isla asked. “Pan!” she yelled when she didn’t answer.

  “Shut up!” Pan said as she got it out. Her hands were shaking so badly she was having a hard time hitting the right keys.

  Finally it was ringing. Terrified, as the others would soon be coming up on him, Pan waited for Dom to answer. His voicemail picked up. Crying out, she threw the phone. Careless of the speeding truck, Pan threw open the door.

  “Pan!” Isla yelled, stomping the brakes as she jumped out and took off running.

  Putting everything she had into it, desperately needing to get to him, Pan couldn’t run with a vampires speed, but she ran faster than a human could succeed. She had no clue what she was going to do when she got there, but she had to make sure Dom was safe.

  The woods ended and her feet hit pavement. Pan ran right onto the expressway. One car swerved
, narrowly missing her, but she didn’t slow. Leaping the median like a long limbed doe, she sprinted on. A sedan hit its brakes, but Pan was so fast they only saw a smear on their windshield. Reentering the forest again, Pan didn’t know how much further she had to run, but it would be from here to the sun if it meant reaching Dom.

  The cries and yells led her, fed her feet to be swifter. Seeing the lights, Pan dove and rolled into a crouch, hiding in the border of the forest. Crawling forward, her chest heaving, she peered through the foliage searching for Dom, seeing him nowhere.

  More Gray’s than her anxious mind could count crouched and paced the gravel driveway, growling and snarling fiercely, eyes gleaming in the floodlights. There was an invisible line that her people and those of the other covens had yet to cross as they yelled, bouncing edgily.

  The wolves Joaquin and Khalil pranced, snapping their jaws.

  “Send him out!” Jean-Philippe roared, brandishing the sword.

  “Dominic Gray, come out and play!” Horace yelled. “For Gaston’s death you must pay!”

  “Show your face, you intolerable Gray!” Kenyon of the Black coven yelled.

  One of the jittery Gray’s broke his restraint and burst forward, rushing them. The signal set off, each side clashed. Pan gasped and slapped her hand over her mouth to keep from screaming, seeing her friends brutally fighting.

  Atop, balcony doors were suddenly thrown open and Dom strode out, his unbuttoned shirt billowing open. Leaping over the rail, his friends followed behind him. Dom grabbed a Drake vampire and flung him off one of his Gray’s. He bellowed and the fighting stopped.

  “Gaston’s soul is but a little way above our heads, waiting company to join him!” Raphael roared.

  “Then we must give it to him,” Dom said. His voice was level yet his eyes held a fury Pan had never seen them possess. “Either you, or I, or both! Must go to him.”

  Raphael snapped his teeth. “You want to fight?”

  “Yes, good King of Cats, along with all of your eight of nine lives after.”

  Raphael laughed then in a burst, rushed him. Dom met him and they slammed into each other. Raphael punched him in the chest and Dom staggered back.

  “No!” Pan cried.

  She bolted from the woods, running for him. Spotting her, Dom’s face dropped in horror. Ducking Raphael’s fist, Dom grabbed his wrist and threw him over his hip then ran for her, catching her up in his arms.

  “Dom!” Pan gasped, clutching him tight.

  He pulled away and held her face. “Pan.” There was a scream and he looked around, petrified. “You cannot be here.”

  Pan kissed his face. “I had to come. I had to. Raphael said he saw you—”

  “I was on my way to you when we came up on Raphael and Gaston arguing…” His eyes darkened. “About you Pan. Raphael killed him in a jealous rage. He noticed us right when Horace and Jean-Philippe ran up. We had to flee.”

  Pan took in the vengeance of Dom’s archangel beauty. How had she ever believed the lie Raphael’s evil tongue had supplied?

  “I swear this is the truth or let me die.”

  Pan shook her head. “Don’t you dare say that. Never. Of course I believe you.”

  An inhuman bellow erupted from Raphael.

  Dom shoved her behind him. “Go, Pan!”

  Raphael slammed into him, taking Dom to the ground. They rolled, fighting. Pan rushed towards them—

  Dom roared and threw his arm out at her. “Go!”

  Fighting her instincts to defend her love, Pan hesitated then turned and ran. A tall raven haired woman flashed in front of her, making her skid to a halt.

  “I know you.” The woman’s eyes were narrowed trying to place from where.

  Pan gulped and took a step back.

  “Running away so soon Princess?”

  Pan jerked around, finding two male Gray’s behind her. Her heart hit her chest and her wide eyes said the rest as they grinned and lunged.

  “Dom!” she screamed as they slammed into her. The force knocked the breath from her lungs and the sense from her head.

  “No!” He tried to run for her, but Raphael, Horace and Jean-Philippe swarmed him.

  Pan cried out, feeling piercing pain, having no clue from where it came. She fought wildly, but it might as well have been brick walls she beat against. Teeth sank into her arm as she shielded her face.

  One was suddenly yanked off. Paul made to grab another, but the other slammed into him. Paul swung around on him like a savage animal.

  Pan screamed again as nails slashed her waist and something wet splattered her face. She looked for Dom through blurry eyes, not sure how much longer she could hold on. The haggard sisters of Fate hovered over her golden thread in the web of life, ready to bed her body to the ground and condemn with a snip clip of Atropos’s golden scissors, her script ended.

  Charon hired to carry her down the river Styx, a golden coin flipped, heads or tails, her love derailed as her cosmic importance ended, her thread unmended.

  + Chapter 26 +

  The Concealed Revealed

  Frenzied, frantic, in a stricken panic, Dom fought madly to get to Pan. He could barely see her as Selene and Diego savaged her, her legs kicking as she screamed over and over again.

  He roared. “Pan!” He had to get to her! But as he battled one off another swarmed.

  Dom smashed his knee into Jean-Philippe’s face. Raphael swung catching his jaw then tackled him to the ground. Horace and Jean-Philippe came at him again.

  A flash of orange, a spray of red, blood spurted from Horace’s mouth as a boot caught his jaw. Deacon barreled into Raphael.

  “No!” Dom said as Jean-Philippe and Horace double teamed him. “If you want my good grace, protect her!”

  Deacon looked between Pan and him, confliction pressed hard on his face as Raphael attacked again. Throwing Dom a last glance, he ran for her. Leaping, Deacon kicked Diego in the chest with both feet. Falling, he scrambled up and shoved Selene off. She stumbled back and fell, but swiveled to her feet. Deacon crouched over Pan, snarling.

  “She’s the Rose Princess!” Selene said. “We kill her, we end this. We win!”

  “She’s Dom’s lady love therefore untouchable. So back the fuck off!”

  Diego backed up, but Selene and Mason attacked. Deacon fought them messily, but viciously. One would run for Pan, unmoving on the ground, but he always snatched them back from their attack.

  Urijah’s face appeared in the melee. Battling six, Dom struggled not to be overwhelmed, his royal strength only going so far. Dynamite came in small packages and Urijah exploded, driving three back, moving so fast they didn’t see his blows coming before they were crippling from them. Dom’s relief for his aid barely dented his terror for Pan.

  Every chance Dom had, he glanced. She wasn’t moving—

  His father’s roar came sudden. “Enough!”

  The battle immediately stopped with the unconscious obedience to a King’s power. Shoving Horace away, Dom ran for Pan, all attention diverted at Ellis on the balcony. Falling to his knees, Dom groaned, devastation crushing him that he had failed to protect his girl.

  Clawed, mauled, blood spattered her ivory skin, her clothes ripped and torn. Oh, he could mourn. Dom carefully pulled Pan into his arms. Her small body jerked and she looked at him with huge scared eyes. She relaxed seeing it was him.

  A tear ran from her eye. “Dom,” she breathed.

  “My sweet Pan.” Dom’s heart ached with such bitter sorrow he could die. Curse the stars! How could they have fallen so far not to defend their moon when they loom so near?

  “Quench the fire of your pernicious rage!” Ellis bellowed. “Or find your graves with bloody fountains issuing from your veins!” A few enemy vampires shrank away from his scorn. “Tell me who began this bloody fray?”

  “Your Prince killed Gaston, a Castle!” Raphael challenged.

  Ellis looked down on him calmly. “And how is that a Stone’s obligation for justice?”
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  “We are aligned with the Castle’s!” Horace said.

  “As are we. This is a matter suited for the coven patriarchs to settle. Although, this looks like an excuse to further an already brewed war as I count mostly Rose’s here. Gaston’s lips held no civil tips not to offend. Provide me the proof that one of you didn’t do it.”

  Cradling Pan to his chest, Dom glared at Raphael. “One of you did do it,” he growled.

  “Who bore witness to this murder?” Ellis inquired.

  “My eyes were observant to the monstrosity,” Raphael said.

  “We raced through the green as the murders fled the scene,” Jean-Philippe said, Horace stepping up beside him.

  “Ah, so alone the silver tongued snake that lies with every breath he takes was the only one to witness Gaston’s soul dismiss.” Ellis’s implication was heavy.

  “A friend to his end, you dare accuse me?!” Raphael bellowed.

  Horace jumped into defend.

  Dom blocked out their shouts, his only concern his love gazing up at him with exhausted doe-eyes that ever gave him reason to sigh. Dom stroked Pan’s hair back and kissed her forehead.

  He had looked, he had felt, but he could find no serious wounds or breaks, all minor, but huge in his finer measuring eyes. Curse this wretched corpse of his! He was the most ferocious predatorial creature humanity had ever known besides themselves and mother nature and he couldn’t even manage to protect her, his little Pixie. Shame, he was lame.

  Pan took a long blink, her lashes wet.

  “How could you ever risk your safety?” he whispered.

  Tears welled in her eyes. “I couldn’t bear to think of anything happening to you.”

  Dom groaned and wiped them, her blood streaking his fingers. “A moment in my existence where I wish you did not love me as much as you do. Soft and breakable you feels the need to protect hard and indestructible me.”

  “I had to make sure you would be okay.”

  Dom delicately kissed her. “Silly girl.” He ran his thumb under her eye, over the freckle matching speckles of blood. “I’m so sorry.”

  Pan’s expression turned confused. “For what?”