Keiran could feel Athan’s continued attempt to worm into his brain. Despite his own growing rage, he remembered the techniques both Corina and Kanan had taught him about keeping things hidden from Athan’s prying. Though his own senses weren’t at their peak, the adrenaline coursing through his veins was enough to give him a bit of an edge, and he started to push right back into Athan’s mind.
“Your new plan won’t work, either,” Keiran countered, letting his hand fall away from his rapier.
Athan’s predatory smile returned, his head tipping forward. “It already has, Keiran. You are the king of Tordania, are you not? Garhan may not have turned out as I would have hoped, but he still may have value as well. I have seeded multiple royal families throughout the known world, Keiran. It is only a matter of time before more of my offspring rise to power.”
“To what end?” Garhan asked, moving up beside his brother. “Do you not think those other vampires will be as willing to fight one another as the men they usurp? Don’t you think that sooner or later, one of them will come along to challenge your dominance? Do you honestly expect them all to roll over to your whims and desires, to run their countries however you wish them to?”
One of Athan’s brows slowly rose upward, his eyes panning to Garhan. “No, I don’t expect any of that. I expect them to all have the drive to expand their empires and power as I have. I may not even live to see it all come to fruition, but it is a rather exciting notion, isn’t it? How much more enthralling and engaging the world will be! I will set the world onto an entirely new course of evolution under those conditions. It will make the strong, stronger, and the weak… Well, there will be no more weakness. The world has become painfully boring; nothing good ever happens anymore. I want it more dynamic, and I want to be at the foundation of that revolution. That is my legacy.”
“There’s no sense in that,” Garhan replied, giving a sidelong glance toward his brother for reassurance. “You’re mad.”
Athan gave his attention back to Keiran, feeling the younger vampire desperately chipping away at his thoughts. Keiran’s expression had changed—he was close to seeing something Athan didn’t want uncovered.
Keiran’s posture suddenly changed and his eyes went wide. He’d broken through Athan’s defenses for the first time, and he saw something that would change his life. His mouth opened to speak, but as the first word started to form in his throat, something unseen struck him in the center of the chest and knocked him back several yards.
Athan’s eyes narrowed as he temporarily silenced Keiran. He needed to do what he’d come to do. He had to start undoing the outright hatred Ilana had instilled in Garhan, and he simply didn’t have the energy to deal with Keiran at the same time.
“Enough of this. I came for a very specific reason tonight, and it doesn’t involve you, Keiran,” Athan said, flicking one of his hands to the side.
Keiran hit the ground hard. He let go of his rapier and reached out to try and get a handhold as he was pulled further away along the forest floor. When he stopped, he felt something clamp down around his left ankle with a painful, crushing grip.
With his chest against the ground, he wasn’t able to look back at what had him. Soon, he felt the same tight grip come up to claim his right wrist and forearm.
To his horror, he first thought they were skeletons’ hands that had pierced up from the ground to take hold of him. However, as he took a closer look, it became apparent they weren’t human bones, but the gnarled, ghostly white roots of the trees surrounding them. He struggled to free himself, but more of them emerged from the ground, cinching over his waist and neck, pinning him firmly to the forest floor.
The sudden confinement sparked his phobia of being restrained, and he fought in a panic until he’d been covered so completely by the roots that he was no longer able to move. He opened his mouth to cry out in his terror, but even that was cut off as a dirt-encrusted gnarl of cold, wet tree root shoved its way into his mouth, gagging him.
Stepan watched as Keiran was smothered beneath the tendrils jutting upward from the soil. He instinctively ran over to try and help, but it didn’t take long for the roots to come after him as well. Within seconds, he was brought down close to Keiran and totally encapsulated by the writing pile of roots.
Garhan turned, driven to help the others, but he was halted in his tracks as another root shot up from the ground, seizing his right ankle and wrapping up his lower leg.
“It will do you no good to try. You’ll only end up like them if you do. If you simply stop and listen to me, they will be unharmed,” Athan said, telepathically directing the message into his son’s head.
Garhan slowly turned around to face Athan, never having experienced anything like that in his life. After seeing what he’d done so easily with Keiran and Stepan, the Alerian vampire realized just how much power Athan possessed. The sword he held slowly lowered to his side, his mother’s warnings all playing in the back of his mind.
“Good,” Athan said, his smile returning as he saw he had Garhan’s undivided attention. “I don’t want you to think I’m not willing to help you out. As I said before, I’ve helped Keiran on several occasions. You, being my actual flesh and blood, deserve things that only I can give you. I have failed you until now, but you need to understand that I am here to see your life made better.”
“I’m not sure how doing that to my friends is exactly helping,” Garhan whispered, his throat feeling tight as a visceral fear washed over him.
“I already said they will be fine,” Athan replied, a sharper edge coming to his voice. He walked past Garhan and over to Mari’s body before kneeling down beside it.
“Don’t touch her!” Garhan snapped, unable to move forward to stop him.
Athan raised a hand and looked up at his son, his other hand already pulling the shroud aside. “Relax, Garhan. She’s already dead. I hardly think I can make it any worse.”
The Alerian struggled against the root holding him, trying to get closer to Mari’s body, but it did no good. He looked down to see Mari’s face exposed in the firelight, her eyes now dull and hazed.
Athan had spent a few hours near the camp before Keiran showed up, silently digging into Garhan and Stepan’s unaware minds. He knew the nature of the relationship his son had carried on with the dead courier and how much pain he was in over her death.
He looked up at his son, his expression blank. “She was quite attractive, I can see that. Garhan, I need to ask you a serious question.”
Garhan pulled his gaze up from her toward Athan. “Ask anything you want, but I can’t promise an answer.”
“What would you give to have her back?” he asked, moving to shove the rest of the shroud away from her upper body.
Garhan didn’t like the question at all, and he refrained from verbally answering. Still, his mind screamed that he’d give absolutely anything to have Mari alive. He diverted his eyes toward the darkness of the forest. “She’s gone, and there is nothing to be done about it now.”
Athan’s brows rose up and he tipped his head to the side for a second, listening to Garhan’s inner reply rather than his words. “I know what the past several years have been for you. I know that your so-called friend over there, Stepan, betrayed you. He was in a position to help you escape your aunt’s imprisonment, and if not that, he was most assuredly capable of helping you visit with this woman during your captivity, but he did not. You want to forgive him and pretend the two of you are as close as you were before things went badly, but somewhere, deep inside, that hasn’t really happened.”
Garhan’s posture stiffened. There was something reptilian slithering within his mind between his thoughts. He gave a quick shake of his head, wanting to rid himself of the sensation, but it wouldn’t be so easily cast out. “Stepan helped us escape. I know he did wrong in the past, but we wouldn’t have gotten this far without him.”
“The only reason he was spurred into action was his own life being put in danger. If Queen Adira hadn
’t thrown him in the dungeon, he would still be at her side as obedient as he ever was. Oh, he feels guilt over the past, have no doubt, but the truth is he didn’t change—only his circumstances did.” Athan let his smile fade again as he placed his hand in the middle of Mari’s chest, pressing lightly. “She was the one who lingered by the palace in the ever-fading hope of seeing you again. She was the only real friend you had back there, Garhan.”
Garhan’s sword slipped from his hands before he crossed his arms over his chest. He wanted to argue his father’s words, but there was a sickening tension inside of him that rendered him incapable of speaking.
Athan pulled his hand away from Mari and shook his head. “It’s not too late.”
The younger vampire unfolded his arms and put his hands to the sides of his head. There was a deep pain developing between his ears, the result of Athan’s manipulations. Garhan turned away as much as he could manage while held in place.
“Wouldn’t you rather have her than Stepan?” Athan asked, slowly rising back up to his full height.
Garhan knew saying yes would be a horrible, evil thing. A loud sob escaped him and he looked away. “She’s dead! There is no point in this!”
Athan sighed and looked back at Mari’s body. “Oh, she is most definitely dead, yes. However, it takes many hours for all the tissues of the body to die. There are still some fine threads from her corpse lingering, connecting her.”
Garhan shook his head, tears marking his cheeks. “You’re speaking madness!”
“Every second, more of those threads break, Garhan. When the last one snaps, not even I can bring her back,” Athan said, looking at his son. “It’s not yet too late. I don’t have the energy myself to do it, but I can still trace those threads and reel her back in if I can get the power to heal her body first.”
Garhan shook where he stood. It seemed insane, but his grief drove him toward any hope he could grasp onto. “If you can, then take whatever you need from me to do it.”
“That, I’m not willing to do.” His eyes turned back toward Mari. “But you’re not the only one who said they would have taken her place. So, I ask you yet again; would you rather have Mari or Stepan?”
Garhan held his arms out weakly before him. It was the most unfair question he could imagine ever being asked. He had no right to trade in one life for another if Athan could actually do what he was offering. In the depths of his heart and mind he screamed out to have Mari back, but he absolutely forbade the words from crossing his lips.
“I thought so,” the elder vampire replied, getting the answer from within his son, even if he wasn’t willing to say it. He looked toward where Stepan was being restrained beneath the still-writhing roots, and he lifted his right hand.
Stepan had no idea what was happening or being said as the roots had encapsulated him completely. Suddenly, there was a prodding at the side of his chest. The pressure eased for a second before he felt the rough end of a root stab through the skin and muscle of his ribcage. He tried to scream out in agony, but he, too, had been gagged by the intrusive roots.
He was pierced deep into the chest, his heart beginning an immediate arrhythmia as it was entangled in a net of smaller roots rapidly growing from the one that had driven into him. Stepan’s frantic breaths quickly ceased as his heart was stopped.
Meanwhile, another pale root emerged from the ground near Mari’s body. It slithered up onto her chest before driving into her as the other had Stepan. Athan looked down and watched on, working his magic without any verbal spells or outward signs given.
Garhan had closed his eyes, trying to push away the tears. He struggled against the root holding him, not knowing what he’d do if he got loose. The fact Athan had gone silent got his attention, and he looked again, following his father’s gaze to Mari’s body. He couldn’t really figure out what he was seeing, and he froze in place.
The root upon her chest pulsed and writhed as it burrowed deeper into her body. A dark, viscous liquid began to spill from the entry point, staining the front of the shirt she still wore. Her chest moved in a mockery of breath, but Garhan knew it couldn’t be.
Athan slowly knelt back down again and reached out to touch the root protruding from her chest. He set his jaw and gave no outward indication of the pain it caused him as it immediately sent out an offshoot that surged up and into his forearm.
“What in the hell are you doing?” Garhan asked, finally breaking his silence.
There was no reply from Athan. He closed his eyes and concentrated further. The energy he’d stolen from Stepan was pouring into her corpse, healing it. The root driven into his arm acted as a conduit, allowing him to reach out for Mari’s conscious energy and begin pulling it back into their world.
“This is black magic! You’re desecrating her body!” Garhan shouted. His rage surfaced to its fullest, giving him the sudden strength to snap the single root that had snaked around his leg. His fangs emerged, and he lunged forward.
Athan, in a rare instance, wasn’t able to respond to the attack. He was knocked back, the root penetrating his arm hastily ripped out. His eyes opened up, seeing Garhan on top of him.
Garhan drew back a fist, ready to strike down at Athan as his fury eradicated his logical thoughts. Something made a sound behind him, however, which instantly caught his attention.
He turned and looked behind him, seeing Mari lying on her side with her hands clutched to the middle of her chest. She coughed and choked, struggling to draw precious air into her starved lungs.
Athan let his smile return and sat up as Garhan pulled away from him. He looked down at his arm, seeing it already healing from the damage it had sustained only seconds before.
Garhan scrambled over to Mari, tripping in the process and crashing down beside her. He looked her over before he dared touch her, carefully moving to sit and cradle her in his arms.
Her eyes fluttered open, looking up at him in return. There was confusion in her expression, though her eyes were clear and no longer clouded. Mari’s hands continued to clutch at her chest where the root had penetrated, her fingers dark with blood.
He reached down to pull her hands away from her chest, needing to see how much the wound was bleeding. However, there didn’t seem to be an injury there at all. He glanced over to see Athan standing up, watching on.
“Mari, are you okay?” Garhan asked, tearing his attention away from the other vampire.
She gave a weak nod, her breaths becoming more regular. Mari couldn’t understand what had happened. While she remembered being hit with the arrow and ultimately losing consciousness, she knew hours had since passed, and she’d left her body, going somewhere else in the interim…unless it had all been a dream.
There were tears on Garhan’s cheeks, and he buried his face against the nape of Mari’s neck, tightening his hold around her. How Athan had resurrected her was beyond his understanding.
Garhan lifted his head to look toward his father a few moments later, but the elder vampire was already gone. He looked around, but there was no sign of him in their small encampment.
There was a noise from where Keiran and Stepan had been imprisoned under the roots as the twisted matrix restraining them slowly pulled away and sank back into the dark soil. Keiran coughed and sputtered, desperate to get the bitter dirt and grit out of his mouth.
He lingered on all fours, spitting several times before looking around to see what had happened. His eyes were drawn to the movement over where Garhan was sitting with Mari in his arms, the woman clearly alive and moving. Keiran rocked back onto his knees, but his attention was soon pulled away from them and to his left.
Stepan’s body had been left by the roots as well, but whereas Keiran had gotten up after being freed, Stepan did no such thing. He remained prone on the ground, his arms splayed out before him.
Keiran moved over and jostled the other man several times before rolling him over onto his back. Stepan’s eyes were wide open in horror and pain but unseeing. There was a
trail of blood that quickly ran down his cheeks from the corners of his mouth when moved, a large red stain marring the side of the shirt he wore. Keiran could see the other man was dead without needing to feel for a pulse.
He turned his eyes back toward Garhan, seeing his brother looking back at him with Mari cradled to his chest.
Garhan watched Keiran turn over Stepan’s body, and he knew his friend was dead. Just as quickly as his desire to give Athan his gratitude for resurrecting Mari had come, it was replaced by horrendous guilt. He slowly looked away in shame, knowing he was responsible for the death of the Alerian guard, even though he’d refused to answer Athan’s question aloud.
Keiran struggled up to his feet, looking around to verify Athan’s departure, soon reassuring himself the other vampire was gone. His mind was a cluttered mess of emotions after what had happened and what he’d seen within Athan’s mind. It had to be shaken off for the moment, though.
He left Stepan’s body, knowing there was nothing he could do for the dead man. He walked over to Garhan and Mari, crouching down and looking the woman over. “Athan brought her back?”
Garhan met Keiran’s gaze and gave a small nod, allowing his fingertips to trace across Mari’s cheek. “He asked what I would give to have her back… He asked if I would rather have her alive than Stepan. I refused to answer him, Keiran, I knew it was wrong, but he did it anyway. I swear I didn’t answer him!”
Knowing how the older vampire could easily get into someone’s mind, he took a deep breath and frowned. It explained Stepan’s death, but how Athan had managed to pull off something like resurrecting someone from the dead went far, far beyond his comprehension.
He gently tried to see into Mari’s mind as best he could to look for any deception. She was profoundly confused and exhausted, but she felt the same to Keiran as she had before.
“It’s not your fault. Athan does what he wants to do, consequences be damned,” Keiran said. “I know him well enough to understand that. He probably felt bringing her back was going to win him some credit with you.”
The Lost Duke Page 27
