“Oh, I won’t,” Val said in Cade’s voice.
Ridgemont raised his sword in a salute Cade echoed with a short, choppy gesture. Both men crouched, bringing their shields up.
Oh, God, Val thought, knowing that now they were all committed. It wouldn’t end until one of them was dead.
With a roar, the ancient exploded toward Cade, swinging his sword like a scythe in a blow calculated to slice through the helm and take off the top of his head. Cade retreated smoothly and took the blow on his shield. It jolted on his arms with a sound like a cannon shot, and the world pinwheeled.
He slammed into the arena floor with a teeth-jarring thud, but he tucked and rolled. Bouncing back to his feet, Cade saw the blow had knocked him several yards, and there was blood on his armor. Ridgemont’s sword had chopped through the shield and caught his shoulder.
That was like being hit by a car! Val thought, amazed and shaken.
“You can do better than that, gunslinger!” Ridgemont called mockingly -- and leaped for them, crossing the arena in one inhuman bound.
“Steady. Here he comes.” Cade braced himself, and she desperately worked to reinforce his strength, building the power with him. They held against the second blow, only rocking back on his heels. Val threw all her force into his answering swing, but she was late, and it wasn’t enough. The ancient caught the blow on his shield and returned it with an overhead stroke they barely blocked in time.
Ridgemont grinned at them, mocking. “Still not good enough, gunslinger. I’ve waited too long for this fight to be this easy. You’d better improve your concentration, or I’ll go after that tasty little sister when I’m done with you.”
Val mentally snarled and blasted more power into Cade’s sword swing. It landed on Ridgemont’s shield with a satisfying boom.
At last all that training came to the rescue, and she stopped thinking, fusing with her lover until she was no longer aware of her own separate existence. Instead, she fought to turn herself into pure, raw strength, taking everything he gave her and firing it back, adding her own strength and letting him do with it as he would.
The two men circled, feet scuffing in the thick sawdust, barely conscious of the creak of armor or the stink of sweat and steel.
At first, it was all Cade could do to keep Ridgemont from taking off his head, blocking with his sword or his shield barely in time. But the force and speed of his return swings increased steadily as he and Val fell into the rhythm of amplifying his power.
The taunting grin faded from Ridgemont’s face.
Cade blocked a blow to his ribs and spun, Val seizing his power and volleying it back. The sword slashed out. Ridgemont tried to block, too late. The edge cut across his breastplate. It was his turn to go flying.
Bloodlust surging, Cade leaped after him, sword raised. Ridgemont hit the ground flat on his back, saw him coming, and jerked up his shield, rolling into a ball under it. Cade landed on it with both feet and chopped down. But the ancient heaved the shield upward, tossing him airborne before the blow could land. Cade hit the ground in a roll and bounced up again to see Ridgemont sprinting toward him, his face set and grim behind his visor.
“It’s not so much goddamn fun now, is it, you son of a bitch?” Cade sneered.
The ancient’s answering sword stroke cut halfway into his shield. And stuck. The vampire’s eyes widened, and he fought to wrench the weapon free. Cade grinned and swung for his head, but Ridgemont blocked the blow and rammed his shield into Cade’s face so hard the bulletproof visor shattered.
Simultaneously, the ancient jerked at his embedded sword, dragging the shield from Cade’s grip. Blinded by blood and pain, Cade scuttled backward, wrenching off the ruined helm, though the visor’s jagged edges raked his skin. His armored boot heel caught the ground, and he tripped and crashed to the sawdust.
Cade blinked away blood to see Ridgemont’s freed blade swinging at his face. He threw up his sword in a desperate parry. Steel rang on steel. The ancient chopped down at him again, but he rammed a foot into his sire’s legs. Ridgemont went down, only to drive his blade into Cade’s thigh, punching right through the armor and into flesh and bone. Both men leapt up despite their wounds, retreating with that inhuman vampire speed.
Fucking armor makes it hard to move, Val growled, then shut up again, afraid to distract Cade. Blood streaming into his eyes from the cut across his brows, he retreated, turning in a wary circle. Ridgemont had vanished.
“Where’d he go?” Val demanded. “He was here a minute ago.”
“Bastard’s fast.” He scrubbed at his eyes, smearing blood on his gauntlet. Hearing a faint sound behind him, he whirled just as his sire’s sword sliced toward his chest.
Cade blocked, Val enhancing his speed, but Ridgemont reversed his stroke and chopped into his sword arm. The armor saved it from being hacked off, but the blade bit deep, shooting agony all the way up Cade’s shoulder. He ignored the pain and lunged, driving his sword at Ridgemont’s ribs, Val amplifying his strength with every ounce of her own. His sword punched into the black breastplate like a knife through tin foil.
Ridgemont howled and slammed a fist into Cade’s blade.
The weapon snapped in two.
A chill slid over Cade as he looked down at his broken sword. A third of its length protruded from his opponent’s black armor.
“Oh shit,” Val breathed in despair.
Ridgemont looked up at him and grinned tauntingly, a smile Cade knew well from decades of torture.
Snarling, he slammed his left fist into Ridgemont’s visor so hard the plastic spiderwebbed. The ancient reeled backward, swearing, and Cade followed him. Ridgemont had to drop his shield to pull off the ruined helm. Cade slammed home another Val-amplified fist to the side of his foe’s head that knocked him to the sawdust.
The ancient scrambled up and backed off fast, still dragging at his helm. Cade let him go. His injured arm wasn’t hurting anymore. He could feel the heat of blood streaming down it from forearm to knuckles, pouring into the sawdust. Looking down, he watched the broken sword slide from his nerveless fingers. A scan with his vampire senses told him Ridgemont had hit something vital. He was bleeding out.
“Oh Jesus,” Val thought, recognizing the moment. “It’s the dream! It’s happening! We’ve got to block off that artery!”
“It’s damaged too badly. I’d have to divert too much power, and you can’t do that in fight,” Cade thought, distant and chill. “Ridgemont’ll kill me on the next pass.”
“Then I’ll do it!”
“Get out, Val. It’s over. We lost. You know yourself he’s going to kill me just like he did in your vision.”
“No! No, I’ll figure it out. You are not dying on me, Cade McKinnon!”
Drawing on his knowledge, she reached for the wound and sealed it, then worked to throw his body into healing the severed artery.
Meanwhile Ridgemont was coiling to leap for him. Cade managed to scoop up his opponent’s fallen shield with his left hand. But without Val’s reinforcement, he couldn’t raise it up fast enough. The ancient’s sword chopped into his breastplate. Something cracked. He hit the ground on his back and skidded in the sawdust.
Desperately, he struggled to regain his feet, but his injured leg buckled under him, and the lights of the arena spun around his head. Cade fell back, fought to rise again, but he’d lost too much blood. Numbly, he watched Ridgemont circle him, sword dangling from the ancient’s hand. Blood smeared the side of the master vampire’s ribs; he too, was badly hurt. But not badly enough.
Cade had always known it would come to this. The son of a bitch was just too powerful. He’d sacrificed Val for nothing. He’d failed her, just as he’d failed his family. He was going to die, and it was no more than he deserved.
“No! Goddamn it, Cade…”
“Get out, Val. Go back to your body.”
“I’m not losing you. Damn you, I’m not going to lose you.”
Then she was gone.
For a moment, he couldn’t believe it. He felt empty, betrayed, but suppressed the thought. Still better than her sharing my death.
Ridgemont grinned into his eyes. “You gave me a good fight, gunslinger. Hurt me, rather badly. But it’s not enough to save you.” He tilted his head to one side and raised his sword. “I think perhaps I’ll cut out your heart and keep it to remember you by.”
“Sorry. I’ve already given it to somebody else.” Cade heaved the shield up and braced himself to fight as best he could.
“Get away from him, you son of a bitch!”
Ridgemont turned away from him as Val raced across the arena toward them, stopping just long enough to scoop up Cade’s broken sword.
Oh, hell. No.
She ran right up to Ridgemont, danced around him mockingly in her blue jeans and T-shirt, ignoring her lack of armor, ignoring the fact she’d never held a sword in her life and the one she had now was broken. Ignoring the ancient’s eight hundred years of power.
Ridgemont laughed in her face. “Go back, child. It’s not your time to die.”
“It’s not his time either, you bloodsucking bastard.”
Hell. Ridgemont’s going to kill her. Cade shut his eyes and threw himself along the link.
Then he was looking up at his sire through Val’s eyes, and the pain was gone. “What are you doing in here?” she demanded frantically. “You can’t leave your body. It’ll bleed out.”
“Let it. He’s not killing you.”
Ridgemont grinned and shook his head, bringing his sword up. “You’re a fool, girl. You don’t have the power.”
Cade lunged forward in her light, speedy little body as they threw all their combined energy into Val’s narrow arms. The broken sword arched upward.
Fear and realization burst across Ridgemont’s face in the instant before the shattered blade bit into his neck. Steel ripped flesh and grated through bone. As the head few from his shoulders, his mind roared a last outraged protest: “Not with a woman’s hand, Cade!”
Val ducked back as the vampire’s massive body swayed in a crimson fountain of its own blood. She didn’t even pause to watch him hit the ground. “Cade! You’ve got to get back!”
They rushed into his body just in time to pick up his stuttering heartbeat.
Epilogue
Val had no idea how long they worked to heal Cade’s injuries. Alone, he’d have been comatose for hours, but together they were able to force his body to regenerate much faster. At last, they’d done all they could, and she left him to tumble into the healing sleep.
She reentered her body to the sound of weeping. “Val, please wake up,” Beth sobbed. “I’m sorry about what I said. I didn’t mean it. Please don’t die. They won’t let me call an ambulance.”
“Good thing, too,” Val said hoarsely, opening her eyes to see her sister kneeling beside her on the arena floor. “What a pain in the butt that would be.”
Beth’s reddened eyes widened with joy. “Oh, thank God! Can you walk? Let’s get the hell out of here!”
Grabbing Val by one arm, Beth tried to haul her to her feet. Weak and dizzy, Val batted her sister’s hands away. “Stop it! Ridgemont’s dead. There’s no reason to go anywhere.”
“But the other one’s alive,” Beth said, her gaze hard and desperate. “I just checked him, and his breathing’s better. I’m afraid he’s going to make it. We need to get out of here.”
Val sat up and took a deep breath as the arena spun around her. “Damn right, he’s going to make it. And I’m not leaving him.”
“But…”
“He just saved my life, Beth.” Studying her sister’s flushed, tear-stained face, Val frowned. “Didn’t you leave?”
“I came back.” She shuddered. “Just in time to see you cut off Ridgemont’s head.”
“Actually, Cade did that.”
Beth’s dark brows drew down. “What are you talking about? He was out cold on the ground.”
Val opened her mouth, then made a dismissing gesture. “Never mind. It’d take too long to explain.”
“You know I didn’t mean it, right?” Beth clasped her hands anxiously. “What have I said before? I didn’t mean it -- I love you. This vampire thing doesn’t matter.”
Val sighed. Her sister’s scent told another story. “Beth, you’re still afraid of me.”
“I’ll get over it. We can go back to the way it was before. But you have to promise me…” She stopped and swallowed.
Wearily, stiffly, Val climbed to her feet. She rolled her spine to loosen it. “Promise what?”
Beth licked her lips and looked away. Her heart was pounding hard. “Promise me you won’t kill anyone.”
“Oh, for God’s sake!” She didn’t have the energy for this. All she wanted to do was crawl into a bed with Cade and sleep for the next two days.
“You could drink cow’s blood or something. You don’t have to feed on people.”
“Baby, vampires don’t have to kill anybody. We don’t need that much blood. Ridgemont killed because he was a sick son of a bitch.”
“Oh.” But Beth didn’t sound convinced.
Sighing, Val turned to stagger over to Cade, who lay sprawled on his back in a blood-soaked patch of sawdust. She dropped to one knee beside him and started trying to figure out how to get him out of his armor.
“So we can go home now, right?” Beth edged closer, shooting a wary glance at him. “I’ll be starting to school in a few days. We’ve still got that money Ridgemont gave us, and I could get a part-time job. I could support you.” She smiled a little bit too brightly. “I’m sure you could find a job too. Night shift or something.”
“Don’t worry about it. We’ve got it taken care of.” Locating the straps that secured Cade’s breastplate, she went to work unbuckling them until she could pull it off. Val winced at the blood covering the padded jacket he wore beneath it. She was pretty sure they’d healed that wound, anyway.
Beth’s determined smile faded as she watched the tender way Val touched Cade. “You’re in love with him.”
“Yes.”
“But he turned you into a vampire!”
“Yeah, well. It had to be done.” She started work on the rest of Cade’s bloodstained, dented armor.
When she looked up again, Beth was watching her with wide eyes and lips that trembled. “I’ve lost you, haven’t I?”
Val’s heart twisted at the pain in her sister’s eyes. “No. You could never do that. I love you.” She looked down at Cade’s peacefully sleeping face. “The fact that I love him too doesn’t change that.”
When she glanced up again, she saw the fear and resentment had drained away from Beth’s gaze. “I’m beginning to see that. I love you too, Val.” Awkwardly, she bent down and kissed her on the cheek. Then she stood. “I guess I’ll need to book a flight home. I’ve got a lot to do if I’m going to get ready for school.”
Val bit her lip, longing to tell Beth she could stay with them until school started. Unfortunately, she knew her sister still feared them both too much. It was better to let her go until she could adjust to the idea. “We have a house in South Carolina. During weekends or when you go on break, I want you to stay with us. Or at a hotel, if that would make you feel safer. But I’d like you to get to know us -- now. See what we really are.”
Beth’s smile was slow and a little sad. “I already know what you are, Val. And I won’t be staying at any hotel.”
Rising, Val held out her arms. Her sister fell into them, holding her almost painfully tight with a muffled sob. They clung together for a long moment before reluctantly drawing apart. “I love you, Val.”
“I love you too, baby. Nothing will ever change that.” Frowning, she realized her sister needed transportation. “If you’ll give me a minute, I’ll find the keys to Cade’s Lexus…”
“Don’t worry about it. I’ll just call an Uber.” She reached into a pocket and pulled out her cell as she turned and walked away.
Val watched her go, feeli
ng her heart tighten with relief mixed with sadness. She suspected they’d have to work on building a new relationship, but at least they were both alive to do it.
With a sigh, Val turned to look down at Cade. After a pause, she bent to pick him up. Despite his muscular height, he seemed to ridiculously light to her vampire body as she carried him toward the stairs. As she walked, movement caught her attention.
A group of Ridgemont’s men were wrapping the ancient’s body in a tarp. A cautious mental scan told her he’d had implanted a compulsion to burn his corpse if he was killed. After that, they’d all be free for the first time in years. Val was relieved none of them planned to call the cops.
Cradling her lover, she went in search of a bedroom that didn’t smell like Ridgemont or Hirsch. With the last of her adrenaline rush fading, she didn’t have the energy to search for a hotel. Besides, both of them were covered in blood.
Val found a likely room and laid Cade down on a silky expanse of gold bedspread. Leaving him sprawled in all his bloody glory, she headed for the room’s adjoining bathroom. Fifteen minutes later she emerged, naked but reasonably clean, to tend to him again.
Blood had glued the padded suit he wore under the armor to his skin, and she had to loosen it with gentle applications of a warm washcloth. He was so deeply comatose he never even stirred. Finally, she had him stripped and cleaned up, his injuries healing nicely.
Then, with a huge yawn, Val crawled in next to his big, warm body, rested her head on his muscled shoulder, and fell instantly asleep.
* * *
She woke to Cade’s dark eyes watching her, slumberous and hungry. A slight smile curved one corner of his handsome mouth. He looked so sexy Val grinned. “You do that on purpose, don’t you?”
He blinked his long, dark lashes. “What?”
“That ‘Wolf to Red Riding Hood Come Here and Let Me Eat You look’.” She rose on one elbow and scanned his body. To her satisfaction, his wounds looked completely healed. He was certainly feeling better, judging from the proud jut of his erection. She eyed it hungrily. “And my, what a big cock you have.”
Forever Kisses Volume 1 Page 29
