As much as I wanted to approach the cell door and peer out to see if Viktor was finally nearby, I wasn’t about to turn my back on the vampire I had riled up. I’d hoped to trick her into divulging useful intel, but so far, she hadn’t.
The vampire breathed heavily. I could see anger and hatred in her eyes, but she wouldn’t act on them.
Like I said. Pathetic. If I stood in front of the one who had killed Maxwell, I would kill them myself or else die trying.
Viktor. He was going to try his damnedest to be the one to kill Maxwell, but if I had my way, it wouldn’t come to that.
I would be the one to kill Viktor as I had already killed his son.
And the world would be better off. As much as I had lived my entire life with Maxwell on a pedestal, I knew all along that not all vampires were as good or kind or giving. Even though Maxwell hadn’t been willing to be everything I needed seven years ago, he had still been there for my family, for my sister.
Right up until she died.
I stared down the vampire, waiting for her to move. Her arm lifted, and she snapped her fingers.
The guard approached. “She hasn’t eaten a morsel.”
“Not one bite?” the vampire cooed. “Aren’t you hungry? I would’ve thought all of that guilt eating away at you would have given you quite the appetite.”
The vampire stalked over to the bars and grabbed the tray from the guard. She returned to stand in front of me.
“You must eat,” she dictated.
“I don’t want—”
“I don’t give a fuck what you want.”
She yanked off a piece of bread. At least it didn’t look moldy, and it didn’t seem as if this food smelled as badly as the rest, but I didn’t want to eat it. I wanted nothing the lot of them provided. Food from Viktor? No thank you.
“I don’t need to physically torture you,” the vampire said haughtily. “Viktor will kill Maxwell in front of you. What more could I ask for? I could bash your head in until you’re a vegetable, but what would be the fun in that? Viktor granted me access to you, even though I knew he didn’t want me to kill you, and I can see why. You’re going to pay for what you did, and that will be so much richer than anything I could do to you.”
“That so?” I asked dryly. I reached a hand up and shoved my fingers into my temple wound, forcing it to bleed more. Slowly, I brought my hand down and rubbed my fingers, making the blood coat more and more of my skin.
The vampire let out a hiss and gripped the back of my neck. She then punched me in the throat. Involuntarily, I coughed, and she used that second to shove food into my mouth. She slammed my mouth shut and put her hand over it, her other hand on my nose.
“Chew and swallow,” she dictated. “Or just swallow, you, big, fat cow. Chew and—That’s it.”
She released my nose, and I inhaled deeply, frantic and desperate for air, but she was already force-feeding me another bite, and another, and soon I hardly felt like myself anymore.
Once she forced me to eat every bit of the two slices of bread, she smirked and stepped away from me and the filth that remained on the floor.
“There.” She brushed her hands together. “How did that taste? Did you enjoy it? The poison was a nice touch, wasn’t it?”
11
The vampire laughed and laughed as she left.
The poison? She was lying, wasn’t she? I hadn’t really been able to taste the bread. The stench proved too strong and powerful for me to be able to taste anything at all. It overwhelmed me.
I didn’t feel anything as I wrapped my arms around myself, hugging myself in an attempt to slow my racing heartbeat. The last thing I needed to do was panic.
Had all of the food been poisoned or just this last bit?
What symptoms would the poison take on?
Why bother to poison me at all? They could just lie about it and spread the word to—
Maxwell.
Was this their ploy to finally get him to spring into action?
Or maybe… Maybe Maxwell had been trying to locate me all along. If Viktor was as wealthy as he was made out to be, then he conceivably owned many places. The thought of him having three, four, or even more palaces, each with their own dungeons made my stomach churn.
Hmm….
Although it was disgusting, I forced my fingers down my throat until I was sick. Who knew if that would lessen the poison’s effects any, but I was already starting to feel woozy. Was that from the poison? Or maybe I was being a hypochondriac. I couldn’t tell.
Just then, I could hear the guard shouting. Just what he was saying, I didn't know. The vampire was a smart one. I'd give her that. She had been certain to bend the metal bars back into place, but the metal that had been bent twice already would be a lot weaker than the metal that had been solid and pure and true.
Still, I was just a human without the great power and strength of a vampire, so it took a lot of grunting, cursing, and tears for me to be able to get the one bar to budge a tiny bit. At this rate, it would take forever for me to get out of here.
And then, something flew across the hallway outside the cell. The stench of blood was high, and I glanced over to the right to see a huddled mass.
The guard? Was he dead? Who…
“Maxwell,” I murmured.
“You called?”
He stood before me. The bars separated us, but only for a second. I wanted to throw my arms around him, to kiss him, but I had just… Yeah. A kiss would have to wait.
If he even wanted one.
This was it. Our trap had been sprung. Now, it was time to locate Viktor and end this once and for all.
Maxwell hardly had to use any effort to bend the bars and free me.
“Are you all right?” he murmured.
"I am, but they said they poisoned the food they force-fed me. I vomited—"
Maxwell shifted, and I furrowed my brows. “Final Embrace.”
“What’s that?”
“The name of the poison.”
I swallowed hard. “Does that mean…”
He grinned. “My blood is the kind that can cure any ill a human has. Not all vampire’s blood can do that, but…”
Maxwell bit his wrist and held it out. I stared at the pinpricks of blood long enough that his wound closed, healed.
“You have to drink,” he said, urgency creeping into his tone. “We don’t have a lot of time.”
“But…”
“Drink.”
He bit himself again, and this time, I licked his blood. It tasted like nothing I ever had before. It wasn’t tangy or bitter but sweet. Could a drink be sexy? Because if so, this was. It was the most delicious thing I had ever drunk, and I licked and sucked until the wounds healed.
Maxwell chuckled. “Are you better now?”
“I… I didn’t feel much before,” I admitted. “I wasn’t even sure if the vampire hadn’t lied to me.”
“Which vampire?”
“I don’t know her name, but she claimed to be Magnus’ lover.”
“Angelika,” Maxwell growled, uttering the name like a curse. “If she’s here and I have to face them both by myself…”
“Didn’t you bring backup?” I asked.
Maxwell flared his nostrils. “I only had to hunt down and check out fifty-three of his buildings to find you.”
My eyes widened. “You didn’t think…”
“About that before? I had. Before, I could always sense you.” He caressed the side of my face. “I always knew where you were. It’s as if there was…”
“An invisible bond,” I murmured.
His eyebrows lifted. “You felt it too?”
“I… I didn’t think you did.” I narrowed my eyes. “You abandoned me even though we’re tethered together somehow!”
“I am here for you now, aren’t I?” he asked with a snort.
“How can you joke around at a time like this?”
“Ah, cuore mio, you will learn all there is to learn about me in d
ue time. Once Viktor has been dealt with.” He turned to go.
I grabbed his arm. “What does that mean?”
“What does what mean?”
“Cuo…”
He chuckled. “Don’t attempt Italian. I’ll teach you later. Without a tutor, you will fail.”
“A person can fail at a lot of things with or without a tutor,” I retorted.
“Come now. We must make our move now.” He held out his hand, and I placed mine in it.
My heart raced, and I feared the other vampires lurking in the place would hear it, that it would be almost like a homing signal to them, but none came. Did they not realize Maxwell was here? Or did they know and they were lying in wait?
Maxwell brought me out from the dungeon, and we climbed up a dark, tightly spiraled staircase. I thought for sure that the stairwell would go on forever, but then it stopped, and we stepped out into a hallway.
My vampire husband didn’t waver and immediately headed to the left. I had no choice but to follow after him. Although we held hands yet, his strides were much longer than mine, and I had to run to keep up. He was using a bit of his vampire speed.
Massive stone doors stood before us, and Maxwell kicked them open. One of the doors cracked, the loud boom echoing throughout the entire building. It was an impressive display of power, and I could only gape as Maxwell released my hand, having shoved my knife into it, and stepped forward.
I hurried after him, my pace slowing as I took in the dark room that, sure enough, resembled a throne room. A dark fog lingered on the ground, rising to above my head, and I could just make out Maxwell’s form in front of me.
And I could also make out the glowing eyes of at least twenty other persons surrounding us.
With a hiss, one of those sets of eyes darted forward. A vampire grabbed my arm, but Maxwell was there, shoving a wooden stake into the vampire’s heart.
What? How had he…
Maxwell was already reaching inside his suit jacket again. Only now did I realize that it was lined with weapons, and he grabbed out another wooden stake. The next vampire to approach, Maxwell shoved the stake through hard and so deep into the vampire that the stake’s tip came out the other side.
Feeling a bit faint, I stumbled back a step. A vampire darted forward to grab me, but Maxwell yanked the vampire away from me and bit the vampire's neck so savagely that he decapitated the vampire.
A few of the vampires fled.
To alert their master? Did that mean Viktor wasn’t here?
The other vampires who lingered, ten if I counted correctly, hung back a bit, circling us, wary now that so many of their brethren had fallen so easily. Maxwell was fighting as if possessed.
What was driving him? Love? If that was the case, would it be love against love when he fought Viktor?
"Where's Viktor?" I demanded. My voice echoed, considering the room was so still and empty of furniture unless the fog concealed it. "Where is he?"
Maxwell glanced around, eyeing the vampires, and he straightened and adjusted his jacket. “He’s not here, the coward.”
“In hiding.” I snorted. “What a surprise. He can’t handle that a human killed his son, but he can’t even stand up and face me himself. What kind of a father is he? A pathetic one—”
“You’re the pathetic one,” the vampire from before said. Angelika Maxwell had called her. Magnus’ lover.
She stepped forward until she stood before Maxwell.
Maxwell eyed her, appraising her without a word.
“If you think I will let you go with her, you’re wrong,” she said coldly.
“Where’s Viktor?” Maxwell demanded.
“Like I am going to tell you.”
“Fine. Then I’ll kill you all.” Maxwell surveyed the others.
Ten of them, one who especially wanted to have us tortured and then killed. I didn’t like those odds at all, but Maxwell knew what he was doing, right? Was he banking on Viktor leaving orders that we weren’t to be killed?
Or maybe Viktor didn't care who ended us. Maybe it had all been some kind of trick ploy for us to end up here. This fog wasn't natural. This had been staged, set up as if a movie.
Did that mean Viktor was somewhere watching us?
I glanced around, looking upward at the ceiling. The cathedral ceiling rose up high, a dome in the center. We weren't near the center of this huge throne room, so I couldn't see inside the dome, but maybe Viktor was hiding there.
Curious, I took a step in that direction, but Angelika moved to block me. She smiled like a lioness ready to pounce on a wounded gazelle, and I swallowed hard. My knife would only work if she drank my blood first.
She hadn’t taken the bait before.
Would she now?
My hand shook as I lifted my hand, the knife still in it. I could cut myself, trying to get her to drink…
Might there be another way? If Maxwell handed me one of the stakes…
But I didn’t have the force or strength to drive a stake in deep enough to kill a vampire. Maybe I could wound one—maybe—but that would be all I could do.
Angelika raced toward me.
Maxwell stood before me. Angelika jerked and then slumped down onto his arm. He jerked his arm back and then threw it out. She flew off the bloody wooden stake in his hand and slumped to the ground.
My vampire husband turned to me. “We need to get out of here,” he murmured in my ear. “Now.”
“Why…” I could see why. All around us, more eyes were appearing. Viktor’s reinforcements had arrived.
Like a dizzying blur, Maxwell fought off the vampires, holding them back, and we inched toward the door we had entered when a hand clamped down on my shoulder.
“Well, well, well, what do we have here? Maxwell, Annabel, you two don’t think you’re leaving so soon, do you?”
My blood turned to ice, and I swallowed hard. I didn’t have to have already met the vampire to know whose voice that belonged to.
Viktor had arrived.
12
I whirled around. I also thought Maxwell knew how to wear a suit. It churned my stomach to realize it, but Viktor did too. His hair was a bit salt and pepper, and he looked beyond distinguished. His jaw was a bit weak, in my opinion, but even I couldn’t deny that he was handsome in a sleazy kind of way.
“Viktor, call off your goons before I kill them all,” Maxwell said as he dropped yet another one.
“Goons? Ah, Maxwell, you sound more ignorant every day. I suppose you won’t recall Italian at one point.”
“On the contrary, he speaks Italian a lot,” I said hotly.
Viktor didn’t blink but laughed heartily. “Oh, my, aren’t you a bit much. I didn’t care what you say. I don’t care what you think, and I don’t care to hear you say another word. Angelika, if she says one more word—”
“Maxwell killed her,” I said boldly, “and I’m going to kill you.”
Viktor clapped a single time. To my surprise, the fog dissipated. The room remained gloom, a dark gray color for the walls, the same hue the color of the stone floor. A dull red carpet lined a path to a throne the same color as the walls. This room really was a throne room.
The vampire thought himself a king. He wasn’t. He was nothing more than a pawn I would crush beneath my heel.
But even as I thought that, I knew I was being foolish. I had no strength, no power, no might. I couldn’t do anything against the likes of the vampires.
Chosen or not, I was weak.
My fingers brushed against my necklace as Viktor stalked past me, Maxwell, and the other vampires on his way toward the throne. Halfway there, he pivoted about.
“Leave us,” Viktor said with a snap of his fingers, and the vampires all fled as if they had been waiting for that command their entire lives.
I glanced at Maxwell. He didn't appear alarmed, but I was. I just knew Viktor was the most dangerous vampire in the lot.
“Maxwell, let us be civilized about this,” Viktor said calmly. “L
et me kill her and then you. Then, we can be done with this entire sordid mess—”
“You will not touch a hair on her head,” Maxwell said through gritted teeth.
“If you will leave him be,” I started, but the vampires ignored me.
“So much for civilized,” Viktor said with a laugh. “You look as if you wish to become a cannibal.”
“Maybe I do,” Maxwell hissed.
“If you want blood, you’ll have to take it, but as I said, in a civilized fashion.”
“What does that even mean?” I cut in.
Without looking at me, Maxwell murmured, “He means without weapons.”
“But…” My mind raced. Without weapons would mean the only way they could kill one another would be through decapitation.
That hardly struck me as civilized, but I wasn’t about to tell them that. I doubted either would appreciate the notion.
Oh, a fire could kill them… but fire was wild, unpredictable, and uncontrollable. A fire that could kill Viktor could easily claim Maxwell as well. No, that wasn't suitable anyhow, mostly because I had no means of starting one.
"As it turns out, I would rather kill you first," Viktor mused, stroking his face. He had a neatly trimmed goatee, and I hated the sight of it, the sight of him. He made my skin crawl. "It would bring her the most pain if she were to witness you die because she does love you, does she not?"
I said nothing, even though that might speak volumes.
“Are you ready?” Maxwell demanded.
Viktor swept out his arm. “Do you have any last words for your pet before we begin?”
I bristled and then turned toward Maxwell, but he was busy removing his coat and flinging it aside. He discarded a few other weapons he had up his sleeves and then hesitated and removed one from up his pants.
“I’m ready,” Maxwell called.
"Ah." Viktor gave me a faux sympathetic look. "Maybe he doesn't love you after all. Bravo on your part, Maxwell. You made her think she means something to you, truly you did, but you were just merely using her to get to me. Oh, how utterly tragic! But how incredibly joyous and satisfying it will be when you both fall down dead. Should I bury you together then in one plot?"
Fatal Cravings: Immortal Keeper Vampire Paranormal Romance Series Page 7
