* * *
Chapter Thirteen
Contents – Prev | Next
Francesca was screaming, although no sound emerged from her throat. Gabriel was engaged in a terrible battle with three ferocious enemies, his very life at stake. She closed herself off from him immediately, not willing to take the chance of distracting him from his duty. He could not help her.
“What the hell is going on?” Brice muttered, his voice strangled in his throat. He was terrified, certain someone had slipped him a hallucinogenic. This could not be reality, not with monsters fighting, demons turning into wolves, and winged gargoyles coming to life.
Automatically Francesca reached out to soothe him, her fingers settling lightly around his wrist so she could manipulate his mind. Her voice was low and compelling, the compulsion embedding itself deep within his brain. She might not be able to save Brice’s life, but she could make the dying easier. He would never feel the teeth in his throat, ripping and tearing while the monster gulped fresh blood.
With her head held high, she faced the creature, her eyes blazing defiance, her soft mouth set with distaste. “How dare you come to me in such a way?” she said softly. “You are well aware such things are against the laws of our people.”
The vampire’s smile was a macabre parody. “Stand aside, healer, allow me to dine this night.”
Francesca retained her light hold on Brice, kept her body positioned slightly in front of his. The enemy was calling to him, the command floating in the air, but she had successfully cut Brice off from the rest of the world. His head was down like a small child’s, innocent of the things happening around him. “I will not. Go away from this place. You do not belong here.”
The vampire hissed horribly, spittle spraying into the air between them. “Take care, woman, the hunter is otherwise occupied. He will not rescue you this night. I would not want to see harm come to you, but if you do not place yourself in my care, it will be necessary to force your compliance.”
“You take care, evil one. I am no rank fledging to be forced into anything. I have no intention of going anywhere with you,” Francesca said quietly. She pressed a hand to her stomach protectively. He would force her to accept his tainted blood. It would run in her veins, it would contaminate her child. She screamed again silently, using every ounce of self-control she possessed not to call out to Gabriel. Her only chance was for Gabriel to defeat his enemies and rescue her. But her baby, it would be far too late for her child. Vampires deceived themselves into believing that if they found a woman of the light, their souls might be restored. They sought Carpathian women and human women with psychic abilities in the hope of regaining what they had chosen to lose.
She would have to make the decision to sacrifice Brice to this thing; eventually she would have no other choice. It would be Brice or her daughter. Inadvertently her hand tightened around Brice’s wrist as if she could anchor him to her. She kept her mind firmly away from thoughts of Skyler and disciplined herself to keep from calling out frantically to Gabriel. He would come to her as soon as he was able. It was up to her to stall the vampire.
“Do not anger me, woman. I am far more powerful than that one who claims you. An unknown upstart who believes he is a hunter. I know every hunter and this one has no reputation. I am an ancient. Do not think he can save you.”
He didn’t know who Gabriel was. She held that realization to her. It was ammunition, might have shock value when she needed it most. His head was beginning to move from side to side, a slow reptilian motion that was curiously hypnotic. Francesca knew better than to focus her attention too closely on the movement. Something about it fascinated her, yet at the same time repelled her. That was warning enough. He blinked his hooded, bloodred eyes just once.
She blurred her image and that of Brice, jerking the human with her as she sped with preternatural speed just as the vampire struck, grabbing for her with his clawed hands. She felt the wind of his strike as he missed her by scant centimeters. The creature shrieked his anger, whirling in a cloud of dirt and twigs, a powerful dust devil towering high, blackening the air around them.