by S. K. Yule
“You aren’t going to get away with this. We will stop you,” Ashe said.
“I don’t think so. If you could stop me, you would have by now. Although”—he turned his black-cowl-covered head toward Aiston—”I can’t say I enjoyed being burned. I’ll make sure you pay for that one.”
“You won’t touch my brother or any of my family,” Aldin said.
Fury built inside him minute by minute. Trinidad may be scary as hell, but he hadn’t met anything that couldn’t be killed—yet. Trinidad needed to be killed…in a bad sort of way.
“I will do what I want when I want. The sooner you realize that, the sooner I can get on with my plans.” Trinidad’s hands snaked out from the sleeves of his cloak and he rested his bony fingertips against one another. “Glad to see the fourth brother has finally been set free to play,” Trinidad said.
“Fuck you,” Uriah answered.
“Tsk. Tsk. I wish I could have located you before mommy freed you. I’ve known about you for a long time, but I could never quite pinpoint your exact location.”
“That’s because my mother is smarter than you.”
“If your mother was smarter than me, she wouldn’t have turned you loose.” Trinidad cackled again.
Apparently, Trinidad was not privy to the prophecy and what Uriah’s freedom could ultimately lead to. That gave Aldin a shimmer of hope.
“This shit stops tonight,” Conrad said.
“Such language.” Trinidad tsked again, chastising Conrad as if he were a little boy. “I like the blonde ones. I think you and I could have some fun together.”
Before they could stop him, Conrad charged Trinidad. Unfortunately, about ten feet before he reached Trinidad, Trinidad slipped a dagger from his sleeve, flicked his wrist, and sent it slicing through the air. It embedded in the side of Conrad’s neck and sent him to his knees, clutching at the handle protruding from his throat. The sickening gurgling noise coming from his mouth told Aldin he’d bleed out quick. If they didn’t get him out of here fast, he’d likely die.
When Dominic went for Conrad, a dart flew from Trinidad’s other hand and found its mark in Dominic’s chest. Dominic stumbled, reached for the dart, but a split second after he yanked it out, he sprawled to the ground and went motionless.
“Now, who is next? We shall end this, as you so bluntly put it, tonight, but ending it means you will all be coming with me as prisoners.” Trinidad snarled, obviously losing patience.
Aldin had never seen a vampire move as quickly as Trinidad. They had to be careful or he had no doubt Trinidad would make good on his threat. He looked where Conrad lay. The pool of blood under him grew bigger by the second. They had to get him out of here.
“Go fuck yourself!” Malachi shouted.
“I’m too smart to be baited, Malachi. But have no fear. I will get to you again at some point in time.” He tapped his bony finger against his face.
Aldin assumed it was his lips, but still couldn’t see his features clearly.
“I think it’s time for you to know what burning alive feels like.” Trinidad pointed to Aiston.
Aldin threw up his hand and used the last bit of his power to call down the lightning before jumping in front of Aiston. Trinidad proved to be faster, dodged the bolt before it hit him, and shot fire from his fingertips. The blast hit Aldin full force as he fell in front of Aiston to shield him. The pain was excruciating. Vampires could be burned to death, but it took awhile, and it wasn’t pleasant. His skin felt as if it was bubbling and melting from his bones. That’s because it is. He fought back the urge to scream. He’d never screamed out in pain in his life, but he was getting close to doing so now.
Aiston jerked Aldin’s duster—which was still in flames—off him, removed his own duster, tossed it over Aldin, and smothered the remaining fire on his body. The excruciating pain froze him. The poison in his body from the drifters’ talons and tranq kept him from healing as quickly as normal. His hands contorted into balls, and his muscles twitched in effort to repair themselves.
Aiston touched him, and he gasped in pain.
“You okay, bro?” Aiston whispered.
“Thanks for putting me out, but don’t touch me,” he panted.
Trinidad took a couple more steps and bent down next to Conrad’s body.
“Too bad. You were pretty. I would have liked to play with you.”
Aldin’s chest surged with pain even through the screaming inferno of his burns. Was Conrad dead?
By the time Trinidad stood again, the hunters had formed a tight circle around Aldin. They’d command him to shimmer if he could, but he was too weak. None of them could get him to safety as at this point, they needed every man on deck. Aldin wouldn’t leave his brothers and fellow hunters anyway.
“Who shall be next?” Trinidad screeched as he came even closer.
“Don’t do this, brother.”
Trinidad froze when Ragnor’s voice came from behind him.
“So, you finally figured out who I am,” Trinidad said before turning to face Ragnor.
“I did. What I don’t understand is where all of this hatred has come from. If you would have come to me, we could have worked this out.”
“Worked it out! Worked it out?” Trinidad screamed in fury. “I wasn’t allowed near you or anyone else in that damned village. Or did you forget that?”
“No one had knowledge of your mother’s pregnancy before or after she was cast from the village. That village has been gone for hundreds upon hundreds of years now. You could have come to me at any point in time. I had no idea who you were until tonight.”
“Isn’t that special? Don’t expect any warm, fuzzy reunions. I plan on finishing what I started. I will finally have what should have been mine all along. How pathetic is it that the great Vampyre King couldn’t figure out he had a brother until now? You are weak, and it’s time for someone new to rule.”
“I won’t let you hurt anyone else, Trinidad.”
“Oh. You won’t let me, will you? And you think you can stop me?”
“You are not what you think you are.”
“I’m exactly what I think I am.”
“What the fuck is going on?” Aldin asked.
Ragnor had called Trinidad brother. Surely he could not have meant that in the literal sense.
“Got me,” Ashe replied.
“Not a damned clue,” Aiston agreed.
“Please. Let us start new from here. What you are trying to do is wrong. You must know you will never succeed.” Ragnor held his arms wide.
Trinidad snarled and charged Ragnor. Everyone tensed, waited, hoped either Ragnor would finally take Trinidad down or there would be an opportunity to catch him unawares. Malachi looked at Ashe, and Ashe nodded before they both crept toward the ensuing fight.
Ragnor blasted fire from his fingertips at Trinidad. The fire slowed him, but didn’t stop his approach altogether. Aldin didn’t miss the surprise on Ragnor’s face even through the mind-numbing haze of pain still wracking his body.
Trinidad began waving his hands in front of him in an intricate manner, weaving side to side, up and down as he continued toward Ragnor.
Aldin scowled. When Trinidad had kidnapped Malachi, he’d said that he’d held him with the tranq and some kind of spell. Was he using magic now?
Suddenly, an invisible force sent Ragnor flying back toward the edge of the building. He caught himself just before going over, disappeared, then reappeared behind Trinidad.
Ragnor punched at Trinidad’s back and his fist went through cloak, skin, and muscle. Aldin assumed he was going for the bastard’s heart, but Trinidad spun and caught Ragnor’s arm with another dagger. Ragnor didn’t flinch even though his hand now dangled from his wrist by a thin hunk of skin.
Ashe got to Trinidad just as he went for Ragnor again, but Trinidad flipped Ashe to his back with such speed even Aldin barely caught the movement. His brother was about to die. Without thought to himself or his injuries, he used the fear of losing
Ashe as motivation to amplify the meager strength he had left and called the thunder and lightning right before he shimmered and reappeared between Ashe and Trinidad’s dagger.
This time, Trinidad was not quick enough to dodge the lightning as it struck him in the middle of his back. Aldin hoped it hit the same spot Ragnor had put his fist through only seconds ago. Trinidad screeched, but raised the dagger again. Aldin was about to get a blade to the heart, and there was nothing he could do as he was a sitting duck having depleted every ounce and then some of his strength.
He hoped somehow he’d survive even though the odds were stacked against him. He didn’t mind giving his life for his brother, but he was sad that he might not be able to keep his promise to Wilhemina and return to her.
Ashe pushed out from under him, but Aldin knew it wouldn’t be fast enough to stop the blade coming for him. At the last second, a blur of movement appeared behind Trinidad. Unfortunately, Trinidad must have sensed it as well, and changed the direction of the dagger. He ducked and twisted, spun on his heel, then came up slashing in an arc from left to right.
Ragnor buried his good fist in Trinidad’s chest, and Aldin thought this time Ragnor would succeed at ripping Trinidad’s heart out. Instead, Ragnor jerked his hand back, and Trinidad stumbled while holding his chest. Blood oozed between his crooked fingers.
“You will die knowing I have beaten you, knowing I will kill your entire family and everything you love.” Trinidad’s words were punctuated with flying spittle.
Trinidad disappeared, and although the bastard had gotten away alive once again, relief washed through Aldin. That relief was short lived when he saw Ragnor reach slowly for his throat. Blood began to leak through his fingers and down his arm and chest. He sank slowly to his knees, and Malachi caught him before he planted face first on the ground.
The urgency of the matter was driven home when Ragnor’s head actually started to slide from his body. It cocked sideways and hung from his neck, mimicking his injured wrist. Ragnor was as close to decapitated as one could get without technically being considered so. Aldin was sure that no one could come back from an injury like that. Not even the great Ragnor.
“No! No! No! No!”
Dominic’s screams tore Aldin’s gaze from Ragnor. The hunter had come to and was cradling Conrad’s limp body in his arms.
“This is fucking bad,” Aldin whispered.
All of the hunters gathered around to assess the damage.
Aldin looked at Uriah who stood a bit to the side of the other hunters. Marilena had obviously made sure Uriah had been trained well. He was as skilled as the rest of them were, and Aldin was gaining respect for his new brother even though he still owed him an ass kicking for hitting Wilhemina.
“This is real fucking bad,” Ashe replied. “Malachi, please get Ragnor to the safe room. I need to get my brother home so he can heal and deal with the mess here.”
“You giving me permission to shimmer inside your precious house now?” Malachi asked.
None of the hunters had been given permission to shimmer within the Aleksandrov estate for safety reasons, but Aldin assumed they were way past that at this point.
“Permission granted.”
Malachi nodded then disappeared with Ragnor.
“Aiston? Can you please get Aldin home so I can help here? I think Uriah, Grady, Alaina and I can deal with Dominic and Conrad.”
Aiston nodded. “Yeah, I think I have enough juice back to get us home. I’ll tell Ebony you’ll return soon?”
Ashe nodded.
Aiston walked over to Aldin and knelt beside him. “Ready, bro?”
“Yep.”
“Some fucked up shit,” Aiston murmured as he laid his hand on Aldin’s arm.
“Some seriously fucked up shit,” Aldin agreed.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Wilhemina’s head was reeling. Malachi had brought Ragnor to the safe room only a few minutes ago before leaving with Geri. Marilena now worked on cleaning the ghastly amounts of blood from him and tending his wounds. She hadn’t seen his actual injuries, but she doubted anyone could survive that much blood loss, even a vampire. From what she’d overheard, things did not look good for Ragnor.
Panic rode her hard. She’d been seconds away from ripping her hair out with worry when Aiston returned. Avril ran to him, and he gave her a kiss that bordered on X-rated. Wilhemina actually blushed.
“Where’s Ashe, Aiston?” Ebony asked.
“He’s okay.” He turned to Wilhemina. “Aldin is okay too, but in rough shape. I’ll take you to him in a moment.” He turned back to Ebony and Avril. “Conrad didn’t make it.”
“What?” Ebony sank down onto the coffee table behind her. Her bottom lip began to tremble.
“Dominic is not taking it well,” Aiston said.
“Of course he isn’t,” Avril said. “He’s probably beside himself.” Tears slid down Avril’s cheeks. “Is it safe to leave this room?”
“For now,” Aiston answered.
“Is Dominic back?” Avril hugged Aiston.
“Don’t know, but I’m sure they will bring Conrad back here to give him a proper send off.”
“I need to go see if he’s back. He’ll need someone to talk to.”
“I’ll take Wilhemina to Aldin, and I’ll see you in a little while in our room?” He stroked her cheek with his thumb.
“Yes.” Avril nodded.
“Is Uriah okay?” The quiet question had come from Lindsey.
“No one asked, so I thought I would.” She shrugged.
“He’s good,” Aiston said.
“Let me take Wilhemina to Aldin. You can see how Ragnor is.” Ebony got up and went to stand beside Wilhemina.
“I can find my own way. You don’t have to take me,” Wilhemina replied. Her stomach was one big knot. Conrad was dead and Ragnor might also soon be if not already, and she was worried sick over Aldin. She needed to see him with her own two eyes to assure herself of his well-being.
“I’ll at least walk with you to the stairs then I can see Lindsey to your room, and you can go to Aldin.”
“Okay.”
Wilhemina and Ebony waited for Lindsey then the three headed upstairs. A few minutes later, she stood outside of Aldin’s door. Her heart thudded anxiously. She wanted to see him, but was scared about the condition she might find him in.
“I know you are out there, Wilhemina.”
“Aldin! Are you okay?”
“Why don’t you come in and see? I’m in the bathtub.”
She swallowed hard, opened the door, and walked to the bathroom. She gasped when she saw him and hurried over to the edge of the tub. His usually flawless skin was dark red and blistered.
“It’s not so bad now, Wilhemina.” He reached up and stroked her cheek softly with his fingers.
She wanted to hug him, kiss him, but was afraid to touch him for fear of hurting him.
“What happened?” She fought hard to keep the tears from her eyes. She wanted to be strong for him.
“Managed to get a little toasted in a very literal way.”
“You were burned?” There was no stopping the tears at this point, and she quit trying.
“Hey, hey. Don’t cry. I’m okay. I’ll be back to normal before you know it.”
“I’m sorry about Conrad,” she said.
His lips pulled tight into a thin line and he nodded. “It’s never easy losing one of our own.”
“Will Ragnor be okay?”
“I don’t know.”
“Is there anything I can do?”
He cringed and doubled over before panting.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. Sometimes healing is painful when the injuries are extensive.”
“D-do you need blood?”
“I could use some, yes, but not from you.” He smiled.
“Why?”
“Because if you give me your blood freely, it will be the third time, and I would want to give you some of mine i
n return.”
“Oh.” She frowned. “Oh! You’d change me?”
“Yes, and I don’t think you are ready for that.”
Was she ready for that? No. Would she ever be ready for that? No. So why wait? She doubted anyone could prepare one hundred percent for such a life-altering event. It was one of those things like swimming in cold water. Take the plunge all at once because if you stick your toe in first, you’ll never jump.
Was she ready for the jump? She looked at Aldin, and fear slithered through her, reminding her of how terrifying the thought of never seeing him again had been. If he hadn’t returned tonight, a part of her would have died never to be recovered again. She didn’t want to live without him. She wanted to be with him forever. Now, witnessing the extent of his injuries, an overwhelming need to help him smash into her full force.
Many decisions that were made in the heat of the moment were soon regretted, but this did not feel like one of those. Choosing to be with Aldin felt right and she couldn’t imagine regretting a choice that would keep her with the man she loved for more years than she could have ever hoped for. Even when she’d doubted the possibility of their relationship working because of what had happened to Lindsey, she’d known deep in her heart that eventually they would have found their way back to one another.
He was her other half. Her soul mate. Simple as that. Until she met him, she hadn’t believed in love at first sight. Now the proof that soul mates existed, that love at first sight existed, sat inches from her.
Her logical brain told her that she should take more time to decide the matter, but her heart was there once again whispering that no matter how many days, hours, or years passed, the outcome was inevitable. She would become a part of him, and he would become a part of her.
“I’m ready. I love you, Aldin.” She looked him in the eyes when she said it so there could be no doubt of the sincerity of her statement.