by Anne Rainey
Rafael made a tsking sound. “Wish I could, but it’s too late for that, isn’t it?”
“Your fight is with me. You want ancient blood? Come and get it, asshole, but she stays out of it.”
With slow, careful movements, Rafael rose to his full height. Anger made his face contort into the
hideous creature he truly was. “You dare dictate to me, Cain?”
“You have no hold over me anymore, old man. You haven’t for a long time.”
In a heartbeat, Rafael was across the room, his long, bony fingers wrapped around Cain’s neck, squeezing. “You think you’re so goddamn smart. That was always your problem, Cain. You never could see the forest for the damn trees.”
He squeezed harder. Instinctively, Cain grabbed Rafael’s arms and dug his nails into his skin, knowing any blood loss would weaken him. Blood coated his fingertips, and Cain scraped his sharp talons upward, creating deep furrows. Rafael never loosened his hold and hatred fueled the other vampire’s rage.
“I despise you, Cain. It’s going to be a pleasure taking your precious diamond from you.”
Fear for Diamonique pushed Cain into action. He drew his right arm back and slammed his fist into Rafael’s face. The force of the blow thrust Rafael several feet to the side. He stumbled and came right back, his teeth gleaming, spittle dripping from his mouth.
“You little prick! I never should have made you one of us,” Rafael raged, then his fist shot out. Cain was faster as he swiftly ducked the punch. He grabbed Rafael by the front of the shirt and used his other hand to rip open several deep slices down the vampire’s cheek. Rafael howled in rage, then delivered a right hook. Cain lost his hold on Rafael, but recovered from the blow quick enough to see the depraved bastard’s fist coming at him again. This time Cain was prepared and dodged to the left, then delivered an uppercut of his own.
“You’ve lost it, Rafael,” Cain taunted, as he continued to duck and punch. “You need to be put down. You’re a goddamn embarrassment.”
Cain dodged a roundhouse kick, then delivered a swift jab to Rafael’s jaw. Bone crunched beneath his fist and blood spurted. Finally, the ancient showed signs of weakening from the deep cuts. Then his gaze shot to Diamonique. In an instant, Cain leaped in front of her. Rafael vanished, then reappeared behind Diamonique. He grabbed her by the hair and yanked her backwards. Diamonique slammed a hand into Rafael’s nose, surprising Cain and Rafael both. It was all the time Cain needed to get a message to her.
Cain pulled her away from Rafael and growled, “Dissolve, Diamond, go to our private place!”
Diamonique shook her head, denying him. “I won’t leave you to deal with this alone.”
He wanted to kiss and throttle her at the same time, but there would be time later for that. He hoped. For now, he needed her gone. “Go now! I cannot fight him if I’m worried about you. I’ll come for you, Diamond, just leave now!”
In a flash of color, Diamonique was gone, leaving him alone with an enraged six hundred-year-old vampire.
“You love her,” Rafael spat, as if the notion disgusted him. “You’ve always cared more for her than anything or anyone. It’s why I came for her, you know. I wanted to watch you suffer.”
Cain sighed, knowing where this was going and helpless to stop it. “Lucas wasn’t my fault, Rafael. He saw what you’d become and wanted no part in it. I didn’t draw him out of The Dominion. You just wish it’d happened that way. We both know the truth.”
Rafael glared at him. “He was my son and you took him from me! You’ll pay for that. But not with your life, Cain. I’ll force you to live without her. Then you’ll know what hell is really like.”
“Leave him alone.”
They both whipped around at the sound of another voice in the room. Cain was too shocked to speak. Rafael was not.
“You dare defend him to me? Does your betrayal know no bounds?”
Even Cain could hear the pain in Rafael’s voice. Pain like that could twist a man. He should know.
“He did nothing wrong. You only wish it were so simple. I left on my own. Cain had nothing to do with it.”
Rafael flew across the room until he was within inches of Lucas—possibly the only being the creature ever cared about. “I know he helped you hide from me.”
Lucas shook his head. “He showed me a few tricks, something you should have taught me, nothing more. I would have figured it out on my own eventually.”
“Why? You were to be my successor. You could have had it all, Luc.”
Cain had been about to dissolve. He needed to get to Diamonique while he could, but Rafael’s question gave him pause.
“I didn’t want that kind of life!” Lucas shouted. “I knew when I saw Cain and Diamonique together that The Dominion could never give me what I truly craved.”
Rafael punched the air with his fist. “What could you possibly want that I could not give you?”
“Love,” Lucas tossed right back.
In that moment, Cain felt truly sorry for Rafael.
“You are my son! How can you stand there and say that I do not love you?”
“You love having a son. It’s why you adopted me. Why you turned me. You never loved me or you would have understood that by leaving The Dominion, I was seeking something better. I wasn’t leaving you, Father, just the life you wanted for me.”
Rafael pointed an accusing finger at Lucas. “I created The Dominion for you. It was all for you.”
“Maybe, but that doesn’t change the fact that Cain is innocent in all this. Leave him be. Deal with me instead.”
Rafael stiffened and Cain knew things had just gone from bad to worse.
“Cain is the reason you left. Cain and his bitch,” he ground out. “They’ll both pay.”
Then he was gone and Cain had a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach. Rafael knew. He hadn’t expected the old man to know where he and Diamonique’s special place was. He’d thought she’d be safe there, as long Rafael had no path to her. The bastard had read his mind and Cain hadn’t even been aware of it. Emotions. They had no place in combat with an ancient vampire, but his fear for Diamonique had clouded his brain to the point it might even cost her her life.
His gaze zeroed in on Lucas, his one chance at saving Diamonique. Time to make a deal with the Devil’s son. “Will you help me get her back?”
Lucas grimaced. “It won’t be easy. He’s determined to place the blame squarely on your shoulders.”
Cain flew across the room and jerked Lucas off his feet. “Damn you! Diamonique should not have to pay for your decisions,” Cain demanded.
“No. You’re right.” Then Lucas closed his eyes.
Several precious seconds went by. To Cain it felt like hours.
Finally, Lucas opened his eyes, “Put me down, I know where he’s taken her.” Cain complied and Lucas held out his hand. “Come with me if you want to see her alive.”
Was he a fool to trust Lucas? No. Lucas hated Rafael as much as he did. Hell, maybe even more. Besides, without Diamonique, Cain was nothing. He gripped Lucas’s outstretched palm. At once, heat flooded his body, then Diamonique’s living room dropped away, and he was standing in a dark room. He saw Diamonique. She was nude and chained to a wall. Rafael leaned against a doorway, his smile a frightening thing in itself. There was a young, blond girl kneeling at his feet. She, too, was nude. Rafael clutched the girl’s left wrist and blood trickled out of a gaping wound. Rafael’s newest pet.
Chapter Six
Diamonique pulled against the chains, but it was no use. She wasn’t strong enough to break them. Something kept burning her skin. It felt like acid being poured onto her—slowly. It hurt like hell, but she refused to give Rafael the satisfaction of crying out. It was just what he wanted.
A roar rent the air.
Diamonique lifted her head to see Cain and another man in the room.
“You bastard!” the man shouted.
Rafael laughed. “Is that any way to speak to your dear dad, Lu
c?”
Lucas? Cain had mentioned Rafael’s wayward son. But whose side was he on?
“Elizabeth has nothing to do with this. Let her go, father, or I will kill you.”
Rafael dropped the girl’s thin wrist. She fell to the floor, unmoving. She appeared dead, but Diamonique couldn’t be certain.
“She’s the real reason you left, isn’t she?” Rafael hissed. “This pathetic little creature meant more to you than me or The dominion.”
“She is an innocent! She’s not part of your twisted faction.”
Rafael laughed. “There is no such thing as an innocent, especially a woman. I taught you better.”
Lucas took a step closer and growled, “You taught me to hate. Elizabeth taught me love.”
Diamonique was fast losing strength from whatever the chains had been coated in, and she was
getting a damn headache with all the family drama. Then Cain’s eyes landed on her, and she could feel the intensity of his anger even from across the room. Underlying that emotion was love and its warmth gave her renewed strength.
“Can you free yourself, love?”
His words were as soft as a butterfly touch in her mind. “I’ve tried, but I’m just not strong enough.”
As his gaze raked her body, presumably searching for signs of injury and found none, she could sense the relief flooding him. She stifled her urge to call out to him and instead used their mind link to send him a message.
“Look at the ceiling, Cain.”
When Cain’s gaze followed where she indicated, noticing for the first time the glass panels, he stiffened.
“The sun will be up soon, love. We need to get out of this room now.”
“My thoughts exactly.”
“I see you’ve spied the pretty windowed ceiling. I had this place built specially for you and your little whore, Cain. I knew if I took her, you would follow. I wanted to watch the two of you roast together. Thoughtful of me, don’t you agree?”
“Fuck you, Rafael. By the time I’m through, you’ll be the one in this room, burning to death.”
“I think it’ll be fun to watch as you and Diamonique perish together under the morning sun. I’ve set up a special camera just for the occasion.” Then he glanced down at the blonde at his feet. “She’s an unexpected guest of course, but she was readily available and I was hungry. Oh well, she’ll just have to share the room with you. You aren’t upset by that are you, Luc?”
Lucas remained silent, but the rage Diamonique saw in his eyes was a clear sign of what he thought of Rafael’s little plan. Diamonique shivered at
Rafael’s matter-fact tone. He was more demented than any of them had realized.
“Lucas is a true ally now,” Cain told her mentally.
“Be careful, Cain.”
“Always, my love.”
Cain looked back at Rafael. “You might think you’ve thought of everything, Rafael, but there’s one thing you didn’t figure into this little plan.”
Rafael’s eyes narrowed. “What are you talking about?”
He stepped towards Rafael and taunted, “You didn’t count on Lucas being on my side.”
Rafael snorted. “He was manipulated by you, nothing more. In the end, he’s my son and will do as I say.”
“No. He was never truly your ally. You just couldn’t admit that to yourself. And now you’ve taken someone he loves and turned her into a puppet.”
Rafael barely spared the girl a look as he said, “The little slut was asking for it.”
The degrading remark sent Lucas over the edge. He shot across the room and wrapped both hands around his father’s throat. “I hate you! I will never stand by your side, never!”
“Be ready!” Cain shouted in her mind, then within seconds, he was in front of her and wrenching at the heavy chains, but there were so many. It took several attempts before they all fell to the cement floor. Diamonique practically collapsed into his arms. Cain turned, and they both saw Rafael and Lucas in a bloody battle.
Cain tucked her tighter to his chest. The next moment, they materialized inside his home. Diamonique was barely able to hold herself upright so he took her straight to the couch.
As soon as she was seated, Cain snarled, “He will die a slow death for this.”
Diamonique frowned and looked down her body, then shivered when she saw the wounds on her skin. “How?”
“The chains were dipped in holy water.”
“Then I am truly grateful to be alive.” Cain had saved her. She fastened her gaze on his dear face and then scanned his body.
There were red welts on his hands. “Cain, your hands.”
“They’re sore, but I’ll live.” Cain leaned in and kissed her cheek, then whispered, “And it won’t matter to me if you have scars. You will always be my beautiful diamond.”
“Cain, I—”
“I need to help Lucas,” he cut in. “I also cannot let Rafael’s crimes go unpunished. When I return, we will talk, love.”
“See that you don’t come to any harm, Cain.” She had so many things to say. She loved him—had always loved him. It took nearly dying to see the truth.
****
Cain had nearly gone insane earlier attempting to locate Diamonique. Rafael was the oldest vampire of any of their kind and hiding his location had been no great feat. An hour had crept by before he and Lucas had managed to break through Rafael’s mental shields. When he’d seen Diamonique chained to the wall, fear in her eyes, he’d nearly wept with joy that she was still alive. Then rage had set in, and he’d ached to rip Rafael’s heart out with his bare hands doing away with the monster, once and for all. He thought of the glass ceiling in the dungeon-like room and quickly made a cape appear in his hand. He flung it over his shoulders and wrapped the hood tightly around his head, then made a pair of gloves materialize to protect his hands from the chains. He closed his eyes and focused on Lucas and Rafael. In an instant, he was in the room again.
The sun was coming up. He had maybe ten minutes before they’d all roast.
Cain cursed when he felt the heat stinging him through his clothing.
He swung his gaze around the room. Rafael held Lucas off the ground. The old man was pummeling him, showing no mercy. Lucas was barely recognizable. Cain flew across the room and yanked Rafael backwards. Lucas dropped to the ground and began to crawl towards Elizabeth, her flesh already burned in several places from the rising sun.
Rafael jerked away and ground out, “You’re dumber than I thought, Cain. You should have stayed with your bitch and left me to my son.”
Cain reached for Rafael and grabbed him by his hair. “I had some unfinished business, Rafael. Now you die.”
With Diamonique safe from harm in his protected mansion, Cain allowed his rage free rein. He pulled Rafael to the far wall where the chains he’d yanked from Diamonique’s body still lay. In his mind he saw her burnt flesh once again. Vengeance gave him the power to throw Rafael against the cold cement wall, where he crumpled. Whether the rapidly advancing sunrise had helped deplete the older vampire’s strength, Cain didn’t care. Any aid he could get was welcome. Before Rafael could gain his feet, Cain struck him with the heavy metal. Blood oozed from Rafael’s arms and torso. Although, the ancient vampire tried to fight back, soon his face resembled a mass of bone and tissue.
Cain crouched down and whispered into his ear, “You should never have touched her.” Then a wooden stake materialized in his hand and with all the force of a vampire avenging his mate, Cain slammed it into Rafael’s chest. Rafael gurgled and clutched at the wood protruding from his heart. A ray of sun crept across the bloodstained floor and touched the vampire’s limbs. His body burst into flames.
Cain stepped back, and for the first time realized, the sun had burned through his clothes. The smell of his and Rafael’s scorched flesh filled the air. Anger was a powerful painkiller it seemed.
He turned to find Lucas cradling an unresponsive Elizabeth in his arms, tears streaming down his blood
y cheeks. Cain reached out a hand and ordered, “Take my hand.”
Lucas grabbed hold. Cain closed his eyes and instantly they were out of the room and inside one of the guestrooms in his home.
“Where are we?” Lucas asked, as he carried Elizabeth to the bed and laid her down, and then carefully covered her with the heavy red quilt.
“My home. You may stay as long as you wish.”
“Thank you, Cain. For everything.”
“Is she alive?”
“Barely,” Lucas muttered, then sat beside her and stroked her cheek. “I will be forever in your debt for coming back for us.”