Dying to Date

by Victoria Davies

  Had he been disappointed with her?

  “Surely your spies told you I left her as quickly as I was able,” Tarian continued, echoing her own fears. “I had no interest in the girl beyond some momentary pleasure.”

  Dominic’s smile remained firmly fixed on his face. “My spies did relay that information. And the pain on the vampire’s face seems to support your claim.” He took a step closer. “But I also know you, Tarian. I find it hard to believe you’d sacrifice one innocent for another, even a disappointing lover.”

  Warning bells went off in her head. They weren’t anywhere close to fifteen minutes and there was no denying the suspicion on Dominic’s face.

  “We’ve been over this,” Tarian said. “As long as I get my sister back I’ll do whatever you ask.”

  “So you say. But centuries of watching you indicates otherwise.” He snapped his fingers and Eilin was pulled back into the shadows. In her place a dozen necromancers appeared, forming an intimidating crowd down both sides of the parking garage.

  “What is this?” Tarian demanded, looking around.

  “Hand the vampire over,” Dominic said. “If you do without protest, I’ll give you Eilin and we can go our separate ways.”

  Melissa glanced around at the necromancers just waiting to take a piece out of her.

  “Don’t you trust me, Grandfather?” Tarian asked.

  “No.” A cold smile twisted Dominic’s lips. “I don’t.”

  She took a careful step away from Tarian in case she needed room to defend herself.

  “Melissa, I’m sure you can see how this evening will end, and I’d rather not have to force you to come with me.”

  “You’re asking me to meekly follow my kidnapper off to God knows where?” There was no hiding the disbelief in her voice.

  “Yes.”

  “Go to hell.”

  “Such a shame.”

  The hairs on the back of her neck stood on end as she sensed Dominic’s rising powers.

  They were out of time.

  …

  She burst past him in a rush of speed. Tarian cursed as her slender hands wrapped around his grandfather’s throat.

  Chaos exploded around them. Necromancers rushed in from all sides, and Tarian threw out his hands, unleashing his magic.

  One of the guards turned and tripped another before running into one of the cement posts and knocking himself unconscious. Tarian immediate switched targets and took control of one of the men running toward Melissa. This one he ran into a comrade and grinned as they both went down.

  But though his abilities gave him an edge, there were too many guards to stop all at one time. He was limited in what he could do, and the window where his powers were useful was quickly closing.

  Melissa hissed at his grandfather as Dominic tossed her off him. She skidded a bit on the floor before launching herself back at her enemy, fangs bared.

  Tarian waited for the inevitable moment where Dominic would freeze her in her steps, but the old man seemed to be enjoying himself. He twirled around Melissa, dodging her attacks and using his magic to nudge her blows just slightly off course.

  He was a cat playing with a mouse, Tarian realized, and still Melissa didn’t give up.

  One necromancer reached him and he ducked under the wild punch. Rising behind the man, Tarian delivered a quick chop to the back of his neck before turning to face his next opponent. What he wouldn’t give for his broadsword like in the old days.

  Still, he’d never been a slouch when it came to hand-to-hand combat and he was centuries older than most of Dominic’s followers.

  He struck out in tight, calculated movements. Each attack found a vulnerable target, but no matter how many enemies he dropped, more swarmed in to fill their place.

  A blow caught him on the side of the head and knocked him to his knees. With ears ringing he launched himself from the floor to strike out with hard fists. Through the fray of black uniforms he caught sight of Melissa standing perfectly still before Dominic. Looked like his grandfather had finally gotten tired of playing.

  Kicking off the nearest guard, Tarian fought his way closer to Melissa. He didn’t miss the triumphant smile Dominic shot his way before he turned to walk away, Melissa keeping pace at his side.

  Dammit, where was that backup Lucian had promised? Fifteen minutes be damned, they needed help now.

  As an answer to his prayers, vampires flashed from the stairwell. They barreled into the necromancers, working in pairs so if one was controlled the other could still fight.

  The swarm around him thinned as Dominic’s men turned to engage the new threat. Tarian saw bodies being thrown through the air and only hoped the vampires would make it until the power could be shut off. Some fought with lightning quick efficiency while others stood immobile before their captors.

  Pushing himself from the ground, he looked around for Eilin and Melissa.

  His sister was remarkably easy to find. She was fighting her guards, clawing at their faces, while a vampire team moved in to help her.

  Knowing they’d get her to safety, he chased after Melissa.

  Dominic hurried toward the farthest exit. He didn’t even pause to see what had become of his supporters.

  Pain throbbed in one knee as Tarian pushed himself faster. He felt blood trickle from his temple but none of that slowed him. Melissa was still in danger.

  “Grandfather,” he shouted, stalking closer.

  Dominic glanced behind and arched a brow. “You don’t give up, I’ll give you that.”

  “It’s over. Surely you see that.”

  “I see no such thing. In fact, I think this is the perfect opportunity to get rid of you, Tarian. And I know exactly how to do it.”

  “I’m stronger than you in a fight,” he said.

  Dominic shrugged. “Who said anything about me fighting you?”

  Melissa stepped up to his side, her eyes blank.

  “No,” Tarian breathed.

  Dominic wasn’t merely controlling her body, he’d taken over her mind. She stood before him as a puppet. Her vibrant personality had been deleted from existence. It was a defense only the strongest necromancers were capable of. Hell, he’d used this form of attack a time or two himself, but seeing it inflicted on someone he cared about sent rage surging through him.

  “Melissa, darling,” Dominic said, triumph shining on his face. “Do me a favor and destroy your lover won’t you?”

  Melissa flew at him without hesitation.

  Tarian stumbled back. A necromancer’s best defense against vampires was his magic. Without his powers, the odds were greatly tipped in Melissa’s favor.

  Claws shot from her fingertips as she hissed at him with glistening fangs.

  “Melissa,” he tried, even knowing it was useless. “Don’t do this.”

  But there was no one home in her eyes. The influence she was under was deep and consuming. It reduced a captured vampire to little more than an animal. A perfect killing machine.

  She leapt at him with raised claws.

  Tarian spun around her attack, catching her foot to make her stumble. She righted herself with fluid grace and prowled toward him.

  His mind whirled through his options while every instinct demanded he take down the threat. How many vampires had he killed in his lifetime? How many during the wars, who’d looked at him just like this?

  A silver knife rested at his hip but he didn’t draw it. No matter the situation, no matter how trapped Melissa was, he couldn’t harm her. There had to be another way.

  One clawed hand swiped at his chest and he blocked the blow with an arm. Choices, choices. How did both of them get out of this alive?

  Teeth flashed passed his face, inches from his jugular, as he dodged his lover. He’d told her before that she was fierce when she wanted to be, and now he was seeing her abilities first hand.

  She stalked around him, looking for a weakness. Every inch of her was a predator waiting to tear apart its prey. Each attack wa
s blindly fast, her strikes razor sharp. Had he been watching her fight someone else he would have been awed at her grace.

  As it was, he just wanted to stay a step ahead of her razor sharp nails.

  Tarian blocked her strike and forced back the instincts that demanded he return the blow. He couldn’t fight Melissa. Which meant his powers were his only option.

  It might not be enough, he calculated. Dominic was strong and his presence within Melissa would be hard, if not impossible, to dislodge.

  Never before had he attempted to free a vampire of a necromancer’s influence. He didn’t know if he could do it now.

  But if he couldn’t, one of them was going to end up dead.

  He waited for her next charge then grabbed her around the waist and tossed her to the floor. Tarian followed, rolling on top of her and pinning her hands above her head. Her jaws gnashed as she tried to reach his throat, mindless in her need to spill blood. He was running out of time. When it came to brute strength she had the edge.

  “Look at me,” he said, focusing his power on her.

  Her struggles grew slower as he pumped his magic into her body. Never before had it been so hard to take over a vampire, but this time it wasn’t the same as pouring magic into an empty vessel. Dominic’s magic already filled her, fighting off his own.

  His grandfather’s laughter echoed over him, but Tarian never looked away from Melissa.

  “Come on, sweetheart,” he whispered, focusing on her blank green eyes. “Come back.”

  Prying Dominic’s influence away was like trying to dry a flood with a Kleenex. Every time he got a foothold in her mind, Dominic was there to push him back out.

  Her body bucked beneath his as he slipped again. With a snarl he dipped deeper into his magic. He fought to control not just Melissa but also the bastard pulling her strings. Deeper he delved, feeling Dominic’s essence and chasing it down. Controlling a necromancer of Dominic’s age and strength would be an impossible feat, but he refused to give up Melissa.

  Deeper and deeper he went, calling on a well of magic he’d never touched before. Every fiber of his being was focused on one task. Failure was not an option.

  Melissa stopped squirming under him. With every prolonged minute in her mind the process grew easier. Threads of his magic attached inside her body, chasing away Dominic’s malevolence. Soon his power flooded her, seeping into every vein and cell.

  With a groan he opened his eyes to gaze down at her.

  “Come back,” he whispered again. “Come back to me.”

  A heartbeat ticked by then another. On the third a miracle happened.

  The woman he loved rushed back into her bright green eyes.

  Melissa looked up at him, blinked, and then smiled the most beautiful smile he’d ever seen. In that moment, nothing else mattered but the fact that he’d gotten her back.

  “Hello,” he whispered, staring down at her.

  “Tarian,” she breathed. “I can feel you in my head.”

  “I broke my promise.”

  There was no accusation in her expression. “I forgive you. Stay in my mind. He won’t be able to control me like this. I can fight with you.”

  His joy froze within him.

  Choices, choices. Agree to her plan and she’d forgive him the use of his power, but she’d go back into the thick of things. Into a battle she might not survive.

  He’d told her he respected her decisions, that he valued her ability to fight and it was all true. But right now, with screams filling the air and Dominic’s presence still prickling along his skin, he didn’t want to put her skills to the test. He wanted her as far away from this as possible. There was no way he’d survive losing her twice.

  And there was no way she’d move past such a betrayal. If he took away her choices, he’d have to watch her walk away from him. Permanently.

  Which mattered more, her love or her life?

  “Tarian,” she said with a smile. “We’ve got work to do.”

  “No,” he whispered, moving off of her. “Stand.”

  Melissa rose like a puppet on strings. “What are you doing?” she demanded.

  He could feel her try to move her limbs as he held them still.

  “Tarian,” she said, panic entering her voice. “I’ll never forgive you for this.”

  “I know,” he replied. “Go to your father and do not look back.”

  Her eyes widened even as her body turned away from the fighting. “Don’t do this,” she cried as her legs started to carry her away.

  Tarian didn’t flinch. He poured enough magic into her body to ensure she followed his orders then turned back to the chaos in the parking lot. His chest throbbed like a physical wound. Even if he came out of this alive, she wouldn’t absolve him for taking away her free will.

  But at least she’d be alive to hate him.

  He scanned the scene around him, looking for only one man.

  There. Dominic was beating a hasty escape toward the fire exit.

  Tarian took off at a sprint just as the lights finally flickered.

  Screams echoed off the concrete walls as half the parking lot plunged into blackness. Glancing over his shoulder, he saw the vampires swarming in, dragging their victims into the shadows to decrease their chances of being overtaken.

  The main lights in his half of the garage flickered and went out, all except the emergency lighting over the exit.

  Darkness gave vampires the edge, but there was still enough light for Tarian to track his quarry.

  He increased his speed, pushing himself as fast as his injuries would allow. Cars flashed by him as he raced away from the chaos of the battle he’d left behind.

  “Dominic,” he shouted.

  His grandfather whirled, glancing from him to the exit a short sprint away.

  “You’ll never make it,” Tarian said. “Don’t run away like a coward.”

  A growl rumbled from Dominic’s lips. “I’ve fought more battles than you can count, boy.”

  Tarian slowed to a stop ten feet before his grandfather. “Then defeating me should be no problem,” he said before launching himself forward.

  Dominic met his attack, blocking each blow with a strength and speed only age could achieve.

  Tarian tried to reach for the dagger on his hip only to have his legs kicked out from under him. He hit the ground hard, seeing stars as his skull cracked against the pavement. Dominic was on him before he could even roll over.

  Hands latched around his throat and squeezed. A gasp left him as his body struggled for air. His lungs burned as he fought the vicious hold.

  Slamming his hands against his grandfather’s elbows caused the older man’s arms to buckle. Tarian gulped in air as he turned the tables. Wedging a leg between them, he kicked off Dominic and grabbed his blade.

  He cast a leg astride his grandfather and stared down at one of the last remaining pieces of his family.

  “Going to kill me?” Dominic said, looking at him and not the silver blade poised over his heart. “You know it’s the only way you’ll stop me.”

  He might be right. This man had caused wars and deaths across multiple continents for more years than Tarian wanted to think about.

  But for all his evil, death was not the answer.

  “I won’t make you a martyr,” he said. “This destruction ends with you.”

  “Our people will never stop fighting to be equal.”

  “They no longer have to,” Tarian replied. “Dominic Salvage, as the newest member of the New York State Council of Elders, I am placing you under arrest.”

  Surprise shone in Dominic’s eyes right before Tarian slammed the hilt of his blade against his grandfather’s temple.

  Dominic’s body went limp beneath him, out cold.

  Tarian rolled away from him and took a deep breath. He’d won. After all that, against all the odds, Dominic was finished.

  He glanced back toward the other end of the lot. Though some necromancers still fought, the pile of un
conscious bodies was growing. It would only be a matter of time before the battle was over.

  As he rubbed a hand over his face, several vampires flashed to his side.

  Staring up at their angry red eyes, he wondered if he’d be their next target, and tensed for a fight.

  “Mr. Redgrave sent us,” their leader said, pointing toward one of the security cameras he’d failed to notice. “He thought you might need a recovery team.”

  Tarian glanced at the camera. So Lucian had seen the whole thing and waited till it was over before sending help. Perhaps the elder had hoped Dominic would finish him off in the capture process. Tarian tipped his imaginary hat to the viewer on the other end of the camera before turning back to the vampires awaiting his orders. “Take Dominic into custody,” he said. “Get him locked down before he comes to.”

  The vampires inclined their heads and grabbed Dominic’s unconscious body. As they turned to go, the leader glanced back at him. “Mr. Redgrave says you have his thanks for protecting his daughter,” he said. “Though he said to add, it won’t do you much good when you see her.”

  “I didn’t think it would,” Tarian replied before waving them off.

  The battle was all but won, and his people would soon be free.

  He pushed to his feet, wincing as battered muscles stiffened in protest. There was still some cleanup to take care of and an angry vampire to face.

  He hoped he’d made the right choice, because he had a feeling he’d be regretting it for eternity.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Melissa stared up at the bright pink lettering above the glass doors.

  Fated Match, she thought, find your mate anytime, anywhere.

  Except it hadn’t worked that way for her.

  She’d ignored the texts and voice messages from this agency for two weeks. Though she was sure Abbey’s heart was in the right place, she hadn’t been up to rehashing the demise of her relationship.

  If she closed her eyes, she could still see the regret etched on Tarian’s face when he’d limped his way up to the control room. All her father’s men had been busy securing and transporting the necromancer group. The witches had been standing by, ready to escort the trucks to the supernatural version of a maximum security prison. Last she’d heard, any death race guards employed at the prison had been transferred. There would be no chance of an escape using necromancer powers.