“He leaves,” Jabari ordered, snapping my attention back to the Ancient. “He is not one of us.” I flinched at the sharpness of his voice, but I tried to not let it show. The Elder wanted me groveling before him, cowed and obedient. Not this time.
“No.” I stepped away from the door, to stand next to Danaus. My face was blank, devoid of servitude. I wasn’t taunting or particularly begging for a fight, but I wanted Jabari to know that I was finally drawing the line in the sand.
I sensed more than saw it when the Ancient’s arm snaked out with the intent of grabbing Danaus’s neck. Gritting my teeth, I caught his wrist and shoved him backward, nearly throwing him across the room. Jabari slid across the polished hardwood floor and caught himself before he slammed into the opposite wall. In the far corner, I heard Sadira gasp and Tristan hiss softly at my unexpected response. Both seemed to shrink as Jabari growled, the sound resembling a tiger’s warning more than anything that would emerge from the throat of something that had once been human. His powers flooded the room, nearly choking me. I mentally clawed my way back to the surface, refusing to be swamped by him. Truth be told, I would rather have been killed by Jabari than face the naturi again. But either way, I’d go down fighting.
“Is this what shall finally destroy us? This creature, I will not let you kill,” I spat out, my lips drawn back to reveal my fangs. My posture was hunched as I waited for him to attack again, every muscle pulled taut and ready. The wound in my chest and back screamed in pain, but I pushed it back. The darkness deep inside of me began to rise up, swelling until it started to slowly blot out what was left of my humanity. It was the blood lust, the driving need to feel another creature’s life clutched in the palm of your hand. I remained in front of Danaus, making it clear to the Elder that he would have to go through me first.
“There is always your failure to kill Nerian as I ordered,” Jabari reminded me.
“He’s dead now. Just a few centuries late.”
“You also failed to protect Tabor’s replacement,” he continued, his body completely still. The quiet before the storm. Apparently, Sadira had succeeded in reaching him with the news that evening.
“The naturi knew where we were. They knew.” Rowe always seemed capable of finding me easily. My voice dropped down close to a whisper. “I wonder how.”
“What are you implying?” Jabari’s fingers curled into fists, and the glow in his eyes flared, as if he was using all of his energy not to crush me. He knew exactly what I was saying.
“Not implying. Just curious,” I hedged, trying to give myself some room to maneuver. “The naturi seem one step ahead no matter where I turn. They can’t sense us, but Nerian knew where to find me. They knew to kill Thorne before I even knew who the hell he was. Rowe has come hunting for me twice now. Someone is betraying me.” I moved a step closer.
“So you turn first on your own kind, when the enemy stands at your back,” Jabari bellowed, pointing at Danaus. The nightwalker took a step to his right, moving away from the wall and closer to me.
“Not first. I’ve talked to them. I don’t think Themis has been in contact with the naturi, and they’re not the ones keeping me in the dark.” I’d reached the point where I preferred to see both Danaus and Jabari dead than give either of them another chance to carve out my heart.
“You’ve been told everything you need to know. You do as you have been instructed.”
“Bullshit!” I screamed, taking another step closer. “I stopped taking orders a long time ago, and I won’t put up with your secrets when it’s my life on the line. I was the one they were trying to kill in Aswan, not you.”
“How do you know he didn’t send for them? His people attacked you while you slept.”
“Because the naturi don’t follow orders either,” I hissed. “Not from humans or nightwalker. Or am I wrong?”
Jabari’s eyes widened before he lunged at me. I barely had enough time to jump out of the way. Pain flashed up my arm as his fingernails ripped through the sleeve and slashed my skin. I landed in a crouch and launched myself into him, colliding with his chest. He fell back with a heavy thud. Siding across the floor, he crashed into a pale blue sofa with me on top of him. A small end table went over and a ceramic lamp was smashed, sending small shards skidding across the hardwood. I sat up, hissing at him, my fangs bared. Jabari backhanded me, snapping my head around. To him, I was nothing more than an annoying fly. I tumbled backward but quickly rolled to my feet, to find him standing as well.
“You’ve been hiding for a couple of years now,” I said before he could attack again. “Why? Why hide when the naturi can’t sense you? Afraid of someone else finding you?”
“I want to be left alone.”
“Did you know about the naturi?”
Instead of answering, Jabari threw himself at me again. The haze of anger clouding my thoughts also slowed my reflexes, allowing him to catch me before I could move out of his grasp. His momentum carried us into the wall, and a grunt escaped me as my spine dug into it. Lifting my legs as soon as I hit, I placed my feet against Jabari’s chest and kicked out with all my strength, pushing him off me. Then I pushed off the wall and lunged. Jabari was just getting back to his feet when I hit him, reaching for his throat. Once again he brushed me aside.
“Did you know?” I asked again, jumping to my feet. I shoved against the sofa, sending it skidding across the room, its wooden feet screeching against the floor. I didn’t want anything in my way when I went after him again. The Ancient stood unmoving, watching me. “Did you?” My scream rattled the glass in the window.
“Mira, stop,” Sadira said. I could barely feel her tension and fear over Jabari’s angry powers. She’d stopped cloaking her presence when he appeared. Now I could feel all of her chaotic emotions, even hear some of her thoughts.
“Then tell me I’m wrong,” I demanded, never taking my eyes off Jabari. His blank expression never changed. “Tell me.”
“You are wrong,” he said, carefully enunciating each word, as if talking to an addled child.
“I don’t believe you.” The words came out choked and broken.
“That is not my concern.”
“It will be,” I whispered, straightening my stance. I was no longer poised for the attack, but I wasn’t relaxed either. The fight was over for now. “I don’t know who you’re protecting, but I hope they’re worth it.”
“It should be your life you worry over. You are the one who has failed to reform the triad. You are the one who has brought your sire to this haven for hunters,” Jabari said, his lips pulling back in a sneer.
For a brief moment I wondered if he was referring to Sadira or himself, but I let the thought drop. If it was true, Jabari obviously didn’t want me to know, which gave me a slight edge for now. “You gave me an impossible task,” I snapped. “I couldn’t protect Sadira and fetch Thorne at the same time. Not with the naturi running around. She had to be put somewhere safe and this was my only option. She has come to no harm. If anything, they’ve treated her like a queen since she stepped foot on their grounds.” Reaching up, I shoved a lock of hair that had fallen in front of my eyes behind my ear.
“You should have taken her with you. She could have saved Thorne.”
“Maybe, but I doubt it,” I said with a shake of my head. “I couldn’t have properly protected them both. But none of this matters. The triad has been reformed.”
“What? How?” Sadira demanded, springing from her chair. I could feel the hope blossoming in her chest. I clung to that light emotion against Jabari’s drowning anger.
“Me. I will be the third,” I said, my eyes darting from Sadira back to Jabari. I didn’t want to be, and if we could find someone else, I would happily hand over the position, but that didn’t seem to be an option.
Jabari laughed, the dark sound crawling across my flesh like a hundred tiny spider legs. “Where would you get such an idea?”
I glanced over at Danaus, who was standing near the door. He was retu
rning his sword to the sheath strapped across his back. I hadn’t even seen him draw it. He paused in the middle of the act for half a breath, his eyes narrowing on me. “I spoke with a warlock,” I continued, returning my attention to Jabari.
“And what does he know about the triad?”
“Apparently a lot. At the very least, he knows more about what is going on than I do. He said that the triad has already been reformed.”
“He said you would take Tabor’s place?”
“Not exactly, but it’s not like there’s a lot of other vampires hanging around. He could have meant Tristan, but I didn’t think so since he’s still cutting his fangs.”
Jabari’s gaze never wavered from me as his smile widened and I saw his beautiful white fangs. It reminded me of Nerian’s smile, with all the grim, painful promises it held. “You fool,” he said, the words encased in a chuckle. “You believe the word of a human over your own kind.”
“I’m just trying to survive, and you’ve done nothing to help that cause recently.”
“Mira, my child, you can’t be the third,” Sadira whispered, as if trying to soften the blow. “It’s impossible.”
“Why? Because we’re of the same bloodline?”
“You’ve turned on your own kind,” Jabari snarled.
“Not yet, but I see little reason to defend them at the moment. Why can’t I be the third?”
“You’re not strong enough.”
“Bullshit. I’m stronger than Sadira, and I’m stronger than Thorne was. Why can’t I?”
“Mira!”
I turned on my heel, startled by Danaus’s voice. His presence had been pushed from my mind by Jabari’s attack, and now I stood so I could look at both him and Jabari, not wanting to put my back to the Ancient I no longer trusted.
“They’re coming,” the hunter said.
I read it in Danaus’s face before he could speak. Tension had crept in around the corners of his mouth and pulled his lips into a worried frown. A thick, heavy silence pushed into the room, and it was all I could do to keep from drowning in it.
“How many?”
“Enough.”
My throat suddenly constricted and I’m not sure what kept my knees from buckling. Either it was too many to bother to count or it was better I didn’t know.
“Do we have time to leave?” I asked, wondering how long it would take to get everyone out of the compound.
“No, they’re too close.”
“Who?” Jabari interrupted.
“We’ll have to make a stand here,” I said, desperate to get hold of a situation that continued to spiral out of my control. “Your people safe?”
“Safe as can be expected.” Danaus reached up and withdrew one of the swords strapped to his back. His deep blues flicked before he tossed it to me.
“Who’s coming?” Jabari demanded again, his shout filling the room.
I slashed the air a couple of times with the sword, testing its weight and balance, purposefully ignoring Jabari for a moment. It wasn’t the same one I had borrowed in the Aswan cemetery. It seemed of a higher quality. Maybe something from his private collection, kept for only special occasions? Lucky me.
At last I looked up at Jabari and smiled. “The naturi.”
Twenty-Six
The naturi were coming. My fingers tightened around the sword and I closed my eyes for a moment, drawing the anger and tension into a single ball that resided in the pit of my stomach. I was done running.
Turning to look at Jabari, I resisted the urge to point the sword at his chest. No reason to antagonize him any more. We had enough problems. “Are you with us or against us?”
“And who exactly is this ‘us’?” he sneered, his hands clenched into fists at his sides. “Humans? The hunters?”
“Anyone who wishes to stand against the naturi. I welcome both hunter and nightwalker. We can settle the question of my allegiance some other time.”
The nightwalker drew up to his full height and straightened his shoulders. “I harbor no love for the naturi.”
“Great. Stay here,” I said, trying not to think about the fact that I was giving orders to an Elder. I had no doubt I’d pay for it later, assuming there was a later for me. Desperate to keep the situation in hand, my attention flashed to the other two vampires in the room. Tristan stood with his arm around Sadira’s delicate shoulders, as if trying to comfort her, but the fear in his wide blue eyes told another tale. He had faced a small group of naturi with me last night and I barely survived. He was in no hurry to push his luck any further.
“You are expendable. Jabari and Sadira are not,” I said, pointing the sword at him. “Protect them no matter what.”
“Where are you going?” he asked, his grip tightening on Sadira.
“To see if I can find more help,” I called over my shoulder as I marched out of the room with Danaus following on my heels.
I paused in the hall, trying to assess the battlefield, as Danaus closed the door. There were too many rooms, too many doors and windows. “How many entrances are there on the ground floor?” I asked.
Danaus stood beside me now, his eyes also scanning the terrain. “Three; front door, back door off the kitchen, and a garden entrance.”
“Not to mention windows in every room,” I murmured, talking mostly to myself.
“We can move to the basement,” he suggested. “There are no windows down there and only one entrance.”
“We would be trapped.” I shook my head, my hair falling around my face. “They could wait us out until dawn, then come down and slaughter everyone. Besides, they are only after us. I’d rather keep the naturi away from your librarian convention downstairs.” I continued down the hall to the front doors, which were shut again, my heels hitting the hardwood floor the only sound in the silent manor. “Where’s Ryan?”
“I’m here.” A weary voice drifted down the stairs toward us. I looked up to see the warlock seated at the top of the stairs on the second floor. He’d shed his jacket, his shirt-sleeves were rolled up past his elbows, and sweat slicked back the hair at his temples. His powers filled the air like an electric current looking for an outlet. I hadn’t noticed the power crackling around me until I saw him, my focus having been centered on the coming horde.
“How long have you been holding them off?” I asked, unable to keep the note of awe out of my voice. The air sizzled with whatever spell he was working, but even now I could feel it weakening.
“You don’t think I called them?” he asked in surprise.
“You’re not that stupid.”
“Thanks.” His mouth quirked in a half smile. “I’ll do what I can to hold them off, but I won’t last much longer.”
“Save it,” I said, waving him off. The spell he’d worked had left him nearly exhausted and he would need his strength. “Go to the basement with your people. The naturi are after my kind, but I can’t promise they won’t slaughter humans just for the fun of it.”
Danaus walked up the stairs past me and helped Ryan get to his feet. The warlock descended to the first floor with his hand on the hunter’s shoulder. Ryan still looked a bit shaky, but appeared to be catching his second wind.
Seeing the two men standing side by side for the first time, I realized that I liked Danaus’s eyes better. There was something more human in those cobalt depths than Ryan’s glittering gold; something that still whispered of hope. It was missing from Ryan’s eyes, creating a strange juxtaposition. Danaus was a man who said he was doomed to hell, and yet hope still flickered faintly in his precious blue orbs.
On the other hand, Ryan was a fraction of Danaus’s age, with a smile perpetually haunting his lips, but he’d lost that flicker of hope that seemed to haunt all creatures. I don’t know what a human had to endure to become a warlock, but was it truly worse than what Danaus could have seen in his centuries of life?
“Do you have any more magic users lurking about?” I asked, snapping back to the problem at hand.
“A few,
but they’re no match for what is coming,” Ryan said as he reached the bottom step.
“Have them charm the door and any weapons you can dig up,” I instructed. “Iron hurts the naturi. A bullet to the head or heart will work. Otherwise, you generally have to cut off their head or remove the heart to kill them.”
“A lot like killing vampires,” Danaus interjected.
“Or humans,” I said, glaring at him. “Get Ryan downstairs and lock the door behind you.”
“I stay up here,” Danaus stated, earning a startled look from me.
“Apparently I’m not the only one with loyalty issues.” The smile slipped from my lips before it could fully form. “You need to protect your people.”
“I can do that best up here. Ryan will be in the basement should we fail.” He paused, smiling when I could not. “Besides, we have unfinished business.”
Yes, our great showdown. Misfit versus misfit. I had forgotten somehow. Couldn’t let something else kill me before he had his shot.
“Very well,” I said with an indifferent shrug. Looking over at Ryan, I bit back a sigh of frustration. “I’m sorry. I had no desire to endanger your people.”
“I knew the risk when I agreed. All I ask is that you win.” He turned and started down the hall toward the basement, the fingers of his right hand trailing along the wall as if to steady himself should he suddenly falter.
“You were wrong earlier,” I called after him. “The triad hasn’t been reformed. It can’t be me.”
Ryan looked over his shoulder, his palm pressed flat against the wood-panel wall. He stared at Danaus for a couple of seconds, then at me. I didn’t feel any stir of power. He was just thinking, as if reassessing his earlier conclusion. “No, you have everything you need,” he said at last.
I nodded, though I’m not sure I actually believed him. If it wasn’t me, then it meant Tristan was seriously holding out on me. It had been a long time since I’d last underestimated the power of another vampire. It was a mistake one generally didn’t have a chance to make twice.
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