Clive and Skylar were inside discussing plans for an attack.
Quinn levitated himself into the air. “Looks like you won’t have to wait long to enact your plan. We’re here to give you a chance to finish us.”
“What are you doing here?” Clive asked, his eyes morphing crimson.
“I wouldn’t worry too much about them,” Skylar hissed, taking a defensive posture to fight Quinn. “We almost did them in once. This time, I’ll make sure to finish the job.”
Quinn lived for battle. His bloodlust for revenge tinged his vision a deep shade of red, as he hissed at Skylar. He’d fantasized about snapping Skylar’s neck since the encounter on Laurel Pointe.
“You’re outnumbered, Clive,” Tristan shouted, revealing a gleaming silver spike tucked into his pants.
“And so that we aren’t interrupted.” Ascher closed and locked the door. “We wouldn’t want anyone coming to even the odds.”
Quinn and Skylar squared off, each sizing up the other as they circled the room.
Skylar hissed, “I guess you Rousseau boys didn’t get enough the last time, huh?”
“I have a short memory and an even shorter temper.” Quinn laughed, holding a silver javelin and twirling it with precision. “Why don’t you refresh my memory?”
Skylar drew back, lunging at Quinn and attempting to slash his face with wickedly gnarled claws.
Quinn shook his head mockingly. “That isn’t going to work this time. We know about the silver under there. You almost killed my brother.”
“Too bad I didn’t finish him when I had the chance,” Skylar muttered.
Quinn leapt forward, jabbing at Skylar, attempting to knock him off his feet.
Quickly, Skylar moved to his left, avoiding his advance. “I see you’ve been practicing, but you’re still a novice.”
“Why don’t you teach me, since you’re so experienced in battle?” Quinn challenged.
Skylar lunged forward. “So, I shall.”
Quinn pivoted to the right, sending Skylar flying against the wall. “Pretty good for a beginner, huh Skylar?”
“Beginners luck,” Skylar growled.
Flipping out of the way, Quinn narrowly avoided a silver dagger as it flew by him, missing him by inches. His pale eyes focused on Skylar, watching his every move. They circled one another, growling and hissing, while each clutched a weapon tight in their grasp.
Skylar disappeared then reappeared behind Quinn, swinging the javelin at his head, missing him again.
A loud scream rang out down the hall, and all three brothers turned towards the sound. Skylar took advantage of Quinn’s distraction, charging at him and seizing his javelin. Flipping his pole horizontally, he pressed the shaft of it against Quinn’s neck.
Growls and curses escaped Quinn’s throat as Skylar tightened his grip. Struggling against Skylar’s hold, his steel like arms attempted to pry the bar away. It did no good. As his consciousness slipped away, the fight drained from Quinn. He thought about his family’s creed. No fate other than the one I choose. He couldn’t think of a more honorable way to die than in battle, alongside his brothers. He was the owner of his existence.
Quinn chose to die.
A low roar flew from Tristan’s mouth. He hovered then dropped down, fists first, onto Skylar’s back causing him to lose his footing.
“Good timing, brother,” Quinn breathed, centering himself and retrieving his javelin from the floor.
Skylar stood upright, his body shaking and writhing in agonizing pain.
“What’s with him?” Quinn asked.
Tristan smirked as he kicked Skylar’s body to the ground, a silver spike imbedded in his back. “Hurts like a bitch, don’t it?” Tristan questioned Skylar, as he twisted the spike causing him more pain.
* * * *
Ascher shifted his weight, avoiding the silver tipped arrow whizzing by his face. He looked up as Clive reloaded the bow.
“This is between us,” Clive shouted, releasing another arrow.
Ascher knocked the arrow down, breaking it in half and tossing it to the ground. He breathed a sigh of relief, as he realized that the arrow came just inches from piercing his beating heart. “You’re right, Clive. This is about you and me. I deflowered Ursula and broke her heart. I know what the covenants say about what I’ve done, but what about what you’ve done. You captured and imprisoned an innocent outside of wartime. For that, we should do much worse to you.” Ascher’s head pained, anguished whispers flooding his brain, agonizing cries orbiting his mind. He clutched his head, as the pained whimpers grew louder.
Clive drew back the bow, and another arrow whizzed through the air.
Quinn rushed to his young brother’s aid, shouting, “No,” deflecting an arrow headed towards Ascher. Just missing Ascher’s chest, the arrow nicked Quinn’s hand as he shielded him.
Tristan flew towards Clive, a silver javelin tucked in his hand.
Clive smirked and drew another arrow, but Tristan's swift kick interrupted him. Disorientation creased Clive’s face, as he slammed into the cement wall, cracking it as his heavy body made contact.
Tristan grabbed Clive, pulling him into the air, twirling him like a rag doll before throwing him against the opposite wall.
“Tristan, take care of Quinn,” Ascher shouted, dashing across the room. He levitated above Clive’s weakened body, clutching a javelin in his shaking hand.
“I didn’t know what Ursula had done,” Clive pleaded.
Ascher only stared at him.
“She did it without my knowledge.” Clive again, attempted to plead his case.
Ascher glowered at him with all the hate and disgust a heart could hold for such a contemptuous person. Still, he couldn’t end his existence, even if he knew he deserved it. Dropping the javelin to the ground, the half-blood yelled, “I can’t do it!”
“Damn it, Ash, what are you doing? Dude, what are you waiting on?” Tristan roared from across the room. “Go ahead, man. Do it. He’d kill you without hesitation. He stood by while Ursula ordered a hit on you and Shauna. They kidnapped Katy. For blood of Shauna’s blood, you must avenge her!”
“I can’t—I can’t kill him, Tris!” He heard Shauna’s mind. I need help. We’re in trouble. The baby and I are in so much trouble, Ash. Please…“I have to go. Shauna’s in trouble.”
“Wait!” Tristan shouted. “That baby, your baby, needs to be protected. You’re going to be a father and have a family. This is what being a man is all about, Ascher. A father protects his young and his mate. If you let Clive go, he might kill your child someday. Can you live with the ramifications of that? You can end this now.”
“Go on,” Clive urged, a stream of dark fluid oozing from his anguished mouth, his smirk calling Ascher’s bluff. “If you’re going to kill me, get on with it!”
Ascher growled, his reddened glare moving over Clive. He thought of his child and Tristan was right. By ending Clive and Skylar, they’d cripple the Romanian’s efforts for years to come. He grabbed the javelin off the ground and flung it towards Clive, impaling him straight through to the wall.
Pulling Clive’s near-lifeless body from the wall, he gripped his head in his arms. “For blood of our blood,” Ascher hissed, twisting at Clive’s neck. “Let us shed your blood,” he growled as he tore Clive’s head from his body and watched the headless form turn to dust. “Ashes to ashes.” Satisfied with his decision to end Clive, Ascher turned toward his brother. “Quinn, are you okay?”
Quinn nodded.
“Tristan, can you finish up here?”
“Go and find Shauna. We’re good.”
Ascher made his way to the door, surveying the damage in the huge room. Rapping the coded knock for Aaris, he opened the door.
“What’s wrong with you?” Aaris asked, as Ascher flew by him lightning-fast.
“Shauna’s in trouble and I have to find her.”
“Do you need me to come with you?”
“No. Help Quinn and Tristan to finish
up here, and make sure you burn Skylar’s body.”
Ascher sprinted along the castle corridors, his heart thumping and his vision filled with a red hue. “Shauna,” he whispered, desperate to channel her while daring anyone to attempt an approach. The bloodlust had set in, and he was ready to impale anyone who came too close. He approached the room with the red door, his heart racing. “Shauna.”
Help me, Ascher. We need you! We’re in the room with the red door. She’s in here, too. Please be careful.
He growled and burst through the crimson door.
“What the hell?” Ursula uttered, as she lay in the corner of the room dazed from a near concussion.
“Get your hands off her!” Ascher hissed at Gabe. “Shauna, are you okay?”
Gabe stepped back. “I know you’re angry brother, but you don’t know the whole truth.”
Ascher put his hand out at Gabe. “Shut the hell up!” Turning to Shauna, he repeated his question. “Sweetheart, are you okay?”
“No,” she sobbed. “I’m not okay.”
“What the fuck did you do to her?” Ascher growled, baring his fangs and grabbing Gabe by the throat.
“He didn’t do this to me. Ursula did. He was only trying to help.” Shauna lowered her head. “I raged again. I couldn’t help it. Kara was going to kill me because she was thirsting…”
“What?”
“So I shocked her, conjured up an invisibility spell and slipped out of the caretaker’s cabin.”
“You could’ve been killed out here. You were supposed to stay with Olivia.”
“Ursula threw me against the wall. I don’t feel well, and I’m cramping. I’m so afraid something’s wrong.”
Ascher roared at Ursula.
She flashed a smirk back at him.
In the span of half a heartbeat, he disappeared, reappearing in front of her and snatching her shirt collar to bring her eyes closer. “I don’t regret many things in my life, but I regret every moment I ever wasted with you,” he spoke through clenched teeth, hoping that each word bit her and twisted in her head. “I never loved you. Being with you was like slow torture.” He moved in closer to whisper in her ear. “I’d rather breathe the breath of eternal death than to ever curse my memories with you. Each time you come at me with force, I’m going to push back. I won’t let you hurt the people I love anymore. Shauna’s my soul mate, and there’s nothing you can do about that.”
Ursula’s eyes flooded with tears. “Why are you saying these things to me, Ascher? I loved you.”
He continued with his vengeful whispering. “Katy, Shauna and my baby are the only innocents here. You can stop with the act. Killing my baby won’t bring back your father and Skylar. Shauna and I will just go home and make love in our bed until we make another. We’ll have a house full of beautiful children. You can't do anything about it. I can have more babies, but you can’t get another father.”
“What are you talking about?”
Ascher’s face twisted into a malicious grin. “By now Skylar and your father are just a pile of burned ashes.” He turned to Gabe. “It’s over, Gabriel.”
“Ascher, I know you hate me but you don’t know the truth,” Gabe uttered.
“Save it for someone who gives a damn!” Ascher growled. “Stay away from me, Gabe, and stay away from her.” He pointed to Shauna. “Or you’ll be sorry.”
“Gabriel.” Shauna pressed herself to speak. “Where is my sister?”
“She’s in a safe place. I’ll go and get her.”
“Katy is alive?” Ascher questioned.
“Yes, no thanks to Ursula.”
A loud rumble shook the room, shifting the floor beneath them.
Ascher lifted Shauna into his arms and kissed her forehead. “We’ve got to get out of here, love. The fire is making the structure unstable. Are you ready to go home?”
“Not without my sister,” she cried.
“Gabe has her.” He pointed towards the door.
The two Rousseau brothers fled the smoky castle, each carrying a McCutchin sister in his arms. Quinn, Tristan and Aaris met them outside. Ascher channeled everyone to meet back at the caretaker’s cottage.
They soared over the guard wall as explosions rocked the night sky, sending plumes of dark smoke and fire flying from the structure. “Quinn and his dramatic dynamite riggings—what an adrenaline junkie,” Ascher mumbled then snickered.
Ursula’s shrieking cries billowed out of the fiery madness, vowing revenge.
Ascher and Gabe ran through the foliage towards the cottage. Neither of them said a word, or even looked at one another. Ascher looked down at Shauna, his eyes sweeping over her body, his mind channeling her thoughts. “How much does it hurt?”
“Not so much, now.”
“Olivia will check you out when we get to the cottage.”
Her face saddened.
“What’s wrong, love? Why are you so sad?”
Shauna sniffled. “I feel bad for Ursula. I know she’s evil and that she’s done bad things, but she lost her father. I know it could’ve been you burning in that hall. While I’m grateful that it isn’t—I’m still sad for her.”
“You’re mad, do you know that? Someone tries to kill you and you cry tears for their loss. I don’t understand your capacity for forgiveness and compassion. If it makes you feel any better, we only did what the covenants prescribed. We avenged Katy’s kidnapping. Are you sure you’re okay?”
“The cramping is gone. I feel better, but I’m so afraid Katy’s not going to make it.”
“If she gets any worse, she may have to be changed. It may be the only way to save her life.”
“The only way?”
“Don’t worry so much about that. We’ll cross that bridge when, and if, we get to it. Just close your eyes.” He planted a gentle kiss on her lips. “You need your rest to gather your strength
“Maybe just a little nap.”
Ascher held her tightly in his arms while relishing the exquisite scent of her. He didn’t know if Katy would make it, but he was grateful she was alive. As he glanced over at his brother, he hissed the tiniest bit. He wasn’t sure what Gabe was up to, but he’d keep him far away from Shauna and his child.
Twenty-Three ~ Mortal Problems with Immortal Solutions
Langley, Massachusetts
Ascher carried Shauna down the long hall to his room in Bonheur. Her expression was serene just now, though her caramel complexion looked pale and anemic. She’d been in and out of sleep the whole trip home. With Shauna lying silent in his arms, he knew that there would be more bloodshed, lives lost and more hatred spewed between the two clans—so much for their peaceful period.
Removing her shoes, he laid her in the bed before cuddling up beside her to sleep. He was mortally tired. The ride home was long and arduous. Quinn and Tristan displayed cordial attitudes towards Gabe, but Ascher had too many questions to buy into Gabe’s act. The bright morning sun morphed into dusk as they slept. Ascher woke to a clammy and shivering Shauna. Rolling her to make her more comfortable, he noticed the bright blood staining her jeans.
The bleeding had worsened.
“No!” Ascher shouted. “Olivia, come quick—she’s hemorrhaging!”
Olivia and Quinn tore into the room.
“What is it?” Olivia shouted with worry creasing her youthful face.
“Where are the others?” Ascher questioned.
“Tristan is scolding Kara about what happened in the cottage. They’ll be in seclusion for a couple of days. He doesn’t trust her to come out. Father is out getting more blood, because Katy and Shauna may need what we have left in the cellar.”
Ascher felt for her doubled pulse, but it was faint and sluggish. “Will the baby make it?”
“Her bleeding has picked up,” Olivia stated while internally examining her. “I’m more worried about the impact of the blow to her abdomen. All we can do is wait it out and see what happens.”
Ascher growled. “Ursula will pay for this. I pr
omise you that!”
“I know you’re angry,” Quinn snarled. “I’m furious too, Ascher, and I’ll be more than happy to help give Ursula everything she deserves. Let’s save Shauna first, then we can hatch a plan to get back at that bitch. Olivia, what can I do to help?”
Olivia reached down and caressed Shauna's pale face. “Blood, she needs blood.”
“I’ll get her some from the cellar.” Quinn floated swift like out of the room, heading downstairs.
“I’ll meet you in the infirmary,” Ascher assured Olivia, grabbing Shauna into his arms. Once in the infirmary, he laid her cold body across the bed, cuddling her in his warm and protective arms. The blood now gushed from beneath her, shock infusing her body with tremors.
Olivia flashed through the room, sterilizing and gathering instruments, setting up equipment to ready her workstation.
Ascher held his breath.
The smell of Shauna’s blood drove him crazy, sending vibrations through his mouth, tightening his muscles while churning his stomach. Not right now, she’s losing your baby. Get control of yourself.
His internal monologue did nothing to ease his discomfort.
Again, Ascher sucked a quick breath. Shauna wasn’t a trinity anymore, but her blood still summoned the wild-eyed demon inside him. The metallic perfume smacked his nose, taunting him, mocking his control. Do it. Bite her. She’s dying, so it doesn’t matter what you do. The red-eyed monster emerged in his mind. Satiate your thirst and be satisfied.
The man who loved her fought back. You love her. Save her. Don’t hurt her.
Shauna’s eyes rolled in pain
Immediately, Ascher assumed control of himself and pulled her closer. “Hold on, love. Please hold on,” he begged, holding her face to his to gauge her breathing. “Don’t leave me, Shauna. I love you. Olivia’s here and Quinn’s on the way with the blood. Just hold on. You can have anything you want. Just please don’t leave me.” He held her tighter. “I can’t live without you.”
There was another remedy for her condition. Ascher considered this dreaded solution, as he rocked her back and forth. It was a crapshoot, at best. He could change her before her injuries stole the last breaths from her precious body. If she ingested his blood, she’d surely survive, but he couldn’t do that to her.
The Progeny (The Progeny Series) Page 27