by Luxie Ryder
Had Amber been hurt? The thought hit him out of the blue and, try as he might to dismiss it, once the question occurred to him he had to have an answer. Bane cast a look at Katerina’s unconscious form and snuck from the room, pants in hand. He found a quiet corner of the house, out of earshot of any of the other occupants, and dialled the number his friend had given him.
Solomon had insisted Amber give it to him in case they’d been separated on their journey to her home. Bane had taken it from him without really knowing why he wanted it at the time. Any idea he might have had of staying in contact lasted only as long as it took him to remember how much danger that would put her in.
“Hello?”
Bane swallowed a groan at the sound of her voice. She came alive in his mind, so much so that he could almost see her standing in front of him. Her pretty hair would be a messy, auburn halo—stray strands shooting out in all directions, catching the light and making her look like some angelic Medusa. Her eyes would be alert as she frowned in concentration while her lips parted, becoming soft as she sucked in the shaky breath he could hear her taking.
“Hello. Who is this?”
He heard the panic in her voice and shut the phone, ending the call, before the temptation to speak overwhelmed him. The last thing he wanted to do was scare her. Bane simply needed to know she still lived.
When he returned to his room, Katerina had gone. Bane fell onto his bed without removing his clothes, sighing in relief at the prospect of peaceful slumber and unconcerned about her sudden disappearance.
Amber’s voice played over and over in his head as he drifted off to sleep and Bane was glad he didn’t have to divide his attention between thinking of Amber and ignoring Katerina’s presence.
As if he’d summoned her with his thoughts, Bane heard the footsteps approaching his room. The damned woman would be the death of him. Was he entitled to no privacy?
The door creaked open and Bane knew instantly that Katerina wasn’t alone. In a flash, he rolled from the bed to his feet, crouching low as he turned to face the room.
Paolo stood with three others. Two men Bane did not know held Katerina between them, a hand over her mouth to smother her cries. Her nakedness made it clear she had been dragged from the bed when Bane left the room. Her gaze darted between Paolo and Bane, eyes wide with fear. Bane had the alien sensation of feeling sorry for her. Katerina hadn’t suffered a moment of terror in her entire existence.
Bane growled a warning at Paolo when he took a step closer. “What are you doing here?”
Paolo laughed and stooped to pick up Katerina’s robe from the floor. He threw it in her face, smirking as it fell at her feet. “Cover yourself.”
“Let her go. Katerina doesn’t need to be here. It’s me you want.”
“On the contrary, Bane. She needs to see this.” Katerina began to struggle, as if she knew what Paolo intended to do. “She embarrassed and humiliated me by making herself a whore for you. She does not even care that you despise her openly. She would rather be with you than me.” Paolo’s voice softened to a whisper and he cast his gaze down to the floor, betraying the emotion behind his words. When he raised his eyes to look at Bane again, the moment of weakness had passed. “Her punishment for that is to watch you die first.”
Katerina thrashed, trying to free herself, fighting the men restraining her. Her muffled screams escaped in loud bursts of noise when they failed in their struggle to keep her silent. Paolo rushed to her, grabbing her hair in a vicious grip and tilting her head back. “If you do not keep quiet, I will end you now. Your father will still discover the two of you dead and believe my story that Bane killed you and I destroyed him for it.”
Paolo let his hands roam over her breasts, causing her to wince in pain as he squeezed them, his voice nothing more than a deadly whisper. “Don’t be afraid. Do you know how many times I watched you as you slept, tempted to put my hands around your treacherous neck and separate your head from your body? You’ve faced death many times, Katerina, but did not know it. Each time I fought those urges, knowing I had to find a way to end your life without putting my own at risk.” He laughed as if reminiscing. “I considered tricking someone into doing it for me, I even considered striking a deal with Bane in exchange for his freedom, but I knew Ulrich would suspect I’d been involved. I made the mistake of feigning jealousy in an attempt to convince your father to force you to give up the man you schemed to replace me with. Oh yes, I know that if Ulrich had agreed, Bane would be his rightful heir by now.
“But you see, I have no desire to give up the life being your husband has given me, and that stilled my hand, even when I wanted to kill you for your betrayal. The power I enjoy is the only thing that made my having to tolerate you worthwhile and I will not give it up because my wife is a worthless whore with an indulgent old fool for a father.”
Paolo moved away from Katerina, his gaze shifting from her to Bane as a satisfied smile settled on his face. “This way, I rid myself of you, dear wife, and your comely stud and keep the power that is rightfully mine. Who knows? With you gone, your father might decide it is time to step down—or maybe he can be forced to. My own father Silas knew that one day I could be the sole leader of the Fratia de Sange. Why do you think he agreed to our union?”
Bane took a step closer to the others as Paolo revelled in his own glory. His mind raced through the possibilities. If he could kill Paolo, his accomplices may hesitate in confusion long enough for Katerina to escape and raise the alarm. There were many things Bane would die for but he would be damned before he would die for Katerina. Amber’s face flashed into his mind and the thought he might not ever see her again made him determined to survive. He hadn’t even known he held the wish buried deep within him until that very moment.
Bane eyed the two men holding Katerina captive. They matched him in size—maybe even in strength—but not in skill. The way they kept their gazes fixed on Paolo gave away their inexperience. Trained men would have known to watch Bane. Their leader was of no danger to them, nor was the woman they held. Killing them would be easy. Paolo was the unknown quantity. Bane had never seen him fight. But Paolo wore an arrogant look on his face that said he believed he could handle whatever Bane threw at him.
Paolo moved across the room, pausing at the foot of the four poster bed to wrap a hand around one of the uprights and snap it off. He scrutinised the jagged shard of wood, smiling at the sharp end he’d created.
Bane cast a casual glance over his shoulder, checking on the weather through the gaps in the shutters covering the window. Although the sun had barely risen and had not yet penetrated the thin layer of grey cloud, he couldn’t be sure how long he could afford to be exposed without his shroud. Still, jumping to the ground and then in through the first available window or door had to be his best chance of escape. At worst, he could stay below the water in the river circling the town until he found a way into the shade of the city.
He inched backwards, feigning fear at Paolo’s approach to cover his intentions. Bane tensed, ready to turn and leap, just as the shutters exploded behind him and a thick chain tightened around his neck. He hadn’t heard anyone scaling the wall and he cursed his stupidity. He’d allowed Paolo to distract him.
Paolo laughed and stayed out of reach until more hands had pinned Bane’s arms to the walls on either side of the window.
“Hold him still,” Paolo ordered and the chain around Bane’s neck received a violent jerk in response to the command.
Paolo stepped forwards, coming to a stop inches from Bane. The look of triumph on his face wavered as he met Bane’s unflinching gaze. “Why are you not afraid? I am about to take your life, Peasant.”
Bane heard Katerina fight again, her muffled protests filling the otherwise silent room. He did not look at her. Bane did not want her to be the memory he took with him to his grave. With one last smile of contempt in Paolo’s direction, he closed his eyes and imagined Amber’s face. For the first time since he’d lost his faith, he
wanted to believe there was a heaven. The thought that he might be with Amber again in some small way gave him the strength to face his second death without the fear Paolo had hoped to see.
He heard Paolo take a breath and the rustle of his clothing as he moved. Bane imagined the other man’s arms jerking upwards and he steeled himself for the thrust of the stake.
“No!”
A scream of rage and horror erupted from the other side of the room, and Bane opened his eyes to see Katerina break free and leap at Paolo. His arms froze in place, still holding the piece of wood above his head ready to strike. He looked over his shoulder for the source of the outburst and turned as she charged at him. Paolo paused for a split second and then threw his weight into a lunge and drove the stake into her chest.
Katerina’s body seemed to shape itself around the weapon. She looked down as if confused to find herself suspended in mid air, hovering a few feet above the face of her husband. Shock gave way to pain and she began to thrash and scream, her survival instinct kicking in and refusing to accept that she would soon die. The motion only caused the blood to gush faster from the wound in her chest—as well as her eyes, nose and mouth. Her howl of agonised rage was silenced by the red flood pouring from her lips.
Bane took no satisfaction in seeing the life fade in her eyes seconds before they closed forever. She had sacrificed herself to save him. The knowledge sickened him but he would not let her efforts be in vain. Everyone but Paolo, who did not put Katerina down until the blood had been drained from her, watched her die in stunned silence. Maybe Paolo had not told his men the truth about what he had intended to do. Regardless of the reason, Bane knew his chance had come.
The men holding him were no less shocked by the events unfolding before them and their attention had been diverted enough that they had loosened their grip on Bane. He ripped his arms free, reaching over his head and grasping for the length of chain behind him. Pausing only to check his grip was firm, he lunged forwards, pulling with all his strength. He heard the man on the other end slam into the outside wall of the house, and then the chain came free. Bane used the momentum to roll forwards, scramble to his feet and vault the bed. He landed inches from the guards who had been securing Katerina, and decapitated one of them with his bare hands before the other even managed to stagger a few steps away.
Paolo dropped Katerina’s body. “Stop him!” he shouted.
Bane turned to the other guard, preparing to temporarily disable him too. He couldn’t kill them without a weapon but he could render them harmless for a few minutes. They could not fight without their heads. Just as Bane had secured his arms around the guard’s neck, a flurry of activity in the doorway made him pause.
He let the man slump to the ground unharmed as Ulrich’s soldiers filled the room. A dozen or more surrounded Bane, Paolo and the surviving guard, forcing them all to stay in place until Ulrich entered.
“What is happening here?”
The old man looked around, scanning their faces in curiosity, as if unsure why the smell of spilled blood hung heavy in the air when they were all still intact. The soldiers blocking his view of Katerina shuffled nervously, and began to clear a path between Ulrich and the body of his daughter, lying broken and drained on the floor.
Ulrich took a step towards her, agony creasing his ageless face. “K…Katerina?” He stretched out his hand and fell to his knees, his ancient body crumbling in pain. “Who did this?” he whispered, just loud enough for his stunned audience to hear.
Paolo stepped forwards. “Bane killed her, Ulrich. I came to confront him over their affair. He made a stake from his bed and tried to attack me.” Paolo paused for effect, his body shuddering as if relaying the story caused him physical pain. “My beloved Katerina tried to save me and threw herself between us.”
One of Ulrich’s men, the head of his personal army, turned to Paolo, regarding him with obvious disbelief. “And you brought two men with you to confront him?”
Bane interrupted. “Two others attacked from outside.”
The man nodded, accepting the information Bane had surrendered without question. He turned to Paolo. “You brought four with you?”
“Bane is a dangerous warrior, as you can see.” Paolo gestured to the carnage around him. “I feared he would attack me but I had no idea he would try to kill me. Bane was outnumbered, that’s why he tried to stake me. He wanted to kill me before my men could stop him.”
Paolo dropped to his knees on the other side of Katerina’s body and picked up her blood splattered hand from the floor. He held it to his cheek in almost comic reverence and turned pleading eyes to the watching men. “I had no idea he despised Katerina enough to murder her. I would never have put her in danger.”
Bane could see that none of the men believed Paolo’s story, but their opinions mattered to no one, and Ulrich had yet to drag his gaze away from his slaughtered child.
Finally, he spoke. “Who came to help you, Paolo?”
Paolo gestured towards his only intact accomplice, who at that moment appeared to be trying to shrink in the hopes nobody would notice him. Ulrich did not look at Paolo so had no idea who he had pointed at, but he addressed him with the confidence of a man who knew that when he spoke, everyone listened. “Tell me the truth. You have but one opportunity to spare your own life. Did Bane kill my daughter?”
The man cast a terrified glance around the room, stopping when he met Paolo’s intense stare. “I…I don’t know. I mean—”
“Tell him, Philippe.” Paolo seemed unsure whether he should allow the man to answer freely. “You simply need to confirm what I have said. Ulrich knows I would never lie to him or harm my beautiful Katerina. You need only to tell Ulrich that I told the truth.”
“Silence!” Ulrich leapt to his feet and turned to the man who held Bane’s life in his hands. “Need I remind you how terrible your death will be if you dishonour me by lying? Speak now, and be quick about it, or I will condemn you to the same fate as Katerina’s murderer.”
“Paolo killed her. Forgive me, Ulrich.” The man dropped to his knees, bowing his head in fear, still expecting to be punished. When he spoke again, he directed his words to the floor. “We came to kill Bane but Paolo told none of us he planned to kill Katerina too. Bane tried to save her. He told Paolo that it was him he wanted and that he should let her go.”
Paolo stared at Philippe in shock. “Ulrich, he is lying. You have frightened him and he is telling you what he thinks you want to hear. Ask the others who came with me. This man is obviously beside himself with fear.”
Ulrich gave no immediate reaction to what he had heard. He stooped to place a hand under Philippe’s elbow and help him to his feet. “You have chosen wisely.” He turned to a soldier standing close by. “Take him away and get the names of the other men Paolo enlisted to help him. If he does not tell you, kill him.”
He turned to his son-in-law. “You are no better than my treacherous brother. He killed my wife and you killed my daughter.”
Paolo tried again. “Ulrich, I swear I had no hand in her death. When you find those other men, they will tell you I speak the truth.”
Ulrich ignored him, directing his next comment to his guards. “Take him to the hill.”
“No!” Paolo tried to dodge the swarm of hands reaching for him. When they dragged him to stand in front of Ulrich, Paolo knew his life was as good as over and any pretence of respect had gone. His lip curled back over his teeth and he spat angry words into Ulrich’s face. “If you end my life, my father will avenge my death. War will break out between our families again. Is that what you want, old man? Do you want to lose what did not belong to you in the first place?”
Ulrich turned away and raised his hand, pointing towards the door in silent instruction. Paolo was dragged from the room, still spitting and cursing. The sound of his protests echoed through the hallways and hung in the air for a long time until they faded away and Bane could no longer hear him.
Ulrich returned to
his daughter, picking what was left of her up in his arms and turning to the door without taking his gaze from her. “Come with me, Bane,” he said as he began to walk away.
Bane followed Ulrich to his private chambers and kept his distance as the grieving father placed Katerina onto his bed. Ulrich’s servants had seen him enter with his daughter’s body and their wailing began in earnest as news of her death spread through the house. Ulrich instructed them to watch over her.
He led Bane up to the highest floor of his residence, to a room with dark glass in the windows that allowed a harmless amount of daylight in but gave them a clear view of the hillside and the lone tree at its peak. The ancient oak had watched over the land for hundreds of years.
They watched as a black van made its way to the summit and a handful of men got out of the back when it stopped, with Paolo held captive between them. For the time being, he wore the same thick, dark robes as the rest.
Despite his violent struggles, they secured him to the oak with thick ropes strong enough to hold him. One secured his neck to the tree, another ran from one hand to the other around the girth of the trunk, keeping them pinned behind him. Last, his feet were tied together and then that rope was knotted around the base. Given enough time, a vampire could still weaken those bonds and eventually escape—but Paolo would not have the luxury of time.
Their final act before they drove away was to cut the robe from him. Paolo reacted with a violent jerk as the daylight touched his skin. The overcast day may have seemed like a small blessing to Bane, but for a vampire staked out naked in its muted light, it still caused pain. Brilliant sunshine would have caused a swift and more merciful death. In these conditions, it would take Paolo hours, if not days, to die in appalling agony.
His skin began to emit a thin vapour and, even from so far away, Bane heard his low, keening cries turn into bellows of pain. He turned from the window as a shaft of sunlight broke through the clouds and Paolo’s screaming intensified. He could not watch as another being, even one who had plotted to kill him, suffered because of Katerina and her father.