Bite

by Laurell K. Hamilton, Charlaine Harris, MaryJanice Davidson, Angela Knight, Vickie Taylor

"Yeah. They've captured somebody. They're getting ready to sacrifice her on that damned altar."

  His handsome face went cold. "Armor us up and open a gate. Let's see what's going on."

  A gesture called their mail around them. Then carefully, she opened a gate just large enough to give them a view of the sacrificial chamber.

  Just as her vision had predicted. Four cultists held the naked girl across the altar as the blond priestess lifted her knife. Galahad cursed softly. "I don't like this, but it doesn't look like we've got time to play it safe."

  "I don't need much time," Caroline reminded him in a low voice. "Soren gave me that spell, remember? Keep them from killing the girl, and I'll do the rest. It'll take me sixty seconds, tops, to do the chant."

  "Can you do it from here?"

  She hesitated, her eyes locked on the struggling girl. "I don't think the gate could handle the energy flow."

  "Yeah, I figured." Galahad drew his sword and prepared to leap. "Sixty seconds is all you get, Caroline. If you can't pull it off, they're going to be all over us."

  She took a deep breath and expanded the gate to full size.

  The girl screamed and bucked in her captors' hands as the blond female priest drew the point of the knife down her chest, just barely drawing blood.

  "Go." Galahad growled.

  Taking a deep, desperate breath, Caroline charged through the gate, aware even as she leaped that he had plunged in after her.

  She emerged into Realspace at a dead run, Galahad roaring his war-cry at her heels. The vampires jerked toward them. Caroline's full attention locked on the grail, she started chanting the first words of Soren's spell.

  Black triumph flashed over the priestess's face. "Yes!" The blonde bared her teeth, threw the knife aside, and conjured a power blast.

  Shit, the cultists had been expecting them. Caroline had to break off the chant to call a shield.

  But even as the priestess's blast bounced off her magical barrier, something hit her hard from behind in a magical assault that sent agony slicing into her skull.

  Galahad bellowed.

  Caroline spun, ready to defend herself, but Galahad was already charging the three armored vampires who'd hit her from behind. She started to send a blast toward the nearest of them, but another spell hit her like a fastball pitch to the skull. The world pinwheeled as she went flying.

  Caroline hit the stone floor with a teeth-rattling jolt. Struggling to rise, she lifted her head to see a ring of vampires closing in on her. Their hands glowed and smoked with magic. Desperately, she turned to look for the grail. If she could just hit it…

  But even as she spotted the gleam of gold in the priestess's hand, the cultists opened fire.

  GALAHAD saw Caroline go down under a hail of power blasts and roared a denial. Surrounded by vampire warriors, there wasn't a damn thing he could do to save her. Fear clutched at his chest with burning fists. He sent the nearest bastard's head flying with a single stroke of his sword and lunged toward her. Sensing something else coming toward him, he thrust his sword up in a parry. His frenzy gave him strength, and he knocked the vampire's blade aside, then buried his own in the man's chest so hard his victim's feet left the ground. Jerking his sword free, he ducked, avoiding another vampire's wild swing.

  But there were just too damn many of them, and he knew it. At least thirty armored vampire warriors had gated in behind them the minute he and Caroline had entered. Even he wasn't good enough to take them all.

  They'd been royally suckered.

  Somebody dove for his legs. Galahad dodged aside, but a second warrior slammed into his hips, knocking him hard to the ground. He tried to roll away, swinging and kicking, but two of them landed on top of him. "That's it, fucker, you're done!" somebody sneered.

  "I'm going to rip out your hearts, you whoreson bastards!" he roared, but then more of them piled on, crushing the air from his lungs. Brutal fingers clamped over his sword arm while others grabbed his left wrist. He felt his helmet being pulled off, but there wasn't a damn thing he could do about it. The steel rim raked the side of his face with a vicious sting. Hot blood rolled. He managed to choke in a breath. It smelled of old blood and rank bodies.

  A female hand reached in and wrapped around his face. Before he could sink his fangs into her palm, she shot a blast into his head. Fire ripped along his nerves and the world went white.

  GALAHAD came to naked, hanging in midair. Caroline was cursing steadily, viciously. For a moment, he felt a spurt of joy that she was still alive.

  Then he opened his eyes and sucked in a breath.

  She'd taken the girl's place on the altar. They'd stripped her of her armor—and apparently her powers, because one of the bastards was fondling her breast, and she hadn't fried him.

  But she badly wanted to. That was evident from the rage and terror ringing in her voice. "Get your stinking hands off me!"

  "Oh, I don't think so." The blond woman smirked down at her as the other vampires laughed. She held Geirolf's Grail in one hand and a dagger in the other.

  "You've got very pretty tits, witch." She hefted the knife, grinning. "At least for the moment."

  Furiously, Galahad fought the spell holding him, but he couldn't move at all. He knew they'd left him alive only so he could take Caroline's place on the altar when they'd finished with her.

  The original victim lay bound and gagged on the floor off to one side. Evidently they were saving her for dessert.

  The priestess bent over Caroline with the knife, crooning obscene threats the way another woman might promise pleasures to a lover.

  Galahad's desperate, bitter gaze fastened on the grail. They'd been so damn close. If only she'd been able to complete Soren's spell. Hell, if only he could work magic…

  He'll be your conduit.

  Galahad jerked in his bonds, remembering Soren's prediction that they'd Truebond. That's it! Hope shot through his chest.

  The cultists knew Magi couldn't work magic, so logically they hadn't bothered to place a nullification spell on Galahad. If he Truebonded with Caroline, she'd be able to send the spell through the link with him.

  It could work. Soren had implied it would work.

  But… a chill stole over him as he thought of what contact with his mind might do to Caroline. It could destroy her as thoroughly as the witch's knife.

  But what choice did they have? If there was any chance at all, they had to take it. He'd simply have to protect her somehow.

  Assuming, that is, they could form the bond. It would be easier if Galahad had been the one to change her into a Maja, but since he hadn't been, he'd need some other way to reach her.

  Closing his eyes, Galahad sought inside himself, searching his mind for some trace of her.

  "Arrhhh! Bitch!" Caroline screamed.

  He flinched. Running out of time…

  Don't think about that.

  Caroline. Caroline arching beneath him, her eyes vague with the hot pleasure of her rising orgasm. The scent of her, pure femininity, the taste of her mouth, of her sex. Her wicked sense of humor. The terrified courage on her white face as she'd prepared to jump through that gate.

  Caroline.

  There she was—a delicate, ghostly presence in his mind. A fragile link, formed unconsciously when they'd made love.

  That had better be enough.

  Concentrating hard, Galahad sent his mind flying out along it, reaching desperately for her. He hit some kind of resistance—the blanking spell—but he forced his way through.

  Contact.

  When he opened his eyes, a ring of fanged faces grinned down at him, gloating lust in their eyes. Sick terror gripped his soul, mixed with a woman's helpless vulnerability. He could feel the pain of cuts slashing across Caroline's sensitive breasts. They're going to kill me, she thought in horrified despair. They're going to torture me to death and kill me…

  Galahad sent his thoughts into the swirling terror that held her. Caroline!

  Galahad! How did you… ?
What are you doing?

  We've got to Truebond, Caroline. If we bond, you can send the spell through me.

  I can't! They've taken my magic! Galahad, they're going to kill me!

  Despite his own fear, he sent a wave of calm authority along the link. No, no, listen. Nobody can take your magic, they only put a dampening spell on you. But there's no spell on me. If we Truebond…

  I can send the spell through you! Oh, God. We've got to do it now! She gasped as the knife raked over her flesh again. The cut was shallow, but the sting was vicious and terrifying. Jesus, Galahad!

  Reach for me, Caroline!

  The link snapped into place with an almost audible click.

  THE touch of Galahad's mind was like standing on the edge of Niagra Falls—a great, pounding mental presence, ancient and profoundly alien. Come to me, he whispered in her thoughts. The Truebond alone isn't enough. You've got to be within my mind to work the spell.

  Despite her fear of the cultists, she knew a moment of even greater terror. The vast weight of his mind could rip hers to shreds. There was no way she could survive.

  Sharp pain sliced across her ribs, and Caroline jumped against the hard hands that held her. "I'm getting hungry, Marilyn," one of the male cultists said over her head. "Quit playing with that knife and plunge it in. We'll feed while she dies."

  "Patience, Roger," the priestess purred. "This is the best part."

  And once they finished with her, Galahad was next. She was the only chance either of them had. With a mental howl of terror, Caroline plunged through the Truebond and into his consciousness.

  Images bombarded her, too fast to process—faces she didn't recognize, whirling past like leaves in a hurricane; a blade biting deep into a man's neck; the reek of spilled intestines; a castle burning around her; flames leaping and crackling as heat seared her skin; a woman's throat beneath her mouth, the give of flesh yielding to her fangs; someone's sex gripping her cock; Morgana's voice purring lewd instructions; her own laughter…

  Drowning, blinded, Caroline screamed.

  "Listen to the gutless little slut," Marilyn laughed. "I haven't even started yet, Maja. Just wait."

  But she knew in a moment it wouldn't matter. Galahad was destroying her.

  Caroline! His voice spoke in her mind. She felt him fighting to protect her, to block the memories, to shield her from the black images roaring through her mind. Warm, soothing, strong, he cradled her. All of this is just detail. It doesn't matter. Touch me.

  A bubble of silence formed around them like the eye of a hurricane. They were alone together. Even the cultists disappeared.

  Suddenly he no longer seemed like some impossibly ancient predator, but a man. A man who struggled with a thankless, hellish job, yes, a man who despaired even as he continued to fight. A man she'd held and touched and loved. A man as vulnerable and lonely as she was.

  Oh, a small voice said somewhere inside her. It's you.

  Yes.

  Caroline opened Galahad's eyes and looked across the chamber at the altar where the vampires held her pinned.

  She was inside him. The barrier that had blocked her from her magic had been left behind.

  "Isc off argia't'ri ke per," she said in Galahad's deep voice. The vampires looked around, startled.

  Marilyn realized what was happening first. "Oh, holy fuck!" She lifted the blade to plunge it deep.

  But even as it descended, Caroline and Galahad roared, "Ka avi ITA!"

  Magic exploded from them in a flaming, boiling wave, whipping the knife from the priestess's hand. Marilyn screamed as the spell hit Gierolf's Grail. She tried to throw the cup aside, but it was too late. The grail flared black and imploded, sending a blazing magical shock wave expanding outward.

  The magical burst bit Marilyn and her vampire assistants first, vaporizing them instantly.

  The watching vampire warriors bellowed and turned to run, only to vanish as the shock wave hit them, too. Even then it kept going. Caroline sucked in a breath as it shot over Galahad and slammed right through the complex walls.

  The spell holding Galahad broke. He dropped to his feet with a grunt of satisfaction.

  Caroline opened her own eyes and stared at the ceiling of the chamber, then lifted her head cautiously.

  Galahad strode naked across the chamber toward her. She rolled off the altar and fell into his arms with a shriek of mingled relief and pleasure.

  But just as he lowered his head to kiss her, they heard a tiny whimper. They stiffened warily and looked around. "What the hell was that?" Galahad growled.

  The girl they'd come to save lay looking at them, her eyes huge over her gag.

  "Oops," Caroline murmured. "Forgot." Reluctantly they drew apart and went to free her.

  10

  CAROLINE lay on her back on Galahad's bed. Gloriously naked, he leaned on one elbow swirling a strawberry in a bowl of frothy cream. "You know, I think I like this Truebond thing. Open up."

  Lazily, she complied. He stroked the creamy berry into her mouth. She closed her lips around it and sucked gently, knowing the sight—and the mental image of what she imagined sucking instead—would drive him crazy.

  "Are you goldbricking, or did you actually accomplish your mission?" Morgana demanded from the foot of the bed.

  Caroline screeched and sat up. Only belatedly did she remember to zap jeans and T-shirts onto both of them. "Don't you knock?"

  "No." The witch rocked back on her spike-heeled sandals, cool and elegant in a white suit that contrasted brilliantly with her black hair. "Nice conjuring. Next time set wards instead, and I won't be able to do this."

  Bitch, Caroline thought.

  That pretty much sums it up, Galahad agreed through their bond. Aloud, he added, "What brings you barging in, Morgana?"

  "Do you still need help taking that little nest of yours?"

  Disgruntled, Caroline drew her legs beneath her to sit up. "No, it's taken care of. We returned the surviving victim to her family, and the police think the cult that kidnapped her died in a fire."

  Turns out the Satanists had a house on the surface above the complex. Caroline had conjured it into charred rubble and added a few bones to give weight to the explanation.

  The victim herself remembered nothing, thanks to Caroline's merciful alterations to her memory.

  "Congratulations," Morgan said impatiently. "Where's my cup?"

  Oops. "Ah… we destroyed it."

  "What?"

  One explanation later, the Liege of the Majae wore an expression of speculative pleasure that made Galahad more than a little uneasy. "So that explains it." Catching his lifted eyebrow, she said, "Remember the vampire nest in Peru I told you about? It wasn't going at all well when a wave of magic rolled across the battlefield. I estimate fully a third of the enemy simply disappeared on the spot. Vaporized. Same thing happened to the forces fighting Arthur and Lancelot."

  Caroline's jaw dropped. "A third?" A wicked grin crossed her face as she considered the implications. "And there were three cups. My spell must have wiped out all the vampires who were turned from that particular grail."

  "Obviously. You do still have that spell, I assume?"

  "Sure." Remembering the way Soren had transferred it to her, she winced. "I'll… write it down for you." Hastily, she conjured a piece of paper with the spell and handed it over. Though why the dragon hadn't done the same for her was another question entirely.

  Morgana accepted it with a smile of pleasure. "All we have to do now is find the other two cups. Destroying them will be a hell of a lot easier than trying to kill all those cultists one at a time."

  "Don't count your chickens, Morgana," Galahad warned. "They're not going to give up the cups without a fight."

  The witch gave him a vicious grin. "Too bad." She turned, reading the spell and started absently toward a gate that had appeared in the middle of the room. Just before she stepped through it, she looked back at Caroline, her expression more than a bit smug. "I knew we needed you."


  When the witch was gone, Caroline turned a disbelieving look on Galahad. "You stayed with her for a decade?" Then, reading an all-too-vivid memory of just what he'd found so appealing, she picked up a pillow and socked him with it. "You hound!"

  "Now that's just offensive." Galahad plucked the pillow out of her hand. "I'll have you know I'm far more wolf than dog."

  "We'll see about that when I make you sit up and beg."

  But just as she was about to get her revenge, a deep rumbling voice filled the room. "Before you two start your mating ritual—I gather the spell worked?"

  "Yes, Soren, thank you," Galahad said, pouncing on Caroline and wrestling her onto her back.

  "Yeah, thanks. Galahad, cut it out!"

  As they rolled and fought like puppies, the dragon, clinging to the side of the cliff, shook his massive head. "Mammals." Catching sight of a tempting shape standing above him on the edge of the cliff, Soren started climbing up the mountain face to meet her. "But it's not a bad idea. Come here, you."

  CAROLINE squirmed as Galahad stretched her out and pinned her down, both wrists pulled up above her head by one of his hands. "Now," he purred, "are you going to get rid of this shirt, or am I going to eat it off?"

  She glowered at him in mock temper before making it disappear. He lifted his head to contemplate her hard nipples with predatory interest. "That's better."

  Caroline swallowed and licked her lips as he slowly lowered his head. The first hot flick of his tongue over the delicate peak made her jump. Through the Truebond, she caught an echo of how she tasted to him: slightly salty, deliciously feminine, uniquely Caroline.

  He adored it.

  And so he indulged, suckled, licked, nibbled. Slowly, enjoying the sensations she felt through the Truebond. No wonder you like this.

  She moaned agreement and arched against him, then gasped at the feel of his hard, muscled weight while he enjoyed her lean, satin softness. "Let me go. I want to touch you."

  "I don't think so." He tightened his grip on her wrists. "I like it just like this."

  "Mmmmm." It did feel good. "But you're not fooling me. You're afraid you're going to lose it." Deliberately, she gave him a slow, sinuous wiggle, sliding her belly over his erect cock in a way that made him groan.