Undone By Blood (The Vampire Flynn Book 5)

by Peter Dawes

  I had not had the chance to even consider what I might say in response when a force ripped her from me, nearly taking me down with her. Stumbling forward, I caught myself and looked up in time to see Evie standing near us, her gaze set deliberately on Sabrina as if afraid to move from there.

  “Julian, are you well?” she asked.

  “Yes, I’ll be fine,” he said, though his words sounded pained.

  “Let’s inundate her. She seems to prefer taking you both one at a time.”

  No sooner had Evie made the declaration than she raced for my maker, taking hold of Sabrina before the other woman could resist. I saw Sabrina gather a mass of energy in her hands, but before she could use it, I extended my uninjured arm and locked Sabrina into place, using telekinetic force. Her gaze shot to me. She fought to counter the hold I had on her, but as she did, Julian used the same force to lock her wrist, dispelling the weapon she had formed in the process. The other seer joined in holding her steady while Evie threw her to the ground.

  A sickening crunch accompanied Sabrina falling face first into the dirt.

  Evie placed her foot on Sabrina’s back before she could stand. My maker turned her head to look at me and laughed, raising an eyebrow when I lowered my hand again. I scowled at her in return. “Quick to show scorn to my friends when you were foolish enough to think you could take us on your own,” I said.

  “Foolish for you to think I could be so easily taken,” she countered, spitting out blood after speaking. She eyed me with a severe expression on her face, an odd look contrasted against the crimson dribbling from her lips. “I only hoped I could hobble you long enough to have a chat.”

  “You came for more than the shard.”

  “And you won’t kill me because I have something of yours. Shall we parlay?”

  I glanced up at Evie, who shrugged. Julian emerged from where he had been hiding, converging on the point where we stood and as he loaded another bolt into his crossbow, I peered down at my maker. “What do you want?”

  She breathed a chuckle, which sounded bitter as it passed through her lips. “I want to survive, Pet. The same as I always want. Considering it’s been made abundantly clear to me I’ll not have anything else, I’m turning to the one party who might be reasoned with.” Sabrina opened her mouth to continue, but as she tried to speak, she coughed, and when she could not wrestle control over her tongue, I watched the look of panic which overtook her.

  “It’s him,” she wheezed, but any further attempt at communication perished when her body convulsed. Julian, Evie, and I exchanged looks and when Evie motioned to step away from Sabrina, I shook my head emphatically, begging with my eyes for her to keep my maker secured into place. Sabrina’s eyes rolled back and then snapped into life again. As they focused on me, a wicked smirk curled the corners of her mouth.

  “Welcome, seer,” she said, though I knew from the start it was not her speaking. “I believe it’s time you and I finally had a discussion.”

  Part Six

  End of a Dance

  “Deserves it! I daresay he does. Many that live deserve death.

  And some that die deserve life. Can you give it to them?

  Then do not be too eager to deal out death in judgement.

  For even the very wise cannot see all ends.”

  J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  While the Irish lilt her voice gained might have been enough to identify the speaker, it was the look in her eyes which told me Patrick had somehow taken control of her. I stepped back a pace attempting to flex the fingers of my debilitated arm in the hopes that the pain might soon subside. Nervous flutters raced through my stomach, but I kept my expression as impassive as possible. “What did you hope to discuss with me, Patrick?” I asked.

  The grin remained affixed to her bloodstained lips. “It’s good to know I don’t have to spell things out for you,” she said. “Makes it easier for me to cut down to the marrow. She’s a traitorous little wench, but at least she’s proving good for something.”

  “It sounds as though you must have given her no other options than to betray you.”

  “None that she desired, but she knew the bed she made the moment she tried to lie with me.” The way that she chuckled made my blood run cold. “I really do hate her, Peter. In ways you couldn’t possibly begin to imagine. She knew her days were numbered when she handed me that last gem shard of hers.”

  Slowly, one of her hands lifted, the motion more fluid than I might have thought, with her being puppeteered. When she snapped her fingers, Evie stumbled backward, and as Sabrina lifted to her knees, she kept her palm presented toward the elder vampire, as much a warning as a measure of security. “You have been busy,” she continued, rising to a stand and taking a moment to compose herself. Julian raised his crossbow, but Patrick turned her head to regard the other seer, her expression nonplussed. “Please, shoot her. Though not before I’ve had a chance to make a wager with our boy here.”

  I stepped forward, lifting a hand to signal both Evie and Julian away from Sabrina, at least for the time being. Julian frowned, only lowering his crossbow by a scant amount, and Evie sighed before relaxing her posture. The latter exchanged a look with me, warning me to be careful, prompting me to nod before I focused on Sabrina again. “Anyway,” Sabrina continued, “Like I said, you’ve been busy. Found yourself a turncoat seer and one of the olden ones?” Her lips curled, bemused. “You know their stock are usually self-centered. That was a gamble.”

  “You forced a quarrel with us when our people became collateral damage,” Evie interjected. “I’m here to ensure it stops.”

  “Noble of you, lass, giving yourself to the greater good,” Sabrina said. Glancing at her, she raised an eyebrow. “Have some food for thought, though. You know this is what I’m after here.” One hand lifted, finger pointing at me. “Could just turn him over and secure immunity for you and all of your ilk.”

  “You’ll forgive me if I question the reliability of your offer.”

  “Question it all you like, but this one here would be hard-pressed to tell you a time when I’ve lied to him. Not told him the full truth, yes, but never lied. You want an offer carved in stone?” She sobered, in part to ensure her next words garnered their full impact. “I promise full cooperation with your people, including having you serve as my emissary. Not another seer or dark magician will touch one of yours without provocation.”

  Evie frowned. Folding her arms across her chest, she held a steady gaze with Sabrina. “It’s a tempting offer, but what can you promise me regarding your overarching plans? It seems you want to wreak enough havoc to affect the rest of the world and that affects me as well.”

  “Well, now, I can’t guarantee everything, lass. I only have so many bargaining chips to offer.”

  “Then I might have to decline.”

  “I’ll try not to take that personally if you do.” Slowly, her gaze shifted back to me. As her eyes met mine, her expression turned more amiable. “You’re the person I want to negotiate with, if you can manage to hold back the ‘fuck you’ I see you straining with.”

  “Why do you think you have any grounds to attempt a negotiation with me?” I asked, an incredulous laugh following the question.

  Sabrina grinned. “Because any good villain attempts a wager with the hero first, don’t they? If I can avoid having to bore everyone with a one-sided battle, I will.”

  “I suggest you surrender, then.”

  “You’re adorable because you think you’d be the winner.” In her eyes, I saw no mere threat. As I flexed my fingers, discovering the pain had barely begun to wane, I felt the first genuine sense of dread that this all might be hopeless. “Not going to ask what I’m willing to offer?” Sabrina asked.

  Taking a deep breath, I issued myself a sharp rebuke, as much directed toward myself as Flynn, in case he felt inclined to take the reins from me. “Fine then,” I said. “What are you offering?”

&n
bsp; “Her.” The word echoed, up for interpretation until Sabrina clarified, motioning toward herself. “You can chop Mother Dearest into as many pieces as you want and scatter her ashes into the wind if you desire. I might even resurrect her again after that so you can do it once more.”

  “Why in the heavens would I want that?”

  “Because she’s the one who got her hooks into your lady love. She’s been the one running this whole sideshow act with your wife, which spiraled beyond even my original plans for her. I didn’t mind using her to tug you around, since you’re like a dog with a bone when it comes to her, but our wench of a mother is the one who dismantled her down to an understudy. Had I my way, she’d be returning to your children when our business finished.”

  “Except that she cannot,” I said, his final sentence striking such a chord, emotion swelled until I felt tears dance in my eyes. Saying the words out loud made them cut that much deeper, turning visceral when ten years of memories knocked at the door of my consciousness again, wanting to spill out. I fought against it, tightening my grip on my sword. “If it were that easy, you would be offering me my wife.”

  “You’re not asking me for your wife, seer,” she said. “You’re asking me for the past, and I don’t have that capability. Our Harlot Mother ruined your life the same way she ruined mine and nothing in my power can unravel that. I told you about my quest to become human again and how poorly that turned out for me. I could give you an illusion, but it would only be that. An illusion.”

  “I want my wife and my brother. You can keep Sabrina.”

  Sabrina chuckled mirthlessly. “Nobody can say I didn’t try,” she said. With the final look she gave me, I saw a glimpse into the abyss – confronted with a mounting sense of dread which only increased when Sabrina fell to the ground, discarded. Evie, Julian, and I glanced at each other and looked around, less inclined to worry about Sabrina now, even if she had merely been incapacitated. None of us needed to give voice to it. We knew the true danger had announced its arrival.

  And the way it arrived left us no chance to retaliate.

  Evie gasped as a shadow swept over her, eyes turning wide and finding me as if pleading for help. I struggled to determine what had happened to her, motioning toward Evie and thrown back when I made the attempt. Whatever force had issued the reprimand, its affect knocked me prone. Rolling to my side, I peered up in time to see Evie stumble backward before her body fell to the ground. There she remained, as still as my maker.

  Julian and I looked away when a door swung open on the far side of the gardens. My heart sank at the figure who emerged, and though I saw her first, the way Julian tensed told me he knew exactly who had joined us. I scrambled to my feet before the moonlight hit her and the assassin – who had been silent within me until then – woke at the sight of her. Neither of us bothered to reach for the sword which had fallen, and though I could not be certain, it almost felt as if Flynn shared the same sense of heart break which washed over me.

  ‘You promised...,’ Flynn said.

  ‘I know, I did,’ I said. ‘And we will get her back, I swear.’ Looking at Monica, however, the prospect seemed daunting. The vampire who tilted her chin at me made my skin crawl, the green eyes I had always admired issuing a challenge with the way they beheld me. Hair stood up on the back of my neck and everything within me cried out offense at the waves of energy rolling over her. She had done more than play with dark magic. She had immersed herself within it.

  And the talented sorceress I had adored wove that corrupt energy into her next attack. Julian fell to his knees at her behest, and though his grip tightened on the stock of his crossbow, I watched him visibly fight against the compulsion to drop it. Monica smirked at his attempt, her fangs running down in what I could only see as obvious delight. “Oh, please,” she said, “We both know he wouldn’t let you shoot me.” She shot a wink at me, disabling me further in indecision with the gesture and leaving me a mute witness. Twisting her hand, I heard a crack in Julian’s wrist and watched him cry out in pain. As I lifted a hand to stop her, she tightened her fingers into a fist.

  The amusement had faded from her expression when our eyes met next. “Try anything and I’ll suffocate him,” she warned.

  As if on cue, Julian coughed, reaching for his throat and dropping his weapon at last. He clawed at the invisible hold she had on him and while I saw his gaze turn more severe, his focus intensifying as he slowly loosened her grip, I also saw the strain of whatever pain she had inflicted. “Let him go,” I said.

  “No,” another voice said, joining the fray. Emerging behind Monica, Patrick strode into the courtyard, both hands buried in his pockets at first while he assumed a place by her side. Behind him streamed a dozen other vampires, and as they walked around the circular path which surrounded us, Patrick studied Julian, watching the way he fought for each breath of air he claimed. “Though we might want him conscious for now, lass,” he added. “Slacken the hold just a little.”

  Monica nodded, and as she complied with his request, Julian gasped for air. Patrick chuckled and shook his head, ignoring me for the moment in favor of studying the others who assembled around us. I watched his lips move, as if he was making count, and with him distracted, I bent to retrieve my sword.

  Without even looking at me, Patrick freed a hand and motioned with his fingers. My sword slid away from me, not stopping until it reached the feet of one of those vampires. I looked up at him and as I saw him bend for it, I frowned, realizing I knew this one the moment he looked up at me. Robin frowned, adjusting the strap of a messenger bag which dipped when he took possession of my weapon.

  “Brother,” I said, set even further at a loss when he failed to throw it back at me.

  Robin shook his head. As Patrick paced toward him, he held out the sword and though the look he shot his former lover read of vitriol, he passed the hilt to Patrick’s outstretched hand. “There’s my darling Michael,” Patrick said, taking hold of the weapon. He leaned in to kiss Robin’s cheek and though I saw my brother recoil, I also saw his inability to fight against it when the other man’s lips touched his skin. Glancing down at Julian, I saw him just as disabled, and though my arm still hurt, I remained the most able of us all. And I had been reduced to emotionally impotent.

  Patrick swung my sword around idly as he paced back to Monica. “I don’t know if I should be offended, Peter,” he said, passing my sword to one of the other vampires, who raced forward to intercept it. After handing it off, he assumed a place beside my wife. “Here I am giving you my best effort and you’re standing there slack-jawed like a scared child. Is this the formidable seer the entire immortal world fears before me, or a dressed-down lover?”

  “Do not trifle with me,” I said, turning my head as he continued walking. “I have defeated more gifted magicians than you.”

  “Oh, you mean Valeria?” He laughed. “I’ll grant you, one of Raulin’s children under your belt is a sizeable conquest, but she never truly knew you. That’s the problem with the really powerful. They think brawn alone can cut an opponent down to size because they’ve never met their equal. Throw your weight around enough and the rest of the world cowers before you. Until you meet their champion.” His fingers brushed Monica’s shoulder while she kept her gaze fixed on Julian. “Even demigods have weaknesses, though, Peter,” he continued. “And I spent a long time learning yours. Just in case you forced my hand.”

  Monica glanced at him when his eyes shifted to her again. Exchanging a grin with him, she held the smile while looking at me and yet another dagger pierced my heart at the defiance in her eyes. “Please, do not do this,” I said before I could stop myself. The heartfelt plea echoed in my ears, offered as much to Monica as it was to Patrick. “You said it was your design that my children would have their mother back when all was said and done.”

  “Well it was my design, before Mother Dearest intervened. And to be honest, your darling dear has pulled more than her fair share of weight.” His palm came
to a full rest on Monica’s shoulder. “She is quite the gifted sorceress, isn’t she?”

  Tears welled in my eyes again. “She is far more than that.”

  “Aye, she was, but again, you’re the one living in the past.” I forced myself to look at him when I felt him staring at me. “Go on ahead and show Mommy how much we appreciate her intervention.”

  “She did it because of you.” Slowly, hatred built a fire and assembled kindling for it. “You and whatever those bloody shards she had been collecting amounted to.”

  “You don’t recognize them?” Patrick laughed and as he lifted his hand from Monica – a small mercy – he snapped his fingers at another of the vampires standing off to his left. “Bring me the shards. Peter will want to see this.”

  The vampire – a young, dark-skinned male – nodded and reached into a satchel he carried for a small container. Producing it, he walked it over to Patrick, and as he did, Patrick looked toward Robin. “Could I have my spellbook, a mhuirnín?”

  “Please don’t call me that,” Robin said, though the act of speaking the words almost looked laborious. He paced forward, reaching into the bag he carried, and as the two men reached Patrick, they handed him both items without question. I kept my focus on my brother, following his retreat into the position where he had been assigned. Patrick crouched and as he did, it brought my focus back to him, a perverse sense of curiosity attaching to the notion that I could do little now but ascertain what I had missed of Patrick’s scheme. Especially when he seemed willing to oblige.

  ‘The deeper we get into this mess, the more difficult it’s going to be for us to climb out of it,’ Flynn said as we both watched Patrick set the box out first, then slowly open its lid. As he plucked out a collection of crystalline pieces, he placed each one meticulously in his opposite hand, then extracted a handkerchief from his breast pocket.