Damien wasn’t impressed.
Wizard Warlocks were the least popular supernatural beings on the totem pole, but only because dragons were willing to make themselves useful and take on the grunt work for the other species. They were hired muscle. Nestor and his men were physically stronger than everyone else alive. Since Damien didn’t plan on fighting them in hand-to-hand combat, though, it didn’t much matter.
Even four against one, his powers could crush their own.
“Kara Lynn, get back.” He ordered, so she wouldn’t get caught in the crossfire.
She disregarded that. “Those guys were flying, Damien! God, did you see that? And they’re green.” She shook her head in mystification. “What the hell was Tanya thinking, huh? You can’t do any spin-offs with green guys as the heroes, that’s for sure. They’re green! I mean, maybe the Hulk can make it work, but…”
“They aren’t the damn heroes!” Why did she insist on believing everyone was a good guy except him?
“Oh, you know what I mean.” She looked up at him in wonder. It apparently didn’t even occur to her to run away from the monsters who were setting fire to everything they saw. Kara stayed right by his side, because she felt safe with him. It did something strange to his chest to realize that. “Why are they here?” She asked, wide-eyed.
“To kill me, I imagine.” He watched Nestor close in, completely unintimidated by the dragons swagger or the multiple fires blazing around them. It was real hard for a dragon to hurt someone who couldn’t burn.
Damien didn’t care about the dragons or whatever they were planning. Didn’t care why they’d apparently spooked the herd to flush him out hiding. Didn’t care what they wanted to fight him. Didn’t care…
Nestor’s gaze flicked from Damien’s unconcerned smirk to Kara’s amazed face.
…And Damien’s heart stopped.
Karalynn.
Slade.
The Vampire had hired Nestor.
Slade couldn’t go out in the daylight, so he’d hired trackers to find his Eternal-One. The dragons weren’t here to kill Damien.
They were here to take Kara.
Getting the destined Queen of the Vampires back from a Wizard Warlock was worth a few hundred humans seeing a whole new kind of show. Slade wanted his bride and Slade always got what he wanted. The dragons would bring Kara to the Vampire Isle and Damien would never see her again.
Something howled through him, louder than even his need for revenge. For an endless beat of time, Damien forgot his long awaited plans to destroy the Vampires. His reaction was entirely based on some new emotion that he didn’t recognize. A desperate, all-consuming fury that someone would try to take Kara from him.
She was his.
“Son-of-a-bitch.” The sword appeared in Damien’s hand without him even consciously willing it into being, the magicks just feeding off his rage. His other arm reached for Karalynn, intending to grab her and teleport her back to the safety of the hotel. His home was shrouded from supernatural beings. Not even the dragons could find it.
When he reached for her, though, his hand hit nothing but air. Damien’s head snapped around just in time to see Kara climb over the railing and drop down into the melee.
His eyes widened in horror. Was she crazy? “Kara Lynn!”
“Hang on!” She shouted back.
If she thought she was leaving him, she was wrong.
Karalynn Donnelly was his cari.
Now that he’d admitted who she was, Damien would literally die before he let her go. Vampires had an Eternal-One. The equivalent for Wizard Warlocks was a cari. A beloved. The person the sorcerers could bond with and join with for eternity.
Kara was his other half.
Damien had suspected it on some level from the minute he saw her, but he’d been trying to deny it. It was a disaster. He knew that. Since he kissed her and felt the wild possession to mark her as his own, he’d been resigned to the truth, though. Inconvenient as it was, there was no denying the woman was supposed to be his. All the animalistic instincts Damien normally suppressed screamed that she was the one.
Kara was a crazy, frustrating, possibly-insane woman who insisted he wasn’t even real… and he’d never give her up. He didn’t even want to want her, but Damien was stuck with the girl.
And she was stuck with him, whether she knew it or not.
Kara was a human. Theoretically, she could choose anyone she wanted. She didn’t have to follow the rules of the supernatural world. And, even worse, she was also a mate for Slade. Apparently, fortune had given her to both men, probably because only one could live through their war and, honestly, it seemed even more likely that they would both die. Hedging its bets, fate ensured that either of them could have her. Slade could steal Karalynn, like he’d stolen everything else.
It infuriated Damien to even think of that son-of-a-bitch Vampire coming near Kara. Every dark, primitive trait that had ever been ascribed to the Wizard Warlocks ached to kill any other man who might claim her.
Especially Slade.
And even worse, Kara herself could easily forsake the bond with Damien and choose the Vampire, instead. Why wouldn’t she? She said herself Slade was the hero. Of course, she’d try to go to him. Be his Eternal-One and live happily-ever-after as Vampire royalty in their golden castle.
Leave Damien all alone, again.
He would never let it happen.
It went against the laws of his people for a man to hold a cari against her will. There was a choice. Freewill. But, if Damien was the villain in this story, than he was going to make the most of it. He’d abducted Kara from Slade and she’d damn well stay abducted. The woman was his destiny. His doom.
His.
Damien vaulted over the railing, landing in the dirt arena. The Wild West Show had flattened a large, flat area for their production. Luckily, most of it was sand, because the dragon’s flames were setting fire to anything green. Well, except for themselves.
“Damien!”
He heard Kara’s voice calling his name and started for her.
One of the dragons tried to intercept him and Damien’s free hand gave a sharp twist in the air. Nestor’s henchmen dropped like a stone, his head twisted at a 180 degree angle. Such an easy, elegant way to kill … and against all the rules of civilized warfare.
God, it was simple to win when you had magical powers and no conscious.
He stepped over the body like it wasn’t even there, black eyes scanning for Kara in the chaos. It didn’t take him long to see her kneeling next to a fallen human female.
Damien started for her, intent on chaining the woman to his side.
He didn’t even need to turn his head to kill the next dragon running at him. He threw the sword in a wide swing that sent it sailing through the air. Wizard Warlocks had impeccable aim. It was their animal instincts, again. The blade flew right into his enemy’s throat, sending the man flying back into a covered wagon prop. It pinned his body there like a decoration.
Damien didn’t bother to retrieve his weapon. He just created another one with his magic and kept heading for Kara.
Nestor got there first. The dragon grabbed Kara, dragging her to her feet, trying to take flight, again.
Damien could do a lot of things, but he couldn’t fly. “No!” It was roar from his empty soul. If Nestor got off the ground, Damien would never catch up. You couldn’t just teleport to the Vampire Isle, you needed to fly. How could he retrieve Karalynn from a place specifically designed to keep him out?
Kara wound up buying him the extra moment he needed to close the distance. She didn’t want to go with the dragon. Obviously, she hadn’t been trying to run from Damien. She fought Nestor’s hold, hiking up the cumbersome length of her skirts. “Green bastard.” Her knee came up to slam into privates.
Nestor bellowed in pain.
Damien didn’t blame him.
The dragon still didn’t release Kara. He doubled over, but he hung on. “Listen, you human bitch. I’m here
to save you from Damien!” He gave her a shake, his voice a furious hiss. “I’ll take you back to Slade.”
“The hell you will.” Kara shot back. The manuscript slammed upside Nelson’s reptilian head. “Damien, where are you?!”
No one had ever called on him for help before. “I’m here, Kara Lynn.” He kept his eyes on Nestor, as he stepped closer. “She’d fight you the entire flight back to Slade’s kingdom, you know. As you can see, the woman doesn’t like the Vampire.” The satisfaction he felt about that made his eyes gleam, even as he waited for an opening to snatch her back from Nelson’s grip.
The dragon wasn’t an idiot. He held Kara in front of him, preparing to take flight and escape. He couldn’t actually leave with Damien so close. Dragons were vulnerable for the first few seconds they were in the air. Damien would stop him from getting far and they both knew it. “Try anything and I’ll kill her, Damien.” Black, razor sharp claws flexed against her skin.
Kara froze.
“Unless Slade will pay you for returning with a corpse, I’d rethink any murder plans, if I were you.” But, Damien slowed his advance. “This is the Vampire’s doing, correct?” Might as well let Kara know her ‘hero’ was behind this.
“Slade’s offering top dollar to anyone who can rescue her from you. She’s his queen.”
“No, I’m not. And I don’t want to be rescued from Damien.” Chocolate eyes met his. Under her angry struggle, Kara was scared. “Please, don’t let him take me.”
Damien was careful not to react to the plea. If Nestor saw how desperate he was to have Kara back, the dragon would use it to his advantage. “The woman’s useful to me.” Damien said, instead. “I’ll pay you twice what Slade’s offering.”
That was a lie.
Nestor tried to steal his mate. The scaly son-of-a-bitch wouldn’t leave here alive.
“Now, sorcerer, you know we don’t work that way. We’d never get any customers if we made side deals like that. Gotta think big picture.” Nestor eyes darted slightly, his talons tightening on Kara in anticipation.
The final dragon was sneaking up behind Damien.
He could feel it, even before he saw Kara open her mouth to warn him. Damien didn’t even turn around. His gaze never left Nestor’s as he snapped the unseen dragon’s legs with his powers, pulverizing the bones. The man behind him toppled over screaming.
Kara’s lips parted.
Nestor paled a bit. “Damn, Damien. I get that you want the woman for leverage on Slade, but let’s be civilized about it.”
“When has anyone ever accused me of being civilized?” Damien wasn’t in the mood for the dragon’s bullshit. “Let her go and I’ll let you go. Otherwise, we’ll stand here until I kill you.” He was concerned about targeting the magicks with Nestor using Kara as a shield, otherwise the guy would already be dead. Damien had never had to worry about anyone else’s safety, before. It was distracting.
Nestor’s crimson eyes narrowed. “There’s one of you and hundreds of dragons who’ll avenge me. You want to start a war with us and the Vamps?”
“I’m already at war with you, asshole.” The guy had his claws at Kara’s throat. Did he think Damien was just going to shrug that aside?
“Over a woman?!” Nestor actually looked offended. “Why would you go to war over a woman? The bitch is obviously a pain-in-the-ass and a human pain-in-the-ass, at that.”
“I’ve noticed that myself.”
“So, I’ll get you another girl or –hell-- let’s both screw this one, right now, if you need to get some revenge on Slade. He’ll go ape shit, but he’ll still pay me. I’ll basically get paid twice and you can do whatever you want with her. Everybody wins.” Nestor nodded like someone negotiating a successful business transaction. “What do you say? Let’s cut a reasonable deal, so we can all go home. You can even have her first.” He nodded to an unburned patch of ground. “There’s a good spot.
Damien titled his head, considering.
“Damien!” Kara bit-off, like she was afraid he might really turn on her.
He shrugged, ‘what can I say?’ style.
Nestor’s forearm tightened over her neck, his clawed hand coming dangerously close to the curve of her breast. “Shut-up, human. Damien’s not going to save you.” He chuckled, clearly believing that he’d reasoned with Damien. Nestor ducked his head to smell her hair, rubbing against her suggestively. “Not that I don’t see why he’d want to keep you around, but the sorcerer doesn’t give a damn about anything by vengean…”
He never got to finish the word.
The second Nestor shifted his attention, Damien used his powers to rip the wings right off the dragon’s back.
Using his magicks on Nestor with Kara held between them proved challenging, at first, until he realized the dragon’s back was wide open to attack. Damien was plenty underhanded enough to strike from behind.
The magicks were still half the strength Damien normally would have used, just in case Kara accidently shifted and was hit by part of the blast. They severed the dragon’s wings right from his back, with all the finesse of a Civil War surgeon on the battlefield.
Damien didn’t try real hard to make it neat and painless. Rage continued to burn through him. He hadn’t climbed the supernatural popularity lists because of his measured responses, but this… This was all about sending a big, fucking message to every other dragon, bounty hunter and Vampire who’d come looking for Kara.
The attack didn’t kill Nestor. It just made him wish he was dead. Cutting off a dragon’s wings castrated him. Nestor screamed. He fell backwards, dragging Kara with him, rolling his body to touch the bloody stumps on his shoulders. His shrieks got louder and more frantic, when he saw the torn, detached wings lying beside him.
Damien twirled the sword in his hand and moved to stand over Nestor. “I considered the civilized option, but I’ve decided to go another way with our deal.”
Kara lay there for a beat, gaping at the gory scene. Then, she actually moved towards Nestor’s wounds as if she could somehow stop the bleeding.
“No.” Damien leaned down to grab her arm, halting her. “It’s like acid, woman. Use your head.” Probably not the words golden-boy Slade would have used to comfort her, but Damien was too pissed-off at Kara to even try for gentleness. First, she’d run away from him. Then, she’d nearly been kidnapped back to Slade. And now she was going to touch dragon’s blood and burn the skin off her hands.
“Like Alien.” Kara whispered. She tugged against Damien’s hold, still trying to help Nestor.
Damien pulled her behind him; a quick drag across the ground as he stepped forward. What the hell was he supposed to do with a mate so naive she’d risked herself for the monster who’d planned her gang rape? Holding her prisoner forever was actually a public service. Kara was too softhearted to wander free in the world. She needed to be under Damien’s care.
“Let me die!” Nestor screeched.
“Gladly.” Damien actually felt like the villain as he leaned over the dragon, remembering the green hands and viscous talons touching his fragile, human mate. “Take your time. We can wait.”
“Bastard!” Nestor lunged in blind fury.
Not at Damien, but at Kara.
Nestor tried to gouge her face with a wild swing of his claws. She cringed backwards to avoid his massive hand, but there was no need. Damien slammed the sword right into the dragon’s chest before Nestor even got close. He stabbed him so hard the weapon came out Nestor’s back and hit the ground. The guy sunk back with a gasp. His body stilled as it slid slowly down the blade.
Damien studied the sight impassively. Once upon a time, he’d kept count of the people he killed. Remembered their faces and names. Then, one day, he realized that it just didn’t matter to him. That he didn’t care anymore. He had no idea why he thought of that moment now, except he suddenly knew he’d found Kara much too late. If he’d still been that man who cared about taking lives, maybe he’d also be a man capable of caring for her as s
he deserved.
Maybe she’d stay with him willingly.
Karalynn sat there breathing hard.
Damien looked over at her, again. He’d traumatized his mate. The woman was innocent on some level Damien couldn’t even comprehend and he’d just slaughtered three and a half men right in front of her. He hadn’t even done it fairly. Not the way Slade would have pretended to, with honor and nobility. No. Damien had cheated, struck from behind and use magicks.
And he didn’t regret any part of it, except that Kara had witnessed the fight.
“Kara Lynn?” Damien crouched down next to her. “Are you injured?”
“I think a dragon just tried to kidnap me.” She said in an eerily calm voice.
“Yes, I know. You seem to attract trouble.” His hand touched neck, where Nestor had scratched her delicate skin. He healed the injury, pulling the small pain into himself. “Are you hurt?”
She shook her head, emphatically. “No, I…uh…” She pressed her lips together, like she was trying to calm herself, and then gave a chocked sob. “Oh God. Thank you, Damien.” She blindly reached for him, shifting onto his lap and holding his neck. “Thank you for not letting that guy take me.” She clutched tight, curling against his body like she was trying to crawl inside him. “Thank you for helping me.”
In all his years of fighting, no one had ever thanked him. Ever clung to him for safety. Damien blinked, his arms awkwardly going around her.
She kissed his jaw.
The woman dangerous.
She’d derailed his entire life. If he had a brain in his head, he would have let Nestor return her to Slade. She’d destroy Damien. He knew it. And yet all he could do was sigh in relief, because she was back in his arms. His palm hesitantly touched her curls, soaking in the soft texture. “You’re welcome. But, truly, it was only a small fight.”
Not Another Vampire Book Page 13