Silence.
God save her from an incredibly stupid, equally obstinate vampire.
“Make a left up here,” Jonas told her, pointing at a single-lane road. No street signs, few landmarks. Tori had no clue where she was. Except she was driving deeper and deeper into a forest. A part of a state park? She had no idea.
Tori complied, tires screeching. The car swerved, then straightened as she kicked up gravel and dust. She glanced over, and Jonas grinned. She looked in the rearview. Stacy simply held on for dear life. She’d apologize later.
Shadows deepened, and the breaks between the trees grew fewer and fewer. All of a sudden, the tree line broke. An opening seemed to have been carved into the forest and was surrounded by a stone wall. From above, Tori bet she’d be looking down upon a big square stretching for miles.
The wall was made of hand-placed stones with red tiles for an overhang and black wrought iron on top of those, ending in nasty spikes. Definitely a warning to keep off the property. Red tiles also covered the posts that held the gate guarding the road. The décor reminded her of Southern California, not New York State.
A broken chain hung from one of the pushed-open sides of the gate.
Tori continued slowly, her gaze darting left, right, and then center. More trees surrounded, but the grounds, although overgrown, were sparser than the woods. “Looks like they could use a landscaper here,” she muttered.
“No joke,” Stacy agreed.
“Eyes sharp, okay? There’s no telling where everyone is. Especially the ones that’ve gone rogue.” Tori half ducked, remembering the one who’d jumped on top of the car. “Not sure if they can smell us inside the car, but once the doors open, all bets will be off.”
Hunter. Please. I’m begging you. Don’t do this. I have the cure. I can heal you.
No answer. The same as fifteen, twenty, and thirty minutes ago.
“Ness says stop when you see the SUV. Don’t come any closer.”
“Tell her I need to find Hunter.”
“She’s got a—” BAM!
A vampire turning rogue slammed into the car. Vanessa followed and hauled the creature off the vehicle, throwing him in front. Tori hesitated. She’d sworn an oath to do no harm. But she only needed to slow the thing down, not kill it. She stomped on the gas and hit the creature, watching it fly backward onto the grass.
While Tori slammed on the brakes and threw the car into Reverse, Jonas jumped out of the car and ran over to the creature. Vanessa tackled the creature, and Jonas popped the top of the extract vial. Her guilt meter hit the max. She hated being a party to anything taking a life, but in this case, what choice did she have?
The extract and Jonas gave Vanessa the time she needed to stake the thing to the ground and cut off its head. Jonas let go of the rogue, grabbed some dead leaves, and piled them onto the thing’s chest. Then he threw Vanessa a lighter.
Tori got out of the car and turned away. Even though she understood the need, she still couldn’t quite reconcile the act.
“Sorry about that,” Vanessa apologized, out of breath. The vampress pushed her hair out of her eyes. “Slippery little bugger.”
She glanced at Stacy, who’d turned grim. Seemed Tori wasn’t the only one unhappy with the method. Their gazes met. Tori sighed. Stacy shrugged. Someday she’d need to understand the word necessary.
“Where’s Hunter?”
“Last time I saw him, he was marching up the steps to go into the house.”
Tori ran to the trunk and popped it open. She pulled out the cooler with the transfusion.
“Hey, wait a minute!” Vanessa yelled as she headed toward the house. “You can’t go in there alone.”
“Not alone,” Stacy chimed in.
“No, Stace. Stay here.”
“Like hell I will.”
Tori stopped, put the cooler on the ground, and rounded on her. “Don’t. Start. With. Me.” Stacy frowned. “He’s talking to me. Right this very second.”
“Who’s talking to you?” Stacy asked.
“Casperian. He’ll let me through. Don’t you see? It’s all part of the game. I’m an important piece. He needs me alive right now. But he doesn’t need you. Stay with Jonas and Vanessa. Please.”
Stacy stared. Tori reached out and hugged her, then let go, picked up the cooler, and started walking. She passed two more fires and heard gunshots in the distance. How the hell many more rogues were there?
Enough.
“You cock-sucking little bastard,” Tori muttered.
High, shrill laughter filled her ears. No. Not a bastard. Full-blooded nobility.
“Ask me if I care.”
No need. I already know. And to answer the second part of your statement, enjoying my own is physically impossible, enjoying others, however, most frequently. And with great pleasure, I might add.
“TMI,” she answered, shuddering as she tried to keep a visual out of her head.
I didn’t take you for the squeamish type, Doctor.
“Not squeamish, ass-hat. Discriminating. Or if you want me to be really clear, I’d rather talk to a drug cartel kingpin than talk with you. At least they’re honest about their evil. You couch it in terms I can’t even begin to understand, and then you make yourself believe you deserve praise.”
Tori realized she might just get caught by a rogue if she was carrying the cooler, so she set it down next to a huge tree. And just in time, as two vampires and a rogue brought their fight a little too close for comfort. The next thing she knew, the rogue picked up her scent. But the delay allowed the two soldiers to surround the rogue and not give it an opportunity to escape.
She waited until they started circling away from her position, then darted toward the front door. The rogue kept circling, wanting to follow yet not quite sure which way to turn.
She made it to the next tree and peeked out to make sure the rogue was still occupied. “Doesn’t it even bother you?”
What?
“Treating human beings like animals.”
They were mine. Just like my horses and my goats and even my pigs. God, could his words get any more arrogant? I paid for them, so they were mine to do with as I wished.
“And you never thought to put yourself in any of their shoes? Not even for a moment? A second?”
The rogue-vampire fight got close again, and she ran to her right to avoid the melee. Then she stopped next to another tree to scan the area. Her heart clenched at a terrible screech, the sound much like boiling a lobster, and she looked out to see the rogue had been wounded. Even though they died instantly, she could never kill a lobster and always had to ask someone else to put them in the water. She’d never had the heart.
Sadness filled her as she watched another rogue become another fire. The two vampires had been victorious. Her stomach turned over. Death was the only winner here.
Why ever would I do that? Casperian asked, turning the conversation back to him. Of course. They were chattel. Slaves.
“They were flesh and blood, just like you, you conceited bastard.”
Tori peeked around the tree. The coast was clear. She hit the afterburners, scrambling a bit on the wet leaves before building up speed. She ran through the already open front door, skidding to a halt on the atrium floor.
Her gaze traveled the house. Incredibly unique. There was a hole cut out of the second floor, so her gaze could travel all the way up to a cathedral ceiling. Wrought iron, almost like a fence, surrounded the hole and a hallway surrounded the fence. Doors were spaced along this hallway, evenly spaced, making her think maybe they were bedrooms.
Swordplay needed space. Hunter would want to take his fight into a larger area. But still confined so Casperian would not escape. Tori crept toward the back of the house, listening for any kind of sound. An archway opened into what looked like a formal dining room with a table. To her left, another archway let her see into the kitchen. She turned her attention to her right.
“He will kill you,” she added, hoping t
o keep Casperian somewhat occupied.
Hearty laughter filled her head, even more shrill and grating, much like the vampire. The sound stopped at her next thought, and Tori smiled.
“If he doesn’t,” she continued, clutching the extra-strength rosary pea extract in her hand, “I will.”
She approached the archway by circling the dining room, sliding against the wall to stay out of sight. Casperian knew she was there but not exactly where. She reached the edge of the opening and peeked around the corner. Hunter and Casperian were circling each other, blades drawn. Tori had kind of figured Hunter would use a short broadsword like the weapons of his time. Instead, he carried a thinner, longer blade. As did Casperian.
Hunter was, by far, the better fighter. But the Nirvana in his system gave Casperian the edge. And the longer Hunter fought, the more drained he became and the more the scales tipped in Casperian’s favor.
He hadn’t seen her yet but knew she was there. And she would become just the distraction Casperian needed.
Bait. Again.
Fool me once, shame on me. Right?
She ducked back and flattened against the wall. In her mind, she measured the room. Would they make a full circle?
Perhaps you should ask your hero?
Tori decided she really hated when Casperian sneered at her.
Without hesitation, without considering the move, Tori reacted. She had to. So Casperian wouldn’t know what she was thinking. She pivoted and hit the afterburners again, letting loose a wild banshee scream.
And tackled the wrong vampire.
Chapter Thirty-Six
Tori let go and rolled as the air whooshed out of Hunter’s lungs.
Casperian’s sword sliced through the air exactly where she’d been less than a second ago. Steel rang on steel as Hunter parried the blow. The cords stood out on Hunter’s neck as he strained to keep the blade from reaching his chest.
Tori screamed again and jumped, using her shoulder like a football player to push Casperian away. She rolled. But these were vampires. They gained their feet long before she did, and she watched in morbid fascination as they began circling again.
“Why do you hate Hunter so much?” she asked, intensely curious. She’d always wondered. Besides, anything, even talking, would be a distraction.
Casperian didn’t answer. Not until he was certain Hunter wanted to know too. “I was thirteen at the time. Seems to be a common age for boys to be told they’re men.”
“You flatter yourself,” Hunter rasped.
She thought so too as they continued to circle. Casperian flipped his sword from hand to hand. Hunter’s gaze never faltered and followed each change of possession.
“My father was told of my…interest in the male anatomy.”
God, that was delicate. The man was an out-and-out brute.
“He found my…desires distasteful. Beneath a patrician of the house of the Caesars.” Casperian snorted. “I hadn’t the heart to tell him it was his own uncle who’d introduced me to the pleasure.”
The sword rolled back and forth between hands.
“However, he decided men were acceptable as long as I was discreet. The problem became progeny. There had to be an heir. More than one to ensure our illustrious house never faltered.”
Hunter feinted and attacked mid-throw. But Casperian blocked in time. Steel rang on steel, echoing through the room. Then they both retreated.
“Hunter,” she called out. “He’s stalling. He knows the longer he waits, the weaker you get and the more you must protect yourself. He’s taking advantage.”
Casperian laughed again. Shrill. High pitched. Awkward. Then his lips tightened a moment. Obviously he didn’t like hearing his tactics broadcast. But the vampire simply shrugged, and he continued because, no matter what, Casperian loved to talk about himself.
“My father bought a golden-haired beauty from the north beyond Britannia. She had the palest eyes. Almost clear, and yet at times the most beautiful blue.” Casperian chortled, a mad sound that caused the skin to ripple in distaste. “He’d saved her for himself. Maidenhead and all.”
Casperian chortled again, and Tori finally realized where he was going with the conversation. “My father forced me to fuck her right there in front of him so there could be no doubt about my performance and no doubt I would beget an heir.”
The vampire shook his head and looked right at her. “And you think I don’t know what it feels like to be treated like an animal?”
She glanced over at Hunter. She couldn’t muster even an ounce of pity. Strangely enough, though, she wasn’t surprised by the story, given the time period. But pity this depraved monster? Never.
“You know, as I think back, I was rather honored that my father would bestow such a gift. After all, he really did want her for himself. He took her too, right after I did.”
The left-right swing of the blade stopped, and Casperian attacked. Hunter deflected easily, but Tori could see the weariness stretched tight across his features.
“I’m intrigued,” she coaxed to keep Casperian off Hunter. “What happened?”
“My father’s physician announced a few months later she carried a child. My father fairly beamed his pleasure. Another slave to add to the household. One made with patrician blood.”
“I will never understand man’s ability to debase his fellow man,” she muttered.
“A few days after we learned she was pregnant,” Casperian continued, ignoring her. “She ran away. Back to her people, I suppose.”
Hunter paled. Tori drew in a swift breath. “Who were her people?” she asked, already fearing the answer.
No doubt about it. This was Casperian’s story, and he would answer in his own good time.
“My father had his men pursue her. Make no mistake, she was too valuable to lose. They almost caught her, not once but twice. I’ve never seen my father grow so cold as when his soldiers came back empty-handed. They said she fell off a cliff into a raging river; they begged my father to understand no one could have survived.”
Casperian smiled. “Once my father’s rage lessened, they were both demoted and whipped. Not only had they failed in their duty, they didn’t bring back the body.”
The ensuing silence deafened. Tori could only watch the emotions run across Hunter’s face as he tried to process. She wanted to run to him and hold him and tell him he’d be all right.
Instead, Casperian continued. “Imagine my surprise to see those pale eyes staring at me from the center of a fight circle. With my—no, our dark coloring, and just the right age.”
“No,” Hunter whispered in denial. “Impossible.”
Casperian nodded. The swordplay stopped as he dug into the pocket of his shirt. “Does this look familiar?”
The vampire drew out a red stone. A gemstone? A ruby?
“The eye,” Hunter breathed.
“Yes, the eye of the horse’s head. General Corvus had it in his possession. He lost the stone to me along with you.”
Tori was sure she was going to be sick.
Casperian stilled. “Good to see you again, brother. Or is it son?” Casperian chortled with glee. “I suppose we’ll never know.”
Chapter Thirty-Seven
God. All he could feel was deep-down, miserable cold which, after a few moments, turned to ice and fire. The ants became stinging rivers of lava, and Hunter knew his time was up. He was dying. But the sickness never reached his heart. His heart was the one place no one would ever touch except her.
When she’d tackled him, Hunter hadn’t been sure if he’d wanted to kiss her or kill her. He’d thought his silence would convince her to stay away. His heart swelled. That she’d come to save him meant more to him than all the years of freedom he’d enjoyed.
But his powers were sinking into the lava, bit by bit and piece by piece. And then there was the constant burning, the never-ending fire crackling up and down his through his veins. He deserved the fire and the pain, for, suddenly, his life made sense.
Casperian made sense. Even… “Did you ask Antu to create me, or was turning me his idea?”
His father—or brother—frowned. “You wound with the tact of an elephant.”
“So you’ve told me.” Hunter smiled. He could not have cared less that Casperian was his flesh and blood.
“Surely you realize I have no control over what our maker does or doesn’t do. I would have thought you, would realize…of course you do.”
So Casperian had figured out he was trying to regroup. Fine. “Did you seek him out?”
Casperian paused as if trying to decide whether to answer or attack. “We met by chance. I didn’t know what he was, just that sex with him was, well…”
Hunter didn’t need to know more.
“When I did find out, I didn’t care. He was the agony and the ecstasy. What is it these modern-day people say? Ah yes. He had me at hello.”
Out of the corner of his eye, Hunter caught Tori inching toward Casperian. Don’t.
Her eyes widened, and she smiled. She’d heard. Then she shook her head no just a fraction. So Hunter made sure she’d hear the rest.
You are the light of my life. You are a warrior.
Her gaze turned liquid.
I would be proud to stand by your side in any fight.
She slid closer.
“Such warmth. Such tenderness,” Casperian mocked. “Surely you realize I’m going to kill both of you?”
But not this fight.
Hunter had one more attack in him. And fear—fear for the most incredible woman in the universe—to fuel his arm. He needed to get her away from Casperian.
And then he felt it. The complete and total collapse. The wall crumbled, bricks falling every which way, the dust flying. His heart choked, coughed, and sighed with contentment.
Victoria Roberts was willing to die for him.
Strange—or perhaps not so strange now that he knew about his flesh and blood—but the air seemed lighter. The darkness seemed brighter. Perhaps it was as simple as clarity. Whatever the cause, Hunter felt stronger. He attacked, and at the same time, Casperian darted away. Both moves ended with Hunter’s sword but a fraction of an inch from Tori’s chest. Casperian had grabbed her to use as a shield.
Honorable Rogue Page 23