Templar Vampires 02 - The Daystar

by Lyons, Rene

  He left out a long, empty sigh. She was so used to his lack of breath that she no longer even noticed it. “You don’t need to know that.”

  “Yes I do.”

  “Fine.” He snapped, but Lex was unfazed by the outburst. “Nothing—I wouldn’t do a damn thing. I’d go on as I did before, a soulless, lifeless creature.”

  Lex’s heart broke. Dangerously close to crying, Lex swallowed down the lump of emotion that leapt up into her throat. “Swear to me you won’t ever forget your oath to God. Don’t give up on the hope of Heaven, Constantine. Please.”

  “No matter what happens, be assured that I’ve already seen Heaven. I see it every time I look at you.”

  Lex didn’t even try to hold back the tears. “If things go badly and I’m—taken—know that I’ll still be with you for as long as you want me around.”

  He pulled her head down until their lips were practically touching. “Forever, elf. I want you forever.”

  That was all the “I love you” Lex needed.

  * * *

  When Isobel came strolling down the stairs and stepped into the hall, Lex gaped in shock. She realized there was no First. Well, that wasn’t exactly true. There was a First—it was just the last person Lex would have thought her to be.

  Looking to Constantine, she saw he was just as shocked and angry. It seemed, all this time, he had no idea Isobel and the mysterious First—mother of the Order of the Rose—were one and the same.

  “I’m so sorry for the deception, Lexine, but it’s vital that no one know my true identity.”

  “You fucking bitch,” Constantine growled at Isobel, obviously just as furious over the deception as Lex was.

  Lex, who had hold of Constantine’s hand, pulled back on it when he went to move forward. “You could have told us before now.”

  Isobel shook her head as she approached them. “And if someone managed to get to you ere now? Could you have maintained the secret of my identity?”

  No, Lex might not have. “This is unbelievable.”

  Constantine pulled his hand from hers and strode up to Isobel. The twins moved in to protect her, but there was no need. All he did was sneer at her in disgust. “I should have known.”

  “I’m so sorry, Constantine, but you of all people know the importance of secrets.”

  His sneer gone, he regarded Isobel for a long, pregnant moment. During which time, Lex noticed Madeline and Lenora moved their hands to their weapons and Daria inched closer to Isobel. “If she dies tonight, so do you.”

  Lex’s mouth dropped open in shock at Constantine’s threat. She was even more shocked when Isobel gave him a slight nod. “I would expect nothing less from you, Constantine.”

  When Isobel looked past Constantine to her, Lex noticed that her smile was as radiant as it was tinged with sadness. The twin fangs peeking out from behind petal-pink lips had Lex pressing back into Constantine even more.

  “I’ve waited twenty-four years for you to know me, Lexine. Please don’t fear me.”

  “I’m not afraid of you. I just wish you would have told me the truth before now.” She shook her head sadly. “I’m so tired of secrets and lies.”

  Part of that was directed at Constantine for his own deception.

  Stepping around Constantine, Isobel walked over to her. Lex allowed her to take her hands. Isobel didn’t show any outward reaction to the surge of energy Lex knew shot through her. “No more secrets, Lexine. No more lies. I swear to you I’ll do everything I can to hold you in this plane tonight. Know that I’ll lay down my own existence to save yours.”

  Lex didn’t doubt Isobel’s vow. The truth of her conviction was there, reflected in the depths of her eyes. It was there in the determined set of her jaw and her rigid stance. And though it gave Lex a small bit of hope, the truth was, something told her she was going to die tonight.

  “Please, sit with me, Lexine.”

  Lex had to remind herself that this was still the same Isobel who’d showed her nothing but kindness over the last month. As she walked with Isobel toward the sofa, she was relieved to see Constantine following close behind them. She needed him near her—needed his strength tonight. As long as he was near, Lex believed she could get through this night without giving in to the terror that sat on the edge of her calm façade.

  As Lex sat, Constantine came to stand beside the sofa. His hand settled on the arm, and Lex was comforted by his nearness. Daria, Lex noticed, slipped away. Lex was about to remark on this when Isobel spoke to Madeline and Lenora, now positioned near the hearth. What she said knocked all thought of Daria and the guards out of her mind.

  “They’ve guarded you well over the years.”

  “Excuse me?”

  Isobel motioned to the twins. “Madeline and Lenora have kept watch over you since the day you were born. They’ve always been there, in the shadows, protecting you over the years.”

  More secrets revealed. Lex didn’t know how much more she could take this night without her damn head exploding from it all. The idea that those two bloodthirsty women were the ones watching out for her gave Lex a chill. “I know you had people watching over me, I just hadn’t realized it was them.”

  “Yes, they have been your guardians over the years. Secrecy was always vital in the protection of you.”

  Maybe, but that didn’t mean Lex liked finding out now that she had two vampire assassins shadowing her all of her life. “I wish I would have known about all of this years ago.”

  Isobel looked as if she regretted that Lex hadn’t known as well. “If you would have known your fate it might have put you in more danger. That was something we couldn’t chance.”

  No, of course not. Still, it was creepy that the women had never been more than a few steps behind her all these years.

  “So you kept this from her all these years, even when it would have benefited us all to know she harbored the Daystar’s power.” Constantine’s fury radiated from him, charging the very air in the hall. “Have you any idea how many women were killed in the renegades’ twisted need to find the Daystar?”

  “Yes, the loss of innocent souls was regrettable. Yet it was an unavoidable evil. You know how I value human life, Constantine. Look what I’ve risked for you. Think you it was easy for me to stand by and watch innocents die?”

  “Tell that to the women who were slaughtered and had their fucking souls stolen.”

  “Like I said, their deaths are regrettable, but unfortunately, there was nothing we could have done to prevent it.

  Lex closed her eyes and tried not to see the faces of the women on the front page of the Damascus Herald. Women she’d known, killed because of her. As far as Lex was concerned she was just as responsible for their deaths as the monsters who’d killed them.

  A hiccup of a cry caught in her throat. Constantine sank down next to her and took her hand in his. He gave it a small squeeze and funny, but it did seem to help calm her enough to get Lex through the rest of this night.

  “So once we do this thing and the power is neutralized, no more renegades will come after me, right?”

  “The power will be useless to them. It won’t be strong enough to combat the sun.” There was a “but” in the way she said that. Lex was proved right a moment later when Isobel expanded on her answer. “There’s no way for them to know that. So, for a while at least, you’ll still be in danger.”

  That was not what Lex needed to hear.

  Defeated, Lex sighed sadly and tightened her hand around Constantine’s. Whenever Lex found herself faced with a challenging situation, Allie had always been there to help her through it. She looked helplessly to Constantine, whose fangs were bared in a nasty snarl. He was obviously as displeased at that bit of information as Lex was.

  “This is all just too much.” Lex looked to Constantine. “I can’t do this, Constantine.”

  He knelt before her and took hold of her shoulders. “I’ll be right there with you, Lex. I won’t let anything happen to you. I swear it on God
.” Taken aback by his vehemence, Lex almost believed she’d make it through this.

  Constantine stood and dragged her up with him. Lex faced down Isobel, whose eyes seemed to bore right down to her soul. “You do what you do and work your shit and get this power out of her.”

  Needing to get away from the hall, all Lex wanted was to be alone with Constantine. She needed his strength and his love to get her through this night. “Take me upstairs, please, Constantine.”

  Lex swept them all with a glare that dared them to gainsay her request. No one dared.

  “The twins will get you when the time comes to leave.” They had to go down to the forest where a sacred henge stood. That was where the ritual would be performed. Just as Constantine and Lex turned to leave the hall, Isobel turned to the twins. “Come, we have much to do and little time to do it.”

  “Yes, we do have much to do.”

  Everyone in the hall froze and looked to the open door. There stood a tall, lean renegade flanked by six henchmen. Daria, Lex saw, hung back with a smug expression on her face.

  So that’s why she’d slipped away. She’d gone and invited in the devil.

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Not since his days at Chinon had Constantine been bound. His will and his body didn’t know what it was to be a prisoner anymore, which was why he fought against his bindings despite the futility of doing so and the pain it caused him. From fighting against the ropes, the flesh of his wrists was raw.

  Though he was being pushed through the forest at the end of Toledo steel, that wasn’t what kept him moving. Julian of Harwick holding a dagger to Lex’s ribs as he guided her to the henge was what prevented Constantine from taking the chance of a fight.

  After Julian had come sauntering into the hall, all hell had broken loose. Constantine had managed to take out one of Julian’s men before two more attacked. One had gotten hold of his arm and snapped the bone, rendering the arm momentarily useless. Another had run him through the chest with the sword now leveled at his neck.

  Ian Mackenzie—one half of the Mackenzie brothers, infamous renegades who’d cut a bloody path through Scotland for centuries—looked a bit too proud of himself for having laid Constantine low. Constantine was going to wipe that smug look from the Scot’s face before this night was done.

  While Constantine was fighting Ian Mackenzie and his brother Malcolm, Madeline and Lenora both did their best to put themselves between Lex and Julian. Unfortunately, Madeline was ended in the struggle. Lenora grabbed for Lex as Madeline exploded to dust.

  Before Isobel was able to summon her power around herself, Julian got to her and put a quick stop to whatever she’d had planned. A hard slap to her face by the large vampire sent her sprawling to the ground. Lex dove for her in a vain attempt to protect her but Julian had grabbed her and slammed her against his chest. The blade to Lex’s throat ended whatever fight Constantine still had in him.

  Everything in him rebelled at being a captive and led along in this macabre parade through the forest. He’d been there, done that, and didn’t like history repeating itself. Yet here he was, bound like a bloody animal. If it weren’t for Lex he’d have done all he could to go out fighting rather than allow himself to be bound and led around at the tip of a sword.

  Once Julian had successfully brought the hall under his command, he’d led them into the forest, where he planned on taking Lex’s power into himself.

  With Julian forcing Lex along at the head of this morbid parade, Constantine kept his gaze focused on her. Away from the magic that surrounded Lowel, Constantine had hoped he’d be able to communicate with Lex through his telepathy. Unfortunately, whatever power veiled the castle extended out here as well. Or was it the power within Lex that kept him cut off from her? At this point, he just didn’t know.

  Julian of Harwick’s quest for power was legendry. Constantine knew it was due to Angelina and Daria that Julian had managed to slip past Isobel’s notice. Goddamn it, but he wished he had been the one to end Angelina. The bitch deserved the prolonged and painful death Constantine would have forced her to suffer her for her part in all of this.

  Behind them, two renegades flanked Isobel. One held a sword to her as he roughly guided her through the trees. The other kept a sharp eye on her and made sure she didn’t call on her power. Constantine knew that as long as Lex and Isobel had blades to them, none of them would dare make a move until they were out of harm’s way.

  Lenora brought up the rear, with an armed renegade guarding her. Not that it was necessary. She had been in a state of shock since the death of her sister, and thus far, she’d not left her catatonic state. She would not be much use to them when the time came to take down Julian and his men.

  Daria, the traitorous bitch, walked beside Julian. Her animosity was a tangible thing, leaving Constantine to wonder whom she directed such hatred at. Isobel? Or Julian for his obvious attraction to Lex, which had nothing to do with the power she housed.

  Though five against one weren’t unbeatable odds for a warrior of his ability, Constantine wasn’t about to get cocky as long as Lex’s life hung in the balance of the battle. One wrong move would make the difference between victory and tragedy. The margin of error was too small for Constantine’s usual arrogance, which came from lifetimes of perfecting his skill in battle, to come to the forefront. He knew he needed to wait for exactly the right moment to strike. Until then he kept on working the ropes, despite the ruination of his wrists in the process. If he damaged them too badly, his hand would be useless. As he eyed his sword dangling from Julian’s hip, he knew he’d need his hands fully functional if he were to use his blade to take the bastard’s head.

  Giving the sky a quick glance through the crooked, barren branches of the ancient trees, Constantine remembered a night much like this one twenty-four years ago. It marked the night of Lex’s birth. He’d not let this be the night of her death.

  “Move, dog.”

  Constantine turned and bared his fangs at Ian Mackenzie. The renegade’s expression went from arrogance to dread in the span of one second to the next. “Poke me again, boy, and when this shit goes down I’ll make it real bad for you.”

  “Now, now, Dragon, we’ll have none of your threats,” Julian drawled over his shoulder. Lex whimpered when he ran a hand down her hair. The unspoken reminder of what Julian held was all too clear.

  Though Constantine doubted Julian of Harwick was stupid enough to kill Lex before he had a chance to take her power, God only knew if he was twisted enough to do things to her that would make her wish she were dead.

  Now that they were farther away from Lowel, his telepathy was back. From behind him, he sensed a blank mind from Lenora. Isobel’s thoughts were blocked to him. When this battle went down—and it would—Constantine prayed to God Lenora would snap out of her stupor, and ready herself for the fight. The Lord knew she’d be needed.

  Julian wasn’t finished with his mad ramblings, since the bastard went on to taunt Constantine some more. “It’s a fine night indeed to have not only the Daystar in my possession, but the legendary First and the famed Dragon as well. I’ll take her power and wipe the world of the stain of you both. What say you to that?”

  “I say once a fool always a fool and you, Julian, are a fool,” Isobel retorted.

  Julian stopped and dragged Lex around with him when he faced Isobel. “I remember you when you were naught but a cowardly bitch at the mercy of your husband. Think you you’re any different now than then? If I were you, I’d watch my tongue or else I’ll make your death the stuff of legends.”

  “I don’t fear you, Julian. I never have.”

  “Nay, the great Isobel of Lowel fears nothing. But I assure you, she does.” Julian leveled his dagger at the side of Lex’s throat. She slammed her eyes shut. Her fervent prayers reverberated in Constantine’s mind. He moved his arms against the ropes. More flesh fell from bone as they dug into him.

  Julian hauled Lex around and yanked her forward as he continued on h
is way toward the henge. Lex tripped over a fallen branch. Julian’s hold on her arm stopped her from falling face first into the dirt. Instead, he pushed her forward and snapped at her to watch where she was walking. She moved away from him when he whispered in her ear that it would be a shame for her to be damaged before he took his pleasure with her.

  Daria demanded that Julian not have all the fun. She wanted to “play” with the Hallowed as well. All Julian said to that was, “we’ll see.”

  It took everything Constantine had to keep his rage in check. He wanted to tear Julian apart and leave the prick for the sun. And he would do exactly that—once the moment was right to strike.

  Lex went to say something but Constantine cut her off. “No Lex. Not a word. Not one fucking word. Don’t provoke the bloody bastard.”