Making no attempt to catch it, the envelope landed at her feet. “And here I thought you were a baseball fan. When I return I want you naked and in these.”
“Die already!”
“Oh Ray! Just open the damn envelope. This is one surprise I want to see with my eyes.”
With trembling hands, Raven ripped through the enveloped and looked at Donovan horror-stricken. Turning away from him she vomited her soul onto the floor again.
“How did you get these pearls? Xavier stole them from me the night he tried to kill me. How did you get these? Was it you that tried to kill me? Not Xavier?” She yelled backing away.
Donovan snickered. “It’s our little secret, okay? Lucian killed the wrong guy. I body snatched Xavier that night at the university he came to you. His body, my brutality. He’d never have hurt you. The fool loved you. Even the night Lucian killed him, he was sputtering gibberish about his love for you and you cut off his fucking head.”
Raven realized he was actually more insane than his dead brother. “So everything was a complete lie? The story about me turning you, too? Does Ethan know you’re a Sinclair?” Raven fought the tears. Right now she was so mad and confused that if she cried…well she wasn’t going to. Not over this demon.
“I really enjoyed the sex if that’s what you’re worried about. You’re better than a seasoned whore. Kudos, Raven St. James. Not many women can achieve that honor. I’m going to eat you alive in front of your family tonight. And no, Ethan knew naught of my name.” With unsound speed Donovan grabbed Raven’s arms, and twisted them behind her back and pinned her face down on her cot.
Dylan yanked the door open to the cell, the harpoon shooter pointed at the cot. “Hey,” she yelled. “You told me I was the one. That you were just gonna kill her. That it was me you wanted.”
Donovan inclined his head toward the door, yelling, “I am going to kill her, Dylan. After I’ve had my fun. Get out!”
“Over my dead body!” Raven screamed.
“That’s in the works, Beauty, but for the love of Lucifer, shut up.” Donovan threw a right fist into Raven’s jaw. He stood and in a blur hovered in front of Dylan, holding the weapon she had seconds before.
“Why is it men always hit women in the face?” Raven shoved past the two of them, rubbing her jaw, aiming for the door only to have her foot snagged mid-air by Donovan. Landing on her hands and knees, he leaned over her, and she kicked backwards and hit his nose squarely. The weapon skidded across the floor. She crawled toward it. Dylan lunged for Donovan her fangs visible.
Donovan swatted Dylan off him as if she were an insect and watched her spiral to the floor. He followed her, grabbed a handful of her purple hair and crushed her on the cold cement, as if she were a cigarette butt.
“Hey!” Raven shouted.
Donovan lifted his head and glared into the lethal end of a harpoon aimed between his eyes. He looked past Raven, a malicious glint in his eye. “André, so nice of you to join us. You’re just in time to kill your sister!”
Raven swung around an unprecedented one-hundred-eighty degrees. “André?” Raven set her sights on the silvery-blues of her brother and scratched her head.
Donovan ordered, “André, take the gun from Raven and then stake your beloved sister.”
“Beauty, give me the gun please?”
Raven handed the gun over and walked out of the cell. “When did you get back in town?”
Lucian cocked his head to one side taking in everything and everyone. “Not soon enough, apparently.”
Donovan screamed, “Stop her! I command you!”
“Donovan, of all the time you spent with André and myself, pretending to guard us, did you never once notice the only difference between us is our eye color?” He didn’t wait for an answer and proceeded to unload the stakes into Donovan’s heart with deadly accuracy.
Dylan tried to skirt around Lucian. “I was trying to help Raven. I swear to Gah—gah—god.” Her arm extended, to keep him at bay.
“Then when you meet him—Gah—god, be sure to tell him you’re sorry for lying.” Lucian aimed the gun once more and pulled the trigger. Mercy? He had none. The force of the harpoon sent her backwards and staked her to the wall. Lucian turned to his sister, dropped the gun and held her. “Jesus, Beauty! Did he hurt you? I thought I saw a freaking ghost when I walked in.”
“Xavier and he were identical. Luce, he body snatched Xavier.”
“Go. Julian, Jonah and Ands are up a few levels. I’ll be up after I finish this deed and you can tell me all of it.”
“No, I have to finish this, Luce, otherwise it’ll never be over for me.” Raven approached Donovan’s limp body and rummaged through his pockets for a pack of matches. Finding her treasure, she opened the little book with the logo, “Sinsations ~ a little slice of Hell.”
More like the porthole, she thought. Raven tossed the tiny torch on Donovan’s body and walked out.
Lucian asked, “Where’s Savanah and Ethan?”
“I’m here,” Ethan answered, his voice barely audible.
Lucian walked one door down, grabbed the handle with one hand and slid his fingers between the bars on the door and one giant yank later tore the door from the hinges. Taking a good look at Ethan, he told him, “Shift and heal your leg. Double shift if you’ve got the strength.”
Ethan squeezed his eyes shut, grunted and within a blink blond fur replaced skin and the broken bones mended before his eyes. “Where’s my fiancé? Lucian, my sister’s here. The Maestro kidnapped her. My leg’s better.”
Lucian helped him stand. “You up for this?”
Ethan didn’t answer him already headed for the dungeon after reshifting. Seeing Savanah pinned down to a table, nude with black leather straps anchoring her to the table was the beginning of Ethan’s demise. Seeing Devon undoing his trousers and watching them drop to the floor was the last straw. Ethan fought wildly to run to her, but Lucian picked him up by the back of his shirt and hoisted him off his feet.
“Hold up. Julian’s on the other side of that door. As is her father and Jonah. “Gotta get all our eggs in one basket. Then crack them. Trust me? She can handle this for a minute.”
****
“Look, Devon? I realize you were raised amongst the underprivileged, scum of the earth, but rape is wrong. Astronomically wrong. We won’t even mention murder, but did you have to kill Jacob?” Savanah prattled, “I have every known disease. Herpes, had a break out just yesterday. Totally covered with big juicy blisters.”
“Me too.”
“Shit. You so don’t want a piece of this.” Savanah cranked her head around taking in her room. “You really don’t want to get on this table with me. Holy mother of God—is that the same birthmark I have? Oh my goddess. No way. No freaking way!” Savanah screamed, seeing the exact same birthmark that every member of royal lineage held in her family.
“Hello, dear cousin. Nice of you to notice. Yes, my mother was Devona and I was raised by a nest of vamps. So this is going to make us truly kissing cousins.”
Devon’s snarl had Savanah’s stomach in a giant knot.
“Still got an itch, witch? We’ll knock it out of you from both ends. You want top or bottom, Devon?”
Don’t pass out Savvy, she told herself. Live first. Do as much damage as possible. Savanah struggled to see where the voice came from. It, the nasal-drone voice, was supposed to be on the flip side of the pond.
“Hello, Princess. Miss me?” Radcliff walked around the side of the table, and ran his fingers up the length of Savanah’s body.
“Savor that little delight, Radcliff. ’Tis the last time you’ll ever touch me.”
“Radcliff, do you mind?” Devon asked his tone pissy. “Little busy here. In the midst of a family reunion. You can have her after I’m finished.”
Savanah hissed, “Oh my God, stop! May vestri fingers quod penis putes—”
When her words registered, Julian yelled, “Savvy, no!” at the same time Devon covered her mo
uth hard, crushing his palm into her lips.
“You recited a black charm. What did you say?” Livid, Devon spit in her face. “How could you do this to your own flesh and blood?”
“Holy crap! Are you serious? You’re insane. Look at the bleeding position you’re ass is in. How could you?” Savanah’s evil grin matched her mood. “You’ll find out soon enough. I got most of the charm out.”
Devon went to point a promising retribution in her face when his index finger burned red then turned to gray ash and dropped to the ground the way a cigarette does when it burns. With each breath he took, more of his fingers disintegrated and fell to the floor like filthy snowflakes. “What have you done to me?”
Savanah added, “That’s just the tip of the iceberg, you cowardice rapist.”
****
Before Radcliff could cry, Uncle, André pinned him inside the spiked casket, and pressed the door closed for all he was worth. “You obviously have no clue what five hundred ridiculous yards is, Radcliff, so I just showed you. You need some tweaking with your wish list, Crypt-keeper. It’s not what you wish for, but how you wish for it. You said you wanted a piece of Savanah’s exhibit, well here it is, boy.” André leaned back against the door forcing it to remain shut.
The air in the room dropped twenty degrees instantly when the Maestro entered.
Lucian walked in behind him, rubbing his arms. “Seamus Xier Sinclair, aka the Maestro. We finally meet. Hello, Peanut. Get you undone in just a sec, luv. You okay?”
“Little chilly, Uncle.”
André removed his shirt and threw it to Lucian as he continued to lean into the casket like a garlic press making Radcliff into a juicy, mess. As he aerated Radcliff he sang, “My name is André and I should’ve been king, but since I can’t sing they won’t let me wear the bling… Second verse, same as the first—everybody join me to drown out this pitiful lecher’s squeals.”
“Gentleman, if you don’t mind?” Lucian turned to cover Savanah. He mouthed to her, “No worries. Well except your father’s lost it.”
Her look said otherwise.
Caught between Lucian and André, the Maestro squared his shoulders. “So I finally meet the two men responsible for murdering my son. Tremendous! I’ll get two for the price of one.”
“Maestro, let’s make a deal.” Ethan stepped in front of his boss.
“Ethan?” The Maestro spread his arms wide.
“It’s not really what I can do to you. It’s what I can’t do.” Ethan turned and released the leather buckles holding Savanah captive. “I cannot allow this. You asked me to choose.” On his way to the dungeon, Ethan saw a dead blonde woman he assumed was his sister. He’d wanted to rush to her aid, but there was nothing he could do for her now. Later he would come back and give her a proper goodbye. Savanah, on the other hand, was still very much alive and screaming for all she was worth. Raven was free and told him she was going to call the authorities. “So, I’m choosing to free the love of my life. You will allow her freedom.”
“Ethan, your deal expired. And you shall too, soon.”
“You know, Maestro, how you saved your trump card for me? Here’s mine—Donovan’s burning to a crisp as we speak. Tell me you can’t smell that heavenly scent of burnt flesh permeating the stench of this sham of an establishment.” Ethan held up the string of pearls Donovan had given Raven and with a hard jerk, broke the beads open. The little balls bounced, rolled and scattered across the floor.
“No!” He cried. “It’s not possible.” Tears of blood ran from the corner of the Maestro’s eyes.
“Dammit, a Kodak moment, and we’ve no film, Eth.” Savanah jumped off the table, as she yanked her father’s shirt snug around her waist.
Ethan pointed to the exit. “Go with your aunt and wait for the police.”
“Not without you.”
André shook his head. “Please, baby, get away from here. I can’t lose three children today.”
“Papa?” Savanah crossed to him.
“Peanut, go, please? I can’t—”
With her father choked up and worried sick, Savanah felt stuck between a rock and a hard place. She didn’t want to make the man have a complete meltdown, but there was no way in hell she was leaving here without her family.
Devon’s struggle to get dressed with only nine…no, make that eight, seven, six fingers, left Ethan’s jaw hung open. Each time he counted down another phalange fell off his hand. Ethan picked a dagger up off the table and aimed it at him, willing him to take one more step; wanting him to.
Raven stuck her head into the room and yelled to André, “Catch.” She tossed him a crossbow.
“Are you serious, Raven? A crossbow? Are we stuck in the middle ages? I want a god-damned gun,” he yelled.
“It’s a dungeon, brother. Work with me.” Raven shrugged her shoulders.
With his index and middle finger, Lucian pointed from his eyes to the Maestros’. “You and I, now. Here.” Fangs bared, a snarling match began. Both men circled one another, neither losing site of the other as they twisted and turned in an oddly choreographed dance. With unfathomable speed and one cold, hard spin-kick to the back of his head, Lucian stumbled, face first. The Maestro straightened his stance, ready to strike again. On the ground, Lucian swung his foot hard and fast into the back of the Maestro’s legs, to bring him eyelevel to him. Both men scrambled to their feet. Beside them Ethan and Devon were on the ground in a free-for-all throwing punches, kicks and bites. Blood, clothing, fur and fingers covered the floor.
Devon’s.
Taking aim, André locked the sights on Devon and released the trigger. Hearing a whizzing noise intensify the closer it came, Devon ducked. The silver tipped arrow struck Julian’s leg. In that moment all fighting stopped and all eyes were upon Julian.
“Uncle Julian?” Savanah whispered her face contorted with pain seeing his leg impaled.
André yelled, “Grimmy?”
Madder than hell, Julian yanked the stake from his leg without batting an eye. “This insanity has to stop.” He stood to cross the room and slipped backwards hard and fast on pearls. Arms circling like a bird trying to take flight, he became snared on the razor birdcage.
A tap on his shoulder to get his attention back on him, Devon turned to meet Ethan’s fist.
“You were going to rape my fiancé.” A second blow and Devon’s jaw snapped sideways. “That’s a death warrant where I come from. You don’t touch a woman until she consents. Did you hear her say Y-E-S? I didn’t. Did you say yes, Pip?”
Savanah shook her head no. “That ignoramus is my cousin, Eth. Long lost cousin. Wish I’d never found him. He should have rightfully been king.”
“I still will be.” Devon spat.
“I think not,” Ethan answered. Devon became intimately aware of the phrase out cold with one strategically placed right hook. Ethan hoisted then strapped the unconscious man to the very table Savanah lay trapped on minutes earlier. With the flick of his wrist, he set the pendulum in motion. “Ta, Devon.”
Savanah almost had Julian untangled when the Maestro reached out and grabbed her. With his free arm, he swiped the gold challis and stuffed the treasured artifact into his pocket then fled with Savanah kicking and screaming. André and Ethan were on his heels.
The Maestro yelled, “Back off, boys, or she’s dead.”
“I so need a bath,” Savanah muttered. “Let go of me.” She stomped hard on the top of his foot and head butt him with the backside of her skull, hoping to break away. Ethan lunged for them, but fell into thin air with the Maestro’s stealth. He immediately got up and followed.
Chapter Nineteen
“Jules? Let’s go!” Lucian pointed as André, Ethan and the Maestro fought over Savanah like she was a piñata. He yelled a second time, “Come on, dammit. It won’t be candy that spills from her if they split her in half.”
In the blink of an eye the lot of them disappeared in thin air. Lucian tore Julian free from the barbed ball and evanesced b
efore he could protest. They went through each floor of the establishment only to come up empty handed. Bursting through the doors like two cowboys getting tossed from a saloon, the two men landed in a parking lot crowded with vehicles. The PEON’s took up most of the space. The news crews were there too, cameras fixed and lenses dilated on Lucian’s exit from the establishment. Officers converged on the two men like dogs to bones. Lucian prayed for all he was worth the wards were no longer working and their mind-to-mind frequencies were up and working.
Jules, I’m disappearing. I’m not leaving, just disappearing.
One officer removed his glasses, cleaned the lenses, then rubbed his eyes. “Sir, are you all right? Did he bite you? Are you contagious?” He asked as he drew his gun on Julian.
“For the love of God.” Julian grabbed the revolver and jammed it up the man’s nose. “Dumb fecking twit! Count your blessings I’m in too much of a hurry to deal with yet another ass.” Hearing a thunderous commotion, Julian shoved the now crying man to the ground and headed to the shoreline at the lake where he found Savanah hysterical. She was pointing to a speedboat careening across Saratoga Lake and André was struggling to hold her back.
André tightened his grip on Savanah. “Sinclair had a blade to Savvy’s throat. Ethan charged him and took the brunt of the blade into his abdomen. The blade was pure silver.” André looked hopeless. “Sinclair shoved Savanah to the ground, picked Ethan up and fled. They’re in that boat right now. Where’s Lucian?”
A man in a blue jumpsuit, his face shielded by a helmet carrying a backpack loaded with weapons scurried passed them in haste, got down on one knee, took aim at the boat with what resembled an RPG (rocket propelled grenade) and launched the missile.
Seconds later the ground shook. A fireball of scorching heat seared across the lake and exploded with an aftermath of debris raining down on everyone.
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