Lord of the Night

by Robin T. Popp

  “They’ve got her,” Ty said without preamble and Erik felt the cold hand of fear squeeze his chest even as he fought to stay calm. “Who has her? What happened? Is she all right?” Please, God, let her be all right.

  “I don’t know much. I just ran into one of Carrington’s mates and he said Carrington had her. I think she’s still alive, but I’m not sure what he has planned. Michael knows. He’s on his way to meet them now.”

  “Carrington?” Erik asked.

  “Yeah. I understand you had a run-in with him the other night.”

  “Right. I remember him,” Erik said. “Where has he got her?”

  “The stable at the old McPherson place.”

  “Okay. I’m on my way,” Erik told him. “How long before Michael gets there?”

  “He was in the lair when he found out, so maybe fifteen minutes. If you hurry, you might beat him there, but it’ll be close.”

  Erik didn’t bother to tell Ty that he wasn’t at the castle. The old McPherson place was less than five minutes from the cemetery. With any luck, he’d be in and out before Michael arrived.

  “Do you want help?” Ty asked.

  Erik appreciated the offer but said, “No, it would be better if Michael didn’t know I’d been talking to you.”

  “Okay, I understand. Be careful. Carrington can be dangerous.”

  “Save your warnings for them,” Erik replied. “Because if they’ve harmed one hair on her head, they’re going to wish they’d been more careful.”

  Kacie watched Carrington walk toward her with a confidence that had alarm bells pealing in her head. This was not a prime who would feed off her and leave her for dead. This was a sexual predator that preyed on women’s fears. More than he frightened her, he disgusted her.

  As he drew closer, Kacie’s gaze darted around, evaluating every tool and piece of equipment as a potential weapon. She noticed then that Carrington wasn’t alone. She counted three vampires lurking off to the side and reasoned that there might still be more.

  Her odds of getting out alive were rapidly diminishing.

  She started backing away, not moving fast because she didn’t want to give Carrington any reason to lunge for her. She wanted him to think she was nearly crazed with fear, and it didn’t take much acting.

  “Don’t worry, pet. I’m not going to kill you—yet. We’re just going to have a little fun while we wait for Michael to arrive.”

  Michael. Now she was terrified. Remembering how he and Erik had fought for hours the other night, she didn’t think she could beat him. Crazy though it seemed, she had better odds against Carrington.

  “There’s nowhere to hide, pet,” Carrington continued to taunt her.

  She cast a quick glance around and found what she was looking for—a potential weapon. “How did you do it?” she asked him, trying to keep him distracted. “How’d you arrange to have me kidnapped? You couldn’t have known I was leaving.”

  “The fox always runs,” he said. “Every hunter knows that. So then it’s just a matter of being prepared. Fortunately for me, there’s really only one way off the bluff and it’s a simple enough guess that you’ll be calling a cab to get you during the day.”

  It was so obvious, she blamed herself for not thinking of it. The crunch of his shoe against the dirt brought her attention back to her immediate situation. The time to act had arrived.

  Spinning, she raced the last couple of steps to the side where a pitchfork leaned against the wall. She grabbed it and turned just as Carrington closed the remaining distance between them. She raised the pitchfork and Carrington skidded to a halt, just short of impaling himself on the sharp tines.

  “Stay back,” she growled, “or I’ll run you through.”

  For a second, his eyes grew round and then, just as she was starting to think she might have a chance, she heard a small cracking noise. Almost in slow motion, the aged wood splintered and the end of the pitchfork fell to the ground.

  Carrington’s laugh reverberated throughout the stable, but was cut short when Kacie stabbed him with the pitchfork handle. Her aim was dead on and if the wood hadn’t been so rotted, Carrington would have been dead. Unfortunately, the wood splintered against his chest. He was as stunned as she was, swearing vehemently, his eyes blazing neon red. Kacie took advantage of the moment and ran.

  In seconds, Carrington was after her. She raced around the cab, scanning the barn, looking for weapons or a place to hide. There was nothing.

  Then she felt his cold grip on her arm and was spun around so fast, she almost lost her balance. He hit her across the jaw and her head snapped to the side, exploding in pain. Her vision dimmed until it was little more than millions of sparkles of white light behind her eyelids.

  It was the moment of truth. She was going to die and someone wiser or braver than she might accept it with quiet dignity. Kacie refused. Gritting her teeth, she brought her arms up, catching Carrington by surprise, breaking his hold. Taking a step back, she planted her feet and assumed a fighting stance.

  She might not have a sword on her, but she was hardly defenseless. If Carrington wanted to kill her, she was going to make him work for it. Pulling on energy deep within her, she gave a battle cry and launched her attack.

  In her various martial arts classes, she’d always been taught that the size and strength of one’s opponent is irrelevant. She didn’t think any of her instructors had had vampires in mind when they’d said it. Her first couple of punches and kicks did some damage, but Carrington was a quick study.

  Finally, in desperation, she tried something she’d only done a couple of times—with success—when she’d been sparring with Erik as a teenager. Screaming at the top of her lungs, she waved her arms around in windmill fashion as fast as she could.

  Erik heard Kacie’s scream and his heart nearly stopped beating. Blind hot rage threatened to cloud his thinking and he had to exert iron control to keep from racing blindly into the barn. He couldn’t help Kacie if he got himself killed.

  The good thing about hearing her, he told himself, was that it meant she was still alive.

  Going around to the back, Erik searched for the broken panel and open window. He, Michael, Sedrick, and Ty had used the barn many times in the past as a meeting place, so Erik knew it well. He used the panel to climb into the window and landed on the stall floor with a soft thud.

  From the front, Kacie’s scream still filled the night, but there was another sound accompanying them. Someone was swearing and someone else was—laughing? He made note that there were at least two others there besides Kacie and took advantage of their distraction to climb the side wall of the stall to the open loft above.

  Once up there, he moved quietly across it until he reached the front of the barn and then looked down at the scene below.

  When he saw what Kacie was doing, he wanted to laugh out loud. She’d pulled that crazy stunt of waving arms on him before and it had been so unexpected, he hadn’t known how to react. Obviously, Carrington’s reaction was the same because he was the one swearing as he stood by and waited for her to wear herself out.

  Erik followed the sound of laughter and saw that there were three other vampires standing guard on the opposite side. Their placement was such that Erik wasn’t sure he could eliminate any of them without alerting the others. He’d just have to do the best he could.

  One of them was conveniently standing beneath the old pulley that had been used to lift the bales of hay to the loft. The last time Erik had been at the barn, the pulley had been loose. He didn’t think it would take much effort now to bring it crashing down. It might not kill the vampire below it, but it would certainly slow him down.

  Pulling his dagger from the sheath at his waist, he flipped it and caught hold of the blade. He tested the familiar weight and judged the distance to Carrington. One clean toss and Carrington would go down, but Erik hesitated. If Carrington moved, the dagger would miss and hit Kacie instead. Erik couldn’t risk that.

  He shifted
his focus to the vampire across the way. It was a clean shot.

  Below him, Kacie’s screams were getting weaker. Any second, Carrington would get tired of her game and do something about it. Erik couldn’t let that happen.

  Finding inner calm, he sent the dagger flying across the barn, confident it would find its mark in the other vampire’s chest. Launching himself through the air, he grabbed the pulley chain and rode it down, hearing a cracking sound as his weight proved too much for the ancient wood. As the pulley’s mounting came loose, Erik landed, catching the vampire beside him off guard. Erik hit him and then leaped aside as the pulley and part of the roof crashed down on top of the vampire.

  As the third guard rushed him, Erik swung the length of chain still in his hand and looped it around his attacker’s neck. He pulled it tight and watched the vampire fall to the ground, his neck crushed.

  Erik was already racing across the barn floor when Kacie ran out of steam. Fortunately, Carrington’s attention was on her and Erik was able to land several good punches before Carrington started fighting back.

  As he expended more energy, Erik’s ability to keep the psychic shield in place weakened and he felt the hum of Michael’s approach. He had to get Kacie out of there before the other vampires arrived because there was no way he could fight Michael and his army by himself.

  “Erik, stop. He’s not moving.” Kacie’s voice pierced his attention.

  Erik stilled, his fist pulled back, ready to hit Carrington again if he moved. He didn’t. His unconscious body slumped to the ground when Erik pulled away the hand propping him against the wall. “He’s not dead.”

  Kacie came up behind him, her hands shaking as she rested them against his back. “I don’t think there’s time,” she said, her voice sounding hoarse. “He said Michael was on his way.”

  The mention of others snapped Erik out of his temporary stupor and he turned, grabbing Kacie’s arms. “Are you all right? He didn’t hurt you, did he?”

  “No permanent damage,” she assured him.

  “Good.” He gave her a gentle squeeze and then looked about the barn. The humming along the link told him Michael was close and he slammed his shield back into place so Michael wouldn’t know what he was up to. They had to escape and he needed every advantage. “Can you run?”

  “Just point me in a direction,” she said bravely, making him smile.

  “That’s my girl.” He took her hand and led her to the back of the barn. “Behind here is an open field and beyond that is a ravine. It’s dry right now, so we should be able to run along the bottom of it. No one looking for us will even know we’re there because they won’t be able to see us.”

  Erik, by himself, could outrun the vampires, but Kacie couldn’t. Getting to the ravine unseen was their only chance.

  “Hold on to my hand,” he told her. “And run like the devil himself is after you. It’s going to be close, but we need to get to that ravine before the others arrive, all right?”

  Kacie nodded, but looked worried as she stared out the barn’s rear door at the open stretch of land. “Erik, it’s dark out there. I can’t see where I’m running.”

  “I know. You’ll have to trust me. The ground is uneven, so expect that. Let’s go.”

  He didn’t give her any more time to doubt herself. They took off in a direct line away from the barn, straight back to the ravine. Behind him, Erik heard the sound of approaching footsteps along the driveway. With half an ear, he tracked them as they approached the barn.

  Several times, Kacie stumbled and almost fell. Each time, he jerked her up and she kept running. With the ravine only a meter away, Erik started to think they might make it after all.

  “Careful, here,” he warned her when they reached the edge. “It’s steep. Better take it sideways.”

  She nodded, turned, and froze as the beam of a flashlight hit her full on.

  “There they are!”

  Chapter 8

  The alarm was followed by the sound of shouting and running feet. Erik jerked Kacie’s hand and they practically slid down the side of the ravine to the bottom. The castle lay to the north and was probably only a fifteen- to twenty-minute jog. Logically, it made sense to go that way, but he knew they’d never make it. So he headed south, dragging Kacie behind him at a merciless pace, praying to God that Michael wouldn’t put too much thought into following them and would lead his army north.

  For ten minutes they ran until finally Kacie stumbled, fell, and didn’t get up.

  “I can’t go on,” she panted when he leaned over her.

  “You have to,” he demanded, keeping his voice hard. If he gave her the least bit of sympathy, she’d give up. “Damn it, Kacie. There was a time when you could run an hour and not complain. Maybe you shouldn’t go into accounting if it’s going to make you weak.”

  She glared up at him, her jaw set at a defiant angle. “I know what you’re trying to do,” she said.

  “Yeah? Then get off your ass and do it.”

  She held up her hand and he hauled her to her feet. When she nodded, he took off running again, still holding her hand in case she fell again.

  They were running past farmhouses, but Erik wasn’t about to stop. He refused to endanger any more lives.

  After another five minutes, he slowed them to a walk. Kacie hadn’t complained but she was stubborn and would probably keel over dead before admitting to him that she couldn’t go on.

  There was a chill in the air that felt good after all their exertions. As they walked, Erik glanced up. The night was clear and the stars were out. Under other circumstances, he would have thought it a perfect evening for a stroll.

  “Do you think they’re following us?” she whispered.

  “I don’t know,” he answered honestly.

  “Too bad we don’t have that horse.”

  Confused, he looked at her, eyebrows raised. “Horse?”

  She smiled. “That white steed you ride.”

  He returned her smile and squeezed her hand.

  “How did you know I was in trouble?” She asked.

  “Ty called me as soon as he found out. I got there as fast as I could.”

  “I’m glad you did. I don’t think I could have held them off much longer.”

  He hated how frightened she sounded. “I don’t know. You looked like you had everything under control when I got there. Was that karate? Crouching tiger, whirling windmill—or something?”

  Even under the moonlight, he saw her blush. “It used to work on you.”

  “Yes, it did, very effectively, I might add. I applaud you for thinking of it under the circumstances. It obviously threw Carrington as much as it used to throw me.”

  She gave a soft chuckle. “That was my plan. I—”

  “Sshh.” He cut her off as a new noise intruded on the night. He listened and the ease he’d started to feel vanished in an instant. “Damn.” He should have known Michael wouldn’t go north. He was too smart for that—and he knew Erik so well. “They’re coming.”

  Kacie tensed beside him. “What’ll we do?”

  Erik raced to the top of the ravine and looked around. He recognized where they were. Town was another twenty minutes away. The cemetery wasn’t far, but it offered no protection. They’d just passed the last farmhouse.

  Kacie climbed the ravine and stood next to him. “We can’t outrun them.” It wasn’t a question. She knew the situation as well as he did. “There’s nothing out here except the funeral home.”

  “That’s it.” He started running and she fell into step beside him.

  “The funeral home?”

  “No, the chapel next door to it.”

  “I don’t understand,” she gasped, already winded.

  “It’s sacred ground,” he explained.

  “Oh. But what about you?”

  It took him a second to understand what she was asking. “Sacred ground doesn’t keep vampires away, Kacie. But Michael won’t defile sacred ground with spilled blood. It’s
a personal code of his and as long as we stay in the chapel, we’ll be safe.”

  The lure of reaching sanctuary seemed to give her a burst of energy because she sprinted forward. “Let’s go,” she challenged.

  Kacie focused on putting one foot in front of the other, covering as much ground as she could before she passed out. She didn’t know how much farther she could run but she knew what was coming and that helped.

  Erik kept pace, running just behind her and even he was breathing hard. They had just reached the edge of the chapel’s front lawn when a new sound caused her to turn around. When she did, she almost stumbled and fell. Michael was so close she could see the grim expression on his face as he raced forward. He was coming so fast, she hardly saw the point in trying to outrun him.

  Then she was hit in the side with such force that it knocked the wind out of her. As she lost her balance, her world tilted. Shock kept her paralyzed and yet her body was bouncing. Then she realized that Erik had run into her and slung her over his shoulder as he made a last desperate race for the chapel.

  The doors slammed open as Erik barreled inside. He charged straight up to the altar and only then did he stop. With a heaving chest, he set her down.

  She stood a little unsteadily and turned to watch the chapel entrance. She wasn’t sure what she expected to happen, but it wasn’t to see Michael and his army of vampires charge in after them. As she stared, openmouthed, Erik stepped in front of her.

  “Evening, Michael. Out for a stroll?”

  Michael slowed his steps and casually walked forward. “Erik. How long has it been since you went to church? Your sainted mother would die from the shock—if she were still alive.”

  “As would yours, I’m sure,” Erik growled.

  “Hello, Miss Winslow. How are you this evening?”

  “Go to hell,” she muttered.

  Michael smiled and tsk’d at her. “Such language in the House of God—really, I’m quite shocked.”

  His superficially polite exchange baffled her. “I thought you said he couldn’t come inside,” she muttered to Erik.

  “No. I never said he couldn’t come inside. I said he wouldn’t shed blood on sacred ground. Isn’t that right, Michael?”