Lord of the Night

by Robin T. Popp

  “Step away from her. Now.”

  Carrington had succeeded in getting both of Kacie’s cuffs off and as her unconscious body started to slide to the floor, he lifted her to his shoulders. Then he turned to face Ty.

  “I mean it,” Ty said. “Put her down, or else.”

  “Or else, what?” he drawled. He made a show of shifting Kacie’s weight across his shoulder and then suddenly he was pointing a gun at Ty. “You have to be willing to back up your threats.”

  “You can’t kill me with that,” Ty pointed out.

  “Yeah? What kind of quality of life do you think you’ll enjoy with your brains splattered across that wall there? Think about it—while you still can.”

  Erik watched Ty struggle with his decision. There was more at stake than Ty’s life. If he backed down, he was, in effect, conceding his authority to Carrington. If he didn’t—

  The gun went off and Ty clapped his hand against the side of his head, his eyes growing wide. Then Erik smelled the sweet scent of copper and saw blood oozing between Ty’s fingers.

  “That was my ear, you stupid git!” he shouted.

  “I could just as easily have put that bullet between your eyes,” Carrington told him. “You see, I wasn’t just a soldier in the war before a chupacabra got me. I was a sniper. Now—you’ve wasted five of our minutes and the clock is ticking. I don’t really want to be in this cave when the bomb goes off. After you.” Ty gave Erik and Michael a final look and then, with a grim expression on his face, walked out of the room with Carrington following him.

  Erik immediately began pulling on his chains, desperation driving him. “If I can just get these loose . . .” He pulled as hard as he could. Across the way, the digital numbers of the bomb’s timing mechanism mocked his efforts.

  Erik’s shoulder muscles still ached from saving Michael the night before and they screamed in agony as he strained against the chains. Tearing the bolts out of the wall seemed impossible.

  Beside him, Michael and Gerard were trying to work their bolts free as well. Erik renewed his efforts and felt one of his chains shift. Encouraged, he grabbed the chain closer to the wall, used his feet as leverage, and pulled, first one way and then another.

  Slowly, the bolt slipped out partway, giving him the encouragement to keep trying. Finally, with a loud grating sound, it came out of the wall.

  “You did it,” Gerard breathed. “Hurry, Erik. Only three more minutes.”

  There was no time to enjoy his victory. If he couldn’t find the strength to pull the next one out, he wouldn’t be able to stop Carrington from performing atrocities on Kacie that were too horrible for Erik to imagine. He wasn’t sure that her being a changeling would be enough to keep her safe.

  Putting everything he had into his next effort, he pulled on the remaining bolt. Slowly, it also started to loosen. Erik let go of the chain and, stepping closer to the wall, wrapped the slack around his arm, giving him a better grip. Then, using both hands, he pulled. With the added strength of both hands, the bolt screeched in protest but slowly it slid out.

  Erik let his arms fall to his sides. His muscles would barely move, but he still rushed to Michael’s side to add his strength to Michael’s. “There’s no time,” Michael said, pushing him away. “You have to go after them.”

  “But—”

  “No,” Michael interrupted. “We’ll be fine. You can come back for us.”

  “But . . .” He didn’t want to point out that Gerard would not survive the progenies’ attacks, but Gerard obviously understood the situation. “Go after my daughter, Erik. Save her if you can.”

  Glancing at the clock, Erik saw that the time for making decisions was up. As the last five seconds ticked down, he raced for the entrance to the lair and leaped through just as the bomb went off.

  The impact of the explosion propelled him through the air and he hit the ground hard enough to be stunned. Small bits of rock and stone pelted him and he rolled onto his stomach, covering his head with his arms until it seemed safe to look up. By then, the ringing in his ears had faded and he was able to look around.

  The entrance to the cave was almost completely sealed. There were gaps near the ceiling, large enough to let in air, but not large enough to see through.

  Michael! He called through the psychic link.

  We’re fine, Michael thought back.

  Then Erik felt Michael shut down the link and knew he had to do the same, before Ty picked up their thoughts.

  He hated to leave them behind, but with every passing second, Carrington and Ty were getting farther away.

  Michael felt a deep, dark despair. His twin was dead and his only other living relative had killed him. No matter how things turned out, Michael was now completely alone.

  “Are you all right, son?” Gerard asked with such sympathy Michael was caught by surprise.

  “Son?” Michael asked.

  Gerard smiled. “You looked lost.”

  “I’m fine. How are you?” He did a visual check of the man beside him and saw that he was covered in dust and had a few cuts. Physically, he would live, but Michael could tell from Gerard’s face that he was worried about Kacie. “She’ll be all right,” he tried to reassure the older man. “Erik will save her and everything will be all right.”

  “I know,” Gerard told him. “They have to be. I’ve just patched things up with her. And I think Erik and Kacie might be on the verge of mending their differences, too. It wouldn’t be fair if something bad happened to her now.”

  “I hate to break it to you, but I think Erik and your daughter might be well beyond mending their differences.”

  Gerard’s eyebrows shot up. “You don’t say. All the more reason for us to get out of here, because if that bloodsucker thinks he’s living with my daughter without marrying her, he’s got another think coming.”

  Michael found the man’s reaction slightly amusing under the circumstances.

  “What are you laughing at? It’s not like you get off scotfree. He’ll want you to be his best man, and then there’s the night patrol. You don’t think I’m doing that alone, do you?” He paused to catch his breath. “First thing I’m doing when we get out is remodel the west wing so it’s protected from the sun.”

  Michael could hardly keep up with the man’s ramblings. Maybe he’d been hit on the head by a falling stone after all. “What are you talking about?”

  “Your rooms at the castle. Erik’s already taken over the basement, but there’s plenty of room on the upper levels once we get them sun-proofed.”

  “You want me to come live with you?” He could hardly believe it. It was his dream. To belong.

  “Well, you can’t live here anymore,” Gerard pointed out.

  “But you don’t even know me.”

  “Of course I do. We might not have formally met before, but Erik’s talked about you and your brothers so much, I feel like I’ve known you for years. Hell, son, in my mind, you’re practically family.”

  Michael smiled. “There’s that word again. Son. You do know that I’m practically eight times your age.”

  “You don’t say? Then, if you wouldn’t mind, you old fart, can you help a young man out? I have plans for both of us and none of them are going to be possible if we can’t”—he tugged on his chains and groaned—“get out of here.”

  The future Gerard painted for him was far better than the one he’d pictured for himself, and Michael grabbed his chains with renewed vigor. “I think the bolts are finally starting to loosen,” he said after a minute. He heard Gerard’s quick intake of breath and looked over. “What’s the matter?”

  “We might be out of time.”

  Michael followed the direction of Gerard’s gaze to the pile of bodies on the floor and watched first one and then another progeny stir to life. As the growling, mewling noise of hungry vampires filled the air, he couldn’t help but think how close he’d actually been to having his dream.

  With an energy born of desperation, he gripped
the chains and pulled. A pulse beat along his temple, faster and harder as he labored. Sweat broke out along his brow and pain lanced through his palms where the metal dug into his skin.

  The sounds of the creatures grew louder. It was impossible for Michael to double his efforts, and yet he tried.

  With agonizing slowness, the bolts eased from the wall. Then pain burst along his neck when one of the creatures rose and attacked.

  Michael jerked his body to the side, trying to throw off his attacker. Beside him, Gerard cried out. Three of the creatures had smashed the older man against the wall with such force, he sagged against his chains. Now he was defenseless against the creatures and if Michael didn’t get to him soon, Gerard would be killed.

  With a final tug, the bolts holding Michael burst from the wall, sending the chains flying.

  Michael grabbed the creature that was almost on top of him and threw it against the wall. Then he grabbed one of the creatures attacking Gerard and twisted its neck. He did the same thing with the other two, letting their bodies drop to the floor with a heavy thud. They weren’t dead, but they wouldn’t be moving any time soon.

  He turned to free Gerard, but at that moment, the rest of the creatures rose and attacked him.

  Gerard watched the battle before him with a sense of helpless dread as the six progeny bore Michael to the floor. Gerard said a quiet prayer that both his daughters would have long and happy lives, and prepared to meet his maker. When he heard a low droning noise, he wasn’t sure at first where it was coming from. Then suddenly, like a crazed animal fighting for his life, Michael threw off his attackers. Gerard saw a blur of movement accompanied by howls of anger and blood-chilling cries. With a feral growl, Michael went from being the hunted to the hunter.

  When the proverbial dust had settled, the progeny lay dead all around them. Michael turned to Gerard. His eyes still shone with their wild crimson light and his arms, neck, and body were covered in blood.

  Gerard wasn’t even sure Michael recognized him, and when Michael rushed forward, he braced himself. To his surprise, however, Michael grabbed the chains securing him and pulled them from the wall.

  Both men collapsed then, too tired and beat up to move.

  “Are you all right?” Michael asked, his voice barely above a hoarse whisper.

  “I’m still alive, so I’m good.” He studied Michael, noticing the pallor of the vampire’s face. “What about you?”

  “I’m . . . fine.”

  Gerard could tell he was anything but fine. “You’ve lost too much blood. You need to feed.”

  “Later.” Michael took a breath. “First, I need to get you to the castle. Then . . . help Erik.”

  “Sounds good, but what about the entrance? I don’t know about you, but I don’t think I have the strength right now to dig my way out of this cave.”

  Michael sat with his eyes closed and his head bowed. He was silent for so long, Gerard thought he might have passed out—or worse. “There’s another way out,” he finally said in a raspy voice. “Behind the tapestry in the outer chamber. A secret passage . . .”

  “A secret passage? Where does it come out?”

  “Trap door in the Ellington family mausoleum. Right behind the altar.”

  Gerard was stunned. “Did Ty know about this?

  Again, Michael was still for so long, Gerard wasn’t sure he’d heard the question. “Guess he forgot about it.”

  “I don’t think so,” Gerard said. “I think that maybe he didn’t want to be responsible for killing another brother. He wanted to leave you an escape route.”

  “Maybe. Doesn’t make things better.” Michael weaved a bit where he was sitting and Gerard had to put out a hand to steady him. “Dizzy.”

  “You need to feed.” Gerard wasn’t in great shape himself, but he rolled up his sleeve and held his arm out in front of Michael. “Here.”

  Michael stared at the arm and then looked at him in horror.

  “Don’t look at me like that. I’m not offering you all of my blood,” Gerard clarified. “Just enough of it to sustain you until we can get you more.”

  “What if I can’t stop?”

  Gerard smiled then. “You will.”

  Michael hesitated only a minute and then bit Gerard’s arm. The pain was intense, but was over in a matter of seconds. As Gerard knew he would, Michael pulled away after only a few swallows and wiped his mouth.

  “Thank you,” he said, clearly humbled.

  “It’s the least I could do. Now, why don’t we both rest here for a bit and then we can go find that secret passage you told me about.”

  “What about Erik?”

  “I don’t think either of us is in any shape to help him. If anything, we might prove a liability and he’s already got his hands full. No. The best thing we can do for him is stay out of his way.”

  Gerard also knew that the last thing Michael needed was to go after Ty. No man should have to kill his own brother—even if he deserved it.

  Chapter 17

  She was dying. It was the only possible explanation for the way she felt, Kacie thought. Every time she caught a breath, someone knocked it out of her. Her head felt near to exploding. When she tried to move her hands, she found that she couldn’t. Her weary mind tried to figure out why; with the realization that her wrists were bound tightly together came the rush of memories.

  She was Carrington’s prisoner and Erik and her father could already be dead.

  Draped over Carrington’s shoulder like a bag of potatoes, she tried to raise her head enough to look around. Making out the underbrush of prickly vines and tree limbs, she knew they were at the edge of the woods, not far from the castle.

  Closing her eyes, she prayed for the ability to endure more of this jostling because she wasn’t sure how much more of it she could take without groaning aloud.

  Then suddenly she caught the faint sound of a twig snapping.

  When she opened her eyes, she saw that they were just leaving the woods. Erik was racing toward them, chains still dangling from his wrists. Hope flared inside her, then Carrington whirled around and she lost sight of Erik altogether.

  She tried to twist in Carrington’s grip and as she did, she spied the gun in his hand. He was aiming it at Erik—any second he would pull the trigger. There was no way she could reach it and knock it from his hand, so she did the only thing she could. She bit Carrington on his side, sinking her fangs deep into his skin.

  He screamed and twisted, trying to get away from the pain. Then she was flying through the air as Erik knocked Carrington to the ground. She couldn’t get her bound hands out in front of her in time to break her fall, though, and she landed on her side with such force, the air was knocked from her lungs.

  She heard fighting nearby. Looking over, she saw Erik hit Carrington in the jaw and send him stumbling back, but Carrington wouldn’t stay down.

  While they used their fists to beat each other senseless, Kacie looked around for the gun Carrington had dropped. There wasn’t much time. She systematically ran her gaze over the ground around her until she spied a glint of metal reflecting the moonlight. At the sound of pounding footsteps, she looked up and saw Ty racing toward her. She put on a burst of speed and dived for the gun.

  Her fingertips brushed against the metal just as Ty snatched it up. Crushed, she looked up at him. His cold, hard eyes stared at her with a smugness she wanted to wipe from his adolescent face.

  “Get up,” he ordered, pointing the gun at her. Off to the side, Erik was still fighting Carrington and she knew she was on her own.

  She nodded her head and slowly pushed to her feet, but when she went to stand, she pretended to stumble, falling forward into Ty. As she did, she rammed him with her shoulder just as hard as she could. When she heard his breath whoosh out, she spun around and ran.

  With every step, she imagined Ty pulling the trigger. She expected to feel the bullet ripping into her flesh, spilling her blood, ending her life.

  Her foot hit
a dip in the ground and her ankle twisted. She couldn’t stop her cry of pain as she fell. With Ty practically breathing down her neck, she pushed herself up and felt her heart lurch. There, in front of her, was the edge of the cliff. Instead of running toward the castle, she’d gotten confused and run the wrong way. If she hadn’t tripped, she might have run off the edge. She turned around and froze as Ty raised his gun, blocking her escape.

  Frozen in fear, she watched him move toward her. When he was close enough to grab her, he pulled her to the very edge of the cliff.

  She thought he was going to push her off, but then he spun her around and held the gun to her temple—and waited.

  From where she stood, Kacie could see Erik holding Carrington off the ground by the scruff of his shirt. He hit him in the face and Carrington fell back. He stayed down; unmoving.

  Kacie waited for Erik to look for her and when he did, she knew the exact moment he realized the grave danger she was in because his expression reflected his horror and desolation. She wanted to cry. If only she’d run the other way.

  “How many times do I have to kill you, Erik?” Ty shouted.

  “At least once more,” Erik called back, climbing to his feet and walking slowly toward them.

  “I think this time your luck has run out. You know as well as I do that only one of us is going to make it off this bluff and, well, I think it should be me.”

  “Okay,” Erik agreed. “You win. Let her go and you can shoot me. Then you walk out of here.”

  Ty laughed. “I have a better idea. Go to the castle, get your car, and bring it over here. Then I’ll shoot you and drive away.”

  “What about Kacie?”

  “I’ll drop her off down the road, safe and sound. You have my word on that.”

  “The word of a murderer doesn’t hold much weight with me.”

  Ty gave a dismissive shrug. “I don’t really see that you have a choice, do you?”

  Kacie felt the pressure of Ty’s grip tighten on her arm and she turned to see his face. He seemed more nervous than he let on and she wondered why. When she turned her attention back toward Erik, she saw that he was still moving slowly forward.