Blood Wars (The Bloodborn Series Book 2) Page 26

  Lucidia focused every ounce of attention on guarding her mind, just as Adonis had taught her to.

  While her experience was one of fear and focus, as she glimpsed Darian in a sliver of blue glow, she saw that he was not even remotely intimidated. Instead, he was purely, terrifyingly intimidating, and Lucidia was reminded of those two times in which she’d seen him reveal his true, entirely unmasked vampire form.

  Vampires were skeevy looking to begin with, but when they really tried to look menacing, the goose bump factor increased by a million.

  Darian’s porcelain skin glimmered like moonlight on untouched snow, basking him in a halo of fierce radiance. His hair seemed to waver, to float around him like white flames, emitting power in such forceful waves that Lucidia fought the urge to cower against the cave wall. His red eyes were like hellfire, burning into the darkness.

  Good thing she was on his side.

  A vicious hiss emitted from the shadowy figure, spilling venom into the cavern as it coiled into a rasping laugh. “Ahh, yes… you have returned…”

  “Clotho,” Darian commanded, his voice like a raging wildfire. They were speaking ancient Greek, which Lucidia was a little rusty on, but understood most of the exchange.

  “Darianus Raigon, the young vampire master,” Clotho taunted. “You have come crawling back to us.”

  Young? Lucidia thought in confusion. Raigon?

  She’d been taught the history of their paranormal world, which meant extensive memorization of family names and relations between the different factions. She’d never even heard the name ‘Raigon’ in connection to any of their records.

  “We knew it would be soon,” she spat. “With the destruction of your race coming like a tidal wave!” Another decrepit, seething laugh hissed into the air.

  The sound of her voice raked against Lucidia’s eardrums, sharp and piercing, and jarring her focus. The strongblood stood, frozen in concentration, walls in her mind tall and fortified.

  “What do you speak of?” Darian roared. “I command you to tell me.”

  “Oh, you command me!” she howled. The inky shadow moved at a fiendish pace, whipping up from her spot on the filthy ground and swelling, matching Darian for his height and size. “Not a creature on this planet has the power to control us… we are the bringers of what is to come, and we hold death itself in our hands…”

  “Not anymore,” Darian boomed, loud enough to shake the cavern walls. Lucidia felt the sound inside of her lungs, reverberating deep in her chest cavity.

  “Lies!” the creature hissed.

  “If what you speak about the destruction of our race is true, then I will remind you of your prison sentence. Our demise is yours, forever. We were the ones to rewrite your fate. Lie to me, witch, and this will be the last time you see another living being for all of eternity. It will be the last time you taste life in any capacity, I will make sure of it.”

  “No!” she shrieked. “No lies… only the truth. A taste, yes, give us a taste. Give us life, Darianus Raigon.”

  A noise like rolling thunder came out of Darian, and Lucidia realized it was a laugh. “You will get it only if you divulge what is to come, and only if it is to be the truth. I will ask you a single question, and you will give me the answer.”

  Another broken-glass laugh slipped out of the beast, and Lucidia saw a glimmer of movement a few feet ahead of her.

  “So, so serious. Yes, Darianus Raigon, you were always a blunt one. So impatient… Ask and you shall be given, it is as simple as that.”

  He advanced, forcing the shadow fiend back to the corner of the cave. “You have seen the destruction that two vampires have caused at their hands. You have seen the rogue caster, launching an attack on a Royal House. But you have seen much more than that. You will tell me what the source of our destruction is, and you will tell me the true threat that lies ahead.”

  “You ask much of me, vampire,” the fiend spat. “And what do I get in return! You have separated our blood in this cursed cave for eternity.”

  “I ask little in exchange for the power that surges through my veins. So many memories, amassed over so many centuries. Enough to occupy your mind for millennia to come.”

  Desire oozed off the shadowy figure, thick in the air. Her rasping breath quickened, and Lucidia saw the tendrils of darkness twitching in anticipation.

  “Yes… yess, that will do…” she clattered, a clicking sound echoing off the cavern walls.

  The guttural noise made Lucidia’s stomach turn, and she felt a stab of piercing ice as dead, wicked eyes passed over her.

  Lucidia felt her hand tighten further, her eyes fixed on the ground. Despite the freezing, heat-sucking rock that surrounded them, sweat snaked down her temple, every muscle tense with concentration.

  “Speak, Clotho,” Darian rumbled.

  A hiss of silence sunk into the cavern, before the grating voice returned. “You will face a war on many fronts, Darianus Raigon,” she snapped. “You are betrayed by your own flesh, yes, but they are deceived just as much as you… another, there is another, he who seeks power absolute.”

  “Where does he seek the power?” Darian asked, voice like an avalanche.

  A cackle echoed around them on the cavern walls. “Gone is the age of vampires taking from other creatures, taking, taking, always taking and never giving. No, you will be subjected to such thievery, such enslavement. You and the other masters will be pursued for the magic which lies under your own skin, and in your very bones.”

  “Do you speak of the girl?” Darian asked sharply.

  “Oh, yes, yes, but not just of her. She is a taste of what is coming for you. She is the beginning, but the end will be far, far worse. We are entering into a new age, my boy, the age of elementalists and their bastard monsters, crawling from the womb of creation one by one and executing justice against all of you.”

  Darian’s anger rumbled in his chest. “How do we stop it?”

  “There is no stopping what is already here. There is only danger, and peril,” she hissed, another laugh choking the air around them.

  “You will get nothing from me if you do not give in return!” Darian growled.

  A howl of frustration careened across the cavern walls, and Lucidia felt it slam into her, chilling the blood in her veins. Her vision blurred, each thud of her pulse more forceful than the last.

  “The one you seek is young. You will not find her unless you look for her, and even then, you will not succeed at your aim. She exists in plain sight as the very trees stand, and she is as hidden as the moonlight,” Clotho cackled.

  “No riddles!” Darian hissed.

  A screeching sound scraped against Lucidia’s ears as the creature drew in a sharp breath. “You do not command the way I dispel the truth, boy!” the monster roared.

  Rock crumbled to the ground, pattering against the cold surface. The force of the noise that Clotho emitted hit Lucidia like a tidal wave, and she felt her legs give, her body falling to the ground. Lucidia’s palms smacked the bone shards, and a shuddering gasp escaped her lips, but she kept the walls up, and held onto the twig doll.

  “I am vast and endless, and you and your pet are but a snail under my foot, ready to be crushed.”

  “YOU WILL NOT TOUCH HER,” Darian bellowed.

  Darkness crept into the edges of Lucidia’s vision and she felt those lifeless, fiendish eyes rake over her again, like a thousand needles in her mind. Rotting air lashed past her, that liquid shadow moving closer and closer to her.

  Hold on, she heard Adonis say. The enemy will attempt to enter your mind, but they cannot do so unless you freely give it to them by losing focus. You must hold on, with all your might…

  She groaned, shaking with the effort of repelling Clotho’s influence, like a thousand tons of crushing despair, sinking around her, pulling her under an ocean of darkness. And then there was nothing but cold, and a glow that came from in front of her. Clotho was looking at her, commanding her with eyes like spotlights, z
eroed in on Lucidia. You will not make eye contact with her… Darian’s voice sounded out distantly. Lucidia clenched her jaw together, resisting the force of Clotho’s gaze on hers, just as a string of golden words slipped past her like velvet, snaking their way into her mind and-

  Her world was ripped away, wind and dust stinging her skin, until it all stopped. She felt a thud as she was dropped to the ground, every scrap of tissue in her body bruised from the inside out. She gasped for air, choking with a disgusting gurgle as she tried to breathe, ache spreading out in dull throbs all over her body.

  She’d felt that before; unfortunately, massive internal damage was a familiar sensation. It happened when a vampire decided to take you for a little joyride. Unfortunately, it was more common an attack tactic than you’d think. Vampires could travel at ridiculous speeds without sustaining organ damage because ‘A’, their tissue healed at a rapid enough pace to compensate for it, and ‘B’, they were used to moving at such exorbitant rates. But just like a car crash, the damage doesn’t happen from moving too quickly; it happens from stopping too quickly and getting your insides shaken up like a snow globe.

  Lucidia rolled onto her side, her eyes straining to make sense of the blurry world around her. Another figure was braced against the wall, and Lucidia saw enough silver hair to know it was Darian.

  She tried to say something, but it just came out as a muddled groan, as she started hacking up blood, thick and burning in her lungs. Once the coughing subsided, she flexed her fingers, feeling the healing process already in full effect. It hurt to breathe, and to move, and every time her heart pumped, but she staggered to her feet, wiping the blood from her mouth. Darian rose after a few moments, looking about as worse for wear as she was.

  “Next time you decide to take a detour,” Lucidia managed to say, clutching her abdomen and hacking up another lung before regaining her composure. “Remind me to say no.”

  Chapter 13 Conduit

  Robin

  Time passed until she heard the thud, thud, thud, of Charlemagne’s arrogant, determined steps. Something scuffled behind the caster, sending shivers racing up and down Robin’s spine.

  Robin forced herself to remain composed, even though she was entirely vulnerable and thoroughly terrified. But still, she turned, meeting the caster’s wicked grin.

  “It was quite dangerous for you to attempt any magic before, simply because of how far away you two were and that pesky, pesky link. But now, it’s reasonably safe, especially for what we have in store.”

  His words sent her unease soaring, a fresh wave of adrenaline pouring into her veins. She saw the source of the scuffle behind him: a vampire, pale, gaunt, and starved. She had deep black hair and eyes flaring in hunger, centered only on Robin. Red symbols floated around her neck, a magical tether keeping her chained to the far wall, though her muscles strained against them as she clawed to get a taste.

  Robin tensed in the restraints, pressing further into the chair.

  “Oh, don’t worry, Robin. I couldn’t possibly let you die. What I told you before was true; there is far too much potential vested in that DNA swimming around in your blood.”

  “Stop this, brother!” Calliope growled.

  “No, no,” he roared, his voice growing ragged at the edges. “I am just getting started. You’ve always been the one to go, to act without thinking and now it’s me. I’m the one that’s going to prove our success to him, and I’m the one that’s going to be rewarded for retrieving the girl and dissolving the link you snuck into our design.”

  Charlemagne pulled a tray over, and Robin saw another strange, shimmering glass vial, this one larger, with a crystalline spike on the end. A red wand made of jagged crystals rolled slightly as the table moved. “Now, let’s see what this design that we worked so tirelessly on does, now that I’ve perfected it.”

  Calliope slammed her hands against the purple cylinder that entrapped her, screaming to get free.

  Robin’s heart thudded faster and faster as her eyes fixed on the menacing lunatic. “I won’t do it. Whatever you have planned, I won’t work with you to make it happen.”

  “I don’t need you to work with me, Robin. That’s what this is for,” he said, holding the strange red wand up.

  Her eyebrows knitted together just as Charlemagne snapped his fingers. The red symbols swirling around the vampire’s neck dissolved, dissipating into the air like smoke. A split second later, the figure materialized in front of Robin, kneeling next to the chair, a ragged, gasping breath shuddering through the vampire as she inhaled deeply.

  Robin froze, tendons corded on her arms, trembling as the vampire grew closer. Cold breath washed over her skin and nausea coiled within her. “Don’t,” Robin whispered harshly.

  The vampire’s head twitched, burning red eyes snapping to Robin’s cold, blue gaze. “Just a taste,” she groaned. “I – I need it.”

  “No,” Robin said, mustering all the force she could to sound commanding.

  It didn’t exactly intimidate the vampire.

  She leaned in, closer, her thick black hair falling on Robin’s knees, then dragging across her thighs as the creature moved upward. A freezing ear pressed against the skin just above Robin’s heart, and a whimper escaped her lips. The vampire wound her long, claw-like hands around Robin, rising even further, until they were facing each other. A deep grimace formed on Robin’s face as her head instinctively turned, every muscle straining to get away from the monster curled around her like a serpent.

  “It won’t hurt,” the woman whispered, her voice ragged with desire. “I promise. I’ll take all the pain away. A taste, just… just a kiss, and then a taste…”

  “No!” Robin cried, shaking against the iron-grip the woman had on her. She braced herself for the rush of delirium, feeling those freezing, cold lips press against hers just as Cain’s had. Her eyes squeezed shut in panic, everything in her rejecting the vampire.

  A moment of tense silence passed, so thick it was like fog in the air.

  Robin expected to feel that tidal wave of narcotic confusion, dazed and vulnerable, but her mind was as crisp as ever. She opened her eyes, letting out a gasp of surprise.

  The kiss had done bupkis.

  That’s new… Robin thought, a moment before her eyes snapped to the hungry creature in front of her. The vampire wasn’t deterred. She’d raised her hand, trailed it across Robin’s face and captured her jaw in those icy fingers, forcing her head to the side.

  Just as Robin drew in a sharp breath, she felt long, hungry teeth dig into her neck, bringing with them the defeaning roar of her pulse and that pressure, that ache deep within her muscles. Darkness crept into her vision as the draw increased, and each pulse grew weaker than the last. She lost track of her body, slipping somewhere in the haze of dizziness and the cold grip of the vampire. Just before she lost consciousness, she felt the pressure release, and sound returned; first, the panting breath of the vampire above her, close to her ear, and then, farther away, the sound of a woman crying.

  Calliope? Robin thought in confusion.

  The vampire shrieked, a piercing, shrill sound in Robin’s ear. Robin opened her eyes, greeted by the menacing red glow of the magical chains that Charlemagne had brought the vampire in with. He’d suspended her just a foot away from Robin before moving behind the thick wooden chair. His voice oozed out, harsh and expectant, next to her right ear. “Go ahead, Robin. Take it back from her.”

  Another wave of dizziness passed over Robin, just like it had on the night of Jadzia’s Comet, just as it had after she’d witnessed Magnus execute Dag and Willow. It was the instinct to fight, the overwhelming urge to lash out against the vampire and take back the life she’d drawn out from Robin against her will.

  But something was wrong.

  Charlemagne’s voice, demanding and rough, heat radiating off his body. He had something planned, yes, that was it. This was all part of his scheme.

  …it is that easy to gain complete control of a person… Da
rian’s voice echoed somewhere in her mind.

  “No,” she pushed through her teeth. “I won’t do it.”

  “Now!” Charlemagne snapped, voice like acid against her ear.

  Robin drew in a steady breath and shook her head, wincing at the pain radiating out from the deep puncture wounds just above her collarbone. A cold, shivering fever spread out through her body, muscles trembling.

  “Have it your way, stubborn girl,” Charlemagne hissed.

  The caster moved, sweeping past them and grasping both the vial and the red wand from the tray. He stepped back, between her and the vampire, and undid the leather strap on her left arm, yanking it painfully towards the vampire. Just as she felt another wave of dizziness, the caster pressed the tip of the red want onto her heart.

  Electricity shot into her from the spot where it had ignited her skin, and she felt an overwhelming shove of power as her left hand collided with the vampire and drew out all of the burning energy in one draught. The woman trembled only a moment before the restraints dissolved again and she collapsed to the floor in a blood-spouting seizure.

  Robin shook, pure power and heat coursing through her veins and glowing red as the marks on her skin channeled the power, until she felt another stabbing pain on the palm of her hand. A cry escaped her lips and the heat was pulled out of her once more, until she was left drained and exhausted, hanging over in the chair, panting to catch her breath.

  …there are many people out there that would do much worse to you, in order to gain control of your abilities…

  “What…?” Robin groaned, trying to get her eyes to focus on the room around her. A bright golden light swelled, illuminating every corner, every shadow, for a split second before fading. Robin struggled to understand what the light was, and finally fixed her eyes on the crystal vial in Charlemagne’s grip.