Chapter
28
Elena knew a moment of fear when
Drake’s gaze met hers. Eyes burning red, fangs bared, he stared at
her over the head of the vampire struggling in his grasp. She
wondered what had possessed the other vampire to stab Rodin from
behind, but it was immaterial at the moment.
She had forgotten how frightening
Drake’s vampire mien could be. With her, he had always been so
gentle and tender, it had been easy to forget that beneath his
courtly exterior there lurked a deadly predator who lived on human
blood.
One of the torchbearers stepped
forward. After pulling on a pair of gloves, he reached into the
pocket of his trousers and withdrew a pair of silver
handcuffs.
Florin ceased his struggles once the
shackles were locked in place.
Elena remained where she was, her heart
pounding with trepidation. She knew Drake wouldn’t betray her
presence, but other vampires were arriving now, followed by a
handful of drones. One of them picked up Gerret’s body and carried
it away.
In the flickering light, Elena
recognized some of the vampires as members of the Council. They
formed a large, silent circle that encompassed Drake, Florin,
Stefan, Liliana, and the fallen Master Vampire.
And then Liliana rose to her feet. Eyes
blazing, cheeks streaked with scarlet tears, she picked up her
husband’s sword. “Rodin, Master of the Carpathian Fortress, has
been destroyed by treachery.” Her voice rang out in the darkness.
“I seek a champion to avenge his death and return the Fortress to
its rightful heirs.”
Every member of the Council took a step
forward, as did Stefan and Drake.
Hidden in the shadows, Elena murmured,
“No. Oh, no,” as Liliana offered the sword to Drake.
Liliana nodded. “As Rodin’s eldest son,
I honor you with the task of avenging your sire’s
death.”
With a nod, Drake took the sword from
her hand.
“According to our laws,” Liliana said,
“you may challenge Florin Korzha, or you may execute him for his
treachery. The choice is yours.”
Drake removed his cloak and shirt and
tossed them aside. “Release him,” he said, his voice as lethal as
the weapon in his hand. “An execution is too swift. Too
merciful.”
One of the drones stepped forward and
removed the shackles from Florin’s wrists. Even in the dim light,
Elena could see that Florin’s skin had already blistered and
blackened where the silver had touched him.
Drake glanced at his brother. “Stefan,
give him your blade.”
Stefan glared at Drake, then threw
Gerret’s weapon on the ground.
Florin’s gaze darted from left to right
as he picked up the bloodstained sword. Then, lips peeled back to
reveal his fangs, he sprang toward Drake.
Elena took a step forward, hardly
daring to breathe. Rodin had fought swiftly, skillfully, meting out
more punishment than he had received. Florin was not as adept. His
moves were slower, less confident.
Drake fought coldly, precisely, his
sword slicing into his opponent again and again. Aside from the
exquisite pain of silver biting into preternatural flesh, the blade
inflicted no lasting damage, the vampire’s wounds healing almost
immediately, though there would be scars.
Elena choked back a cry as Florin’s
sword opened a long gash across Drake’s chest. He seemed immune to
the pain as he parried Florin’s next thrust. As the fight went on,
Elena realized that Drake could have ended it at any time. He was
deliberately prolonging the battle in order to inflict as much pain
as he could before delivering the final coup de grâce.
When the end came, it came swiftly. The
sword in Drake’s hand moved faster than her eye could follow,
opening dozens of deep gashes on Florin’s arms, legs, back, and
chest before a well-placed thrust drove Drake’s sword into his
opponent’s heart.
There was a collective sigh from the
watching vampires as Florin staggered backward, then spiraled
slowly to the ground.
Knowing what was coming, Elena turned
her back. It did little good. Perhaps it was because she had been
focused so strongly on Drake, perhaps it was simply because of the
bond they shared, but she heard the whisper of the sword slice
through the air, saw the blade cut easily through preternatural
flesh as Drake severed Florin’s head.
She swallowed hard, but she wasn’t sick
this time. Instead, she was only grateful that the man she loved
still lived.
Drake came for Elena later, after
Rodin’s body had been carried away by the members of the
Council.
His gaze burned into hers. “What the
hell was Stefan thinking, to bring you here?”
“I begged him to do it. Don’t be mad at
him.”
“I told you to stay home.”
“I . . . I thought . . . I had this
horrible feeling that something was wrong, that you needed me.” She
squared her shoulders and stiffened her spine. “I guess I was
wrong.”
The hurt in her eyes melted his anger.
Murmuring her name, he pulled her into his embrace. “I will always
need you, but you should not have come here.” He shuddered to think
what would have happened to her if she had been discovered by a
vampire who didn’t know who she was. Out here, alone, she would
have been mistaken for a runaway sheep. Those who tried to escape
were beyond the protection of the Fortress and were considered easy
prey for any who should find them. She would have been drained
before she had time to mention his name or explain who she was. The
thought made him hold her closer, tighter.
“Drake, I can’t breathe.”
“Sorry.” He loosened his hold
immediately. “Come with me. I will take you to my quarters. Katiya
is there. Promise me you will not leave.”
“I promise.”
Keeping his arms around her, he willed
the two of them to his apartment.
Katiya looked up, her expression
troubled. “I heard what happened to your sire. I am
sorry.”
Drake nodded. Rodin had been destroyed.
It was unthinkable. Unbelievable.
“What will happen now?” Katiya
asked.
“The Council is meeting in an hour.” He
glanced from Katiya to Elena. “I want both of you to stay here.
Keep the door locked. Do not open it for anyone.”
“Except Andrei,” Katiya
said.
“Andrei will not knock,” Drake said.
After bolting the door, he kissed Elena on the cheek, and vanished
from the room.
Elena blinked, amazed, as always, at
how quickly vampires could come and go.
“What are you doing here?” Katiya
asked.
“I felt that I needed to be here, for
Drake. I guess I was wrong.”
“Do sit down and make yourself
comfortable,” Katiya said. “Can I get you anything?”
“No.” Elena worried her lower lip with
her teeth. “What do you think they’re doing?”
“The Council will decide who is to take
Rodin’s place. Tomorrow night, all of Rodin’s wives and children
will gather here. His body will be cremated and they will never
speak of him again.”
“Never?” Elena asked.
“It is our way.”
“Are you happy, being a
vampire?”
“I was, until I came here. Rodin ruled
his Fortress differently than my sire rules his.”
“Differently?”
“Rodin ruled as if he were a king and
his wives and children and those who took refuge here were his
subjects. His word was law. My sire’s rules are less stringent, our
people given more freedom, except when it comes to marriage,” she
said, her voice suddenly tinged with bitterness. “That is where all
vampires are the same.”
“So, vampires never marry humans? Never
have children with them?”
“Not to my knowledge.” Katiya canted
her head to the side, her expression thoughtful. “There was one
case, where one of Rodin’s sons impregnated a mortal
female.”
“Which son?”
“I do not know. I am not supposed to
know it even happened. All I know is that it did not end well. The
mother and baby both died in childbirth. The strange thing was, the
vampire was fifty years shy of being five hundred. He should not
have been able to father a child at all.”
Elena sighed, wondering if she would
ever learn all there was to know about this strange society. And
then she frowned. “A drone carried Gerret’s body away, but Florin’s
body was left in the clearing. What will happen to
it?”
“In the morning, the sun will burn it
up.”
“Oh.” The more she learned, the less
she wanted to know. Sitting back in the chair, she folded her arms
over her chest and prayed that Drake would return
soon.
Clad in unrelieved black from head to
foot, Liliana sat in her chair on the dais in the Council chamber.
Drake stood beside her, his arms crossed over his chest, his face
like stone as he watched the Council members file into the room and
take their places.
Earlier, he had met with Andrei and
Ciprian, who’d informed him that Olaf was missing, no doubt
destroyed by Florin’s hand.
But at the moment, Drake had a more
pressing concern on his mind. He held his breath as Liliana rose to
her feet.
“You all know why we are gathered
here.” Though she spoke quietly, her voice echoed off the walls.
“My husband has been killed. We will lay him to rest tomorrow
night. But appointing someone to assume his position cannot wait.
There is only one among us who is old enough, wise enough, strong
enough, to take Rodin’s place.”
Drake went still as every head in the
room turned in his direction.
“It is no secret that Rodin’s firstborn
son is the only one qualified to take his sire’s place. I ask—nay,
I demand— that the Council name Drake Sherrad as Master of the
Carpathian Fortress. How say you? Yea or nay?”
As one, the members of the Council
stood. Heads bowed, each one said, “Yea.”
Liliana faced her son for the first
time. “So be it, Lord Drake. The Fortress is now
yours.”
As one, the members of the Council
bowed their heads again. “As spoken and agreed, let it be
done.”
With a faint smile, Liliana embraced
her son.
One by one, the members came forward to
declare their allegiance to Drake before leaving the Council
chambers.
“You knew I did not want this,” Drake
said when he and his mother were alone in the room.
“It was your sire’s wish. And mine
also.”
“You will regret it,” he said, and with
a courtly bow in her direction, he stalked out of the
room.