Kade honed his eyes on Sydney’s, seeing she’d gotten free. He needed to get her out of the melee, but there seemed to be no end to the vampires who were attacking from all sides. Tristan was yelping in agony; several small knives stuck out of his bloody fur. Luca, Dominique, and the others were engaged in battle as well. Blindsiding Kade, Asgear struck him in the head with the heavy, metal chalice. “Your little whore is going to die tonight, vampire. You cannot stop us.”
Kade shifted and delivered a sidekick to Asgear’s thorax, pounding him into the floor. “You are the one who will die tonight. Even your magic wanes in the light of war.”
Asgear crawled toward Kade, trying to push himself upright. “Your little whore tried to fight me, you know? She bled nicely when I beat her face bloody. When you die, I will take her for my own. She will serve me on her knees!”
Kade had enough of Asgear’s venomous words. He stood erect over Asgear and kicked his face hard. Once, twice. Blood spritzed out of Asgear’s mouth as he rolled onto his back. “This is not the end, vampire!’ he hissed.
Kade smirked at him. “Wrong again, mage. This is the end of the road. Rot in hell!” In a flash, Kade pinned him to the floor, cracking Asgear’s neck and wrenching his head off its spine. He bared his fangs, shredding Asgear’s throat until there was not a single drop of blood left in the mage.
Sydney grabbed the edge of the table, pulled upward and steadied herself on her feet. She called out to Tristan as Simone continued to stab the wolf, but he wasn’t responding to her. She had to save him. “Hey bitch! Over here! Leave the wolf alone! It’s me you want,” she baited.
Simone’s head snapped around to Sydney, astonished she’d gotten free. Flashing across the room, she grabbed Sydney’s throat by one hand. “You! You! You distracted me from my purpose! All my hard work. The girls’ deaths ...it was all for him. I was practicing. My power was growing. And you had to stick your nose into my business...ruin my ritual!” She spat at Sydney’s face. “I will make him watch as I drain every last drop of your whorish blood. I will rule this city! Nothing will stop me! Nothing!”
Sydney choked and struggled to breathe under the pressure of Simone’s strong, bony fingers. Her eyes darted to Kade, who stealthily approached Simone. “Let her go, Simone. She is a mere human. This animosity is between you and me.”
Simone glanced quickly over at Kade, but didn’t release Sydney from her deathly grip. Sydney felt herself starting to lose consciousness. Even as both her arms fell to her sides, she fought to hold onto the sword.
Stepping a hair closer to Simone, Kade refused to relent. “I do not love you, Simone. I never did. You will never rule this town. You’re finished,” he goaded. He just needed to distract her, to get her to release Sydney.
Simone spun on her heels throwing Sydney to the floor and rushed over to Kade. “You do love me Kade. I am here now. I am your queen. My power, I will share it with you. We shall rule together,” she purred at him and laid a pale hand upon his chest. “This is our time. You are mine.”
Reaching for the table’s ledge, Sydney quietly pulled herself up so she was standing once again. Her abdomen throbbed, and she felt dizzy with pain. Never give up. The sword hummed underneath the warmth of her grip. She approached Simone. Time for the bitch to go. With a final thrust of strength, Sydney whirled the heavy sword above her head. As the sword hissed, it sliced through the blood tinted air and Simone’s fine, pallid neck. Simone’s dismembered head went flying across the room as blood and ash sprayed Kade’s face. A clank of the sword on the ground was followed by silence in the room, as Simone’s spell was broken. Minion vampires cowered to the ground, grieving in pain from the loss of their Mistress.
Sydney fainted and her head cracked loudly against the ebon floor, blood covering her golden braid. Kade fell on his knees screaming her name; bloody tears stained Sydney’s pale face. Biting into his wrist, he pressed it to her still lips hoping she would swallow the precious fluid. “Sydney! Swallow, love. You cannot bloody well leave me!” He laid her head in his lap, smoothing her hair across her head. “I love you so much. Please, this will heal you. Come on now. Drink,” he commanded.
Imperceptibly, Sydney’s swollen lips began suctioning against his wrist. “That’s it love. Don’t give up.” He kissed her forehead knowing she would survive.
Kade delicately lifted Sydney’s frail body into his arms, carefully cradling her head against his chest. As he ascended the stairs, a healing breeze grazed his face. He sighed in relief, finally exiting Simone’s diabolical, stone creation. He telepathically called to Dominique to beckon Ilsbeth. Whatever demonic forces held the walls from the water table, they needed to be dismantled. This tomb and its rooms needed to be destroyed and blessed so that nothing remained of the malignant force within.
Luca approached him carrying a small, unconscious woman with long, red hair. Kade immediately recognized the woman as Rhea. “Where did you find her?” he asked.
“She was cuffed to a wall. The room was barbaric.” Luca took a deep breath. “She was recently beaten. Bloody whip marks all over her body, black eye...the works. She said her name is Samantha. Kade, something strange is going on here...it was as if she had no recollection of the club or the night she silvered Dominique. When we released her cuffs, she fainted. Exhaustion maybe?”
Kade shifted his weight only wanting to get Sydney home as soon as possible. “Take her to my compound. Clean her up, make sure she’s healing, and lock her in the downstairs security room until I get a chance to read her thoughts. It is possible that she was under Simone’s thrall, or that Asgear bespelled her, but we need to make sure she holds no culpability before we return her to her home. And whatever you do, don’t let Dominique see her yet. She is looking for payback, and will ask questions later. Now go.” Luca sped off across the cemetery, human in tow.
Searching for Etienne, Kade found him kneeling on the ground, holding a naked Tristan who drank at his wrist. Kade glanced at Etienne. “Nice fighting, my friend. How’s Tristan?”
“He’ll survive, but we need to get him back to the compound before his brother comes sniffing about. He will be pissed beyond belief. Marcel means well, but Tristan needs more vampire blood if he is going to make it.” Etienne winced as Tristan continued suckling his wrist.
Dominique and Xavier exited the tomb. Walking toward Kade, they stopped to check on Tristan.
Kade eyed both Xavier and Dominique. “Okay, let’s get moving then. Xavier, help Etienne with Tristan. Get him out of here now. Dominique, I need you to wait for Ilsbeth to get here. She needs to clean up this mess. You know what to do.”
Kade was tired and angry. How could this have gone so very wrong? Sydney had been beaten, stabbed. He should have never let her leave Philadelphia. She was human, a strong human, yes, but still very human at that. She could have died tonight. His heart ached knowing she may need several days to recover from this ordeal. And then, would she still want to be with a vampire? The blood, the violence, the danger.
He trudged back to the van wiping the doubts from his mind. She was his. He was fooling himself to think he would let her go without a fight. He kissed her forehead as she slept peacefully in his arms. He prayed his beautiful, fighting, warrior woman would be okay and that she would forgive him for involving her in this mess.
Chapter Nineteen