A Dark Passion (3 page)

Alara kept still when they neared and circled her. One stepped close and inhaled deeply.

“A dhampir? What is a creature like yourself doing in Master Tyroz’s mansion?”

Alara cocked her head to the side and assessed the vampire—tall, muscular and built to tear limbs apart with his bare hands.

She would enjoy fighting him.

“How do you know?”

“You have a human scent all over you.”

“So has Master Tyroz gone soft?” another spoke.

Alara snorted and pushed through the group of males. “I’m in his debt. He isn’t going to pass up on that now, is he?”

The males laughed. Big Boy spoke while shaking his head, “Very true.”

Alara smiled when she turned to the others. “How about you show me what kind of men you are?”

“Babe, we’d only hurt you,” Big Man replied.

She laughed and set her feet apart. “Honey, I like it rough.”

The men glanced at each other and advanced, moving with such speed, Alara couldn’t see them and wouldn’t have known where they were going to attack.

If she hadn’t been a trained assassin.

She smiled and stepped to the side, avoiding one of the vampires. She grabbed his arm and pulled him around, bringing her knee up at the same time.

When he grunted, she spun, keeping her hold on the other vampire and lifted her leg up, kicking another vampire in the face and then flipped over the vampire she had hold of. She pulled on his arm hard, spinning him off balance and used her leg to slam him into the floor.

She ducked and stuck her leg out before reaching behind her and pulling him over her head, and punching him hard.

She back flipped, kicking the vampire on the floor and the one behind her. She jumped up, wrapped her legs around the vampire’s neck, bent back to grab another vampire and spun to the side, knocking both men over.

She landed on her feet but stayed at a crouch, balancing herself with the tips of her fingers. Three vampires remained unharmed, including Big Guy, while the others lay on the floor, groaning.

Smiling, she stood and took a step back.

“She’s quick on her feet,” Big Guy said.

“But not quick enough,” the vampire who spoke ran at her. Alara jumped back and lifted her leg up. He blocked her move with his arm and grabbed her leg, pulling her close. He head butted her and slammed her into the floor.

Alara flipped herself to her feet and back flipped away.

“Scared?” the vampire asked, advancing.

Alara wiped away the blood dripping down her chin. “No, just being cautious.” She kicked him in the groin and head butted him hard. “And returning the favour.” Rule one of assassins: when the need called for it, fight dirty.

She jumped up as he staggered back and kicked him in the face before tackling him to the ground.

“Get off me, Dhampir!” Blood sprayed from his mouth, drops of it landing on her face.

Alara unconsciously licked her lips at the tantalising scent of his blood, when her taste buds came alive at the taste.

Using her distraction to his advantage, the vampire kicked her off him and away.

She landed on the floor before rolling onto her feet. She stood and backed away, when Big Guy stepped forward.

“Are you in control?” His tone told Alara that he’d dealt with dhampirs in the past.

She ran her finger through the vampire’s blood on her face and put it into her mouth. The blood made her heart race and her stomach grumble.

She walked forward while she sucked the blood from her finger. Big Guy stepped in her way, protecting the bleeding vampire.

Didn’t he know how dangerous dhampirs were when they were hungry?

She grabbed his arm, twisted it around, elbowed him in the face and kicked him to his knees before releasing her hidden blade, and swinging her arm around to the vampire sneaking up on her. With the big vampire unable to get away from her, she turned her attention to the vampire behind her. Her blade was inches away from his eye.

“Has no one told you that it’s impossible to sneak up on an assassin?”

“Assassin?” Big Guy asked.

Alara smiled. “Didn’t you know? I’d have thought Master Tyroz would have warned his guards about the woman who tried to kill him. I guess that’s his mistake.”

“Alara, let my men go!” Tyroz’s voice boomed across the room.

“I’m afraid I can’t do that. He spilt blood first and his mother obviously didn’t teach him not to talk with his mouth full of blood.”

“Ziahzu?”

“She speaks the truth, Master. His blood sprayed onto her face. She is holding on.”

“What do you mean?”

“She tasted blood after what I imagine is for a long time, according to the assassins rules.”

“Assassins rules?” Tyroz asked.

“Assassin rules are clear. If a dhampir should sign the binding contract, they are not allowed to drink the blood of any creature, only the one she is to assassinate. She has been looking for you after the episode at the club all those years ago and has not drunk blood in that time.”

“How is it you know that?” Alara asked.

“Because I was there the night you both met, and I broke the rules when I didn’t assassinate the dhampir I was contracted to kill. Not long after that, the dhampir herself showed up and signed a contract.”

“You were an assassin?” Tyroz asked.

“Yes, and it is only because of my size, strength and skill that I have been able to avoid death since. I agreed to protect you, Master Tyroz because no one could touch me, and I could protect you from the death I saw coming.” Big Guy eyed Alara. “She has gone into bloodlust, yet has not made one attempt to kill and drink from any of us.”

“How is that possible?” the bleeding vampire asked.

Alara met Tyroz’s eyes. “Vengeance.”

“And self control. It takes someone strong to push back that kind of hunger.”

“All because I left?” Tyroz asked.

“You ruined my life when you left—took a part of me with you once you’d had your fun with me!”

“Alara, I never meant for you to believe that night meant anything more than one night of passion.”

Alara pulled back her blade and let go of the vampires. She strode up to Tyroz, when Big Guy held her in place. She didn’t fight him off but didn’t take her eyes of Tyroz.

She’d come to realise it now, why she felt so strongly attracted to him. Why he filled her dreams, stirred passion from deep with.

“When you have the bond, Antask, nothing is just
one night of passion
.”

She pulled her arm from the vampire’s grasp and strode from the room.

Tyroz knew about the bond, she knew, but he was fighting his feelings for her, all because she was a dhampir.

“Alara! Wait!”

She didn’t and she ignored Tyroz as she walked through his mansion. When she slammed open the large doors that led outside, she broke into a run, tears streaming down her face, she crossed the gates before stopping deep in the shadows. She couldn’t breathe and could hardly see through the tears as she watched Tyroz walk to his gates and stop.

Come on. Come and find me. Prove that you care.

He didn’t. He glanced around and shook his head. He turned and walked away.

Alara opened her mouth to call out to him, when a hand covered her open mouth and she instantly grew sleepy. She dropped to her knees and swayed.

A sharp prick in her neck made everything go dark and all feelings in her body, and all thoughts of Tyroz disappeared.

“Tyroz?” Nikalye was in front of him as he walked into the house. Tyroz tried to walk past him but Nikalye held him where he was.

“Tyroz. Something is wrong,” Doxiak told him.

Tyroz instantly felt calm with the vampire’s words, and looked at him without a word.

“Tyroz, Alara is involved in what has gone wrong.” Nikalye murmured quietly and urgently. Nikalye turned to one of the vampires standing close by. “Tell him your name and what your power is.”

“My… my name is Xiathor. My power is to feel the life force of someone—I can sense emotions from this if the beating of the heart changes.”

“Why are you telling me this, what has this got to do with Alara?” Tyroz asked. The room grew colder.

“Tyroz, calm yourself,” Nikalye said, putting his hand on his shoulder.

Tyroz inhaled deeply and listened to what Xiathor had to say.

“The…commotion earlier…it jacked my pulse up, made it beat faster. I was watching Alara fight with your guards from the sidelines when blood was drawn. I was instantly connected to her as she grew hungry, but didn’t follow through. When she grew upset and stormed outside, I followed her, staying out of the shadows as you ran after her not long after. She passed the gates and…” Xiathor met Tyroz’s eyes and shook his head.

“Xiathor,” Tyroz growled.

He looked up at everyone and then swallowed. “I figured you went out, to try and stop her from getting out of the gates. Or chase after her, make her come back. I watched you, but you let her go, choosing not to cross the protection of your home.”

Everyone looked at Tyroz.

“Is this true?” Nikalye asked.

Tyroz ignored him, staring at Xiathor when he continued.

“You walked away after a while, while she begged you to prove her wrong. Prove that you cared.”

“How can you know that?”

“I told you, Master, I am connected to her because her emotions were so strong. It pulled me into her body.”

“What happened?” Nikalye asked.

“Someone grabbed her, knocked her unconscious.”

Tyroz didn’t listen to anymore of the vampires words. He strode through his home, yelling orders to his men. Once he finished, he spoke to Nikalye, “Who were they?” He felt a slither of fear tickle his spine as he thought of the humans. He didn’t want to image the things they would do to Alara.

“Vampires. Assassins to be exact.”

Tyroz stopped. He heard no lies within the guardian’s words, but he had to ask. “You are positive.”

“As positive as I see the future, Tyroz.”

Tyroz began to walk again, running a hand through his hair. Alara in the hands of her own assassins seemed like a worse fate than the humans. The humans would torture Alara, but go no further than that. Apart from killing her.

The assassins would do much more than torture her. They would break the hard shell she used to protect herself. Break her soul before they ended her life.

Nikalye cleared his throat, bringing him from his thoughts. “I am afraid to inform you that it is against the assassins’ law to kill another assassin.”

“What does that mean for Alara?”

“It means a fate worse than death. It means a lifetime of torture.” Nikalye grabbed Tyroz’s arm, bring them face-to-face. “Alara is a dhampir, so the torture will be far worse for her, they will torture her until she is raging with hunger and set her on those she loves. She will not know who she is or right from wrong. Not only will she be breaking the assassin’s rules about drinking blood, but she will have the blood of her loves ones on her hands. That is not something you forget.”

“Gather the others. Nikalye, you lead them, follow her trail. We cannot let anything happen to her.”

“I will lead them, and I will find her. I take it you will be staying here as usual?” Nikalye’s eyebrows rose before he walked away.

I won’t let anything happen to her!

“Guardian!”

Nikalye spoke without turning, “We will not let anything happen to her. But we must hurry.”

He walked after him, his heart hammering. It had been a long time since he battled. He was always quick to join in a fight until Lord Riyzan’s daughter was taken. When she went into bloodlust, everything changed. He knew there were other monsters roaming around, attacking his people and wouldn’t put himself in danger with his reckless behaviour. He’d chosen to hide instead of fight.

Things needed to change. He couldn’t put himself first, not when the woman he loved…

Loved?

Tyroz stopped suddenly and Nikalye turned to meet his eyes.

“The bond is a complex emotion, Tyroz. Don’t underestimate its power. You will say the words in the end.”

“Do you say that because you have seen it, or from experience?”

Nikalye smiled and put his hand on Tyroz’s shoulder. “Both. Come we must move.”

Alara opened her eyes and groaned. Her head felt like it had been split open. She rubbed her head and swallowed back bile as she looked around the room—it was small and dark. Alara swallowed and moved to get more comfortable, the chains around her ankles and wrists clanked across the floor loudly. She glanced up and looked at the wall where the chains disappeared and stood up, wincing at the pain in her head. Ignoring it, she wrapped her hands around the chains and pulled, using all of the strength she had. The wall gave way a little but the chain seemed to be further in the wall than what she thought.

Sighing, Alara sunk to the floor and rubbed her face. She didn’t have a clue where she was or who had taken her. All she knew was that she was in deep shit.

Very deep shit.

She had been stupid leaving the safety of the gates. No one knew she had been taken so no one would try and get her back.

She was an idiot.

The door to the room clicked and then opened. A man walked in, his face covered in a black mast, and instantly, she knew where she was.

The assassins’ guild.

He walked up to Alara and pulled a bunch of keys out of his pocket. He went through them and pulled out an old looking key, he pushed it into the manacles and unlocked them. He pulled her to her feet.

“No funny business, or I won’t be nice,” he told her.

Alara nodded and waited for him to unchain her from the wall. She attacked, thrusting the palm of her hand into his nose and them elbowing him in the face. Once he’d fallen to the floor, she grabbed his keys and unchained herself and put the manacles onto him to keep him from alerting anyone. She frisked him thoroughly, pulling out his daggers and taking his hidden blades. She unmasked him and sighed.

“Okalak, you idiot. What price was given high enough for you to betray me?”