Dark Destiny (16 page)

Destiny's heart thudded wildly, then settled into her normal rhythm. She moved easily, casually, saluting the macabre figure crawling up the side of the building. He bared his teeth at her, his fetid breath fouling the cool air, so that she was grateful for the fine rain dispersing the odor of corruption.

Pater folded his arms, calmly regaining his illusion of beauty. "Indeed, my dear, we have an invitation for you. We have come to ask you to join us. What is the sense of fighting amongst ourselves?" His voice was soft and persuasive so that deep in her heart she cringed, remembering another voice calling to her, summoning her. And she had followed him. Her gravest sin. Why hadn't she confessed to the priest? Told him the truth while she had the chance?

Destiny shook her head to rid herself of guilt. She needed absolute concentration now if she were to have a chance of defeating the undead. "Why would I want to serve you when I can choose my own path?"

The vampire on the roof began a low chant, his feet pattering a rhythmic dance. The vampire beside the trash can to the right of Pater took up the singsong refrain, and the flash of his feet moving in the silver threads of rain was mesmerizing. Destiny gritted her teeth and resolutely pulled her fascinated gaze away, blocking out the sounds of the chant as she did so. It was an old trick, but one that often worked on the unwary.

"Do you think me such a fledging to be caught so easily?" Her eyes flashed at Pater, a glinting promise of retribution.

He bowed low, in no way perturbed. A simple hand motion stopped the refrain and the dancing pattern. Once again the vampires were still and watchful. Waiting their chance. Watching for an opening, a mistake on her part. Just one moment of inattention. "You are a curiosity. You know much for one so young. You are a woman, yet you combat us successfully. You share our blood, yet you are a hunter. How have you not heard the news spreading throughout the world? We are emissaries of the strong one. I am one of his most trusted commanders. We are at war with the hunters, and yet you do not know this. We have entered a new era in which we band together and fight our enemy."

There was movement within the fog. She sensed it more than saw it. Nicolae. Of course he would come. And his brother would be guarding his back. She felt herself relax a little. "Fight for whom? For what? You make no sense, old one. Why would I fight to bring power to an evil one? My death is nothing to him. Your deaths are nothing to him. We are cannon fodder while he hides and gloats and waits for us to bring the hunters to their knees. I see no sense in dying for someone else."

"But we will defeat the hunters, attack in packs. He is wise, our leader. He will make the world ours." The voice held compulsion. She could feel it working on her mind, undermining her confidence, dragging her closer to the net of outlaws. There was something different in the compulsion, something elusive she could not quite assess. The cadence should have been recognizable, yet it wasn't; it was almost as if his voice were tuning itself to her personally, finding what tone would be the most pleasing.

Destiny lifted her hands, palms out, wiping away the intriguing sound of Pater's voice. Tilting her head to one side, she smiled again, a slow, sexy come-on, her small white teeth perfect and gleaming. "Why would anyone as powerful as you follow another?" Her tone was flirtatious, flattering, admiring. Her hands fluttered gracefully as she talked. Destiny noted Pater's chest swell visibly. Like all vampires, he was susceptible to flattery. "You look like a leader to me. You survived three hunters the other day. How many others could accomplish such a feat? Could your leader? He's hiding behind you, cowering, afraid, while you face the hunters."

"He has vision," Pater told her.

"Have you even seen him? Has he dared to show himself to you?" She sounded curious, feminine. Filled with admiration. Her hands were flowing as she spoke, a graceful swaying that matched the beautiful allure of her voice. She smiled, a conspirator's smile, lowering her pitch. Her voice was husky. Sexy. Tempting. "
You
join with
me
. We don't need an alliance with others. This is my territory. All of it. Share it with me. We can defeat the others."

At once the snarls and rumbling began; the vampires shifted tensely, fangs exposed, talons curling in anger. It didn't take much to drive a wedge between unholy allies. They were deceivers, betrayers, preying on each other as well as on human victims.

Pater again waved the others to silence, a sign of his leadership among the worst of abominations. He held out his hand to Destiny. "Come to me now, join us. You are weak with hunger. You cannot possibly defeat us all. Let me give you my blood to sustain your life. Join our family."

His words cracked open a door in her mind, spilled out a memory. A small, dark-haired girl crawling in the dirt, dragging herself along a damp cave floor, weeping useless tears and trying to drown out the sounds of begging, pleading. The horrible screams, the river of blood. The monster dropping his latest victim and turning to look at her in slow motion. He always turned in slow motion, his teeth still black from his victim's blood. A dark shadow looming over her. Maniacal laughter.
Take my blood to sustain your life
. Hands roughly squeezing and probing her small body. The slaps, the fetid smell, the teeth tearing at her tender skin. A brutish savage pounding into her, ripping her body in two, while burning, coppery-flavored acid poured down her throat.

Destiny couldn't think. Couldn't breathe. Her throat closed, her lungs seized. She began to choke. The violation of that child was more than she could endure. Sweat broke out on her body, a terrible trembling took over, one she couldn't control. She was no longer standing in the streets of Seattle, a full-grown adult, a powerful hunter; she was trapped back in that cave, mindlessly dragging her little torn body along the damp, blood-covered floor.

I am here with you
. The voice came out of nowhere, was simply there in her mind. Calm. Steady. A rock that always anchored her. When there was nothing left, when there was no sanity and no reason, there was always that voice.
I will always be with you. You are hunted, Destiny. They are closing in from above and below. Come back to this time and place. Come with me now
.

She followed him out of the labyrinth of her nightmares. Out of memories that would never go away.
Nicolae
. Her sanity. Her life. When had it happened? Why hadn't she known? The wind hit her face. The clean rain was soaking her clothes and hair. She became instantly aware of her surroundings, of the vampires facing her, moving swiftly toward her.

Knowing how vulnerable she was at that moment, Destiny dissolved into mist, abandoning her attempts to weave a holding spell on Pater. She was certain he was the strongest of the band. He would orchestrate the battle. He was the one she must defeat if she were to succeed in ridding her neighborhood of the undead. At once she became part of the weather, mixing with the gray fog.

Pater snarled as he grasped empty air, his talons scraping at the mist all around him. At once he began chanting a spell to lure human victims to him. His voice was powerful, a call for blood. His followers took up the words, sending their call into the buildings and along the narrow streets. A retaliation for losing the female they had been so certain they would acquire.

Do not panic, Destiny
. Nicolae's council was gentle and calm.
He is using this to draw you out. It shows he has studied you. He knows you will protect the populace here
.

I am not going to trade their lives for mine.

Vikirnoff will go in first. The two in the shadows are mine. You must remove the vampire from the side of the building. Do not worry about Pater. He is smoke. We are not going to get him unless we are incredibly lucky. If possible, keep Vikirnoff from having to kill any of the beasts. He has reached his limit and will only kill to save our lives.

To Destiny's horror, doors began to open as human prey answered the collective call of the vampire. She could see the red flames blazing in the sunken eyes of the undead, the grimaces of joy at the prospect of a blood feast. The humans' adrenaline-rich blood would give the vampires a rush of power and a tremendous high. The creatures were leaping at victims, determined to kill as many as possible and gather strength for the coming battle.

Overhead the storm clouds were roiling, spinning a witch's cauldron of black threads. Veins of lightning lit the edges of the brew, momentarily lighting up the grim scene on the ground.

Below her, Vikirnoff cut off one of the undead, a large, bulky monster who was growling continually. Vikirnoff glided in with such grace and elegance, the vampire appeared clumsy and stiff in comparison. The two seemed to explode into action, one moment performing a ritual ballet of shadowing steps, the next moment erupting into violence, lethal and ugly.

Nicolae waved his hand to calm the screams of the victims as they became aware of the imminent danger, immediately removing the chance of a false high for the vampires. The vampires might be able to get the blood they sought, but not the high of adrenaline. Two vampires rushed a couple of people standing in the doorway of an apartment. Nicolae was there before the vampires, thrusting the couple inside, out of harm's way, and turning to face the snarling undead. The two monsters closed in on him, eager to finish off the hunter and claim their prize. Nicolae exploded into action, a blur moving so fast that Destiny couldn't follow him, fluid and powerful and extraordinarily dangerous.

Destiny caught a glimpse of Pater as he slipped into the shadows, retreating to allow his minions to fight the hunters while he waited for an opportunity to attack without risk. It was the tactic of a smarter, more experienced vampire. She would have followed him, but there was movement on the second story. A young woman wandered out onto the fire escape just above where a vampire clung to the side of the building. In answer to the creature's summons, her face was lit with rapture, her arms outstretched as if embracing death.

Destiny saw the eagerness on the vampire's face, the triumph as it slithered up the building rapidly, a dark spider bloated with power and the need to inflict pain. Destiny was already attacking, shooting out of the fog like an arrow, dropping down from above as the vampire reached the fire escape, certain of his victim. The creature turned at the last moment to face Destiny, his face hideous, his teeth bared, his eyes red-rimmed and blazing with hatred. He leapt at her, talons digging deep into her skin as he attached his reptilian body to her, raking with claws and sinking his teeth into her throat.

They tumbled through space, raking and clawing, the vampire sinking his teeth deeper and deeper and tearing at her body with his claws. He was much stronger than he looked, ripping through her skin to weaken her. Destiny proceeded without faltering, driving her fist deep through muscle and bone, her hand clenching the blackened organ that provided life for the creature. His scream was horrible, even muffled by her own throat as he gnawed off a great chunk of her flesh. They fell together, bounced off a projection of the building and hit the pavement. Destiny held on grimly to her prize.

Nicolae
! She tossed the heart out onto the street so the jagged bolt of lightning Nicolae was conducting could incinerate it into black, foul-smelling ash. The creature gripping her went limp, talons still dug deeply into her side and arm. Teeth still sunk into her throat. Destiny threw him off her and with her remaining strength staggered out of the alley toward the open street. Her legs went out from under her and she sat abruptly on the pavement.

Destiny tilted her head to look up at the sky at the white lightning and the clouds spinning madly above her. It really was beautiful. But cold. Surprisingly, she was very cold. For some reason, she couldn't regulate her body temperature, and she was shaking. She attempted to focus on Nicolae, to see if he needed help, but it was too much trouble to turn her head. She was shocked when she found herself lying flat on her back, her body heavy and feeling strange. She should have been afraid, but she was only mildly curious. Mostly she worried about Nicolae.

Far off, or maybe in her own head, she heard his voice.
Do not let go, Destiny. Do not let go
! She was unclear what he meant. She wasn't holding on to anything, but there was desperation in his voice, a tone she'd never heard him use, so she tried to stay focused on him.

Pater loomed over her, his gray features grim, a hint of his terrible anger showing in his red-rimmed eyes. "You should have joined with us. You are going to die a hideous death." He hissed the words at her, spittle ruining his civilized facade.

"That's no surprise. I lived a hideous life." She tried to say the words to him, but her throat was torn and raw, and no real words emerged. When she blinked to clear the haze from her eyes, Pater was gone, perhaps never really there.

Nicolae and Vikirnoff materialized on either side of her. Nicolae had a red streak down the left side of his face and an angry-looking wound on his chest. He lifted her into his arms as Vikirnoff guarded his back. She wished she could wipe away the anxiety on Nicolae's face, but no sound would come out of her throat and she couldn't find the strength to lift her hand to smooth away the lines of worry. She sighed softly, recognizing that something was terribly wrong, but it didn't matter to her. Destiny simply closed her eyes and let Nicolae take her away as he had always done, soaring high above the city into a dream world where there were no more monsters.

Nicolae kept his mind numb, blank, streaking through the sky toward their lair. If the undead gave chase, Vikirnoff would protect Destiny and him, guarding their back-trail as they hurried to safety. He should have known she would do such a thing. He should have known she would not be able to deal with the idea of being responsible for his life… or his death.

She had no such thought in her head
. Vikirnoff was the voice of reason.