Dark Predator (42 page)

“Do you see, Esteban? This is his resting place or it wouldn’t be like this.” Excitement permeated DS’s voice.

“It’s damned difficult,” Esteban complained.

“Just keep digging.”

Marguarita had never known any of their soil to be so hard and she could only surmise that Zacarias had used his energy to change the composition.

Don’t. You’ll need your strength just in case I fail,
she reprimanded.

I am of the earth and Mother Earth protects her own as best she can.

The cryptic reply didn’t help her anxiety very much. An hour and a half crept by. Both men had long ago shed their shirts, sweating and swearing. The earth yawned open like a beckoning monster, the gaping hole a good six feet in depth.

DS wiped the sweat from his face and glared at Marguarita, his face once again a mask of fury. “You lied to me.”

Esteban screamed, the sound high-pitched and frightened. He pointed toward the hole, backing away.

17

R
ats. Little rats digging in the earth. Deep beneath the rich soil, Zacarias could hear the two men sinking their shovels into the ground. Scraping. Slicing. Ripping apart the dirt, digging like the rats they were. The sound echoed through the layers of soil, spreading like a disease, that endless ripping and tearing. Mother Earth shuddered at the vicious attack and he felt her reaching for him, surrounding him with safe arms.

His body was leaden, but his mind raced, trying to figure out a way to overcome the curse of his species. Never in his life had he felt so completely helpless. So frustrated. He had always accepted the weakness that was the price for great strength and power. The night belonged to his kind and the day belonged to humans. That was the way of his world and it was as much a part of him as living on blood.

All those centuries and he had never once railed against that law, but he had been the only one at risk. Just him. His life had been one of duty and acceptance. Had they found him before, it would have mattered little. But this was not about him. This was different. Everything was different.

His woman—his lifemate—was in danger and he could do absolutely nothing. He had no control over the situation. No control over Marguarita. No ability to destroy the men who threatened her. He was forced to lie helpless while she suffered and that was much more difficult to bear than if someone had hammered a stake through his own heart.

DS had put his hands on her—a crime punishable by death—and yet he’d even done worse. He had struck her. Zacarias felt every blow landing on her soft body. He allowed himself to feel, to absorb the pain she experienced. The pounding seemed a lifetime, blows raining down on her face, her breasts, and then her ribs. The kicks struck her hips and legs and arms. The breath had left her lungs in an explosive burst, leaving a desperate burning for air.

Fury swept through him. A rage deeper than anything he’d ever known. He’d
forbidden
her to place herself in such danger and yet she had disobeyed him. She had deliberately led his enemies away from his resting place. They had been digging for a long while and he could tell by the slowing of the shovels that their belief was beginning to wane. They would turn their anger on Marguarita and he would be unable to stop them.

Summoning every ounce of strength he possessed, he sent his will rising through the earth.

“Where the hell is he?” DS demanded, throwing down his shovel in disgust. He glared at Marguarita. “You’d better tell me or, I swear, I’ll bury you alive down here.”

She slowly got to her feet and scribbled on her notepad.
I told you he never stays long. This is the only place I know that he goes.

DS slapped the paper from Marguarita’s hand, wrenched her around and dragged her toward the open grave.

Marguarita flung herself away from the yawning hole and pointed upstairs frantically.

“You’ll take me there this time, or else, do you understand?”

He was angry enough to bury her alive, she could see that. She nodded her head frantically. Deep inside her mind she could hear herself screaming against what she was about to do. Now or never. She had to end this, or die trying.

No. Marguarita, bring him to me. Do not do this.

For the first time, she actually felt panic in Zacarias. He would never understand, but she felt she had no choice.
I love you. I’m sorry, but I will never give you up. Never. Nothing will induce me to do it. Please don’t stay with me through this.

“Stop! Stop this right now.” Lea leaped to her feet and rushed DS. “You’re crazy. Absolutely out of your mind.” She flung herself at DS, pounding on his back.

Esteban giggled, turning away from the pit to lean on his shovel, giggling. “Looks like you’ve got woman trouble, DS. Did you ever consider there is no such thing as a vampire?”

DS shoved Marguarita hard and turned on Lea. “You fucking bitch. You could have had everything.” He gripped the front of her shirt and ripped it down the front, exposing her breasts.

Marguarita gasped and slipped her hand into her pocket, finding the reassuring presence of the knife. She had no choice now. As angry as DS was, he would rape Lea right in front of them.

DS threw Lea to the ground, stepping between her sprawled legs, his hands dropping to the zipper of his jeans. Esteban wiped his mouth and turned back to the pit, his gaze skittering away from the sight of his sister on the ground under a man who would surely rape her. He gripped his shovel and sank it deep. At once the grave erupted with small wiggling bodies, a thousand of them, pouring up from the bottom and out of the four sides. He screamed, jumped back and threw his shovel.

DS whirled around as Esteban stumbled back, screaming away from the empty grave. Esteban ran toward the stairs. DS hissed a low warning, his hold over Esteban strong enough to stop him, but not enough to bring him back to the edge of the deep hole.

Marguarita sank down beside Lea and gripped her hand. Both women edged back as far as they could, trying not to draw DS’s attention. Lea’s quiet weeping was in her ear, but with her acute hearing, she heard something else, a whisper of sound as thousands of legs brushed dirt.

She hadn’t made a mistake had she? Surely Zacarias would have told her if he’d changed his resting place.
I need to know you’re safe.

For a moment there was silence, and she jammed her fist into her mouth to keep from sobbing. Her eyes burned. Lea put her head on Marguarita’s shoulder for comfort, trying to hold the edges of her ripped blouse together.

Just as I need to know you are safe. And you are not.

The bite to his voice made her wince, but at least she didn’t get the feeling of impending danger. Whatever was in that hole was not Zacarias.

DS approached cautiously and peered down. Where the dirt had appeared brownish in color before, it was now speckled with black dots. Spiders crawled from the sides of the hole, from the bottom, and began filling the grave as he watched in horror. The bodies moved in a mesmerizing way, little legs crawling over one another to get to the top of the writhing pile, building higher as more spiders joined in.

“He’s here,” DS shouted gleefully. “We’re getting close to him. He’s got to be using the insects to protect himself.”

“I’m not getting near them,” Esteban declared. He sank down on the bottom stair, shoving his trembling hands through his hair. “They look hungry and, if they climb out of that hole, I’m getting out of here.”

“You’ll do what I say.” DS studied the mass of bodies. The spiders emerged from tiny holes in the sides of the grave, and began crawling up as though seeking him.

He shuddered and swung around to look at Marguarita and Lea. Marguarita knew her face was pale. She could see the horrible crypt of insects and her entire body recoiled. She pressed her lips together tightly, trying not to show that any second she might get up and run. She was more terrified of the spiders than she was of DS.

She tried to be grateful that Zacarias had sent them. DS believed this was his resting place. As a stalling tactic, it was brilliant. But she was
terrified
of spiders. She closed her eyes and willed them all to go away.

DS caught her wrist and yanked her up. “Now that we know where he is, we don’t really need you, do we?” He began to drag her to the edge of the open grave.

She fought like a wild cat, kicking and punching, ignoring his fists as they rained down on her. He managed to get her to side of the yawning hole but she broke away, hysterical now, unable to get her mind to function. She could not go down into that pit of spiders. She wouldn’t survive it. Her heart beat out of control until she feared she’d have a heart attack.

Be calm. They will not hurt you.

I can’t. I can’t do that. Make them go away.

DS wrenched her around and slapped her face hard enough to stun her. “You’re going in. We need to find out if they’re poisonous, and I have plans for little Lea.” He picked her up bodily and threw her into the pit even as Lea launched herself, tackling him at the legs, driving him over the edge into the deep hole along with Marguarita. All three landed heavily, squishing spiders, DS and Lea pushing Marguarita into the very center of the swarm of moving spiders under the weight of the two human bodies.

Marguarita felt the horrible spider legs, thousands of them, crawling over her skin, in her hair, in her mouth. She’d opened it to emit a soundless scream and the spiders swarmed over her as if she were fresh meat. She couldn’t breathe, was afraid to swallow. She shut her eyes as tight as possible, willing herself to faint. The ringing in her ears was loud, the scream in her mind loud and long, a wail of sheer terror.

Sívamet. Breathe with me. The spiders will never harm you. Trust me. Come into me and I will hold you safe.

Frantic, she gave herself up to him, following the path to his mind, her spirit leaving her body to the spiders and chaos, giving herself into Zacarias’s keeping. Instantly she felt calm, centered. Warm even. She hadn’t even known she had been ice cold. He surrounded her with his being, holding her close, sheltering her against the horrendous nightmare she found herself trapped in.

It was Lea’s scream that brought her back. Her eyes snapped open as her spirit flowed back into her own body. Esteban frantically shoved dirt into the pit on top of them all, intent on burying the spiders, uncaring that his sister, Marguarita and DS were trapped in the pit. He pushed large piles of soil from the edge of the hole as fast as he could.

Lea screamed and began knocking the dirt from her hair. DS swore at Esteban and made a leap, trying to catch the edges of the pit. Esteban smashed his fingers with the shovel and continued to hysterically push the dirt over all of them. DS, in a rage, caught Lea around her throat and began to strangle her, cutting off her cries, shaking her as he tightened his grip.

Marguarita got her feet under her, plunging her hand in the deep pocket of her skirt, withdrawing the knife. She flung the sheath away, trying not to see the spiders crawling everywhere, running down her arm and clinging to her hair. She stumbled toward DS, feeling the spiders crunching beneath her feet. Her stomach lurched. Dirt rained down on her head and shoulders. She had to wipe her eyes to get the grit out. She kept wholly focused on DS, tunneling her vision, knowing she had moments before he killed Lea.

She took the three steps, closing the distance, unsure where to plunge the blade. His back was to her and she’d never considered having to kill another human being.

He is evil.

The voice was dead calm. Dripped icicles. She stepped closer. Lea’s eyes bulged. Her face was scarlet red. The fingers sank deep, cutting off air. Another rain of dirt poured in on them, right over their heads and shoulders. DS didn’t loosen his grip for an instant.

Marguarita took a deep breath. Strength poured into her. She slammed the knife as hard as she could, using every ounce of fear she had in her to drive through skin and muscle, deep into DS’s kidney.

Turn the blade.
The order was delivered in a calm voice.

Pressing her lips together, she did as Zacarias instructed. It was much harder than she thought it would be, even with such power running through her body.

Now pull it out.

She knew blood would pour out with the removal of the blade. She was killing this man. Swallowing hard, she obeyed. The feel of the blade slicing through flesh was a horrendous sensation—one she knew she would never forget—but twisting and then removing it was far worse. She stepped back, choking with bile.

DS stiffened. His eyes went wide as he turned his head to stare at her. His hands fell away from Lea’s throat. Lea slid to the spider-covered floor of the hole, coughing, desperate for air. DS staggered backward, half turning toward Marguarita. He reached one hand toward her just as Esteban threw another shovelful of dirt over them.

Marguarita stepped around DS, and tugged at Lea’s arm. She had to get her up. She knew she had to get Lea on her feet or they’d never make it out of the grave. They couldn’t take the chance of the dirt imprisoning them.