Fall of Darkness (The Chronicles of Darkness) (30 page)

            Oh,
she knew. Kate just lived in a constant state of denial. Alex was her only
friend. Life would be much less complicated if that’s all he remained. It
wasn’t fair to him, but she was broken. She couldn’t give him what he wanted.

            “What
are we up to today?” Kate changed the subject. “More knives and fighting?
Because I have to warn you, that brought out a whole new level of crazy in me.”

            “Haha.
I knew it would,” Massimo grinned. “I thought we’d go trail running. On the
property of course,” he added the last part with an eye roll that indicated he
didn’t agree with her confinement or rules in general.

            Kate
could have kissed him. She would get to run. Outside, nonetheless. “Massimo, I
love you,” she gushed, throwing her arms around him in an enthusiastic hug.

            “And
all I had to do was rough you up a bit.” He gave her a wicked grin. “I’ll have
to let Ambrogio know he’s been going about you all wrong. Enough of the
gentleman bullshit. You like it rough.”

            Kate
expelled a sigh of exasperation. “You really are an ass, you know that?”

            His
grin spread even wider. “Damn right I am. Now enough chitchat. Let’s go keep
this premium grade-A vampire ass in shape. I ate a fat blonde last night and
she’s making me sluggish. I need to work her off.”

            Shaking
her head, Kate stepped into her room to change. If only her cousin was joking.
The insensitive comment left her wondering who Alex was eating at that moment.
With his discerning tastes, he’d probably only feed on young, pretty females.

Did he have sex with them before he fed?
He’d said the two needs worked hand-in-hand. Kate tried to tell herself she
didn’t care what Alex did. However, just because she didn’t want him, didn’t
mean she had to like the thought of anyone else having him.

            Oh,
but Katerina wanted him. The selfish demon snarled in the shadows of her mind,
carrying on about how she hoped he killed every woman to ever feel the pleasure
of his mouth on her body. Kate told her to shut up and go back to sleep. Alex
could eat and sleep with whomever he wanted.

Chapter
26

The first golden rays of sun peeked over
the horizon, so Dominic called off the hunt. The streets would be safe for now.
There would be no more vampires until sundown.

The patrol had been highly successful,
with most of the wolves sustaining injuries, but no casualties. He tried to
find satisfaction in the human lives they’d saved, in the number of blood-sucking
demons they’d slain. All he felt was emptiness.

Battered and bleeding, but healing
quickly, his men headed their separate ways. They disappeared into the morning
light, loping off to lick what remained of their wounds and to rest up for
another long night.

His leg still smarting from the silver
bullet he’d dug out of his left thigh, Dominic ambled toward one of his old
favorite spots to decompress after a night on patrol.

Dominic ducked into the entry of Chiaro
di Luna, the underground club owned and frequented by werewolves. Spotting Gio
across the crowded room, Dominic made his way through the crush of bodies to
where his brother sat at the bar. Dominic dropped onto the stool next to Gio
and signaled the bartender for a drink with a lift of his chin.

            “How’s
it going little brother?” Gio greeted him with a slap on the back.

            “I’ve
seen better days,” Dominic said, accepting his drink from the she-wolf behind
the bar with an appreciative smile. He cracked open the ice cold beer and
dragged a nice, long swallow. He indicated the fighters’ ring at the center of
the crowd with an incline of his head. “How long’s Matteo been up there?”

            “All
night.” Gio’s voice was grim. “No one can take him.”

            Dominic
observed the two men sparring in the ring, watching his older brother’s
unrelenting assault on his opponent, a young pup named Vincent. Matteo’s fist
connected with the younger man’s jaw in a punishing uppercut. Vincent stumbled,
tumbling onto his backside.

Scrambling to his knees, the fallen man
struggled to rise. Matteo’s sharp kick to the jaw halted his progress, sending
Vincent flying onto his back. Vincent rolled to his side, spit a mouthful of
blood and teeth onto the mat, and pushed up to his knees again. The young pup
was too stupid to know when to stay down.

            In
a world where immortal bodies mended in a matter of seconds, the underground
brawling of the werewolves’ clubs could get especially violent. There were no
rules, no limitations. The aim of the fighters was to cause the other man
enough pain to force him to cry mercy or enough injury to knock him
unconscious, both difficult endeavors in a breed of men who healed unnaturally
fast.

            Matteo
allowed his opponent to rise without attacking. Vincent flashed the crowd a
jaunty grin, showing off a full set of teeth, the shattered stumps of the teeth
on the mat restored and forgotten. Matteo returned his grin, a look of pure
malice twisting his features. 

Dominic’s brother rushed Vincent,
tackling the younger man and dropping him to the mat with the force of his
body. Matteo straddled the man’s stomach and pummeled his face again and again.
Vincent’s arms swung up in a futile attempt to protect his face, but his
scrawny arms were no match for Matteo’s iron fists. His head bobbed back and
forth like a rag doll as Matteo’s punches rained down on his mangled face,
spattering blood and chunks of bone with each weighted strike.

The crowd of onlookers booed and hissed
as two men tore Matteo off his bloodied opponent. Vincent remained motionless,
knocked unconscious by the weight of Matteo’s blows. Matteo raised both of his
fists in triumph, dancing around the ring as the crowds’ shouts of displeasure
shifted to cheers. The two wolves running interference dragged the unconscious
fighter out of the ring.

“He’s going too far. I keep telling him,
but he won’t listen,” Gio said quietly.

Dominic slammed his half empty drink on
the counter, rising from his stool.

“Where are you going?” Gio asked,
placing a halting hand on Dominic’s chest.

“To send him a message he will listen
to,” Dominic answered, shrugging off his brother’s hand.

He doffed his t-shirt and tossed it to
Gio as he worked his way through the crowd to the ring. Ducking under the
ropes, he slipped into the ring to face his older brother. Matteo paused in his
victory dance to grin at Dominic.

“So, Dom,” Matteo sneered. “Come to
play, have you? I hoped you would.”

Dominic inclined his head in greeting.
“Matteo.”

The two brothers dropped to a crouch,
circling each other, each waiting for the other to attack. Matteo struck first,
charging Dominic with the full weight of his body. Dominic was faster. He
dodged the attack, catching Matteo in the stomach with his knee. Matteo doubled
over in pain, but recovered quickly and came up swinging. His jab caught Dominic
in the jaw, rattling his teeth.

“Welcome to the club, little brother,”
Matteo jeered.

“What?”

“Didn’t you know? You’ve officially been
inducted into the club of fuck-ups. Everyone knows you couldn’t kill the
Cacciatori bitch. You failed and everyone knows it. Welcome to my world, little
brother,” he crowed. “My how the mighty hath fallen, from golden child to
fuck-up.”

Dominic answered with a series of sharp
jabs, sending Matteo stumbling backwards. Matteo held his feet, swiped at the
blood trickling down his chin, and grinned.

“You want to know the best part, Dom?”
he asked, lowering his voice to a whisper. “They may not know you for the
traitor you are,” indicating the crowd with a sweeping gesture. “But I do. They
just think you missed your chance, but I know the truth. I know you betrayed us
all, sacrificed everything, for a taste of vampire pussy. Was she worth it?”

“Shut up, Matteo,” Dominic growled,
rushing his brother and tackling him to the ground. The two men wrestled for
the dominant position. Dominic gained the advantage, locking his arm around
Matteo’s neck.

“Tell me, Dom,” a red-faced Matteo
choked out.  “I’m dying to know. Did you think of us when you fucked her?”

Dominic slammed his free elbow into
Matteo’s immobilized head, striking repeatedly, punctuating each word. “Shut-
the -fuck- up.”

Wheezing with exertion, Matteo twisted
out of his brother’s hold, landing a punch to Dominic’s exposed side as he
weaseled away. Dominic released a sharp whoosh of air on impact, contracting
around the injury. He stretched as the fragments of cracked rib fused back
together.

“I’m going to kill the bitch. You know
that, Dom? You should’ve killed her when you had the chance, it would’ve been
far kinder than what’ll happen when I catch up with her. I’m going to make her
beg---”

“You touch her and you’re a dead man,”
Dominic snarled.

Dominic caught his brother with another
sharp knee to the gut and Matteo crumpled in pain.  Dominic seized the
opportunity to pin his stunned brother beneath his body. Kneeling on Matteo’s
chest, Dominic unleashed his wrath in a storm of fists, pounding away at any
flesh in his way. He fought for Kate. He fought for himself.

Matteo fists flailed, connecting
ineffectively with Dominic’s torso, but Dominic’s fists barraged his defenses
with relentless fury. No mercy. Not for Matteo. Not for a brother who was no
brother at all.

Dominic continued his assault, relishing
the satisfying crunch of bone as Matteo’s nose shattered beneath his fist,
reveling in the thrill of adrenaline coursing through his veins.

The world froze as Matteo tapped the
mat. The bastard actually tapped out. With his surrender, he robbed Dominic of
his vengeance.

Dominic reluctantly rolled off his
brother, rising to his feet. The crowd roared in approval. Matteo stumbled to his
feet, leering through eyes swollen near shut. A blood stained grin cracked his
battered face.

“We’ll see who the dead man is,
brother,” Matteo hissed through a froth of blood.  “It’s good to know what side
you’re on though.”

Dominic turned his back and walked away,
ignoring the protests of the bloodthirsty crowd as he ducked out of the ring.
Gio stumbled after him as he made his way out of the club and off into the
night.

Matteo’s words echoed in his mind.

What side was he on? Dominic hadn’t a
single doubt in his mind.

Chapter
27

“Can the prisoner please have some yard
time?” Kate begged, closing the book she’d been trying to read for the last
hour, but had failed to get past the first paragraph.

Alexander looked up from his book.
“What?”

Kate rose to stretch her muscles, stiff
from sitting for too long. “I’m tired of being cooped up all the time. I need
some fresh air.”

“We can walk the grounds again,” Alex
offered.

“No. I want to see Italy. I’ve been here
for nearly a month and I haven’t seen anything beyond a ten-mile radius of this
castle. I need to soak up the history, taste the culture.”

Alex chuckled. “Are you ready to taste
the people too? Because, last I checked, the cities were full of them and they
smell delicious.”

 Kate waved him off. “You won’t let me
eat anyone. You know how I feel about it,” she said, giving him her best
begging eyes.

Alex shook his head at her. “Yeah, well
that doesn’t mean I feel like tackling you to the ground and wiping a bunch of
memories to keep you from hating yourself tomorrow.”

“Oh come on, Alex. It’ll be fun.” Kate
could tell he was so close to giving in. She could see it in his dark honey
eyes.

“Alright,” he sighed. “I’ll see what I
can do.”

“Yes!” Kate cheered, pumping the air
with her fist. “Alex, you’re the be-est,” she practically sang as she danced
off into her bedroom.

It turned out, what ‘he could do’ was
coordinate a trip to Milan. Kate could kiss the guy for it. Never mind the fact
she travelled with a bigger entourage than a leader of a small country. She was
going out.

Kate’s body thrummed with excitement as
the Phantom flew down the road amid the motorcade of cars and motorcycles that
comprised her guard. Alex drove in his usual manner, but this time Kate didn’t
care. The faster he drove, the sooner they’d be in Milan. Besides, all the
immortals seemed to drive the way they spent money, with reckless abandon, as
though they would die tomorrow instead of living forever.

The lights of Italy’s financial
epicenter gleamed in the distance.  Kate remembered from her studies that Milan
had sustained major damage during World War II and was one of the more
modernized cities in the country. But what the thriving metropolis lacked in
old world beauty, it made up for in culture, commercialism, and nightlife. 
Kate doubted they’d be touring any museums or cathedrals anyway. She would love
to see the Duomo someday though.

Kate pressed her nose against the glass
to soak up every inch of the modish city as they drove straight to its heart.

“It is here in Milan that your
grandfather conducts the bulk of his business,” Alexander told her.

“Ah, so this is where the money trees
grow,” Kate joked, glancing at him over her shoulder.

Alex’s face scrunched in confusion.
“What?”

“Never mind,” Kate chuckled, resuming
her inspection of the passing cityscape. Every once in a while, the dramatic
architecture of a palace or church popped up amid the severe buildings. “So,
where are we going?”

“Milan.”

“Very funny. Fine, what are we doing?”
Kate asked and added, “And don’t you dare say ‘riding in a car.’
”

Alexander chuckled. “I thought for your
first night away from the castle, we would err on the side of caution. We’re
going to Noche de Reyes, a private club for vampires. There will be less chance
of trouble for us and less temptation for you.”

Okay, so maybe a club wouldn’t have been
Kate’s choice for her first experience in Milan, but oh well. It wasn’t the
castle. The car slowed to a stop near the front of a stunning neoclassical
church. Shops and offices lined the street on either side, all closed up tight
for the night. It was the strangest place for a night club. Kate looked to Alexander
in confusion. His knowing grin said ‘just wait.’ He ambled around to let her
out of the car.

A throng of vampires in suits climbed
out of the surrounding vehicles. Even Massimo was there, his arm draped around
a leggy, red headed vamp. Great, the only thing missing was the paparazzi. With
entourage in tow, Alex led Kate around to the rear of the church and down a
cement staircase.

“A club beneath a church, huh?” Kate
asked, her tone dubious.

Alex shrugged. “Yeah, Massimo liked the
irony of it.”

“Massimo?”

“Yeah, it’s his place.”

“But I thought… I mean… doesn’t he hang
around the compound all the time?”

 “No, he’s not completely useless,”
Alexander laughed. “You do know money doesn’t actually grow on trees, right?
Immortals have plenty of time to accumulate wealth, but an eternity to spend it
as well. Eventually the money would run out if we didn’t do something to keep
it coming in.”

Kate nodded in understanding, secretly
filled with relief. The money wasn’t stolen through compulsion as she’d feared.

“Now let’s get inside before a human
comes along and Cinderella turns into a bloodthirsty pumpkin,” Alex joked. Kate
would’ve been amused, if the thought hadn’t scared her half to death. She knew
how dangerous her demon self could be.

Alex rapped on the plain steel door at
the base of the stairs. The door opened and a beefy vampire in a tight black
shirt filled the doorframe. With the slightest nod at Alexander, the massive
bouncer stepped aside and granted them entrance.

Kate followed Alexander into the
flickering darkness of the underground nightclub. Her entourage quickly
dispersed, the suits mingling into the crowd. They were still there among the
gyrating bodies and flashing white strobe lights, but gave the illusion of
space as they faded into the scene. Their presence seemed a bit superfluous to
Kate. In a club full of vampires, in a city controlled by vampires, she was as
safe she’d ever be.

The air was thick with the smell of
sweat, blood, and alcohol. Though not a human was in sight, the scent of blood
on tap was enough to bring Katerina snarling to full attention. Kate was glad
she’d tanked up before they’d left. The last thing she needed was for her
psycho alter ego to come out and play. Alex would never let her out of the
castle again.

A crush of bodies filled the dance
floor, all moving to the thrumming pulse of the music. Kate grabbed Alex’s hand
and dragged him into the sea of bodies. If he wanted to take her to a club,
then he was going to have to dance. She missed dancing, hadn’t done it in so
long. Not since… That thought was over before it began. Not tonight.

Moving with the beat, Kate let the music
carry her away. Alex moved with her, dancing with his typical feline finesse.
Massimo and his redhead danced beside them, their bodies pressed together,
undulating in a manner bordering on obscene. Kate ignored them, losing herself
in the rhythm she could feel clear down to her claimed soul.

The four of them danced, laughed and
drank the night away. The other vampires imbibed various concoctions of blood
and alcohol, lending a whole new meaning to the concept of a Bloody Mary. Kate
ordered her drinks ‘virgin,’ leaving her chugging straight liquor like a
sorority lush.

Her body burned through the alcohol so
fast she couldn’t get a buzz. She didn’t care. The alcohol burned all the way
down her throat, masking, but not eliminating the burn of her thirst for blood.

A colossal bouncer tapped Massimo on the
shoulder. “Boss, we got a problem.”

Scowling, Massimo disentangled himself
from his date’s embrace. With the jerk of his head, he indicated for Alex to
accompany him to the front of the club. Alex took Kate’s hand, pulling her
behind him as they made their way through the crowd. The sea of suits shifted
to follow.

 “What the hell is it doing here?”
Massimo glowered at the bouncer as though the vampire had conjured up the
problem just to piss him off.

The bouncer shrugged. “The dog said it
came to talk to Capitano Ambrogio.”

“Why don’t you show our guest in then?
It can speak with Ambrogio in the back,” Massimo instructed, a gleam of
mischief in his eye. Kate knew that look. Massimo was up to something.

            “Come
with me, Katerina,” Alexander said. His tone was casual, but his body language
betrayed his tension over the uninvited guest. With a tug of her hand, he tried
to lead her away. Whoever ‘it’ was, Alex clearly didn’t want her around to see
or be seen.

Kate dug her heels into the ground,
folding her arms over her chest. “No. I’m fine right here.”

“Katerina,” Alexander groaned. “Now is
not the time for rebellion.”

Before Kate could argue that now was
exactly the time, the door to the club flew open. Two of Massimo’s meatheads
dragged the unwelcome visitor into the darkness of the club. ‘It’ was a man,
one with dark, unruly curls and a day’s growth of scruff on his face. Something
about him was strangely familiar.

His presence repelled vampires with the
force of magnets of the same pole. The crush of bodies parted like the Red Sea,
every vampire in the vicinity giving the man and his escort wide berth as
Massimo led them to the back of the club. Kate took off after them. With an
aggravated sigh, Alex followed close behind her.

The man and his escort disappeared into
an alcove at the rear of the club. Kate tried to follow, trailed by Alexander
and her entire entourage of suits. But when Kate reached the entrance, Massimo
barred her path. “Whatever it wants is between it and Alex.”

Kate glared up at her cousin, trying to
think of a witty retort. But Alex spoke instead.

“Your men searched him, right?”
Alexander asked quietly.

Massimo nodded.

Alex sighed. “Let her pass.”

Eyeing Alexander with his ‘dude, you’re
so whipped’ look, Massimo reluctantly stepped aside.       

Together, they approached the table
tucked beneath the alcove. The man sat there alone, his dark head bowed as he
concentrated on peeling the label from the bottle in his hand.

            “What
are you doing here, Ridolfi?” Alex growled.

Kate’s heart stuttered at the name. It
couldn’t be. The stranger lifted his eyes from the bottle, ignoring Alexander
as his black gaze burned into Kate’s. With those eyes, it had to be
.

            Speechless,
Kate gawked back at the man who could only be Dominic’s brother. Though his
lanky frame and large, hooked nose were far from Dominic’s chiseled physique
and stunning visage, the similarities were impossible to miss. The same eyes,
same jaw, same wild mop of hair.

“I came to talk to Kate.” Those dark
eyes, so like Dominic’s, never left hers.

            “You
said your business was with me.” Alexander’s gaze could’ve carved wood.

            Dominic’s
brother shrugged his narrow shoulders. “I lied.”

Faster than lightning, Massimo was
there, pressing the barrel of his gun to the man’s forehead. No one in the club
seemed to notice or care, not even the man staring down the wrong end of the
gun. Kate cringed. All that stood between the all too familiar stranger and
death was the tightening of her unpredictable cousin’s finger on the trigger.

“Do you have a death wish, Ridolfi?”
Massimo snarled, digging the cold steel harder into the man’s flesh.  “I would
think you of all people would know better than to wander off alone at this time
of night, especially this far north. This is my club. This is my town. That
means my rules. You were a dead wolf the moment you set foot on my turf.”

The man didn’t flinch, didn’t move. “I
came to talk to Kate,” he repeated.

“Katerina?” Alex turned to her, his
golden brows arched high in question.

“Ah, come on,” Massimo groaned. “It’s my
place. Let me blow the fucker’s head off, right here, right now.”

Kate nodded--- at Alexander, not
Massimo. Alex pursed his lips in displeasure, but inclined his head in
reluctant assent. Massimo dropped the gun to his side with a grunt of disgust.
He continued to stare down their visitor with unconcealed malevolence.

Alex raked their guest with a baleful
glare and muttered, “Two minutes, Ridolfi.”

In the blink of an eye, Alex and the
other vampires melted into the crowd. Kate knew they weren’t far. They would
never leave her alone with a werewolf, no matter how outmanned and outgunned he
was in a crowd of vampires packing more heat than the fires of Hell. They
probably weren’t even out of earshot, but were giving her the illusion of
privacy while they listened to whatever message the wolf had deemed worth dying
to deliver.

Kate slid into the chair across the table
from him. Minutes ticked by as he assessed her in silence. At last, he spoke.

“You are even more beautiful than I
imagined. Then again, I’m not surprised,” he said softly.

“Do I know you?” Kate asked, attempting
to infuse her voice with enough haughty condescension to hide her ruffled
feathers. What on God’s green earth could Dominic’s brother possibly want from
her badly enough to brave this place alone?