Heart and Soul (33 page)

With one of his odd, formal nods, Chan said, “So be it. If you wish a violent, painful death, I shall grant it, Kelsey.”

He lunged for her. Kelsey dove to the right and tucked her body into a shoulder roll, coming up on the other side of Dawn. Something caught her eye, and she grinned, reaching out and closing her hand around the jagged leg of the chair. It had broken under Dawn’s weight when Chan hurled her through the air and made a very effective weapon, particularly against a vampire.

If Kelsey could get to her feet and stay on them long enough to use it.

A small, pale hand closed around her wrist. Dawn’s voice was low and hoarse with urgency. “It’s not much—you’re still too damned weak to fight well. But at least it’s something.”

The
something
roared into Kelsey’s body like a flood, and her skin tingled. The return of her magick was damned near intoxicating, bringing with it a rush of adrenaline. It wouldn’t last long, the adrenaline rush, but while it lasted, it would give her some desperately needed energy.

Still clutching the broken table leg in her hand, she rose to her feet. With her free hand, she shoved her loose hair back. There was something terribly discomfiting about facing down anybody while wearing just a white button-down shirt, Kelsey discovered as she met Chan’s dark gaze. “We really don’t have to do this,” she said, making one last attempt.

But he was in no mood to be rational. “This was inevitable—the moment you harbored the enemy.”

How long has a fanatic been leading the Select?
Kelsey wondered. They needed somebody dedicated, somebody who was totally committed to their cause. But they didn’t need a zealot. That was entirely too dangerous.

One thing was sure, though. No matter what the outcome of this, Chan wasn’t going to continue leading the Select. If he didn’t kill her, she’d damn well see to that.

If he did—her gut knotted at the thought, but she wouldn’t let herself shy away from it—if Chan did manage to get his hands on her, she would most likely end up dead. Then he would have to deal with Malachi.

Her heart twisted as she thought of Mal, and renewed determination flooded her. She
would
see him again, damn it. She’d see him and she’d damned well learn why he had left so abruptly that first time. And then she’d jump him. They could spend the next month locked in a bedroom.

“Well, then. Why are you just standing there?” she asked, waggling her fingers toward Chan.

He lunged for her, and Kelsey waited until the very last moment before she darted to the side. As she did, she lashed out with her makeshift weapon. It caught him in the middle of his back, and she smelled blood. Barely scraped the surface, she suspected, but as she squared off with him once more, she saw something flicker in his eyes. “I will not just stand here and go down quietly.”

“All the same, you
will
go down.”

This time when he moved, Kelsey tapped into the precious reserves of her power, striking him full force. The warrior went flying back, crashing through the table. Only the stone floors under him kept him from going farther. There was a thunderous cracking noise. When he rose to his feet, there was a tiny fissure in the floor where he had landed.

Those dark, almond-shaped eyes narrowed slightly, and Kelsey smiled tightly at him. “I may not be much of a warrior, pal, but I
did
learn how to fight.”

He said nothing. Moving in a flash too fast for her eyes to track, he drew his knife and hurled it her way. She dodged out of the way, but not completely. Icy pain hissed through her as it pierced through the upper part of her left arm, penetrating through skin and muscle. The blade had entered her bicep and gone completely through, just shy of the bone.

Kelsey dropped the piece of wood and reached up, closing her hand around the hilt. She bit down on her lip to stifle the cry of pain as she jerked the blade from her flesh. Deadly silver winked back at her. Looking up, she met his eyes.

Fear and fury pounded through her veins, but she knew she wasn’t going to be able to stay on her feet much longer, much less fight.

But as she started to circle the room once more, a warmth flooded her. It tingled through her veins, brushed against her skin like a gentle kiss: Malachi
.

He was coming. Kelsey did not understand how she knew that, but he was. She smiled at Chan. “You’re out of time.”

 

 

VAMPIRES DIDN’T FEEL MUCH OF ANYTHING IN THE brief seconds in between dematerializing and re-forming at a different location. The senses still worked, but for that brief period of time, they lacked a physical body, and pain was nonexistent.

But as he re-formed in the lowest of level of the old manor, he felt an icy pain in his left arm. Across the room, he could see Kelsey, and blood was flowing down her left arm in rivulets.

For a few brief moments, he was frozen, helplessly watching as his body took shape once more. Chan moved for Kelsey—had her pinned against the wall. Once Malachi’s body was completely formed, he started for them, but the hot punch of magick flooded the air, and he saw the fiery blaze in Kelsey’s hand. She lashed out toward Chan with it, and he hissed, withdrawing just a little.

The warrior’s hand lifted. It would have only taken a second more to reach her. But Chan struck her in even less, backhanding her across the face. Kelsey came flying through the air, and Malachi caught her, his body absorbing the impact of hers.

He lingered just long enough to stare at the darkening mark on her cheek, to study the bloodied mess of her arm. She smiled weakly at him. “It took you long enough,” she murmured, her voice husky and faint. Her lids drooped, hiding the pretty hazel gold of her eyes from him. “I knew you’d get here, though.”

Carefully, he knelt, lowering her to the floor. Cupping the back of her head, he held her close for a minute, breathing in the warm scent of her skin. The soft, gentle scent was nearly overpowered by the blood oozing from her arm. The flesh hadn’t even started to knit together, just one more sign of how weak she still was.

“Tell me, Chan, when did it become honorable for a Hunter to attack anyone who was in a clearly weakened state?” Malachi asked. He kept his tone casual, although it was little chance any sane, seeing person could overlook his rage.

“My honor lies in completing the duty that lies before me. She interfered.”

Still not looking at the other vampire, Malachi brushed his fingers down the soft skin of her cheek. “Indeed. Because
her
honor commanded it.” Rising, he turned and faced the shorter warrior, his hands curled into loose fists. His fangs bulged and throbbed within their sheaths. Keeping his rage under control was fast becoming a supreme test to his willpower. “Have you once asked yourself why a witch,
a healer
, would give aid to an enemy?”

“I care not for her reasons. Only to see that it never happens again.”

Malachi narrowed his eyes. “It never happened a first time, you bloody fool. The woman who committed the crimes we found her guilty of no longer exists.”

Arching a brow, Chan said, “Repentance at this late date. How convenient. And how ridiculous that a witch with Kelsey Cassidy’s experience would fall for such a pathetic attempt. That alone proves what a danger she is to us. That is why she must be dealt with.”

Those cool words finally pushed Malachi over the edge. He crossed the distance separating him from Chan in two long strides, reaching up to close one hand around the warrior’s throat. When Chan attempted to evade him, Malachi simply lowered his shields and snarled, “You will be
still
.”

Chan had seen nearly six centuries come and go. He was a powerful bastard, and the maddening fear that many vampires used as a weapon had little effect on him. It was one of the reasons that Malachi had chosen him to lead the Select nearly two hundred years ago.

But Chan hadn’t ever had to stand before Malachi when the older vamp had his shields lowered. A grim pleasure flooded the older vampire as Chan paled, terror flooding his dark eyes even as he tried to fight it down. “You hear my words, but you do not listen, Chan.
That
woman is dead. I speak not of repentance or any act of forgiveness that Kelsey might have granted. I have lived far longer than you, and I know my duty. Had you killed the woman that was being held in the dungeons, you would have murdered an innocent woman.
More
. . . you would have murdered one of your own comrades. And I speak not of Kelsey Cassidy. She saved your bloody soul and you will, by God, beg forgiveness. If I let you live.”

With that, he hurled Chan away from him, watching as the vampire went flying across the room, hitting the stone wall. Dust floated down from the ceiling as Chan picked himself back up, staring at Malachi.

Once more, Malachi let his shields slide back into place and waited until the terror left Chan’s eyes. “I tire of these riddles,” Chan spat, lisping a little around his fangs. “The bitch’s execution was ordered by the Council.
She
sat on that Council.” He flung a hand toward Kelsey. “And I will mete out that execution.”

“You will not. The order has been rescinded.” Smiling faintly, Malachi added, “It is temporary—for now. The Council awaits Kelsey. She has answers to some very important questions. If you had waited just a few hours before making an ass of yourself, you would have learned all.”

Chan inclined his head. “I know all I need to know. I shall not suffer a traitor among the Hunters.”

“And I will not suffer a fool.” Crossing over to Chan, he added in a menacing voice, “Nor will I allow
anyone
to lay a hand on my mate.”

There was a crack as Malachi plowed his fist into Chan’s nose, and it was almost as satisfying as the scent of the vampire’s blood. Chan staggered back but didn’t go down. He moved toward Mal, one leg sweeping out in a kick that was meant for Mal’s midsection. Mal blocked it, closing in on Chan with the intention of shedding more blood.

There was a ripple of magick in the air. It was subtle, this magick, far more subtle than he would have felt had it been Dawn working it. Even more subtle than Kelsey’s, and she had a rather refined touch, especially as young as she was, comparatively speaking.

He dodged another blow from Chan, catching the smaller man’s wrist and jerking it up. He moved behind the warrior as he did so, shoving the wrist high and kicking out at Chan’s knee at the same time. Bone cracked. As Chan crashed to the floor, Malachi went down on top of him.

“You see. I told you there was trouble,” a gentle voice said with a sigh.

“It looks like Malachi has it under control, woman. I don’t think we’re needed.”

Malachi looked up, meeting a pair of soft blue eyes. He glanced from the woman to Vax and said flatly, “This is
not
keeping her out of harm’s way, Vax.”

Vax just snorted. “Try telling that to
her
. I could either come along for the ride or let her go alone. I’ll be damned if I’m going to get my ass kicked for trying to stand in her way.”

“Do get off the lad, Malachi. There has been quite enough trouble over me,” Agnes Milcher said, scowling at Malachi. It was like looking back through time; she looked exactly as she had when they had first met.

“Love, there could never be enough trouble over you,” Malachi murmured. Then he looked down at Chan and smacked the man’s dark head with the flat of his hand. “And this isn’t entirely over you, Nessa. He dared to harm Kelsey.”

“So I see. I tire of seeing my work undone like this, Chan.”

Malachi stood up and watched as Chan rolled over. The bottom half of his left leg, from the knee down, stuck out at an awkward angle. Unable to bear his weight, Chan remained on the ground, his eyes bright with pain and anger. But there was also confusion. “Do not speak to me as if you know me, witch. Whatever magick you have done will not fool me.”

“Now why should I ever hope to fool you?” Nessa asked. “You and your bloody pride and honor do a far better job of making you to look the ass than I ever could. You were like that when I helped to train you four hundred years ago, and you will likely be like that in another five hundred.
If
you live that long.”

“Dear God.”

The soft, shaken whisper came from the corner opposite of where Kelsey was still sitting. Dawn Meyers sat there, surrounded by the rubble of a busted chair, staring at Nessa with disbelief in her eyes.

“How is this possible?”

CHAPTER SEVEN

That was, indeed, the question.

But it was not one that concerned Malachi.

He stood at the edge of the bed, watching as Regina once more laid her gentle, capable hands on Kelsey. As Regina probed the wound in Kelsey’s arm, Malachi edged a little closer.

He was not hovering. Just watching. After all, it was his damned fault she lay there, so still, her skin so pale. Blood staining her clothes. Once more, his fangs threatened to emerge, and he had to force his body not to react to the rage he still felt.