Not Another Vampire Book (26 page)

A
frown tugged his mouth as he noticed that his audience had fled into the night.

Vampires
could fly?

Of
course they could.

Kara
rolled her eyes, ignoring the glass that rained down.  None of it got within
six feet of where she stood.  Magic, again.  She looked over at Damien.  “He
couldn’t use the door, huh?”

“Overcompensation.” 
Damien stepped in front of her, his attention on Slade.  “I think you owe my
cari
an apology, Vampire.”

“She
is not my Eternal-One!  You have lied to me for the last time, sorcerer. 
Passing this Witch off as my beloved is the vilest, most...”

“I’m
not a Witch.”  Kara interrupted before Damien sent him through a wall next. 
“And I told you I wasn’t your beloved, Slade.  You heard me say it many times.”

“Lies. 
Witches lie.”

“
You
lie.”  Damien started for him.  “She told you that she wasn’t your
Eternal-One and you sought her, anyway.  You tried to steal my mate.  Admit
it!  When she wouldn’t go willingly, you sent the dragons after her.  You tried
to take her for your own and
I almost fucking let you!
”  The last part
was a roar.

“I
thought she was mine!  She seduced me with her Witch’s magicks!”  Slade protested,
righteously.  “Her curly hair is un-Witch-like and purposefully attractive. 
When I kissed her, she only pretended to fight me off.  She gives mixed signals.”

“Get
your eyes off of her hair and... What?”  Damien stopped short, rounding on
Kara.  “
He kissed you?!
”

“Well,
I hit him for it.” She shrugged, helplessly.  “It’s not like I
wanted
him to.  Don’t get upset, it only lasted a second.”

“She
was about to become overcome with passion when she attacked me.”  Slade
volunteered.  “The woman is impossible to understand.  You are welcome to her,
sorcerer.”

Damien
looked back at Slade, his voice going cold.  “Even if I wasn’t
already
planning to kill you,
now
I would kill you.”

“You
have stolen my
real
Eternal-One!”  Slade shouted.  “
You
are the
one at fault here.  To’kel has told me how your Witch bragged of abducting the
gentle flower of my heart.”

“Okay,
technically
that’s right...”  Kara began.

Damien
cut her off.  “
I
abducted the human girl.  Not Kara Lynn.”

“Now,
that’s not true.”  Kara shook her head at Slade.  “He was against kidnapping
Melessa from the start.  It was my idea.  But, see I didn’t have a choice.”

“Slade’s
woman is
my
prisoner.”  Damien said, flatly.  “I think she makes a
lovely addition to my dungeon.”

Slade’s
not-quite-blue-enough eyes narrowed at Damien.  “You seek to protect the Witch
from my wrath, but I am the most brilliant strategist of my people and I am not
fooled.  We have battled in the past, yet you never caught me so off-guard
before.  Never done so many things so... differently.  So wrongly and
not
how they are supposed to be.  No.”  He started for Kara, his handsome face
intent.  “
She
is behind this.  The Witch and her evil book of lies.”

Kara
automatically looked down at
Eternal Passion at Sunset
.  To’kel must
have told him about the story spoilers, too.  Probably not the part where he
was planning to steal the Vampire throne and kill granny’s cat, though.  “Okay,
I’m with you on not liking this manuscript, but there’s no need to go all
unhinged.  We’re both after the same thing.  You want Melessa and I want to
give her back to you, so...  Vlad, stop.  I don’t think he’ll hurt me.”

Damien
seemed to disagree.  He pushed her back, farther away from Slade.  “If you come
near my mate, Vampire, yours will die.”  From out of nowhere, a really sharp
sword appeared in his elegant palm and he gave it a menacing twirl that bespoke
of a lot of bloodshed.  “I’m
positive
I can kill that girl whenever I
feel the urge.”

“Great.” 
Kara threw up her hands at the threat as Slade gasped in outrage.  “Come on,
Damien.  Not helping.  Slade?”  It was a sad day for sanity when she was
counting on
him
to be rational one.  “If you want Melessa, you can have
her.  I swear.  I know you need her by your birthday tomorrow, so I’ll go get
her right now and...”

“Oh,
you’d like that, wouldn’t you?”  He interrupted.  “You think to lead me into a
trap.  I am no idiot.  I will save her from your vile clutches, without your
help.”

“No,
geez, don’t do that.  Just let me give her back.”

“You
truly want to just return the woman to him?”  Damien sounded incredulous.  “Has
it escaped your notice that he is my mortal enemy and I’ve been planning to
capture his bride for six hundred and sixty-six years?”

Kara’s
mouth dropped open.  “Damien!”  Villainy was just second nature to him.

“Don’t
you see?  My plan has actually worked.”  He was warming to his topic.  “Inadvertently,
yes.  But, now I have his real Eternal-One and she is not you, so it doesn’t
matter what happens to her.  I can use her to extract my vengeance and lure him
into a trap.  We’re not just giving him back my bait.”

Kara
wondered if she could somehow levitate
him
through a ceiling.  “She’s
my
prisoner, Damien.  I’ll decide what we do with her.”

“To’kel
has warned me of your treachery.”  Slade said that a little too loudly as if he
just wanted their attention back on him.  “Your schemes will end in your doom!”

“Oh
please.  To’kel’s trying to murder you, dingus!  Here.”  Kara opened the manuscript
to page 175.  “See for yourself.”  She held it up for him.  “He’s been working
with Damien to overthrown you this entire time.”

“Kara
Lynnnnn.”  Damien drew her name out on an aggravated sigh.  “Don’t tell him my
plans.  Without spies, I cannot I spy on him.”

“Oh,
you’re going to kill To’kel, anyhow.”

Slade
edged forward as far as his own suspicions and Damien’s sword point would let
him.  “‘Slade’s imposing masculine beauty outshone the human men and drew the
eye of every woman.’”  He read out loud. “‘The Vampire King seemed bathed in a
golden ray of radiance that Melessa felt lucky to be part of as she basked in
his magnetic sexual presence.’”  Slade’s lips pursed.  He glanced at Kara,
reluctantly intrigued.  “Interesting.  This book does not sound like lies, at
all."

“It
depends on your point of view.”  Damien muttered.

“Quiet,
you.”  Kara nudged him with her shoulder.  “Here, Slade.  Read this part.”  She
gestured further down the page.  

He
obediently squinted at the paragraph.  “‘Slade stood as straight and imposing
as a very large tree.  “I know that you have plotted with Damien to steal my
crown and my beloved, but I am the rightful owner of both and will not have
them stolen by you, my illegitimate cousin from hell.’”  Hmmm... Well, you have
a point.”  Slade shrugged and looked up from the book.  “That brave man does
sound like me.”

“Yeah,
he sure does.”  Damien agreed, snidely.

“Why
would anyone want to rebel against me, though?”  Slade seemed baffled by the
idea that he might not engender universal devotion.  “Especially To’kel.  I let
him care for my horses.  He is head stable boy.”

“Right.” 
How could she explain things to this blockhead in the quickest, most believable
way?  “Well, Slade you are so magnificent, that sometimes lesser men might feel
jealous.”

“Oh
my gods.”  Damien actually lowered the sword and turned to glare at her.  “You
can’t be serious.”

“It’s
for the greater good.”  She hissed back.

Slade
gazed off at nothing, for a long moment.  He was buying this.  In the original
text, To’kel was a baddie and, of all the characters, Slade always seemed the
most responsive to shortcuts back to the actual plot.  Why wouldn’t he be?  He
was the star.  “I don’t judge the lesser men.  I treat them as I would any
helpful servant.  To’kel should feel privileged to be my lucky kinsman.”

“I
know.  His ingratitude is tragic for you.”

“I
must persevere in the face of his betrayal, of course, but my birthday
celebration will be marred.”

Damien
let out a disgusted sound.  “I’m voting for To’kel to kill you.”

Kara
ignored the commentary.  “Now listen, Slade, I know you’re too smart to fall
for any tricks.”

“Oh,
I am.”  He agreed, modestly.

“Right. 
But, I worry that To’kel is plotting to kill you.  So, you just concentrate on
avoiding him and I’ll get Melessa for you.  We’ll bring her to you, anytime or
place you say, alright?”

“No,
we won’t.”  Damien snapped.

“First,
I shall confront To’kel and smite him down.  Only then will it be safe for my
gentle bride on the Vampire Isle.”

“Right,
but...”

“No
true cousin of mine would plot to hand my Eternal-One over to Damien.  How
could she survive the sorcerer’s captivity?  Perhaps, To’kel is adopted and
that explains his bad blood.”

“But,
see, Melessa’s with us
now
.”  Kara explained.  “Damien and I already
have
her, and we want to give her back, so...”

“No
we
don’t
, Kara Lynn.”

“Do
not seek to confuse me, Witch!  I shall comply with your demands for her
release.  Anything for my Eternal-One.  No price is too high to have her back
in my mighty arms.”

“I
don’t
have
any demands for her release.  If you would just...”

“Tomorrow
you will produce her or suffer my wrath!”

“Tomorrow? 
You can have her
now
.”

Damien
reached up to pinch the bridge of his nose.  It was impossible to know if he
was more irritated with her or Slade, at this point.

“Silence!” 
Slade cried.  “Tomorrow at sunset, you will bring my bride here to the Fair.  I
will have my queen and secure my throne!  Hail King Slade!  Hail King me!”  He glanced
over at Kara in annoyance when she didn’t start hailing.

She
shook her head in amazement.  “You’re such an idiot.”  Probably not the most
politic thing to tell the Vamp, but it just had to be said.

Damien
smirked.  The guy really did have an abysmal sense of humor.

“Fine.” 
Slade muttered, sulkily.  “I’ll leave you to your villainy then.  Until
tomorrow, Witch.”

With
that, the Vampire King took off flying.  It was quite an exit.  Like Peter
Pan’s bigger, blood sucking clone, he swept upward with no visible means of
propulsion.  His legs craned, his arms outstretched, he sailed through the hole
in the roof and out into the night.  In his wake, he left a miasma of magical
sparkles that glittered in the moonlight.

Kara
had never seen a more ridiculous sight in her entire thirty-two years on the
plant.  At least, the dragons had wings.  Wings had some dignity.  Wings didn’t
twinkle.

She
stared after Slade’s trail of pixie dust and then looked over at Damien.

He
arched a brow.  “I can’t believe you kissed that jackass.”

“You
know what you can kiss, Vlad?”  She grinned at him, sweetly.

Black
eyes gleamed.  “Well, I’m open to suggestions, but...”

A
horrible shrieking cut off what was promising to be an interesting discussion. 
It was the loudest, most painful sound she’d ever hear; like the ultrasonic
squeals of bats dialed up to maximum power and projected directly into her
head.

“Shit!” 
Kara’s hands came up to cover her ears, trying to block out the god-awful
noise.  It was scrambling her brain, making it impossible to think or stand. 
She sank to the ground, cringing against the onslaught.

“No.” 
Damien grabbed her before she collapsed on a pile of shattered glass.  “Kara Lynn,
concentrate on me.”  His ebony gaze held hers.  “Look at me and I will help you
with the pain.”

“What
is that?!”  She couldn’t be sure of her volume.  She couldn’t hear anything but
the endless, sustained screeching and Damien’s dark voice somehow reaching her
through the cacophony.

“It
is zombies.  They are too much for human ears.  You need to concentrate on me.”

“
Zombies!
” 
He’d been
serious
about that?!  “Where the hell did they come from?”

“I
don’t know.  Concentrate on me,
cari.
”  Damien stared at her intently
and he must have done something with his powers, because the noise level suddenly
became bearable.  It was still like nails on a chalkboard, but at least Kara
could function.

“Thank
you.”  She touched his face in gratitude.

“Hold
onto me.”  He dropped his sword and picked her up, lifting her into his arms
like she didn’t weigh anything, at all.  “Do they not have zombies in your
time?”

“
No.
”

“Well,
they are like vermin.  Controlled vermin.  They have no minds of their own, but
they can be programmed.  These must be on a mission for their master.  They are
poisonous, so don’t let them bite you.”