[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
Page 136
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
wide enough for a man to sidle through with care.
Chisel marks, Dante observed, running his hand along the edge of the
opening. Based on the weathering, they ve been here for a while. This could
be the place.
Six sober gazes held his as he drew the sword he carried and quietly gave the
operation s commands. He would go in first, see how far the opening went and
if there was anything on the other side. The others would wait for his
orders two on guard outside the mouth of the cave, and the rest ready to move
in behind him on his signal if they had in fact found the crypt.
He squeezed between the vertical plates of rock, his head turned toward the
pitch blackness ahead of him. The smell of bat dung and mold offended his
senses the deeper he crept inside. The air in here was cold, damp. There was
no sound at all, only the soft scrape of his movement as he progressed.
Somewhere along the way, he noticed that the crush of stone was easing. The
walls began to widen incrementally, then, at last, they opened up onto a
cavernous space deep within the mountain.
Dante stepped on something that crunched beneath his boot.
His eyes were keenest in the dark, and what he saw made the blood drain from
his head.
Holy hell.
They d found Dragos s secret. No doubt about it. Dante was standing in the
middle of the Ancient s hibernation chamber, a crypt carved into the side of a
mountain, just like Kassia s tapestry had said it would be.
Dante didn t recall speaking hell, he wasn t even sure he was drawing breath
in that moment but within moments he was joined by his brethren.
Jesus Christ, one of them murmured, hardly audible.
Rio s whispered prayer in Spanish spoke for everyone: God help us all.
Tegan lifted his head, turning a fleeting, uncertain gaze up to the broken
skylights above their heads.
Fuck.
He didn t dare look long. Even dawn s early, filtered wash of light was like
acid pouring over his retinas. Lucan was feeling the effects too. He took a
hit in the thigh, the remaining Minion s shot driving him down to the floor.
As a Gen One vampire, he could absorb more damage than others of their race,
and he had, his body expelling the rounds he hadn t been able to dodge, the
wounds bleeding but already beginning to heal over.
But he was under the open ceiling now, and thin tendrils of smoke began to
rise up off his exposed skin. He bellowed, transforming in his rage. His lips
peeled back as his fangs ripped out of his gums and his eyes went bright
amber.
The Minion started to retreat now, realizing what he was up against. Lucan
rolled out of the light and pulled the trigger of his 9mm. A single shot rang
out. The Minion dropped, but he wasn t dead yet. Lucan squeezed off another
round, finishing the bastard.
Then, silence.
The hollow click of an empty cartridge.
At the same time, Tegan s own Gen One abilities were slowly coming back to
life. But he couldn t yet physically break the bonds that held him. He wasn t
at all sure he should. The Crimson he d been made to ingest was thrumming
through every cell in his body, corrupting him like the poison it was.
He felt his Bloodlust rising, compelling him to feed the thirst that wanted to
rule him.
He snarled as Elise came over to him and tried to work one of his manacles
free. Get away, damn it! I don t want you here. Get out of here while you
still can.
She kept tugging on the cuff, ignoring him completely. There s got to be a
way to get these off you.
He saw her eyes sweep the room, searching for a tool. Elise, goddamn it!
She scurried over to one of the dead Minions and pulled the semiauto out from
Page 137
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
under the heavy bulk of the body. Take this, she ordered him, slapping the
weapon into his free hand. Shoot the chains, Tegan. Do it now!
He hesitated, and she made a hasty grab for the gun.
Damn it, if you don t, I will!
She didn t have the chance. The gun clattered to the floor, and, in a blur of
movement, Elise was yanked off her feet by invisible hands and thrown several
yards away. She crashed down, landing hard in the litter of broken glass. The
scent of heather and roses swamped the room.
Marek stood in the open doorway, a sword in one hand, his other raised and
pointed in Elise s direction, holding her there with the power of his mind.
His mental grasp closed around her throat, cutting off precious air. She
choked and clawed at the tight band of energy that was strangling her.
She bleeds, warrior, he taunted Tegan. And how your Rogue eyes thirst for
it.
Lucan drew a blade from his hip and sent it flying. In that instant, Marek s
focus switched, flicking to the airborne dagger and deflecting it with a
thought. Undaunted, Marek strode forward, chuckling as he came up on Lucan s
bloodied, UV-scorched face. Ah, my brother. Your death will be particularly
sweet after all these years of waiting. I only wish you could live to see my
rule come to pass before we say good-bye.
Marek raised his sword and swung it hard. Lucan rolled at the last second,
leaving only hard wood planks in the way of his brother s weapon. The blade
bit deep into the floor, momentarily frozen there.
In a flash of movement, Lucan was up on his feet. He grabbed the nearest thing
he could find his hands closing on a length of copper utility pipe that ran up
the wall. He wrenched it loose. Water spurted from the severed connection like
a small fountain.
Lucan! Tegan called out as Marek yanked his sword free and spun to bring it
down on his brother.
Lucan met the blow, blocking the downward arc with the long tube of copper. It
bent under the strain, but Lucan held fast, fury blazing in his amber eyes.
Marek s dark glasses were knocked askew in the scuffle, revealing still more
amber as brother met brother in a murderous bid for control. Marek tried to
drive the sword harder, leaning into the blade with all the considerable
strength of his right arm. Lucan didn t give an inch. The two Gen One warriors
grunted as they held each other at an impasse.
Above them, the sky was growing brighter, hotter, singeing both where the
light touched open skin.
Released of Marek s hold, Elise coughed and gasped, struggling to breathe. Her
pain lanced across Tegan like a physical blow. And the sight of her
[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]