Entwined With the Dark (37 page)

I couldn't leave them, battling for their lives, even if there wasn't a thing I could do right now to help. I was even too weak to call on my Light for any significant action. Sure I could blast an individual vampire if he got too close, but there were more than thirty here now and I was kind of saving myself for Viktor's return. I was certain he would come storming out of the melee and attack me any minute now.

Just get out, ma douce
, Michel commanded.
Your guards will hold them off while you escape.

I can't
, I replied, but couldn't really tell if that was due to weakness or the stubborn desire to stick by their sides. Michel went for stubborn.

This is what they are for, Lucinda. To guard you, to protect you, to allow you to escape a situation beyond your ability to cope. Move, now!

I sat up again and tried to stand, but my knees gave out the instant I placed weight on them and my head began to spin.

I can't
, I whimpered in my mind and felt Michel's fear as though it was my own.

Stay hidden, then. I will send help.

I had no idea who he would send if my guards were neck deep in the roles of
protecting me
or
giving me a chance to escape
. And I wasn't sure I could stay hidden for long, there wasn't exactly anything to hide behind. The table was broken and in pieces on the floor, the bench seat was entirely too exposed for my liking, but I just shuffled back into the corner and did the best I could. Holding my stake in a firm grasp and stroking my Light in my mind. I was ready for anyone, but not entirely up to the task.

My eyes kept closing and I'd will them to open again. I tried to track my guards and see how they were faring, but they moved so fast, too quick for my hazy brain to follow. All I wanted was to lay down and sleep, shut my eyes and give in to the comfort of blackness in my mind. The bench seat looked so inviting, the noises in the club room becoming more and more indistinct.

Don't sleep, ma douce. Soon. Soon you can rest. Stay awake, hold onto your Light. Help is coming.

Michel's voice in my mind comforted me and allowed me a measure of strength to fight the tiredness as it encroached, but it wasn't enough and within minutes I was drifting again. Not focused on my surroundings, my stake loosely held in my hand in my lap. My breathing was getting shallow, the thumping in my head just a distant sound. Any minute now I'd topple over and blissful sleep would abound.

Stay awake!
Michel commanded, his shouted words sent an adrenaline rush through my veins, my hand gripped my stake tighter, my eyes shooting open with alarm. It was exactly what I needed, but I couldn't halt my acerbic reply.

You stay the fuck awake!
I shot back at him and heard his half-hearted laugh in response.

Hang in there, ma belle, Sebastian is coming to get you out.

Sebastian? Why would the dragon-shifter help me out again?

The Champion has commanded it. She needs you alive.
Michel's reply made sense and I wondered if all the times the
Nathair-Sgiathach
had helped me had been at her request. Like a faithful servant he did as she asked - good or bad it didn't matter, he was hers to command. It made sense, but it also made him unpredictable. Sebastian Cole was the Champion's man.

I half sat, half lay on the bench seat, my stake at the ready but my will to lift it almost gone, and watched the battle before me. I recognised more and more of Michel's vampires. Antonio and Ricardo were in amongst the rest. And then with a sense of utter relief I spotted Marcus and Nataliya, both a little worse for wear. Clearly they'd received a hiding at my expense. I felt myself well up at how much danger I placed my friends in, I heard Michel's soothing voice telling me it wasn't my fault. And all the while I wondered where Viktor was. Had he run? Was he dead? Or was he just hidden in the mess in front of me, under the increasing amount of vampire dust in the air.

The coloured lights in the bar still flashed, though there were no patrons to impress. The humans fled or herded elsewhere, the fairies in the middle enjoying the emotions that reigned. And the shifters and vampires fighting. Fighting for me or against me, I could no longer tell.

The air around me changed subtly, from the dense weight of chaos and death, to a totally different atmosphere, draped in the smell of moss and peat and a forest that did not exist. Sebastian appeared out of nowhere before me, my stake feebly raised to ward off an attack.

"It's all right, lass. I mean you no harm. Today you get to live." Reassuring words they were not.

He leaned forward and lifted me up easily, instructing me to wrap my arm around his neck. If Michel hadn't warned me he was coming I wouldn't have complied with such ease. But I was also tired and anxious to be out of here, so I did as he asked and within seconds we disappeared.

I could still see everything that was happening around me, as Sebastian carried me through the room, but it was like looking at the scene through the veil of a waterfall; distorted and slightly removed from where we were. No one stopped us as we crossed the room, avoiding all of the most chaotic clashes, clambering over strewn rubble and finally out into the night.

Sebastian didn't uncloak us - if that's what you call what he does - until we were several hundred metres away. Still wrapped up in his arms he leaned against a wall to a building and let out a long breath of air. I noticed then he had been fighting too, marks and grazes and bruises all over his face. His right eye was swelling, he'd lose all vision in it before the night was through, as it continued to swell.

"I'm glad to be out of that, lass," he said with obvious exhaustion and then gently lowered me to my feet. I couldn't answer, but I did agree, although my thoughts were all for the vampires I'd left behind. I hoped they were OK.

"Give me a minute and then I'll get you home, although I'm not sure home will be all that safe."

He was about to ask another question, no doubt where else I could go, when a low chuckle came from behind us and a shadow split off from the wall as we both turned to look at the approaching threat.

"How helpful of you,
Nathair-Sgiathach.
To bring my quarry directly to me."

My eyes flicked to Sebastian, sure I had been sold out yet again, only to see anger and renewed determination on his face. I wasn't entirely certain, but I was hoping, that Sebastian Cole was not Viktor Davydov's man. However, it was awfully convenient to have stopped right here where Viktor waited and I couldn't quite quash the fear and abandonment at that thought.

Just how many sides could one person play?

I didn't hesitate, I didn't stop to think the motion through. If Sebastian was on my side, I'd be sorry later, but if he wasn't and I didn't act decisively now, then all could be lost. My Light was still firmly wrapped in my mental hands, just waiting for the moment to strike. I hadn't been strong enough to do much back in the club and I truly didn't feel that much stronger yet, but I prayed it would just be enough.

Two opponents and a small amount of strength to command my Light. I lashed out before anyone had a chance to speak a word further, before they realised I'd taken a couple of steps back. Before Viktor's attention had left the
Nathair-Sgiathach
and turned to me. I caught them both completely unaware, I slammed my Light at their chests with all of my might. I hadn't tempered it, it was still firmly in the realms of defence. There'd be no euphoric bliss following this blast, I was aiming to do maximum harm.

My Light can balance the Dark in a vampire's soul, it can play with a fairy, heal them or harm them too. For shifters it's a little different. Enough of a blast will hurt, but not really harm. But I wasn't too worried, the jury was still out on Sebastian, I'd take whatever I could get and my Light, right now, had been enough to knock him down. And due to his already weakened state, distract enough for me to escape.

Viktor didn't fair as well, my Light doing the most damage to him. Not enough to kill, but definitely enough to incapacitate. He was knocked unconscious, the dragon-shifter out for a few seconds at most, but both unable to stop me and my frantic attempts to escape.

Of course, I was weak, drastically low on blood from Viktor's attack. And the blast of Light I had chosen to use was enormous, compared to my ability right now to wield it without ill effect. I stumbled and fell to my knees as I took a few steps away from the scene. Cursing loudly I scrambled upright, but had to lean on the wall to stop fainting with the vertigo that ensued. I managed another four steps before I landed, almost face first, in a puddle on the pavement. Groaning and panting, I rolled on to my back, fear that one or both of the men back in the alley would be on me any moment making it difficult to breathe.

I struggled to a sitting position, the world turning incredibly hazy and my stomach threatening to expel my last meal. I leaned over and braced my body on my outstretched hands, willing myself not to vomit. Slowly the nausea subsided and the world began to clear and then with grim determination I got myself to my feet. Looking back at my two felled opponents, neither had thankfully moved an inch, but I had only made it to the end of the short alley we had been in. The effort to get there and the small distance covered causing a groan of frustration mixed with a whimper of defeat to spill from my lips.

If I didn't start picking up speed it would all be for nothing. Sebastian would probably recover first, but that did not mean I was safe. I had to get away, and right now I could hardly move my feet. I also had no idea which direction the car was in, or the club for that matter, but the urgent feeling to move, to keep going, to escape, would not ease up. I took a few deep breaths in, sweat pouring down my body and a trembling setting up in all my limbs, and then I put one foot in front of the other, then repeated again, step by step.

I came out of the alley and recognised the area, to the left lay Trafalgar Square. I wasn't sure if that was closer to the club or further away, but the idea that a crowd existed and maybe even police on patrol, made the decision to head there an easy bet. I stumbled into the Square, a few Norms tittering and pointing their fingers. No doubt they thought I was drunk. I had no obvious injuries, other than a ripped neck and a fair bit of blood, but in this light they didn't see it. So they let me past without offering a hand.

I knew I wasn't going to make it to the other side where the car was parked. It seemed a million miles away. I could see the edge of the square, the small road the carpark was on, but with every step I took, the distance seemed to stay exactly the same. Finally, having no other choice but to
admit defeat, I collapsed on the edge of one of the fountains, out of breath, out of energy and I was thinking shit out of luck. I curled up on my side and just hoped no one would find me, out in the open, hidden in plain sight.

Closing my eyes at last I gave myself over to the beckoning darkness of unconsciousness. Thankful I'd made it this far, but saddened it wasn't far enough.

Someone shook me, trying to wake me, but I really didn't want to face a new threat. If they were going to kill me, I'd prefer it to be done without the aid of vision. It was bad enough considering all the ways I could now be killed, I didn't really need to know who landed the final blow. So, I refused to open my eyes when they demanded it. I ignored the tugging on my jacket collar and their examination of my neck. I even let them roll me over and pick me up. If they wanted to shift me somewhere to finish me off, I'd not object.

I let darkness come again and I forgot about everything and everyone, and just looked forward to meeting Nut and all those waiting for me in
Elysium
.

I didn't know how much time had passed, but the first thing I registered again was the smell of something enticing reaching my nose. I sniffed. Chicken maybe, it was welcoming and unexpected. Who'd torture their victim with food? The sound of a fire crackling, which made me think of the dragons at the club, I whimpered and curled up further thinking I was back there and about to be burnt. I hate burns, they hurt but don't kill straight away. It wasn't my preferred method of death, that was sure.

"Are you awake, mistress?" came a familiar male voice.

I stopped whimpering and froze. I knew that voice.

I sat up suddenly, from lying flat to sitting upright in a split second. My head spun, the room tilted and Samson grabbed me by the arms.

"Whoa, take it in small steps. You've lost a lot of blood."

"Samson?" I said weakly as he propped me up on pillows making me semi-upright and comfortable on the couch. We were at his house, not Michel's. I wasn't sure if it was safer here or not, but I was grateful to be anywhere but Trafalgar Square and the Vibe Club. The whiteness of Samson's front room, however, momentarily reminding me of Amun's club. I blinked a few times to determine it wasn't, relieved to not see flashes of coloured lights.

"Where are the others?"

"Recovering at Michel's, they couldn't make it here before the sun." I noticed the shutters then - blocking out the UV light. "They were battle worn, but alive when I spoke to them last. They will be fully recovered by morning and will rendezvous here at sunset."

I nodded and then frowned, my head causing unbearable agony with each and every move. Samson handed me a glass of water and some paracetamol, but as soon as my hands shook so badly the water spilled, he took over control of each and helped me swallow down the drug. He returned them to the table and dug out his cellphone.

"Michel has been unable to contact you mentally and considering your headache, I think it best to converse on the phone." He dialled a number and then when it was answered handed it to me.

I fumbled for coordination in order to hold the phone and finally had to settle with placing it under my ear, between my head and the pillow I was on.

"
Ma douce?
" came Michel's worried voice.

"Hey," I managed in a croak.

"
Mon dieu
, you had me frantic." The relief in his voice was incredible. "I thought..." But he didn't finish the sentence and I was kind of glad for that. I knew what he had thought, because I had thought it too. But I was still alive and kicking, if not incredibly weak and pissed off.

Michel's chuckle came down the line. "I can hear your beautiful thoughts again. Music to my mind."

"I wish you were here, I could do with a cuddle," I said, not even attempting to be strong.

"Samson will take care of you and on nightfall my jet will be waiting to bring you to Paris. To me. I will cuddle you then,
ma belle
."

"I guess Paris is as safe as anywhere."

"Safer than London now," he replied. "Viktor does not appear to have a foothold here."

"What about Sebastian? I wasn't sure if he'd walked me into a trap last night."

"The Champion insists he would not betray her and she had instructed for you to be unharmed."

I hoped he was right, but I still found it difficult to trust the dragon-shifter. He seemed to be everywhere that I ended up trapped. "So, the Champion?" I left the question open.

"Has agreed to consider the reversal of joining and my joining with you. I... I have had to enter into an accord with her." Oh Goddess, no. "Basically it ensures I will not come against her. I will not use my regained power to thwart her political goals."

I blew a breath out at his words. "That could be quite limiting when all is said and done." If the Champion continues to go Dark, then Michel will not be able to stand against her at all, even if his intentions were not to usurp her role.

"I know, but she would not consider it without some form of guarantee. As it is, she does not fully trust me, our lives will be wrought with her concerns."

"Meaning she'll have us constantly spied on?" I asked balling my fists in my lap.

"Among other things, but let's not discuss it now. We had no choice. This was the only way and we will survive whatever she throws at us."

"We're survivors right?"

"Yes,
ma douce
, survivors - among other things." I heard the note of laughter in his voice, I was sure he was remembering me showing him just
what
other things we were.

"So, now we just have to convince Avery. Any ideas?" I was still at a complete loss, I really could not think of a thing, save from threatening suicide, that would convince Avery to break the joining with me.

"I have been pondering on it, but I am not completely convinced it will work."

"What will work?" I asked, watching as Samson removed the lid off a tray of food before me, revealing a chicken soup still steaming hot. He placed some on a spoon and began to feed me mouthfuls, frowning at me when I tried to wave him away. He was right, I needed food to replenish the lost blood, but Michel's words had caught my attention and eating right now was the last thing on my mind.

"We may have to use your alliance with the
Dökkálfa
Prince, nothing I can think of in our world could work."

The soup tasted beautiful, but the mention of my alliance with Aliath just made me want to hurl. I stopped Samson's next spoonful, he agreed, but growled low in his throat at the dismissal.

"What is Samson doing?" Michel asked, having heard the growl.

"Trying to feed me, but I want to discuss this instead."

"You haven't eaten yet?" Michel asked alarmed. "You need to eat, phone me back when you are done."

"Don't you dare hang up on me!" I shouted quickly before he could. And when he didn't, I added in a calmer voice, "I'll eat soon, I promise." This time it was his growl in my ears.

"What do you think Aliath can do?" I asked, when he'd stopped the noise.

"I am unsure, but we can only ask. You cannot glaze Avery, he is your kindred and exempt from such power and it would be considered a direct conflict of interest on your part. I could not use my influence, the Ambrosia would not agree to that either - again a conflict of interest. There is nothing in this world I could believe would work, but I was with the
Dökkálfa
for ten months, they have methods of persuasion that could suit our needs."

"What type of persuasion?" I asked, unsure if I wanted Avery tortured like Michel had been, despite the fact Avery had tortured me.

"Nothing like that,
ma douce
. But we need assistance on this. I fear we have no choice but to ask for his help."

"Oh God, Michel. You do know what you are suggesting, don't you? A favour from a fairy. This
will cost a lot."

"Yes, but do you think Avery would listen to reason?" No, not a chance.

"What about the Ambrosia, would he object to a fairy interfering?" I asked.

"If the fairy is doing it for his own reasons and not to gain anything from the reversal - or break - of joining itself, or from your joining to me afterwards, then it is not considered a conflict of
interest. Vampyres are very literal beings,
ma douce
. What we perceive as real, we believe is real."

So Avery's complicity, as long as not influenced directly by Michel or me, would be seen as willing compliance. No matter that he was
persuaded
by a fairy or not.

"That is seriously screwed in the head, Michel," I muttered.

"Vampyres have had to think outside of the square for millennia to survive and our number one rule
is
: survive at all costs. Duplicity is a common tool, as long as it is not obvious, the Ambrosia will turn a blind eye. Avery's compliance due to another's influence merely means he had not protected himself adequately. To a vampyre there can be no bigger fall from grace. If Avery cannot defend himself against the machinations of a fairy, then he is as much to blame for the situation as the fairy himself. Punishment is in the offence. Avery could not stop the influence, so therefore must carry part of the blame."