Kindling Flames: Smoke Rising (The Ancient Fire Series Book 3) (32 page)

“Without you and Clara’s damn no-killing policy, we would have
destroyed
the wolves,” she spat in anger.

Darien shook his head and pressed his cheek into the side of her red curls. “So you fed Christian enough information to arrange a hit on me.”

Lillian nodded.

“That explains the car wreck, but why the coffee?”

“I told Christian that you ran your own company, but he wanted proof.” Her voice held a hint of amusement as she explained. “I arranged to have your coffee taken, and he arranged to have the beans replaced. I was hoping that the incident would turn you against that wolf you have working for you. Imagine our surprise when you walked away, unscathed.”

Darien growled. “Oh, I was far from unscathed.”

Lillian shivered at the anger in his words.

He shook his head again. “Oh Lillian, there were other ways. If it had just been me you attacked, I might have been able to let it go, but you hurt what I love. I can’t let this pass.”

“Mercy,” Lillian begged.

Darien lifted his head up in shock and looked down at her. “Mercy?” he scoffed. “Did you have mercy in mind when you weaved the spell that bound my love from her marks?”

Zak growled from where he sat at Vicky’s feet.

“Was mercy involved when you set the barrier spell that trapped me on consecrated ground so Christian’s menagerie could douse me with holy water and tie me out for dawn?”

A gasp issued from the crowd.

Lillian closed her eyes and hung her head. “Mercy for my people,” she begged softly. “They knew nothing about this and were only doing what they were told.”

Darien considered this for a moment. “I will have mercy on your people,” he agreed, “but you, I cannot forgive. You know you have forced my hand here.”

Lillian nodded weakly.

Darien raised his left hand up and pulled her hair back, forcing her head over. “Then, by law, your life is mine.” Lillian did not resist as Darien drove his fangs into her neck and sucked the blood from her. The room watched in horror-filled silence as he let her blood fall from his mouth, soaking both of them. Just before he pulled the last of it out, Darien withdrew his fangs from her neck.

“Lillian,” he whispered softly to her, “this hurts me more than you know.” A single tear rolled out of her eye as he released his power and pulled the spark of life from her. Carefully, he laid her on the floor at his feet and pushed her unruly hair back from her face. “Rest in peace, Lillian.” Darien stood up and glanced around the room at the watching eyes.

“The traitor, by her own admission, has been dealt with according to the old code. As payment for my suffering, I claim all that was hers. If anyone should object, speak now.” Darien paused, looking at the blank faces of the crowd. He turned towards Clara, waiting to see if she would say anything. When no answer came, Darien let out a sigh. “So mote it be. Does anyone else have a challenge?” he called, but the room stayed silent. His eyes finally fell to Vicky, standing next to Elliot.

“Very well.” Darien turned towards the door in the side of the chamber. The vampires parted without a word as he passed. He just wanted out of there. The feel of their eyes burned into his soul as the door shut behind him. The vampires he could handle; it was the look of horror on Vicky’s face that crushed his heart.

The scene that had just played out in front of Vicky terrified her. She couldn’t understand how the kind, loving man that had stolen her heart could be so cruel. The way he moved through the vampires had reminded her of a snake stalking its prey. It had only taken her a moment to realize that he was performing for the group, but she was surprised he could be so evil. She was still having a problem wrapping her mind around how he had so easily broken that man’s neck in the church. No anger, no remorse, just snapped it and claimed the coat he was wearing. Vicky looked at the black trench coat folded next to her. It was definitely the one he had been sporting lately, but why had that man been wearing it.

A gentle hand on her shoulder pulled her out of her thoughts, and she turned to find a worried expression on Elliot’s face. Tears burned in Vicky’s eyes, and she buried her face in his chest and cried. The blazing points of green light in Darien’s eyes burned in her mind, and she balled her fists up in Elliot’s shirt.

He cradled her, offering the only comfort he could as her heart broke.

“Why?” she sobbed softly. All the questions in her mind summed up to that one word.

Elliot patted her back. “Because he had to,” he replied, his words rumbling gently from his chest.

This answer surprised Vicky, and she pushed back to look up into Elliot’s face. “What?” she asked, confused.

“He had to,” Elliot repeated. Seeing she needed more, he went on to explain. “The old codes are based on a trust system. When someone breaks that trust, the system falls apart.” He looked over to Lillian’s limp form. “She broke that trust, and, by law, she had to pay for her crimes.”

Vicky glanced over at the body.

“Had she only come after Darien, he could have doled out any punishment he wanted, but her actions endangered the lives of others—namely, you.” Elliot looked back down at her. “The laws are very specific when it comes to one’s mate:
Don’t
.”

Vicky looked up at him, surprised by this.

“You would be surprised how crazy someone can get when they lose the person they care about.” Elliot’s eyes moved to the doorway where Darien had disappeared. “There have been kingdoms obliterated by heartbroken vampires.”

Vicky’s eyes joined Elliot’s at the door. “Will he be okay?”

“Given time.” Elliot nodded. “He doesn’t like to kill.”

Shocked, Vicky pulled back more and turned questioning eyes at him.

Looking down at her, he explained. “He came from a time and place where all life was precious. His sire was the protector of the town and was very gentle with his people. Darien learned that from him and insisted that his fledglings live by those same principles. That’s why Clara has her no-killing rule.”

“Thank you.” Vicky pushed out of Elliot’s arms. “I think there is something I need to take care of.” She picked up Darien’s coat. “Stay here, Zak.” Vicky waved the little fay back. Zak whined and wiggled his tentacles but remained with Elliot as Vicky made her way across the room filled with vampires. The crowd parted, speeding her on her way to the door through which Darien had left. Vicky’s feet picked up speed, and she found herself running down the hall, searching for him. She didn’t look in the rooms as she passed; she knew he wouldn’t be in any of them. Hitting the door at the end of the hall at a full run, she burst into the garden.

The light from the moon washed across the world, illuminating everything with a soft, silver glow. Vicky’s feet slowed as she took in the wondrous sight. The gardens were magnificent by daylight, but they were simply breathtaking in the soft light of the night. The colors were muted, but Liz had painstakingly arranged the plants into amazing shapes. Vicky would never have noticed this beauty in the glaring light of day. Her eyes cast around for a moment before they found what she was looking for.

Vicky took the path leading to the gazebo at a much slower pace. She wasn’t sure what she was going to say to Darien, but she couldn’t leave things as they were. Her shoes crunched against the path, and she clutched his coat to her. Her heart cried out, and she prayed that her intuition was right. Stopping before the steps leading into the trellised outbuilding, she peered into the darkness inside.

Darien looked up at her from the floor where he sat, leaning against one of the pillars supporting the roof.

Unsure of what to say to him, Vicky slowly mounted the steps. When he didn’t object to her company, she came over and sat next to him. She leaned against the pole and sat with him in silence, trying to figure out how to start the conversation they needed to have. Toying with a button on his trench coat, she worked on what to say.

“I won’t apologize.” His soft words startled her slightly.

“I know.” She sighed and folded her hands in her lap on top of his coat. “Elliot explained it to me.”

Darien nodded, and they went back to sitting in silence. Somehow, sitting there in the darkness next to him, she could feel the anguish in him. Darien shifted in his silence to wipe the blood drying on his face away with his sleeve.

The movement drew Vicky’s attention, and she asked the question aching in her heart. “Did you enjoy it?”

Darien sucked in a sudden breath. He hadn’t expected her to ask him that. Pausing to think first, he answered softly, “Vampires are evil creatures. Part of me always enjoys the feeling of taking a life, but I would have given almost anything not to do what I did tonight. She gave me no choice.”

Vicky could hear Darien’s heart breaking as he spoke. His pain and anguish were obvious to her.

Darien closed his eyes and tilted his head back against the cold pole behind him. When he felt Vicky shift next to him, he was sure she was going to get up and leave. To his utter surprise, he felt her pull on his sleeve. He let her take his hand and lace her fingers together with his.

“I don’t like how things turned out, but I understand,” Vicky said softly.

Darien’s heart nearly burst as tears burned at his eyes. He rolled his head over to look at her. “You’re not upset?”

“Of course I’m upset.” She glared at his dumb question. “But, I understand.” Her words softened as she went on. “No matter how you play it up, you’re not the cold, heartless monster you were imitating back there. I know in my heart that you are the same warm, sensitive man that I love.” She rolled his hand over to trace the green line on the back of it. “What type of wife would I be if I left you as soon as things got a little bumpy?”

Touched by her words, Darien twisted around and wrapped his arms around her. He buried his face in her shoulder and let go of the tears he was holding back.

Vicky wrapped her arms around him and rubbed his back as he cried out his pain. Kissing him on the side of his head, she whispered to him, “I forgive you.”

Darien squeezed her and sobbed harder into her shoulder.

Never having seen him this vulnerable before, she held him until his tears subsided.

He held on for a few more minutes, enjoying the feel of her.

“I think you got blood on Rupert’s jacket,” Vicky teased.

Darien sat up and laughed at her. “I guess I’ll just have to buy him a new one.” He sighed.

Vicky smiled at him. “And a new shirt.” She looked at Darien’s blood-soaked clothing. “So, does Armani do leather?”

He chuckled weakly. “Come on.” He stood up and pulled her to her feet. “I think I am in desperate need of a shower.”

Vicky snatched up the trench coat that had fallen from her lap.

Darien took it away from her and hooked it over his shoulder by a finger. Vicky eased into his side as they headed back to the main house. He slipped his arm around her, holding her close.

“Could you use someone to wash your back?” she offered.

Darien made a happy noise in his chest. “Maybe.”

She leaned into him, and he stumbled on the path back to the house. “Then we can talk about vampire marks.”

Darien chuckled as he regained his balance, and they went to get cleaned up. There was still a lot to do, but it could wait for a while. Things were definitely going to be changing, but as long as she still loved him, he could handle anything the world threw at him.

Here we are at the end of the book. There is no monster at the end of this book, but there might be at the end of the next. Oh wait, that’s a whole different book. I love that book.

Anyway, thank you for making it to the end of the third book. I hope you’ve enjoyed the story so far. I’m simply overwhelmed by this whole experience. When I sat down to write a simple story for my sister, I never dreamt that it would turn into something like this.

I never know what to say in this part so let me just thank everyone that has supported me. I’d like to start with my family. Mommy and Daddy, thanks for proof reading. Grandma, thanks for insisting on reading everything I do. Amanda, thanks for insisting on more stories. Krys, Karl, and Dick, thanks for understanding and supporting me as I write. For Jess, thanks for listening to me plot. For the rest of the family, thanks for your enthusiasm and support.

To everyone outside my family: my coworkers at Hobbytown USA, the guys from FRC, and the many friends that have listened to me yammer on about how the books were doing. Thanks for being there.

Special thanks to Zacheriah for helping with proof reading. I’m so glad you’ve stuck with me through three books.

Again, I would like to thank the wonderful team at Crimson Tree Publishing for putting up with my randomness. Without you, this would never have been done.  You are all wise and wonderful. Here’s to many, many more wonderful books.

Finally, I would like to thank the men and woman out protecting our country. Thank you for your service and I pray you all make it home safely.