Kiss of the Dragon (38 page)

"I will never leave her, despite the ache I feel at being separated from you."

"Then why the jealousy?" I asked, deciding to just get it all out there. Lay it bare. We may die tonight, things needed to be resolved.

"I cannot help it," he said softly. "My mind says one thing, my heart something else. And my vampire-within simply does not understand the difference."

"Fucking vampires-within," I said, but only half-heartedly meant it.

"Fucking mystical ties to your Mistress and unrequited love for a
Nothus
," Samson shot back.

"I feel like we should be toasting with drinks or something," I remarked.

Samson chuckled. "Here's to having your cake and eating it too," he suggested.

"Or, here's to being in two places at once."

"Killing two birds with one stone," Samson added and I started laughing.

"Getting the best of both worlds."

Samson shook his head. "You win." We both smiled to ourselves for a moment. "I will always want to be there for you, Lucinda," he said softly. "It is my burden to carry though, not yours."

"I wish... I just wish..."

"That everyone is happy and content in your world," Samson finished, not exactly the words I would have used, but the meaning was pretty bang on.

"Yeah, I guess I live in a dream world," I admitted. "But I do hate seeing you in pain."

"It is a pain I gladly bear, to still be on your emergency text list."

I smiled at him. "What are mistresses for, if not to make you use lethal Ley Lines just to come and hold her hand while she pukes in the loo."

Samson laughed, a nice deep rumble from the chest, letting me know my Samson was back in the room. We sat there in companionable silence, just the crackle of the fire to interrupt our thoughts. It was such a relief to be in Samson's presence and not feel that weight of his upset on my mind. He would, no doubt, continue to resent being apart from me. But like he said, we have no choice. Just the choice to accept it for what it was. I hoped his vampire-within was better equipped to accept it now that we had talked.

Because there was no way I would be living in Auckland again, and I doubted Gigi would stray far from her home town to be near the
Iunctio
. Even an
Iunctio
that was turning Light.

A small knock sounded on the door then, disturbing my thoughts of the
Nothus
and the reaction to her kind by Nosferatu. Natalyia walked in with a tray of food. For a moment I froze, unsure if I could handle Russian soups and normally delicious, but right now unappetising, flat-bread. But what greeted me as she set the tray down on my lap, after Samson fluffed my pillows like a mother hen, was not Russian cuisine. Hell, I don't even know where it originated from, but it was perfect.

Deep fried, battered pineapple rings, coated in sugar. With a side order of chips. Perfect. She'd even forgone my usual coffee and brought me water instead. I could have kissed her.

"Oh, Natalyia. Thank you," I said with meaning.

"You're welcome, Mistress," she answered, taking a seat on the other side of the bed.

"What's happening down there?" I asked around a mouthful of bliss. "Still celebrating?"

"Gregor and Amisi have retired to their guest room," she replied in her steady, unflappable Russian accented voice. Samson and I chuckled at the implied activities of the newly weds. Natalyia didn't join in. "The London and Parisian Nosferatins have arrived." Good news. I should go meet them.
After
my pineapple rings. "Nero is preparing to leave on sunset for the rendezvous with the Interrogator and Viktor."

"What?" I exclaimed, bits of half eaten pineapple landing on my plate and tray. I quickly wiped away the evidence of my terrible eating habits. "What's this now?"

"They have fallen for the ruse," Natalyia said,
now
a smile graced her lips. "Nero intends to meet them a few miles away at a Ley Line junction. And lead them here."

Suddenly the pineapple rings weren't as appetising anymore. I pushed the tray to the side. At least I'd managed two and half rings in the short time she'd been here. I hadn't touched the chips though.

"They fell for it?" I said, stunned.

"Hook, line and sinker, I believe the saying goes." Natalyia was in her element. The battle loomed and her Sire was about to meet his end. As far as she was concerned, anyway. I admired her positive outlook. It didn't settle my stomach though.

"I'd better get dressed," I said, moving to the side of the bed to stand. No way was I meeting Avery's remaining army dressed in a satin purple sheath of a dress. Samson immediately reached out to steady me, which was fortunate because the world turned a little dim. I didn't let them know it.

"I'm fine," I insisted, after blinking away the black dots before my eyes.

"Mistress," Samson said in a low voice, clearly not believing me. "Perhaps you should stay in the
Château
.
"

"I'm the Prophesied," I pointed out to him. "I don't cower in the house while my people lay down their lives for the Light."

"Even so, Mistress," Natalyia said, siding with Samson against me. "You are clearly not well enough to fight. It would be unwise to go out there."

The shutters whirred up, announcing the sun had set, making both vampires'
Sanguis Vitam
rise in increasing alarm. Time wasn't on our side.

"Regardless," I said, through gritted teeth. "I will not meet this battle in a satin dress."

"Very well," Natalyia said, flashing to the wardrobe and returning with my normal hunting attire, plus my Svante sword in its sheath.

She reached out to help me out of my purple sheath, to speed things along. But time most certainly
wasn't
on our side.

Because the sound of successive explosions met our ears, seconds before the
Château
came crumbling down around us. I just had enough wherewithal to reach for my sword, before both Samson and Natalyia covered my body with theirs.

A deafening roar thrummed through our heads as dust choked our lungs. I could feel the bodies of my two vampires above me shudder whenever debris hit them hard. They didn't make a sound. No grunts of pain or shocked gasps of air. But I knew they were taking a pummelling, because their bodies shook vigorously in intermittent bursts of pressure against my frame, as rocks and masonry connected with them instead of me.

I dreaded to think what it was doing to their backs, as I could feel the cuts and abrasions on my exposed legs and
they
hurt.
Somehow, though, between both of them, Samson and Natalyia provided a cocoon of sorts around my head and upper body. The only part of me to get hammered by the falling building were my lower legs and feet.

Then, just when it felt like it might be ending and we'd gotten away with minor injuries - or at least I had - the floor beneath us groaned ominously, the sounds of the building creaking grew louder, and then the ground beneath us gave out.

Natalyia did shout then. An alarmed sound that sent even more shivers through my frame. The top floor was collapsing into the one below and as anyone knows, when a building collapses, a domino effect would ensue. One floor into the next into the next. And we would be sandwiched in between.

Samson shifted himself beneath me as a cushion, as Natalyia covered my back, and then as though in slow motion, the floor we were on hit the one below, sending shockwaves through us all. In a split second I knew I wouldn't survive. The vampires could, they were made of hardier stuff than me. If their heads stayed on their bodies and no silver pierced their hearts, they'd recover. But although I am harder to kill than a human, I am still nowhere near as tough as a vampire.

I reached out to Michel in my mind, finding the connection open and waiting. His panic and alarm almost making me forget my troubles. But as the floor began to give way again, to bring us down to the next level, and the pressure of debris increased around us as the
Château
simple fell in on itself, I refocused my attention on the Bond and drew on every ounce of Michel's
Sanguis Vitam
he could spare.

My Light entwined with his
Sanguis Vitam
, which then - probably due to Michel and not me, because I hadn't even thought of it - pulled on the combined powers of the
Iunctio
. And before the next drop down and consequent mounting debris around us could crush our bodies further, a bubble of Light wrapped around us and provided a pocket of calm in amongst the storm.

It took another three or four minutes before what was left of the building settled around us, and for that entire time the pocket of Light held. When the dust settled, and the groans and creaks ceased, Natalyia lifted her head, shifting her weight so as not to crush me, and sucked in a startled breath of thick air.

She muttered something in Russian and then sat up fully, helping me to a sitting position, so Samson could get upright as well.

"What did you do, Mistress?" she asked in an awed voice.

I blinked the dust and muck out of my eyes and tried to focus on what was around us. It took a few seconds for me to realise we
were
completely surrounded. Not just beneath us and beside us, but above us as well. The roof of the
Château
was crumpled against the ceiling of my Light dome and the bricks and furniture debris was pressed against the sides. It was surreal. And alarming. We were OK, but others may not have faired as well.

I shook my head at Natalyia, whilst running my gaze over her and Samson to determine how bad they both were. Blood coated their backs, their fangs were down and both had colour changes in their eyes. But their pallor wasn't so alarmingly pale that I didn't think they'd be able to heal from any injuries they'd sustained.

Michel?
I sent the thought to him. My next concern his safety and those of his and my lines.

I am fine, ma douce. I was not in the building when the explosions hit. Alain and Daniel are with me as are most of my immediate guards. Marcus and Matthias are in the building's rubble, but will survive. Sergei is also at my side.

I let a breath out I hadn't realised I'd been holding, but although the news was fortifying, those accounted for were not all I had weighing on my mind.

Gregor, Amisi?
I asked.

I am trying to locate them and the rest of the Iunctio Councillors now. We have taken some hits. But less than a handful of those vampyres within the structure are lost to us, the rest are simply buried and will take time to dig out.

Time, I was sure, we didn't have. These explosion were certainly Avery's doing. So he would strike while we tried to dig our army out.

What of Yves and Sophie and those Nosferatins who had just arrived?
I asked.

They were all on the ground floor at the time of the first explosion, and with some of our vampyres' assistance escaped before the building collapsed. Only those in the cellar and higher in the Château, had difficulty evacuating in time.

The news was better than we could have feared. The vampires in the cellar consisted mainly of the other Councillors' lines. Gregor and Amisi would have been on the second floor, along with Gregor's vampires. Michel's vampires were on the top floor. That is of course if none of them were wandering the
Château’s
halls elsewhere at the time. I was sure most of those vampires in the building would be fine - in due course - but Amisi was a worry. Still, Gregor would have used the
Iunctio's
combined power to protect her too, and he had just doubled his own
Sanguis Vitam
this evening, so I had to pray that they'd get out.

For now, we had to concentrate on getting ourselves free before Avery and Viktor struck.

I am coming for you, ma douce. Stay where you are, we will dig down to you
, Michel instructed and I immediately pooh-poohed that idea.

You need to get everyone clear of the building ready for attack. Avery will strike at any moment,
I shot back and received a rather convincing growl through the Bond in reply.
You know I'm right, Michel. We'll get ourselves out, but if your back is exposed digging for us, then we're all as good as dead.

Not exactly the most diplomatic way to convince him I was right. His vampire-within was clearly desperate to reach me; his vampire mate who was trapped. And with the way he had been acting lately, this was a recipe for disaster. I bit back a curse at my lack of diplomacy. Now was not the time to rile the dragon-within.

But the dragon is not all Michel is, even though that argument is not exactly sound at present. Michel was still a master tactician. And right now a battle was at hand.

Take care, and if you are not out in half an hour, I
will
come for you.
With those parting words he sent a jolt of
Sanguis Vitam
down the connection we shared; half to boost my own reserves, half to show he cared. It soothed my ragged nerves, calmed my breathing, and fortified my resolve to get us out.

I quickly relayed the information on survivors to Samson and Natalyia, who had been waiting patiently, clearly aware I was communicating with Michel in my mind. They had no other means to transmit to the outside world. Unlike Marcus and Matthias, Samson and Natalyia did not have telepathic abilities such as those of Michel's line.

"So, how do we get out of here?" I asked, gazing around our little cocoon.

"How long can you sustain the Light dome?" Samson asked.

"I have no idea," I admitted. Reaching up and pressing against it to see if it would give. Surprisingly my hand went through it and touched the suspended rubble on the outside. I tested my ability to move the rough fragments of masonry, by giving the plate sized bit of stonework a good shove. And watched stunned as it skittered away down the other side of the debris pile above us.

"Well, I guess we
can
dig," I announced.

All of us immediately started to reach through the one-way Light dome, shoving at bits of
debris to try to see night sky. Being on the top floor I had hopes it wouldn't take long. And not being sure how long the Light dome would continue to function, we moved quickly, almost frantically, to get to the other side. As more and more rubble above us shifted, we began to climb upwards, the Light dome moving as we did. Even though we were putting everything into it, it was taking longer than I'd hoped. And after several minutes, I felt Michel's emotions as they swelled inside him, and the night sky was still nowhere in sight.

Normally I can't feel his emotions as he feels mine, but the Bond connection does let me know if he is well and healthy. He was healthy, but he was definitely not well.

Avery had arrived.

How many?
I threw the question at Michel, as I told my vampires to increase their efforts to escape our trap.

Approximately one-hundred-and-fifty ghouls and an equal amount of vampyres,
came Michel's steady, but increasingly concerned reply.

Where had Avery got the vampires from? His army had been decimated back in Paris. How had he found so many willing vampires in such a short amount of time?

No doubt, just as we did. He has called on his accords
, Michel offered as explanation.

Part of me had been prepared for the ghouls, but thought Avery's vampire numbers would be small. To be faced with an equal number of vampires as ghouls was alarming. And disheartening. If I'd had any hopes this could be over and done with swiftly, they were now lost.

It also meant more Nosferatu had been pulled into this than we had ever thought possible. This was truly turning into a world altering event for the supernaturals of Earth's realm. Which suddenly made me wonder if we should involve another realm, in order to stop this before it even got started. I stopped digging to fumble in my pocket for Aliath's little gem. Only to discover I was still in my purple sheath dress, not my hunting outfit, and the gem was buried in the rubble of the
Château
. I glanced down at the chunks of building beneath us, in a futile effort to spot my hunting jacket as it had been near me when the house collapsed. But it was long gone in the chaos.

What was there though, was my Svante sword.

I had to reach through the Light dome to get to it. It hadn't been included in the protection but thankfully had been close enough to benefit all-the-same. It was still sheathed in its scabbard and the harness that would attach it to my back. I didn't have any of my silver stakes on me, they too had been in the jacket and were now lost. But at least I had a weapon. I thrust my arms through the holster, allowing Natalyia to assist me when the straps got tangled, and buckled the entire unit up across my dress.

I would have looked ridiculous. Dust covered, scraped and battered, in a crumpled and ripped purple satin sheath - but I was armed. And armed well. I could do some damage with a Svante sword. And although a stake might have been nice once we escaped this dome, the ghouls wouldn't fall without losing their heads. And a stake could hardly achieve that.

I was going to have to decapitate each opponent, which would require energy and lots of it. You'd be surprised how economical in movement staking a vampire can be. How easy thrusting a silver sharp-tipped stake through their chest is, compared to severing their heads with a sword. My Svante was sharp and I knew how to wield it, but knowing and achieving it were two different things.

I'd already been exhausted before we got buried. And although I hadn't had a chance to think of the nausea until now, as I catalogued my current state in preparation for what lay ahead, I did now. And it was still there, in the background, but because of adrenaline and overwhelming panic at being trapped as Michel faced off against my foe, it was manageable. But the exhaustion was not something I could counteract with a determined frame of mind.

I sucked in a breath and told myself to dig deep, rest could come later, after we dealt with this disaster first. But I must have looked as tired as I felt, or maybe Samson and Natalyia knew me from my sighs alone, because both of them insisted I let them continue to dig us out and I conserve my energy for when we escaped.

"I can't sit by and watch you work," I advised, reaching up to grasp another broken tile above
us. Samson simply took it out of my hand, not having to reach that high due to his superior height over mine.

"We're almost there, Mistress," Natalyia offered placatingly. "Let us finish this last bit, while you catch your breath."

"Do I look like I need to catch my breath?" I grumbled.

"Yes," they both replied in unison, so I shut up and crossed my arms over my chest and watched.

It would do no good to escape this and be faced with Viktor or Avery on the other side and not be able to lift my sword to defend against them. I wasn't an idiot - well most of the time - I knew when I needed to heed my vampires' advice.

I spent the time checking on Michel.

How's it going out there?
I asked, as though asking someone if they were enjoying a walk in the park and not fighting for their life. I needed to distance myself from reality, or I'd start to hyperventilate I was sure.