Release (The Protector Book 3) (40 page)

Bone talons shot from his fingertips and stabbed into Vincent’s face. Dante broke free of Vincent’s grip and a strange energy surged, blasting Vincent’s body across the room. The wall cracked when he hit it and dust exploded around him.

I didn’t see Vincent crawl out of the hole, but air brushed over my skin as he appeared behind Dante. Black veins pulsed beneath Vincent’s clear skin and his talons slashed the back of Dante’s neck open.

Dante hunched forward, but before Vincent could take another swing, magic exploded over the room and Vincent screamed, falling to the ground. The woman in the purple dress had risen from her seat. Dark veins rippled beneath her creamy skin, and power pulsed off her. With her hand extended towards Vincent, she twisted her wrist and Vincent’s leg snapped, forcing a second scream. “Little brother, do not make this harder than it needs to be.”

Veronica tried to step forward but I shot my arm out to stop her, shaking my head.

There was only a drop of blood on Dante’s neck as he turned his back to us, and no sign of the cut at all. He stared down at his son but didn’t speak.

Vincent gritted his teeth as the holes in his face closed. The sound of bones clicking against one another set a chill in my bones, and the image of Rayna shifting flashed through my mind. Vincent stretched out his legs and pushed himself back to his feet.

“Well played, Father. And so good to see you, Caterina,” Vincent said, acknowledging her with a nod. “The golden daughter who fights alongside her parents. But I’m afraid your efforts are wasted. I am not coming with you, and I most certainly will not issue an apology. It is you who have wronged me, and as such, you are welcome to try and kill me, but I fear even those efforts will go unrewarded.” Vincent waved his hand towards us, and Dante’s eyes followed.

Dante laughed and shook his head. “Them? You believe these mortals will save you?”

“They are not mortals, dear,” Alessia said, her bright red heels tapping against the floor. I felt her power move around me as she stepped behind us. “This one smells like a litter box, but she reminds me so much of Vincent’s Rozeilia.”

“Do not speak that name!” Vincent shouted.

“Vincent,” Dante said, his tone a warning. “Do not test me, child.”

Vincent’s gaze was furious, and he turned it to me as though I was the reason this was happening.

“Come now, son. Let us be a family once again. I miss my boy.” Alessia frowned and bit a bright red fingernail.

“Go on, Alessia,” Dante said. “Who else has our brave son brought to their slaughter?”

“This is the one I saved, though she is unimportant,” she said, stepping behind Veronica. “And this one…oh, this one is special.”

I didn’t move but I felt Alessia behind me. Her energy poured into me and she dragged her nails down the back of my neck.

“This is the one?” Dante turned at once, moving straight for me.

My elements burst inside me like miniature fireworks and I closed my eyes briefly, pushing them back down.

Dante stopped in front of me, leaning forward and sniffing at the air. “He smells like a hunter, but something else, too.” He placed his hands behind his back and studied my face. “So, what are you then? Nothing I’ve ever tasted before.”

“That, dear Father, is the reason I am untouchable,” Vincent said, suddenly standing beside him.

Dante laughed. “Nobody is untouchable, Vincent. This is why you’re not Sovereign material. You lack imagination. I’ve tried to explain this to your mother, but she has this unexplainable love for you. Child of mine or not, I think you should suffer for your crimes like a true man.”

“You can keep your petty insults, Father. Your eyes are devouring Chase Williams, the one who claims all the elements. Fire, water, earth, and air.”

“Well, if he doesn’t have lightning, he doesn’t very well have all of them, now does he? So what are you going to do to me…Chase, is it? You’re attempting to block me from your mind, but your shields are weak, at best. I can smell the blood beneath your clothes. You are injured, which tells me your healing waters do not succumb to your command. So why, little boy, am I to fear you?” Dante smelled of copper with a hint of something else. Power. “Is it that angry gaze in your eyes? Is that what strikes fear into the Underworlders nowadays?”

Dante and I were locked in a stare. If he was anything like Alessia, my shields didn’t matter. He could break down my mind in a second, even if I hadn’t looked into his eyes. When I considered what I’d seen of Alessia’s abilities and remembered Dante throwing Vincent across the room without a touch, any words I might have managed were stolen.

“Is he a mute?” Dante asked. “I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised that you’re pinning all your hopes to the deaf, dumb, and blind.”

What was I supposed to say? I couldn’t use my elements and my shields were futile. Months ago I would have swung my fist against his jaw just to see what happened, but I knew that would be useless, even if it would make me feel better.

“Oh, I can talk,” I said. “I’m trying this new thing though, where I don’t respond to asshats with greasy hair.”

“It speaks.” Dante’s face didn’t change from its solemn expression. “Although the unintelligible drivel that pours from its fragile lips is near incomprehensible. Are you uneducated in speech, or do you relish in being an imbecile?”

“You sure do like to hear yourself talk, don’t you? Why are you here? What is it that Vincent has done?” I asked, trying to keep my attitude in check, but the old me was dying to see if I could break his jaw.

“When I’m the only one saying anything of importance, yes, I do.” Dante stepped away and moved to the bar, filling a martini glass from a bag of blood. “I can’t believe I’m forced to drink this…slop.” He grimaced as he took a sip. “What a shock, my son didn’t tell you about his wrongdoing? He never was one for taking responsibility for his actions.”

“They do not need to hear this,” Vincent said.

“My son, if you’re going to lure these…so-called heroes here to fight your battles, the least you could do is let them know what they’re fighting for.”

“They are friends. They do not need to know.”

Friends? We were so far from friends the thought nearly made me laugh, but I cleared my throat and forced myself not to grin. “No, actually, I’d love to know.”

 
“Story time bores me. I’m going to get a
real
snack,” Caterina said. “Besides, I always thought Rozeilia was a bitch.”

“You will not speak of her!” Vincent shouted.

“That she was. One would think she could have curbed a sailor’s tongue.” Dante smiled. “Enjoy an extra taste for me, my sweet Caterina. I’ll remain here and drink this…imposter.”

Caterina’s purple heels tapped along the marble floor and she disappeared out the wooden door.

“Alone at last,” Dante said, holding the martini glass in his hand. “Where were we? Oh yes, Vincent’s insult to the Sovereign. It began centuries ago, when Vincent was but a baby.”

“Enough,” Vincent said. “If they are to know the truth, I will not have it degraded by
your
tongue.”

“I suppose even a criminal in our community deserves a final few words. Besides, my articulation is better spent talking of important matters, not the wretched story that belongs to my should-be fangless son. Be sure not to leave anything out.” Dante settled himself gracefully on a barstool.

Vincent looked back at his father, then to us. He shook his head and began pacing the room, mumbling something under his breath.

“Come now, son, on with the story. It is not polite to keep your friends waiting.” Alessia found a spot on the couch. Her purple eyes were dark and the gold ring around them glowed in the dimly-lit room.

“Yes, Mother. Thank you.” Vincent sighed and continued pacing the room, staring at the floor with both hands clasped behind his back. “I was a child, merely seventy-five years old. I had two centuries before I could accept any status among the Sovereign and I was a wild mess. My…
crime
, as they call it, was a crime of passion, for I fell in love.”

“I’m sorry, what?” I asked.

“Is that so hard to believe?” he asked. I raised an eyebrow and Vincent shook his head. “Don’t answer that.”

“His being in love was not the problem. The Sovereign has spent a thousand years exploring the beauty that is love. This was far from beautiful. It was a disaster of great proportions and an embarrassment to all things Underworldly.” Dante drained his glass. “She was human.” He raised his hand and swallowed the last gulp. “I know, I know. How painfully original.”

“Will you let me tell the story?”

“Yes, of course.”

“Yes, she was human, which is against Sovereign rule. Humans are food and slaves, nothing more. That’s the way it has been since the beginning of our time.” Vincent glared at Dante. “I didn’t agree with their rules, and I wanted to turn my love into a creature of the night and live an eternity with her.”

Dante stifled a laugh and Vincent’s eyes were fierce. “My apologies,” Dante said. “That part gets me every time.”

“I was a prince in the Sovereign, but that meant nothing at the time. I was not a true member.” Vincent continued, anger rising in his voice. You are not born into the Sovereign, you are invited, but it takes time and politics. Games I did not care to play.”

Was he serious? The Vincent I knew thrived on the politics and the games. I couldn’t think of a different version of him.

“Still, I would not let this love go unfulfilled. I moved to Vienna with her, and we spent months together, though still in secret.”

“Please, it was far from a secret,” Alessia said. “The Sovereign has always, and will always, have eyes everywhere.”

“Mother, please.”

“You are boring our guests, son.” Alessia patted him on the shoulder and stepped towards us. “Vincent told us she was simply a vampling—a common snack we feed from, and one who would serve him. But we were not fooled. Vincent had lust in his eyes and his mercy weakened him. She needed to be dealt with.”

“That seems a little harsh,” Rayna said.

“Harsh?” Vincent asked. “There is no such thing with the Sovereign. You do nothing without their approval. As such, I followed all the necessary channels. I wrote a letter with my request and sent it to them.”

“Ah yes, the letter—a poorly penned attempt at groveling,” Dante said. “You see, all requests, no matter how outlandish, receive a reply, but this…this was beyond unfathomable.”

“Oh, was it? You’d think I was the first to take interest in a mortal,” Vincent said. “Don’t think I’m not aware of your days as a youth, Father.”

“We all experiment, Vincent. But most of us eat our food after we play with it. We do not bathe it in jewels, and false promises of eternity.”

Vincent growled and walked away from his father. “After eight months, I had no response. The Sovereign sat on their high thrones, laughing heartily at my request, and it was trying my patience. I left a letter for my sweet and left for Rome myself.”

Vincent paused and looked at me. I couldn’t deny his story surprised me, and my eyes were locked on his, waiting for what came next. I didn’t know the Vincent he spoke of—one that cared or showed love for another. It was surreal.

“Tell them what happened next, dear,” Alessia said, strutting around us. Her fingers tapped along my shoulder and up my neck, forcing a chill through my body.

“I was right. They were laughing at me, as was the entire vampire community. I demanded a sitting with the entire Sovereign, and when I had finished declaring my love for Rozeilia, they hushed the laughing audience and dismissed me. My father, however, found purpose in all this, and offered me a sought-after invitation to the Sovereign a century and a quarter early. He stated there was no need for politics. If my request for a fulfilled love was sincere, there was no better way to prove my commitment than sacrificing that which I treasured.”

“You gave up all you ever wanted for a girl? Didn’t see that coming,” I said.

“What?” Vincent glared at me with ferocity in his eyes. “A girl? A girl!” Vincent stormed towards me, stopping inches from my face. “This was no girl, Mr. Williams. This was…she was…my everything,” Vincent said the last words just above a whisper.

“She was an arrogant bitch who got what she deserved.” Caterina slammed the door behind her, reentering the room. She wiped a trail of blood from her chin and fell on the couch.

“She was nothing of the sort!” Vincent clenched his fist. “She was exotic and beautiful, and her eyes made my heart dance. When she sang, the world ceased to exist. Her voice could heal a broken man. It could calm a crying child. When her lips parted and that sound escaped, it lifted the air we breathe. This was not a
girl
. This was my soul’s reflection in a fragile shell, and she pulled back the shadows and gave light not just to my world, but to all the lives it touched.”

Dante shook his head. “I always knew you were capable of manifesting intelligent words, yet you waste them fabricating lies.”

Caterina burst into laughter her braids danced across her shoulders. “Rozeilia was a peasant entertainer—something tossed away like a rotted peach. She belonged in a whorehouse with her mother and sister. And wasn’t her brother lame? He was, if I recall correctly. Though he did taste rather pleasant, even if he was missing a gene or two.”