Blinding Light (The Bloodmarked Trilogy Book 2) (35 page)

“You had me convinced we are a time bomb ready to explode and unleash hell on anyone standing too close,” I whispered, grasping at the dwindling strands of remaining composure.

“I’m starting to rethink that. God, Lucy. It’s getting harder to be apart from you. Just looking at you makes me want to find an empty bedroom and lock us both inside for the rest of the night.”

“That sounds a bit… reckless. Don’t you think, Mr. West?”

A playful chuckle rumbled through his chest and worked itself all the way through my body. Then, both of his hands were on the move, trailing down to my hips. An embarrassingly desperate plea for more escaped my mouth.

“Mmm, Damn, that sound, baby. Makes me think of how you sounded when I-” he started, his sentence cutting short when I jabbed his side.

“Shut up,” I breathed.

He laughed arrogantly and continued his very hands on exploration. “I’m finding it increasingly harder not to live in the moment after each time I come closer to losing the thing that matters most to me. You could have died last night, Lucy. We were outnumbered and when I lost sight of you… I can’t even describe what that felt like.”

“Let me take a stab at it. Anger. Helplessness. More anger. Welcome to my world, Mr. West.”

He tugged me into him, fully aligning our bodies in all the right ways, or wrong ones, considering where we were. My head dropped against him, and I groaned against his shoulder. With no bed in sight, this would have to wait.

He kissed my neck briefly before growling in resignation. Without taking his hands off me, he stepped back and sighed. When I caught the look in his eyes, I stepped back until I hit cold stone. A wicked gleam entertained so many dark, naughty deeds behind closed doors.

“Later,” he mouthed.

Turning serious again, he said, “Lucy, I’m not asking you to agree with or even be okay with everything they do. I’m not asking you to trust them. I’m asking you to consider it. I mean, come on, do you think the First would see something like this coming?”

A part of me still resisted the idea of working with them, but the logical part knew it was a decent plan.

“It would give us an edge. But it’s dangerous working with them. Dare I say, reckless?” I repeated the word, throwing it back at him after all the times he accused me of being just that. “Not really your style, Mr. West.”

He smiled fully at that. “No, but I’m beginning to think everyone needs a little reckless behavior in their lives. Especially you. I kind of missed it,” he admitted.

“Well, this is about as scary as jumping out of a plane with no chute.”

“Need a push?”

It terrified me to be impetuous after what happened with Holly. I have been much more cautious lately, holding back that part of me. But thinking back, my rash behavior had also served me well at times. It strengthened me.

“No. This is my decision to make. My fight to pick. I’m jumping.”

“Right behind you, Ms. Masters.” His words were cordial, but I hinted an underlying note of admiration and something that would surely distract me well into the night if I permitted the thought. It made me turn to look back at him, and when I did, my breath caught. I nearly tripped into an ancient vampire with long black hair and wearing a blood red dress.

He schooled his features as if he hadn’t just, as Brody would say, eye banged the hell out of me, and then snuck up beside me to charm her before she drop kicked me out the window.

“Excuse us.” He flashed that winning smile and she melted as we walked away.

He leaned in close to whisper in my ear. “Behave yourself, Ms. Masters. I know you want me, but we’re in public.” His face glowed with mock embarrassment.

Asshole. He hunched over when I backhanded his stomach. A sharp pain lit my knuckles when they came in contact with those hard, washboard abs, but it was well worth it. He winked at me with a boyish grin, and I whipped around before he caught my lips curving up. I was pretty sure he already saw the smile in my eyes.

We skirted around the dance floor, avoiding any more accidental run-ins with temperamental vampires. When we spotted Soren and Elias sporting matching grave expressions, playtime was over. Tension swamped the space between us, and I approached ahead of Gavin, ready to deliver my answer, whether I liked it or not.

“I need some sort of guarantee you and your merry men won’t turn on me once the First are out of the picture,” I demanded as soon as we approached the two lead vampires. “If this is a trap to take us both out at one time, believe me when I say it will end ugly.”

“I assure you that is not our intention,” stated Soren, his voice unwavering. “In fact, I have procured a gift for you as a sign of good faith.”

I wasn’t really in the market for a new coffin. Other than that, I couldn’t possibly image what type of gift a stuffy, thousand year old nightwalker could have for me.

When I said nothing, he reassured me I would like it. “It is something I think you’ve been dying to get your hands on for a good while now.”

My eyes flitted back and forth between his somber expression and Elias’s giddy one before I sighed reluctantly. “Fine. We have an agreement. But if I so much as see an innocent harmed or forced to do something against his or her will, I cannot honor this truce. I won’t allow you to kill humans under my watch. Got it?”

“Our goal is not to destroy the human race but to work together to form the most beneficial relationship for both of our kinds. No one will be harmed, but you have a deal.”

I glanced back at Gavin, who smiled reassuringly when he noticed the horror that must have been written all over my face. I wondered if I had made a monumental mistake, but he was right. We need all the help we could get in this fight.

Someone cleared his throat, and I turned to see Elias grinning like an idiot. “This is the best part. Come with us.”

“For what?” I asked.

“Your gift. You’ll see. It’s a surprise.” At that, he pivoted on his heel with Soren right beside him, assuming I’d follow.

They made it all of ten paces before curiosity got the better of me. I reached back, grabbing Gavin’s hand to pull him along for the ride.

They led us through the milling ancients lining the walls and down the dark mazes until we came to a door that descended into a damp dungeon. The perspiring stone walls held lit torches all the way down the stairs. The sound of my clacking heels faded into the symphony of waves crashing against the cliffs.

The bottom landing opened up to a wide hallway with rudimentary jail cells on either side. The entire space was a pre-existing cave carved out of the cliff side, the bars bolted straight into the rock. A wide shaft of faint moonlight trickled in at the end of the hall where it took a sharp right turn. The cave entrance must have been directly around that curve.

“William!” Elias shouted, panic edging his voice. “William, where are you?”

Something told me this wasn’t part of the plan.

“Hush,” Soren chided, stepping forward cautiously.

The tiny hairs on the back of my neck prickled. The gift wasn’t a something. It was a someone.

I darted to the closest torch on the wall, yanking it free of the holder and snapping off an end. I held fire in one hand and a makeshift stake in the other. Confident in my weapon choice, I started forward, brushing past the two stunned vampires, who were now scanning each cell for signs of their missing guard.

Gavin moved beside me. “Lucy, stay focused. I’m here. I’m right by your side.” He spoke so low, I barely heard him over the sound of thunderous waves.

We neared the corner by the mouth of the cave, and Gavin crept around me to pick up a piece of gleaming scrap metal.

No. Not scrap metal. It was a sword dropped haphazardly on the rock floor, which was never a good sign. When Gavin recovered it, an audible gasp floated up from behind us. Elias snatched the sword from Gavin’s hand to inspect it.

“William,” he replied woodenly. “He was my second in command. He was my friend.”

My heart squeezed painfully. The situation was all too memorable, and when I heard a dark chuckle from around the corner that was equally familiar, I couldn’t have been less surprised by the unfavorable turn of events.

Gavin shoved in front of me. He shielded me out of his protective nature, but I placed a hand on his back and side stepped him. This particular kill was mine for the taking. This vampire would die by my stake alone, long after I made him suffer for the evil he’s bestowed upon me and those closest to me. I tasted the bitterness of my revenge on the tip of my tongue, as potent and toxic as his lethal, black market drug.

I rounded the corner before him, but Gavin’s presence filled the room immediately. A deep, vicious sound echoed through the space. His fury was like a living thing in the small alcove. It hadn’t just been his protectiveness over me spurring him forward.

I never considered how being captured affected Gavin because he was my rock. I never once thought him weak, but he apparently didn’t take too well to being overpowered. Naturally.

I now noticed just how disturbed he was by being kidnapped and tortured. His rage was etched into his narrowed eyes and hard-set jaw. It was in every tensed, solid muscle, tightly coiled and waiting to unleash a thousand different hells on the smug, slightly amused vampire before us.

“Hey, baby. Long time, no see. Miss me?” His voice oozed a mixture of petulance and arrogance, a disgusting cocktail I wanted to spit back in his face, after I douse him with kerosene and light him on fire.

“Shane,” I swore, like his name was the vilest curse to pass between my lips.

At the same time, Gavin spat, “Monroe.” It came out as more of a threat.

“How did you get out?” Elias demanded from behind us. He and Soren flanked Gavin and I, creating a wall blocking Shane’s exit. The only way out was the several-hundred-foot drop behind him.

“Those bars were soaked in holy water,” Soren added. “William was well trained.”

Shane laughed, and the sound was shrill, setting my blood to a boil. “I don’t know if you heard. But I’m kind of awesome.”

He winked at Gavin conspiratorially, reminding him of how they now shared the same strength and tolerance for pain. He drank from Gavin and didn’t die from his blood’s strength but absorbed it.

The other two bristled while Gavin stepped forward menacingly, but I gripped his wrist in a warning. Oh, how the roles have reversed. Instead of Gavin holding me back from a fight, I seemed to be the one carrying all the patience. I felt itchy.

Shane didn’t miss the interaction and smiled like the cat that figured out how to open the canary cage. “Easy, loverboy. This doesn’t have to be a violent visit, even if it was a bit unplanned in the first place.” He darted his cold eyes toward Soren. “I didn’t realize I was the one being watched, but it doesn’t change our plans.”

“What makes you think you have the ability to make future plans? The only way you’re leaving here is when your ashes are scattered out to sea.” I was sick of all his posturing.

“Oh, sweetheart. You really think it all ends with me? With the First? You have no idea what’s in store for you. And I guarantee I’m getting out of here alive.”

Gavin stalked slowly away, skirting the cave wall to close the gap. I moved in sync with him, circling in the opposite direction toward Shane.

“They found you at the estate. You were the one spying on me this whole time, weren’t you?” I asked, buying time to get closer to him.

“You really aren’t very bright, Lucy.”

“All those newly created vampires. That was you too,” I said with absolute conviction.

“It was us,” he corrected with a slimy smile. “Those were merely tests. We were curious about your new strengths as a unique bloodline.”

“You created them to use for your own entertainment? To study your opponent’s strengths and weaknesses. I get it. Well, how did I stack up?”

Keep him talking, Lucy.

One step closer. And another.

“You were boring and unimpressive at first. But that last little battle with the First’s lackeys… You showed some teeth. Not bad. But the thing is, you’re not really all that special.”

“My heart breaks.”

“You don’t know what heartbreak is. Yet.” His eyes flickered toward Gavin and then back in a blink. “But you will. You’re not the only one who could take out the First with the strength of the Light.”

“What the hell are you talking about, Shane?”

“I know for a fact you and your man candy over there aren’t the only ones with Lucifer’s blood in you. I can’t believe you haven’t figured this out yet, Lucy.”

“There’s another Day-marked vampire?” I asked, looking to Gavin for information. He seemed just as stumped. “Who?”

“Think about it. Your bloodline is the last remaining one containing his evilness’s essence. Well, besides that mistake.” He nodded his head in Gavin’s direction. “That one was a bit of an oversight.”

“That’s impossible, then. I’m the last remaining member of my family. The last of my bloodline.”

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Gavin drawing closer as Shane’s attention stayed on me. The others held back, ready to spring into action if needed.

Shane leaned in like he was telling me a secret. “Are you absolutely sure about that, Lucy?”

I blinked once. Twice. My jaw hit the floor.

His words hit me like a wrecking ball carrying a naked Miley Cyrus and left me feeling just as nauseated. The world around me blurred as I lost sight of reality. No way. What he was insinuating was impossible.

“That’s right, Lucy. You wanted to know who the ghost vampire really was. The one who has been plotting against you most of your life for what you did. What you are. How ironic that it was the family you fought for all this time.” He grinned lasciviously. “Surprise! It’s your dear old daddy.”

Time stopped, or it just didn’t exist anymore. I couldn’t be sure. I saw Gavin freeze behind Shane and watched the shock play out across his beautiful face like a movie. This, most definitely, was not reality. It was beyond the parameters of feasible. It was like watching something from afar and being completely disconnected. My mind refused to believe my father was still alive. After all this time. Shane’s next words were the final nail in the fragile bubble of reality I clung to for so long.

“And he hates you,” he whispered, but it echoed loudly through my skull.

What happened next was a short series of events that sheltered my sanity by forcing my brain to shut down, and at the same time, shattered my heart into millions of shards that tore through my insides so thoroughly, there would be nothing left for me when my mind returned.

He had baited us, reeling us in until we were close enough for him to make his big move. He took advantage of our shock and turned my whole world the other way around.

His arm struck out, swiping the stake from my hand. In the time it took for my muddled brain to process what was happening, the damage was done. Shane spun, but it was too late to react. The stake was already deeply lodged in Gavin’s chest.

Right through his heart.

My brain went from confused and blurry to sharp and focused in a blip. My world was crumbling before me with intense clarity. I heard my ragged intake of breath and watched the man I love, outlined against the cloud-dampened moonlight, as he stumbled forward while reaching out a hand to me with his last bit of effort. The crash of water below pierced my eardrums, causing me to wince. The pain and shock still etched in Gavin’s face was heartbreakingly detailed.

Shane’s parting words were like sharp ice when he mentioned they weren’t done with me yet, the other part of
they
being my father. I still couldn’t make my mind believe it. Not right now, when the only thing that mattered to me was slipping farther and farther away from me.

To be thorough, Shane kicked Gavin’s midsection, sending him soaring through the cave’s entrance and into the deadly fog below. He then swung himself onto the cliff face and disappeared.

I heard the others screaming for me to stop, but the sounds dissipated, replaced by the whooshing of the wind. I soared through the air, plunging through the thick clouds of mist and into the unknown depths below without another thought in my mind.

He couldn’t be gone. This was not supposed to happen. Shane wasn’t supposed to take anyone else from me. It couldn’t be real.

The second I hit the icy water, however, it all felt very real. The tearing of skin when my leg hit rock and the stalling of breath when my body froze up at the sudden drop in temperature felt oh so real. I scrambled to right myself against the churning whirlpool and needed all my strength to fight the pressing currents.

My eyes frantically searched the dark, foreign world. I swam for what could have been hours, upturning boulder-sized rocks on the ocean floor to come up empty.

No. No. No. No.

This wasn’t happening. He wasn’t ash. The beautiful, strong, perfection-in-a-bottle man I fell so hard for could not be reduced to a simple pile of ash.

He said I was the only one who could kill him. I believed him. I believed he was capable of anything. When I broke the surface, I numbly paddled to the nearest rock outcropping and hoisted myself up. My dripping hair and clingy, shredded dress felt heavy against my overly sensitive skin.

Or was it my not so sensitive skin? I hardly noticed the gash on my leg and laceration on my forehead knit themselves back together. Hobbling over the jagged rocks, I was a conflicting mess of numbness and sensitivity. My leftover human side fought to block out the pain in order to protect me, while the vampire side fed me a constant stream of stimuli to keep me alert as adrenaline coursed through my veins.