Dancing Dragon (38 page)

Once again, Alastair was in Knightsbridge. I was getting better at reading my
Sanguis Vitam Cupitor
map. I was becoming familiar with my surroundings at last. Even though my pull led me directly there; the best route possible, I was now able to envisage where that route would be. To prepare myself for possible hazards along the way. I felt more confident in this hunt than I had ever felt hunting Alastair before. Tonight was my night and I knew it.

“Such confidence, Ms. Monk.” Avery drawled next to me, as we rounded a corner approaching our prey.

“Just how much of my mind are you reading, Avery?” I asked lightly, attempting a nonchalant reply.

“Perhaps all of you, Ms. Monk. Every random little thought and exquisite image in your pretty little head.”

Fuck off!

He just laughed.

A few choice words flew through my mind, every possible name I could think of to call him I did. It was entertaining for a while. Every now and then he'd laugh or raise an eyebrow at me. It made the run to Alastair quicker than it would have otherwise have been. And also, distracted us both.

We rounded a corner, only a short distance away from Alastair and came face to face with two Russian level two Master vampires.

I should have known Viktor's faithful attack dogs would find me. Just as well I was already holding my stake.

They looked as Dark as they had done back in the Hummer. Sergei stood with his legs apart, arms crossed over his chest, deep brown eyes showing only distrust and vague interest. Nataliya was leaning casually against a shop front, playing with a short green handled dagger or knife. Flicking it in and out of its hiding slot, like a flick-knife. There was something unusual about the hilt, as though it was more than just a knife. I wondered briefly, if it was a gun too. The blade was dull, so didn't shine in the lights of the street, but it was impressive, despite only having a short blade length. It was thick and sharp and looked brutal.
She
looked at ease, but was deeply wrapped in Dark.

These two vampires were some of the Darkest I had yet met. I wondered what had made them this way. If it wasn't their Master, then what? Viktor had definitely had Dark in him, but not to this alarming degree. I took in their positions, some four feet from each other and about six feet in front of Avery and myself. Close enough to pounce, positioned perfectly to flank. But, I wasn't alone. I had Avery. I didn't doubt for a minute that he couldn't hold his own with a swarm of Dark vampires, let alone just two level two masters.

“Well, this is interesting, Ms. Monk. Your Russian's two
Tego Texi Tectum
.” He paused, taking the vampires all in. For their part, they didn't squirm under his scrutiny, just kept a watchful eye on him and a fierce one on me. “How much time have we got?” he asked, conversationally.

I let myself
seek
out Alastair and tried in vain to suppress a reaction to his first kill. He had already struck once and was onto his second meal of the night. Shit. Why couldn't I just once get to him before he killed an innocent? I know London is big, but usually my
Sanguis Vitam Cupitor
powers get me there before they strike. As though it knows what the vampire is about to do, before the vampire even does. But with Alastair, it was different. I always seemed to be too late. The fatality of that thought was appalling.

“Very well. You deal with this, I'll deal with London's Master.” I didn't even have time to protest and believe me I would have given the chance, before Avery simply flashed into the air and vanished.

The sonofabitch! Abandoned by my escort. I mean, I understood the desire to take Alastair out, but I was quite sure that was not what motivated Avery. No, Avery was motivated by something altogether different from my vampire hunter desires. Avery wanted that amulet. I didn't exactly know why, but I had seen the look on his face when he spoke of it. And now it blinded him enough to make him leave me to my fate with two extremely Dark vampires out for the kill.

Who was I kidding? I could take out two Dark vampires in my sleep. I didn't need the protection of Avery, or any other vampire for that fact.
That
wasn't what had got me so upset though. No, if I was honest with myself, I had thought my welfare may have been more important to Avery than his greed. What a fucking idiot. Just because he had shown deference to Michel's vampire-within recently, didn't mean he would continue to feel obliged to care for my wellbeing. Avery cared about one thing only: Avery.

I squared my shoulders, considered calling Antonio and Ricardo out of the shadows and then found my pride again. Fingering my stake I cocked my head at the two Dark vampires before me and readied my stance.

“What's up?” I asked as casually as I could muster.

Sergei was the one to speak. “The boss wants to know why you ignored his summons.” Sergei's accent was all thick Russian. Almost too difficult to understand. But, I got the gist. Viktor was piqued I'd ignored him.

“I don't take nicely to being tricked. Your boss and I had an understanding, he reneged on the deal.”

“There was never anything agreed to that covered his influence over you, human.” This time Nataliya spoke. Her voice was deeper than I was used to in a female, a strong accent, but not as thick as Sergei's. It did match her square and masculine physique though. This was no lady who painted her toenails. She was all muscle and razor blades underneath those long lashes and round brown eyes.

“There didn't need to be,
fanger
.” If she was going to call me
human
, a definite slur as I am most surely not all human, then I would call her names too. Immature, I know, but a girl's gotta have some fun. “It goes without saying that an alliance entitles a level of trust. I no longer trust your boss. Ergo, I do not trust the alliance he has made with me.”

“It is an alliance none-the-less. You are obliged to uphold your end.” Sergei again, looking bored. “We are here as a show of good faith. Lead us to the vampire and we will protect you from the Fey Prince.”

The vampire. Alastair. Who had already stopped hunting, he was no longer registering on my
Sanguis Vitam Cupitor
scans and so had already killed four more humans tonight. I was getting a little inured to all the bloodshed and death. I was starting to feel numb. There is only so much heartache and pain you can stomach before it starts to all look surreal. Or, before you break down completely and can no longer operate at all.

I was angry though. I wanted to lash out. All that was left for me to lash out at was the two Dark vampires in front of me, who didn't give a toss about the deaths of four more humans this night and whose boss just wanted revenge. And maybe the chance to control a powerful Nosferatin at the same time. If I killed Alastair, would Viktor become Master of the City? Would he want the Prophesied at his beck and call? I know technically Michel did, but at least with Michel I chose when his powers influenced me. With Viktor there would be no choice.

I'd made a mistake when I entered into this alliance. Sure, the fear of Lutin's control was a great leveller, but I could have found an alternative to safeguard me against the fairy's influence. I didn't need to sell my soul to the devil. And here I was facing the devil's hell hounds. What to do?

I couldn't renege on the alliance. That would create problems I wasn't equipped to handle. But, if Viktor could bend the rules and call me to be his little lap dog, then I could too. I took another look at the two vampires in front of me, assessing their level of Dark and then began to gather my Light.

I've got particularly good at gathering it without letting anyone see what I am doing. I used to
leak
a little, you know, start to glow a bright white Light, but now I can hide it all inside. They don't know what's about to happen, until they get the blast of my Light. Until they lose their Dark - or at least part of it - and embrace Nut's Light. I am Nut's emissary, I am the Light.

I didn't allow myself time to consider my actions, I just lifted my hand and let the Light flow. My Light is very fast, but Sergei and Nataliya, surprisingly enough, are faster. Sergei flashed behind me wrapping a gloved hand around my throat, Nataliya flicked her knife into my arm and Ricardo smashed his fist into the side of her head. I had no idea where Antonio was, but I knew he'd show his face before too much longer. That just left the vampire behind me to deal with.

Plus the blasted knife sticking out of my arm. I ignored the pain and blood that began to seep out of the wound and thrust my stake backward, straight into Sergei's muscled thigh. He grunted, but tightened his hold. I twisted the stake further, knowing the silver was causing him unbearable pain and threw my head back against his face. He lifted his chin at the last second and my skull met his jaw in a head cracking clash. Pain shot through my head and black spots flashed before my eyes. But, I don't think he had feared any better. His arms loosened enough for me to roll out from under him, leaving my first stake where it was and grabbing my second from my pocket before I even made it to my feet.

Ricardo and Nataliya were in full-on combat mode. Each one with fangs down and red glowing eyes flashing in the night. Circling one another and then simply streaming towards each other and turning into a blaze of swirling colour. I could hear snarls and curses, the crack of fist to bone, the snap of fangs and the wrenching sound of torn flesh. Vampires fight dirty. And there is nothing more dirty than a vampire on vampire clash.

I had my hands full though, so I didn't spare them much of a glance. Sergei had recovered and was stalking me like the prey he thought I was. His sister's knife had fallen out, leaving a free flowing gash in my arm. Blood was slowly dripping off the end of my fingers and I was beginning to lose all feeling in that arm. Luckily it wasn't my fighting arm, so I hefted my stake and prepared to spin.

Maybe it was the lack of blood, but I can't believe I'd lost that much already, but the spin failed, miserably and I ended up in Sergei's arms. Again. I was beginning to realise that Sergei and Nataliya were not your average Rogues. I usually only dealt with rogue vampires, those vampires given over to their blood lust. They are crazed and unpredictable, but also not nearly capable of any intelligent acts. They operate on base instincts. Food. Sex. Kill. Eat. Nothing more. They are the ones my
Sanguis Vitam Cupitor
and
Prohibitum Bibere
skills deal with on a daily basis. Vampires like Sergei and Nataliya, usually hunt with enough control not to warrant a stake through the heart.

That didn't mean they didn't deserve one.

I struggled in the solid arms of Sergei for a few more seconds, then swapped my stake for my silver knife and simply stabbed him in the side of the neck. Sometimes the most obvious move is the one your attacker overlooks. He snarled in fury and sank his fangs into the vein on the side of my neck. I'd overlooked that one. Pain shot down through my body replaced by rage. His rage, but mine would have given it a run for its money. Now, I was pissed off.

I noticed Antonio rounding the corner in the distance with Avery in tow. So, that's where my other shadow guard had got to. Keeping an eye on Avery. Clearly Michel did not trust the Plucking Pervert either. I almost allowed myself the luxury of believing rescue had arrived, then felt Sergei begin to worry at my neck. He wasn't just feeding, he'd decided to maul. If he tore out my jugular nothing could save me. I fumbled for my stake. But, Sergei was a guzzler and the loss of blood from the knife wound, coupled with the loss of my blood down his throat, was taking its toll.

I felt weak and nauseous, sweat building across my brow. My knees buckled beneath me, but Sergei held me tight. I'm sure it all happened faster than it appeared. I mean, Avery could have flashed there in a split second. Even Antonio could have bled into the shadows and then appeared at my side in the blink of an eye. But, for some reason the world seemed to slow down and I felt everything as though it was one long kiss goodnight.

I did the only thing I could think of, because thinking was becoming a little hard. I took what was probably going to be my last breath in and let it out with the entirety of my Light. I knew it was every last little bit of Light I had in me, because as it left my body it felt like my soul was being sucked right out along side it.

Normally, two things can happen when I let loose my Light without conscious thought. Firstly, the most harmless, yet most embarrassing; I blast the object of my focus with a post coital bliss. That's the one that happens most regularly. But, on occasion, my Light has a mind of its own. It decides bliss is not on the menu and simply goes for blast. That's the blast of a death ray. Firing out in a sharp line of Light and practically disintegrating the vampire before me into dust.

That second manifestation of my Light is not controllable. It happens when I'm in mortal danger, but I have no choice. My Light just takes over and ends it all in one swift flash of white. I hate it, but I will admit it has got me out of a tight spot or two in the past. Still, it's not my favourite thing and has made me question more than once just what the hell I am and what side I am actually on.

So, when I let my Light go towards Sergei I had braced myself for one of those two things to occur. I would have settled for orgasm. It at least would have got me out of his clutches and given Avery or Antonio time enough to get to my side. But, I was always prepared for the death blast. Not psychologically prepared. I don't think you can ever mentally prepare yourself for what my Light can do. But, I was prepared to be appalled, at the very least.

What happened though was equally uncontrolled by me, but not nearly as deathly. But I didn't know this at the time. My Light blasted into Sergei with the force of a two tonne truck. At exactly the same moment - maybe because my Light decided to branch out a little, to include a few more vampires in its reach - Ricardo let go of Nataliya. Who had been in a headlock about to lose said head. It saved her from the final death, but not my Light. She was too stunned to follow Ricardo, who had bled into the shadows in an instant. So, she simply did the only other thing she could under the circumstances.

She did what any vampire would do when faced with what looked like imminent death. She did whatever she could to survive. It's deep down in their DNA. Survive at all costs. And her vampire was telling her - or maybe just seeing her brother so close to me and my Light made her do it - to fly directly at me. With her hands outstretched before her, she came straight for my chest.

I didn't have time to prepare. I was no longer in control of my Light. So she connected with my chest, Sergei still wrapped firmly around me, his fangs still embedded in my neck and we all went arse over feet and ended in a pile of limbs and bodies and blood. The street we were on was blinding. Even
I
couldn't see past my Light. I dreaded to think what had happened to Antonio and Avery. I knew Ricardo would probably be safe in the shadows and I could only assume his counterpart had done exactly the same. And I did know that Avery could fly up and away with phenomenal speed, so I consoled myself with the fact that it was just the two Russians I was taking with me. And no one else.