Darklove (20 page)

I take a look at the high-leather heeled boots I'm wearing, and shrug. “I can. For a while.”

Noah waves and hits the staircase. I turn and hurry into my room. I shut the door behind me and walk toward the bedside table. The moment my fingers graze the knob, I freeze. It's dark, with only a small haze of streetlight shining in through the cracked drapes. The window is open, and cold November Highland air rushes in.

I'm not alone.

A sensation washes over me, and slowly, I scan the shadows. I search the other side of the room, and I turn back.

I gasp.

Eli is standing in front of me. A foot—twelve inches—is all the space that's between us. His body is tense—so much I can feel the power rolling off him—and every muscle is rigid, hard. His eyes are red—not the beautiful cerulean I'm used to. But he's not morphed into his vampirism. Only his eyes are different.

My vocal cords are frozen. My body is paralyzed. I stare hard at him, wishing him to recognize me. Why is he here? How the hell did he
get
in here?

His head cocks to the side, and he's studying me so hard I feel adrenaline surge through me and realize it's fear. I want to scan the room. Is Carrine here? Commanding him to kill me? Or to torture me, as Athios had warned? I want to run. I want to call out to him, scream his name, make him see me.

I want to touch him. So badly it hurts. Maybe if I do, he'll remember me. He'll remember us.

I concentrate. Focus. Holding his bloodred gaze, I breathe in. Out. Slowly, I lift my arm, reach my hand out to him. I'm grabbing blindly, gently when I feel his hand beneath mine.

For a split second, confusion flashes over Eli's features. So quick I almost miss it. He could kill me so fast. I've seen how swift he turns. It's little more than a blur, and his jaw extends, jagged teeth drop sharp and white, and he'll go for my throat. He could snap my head right off like a dandelion. Right now he's hesitating. And he's alone. Is his resistance to Carrine's control strengthening? Is he remembering me?

I swallow, pushing past my fear. My heart throbs inside my ribs, and I have to concentrate to keep my breathing under control. Staring, willing him to recognize me, I hold my hand against his.

“Eligius Dupré,” I whisper. “Eli, please, come back to me.”

Eli's nostrils flare. His head cocks farther to the side, and his eyebrows pull together into a frown. He's considering. Studying.

Or remembering?

“Riley, what's the holdup?”

Noah's voice startles me, and on instinct, I drop my hand and glance toward the door just as he enters. His face hardens, just that fast.

I turn my head back to Eli.

He has disappeared. My eyes move to the window, and the drapes are still fluttering. Hurrying over, I peer out into the night, my eyes searching the shadows, the street, the walk.

Eli's gone.

At the window, I sag against it.

Noah's beside me, his hand on my shoulder. “He could have killed you, Riley.” He squeezes me, his fingers digging into my bones. “I wouldn't have been able to stop him, darlin'.”

“Yeah,” I agree. “I know that.” I look up at him. “He hesitated, though. Looked as if he was trying to figure something out.” I shrug. “Or figure me out. Do you think he remembered?”

“Hard to say.” He grasps my jaw gently and turns my face up to his. “If anyone's capable of reaching a vampire through a bloodlust phase, it's you.” He kisses me, a fast brush across the lips. “You're kinda unforgettable, you know. And I'd like to keep you around for as long as possible, so if Eli approaches you again, call me.” He taps my temple. “In here.” He drops his hand and shakes his head. “Swear to God, for a human with so much power, you don't utilize a third of it.”

“I guess I wasn't thinking,” I admit. “Except to try and make him see me.”

Noah chucks me under the chin. “I know.” He inclines his head. “Let's go.”

I finish changing, Noah helps me gear up, even though I don't need the help, and we head out. Downstairs, Seth and Rhine stand together, talking.

Riley, please. I can barely stand this—being here, and not there. How are you holding up?

Vic, it's okay. We've got a little unexpected help from a group of hunters here in Inverness. They're apt. Kick-ass apt. We're doing fine. I promise.

I don't know what's happening, Riley. I don't like it. I have a horrible feeling about everything. I should come.

No. You stay put. At least until we get things figured out here. Eli is here, Vic. And he's not himself. He's being controlled by a witchpire, of all things.

Damn me. Haven't heard that term in quite some time. Please. Don't be overzealous with your abilities. Keep Miles with you at all times. I beg you.

I don't think I have a choice anymore. He's on me like glue.

Good. And a warning: The moment I feel you've upset the balance of safety there, I'm on the first plane to Inverness. I swear it.

I'll keep you posted, Vic.

You'd better.

I finish my mind convo with Victorian Arcos and hit the living area. My eyes scan the room. My brother. He's here. And I haven't seen him in . . . weeks. Since before Edinburgh. I walk up to him, and he drapes a lean arm around my shoulders and pulls me close. I look up at him. “We run together tonight, bro,” I say.

“Lads, you know where tae go,” Rhine says to the twenty or so Ness boys gathered in the hall. A few faces are ones I haven't seen yet. “Rob, Tate, Jep—you'll run wi' us.”

The Ness boys break down into groups and start filing out of the door. Noah walks over to us and places a hand on mine and Seth's shoulders. He squeezes us both.

“You two Poes don't stir up any extra unwanted trouble,” he warns. “And don't approach Eli or Carrine alone. If you cross paths, call me.”

I nod. “We will.”

“And if Arcos—either one—tries to get to you, don't entertain that, either.”

I throw Noah a grin. “Yes, Mother.” Noah probably never will trust Victorian Arcos, but I do. He's on our side, and I don't think he ever was as evil as everyone claims. I feel lighter now. More hopeful. The possibility that Eli is trying to resist Carrine lifts my spirits. I want to save him. So bad.

Noah waves and disappears out the door. We're right behind him.

Outside, the air is cold and the wind brisk; a fine mist falls, and I pull my hair into a ponytail. Scanning the front of the Crachan's lot, I notice Noah's already disappeared with his group. With Rhine in the lead, we head off.

We run the city for four hours before I notice anything. Seth and I have scaled a row of buildings, and we leap the rooftops as Rhine, Tate, Rob, and Jep jog the sidewalk below. It's just after ten p.m. I stop, listening.

Seth stops, too. The thigh-length leather coat he's wearing conceals as many silver blades as I have on me. A skully keeps his hair plastered down. “What is it?” he asks.

I lift my chin, smell the air, zone all city noises out. Streetlights illuminate side streets, and I cast a glance over the cityscape. Coned turrets and spires from the city center jab the air, and the castle sits light up on the hill, holding sentry over the city.

But something's not right.

“What is it?” Seth asks again. He, too, scans the skyline.

I shake my head, stare at the rooftop under my feet. I close my eyes.

Then I hear it. Not a faint word, but a voice, in my head.

Ah,
ma chère
. There you are.
Bon
. I want you to remember something very important,
oui
?

My eyes flutter open, then shut again; I'm desperate not to lose what was happening.

“Riley, what's going on?” Seth says at my side. He grabs my chin and forces me to look at him. I do, but I smile, press two fingers to his lips to silence him, and close my eyes.

Yes
, ma chère
, there you go. I need your complete concentration to speak with you as such.

“Mr. Dupré,”I say in my head. “You could've just called me on my cell.”

Eli's father chuckles. “Now, what good is having such fine, combined inhuman tendencies if not to use them thusly? My dear girl, I won't keep you long, but I want you to know only this. My son loves you deeply—more than his own existence. Never has he given his heart away to another, since our human life. Only to you. And other than my love for my beloved wife, I've never seen another vampire love so completely. If anyone can dredge him from the hell he is in and save him, it is you, my darling. Remember the blood coursing through you is filled with more than simply Arcos's Strigoi. You have Dupré in you as well. You always will. Bring my son home,
ma chère
.”

“I will, Mr. Dupré. I swear it,” I answer. “I . . . ache inside without him. All the time.”

“Ah, well, that's because he's the other half of your soul,
chère
. You, us, and what we are? It was meant to be. From the very start. Take care now, and stay close to that Miles boy. He'll keep you safe.”

Strong hands are shaking my shoulders with violent force.

“Riley!” Rhine growls.

I ignore him for a moment more.

“Thanks, Mr. Dupré. Could you please send your other sons to help? Time we start wrapping things up here. I'm so ready to come home. With my fiancé.”

“Ah,
ma chère
, how often must I remind you to call me Gilles? And Eligius's brothers are already on their way. They'll be in Inverness by morn.”

“Thanks, Gilles. I promise, I will bring him back safely.”

“I've never doubted that you will.”

I open my eyes to find Rhine and Seth glaring at me. I smile. “I'm okay, fellas. Just having a little head convo with my future father-in-law.” Jake Andorra must have spoken with Eli's father. I pray I can keep my word. I incline my head to the street, where Rhine has been staring holes at me for the last few minutes. “Let's go.”

Seth follows me down to the street, finally leaping to the ground. Rhine stares hard at me. “What's up?” he asks.

“We've got a little help coming in the morning,” I offer. “For now, take us to the darkest dregs of Inverness.”

A knowing gleam shines in Rhine's eyes. “This way,” he offers, and turns and heads into the shadows.

With a nod, Seth and I follow Rhine and the other Ness boys into the darkness.

I'm tired of all this bullshit.

I want my fiancé back.

I want that witchpire bitch to turn to dust.

And I want to get the fuck out of here.

BLOODBATH

You must make your own life amongst the living and, whether you meet fair wind or foul, f
ind your own way to harbor in the end.

—Captain Daniel Gregg,
The Ghost and Mrs. Muir,
1947

It must be bad if Riley and Noah are sending for us. I don't like it. And Eli must be fucked-up in a serious way. That has to be driving Riley completely insane. There is no one else for Eli except Riley. They're meant to be together. Even in bloodlust, I can't believe he's not tried to get at her. And whatever or whoever is controlling my brother? Vampire, witch—doesn't matter. Dead fucking meat.

—Séraphin Dupré

T
here really aren't dark seedy dregs in Inverness. The city is pretty clean and kept up. But because Rhine knows the underground fight circuit, as well as which clubs operate from the back room, so to say, he knows a few places to hit. The kind of place that might be harboring a vampire or two. Maybe even Carrine.

I refuse to say Eli's name with hers now. It's totally clear to me that he's being controlled by her; she has some ancient witch power that makes him do what he does. But he proved to me the night before that something in his brain still remembers me. The way he looked at me, as if trying so hard to remember. Despite his bloodred eyes—totally opposite of how he typically is when he turns, which is white eyes with red pinpoint pupils. We'll fix this. Make it right. Once and for all.

One place Rhine knows in particular is tucked away near the outer city limits, in the upper floor of an older apartment building. I've been in places just like it back home. We encountered a place very similar in Charleston, and the vampire fight club.

Sometimes you just can't keep the rotten apples out of the barrel.

Even with the Ness boys around.

By now, I've called Noah and him and his group has joined us. I quickly tell him about my head convo with Gilles, and that Phin and Luc are on their way over now.

Noah nods. “Good. I told Andorra we needed to separate Eli from the female and get him back home to Preacher.” He looks at me. “It's going to be one hell of a plane ride back.”

“No doubt,” I answer, then glance up at the darkened apartment complex. Chunks of sandstone and brick are missing; the window is cracked on the entrance doorway. “We gotta clean this mess up first.”

Noah inclines his head. “Ladies first.”

I give him a sidelong glance. “You know, I really miss the old Noah.”

He quirks an eyebrow. “What old Noah?”

I grin. “You know. The one who used to egg me on in a fight? Remember how proud you were in Charleston when I killed my first newling?” I chuckle. “Remember that nasty fight club we went into there?” I mock-glare at him. “You were ringside, laughing. Cheering me on.”

Noah grins. “Yeah. That was before the vow.”

My eyes soften at him. “Yeah. I know.”

Memories light his silvery eyes, though, and he punches my arm. “That was some crack shoot- in' in that ring, though, Poe.”

I shake my head. “That's what you said then, too.”

“I know.”

“Ri, you're not fighting tonight, are you?” Seth asks.

I shake my head. “Not if I don't have to.”

“These fights move round fair quick,” Rhine offers. Seth is standing beside him. “Rough bunch of lads, ya ken? They're in it for the money. An' you dinnae fook wi' their quid.”

“I ken,” I answer. “Just a quick appearance. Just to see if we can flush her out.”

Her
meaning Carrine.

We slip into the complex and climb the stairs. Shouts, swearing, and the acrid scent of blood, sweat, and cigarette smoke fill the air in the corridor. The moment we clear the stairwell, I see a large, bald, inked guy standing outside one of the rooms.

I look at him.
Move over and let us in. Don't follow.

By the time we near him, he glances away, steps aside, and we walk directly into a large room. Dimly lit, smoke filled, and after a quick glance it looks like several rooms gutted out. Fifty humans fill the area, and it's shoulder to shoulder as we all separate and scan the arena.

So far, nothing but humans. Mean, tough-as-shit, fighting humans. But still humans. Music thumps, hard, heavy, and mixes with yells carrying through the room. Two guys fight in the center of a human ring of onlookers. Bare from the waist up, and barefoot, both of their faces already bloodied. Both of equal size, I can barely tell them apart. Both have close-shaven heads. One has a chunk of chain mail inked into his shoulder. There. That's the only difference I can make out.

That same guy lands an elbow punch to the other guy's nose and blood starts spurting. He hits the floor, writhing in pain. He doesn't get up. Cheers fly from the patrons' mouths; money is exchanged.

Then the lights flicker. Several glance upward, to the bare bulbs swinging overhead. One by one, the bulbs crackle and break, until the very last one lighting the room pops out. The room is cast into darkness.

Noah, get my brother out of here.

Too late. The room is filling with newbloods. I can sense them now. Ravenous. Crazed.

I sense her. Carrine.

The screams begin.

Filled with shadows and terror, it's total chaos in the closed-in makeshift arena. I can't see. I can't move. I'm getting knocked from all sides, trapped in a sea of panicking human bodies. Had she followed us here? Followed me here? What's her drive? I'm lost, but one thing I know for sure. I can't let these people die. And my brother is in here. Rhine. Noah. The other Ness boys.

Souls I love and care about.

I brace myself, standing with my legs apart, stiff, and I inhale. I close my eyes, ignore the bodies slamming into me, and push all of my focus, my power, my concentration, to my center. My core. I feel it, burning as if I've swallowed gasoline, followed by a lit match. It scorches me until I throw my hands up and release it.

Before it leaves me, I stop it. Midair. Suspended.

Everyone is still. Frozen. I can't see faces, and I can't see who is who. But I can tell no one is moving.

I focus my words, choose them carefully.
All humans, leave. Now.

Immediately, bodies start to hustle. Heartbeats have slowed down to normal, and they're all around me. Feet are shuffling out of the door.

After a few moments, I can see how many figures are left. I see Noah's dreads. Beside him, Seth and Rhine. I can plainly tell them from the other four left standing. All males.

And they're vampires.

We're trapped in a dark building with four other vampires.

I feel my control slipping.

“That's because you're weak,” a female voice carries to me. “Pathetic and weak.”

“What do you want?” I ask Carrine in the dark. She can read my mind. She thinks she can control me. She's got another goddamn think coming.

“Oh, I don't know,” she says. “Eli? What do I want?”

My heart drops at his name on her lips.

Silence.

My eyes shift as I wait. Eli's resisting her again. He's getting stronger. My heart soars with hope.

“Eli!” Carrine screams. The sound vibrates within my chest. Makes the fine hairs on my neck stiffen.
Witchpire
. More like banshee in full-blown menopause.

“Her blood, sliding down your throat,” my fiancé growls from the shadows. I hear the hesitation, the contempt in his voice. He's fighting her.

Carrine laughs. “Oh, my love, you know me oh so well.”

Sickness pools in my stomach. None of this makes sense. My mind whirls as I struggle to hold the other vampires in the room in place. Yet my thoughts race around the fact that there's no good reason Carrine wants me, out of all the blood she can choose from. Why?

I hold my concentration, and I'm straining every internal muscle I have to do it. “Why me?” I ask her.

“Your unique blood could empower me beyond conception,” Carrine admits. “I would never have to be under another's control again, like I have been for so many centuries. It's a private hell, a torture I'll no longer endure. Now bring her to me,” she commands.

I see his figure weaving between the dead-still bodies of my loved ones, and the other four vampires. I know his swagger, no matter that it's bloodlust driven. Eli's fiery gaze lights on me, close. He pauses, those bloodred eyes fixated on mine.

A blinding light accompanies a sonic boom, and we're separated, all of us knocked backward. The light remains, and the bodies are stirring. Eli stands before me, confusion darkening his reddened eyes. I duck beneath him, pulling my blades, and by the time I reach Carrine I've left three of the rogue vampires convulsing on the floor.

Carrine's eyes flash the tiniest bit of fear; then she laughs, swipes her hand out, and another boom knocks me backward. I land on my backside and skid hard. The wall stops me, stuns me for a second.

The light is still blaring when I look up. There is no sign of Carrine and Eli.

Seth takes out the rogue who lunges at him, driving a silver blade deep into its heart.

And standing in the center of the room is someone I don't expect.

It's not my light, my boom that just chased away Carrine.

My eyes blink, and I walk toward Athios.

A once-fallen angel. Now condemned to . . . something. Somewhere. I'm not entirely sure what. He's nothing short of breathtaking. Tall. Elegant, yet very masculine. The white long-sleeved linen shirt pulls at his broad shoulders and grips his biceps. Thick, muscular thighs are encased by perfectly tailored dove gray slacks. Long silvery blond hair hangs straight past his shoulders, and he wears it pulled half back and secured with a silver clip. His eyes are nearly the same color as his hair, a shade darker maybe. Silvery. Not mercury, like Noah's. He's . . . beautiful.

“I've no' much time,” Athios says, and grasps my shoulders. His eyes fall on my face, and he pulls me to him in a tight embrace. I allow it. He kisses my temple and pushes me gently back. “Forgive me for that. I cannot help myself. And it pleases me that you think me beautiful. Not that it does me any good in the long run.”

“Believe it or not, I'm so glad to see you. What are you doing here?” I ask him. Noah, Seth, and Rhine have joined me.

“Your skills are no' honed enough,” he says to me. “And I couldna allow her to kill you, Riley.”

I give a short laugh. “Well, thank you for that,” I say.

“You've got to lure them,” Athios says quickly. “Back into the realm. There, you must kill Carrine. She is no' here naturally.”

I look at him, his pure illumination making his face chiseled, beautiful in the shadows. “What do you mean?”

“Valerian Arcos,” Noah answers for him. “Am I right?”

Athios spares Noah a glance. “You are.” He looks back at me, and his eyes soften. “I couldna see it before, clearly. But I finally broke through Carrine's mind. She had a fiercely guarded charm protecting it, but I saw. Valerian has resurrected Carrine. But she's far more powerful than even Arcos suspected.”

“She was a witch, aye? As well as a bloodsucker?” Rhine asks.

Athios faces Rhine. “Aye, a lethal combination.”

Rhine slides a glance to me.

“Valerian Arcos encountered Carrine centuries ago. The dark evil she delved in as a witch rivals that of the Black Fallen. Combined with her beauty, she became an obsession for Valerian.” He glances at everyone, then back to me. “Even back then, the magic controlled her. Nothing mattered more to her. She convinced Valerian to change her—that the combined powers of a witch and a vampire would leave them invincible. Like now, she grew too greedy. Valerian entombed her. But . . .” Athios strokes my chin with his knuckles. “You rise above all of that. Your blood, Riley. Your DNA. It's like a moth to light for Valerian Arcos. He felt she, of all souls, could be the one to defeat you. But Arcos didna count on Carrine's lust for power to overcome her. She's an ancient, with Pict blood and dark magic coursing through her. She hungers now for your unique and powerful blood, Riley,” Athios continues. “She is overpowering Arcos. She's using her witchery to fight against him, even though he's been commanding her. She's breaking free.”

“What about Eli?” I ask. I grasp his hands. “Please, Athios.”

His profound stare sinks straight through me. “It's because of my love for you that I cannot see you suffer,” he claims. “Whilst Carrine is strong, Eli is, also, extremely powerful. He's resisted killing innocents. But Carrine has fed him. Her victims. She's shared, and their blood has inevitably turned him into full bloodlust.” Athios's eyes soften. “Valerian is forbidden to kill Eli. Which is why he's engaged Carrine into trying to force you to do the deed. You were lured here by the killing of innocents. Carrine has beckoned the rogues, and has turned a few newbloods herself. You must lure them both—Carrine and Eli—into the realm, and be prepared for a fight. You have to kill her in there, and 'twill no' be an easy task tae accomplish. She will have all of her faculties about her, Riley. But you'll also have yours as well. You're as strong as she. And you must kill her.” He looks hard at me. “And leave your love inside.”

“Leave Eli inside the realm?” I ask.

“Until you kill Arcos.” Athios glances up. “I must go. 'Tisna safe. For any of us.” He kisses me again, briefly, and nods. “Until—” he says.

The light snuffs out, and we're alone once more.

“Why does everyone love you so much, Riley?” Rhine asks in the shadows. “Have you bewitched every male around you?”

“Nah,” I answer, and I'm searching for the way out. “It's the ink.”

Noah chuckles. “This way, Poe,” he says.

We find our way out of the darkened complex and run the streets until dawn. Now that I know Carrine, originally controlled by Valerian Arcos, has been pulling away from his control. Causing the disturbances in the city without his command.

And Eli is trapped in the middle.

All because of some insane obsession Valerian Arcos has with me? Rather, my blood. That's the trigger. Not me, Riley, the person. Arcos doesn't know me. He doesn't know that I love
The Goonies
, can quote most of
Young Guns
, and like to bake. He doesn't know me at all. It's all warped and twisted around my dumb-ass blood. He's always wanted it, even while entombed in Savannah, before he and Vic were set free. And now that my DNA has Strigoi and Black Fallen traits, he's insane with wanting it. He'll never get it.