Forged in Flame (37 page)

“Not bad. Not bad at all,” Julian said, his silver eyes holding no emotion, no spark of vitality.

“Perhaps we should truly begin?” Nicholas suggested before he stepped forward and went on the attack.
 

Eric ran through the alley, knowing he had to catch the human.
Welcome to the nightmare…
a headline flashing across their internal vampire news:
Human with a smartphone catches a photo of a vampire feeding, or even better, a shot of me killing Jayson.
He paused on the sidewalk and found the man running through the crowd, about a block ahead.
Great, I can catch him without drawing too much attention.

The young vampire started running again, pushing himself faster than normal but not full speed. Ahead, the human slowed to a walk, thinking he’d disappeared into the crowd.
Perfect
. Eric smiled as he closed within a few feet of his quarry. The man had the phone out and seemed to be texting or typing on the screen. Eric chuckled and rammed his shoulder into the man’s. Swearing, but unable to do anything, the guy watched the phone fly into the street; a moment later a red sports car crushed it beneath its shiny black tires.

“Hey asshole! You owe me a new phone.” The guy rounded on Eric.
 

“Sorry man,” the young vampire slipped past him and turned down a deserted side street.

“Don’t give me
sorry
. What the Hell am I supposed to do now?” The guy followed, chatting all the way.
 

“It was an accident,” Eric insisted glancing over his shoulder. He shoved his hands into his jacket pockets and hunched his shoulders.
 

“Accident, my ass,” the human shrieked. “You owe me a new phone!”

Eric closed his eyes and listened to the city around him. The only noises he heard were the sounds of small animals scurrying through the shadows and cars on the more heavily traveled adjacent street. He smiled and slowed his gait, letting the angry man catch up with him.
 

“Hey asshole! I’m talking to you!”
 

Sensing a hand on his shoulder, Eric spun on the human who wanted to face off. “You really don’t want to push this. Just forget about your phone.”

“Fuck you, man!” The guy spat at Eric’s feet and sized him up. On the second pass, Eric smiled, not bothering to keep the tips of his fangs hidden. “What the fuck?” The human stepped away.
 

“I warned you.” Eric shook his head and reached out to grab a handful of the guy’s shirt. “But you wouldn’t listen. You had to be a macho asshole. Is a phone worth your life?” Before the human had a chance to answer, Eric struck, sinking his fangs deep into the man’s carotid artery. He drank fast, drawing the man’s blood out in great long gulps. After the man had passed out, he dropped the body. He knelt and pulled his dagger, slashing the man’s throat. His vampiric strength made it a simple matter, the wound would finish the man off and hide the wounds his fangs made. Eric sheathed his dagger and started jogging back to the alley, he didn’t want to possibly distract Nicholas by sending a text or calling when he might not be able to answer or reply.
 

Julian fell back while holding Nicholas at bay. The Assassin’s blade appeared from nowhere to inflict small wounds which had been aimed to hinder Julian’s defense. The elder vampire bled from several cuts as he went on the offensive, countering Nicholas’s finesse with brute strength. Julian pushed his opponent across the roof toward the edge.
 

“Is this all that you have to offer, Assassin?” Julian taunted with false bravado.

“Why are you doing this, Julian?” Nicholas asked. He settled in for a long fight, keeping his movements to a minimum.
 

“Doing what?”

“Helping your Sire.” Nicholas dropped his voice to a hissing whisper, “ Lucian tortured Morgan, your own
Blood Daughter
.”

Julian’s brows had lifted for a fraction of a second before he said, “He is my Sire.”

“So you now condone torture?”

After a moment of hesitation, he said, “She has recovered.”

“Do not be so certain of that.” Nicholas hesitated but continued his attack, flicking quick, precise blows aimed at pushing the elder vampire to his physical limits. “I know
my wife
, and she
has not
completely recovered.” He wasn’t sure what kind of an effect the verbal assault would have on Julian but, Nicholas would take any advantage he could get.

“If she has not fully recovered, how do you think she will handle it if you kill her Sire?”

“She knows what must be done.” Julian let down his guard, and Nicholas saw an opening. Before he spun, sliding his blade down Julian’s to the hilt, he whispered something unrecognizable.

With his free hand, Nicholas drew his dagger and slashed the other vampire’s throat. The blade slipped into flesh with a moment of hesitation before it sliced through, then Nicholas felt the drag as it cut.

Julian stumbled back and though the blade had bit into his flesh, the cut wasn’t deep enough to do fatal damage to the elder vampire. Julian clamped his hand over the wound as Nicholas turned and slammed the dagger into Julian’s chest, above his heart.

Enraged, Julian pulled his own dagger and thrust it into the other vampire’s gut, and opened a long wound across his torso.
 

Nicholas cried out and stumbled back, clutching his stomach, watching Julian, ready to strike again. The elder vampire’s hands were locked over two wounds, the one at his throat covered by a fine linen handkerchief.
 

“We will finish this another time, Assassin,” Julian spat.
 

“No.” Nicholas swore, “We will finish this now.” He stepped toward Julian as a scream tore through his psyche. His mind reeled, vision swam in and out of focus, and oblivion rushed up to meet him.

Nicholas dropped to his knees, sword falling to the ground with a clatter, trying to hold back the black tide.
 

Smiling at his good fortune, Julian stepped up behind Nicholas, raising his saber and waiting for the moment when the so-called
Assassin
noticed his precarious situation. He waited for the Master’s voice in his head, the flash of triumph, but nothing came. Silence reigned over the early morning.
 

Nicholas remained on his knees, fingers digging into his scalp as though he could rip out the offending parts of his mind by burrowing into his skull.

As the sword swung, a memory flashed in Julian’s mind.
 

Morgan knelt at her family’s graves, the lone survivor of what had once been a proud and powerful clan, a promising newborn vampire keening her grief into the otherwise silent night. The haunting sound chilled him to the bone, recalling tales of banshees and the restless dead.

Unable to look away, Julian walked over to her and put a hand on her shoulder. When her stare locked onto his, he thought the scarlet lines on her cheeks were tracks of her tears. They weren’t, they were marks scored into her flesh by her own nails, four tracks on each side of her face from just below her eyes to the jaw.
 

What am I doing?
A tiny voice in the back of his mind fought with his current course.

It was too late, the blade was set on its course…

The path took it through Nicholas’s spine.
 

Eric stepped onto the roof, taking in the scene but not really comprehending what his eyes were seeing. Finally, his training kicked in and he reacted. The gun in his hand had been aimed before his mind caught up with his body. He sighted down the barrel and found the target, squeezing the trigger on an exhalation of breath his body no longer required.

The bullet slammed into Julian’s wrist spraying blood, sinew and bone. When the elder vampire reacted, Eric shifted his aim and sighted on his target’s chest.
 

“You,” Julian said with a hiss. Moving faster than Eric could follow, Julian used his good hand to pull Nicholas’s dagger from his chest. He tested its weight and balance, not taking his eyes off Eric. “Are a nuisance.” Julian let the dagger fly, though not the proper weapon, his years of practice made up for it.

Eric dived to the left, dodging the blade. He came up on one knee in the space between heartbeats. The dagger clattered to the roof and skidded to a halt a few feet from him. His eyes scanned the area, searching for Julian, but the other vampire had vanished. Eric swung in a full 360, making certain that they were alone on the roof before crossing to Nicholas.

“Are you okay?” he asked, putting a hand on the other vampire’s shoulder to get his attention. When Nicholas didn’t react, Eric knelt and took him by the shoulders, trying to see his face. “Shit,” he whispered, seeing the long scratches running down Nicholas’s cheeks. Not knowing what else to do, Eric snapped his fingers several times in front of the Lead Enforcer’s eyes.
 

Nicholas blinked once, a slow movement, down and back up before the storm gray eyes focused. The former detective stood holding out his hand. Nicholas accepted the offer and pulled himself to his feet.
 

“Call Morgan.” The words were flat, the order clear.
 

Eric dialed Morgan’s phone and waited. The line rang four times before it went to voicemail. Hiding his own frustration and mounting fear, Eric hit end and slid the phone back into his pocket.
 

Nicholas closed his eyes and sighed. “She didn’t answer?”
 

“She’s at Zachary’s trial. It’s possible she has it on silent. Let’s get back to the house,” Eric said. “We need to get out of here before the cops arrive.”
 

“Morgan. I have to get to Morgan,” Nicholas insisted pushing away from Eric. His knees gave out, and he almost crumpled to the ground. Eric caught his elbow and brought him back to his feet instead.
 

“If something’s wrong, you’re not going to be of any help to her this way. You’ll be a liability.” When Nicholas started to protest, Eric shook his head. “Not happening. For once, you’re going to listen to me.”

“I am your elder.” Each word enunciated so the meaning could not be confused.

Eric let out a derisive snort and shook his head. “And right now I can kick your ass.”
 

“Only because I’m wounded.”

“Details, details,” Eric griped as he made his way toward the fire escape on the opposite side of the building.