No Rest for the Wicked (21 page)

“They might have been frozen into perpetual childhood, never to see the sun again.”

Nikolai faced him. “We do not know that they wouldn’t have aged to adulthood, as

natural-born immortals do. It was possible.”

“And our father?” Sebastian asked. Their father had been longing to reunite with his wife

from the day she’d died in childbirth eleven years prior.

Nikolai’s expression grew weary. “I’ve never been noble like you, Sebastian. Survival and

living are what I revere. They might have lived—to me, the rest is incidental. And after all

this time, I see we still disagree on that subject.”

Sebastian stood to leave. “We do.”

Nikolai stood as well. “Think about the order, Sebastian.”

Sebastian supposed he should get this out of the way. “I can’t join your order.” He

shrugged nonchalantly. “I didn’t quite forbear, as it were. I’ve tasted blood from the

flesh.”

21

W ith the blessing gone, Kaderin had been helpless to move, to attack Bowen, to flee, only

wanting to behold the stones and faceted lights. Even now, as she petted them, her heart

ached to see them shining again.

The basilisks’ hissing, wet roars made her shake herself. The beasts were miles down, far

away from the bright entrance, but clambering toward it now. They’d be in no hurry,

though, likely thinking that Kaderin was a sealed-in sacrifice.

With a shuddering exhalation, she forced herself to toss the necklace away, then rose and

surveyed her predicament. The bastard had done a fine job of barricading the entrance.

Even with her strength, she couldn’t budge the boulders. She ran into them, tackling them,

shoving her shoulder against them. Nothing. She couldn’t use her sword. It was not thick

and weighty like Sebastian’s. She’d have to dig.

She figured she’d lose her claws with every four inches she dug into the rock. She would

grow them back within a few hours. The top boulder’s diameter was at least sixty inches.

Ergo... let’s do the math... I’m screwed.

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) Worse, the chamber’s darkness had begun weighing heavily on her—the way one felt

when saddled with a ponderous hex. She gave a bitter laugh. She was now officially a

vicious Valkyrie assassin—who was scared of the dark.

The wraiths had never creeped her out, she found the basilisks kind of endearing, and she

could be thrown into a cage with a thousand contagious ghouls and not blink an eye—as

long as the cage wasn’t gloomy and oppressive.

If she had action, she could ignore her fear, but simply sitting here with nothing to do but

contemplate it...

She had two alternatives. She could wait for the vampire, hoping he ignored her last irate

demand that he leave her alone. But even if he did come to the rescue, he wouldn’t be able

to trace her where she needed to go—which was mere feet beyond these boulders. She’d

wager that Sebastian hadn’t previously visited any Argentinean cave entrances.

Besides, how long could she wait for him to save her? Sooner or later, the basilisks would

make their way to the surface.

Her second alternative was to begin digging. These rocks are the only thing standing

between me and that prize. She dropped to her knees once more and stabbed her claws

into the rock. Two inches down, she lost her first, then another. Damn it, this was futile. A

wasted effort in a dark, foul place. She was about to lose those thirteen points.

The rock dust made her eyes water. Yes, the rock dust made her tear up—

“Well, well,” a rumbling voice said from behind her. “I’ll wager you are happy to see me

right now.”

Sebastian. Kaderin whirled around. Though the space was pitch black, she knew he could

see perfectly, because he was studying her expression. Then his gaze fell to her claws

before she eased them behind her back. There was no hiding that she was shaken.

“Clawing free, Kaderin?” He strode to her, and helped her to her feet. “How long have

you been trapped in here?”

She brushed her knees off. “A couple of hours.”

“How did this happen?”

“Bowen pulled down the rocks when I was inside.”

“MacRieve?” Sebastian clenched his fists. “I will kill him for this.”

She shrugged. “Promise? Because that would eliminate two competitors.”

“Is he still near?” Sebastian narrowed his eyes, clearly hoping he could face him now.

She shook her head. “He’ll have collected his egg and be long gone. He’s done what he

set out to do with me, and he’s already removed several of the demons and all of the fey

from the competition completely. Anyone who faced him is out.”

“How?”

“All we know is that he’s trapped them somewhere.”

“What about the young witch?” Sebastian asked. “Surely MacRieve wouldn’t have hurt

the girl.”

“He got Mariketa as well, but she managed to curse him first,” Kaderin said. “He seems to

be weakening and not regenerating from injuries.” She jerked her chin in Sebastian’s

direction. “Bowen will come after you next. As of yesterday, I was tied for the lead with

him—”

“As expected—”

“And also tied with you. He’ll attempt to take us out one by one.”

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“I look forward to facing him. I’ll relish killing him for trapping you here.”

Her answer was another shrug. Sebastian fell silent, and she knew he was waiting for her

to ask him to trace her out. She drew in the gravel with the toe of her boot.

“Damn it, ask me to take you from here,” he grated.

“No.”

“You’d rather rot in here?”

“I was making progress,” she said.

“Obstinate female. Is it impossible to admit you’re relieved I’m here? That I could save

your hide right now?”

“No,” she said simply. And she didn’t elaborate, making him look like he wanted to

throttle her.

She had to assume Bowen had collected his prize in the next ravine over, but Cindey could

still be beaten. If Kaderin got out of here soon.

“Very well, I’ll leave you to your progress.” He turned to trace, and she hurried forward,

touching his arm.

“Look, I don’t want to be traced to your backyard. The prize must be in the next cavern

system over, and it’s just across a ravine.” She crossed to the rocks, and pushed with

frustration. “I need to be directly on the other side of these, and I know you can’t trace

there.”

“Because you assume I haven’t been there before?”

She piped her lip and blew a curl out of her eyes. “Do you often visit Las Quijadas,

Sebastian?” At his blank look, she added, “ Argentina .”

“No, I can’t trace there. But... ” He studied the boulders, then pushed against one until it

began to move.

When she gasped, he stopped. “Seems I could free you, after all.”

She gave him a tentative touch on his chest. “What would it take to get you to finish

moving those?”

“What are you offering?” he asked, his voice rougher.

“Money? Would you take money to push these free?”

“I’ve plenty of my own. More than enough for both of us.”

She scowled at that. “What do you want, then?”

“I want”—he ran his hand over his face—“to... touch you. Not here, but tonight—”

“Not going to happen.” She crossed her arms over her chest, and his gaze landed on her

damp cleavage. As he had that night on the coast, he looked like he was considering

throwing her over his shoulder and tracing her back to his bed. “I do so wish my breasts

would stop staring at your eyes.”

His head jerked up, and he had to clear his throat to rasp, “Kiss me. Kiss me, and I’ll free

you.”

“The last time that happened you bit me, and you could do it again.” Kissing Sebastian

always seemed to lead to more. Last time, it had led to his taking her blood.

And possibly her memories.

“I never bit you. I grazed your skin. Accidentally.”

“Then tell me you haven’t contemplated doing it again.”

“I”—he exhaled heavily—“cannot. The pleasure was too intense to ignore.”

She was shocked by his honesty and didn’t bother disguising that fact. “Then I’m betting

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) in the same situation it would happen again.”

“I would vow not to.”

“Unless, of course, it happened”—she curled her fingers into air quotes—“accidentally.

Since I can eventually dig my way free, that kiss doesn’t seem worth the risk.”

He nodded, resigned. “Very well. We can sit here till we fossilize. I can be as stubborn as

you, Bride.”

“So, you’re to wait this out with me?” she asked. “Won’t you have a problem with losing

the prize?”

“I have no interest in winning this competition.”

“I knew you entered just so I couldn’t kill you.”

“You couldn’t kill me before I entered. Do you not wonder why you’ve destroyed so

many of my kind before me and then were unable to swing your sword to my neck?”

“I don’t know why that happened,” she admitted. “But I’ve stopped questioning it.”

“Why won’t you let me win this competition for you? That was the only reason I entered.”

“There’s no one you would want to save from the past, no loved one?” she asked, noting

that a shadow passed over his eyes. Who had he lost? “A deceased wife, perhaps?”

“You are well aware that I don’t believe this key will work.”

He hadn’t answered her question. He’s been married? “Why are you so certain?”

“Time travel is impossible,” he answered in a tone that held zero doubt.

And the wife? “I bet you believed vampirism was impossible, too, till you woke with a

marked hankering for blood.”

“No, my culture was superstitious to the core. Even with my science background, belief

came to me more easily than I would have thought. Besides, it isn’t impossible according

to the laws of nature.”

And what about the wife?

“Anyway, I was never married.”

She marveled that he hadn’t been—and that she was somehow pleased by this fact. “At

your age?” she asked, taking a seat. “You must have been thirty.”

“Thirty-one. But I’d lived on a battlefront since I was nineteen. There was no way for me

to have a woman for my own.”

“But now you feel you’re ready?”

As if giving her a vow, he met her eyes when he rumbled the word: “Yes.” Her toes curled

in her climbing shoes.

“And what about you, Kaderin? Will you finally tell me why you are bent on winning

this?” He looked away when he asked, “Do you seek to retrieve a husband?”

When she didn’t answer, he turned back.

After a moment, she grudgingly shook her head. “I was never wed.” She would never tell

him her real motivation—there was no reason to, even if she had the inclination—but she

also wouldn’t let him think she fought this hard for a lost husband or lover. “My covens

and the Furies have done me a great honor in choosing me for this contest. I won’t fail

them.” She shrugged and added honestly, “And I simply want to defeat everyone.”

“So, all of this is about pride and ego?”

She made her tone bored when she asked, “Aren’t those good enough reasons?”

“I don’t believe so. There’s more to life than winning this competition.”

“I agree. There’s also killing vampires. Those two things give my life purpose.”

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) He said nothing in response to her comment, just gave her an inscrutable look. She knew

he disapproved of her priorities and the way she lived her life, but at that look, she began

to suspect he also felt sorry for her. She tilted her head. “Tell me, then, how would you

envision our lives together?”

“We could see the world. Rebuild the castle, start a family.”

A family? If she and Sebastian had children, they could be like her little half-vampire niece,

Emmaline. Kaderin inwardly shook herself. “I live in New Orleans , I compete, and I kill

vampires. You’d expect me to give up everything?” She drew her knees to her chest.

“You want me to act like women you’ve known and it will never happen.”

“No, I truly do not want you to act like women I’ve known,” he said, so vehemently she

was taken aback. “And I have no preference for where we would live. I’d go wherever

you would be happy. Killing vampires? Fine. The Hie? Also acceptable—if I’m there with

you.”

“Acceptable.” Is he joking? “The more I get to know you, the more I realize your being a

vampire is only part of why I’m indifferent to you.”

Acceptable? As soon as he’d said it, even before her eyes flashed, he’d known that

perhaps that wasn’t the best word to use with a daughter of gods. A fifth of any of his

brothers’ charm.

“Then lay out the other reasons you’re indifferent,” he said.

“Talking to you is like talking to a human.”

He snapped, “I wish I were still a human—”

“But you’re not. You’re an enemy to my kind.”

“I’ve told you, not by choice. Or by deed.”

“It disgusts me that you drink blood. You live a parasitic existence.”

It had always disgusted him as well. The only time it hadn’t had been his one hot, rich

taste of her. Now he found himself defending the vile act. “I get blood from a butcher.

How is this different from humans getting meat from the same? Besides, what living thing