Rebirth (Rogues Shifter Series) (36 page)

Knowing he was in trouble, Antoine barreled into me, knocking me down and making Liam’s blade fly across the clearing. My head bounced off the ground, stunning me and causing my vision to blur. When it cleared a few seconds later, Antoine loomed above me, hissing with fury, his lip curled into an angry snarl. He lifted his foot and stomped down on my left hand with his boot. I cried out as I felt bones shatter and muscles tear. Excruciating pain took away my ability to focus and therefore defend myself as I watched him pull back his heavy boot once more. He kicked me solidly in the ribs and I went flying across the clearing, landing in a heap not too far from the fae knife.

In the throes of my wretched agony, I heard it call to me. The blade craved more of Antoine’s blood, demanding that I draw on the power it offered up and use it to kill him. Finding strength in desperation, I pulled more magic into my center and promised it Antoine’s life. My right hand closed around the cool stone handle that had abruptly materialized in my palm, as a sudden burst of energy gave me a more focused confidence. I kept my eyes on my enemy who was slowly sauntering toward me, grinning maliciously. Blood was dripping from my mouth, leg, shoulder and hand as I raised myself to a kneeling position facing him.

I’d have only one chance, so I hid the knife by my side and waited for my prey to come closer.

  “Antoine,” I rasped. “I ….” I coughed, then spit out blood and groaned. Although his kick must have broken a rib or two, I forced myself to ignore my body’s protests and clutched the blade more tightly. He didn’t see it there, because his entire focus was on my anguished expression. I was sure he thought the blade still lay where it had landed before. I realized at that moment that his arrogance would kill him.

I kept my agonized mask in place as I opened myse
lf to the darkest part of my psyche and felt only bloodlust, the darkness drinking in my pain and fear like it was a magical tonic, making me stronger than ever.

He leaned over me and snarled
. “What is it cheetah? You want mercy?” He crouched down to grab my crushed hand and squeezed it hard, making me scream.  Antoine laughed deeply and then hissed, “You can beg for it now.” He bit down savagely on the inside of my elbow and starting to drink, still squeezing my injured hand. Groaning and sobbing from the horrible pain, my inner darkness was smiling as I called upon my rage to pull as much of the ley line magic into my center as I could bear to hold.

I smelled his rotten breath and thought of him beating and draining my friend, Carly. The fae blade melded with me, becoming an extension of my dark desires and we bot
h began to pulse with power as my healer stepped aside and my warrior self took charge.

“Antoine,” I sobbed
again for effect. He laughed between the gulps, looking smug and in control. My focus narrowed as I sent my heated rage into the blade, commanding it to do my will and kill him. It was so eager to do exactly that. I leaned closer to his ear and whispered. “For Carly.”

Faster than I thought
possible, I swung the knife up between us, stabbing him low in the stomach. He let go of my arm and roared with pain as I twisted and viciously ripped a gash from belly to sternum, pulling it out again. The blade had burned a trail through his body, his insides smoking and bleeding, as if it were the devil’s own weapon.

As da
rk blood gushed out of his jagged wound, covering us both, his silver eyes rose to meet mine and widened slightly in surprise.

"Your eyes, cheetah..." He croaked.

Our faces were so close that the orange glow reflected in his eyes startled me, at least until I noticed that his skin had begun to burn. Still there was no fear in his face, only a brief flash of an emotion that struck at me hard. He must have seen my own surprise because he sneered at me right before I gathered my strength again and sliced through his thickly tattooed neck with one smooth stroke. His head fell and rolled several feet before turning to dust. His body collapsed on top of mine. I groaned and cried out from the heat and the weight putting pressure on my injuries. A moment later the fire was out and he was only a powdery ash that began to disappear with the steady wind that came off of the sea.

“Jacqueline Crawford is declared the winner,” rang out Lord Kennet’s voice. Most of the audience cheered, but I didn't have the strength to even smile. As I laid there in pain, covered in our blood, a darker, unfamiliar par
t of me felt pleased and sated. I clung to that blackness with all my strength, because I knew that when it was gone, I'd have to face my healer self again.

Thinking back to Antoine's last moments, I'd recognized relief
in his eyes, and the thought that he might have looked forward to death hit me hard. Even a monster like Antoine had once been human, had possessed a soul. What was he before Eleanor, an even crueler monster, had turned him? I shuddered and locked away those thoughts, only dredging up the strength to close my eyes.

I was
suddenly lifted up and taken into the tent. Garrett was there along with Francois. He held my shattered hand gently in his own, turning it carefully to see the damage. I whimpered as Garrett tried to soothe me with sweet words and gentle kisses. Francois turned to him and spoke in French then translated for me. “You’ll need my blood. Garrett cannot give you his before he meets Eleanor.”

"I can heal myself, at least I think I can." I tried to pull my hand away, but the pain was too much.

Garrett pleaded. “Please Jackie. You're exhausted. Francois' blood will heal you quickly. I won’t be worrying about you while I’m fighting her.”

“I’m sorry; of course
it’s ok. I’m an…idiot.” I managed to gasp out.

“You are the most amazi
ngly brave, beautiful, perfect female.” He kissed me again, this time with passion.

Francois was smiling. “I hate to interrupt, bu
t Kennet is going to call you into the ring in exactly three minutes and you have to ready yourself.”

“Go
, Garrett. I love you.”

“Je t’aime.” He disappeared through the tent flap just as Lord Kennet announced that he and Eleanor should bring their weapons into the ring in two minutes for his approval.

Francois sat quietly holding my hand in his. A few stray tears trickled down my cheek from the pain and the tension. “You’re going to have to drink my blood in order to heal properly.” I nodded. He bit into his wrist and held it to my mouth. I steadied it there with my uninjured hand and began to drink, noticing that his blood tasted slightly sweeter than Garrett’s.

He watched me
carefully, measuring exactly when I'd had enough. Almost instantly, my shoulder, elbow, thigh and hand stopped bleeding, the jagged cuts closing up quickly. The pain from my cracked rib lessened as well. He took away his wrist and licked it clean. Garrett's was high octane, but Francois' blood was like rocket fuel. When I tried to stand, he put a hand out to stop me.

“Not yet. You need another minute.  May I prevent scarring by licking your wounds?”  I nodded and watched as he bent down to lick
the top of my thigh, my shoulder and very carefully, the inside of my left elbow. My hand had improved, but was not completely back to normal so he suggested, “If you shift your hand to your animal form, it will heal faster.” I pulled on the lines and shifted both hands, not sure that I could do just the one. Francois was still holding the left one and seemed completely enthralled by my fur, claws and markings. He stroked it gently.

“Of course, you’re a cheetah. Charmant! Does it feel better?”

“Yes, Francois, thank you.” I smiled at him gratefully as I transitioned my hands back to human, pleased to see that I could wiggle my fingers and form a fist with just a little stiffness. I kept glancing at the entrance to the tent, wondering what was happening.

“G
arrett has a few more minutes. Your lip was cut also and we don't want anything to mar your lovely face.” He kept his eyes on mine as he took his finger and put it in his mouth and then rubbed it slowly on my healing lip. He put his finger back in his mouth and sucked off the blood, then smiled his very sexy smile. “You are quite delicious.” He winked. “Come, Madame Cuvier. Garrett will need to see you before the duel.”

“Thank you, Francois.” I managed to hold in my laughter at his unashamed flirting, but wasn't quite as successful at hiding the smile. After quickly replacing Liam's knife in the sheath on my belt, I took Francois’ proffered arm and we left the tent together.

Chapter Forty-five

Garrett had just come back after showing Kennet his weapon. When he saw me healed and smiling, he picked me up and spun me around as our supporters in the crowd all cheered. “I’ll destroy her and then our lives will be perfect.”

“Mine is perfect already.” I kissed him quickly and then pressed my forehead against his, locking gazes and washing him with my energy. HIs confidence soared and I forced myself to let go of my fear. Tonight, he'd free himself of this bitch forever.

I felt him switch to ‘vamp mode’ as he turned and gracefully swayed into the ring, fangs out, lips pulled back in a snarl that raised the hairs on my arms. She matched him step for step glowering and hissing. Her sexy demeanor had completely disappeared, replaced by a violent beast; her true colors for all of us to see. Antoine’s death had surprised but not unbalanced her, at least not that I could see. I felt her tremendous power charging the air, tendrils reaching out toward her nest.

My team were suddenly standing beside me in support, so I took Ethan's hand as he put an arm around Sinc who was already clutching Kyle's hand. We all knew that something was up when Eleanor's nest became unnaturally still. Lily, Sasha and the rest began to sink to the ground and weaken before our eyes. She was draining them of their life force so that she could beat Garrett. As she grew more powerful, her black aura cleared and her eyes turned a solid swirling silver, sharper in tone than Garrett's.

To distract her, Garrett held up his wrist and showed her the mark of our mating. Her eyes widened and she whipped her head around to glare at me, so I held up mine, along with one prominent finger. Her lip curled back in a snarl and she hissed out her rage.

“The duel begins now.”

Eleanor and Garrett moved in a blur practically invisible to shifter eyes, so to see them more clearly, I tapped into the lines. Garrett was already in trouble. He was barely able to defend against her attacks and could make very few of his own. I saw a few slashes across his face and arms where she’d used her blade, fangs and nails. She was a windstorm of fury and blood lust and I quickly became afraid for him.

The frenzied action st
opped as rapidly as it had begun. They continued to circle; taking a moment to adjust to each other’s fighting styles. Garrett looked worse than Eleanor, A chunk of flesh was missing from his cheek, his shirt was ripped to pieces with bloody red gashes visible through the holes and his arms were badly bitten. In a fluid motion he removed his shirt and pulled out his knife, never taking his gaze from Eleanor, his maker, who had forced him to become a vampire against his will, who’d forced him to watch his family die. I wanted to help him…

“Jacqueline, stop!” Liam had pushed his way next to me. “If you let your energy heal him you will both die.” I kept very still as I quickly pulled in the tendrils of emerald magic that had been floating out toward Garrett. They hadn’t touched him, but they were close. “Your ignorance and lack of control won’t matter
to the fae lord. You’ll still die.” I stole a glance at Lord Kennet and noticed him watching me with an arched eyebrow as my power dissipated.

“Thank you, Liam.” I undid the belt and handed it to him along with his blade, never taking my gaze away from Garrett.

"He has a plan. He will succeed in killing her."

While Garrett bled and fought, I forced myself to think about his incredible abilities. He’s a master strategist, I told myself. He hasn’t pulled out his trump card yet. He hasn't used the lines. He’ll beat her. I took in a deep breath, let it out again with a shudder and forced myself to simply watch. Liam put his hand on my shoulder, maybe needing the contact as much as me and the rest of the team. I sometimes forgot that he was half human, and had been Gar
rett's close friend for over a hundred years.

Eleanor arrogantly tossed her sword outside of
the ring, seeming to enjoy using her nails and her teeth to draw blood. She was sure she was winning, and on the surface, it looked that way to everyone. The crowd near me had quieted and some of the shifter fighters were picking up their weapons, readying themselves for the battle to come with Eleanor and her nest after Garrett's death.

Racing toward him again with her amazing speed, Eleanor sunk her fangs into his shoulder, ripping deeply and exposing some bone.  Garrett managed to dole out a few wicked punches, hitting her stomach, ribs and then her kidneys as she turned away, but she retaliated by ripping into his chest with her sharper nails. When she swung her other arm toward him he managed to pull away at the last second, avoiding her long nails as t
hey slashed at his throat. A kick to his stomach sent him flying across the clearing.

Although t
he odds seemed to be in Eleanor's favor, she was tiring. She'd grown cocky and was taking more chances, leaving herself open to attack. Not a smart move around someone as skilled as Garrett.