Taken by Moonlight (55 page)

Kyros said
nothing in the face of such opposition, and Max felt fear course through him.
He looked to Drew. Without asking for permission, he walked over to the
blood-red sofa, and gently laid her down. She didn’t even protest. The only
movement of her body was the rolling of her eyes under their lids. He sat next
to her, placing a hand lightly to her cheek.

“I’ve
broken sacred laws too, Lucian,” Kyros returned. “Or have you forgotten? I’ve
done things on your behalf that—”

“I
remember, Kyros,” Lucian answered, cutting off whatever the warlock was going
to say. “I remember well.”

Max felt
movement next to him, and looked up to find the vampire standing there. His
eyes ran the length of Drew’s body.

“If I do
this, we are even, cousin. Every favor I owe you will be considered complete.
Do you agree?”

He didn’t
see Kyros nod but Max assumed he did, because Lucian nodded.

“It seems
you’ve made a good friend, Max Cronin-of-no-relation-to-the-grand-wizard.”

Stooping
low, Lucian easily swept Drew into his arms. Her head fell backward, exposing
her neck, as her broken arm hung limply away from her body. With the bloodied
sheet around her, she looked like some type of sacrificial offering.

Max jumped
up immediately, and the vampire narrowed his eyes. “Be at ease, warlock.” When
Max reeled himself under control, Lucian addressed Kyros. “I will change her.
There are no guarantees she will survive it—” he paused and looked briefly to
Max “—but I will change her.”

Lucian
turned and began walking to the wall.

“When can I
see her again?” Max called after the vampire, who did not stop but looked over
his shoulder. A vicious little smile curved his lips.

“Kyros has
apparently been lax with the information he’s given you. You will never see her
again.” And with that, they both disappeared.

Max whirled
on Kyros, whose hands were clasped behind his back. “What does he mean?”

“Come, Max.
We have to leave.”

“No! What
does he mean?”

Sighing,
Kyros explained, “Whenever a human is changed to vampire, she is removed from
everything familiar to her. It is to ease the transition, and create bonding
into her new coven.”

Max nodded,
slowly absorbing that information. “But she will live?”

“If she
survives, she will live as one of them,” Kyros clarified. “Lucian is one of the
most powerful of his people. Her chances of survival are greater with him.”

“That’s
good.” Max’s heart hurt.

Kyros’s
hand landed briefly on his shoulder. “We have both been severely weakened, Max.
Come, we both need to feed.”

Nodding, he
followed the warlock from the room. He could never see Drew again, never seek
her out to ask her what they’d shared in the past. Somehow, he had to accept
that.

Conall
managed to persuade Vivienne it would be best for her to remain at Cedar Creek
while he paid a well-deserved visit to Maximilian Cronin. His fight with Rafael
had been postponed in the face of more important matters, and he left Sloan
behind to ensure Rafael kept his distance from his mate. He’d even given Sloan
permission to kill him came too close, which seemed to genuinely please his
beta.

As
Maximilian Cronin’s covenant sat in the middle of a particularly quiet
neighborhood a mere thirty minutes from the city, they would have to be careful
on how they infiltrated the community. There was no doubt in Conall’s mind the
neighborhood was littered with security cameras, that the few humans who lived
there thought them government-issued to ensure their safety, when in actuality
they were for the protection of a covenant. He’d already called Santiago, Dominic, and Drako, and the wolves were gathering their packs and meeting him at
Fangs. Conall had hand-chosen his team for tonight, twenty of the fiercest
wolves in his pack. He’d left enough to protect his base as well.

Stepping
around his desk to the hidden panel in the wall, he waited for his weapons rack
to reveal itself. Conall quickly armed himself with a few handguns before
closing the panel. Against witches, especially with the curse of mortality upon
them, guns were very useful.

He was
leaving his study when the phone rang. He paused and glanced at the clock. It
was after nine. “Yes?”

“Conall
Athelwulf. Are you already preparing your wolves for an attack?”

It was
Cronin. How he’d gotten his number, Conall didn’t know. Nor did he care. “Where
are they?” It didn’t need to be said who “they” were. Both knew.

“Do you
really believe I’m going to tell you that?”

“Then we
have nothing to discuss.”

“Wait!” The
phone was already away from his ear and halfway down by the time he heard the
shout. He lifted the receiver once more.

“What?”

“I want to
speak to Vivienne.”

Eyes
narrowing, Conall snarled, “You’ll say whatever you have to say to me.”

“Suit
yourself. If you attack my covenant, I will kill Evelyn. I’ve been anticipating
doing it for a while now. If by some chance, you make it inside, I will
promptly kill Cassandre. And then I will search for Vivienne—”

“Did you
think threats would keep you safe?” Conall made his voice deceptively soft as
he felt his fangs sharpen.

“They
aren’t threats, Conall, but guarantees.”

“I have a
guarantee for you. I’m going to kill you before the night is out, Cronin, but
before I do, I’m going to make you suffer.”

He hung up
and stepped from the study to find Sloan. After advising his beta to screen all
calls for Cronin, he headed to the row of black SUVs parked in front of his
house. Maximilian’s threats were baseless. He wouldn’t kill Evelyn, because she
was his only leverage over Cassandre, and he obviously wouldn’t kill Cassandre
because without her, he couldn’t resurrect the druids, and regain his
immortality. No doubt Maximilian intended to somehow coerce his mate into
meeting him somewhere, possibly under the guise of helping her family. With
Sloan keeping an eye on her, and the rest of his pack doing high-risk patrols,
there was no way Vivienne was leaving Cedar Creek.

Drew
grimaced as the pale man laid her against a wonderfully soft object, a bed or a
plush sofa. Her lids were half-lowered, and she could barely make out his
features, just that he was pale, with dark hair.

The pain
had faded, and in its place was blessed numbness. She was dying, and she knew
it.

A cool hand
brushed against her neck and she managed to whisper Max’s name. Where was he?
When she’d opened her eyes that last time it was to find she was being washed
by the pale man whose features she could not see. She was too weak to fight
him, and his ministrations were gentle. Except for the sting as the water
touched her cuts, it felt good. But where was Max?

She moaned
low in her throat.

“Shh,” the
man above her whispered. “All will be well, Drew. Just relax, and listen to my
voice.” The hand at her neck gently caressed her. “Close your eyes.”

She shook
her head. No. She was terrified of this darkness. It was threatening to close
in on her, and she was afraid. Afraid to die alone. Where was Max?

A hand
cupped her cheek gently, and the man leaned close. His features were still
blurred, and she blinked as she tried to focus.

“Just close
your eyes, little one,” he repeated slowly, and the hand at her cheek moved
until it was over her eyes. “Trust me. I promise not harm you.”

Her lids
became heavy, and Drew did as commanded. He continued speaking, low words of
trust and promises she didn’t understand. She thought back to Max. He was
alive. Had he left her with this man so he could warn Vivienne and Cassie?

She tried
to swallow, and coughed weakly. The man’s voice invaded her mind once more.
Feeling a pressure come down on her, Drew opened her eyes slightly. The man’s
face was inches away, but he was still whispering to her, reassuring words. Her
lids lowered again.

His face lowered
to hers, and she felt the brush of his cool cheek against her own, and tensed.
What was he doing? Where was Max? Oh God, the darkness was engulfing her. She
could feel it becoming permanent. She would never open her eyes again, never
see her friends again….

The voice
came again, calming her.

“Drusilla,”
he murmured, and Drew tried to shake her head. That wasn’t her name. Drew. She
was just Drew. Where was Max?

A hand slid
under her body, holding her firm, and his breath caressed her neck.

She’d barely
recognized that before a searing burn ripped through her, so painful only a
small cry erupted from her lips before her entire body went into shock. Her
throat worked but no sound escaped. She might have cried, but she could no
longer feel the tears running down her face.

Her body
grew weaker and she fought to pry her eyes open. She was in a candlelit room
with a stranger who was biting her, draining her, killing her. She frantically
searched the room, ignoring the blurring of her vision, as she hoped to catch
sight of Max.

Please,
stop. Please
. She
whispered, but no sound emerged.

With her
body growing cold and the darkness coming fast, blurring out the faint light,
Drew put up a futile struggle against his hold. It only tightened.

“Max.” That
was the last sound that slipped from her lips before the darkness became
stifling, and Drew, unable to fight it anymore, succumbed to its unwavering
grasp.

Vivienne
felt helpless. She understood Conall’s reasoning as to why it would be better
for him to go alone to retrieve her mother and sister, but it didn’t make her
feel any better.

She’d taken
a shower in hopes of calming her nerves. Maximilian wouldn’t kill her mother
and sister because he needed them. But what was to prevent him for hurting
them? What if he was torturing her family? The shower had done the exact
opposite, giving her mind enough free time to conjure up all kinds of horrific
scenes in her head.

It was for
that reason she was now on the bed, curled under the duvet, the television on as
she attempted to pay attention. She’d switched to SoapNet, believing that if
anything could distract her, a five-hour marathon of
General
Hospital
would do the trick. She could barely pay any attention to Sonny Corinthos or Jason
Morgan. After half an hour passed, she turned the television off and stared up
at the ceiling.

Had Conall
reached Cronin’s covenant? Had he retrieved her family? And Max? Had he found
Max as well?

Closing her
eyes, she cleared her mind. She thought of white light, just plain white light.
Vivienne didn’t know how long she remained like that, envisioning calm and
peaceful white light, but when next she opened her eyes, she was no longer in
Conall’s bedroom.

She could
see a dark cell, a cot, gold shackles attached to the stone wall. Shivering
from the cold, Vivienne tried to concentrate.

It was
happening again. She was seeing through someone’s eyes.

Cassie?

Vivienne
wasn’t sure if there would be a mental connection similar to the one she shared
with Conall, but it was worth trying. The person suddenly looked up, and then
around, giving Vivienne an even more extensive view of the cell. It was
obviously meant to be a prison. There were no windows, and from what she’d made
out, no door.

“Vivienne?”
Cassie asked aloud, and Vivienne was thrilled to hear it. She could communicate
with her sister!

Cassie,
where are you? Tell me quickly. I don’t know how long this connection will
last.

I don’t
know. I’m in a cell somewhere. Viv, you have to stay away. Do you understand? I
think he wants you for something else. Just stay away.

Conall’s
coming for you. I would have come too but—

Viv,
don’t come here! Please. I already got Mom into this.

What do
you mean?

It’s my
fault. I trusted him—Alexander—and he led them straight to us. You said that Conall’s
coming?

To
Cronin’s covenant.

Cassie
nodded, and Vivienne felt it.

I don’t
know if we’re there, but I hope—

Cassie
broke off, and Vivienne saw why. The wall of the cell slid back, and an elderly
man she assumed to be Maximilian Cronin walked in. He looked like an older,
more sophisticated version of Max, with his white hair and shiny walking stick,
and there was something about him that screamed of power and unlimited greed.

“Are you
speaking to your sister?” he asked immediately, and when Cassie shook her head,
he grinned.