The Royal Flush (Knights of the Darkness Chronicles(Book Three)) (27 page)

“Master, are you all right?” Tony asked. He was relieved to see Xavier pull through, although, thoughts of Gary still worried him.

“I’m fine,” Darian said in a steady voice as to not alarm the others. He struggled to his knees, Natasha helped as best as she could. He had allowed Xavier to drink more than he ever had in the past, and now he was weak because of it. The thought of Xavier’s death terrified him. Not to mention, enraged him. He managed to sit up straight, resting his hands on his lap and sat still for a few moments. He monitored Xavier, satisfied when he saw him rising to a sitting position.

“How were they able to do that?” Xavier asked. Natasha wrapped her arms around him, holding tightly. He held her, his hands gently stroked her hair, calming her.

“I’m not sure. They had to have access to the car in order to plant the bomb, but they wouldn’t have been able to do it here. We would have smelled them or heard them before they could have set foot on these grounds,” Justin said.

Darian looked towards Adrian, who was holding the last assassin in his grip.

“Did Richard Parker send you?” he asked, his tone was measured as he fought to control his anger.

Everyone in the room could feel the powerful aura radiating from Darian, mixed with the heat of his rage. There was a fire in the Master vampire’s eyes that reflected his emotions even if he didn’t voice them. He was livid, and understandably so. Everyone remained silent as he spoke to the would-be assassin who responded by saying he would gladly answer all of their questions if they would spare his life.

“Hey, I was just doing what I was hired for. I’ve got nothing against any of you, it was just business. Let’s make a deal, I’ve got information you need. If I tell you, will you let me live?” the man asked.

“You
dare
bargain with me!” Darian hissed losing his resolve.

In a movement too fast for anyone to see, before anyone knew what had happened, he was already standing before the man. The man yelped and tried to struggle out of Adrian’s unyielding grip but to no avail. Darian’s hand gripped the man’s jaw and slowly began to crush the bones causing the man to scream in agony.

“I will find out what I want, I do not need your willing participation.” With vicious precision, he plunged his sharp fangs hard into the man’s jugular causing the assassin to cry out in pain. Adrian released him immediately, taking several steps backwards.

Darian feasted with lightning-quick speed, in an instant the man was dead. He pulled away, dropping the body to the floor. He placed his hand against the wall to keep steady as he reeled from the feeding. A tremor ran through his body once then he opened his eyes.

“Richard contacted this man’s boss and told him they wanted us dead. There are five of them at your mansion, Elise, awaiting word from their leader to launch the attack and five more at my home.” He was calm when he spoke, a dangerous type of calm. He had resolution and knew what he must do. “They are expecting to hear from the team here on the success of their mission. If they do not get word in five minutes, they will attack as planned.”

Elise gasped, her hand going to her mouth. She pulled out her cell phone and quickly called home to warn her Pride. She waited impatiently for someone to answer.

Darian looked at Xavier and the two seemed to be communicating even though no words were exchanged. Xavier nodded. Darian vanished. Everyone looked at Xavier.

“He’s going home,” he informed them.

“Won’t he need help?” Adrian asked concerned.

Xavier shook his head. “No. He’ll want to clear out the mansion.” He looked at Natasha. “I’m fine, don’t worry. We underestimated our opponent, and that will not happen again.” He tried to reassure her, but even he didn’t know the extent of their opponent’s deviousness.

“I can’t believe how close I came to losing you. I just want this all to end,” Natasha stated, as she wiped her eyes and took several deep breaths. She felt better knowing Xavier was now even stronger than before. She could feel his aura, his increased power. But not as acutely as other supernaturals could. She suspected his aura made them feel a completely different sensation. For her, it was more of a tingle down her spine she felt as she sat next to him.

Elise finally contacted someone; she had grown angry as she waited for someone to answer the telephone. Only after the twelfth ring, did someone finally do so.

“Hello?” asked Sebastian, finally utilizing the call-waiting feature by clicking over.

“Listen to me very carefully,” Elise said sternly. Sebastian remained silent as he waited for her to continue. “There are five assassins surrounding the mansion. Who is there with you?”

“Daniel, Miranda, my Mom, and Carmen,” Sebastian quickly replied.

“Tell them to search the grounds and kill whomever they find. Sebastian, tell them now!” The telephone was dropped to the floor. Elise could hear Sebastian call out to the others. She listened carefully as he relayed the information.

“What’s the matter?” Daniel asked.

“Elise said that there are some hit-men surrounding the mansion, they’re planning to kill us!” Sebastian panted excitedly.

“Go to the cellar, don’t come out until we tell you, do you understand?” Daniel ordered in a rushed tone.

“Yes.” Sebastian ran off towards the cellar.

Elise heard footsteps and someone picking up the receiver.

“It’s Daniel.”

“Kill anyone you see,” Elise instructed.

“Will do.” Daniel hung up the telephone.

He called out to the others, who were already prepared. Miranda was naked in her half-leopard, half-human form. She stood six feet five, covered by a thick layer of spotted black and orange fur. Her snout was short and her mouth was filled with dagger-like teeth, nearly one inch in length. Her black claws extended from her hands, two inches long and sharp as knives. Daniel began to change form as well, making sure to time his change so that he, too, could be in half transformation. Carmen joined them, but she didn’t change forms.

Madeleine, still in her human form as she was unable to change due to her pregnancy, opened a window, stepping to the side to allow the others to jump through at blinding speeds. She followed, taking care not to injure herself or her unborn child. They searched the grounds stealthily, looking for their prey. In the darkness of the night, their vision was keen. They zeroed in on their would-be attackers. Daniel crept behind one man. The assassin was crouched low beside a tree. Daniel could hear the other’s voices coming through his earpiece. From the curses flowing through the communication device, he could tell the assassin’s crew was growing even more impatient. The call was late and they wanted to continue on as planned.

Before the man could respond, Daniel’s claws ripped open his throat, shredding the vocal cords. The attack was so sudden that the assassin didn’t have a chance to scream. A moment later, another was killed by Carmen. She had crept up behind him so silently, by the time he heard the snap of a nearby twig; she had her hands pressed against his head. Before he could react, she twisted his neck snapping the vertebrae. Leaving his body on the ground, head twisted in a 180 degree angle, she walked away to see if the others needed help.

Daniel knelt low to the ground, crawling towards another would-be assassin slightly hidden in a tree with a sniper rifle. Quietly, Daniel began to climb the tree with the grace and speed only a supernatural could manage. His nails dug deep into the bark so that he could move swiftly without being detected. Before the sniper knew he was in danger, Daniel bit deep into his throat, jerking his head backward ripping away the assassin’s jugular. Blood gushed from the jagged wound, splattering Daniel’s muzzle. His bloodlust rose instantly and he began to feast on the body, ripping away chucks of flesh, swallowing them whole in his hunger.

Miranda found her prey, a female hiding in the bushes with a sniper rifle loaded with silver ammunition. Silently, she came up behind her, the woman was taken completely by surprise as she felt something powerful punch through her back exiting through her chest. In shock, she looked down to see her heart still pumping blood through its arteries in a clawed, fur-covered hand. Blood poured from her mouth as her brain died. Miranda removed her hand from the woman’s chest cavity, letting her fall to the ground. She bit deeply into the still beating heart she held in her hand. Blood squirted from the plump organ as she ripped a chunk away. When she finished devouring the heart, she started on the body. Her teeth gripped the flesh, ripping it away from the bones.

Madeleine matched her prey’s footsteps as he inched closer to the mansion. The last one, the most daring assassin of them all was within a ten yard distance of the mansion.

“Hello, looking for someone?” she quipped.

The assassin turned around, attempting to aim the barrel at her, but it was too late. Her hand shot out, snatching the weapon from him. She turned the gun on him pulling the trigger, blasting a soft-ball size hole into his chest. Blood, bone and cartilage splattered the ground around him. The man’s eyes widen when the bullet exited through his back. He fell backwards onto the blood-soaked grass, choking and gasping for air. Madeleine watched him for the last five-seconds of his life. She looked up to see Daniel, Carmen and Miranda approaching.

“That’s all of them,” Carmen said. She glanced at Daniel and Miranda. “Are you sated?”

Both had transformed back into their human forms and they stood naked, their mouths and hands covered with blood.

“Well, I’m full, how about you?” Daniel smiled, looking at Miranda.

She shrugged. “I don’t know. I was going to make myself a few sandwiches earlier before I was interrupted. But this was much better.” She smiled wickedly.

“We’ll tell Elise she said that,” Carmen teased.

“The first chance I get,” Daniel joked.

Miranda shrugged once more. Carmen just shook her head.

“Come on, let’s clean up this mess. I’ll call Elise to let her know everything is okay.” Daniel walked inside the house to do just that. He dialed her cell and she picked up on the first ring.

“Everything’s fine, all five are dead,” Daniel said.

“Good. I’ll be home soon.” She hung up the cell phone.

Daniel called out to Sebastian who was still hiding in the cellar. The teenager opened the door and walked out. He looked at Daniel’s naked blood-splattered body.

“All that blood, you ate them didn’t you?” Sebastian asked.

Daniel shrugged. “Why let them go to waste simply because they’re society’s trash.” He chuckled. “Anyway, it’s safe now.”

Sebastian nodded and walked away. Daniel went to his bedroom to clean himself up. While he showered, he smiled to himself at his own cleverness. He had avoided having to help clean up outside.

Chapter Eleven

D
arian flew high above his property, his vision as sharp as a hawk’s. He could smell where they were hiding and he focused on their locations. Mentally he called out to his coven and collectively, they answered him.
There are five men on the grounds.
He gave the location of the men.
Kill them all except the one sitting in the large oak tree, he belongs to me.

Yes, master,
they responded in unison.

Darian watched his mansion, he saw as his coven converged on the men. Miko, April, John and Annabelle blazed across the property, catching all of the would-be assassins by surprise. He smiled as he watch his coven feeding on their victims, draining their very lives from them. Silently, he lowered himself settling directly behind the sniper in the large oak tree. He stood there, his arms folded across his chest as he watched the assassin monitor his mansion through a pair of night vision binoculars. The man had no idea that Darian’s coven had stealthily annihilated his crew and were now feasting on their blood. He extended his mental powers to read the killer’s mind. This man was the leader of the three bands of assassins. He was also a member of the group of hunters who had initiated the kidnappings. Darian had found that bit of information most interesting. Just when he was wondering if the man would ever realize he was in danger and outnumbered, the assassin noticed one of his own being attacked by John and he aimed his rifle.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” Darian said from behind him.

The man jumped, startled by Darian’s voice. He spun around on the thick tree branch, almost losing his balance. He managed to regain his footing as he stared at Darian standing before him.

“Don’t even think about aiming that rifle at me,” Darian warned in a calm voice.

“So, I guess now you want answers,” the man speculated.