Toil and Trouble (21 page)

Sinjin shook his head. “I cannot…I will not lose you.”

He didn’t wait for my response but grabbed my hand and elbowed his way through the throng of battling soldiers, pulling me close to his hard chest as he did so. I had no clue where he was headed as there didn’t seem anywhere to go. All around us creatures fought and fell.

I glanced to my right and caught the image of Ryder with an axe in hand, sneaking up behind Rand who was holding his own against Bella. My heart plummeted as I screamed to alert Rand. But, I was too far away and in the sounds of battle, my scream blended into the myriad of screams and cries. I pushed away from Sinjin while he desperately tried to grab me. He lost his footing when I dodged him, my thoughts only of Rand. I ran like I’d never run before. I weaved through the battling legion, thinking of nothing more than shortening the distance between me and the warlock.

A were stepped before me and I shoved him out of the way, watching Rand hurling energy orbs at Bella. Behind him, Ryder was about to swing the axe. And in that split second, I used all the vampire strength I’d absorbed from Sinjin’s blood and forced myself forward.

Fifteen

“Rand!” I screamed although I was still too far away for him to hear me. Then I remembered I was a witch and could use my magic against the axe in Ryder’s hands. I envisioned the weapon sailing out of Ryder’s grip and landing helplessly on top of one of the cairns. I didn’t have the chance to see if it had worked and, instead, pushed myself to run faster, my legs aching with the extreme speed. I rammed into Ryder, knocking us both over. When he got up, the threat of retribution was in his eyes. His bald head reflected the moonlight and his ensemble was exactly as I remembered it—black biker boots, dark black jeans and a black tee-shirt. This one had a white skull on the front with a red rose clamped in its mouth. The bull nose-ring between Ryder’s nostrils was icing on the cake.

My stomach dropped at the sight of him and a scream sounded in the bottom of my stomach, never birthing itself on my lips. I felt like I couldn’t move, like I was planted in cement. The vampire approached and started to sniff the wind for my scent. His smile broadened and I forced myself to stand. Instantly, Sinjin was beside me—I could tell by the icy chill in the air. He took one step in front of me, covered me with his body and braced himself for an attack. But, Ryder made no motion to attack either of us, instead he continued staring at me and inhaling.

Ryder laughed and it was the most disgusting, sneering snort I’d ever heard. “Jolie, I almost didn’t recanize you.”

The sound of his voice grated against my nerves and I was reminded of the fact that I hated his diction almost as much as I hated him. I tried to sidestep Sinjin but he wouldn’t allow me past him. “Sinjin, this is my fight,” I seethed.

Sinjin never broke his gaze from Ryder, but whispered. “I cannot…”.

“If you really care for me, then let me do this.”

Sinjin’s body suddenly went soft and he nodded in compliance as I turned my attention back to Ryder. He just stood there, without making any motion to attack us. I glanced back at Rand and found he was still in a heated exchange with Bella, although neither looked the worse for wear. Rand had no idea we were just behind him as the three of us were ensconced in a frame of trees, blocked by standing stones which separated us from the battlegrounds. Sinjin chose to act as sentry and barricaded the one section of our alcove which opened to the battlefield.

“Did you get my note?” Ryder snarled. Over the cacophony of the battle, his words were nearly lost.

“Yes,” I answered, my heart pounding against my chest. I stepped forward and was surprised Sinjin allowed me to do so.

“You ready to give yerself to me or are you gonna put up another fight?” Ryder demanded.

“No, I’m here to kill you.”

Ryder threw his head back and laughed as if I’d just landed an awesome punch line. In fact, his stomach shook with the effort, his chest muscles bulging under his arms. I’d forgotten how tall and muscular he was—but not in an attractive way. No, he was menacing and hideous. I had to swallow my fear. I wouldn’t back down now; I couldn’t back down now.

“And you?” Ryder asked, addressing Sinjin.

Sinjin gritted his teeth but made no motion to approach either of us. “I am merely an observer.”

I suddenly felt such an inordinate surge of gratitude toward Sinjin—that he was allowing me to do what I needed to, that he wouldn’t interfere. Naturally, my thoughts for Rand’s safety were beginning to obsess me and when I glanced over to see how he was faring with Bella, both of them were gone. Fear started winding up my legs but I had to face the fact that Ryder should be my biggest concern. Kill him then I could search for Rand.

“Good, then you can watch me screw her,” Ryder said as the smile melted off his face and he approached me with an ugly leer. His eyes glowed red and his fangs had already elongated.

Sinjin’s jaw tightened, his fangs fully extending beyond his lips while his hands fisted at his sides. He was panting with ire but held his ground. I could see his jaw twitching with the effort.

I didn’t allow myself to react to Ryder’s comment as it wouldn’t do me any good. Now, more than ever before, I had to focus everything on my training. If I was to prevail over Ryder, I had to be able to sense him even when he disappeared into thin air. I had to be able to calculate his moves before he did.

I started to walk toward him until we were about a body’s length apart and motioned to him to come to me. His eyes narrowed as he snarled and lunged at me, throwing his bodyweight into the attack. I easily sidestepped him, using the speed of Sinjin’s blood. Ryder nearly lost his balance but righted himself and turned around, an expression of confusion on his face.

“You been trainin’,” he said and offered me an ugly smile. I didn’t respond but watched him dematerialize and closed my eyes, knowing I would do better detecting him on the wind if I didn’t have my eyesight to distract me. I sensed a slight heaviness in the air just beside me so I fingered the stake in the back waistline of my stretch pants and pulled it out, stabbing the air just as Ryder materialized exactly where I’d expected. I missed his chest by only a fraction of an inch.

“Good try,” he said and snatched the stake from my grip, tossing it to the ground. I watched the stake bounce once and fall into the grass, completely useless.

Before I knew it, Ryder leapt on top of me and using his massive strength, dropped me to the ground while I tried to roll out from underneath him. Despite my best attempts, he had me pinned. He laughed as he held me, each of his hands holding my arms and his thighs pinning mine. I glanced up at Sinjin, to make sure he wasn’t going to break his role of sentry but he stayed true. He was going to let me fight this battle. I imagined the gamut of emotions running through his mind—he didn’t want to stand there immobile but restrained himself. I never appreciated him more.

I tried to thrust Ryder off me by using my hips but he just laughed and pushed his pelvis harder into mine, trying to draw my attention to the growing bulge in his pants. “We gonna have us an audience?” he asked, motioning to Sinjin.

“I guess so,” I said, waiting for him to free up one of his hands. He’d have to unless his plan was just to pin me all night. When he moved his arm to cup my left breast, I managed to whack him on the temple with my fist. My hand ached once it came into contact with his head but he toppled over and instantly, I was on my feet.

Not appearing to have been severely impacted by the blow, he stood up and studied me, his eyes narrowed. “You’ve been drinkin’ vampire blood.”

I failed to respond but I didn’t have to. Ryder’s eyes moved to Sinjin who remained indifferently blocking our only exit.

“Your blood,” Ryder said as he pointed to Sinjin. He laughed acidly, “You, a master vampire sharin’ blood with his stupid little whore.”

Sinjin’s fangs descended, his eyes livid, glowing white. “Apologize to the lady,” he seethed.

“I ain’t gonna do no such thing.”

Sinjin made a motion to approach Ryder but I held my hand up to keep him back. “Sinjin,” I said, a warning in itself. Ryder was just provoking him. He had to know that.

Ryder glared at Sinjin. “I’ll never call you master again,” he spat.

“You will not live another night to call anyone master,” Sinjin answered icily.

“An who’s gonna kill me?” Ryder croaked. “This bitch?”

“Yes,” I interrupted, bracing myself for his attack. I wasn’t as comfortable with my offense as I was with my defense so my plan was to let him make the first move. Then I’d take the asshole down. I only had one problem--my stake was still lying in the grass about five feet away and any motion I made for it would jeopardize my plan.

“So, lemme get this right,” Ryder started, glancing between Sinjin and me. “You’re sharin’ your blood with ‘er in exchange for what?”

“Stop stalling and treat Jolie as a worthy opponent,” Sinjin said in a monotone.

“I ain’t stallin’,” Ryder yelled. “I’m tryin’ to understand how this slut was able to wrap a master vampire aroun’ her little finger.” He paused and then spat on the ground. “You ain’t a master no more. You ain’t shit.”

“Sinjin?” It was Rand’s voice. He shoved past Sinjin, pausing when he saw me. His hair was disheveled, sweat beading his brow. His shirt was torn, hanging open to reveal his incredibly muscular chest.

“I have everything under control,” Sinjin said curtly.

Ryder snickered derisively as I eyed the stake, wondering if I was quick enough to grab it. No, I couldn’t make my move just yet.

“You come to watch me screw the bitch, too?” Ryder asked.

Sinjin made no motion to allow Rand into the alcove, so Rand shoved his way through a narrow breach in the trees. “What the bloody hell is going on?” he demanded, looking at me.

“Jolie’s gonna murder me, didn’t you know?” Ryder asked facetiously.

Rand’s expression went dark. “Jolie?”

Ryder threw his head back and laughed again. “This is too good. You didn’t know the slut was Jolie?” His laugh echoed through the trees, momentarily interrupting the battle sounds. I wanted to kill him now more than ever before just to get him to shut the f up.

Rand’s eyes went wide as he realized I wasn’t who I appeared to be. Surprise quickly gave way to anger. His eyes narrowed, his hands fisting and I swallowed hard. Before I could stop him, he surged toward Ryder, but Sinjin latched onto his shirt, drawing him back with a quick jerk.

“He will slaughter her!” Rand screamed, struggling against Sinjin’s grip.

I looked back at Ryder who was mesmerized by the situation, a smile still visible on his lips. While Ryder’s attention was captivated, I decided to make a move for the stake. I dove for it like a shortstop going for a baseball and joyfully grasped the wooden handle. Just as I expected, instantly I felt Ryder on my back, hurling his weight into me until I felt like I was going to break in two.

Even though my magic was useless against Ryder, it could be used as a momentary diversion so I envisioned flames consuming the grass below us. The flames immediately surrounded us, a virtual fire that didn’t harm either one of us but diverted Ryder’s attention all the same. I took the opportunity to buck him off me. Fortunately, Ryder was caught off balance and I was able to roll away from underneath him. He was instantly on his feet but made no motion to attack me. He just glared at me.

I didn’t have to glance at Rand and Sinjin to know they were still wrestling one another. I could hear their grunts and curses.

“C’mon, you little bitch,” Ryder taunted me but I hesitated, I had to rely only on my defensive measures.

“You come to me, you big, stupid piece of shit!” I screamed, venting my anger. I had never hated anyone more than Ryder. Images of the video he’d included in his letter came back to haunt me and I had to force them aside. I couldn’t let my anger get the better of me. I had to be cool and calm and focus on defeating him with my training.

Then it happened. He materialized directly before me and aimed a punch at my head. I ducked and went on autopilot and let my body react rather than my brain. It felt like I was watching Ryder move in slow motion as he impelled himself forward, trying to pin me down again. I deftly sidestepped him and came up from behind. The stake was heavy in my hand and the thought of impaling Ryder suddenly consumed me. As I lifted the stake to plunge it into his back, I felt like I was watching a movie. The hard coldness of Ryder’s back met me as I drove the stake into his flesh with all the strength I could muster. For one moment he stood there, shock in his eyes. Then he suddenly exploded. I covered my face with my arms as his ashes rained over me.

I fell backwards on the ground as I let go of the stake and I could only stare up at the stars as I realized I’d done it! I‘d killed Ryder.

“Jolie!” Rand screamed.

I shoved my elbows into the ground and sat up. Gwynn, the half vampire, half witch who belonged to Ryder, was suddenly before me. We were nose to nose. The hatred in her face didn’t surprise me considering I’d just decimated her lover and maker.

I didn’t have the chance to defend myself before I felt the sharp end of a dagger against my stomach.

* * *

I screamed against what I imagined would be blinding pain as Gwynn sunk her blade into my gut but…nothing. I blinked and blinked again before my eyes convinced my brain that what they were seeing was real. Snow…for miles. And pine trees for more miles. And as if that weren’t enough for me to crap myself, no Rand, no Sinjin, no battle. I was on my own.

Okay, well this was definitely better than being run through by a blade but it didn’t change the fact that I had no idea where I was or how to get back. I was suddenly struck with that feeling of déjà vu. I’d seen this before in a vision—the unending snow, the umbrage of tree branches above me. And Mathilda had seen it too. I clasped the amber pendant in my freezing hand and tried to move forward which was difficult because I was up to my knees in snow.

So, what in the hell had happened? The last thing I remembered was the feel of Gwynn’s cold, steel blade and then, boom, I was suddenly in a winter wonderland, like a scene from Currier and Ives. Magic was involved, it had to be. Whose magic though, was the question. It couldn’t have been mine because I was off guard and unable to escape the bitch’s blade. Could Rand have transported me all these miles? Maybe so, but what about the snow? Maybe he’d mixed up his charms and accidentally added snow to my relocation efforts? Yeah, that sounded like a good explanation, so I’d go with it.