Chapter Twenty-Nine
A slight pressure built in Simon’s head, slowly at first until it became almost unbearable.
He’d been asleep for hours after lifting Madison’s limp body into his arms and placing her in the center of the bed. Being freshly turned, she didn’t have the power to withstand the darkness that pulled her under with the rising of the sun.
Simon had watched her sleep for long moments before his own slumber had overtaken him.
“Come to me.”
Svetlana’s voice inside his head beckoned him, leaving him with no choice but to obey. She had to be close in order to reach into his mind the way she did now.
Fighting the pull of his maker, Simon gritted his teeth in an attempt to force her from his mind to no avail.
His legs seemed to move against their will until he found himself standing next to the bed, gazing down at Madison’s sleeping form.
“Come to me if you want her to live.”
Simon could feel the sluggishness of his steps as he moved toward the bedroom window.
The sun was just beginning to set as he reached up and eased the drapes back. A hiss burst from his lips the moment the light touched his skin. He let the curtain fall back into place.
It seemed an eternity passed before the sun finally set and Simon could safely exit the window.
He threw his legs over the sill, waited for a break in the droves of people walking by, and dropped to the sidewalk below.
After a few minutes of moving through the crowds, Simon took off like a shot, blurring his way toward the haunted cemetery where he knew Svetlana waited.
Simon came to a stop outside the old cemetery, a feeling of doom quickly surrounding him. An undeniable evil lay just inside; he could feel it as surely as he could feel Svetlana’s disgusting presence.
He vaulted over the concrete wall to land lithely on his feet next to a crumbling crypt.
“You came alone,” Svetlana purred, instantly appearing before him.
A sickening sensation poured through Simon that had little to do with the putrid scent of roses exuding from Svetlana. No, this was darker, deadlier than her, and it reeked of black magic. “Warlocks.”
Svetlana lifted her arm and waved a hand in the air.
Three men stepped from the shadows dressed in dark clothing, their heads covered with hoods.
Pain slammed into Simon’s skull with enough force it buckled his knees. He gripped the sides of his head, fighting against a dominance he was powerless to stop.
Svetlana’s laughter rang out through the cemetery, hideous and full of satisfaction.
“Enough,” she demanded once her merriment died down. The pain ended as quickly as it had come.
Simon released his head and lifted his gaze to his maker. “You got what you came for. Now, let’s be on our way.”
She lifted a ruby-colored fingernail and tapped it against her chin. “Be on our way? I don’t think so. Not until that red-haired bitch has been destroyed.”
Simon surged to his feet. “You’ll not touch her!”
More laughter burst from Svetlana’s throat. “Of course not, my dear boy. You will do it for me.”
Rage boiled up in Simon’s gut, followed by nausea. Svetlana intended for Madison to die by his hand. “Don’t.”
“Don’t what? Force you to kill her?”
Simon flicked a glance at the darkly robed figures now surrounding them. He had no doubt that Svetlana intended to use the warlocks’ magic in her plans to have him take Madison’s life. “I’ll do anything.”
The corners of Svetlana’s mouth lifted. “Begging does not become you.”
“I’ll mate with you,” Simon blurted, willing to do or say what it took to save Madison’s life. Little did Svetlana know, he’d already mated with Madison. Had she known, she would not only destroy Madison, but Simon as well.
Svetlana waved off his words. “It’s too late for that.”
She took a step back and then nodded to the tallest of the three warlocks. “Do whatever it takes.”
Simon felt the instant another presence entered his mind. It slid through his psyche like oil, leaving a grotesque film along every place it touched.
He saw Madison’s pretty face, swimming through his thoughts until it became distorted and foreign.
The only solace Simon had in that moment was the knowledge of Sawyer’s barrier around the condo.
A voice broke through Simon’s thoughts; soft and feminine, alluring in its sweetness. Simon moved toward the sound.
“That’s right, my love. Come to me.”
His vision blurred momentarily before finally clearing. And there, not a foot from him, stood Svetlana in all her golden beauty.
Strange, he mused, studying her pretty blue-eyes. He’d never noticed how attractive she truly was.
Simon reached for her, his hands cupping the sides of her alabaster face. “Svetlana…”