Chapter Thirty-Two
In all Simon’s two thousand and some odd years of living, he’d never encountered sorcery as powerful as what he witnessed on this night. The demons were no figment of his imagination, and their strength seemed to match his very own.
He fought his way toward Madison like a man possessed with the very demons he currently battled. The shadowy figures were closing in on her, surrounding her in droves of darkness.
Vlad the Impaler breached the flames, moving through the fighting without batting an eye.
Angelo Dimitrov entered behind him, his frame tense and his eyes full of vengeance. He stood shoulder to shoulder with a creature Simon could only assume was Sawyer.
The beast stood upright, half man, half wolf. He dove into the insanity alongside Angel.
An explosion erupted at Angel’s feet, blasting him back through the very flames he emerged from.
More shadowed figures appeared, bringing with them the wrath of hell itself. They rushed Sawyer, flying through and around him faster than even a vampire could track.
Shon and Svetlana fought their way back into the crowd, demolishing headstones in their wake. Simon would worry about Svetlana later. He needed to get to Madison, and quickly.
Madison went berserk, kicking and fighting like a seasoned vampire. She was a lot stronger than Simon had been as a fledgling, and she belonged to him.
Simon finally reached her side. “Keep your back to me!”
The insanity seemed to go on forever, with Simon attempting to keep the demons off Madison. But then the ground opened up before him and a dozen more of the dark fiends climbed out.
We are going to die in this cemetery, Simon thought with a growl of denial. And he’d never have the chance to tell Madison how he felt about her.
Shon came crashing into him, nearly taking Simon off his feet.
“That bitch is strong,” Shon ground out between clenched teeth before a pack of imps ascended upon him.
Svetlana instantly appeared in front of Madison. “Now to deal with you!”
Simon wanted to scream his denial of what he knew was about to happen, but his voice hung in his throat.
His vision tunneled, zeroing in on the rose-scented bitch who’d been fighting Shon for the past several minutes.
She laughed. Svetlana actually laughed in the face of his peril. She knew he couldn’t kill her as much as he did.
A roar rang out somewhere in the midst of the chaos, and Simon realized it came from Vlad.
Angel, Vlad, and Sawyer fought their way around the cemetery taking out as many of the fiends as they could. Yet, the warlocks remained untouched.
Svetlana jerked Madison off her feet, disappearing somewhere in the shadows.
Simon went crazy, swinging at anything and everything in his path. He would surely die on this night, of that he was certain. But Madison wouldn’t. No matter what he had to do to make it happen… Madison would live.
A scream shattered the night, ripping Simon’s heart from his chest. The tormented sound belonged to Madison, his mate...his love.
As if from a dream, a giant white wolf sailed over the blazing flames of the fire and crashed into the warlock on the left. The sound of his throat being torn open could be heard over the unbelievable melee going on around them.
Another figure blasted through the flames, followed by a third one.
It took Simon a moment to realize they were females, and by the looks of them, they weren’t there for a barbeque.
The fire surrounding the cemetery began to flicker. Simon broke free of the demons ripping into his flesh and vaulted over a row of tombs, desperate to find Madison.
The sight that greeted him before his feet barely touched the ground, would haunt him into the afterlife.
Madison lay on her back, her eyes open and lifeless with Svetlana standing above her, holding her still beating heart in her hand.
“Nooooo!” Simon roared, tears of blood spilling from his eyes. His legs gave out and he dropped to his knees by Madison’s side.
An explosion rocked the ground beneath him, throwing Simon forward across Madison’s bloodied form. “Ah, God, Maddie…no.”
The flames parted in front of him, admitting a tall, pale-skinned stranger with a freshly shaved head.
Though the stranger’s eyes flicked in Simon’s direction, it was obvious Simon wasn’t his target.
“Ostende te!” the man shouted, his arms rising before him.
Simon recognized the phrase as the Latin words for show yourself.
Gathering Madison’s lifeless body in his arms, Simon pulled her close to his chest, and rested his chin on her forehead.
She couldn’t be gone. Yet the longer he held her against him, the more he knew it to be true.
He lifted his bloodied gaze to Svetlana. “I may not be able to kill you, you fucking piece of shit. But this will be the last night I walk the face of this earth. Come morning, I’ll greet the sunlight for the first time since you took my mortal life.”
Her eyes grew round with denial. “You can’t do it. You’ll spend an eternity in hell.”
“I’m already in hell.”
Vlad appeared behind Svetlana. “Speaking of hell, say hello to Gina Calimari for me.” He plucked Madison’s bloodied heart from Svetlana’s palm, and slammed his fist through her back.
Svetlana’s mouth opened without sound. She blinked once before Vlad ripped her own beating organ from her chest and then crushed it in his hand. She dropped to the ground with a thunk.
The fire surrounding the cemetery died away, and the screaming demons scrambled back to the black holes from whence they came.
Two of the hooded figures lay in bloodied heaps nearby, one missing a head.
The tall, pale-skinned newcomer, lowered his arms and sauntered over to Sawyer’s side. “We’re even now.”
Sawyer nodded, his golden eyes glowing from a face Simon barely recognized. “We are.”
Simon lowered his gaze back to Madison’s face. He’d lost her, the only woman he’d cared about since losing his family centuries ago.
Vlad lowered to his haunches next to Madison’s body. “We need to go before the police show up.”
“I don’t give a shit about the police!” Simon snarled. “Madison’s dead.”
The pale-skinned stranger spoke up, drawing everyone’s attention. “I can help her, but the Impaler is right. We need to leave this place.”
Vlad cranked his head around in the stranger’s direction. “Do I know you?”
“No, but I know who you are. My name’s Sam. I’m a friend of Sawyer’s.”
“The warlock,” Vlad responded.
Sam nodded and then shifted his attention to Simon. “It’s not too late for her, but we need to make haste.”
Simon was on his feet with Madison held tightly against his chest before Sam finished speaking.
Vlad tucked Madison’s heart back inside the gaping hole in her chest and disappeared without another word.
Simon blasted out of the cemetery, blurring his way back to the condo like the hounds of hell were chasing him.
He vaulted up to the very window he’d left through only an hour before and entered the bedroom he’d slept in with Madison.
Placing her still, cold body in the center of the bed, he brushed her hair back from her face. “I’m so sorry, Maddie, my love. I’ll make this right. I swear to you, I’ll make it right.”
Several bodies began filing into the room, only to step aside as Sam entered behind them.
Simon glanced at the faces he didn’t recognize, reading the pity he saw lurking in their eyes.
Sam approached the bed. “May I?”
Scrambling out of the way, Simon moved to the opposite side of the bed to give the warlock some room.
What happened next would forever be etched into Simon’s tortured mind.
The warlock straddled Madison’s waist, reached into the hole in her chest, and wrapped his fingers around her lifeless heart.
Heat blew through the room, and the furniture scattered about began to shimmy across the floor.
Sam lifted his head, his gaze sweeping through the crowd. “I need the blood of three; three of the oldest and most powerful vampires in this room.”
Vlad and Angel stepped up next to the bed and bit into their wrists without question.
Simon tore into his own so fast, he ripped open a gash.
Sam pulled a small knife from the pocket of his jeans. He flipped it open with his thumb, guided it into the open cavity in Madison’s chest and made a small incision in her heart. “Now, the blood.”
Simon moved his bleeding wrist over Madison’s chest and allowed his blood to drip into the fresh incision. Vlad and Angel followed suit.
Once her heart was filled with their life force, Sam ordered them all to back away. He placed both of his palms over the wound and began to chant.
Power, unlike anything Simon had ever felt, filled the bedroom, raising the hairs on his neck and rendering him in awe.
The louder the chanting grew, the stronger the force in the air until Simon found it difficult to stand under it.
Madison’s back bowed off the bed, her upper body levitating beneath the warlock. Higher and higher she rose until Sam began to rise with her.
Something akin to a sonic boom resounded throughout the condo, powerful enough to blow the warlock across the room. He slammed into the wall near the open doorway.
Madison’s body fell heavily back to the mattress. She remained unnaturally still for several heartbeats before a soft gasp parted her lips.
Another bloodied tear spilled from the corner of Simon’s eye. Madison lived.