Lethal Rider

He looked out over the huge expanse of blue-green water. He’d always loved it here, but something about sharing such a beautiful setting with Regan made it even better. That, and the fact that being near the baby dimmed the sensation of deaths around the world. He could almost be at peace for the first time since his curse.

“Not much. He disappeared after we were conceived. If the account in that scroll is accurate, then he was still around in some way for a few decades. But it doesn’t tell me where he is now.”

“We have to find him.”

“And why is that?”

Regan turned to him, her hair curling in soft tendrils around her face. “Your Biblical Seals … they’re different than your Daemonica Seals?”

He wasn’t sure where this was going, but he nodded. “According to Gethel, they’re metal rings that protect the contents of four scrolls stored somewhere in Heaven. Why?”

“Because if it’s true that your father is the Lamb referred to in Revelation, we might need him to break those Seals.”

He blinked. “Why?”

“You’re to fight for the side of good if your Biblical Seals break, right? The only way to stop the evil Apocalypse might be to start the good one. To at least start it on our terms. To give humanity a chance.”

Abruptly, he understood how much of a warrior Regan was. How far she was willing to go to save the world, and why she’d agreed to seduce him in order to get pregnant. Some of his anger over what she’d done to him faded, replaced by a grudging respect for her bravery.

“It would be like fighting fire with fire,” he said. But heavenly fire was just as destructive as what came out of hell.

She smiled thinly. “Funny you should say that, because before my father joined The Aegis, he was a firefighter. I read all about them when I was a teenager, you know, trying to connect with him however I could.”

“You never met him at all?”

She shook her head. “He died before I was even born. Though I guess saying he died isn’t as accurate as how Lance likes to put it. As Lance says, he was ‘put down.’”

Sounded like this Lance person was an a**hole who needed to be ‘put down.’ “What do you know about him?”

One hand came up to cover her belly. She did that a lot when she was stressed, he’d noticed. “He came from a small town in Oregon. Troubled youth. The usual things that eventually lead people to The Aegis. I guess he wanted to be a firefighter all his life, and after only two years of it, he ran into a scorch demon. He kind of went crazy until he learned about The Aegis and that demons were real. It was my mom who helped him join up, and then he got possessed, knocked her up, and here I am.” She looked down at where the baby was moving under her shirt. “What about you? I mean, I know you’ve never met your real father, but you thought you were human for the first years of your life, right?”

He wasn’t sure what made him do what he did next, but he reached out and covered her hand with his. An instant, connecting warmth went through him, that virtual rope that seemed to loop all three of them together. The feeling was addictive, and he wondered if it would be the same once the baby was born.

“Yeah. I mean, I knew I was different. I was stronger than everyone else. Healed fast. Saw things other people couldn’t see, like Harrowgates and demons. I was the only boy in the family… I had three sisters, so my mother was always busy with them, but my father would take me hunting or on trips to trade with other clans. We were pretty close.”

Her thumb smoothed back and forth over his, and the intimate caress went all the way to his soul. “Do you want to meet your real father?”

“I’ll live if I don’t.”

“That’s not what I asked.”

He knew that, but he didn’t know how to answer. He’d been hunting down clues about his father for thousands of years, but now that Thanatos’s own baby was on the way, he had a whole new outlook on a father’s role in his child’s life.

“I don’t know if I should.”

“Why not?”

“Because I’d want to know why the f**k he let Lilith do what she did with us,” he snapped, surprising himself at the level of rage welling up. “He let Limos be raised in hell. He sat by and allowed us to be separated, and then he didn’t help when our worlds fell apart.”

“Maybe he couldn’t,” she said softly. “Maybe he did what he thought was best.”

In his chest, Than’s heart turned to ice. “Maybe you’re trying to justify what you plan to do to your own son.”

She squeezed his hand. “Thanatos, no—”

He yanked out of her grip and shoved to his feet. “I am not my father. I will not abandon my child. Like father, like son, I might have fallen for your seductive skills the way he fell for Lilith’s, but I will not let you give our son away, least of all to be raised in The Aegis.”

“The Aegis saved my life,” she said. “They gave me a life when no one else wanted me.”

He snorted. “They used you, Regan.”

“They need me.”

“They need you because of what you can do for them. That’s the only reason they want you. When are you going to open your eyes and see that?”

Regan’s lips parted, but no sound came out. She might as well have screamed, though, her pain was so etched into her expression. Somewhere inside, she’d had the same thoughts about The Aegis and her role with them.

“And why should I open my eyes?” The gold flecks in her hazel eyes glittered, little sparks that punctuated the anger in her words. “Will it make you feel better if I have nothing and no one?”

He turned away from her, because while it wouldn’t make him feel better for her to lose everything she’d ever known, he wasn’t sure it would be a bad thing, either. She was too dependent on an organization that didn’t appreciate her. Besides, she didn’t have no one. She had a son, and if she’d just give up her crazy idea that the baby needed someone else to raise it, he’d make sure she was a part of its life.

His scalp prickled, and a Harrowgate opened ten yards away. Ares and Limos exploded from it, both still armored, their weapons drawn and bloodied.

“We have trouble,” Limos said. “Vampire trouble. Your wildings have taken over Notre Dame cathedral. They’re slaughtering everyone.”

“It’s blatant.” Ares’s deep voice was as clipped as his movements, which meant he was fully engaged in strategy mode. “It’s either a message or a trap.”

Thanatos’s gut twisted. “Either way, it’s meant for me.” He nodded at Limos. “Take Regan back to my place. Ares, let’s see what they want. And then we’ll kill them.”

Notre Dame.

Thanatos had witnessed much of its construction. Now he was witnessing horrific destruction as a dozen daywalkers defiled the cathedral with demonic energy and human suffering.

A local Aegis cell had joined forces with the police to keep everyone out, but they couldn’t block Ares and Thanatos, who passed through the blockade invisibly, hidden within a Khote spell. Inside, Nulls shot around like wisps of black smoke, and vampires crouched on ledges, watching as Ares and Thanatos walked across a floor smeared with blood and littered with dead and injured humans.

“Who is in charge here?” Than called out.

The Nulls screeched, nearly drowning out the deep laughter of a blond vampire who emerged from between two pillars, his teeth glistening with the remains of his last meal.

“You can call me Medras.” He leaped onto an organ, the thud of his boots echoing off the walls. Blood stained his faded jeans and white shirt and streaked his arms. The scent of death clung to him, and Than’s insides buzzed with his own desire to kill.

“Jesus,” Ares murmured as he took in the vampires assembled around them. “How many daywalkers did you make?”

Thanatos swallowed, his throat burning with self-loathing. “More than I thought. I don’t know how—”

“You don’t know how?” Medras snarled. “Let me remind you. I was a monk, traveling through Franconia with my brothers, and you set upon us like an animal. Do you even remember that?”

No, Than didn’t. He thought he knew of all incidents, but maybe he’d been in one of his killing rampages. Oh, God, how many more daywalkers existed than he’d believed?

“I didn’t think you recognized me.” Bitterness permeated every one of Medras’s words. “But I will never forget your face. Nor will I forget the evil that took over my body and forced me to kill so many until I gained control of my bloodlust.” In a smooth surge, he swept a cowering human off the floor.

“Stop!” Thanatos started toward the vampire, but froze when Medras put a blade to the human’s throat.

“One step closer, and he dies.”

“If this is control over your bloodlust, then you’d better work a little harder,” Than growled. Not that he had much room to talk. “Why are you doing this?”

Sunlight streamed through the stained glass windows, drenching Medras in a kaleidoscope of light as he sneered at Than. “You haven’t figured it out yet? You haven’t gotten it through your thick head that daywalkers don’t want to serve you? We want our freedom.”

“Fools. I’m protecting you. Protecting the entire vampire race.”

“Not anymore, Bludrexe. Once the Apocalypse starts, we won’t need your protection. All we have to do is kill your brat and break your Seal.”

Thanatos hissed and, for the first time in front of Ares, let his fangs slice down in fury. “How did you know about my Seal? You couldn’t have put all of this together without help.”

“True. My brethren and I have been in hiding for centuries, but we were able to keep an eye on you. Not all of your little house slaves are happy, Horseman.”

Than was going to rip this bastard’s balls off and feed them to him. “So one of my servants reported back to you about my impending fatherhood. But that doesn’t explain why you think harming the child will get you what you want.”