Braith refused to rise to his father’s baiting. Xavier stepped forward, his hands were enfolded within the sleeves of his robe and his shoulders were thrust back as he stared wordlessly at the king. Max and William were beside him, but Daniel had moved a little bit away, he seemed oddly fascinated by the withered vampires. Braith had to restrain himself from grabbing hold of the kid and forcing him to stay near them.

“What exactly was your plan here Braith?” Aria was close; he could feel it, she was almost within his grasp. He just wasn’t certain which passageway door she would be coming through as there were at least three that he knew of within the throne room. “Did you honestly believe that you could come in here and what, overthrow me? Kill me? With this sad assortment? They’re not even vampires, what were you planning on doing with these humans, distracting me with them as a snack?”

He didn’t know what the plan was; he simply knew that he had to get her out of here, alive, if at all possible. “They’re still alive,” Daniel muttered as he hastily stepped away from one of the desiccated remains.

“The vampires are,” Xavier confirmed. “The king has always liked his trophies.”

Daniel’s eyes were huge as his hand twitched on his bow. Braith moved somewhat to the side, stepping partially in front of Daniel. Daniel was usually stable, analytical, and rational to the bone, but this room seemed to have rattled his restraint completely. Braith was fearful Daniel would do something irrational before they had a chance to get Aria back.

“Where is your poor excuse for a brother?”

“Caleb is chasing down the human that escaped him at the moment,” Braith answered, knowing full well that was not the brother the king had meant.

A small flicker of a muscle in his cheek was the only reaction the king had to this revelation. “Ah the human,” the king purred as he licked his lips. “She is quite the tasty little treat Braith. I’m actually amazed by your astoundingly good taste, or should I say her taste and your restraint with her. I was unable to be so restrained with such a morsel.”

“Easy Braith,” Xavier urged as Max stepped in front him.

It took all he had not to launch across the hundred feet separating them and pound that smile from the man’s hideous face. His vision clouded with red again, his hands fisted. Father, or not, he was going to enjoy destroying this vampire, enjoy ripping his heart out and stomping on it.

“Yes Braith, easy. We don’t need you getting all worked up before our girl is here to enjoy it. Oh the fun we three will have.” He paused for a lengthy moment, rocking on his heels as he smirked at them and rubbed his fingers together before him. “I assume that since he isn’t here, Jericho is amongst the group being decimated outside the palace walls right now.”

Daniel and William exchanged an uneasy look. “I have no idea where Jericho is, and he goes by Jack now,” Braith managed to grate out.

Braith strained to hear something, anything, outside of this room. Then he heard it, a muted scraping of feet, a muffled heartbeat coming from within the walls. Unfortunately, she was closer to the king than him.

But even worse was the fact that behind the soft sounds of Aria, he heard the relentless pursuit of someone else.

Chapter 10

Jack took a step toward the gate as Ashby breached the top of the wall. Ashby, loveable, affable, carefree Ashby grabbed hold of one of the soldiers and ripped him over the edge without one moment of hesitation. Apparently, there was a darker side to Ashby than Jack had ever suspected as he remorselessly tossed aside more soldiers.

David suddenly appeared beside him again. The blood from his seeping puncture was vibrant as it spread across his torn shirt, but it didn’t appear to be slowing him down yet. Another group of vampires ran past and slammed another giant tree into the massive gates. Though they were solid metal, and at least a foot thick, there was a wrenching that alerted Jack to the fact that the doors were starting to give way beneath the repeated force of the blows. For the first time hope flowed through him, they were going to get inside; they were going to do this.

Ashby ran across the top of the battlement, moving swiftly through the soldiers that tried to stop him. Ever whistling Ashby continued to toss them aside like discarded peanut shells. Realization settled over him as Jack finally understood what it was that had caused Ashby to become so ruthless. Melinda. She must be somewhere near, perhaps even in peril, and Ashby was going to do anything and everything he could to get to her. With the way Ashby was moving, Jack thought they should have just used an army of vampires that had found their bloodlinks and thrown them into the fray. He suspected they might have won already if that was the case.

Ashby disappeared from view as he leapt from the top of the wall. The guards stationed upon the battlements turned, their attention was divided as they sought to face the new threat from within the palace. Braith had arrived, Jack was certain of it. They’d made it into the palace and had succeeded in reaching the front gates.

A hush descended over the battlefield as for a poignant moment they waited to see what would happen. A loud shout erupted from within, a few of the guards on the walls broke ranks and ran away; others renewed the fight with fresh vigor as arrows began to fire speedily down on both sides of the walls.

David took a step toward the gates, the look of longing on his face tugged at Jack’s heart. Another loud shout echoed from within, flames and sparks leapt higher as something far larger caught fire. A few more guards slipped away from the wall and vanished over the side as a loud groan filled the air.

Jack became completely still as the groaning became louder. He had no idea what to expect, he was half certain that a mass of soldiers would burst forth to overpower them. The gates, bent and battered from the repeated blows they had sustained, moved agonizingly slow as they were pushed open.

Ashby was grinning from ear to ear as he stepped forward. His arm was wrapped possessively around Melinda who was tucked against his side. Ashby’s gaze skipped over the group before settling upon Jack. “Well come on you lazy bastard, there’s still more of them in here to play with!” he announced jovially.

Jack grasped hold of his sister and kissed her forcefully on the cheek. “Good to see you sis.”

“You too.” Though she was smiling sadness resonated within her eyes.

“Where’s Braith?”

Gideon’s face was drawn and tired as he stepped forward. He was coated in blood but didn’t seem to be relishing in the battle, instead he seemed far more reserved than Jack had expected. “He took a few soldiers with him and went after your father, and Aria.”

Jack swallowed the hard lump that formed in his throat as he turned to inspect the group surrounding him. He was acutely aware of the few people that were missing from it and so was David as he inhaled sharply. They were all damaged and tired, but there was still far more that they had to accomplish. “We need to get to them,” David said forcefully.

“Yes,” Gideon agreed. “Before they’re all killed.”

Gideon didn’t sound anymore convinced that it was possible than Jack felt.

***

Aria had no idea where she was within the convoluted mess of passageways that made up the inner workings of the vast palace. Her shoulders and legs brushed against the walls as she hesitatingly felt her way forward. She longed to move faster but she was worried about running face first into an unseen wall.

Her fingers brushed over the solid walls surrounding her as she fumbled to find an escape. Caleb must have originally tracked her into the other tunnel before realizing that she’d fooled him as she didn’t hear his cheery humming anymore, and he didn’t taunt her with calls of ‘here kitty.’ She could sense he was behind her again though, back on the right trail, and like a dog on the scent he was honing in on her.

She stopped as her fingers suddenly brushed over a wall in front of her. She was unable to understand why it was there; unable to grasp that she was now trapped between a wall and Caleb. “I smell fear on the kitty,” Caleb ridiculed.

She really just wanted to punch that guy. Taking a deep breath Aria forced herself to calm down; if she didn’t stay calm she would never get out of here. There had to be a way out, she was sure of it. She recalled Jack finding the secret lever that had revealed the hidden passage in the room she’d slept in as a blood slave, and she knew well the intricate traps and hidden releases that Daniel designed in the caves. Just as there was always a way out of those places, there was a way out of here; she just had to find it.

She had to bite back a scream of frustration as her fingers frantically skimmed over the smooth walls surrounding her as she searched for a lever or switch. It wouldn’t be so hidden that the servants couldn’t find it, so why couldn’t she find the damn thing?

Then her fingers caught on the small lever set at chest height; she pulled down on it and took a step back as the door swung inward. Light descended upon her, for a moment she couldn’t see again, but her eyes were quicker at adjusting to this sudden influx of light than they had been after being in the dungeon for so long. She was about to step forward when she saw what the open door had revealed.

Her mouth was suddenly as dry as The Barrens had been; her heart lumbered as she stared at the atrocious throne room the king cherished so much. With sinking dismay she realized she’d leapt out of the frying pan and right into the fire. “Boo.”

A cry escaped her as she jumped. She’d been too startled by the realization of where she was to hear Caleb’s approach. His word, whispered near her ear, sent a fresh flood of adrenaline crashing through her and with her hands fisted, she spun to face him. He was better prepared for her this time, but even so she was able to get in a glancing blow to his chin. He danced back for a moment before coming at her again.

With an infuriated cry, she kicked him in the knee with enough force to knock his leg back and pushed herself off of him as hard as she could. She was fast, she knew it, but she wasn’t faster than a vampire. She was just hoping to give herself a little bit of a head start as she turned and bolted out of the passageway. The king had to be somewhere nearby; she had a feeling that he spent most of his time in this throne/trophy/monstrosity room he had created for himself.

She bolted into the room, nearly tripping over her own feet as the king’s soldiers spun toward her. She froze, her eyes widened, her mouth dropped as the king turned to look at her. There was a malicious smile on his face as he leered at her with far too much amusement for her liking. Then over the sea of heads, across the massive hall, she saw him.

Her heart leapt into her throat, tears burned her eyes as her gaze clashed with Braith’s. The soldiers lifted their spears and moved to block him as he took a step toward her. Braith’s vivid gray eyes became the color of glistening rubies as his long fangs extended past his lower lip. Though there were far more soldiers than him, judging by the look on his face he might actually be able to plow his way through them to get to her.

Arms wrapped around her waist and lifted her up before flinging her to the floor. A strangled cry escaped as her body bounced off the marble and her teeth clamped down on the inside of her bottom lip. She had completely forgotten about Caleb in her astonishment and delight over seeing Braith, but he hadn’t forgotten about her.

She scrambled back, trying to regain her feet as Caleb came at her. Braith’s ferocious bellow ripped across the room as Caleb seized hold of her arms and yanked her to her feet.

Chapter 11

Jack led the way through the streets, fighting off the soldiers that came at them while trying to avoid the unsuspecting souls that scrambled to get out of the way. The only ones he truly cared about not killing were the children. Though some of the king’s noblemen resided within the palace itself, most had residences within the large town and bailey outside of it. It was those residences that Jack targeted now. He was sure most of the nobles had fled toward the palace when the attack started, but some would have stubbornly remained in their homes.

Wood cracked and popped as flames licked at the stores and homes. The stage where the slaves were auctioned was already fully engulfed. Screams echoed over the cobblestone and down the roads of the town as vampires and humans attempted to flee the devastation. He wanted to be repulsed by the death, but a part of him was thrilled by the brutality of it. He was surprised that most of their vampire’s were doing so well, especially the starving masses from the outlying towns. There were few here that wanted to win more than the broken masses the king had created though.

Drops of David’s blood dripped onto the streets as he fought close at Jack’s side. Though Jack had his baser instincts under control, the past few days had been a trying time and David’s blood seemed more distinct than the human’s around him. Jack realized he’d never smelled it before, in all of their adventures and trials together David’s blood had never been spilled before tonight. The man was too quick for that most of the time.