Eternal Kiss of Darkness

She yanked his head down before she could even think, glorying in the bruising passion as Mencheres kissed her like this was the last chance he'd ever get to do so.

All too quickly he drew away, reminding Kira that they were surrounded by enemy guards and now was not the time to show him how much she'd missed him. Mencheres stroked her face before he stepped back, then spread out his arms.

Rolls of invisible thunder shook the jungle. Kira's eyes widened as everything went silent with an abruptness that was startling. Even the sounds from the birds and animals ceased, leaving only the rustle of the countless leaves and trees to break the sudden awesome hush. A weight seemed to press on her, the vibrations from his power thickening the air into a denseness that was palpable.

"There you are," Mencheres muttered.

That weight lifted, and the animals resumed their nocturnal foraging and calls. The thick feel of his power still lingered in the air, though, and it didn't escape Kira's notice that her pursuers had fall en silent at the same moment that she'd felt like she was struck by lightning.

"Do you, ah, have them all?" she asked.

A tight smile crossed Mencheres's face, relaxing the fierceness in his expression only a fraction.

"Yes, I have them."

Then slow shuffling sounds came from around them. One by one, Radje's guards walked toward them, forming a circle. Their steps were perfectly synchronized, but the fear on their expressions made it plain that they weren't in control of their actions.

An eerie blue light broke through the jungle a hundred yards ahead. Kira glanced at Mencheres, but he didn't look alarmed, and the brush of emotion she felt from him was icy determination and relief, not fear. So she said nothing as that light came nearer. After a few moments, Vlad Tepesh appeared through the brush, his dark hair swinging with his strides, one of his blue-flamed hands wrapped around the throat of a vampire he half dragged alongside him.

"hello, boys," he drawled as he entered the circle of vampire guards who were now standing still. The flames on his hands grew brighter, streaming down the vampire in his grip until the guard's body was engulfed. Vlad flung him into the center of the circle, not even a thread of his own clothing burned although the screaming vampire was writhing in a sea of flames.

"So then," Vlad said with pleasant cruelty. "Who wants to talk, and who wants to burn to death?"

Chapter 34

Mencheres wasn't surprised that it only took killing a few of the guards before the rest were all too eager to tell everything they knew about the rest of their numbers, their locations, which of them Radje was supposed to contact, and anything else he asked them. Radje hadn't picked older, seasoned mercenaries who would require far more incentive because they'd realize their fate was death anyway for their participation in these crimes. He'd picked younger, foolish vampires he'd changed himself in secret.

Ones who would do his bidding without many questions asked and could easily disappear when Radje no longer had use for them.

Kira stayed with the human girl Mencheres recognized from the club, just out of eyesight. It was obvious she didn't care to witness the fiery interrogations, but she never questioned their necessity. She wanted to go back to check on the other humans at the temple where she'd been held, but Mencheres urged patience. They had to make sure no guards remained in other parts of Chichen Itza who would alert Radje to their presence. His senses didn't pick up more than the seventeen vampires who'd chased Kira into the jungle, but he would take no chances.

Only after those still living revealed that they made up the entirety of Radje's guards on Kira did Mencheres venture back with Vlad and Kira to the temple ruins. Was it arrogance or paranoia that had made Radje leave so few of his people to guard Kira?

Did he fear that larger numbers might betray him if one of his acolytes were loose-lipped, and word reached the Guardians of what he'd done? Or did he truly believe Mencheres cared so little for Kira that he hadn't expected him to take any measure possible to save her, knowing Radje would not release her as agreed?

Radje might have been correct had he taken anyone else but Kira. Only the knowledge that her life hung in the balance gave Mencheres the strength to finish the ritual to summon Aken. No soul's location was invisible from the ferryman of the dead, though Radje might not even know of the ritual to summon Aken. Few in their race knew the darkest magics. The only reason Patra knew how to wield the spells she'd used was because Mencheres taught them to her when they were together - a mistake he'd paid for dearly.

Yes, some knowledge was best left lost to the world. He cast a glance up at the moon.

He'd have to leave in the next hour in order to make his meeting with Radje.

A familiar wave of energy reached across his senses. Only two days ago, there was just one vampire he could feel this way. But now that he'd shared a portion of his power with Kira, she was irrevocably tied to his senses as well.

"Bones is here," Mencheres stated.

Vlad raised a brow even as he nailed another guard to the walls of the temple with silver knives.

"He must have been farther south than we were when we first left. You called him less than two hours ago."

Kira appeared in the archway, her expression sad and angry. "I found six bodies here, but from what Jennifer said, there were even more people killed. The guards would dump the bodies in the jungle in shifts at night."

Vlad shoved another silver knife into a guard's wrist. Mencheres held them immobile now, but once he was gone, this would help secure them.

"Vampires like you piss me off," Vlad muttered. "Leaving a trail of bodies for humans to be suspicious over when there's no need to kill to feed. Ever had a mob of villagers armed with torches and pitchforks burn your house down while screaming 'death to the wampyre!'? I have, and it's irritating beyond belief."

"You know those old Romanians." Bones's voice drifted in from the entrance of the temple. "Just bloody unreasonable."

"You promised you wouldn't start with him . . ."

Cat's voice, speaking far softer than Bones had. Mencheres ignored both of their comments in favor of sliding his arms around Kira.

"I need to leave soon. You'll be safe with the three of them here." Her green gaze pierced into his. "I'd tell you not to go because Radje's too dangerous, but you'd just repeat the same indisputable proof needed argument that I used when I talked you into letting Radje kidnap me from my sister's, wouldn't you?"

"As I've often said before, you are wise," Mencheres murmured. A strange exhilaration filled him, an excitement mixed with purpose that he hadn't felt in . . . he couldn't remember how long. His visions had not deserted him. The glimpse of Kira in the jungle proved that, and, if they hadn't, then he had a chance for a future after all.