Chapter Twenty-Eight
Curled in a shaded corner of an enclosed garden, Trixie watched the sunlight spear through the open roof of her enclosure. Her broken fingernails bled from clawing at the locked door. The guards had dumped her in Sybil’s private walled-in garden, complete with a fucking fairy fountain in the center.
The walls were too smooth to climb, not a tree to use in sight, and some sadistic bastard had placed metallic bars over the opening to the sky. Fear squeezed frozen fingers around her lungs. From the scratches in the wall and the one slightly bent bar, she would guess she wasn’t the first vampire who had been imprisoned here. She stared at the scars on the wall above her head and blinked back tears. A camera watched her from across the garden. She would not cry. She would not scream. She would hide from the sun and give Viktor a chance to find her.
Stupid fledgling vampire strength. If the others couldn’t break out of here, then she had little chance.
Sunlight crept closer.
Knees to chest, she pressed farther into the corner, running out of space. Her heart drummed so hard it hurt. Maybe the tattoo Jade had given her would work? The dhampir had said to trust her.
Tentatively, Trixie reached forward with her hand. Time was running out. She bit her bottom lip, blood coated her tongue. She would not cry. She would not scream. She would not give that bitch, Sybil, the satisfaction.
The sunlight caressed her fingertips and smoke rose from her skin.
He spun a slow circle and noticed many monitors on the desk. A security post.
“Trixie!” He heard Chris’ shout from the depths of the house, but Viktor could not respond.
His voice was frozen. He touched one of the screens with his fingertips. “No.” The word a graveled plea. Trixie huddled against a wall, hiding in the fading shade. Sunlight was almost upon her.
“Christopher,” he shouted. Viktor could not save her. He would be a torch before he could even reach her. But the wolf could. “Christopher.” His bellow echoed in the building.
The alpha appeared in full beast form. Eight feet tall, a creature of death, coated in muscle, fur and claws.
Viktor pointed at the door. “Through there.” Viktor tore his jacket off. “Cover her with this before carrying her back in.”
Together they attacked the thick metal door until it groaned and bent and shattered outward.
At the last minute, Chris shoved Viktor back inside before he tumbled out into full daylight. The alpha had saved him. He fell back into the room on his ass, his gaze on the television.
Blood trickled from the corner of Trixie’s mouth. She stared defiantly at the camera. He twisted toward the exit. He should see Christopher on the television. He turned back and checked the screen again, but could not see the alpha. “No, no, no.” He rose to his knees, watching the sun touch the edges of her gown.
The alpha charged back inside. “I can’t find her. It’s just a garage. Parked cars and shit.” His chest heaved, searching for air, gaze riveted to the screen. “Viktor.”
“I know.” He could not turn away. His existence would end today. Everything beautiful and good in the world was about to burn before his eyes.
Christopher stormed across the room. He tore the monitor off the wall with an animal roar and tossed it against the floor.
Metal shards and broken glass bounced off Viktor. He sank to the floor on his back among the sharp debris and stared at the ceiling. “You should not have done that.” Chris was trying to be merciful but now she would die alone.
The alpha fell to his knees next to him. “I can’t watch her burn.”
It did not matter. Nothing did. Not anymore. Viktor had wanted to show her the world, explore the night, and see it all again through Trixie’s eyes. He rolled to his feet, blood trickling along his back. Instead, he would destroy this nest one at a bloody time. An inhuman growl rolled off his tongue. Storming from the room, he headed toward the wing that housed the nest’s bedrooms.
“Viktor.” Christopher followed on his heels. “Don’t do this, man. She wouldn’t want it.” The werewolf jumped onto his back, dragging him down.
Bloodlust burned in his veins. It made him strong. He would drink this city dry and kill them all. This time not even a dragon could stop him.
A young woman, skeletal and frail, scurried into the room from the basement stairs.
Strong clawed arms wrapped around Viktor as Christopher struggled to hold him back. “Jade, get out of here. I can’t hold him much longer.”
Jade cupped her hands around her mouth and shouted over Viktor’s ear piercing snarls. “She’s not dead. I tried to tell you, Chris, but you ran out of your cell so fast.”
“What?” the alpha shouted back.
The stranger crossed the room, grabbed Viktor by the ears, and shouted straight in his face. “Trixie’s not dead.”
He backhanded her against the wall.
The alpha shook him. “She’s okay, Viktor.” He punched him. “She’s alive.” He glanced at the girl. “Are you all right?”
Viktor staggered back, hope a flickering flame of light in the darkness that threatened to drown him. “Trixie lives? How?”
Chris punched him in the face again.
“Stop it,” he snarled. “I heard you.” He shoved the alpha off.
Christopher pointed to the girl. “This is Jade. She’s the dhampir who does those fucking tattoos.” He blocked Viktor’s path. “Don’t hit her again.”
“Trixie is in the solarium. Follow me.” With Christopher’s aid, she rose to her feet and hurried from the room with both of them on her heels.
“What’s the solarium?” asked the wolf.
“An inner garden and Sybil’s testing grounds.”
“I saw Trixie on the television. The sun—” Viktor’s throat locked, the words stuck. “The sun was about to touch her.”
“I know.” The dhampir paused in front of a wall. She pushed back one of the wooden rosettes in the moldings and inserted a key into a hidden lock. “I found these down in the dungeon. I’ve seen the soldiers use them on this door.” It wouldn’t turn. She tried another. “One of these must work.”
Viktor punched through the wall. “Then we go the hard way.”
“Stop.” She shouted as plaster and dust showered her face. “I gave her the proper tattoo. And you might break the fucking mechanism that opens this door.” The fourth key clicked and a section of the wall slid outward. “Careful.” She pushed him away and then opened the door completely.
Sunlight spilled into the mansion and Viktor fell back, hope punching through his diaphragm to grip his heart.
In a golden halo, his Trixie stepped out of the sunlight. Her radiant skin sunburned and smoking, but she was alive.
Crushing her to his chest, he breathed her in. “My heart,” he whispered. “My Trixie.”
She cupped his face between her hands. “Beautiful man, you’re squeezing me too hard. I’m a little on the crispy side.”
He loosened his hold. “I thought…” She should be dead. Looking at the burns on her skin, he saw she would have been in a few more minutes.
“So did I.” She laughed and threw her arms in the air. “I didn’t go up like a Roman candle.”
He drew one of her arms closer, brushing his fingertips over her already healing skin that no longer smoked. “The tattoo worked.”
“Sort of. I don’t think I could have stayed out there all day. I won’t lie, it hurt, but I’m alive.”
He spun on the dhampir. Fury burned in his veins. “You.” Any misgiving he had about handing Jade over to the alpha for punishment was gone. Actually, on second thought, Christopher would have to wait his turn until Viktor was done with her.
Trixie blocked his path to the dhampir. “Wait, she was coerced into this by Sybil.”
Trixie and Christopher explained Jade’s unfortunate situation.
The alpha extended his hand to the dhampir. “Come on, Jade. Let’s go free your mom.”
Jade pressed herself to the alpha’s back as he led her away.
Trixie unzipped her gown and exposed her lower back. An intricate symbol was tattooed on her skin forming a lacy circle.
He traced it. “Sybil told me this was her ultimate goal. For vampires to walk in the sun.”
“The spell isn’t perfect. I’m not sunbathing anytime soon. It was more like I was slow roasting.”
Viktor grimaced. “It is better than going up in flames in seconds.” He touched her face, memorizing every detail. He could scarcely breathe. His mind could not even brush the thought of losing Trixie.
She pressed her lips to his. The intimate act started slow and tender then her hand caressed the nape of his neck, gripping hard. The kiss grew deeper and more desperate.
He fisted her hair, pulling her head back, opening her to him. She surrendered so willingly.
Someone coughed. “Get a room.” The alpha returned, carrying the dark magic spell book. He was still in beast form. “There has to be an empty one that you can use in this place.”
“There are plenty,” said a woman Jade was helping walk. Viktor assumed it was her vampire mother since they looked so much alike. That Sybil would abuse one of their rare children was reason enough to have destroyed her.
The vampire lifted her face and pushed back her tangled hair.
“Lauren.” Viktor pulled a chair over to his old friend and helped her sit. “I never realized you had a child.” He had known Lauren since he had taken over the city. She was one of the original nest members.
Lauren beamed at Jade. “I kept my sweet girl a secret to protect her from Sybil. Where is the sadist? I have a stake with her name on it.”
“Mother.” Jane ran her hand over her face. “I think we’ve witnessed enough death.”
Viktor glanced over his shoulder at Trixie, reassuring himself that she hadn’t been a mirage. His lover had almost been another victim. His frown deepened as he returned his attention to the other woman. “Sybil is dead.” He left out the details. “I did not recognize many of the vampires in the nest. Most of them seem new.”
Lauren nodded. “Tell him everything, Jade.”
“Mother…”
“He is the Master of the city. How can he help if he doesn’t know the truth?”
The dhampir looked away. “Sybil thought the older vampires would be more resilient since they are—were so powerful.”
Lauren snorted. “She killed them on purpose. Made my girl use the others as test subjects so she could be rid of any rivalry. The only reason I’m still alive was to control Jade.”
“Rebellion?” He shook his head. Viktor had known of Sybil’s animosity toward him, but that was personal. He had not known she had infected the nest with it.
“Not a rebellion. Sybil hadn’t the power yet.” Jade set her hand on her mother’s shoulder. “Many of the older vampires, the ones most loyal to you, questioned Sybil about using me and that awful book.”
“Then we agree about something at last.” Chris held up the book. “This is bad news and needs to burn.”
“No,” shouted both Jade and Lauren.
The alpha bared his long, sharp canines. Viktor did not think he heard the word no often. “I don’t understand. It’s evil. You said you hated it.”
Jade pressed her hand to the black cover. “The more I used the book, the stronger our bond grew. Now my life is tied to it. If you destroy the book, you will kill me as well.” She glared up at the alpha. “Don’t look at me like that. It wasn’t my choice.”
Christopher bowed his head, almost touching the top of Jade’s with his nose. “Then the book stays with me. Nobody uses it. Including you.”
She gasped. “But…”
“No buts.” He shook his shaggy head. “I can’t allow black magic in Riverbend unsupervised. It stays locked and secure with the pack so it doesn’t hurt anyone again.”
Jade let her fisted hands fall to her side.
“It’s for the best.” Viktor had half-expected the alpha to burn it anyway, but he trusted Christopher to keep his word. He had so far. Viktor glanced at Lauren. “Have any of the other original members of the nest survived?”
She slowly shook her head. “As far as I know, I’m the last.”
He nodded. “These young vampires need strong leadership. Someone to keep them safe and in line. The nest is yours if you would accept it.” He could not do it. His control was slipping already. The dragon was right—he wasn’t ready to be among people.
Lauren grasped Jade’s hand as her daughter came to stand behind her. “Together, we will make this nest a haven for our kind again.”
Trixie yawned. “Sorry.” She blushed. “It’s way past my bedtime.”
“My fledgling tires. I will take your leave until tonight. Rest well.” He bowed.
“You will need to feed?” Jade asked.
Trixie came to stand next to him. “I don’t think you fed since Carlos, Viktor. You really should.”
That would explain his increased violent reactions. His incompetence to keep track was his weakest trait. Things had been happening so quickly since his arrival in Riverbend and he had grown dangerously distracted. “Do you have anything available?”
“Normally, yes, but with the ball, I doubt there is much left.” Jade held out her arm. “You can use me. I’m half human. I can sustain you, at least until we can have something delivered.”
It was a generous offer, a tempting one, but the girl was too weak. He would not steal her strength if he could help it. “No, I can wait a little longer.”
He was the oldest and strongest vampire in the tri-city area. Of course, he could wait until he returned home.