Cain's Identity (Scanguards Vampires Book 9) (31 page)

She looked around, turning her head as much as she could in her position, and perused her surroundings. It was dark, but her vampire vision had no problem figuring out where she was: in a crypt, chained to a ledger stone, a large flat stone placed above a grave.

Trying to calm herself, she fought to be rational. Abel was nowhere in sight, which most likely meant he’d left her here to rot. But she knew that Cain would be looking for her. She had to help him find her.

She collected her thoughts and sent a mental message to him.
Cain! Cain, help me.

Almost instantly she felt warmth gather in her mind and a voice reply to her.

Faye, my love! You’re alive!

She sighed a breath of relief. Cain had heard her.

I’m locked up.

Where are you?

In a crypt.

Do you know where?

She shook her head.
Abel knocked me out. I don’t know where he brought me to.

Can you read any of the names on the gravestones?

I’m chained to one.
She looked around once more, focusing her eyes.
Oh, shit!

What?

Her heart thundered and her palms felt clammy all of a sudden.
There are mirrors all around me.
She hadn’t instantly noticed them, because she wasn’t reflected in any of them, and no light was shining onto them.

Mirrors, what the hell?

She twisted on the slab.
Everywhere
, she confirmed.

Can you find any names at all? We have to know which cemetery you’re at. There are too many in New Orleans.

Faye twisted her body, contorting it, trying to bend to the side so she could peak at the ledger stone beneath her. Her wrists burned from the silver, making her hiss in pain. But she didn’t allow it to deter her from her mission. She had to find out where she was.

Faye! Please!

Tears shot to her eyes, but she swallowed them and shifted farther to the side, exposing a portion of the slab. She focused her eyes.

M,
she thought.
A name starting with M.

She sucked in a breath, twisting further.
MON.
She exhaled sharply.
MONT. That’s all I can see.

Then she relaxed back onto the slab and her eyes wandered up the wall to the ceiling. Her heart stopped.

“Oh, God, no!”

You have to hurry, Cain! You have to find me! There’s a hole in the wall and another in the ceiling. When the sun comes up, it will shine right onto me.

And the mirrors would make absolutely sure that any ray entering the crypt would hit her, no matter at what angle it entered. The sun wouldn’t have to be at its peak to do damage.

Oh, God!

“Well, hello, look who’s awake.” Abel’s menacing voice came from behind her.

Faye twisted her head and saw him emerge from behind one of the mirrors. She made a mental note that the exit had to lie behind it.

The laugh that rolled over his lips chilled her to the bone and made her shiver. And the way he was dressed made him look like the devil. He was clad in Kevlar gear from top to bottom, his hands covered in dark leather gloves, his feet in heavy boots. In one hand he carried a motorcycle helmet with a polarized shield.

“Looks like the witch’s brew is more potent when swallowed.”

“Abel.”

“Yes, Faye. It’s me, but then you knew that all along, didn’t you? You never trusted me.”

He was right. Deep down she’d never been able to trust him, though until Cain’s return he’d never done anything to warrant her hesitation to open up to him.

“Cain will kill you.”

“I’d be disappointed if he didn’t try. Now, let’s see if Cain loves you more than his kingdom.”

***

The partial name Faye had given him could only mean one thing. “She’s at the Montague crypt. Our family’s crypt. He has easy access to it.”

Cain looked over his shoulder at Haven who sat in the back seat. Wes was driving. Blake was riding in the second SUV with John and Nicolette. They’d split up and driven toward different sections of New Orleans to cover as large an area as possible once they got word of Abel’s position. But Thomas hadn’t been able to pinpoint Abel’s cell phone. He hadn’t replied to the text message Cain had sent from Baltimore’s phone, probably guessing that his minion had already been taken down.

“Where is that?” Haven asked.

“St. Louis Cemetery number 3. It’s on Esplanade Drive, just south of City Park.” He glanced at the dashboard’s clock. “We have less than twenty minutes till sunrise. I’ll drive, Wes!”

Cain reached for the steering wheel and motioned Wes to change seats with him. Through the opening between the two front seats Wesley squeezed into the back, while Cain jammed his foot onto the gas pedal and slid into the driver’s seat. He knew this city best and, right now, every second counted. They had to reach Faye before the sun had a chance to shine into the crypt.

“Call John and have them meet us there. He knows the crypt. Tell him Abel knocked a hole into the ceiling and the wall and chained Faye to a grave right below it.” The thought of what would happen to her if he didn’t get to her in time sent a shudder through his body.

“Shit!” Haven cursed. “Fucking asshole.” He pulled his phone out and called John. “John listen, we’ve got Faye’s location. Meet us . . .”

Cain didn’t listen to the rest of the conversation, because his own cell phone started ringing. He looked at the display. Abel, it said.

He answered it. “You—”

“Oh please, spare me the accusations. We have no time for that. You have about fifteen minutes to rescue your precious Faye, so let’s get down to business.”

Cain kicked the gas pedal down farther, accelerating the car to a speed of over eighty miles an hour on the almost deserted Lake Pontchartrain Causeway. To either side of the road was only water.

“What do you want?” he bit into the phone.

“You know what I want. My kingdom. It was always supposed to be mine. We agreed to it when we disposed of the old king.”

Cain remembered all too well that this had been the plan. “The people didn’t want you as their king. They chose me instead.”

“Because you played the hero. But this time they don’t get to choose. I’m going to be king. And you’ll make sure of it. Or Faye will burn to death. Is that what you want?”

“You harm one hair on her head and I’ll—”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah. Heard it all before. What are you trying to do, bore me to death?” An evil chuckle came through the line. “Now listen carefully. You’ll pull all your men off the palace grounds instantly. That includes all members of your personal guard. Call me when it’s done.”

“You must be out of your mind! The Mississippians are still in the area. It would leave the palace undefended.”

“But that’s the whole point, isn’t it? It’s called killing two birds with one stone. Victor will get what’s coming to him. And don’t play any games, or I’ll play games with your bride. I have somebody watching the palace to make sure you comply.”

A click in the line confirmed that Abel had disconnected the call.

“Shit,” Cain cursed. Why would his brother make the palace vulnerable to the attack of the Mississippians? He had to know that they would take over the moment the guards had left. But he couldn’t worry about what Abel had meant with his cryptic remark about the leader of the Mississippi clan. Faye was more important than his kingdom.

“I heard it,” Haven confirmed. “Do what he says. It’ll buy us some time. How much longer to the cemetery?”

“Five minutes.”

“I’ll call Thomas,” Haven said. “Wes, you’d better come up with some spell to help us out.”

***

The cemetery still lay in darkness, but at the horizon Cain could already see the new day dawning. He jumped from the car.

“There should be protective gear in the back,” he called out to Haven and opened the trunk. Haven rushed to his side and together they rifled through the items at their disposal: one dark jacket, one hoodie, and gloves.

“Shit.” He looked at Haven. “You’ll have to stay here. I need the jacket for Faye.”

Cain pulled on the hoodie, snatched the jacket, and slipped the gloves on while already running into the cemetery, his eyes searching for John’s SUV. But it hadn’t arrived yet. Cain barreled down the main path. He hadn’t been here in decades, but he remembered the location of his family crypt well.

The crypt, which looked like a small chapel from the outside, stood at the far end of the cemetery, its walls a good twelve feet high and surrounded by a cast iron gate to prevent vandals from defacing the stones.

Faye, I’m here.

Her response came a moment later.
Hurry, the sun, I can sense it rising.

Every vampire had that same sense, a survival instinct. It sent a warning signal through Cain’s body now, letting him know that in a moment the sun would breach the horizon and the first rays would turn night into day.

Watch out! Abel is close.

Faye’s warning came just in time. The sound of a motorcycle’s engine revving up came from behind the crypt. Cain’s head whirled to it and he saw a dark figure on the bike, navigating through the tight path between the Montague crypt and the grave on its left. Cain charged into the path of the motorcycle, facing it head-on as the rider, whose face was hidden behind a helmet, tried to get past him.

Cain reached for the handlebar and jerked it to the side, making the bike lose its footing on the gravel beneath its wheels. While the bike’s front wheel slammed against Cain’s leg, pushing him to the ground, the biker hurtled toward him, landing on Cain’s chest.

Despite the disguise, Cain could identify his brother’s aura.

Cain blocked his brother’s first strike with his forearm, then kicked him off and rolled to the side, jumping to his feet in the same movement. He whirled to face him, but Abel had jumped up just as quickly. He’d always been agile. Cain charged at him, tackling him and slamming him against the wrought iron fence surrounding the crypt. The iron moaned under the impact, giving a little.

Abel grunted and fought back, his fists flying at Cain’s unprotected face, knocking his head sideways and making his vertebrae crack audibly. Abel used the time this bought him to push himself away from the fence. But Cain caught himself quickly and landed an uppercut underneath Abel’s chin, the only portion of his head that wasn’t protected by his helmet.

Abel’s head whipped back for only an instant, Cain’s blow having done no damage. Furious, Cain aimed at his brother’s neck, but the gloves impeded his claws from slicing into the part of Abel’s flesh that was exposed. His upper body was protected too well. The heavy Kevlar vest was practically impenetrable.

Cain reached for the knife on his belt when a blow to his shoulder ripped him to the side. A ray of sun hit his face that instant and made him cry out in pain. Whirling back to Abel and turning his back to the rising sun, he finally gripped his knife and pulled it from its sheath. He aimed low.

While his knife drove into Abel’s thigh, his brother ripped the hoodie off Cain’s head, exposing it to the sun. He felt the heat as if somebody was aiming a flamethrower at him.

The scent of Abel’s blood and Cain’s burning hair mingled. Clenching his jaw, Cain’s hand jerked up, trying to drive the knife underneath Abel’s chin, but his brother’s arm blocked him just before it reached its target.

Cain! The sun! Help me!

Faye’s mental cry for help pierced his head.

“Nooooo!” he cried out.

A second later, Abel’s fist knocked the knife from Cain’s hand.

“Help me! Cain!” Faye’s muffled cry now came from the crypt.

He had no choice. He had to save Faye. Abel knew it, too, if the evil laugh behind his helmet was anything to go by.

Killing his brother would have to wait. Cain freed himself from his brother’s grip and raced past him, vaulting himself over the iron gate.

The lock on the crypt was broken. He pushed it open and charged into the interior. Light was already entering from the hole in the side of the building that faced east. It hit the many mirrors lined along the walls of the crypt.

“Faye!”

Faye lay on a stone slab in the middle of it, trying to twist away from the rays of the sun already hitting her. But the chains around her wrists and ankles prevented her from moving.

Her gaze shot to him. “Cain!” Tears streamed down her face and pain was evident in her features.

“Oh, God, no!”

Rushing toward her, he noticed to his horror that in his fight with Abel he’d lost the jacket he’d brought for her. He had nothing to cover her with. He pulled his dark hoodie off and threw it over her, covering her face and upper torso as best he could.

But the rays of the sun continued to shine onto her, hurting her. Just as the sun started to burn his own body. Yet he couldn’t think of himself now. He had to rescue Faye.

“Hold on, baby!” he called out to her as he kicked his leg against one of the mirrors, shattering it into a thousand pieces.

“Cain!”

Her cries continued, the smell of burned flesh and hair becoming stronger now, as he aimed at the next mirror and smashed that one too. He felt his movements slow down as he destroyed the third mirror, but he couldn’t give up. He would save Faye or die trying.

His next kick barely cracked the mirror. His strength was draining from him as more and more of his body covered with blisters and began to smolder. Recognizing that his own life was lost, only one thought counted now: he had to keep Faye alive long enough until his friends would arrive to help.

With his last strength, he ran to the center of the crypt and jumped onto her, covering her with his body to shelter her from the sun.

“I love you, Faye. I’ll always love you.”

Tears stung in his eyes and pain radiated down his spine as he took the full brunt of the sun’s rays.

Darkness suddenly fell over the crypt, and he knew his end was coming. He would die in her arms.

“Cain,” she sobbed.