Fate Of The Minotaur (Her Dragon's Bane 5) (5 page)

“That was wonderful,” said Serena. “Now we should be getting back. I’ve left Connor in charge of the baby.”

Charlotte laughed. “That little man can already wrap his daddy around his little finger.”

“I know. They are two big kids together. Wait until they start to fly together.”

The two women got up to leave. Sybil rose to and followed them outside. “Thank you for your concern. If I see anything that will help you, then I will tell you.”

“Of course.” Serena looked at Fin, standing protectively at Sybil’s shoulder. “Look after our Fin, won’t you?”

“I will.” She turned and smiled at Fin. “I think I am ready for my first lesson now.”

“If you need anything, let us know. In fact, I should send Connor over with some wooden stakes. We have hundreds of them in the woodshed. He became a little bit compulsive about making them.”

“Don’t worry. We can make some this evening. Thank you all the same, though,” Sybil said. What was wrong with her? She wanted to spend as much time alone with Fin as she could. She was attracted to him, wanting to know all of his secrets and about all of his long life. However, she knew she would need to gain his confidence first, and there was no time for that. She needed to learn to fight, and quickly, because the world was moving, the undead rising, and she had to act soon or else they would be lost. She hadn’t lied to Serena and Charlotte. The events she saw in her head were not concerning the dragons. Not directly anyway, but they did affect the rest of the human race. Each and every one of them.

She stood before him, a wooden stake in her hand. But no matter how fierce she tried to make her face, she still looked so soft and feminine, so vulnerable. It was unthinkable for her to be going anywhere near a vampire. The blood-sucking undead should never be in the same world as something so beautiful, so pure.

“I’m ready,” she said.

He went towards her slowly; the last thing he wanted to do was hurt her with his big bulky body. If he hit her too hard, he was convinced she would break. But as he lunged at her, she sidestepped quicker than he anticipated and he went sprawling to the floor, overbalancing before he could right himself.

“Listen, Fin,” she said, holding her hand out to help him up. “I am not going to face them in slow motion. You have to take this seriously. I am not playing at protecting myself.”

He heaved himself to his feet, not needing the help of her hand, but taking it all the same. The feel of her soft skin on his sent waves of confusion through his body.

“I’m sorry. I just don’t want to hurt you.”

“But you’re teaching me how to defend myself against creatures who want to kill me. So you have to teach me properly.”

“I just hoped you would never have to face them, that I would be capable of protecting you always.”

“Fin,” she said, standing on her tiptoes and placing her hand on his cheek, spreading fire through his body. She had no idea of the effect her touch had on him. “I know that is what you would do if you could. But you cannot be by my side twenty-four hours a day.” She leaned forward and pressed her lips to his. “But I appreciate the thought that you would be, if you could. But sometimes we have to accept that what we would like to happen isn’t what will actually happen. If my dreams show me one thing, it is that things happen outside of our control. Whether we want them to or not. Because we do not control other people. One wrong turn on a busy street can cause death and destruction, a pilot may choose that he wishes to die and take everyone else with him. Wrong place, wrong time, there is nothing to be done to prevent it.”

“Have you ever tried?”

“To prevent things I see?” She nodded. “Yes. No one listens. No one wants to know.”

“The vampires do.”

“Yes. And the dragons.”

“Will you tell me what you saw?” he asked, ready for her to refuse him again.

She went to the veranda and sat down on the swing seat there. He followed, sitting close to her but not daring to touch her, although he wanted to, so very much.

“The vampires are split. One faction is going to move against the other.”

“What happens?”

“Bad things.”

“Can you change the outcome?”

“What if I do and worse things happen?”

“Surely your gift is sent to you for a reason.”

“I used to believe that. But when no one listens, what is the point? And then people began to think I was mad. My mom even had me exorcised.”

He frowned, not really knowing what that meant. “I’m sorry,” he said anyway, because by the look on her face it was not a good thing.

“I was six years old. At that moment, I decided it was best to lie. To say they never happened anymore. But then the weight of those lives you could have saved start to weigh upon you. That’s why Spellholm is such a perfect place for me. I have no TV, no radio and never look at a newspaper. So I began to persuade myself that these dreams are just that. Dreams.”

“And now this vampire had made them real again.”

“Yes.” She stood suddenly. “Let’s fight.”

“Very well,” he said resignedly.

They sparred for an hour; he had to admit that she moved quickly and surely on her feet. Her aim was true and her courage strong. His fears for her began to fade. But then, he didn’t know what she had planned. How could he ever think that she would be brave enough to walk into the lions’ den?

She let him lie with her, hating that he would be left defenceless outside. When he lay next to her, she turned and kissed him once more. Wanting more than anything to make love to him, to tell him what was about to happen was not his fault. But she couldn’t. Instead, she kissed his lips and told him, “I want to thank you for everything you have done.”

“I only want you to be safe.”

“I understand that.”

“We were lucky; whoever hunted you yesterday must have given up for now.”

“Perhaps he has run out of gargoyles.” She kissed him again, feeling the press of his erection against her thigh. His tongue ran along her lower lip, igniting desire deep inside her. Why couldn’t she just accept this? Why did she have to choose this moment to take control of her prophecies?

Even when his eyes closed, his lids heavy from the herbs she had added to his meal, which would make him sleep for at least twelve hours, she didn’t move. Again and again, she questioned her need to do this. Why now, did she decide to get involved with people? When she looked at Fin again, she knew the answer. He had chosen to protect her, despite not knowing a thing about her. This was her way of returning that kindness.

Rising, she went to her closet and pulled out some warm clothes. Then she dressed, going to the bed, leaning over to kiss the top of his head and saying, “Sweet dreams, Fin.”

She pulled the covers over him, placing her hand on him, feeling the rise and fall of his chest. Then she turned and left, with no backward glance to question her resolve. Downstairs, she made sure everything was secure and then went out of the back door, locking it securely behind her. Across the small clearing and into the woods, she headed in what she hoped was the direction of Hollowton. All she had to go on was the images of her dream, which were, as always, incredibly clear, down to the feeling of unease that covered her as she approached the outskirts of the town.

It had taken her over two hours to walk here, and as she put her foot on the road, she felt the incredible weight of her decision on her shoulders. She had to find the right house, or she wouldn’t be alive for very much longer. Already she could hear movement in the distance, a whispering as if dry grasses rubbed together in the autumn breeze.

Across the road she ran, looking for the distinct carvings on the door of the house she needed. Nothing, and still the whispers grew louder. Quickening her pace, she moved from door to door, then onto the next street. It had to be here, she couldn’t be doing this for nothing. In her hand, she felt the small prick of the knife she carried against her skin. If they caught her, this would be her end. There was no way she was going to become one of these creatures. Her plan was to end her life before they bit her, if she became cornered. She closed her eyes and pushed the image of her death from it. That was just her imagination, not a vision. As far as she knew, her fate was still her own. She reached the door of the next house, and was about to move on, when she looked up and saw something. Not the thing she had been looking for: instead, on the roof, hanging down and watching her, were two more gargoyles like the ones that had chased her. Along the roof were two empty spaces where their brothers used to sit. This was the house; she knew it.

Quickly, she lifted the knocker on the door, but before she could let it go, a hand touched her shoulder. She turned, caught by one of the undead. His eyes, red and aflame with hunger. looked down on her, mesmerising her. The iron ring fell from her hand, echoing through the house behind her. Yet it was too late, the knife useless in her hand, as the creature of darkness bent to sink his teeth into her neck.

“She is my guest, Raoul. You have no claim to her.” A voice, so forceful, so commanding, came from the now-open door behind her.

“I found her first,” hissed Raoul.

“She is my guest,” said the voice again, adding a little more menace.

“Mine,” Raoul hissed.

In one swift movement, Sybil was freed and Raoul was flung back against the house opposite. He got up and made to move towards her, but then thought better of it. It seemed even faced with fresh meat in front of him, Raoul wasn’t so lost to his hunger to risk the wrath of this other vampire. But that didn’t comfort Sybil. Raoul was terrifying enough, so what this new vampire was going to be like, she dreaded.

Yet knowing she had to face him, she turned and looked at her saviour of sorts. And was stunned by what she saw. He was so tall, his eyes aglow, making him look like the devil, his hunger evident in those eyes. And then he took control of himself and the glow faded, with only a flicker to show he wasn’t human. But what a human he must have been, his dark hair worn unfashionably long, curling at the ends; he looked like a swarthy pirate, almost, yet there was a refinement to him that spoke of manners and a good upbringing.

“Sybil, my dear. I am blessed that you came to me.” He looked up and down the street and then said, “Come in quickly. You will be safe inside.”

“Will I?” she asked.

He looked slightly offended, and then he smiled and said, “I give you my word.”

“And that should make me feel safe?”

“I might be dead, but I still have my honour,” he said, making her feel guilty at offending him.

A whispering began behind her again, and she decided that she had little choice. This vampire was probably untrustworthy, but he knew who she was, and hopefully that meant she had at least some value to him. It might keep her alive, whereas out in the street meant certain death at the hands—or teeth—of Raoul.

She stepped inside and he shut the door quickly, barring it with an iron bar that would no doubt hold out an army. The coolness of the building gave her chills despite her warm coat, and she knew that daylight had not entered these rooms for eons. The question remained whether she would ever see sunlight again, or had she entered a tomb from which she would never leave.

“I would offer you something to drink. I have wine.”

“No, thank you,” she said. “I think it would be best if I stayed completely in control of my faculties.”

He smiled that dazzling smile again. “You are so sweet, so naive; to think that a drop of wine will make any difference to what happens to you here. Please.” He led her to another room, the walls and ceilings decorated with paintings, the furniture carved from mahogany, rich and dark like her guest.

Despite her protest, he poured her a glass of deep red wine. Having accepted it, she took a sip, marvelling at the richness and glad for the warmth it spread through her body. “Thank you.”

“My pleasure. No, really it is. I know it’s the finest wine, but there is no one to drink it. No one to enjoy it. So to see someone, alive, take a first sip and feel the richness of such a valuable vintage is pleasing to my mind.”

“Why did you send your gargoyles?”

He started at her abruptness. “What has become of the human race, if there are no pleasantries before we get down to business?”

“This is not a social call. You sent your creatures for me. Why?”

He turned from her and strolled away. With his back still to her, he looked out of the boarded-up window. She wondered if he imagined what it was like to look out on the daylight, to see flowers and trees in anything other than twilight.

“I hoped they would bring you to me in the daylight. That way your coming could have been kept from those I have some problems with.”

“You could have just asked.”

“And you would have come to the vampire’s lair?” With only a faint whisper in the air, he was there in front of her, his breath, so cold on her throat. “You are brave, Sybil. But not that brave.”

“I’ve come now.”

“Yes, you have. Which makes me feel you have something to tell me. The same thing I need to hear. I was told of you. Imagine.
A Sybil
being here in Spellholm.”

She stood her ground when every atom in her body raged at her to run away, to put as much distance as she could between her and this predator who was only a breath away from turning her into one like himself. “Is that why you tried to kidnap me?”

“
Kidnap
. It’s such a violently ugly word. What I did was for your own good. You are only safe by my side. When the others know what you have seen, then they will be searching for you until they find you. And then they would snuff you out.”

“Why?”

“Because what you have seen in that exquisite head of yours is too valuable. You are the key, Sybil. But then you know that, don’t you?”

“Some people think more highly of themselves than others.”

He laughed, a sexy sound if ever she had heard one. And she wondered what he had been like in life. Terribly irresistible. Had that been his downfall? “I like you, Sybil, I really do. Unlike that seer who belongs to the dragons, you have a warmth and humility that I used to find incredibly hard to find even in life.”