Love is Darkness (A Valerie Dearborn Novel) (39 page)

What did that mean
? Was it an apology for denying
to save
her? Marion had brought her here expecting Lucas to keep her safe. If he lost, she’d still walk out of here alive and he’d said no. If he died tonight, so did
she
. Did he really think a friendly gesture, like patting a dog on the head was going to make her forgive that?
Fat fucking chance.

Here was another example of how stupid she'd been to believe him.
And then to let him do those things to her last night.
Let him? Okay, the truth was, she'd wanted him
—
 
bad
. She’d not only been an active participant but the aggressor.

To think she’d spent so long loving Jack from a distance, never having the
cajones
to do anything about it. And now she might die, and what had she accomplished?
Nothing.
All the time she’d spent running away from her destiny and she was still ass deep in vampires.

Full circle.
Back where I started.

She made a vow, if she got out of here alive she was going to make a change, Tina Turner style: kick the vampire to the curb and hound Jack until he gave their relationship a chance.

She'd wound up with nothing because she'd been so guarded. Lesson learned.

Her deep contemplations were interrupted by a burly vampire with curly hair and a scar down the side of his face. The first several vampires had sworn featly to Lucas. They’d approached the dais, given a little bow, said a few words about how great he was and how they’d follow him to the death,
 
but this one was different—
 
Bruce. It had to be.

The room became still and the weight of the vampires’ collective gaze was like a shimmer before her eyes. The heavily muscled vampire walked up to the throne and didn't bow. She saw Lucas’ shoulders straighten as he leaned slightly forward. A quick strain of thoughts and images came to her, muffled like someone was playing music but then they shut the window, cutting off the sound.
He won that fight in Verona…not in a fair fight.

What ‘not in a fair fight’, Val wondered desperately? Had Lucas lost to Bruce before? Was he so weak he thought Bruce could kill him?

Shit!
Val hadn’t really thought he could lose. Since the day she’d met him, he’d been larger than life. Bigger, stronger
—
 
invincible
. When he’d said he was
unkillable
she’d believed him, assumed it was true and never questioned it.

But Marion and Rachel didn’t seem to think he was invincible. Bruce was willing to fight Lucas to the death. He must think he had a chance. And with Lucas injured, maybe he had a good one.

Marion had said Bruce was a renowned fighter. His goal was to win, but failing that, to harm. They’d overwhelm Lucas with numbers, each contestant pecking at him, tearing him down so that by the time Marion had to fight him he’d be too weak to win.

“My liege.”
His voice was gravelly. Lucas inclined his head for him to continue. “We have walked this earth together for three hundred and fifty years. You were always reasonable. We all know how you have put the vampires first. Secured our place in the world, but the rumors
— ”
his gaze flicked to Marion, “say that you seek to bring back the wolves and the Fey. That you would create chaos, even jeopardize everything we fought for.” He lowered his head, deferential as he waited for Lucas to respond.

“You were not present when the Fey and the wolves roamed this world. You do not know, as I do, how our people have changed and lost because of their absence. Either you believe in me, as your Lord and Maker, or you Challenge me. If I am victorious I will do as I see fit. You must either fall in line or die.”

The man shook his head, still unwilling to look at Lucas but disturbed. His words were stilted, as though he wasn't usually prone to talking and wanted to make sure he had the words precise, nothing extra tossed into the world.
“My Lord.
Always you have had our interests at the forefront of your heart, but you are not the same as you were even a hundred years ago. We are not unaware of your weariness.”

Bruce looked at Valerie from under his lashes, “Happy I am that you think of creating a companion, but I fear it is not enough. Do you wish to kill us all?”

Valerie felt the uneasiness in the room encroaching upon her, constricting her chest like a snake. The crowd shifted uneasily while waiting for Lucas to respond.

None of the vampires seemed shocked by the question. Maybe his hold on the vampires was shaky. Lucas gestured for Bruce to be at ease and the man raised his head, staring intently at Lucas as he waited for his king to respond.

Lucas stood, descending the steps with inhuman swiftness. Bruce stepped backwards, trying to keep Lucas away from him. But Lucas moved forward in a small rush, slashing inhumanly fast, blood suddenly pouring from Bruce’s neck in heavy pulses. Bruce grabbed his throat, eyes wild, trying to keep his blood in his body.

Lucas reached for Bruce’s arm and pulled until the limb came away with a sloppy, aching sound. It was wet and deep, the pop of the bone resonating through Val unpleasantly, like she could feel the vibration of it in her body.

Lucas tossed the arm to Marion, who batted it away from her and tried to keep her composure while ensuring the arm didn’t land in her lap.

Blood spattered Lucas, dripping from his short hair as he lunged at Bruce again. The other arm came free, Bruce falling to the ground, totally shocked by the swiftness of the attack.

Shouldn’t someone have said “go”? Had she blinked and missed it?

Bruce was choking, saying something while Lucas stood over him,
waiting
for Bruce to die. He was like a little boy with an insect, taking him apart piece by piece.

Finally, when Val was one wet sound away from dry heaving, Lucas grabbed Bruce’s hair, raised his foot, rigid thigh muscles braced against the man's torso, and popped Bruce’s head off, tossing it onto the pile of limbs at his side.

As soon as his head came off, everything was silent.

No one moved or breathed. Bruce stopped moaning. His eyes were wide and then Valerie saw something terrible, something she knew she’d never forget.

Bruce blinked.

He was still alive.

Lucas snapped his fingers and a guard came forward holding a long wooden staff out to Lucas' waiting hand. With a casual move, like a gentleman tapping his cane against the sidewalk, he skewered Bruce through the heart, every piece of him turning to ash in a moment.

Lucas walked back to his throne and sat back down, as though nothing untoward had happened.

He settled himself, running a hand through his hair, pushing it off of his face, blood smearing in his golden locks. He looked at his bloody hand with mild distaste, wiping the blood onto his breeches.

“No. I do not want everyone dead,” he paused, “Come now, who will stand with Marion and Challenge me?” he said it in a happy voice, like he wanted dissent.

Some of the vampires let out shaky sighs. Moving again like a paused movie returned to play.

Marion leaned forward eagerly when the question was
asked,
waiting to see who would stand beside her, clearly hoping that no one had changed their minds about challenging Lucas.

Several men looked to Marion furtively before quickly glancing away. Val guessed that they had been the undecided ones, and after Lucas’ little display, they were not going to Challenge him. She wouldn’t. As far as torture went, he’d put the evil back in medieval.

Marion was furious, near vibrating in her chair as she stood and began to shout. “
Non
! It was not a fair fight. The Challenge had not yet begun. You killed him in cold blood!”

Lucas stood, turning to Marion, smile feral. “I don't see how that can be fixed now. As powerful as I am, you expect me to wait?
To play your petty games?
This is
mine
. Everyone here is
mine
! I killed the Fey and the wolves! I brought us out of the dark ages and made us prosper. No one takes from
me
.” The final words were furious and guttural.

They leaned forward to make sure they caught every syllable, most of the vampires falling out of their chairs to the ground, abasing themselves before him.

He’s a scary bastard and I almost slept with him!
Mortified, didn’t begin to cover it.

Marion shouted back at him, “You kill him because you are weak! Admit it, you may not win a fair fight and so you seek to evade the rules, clutching at the throne like a petty tyrant.” Her tone was bitter, but changed to placating and wise, “You are above this Lucas. Let your memory remain untainted. The greatest king who ever ruled does not go out as a
cheater
, as a shadow of the man you once were. Take your death with honor.”

Lucas chuckled darkly. “Your time will come, my dear. Pray you are right, that I cheat out of weakness rather than disgust at being bound by rules. Or else it will be your ashes in that fireplace.”

Lucas turned from her and hesitantly, another Challenger moved forward.

He was bald, with huge muscles and dark skin. He looked like a genie and Valerie became afraid. This man was just as deadly as Bruce except Lucas wouldn’t have the element of surprise, would have to fight him fairly.
 

Could he win?

The man was soulless, evil coming off of him in dark currents that polluted the air around him. He was a killer, a figure to inspire children to stay in bed, the threat that lurked in the dark.

“I challenge you because you deserve the final death. You took her from me and I'll kill you for it.”

Lucas was still for a bare moment then gave an ugly laugh.

“
Lucretia
?
You Challenge me because of that bitch? Good god! You are a fool. She could wipe out a village in a night and still want more. She was never satisfied...and she certainly wasn't satisfied by
you
.”

The bald man clenched his fists in rage, long white fangs extended as he hissed at Lucas angrily.

Lucas regarded him calmly, voice chill and flat. “She asked me to do it. She'd been your companion for only twenty, thirty years? But she welcomed me into her body and before she died, she thanked me.”

The bald man lunged forward, a beefy fist flying towards Lucas' face.

Lucas grabbed the man’s arm and threw him forward, using the man's momentum against him. The fight happened so quickly Valerie could barely see the individual movements, the two of them moving in flash choreography, like the fast flicker of a camera lens, each still a violent instant as they pummeled each other.

The man stumbled and Lucas kicked him in the back of the head before he could stand, neck snapping at an unnatural angel. The bald man shook it
off,
the terrible sound of bones grating against each other as they were forced back into place was like popcorn popping in the cavernous room.