No Rest for the Wicked (9 page)

he heard a whisper from within: “Did he just call her Katja? Cover the pups’ eyes. This

will be messy.” A glance back found the log stuffed with troll-like creatures. He’d never

even seen them.

At Sebastian’s approach, the wild-eyed male she’d been speaking with sank back into the

shadows.

“It’s important that I speak with you,” Sebastian told her.

“He wants to talk to her,” came another whisper from the log.

“Were you invited to this place?” Kaderin asked.

“No.”

She tilted her head. “Then how did you trace to a place that’s not on any known map? I

know you haven’t been here before.”

“It wasn’t that difficult,” he said, for some reason deciding not to reveal his feat. “I must

talk to you about what happened.”

From the log: “What happened with Lady Kaderin and a vampire? What sodding

happened?”

“Then you’ve wasted a trip. I’ve nothing to say to you.”

When the man in the shadows gave him a killing look, Sebastian did bare his fangs then—

it felt satisfying. He clenched his hands into fists to think that man had been sidling so

close to his Bride. But who wouldn’t when she was clothed in such a manner? “Why are

you dressed like this?”

“Oh, no, he didn’t.”

“He did!”

She quirked an eyebrow at Sebastian, then parted her red lips to give a casual hiss in the

direction of the log. They fell silent instantly.

Down in the gallery, the nymphlike women smirked and whispered about Kaderin

“slumming” with a vampire, “just like her sister.” Kaderin’s dark eyes widened as if she

were amazed by their temerity. She feinted as though she was about to jump down, and

they fled back into the oaks.

Sebastian’s attention returned to focus on Kaderin—

There was no time even to tense for the attack.

9

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) B owen lunged from the shadows, barreling into the vampire. As Kaderin watched his

furious charge, she only wondered why it had taken Bowen so long to attack, since the

Lykae were at war with the vampires. Maybe Sebastian’s clear eyes had thrown him, or

perhaps the fact that Sebastian didn’t smell like blood and death had confused Bowen.

In a tangle of flying fists and claws, they both slammed into a wall, shaking the solid

marble temple all around them. A crack surfaced in the dome’s skylight.

Sebastian shoved Bowen off and lunged for his throat with one hand. His other was a fist

shooting out. Bowen hit at the same time—they smashed each other’s face.

Kaderin didn’t see this winding down anytime soon. They were attractive, well-built

warriors—there were worse things to watch. She settled in, expecting to observe with

typical cool dispassion.

Punishing blows continued to connect from each. Sebastian was somehow holding his own

with Bowen. The gallery was abuzz with surprise. True, Bowen looked as if he’d lost a

stone of weight since the last time she’d seen him, but still...

Merely shaking off a Lykae’s punch to the jaw was unheard of.

They crashed over the railing just in front of Kaderin’s seat, plummeting to the ground

below. Sebastian didn’t trace, instead taking the impact. He was fighting a member of the

most physically powerful species in the Lore, and if he didn’t start sparing himself these

blows, Bowen would easily kill him.

On their feet again, they circled, eyeing each other for weaknesses, striking out in

intervals. Yes, Sebastian was taking the crushing blows, but he seemed to be

ambidextrous, hitting as squarely with his left fist as his right, cleverly aiming and spacing

his own as well.

Bowen had his deadly claws and speed, but Sebastian was skilled. Very skilled, she

determined, and he wasn’t even using his key advantage.

His lips were drawn back from his fangs in fury. His irises turned black, and his body

tensed, seeming to grow even larger. Immortal male... powerful male... She caught herself

leaning forward.

He was stronger than she’d ever imagined. Which meant he was more attractive than she’d

ever feared.

An image flashed in her mind of his massive body covering hers that morning. How tightly

his strong arms had wrapped around her as he rocked his hips into her...

She shivered and stared down in puzzlement when gooseflesh rose on her arms. That’s

new.

Bowen lashed out with his flared claws. Sebastian leapt back; Bowen’s claws rent through

the thick marble column as easily as through talc. Sebastian’s fist shot out, breaking

Bowen’s nose, just as Bowen slashed with his other hand.

He carved four deep furrows in Sebastian’s torso. Blood poured from both warriors.

Murmurs began in the gallery:

“They desecrate Riora’s sacred temple! She will be enraged.”

“Oh, gods, look at the marble. We are all beyond doomed.”

“Somebody put a plant in front of it!”

Kaderin sighed. And this was the world she belonged to.

Soon louder protests sounded. Riora was a diva who made Mariah Carey look meek.

Taking away the competition for spite wouldn’t be beyond her.

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) One of the new competitors asked, “But who could possibly break up a fight between a

Lykae and a vampire?”

All eyes fell on Kaderin.

“The witch could do it.” Kaderin’s tone was studiously bored as she flicked her hand at

Mariketa the Awaited. Mariketa was supposed to be one of the most powerful born into

the House of Witches in generations and apparently was here to compete even though she

couldn’t be more than twenty-two years old or so.

Not that you could tell her age from her appearance—she wore a hood and a cloak and a

glamour spell so thick it seemed shellacked on her. Which made Kaderin wonder what

kind of visage she was hiding.

The girl answered, “I can’t practice in another’s temple.”

Without the Hie, half of Kaderin’s life’s purpose would disappear. She sighed wearily,

then drew her sword from the sheath at her back as she dropped down. She sauntered

casually to the fight and dived down, springing up between them with her arms

outstretched, her sword pressed into Bowen’s chest, her claws positioned at Sebastian’s

throat.

Bowen snarled, pressing forward into the point. “Get the fuck out of the way, Valkyrie.

Clear eyes or no’, do you no’ ken what he is?”

Sebastian traced out of her grasp to her side, then shoved her behind him. He kept his arm

back and against her, leaving himself exposed to Bowen. She was so surprised by the

gesture that she allowed it, hiding a frown behind his broad back.

But then Bowen lunged, clenching his hands around Sebastian’s neck to twist his head off.

Sebastian used his free arm to go for Bowen’s throat, refusing to remove the arm at her

side.

Which made her want to crack a grin.

A male guarding her. How... novel.

She shook herself and clutched Sebastian’s protective arm to lean out from behind him.

“Bowen, you’re fighting in Riora’s temple,” she said. “If you continue this, you risk the

Hie.” Beneath her fingers, Sebastian’s muscles were tensed from the fight, his body

thrumming with power and heat. Seemingly helpless to stop herself, she inched closer to

him, enjoying the hell out of his scent. Now he bent his arm back to bring her in to his

body.

Why wasn’t she fighting him?

“I doona understand you, Kaderin,” Bowen bellowed.

She leaned to the side again. “No competition. She’ll take it away.”

“She would no’ do that. No’ over the death of a vampire.”

Kaderin nodded, and strangely, Bowen’s eyes went even more wide and wild, turning to

the ice-blue color of his beastly form. He released Sebastian, his flattened palms shooting

up. He seemed to curse himself in Gaelic.

A Lykae eager to end a fight before a kill? And while a vampire still had his throat

clutched in a death grip? This was indeed a week of firsts.

“Let him go, Sebastian,” Kaderin said. “You must.”

“Finish this,” Sebastian demanded of Bowen, biting out the words.

Bowen just wiped his face on his sleeve. “I will no’. No’ now.” As soon as Sebastian

released him, he backed away, hands still raised.

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) She couldn’t imagine that Bowen had ever backed down from a fight before. He was a

proud alpha male, and he’d been trained from childhood to kill vampires. How much he

must want this prize.

Bowen dropped back into the shadows, eyes glowing.

When Sebastian moved to follow him, she said, “No, you have to let him go.”

Sebastian turned to her, and she had to stifle a wince at finding that he was insufferably

sexy fresh from the fight. His muscled chest heaved with exertion and was marked with

bravely earned injury.

Too bad he won’t scar, she thought, sheathing her sword.

“You desire me to let him go?” With a brief glance down at his ghastly injuries, he said

calmly, “I tend to punish slights like these.” Such an understatement rumbled in his deep

voice.

He’d held his own against Bowen. And had been ready for more.

Warrior. Immortal. I’ve never made love to an immortal.

Sebastian’s gaze kept flickering over her, as though still starved for the sight of her.

Without warning, he grasped her arm and traced her to the darkened balcony once more.

“Don’t ever put yourself in danger like that again,” he said to her.

She looked into his eyes, and the floor seemed to wobble. “Y-you traced me?” Dizziness.

Her first trace. Trippy. “That wasn’t very considerate.”

“I should have warned you, Katja.”

In another instant, the entire world seemed to go off-kilter—sights and sounds and even

the beat of her heart were different...

Oh, gods, Kaderin was feeling again—and there was no denying it now.

She swayed slightly, but he still held her arm. Sc-sc-screwed.

As though she’d been scoured clean with icy water, the blessing was... gone. Utterly.

She released a pent-up breath, accepting what she instinctively knew was true: it was

Sebastian who brought out her feelings. There was no capricious power toying with her,

no new spell. It was simply... him.

And she wanted to scream to the sky in frustration, because she didn’t understand why.

The Valkyrie didn’t believe in chance, in randomness. So what could it possibly mean

when the pull of a vampire could ignite emotions, that had been stamped out so

completely, and for so long?

As she gazed up at Sebastian, she experienced her newest emotion. Dread.

10

K aderin had that bomb blast look again, and he wondered if tracing had done that to her.

He mentally kicked himself for not anticipating this.

Out of the corner of his eye, Sebastian spied beings easing up the stairs to eavesdrop on

them. He stepped in front of her and bared his fangs at them. They scattered.

When he turned back, she seemed to be growing less distressed.

“Kaderin, never get in the middle of a fight as you did. I had that under control.”

“Did you, then?” she asked in an inscrutable tone. “He’s a Lykae who had not yet

unleashed the beast inside him.” When his brows drew together, she said, “A Lykae, a

werewolf?”

“Then what would happen? He’d become a forest wolf?”

She eyed his hand until he released her. “You wouldn’t be that fortunate.” Then, speaking

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) absently as though recalling a memory, she murmured, “The Lykae call it ‘letting the beast

out of its cage.’ He would have grown a foot taller, and his claws and fangs would have

shot longer and grown razor-sharp. Wavering over him like a phantom masking his body

would be the image of a brutal, towering animal.” She finally glanced up. “And if you

refused to trace, his beast would have been your last sight before your head was sliced

from your body.”

“That would remain to be seen.” He narrowed his eyes. “What did you mean about a

competition?”

“You don’t know?” At his shrug, she said, “You’ll find out soon enough.” She headed

back to her railing.

“He called you a Valkyrie?” he asked quickly.

She turned back, tucking her hair behind her ear. “Yeah, so?”

“Aren’t Valkyrie... bigger?”

She gave him a look of disgust. “The vampire turning his nose up... ?”

“No, I didn’t mean it like that—it’s merely difficult to believe, since you’re so small—”

“Small? I’m almost five and a half feet tall—a very good size for a Valkyrie.” Then her

expression became one of realization as she said, “I hate being called small.”

Why couldn’t he have been allotted a fraction of Murdoch’s charm? “I want five minutes

of your time.”

“We both know you will never be satisfied with that. If I thought I could rid myself of you

by giving you five minutes, it would be done.”

“At least tell me why you abruptly ran from me. What brought about the extreme turn in

you?”

“I realized with perfect clarity that I want nothing to do with you.”

He lowered his voice. “I refuse to believe that after what happened between us.”

She seemed to be just barely holding on to her patience. “Look, if you somehow found out