RW1 Ravyn's blood (17 page)

Alex sighed and started the first eight counts.

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Damian paced in Maddeline’s room. “For God’s sake, you’re wearing a hole in my floor, Damian. Sit down,” his maker demanded, flicking her perfectly manicured nails against her dresser. Damian came to an abrupt halt and collapsed in the chair opposite the vanity where Maddy sat brushing her golden curls.

“You’re sure it is him?” he asked for the twelfth time since entering her chambers to hear what she had to say.

She met his eyes in the mirror and raised a perfectly shaped eyebrow at his question. He swallowed. How she managed to give him such a withering stare at such an innocent question was beyond his understanding. She’d always been able to do that, though. Ever since his brother and he had been fledgling vampires over six hundred years ago in what now was Britain.

“Of course I’m sure, my son,” she said finally. “You think I would involve you in this if I had any doubts? To find out that it wasn’t true after all these years would be a heartbreak you may never recover from, and I wouldn’t risk that. He’s back, Damian. Kalel has returned to us.” Damian pinched the bridge of his nose, his head pounding.

“Why hasn’t he contacted me?” he asked in a whisper, pain clogging his throat. Kalel had been a son to him in a world where vampires couldn’t have the wonder of children. The only “children” they could have they had to sire as vampires, and in the States, the law demanded that no one under the age of eighteen could be turned. Maddeline’s sympathetic eyes met his own.

“He doesn’t remember who he is, Damian. He’s been in the demon world of Demontia. Alex’s is assuming that he was captured by a demon the night he disappeared, and taken there. The brotherhood that guards the fallen Prince, Salvatore, has taken him under their guard and made him one of them.”

Damian snarled. “If it wasn’t for Alex, he wouldn’t have been captured to begin with. I can’t believe that he would dare sleep with my ward! He didn’t even court him properly, Maddy! Neither you nor Santiago understands how maddening that is. He would’ve broken Kal’s heart, and I would’ve had to pick up the pieces of my son in the aftermath. Alex is selfish beyond belief, and I don’t want the relationship to continue now anymore than I wanted it to then!” He clenched his fist at the memory of Alex declaring his love for Kal in their living room and demanding that Damian accept their match.

“Damian, darling,” Maddeline said. “You mustn’t get so upset with your brother. He can’t help it anymore than Kal can help being attracted to him. Alex wants to marry him this time, Damian. He’s courting him as we speak.”

Damian snorted. “If by ‘courting’ you mean taking advantage of and boning then you’re damn straight he is.”

Maddeline’s eyes narrowed. “Do not speak of your brother with so much disrespect. He was as devastated about Kal’s loss as you were. Perhaps more so due to the fact that he chose Kal as his Bride. It isn’t fair for you to continue to judge him.”

Damian put his head in his hands and sighed. “I just want him back, Maddy. I want to feel him, hug him, tell him how much I love him one more time. I’ve never stopped hurting. He’s my son, not by blood but by bond, even if that means giving him up to Alexander. I don’t want to lose him again.”

Maddeline patted his head and made soft soothing noises. “Oh, my son, you’ve come so far. He’s returned, and soon we shall be the family that we used to be. He is to join us and become Alex’s Bride. He’s different than he was, but perhaps you and he can continue your relationship on steadier ground.”

Damian nodded his agreement and began to pray to whatever Gods listened to vampires.

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Blood flowed off his shoulders like tiny rivers of pain. Oh, Goddess, the pain was intense. Allasandro crawled forward to Germany, who was lying facedown on the concrete.

“Ger. Germany. Wake up. Germany! Don’t do this to me, man. Oh, God, Ger.” Allasandro sobbed out the last bit, grasping his brother by the shirt and rolling him to his back. Blood oozed from the wounds on Germany’s face, and his eyes were swollen shut. Allasandro frantically searched Germany’s pocket for his cell phone. He’d forgotten his at the house.

The shifters had attacked out of nowhere. Their vicious demands for Salvatore’s locations had only stopped after a group of police cars had driven a bit too close to the alleyway that the group had dragged Ally and Germany into. Finally he found it stuffed into the interior corner of Germany’s coat pocket. He flipped it open quickly. It didn’t even ring.

“Where the hell are you?” Tony demanded.

“Eighty-fourth and Lexington. Next to the all-night diner at the corner. Tony?”

“Yeah, my brother?”

Allasandro choked out half a sob. “Please hurry. Germany’s badly hurt. I can’t feel him. I don’t know whether he’s unconscious or—”

“He’s going to be all right,” Tony interrupted. “I swear it. We’re securing the Prince now. We’ll be there in less than twenty minutes. Keep him warm.”

“Any word from Dageus?” Ally asked, wrapping his arms around his brother and rocking slowly back and forth. Silence was all the answer he needed. “Goddamnit,” he whispered.

They had been too far away to draw on the supernatural strength of the brotherhood.
More
like Dageus had been too far away from the rest of them to contribute
. He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth. Something had weakened the bond between them this night and two of the Ravyns had paid for it.

Chapter Thirty

“Hey, guys, I’m home!” Dageus called as he let himself into the mansion. “Tony! Dru! Ally! I’m so sorry I’m late. I got hung up at Alex’s house. You’re not going to believe the night I had. Guys?” He jogged past the grand staircase and headed to the study where Salvatore liked to pass the early evenings. He threw open the door with a relish and froze.

“Do tell us about your evening, brother,” Tony commanded from beside a blazing fireplace. His voice dripped with sarcasm, and his eyes glowed a hauntingly vicious gold.

“Tony, what’s happened?” he asked, his blood frozen in his veins. Tony turned away from Dageus and faced the blaze.

“Germany and Allasandro went looking for you after you didn’t come home last night. Normally a phone call would’ve sufficed, but your phone was off.” Tony’s anger stung Dageus like a physical strike. “We all figured you had crashed at the vampire’s house, so they started toward there while we watched the Prince. They were attacked by a group of rogue shifters.”

Dageus gasped. “God, where are they? Are they okay? Sweet Goddess, why didn’t they summon our powers? They could’ve taken out any number of shifters if they would’ve—”

“They couldn’t summon them, Dageus,” Tony snapped. “There was a break in our chain, a link missing from our bond. It felt like we were a thousand miles apart from one another. The whole system was broken. Not even Salvatore could summon you.”

Pain lanced through Dageus’s heart at the thought of abandoning his brothers for a fleeting pleasure.

“Oh, God, Tony,” he whispered, tears clogging his voice. “I’m so sorry.” Tony’s eyes seemed to blaze with the demon within, and he took four aggressive strides until he was face-to-face with Dageus.

“I will see you beneath Judgment,” Tony growled, eliciting the image of the ruby-eyed statue that judged the brothers. “You’ve broken the laws of brotherhood and betrayed us all with your fucking infatuation with that goddamned vampire!” Tony’s voice ended in a vicious shout. Dageus’s temper spiked in turn.

“Are you kidding me? I spend one night with a man I’m interested in, and I’m now a disloyal brother? Fuck you, Tony! You prejudiced son of a bitch.”

“The issue isn’t spending the night with some random guy. The issue is that the man you chose to spend the night with is a Master vampire who exerts his goddamn control over you to the point where you can’t even hear your brothers calling for you! They called for you. God damn it all, Dageus, we all called for you. Dru and I couldn’t even pinpoint Ger and Ally’s location because the break in our bond made us all hazy impressions of one another. God, we felt so helpless, Dageus! The brotherhood needed your sorry ass, and you weren’t there.” Tony’s golden gaze finally met Dageus’s wet emerald one. Tears were pouring in a steady stream down Dageus’s face.

Tony’s eyes bulged. “What the hell is wrong with your eyes?”

Dageus’s eyes widened, and he shook his head. “I don’t know. What does it look like?”

“Your eyes are green as glass!” Tony grasped Dageus’s head between his hands. “Good God. He’s trying to break our bond with you! What do you remember from your past? What has he been telling you?”

“Nothing. Nothing. I swear. I don’t know what you’re talking about! We just made love. That’s all!”

Tony didn’t even wait for him to finish. “Salvatore! My Prince, come quickly!”

Dageus grabbed Tony’s arms. “Stop overreacting, Tony. Jesus!”

“What in the name of God is going on?” a voice said from the doorway. Tony and Dageus turned as one towards the door. Dageus’s emerald eyes met Salvatore’s ruby ones. Salvatore’s eyes widened in wonder.

“Oh my god.”

Chapter Thirty-One

Salvatore held Dageus down with the power of a fully grown demon monarch.

“Salvatore, let me up! God damn it.” Dageus hissed.

“Calm down, and I’ll let you up,” Salvatore said with lazy power in his voice.

“Stop treating me like some sort of traitor!” Dageus shrieked, viciously kicking his feet against the invisible hands that held him down.

“Your brothers will be back with Judgment shortly. We’ll all talk then,” Salvatore murmured, looking at Allasandro and Germany, who still slept in a drug-induced sleep beside the two arguing men.

“Why won’t you let me up, my Prince? For the love of god! I’m not going to hurt anyone.”

Salvatore sighed. “That remains to be seen. Until we find out exactly what Alexander has done to you, I don’t want to risk anything with Allasandro and Germany down for the count. Be patient and trusting, my Ravyn.” Dageus growled and kicked his feet again.

“My lord? What’s going on?” a weak voice called from the bedside. Dageus’s heart broke at being unable to go to his brother’s side. Tears clogged his throat and streamed down his face.

“Ally-cat?” he called in question.

“Yeah, my brother?” Allasandro’s voice sounded strained and pained. Dageus shook with an answering pain in his chest.

“I’m so sorry,” he choked out. “I never wanted to get you hurt. I just wanted one night. Just one. Oh, God, Ally. I love you.”

“Your eyes have flecks of gold in them now, my Ravyn. They’re still mostly green though. Reach through the bond toward your brother.” Salvatore commanded. Dageus stretched out his power and felt an answering thrum of power answer his own. Allasandro sighed as if he was getting a little relief from the pain because of it. “I love you, too, bro,” Allasandro whispered. It was then the others arrived with the immense statue in tow.

Tony placed Judgment by the fireplace in the study, leaning the heavy statue against the bookcase. He touched the raven statue’s head and stared into its eyes. They’d all done that at one point or another, and Dageus really didn’t give a rat’s ass what they were talking about. This was ridiculous. His emotions were ricocheting between being pissed and being really sorry about his night with Alex.

Dageus’s cell phone started ringing. “Someone going to answer that?” Dageus asked, his voice more than a little irate. Salvatore ignored him. Tony and Druas sat before Judgment in the perfect warriors’ bow. Allasandro and Germany both let themselves down gingerly to sit beside them.

“Come on. Druas, Tony, please. Let me up. This is so ridiculous.” He growled. Everyone ignored him. “Alex is calling, and if I don’t pick up he’s going to worry. Damn it. Don’t roll your eyes at me, Tony. I’m serious.”