The Chalice (Luna Vampire Series) (43 page)

             
He sighed, shoulders slumping noticeably.  "Somewhere around seventy-five, give or take."

             
Shock pulsated within me. 
Seventy-five lives, both human and vampire, had been given to protect me from my piece of crap father.
  In spite of my rational mind's comprehension that Tsedaka was the true source of their annihilation, my conscience still ached with guilt. 

             
And today's atrocities, coupled with the violent deaths of Amelia and Dawn, were only emphasized further as I glanced at Lucien's face.  If the plastic surgeon didn't do a good job of fixing it, he'd be an ever present reminder of the horrific sacrifices that were made in my name. 
Honestly, my name wasn't worth it, even supposing I was the damn great queen.

             
My soul simply couldn't tolerate anybody else dying for me.  Furthermore, I knew that I'd never have peace as long as the old man stayed alive.  So, this left me with one choice, fighting him on my own. 
What's the worst that could happen?  He'd haul me back to high court and continue the torture?  Or kill me?
  Both options gave me the willies, although, either one sat better with me than increasing the death toll.

             
Abruptly, Adrian grabbed my hand, apparently having sensed my reckless scheme.  "It's not safe for you to confront him yourself.  I agree that cutting the head off the snake may be our best plan.  That said, my soldiers should bear the weight of the task.  Not you."

             
"I really wish you wouldn't eavesdrop," I huffed, gritting my teeth in annoyance.  "Look, I can stop time which is a considerable advantage above..."

             
"No, you must save your power for a worst-case scenario," he growled, hurriedly shoving his free hand into his pocket and removing a key ring.  "Here, these are to my Porsche."  Without faltering, he tossed them into my lap.  "If Tsedaka's forces get past our front lines, you'll need to halt the flow, take the car, and drive as far as you can prior to restarting it."

             
"He's right, girlie," Lucien added, latching his hand solidly onto my shoulder.  "And I'm not letting you battle the king by yourself."

             
Oh, they were about to piss me off.  They must've figured that touching me while I worked my magic would either enable them to tag along or it'd circumnavigate my tactics altogether.  Nope, not gonna happen. 
"Lucien, I order you to step away," I hissed.  "And Adrian, assuming you truly believe I'm your
great queen
, defer to my authority and stand down."

             
In response, my protector swiftly released me.  He had no choice in the matter, however, he did send an explosion of sadness and frustration across our bond.  Appropriately, I felt utterly disgusted with myself for stripping him of his free will for a second time in under an hour.  Nevertheless, it was a necessity.  Because of our connection, he couldn't see past keeping me safe. 
And my single, solitary life wasn't a fair trade for hundreds.

             
Adrian, on the contrary, didn't give in so easily.  He actually had the audacity to grip my hand more firmly. "I'm aware that you're my queen and you outrank me.  Despite those concessions, I also recognize that you're my mate.  And I will not allow your foolishness to kill you.  I'm unconcerned with how many of my people parish in your defense or that this inevitability angers you.  I won't let you go after the king on your own."

             
Glaring at him pointedly, my heart surged with resentment.
 
"This is exactly what I was talking about earlier, before we hooked up.  The sex was fun and all, but no man's ever gonna run my life."

             
"You're so young and naïve," he ranted, remaining tightly anchored to me.  "You can't possibly outmatch a vampire as old as the king.  Beyond his incredible speed, he wields fire and is quite astute at handling a sword."

             
"You believe in all the ridiculous prophecy garbage, right?" I sneered, wrinkling my eyebrows at him haughtily.  "Then I can't possibly die today, otherwise none of it would come true." 
To be perfectly candid, I didn't know how much I really bought into Michel's mumbo-jumbo myself.  But whatever.
 
If it got me the results I wanted, fine.

             
"I'm not permitting it," Adrian retorted bluntly.  "Now, the matter's been decided.  Let's move on to more pertinent issues."

             
Rage exploded within me. 
Who in the hell did he think he was? 
"I'm no kept woman!" I snapped, employing every last ounce strength to wrench my fingers free from his grasp.  In a flash, my efforts were victorious and I hastily froze the world. 
Fuck him!

             
If it were possible, steam would've been rolling out of my ears as I marched into the weapons room.  After a few adrenaline heaped moments of looking around, I decided that I needed to calm down.  For my little impromptu mission to be a success, I couldn't be worked up into a frenzy over Adrian's controlling attitude. 
I'd have to deal with that another day.

             
Pausing, I centered myself by sucking in a couple deep breaths.  Then, several minutes later, with my blood pressure closer to normal, I selected a sword from the plethora of available weapons.  Incidentally, there were guns, knives, and even stakes. 
For real, actual stakes.
  And, yeah, seeing them led to an amused grin on my part.  I had absolutely no clue how to use one.  Still, I thought it'd be kinda cool to say I staked vampire.  Sadly, I did the smart thing and stuck with the weapon I'd successfully used on prior occasions.

             
Making my way through the maze of tunnels and into the night took me awhile, nonetheless, I wasn't too distressed by the wasted time.  Since I was alone, my power levels were holding up flawlessly. 
No migraines or shakiness.
  Essentially, the more people I displaced from the flow, the greater the drain.  So, with only me, I breathed a bit easier.  And, as I walked, I merely kept my mind on the goal.
  Killing Tsedaka.  And maybe William and Petrus, if I met up with them.

             
Finally stepping outdoors, I was greeted by total chaos.  It triggered memories of battles I'd seen in the X-Men movies. 
Well, to be more descriptive, an X-Men movie on pause.
  Regardless, some of the vamps manipulated fire, while those opposing them used water.  Likewise, many had erected colorful barriers to protect themselves.  And, to my surprise, a few were even shielding a group of gun toting humans.

             
Smoke from the rows of burning houses completely filled the sky, accompanied by flying bullets, and, strangely enough, a number of vampires.  In turn, envy flitted across my emotions. 
The ability to fly, now that'd be a freaking amazing gift. 
Don't get me wrong, stopping time was damn useful.
  But flying, man. 
For years, I'd flown during my dreams.  I'd just never thought a slumberland fantasy might literally be a reality. 

             
Briefly, I wondered which specific power enabled their flight, before shaking my head and urging my inner ramblings back to the task at hand. 
My energy reserves wouldn't hold out indefinitely.
  So, renewed of purpose, I continued on with the survey of my surroundings, witnessing numerous other oddities. 

             
The single most grisly sight was a pair of snow leopards double teaming a dead vamp.  The first kitty cat chewed on the neck while the second one scratched at an open chest cavity.  They were partially covered in blood, yet I could still identify them by their magnificently spotted silverish-gold coats.  To be honest, the whole scene thoroughly baffled me. 
I mean, how in the world had Adrian obtained the large cats?  Beyond that, how had he managed to train them?  They were an endangered species and clearly vicious animals.

             
My reticent musings aside, I pushed on.  And as I moved, I saw a lot more death.   Bloody, pale bodies were scattered randomly along the ground.  The dead vampires, with their missing heads, were easy to differentiate from their human counterparts.  Regrettably, I quickly realized that close to five humans had died for every one vampire.  Accordingly, my stomach grew queasier and queasier, fueling a fiercely venomous mindset. 
Payback's gonna be a bitch, you psychotic asshole.  Payback's gonna be a bitch.

             
Anger spurning me on, I tramped over acres of blood splattered grass and was seriously appreciative of my cloak's insulation against the chilly night air.  The minutes seemed to drag on forever, although, I did eventually find the bastard.  He stood beneath one of the large wind turbines, just to the outside of a makeshift door his goons evidently cut into the chain-link fence to expedite their assault.

             
And, well, he saw me coming.  He hadn't completely stopped, like everybody else.  Instead, he moved in slow motion, directing fire to shield the area surrounding him.  It began in a red-hot circle at his feet and shot up toward his waist.  The flames were thick, blue tinged, and comprised a five foot impenetrable ring.  Unfortunately for me, once I was within striking range, they'd completely enveloped his body.

             
Crap!  I'd get burned to shit if I tried to attack him through that blaze.
  In a rush, my eyes scanned the area, searching for any course of action that might help me.  And the instant they landed on the pond, I knew it was the answer. 
Sopping wet clothing should keep the flames from burning me as badly, right?  I guess we'd see.

             
Within seconds, I'd used the sole of my shoe to stamp a hole in the icy shallows.  Then I did a polar bear plunge into the frigid water.  In spite of my teeth's nearly immediate chattering, I continued to flail about until prickling dampness completely saturated every inch of me.

             
By the time I got back to Tsedaka, my hood clung frozen to my hair and my hands were so numb that I could barely hold onto the sword.  I hurried, understanding that I was well on my way to hyperthermia.  And, besides, if I pondered my crazy strategy of jumping headlong into the flames too much, I'd probably talk myself out of it.  So, without more deliberation, I pulled the hood tightly over my face and leaped forward.

             
Steam broiled into the air as the fire rapidly defrosted my cloak.  Meanwhile, the skin of my hands started to sizzle.  I cringed at the pain and, even though fabric blocked my vision, I firmly gripped the sword.  I held it baseball bat style, similar to when I'd decapitated Isabella.  Then I aimed at the area I assumed to be his neck and swung.

             
Thankfully, my sword met its mark.  Right away, the flames dissipated and I let out a sigh of relief. 
He couldn't hurt me anymore.
  Mind quivering in shock, I stared down at his crumpled remains.  Blood spurted from his neck and his severed head, well, it was freakishly disturbing.  The eyes were the worst, glossed over and empty.

             
Unlike with Isabella, I couldn't afford to take any chances.  Merely stabbing his heart wouldn't work; I had to ensure that he was gone for good.  So, I rolled him onto his back and used my sword to slice apart his rib cage.  It took a lot of effort, even with my vampire strength.  Regardless, I reached my hand into his chest and separated the heart from its enclosure of thick veins with a hasty tug. 
Needless to say, I nearly barfed my guts up.

             
In the face of my total disgust, I somehow kept time suspended while I retraced my steps toward the warmth of the underground.  I thought I'd better carry along proof of Tsedaka's demise, so I held his heart in my right hand and his head in my left.  Consequently, a light trickle of blood dotted the path behind me as I walked.  Grimacing, I tried my best to ignore it by focusing on the positives.
  My lunatic of a father was dead.  No more running.  No more hiding.  And no more fighting.

             
Curiously, throughout all my traipsing around, I never caught sight of William.  However, when I was almost to the main entrance I ran smack-dab into Petrus.  As a result, I plopped the head and heart onto the ground.  And, seeing as I'd ditched my sword back by the old man's body, I retrieved Petrus's gun.  Then, unscrupulously, I targeted the precise spot in which he'd shot Lucien and pulled the trigger.

             
I'm sure I could've tracked down a sword to finish the job but, for some reason, my soul balked at making the kill.  So much death had occurred already, too much in fact. 
All unneeded.
  Now that Petrus's sire ceased to exist, he didn't have to follow orders.  Maybe, if I gave him a second chance, he'd turn over a new leaf.  On the flipside, maybe not.  Either way, I was simply unable to bring about more death.

             
Weariness seeped into me as I reentered the main hall, Tsedaka's head and heart in tow.  My sluggishness notwithstanding, I climbed the platform and positioned myself in front of the throne.  Shortly thereafter, I released my control over time.  With a show of confidence, I held Tsedaka's remains high in the air and bellowed,  "I am queen now, truly queen.  The fighting has ended."