Bloody Defiance Read online

  My hand shook as the magic pulsed through the knife. Blue flame licked across my hand and up my arm, covering my body, but there was no pain. The sound of rushing air filled my ears, and I struggled against the overwhelming power consuming me. I stared at my hand, holding the knife. As suddenly as it had begun, the blue flame and the rushing sound vanished. At the same moment, the vampire’s body shuddered and disintegrated into a pile of ash.

  I fell to my knees on the ground, feeling exhausted and overwhelmed, breathing hard. There was no time to regain my strength though. I turned, sensing a vampire as he raced at me. I held the knife out just in time to catch this new vamp in the chest. His eyes widened in surprise as the blade blackened his skin and sucked the life from him. I held on tight, ready this time. The knife seemed to work faster, burning him quickly until his body was nothing more than a charred pile of ash.

  Energy surged through me, and I turned in time to meet the next vampire. Bullets were flying through the air, and I sensed other people moving and fighting around me, but my focus was on the vampires. I could feel each one in the room, and could have closed my eyes and pointed directly at each of them. The next vamp attacked quickly, while a second one tried to take me by surprise. I ducked between the two and fell to my back, kicking out until I slid backward on the floor and out of immediate range. I jumped up and turned, ready to face the vampire I sensed behind me.

  Henri stared at me, his blue eyes dark with fury. “Stop!” he yelled, and all movement ceased in the room.

  Hide the knife! Aidan urged. I turned my body, hiding my movements from Henri as I sheathed the knife.

  Henri wasn’t paying attention to me though. His focus was on Wesley, who held Raoul by the neck a foot above the ground. My eyes flickered around the room, taking in the scene before me. Paul was on the ground, a gun in his hand and his head twisted around at an unnatural angle. Mark held a vampire to the ground, and there was blood around his mouth and on his hands. Several other humans appeared to be dead, with bright blood pooling beneath their bodies. My eyes found Killian, who was bleeding from a bite at the neck. He held a knife in his hand, and stood over a distinct pile of ash.

  “What is going on here?” Henri asked, his voice going deadly quiet. No one responded as Henri walked around the room, surveying the bloody scene. He stopped in front of Wesley and pointed at Raoul. “Drop him.”

  Wesley opened his hand and Raoul dropped with a thud to the ground. I stared at his body, waiting for the telltale rise and fall of his chest that didn’t come. Anger surged through me, and I wanted nothing more than to kill every vampire in the room. Kill them all! Aidan’s voice echoed my sentiment, softly, but just as fervently.

  “What is going on here, Wesley?”

  “Your bitch of a Queen killed Pierce. It was just supposed to be a drill, but she went nuts and stabbed him. Then her mutt bodyguard and those other humans started attacking everyone,” Wesley said, with feigned anguish. “I was just trying to get things back under control.”

  Henri darted a look toward me, and I shook my head. “He lies,” I said simply.

  “She lies!” Wesley screamed, startling me. He visibly composed himself, and stood up straight and tall. “This was just supposed to be an exercise. We sparred, then she was given the opportunity to spar against Pierce. Look at the knife in her hand. And she wears a cross!”

  Henri slowly turned to look back at me. He ignored the knife in my left hand, but stared at the cross with an unreadable look. “Isabella, come here,” he said softly.

  Chin held high, I walked toward Henri. “My King,” I said simply.

  “Stab Wesley,” he said.

  I blinked at him in surprise, then turned to look at the startled vampire. Wesley’s eyes widened and he backed up as I pointed the knife at him. Wesley looked at Henri, then back at me. I didn’t take time to think as I raced at Wesley and stabbed the knife into his chest. Wesley flinched, but didn’t defend himself. The knife stabbed him in the shoulder and stuck in the bone. I let go of the knife and backed up slowly.

  Wesley stared down at the knife stuck in his shoulder. Smoke rose from the wound as the blessed blade began burning his flesh. He grabbed the knife and yanked it out of his shoulder. His eyes glared at me as he dropped the knife to the ground. Then he turned back toward Henri.

  Henri reached out and pulled me toward him. His hand caressed my face, then traced down my neck until he grasped the cross around my neck. Smoke rose from his hand as he clutched the cross, but he made no indication that it bothered him. With a swift yank, he tore the cross from my neck and tossed it to the ground. He closed his fist, but not before I saw the distinct cross-shaped burn on his palm.

  He released me and walked slowly around the room. All eyes were on Henri as he made his way from body to body. The room slowly grew dark, and it took me a moment to realize it was Henri using his power. The knife pulsed and throbbed warningly, but I stood my ground, waiting. The darkness descended further, until there was no light in the room. I touched the hilt of the knife, drawing strength and comfort from the magical blade.

  The darkness was overwhelming, but I knew Henri’s games by now. I stood silently, listening to the soft beating of my own heart. A man cried out in pain, his screams piercing through the darkness. The hair on my arms stood up at the sound, and I felt a shiver down my spine. The man’s cries changed into a gurgling, as though he were choking on his own blood. After only a few short moments, there was a thud, and then silence once more.

  Someone moved behind me quietly, and I faintly heard the swish of fabric rubbing. I turned toward the sound, my ears straining to hear since my eyes could see nothing. A scent reached my nose, and I breathed in the smell. I couldn’t place the scent, but it smelled like warmth and safety to me.

  Another scream sounded from my far left, and I turned toward the noise. There was the sound of something being torn, and the man’s cries died immediately. I felt a swish of air as someone raced past me, then someone followed the first person. Heat from the knife increased as they raced past, indicating vampires. Fighting sounded to my right, in the direction they had run. The fighting continued, moving around the room. Vampires, to be sure, and they were getting closer to my position.

  I wanted to move, but was afraid to at the same time. There was a vampire behind me, but I couldn’t sense how close or even who it was. The two fighting vampires drew closer, then I was knocked suddenly to the ground. There was a great weight on top of me, and I breathed in the warm, familiar scent. Not a vampire. Not human either.

  I didn’t move; couldn’t move. Not with a werewolf on top of me. Mark’s heart pounded loudly in his chest, but steadily. He was calm, which was more than I could say for me. After what seemed like an eternity, the darkness finally lifted from the room. I turned my head, trying to see around Mark’s form. Henri stood in the middle of the room, blood covering his face, chest and arms. More bodies littered the floor; human and vampire.

  Mark carefully stood up, pulling me to my feet with him. I clutched his arm, steadying myself as I surveyed the room, counting the living. Killian sat, wide-eyed, in the same location I had last seen him. A handful of other humans were still among the living. The odd awareness of vampires entering the room overwhelmed my senses, and I turned to look. A dozen vampires stood along the only exit, blocking it. Wesley and one of the other vampires he had arrived with stood near the exit, surrounded.

  “Take Wesley and Aaron to level three,” Henri told the vampires. “The rest of you humans, attend to your injuries and return to your rooms.”

  Everyone moved at once. The vampires immediately took their charges and left. The humans able to stand helped the injured, dragging and carrying them from the room. Killian stopped by Raoul to check on him. He looked up at me, shook his head, and moved on to help the next person. I stood beside Mark, taking comfort in his presence. My eyes watched Henri as he surveyed the room and licked blood from his fingers.

  I started to move, and immed
iately felt Henri’s eyes turn to face me. His black eyes took me in, and shifted to glare at Mark beside me. I stepped forward, drawing Henri’s eyes back toward me. “So,” I began, “I take it you didn’t order Wesley and company to host a death match, with my humanity on the line?”

  Henri blinked at me and shook his head. “Your humanity?”

  “He said you ordered me to battle Pierce to the death. If I won, I stayed alive and human. If he won, I became a vampire today.”

  “You will become a vampire when I choose it. Now is not the time,” Henri responded. That wasn’t exactly the answer I wanted to hear, but it wasn’t a surprise either. I knew eventually Henri would try to turn me, but he was waiting for some reason. “Why did you not ask me?”

  Shit. I could have reached out with our connection and asked Henri about it, and probably avoided this whole mess. The weight hit me like a ton of bricks. Raoul was dead. Paul was dead. Other people I didn’t know the names of were dead. I ground my teeth together in frustration. The thought had never crossed my mind to check with Henri supernaturally. Why would he have given me a bodyguard, if he wanted me to fight a match to the death? My death wasn’t what he wanted.

  “I guess I didn’t think about it,” I said, shrugging my shoulders. “Raoul said he’d sent someone looking for you.”

  “You didn’t think about it?” Henri asked, his eyebrows rising in surprise. “You didn’t think about it.”

  “No, Henri, I didn’t think about it! Raoul and Paul are dead,” I said, my voice catching.

  “Next time,” Henri began, but I cut him off with a scream.

  “Fuck!” I said, turning away from Henri and storming out of the room. Mark followed on my heels, but thankfully the vampire stayed behind. I was done talking to him. The last thing I needed was a vampire getting on his high horse and looking down his nose at me and my stupid mistakes. Damn it! I thought about it the whole way back to my room, cursing myself for my stupidity.

  Six vampires are dead, Aidan said softly after I had finished cursing myself out. You needed this. We needed this. The knife has grown in power, as have you. Do you really feel bad about the deaths of those vampires?

  No, I feel bad for the deaths of the humans.

  This is war. Death is inevitable.

  Chapter 14

  I retreated to my room, unable to shake the anger that overwhelmed me. Henri’s mind flittered across mine briefly, and I made sure I opened my mind to him so I would appear to be an open book. He didn’t delve deeper, just made his presence known before leaving again. I’d need to be careful around Henri the next few days. The last thing I needed was him working to make our connection stronger again. That usually involved blood, sex and me losing hours, days or even weeks of time.

  You are stronger now. It doesn’t have to be like that. You can choose.

  Choose what? I asked Aidan as I sat down on my bed and began removing my shoes.

  Choose to remember, or not. Choose to be conscious of his manipulations, or choose to let him control you. Our power grows. You could even choose to kill him.

  I lied back on my bed and closed my eyes. There were so many things I needed answers to. I had hoped to get my answers here with Henri. If he trusted me enough, maybe I could learn more about his plans regarding the werewolves. And then there was Petrivian. How often had I heard about this mysterious vampire, who was slowly trying to take over the world? Where was he now? What was going to be done about him?

  “Izzy?” Mark said softly, and I shot up in bed. Mark had followed me into my bedroom as usual, and I had dismissed his presence. Every day he followed me around, silently shadowing me, and I had grown so accustomed to it that I didn’t register his presence at times. He looked at me now, and I could see the knowledge in his eyes.

  “Mark,” I breathed, immediately moving to embrace him.

  His arms wrapped around me automatically, and I could hear him breathing in my scent. “Help me,” he whispered against my ear.

  I leaned back so I could look at him. His face was taught with tension, and I could feel him flexing the muscles of his arms, as though he were fighting something. “Mark, you have to fight it. Stay with me.”

  “They’ve done something to me, Iz. Sometimes I know what’s happening, but I can’t move. Other times, I feel like I’ve been asleep for days. The last few days though, I’ve been awake. I kept trying to talk to you, but it’s like my tongue is frozen in my mouth,” he said, and I could sense the struggle in his words. Even now, he was fighting to talk to me.

  “Do you remember anything that can help me?” I implored.

  “Blood,” he said softly. “They give me blood to drink. Sometimes they use needles. It’s silver.”

  He stopped talking, shaking his head. “It’s okay, Mark. We’ll figure this out,” I said, thinking about doctor’s notes I had taken from the hotel. “Has this happened before? Before you and I were taken at the school.”

  “Before?” he asked, frowning. “I don’t know. I don’t remember.”

  Aidan, help me, I implored furiously.

  He’s under vampire control.

  I know that! Can we help him? Can the knife help him?

  It’s dangerous. I told you that before.

  But you never said why, or what’s so dangerous. Please, there must be something we can try.

  The silence stretched while I waited for a response from the voice in my head. Mark clutched my hands, as though holding me would keep him tethered to reality longer. I squeezed Mark’s hands gently, and smiled at him reassuringly.

  The knife is made to destroy vampires. He has vampire blood coursing through him, which makes this dangerous.

  I have vampire blood in me!

  You are a part of the knife, though. He is not. Even just a human touching the knife now would be dangerous. The knife was made to link with one human at a time, until death. It has linked with you, and it will protect you, and itself. If the knife doesn’t try to kill him because of the vampire blood, it might harm him just because he’s not you.

  He’s a part of me though, I responded softly.

  The voice was quiet, as though he were whispering to me. Very well. Take the knife out, but do not let go of it! Let him touch the hilt only, but be prepared. If the knife begins to burn, take it away from his touch immediately. Touching the knife may help burn off the vampire blood in his system, but it may also kill him. The risk is yours to take.

  I nodded to myself, then grinned weakly up at Mark. “I have an idea that might help, but it’s dangerous.”

  “Let’s do it,” he said immediately.

  “I haven’t even told you the idea. Mark, this could kill you.”

  “Iz, I’m barely holding on,” he said softly. “At this point, I’ll try anything. I trust you.”

  I swallowed back the tears that suddenly burned in my eyes, nodded, and uncurled my hands from his. Slowly, I pulled the knife out of the holster. Mark’s eyes widened in surprise as the knife came into view. I kept a tight grip on the hilt as I held it in front of me. “This has been helping me fight off Henri’s control. I’m hoping it’ll help you too.”

  “Iz, that knife,” Mark stuttered.

  “Shhh,” I said gently, touching his lips with my free hand. “This knife was made to kill vampires. Trust me. Just touch the hilt.”

  Mark stared at me, his eyes assessing, before he looked down at the knife again. He reached his hand forward slowly. I kept a tight grip on the knife as he rested his hand on mine, and tentatively touched the end of the hilt with his finger. For a heartbeat, nothing happened. Then, slowly, I felt a tingle from the knife. It wasn’t burning, so I stood still and waited.

  “Mark, do you feel anything?” I asked.

  Mark’s eyes were transfixed on the knife, but he nodded his head. “There’s something there, in the knife. I can feel it pulsing.”

  I nodded, even though he wasn’t looking at me. It was pulsing, like a heartbeat, sending reverberations tingling up my
arm. Aidan, what’s happening?

  “Who’s Aidan?” Mark asked softly, and I jerked my eyes up to his.

  “What?”

  Mark turned his face up to look at me. “You just asked Aidan what was happening. Who’s Aidan?”

  “You heard me,” I breathed out.

  The vampire comes! Aidan suddenly warned in my head, making me jump.

  Hurriedly, I pulled the knife away and sheathed it. “Henri’s coming,” I whispered, pushing Mark back to his usual place against the wall. He opened his mouth to speak, then shook his head, crossed his arms, and assumed his post as guard. I raced back to my bed and flopped down, taking deep breaths to calm myself.

  Several minutes passed before I felt Henri’s presence. I heard the front door open, and he immediately made his way to my room. I sighed and rolled onto my side, ready to face him. Henri barged into my room without knocking, slamming the door behind him. The anger that rolled off him was barely contained as he paced the small room.

  “They dare plot against me!” he shouted, making me jump. “This plot to kill you or turn you is just the tip of the iceberg. After all I have done for them, they dare do this! They are of my line, and they defy me. I brought them to this world. I bring power and wealth to them all.”

  I kept quiet, absorbing Henri’s words. He hadn’t told me anything about the vampires here, but now he was practically ranting. His eyes were black, and the power radiating from him had my skin prickling. It took all my effort to not move as he paced back and forth.

  “I will figure out the others in this plot. They will pay for betraying me. I know some of them, but there are others. Oh, yes, there are the sneaky ones. I have my suspicions. I’ve seen them sneaking around near the werewolves, and the humans. They roam my home like they own it, but I have spies of my own. Thomas could be of use. He’s an outsider, so they don’t count on his loyalty,” Henri finished, nodding to himself.

  He trusted Thomas to be loyal to him? I chewed my lip in thought, taking in his words. Henri turned toward me and closed the space between us in two long strides. “My Queen,” he said fiercely, lifting me up until I stood on the bed. At this angle, I stood above him looking down. Mark shifted against the wall, but I kept my focus on the vampire.