Dreams of a Dark Warrior (50 page)

Only one more day of this vow. Just one more day.

Declan’s jaw clenched when Lothaire punctured his skin with a groan. The vampire’s hands clamped

his shoulders, those sucking sounds nauseating. Again and again, Lothaire drew greedily—

Over the blustery winds, Declan heard a horrified cry, swung his gaze up. “Ah, God, Regin!”

“What kind of sick kicks are you into?” Regin screamed as she bolted away.

Lothaire had been drinking Chase—and the man had been
letting
him.

No wonder Brandr had stood at that pass like a guard, tel ing her to stay put. Her ears had twitched,

alerting her that something was up. But she’d figured Chase had taken Lothaire out to kil him—not to

feed
him!

She’d sneaked off after them because she wanted to interrogate Lothaire before he died.

Worse, it’d taken her several seconds to react to the sight of them together. She’d been almost

hypnotized by the scene as Lothaire drank. Chase’s masculine face had been tense, his gray eyes

focused on the ground. Lothaire’s face had been starkly beautiful, his pale blond hair brushing Chase’s

shoulder.

Light and dark. One terrible, one tragic.

And Lothaire had been… hard. “Oh, gods!” she cried as she ran back along the trail.
Hot poker for my

eyes! Hot poker!

Why couldn’t she have stumbled upon Chase and Brandr necking? That would’ve been crazy hot.

“Regin, wait!” Chase ran after her, his bite mark torn and bleeding. He must’ve jerked away from

Lothaire. “I didn’t have a choice!” He grabbed her arm. “I had to make that vow to him. Without his aid, we wouldn’t have made it past the first night.”

She flung herself from his grip. “He can learn things about me through your blood. Can learn about my

sisters!” She briefly covered her mouth. “He can see everything we’ve done! I don’t want that leech to

know what we do in private.”

Lothaire strol ed up, making a scoffing sound. “As if I don’t watch you two live from a distance.” He

licked his crimson lips. “His staying power is increasing. As is yours. Bravo.”

They both scowled at him.

“I made a vow,” Chase told her. “I’m compel ed by it. You understand this.”

“Fine. Then you should’ve kept your distance from me until you were released from it.”

He pinched his forehead. “I knew I had only days to win you.”

Brandr, Natalya, and Thad caught up to them.

“What’s going on here?” Brandr demanded. “Damn it, Regin, do you never do as you’re told?”

She blinked at him. “It’s taken you a mil ennium to get that?”

Lothaire said to her, “Valkyrie, I’ve seen little about your sisters that I don’t already know. Mostly I’ve been treated to Declan’s torture at the hands of my former al ies, the Neoptera.”

Regin swung her head around at Lothaire. “You’re
talking
to me? You real y wanna do this, leech?

Clear the air?” Again she reached back for her swords and came up empty. With a glare, she dropped

her hand to the sword at her hip. “Then let’s go! The Valkyrie know what you did to our queen. You hid

Furie somewhere, torturing her for decades. Rumor has it you buried her under the sea to drown a mil ion

deaths.”

But Lothaire frowned disdainful y. “I assure you I do not know where Queen Furie is.”

“We have it from a very reliable source that you do. Your old king said so.”

“Who was crazed til the day he died.”

Regin narrowed her gaze. Lothaire was physical y incapable of lying. “Then… then where is she?”

“Again, I do not know—”

Chase raised his hand, hissing, “Listen!” He flicked his fingers for her sword. Without thought, she

tossed it to him. In one fluid motion, he caught it, then flung it end over end down through the treetops

below.

A Cerunno uncoiled with serpentine agility, narrowly dodging the blade.

When it slithered away with a bul et’s speed, Regin cried, “We’ve got to catch it!”

“It’l be long gone, Valkyrie,” Lothaire said. “You can’t match pace with one of that kind, not when you

have a torque. Besides, you need to be running in the opposite direction. The night of our escape, I saw

the Cerunnos amassing with al the Pravus al ies. Among others, there were vampires, shifters, and

some Sorceri—Portia and Emberine, specifical y.”

“Then those bitches wil be coming for us! We’ve got to attack them first.”

Lothaire gave a harsh laugh. “They’re too powerful. You’re not much stronger than a mortal right now.

What hope do you have against a being who can move mountains?”

Natalya said, “As soon as Portia knows we’re on
this
mountain, she’l level it.”

Lothaire turned to Chase. “You and I are faster than the others. We need to lead the Pravus away

from this group. Make a lot of noise while descending as swiftly as possible, and hope they fol ow us. Or

this mountain wil fal .”

Chase gave a curt nod, then faced Brandr. “You take the others to the boat. Due west from here

there’s a covered berth in a leeward cove. We’l meet you there before sunset.”

“Oh, no, no. This is a shit plan.” Regin crossed to stand before him. “For one thing, Valkyrie don’t
flee
.

We
fight
.”

“We’re running out of time,” Lothaire intoned.

Chase pul ed her close to say at her ear, “Then do this to protect Thad and Natalya.” The bastard was

playing on her sense of loyalty. And it was working!

When he drew back, she said, “This is stil a shit plan. I can fight—I can help you!”

“I ken you can fight. Which is the only reason I’d let you out of my sight.” His confidence in her abilities continued to surprise her. “But right now, we
are
faster than you and the others. You know this is the most logical move.”

She did, but was pissed that they were in this position.

When she pursed her lips, he said, “If for some reason we don’t show by sunrise, take the ship.” Then

Chase shared a look with Brandr. “You watch her back.”

Brandr gave a curt nod.

In Old Norse, Regin murmured, “Take me with you.”

Chase’s brows drew together. “This is the best choice, lass.” Trying to make light, he chucked her

under the chin. “Is the big bad Valkyrie worried about me?”

Peering up at him, she said one word. “Yeah.”

Chase dragged her close with the crook of his arm. “Mind yourself, Regin.” Against her hair, he vowed,

“I wil no’ be long apart from you. ”

The Endgame commanded action,
Lothaire thought as he and Chase sprinted through the brush.
And
I’m about to obey.

“Come, Magister, you’re flagging. Did I drink too much?”

Chase was utterly exhausted, more than from merely ceding blood. He was depleted—as if from a

berserkrage. Between breaths, he snapped, “Do no’ bloody cal me that!” He cast another glance back in

the Valkyrie’s direction.

“You look worried. I’m sure Regin wil be fine. We should be concerned more for ourselves down in this

forest.”

“If something happens to me, what would it take to get you to watch over her?” Chase wiped sweat

from his brow. “To make sure she gets off the island alive?”

“More than you can give. Such as a firstborn to go with my others. Matching set and al .”

“Then just move your arse. There’s a clearing up ahead.”

They broke from the trees onto a bare plateau. Chase stopped, stared. “What the hel is this,

Lothaire?”

Pravus beings—fire demons, Horde vampires, shifters—had al congregated here around Portia’s

makeshift stone temple. The structure looked like a roofed Stonehenge, with Emberine’s flames crawling

over its stones like living things. Portia and Ember strol ed out, gazing on with interest.

Lothaire tilted his head at Chase impassively. “This is a day trade. You for my freedom.”

“You son of a bitch!” He lunged for Lothaire, but a cadre of vampire guards traced to intercept him.

“I delivered you unto them for the late Fegley’s severed hand, or, more importantly, his thumb,” Lothaire

explained as the guards whaled blows on Chase. “As for your fate—the Pravus are planning to gather

here at sunset and make a proper sacrifice out of you.”

Chase thrashed as the vampires forced him to an upright slab of stone, binding his limbs to it. “How

long have you been plottin’ this, you fuck?”

“Emberine came to me this morning. As soon as she’d realized she hadn’t kil ed you in the facility.”

Apparently she and Portia would’ve attacked the group earlier, but they were wary of young Thaddeus. At

last Lothaire had discovered what the boy was.

They were right to be wary.

As the guards took turns beating Chase, Ember tossed Lothaire the rotting, discolored hand. “Your

payment, Lothaire.”

“
Spasibo
. With my deepest thanks.” He took the bloated thumb and pressed it against the lock on his torque. Nothing. He turned the hand upside down, trying it the other way. Stil nothing. “My dear Emberine, I hate to be a bother, but the warden’s print doesn’t work.”

She laughed, and wisps of fire flew from her lips. “I never said it would work. I merely vowed that it was Fegley’s.”

Portia snickered. “Come, Lothaire, days have passed since the hand was. … harvested. Out in the

rain, it’s decomposed.”

Blyad’!
That they would dare pul this stunt with him?

He hadn’t seen this coming, hadn’t predicted it—because now there was a new variable. His

weakness. His inability to remove this col ar.

So I’m no closer to escaping this place. To rescuing
her. His fangs sharpened with rage. But his

master dictated coolness.

Lothaire gave them his most charming smile, the one he usual y reserved for imminent victims. “Shal

we negotiate for a ride from this island? One of these demons or a brother vampire could trace me from

here in a heartbeat.”

Portia said, “What do you have?”

Lothaire answered, “I can get you the Valkyrie.”

FIFTY-ONE

W
here is he?
Regin thought as she paced along the water’s edge.
I’m going mad without him here.

Hours ago, they’d arrived at the shore. Just as he’d promised, there’d been an enormous boathouse in

a protected cove. The boat was actual y more of a ship, like one of those coast guard cutters.

Thad and Natalya were aboard, making coffee and surveying charts, while Brandr waited on the beach

with her.

Dusk would come soon. “I don’t like this, Brandr. Chase should’ve been here by now.”

“I’ve never seen you this worried.” He sank down on the sand, resting his elbows on his knees. “But

that can’t be right. Just days ago, you wanted the man dead.”

“A lot’s happened since then.” She wasn’t merely worried, she was
sick
with worry for Chase—like

claw-biting, hair-pul ing, pacing-for-hours worried. Because she might be … she might be fal ing for

Declan Chase.

At the thought, guilt racked her. She’d refused to al ow herself to love Aidan because he was mortal,

and yet she seemed to have no control over her emotions where Chase was concerned.

Which made no sense. The stakes were even higher. Before she’d held her heart back because she’d

feared Aidan dying of old age. Now she knew Chase’s death loomed, and she stil couldn’t stem her

feelings for him.

Because, gods help her, she wanted her scarred, surly, fucked-up Irishman more than she’d wanted

her perfect Viking.

Brandr skipped a stone into the cove’s calm blue water. “And this morning, you were flying off the

handle because Lothaire drank from him.”

“After I realized my eyes would eventual y stop burning, I calmed down. I understand why he did what he

did. I don’t like it, but I understand.”

“Can you imagine how hard that must’ve been for a man like Chase? To al ow a vampire to take blood

from him?”

Yes. Yes, she could. Her Celt was
trying,
struggling to make the best hand out of what fate dealt him.

“Damn it, where is he? We never should have split up—”

“Valkyrie,” Lothaire said. He stood at the edge of the tree line. Alone.

Panic surged through her. “Where’s Chase?”
I can’t lose him. Not again.
Her lips drew back from her fangs. “I’m going to kil you, leech!”

Must get back to Regin.
Every minute since his capture, Declan had waited for his heart to start

pounding, for his strength to return. Now the sun was setting.

He’d begun to suspect that Lothaire’s feedings somehow forestal ed his berserkrage. Which the leech

had likely put together—and used to weaken Declan today. How long would the effects last?