Page 25 of Vows in Violence

I rip away from Nikolai and run. He gives an abbreviated yell and pursues. In normal circumstances, he would run me down easily, but something primitive drives me, lending me haste. Something more animal than human.

Angel was locked in his cage. Let Nikolai follow me; let him catch me. He probably has a key.

I fly down the staircase, unheeding of any enemy I might run into. Strangely, though, I don’t see anyone. The smoke, although thick, appears to dissipate as I descend. I guess it is since it is floating toward the ceiling.

I move faster, coughing and tripping over my own feet. I don’t know. I don’t care. I can’t be bothered to puzzle it out right now.

One of the walls of the foyer is black from the fire burning through from the adjacent room.The study…the room where Angel is being kept. I run to the double doors and grab the handle.

I scream in pain, releasing the handle. The metal is an agony, burning my flesh.

I might be too late.

Steeling myself, I grab the handle with my shirt and twist, then push through the doors. I’m greeted by thick black smoke that burns my lungs and stings my eyes. Flames lick the walls and furnishings on the opposite side of the room. “Angel!” My voice emerges in a rasp, and I don’t even try again.

Childhood fire safety lessons echo in my mind.

Stop.

Drop.

Roll.

Lowering myself to the floor, I crawl toward the cage.

I crawl until I come face-to-face with Angel, who has also gone to the floor.His eyes blaze into mine, flames reflecting in their brown depths. “Vivi…you need to leave! Now!”

I shake my head. “I can’t leave without you!”

Angel’s grim expression softens. “Sorellina, Azrael is here. They were sending Molotov cocktails through the windows. If they are doing this, Ivan has probably been targeted, too. You need to get back to Damon and Lulu. Follow Nikolai; he will know how to get out.”

A sob rises in my throat, thick and ugly. I choke against the words that try to squeeze themselves around it. “What about you?”

His lips stretch in a smile. “I’ll be fine. Nikolai will send someone for me.”

It’s a lie. I know it. He is being the big brother, trying to force me to make the decision I don’t want to make. Before I can think of what to say next, how to convince him to do the impossible, arms close around me. It’s Nikolai. He begins dragging me out of the room.

I scream, and this time, the sound emerges with volume, thready though it is.

I scream for Angel, who remains silent. His face registers relief, even. How can he be relieved? He’s going to die here, in this inferno. He’s going to die, and it’s all my fault…I didn’t get him out, I didn’t—

“Angel, nooooo! Nikolai, stop! Go back!”

The smoke gets so thick that his face disappears before I am even out of the room.

I fight Nikolai, kicking and punching at shadows and smoke, all through the hallways, down the stairs, through the basement hallways, and to the secret tunnel that leads to the dock.

I fight until I am on the boat, pulling away from the mansion that blazes on the beaches of the Hudson.

The only thing I can see, though, is the face of the little blond boy who used to walk with me through Cervinara, the boy who destroyed an empire in an effort to protect me.

Not even my husband will be able to fix this. A sob catches in my throat as I watch the shoreline recede.

If he’s even still alive.

Chapter 10

Ivan

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