Page 8 of Master Slobozia

My sword is drawn before I turn toward the forest floor. The slightest pop of dried twig, and probably an animal scurrying in the night, but I’m not taking any chances of being bested by Lucas again. And clearly, neither are the masters who have all drawn weapons and now stand listening to the silence that’s fallen over the forest floor again. At least now my heart is racing for another reason altogether. And not due to some attraction to the dark beast.

Slobozia, Overmaster Descallia, and the other masters exchange a look. Just an animal scurrying in the night. Slobozia points ahead. “It’s on, we’re going in, and the battle of a lifetime is about to commence. A story that will ensure the vampires are victorious and those around us see what happens to traitors who betray our kind or else it will end in our own demise.”

The march forward is slow though. Slobozia isn’t letting me off the proverbial leash anytime soon. My jaw tightens knowing he’s right next to me and is not likely to let me show what I can do instead of trying to protect me like some frail girl who doesn’t know how to battle.

Romano, Campania and Sardinia and their witch mates have taken the lead, Overmaster and the others allowing the lights of the witches’ stones to lead us through the trees, no matter the suspicion on my part and Slobozia’s. Silver returns and joins Lucianna and Overmaster Descallia without any new update, while Slobozia keeps me at his hip, a hand at my elbow every once in a while, as we master the rocks.

I stay alert, looking from left to right, watching, listening for anything out of the ordinary, that may look, smell, or give us a clue to finding Lucas. Silver may have seen him in a vision, but that doesn't mean he's really holding Embry at his dagger’s point and that he hasn't tied her up so that he can come after us. I wouldn't put anything past the bastard, but then again, I’ve known men like him all my life. Traitorous men who will do anything to get what they want in the end, no matter what it means to the good of the vampires. But no one ever thought it would be Lucas.

I say a silent vow to stay sharp, to show my skills at defending the vampires and our way of life among the humans and to keep us all safe from harm as we head toward the cavern that waits ahead.

The witches’ stones hanging from their necks shine a beaconing path from them to the crevice in the mountain range ahead. I swallow back centuries of instinct that tell me not to trust the cackling biddies, while knowing that our overlord and future queen trust the three that light our way. Birds squawk overhead, diving through the trees in an attempt to get out of our way as our squadron makes our way on ground and throughthe crowns of the looming trees above, carefully positioned and spread out to ensure the vampires come out victorious in our hunt.

But as much as we’ve prepared with the witches and master Slobozia, we’re dealing with Lucas, and we don’t know what condition we’ll find Embry in when we arrive. Embry’s safety cannot be our first thought, or our objective. It never really was, and she would understand the reason for that. No, our focus has to be on stopping the evil plan that Lucas has, the vision of his where vampires like us are annihilated and we are replaced with the vampires of yesteryear. Vampires who will pilfer and plunder the humans and kill them for fresh blood.

But still, every part of my body reacts the minute we grow near the entrance and hear the bloodcurdling scream from within.

Chapter 7

Slobozia

My first thought should be the woman who screams from within the cavern we’re barely minutes from reaching, but every neuron in my body yearns to protect the vampiress by my side. My chest pounds as thoughts of a heated battle with Lucas run rampantly through Taylen’s mind. No matter what I say, what I do, she needs this, and only an insecure vampire would not let her prove herself when that’s exactly what her heart so desperately wants to do.

But it’s clear that’s going to come with a heavy price tag for me, because whether she likes it or not, I’m not going to let her be hurt, no matter what the penalty she deems justified in doling out to me as a result. I feel it before she even says a word.

Taylen’s eyes turn their heat to mine, and her fangs descend. “Do not protect me, vampire. I am a future warrior. I need no protection.”

My jaw locks tight, but like it or not, she’s not leaving my side. Our troops move in, flanking the cavern as the witches, masters, and lords move steadily forward, guiding us inward and into the damp and dark interior of the caves. We trudge forward with our keen night vision and the light of the witches’ stones toguide us. Another scream echoes through the walls of the dank halls.

Lucianna whispers urgently, “Embry.”

All of us quicken our pace but are also cautious that it just may be a trap. The walls of the cavern are dark and quiet but we move steadily to the interior of the mountain far out of range, slipping into other crevices where no human could ever fit. When we reach the sacred cavern, the black marble walls and floors etched in gold come into focus, glistening in the darkness around it. The golden throne that sits in the center of the wall, meant for our overlord is where the bastard, Lucas, lies in wait, sitting underneath the Descallia crest of deep red.

His red eyes are filled with heat and hatred for our kind. He flicks an imaginary piece of lint from his dark cape as he sits with one leg on either side of Embry, who sits chained on the floor in front of him, his knife held tightly at Embry’s throat, waiting to see if we’ll attack.

Not one of us will. Not without a direct order from the overlord, because everyone in this room knows the relationship between Lucianna, our future queen, and the woman who now finds herself hostage to the traitorous beast and sits helpless on the floor.

Emotion rolls in waves from Taylen. She takes in the carnage strewn across the cavern floor, no doubt left by the evil bastard because he wanted us to see. A well-thought-out scene where he gets to gloat over his victory while sitting in the overlord’s chair as we walk in. But it will be a short-lived victory for the bastard because not one of us plans to take this lying down or let him leave this cavern alive. Every one of the masters here is on the ready, waiting for the order to put the fucker down.

Overlord places a hand on Lucianna’s shoulder, to calm or quiet her fears as she watches her closest friend’s life hang in the balance. We wait for a sign, a command or anything that wouldgive us the go ahead to attack, but Descallia does not plan to lose or go too quickly.

He gestures to his golden chair. “You sit on a throne, yet you’re a leader of none. The men you used to lead, they looked up to and respected you.” Descallia’s voice raises as his eyes turn from dark black to red and his fangs descend. “Yet that wasn’t enough power for you, Lucas? You were second in command to all we hold dear, but it was too little? Not enough for your greedy dark soul?”

Lucas laughs, the high-pitched sound that I’ve grown to sense as a cover for fear. “Do not look down your nose at me you high-handed bastard. I gave you centuries to do the right thing, to learn that the humans want nothing from us but to bury us in the ground, that the syndicate boys you now rub elbows with want nothing more than the power you hold. But you would rather get in bed with them and continue building your empire than to embrace your own and our ways. You brought this on yourself, Descallia. Soon you will be an overmaster of none.”

Overlord Descallia glares at the man who dares speak to him in this manner after years of service. He gestures to Embry, still chained to the foot of the throne. “And Embry, what has she done to deserve her current plight? All she’s done is help the vampires, care about you, and want to make our world a better place to live. Yet, you throw all of that away, and threaten her very existence with a knife at the throat?”

Lucas pulls Embry’s purple hair back tight and her eyes blink, absorbing the pain for a moment as though drawing more energy from it. She should be very afraid of the bastard, but the look she gives the witches tells me she’s not one little bit. The look is brief, but it’s enough, and the minute the path of light coming from the stones switches and blinds Lucas he moves the blade from her throat to defend himself against the assault of thebright lights and what he thinks might come, giving the witches an opportunity to free Embry with a wave of the wand.

Embry lowers her head and grabs Lucas’s legs, throwing him off balance to get away from the knife, at least until Descallia yells, “Attack!”

The next minute Embry is swinging the weight of the chains upward, and hits Lucas on the side of his head at the same time my dagger flies through the air and catches him in the chest.

His eyes flare red, and he manages to capture Embry around the neck with an arm, as if daring us to come one step closer. I watch Embry and the witches carefully, seeing the look that passes between them and Taylen.

I grab my stake, at the ready if needed, but Taylen is more than prepared. She flies through the air, her stake already out, driving in front of her rage-forced flight, staking him right into the open wound I’ve laid in his chest. Taylen’s accuracy sends him to the ground, a perfect hit, unable to move or disappear to recover, and instead to a death becoming of the evil dark soul who can rot in hell for an eternity.

Lucianna runs to Embry, holding her tight, the two of them hugging as the witches join them, all overcome with emotion at the sight of their friend in such close peril but relieved that she’s now safe. At last everyone can breathe.

---