Page 59 of Prince with a Chance of Darkness

The gargoyle stood a half-foot taller than Vlad which was something considering how tall Vlad was. It, like the rest, were wearing loincloths, also appearing to be made of stone. It put an arm out, beheading a creature without looking, its gaze on Vlad instead. “Emily?”

Vlad was so stunned to hear it speak that he said nothing to start.

“Emily? Where is she?” it asked, its voice deep, its accent old world.

“I know not who you speak of, but if she is within the home, she is not safe,” he said. “My mate…my wife…she is in there as well.”

The gargoyle killed another creature without looking. “Which is your mate? Not Astria. Not Emily. Not the wolf-shifter. My men tell me she is off-campus still. As is the one they call Snow and the other—Scarlett. That leaves Jessica, Stevie, Krissy, Colleen, and Mina.”

Vlad twisted and ended an attacking vampire with ease before facing the gargoyle again. How did he know so much about the women? Was he friends with Mina? “Mina. She is my mate.”

The gargoyle inclined his head and then looked out and over the chaos occurring all around them. The rest of the gargoyles glanced in the man’s direction, and Vlad recognized what was happening—the gargoyle nearest him was in charge—a general leading his army. He faced Vlad again. “We will do what we can to protect her.”

Vlad nodded his thanks and closed his eyes, focusing on Bram, trying to connect mentally with him. The path wasblocked. He tried Harker. The same thing occurred. He ran down the line with Seward and Morris next. All were blocking him. He tried again with no success.

“Master!” shouted Radmila, landing near him, clearly giving up trying to hide what she was to others. She gave the gargoyle a once-over and shrugged as if gargoyles were nothing new to her. Maybe they weren’t.

“Radmila,” said the gargoyle.

She spared him another fast glance and focused on Vlad. “What are your orders?”

“Kill anything that tries to harm the women inside of the home,” he said.

She nodded and took flight, going straight at a group of monks. She appeared in the center of them and began systematically eliminating them with a smile on her face. Blood sprayed everywhere, bathing her in it. She tipped her head back and laughed, carrying on with her mission.

Katarina appeared with Teya by her side.Teya told me what has occurred. Get to your mate—protect our girl. We will fight out here.

Emotions welled in Vlad. He held tight to them.

The head gargoyle rushed up and into the home.

Vlad killed two more vampires who were going toward the house. He caught a shifted wolf by the throat and squeezed, tossing it aside before going at one of the monks. Vlad spun and shifted into bats, going at more of the enemy, making short work of them in that form before flying in through the broken out living room stained-glass window. He reformed into a man once he was inside.

He was just in time to see the dog eat the arm of a zombie as if it were nothing. It belched loudly and then farted before going after another. It was then Vlad realized there was far more to the dog than met the eye.

“Where is Mina?” asked the girl with the purple hair, her focus on Vlad.

He looked at where Mina had been, only to see she was gone. Fear struck him full force, taking root deep within him. Instantly, he thought of those he had cared about and lost in his unnaturally long life: Radu, his first wife—even in some strange way, Lucian despite not being dead. The list was not long, but now—Mina was at the very top of it. His demon roared within him.

No.

They would not lose her. Not again. Already they’d been forced to be apart from her for four years.

He felt it then, the same dark energy he often felt in the forests near his home in Romania. He whipped around, half expecting to find an old hag standing near him. There was nothing, yet he could sense it there—something powerful—watching him.

His dream of his brother running him through with a sword came flooding back to him and pain seized his chest where Radu had run him through. His hand went to the scar on his chest—the one like Mina’s.

Now wasn’t the time to get lost in the past trauma. Not when his mate needed him.

Vlad pushed his power out and over the area, trying to sort through the mass of energy and evil focused on the property. He caught it then—his mate’s signature—and then her scent. Wasting no time, he shifted into a cauldron of bats again and took flight, tracking his mate.

I am coming, lumini?a mea!

The words had no sooner run through his mind when there was a blinding white light. It consumed him, ripping at his mystical defenses, rendering them useless.

Part III

Present Day

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