Page 314 of Dragon Slayer

Her moment of distraction gave one of the guards the chance to catch her in the side with one of the electrically-charged stun batons Vlad had used to threaten his brother. She gasped and staggered, reaching for her ribs.

The growl that rippled up his throat was mostly for his brother, for the memory of the pain he’d caused him, but some of it was for this girl, the fledgling vampire of his own making. In that way, she was his, and he didn’t take kindly to having his things mishandled.

The guard reached in with the stun baton again.

The growl became a roar. It echoed off the walls, the floor, the ceiling, the stone sending it back harsher, deeper, more threatening.

Everyone froze.

Vlad crossed the distance in two long strides, lifted his sword in a long, smooth motion, and separated the baton-wielding guard’s head from his shoulders. It landed with a wet, heavy sound against the stone, and then the body followed. The baton clattered to the stones, useless.

In the stunned silence that followed, Vlad could hear Adela breathing, harsh and fast through her mouth. He could smell her pain, and fear, and confusion.

And her yearning, too. Whatever happened now, he had her.

~*~

Annabel was slammed with a wave of déjà vu when they hit the top of the servants’ staircase. Her feet knew these steps; her hands knew this black, velvet-flocked wallpaper. A half-dozen mortal lifetimes ago, Fulk had herded her down these stairs, energy frantic, but hands gentle as he steadied her. She’d been an eighteen-year-old human girl then, just before her turning. The sconces had held candles rather than electric bulbs, but it was otherwise the same: scents of beeswax and savory cooking odors from downstairs.

Her heart was pounding now, same as it had then, only now she had a wolf bristling beneath her skin, ready to leap out fang-first if her human shape couldn’t handle whatever trouble they encountered. And it wasn’t her mate behind her, but her master, and his mate.

Val’s binding sat comfortably in the back of her mind; it felt like he smoothed a hand down the back of her neck, soothing. She was glad of its comfort as they hit the floor below, and found two black-clad guards awaiting them.

Shit.

She’d thought the alarm would draw everyone within jogging distance to the basement. That was the plan anyway. She had no great affection for Ramirez, but she felt a little bad that the freshly-turned vampire had been sacrificed as a distraction.

Vlad was down there; he would handle it.

Though she wished Vlad were here now, to handle this. It had been a while since she’d gone hand-to-hand with anyone.

“Hey!” a guard said, shouting to be heard over the wail of the alarm. His gaze was trained over her shoulder, on Val. “What are you–”

His sentence choked off into a wet gurgle, and the sharp point of a knife burst through his throat, just below his Adam’s apple.

Val put a hand on her shoulder, and tried to push past her, but she held her ground, growled at him. He could have shoved her aside, but he didn’t. He waited, letting her take point. Letting her watch the knife withdraw. The guard fell face-first on the carpet, breath dying with wet rasps in his ruined throat, and before his partner could even turn all the way around, the bloody knife was going into the side of his neck. Arterial spray up the wallpaper, shiny-black; heavy gun clattering to the floor.

Kolya withdrew his knife and wiped it carefully on the sleeve of his jacket. He looked up at her with his blank expression, face dead, eyes riotous.

When she could, Anna let out a deep breath. “You were supposed to disarm them, Fulk said. Knock them out. Not kill them.”

“Oh.”

“Wait.” She heard Val inhale behind her, and this time when he urged her over, she complied. He took the last step down and came to stand in front of Kolya, who drew himself upright and went very still: poised to strike. Val opened his mouth, scenting the air. He smiled. “My God. Kolya Dyomin.”

Oh shit, no one had thought to tell him. “Yeah, boss,” Anna said in a rush. They had to keep moving. “That’s him. Liam brought him back, but he’s with us now.”

Val lifted his hand, as if he meant to touch, and Kolya flinched. Val retreated. “It’s true, then. He really is a necromancer.”

“Yep, really true, come on, we gotta go.”

Val laughed. “Oh, this isperfect.” He turned to Anna, grin wide and sharp. “When we show up in New York, we’ll have quite the gift for our hosts.”

She sighed…but felt herself smiling. His simple delight was infectious. “That’s if we get out of here first. Come on. Kolya, try not to kill anyone else.”

As Anna headed for the next set of stairs, she cast a glance back over her shoulder and saw that Mia held a hand over her mouth, face pale with shock. Poor thing, but she’d adjust soon enough. Shock was a luxury for those who’d lived dull lives. And after tonight, Mia Talbot’s life would be anything but dull.

~*~

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