Page 317 of Dragon Slayer

Anna took a deep breath, and then another, even though the smoke-smell was enough to choke her. Lily wasn’t burning fire…yet…but her power surged within her, just below the surface. She could burn them all to a crisp at any moment – and the scary thing was, Anna thought she might, without hesitation.

“I–” This time, when Val put a hand on her shoulder, he pushed on their bond.Stand aside. Forceful this time, but not unkind. And Anna obeyed.

Val, to his credit, didn’t place himself in front of her, but beside her. He was still thin, still weaker than he ought to have been. But in the moment he stood tall, relaxed, pleasant half-smile gracing his angular face. Even in jeans and a motorcycle jacket, he looked very much like a prince, golden hair cascading over his shoulders, and it had nothing to do with the sword across his back; it was just him, his bearing. His noble lineage.

He had a prince’s grace with language, too. “Lily, is it?” He sketched a quick but correct half-bow. “Please take it as a compliment when I say that your daughter favors you greatly.”

Mention of Red sent a flicker of emotion across Lily’s face, there and gone again.

“I’ve had the pleasure of meeting her,” Val said. “She even, in the short time she was here, tried to help me escape.” His regretful frown was one born of long practice; a calculated expression that nevertheless looked genuine. “Obviously, we weren’t successful.”

A tremor moved through Lily, a tiny earthquake. She clenched her hands into fists. “You have to stay here.” But her voice was threaded with cracks this time, unsure.

“I know that’s what you’ve been told,” Val soothed. “But the plan has changed.”

“Whose plan?”

“My brother’s.”

If it was possible, she paled further.

“I know,” Val continued, “that Dr. Talbot, and maybe even your husband, had grand ideas about arming Vlad with a wolf and a mage, and using him as a weapon. I confess I don’t know what they want with me – perhaps just to keep me locked up for the safety of the world. But Vlad is in charge now. He’s the one who will find Romulus and kill him. It’s his wish that we be allowed to leave.” He gestured to the rest of them with a slow sweep of his arm.

She stood her ground.

“Lily,” Anna tried again. “You can do whatever you want. But, please…you don’t need us. Fulk and I are bound to Val now.”

Lily’s eyes widened.

“Let us go.” Inwardly, she wanted to scream.Is this the way you want us to reconnect as sisters? With me as your prisoner?

The sound of running feet echoed from down the tunnel behind them, and a moment later Fulk burst into the garage. Unharmed, thank God. Without missing a step, he said, “Lily, Vlad’s just bound your husband, and probably drained half his blood. He’ll need you.” And he grabbed Anna’s arm and towed her along with him.

Anna went with him. She didn’t turn around to see what Lily did, but none of them were set on fire, so she figured they were being allowed to escape.

~*~

Vlad left him alive. Mostly. He was immortal; he would heal. When the mage swooned from blood loss, Vlad nipped his own wrist and pressed it to the man’s slack lips. The blood filled his mouth and overflowed, running down his chin, pouring over his fancy clothes. But, finally, he swallowed a few times. Vlad pushed with his will, and the binding was done, whether Price wanted it or not.

He released the mage, and he crumpled to the floor, eyes shut and face pale beneath a faint mottling of newly-forming bruises. He felt sure he’d broken a bone or two, perhaps even his jaw. But yes, he would heal.

Vlad wiped his mouth with the back of his burned hand. The blood stung the wounds, badly; he would heal also. It was of no consequence. Pain was something he’d learned to tolerate long ago.

He lifted his head, and surveyed the humans standing around him – those that hadn’t cowered beneath tables and covered their heads. Dr. Talbot, always so nervous, had finally been shocked into complete blankness of face. His expression gave away nothing, eyes glazed behind the lenses of his glasses.

It was to him that Vlad spoke, while Adela clutched at his leg, and Liam Price lay unconscious on the floor at his feet. “This moment marks a turning point, Dr. Talbot. Every one of your plans has crumbled, because you are a scientist, and not a leader. You woke me so I would fight, and I will…but I will do so on my terms.

“As of this moment, this house, and your entire Institute, are under my command. Your troops will obey orders.Youwill obey my orders. Is that understood?”

Talbot looked at him with something like hopelessness. His voice was a small, broken thing. “Yes, your grace.”

“We are at war,” Vlad said, “and if you think I’m cruel, then you should meet my uncle. Stopping him is the thing I care about; anyone who chooses to stand in my way rather than at my side can expect a similar fate.” He reached to nudge the decapitated guard’s body with the point of his sword.

“I – I understand, your grace.”

Another alarm sounded, this one softer, a gentle chiming. All the computer and TV monitors in the vast lab switched to the same view: black and white footage of vehicle taillights.

“The perimeter alarm,” one of the guards said, voice wavering. “Someone’s leaving the garage, sir.”

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