Page 79 of The Maestro's Mates
Justin’s vision turned red, and once again the crimson surge threatened to take over. This time, however, his demon didn’t control him. The beast of his vampirism pulsed under his skin, but now it was his partner. And they both raged.
Justin screamed, flying toward the old witch, claws out and hungry for flesh. Recognition flashed in the bearded man’s eyes, and he deftly slid out of the way, keeping one hand on Justin’s mate.
Slashing through empty air, Justin recovered, landing and turning back. His breath hitched when he caught a glimpse of Pavel’s face head-on. His mate was fully stone now, anger and frustration written on his monstrous face, perhaps for eternity.
A volcano of rage erupted in Justin. He would not lose his mate, not when he’d just found him.
Justin went for the witch again, and once again the old man feinted, but he kept a hand on Pavel, which gave Justin hope. Perhaps the witch was still fighting to kill the gargoyle, and his mate wasn’t lost for good.
It was the elderly witch’s commitment to draining the years from Pavel that was his undoing. As he dodged, his left arm stayed stretched out to the gargoyle, and in one clean motion, Justin severed it at the shoulder. The limb fell to the deck of the stage with a wet thump.
Sebastian’s father screamed in pain but didn’t stop moving. As Justin twisted to finish the job, the witch’s remaining hand went to Justin’s throat. He squeezed, and Justin’s airway closed as the flesh of his neckatrophied.
The shock of the attack stopped Justin in his tracks. The old witch’s touch emitted a weakness that was nearly impossible to fight. Justin’s mind railed, attempting to marshal his energy for another attack. For fuck’s sake, he’d taken off the guy’s arm; if he could manage another attack, he could probably finish the job. Yet he found himself unable to move.
That’s when he heard Sebastian’s voice, carrying faintly from inside the dome of wind magic where he and his sister battled. His mate was singing. Justin had only seen Sebastian use his voice in his spellwork once before: in that horrific dream they’d been trapped in. But it was different now. Sebastian was more confident in it, and the three of them were now mated.
The people that walkéd in darkness
That walkéd in darkness
The people that walkéd, that walkéd in darkness
Have seen a great light
Have seen a great light!
On his final note, strands of blue light stretched between Justin, Sebastian, and the stone form of Pavel. Confused at first, once the connection began to surge with energy, Justin understood. This was the power he’d used in Linda’s library, his ability to access the innate magic of his mates. Except now, they had completed the bond, and if what had happened in the library was a ripple, this was a tidal wave.
Justin was filled with energy, and Sebastian’s father couldn’t stand against it. No one could. The weakness finally retreating, Justin swiped his claw and took off the old man’s hand at the wrist, blood spurting from the newly made stump.
There was no waiting now. But instead of simply decapitating him, Justin snapped his neck. When the witch went limp, he sank his fangs into the old man’s carotid artery.
Although he preferred to drink only from his mates, he hoped blood, especially the blood of a powerful witch, would heal the sections of his body that had been mummified.
He struggled to swallow down the warm liquid. Although there was still a pathway, both his trachea and his esophagus had been partially obstructed by the witch’s power.
As the blood hit his stomach, a tingling sensation spread throughout his body, concentrating on the areas the witch had attacked. Justin hoped it would be enough, but he didn’t have the time to find out. He ran to Pavel, grabbing the gargoyle by the shoulders, but his mate’s flesh had become cold, immovable stone.
There was a roar, followed by a strange woosh, and Justin turned to find Sebastian and Veronica staring as he squeezed the hard granite of his gargoyle mate. Although Sebastian was still standing, Veronica was on her knees, her clothing torn and covered in burns and bruises.
“You…you killed our father…” Veronica whispered, the confusion of battle still on her.
Sebastian ran to Justin’s side, his hand going to the vampire’s back, and he brought their foreheads together. At his touch, a dam broke inside Justin, and he gasped for air, tears pouring from his eyes.
“It’s Pavel… Your father used some kind of aging spell. I’m scared, Seb. He might be gone.”
Sebastian spun back to his sister.
“Nothing is worth this. You attacked our mother, broughtthatfucker back into our lives,” Sebastian said, pointing toward his father’s lifeless body, “and you killed my mate. You could have left. Why didn’t you leave? Why did you come back?!”
Veronica flinched at Sebastian’s words, then quickly recovered herself. Anger and pity warred in Justin’s heart. Veronica was Sebastian’s sister. He didn’t know what he would do if a family member turned on him like this, and his heart hurt to watch Seb go through it.
“I cannot walk away. What she did to us…what she did to me…I can’t forget it, and I can’t let it go.”
If Sebastian was conflicted, he didn’t show it, instead stepping away from their dormant mate and addressing his sister in a clear and piercing voice.
“You have a choice, Vee. Either you take yourself far away from the Bayonne Circle, never to return, or I kill you now. You brought this man, the so-called father who abandoned us, back to hurt our mother. You murdered my mate. I promise, between Justin and myself, we can take you out. And your death will not be a pleasant one.”
