Page 23 of Blood Wine

Istvan couldn’t believe his eyes. It was like a scene from some nightmare he couldn’t wake up from. He had seen Emil’s head roll across the floor for God’s sake. How was this possible? He looked frantically at Stephen, the one who had severed the German vampire’s head and received the same panicked look in response.

Then he turned to look at Bela for answers and was just in time to see the Hungarian vampire disappear through the door. Sam followed him with a growl. The door slammed shut. He rattled it and found it barred.

“The bastard’s sold us down the river.”

Istvan’s fangs snapped out. His body turned from ice to flame. He stared Emil down. “What do you want?”

“Why, your death of course, dear,dearIstvan.” Emil gave a horrible, rictus grin. “Have you missed me?” He peered at Stephen. “Istvan still keeping you around as his blood bank, Stephen?”

“I thought I’d sent you to hell,” Stephen said coldly.

“Only purgatory,” Emil said. “It was a good job I had a real friend on hand, wasn’t it?”

The vampires and humans turned as one to see a tall, dark-haired thin man standing by the door. He radiated power and danger and Istvan knew instinctively what he was looking at. This man was ancient beyond any understanding of the word. He had probably been here at the very birth of the earth.

The vampire inclined his head, smiling a sharp-toothed smile. “My name is Raphael,” he said in a French accent. “Charmed to meet you all. Even the humans.” He looked over Stephen and Janos with a predatory gaze and licked his lips. “I look forward to tasting you.”

“Who are you?” Istvan demanded.

Raphael stepped closer. “You mean you don’t remember me, Istvan? In those heady days after Emil made you, we had such fun together.”

Istvan was aghast. Those days were all a blur of blood frenzy and lust. He had no idea what had happened or how many sexual partners he might have had. This vampire was part of the orgy of blood and sex?

Shame covered him like a coat. He looked at Stephen, whose face was pinched and white. Well, it hardly mattered now to have his full, sordid sexual history revealed. This vampire was clearly so powerful he had resurrected Emil and yet, all this time, he had lurked in the background, not revealing himself.

“I know you,” Severin said, his tone laced with disgust. “We had the pleasure of meeting many moons ago. I thought you were long dead.”

Raphael grinned. “I remember you. A tiger in a vampire’s form, Severin.”

Severin blushed, which Istvan didn’t think he had in him, and looked at Nikolaus, who folded his arms and glowered. Raphael was obviously as free with his body as Emil was but also even more deadly.

“So,” Raphael said. “Here’s the plan. Emil and I kill all the immortals among you. Then we rape and torture your humans before draining them dry. Any questions?”

Janos spoke up. “I have a question. How come you got all these handsome men in your bed when you’re pig-ugly?”

There was no time for any of the group to smile before Raphael flew at Janos, fangs out. The two men crashed to the ground, Raphael snapping at Janos’s throat while the human tried to hold him at bay. Sam got there first and Istvan was floored by him as Raphael launched the younger vampire into him. Severin and Nikolaus were also tossed aside like rag-dolls, landing with crashes on the other side of the room.

Istvan climbed to his feet. Bela had really done well, luring them all here where Emil and Raphael could tie up all loose ends in one go. Sam and Raphael were battling, their hands around each other’s throats.

He turned around as he heard a thud behind him. Emil had jumped down from the balcony.

Chapter Seventeen

Nikolaus and Severin advanced on Raphael while Sam and Istvan faced Emil down. All this time, Sam had chance to muse. All this time I thought idly of Emil, wondered if he could come back, thought how terrible it would be for us all if he did and then I dismissed it, thinking it didn’t really concern me. And now here he is and it concerns me very much. We’ve all been led into this trap and we’re all going to die. And I’m so naïve, I didn’t even see it coming.

Emil smiled at them both. “Sam,” he said. “I’ve been looking forward to meeting the bastard that Istvan sired without my say so.”

Sam straightened his shoulders. He wouldn’t show any fear. “Istvan saved my life. He didn’t have any choice. Nor did he have the time to travel to your castle to get your signature on an official permission-to-make-a-vampire order.”

Emil’s lips tightened and he backhanded Sam across the face. Sam flew through the air and crashed into the locked door at the far side of the room. He lay stunned against the wall for a moment. He looked at the chaos unfolding around him and for one terrible, traitorous moment, wished he could slip out of the room and leave all these men to it. He was afraid, so deeply afraid. He was not ready to die yet; he had barely started to embrace his new life.

But he needed to remember what his new life consisted of now. He had somebody to share it with, no matter that he and Janos were polar opposites, and he needed to fight for the man he loved. Janos needed a hero even though Sam had never been a hero in his life.

He climbed shakily to his feet.

Furniture was being smashed and overturned in the struggle between Raphael, Janos, Severin, Nikolaus and Stephen, while on the other side of the room, Emil held Istvan against the wall, hands around his throat. Sam wished Istvan no ill, despite what had happened between them, but the older vampire was on his own. It was all hands on deck to save his beloved from Raphael.

Janos had managed to crawl away from the melee. Raphael was standing with Nikolaus on his back trying to bite him, while Severin threw punches at him that the French vampire seemed to barely feel. Meanwhile, Stephen was stamping on chairs, snapping off the legs to use them as makeshift stakes. Sam shuddered when he saw the weapons and prayed they wouldn’t fall into the wrong hands.

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