Total pages in book: 158
Estimated words: 145341 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 727(@200wpm)___ 581(@250wpm)___ 484(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 145341 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 727(@200wpm)___ 581(@250wpm)___ 484(@300wpm)
Mars scowled, his heavy dark brows coming together in a straight line. “I have no need of help to defeat you or anyone else, hunter. You know me, then.”
“By your reputation. It was very easy to identify you.” Again, Siv put a complimentary note in his voice. “Many of the hunters speak of you. They wonder why you choose to serve another who clearly is not your equal.”
Mars’ chest puffed out just a little farther even as his gaze darted toward the waterfall that was now a spectacular ice sculpture. Vitus is hidden somewhere in the layers along the waterfall. He is extremely dangerous.
Rufus had come out of his hiding place to confront Siv as well, but Garald placed himself squarely in front of the vampire, giving him the same courteous half bow Siv had given Mars.
“I greet you, Rufus, you sanctimonious fruitcake of a vampire who is foul and obscene, an abomination walking upon our very lands. I suppose you have come here asking for death, and I have no other choice but to oblige you.” He sounded weary.
What part of flattering and pandering to their ego did your brother not comprehend?
That is not his way, Vasilisa informed him, amusement uppermost in her mind. Have no worries, I will aid him. He is counting on it.
Mars swayed first one way and then another. He moved toward Siv and then backed away as if restless, staying constantly in motion. Siv kept his eyes on him, but there was a part of him that was watchful of Rufus and also the waterfall sculpture.
If the master vampire, Prince Vitus, thought for one moment his guardians were winning the battle, he would throw his considerable fighting skills behind them. If he thought they were losing, he would take every bit of information he could from the battle so he wouldn’t repeat the same mistakes, and he would flee. Master vampires survived by running.
Rufus gave Garald a faint smile. “You Lycans are all alike, so arrogant, believing you are fast. Believing you can jump higher and run faster than any other. What of your friend Mark? Wasn’t he your best tracker? You personally sent him out. I saw the memory in his mind.” His voice was pleasant as he spoke. So was his smile as he taunted Vasilisa’s brother so cruelly.
He rushed Garald with blinding speed, going straight at him. Garald lowered his sword, keeping it chest high to ward off the vampire, but it was impossible to see him. Rufus had vanished, his speed too great.
Triumphantly, the vampire shimmered back into his form directly behind the Lycan. He had defeated countless hunters in just this way for hundreds of years. Pain spread through him, radiating through his chest like a starburst. He tried to look down but couldn’t see at first. There was too much brightness, which didn’t make sense. There was only the palest sliver of a moon. They had created cloud cover on top of everything else, although the clouds seemed to have deserted them.
The light was a blazing blue and the pain was fierce, as if a flame had gone right through the middle of his chest, tearing a great hole through it. His heart felt on fire. Burning. The stench was atrocious. He blinked rapidly until his vision cleared. First, he saw the woman. She looked beautiful. Serene. Far too calm when he was going to destroy her. Then her brother was beside her.
“You should never have set foot on my lands, vampire. Go to hell, where you belong. This time, you cannot return,” Garald announced.
If Rufus squinted against that blue flame, he could make out the sword in his hands.
“You are bound by the laws of Mother Earth and all who serve her,” Vasilisa said in her gentle voice. “I command you to the depths of hades, never to return in any form.”
Garald swung his sword so fast, the vampire heard the whistle as the blade cut through the air and took his head. Vasilisa’s sword had incinerated the vampire’s heart right there in his chest. She had been waiting for him at her brother’s back.
CHAPTER
4
Afanasiv waited as Mars continued his swaying and constant moving. The “bull” was staying true to his battle form, just as Rufus had. Siv touched his mind, keeping a very delicate connection. The mind of a vampire was disgusting and riddled with obscene, hideous images of the torture and destruction of entire villages, crimes they’d committed in their past and enjoyed remembering.
There was elation, even glee, despite the fact that, or maybe because, Rufus and the pawns had been defeated. Mars took a kind of malicious pleasure in knowing they were gone and Prince Vitus, with his favoritism and continual preening, did not save them. No, it was more than that. Mars was certain he could not be defeated. He was protected, and he would be given his ultimate prize—one he had longed for and believed he had been cheated out of by Dimitri Tirunul. Skyler should have belonged to him. He had nearly had her some years earlier, but she had escaped his trap. A mere human had eluded him, and she would pay for the constant ridicule Prince Vitus and Rufus subjected him to over the last few years.