Chapter Twenty-Seven – Lucian
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
LUCIAN
We stand outside the compound, tension crackling in the air like a live wire. My brothers flank me in silence, waiting. Waiting for my sacrifice. Waiting for my death.
“If you don’t die from Anathema,” Cain mutters at my side, “you know you’re dead the moment she wakes.”
My lips twitch. “I’d happily die by her hand.” I swallow. Leaving her feels like a blade coiled deep in my chest.
“They’re coming,” Viktor says.
The night sky churns, roaring clouds swallowing the moon.
Thunder fractures the air as lightning tears it open.
Sulphur burns my nostrils. Trees rip themselves from the ground, roots screaming as they part, bowing like living things to clear a path.
A swirling mass of black matter rolls toward us, then spreads, solidifying into three figures.
They look almost human. Where their eyes should be are hollow pits of endless black.
The one in the centre steps forward. My brothers raise their water pistols.
It tilts its head, assessing us, then smiles—slow and wrong—revealing needle-like teeth.
“I didn’t expect them to be this ugly,” Clutch mutters.
“I didn’t expect to fight an unholy being with fucking toy guns,” Rook says, “but here we are.”
“You came for a fight,” the creature rasps. Its voice reeks of rot and grave dirt.
“Did you think we’d bend over and let you fuck us?” Silas snaps.
“Don’t give them ideas,” Clutch whines.
“You cannot fight us,” it continues. “We came for the one with the markings.”
Their attention locks onto me.
I lift my chin. “And what if I don’t want to go with you?”
“There is no choice. Your kind was a mistake. An error.” A pause. A mocking and delicate tut. “We do not tolerate errors.”
“Enough,” the one to its left snaps. “We’ve found him. Destroy him, and all will cease.”
“You wipe out all of us?” Cain asks. “Sounds like you’ll have job security issues to me.”
They glance at one another and shrug. “We know only our purpose.”
I step forward and drop my pistol. “I’ll go willingly if you spare them.”
“No!” Talon shouts. “What the fuck are you doing?!”
I look back at them. “Sacrifice is the only way.” Sister Mary Joan’s prophecy tastes like ash on my tongue.
The creature raises its hand; fire detonates inside me. Pain rips through my body like liquid flame; burning bone, nerve, soul. I arch back, a guttural roar tearing free as my body lifts off the ground. This is it. The end. I close my eyes. Evelynn fills my mind. Her touch. Her scent. Her taste.
“Not so fast, you blind, ugly motherfucker!” Clutch’s roar shatters the moment.
I slam into the ground. The pain eases just enough to breathe. I roll onto my side and see my brothers unloading their pistols. The liquid hisses against Anathema’s skin. It’s working. They cluster together, shielding themselves.
Silas grabs my arm and hauls me up. “You’re not sacrificing yourself that easily.” He shoves my pistol into my hand as we retreat.
“Uh, we’ve got a problem,” Marko says.
I look up, seeing the Dominion and Seraphine approach.
“Fuck,” Silas mutters. “She’s a pain in the ass.”
“Fall back!” I shout.
As we regroup, Anathema and the Dominion face one another. Seraphine’s arrogance is gone, eyes wide, mouth parted in terror. I cross my arms. Hatred coils tight in my chest. Several Dominion turn on her.
“I didn’t know. I-.” she pleads. A blade flashes. Her head separates cleanly from her body. Dust scatters on the wind like she was nothing more than dirt. I wish it had been me to end her.
“Why can’t we hear them?” Clutch asks, frowning as he looks over at Anathema and the Dominion talking.
“Shield,” Silas growls. “They’ve used it before.”
“We could run,” Diesel offers. “Or surprise attack.”
Running isn’t an option. They’ll always find me. “We’re outnumbered,” I say. “This won’t be easy.”
Silas grins feral and vicious. “I’ve got scores to settle.”
Cain shrugs. “If Anathema kills you, we’re dust anyway. Might as well go down fighting.” Weapons come out in a blur: blades, swords, and guns loaded with holy rounds. Then there’s Hex, pulling out two chain maces.
Hex grins. “Don’t touch the spikes. Black Beauty helped me conjure up a little something to inflict some extra pain.”
“How did your bike help you make those?” Clutch snaps, rolling his eyes.
“Touch it and find out,” Hex dares.
“Nope. Enough,” I say. “We hit the Dominion. Spray Anathema. No heroes. Fight smart.” They nod, then we move.
Chaos erupts. I slam into Rahoul, head of the Dominion. “Surprised to see you,” I sneer. “Thought this was beneath you.”
“When I heard Lucian Vane broke vampire law,” he smiles, eyes ghost white, “I had to see it.”
“You’re wasting your time.”
He inhales deeply. Tuts. “Lying to a Dominion. I smell her all over you.”
“It’s me you desire. So why don’t you stop dancing around it and come get what you want? Or are you too afraid you’ll lose against me?”
He lunges, and we collide. Bones crack, and the ground shakes as I drive him down, my boot crushing his throat.
“I may die today,” I hiss, blade raised, “but I’ll erase your ugly ass first.”
Agony detonates within me again. I scream as the burning tears through me. My blade drops, and I collapse to the ground as Anathema advances. Behind me, Dominion corpses litter the ground. A smile touches my lips as pride for my brothers fills my chest.
“You never did like authority,” Morbius says as he steps beside Rahoul.
“I thought I smelled a rat,” I snarl.
He grins and kills Rahoul in one smooth strike. “Nothing personal,” Morbius says as Rahoul’s ashes scatter. “Higher bidder.”
“You made a deal with Anathema.”
“Sure did.” He leans close. “After I erase you, I’ll claim your marked one’s corpse.”
Rage explodes inside me, but the pain wins. I hit the dirt, fists buried in the earth. I won’t scream; I won’t give them that.