Chapter Twenty-One
Kadie sat at her computer playing her fifth game of Gin Rummy.
She had lost the previous four, probably because she wasn’t really paying attention to the game.
She couldn’t stop worrying about Elowynne’s next move.
She had killed Alara. Was Izabela next? Or Rylan?
Or Kincaid? She shivered as a cold chill trickled down her spine.
She had done nothing to Elowynne but what better vengeance could Elowynne have than to destroy the woman Saintcrow loved?
Kadie frowned. If she was out of the way, was the witch twisted enough to think Rylan would turn to her for comfort?
Kadie smiled as Rylan came up behind her and placed his hands on her shoulders.
“Kadie, love, why are you sitting here worrying about the wicked witch?”
She leaned back, resting her head against his broad chest. “Why do you think? She’s not going to stop until one of you is dead. Doesn’t facing her worry you?”
Bending down, Saintcrow kissed the top of her head. “Of course it does. But worrying won’t help. As for Izabela, she can take care of herself.”
“Are you sure?”
“As sure as I can be.” He ran his tongue along the side of her neck. “Let’s forget about Elowynne for a while,” he said, threading his fingers through the silk of her hair.
As always, his touch drove everything else from Kadie’s mind. “What did you have in mind?” she asked in a throaty voice.
“Just what you think, darlin’.” Lifting her into his arms, he carried her to bed and spent the rest of the night making slow sweet love to her.
Kadie blinked back her tears as pleasure uncurled deep within her, unable to shake the feeling that their time together might soon be over.
~ * ~
The next few days passed without incident.
The waiting was making Saintcrow restless.
Kadie knew he wanted to find Elowynne and butt heads, vampire-style, but she dreaded the time when the two of them would meet.
Only one would walk away and while she was almost certain Rylan would win, she still worried because he had never tangled with an ancient vampire who was also a powerful witch.
She had always believed that good was stronger than evil.
And if that was true, then Lanzoni’s exorcism should protect the man she loved.
She refused to consider any other option.
She had to admit, the waiting was getting on her nerves, too. It was hard to think about anything else. No doubt the witch was gloating as she waited for just the right time to strike.
And then letters addressed to Saintcrow started arriving, one every day for the next two weeks.
They were from Elowynne, describing, in vivid detail, what she intended to do to Kadie once she had defeated Saintcrow.
A few of the notes were truly horrendous as Elowynne threatened to hang Kadie from the bridge with a noose made of silver.
Of course, doing so wouldn’t kill her, although the silver around her neck for a long period of time would be excruciating.
The witch sent a color photograph of a disemboweled corpse and wrote Kadie’s name across the top.
She sent photos of bodies being burned at the stake, being dismembered, and pictures of every other gruesome way to inflict slow, painful death.
At first, Saintcrow refused to let Kadie look at the letters or the photos, but she insisted she had a right to see them and, in the end, he relented.
“She’s awfully sure of herself, isn’t she?” Kadie asked as she tossed the most recent message into the fireplace.
“It’s her over-confidence that will defeat her,” Saintcrow replied, drawing Kadie into his arms.
Kadie nodded, clinging to the fact that although Rylan had lost a few battles, he had never lost a war.
The days slipped by one by one until, finally, Saintcrow couldn’t stand it anymore. “I’m going to try and contact Elowynne again and challenge her to meet me. It’s time to put an end to this game once and for all.”
Kadie came out of her chair as if she’d been shot from a cannon. Facing him, she cried, “Are you out of your mind?” As much as she hated the waiting, the uncertainty, the thought of Rylan facing off with the witch, scared her to death.
“What do you want me to do?” he asked quietly. “I can’t spend the rest of my life waiting for her to come to me. She knows damn well the wait is driving me crazy.” As was the worry that Elowynne might try to harm Kadie, which was why he kept her close to his side.
“Rylan...”
He drew her gently into his arms and held her while she wept softly. He had to destroy Elowynne, he thought, as he stroked Kadie’s back. Had to keep his woman safe, even if doing so cost him his own life.
When her tears subsided, he made slow, sweet love to her, telling her with every kiss and caress that he loved her, cherished her.
But Kadie didn’t want tender, didn’t want coddling.
She buried her fears in their lovemaking as he rose over her.
She bucked beneath him, her nails raking his back as he took her, hard and fast.
He held her until she fell asleep in his arms.
It was an hour before dawn when he slipped out of bed.
He spent a few moments just looking at Kadie, his gaze moving over face, the slim form he knew as well as his own as he remembered all the years they had spent together.
He had loved her from the moment he first saw her, had known she would be his.
Even though she denied it every time he asked, he couldn’t help wondering if, deep down, she was sorry she had married him. Sorry he had stolen her life.
Leaning down, he brushed a feather-light kiss across her sweet, pink lips, then spoke to her mind, assuring that she would sleep until he roused her or until noon if he didn’t return. One last kiss before he pulled on his jeans and boots and left the house.
Transporting himself to the stretch of ground under the bridge, he opened his preternatural senses.
Elowynne! I’ve had enough of your foolish games.
Let’s end it now. Unless you’re afraid to meet me face to face, vampire to vampire.
If you refuse, I’ll tell the whole vampire community that you’re nothing but a craven coward, all noise and no. ....
She materialized beside him before he finished his thought. She wore a short black skirt, a long-sleeved black sweater, and black heels. Her long, blonde hair flowed down her back and over her shoulders. Cold and beautiful, he thought. And totally evil.
“So,” she said, her gaze meeting his. “You wish to end it tonight?”
He nodded.
“You’re no match for me,” she said imperiously.
“You think not? Your magic has no effect on me anymore. I’m betting my life that my powers are as strong or stronger than yours.” He flashed a smug smile. “And, unlike you, I have something to live for.”
Her fury raked over him, opening long, bloody gashes along his arms.
He stood firm, refusing to flinch.
“You killed my sister,” she hissed. “And now you will die.”
She unleashed her power again. It slammed into him, driving the breath from his lungs, unleashing his anger in a burst of supernatural power. She reeled backward, a gasp of surprise issuing from her lips as what felt like lightning splintered inside her.
She flew at him, fangs bared, hands like claws, ripping into his shoulders, his arms, her nails raking his chest. They came together again and again, fangs rending flesh. Wounds bled and healed. After several intense moments, they parted.
Only then did Saintcrow notice Kincaid’s presence. “Go home, Jake,” he said.
“We vowed to do this together, remember?”
“If I fail, you can have her.”
“Dammit, Saintcrow....”
“She’s mine!” Saintcrow had no sooner spoken the words than Elowynne was on him, her fangs tearing into his flesh, her long nails raking his cheeks, scoring his naked chest and back, until he was covered in his own blood.
Rage flared deep within him as he pictured Alara’s body as he had last seen it.
With a vicious cry, he lunged at Elowynne, let out a gasp as he pretended to lose his balance. He landed on his back on the ground.
With a scream of victory, she threw herself at him, fangs driving toward his throat.
She let out a startled gasp of pain and surprise when he plunged his fingers into her chest and ripped out her heart.
Time seemed to stand still as she stared at him in utter disbelief before toppling sideways to the ground beside him.
In that instant, Kincaid rushed forward and cut off her head. “Together!” he shouted, holding the grisly trophy up by the hair.
“Together,” Saintcrow agreed, gaining his feet.
“What are we gonna do with the body?” Jake asked.
“Good question,” Saintcrow muttered. Fledgling vampires turned into dust with the rising of the sun. Ancient ones did not. “We’ll have to burn it. I know a place....Do you hear that?”
Jake lifted his head, brow furrowed. “It can’t be.”
“But it is.”
Striding toward a thick clump of wild blackberry bushes, Saintcrow gazed down at a large wicker basket. A dark-haired baby clad in nothing but an over-ripe diaper lay inside, crying piteously. From the looks of it, it hadn’t been fed, bathed, or changed recently.
“What the hell!” Kincaid exclaimed, coming up beside him. “Where did that come from?”
“I have a feeling Elowynne brought it with her for a snack after the fight. Nothing like a little innocent blood to restore one’s strength.”
Jake eyed Saintcrow but said nothing.
Saintcrow stared at the crying child. Its face was pale, tiny arms and legs flailing helplessly. He cursed when he saw the two tiny bites in the child’s upper arm. Elowynne had fed on the kid before the fight. No doubt she had intended to drain it dry when the battle was over.
“What are we gonna do with it?” Kincaid asked. “I took home one of Izabela’s kittens, but I draw the line at babies.” The lure of innocent blood was an enticement all vampires faced.