Chapter 22
Devon struggled against the rope binding her to the throne, but she was weak from the loss of so much blood and her muscles refused to function.
Despite the sweat dripping down her temples and her spine, she was shivering with cold, and she had to fight to keep her eyes open. All her body wanted to do was sleep.
Her mind, however, was just fucking fine.
Vampires crowded in front of her, and she’d lost sight of Kohl what seemed like forever ago but was probably only a minute into the fight. The two vampires moved so fast, she couldn’t tell who was winning anyway.
The crowd suddenly shifted restlessly, and a gap appeared.
Through it, she could see Kohl’s friend Hawke.
He stood toward the back with a few others who were apparently either on Kohl’s side or pleading the fifth.
Whatever. Vampire politics meant nothing to her.
She just wanted Kohl to survive this night.
She wanted both of them to survive this night.
Hawke’s face was completely expressionless, but his stance was tense.
Struggling to keep her eyes open, she screamed his name in her head, hoping like hell he would hear her.
The fourth time she did it, she knew she’d succeeded when his eyes flicked over to her briefly before he went back to the fight.
She was gearing up to try again when she heard it.
Devon?
He didn’t sound pleased with her, but she didn’t give a rat’s ass. Oh, thank God. Help me, Hawke. Please.
Slowly, his head turned in her direction.
Devon knew she must look like some kind of bloody pagan offering, but she could only hope his stoic persona wasn’t an act and he would be able to control the impulse to feed.
She was gambling with her life, but she was running out of options here. Please, she begged him.
Kohl roared in anguish, or maybe it was anger, but she kept her focus on Hawke. Please.
His mouth twisted with something akin to annoyance as his eyes shot back and forth between her and Kohl.
Devon let out a sob of gratitude when he finally appeared in front of her on the dais. She didn’t even see him move.
He assessed her injuries with cold, dark eyes.
“I could heal you, but I don’t think your boyfriend would like that.
” He pulled his upper lip back, showing her his fangs, extended and ready to feed.
A shiver of fear slid up her spine as he leaned in and smelled her.
“I can certainly see why my boy is so attracted to you, though.” Shouts rose up behind Hawke, and he shifted his body to see what was going on, enough that Devon could see, too.
The dragon stared at her through Kohl’s eyes.
As she watched, he arched forward and two rows of spines tore through the skin and clothing along his back.
Kohl raised his head, fangs bared as his focus shifted back and forth between her and Hawke.
Horrible, heart-breaking sounds were ripped from his throat as the dragon fought its way out.
From the corner of her eye, Devon saw a group of vampires cautiously approaching Kohl with large, silver chains looped over their arms under the direction of the coven leader. The bastard laughed at Kohl, calling him horrible things, egging him on.
She turned back to Hawke, struggling against her bonds. “Please, hurry! We have to help him!”
But Hawke just gave her a knowing smile as he bent down to release her ankles first. “He doesn’t need any help, honey. Trust me on this one.” Once her legs were free, he moved up to her arms and body. “But we need to get the hell out of here, and fast, before he turns this place into an inferno.”
With one arm around her waist, he helped her to her feet. Devon watched as the vampires threw the chains over Kohl as he struggled to shift. The weight drove him to his knees.
“Dammit. He’s fighting it,” Hawke said as he helped her down the step.
“Why? Why won’t he save himself?”
“Because he’s probably too worried about saving you.”
The coven leader, floating a foot off the ground like some kind of possessed anti-Christ, lifted both arms over Kohl’s body.
The force of his will pushed Kohl all the way to the ground until he was nearly flat on his stomach.
Devon had never seen or heard of anything like it.
In all her years at Parasupe, she’d never run across anything stating vampires had this kind of power.
The crack of breaking bones reverberated around them. Kohl’s bones. And without thinking, Devon cried out to him. “Kohl!”
His head whipped around and he spotted her immediately. Glowing eyes narrowed in on Hawke’s arm around her.
Hawke cursed under his breath as he propelled her toward the tunnel. “What the hell did you do that for?”
Three vampires suddenly appeared in front of them, halting their escape. Devon felt Hawke tense beside her.
“Where are you taking my dinner, Hawke?”
The coven leader’s voice echoed in Devon’s head. She winced in pain and pressed her free hand to the side of her head.
“Fuck. We’re not getting out of here,” Hawke said in her ear. “I’m so sorry.”
Devon couldn’t believe he was giving up so easily. “No. No! Just go around them.”
“I can’t. I’m sorry,” he repeated.
Their bodies, still holding onto each other, began to turn.
Devon looked down. Her feet weren’t touching the ground, but were floating a few inches above it.
She tried to reach for Hawke, tried to grip his shirt, but her arm wouldn’t move.
“What’s happening?” But she knew exactly what was going on.
Lifting her eyes, she saw the coven leader floating toward them.
Behind him, Kohl lay sprawled on the ground beneath pounds of silver chains. Half vampire. Half dragon.
I never meant for all of this to happen. I never wanted to hurt you. I just wanted to be with you.
Devon focused on Kohl, trying to insert the words forcibly into his head with nothing but sheer willpower. She had no idea if he could hear her. He’d told her he couldn’t communicate this way. But, still, she had to try.
He started to renew his struggles against the chains, and managed to lift his head.
When he saw that she and Hawke had the coven leader’s full attention, his face twisted into a mask of rage and he growled deep within his throat, baring his fangs.
Devon watched in awe as he struggled to his hands and knees beneath the weight of the chains while the vampires on either side fought to keep him down.
Let him out, Kohl!
The coven leader floated closer, blocking her view, and the connection was broken.
The ground suddenly came up at her and Hawke and they landed hard. Devon found she could move again, and she did clutch Hawke’s shirt this time.
Hawke spoke up. “Master, I was only trying to get her out of harm’s way so you would—”
Hawke made a choking noise. Bending at the waist, his arm slipped from her as he attempted to draw air into his lungs.
The coven leader’s feet softly touched the ground and he strode toward them on legs like tree trunks enclosed in black leather.
Blood streaked his blond hair and billowy white shirt. Her blood. And his own.
Devon’s heart fought to continue beating as terror filled her veins with ice.
The coven leader stopped about six feet away. Cocking his head to the side, he watched Hawke struggle for breath. His face showed no remorse, no sign of emotion whatsoever.
They were going to die. They were all going to die.
The ice in Devon’s blood suddenly turned to hope as two black, leathery wings spread to each side of the coven leader. She reached down and twisted her hand in the back of Hawke’s shirt, trying to pull him up and make him look. “Hawke! Look.”
He raised his head, hauling in deep breaths as the coven master released his hold and looked over his shoulder.
The dragon rose up behind him. A great beast from some other time. Spreading his wings, he stretched his head toward them and released a scream that had chills chasing each other across her skin.
“Devon, you have to run!” Hawke wrapped his arm around her and pulled her away.
“He won’t hurt me,” she said.
“That may be true, but I don’t know that he would have the same consideration for me. Let’s go.”
She let him lead her toward the tunnel, leaning her weight on him as vampires ran past them in blurs. After a few seconds, he bent down and swooped her up in his arms.
The air sucked at their backs as the dragon drew in a deep breath. Screams rent the air as the entire coven ran for their lives.
“Fucking hell, Kohl! Give me a minute!” Hawke shouted. He reached the passageway just in time and dodged around a piece of limestone that jutted out from the wall, ducking behind it just as a wave of heat pushed them to the ground, followed by a stream of fire.
Hawke slapped at the outside of Devon’s thigh, and she belatedly realized she was on fire.
Pushing his hands away before he set himself ablaze, she rolled away from him, smothering the flames in the dirt.
Unfortunately, by doing so, she rolled right out into the middle of the tunnel.
Her hair whipped around her face as Kohl drew in another breath, sucking the air from the enclosed space.
Knowing she had to do something before he burned them all alive, even those he cared about, she rose up on her knees and held up her hands. “Kohl! Stop! Please, stop!”
The cavern was large enough for the dragon to stand.
Multiple small, lingering fires burned around him filling the air with the stench of burnt hair and skin.
About fourteen vampires, those who had been lucky enough to be behind the dragon when he torched the others, huddled in the back of the room, afraid to move for fear of drawing the beast’s attention.
At the sound of her voice, his large head swung toward her, and a deep purr filled the room as he exhaled in plumes of smoke. Using the tips of his wings for leverage, he crawled toward her.
“Devon! What are you doing?”
She saw Hawke waving at her out of the corner of her eye, trying to get her to hide.
“It’s okay. He won’t hurt me.” Using the wall as leverage, she pushed herself to her feet and stumbled forward, away from Hawke’s hiding place.
Vampire or not, he had helped her, and for that, she owed him his life and would do whatever she could to distract Kohl’s attention from him.
Leaving the tunnel, she made it about twenty feet before her head began to swim and she lost her balance, falling onto her hands and knees.
Kohl “harmphd” in alarm and rushed toward her. Lowering his head, he nudged her with his nose.
“I’m all right,” she said.
He didn’t seem to believe her. He ran his nose over her, growling deep when he smelled the blood.
In her fifth or thirtieth attempt to get up, Devon fell to her side, exposing her burned leg.
When he came upon the scalded flesh, the dragon’s large body shuddered from head to tail. He snuffed at her burn, inhaling deeply. Carefully, he settled down beside her.
Devon touched the side of his neck, too weak to do much else.
Suddenly, the dragon’s big body jerked and he grunted in pain.
The dragon lurched to his feet, and Devon saw the long cut in his belly dripping blood onto the ground. It looked deep. But there was no weapon anywhere, nothing that could have caused it.
Shoving her hair from her face, she searched for the source of his injury.
The coven leader stood in the center of the room with a wicked-looking knife in his hand, and he was smiling as he wiped the long blade on his leather pant leg.
Hawke appeared to her left. He, too, had his eyes on the coven leader, and apparently little regard for the danger he was putting himself in.
He looked around at the burning bodies of those vampires who hadn’t gotten out of the way in time.
Anger twisted his features. With fangs bared in warning, he hissed.
“This is your fault, Master. You shouldn’t have brought her here! Look what you’ve done.”
“I didn’t bring her here. Jaz did. On my orders,” he added with a smirk. He glanced at one of the burning bodies. “Loyal until death, that one.”
The dragon wrapped his tail around Devon, pulling her close to him.
She looked up just in time to see his sides expand as he opened his jaws and pulled in a breath.
Focused on the coven leader, Hawke didn’t even notice. The vampires at the back of the room, now in the direct line of fire, began to scatter.
Devon shoved at Kohl’s side to get his attention, giving them time to get to safety. She didn’t know if these vampires were good or bad, but they deserved a chance to save themselves.
One eye focused on her, then on Hawke, then on the others edging toward the tunnels, and she saw a spark of comprehension.
Releasing Devon from the curve of his tail, he began to flap his wings, deep gusts of air knocking Hawke and the other vampires still in the room off their feet.
With a running start, he rose into the air, and Devon watched in disbelief as he captured the coven leader, catching him off guard.
Holding him gripped in one talon, he flew up into the smooth ceiling above.
He slammed into it with his muscular back, over and over, until he started busting through the limestone.
The coven leader struggled to get free, but with his arms trapped at his sides, there was little he could do.
The ceiling began to crumble down around them.
Devon suddenly found herself in Hawke’s arms, rushing back toward the tunnel.
They made it just as the dragon broke through, and a large piece came crashing back down to the ground.
Sunlight streamed down through the hole he’d created, glinting off the rippling jewel tones of his dark scales.
Terror ripped through her and Devon screamed, certain he’d burn alive right before her eyes. She tried to run to him, but Hawke held her back.
“It’s okay, Devon.” He was annoyingly calm. “Watch.”
Kohl flapped his enormous wings and flew up and out of the caverns, the Master still gripped in his talon.
But as soon as the sun’s rays hit the vampire, he burst into flames, disintegrating into dust and ash that floated down through the beams of sunshine like fairy dust, until it gently touched down on the cavern floor.
Catching a gust of wind, the dragon flew higher and higher toward the sun.
Devon watched him until he was only as large as a bird.
And then he was gone.