Chapter 56
Chapter fifty-six
Delilah
I stared at the beast, its curled lip revealing long teeth that looked wickedly sharp. It stared around the ballroom, red eyes glowing as it took in the crowd of angry vampires, and for a moment, it appeared as if the whole room held a collective breath.
And in the next instant, the world around us shattered.
Without warning, a bolt of lightning blasted through the window, colliding into the chandelier that hung over the dance floor. Sparks flew as the huge piece of brass and crystal crashed to the floor, vampires darting out of the way with their preternatural speed.
“Fuck,” hissed Archer, stepping in front of me in an attempt to keep the shards from striking me.
In the confusion that followed, more hounds poured through the shattered window, followed by creatures that could only be lesser demons, their twisted, deformed bodies the stuff of nightmares.
Ushering me with his body, Archer guided me against a wall, his shadows rising in an attempt to shield us from view.
“That’s it. I’m getting you out of here.”
Before I could protest, he had opened a shadow gate, once again showing the interior of the mountain chalet. Through the large windows, I could see the sun rising over the horizon, the time difference between New Orleans and the Swiss Alps meaning it was already well into the next day.
“Go!” Archer insisted, reaching for me. “I’ll be along as soon as I have the diamond.”
“Absolutely not!”
“Delilah, for once in your fucking life will you just do as you’re told?” Around us, chaos reigned, the darkened ballroom now loud with the snarling of several more hell hounds, a few lesser demons, and the loud and obvious sounds of fighting.
“Genevieve has disappeared,” I insisted, standing firm.
“But I can still sense the diamond! I can lead you to her.” It was true; inside my chest, the pull of Lust and Pride tugged mercilessly, as though my soul was connected to the relic that Genevieve wore around her neck.
Even the fact that Archer had just given me the most delicious orgasm hadn’t abated the desire that burned within me, only tempered it.
“I’m the only one who can do this, Archer! ”
I needed to prove that I wasn’t helpless; my pride wouldn’t allow for anything less.
“We don’t have time for you to be stubborn, witch!” he barked, and I stared at him, seeing a hint of panic in his eyes.
It was then that I realized the truth.
Archer wasn’t trying to cage me; he was truly frightened for me.
“My love.” Lowering my voice, I stepped close, feeling Vine and Mex move in as cover while Archer and I settled the matter between us.
“Phips knew what he was doing when he left me that letter.” He blinked at me, looking younger than I’d ever seen him.
His dark eyes were wide and wet, his normally olive-toned skin pale and a bit clammy.
Under my hand, his heart raced, and his fear coursed through the bond, chilling my blood with its intensity.
“We found each other for a reason,” I insisted, trying to send him some calm, even as my own fear lingered. “We are meant to do this. Together.”
“Together,” he breathed, his hands cupping my face.
“Yeah, yeah,” Vine droned over his shoulder. “You’re in love. We get it. But if you two could make up your mind about staying or going, that’d be great. Because shit is seriously starting to hit the fan here.”
Glancing past Archer’s wide body, I could see that Vine was right.
Vampires were battling in every corner of the ballroom, some with sharp objects like knives or even broken bottles, but most with nothing but their fangs and bare hands.
The hell hounds were holding their own, their large bodies able to take much more damage than I would have anticipated.
All around us was blood and violence, and I knew this would be the fight of our lives.
“We just need to get to the diamond,” I said, taking one of the stakes that Vine offered. It felt awkward in my hand, the wood rough against my sweaty palm, but I gripped it tight, not wanting either of the guys to think I was anything but prepared. “Genevieve can’t run forever.”
“We move as a unit,” Archer instructed reluctantly, eyeing Mex. “No one goes off alone, understood?”
She nodded, using the back of her hand to swipe away the last of the blood that had trickled down her throat. Holding the knife in one hand, a wooden stake in the other, she eyed the churning crowd before us, her face stoic but her gaze fiery with the promise of retribution.
“And no matter what, Delilah is the priority.” I tried to protest, but Archer shot me a look that dared me to disagree. “If things go sideways, you get her out.”
“I got you covered, bestie,” Vine said, winking at me, and I gave him a grateful smile in return.
With that, we moved, the three demons surrounding me as Archer’s shadows dropped and we headed for the exit.
We’d only made it a few feet before the first vampire attacked, his movements frenzied as he swiped at Mex’s face with an inhuman scream.
She ducked, one hand swinging out to stab him in the stomach with the knife while the other came up in a low arc.
Before I’d even registered what she was doing, the stake was buried in the man’s chest, his body crumpling to dust just as the other’s had.
Placing one booted foot on his ribcage, Mex yanked the stake out of his chest with a sickening sound and moved forward once more.
Wave after wave of vampires came at us, and every time they were pushed back, either by a viciously snarling Mex or a sadistically laughing Vine.
From outside the mansion, lightning continued to crash, the blinding flashes that illuminated the tall windows mixing with the colored lights that still danced around the chaotic ballroom.
Finally, we reached the hallway that Genevieve had used, the corridor dark and strangely empty. Pressing close, Vine and Mex entered first, shoulder to shoulder as they scanned for threats. Archer ushered me in ahead of him, one hand on my back as though he had to know where I was at all times.
As we crept through the dark, I could hear a strange noise coming from up ahead. The sound wasn’t human, but it wasn’t fully animal either, the strange duality of it piquing my interest.
“Archer,” I whispered, hoping he’d heard it too. “What is that?”
“Keep moving. It’s not our business.” was all he offered, but even in the dark, I could see his unhappy scowl.
Frowning, I gripped my stake tighter, my ears straining to gauge the direction of the strange cry I’d heard. It wasn’t until we were halfway down the hall that it came again, and this time there was no doubt. It was most definitely a cry of someone in pain.
And it was coming from the room beside me.
Without hesitating, I dashed through the door, ignoring Archer’s angry shout from behind me, and stumbled to a halt when I realized what I was seeing.
It was some sort of study, with a desk and sitting area to one side, the other walls lined with dark wood bookcases. The smell of aged parchment and old leather—one I normally found comforting—was tainted by the bright, coppery scent of blood.
In the center of the room was the shifter from before, still naked and still on his knees, his body held still by the grip his owner had on the leash.
In her other hand, she held a short whip, which she brought down on the shifter’s back over and over, each strike causing him to let out that inhuman sound I’d heard from the hall.
“You stupid mutt,” she snarled, the whip striking against his broad back, leaving a vicious, bloody slice in his skin each time. “What use are you to me if you won’t fight?”
The shifter grit his teeth, his hands fisted against the floor where he knelt, straining against the collar. I could see the skin of his neck was red and swollen, the collar digging in painfully where he pulled to escape her.
As I entered the room, he looked up at me, his eyes meeting mine, and the pain that was held in their depths struck me on a soul-deep level.
This man needed help, and I wasn’t about to abandon him.
Behind me, Archer burst through the door, no doubt to give me shit for running away, but I acted before he could say a word.
“Hey!” I called, drawing the attention of the vampire to me.
Her eyes were red, burning with rage and hatred, and she hissed at me, her displeasure with my interruption clear.
“Think fast!” I called, throwing one hand out to the side to pull her attention while simultaneously tossing my stake to the shifter with the other.
He caught it easily, and while his captor’s gaze was still on me, he moved, rising to his feet and catching the vampire’s throat in his grip.
The vampire turned, her eyes wide as she took him in, his height making him easily a foot taller than her. Struggling against him, she twisted and pulled, but there was no escaping the shifter’s crushing hold.
“Let me go!” she wheezed, releasing both the whip and the leash as she pulled and clawed at his hand. “I am your master! You do as I say!”
“I have no master,” he snarled, the words pouring out of him on a low rumble that I could feel in my bones. “And I will never fight for you again!”
With that, he struck, lodging the stake deep into the chest of his tormentor.
I watched him as he watched her die, the fury in his eyes never abating as her corpse decayed at his feet.
When it was done—when he was certain that she would never rise again—he turned to face us, wary but undaunted.
“I can help,” I offered, gesturing to the collar and leash that still hung from his neck. The metal burned at every point that it touched his body, his skin reddened and inflamed from the contact.
Using silver was just cruel, and I kind of wished that the vampire was still alive so that he could kill her once more.
I stepped forward, and the shifter stepped back, raising fists defensively.
“You will not harm a hair on her head,” Archer said, low and deadly. “My mate may mean to help you, but I have no qualms about leaving you to your fate.”
“Mate?” he questioned, his head tilting to the side. With his features still hovering somewhere between man and wolf, he looked like a curious puppy, and I rolled my lips in to smother the smile that wanted to bloom at the thought. “But, you wear his collar.”
I blinked, my hand going to the collar at my own throat.
“I do,” I admitted, looking at Archer. His face was stoic, but I could feel his anxiety at the situation. He understood what I was doing, but he didn’t like it.
And he really didn’t like the direction the shifter’s questions were going.
“I wear this collar by choice.” That wasn’t exactly true, at least not in the beginning.
But it was now. I couldn’t imagine being without the comforting presence of Archer’s magic, the way it lived within my chest and on my neck gave me comfort that I couldn’t begin to express.
“I wouldn’t take it off, even if I could. ”
“And you will not harm her?” he asked, his gaze narrowed on Archer.
“Never,” he swore. “There is nothing I wouldn’t do to protect her, including remove your head from your shoulders if you even so much as look at her wrong. Now, do you want her help or not?”
The shifter stared at me, chest still heaving with heavy breaths as he drew air in through his nose. As I watched, his nostrils flared, and he once again made a face, as though what he smelled didn’t belong.
Finally, he nodded, stepping toward me hesitantly.
“I won’t kneel,” he rumbled.
“I won’t ask you to.” He’d had enough of that to last a life time.
Approaching the sitting area, I climbed onto the low coffee table, allowing myself to be tall enough to reach his neck without him having to bend even a little.
Seeing what I was about, he moved closer, his eyes darting from me to Archer and back again.
Outside, the sounds of the battle raged on, but so far, no one had disturbed us.
Lifting my hands, I assessed the collar, seeing that it had been soldered closed.
That bitch.
“I can remove it, but it might hurt,” I admitted, swallowing down my nerves. I’d barely begun to understand my magic, but something inside me knew that I could do this.
“Pain is not an issue for me,” he said, and lifted his chin.
Blowing out a breath, I raised my hands, careful not to touch his burned and blistered skin.
The metal was hot to the touch, and I spun it in my hands until the soldered joint was facing me.
Closing my eyes, I focused, thinking of the light that lived inside me, the light that now danced with Archer’s shadows.
Rubbing my thumb along the join, I concentrated on the feel of it beneath my skin, picturing the silver melting and turning liquid at my command.
Power flowed through me, and I could feel the metal changing, the collar resisting the magic I was pouring into it.
The shifter—whose name I didn’t know—hissed, but didn’t move, his body still as stone while I wrestled with whatever magic had been infused into the awful collar he’d worn for who knew how long.
Finally, just as sweat began to bead on my forehead, I could feel it.
Him.
Archer was there, his hand on my back as he poured confidence through our bond. The magic within in me surged, and the collar in my hands popped open, two pieces falling to the floor as the shifter took his first free breath.
Staggering back, he let out a roar, his face morphing from man to wolf and back again, looking like he was in excruciating pain.
After what felt like ages, he settled, his features now fully human and showing me a man who was handsome and rugged, rough and raw.
I gaped at him as he ran his hands down his face, wondering just how long that vampire had kept him like that, suspended between his two forms and forced to fight at her whim.
The very idea broke my heart.
“Thank you,” he rasped, shock and disbelief infusing his words. He turned to the window, making to open it so he could leave, but I called out.
“Wait! What is your name?”
He paused, pursing his lips, then answered, “Decker.”
“I’m Delilah,” I offered. “And this is Archer.”
“Thank you, Delilah. The Stoneclaw pack owes you a debt.”
And then, before I could say anything more, he opened the window and disappeared into the night, a free man once more.