Chapter 57
Chapter fifty-seven
Archer
Striding through the halls of the Dubois mansion, all I wanted was blood.
Blood of the vampires who threatened my mate.
Blood of the hell hounds that were wreaking havoc all around us.
And my own blood, for being stupid enough to allow Delilah anywhere near this fucking party.
All around us, chaos reigned, with vampires and lesser demons locked in frenzied battles, the hounds racing through the churning mass of bodies, nipping and gnawing at any available limb they passed, mindless in their need for destruction.
And through it all, my mate walked, head held high, following the pull of her magic toward the second piece of the Fallen Key as it called to her.
“This way,” she instructed, snaking through the labyrinth of passages and darting around the decayed corpses that littered the once-pristine wood floors. “I can feel it.” Her words were soft, her eyes unfocused, as though her vision was out of focus, using only her magic to guide her.
She looked ethereal, like a dream made flesh as she tipped her head back and opened her other senses.
“Through there,” she whispered, gesturing to a wide wooden door at the end of the hall.
Mex went first, moving quickly and pushing the door wide so that Vine could follow.
Once they’d cleared the room, I guided Delilah through the door, my own senses scouting the space.
It was a kitchen, the cabinets stretching along the walls from floor to ceiling.
The place was immaculate, shiny and spotless, as though no one had cooked in it in a long time.
Which made sense, considering vampires preferred their meals to have heartbeats.
Mex was circling the kitchen, opening cabinets and muttering to her self in French. Vine stood by the door we had entered through, ready to stop anyone from following us. I hovered near my mate, letting her magic work through her.
“Outside,” Delilah breathed, her gaze now focused on the darkened garden beyond the open doors. “She went outside.”
“Wait, Delilah,” I called, my attention catching on a sound that didn’t belong.
Movement, coming from a concealed door next to the pantry.
But Delilah paid me no mind.
“If we hurry, we can still get it.”
“Witch,” I warned, my focus split between her and the sound in the pantry. Deciding the threat was the immediate priority, I reached for the door, ripping it open and right off the hinges.
Only to find two mice in the bottom, fighting over some long-forgotten scraps
Turning back to Delilah with a frustrated growl, I watched as she darted through the grand kitchen, making her way to the open French doors that led into the darkened garden.
The more she opened herself to her power, the more she glowed, that light within her bright enough for everyone to see.
Her hands were wreathed in white light, arcing energy dancing between the tips of her fingers.
I didn’t think she was even aware it was happening, lost in her search, magic leaking out as she neared her target.
She was so distracted by her hunt that she didn’t see the hulking Vampire step out of a darkened alcove, his face etched in anger as he reached for her.
“Delilah!” I called, my shadows reacting automatically as they reached for her, but I wasn’t fast enough.
Arnaud, that fucking bastard, intercepted her, slipping between our circle of protection and snatching my mate right before my eyes. In her shock, she released her magic, the glow falling away and leaving me blinking against the sudden gloom of the kitchen.
“Got you, garce,” he whispered, leaning down and dragging his nose along Delilah’s cheek, inhaling deeply. “She smells delicious, demon,” he taunted, deranged eyes locking on mine. “Like lavender. I bet her blood will taste like a spring morning.”
My body shook, the sight of him touching Delilah, the feeling of her revulsion and fear seeping through the bond, was more than I could handle. Inside me, my demon thrashed, angry and impatient and demanding release, but I held firm, resisting the change with all my might.
“Let her go!” My words were rough, barely words at all around the rage that choked me. I moved toward them, intent on retrieving my witch, but Arnaud shook his head, holding her before him, and I froze.
“That’s quite close enough,” Arnaud snarled, his one arm holding Delilah securely to his chest, the other threaded into her hair to keep her from wriggling.
Delilah’s eyes were wide, and I could feel her trembling fear through the bond, but she remained outwardly calm. My pride for her flowed between us.
“Archer,” she whispered, a plea, but I couldn’t look at her.
“You have one chance here,” I growled, not taking my eyes off Arnaud. I needed to see him. Needed him to see me. “Let her go, and I just might let you live.”
It was a lie, and we both knew it.
“Fils de pute! What have you done with my Queen?”
“Your Queen is of no consequence to me,” I said.
I could feel Vine and Mex, their steady presence squaring up, covering my back, allowing me to concentrate fully on the nightmare playing out before me.
“What is of consequence is that witch you are holding against her will.” Arnaud narrowed his eyes, his hand yanking on Delilah’s hair, exposing her throat as he curled his lip back, fangs gleaming in the darkened kitchen.
“Delilah,” I said, still not able to look at her. “When I tell you…run.”
Holding the stake high, I moved, reaching for Arnaud at the exact moment he leaned down, ready to sink his fangs into Delilah’s throat. The moment his lips touched her, a spark exploded, and Arnaud screamed in pain.
The collar.
I could feel its satisfaction, the Pride the collar felt at the way it had defended Delilah, burning the one who had wanted to cause her harm.
“Merde!” he hissed, releasing Delilah so abruptly, she crumpled to the floor.
“Run!” I roared, stepping over her and placing my body between her and the fucking bloodsucker who had dared to touch my mate.
“Archer, no,” she tried to protest, but I wouldn’t have it.
“Mex! Take her!”
“No! Archer, I won’t leave you!”
“Come, cher,” I heard Mex whisper, and then the sounds of their steps— and Delilah’s protests—fading away as they escaped the kitchen into the night, Delilah protesting the whole way.
“Poor little Arnaud,” Vine taunted, moving his body to stand beside me. “Didn’t anyone ever teach you it’s not right to put your hands on a lady?”
“I told you demons weren’t welcome,” he panted, ignoring Vine completely. “I told you to leave the Nest, but of course you refused. Typical demon.” He turned his head, spitting aggressively onto the kitchen floor. “Your kind always acts so superior.”
“Kind of hard not to,” Vine quipped, his hand clenching and unclenching around his stake. “I mean, have you seen us? We’re fucking awesome.”
“You lord it over the rest of us, pretending that you’re protecting us when you do nothing of the sort.
That fucking bitch,” he said, jerking his head in the direction Mex had disappeared, “couldn’t even protect her own people, and now she rules alone, a broken throne in an empty kingdom.
And she thinks we need her?” He scoffed, the sound so undeniably French that I would have laughed if he hadn’t been the one to lay hands on my witch.
“Demons have held themselves above for far too long. Now is the time of the vampire.”
Raising his head, Arnaud shot us a look of pure hatred, his lips peeling and bloody where the collar had burn him.
“Tas de merde,” Vine spat in intentionally poor French. “Is that what the kids are saying these days?”
Staring at Arnaud, I let a dangerous smile spill across my face as I relaxed the hold I kept on my demon and brought him to the surface.
“I gave you a chance,” I growled, feeling the change come over my body.
My fingers stretched and elongated, the tips turning black as my claws appeared.
My own lips curled back, revealing not just two fangs like he had, but an entire mouthful of sharp, vicious teeth that were capable of so much more damage than his.
At my back, my wings extended, tearing through the thick fabric of the fine jacket, and I spread them wide, enjoying the flash of surprise and hesitation that rose in Arnaud’s eyes.
“All you had to do was let her go. I would have let you live. Allowed you to continue to enjoy whatever miserable existence you were able to eke out, serving at the pleasure of a deranged queen. But now?” Cracking my neck side to side, and exhaled as the final change washed over me, my horns rising from my forehead to curve up and back as I welcomed my demon fully.
“Now, I’m not just going to kill you. I’m going to make it fucking hurt. ”
To his credit, he didn’t run. No, the stupid, bull-headed vampire actually squared up to me as though it was going to be a fair fight.
He may have been familiar with the shifter fights, he may have even fought in one himself a time or two, but I could tell from the first moment that he had never fought a full-fledged demon before.
His first mistake was drawing his fist back before throwing a punch.
Vampires may have moved with supernatural speed, but it was no match for my Hell-forged reflexes.
Leaning to the side, using my tail for balance, I easily dodged his attack, bringing my own fist up to slam into his ribs with the force of a wrecking ball.
The vampire hissed, his whole chest caving in under my blow, but he didn’t go down.
Behind me, I could hear Vine moving back, giving me all the space he could, which I appreciated.
Because he knew that I had a score to settle.
Listing to one side, Arnaud moved around, eyeing me as he attempted to find an opening, but he was slowing down, and I grinned at the anger and frustration on his face.
“Come now, Arnaud. I thought you said this was the time of the vampire?” He scowled at me, huffing out a breath as he charged me, his big body clumsy and awkward.
I stepped to the side, my wing swooping in behind him and pushing as he stumbled past. Unable to right himself, Arnaud tumbled into an antique hutch, the no-doubt priceless china resting on the shelves crashing to the floor in a shower of delicate porcelain.
“How can your kind hope to rule if you can’t even manage a single demon? ”
“Putain!” He howled, extricating himself from the shattered remains of the cabinet and flinging himself at me again.
He had been sloppy before, but now his rage made him next to useless.
His fists came at me, his fangs on display as he screamed more French curse words, but it took next to no effort to dodge his pathetic, haphazard swings.
“You will die, demon scum! And then I’ll gut your fucking witch. ”
I snarled at his words, and what had been an easy defense suddenly turned into an offense Arnaud would not escape. His next swing came for my face, but I raised my hand, catching is fist in my palm and glaring at him.
“You will not touch her!”
“I will,” he insisted, hissing as I twisted his arm, but the fool refused to shut up. “I will drink her dry and throw her corpse to Bijou. My lady’s pet will enjoy feasting on your little mate.”
“Over my dead body.”
Twisting harder, I smiled as I heard the bones in Arnaud’s arm snap, his squeal of pain feeding my soul in ways I both hated and loved. Whipping my tail around, I snapped it against the backs of his knees, smiling as he crashed to the floor in front of me.
“Merde!”
Releasing his hand, I grinned as the ruined arm fell back to his side, limp and useless. Grabbing his throat, I lifted his chin and forced him to look into my eyes. To see the eons of rage and hatred and despair that lived within me, waiting to escape, and I smiled when I could smell his terror.
“I’m afraid you’re mistaken,” I stated, my voice calm even as my heart pounded in my chest. Within me, the bond to Delilah pulsed, and I could feel her fear. Something was wrong, and I needed to get to her.
Turning my head, my ears picked up a scream—her scream—and my own fear spiked.
Ready to be done with the pathetic bloodsucker before me, I lifted my hand, pleased when Vine placed a wooden stake in my palm.
“C’est toi qui vas mourir.”
Arnaud’s eyes widened at my words, but he didn’t speak, only offering a defeated sigh of resignation that was music to my ears.
Plunging the stake into his heart, I released his throat and dropped his body, not caring enough to watch him die.
Striding to the open door—knowing Vine would follow—I stepped into the darkened garden, spread my wings, and leapt into the night sky.
My mate needed me, and nothing would stop me from getting to her.
Never again.