Chapter 6
Vampire Compound, Thursday, January 10, 2013, Sunset
Blood. Pain. Death.
Maksim had lost most of the time since his awakening, but he came back to himself as the sun sank toward the horizon. He was flying through the clouds. He retained only scraps of memory that brought more questions than answers. The agonizing truth of Nadya’s death clouded his mind. In fragments, he recalled his throat constricting with thirst as power surged through him. He remembered gorging on the first thing he found with a heartbeat and stumbling into the snow as an inferno smoldered beneath his skin. Recalling the agony of his bones breaking and reforming brought back echoes of the pain.
Wind. Wings. Power.
Maksim’s mind contained chaotic splinters of images and emotions. His soul battled for dominance over the beast, though both burned with the same dark purpose. He tried to clear his mind and sort out the sequence of events, but everything that had happened since he awoke was obscured by a mental fog he couldn’t penetrate. He was soaring through the sky in his enormous dragon form, but he couldn’t remember leaving the ground.
The pain of the transformation lingered, however. Maksim ached everywhere, but nothing compared to the torment of losing Nadya. One image was seared into his mind, and it fueled his fury with the fire of a supernova. He saw the blonde woman with the blazing copper gaze every time he closed his eyes. He’d felt the traitor’s pleasure and relief at Nadya’s death when she ripped his love’s heart from her chest.
Maksim twisted and rolled, reveling in his new freedom and physical power as his mind struggled to adapt to the changes. His dragon shape felt so wonderful that he couldn’t understand why his father had forsaken this side of himself.
Exiled or not, Father, why deny yourself this kind of power?
While he didn’t understand the scope and limits of his new abilities, Maksim couldn’t deny the strength coursing through him, the power of the beast’s muscles, or the deadliness of his new claws and teeth. With such deadly attributes to support his strikes, how could he not succeed? He burned with the need for revenge, and he embraced that black pit.
Maksim vowed to find the blonde woman and rip her apart for killing his queen. He would avenge his love and take up her righteous cause. The Therians needed to die. Everything else was just details.
He didn’t understand his connection to Nadya’s killer. He knew things about her that he couldn’t possibly know, like her feelings at the moment of his mate’s death. Maksim had a vague sense of the ties that bound him to Nadya unraveling as another bond formed.
The bitch had thought she was protecting her people when she killed his queen, but Maksim was past caring about her motivation. The triumph in her copper eyes had seared his mind, sending hatred coursing through him. He vowed that he wouldn’t stop until he stood triumphant over her corpse.
Maksim felt a much stronger connection to Nadya’s children, and he understood that one. With her dying breath, the vampire queen had transferred something to Maksim. He didn’t know if it was a facet of her magic or a preloaded spell, but she’d named him as her successor. The compulsion to take his place at the head of the vampire race and guide Nadya’s children as they avenged their queen’s murder drove him.
He would gather Nadya’s children and combine their strength with his. They were his family now, and together, they would vanquish the foes who’d taken her from them.
The dragon was the size of the average two-story house. Black scales covered his powerfully muscled body, and red spines ran down his back. He’d discovered he could shoot the spines as projectiles, and they would regrow after an hour or so. Many birds had fallen as he tested that skill.
Sunset painted the world in vibrant hues, and his vantage point let him see to the horizon in every direction, but the beauty meant nothing if he couldn’t share it with Nadya. Everything led back to her. He had no one to go back to, not anymore. The dragon snorted and turned toward the vampires he sensed at Nadya’s base.
After a long life bound by the limitations of humanity, Maksim reveled in his new size and strength and his formidable well of magic. He now possessed more power than he had dreamed possible. This wasn’t the life he’d envisioned when he’d agreed to let Nadya change him, but it was what he now had.
His sweet love had only wanted peace. She and her children were not the evil beings the Therians believed them to be. The damned shapeshifters were so hell-bent on bloodshed that they couldn’t allow the vampires to live peacefully.
Nadya’s savage death proved it.
Before she’d left on the mission that had led to her demise, Nadya had confided that she wanted to make a treaty with the Therians. After Nikoli’s death, she wanted to extend an olive branch to end the long war and live in peace. She’d only taken the extra soldiers in case they refused to listen to reason, and she had to defend herself. Maksim had never considered another explanation. He’d loved Nadya with everything he had and believed the fantasy she presented to him.
You were too good to ally with them, my love. I will guide your children, but we will never make peace with the Therians.
He spent some time imagining what it would be like to use his powerful jaws to shred any dragon that stood between him and the traitorous vampire bitch, and the thought kindled a burning thirst in his throat that consumed his senses. His vampire side craved blood, and the dragon hungered for flesh. When he acknowledged that gnawing emptiness, it was all he could feel.
Maksim caught the scent of something large and furry in the dark forest below. Without consciously deciding to do so, the dragon dove toward the ground, forgetting that he didn’t know how to land. Flying had been instinctual since he launched into the air, but landing proved to be another matter.
He crashed into the canopy at speed, clipping one wing and flipping over as the force of the blow threw him off balance. Maksim roared in pain and smashed several more trees into splinters before he came to a stop on the ground. He rose slowly, taking inventory of the injuries he’d sustained in the crash. He didn’t feel as powerful now, and his ravenous hunger was his only motivation. He sensed the life force fleeing the cacophony he had created, and the dragon gave chase. The pain was inconvenient, but his hunger overtook all other concerns. The wounds would heal.
Blood. Flesh. Hunger.
As he drew closer to the life force, Maksim recognized the scent of bear. His senses had expanded from his former human awareness, and he let the dragon take control as it hunted their prey. His vampiric and beast-born natures agreed that he would eat that bear.
The hunt was more difficult than he’d thought. The trees grew too close together for him to find an easy path, but he used his massive body and the bony ridges of his wings to force his way through to a small rocky clearing next to a cave. He could sense the bears. There were two, and both were aware of his presence.
The wary creatures watched him from the cave’s entrance, growling defensively at the invasion of their territory. Maksim snapped his jaws in warning, and the larger of the bears roared his protest before charging the enemy. It had barely cleared the rock wall of the cave before Maksim darted his neck forward and viciously bit its heavily muscled body. The bear’s screams of pain devolved into gurgles as blood filled the creature’s airway.
Maksim had a significant advantage in size and strength. The bears didn’t stand a chance. His powerful jaws tore through the animal with little effort, and he swallowed half its body in a single gulp. Upon seeing her mate cut down, the other bear roared her fury from the shelter of the cave. Maksim finished the other half of his snack and turned his hungry crimson eyes toward the only other living thing in the vicinity.
More. I need more!
He moved closer to the cave, and the female bear growled, then lunged forward to swipe at Maksim with her claws. The furious attack would have devastated any other creature, and it had worked on everything the bear had ever encountered, but it just irritated Maksim. His body still ached from the unskilled landing, and he had no patience for a lesser being’s anger.
Tired of the bear’s growls, Maksim twisted to shoot one of the sharp spines at her. It pierced the creature’s chest, and she howled in agony. It took three more strikes before the bear stopped moving. He could already feel the spines regrowing, draining more energy from his healing body. Maksim used the spike on his tail to retrieve the bear since he was too big to fit through the cave entrance and devoured the second course of his meal without interruption.
The aches in his body eased with sustenance to fuel him, but it wasn’t enough. Maksim felt his shaky control over his mind slipping and the bloodlust taking precedence. For a while, Maksim ceased to exist. His name became Hunger, and he sought nothing but death and gluttony.
As heavy as the meal had been, he needed more. He still had an unquenchable thirst, and the emptiness in his gut hadn’t subsided. Whatever his new body craved, it wasn’t bear meat. He moved on instinct now, long past logical thought. His powerful muscles bunched as he prepared to leap into the air in search of prey that might assuage his cravings.
Before his clawed feet left the ground, a vision seized Maksim, and he stumbled. He was in an unfamiliar stone courtyard as the sun rose, facing the blonde vampire. She was supervising the stacking of the corpses of headless vampires for a funeral pyre. The beast’s hunger faded as fury rose within him at the sight of Nadya’s body in the stack.
Was killing his love not enough? Must they now subject her to the indignity of burning? The woman did not look happy, but she did nothing to stop the desecration.
How can you do it, traitor? How can you watch them pile your people like garbage?
Her mouth moved, but Maksim couldn’t hear what she said. He watched in horror as they placed the last body on the pyre. Then, the traitor gave the order to light the fire, and it spread quickly. Maksim stared transfixed as flames consumed Nadya’s body. The inferno’s light reflected in the blonde woman’s eyes.
GET THE FUCK OUT OF MY HEAD!a female voice screamed, and he was violently expelled from the vision.
The mental bitch-slap stung, and he could still feel her presence in his mind. Rage and frustration overwhelmed him. Maksim felt like he would explode from the pressure building in his skull, and the dragon’s powerful jaws spread wide as he roared out the fury and pain of his broken soul.
Needing to release the pressure before he broke, Maksim exhaled, bathing the forest in obsidian flames. The black fire incinerated everything it touched. He thought it looked like the shadow magic his love had wielded. It didn’t move like fire but climbed and roiled over everything it touched. As the destruction spread, leaving a blackened wasteland, Maksim launched into the air.
Good. Spread like the plague. Let it all shrivel and die.
Maksim retreated into his pain, allowing the dragon to take control while he mourned his lost love. The bloodlust returned in full force as the animal part of his nature dominated their shared body. The beast flew toward the closest source of what it craved—magical blood and flesh.
The vampires scurried around, looking as small and insignificant as ants to the enormous black beast. The predator’s gaze darted back and forth as it tracked its prey, planning which one to eat first. His mind screamed that these were Nadya’s children, and he couldn’t do this, but the dragon ignored it. Those were human concerns. The dragon needed to feed.
Driven by the bloodlust, the dragon dove and crashed into the front yard with a muffled explosion of snow and dirt. Blinded by need, the dragon ignored its new injuries and reached for the closest source of sustenance.
Three vampires had rushed from the house to assist their new king, and Maksim repaid their efforts by tearing into them when they were within reach. He hooked the first with a claw and lifted the screaming vampire to swallow him whole, ending his second life with a single bite.
The dragon then faced the others. The one farther back tried to retreat into the house, but Maksim speared her with the spike on his tail without moving his body, then brought his tail around and dropped the limp vampire into his waiting jaws.
He savored the blood as it dripped down his throat. Bones crunched as he chewed his second victim. The third vampire had frozen but now tried to flee again, getting one of Maksim’s spines through his back for his efforts. The vampire twitched face-down on the snow, and Maksim lazily snagged him with his tail spike and dragged the limp body closer as he screamed for help.
He wasn’t close to full or satisfied, but the dragon couldn’t fight the overwhelming exhaustion that seized his body. The beast curled up on the blood-soaked snow and fell asleep as his body settled into the business of healing.
Maksim returned to awareness before his physical body woke. His memories were still disconnected. The aches from his injuries had faded, and Maksim realized he needed to adjust his diet. Vampire blood slaked his thirst far better than the bears’ had, but it tasted stale. It would keep him alive, but it wouldn’t satisfy his craving. He needed to feed on a Therian, preferably their new king.
It was full night when Maksim opened his eyes. He was back in human form, naked in the bed he’d shared with Nadya. Jean-Pierre sat nearby, waiting for Maksim to awaken.
“My lord. It is wonderful to see you awake,” the French vampire began. “Is there anything I can get you? Blood, perhaps?”
Maksim sat up and let a devious grin spread across his lips. “Bring me a Therian to feast upon.”
Jean-Pierre nodded curtly. As usual, he was dressed in an immaculate three-piece suit and looked like he’d just stepped out of a boardroom. “Judging from your arrival, I would hazard a guess that you require both magical blood and flesh, Your Highness.”
Maksim nodded. “The dragon was beyond reason. I wouldn’t have killed them otherwise.”
Jean-Pierre shrugged, not upset about the three vampires Maksim had eaten. “It is nothing, my lord. All vampires felt Nadya’s final command. You are her successor and will take her place as our king, Sire.”
The quiet in the mansion unnerved Maksim. He was used to seeing dozens of vampires bustling from room to room. He wouldn’t necessarily see them from Nadya’s chambers, but he didn’t hear or sense anyone else in the immediate vicinity.
“Where have they all gone?” he asked, his voice cold.
Jean-Pierre wasn’t bothered by Maksim’s glacial tone or expression. He’d navigated personal service to Nadya and was confident that he could handle his new leader with equal aplomb. He had perfected an expression that conveyed respect but not fear during his many years with the vampire queen.
“You are the alpha vampire, Your Highness. The strongest of our people and a Power. Your presence sends the lesser members of our species into a trance unless you dial it down,” Jean-Pierre explained. “Do you crave a particular type of Therian, Sire?”
Ignoring his question, Maksim studied Jean-Pierre. “You don’t seem to be affected.”
The vampire raised his chin. “I am not a lesser vampire. Nadya modified me and three others to serve as her generals, and we dealt with sensitive and vital missions in her stead. Nadya called us her Horsemen, and while the four of us are loyal, we are not affected by the monarch’s aura to the same degree.”
Maksim looked at Jean-Pierre with suspicion. “Why didn’t you tell me this before?”
The vampire smiled, meeting Maksim’s gaze. “You were not my king and therefore not privy to my history. Now you are, and you have the right to hear my secrets, should you wish to know them.”
When he concentrated, Maksim could feel the other vampire’s mind and caught limited glimpses into his thoughts. He decided to continue working on his telepathy since peeking into the enemy’s mind had many advantages. He’d already done it without trying.
Feeling more in control of himself by the moment, Maksim got out of bed and dressed in the clothes Jean-Pierre offered. He transitioned to command mode, effortlessly slipping into his new leadership role.
“I need to meet with the generals, but first, recall all vampires in the area to our stronghold. Those who came back from the battle with Nadya are the highest priority. I need information,” Maksim ordered.
Jean-Pierre nodded. “Right away, my lord. How do you prefer to be addressed?”
Maksim had to think about it. As the son of a farmer, he had never considered such things. He knew little outside of his isolated life in the wilderness during his father’s exile. How did he want to express his position and power now that he had them?
“I am not your lord, Jean-Pierre. I am your king. The typical royal titles will suffice, and ‘Sire’ in informal settings. Now, I am hungry. Surely, we have a Therian or two around here. Bring me some dinner.”
Jean-Pierre nodded and left to work on Maksim’s orders. They had several Therians on the premises, but they weren’t captives—not that it mattered. Jean-Pierre would serve them to his king without hesitation. Shifters were less than nothing in his eyes.
Two of Jules’ rebel hyenas entered the tiled sitting room, where Maksim waited. They were unprepared when the tall, dark-haired man moved faster than their enhanced gazes could track, ripped one of their throats out, and gorged on the blood as the other tried to flee. Grinning malevolently, Maksim thrust his hand out, and a tendril of darkness secured his prey. He gorged on the Therians, reveling in the rush of power that flowed through him as he consumed their blood and bodies.
While Maksim fed, vampires poured into the compound. He caught snippets of their thoughts, making it difficult to concentrate. He didn’t know how to shut them out, which made him feel trapped in his mind as his agitation built. By the time he’d finished his meal and was full, if not satisfied, several hundred vampires had gathered in the mansion’s ballroom.
His head ached with the buzz of unfamiliar minds, and he longed to retreat somewhere quiet even as he anticipated addressing his subjects for the first time as their king. He stepped onto the second-floor balcony overlooking the ballroom and thought that Nadya had chosen her home well. Maksim felt regal as he addressed the vampires looking up at him expectantly.
“I have seen the face of the traitor who killed our queen!” Maksim roared, his voice carrying to the far corners of the room.
His nerves were on edge with all the invasive thoughts bombarding his mind from every angle, but at that moment, he was grateful for the connection since he could feel their emotions as they reacted to his words. The image of the blonde vampire with burning copper eyes came to him, and he projected it so they all saw they all saw Nadya’s final moments.
Good. It should motivate them to avenge her.
“We will not let Nadya’s murder stand unchallenged!” he declared. “The bloodline of every Therian who had a part in her death will be drained to pay our queen’s blood debt.”
The vampires shouted in bloodthirsty agreement. “We must find that traitor and rip her fucking heart out!” Maksim shouted, his barely contained rage urging him to change. He fought his beast for control and won, but only just. “Everyone who has seen the traitor in person or knows anything about her, come forward. We will kill the bitch painfully, but we need to know what we’re facing.”
Maksim was determined to take the vampire out in some spectacularly bloody fashion, but a direct approach wasn’t the way to do it. Nadya had not been a fool, and she had been anything but weak. Underestimating their foe would lead to disaster. He planned to come at the traitor from the shadows.
He dedicated the following week to gathering intelligence as he planned their next steps. So far, all his soldiers had learned from those who’d seen the blonde vampire was her name. Ashlynn. It would only be a matter of time before his people brought him enough information to strike her where it would hurt most. A malicious smile turned up the corners of Maksim’s full lips as he imagined the gloriously bloody ways he could exact his vengeance.
En Route to the Vampire Compound
During the long flight, Ash mused about the horror of burning the executed vampires shortly after dawn. While Niletean navigated the sky toward their objective, Ash felt a foreign presence creep into her mind. The touch felt familiar and had echoes of Nadya’s dark power, but it provided no information other than a location—dead ahead. The presence wasn’t welcome in her brain.
Pouring every ounce of her formidable magic and willpower into the task, Ash ejected the intruder from her mind. GET THE FUCK OUT OF MY HEAD!
When her mind was secure, Ash opened her eyes and called for everyone to land. They had to change their plans. Something dark and compelling waited for them at Nadya’s compound.