Born in Chains

Adrien caught her arm and met her gaze, his jaw tight. We have to go up there. When we flew in, no one was on the roof, but I think Sebastien is there now and he’s in trouble.

She nodded. Let’s go. She stepped onto his foot and slung her arms around his neck.

Hold on tight.

You got it.

She felt him dip down and heard the faintest sliding sound and knew he’d just armed himself. The next second he shot into the air, passing through the roof at a wide angle so that they went about thirty feet into the air off to the side.

Four men on the roof. When I land, roll away from my right foot, but catch hold of the tiles. You can do this.

Lily’s heartbeat went into overdrive as he flew down once more and landed. She rolled and caught at the tiles, but slipped, tried to catch, slipped some more but finally held fast. Her arms and hands were scraped up. She thought she’d be bruised—then she felt it, vampire healing because of the chains. But the tug of the chains told her she had to get closer to Adrien, especially since he battled three hooded, robed figures.

Fanatics.

She looked up and watched as another man, the Ancestral in striped pajamas and a dark silk robe, stood at the edge of the roof.

She turned and crawled in Adrien’s direction because the blood-chain still tugged hard.

Adrien whipped into the air, moving closer to her and faster than the other vampires. She watched him use his battle chain first, whipping it to his right and catching the forearm and therefore the dagger of one of the attackers. He jerked hard, which flipped the man in the air and brought him down on his back. He grunted but stayed there.

The other two rushed Adrien. She couldn’t make out all his moves because he was so fast, but by the time they reached him, he had a dagger in each hand. Then she saw it, how he separated and became two different men. The act alone gave him an advantage, since the remaining attackers paused, probably stunned by the maneuver, which gave Adrien the opportunity to move with swift jabs and quicker retreats.

The attackers took up more defensive positions, working the two Adriens farther apart.

Once more Lily felt the tug on the chains and began working her way back up the roof, scrambling each time, scraping up her hands all over again, but she didn’t care.

Adrien had to survive, and she had to do everything she could to help.

The Ancestral remained at a distance as Adrien battled the other men. She glanced in his direction. He appeared to be concentrating hard, his arms held wide—and that was when she noticed how the night air seemed wavy and strange all over the roof and several feet above.

The waves emanated from the Ancestral. She realized she was watching the creation of the single most important element vampires used to keep themselves hidden, the disguising ability of the Ancestrals.

A world of power, of violent factions, of fanatics and Ancestrals, and of certain gifted vampires who could split into two equal parts.

A cry sounded in the air. The Adrien to the right withdrew his blade from his attacker’s throat. Only one enemy remained and Lily wasn’t surprised when Adrien re-formed his body and, with unearthly speed, all but whirled around the final attacker. The man started to levitate and almost gained a quick takeoff speed, but Adrien launched above him, the chains tugging hard, cut his neck, and the vampire fell back to the roof. He would have slid off, but Adrien flew again, caught him, and finished what these men had started.

Lily rose up and gained her footing more easily than she thought she would. She glanced down and realized her feet were only partially touching the tiles: more siphoned power. She walked, or moved, or half flew in Adrien’s direction.

He breathed hard, hands on knees. He met her gaze. Sorry you had to see this.

She looked down at the dead vampire, blood pouring from his neck.

“I’ll get a cleanup crew.” The Ancestral had his phone out. It struck Lily as funny that these creatures, who could create disguising waves out of nothing, who could split into two parts and do battle, would use human technology to call for cleanup.

“You’re smiling?”

Lily glanced at Adrien. “I can’t believe you even need phones, with everything else you can do.” She put her hand to her cheek and shook her head. “I might be feeling a little hysterical right now.”

“They’ll be coming from the south, about two minutes out.” The Ancestral, who looked to be no more than thirty, wore his hair corporate-short. He had large brown eyes, visible in Lily’s continually improving sight.

He met her gaze, took in the chain, and dipped his chin once.

Adrien introduced her to Sebastien, and by the time she’d exchanged bizarre pleasantries on the roof of his home, a disposal crew had arrived.

Sebastien extended an arm, a graceful gesture in the direction of the home beneath his feet. “Shall we?”

Adrien quickly took Lily’s hand. “Which room?”

“They’d just started into my study when I escaped to the roof. I believe that chamber might still be intact.”

Sebastien disappeared first, sinking through the mass of the building. With his free hand, Adrien wiped sweat off his forehead. He called to the foreman of the crew, thanked him for his hard work, then the vibration began. Lily’s last view of the roof involved watching one of the disposal crew, a huge pack on his back, start power-spraying the blood away.

Maybe for that reason, or because she’d just witnessed more killings, or due to the action of moving through another solid mass, the moment Lily’s feet touched the soft carpet of Sebastien’s study she dropped to her knees. She worked hard not to hurl all over what she could see was a finely woven Persian carpet.

She felt a hand on the back of her head. Waves of energy pulsed through her, and the nausea passed. Her head didn’t even hurt. She sat back on her heels and looked up at Sebastien. “Thank you. I don’t know what you did, but I feel much better.”

“Good. I take it you’re finding our means of travel difficult to take.”

“Nearly impossible, unless I’m fully prepared and we take it really slow.”

He stepped away from her suddenly. In fact, he crossed to the opposite side of the room, but she wasn’t certain why.

When she rose to her feet, however, she turned to find Adrien in a state. He was growling again, his head low, his fangs bared. His flecked teal eyes had what was now becoming a familiar wild appearance.

Instinctively, Lily reached up and put her hand on his face. Is this because he touched me?

Adrien turned into her hand, kissed her palm, then hauled her into his arms. His thoughts came at her in a fragmented jumble: Kill Sebastien. Don’t. Lily, my God. Hurting. Fangs. Must stop. Lily. What’s happening? I could take her now. An entire string of expletives followed.

Panicked, Lily threw her arms around his neck. I’m here, she said.

Lily?

I’m here.

I’m sorry.

What do you need?

He can’t touch you again.

He won’t. He didn’t understand. I’m sure he gets it now.

She felt him take a deep breath, then another. Because she was pressed up against him, she also felt his arousal and was stunned all over again. Was it possible she’d need to give it up for Adrien, again, in a stranger’s study?

She wasn’t sure she had a choice. Tell your friend to leave the room.

No. I’ll get through this. I can’t keep giving in to this terrible need I have for you.

He trembled as he pulled away from her, but they were alone. Sebastien had left the room anyway, which helped.

At first Lily opened her mouth to yell at Adrien, but what she sensed through the chain stopped her. The vampire was humiliated by what had just happened.

He moved to a large desk, planted his hands on the top, and worked at his breathing. She stared at him, uncertain what to do. Her chain began to vibrate heavily against her neck as powerful emotions worked in Adrien. Humiliation, yes, but something more, something that fueled his rage.

He shook from head to toe and without warning, he lifted his head and screamed into the air.

Lily jumped back several paces at first, then moved back to him. She put a hand on his arm, wanting to calm him, but he jerked away. He paced the room in a circle and shouted. More profanity followed, reams of it.

“Adrien, what’s wrong? Talk to me. Maybe I can help with this, whatever’s going on with you.”

“You want to help? You, a human. And what are you going to help with? Can you change my DNA or that this damn chain has my cock in an uproar? Or that when I catch even a whiff of you I want to bite down hard on your throat and never let go?”

She took a step away, one hand sliding up her neck. Her breath came in heaving gulps. She’d had sex with him twice and both experiences had overwhelmed her, made her crave more. Because of the chain, she could feel his need, that he meant what he said.

She stared at him, unwilling to admit just how much she responded to the call in his eyes, to the size and beauty of him, or to his primitive nature. And she hated herself for it, for desiring him like this, the feeling that not to have him would somehow destroy her life, even her soul.

She saw that he worked to control himself.

So she did the same. “We’ll get past this, Adrien, both of us. We’ll get the weapon and somehow get the chains off, the sooner the better, then we’ll both be free of these inexplicable cravings.”

He met her gaze but shook his head. “Did you have to be so beautiful?”

Lily grew very still. Tension filled the air. Silence as well. Maybe she breathed, she wasn’t sure. Adrien held her gaze, his eyes dark with longing and need, now glittering in the soft dark of the room.

She heard movement near the doorway and wasn’t surprised when Sebastien appeared. “Rumy called just before the fanatics showed up, demanding information about the extinction weapon. I wouldn’t have survived the attack without Rumy’s warning, but I’ve lost a good friend tonight.”

“I’m sorry,” Adrien said.

Sebastien nodded, his expression grim. “I’ve made a couple of phone calls. I think you should head north, to the Trevayne system. Alfonse is expecting you. I told him to take you to the vault.”