Bound By Blood

Nadiya’s eyes narrowed ominously. “You dare say that to my face!”

“It is the truth and you know it!”

“Be gone from here!”

“Drake?” Elena looked up at her husband, her cheeks damp with tears.

“Come, wife, let us go.” Taking Elena by the hand, he started down the trail, then turned back to face Nadiya. “Know this. If you harm so much as a hair on my daughter’s head, I will hunt you down and rip out your heart no matter how long it takes me to find you, no matter what the cost.”

Without waiting for her reply, he stalked down the long, winding path that led to the valley below.

Lucien stood at the foot of the trail, his men stretched out behind him.

Drake paused in front of the other Master Vampire, his eyes narrowing. “I should have known you would be in on this,” he said, his voice thick with contempt. “I have always known you coveted this place. It is a shame you lacked the courage to fight me for it, man to man, instead of hiding behind a woman’s desire for revenge.”

Vampires didn’t blush with embarrassment or grow flushed with anger, but Lucien’s eyes filled with shame as he stepped aside to let Drake pass.

“Be warned, Lucien,” Drake continued, his voice laced with quiet menace, “if anything happens to my daughter, your life will also be forfeit.” Back rigid, he swept past Lucien and the other vampires.

Stefan and Liliana followed Drake and Elena down the mountainside.

Zack brought up the rear.

As he started to pass Nadiya, she put a staying hand on his arm. Magical power rippled over his skin like tiny electric shocks. “Who are you?” she asked.

He shrugged. “Just a friend of the family.”

She stared at him. “What is your name?”

“Zack Ravenscroft.”

Recognition flared in her eyes. “You knew my son, Daryn.”

Zack nodded. “I saw him a couple of times.”

“Do you know where he is?”

“Yeah,” Zack drawled. “I know.”

Her eyes glittered with a fierce intensity. “Tell me.”

“Sure,” Zack replied affably. “Right after you tell me what you’ve done with Kaitlyn.”

Nadiya glared at him. “All I have to do is say the word and she is dead.”

Zack’s hands clenched into fists. He had never hit a woman but he was sorely tempted to start with this one. “Kill her and you’ll never see your son again.”

Nadiya’s gaze searched his. She had not seen her son’s body. She grabbed at the slender thread of hope Ravenscroft’s words offered. “Is he still alive?” Her voice broke on the last word.

“Is she?” It took all Zack’s concentration to keep his voice even.

Nadiya straightened to her full height, her eyes flashing fire as they met his. “This is getting us nowhere.”

“I heard what Drake said about hunting you down if you harm Kaitlyn. If he fails, I will find you, and I will finish it.”

Anger flashed in Nadiya’s eyes. She glared at him, her body quivering, her eyes narrowing in concentration.

Magick shimmered in the air as she summoned her power.

Zack felt it push against him like an invisible hand. He steeled himself against it, his own power surfacing in response. Her magick swept over him like fingernails raking across his skin, but whatever spell she was conjuring had no other effect. Her magick had worked on Drake. Zack had no idea why it didn’t work on him. He frowned thoughtfully. Maybe her witchcraft was nullified because he wasn’t a Romanian vampire but one of the dreaded Others.

It was the only reason that made sense.

Chapter 30

Wolfram Castle was a formidable structure, even in the moonlight, Zack mused. Large and rectangular, there were round turrets at three of the corners and a high, arched entrance. Battlements edged the flat roof. The single entry, flanked by two towers, faced the rising sun. Stone steps led to an impressive, iron-barred door made of what looked like solid oak.

Zack stood aside as Drake opened the door. The Master Vampire’s expression was grim, his thoughts obviously deeply troubled.

It was Elena who invited Zack into the castle. He felt the faint brush of preternatural power over his skin as he crossed the threshold.

Wolfram Castle was as impressive on the inside as it was on the outside, he thought, taking a quick look around. If this room was any indication, the castle interior had been remodeled, perhaps several times. In spite of its massive size, the room, probably once the great hall, had a homey feel to it. A pair of flowered sofas faced each other in front of a large stone hearth, several overstuffed chairs were grouped together around an oval coffee table. He guessed the trestle table against the far wall was part of the original castle furnishings. No doubt the hearth was also part of the original structure.

“Nice place,” Zack remarked.

“Thank you,” Elena said. “Your room is this way.”

Drake laid a staying hand on Elena’s arm but his gaze was on Zack. “There are a few things I need to go over with Mr. Ravenscroft.”

“What might those be?” Zack asked, faintly amused by Drake’s formal tone.

“There is a small town at the foot of the mountain,” Drake said. “You will not hunt there.”

Zack nodded. “Your territory, your rules.”

“There is a large city to the east. I ask that you be discreet when you hunt.”

“Right. No bodies drained of blood left lying in the street.”

Drake glared at Zack; then, his expression softening, he looked at Elena. “You will not leave Wolfram, day or night, without me.”

“But . . .”

“We will not discuss this,” Drake said adamantly. “Until Nadiya has been captured or destroyed, you are not to go out alone.”

Elena blew out an aggrieved sigh. “All right.”

Drake kissed Elena’s cheek, then vanished from sight.

“We’ve been married over twenty years,” Elena remarked, “and his ability to disappear like that still amazes me.” She smiled at Zack. “Sometimes I wish I was a vampire.”

“I could arrange it,” Zack said with a grin. He had been joking, of course. Had expected Elena to laugh. Instead, she looked thoughtful. And then interested.

“Does it hurt, becoming a vampire?”

“No. The act itself was pleasant, although I didn’t realize what was happening at the time. I woke alone the next night, terrified by what was happening to me. And hungry as hell.” He shook his head. “I’ve never forgiven her for abandoning me, for not telling me what to expect. For not teaching me how to be a vampire . . . hey.” He looked at her, his eyes narrowing. “I was only kidding about turning you, you know.”

“Of course. I was just curious. I mean, Drake was born a vampire, but you weren’t. Have you ever turned anyone?”

“Just once. You’ve given this a lot of thought, haven’t you?”

“Of course not. Drake can’t turn me, and I wouldn’t want anyone else to do it.” She made a vague gesture with one hand. “It’s just that, after living with Drake’s people for so long, well, you can’t blame me for thinking about it.”

“I guess not,” Zack said. But he had the feeling that, had it been an option, she would have willingly let Drake change her.

“You won’t say anything to Drake about our conversation, will you?”

“Not if you don’t want me to.”

“Thank you. If you’re ready, I’ll show you to your room.”

Zack replayed their conversation in his mind as he followed her up a winding staircase to the second floor. He had the feeling that, if he offered, she would happily become a vampire. He couldn’t blame her. It had to be difficult, being the only mortal in the family.

He followed her past closed doors on both sides of the carpeted hallway. Paintings of sunny landscapes graced the walls between the rooms.

Elena stopped in front of the last door on the right. “Please, make yourself at home. And please be patient with Drake. In all the years I’ve known him, this is the first time he’s been at a loss as to what to do.”

Zack nodded. He wasn’t used to losing, either, and he damn sure didn’t like it when it happened. But he wasn’t about to give up, not now, not until Kaitlyn was back where she belonged.

“Feel free to look around,” Elena said. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to be with Drake.”

“Sure.” Truth be told, he would just as soon be alone.

Zack glanced at his surroundings after Elena took her leave. It was a large, rectangular room. A comfortable looking queen-sized bed was flanked by a pair of mahogany nightstands. A thick, dark green carpet covered the floor. Flowered curtains hung at the windows; a matching spread covered the bed.

He grunted softly when he saw the beveled mirror over the dresser. He wondered if Romanian vampires could see their reflections, something foreign to his kind. There were no mirrors on the floor of the casino; at night, blinds covered the windows, preventing anyone from noticing that the owner of the club didn’t cast a reflection, nor did a few members of his staff.

His internal clock told him dawn was still hours away. Pulling out his cell phone, he flipped it open and called Scherry.

She answered on the first ring. “Hi, boss, when are you coming home?”

He grinned at the sassy tone in her voice. “I’m not sure. How’s business?”

“Good, as usual. I’m glad you called. I was just about to call you.”

“I thought everything was good?”

“Oh, it is. This has nothing to do with the club. There was a man in here night before last, asking questions about some guy named Eddie Harrington. And last night, a woman showed up asking after somebody named Daryn Korzha. I couldn’t be sure but I had the feeling both the man and the woman were vampires.”

“What made you think that?” Zack asked, though he was pretty sure she was right.