Cold Blooded

I didn’t wait for my wolf to agree. I walked over to the crumpled Yuri and crouched next to him, not wanting to touch him yet. I peered closely at his face. It was beginning to heal, but it was going to take a while. I stood and paced over to the free chain that had dropped off my arm—the one that wasn’t currently tethered to Alana’s forehead.

I couldn’t look at her without cringing.

We’ll have to deal with her next. I’ll have to secure her before I pull the plate out so she can heal. Gross. When I do it, we pray she doesn’t wake up. Of the two, she seems the most deranged. Yuri may be our only chance of getting any good information.

I grabbed the chain and went back to Yuri. I bent over and gingerly picked up one of his dirty feet and tugged him by the ankle toward the wall where the chains had hung before. I’m going to try and twist the bolts back in. He’s not that strong, so they may hold. I don’t want him to come after me once I wake him up. I stopped in front of the wall, resting my hand on the stone and running my fingers over the holes. They were completely torn open. There’s no way the bolts are staying in there. Let’s look for something else. I eyed the room critically and spotted a piece of rebar sticking out of the far wall. Bending the rebar over the chain might work. I made my way over, toting Yuri behind me. I reached up and hooked the end of the link on the rebar.

Now we just have to bend it.

This was going to be straight out of a superhero movie.

I knew I was strong enough, but actually doing it was another matter. I went on my tiptoes and palmed the end of the steel and pushed upward. We can’t break it off, so watch the angle and go slow. My wolf channeled power into my hand and the muscles hardened to aid me. The metal began to move. I slid my hand down and wrapped my entire palm around it so I could mold it like clay. It totally worked.

It was kind of badass bending metal with my bare hands.

Once I secured the rebar over the chain link, I slid Yuri in front and hooked his ankle with the shackle, snapping it shut. He hadn’t woken, but his face had improved. The chain didn’t quite reach the ground, so his leg hung in the air a few feet above the floor. It was an awkward position, but it would help him stay put.

Now we just have to wake him up.

I went to the opposite wall and sat down, wanting to be clear of him just in case he awoke in a rage. I laid my back against the cool stone and called, “Yuri, can you hear me?”

No response.

“Yuri, it’s time to wake up.” I tried to infuse power into my voice.

Nothing.

He’s too badly damaged and malnourished. He needs more power. But in order to transfer power directly, as Tyler had done to me when I was in Stasis, it meant I had to touch him.

I really didn’t want to touch him.

Resigning myself, I crawled forward. Transferring power was coming more easily to me, especially after I’d done it on Selene, and most recently on the Porsche. As I moved, I gathered gold strands in my mind, concentrating them as I settled next to Yuri. We give him one burst and move out of the way. I rested my palm on his forehead and released the accumulated power. It shot straight into Yuri with a jolt, making my hands tingle. I retreated backward quickly.

The old vamp jumped like he’d been defibrillated.

His eyes blinked open.

“Hello,” I said once I settled back against the wall. “My name is Jessica McClain, and I’m sorry I had to smash your face in, but I think you’re going to heal. You may want to rethink your attack modes in the future, however, to avoid another massive head injury.”

He hissed at me, shaking his leg, struggling to right himself.

“I don’t think you can get free, but if you do, I’ll just knock you out again and try something else. So instead of trying to get free, how about we just make some kind of a deal? I need information and you want out of this cell. Right? If you tell me what I need to know, I’ll release you and … your bride. Does that sound fair?”

“Waaast do you want? … I”—his voice was broken with a strong Russian accent—“need…”

It was clear Yuri hadn’t spoken or dealt with anyone in a very long time.

“You need what? To escape this place?” I prodded.

“More … power…” He hissed. It was paining him to speak. He had healed more, but it was still going too slowly. What we won’t do for information. My wolf yipped in agreement. I crawled back over to him, mostly because it was easier to stay on his level.

“I’m here to help you,” I cautioned as I moved closer. “But if you lash out, I won’t hesitate to defend myself. After I give you power and you heal a little more, we are going to make a deal. Nod if you agree.” I looked down at him, wondering if I’d receive anything coherent back. “And once you make that deal, I’m going to hold you to your word.”

He nodded once.

I placed my hand over his forehead and pushed more power into him. His head arched under my grip, his eyes fluttering. They went from dead black to a hint of normal flecked with silver. “Ahhhh…” he moaned. “Haven’t … felt … in too long…”

After a moment he went still and I brought my hand off his head and moved back on my heels, but stayed where I was. He blinked a few times and then glanced up at me.

“How long have you been down here?” I asked curiously. “Did Valdov put you here? Or was it the Queen?” I had so many questions, but being in the shape he was, he may not be able to answer all of them.

“Valdov,” he managed, “has doomed us … the Queen can do … nothing.”

I sat up a little straighter. “Valdov is in charge?”

“He wields … much power … over her.” His eyes flickered in earnest now, mostly staying free of black, his face almost fully healed. What he really needed was blood, but he wasn’t getting mine. That was not an option. “My niece … will not rule … much longer … have to … stop him.”

Niece? “You’re Ivan the Terrible’s brother?” I gasped, jumping to my feet. “How did you get locked in here? If you’re Eudoxia’s blood-kin, this is even worse than I first imagined.”

He shook his head, his eyes rolling back in his head for a moment. I understood. It was too much to tell me right now and we needed to move on.

“Listen”—I crouched onto the balls of my feet—“what I really need to find is a way out of this dungeon without raising attention. I’m beginning to think I’ve been put in this cell for a reason. All this can’t be a coincidence.” His eyes were focused back on me. “I’m searching for a vampire named Naomi. Do you know where they might keep her? She has something valuable in her possession, and if Valdov has already gotten ahold of it, it may be too late for your Queen.”

“You are not … in a dungeon…” He gasped. “It is trickery. We are in a crypt … behind the mansion. Below us … is only one way out. There are … tunnels below.”

“What?” I exclaimed as I stood. I had not expected that to come out of his mouth. “The muscle vamp took me down steps and we never came back up. We have to be underground. That can’t be right.”

“It is an ancient ward … few can sense…”

The strange signature I’d felt was a ward? It had all been an elaborate illusion. Damn. “You said the only way out was tunnels beneath us. How do I find them?”

He lifted his hand and pointed to the corner.

Right where Alana was lying like a corpse.

“It is below…”

I peered at the corner skeptically. “So we’re actually in a crypt aboveground? And below us are underground tunnels. Is that what you’re saying?”

He nodded. “There is a vast … graveyard on the grounds. Each crypt is connected … by a network … of tunnels.”

It was hard to wrap my mind around it, but I had no reason to doubt him. There was an easy way to find out if he was telling the truth. If there was no access to a tunnel in the corner, he was lying. “If I free you now, will you stay away from me?” I asked. “I need you to tend to your bride so I can uncover the tunnel. I knocked her out, but she should heal—I have to warn you it’s a little gory.”

“I will not attack,” he managed. “But you will … promise to … honor your part…”

“Of course I will honor it,” I said. “Once I find my friends, I will come back and break you out of this horrid prison.” I had no idea what freeing him would do, or why the two of them were kept here, but I didn’t care.

“It’s been too long…” He sighed. “We will finally … have our retribution.”

“I’m going to unchain you now, and then I need to move Alana.” I reached above his head to the rebar. It was easier than trying to pry the cuff off his leg.

Right as my palm touched the metal, a cold, bony hand wrapped around my ankle.

I had to resist a very strong urge to kick him off and quiet the growling wolf in my head. Instead of reacting, I angled my head down to meet his gaze, my eyes holding a question.

“We have waited … for you.” His eyes were now a clear muted blue.

I pried the rebar open just enough to unhook the chain. Then I stepped back, breaking his grip on me. He let go without a fight. “What exactly do you know about me?” It was hard to believe this emaciated vamp, left in a crypt to rot for centuries, would know anything about me.

“It was foretold…” he whispered.

“But you attacked me when I first arrived. You didn’t think I was anything special then,” I pointed out. “Why the sudden change of heart?”

He said one word in Russian. “Sila.” When my expression didn’t change, he said another. “Strength.”

16

I waited for Yuri to elaborate on his comment. “Okay…” I said when he remained silent. “I guess we can choose to continue this discussion at a later date.” I glanced around the cell. “I need to get out of here,” I muttered.