Corin & Angelique (After the Fall of Night) (27 page)

Sharing a mental tie since their joining, he’d felt her anxiety, even over the
span of distance between them. But in her mental state, he’d thought nothing of it until hearing her cries for help. Unfortunately, he’d traveled too far to get back to her in time, and now he’d lost his chosen one—his beauty.

“I should have left a watch.” He rubbed a button, the insect awaiting
command. “For now, you have the upper hand, von Vadim. But I’ll soon rectify that.”

Noticing a trail of blood, he ran his middle finger through the fluid and sniffed
it. “So my little firecat got you, mortal, before you managed to take her out.” He placed it in his mouth. “A little bitter,” he remarked from a squatted position.

“Fair is fair, von Vadim. You took my companion, so
now, I’ll have to take yours.”

* * * *

At the farm, Angelique answered the door to a late night caller.

“I’m glad you came by. But I didn’t expect to hear from you tonight.” She
greeted Corin with a warm, inviting smile, motioning for him to come inside.

“Tomes said you two had plans and that he might not be back till morning. I
figured hunting. Nothing’s wrong, is it?”

“Everything’s fine. I hope I didn’t wake you.”

“No. I was up, watching TV.”

“I know it’s late, but I wanted to see you.”

“You’re welcome any time, Corin, day or night. It seems we’re both restless. I take it you walked here from the mansion?”

“I did.”

“It’s foggy out.” She showed him to the living room.

“In some areas, but I had no trouble finding my
way.”

“That’s good. You wouldn’t want to get lost on your own land,” she teased.
“It’s past twelve thirty. Did Tomes mention where he was going?”

“He didn’t say.” Corin ran his gaze over the length of her.

“I’m sure he’s fine, I just have this gnawing feeling. I can’t seem to shake it. But you know that brother of mine, he’s probably over at Micky Joes getting plastered while I’m sitting here worrying over nothing.”

“You have a strong bond
.” Corin moved closer to her on the sofa.

“He’s always been there for me, no matter what.”

“And you for him.”

“I try to be. But I can’t take away his heartache.”

“He’ll get past it.” Corin leaned toward her, suddenly demanding possession of her mouth, snatching her with such aggression she pulled away.

His
kiss was different, forceful, and his scent was harsh—an odor she’d smelled before.

“Did I do something to offend you?”
he caught her stare.

“No.” She wiped her mouth, trying not to be too obvious
, but wishing she could wash it out. “You just caught me off-guard.”

“My apologies.”

She scooted over, putting more space between them. Something wasn’t right.

Where are you, Tomes
?

“Why don’t we take a walk to the creek…enjoy the night?” Corin suggested.
“There wasn’t any fog along the trail.”

Angelique hesitated.
“Let me get my jacket,” she stood, deciding to go.

Heading out into the woods with Corin when she sensed something was amiss
might not have been the smartest of choices, but at least it spared her from the pressure of making out with him on the sofa, something she couldn’t believe she was relieved about. And outside there was plenty of fresh air, a welcome escape from the rank odor attached to him.

What had changed?

Angelique was usually so comfortable with Corin, but at the moment, he made her uneasy…scared. Everything about him was different, his smell, his touch, his kiss, the way he looked at her…the eyes. She even noticed a difference in his speech. Had she not known it to be impossible, she would have sworn that this man standing beside her, looking to be Corin in every physical way, was an imposter.

* * * *

At the estate, Tomes frantically called out for Corin from the second floor landing.

Corin rushed in from the lanai, hearing the distress in his voice. “What is it?”

“It’s Angel! She’s in trouble. I woke up hearing her voice in my mind.”

“You were just dreaming, Tomes.” Corin started up the stairs.

“No. You don’t understand. We’re twins. We’ve always been able to sense when something’s wrong with each other.”

“You and Angelique are twins?” Corin was surprised, wondering how he could
have missed that. But it certainly explained Tomes’s possessiveness over Angelique. They shared a unique connection.

“What if it’s Boldor? We have to go now! She needs us.”

“I thought she’d be safer if we kept her out of this whole messy situation. It hadn’t dawned on me that he’d go after her.” While Corin was keeping watch over Tomes, there, at the estate, Angelique had been the one in danger. “But you aren’t going anywhere.” He halted Tomes’s attempt to start down the stairs. “In your condition, you’d be lucky to make it to the bottom before collapsing. You get back in bed. I’ll go.” Corin helped him back to the room. “After more than an hour of no retaliation, I should have known he was up to something.”

“She’s all alone, Corin. Helpless. Forget about me, I’m fine. Just get to her!”

“I’ll be back…with Angelique.”

“I can’t lose her.”

“Neither of us can, or will.” Corin retrieved Tomes’s gear—the staker and machete—from a nearby table. “Keep these close.”

Tomes took them. “Don’t worry. If he shows up, I won’t go down without a
fight.” He raised the staker in a practice aim. “I’ll definitely leave him with something to remember me by.”

* * * *

Corin tore out of the estate in the Corvette
,
needing transportation to bring Angelique back in. When he arrived at the farm, he found her car parked in the drive. Hoping to find her safe inside the house, he rushed to the door, getting no response after several knocks. Finding the door unlocked, he stepped inside and called out, cursing when he picked up a faint trace of Boldor’s nauseating scent. The fiend had been there. Corin feared the measures he’d go, sure it would be right up his alley to draw out his revenge to the fullest.

R
ocketing outside, Corin searched the grounds. After checking the barn, he shape-shifted into the form he often chose, a Great Horned Owl, and took to the sky, scouting the nearby woods. Following the trail to the creek, he spotted two dark figures on the path below, nearing the water. He rushed ahead of them, landing at the creek bed, and quickly took cover in the shadowy backdrop of the tree line to await their arrival. Glancing around, he was sure he sensed another immortal.

Why is it I can detect you now?

He didn’t understand what had changed, but he had no time to consider the matter in length. Crouched in the underbrush, he watched as the two individuals approached.

“Is something wrong?” Angelique asked her escort, who’d come to a standstill.

“We have a spy in our midst.”

“A spy?” Angelique looked around.

“Show yourself, von Vadim!”

Corin stepped out of the tree line,
silhouetted in the night, his features undetectable. But he knew Angelique recognized him by the perplexed look on her face.

“It can’t be,” she muttered.

Corin turned his attention on Boldor, taken aback by what he saw—a duplicate of himself standing next to her. “What the devil!”

Boldor had
assumed his form.

“I’ve observed you
, what you wear, how you act. In fact, I think I’m an improvement, a better you than you.”

In similar clothing, they appeared identical.

“Let’s ask this little angel what she thinks. She’s had a taste.”

Angelique stumbled back in fear.

Enraged, Corin advanced on him with his fangs and talons lengthening, taking brisk, confident strides. “I’m going to kill you!”

Boldor made his own charge, catching him mid-distance, each taking the
other to the ground in a fierce collision.

Hearing Angelique scream, Corin searched for her position. How would he
ever explain away such an impossible sight to her? It couldn’t be done. There was only one solution. He would have to tell her the truth, what he was…everything.

Boldor, still in Corin’s form, rolled out of reach and bellowed in laughter. He
then turned and went for Angelique who stood paralyzed. Taking a fistful of hair, he yanked her to him and forced her head to the side. Running his mouth along the smooth flesh of her neckline, he glared at Corin.

“I made the mistake of leaving my companion alone, as you did. You took
mine, and now, I have yours.”

“Enough, Boldor, she’s not the one you want.” Corin was afraid
the demon might rip into her.

“I believe she will replace my little firecat quite nicely.”

The sight of his filthy hands on Angelique burned Corin’s blood, but he restrained his temper, waiting for the precise moment to make his move.

“This one doesn’t have the lustrous fiery hair I so adored in the other female,
but she’ll do.” Boldor tossed Angelique to the side and shape-shifted into his own human form.

Scrambling back, Angelique gaped as Boldor transformed from one form to
another. “Louis Gomez,” she gasped, on her knees, dazed. “This can’t be real.”

Both immortals possessed impeccable strength and endurance, each proving
to be a very skilled fighter. Catching Corin around the neck, Boldor managed to drag him several feet toward the bank. Corin unleashed a terrible roar as the fiend’s talons ripped into his flesh, but he fought back, tearing through Boldor’s shirt and leaving the hellion with a few marks of his own.

With part of his chest exposed, Corin observed a large, black stone hanging
from Boldor’s neck, just visible between strips of ripped material. Assuming it was a talisman, he attempted to seize it. Taking him down hard, he reached for the chain, but Boldor was fast, scrambling back to his feet with the stone still safely in place.

Corin started for him again, but a great, black wolf
unexpectedly lunged from the shadows, standing between them. The creature snarled ferociously before shape-shifting into the form of a man, adding a third fighter to the mix.

“I’ve finally caught up with you, after all this time,” the stranger
glared at Corin before charging, then wrestled him to the ground with a force that rivaled his own.

“Who the
devil are you?” Corin fought him off and managed to scramble free, placing a few feet between them.

“Don’t play games with me.
You know who I am. I knew I’d catch up with you sooner or later, ‘cause Marshal Jordon Black always gets his man.”

The marshal?
Corin couldn’t believe it.
An immortal?

“You’re a nightwalker?” Corin was trying to figure him out.

“Not exactly. You know what I want, so hand it over and maybe I’ll let you leave with your life.”

Amid the unanticipated turn of events, Boldor
withdrew and disappeared into the cover of the woods, leaving Corin in the clutches of the lawman. A laugh echoed as he slipped away in the night.

“No,”
Corin started after him, but the marshal interceded, making a simultaneous move to block him.

“You’ve got the wrong man
, Marshal.”

“You’ve managed to stay ahead of me for a long time, but I knew you’d
eventually slip up.” Jordon stared him down. “Why did you want me to see you kill that girl tonight? What are you up to?”

“I know you think you’ve got this whole situation figured out, but you’re
wrong. I’m not who you think I am.” Corin declared.
How could the marshal possibly know he’d killed Louisa?

“Don’t insult my intelligence by denying it, Nightwalker. My eyes don’t lie.”
Jordon held his gaze. “So, I finally get to meet the fugitive I’ve been chasing all over this god-forsaken country for the past two years. You’re not exactly what I expected.”

“That’s because I’m not the one you’re after. Can’t you see he’s tricked you?
How do you know about Louisa? Did you follow us to the ranch house?”

“What ranch house? I’m talking about the girl at the
Inn. I saw you kill her. You let me see you.”

“I think I’m beginning to
understand what’s going on here. Boldor committed a murder while disguised as me, using my form to mislead you, just as he did just now, with Angelique. He’s a clever one all right, placing you on my trail and off his. Think about it, Marshal. Has he ever let you get so close before? Purposely shown himself?”