Of Water and Madness (29 page)

Vivica smiled lustily at him, her eyes filled with admiration and wonder. But when she turned her attention back to Thea, they filled with bitter hate. “Did you miss me, Thea?” she asked with a vicious smile. “I certainly didn’t miss you or that god-awful place.”

“Life has been better without you,” Thea said coolly, staring frostily at the other woman. “I had hoped you were gone for good.”

“Very little in this world is permanent, Thea, including death. You know that.” Vivica shrugged, cocking her chin arrogantly. “Not to mention your pathetic attempts at imprisoning what should have never been locked up.”

“Darling, we mustn’t excite them too much, not just yet…” Dante cooed, running his hands down her body seductively. “Play for awhile, first. Have some fun.”

“My pleasure.” She beamed wickedly at him before stepping forward, her hands on her hips as she stared them all down, confidence and power in her eyes. When she spotted Liam, she smirked and sauntered toward him, her hips swaying and her black leather boots snapping against the concrete. “Liam, Liam, Liam…”

Liam glared at her, instinctively stepping in front of Rhiannon, who was slowly recovering from the drug and hovering silently in her father’s arms.

Seeing the woman’s face again brought back a flooding wave of memories, mostly of feeling helpless and trapped inside his own mind, of fingers prying and prodding through his thoughts, planting some and disposing of others. The sudden wash of emotions made him instantly sick to his stomach, but he fought back the rush of nausea with the furious anger he had stored within him, waiting to explode.

“Don’t look so mad at me, honey,” Vivica crooned, giggling at the flash of violence in his eyes. “We had some good times, didn’t we?”

“You used me,” Liam growled, the urge to throttle her rising within him. But he had to beat it back, knowing one slip up could result in all of their deaths. They still didn’t know what kind of plans Dante had in motion… ”

Vivica laughed, sassily cocking her hip to the side. “Used is such a sad word for what we had, Liam. How can you say that to me, when I got closer to you than anyone ever has…you were willing to leave everything for me, including your little girlfriend. But, then again, blondes are so much more fun, aren’t we?”

She shifted toward him, tilting her face up to his as her hands reached out and trailed up his chest. Her blue eyes glittered with feminine mystique and cruelty as her lips curved. “I was so very sad when you broke our connection…you might as well have broken my heart.”

Liam grabbed her wrists and flung her away from him, disgusted. “You stay the hell away from me and mine.”

She merely laughed again. “But where’s the fun in that?”

Suddenly, she looked over his shoulder, her blue eyes sharpening and honing in on her target. But as Liam whirled around to see what it was, Rohan abruptly let go of Rhiannon and charged straight toward Brock, who he cheerfully punched square in the jaw.

“
What th
e –?” Brock howled as he held his throbbing jaw, confusion blending violently with his temper. Before he could do more than blink, Rohan swung at him again, a hit he only missed because Brock ducked out of the way. On instinct, his fist flew into Rohan’s gut, knocking the wind out of him, but the two continued to attack each other.

They all watched, mortified, while Rohan and Brock beat each other, without any clear provocation. But Liam knew exactly what was happening, and when he whirled back to face Vivica, his hand reached out to grip her by the throat.

“
Get out of his head!
” he bellowed, watching her gasp for air and pitifully try and pry his hand from her neck. When he heard the sound of a barrel cocking on a revolver, Liam’s eyes focused on Dante.

“Let her go, boy. We’re not finished yet.” Dante grinned, the silver of the gun glinting in the orange light of the street lamps.

Liam released Vivica and retreated back, his hands raised in defeat. But he edged toward Rhiannon, who was staring in shock at her father while he gasped for air nearby and clutched his gut.

“Darling, please continue.” Dante smiled at Vivica, before aiming his gun at the others. “Anyone who moves will be missing their head.”

Liam glanced around at the few dozen curious humans who were crowded around watching the scene unfold. Most had wandered on, thinking there was nothing to see. Around them, Times Square continued on, the city living and breathing despite the turmoil going on at its very heart.

The humans who were watching looked alarmed now that a gun had been drawn, and he had to wonder how long it would be till one of them called the police. He looked at his family, noting their reluctance to draw their own weapons for what he assumed was that very reason, which left Dante successfully holding all the cards, and consequently, all the power. And currently, that power resided directly within Vivica and her destructive abilities…

Without warning, Brock shot a basketball sized ball of fire straight for Rohan, who ducked and in turn shook the ground beneath them, sending a rolling tremor directly toward Brock, knocking him to his hands and knees. People scattered, screaming and shouting, thinking they were experiencing a real earthquake as the ground continued to rock.

They were running scared and Dante looked pleased as he watched them flee. He kept an eye on the group before him, delighted to have them so easily under his control. They were armed, he knew that much, but did they have the nerve to open fire on him when there were so many innocents around? He thought it highly unlikely…but good for him, as he didn’t care about human casualties. In his mind, it was just part of war.

Vivica stood at his side, her eyes focused intently on Rohan and Brock, bringing out all of the hate, jealousy, and malice she knew lurked within both men. How easy they all were to manipulate, like little puppets on a string she could dance across the stage, reciting lines that harbored none of the caution or hesitation usually used to keep such vile hatred at bay.

No…she had unleashed the beast within both men, and she planned to do the same with the others…

“You couldn’t let me have her, could you?” Rohan snarled, rounding on Brock as the tremors subsided, malevolence in his eyes. “You always had to have everything for yourself.”

“She was mine first!” Brock growled, getting to his feet and clenching his fists. “You stole her from me!”

“She came to me of her own free will because she was sick of you. What was I supposed to do, turn away the one woman I’d always wanted just because you had her first?”

“She never wanted you, her father just convinced her that you were better than me.” Brock got directly in Rohan’s face, years of pent up aggression pouring out all at once, all aided by Vivica’s gentle, mind probing fingers… “But I was the one she really craved. She never got over what I could give to her in bed…”

Rohan’s face flushed with fury as he swung out at his arch rival once more, making contact with the other man’s face. “I gave her everything and I was faithful to her. You, on the other hand, are incapable of being anything more than an asshole.”

“Coming from the biggest asshole I know.” Brock shoved Rohan back, startled suddenly when Serendipity pushed her way between them, her hands raised in a gesture of sovereignty.

“
Stop!
” she ordered, and immediately she placed her hands on both men’s chests, closing her eyes and concentrating, fighting to break Vivica’s hold on them. She focused on Brock first, since he was more violent, and struggled to push Vivica from his mind.

Brock fell to his knees, gasping for air and clutching his head. Nyxa was at his side in an instant, pulling him away from Rohan protectively.

But Vivica was stronger, and slyly slipped into Serendipity’s mind, causing her to clutch her head and let out a panicked shriek. Within mere seconds she had lost the fight, and when she turned on Rohan, the others watched with stunned bewilderment.

“Brock’s right, Rohan, I never really wanted you.”

“Well, then we’re even, because now I don’t want you,” Rohan shot back, getting in her face, his hands trembling at his sides. “You cold, cruel, worthless woman.”

“Boring, unfeeling, pathetic man!” Serendipity reached up and slapped him hard across the face.

As they continued, Liam held Rhiannon against him and watched warily as others in his family began to turn on each other. Unable, as of yet, to use the weapons they’d brought, and emotionally on edge, they made for easy targets.

Lucian turned on Clarity, Thea shoved at Sebastian, Blythe and Brogan went to sudden blows. Clynn and Rian began to shout at each other, with Capri in the middle, her face twisted in an angry snarl as she attacked them both. Jax had fallen to his knees, attempting to fight back against Vivica’s attempts to get into his mind, but from the way his hands were shaking as they clutched against his head, Liam wasn’t sure he was winning the fight.

“I didn’t think she could control more than one person at a time,” Liam managed, clutching Rhiannon and staring around at his family anxiously. “God, I should have known…”

“Liam…” Rhiannon tilted her head to look at him, fear in her eyes. “What’s happening?”

“I think we’re losing,” he murmured, at the same time wondering why Vivica was sparing him and Rhiannon from the feud she’d created. But maybe she wanted him to suffer while he watched everything he cared about burn…

“Why are they all fighting?” she asked, her mind still a bit fuzzy and dazed. Her ears were ringing and her vision was blurry but she finally felt she could stand on her own two feet and not stumble.

“She’s inside all their heads, bringing out their rage and hostility and forcing them to fight,” Liam said simply, his eyes darting from one violent brawl to the next. Maybe this was to be the end…they would quite simply kill one another, and then there would be nothing left of any of them…

“How is that possible?” Rhiannon gripped his shirt, meeting his eyes and trying to focus.

“She can control people, Rhia.”

“I don’t understand.” She trembled, wondering if this was somehow just a strange dream that she would awaken from any moment…

“She was controlling me the entire time, just like she’s controlling all of them now.” He turned to her, feeling the old pain return to his chest. “None of what I’ve said to you the last several days has been me, Rhia. She used me to hurt you, to hurt everyone. I finally broke free of her, but by that time you had already gone.”

“God…” She shut her eyes, needing to breathe to calm her furiously beating heart. “Dante told me that you had really fallen for her. And I believed him.”

“Well, this is proof of what she’s capable of.” He gestured to the group, watching as she stared at all of them, fear in her eyes. “We didn’t come here to hash out our own rivalries. We came here to save you and to destroy Dante. But now…now I don’t know what’s going to happen.”

“Then it’s up to us, Liam.” She straightened her shoulders, regaining some of her strength thanks to the determination that his words had given her.

Nodding, he stared at Dante, who was watching the crowd with obvious pleasure. Beside him, Vivica was silent and fierce, her eyes nearly glowing with power as she worked the entire crowd into a frenzy.

Liam suddenly made up his mind. He knew what had to be done, what was inevitably going to happen anyway…

Over the din of shouting, roars and snarls, he called out to Dante. “Alright, Dante, enough of this!”

Dante glanced over, amusement flashing in his eyes as he began to chuckle. “You mean you’re not enjoying yourself?”

“I mean you should stand up and fight like a man instead of letting your girlfriend do all the dirty work,” Liam growled, stepping toward Dante fearlessly. “C’mon, let’s go. Just the two of us, right now.”

In response, Dante obligingly aimed his revolver straight at Liam’s heart, one eyebrow raised as his lips curved into a wicked grin. “I’m afraid you don’t stand much of a chance, boy.”

Gritting his teeth, Liam closed the distance between himself and Dante until his chest was pressed up against the tip of the gun, the bullet inside directly aimed at his heart.

Dante merely grinned. “Feeling suicidal?”

“More like disappointed that you won’t face me without hiding behind a gun. What are you afraid of Dante? After all, you’re a Fire Dryad, why don’t you use your powers? Or are you afraid because you know that fire stands no chance against water?”

Dante’s head fell back as he laughed, his body shaking with glee as he lowered his gun. He looked briefly at the glittering Rolex on his wrist, laughter still bubbling from his throat as he glanced back at Liam.

“Lucky for you, it’s nearly nine o’clock. Well, it’s six o’clock where we’re going, but what does it matter?” Dante turned to Vivica, placing a hand on her shoulder. “Darling, it’s time. But you’ve had fun, haven’t you?”

Vivica nodded, her lips spreading in a sadistic grin. “Lots. Pity, I would have loved to watch them attack each other for a bit longer.”

“I know. I just love to watch the empire crumble over petty arguments and jealousies. It’s so…dramatic.” Dante looked back at Liam and winked. “If you thought this was fun, just wait until you see what’s coming.”

Liam’s brow furrowed as he backed up toward Rhiannon, suspicious of the maniacal gleam that suddenly appeared in Dante’s eyes. Without warning, he went from a sadistic and violent man to a demonic monster. And when his eyes flashed red, Liam pulled Rhiannon against him protectively, unable to fight back the instinctual shudder that raced down his spine.