Authors: Rhyannon Byrd
“But…why? Why trap yourself with the shades?”
“Because there were plans to be made. But really I just wanted to see the expression on your faces at this exact moment in time.”
“But you’ve lost,” Aiden growled, baring his deadly fangs.
The Kraven merely arched a brow. “Have I?”
“We opened the gate, you jackass. We’re going to search this godforsaken realm and find the Casus. Then they’re going to die.”
“You may take out a few before you’re all annihilated, but hardly many, because you don’t know how to form the prime weapon. The one the Markers’ creators planned to use to destroy the shades, before their untimely deaths prevented them from doing so. And you’re wrong about me losing. Yes, I lost the Markers to you—but sometimes… Well, it finally occurred to me that sometimes you have to lose before you can win. That you have to sacrifice a few for the sake of the many,” the Kraven said with another husky laugh. “You see, I wanted you to think that you had outsmarted me, so that you would come and open the gate. In essence, you’ve done the hard
work for me, and now look at you. Right where we want you.”
“We?” Raine whispered, a frisson of dread slipping down her spine as she caught a flutter of movement at the edge of her vision. She turned her head, then screamed, “Look at the walls!”
All around them, Casus shades were suddenly separating their spectral forms from the cave’s ceiling and walls, where they’d been hiding, impossible to see. Though the monsters barely had any substance after so many years without sustenance, their fangs and claws glinted in the ominous lighting, looking more than capable of rending flesh. There were thousands of them closing in on the group, the shades trapped in their monstrous Casus forms, with leathery gray skin, ridged backs and wolf-shaped heads.
The Watchmen had thought they would be able to break into Meridian and work their way through the prison, taking many of the Casus by surprise. But it was a trap. They’d all been so sure Westmore would convince the Kraven and the Collective to fight for him, when, instead, he’d managed to set things up so that the Casus were the ones who would do all the work. And it was so simple. By warning the Casus of the Watchmen’s plans, the monsters had been able to organize and prepare.
And until the Watchmen figured out how to use the Markers to make this “prime weapon” the Kraven had mentioned, it wasn’t going to be a battle. It was going to be a friggin’ bloodbath.
The realization sent a fresh wave of guilt clawing
at Raine’s insides, since she knew the Watchmen were going to need all the help they could get, and here she’d cost them a talented soldier by keeping Seth from the fight.
She’d been so sure she was doing the right thing by keeping him in Florence. But if that was true, then why did it feel so wrong?
While Kierland shouted out orders and the group took up defensive positions, a massive Casus shade made its way to Westmore’s side, and the Kraven gave the vile creature an eager smile. “I told you the plan would work, Calder.”
“Calder?” Noah growled, surging forward, only to get hauled back by Kierland. Raine wasn’t surprised by Noah’s reaction, considering they’d heard rumors that Calder wanted to use the human’s body as his host.
Westmore returned his attention to the group. “Allow me to introduce Anthony Calder, leader of the Casus…and my great-great-grandfather.”
“You’re…
related?
” Raine croaked, unable to believe what she was hearing.
“That’s right.” Westmore’s smile spread like an oily stain. “You see, not all the Kraven births were a result of rape. My ancestors were lovers, and my line has continued to celebrate our Casus blood through the centuries, plotting for a way to bring about the flood.”
“But what do you get out of it?” Kellan demanded, tucking Chloe behind him.
“What do I get out of it?” Westmore repeated, looking shocked by the question. “The Kraven are tired of being
treated like weaklings. We want what’s rightfully ours. Power. Respect. Once the Casus are free, our bloodlines will mix, and then the Kraven will no longer be considered an embarrassing secret. We’re going to become part of a new race. One that will be the most powerful race on earth!”
“Enough talk,” Calder snarled, saliva dripping from his gnarled fangs as he threw back his head with a harrowing howl—and in the next instant, the shades descended on the Watchmen in a great crushing wave. As the battle began, she could hear Kierland shouting for the Watchmen in the rear lines to make sure the gate remained closed behind them. Considering the lock was now broken, it was essential that the gate be protected until they’d managed to kill the Casus.
If we manage to kill the Casus,
she thought, a cold fear slithering through her veins as she saw those shades that had been shot or stabbed already moving back to their feet. They’d been counting on conventional weapons taking the shades down long enough for those with Markers to finish the job, but it clearly wasn’t going to work that way.
“How the hell do we form this prime weapon?” Kellan roared, only just managing to fry a Casus shade with the Marker in his glowing hand seconds before it took a bite out of Chloe.
Though they’d speculated during their journey there that the crosses might combine to form some kind of powerful weapon once they were inside Meridian, they didn’t know how to make it happen…and they were
running out of time. Ian and Riley had been mashing the crosses together the entire time Westmore had been talking, trying out every configuration they could think of, and nothing had happened. Now the Watchmen with Markers were using the ancient crosses to kill the Casus one by one with their Arms of Fire, but it was a losing battle…and they all knew it.
Cries of pain echoed through the cavernous prison as many of the Watchmen who had followed them into battle were cut down, the shades already gaining substance as they fed on the bodies. The scene was so chaotic, Raine knew she was never going to find Carlson, the Casus Seth had shot that first night in Paris. But that didn’t mean she couldn’t be useful. Doing her best to help the others, Raine slashed out at a nearby Casus that was already regenerating from the kills it had made, then twisted to avoid its snapping jaws. The monster gave her a slow smile, then parried with a swift rain of blows that caught her off guard and she lost her footing, falling down hard on her backside. As the Casus pulled back its arm, ready to deliver what would surely be a deathblow, Raine blanched with fear. But the strike never came. Instead, the creature’s ice-blue eyes widened with shock as the raised limb was severed from its shoulder, its leathery body slumping to the ground.
Blinking with astonishment, Raine found herself staring up at the most beautiful face she’d ever seen. “McConnell,” she whispered. “Ohmygod. What are you doing here?”
S
ETH STARED DOWN
at the woman he loved, and struggled to control his rage. But,
Christ,
it wasn’t easy when she was in the middle of a damn war zone, taking ungodly chances with her life. He could hear the others remarking on his arrival, but he ignored them, his attention riveted on the wide-eyed little vamp.
Offering her his hand, Seth pulled her to her feet as he said, “I caught up with the rear guard just before they slammed the gate shut. It’s taken me this long to work my way to the front.”
“But why did you come?” she demanded, glancing at the blood spattered across his torn T-shirt, then at the long blade he held in his hand, before lifting her bright gaze back to his face.
“Did you honestly think I wouldn’t come after you? It’s too dangerous for you to be here on your own.”
“Are you mad?” she cried. “You’re the one who’s the bloody human!”
“That’s right.” His voice was hard with pride. “I’m the man who’s meant to protect your ass.”
“But you’re meant to be in Florence!”
“Yeah, well, your mother had a change of heart about keeping me locked up.” In fact, it had been one of her mother’s glimpses of the future that had finally earned him his freedom, since the powerful psychic had seen that her daughter was going to die…and believed that Seth was the only thing that could keep her heartbreaking vision from coming true.
Thankfully, he’d been able to use the
Sangra
bond to track Raine, since he hadn’t wanted to call any of
the others and ask where they were headed, knowing she would read their minds and learn he was free. And considering what she’d done to keep him from joining this battle, he simply hadn’t trusted her. Not about this. For all he knew, she might have taken off alone with the Markers, or any of the other hundred and one terrifying scenarios he’d tortured himself with while trying to reach her.
He couldn’t let that happen, considering he’d finally figured it out. Finally gotten a handle on what he needed. Yeah, his past had been a bitch, but as he’d watched Raine walk out of that bedroom in Italy, leaving him behind, Seth had realized his past no longer mattered. What mattered was the little vampire who’d stolen his heart. The woman he couldn’t live without—who he needed in
every
possible way.
Now he just needed to tell her. Yeah, he’d told her he was falling in love with her, but he needed to let her know how he felt about
everything
. The past and their future. Her fangs and her need for blood. But first he had to get her the hell out of there.
“Well, look what we have here,” a voice suddenly purred off to his right, and Seth turned his head to find Ross Westmore standing beside a hulking Casus shade. The Kraven’s red eyes were focused on him with a look that was pure anticipation, a blood-soaked knife clutched in his hand. “You’re a little late,” Westmore drawled, “but I’m so glad you could make it, McConnell.”
“T
HAT’S
C
ALDER STANDING
beside the Kraven,” Raine murmured, moving closer to Seth’s side as they turned to face their enemies. She could hear Ian behind her, shouting that he’d found Gregory DeKreznick’s shade, and knew the others were too busy fighting their own battles to offer them any help. She and Seth were going to have to deal with these bastards on their own, and she tapped into that inner well of hatred seething inside her, knowing she was going to need every ounce of its strength.
Taking a deep breath, Raine was ready to tell Seth that she would take Westmore while he dealt with Calder, when the soldier let out a furious roar and launched an attack without her.
“What are you doing?” she screamed, watching in shock as Seth drew a spray of blood from Calder’s chest with his blades. The Casus leader’s body was already regenerating, gaining substance from the kills he’d made, and while she hated that Watchmen had lost their lives to the monster, Raine was hopeful that Seth would now be able to injure the Casus badly enough to keep him down. At least until he could be killed with one of the Markers.
“I want you to run, Raine! Get the hell out of here!” Seth shouted at her, just as Westmore struck out at him with his knife. Seth lunged back to avoid the Kraven’s blade, then slashed at Calder’s arm as the Casus tried to swipe him with his deadly claws. Westmore immediately came at him again, and Seth spun, coming around with a powerful kick to the Kraven’s temple that sent him slumping to the ground. With Westmore down, Seth turned his attention back to Calder, who was coming at him hard and fast. Raine couldn’t help but wince each time the Casus got in a swipe of his claws, though Seth was quick enough to avoid any serious damage.
It was taking everything she had to keep from joining the fight, but when she saw Westmore move to his knees, she reached behind her and grabbed one of the wooden stakes she was carrying. The battle with Calder was heating up, and she knew that Seth hadn’t noticed Westmore regaining consciousness. She could also see that the Kraven was planning to go for the soldier’s back.
Gritting her teeth, Raine quickly covered the space between her and Westmore, tackling the Kraven just as he moved to his feet. They rolled over the gritty ground, grappling and clawing, before they both came up in a low crouch, preparing to strike. Then they both froze, gasping, their eyes wide with shock as they processed the situation they now found themselves in. Raine had her wooden stake poised directly over the Kraven’s heart, while Westmore had the edge of his blade pressed tight against her throat.
It was a stalemate. She knew that if she tried to kill him, the odds were high she’d end up dying, as well. And Westmore was in the same dilemma.
Though she didn’t dare take her gaze off the Kraven, Raine assumed Seth had managed to deal Calder a crippling blow, since the soldier’s deep voice was suddenly coming from close beside her. “Damn it, Raine. He’s not worth it. Let him go!”
“I’m sorry, Seth.” She didn’t want to die—but she desperately wanted to destroy Westmore. “I…I don’t have any choice. I have to go through with it.”
“That’s bullshit,” he growled. “We always have a choice!”
Before she could argue, Seth moved just behind Westmore’s shoulder, giving her a clear view of his tortured expression, and pain twisted through her heart. She’d been so worried about putting him in danger, but
she
was the one hurting him. The one destroying him.
Oh, God
, she thought, her resolve faltering.
What am I doing?
“Don’t let this bastard win,” Seth pleaded, his words ragged and low. “Please, Raine. Do you really think this is what Rietta would have wanted for you? I know you loved her, but she loved you, too. She would have wanted you to go on living. For you to find a way to be happy and at peace.”
She knew he was right. She was throwing away her one chance at happiness, and for what? Westmore’s death wasn’t going to bring her sister back. Nothing could do that. But that didn’t mean she had to throw her own life
away. Didn’t mean she had to give up the miracle that she’d found. That’s not what Rietta would have wanted, and as she stared into Westmore’s crazed eyes, she realized that his death was no longer the thing she wanted most in this world. What she wanted most was the soldier. The man who’d stolen her heart.
She could see so clearly now—not with her eyes, but with her heart—and in that moment Raine truly understood just how stupid she’d been. It hadn’t been her hatred making her stronger this past week. It’d been Seth. Hate and shame weren’t the things that burned deepest—
love was
.
And she
loved
McConnell. Loved him enough to go on living. To forgive herself for what had happened and embrace this amazing second chance that she’d been given. To move ahead of the past…and
finally
reach for the future.
With a deep breath, Raine lifted the stake from Westmore’s chest and jerked out of his reach. “He’s yours,” she whispered, looking at Seth, and with her surrender came a surge of power that nearly brought her to her knees. There were no more blocks. No more blind spots. Not even with Westmore. The Kraven’s thoughts were now completely open to her, and as Seth took up the fight, catching the stake that she tossed to him, she could see everything that she needed to know about the Markers within Westmore’s mind.
Just as Seth drove the stake through the Kraven’s heart, she turned and shouted to the others, “I know how to form the prime weapon!”
One by one, the Watchmen with Markers broke away from the battle and began making their way toward her, when a bizarre burst of light appeared directly behind the place where Calder was still lying on the ground, a guttural snarl on his lips as the Casus struggled to get to his feet. Raine spotted a flash of long, pale blond hair whipping from the light as it transformed into a glowing chasm—that tangled hair reminding her of what the others had said about the mysterious witch who had been aiding Gregory DeKreznick. The blonde reached out of the light with one skeletal hand and grasped Calder by the ruff of his neck, her touch seeming to stun him into a trembling stillness as she started pulling him into the chasm.
“Don’t let her take him!” Noah roared, racing past Raine as he dove for Calder. The Marker he’d been holding fell from his hand as he fought to get a grasp on the Casus’s blood-slicked skin, struggling to pull the monster from the blonde’s hold, but she was too strong.
“Sienna, no! Don’t do this!” he shouted, scrambling up Calder’s massive body. Just when he was close enough to reach for the female’s thin arm, Calder snapped his jaws, a stark bellow tearing from Noah’s throat as the Casus sank his gnarled fangs into the human’s forearm. The blonde gave a powerful yank on the Casus’s body that knocked Noah to the ground, and they all watched with wide eyes as Calder disappeared inside the chasm. As the edges began to close, several Casus shades rushed inside, following their leader.
Then there was another blinding flash of light, and the chasm was gone.
Noah pulled himself to his knees, clutching his wounded arm to his chest, and looked at Seth. “Take my Marker,” he ground out, forcing the words through his clenched teeth, a wild look in his eyes that made Raine worry for his sanity.
As Seth picked up the Marker that Noah had dropped, Kellan pulled a hand down his face. “This has been the strangest damn day,” the Lycan muttered.
“We can talk about it later,” Raine said in a loud voice, drawing the attention of the twelve Marker holders while the rest of the Watchmen kept the remaining Casus shades at bay. “Right now, I need all of you to gather in a tight circle.”
When they’d followed her instructions, she said, “Now raise the hand holding a Marker high into the air. And make sure all of your hands are touching.” As soon as they did, a brilliant band of white light formed around their raised fists, binding them together, their arms glowing brighter as someone muttered that the crosses were burning even hotter than they’d been before.
“Now what?” Seth demanded, his rough words thick with pain.
She spoke in a rush. “Now throw the crosses on the ground as hard as you can.”
“That’s it?” Kellan asked, sounding less than convinced.
“Trust me. The blast’s going to take care of anything in this place with Casus blood.” Raine glanced at Noah,
and quickly added, “Which means you should take cover, just to be safe.”
He scowled, but made his way over to one of the rocky outcroppings at the base of the cavern’s walls, then hunkered down behind it. When the others saw that he was sheltered, they shared a dark look, then slammed the glittering Markers against the ground. But not a damned thing happened. The battle continued to wage around them as the army of Watchmen fought to hold back the Casus, while the ancient crosses simply lay there on the cold, hard ground…doing nothing.
“Well, that was a bit anticlimactic,” Aiden offered in a wry drawl.
“Just give it a minute,” Raine snapped, knowing this was the way—that it would work. But when another thirty seconds went by and the Markers were still lying there, she started to tremble, terrified that something had gone wrong. Had she misunderstood what she’d seen in the Kraven’s mind? Had his information been wrong? And then she finally felt it. At first there was just the slightest tremor moving through the ground, but then it began to rumble with a violent quake, the twelve Markers suddenly erupting into flames. Seth gripped her hand, tugging her back as the ground started to give way beneath the fiery crosses, a molten beam of light shooting up from the gaping hole. The beam soared toward the cavern’s ceiling, then detonated in a powerful blast.
The explosion was so violent it knocked them all through the air, Raine’s breath forced from her lungs as she slammed against a rocky patch of ground. She
must have blacked out for a moment, because when she came to there was nothing but a choking cloud of smoke, the others groaning as they struggled back to their feet. Pushing her hair out of her eyes, she sat up, ready to scream for Seth, unable to see him in all the smoke, when he suddenly staggered down onto his knees at her side, his beautiful face smeared with ashes and soot and blood. But she’d never seen him look more gorgeous.
“Is everyone okay?” she asked. “Are the Casus dead?”
“Everyone’s fine. And yeah, the shades are dead,” he rasped, a crooked grin twitching at the corner of his mouth as he added, “Thanks to you.”
“Are you pissed at me?” she whispered, her jaw trembling.
“I was when you left me. But then I remembered why I’d been planning to do the same thing to you, and I got over it.” His strong throat worked as he swallowed, his voice even rougher as he proudly proclaimed, “You love me, Raine.”
She could tell from his expression that he expected her to argue, but she was done fighting her feelings for this magnificent man. “You’re right. I do love you. And I’m so sorry, Seth. For everything. Can you give me another chance to prove how much you mean to me?”
His eyes were doing that molten thing again—but with love, not anger. “I think I’d probably give you a thousand chances,” he told her, framing her tear-drenched face in his hands, “because I want you so damn badly.”
Raine gave him a watery smile. “Then this is your lucky day, McConnell. Because you’ve
so
got me.”
Harrow House
The Lake District, England
The next evening…
I
T WAS A BLOOD NIGHT
, as the Deschanel liked to call them, the sun setting like a ball of fire on the horizon, painting the sky with primal shades of red, the moon already glowing with a scarlet hue. The kind of night meant for lovers—for hot, sweat-slick skin and shallow breaths—and Raine could hardly believe she was going to spend it with Seth. It seemed like a miracle that they had come through the nightmare in one piece…but she was more than ready to celebrate.
After the Casus had been destroyed, everyone had gathered around to offer their congratulations to the group who had held the Markers, and Seth had been given his share of shoulder slaps and handshakes. But there had still been work to be done. Once those who had lost their lives during the battle had been buried, the other Watchmen (she didn’t know what else to call them, considering the new organization was still unnamed) had collected their wounded and left, heading back to their respective compounds. Then Raine had asked the group from Harrow House to gather around, and though she was nervous about how they would react, she’d come clean with her friends and confessed that she’d tried to keep Seth from the battle. Surprisingly, the others had
been teasing rather than angry, and she’d taken their ribbing in stride, just thankful everything had worked out.
Then they’d gotten the hell out of there—the entrance to the tunnel had mysteriously disappeared behind them, as if it had never existed—and the group had started the long journey back to England. On the way, they had talked about what the future would hold. While they’d managed to destroy those shades trapped within Meridian, the Casus who had escaped during the past year and were living in host bodies would still need to be hunted down. Quinn had flown into the gaping hole and retrieved the markers, so they would be able to use them to kill the host-bound Casus. And then there were the Death-Walkers. With so many Casus shades having been sent to hell when the prime weapon had detonated, they knew the Death-Walkers would be escaping in frightening numbers, and soon the Watchmen and their allies would be fighting the second phase of the war.
When Raine had admitted she was worried, Seth had pulled her into his arms and whispered how much he loved her, reminding her that they would face whatever the future held together. Then he’d kissed her with so much passion, she hadn’t been able to think straight for the rest of the day, desperate for the time when they could be alone.
And that time was finally here.
They were standing in Seth’s bedroom, the door locked behind them, the rest of the house noisy with laughter and conversation, while Kierland was hidden
away in his office, trying to learn if there had been any sign of the Death-Walkers.