CHAPTER 29
It had been foolish, a mistake to rise to Kane’s baiting, but he’d never been known for his cool and level head. He’d meant to stay calm, to assess the situation and do what he could to get them out of it. Then Kane had said that about Tempest and all he’d seen was red, all he’d wanted was Kane’s blood. No one would ever touch her or harm her in such a way, especially not this piece of shit. It had gone on too long; this man had to die. He deserved to die.
They rolled into the shadows together before crashing against the wall with so much force rocks and debris fell down upon them. Caught up in each other, he found it difficult to get a solid punch in, but he drove his fist into Kane’s gut repeatedly. If Kane had been human, the blows would have forced him to curl in on himself as he gasped for air, but he did neither of those things.
Kane’s hands dug at his stomach; his fingers scrambled and tore at William’s skin as he tried to rip into the scar he’d left on him after their first battle. William flung himself back, rolling away from Kane before he could dig too deeply into his flesh. The vampire was stronger than he was, faster. He had to stay on the move if he had any chance of getting the upper hand. Outside the orphanage, he’d had the element of surprise on his side when he’d attacked, now he had none of that. Tempest’s strengthening blood still ran through his veins, but he didn’t know if it would be enough to take Kane down permanently.
He rose to his feet and charged at Kane with his shoulder down; the vampire dashed to the side as William had anticipated. Before he would have hit him, he’d switched direction. He ran back toward the main cave and the sounds of feet scraping on stone, grunts and cries of pain coming from there. When he’d gone for Kane, he’d made the horrific mistake of leaving Tempest out there with those other vampires.
He didn’t have the time to berate himself for allowing his hot-tempered tendencies to get the best of him. He had to get to her and make sure she survived whatever happened here. Kane wasn’t his main concern.
Racing out of the shadows, he crashed into the back of a white cloaked vampire closing in on Tempest. Lifting the vampire up, he smashed him face first onto the floor with enough force to knock the spear he’d been clutching free. The man’s neck snapped from the impact and twisted at such an unnatural angle that his eyes were now looking up at William. His hands scrabbled against the floor, ripping off his fingernails as he gouged away chunks of rock from the floor. William snatched up the spear and drove it through his heart. He yanked it free and spun to face Kane when he came at him again.
William swung the spear up, catching Kane under his chin and knocking him back enough to buy him some more time. From the corner of his eye, he watched Tempest as she squared off against a man stalking her with lethal intent. Tempest swung at the man, who dodged back to avoid the stake in her hand. The vampire leapt forward, but instead of trying to catch him with her stake again, Tempest leaned against the wall and drove her foot up. She kicked him in the crotch with enough force that William was certain the man could now be classified as a woman.
The vamp howled; his hands clasped at his nuts. His face turned the color of a tomato before his legs buckled and his knees hit the floor. Showing no mercy, Tempest pulled her arm back and drove the stake deep into the man’s heart. The vampire’s eyes rolled back in his head, Tempest yanked the stake back out before the man slumped to the floor.
“Who taught you that move?” he inquired as he arrived at her side.
She grabbed the vampire’s spear off the floor. “You told me to do whatever was necessary to win.”
“I did and I approve.” He turned back as another vampire fell to one of the village vampires, but more bodies of the villagers littered the floor. “Stay close to me,” he commanded gruffly.
“I should be saying that to you,” she retorted. The fire in her eyes and the set of her chin showed her anger with him more than her words ever could. He had the urge to cover his manhood as she continued to glower at him.
He squeezed her hand. “Sorry.” The word sounded strange spilling from his lips; over the years he should have offered many apologies; he’d only ever issued a few. “It won’t happen again.”
His bow and arrows beat against his back, but in such close confines, and with so many vampires shuffling about the cave, he couldn’t take the chance of hitting someone on their side with an arrow. It would also be unlikely he’d be able to get off many shots before he was overtaken. The spear was the better option right now, no matter how badly his fingers itched for his bow.
He charged back into the fight, keeping Tempest beside him as he swung the spear at first one vampire and then another, pushing them back. The children and Pallas had all huddled into the back of the cave, sheltered behind some boulders. The flickering light of the torch danced over the rocks as the clash of spears, and the coppery stench of blood filled the cave. Flecks of blood splashed over his face and soaked into his clothes. He worked to carve away the white clothed figures while trying to make his way back to Kane, who was just as ruthlessly cutting his way through the villagers.
He drove his spear through another vampire, and grabbing the vamp’s discarded spear from the ground, he tossed it to the woman with the strawberry colored hair. By his side, Tempest hit a woman who leapt at her with her spear, knocking the woman back. Before the woman could completely regain her footing, Tempest swung the spear low, sweeping her feet out from under her. Not missing a beat, she leapt forward and drove the spear into the woman’s heart.
Fast learner, he thought with pride.
He spun back to the fight as Kane burst free of the crowd and rushed at him. A grim smile spread across William’s mouth; he braced his legs and swung his spear up. Kane’s spear crashed against his, rattling the wood within his grasp. His fingers clenched on the weapon as he fell back beneath Kane’s furious blows.
He fended them off, wielding the spear with the expertise of his training. His arms ached, his hand vibrated as the spear was beat repeatedly. He turned to the side, avoiding Kane’s lunge and managing to crash his own spear down onto Kane’s back.
The blow should have knocked Kane to his knees, but he managed to catch himself before falling down. William spun the spear so the arrowhead pointed at Kane’s back. The vampire spun and grabbing the bottom of the spear broke the arrow off. It clattered across the stone floor with a rattling ting as it spun into the shadows of the cave.
William didn’t have time to recover before Kane’s arms wrapped around his knees and he was dragged down beneath him. His back slammed into the rock; his head crashed off it causing stars to burst before his eyes when his brain rattled against his skull. He almost lost his broken spear, but somehow managed to keep hold of it as Kane scrambled to grab his legs.
Getting his knees in between them, William thrust upward with enough force to dislodge the smaller vamp. Kane rolled away into the darkness as William staggered back to his feet. He looked toward where Tempest and the others stood; the rest of the white cloaked vampires lying about their feet. There were only a handful of the village vampires left, but at least some of them had survived. Tempest’s skin had taken on an ashen hue, blood speckled her cheeks, but she appeared unharmed. His gaze fell on the cowering children.
“Run!” he yelled at them. “Tempest, take the children and run!”
It was the mention of the children that finally broke through to her, as he’d known it would. Spinning away, she began to usher the children and others forward with a hurried shooing gesture. “Go!”
William spun toward the shadows as Kane bolted toward him with his shoulders down. He swung his spear up, prepared to drive it into Kane’s back. At the last second, Kane rose up and threw his spear at him. William dodged to the side, but not in time to avoid having the spear tip plunge into his shoulder and burst out the other side.
He bit back a shout of pain, afraid to draw Tempest’s attention to the fight again, but he couldn’t keep back a grunt from the force of the impact
. Turning back to face Kane, he didn’t have time to get out of the way as the vampire hurtled across the earth and dove at him. William stumbled back. He realized too late that he’d been standing near the entrance of the cave. With another violent shove from Kane, he lost what was left of his balance and toppled over the edge of the cliff.
***
“William!” Tempest screamed when she saw him tumble away into nothing.
She’d led the others farther into the cave, urging them to run faster, and making sure the children would make it to safety before doubling back to help him fight Kane. She’d been too late to help though, too late to save him. Rage and sorrow left her shaken as tears streamed down her face. The tears fell, but the rage drove her forward with a bellow she’d never expected to come from herself.
Quiet and hiding in the shadows all her life, she knew now she’d never be that girl again. No, now there was no hiding from her problems, they had to be faced head on, and this one she planned to face with the ruthlessness of a mountain lion.
She threw her spear at Kane with far more speed than she’d known possible. Kane lunged out of the way, but she didn’t go after him again; she ran to the edge of the cliff and looked over the side. A shelf two hundred feet below had stopped William from plummeting all the way to the bottom of the valley and onto the jagged boulders lining the lake.
His head, twisted to the side, faced a direction that never should have been possible. Blood, seeping from the back of his head, had begun to form a scarlet puddle in the snow. One of his legs was bent behind his body; more blood spilled from where his broken femur had pierced through the flesh of his thigh.
The spear Kane had thrown at him was still embedded in his shoulder, but the broken spear he’d fallen over with had pierced through his chest, close to his heart. It might have pierced his heart she realized with a wave of misery so intense she almost fell to her knees. She couldn’t see his eyes, but she had to believe he was still alive and that the spear had missed.
A choked sob escaped her, if there was a small chance he was alive, she was going to help him and no matter what, she would not leave his body down there. Bending, she grabbed hold of the edge of the cliff in order to lower herself over it. A hand snatched her arm, jerking her back before she could go over. A red haze suffused her vision; she turned on Kane with the fury of a hellcat kicking and spitting as she clawed at his face and battered his shins.
“I’ll kill you!” the scream tore from her already raw throat as she threw herself at him, shoving him into the cave wall.
He grabbed at her arms, shoving them down to her sides. Before she could gather herself enough to go back at him, he backhanded her across the face so hard her cheek split open and blood spilled into her mouth. Her hand flew to her cheek; she staggered back and crashed into the rocks.
He leapt at her, clutching her arms. Tearing her away from the cave wall, he threw her to the floor. Tempest bit back a cry as her hands and knees slapped off the stones. Scrambling forward, she tried to regain her feet, but he grabbed hold of the hood of her cloak and yanked her backward. Her fingers clawed at the brooch and cloak cutting into her neck in an attempt to tear it away from her body.
Before she could get the brooch to let go, he lifted her within his arms. His powerful grip crushed her ribcage as he squeezed her. Tempest kicked her feet, trying desperately to connect with some vulnerable part of his body. Swinging her head back, a bellow escaped her when he managed to dodge a blow that would have shattered his nose.
With a sound of disgust, he threw her away from him and onto the floor. Tempest’s fingers scrabbled over the rocks, trying to find some purchase as he grabbed hold of her feet and pulled her toward him. With a brutal jerk, he flipped her over. Her head cracked off the rocks; her vision blurred and pain exploded in her skull.
She fought to stay conscious as he grabbed hold of her wrists with one of his hands and bashed them into the floor with enough force to break a knuckle in her right hand. She tried to buck him off, but his weight upon her was too much, his grip on her stronger than iron.
“No!” she screamed at him, squirming within his grasp as he leered down at her.
His lips skimmed back to reveal his fangs. “I’ve wanted to do this since the first time I saw you,” he murmured as he ran his fingers over the front of her shirt.
Bile filled her mouth; she gulped it back as she renewed her battle to get away from this monster. The slapping of feet bounced off the cave walls. His head lifted as Moira and Abbott rushed out of the shadows toward them. Moira swung her spear out, but Kane grabbed hold of it with his free hand and jerked it from her grasp.
Lifting the spear, he released Tempest’s wrists to swing the weapon at Moira. It cracked against her back, knocking her to the floor. He swung it at Abbott next. Abbott tried to jump out of the way, but he couldn’t avoid his legs being knocked out from under him. His head hit the rock with a solid thwack that made Tempest cringe. He lay, unmoving on the ground.
Tempest sat up, her fingers hooked into claws as she dove at Kane. She dug her nails into his cheeks, raking away strips of skin from his face. She’d been aiming for his eyes but he’d moved at the last second, making her miss the mark. This time he didn’t slap her, but drove his fist into her face so forcefully that her nose shattered from the blow, and she swore she felt a jagged line run through her broken cheekbone. Her head shot back, blackness swirled up around her, looking to embrace her within its endless depths.
The world vanished as she fell back against the floor. She had no idea how long she’d passed out, but when she came to, cold air brushed over the flesh of her chest. A moan escaped her; her head pounded as if a woodpecker had gotten inside and mistaken it for a tree. It took all she had to concentrate on her surroundings. Finally able to keep her eyes open, she turned her head to find Kane still sitting on top of her. She blinked at him, trying to clear the hazy fog of her vision but he blurred before her, becoming two and then three.
It wasn’t until his hand fell on her breast that she came back to life again. She slapped at his hands; strangled sounds escaped her blood-filled mouth as she beat at him. Lifting his hand to slap her again, Tempest braced herself for the blow. She couldn’t afford to lose consciousness again.
His hand was on the downward swing when a figure loomed over the top of him. It took her a minute to realize that the fiery red eyes, blood soaked face and clothes belonged to William. A snarl escaped him as he lifted the spear he’d ripped free from his chest and drove it through Kane’s back.
Kane arched forward on top of her. His eyes rolled back in his head; his fingers scrabbled at the broken end of the spear piercing his heart. Gurgled sounds of distress poured from his mouth along with his blood.
Bending low, William rested his mouth near Kane’s ear. “Remember that moment I told you about in the prison. This is it. I’ve never missed a heart before; I missed yours on purpose last time, you prick.” With that, he twisted the spear, turning it within Kane’s chest before grabbing his shoulder and shoving his limp body off her.
The red bled from William’s eyes, leaving them their exquisite blue again as he collapsed onto the ground before her. “Are you ok?” he demanded, grabbing hold of her hands and dragging her toward him.
She took hold of his cheeks, tears of relief and joy spilling down her face. “Yes, are you?”
He collapsed in her arms before he could answer her. “William!” she shrieked grabbing at him and rolling him over.
His eyes were closed, his mouth parted. Her hands scrambled over his blood soaked clothes as she tried desperately to wake him again. Alive, she knew it, but so badly beaten and bruised he may not stay that way. The gaping wound in his chest continued to bleed; his leg was twisted awkwardly, and now that she was closer, she could see the bone still piercing through his skin. He’d torn the other spear from his shoulder, but blood continued to flow from the hole that went all the way through him.
“How did he manage to cl
imb up here?” Abbott muttered from above her. She lifted her head to look up at him. His nose was scrunched up as he rubbed at the back of his head.
“I don’t know,” she said. She couldn’t imagine the amount of agony he must have endured, or the determination it would have taken him to accomplish the climb, but her heart swelled with more love for him. “But he needs blood, and we have to get him out of here.”
She bit into her wrist and pressed it against William’s bloody lips. “Tempest!” Abbott hissed.
“It’s ok,” she whispered, brushing back strands of William’s hair from his bloody face. Even battered and broken, he was still the most magnificent man she’d ever seen. He reflexively swallowed when the blood pooled into the back of his throat. The taste of her blood and his own instincts caused his fangs to lengthen against her skin. A sigh of pleasure escaped her when he bit down. “Good,” she murmured, leaning over him to press a kiss against his forehead. “Take as much as you need.”
Moira emerged, limping from the shadows. Moira’s brown eyes flickered; her eyebrows shot up when she spotted Tempest’s wrist pressed against William’s mouth. Maybe what she was doing wasn’t something commonly done amongst vampires, but she didn’t give one damn what they thought about it.
“Are you badly injured?” Tempest inquired.
Moira blinked at her question, but her gaze remained locked on the two of them. Finally, she rested her hand against her side. “I’ll heal.”
“We have to go,” Abbott urged.
“Help me with him,” she said. Adjusting her hold on William, she kept her wrist against his mouth as she moved carefully out from under him.
Abbott claimed William’s feet and Moira came to stand by his head to help her with his arms. Together they carried him through the cave toward where they’d left Achilles. She really hoped the horse was still there. It would be difficult for them to carry William through the snow without the horse, but she would do whatever it took to get him to safety.