Blood Legacy: Heir to the Throne (35 page)

It took a moment for her eyes to adjust to the dimmer light. The room was warmer, far more humid than the outer chambers. Although none of the hideous apparitions of before were evident, the walls seemed to shimmer, shifting ever-so-slightly as if something was indeed trying to get out.

“That will not help you here.”

There was a low, dangerous tone to the voice, yet a hint of pleasure as well.

Ryan glanced down at the sword in her hand, unaware she was still carrying it. “I know,” she said simply, tossing the sword to the side. It clattered off into the shadows, then sounded as if it were dragged away by some unseen entity.

Ryan turned, taking a quick step back when she came face-to-face with Madelyn. She still could not accurately detect the woman’s presence.

“So did you have some sort of plan in coming up here?” Madelyn asked mockingly. “Or were you simply going to sacrifice yourself in hopes I would let your precious father and son go?”

Ryan struggled to keep her tone even. “I did not really have much of a plan,” she confessed.

Madelyn’s eyes gleamed as she took a step closer. Her proximity would have taken all of Ryan’s attention, but there was some skittering and scratching off in the shadows again, momentarily distracting her. Her attention was returned to Madelyn, however, when the women placed her hands about Ryan’s waist, creating a teasing but very deadly intimacy.

“Let me guess,” Madelyn said, mildly sarcastic, pulling her close “you were going to try and divert me, perhaps trapping me here long enough to create a permanent prison.”

On this last word, Madelyn jerked her forward, not gently, so that they were fully pressed against one another. She now whispered in Ryan’s ear.

“What is to stop me from killing you on the spot?” Madelyn asked, “then going down to finish off all that you love?”

Ryan gritted her teeth but said nothing as the dark-haired woman continued.

“Or perhaps paralyzing you, leaving you here to suffer while I destroy your father, son, your ‘mother,’ your lovers—all that you care about?”

Madelyn’s tone was still entirely conversational. “Then I could return and kill you very slowly.”

Ryan settled her hands on Madelyn’s hips, surprising the dark-haired woman. She glanced down at the casually intimate pose Ryan had settled into. She gazed at the girl with suspicion, but was amused nonetheless.

“I have another suggestion,” Ryan said thoughtfully. She examined Madelyn’s perfect form, her eyes lingering so that Madelyn was further amused. “I can give you something you probably have not had in a very long time.”

Ryan leaned closer to Madelyn, fully pressing against her. “And there is someplace I want to show you,” she whispered in her ear.

Madelyn was guarded, but intrigued, and she hesitated just long enough for Ryan to attempt the impossible. Ryan’s razor-sharp teeth whispered across Madelyn’s throat, and although she was not certain her teeth would even break the skin, she was going to try.

Madelyn gasped and clenched Ryan so tightly there was an audible cracking of Ryan’s preternaturally strong bones as they strained under the pressure. Ryan felt the wetness against her lips and immediately fastened on the wound she had opened. Madelyn’s blood rushed into her mouth, burned its way down her throat through the bifurcation to her aorta. Her heart stopped instantly.

Ryan desperately tried to concentrate. The physical effect of the blood was devastating, destroying everything in its pathway. She felt capillaries burst, arterial walls strain against the liquid fire, venous pathways melt under the onslaught. It was as if the blood were part acid, part fire, leaving a swath of destruction as it rushed through her body.

Madelyn’s first inclination was to rip the girl from her, tossing her aside like a rag doll. But the warmth that spread outward from the wound stayed the impulse. It was a pleasant flush, one that began to throb and pulsate as it spread to her extremities. She was astonished at the waves of pleasure that began to wash through her system. She glanced down at the girl, noting the great strain on her system.

“And are you trying to commit suicide, little one?” Madelyn asked.

Ryan continued to concentrate, ignoring the physical agony she was in. She leaned back only far enough to make eye contact with Madelyn, then leaned forward once more, slicing into the other side of Madelyn’s neck. Madelyn again gasped with pleasure, amazed that the girl was even still alive.

Ryan’s system again stumbled under the onslaught, the renewed flow of blood racing down already raw pathways. Her heart lurched at the attack, attempting to rip itself from her chest to escape the pain. Ryan pushed the agony from her mind, focusing with all of her mental ability. There was a pounding in her head, and a rushing flood that drowned out all light, all sound…

And then there was silence.

Ryan leaned back from the women who held her, slowly glancing around. The sky and mountains were blood red, and an infinite black lake lapped at the dark sand at her feet. Reddish light filtered through dark wisps of clouds. Other than the gentle flowing of the water, there was no sound, no breeze, no movement, all was utterly still.

Madelyn gazed at the blood-red world around her in amazement. She started to take a step back from Ryan, but Ryan easily held her, her strength as great, if not greater than the dark-haired woman’s in this arena. She was no longer in any pain.

Madelyn continued to examine the scene in wonder and disbelief, but as time passed in infinite increments, Ryan sensed something else in the woman’s demeanor. She sensed astonished recognition. Madelyn finally returned her attention to the girl in front of her.

“You know this place?” she asked, giving voice to her incredulity.

Ryan gazed at her steadily. “I rule this place,” she said without a hint of boasting.

Madelyn stared down at her, myriad emotions on her face. Ryan sensed a reassessment, a realization, a touch of regret, and ultimately, a steely resignation.

“That is most unfortunate,” Madelyn said.

Ryan felt a blinding pain in her midsection and she was instantly ripped from the blood-red world back into the real one, back into the inner sanctuary. Her hands were on Madelyn’s shoulders and Madelyn’s hands were about her waist, but it was not Madelyn’s hands that now impaled Ryan. Ryan glanced down at the scaly, claw-like appendages that were thrust through her torso, appendages that were somehow a part of Madelyn. She felt the poison from the arachnid limb leach into her system, causing immense pain and unrecoverable tissue damage. Blood seeped from the corner of her mouth. Ryan slowly raised her eyes to look at Madelyn once more, and Madelyn was impressed that there was no fear, no revulsion, nor any real surprise in her steady gaze.

“I knew you were not my Kind,” Ryan said.

Madelyn was intrigued despite herself. “And how is that?”

Ryan continued to gaze at her steadily. “Because I am not attracted to you.”

Madelyn glanced down at the creature she held mortally impaled, amused. Even now, the girl entertained her.

“Liar,” Madelyn said knowingly.

Although fatally wounded, Ryan merely smiled, the mischievous grin of a child caught in an untruth. And in that moment, Madelyn realized how completely dangerous the girl was. She leaned close.

“It is a pity,” Madelyn whispered to her, “I think one day you could have been my consort.”

Ryan again smiled, the light beginning to dim in her eyes. She struggled to swallow the blood in her throat. She gathered her strength, maintaining a steady gaze.

“No,” Ryan said simply, “you would have been mine.”

And with that stunning statement, Madelyn knew she could not let Ryan live. Not because the girl’s words were insulting.

But because they were true.

Ryan groaned as Madelyn thrust the sharp claws clean through her body. Ryan felt the poison race through her system, and would have doubled up in pain were she not so impaled. Madelyn watched her for a moment, ensuring sufficient damage for death, then violently retracted the appendages.

Slowly, Madelyn stepped back. And slowly, the light fading from her mind, Ryan began to fall.

A great wind swept through the battle below. Fighting slowed, then stopped completely as men and women shifted uneasily in confusion. The bluish-skinned warriors sensed something they did not understand and felt the stirring of fear. That fear only grew when the great dark-haired, dark-eyed warrior, standing alone, untouched, cried out in agony from some unseen blow, then collapsed like a marionette whose strings had been cut.

Abigail rushed to Victor’s side, disbelief and anguish filling every aspect of her being. She went to her knees, pressing her hand to Victor’s chest. The disaster she sensed could not possibly be true, but she felt the girl’s presence slipping away.

Kusunoki felt the fading as a physical blow, falling to his knees and holding his head in his hands. A grief the world could not contain overcame him and he pressed his forehead into the dirt in front of him.

Aeron stared upward, anger and denial filling him as tears of rage gathered in his blue eyes. Ala closed her eyes, turning away from a feeling that was present in every direction. Saladin pressed his fingers to his forehead in prayer and Marilyn openly wept.

Susan clutched Drake tightly, her young senses stunned by the shockwave that was traveling through the web of their Kind. Great strands were torn away, sections collapsed entirely, what remained violently vibrated. Susan looked down at the boy she held in her arms, fearful for the effect it would have on one who was more connected to Ryan than any other.

Drake, oddly enough, had an enigmatic expression on his face as he looked to the sky.

Ryan’s body hit the stone ground hard, but she did not feel any more pain. Time seemed to slow as she stared upward at the vaulted ceiling. She could see her son’s warm blue eyes, his beautiful little smile, could hear his irrepressible laughter.

Madelyn gazed down at the girl, suppressing any emotion she might feel. Blood poured from the wound in Ryan’s torso, and Madelyn knew the poison would act far faster than Ryan’s immune system could adapt. Still, as mortally wounded as she was, the girl gazed upward, a strangely peaceful look on her face. Madelyn again struggled with conflicting emotions, and spoke harshly as a result.

“You have failed,” Madelyn said, a note of triumph in her voice, “in every way.”

Ryan continued to stare up at the ceiling, unaffected by Madelyn’s words. A pleasant fatigue settled over her. She could feel the darkness coming, and she closed her eyes, welcoming the warm blackness. She could almost let go, but something at the edge of her consciousness was rising to the surface.

Ryan reopened her eyes, but they were unfocused. Something was surfacing, something that had haunted her for a very long time. She closed her eyes again, relaxing. It would come to her if she did not search for it. Slowly, the presence came to her, something ancient, terrifying, something so powerfully malevolent it staggered her mind. Something that had threatened her endlessly, its voice echoing across space and time.

“I–” came the sibilant, hissing voice.

“–AM COMING–” the alien, prehistoric presence promised.

“–FOR YOU.”

And Ryan at last understood. Her fear had caused her to misjudge intent. It was not a threat, it was a promise. The creature was indeed coming for her, not to destroy her.

But to save her.

Madelyn’s eyes narrowed as she sensed some subtle shift she could not quite identify. She gazed down at Ryan. A deafening noise rumbled through the compound, and it took Madelyn a moment to realize it was not a noise at all but rather a mental shockwave. She glanced about her, trying to assess the presence. It seemed to have some great connection to the girl, and she glanced over at the dying girl, guessing at the identity.

“Your father is a formidable opponent, but he cannot save you now.”

Ryan lay on her side, clearing the blood from her mouth so she could speak. Madelyn was impressed the fatally wounded girl could speak at all.

“If you think my father is formidable,” Ryan paused, her words amazingly casual considering her mortal injuries.

“You should meet the rest of my family.”

Blinding light filled the inner sanctuary as the rock wall split floor-to-ceiling. The wall did not break, but rather appeared to rip in two, as if matter itself were being torn apart. A great force shook the mountain as the energy the event produced shifted the very foundation. The blue light did not fade but rather gained intensity as it poured through the strange opening. Ryan shifted so she could see the extraordinary phenomenon, and was overcome by a reflexive, primitive fear.