Magick Rising (29 page)

“Just as some humans do.”

Hayley hesitated. He had a point. “Then he could be anyone.” He could

have ridden in the elevator with her, passed her on the street, sat across from

her in a diner, and she never would have known. She sucked in her breath.

Hell, the Destroyer could even be a woman. “How am I ever going to stop

him . . . her?”

“You can’t. Let him go. This quest of yours will end up destroying you

if you don’t.”

Hayley pulled free of his embrace. “I can’t do that.” She ran into the

hotel, but Rurik caught her hand in the lobby.

“Wait. Please.”

When she finally looked at him, he cupped her face with his palm. “I

don’t want to lose you. Can’t you see that?”

“I have to avenge my sister and the dozens of others he murdered.”

Rurik sighed. “Then I’ll help you.”

“Can one
strigoii
slay another?”

“A stake through the heart is fatal no matter who wields it.” His

obvious distaste vibrated through his words.

“This one has to be stopped.” She couldn’t give up. “He’s evil.”

“Just as there are evil humans, there are evil
strigoii
. Do you intend to

find them all?”

She hesitated. Put that way, she could picture herself chasing the

undead for the remainder of her mortal life. Despair wrapped its cold

tentacles around her. “I don’t want to.”

“Then stop. Now.” Rurik drew her closer. “Stay with me instead.”

He cut off her response with his kiss, putting every bit of his three

hundred years of experience into it, seducing away her reluctance with true

mastery. By the time he finished, she found her hands clenching the front of

his shirt, her breathing erratic.

“That’s unfair,” she murmured.

“I know.” He claimed another kiss. “Shall we go to your room?”

She was tempted. More than tempted. The fever within her demanded

satisfaction.

He was
strigoii
.

But he was still a vampire.

Dear Lord, if only she could think clearly.

“Rurik.”

Hayley turned with Rurik to see who’d called. Barnaby approached,

Dane at his heels, then stopped before them. “I haven’t seen you in . . .

ages.”

Rurik’s smile appeared forced, his stance tense. Hayley frowned. Was

Barnaby not a friend?

“It’s been a while,” Rurik said.

“What have you been up to?” Barnaby asked.

“I have an antique shop in town.”

Rurik obviously didn’t like Barnaby. What was going on?

“An antique shop?” Barnaby laughed. “Somehow I can’t imagine the

Destroyer working in an antique shop.”

Hayley’s breath caught. For a brief moment, time froze. “The who?”

“The Destroyer. That’s Rurik’s nickname. From a long time ago.”

Backing away, Hayley stared at Rurik. He was playing her. All this time,

he’d been stringing her along, playing some kind of warped game.

“Oh. My. God,” she whispered.

Rurik started toward her. “Hayley . . .”

All the pieces finally fell into place. “You murdered my sister.”

“LISTEN TO ME.” Rurik held out his hands as he approached Hayley. “I

haven’t been called the Destroyer in over a century. It came from the way I

fought in so many battles, so many wars when I didn’t care if I existed or

not. I swear, Hayley, I’m not the one who killed your sister.”

“No.” She shook her head. He had an explanation for everything. If she

let him, he’d convince her of this, too. “No.” She backed away from him.

“It’s all been a game, hasn’t it? To make me care about you, then what? Turn

me into a
moroii
? Wouldn’t that be fitting revenge on a vampire hunter?”

“I wouldn’t—”

“Stay away from me, Rurik.” She couldn’t stake him here with people

all around. Not now. But she would. Somehow.

Whirling around, she fled, opting to run the stairs to her room rather

than wait for an elevator.

He could have caught up to her easily, yet Rurik didn’t follow. Of

course, in the stairwell, she’d be more likely to use a stake. How could she be

so stupid as to think she could trust a vampire?

But he hadn’t seemed like a vampire. He’d been caring, helpful,

wonderful.

No.

Hayley entered her room then set all the locks. Not that they would

probably do any good. Paul had managed to find his way in. Or had been let

in.

And she’d be willing to bet the door hadn’t been ajar when Rurik had

appeared in her room that first time.

Taking a stake from her belt, she stared at it. Could she plunge this into

Rurik’s heart? Hear his cry of pain before he dissolved into dust?

Her chest ached at the mental image, and tears sprang to her eyes.

Damn him. He’d made her care about him. Worse, he’d made her love him.

She was in love with a vampire. A vampire who had killed her sister.

Or had he?

He’d seemed sincere. After all the time she’d spent with him, wouldn’t

he have killed her by now if he was actually the Destroyer? Would he have

been patient enough to play this role for this long? Somehow, she hadn’t

imagined patience being the Destroyer’s strong suit.

He’d made love to her with such infinite tenderness and honest

passion. Could a killer do that?

Hayley sank onto the edge of her bed. Was she trying to fool herself

because of her feelings, or were her feelings trying to tell her she did know

the real Rurik Anatoli? That he wasn’t a murderer? That he wasn’t the

Destroyer she’d been chasing for months?

A sharp knock sounded at her door, and she tensed. “Rurik?”

“No, it’s Dane.”

Dane. He hadn’t said a word during the exchange with Barnaby and

Rurik, yet Barnaby was his friend. Barnaby had known Rurik’s old name.

Hayley flung open the door. “Are you a vampire too?”

Dane raised one eyebrow, then his vibrant smile appeared. “‘Fraid so. I

hadn’t realized Barnaby would out us that way. Of course, I had no reason to

assume you even believed vampires existed.”

“Do you know Rurik?” Were they working as a team?

“Never saw him before tonight. Barnaby’s the one who fought with

him way back when. The Crimean War, I believe.” He stepped inside her

room. “I thought, maybe, you could tell me what’s going on.”

“Don’t I need to invite you in?” Dumb question. Paul hadn’t had a

problem coming into her room.

“Not in a hotel.” Dane grinned. “Common space, you know.” He

waited for her to push the door closed and face him. “So, can you fill me in?

How do you know about us? What’s this Destroyer business?”

Hayley resisted the urge to shake her head to clear it. Was this entire

town made up of
strigoii
? Had she somehow landed in vampire central? “My

sister was murdered by the Destroyer,” she said finally. “When she rose

again, she came after me. I had to stop her.”

The shrill pitch of Lissa’s last scream still rang in Hayley’s ears, adding

to her resolve to eliminate her sister’s murderer. “I’ve been tracking him

across the country. I intend to eliminate him.”

Dane’s expression remained unchanged, but a flicker of light

shimmered in his eyes. “And this Rurik is the Destroyer?”

“He was called that once.” Did that make him the Destroyer she was

after? Could there be more than one?

“I see. Now all that in the lobby makes sense.” Dane grew serious. “So

you intend to kill the Destroyer, this Rurik?”

“I . . . don’t know.” How could she stake Rurik when her heart kept

telling her different?

“If he killed your sister, doesn’t he deserve to die?”

“Yes,
if
he killed my sister.”

“You were certain before. Now you’re not?” He sounded incredulous.

“I know Rurik, or at least, I thought I did. He’s not . . . that is, I find it

hard to believe . . .” Hayley sighed and turned to face the windows. “Before

I came here I knew exactly what I needed to do. I don’t know what to think

any more.”

“What was it you needed to do?” Dane crossed the room to stand

behind her.

“Stop any vampires the Destroyer made. Find him. Kill him.” That

purpose had consumed her since the night she’d been forced to stake her

own sister. How could a few days with Rurik have changed it?

“Then do it. Destroy him. I think he’s still pacing the sidewalk out

back.”

“I can’t.” As much as she hated to admit it, that was the truth. “I have

to talk to him first.”

“Talk? Has it crossed your mind that he’ll be ripping your throat out

now that you know who he is?”

Hayley shook her head. “That’s just it. I think I do know him.” He

wouldn’t hurt her. She couldn’t have given a killer her trust, her heart. She

glanced back at Dane. “Why do you care whether or not I stake him?”

“I could tell you that I don’t want renegade
strigoii
running loose.” He

shrugged. “Or I could say I want to remove all possible competition for you.

But neither of those would be true.”

Frowning, Hayley turned to face him. “Then what . . . ?”

He reached out to touch a stray curl. “The truth is because the

Destroyer wants to kill you without interruption.” His eyes turned red as his

hand flew to her throat, tightening, stopping the air from entering.

Dear Lord.
Dane
was the Destroyer. Not Rurik.

Hayley tugged at his arm, but he only continued to squeeze. Black dots

swam before her eyes. Summoning all the strength she could muster, she

clawed her fingernails across his face.

Dane flung her across the room with a roar of pain. Gasping for breath,

Hayley struggled to her feet, tugging a stake free. This was it. The battle to

the death. His . . . or hers.

“Why did you take Rurik’s old name as your own?” she demanded.

Dane’s eyes blazed red. “He killed a friend of mine in the Crimean War.

I vowed vengeance and took the name, hoping he’d find me. It took me

over a hundred years, but I tracked him here. Killing you should affect him

enough that I can destroy him easily.” Dane crouched low, facing her from

across the room.

“You’re going down,” she muttered as much to bolster her own

courage as to frighten him.

Amusement danced in his eyes. “Me? I doubt it. I’m not a
moroii
, stupid,

clumsy, and easy to stake. I am
strigoii
.” He circled around her, and Hayley

turned to keep him in sight. “You’re nothing but a puny human. Easy. Tasty.

Fast food, so to speak.”

“The hell I am.” She raised the stake, her throat raw, her muscles tense.

If she could only reach her crossbow . . .

He dove at her so fast she didn’t even see him move. Only a blur of

motion. She swung and missed, but he left his mark, a single scratch along

her throat. Warm blood trickled from it, and Hayley pressed one hand

against the fiery wound. Damn him.

“Very tasty, in fact,” Dane said from across the room where he sucked

her blood off his finger. “I shall enjoy draining you.”

“Think again, bloodsucker.” She nabbed her crossbow, loaded, and

fired in two smooth movements, but Dane’s speed saved him again. The

arrow bounced off the wall.

She reloaded, watching him closely, trying to judge his next action.

“Sloppy, Hayley.” His tone and grin held pure derision.

“Think again.” She aimed this time, led her target, and fired. As she’d

hoped, he darted to one side, just the wrong side. The arrow caught him in

the middle of his chest.

All amusement left his face as he glanced down at the arrow protruding

from his shirt. “I like this shirt.” He tugged the arrow free and tossed it

aside.

Looking up, he pinned Hayley with his glowing gaze. “Time to die.”

She had no time to reload before he was on her. Her heart racing, she

swung the crossbow at him, but he batted it aside with ease then seized her

waist with one arm and pulled her to him.

“No.” Though she struggled to free herself, he held on, his grip like

steel. She flailed to reach a stake, but he pinned her arms and pushed her

head to the side, revealing her throat.

“Don’t fight it, Hayley.” He drew his tongue over her skin, and she

shuddered. “It can be pleasurable if you don’t fight it.”

“No.” She’d fight until she died, but her twists and squirms were

nothing to him.

He sank his fangs into her, creating pain unlike any she’d ever known.

She screamed once before all ability to fight left her. Her energy, her life

force drained into him as he drank greedily. She could feel her blood leaving

her body, her heart slowing, her brain growing sluggish. Dear God, she was

going to die.

She
was
dying.

Her eyes drooped closed when suddenly someone grabbed her, pulling

her free from Dane’s deadly embrace. “She’s not for you.”

Rurik.

But he was too late.

She forced her eyes open to see him facing Dane. Keeping his gaze on

Dane, Rurik pushed her toward the bed where she collapsed, her legs unable

to keep her upright.

“She’s sweet,” Dane said, his mouth stained with her blood. “Very