Night Unbound (20 page)

In a rare moment of tranquility, Immortal Guardians and their Seconds kicked back and relaxed in David's large, cozy home. There used to be far more of these moments. The insurgencies and enemies who had risen up against the Immortal Guardians in recent years, however, had stolen them away.

Most of the usual frequent visitors were present, lounging on the sofas and in the chairs that filled the huge room. Roland and Sarah occupied a love seat near Marcus and Ami, who shared a sofa with Seth. David relaxed in a wingback chair across from them, feet propped on the coffee table, the latest Stephen King novel in his lap. Bastien and Melanie chatted with Richart and Jenna near the fireplace. Seconds Sheldon, Tanner, and Nichole laughed on another sofa as they viewed something on Sheldon's laptop. Tracy surreptitiously peered over their shoulders and smiled. Darnell joined the trio and laughed.

Ethan was almost curious enough to get up and go see for himself, but really didn't want to leave the comfy leather chair in which he slouched.

Étienne called something to his brother, who flipped him the bird. Beside Étienne, Krysta and her brother Sean laughed. Jenna did, too, as she leaned into Richart's side. Edward smiled as he studied the chessboard on the table between him and his Second, Desmond, over in the corner.

Yuri and Stanislav carried on a conversation in Russian while they raided the refrigerator, out of sight. Their Seconds, Dmitry and Alexei, headed in there to comment and filch some food.

It had been a good night, Ethan thought. An uneventful night.

He used to think uneventful nights boring. Now he
preferred
them. No one suffered any injuries on uneventful nights. Tense faces relaxed with smiles on uneventful nights. Laughter flowed freely on uneventful nights.

As it did now.

The immortals had all gotten their hunting over with early, each encountering only a slacker vamp here or there. Tracy and Tanner had prepared a delicious meal for the group. Everyone had enjoyed it so much that not a crumb had remained.

For once . . . for this moment . . . all was right in the world. All were safe. All were happy.

Except for Ethan, who didn't like that Lisette was yet again absent. He hadn't seen her in days and couldn't help worrying, even though Tracy frequently touched base with her and claimed all was well.

Yuri and Stanislav returned with two platters piled high with fruits and breads and cheeses.

Immortals and mortals alike pounced.

Hell, even Ethan couldn't resist that temptation and snatched some snacks before sinking into his favorite chair again.

Mmmm. Good food. Good company. Good conversation.

He smiled at a joke Darnell cracked, then grinned when Ami's baby began to hiccup in the womb. It was odd, being able to hear the babe's movements. Even odder to imagine an unborn baby getting the hiccups. Yet Jenna, Melanie, and Dr. Kimiko insisted it was normal.

Marcus rubbed a hand over Ami's big belly and gave her a tender smile.

Seth and David both watched with affectionate indulgence, then abruptly turned their heads toward the front of the house, all levity in their faces draining away. Seth's eyes flashed a bright gold milliseconds before he closed them. When he lifted his lashes, his eyes were brown once more.

Had Ethan not been staring right at him, he would've missed it.

What the hell?

Seth shared a look with David, then turned a smile on Ami. “Marcus, Ami has spent too many days and nights cooped up inside. Why don't the two of you go for a ride? Roll down the windows. Get some fresh air. Enjoy the night.”

Ami's face lit up.

Marcus eyed Seth (long enough that Ethan suspected Seth had just told him to get Ami the hell out of there) and forced a smile. “Sounds good to me. Are you up to it, sweetling?”

“Absolutely!”

David tossed Marcus his keys. “Take my car. More room for you both to stretch your legs.”

Everyone called cheerful good-byes as the couple left through the back door.

It didn't take long for the others to catch on that something was wrong.

Silence fell. Tension gripped the room as all eyes went to Seth and David.

Outside, David's car started and tore off down the drive, accompanied by Ami's fading laughter.

The two elders rose as one. Their faces turned to stone.

“Everyone out,” Seth ordered.

“What's going on?” Roland asked, rising.

Ethan rose, too.

Everyone
rose.

But none left. All sensed what Ethan did, that something was coming. And they would be damned if they were going to leave and let Seth and David face it—whatever the hell it was—alone.

The air began to crackle with static electricity.

The hair on Ethan's arms and the back of his neck rose.

Thunder rumbled on the night.

Seth shook his head, his eyes beginning to glow. “No time. Just go.”

“Use the escape tunnels in the basement,” David instructed from beside him, his eyes glowing a vibrant amber. Ethan had not seen that very often. “Don't return until we summon you.”

“Fuck that!” Bastien said, echoing Ethan's thoughts. “I don't know what the hell is coming, but we aren't going to leave you to face it alone!”

“Just go!” Seth snapped. “Get the Seconds out while you can. They—”

The large bay window facing the front of the house exploded inward. Shards of glass rocketed through the living room, finding purchase in mortal and immortal flesh, as a body catapulted inside as though it had been shot from a cannon.

Sheldon tackled Tracy as Immortal Guardians flung themselves out of the way, the married men all placing their bodies between their wives and the threat.

A coffee table splintered as the bloody body struck it. The unconscious male hit the floor and rolled twice before coming to a halt, lips parted to reveal fangs. A second body flew bonelessly through the bay window, knocking more shards free as it went and widening the hole in the window. It hit the floor just beyond the first. Another vampire. Unconscious. His face and form shredded and bloody.

“There!” a voice bellowed outside as wind whipped the curtains.

As though the one word shook them all from their shocked paralysis, everyone present lunged for the weapons they had removed and braced themselves for a fight.

Everyone except Seth and David, who glared daggers into the night through the broken window.

Lightning flashed across the sky, momentarily illuminating the figure who strode toward the house, still yards away, a black construction paper cutout with wings spread, carrying something or someone in his arms.

“There's your fucking proof!” he shouted.

Ethan's eyes widened.
Holy shit!

The male, standing six foot ten, leapt through the gaping hole and faced them with furious defiance. Little bits of feather, sliced away by the fragments of glass that remained in the window frame, floated on the breeze and settled quietly on the floor.

Zach. Eyes glowing golden like Seth's. Face full of pure, animalistic rage. Lisette's limp form cradled in his arms.

“What the hell?” Étienne shouted and leapt forward, swords flashing.

Zach looked at the French immortal.

Étienne seemed to hit an invisible wall, then flew backward.

Richart vanished and reappeared behind Zach, daggers raised.

Without even turning around, Zach sent him flying, too. “She tried to warn you it wasn't me!” he snarled at Seth.

“She tried to tell you I couldn't have raised the new vampire army because I was too busy being fucking tortured!”

Roland, Yuri, and Stanislav leapt forward.

A wave of power rippled through the room like the blast wave of an A-bomb, Zach at its epicenter.

Ethan swore as he and every mortal and immortal present, save Seth and David, were swept off their feet.

“I didn't . . . fucking . . . do it!” Zach roared. “And, because you wouldn't believe us, because you couldn't believe one of your
precious
Immortal Guardians would betray you, the new vampire army
I didn't fucking raise
grew unchecked! Well, there's your proof!” He nodded at the vampires. “Read their minds! Unbury their memories! You won't find me in any of them!”

All waited with bated breath.

Seth held out a hand, palm facing out in a
just stay calm
motion, and slowly backed toward the vampires. Kneeling, he placed a hand on the first vamp's blood-soaked head.

Minutes ticked past. Seth touched the other, every second he took to scan them seeming an hour, then rose.

“You see?” Zach demanded, the two words filled with wrath.

Seth shared another look with David. “What have you done to Lisette, Zach?”

“Watched over her. Tried to protect her when you wouldn't.”

That arrow hits its mark.

David's eyes lost their glow.

Seth's dimmed. “What happened tonight?”

“Lisette and I went hunting together.”

Seth opened his mouth.

“That's right! Together!” Zach bellowed before Seth could speak. “Did you think I was going to leave her unprotected while you pissed away your time and let the vampire army grow in strength and numbers? Let them get their shit together? Let them nearly capture her?”

All Ethan could do was watch with wide eyes and think,
Shit!

“The two of you were hunting,” David said, his voice so full of calm it made Ethan feel better just to hear it. “What happened next?”

“We took on a dozen of the new breed of vampires. I thought with me at her back she would be safe. But . . .”

“You can defeat a dozen vampires without lifting a weapon,” Seth pointed out.

“Killing one or two with a thought wouldn't draw any notice. But the kind of power it would take to kill a dozen would have alerted the Others to my location. If they found out about her, learned what she means to me—”

“You just exerted more power than that here.”

“They'll assume it was you.”

“Fuck this,” Ethan blurted when he could stand it no longer, and clambered to his feet. “We don't have time for if-I-woulda-coulda-shouldas. What's wrong with Lisette?”

Zach swallowed, nostrils flaring, moisture rising in his eyes. “I can't wake her.” He clutched Lisette closer, rubbed his chin across her hair. “Her presence in my mind vanished, and when I turned around . . . she was falling.”

Seth took a step forward. “Give her to me.”

“Fuck you! I'm not letting you anywhere near her! Not after that little conversation you had with her.” His gaze circled the room. “Do your Immortal Guardians all know you accused
her
of collaborating with the vampires?”

Richart's and Étienne's heads snapped toward Seth. “What?” they both demanded.

Ethan stared at Seth.

Seth's face remained impassive. “If you don't want me near her, why did you bring her to me?”

“I didn't.” Zach looked at Melanie. “I came here for you.” His gaze shifted to Bastien. “And for you.”

Melanie glanced at Seth and David, waiting for their approval before she moved.

Bastien didn't wait. He just sheathed his weapons and strode forward, broken glass crunching beneath his boots.

Ethan thought him either the ballsiest or stupidest immortal on the planet.

Melanie approached Zach with caution and felt Lisette's pulse. Peeling Lisette's eyelid back, Melanie then looked for whatever the hell it was doctors looked for in eyes. Pupillary response? Lack of response? Dilation? He didn't know. “Any major arteries severed?” She began checking them herself even as she asked.

“No.”

“So not a lot of blood loss?”

“No. Most of the blood that coats her is vampire.”

Seth took a step forward. “You didn't give her your blood, did you?”

Zach glared daggers at him. “Of course not. I'm not an idiot.”

What the hell did
that
mean?

More calmly, Zach told Melanie, “We were holding our own against them very nicely before she collapsed. She suffered no major injuries as far as I could see, hear, or smell.”

Melanie glanced around at the debris-covered room, then motioned down the hallway. “Could I get you to place her on a bed in the infirmary so I can examine her more thoroughly?”

Zach's arms tightened around Lisette as his eyes flashed brighter.

Melanie raised a hand. “Okay. It's okay. I'll just . . . see what I can learn here for now so you can have another minute to . . .” She floundered. “So you can have another minute.”

Ethan wouldn't know what to say either. Zach looked pretty feral. How the hell was Melanie going to get Lisette away from him?

Bastien seemed to be dividing his attention between helping his wife check for injuries and keeping an eye on Zach to make sure he didn't threaten Melanie in any way.

Ethan glanced around.

The downed immortals had all risen to their feet. Mortals rose more slowly and with the aid of their immortals. Or, in Tracy's case, with the aid of Sheldon, another Second.

Richart and Étienne looked as if their heads were about to explode.

Ethan had to admit he was pretty pissed, too. How could Seth have thought Lisette capable of such treachery? Had he discovered she had slept with Zach? Because clearly the two were lovers now. And that chafed a hell of a lot. But big fucking deal. Bad judgment in lovers wasn't tantamount to betraying everyone you know and love.

Seth kept his gaze trained on Zach, Lisette, and the two immortals now examining her.

David glowered at everyone else, effectively shutting down any tirade they might wish to launch. David didn't blow his stack often, but when he did—
Whew!
—it was best not to be around.

Melanie tried to examine Lisette as best she could under the circumstances. She ran her fingers over Lisette's arms and legs, across her abdomen, applying pressure here and there along the way. When her fingers slipped between Lisette and Zach's chest, she gasped and jerked her hand back.