Scarlet Heat (Born to Darkness) (40 page)

“Taylor,” I said hoarsely. “Are you all right,
baby? I’m going to get you out of here somehow, I swear.”

Taylor only looked at me and I saw no hope in
her sad eyes. I couldn’t exactly blame her for that. After all, I was tied up
too. It was a pretty hopeless situation. Still, I was determined. I opened my
mouth to speak again but just then Celeste came between us.

“So glad you could make it to our little party,
Victor. My, my, you are a
big
boy, aren’t you?” she purred, running one
sharp fingernail down my chest. “I’m sure Taylor enjoyed
that
when you
fucked her.”

“You
bitch.”
I surged forward but the
chains held. “You’re the one who gave LeeAnn the whip, aren’t you?” I demanded.
“To be sure Taylor and I would have sex and fulfill that damn prophecy!”

“Oh, so you know about the prophecy already?
Good—I’m so glad we’re all on the same page. Explanations are so
tedious.
”
Celeste gave me a nasty smile. “Yes, I gave her the whip coated in lust
potion—I had to make sure the two of you would finally consummate your
oh-so-tender relationship.”

“You said it was coated in fire potion to make
him burn,” LeeAnn interrupted, glaring at Celeste. “You never said it would make
them
fuck
.”

“Be silent while your betters are speaking,”
the vampire snapped. “You’ve been quite useful to me but I won’t tolerate
interruptions.”

“But—” LeeAnn began.

The vampire held up one finger. “The next time
you open your mouth, I’ll brand you. The time after that, I’ll rip your throat
out. Am I making myself
absolutely clear?”

LeeAnn looked like she wanted to protest but
it was clear Celeste could back up her threat. Her face was looking less and
less human and her eyes were huge and completely soulless in the moonlight. My
brand burned.
The enemy
whispered the beast inside me.
Kill…devour…destroy.
Yes, but would it stop at destroying Celeste…or would it want to kill every
vamp here tonight? I couldn’t take a chance.

I am calm, I am centered, I am one,
I told
myself. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. I had to take it easy,
couldn’t let Celeste get to me.
I am calm, I am centered, I am one.

When I opened my eyes, she was talking again.

“…had to use the whip because my more
subtle
methods of pushing the two of you together weren’t working,” she said,
twirling a long-ass silver dagger that glittered in the moonlight. “First, I
had the trap planted on your land knowing that Taylor wouldn’t be able to
resist healing the poor little wolf with the wounded paw. And of course, how
could you help falling in love with her after she healed you? I was certain
you’d fuck her after that—only for some reason, you didn’t.”

I felt a sick twist in my guts at her words.

“I didn’t want to hurt her,” I growled, glaring
at her. “After the way you treated her—”

“Hurt her?” she interrupted and burst out
laughing. “Oh,
please—
as if you could. Do you
know
how many males
she’s been with? And females too—basically anyone who took a liking to her got
a taste. She was my own personal whore—which was the only reason I kept her
instead of killing her after I found out what a horrible vampire she made.”

“You
bitch,”
I said thickly. There were
tears in Taylor’s eyes now and she wouldn’t look at me. Clearly she was ashamed,
although, to my mind, she had nothing to be ashamed of.

“When Corbin took her away from me and gave
her to you, I wanted to kill her even more,” Celeste went on. “But I noticed a
kind of
energy
between the two of you. And I realized that you fit a
kind of pattern—a pattern I’ve been looking for a long,
long
time. So I
waited and watched and I
tried
to push you together. Of course, when
subtler methods failed, I was forced to use cruder methods, like the whip, but
they finally worked. And now that you’ve fucked her, I can take what it
rightfully mine—her life.”

“You touch her and you’re fucking dead,” I
growled. The beast inside wanted to break free and kill her right now but I
couldn’t listen to him. He wasn’t trustworthy. Still, I could feel the brand
burning and the beast leaking out, just a little around the edges. Along with
sharper fangs, which I’d already had, I could feel the bones in my face
shifting.

“Lookit his face!” Tozer exclaimed, his eyes
full of fear. “He’s changing, Mistress—the curse—”

“I told you to shut up about that ridiculous
curse,”
she snapped, frowning at him. “But if it makes you feel any better, I’ll
brand him with silver to bind him to this form.” She motioned at one of the
other vamps. “You—bring me a brand.”

I watched as he brought her a red-hot glowing
iron. The brand was a circle about the size of a silver dollar carved with
intricate runes. The same runes that were burned into my lower back—warnings to
anyone who saw them about what I was. Only this time it would be burned into my
flesh with silver and right on my face for all to see.

The beast inside me roared and fought for
freedom at the sight of the iron. He didn’t want to be branded again—that shit
hurt.
I didn’t blame him but I didn’t trust him either. We would just have to endure
this, endure it and hope that Gwendolyn and Corbin could get the invisible
barrier down in time to come help.

“Now hold still, Victor dear,” Celeste said,
coming toward me with the iron. “It will only hurt for a minute.” She laughed.
“Actually, no—I’m told it burns for hours. But nonetheless…”

“You really are a bitch, aren’t you?” I said
hoarsely as the heated iron got closer and closer to my face. “You fucking
enjoy
this.”

“I
have
been told I’m a bit of a sadist,”
Celeste remarked. “Of course I had the people who told me that flogged directly
afterward.” She smirked at me. “That’s a joke—I actually had them killed. Now
just hold still…” I could feel the sizzling heat of the brand radiating against
my face as it got closer and closer. I jerked away—I couldn’t help myself, it
was an instinctive reaction. Celeste frowned. “LeeAnn,” she called. “Come hold
him.”

“Glad to.” LeeAnn, still naked except for her
gloves, came forward and grabbed the silver chain around my neck. She pulled it
tight, cutting off my air. “Not such a big guy now, are you?” she purred,
smirking at me. “You’re gonna die tonight because you couldn’t keep it in your
pants. I bet right about now you’re wishing you would have picked me over that
fanger.”

“Never,” I whispered hoarsely, struggling to
get the words out. “I’d rather have the month I had with Taylor than a
lifetime
with you.”

“You fucking asshole!” LeeAnn jerked the chain
tight. It burned my skin and I saw stars as my air supply was cut to nothing.

“Not so tight,” Celeste said sharply. “I want
him alive to witness his lover’s demise.”

“Fine.” LeeAnn muttered sulkily and the silver
choke chain eased up enough for me to breathe.

“Let’s try this again,” Celeste said. “And
this time, Victor dear,
do
try to hold still. I’m aiming for your cheek
but it would be a great pity if I slipped and got your
eye
instead.”

I could see the metal glowing cherry red from
the corner of my eye and I tensed as she brought it closer, trying to get ready
for the pain. But no amount of preparation can really get you ready for the
searing agony of getting branded.

“I think right,
here
should be good,” Celeste
said and pressed the burning metal against my cheek.

I jerked again and a low hoarse sound came out
of my throat—the sound of the beast fighting for release. The mark on my back
was burning every bit as badly as the fresh brand on my cheek. My nerves were
on fire, the pain was immense—blinding. Over-fucking-whelming. I
had
to
change—I couldn’t
stand
it anymore.

No! I am calm, I am centered, I am one. I am calm, I am centered, I am
one,
I told myself over and over again.

“There.” Celeste tossed the hot iron
carelessly away and examined my cheek. “Very nice. And it should hold you in
this form with no trouble—even if it
is
a full moon night.”

She had no idea how wrong she was. A fresh
silver brand might keep me from taking my wolf form but there was no stopping
the beast. She could brand my whole body and he would still come charging
out—if I couldn’t control him that was.

I am calm, I am centered, I am one,
I told
myself, trying to ignore the fiery pain in my cheek and lower back. Trying to
think past the beast’s mindless rage, his demands to be set free to rip
Celeste’s slender white throat out.

Across from me, Taylor was openly crying now.
Her sobs were muffled by the silver gag but I could see the scarlet tears
running down her cheeks. Her eyes were fixed on the fresh burn on my cheek and I
knew she shared my pain. A fresh surge of love and protectiveness washed over
me. I struggled fiercely against the silver chains holding me—just because I
couldn’t let the beast out didn’t mean I couldn’t use his strength. If I could
just get free…

“The circle is weakening.” The new voice came
from a guy whose face I couldn’t see. I didn’t know why since I was staring
right at him but his features seemed…obscured somehow. Weird.

“What do you mean it’s weakening?” Celeste
asked, rounding on him. “How can it be weakening when it’s your job to keep it
up?”

“They must have a witch with them,” he said,
sounding pissed. “A strong one.”

“Stronger than
you?”
she snarled. “I
thought you were supposed to be the most powerful warlock in the entire
country.”

“I
am
—there’s no way she should be able
to break my spell,” he said. “Either she’s got unprecedented depths of power in
her or…”

“Or
what?”
Celeste demanded
impatiently.

“Or else she’s willing to tap into a darker
source—to open a doorway into the Abyss.”

“I thought you all did that…went to the Shadow
Lands for power or wherever it is,” she snapped.

He shook his head. “The Shadow Lands are dark
but they’re only Hell’s doorstep. The Abyss…it’s the real thing. No witch or
warlock dares go there—it’s almost impossible to get back. But this witch…” He
shook his head. “She’s either very brave or really damn stupid.”

“I don’t care what she is, just make sure your
circle holds until I do the spell.” Celeste glared at him.

“If you’d stop showboating around and get on
with it, this wouldn’t be an issue,” he growled at her.

“I’m
going
to
.
But these things
have to be done in a certain way.” Celeste lifted her chin regally and strode
over to Taylor. Shaking back the long white sleeves of her robe, she raised the
long silver dagger above her head. Moonlight glittered along the blade and I
felt my heart clench in my chest.

“Don’t…fucking…touch her,” I growled. I had a
hard time getting the words out—my mouth wasn’t shaped right for speaking
anymore. Little by little the beast was pushing his way forward.

“I’ll do more than touch her,” Celeste taunted,
running just the tip of the silver dagger down Taylor’s tear-streaked cheek.
“I’ll
drain
her, wolf—right in front of your eyes. Look at it this
way—at least you got a chance to say goodbye.”

“Say the spell,” the guy with the strangely
blurred face shouted. “Say it now, Celeste—no more stalling!”

“Fine,” she huffed. Obviously she was pissed
about not being able to put on more of a show. Once a drama queen, always a
drama queen, I guess. She turned to Taylor and gripped the dagger high above
her head.

“Beneath the moon this sacred hour

I come to take this female’s power

To walk in day and eat the meat

Gained through breeding scarlet heat.

Let
it wash me in a flood

Bought
and paid by stolen blood

When
the last red drop I drain

No
more in dark must I remain.

Her
soul I claim, her powers see

Let
them enter into me

The
moon must heal, sun’s curse abate

By
blood and silver, change my fate

So
Mote it be.”

On the last word, Celeste plunged the dagger down and made a long vicious
slice across the right side of Taylor’s throat. Then she leaned forward,
clamped her mouth to the wound and began to drink.

“Taylor!”
I roared.
“NO!”

At the same time I heard the warlock scream, “They’re coming! The
barrier is coming down—I can’t hold it!”

I knew that Corbin was on the way—that I should try and hold out and
let him kill Celeste so I could rescue Taylor. But I couldn’t hold back
anymore. Seeing the woman I loved wounded and possibly dying stripped away the
last of my self-control. I roared and thrashed against the chains as I felt
myself begin to change.