Survive the Dawn (24 page)

She smiled at the idea. That’s it, she thought,
Nicholae
would know what to do. He would always know. So let’s just all calm down.

“Yes, Kendra, let’s.”

Kendra froze when she heard Sebastian’s voice. She whirled around only to see she was alone in the lab. She ran to the corridor; there was no one there. She was alone.

“You’re never alone, Kendra.”

Again, she whirled around to find no one there. She mustered all the courage she had and smiled. “Come, come, Sebastian. Let’s not play cat and mouse. I know you’re upset about me kissing Alex. I’m sorry, but you know how things go.” She looked around. “It was just a kiss, and we’re vampires, after all.”

“Yes, we are.”

Kendra let out a screech when Sebastian’s voice was close to her ear. She turned to see Sebastian looming over her and swallowed with difficulty as she backed up. Sebastian appeared taller somehow. Her eyes were blood red and her sharp fangs appeared.

Sebastian grinned and stepped forward. “You’ve been a bad vampire, Kendra.”

Kendra breathed heavily and tried to compose herself. “We are all bad, Sebastian. I didn’t harm the mortal. All’s fair, right?”

Sebastian laughed. “I’m not angry about that.” She struck a thoughtful pose. “Perhaps I am, but I’m far angrier over
Nicholae
and your clandestine experiments. Kissing and toying with Alex just gives me the reason.”

Kendra looked up into the hazel eyes she had known for over a century. “Reason to what?”

In the next second, Sebastian was gone and Kendra felt Sebastian behind her as she whispered in her ear, “To find out exactly what you’ve been doing.”

Kendra darted away and faced Sebastian. Her fangs dropped and she let out an angry hiss.

Sebastian threw her head back and laughed. “You’ve got to be kidding.”

“
Nicholae
will not be happy if you destroy me, Sebastian. You’ll be damned to hell.”

“We’re already damned, Kendra. It’s only a matter of who gets there first. My money’s on you.”

“Do you think
Nicholae
does not know about your mortal? You waste your time with her and it weakens you.
Nicholae
will bring Leigh back, and she’ll destroy you this time. You don’t deserve the power Tatiana bestowed on you.”

“I agree with you there, Kendra. It was not my choice. It’s power I don’t want. However, it’s of little consequence now. It’s done. If it was left to
Nicholae
and vampires like you, there would be nothing left. And that cannot happen. Tatiana knew this.”

“You are a fool.”

“Possibly,” Sebastian said. “But do you really care? I mean really. At this juncture, name-calling is so unnecessary and beneath you.”

Kendra kept backpedaling as Sebastian stalked her prey around the lab. “This dance is all but over, Kendra.”

In a flash, Sebastian was behind Kendra and yanked her head to expose her neck. She sank her fangs deep into her vein. Kendra let out a surprised screech followed by a gurgling groan as the visions flashed in Sebastian’s mind—Kendra’s meetings with
Nicholae
in Romania, with Corky in Ireland as she obtained all the information
Nicholae
needed for the resurrection of Leigh. She also saw Kendra talking with Nina; she saw Tatiana’s box on
Nicholae’s
desk in plain view. Sebastian knew
Nicholae’s
arrogance; no one would dare touch it. She saw Kendra kissing Alex and her fangs plunged deeper into her neck. Sebastian sucked the life out of Kendra. With her neck broken, Kendra slipped to the floor in a lifeless heap.

Sebastian wiped the blood from her mouth; she clenched her fists as she looked down at Tatiana’s ring on her finger.

It was time.

Chapter 20

“Are the preparations made?”
Nicholae
asked.

Damien nodded. “Yes, my lord. Everything is as you instructed.”

“Nina? The mortal? The chalice?”

“The chalice was right where you said it would be—among the other artifacts that you have procured over the centuries. I assure you, my lord. It is ready.”

Nicholae
heard the exasperation in the vampire’s voice and turned around. “Do not get impatient with me, Damien. And do not get too excited with yourself just because you killed a thousand-year-old vampire.”

Damien withered visibly much to
Nicholae’s
enjoyment; an evil grin spread across his old weathered face. “I’m sure Sebastian holds no ill feelings with you. You only beheaded her creator.”

“I only did as you bid me, my lord.”

“And you think Sebastian will care?”
Nicholae
was genuinely amused by this and laughed heartily. “Sebastian, dear deluded Damien, will destroy you without a moment’s hesitation when she finds you.”

Damien swallowed with difficulty as he swept his long black hair away from his face. “I am not without power,
Nicholae
.”

Nicholae
was still laughing. “You are nothing but what I say you are. Now get out of my sight and make sure all is ready. If this goes awry, you will wish Sebastian got to you first.” He dismissed him with a wave of his hand.

Nicholae
looked down at the ornate box on his desk, then picked it up. There was no way to open it; he’d tried everything. Tatiana may have been old and forgetful, but she was no fool. He knew Sebastian must have the key to open this box.

He held the box up and gazed at it.
Nicholae
also knew this box contained the power he coveted. Sebastian would not, could not have this power—the power that was rightfully his. He was the only one left now. He was the hierarchy, not this upstart Sebastian with her ideas of humanity.

Nicholae
angrily set the box down on the desk and shook his head as if to dismiss such nonsense. Leigh, he thought. Leigh was the only one who truly understood the ways of a vampire. He laughed openly as he remembered Leigh and her unquenchable thirst for the mortals.

Leigh lazily slid her fingers through the cool evening water of the pond. She was dressed in a long white silken robe, her hair piled high upon her head.
Nicholae
watched her from his chair, thinking how beautiful she looked—like a Grecian goddess.

A young minion walked up to her carrying a silver platter of exotic fruits. Leigh happily peered at the presentation and decided on a bunch of grapes. “Shoo, shoo,” she said with a wave of her hand. The minion scurried off and out of sight.

“Ah, my lord, how I love to play with the humans.” She sighed and popped the grape into her mouth.

Nicholae
raised an eyebrow and laughed. “And no one does it better than you, Leigh. In all my existence, I have never seen any vampire who loves the hunt more than you.” He stopped, and as Leigh gave him an incredulous look, he grinned evilly. “Well, yes, I do, as well.”

“I should say.” Leigh turned on her side to face him.

Nicholae
noticed the ample cleavage on the blond vampire who had absolutely no propriety at all. “I have a gift for you, Leigh.”

“For me?” She nearly squealed and sat up. “What is it?”

From out of the shadows, two men dragged along a woman, who was terrified as she struggled against them.

“To what do I owe this gift?” Leigh asked as she ate another grape. She looked the mortal up and down with an appreciative
eye.

“I know you miss Sebastian,”
Nicholae
said. “Why you do, I do not know, but this may satisfy your appetite. You did as I asked, and I would like to repay.” He stood and started up the dark path back to the mansion. “Do not get used to this.”

Leigh laughed happily. “Thank you, Uncle Nicky.”

Nicholae
stopped, whirled around, and glared at the grinning vampire. He shook his head and started back. “She is insane.”

As he approached the mansion, he grinned as he heard the helpless scream.

Nicholae
shook his head as he remembered all the devastation Leigh had caused over the centuries. He knew she was the only one who could deal with Sebastian now. The elders tried to persuade him to stop this attempt to bring Leigh back. He must admit it was a risky endeavor but worth the risk. If Leigh proved too much or too unstable, he would easily have her beheaded and never worry again. If it came to that, he only hoped Leigh would take care of Sebastian first and get the serum Sebastian’s concubine mortal had discovered.

The idea of vampires living in the light of day was apparently a reality. It was Sebastian’s idea of humanity, of living among them that was outrageous and would not happen. All the power must be his and his alone. With Tatiana gone, there could be only one.

The knock at the door broke him from his musings. “Come in,” he called out and looked up to see the elders walking into the room.
Nicholae
groaned loudly. “What is it now?”

“This is not over,
Nicholae
,”
Kasandra
said. She and Marcellus stood in front of
Nicholae
.
Daciana
lazily leaned against the stone fireplace in bored fashion.

Nicholae
inwardly grinned.
Daciana
would always side with him.
Kasandra
and Marcellus were Tatiana’s toadies. They would do whatever the ancient wanted, no matter what. “Yes,
Kasandra
, it is. The ritual will take place at sundown tonight as it is written.”

He studied
Kasandra
; she was a beautiful vampire. Tall and lean, her snow white hair, cut in short fashion, accentuated her long neck. The piercing gray eyes unnerved him, though.
Kasandra
always unnerved him; she was much like Tatiana in that regard. His hatred for her was palpable.

He regarded Marcellus in much the same manner.
Nicholae
saw him as a necessary evil. Marcellus stood tall and proud, that damned Roman blood flowing through him; if it were not for the tailored charcoal gray Armani suit and silk tie, he would look very much like an ancient emperor. All he needed was the damned laurel wreath sitting atop his white hair—the pompous idiot.
Nicholae
despised the lack of control he had over these two elders.

“
Nicholae
, we understand your quest for Sebastian’s destruction, as we understood Tatiana’s request for her salvation,” Marcellus said. “There is unbalance here. We cannot survive without balance and order. Bringing Leigh back, of all vampires. Good god, what are you thinking? Leigh?”

Behind them,
Daciana
laughed and joined them. “Why not Leigh? Who among us has not enjoyed that vampire over the centuries? And who of us can deny Leigh single-handedly nearly doubled the vampire population around the globe.” She ran her fingers through her long wavy black hair, streaked with gray, and pulled her mink-lined silken robe around her. “I, for one, adored Leigh.”

Kasandra
still watched
Nicholae
when she spoke. “This ritual, which we all read, is unstable. Leigh was insane while a vampire, bringing her back is madness. You have no idea what will happen during this ritual. Damn it, did you read this Irish historian’s comments?” She held the papers up to emphasize her point.

“Yes, my dear, I read his comments and concerns and I don’t care.”

“All we’re asking is that you think clearly about this,” Marcellus said.

“I am thinking clearly. Do not presume I’m an idiot, Marcellus,”
Nicholae
spat in his direction. He knew Marcellus was the voice of logic, always the voice of reason and compromise. This is what Tatiana admired about Marcellus.
Kasandra
, on the other hand, was smarter than Marcellus was. Again, it unnerved him as she continued to watch him.